#wanted to add more but my brain is fried so maybe next time

[momomallowart]

Insane crossover actually

[crazyk-imagine]

Gym and Admin Work

Pairing: Santiago "Pope" Garcia x Front desk!reader

Characters: Santiago "Pope" Garcia, Front desk!reader

Warnings: Fluff, Santiago being a flirt, reader being sarcastic, the boys for sure tease the man, they lowkey ship the reader and Tago, cute date moment, reader and Tago are hooked

Word Count: 1.2k

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

“Hey,” he leans against the counter, smiling at you.

You glance over your shoulder and ignore him (again). 'This guy again?' You roll your eyes for what feels like the millionth time this week.

You should have listened to your friend when she said he’s going to keep coming by until you decide to accept going on a date with him or not.

It's been a never-ending cycle with him, but you can also admit that you're not completely upset over the attention he's been giving you… which makes no sense.

But, as you tell her, you like to make it fair by teasing him back.

You know, treat people the way you want to be treated, to which your best friend gives you the oddest look.

The more you think about it, the funnier it gets because he could say the most unheard of lines that come to him naturally, leaving your brain fried because no guy has given you the same attention he does.

But the funny part is when you use one of your lines on him, they leave him to be the quiet mess. It doesn't happen often but you can't lie, you love when it does.

"Same time next week?"

He crosses his arms and leans forward. "You know me so well."

You hum, clicking on the schedule to add him in. "I like to think I'm good at my job but sure."

"You're more than good."

You glance up at him from your lashes. "So, you keep saying."

"And I mean it every time, maybe more than the last." He lets his lips curve upward to smirk, loving the fact that he has your attention right now.

You avoid looking back at him, not wanting him to see the effect he has on you.

You wait for him to leave so you can focus and finish your shift but he’s making it harder for you to concentrate.

“Are my dazzling good looks distracting to you?”

You scoff, turning back to him. “You wish.”

And there it is.

“You know how much you flirt with me, you’d think you would have made more progress by now.”

“Oh, believe me. I’ve made the right amount.”

You roll your eyes and push your chair back. “Well seeing as it’s my lunch break-”

“Let me take you out.”

“What?”

“I- let me take you out.”

You furrow your brows. “I don’t know.”

“It’ll be to make up for all the flirting you pretend to hate.”

“Sounds tempting.”

“I knew it would. I’ll take you anywhere you want?”

“Anywhere?”

He internally starts panicking, thinking about how he’s barely got ten dollars to his name, finding the extra cash they left behind was worth a little more than he expected.

He’s lucky to be alive right now after all the surgeries.

Goddamn, greedy son of a-

-

“Here?” You dragged him to a mom and pop shop.

You stare at the sign with a soft smile. “Yeah, right here is perfect.”

“Let’s go inside then?”

-

He looks around, wondering why you brought him here.

“The usual?” Your favorite waitress, Dottie asks.

You nod with a smile as she leads you to your favorite spot in the joint.

“You've been here before?” Santiago asks, wondering just how long you’ve been coming.

You shrug. “A few times.”

“Seems like more than a few,” he teases.

“What can I say? This place reminds me of home.”

He nods, stirring the sugar into the coffee. “What was that like?”

You pause, wondering if you heard him right. “What?”

“What was your home like? Your childhood, cringey teenage years. I want to hear it all,” he glances down, stirring the little creamer he added to his coffee.

You pause, unsure of how to proceed here. “What- what do you mean?”

He glances up, catching your nervous gaze. “I want to hear about what you were like in your younger years.”

“You want to hear more?” You ask with a confused pout.

He nods, sipping his coffee.

You gulp, “how long do you have?”

“I got as long as you’ll keep me sitting here. Hence, the coffee.”

The corner of your lips twitch. “You planned on opening me up, huh?”

He nods, pinching his thumb and index finger together to say a little bit.

You cross your arms, narrowing your eyes at him. “You had this planned since you got in the car, didn’t you?”

“Maybe.”

You chuckle through your nose at his nonchalant behavior. “You just want to break me down and interrogate me, don’t you?”

He shakes his head, giving you his full attention. “No, I want to get to know you. Believe me, there’s a difference.”

You perk up in your seat. “Well then, Mr. Interrogator, why don’t you ask me a question and I give you an answer but only if you’ll do the same?”

He shrugs, “I don’t see why not?”

You smile, “good. Now…”

-

You two stay until your Dottie tells you they’re about to lock up, leaving you to drive him back to his friend's place.

“I had a good time.”

You don’t want him to leave.

“So did I.”

You glance away from him, unable to keep eye contact with him anymore. “I- can we do this again sometime?”

He smiles, loving how nervous you are and can’t hold eye contact with him. He leans in, cupping your cheek; his eyes switching between your eyes and your lips. “Can I kiss you?”

You take a deep breath and let out a quiet mumble, “uh huh.”

He leans in, leaving enough space for you to back out.

You cup his cheeks and pull him closer, practically over the gear shift. You part from the other to breathe. “Wow.”

“Told you I’d be worth it.”

You scoff and shove his shoulder, “and there goes all the progress we made this evening.”

He smirks, “I don’t think so. I think this just proved I’m able to keep up with you.”

You narrow your eyes at him, “get out before I kick you out.”

“That’s not nice to say to your new boyfriend.”

You let out a surprised scoff.  “Someone’s optimistic.”

“I have one foot in the door, excuse me for being a little cocky.”

You shake your head, making sure he gets in before you take off.

-

The smile doesn’t come off your face for the rest of the evening.

Your cheeks hurt more when you look at your phone and see your text notification pop up and your best friend's name pops up before his text.

HottoTrot24

“I told you you wouldn’t regret giving him a shot” Sent Read 10:34pm

“I’m happy you finally decided to do something about it” Sent Read 10:34pm

Santiago … *delete name* Santi

Santi typing…

“Wanted to tell you gnight” Sent Read 10:36pm

Santi’sGirl

“Go to sleep you dork, get some rest. You need it after today” Sent Read 10:39pm

Santi

“I wanted to say gnight first and… Don’t forget to dream of me” Sent Read 10:41pm

You roll your eyes as your cheeks hurt.

There was no way you weren’t already smitten with this man, he wormed his way into your heart and mind without you realizing it… and you don’t care.

[yunwangja]

undercurrents | signal no. 7

masterlist | next signal

you annoyingly sigh as you turn off your phone and put it in your pocket after re-reading your texts with samu an hour ago. you hated that he was right. as much as you hate to admit it, you needed that lecture.

unknowingly, you had a lot to think about this… friendship you have with kuroo. ever since you saw that match, you acted, well, a bit more ridiculous than usual. it doesn’t really help that he’s just across you eating fries, observing the hustle outside the food joint you were at.

because, it made sense. why are you getting so defensive when he asked you about how close you were getting these days? and why are you so worked up after seeing he treats other girls? if you think about it, you did like being around kuroo. why else would you always drag him to your stupid shenanigans?

your mind is conflicted as you secretly watch kuroo in front of you. is it really just because he teases you a lot? or… are you putting up your guard about how far this friendship would go?

but why would you feel that way? you try to rack your brain to find a reason.

wait. is it…?

nevermind.

you decide to brush it off. for now. you don’t want to think about it. you don’t have to go down on that rabbit hole.

you take a sip of your iced tea, trying to wash away any further thought. bottomline is, kuroo’s being a good friend to you. and you like that. and maybe, you wanted to look for signs that he did too, without actually asking it and embarrassing yourself.

maybe that’s why you’ve been acting this way. maybe. maybe.

you settle it down to that for now.

“yn, want some ice cream?” kuroo’s voice pulls you out of your thoughts, grounding you back in the moment. you glance up at him, momentarily caught off guard by the easygoing nature of his offer. there’s a brief hesitation as you process his words, but eventually, you nod.

“yeah, sure,” you respond, your tone casual. you reach into your bag, fingers brushing against the familiar texture of your wallet as you prepare to pay for your treat. but before you can pull out any money, kuroo swiftly waves his hand, stopping you in your tracks.

“no, i’ll treat you. don’t worry about it,” he says with a dismissive wave, already standing up from his seat. it’s a small gesture, but one that feels surprisingly natural. as he moves to head to the counter, he turns back to you with a questioning look. “what flavor do you want?”

“strawberry, please,” you reply. kuroo’s lips twitch into a smirk as he tilts his head slightly, raising an eyebrow.

“so you’re a strawberry girl, huh?” he teases, the playful tone in his voice bringing out a light chuckle from you.

you roll your eyes, a smirk of your own forming. “yeah, whatever you call it,” you reply, leaning into the familiar banter. he just grins, clearly amused, and turns to head to the counter to place your order.

a few minutes later, kuroo returns, holding two cups of ice cream. he hands you your strawberry cup with a casual smile, and you take it with a quiet “thanks,” digging in almost immediately. the sweet, familiar taste of strawberry fills your mouth, and you savor it as a comforting reminder of simpler times.

kuroo takes a bite of his own ice cream, leaning his elbow on the table and resting his chin in his hand as he looks at you, his expression curious. “yn. really. what’s gotten into you?”

“nothing,” you reply, shrugging as you take another spoonful of ice cream. “aren’t you thankful i’m being good now?” you add with a playful smirk, trying to steer the conversation away from anything too serious.

kuroo chuckles, shaking his head in mild disbelief. “i very much am, but… it’s unusual,” he says, his tone light but probing. “you even let me choose the design for my own banner after you rejected it a million times.”

“i’m telling you, it’s better than tooru’s,” he continues, his eyes gleaming with a bit of playful mischief. you roll your eyes at his persistence, but there’s a small smile playing on your lips.

“you… deserve it, i guess,” you murmur, swirling your spoon around in your cup as you feel the weight of the words sink in. “since you actually came along with me. so. consider it a thank you,” you add with a casual shrug, trying to keep the mood light. you take another bite of ice cream, hoping the action will keep you grounded in the moment.

when you look up, you notice a surprised expression on kuroo’s face. his reaction catches you off guard, and he takes a moment before responding, his voice filled with genuine curiosity. “did i hear that right?”

“why are you so surprised?” you ask, raising an eyebrow at his reaction. “you’re acting as if i said something groundbreaking. i just let you choose what design you liked, kuroo.” your tone is matter-of-fact, but there’s a hint of defensiveness.

“yeah. but…” he pauses, a small, knowing grin forming on his lips. “you realize you chose to flatter me instead of putting tooru first this time, right?” his tone is teasing, but there’s a hint of sincerity that you can’t quite ignore.

your brows knit together in confusion, and you shake your head. “what are you talking about? i did not!” you protest, a bit more forcefully than you intended.

“that has nothing to do with this. tooru’s different, of course. but you’re also a friend. i didn’t choose you over him or anything,” you explain, your voice firm as you try to clarify your intentions. kuroo’s eyes widen slightly, as if he’s caught something significant in your words.

“you think of me as a friend?” he echoes, his voice soft with a hint of surprise. he dramatically covers his mouth with his hands, his eyes widening in mock shock. “oh my god.”

you roll your eyes, a smirk playing on your lips as you give him a light kick under the table. “shut up! what do you call this then?” you retort, your tone playful, trying to bring the conversation back to a more comfortable place.

kuroo laughs heartily, the sound easing the tension that had built up. he leans over the table, resting his arms on it as he gives you a sincere smile.

“yeah,” he says, his voice softening as he looks at you. “i guess we are.”

notes

the wheels are TURNING !! thank you samu

man as the writer of this smau i felt so bad for making kuroo such a yn simp when she's so >:( at him alll the time kasdashda but it's all for the plot i swear

anyway it's still progress !!!

taglist: @lvtilzs @rarararararq @iamfontenlos @kurooswifeyy @secretsunsetsociety @kagsnumnine @yumiecheesecrackers @tojirin @jaynawayna @noxva08 @zahrawr-writes-fanfics @urslytherin @mawenskiblue @smellysluna @cccccccccccleo

[mediocreanomaly]

May we have Vashwood x reader part 3 please?

Authors Note: my poor anon you've been sitting in the box but I shall release you.

Sorry guys! I was super busy and then I put a bunch of work into a DnD Campaign so my creative brain was fried a bit then I got sick and then my hands got messed up from saving my cat from a dog attack and- I'm rambling! Sorry for the long wait is what I mean! Enjoy!

Other Parts Here: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 3 (Alt. End)

Vashwood x Reader Soulmate Au Pt.3

No. No absolutely not is your first thought, your second thought being I'm going to kick these idiots ass.

"Are you listening doll face?" The man, who's name is presumably "Nick" says.

It's quiet besides the blood rushing in your ears. Everyone in town is probably asleep or close to it by now and these two just keep watching you like you're supposed to know how to react to this, like this is remotely a normal situation to be in.

"Did we break them? I told you it was too much! You never listen to me" the spikey one pouts. They seem comfortable with each other, you wonder how long they've been together. You suppose it makes sense that if they had found each other first they wouldn't have thought to look for you, having multiple soulmates was rare and considering you did everything in your power to stay out of trouble it tracked that a third soulmate would be nearly undetectable, maybe you should have gotten hurt more often...no that was stupid these two had certainly caused enough pain for the three of you.

"We didn't break them just give them a second they're thinking, Jesus spikey are you the reason they say blondes are dumb?"

"Hey!"

The two men bicker and you notice that they're different in a lot of ways right off the bat. Blonde and black hair, blue and brown eyes, light and tan skin, it almost makes you wonder how you're supposed to play in here. How in the grand scheme of things the universe chose you to stand next to these, frankly, very bizarre (and handsome) men. You need to say something, you need to voice your concerns your hopes your worries-

"I hate you" It's all you can really think to say. In a way it's true and in more ways it's not. Be that as it may with all the emotions flooding through you right now on top of the fact that they've revealed themselves in the most unorthodox way possible it's making it hard to express what you actually feel clearly. Something along the lines of "you two made my life a living hell for such a long time I wanted to kill you but I've matured since then but that doesn't take away the childhood that got stripped from me but I also understand it's most likely not your fault and the fact that there's two of you makes more sense but also gives me 100 more questions-" would probably be more accurate. but "I hate you" is what ends up coming out your mouth.

