#why was this buried in my drafts this is awesome

[marzzthehuman]

i love that no matter what alternate universe he is in people will write Rui where he will not eat vegetables. no matter what. he could be the most menacing guy ever and then acts like a stubborn toddler when vegetables are presented to him

[nataliescatorccioapologist]

I visited the WGA library to read Yellowjackets scripts and wanted to share some of my findings! (Pt. 1)

So as some of you may know, scripts for the latter half of Yellowjackets Season 1 have already been released to the public (you can find 1x05-1x10 here: https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/1FctrMniXqWRFJOe-rX6dSgvmXEO2KyLE?usp=share_link) and the Pilot script is pretty easily accessible on the internet if you look it up.

However, I have never been able to find the scripts for the rest of S1. An old draft of 1x04 can be found on Script Slug but A LOT has been changed from this script to the final product (Van is dead, Nat actually killed her dad, Javi is called Cody?!). It’s an interesting read for sure but it seems the actual final script of “Bear Down,” along with “F Sharp” and “Dollhouse,” are not accessible on the internet. So I headed over to the WGA Library and checked out those three scripts to read! It was super interesting (highly recommend going if you’re in the LA area!). I was not able to get any pictures of the scripts due to the Library policy, but I took lots of notes and saved some of my favorite lines!

I’m going to start with 1x02 and make two separate posts of 1x03 and 1x04 because otherwise this post would be way too long!

1x02 “F Sharp”

•The episode starts with Misty’s POV of the crash, and there’s this line that I love:

“Across from her, Lottie reaches forward to desperately clutch Laura Lee’s hand in the aisle. Their shared terror making it all the more clear that, in this moment, Misty is all alone.”

This shows Misty’s longing for companionship and affection. Even in what she thinks might be her last moments, she is utterly alone. I think this moment is part of what tips her over the edge into obsession in her relationships with Coach Ben, Crystal, and Natalie.

•In the final product, we don’t really see what Nat’s POV of the plane crash is (other than her nightmare in 1x03 but I’m not sure if that actually happened or not?) but in the script she gets knocked unconscious and buried under a bunch of luggage and equipment and the other girls have to dig her out.

•Misty and Taissa are the ones to pry the exit door open for everyone to escape.

•Jackie doesn’t even try to save Van in the script, she just immediately runs over and tries to drag Shauna away from Van from the get-go.

“Jackie runs after Shauna and starts clawing at her, trying to get her to move toward the exit.”

•After Shauna and Jackie make it outside the wreckage, Jackie and Shauna “begin fighting angrily in the dirt, Jackie clearly still desperately afraid to remain so close to the fiery wreckage” as Shauna tries to go back in for Van.

•And I just thought this descriptor was a cute little addition; after Misty chops off Coach Ben’s leg, we get this line:

“And as we realize this little show called ‘Yellowjackets’ is sick, unexpected and awesome, we smash cut to—

MAIN TITLE”

•“Laura Lee trying in vain to hold and comfort a struggling, hyperventalating Javi.”

A nice little moment of Laura Lee comforting Javi as he’s trying to find his dad.

•”Jackie: For the record, I was trying to save you. I thought…

I was going to lose you. Jackie bites her lip, a little teary. Shauna glances at her and nods, I know—but we also get the sense that Van isn’t the only one judging Jackie right now.”

A little Jackie/Shauna moment. You can see how much Jackie loves Shauna, but Shauna is still conflicted over Jackie’s choice to leave Van behind.

•Some things Caligula says when Natalie breaks into Misty’s house:

“Hello, pretty lady!”

“Hells bells! My dogs are barking!”

Love this.

•The information Misty has in her secret file: articles and magazine covers about the crash, press clippings, a local wedding announcement for Shauna and Jeff, Taissa’s campaign flyer, and a brochure for Natalie’s rehab clinic.

•When Nat asks Misty why she has all of this information, Misty says:

“You guys are the most important people in my life.”

Just another reminder that Misty’s whole existence revolves around the Yellowjackets, even after 25 years.

•Nat is hyper focused on looking at Travis’s drivers license in the bar scene when Kevyn walks up to her. She totally ignores Kevyn, just focused on Travis’ picture. She is described as looking “pale” and “like she’s seen a ghost.” Just shows how hung up Nat is on Travis and how much that relationship fucked her up.

•Misty says “Holy macaroni” when she sees Coach Martinez’s body. Insane.

•Okay brace yourselves for this one guys, in the script Coach Martinez is STILL ALIVE when they find him impaled on the tree.

“The coach’s eyes pop open. He suddenly grabs Travis. Eyes wild with pain and fear, the coach tries to speak but only makes raspy sounds as blood bubbles at his lips.”

“Travis: Dad! Let go!”

Travis’s dad won’t let go and there’s a scene where Travis is trying to claw him off of him, then the tree branch cracks and Travis shakes his dad off of his arm, “knows it’s his dad or the both of them” and the tree branch falls.

Wow. As if the scene that ended up making it in the final product wasn’t traumatic enough, Travis has to actively let his dad fall to his death when he’s still alive and desperately clinging to him? Ouch. I’m glad they cut that scene honestly poor Travis.

•Shauna is holding Javi and comforting him during and after this scene.

“We see Shauna still comforting Javi, we can’t hear what she’s saying but her body language is very giving—a maternal streak she didn’t know she had.”

Love the nod to Shauna’s maternal nature here. She’s naturally very nurturing and caring, but after she loses her baby she becomes more cold and distant with her other child, Callie, in fear that she will lose her too. I just love seeing the before and after here, we get to see what Shauna was like before all of the trauma. Shauna wants to nurture Callie, it’s a natural part of her personality as this scene with Javi shows, but she can’t get too attached after what happened in the Wilderness.

•In the adult timeline, there’s another deleted scene in which Nat drives to Shauna’s house and spies on her from outside.

“She seems to be fighting an impulse to get out of her car, but her feelings are unclear. Does she look uneasy? Vindictive?”

Another hint the conflict between these two that we still haven’t seen yet? Maybe this is lingering resentment from Shauna challenging Nat’s leadership as the new Antler Queen?

•When Nat hands Travis her flask to drink from after the whole Coach Martinez incident, there’s this line:

“She wants to tell him there is nothing he could have done. How guilt like this is poison, and if he’s going to blame himself she will punch him in the face”

I think this is clearly a nod to Nat’s own guilt around her father’s death. She knows that Travis is likely tearing himself apart inside because she did the same thing after her father’s death. She blamed herself, as Travis is doing now. Also love the punching him in the face line, it’s very on-brand for Nat and honestly wish she had punched him in the face a few times when he deserved it.

*1x03 and 1x04 notes to come!*

[miracles-and-butterflies]

What? A random Fracture AU fic? In this day and age?

I found this chilling in my drafts and I figured that I might as well post it. About young Luisa and Mirabel, on the day of the latter’s gift ceremony. The good old days…

Two Birds On a Wire

Another failed attempt at helping.

Luisa closes the door and immediately flops head first onto her bed. Stupid Isabela, she can shapeshift into whoever she wants and thinks she’s the most helpful kid in town and doesn’t need any help from anybody— there’s a small squeak from underneath her. Realising the likelihood of a pet donkey one day appearing in her room from thin air is slim, she can guess who it is. There’s only one person who could fit so comfortably in such a small space.

She sits up the bed and fishes for a present from behind her pillow, the wrapping paper is almost falling off, but it’ll do. Luisa is fairly proud of herself for having done it - she had done so with no help from her parents and in spite of Isabela and Dolores saying she wouldn’t be able to, ta-dah! She’s done it!

She dangles it over the side of the bed. “Abuelo will be coming to speak with you soon, so you better open this now…”

Nothing.

She needs to try something else.

She continues, “This present will destroy all of Casita if you don’t take it in three… two… one—”

Two tiny hands reach out for the gift instantly, only for the box to suddenly be pulled out of reach. Luisa chuckles to herself, leaning over the side of the bed and almost knocking her head directly into her sister’s.

“What are you doing under there, Mira?” Luisa asked, dropping to the floor and crawling under the bed herself. There she sees Mirabel, anxiously fiddling with her glasses. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. All you gotta do is walk, smile, open the door and pose for a photo. Nothing you haven’t done before.”

Mirabel looks down with a fresh wave of tears. “B-but.. what if it works?”

Luisa blanks. She hadn’t been expecting that. She thought it would be like Camilo’s ceremony, nervous about it not working and ending up like her, and here Mirabel fears the exact opposite. She doesn’t know what to do with this. Why wouldn’t anyone want their gift ceremony to work? Why would anyone want to be normal like her?

“Well,” Luisa tries to give an answer. She’s never been good at this stuff. Maybe she should go get Mama or Papa to help? No, they still have things to do before tonight. She can help with this one thing. “You’d get to have your own awesome room with an amazingly magical gift and I will be the proudest big sister in the whole of Colombia. And I’ll carry you everywhere because you’ll be too good and busy to walk. You’d be a big girl too. Wouldn’t it be the best ever?”

“They’re going to take me away from you,” Mirabel whimpers.

“Who is?”

“Monsters. I need to stay here with you. I don’t want to leave.” She buries herself into Luisa’s chest, sobs staining her dress.

She brushes through short curls, pulling the smaller girl closer to herself. Something about this makes Luisa happy. Not her sister being upset, no. But the fact she’s being asked to protect her little sister. It might not be as entertaining or as special as Isabela’s shapeshifting, but it makes her useful and important to at least someone. And truthfully, Luisa doesn’t want anyone to take Mirabel from her. She’s older though and she’s always known that she would eventually lose the best roommate she’s ever had.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Luisa whispers, offering a brave smile. “Don’t cry, Mirabel. The adults will hear us.” Mirabel starts to quieten down, separating them, looking up with watery doe eyes, desperate for guidance. “I promise I’ll chase them away. I’ll check your room for monsters every morning and every night. No monsters are going to get you.”

