#times i wish tags were editable on mobile

[arcadian-vampire]

I'm trying a new med for gastroparesis (despite still not being diagnosed with gastroparesis lmao) and??? I think it worked????? I was able to drink a little coffee a while ago, and usually by now I'd be like 'ouch yikes I feel terrible', but I'm. fine. I feel like I didn't even drink anything

I hope it does work and I'll be able to eat things again... It's gonna be really hard to not go wild and eat myself sick, bc I miss food tastes So Fucking Bad dude. I missed out on my mother's biscuits and gravy! Like do u know how hard that is!!!! She makes the BEST biscuits and gravy EVER

[sanjisboyfie]

one piece smau: misc. edition

— miscellaneous :P probably pt.1 bc this is so fun to dooooo

— no romantic pairings, just the strawhats being cutie friends, male reader!!!

ー idk if the formatting is weird on desktop bc i did this all on my mobile 😭😭😭

liked by freeluffy, roro.zoro, and 8.6k others

-> ._.[name]: luffy is recycling, recycling is good for the enviornment!!! be like luffy <3

tagged: freeluffy

dni_nami: who on earth would want to be like that idiot ???

-> roro.zoro: no bc shes right

-> ._.[name]: you guys r so mean 😭😭

dr.law: im surprised there arent more bottles, u guys had the whole block awake....

-> freeluffy: we had to make five trips :DDD

-> ttchopper: FIVE TRIPS?????

-> dr.law: and when your guys' livers fail ill b there to laugh

-> ._.[name]: actin like u werent sneakin in shots of vodka :/// alright buddyyyyy

-> uso_pp: LMFOAOAO

-> SUPERCOLA: u jus got exposed

liked by ._.[name], dni_nami, and 4.6k others

uso_pp: im beggin yall to stop getting into drinking contests w zoro and nami

tagged: ._.[name]

._.[name]: naw trust next time i got em

-> uso_pp: didnt u say ts last time???

-> dni_nami: the fact he keeps thinking hes gonna win is crazy

-> ._.[name]: imma win back all my money

-> uso_pp: AND YOU BET MONEY??? ur gonna b in eternal debt [name]

princesanji: my beautiful nami is always coming out on top 😻😻😻

-> ._.[name]: who r u ???

-> princesanji: i dont interact w losers

-> dni_nami: sanji, ur the reason my username is what it is please do not test me rn

[liked by ._.[name], robinkills, and 80 others]

liked by ._.[name] and 7.3k others

robinkills: nami and i showing sanji and [name] who exactly they gotta jump

tagged: dni_name, ._.[name], princesanji

dni_nami: skank ass bitches invading a party that our friend is throwing jus to talk shit is crazy

-> ._.[name]: glad we took em outside 😋

-> princesanji: ILL FIGHT TO PROTECT YOUR REPUTATION MY QUEENS NAMI AND ROBIN - NO ONE WILL EVER DEFAME YOUR NAME IN FRONT OF ME EVER AGAIN

-> ._.[name]: one time ill agree w sanji on smth

freeluffy: no fair i wanted to come :(((

-> dni_nami: the pouting at not being involved in a fight is crazy

-> boahancock: my beautiful boy luffy i have many people you can have the pleasure of taking care of 🥰🥰🥰

uso_pp: their stupid ass bfs thinkin they stood a chance against sanji AND [name] was hilarious nglll

-> robinkills: it was over before it even started

[liked by dni_nami, princesanji, ._.[name] and 40 others]

liked by freeluffy, portgasdace, and 4.1k others

princesanji: someone donate this brokeass some money so he can buy his own packs

tagged: ._.[name]

._.[name]: HOW MANY OF MY LIGHTERS HAVE YOU STOLEN??? this is compensation

-> princesanji: stop lying i didnt steal shit from u

-> ._.[name]: I SAW MY ZIPPO ON YOUR NIGHTSTAND U FUCKING LIARR

ttchopper: smoking isnt good for u [name] :((

-> ._.[name]: suddenly i no longer like cigarettes

-> ttchopper: :DDD

-> roro.zoro: walked like a dog.

-> ._.[name]: ur just mad cuz chopper actually likes me

-> roro.zoro: im gonna kill u

-> dni_nami: chopper doesnt like either of u pls stfu

liked by robinkills, roro.zoro, dr.law and 13k others

._.[name]: my hearts <333

tagged: portgasace, freeluffy

portgasace: YALL SEE THIS im [name]'s favorite u wish u were me

-> freeluffy: i think [name] likes me the most, sorry ace!!!

-> portgasace: im beggin u to shut the fuck up

-> freeluffy: ur jus mad cus im right :DD

uso_pp: i wanna see a fight between these two over [name]

[liked by dni_nami and 50 others]

-> ._.[name]: u jus wanna see a fight mf shut up 😭😭😭

liked by dr.law, freeluffy, and 7k others

._.[name]: DAMNN PAPI ZORO GIVE ME ONE SHOT PLSLSSS 🤤🤤

tagged: roro.zoro

roro.zoro: we r never going to the gym tgt ever again im sick of ur bullshit

-> ._.[name]: can u pls come home and meet my parents i told them all abt us 🥺🥺

-> roro.zoro: i hope u die in a fire

uso_pp: unexpected couple of 2023 ���😱😱

[liked by ._.[name], robinkills, and 70 others]

._.[name]: he looks soo fionneneee

-> dni_nami: pls stop thirsting for zoro on ur main at least take it to the finsta [name] i cant stand this any longer

-> roro.zoro: how abt he jus stops in general???

-> ._.[name]: ur ltr in love w me stop being so obsessed in replying to my comments zoro 🙄🙄

-> roro.zoro: unlock ur apartment door im outside

-> ._.[name]: i feel unsafe.

[natsukishinomiyaswife]

⋆⁺₊⋆ Looking to escape the heat? Longing for some fun?

Get ready to experience a whole new world at Iago’s Paradise, the pool you’ve been wishing for! ⋆⁺₊⋆

A Twisted Wonderland Fanmade Event, based on my Scarabia Lifeguard AU ♡

DISCLAIMER: I have been working on this event for a while now, and ask that everyone please read this post before participating (stay safe everyone! 🫶)

⋆⁺₊⋆ Event Summary:

A family friend of the Asim's invites Kalim and Jamil to attend the grand opening of their new pool, Iago's Paradise. Named after its parrot mascot, the pool is inspired by the Scalding Sands, and made to look like a desert oasis. Excited, Kalim invites some of their classmates to join them, only to arrive and discover... the pool is short staffed!

Not wanting the grand opening to be cancelled, you agree to work at Iago's Paradise, helping to make the best grand opening possible!

⋆⁺₊⋆ About the Pool:

Iago's Paradise has a desert theme, and is meant to look like an oasis, with sand on the ground and palm trees scattered throughout

The pool's mascot is a red parrot named Iago

There are multiple pools, separated by depth (including one specifically for infants) and a slide at the deep end

There are ramps and stairs to make entering the pool more accessible, along with paths without sand for easier mobility

There is an ice cream stand inside the pool area called the Cave of Wonders, that has it's own mascot (a tiger)

There is a food truck called Prince Ali's parked outside the pool area, specializing in dishes from the Scalding Sands

There is a picnic area, with tables and chairs for people to use. Each table has an umbrella, to provide shade from the sun

⋆⁺₊⋆ Event Rules:

Anyone can participate! Feel free to include your OC, your Yuusona, a canon character, etc ♡

You can participate by writing fics, making art, creating edits, etc

Please use the tag #iagosparadise and credit/tag me in the post (I would love to see what you make!! ♡)

No NSFW please! I want everyone to be able to participate! ♡

This event has no deadline! So feel free to join at any time ♡

⋆⁺₊⋆ Outfits:

While this event was made with swimwear/poolwear in mind, feel free to use a summer outfit, if swimwear isn't your thing ♡

While there is no dress code at Iago's Paradise, all employees must wear one of these colors (and it has to be the primary color of their outfit):

Red

Blue

Yellow

Gold

All lifeguards must wear a whistle around their neck.

⋆⁺₊⋆ Jobs:

Don't wanna be a lifeguard? Here's some ideas for what your character could be doing to help out the pool! ♡

Admissions - You work at the entrance, ringing people up and giving them wristbands so they can enter the pool area

Ice Cream Stand - Working at the Cave of Wonders, there's a bunch of jobs to choose from! Running the register, making the ice creams, handing out free samples, etc

Food Truck - Prince Ali's collaborates with Iago's to provide food options for their visitors, and you would be the middle man. Informing visitors about the truck, handing out menus, taking orders at the picnic area (for those who want their food delivered), etc

First Aid - While all lifeguards should know first aid, there's a first aid tent to provide care for any visitors injured on the property. You would provide care to those who are injured, and if someone is seriously injured, calling for assistance (like an ambulance)

Swimming Lessons - Not all pools may provide swimming lessons, but Iago's does! You would be working with a small class of people, helping them learn the basics of swimming. Iago's provides swimming lessons for people of any age, but keeps them separate, having a class for children and a class for adults

⋆⁺₊⋆ Backgrounds:

I have created three different backgrounds you can choose from, and give examples of how they look depending on the rarity!

Please note: these backgrounds were made using in game backgrounds (from Book 4) that I edited

⋆⁺₊⋆ Staff:

Iyad Aubert (groovy here) - @rini-rambles

Silas Sanderson - @theolivetree123

Nadira Kader - @cheerleaderman

Raj Amani (voice lines here) - @readsrandomstuff67 Raj Amani (groovy by @lostonesart) - @readsrandomstuff67

Levi Clado - @the-trinket-witch

Cecil Uriel - @lostonesart

Finn Clearcove (Fic here) - @thehollowwriter

Sidney Gonzalez - @babyghoul138

Elias Miel - @theolivetree123

Kiyuu - @skriblee-ksk

Deuce Spade - @spade-12

Kalle Brunne - @offorestsongs

Kumo Starwing - @fumikomiyasaki

⋆⁺₊⋆ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ⋆⁺₊⋆

𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴 𝔂𝓸𝓾! ♡

[honeybewrites]

OC Questionnaire Tag

Thank you @the-golden-comet for the tag, @wyked-ao3 for the tag @the-letterbox-archives for the tag and @ominous-feychild for the tag!! And they you guys for being patient! I know a couple of you tagged me in this a while ago, so sorry for the wait!!

Once again, long post!

Fres

How many people have you killed?

Far more than you would expect, or maybe not if you know me. I can’t actually give you a number. I lost track a long time ago and if we’re counting indirect killings, like building collapses and fires, that number goes up really quickly. Thankfully I don’t do much killing nowadays, and the ones I do kill, well, let’s just say they deserve it.

Favorite type of drink?

Coffee. Hands down. Throw in some flavors and creamer and I can drink five of those puppies in a day easily. It’s a small problem admittedly l…

Do you smoke?

No. I have before, when I was in the Mors and a certain undercover assignment required it, but I don’t do it if my own free will. I don’t like the smell or the taste of it in the slightest.

Asset 703

Life stranded on an island or life as a prisoner?

Island. Easily. I would be completely alone. No Mors, no war. Just me and the ocean. It would be… peaceful. I used to dream about that. Moving to an unknown island in the middle of nowhere… obviously I grew out of that. Just a childish fantasy.

Would you wear a dress?

I have, on many occasions. Certain missions require it. I don’t particularly mind. Though I hate having to wear all the glamours to hide my scars.

What is your most traumatic memory?

I… don’t think that’s relevant information. I can’t risk that information getting into the wrong hands. I was scarred from it. Physically I mean. I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone…

Rage Airvix

What's your relationship with your family like?

It’s alright. I haven’t seen them in quite a few years and we don’t agree on a lot of things. Me and my older sister Cadi were always close. I haven’t been able to see her in person for three years now, but we still talk a couple times a month. I miss her.

Do you have any hobbies? If so, what ones?

I like reading! I have quite the collection on my estate. Lots of rare editions, signed copies. It’s pretty valuable. I also dabble in alchemy and I like anything that has to do with being outside like hiking or gardening.

Do you dream often? What about?

It kind of goes in waves I guess? I’ll have a longer stretch of dreams and nightmares for a couple months, and then it kind of goes away. Most of the time it’s memories or complete utter nonsense. Half the time I don’t even remember them. Except the nightmares. I generally remember those.

Fres

What was the worst day of your life?

As weird as it sounds, the day I left the Mors. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy to be free but… I thought [redacted] was coming with me. In the end she chose the Mors and we went our separate ways. I wouldn’t hesitate to fight her now.

What's your worst nightmare?

The Mors capturing me. I know exactly what they would do and I wouldn’t be able to escape them a second time. It terrifies me to think about.

If a monster asked you your worst nightmare, what would you tell it and why?

Honestly, I’d probably lie. Who knows what its intentions are? But if I had to tell the truth, I wouldn’t even say anything; I would just show it all the damage the Mors have caused.

Leaving this one as an open tag!! Mostly because I’m on mobile and can’t easily see who I’ve tagged before lol

Your Questions:

Sun or moon?

Would you rather drown or be buried alive?

Pumpkin spice or apple cider?

[ratcatcher0325]

A Fraction of Justice (Chapter #31)

Chapter #31. ... Something Wicked this way comes... Or so Alexander thinks. Who is at Nat's door?

So this is by far my longest chapter yet! I guess that makes up for how long it took me to write and edit it? Maybe? Anyway thanks for continuing to read!! I love and appreciate you all!

Previous: Chapter #30

Next: Chapter #32

Word Count: 10,045 Read Time: Approx. 60+ mins

CW: adult language

Tag list: @gatlily @patrocolus3 @beautifulunknowntrash @titan-god-420 @andraimeide @themarlo @cup-o-chai @lucentbliss @raccoontoaster @tolsizedlove @not-a-space-alien @thegodmother007 @honey-olive @bittykimmy13 @aceouttatime @imvenusasaboy @liminaldaze @windshield-patent @joxter-coded @rosella35 @narrans @rubeau-art @littlescaryinternetguy @jae-from-discord @kitn-underfoot @secretly-small @writing-forever @iinogongju @itsgothgirlthyme @make-me-giant @reborrowing @whatthisfemsheplikes @soapysoap69 @tinystrawberryshifter @thetinylittlespider @bigboicol-theflamingcol @certainwizardlady

Btw, DM me if you wanna be added to the tag list!

___________________________________

A Fraction of Justice

Chapter #31: The Pricking of Thumbs... and Eyes

[Alexander’s POV]

I strained to listen through the bedroom door, thicker than I measured shoulder to shoulder, through walls of drywall and insulation, through distance. While it was only a few dozen steps for the human who’d just told me to hide, it may as well have been the better part of a mile for me. 

Damn my little frame! 

My throat tightened as my spinal column was washed with adrenaline. What was happening out there? Was she okay? What was my best course of action? On the desktop I had the advantage of some height, sure, but I was also a sitting duck, with no chance to outrun a pair of malicious human hands if it were to come down to that. Did I risk clamoring to the floor? Or did that just guarantee my doom, underfoot? Down there, I’d have more places to hide out of sight before springing into action with this makeshift weapon I currently hefted under my arm. If push came to shove, would I be able to get to her in time to make any difference at all? Even if I crashed my way into the room with two absolutely massive beings before me, was there anything I could do to help? 

My few milliseconds for strategizing were abruptly cut short as the creak of the door opening far off in the distance hit my ears. My blood froze in my veins and I admit, I held my breath as I ground my heels into the wood of the desk, waiting to discover what was taking place far beyond where I stood. 

The door opened. I strained, wincing and wishing I wasn’t banished to this far off room, like some weak little coveted prize to be stashed away when danger called. I couldn’t be certain, but I swore I heard a gasp. 

Her gasp. 

My heart thundered ever more feverishly. That was it. I had to do something. Anything. Even if it got me killed. I would not lie down and cower in fear like some weak little waste of oxygen. If she needed my help, I’d try my damndest to give it. 