"You...what?" you flinch. You weren't exactly ready for that to be asked in the most heart shattering tone in the world and when you glance up to see the blonde wears an expression akin to that of a kicked puppy you feel regret creep through your veins.

"Vash they don't mean that, I said mean shit too when we found out" Nick huffs. Ah so the kicked puppy's name is Vash good to know- ah...hang on a moment..

"Vash?" you repeat, "Vash like....like Vash the Stampede?" you say dumbly, but there was no way the man you had nearly made cry from one sentence was the Vash the Stampede that was plastered on every god forsaken wanted poster across Gunsmoke

This catches his attention, the wounded look turning into something more wide eyed like a man who's forgotten to turn off the oven at home.

"We never even introduced ourselves!" he says in alarm, brushing himself off as if it'll cause a redo of the entire situation.

"Needle noggin-" "shh"

Vash scolds the other man whos already patting his breast pocket for another smoke clearly annoyed with how this whole thing is playing out.

"Vash the Stampede and-" Vash nudges Nick who reluctantly adds

"Nicholas D. Wolfwood"

"-at your service! We've been traveling far and wide-"

"Because Spikey always get's chased out-" this earns Nick an elbow in the side which you also wince at when you feel it dig into your own ribs. Vash quickly gives you an apologetic smile but continues.

"-in hopes of finding you! y/n, we're your soulmates!" He finishes with a half hearted wiggle of his fingers and and look that reads "tada?"

You blink dully at them. Yeah that added up. This would be your life wouldn't it? First you are tormented by pain your whole life and now you find out it was because your soulmates were the man with a 1,000,000,000 double dollar bounty on his head and...actually you have no idea who this Nicholas guy is. Considering the cross...Jesus reincarnate? Unlikely but at this point you'd believe anything.

"nuh-uh" it...comes out your mouth before you can stop it.

"nuh-uh? What the fuck do you mean nuh-uh?" Wolfwood gapes pulling his glasses up, yeah...not your best moment.

"I mean, no thank you. Look, I'm sure you're great people- or maybe you aren't I don't know I heard a rumor Vash the Stampede eats babies-" "What?!?! I don't-"

"Besides the point!" you interrupt "Look I didn't ever plan on meeting you, hell I'm not sure I even want to know you. So...I think it'd just be easier if the two of you just..." your sentence dies in your throat the longer they look at you hoping they catch your drift.

"Because we hurt you?" Nick steps a bit closer and you tell yourself it's the soulmate connection currently frying your brain and not the fact this well toned man has his whole chest out right now.

"N-No, well maybe? It's complicated" you had never planned on meeting your soulmate- or soulmates but in hindsight a bit of practice of what you were going to say might have been smart.

"We don't have to leave yet, we can stay- just so you get used to us! We aren't that bad...promise" Vash offers and damn those critically effective puppy dog eyes he uses as he moves to get a bit closer too.

"It's not that I think you're bad, it's just...I mean I hardly know you" you try, you already know it won't work. Despite not knowing them you can tell they seem the hard headed type.

"We're soulmates" Nick counters lazily as if you're the one being irrational.

"I- I don't know, I'm cleaning up here and-" "we can help!" the eager blond insist, with another step closer.

"you really don't have to-" "it's the least we can do, we owe ya don't we?" Nick muses, again another step.

"Well I wouldn't say that, I'm sure it wasn't your fault-" "Maybe, maybe not but we've been looking for you for a long time" You notice Vash has a beauty mark right under his eye there's a weird urge to reach out and trace it.

"Looking for me?" you ask

"Mhmm, since we caused you a lifetime of distress I'm sure, blessed are the merciful and all that, it's your turn to receive a little mercy" ignoring the awful half bible quote Nick's smell is invading your nose, like smoke, cedarwood and-

You aren't 100% sure how it happens, all you know is you're sandwiched between the two men. It was a trap for sure, moving in ever so carfully like they were herding a scared animal. This should alarm you, two men you've just meet keeping you in place, but for some reason a warmth spreads across you. It's like seeing an old friend or coming home for holidays, a certain sort of familiarity and safeness despite not knowing much about the two at all.

"You can feel it can't you?" Vash coos down at you, using his flesh hand to tilt your head up to meet his face, stark blue eyes deeper than the ocean gaze down at you and god when did he take those glasses off?

"It was weird the first time we met too, but it feels good though right?" Nicks voice makes you shiver as his mouth ghost over your ear, hands coming to settle at your hips.

"It feels.." your eyes flutter "Like home" the three of you say in sync, Vash and Nick chuckle as if this was a predictable response but something tells you they must've said the same cheesy line when they first met.

"We don't want to hurt you anymore" Vash's other hand rubs soft circles against your ribs and you feel the sudden urge to melt into the two of them.

"We've been thinking...that we should balance it out." Vash hums as Nick works on nipping at your ear

"Balance it out?" You almost don't recognize your own voice with how breathy it ends up coming out. They really shouldn't be having this effect on you, you should be yelling, or scolding them- no you'd definitely scold them later that was still on the table but...right now seemed like a bad time.

"yeah sweetheart, pleasure for pain right?" Nick chuckles in your ear, deep and gravely whether it's from lust or the cigarette he just put out you aren't sure.

"So?" he continues, "What do you say?" you feel Vash kiss at the corner of your mouth and Nicks hot breath against your neck

"Let us show you how good we can make you feel instead?"

[canirove]

My neighbour Rúben | Chapter 17

Author's note: Sorry about this chapter being extremely short. I tried to think of something to add, but my brain is fried this week 😅 We only have four chapters left after this one, and I promise you they are way better and that important things are happening!

Previous chapter | Next chapter

Masterlist

"That was a nice car, wasn't it?" grandma said when I arrived at her house.

"It's just a car" I shrugged.

"Is it his? Did he drive you all the way from Manchester?"

"Who?" I said, playing dumb but already feeling my face burning.

"Your neighbour. The one you definitely don't fancy."

"Who do you not fancy?" grandad asked, showing up out of nowhere.

"Her neighbour."

"Rodri?"

"I already told you it's not him, grandad."��

"But you said his name starts with an R and he is the only one."

"And she also said that he wasn't a player. But that car was very football player like. So big and expensive..."

"You are not going to let it go, are you?" I said, letting out a big sigh.

"We are noisy, sweetheart. What can I say" grandad shrugged.

"Well, if you want me to ask him to get us some tickets for the City-Arsenal game, you better behave yourself."

"Wait, wait, wait" grandad said. "Seriously?"

"Yep. Next to Arsenal's bench if you want."

"I won't say another word, then" he said.

"Does that mean that you will finally invite us to visit you?" grandma asked.

"Only if you behave."

"We will. Won't we, love?" grandad said.

"We will" she smiled.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"It'll be ok, sweetie" grandma said, giving my hand a little squeeze.

We were back at my parent's house. My old house.

My mother was throwing a party to celebrate her 50th birthday, and she had somehow convinced my dad to let me come. Apparently, he had relaxed a bit since I had gotten a job even if it was as a nanny. But with him, you never know. 

"Oh, you came!" my mother said when she saw me, giving me a hug.

"I promised I would, didn't I?"

"Thank you" she said, whipping away a tear. "You look so good. You are like glowing, which means that you must be happy."

"I am, yes. Happy birthday" I said, giving her my present.

"Oh, you didn't have to get me anything! Can I open it now?"

"It's your birthday. You can do whatever you want" I smiled.

"Oh, darling! It is beautiful!" my mum said.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it! Since when do you have good taste picking gifts?" she laughed.

"I had a bit of help" I confessed. 

"Well, then tell you helper thank you from me" she said, hugging me again.

"I will."

"There you... Are" my father said from behind my mum.

"Hello dad."

"Hi" he said. 

"Look at her. Doesn't she look good?" my mum says.

He just nodded, his eyes fixed on the floor.

"Let's go sit and catch up for a bit before the other guests arrive" she said, grabbing my arm with one hand and my dad's with the other.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"So you got yourself a job, uh?" my father said. The party had been going for a few hours, and that was the first time he had talked to me directly, probably encouraged by the couple of drinks he had had.

"Yep."

"A nanny for a posh divorced woman."

"She isn't posh. She comes from a family like ours."

"But she still is divorced, isn't she?"

"She is, yes. Is that a problem?"

"No, not all" he said, taking another sip from his drink. "And you teach piano to her daughter."

"I do."

"Is she good?"

"She isn't bad, gets everything pretty fast. But she's more interested in football these days."

"Football" he snorted. "That will take her nowhere." 

"But at least she is doing what she likes, not what others like."

"I'm sorry" my dad muttered after a couple of minutes of awkward silence. 

"What?"

"I'm sorry" he said again. "For what I did to you. I shouldn't have been so... You know."

"You shouldn't have, no."

"Do you think... That maybe one day... We'll be able to... Have a normal relationship?" he asked, nervously playing with his glass.

"You already said sorry, which is the most difficult part. So maybe."

"Good... Good" he said, going back to the party. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"He said sorry?" 

"Yep."

"It's a beginning" Rúben said. While I was with my family he had stayed in London meeting with some friends, and now he was also driving me back together to Manchester. 

"Yeah" I sighed. "But I don't think he'll like you."

"Why not?" Rúben chuckled.

"He thinks football players are dumb, earn way too much money, and that it is a pointless career choice."

"He isn't wrong about the money. But I'll prove him wrong about everything else" he said with that smirk of his.

[oonajaeadira]

Hi Adira!

Last week and next week I am living the life of a paid musician (pit then orchestra) and I am fried. Seeing as how you’re familiar with the professional performer life, I was wondering if you have any advice on how to make it mentally and physically sustainable?

I am hoping that more of these opportunities will come my way and I want to be able to do it without spending a week in bed afterwards…

Ooof. I've been there. I mean, you gotta do the basics--sleep, good food, water. I also rely on copious amounts of coffee.

But the thing that usually gets me through a prolonged show-mode slam is plan ahead and then literally taking it one. day. at. a. time.

Don't look down those calendar days and wish for Friday. It's only going to make you burn out on Tuesday. Literally living in the moment saves my ass every time. Assess what you need from moment to moment. Are you hungry? Need a snack? Just sit and rest? Got a couple of hours but just exhausted? Don't worry about the "other stuff." That will be waiting for you at the end of the week. Just do what you need to that day to feel rested in your mind and body. Even if it's just zoning out to tv; don't feel guilty about that. It's just for this moment. There will be productive moments later. This one is for Narcos.

This is not to say you shouldn't plan ahead. Get your laundry done before the big week. Make big batches of good food you can eat on the go or take very minimal time to prepare for a meal so you don't stress about food prep or fall into the trap of fast food which will zap your energy and time and moneys.

One of my biggest events of the year is a two-week period where I'm literally at the office at 10am, participating in the evening events from 5-11pm, and then co-hosting an after-event until around 1am. When you factor in drive time and showers, that leaves me just enough time to sleep. Sometimes.

So I make sure to do my laundry right before. I'll even maybe organize my closet in a way where I can just pull out clothes without thinking too hard. Take an assessment of your groceries/toiletries and make sure you have what you need, because nothing will frazzle you more than not having it and/or having to squeeze in time to get to the shops. (If you do have to have something, mail order.) Make a go-bag for the week with anything you might need (including an extra change of clothes if you need it).

And if there's anything you can put off until after the big event, PUT IT OFF. Just mentally prepare yourself for big focus on the performing for that short burst of time.

When my big event is coming up, this is an example of what I do for food:

Bag of nuts and/or trail mix to keep in my bag.

Bag of carrot sticks I can keep in the fridge at work and a jar of peanut butter at my desk specifically for them. Fk spooning that shit out, dip your sticks in it.

I will boil up an entire family-sized package of Buttoni tortellini, dump in a whole container of the brand's pesto sauce, one whole chopped bell pepper, three whole packages of sprinkle tomatoes (or one package of halved cherry tomatoes), a whole package of peas (steamfresh microwave packet), and half a chopped red onion. MIX. That will give you a pasta salad for at least a week that you can eat cold right out of the fridge or warm up real quick and has a ton of veggies. And if you need protein, you can fix your meats separately and just add them in when you fix up a bowl. The key is to pack it full of tasty veggies you like that will balance the oils/fats of the pesto and turbo charge the carbs for lots of energy. (Pro tip: get a pair of really good kitchen scissors if you're like me and bad at chopping veggies or have terrible knife skills or terrible knives. So much quicker to cut.)

Starbucks via packets are a life saver if you have access to hot water and don't have time to make/grab coffee.

Laugh when you can. Step outside and focus on one thing--one flower, the way the sun hits a stop sign. Let your brain be simple for a little bit every day--I call this "letting it hang to get the wrinkles out". When you've been stationary too long, stretch. And when you feel stressed, close your eyes and imagine Pedro gently placing a finger on any spot that is tense until you let it go.

[tooti-fruiti]

WALTEN FILES THEORY

Some people are trying to decide who or what "Bon" is.

I personally believe "Bon" is a demon.

Demons can't give away their real names because that would give power to the person (or people) who knows their name.

So this demon goes by the name "Bon". (Which would explain the quotation marks)

"Bon" also does some really fucked up things in the name of "beauty".

As he says "you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs."

Now some people think "Bon" is Jack Walten's ghost. Which can't be the case, because as of right now, Jack is still alive.

(I know this because of the little scavenger hunt Martin Walls made called Find Jack Walten. And in that scavenger hunt it says something along the lines of "Jack is not dead. He is still alive. Find him.")