Once they both let go, Luisa retrieves the gift she left on the bed and places it in front of Mirabel.

“Go on, open it.”

Mirabel unwraps it with careful hands to reveal a little box. The lid ends up getting stuck so Luisa has to pry it off for her, but soon enough, the younger sees a pair of pom-pom earrings in Luisa’ signature shade of blue. The younger had only recently got her ears pierced as a Christmas present from their parents, so she’s only head the tiny gold set of studs, and now that she’s able to change them, Luisa thought it best she had an actual option.

“Do you like them?” Luisa asks, with a knowing smile.

“I love them, I love them, I love them. They’re fluffy and pretty and— did you feel them, Luisa? Are they good?”

“Yep, the best,” she chuckles, though to appease her sister she brushes her finger against one and gasps in semi-fake shock of how soft they are. It makes Mirabel giggle happily. “You’ll have to find a good hiding spot in your new room to keep them hidden. You don’t want Isabela getting her greedy claws on them, do you?”

The reminder of the new room seems to kill the mood.

“You’ll only be next door, hermanita. We’ll be neighbours. Just think of it, we could have sleepovers and midnight feasts, just like Dolores and Isabela do!”

Mirabel’s lips turn upwards again. “We could share the room. Sharing is a good thing. Mama and Pa say I’m very good at writing - I could write your name on the door too.”

“I… I don’t think it works like that, sis.”

“But I know how to spell. I won’t mess it up. Promise! L-U-I-S-A.”

“That’s good, Mirabel,” she tries to smile, it is a sweet and clever idea. “But I don’t think Abuelo or Casita wants its doors painted.”

“Oh,” Mirabel says. She looks around for a moment, trying to think of something to say. “I wish you could have the room instead of me.”

“You kidding? Where are you gonna store all your books? You need a giant room for those alone!” The comment makes Mirabel laugh again, and Luisa does too.

The doors flung open and there’s the shuffle of footsteps and the ruffle of fabric. The girls fall dead silent and still from where they are. Luisa watches Mirabel freeze up, almost shaking as though it’s cold in here. Her baby sister has always been so scared of their Abuelo, who has never really spent much time with her until February ended a couple of days ago.

“What on earth are you doing under there?” Abuelo asks from above. Although Luisa can’t see his face, she knows the man is disappointed. He always is, especially for her.

Abuelo clicks his tongue, prompting the pair emerge, Mirabel places her gift within the crate of things she’s taking to her new room and Luisa crumples the wrapping paper in her hand. They stand side by side, in front of Luisa’s bed, looking up at the hardening face of their grandfather.

“I should have known you two would be together,” he grumbled in his gruff voice. Luisa reached for Mirabel’s hand. “Ay, what have I told you, Luisa? You have to keep away from her. We don’t want you spreading your bad luck and leaving another gift ceremony in ruin.” He puts a hand on Mirabel’s shoulder, guiding, yanking, her to the other side of the room. “You shouldn’t even be up here anyways, you were told to help Isabela downstairs.”

“But she told me to go away! She said she didn’t need my help!” Luisa explained, tears already springing in her eyes.

“How dare you blame your sister for your mistake!” He roared at her. “Isabela has been nothing but perfect all day, you are the one getting in the way, child. Now, go. Sit on the naughty step until I come get you - I don’t want to see or hear from you again for the rest of the evening. Do you understand?”

Without another word, Luisa scrambles away, unable to face him any longer. 

[avatarmerida]

hi!! I just wanted to say that I was the anon who requested huntlow with Willow's parents and im– thank you so much, that was so sweet ;; I love your fics so much! I hope you have a wonderful day, thank you for sharing your awesome writings with people <3 :]

Note: this has been sitting in my drafts since October. I have very bad habit of drafting a response and forgetting about it but I did have an alternate version for the “meet the parents” prompt in mind. Original for reference No FTF spoilers just a headcanon I’ve head for awhile. 💚💛 also thank you so much that is so sweet

---

“... and it turns out fireflies don’t actually catch fire in the human realm which is so weird! Like why even call them that?” Willow continued, taking a deep breath as she tried to fit months worth of stories into mere minutes. She knew they would have plenty of time to catch up and she had her photo album to show them but she had just missed her dads so much and had so much time to make up for. “And then, oh wait I should probably let Gus tell you about cars he explains them so much better than I could and we-.”

“Oh petal we’re just so glad you were safe,” said Gilbert as he and Harvey wrapped her into another hug, they had months worth of hugs to catch up on too.

“I mean, I knew you were,” said Harvey, his eyes still stung with tears left over from their reunion. “My daughter is sweet and tough, like a cactus blossom.”

“Oh, you dorks,” Willow sighed fondly, allowing herself to be buried again by their embrace. “I missed you too.”

“We really must meet this Ms. Camila to thank her for taking such good care of you all this time,” said Harvey, giving his family an extra squeeze.

“Yes,” agreed Gilbert, wiping a lingering tear from his daughter’s eyes, still in disbelief that she was truly there with them. “We owe her so much for bringing you back to us. We should have her over for dinner.”

“Oh my Titan yes of course!” said Willow, looking around for the others. The group had separated to focus on different tasks and after Hooty had confirmed everything was done and everyone was safe, she ran off to find the cell where her dads were being kept. ”There’s someone else I really want you to meet too, I just don’t know where-.”

“Willow?” came a voice from seemingly nowhere and everywhere at the same time.

“Hunter?” she responded instantly, looking around to search for him. It felt like lifetimes since she had heard his voice, yet it had only been a day. A chaotic, hard, dramatic day. She turned and spotted him at the end of the row by the entrance of the prison and took off running. “Hunter!”

“Willow?” He turned and saw her running full speed towards him. He took off as well, his heart racing. “Willow!”

The dreamy and desperate way he said her name prompted her to summon a vine to ride on to reach him sooner. She hadn’t wanted to separate, but there was too much ground to cover in such little time they had no choice. Before they had parted, Hunter had wrapped her in a tight hug and Willow wanted nothing more than to return to that moment and now have that same warmth and closeness surrounded with safety and certainty.

He had also whispered something to her right before he left that she wanted him to repeat in a calmer setting to ensure she hadn’t misheard.

In his eagerness to reach her, with the same sentiment in mind, Hunter unintentionally teleported to the spot she had been when he first saw her. She turned and saw him standing there in confusion but she simply just changed directions and ran towards him again. Hunter was so overcome by the sight of her, safe and sound after the terrifying and dangerous day they had endured that the moment he took a step forward, he found himself teleporting again, essentially switching places with her.

Willow couldn’t help but laugh as she realized it had happened again. She ended up back by her dads who watched on in confusion, slowly piecing together what was happening and exchanging a knowing smile between themselves.

“Stay there, I’ll come to you!” They both called at the same time. They both laughed, so overtired and so desperate to be near each other.

“Should I send a vine over?” she called, overwhelmed with anticipation.

“No, no I can figure it out!” Hunter called back, still adjusting with controlling the lingering magic linked to his emotions. “Hold on!”

“Is that him?” asked Gilbert with a smile, knowing from Willow’s overjoyed expression that it could be nobody else. She subconsciously adjusted her hair as she gave them an excited nod to confirm. Despite only having a few minutes to reconnect and try to explain everything, Hunter’s name managed to come up many times. And the bubbly, airy way that she said it with was not lost on her fathers.

They had so missed the way she would roll her eyes when they would playfully ask who she was messaging, the giddy way she would lean against the wall and gaze at her scroll and claim it was no one. They were relieved to know that in the time they were away she had been with someone who made her so happy.

And they were delighted for the opportunity to pester the both of them together.

“Yeah, that’s-.” Before Willow could finish, she was cut off by Hunter teleporting directly in front of her and lunging forward to capture her lips in a purposeful and fervent kiss. His hands delicately cupped the sides of her face, rough and calloused but unmistakably gentle as his fingers brushed the side of her cheek. Willow instantly closed her eyes feeling like she was the one being transported this time as she rested her hands on his chest. It took very little prompting for her to return the kiss and she tilted her head to the side to bring him closer.

When he pulled away, it was only because he wanted to look at her. He was breathing heavily and Willow couldn't tell if it was from all the back and forth or because he had forgotten to breathe while he was kissing her. A part of her wanted it to be because she was just that breathtaking. She felt as thought she might float away if Hunter removed his hands from her.

“-Hunter.” murmured Willow faintly as the rest of the sentence caught up with her. The word left her lips with a new definition and she genuinely wondered how she had ever existed anywhere except this moment. He was surrounded by the glow of a pale pink light, sparkles and shine that far surpassed anything the Collector could summon.

She could tell by the wide adoring look in his eyes that this glow reached her too.

“Willow,” he responded softly, thinking she was saying his name looking for an explanation for his impulsiveness. He spoke quickly, refusing to waste any more precious time. “Willow I- I’m just so glad you’re safe. I just don’t know what I’d do if you were… but I knew you’d be fine, I knew you could handle it but I still… I just-.” He leaned forward and kissed her again, obviously feeling that words were not enough. As much as Willow enjoyed hearing him voice his feelings, she had to admit she wholeheartedly agreed. She smiled against his chapped lips that sparked with warmth as though static electricity was surging through her and sought to flood her chest with lightning.

When he released her this time, he pulled her into him a tight hug, moving one of his hands around the small of her back as the other cradled the back of her head as he buried his face in her hair. Willow exhaled as she eagerly returned the gesture and put her arms around his torso and felt the galderstone in his chest beating furiously, which she knew only occurred when he felt a strong emotion. She didn’t realize how worried she truly had been until she wasn’t anymore.

“Hunter...” she started, stepping back to look at him, placing her hands on his face to wipe away his own tears. She was surprised he had any tears left but she was relieved they were present under happier circumstances. She realized how easy it would be for her to pull him forward and kiss him again, and how much she wanted to. She could tell that that what he was hoping for as she tried to remember what she had begun telling him. She knew there would be plenty of future opportunities now that there was no rush or pressure or end of the world making the decision about whether or not it was the right time. It was hard to imagine that the right time wasn’t all the time .