Without a second thought, I hobbled over to the edge of her desk, contemplating the cables I’d shimmied down once before. I now had the much more logistically challenging job of navigating this vertical drop with a letter opener towering a whole 3 inches above my head and mobility aid tucked under my arm. I heard a shuffling of feet as I swung my own over the cliff’s edge that was the desk’s ledge. I tried not to think about how a drop from this height could kill me as I heard her exclaim, “What the fuck? What’re you doing here?” Was this someone she knew? To my ears, it didn’t sound good.

 I needed to move, and quickly. I heard a male voice, deep and wholly unfamiliar ring in response, but I hardly had the bandwidth to pick up on his exact words. I managed to hear “Worried… Own good… Don’t freak out…” I launched myself over the edge, both hands gripping the cord as I swung precariously, trying not to drop the two objects carefully hooked under my right shoulder joint and pressed to my side with the crook of my elbow. I had to make sure to apply adequate pressure to keep them from slipping. 

 Hand under fist, I began to slowly lower myself down the length of the cord. The progress was abysmally slow. I bared my teeth, sweat forming on my brow, as a muscular burning began to blossom in my shoulders and arms. No! Not now, I’ve only just begun my descent. 

I pictured Natalie’s face in my mind. I’d no doubt she could hold her own quite well. The incident with the driver in her alley and her unapologetic shouting match with the impatient man came immediately to the forefront of my thoughts. She did not hesitate to come to her own defense, and I knew that. What she’d failed to remember when she’d commanded me to hide myself away, is that I would not hesitate to do the same. 

I was ripped back to reality by two concurrent events that occupied my full attention. First, I could feel my crutch slipping dangerously from my hold on it, threatening to fall out of my grip entirely, as my arms shook with the effort to hold myself aloft. I could hardly afford to risk letting go with one arm to catch it, let alone be able to twist around in time to stop its fall. I doubted I’d be able to support my full weight with just one fist gripping tightly to the slippery rubber casing of a wire. Yet, if it tumbled to the ground, and out of reach, I’d be royally screwed in trying to hobble even a few paces. 

As I hung in place, tightening the pressure between my elbow and ribs to try to keep the objects from falling, the second event tore me away from my current disaster unto another. There were footsteps, loud and unmistakable, thundering toward the door. This human, whoever he was, would be bursting through the threshold in only a few seconds’ time, judging by the cacophony of shoes on wood flooring. 

I was much too high off the ground to risk jumping, but too far down to have enough time to clamor back up again. This was a huge mistake. I was stuck, midair, probably about level with the average human’s thigh, swinging uselessly, and utterly exposed. Like ripe fruit ready to be plucked from its vine, I was at high risk of being snatched up.  

Steel yourself, Alexander, now’s not the time for succumbing to fear. I had a weapon after all, and a sharp one at that. 

The gigantic footfalls continued with ever growing intensity in my direction. The stranger’s voice seemed far too casual and familiar for my liking, “Aww, come on, I gotta see what’s been goin’ on… what’re you trying to hide?” Who was this man? Why was she not stopping him and what gave him any right to invade her home on such unexpected notice, no less? 

What was she trying to hide? Me. You unwelcome invader of privacy. She’s trying to hide me. So much for keeping out of plain sight and giving her peace of mind. 

“No, you really don’t! N-no I’m not hiding– I just… now’s not a good time and–” Her voice was softer than his, quieter and more distant. He was charging ahead and she was scrambling after him. What was wrong with this human? Did he not know how to listen? 

The footfalls were so close now, I could feel them as they ricocheted through the hardwood floor of the hall, and shook my makeshift climbing rope ever so slightly. 

How embarrassing. Just their steps were enough to rock me to and fro like a fragile leaf on the breeze. I swallowed hard. This was it. In the next millisecond I’d be face to face… well… make that face to body with an unknown enemy.

I gripped tighter, tucking the cable between the sole of one shoe and the toe of the other, so that I didn’t have to bear all my weight with just my arms. This muscular effort tweaked my injured leg, as my trembling hands gained some small relief. With my crutch still barely able to balance, I readied myself to use my weapon if needed. I was almost certain it would be needed. 

That’s when he crashed through the door. 

He towered over me, of course. The gusts of wind generated from his massive form erupting into the room threw my hair about my face and made me grit my teeth. Why did humans have to be so big?! 

He stopped just inside the doorway, his left thigh upsettingly close, yet maybe just an inch or so shy of being within stabbing range. Damn. Still, he was much too near for my liking. I could practically smell him. Was that fresh soap and a hint of cinnamon? I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

 He hadn’t noticed me yet: of course not, I was far below his eye line, why would he? He stood comfortably, as if he owned the place. He looked a few years older than Natalie, perhaps about my age, though it was impossible to know for sure. His bespectacled visage was bright, excitable. He seemed amused, as he cast his gaze around. His beard, dark in color, just like his neat, tightly curled hair, was cut close to his jawline. The wide-necked cable-knit sweater he wore sported a geometric pattern in black, royal blue and crisp white. His left hand relaxed inside the pocket of his corduroy slacks, as he took in the room before him. 

I hated him at first glance. 

He played the part of a perfect Nantucket dandy, clearly hailing from wealth, and with the added benefit of an Ivy League university education, he seemed out of place in Natalie’s humble living conditions. Everything about him oozed with pretension and privilege. And yet, the two of them seemed well acquainted, so there must’ve been some common ground. 

While this strange and wholly unwelcome intruder delighted in the view, my muscles were screaming for relief. Sweat poured from my brow and down the back of my neck. My arms, in spite of my best efforts, were starting to tremble and that damned cane was ever closer to tipping out of my grasp and down to the floor, a deadly distance away. I couldn’t hold on for much longer, but I’d be damned if I’d let this supercilious interloper’s first encounter with me be one of pitying condescension because I required any form of assistance.  

A moment after he’d paused in the doorway, the third party in this equation, and second human, my human, practically crashed into him in her hurried attempt to stop him in his tracks. Great job, on that front, Natalie. She managed to stop just short of colliding directly into his back by gripping to the threshold of the door and halting her momentum. Much to my surprise, I noticed she was significantly shorter than him. Was Natalie short? That seemed impossible, given just how towering she was to me. Or was this unannounced visitor just abnormally tall? From my vantage point they both may as well have been city buildings, so the difference hardly mattered. 

I watched as her eyes flitted feverishly over the desk’s surface, no doubt searching for me. She was red faced and breathless. I couldn’t tell if she was more relieved or panicked by not knowing where I was. Maybe luck was on my side and I’d go unnoticed by them both, left to gasp and tend to my sore muscles in the sanctity and peace of a humanless space. She sucked in air as if about to speak, no doubt to usher him out of the room, when he, oblivious, his back to both of us, cut her off. 

“Damn Nat, since when did you start picking up? This place always looked like a tornado blew through here but now it should be on the cover of a home decor magazine or something… What’s changed?” Me. I’m the change that made her clean up her pigsty of a home. You’re welcome. If I hadn’t been convinced already, it was painfully clear now that these two knew each other. He had this smug, easy going familiarity about him that made the bile rise in my throat. Who did this man think he was, waltzing into Natalie’s home uninvited and entirely unexpected and then parading around as if he owned the place? Was he expecting to stay for dinner? Spend the weekend on her couch? How dare he interrupt her work, our work, as if we had nothing better to do with our day than entertain him! 

I glanced over at Natalie, she didn’t seem the least bit offended or wary of his presence. So he’d been an unplanned but not altogether shocking visitor? How often did this stranger make himself comfortable in her home? They must’ve been quite close if he had unfettered access to her space and had been here frequently enough to note her change in personal organization. Why hadn't she mentioned him before?

As he spoke, he took another step into the space and went so far as to sweep a finger tip across the surface of her dresser to check for dust, his expression one of impressed intrigue (as he should be, that was my meticulous and thorough dusting he was observing). 

While he remained occupied, I suddenly felt the invasion of her gaze alighting on me. She finally spotted me, dangling there like some marionette in the world’s most boring puppet show. 

Her eyes bulged from her skull, as she set her jaw and her nostrils flared in that capricious way she always did when she was upset with me, which was infuriatingly often. 

Her gaze flitted with anxious intensity from my dangling form to the back of this other human, and then returned to me. With a frantic, utterly confounded gesture she mouthed at me with a serpent’s intensity “What the fuck are you doing?!” 

I hissed back, the heat in my face beginning to rise, “What am I doing? Why is he–” I jutted my chin in the stanger’s direction, which I immediately regretted as the force of my gesture forced me to swing in counterbalance, making the challenge of keeping my grip steady and the objects in my arms from falling all the more difficult, “--even here?” I cast my eyes down to the letter opener, and then back to her, “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m protecting you!” 

Somehow, her eyes managed to widen even farther as her gaze followed mine toward the letter opener in my grip, its blade as long as I was tall, sharp and menacing, “Don’t you dare! Alexander! No! Do NOT.” 

While she spat through gritted teeth, she made all kinds of emphatic gestures: shaking her head, swiping her hand in one fell motion across her throat, and staring daggers at me. If she hadn’t learned by now that telling me what to do would get her absolutely nowhere, then there really was no hope for her. If the man deserved to be stabbed, a stabbing he would get. Simple as that. 

She seemed to read my mind, “Alexander–” She was about to continue, her eyes narrowed to slits, even taking half a step in my direction, no doubt on the verge of expressing more disapproval for my very reasonable reaction to an invader in her home, or perhaps to simply snatch me up and disarm me, which I was prepared to fight tooth and nail over. Just as she drew another breath, however, the seemingly spatially unaware invader himself, clearly having no idea of this fiercely whispered conversation behind his back, uttered a noise of delight and intrigue which made both our heads whip in his direction. 

“Oh! This is adorable!” During the length of our heated exchange, our interloper had graduated from the dresser to the bedside table, where he was now leaning, hands on knees, marveling at the miniature wonder that was my neatly made bed, my dresser, and a few other furniture items, all to my scale: my open air bedroom of sorts. Oh give me a break! Have you never seen a bed before? What’s wrong with you?

 Defensively, Natalie stepped in his direction, still trying to keep my presence a secret; a smart move if his fascination with just my furniture was any indication of how he’d react to seeing me. A few beads of sweat traced down my spine as I grit my teeth, struggling to hold on. He continued to stare, adjusting his glasses for a better look, “What’s all this for? It’s so cute!” Come back over here and I’ll show you cute. 

Realizing with simultaneous intuition that we had about half a second before he’d turn over his shoulder to look back in her direction, we exchanged a swift, knowing glance before she turned on her heel, and planted herself firmly between him and my hiding spot, obscuring me from view.  

“Oh! All that? It’s… nothing… I thought my niece might like them, I just haven’t wrapped them up for her yet…” Ah yes, thank you Natalie, for reminding me that I and your niece’s playthings could do a furniture swap if we wanted. Excellent. At least she was giving me a chance to escape my predicament. She got points for that.

 I wasted no time in re-engaging my muscles for the upward climb. As my shoulder joints buckled, I felt my stomach drop. Did I have the strength to pull myself up? 

Now was not the time for doubt. I had to try. 

She continued to cover for me, speaking louder than was normal, as I made laughably little progress towards the lip of the desk, “Anyway, look, I really appreciate you coming to check on me. You have literally been saving my ass with the lectures and stuff, I owe you, big time…” My whole body was trembling, my breath escaping my lungs in ragged gasps, my hands, now slick with sweat, were struggling to maintain traction, as my hurt leg burned from the far too great strain I was putting on it just to keep from slipping. As I struggled against gravity, Natalie crossed the room to the other human, trying her damndest to usher him toward the door.

I was only a bit too preoccupied at the moment to clock whether her encouragement was proving successful. Hand over fist, feet wrapped tightly around the thick, rubber casing, I was getting ever closer to sweet relief. Only about two inches of distance left. I could do this. 

No sooner had I encouraged myself, than my next handhold gave way and I was left to cling fast by one arm, as I instinctively hugged the letter opener and cane to my chest with my now free hand, both objects swaying wildly along the same pendulum trajectory of my own form. My heart rate spiked and it took every ounce of willpower I had not to make a sound as I happened to peer down at the floor, seemingly a million miles below me. That was close. Taking advantage of the gravitational force that bandied me about, I managed to grab back on with my right hand. 

Okay, crisis averted, I could do this. 

 “...But, you did your check-up on me and as you can see I’m totally fine, so…”

Nevermind. I could not do this. 

No sooner had I steeled myself for the homestretch, my grip gave way again and this time I had much less luck in righting myself. My favored hand, my left, failed me, as did my foothold. I was now dangling, precariously, by one arm, legs flailing, as I swung with a violent rhythm. But that wasn’t the end of my troubles. In my scramble to right myself, my movement was enough to finally knock the crutch from my grasp.. and down, down, down it fell. 

"...Thanks for stopping by. Like I said I do have a bunch of shit to do today–” CLANG!!! 

The aluminum cane collided with the metal rim of the trash can below. My shoulders flew up to my ears as I cringed and grit my teeth. 

So much for keeping a low profile. 

The gasp of pure delight that came from the man across the room made my stomach churn, as I hung, wrapped tightly around the cable, my one line of defense still pressed between my chest and arm. The speed with which he turned on his heel, alerted by the sound I’d accidentally made, only to almost instantaneously break into a, frankly, disturbingly joyful smile made my countenance twist into a snarl. He practically bounded over to me, with so much enthusiasm that his footfalls shook me from head to toe. 

Why, oh why, did I ever delude myself into thinking the company of humans was ever worthwhile?

Much to my utter frustration and embarrassment, all my swinging and thrashing about for a steady hold left the wire above me twisted, and, therefore, I found myself being turned so that his rapidly approaching gigantic face was greeted with only my back.

This was all much too humiliating. I kicked and writhed in a minimally successful attempt to right myself. What I was greeted with made me regret the effort. 

His bespectacled gaze was a mere few inches from my body, his dark eyes, widened and glowed with patronizing fascination. 

“Awwwww…” His voice was booming, the intensity of his stare far too all-encompassing, he was close enough that I could smell him, that hint of soap and cinnamon striking my nostrils like a biochemical warning signal. He smiled, his massive eyes staring directly down into mine, “You need help, there, little buddy?” I could practically feel the steam erupting from my ears. Before I even had a chance to snap back, the pad of a finger, huge, rough and jarring, pressed into my ribs to turn me fully about.

 I writhed away from his touch, swinging to and fro and snarling, “DO NOT TOUCH ME.” Even a rattlesnake gives one fair warning before he strikes, this is mine and you’d do well to adhere to its call. 

Simultaneously with my outburst Natalie stepped forward, clearly forecasting what was to come. She knew me well enough by now to know just how I would take such condescension. As she came forward, I felt myself tensing, Don’t you dare swoop in and rob me of my moment. I don’t need your help here, I’m well armed and perfectly capable. I squared my shoulders and lifted my chin, hungering for the now inevitable moment of  confrontation with a being twelve times larger than myself. 

She continued to close the distance between us, and I couldn’t help noticing how her hand rested on his trapezius muscle with easy familiarity. She glared at him, an eyebrow raised “Yeah. Don’t, dude. Don’t do that…” Her eyes darted from him to me, her right hand poised to reach forward and tear me away. As much as I relished the idea of not having to hang here any longer, I craved the opportunity to give this dimwit a piece of my mind with far greater fervor.

But it seemed unnecessary for me to advocate on my own behalf, because he immediately laid the groundwork of his own demise, “Aw, come on, Nat. Don’t stress. I’ve got this. Just watch, we’re gonna be the best of friends after today, aren’t we? Aren’t we little fella?” How perfect. Keeping digging your own grave, you cable-knit clown. 

He stared expectantly, awaiting a response. His brows furrowed when he received nothing but an unrelenting glare from me, “He’s not much of a talker, huh?” His eyes darted uncomfortably away from my stone cold stare, as he looked to Natalie for an explanation.

