#they did have other things planned but their speaker couldn't make it or whatever but like a bunch of people turned up anyway and i feel

[californiaquail]

i wish trying to do things with groups of people was not the most horrible time wasting activity on earth

[hughesyodaddy43]

Just maybe ⎸ N.H

Pairings: Nico Hischier x reader genre: friends to lovers Warnings: swearing, fluff synopsis: when a hopeless romantic doesn't pick up on hints. word count: 2.3k authors note: first Nico fic! i hope you like it. Requests are open. missing the devils rn :(

Nico, Nico, Nico was all your mind would wander to, from late nights to early mornings your mind was crowded with the thought of him.

From every text to every lingering touch your heart ached for him.

Him.

The captain of the New Jersey devils.

Him. 

The Swiss man who lives across the hall from you. 

Him and his cute accent. 

Him and the way his eyes light up when he smiles.

Him. Nico Hischier.

This was never new to you, love that is or more so how easily you love. Ever since you were young your mind and body was plagued by the thought of romance. You knew you were a hopeless romantic, how could you not be? Growing up you craved having love like in the movies. Was this the reason for your many heartbreaks? yes .

After every heartbreak your craving for love grew stronger, wanting to be held and kissed and loved just like you do, being cared for the way you care for others.

Unfortunately as of right now the only romantic tropes that had come to life for you was unrequited love. Living in the shadows of someone else's love and loss.

Nico knew about your love for romance movies, he knew you so well and it hurt you knowing that he would never love you the same way you love him. But your mind couldn't help but wonder, just maybe. What if he liked you back? 

Just maybe did the tighter squeeze of his hugs mean something? could the way he plays your favourite songs whenever he is driving you somewhere be a sign? Could the way he holds your hand when moving through large crowds be a hint to something more? Or is it when he always sends you a good morning text when he wakes up?

Perhaps, just maybe did he love you back?

Your thoughts were interrupted when you saw your phone screen light up on your kitchen bench. You place down your warm cup of coffee and reach to read whatever it was that lit your phone up bright. A sigh left your lips when you read the notification, revealing that it wasn't from Nico. you were so far gone, the thought of replying to other people sometimes felt daunting or annoying but replying to nico felt light and effortless. Like you could talk to him for ever and ever without running out of things to say or feeling uncomfy.

Instead the notification was from tinder, your pathetic attempt at getting over the hockey player was to surround yourself with other equally attractive men. 

However that was not the case, whatever dates you'd go on you couldn't keep your mind away from Nico. no man in your eyes was as good as him. The thought of anyone else felt foreign whereas Nico felt warm and homey.

Most of the dates you went on were unfavourable and rather unpleasant. You never were one for quick hookups due to your very annoying habit of catching feelings so fucking your way out of this slump was not an option for you, despite your girlfriends suggesting so.

You pull yourself back out of your trance when you receive a text message from your best friend, Stacie - regarding your plans for breakfast this morning. You pause for a second, reading the time that displays in the top corner of your phone, answering swiftly to confirm your whereabouts and ETA. 

You turn your speaker on and press shuffle on your playlist, attempting to drown your thoughts as you get ready for the day. 

X 

You finish up your makeup and manoeuvre your way back around to the front door, grabbing your bag and filling it with whatever junk you may possibly need incase of a very uncommon emergency. 

You walk out into the hallway, locking your door tightly. You turn around and are met with big brown eyes you have grown very familiar with. He sends you a warming smile, in turn making your lips curl into an unintentional smile. Your cheeks burn up as you step forward towards the tall swiss hockey player, meeting him on the other side of the hallway.

“Hey!” you speak, hoping to disguise your excitement.

“Hello” nico respondes, tucking his keys into his pocket. “Where are you off to?” he adds, shifting his weight from his foot to the wall, leaning against it. 

“Gonna go meet stacie at the cafe down the street for breakfast, you?” you ask, tilting your head slightly, still smiling embarrassingly wide. “Morning practice, which i was gonna ask if you were coming to the game tonight?” he asks, smiling slightly, causing his dimples to appear.

His eyes god his eyes, sparkling under the light, staring deeply into your own. 

“Of course I am! Wouldn't miss it, especially when I get special treatment from the captain.” you say, lightly punching his arm. Nico laughs, redirecting himself to stand up straight, “anything for you” he answers with a wink, turning his body towards the elevator. You stand there for a second, trying to stop yourself from turning completely red. 

Nico waits for you to walk with him towards the elevator, the two of you slipping comfortably into a natural conversation.

You make it to the front of the apartment building, ending the intriguing conversation about playoff hockey and whatnot. 

“Do you need a quick ride? I don't mind driving you?” Nico asks, stepping towards you.

“Nah, I'll be okay to walk. Thank you tho” you reply.

Nico nods and goes in for a hug only to be turned down by you rejecting the advance to turn it into a simple fist bump, cringing at yourself for the gesture. Nico looked a bit stunned at the rejection but shakes it off with a light chuckle, returning the fist bump. 

“I'll see you at the game, Schatzi” Nico says, turning to walk towards the car park. You stand there for a second, running your hand through your hair “what the fuck was that? A fist bump??” you mutter under your breath before being interrupted by your phone ringing 

“Hello?” 

“Hurry up.” the phone call abruptly ends, putting two and two together you register that the unknown caller was stacie asking you to get your ass to the cafe.

You walk down the street,enjoying the sun that has peeked out through the clouds. You admire the atmosphere that surrounds the sidewalk, passing your way through the crowds and delicate shops placed around the streets.

Unfortunately for you all you could think about was Nico and his stupid cute dimples and his stupid fluffy hair and his stupid big brown eyes.

You find your way to the cafe, meeting Stacie at the outdoor seats. 

“Finally you show up, I thought you died” Stacie says, standing up to hug you, her long Auburn hair tied half up, neatly falling just away from her face. 

“Got caught up, sorry” you apologies, sitting down across from the girl. “From mr dimples i hope” she teases, sipping her pre- ordered latte with a smirk. I roll my eyes away from her, snickering. “Oh my god, it was him wasn't it?” her big eyes widened at the realisation. You don’t reply, simply smiling to yourself, playing with your fingers  in your lap. 

“Well you can tell me when your drink gets here, i got you a mocha since you were too late to order for yourself” Stacie chides. “Thanks Stac, you're too kind” you joke.

Your drink comes and the two of you order your food. Stacie looks at you with a playful smile, leaning forward to rest her head in her hands “so..what did you two talk about?” she  chimes. “Just..hockey or whatever” you shrug. “Mhm” her lips curl into a smirk “you should just tell him you like him” “what?no no i can't, we are just friends.” i defend.

If almost pre planned your phone vibrates on the table, revealing a very suggestive message from Nico 

Nico: can’t wait to see you tonight ;)

“What was that?” stacie questions, raising her eyebrow “can't wait to see you tonight? Hmm seems a little too friendly if you ask me”  she mocks “its nothing, i'm going to his game tonight.” you beat off.

“Listen, you've loved him pretty much since you've met him, call him a friend or whatever but I know how friends act and trust me, he likes you for sure. I mean you've been on so many dates with other guys to get over him and how many of them have actually been successful?” she monologues, pausing to take a bite of her fresh banana bread. 

“Trust me, he doesn’t think about me like that” you tally. “Well I'm just saying , you only live once and if you can't get over him then you might as well confess to him. At least if he rejects you then you can get closure and move on'' she states, once again leaving you speechless for a few seconds. She starts up once again after reading your worn expression.

“I've seen the way he looks at you yk?” your eyes meet hers “how does he look at me?” you question, confusing, staying evident in your expression. “Like he never wants to look away” she reveals. Once again sipping on her drink. 

“Hmmm I mean i've never seen anyone else around his place, and when we go out he doesn't really talk to any other girls.” you recall “ exactly, just give it a go. It's not like the world will end.” she finishes before swiftly changing the subject to one of her new boy toys of the month.

‘The world won't end’ you suppose the world won't end in the literal sense but what if he stops talking then it might as well end. It's dramatic but your whole day revolves around even the smallest thought of nico.. What are you even supposed to think about otherwise?

surely  just maybe he might like you, granted that everything stacie says is true, perhaps you should take your shot sooner than later.

X

X

Your heart beats steadily as you arrange your hair in half up pigtails, wrapping the hair tie with red and white ribbon. You unfortunately didn't have a jersey for this game so instead you decided to sport a white tank top with a red sweater in support of the devils. 

Once again your mind grows to Nico, the excitement of seeing him runs through your veins. You were never nervous or anxious to be around nico, if anything you felt safer and warmer around him, that is except now. The weight of what sense Stacie knocked into you really stuck in your mind. You couldn't help but wonder if you should confess and if it's even a good decision.

Your worries are cut short when you look at the time and quickly make your way to the front door, checking yourself out in the mirror one last time before slipping your shoes on and making your way to the prudential centre.

X

You walk into the arena, finding your seat comfortably in the stands, watching the warmups. Nico had asked you to meet him before the game. He said that he wanted to see you. After warmups you make your way to the hallway that leads out onto the ice, waiting patiently for nico to come see you.

He makes his way towards you, standing directly in front of you. He stands there, waiting for you to snap out of whatever trance your mind has put you in. your fiddling with your fingers, staring at your shoes, picking at your nails lightly. 

“You shouldn't pick at your nails” Nico says, reaching out to hold your hand. His voice pulls you out and startles you, you jump and flinch your hands away from him.

“Woah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.” he apologises, eyes filled with remorse as he looks down at you. “No it's okay, just didn't realise you were there” you console, letting him reach for your hands once again, this time not flinching back. It's at this point that the other teammates are making their way back out to start the game. “When is the game gonna start?” you ask 

“in a few minutes” he replies “just wanted to see you before it started” he adds, leaving you, standing there without a word “hey, what's going on inside that pretty head of yours?” he asks, bending down to read your face, his voice is calm and steady. 

A sudden surge of confidence overwhelms you. 

Fuck it. 

You lean upwards, moving your body closer to his to attach your lips onto his. He is taken by surprise but it's not long before he shakes his glove off of his hand and reaches out to take hold of the back of your neck, pulling you in deeper. 

You pull yourself away with a sharp inhale of air, nico face falling in a frown as you pull away. 

“I like you.” you confess. 

Nico stares at you, lips curling into a smile, his dimples becoming defined upon his cheeks.

“Yeah, I noticed.” he says, lowering his head back down to kiss your cheek. 

Nico simply winks and jogs away towards the ice, looking back with a wide smile and blushed cheeks. The loud hollers and chirps are heard from the other devils players as they disappear through the doorway and onto the ice.

You make your way back to the stands, sitting down and watching the boys skate around , Nico playing perfectly as always. With best efforts, the game ends in a tight win, in favour of the devils. The crowd makes their way out of the arena and you're met with one more message from nico.

Nico: Meet me in the parking lot after the game, my car is parked around the corner. I'd like to take you to dinner if you're up for it?

Your face lights up, a smile breaking out, you bite your lip as you answer a yes, making your way towards his car.

Maybe.

Just maybe…

He does love you back.

[rafeandonlyrafe]

a collection of soft moments with rafe

words: 2.4k

warnings: none?, rafe being kinda desperate... okay maybe really desperate in the last one

taglist: @drewstarkeysbae @thelomlisrafecameron @f4ll-for-you @dilvcv

“i was tryin' to fly but i couldn't find wings.” you sing along to the song, swaying slightly as you finish cleaning off the table, ears perking up when you hear the door open and close, signaling that rafe just got home, but you continued your clean, “but you came along and you changed everything.”

you feel rafe’s hands on your hips suddenly, making you jump, not realizing over the music that he had entered the room. 

“you lift my feet off the ground.” taylor’s voice continues to sing from the speakers as rafe turns you in his hold. your hands instinctively go to his shoulders, smiling up at him as rafe starts to sway along to the music. “you spin me around.”

at the lyric, rafe begins to slowly spin you around the room, looking down at you with the most genuine look of love in his eyes that you’ve ever seen.

“i love you.” you mouth to rafe, not wanting to interrupt the song with your words as he pulls you closer to him, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

"feels like i'm fallin' and i'm lost in your eyes. you make me crazier, crazier, crazier."

--

“don’t we have to leave like right now rafe?” you ask, rushing to his closet when he asked you to pick out his outfit for him. one of his favorite things to do is pick out what you’re going to wear, especially for a night out with him, and he likes to reserve the favor for you too.

“we can be late.” rafe says, still in just a pair of gray sweatpants, while you’re completely ready in a simple deep blue dress, chosen of course by your boyfriend.

you sift through his shirts, having one in mind, a blue patterned button down that would match your dress. you finally find it and pull it out, handing it to rafe to put on while you find a pair of pants that would fit the color scheme.

you watch as rafe dresses, looking to you for approval. you frown. there’s nothing particularly wrong with the outfit, but it’s just not pulling together for you.

“hold on.” you hum, knowing you should be moving faster so you can get to your event, but you honestly are enjoying playing dress up using rafe. 

“try this.” you toss him a new shirt, but again it doesn’t spark anything in you. 

“put on your black shoes, i’ve got another in mind.” you turn back to his drawer, hoping that the light blue shirt you’re thinking of is complementary to your own dress.

you find it on the bottom of the drawer, and hold it up happily to rafe. “look! it’s perfect!” you know before he even tries it on that it’ll go perfectly with what you’re wearing.

rafe pulls the shirt over his shoulders, but you stop his hands from doing the buttons as you take over for him, tongue sticking out of your mouth slightly in concentration as your fingers work on the tiny button. 

you leave the top two undone, the event not being too formal, and liking the peak of skin. “perfect.” you say, looking at the two of you standing next to each other in the mirror.

“thank you baby.” rafe says, looping his arm around your waist. “i love spending time with you.”

you feel your cheeks flare red as you blush at his words. “all i did was get you dressed.” you try to deflect his words.

“i know and i loved it.” rafe presses a kiss to the side of your head.

--

“hm.” rafe says, “can you change your shoes?” you look down at your sandals, taking them off and putting a pair of converse instead. “you know, if you just told me where we were going i would be able to pick out a better pair of shoes.” “good try, baby.” rafe smiles, taking your hand as you head out the door, to whatever surprise that rafe has planned. 

you get into the car, trying to tell where rafe is taking you by the drive, but it’s out into the country, so you ignore trying to figure out where you’re going and instead just enjoy rafes hand on your thigh and the music playing through the stereo.

“rafe!” you gasp as you see the explosion of colors on the road ahead. “you did not!” “i did.” rafe says cockily, obviously expecting your excited reaction.

“i cannot believe you actually brought me flower picking.” you lean over as rafe parks, pressing kisses to his cheek. “you’re the best boyfriend ever.” “i know.” rafe laughs, putting the car into park and turning his head to let you kiss him, lips pushing together in a display thats a bit overly passionate for the parking lot, but you’re just so happy that your usually closed off to the world boyfriend becomes a total sweetheart just for you.

“don’t you dare open your car door.” rafe says, pulling away from the kiss. you just smile as he rounds the car, opening your door and helping you out. 

you take a deep breath of the flower scented air, eyes looking over all the different rows of brightly colored flowers. 

“come on, we gotta get our jar and scissors.” rafe takes your hand in his, leading you towards the booth. there’s only a few other people picking flowers today, so there’s no line when you approach and rafe quickly pays.

“alright, baby, i already know you’re thinking about what you want.” rafe laughs, knowing he’s not really there for choosing the style of the bouquet you make, rather to be the one to cut the stems for you and hold everything.

“mmm, i’m really feeling like an orangey-red-yellow color palette.” you say, heading towards the flowers with rafe following close behind.

--

“rafe! come here!” you call out to him, and you hear his rapid footsteps as he runs into the bathroom.

“are you okay?” he asks, eyes searching for any sort of potential danger you might be in.

“i’m fine, rafey!” you say, waving your hands as if that’s going to dissuade his worry and take it all away.

rafe comes to where you’re standing in front of the mirror, pressing you into the sink as he pushes his chest into your back. “you scared me.” “sorry, baby.” you hum, picking up a packet from off the sink. “want to do a facemask with me?” “is this what you called me in here for?” rafe questions, looking at the plastic package in your hand.

“mhm. i’m doing one too, it’ll be fun.” rafe sighs, burying his head in your shoulder, pressing a kiss to your bare skin, glad that you’re only wearing a tanktop so he has more access. he considers saying no, but he just can’t deny you what you want. 

“fine, but no pictures and don’t tell anyone about this. ever.” 

you squeal in happiness, ripping open the package and directing rafe to bend down that way you can place the sheet mask on his face, choosing a brightening one for him while you’re going to go for hydrating. 

you giggle seeing your boyfriend, who plenty people consider scary, in the skincare. he glances in the mirror with a frown.

“you look super cute.” you say. “now let me put my mask on then we can sit on the bed and watch tv until it’s time to take them off.”

--

“what is all this for?” rafe questions, not expecting to come home to the counters filled with baked goods.

“oh perfect timing!” you say, heading over to rafe and giving him a quick kiss on the lips in greeting.

you place your hands on his shoulders, steering him towards the island. “sit down, i need you to taste test everything for me.” “i would be more than happy to do that baby but um-” he pauses, eyes once again moving over the multitude of cupcakes decorated in different ways, along with cookies and some pastries he doesn’t know the name of. 

“oh, right!” you giggle, placing a cupcake in front of him. “i decided to enter a baking competition.” “really?” rafe asks, peeling the wrapper off a cupcake and taking a bite, his eyebrows shooting up. “well, you’re definitely going to win, this is delicious.” “really? be honest rafe, don’t just say that because i’m your girlfriend.” rafe shakes his head, taking another bite. “no seriously babe.” you let out a little squeal in happiness, clapping your hands together as rafe chews more. “okay, but stop eating that, you’re going to get full and i have a lot more i need you to try.”

you take the plate holding the cupcake away from rafe, sliding a different pastry in front of him. rafe eats it, again complimenting you as you cycle through the different things you’ve made while he was away.

“here, this is a pumpkin puff pastry.” you give him the next dessert.

rafe happily takes a bite, but his face suddenly twists. he covers it up quickly, but not before you’re able to tell. 

“you don’t like it?” you ask, and rafes heart breaks at your big eyes looking at him, so upset.

“no, it’s really good, i just-” rafe grabs the glass of water you got him, taking a sip to wash down the treat.

“i just am not a fan of pumpkin.” rafes words don’t seem to make you feel any better, so he turns on his stool and pulls you into him, placing your body in between his legs. 

“princess, i’ve loved everything you made, you’re absolutely going to win this baking competition, gorgeous.” “you really think so?” you ask, reaching your hands up to play with the collar of rafes shirt.

“of course.” he leans forward, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “now whats next for me to try?” rafe asks, even though his stomach hurts from how much he’s eaten.

--

rafe presses another kiss to your cheek, making you look up from the book your reading. “what is it baby?” “nothing.” rafe shakes his head, but takes the now closed book out of your hands and sets it on the coffee tables. you can’t hold back a giggle as he takes your hands and brings it up to his face.

“do you want some attention?” you ask, rubbing your thumbs over his cheeks.

“mmm.” rafe just hums, closing his eyes as he finally gets what he wants. you scooch over on the couch so you’re sitting closer to him, your thighs pressing together. 

you move a hand up to play with rafes hair, making him drop his head against the couch, cheek pressing into the cushion. you lean forward and kiss the tip of his nose, admiring his blissed out face now that you’ve finally got your hands on him.

