#theyre all one big family after a few years

[noitkot1]

s4!Scar's base is so cool and shelters all the dead Scars

Or all Life Series Scar's respawn in Scar's Frontier Outpost- or or, oh god all 5 Scar's are stuck together.

All throughout s4 Scar mentions something-something that Scar's Frontier Outpost is "a place for all Scar's to go!" This au is that, but Scar's Frontier Outpost is quite literal in its description. All Scar's that have died go there to rest. And happen to meet some of the other universe's version of themselves in death.

3rd!Scar waking up completely alone as the first, only with the cats to accompany him as he slowly wanders through this very not well lit up town. Only gaping at the TERRIBLE train track construction. Even if he is no expert a train track should not have a 90 degree turn! Of course half shirtless with a cat on his shoulder, or well guiding him. The place is abandoned to his eyes and- well. He's dead isn't he? Passed when Grian murdered him in the cactus ring, so this is his afterlife...

Its nicer than he had imagined it to be.

Then one day months and months later, there's a silly wizard in his bed with green, depressed eyes. And as he stares into a mirror, this replica-Scar sits up slowly, hands shaking with winces and the biggest frown ever. Looking towards the other Scar, his voice cracks during the sentence, "am I dead?" 3rd!Scar only does a quick nod, because while he assumed this is the afterlife, why would the afterlife have multiple versions of himself? He shrugs it off, probably better not to question it. It'll be nice to have some company.

Meanwhile LL!Scar is pulling his hoodie over his head and trying his best to be small and hide away. Because he was unrightfully- totally rightfully, it was a death game. A death game he did not sign up for- murdered. And now he's dead and seeing other versions of himself. It'd be a shock to anyone's system truly, and LL!Scar stares blindly as 3rd!Scar goes on a long babble, sitting down and petting one of the cats with a smile as he talks all about the local train in the area. A week later, the two have settled in and just exist. Because they're dead now and all they can really do is make the world more pretty.

This repeats for each one. After DL 3rd!Scar stops sleeping in the bed they keep spawning in, changing that room out to be more welcoming in a sense. After the mess that is DL, the one who somehow stays farther away from the "group" than LL did, the two give little concerned glances and raises of the eyebrow. That room has a big banner over the door reading "WELCOME TO SCARS FRONTEIR OUTPOST(AKA YOUR DEAD)", streamers hanging from the ceiling, and a red carpet added to the bottom. The entire room is restructured, and they add a chest full of essential items and a little note reading, "DISCONT FOR ONE SANDWICH!" and on the back it read all horribly scribbled out, "if youd like one more glorius sandwich, that will cost you one shoe!" DL got scammed through this, the two longer dead Scar's putting on smiles and demanding two diamonds for the amazing tour they gave the other. And somehow DL couldn't help the laugh that crackled from his chest, the others couldn't stop their snickers either.

SL and LL get along well, but either refuse to acknowledge why or talk about their past. Just when the other appears they connect.

LiL!Scar being like the youngest child. Definitely does the most pranks and gets along like a fire with everyone, but 3rd!Scar encourages his chaos. These two have definitely set off fireworks for fun on the anniversaries of their own deaths(LiL starting this tradition because he simply can. Bdubs and Cleo would've loved to see the pretty lights).

DL being the dramatic middle child... somewhere in there. He ends up being the most reserved even when LiL arrives. He's scared of making many connections and accepts his cats as his soulmates and his only friends. Said cats are also how the other two bring DL out of his shell. Making tons of the toys for the kitters and bonding over their equal love of the little guys.

They all deserve a little happiness in their endings somehow! A nice afterlife where they can thrive together and enjoy some bits of it after realizing they all aren't out to get each other, they're simply just... dead. Now all they have are the alternate universe also dead versions of themselves(this being pointed out over a campfire would make them snort).

[mx-paint]

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[arolesbianism]

I should rly start eternal gales posting again I need to make sure the ppl who follow me know how much Tali and Aris make me to insane so that the isat au can have its full effect but alas I am allergic to drawing the human eg cast like 99% of the time and rn the only thing stopping that from being 100% is that I like fucking around with different art styles sometimes

[butt-puncher]

I wish that I was more

[starshipdecay]

Toon Zelda redesigns! I've never been fond of the Toon Zelda design, and these girls deserve some individuality. Design notes and rambles below the cut :D

(time to turn the proper grammar off i aint capitalizing all this. warning: i am verbose)

first up, tmc zelda!

shes the one most like toon zelda, since i felt like the vibes fit the *most* (though not a lot). also, with her place on the timeline, i could justify a lot of bits, like the wings and the cape

the cape! obvs it comes from the toon zelda base design, but also it involves skyloftian fashion! i take the timeline as a challenge, and i once saw a take somewhere that the skyloftians all wear their family crests (most often birds lol) on their person. zelda here (and link too) do just that, wearing their family crests on little caplets. on the back is, of course the royal crest

i went very cutesy princess for her. tmc has such a *whimsical* vibe that i feel is very. muted? by the fact its stuck with the toon style. so i wanted to put in that vibe here. also her sprites make it look like her skirt is super poofy, so how could i not?

curly hair: i wanted something interesting, and most zeldas have straight hair. so! adds to the cuteness

i didnt draw it so well but she (and link) both have very sleepy expressions. zelda especially just has a sleepy expression in her sprite, its quite adorable.

shes not as decked out as other princesses, cuz i see tmc taking place before the royal family really starts to get *royal* as we see it. shes still of course got a tiara and some embroidery tho.

Tetra! her base design isnt all that changed from the original. her name is a fun hc of mine tho. i think "von Hyrule" sounds better as a surname than just "hyrule". shes not zelda, but shes still a descendant.

(WW) princess z (as i call her)

I went more oot zelda vibes for her, since she would be closer, temporally, to oot. i also went very warm, since ive never seen the flood as a *warm* endeavor.

shes got the shoulder danglies, as most zeldas have shoulder armor of some kind. the danglies instead of actual armor are supposed to kind of evoke a royal sea captain kind of vibe.

shes ghostly, with a fish-eyed stare. shes been dead and gone for a long time. shes also a bit taller and a few years older than tetra (as of ww). shes just some spectre the king saw in tetra, not at all a close match

tetra, being smaller than princess z, doesnt fit into the clothes. the dress is too big for her (as is in canon gd that skirt is WAY too long for her), the coat is baggy. the role of a princess *literally* does not fit her.

the ribbons! theyre my replacement for the wings, and they represent the wind in the game! since its represented by white lines, the ribbons are a perfect symbolic match. (also, a note, tetras hair is shorter and coarser than princess z's)

i mostly bullshitted the blue panel but the vague idea i gave it was 'a hope for the triforce to give good fortunes to the people' (pictured as dots, mostly behind her arms)

Pirate Queen Tetra

ph! about a year has passed, and tetra has really grown into her own! as well as literally grown!

shes still tetra, pirate and captain, but shes incorporated that royal heritage into her identity: quite literally! she made piecemeal of the original outfit (what was left of it anyway after the fight), and added bits and pieces to her new life.

she also takes full advantage of said heritage to call herself pirate queen. its great for branding. whos gonna say she CANT go by pirate queen?

the seagull feather is from Aryll. only crew member tetra wears a trinket from (who can say no to that ball of sunshine! certainly not tetra)

not many notes. yall can see whats there. (also she still wears her hair in a bun, its just in a low bun (you can almost see it) when she wears her hat)

st zelda!

first note is: shes not a princess! shes an heiress of the company tetra had made and left behind. hence her title of Lady zelda. ("new hyrule" rly just like-- the ending of ww was *literally* that hyrule is dead and thats okay. how did they miss that :sob emoji:) also calling her Lady Zelda fits with the train vibes

shes in a 1880s style bustle dress because 1) i am OBSESSED with bustle dresses. i love them. so much. 2) the more historical vibe works really well with trains! also a lot of the other outfits in the game have late victorian vibes, so shes certainly not out of place.

her hat (and gloves): any proper lady has a hat on when going about town, however, when she gets body snatched, she pulled out her hatpin to use (ineffectively) as a weapon (she IS tetras great-great-granddaughter), causing her to lose her hat *and* hairdo.

shes still got the hatpin in her ghost form, too. she uses it to threaten people for funsies

Ribbons! on the topic of hairdo, her ribbons! visually tying her to tetras design, the ribbons here instead take on the image of train tracks, with her pin (on the left side) evoking a train engine. the pin also makes her look rich and girly. when her hair comes undone, this makes the ribbons all loose, like how the train tracks disappear in game. (the hat also kinda connects her to tetra)

thanks for reading :D i hope you liked reading this as much as i liked typing it

[n0t0lucky]

¤ Goatman / Jeffrey Bonavita ¤

~~General Headcanons~~

my first time doing something like that._. /im thirsty for past month in case of his content, art is not enough!!

¡enjoy!

》he loved working at Hawthorne Exotic Zoo from the stars, eaven before that for sure found stray dog and/or cat as his friends.

》At the beginning of that 'job' had issues with bigger animals during feeding time. Being cornered with a bucket of fish by few bears or tiped over by lions to take steaks just to fight for it among themselves.

》Huge, maybe not super tall, but he's visibly hunged, due to his problem with knook-knee and added weight of big horns, and space in the cage.

》 strong enough to lift a bear or two, did so in the past for sure.

》always wanted to go see the circus, but was threatened by Mr.G that they'll hurt him.

》when he was a bit older, would sneek out at night when Mr.Gardener was asleep, to see the performance at the Hullabaloo Circus.

》he has a dairy with each animal that was in the zoo, theyr own names, preferences, dislikes, specific way of acting and markings to ease recognision, probably gave it few times to his boss, who didn't had much use for it in the end ,and gave role of Beast Tamer to Jeffrey.

》i belive he likes to draw animals, so the notebook had to include some tiny sketchof of them.

》with time, as he helped around the zoo, he grew closer to animals than his caretaker, with resulted in seeing them as his real family and he was the one who needs to take care of them, He was just giveing them a place to be.

》 didn't had much experience with humans, observation was all he did, untill the "meet and great" era, where he lead guests to interact with animals under his guide, teaching mostly younger kids, how to imitate sounds and comunicate with sayd species.

》taught monkey capuchins and lemurs to fetch stuff for him, at the start it would be something simple like a pen, dairy, bag of snack; that would be handet half empty for some reason and keys.

》personally striked Mr.Gardener to dust, for everything he did to him and his 'family'

》Jeffrey is.. people say he's horrendous. But he wasnt always this way. was treated as one of the animals after longer period if being against Mr.Gardener's plans for the Zoo

》He loses control over himself at violet moon (werewolf stye would say). It is rare situation, once in two years, with could be reason of him being chained in the cage durning blue moons phases.

》durning that time, most shows woud be canceled, due too incressed agresion of all animals, including him. Zoned out, acting agresive toward his boss, resulting in being caged together with bigger critters.

》schackles on his wrist, head and ankle are a reminder of what happened, he lost his only family, yet it was a prison. Now, everyone from there is free.. expect him stuck at the mannor now.

》Jeffrey has PTSD, due to everything that happened, he's scared of closed off spaces. pretty ironic looking at his skills, but it triggers "fight or flight" in him. He once again trapped in a cage, having that boiling felling inside.. he needs to strike harder to get freed

》feeds local critters together with Bane at daily basics.

》definitely bff with Morro, both being keept in closure in the past, and haveing animal friends.

》befrends anyone in the manor who likes animals, no matter if they are hunter or survivor. He enjoys sharing his hobby with others.

》for sure has some Cat Lovers club activities on hunters side with Ann and Alva.

》never saw sooo huge Lizard, woud mistake Luchino at first for a comodo dragon in human clothes, will get stared at in disgust. but later happily will listen about all kinds of reptiles from both Professors and Reptilian and would share some of his experiences with haired animals at the zoo, to them.

》when he sees cat's scattered around the map during a match, Jeffrey's sure to give every single one a scratch if he sees one. Durnign chase, after downing survs, woud turn back to spot he saw one and pet it, then later chair his pray.

》Man plays on pan's flute, surely likes to do so in mannors garden, if noticed may apologize for disturbing who found him and move to different spot, he was main performer in Hawthorne Zoo, it is not stage fright.

》 if it's Antonio who noticed him, he will complement the melody and tr to recreate it on his violin. Ifit'ss Frederick.. he's definitely going to call out how bad the notes sound, and he would do it better, making Jeff simply stare at him coldly and walk away without a word. Until the next match..

》if you ask him to stay, he'll asks you if ther are any requests for him to play on the instrument.

_________________________________________

~Jeffrey simps ¤ Including Reader~

》 sometimes when you call him, instead of 'what is it?' or 'yes?' You get 'baah' or 'rawr' in responce. Embarrassed about it a bit, not letting you notice, but his ears turn slightly red and start to twitch.

》 not used to physical tough from a human.. but after some time he would not let you go. Could say he's a big cat, with horns ofcorse! you are traped in his grip, until he says so.

》 he has horns as we know, so prepare for some headbutts. Rare but not non-existing urge to smack something with his horns, may be reason he's hiting them with his hand so offten.

》seeing him without the uniform? Oh boy, hes covered in scars on his back. He doesn't like them, but you say they are beautiful and show how much he went through. Bonus: if you try to trace them, he shiverss slightly.

》 instead of kisses would simply rub noses together or his face against yours.

》loves going on night walks with you watching stars, listening to nature surrounding you both, that's what he always wished for; freedom.

If no one got my people, i got them! can we get an amen?

[lovieku]

GOOD LUCK, BABE! #3 ⋆ 정국

what happens when you leave everything behind, only to be faced with it again years later? eunbi is convinced she was given another shot at keeping all she ever wanted, but it’s difficult when that all is her childhood best friend who doesn’t want to do anything with her anymore. how to earn his trust back?