“Quite the opposite, actually. That’s why I’m worried…” 

“Aww, don’t be! I’m not gonna hurt him!” 

“… for you, jackass. You’ve pissed him off into silent rage, that’s a level farther than even I’ve gotten.” 

The bespectacled man burst into laughter. Not only did the volume at this distance threaten to blow out my eardrums, but the boiling of my blood quickened my heart rate and I couldn’t help but snarl. The ignoramus wiped a tear from his eye and managed to speak between bouts of belly laughter, “You’re joking, right? That’s adorable! Uh oh, somebody’s grumpy! We all better be very afraid!” He threw his hands up in mock terror. His voice cascaded and echoed in a sing-songy voice reserved for the condescension of human babies or cute animals. Come just a little closer, you ignorant bastard, I dare you. 

“I’m gonna say this one more time, you’re gonna regret saying shit like that, I promise. So either move and let me disarm him, or you’ll see what happens when you piss him off!” 

Another round of incredulous laughter. Could he manage to be any louder and more obnoxious? I highly doubted it. He continued, unphased by Natalie’s apt warning,  “Look at him! He’s harmless! What’s he gonna do? That letter opener is bigger than he is. I’m actually surprised he’s even able to hold it!” You’ll be even more surprised how much force I can put behind it when its razor edge sinks into your flesh, “Yeah, you’re not gonna hurt me, are ya? I bet you’re just a sweet little guy, deep down. I just frightened you, is all. Don’t be scared…” Scared?! Who did he think he was dealing with? “Did you drop something? Here lemme help you….” 

He sank all the way to his knees now, searching the carpet fibers for my long lost cane. I waited, practically salivating in anticipation. He rose back to a neutral spine, his knees still planted in the carpet, as he held the walking aide triumphantly between finger and thumb, it looking no more durable than a twig in his massive grip. He grinned brightly, clearly pleased with himself. Alright, just a little closer… 

He waved it wildly in front of my face, like teasing a dog with a stick before playing fetch. Needless to say I was less than amused. He leaned forward, to place it on the surface of the desk behind me. Yes, you’re doing great, A+ for hitting your mark. You’re almost exactly where I want you to be. Just a tiny bit closer… His massive face was mere inches from mine, I could see every pore, every eyelash, every detail I’m sure most humans would prefer to be left to the imagination. He was so near I could feel the cascading tide of his breath stirring tendrils of my hair. He looked down at me, his dark brown eyes bright with bubbly self satisfaction, “There ya go. See? We can be friends. I’m not out to getcha…” As soon as the object clattered to the wooden surface, his hand descended from over my head, careening down, closer and closer until his fingers were right on top of me, aiming for my hair. Was this man about to try and pet me?! 

Without a second’s hesitation, I wrapped my right arm firmly around the chord, hefted the letter opener over my head, tucked it securely on my left side, and then shoved it forward with all my might. 

The trajectory of the weapon was suddenly halted when its point hit home, jarring my shoulder as it absorbed the ricochet of force. 

This four-eyed Polyphemus roared in shock and surprise, his hand flying up to the origin of sudden pain. The letter opener had glanced off the rim of his glasses, and the blade hit its mark just an inch or so shy of his right ocular organ. He whipped away, batting the letter opener as he went with such force that he very nearly pulled the weapon and me right along with him, but, somehow, in spite of our significant disparity in strength, I managed to hold fast. 

His initial exclamation, loud enough to deafen me, was not one of articulate words, but rather garbled shouting. He’d flung himself backwards, crumpled in a heap on the floor. 

And thus, Saint George slayed the dragon. 

Did I feel a swell of pride enlarge my chest? You bet I did.  

Raising my voice over the din, I shouted at the top of my lungs, “I TOLD YOU NOT TO TOUCH ME, YOU INSUFFERABLE WRETCH!” I couldn’t help but laugh as I swung on the wire, all muscular exhaustion temporarily forgotten in the wake of this newfound excitement. 

“ALEXANDER!!!” Uh oh. 

Here came Natalie, her shadow casting a pall, literally and figuratively, over my gleeful celebration. She was pissed. I didn’t care.  

Meanwhile, her friend had scrambled across the carpet until his head crashed into the dresser behind him, “WHAT THE FUCK?!?! HE ALMOST STABBED ME IN THE EYE!” The timbre of his voice  had gone from saccharinely sweet baby talk to one of whiny disdain and flustered disbelief. He pointed at me emphatically with his free hand, looking to Natalie for some sort of recompense. 

I beat her to the punch.  

“WHAT DID I SAY? HM? WHAT DID I TELL YOU? I WARNED YOU!!!” I shouted across the cavern between myself and him, until my throat was raw. By this time, Natalie had fully crossed the few feet between her dresser and desk, settling before me on her knees, her brow furrowed and her jaw clenched. 

“Alexander! Hush! You’ve done enough damage already…” Her fingers descended around me, her thumbs pressing into my sternum and across my abdomen, her coinciding index fingers reaching under my arms and just above my hips to support my weight. Her grip was a bit harder and swifter than I’d become used to. She was trying to pluck me up quickly, and I sensed it wasn’t simply due to a desire to relieve me of holding myself up.

 Nevertheless, I was grateful for the relief, letting out a breath I hadn’t noticed I was holding. Carefully, she untangled me from the wire and shifted me to a seated position in her right palm. As she gathered me in her hand, she paused just long enough to cast a glance over her shoulder, “He did warn you though, like, in a multitude of ways…”

“Ha! See??” I burst with pride, unable to keep a wide grin from painting my features. 

She whipped around immediately, “Oh shut up, Alexander,” She pointed her index finger at my chest, “You’re in as much trouble as he is! He was being a fucking ass, yes, but you didn’t have to shank him! Give me that!!” Her finger and thumb dove for the plastic handle of my weapon, still dutifully tucked under my arm.  

I resisted, jerking my shoulder in the opposite direction, “Me? What did I do except protect myself… and you?” 

She looked utterly incredulous, motioning with a sweeping, exaggerated gesture at the injured party, who had now managed to scramble to his feet, examining his battle wound in the vanity mirror, “You STABBED my fucking friend! That’s the TA!” 

I was baffled by this newfound information. 

“THAT’S the TA? Who’s been sending the taped lectures and keeping your attendance afloat? That pretentious imbecile? Well, he shouldn’t have been so condescending to me! And… besides, you could’ve led with that, you know! Maybe then I’d have gone for his hands instead!” I found myself escalating in volume as I spoke, getting increasingly more emphatic, until I was practically shouting. 

“You didn’t give me a chance before you went all Zorro on his ass!!!!!” 

“What’s Zorro?!?!?”

“Oh my god! Give me the sharp object Alexander, do not make me pry it out of your tiny little hands!” My face flushed hot. I knew she was keenly aware I resented that completely unnecessary addition of ‘tiny’ and ‘little’ into her request. Nothing about me was little, everything and everyone else was just huge. End of story. 

 She held out her free hand, flat, just below my chest, raising one eyebrow expectantly. I held off for a second, then another, “ALEXANDER!”  Fine!

 I trusted our intruder understood his limits now and would not be making the same mistake twice. I relented, laying the slightly bloodied object across her fingers. She pursed her lips as if to say “That’s what I thought.” I had a feeling she had a few choice words for me after this unexpected visit. No matter. I regretted nothing. 

“Uh, Nat?” It’s bleeding… like a lot…” His voice from across the room drew our attention once more. He turned over his shoulder as he spoke, revealing a rivulet of blood springing from his cheek, down the fingers he’d pressed against it to staunch the flow, and down farther still, staining his pristine, white, woolen collar. 

“Fuck!” Natalie practically groaned, before flashing me an extremely dirty look, “Here, lemme… uh, here…” she half rose, seeming to suddenly remember she was holding me. With a grimace, she set me down somewhat roughly on the desktop. She wasted no time in quickly swiping the letter opener up and away from my grasp, before securing it in the back pocket of her jeans. Taking a quick glance around, she decided to pluck up the entire metal cup of pens and other writing utensils, “Please, just stay right here.” I crossed my arms over my chest and glared. When she realized that was all she was going to get from me, she rolled her eyes and sighed. 

With that she rushed over to her friend who was cupping his other hand beneath the first to catch drops of crimson as they fell. She threw the pencil holder down on the vanity and ushered him hurriedly to the bathroom, turning over her shoulder and pointing both fingers at her eyes, before reversing the gesture to be aimed at me. I held my hands up, what could I possibly do now? I was unarmed, and stranded. The object of my disdain far away from my radius for harm. 

As they retreated, I heard the wounded man grumble, “Fuck! He’s a little… demon!!” I had the sense that a different word had come to mind first, but he’d chosen the latter. 

“… Yeah, believe me, I know…” Hey! Natalie, you’re supposed to be on my side! 

“Why in the hell do you keep him around, then?” 

“I don’t know how to explain it, but, believe it or not, he actually kinda grows on you after a while.” I wasn’t sure what to make of that. Should I be offended or flattered? 

“I can’t believe he actually stabbed me…” And I’d do it again without hesitation. 

After that, their voices became so muffled beyond the partially closed bathroom door that it was hardly worth straining to listen. 

I sat alone, isolated and small, feeling a burning sensation in all my exhausted muscle groups, as my heart and lungs worked to steady themselves to a more even tempo. The gift of solitude meant that I no longer had to maintain my composure. I collapsed back onto an elbow, breath coming in ragged fits and starts, no longer having to maintain a defensive stance. Air couldn’t come fast enough as I choked and sweat dripped in my eyes and down my back and neck. My arms and legs were spasming as I tried my best to come down from the excitement of all that had just transpired. Damn, my leg hurt. Everything hurt. I focused on my breathing for a few moments, eyes craned to the ceiling so far above where I lay. I was utterly exhausted. A long rest in my bed which had been the object of such condescension and ridicule just a while ago sounded utterly delightful. But what could I do? I had no means of crossing the vast room in any practical way. I was much too pathetically little for such luxuries of inhabiting two different corners of a room with ease. As if I needed any more reminders today of how small I was. What was a man in my situation to do but sit and ponder? I had no other recourse, after all. 

So, this was her friend who’d helped make all this time working from home possible? I was beginning to think Natalie had very poor taste in friends. I wrinkled my nose in disgust remembering how his eyes had lit up in fascination like I was some shiny, new, coveted object. What was wrong with humans? What was so delightfully fascinating about me anyway?  In any case, he got exactly what was coming to him. 

The muffled sound of voices honed into sharp focus as, suddenly, a voice with a male timbre could be heard whining, “Fuck! OWWW!!!”

A female voice followed with zero hesitation, “Oh don’t be such a fucking baby!” 

I couldn’t help but chuckle. You got what you deserved, you overly enthused idiot. Of course, in fairness to him, I knew firsthand how dangerous Natalie could be when armed with a cotton swab soaked in hydrogen peroxide. 

*********

If I was in the mood to be generous, which I wasn’t, all I could say is that the tension in the air between myself, leaning over the kitchen counter prepping two whiskey cokes, my friend, nursing his wounds at my kitchen table, and the positively tiny man, petulantly sulking on the opposite side of the table and somehow, even from this distance, palpably radiating with vitriol, was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. The only sound was the groan of the living room heater, as ice clattered in the glass while I poured.  

We’d shuffled from bedroom to kitchen without so much as a word between us. And now here we were, all avoiding eye contact like put out children. This was fucking stupid. They were both being wildly immature about this. Build a bridge guys. Don’t condscend and don’t be a fucking dick, it’s not that complicated. Did this whole crazy day say something about me? Was I like a drama magnet or something? 

Tired of the exhaustive pity party, I swept my hair from my eyes, and swirling them for a final time, I set the drinks down by a wool sweater covered elbow. Neither of them bothered to respond.

 I stood there for a moment before breaking the ice myself, “Alright then… Alexander? Meet Charles. He’s a teaching assistant in most of my main lectures this semester. He was just coming over to check on me since I’d kinda gone AWOL these last few weeks. That’s all. He’s not a threat to either of us, okay? He’s a good guy and he means well. He just… had a pretty major… lapse in judgment. One of the smartest people I know… Oh, don’t glare at me like that! Besides you, of course. Okay, Charles, meet Alexander. I found him in my pantry… well, actually, my roses… well, I technically found him in the trash, I just didn’t know it yet… anyway, he’s incredibly intelligent, fiercely independent, and he’s been through some fucking major shit, yet, he still manages to come back swinging every time. To be super clear, he’s here only as long as he wants to be, he’s his own man and he has my utmost respect, even though he pisses me off every five minutes for doing gremlin shit like stabbing my friends in the fucking face. Oh, and he’s almost as big a nerd as you, so I’d like to think you two can find some common ground. So, with that said, it’s time to kiss and make up.” They each bore holes into the surface of the table. I refused to take no for an answer, “Apologize to each other, now.” 

Both their heads whipped up, brows furrowed, incredulous sputters erupting from both mouths, big and small. Then, upon realizing I was serious, and almost as if on cue, both shouted, “Me?! What did I do?!” 

“Jesus Christ, do I have to do all the heavy lifting around here?” I couldn’t help but massage my temples, a stress headache no doubt on the near horizon, “Charles? Gimme your eyes…” My friend’s lips flattened into a line as he raised one eyebrow as if to say, ‘Really, Nat?’ My bad. Wrong turn of phrase, given that one of his seeing organs was nearly lost just a few minutes ago. 

I sighed, settling into the chair between the two uneasy parties, each glaring over his shoulder at the other, “Sorry, well, your one good one, then… Look…” Fuck, bad phrasing again, what was wrong with me? “…I haven’t even had a chance to properly thank you for braving this shit weather to come check on me. I know I haven’t been super responsive and you’re a good friend…” 

The tiny scoff in the vicinity of my right elbow made me, albeit briefly, change course, “Zip it, Alexander!” Instead of acquiescing quietly, he, of course, had to make a big show of his dislike of being told what to do. He threw his small weight dramatically against the ugly, chipped, ceramic salt shaker my grandma gifted me years ago. 

The object hardly even rocked as he pressed against it, rolling over his shoulder to turn away from me and obscure himself from view behind the white and blue patterned flowers,  “…Anyway, where was I?” I turned my attention back to Charles, “Yes, you’re awesome, thank you for always watering my plants when I go home on break and for making the hellscape that is lawschool slightly more bearable. However… As you can see, there’s something significantly different from last time we really talked and there’s some important things you need to know: He may look like the cutest little blonde-haired, blue-eyed angel that you’ve ever seen, he may be so adorably small that he can fit in just the palm of your hand and, yes, in theory, if you were really determined to pick him up you could do so without too much resistance, but when I tell you it is against your own self interest to fuck with this little man I am speaking from extensive experience. He deserves as much respect as anyone else, big or small. He’s fought for that all his life and at least in the confines of this apartment, he’ll get what he’s worked so hard for. Believe me, he had to train me too, in the beginning. Listen to him and everyone will be much better off for it, I promise. Do not condescend to him, do not touch him without his permission and do not, under any circumstances, treat him as anything less than the hyper intelligent, wonderful little nightmare he is.” Out of the corner of my eye, I caught tiny movements on the table’s surface below, a pair of blue eyes staring up at me through blonde, curtained bangs as he listened intently. I didn’t dare flash my gaze in that direction, knowing full well once he’d been caught in the act, he’d turn away again. 

Charles was quick to respond, applying pressure with a few fingers around the banadage on his cheek, as if spot checking for blood, “Little nightmare is fuckin’ right. What did I do? I was kind. I helped him. I tried to be as gentle as I could. Look at him, he’s adorable… er, was… Can I really be blamed for that?” He shrugged defensively, “I mean, c’mon, they’re tiny, they’re cute, isn’t that, like, the whole point?” 

I was going to strangle him, “Dude, did you listen to a single thing I just said?”

“What?! I thought they liked it!” 