But the secluded romantic bubble that Hunter had brought to surround them was actually fairly transparent as Willow remembered with flushed cheeks that they had an audience. “Hunter… “ she started again, and he brought his face out to see her, thinking she was giving him permission to kiss her again. He slowly leaned down, but right before he met her lips a third time she finally mustered the strength to finish her sentence. “...these are my dads.” She said slowly, gesturing to this side with her head.

She felt Hunter tense up, mostly in confusion, as his eyes followed her nod and he turned his head slowly to find two older men looking at them with matching smirks, offering him a small wave. He recognized them from WIllow’s drawing in the human realm. He prayed that it was somehow possible that they hadn’t been standing there the entire time. The nervous chuckle Willow emitted confirmed his prayers would be in vain.

He felt the romance bubble pop.

“Hello sirs!” Hunter said, suddenly a combination of pure nerves and formality as he removed his hands from Willow in order to extend his hand to her fathers, not sure whose to shake first. “It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

“From the looks of it, I’d say the pleasure’s all yours,” said Gilbert and both he and his husband chuckled lightly at some inside joke Hunter did not understand but knew he was involved in.

“Ha ha ha, yes of course,” Hunter said, laughing nervously, not sure what else he was meant to do. In all the times he had imagined this meeting, this had never crossed his mind. He was meant to be dressed up and prepared, his arrival planned and with flowers, not returning from battle in a torn Halloween costume with his hair unkempt and caught in the middle of-

“So, our Willow has told us so much about you,” Gilbert said, in a friendly chipper tone. “Clearly, she hasn’t told us everything.”

Hunter glanced quickly at Willow, flustered all over again at the idea that he had come up, as her delicate smile confirmed the claim. As reassuring as her smile always was, Hunter still wondered what he had to live up to and if his impulsiveness had contradicted or confirmed anything. He was sure Willow had been fine with it (actually he was more than sure that she had been more than fine) but he could not decipher how her fathers were feeling.

Was he in trouble? Should he apologize? Would apologizing be taken as an admission of wrongdoing? It certainly hadn’t felt wrong. He wondered now if Luz was hiding somewhere nearby laughing at his expense, having been the one to tell him to go for it the next time he saw Willow. Should he act like nothing had happened? Was he pausing too long thinking these things before audibly responding?

He had just done battle with monsters literally composed of his greatest fears and this somehow felt so much scarier.

He cleared his throat and carefully chose his next words.

“I’d just like to say-.” But before he could finish, he vanished again into a flash of gold. Willow could tell it was his nerves getting the best of him and his panic had removed him against his will. She knew he was probably embarrassed beyond belief that he had allowed himself to be teleported mid introduction, even though Willow knew it had not been done on purpose.

A faint yell of frustration from a great distance confirmed her suspicion. Willow sighed and shook her head fondly, knowing everything about this moment meant to much to him.

And he meant so much to her.

“So does that happen… a lot?” Harvey asked after a moment when Hunter did not instantly reappear.

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, kind of.” Willow replied dreamily, still catching her breath. “He’s still getting the hang of it.”

“Oh, really? Should we be be concerned?” Gilbert asked. “Does he know what he’s doing?”

“I think so,” she said, looking down the pathway again, knowing he would reappear at any moment. “It’s driven by his emotions and he’s still figuring out the best way to express them.”

“I see,” said Harvey. “I’m assuming his emotions for you must be pretty strong considering he didn’t even hesitate.”

“Um, well I dunno I guess… wait, are you talking about the kiss or the teleporting thing?”

“Well, I guess it depends,” said Gilbert sharing a knowing look with his husband. “Which one were you talking about?”

a knowing look with his husband before, lowering his glasses to give her a look of intrigue. “Which one were you talking about?”

[demonslayedher]

Why do you like Demon Slayer so much?

I---I don't know, Anon, w-why do you like breathing so much?

...because BREATH TECHNIQUE LOOKS WICKED AWESOME AMIRITE!??!!?

UFOTABLE MADE SUCH A FREAKING COOL LOOKING ANIME that both looks and sounds amazing with all that care put into it HOW COULD I NOT LOVE IT!? Such good source material too, ALL HAIL WANI-SENSEI!!!!

Or rather, to more eloquently express myself, I'll answer this in two parts: the "why" and "so much."

Why do I like it?

- Simplicity

It's a classic Good .vs. Evil story, a triumph of working hard and working together. It's Coming of Age and Hero's Journey, all themes that never get old because they're really good themes. KnY isn't even that fresh of a take if you boil it down to this, but it didn't need to reinvent the wheel, it just needed to be a good wheel to keep the story going.

I was grateful it ended when it did, it had a goal to accomplish and everything in the story worked toward that goal. I've fallen away from adventure shounen because I can never stay interested in super long series that get mercilessly extended past their natural life as cash cows. Not to sound like a Swamp Demon here, but this manga got to end while it was still young and beautiful.

The fighting mechanisms are complex enough to be fun to explore, but it's not as complicated as other shounen series, making the barrier to entry lower for first-time anime viewers. That's part of why I think it's been so successful. Plus, even though we get things like Red Blades and Marks later, their existence as ultimate techniques was in place from the start, so they felt believably set up and paid off. They made sense within the world building, even if they had to be dropped on the readers later so as to weekly serialization interesting.

It tackles deep themes, but doesn't overcomplicate them. Muzan being a simple villain and Tanjiro simply being good-hearted created interesting tension just fine, the motivations throughout the cast keep the story nicely driven.

- Depth

Although the story, world, and characters are simple enough for people of all ages and familiarity with anime to enjoy, if you want to scratch deeper than the surface level, the hundreds of thousands of words of meta and cultural background throughout my blog go to show that it's very, very easy to bury yourself deeper in it. In my case I already have years of obsession with Japanese culture to build on, so KnY fit very nicely into my niche. I already love samurai and oni and swords and such so that was already playing to my knowledge, but as a passionate nerd, it's also given me lots and lots of exciting new material to learn more about. But more about that later, suffice to say here that Gotouge is a very, very knowledgeable gator.

- Characters

THEY ARE JUST GOOD AND FUN AND UNIQUE DESIGNS IN THE FIRST PLACE, but also, I don’t feel like I already know these characters from other anime. Many of them defy being typecast, and even the ones that do feel like like other characters in a plethora of anime have such a unique spin to make them stand out in my heart. I'm sure I could be a nerd for plenty of other series, but it takes the right characters to make a fangirl.

Also, my emotions got manipulated excellently; I like Tanjiro and immediately wanted to root for him, but I ha-a-a-ated most of the rest of the cast until I got to spend a teeny-tiny bit more time with them, and then I liked them hopelessly. I got totally strung along and I love it when I can get strung along like this.

Why do I like it so much?

A lot of that comes down to my personal recipe of brain soup and the situation I already felt stuck in by the time I got into KnY, a few months prior to the pandemic. Watching the anime and feeling really into it came as a comfort while I was finding myself in what felt more like a situation than a good career move and feeling frustrated with the second draft of a novel which wasn't working. Then just as I had hoped there might be some improvements to my situation which I was holding out for, the pandemic changed everyone's plans.

Simply put, the isolation and stress in those early stages of the pandemic both gave me lots of time to explore and write fanfic and made me rely a lot on the joy I got out of KnY, and then I got so practiced at making KnY fanwork that this blog became like my bonsai I could cultivate in peace while most other things in life have continued to feel out of control. And dang it, I'm good at cultivating this bonsai of a blog! It's gratifying to feel good at something when real life is making you feel otherwise!

Hopefully the upcoming new start in a new city and in a new job that'll hopefully make me feel good at things again and provide some smidge more control over my life will make me less reliant on KnY for such a big share of my happy hormones, but...

THE HYPE IS PART OF WHAT I LOVE

IT IS

SO MUCH FUN BEING OBSESSED WITH A MAINSTREAM PHENOMENON

THERE ARE THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY EVERYWHERE

I SAY THESE CHARACTER NAMES AND EVERYONE KNOWS WHO I'M TALKING ABOUT AND THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO ME

IT STAYS ON MY BRAIN BECAUSE IT IS EVERYWHERE

AND THIS IS SO COOL

[brick-a-doodle-do]

I’m a little late but fake fic titles if you would still like them :3

Questionable actions and a carrot

A piece of cake

Your no*1 fan

In a figurative and literal sense

All mine

Can you tell I wanted to be obscure? :3

agh. very obscure i love it :D i got an idea for one of them and now feel obligated to do all of them at once before i bury them in my drafts,,,,,,

questionable actions and a carrot

lately, wilbur'd seemed stressed. tommy understood, with the struggles of holding independence for l'manburg, he new the ruler would be stressed. so he wanted to offer his condolences and try to help his leader out.

after trading with ponk and sam and everyone else who was willing to help him, he finally had it: a shrinking potion.

shrink wilbur, force him to rest. that was his plan.

while he couldn't cook, he knew niki could, and tommy had immediately sought her help. reluctantly she agreed and the two organised a picnic/pot-luck type event for the recent winnings of their nation.

only thing was, niki and tommy had made stew and mixed in the potion to wilbur's portion.

in the end, wilbur wasn't exactly happy. but tommy did make sure to shut him up pretty quickly (he stuffed him in his pocket, gave him a shrunken carrot to calm the tiny, and went about his day)

a piece of cake

dream doesn't know why he stopped ghostbur from inviting the people to tommy's party, or why he'd sent the ghost off into the wilderness on top of it. maybe somewhere in the back of his mind, he didn't approve of it and thought it to be too friendly for an exile. or maybe he just wanted tommy to himself. he'd never exactly hated the kid, sure he was annoying, but he offered excitement. and lately their shared moments where he didn't have to fight for some quality time was pretty great. so maybe that's why he's here, standing in front of the nether portal, waiting for the motivation to go through.