And I saw a theory that said "Bon" is the embodiment of Jack's anger and sadness. Which is an interesting theory, but doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

"Bon" isn't an embodiment of rage. If he was, he wouldn't be taking the time to try to comfort Susan into her new life as Banny.

I also think that if he were an embodiment of rage and sadness, he wouldn't be talking about making the people he's killed beautiful."

For the longest time, I thought Bon was Felix. I thought that Felix drove himself crazy because he accidentally killed Edd and Molly, ended up killing himself, possessing Bon, and killing everyone who knows or is affiliated with what he did.

Which would explain the scene in Walten Files 3 where Bon is kind of shaking while flashes of Edd and Molly surround him.

But now that we know Bon is possessed by someone who calls himself "Bon", it makes everything more complicated.

I'm happy we know who's possessing Bon now because we've been wondering that for years.

But that does make the aforementioned scene a little confusing.

Unless this demon is somehow affiliated with the Walten Family, I don't understand why Bon would shake around like that and then hide in his hands at the death of Edd and Molly.

Maybe the original plan was for Felix to be Bon when Walten Files 3 released.

But then as years passed, maybe the story changed just a little bit because that can happen.

And Martin Walls decided to go in a new direction with Bon and who's possessing him.

But then again, maybe not. Because we can see "Bon" possessing Bon in the first episode.

The eyes we see in Bon in The Walten Files 1 are "Bon". (It's also worth mentioning that I don't think "Bon" likes light)

(Another small thing I wanted to add is that in the Walten Files 3, during Susan's death, we see Bon with his hand right in her face. Which is a really cool detail because in the next episode, we see Bon reach for Susan's face to mutilate it [or it could be when Bon goes to snap Susan's neck because we see a similar frame there as well])

(Another thing that has nothing to do with this. The song that plays when Ashley is killed is called "Ashley's happy hour" which implies that it took an entire hour to dismember her and stuff her into Billy. However, in a discord server that Martin Walls made, he said that he thinks during Ashley's death, when she saw Bon, she passed out and woke up 30 minutes later to being torn apart. So she didn't suffer the whole hour which sounds better than being tortured for an hour)

(One more thing, when Sophia plays Spot the difference, there's one picture of Billy plays with a car. In the second picture, there's two red figurines and Billy is holding a black one. Which makes me believe that Felix is the shadow man)

Also I think "Bon" knows who he wants to put each person inside. Susan for example has a long face kind of like Banny. Charles kind of looks like Boozoo. Rosemary has hair like Sha. And Ashley kind of had hair like Billy.

I don't know, I just woke up and my brain is fried.

I'll make another post in a few minutes showing all the secrets I find in each episode

Please let me know what you guys think in the comments

[mad-maximoff]

𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝟑

Chapter Sum: Addy really wants to look good for university. She decided to go tanning. Lizzie wanted her to cool down and relax with her next door.

Warnings: Language (like usual lol), of age/underage drinking (depending on where you're from), fingering, making out, consent (we love a consensual queen <3)

Word Count: 3,625

Red Love Masterlist

"Kiss me hard before you go...summertime sadness. I just wanted you to know, that baby you the best."

"I got my red dress on tonight..." I laid down on my towel on the grass under the hot August sun. My plan is to tan. I wanted to look hot for university. Like every girl does obviously. I want to look mature. I didn't want to look like some kid that shouldn't be there. However, no one from my high school got accepted into NYU so I get a fresh start.

I was shielding the sun's rays with the book I'm currently reading, 'My Year Of Rest & Relaxation'. My sunglasses weren't doing justice. The tan oil I was using smelt god-awful. It made my skin tingle with every lather I applied. I think perhaps I'm allergic. Time will tell I guess. I sported the new bathing suit I got in the city. It looked like the infamous pink Dior bikini but who could afford that on a university student's cash? I think I bought it wrong, however. The top was too small for my boobs and the bottoms were too big. I wasn't thinking about it much, I was trying to keep my mind on my tan and my book. However, that wasn't what I was thinking about. I was trying to piece together what happened the other day. Did Elizabeth touch me? Maybe I was hallucinating? It was my first high after all. I remember Lizzie hit Hallie for some reason then grabbed me and dragged me home. Everything else was a damn-near blur. I saw her in double vision the entire time. My head felt as though my brain was unhooked and just swam freely around my skull. It was a floating sensation. 

There was a little breeze throughout the backyard. It cooled my tingly skin. The breeze sent goosebumps all up my thighs making them shift around above my towel. The sensation went away as the wind died down. My phone rang out of nowhere, I wasn't expecting any calls. All I wanted to do today was read and get tan, why am I always being bothered? 

"Hello?" I answered sitting up and putting a place in my book. 

"What's up bitch!!! Whatcha doing?" It was Hallie. She sounds very happy, considering what happened 2 days ago. 

"Nothing much really. Just tanning. What's up with you?" I sat hunched over running my finger along the spine of the book just listening to Hallie's voice. 

"About the same. Just got off work. Had an early shift this morning. Are you doing okay? I forgot to call you after that whole fiasco with your crazy milf. Did your mom notice? What did you two do when you went home? Did it involve a certain cherry popping?" She giggled softly trying to not be loud. You could hear she was getting in her truck.  

"Oh my fucking god Hal, nothing like that happened! I think that it is. Mom wasn't home, and Lizzie did feel bad about hitting you. She told me. She just got overprotective that's all." I shifted my body to lay on my right side, putting all the weight on my arm. 

"Overprotective I can tell, but she came for me like a bull out the pin. I thought she liked me. She went nuts!" Her truck engine started and I heard a lighter flick on. 

"You realize why she went nuts. Your scrawny ass couldn't lift me up. She probably thought I needed help and you were doing nothing. But I know you were trying your best. Plus you're more like a bull than her! Haha! Remember when I had to sneak into the bar to come pick you up and you had a biker dude in a headlock just because he stole your seat?"

"No! That wasn't just that! He touched my ass too remember? And when you came in I had him in a headlock then bashed him over the head with a bottle." She laughed.

"Yeah, with the most expensive bottle in the damn bar might I add!" I snorted shaking my head over my best friend's antics. 

"Hey! It was the stupid bartender's fault for putting a 500-dollar bottle out where people can grab it. It wasn't tequila so I was fine breaking it. Do you want me to come over later? We can binge-watch movies again." 

I switched to put her on speaker. Just waiting for her to hang up. I love Hallie dearly but some days I just want to be alone. I don't need her constantly calling and asking to do things. I love hanging out with her in all but damn, doesn't she want to be alone too? She has a boyfriend, why doesn't she hang out with him? 

"Maybe Hal. I'll see how I feel." I huffed adjusting my glasses. 

"Uh-huh. Okay hun, I gotta let you go. Jamie's calling me." 

"Okay Hal, talk to you later." I hung up a little too quickly but I know Hallie won't take it personally. I hope.

                                          ╔═══ -ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ- ═══╗

I proceeded to try and finish off the chapter I was reading. My mind was being distracted, I kept hearing sloshing noises. I turned behind me seeing no one else in the backyard. I sat up looking in the other direction to the fence, Lizzie's house was on the other side. I saw a little shadow that turned out to be moving. It was Lizzie, or so I hoped. I couldn't see her fully. She never had anyone over. 

"Miss Addy? What on earth are you doing sitting in this August sun? It's 104 degrees out." Lizzie hung over the fence resting her chin on the wood. Her hair was dry and wavy. Her glasses covered most of her face with a brown tint. 

"I'm tanning. I don't think it's working honestly." I stood up meeting Lizzie's gaze. I stepped forward walking to where she was. I tried to straighten my back sucking in my stomach. Lizzie's hand reached out to my bikini strap pulling it away from my skin, letting it go to flick my skin. 

"Hm? I think it worked. You have some colour. You're really warm sweetie. You should come and take a break. I have the pool fixed. Why don't you come and relax with me." Her hand rested on my shoulder. Her hand was coldly damp. It soothed me for a little while. "Oh I don't want to burden you, it's the weekend after all. It's your days off." I really wanted to join her, but I didn't want to cramp her style. "Honey, I'd be delighted if you joined me. I'd love company, especially your company." Her thumb grazed my tan skin leaving my body. "Alright, Lizzie. I'll be happy to join you then." I felt a smile creep along. I was ecstatic, this would be the first time we would hang out. I opened the latch on our fence. My mom got it installed last summer, she and the girls would come over sometimes for drinks so she thought it would be easy access. I've never been in Lizzie's house or her backyard. It was neatly lawned, with stone lining the hot tub-sized pool in the middle with a gazebo covering the pool. My jaw almost dropped seeing what Lizzie was wearing, a burnt orange bikini. She looked immaculate. I've never seen Lizzie in anything like this. I've seen her in shorts and stuff like that but nothing like this. Her olive skin was accented with an orange colour. She was hot. 

"Would you like a drink, Miss Ad?" She flung open the screen door stepping into what looked like her living room. Her glasses came off resting on her head, her eyes looked tired. But her smile made you think otherwise. "I'll drink whatever you are Lizzie." I beamed back twisting a ring on my index finger. "Haha! You can't tell you are underage or anything. Don't say you want whatever I'm having. You'll for sure get ID-ed at the bar. Now, how about we try this again? What would you like?" Her arm leaned into the door. Her hips tilted showing off her soft hips. "Champagne if you have it. If not then a screwdriver." I awkwardly laughed off her comment still twisting the ring on my finger. 

"Champagne it is honey. Now, was that so hard? Go on, go sit in the pool. I'll be there shortly." She left from my sight. Like a good little pup, I darted over to the pool dipping my feet into the pool. It was then that I realized I was tan, the white underbelly of the pool showed my light brown skin. It was cold at first, but it felt nice actually. I sat on the edge of the pool letting the water hit my kneecaps awaiting Lizzie's return. 

"I thought it would be easier for us just to have the bottle." Lizzie returned with a bottle of champagne and two wine glasses. "Is that Dom Perignon?!" I was surprised to see her bring out such a fancy bottle. "For someone that isn't 21, you sure know your champagnes. What? Don't like it?" She joked planting down next to me feeling the soft hairs on her thighs graze mine. "No, no I've never drank it. I've just seen it on tv shows and movies. You shouldn't open a nice bottle just for me." Lizzie nudged me cracking the seal and popping off the cork. "Don't say that! A pretty girl deserves the prettiest bottle. Plus if it's your first time drinking champagne, I'd like it to be something nice and not shit bottles you'll drink in university dorms." She poured the glasses full handing me my glass. Her nails were neatly painted in a milk bath look. Her nails were trimmed short with a little white left over. As for my nails were sloppily painted in black with cracks where I'd chewed off. I'm trying to quit this nasty habit I've done for years. 

I took in a hefty sip almost finishing off the glass. I heard Lizzie's laughter seeing her glass fog up from her breath. "It's not a shot, did you even taste it?" She nudged me again this time she sunk deeper into the pool. "Come on Addy-baby, come in." Her hand landed on my thigh rubbing inwards. I jimmied myself lower feeling a little ashamed that I chugged my glass. "I'm sorry, a force of habit. I go to small parties. They don't serve actual drinks, just shots." Lizzie's hand grasped mine pulling my glass closer to her chest and pouring another glass. "Well then let's teach you how to drink an actual drink." Her glasses fell off her head landing on the bridge of her nose. It startled both of us, but it let out giggles of Lizzie and me. "Cheers Miss Addy, to our lovely blossoming relationship." Our glasses clinked together staring into each other tentatively. "Cheers," I smirked feeling her thighs shift against mine under the water. 

"How are you feeling since the last time I saw you? You were in pretty bad shape." Lizzie's lips pursed on the tip of the glass, sipping slowly. Which made me feel 10 times worse about my first drink. I mimicked her action sipping slowly; she was right. I didn't even taste it. It tasted like what I imagined. Sweet and full of bubbles. Like what gold would taste like. Fancy.

"I was okay, you were right. I just needed some water and crawled into bed." I turned my back placing the wine glass behind my back on the ledge. "See! Told you, take my advice baby. You were a total mess. You're friend didn't do anything but stand and watch." She huffed spinning the liquid in a circular motion. "Hallie was trying her best before you came. I'm heavier than her, she couldn't possibly lift me without help." My hands dipped into the water letting the rest of my body sink into my shoulders. Lizzie's body turned completely pressing a button on the pool, there laid little jets at our feet. It was becoming a very relaxing afternoon after all. "Yeah sure, if she had any weight on her head she would know not to let you hit the ground. You're not heavy Addy, you're very sexy." Lizzie's thigh crossed on mine laying it gently. I felt her, I felt her crotch through her bikini bottoms. Oh god, stop it! Stop thinking about that!  

I blushed again simply brushing her compliment off. "Come now Lizzie, I could lose a few pounds around my stomach. It's sad when I look down and my belly is bigger than my tits. I wish there was a way to transfer my fat to my boobs. Hahaha!" I joked sitting up straight looking down through the water. Lizzie's whole body moved onto mine. Her arm draped around my shoulders as her other hand laid directly on my belly. "Shut up now, I love your cute tummy. You're healthy, and your chest is perfect." Her hand fondled my stomach, her thumb rubbed above my navel where the top of my belly ring was. Her touch was faint under the water. I knew she was touching me, but it didn't feel like it. 