“gimme a kiss.” rafe says, wrapping an arm around your waist and pulling you onto his lap.

you melt into his body, enjoying the soft knitted sweater he’s wearing and the way it feels against you. 

you press your lips against rafes, letting him take the lead in the slow and easy kiss, taking pleasure in the way his lips glide over yours.

you pull away after a minute, resting your head against rafes forehead. it’s a rare moment of complete peace, where rafe is calm and relaxed. you hate to break it, but you eventually stand up, giving him another kiss on the lips.

“where are you going?” rafe asks, reaching out and tugging on your hand.

“i’m going to go take a shower.” you say, feeling gross with your oily hair, plus, you really need to shave, the prickly hairs are starting to bother you.

“okay, i’ll join you.” rafe stands up to follow you, but you place your hands on his chest with a shake of the head. 

“usually, i’d love for you to join me, but i’ve got… girly stuff to do.” you decide that it’s a good enough explanation, but of course it doesn’t dissuade rafe. 

“okay and?” he deadpans, making you roll your eyes.

“just not this time, rafe.” you start to walk away, up the stairs to your bedroom, but rafe is right on your tail.

you decide to ignore him, heading into the bathroom and beginning your shower prep, deciding to do a hair mask while you shave, getting out your razor and creme from the counter underneath the sink.

“i’ll turn the water on for us.” rafe makes a point of using the pronoun. 

“baby.” you groan, placing your products on the shower bench. “i don’t want you to just stand there and watch me shave! i love you but i need a minute alone, okay?” “fine.” rafe leaves the room quickly, swinging the door shut behind him. you sigh and rub your eyes, but turn the water on to heat up.

time passes quickly as you go through your extended shower routine, your phone playing music from it’s place on the sink counter. you finish up, feeling completely refreshed and clean. you pull the robe rafe got you around your body and head out of the bathroom.

“rafe?” you gasp, seeing him sitting on the floor next to your bed, his knees pulled up to his chest, head slumped forward.

“baby!” he picks his head up suddenly, but you can still read his emotions how upset he is.

“hey, hey, what’s wrong?” you kneel down in front of him, leaning forward to kiss his forehead. his eyes are ever so slightly red and you wonder if he’s been rubbing at them or if he’s been crying.

“i-” rafe takes a deep breath, “i hate being away from you.” “oh, honey.” you heart breaks, and you lean forward to wrap your arms around rafes shoulders, who drops his knees so you can get closer. “if i would have known it was that big of a deal, i would have let you shower with me, i just didn’t think you actually wanted to see me like shave and stuff.”

“next time you’ll let me in?” rafe asks in a soft voice that breaks your heart.

“of course.” you take his face in your hands, angling it to press a kiss to his lips. “i love you.”

the spark in rafes eye is finally back. “i love you too.”

[heejayy]

I’m not over you

Warning • swearing, hair pulling, spanking, cunnilingus, face riding, praising, degradation, squirting, pet names

Genre • 18+ if I catch minors interacting with this ur blocked! straight up smut!, fluff at the end

Pairing • player! Shuri x Black Reader

Wc: 3.9k

A/n: this was not proofread I’ll edit it in the morning 😭✋🏾

You were sick and tired of sitting at home playing wifey you were just fed up with Shuri’s games. All she ever did was lie and cheat. So to switch it up you called up a few girlfriends and planned a night out; for the first time in a long time, you were going to have a good time.

"Girl, Shuri is going to have a fuckin' fit if she catches you in that," you shrugged, adjusting your dress. "I could give a less shit, tonight I don't want to hear her name at all," your friends exchanged glances before nodding slowly.

“Fine fine we won’t mention her” You smiled satisfied with yourself and your looks.

“Ight let’s go!”

You were having a great time singing, dancing, and drinking. You're not even a drinker yet you were downing shots like water while shouting lyrics to every song that played.

"May I join you?" an unknown person yelled in your ear as she placed her hand on your hips, You turned around to make sure she was worth your time; she was taller than you, lean, and had a nice smile. Exactly your type. You nodded giving her permission, and she encircled you as you danced against her to the beat. You danced with her for three songs but couldn't get rid of the feeling that you were being watched.

Your dancing became more provocative as Nobody Has to Know by Kranium started blasting through the speakers.

"This is my shit!" You grinned as you wrapped her hands tighter around you, feeling the music vibrate through you, lights flashing around as hot sweaty bodies danced on each other. Everyone was having a good time, not worrying about the hangover they’ll have tomorrow.

However, your moment was short-lived, as your friends yanked you away from the attractive stranger.

"What the hell, I was having a good time!"

"Not for much longer, bitch, look who's here." Eve swung you around, pointing to the devil herself. Shuri was in her VIP section, scowling staring down at you. She was surrounded by women, but the only one she was looking at was you, which reminds you of the first time you two met.

"Damn, damn, damn! What am I supposed to do now?" They all looked at you with an 'I told you so' expression as they waited for an answer.

"Don't look at me that way."

“Nah this shit yo’ fault” Carmen commented, “you claimed you were a grown ass woman who could do whatever she want now you stuck” You rolled your eyes at her crossing your arms.

“Shit, well let’s just sneak out while we can it’s dark in here I’m sure I can say she was seeing stuff” You grab your handbag ready to make a run.

“Too late she walking over here now…well good luck” she patted your butt making her way over to the bar and the rest of them followed suit. You watched Shuri make her way through the crowded club with the look that would make one’s enemies kneel before them.

“What the hell are you doing here?” She asked with her grills glistening at the bottom of her mouth, you fixed your posture trying not to seem intimidated.

You cocked an eyebrow eyeing her up and down “I could ask you the same thing.” She scoffed giving a sarcastic laugh looking away for a second then back at you, she leaned down to your ear a whispered “You better be outside in five, and if I have to come back in here for you this whole place is getting shut down” before walking off. You sucked your teeth following her, who does she think she’s talking to?

“What is it?” You asked aggravated pushing the club door open.

“So this is what you do now? You get mad at me and come to the club to dance with strangers?” You let out a sarcastic laugh “That’s rich coming from you ya know? That’s like your whole routine. We argue, you get mad and come to the club, dance with a dozen women maybe even make out with one and then you come home back to me like nothing ever happened. I’m tired of that shit, you don’t wanna be mines just say that” She stares down at you clenching her jaw in anger, she couldn’t rebuttal because she knew all of it was true.

Before you met Shuri she was out there in many ways, she went from this sweet young girl to a player who breaks hearts for sport. People warned you about her but you thought you could handle her, apparently not.

“Usana I’ve told you many times you are the only one who has my heart, where do I go when I come home? Straight to you, you know I love you” You rolled your eyes.

“Bullshit! I’m sick of hearing that same speech ‘Oh you’re my baby, I love you’ blah blah blah. I’m tired of sharing I want something real and if you’re not ready to give that to me then we’re done.”

Over the year you and Shuri have been together you two broke up on multiple occasions, but for some reason, this felt real to her.

“You’ll be back” she called after you as you disappeared back into the club. You told your friends you weren’t in the mood for clubbing anymore and you went home. They thought you were going home with Shuri to have makeup sex again, but not this time you truly were going home alone.

It’s been about three weeks since your fight with Shuri and you had to admit you were feeling a little lonely. Your friends say they’re proud of you for dumping her but you didn’t feel proud. You wanted to be held and touched in places that she would say were off limits to others, you wanted to be loved on until you wept begging for her to stop, but if you call her begging for that she wins. So your next best option was calling an old hookup.

The phone rang for a few seconds then someone answered.

“Hello? Who is this?”

“Hey, Indiyah it’s y/n how’ve you been?” It was silent for a second then you heard a soft chuckle.

“Well damn, I thought you forgot who I was, whatchu been up to mama?” Damn, you missed that nickname.

“Oh nothing I was just seeing if you were busy” She knew exactly what that meant, Indiyah knew you weren’t going to flat-out ask her to come over and fuck so she quickly learned how to tell if you were needy or not.

“Nah I’m not, whatchu’ want me to come over?” You bit your bottom lip “Yeah.”

“Ight pretty girl I’m on my way.”

“Ok,” You giggled not thinking it would work. You haven’t spoken to her in months after you dropped all your girls for Shuri.

Feeling excited you ran to the bathroom to get ready. You took a shower, shaved, and put on light makeup and some cute lounging clothes. Last but not least you sprayed your favorite perfume making sure you smelled good, you checked yourself in the mirror one last time before smiling. You couldn’t even sit down to relax the doorbell rung. A giddy smile appeared on your lips as you jogged to the door.

“Hey boo” you greeted her with a sweet smile, she returned the smile looking you up and down.

“Damn mama you look good as fuck” you giggled feeling your cheeks heat up “Thank you.” Now wasting any time pulled her in shutting the door behind her.

“So…” you giggled nervously “how you wanna do this?“ without saying anything she gently pushed you onto the couch hovering over you

“Just let me take care of you pretty girl” She straddled your lap kissing you soft and sensually, her lipgloss tasted sweet with a hint of mint. You jolted feeling her cold hands roam under your tank as they caressed your nipples, you moaned against her lips loving the feeling. You could slowly feel that throbbing sensation between your thighs become worse aching to be pleased.

“Wait wait…” she pulled away looking down at you “You done with that panther freak right? Her and those warriors won’t jump me right?” You chuckled shaking your head.

“Yes she’s gone for good” she smirked, “good.”

She dipped down to connect your lips again, “damn I missed this” she moaned between kisses. Your hand found its way to her ass giving it a firm squeeze, “fuck baby.” Her kisses made their way down to your neck, she sucked and nibbled with every intention to leave hickeys.

“Mmhh come up out these baby,” she said moving off you as she tugged on your silk shorts. You slid them off with ease and opened your legs, without hesitation, she dropped to her knees hooking your hands under your thighs. She slowly kissed up your thighs while looking up at you “You so fuckin’ fine” you smiled down at her biting your lip “Thank you, baby.”

She began to lick up your right thigh up to your lady parts, you missed how she would lick you up and down like this. “fuck don’t tease me” you begged.

Granting your wish she began gently sucking on your throbbing clit, not too hard but enough to edge you “Ooh shit baby” you moaned as your eyes fluttered close.

Your hand reached for her braids as you tugged on them, in the middle of a blissful moment and feeling an immense amount of pleasure you suddenly hear your front door slam.

“Is this what you do when we argue? You go find someone else to fuck?” Your eyes shot open as heat rushed to your cheeks. You knew that thick Wakandan accent from anywhere.

You pushed Indiyah’s head from between your thighs and sat up “What the fuck are you doing here?” You asked visibly annoyed.

“Well I still have the key and I also pay bills here so, technically I can show up whenever I want.” She was so cocky it was annoying. You rolled your eyes quickly getting up to pull up your shorts.

“Nah you gotta go, bye!” You attempted to push her towards the door but she didn’t budge, “no thank you the only one who’s leaving is you” She stared at Indiyah with hatred oozing from her dark eyes, Indiyah just sat on the couch confused and nervous.

“Um, you told me you two were done?”

“We are” Shuri scoffed “You have two seconds to leave before we have a problem, so I advise you go” Shuri demeaned narrowing her eyes at the girl knowing good and well she wouldn’t challenge her, she was pulling her Panther card and it was unfair. Feeling intimidated Indiyah got up and grabbed her things.

“Tell me when you two really break up I’m out” she put an emphasis on really before walking out.

“Indi wait-“ Not wanting you to run after her Shuri grabbed your forearm pulling you back.

“Shuri let go of me I’m so sick and tired of you, damn you’re annoying.” You snatched your arm away walking to the kitchen and of course, she followed you.

“You don’t think I’m annoying when your legs are-“

“Shuri” you gave her a warning glare, she closed her mouth and rolled her eyes “What do you want?” You asked hoping if you give it to her she’d leave. She shrugged leaning against the counter “It’s been a few weeks since our fight you still can’t be mad at me can you?” She tilted her head with a fake pout, you rolled your eyes mushing her head away.

“You know damn well I’m still upset with you. I’m sick of your games Shuri you lie and expect me not to call you out I’m done.”

“You knew this wasn’t exclusive, we were never official” Hearing those words kind of stung. She’s right you two weren’t dating but that doesn’t mean you can’t feel a certain way.

“I- I know but if you weren’t guilty about what you’re doing you wouldn’t lie” she huffed shaking her head “I don’t tell you everything because I know how you are.”

“What do you- you know what I’m not doing this leave now” you demand pointing towards the door, “usana” she cooed stepping closer.

“Are you really going to make me leave?” She was closing in on you like a predator with its prey. Not wanting to fall for it you backed up until you hit the counter.

“Shuri-“

“Shh, my love you know I’m sorry right?” She cupped your face with both of her hands making you face her. She knew eye contact was the main way to make you fold easily.

‘Don’t fall for it’ was all you repeated in your head, you looked away avoiding eye contact as her veiny hands held your face. She was so intoxicating it was hard not to just say fuck it and give yourself to her, but you vowed to yourself that you would stay strong this time.

“Look at me” she demanded, feeling all self-control leave your body your eyes shot back to hers. All the anger and hatred you held melted away. Her once dark fierce eyes shifted back to her normal soft brown ones. Her eyes flickered down to your lips as she caressed them with her thumb.

“You know I don’t like it when you’re mad at me, this has been going on for too long and I miss you,” knowing she had you right where she wanted you she leaned in and kissed you. Your eyes fluttered close feeling yourself melt into the kiss, her kisses always left you aching and wanting more.

“Shuri” you whimpered against her lips.

“Yes, my love?” Feeling everything in you scream for her touch you just gave up.

“Take me please.” without a second thought she picked you up like it was nothing and as routine your legs instantly wrapped around her slim waist.

“Are you gonna be a good girl for me?” You nodded with a whimper. Feeling the wetness seeping through her boxers Shuri quickly made it to your bedroom and kicked the door closed. She left multiple kissed on your neck as she gently laid you on the bed. She laid between your thighs kissing you with such lust and hunger. You both moan into each other's mouths, you tugging on her hair and Shuri gripping your thighs.

“Fuck I need you now” you whined feeling her pants rub against your clit through your thin shorts.

“Before I give you what you want, you need to be punished” you swallowed thickly staring up at her innocently.

“But Shuri-“

“Shut up, what did I tell you about letting people touch what’s mine? Do you like being a slut for other women huh? Answer me” she demanded as she grabbed your jaw pulling you towards her “N-no I’m sorry Shuri forgive me.”

“You know exactly what to do if you want forgiveness usana.” She tugged off her shirt moving from between your thighs. You immediately sat up and laid across your her lap and she pulled your shorts down to your thighs.

“You ready? If it’s too much let me know” You nodded giving her all the consent she needed.

She started on your left cheek leaving a smack that echoed through the room, your back arched and your toes curled.

“Ah fuck” you whined as your voice broke trying to hold in a sob.

“Keep count” was all she said before leaving another spank. You gripped the covers burying your face into them before letting out a whimper. She spanked you again and again then switched sides, the feeling between pain and pleasure was a thin line at the moment but you could care less it felt good.

“F-fuck Shuri’m sorry please” you whined feeling tears roll down your cheeks. Shuri’s ego grew at the sight of you begging her to stop.

“How many was that?”

“Eight” feeling as if that was enough for now she gently rubbed both sides of your ass before leaving a kiss on your lower back.

“Good girl now get on your knees you’re far from being done” You obeyed her getting up slowly, you started feeling the stinging sensation intensify as you moved to the floor but you chose to ignore it.

“How may I please you?” You asked as you knelt on the hardwood floor, without speaking Shuri pulled off her pants along with her boxers. She spread her long pretty legs showing you her glistening cunt.

“Eat it” You scooted closer rubbing your hands along her thighs, you tugged her closer to the edge of the bed so you could please her properly. You parted her wet lips running your thumb along her clit, you guessed she was feeling sensitive as she hissed at the little touch.

“Hasn’t anyone told you not to play with your food? be a good girl for me and taste it” Not wanting to anger her you leaned in and kissed it before licking up her dripping juices. Before you indulged yourself in her you got an idea. You reached for your nightstand pulling out your vibrator. You peered at her for permission to use it and she gave you a nod.

You switched it to the lowest setting before repositioning yourself back between her legs.

You teased her clit with it before sliding your tongue into her, Shuri’s head fell back in pleasure. As you circled her clit with the vibrator you could feel her walls clench around your tongue.

“Fuck baby” she whimpered gripping the covers. Her back began to arch as the vibrator flicked her clit, feeling cocky you clicked the vibrator up a notch. You watched as her eyes screw shut, seeming it might’ve been too much you moved the toy away continuing to eat her out.

You hummed against her giving her clit a little nibble “Mmm you taste so good baby,” You cooed rubbing circles into her hips.

“Faster” she breathed out “go faster.” As asked you flicked your tongue faster, sucking on her swollen clit. Wanting her to reach her high you slid in two fingers and curled them up hitting her g spot.

“Fuck! Fuck!” She let go of the covers and latched onto your curls, she pushed your head down deeper in her pussy enjoying the feeling of being on the edge of cumming. Feeling sadistic you pulled away with a smirk, the bottom half of your face was covered in her juices.

“Y/n what the fuck?!” She sat up with a confused look feeling frustrated.

“I want you to sit on my face please” You stood up from the floor and crawled onto the bed, you gave her a sloppy kiss before removing her bra, and you quickly kissed down her breasts before coming back up with a grin.

“You gonna do it?” She nodded with a grin pushing you onto the bed, she moved up placing her knees on the side of your head “Tap my thigh three times if you want to stop” You nodded.

She lowered herself gently and began to ride your face, feeling that intense feeling from before return her hips stuttered a bit. A high pitch moan escaped her lips as she fastened her pace “You are such a little slut for letting me ride your face, you like that shit don’t you?”

Letting her know you enjoyed it you hummed, the vibrations made her whimper even louder. Having a feeling she was close you stuck your tongue out letting her ride it.

“F-fuuuuuck!!” Shuri leaned back with her arms resting on your thighs, her movements became quicker and quicker. The feeling of your tongue sliding in and out of her as your nose hit her clit drove her wild. You reached a hand up to play with your nipples as she threw her head bad in pleasure.

“I’m- im cumming fuuuck!” she screamed as her grip on your thighs tightened. You just gently held her hips helping her move back and forth as she rode out her high. As she finished she collapsed beside you with her eyes closed breathing heavily.

You grinned as you took your fingers to clean up your face and licked them clean, “do you forgive me now?” You innocently ask kissing her lips.

“Yes, now you can go get it” You knew exactly what she meant, you excitedly hopped off and reached under your bed for your toy box. You pulled out the dark brown realistic-looking strap on, and handed it to her. While she got it adjusted you laid down waiting for her.

She caressed your face as she climbed on top of you. She maneuvered her self between you taking one leg and resting it on her shoulder, she teased you a bit tapping your soaking clit before sliding it in. You moaned at the feeling of her stretching you out, “Ooh shit baby.”

She pumped in and out slowly letting you get adjusted, when she thought you could take it she sped up. You reached for the pillow behind gripping it you as your eyes fluttered shut “f-fuck right there” The aching feeling you’ve been feeling all night was finally being attended to and it felt so damn good. The way the veins on the dildo rubbed against your g spot had you crying her name.

“Ohhh fuck Shuri r-right there!” She kissed your ankle before removing your leg off her shoulder, and instantly your legs wrapped around her waist “Be a good girl and take it for me like I know you can.”