when he does, the tiny is there already, sitting on the beach by the table he'd set up with dream just a few days before.

the two got into a pretty quick argument thanks to tommy's constant bickering and irritable self. but dream pulls the evening together pretty quickly. he'd made a small trident for the kid and had the cake that tommy had made. and the day ended with tommy eventually falling asleep in the crook of his neck. he wouldn't admit it, because tommy would've fucking killed him (both of humiliation and anger), but he'd left logstedshire and kept the tiny in his mouth for the time being. he had covered up his guilt surprisingly quickly.

your no*1 fan

tommy had heard many rumors of a famous leviathan hybrid that roamed the oceans just outside of the town, and he was determined to find it. he'd tried since he was a kid, just six years old trying to sneak a boat away without paying for it. sometimes it'd work and he'd sail around for a couple minutes before getting caught. he'd made a deal with the owner of the boat shop though after a while: if tommy promised to help search as often as he could, there wouldn't be a word about his stealing to his family. ever. and after a while, tommy grew out of the deal and he and quackity became good friends, and phil and wilbur knew all about his adventures with him.

tommy even got his own boat!

eleven years had passed and tommy was growing hopeless. at his core, he always believed in "karrohaird", but maybe he was too awesome for tommy.

until his very last outing, where he'd decided to go earlier and pass the time by fishing.

the area had been empty for a while, and he hadn't caught a single thing.

and when he did, he was surprised to find something that was very much not a fish. karrohaird. but...much smaller than he'd ever expected. immediately, he emptied a jar he'd collected shells in and swiped it in the sea, put the mer in, and sealed it as tight as he could. holy shit. he'd finally found the monster he'd spent years looking for.

--

technoblade had seen the bottom of the same boat for years. the human seemed more eager than any other child or adult he'd ever seen. and him, being a sizeshifter, decided he owed it to the kid. but just because the fish had all fled at his arrival and he was bored he thought this way.

in a figurative and literal sense

(VERY MUCH BASED OFF OF "FIELD NOTES" BY OWL CITY)

also please get why i made the scavenger/tiny wilbur. please. i will cry if you don't. this is the entire purpose of the fake fic /vlh

technoblade was just starting to build a life in the overworld, trying to find first a job, which had proven difficult. on his way home, he had gotten distracted by a skeleton that must've wandered too far out of the woods. his instincts yelled at him to follow after it and kill it, which led to him abandoning his car to chase after the thing, who had seemed surprisingly vulnerable and scared of the sudden attack.

he chased it through the fields, and right into a water-filled ditch. despite the inconvenience of being soaked, he still killed the thing and found his way out of the ditch after deeming satisfactory from the way his voices calmed instantly.

on his way out, he noticed something shimmering in the setting sun.

curious, and his voices whirring again at the sight, he dug in the mud until he found the source: a rather elegant old box with jewels dotted across and intricate lines. it looked beautiful. and something, not just the hint of gold, drew him to it.

when he opened it after much struggle, he found a scavenger. one of the rarest and most valuable things in the dimension. it was infinitely small, drained-out looking and curled up in the corners of the box. it's brown curls obscured what he could only imagine to be a soulless and tired face.

all mine

so what if he sold a little bit of drugs? why was he of all the murderers and assholes in the prison sent to the scp foundation to serve as bait for these fucking monsters?

first off, this technoblade guy was rude as shit, and he'd immediately thrown him in a cell with a bunch of other poor class d's who didn't know what they were getting into. neither did quackity, to be fair, he just knew it was bad.

and now he's being handed off to a scientist named wilbur who was almost eager to send him off to conduct tests with an scp, who apparently was friendly but also very much not (wilbur's words, not his). it had similarities between 999 in looks. but that still didn't calm him down.

when the time came, he was shoved into a room with what had to be a fifteen foot tall glob of green slime. he was told never to smile around it, and then spent the evening doing just that. the slime was friendly with him, and apparently as it was new even wilbur was blown away by the fact that it could have a simple conversation with quackity.

and unfortunately quackity felt fond of it.

so he'd left, then came back the next day ready to start more experiments. until the thing made some comment that had been so simple it made him laugh, which made him smile.

and now, he's encased right in the middle of the incoherent body of slime.

eee im very slowly getting into the scp stuff so i thought it'd be cool to make a fake fic out of it :D

[duckprintspress]

Meet Aether Beyond the Binary Contributor Zel Howland

We’re solidly through the first week of the crowdfunding campaign for our next anthology, Aether Beyond the Binary. We’re 55% funded (yay!) and inching toward our goal slowly but surely (I post daily funding goals and progress toward them on our Bluesky account, if you’re curious). The campaign ends on January 25th, 2024; between then and now, we need to raise $6,038 more to fund the publishing of this awesome collection of modern aetherpunk stories staring characters outside the gender binary!

Today, we introduce the fifth of our 17 authors: Zel Howland!

About Zel Howland: Zel (they/she) is a writer and artist currently living in Los Angeles with their partner. When not writing, they spend their time painting, embroidering, analyzing literature and tv shows, and playing Dungeons & Dragons. They are the author of many a fanfiction, as well as the novel The Shadow of Ophelia Walker.

Links: Archive of Our Own | Tumblr

This is Zel’s third publication with Duck Prints Press. Her short story Chrysopoeia (dark fantasy, f/f) is available at duckprintspress.com and her story The Lightkeeper and the Sea (dark modern fantasy, f/nb) is a Patreon exclusive. Both stories are in the Contributor Short Story Bundle campaign add-on! Learn more about Zel’s publishing career.

An Interview with Zel Howland

When and why did you begin creating?

I was always a voracious reader as a kid, and that sort of naturally lead to me trying to write my own stories. When I was about ten or eleven, I came up with a story that borrowed heavily from the Chronicles of Narnia, and I even managed to eke out 75 pages of bad, bad writing before getting discouraged. I still came back to writing though, and the intervening years of practice and failure taught me a lot about my craft and myself.

Are you a pantser, a planner, or a planster? What’s your process look like?

Planner, definitely! I spend as much time worldbuilding and outlining as I do actually writing. I usually have 3-4 outlines for each story (sometimes more for novels!), starting with a brainstorm outline, then getting gradually more detailed until the final outline functions almost as a first draft. They said make your first drafts shitty, and I really took that advice and ran with it.

What’s your favorite part of the creation process?

For writing, I love the first draft–or for me, also known as my final outline. I really love putting the story down on the page in all its messy glory, without the pressure of having to come up with the perfect turn of phrase or spending hours buried in a thesaurus. For art, rendering light and shadows will always be my favorite part. I love taking something flat and turning it into a three-dimensional object with just a little bit of time and care.

What are your favorite tropes?

I really love stories about the Other, whether they’re full horror or exploring other aspects of it. In school I took a class on Gothic Literature that stuck with me so much that I look for character mirroring and fear of the Other in everything I read or watch–there’s more than you might think, even in the most tame narratives! As far as fic goes, mutual pining is what I live and breathe–the kind where both characters are convinced the other doesn’t even like them. I love pretty much every trope that follows from that, from fake relationships to two person love triangles.

What are your favorite character archetypes?

I’ve always loved the manipulative types, especially hyper-competent ones. Characters that aren’t necessarily physically skilled or popular, but who have managed by way of a powerful intellect to pull all the strings so that everyone else is dancing to their tune. I especially love it when these characters aren’t unrepentantly evil, or even villains (although a good villain in this vein is pretty damn fun).

What are your favorite resources and tools for your craft?

I will always, always tout Scrivener as the best writing software available, period. It has so many different functionalities that I couldn’t possibly list them all, and probably don’t even know them all! My favorite functions are the corkboard for brainstorming, the split screen and reference pop-out for easy access to previous drafts or outlines, and the folders where I can organize my many, many outlines and resources without worrying about finding them again. For digital art, I’ve recently begun playing around with Rebelle, and I really love it. I’ve always been more comfortable with physical mediums, and Rebelle replicates both the feel and the look of mediums like oil or watercolor while maintaining the functionality of digital art (undo button and layers, my beloved). I’m still learning, but so far it’s been perfect for me.

What’s your favorite medium to work in? Why?

I love oil painting! It’s a very forgiving medium to work with–plus it has such a good texture, and there’s so much about mixing paint and doing glazes that are meditative and peaceful.

Which of your own creations is your favorite? Why?

I really love the story I produced for Aether Beyond the Binary. I came into writing it after three years of chronic illness that kept me from writing at all, and I think the silver lining was that I was able to come at the concept and the story from a different direction than I normally would have. Plus, it was my first time writing from the perspective of a character with the same gender identity as me, which felt like a boulder being lifted from my shoulders!

If you could give one piece of advice to a new creator who came to you for help, what would that advice be?

Learn the rules, and then break them! Understanding why certain conventions are popular and always recommended will ultimately help you figure out the best way to ignore the recommendations altogether, and find your own way of doing things.

Zel’s Contribution to Aether Beyond The Binary 

Title: Flower and Rot

Art – Zel did art to accompany this story (will not be included in the published anthology, but still, look at it, it’s so cool and shiny!!!).

Tags: bipoc, body horror (graphic descriptions), break-up (past), california, character injury (serious), death of a parent (past), found family, jewish, los angeles, magic use, modern with magic, mystery, natural disaster, non-binary, past tense, pov first person, private investigator, second chances, self-esteem issues, suicide (mentions of), systemic inequality, telepathic bond, trans man, undeath, united states of america

Excerpt:

Four dozen minds linked by Aether watched me through thousands of leaves and roots and flowers as I hurried away. Their attention bored into my back right up to the moment I switched off the Aethercoil and the flow of Aether abruptly stopped. The grove became just an unusually lush garden. I was alone once more.

The thing growing inside my eye stopped too, but I couldn’t afford to hope that it had shriveled away without Aether to feed it. My vision was still cloudy in that eye, and the whole area was delicate and tender.