“You thought I… what?” No longer satisfied with lingering behind the salt shaker, Alexander rose to standing. Without his cane, which, in all the fuss, I’d stupidly left in the bedroom, he steadied himself with one hand on the painted ceramic, his chest puffed out, a defiant gleam in his eye. Oh boy, here we go. I knew better than to get in his way, but I couldn’t help taking a long swig from my glass in preparation for the tirade that was about to transpire,  “Please, repeat yourself, you thought I… what was that again?” 

Charles stuttered, flashing glances at me. His face was drawn, he instinctively leaned back, away from the little man before him who was unflinchingly glaring up in his direction. He knew he’d been caught, “W-well, I just… you know what I meant…” 

“You thought I liked being talked down to and treated with disregard? Interesting. What part of my reaction gave you that impression?” Even from this distance (perhaps a foot or so across the surface of the table) I could see his blue eyes were burning. Charles failed to respond, simply sputtering instead. I knew Alexander was just loving every second of this… smart little bastard, “No, I’m curious. You’re an aspiring attorney, aren’t you? Go on, then. Defend your case.” 

Charles looked at me and I offered no solace, instead, I  simply raised an eyebrow and downed another substantial fraction of my drink. As the little man spoke, goading the much larger recipient into a debate, he stepped away from the shaker, crossing toward Charles’ end of the table. I immediately bit my lip as he left the support behind and bore weight on his still weak leg. I did my best not to intervene, holding my breath as he made a few steps forward, a painful limp evident in his gait. Despite the pain, no doubt shooting through his body, his voice never waivered. Goddamn, I was proud of him, even if he was insulting my friend left and right. He tucked a hand into his side pocket, the other resting on his chest with a poised ease, his fingers spread from his solar plexus down the length of his sternum. This little nightmare knew precisely what he was doing, and I couldn’t help but watch, “Charles, wasn’t it? Tell me, Charles, how would you like it, if–” Just then, as he took another step forward, his knee failed to bear his weight, and he buckled. 

Gasping, my hand flew toward him, offering him support with a few fingers. He fell forward into my grasp, a snarl curling his mouth as his hands spread on my fingertips. He leaned against me until he regained his balance, gripping onto the segments of my fingers to pull himself back up. My heart was in my throat, as I searched his little face for signs of pain, noticing the rhythm of his own tiny heartbeats, though they spiked for a moment, didn’t seem to be going into overdrive. Setting his shoulders, he pushed forward, against my hand, attempting to continue on his path. I hesitated, providing the slightest resistance. His brow knit and those burning irises locked with mine again, “Natalie, I’m fine. Let go.” 

He wasn’t scared. His face was flushed and his bangs were disheveled, but his eyes were steeled and determined. I pulled my hand away without hesitation, wincing internally at each furious little limping stride he took, his fists balled at his sides. 

He regarded the man before him, whose eyeline may as well have been the summit of a sizable cliff face in their proportion to each other. The little man stood fearlessly beside a tumbler full of alcohol that he could have bathed in, sucked in a clean breath and laid into the larger man, “What you fail to understand is that there is not a single cell in my body that likes my current predicament,” As he spoke, his left pointer finger sawed and jabbed the air like some sort of rhetorical blade intent on wounding his target,  “I did not ask for you to loom over me, to touch me, to condescend or pacify me. I am not your friend, I don’t know you in any familiar way, yet you see someone like me, adorable and tiny, as I believe you put it, and you immediately assume that makes me somehow less valuable as a sentient being. You think that just because you can overpower me you have every right to do so. And I concede, in the current political landscape, you are legally allowed, no… not allowed, you are, in fact, encouraged to do so. And why shouldn’t you? I exist explicitly for your entertainment, don’t I? And, in any case, what am I going to do about it, even if I don’t like it? I couldn’t possibly, out of a desire for self-preservation, consider the idea of fighting back, could I? No! No, of course not. Because, as you put it, I’m just a ‘sweet little guy’, who ‘likes it’ when you treat me like an object. Indeed, it feels about as wonderful as a letter opener lodged in your face!” 

There was a pregnant pause between all three of us, as the gravity of his words pervaded the room. Both Charles and I couldn’t help but stare ashamedly into the inky depths of our drinks. I knew I was no saint, myself, when it came to the little man. He stood now with a rod straight spine, his arms crossed tightly over his chest as his lungs heaved with the task of receiving oxygen again, his unflinching gaze trained on the avoidant eyes of his opposite. I knew I’d fucked up hundreds of times: pissed him off, disspointed him, failed him. He was so right, and it was important we shut up and listen. 

The only sound was the heater rattling away, once again. 

“... Fuck…” Charles sighed, leaning all the way back in his chair now, his head in his hands. He was full of remorse “I’m… I’m really sorry. I wasn’t… You’re right, I just jumped to… I’m sorry, Alexander.” I watched the little man who wore his every thought on his sleeve, as he took this in. He was shocked. His head cocked to the side, his brow furrowed, his lips parting just slightly from their usual tight, pensive tension. He hadn’t expected this. Not at all. He blinked rapidly, his rigid posture softening ever so slightly as he was taken off-guard. 

Charles, taking precautions not to move too suddenly, pushed his chair out and leaned on the lip of the table, his chin resting on his forearm. As he moved, Alexander took a half step back, wary and uncertain about the whole situation, still, he never cowered and his eyes showed no fear. As the larger man settled himself, he was still a good distance from the baffled little man with whom he was now almost eye level. Slowly, he offered his index finger, “I’m sorry I insulted you. Can you forgive me?” Alexander regarded the man with suspicion, his brows knitted and his lips turned down into a sort of puzzled caution. 

Still, to my utter surprise, instead of using this moment of genuine vulnerability against his opponent, the little man stepped forward in all his five and a half inches and, albeit not all that enthusiastically, took the offered digit in the palm of his hand and shook it tersely before quickly breaking away. 

Charles didn’t linger in his space for long and soon returned to an upright position, as Alexander rubbed the center of his palm with the ball of his opposite thumb. It was clear we all needed some air. 

“Hey,” Charles met my gaze as I got his attention, “Could you do us a favor and go get his cane?” He and I exchanged a knowing glance. It was clear he understood what I was really asking for, “Just… just in case…” With a terse nod, the man in the wool sweater rose and disappeared down the hall. 

As the sound of his steps faded, I turned my full attention to the five and a half inches of a little life before me. It was just us again, after what’d felt like an eternity of drama. For the first time since that knock on the door, the air seemed to come a little more freely into my lungs. I propped my head on an elbow and looked him over. I watched his little body release pent up tension, his defensive spine melting into the everyday rigidity of his usual posture. Poor thing. Did he ever really allow himself to relax? He thrust his hands into his pockets, leaning his weight on his left side. I wondered how his leg was holding up. He hadn’t strained it this much since his surgery. I wanted desperately to offer him a hand to lean on but didn’t want to patronize. I bit my lip. 

Seeming to read my mind like a book, his keen eyes flitted in my direction, “I’m fine.” Are you, though? Or are you putting on a brave face? “I can tell you want to touch me as some form of physical comfort. So, go ahead, get it over with…” he lowered his head and spread his arms, as if surrendering. 

A pang of guilt shot through me, “No, I don’t want to make you endure it. If you want me to leave you alone, I will.” 

“You’re going to pout if I don’t allow for some form of contact. So, go on, just do what you’d like, within reason…” his head had stayed lowered to the ground until his very last few words, when his icy irises flashed up at me, and I caught a glimpse of a very different kind of glow in his eyes, one that was much softer, more vulnerable. I’d opened my mouth to rebuff him again when those eyes changed everything. 

Oh. 

This was his way of asking for it. His pride would never allow him to directly request what he wanted at this moment, especially not after chastising us both for our sins of condescension. I didn’t blame him. He’d been threatened, humiliated, laughed at, and stressed out. Maybe a minute or two to rest would do a world of good for him but, of course, he couldn’t admit to wanting something from me, that would be far too weak. We couldn’t acknowledge the reality of that truth for the sake of his ego, so I played along instead, “Just for a minute, please? You tell me when you’ve had enough torture for one day and I’ll let you go.” He nodded, eyes still fixed to the ground. Although it was almost impossible to see his face, I swear I saw more color in his cheek. 

“Yes, yes, let’s get this over with.” 

I slid my hand over to him, very gently wrapping my fingers around his legs and back, pressing the ball of my thumb into his chest and torso. Even though his face stayed neutral and he hardly moved at all, I couldn’t help but notice a release of his strained muscles as he was finally able to release all the pressure off of his injury. It’s okay to get help when you’re hurting. I couldn’t keep my brows from knitting together in concern. It pained me that he tried so very hard to be strong and independent. I completely understood where the impulse came from but I hated that he was in pain and toughing it out when I was happy to help. I sat with my hand propping him up for a few moments, wanting nothing more than a closer look,  “May I pick you up?” 

“Yes, fine.” His face was a little pinker than it had been, I was sure of it. Gently, I settled him across the platform of my fingers, his right leg placed carefully along the length of my palm with his heel balanced on my wrist. The ball of my thumb remained in his lap with a looser grip as I drew him up to the level of my eyes. 

He sat there stiffly, not allowing himself the luxury of relaxing fully into my hand. I wished he’d stop being so uptight but now was not the time to fight him on it. Still, as I looked him over, I felt an immediate swell of pride expand my chest and warm my face. I didn’t realize he’d been watching me with equal attention to detail, until he spoke, “What is it, Natalie?” His voice lacked its usual defensive edge. He was genuinely asking. 

“I just think you’re absolutely incredible. You are literally the bravest, most unhinged person I know.” Did his face get a little redder? All he could manage as a response was to roll his eyes, “No, I mean it! You looked at someone over ten times your size and without hesitation were just like, ‘Yeah I can take him’. Who does that?!” The tiniest ghost of a twinge of a smirk uplifted the corner of his crooked little smile. There you are, Alexander, the real you underneath it all. “When I really think about it, I can’t even be mad at you. You are one badass little motherfucker. Don’t ever change. Okay?” I rubbed my thumb across his chest, as he begrudgingly nodded, the smirk cracking into a half smile, while he rested a hand over the bed of my thumb nail. I admit, I felt the blood in my veins pump a little faster, “We can all stand to learn a thing or two from you on how not to take other people’s bullshit.” 

“I hope you plan to take copious notes after all this.” 

“Oh, it’s a must!” 

He cleared his throat and shifted in my hand, sitting himself up a bit straighter, his gaze took a moment to land as he settled, clearly preparing to speak in greater earnest, “I suppose… I feel at least a modicum of remorse… for staining his otherwise high quality sweater.” 

I had to slap my hand over my mouth to keep from cackling out loud, “You’re such a bastard! Of course all you care about is his fashion sense!”

Alexander was smiling too, as he pressed against my thumb, emphatically gesturing to the bedroom far off to his right, “What?! It’s the only redeemable quality about him! Did you expect me to lie for the purpose of overt flattery? Have you met me?”

Just then we heard the opening of a door down the hall, as the man in question began to re-emerge. I stroked the side of the little man’s head with my thumb, as I cocked an eyebrow at him, as if to say “Do you want to be put down?” He nodded brusquely, and I did as I was asked, gently lowering him and tipping my hand so he could find his feet before letting go entirely. 

As the footsteps approached ever nearer, I leaned down and whispered so only Alexander could hear, “You know, if you wanted a sweater like that all you had to do was ask, you didn’t have to destroy his!” 

“Says the woman who still hasn’t made good on her promise to fulfill my modest suit requests.” 

“Three piece Italian suits and silk ties are not modest. Even for someone of your size! I’m saving up, alright? Get off my back!” I prodded him playfully in the chest as he batted at my fingertip. 

In a moment, Charles would be standing before us, and there would begin a new matter as we all awkwardly tried to reset and start over, each much more aware of the others’ feelings on the whole situation. But for now, it was just the little blonde devil and me and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Was it weird that I was kinda excited to watch him lose his shit at us again? Not that I had any intention of provoking him, but it wasn’t far from feasible that we’d inevitably do something to offend him. It just made me proud to watch him unapologetically stand up for himself, even if I got caught in the crossfire. Looking down at him now, I couldn’t imagine my life without him. Had his opinions towards me shifted in that direction at all? Or was I a target for spite and disdain like my friend approaching the table? I didn’t think so. At least, not to the same degree. The way his eyes had softened when we were finally alone, the way he’d asked me to hold him in the most passive aggressive roundabout way possible… I thought deep down in that little stone heart of his was a warm spot for me, even if it was microscopic in size at this point. 

Maybe, just maybe, with a lot of effort I could fan that ember into something bigger. But who knew? There was only so much room in a chest the size of my finger tip. 

[silverdune]

1978. | the one who inspired me

".. they had a serious synergy."

minors dni. ageless blogs dni. blank blogs dni. you'll be blocked.

<- previous | 1978 masterlist | next ->

character(s): kim hongjoong, song mingi (ft. park seonghwa, jeong yunho)

tags: explicit language, sleep-deprived hj, deadline stress, caring hwa, mingi is a hero, brief reference to heteronormativity (it's the 70s..)

word count: 3.8k

summary: the time hongjoong became stressed over writing his first album and thus acquired the help of a writing partner..

a/n: apologies for this format looking different to the other chapters (editing on mobile my beloathed) but! it's here so, enjoy!

you had the pen i had the paper you rearranged my muddled thoughts into pentameter

× January, 1974 ×

The second Hongjoong welcomed in the New Year with friends both old and new at his side, he was itching to get started on his first album immediately.

Seonghwa had to pry him from the writing desk during the holidays, considering the busy couple of months he’d had touring various bars and clubs doing small gigs for an extra bit of money here and there. Take some time off over the holidays, he’d said, your notebook will still be there in the new year.

Hongjoong reluctantly listened, but that hadn’t stopped him from coming up with new lyrics and melodies and instrumentals. Nothing was going to stop him from doing that.

He called his parents over the holidays, and was going back and forth in his head over whether or not to tell them the good news.

Hongjoong knew his ma would be supportive, but his pa probably wouldn’t believe him. In fact, he didn’t think either of them would believe him until they received a legitimate copy of his first album.

At the end of his phone call, he simply told his ma that he had a huge surprise, and that they would have to wait a little while before they could be told. Girlfriend, job and winning the lottery were all the guesses his ma could make, and a nervous chuckle had escaped Hongjoong before he said that none of them were right, and that it was arguably even bigger than that. He’d also made a promise that once everything was ready, he would come back to Anyang to show them in person.

His ma was undoubtedly eager to see what the surprise was, and wished him all the best for the new year before they ended the call.

Hongjoong sat at his desk, clicking his pen on and off a few times and staring at his open notepad. He groaned then rested his forehead on the empty pages.

Seonghwa appeared in the doorway behind him. “Y’know, I can hear that noise from down the hall.”

Hongjoong merely hummed, frustrated.

Rolling his eyes, Seonghwa entered the room and stood behind him. “Struggling?”

“Y- cou- s- th-,” Hongjoong mumbled into the spine of the notebook.

“Huh?”

Hongjoong lifted his head. “You could say that,” he repeated. Elbow on the desk, he planted his chin into the palm of his hand and sighed. “I have the ideas. I have all the lyrics and melodies, they’re all up here.” He waved the pen around his head. “They’re just not coming.. out.”

“Hm, you know what you should do?”

“What?” said Hongjoong, flatly.

“Carry around a tiny notepad to jot down anything that comes to your mind, no matter where you are. Inspiration strikes at such random times, you never know when something will crop up.”

Hongjoong gave him a look, “I was going to do that, but the minute I picked up a pen someone took it out of my hand and told me to give my brain a rest.”

Seonghwa looked askance, feeling mild guilt. “I only did that because you had picked up so many gigs over the last couple of months that you were frying your brain. It was in no fit state to try and conjure up song lyrics.” He glanced back down at his friend, who had since turned to gaze out of the window. With a sigh, Seonghwa sat down on the bed. “You’ve been stressed out about this album release, I just wanted to take some weight off your shoulders. I’m sorry if that curbed any of your creativity.”