☾ pairing: non idol!jk x fem!oc

☾ genre: childhood friends to strangers, friends to lovers, angst, fluff, smut

☾ word count: 9k +

☾ warnings: explicit language. say hi to eunbi!!! and to the friend group!!! its a bit funny until it becomes angsty … ouch. jeongguk is a bitch lowkey. pun unintended (you’ll see). theyre dramatic as hell. like bro it cant be that serious 😭. im sawrry for this. and its not all!!! see you in fourth chapter 🫡

☾ author’s note: hi hi hi!!! this took a bit to fully convince me but in the end it did. i was frustrated because i felt like i couldnt really use my words properly to tell the whole thing but… here we are now!!! thank u!!! enjoy 🫶🏻

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three ⋆ this is me trying

Up to that point, Eunbi’s life has been a constant adjusting to new surroundings, leaving bits and pieces behind, getting attached to new ones, and hoping they wouldn’t be taken away from her. It would always end up as she feared it would, though. From as early as she can remember, Eunbi would live off her blue backpack, where she gathered a toothbrush, a change of clothes and her favourite plushie to help her sleep and adapt faster to the smaller bed at her dad’s house. When her parents had divorced, it had been a rough patch before the both of them could come to a legal agreement; that being, she would spend the weekend with her father, and then stay with her mother again until Friday rolled around.

She rarely looks back at those days now, but when she does — mostly at night, her mind seemingly incapable of putting a stop to her furious flow of thoughts and just sleep — she thinks if it hadn’t happened to her when she was still pliable and mouldable, when she was yet to be met with what ordinariness was supposed to look like for others, she wouldn’t have been ready to wholly face all that followed. Eunbi was young when she learned that love between two people could end so easily, and her innocent self accepted that as the norm.

As a result, what she found harder to accept, more than her own mother and father not even being able to stand next to one another without ending up quarrelling, was having to leave her small black poodle in Gwangju, with her grandma, after moving away to Busan. Curly (little Eunbi had given him that name for obvious reasons, and to this very day she finds it dumb, but it makes her giggle nonetheless) had been a great companion through the inevitable loneliness she had to face as an only child. She was convinced he could understand her better than no other, even when she would force the tiny creature to sit and listen to her ramble on.

Busan was the next big change that was pushed onto Eunbi, only a few years after her mother got engaged to a man that would soon replace her biological father: with time, sleeping over at his house for the weekend was no longer even a contemplated thought on his side, coming up with excuses after excuses as not to, and that slowly led to showing less and less interest in keeping up with her and meeting up. The little girl had always been numb in relation to such negligence, and because of this she could consider herself lucky in some distorted sense; it didn’t affect her as much as it should have.

Part of that was also due to her step-dad being a great father figure during the initial times of his and her mom’s relationship, making sure to adapt to Eunbi’s pace and boundaries, never overstepping while also being able to bring fun into her life by taking the family out to visit places and eat delicious meals. What he couldn’t do for her, however, was live with a dog. When he and her mother decided to finally move together following their wedding, they both agreed on wanting to restart from a brand new place. Busan was their perfect pick for a variety of reasons: her mom got offered a job at a recently established company that seemed promising, and her step-dad could fulfil his deep-rooted dream of expanding his by starting a new branch.

Every single thing about him seemed perfect to her mom’s eyes, even if he was apparently deathly allergic to dog’s fur. And, of course, she picked her husband over Curly. Eunbi couldn’t believe it, nor accept it. The girl cried over the small dog for the two weeks prior to moving, during the trip to Busan, and for the following days there. Her grandmother would keep her updated by sending pictures of Curly through email, and even after the scar had healed, those would never fail to make her tear up.

As shameful as it might be to admit it, after having dried herself from half the water that made up her body because of the constant crying, it didn’t take long for the scar to close. When she first stepped foot in the big city by the seaside, Curly showed up right in front of her. Just in human form. Big eyes, long black hair and puppy manners, her neighbour was definitely sent to her by something greater. Eunbi was obsessed. It didn’t show at first, her pride prevailing. But it was harder and harder to fight against it. Jeongguk was simply too easy to love.

They became inseparable. Wherever he was, better believe she was there too, attached at his hip. And if they showed up alone, people would naturally ask about the other. Because the moon is never seen without its stars, and sunflowers only ever turn to face the sun. Their bond could be perceived by anyone as unbreakable, a friendship to envy and wish for, and every brick that built it had resulted in the creation of their own safe haven that only had space to contain the two of them. Not anybody else could be let in, the bubble exclusively recognised their password. It wasn’t composed of words, or numbers. It was the look of understanding they would share; the white lies used to cover the mischief of the other; their own handshake, accompanied by an original friendship jingle that Eunbi came up with randomly; the assurance that they could reveal their biggest secrets to one another, and they’d be kept like an oath.

There’s many of those that Eunbi shamelessly revealed to Jeongguk, some with intent and others unleashed spontaneously during their many endless talks. But when she thinks of it, she never admitted the single one that really mattered, the one that her best friend in the whole world needed to know, and remember. At all times. In any circumstance. It wasn’t a secret, it was more a result of her pondering; it came to a full reasonable thought only years later, and by then it was too late to tell him.

Eunbi thinks, and she’s sure, Jeongguk was the reason why all that came before the two of them had to happen. If it didn’t, she would have spent her whole life looking for that missing puzzle piece: under the cushions of the couch, in between her bed sheets, accidentally thrown away in the bin. It was as if all the hardships she experienced were justified, because at the end of the tunnel Jeongguk was waiting for her. And everything finally made sense. The puzzle was complete. Jeongguk was the reason himself. He was sent to teach her an important lesson: everything happens for a reason. There’s a cause and an effect, and even if the cause was suffering, at least the effect was her favourite boy.

Then, a gust of wind had wiped the puzzle to the ground, every single piece losing its place. When her best friend was taken away from her, she stopped being so convinced with the thought she herself had harboured, because she suddenly couldn’t find the meaning behind such a cruel fate. If everything really happened for a reason, then what was it? Jeongguk helped her see colours, only to return to black and white. Leaving him behind had marked the death of a version of herself that she would never get back.

Seoul was big, and harder to adjust to, even more with the baggage she was now dragging behind. Unpacking it, she found out all she had brought with her was a shattered trust and a soon to be broken promise to never get attached again. It was hard to be faithful to such an imposition, when Eunbi was born to give out love. It was hidden in that luggage, in between fears and regrets, but surely present.

And it prevailed in the end. Even at a slower pace, love found its way up and helped a lost Eunbi navigate the big capital city, promising new beginnings and healing. She found that in the faces of people that she would then start to recognise as friends, inside warm cafes during the coldest days of winter, and in the certainty that no matter where she is, she is always looking up at the same moon.

What she has built in Seoul so far feels the closest to stability that she has experienced in years. Starting university and meeting Dahye was the last bit of convincing it took to make her consider once again that a reason could exist, and that in the end it would make sense. Maybe not totally. Maybe just partly is enough after all.

Until, seeing a pair of familiar starry eyes in the midst of dull ones was all she needed to firmly believe in what she had been finding hard to accept. It took one shared look for past and present to get blurred together, and the mixture of old with new feelings created a mess. It was nice, nonetheless. Better than the seemingly impossible to get rid of emptiness at the pit of her heart.

Behind her eyes, Eunbi could see the puzzle slowly reaching its final form again, this time with more missing pieces, but the image was at least recognisable. When Jeongguk showed up in front of her again like magic, she contemplated becoming religious. Getting to her knees and starting praying to whatever greater force was shining on her path to please keep doing that. None of that showed on the outside, her smile breaking and mirroring the expression on the boy’s face. Pure sorrow. She knew she was probably the last person on earth Jeongguk wanted to see, and the fact that he wasn’t even trying to mask it didn’t help.

The most rational response she could come up with at that moment was to act as if nothing ever happened. And then, the bricks that a long time ago held together their safe bubble were being used by the boy to raise a high wall between them, making sure accessing his space would be impossible for Eunbi. Who could blame him? Still, the happiness she shamelessly felt when Jeongguk showed up at her 20th birthday party was too consuming, she selfishly wished for the rest of her birthdays to always look like that as she blew the candles. Nonetheless, when he suddenly left sprinting on his bike she knew the gods would need time to grant her desire. Although, this time around she had faith.

She doesn’t know how long it would take for it to break, though. September getting closer and closer only means that Jeongguk’s birthday is just around the corner. As part of his friend group, she had been involved in the process that led to organising the surprise camping trip, even if she didn’t exactly participate. After all, she doesn’t get to say she knows the boy better than anyone, anymore. Jeongguk has evidently changed, and as a consequence she knows way less about him than the others.

For that exact reason, Eunbi had made various attempts to back down from the trip, fearing her presence could significantly ruin it for the celebrated boy. At first, she tried to be casual about it with Dahye, since she’s the only one she’s opened up to about the whole dilemma, “I think it’s better if I don’t come. After all, it’s a friend trip. I’m not really his friend.” To which her roommate only replied with bullshit, proceeding to type away on her keyboard. That did not help whatsoever.

Then, the night she was too tipsy to take a taxi back home and Jeongguk had offered her a ride on his bike, she came home with a smile on her face only to burst out crying in front of a just as drunk Dahye. In between sobs, she begged to be left out of the trip, “Ple- Please, Dahye. He hates me. I can’t stand it.” Her friend tried to shush her whines, pushing Eunbi’s head on her chest and consoling her, “He doesn’t, baby. I’m sure he doesn’t.”

As a result of that night, Dahye had then sat her friend down with the intent of fully convincing her to be present for Jeongguk’s birthday trip for a number of reasons, “It would be rude to not show up after he was there for your birthday. And also, what if you two end up talking about… things! And everything gets solved! That would be nice, wouldn’t it, Bibi?”

Eunbi had just nodded all the way through the motivating speech, not really understanding nor believing her words, but apparently they were enough to lead her to the present moment: awkwardly squished between Dahye and Jimin on the couch of her flat, while they animatedly converse with the others to approve on the trip schedule. She has never felt so out of place before, not only because she doesn’t feel like she has a say in the whole discussion, but also because as time went by the two friends by her side kept shifting to subtly get closer to one another, not realising they were compressing her body in the process. To the point she is forced to get up, the position she was in being too uncomfortable, and sit on the ground under the couch next to Namjoon.

She can feel her movements being followed by a pair of curious eyes, and when she looks up to meet them, she finds out they belong to the origin of all her worries. Before Jeongguk can divert his attention elsewhere, aware he was caught observing, she gives him a quick tight lipped smile. It goes dismissed, as if it hadn’t happened. Ouch. It’s okay, Eunbi can take it. She used the few days prior to this to mentally prepare. She knows she’s not exactly welcomed anywhere near him, that’s why she made a silent secret pact within herself: whatever happens during the trip, don’t be a bother to Jeongguk. Stay away from him as much as possible, and if not possible, then do anything to avoid putting that frown on his face, exactly the one he’s sporting right now. On a second thought, if just looking at her gets him to react like that, maybe it’s best to mentally wipe that off her list of things to keep in mind for Jeongguk’s birthday camping trip.

With there still being a day left before their minibreak takes off, the girl can already tell it’s going to be hard to follow the flow of that list, Jeongguk making it obvious her presence could have been avoided before the vacation has even started. Still, she remains composed and brushes off what had just happened, instead focusing on the main topic of conversation.

The group (Hoseok) has decided to meet to go over the schedule one last time because, “Everything needs to be perfect, guys. We can’t afford to slip!” It’s still Hoseok talking. Eunbi learned that he had always been the one in charge of organising events and little getaways when it came to the friend group, his obsession with keeping everything under control coming in handy in such scenarios.

Not only that, but the reddish haired guy is also amazingly quick on his feet, and in a relatively short amount of time he has managed to find the perfect excursions and experiences to go over during the trip, making sure every day spent together would be filled with fun activities that he knows the birthday boy is going to look forward to. In between what he has arranged there is cycling, canoeing, trekking, and more stuff that Eunbi can’t keep up with. Surviving this is going to be made ten times harder by the amount of energy that is going to be expected out of her. She sighs at the thought, looking down at her manicured nails. She just got them done, and now they would surely break.

It takes a few seconds for her to realise the sudden silence that fell above the room, and when she looks back up she’s met with eleven pairs of eyes staring at her. She straightens her posture, suddenly too aware of being perceived, and she deduces her previous exhale had been released with more energy than intended. Hoseok sweetly smiles at her, “Anything you don’t agree on, Eunbi?”

The panicked girl opens her mouth to justify herself, her eyes getting wider and shinier with embarrassment, but Dahye beats her to it, “Bibi, didn’t you say you, like, hate cycling? I’m sure we had a whole conversation about it.“

Eunbi is mortified. Her eyes jump from Dahye to Jeongguk, trying to get her best friend to shut up while also registering the boy’s scoff and muted roll of his eyes. Oh god. Her whole be-lowkey-and-make-yourself-unnoticed plan just shattered in a matter of seconds. She can feel Jeongguk’s eyes bore flaming holes into her skull, his arms crossed and his legs furtherly stretching out on the armchair. If she still had a small, tiny hope left that he didn’t fully hate her, she just witnessed that shattering in pieces too.

She quickly shifts to sit on her heels, her hands frantically shaking to try and save her face for what she could, “No, what? I love cycling. Seriously, I’d do it everyday if I could.” She chuckles shakily while subtly shoving Dahye’s knee next to her to signal going with the lie. At first, Dahye looks clearly confused: she was so sure of that information about her roommate. She furrows her brows, looking down at a panicky Eunbi widening her eyes. It takes only a few more seconds for her to suddenly get it, shaking herself from her doubts and catching the ball, “Oh, right! You do! I got it confused with, huh… something else.” The girl mutters that last part only to join her friend in a nervous laugh, and an apologetic smile. Best believe Dahye is going to hear about this later.

Hoseok looks just as puzzled as the others, but nonetheless he nods, announcing the schedule has been officially confirmed. A collective acclaim fills the room, only for the boy to stop it with a raise of his pointer finger, “Now, I will assign you guys in your respective cars.” Which is comically followed by a joint groan, and some protests. Hoseok ignores them, and goes on reading off his perfectly planned out Word document.