Spitting rain formed halos around the streetlights as I reached the drugstore parking lot. I clumsily fished for my keys with my left hand, keeping the right firmly covering my eye. My shitty sedan was the only car in the lot, but I checked every line of sight around me before stepping into the driver’s seat. I was pretty sure I was alone.

I couldn’t take the chance that I was wrong.

I already knew what I would see, but I had to know how fucked I was. I pulled down the visor and flipped open the mirror.

Rot.

Intrigued? You’ll have to buy the anthology to read more! Come check out our Kickstarter campaign!!

[dalekofchaos]

WWE really fucked over Bianca Belair

Bianca Belair is a star. She looks like a million bucks, has charisma for days and has physical attributes that are unrivalled in the women's division. Her combination of strength and speed make her a bonafide star.

WWE bungled her title reign, giving her a surprisingly dull but decent feud with a laugh obsessed Bayley(not to mention making Bianca look stupid for letting a LAUGH make her look ridiculous) and a meaningless rivalry with Carmella. Hell, even her feud with Sasha Banks leading to WrestleMania was only salvaged by how awesome the match was. Then SummerSlam happens, and WWE did her dirty.

Trying to play it off as Becky playing mind games or Bianca not being ready is lame. Belair is a pure athlete and a champion, who was ready to defend her belt. Being dropped in less than thirty seconds was a disastrous bit of booking and one she hasn't recovered from.

The worst part about Bianca losing is that they made a big deal about building up Bianca, Rhea Ripley and Raquel Gonzalez as the new era and here come the Four Horsewomen to return to the Status Quo and bury the division. The one kind thing I can say is, Sasha and Bayley did their best to build up Bianca. Becky did her best to bury her and Charlotte didn’t need to work up a sweat to bury Rhea. Because #lolcharlottewins and Super Becky!

Ever since Bianca lost her title, she’s refused to look mad for losing her title in less than 30 seconds. She’s all smiles and twirling her hair and dancing...What is it with WWE treating their black babyfaces dopey happy dumbasses that don’t care about anything and there is no consequences, no ramifications or repercussions for ANY of this. She refuses to get even with Becky. She wasn’t allowed to strike Becky down in her hometown and looked like a pathetic moron by Becky in her hometown and only got to get a upperhand a week AFTER being made a fool in her hometown.  And like an idiot, Bianca wants to shake Becky’s hand...WHY????? Did Hulk Hogan ever shake Ted DiBiase’s hand? Did Bret and Shawn ever shake hands? Did Trish and Lita ever shake hands? Did Austin and V-okay never mind. Point is when in the actual fuck would the babyface shake hands with the heel? This is stupid. 

In my opinion, Bianca should have absolutely been allowed to DESTROY Becky on the mic

“You pride yourself on beating me in 26 seconds, but I heard that’s how long Seth took” or “Girl you’re not a fighting champ or “big time”, you had to sucker punch me and beat me in 26 seconds, but you’re with Seth Rollins, so you’re used to things lasting less than 30 seconds”

“The difference between you and me Becky is I made myself the EST, you only became The Man after Nia Jax broke your face”

We both main evented Wrestlemania, but the difference is mine was better and wasn’t a fluke pinfall and my bestie wasn’t forced in the match”

“Big time Becks, is that what you’re calling yourself? The only way for Becky Cringe to be relevant is to rip off Connor McGregor, which reminds me, didn’t he lose to Jake Paul?”

“At Extreme Rules, I’m gonna beat your ass so hard, you’ll WISH you were back on maternity leave

Nope, she wanted to shake hands before they wrestle on a pay-per-view called Extreme Rules. Anyone spotting major flaws in this plan? Becky cuffed Belair for her insolence, then the pair brawled. Sure, Bianca hit the Kiss Of Death, but not before looking like an idiot. 

And she loses at Extreme Rules. 

She has been drafted to RAW, alongside Becky Lynch, who it's safe to say won't be dropping the belt anytime soon. So where does that leave Belair? A makeshift tag team with another struggling worker to go for the meaningless tag titles?

Belair will no doubt get back to the top and have many runs with the top belt, but being shunted to RAW where Becky Lynch has just arrived feels like a waste of her talent.

[kaistarus]

Happy Accident

Pairing: NishinoyaXReader

Words:1.2K

Summary: You discover you’re pregnant. How will Noya take the news?

A/N: I’ve had this in my drafts forever, so I just finished it. Hope you enjoy!

Masterlist

The flickering yellow lights of the 7/11 bathroom made for shit lighting, but it was enough for you to read the outcome—two pink lines. After two hours, six vanilla lattes, and four pregnancy tests, it was clear. You were pregnant.

You sat in the corner of the crack-tiled flooring, surrounded by scattered paper towels from people in too much of a hurry to throw them away, wishing you could become as forgettable as each brown crumpled paper. Your first thought was ‘how could this happen’ but then you remember several weeks ago when you and Noya’d been too impatient to wait till you were back at the apartment and... you buried your face into your knees.

This was your punishment for having sex behind a random bar.

Pounding on the dark door reminded you that the outside world kept moving, no matter how still it felt in there, so you rose on wobbly legs. In a daze, you left, pulling your hood up to protect yourself from the rain, because of course it would be raining tonight.

How were you supposed to break this to Noya? This hadn’t been in either of your life-plans. He was busy traveling the world and you had just graduated college. Honestly, you weren’t even sure how permanent you were in his life.

The street lamps illuminated the puddled sidewalk as you mindlessly walked toward Noya’s apartment. Ever since he’d stumbled into your life-literally he full sprint knocked you over-you spent the majority of your time with him. He had quickly become the sole reason you believed in love.

Whether he knew it or not.

His confident yet carefree attitude made you feel like anything was possible, and the way he kissed you set your heart ablaze. You hadn’t believed such a feeling was possible-made up solely for movies and novels. Then Noya appeared and you were fantasizing about following him around the world.

The plastic stick weighed heavy in your hoodie as you realized how fast that might be ripped away.

You found yourself standing outside Noya’s apartment complex staring numbly at his window on the fourth floor-lights still on despite the late hour. Your stomach rolled from nerves and a large part of you begged your legs to run in the opposite direction, but they traitorously guided you through glass doors instead.

You were soon faced with his daunting door. Your knock felt too loud as it echoed throughout the dimly lit hall, and you didn’t have to knock twice as the door whipped open with Noya looking panicked down at you.

“It’s like one in the morning,” he said. “Why are you soaked? Were you walking? I could’ve picked you up or gone to your place.”

“Calm down. I’m fine.” You waved him off. “It’s not a big deal.”

He looked at you like you’d grown a second head. “Is something wrong?” He gave you a once-over. “I should get you dry clothes first.”

You were about to tell him it was unnecessary, but he’d already left the room. You should have come up with a plan before getting here because you felt too awkward in the familiar space.

“I laid out some clothes on the bed.” He gestured you toward his bedroom, giving you a kiss on the forehead on his way to the kitchen. “I’ll make something to warm you up.”

You nodded to no one, Noya having already closed the door behind him.

You felt a burning sensation in the back of your eyes when his sweatshirt enveloped you-his scent overtaking yours. You had just gotten used to calling this your new normal. You weren’t ready for it to disappear.

“I made hot chocolate,” Noya said, poking his head in with a smile.

You forced a smile, nodding shortly. You took the mug he offered and went to curl up on the couch. You waited for Noya to follow you out of his room, but after several moments you furrowed your brow confused. What was he doing?

Your heart dropped when you saw him crouched over your soaked clothes with the pregnancy test in his hands. Your body went rigid and all coherent thoughts immediately fled from your mind.

“This is real?” He flipped the test over, analyzing it from all angles.

“Yeah,” you managed weakly.

He blinked several times, filling the room with a deafening silence that had your heart pounding in your chest with anticipation. Would he tell you to leave? Would he never want to see you again?

“Is it mine?”

Your eyes clenched shut as you nodded your confirmation. He doesn’t immediately yell at you, so you peek an eye open and you're stunned by the sight. Noya’s lips are curved ever so slightly into a smile and he looks mesmerized by the piece of plastic.

That was not on the list of reactions you were expecting.

His eyes turned to meet yours before the flickered affectionately down to your stomach which made a flush creep to your cheeks. Suddenly his eyebrows rose to his hairline, his grip tightened on the test, and his amber eyes stared into yours intently.

“Is this why you were acting weird and walking in the rain at night?”

“Yes,” you looked away ashamed, “I thought you’d be angry.”

“Why would I ever be angry about this?” His eyes widened in horror.

“Because it could ruin your life?” You waved your hands around. “It’s a life altering situation, ya know?”

“Ruin my-” He scoffed, walking over to you he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you against his chest. You buried your face in the crook of his neck, letting his heat warm your still chilled body. “(Y/N), I love you. This is the last thing I’d consider ‘ruining my life’.”

Your muscles tensed and you pushed him back enough to look him in the eyes. “You love me?”

“Yeah,” his eyes softened as he tucked stray hair behind your ear. “More than anything.”

A dopey smile made its way to your lips and you buried your face back into the crook of his neck. “I love you too.”

“Awesome,” he whispered, which made you snort. “So, if you want this. I’m going to be here for it all. I already decided you were the one.”

Your face turned bright red and you nodded against his neck.

“You too,” you whispered. “You’re the one, I mean, for me too.”

Noya cradled your cheek and lifted you to face him. He gave you a lopsided grin before nuzzling your noses together and pulling you into a passionate kiss. You poured every ounce of love into each press of your lips and your heart had never felt so full in your chest. You felt so stupid for thinking that Noya could ever get mad at you over something like this. Not when he kissed you like you were his sole reason for living.

He pulls back briefly, gazing into your eyes with a playful smirk.

“So, like, you can’t get double pregnant, right?”

You deadpanned and pushed him away by the forehead.

“What? This is important for our future endeavors,” he wriggled his eyebrows and you sighed exhaustedly. “I’m kidding… Mostly.”