Hearing her speak to you in such and calm tone while drilling into like her personal fuck doll you made you clench around her. You became whiny and started to squirm under her, not be able to take anymore you pushed against her chest. With ease, Shuri took your hands and trapped them above your head while her other one held onto your hips.

“Fuck” you cried out feeling an unfamiliar pressure building up in the pit of your stomach. She watched as your face contort in pleasure as your breasts bounced with each thrust. It was almost mesmerizing to her.

Your whines got louder as that feeling in your stomach grew tighter, Shuri could feel you squeezing around her, she knew you were close. She continued to hold your hands above your head while the other one slipped down between you to play with your clit, she watched her dildo disappear and reappear as a white creamy ring formed at the base.

“Fuc- fuuuuuck I’m close!”

“I know baby, I know hold on just a little longer” She gently kissed your sweaty neck as her thrusts became rougher, your thighs squeezed around her and your back arched off the bed. You couldn’t take it much longer, your head was dizzy and you were seeing stars.

She moved closer to your ear to encourage your release“Breath usana, let go and breathe. Come on I know you can do it you’re so close” A few more strokes plus hearing her whisper in your ear was the cherry on top. You obeyed her and let go, you cried out her name as you came with a warm liquid shooting all over the bottom of Shuri’s torso. Pleased with you she trusted and few more times and then pulled out.

“Good girl, you did so well for me” Her sweaty body collapsed right beside you.

“I didn’t mean to-“

“Shhh, we’ll clean it up later,” Trying to catch your breath you both lay there in silence, you could still feel your cum leaking down your thighs.

“I’m sorry baby I really am” she breathed heavily as she kissed your damped forehead. You and Shuri been through everything together no matter how bad you fight in the end you’ll end up going right back to each other.

“I know baby, I know.”

Taglist 💌 : @locoforshuri @6-noir @saintwrld @vampzxi @ihearttish @cafehyunji @sapphicvqmpires @yamsthoughts @shuriszn @shurismainbxtch @oceean @shurislover @siqueth @shurisbathwater, @zayswriting

Shuri’s Masterlist

[mikachacha]

𝙺𝚒𝚜𝚜 𝚖𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 (𝙱𝚊𝚍𝚊 𝙻𝚎𝚎 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛)

Synopsis: You and Bada are roommates and there were moments that felt like you could be something more. Honestly, it's just a waiting game between you two now. To see who gives in and confess first.

Warning: Idk, maybe the explicit lyrics of the song or something 😭

Also, this is my first fic because I couldn't think of anything else other than my gayness for Bada whenever I hear this song 😫 Forgive me for some errors because English is not my first language ❤

🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮

Bada came home after a stressful day and heard 𝙺𝚒𝚜𝚜 𝙼𝚎 𝙼𝚘𝚛𝚎 by Doja Cat playing from the speakers and the sound of the vacuum being used. She couldn't help but smile as she entered the living room quietly and found you cleaning while singing and even dancing around to the music playing. She couldn't help but watch you as you moved around, seemingly lost in your own little world.

"Can you kiss me more? We're so young 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕, we ain't got nothing to lose oh, oh.." you sang and Bada raised her eyebrow as she noticed that you changed the lyrics from boy to girl. It could only mean one thing, right? Or she's just assuming things because truth be told, Bada likes you but is too scared to admit it because she's scared that you might not like her back.

"I see you're enjoying yourself, Y/N." she finally spoke and you swore you jumped 20 feet to the air after realizing that Bada was there and has seen all the atrocities that you were doing while cleaning. You got home earlier from your modeling gig and decided to clean around, was even planning on making dinner for you and Bada. In hopes that maybe she gets a hint that you're in love with her or something and you guys could work something out before you go insane.

"Jesus! Can you not do that? You nearly gave me a heart attack!" you said while rubbing your chest a bit, trying to calm your racing heart and she only laughs, shaking her head in amusement. You paused the song and finished vacuuming before sitting down on the couch which prompted her to sit as well.

You dramatically raised your arms up for a hug before just planting your face on her lap. Her hand began playing with your hair and the both of you sat there, enjoying the silence and each other.

"Y/N, I've been meaning to tell you something. You can call me delulu or whatever but when you changed the lyrics from boy to girl earlier, it kind of hinted that maybe you're attracted to girls.." Bada broke the silence and you listened, cheeks burning. You didn't mean to do that. Well you did mean that but you did not mean to let Bada hear that. But maybe it did something good for your part because you're finally having this talk with her.

"Y-yeah.. I'm.. actually attracted to girls but not just any girl. I'm actually attracted to someone specific." you told her and sat upright so you can look at her. Her face held anticipation and fear at the same time which you found cute.

"Yeah? Can you tell me who that someone is and I tell you this someone I actually like for a long time? Just to be fair since you've been asking about it a lot." Bada asked. Her heart is pounding against her chest. She wants to know the person that you like and not at the same time. What if she's just delusional thinking that she's the one that you like but you actually like someone else? She doesn't know how to live with that if that ever happens.

"It's you.. Bada, it's you." you finally confessed and she lets out a sigh of relief before hugging you close to her chest, thanking everyone and everything that she can think of for this wonderful moment that she's living in. She can finally tell team BeBe that she's not delusional and you do really like her back.

"You have no idea how happy I am right now.. I like you— wait, I love you, Y/N. I love you so much, ever since the first time you made me some food when I got sick." she says and you smiled, remembering that time. She was so sick after a practice and you just came home from work. She's just a sad and sick burrito roll on the couch and couldn't move a lot due to fatigue. You nursed her back to full health which was like two days and got sick right after but you didn't regret it.

"If that's the case.. Can you kiss me more? We're so young, girl. We've got nothing to lose oh, oh.." you sang teasingly and she chuckled before cupping your cheeks and kissing your lips gently, just savoring the moment and the taste of your lips against hers.

[crystalninjaphoenix]

What Can You Do?

Switch AU

A JSE Fanfic

After a break last week, here we are again, with a new fic. For the Switch AU, in case you couldn't tell XD The boys are still in IRIS, so there's not much to be said for the summary. Anti tries to think of ways out, while JJ and Schneep have to undergo more tests. JJ in particular is having a bad time, as IRIS tries to learn more about his magic and what it is capable of. And yeah. Read on to learn more. Hope you enjoy!

More of This AU | | First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Read on AO3 under CrystalNinjaPhoenix

“I’m not your fucking lab rat. You got that?” Anti glared up into the camera in the corner of the room. “I know you’re watching. Someone has to monitor this footage. You hear me? I’m not a lab rat.”

The camera didn’t answer, of course. Anti very much doubted there was any way for IRIS to communicate with him while he was in this room. Short of coming in themselves. And after thinking about that, he was glad they didn’t have a microphone or something in here. He was already being watched, which he hated. If some faceless voice from a speaker tried to order him around, he would... He wasn’t sure what he would do. But it would definitely involve destruction of property.

He sighed, and climbed down from the chair he’d been standing on. He dragged it over to the base of the camera so he could get right up in its stupid lens. Now, he left it there. Not worth dragging back over unless he had to. He sat down in the second chair instead. This was the one that the IRIS scientist usually sat in when they came in, and he took some satisfaction in claiming it for himself.

Now... to think some more.

He and Marvin had been used to test something. He was sure of it. His guess was that the weird stone tablet gave off some energy or something, and IRIS wanted to see how it would react with people. Why him and Marvin specifically, though? He understood why Schneep wasn’t there, he was no doubt having his own experiments done on him, and the same for JJ. But why wasn’t Jackie involved? Maybe they only had two chairs. He chuckled at the thought, then returned to seriously trying to figure it out.

Marvin’s eyes had started to bleed... like what Distorter did to people. And Anti had felt dizzy and disconnected from everything, it was also pretty similar to what Distorter could do. Did that stone tablet produce similar reactions? So... did IRIS choose him and Marvin because they were vulnerable to Distorter? But again, why not include Jackie? The guy had been kidnapped by that monster for nine fucking months. 

Or maybe it had to do with that Assessment thing. Marvin mentioned they gave it to him. Maybe something in his results meant IRIS was okay with using him as a test subject? Maybe they gave it to Jackie but he didn’t get the right results?

Anti rubbed his eyes. So much to think about. He wasn’t sure that figuring out what IRIS planned for them would help them escape. But there wasn’t much he could do in here other than wonder about that.

Alright. He knew where he, Marvin, and Jackie were being kept. Schneep and JJ would probably be on a lower floor. If he could just figure out where they were, they could make a run for it. But how could they do that?

After thinking for a while, Anti came to a conclusion. But it wasn’t one he liked. If they were going to escape, they had to wait for the right moment. He didn’t want to wait. He didn’t want to let IRIS do whatever they wanted to him, or stand by while they fucked with his friends. He wanted to punch every single one of them in their stupid faces every time he saw them. But clearly, fighting wouldn’t get them anywhere. He had to be careful about this. Save his energy for the moment it counted.

He groaned out loud. Playing nice with people like IRIS wasn’t in his nature. But who knows? Maybe if he stops causing so much trouble, they’ll lower their guard. But he shouldn’t be totally cooperative all of a sudden, that’d be suspicious. God. Just planning what to do was hard. If only he could find some way to keep in contact with Marvin and Jackie.

His eyes drifted back to the camera. That thing... it was so weird. It looked super old-fashioned, with its bulky rectangular body, but the actual lens was pretty high-quality. He should know; when he decided to start using a facecam for his YouTube channel he went super in-depth on his research, wanting to find the best camera for the cheapest price. The material of the camera body, meanwhile, was weird. It looked like it was mostly made of plastic. More than it should be. Usually, electronics might have a plastic covering for decoration, or in places where people interacted, like keyboards, but all the important parts were metal. That wasn’t the case for this IRIS camera. Except for the lens, it all seemed plastic. Even the screws, which you usually really didn’t want to be plastic, in case they snapped.

Maybe it wasn’t plastic. Maybe it was some other material. Something extremely durable. When they had that tripod in the room, the camera was able to survive his attacks in a way that plastic wouldn’t. It was also very stiff and hard to move. The camera in the corner was designed to move on a swivel—some sort of ball joint, he was guessing—but in the past, when he threw that bouncy ball at it, it wasn’t affected. Maybe there was a lock or something...

“Ah fuck, you guys didn’t let me get my bouncy ball!” Anti suddenly gasped. They made him move rooms, and the ball was left behind in the last one. “You bastards! Giving me something to entertain myself with, then taking it away!” He slumped further into the chair. “I mean... it was really patronizing. But still.”

But back to his thoughts. Maybe... maybe there was a way to make the camera swivel. If he could fiddle around with it, maybe there was something he could do. There had to be a small gap where the body of the camera met the stick part it was hanging from. Maybe he could... jam something in there... or something...

phw.Ho yisena l te

Anti tensed. He stood up and looked around the room. “Whisper?” he breathed.

He’d almost forgotten about them. That weird voice who came to him before. They said he was special. They were familiar with IRIS and Distorter. And now... they were back.

“Wh-what do you mean?” Anti whispered.

But there was no response. Maybe they were just... passing through.

‘Help is on the way,’ they’d said. That was a relief to hear. But Anti couldn’t afford to relax. He didn’t know when that help would be coming. He didn’t know if they would succeed. He had to keep planning on his own. Always good to have a backup.

If he could jam the camera, he could create a blind spot. A blind spot to do... something.

It was a basic outline, but he would have so much time to make it better. After all, what else could he do in here?

Anti sighed. He wondered how the others were faring...

———————

JJ wasn’t sure how much time had passed. There was no way to tell in this cell. There was nothing at all. The white walls were beginning to drive him a little crazy. He remembered reading about a form of torture, during a late-night internet binge, where someone is kept in an all-white room and deprived of all other sensations in order to make them lose their personal identity. This cell was not near that level, but the longer he was here, the more he could understand it. He didn’t quite feel like a person while stuck in this bland, silent space.

They’d sent him six meals. Did that mean two days had passed? Or maybe three? Six days, even? His internal clock was messed up.

He hadn’t been stuck in the room all the time. No, he almost wished that was the case. They’d taken him out three times. They put those strange magic-muffling cuffs on him and took him down to that octagonal room, that room with the beds where they strapped him down and stared at him. Nothing much has happened the first time with the scanner. The second time occurred two meals later, and they’d done something similar. It was the strangest thing. His magic had reacted slightly, rising up without him willing it. The mufflers had immediately shocked him for the reaction, even though there was nothing he could have done to stop it. Something IRIS did had called his magic forth, and he had no control over it.

He could only lie there and try to ignore the pain and the staring eyes that watched his suffering and did nothing to stop it.

The third time was two meals after that. They took him to that room again, put him on a bed again, and tried something else. The muffling cuffs had been exchanged for a different pair, made out of a clear material instead of a white one. They did that same thing again. Clamped a cuff down on his arm and fiddled with the connected machine until his magic started to rise up in response. This time, the clear cuffs began to light up with the blue glow of his power. But they didn’t shock him right away. He was perfectly aware as he saw that blue glowing magic of his travel down a clear tube connected to the cuffs and into a small box. IRIS was... they were taking his power.

He’d panicked then, instinctively trying to cast a spell—maybe he could freeze the cuffs, maybe he could cut through the tube—! But the cuffs flowed a brighter blue as he started to draw some more magic out, and then they shocked him.

Dr. Day was there. She was there for every test. For that one, she finally spoke to him again instead of the other doctors in the room. “Please do not try summoning your anomalous abilities, subject,” she’d said. “If the energy level rises above acceptable limits, the syphons are designed to stop that, similar to the mufflers.”

He couldn’t say anything back, of course. His hands were cuffed. And he didn’t want to hurt his throat trying to talk to her. It wasn’t worth the pain for what little an effect it would have.

 So he had to stay there. Silent. Listening to them talk around him. They removed the clear cuffs after a while and took away the box they were connected to. Dr. Day mentioned a bunch of different types of tests—heat reaction test, irritation test, chemical test, all sorts of tests that JJ had never heard of—that they would do on the box of magic. Then they took him back to the cell. He felt dizzy after that, and his body was filled with a shaky kind of fatigue. They’d taken some of his magic. And these were the consequences. He’d fallen into the bed and fell asleep almost right away.

Even now, hours later, after a nap and a meal, he was still thinking about that. They took his magic. His mind kept circling around that single idea. They took his magic. They took his magic.

Why did it bother him so much? JJ really thought about it. Would he be this disturbed if they’d drawn blood? No. What if they cut his hair for a sample? Creepy, but still no. Creepier than drawing blood in his mind, which was fascinating to think about but not the point. The point was that he felt violated by what they’d done. It was like they’d opened up his mind to look at what was inside—something that they might also be able to do, who knew at this point? His magic was a key part of who he was, more so than any other physical part of his body. And they’d just taken it. Even though it would recharge, even though he knew he could get it back even though he’d already recovered from the side effects, he still felt its loss.

...what were they going to do with it? What were they going to do with him?

But soon, something happened to distract him from the hole in his chest. The door to the cell opened again. JJ looked up, slightly confused. He thought there’d been a pattern established. They came to get him every two meals. But only one meal had passed. Yet here Dr. Day and the guards were, with those muffling cuffs in hand. “Alright, subject,” she said.

Jameson stood up from the bed and held out his hands. As before, the guards snapped the cuffs on and undid the ankle cuff. He considered trying to make a run for it, but the guard was holding the cuffs’ connected box firmly—JJ was pretty sure that there was a battery in there—and he knew he wasn’t strong enough to force his way past these guards anyway. So he tamped down the urge and followed the guards quietly.

They walked down the hallway in the opposite direction they usually went. So they weren’t heading to that octagonal room. Part of JJ was relieved about that, but the relief didn’t last long. It was overpowered by the part of him that was afraid. Where were they taking him? To some other room, probably. A room meant for a different purpose. But what purpose? Was it going to happen now? Were they going to... operate on him? He almost threw up from fear just thinking about it.

They went around a corner, and then another, and walked towards a set of elevator doors at the end of the hallway. As they waited for it to arrive, JJ went over the layout in his head. So this floor was a U shape, assuming that the other doors lining the halls only led to more rooms and not more corridors. At one end of the U was the octagonal room, at the other end was the elevator. 

Then the doors opened and they went inside. Jameson glanced at the elevator buttons. A guard quickly stepped into his line of sight, blocking the buttons—but they didn’t move fast enough. JJ saw five buttons and he saw Dr. Day press the second from the bottom. A five-story building, then. Was JJ’s cell on the bottom floor? Or maybe the top floor? Which one would be more difficult to escape from?

The elevator arrived. The hallway that extended before them was entirely made of featureless metal. The guards pulled him down to a set of double-doors, which slid open as they approached. Dr. Day continued down the hallway while the guards went through the doors. There was a small room beyond, empty except for another set of doors right across.

The guards stopped in this small room. One took something off his belt—a ring of clear plastic. No, it’s another cuff. Like those syphons. JJ tensed, but there’s nowhere to run. He froze, staying completely still as one of the guards grabbed his arm and yanked it upwards. The other snapped the cuff around his wrist and removed the mufflers. Then the second set of doors in the room opened. The guards stayed still. JJ stared at them. One of them reached out and nudged him forwards. Getting the hint, JJ hurried through the doors. The guards stayed where they were, and the doors slid shut, separating him from them.

He was now in a small room, made of all metal except for a glass window. Through the window he could see Dr. Day and the other scientist types. There was also a camera in each corner of the room. He was being watched from all angles. A shiver ran down his spine. To distract himself, he looked down at the cuff on his wrist. There was a part of it  that bulged outward, and he could see a black box inside. A battery, maybe?

“Hello, subject.” Dr. Day’s voice came from one of the corners, tinny and echoey even in such a small space.

JJ frowned. This high-tech company couldn’t get better speakers? 

“Today we are testing your abilities,” Dr. Day continued. “If you would please turn to your left.”

Well that was suspicious. JJ cautiously looked to the side...

Part of the wall slid open, and out popped—was that a turret?! A red line on its side started to power up, light heading to the point—

JJ reacted instinctively, ducking downwards and conjuring up a shield around him. A large ball of something splattered against his shield. Blood?! No, blood wasn’t cherry red. This was some sort of paintball. He stared at the splatter mark on the shield in confusion. As his shield faded away, the paint fell to the metal ground, splashing on its surface.

The line on the turret started glowing again, yellow this time. JJ quickly conjured up his shield again and a yellow ball of liquid hit the crystalline blue magic. It immediately started to hiss upon contact. Acid?! JJ scrambled backwards, pressing against the opposite wall. The shield disappeared as soon as he got a couple feet away and the acid fell to the ground. It didn’t affect the metal floor at all. Maybe the floor was metal for that exact reason.

Once more, the turret lit up, this time the line glowing blue. JJ pulled up the shield preemptively, well before the turret fired its glowing blue projectile—but the shield did nothing. The ball passed right through it without breaking the shield and hit him square in the chest. JJ stumbled back—but it didn’t hurt. If anything, once he recovered from the force of it, he felt... better? More energized?

“Calibration complete,” Dr. Day’s voice said. “Now that we know the basics, proceed with the higher test.”

Higher test?!

More panels on the walls slid open and more turrets poked out. Their sides lit up with red or yellow or blue. Jameson’s head whipped around. They were all around him! He dropped into a crouch and covered his head with his arms. A glowing blue bubble shield formed around him just as all the turrets fired. The red and yellow liquid splatted against the shield, the yellow splashes hissing against his magic. The blue projectiles went right through, hitting him. But just as before, he felt better. He looked out at the shield and pushed more magic out towards it, reinforcing it with layers.