"You're probably the only one who thinks that Lizzie, so thank you for trying to make me feel better." Her body shifted once again now floating in front of me. Her hips were at my kneecaps, I parted my legs allowing her to come closer to me. Her face was half an inch away from mine. She took off her sunglasses throwing them to a ledge. "I'm the only one you should care about Addy." She bit her lip before her lips met mine without warning. It was blissfully maddening. She was rough. I couldn't possibly take control of her. God I wish I could have the courage too but I melted at the feeling of her holding me down. Her mouth was so dominating. She was rough on my lips but, her tongue was soft with every touch of mine. God, she was magical. It was everything I dreamt she would be. There it is again. That familiar touch I once felt while I was high. I knew I wasn't imagining it. She did it again. Her hand that once rested on my stomach climbed its way to my breast again. Squeezing it in its full form. Someone who finally made me feel beautiful, made my body feel beautiful. We took a breath out together, you could make out a tiny sigh Lizzie let out before she reattached her lips to mine. My throat let out a small moan, buzzing through my vocal cords. Lizzie didn't think I notice she slipped her balm under my bikini top grasping my breast bare. Fuck! Fuck! She's touching me! Me!! Oh god, stay cool! I didn't stay cool, however. I almost jumped out of my skin. I leaped back breaking our kiss momentarily. Lizzie had a confused expression plastered across her face. "Hmm? What's the matter? Are you okay?" Her grip around my breast loosened still not leaving its spot. My look must've startled her, I didn't know what I was showing. "I-I'm sorry Lizzie. You just caught me off guard. I didn't know what you were doing." Lizzie gave a tiny pout still biting down on her bottom lip. "Oh I'm sorry honey, would you like me to continue? I should've asked. I got a little out of hand." My brain shut off. It felt as though I was in a dream at this moment. My body reacted in some way I never knew I'd do. My hand pressed against Lizzie's as it was still under my bikini. "P-please. I'd like you to continue." I haven't stuttered in years like I was. I had speech therapy when I was small to better my speech. Sometimes it will slip here and there. "Good. Good girl..." With that, she leaned in. This time, I leaned with her. She tasted sweet, not sweet like the champagne. Tasted like vanilla and mint. Smelt strong like wood and floral. She was everything and more. Her other hand crept around my thigh, that part I felt vividly. Even under the water. It was heightened by 100. 

I felt so bare underneath Elizabeth, her warm complexion looked like she was wearing sunscreen with tiny gold flakes. Her brows were brushed and filled in, with light mascara. Nothing clumped on her like it would happen to me, I'd hide it with false lashes.        

 God, she's beautiful. She was warm and inviting, she made me feel very comfortable around her. 

"You're so beautiful Liz-..." I parted my lips against hers feeling her bottom lip graze mine. Her hand forcefully squished my breast warming my stiff nipple. Moving my nipple ring in circles. It frightened me; I have never had anyone touch me in that way. Yes, I was pierced so someone did touch me, but not in a sexual way. Not in the way Lizzie was. "Shhh..you're even more lovely Addy. You want me to touch you more?" Her body switched positions. Sitting directly on my lap leaving space between our bikini bottoms. I nodded pushing my head back to her lips. Her forehead met mine stopping me. "Use. Your. Words. Yes or no?" Her voice was stern and hot next to my ear. I nodded again breathing in shallowly. "Yes please..." My hands lay on her narrow shoulders caressing her collar bone. Lizzie unstuck her forehead to mine continued to press her lips onto mine dipping her tongue into my mouth again. She invaded my personal space, it wasn't like I didn't mind it. Lizzie can invade my space anytime. She was invading other places too, her hand was still laid on my thigh creeping up onto the flab where the string to my bottoms was. Her hand traced down the lining of my bottoms until she reached the middle below my belly button ring. Her nails dug into the cloth pushing down. 

Oh my god...I've always dreamt of this! God...Fuck!

I felt as though I jumped again, but in reality, my hips just bucked. She giggled unclenching her other hand from my boob pushing on my shoulder. "It's your first time, isn't it? I can tell. Your face is so red..and you're soaked-..fuck Addy..." Her middle finger dove deeper inside awaiting a reaction as she pulled out. My hands left her shoulders clutching her slim waist. She wasn't fat, her body was perfect. She was like the goddesses I'd read about in Greek books, and she was touching me. Just me. No one else around. Her thumb grazed my clit, pushing her middle finger back into my pussy. Lizzie laughed seeing my reaction. I tried to look away from Lizzie's face. Her forehead stuck to mine making my head lift. "Be a good girl Addy. I'll make you cum if you're good for me. Hm? Will you be a good girl for mommy?" I would have came right there. Mommy? Did she really say that? I never thought Lizzie was into that. I couldn't think much of it after her hand increased her speed into me. "Y-y-yes!" The warmth of the hot tub and Lizzie's breath hit me like I was going to suffocate. 

"Yes, what?" Her finger slowly slipped out of my folds too easily. My hips bucked, I was begging at this point. I didn't know what to say, does she want me to say it? I guess so. Maybe? "Yes, mommy..." Her lip curled to one side catching her teeth on her bottom lip. "Good. Good girl." Her fingers dove in deeper than before, I could feel myself clench around her middle finger. 

"Oh god...I'm gonna-oh!" Lizzie's other hand pressed my shoulder against the wall of the hot tub. It stung for a moment but I didn't mind for a second. "I know darling. I know. I feel it too." She pumped in and out of my pussy. I have never touched myself in such a way, I dreamt of her touching me. Just never thought it would escalate this quickly. "Oh, Addy. You look beautiful like this. Melting in the palm of my hand ready to cum. Go on then. Cum for mommy." 

There it was. 

I have came before, but not by another person. It felt a million times better when it was someone else doing it. To tell you the truth, I felt somewhat dirty. Like we've done something wrong. I'm over 18 and so is she. I liked her and I hoped she liked me as well. So why did I feel this way? Her hand left from underneath my bottoms leaving it empty. She was happy. So was I trying to catch my breath. 

"God you look so cute. You want more champagne?" 

"No. I'm...I'm...I think I hear my mom." I caught my breath lifting myself out of the water. Lizzie looked startled. "I didn't hear anything Ad." 

"Yeah, she's in the kitchen. I can see her in the window. I have to go. Um...thanks for the...drinks. See you later." I hopped out onto the cold grass. The grass wasn't cold, I was just in hot water. I felt like I was running, probably because I was. I slammed the fence door running into the back door. 

What the hell was I thinking? How could I? What if my mom saw us? Oh god! No! That was wrong on so many levels. I can't do it again! 

Lizzie was right. I did get some colour.

[cybernecromancer365]

A/O Hospital Headcanon--Part 2

Part 1 here

A.N. A little more to add. Another quick write, not edited.

(Nurse walks in on Alex and Olivia hugging. Alex is sitting on the bed with Olivia practically in her arms)

"Doing good detective?" The nurse picked up the chart at the foot of the bed and jotted down hourly vital readings as Alex and Olivia split. "Yeah, thanks." Olivia answered. Nurse looked to Alex. "I just need a signature on some papers. Are you her next of kin?”

Alex and Olivia's eyes widened. They stayed quiet, until Olivia turned to Alex with a smirk. "What's taking you so long to answer?" Alex glanced to her and stumbled. "W-We're...fri-Coworkers. We're coworkers." The nurse looked between them blankly. "Oh, wow...the whole staff thought you were her spouse." A tight smile stretched across Alex's face. She hung her head and put a hand over her eyes to hide the warmth creeping to her cheeks, and Olivia's hand on her thigh didn't help. Reassuring or not, Olivia's squeeze only made her heart thump faster. "Well then, we'll need to talk to whoever she's going home with." The nurse turned to Olivia whose smile weakened as the moment passed. "Is there anyone you want to request detective?" "I'm good." With a scoff Alex stood, taking the clipboard from the nurse to both women's surprise. "Where do I need to sign—" "Alex it's fine—" "Don't listen to her. She's delusional if she thinks she'll be walking out of here on her own in a few days." Alex kept her eyes on the paper, scanning the legal agreements, then signing where the nurse pointed. The nurse looked to the detective. "She is right." "Of course I am." Alex scribbled her signature.  "Due to her obvious lack of judgment…" Olivia scoffed under her breath and looked away. "…I am acting within the scope of the law by making the decision for her." Alex handed back the clipboard and the nurse looked to the frowning detective with a soft smile.

"See you in an hour detective." Olivia didn't acknowledge the nurse as she left but Alex exited the room and caught up to her. "Excuse me." Alex called, stopping the woman in the hall. "Yes." "Do you know exactly when she'll be released?" "We have her on track for the end of next week. Provided her pain is in a manageable state without the morphine. But her wounds will still need to be re-dressed every 4 hours."  Alex nodded. "Thank you." Alex headed back into the room; Olivia's eyes closed as the detective rested with slow easy breaths. "Hey." She tried to rouse her with a soft tone. If Olivia didn't respond she'd try again tomorrow. The detective’s eyes cracked open and Alex slipped her fingers gingerly under Olivia's good hand, loosely entwining a couple of their fingers. Hopefully Olivia wouldn't remember this in the morning. "So...How would you like to come home with me? Not that you have much of a choice." "Asking a little after the fact, huh?" Olivia closed her eyes and barely smiled. "You didn't have to." "I'd rather get you out of here before this place takes away that wonderful sense of humor you seem to have adopted." "Maybe they shocked me too much when they brought me back, rewired some areas of my brain." Alex had to chuckle. "Or...it's constant drip of morphine." "I would’ve been fine Alex." "You were shot 3 times. You're not fine." Alex looked at the morphine drip. It was only a matter of time before Olivia had to deal with the pain. "Having an extra set of eyes on you is a good thing." Olivia chuckled gently at that. "Piercing blue eyes watching my every move, how comforting. "

"Is that your way of complimenting me?" Olivia gruffed. "Compliment accepted, detective." The room quieted as the look on Olivia’s face turned stern. Olivia didn’t walk around with her nose stuck in the air, but she was a proud person, and one who’d now come to terms with her loss of freedom. "It's not easy to take care of me Alex." "I don't plan on it being easy." Alex paused. "You're stubborn, sometimes grouchy--" "I'm grouchy--" "And I can only imagine you're worse when you're in pain." A tired smile stretched across Olivia face as much as she let it. "I'll see you tomorrow." Alex leaned in, placing a hand on Olivia's shoulder, wanting to kiss Olivia on the head but shutting down those thoughts when she realized what she was thinking. "Get some rest."

[a-lonely-dunedain]

23 with Margim and Celeair?

ok sorry my brain was fried for the last few days BUT i finally was able to Do Something with this one!

this is the "Fun" Celeair Goes to Isengard AU, where Margim has to go undercover in her old Mordor armor to try to rescue him. still not 100% sure where I want to go with this one, but Lothrandir is involved and we might get to see him and Margim being friends at some point maybe if I ever write anything else here.

“Did they hurt you?” My question was redundant, the answer is clear enough just from the sight of him. None of his wounds seemed grievous, but the sight of blood and bruises on him told me he had been beaten cruelly before I found him. There is fury welling up in my heart at the thought.

Celeair does not know how to fight, he is a staunch pacifist and I know he would not so much as raise a hand against anyone –even men and uruks as evil as these– so any injury he received from them would have been nothing but cruelty for cruelty’s sake. This place is much too akin to Mordor.

“A bit… I do not think anything is broken, at least.” I suppose that is technically good news, though it is of little comfort to me. “I did not fight back, so they had little reason to hurt me… though, evidently, they did not need much reason.” he adds quietly, looking down at the bruises on his arm. I quickly glance around to make sure we are still alone. The guards have not returned yet. I produce a small bundle of food that I had managed to smuggle out of the guard house, and quickly pass it through the bars to Celeair.

“I cannot stay long,” I whisper, “it’s too risky to be seen speaking to you. But I will find a way to get you out of here, I swear it.” This is not the first time I have made such an oath to him, but I pray it will be the last. Celeair simply nods at me, no trace of doubt in his eyes. I wish the same could be said of mine.

“I suppose we’re lucky you still held onto that armor, I did not think you would have any further use for it.” he observes, ever the optimist.

“We would be luckier still if I never had a reason to don it again…” I mutter solemnly. Just then I hear heavy footsteps coming from further down in the cells, one of the uruk guards is heading this way. “Someone is coming,” I whisper quickly, reaching into the cell and holding his hand for the briefest moment, “I must leave for now, but I will be back as soon as I can.” I feel a light squeeze on my hand from him before I let go. 

I walk away, swiftly as I can without seeming suspicious, fighting the urge to look back at Celeair. 

As I exit the dungeons, head down and hood drawn, I consider my next move.

I heard some other prisoners escaped only a few days ago. That is both good news and bad news at the same time. Good news, for it proves that escape is possible, and that the eyes of the Wizard do not even see the entirety of his domain. But bad news, as it means whatever gap in the ring’s defenses they exploited has surely been filled by now and I will have to make my own. The task will only be made more difficult by the heightened security following the escape, but I do not have time to wait for it to die down. Or more importantly, Celeair does not have time. 

He will not last long here, and I have no doubt that the wardens intend to work him to death. 

I might need to throw around my weight as ‘Emissary of Mordor’ a little to see if I can get him a lighter workload. It would be a risky move, as I must avoid drawing too much attention to myself or else someone might start asking questions and realize I'm not a real emissary at all, but I need to buy us a little more time. There are few here who would be bold enough to question the authority of a Black-Númenorean –how I detest using that title– but even one person discovering the ruse would spell doom for both of us.

This whole situation is all too familiar in all the worst ways.

[leychin]

Im... your biggest fan!

you're actually their favorite character in a light novel! What kind of merch do they have of you and how do they react when you're isekai'd into their world?

contains: Arataki Itto, Scaramouche, Gorou, Al Haitham, Kaedehara Kazuha

SORRY fem pronouns for kaz one, some profanity in most of them idk what to add warninfs so figure it out ig. Inspired by the Al Haitham plush i bought in a moment of weakness

𝑨𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒊 𝑰𝒕𝒕𝒐

-He's a diehard SIMP.

-he will defend your character with his life, he gets into fights with all of the other kids over you, anyone in his gang who dares to utter anything against you is immediately punished in the worst way possible.