You rolled your eyes fondly, but your chest was still filled with warmth. He chuckled, leaning back down to riddle kisses along your neck. You couldn’t fight back your smile if you wanted to. You were so stupidly in love with this boy it was pathetic.

So, if you were about to embark on a lifelong adventure, you wouldn’t want it to be with anyone else.

[pies-writes-and-more]

accidentally ruining relationships

Word Count: 3,851

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Warnings: a very stupid Bucky? some terrible humour by yours truly? lol all fluff though I promise 

A/N: PLEASE DO NOT REPOST MY WORK ON ANY SITES WITHOUT MY PERMISSION! (Reblogs are totally okay!) Look at me posting a WIP that’s been sitting in my drafts for literally forever haha. I hope you guys like it, I love these two idiots so much <3

(Not my gfif, creds to the original creator!!)

Y/N groaned, lying on her stomach and pushing herself into the pillow beneath her, burrowing her face into the fabric in hopes that she could suffocate herself and be done with this world.

“Doll, it’s okay. Breakups happen. I’m sorry I wasn’t here when it happened.” Bucky apologized, rubbing his hand against her back from where he sat next to her on the bed. He had just come back after a three month long international mission, only to find out that a few days he had gone off comms, Y/N and her recent boyfriend had broken up. The soldier moved his hand move to her hair, playing with a few strands like he usually did when she was in need of some calming energy . “I thought you were thinking about breaking up with him anyways.”

“I was,” Y/N frowned tightly, pulling her face from the pillow and looking back over her shoulder at her friend. “That’s not why I’m upset.” She sighed as she thought about it for a moment, wishing that talking about these things didn’t make her feel so frustrated again. Over the last few months, she had been healing, getting over the typical breakup feelings, but she knew that deep down, this relationship had been all fake anyways.

Bucky waited for a moment with raised eyebrows as Y/N moped further into her pillow. “So… why are you upset?” He finally asked after she didn’t continue.

Y/N huffed and pushed herself up off the bed, sitting up to look at him, “The problem is I expected to feel something... he broke up with me in the worst way, over a fucking phone call, and I feel nothing!”

Bucky blinked, watching as she whined and fell back into his bed. “And... that’s... bad.” Bucky responded slowly, attempting to catch up in her thoughts.

“Yes!” She exclaimed, her bottom lip pulling into a small pout. “It means that I just spent months of my life with this guy who literally made me feel nothing.”

Bucky thought about it for a moment before lying down next to her. “I mean it only happened a few weeks ago. Maybe you’ll feel it later.” He suggested, nudging her playfully.

“Maybe,” (Y/N) murmured, though she knew she wouldn’t. It had been a long time since she felt anything towards her now ex-boyfriend. Or anyone else really, and she had known this even before she met the newest ex. She had tried to bury it, tried to deny it, but it always came back the same way. She was in love with someone else.

The two laid in silence for a while, until Y/N’s fingers clicked onto her phone screen and found a playlist called ‘For the Brokenhearted’. Soon, soft melodies floated in the air, lyrics that made Y/N’s heartstrings feel numb. She felt guilty that she felt nothing, felt upset that there was nothing left over.

“Bucky?” Y/N asked after a while, glancing over at him. After the months he had just gone through, Y/N knew that he was probably sleep-deprived and mentally and physically exhausted, so she wasn’t surprised at all to find his eyes closed. But since there wasn’t his usual falling-asleep twitch in his leg, she knew he was awake.

“Mm?” The sound made Y/N’s lips turn into a small smile, watching the flutter of his eyelashes.

“Have you ever been in love?”

Such a simple question and yet, Bucky felt like he had just been smacked in the stomach, as if all the breath had just been knocked out of him. “S-Sorry what? Me?” His eyes opened to look at her, gazing at her thoughtful expression.

“Yeah,” (Y/N) nibbled on her inner cheek, a nervous habit of hers that Bucky had started noticing the first day they met. “Like heart skipped a beat, smile at the mention of their name, cheeks rosy when they look at you, giggles in your throat kind of in love,” Her voice was lofty, matching her head-in-the-clouds sort of facial expression.

Bucky scratched his head slightly, furrowing his eyebrows as he tried to understand why she was asking, “That… sounds super specific,” he commented slowly, but he knew exactly what she was talking about. He had felt all that and more, starting the very moment he had met her, how could he not?

“I’m scared it doesn’t exist... every time I think I’m in love, it doesn’t work out. I feel flutters with someone and I think hey maybe these are the right kinds of butterflies in my stomach but it turns out I was just looking for something that wasn’t even there,” She sighed, turning onto her side so she was facing him and taking his hand, her fingers playing with his. “I don’t want the next guy I think I’m in love with to turn out to be an ass too. What if I think he’s this super amazing guy, like all the others, and it turns out he’s the worst person I could ever be with?”

Bucky thought for a moment and turned his head to watch her. “One day, you’re going to find some super cool, awesome guy who’s going to treat you like the queen you are, doll. You’ll know it when you’re with him… it’s like magic. Or a puzzle piece. You’ve got to find the person who fits you and your heart just right. Can’t just shove some other piece because it just wont work. But when you find them… it’ll just click.”

There was a pause filled with a sort of tender love in the air, coming from the romance that filled Bucky’s voice as he talked. Y/N watched his eyes sparkle and they shared a gaze for just a moment that made Y/N’s insides turn.

“But until then, you and I can hang out and gossip,” Bucky added in playfully, a smirk on his lips.

Y/N smiled, eyes dropping nervously away from his his but they kept falling t o his lips, as if unable to stop herself from investigating those incredibly kissable lips, “I don’t know how I’d live without you, Bucks.”

He grinned hearing those words, hoping she couldn’t feel his heart racing, “Well lucky for you, you’ll never have to.”

“Until some girl comes and sweeps you away from me,” she tried to laugh, tried to make that smile on her face as genuine as possible because he deserved to be happy. She wanted him to be happy. Somehow, not one single girl that had crossed paths with Bucky had seemed to catch his eye, all of them absolutely stunning. If they couldn’t make Sergeant Barnes swoon, the kind of woman that would must be out of this world incredible.

“Awh come on, no one’s going to be taking me away from you. Not anytime soon.” Bucky’s shoulders gave a simple shrug as his eyes started to close blissfully again, not noting the sadness growing in Y/N’s eyes as she thought about the kind of woman that could make Bucky Barnes feel the way that she herself felt about him.

For just a moment, Y/N watched as he breathed quietly. Her eyes admired every freckle, every piece of hair, every little part of him that she could. She could very much be in love with this idea of something she didn’t know, something new, she was aware of that. She had been so scared that she was just falling in love with Bucky because her relationship didn’t work out and she found solace and comfort with him.

But it wasn’t just because of this asshole breaking up with her. The more she thought about how she felt about Bucky, the more she thought about how often she had waved the idea away with I’m not good enough for him… but that wasn’t really saying she didn’t like him.

And there was more than just what he was like with her. She loved the moments he thought no one was watching, the way he smiled seeing families play together at the park, the immediate need to help someone when they needed it, like that time he had brought home a litter of abandoned kittens.

There was just something about him.

“You’re staring,” Bucky’s voice and cocky smirk broke her out of her thoughts, his eyes not even bothering to open.

“Can’t help it, you’re far too gorgeous,” (Y/N) shot back, hoping her playful tone would hide her true feelings as she quickly turned to her phone to find more music. She begged the universe to keep his eyes shut, hoping he wouldn’t notice how nervous she got all of a sudden.

Bucky peeked an eye open at her words, smirking slightly, “Says the most perfect girl in the universe,” he tested. He just wanted to see that smile once more.

And there it was. Her lips turned into a bashful smile, her lower body squirming shyly. Bucky closed his eyes again, smiling as he saved the picture of it in his mind somewhere.

He felt her shift on the bed and suddenly there was a weight on him. He opened up his eyes to see her straddling his waist, staring at him. “Oh I’m sorry, did I wake you?” She teased, the playfulness in her eyes sparkling.

Bucky swallowed hard, feeling a deep lust for her itching inside of him. His thoughts wandered off for a moment, imagining different scenarios in which she was straddling him. “Nah, can’t fall asleep. Gotta watch after you and that broken heart of yours,” he finally managed out with a smile.

He watched as she slowly leaned down towards him, her eyes hiding a curiosity behind them as they followed his facial expressions. Their faces were so close at this point, Bucky couldn’t help but think about kissing her. Showing her that no other guy she’s dated was worth her.

Y/N moved some hair out of her face as she continued to examine his expression, his eyes, his lips. She couldn’t tell what had come over her, where this confidence had come from, but here she was, closing in the distance between their lips. Bucky’s eyes saw her gaze flicker towards his lips and the back to his eyes. Were they thinking the same thing?

“AND THEN WHAT?” Sam asked with wide eyes, watching as Bucky paced up and down his room. He was at the very edge of his seat, as if Bucky was retelling the most dramatic story of a lifetime (which he was)

“And then nothing!” Bucky groaned, shaking his head. He let out a sound of frustration, kicking at the air.

“What do you mean nothing? Sounds like she wanted to kiss you.” Steve’s eyebrow raised in confusion, leaning back into the couch he and Sam were sitting on.

Bucky sighed and after a moment, he finally threw himself onto a nearby chair, “I couldn’t do it, Stevie. She just went through a breakup. How is that fair of me to take advantage of her feelings like that?”

“I mean, you could’ve been her rebound.” Sam offered. “And then she just so happens to fall in love with you. You two get married, have kids, be disgustingly adorable-”

“That just sounds like I’m using her emotions to my advantage. She deserves better than that.” Bucky sighed, putting his head in his hands. “That was my one chance, wasn’t it?” He moped.

“Bud, everyone can see that you like each other. There’ll definitely be another time for it. Maybe when she’s not dealing with a breakup,” Steve nudged his friend, attempting to be comforting. “It’s only been a few weeks, give it some time.”