”Namjoon is the first driver, and he’s travelling with Iseul, Seokjin and Sora,” he looks up to briefly check with the mentioned members to see if there are any complaints, then proceeds. “We’ve got Yoongi with me, Aera and Taehyung. Then…” Hoseok squints his eyes while scrolling down the document, and those few seconds of silence are enough for Eunbi’s thoughts to anticipate what is about to follow. She lowers her head, unwilling to meet Jeongguk’s glare when Hoseok says, “Jeongguk is driving with Jimin, Dahye and Eunbi. All set?”

The positive response is quick, even too rushed and disregardful of what was said, as Namjoon and Taehyung have been impatiently begging for the never-ending organising to be over so they could order food and finally fill their starved stomachs. No one pays any mind to it, but Eunbi and Jeongguk stay quiet, while Jimin and Dahye share a knowing look. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.

The evening is spent in the cramped living room of Eunbi and Dahye’s shared flat, eating pizza and letting a random movie play, which soon only functioned as a background noise the moment Taehyung started a game of Would You Rather. Even if Yoongi initially shushed him, everyone eventually became more delighted with Seokjin’s unthinkable suggestions than with the film, “Would you rather be trapped in a small room with 10,000 tarantulas for 10 minutes, or eat 10 tarantulas in 10 minutes?”

Eunbi tries to let herself be distracted by the content smiles on her friends’ faces, even feels less distressed when she notices Jeongguk relaxing as well, but that doesn’t stop her mind from overflowing with all the things that could potentially go wrong. It inevitably shows on her face, and in her unusual quietness. She has been pondering on the last information Hoseok had shared about the confirmed schedule for hours now, worrying it was going to start the trip on the wrong foot. There were all the best intentions to not poke the sleeping bear, but she fears being in the same car as him is going to stir him awake.

After the group leaves the apartment at past 1 a.m., Hoseok checking with everyone that they’ll show up at 8 sharp tomorrow morning in front of the same building they’re now parting ways from, Eunbi releases a long sigh as she closes the door behind her shoulders. Dahye catches the look on her features immediately, taking her pretty face in between her palms, “I’m sorry for earlier. I was trying to help.” She pouts, and it makes the shorter girl chuckle.

Eunbi shakes her head, dismissing her apology with a small it’s okay, and freeing herself from her friend’s hold so as to avoid meeting her eyes, instead busying herself with tidying up the mess in the living room. Her flatmate looks at the strangely silent girl narrowly, “What are you thinking? Please, don’t let it be something stupid like I don’t wanna drive in Jeongguk’s car.”

When all Dahye is met with is silence, she knows that specific something stupid is flowing in the other girl’s head. Eunbi spends the next hour packing and letting Dahye think she’s wholly convincing her distressed roommate nothing could go wrong from just being close to each other, and if anything, it could be a starting point.

For the sake of getting at least three hours of sleep before the long drive ahead, Eunbi fake promises her friend that she won’t let such thoughts haunt her mind and stop her from enjoying the holiday (she was forced to repeat those exact words) knowing she’s going to let them do precisely that. She also ends up staying awake all night either way, trying to come up with a reasonable excuse that she can use to ask Hoseok if a small change would be possible, hoping it wouldn’t be too much of a hassle to him and his perfect plan.

When the following morning rolls around, the group gathers in the courtyard of the flat complex as instructed hours earlier by Hoseok, who looks like he’s on the verge of a serious crisis when it’s one minute past 8 a.m. and Taehyung still hasn’t shown up. Eunbi fears for her life when she taps his shoulder as delicately as she can, still unable to avoid a jumpy reaction from the boy, who then relaxes when he sees the girl’s sweet smile. That lasts for about one second, because when Eunbi softly asks him if they can talk he’s back to puffing out panicky breaths.

She hesitates a moment before uttering in one single exhale, “I’d rather not go in Jeongguk’s car.” Faced with Hoseok’s perplexed stare, she goes on explaining in a rushed, messy speech, “It’s nothing personal, really. It’s just- Iseul! Yeah, Iseul begged me to be in the car with Dahye… She doesn’t know Sora that well so she said it would be way too awkward. I can go with Namjoon!” She ends it by trying to sport a convincing grin on her lips, but with the way it looks like she’s being held at gunpoint to smile it’s doing the exact opposite, not helping in hiding her own panic at all.

Hoseok takes a few seconds to process her request and read her expression, but in the end he just shrugs and nods enthusiastically, “That’s okay!” He then claps his hands twice, recalling the others’ attention who comically snap their heads in unison, hanging on the boss’ lips, “Tiny change. Eunbi doesn’t wanna be in Jeongguk’s car, so she’s going with Namjoon.”

For the second time in under 24 hours, Eunbi is so embarrassed she prays the ground to swallow her whole. Hoseok doesn’t seem to be making a big deal out of the way he worded his announcement, busy typing away on his phone, probably updating his Word document with the recent change. The others don’t look too fazed either, accustomed with the two infamously not being too fond of each other for no apparent reason, except for Dahye and Jimin: the former is looking at the girl incredulously; the latter has shifted his attention to his best friend.

Eunbi can feel cold sweat dripping down her forehead, the weight of the world crushing on her shoulders. She’s afraid to follow Jimin’s line of vision, but as she slowly does, it leads her to meet Jeongguk’s intense gaze, a slight pissed scowl hardening his features along with his brows almost meeting at the bridge of his nose. His all black attire composed of an oversized t-shirt, cargo bermuda shorts and chunky sandals matches perfectly with the look on his face. He seems confused, and unnerved. And sad? This is not how things were supposed to unfold.

Under such pressure, the girl impulsively releases a nervous laugh, her whole face red with awkwardness, “It’s not like I didn’t- Okay! I’ll just go wait in the car.” Her head hangs as she distances herself from the group, finding an escape from Jeongguk’s disappointment in Namjoon’s car. She bangs her head on the dashboard a few times, making the most of the last minutes alone she’s getting before departure.

Starring in that shitshow was not on her list of things to keep in mind for Jeongguk’s birthday camping trip in any way. On the contrary, what she has been trying to do is going by the rules of the list itself: stay away from Jeongguk and don’t be a bother. Instead, the opposite seems to be happening every time she attempts to be nice to him so as to not be a hassle during the trip. Releasing a shaky breath, she hopes her intentions wouldn’t be misinterpreted by the boy, as she tries foolishly convincing herself the telepathy between them still exists, at least to a small extent. She was only doing this for him. To make it easier for him. Please, please send this telepathic message to Jeongguk.

Connection probably isn’t working too well, because when they all get to the destination after a fairly long ride, Jeongguk still looks pissed, shutting the car door with more energy than required and unloading the luggages, taking his and Iseul’s to the entrance of the camping site. Eunbi narrows her eyes as she observes the scene, the short haired girl thanking the previously annoyed boy and effortlessly putting a smile on his lips, and she almost doesn’t notice Namjoon urging her to move. She abruptly shakes herself out of that trance, relaxing her hands that had subconsciously closed into fists, and takes her bags out of the car. As she clumsily drags them on both of her shoulders, her Converses do little to protect her soles from the rocky ground, and she groans. It’s not like she was expecting Namjoon to carry her baggage, she can do it herself. But as she keeps watching Jeongguk easily handling all that weight, she huffs.

The campsite looks amazing. The space that the group has at their disposal is huge and wholly surrounded by nature, making it the perfect getaway from the chaos of the city. Not too far, in between trees, a glimpse of the sun reflecting its rays in a large lake can be caught. Eunbi witnesses an excellently carried out jam session, with the lively enthusiasm of her friends on microphone, birds on percussion and cicadas on bass. She smiles, and sighs contentedly. Dahye’s words from last night echo in her head, don’t let this stop you from enjoying the holiday, and today she wants to believe them. She’s glad she chose to wear jeans shorts instead of cargos, the heat slowly but surely rising, and a flowy white top that keeps her fresh, for now.

Hoseok instructs them to get to work, and they do. All their bags are gathered under a big ancient tree as each couple and trio starts (tries) setting their tents. While they’re busy figuring out how to ensure the tent won’t fly away, which Taehyung fears particularly, Jimin and Jeongguk offer themselves to go and fill everyone’s water flask at a nearby drinking fountain they had found. Eunbi kneels down to fish hers out of a blue backpack and goes to hand it out to Jeongguk, who’s collecting Dahye’s bottle. The boy smiles at her friend, but it gets wiped off when he shifts his gaze on Eunbi’s shorter figure. The moment is brief, and awkward: her big unsure eyes stare into his hardened ones, arm extended out to him, wondering if there might be something funny on her face for him to turn so serious; she hesitantly lifts her brows, waiting for something; Jeongguk looks her up and down, only to not acknowledge her water flask, and just walks past her.

Eunbi is dumbfounded, the tip of her ears reddening as she remains paralysed with her hand out, even after Jimin collects her flask, muttering something close to Don’t mind him, please accompanied by an apologetic smile. She regains consciousness of her surroundings only when, beside her, Dahye can’t help the snort coming out of her mouth, trying but failing to save it with her hand. The still shocked girl slowly turns to face her amused friend, mouth slightly agape and left eye clearly twitching, “Did he just… act as if I don’t exist.”

The situation shouldn’t be funny, but to Dahye it’s the peak of comedy as she keeps giggling the more the slow realisation of what has just happened shows on Eunbi’s features. Obviously, the latter can’t find one single reason to laugh about it, whining while the taller girl pats her shoulder, still smiling, “You really need to talk to him.”

The targeted girl ignores that, biting her nails nervously, ”Was he saying anything about… me, in the car?”

Dahye lifts her brows, shaking her head, ”Nothing. He’s probably talking shit about you with Jimin, though.” Eunbi follows her pointed finger and catches Jeongguk animatedly discussing with his flatmate, balancing the bottles in his arms, before they turn a corner. Eunbi fusses, lightly tugging on her braided pigtails, and she feels helpless as even the friend who’s supposed to be supporting her through all of this is chuckling at her. Despite being shorter, when Eunbi shoves Dahye’s shoulder she manages to make her stumble, but that doesn’t stop her laughs, though.

”You’re building the tent on your own.” Arms crossed and pout on, Eunbi isn’t joking as she goes to sit under the tree surrounded by bags and ignores her name being called out. Rather than reacting to it, she spots tiny bugs between the grass and inspects them for a while, pretending it keeps her distracted from what’s plaguing her mind. Soon after, with her knees to her chest, watching those ants working to transfer food from one side to the other inevitably gets her lost in her thoughts. What is she doing wrong? There’s clearly unresolved problems between her and the boy who brutally ignored her existence minutes ago, but she thought maybe if she started seeking for truce, then he would too. His response, instead, makes her realise no matter how much she tries, it’s apparently not enough to mend what happened all those years ago. She messed up worse than imagined.

The constant pondering makes her lose track of time, and she comes back to reality with undesired outcomes that she convinces herself to be true. When she recovers from the (as she has deduced, deserved) humiliation, Dahye has already set up half of the tent and Eunbi walks over to her bashfully, “Sorry for being childish. I’ll finish this, Hye.” The girl just smiles softly and nods, sending her a flying kiss that makes Eunbi chuckle before taking her previous spot under the tree. At least Dahye doesn’t hate her.

It takes her a while to figure out what to do but she soon grasps how hard a seemingly simple task can be, feeling bad for letting Dahye do a great part of it on her own. Still, she needs to work fast as lunch time is approaching, and everybody around her is almost finished. She has been crouching on a particular spot on the ground for a while now, trying to properly secure an angle of the tent unsuccessfully. Until she groans exasperated, puffing her hair out of her vision and lifting her body up to find a solution. She tries stomping on it a few times, but it doesn’t work, and if anything it worsens the situation. Huffing out, with her hands on her hips she looks around for help, and the first person her eyes fall on is Jeongguk.

He was already staring at her, comfortably sitting on a deckchair with his legs spread and sunglasses on. His tent looks perfectly set already, with Jimin seemingly fixing the inside of it. His hand is covering his mouth before he uses it to lift his glasses over his head, and is that a smirk? They both stare at each other in silence, Eunbi still struggling to breathe, and she hesitates slightly until her eagerness to be over with the tent becomes stronger. She speaks up to make herself heard over the small distance, “Can you- help me?”

Jeongguk narrows her eyes at her, initially not answering but not even moving from his relaxed position. The girl is ready to be met with silence again, but it’s something worse when he opens his mouth, “I think Namjoon would be happy to do that.” He’s as stern as ever as he returns the sunglasses on the bridge of his nose, furtherly spreading his whole body on the chair and facing the sun. Only then, he releases a content sigh, smiling slightly.

All of this cannot be real. What does that even mean? Eunbi can feel her eye start to twitch again and she needs to clench her jaw to stop it. It’s okay. Breathe. She unexpectedly but successfully manages to hold herself from exploding on him, both overwhelmed with tent building and frustrated with his behaviour. She can’t really decipher what led him to not only act cold, as he usually is with her, which is fine, but also mean! But no problem, she’ll try once again. It costs nothing to be nice. And she tells herself she’ll stay that way, even if she’s met with the opposite, until he breaks.

The storm of negative emotions tormenting her thoughts can be distortedly seen as a good thing on one side, if she considers that the sudden adrenaline flowing in her body gets her through most of the task without any help, even mindlessly, while she keeps reflecting on the interaction and the previous ones. Why the fuck would Namjoon be happy to help her? Well, he would, he’s naturally a helper, but why did Jeongguk say that? Is he really that pissed about her going in his car? She tries to understand, she really does. Keep being nice is what she tells herself instead.

When the tent is finally up, only with Dahye’s finishing touches, and food is finally in her stomach, refilling her energy tank, it’s like there’s a switch going off in her head, making it seem as if nothing bad has ever happened. Eunbi is back to her talkative self with a full tummy and a bashful grin while her best friend teases her for the earlier tantrum she went on about, but at least it’s all smiles again.

The first day at the campsite is spent basking in the slowness that follows after ticking off the only two activities planned for today on Hoseok’s schedule: setting their tents and preparing meals for lunch and dinner. The boss then instructs the group on just getting acquainted with their surroundings, and they don’t need to be told twice, making the most out of those short remaining moments of ease.