-Bro is wearing hairpins, putting up posters praising you and your greatness

-even painting his horns to your signature colors

-he spends more time in a cell than out, but Granny keeps all of his small merchandise for him, figurines, tshirts that hes too large to fit, you name it.

-at the great sing-along, he'll have a cutout of you right next to the great Ms. Hina

-Hey, this cutout is so lifelike- wait, Y/N?!?!?!

You feel cold sand when you start to wake up, crackling of a fire and the ocean waves for some reason. Your genshin file said unable to open and you assumed the worst, after one more login attempt everything when black, and now you're here.

Itto is the first to run up to you to see if its real, if he hasn't had too much sake and you're standing there in the flesh. The first thing he notices about you is the choker you wear, identical to his, and the hoodie you wear that replicates his own oni markings

You both scream in terror and joy

Itto can't be bothered to worry about all of this though, because right now hes picking you up and bringing you along to the festival with the rest of his gamg and telling you stories about them and end off the night with the tale of the crimson oni.

MORE HERE !

𝑺𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉𝒆

-No one talks to him about you anymore.

-He will DIE on the hill that you did nothing wrong ESPECIALLY if you were a villain or just a bad person

-"They aint mean it tbh" and "They said sorry sooo" like every single eren defender rn

-He projects HARD and he will cut people off if he finds out that someone misinterpreted your character

-Hes a little shy abt buying merch but he knows all of your lore and finds himself info-dumping if anyone brings you up even if he doesn't want to

-"well ackshually, they said that they wouldn't eat that so youre a fake fan. Wym im wrong it licherally says that on page 67 book 2.5 spinoff did we even read the same book?" -🤓

-"Wow, ive never met a fan who knows as much as I do- oh my archons no fucking way."

Maybe you were a little evil for challenging Scaramouche- or the Wanderer, as you got him, to a test of knowledge about your series but how could you resist? You blew your last paycheck on pulling for him and on the last ten pull you blacked our and woke up in sumeru. So in a way it worked?

Scaramouche's brain is fried and the person he's been defending since the day he finished book one is standing right in front of him!

Did someone just breathe near you?? "FILTHY VERMI-"

You don't even stop him, you paid good money for this so a little destruction never hurt anyone.

Except it did because as Scaramouche tried to take you around the city so you could see it with your own eyes, people kept bumping into you with t being a crowded street and all so he punched all of them.

Nahida scolded him about the fragility of human life after that.

𝑮𝒐𝒓𝒐𝒖

-this poor boy.

-he is SO SHY abt enjoying your series to the degree he does

-he is a GENERAL! how would his soldiers react to him having such a... childish hobby? Its bad enough hes hiding his secret column at rhw Yae Publishing House from them, but this is a different level of shame.

-Like genuinely only reads it at night when hes the last one on patrol, goes to a secret spot on watatsumi where he has a secret someone Kokomi drop the latest volume off for him when he's too busy to get it himself (such a kind and generous soul!)

-But on his rare off-days, he can be seen at the Yae Publishing House himself makingg skittish conversation with Yae Miko while he waits for the nice lady at the counter to give him his nice and fresh copy of your series

-So when he sees the Guji Yae speaking to someone he's never even seen around the publishing house before, his ears twitch and his interest is peaked.

"...So you don't know how you've gotten here, or how to get back. Rather peculiar isn't it?" He hears the kitsune whisper in an intrigued tone, which is never good.

He heard her say that the person she was speaking to is lost, maybe he could be of some assistance! Anything is better than having to be in the presence of that... witch!

Gorou will muster all of his courage to approach this conversation with formality without tucking his tail between his legs and retreating, so he taps your shoulder and says "I couldn't help but overhearing you were lost? I'm General Go-"

You've cut him off before he can even finish "Gorou! No way! God- Oh, you all say Archons, sorry! Im Y/n-"

and Gorou freezes because Archons you're gorgeous and he can feel his tail wagging and he doesn't even care because he imagined you pretty but never this pretty.

Miko, who saw this event unfold and had a hand in making it happen smiled in an almost knowing way, gently pushed you towards the general who was practically drooling "Im sure General Gorou doesn't mind giving you a tour and somewhere to stay for your time here. Now run along, youre going to run customers away if you keep standing here."

𝑨𝒍 𝑯𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒎

-you could not WATERBOARD it out of him.

-threaten his career, his comfortable living style, force feed him canned knowledge and he still will not budge.

-Its not even that hes ashamed of it, he gives no fucks abt what people think of him and his interests.

-its that youre from a rather popular series across sumeru, and if people knew he liked it then they would try and talk to him about it.

-So its his little secret, the only person who knows is Kaveh and that's because he walked into the scribe's room without knocking once and got a good view of the little plushie he keeps of you on his otherwise empty bed.

-Now if Kaveh tells a soul he's threatened with homelessness.

-Kaveh doesn't care one way or the other, personally he sees your series as another fad that will die out and mindless dribble (he read 2 pages)

-but does he get kicked out if the person he tells about Haitham's little secret is... well... you?

Al Haitham is slow to enter his shared home with Kaveh, keys feeling heavy in his hands as he recalls the dozens of voices and mindless conversation he was forced to sit through today.

All he wanted was to sit down in his living room and curl up with a book, but of course his insufferable roomate picks today of all days to have a guest over.

Al Haitham settles to just turn in early to his room but he picks up on a bit of Kaveh's conversation

"-and the plushie! How could i forget that 'The Feeble Scholar Al Haitham' has the cutest little plushie on his bed in pristine condition! Why, you would think-"

"Think what exactly, Kaveh?"

Alhaitham decides to make himself known, because if there is one think Kaveh will do its run his mouth until the end of time.

He's about to tell him to pack his bags, but he looks to the person he was speaking to in the first place. It feels unreal but after meeting the traveler, maybe other people really can come from other worlds.

That is somehow the only logical explanation to how you're sitting on his couch, sipping a coffee that Kaveh seems to have provided you with a plushie sitting next to you that looks like him.

"You should be thanking me, you know. I found them on the street asking people if they know who that-" he gestures to your own plushie of him "-was. Thankfully, as i am ever generous and kind i extended an offer to our home. If it were you then im sure you would've walked right past them!"

Al Haitham's head is still spinning, and he feels like hes going to pass out; from todays prior events and right now "I'll deal with this later. Prepare the spare room for them. After the day i had you don't want me to deal with this now."

You perk up at that "Youre tense right? I read something about how you're easily stressed when you have to be around more people than you find necessary, if you don't mind i could give you a massage?"

Kaveh gags but after looking at Al Haithams face growing redder by the second, he laughs.

...then immediately gags again and turns to leave as he sees Al Haitham situating himself next to you.

𝑲𝒂𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝑲𝒂𝒛𝒖𝒉𝒂

-Youre a seamans tale that sailors tell their children when theyre scared of storms

-"And she tells the Almighty Shogun that she will not have anymore of her nonsense! Which is all the thunder because shes fighting the electro archon and making all the lightning go away."

-Kazuha also tells the kids aboard the ship the story of the one brave enough to challenge the electro archon herself.

-perhaps he fell in love with you because you are what he wished he could be

-the children also catch him describing you in the most dreamy way and giggle because the samurai is in love with the mighty sky warrior

-There's a strange smell in the air, what's that sound? Thunder? no... wait what-

During a particularly bad storm, that has everyone on the Alcor bracing for wave after wave, Kazuha doesn't leave his crows nest, hoping for even the slightest hint of land to steer everyone towards.

But instead of smelling land, he smelled something completely new, almost out of this world. He looks below him for anything, but theres a new sound coming from above him that no one else seems to hear, perhaps because of the storm?

When the sound gradually got closer, he realized that was the sound of someone yelling, and approaching at a rapid rate- oh my archons a girl is falling out of the sky-!

Kazuha doesn't think, and he leaps out of his crows nest to catch you and slow down the fall with anemo. When he lands, hes holding you close to his chest and youre so disoriented you dont even realize you can get down "Oh! Im not dead! Where is the shogun i swear i just beat that fight in the plane of- where the hell am i why am i wet?? why is kazuha holding me?"

"You know my name?"

"Of course i do! You didn't come home and i lost 50/50 to keqing AGAIN- wait where am i-"

"You said you were fighting the shogun?"

"...Yes? I needed to get the primogems to pull for your rerun so i was completing story quests."

"I don't know what you're saying, but if you're really who i think you are, then i will brave this storm so you may grace my ears with your story. If you would allow me, i would also like to be part of yours."

"did kazuha himself just give me some of that poetic rizz?"

"I haven't known you for very long y/n, but you say some of the silliest things."

[snakegorl212006]

Mystery shop

I really do my best to adapt to this change in living which includes taking care of the property and the wild animals that just happen to want a snack. I also understand why I have to live this way. It’s explainable. But the doors opening and closing constantly in Heartslabyul, running noises in Scarabia, music playing in Pomefiore, the increase of shadowy figures in Diasomnia, items getting rearrange or missing in Savanaclaw, the locked door in Octavinelle keeps rattling everytime i walk pass, even that dang life size doll keeps moving around in Ignihyde. Other than grim who’s been promoted to somewhat of a house cat, I live alone. Completely alone. I sighed into my desk chair as I relaxed my fried brain. I would call Crowley but he probably would think I’m going insane and that it might be the isolation of this place. Maybe I just need to leave and go out somewhere. There is a town away from the manor. It’s around a 30-40 minute walk which isn't too bad as long as I don't go into a shopping spree. After getting dressed in some comfortable wear, I began my walk down to the town and made sure I locked the gate behind me. It was a peaceful walk. There were a lot of people in the main street, almost looking like a large shopping district. I began walking around enjoying the stores until I spotted one that caught my interest. Sam’s Mystery shop. It was a cool yet creepy looking shop that seemed out of place due to the other brightly colored shops. But many people are going in and out of it so I assume it’s probably for aesthetics. I entered the shop to be greeted by weird trophies and collectables and had relatively normal items like milk and eggs. “Welcome Little Imp, what may you be looking for today” A male voice spoke from the side of me. There was a male with dark skin with black twist with a few purple in his hair. He has an apron with some bones and a hand in it which looks cool “oh I’m just browsing” I replied “let me know if you need assistance little imp” he said. I nodded and began looking around more. While looking around, I spotted a crystal basket. There are tiny crystals of a multitude of colors and sizes. “You know, they say that these magic crystals ward off ghost” a voice spoke next to me. It was the shop worker “ghost?” i replied and he nods “where are my manners? I'm sam. You must be the new Imp that moved to that cures property” Sam introduced “Nice to meet you” I replied “the pleasure is mine. I have to meet the brave soul who bought that land” Sam replied “anyway, the main house is made from these crystals which were embedded in the structure to prevent evil from seeping through” Sam informed “why would anyone put these in the house” I asked “well i amit, that old bird should’ve done that a long time ago. It would save us a lot of newspapers..… but surely you know of the unexplained activity” Sam stated and I just nod “give me one second. Let me give you something” Sam said as he left for the back. After a little while he came back with a journal and a necklace “here take these, on the house” He said “whats the journal for” i asked “You’re going to write down each and every ghost on that property and report back to me. You make sure you wear that necklace everytime you leave the main house or they’ll start to make permanent attachments.” sam suggest “oh and i recommend you wear it outside the property too” sam adds and I put the necklace on “why is that” I asked and he ushered me to come close and her whispered “the only reason why I knew you lived in that place is because there was someone following you the whole time.that someone has been dead for a long time but now he’s standing and watching you from afar”

[theflikchic]

English Major Rereads Harry Potter to See If It's "Actually Bad and I Just Have Nostalgia" As The Internet Says Pt 1: Chamber and Filch You Good?

What is going on with the frog brains.

Okay before I explode into thoughts: we GOTTA talk about the humour (I promise it's related). Because it is genuinely well-played. Some of the chapter endings are a little choppy and standard-kids book-like. But when Ron says that a teacher "would have to be really thick" and then the next chapter starts with Lockhart? Freaking hilarious. (Ron's wit is so much more hardcore than I remember. Guy takes NO prisoners and is the ACTUAL smart one, hot take).

But much of the humour is derived from nonsense. Not a bad thing, just how it is. Basically, the narrator will describe the world during jumps in time: what the characters have been up to and the locations the characters are in as well, as what non-main characters have been doing in order to give Hogwarts a more homey feel. Not always necessary but it works. And sometimes it comes back for the plot. Ex. Fred and George blowing up the salamander introduces the firecracker for Harry to use in Potions.

BUT this type of description hits- my goodness- it hits DIFFERENT as an adult because the humour which is literally just "weird description of something, move on" is just whack nonsense and leaves me with so many freaking questions. Like, "ha ha the ghosts are playing Head Hockey". As a kid, you're like "haha the ghosts are playing Head Hocket" and now I'm like "THE GHOSTS ARE PLAYING HEAD HOCKEY?? ELABORATE???" It's funny, it works, but DAMN is it weird.

And right now, I'm hung up on: Why tf is Filch cleaning up frog brains in the dungeon with the fking FLU?

Like, as a child, I just accepted this moment. That Filch is both sick and upset because a bunch of third years splattered frog brains on the dungeon ceiling and that is what is important to the plot. It's just Hogwarts being funny and quirky! The end! But NOW I'm like- like- I have SO SO many questions.

1) What the actual hell were those third years DOING? I'm assuming making potions since it was in the dungeon. So-

2) Why tf is SNAPE not doing anything about it? Man LIVES down there and doesn't he teach Potions to, like, literally EVERYONE? The book describes how there's a bunch of staff and students with colds (to set up how Ginny is looking "peaky" from being possessed, nice little foreshadowing), is he sick too?! But wouldn't he have Pepperup Potion? Why is SNAPE not fixing this?!

3) Was it a prank? Were these dumb kids just "guys being dudes" or something and blew up a bunch of frogs? Again, if so, how tf is Snape not on their cases? They're IN THE DUNGEONS.