“I mean to be fair though, maybe that was her trying to tell you that she likes you and when you didn’t kiss her, she took it as you not liking her. I mean she did make the first move,” Sam thought out loud. Steve grabbed the pillow seated next to him and swung it out right beside him, hitting Sam smack in the face, glaring at the now laughing Sam Wilson as Bucky let out a whine.

“Dammit!” The dark haired soldier yelled out, his voice echoing into the room, thinking through his options. “The hell do I do now?”

“Well what happened after you didn’t kiss her?” Steve asked as Bucky hit his head against the back of the chair frustratedly.

Bucky sighed and looked over at him, “She just smiled kinda sadly and said she wanted to go talk to the girls or something.”

“Okay so why don’t you ask her if she wants to go get some snacks or something from the grocery store. Do that movie date thing you guys normally do.” Steve shrugged, not at all worried by the situation. He had seen the lovey-dovey glances these two sent each other all the time, and to be honest, he was getting so sick of it. It frequently disturbed meetings, ruined plans on missions, and right now, it was ruining what was supposed to be a peaceful Sunday night. With his luck, this would continue for a long time, so there was so need for his best friend to be worried.

Before Bucky could decide if it was a good plan, there was a knock on the door and Y/N peered in. “Bucks?” She blinked, surprised to see the three men sitting around and Bucky looking depressed. “Sorry, am I interrupting?”

“Not at all,” Sam smirked. “Sorry to hear about Johnny...Mark...Marcus?” He offered, stretching his mind.

“Tommy.” Y/N responded with a laugh.

“Right, Tommy... the... doctor?”

“Dentist,” Y/N laughed, raising an eyebrow in his direction. “Seems like you put in so much effort to remember my dates, Wilson,” she teased.

“What can I say, I just don’t think they’re that memorable compared to other guys,” Sam grinned, wiggling his eyebrows in Bucky’s direction when she wasn’t looking. “Well, sorry anyway,” Sam added in with a smile.

“Aw, don’t be sorry,” (Y/N) shrugged, sighing as she let her thoughts lead her words, “Any boy who breaks up with me over working here, isn’t really worth it.” The words spilled out before she could stop herself, smiling brightly until she noticed all the boys turning to look at her with wide eyes. “What?”

“He broke up with you because you work with the Avengers?” Steve frowned tightly. “What’s wrong with working with us? Did we do something? Is he one of those guys that doesn’t like us?”

“O-Oh-” (Y/N)’s eyes widened, “U-Um like, partially because I work with you guys.”

“Who the hell doesn’t like the Avengers?” Sam scoffed. “What’s so wrong with working here?”

“I-It wasn’t so much working with you guys as it was... you know...living with you.” Y/N admitted nervously, avoiding Bucky’s gaze as she desperately tried to put out a fire she started but only really making things worse. He stared at her hard and she knew it was because he was surprised she hadn’t told him this earlier.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Bucky’s voice was quiet but it sent a little shiver down Y/N’s spine. Sam and Steve shared a look, attempting to sink back into their seats, twiddling their thumbs.

“It’s not really that important,” Y/N told him quickly. “He just...got jealous that I’d be hanging around you guys and that I’m always with you and that I talk about you all the time and-”

“So it wasn’t so much the Avengers he was jealous of, but...Bucky?” Sam sat up straight as he spoke up, trying to contain the smirk on his face but it was hard. He didn’t need any clearer sign than that that these two were pining after each other - even Y/N’s idiot ex boyfriend could see that. Bucky’s face lit up like a tomato, which made it harder for Sam to contain any laughter.

“I-I mean...” Y/N scattered for a good excuse. Tommy had hated her relationship with Bucky and always felt like he came second to him... he wasn’t wrong.

“Did I do something?” Bucky asked nervously, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to come between you and your relationship-”

“No no!” Y/N burst out, shaking her head, “Please don’t think like that. It’s not like this is the first time it’s happened!” She laughed nervously, but the boys were still staring at her. Goddammit, stop talking! she begged herself, letting out a quiet groan when she realized what she had admitted.

Bucky’s heart was falling. So he had been the reason for all those nights she cried and wondered if she’d ever find love? “It’s happened before?” Bucky asked slowly, shoulders falling. “Fuck, how many of your relationships have I ruined?”

“Bucky-” Y/N started.

“I think this is our cue to leave,” Sam mumbled, nudging Steve’s arm. The two of them patted (Y/N) on the back before sliding out, Sam sending Bucky a supportive grin and a thumbs up before closing the door behind him.

“How many?” Bucky asked again, standing up stiffly.

“What?”

“How many times have I ruined a relationship with a person you really liked?”

Y/N swallowed hard, her mind racing as she tried to find the words to explain what it had all been about, “Bucky please, it’s not what you think-”

“Not what I think? You’ve been in and out of flings and relationships this whole time and now you’re telling me that this isn’t the first one to end because of me? What did I do? Is it because I’m around you lots?” Bucky looked angry and desperate for answers. Y/N’s heart broke seeing him like this, unsure of how to explain.

“B-Bucky, please, let me explain-”

“Damn, what kind of friend am I to be in the way of all your relationships? How could you not tell me? You could’ve told me to back off or something! How many of them did you actually like and I fucked it up?” Bucky ranted, his voice raising.

“Bucky stop!” Y/N yelled, eyes desperately following him. “I-It’s not like that. It’s not just because we’re always together. These guys just get jealous and...and...” Y/N swallowed hard, trying to figure out what to say. Was now a good time to admit all the feelings that were bottled up?

“Jealous of what? Of how you spend time with me here? Of how you take care of me? Is it because of who I was? Because of what I did?” Bucky pleaded, begging for answers. Why wouldn’t she just tell him the truth? “All those nights you spent in my room, crying over boys, and it turns out it was just my fault all along-?”

“Bucky Barnes, it’s because I’m in love with you!” (Y/N) yelled out, a desperate attempt to pull him out of spiralling.

Bucky’s eyes shot over to her, wide as he processed her outburst. There was a dead silence as the two of them stared at each other.

“You what?” His voice was barely louder than a whisper.

Y/N sucked in air, heart pounding against her chest. There was no turning back now. “I-I’m in love with you, Bucks... and they all knew it. I tried to play it off as them just being jealous of my best friend being a guy but... I’ve always known I was in love with you. Even the girls knew,” she sighed, thinking about how Nat and Wanda were so relieved to finally hear Y/N admit she may have feelings for the soldier.

Bucky suddenly felt incredibly lightheaded. He searched her expression for any sort of sign that she was lying, but she sounded so genuine. “Y-You can’t,” he told her softly. “Not me.”

(Y/N) felt defeated, her heart was falling every second, “Because you don’t love me back,” She stated softly and Bucky’s eyes looked like they would pop out of his head.

“No! Of course I’m in love with you, doll, who the hell wouldn’t be?” He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. His shoulders fell from his normally straight posture, eyes dropping to the floor. “My heart’s been yours since the first time you smiled at me. But what could I give you? I’m an old man, I don’t understand anything you grew up with, anything we’re going through right now. Not to mention the obvious,” he scoffed, closing his eyes slightly. “I couldn’t live with myself if one day I snapped back and you were scared of me.”

(Y/N)’s heart was in turmoil. On one hand, he had just admitted he loved her too. Her heart soared at the thought of them being in love, at having a chance to be with her best friend. And then it fell. Bucky was stepping away from her, as if distancing himself would do anything. “I can take care of myself,” she said firmly, frowning at him. “Do you really love me?”

Bucky looked at her with a sad smile, moving to sit on the armrest of the couch. “With everything this broken body has.”

“Then kiss me,” she demanded, surprising herself with how confident the bold statement sounded.

Bucky stared at her for a moment, his fears and his feelings mixing together. He was in such turmoil, watching as she stepped closer moving to stand between his legs. “Doll, I-”

“Do you not want to?” She asked quietly, watching his eyes. She needed to know how those lips felt on hers, if the spark that she had fantasized about was real.

“Of course I want to-” He insisted, searching her earnest eyes. “But what if-”

“Then kiss me, Sergeant.”

Bucky watched her for a moment, deciding that this was the one moment that he got. Steve told him that he deserved to be happy, especially after everything that happened. Did he? Did Bucky Barnes, a trained assassin that became a murdering tool deserve to be happy? He stared at this woman standing in front of him, a glow on her skin after such a passionate confession, eyes fiery with confidence and demand.

“Fuck,” Bucky muttered to himself. He stood up swiftly, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her to him. And he did it. He kissed her. His lips eagerly pressed against hers, her arms finding their way around his neck in an attempt to pull him closer.

It was everything the two of them had dreamed of and more. Y/N thought about all those people who said you know it’s love when there’s sparks flying. The comical idea of fireworks off in the background played in her head as his lips moved along hers. It was magical, it was fantastic, it was everything.

The two pulled apart for a moment, eyes fluttering open to see each other, to make sure that this wasn’t just a dream, “I really really like you, Bucky Barnes,” Y/N whispered against his lips, pecking them again gently.

Bucky smiled, brushing her hair from her face as he tried to bring himself back to earth. There was no way a girl like this wasn’t an angel, he had to have been brought to Heaven or some etherial plane,“I really really really like you too, Y/N Y/L/N.”

** ** ** ** ** ** **

I hope you guys enjoy this!! I’ve been toying with this WIP for a while now and just figured it was time to post it :) Please let me know if you like it! I love to hear from you all!

Masterlist

[soopersara]

NaNoWriMo 2021: Day 28

5329 words written today 87813 words written total (goal: 46676 words)

Milestones: Finished drafting Chapter 78 of A Tale of Ice and Smoke! 

I think it’s safe to say that I’ve been on a roll for the past few days. Four chapters over a four day weekend? Not too shabby in my opinion. 

The final “battle” is officially complete now! I was kind of worried about how it would pan out when I started, but honestly? The draft turned out a lot better than I was expecting. Like, yes, it’s obviously still rough, but it’s not going to cost me all of my sanity to get it into readable condition when I get to this point in editing. There’s hope!