The rest of those hours are used to laze by the huge lake, in between swims and sunbathes. Luckily, Eunbi had packed a few bikinis and she chose to wear a black set, its laces meeting at the back with a bow. Sitting back and taking it easy, before all that she will be faced with the next few days, gives her a chance to get closer to the others. During the earlier drive, she had the opportunity to chat with Sora and discover the sweetheart she truly is, and the car was then easily filled with laughter, mostly provided by Namjoon and Seokjin’s terrible jokes. She now sits by Sora on a beach towel, all the other girls in a circle catching up and laying by the sun. In the back of their gossip session, the boys could be heard laughing and squealing, and the sound reminded Eunbi of sweet childhood. She briefly shifts her attention to them and smiles when she observes how they’re doing the most to tire their energy out, from using a rope hanging by the branch of a tree to leap into the water, to initiating a volleyball match using one of their rolled up towels.

Eunbi grows even fonder than before of the people she’s surrounded with, the earlier stress leaving her body and being replaced by serenity, a small sigh released from her lips before she returns to listen to the girls’ chat. She laughs at something Dahye says and jumps on it excitedly, making the others chuckle at the two friends eagerly recounting one of their craziest uni experiences so far.

All of it is short lived when Taehyung and Jimin suddenly drop a water balloon over their heads, a collective gasp filling the space followed by the two boys’ childish giggles and Dahye’s screams, getting up to run after them. They all spend the rest of the afternoon trying to get back at each other with more pranks, bathing in the lake’s cold water and taking silly group pictures to seal the day. As the sun begins to set, they all sit on their towels and silently observe nature, definitely too tired to speak, and preferring to savour the sweet moment.

When the sun finally leaves its place for the moon to rise and the group of friends gets back to their tents, their stomachs growling signal it’s time for dinner. They take turns to shower using the nearby public structure and then help setting a campfire to cook. It also works as a very needed source of heat, given the temperature has significantly dropped and their bodies are still humid from washing up. Eunbi wears the grey cargos she had discarded earlier this morning when deciding on what to put on, and a white tee, her damp hair falling on her shoulders and making her feel slightly chilly. She comes up beside Yoongi to help him with the meat, benefiting from the warmth of the fire.

There’s not much talk between the two, only the older boy advising her to be careful of the flames every two minutes, but it’s comfortable. Eunbi still has a hard time reading through Yoongi, and maybe it’s what she enjoys the most about him: his aura is soothing and it exudes security. He doesn’t exactly show it, but he’s deeply attentive and caring of his friends, and the girl feels safe next to him. She can sense him looking over at her while the meat is cooking, and as she turns to him she meets his eyes with a smile. He ponders, scanning her face “You got sunburnt. You need to wear sunscreen tomorrow, or it’ll get worse.”

Eunbi chuckles, dragging her pointer finger up and down her red nose, “Yeah, I know. It kinda hurts but it looks like I have natural blush now!”

Yoongi shakes his head with a small amused scoff, “That’s stupid, Eunbi. Wait for me here, I’ll go get you an after-sun cream.” And even as he walks off, he reminds her to not stay too close to the fire. She thinks that’s an exact demonstration of what the boy is truly like in her head.

The girl keeps grilling the meat, humming unknown melodies under her breath, and she almost misses a broad figure sitting on one of the chairs surrounding the fire. When she looks up, it’s Jeongguk avoiding her eyes and instead staring at the flames, their light reflecting in his big orbs and making them shinier. He wears his bermudas from earlier, but he now has a grey Stussy hoodie on top of it. His locks are still wet after freshly coming out of a shower, and they curl on his forehead, making him look like a poodle. She smiles. It’s like 15 years old Jeongguk is there with her again, his bare, exhausted face and droopy eyes taking her back to Busan. Without even realising what she’s doing, she extends a cooked piece of meat his way, “You want some?”

Startled, the boy breaks from his spacing-out and registers the request. He looks between Eunbi and the meat, gulping. He licks his lips, and she swears she can also hear his stomach rumbling. When he keeps ogling the food without replying, she wiggles the fork and his eyes follow its every movement, as if hypnotised. Then, he suddenly screws his eyelids shut and breaks from the trance, simply shaking his head no and fishing his phone out of his pocket, mindlessly scrolling on it. Just like that, she’s back to the present, and Jeongguk hates her. Eunbi narrowly glares at him while he can’t see her.

Yoongi comes back soon after with two different creams in his hands, and he gives them to Eunbi with a chuckle. She thanks him and lets him take over the cooking, while she curiously inspects the products, still standing next to the fire. When Yoongi spots his younger friend on the chair, he asks the same exact question as her, forking a piece of meat, “You want some?”

Jeongguk’s attention is back up, this time on Yoongi, and when he sees what his hyung is referring to he eagerly nods. Eunbi interrupts her examination just in time to see the boy hungrily shoving the food in his mouth, brows furrowed and praising noises accompanying his munching, making the older friend by her side chuckle. Instead, the girl is once again in disbelief, even more as he watches Jeongguk patting his knee with force, satisfied with the bite, “Hyung, this shit is so good. I want more.”

Eunbi scoffs imperceptibly, leaving the scene with an annoyed scowl wrecking her pretty features. As she enters her tent, she’s glad Dahye is still showering as she makes the most of that isolating moment. She sighs wearily and whips out her phone. Using its camera, she tries to ignore her tumbling emotions and instead puts on the creams Yoongi had given her, but not even those are enough to distract her. She’s still incredulous at what she’s being put through, her patience wearing thin, and the pact she made with herself before coming here is dangerously close to being broken.

Dinner is spent with good food and even better people, and only then Eunbi visibly untenses again. In between bites and full mouths, they go from discussing random facts to casually engaging in games of Truth or Dare or Never Have I Ever, the beer bottles slowly being emptied while their tummies get filled. When they’re done eating, the relaxed smiles on their faces implicitly communicate how the meal has been the perfect ending to the lovely day spent together. Still, they stay by the fire and keep up an effortless chat. When one of them comments on the limpidity of the sky, its stars being perfectly visible in this zone of Seoul, they all look up and stare in silence at the fullness of the lights.

Even if it’s not too late, the weariness from being out in the sun for multiple consecutive hours is weightening down on most of them, Seokjin and Sora retiring to their tents, soon after being followed by Yoongi and Hoseok.

It’s a little past midnight, and Eunbi starts to feel more and more affected by the cool breeze, its effects showing on her prickled skin. She tries to warm herself up by rubbing her exposed arms with her hands, but it’s to no avail, “God, I’m so cold.”

A collective agreement follows her claim, with Iseul speaking up and curling herself into a ball on the deckchair she’s sitting on by taking her legs up to her chest and hugging them close, “Me too, it’s freezing.”

”Oh, I have a spare hoodie.” Both girls snap their heads at the voice, which belongs to Jeongguk. However, as he quickly gets up to retrieve the sweater from his tent, it’s not clear who between the two he’s referring to, their curious expectant eyes following his every movement. Eunbi has her reasons to feel so eager, given the fact that she has been begging for one nice interaction with the boy, a spark of hope lighting up in her chest at his offer. On the other hand, she doesn’t know why the other girl seems equally excited, twirling her short hair around her fingers as she waits for Jeongguk to come out of the tent again. She huffs, a pout ending on her features.

When the sought-after boy gets back with a blueish crewneck in his arms, both girls hold their breaths, the sudden tension going unnoticed by the others (except for Dahye, she’s like a psychic when it comes to her best friend’s emotions), until Jeongguk lays the piece of clothing on Iseul’s shoulders, coming behind her and then sitting on his chair again.

Iseul bashfully thanks him, the tips of her ears seemingly reddening while a sweet, alluring smile makes its way on her lips. Eunbi scoffs at that, and if looks could kill Iseul would be dead right now. The dirty look she sends her way luckily goes unnoticed, and she keeps hugging her own body trying to provide herself with warmth. When she shifts her attention to Jeongguk, he’s already looking at her, smirking. She can’t be convinced he isn’t doing all this on purpose.

Even with her teeth almost chattering, the neglected girl forces herself to stay with the others until the end, and with Namjoon and Taehyung retiring to sleep only six of them remain. Under a white full moon, the conversation doesn’t really follow a clear direction, steering from existential questions that none really have the answers to, to Jimin’s drunken adventures. Jeongguk giddily joins the recounting and adds many details to it, specifically highlighting the embarrassing parts that his roommate is trying to omit to save face, and making all of his friends laugh with their whole chest, Eunbi included. She simply can’t ignore the fact that he’s naturally charming, and hilarious as well. In the middle of his storytelling, his whole body gets involved and it makes the events seem even more impressive. Eunbi smiles when she compares the Jeongguk in front of her to the beloved one in her past, the one that would sit her down and force her to keep up with his running imagination, constantly up with new ideas for silly scripts.

Then it’s Dahye’s turn to share one of her experiences, and Eunbi inevitably gets thrown into the tale, which had seen the two friends drunkenly sneaking themselves into a concert. It’s like they’re perfectly mirroring Jimin and Jeongguk’s dynamic, because while Dahye is trying to leave out critical parts of the story, Eunbi strongly insists on specifying them with an unseen emphasis for 1 a.m., causing everybody to laugh along. In between chuckles, her eyes fall on Jeongguk, who is mindlessly scrolling on his phone and seemingly not paying attention. Throughout the recounting, she notices Jeongguk distractly listening but never laughing, and if he does it’s only after something said by Dahye. Slowly, the enthusiasm gets wiped off her face as she curls up on the chair, sulkily letting her friend finish telling the story.

Another hour of effortless conversation goes by, and Jeongguk is back to lively chatting again, his animated gestures and witty jokes getting laughter out of his friends, but this time Eunbi doesn’t join. She silently sets on observing the boy, despite being caught a few times. She really wants to understand the reason behind his behaviour, but there’s no factual explanation she can come up with other than the obvious reasons that put them in this situation in the first place. If that’s the case, there’s nothing much she can do other than going up to him and finally talking it out like the mature adults they should be, but with their petty, silent bickering she doesn’t think that’s happening any soon.

While she’s busy squinting her eyes at the boy, in a borderline creepy manner, she doesn’t notice Iseul crouching in half in laughter at something Jeongguk said, until she’s directly referring to her, “Oh god, Eunbi! Why did you never tell me Jeongguk was this funny?” Said girl is startled by the question and by the abrupt interruption that shakes her out of her trance, confusion written on her face and it must be evident with the way Iseul goes on explaining, “Dahye told me you’ve known him for a long time.”

All at once, the atmosphere is tense and maybe Iseul and Aera can’t feel it, but Dahye definitely can as she snaps her head to her friend, who’s staring directly into Jeongguk’s eyes. The two seem to be battling an unnamed war through eye contact, and the intensity of the boy’s gaze ignites something implacable in the girl’s chest, dangerously close to rage, and it has to do with all the feelings she’s had to bottle up in less than 24 hours. She scoffs, referring to Iseul but never breaking the staring contest with the boy, “Oh, is he? Don’t think I’m well acquainted with that side of him yet.”

If the tension wasn’t palpable to everyone before the comment, it surely is now, the only ones that have something left to say being the crickets and owls in the background. Jeongguk only snickers before washing a hand over his face, an unsettling smirk on his lips. He seems to finally acknowledge the other girl’s presence, but it’s not in the way Eunbi initially imagined it would go. Instead, it’s venom spitting out of his mouth, “You would've been if you weren’t so self centred, always wrapped in your own bubble all the fucking time.”

Eunbi's confidence falls as quick as her heart, a sudden force weighing on it and almost crushing it. She’s fast at hiding it, ignoring the slight sting she can sense in the back of her eyelids, her only goal is to shoot harder. She forces the fakest smile she can muster, “Self centred? Are you sure you're talking about me?” The affronted girl scoffs, loud and sarcastic, “Fuck, and I thought you'd know better than that, Jeongguk. You should try getting your head out of your ass and look around. Maybe you'd see how shitty you've been treating all of us-” me “-for these past weeks.”

Jeongguk is visibly taken aback, and it’s his heart falling this time, his face following suit. His broken features do little to hide the doubts plaguing his spiralling mind. Had he pushed it too far? Had he been actually so bad to his own friends? Seeing his contender’s face relaxing with victory makes him snap out of the sudden trance, as he regains consciousness fast. No, he hasn’t. Fuck this. Blinded by anger, he utters the unimaginable, “Speak for yourself when you say shit like that. As far as I'm concerned, I've been treating you fairly seeing the bitch you are.”

His eyes are as pitch as black, the stars in them that Eunbi would love to get lost into are unreachable now, almost as if a dark cloud had obscured them. It must be the pollution that's taking over his heart too.

She’s frozen in place as the cruel words echo in her mind, the force that was keeping her heart underwater had managed to crush it, and it was now coming up her throat, squeezing the air out of her lungs. Her ears ring with the sudden lack of oxygen, and she can only faintly hear Dahye’s raging comments coming in her defence against Jeongguk. She can only seem to focus on the cracking of the fire, though, its thumping noise suddenly unbearable, as she feels more and more engulfed in its flames. She forces all sounds to come back to her, strongly pulling herself out of her own plagued head, the boy in front of her now unrecognisable to her empty eyes.

Looking around, she notices all of her friends — his, after all — had gone extremely quiet, the pressure weighing on them too. She can't stand it, needs to get out. She wishes she had never agreed to this. So much for keeping her peace. Yet, she'll never give him the satisfaction of knowing how much that hurt her. She'll die before crying in front of him.

“Well, if you don't mind, the bitch has had enough now, so with all due respect, she's going to sleep.” With a forced tight lipped smile, she gets up in one fast movement and walks to her tent, leaving the others disoriented, and a still furious Dahye scoffing at Jeongguk. He follows her with his eyes until she disappears in her shelter, clenching his jaw and announcing his departure soon after.

Inside the tent, Eunbi takes several deep breaths trying to calm down, and she feels frail when she can sense her eyes prickle with tears. She tells herself it’s angry ones. Apparently, being nice isn’t enough, and she watches as the seal to her pact shatters with force, signalling no come back. Following suit, the puzzle breaks once again, and she’s left scrambling for the pieces falling, looking for the one that will start it over again. And this time, it’s going to be even harder.