His wrist stung.

JJ winced and looked down at the cuff. There was a faint blue glow in the middle of its clear form. Reacting to how much magic he was casting, he supposed. What did Dr. Day say? It will activate if the energy levels aren’t within limits? So... he couldn’t cast strong spells.

The turrets continued to fire while he thought. Even though he’d reinforced the shield, the yellow liquid was burning through slowly, smoke rising from the point of contact. They’d burn through eventually! He didn’t want that to hit his skin! Alright, he needed a low-power spell that would hopefully disable these turrets. But they looked sturdy, could any low-power spell disable them? Well he had to try something!

He took a deep breath, and then shot to his feet suddenly, throwing his arms out. The shield flew outwards, magic smacking into the turrets. They stopped! Great! He did it!

But then he glanced through the glass wall and saw some of the scientists pressing buttons. Oh. Had they stopped the turrets manually? That did bring down his mood a bit.

JJ continued to watch the scientists through the glass wall. Dr. Day was giving orders to the others. The turrets withdrew into the wall, panels sliding shut. Instead, the whole ceiling retracted, taking the square lights that were embedded in the metal with it. The room was momentarily dim, the only light coming from the room on the other side of the glass wall. But then the new ceiling started glowing orange. JJ looked up to see swirls of glowing hot metal. Like a stovetop, but much bigger. He gasped and dropped back down to the ground, waiting for the hot metal to get closer to him—but it didn’t. It stayed where it was. And now that he was looking closer, he could see that there was another see-through ceiling in place, preventing the metal from reaching him anyway.

“Begin heating test,” Dr. Day’s voice said.

What the hell was a heating test?! JJ stood up and looked over at her warily, then looked back up to the ceiling. The metal coils were getting brighter. Jameson had been a bit chilly in this room before, stuck in this thin-cloth short-sleeve outfit. But now the room was a more comfortable temperature. And it... was getting warmer...

His head whipped towards the glass wall. Are you insane?! he signed. I’m not heatproof!

Dr. Day gave no indication that she could understand him.

Clearly they weren’t going to be of any help. After all, that was the point of testing something. To see how it reacted to something without the tester interfering. He needed to figure out some way to deal with this himself. He had some time, but not much. It was already as hot as a sunny spring day, and it was getting hotter.

Destroying the metal coils would take too much energy. He could try to mess with their power source, but he didn’t know where that was. Maybe he could use ice somehow? Ice spells came to him easily. JJ’s mind scrambled for a solution. He crouched down in the corner and touched the walls. Frost spread from the spots where his hands met the walls, ice crystals quickly growing from a small covering to inch-long spikes. It almost looked like the walls were growing fur. His breath began to puff in the air.

But the heat continued to grow. The frost could only reach halfway up the walls. Any higher and it simply melted, water trickling down until it froze at the base where the wall met the floor. JJ shivered—both with fear and the cold. He watched as the frost melted further. No! He pushed more of his magic out, shuddering. The frost was overtaken by sheets of ice. He felt that sting in his wrist again but he kept going. The pain rose but he kept going. He wasn’t going to let them cook him in this small metal room!

After a while, the metal coils in the ceiling started to fade, their glow vanishing. The ice could reach higher up the walls. JJ glanced at the glass wall. He could see the scientists pressing buttons. They were turning off the heat. But he didn’t trust them, and kept up the icy spell—though he did lower its intensity so he didn’t have to deal with the pain radiating up his arm from the cuff.

“Begin induction test,” Dr. Day��s voice said.

Induction? Was that something else related to heat? Or was Jameson thinking of conduction instead? Either way, he kept the icy spell up, just in case.

Beneath the ice, more panels slid open on the walls, cracking the thin plates and causing the frost to fall off. But this time, turrets didn’t appear. Instead, flat circles of glass popped out, set in a metal base. JJ looked at them, confused. They were slightly convex, bulging outwards like lenses. He was half-tempted to touch them but clearly that wouldn’t be a good idea.

A slight humming filled the air.

JJ dropped concentration on the icy spell. His eyes darted back and forth, waiting for something to happen. The ice remained on the walls, radiating out from the corner he was sitting in.

...and after a moment, he felt it.

Just like that time before, when he was strapped down on the bed. They managed to pull his magic out of him. It was happening again! He could feel it welling up underneath his skin, a familiar sensation happening without his control. Panic shot through him. He scrambled up and ran over to the glass wall, shaking his head. Stop doing that! he signed. Stop it stop it please! His hands blurred together, gestures falling apart.

Dr. Day stared at him with an impassive face.

Please stop it! JJ pleaded. This isn’t how things are supposed to be! Blue sparkles flew off his fingers as he spoke. The stinging from the cuff was back. How can you do this?! Why are you doing this?!

Pain raced up his arm. Jameson hissed and clamped his free hand around the cuff. He had to get this thing off! If he could get it off then this would stop! He could see a couple small seams in the plastic, so he tried digging his fingernails into there, but they barely caught on the line. He scrambled at it, scratching, trying to find a grip. More bits of light dripped from his hands as his eyes started to glow brighter and brighter.

His whole arm was shaking and he gritted his teeth against the agony that was shooting through his muscles. To hell with careful prying! He started banging his arm against the glass wall, hoping that the impact would somehow loosen the cuff that was sending acid down his nerves. BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! 

Dr. Day flinched and stepped back from the wall. JJ would have felt some satisfaction in scaring her if he hadn’t been wholly focused on the pain climbing across his shoulder and onto his chest. Tears blurred his vision. His knees gave out and he fell to the floor, his whole body enveloped in a blue glow. He kept trying to grab his magic and pull it back, but it was slipping out of his grasp, like trying to hold onto jelly. Magic was starting to pool on the floor around him. Leaking out from his body like a puddle of blood. His arm twitched randomly as his muscles spasmed in response to the pain.

The hum changed slightly. The faintest shift in tone and pitch. The puddle of magic around him froze over, a crystalline sheet covering it. After that, icy spikes shot up around him, growing taller and taller, blue light glowing from within. It was that same icy spell he was casting before, now amplified. And growing more powerful still, as the ice spikes began to reach towards the ceiling. JJ tried to reel back his magic, tried to dig in his heels, but he couldn’t do anything. Whatever was doing this—was it the hum?—was just too powerful for him.

And the hum changed again. The ice spikes stopped growing. JJ could feel the magic shift direction, no longer flowing outwards, but circling through his own body. It built up inside him, pressing against his flesh, an uncomfortable feeling that only made the pain from the cuff worse. It was all over his body. He started to thrash wildly—make it stop! Make it stop! Please, anyone, make it stop!

Something began to shift within him. Bones creaking, blood boiling, skin feeling tight. He recognized this sensation. This was the start of—how were they doing this?! How were they forcing him to cast this spell? No—no! He didn’t want—A sob caught in his throat. Someone make it stop! Dear god make it stop!

But there was nothing he could do. He curled up, feeling the effects of the magic. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The spell wasn’t supposed to take this long. It wasn’t supposed to be so uncomfortable, like his skin was turning against himself. A prickling sensation spread across his body, growing to painful levels—

And then the feeling faded. He blinked. The room was suddenly sharper somehow. He tried to push himself up, but his arms were no longer arms. They were wings. Somehow, IRIS had forced him to cast his animal transformation spell. He was no longer a human, but instead a bird of some sort. This was the form he’d been trying to achieve for a while now, so he knew what it looked like: a raven, but with some additional white feathers along the edges of the wings.

“Subject, can you still understand us?” Dr. Day said.

Jameson looked up towards the glass wall. He flapped his wings weakly. There was still pain radiating up his left wing, but the cuff was no longer there. In fact, he could see it on the ground.

Wait a second! If he was out of the cuff, he could cast spells on his own again! He just needed to concentrate enough to turn human again. He got to his feet, hopping around. Come on, come on, focus! God, that humming was really making it hard to think. He had to get away from it! Where was it coming from? Oh, right—those glass circles on the wall. Jameson turned his attention to the nearest one. He flew into the air—somehow it felt as easy as walking—and pecked at it, beak jamming against the hard surface. Surprisingly, it didn’t hurt... at first. After a while, he had to stop as the ache started to reverberate up his beak. He landed on the ground again and looked back at the glass wall. He could see the scientists pressing buttons and writing things down.

And then that uncomfortable sensation returned. The prickling all over his skin, the creaking in his bones. He felt a weight inside him, pushing against his flesh. At least he was out of the cuff now, so it didn’t hurt. But the discomfort still caused him to fall, tiny bird legs collapsing under his weight. He shifted back, agonizingly slowly. By the time he was in human form he was gasping, feeling shaky and sick.

Why? Why could they do that? Why would they want to do that to him? He lifted his head up to the glass wall, and his eyes landed on Dr. Day, who was staring at him in turn.

Rage suddenly surged through his chest. They wanted to watch him?! They wanted to see what he could do?! Well he’ll show them! He scrambled to his feet and rushed at the glass wall, magic gathering around his hands. He yelled wordlessly and slammed his hands against the wall—

CRAK.

The wall didn’t crack like normal glass would. It was more like the windshield of a car, the way it almost seemed to crumple, but still stayed together in one piece. Dr. Day shouted out—and he could actually hear that, causing him to realize for the first time that the glass must have been soundproof. Well it couldn’t be soundproof if it was broken! Jameson bared his teeth at Dr. Day and reeled back his hands again—

A sharp pain hit the back of his neck.

Jameson stopped, spinning around and reaching back. He felt something small there, and he grabbed hold of it, bringing it around so he could look at it. A dart. A thin glass dart with an inch-long needle. He looked up and noticed another turret poking out from a panel on the wall. A different type of turret, clearly one designed to fire darts instead of paint or energy balls.

Suddenly, he was hit with a wave of exhaustion, so abrupt and complete that it almost felt like a physical thing. That was fast! Way too fast, didn’t drugs usually take a while to have an effect? It shouldn’t be doing this!

But regardless of what it should or shouldn’t be doing, the drug was already dragging him downwards. JJ collapsed. He was asleep before he even hit the ground.

———————

“You all are fucking crazy!”

Schneep shouted that, then ran to the side, barely dodging the robot attacking him. This one had blades for hands! What the fuck?! This was the third one of these tests he’d been in, and it was the first time the robots had blades.

“You know if I get cut I expect you to heal that!” he yelled at the glass wall, through which he could see the handler and other doctors. They didn’t respond, but that was fine, because he had to keep dodging.

He’d taken to calling this room with tha panels in the floor and the robots the “training room.” It made sense, because they seemed to be training his abilities. The room could summon a seemingly endless amount of these bots, and create pillars and pits by raising the panels up and down. Making difficult terrain that he had to maneuver around. Right now, he jumped into one of the pits in the ground. It was about four feet deep, so he had to duck down so his head and shoulders wouldn’t poke out. The robot with the knife hands wheeled after him, stopping right at the edge of the pit. It started to lean downwards, but he was faster. His hand shot up and grabbed the bot’s ankle, sending a surge of electricity through its body. It tumbled forward into the pit and he quickly pressed himself against the corner to avoid it.

A loud thudding sound echoed through the room, causing the ground to tremble. “Scheisse!” Schneep swore. They’d brought out another new robot in this test. One that was taller than him, with thick arms and legs. He popped his head out to look for it. There! It was approaching slowly, step by step. Its head was a pyramid shape, and one point was directed right at him. That point started to glow red.

Schneep ducked into the pit again, avoiding a laser blast that went right above it. Alright, it fired, and the bots with lasers usually had a charging period of about ten seconds. He grabbed the edge of the pit and pulled himself out, leaping onto the floor in an acrobatic flipping maneuver he wouldn’t have been able to do three months ago. Using the momentum from the flip he went straight into a run, sprinting for the big robot. Its laser started to light up again and he ducked to the side, hiding behind a pillar and then continuing to run.

He quickly closed the distance. The big robot raised its arms and swung them towards him. He fell to the ground, feeling the wind from the motion whistle above his head, and dove through the robot’s legs. Now behind it, he grabbed onto its back, wrapping his arms around its torso. He couldn’t just shock this one; he’d tried that earlier, it was too resistant. But he saw a glass square on its back that might be helpful. So he pulled himself up the back until he could reach it and then locked his legs around the bot’s torso to free his arm. There were some wires behind the glass. He pulled back a fist and shattered it with a swift punch. The bot’s arms were flailing around—it was going to hit him! Schneep quickly reached into the new hole and grabbed hold of the wires, shocking it with all his might.

The robot immediately slumped, falling forwards. Schneep held tight to it as it impacted the ground with a teeth-rattling THUMP. Then, panting, he stood up, looking over at the glass wall.

“Thank you, 1-019,” the handler said. “That will be all for today. Head for the doors.”

Schneep scowled. “Fine, fine.” He turned around and walked for the doors. It was like this the last two times, too. As he approached the doors, they slid open, and inside the little airlock-type room there were four guards waiting for him. He walked into the room, the doors closed, and they stood there for a moment until the other doors opened up, with the handler now on the other side. Schneep was tempted to make a run for it, but he really didn’t want to experience that disabling signal ever again. Maybe one day he’ll run. But he had to be sure there was a chance. Not just for him, but for his friends, too.

They started walking down the hallway—but then, something happened that hadn't happened the last two times. Another set of double-doors opened up. Two guards stepped out—and one was holding someone in his arms.

“Jameson!” Schneep gasped. He rushed forward, but one of the guards grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back. “Let me go! Let me go, motherfucker! Jameson!”

JJ didn’t answer. He was unconscious or sleeping or something. He looked so pale. So tired. So weak.

“What have you done to him?!” Schneep demanded, trying to pull free. Another guard grabbed his other arm, but he continued to struggle. “What have you fucking done?!”

Another door slid open nearby, and a woman with short black hair, wearing a white coat, left, along with several others. She saw Schneep, then the guards, and then the handler. “Markus,” she said.

“Pauline,” the handler said. “I wasn’t aware you had the EC chamber booked.”

“I wasn’t aware you had the RT chamber booked.”

“It’s booked this time every day for the foreseeable future. It’s on the schedule.”

Schneep didn’t care at all about this conversation. He just wanted to see Jameson! “What did you do to him?!” he shouted at the woman. “What did you do to my friend?!”

The woman looked at him, surprised. Then looked back at the handler. “I thought the EX subjects were going to have their vocal cords—”

“That was scrapped after 1-003,” the handler said hurriedly. “Logistical issues. Communication is essential.”

Schneep suppressed his shiver of horror. “Don’t ignore me! Wh-what did you do to Jameson! Why is he asleep?!”

“Because he was causing trouble,” the woman said bluntly. “Markus, you can use the lift first. I see this will be difficult.”

“We can handle it,” the handler said. “I won’t make you wait.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed. She glared at Schneep, and he forced himself to stop struggling. If he caused too much trouble, they’d take separate elevators. And he needed them to be in the same one. So he could check on JJ, but also—so he could see where he went afterwards. “...ffffine,” the woman said slowly. “You lead the way.”

The handler nodded and gestured to the guards. They started dragging Schneep down the hallway. He growled, but kept pace with them. The woman and the other two guards followed, and Schneep kept glancing over his shoulder, checking that they were still there. That Jameson was still there.

The elevator was a bit of a squeeze with all of them inside. By that stroke of luck, Schneep was standing right by the guard carrying JJ. He stared at him intently, wishing that he could reach out to him, to maybe shake him awake. But the guards were still holding his arms, not trusting him. So he could only stare at JJ. He could tell he was breathing fine. Slow and steady, not labored or heavy like he was afraid it would be. His skin and hair looked a bit sweaty, though. No doubt they’d put him through some vigorous tests, if what they were doing to him was any indication.

They arrived at the floor with all the cells, and both groups left at once. So JJ was being kept here, too! That was good to know! And as the handler and guards came to a stop by Schneep’s cell, he saw the woman and the two guards take Jameson further down the hallway. Schneep dug his heels in as they tried to push him into the cell, craning his neck after the other group. They went around the corner! That’s where JJ—

“Stop being difficult, 1-019,” the handler said, and the guard gave Schneep a shove. He stumbled forward into the cell, and the other guards followed him in. They dragged him over to the bed and sat him down, cuffing his ankle once again.

Schneep glared at the handler still standing in the doorway. “You IRIS people are making a big mistake,” he growled.

The handler raised an eyebrow. “Get some rest, 1-019,” he said. The guards walked back over, leaving the room, and the handler shut the door.

Schneep continued to glare at the now-closed door. Then he sighed and laid back down on the bed. He was tired. So tired after three of these testing sessions. And there would be more, he knew.

But he wasn’t making empty threats. IRIS really was making a big mistake. He knew where Jameson was being held now. They were in the same location. Keeping them so close would end up shooting IRIS in the foot, he was sure. Together, they could fight their way out. They just... needed to be not so tired.

“You’ll see,” Schneep whispered. “You will see.”

Then he closed his eyes to rest.

[isa-loves-you]

The Confession | The Group Chat | Pt.2

Yumi- while staying at the group house Isaac kept leaving you alone with yumi or kept trying to push you and yumi together; You're glad that your friend wants to help you with your boy trouble, but you hated that poor yumi was being pulled into it. It was a hot ass day when Nick and Isaac came up with a plan to get you and Yumi alone together. Isaac was planning on telling your secret to Nick, but it turns out that Yumi told Nick that he had liked you so now the both of them were planning on getting you guys alone. The plan was to drive you and yumi to the middle of a park and to not let you guys go home or call an uber until you guys confess, kinda messed up but it was the only way to get you and blakes stubbornness to get out of the way. Nick had convinced you and blake to go with food with him while isaac just tagged along, it didn't take long for yumi to realize that they weren't going in the direction of taco bell “Nick where the fuck are we going?” “don't worry about it yumi just sit back and relax” that didn't make yumi relax. The rest of the ride yumi and isaac argued on where they were taking us while you just sat there not really worried about it because isaac would probably leave you with a pack of hungry wolves in the middle of buttfuck nowhere, but nick wouldn't. “Get out of the car yumi, you too y/n” “what no'' yumi protested “just get out of the car for 5 minutes and I'll buy you all the fat shit you want” you didn't hesitate to get out of the car you were starving the boy did not keep anything in the house to eat. After 10 more minutes of fighting yumi finally got out of the car and stood by you isaac then called your phone and made you put him on speaker “now that you guys are alone, y/n i want you to tell yumi what you think about him” yumi looked at you like a deer in headlights while you just tried to hang up on isaac. “Look whatever he said don't worry about it let's just act like we're besties so we can eat'' you tried to pretend like Isaac did not reveal your secret a little, Yumi just stood there kicking rocks with his hands in his pockets trying to come up with something to say. “You know what you're not an idiot you probably got what isaac was trying to say, Blake, I like you. I've liked you since I've started to edit for Isaac. I think you're the funniest and down to earth person I've ever met. I know you just met me, but I like you so yeah” you tried to look as if what you said was nothing but was actually the hardest thing you've said in your life. “Cool let's just pretend this didn't happen and go eat” you tuned to walk towards the car when yumi stepped in front of you “so i don't know but do you want to start dating or something because i like you too” you just stared at this chaotic man trying to figure out how the hell does he like you. “Yeah i would like that” you shrugged your shoulders like what he said wasn't the best news in the world, yumi nodded and turned to walk back to the car where he opened the door for you to get in. you guys didn't talk  for the rest of the ride to make isaac and nick think that their plan didn't work but you could kiss them for pushing you and yumi to do that.