4) Okay, new angle. Maybe they AREN'T in class and just studying downstairs. Explains how Nick and Filch knew they were third-years. I still need to know: Where is Snape.

5) So Snape is unavailable (current situation) or just not wanting to clean up (doesn't seem much like him, usually he'd make the students do it or just magic it away) and there's only Filch- who has the fucking FLU?! Where is HIS Pepperup Potion?! What happens if the man HURLS? You gonna make him clean that up too?!

This leads me to the next big question. Aside from how Filch's office apparently smells like fried fucking fish (i'm SORRY?! HOW WHY), I'm really starting to wonder...wtf is going on with Filch at ALL?

Narratively for the second book, he's important. He introduces the concept of squibs (a very complex and...strange thing that I shan't get into here), introduces Harry's really powerful ability to have empathy, adds another antagonistic adult party to the staff, and works as a background character to flesh out the environment. But STILL.

Why is this guy with no magic cleaning up magic nonsense?! Why was he hired at all?? What dirt does Dumbledore have on him? Is it just cuz Dumbledore feels bad for him? Oh, you feel bad, Dumbledore? Where's the man's Pepperup Potion?!

I don't think Filch's past being neglected is really a flaw. I think it works well with his character being this gross, mysterious, pathetic (in both sense of the word) man who is every kid's worst fear without the moral complexity (like Snape). As of right now in Chamber, he's an idea (Joker voice) while still being a character. I don't think that's bad, it is a very standard idea for kids books, especially British ones like Roald Dahl. Filch is effective as an idea.

I just didn't realize I'd be thinking so seriously of him as an adult. And that Harry Potter is...like...kind of absurdist fantasy?! Huh?!

[privarot]

Can you do the Yylfordt and the other fraccions reacting to kissing them the first time please like how you did with the others🙏🏼

a/n: yes!! absolutely!! i love those boys so much im so glad that someone wants content of them ^^ sorry this took a while. my brain has been pretty fried.

arrancars reacting to you kissing them for the first time: part two

listed: yylfordt granz, shawlong koufang, edrad liones and nakeem grindina

Yylfordt Granz

this man exudes cockiness and confidence.

however, after that first initial peck, yyl turns a tad pink and his eyes widen.

he’ll deny it until the end of time in favor of teasing you.

“what was that?”

he thinks watching you obviously fluster due to it is very funny, so therefore, naturally, he is going to make it a million times worse.

he wouldn’t want us to mention how after that first time, once he’s alone of course, he brushes his fingers across his lips, the memory of your own against them ever fresh in his mind.

once he gets the hang of it, he’ll use them to his upmost advantage.

he likes to corner you when he can (whether figuratively or literally), cooing teases and trailing his hands across you. maybe some lip brushes here and there. he waits until your face flushes to actually kiss you; relishing in your flustered sounds and expression.

it’s not his fault that you react so cutely. well, it technically is, isn’t it? and that’s exactly why he loves it so much.

if you lean in for another kiss after he pulls away, be prepared for that mockingly sympathetic voice of his while he picks at you.

"aww. do you want another one that bad?"

he caves very fast, though, so don't worry about having to endure his teases for too long.

Shawlong Koufang

he will not understand until you explain it to him.

like a few of the others, his first thought is that you want to eat him.

it takes him quite a while to warm up to even the idea of kissing, but you'll break through that shell of his eventually.

he may not be teasing or as blatantly affectionate as some of the others, but he will find it endearing that you're so keen on showing him how you feel in a physical manner.

in the back of his mind he thinks it is quite cute but he won't say that aloud.

he's not quite one to ask for a kiss, but you may catch his eyes straying towards your lips from time to time. or maybe he subtly leans closer to your body when the two of you are alone.

when you actually go in for kisses later on, you swear you can see the corners of his lips almost want to twitch into a tiny smile before they go back to that deadpan expression.

in short, shower this man in kisses. he's not too in touch with his emotions but he will appreciate them immensely. he deserves those smooches.

Edrad Liones

i like to think that edrad can be a bit of a romantic when he wants to be. sure, emotions like this aren't really something that hollows are used to feeling, but i think that is part of why he likes it so much.

he enjoys being physically affectionate with you in any way.

he also likes the size difference that the two of you have. he thinks it is very endearing how small you seem next to him. no matter your size, edrad has a large build.

the kiss itself does fluster him a bit.

it's definitely not what he was expecting when you started to lean in close to him all of the sudden.

he's pretty curious about what that means to you, and when you explain it, he's even more touched by your affections. maybe you see his cheeks turn just a tad pink.

unlike shawlong, he will (very politely, might i add) ask for kisses here and there.

he especially likes when you kiss around his hands; taking time to admire them as you go. sometimes he worries that they're too rough for you, hardened by battle and wielding his zanpakuto, but once you assure him that they're perfect, he's sure to hold you with them much more often.

Nakeem Grindina

nakeem is very, very quiet.

very much a man of few words.

however, that kiss renders him more speechless than he had ever been previously.

he stares at you for a few moments, blinking rapidly while he processes the fact that you had just had your lips on his, his cheeks gradually developing a pink tint.

maybe his silence worries you despite him almost always being that way, so you hurry to explain what it all means.

his hand comes up to brush across his lips. his face flushes a bit darker with every passing second. just when you think that maybe this was too much; way too brash of a decision, he speaks up.

"...that was nice."

he's not a vocal asker, clearly, but the both of you will learn the subtle signs he uses to request kisses here and there.

it takes him a while to fully learn how to kiss you back, but rest assured that he will figure it out! he is a very attentive lover.

he isn't much of a fan of pda.

he will absolutely adore all of that attention once you are away from everyone, though!

[lilallama]

Do the cc/npc track the social media of y/n? I'm very curious about how they will react to the idea of them reacting to pictures of their s/o posted online for people to see.

✨ Thoughts while looking at Y/n's Social Media ✨

Newspaper Club

Jennie

"My Y/nie looks so adorable!"

"I bet these people wish they could be even a fourth as gorgeous as my cutie. No surprise there."

"Ugh, I hate that guy. Why's he in a picture with them? Unfair."

"I'm gonna call Y/nie now! I'll have to call in my personal photographer and stylist. Oh~ our pictures are going to be stunning!"

Jisoo

"There's nothing more inspiring than analysing my muse's photos. Finally~"

"All these people get to see their beauty and don't even appreciate it... how infuriating."

"I would love to take pictures for them... but I wouldn't want to post them."

"They are a work of art! Nothing can compare!"

Rosé

"So cute! Oh my god! Is that the plushie I send them?"

"Aww, they're adorable. How can they be so adorable,no matter what they do?"

"Mhm, I don't like these comments... 'so beautiful' 'omg cutie' 'go get it'? Ugh! Don't they know that they're talking about my lover!"

"I want to take pictures together! It'd be so cute! I should ask them-"

Lisa

"Let's check up on Y/n again."

"They're really handsome. I'm almost jealous, ha!"

"Ugh, that fuckboy's at it again. I thought I told him to back off. 'Fuck off Jung!' !"

"It looks like that photo's been taken very late. They should be more careful! Dangerous people are out and about, especially at night.."

Cooking Club

Seokjin

"Of course, my Prince/Princess feels the need to show off such stunning beauty! How can you not!"

"Those comments... 'pretty'.. just pretty?! No, no, no! 'You are the most gorgeous human being on earth- No! In the entire galaxy! Your face rivals my own-' "

"My Prince/Princess makes those idiots next to them look like literal roaches. Ew."

"I should post a picture of us together! But I fear they'll make me look only average in comparison.. oh what a struggle!"

Yoongi

"Oh wow! This is the first time I've had a phone that can download Instagram! Where can I find Y/n now?"

"Wow! They look beautiful... Even the comments agree."

"...I'm not nearly as good looking as they are. I doubt they'd even want someone so average, when half the school adores them."

"I wish I could be what they deserve..."

Hoseok

"Time to show everyone that Y/n is my love, and no one else's."

"Those pathetic idiots really think they're deserving of giving them compliments. Stupid."

"That guy seems a bit too excited about their photo.."

"Ugh, it's that bitch again! Can't she just go back to wherever she came from. Far away from my Y/n!"

Namjoon

"My father always says, 'social media fries your brain'. I understand now.. I can't think of anything else when I see their beautiful face!"

"My heart beats so fast when I see rgem, even if it's through a screen..."

".... [No thoughts. Head empty. Just Y/n.]"

"I'd kill to get to see them right now... I miss them terribly."

Jimin

"Oh! My baby posted!! 'You are SOO GORGEOUS!! I'm so jealous!! ❤❤❤❤' "

"They look tired.. poor baby. You should come and rest with me! I'll keep you warm, and my bed is very comfortable! I promise!"

"Oh! I have the same hoodie (notlikeIboughtittomatchwithY/n-), I should take a picture wearing it! Maybe they'll spread rumours about us~"

"Will they realise that I'm flirting with them... or should I add another ten wink emojis.."

Taehyung

"Usually I'd never use an app such as this.. but I can't help wanting to see my God/Goddess.. how selfish of me.."

"I- I don't know what to say.. They look breathtaking! Y/n is perfect in all aspects! How shamefully jealous it makes me that others get to witness their beauty."

"O-Oh! I- I- how sinful of me! Daring to gaze at my exposed Saviours body! I should be punished for such disrespect.." (He could se your shoulders-)

"What crude barbarians! No respect towards my dearest God/Goddess! How dare they-"

Jeongguk

"Wait, Y/n has Instagram!?"

"...."

"Report, report, report-"

"I'll track those fuckers down! Looking at my Y/n like that!!"

[lord-explosion-baku]

Trident Tale part 2

Mermaid!Shinsou x reader x Kirishima x reader

Warnings: adult themes (minors DNI)

Author’s note: sorry to those of you who have asked me to put on the tag list! I don’t do tag lists! But if you don’t want to lose this story, you can always bookmark it on AO3.

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3

Original image by @maewoahoah

Moving to an island where everyone is big on the surf scene and other oceanic happenings might not have been the brightest idea for someone so afraid of anything that has to do with water, but you make do by spending your days looking after the Bed & Breakfast, trying not to burn the house down when you fry a few eggs, and obsessively scrolling through Eijirou Kirishima’s social media page. He’ll never notice you, and you think you’re fine with that, until a mysterious force washes into Ms. Shuzenji’s pool after a particularly nasty storm.

Hitoshi Shinsou is a pain in the ass from the get-go, but you put up with him, fins and all, when he promises he can help unite you with your soulmate. The catch? The fish is hellbent on taking back what was stolen from him, and he won’t lift a gracious finger until he gets what he came for.

You’re helpless to lend him a hand, so long as you stay dry. Unless, of course, he has other plans.

You know how the saying goes: you rub his fins, he’ll rub yours.

The thing about being hungry is that you can sometimes convince yourself that you’re full. You can sip water, swallow your breath, pop a few mints in—hell, you could even pretend to eat. However, even if you might trick your brain, your stomach will still be empty.

By the time you finally get some real goddamn food in your stomach, it will be aching from being teased.

It feels like this is exactly what Hitoshi Shinsou has done to you. Teased you. He’d mentioned being one of Ryūjin, which you can only assume is something religious or magic. You know he’s a fish, and that he makes people’s skin glow when he touches them, and apparently his lips or his saliva can heal wounds. But he’s not yet given you any real goddamn food.

The jerk has been swimming circles around the pool, commenting on how disgusting it is being stuck with all the trash, and complaining about your poor hospitality, but has not yet told you what the hell he’s doing here.

It’s not like you ever asked for some creature to crash into Ms. Shuzenji’s pool. Maybe some people would be ecstatic over finding an actual merperson, but life isn’t all about singing songs and talking to seagulls. He’s definitely not an Ariel, unless he is in fact looking for a prince. With all his sass, you think he’s much more of an Ursula than a Disney princess. If he is a sea-witch, he refuses to tell you.

It won’t matter much by the time Denki gets here anyways. You had been honest when you said you wouldn’t put it against him to call some news station when he sees Hitoshi. You figure that after some science lab’s helicopters carried your intruder away to run tests on him, the fish-man will be out of your hair and a thing of the past.

Despite the cynicism crawling through your head, the thought actually makes a guilty pit form in the bottom of your stomach. A life is a life, afterall.

“At least tell me why you tried to…to…” Your mouth flattens when you recall Hitoshi leaning into you, his lips a whisper away from yours.

“To?” Hitoshi asks while he observes the wayward bra that blew into the pool with notable repulsion.

“To kiss me!” You bark out, ears warm.

“Oh, that?” He purses his lips, spinning the bra around in the water. Then, he’s contemplative for a moment, as if he’s thinking of an excuse that won’t make you angry. Or will. He seems to get a kick out of frustrating you.

“I suppose I should’ve considered that it’s not a social norm for humans to greet other humans with their lips,” he says with a cocky, probably lying smirk. “My bad.”

“You expect me to believe that mermaids kiss each other to say hello?”

“Not a mermaid.” The fish is all teeth as he regards you. “I’m one of Ryūjin. And I’d like to think that you’d believe anything I tell you, since you seem to know nothing about my people.”

“Because you won’t tell me anything about your people,” you mutter right before the house bell rings. Your heart jumps with a spike of panic. You haven’t thought about what you’re going to say to Denki yet. You begin thinking about science labs again, and that knot in your stomach tightens.

“Okay,” you say in a warning tone, “I’m gonna let Denki in now…”

“Uh-huh.”

“He’s gonna see you…”

“That’s the plan.” Hitoshi lifts a brow. “You’re not worried for me, are you?”

“I just think you should be more worried about yourself,” you say. “Humans aren’t…” There’s a pensive pause when you try to search for the right word. “Humans aren’t good.”

“Would you say that you’re a good human?” He asks.