Hongjoong heard the slight shakiness in Seonghwa’s voice and looked over at him. Seonghwa’s eyes were downturned and his lips were in a straight line. “It’s okay, don’t feel bad. I appreciate that you wanted me to rest over the holidays. And you didn’t curb my creativity.” He exhaled. “I’m sorry if that’s how it came across.”

Seonghwa glanced up. “You put so much pressure on your shoulders. I just didn’t want you to fall at the first hurdle before you even had a chance to get over it. I just wanted you to enter this new year feeling refreshed and ready to take on this challenge.”

Hongjoong’s heart lurched in his chest. He knew that he could be hard on himself, he just didn’t realise how hard he could be until there was a consistent presence in his life telling him to take the weight off from time to time. Seonghwa was that presence. And if anything, it helped him. “I know, I know, I understand that. I’m sorry, and thank you.” He gave a small smile, and Seonghwa returned it, though something wasn’t quite reaching his eyes. “And hey, that idea about the tiny notepad sounds like a really good one. I think I’ll take you up on it.”

Something lit up in Seonghwa’s eyes. “Yeah?”

“Yeah! You’re right, too, inspiration can strike at any time. I think I just need to get out of my own head and see the world.” He gazed out of the window, wistfully. The view mainly consisted of grey office towers and roads, but there was life out there. There were so many places to explore, so many things he could write about.

So many places to draw inspiration from.

Seonghwa leaned forward, “And.. maybe you could consider getting a writing partner?”

Hongjoong stilled. He turned to Seonghwa. “A writing partner?”

“Yeah! Someone to bounce ideas off of. Another talented songwriter like yourself.”

Hongjoong scoffed at that comment, but the idea started turning somersaults in his head. A writing partner. Why had he never thought of that before?

Hongjoong knew why he hadn’t thought of that before. He worked alone. Not that he was against the idea of teamwork, but when it came to his music, his songs, his lyrics, he didn’t know if he could trust anyone else.

Seonghwa sat back, noticing the change in expression on Hongjoong’s face. “Just.. think about it, is all I’m saying. Might be worth it.” He stood up and left the room without another word.

Hongjoong didn’t move for a time, until his eyes flickered to the window.

This time, he saw his reflection.

Could he trust another person with his words?

He closed the curtains, closed the notepad, then took his notepad and pen and left the room.

As he shut the door, he spotted ink on his hands.

With a single hum, he shut off the pen.

“Seonghwa? I’m going out for a bit.”

With a simple acknowledgement from Seonghwa, he left the apartment.

He needed some air.

×-×

Taking long brisk walks had often been the key to inspiration for Hongjoong.

Wrapped up warm in his winter coat, gloves on to protect his hands, he strolled in the aftermath of a blizzard that had swept over Seoul the previous night, leaving a blanket of flakes over the pavements, roads and parked cars.

Not many people were out and about in this weather. The few who were out chose to stay sheltered under canopies, or, like Hongjoong, actually enjoyed roaming through the snow, letting the crisp winter breeze sweep over them. Hongjoong kept his eyes trained on the ground and watched as his shoes became buried in the snow every so often. He kicked off the dust with each layer, and smiled to himself whenever the little particles collected at the toes.

A writing partner. Hongjoong couldn’t stop thinking about it.

He didn’t have the first clue on where to even find a writing partner. Was there one in-house at the label? Hongjoong figured he could ask Yeosang if there were any songwriters on the team, there were surely a few he could get assistance from.

Perhaps Hongjoong could outsource a songwriter. Put an ad in the local newspaper for a writing partner. But then he would have to weigh up the pay rate; there was no way he could ask a writer to work for free.

There were too many things to consider with this one suggestion. Hongjoong was just starting to learn how many.

i trusted you with my heart you held it delicately over the page i was so unsure but you assured we were a team and look at us we lasted an age

One song. That was all Hongjoong had managed to write in the days since 1974 began.

He would call it an accomplishment - and it was - if he wasn’t so disheartened at himself for the lack of progress he had made.

Swamped with the reality of needing to come up with five new songs, the other three being his demo tracks which were to be re-recorded for official release, Hongjoong found himself scrunching up more pieces of paper than he was actually writing on.

Seonghwa didn’t disturb him most days, and only knocked on his door once in a while to make sure he had eaten, or stayed hydrated, or used the bathroom, or hell even slept. Seonghwa could count on more than one hand the amount of times he had seen Hongjoong slumped over his desk snoring, and with all due respect to his stubborn friend, it was not a pretty sight.

The dozenth time he found Hongjoong in that position, head plastered on his notebook with the pen almost falling out of his hand, he sauntered over to the drowsy man and gently tapped his shoulder three times.

Hongjoong hadn’t been asleep for more than an hour, but it was a deep enough slumber to startle him awake. “Hng- huh- wha-” He shook off some of the cobwebs and rubbed his eyes. Seonghwa didn’t have the heart to nag. “What’s.. Huh.. Oh, hi Seonghwa.” Leaning back in his chair, Hongjoong yawned wide and loud, which set Seonghwa off. “Ah, sorry..”

“No, it’s okay..”

“What time is it?” mumbled Hongjoong, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the desk as if he were to pick up where he left off.

“Quarter-past two.” Hongjoong hummed, thinking that’s not too bad, quarter-past two in the aftern- “In the morning.”

Hongjoong sat bolted upright. “In the morning?” he exclaimed in a whisper.

“Yes..” Seonghwa exhaled.

“God, have I really been asleep that long?” Hongjoong covered his face with both hands and groaned.

“No, you’ve really been working that late,” Seonghwa corrected. “You really ought to get some sleep, Joong-ah.”

“Gah.” It took Hongjoong a few seconds to consider getting up, and then when he started considering it took him a few more seconds to actually do it. He grimaced at the thought of needing to move around and do things in order to get into bed, and his bed was so tempting that he could just crawl inside without a second’s notice..

“You are not going to bed like that.”

Hongjoong cursed Seonghwa sometimes for how attentive he was and how all-knowing he seemed to be. He reminded him of ma. Hongjoong missed her a lot. He missed pa a lot, too, even if he was a nuisance at times.

His heart nearly sank out of nowhere. Seonghwa has only ever been trying to help.

Looking up at his friend, Hongjoong smiled. Seonghwa’s eyebrows furrowed. “You okay?”

Hongjoong breathed in, then out. Yeah, he was okay. Tired, exhausted perhaps. Stressed, a little. Needing a little encouragement, absolutely. But he was okay.

“Yeah. I’m just thankful.”

Seonghwa’s face became neutral.

Hongjoong explained further, “Thankful for you. And everyone else who’s come into my life.”

Seonghwa smiled. “Always here, Joong-ah. Now, get some rest.”

Hongjoong nodded. He would follow Seonghwa’s instruction and do all the things he needed to to have a good night’s rest.

When it was finally time to clamber in, he turned to Seonghwa and asked, “Hey, do you know what day it is tomorrow? I seriously feel like I’m losing track of time.” A half-chuckle escaped him.

Seonghwa’s eyes darted around in thought before they landed back on Hongjoong, “February 1st.”

Hongjoong froze in place. Already?

With that settled, Seonghwa kindly bid him goodnight then went into his own room. Hongjoong did so too, then retired for the night and clambered into bed.

A new month, he thought, not long now before I need to present all the material I’ve written.

He closed his eyes. He thought for a while. He drifted off to sleep.

In the morning, he would look for a writing partner.

× February, 1974 ×

When in doubt, call your best friend.

Hongjoong was well and truly at a brick wall; what better way to knock it down than ask your lifelong friend for advice?

When the dial tone finished ringing, Yunho’s voice sounded through the speaker. “Hello?”

“Hey, Yunho, it’s me, Hongjoong.”

“Oh, hey, Hongjoong! To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”

Hongjoong chuckled. “Well, first of all, how are you doing?”

“Not too bad, not too bad. Swamped with work, as always, but I manage it. Yourself?”

With a sigh, Hongjoong answered. “A little stressed.”

“Uh-oh. Songwriting stress?”

Hongjoong sighed. Yunho always seemed to know what was wrong straight away. “Right on the money.” Yunho went silent for a while, seemingly pondering this dilemma. Hongjoong continued, “I’ve been keeping Seonghwa up lately. I think he’s legitimately worried about my wellbeing, ha.”

“Not surprised. I’ve seen you at peak stress levels. I had to physically pull your assignments away from you.”

Hongjoong rolled his eyes. “Well, Seonghwa said something to me the other day and I haven’t stopped thinking about it.” Yunho left a curious pause open for Hongjoong to elaborate. “He said I should get a writing partner.”

Yunho went silent again for a time. “A writing partner, you say?”

“Yeah. He reckons it would be good to have someone I can bounce ideas off of, but I’ve been hesitant.”

“Hmm.” Yunho mentally paced back and forth, until a brilliant idea popped into his head. “Wait! I think I’ve got the perfect person!”

Hongjoong was taken aback. His eyes widened. “Wait, you do?”

Yunho beamed. He did a small dance. “I know exactly who could help.”

Hongjoong didn’t know what to say. His mouth was agape. “..Who?”

“Remember I told you that my mum had met a woman over the holidays and became good friends with her?” Hongjoong hummed. “Well, her son had dropped out of uni to pursue songwriting and music production. His name’s Mingi. I’ve only spoken to him a few times but he’s a really chill person. I told him about you, and that you’re about to release your first album, and he said if you ever wanted any tips, he’d be glad to help!”

Hongjoong couldn’t believe it. This could be the perfect solution.

A thousand questions flooded his mind. What if they didn’t gel? What if Mingi’s style was completely different to his? What if their ideas clashed to the point they couldn’t come up with something together?

Hongjoong knew the only way he’d find out was if he met Mingi in person.

With that, he only had one question left to ask.

“Can he make it to Seoul?”

×-×

As Hongjoong stood outside the train station, Seonghwa to his right, he steadily grew more nervous about this first meeting.

Seonghwa aimed to calm his nerves, but he didn’t know if he was succeeding much.

“I’d trust Yunho’s judgement that Mingi is a chill person, as he says. Why would Yunho think to introduce the two of you if he wasn’t dead certain that you’d work well together?”

“Yunho’s an optimist,” said Hongjoong, instantly. He did then work back this statement a little. “Not to say that I don’t trust Yunho’s judgement, y’know. I know he only has the best of intentions and that he suggested Mingi as a suitable writing partner because he knows my style and that the two of us would be a great team.” Hongjoong sounded ambitiously hopeful through the thin veil of posing these statements as fact.

Seonghwa saw through him, but understood all the same that Hongjoong wouldn’t try and question his closest friend’s discernment.

A few minutes passed, and the two of them saw a pair of men leaving the train station.

“Oh,” Hongjoong blurted, “that’s them.”

He began making his way over to the entrance, trying to flag the two men down. Yunho and Mingi eventually looked over, and a bright smile appeared on Yunho’s face. Similarly, Mingi looked more than pleased to be there, and followed Yunho like a puppy on his tail.

Hongjoong and Seonghwa met the pair in the middle, and once Hongjoong and Yunho were standing toe to toe, they shared a brief hug before Yunho introduced the man beside him. “Hongjoong, Seonghwa, meet Mingi.”

Mingi bowed his head, before reaching out to shake Hongjoong’s hand. “Nice to meet you both.”

Mingi was roughly the same height as Yunho, with long, messy ash brown hair that fell in front of his eyes. He was dressed similarly to Hongjoong, band shirt with jeans and an oversized denim jacket on top. There were a few beaded bracelets on both wrists, and a peace sign necklace sitting proudly on his chest. Hongjoong wondered where he got it from.

He returned the gesture, and Seonghwa followed suit. The four of them exchanged smiles before Hongjoong openly suggested they go to a local café to talk.

What followed was an hour of pleasant conversation, leading to the whole reason Mingi came to Seoul in the first place.

“So, Yunho tells me you’re looking for a writing partner for your first album,” said Mingi, already interested.

Hongjoong nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been struggling a lot.” He rubbed the nape of his neck, almost embarrassed to admit it.

Mingi sensed this and put his worries to rest. “Don’t feel embarrassed. Writing is hard. I’ve struggled with my own work. It’s not an easy feat, especially when you have to come up with a bunch of songs on a time crunch.”

Time crunch. Something flickered in Hongjoong’s mind. The deadline was the main part of the problem. He could’ve broken down.

Mingi’s lips turned upwards. “But don’t panic. Tomorrow, we’ll meet back here, get some caffeine in us and have a good writing session.”

Seonghwa mirthfully objected to the second idea. “Please, no more caffeine for this one, I don’t think his body can take anymore.”

Hongjoong awkwardly covered his face as the others chuckled. “Alright,” Mingi agreed, “no caffeine. But if you can meet me here midday tomorrow,” he said to Hongjoong, “we’ll get some writing done.”

Hongjoong uncovered his face, a smile hiding behind his hand. “You sure?”

Mingi nodded. “That’s why I’m here.”

They exchanged an earnest look before Yunho leaned over the table and declared, “Well, that’s settled! Another round?”

“Why not,” Seonghwa replied, “and seriously, no caffeine for this one.”

×-×

The pair had been in the café for nearly two hours.

There were loose bits of sheet music everywhere - one of the first things Hongjoong learned about Mingi was that he played the piano and guitar and could read sheet music - along with empty cups of iced tea and decaf coffee.

Mingi had a good sense of humour. He spun nearly everything Hongjoong said into something witty and it had the rockstar doubling over in laughter every five minutes. Between all the serious moments, there were times Hongjoong had to clutch his own stomach as it hurt so much from guffawing.

But, most astonishingly, in the two hours they had spent together, Mingi had helped him write three new songs.

After another round of chuckling at some new in-joke they’d come up with, Hongjoong took a deep breath and let the moment sit for a while.

He stared at the three new songs on the table. There were scribbles and random notes and arrows coming off of different words to jot down some extra bit of information one of them deemed was pertinent, but one thing was clear: they had a serious synergy.

Mingi was certain the minute they both sat down: I don’t wanna take anything away from your message. I wanna add to it.

Hongjoong was so concerned any writing partner he’d end up with would twist and turn his words into something completely different, fashion them into another creation so precisely that it could never be called his own.

But Mingi was not like that.

Any line he came up with, Mingi helped build its core. Any word he thought stuck out like a sore thumb, Mingi flipped into something more concise. Any heart he put down on the page, Mingi made sure he doubled it.

Hongjoong had tired of the nights he spent stuck at his desk fretting over the deadline that was not-so-subtly approaching.

Partway through this writing session, he simply broke down and cried. Mingi listened to every one of his worries, offering him a shoulder and allowing him to let it all go.

Mingi was choked up to know Hongjoong had grown to trust him.

Once the third song was written, he almost sunk in on himself and said, “Y’know, if you ever feel like I’m doing too much or that I’m stepping all over your toes, tell me and I’ll rein it in.”

But Hongjoong was adamant. At no point in this writing session had Mingi been anything else apart from kind, encouraging and supportive.

He didn’t know why he was so worried. He knew Yunho would never let him down like this.

“Mingi,” Hongjoong began, his voice thick with sincerity, “for the last month or so I have had the worst time with writing these songs. You have seriously swooped in and saved the day, you are quite literally my hero!”

Mingi smiled sheepishly, his face warm. “I’m just a writer.”

Hongjoong drew back in shock. “That is not true! You are more than just a writer, you are-” He struggled to think of the words. “You have literally taken all my shit and made it incredible!”

Now it was Mingi’s turn to look on in horror. “Hongjoong, you need to be kinder to yourself.”

That remark made Hongjoong’s spine collapse in on itself. He glanced up at Mingi.