Larry-you and Larry texted back and forth about arranging a photo shoot for the group to promote gamer Supps. In the mix of texting, you and Larry might have flirted a little but nothing too serious mostly joking but you couldn't help but like him more from it. The day you took the guys picture to promote their discount (USE CODE GROUP FOR 10% OFF) most of the time you and Larry were seen together, even the other joked about Larry being your boyfriend and making kissing noises at you two while talking. Once you were done you did not waste much time aching so the boys could go back to their busy life, on the way to your car Larry had stopped you so he could help you carry your lights to your car. “Thank you, Larry, but I didn't need much help” you said while giving him a smile “oh it's no problem i wanted to come out here and ask you something anyways” “oh really what's up?”. It took Larry a couple of minutes to finally spit out what he was going to ask you “well y/n i was wondering if you wanted to go out sometimes like a date maybe?” you couldn't believe that he was asking you this “ i get it if you don't want to but i just wanted to ask since i like you” hallelujah you hit the jackpot. “YEAH! I mean yeah that would be awesome. I would love to Larry '' you couldn't be more over the moon excited “okay great! Well, I'm glad you said yes "Larry said more relaxed now that you said yes. You and Larry stood there just smiling at each other “so i guess just text me about that date or whenever for that matter "you said breaking the silence so you can go home and scream like a teenage girl who got asked out to prom “I totally will. Well, i'll see you later drive safe”. You waved off to Larry while driving off, you could see Larry punching the air for finally asking you out, but I couldn't blame him because you blasted feel good love songs on the way home while thinking about larry.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ word count: 1018 

[snwpcktz]

A GAME OF CRUELTY (pt. 1, teaser)

PAIRING: jay x fem!reader (ft. heeseung)

GENRE: hunger games au (pre second rebellion), neighbors to friends to lovers, angst

SYNOPSIS: after years of praying to not get picked for the reaping, the odds end up not being in y/n’s favor and she is chosen as district 7’s female tribute. she plans to simply sacrifice herself early, since it would be nearly impossible for her to beat all the other tributes and make it back safely to her now ex-boyfriend, ethan. but her perspective of the games change when her next door neighbor, jay, is chosen as the male tribute—and maybe her feelings towards him will change, too.

WARNINGS: mature themes (violence, death), major character death, descriptions of violence and injuries, love triangle, swearing, reader uses she/her pronouns, use of the binary genders to refer to the reaping tributes

WC: 1.4k (teaser)

NOTE: hello!! this fic is set in the year before katniss and peeta's events, so there's not a lot of information for me to base this off of. there might be inaccuracies, but i try my best to keep things true to the story!! i hope to release the full pt. 1 sometime this week or next week, but pt. 2 will probably take longer. if you'd like to be added to the taglist, please reply to this post and i will add you!! thank you and please enjoy this teaser :)

rows of teenagers stood in front of the hall of justice, surrounded by members of the capitol with cameras and film equipment. peacekeepers had already flooded the district, running identification checks and bordering the area for the reaping. y/n could still feel her finger throbbing from the prick she received mere minutes ago as she stood in line.

the large screens next to the stage had already began running, displaying the various members of district 7. y/n could spot a pixelated version of herself, clad in a modest white sundress and matching white ballet flats. she turned her head to the left, spotting ethan standing in his row in no time.

but he wasn't looking at her. he kept his head forward, a solemn gaze on his face. y/n turned her head back around, letting out a pained sigh. she knew that whatever emotions he was feeling at the moment could never be experienced by her, a girl who lived in an only child household in a moderately well off neighborhood. but she couldn't help but feel selfish, desperately wanting ethan to be spared from the cruel hands of the reaping.

so she prayed. she clasped her hands together and lowered her head. please, she thought. please don't pick ethan. please let the odds be in his favor, just this once.

the sounds of footsteps coming to a stop and doors opening caused y/n to raise her head, eyes now fixated on the marble building in the front. members of the district government and previous victors of district 7 entered the stage, followed by a woman with a bright smile on her face.

luxurious, velvety, emerald green clothing adorned her body along with a matching sun hat and dozens of gold jewelry. her heels clicked on the wooden stage as she made her way towards the podium, perfectly glossed lips framing her pearly smile.

"welcome! welcome, welcome," she announced, her cheery voice echoing throughout the area. "once again, i am your district escort, tiffany young! happy hunger games! and may the odds be ever in your favor."

tiffany cleared her throat before continuing, "now! before we begin, we have a very special film brought to you all the way from the capitol!"

she raised her glove-clothed arm towards the screen as a video began playing. "war. terrible war," president snow's voice boomed from the speakers.

y/n noticed several girls around her rolling their eyes. she couldn't blame them. it was boring having to watch the same video every single year, especially when it did barely any justification for the games.

she turned her head to look behind her at the crowd of parents. she spotted her mom, head down and whispering words, most likely prayers for her daughter. her father was next to her, a comforting arm wrapped around his wife as he stoically gazed at the screen.

it was just like every year. what was there to worry about?

y/n glanced at ethan. he had the same expression as her father, but she could see that he was chewing on the inside of his cheek. a soft sigh left her lips. there was one thing to worry about--ethan.

she decided to pray once more, lowering her head and squeezing her eyes shut.

please, pick anyone but ethan. i beg for you to spare him.

"this is how we remember our past," the voice of president snow stated. "this is how we safeguard our future."

"what a remarkable film!" tiffany gushed as the music began to quiet. "now, the time has come for us to select one courageous young man and woman for the honor of representing district 7 in the 73rd annual hunger games."

y/n felt her heartbeat quicken as she watched the escort's smile grow. "as usual, ladies first."

tiffany walked to the reaping bowl with poise, heels echoing in the silence that overwhelmed the district. she reached a gloved hand in, fishing for an entry slip. she gently selected one, returning to the podium elegantly.

tiffany took the liberty to clear her throat as she undid the delicate tape on the paper slip. she glanced at the crowd before announcing the name with a smile.

"y/n l/n."

the world stopped for a moment. y/n couldn't prevent the ringing in her ears as her lips parted in shock. the pounding in her chest increased to a ridiculous speed as the girls around her turned, isolating her from the crowd. her hands grew clammy as tiffany laid her eyes on her, the smile on her face appearing more sinister than before.

"come on up, dear!" the escort called, her voice sounding sickly sweet in y/n's ears.

y/n's feet moved slowly, dragging against the gravel on the ground as she passed by her fellow civilians. she didn't dare to look up from her pathway, shrinking at the feeling of thousands of eyes on her.

she could feel the peacekeepers behind her place their hands on her back, guiding her to the stage. her eyes were shaking, losing sight of each step she was taking.

she grasped onto the railing of the stairs, barely feeling the soles of her feet. she could see tiffany at the top of the stairs, reaching a hand out to her. "come, come!" she said to y/n, gesturing to her with her hand.

y/n gratefully took it, allowing the texture of her velvet gloves to bring her back to reality. tiffany placed her other hand on her shoulder, gently leading her to the left side of the podium.

"well, let's have a big hand for our first tribute, y/n l/n!" tiffany declared into the microphone.

the weak applause clouded y/n's head, contrasting the striking speed her heart was thumping at. she used the last of her strength and consciousness to lift her head, searching the crowd in front of her.

she could spot her mother's face, frozen with shock and panic. her father's mouth was open, completely bewildered and in disbelief. y/n moved her eyes to the crowd of teen boys, where she found ethan already staring straight at her, a fresh tear sliding down his cheek.

y/n swallowed thickly, not breaking the eye contact. here she was, standing on a stage that she never thought she would be standing on. her lips quivered as she gained the strength to mouth an "i love you", triggering a rush of tears to ethan's eyes.

she chose to cut the eye contact after that, unable to watch her ex-lover cry. she stared straight at the wooden floor, biting her bottom lip in an attempt to hold back the tears in her eyes.

"and now for the boys!" tiffany stated.

the escort walked to the reaping bowl on the opposite end of the stage, quickly plucking a slip from its depths and returning to the podium. she let out a small hum before unfolding the slip.

"jay park."

y/n raised her head to look at the crowd. the boys had distanced themselves from the said person, who looked just as surprised as y/n was when she was chosen.

y/n recognized him. he was her next door neighbor, a boy known for being respectful and hard-working. at just a year older than y/n, he was preparing to enter the workforce full-time, learning the ups and downs of his family's lumber business. he was known to be skilled with axes and saws, his muscular arms and broad chest proof of it all.

he wore a white dress shirt and black slacks, dark hair slicked with gel and neatly combed. the peacekeepers guided him to the stage, his dress shoes sounding every step he took up the wooden stairs. he stood on the other side of the podium, observing the crowd from his new perspective.

y/n turned to ethan, a part of her relieved that he wasn't picked. but he clearly did not feel the same, his eyes now red and cheeks stained with tears. he looked at y/n so hopelessly, it made her feel ashamed for feeling even a bit of relief.

"shake hands, you two!" tiffany's voice said, snapping y/n out of her trance.

she glanced at jay, whose eyes were already on her. they quickly joined hands, jay's large one wrapping around y/n's shaking one.

"happy hunger games!" tiffany announced, her smile brighter than before. "and may the odds be ever in your favor."

© snwpcktz

taglist: @kpopstanmeg

[blockgamepirate]

I originally started writing this post the day before the new people arrived, but in retrospect I'm kinda glad I got to see how the newbies settled in first

Even though my thoughts haven't actually changed

The thing is, I was excited for the new people (especially Niki and Tubbo because I'm biased) and I've been thoroughly enjoying watching them on the server, and for purely selfish reasons I'm happy for the people they picked

But at the same time I'm a bit disappointed that all the new people were either English or Spanish language streamers (well technically Niki does sometimes stream in German but not that often and it's not like she has anyone to speak German to on the server)

I know it was originally supposed to be just Spanish-English and it's Quackity's server and it was all about bringing his two communities together, meaning the Hispanic and Anglophone communities. And that's totally fair.

I also know that the Spanish and English communities are way bigger than the Portuguese and French ones, it's just natural with Spanish and English being much much bigger languages that are much more widely spoken

And yeah, I know that a lot of the original Spanish and English speaking members are inactive or have fully dropped out so it makes sense to want to replace them!

But still, I can't help but be a bit disappointed. I really was hoping it would be two per language

I guess I understand it a bit more with the Spanish speakers because they really did lose so many members. But did the English speaking side (which was already the biggest on the server) really need FIVE new people? (EVEN THOUGH I LOVE THE NEW ENGLISH LANGUAGE MEMBERS AND I'M HAPPY THEY'RE HERE)

(And yes admittedly at least three of them are fluent in at least one other language that isn't English which is always a nice change of course)

I just wanna point out that the French speakers have four people (no I'm not counting Kameto who showed up for one (1) day), and they're not getting anyone added

The Brazilians have five and they're getting one new person this week, which is a bit better but not by much.

Meanwhile, not including Dan, the English speakers had seven and got five more for a total of twelve people. Even if you leave out Wilbur Hatsune Miku Soot, that's still overwhelmingly the biggest group

I know I can't complain because I'm extremely biased in favour of the English language streamers they added! And they're good additions! And I couldn't complain anyway because it's Quackity's server and he can do with it whatever he wants!

But it does feel a bit unbalanced

I mean maybe they'll add more Portuguese and French speakers later? Maybe that's the plan? But then are they also planning to add other languages or just stick to these four?

idk

It doesn't really matter, and I really do like the new people despite all this. I just wanted to point this out anyway because it's been on my mind.

[thetruearchmagos]

The Commonwealth Calls

An Excerpt: Woodland Greens

This was... interesting, to write! I've been hoping to do something for one of my first and favourite OCs for a while, though this isn't quite as "good" as I would've liked? Whatever it is like to me, I'd love to hear what you all think of it!

Tagging @lividdreamz @dogmomwrites @marinesocks @sanguine-arena @athenswrites @ceph-the-ghost-writer @theprissythumbelina @thatndginger @jamieanovels @the-stray-storyteller @muddshadow

The night was cold, and the forest ate the noise until it was as quiet as a tomb.

Lieutenant Gustav Johann Schmidt could hear his heart pound in his chest, the leaves crunching under his boots with each slow step across the foliage. He was sweating despite the chill, and could feel it seeping through his facepaint. Creeping low through the woods with his rifle at his shoulder, looking to either side through low-light goggles he could almost make out the green-tinted apparitions that made up the soldiers of his 1st Platoon, all moving with similar silence. They had been moving through the woods for about ten minutes, an agonising exercise in sheer self control, but one for which the reward was his highest calling. Victory.

Just a little further left to go, and shooting forwards Gustav flattened himself to the ground behind a low ditch, then scrambled up to see across the other side. There was the prize, the dark silhouttes of boxy armoured vehicles and concealed fighting holes that sat atop a wooded rise looking over an otherwise flat and open plain. There was a fidget every now and then, just enough movement to tell him that someone was waiting.

"Evenin' Sir, catching a good look?"

The sudden bassy voice appeared from the same empty void as its speaker, and even now the young Lieutenant couldn't quite get his head around Staff Sergeant Mandla Amadi's sheer capacity to sneak around his sizeable frame like a soft pawed kitten. The Platoon Sergeant pulled out a pair of optics, and Gustav did the same, both careful not to smudge the thin, matte coating on their lenses lest a sudden shine of the moonlight give away the game.

"Right, I call it three heavy vic's with twenty-mike guns, and about enough trench space for a dozen."

"So, just like the brief said, for once. Stick to the plan, Sarge?"

He smiled, and nodded.

"Aye sir, I'd say we'll do just fine. Poor buggers."

Gustav reached to his chest, switching on the communications rig and bringing it to his face. Mandla slipped back into the woods to tell the troops the good news in person, while across another ridge three kilometres east Sergeant Tamiko Miho switched on her vehicle's mounted comm set, buttoned up in one of the platoon's four Hoplite armoured transports.

"LOCAL, this is LEAD, Clear."

Checking her watch, she realised they were running a bit late, but that was to be expected. After popping out her hatch to sweep a look around, she replied.

"Clear On, LEAD. How's things over there?"

"Good, far as we know we're still undetected. Plan's unchanged, pick your targets and get ready to spit lead, and tell the mortars to shoot fast, Clear."

"Clear On, Sir. Have fun out there."

Flicking off the rig, Gustav then checked his watch. A slightly pricey piece from Artifi-Cal he'd bought when he received his commission, despite its luxury it did the job well enough. The time was 2315, and they were ready to move. He turned the frequency to the platoon-wide net, then gave the word.

"Red Trail."

An instant later, the forest roared to a furious life. To his right, Gustav knew one of his sections was pouring in machine gun fire, while even from this distance he could hear the heavy chugging of four twenty-five millimetre autocannons, and the deep bass of mortar fire. The defenders must have heard it too, and the hill was soon alive with movement and firing; all facing east, not into the woods.

One final signal left, courtesy of the Staff Sergeant:

THWEEEE

A brass whistle was a bit of an anachronism in the modern Army, but it served its purpose as well as it surely did a century ago. His remaing two sections surged from the tree line, joined by their commander as they made the mad fifty-metre dash across the open field. We've caught them with their pants down, Gustav thought to himself, with no small relish.

Time seemed to crawl as he ran, and it was as if he was seeing a film. To the left, his closest section had already reached the hillside, lobbing grenades and firing up the slope to cover the advance. The Hoplites had ceased firing when the boots had gotten close, but the heaving of mortars still carriedover the ---

The last thing he heard was a shrill whistle, coming from they sky and growing ever louder.

Then, nothing.

------

This kid's one seriously unlucky sonuvabitch----

As far as first words to hear after being knocked out went, Gustav thought through the haze of his mind, those weren't great.

Then, he finally thought to take a look around. He was in a room with sickly yellow wall-paper and harsh lighting, surrounded by people with concerningly wide smiles and red bands around their arms. Going from until now limited experience, Gustav deduced he was currently in the battalion medical post. Damn.

"Hardly, Doc! He's still alive, ain't he? Ah, and here he is now."

It seemed that someone had seenhim stir, and as Gustav struggled to speak a familiar face came over to block out the light. Staff Sergeant Mandla, in all his sharply and smiling cut glory.

"Mornin', Sir! Good news, we won the match last night, 2nd Platoon's stil bloody seethin' at that. Damn shame about your head though, but frankly you got off light, right Doc?"

A second figure leaned over him, this being the perpetually bleary-eyed Captain Meera Pariyar, holding a misshapen lump of green-tipped metal, with the beginnings of fins at one tapered end. So that's what did it.

"Objectively, yes. Seemed to be a grazing hit, glanced off well enough. If it hit you straight on, we'd be scooping your grey matter out of your helmet and into a bucket."

For a man still recovering from blunt force head trauma, Gustav thought he was taking all in this rather well. He tried to stand up, but Capta Pariyar held him flat.

"Absolutely not, kid. Until I say so, you are staying put. Have fun, maybe thank whatever guardian angel it is you have who's got the power to alter the path of mortar shells."

[bamby0304]

Victoria Grimes VIII: War

Ch.8: Hand-prints

Series Masterlist

Summary: Daryl and Victoria have worked through her mistakes made at the Sanctuary and have decided to keep the truth between themselves. But with the war between their communities and the Saviours brewing, their bond will be tested all over again. Lies, death and the threat of defeat are coming for Vickie… will she be strong enough to come through in one piece?

Warnings: Angst. Violence.

Bamby

DPOV

"So we cover you with crossfire from the upper windows, you crash the truck into the walkers and through to the building." Michonne stood with her hands on her hips as she tried to figure out what the plan was.

She, Rosita, Tara and me were out of the truck now, working out the steps we were gonna take to go through with this. To take things to the next level. To end it once and for all. Screw waiting, things needed doing now.

"Yep," Tara nodded, "crack it open, Saviour buffet."

Rosita didn't seem too confident. "You know the workers will make it away, up the stairs?"

"They're on the other side of the building. They should make it." Should was the best I could give.

There was no telling how things had gone down since we'd locked the Saviours inside. But either way, we still had to do this. We just had to trust that they would be okay.

Still, Rosita wasn't convinced. "You sure?"

"After we do this, their only choice is to give up," I noted.

"It's risky," Michonne countered. "They could see the truck comin'."

"There weren't any more weapons at the Saviours' warehouse, right? No more rockets for the RPG's. We work with what we got." Tara was on my side, no matter what. We both knew this had to be done.

Vic wouldn't have agreed. Not completely. She still worried about the workers, the people she saw being ruled by the Saviours. She'd spent more time out with them than I had. She'd been closer to living their life- though I was aware she was still treated differently… not like how I was treated though. She might be okay with killing Saviours, but she would not risk the lives of those who couldn't defend themselves.

I knew there was a bigger chance that they were fine, but she would have doubts. Those doubts were part of the reason why I didn't tell her where I was gone. That and the fact I didn't want her anywhere near the Sanctuary or Negan ever again.

"You got me." We all turned to see Morgan walking towards us. "Other snipers, too. Saviours see you comin', we got you covered, whatever it takes. I want it done. I want them done."

"Good." I nodded and turned to Rosita and Michonne again. "So, we doin' this or what?"

"W-Why don't we just wait it out like we planned?" Rosita asked. "Michonne's right. What you're talking about is risky. Things could go bad."

"The truck with the speakers almost took all those walkers away. It almost did go bad. Something else could." Tara wasn't wrong. We didn't know what kind of contingency plans the Saviours had put in place for emergencies.