What a question. You’d like to believe that you are, but you can’t kid yourself. Never one to be very self-sacrificing, you utter your next words with confidence. “Nope.”

“And yet, you haven’t done anything malicious towards me. Nothing, besides that half-assed attempt to kick me away from you, anyways.”

Rolling your eyes to keep your couldn’t-care-less facade up, you left the smirking merman to wade around in the murky pool. There’s not another second to think about what you could possibly say to Denki about your surprise guest, because when you enter the house, you see his face peeking through the side window next to the front door. You could see a drink holder and a Tiki Burger bag in his hand. His smile is bright, while yours is grim.

He pouts, seeing through forced body language, and proceeds to make a funny face. You let out a half-sigh, half-laugh. You might not be a good person, but Denki is. He’s an idiot, but you don’t think he’d ever do anything to harm another creature, mythical or not. This could even be fun to him. Exciting. Something extraordinary happened, and you’d been too scared to react to it appropriately, but Denki would be different.

Your changing emotions grow palpable when you finally reach for the handle.

“Heard you had some thingies that needed twisting,” Denki says as you open the door. He’s wearing his company’s shirt, a brown thing with the PoolPros logo on it, though it’s cut raggedly short to show off his midriff. He’s been particularly confident ever since he’d gotten his navel pierced, and happily showed off the topaz stone that Kirishima had given him. It hangs right above his buckle. It forces onlookers to look at his abs…or maybe his groin. He says it’s lucky, and you haven’t argued with him about it. You would probably call something Kirishima gave you lucky too.

In a flash, you’re grabbing him by his shirt collar and guiding him in and against one of the hall mirrors.

“Something’s happened.” The words immediately spill out, even while you still do not know what you’re going to say. You hope that if the right things tumble out of your mouth, Denki will get the picture.

“Uh…” Denki’s cheeks are red hot, reacting to your close proximity. “Was it a spike in your libido?”

God.

“No, shut up!” You smack his chest and glance down the hall towards the back door. The pool isn’t in your line of vision, but just knowing what lurks there gets your blood pumping. “This is going to sound crazy, but I need you to keep an open mind.”

He bobs his brows. “For you? Always.”

After an exhale, you gather your composure, and tell Denki everything with as much eloquence as you can muster.

“There’s something living in the pool!” You bark out, erratic. “It’s big and it has zero impulse control and it’s rude! It talks! When it touches me, my skin glows. Then it tried to kiss me, Kaminari! And it’s rude!” You add that in again, because you cannot stress it enough. Hitoshi Shinsou is as unrefined as a piece of driftwood, and he had the audacity to make comments on behalf of your decorum. “It won’t tell me what it’s doing here, either. I offered to get it back into the ocean, but it said it wanted something else, but it won’t tell me what, and I don’t know what to do!”

Denki blinks rapidly, like his eyelashes are repelling every word you toss at him. There’s a beat, he swallows, then his lips tilt up into a knowing grin.

“Alright,” he says, “I see you.”

“You do?” Maybe you had to give Denki a little more credit. That hadn’t been your best description of a nightmare scenario.

“Sure do, little lady. This is some kinda belated birthday prank, huh? Thought you could slide one past me when I was least expecting it! I was thinking that maybe you just forgot about it, but now you’ve got something up your sleeve, don’t ya! Well cutie, I might be dumb, but I’m not stupid!”

Striding into the house, Denki places the shakes and burger bag onto Shuzenji’s kitchen counter. Shoulders deflating, you follow him while he fishes a few fries out of the bag. If he doesn’t get it now, he will soon enough.

“What could it be?” He ponders, tossing a fry into his mouth. He nods towards one of the cups and mumbles about a shake for you, then towards the back door. “Couldn’t be a party—it’s too early for a party. And you don’t talk to many people…”

Ignoring the slight burn, you front Denki, and extend your hand out to his. His eyes widen for a moment, he wipes his hand on his pants, and takes yours.

“I need your help, Denki. Seriously.”

“Yeah,” he says, a touch more reformative. “Okay.”  

What should’ve been some grand reveal, however, turned out to be anything but.

The pool being clean is the first thing you notice, as absurd as that is. It’s now half-filled, with only sprinkles of algae leftover by some miraculous clean-up. There’s no more silver fish swimming around, and all the trash that had previously taken sanctuary in the pool now lays on a mountainous pile with the bra sitting at its peak. Your guest is no longer in the pool—the very clean pool.

Denki chuckles and says, “well, this doesn’t look bad at all. By how hysterical you were on the phone, I was expecting something much worse. Oh! Hello!”

Your jaw drops as Denki waves at Hitoshi—a very comfortable-looking Hitoshi who lounges on one of the reclining pool chairs, head turned back like he’s sun bathing, one leg crossed over the goddamn other. Legs. Attached to feet—feet that definitely were not there when you’d met him.

Tricky, magic fish-man.

“Oh,” Hitoshi says, carefully considering Denki. “We have company?”

The ‘we’ in his statement doesn’t sit right with you anymore than his appearance does. He stands, and both you and Denki gasp when you see his new outfit in its entirety. It’s all royal blue, fine silks, and sheer fabric that only covers the places that would make Denki blush. Puffy, yet flowing sleeves connect to his now two golden cuffs. A heavy gold necklace hangs around him, and he’s got a light sash thrown around mostly his bare chest. A golden, v-shaped belt holds his deep blue harem pants up.

They are the gaudiest goddamn pajamas you’ve ever seen.

Hitoshi moves like water to face Denki, then firmly grasps him by the forearm, yanking the boy forward so that their lips are mere inches away from each other. Noting that there’s no glowing from their contact, you watch as Hitoshi’s indigo eyes slide from Denki’s lips, to you, and shows off a dubious glint.

“Whoops,” Hitoshi murmurs basically into Denki’s mouth. “I almost forgot that you don’t greet people like this here.” He takes a step away and smirks. “Forgive me. I’m Hitoshi Shinsou. You must be the pool guy.”

“Um, yeah. ‘M Denki Kaminari.” Denki laughs nervously. His cheeks burn red, and he keeps shifting his weight from one leg to the other. Grabbing onto your hand tightly, he starts back towards the house, towing you along, saying, “excuse us, we just have to—uh. Talk.”

In a tick, you’re whisked right back inside, in the land of private conversations.

“It didn’t look like that before, Denki. I swear to god.” You’re insisting as soon as the door is closed.

“It?!” Denki balks, his cheeks turning even more red. “Do you mean the pool or that hunk of a man hanging around your backyard?!”

“Both, I guess, but I wouldn’t call it a man! It had a giant purple tail before you showed up!!”

“That’s very rude, y’know.” Denki peers back at Hitoshi who’s lackadaisically cleaning his fingertips. “What are their pronouns?”

You imagine Hitoshi surrounded by others like him, all either screaming or clicking to communicate with each other in an inhuman language. “I don’t think pronouns matter wherever it’s from!”

“Hmm.” Denki slides the door open and pops his head out. “‘Scuse me, Hitoshi, what are your pronouns?”

Without missing a beat, Hitoshi answers him. “As in titles? You can call me Shinsou, but if you’re so inclined, I’ll allow you to call me lord.”

“Lord, of course.” More nervous laughter as Denki closes the door. “Lord. That’s a kink thing, right? It’s gotta be!”

“It’s not!” You bark, but Denki doesn’t hear you. Instead, he rushes towards one of the hall mirrors and begins fussing over his hair.

“I honestly can’t believe you did this. I mean, you, of all people. You’re braver than I gave you credit for. Coulda given me a heads up, though. I would’ve worn somethin’ nice. Or not come at all. I do feel like I’m intruding.” Denki’s eyes light up. “Unless this is for my birthday and you’re…you want me to join you?”

“You’ve lost me.” You're too busy trying to figure out what you can do to convince Denki that Hitoshi is a mermaid. You’ve considered pushing him back into the pool, but you don’t know if that would change him back to his sea-man state, or just make you look like a jackass.

“This is so weird. I haven’t seen that guy on the island before, and believe me, I know everybody. It must’ve cost a pretty penny to get him here. On top of everything else-“ He clears his throat- “how much is this costing you? Does Shuzenji know what you get up to while she’s away?”

It hits you like a freight train. “Oh, Kaminari…No…”

“The jig is up!” Denki stomps his foot defiantly and points towards the door. “You’re paying that man for sex!”

“God no!” The very idea that you’ve paid Hitoshi to be here, to touch you, flusters the hell out of you. If anything, you’d pay for him to leave. “You’d honestly think I’d hire a prostitute?!”

“Escort is the term they are using nowadays, and no, I wouldn’t think you’d hire an escort until now!” Denki scoffs, then moves his hand through his hair, exasperated. “The thing is, babe, you don’t need to. You’re cute and fun! If you got out every once in a while…”

“Fish!” You yell, cutting him off, because you’re not about to have another conversation about your hermit lifestyle. “He’s a fish, Denki! I didn’t fuck a fish! Nor am I planning to!”

Denki blinks at you. Not like before—not like he’s reflecting your words. This blink is more like a blink one would offer someone who’d been having an otherwise normal conversation, until they started talking about the earth being flat, or homosexuals burning in a lake of fire.

I’m not crazy, you think and will Denki to believe. I’ll prove it.

Before you can give Denki a play-by-play of what happened—properly this time, and not just your rambled recall—the door slides open, and Hitoshi steps in.

“May I enter?” The regal-looking man asks.

At the exact same moment you say, “no,” Denki says, “of course.”

“I was just hoping to find something to eat.” Hitoshi stops in the kitchen, arms crossed and expectant.

“You haven’t fed your hooker?” Denki whispers and it blows your mind that he can say hooker and you can’t say prostitute. “You can have half my burger!”

“Burger,” Hitoshi repeats the unfamiliar word, and looks around, probably wondering what it could be. Denki takes the hint and proceeds to fish his meal out of the bag. Overly familiar with Shuzenji’s kitchen, he finds a knife to cut the sandwich in two, then hands one half to Hitoshi.

Hitoshi frowns.

“I’m sorry, are you a vegetarian?” Denki asks, and you can tell he’s being overly hospitable in a house that is not his. When Hitoshi doesn’t answer him, but doesn’t stop frowning, Denki asks, “do you not eat meat?”

“This is meat?” Asks Hitoshi, shaking the burger in the air. Some mayonnaise-covered lettuce falls to the kitchen floor.

“I have to clean that!” You yip and wet a paper towel. When you’re on your knees, Hitoshi gives you a smirk of indifference.

“What, do you not have hamburgers where you’re from?” Denki asks, and when Hitoshi refuses to answer him again, he says, “the meat is the patty. It’s beef.”

“Beef.” Hitoshi begins dissecting the thing, throwing the bun halves, pickles, tomato, and lettuce all on the floor. You continue to curse at him while he sniffs at the patty. “What animal is this?”

“Beef is cow, dude.” Denki sounds more skeptical now, which you’d be grateful for if you weren’t already on your hands and knees, scrubbing ketchup out of the tile. “Man, throwing food on the floor is rude no matter where you’re from. Babe, you shouldn’t have to clean that up.”

“If I don’t, who will?” You ask, sardonic.

“There’s not really a floor where I’m from,” Hitoshi says once he swallows his first bite. He places the patty back onto the burger wrap, and steps away from his mess. “At least, there’s no floor when it’s meal time. We just let shells and bones float around until they go down to where they’ll eventually break down and decay.”

Denki asks, “where did you say you were from?”

“He’s a fish, Denki.”

“I didn’t.” Hitoshi gets down on his knees with a wetted paper towel of his own. He swipes at the places you’ve missed, then looks at you. “Tell me, would a not-good person clean up a mess that isn't their own?”

“It’s kind of my job,” you retort and stand so Hitoshi can finish cleaning. Instead, he stands with you.

“And what is his job?” Hitoshi nods towards Denki who looks more and more fretful by the second. “I assume he’s here to provide services. If you’re paying him, shouldn’t he be the one to clean for you? Prepare meals for you? Bend to your whims?”

Denki says, “I’ve got a couple jobs, but I’m not a housekeeper, no.”

“No?” Hitoshi gives out a terse laugh and hands the towel off to Denki. “Clean.”

Denki looks to you for an explanation. You’re about to chew Hitoshi out, when he again says, “clean,” but this time, there’s something attached to his voice. Something that is nothing, but also more. It sends goosebumps up your arms and compels Denki to fall to the floor and obey the command.

“Yes, my lord.” When Denki finishes cleaning and throws the rest of the mess in the bin, he looks at Hitoshi, eyes glossy, waiting.

“Fetch me some water,” says Hitoshi, and after another yes, my lord, Denki begins searching for a glass.

“Quit it!” You shout and very nearly grab on to Hitoshi’s arm, stopping only when you remember the glow and the prickles that accompany his touch. Decidedly, you hurry after Denki and grab the glass from his hands and snap your fingers in front of his face.

Denki blinks, and this time it’s not because he doesn’t hear you, and it’s not because you’re spouting crazy nonsense. He blinks, and it’s a revelation.

“Hypnosis!” Denki says the word like eureka! and you want to shake him, because he should be angrier than he seems.

“I’m surprised you understand or even remember that much,” Hitoshi drawls. “You’re more in-tune than you’d like people to believe.”

And I’m Mother Teresa, you think bitterly. The fish is contemptuous as hell, but he doesn’t read people well. To him, you’re good and apparently Denki’s a genius.

“How did you do that?” Denki asks with growing excitement. “When I was a kid, I was really into magic, but could never get any of the tricks right. You didn’t use any triggering noises or images or anything.”

“There is a bit of magic about you,” Hitoshi says like he’s thinking out loud. “Not enough to pull something like what I just did off unless you have the proper tide jewel. But you do have enough power to utilize a tide jewel.”