[yelenasdiary]

For flufftober: Middle sibling reader x older sister natasha and younger sister yelena. Reader was recently released from the subjugation of the red room and so theyre throwing a little welcome home party for reader. With cake and streamers and a polaroid camera. Some terrible music playing that they all jam too as they down too many bottles of vodka?

New Memories

Pairing:  Older Siblings! Natasha & Yelena x Younger Sibling! GN! Reader

Summary:  After a little over a year of therapy, your older sisters throw you a welcome home party.

Warnings:  Fluff/Comfort, Mentions of Red Room, Subjugation, Drinking, Language Warning | 1.3K

Translations: Sestra (Sister), 

AC: Thank you for requesting this, as I mentioned, I have combined with request with another, I hope you enjoy! x

October Special Masterlist

"Sestra, it'll be fun" Yelena argued with her Russian accent coming in thick. It was Halloween and your sisters, Natasha and Yelena planned a little party for you with the help of the other Avengers, Alexei and Melina. It's been a few short months since your year of therapy had gone from three sessions a week to weekly appointments, your therapist was proud of how far you'd come since your sisters saved you from the subjugation of Red Room and freed you from the control of General Dreykov. You hated that they wanted to throw a party in your honor, you never liked the fuss being about you. 

"Lena, I know you and Nat are happy for me and trust me, I am proud of myself as well but I just don't think I want to have a party thrown to celebrate" you replied before letting your eyes fall back down to the book in your hands. 

"It is not just to celebrate how far you have come" Yelena spoke as she took a seat at the end of your bed, forcing you to put your book down once more. "It's about making new memories, ones that are real, ones we get to keep and talk about in years to come. Natasha won't admit it but I know she would love to fill the photo album she has on her bookcase and I would like an updated photo of the three of us" your older sister by 2 years went on. 

She had a point and that made it hard for you to turn her down. Looking back on the memories you had with your sisters, it was hard to remember. You were only 4 when the mission in Ohio was completed and you were ripped from Natasha's arms. After that, it was blurred moments of fake Christmases, thanksgivings and other holidays just to give you three a moment of something that felt somewhat normal. 

"Fine" you playfully rolled your eyes at the blonde, "will Kate and Wanda be there?" you asked with hope. Yelena nodded, "who do you think were the first to jump at the idea of baking a cake" she replied. 

"A cake? Really?" you asked with a slight frown, of course your family were going to make this a big deal and honestly, for Yelena to say this would be fun was a comment you never thought she would say about a party. 

----

Music mixed with laughter and chatter filled the room, Kate wandered around taking polaroid photos of everybody and placed them in a small box for you to look back on at a later date. Eventually the room became quiet, around midnight people called it a night and headed to bed leaving you, Yelena and Natasha still up. 

"Now we can really party" Natasha smiled as she placed a bottle of vodka on the table along with three shot glasses. "Amen to that!" you replied in a sigh of relief, too much socializing and now you were finally going to have the party you truly wanted with your sisters. 

Yelena poured three shots as you and Natasha threw streamers at one another, you started it of course. "Stop acting like children, lets drink!" Yelena announced as she carefully yet skilfully sliding the shot glasses down the table to you and Nat without spilling a drop. You downed your shot the moment it hit your hand, the burn of the alcohol in the back of your throat reminding you why you loved vodka so much. 

It was long before the bottle of vodka was finished, and another was placed on the table. Crumbs of cake slices littered the wooden table while the three of you made new memories, jokes and brought up old, good memories. 

"SO BYE BYE MISS AMERICAN PIE, DROVE MY CHEVY TO THE LEVEE, BUT THE LEVEE WAS DRY" the three of you sung in sync, now each holding a bottle of vodka. Wanda and Kate had come down from upstairs and watched the drunk mess unfold. You were laughing, when Yelena pushed you to the floor for standing on her foot for the 5th time. Natasha had the polaroid camera in her hand taking very drunken and blurry photos of you and Yelena before turning the camera on herself to snap a selfie. 

"Do you think Tony would get made if we stole one of his suits? I mean come on! those things look so fucking sick!" You looked between your sisters. Yelena turned to Nat, "I'm with Y/n, let's do it!" she said before taking another mouthful of vodka from the bottle. 

"Should we stop them?" Kate whispered to Wanda who shook her head, "no, let them have their fun" the Sokovian replied before gesturing her head towards the stairs as a way to say let's go back to bed. "I kind of want to be awake early to see Tony's reaction" Kate whispered once more as she followed Wanda up the stairs. 

"Alright but you gotta be quiet!" Natasha said, bringing her index finger to her lips in a shush motion. 

Cheeky smiles tugged at the lips of you and your sister as Natasha led you both down the hall to the elevator, pressing the basement button. 

----

"Can somebody tell me why the fuck I found 3 of my suits scattered around the damn compound?!" Tony asked with pure anger in his voice. Your head was pounding, it had clearly been a while since you got drunk as much as you did last night. 

"Tony, shhhh!" you looked up at him before taking a sip of your coffee. 

"Nothing is broken, nothing to stress about" Natasha tuned in, taking her hang over a lot better than you were. She looked as though she didn't even drink last night. 

"That's not the point Romanoff and you know it!" Tony snapped, "the three of you are suspended until further notice so I suggest you start thinking about cleaning up the mess you made!" he added before storming out of the room. 

"What mess?" you asked with a frown as Natasha sat down across from you at the dining table, peanut butter toast in her hand. "Oh, that is on you and Yelena to clean" she replied with a light chuckle as you rested your head on the table to catch a few extra minutes of shut eye. 

Yelena came into the kitchen just how Natasha did, as if a hangover was non-existent. "HA! Looks like somebody needs a little more practice on how keep their vodka down" she spoke, her loud voice making your head pound harder than before. Slowly, you lifted your head to look up at your sister, giving her a look of death has she stole Natasha's mug of coffee, "please shut up" you replied before letting your head drop to the table once again. 

"You and Y/n have to go clean up the yard today" Natasha said after swallowing a mouthful of her toast. "Yeah, I figured" Yelena chuckled, bringing the mug to her lips, "you better go take a shower sestra" she encouraged you only to earn a mumble and grumble in return as you took yourself to the showers. 

"Another round tonight and they will be fine" Yelena looked at Natasha before taking another sip of Nat's coffee, Nat just chuckled, "I don't think they could handle another round" she replied as Wanda walked into the kitchen. 

"You three had fun last night" she smiled softly as she placed a rather large handful of polaroid on the table in front of the two Russian sisters. Natasha reached for the small photos and flicked through them while Yelena watched, a smile tugging at both sisters lips as they saw how happy they looked, how much fun they had and how finally they had photos with real moments, real emotions and real love. 

"Yeah, one of the best nights" Natasha spoke softly.

Taglist: @red1culous | @sayah13 | @charl-lally | @when-wolves-howl | @bentleywolf29 | @fxckmiup | @natasha-belova | @blackwidow-3 | @lissaaaa145 | @high--power | @parkerdaramitzzzz | @mmmmokdok | @wackymcstupid | @kiwiana145 | @observeowl | @nattyolw | @ripofflizzie | @goofy-goonie | @makegoodchoices | @apollo2907 | @wandaroman0ff | @dumb-fawkin-bitch | @lovelyy-moonlight | @santana1437 | @ahintofchaos | @fluffyblanketgecko | @puta1 | @inluvwithfictionalwomen | @tintedrose12 | @jaymieflorissssssss | @tita001 | @youralphawolf72 | @donnietarantino | @randomnessbecausewhynot | @natashamaximoff69 | @hehehehannahthings | @pandaemonium111 | @imnotslouching | @secrettoallofyou | @romantic-slaps-on-the-asss | @marvel-fan-2021 | @mmmmokdok | @riveramorylunar | @ripofflizzie | @marvel-madnessx | @scarsw1fe | @toldthatdevil | @itsmv3 | @natashaswife4125 | @katiemay-025 | @aphrcdtes | @romanoffs-widow | @natsxwife | @maria-403 | @boredandneedfanfics | @wandamaximoffspuppup | @xox-little-troublemaker-xox | @shibugs | @music-4ever | @hyper-fixated-delusions | 

[eitaababe]

hello! <3 can i please request a neteyam x metkayina!reader oneshot where reader is apprehensive about choosing a mate, she knows everyone expect her to choose asap but prefers the idea of being friends with the person first (having a hard time trusting people easily/opening up). one day, after realizing her feelings for neteyam, she talks to him about this and he says something like “i’d always wait for you”. i’m so sorry if this is too specific, i have a thing for the concept of patient love/slowburn.

(also your writing is so beautiful, i’m in love with everything you post and always look forward for your works.)

TAKE YOUR TIME !

neteyam x metkayina! reader.

a/n — yo this took me forever to finish like i STRUGGLED IM SO SORRY 😭😭 / but SLOWBURNS >>> THEYRE JUST TOO GOOD MAN / also tysm nonnie giving you big smooches

! characters are aged up a few years for sake of plot

—

When the Sully's arrived to awa'atlu, Tsireya practically begged you to help her and her brother teach them your clan's ways. So you agreed, and like her, took a quick liking to one of the brothers.

You slowly grew closer to Neteyam, spending more and more time that started out with helping him breathe correctly, to how to ride his ilu, to eventually just being with him because you enjoyed his presence.

The two of you were currently sitting on the sand underneath a tree, his back to you as he sat in front of you, you re-braiding his hair. "He's just so- ugh! I just don't get why he is so obsessed with making my siblings feel so unwelcome." Neteyam complained, hissing when you pulled too hard.

"For eywa's sake, Neteyam. If I hear you complain about Ao'nung one more time, I'm going to rip my own eardrums out," You sighed, tsking when his hand grabbed your wrist from tugging hard. "Don't be such a baby, you asked me to redo your braids."

Opening his mouth to complain again, Kiri came in, interrupting you two. "Hey Y/n, I think your parents are looking for you."

Silently thanking eywa, Neteyam grinned, shaking his hair out. Kiri looked at her brother in amusement, breaking out into laughter. "You look so stupid, with your hair half done."

"Whatever, I'm going to mom to ask her to finish it for me. Find me once you're down, yeah?" He looked to you, softly rubbing your shoulder as a farewell.

"I will," you assured him, waving bye to his sister as well.

You entered your own marui, greeting your parents. "Oel ngati kameie."

Your parents nodded, gesturing you to come closer. "Daughter, we have something very important to address."

You sat down across from them, wearing a confused look.

"As you know, you're getting older," you nodded slowly, still confused. "Soon enough, you will need to find a mate. We talked to Ruto's parents, and we believe you two would make a fine match."

You shook your head in disagreement. "Father, I barely know Ruto. I've talked to him only once."

"Yes, but he is the son of one of our best hunter's in the clan. He would provide well for you."

"Please," you begged, looking to your mother for help. "Let me choose someone on my own."

Your parents shared a look, sighing as they turned to you. "Fine, we'll let you choose your own mate. But make it quick. We'll be waiting, and if you can't find someone, we'll talk to Ruto's parents about our agreement again."

You left the marui without another word.

Keeping your promise, you still went to the Sully family's marui, clearly shaken. Of course, the idea of being mated was something you thought about frequently, but the pressure of finding one soon so you wouldn't be set up with a stranger was all too much.

Collecting yourself, you called out to the family, Tuk immediately running up to you. "Y/n!" She giggled happily as you picked her up, hugging her close.

"Hi Tuktuk," you chuckled, eyes wandering to her hand, small fingers grasping a band of beads. She reached out to you, offering them. "What's this?"

"I made it for you!" You let her put it on your wrist, and thanked her, carrying her with you as you made your way towards Neteyam and his mother, who was just about finished with his hair.

"Hi y/n." Neytiri greeted, finishing up on her son's last braid. Upon hearing your name, Neteyam quickly looked up, smiling at the sight of you.

"Y/n!" He happily chirped, his eyes wandering towards your wrist. The bead pattern on your bracelet was matching to the one on his necklace, and you both shared a grin at the realization.

Tuk grinned proudly when the both of you shared a look at your matching jewelry, and jumped from your arms to her mothers embrace.

Getting up, Neteyam waved to his mother. "I'll be back before eclipse."

Nodding towards her son, and then you, the two of you made your way out the marui, walking along the shore.

"So, what did your parents want?"

Your smile faded at the mention of your parents. "They want me to pick a mate soon. They're so excited that they've already chosen someone."

"What? Who?" Neteyam panicked, eyes boring into yours.

"Ruto," you glumly replied. "I convinced them to give me some time though. To pick someone I want, not something that's set up. But I really don't have much time."

"Ruto?" he scoffed in disapproval. "He's got the personality of a rock," he joked, smiling when you faintly laughed. "My dads talked to me about the same thing. I just don't really know everyone on the island all that well, you know?"

"I'm sure you'll find someone," you comforted, a small wave crashing before your feet. "There's many beautiful metkayina women here. Sungia is one of the best healers I've seen. Ikla has a beautiful voice. Ezo is also a great dancer-"

"Easy there," Neteyam cut you off, slapping a hand over your mouth to shut up. Licking his palm, he pulled away, wiping his hand on your arm. "Ew! You're like Lo'ak when you do that."

"Maybe next time you shouldn't put your hand on my mouth, then." You laughed. "I was just saying, there's plenty of wonderful girls here. The men, whoever..."

"Don't fret. We'll find you a big, strong, hunter with a personality so you don't end up with Ruto the rock." He teased, lazily wrapping his arm around you and pulling your hair lightly, making you smack him in the stomach.

"Stop messing with my hair, you skxawng!"

Tuk and Neytiri watched the two of you from the marui, silently hoping the two of you would come to your senses soon.

The next few days went by, and you found yourself laying on Tsireya, complaining. "Eywa hates me!" You groaned, glaring up at the girl when she laughed at your declaration. "It isn't funny, Reya."

"It's a little funny, admit it."