"Even if it don't, we don't got the Kingdom fighters no more," I added. "I mean, if the Saviours want to put up a fight, we don't got the numbers to make 'em surrender."

"That's why Rick's talking to the Scavengers," Rosita noted, honestly thinking that was a good move.

Tara looked to her. "You got shot. They lied to us. You- you believe 'em now?"

"I believe in Rick Grimes," Rosita countered.

"I could've done something sooner, to end this. I knew about those weapons at Oceanside, and I waited. I didn't do shit about it." Tara wasn't just doing this because of everything she'd lost, but because of what had happened when she hadn't acted before. "With or without you, I'm not letting that happen again."

"Then it's without me." Rosita lifted her shoulder in a short shrug. "I'm out." Pushing off the truck, she started to walk away.

As she passed Morgan, he stopped her. "We got some cars parked near the east-side lookout. You can take one and go home."

Looking back to Michonne, she asked, "You staying? You good with all this?"

"I helped get this started. Got to see it through."

"You think it's easier to come out here and risk, than to stay back there and wait. And I get it, I used to believe that, too. Thing is sometimes, you just have to wait. Sometimes you don't get to know. I just wish it didn't take seeing Sasha walk out of that coffin to realise it." With that, Rosita left.

"Come on." I gestured for the others to follow as I moved to get back into the truck. "Let's go."

CPOV

I opened the manhole outside our walls but still joined up with our sewers. Siddiq looked down before looking back up at me.

"It's just 'til I can talk to my dad." I was all I had to offer.

He nodded, a thankful smile finding its way onto his face. "I appreciate this."

"I'll bring you some supplies. I just have to make sure I don't get caught."

"You don't have to do this," he assured me.

"Yeah, I do."

With a small nod and one last smile, he began to climb down into the tunnels below. I watched and waited until his feet landed on the ground before covering up the manhole. Making sure no one was watching still, I then headed for the wall. I knew it wasn't going to be easy to climb when my side hurt the way it did, but I'd snuck out, so I had to sneak back in.

…

I'd cleaned myself up bandaged up my side as best as I could. I knew there was no real point, though. I knew what my fate was going to be. That was okay though, there was no point in fight or denying it. Instead I was going to spend the rest of what time I had left helping my family and Siddiq.

Dad was going to be pissed when he found out I'd brought him back, but I knew it was the right thing to do. He'd understand eventually.

Turning for the door, I opened it only to find Vickie standing on the other side, her fist lifted, ready to knock.

"Where the hell did you go?"

She glared at me, trying to scold, but I could see the worry behind it. She was always worried about me. The world might've changed but she would always see me as her baby brother.

"I found someone."

"You found someone? What someone? A Saviour?"

"No." I shook my head, trying to explain, "He's just a guy. He was out there on his own. I… I wanted to help him."

She paused, looking me up and down. If she had been anyone else I would expect her to yell. I knew most of our people would be skeptical that he's actually just some random survivor out there. Most would think he'd be a Saviour sent out to spy on us or something. Vickie, however, didn't always think like the others.

"Where is he?"

"Safe. I just… I need to get some supplies. Just a few," I assured her.

Nodding, she stepped aside. "Okay. But next time, don't go off without saying something. I worry about you."

"I know." Smiling, I leaned over to kiss her cheek. "I'll be back soon," I called before hurrying down the hall.

I knew she wouldn't follow. I knew I could trust that she wouldn't tell anyone about me sneaking off, or helping someone, or taking supplies. I knew I could trust her just like she trusted me.

…

Siddiq had everything he needed for now. I'd made sure he had light, some food and water, a travel bed and things to make it a little more comfortable down there. I hadn't managed to get a lot but it would do for now.

I didn't have much time to explain to everyone why I'd brought him. I knew dad was going to be the hardest to convince. That's why I needed him to come back as soon as possible.

"If he's not back soon, we'll meet him there," Tobin assured me as we stood on the lookout by the front gate. "Hopefully, they'll be with him."

I didn't know if the Scavengers would join us. I wasn't sure if I trusted them. They were the least of my worries right now, though. All I wanted, all I needed, was to see my family.

"What about Michonne?" I asked.

I hadn't been able to find her. I'd looked, hoping to maybe start explaining who Siddiq was and why I'd brought him back. But she was nowhere to be found.

"Ah." Reaching into the front pocket of his shirt, Tobin handed me a letter.

I unfolded it, seeing Michonne's handwriting looking up at me.

I had to see it for myself.

I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye first. Will be back soon.

Michonne.

She was gone, and I had no idea when she'd get back. I had no idea if I'd even get to see her again.

NPOV

With Lucille resting on my shoulder, I sat at the table in the meeting room, waiting as Eugene stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. Gesturing to one of the other many seats, I waited for him to sit down.

"If things don't get fixed soon, a lot of people are gonna die. My people," I started. "Not me, of course. I'm livin' no matter what. I am too good at this shit. But others I can't have that. I don't want to see people get shot up, chewed up, and chewing up the rest. I don't want to see you get eaten, Eugene."

He watched me intently, with obvious fear and some curiosity.

Getting up, I started towards him before taking a seat on the table. "This place, it's about pooling and organising strength. And you my friend, are strong. That spongy organ between your eyes and your spectacular mullet is strong, and I just want to make sure that you know that I know that."

"Consider me made. Our pages are utterly and completely one and the same," he assured me.

Pushing off the table, I stood before him and offered my hand.

Looking down at it, he hesitated before reaching up to take it… and reaching in to kiss it.

I was quick to stop him by snatching my hand away. "Eugene I was going for a handshake." Embarrassed, he gave a small nod, making me grin out of amusement. "Stand up." As he rose, I took his hand to shake it. "Now, I can see where you'd be confused, as I rarely do that shit. A handshake is a sign of mutual respect. Not many people get that from me."

"There's work that needs getting to." Nodding, he hurried out of the room.

Watching him leave, I wondered if I'd put my respect in the wrong corner. Was he the one helping Rick the prick? Or was he the one who would get us out of this shit show?

DPOV

"Hey, cut that engine," Morgan's voice called through the walkie. "Any closer, you'll draw walkers from the yard."

Stopping the truck, I parked it not too far from the sanctuary. From here we still had a bit of a view, which I checked out with the spyglass before handing it over to Tara.

"You take fire from the windows, we fire back."

"Come on." Tara opened her door and slid out. "There's a spot for cover by the chutes," she noted before walking away, leaving Michonne and me in the truck.

I looked to her. "You up for this?"

"I came here 'cause I wanted to see things for myself. I wanted to know that things were gonna work. But you know what?" She shook her head. "I don't get to know that. None of us do. What I do know is that things are working now. So maybe we just need to trust that things are gonna keep working, because this what we're about to do it's not worth risking us."

"It is for me. Just is." There were so many reasons… some I could never tell anyone else.

"I hope it works. I-I really, really do, but I-I can't do it. I just can't."

"Then you shouldn't."

I wasn't going to be mad at her. I could understand where she was coming from. I could see her points. She didn't have the things driving me. She hadn't been treated like an animal, caged, striped, tortured. She hadn't almost lost her partner to a monster. She knew she had a lot to lose, but it wasn't enough to push her forward and I could understand that.

Slipping out of the truck, she looked to Tara without a word and then turned, heading off in the other direction.

Realising it was just us now, Tara came over to my side of the truck. "We got Morgan and the snipers. We can do this."

"Yeah. We will."

VPOV

I was pissed. I was pacing the kitchen, pissed. Daryl was gone. Michonne was gone. Dad was gone. Carl was going off on his own to save people.

I felt sick.

Hurrying to the bathroom, I dropped to my knees as I threw up in the bowl. The stress of the day had me emptying out the contents of my stomach. My head pounded as every strange scent I came across had my insides churn.

Everything was becoming too much.

"You okay?" Carl asked as he stood in the doorway, watching as I got up and washed my face.

Nodding, I watched him through the mirror. "Just dandy."

He looked down at the ground before meeting my gaze. "I was wondering if… if you wanted to hangout?"

Frowning, I turned to lean on the counter as I studied him carefully. "What's going on, Carl?"

"What do you mean? Can't a brother want to hang out with his sister?"

"That's the thing," I pushed off the counter and started towards him, "we don't get to hangout anymore. Shit's always hitting the fan. We're too busy dodging the next hit to even think about 'hanging out'. So what the hell is going on?"

He sighed, shrugging. "You're right. We don't get to hang out anymore, and I miss it. I missed you when you were gone. And let's face it, you haven't been yourself since you came back. I know you've got secrets, and I know you're not gonna tell me what happened. But I worried about you, and I still do. So I wanna hang out."

I didn't answer right away. Instead I watched him, trying to figure out if he was lying or not. There didn't seem to be any reason why he would lie, though. Everything he said made sense, and to be honest I missed being able to just be brother and sister.

It was tiring being Victoria, daughter of Rick Grimes, wife of Daryl Dixon. The title, the expectation. Even though I'd stepped back from a leading role there was still responsibilities that fell on my shoulders. Honestly, life had become exhausting.

Things were only going to get worse, though. We all knew it. While dad believed the Saviours were going to fold easily after our attacks, I had my suspicions. We wouldn't crack so quickly, so why would they?

Right now I had a moment to just be, and to enjoy the time with my brother. So I was going to enjoy it while I can.

"Okay, we can hang." I softened, smiling at him. "But there's one big difference between now and when we were younger."

"The world fell apart and the dead came back to life?"

"No," I scoffed. "Now I'm a mum. Which means it's a package deal."

He shrugged. "Sounds perfect."

CPOV

Vickie sat on the porch, helping Aly press her painted hand-print on the porch along with mine, Judith and Vickie's. The hand-prints were all blue, but each a different size. It brought a small and sad smile to my lips.

They didn't know. No one knew yet. I didn't want to worry them. I didn't want to distract anyone.

Tell people I was dying was only going to make things worse. So, instead, I wanted to leave my mark. It's why I wanted to hang out with my sisters and my niece. I wanted the girls to remember me, and I wanted Vickie to just… I wanted her there.

She was my best friend. We'd been through hell together. We'd always been close. I knew she was still a mess from losing Glenn and Abraham, and I knew being taken to the Sanctuary had done a number on her. Losing me was only going to make things worse. I didn't want her last memories of me to be anything other than this.

I wanted her to remember me as I sat on the rocking chair on the porch, rocking Judith on my lap. I wanted her to remember me as I told jokes to Aly and pulled funny faces at her. I wanted her to remember me as I played fetch with Houdini. I wanted her to remember the good, the mundane.

"Oh!" Aly suddenly jumped to her feet. "I have a great idea!" She beamed before hurrying to head inside.

"Wash your hands before you touch anything!" Vickie called out to her.

Aly didn't call back or answer, but she was a good kid. She'd do as she was told.

"You're a good mum." I smiled at my sister. "Mum would be proud."

She looked down at her lap, a smile teasing her lips as if she wasn't sure if she wanted to smile or not. "Sometimes I worry she'd disagree with how I raise her. How things turned out."

I just shook my head. "No, I know she'd be proud. She was always proud of us."

Vickie had come a long way since we'd lost Mum. She'd barely been able to talk back then. Things had been so disconnected and scrambled for her. I'd never really thought about what it must've been like for her.

Sure, I had been the one to kill her. I'd been the one to end things before she had come back to life. It had always haunted me, and part of me was glad I would finally be able to rest without having nightmares of that day. But Vickie was going to have to live with it.

"Daryl wants a baby."

My eyes went wide as I stared at her in shock, having not expected those words. I didn't respond. I wasn't sure I even knew what to say.

She sighed, pushing herself off the ground as she used a rag to wipe the blue paint from her hand. Leaning against the railing of the porch, she looked out at our neighbourhood with a sad look in her eyes.

"Dr Carson said there's a good chance I can't get pregnant. Didn't say it was impossible, but there's so much scarring from everything I've been through…" Her gaze dropped. "Daryl doesn't know."

A furrow grew on my brow. "You haven't told him?" She simply shook her head. "Why not?"

"Because I feel broken." She shrugged, looking out at the field in front of our home. "Because I feel like the chances are so low that there's no way it'll happen. But I don't want to tell him because I know he wants it, more than anything. Pretty sure he wants a baby more than he wants Negan dead," she scoffed.

"Do… do you want a baby?"

Looking over her shoulder, she smiled. "Yes."

They were perfect parents, Daryl and Vickie. In the world we lived in, they'd done a great job raising Aly. She was as strong as she needed to be for her age- which I wasn't entirely sure what that was, but she wasn't any older than 6. She knew how to take an order when needed. If things got bad you could count on her to stay safe until she was allowed out.

At the same time, though, she was still sweet and innocent. It was hard to stay like that as a kid growing up in the hell we lived in.

The front door opened then as Aly rushed out, carrying her polaroid camera. "Look!" She held it up in the air. "I thought we could take some pictures."

I smiled at her as she came over to my chair, a little out of breath. "That sounds like a great idea."

DPOV

"I'm here. I'm ready," Tara's whispered voice came through the walkie once she was closer to the gates of the Sanctuary.

"South lookout ready for go," Morgan's voice followed, closely by the other snipers'.

"East lookout, ready."

"North lookout, ready."

"West lookout, ready."

Once I knew everyone was in position and ready, I started forward. "Now," I called through the walkie.

Just a few seconds later, I heard gunshots.

They came from the Sanctuary. I wasn't sure what was happening, because I couldn't see a damn thing, but I had no doubt they'd seen and heard the truck, and they were trying to stop it. That added a new level to the situation.

With the snipers, Saviours, and Tara shooting at each other, I had no choice but to speed up as I headed straight for the Sanctuary. Once I neared where Tara was waiting, I grabbed the cinder block and shifted my foot over to replace it with the brick. Then I jumped out of the truck.

Running over to a turned over car, I hid from the walkers and watched as the truck crashed into the wall and opened up a spot for the walkers to head into the Sanctuary.

"Daryl, you're clear to the south. You and Tara should head home," Morgan suggested through the walkie.

Not wasting the opportunity, I gestured for Tara to follow before we both ran up the road, away from the chaos, and started towards the waiting vehicles so we could get back home.

NPOV

Eugene had laid out his plan to get everyone the hell out of the fucked up situation we'd been put in. I wasn't a hundred percent sold on the idea, but the look on his face was pissed and determined… a great combination.

"It'll take an ass-load of ammo," I noted.

He gave a short nod. "It will. Even with shot discipline and P and Q minding."

"Can my bullet maker fill my guns back up?"

"If you give my machines to me or me to my machines that is an affirmative."

Pacing the room, I grinned at him as I watched to see his reaction to my next comment. "You do realise the storm of shit I'm gonna dump on Rick as soon as I am clear of the shit storm he dumped on me."

"I do, indeed." He didn't even flinch.

"Goddamn, Eugene. How does it feel to be the second-most important person here? How does it feel to save these good people?"

"It feels great." His lips tugged up into the slightest of smiles. "Got something else of urgency for you. Another item solved."

"More than a way out and a promise of bullets on the way? Jesus, Eugene, you are magnificent."

"I am."

"So, what is it? Tell me." Before he could say anything, however, there was a knock on the door. "What?"

"We have the stairs," Regina stated as she walked in, followed by Dwight and a few other Saviours. "But the dead ones have the lower level. The whole thing.

I wasn't worried. Not anymore. "Not much longer. See, Eugene has solved us a way out of this mess. And he actually says he has a topper."

"Yeah?" Dwight looked to Eugene, waiting to hear what he might have to say.

Eugene paused a moment before speaking. "I think I could fix the intercom system. Which, uh would absolutely change the face of communications here."

I'd be lying if I wasn't disappointed by that anticlimactic information. "That's it?"

"Sorry. That kind of thing, uh well, cranks my shaft," he mumbled as he turned to leave the room. "I'll leave you to the last action item."

RPOV

The doors to the storage container opened again, only this time it was just one guy outside. He grabbed me by my bound wrists and neck, pulling me to stand in front of him before leading me out into the open area surrounded by garbage. Across from us was another storage container, a closed one.

Pushing me down to my knees, he ignored me as ai struggled, watching and waiting for something to happen.

The other storage container opened… and a walker was walked out.

It was naked like I was, its wrists bound behind its back unlike how mine were tied in front. A metal headpiece had been crafted onto its head, making it harder to kill. The added spikes were just another level of complication. On the back of the headpiece was a metal rode, being held to control the walker.

Jadis stopped beside the person holding the rode controlling the walker. Her eyes set on me. "Time for after."

Still being held down, I began to struggle more as the walker was moved towards me. When it was just a few feet away I quickly threw my bound hands up and back, punching the Scavenger behind me, and then rolled away.

The person controlling the walker hadn't expected me to move so fast, which meant they lost control. As they tried to collect themselves and the walker, I took the opportunity to get up and knock them out of the way as well. Then I grabbed the rod.

"Subdue!" Jadis ordered.

Now in control of the walker, I didn't use it against the Scavengers. Instead I used the rode to add force to my punches to keep them away. The more I moved the rode, however, the more the walker's head began to tear off.

Once the head was free I was more free to use the rod, which made it easier to knock the Scavengers to the ground hard enough to keep them there. Then I went for Jadis.

She pulled out a gun. As she went to shoot me I moved faster, grabbing her hands to aim the gun at the ground. She struggled, pulling the trigger a few times as she tried to get it aimed at me again, but in the end I managed to push her down to the ground and pull the weapon from her grasp.

Grabbing her neck, I edged her closer to the snapping jaws of the walker's head which lay just a few inches away.

"I'm walking out now, and me walking out means all of you die," I called to all the Scavengers, seeing them itching to help but not risking it when I was so close to killing their leader. "My people. There's a lot of them. Won't attack today, but we will attack. You can play your games, draw your pictures, sculpt whatever shit you want, but I am leaving! After that maybe you should just run." Looking down at Jadis, I asked, "We done?"

"Yes." She nodded quickly but tightly against my grip.

Letting her go, I stood back and watched as she got to her feet again. I was fully expecting them to try something else, but I was hoping I'd proved enough that I wouldn't go down without a fit.

"Join you. What then?" Jadis asked.

"The Sanctuary is surrounded. Walkers. 20 deep around the compound," I reminded her. "You'll come with me there we'll wait till the others meet us. When they do, we'll ask the lieutenants to surrender. All of us, together. Then I kill Negan, me alone. We have a deal?"

"After, Saviours' things our things. Yes and yes," she tried bargaining.

"It'll be all of ours. You'll get a fourth."

"Half."

"A fourth." I wasn't bending this time. She gets a fourth, or nothing.

"Fourth, and I sculpt you after. Stand for me, those off." He gestured to the last of my clothes, my boxers.

"These off," I lifted my hands and nodded to the rope tied around my wrists, "no sculpting. My boots and my clothes now."

"Fourth," she grumbled. After a pause, though, she calmed herself down. "Fourth."

DPOV

I had a feeling I was going to be in the shit when I returned home. Entering the gates, something in my gut told me Vic knew I'd left and she was pissed. Honestly, I'd expected it. I knew my actions would have come with consequences and her temper was a possible one. It was worth it, though. I had to go to the Sanctuary. I had to finish it.

Off in the distance I spotted Michonne and Judith under a tree.

Michonne knelt on the ground, smiling down at Judith as the little girl played with a stuffed bear. "We'll be back soon," Michonne assured her, smiling so as not to worry the little girl. "I'll bring your daddy, too, okay? Can you say bye-bye?"