“You are an awesome writer. Yunho showed me your demo tape and it was amazing. Not just how you play but the way you write, and the things you’ve got to say. You need to have more confidence in your writing abilities because, genuinely,” Mingi put his hand on his heart to cement this comment, “you have a skill for this shit.”

Hongjoong swallowed the lump in his throat and turned back to the sheets of paper on the table. “I would never have got this far if it wasn’t for you.”

Mingi looked back and forth between Hongjoong and the pages he was staring at, before finally looking at Hongjoong again.

“I wouldn’t have had the final meal without the ingredients.”

Hongjoong turned back to him. They shared a smile.

A lightbulb went off in his head.

“I think I know what I want the fourth song to be about.”

Mingi’s smile widened. “Tell me.”

i called you my hero and that’s never been a lie i called you my hero and that’s never been a lie

taglist: @bikerjongho × @viviixlyy

× silverdune (ave). do not repost. ×

[demigoddessqueens]

Please excuse my rambling!! I talk too much 😅😅😅 I hope this is okay!💜

Hii! Can I please request a Namor x fem!nurse!reader where she’s a traveling nurse, and travels all around the world for her job. She happens to be on the beach that is right above where Talokan is. She wanders around the beach and happens to accidentally wander into Namor’s cave at the same time that Nakia stabbed the Talokanil guard before escaping. Y/n finds the girl and one, is shook because she has never seen Talokanil people, Y/n is only human, but she quickly works on getting the girl stable and saves her life. Namor finds her saving the guard’s life and is surprised at a surface dweller having compassion for his people, so he shows her compassion back. He shows her the wonders of his Kingdom, and for the first time, finds himself having feelings for a surface dweller. He asks her to stay with him, saying that he could make it to where she can breathe underwater, live as long as he does, and that she would be his Queen and he’d spoil her and show her so much love: She says yes. 🥰 The two fall deeper and deeper in love as time goes on🥰

Okay a) this is adorable as heck?!! 🥹💕😭💞

b) this reminds me of Dracula and Lisa from Castlevania so much

C) he’s waiting for you to call on the shell-phone

i think i might like you

A/N: also posted here on ao3, words ~1.2k

EDIT - A/N: a very loonnng overdue fic

Tagging @namorwife @deliciousfestsalad @omgsuperstarg @beautifulsoulsublime @historygeekqueen @rosestoophelia @urlocallsimp

There were those close to you who had been with you since the start of this mobile clinic. And in this moment, you wished you could be back in the mainland with them right now.

The figure that stood before you kept his steely-eyes gaze on you, just waiting for any movement from you.

Damn your good-natured heart and inquisitive nature that compelled you to explore. It made you superb in your abilities to heal others, but there was always the catch in the most dire situations. The young woman before you needed aid and fast.

“Who are you, to trespass here?!”

“I was just passing by—please, she needs help—I can heal her.”

A quavering response from you would only suffice for now.

“I have had enough of the surface world and your lies—!”

“No! I swear! I’m not lying. Please! Just let me help and then you can decide what to do with me.

You waited for him to speak. The one who stood in front with the elongated spear waited for Namor’s command before he nodded. As soon as the spear lowered, you set off to tend to the wounded individual.

A spare IV bag and catheter luckily were on your person. Spare bandages were given to stop the bleeding. You did not think much of it, but you spoke out what steps you were taking to heal this woman, a chant of sorts to show that you meant no ill will and to ease your nerves.

Within a few minutes, the young woman regained her breath and gulped down as much air as she could. You let out the sigh of relief that you dodn't reealie you had been holding in. Feeling a tug at the edge of your clothes, you felt yourself plummet backwards against the cool stone of the floor. The one who you assumed was the

"If you leave this instant, I would not be so generous as to those who entered my kingdom last! Leave while you still have your life intact!"

In a few hurried breaths of "I'm leaving, I'm sorry", you scrambled to your feet and left faster than when you arrived. You never looked back for a split second until you were back aboard your mobile home.

Sleep did not come easy to you that night and when morning came, you saw the same man from before.

He looked at you with a matter-of-fact expression as he had rummaged through the medical supplies you had kept, noting said lack of defenses.

”You carry no weapons with you.”

“N-no, my line of work doesn’t require it.., and I’m not a fan of it as a nurse…”

Looking you up and down, the man circled around to observe you with an inquisitive nature. Every clink of the ornate spear in his hand made you flinch, but you hid the effect it was having on your nerves.

”…it means I’m a healer, I help people along this coast who need assistance…”

Stopping in front of you, the proximity of his intense gaze made you feel like a deer in the headlights.

“I am familiar with healers, though I still find your placement and occupation quite odd. But I do extend my gratitude for you upon reviving one of my guardsmen.

”Yes, you’re welcome—I mean thank you…?”

“You may call me Namor. And I will return tomorrow. I wish to speak with you more on matters.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Namor dove beneath the waves. And before you had a chance to respond, you caught the faintest ripples underneath as he swam away.

Though the conversation you had with Namor had been short, you looked forward to seeing him soon.

After that day, you waited with bated breath to see if he would hold true to his promise. Your mind was racing with a thousand thoughts on what to do next. Do you need to defend yourself? Should you relent and just radio everyone else in the mainland? Can you--?

A ripple away from you signaled that he may have honored his part of the deal. You could see the few tufts of curls rising from the water’s stillness before Namor rose from the water. You let out the sigh of relief that you didn't realize was being held in suspense for long.

"It would be shameful conduct to not uphold my end of an agreement, and for that I apologize."

You greeted his response with a small smile, and against your better judgment, invited this mysterious man aboard your barge.

From that day forward, the one called Namor continued to visit at the end of each week. Then it was every other day, until everyday of the week for a while. And each time, you noticed a small wound or scrape that this king had for you to tend to.

A sparring session gone wrong. An unfortunate event with a wandering sea creature. A close call in battle against the Wakandan army that left him greatly incapacitated

You don't know why, but for some reason you were grateful that Namor had survived the ordeal and still came to see you.

There were other days were you two just talked about anything, even the most boring mundane things you never paid much attention to until he brought it up. Though there were choice words about the songs you didn’t realize you were humming that made you blush.

Endless nights that mentioned your people that you had found through this line of work, his family and those of the people he cared for. You knew what he meant upon hearing the noted softness in his tone.

"I....lost some people close to me. For a short while a few years back, and I was alone for a while--. I know why you do what you do for your people, and I understand why you’re so protective of everyone.

He noted the softness laced in your tone of voice. Gently placing a hand atop yours, you were taken aback by the concerned expression across his face.

“I protect that and those which I find most dear in my world. And in this one.”

Heat rose to your cheeks as you pieced together the implications of his words. Thigh you both wanted to kiss each other, settling for a touch instead was enough for now.

It was only the beginning for you two after that night. Namor couldn’t imagine a day gone by that didn’t involve at least seeing you once, nor could you imagine the same. You looked forward to just any time together.

There was the kiss you shared with each other under the stars. The first time you stayed together for the night. And it all led to this moment that you welcomed inevitably.

The day Namor offered you the bit of herb that led to the creation of his people. You accepted without hesitation, and dove beneath the waves with him as it burned through your body. Sealed with a kiss as the current carried you both away, Namor held his love and new Queen of Talokan in his arms as one does for priceless treasure.

[genshinresource]

I know your pinned said requests are closed and idk if this counts as one

But sometime ago i found a picture on your blog that I can't find anymore? Its a pale yellow stamp of a silk flower with a circle around it and inside that circle reads "teyvat silk flower"

Im like 95% sure i found it here but even after looking through all the tags i thought it could possibly be in i still cant find it.

Also some of ur google drive links aren't working for me (on mobile) so you might wanna check that out when you have the time

Theres no rush and im sorry if this counts as a request, but thank you in advance if you can help!

Hey there, I can still reply to questions and feedbacks related to already posted contents so no worries. The picture you're looking for is a "postmark" (I hope I didn't name it wrong) from the "Wishes from Teyvat" web event and you can find that post here. I apologize for the inconvenient tagging 'cuz I didn't include web event names in post tags back then, but since there were a lot of those, I can only edit the tags if anyone asks about specific events that haven't been tagged properly haha...

Edit: Please also lemme know which Google Drive folders are broken and I'll try to fix them when I have the time to.

[dontforgetyourmedstoday]

So you just steal artwork and don't care? Got it. Either that or my ask asking about sources from your posts on April 8th disappeared. Or I guess you could be off tumblr and not have been here for two weeks.

Hi Anon,

I'm assuming this is you:

If it is, yes, I did see your last ask - but life has been a bit shit lately and frankly, I didn't have the emotional bandwidth to deal with an accusatory email that gave me absolutely no details about what you were upset about so I could investigate. So today, despite it being an incredibly long and shit one that isn't over I'm going to reply.

*Takes a deep breath* From this point forward I'm going to assume that, like me, you are just a real-live human with feelings that get hurt and not someone who just likes to yell at people on the internet. So let me apologise that I have used your artwork without attribution, it was in no way my intention. Please take this apology as someone who was just trying to amuse themselves and perhaps help some other people out by reminding them to take their meds too. I absolutely suck at art-type things so in my mind, no one would think I did them or was claiming the actual 'art' part of them as mine. I realise now this is the internet, you guys don't know me, and so I should have been clearer that nearly all of these are edits. (There are a few waaaaay back I actually drew myself). Looking at the 7th, 8th & 9th of April (allowing for time zones and assuming that's when you saw your artwork). All of them except one have a link at the bottom of the image that links back to where I sourced the original image - I don't know if this is visible on mobile so I'll show it below (the bit circled in red)

So I'm assuming this one is yours:

It seems that one doesn't have the link. I don't know why. I haven't made any new reminders for this blog in ages (again - life) - it seems like most of the ones from early April this year were originally posted back in 2021. I got briefly excited about this blog again a few months ago and loaded up a bunch of old ones so this blog was still functional for the people that find it helpful. Going back I have noticed that others seem to not have credit either. It is possible I made a mistake and forgot to add them. It's also possible that Tumblr has a had a glitch/error/weirdness which means it's disappeared. I also used a bunch of images from the editing app I was using to add the reminder message and I wish I could remember what the site was called because I cannot for the life of me remember. Honestly, who knows. I have deleted the post(s) with that image - if it's not the right one please let me know.

I have always gone out of my way to ensure that anything I use is either free use, or non-commercial under Creative Commons. As an aside, I'm an academic and a person who has artist friends and my partner runs a business where our customers are largely designers and artists, so I do actually do my best to give credit. Am I perfect - no I'm not. Part of the reason I stopped making new posts was because of difficulty giving credit even on images that were non-attribution and finding images where I knew what the attribution requirements were (along with trying to remember everything everyone asked me to tag, and doing the image descriptions etc.) If anyone else finds something of theirs in one of my posts and there isn't credit attached please either dm me or send an ask and let me know which post and how you would like to be credited and I'll add it in. If you want it removed, I'm happy to do that too.

Sorry for the long post, hope it helps to clear things up. Finally, let me take this opportunity to say

"Don't forget your meds today my friends"

[rosaren2498]

Warnings: Angst, blood, torture in the name of science (like the Augustine Society from The Vampire Diaries), implied past rape (it also almost happens but is interrupted before it can go that far), past captivity/imprisonment, reader wishes for death, organ removal

Please be careful and let me know if I missed anything!!! I want to tag the warnings properly but I never know what might trigger someone.

Also, I usually write in Fem 3rd Person and then edit it to be 2nd Person so it's more gender neutral so please inform me if I missed anything during my editing process, I do this on mobile.

Nightmare or Memory

It was cold.

So cold that you had long stopped shivering. So cold that you had accepted long ago that you might never know warmth again.

It was cold, and you wished you could say it was dark, but the lights shining in your eyes never went away; never dimmed, darkened, nor turned off. At least not while you were conscious.

You minutely flinched at the sound of metal scrapping on metal; you knew by now what that sound meant. You caught a flash of metal out the corner of your left eye, the scalpel reflecting the bright white fluorescent lighting.

"How are we doing today?"

You bared your teeth even as you felt the warm press of the blade against the naked skin of your chest. It had used to be cold to the touch, but now it was warmer than you. "Go to hell," you hissed.

His laughter seemed to echo around you; it was almost as if he'd laughed directly into your ears. It was dark, twisted, almost aggravated. The way the blade dug into your skin reflected it; cruel and aggressive, not as precise as usual.

Your breath hitched at the sharp bloom of pain. You think you'd be used to it by now, after all this time, but the first kiss of the blade never failed to steal your breath. You bit back cries, screams, and pleas for surcease that you knew would fall on deaf ears and do nothing, save for make him smug. However, you could not withhold your tears. As you squeezed your eyes shut and prayed for your life to finally end, tears slipped from the corners of your eyes, running into your hair.

The scalpel was eventually exchanged for something to keep the y-shaped cut -now on your chest and bleeding- open and you choked on a sob as it was forced open further. Seconds later, the first scream tore from your throat as his hands rooted around inside you.

"Ah, here we are."

You choked again as a hand grabbed one of your lungs and began pulling, the scream that was building in your throat abruptly cutting off when the lung ripped free. You tasted copper and you couldn't breathe; your vision was rapidly darkening.

"Oh, come now, don't pass out on me just yet." The voice was distant, cold and disappointed. It was also the only warning you got before blinding pain lit up your every nerve-ending and you let out an unearthly scream that seemed to echo in the room. "There you go."

You gasped desperately for breath as the pain slowly began to subside, and you were almost too distracted to realize where his hands were now; almost. You stiffened at the press of fingers on your thighs, another choked sob slipping out. Your lung had already grown back and you took a deep breath to speak.

"Please. Please kill me," you begged.

He laughed cruelly, forcing your thighs further apart. "Why would I do that? You're so beautiful like this. Chest open, blood and tears all over, spread open for me..." His voice had taken on an almost desperate edge and you shuddered in revulsion.

You closed your eyes again as your breathing sped up. 'Please don't,' you thought. 'Please make it stop.' You gagged when something blunt and thick pressed against you, then everything went still. It was an unnatural stillness, accompanied by a preternatural silence interrupted only by your quick breathing, until someone suddenly spoke.

"Enough."

Your eyes snapped open at the deep voice that you did not recognize. The ceiling had been eclipsed by dark storm clouds that swallowed the bright fluorescent lights. It plunged the room into shadows, interspersed with flashes of lightning. The doctor that had been positioned between your legs was gone, as were all his tools, including the one keeping the cut on your chest open. Instead, there was a dark figure standing to the right of the table you were strapped to. You flinched when he moved, but he only unfastened the buckles of your restraints.

You eyed him warily, slowly sitting up when your hands were free; your wrists were bruised and bloody from your thrashing. Your thighs twitched with the urge to snap shut when his fingers brushed your ankle while he undid the restraints there too; as soon as you were free, you were curling up in an attempt to hide yourself. You weren't sure whether to thank him, or ask who he was. Your mouth opened, but it quickly shut with an audible click of teeth when he removed his coat and held it out to you. You hesitated only a moment, terrified he would snatch it back the moment you reached for it, before taking it and slipping it over your naked body.

"Thank you."

Your voice was quiet, rough and hoarse from your screams. You adjusted the coat to be tighter around you and were abruptly stunned by the scent that smacked you in the face. It was rich, ozone and thunderstorms, plus something you couldn't quite identify, though your mind whispered stars, as if they had a scent; it settled something inside you.

"Are you alright?"

His voice was as quiet as yours had been and you shuddered at how deep it was, curling further into his coat. You could still feel your own blood on your chest, could feel it sticking as it dried; you hoped none of it ended up on his coat.

"It's not the first time this has happened." Your eyes fell to the ground, your voice taking on a bitter tone. "It won't be the last." With your gaze on the ground, you missed the twitch and twist in his expression.

"This was not an ordinary nightmare."

It was not a question, but you shook your head and answered anyways. "Not a nightmare; a memory."