"No it's not! My parents are going to force me to mate with this weird guy if I don't find anyone! I just don't get it, Eywa practically handed you Lo'ak, you have nothing to worry about. All the boys on this island are boring or like your brother."

Eyes widening at the dig at Ao'nung, Tsireya didn't scold you for it. "I mean, I'm not saying you're wrong," she softly threaded her hands through your hair as you let out another sigh. "But there has to be someone. What about Neteyam?"

You shot up like a rocket, rapidly shaking your head. "Absolutely not. No. I couldn't even- no. We're just friends."

"You are a terrible liar." Tsireya blankly stated, blinking at you.

"I'm not lying!"

"Have you seen the way you two look at each other? It's like you're in love. No one who is just friends looks at someone like that."

"Look," you started, pushing the thoughts of you and Neteyam as far as you could. "Even if I decided I liked him. That's if. If I did, his father wants him to be mated soon as well. He's Neteyam, I doubt he would settle for someone like me."

"Oh Y/n," Tsireya cooed, grasping your hand lightly. "Don't do that. Do not discount yourself. You are one of the most beautiful women on this island, anyone would be lucky to be your mate. Especially Neteyam."

Smiling gratefully at her, you didn't like the feeling that bubbled up when you pictured being with Neteyam. "Oh whatever. You're just pushing me towards Neteyam because you already like the family." You teased, laughing harder when her cheeks turned purple at the subtle mention of Lo'ak.

You can't help but let the thought of you and Neteyam linger the next few days. Yes, you enjoyed his company, but could you really spend the rest of your life as his mate?

You avoided him, denying that you could ever feel about him in that way. Denying that you shuddered at his touch, that you loved the way his eyes looked, that you loved how he talked, how he-

Ripping you from your thoughts, a pair of arms wrapped around you. "Hi y/n." Your favorite voice spoke, bringing a smile to your face.

"Hi 'Teyam." Yoy cheerfully replied, worries from before now long forgotten.

"You okay?" he asked, a concerned look in his eyes. "You looked like you were deep in thought."

"I'm fine," you assured, brought back to your harsh reality. "Just-"

"Trying to figure out who you could tolerate as a mate?"

You chuckled, nodding. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Then c'mon, let's go find someone."

Your protests against the idea of spying around the island to look for boys were quickly tossed aside. He was determined to find someone for you, and you couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed that he wanted to find someone for you so soon.

"Rotxo!" Neteyam called out, waving over at the boy. You rolled your eyes, but following the boy as he walked over towards Rotxo.

"Y/n, Neteyam, what are you two up to?"

"Nothing much," you smiled flatly, giving Neteyam a knowing look. "Just walking around the beach, showing him around the island."

"Ah, well, have fun! Let me know if you two need anything."

You both thanked him as you said your farewells and walked away, Neteyam glancing down at you multiple times. "...no?"

"No."

You continued on with your hunt, opting to look from afar rather than engage in a conversation with every boy you saw. You smiled and nodded at guys who didn't seem too bad, but you were silent for the most part. Neteyam wasn't dumb, you may not have been the closest but he could tell something was off. "Hey, we really don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"No, it's- it's fine," you quietly reassured him, letting a moment of silence pass by as you bit the inside of your cheek. "I'm just scared, you know? I'm going to be mated off with someone who I barely even know. Who I'm not even friends with. What if- what if I don't love him? What if he doesn't love me?" You worried, not realizing how Neteyam gently grasped your hand, squeezing it in comfort.

"Hey, you're going to be fine, alright? If you don't want to meet anyone new, maybe you'll grow to be fond of Ruto, and he'll learn to love you. Or maybe you'll even find someone else when you least expect it. But I'll always be here for you, you know that?"

Your heart clenched at the reminder of Ruto, and the limited time you had. You smiled wordlessly up at him, squeezing his hand back. "Thank you, Neteyam."

"Anytime."

Yet you can't help but feel as though everything won't be fine.

With your time running out and no new candidates, you settle for trying to get to know Ruto. You really have no clue where to start, but you find him on his ilu, probably coming back from a hunt.

"Ruto!" You called out, his head snapping up at response of his name. His eyes land on your own and you freeze, not knowing what to do when he sends a small smile your way, and starts heading over towards you.

You begin to panic, rethinking your decisions. What were you even thinking? You barely know him, he's probably just as confused as you are.

Before you can succumb to the rest of your thoughts, an unfamiliar voice snaps you out of it. "Hey, y/n," the boy greets, towering over you, piercing yellow eyes burning i to your own. "What's up?"

"Uhm-" you stutter, swallowing down your suddenly very dry throat. "Just walking around. Wanted to see what you were up to."

Ruto hums, nodding once he finally understands why you came to him. "This is about our- arrangement, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry, that's it's all so awkward. Truth be told I wasn't for it either, but my parents were so insistent," he laughs at you when you groan in frustration. "How about this. We'll get to know each other. And if you really don't want to go through with this, we'll talk to them together."

You take a moment, considering his offer. There was no downside, really, at least for you. One hand, you make your parents and everyone else happy by finding a mate, or you get what you really want, a chance to finally get to know somebody, and take your time in choosing.

"Deal."

You and Ruto spent the next couple days together practically every minute, choosing activities that the other enjoyed, and learning more about each other the more you were together. Your parents were pleased at the interaction and word around the village traveled fast, everyone chattering about how you finally found 'the one'.

Neteyam ended up finding out the news from Lo'ak. Yes, it was his idea, but he couldn't help the way his heart sank when everyone was talking about you and your new mate, and how he was able to confirm the news with his own eyes when he spotted you two.

He sat in his family's marui, quieter than usual. Kiri and Lo'ak quickly noticed, exchanging knowing looks. "If you scrunch your face like that any longer, it's going to be permanent."

"Shut up, Lo'ak."

"I'm just saying. He's had that god awful pout on his face the past few days, it's bringing my mood down. What's wrong?"

Glaring his sibling's way, Neteyam only shook his head, eyes averting to the ocean. "Nothing's wrong."

"Something seems pretty wrong to me," Lo'ak stated, shrugging and leaning back casually. "Ever since y/n has been out and about with Ruto lately you seem all alone and missing her company and-"

The younger brother paused, mouth agape while his hand flies to cover it. "OH EYWA! You like y/n!"

"You are so slow sometimes, Lo'ak," Kiri rolled her eyes in annoyance, looking to Neteyam who seemed just about as surprised as his brother. "Don't tell me- you just realized too?"

She took his silence as a yes and pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing at both her brothers stupidity. "Neteyam, you cannot. She's betrothed to Ruto."

"I know." He replied quietly.

"And her parents aren't likely to change their minds."

"I know."

"And she actually seems to be enjoying his company lately."

"I know."

"So you better hurry up and tell her how you feel."

"I kn- wait, what?" Neteyam cut himself off, head swiveling to face the two. They only shrugged, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "I can't just- just go and tell her how I feel."

"Why not? I mean really, what do you have to lose. If it doesn't work out then she ends up with Ruto anyways."

"You're not making me feel any better."

"Just go!"

So, like a man on a mission, Neteyam hurried to find you, only to see you with Ruto once more. He pauses mid-stride, wondering if this is really the best way to go about it. But in a moment of courage he acts on instinct, approaching you two.

You speak first, and when your laugh turns silent he can't help but feel as if he's intruding. "Neteyam? What's going on?"

"I just-" he stops himself, seeing Ruto stand next to you. He sees the way you two look together, almost perfect. Your beauty matches his own looks, and in no doubt would he provide well for you. His heart hammers in his chest, and cowardly, he averts the topic. "I was wondering if you've seen Ezo. I was thinking of taking you and my father's advice about reaching out to other women on the island."

"Oh," you quietly exclaimed, clearing your throat for whatever reason. "She was by the reef with Rotxo, last time I saw her."

He quickly thanked you and walked off, missing the way your face fell, and how Ruto was quick to console you.

"I guess I was wrong," you softly spoke, now sitting with both Tsireya and Ruto. Their eyes held sympathy for you, trying their best to help you in this complicated situation. "I mean, I really thought I had it all figured out. Me and Ruto were going to tell our parents that it isn't going to happen with us, and that I want to take it slow with someone I had in mind. And then he just- drops this on me!"

Tsireya rubs her hand on your shoulder in comfort, feeling sorry for her best friend. "Well- maybe it didn't even go well between them. For all we know, he could hate Ezo right now."

"Nobody hates Ezo." You state, Ruto quietly agreeing but still earning a glare from Tsireya.

"Maybe, just maybe, you should tell Neteyam how you feel anyways. He's looking for other women, but he's blind to the one just in reach."

"I don't know-" You start to protest, almost immediately getting cut off by both Ruto and Tsireya.

"No," they start, Ruto speaking up after. "You're going to tell Neteyam how you feel. Stop sulking on your butt and go get your man."

You whine and stomp your feet, childlike, before finally getting up. "Fine, I'm going. If this all goes wrong I'm blaming you both."

"Looking forward to it. Have fun!"

You wander along the sand, looking out of place and feeling more uncomfortable as more time passes. You try to spot Neteyam's dark blue skin, but to no avail, are unable to find him amongst the crowd of metkayina men.

Walking aimlessly and just about to give up on your search, you finally see him with Ezo, which is unsurprising. You can't decide if you should greet them, hide behind a tree, or hope that the ocean swallows you whole at any given moment. You opt for the latter, standing there awkwardly.

Neteyam greets you before you can say anything, and they both walk to you, and you decide to meet them halfway. They both wear a wide grin, and the sight feels like someone stabbed a dagger through your chest.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were with Ruto." Neteyam curiously piped up, making your chest throb even more when you think, he doesn't even want to see you.

"He just had some duties," you lie, shrugging carelessly. "I was just walking along here before I go back to my marui. What were you two up to?" You asked, hoping you wouldn't regret it.

"Well we spent most of the day together," Neteyam answered you, the truth making it feel like someone was slowly chipping away at your heart. "We swam and went on rides with the ilus..." he kept telling you about their day, but you stopped listening, zoning out.

We, we, we. It was funny how such a small word could cause you so much pain.

"Well that's lovely!" You faked a smile, blinking rapidly before tears would fall down your face. You turned away hastily, making your way in the opposite direction while yelling a jumble of words. Something along the lines of, "Wouldn't want to be in the way, see you later!"

Your face burns with embarrassment, thinking you could just march up and tell Neteyam that you want him, and he would willingly accept you. You think you got away, and then you hear him run up from behind you, making you shut your eyes tightly and hope he won't notice the red in your eyes.

"Y/n?" He called out worriedly, turning you around to face him, your eyes opening involuntarily. Ezo is nowhere to be seen, yet you really can't find it in you to care all that much. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Neteyam questions, on making you want to cry harder.

"So much," you croak, trying to stop your voice from cracking as you continued to talk. "So much is wrong. I'm such a mess. I met Ruto and I became friends with him but I can't even get myself to like him, and then I feel like everything's hopeless, and that I won't find someone I like here and then I meet you," you sniffle, wiping your nose with the back of your hand, "and for the longest I can't comprehend what I feel for you and by the time I realize it's too late because you've already went off and found another girl."

"Hey," he soothes, head dipping down so his eyes can meet your own. "Who says I don't feel the same way about you?"

"Even if you did," you cried out hopelessly, all your pent up feelings unraveling in front of the one person you didn't want it to. "You'd have to wait so long. I don't- I don't want to rush into this. It's tedious, having to wait for someone like me when there's girls like Ezo who are ready for you now."

"There's nothing tedious about waiting for the girl you want to be ready," Neteyam spoke softly still, his thumb rubbing against the inner part of your forearm. "And I don't want girls like Ezo," he laughed, his other hand cupping your cheek. "I want you."

Before you even have the chance to protest, or come up with some dumb excuse or reason why you aren't fit for him he presses his lips to yours, deeming it the best way to shut you up. His lips mold against yours almost perfectly, and he finally pulls away, his smile brighter than any stars in the sky. "I only want you," he whispers, lips brushing against yours once more.

"So take your time, alright?"

—

a/n — anyways hope u enjoyed <33

[blacklegsanjiii]

Okay okay youve awakend brain worms in me, hear me out:

Sanji escaping the dungeon a few weeks earlier causing him to be in the grandline instead of east blue and meeting none other than ✨Robin✨ maybe sanjis somehow being hunted by germa or smth so theyre both on the run and they make a pact to help each other (which is rocky at first cause they both have hella trust issues) but slowly opening up to each other more and more and being each others only trust person...

Idk!! Im reallt loving all your different sanji situations especially since i see him as a barbie character (he has so many jobs!! Lmao) and ive always loveedd his friendship with Robin since i imagine them both having a bit of a morbid humour

Fuck that's good. That's so fucking good ommmggggg.

17 year old Nico Robin picking up a starved and beaten 8 year old Sanji. Both of them flinching at touch no matter how kind or anything. After a year they're probably close and sharing beds/blankets/stuff like that. Doesn't mean it's not hard or anything. Sanji suffers from nightmares every night and is running on very little sleep most of the time. Robin doesn't know how to comfort him at first because sometimes when he wakes up it's straight into a panic attack.

Robin explains Ohara and the buster call, Sanji explains Germa and his issue with bugs from the mask. Robin pulls this impossibly tiny child to her and holds him as they both cry. This is the first time they really touch each other without flinching and such. If they're running from Cipher Pol or the marines or even Aokiji Robin makes sure to always hold the younger's hand. Makes sure to keep him with her at all times.

They spend a lot of time traveling and reading and Sanji gets better at cooking and feeding them and Robin only gets smarter. Sanji gets a bounty as well, guilty by association and the theft and everything else. He's got to have a name like Robin does but I don't know what.

Eventually they wind up in Alabasta working under Crocodile. Ms. All Sunday and Mr. Prince are excellent workers, highly skilled and still able to do what they love. I imagine Robin also taught Sanji to read the poneglyphs in case she dies. Sanji tells her about the All Blue. They have a pact with each other, if one dies the other will try to fulfill the other's dream. It's a lot of weight on their shoulders. Ohara and Germa, the government, the history they have.