"Bye-bye," Judith said in return, making Michonne's smile grow.

Leaning forward, Michonne gave her a kiss. "Bye." Pausing one more moment to watch the little girl, she then stood and headed my way. "Hey."

"Hi." I nodded at her, watching as she stopped in front of me.

"I'm glad you came back. It's better we go out there together."

"It worked. We'll roll in, tell them to give up. They're gonna give up." I was sure of it.

She took a breath. "I'm sorry. I couldn't."

"Don't be. It worked."

That's all that mattered. Knowing that the win was waiting for us to take it. Knowing no more of our people had to die. She didn't need to be there for the middle part. She just had to be there for the end.

We all did. Even Vic.

I didn't want her anywhere near Negan, but I wanted her to come with us now. To see what we'd done. To see the place that had torn her down and tore me apart was in pieces. I wanted her to see she would never have to step foot in that place again.

No one, none of them, were ever going to touch her again.

RPOV

I led Jadis and her people towards the Sanctuary. We couldn't see it yet, but I knew we were getting close. Gesturing for them to stay back, I started towards the water tower… and stopped when I spotted the three walkers eating one of my people.

After dealing with the walkers, I grabbed the sniper's walkie and sent out a radio message to the others. "Snipers, report in. This is Rick Grimes. Does anybody copy?" There was no response.

Looking up at the water tower, I decided to head up to get a look of the situation. Grabbing the rifle the sniper had dropped, I started the climb and turned to the Sanctuary. What I saw had my blood run cold.

The walkers were all dead.

Lifting the walkie to my mouth again, I tried for a response one more time… but deep down I knew there would be none. "North, West, South, report."

Somehow, the Saviours had gotten out, and if that was the case they'd be out for blood.

Hurrying down the water tower, I ran back the Jadis and the others. I didn't tell them what was going on because I didn't want them to betray me again. Instead I just told them to follow me before we started towards the Sanctuary. With each step, I just kept praying the Saviours hadn't had time to leave yet.

The closer we got, though, the obvious things became. The Saviours were gone.

Seeing all the dead walkers, Jadis turned to me. "Different from picture."

Right then, people began to shoot at us. We all ducked away, Jadis going right while I jumped left.

"Jadis!" I called. "It's coming from the window! We hit it and fall…" as I looked around my barrier to her, I saw the Scavengers running away, leaving me behind, "back."

Just as I began contemplating making a break for it myself, knowing the chances of me getting hit were high, a car sped around the corner and stopped close by.

I jumped up and made a break for it as Carol opened the door for me. Once inside, I yelled, "Go!"

Putting her foot on the gas, she got the hell out of there.

"They got out. It hasn't been long. We have to warn everyone. They're gonna hit back," I noted as Carol sped down the road.

"We can get the cars near the East lookout and split up," she suggested.

"Might have to find other rides. The snipers probably used theirs to get away," Jerry- who sat in the passenger seat- countered.

I shook my head. "I don't think they got away." If one sniper had been killed and left for the walkers, I got the feeling the others had, too.

Bamby

[northern-loner]

also because the poll you posted made me think of this, have a random headcanon of mine about the Federation and the Workers:

so like. idk why but the Cucuruchos (as i call them) give off the vibes of they aren't machines, but they also aren't anything..."normal," either. they're like eldritch entities but Not. (see: they can't seem to be harmed for some reason, they can fucking teleport, The Vibes, Man, they can like. summon items, right? that's a thing right or am i remembering that wrong. either way you get the point) they aren't actually anthropomorphic bears; that's just the form they've taken. like, my designs for them are that they look like big teddy bears with speakers on their chests and lil bowties. it's more like a weird...costume? skin? idk but like It Conceals The Horrors.

along with this, i envision the Workers are Actual anthropomorphic white bears, and the reason they appear to not have faces is because they're forced to wear blank masks on the top halves of their faces (nose-up).

so here's the actual headcanon:

when The Federation came the Island to basically take it over, the Cucuruchos were either A) not disguised at all, and it understandably freaked the Workers the hell out (keep in mind The Horrors), or B) they were disguised, but whatever the disguise was originally, it didn't put the Workers at ease even remotely. so they were asked to choose another form, one that might make the locals a little more...comfortable.

and what better way, in the Cucuruchos' eyes, than attempting to look like them?

so yeah. quite literally the only reason they don't appear as like Actual Eldritch Horrors is because they (poorly) disguised themselves as White Teddy Bears in order to "fit in" with the Workers. for the record, it doesn't freak them out anymore, but it still makes them uneasy (think of like. a human encountering a Fae creature that's trying to appear human, and that's the Workers with Cucurucho and Osito).

and another Workers headcanon: they basically speak the Animal Crossing language, and that's why they need to write in books to communicate with the Players; they can understand them just fine, but their vocal chords aren't really made to be able to make Human Voice Sounds.

anyway, that is all. thanks for coming to my Ted Talk-

Have you ever seen Poppy Playtime? I always thought of the workers & Cucurucho's as being like the creatures in that game. Their deal is that they're live sentient creatures built from the bodies of Playtime Co. employees and orphans from the company's fake adoption program(which is a whole other thing. believe it or not, Poppy Playtime actually has some of the best mascot horror lore that I've seen).

The plan was that the company was on a decline so they decided to make their own employees based off of their toy line to fill out the workforce and reduce costs. But in doing so, the company created literal animals with their own thoughts & instincts that they couldn't actually control. A part of that was them being vulnerable to hunger, and when you have a whole building full of ppl both who's work has turned you into a monster and who is quite literally fresh meat, you can probably guess how that goes.

That's what I think the Federation did for their employees, if only better than Playtime Co.. They either turned already living people into these creatures that exist purely to serve them, or genetically grew them from scratch. This also works bc we see traditional employee things like water coolers or coffee machines in their spaces, right? We also see them very clearly having their own thoughts and emotions towards nearly everything they experience later on in the story, they're obviously not mindless.

Yeah, that's my random babble.

I do think them speaking Animal Crossing is hilarious in context. Imagine being q!Cellbit or some shit trying to spy on them with a recorder & all you get is *waababaaakkakakawabababaabaa*.

[kinetic-elaboration]

January 18: Memorials

Today was the law school memorial. It went better than I thought it would. I was getting pretty nervous about it because yet again the communication was terrible. Former employees were only invited to one half of the event and then they all got nervous about coming early. There was no information about parking for them. And I found out literally 5 minutes before that the program for speaking (I use the word program loosely because there was no program) only allotted ten minutes for all library people so I wouldn't be able to say anything. That ended up being not entirely true--other people who were told they couldn't speak did anyway and the whole thing still ended early--but it was sort of true, in that the organizers really only intended for the director to speak and she just split her time with other staff and it ended up being enough by chance. And like, I was thinking of it as extemporaneous remarks but also like... like open mic, you know, and people can just speak, not whatever this actually was that I heard in whispers and rumors just moments before. Some sort of hybrid of 'planned speaker list where people read speeches' and 'just whoever wants can come up or what have you.'

Anyway, the point is, I did chicken out. I was more intimidated by the people than I had thought I would be, and I was also really upset and already crying and I didn't really want to go up last and cry in front of all these randos. But part of it was also that I took the news about the 'ten minutes' thing as basically a message that I wasn't welcome to speak and from that moment on I forgot all my remarks and just sort of... you know, threw up my hands and went oh well. Because I need to be able to prepare for things, mentally; I need to visualize them, I need to be secure in them, especially if they make me nervous. I cannot have the game plan changed last minute. It's unfair to do that to me, I think.

The point of this is that I'm getting really tired of this utter clown car that is my workplace. Just competence levels really scraping the basement floor here. I'm also tired of so much of my friend's legacy being caught up in this, like, political nonsense. The ex-dean made remarks that I felt were literally pointed at the library to tell us to shut up about the poaching--and a lot of library talk is also about all the bad feelings from this era. I get that it's relevant and I get that grief brings up other messy emotions too but I'm just tired of it. The law school sucks balls; that's nothing new. I miss my friend.

A part of me feels kind of cowardly and bad that I didn't speak. But another part... I spoke to people I actually knew and I told some stories and gave some thoughts, and maybe that was all I needed to do or should have done. Nothing that I'd been planning to say was revolutionary. Maybe it would have been nice to go up there and say 'I'm not doing a general reminiscence, here's a story I think is fun, bye' but again I can't change gears like that.

I did like how almost all of the speakers were library people and most of the focus was on library history and her role here. The second half was in the lobby for the students and while I know my supervisor was annoyed that the library got erased there--these students wouldn't have known her there, that history isn't really relevant to them. I thought the remarks were very nice.

I did think it was funny how a couple of people veered very close to stories about the administration sucking but without saying it in so many words, and I hope the guilty parties FELT guilty because they deserve it. One student told the story of the missing donation box but she told it as if the box had just been taken by fairies or something whereas actually it was taken by law admin because it looked "unprofessional" or "messy" in their pristine ugly-ass lobby. And oooooh my friend was PISSED about it at the time. In some ways I felt like her legacy was...not whitewashed, but maybe only partially given. People spoke of her kindness and generosity and friendliness and all of that is true--but those weren't ways she just happened to be. She worked to be that way. Those traits stemmed from a really strong, uncompromising set of moral values--she had Opinions and she wasn't afraid to share them. She had beliefs about how she thought people should be and act, and then she was that way herself. She lived up to the standards she set but she set them for everyone. I think it's both more true and more of an honor to her to say 'her cheerfulness wasn't an accident of her personality, but rather reaching out to people, showing them kindness, caring about their lives, and remaining committed to relationships in the long term, was part of her moral code, part of her intense loyalty, to such a degree that she didn't always understand how anyone else could think differently.'

But I also don't think the students would know her well enough to see all that.

It was really nice to see the retirees and former employees again, including the woman who had my job before me and trained me in my early days here. I haven't seen her since about 2018 and I missed her. After the memorials, the director ordered pizza for us and we had sort of a long lunch, and then almost everyone in my department abandoned ship. I had sort of been thinking of asking to leave early but I didn't, and then one person left to work from home as she usually does on Thursdays and the other just tapped out. I knew the deceased a lot better so, I won't lie, there was a part of me that was like this is hard for YOU?? but I know that's mean and ungenerous and unkind of me. I toughed it out the last 90 minutes since everyone else had gone, so. I did talk to my supervisor for literally 60 of those minutes. I told her I felt obligated to stay and she was like 'I won't know if you don't do anything. We can chat until I leave if you want,' so, yeah--the capitalist machine will not grind me down in my grief.

After I left, I put the yellow flower I'd been wearing--all of the library staff and former staff were wearing them--on the statues outside. Then I just went home.

[sockmanners]

Sonic and the Eggman War, Chapter 9

"Chaos Unleashed."

Knuckles landed on Angel Island, he saw Sonic slowly walking by so the Echidna decided to tell him the good news.

"Hedgehog!" Yelled Knuckles, "you can walk again!"

"Huh? Oh hey Knux! Did you get them all?"

Asked Sonic

"Yes, I did, just as you promised. Now where's this demon you call 'Egg-man'?

"I'm not sure, Tails is calculating where every base is within Mobius right now."

"Ah, I see."

The two boys walked over to Tails' makeshift base and talked over plans to stop Eggman.

"Fox, here is your.. Lock-ate-tour?" Knuckles stated confusingly.

"Oh, right. Welcome back Knuckles, thanks for not breaking my Locator," Tails thanked Knuckles.

"It is not a problem fox." Knuckles told Tails

"So we really found all of them, huh?" Tails said.

"Yep, now we need to find out what Eggman has planned," Sonic proclaimed.

"I'll set a scan for the emeralds, if that's ok Knuckles," Tails asked.

"Ok, only one or two.. scans," Knuckles allowed,

He then gave Tails the rest of the emeralds and Tails gently placed all the emeralds in a machine to test the power of all seven of them,

The machine automatically short circuits and blows up. No one was hurt, but Tails' machine was badly damaged and burnt, but yet the emeralds weren't scuffed or dirtied from the explosion, in fact, they were glowing harder than usual.

"Hmm.. possibly a protective spell or defense mechanism, or the emeralds could be very hard or even indestructible.." Tails coughed

"Welp, whatever Eggman has planned, It's not good. Tails, did all of your stuff get destroyed?"

Sonic asked

"No," Tails answered in fact, the emeralds only focused their power on that one chaos reader, imagine the power someone could have if they could harness all that power. But besides that, nothing else was damaged which means.."

{SCAN COMPLETE}

A monitor started to beep, they had found Eggman's hideout.

"Good, I'll rally up troops," Said a voice behind the trio.

"Father, I-" Knuckles tried to say

"It's ok son, if you three think this man is dangerous to our tribe, the master emerald, and the people of Mobius, I shall allow this hunt to happen" The leader of the Echidna tribe, Locke told Knuckles.

"Well let's get going then! What are we waiting for?" Sonic exclaimed as he and Tails start up their plane, the tornado as Knuckles trailed after the two. Locke had round up his best soldiers and used an ancient saying to teleport them to the site where Eggman was hiding.

After a couple of minutes of fighting, Sonic's group had shown up in the tornado which was a couple feet from the ground to see badniks go flying through the air.

"Alright! My turn!" Sonic yelled excitedly.

Sonic then jumped from the tornado and drilled into the ground by spindashing, he then popped back up and kicked some badniks so hard, they broke on impact. Knuckles jumped next and started spinning around in circles, fists out, which destroyed several other badniks. Tails was still on the plane, taking out the flying badniks.

"Well, what do we have here ?" a voice said on an intercom,

"It seems to me some rascals are on my lawn, messing up my flowers!"

"BUT THIS IS NOT A LAWN, NOR ARE THERE FLOWERS!" Knuckles yelled at a speaker.

"Oh you poor Echidna folk shouldn't have interfered with MY WORK." The voice yelled as bigger badniks started to pile onto the group.

"After this minor hiccup, THE EGGMAN ARMY SHALL RISE!"

Now it was clear who was on the intercom, it was Eggman himself, Dr. Ivo Robotnik.

"I WILL MAKE AN EXAMPLE TO WHOEVER OPPOSES ME TO GIVE UP!" The doctor maniacally laughed.

Tails started to shoot out the speakers and the big badniks."It's about time you shut up!" Tails yelled.

Then, suddenly, a rocket hit the tornado causing it to blow up.

"Oh that's funny, I was going to say the same thing!" Cackled Eggman

"NO!" Sonic yelled horrified, he couldn't let him die, not like them, not like his parents.

"KNUCKLES, COVER ME," Sonic yelled at his Adversary turned friend, "TAILS GOT HIT."

"OK HEDGEHOG, MAKE SURE THE FOX IS OK." Knuckles answered Sonic worryingly as he hit more badniks.

Sonic dashed to the wreckage without hesitation, he started to pull off pieces of metal off Tails' body, he then puts his red jacket onto the young fox and picks him up.

"Tails? Can you hear me? Please answer.." Sonic asked worried.

"S-Sonic, put me down.." Tails quivered.

"You're ok right? We need to get out of here little bro." Sonic told him as he lied him down on the ground.

"No, w-we need to k-keep f-fighting.." Tails said,

"Keep fighting for me Sonic, p-please.." Tails then bleeds out.

"Tails?"

...

"Buddy, wake up, I gotta get you out of here."

......

"Tails?"

.........

"Miles?"

............

"No.. no no no no.." Sonic realized that his best friend was truly gone. The only thing that held him back from going crazy and hunting down Eggman himself.

"Please.. wake up..." Sonic pleaded

"PLEASE!"

Sonic screamed, he kept screaming. He was looking at the dead body of his best friend, but what was grief and fear turned into anger

Sonic screamed again, a surge of energy surrounded him.

He screamed again, even more power surrounded him.

For the final time, Sonic let out a loud, animalistic, blood curdling scream and it happened.

Chaos Unleashed.

Sonic was transformed into a being of chaos, his blue fur turned yellow, his regular glowing blue eyes turned green. His spines flowing with so much energy they floated upwards.

Locke looked back at Sonic and realized that his suspicions were right, the prophecy was true, the true god of chaos was born. Super Sonic was born.

Super sonic emitted a glowing yellow light that when touched by it, life grew on whatever it touched. Tails went from bleeding out to knocked out badly, Super Sonic then picked up tails and flew him somewhere far away, then zipped back and destroyed several giant badniks like threading a needle. He kept destroying things, you could barely see his figure, you only saw the explosion afterwards. After destroying half of the base he broke into the front of the inside and started totalling the main building, as the building fell, you could see the glowing god holding Eggman by the collar,

He sent Eggman into the ground softly. Sonic changed back into his regular firm and started beating Eggman, right swing after the left. Then he heard a voice.

"HEDGEHOG! STOP IT NOW!" Knuckles yelled,

"WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BRING HIM TO JUSTICE, NOT EXECUTE HIM!"

"Y-YES! LISTEN TO THE ECHIDNA! DON'T KILL ME PLEASE!" The doctor begged.

"He's right." Sonic said tiredly, "you're lucky the kid is alive, other wise you wouldn't have been let go so easily."

Sonic decided to use Justice instead of Vengeance, he spared Eggman's life.

END OF CHAPTER 9

END OF BOOK 1

[akadaemia-anyder]

messing with writing prompts

//note: prompt was originally "Coffee is illegal and you have to single handedly smuggle it into the country.", but i figured i would tweak it a little to make sense in the context of the convocation and have fun with it

"Coffee-- or whatever you three have named that concept-- is henceforth banned from our Convocation meetings." The exasperation was palpable from Lahabrea's gruff, surly tone. Azem and Hythodaeus(who merely came to report on the latest developments at the Bureau), however, paid it little mind as they smirked and slyly nudged each other in the side in jest. Their hushed giggling did not go unnoticed by the others present, and provoked a sharp, golden glare from across the table. It was, after all, their idea to suggest Hades to start bringing the drink into meetings. A rushed morning spent scrambling to get ready did not give much room for Hades to notice that Azem had tampered with his drink. The damage was swept up as quickly as it had happened, but the sheer embarrassment would remain for a while longer... As would the terrible flavor.

And to be completely fair to their cause, it was really useful for Emet. Well, at first, anyway. The aromatic drink helped him stay awake and cognicent through discussions taking place after a night of his ever so lively colleagues refusing to let him rest with their antics. He would dare say he enjoyed the stuff, even. A little bit of milk to soften the edge, and a dash of sugar... The mere smell of the drink was enough to make the dreaded task of mornings slightly more bearable to him. Bitter as it was, the sophisticated flavor and ability to jolt his mind awake were both things he appreciated in his own subtle way.

Not to mention, the smell was beginning to become associated with Azem's frequent morning visits, and the equally frequent occurrence of Azem gushing about their latest escapades. This fitting... warm, down-to-earth feeling, befitting of the smell it became associated with.

"Surely you could reconsider the banning of this drink? This is more a result of Azem's antics more than it can be attributed to the drink itself--"

Lahabrea's steely gaze answered the question for him quite effectively.

--------------------

Hades first plan, while thoroughly thought out, did not go as well as he had expected. It turns out that simply masking the smell of coffee and attempting to pass it off as tea caught the suspicion of Lahabrea, and was foiled almost instantly.

His second plan, however, seemed to be working well enough. A discrete metallic flask held the temperature nicely, and he could just slip his sleeve a bit over his palm to lighten the intensity of the heat on his hand. The only downside to this was that he had to take sips from said flask discretely, while Lahabrea was occupied addressing another convocation member.