"How long has this plagued you?"

You looked up at him now, a frown marring your features. You felt your defensiveness rise up, but what you'd been about to say died in your throat when you met his eyes. Twin stars, burning, endlessly burning, stared out at you; you found yourself answering his question without thought and with complete honesty.

"130 years, give or take. 'Course, that's what happens when you spend well over a century held captive by a secret society hellbent on discovering your secret to immortality so that they may replicate it to 'better the world.' "

His expression darkened once more, but you did not find yourself afraid of him, even as the very shadows seemed to stretch out from him; something told you he wasn't angry with you.

"Who are you?" The words did not come out as demanding as you had meant them too, instead coming out more curious than anything. Though that was, perhaps, for the best. Just because he wasn't angry with you doesn't mean he couldn't be.

He eyed you as if debating whether or not he should answer your question. You shifted in your spot, a little uncomfortable with his intense gaze on you, as you waited; you could be patient, but the silence stretched on. Just as you were beginning to think he simply wouldn't answer, he spoke.

"I am Dream of the Endless, King of Dreams and Nightmares."

You stiffened once more, your grip on his cost tightening. An Endless. He was an Endless. "You... Fuck, you're an Endless. And not just any Endless. No, you just so happen to be the second most powerful Endless, and the King of Dreams and Nightmares. Wonderful."

Dream seemed startled by your knowledge of him. He stepped closer to you, his eyes narrowing. "You know of me?"

You snorted at the understatement, unable to help it. "Know of you? Just about everyone in the Supernatural Community knows of you, and your family, Lord Dream. Not everyone believes, of course, but I suppose you could call me a... special case. I've dealt with your family before. Plus, I believe you and I have a mutual friend: Hob Gadling."

Dream frowned. "What do you mean you've dealt with my family before? How do you know Hob?"

You shifted in place, tightening his coat around you once more. "Easy question first. I met Hob about 350 years ago, at that tavern that has since closed down. We spent most of the night drinking and talking. Actually, he spent the night talking about you, though he clearly had no idea who you were." You don't even try to hide fond smile on your face. "I knew right away that he wasn't normal, but it took him about 50 years to realize I wasn't human." You snorted, then startled when you realized there was the barest hint of a smile on his face. The tiny smile made his entire face seem to shift, becoming more open and inviting; it stole your breath.

"And how do you know of my family?"

The smile was wiped from your face as you abruptly tensed. You gave a heavy sigh, but were determined to be honest. "I've not met them all. I often speak with your older sister, Teleute, just about every time I see her. But I was originally introduced to your family when..." You trailed off, hesitating as one of your hands absentmindedly traced at your chest where you had been cut open. "Let's just say, I became intimately familiar with your younger sister's realm while I was held captive; I still keep in contact with her sometimes, though her twin is no longer welcome in my presence."

He raised an eyebrow at your vagueness. "You have something against Desire. What?"

You grit your teeth in remembrance. "That is extremely personal and I'd rather not discuss it. Let's just say I was foolish once and they took advantage, hm?" You can still remember their laughter, the look in their golden eyes when you had confronted them 130 years ago... No, you could not tell Dream that Desire was the reason you had been imprisoned, even if it had not been entirely intentional on their part; you still weren't convinced that it hadn't been.

His expression twisted, clearly irritated with the lack of a concrete answer, but, surprisingly, he did not push; perhaps he could tell how you would shatter if he did? He gazed at you for a silent moment before he spoke once more. "This nightmare won't trouble you any longer."

You blinked a few times, startled. You opened your mouth, planning on saying something, anything. Perhaps planning to ask if you heard him correctly, or maybe to ask him why he would bother, but his next words seemed to echo around the room and vibrate in your very bones.

"This dream is over."

---

You jerked awake in bed, sitting up and panting heavily. Your hand flew up to your chest, tracing the y-shaped scar that had rested there for over 200 years now; as your heartrate decreased, you took stock of the rest of yourself. Your hair was a tangled mess and you ran your fingers through it in a futile attempt to tame it. Your room was dark, though that was more due to your blackout curtains than it being late; the light peaking out underneath them and the clock on your bedside table told you that it was almost 1 o'clock in the afternoon. Hob would be expecting you at the New Inn soon.

You leveraged yourself out of bed, freezing the moment you looked down at yourself. You were still wearing your typical wine-colored tank top and black shorts that you always wore to bed, but over top them was a long black coat; the inner-lining was made of a veritable night sky. The end of your nightmare came back to you and you had to practice slow breaths so as not to hyperventilate; well, you had quite the story for Hob when you saw him at work... and Teleute the next time they saw each other too. Although... how were you supposed to return his coat?

[knightcoree]

Is it wrong to feel icky.. and kinda self concous and worried about my own take on my characters when I see doubles.. like any time I see doubles. Who use fancy fonts fancy edits none i can do cuz im mobile bound,,and seem more better and popular than me at this.. is it wrong to feel like I'm doing it wrong. Or like I should just quit this cuz I'm not good at it. Is it wrong to wish I were in there shoes cuz I feel like I'll never be on there level of good? Cuz I feel like.. that every time I go through the william afton main tag tbh. And see many doubles who look better than me. Even tho I love rping my faves .. even tho. I'm probably not that good.. terrible even.. at this.. I feel sick even seeing them .. idk. I always had trouble w doubles but lately I try to ignore it. I also worry my followers flock to them and forget i even exist so usually I don't follow them or do anything w them for fear they will take away any chance I got at rping. I sometimes even block cuz of that feeling. It fuels my depression and anxiety. And just . Makes me feel like garbage. Hhh.. my self esteem is terrible tbh. Idk. Maybe im a bad person for feeling that way. Just expressing myself rn is all. Also I dont mind. Like multimuses w doubles of my characters cuz that still gives variety. But also. People who just follow me for fanart or memes.. I don't like that. I want people who will interact and not leave me in the dust yknow?

[withered-rose-unbreakable-lotus]

Well hello there! Are you lost?

This is a pinpost for all you mobile users, so that you know what you're getting into, if you're pondering whether to follow me or not and browsing blogs isn't your thing.

Name's Maria, I'm the artist kind that mamas of creative kids warn them they'll end up being if they pursue the arts and a down bad fangirl of 100s of things.

For artists coming across this and wondering what's my deal, here're a few things you need to know:

I'm a writer of a horror/dark fantasy baby series that turnt 13 this year. Currently editing book 1. Inspired by my love for visual kei and horror, the plot revolves around a bunch of demons who were made specifically to defeat God's army after the fall of Lucifer, but wished a life beyond being weapons, escaped, got cursed, and you get to see what they are up to, these days, through the series. It's a quest for freedom and claiming your right to be yourself no matter what anyone says. Being proud of who you are and the life you chose to live.

[side note: My focus on personal freedom to be who you are isn't about things you were born with, like skin color, sexuality etc, so much, but another common thing that keeps many people trapped in themselves and in societies that force you to be one thing. It's about chosen ways of life, such as clothing style, having piercings or tattoos, weight (ok this one isn't alway a choice), how active one's sexual life is, if you're having babies or not in life. etc.]

Here's a lovely visual of the title for you:

Which leads to another art I've touched;

Digital art. I hate how I always have to specify this but most non artist people, when they hear digital artist, they think of people who draw, illustrators. While I'm trying to learn that too, and I do use a bit of painting in my works, this isn't my main focus. I am a photomanipulator, another category of digital art, the artists of which connect various stock pictures together and makes new pictures. Like this one (the logo is old, ignore it):

That means I also make graphics. I've made gifs and edits for my vkei faves before. You can find them under the tags #my gif & #my edit accordingly.

Video editing. I've returnt to my childhood passion recently but muscle memory is doing well. I unfortunately can't afford the things I'd really like to film so I resolved to vtubing. I'm @LadyHawthorn on Youtube if you wish to find me and I'm doing a variety of things cause I hate being forced to do one thing all the time. I mainly post myself playing Reverse: 1999 and theorizing on it, but I like doing reactions on Genshin Impact new content when I get it on time (I can't play unfortunately cause it requires different equipment) too. I also occasionally do movie reactions and will soon try anime too. Other stuff I'm interested in doing are: writing videos, more asmr if people show more interest and eventually hopefully talk about my book series and the lore of my vtuber character, when I can afford an animation for her.

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

For non-artists coming across this, now.

Right off the bat, I'd like to say I'm a big horror fan so if you're a minor I'd suggest you stayed away, cause I might eventually post sth you shouldn't see. I grew up with horror personally and I don't really get the whole "cover scary stuff and blood from kids" but because some of you might be more sensitive to that than I was, better safe than sorry. Again I find this a bit too much cause horror didn't hurt me growing up, real life did, but yeah, you do what's comfortable for you.

Other interests we might have in common:

Music. I listen to lots of music but I'm more religiously following visual kei artists the past 13 years. If you like photos of vkei artists, you might find something you like on my navigation page. If you don't see your favorite band at the sections with pictures, try the "Other fav artists" or "Other Vkei bands/Solos" sections or straight up write it on my blog link with "/tagged/favorite band's name".

Movies. I watch a lot of movies, you can find some of my favorites on my about page, but some notable examples that have fandoms are:

Addams Family

Late 80s to early 00s romcoms and school movies

Silent Hill

Visual Kei movies

Anything with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in them (I no longer like Johnny but the projects he chose to act in are still masterpieces)

Tokyo Revengers live action

Kamikaze Girls

The Devil's Rejects

Ti West's X, Pearl, Maxxxine

Step Up movies (I used to dance once :P)

Musicals (stuff like Chicago, Moulin Rouge, Repo! The Genetic Opera, etc.)

I also am a Supernatural, Friends, Helluva Boss and American Horror Story fan (although I haven't managed to watch all seasons on the first and last one, they stopped broadcasting at my country and couldn't find them online without viruses after that)

Anime. Again I watch a lot but not many of the very famous ones. Some of the biggest names I'm a fan of are:

Danganronpa (never joined the fandom before so no worries I won't come for your ships)

Re:zero

Pokemon (haven't watched all seasons though),

Nanatsu No Taizai (stopped when Meliodas and Elizabeth had a kid cause they ruined the romance for me xD)

Demon Slayer

And I also love Diabolik Lovers, Toilet-bound Hanako and Houseki no Kuni. And Yu-Gi-Oh. I still got to finish that one.

Jdorama. I'm sorry I've only watched 3 Kdramas and stopped. My heart's in Japan xD. I have watched many things, including pretty much everything Oguri Shun has done, many MatsuJun stuff, I loved Alice in Wonderland and I'm in desperate need for new jdramas to watch that aren't some cheesy romance or another police story. ._.

Videogames. I'm a Genshin Impact, Reverse: 1999 and Nikke enthusiast, you can talk to me about these all day every day I wouldn't mind. I'm also a huge Silent Hill and Final Fantasy X & X-2 fan (before the HD version that basically ruined the story and I don't consider it canon. -_-)

Any other interests? Well I sing. If you like singing we can enjoy chatting about our favorite vocals and struggles of singing xD. However I know nth about music theory so please be kind to me. I only tried 1 semester of vocal training and 1 year of music production and I dropped both so....let's keep it on the fun side of singing and not sweat the technical stuff much, kay? ^^'>

That's all. If you made it this far, I applaud you for your patience and wish you a wonderful day! ^^/

[weprovideleverage]

tagged by @snapdragon-fish

rules: answer the questions in a new post and tag 10 blogs you would like to get to know better.

a - age: 23

b - birthplace: along the rhine river in germany

c - current time: 19:48 (i broke the formatting help; edit: i fixed it :,) )

d - drink you last had: water

e - easiest person/people to talk to: my best friend

f - favorite song: uff probably sth by set it off?

g - grossest memory: found out on the third night sleeping in a mobile home/vacation home that the wall and the bed where full of ants... after i went into said bed

h - horror yes or horror no: no but i did listen to all of tma so now i feel i should change that to a solid maybe

i - in love?: no, never

j - jealous of people?: yeah... not my best trait

l - love at first sight or should I walk by again?: well no but this time in the aroace colours to give you a more "straight" answer

m - middle name: two actually! but your name does not belong on the interwebs so i wont tell ya

n - number of siblings: one

o - one wish: uhh world peace? no? well id settle for figuring out what i wanna do with my life 

p - person you called last: my boss to ask why noone is in the workshop (turns out they were sick or in the other shop)

q - question you are always asked: "how old are you?" followed by mild shock or embarasment cause just because im tiny doesnT MEAN IM TWELVE GUYS!!!

r - reason to smile: i have a cute fluffy dog :D

s - song you sang last: Zara Larsson - Can't Tame Her

t - time you woke up: 6:00

u - underwear colour: black and white stripes

v - vacation destination: dream vacation? well i share my first name with a greek godess so greece and specifically the athenian acropolis probably; next vacation? family holidays in france like every year

w - worst habit: procrastiation (hi snapdragon look i did answer! eventually)

x - x-rays: never. i did get an mri scan once? no wait i did get xray for my wisdom teeth!

y - your favorite food: Königsberger Klopse with Kapern (no i cant translate that... neither can wikipedia apparently)

z - zodiac sign: scorpio (which in most posts ive seen makes me the slytherin of starsigns even tho im a ravenclaw and also not activly mean or evil (mostly)

People who I want to get to know better: @teh-repository  @smileylover99 @ladyslice00 @accidentalkittyghost @sammy-writes-stuff (If you want to, of course.)

have a nice day!

[elaichoi]

gasp 🔴 live viewing of soulmates au unfolding irl

yes in fact i am (confirmed)

to be fair i haven't been on tumblr that long i joined somewhere btwn jan-mar of this year and so i don't think ive experienced many of your themes (blog profile wise), but i remember stalking the tags and it was easy to spot what works were yours based on the header edit, it stands out and is v eyecatching among other stuffs in the tags ^_^

mhm i think your style is very deviantart fs hehe,,, NAUR FR they r the ogs i used to want to be them so bad. for reference i started getting into kpop around 2/2.5 gen,, i was an admin on a facebook snsd fanpage and posted like png shadow/swirl edits 😭😭😭 simple times

hell i'd love to! i don't think i'm mentally there i fr lack the creative capacity, its in very rare circumstances do i see something that i kind of envision and edit in my head and ill usually screenshot it to keep the idea there but i even more rarely ever jump into starting the edit.

yes it is! i still have and use it, it was the 'it' app for photo editors back then me thinks, kind of like the ae of photo editing... at least from my viewpoint on the ig fanpage editing scene. it was the hotter sister to picsart lmaoo

see soulmates au!! we couldve crossed paths but we didn't!! until now!! 😾

omg wait stop it cus i used to love reading imagines n shit on ig but im pretty sure i stopped because i felt like it wasn't a popular content type esp since its a photography platform. i browsed the tags for imagines n stuff but it was meh,, i only followed ONE imagines account 🥲

wait so to clarify, u also edited on ig alongside writing?? imagine if we crossed paths on the algorithm dats crazy 😭 you're the cool one i wish i could be skilled in both literature and art ?? i simply do not have enough brain cells for that ^_^

canva on phone is my enemy‼️ at least the last time i used the mobile app,, bc i now use it only on desktop, sometimes on ipad... cus u alr cannot see the layers i cannot be doing anything complex bc i will def tap on the wrong layer and thats annoying -_- the patience u have ㅠㅠ well assuming the app is still like that idk maybe it changed

HAHAH i used to draw before like pencil paper shit so i thought i could do it digitally....and after years of not drawing on pencil paper too 💀💀

u are so much more articulate than me goodbye thats embarrassing 4 me T_T

soulmate does exist <3 look at us being prime example!!

actually i think ive active with my account within the time frame as well, probably feb-march i think, but before that i didn't care about the account that much but like slowly started make headers im a tryhard ( only after i stopped obsessing tumblr themes bc i couldn't figure it out) ARE you fr?? like u could tell my works in the tags of my header?! dude that's so,,, that's like such a huge compliment that I've got something that makes someone go ah yes it's that same. author like it feels so fulfilling, YOURE REALLY BUTTERING ME UP ILYSM!!! thousand consentual kisses!!!!