“Don’t do that again,” you warn, and pour water from the sink into the glass. There’s purified water in the fridge, but Hitoshi hasn’t earned it. “To Kaminari or to me. The difference between a house guest and a home-invader is who does and does not use hypnosis on other guests.”

“I wasn’t aware that hypnosis is a common occurrence in your residence.” Hitoshi reaches for the glass, but you hold it away from him. Casting out a withering look, he says, “I wouldn’t be able to hypnotize him again, even if I wanted to. Not for a while, anyways. Not without my tide jewel.”

“What’s a tide jewel?” Denki asks. “Is that, like, sea glass?”

Eyes flicking from the glass of water, to Denki, then to you, Hitoshi says, “he knows how to ask a question.”

The questions that you ask get ignored! But instead of saying that, you continue to withhold the water, and say, “then answer him.”

Mildly peeved, Hitoshi turns his attention back to Denki. “You say you have a couple of jobs. What would they be?”

“That’s not answering his question,” you mutter.

“I’ll decide whether I should answer him in a moment. Denki, if you will.”

“Oh, well…” The sheepish Denki brings his hand to the back of his neck, blushing slightly. “I’ve got the PoolPros gig, and sometimes I pick shifts up at The Salty Barrel. I sort of got an affinity for making drinks…and cooking…and fixing things, so they like to keep me around.”

Unamused, Hitoshi pries. “Anything else?”

“Sometimes I pick up odd jobs. Fishing and delivery. I guess I’m pretty dependable because of the boat.”

This catches Hitoshi’s attention. “You have a boat?”

“Sure, yeah. It’s nothin’ too special yet. I’ve been working on it, and it’s coming along, but it’s not ready for what it’s truly intended for.”

“Which would be?”

Denki looks at you and winks, making your ears warm. You know exactly why he got the boat.

“Romantic rendezvous.”

“I see,” Hitoshi says pensively. Then, his eyes go sharp when he notices you fiddling with the ties on your shorts. “Are you two mates?”

Denki lifts a conspiratorial brow towards you, before throwing his arm around your shoulders, pulling you against his body. “Sure, yeah—we’re mates!”

You push away from him, and bite, “not those kinds of mates.”

Although nobody disagrees with you, you sense Denki sulking.

“Ah,” Shinsou muses. “You haven’t yet fought for her hand?”

Before you can groan at the idea, Denki laughs quietly, but his laughter quickly grows uproariously as he considers the idea. Soon, he’s gripping his stomach to stop himself from doubling over. You glare at his feet.

“As if there’s another guy to fight for her,” Denki bellows, wiping a tear away from his eye. “Maybe if she ever went out, but for now, the only person I gotta fight for her hand, is her!”

“Oh, I understand,” Shinsou says, eyes on you. “A battle to assert domination.”

Denki hoots loudly at the idea. “Looks like I’m screwed!”

To your growing agitation and embarrassment, Denki continues to laugh. It’s as if you’re not constantly shooting him down. You’re not pitiful. Not helpless. And you think you’d have some game if you put your heart into it. You just have a type, and the pool guy just doesn’t fit the bill, whether he’s handy or not.

There’s no humor to be found in Hitoshi’s eyes, though. He’s glaring at you, like before, only now he’s looking at you more like you’re a piece of meat—like he’s some kind of predator and you’re his newfound prey. You inadvertently step closer to Denki, as if he could be used as some sort of defense shield, then elbow him in the ribs, pretending that you’re not at all intimidated by this fish-turned-man.

“Nobody’s fighting anybody,” you say, keeping eye-contact with Hitoshi. You’ve been told before that the fact that you’re never the first to look away is a little off-putting. Hoping to have the same uncomfortable effect on your guest, you don’t even blink when you say, “I just have my eyes on someone special.”

At the same time Denki stops his laughing, Hitoshi narrows his eyes—not out of malice, but what seems to be curiosity. That’s as far as you’ll go with revealing any more personal information. You might not be physically spoken for, yet, but at least you’re emotionally unavailable. You vaguely wonder if those kinds of ideals are acknowledged by sea people.

“Yeah, Kiri,” Denki says with a roll of his eyes. So much for keeping things personal. “He’s not interested in dating anyone, though. In fact, he’s pretty much married to the ocean.”

“At least there aren’t other girls,” you say, and with a quick glance at Denki, you add, “or boys.”

Denki exaggerates a woeful, hand-over-forehead pose and cries, “at least we have each other!” Then, he places his hand back around your shoulders. Again, you scoot away from him, and this time, you catch Hitoshi’s lips quirk up, just a bit.

“Alright,” Hitoshi says. “I’ve decided.”

“Decided what?” You ask.

“That the two of you are going to help me.”

The fish-man moves to flatten the burger wrap down on the counter like a map, and proceeds to decimate the other half of Denki’s burger. Denki says, “oh that’s fine…I wasn’t that hungry anyways.”

“Help you with what!” You bark, practically starving for details. Despite Hitoshi and all that he’s done, your interest is piqued, and you feel as though you’re finally going to get to the meat of his situation.

Lining a few fries on the paper wrap, Hitoshi finally says, “a few of my worldly possessions have been stolen from me. They’ve been missing for quite a long time now, and I now plan to take them back. Four of the six items happen to be tide jewels. I figure those will be the easiest to locate and extract.”

Denki snaps his finger. “Tide jewels! That’s what we were talking about! What are those?

Dabbing his pinky into some mustard, Hitoshi says, “artistry…” He dips his ring finger into the ketchup and says, “reign…” he tears a piece of lettuce in half and says, “tide…” and finally, he rips some of the patty and says, “soul.”

“Artistry, reign, tide, soul,” Denki repeats, peeking over Hitoshi’s shoulder. “You don’t happen to be a musician, do you? A magician musician!”

“I’m a connoisseur, but not a practitioner.” Hitoshi breathes. “And you’re too close to me.”

“Well, you’re certainly not an artist,” Denki huffs, taking a few steps back. You move in to see what Denki saw.

On the wrap, the French fries have been warped to look like some sort of three-pronged fork. On the left prong, there’s a dab of ketchup, in the center, mustard, and the right has a piece of lettuce sitting on it. Connecting the three prongs is the bit of hamburger meat Hitoshi had ripped.

“Is this supposed to be a fork or a trident?” You ask, then kick yourself, because it’s obviously a trident. Duh. Mermaids. “Is that one of the things that have been stolen? A trident?”

Hitoshi says, “yes. All four of the tide jewels connect to the trident. With them, the trident could very well be one of the most powerful blessed objects on this planet. If it falls into the wrong hands, the results could be catastrophic.”

“Now, hang on,” Denki begins, brows curved into a frown. “What?”

“So good at questions,” you murmur.

“Each tide jewel has its own magical property. The names speak for themselves, but since the two of you are a little slow on the uptake, I’ll explain.” Hitoshi points at each different spot on his fries-trident, explaining what each point represents.

“The yellow jewel is for artistry and skill. Whoever wields it, whether in its natural form or attached to another object, will learn trades quickly, can craft almost anything at a master’s level, and they’ll have a more creative way of thinking.”

“The red jewel is for reign and rule. Whoever wields this can command any audience. Wars have been fought, kingdoms taken, and women stolen by the power of this gem. It’s almost the most violent of the four, but it can also be used to keep peace.”

“The blue jewel is for the tide. They used to be two jewels, one for tide-ebbing, the other for tide-flowing, but they’ve been molded together after another theft mishap. With the power of this jewel, one would be able to control not only the water of the sea, but water itself. This gem can create storms you couldn’t dream of. This is possibly the most dangerous stone if placed into the wrong hands.”

“Sir, that’s a piece of lettuce,” Denki says.

“Your burger didn’t have anything blue,” Hitoshi growls, “nor did it have anything purple, which brings me to the last jewel. This would be the soul jewel. It aids people with wishes, can offer good dreams, and can allow the wielder to see people’s auras, or souls. This jewel has stopped many malevolent unions in the past.”

Finally, Hitoshi turns back to you and Denki. There’s nothing content about his expression now. If anything, he looks grave.

“The fact that the trident is not in my possession has already had a cataclysmic influence on the world you know now. I need it, and the jewels, or else there may be dire consequences.”

Throat dry, palms sweaty, you swallow thickly, and allow yourself a moment to process all that he’s saying. It may be idiotic, but you believe him. Maybe if you hadn’t seen him in the water earlier, things would be different. You’d be more skeptical. But since you’ve already seen one impossible thing today—two if you're counting the fact that Hitoshi grew legs and magically poofed himself an outfit—you don’t think he’s lying.

However, Denki did not see him in the water. Which is why he’s the first to speak.

“Right,” he says, looking down on you. “Sorry, babe, but the marvel universe did it first with Thanos and his gauntlet. If this is supposed to be a scavenger hunt of some kind, can we skip the game, hints and all, and get to the dinner? I expect there’ll be candles and such for nighttime, so maybe you and I can hang out at the beach, sans the mean magician?” Denki looks at Hitoshi. “No offense, buddy. You could join us if you cheer up a bit. I’d never say no to a threesome with two equally attractive people.”

The water in the glass you’re holding begins to shake. It shakes, and then it moves, and then it lifts up into the air, snaking around like a gelatinous worm, and slowly makes its away to Hitoshi’s mouth. Never before have you seen anyone swallow menacingly, and this has changed it.

“I am not your buddy,” Hitoshi hisses between his teeth, “and this is not a game.”

“He just…” Denki begins stuttering. This isn’t something he can chock up to something as mundane as a magic trick. This is pure magic, and you feel less like a giant dork for how you reacted to Hitoshi showing himself to you, with how distraught Denki seems to be.

“I told you,” you say under your breath, “he’s a fish!”

“I am Hitoshi Shinsou. I am one of Ryūjin, and you will not desecrate my name or my people by belittling me or my power.” It hadn’t occurred to you until now that he’s not only speaking to Denki, but to both of you. The thought makes you shift with unease as Hitoshi’s eyes slide from your friend to you. “Not without consequences. I’ve been burdened with this purpose, and the two of you can choose to help me and reap the rewards that follow, or you can return to your miserable lives, loligagging and ogling the things you know you want, but are too lazy to obtain.”

At this moment, Hitoshi Shinsou seems ancient to you. Trepidation crawls up your spine, chilling you to the bone. You regret most of what you’ve said to him, even the things you’d thought he deserved. You have an inkling that if Hitoshi really wanted to harm you, or Denki, he would. Easily.

“Okay, well-“ Denki, again speaks first, thank god. “You didn’t say there would be rewards.”

Maybe don’t thank god yet. But before you can apologize on Denki’s behalf, the air that you hadn’t realized had got heavier, thicker even, lifts, and Hitoshi eases up, lackadaisical smirk back on track.

“You both wish for something,” he says. “If you help me retrieve what’s rightfully mine, I will graciously return the favor by granting your wishes.”

“We do?” Denki asks. It’s wild to you how easily he could jump back into conversation like this, although, when you look closely at him, you can see that he’s trembling faintly. “What do I want?”

“You wish for a boat,” Hitoshi says, “so I will give you a boat.”

“I have a boat.”

“I’ll give you a better boat.” Hitoshi seems to be enjoying himself now, even going so far as to lean on the table, picturing exactly what he’s describing. “A captivating boat that both women and men find irresistible. It will sail smoother and faster than the other vessels out on sea. You will never want or need for an upgrade for it will never wear or tear.”

“A super boat,” Denki muses, beguiled by the idea. It’s your turn to be skeptical now, because you haven’t wished for anything. At least, not aloud for Hitoshi to hear.

“Then, what do I get?” You ask, arms crossed. You can admit that you’re interested in what he might have to say.

“Oh darlin’, that’s easy,” Hitoshi purrs, and moves from the counter over to you. Slowly, like he’s savoring your anticipation. Lifting a finger to your arm, he slides it across your skin, watching as both the glow and the tingles return. You have to hold your breath to yourself from sighing.

“You want to be loved,” he says, “adored even. And not just by anybody. You want to be with your soulmate, isn’t that right. That may be why you came to this island to begin with.”

There’s no way he could’ve known that you’re new to the island. Nobody said anything about it. But he’s not wrong. Though you can’t say he’s right either. You came to the island in hopes to find…yourself. And though you haven’t yet found yourself, you sure as hell found Kirishima. And soulmate has a nice right to it.

“So if we help you find these gems—“

“—tide jewels,” he intervenes.

“Tide jewels-“ you roll your eyes- “then you will give Denki a super boat, and you will unite me with a soulmate?”

“Exactly,” Hitoshi confirms. “Easy peesy, isn’t it?”

“How do we know you’ll uphold your end of the bargain?” Denki asks, finally out of his super boat daydreams.

“I said you were good with questions.” Hitoshi smirks. “You don’t know. You can’t know. But you can either do this with me, and probably get a super boat and a soulmate out of it, or you can not, and get nothing.”

Denki side-eyes you, and you him. You hold each other’s gazes for a brief moment, and you already know how this would play out if you refuse. Denki would convince you to do it. You don’t do anything, he says with his eyes. Might as well hang around and see how this plays out.

“Fine.” Even though your good conscience screams at you to do otherwise, you let up. “We’ll help you.”

“Excellent.” Hitoshi beams, or at least, he beams in a way only someone who was just threatening two other people can beam. “Then we should start our search today. We’ll probably need to go into town and see if there are any supernatural occurrences or old folktales to check out.”

Going out to town is the last thing you’d planned on doing today. Or maybe the second to last thing you planned on doing. You have to ask, because if you don’t, you’ll go batsy.

“We won’t be getting wet, will we?”

Hitoshi scoffs, which isn’t an answer. Maybe you really don’t ask the right questions because when Denki asks, “you said there were six things you need to retrieve. What’s the sixth thing?” Hitoshi winks at you, and grins. And when he grins, your stomach aches.