While Hythlodaeus was not here for this meeting, Hades found his gaze wandering towards Azem's seat as the aftertaste of the coffee caused a warmness to swell in his chest.

Even only to evoke those memories, breaking the Speaker's rules seemed like a good trade to him. As Azem met his gaze and waved back, he found himself smiling. Frog and dirt in his drink or not, he couldn't stay mad at them.

Not for anything.

[kpop---scenarios]

Same Time (4)

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

Pairing: Changbin x Reader/Minho x Reader

Warnings: Smut, Unprotected Fucking, Oral (m. & f.), fingering ect. Angst

Word Count: 3.9k

Taglist: @binnieboyswhore @f4ncyvelvet @skittlez-area512 @biaswreckingfics @buttvi @imhyvnjin @wheeintaer @rindomo @lizsvcks @zhaqifa @markswifeu @qtieskz @joonies-destiny @etherealbyeol @straytannies @twnklbb @multi--kpop--fanfics @lilithxray

Unable to Tag: @hwly0ung

Both men physically tense up as they eye eachother up. Minho's heart pounds into his ears as Changbin puffs out his chest, trying to seem intimidating to Minho, but it doesn't bother him. Minho sets his shoulders before clearing his throat. "She deserves better than you. She deserves better than being treated like she's nothing." 

Changbin laughs. "And better is you?" He sneers. 

"Absolutely. I won't keep her hidden, act like I'm embarrassed to be seen with her." Minho scoffs. 

"I'm not embarrassed of her.." Changbin says. "She's not going to say yes to you. She's in love with me, it'll always be me." Changbin smiles. "Sure, she went on a date with you, but she'll keep fucking me." He laughs, patting Minho on the shoulder. Minho steps back from Changbin, nodding his head. 

"Yeah." Minho smiles. "We'll see about that." He finishes, walking away from the delusional man. Minho knew he had gotten into your head about how badly Changbin was treating you. You were a smart girl, he knew you'd realize your worth and soon you'd be his. 

** 

You're dancing through your apartment, listening to music while cleaning. You had spoken to Changbin in a few days and honestly your heart hurt, but you knew you needed to distance yourself from him if you were going to be happy with someone else. 

You stop in your tracks, the smile fading from your face as you think about being with someone other than Changbin. As much of a dick as he was, and how dumb he was, you still wanted him. You still hoped that somehow he might love you back. 

You knew the likeliness of that was slim to none. He has Hwasa, so he didn't need you anymore. You sigh as you pull out your headphones, not quite feeling like dancing anymore. You were just about to curl into a ball on the couch when your phone began to buzz. Your smile grows, seeing Minho's name flashing across the screen. Quickly you answer it. "Hello?" 

"Hey you." He says, you can hear tension in his voice through the speaker. 

"You okay?" You ask. 

"All good." He laughs. "What are you up to tonight?" He asks. "I want to do something." 

"I'm not doing anything." You excitedly say. "What did you have in mind?" 

"Something special." He tells you. "I'll pick you up at 8pm." 

"See you then." You finish, hanging up the phone. You set it down on the table, realizing that your heart suddenly doesn't feel so empty. 

** 

Your doorbell rings at 8pm exactly, and you are ready. You had no idea what he had planned, so you decided to go casual with leggings, a cute top and a cardigan, you left your hair down and applied natural looking makeup. 

You open the door and Minho's face immediately lights up when he sees you. "You take my breath away everytime." He sighs, grabbing your hand and kissing it before pulling you from your apartment and leading you down to his car. 

"So what's the plan?" You ask, buckling your seatbelt. 

"Well, since no one is at the dorm tonight, I set up something." He says, scanning your face for your reaction. 

You smile widely, nodding your head in excitement as Minho begins to drive you back to his dorm. 

Thirty minutes later you're sitting on the couch in the living room, surrounded by candles, an array of your favorite snacks laid out on the coffee table, with a pile of your favorite movies stacked on the floor. 

"Which one first?" He asks, pointing to the pile. 

"Gotta start off with zombies." You laugh. "Train to Busan."

Minho grins, pulling it from the pile and putting it in the DVD player. He had a feeling on why you picked this movie, and as it played on and people began getting sick and the action started, his assumptions were correct. You continued to inch closer to him with every scary part of the movie until he had his arm wrapped around you and you were snuggled into his side. 

He honestly felt like his heart couldn't take it. He hadn't felt as happy as he did in that exact moment for who knows how long. 

After the movie had ended, Minho stuck in the second movie, but you weren't paying too much attention to it. You looked over at Minho who had already been looking at you. You smile, darting your eyes away and then look back at him, who was still looking at you. 

"What?" You giggle. 

"You're just so beautiful." He sighs, grabbing your chin. Minho closes his eyes, leaning in for a kiss, parting his lips. Before the two of you could kiss the, the door opened and a few of the members walked in, coming back home early, despite saying they wouldn't be back until morning. 

It eventually got so crowded that the two of you decided that you would go to your house where you would have much more privacy. 

The drive was quiet, your stomach was nervous. You wanted him to kiss you, you wanted him to touch you, and you hoped he would make a move tonight. 

"So..." You begin, placing your keys on your kitchen table. 

"I'm going to do something." He starts. "And if you're uncomfortable, let me know, but I need to do this." He finishes. You both stand there for a few seconds, staring at each other before Minho walks towards you. He reaches his hands out, placing them on either side of your face before leaning down, pressing his lips to yours. You wrap your arms around his waist, falling into the kiss. Slowly the kiss becomes more heated, Minho slips his tongue into your mouth, tangling it with yours. 

You had been kissed before, more times than you could count, but this.. you had never been kissed like this before. The passion Minho had for you came out in the way he kissed you, the way he held you and caressed you. 

He suddenly pulls away, panting as he tries to catch his breath. You look at him confused, as if you had done something wrong. "I'm sorry." He whispers. 

"If I didn't stop I was going to take it further." He explains. 

"I want you too." You whisper, looking at him with a seductive smile.

"You're.. ready?" He asks.

You excitedly nod your head as he smiles widely. Without warning he runs towards you, scooping you up and over his shoulder before running off to find your bedroom. 

Minho lays you on your bed, while he stands over you just admiring you. "I want you to do whatever you want to me." You say. 

He lightly chuckles. "Oh baby. You don't know what you're in for." 

Minho runs his hands up your legs, tucking his fingers into the waist of your leggings. He hooks his fingers in, pulling them down, along with your panties. You lift your ass, helping him take them off. He slowly pulls them down, over your thighs, down to your calves, pooling them at your ankles before fully pulling them off. With a smirk on his face, stands up, discarding his shirt and undoing the button to his jeans, pulling them down and leaving them on your floor as he crawls onto your bed. He positions one leg between your legs as he crawls up to you. He runs his hands over your stomach, pushing up your shirt, groaning as it's pushed over your breasts, making them jiggle. He helps you take it off, throwing it behind him as you sit up slightly, letting him unhook your bra, tossing it to the side. 

He cups your breasts, leaning his head down, taking your nipple in his mouth, sucking gently until the bud hardens in his mouth, running his tongue over it. He releases your nipple, moving over to your other one to do the same thing. You let out small breathy pants as he licks and sucks your nipples, teasing you, making your pussy throb in anticipation. He brings his head closer to you, pressing his lips against yours, deepening the kiss quickly while slipping his tongue into your mouth, making you moan into the kiss. Without breaking the kiss, he moves his hand down your body placing it between your bodies and between your lips, rubbing your throbbing nub. 

"Oh." You groan, as your back arches, pushing yourself more into him. You can feel his hard cock pushing against your pelvic bone as he begins to slowly hump you, rubbing his clothed cock against you. 

"Just fuck me, please." You beg, bucking your hips. "I want to feel you inside me." You whisper. 

"Soon enough." He smirks, moving down your body, until his face is buried between your legs. He spreads your lips, diving in face first, attaching his lips to your clit, sucking while inserting two fingers inside you. 

"Oh my god." You groan, as Minho pumps his fingers in and out of you, while licking your clit, teasing you with the tip of his tongue. Your orgasm builds quickly, it's been a few days since you had gotten off, your pussy was begging you to let her cum. You grind yourself against his face and he picks up the pace with his fingers, switching between licking and sucking your clit. You grip the bed sheets as pleasure radiates through your body, the feeling of pure bliss surrounding you. You grab onto a clump of his hair as your orgasm hits, you aggressively grind on his tongue, riding through your high. 

"Fuck, Minho." You scream out, jolting upright as you cum all over his face. 

You collapse back on the bed, panting as Minho looks up at you, his face glistening with your cum. He crawls up the bed standing up to take off his boxers, throwing them behind him. He kneels beside your face, turning your head to face his large, thick cock staring directly at you in the face. 

"Open." He demands. You get on all fours, opening your mouth for him to shove his cock down your throat. You close your mouth around him, sucking as hard as you could, as he kneels there with his hands tucked behind his head. 

"Good girl." He groans, watching you slurp on his cock, drool spilling from your mouth. Minho grabs a fistful of hair before he thrusts his cock down your throat making you choke, tears running down your cheeks as he continues to do it. 

"That's it. Take that cock." He grunts, thrusting himself into your mouth over and over again. He pulls himself out of your mouth, laying down on the bed. "Ride my face and suck my cock." He grins. You straddle yourself on his face, his tongue already out to lick your pussy again. You bend down, sticking his cock back in your mouth as he sucks and slurps on your clit again. His tongue movements make you forget what you're supposed to be doing as you begin to hump his face. 

You swallow his cock again, deepthroating it as far as you can, until he thrusts up, sending it far down your throat again, making him groan onto your pussy. He quickened his pace, making you cum quickly, spilling your juices all over his face. He doesn't bother to clean himself up, instead pushes you off him after you cum, holding your legs up in the air as he lines himself up with your entrance. He grips tightly to your legs, pushing his cock inside you, stretching you out. He immediately begins to pound your pussy, desperately yearning for his own release. 

"Fuck." You scream. 

"Scream my name." He moans. 

"Minho.. oh fuck Minho." You scream, loudly. 

He pulls you in closer to him, his thrusts shorter and harder as he grunts loudly, sweat dripping from his forehead. He quickly pulls out of you, pulling you up to your knees, placing you flush against his. He bends down to insert his cock inside you again, pulling your back close to his chest. He thrusts violently as his hand wraps around your throat, squeezing tightly as he moans into your ear. 

"You're gonna make me cum." He grunts, squeezing tighter as he shoots his cum into your pussy, filling you up. He pulls out of you, his cock red and throbbing, your pussy dripping in cum. 

You both collapse on the bed, your bodies dripping in sweat as you both try to calm your breathing. 

"That." Breath. "Was." Breath. 

"Amazing." He finishes. You laugh, turning your head to look at him. 

"I think I'm going to get a noise complaint.. They're going to know your name now." You giggle. 

"You introduced me very well." Minho laughs, struggling to get out of your bed. "Do you mind if I shower?" He asks. "I need to go home, and as much as I love it, I don't want to show up smelling like pussy." 

Your face turns bright red as you hide your face under the covers. You wave your hand out, shooing him to go. All you can hear as he walks away is his laughs at your embarrassment. A few minutes later you join him, having some fun in your shower. 

** 

Minho doesn't lose his smile the entire drive home the next morning. He replays the sound of you moaning, the sound of you screaming his name as you came all over his cock and his face. Fuck, he was getting hard again just thinking about it. As he walks in the door of the dorm, he sees Changbin sitting on the couch, looking up at him. 

"Where were you?" Changbin asks. "You were gone all night." 

Minho rolls his eyes, going to walk past but Changbin stands up, blocking Minho's path, Minho takes a deep breath in to try and calm himself before looking Changbin in the eyes. Changbin stood close enough to Minho that he immediately recognized the scent radiating off his body. 

It was yours. It was your soap. 

The ocean smelling body wash he always loved to use when he showered at your place. He steps back, his face angry. "You were with Ayn?" 

"What do you think?" Minho asks, rolling his eyes. 

Changbin grips the collar of Minho's shirt, pulling him closer, exposing a few small hickies scattered near his collarbone. 

Changbin furrows his brows, asking Minho a question through gritted teeth."Did you fuck her?" 

Minho smiles, leaning in closer to Changbin. He whispers in his ear. "Take a guess." Minho laughs. "Of course I did. Do you wanna hear details? How many times she came from my tongue or my dick? Her voice might be a little hoarse when you call her." He smirks. "My name is a little rougher in the throat." He finishes with a wink as fury takes over Changbin. He pushes Minho back, raising his fist, and punching an unsuspecting Minho directly in the face. Minho stumbles back, his hand covering his mouth, shocked. Minho uses his finger to touch his lip, feeling the blood dripping down his face from his split lip. 

He laughs manically, as he stands up, looking at the furious Changbin who stands there huffing, his body physically shaking. He charges for Minho again, but this time Minho catches Changbin off guard, hitting him in the side of the face with his fist, causing him to lose his footing, almost falling back. 

Changbin stands up, looking at Minho with such disgust and hatred in the moment. 

"Maybe I deserved the first one." Minho yells. "But I don't deserve another one for treating her better than you ever have." He spits. A smile spreads across Minho's face as he looks Changbin in the eyes. "I treat her better, which means I probably fuck her better too?" 

Changbin charges for Minho again, tackling him to the ground, swinging at his face, trying to get as many punches in as he can. Minho blocks his face before the rest of the members rush into the living room, pulling Changbin off of Minho. Bang Chan holds onto Changbin as Han helps Minho up. Minho let's out a loud laugh. "Look at this. Look at how mad he got because he fucked up a good thing." 

"What the hell is going on between the two of you?" Bang Chan yells, looking between the two sweaty, disheveled men. 

"He fucked Ayn!" Changbin yells, pointing at Minho. "He knows I'm in love with her!" 

"He's pissed that he fucked up with her." Minho yells. "I'm just shooting my shot with a woman who I'm interested in. It's not my fault you don't have any balls to confess to her." 

"All this, over a fucking girl?" Bang Chan yells. "Give me your phones and get the fuck out of my sight." He yells. 

Changbin and Minho hand over their phones before walking away to their rooms, not saying a word to each other. 

Bangchan takes a deep breath, hiding both the boys phones before pulling out his own phone, dialing your number. He sits down on the couch, dreading the fact that he has to make this call to you but he doesn't have a choice. He can't continue to have his members fist fighting over a woman. 

You're sitting on the couch, eating snacks and watching a show when your phone rings. You look at the ID and instantly are nervous. Bangchan never calls you, and when he does it is usually with an issue. 

"Hello?" You answer, trying to not sound nervous. 

"Ayn." Bangchan sighs. "What the fuck are you doing?" He asks. 

"I'm sorry?" You say, feeling a little taken aback. You adjust your sitting position, as if that's going to help you hear better. 

"With Changbin and Minho. What the fuck are you doing?" He asks, his voice steadily rising. "I cannot have my members fucking fist fighting and attacking each other over some pussy." 

"What are you talking about?" You ask, genuinely confused. 

"Figure your shit out Ayn before you don't see either of them again." He spits, hanging up the call. 

You had absolutely no idea what was happening. Why were they fist fighting over you? What the hell was wrong with Changbin and Minho. You felt so overwhelmed with everything. You had no idea what to do with either situation. You felt like you wanted to disappear, start fresh. With tears brimming in your eyes, you tried to set your phone down, until it rang again. 

"Hello?" You whisper. 

"Ayn!" Your friend Jessi yells through the speaker. "Bitch! Beach vacation, two weeks. Come on, you gotta join us." 

A beach vacation? Away from everyone and everything for two weeks? 

"I'm in." You say, clearing your throat. "I'm coming right away. I'm going to pack quickly. Text me the address." You say, hanging up the phone. You jump off the couch, rushing around your room to pack everything you need. Bathing suits, shorts, tank tops, sun hats and you would most definitely make a stop for alcohol on your way out. 

As you finished packing, slid on your sandals and grabbed your car keys, your phone rang. Looking at the screen, you were confused about why Felix was calling you. He never called you? 

"Felix?" You answer. 

"Hey you. It's me." You hear through the speaker. "My phone was taken." Minho says. 

You don't say anything. 

"Can you come over?" He asks. "It's important. I really need to talk to you." He pleads. 

You let out a long breath. "Sure. I'll be there in twenty." You say, hanging up the phone. 

** 

Twenty minutes later you were standing inside the dorm with your arms crossed, with Minho standing in front of you, looking extremely nervous. You note the bust lip as you're staring at him. 

"I have to ask you something." He begins. 

"Minho, I shouldn't be here.. " you whisper. 

"Just give me a minute." He pleads. "I want to know if you would be my girlfriend?" He smiles. 

Your eyes widened at his question, it hadn't been something you were expecting him to say. 

"I don't.. I don't know. I'm not sure if I'm ready for that.." you whisper. 

Minho looks offended at your answer. "After everything?" He scoffs. "You're still torn? It's an obvious choice."

"I need to figure out what I want. And I don't know who or what that is." 

"I want to be with you." He laughs. "I don't just want you as just some hole to fuck." 

"Wow." You scoff. 

"I'm leaving. Don't call me." You growl, turning away from him to storm out of the dorm. 

How fucking dare he? 

You're fighting off tears as you slam the front door, walking down the hall with your head down. You don't see the man walking towards you and he doesn't see you either. You both collide, with you hitting his chest, stumbling back. You look up to apologize, until you see it's Changbin. 

"Ayn.." he whispers. 

You don't say anything, only try to move past him but he stops you. "You don't have to say anything, just listen to me." He pleads. 

What the hell was with them today?  

You cross your arms and tap your foot as you wait for him to speak. He lowers his head, scratching the back of his neck before he begins to speak. "I'm in love with you." 

Your heart begins to race. 

"I acted the way I did because I was terrified of my feelings for you. I was scared that I would ruin things, that you wouldn't feel the same as me. I wasn't sure if I could take that kind of heartbreak.. so instead of hurt you and you will never know how much I regret the things I said and did to you. But I needed you to know, I love you." He breathes. 

"Why now? Why are you telling me this now? You've had months to tell me but instead you treated me like garbage. I just can't do this today. I'm sorry, I need to go." You whisper, holding back your tears as you brush by him, running out to your car. 

You cry the entire way to the beach house. As soon as you get inside, you collapse into your friends arms, spilling out everything to her. 

"Girl, you need a drink and some fresh dick." Jessi laughs. "Get changed and let's go to the beach and get drunk and forget those losers." He exclaims. 

"Yes, and yes." You laugh, taking your luggage upstairs to get changed. 

Once you were ready, you headed back downstairs, feeling slightly better but the words of both men swam through your head. Minho's asshole comments, Changbin's confession, you were so confused. 

"Go to the bar, I'll be right there." Jessi tells you, pointing to the hut on the beach. You make your way over there, grabbing a seat. You order yourself a drink and a few shots, ready to forget for the night. 

"This seat taken?" You hear from behind you. 

"No, it's free." You sigh, not looking at who you were talking to. You quickly down your drink and your shots, your cheek rest in your palm as you wait for the bartender to come back. 

"Hey." The man next to you says. You perk up, looking over there and your jaw almost drops at his smile. "Can I buy you a drink?" He wonders. 

You nod your head with a smile on your face as Jessi comes and sits beside you. 

She leans over to whisper in your ear. "What better way to get over a man, then to get under a new one." 

"Sure." You smile. "I'm Ayn." You say. 

"Nice to meet you, beautiful. My name is Wooyoung."