YOURE SO COOL WTH YOU'VE BEEN HERE SINCE 2/2.5 GEN PLS THATS SO awesome ive been into kpop since mid 2017 so most of my groups like og ones were third gen but I listened to 2nd gens too and SNSD my beloved!!! genie was my introduction of kpop tbh and replay by shinee is what made me stay so i can say im a child of 2nd gens too lmao but holy shit I want YOUR PLAYLIST!!!!!!!! GIVE ME SONG RECS!

tbh i get you i only edit for my headers or blog too tbh like usually if there is no purpose you don't really feel like editing bc it's like what are you even gonna do with it? and you've said that you've always posted them so maybe the fact you don't have anywhere to showcase your art has you feeling like that too?

"hotter sister of picsart" this is so real bc all the hot editorson Instagram ( the western artists collage style specially) all used superimpose and thr fact they used to pay for it too.

bro like imagine if we did cross paths i think i was more active on ig during 2019-2021? imagine if we had ever crossed paths since we both worked on kpop lmao, okay but if you like posted your work under #kpopgfx im pretty sure i have came across at least once!

did kpop have imagine accounts? i knew a lot of dating door accounts tho lmao but then again i was stuck in wattpad, and that's all the delulu you need lmao.

lmao yeah i always wrote with my works, most of my edits were based on stuff i wrote basically like love stories based on songs, certain ideas (was BIG on mythologies and all the other things.) but really fr tho i wonder if I actually ever saw your work tho because i never had the guts to interact with other editors.

lmao im the same with canva but on laptop i for the life of me cant do that plus i just use it get pngs and other stuff also when i want to do masking lmao. i usually collect shit on there and then manipulate those on my own app.

bro that is insane that you used to actually drawing like as someone who can't draw a single straight line this is so cool to me i really wish i could draw tbh

articulate and me? lmao im literally all over the place but it's so sooo fun to talk to you!!

[nightlight-firelight]

Hi everyone, I’m really hoping you guys like this one! I’m hoping to continue this story, if you all like this. I’m not used to writing for other people, so please give me some feedback on how I could make this more enjoyable.

“Small Things Come With a Awkward Price”

Chapter 1

Getting home was a nightmare and getting back into your room is the top priority in your mind. The trip from Walmart had you exhausted due to the unexpected heat. Looking at your phone, you swear that today was only supposed to be in the seventies. You drop off your grocery bag onto your bed and pull out the item you have been waiting to open up. The Sonic Boom season one DVD set came with Sonic and Dr.Eggman figures. Even though the box was banged up, you bought the set anyway. The thought crossed your mind that a kid tried to open the box to get the figures but luckily didn’t succeed. You opened the banged-up box and pulled the figures out and set them on the bed. Then, taking out the two DVD cases, you set those on the bed and take a walk to the kitchen with the busted box and the excess plastic.

On the way to the kitchen, your thoughts began to wonder why you had picked up the box set to begin with. It was a good price and with the addition of the figures, you thought yourself lucky to get the last one they carried. Looking back, however, you did remember that this box was just under one of the shelving units next to the videogame isle, not even covered by a speck of dust. You had only seen the box when you went to look closer at a price tag, seeing the corner of the disheveled box and its contents. Pacing your dominant foot on the small peddle of the garbage can, the lid lifts from its closed positions and you gently toss the trash into the bin, only seeing a slip of paper glide out of the now trashed box.

You groan in annoyance that you have to take care of the fallen slip and pick up the small piece of paper after a try or two keeping it slightly stick to the floor. You take a closer look at the paper and see that it had some writing to it.

‘Hope you like my surprise!’

Staring at it puzzled you. Who was this for? I wasn’t meant for you to find, at least that what you believe. Was this put in here as a joke or an accident or-,

‘Clack!’

You jump ever so slightly from the odd noise that had pulled you away from your thoughts. The noise appears to come from your room, from the way the sound was only slightly distant and lightly muffled by the walls. You take more of a pep in your step and get to your room to investigate the noise. Taking a look around your room, you find after a minute of looking to see your Sonic figure on the floor. Picking him back up you take a look at him and see that his paint job was really impressive for a small action figure. You rolled him around in your hand and were impressed that the figure, all around, was correctly put together and made. No chip marks, no lack of paint, or extra paint where it shouldn’t be. No mistakes. You smile a bit at the thought and set Sonic on your small table next to your bed. You see that the Dr.Eggman figure, however, was almost to the edge of the bed, laying on his tummy, and had his arms pushed out in front of him. ‘Looks like he pushed Sonic off.’ You laughed at that thought of the plastic toy throwing its plastic arch-nemesis over the edge of the bed.

You pick the doctor up and examine him as well. He just like Sonic with the most impeccable paint job you’ve seen. You blush a bit and hold him more gently. You won’t lie and say that you may have had a crush on the doctor for a while now, not trying to deny it anymore. The first time that you had seen him on screen when watching the cartoon, you had butterflies swarming inside of you. The way he spoke was like music to your ears, and the way that he got when he thought he was about to win was so cute to you. You wished that they had made a third season to keep going with the cute doctor, but alas, good things must come to an end.

Taking the doctor and placing him onto your mountain of pillows you take a new pair of clothing into your bathroom and get cleaned up again, remembering that the heat had not been kind to you earlier. Once done, you put your old outfit into your laundry hamper and grabbed your portable DVD payer from the corner of your room. You had gotten this for the holidays and once you had gotten it, you never put it down for more than a few hours. You open up the player and take the first DVD case and open up the side of it up to show you the contents inside.

Your mood changed to a sour one when you saw the DVD itself. A plain disk with the words ‘Sonic Boom Season One, First Disk.’ repaced what would have been the official disk. You were upset that this was a false product and went to look at the second case. When you opened that one you were greeted by the bootleg copy of the second disk. You set both cases down and head to the kitchen you grab your favorite drink.

‘Really should have grabbed this earlier when I went to throw out the box.’ thinking bitterly as you swing open the fridge door and grab a bottle of your elixir that would of relax the current mood you were in. Opening the cap and dowing a few gulps of the drink, you realized that maybe you might have had gotten a copy that may have been a gift to someone or a factory error. You put the cap back on and take a deep breath. You had wanted to watch the show and still hope that the disks were holding the content you crave.

You made your way back to your room again to find your DVD player’s disk tray opened with the first seasons stuck in the correct spot. You freaked. You KNEW that you did not put the disk is the try, not even taking it out of its case, what is it ended DOING out of the case? You panic for a second and take a look around your home to make sure no one was in the house with you. After a check of the windows, rooms, closets, and even checking under furniture, you concluded that no one could have been in your house. You take a calming breath and sit down on the edge of your bed. You try and come up with some sort of explanation. Mabey you had put the disk in your DVD player and forgot about it. You were a bit sleep-deprived due to the last week of finals, so maybe you may have forgotten? You try and relax and after a few minutes you calm down enough to stop thinking of making scenarios of how this could have happened. After getting a grip, you push the lid down of the DVD player and start up the system. Sitting on your bed, you get to the main menu and sigh of relief that it was a copy of the show and not a knock-off. “So this must be a prototype or an unreleased version, cool.” Speaking to no one in particular. You press play on the first episode, ‘The Sidekick.’ and lean back the ride.

At first, the episode appeared normal. That ended when it got to the scene where Dr.Eggman got the poster for the sidekick tryouts and when the fourth wall gag kicked in and dropped the camera away from the doctor’s face, when he picked it up, however.

“Lousy security camer-.” he had stopped and looked dead into the ‘camera’. His eyes widened and he gave off a soft gasp, and you swore he was looking dead into your eyes, however, the scene quickly changed into the next stop before he could react. You pause the clip there and lean back.

NO WAY that happened. Your brain at the moment was fried and you KNEW he looked at you. Your heart was pounding a mile a minute and you had to take a few deep breathes to make sure you didn’t hyperventilate. ‘Breath,’ You keep telling yourself. ‘Breath!’ After few minutes of reconciliation, you looked back to the paused screen and ponder on what you should do. This has to be edited or who knows what. You were too far into this to give up now. First, the way the box was hidden was now becoming way too suspicious, second the way the figure looked way too good to be sold in a box set like that, and now this? You realized that this might be bigger than what you anticipated. Your eyes connect with the figure on your bed. You wanted to see where this goes. You had to see where this leads. You press play again.

You kept watching and when it got to when the doctor was introduced it was normal until it got to the Doctor entering the try-outs. He would keep going with the same dialog but kept taking glances over to you. The episode kept playing. The ending was different, however. Once BurnBot was destroyed via growing in the ice lake, Sonic and Tails didn’t kick the doctor away from the area. Instead, they did kick the Egg-Mobile out into the distance, but the doctor jumped out, landing in the area around the lake, letting Sonic and Tails leaving the scene. The camera focused on Eggman again as he lifted himself from off the ground and into the camera’s range. This time there was absolutely no way that the Docter did not see you as his expression look of that of confusion and worry. You decided to test out to see if you were going insane or if this was just an amazing edit. You wave to him. He hesitates for a moment. “Who-” But before he could finish that sentence, a very large light appears from the screen, blinding you. You cover your eyes and try to maneuver your body away from the small screen, only forgetting that you were seated in your bed and had just flung yourself off of it. You yelp out of fright and waited to hit the floor. You felt something grab you by the waist and pull you back up on the bed slowly. Uncovering your eyes you were met with something that happens only in fanfiction. A, very real, Dr. Eggman holding you in his hands, keeping you from falling off the bed.

“Hello.” His voice wavers from either the awkwardness of the situation or the fact that he just showed up into your room.

This is awkward.

[sukifans]

IT’S ALL LATIN TO ME

ZUKO X READER COLLEGE!SMAU

⏎ MASTERLIST // part VI « VII. just friends :) » part VIII

SUMMARY: you’re a premed student at BSSU and you thought it’d be a good idea to take a latin class, but you’re in way over your head here. good thing your buddy sokka knows a classics major in your section you can study with.

WARNINGS: language

She really, really tried not to show how nervous she was. It would be stupid to be nervous, after all — it’s not a date, regardless of what her friends say. Besides, they had hung out alone before, even if only to study Latin. Friends meet up and get dinner and see movies together all the time. Toph and Suki and everyone else were just projecting what they wanted to happen. Surely if Zuko had intended to ask her on a date, he would simply and clearly ask her on a date. Surely.

The car ride to the pizza joint near the theater they’d decided on for dinner was mostly music-filled silence punctuated by some awkward small talk. She hoped he wouldn’t notice how often she had to covertly wipe the sweat off her palms on her pants. He was anxiously tapping his thumbs on the steering wheel as he drove, wishing he could think of something to say to break through the palpable tension. Even as he racked his brains, nothing came up. He let himself zone out to the sound of her soft humming from the passenger seat and stole glances over at her every so often. Maybe by some miracle he’d be a master at the art of conversation by the time they made it to the restaurant. Unlikely, but not entirely impossible.

“You know I have to pay for your ticket now, right?” she said, eyeballing him as he added a tip and signed the receipt for the dinner he’d insisted on covering.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m paying tonight.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m paying tonight.”

“You don’t be ridiculous,” she scoffed. “You don’t need to do that.”

“I want to,” he assured, bumping against her side as they left the restaurant and headed in the direction of the theater. “Besides, princesses don’t pay for anything.” He grinned at the way her nose scrunched.

“You would know,” she quipped. He rolled his eyes to draw attention away from his nervous blush when she linked their arms together and leaned into him.

“Why do they call you that, anyways?”

She pursed her lips and willed the aggressive heat rising to her cheeks to settle down. “They say I’m high maintenance,” she lied.

He frowned. “That’s kind of mean. For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re high maintenance.”

“Thanks, Zu.”

They continued to chat lightheartedly as they walked up to the theater building and, after a bit of arguing and shoving to get to the card reader first at the ticket stand, (Y/N) begrudgingly accepted that Zuko would not be letting her pay that night. She held out hope that maybe she could sneakily buy something from the concession stand before he noticed. As they approached the counter, an employee ringing people up caught her eye. He was familiar, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on why. The feeling kept getting stronger as she and Zuko approached his register.

“Oh, hey, Zuko,” the guy said once she and Zuko were in front of him.

“Hey, Haru.” Ah, Haru! She and him had had a few classes together in the past and sent lecture notes back and forth. “How have you been?”

“The usual, work and school.” Haru shrugged. “You?”

“Pretty much the same,” said Zuko. “Do you know my friend (Y/N)?” Haru looked over to her and gave her a soft smile.

“Actually, yeah. We’ve been in a few lectures together. What’s up? Haven’t seen you this semester.”

“Oh, you know... the usual,” she chuckled nervously. “You and Zuko know each other?”

“We went to high school together,” he said.

“It seems like everyone at BSSU went to high school together,” she said and Haru nodded.

“Most people that went to our school ended up here, honestly. But hey, I don’t wanna keep you guys from your movie. Can I get you something?”

(Y/N) had nearly tackled Zuko in order to pay for their snacks before he could, making Haru laugh. When she met his eyes, she felt warmth flood to her cheeks.

“Thanks, Haru,” she said, looking away quickly.

“Yeah, for sure. Have a good time, guys.” As she started to turn away, he leaned forwards to catch her attention. “It was nice seeing you again, (Y/N); I’ve kinda missed you copying off my notes in class. We should go out for coffee or something sometime.”

Well... that was unexpected. She was so surprised by the request that she didn’t notice the way Zuko stiffened, muscles in his face flexing as he clenched his jaw. Haru did, however, and shot him a confused look that was met with narrowed eyes. Blinking quickly, she recovered and sent him a smile.

“Yeah, that’d be fun,” she said.

“Great!” Haru said. “I’ll talk to you later, then. See you guys around.”

“Have a good shift!” she chirped. Zuko merely grunted and nodded towards Haru in acknowledgement before walking towards the theater with (Y/N). Now she noticed the tension in his posture and nudged him with her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“You sure? You’re acting weird now.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired.” She frowned and stopped just outside the entrance to the theater. He paused too when he saw she wasn’t following.

“Do you not want to see the movie anymore? We can go home if you want.”

“No, I said I was fine. Let’s go.” He turned to leave and huffed when she didn’t move.

“Zuko,” she said pointedly and he felt his cheeks go pink. If he would’ve just plainly told her this was supposed to be a date, this wouldn’t have happened. It wasn’t her fault he was a jealous idiot.

He sighed. “I promise it’s nothing. It’s just a little jarring seeing people from high school because... well, I wasn’t a very good person back then. I don’t like to remember it.”

Her expression softened. “Sorry, Zu. I didn’t realize.”

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for. You’re right, I was acting weird.” He held his hand out to her and she took it gladly. “C’mon, we have a movie to watch.”

“If it means anything to you,” she whispered as they looked for their seats, “I think you’re a very good person now.” His pulse jumped at her words as she squeezed his hand.

“It means a lot, (Y/N),” he responded, giving her a small smile that she returned.

When they finally left the theater a few hours later, Zuko made sure their clasped hands were in plain sight as (Y/N) waved goodbye to Haru.

A/N: hi guys!! it’s been a while, i know :/ i was going through a big slump and this chapter was giving me a lot of problems for some reason. i’m still not thrilled with it, but i wanted to get something out for y’all! thank you so much for being patient with me as i adjusted to moving back to my college town and starting classes and work again, so many of you were so very lovely and supportive and it made the slump easier to worm out of eventually. and i made a gif! :D anyways!! hope you enjoyed this update and as always feel free to send an ask or reply! for tag requests i prefer asks so i can keep track of them easier without getting lost in my notifs :^) also sorry about no read more cuts, every time i try to add one on desktop it won’t let me edit my draft on mobile to fix the formatting :(

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