When they ask to join the Strawhat crew Luffy lets them when he finds out Sanji can cook and Robin is an archeologist. They don't mesh well at first. Zoro trusts them on the Captain's word but he picks fight with Sanji because he doesn't use weapons and he and Robin are on edge.

When they run into Aokiji he looks at Sanji and Robin. Aokiji mentions off handedly that Sanji's bounty might be getting updated. They leave and Enies Lobby happens and Robin and Sanji are tense. They just are. It probably falls apart and Sanji says it should have been both of them at once because that way they wouldn't have hurt the crew twice, Robin agrees. Luffy yells at both of them for that, saying that they are apart of his crew and won't let them leave until they're dreams are accomplished.

Skipping ahead to WCI Robin goes with Luffy instead of Nami. Robin is dead set on bringing up what happened in Enies Lobby against Sanji because how dare there be a double standard. Even when she finds out they have Cipher Pol over them again. Then she finds out about the cuffs.

How dare Judge and Big Mom? How fucking dare they. Those are his hands, his greatest treasures and tools. Sanji explains that he wants to save his family and they do, Robin doesn't like it because she saw Sanji fresh out of the dungeon, a skeleton wrapped in paper skin covered in bruises and cuts. Robin will let Judge live but on the escape when Judge is saying that shit?

Robin pulls him close and traps him in her arms and threatens him. Devil Child Nico Robin is not one to be played with, especially when it comes to the only person she really truly trusts. So she makes it very clear that she is letting him live this time but if she sees him again? IF they even happen to be in the same town? He will be killed, it will be painful. Sanji is letting her because this is Robin's turn to be protective.

On the way to Wano they're sitting next to each other and Robin mentions that if she was allowed to she would have killed him then and there for how she found Sanji. Sanji nods and apologizes for the trouble and Robin frowns at him. Something akin to "Remember Enies Lobby?" where Sanji mutters that it still should have been both of them. Robin pulls him close and mutters that this should have been both of them too.

[james-preble]

okay this is probably going to make no sense and like 80% of it is pulled straight out of my ass but i thought it was fun to try and figure out

my ideas for how old each of the known charming cousins are and how they're all related

okay so. there's only one named aunt/uncle, and thats fairest, who's mentioned as the "youngest aunt," and is in a group of princesses that can be gathered to be vaguely similar to darling's age. bcuz shes explicitly singled out as an aunt, i think that means she is def older than the group though, so i'm gna say shes in her mid-20s maybe, so lets say like 24 or 25 maybe?

additionally, there's a theme of siblings' names starting with the same letter. however, that's sort of each cousin group, so i think that each of grandpa auspicious and grandma alluring's kids were named with a different letter, and then they each named their kids w those letters. ADDITIONALLY, in a lot of big families, as someone from a decently big family, there are often a bunch of second-cousins, who are your parents' cousins, and second-cousins-once-removed, who are their kids. so to fill in some weird gaps in ages/etc, in addition to just the number of kids, i think grandma alluring probably has a sibling, and them and their family & grandkids are also involved in the Family Ball. grandma alluring probably ended up w the sort of core oldest palace bcuz she was the older sibling, so its kind of js like the family homestead now or whatever. also, the charmings are pretty patriarchal, so if shes the older one and still ended up w the house, her sibling is def another sister.

okay so, known sibling groups:

daring--dexter--darling, grandma alluring's side, all ~16

courageous--cherished--charity, i think they'd be from gma alluring's side as well bcuz darling and dexter interact w her like theyre decently close; charity is def ~16 as well, and courageous is little so maybe like 4-7ish? cherished is w/ charity in the group of princesses that's around darling's age, so ive kind of randomly decided she's a tiny bit younger, maybe ~13-14 idk, and likes feeling like a part of things.

gallant--glorious--gutsy--gracious--gorgeous--good-enough, bcuz they start w G their parent wld be born after fairest, and since she's the "youngest aunt" im js assuming fairest doesnt have a younger brother, so theyre gma's sibling's side; good-enough is canonically 5yo, and the average age gap between siblings is ~4yrs, so lets say gracious+gorgeous are like 10 and 12 ish, gutsy a couple years older, and gallant and glorious a few more years older.

and then, not explicitly stated as siblings, but beauteous, breathtaking, beloved, and bountiful. bcuz im only basing this around two branches of the family, theyre gna be two pairs of siblings. bountiful isn't in the group w fairest/other B princesses/charity/darling, so i'm going to assume she's younger. bcuz beauteous and breathtaking r the first two mentioned im gna say they're siblings even tho that doesnt rlly make sense, and then beloved & bountiful are sisters. idk who'd be from which side though. and not sure why i feel this way but id say bountiful is ~12ish, beloved ~18ish, and then beauteous and breathtaking maybe like 18 and 20 or smth idk just to even it out and make less of a gap from fairest's age to the others.

okay now those who dont have explicitly stated siblings or vague context clues like the Bs

earnest is described as "throwing around the younger charmings w daring," so id put him maybe two years older? just to try to keep some variety in the ages. just for funsies i think he'd be from gma's sibling's side, idk why. there are two more named charmings that start w E, so to even out the number of cousins on each side, i think those two are siblings, and from gma alluring's side. that's elegant and errant. elegant can be whatever age i think, maybe similar to bountiful or a couple years younger idk. errant is stated as having told good-enough he was too little to get anything on the quest, so i think making him 2-3 years older at 7 or 8 is reasonable (also it fits into the avg sibling age gap of 4yrs purely by chance).

there's one other charming that starts w/ C, and that's caring, so she's going on gma's sibling's side.

and then the last two named charmings' names both start with F, and that's fearless and fragile. i have literally no ideas abt their ages, so like think abt them however you want lol, and im putting them on gma's sibling's side, bcuz fairest is only 25ish, and bcuz shes hanging out w a group of like younger princesses idk if she seems the type to have kids yet.

so, basically, i think it looks something like this:

sorry the photo is sideways, also i could NOT be bothered to put assumed/theorized ages on there, sorry.

[jampookie]

🎸⚡ Max Trio Headcanons Time!!!! Yay!!!!

IF YOU HAVE ANY OF YOUR OWN PLSSSSS TELL ME OMGOMG

Jaime:

- SHE DATED MARIA IN MIDDLE SCHOOL: IDC. THEYRE MIDDLE SCHOOL EXES what evidence do I have?? uhhh,,,.......none but i pinky promise they are.

- She's Chinese and Freeeench!!! : Chinese from her Mom and French from her Dad. She knows both languages fairly well and her favorite hobby is to say random things to Max in them that he will never understand (and loses his mind over~)

- She used to have medium length hair but cut it in freshman year: New Year New (Jai)Me!!!

- This is even more random than the Maria one but I hc her to be siblings with the spinoff ep 2 nurse: hear me out okay i just.........idk i think it's probably the lack of max trio content that's getting to my mind.

and it's just nurse lady has the same color palette as jaime ssss...sso...so....WHATEVER

- ⬆️ Adding to thisssss:

When she was a kid her sis was goth (liek as a teen? 10 year age gap between them im guessing) and mini 5 year old Jaime always felt INSPIRED🪄🪄 so she got alot of practice as a kid by stealing makeup hehehe and now she has a PhD in dressing goth! huzzah!

...most of her clothes are hand me downs but atleast she got a starter pack of some sorts 😾

- Whenever she's bored she practices her makeup-ing on Damien,: Since he can actually sit still. She tried it on Max but he either fell off the chair or subconsciously rubbed it all off when his face got itchy....whoops.

- She playssss....keyboard 🎹! I think! And she probably sings sometimes too. Lalalala 🎤🎤

- After Ep 11 events she made pretty good friends with Jake!!!:

Fun Scenario - One day Jaime just so happened to not have makeup on so she was just walking around with her natural BEAUTAY but Jake didn't recognize her like that so he released a quite high pitched SHRIEK and fell backwards thinking she was someone else. They were both quite confused.

- DAMIEN AND MAX CALL HER 'JAY' AS A NICKNAME: Change my mind😈😈😡🤑

- She's not very good at facial expressions:

If she's having the time of her life she'll slightly smile. If she fell off a cliff and lost a few limbs she might slightly pout. The other 99.99% of the times in her life are just a deadpan expression, 😐.

Max:

- MAAAAAAX MY MAIN MAN!!!!!: Before I FULLY start up abt him I just wanna blab a lil on how I think him and Jaime met.

In either Freshmen or MS (I can't decide) Jaime was just listening to music in art class minding her own business till a red and orange gremlin invited himself into her personal space. "WHAT THE HELL DUDE YOU LISTEN TO (certain cool band) TOO!?!? WHAAAAT!?!?" shrieked the gremlin, unaware and uncaring of the other 30 people in the room.

And there you go. Jaime Max friendship. Huzzah!

- Half Brazilian Half Mexican!!: Mexican from his Mom so he knows his Spanissssh!!! I've never thought about Max's dad so lets say he's fatherless. Good for him.

⬆️ - ONTO THIS: I also headcanon Drew as half Mexican (and half Filipino if anyones interested) so so so so SO me thinks Drew and Max are cousins! Teehee!

They used to get along. They fell out. Or the two sides of the family fell out? Can't decide but I will agree with any theory that suggest DRAX ENEMIES GAAAHHHH DRAX ENEMIES!!!!!

- He plays guitar, drums and also sings: Triple cool 😆

- His eyebrow piercing got irritated alot. Like ALOT:

He forgot to clean it. Damien tried endlessly to tell him he'd end up with a tomato brow if he didn't take care of it. He didn't really listen but hey it worked out in the end!! happy days!

- He has BIG mood swings BIG: This is canon but WHATEVER. I like to imagine some of the hangouts he has with his friends go like:

5 minutes in: Oh yay! This is a fun hangout!

10 minutes in: I HATE THE FLOOR AND I HATE THE TWO OF YOU GO AWAY LEAVRMA,LEN,ENNOW

12 minutes in: I love you guys pls neevrbr leavemr idk what Id do without u ❤️❤️ group hug guys group HUG❤️

13 minutes in: we're not hanging out anymore

13½ minutes in: NO COME BACK IM SORRY I DIDN'T MEAN IT

- He laughs either like a hyena or like Peter Griffin: he's either "SAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHGKAKLJJABLJAHLJIBJAKLBJAKLLJABJKBJAIBZIBAIJBIABJLIBIAIBJLIBJLALBJAJLBIKABJLIKBMAL" or "nyeheheheheheh...." depends if he's feeling BIG AND BOLD or mischievous cheshire cat 😈

- His love language is pacing around the room and telling you his grand bizarre plans and interests. Just endlessly talking....:

Me too Max. Me too.

- Sport is one of his other hobbies besides music he definitely loves the competitiveness part in sport class:

Half his classmates want him blown to smithereens, but hey he's a really good player so the sporty ones like him! He LOVES to win AND WON'T ACCEPT A DRAW EITHER HE WILL NOT

every time a draw happens he grabs the nearest ball and throws it at the nearest person while shrieking in agony

When his team wins hes like ☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻🤡😂🤡😂🤡😂🤡😂🤡🤣🤡😂🤣🤡😂🤡☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻 nanananananananan hahahahahah

- He has ALOT of his freckles because he's always outside:

It's the only reason Jaime and Damien have an ounce of Vitamin D, cause Max always drags them outside to hang out!

- TOOTH GAP. CANON. CANON. DONT CARE:

😁😁😁

- Him and Damien love South Park!!:

His favorite is probably Cartmannn..... He likes to imagine himswlf and Damien as Cartman and Kyle. He's very sad Jaime doesn't really watch it though.

- All 3 of them love Homestuck though!!!! When the 4th member of their band didn't DITCH THEM YET (🙄) They all cosplayed the Beta kids:

Max was Dave, Damien was John, Jaime as Roseeee.....and Loser Traitor 4th member was Jade. Screw you LT.

Damien:

Damikins Damikins Damishminkywins my little shmitten kitten booboo snooky cookie🥹🥹🥹🥹

HE HAS STRETCHED LOBES.: IM TELLING YOU.

He also has lazy eye: if you don't know what that is it's basically One eye is great and does it's job. Second eye sucks and goes loosy goosey (up down left right instead of centre we'll say.)

HE'S GERMANNNN: I can't decide if he actually speaks German though idk....hmmmmmmm yeah maybe actually

Likes to paint 🎨🎨: AND HE'S DAMN GOOD AT IT TOO 😈😈 He mainly does objects but sometimes people!

HIM AND HAILEY MAKE THE BESTEST FRIENDS!: They're both physically 17 but internally 97. They stand together, deeply sigh together and criticize the hideously idiotic people around them. Damiens the more talented one at it though.

⬆️ wait this just occured to me. Hailey Damien and Zander as a trio would be so great?? OMG

New HC!!!! Him and Zander both wear alot of jewelry (bracelets and rings and stuff) so they might trade some 🤔🤔: hmmm

He's one of those people that's naturally very good at Math: so he's always the one his friends (or just random classmates..) go to for either answers to steal or just for help. He doesn't really mind either, how kind of him 😁😁

Basic Stuff..

..like bdays and heights!!!

🎁

Max: December 3rd 2003

Damien: January 17th 2003

Jaime: October 31st 2003

📏

Max: 5'7 idk (170cm)

Damien: 6'3 (190cm)

Jaime: 5'3½! (161cm)

OKAY THERES THAT DONE. idk if you can edit posts i forgor but hey if i think of any more hcs or see any from others I like I'll come back and update. TY FOR READING ALL THIS BABBLING HELPME

[esbee-daisy]

Second attempt at tumbling a sickfic prompt. Do we use that as a verb here? Anyway…

It’s the holidays! Let’s say Christmas or thanksgiving. Modern day. Big group of tight knit friends. But all going separate ways for the holidays.

A gets a text from C…turns out B hadnt been feeling well the last few days, and after C already left to go to their family’s holiday, found out B was uninvited from their own family’s holiday plans because they’re sick.

Everyone knows B is the caretaker of the group but is hopeless about taking care of themselves. A needs little persuasion from C to go over and check on B, especially since A is the only one still in town. Also doesn’t hurt that A has had a (unknowingly mutual) crush on B for years.

A goes over with meds and comfort food, all ready for a fun movie night with some extra forced pampering, but is not at all prepared for what they actually find

Maybe B comes to the door after an agonizingly long time, barely able to support their own weight against the doorframe, clearly feverish and dizzy from the short walk to open up. Bright red cheeks against a sickly white face. Glassy, unfocused eyes.

Or maybe B doesn’t come to the door at all, but luckily A knows where the hide-a-key is and let’s themselves in. Only to find B asleep, or are they unconscious? On the couch. Buried under blankets and looking absolutely pathetic and miserable and so small. Sweating and shivering profusely.

A gets to work straightaway trying to support B to their actual bed. It’s freezing in the foyer and B is already shaking relentlessly. If B is unconscious, maybe they come-to in A’s arms, but fever is so high they don’t recognize them right away and try to struggle out their grasp. Maybe A wasn’t expecting the sudden struggle and drops B who whacks their head and only ends up more petrified.

Or if B is awake initially, A pulls them up to get them into bed, only for B to crumple to the ground absolutely overcome with lightheadedness.

B can barely process that A is there since last they heard, everyone was out of town. They undersold how sick they were when they talked to C because they knew if they expressed how bad it really was, C would cancel their own plans and B would never want anyone to do that for them. Even though they would and have done it for all their friends in the past.

Maybe B starts crying hysterically when they realize A may be sacrificing their own holiday plans to care for them. Trying to push them away when really all they want is to be held and taken care of. Their own family doesn’t care enough about them to even have them in their home when ill…why would A want to be around them?

Maybe A is tracking B’s fever, which starts in the 103’s and gradually starts creeping up as the night goes on. There’s talk of bringing B to the hospital but as soon as that’s mentioned, it sends B into a delirious panic attack. Their body is already weak and ravaged by illness and really can’t handle the stress the panic is putting on their system. Their already pale face becomes positively ashen, their ragged breaths become whistling wheezes, and theyre trembling so hard A is afraid they’re going to crack a rib. Maybe the only way to get B to calm down is for A to promise not to bring them to the hospital. Maybe A remembers B has some trauma with doctors and feels awful for not recalling to begin with. So now A is faced with caring for B alone despite the fact that their already precarious health seems to be declining fast.

A promises to do everything they can to take care of B themself, but that means B has to stop fighting them at every turn

That means letting A feed them. It’s clear B hasn’t eaten properly in days and their weak body desperately needs the nourishment. But their hands are too weak to hold a spoon up to their mouth, even trying to push themselves up with their arms to sit results in the room spinning and B losing consciousness for a brief moment. A moment in which A is besides themselves with worry and trying to frantically rouse them while also being gentle as to not hurt or scare B

That means letting A give them a cold bath or shower to get the fever down when things keep getting worse. Maybe B tries to walk themselves only to collapse into a heap on the ground, trembling like a leaf from the exertion. A bridal carries B to the bathroom and is concerned by how little they seem to weigh. How uncoordinated and limp all their limbs are

That means letting A see them at their most vulnerable, rattled with nightmares and tears and delirious ramblings at night and allowing A to comfort them back into a restless sleep. With gentle touches, hair stroking, promises that they’re safe and not alone. That they won’t leave them no matter what. That they deserve to be taken care of.

I could go on and on but this is supposed to be a prompt I think so…I’ll stop here?

[symphonic-scream]

I got a lot of positives after posting about the step siblings thing so here's more

P5 Step Siblings AU

So to be clear, the "Thieves" all meet in high school, so before that there's just bits from the three/four individual families and such. So, I'll give you some of those bits

Niijima/Kitagawa/Ishiki

So, I've got stuff for the three wives in this. As stated in the first post, Aichi Niijima is an EMT, spending odd hours at work, the smarts of a healthcare worker with the athleticism of a first responder. It's her goal to always be able to pick up her kids, no matter their age

Sayuri Kitagawa is an elementary school art teacher, who also gets featured in galleries, a lot. She never paints the faces of her children, so they're not plastered everywhere, but they're still on her works from time to time. She is ill, but she keeps moving onwards

And, Wakaba Ishiki. She still researches cognition in her spare time, but after falling for the artist she kept seeing painting in Shibuya, she's settled more. She's a high school technology teacher, and is the one who fights to have Goro in their care

Just. Aichi walking around on her off days with at least one kid clinging to her at all times, if not all of them. Sae is always most reluctant, especially as a teenager, and to convince Goro all anyone needs to do is a little reverse psychology

Her carrying like, 10-year-old Makoto on one side, Yusuke aged 9 on the other, and little Futaba at 8 on her back as she cooks, cleans, etc

Sayuri holding Makoto close during storms, and telling her stories to distract from the fear, never diminishing it or anything. She does the same for Futaba, when the world doesn't make sense, holds her tight until she's back to herself, and. She kisses each of their little heads each morning and night, even when they're not so little anymore

Sakamoto

Poor Tsumiki Sakamoto, raising two wild children. Ryuji is a handful on his own, with his endless energy and innate rebellion against authority, but Ann? The two combined just keep making the other Worse

Like. The best example is their first day of high school, they meet the others cause they're sprinting, convinced that they're late cause their Mom set the clocks a half hour ahead. So, they're actually early

They both love movies, so every other week she uses some of her own paycheck money to bring them to see something, snacks and all. The Takamaki money goes towards food, clothes, rent, etc. her own money goes towards making sure they have the best childhood she can give them

When the power goes out, she builds a little fort in the living room with them, with a flashlight and she reads a book, Ann and Ryuji acting out the different characters. By the end they're out of energy, out cold in the fort, unafraid

Tsukimi fosters Ryuji's love of running, and Ann's love of acting. She helps make Ann's costume for a school play, and switches shifts around at the ramen shop to get to attend the school sports festival and cheer Ryuji on for his first wins

They're not super well off, but they're happy, and loved

Sakura

Sojiro had a few different foster placements before his first foster fail. None of them stay with him for too long, just a step on the path, that's all. But then he gets this little, thin, seven year old girl, who's case was all over the news, because her father was a big CEO

Haru was nervous and shy at first, but he cooks her dinner and lets her watch, asking her to taste test. And, she has her own room, and the door doesn't have to stay closed

Plus, he gently carries her when theyre on the train, letting her hide her face in his shoulder. He keeps the media away from her, until the case is old news. And each month, he brings her to talk to her mom, at a small, high end graveyard

Haru fucking loves Sojiro. She's selected for an adoption viewing at one point and she just- cries. Tells the worker she doesn't wanna go, don't make her leave her dad, and

Sojiro cries. She called him Dad,

Akira gets placed with them after a couple years, when he's twelve and Haru thirteen. It takes him longer to settle in, he's, older than Haru was. Been through a bit more. But, he melts into place there, and soon he's got his own apron to wear while making dinner with his dad and his big sister

And, they get a cat. Akira and Haru find him when walking home from middle school, and don't tell Sojiro at first. Then he finds the cat, and it's that, "dad who didn't want the cat" situations. He buys him little sweaters and shit

Sojiro gave them both the option to keep their old family names. Haru asked to change hers to Sakura the night he formally adopted her. Akira asks after a year, before Sojiro had a chance to reveal he was adopting him

And, they look like a perfect little family. Akira looks strikingly like Sojiro, and his curly hair matches Haru's, so

Bonus: Hasegawa

Now, this is Zenkichi here, so he's all emo cause his wife died. But, he has to be even stronger, cause he agreed to take in the daughters of other victims in a similar case he's convinced is connected. Twins, little gymnasts, older than his daughter

Sumire is quiet for a long time. She and Kasumi share a room, but she opens up first to Akane. Akane asks if her hair is really red, and Sumire nods. Akane says it's her favourite colour

The twins are in middle school, and Akane is pretty young. They won't move to Tokyo until the twins start high school, so they're out in Kyoto?? Anyways. Sumire bonds with Akane before opening up to Zenkichi, and Kasumi is more social, but she doesn't truly open up until she sees Sumire looking comfortable. At home.

Then, Sophia. She's found by local police with no ID, no memories, just a jacket with her name stitched into it. Zenkichi, who already has three daughters, takes her for the night at first, while they work stuff out

She, stays much longer

They joke that she's the missing third twin. ("It's called a triplet", Zenkichi corrects, causing his three girls to laugh. "Twin three!" Akane cheers, the older two following after. Sophia smiles and cheers too. "Twin three!")

When they do move to Tokyo, all three start high school at Shujin, meeting the others for the first time

--

Just. I have a lot of thoughts about this one.

[polyhexian]

have you had any ideas for MH timeline oneshots i love the ones youve done as seperate little side stories and id love to see more!

I've got all this STUFF lying around and I'm like WHAT ORDER IS THIS IN. But I've mentioned jasper fosters kids in a few things and I'd really like to show that. And I also wanna write about when hunter makes Jasper's palisman. And I'd really really like to actually get Everything With Gus down on paper because there is a Lot of family drama there. Since mara and jasper are obviously close, and obviously she IS going to pass away and he WILL be upset. And I've made it clear I characterize perry as pretty distant and that Gus has largely adultified himself as a kid who is home alone a lot and also skipped two grades and needs his peers to see him as more mature than he is. So perry being So Very Sad about his wife's death that he really shuts down and is not paying attention to his. Jasper very helpfully takes him a lot but he doesn't LIVE there even if he is there half or more of the time. But jasper is getting more and more pissed the more perry seems to be doing s Very Bad Job and not paying attention to him like. Every time Gus comes back like hey he forgot to feed me breakfast this morning or yeah I tucked myself in last night or I let myself into the house today after school or something jasper gets just a little less forgiving. And he's got Gus staying there more and more until he's like like. 4-5 days of the week. And then one day perry does something that really pisses him off like he brushes something off that really hurts Gus's feelings or something and jasper says fuck it and just. Does not give him back lol. Like he's supposed to go back home Friday and he just does not send him back. Perry calls like hey. Where is my kid. And jaspers just like. Well he is my kid now. Goodbye. And is a little bit pissed when no one shows up to arrest him because perry is just like. Well. Okay I guess I lost him then. Woe is me. So gus just lives there for like two years before perry is like hey actually I want my kid back now and jasper is like. Okay. That's cool. No. But it's kind of like. Well you. Sort of have a reputation for kidnapping. You really don't want to do it again. Theyre not gonna let you off again. So he just Seethes about it and hunter just brings Gus home constantly so he is.... Still practically living there during the week.

Theres too many niche details here. I can't handle myself. I want very much to write more about the blight kids because they have their whole shit rocked here and I'd love to get around to Luz showing up someday because. I mean. It would rule. She gets there and hunter is immediately like hey good news: I am everyone's annoying and overprotective big brother. You dont get a say in this. Also stay away from Amity she's a bitch and my mortal enemy. The DRAMA of Luz being Jasper's apprentice- because powerless witch! -and living with Mr surrogate brother himself only now she's got a crush on their fucking Enemy so it has to be Secret....

[favouritefi]

I love your Terror catboy AU, it’s a funky combination of adorable drawings and Victorianesque pseudoscientific hierarchies. However, it made me wonder about catgirls/doggirls; if you’re happy to answer, how do you see the intersection of gender and hybridity playing out in this universe?

I LOVE THIS QUESTION THANK YOU FOR THIS QUESTION i have a lot of thots on this bc the whole "angel in the house" image of the ideal (middle class) victorian woman is such a fun concept to play with more under cut

ok so what im about to say rn really only applies to middle class and upper class women in this au as those are the main characters in the terror if we get into the lower classes its a more complicated and nuanced story.

anyway in victorian times women were expected to be chaperoned everywhere by an older woman such as a female relative or female servant lest she be corrupted by the ills of the world and by men etc. this is where cat/doggirls come in. its expected that if you have a daughter then you goooootta adopt a companion or two for her both to show off your status and to ensure that your daughter has a friend / chaperone / mentor / moral compass for life. so in cat/dogpeople households the cat/dogboys usually go off to whatever institution their bloodline is associated with and cat/doggirls usually become companions for the wives and daughters of the men employed by those institutions. its very different from human family structures because the expectation here is that your child will not stay with your household, youre making children knowing that they will likely not belong to you regardless of whether they are male or female and that you might never see them again once theyre adopted and they need to be adopted or else its a failure on you and your bloodline. (grim i know) this system is also why each generation of cat/dogpeople tends to be fairly large, little and hodgson and irving all have an overabundance of siblings and cousins many of whom theyve never met in their life.

interestingly, cat/doggirls are actually more valued amongst these families than cat/dogboys because cat/dogboys can only be sent off to the institution the bloodline is associated with whereas cat/doggirls can be sent off to any upper/middle class household regardless of association and it would still be considered respectable AND it creates new relationships between human families that the human owners might find beneficial (kind of like how marriage was historically the exchange of women to strengthen political ties between families). this means that excess cat/dogboy sons are often disappointing to the parents - edward little is one of these. all 3 of his elder brothers had already left for the navy so he grew up playing w his sisters and getting dolled up in their dresses and being told that oh he'd make such a pretty girl and pretty bride oh if only he'd been born a girl etc. totally doesnt fuck him up.

speaking of fucked up theres hickey and his whole situation w sophia. having a catboy as a companion for an upper class girl is a big no-no and only happened because [insert hickey backstory here that is too long and really should have its own post]. no body approves of this but sophia loves him so very much and they were inseparable up until they were separated when sophia went to tasmania with the franklins and hickey was abandoned to the streets against both his and sophias will. sophia refused to adopt a new more appropriate companion in tasmania and after the franklins returned to england she tried to find him but couldnt and assumed he died. then when it seems like the ships are lost and jane starts campaigning for a rescue mission suddenly hickey shows up and for a few blissful years they are together again. he is older and quieter and has scars he wont explain, but hes still hickey and sophia still loves him. and then sir john comes back and fucks all of that up again.

sorry this was meant to be about gender dynamics in my deranged catboy au but i got distracted by hickey (as per usual)