Now I just have to write the next 2-3 (I’m kind of leaning toward 2, though) chapters (and cry a lot, I’ll leave the reasons for the crying up to your imagination) to wrap up Book 1! Definitely won’t get through the whole thing before December, but I’m fairly comfortable with saying that I’ll have Chapter 79 done on the 30th and then finish Book 1 sometime in December. It’s gonna be awesome, y’all!

Also, I’m just gonna blatantly redact some of the sneak peek, because this whole chapter is a massive spoiler, and this is the only way I’ll be able to share any of it. So yes, it probably looks weird, no, I don’t really care.

Sneak Peek: Beware spoilery material below the cut!

*

“So?” Katara asked him in a whisper when they were just barely out of earshot in the street. “What is the plan?”

Zuko glanced back at her and frowned. “Just—to be clear, you remember that I said you were going to hate it, right?”

Her grip on his hand tightened, and she pulled closer to his side as they edged along the outer wall of the oasis. “I remember. That’s kind of why I’m hoping you’ll tell me what it is before we start.”

He took a long, slow breath, scanning around the next corner. “Well—basically, I think that we need to [REDACTED].”

“Good. That’s fine. So what’s the part I’m going to hate?”

He glanced back down at Katara again. “That’s—I think that I’m going to have to be the bait.”

She gave his arm a small smack that was less painful than it was audible. “You’re right, I hate it. Why do you have to be the bait?”

“Because [REDACTED].” He tried to pull her toward the next street, but her grip held tight, and she refused to move. Zuko looked back again and found her staring directly into his eyes, her brows drawn upward in the middle and her forehead creased. “What?”

“Zuko—there has to be another way out of this. A way that doesn’t put you in so much danger.”

He sighed, looking off to the side a bit, and shook his head. “Can you think of anything? Because I can’t. Believe me, I’ve been trying. It’s just—either we take this chance or hundreds of other people are going to get hurt instead.”

���I don’t want to see anything bad happen to you.”

He found himself drawn back into her gaze, falling back into the almost endless blue. “I trust you,” he said quietly. As small, as soft as his voice was, he could hardly put any more meaning behind it if he tried. “I know if I do this, you’ll find a way to [REDACTED]. I know things will turn out okay.”

Her voice wavered a little. “And what if they don’t?”

He gave a small shrug. “I thought I was supposed to be the pessimist.”

Katara scowled. “No, you’re just impossible. There’s a difference.” But rather than getting angry with him—or rather than yelling, at least—she yanked hard on his hand so that he stumbled back toward her, then threw her arms around him and buried her face into his shoulder.

Warmth seemed to spread out through his entire body, and after a few moments of hesitation, he wrapped his arms cautiously around her in return. This was nice. This felt good, and although he still didn’t know quite what to do about being hugged, he thought that he could probably get used to it in time. As long as it was her, he’d be happy with as many hugs as he could possibly get.

“If you die, I’ll kill you,” Katara said, her voice a little muffled thanks to his parka covering much of her face.

Zuko snorted. “You know that doesn’t make any sense, right?”

“That’s the point.” She squeezed him a little tighter, then let out a huff and pulled back, wiping her eyes. “You’d better make it out of this safely.”

[kim-bobbae]

90. “You can tell me anything.”

Work has been somewhat a nightmare and I just felt like writing about some Jay lovin’...though if he’d look at me like that I’d just burst into tears right away sigh TT

How do I go home and rant to my boyfriend, Jay Park, about my boss – Jay Park? 

You had honestly imagine working with your boyfriend to be the best thing ever, especially so when he was essentially the busiest man alive, and working with him meant that you could see him every day despite his inhumane schedules – the occasional coffee runs before work and the little glances that he sneaked at you whenever he came in and out of the office? Cute, you loved it. 

But while you did get to spend almost every waking hour with him, that was the very reason why it made work extra hard – he made his never ending pile of work look so easy and it honestly did nothing to make you feel better about your job, more so when the music video you were working on was due for its final review tomorrow and you were not the least bit satisfied with the outcome after working on it for three consecutive nights. 

“Hey,” You said, flashing him a small smile as the both of you exchanged glances via the reflection on your monitor. 

“How’s it going?” He asked, giving your shoulders a massage. 

“It’s still work in progress I guess…” You shrugged, weariness evident in the tone of your voice to which he picked up almost immediately. 

“Is everything okay?” He asked, pulling over a chair from the desk next to yours, then turned your chair to face him. 

“Yeah, it’s just been a really long day…” 

It was two in the morning, the rest of the employees long gone. You had spent the entire day working on the music video and had completely lost track of time as you played it back over and over again, going back and forth between several transitioning effects and finding it difficult to come to a decision. 

He remained silent, studying your face carefully – from your slumped posture to your sleepy eyes, he knew something was up but instead of asking once more, he merely held both your hands, furrowing his brows he waited for you to speak again. 

“…can I please get a hug?” You whispered. 

“Of course,” He hummed, then gestured for you to sit on his lap before he wrapped his arms around your frame, bringing your fingers to his lips as he kissed them gently. “What’s wrong?” 

“I’ve been working on this for nights and no matter how many times I watch it, I just can’t seem to figure out what’s lacking,” You explained. “The review is tomorrow and this is driving me nuts…” 

He wordlessly reached for your mouse, playing the draft you had completed thus far and for a while he just stayed like that, watching with a careful eye while his other hand kept his hold on you. With the way he remained silent throughout and his attention completely fixated on the screen, four minutes felt like forever as you chewed nervously on your lips, your eyes darting back and forth as you looked for the slightest hint of reaction other than the bobbing of his head towards the beat. 

A smug smile played on his lips as the video came to an end, and you could’ve sworn your heart was about to fall out of your chest as you waited for him to speak. 

“I don’t get what you’re stressing about,” He stated as a matter of fact. “That was dope.” 

“You’re lying.” 

“No I’m not, why would I?” 

You sighed, getting off his lap and sitting back down in your chair as you stared at the screen and scrolled aimlessly through the video once more. 

“Baby, what’s going on?” He asked, confused at the way you were reacting to his compliments. 

You ran your fingers through your hair, “I’m not tryna flex or anything...but that’s what everyone says and at this point I feel like everyone’s just flattering me cos I’m your…” 

“You’re my…?” 

“…never mind.” 

He scooted closer to you, hands on yours to stop you from working and looked at you with a face full of worry, “You can tell me anything.” 

“…cos I’m your girlfriend,” You told him, looking down at your lap. 

“And what’s wrong with that?” 

“I feel like everyone’s telling me that I’m doing a good job just cos I’m dating their boss,” You explained. “This video doesn’t even feel complete…how in the world is this ‘great’?” 

You weren’t sure if this was you putting all this unnecessary pressure on yourself because you were surrounded by so many talented creatives in H1GHR’s graphic team, but with the way the several music videos you’ve directed for Jay over the years have been consistently blowing up, the bar was set high the moment Jay signed you to direct his team. You’ve been working independently for several years with the intention of making a name for yourself before joining a label and Jay completely understood that, giving you all the time and space you needed to develop your craft but with how he hyped you up (you know, typical Jay) and assigned their latest and biggest project, the compilation album, under your direction the moment you entered, the pressure was no doubt eating you up. 

“We don’t have to worry if you’re the one directing the music videos.” 

“This project is gonna blow up now that you’re in charge. The edits in your latest work were sick!” 

Sure, you appreciated the fact that they thought so highly of you, but all these expectations were inevitably sending you into an endless cycle of self-doubt. 

For a while he simply stared at you, confused. He watched the way tears were beginning to well up in your eyes as you clicked on your mouse frantically, applying filters and effects before undoing them again. This went on for a good minute and it was when frustration became evident from the way you tapped loudly on the control + z keys did he make an attempt at stopping you.

“Hey-” 

“You’re so good at what you do – you do ten thousand meetings a day while releasing songs, doing photo shoots, interviews and even working out – you make work look so easy and I feel like everyone associates my work to yours and…its stressing me out,” You said, then sighed as pushed your mouse aside and buried your face in your hands. “I don’t want to disappoint them…” 

“Baby, look at me,” He said, placing one of his hands on your lap. 

“I can’t,” You whispered against the palm of your hands. 

He let out a deep breath, peeling your hands off your face before he cupped your cheeks and brushed away your tears with his thumb, “You’re doing great, and I’m not saying this just because you’re my girlfriend and I love you to death – you know how honest I am with my comments when it comes to work.” 

“For real..?” You rasped, looking down at your lap to avoid his gaze. 

“Of course,” He reassured you. “Now stop putting yourself down for absolutely no reason at all cos I’m proud of you and your work.” 

“…I’m being stupid now, aren’t I? For being whiny and a crybaby…?” 

“And for complaining that your boyfriend’s too awesome? A little,” He joked, finally eliciting a giggle from you. 

Nevertheless, he pulled you in for a hug, dotting a kiss on your forehead. 

“Now let’s go home shall we? You’ve been staying up at the office for a few nights and it kinda sucks going to bed alone knowing you’re in the office slogging your ass off for my music video.” 

“Alright boss,” You snickered, knowing very well he hated it when you addressed him like that and he rolled his eyes at you, saving your work once more before dragging you out of the office.

[miss-writes-a-lot]

Coffee Beans and Cherry Pits (Rwby oc story.)

(A story/au featuring @mcmystery 's of Cerise and Garnet. Just an idea I had a while back. Check out their blog and their of Cerise. Her story is really interesting and Cerise is pretty awesome. Implied Cloqwork but it's not the focus.)

Cerise met Garnet one day when she came back from watching Oscar and Maylea. She had been brought from the collapse of a small town near Mountain Glenn with no memory three weeks prior. She was slowly being introduced to everyone - Cerise just happened to stumble upon her in the kitchen while she was sneaking fruit loops. She was a ghostly white with dark red eyes and didn't seem too keen on making new friends.

She was soon added to the babysitting party but, again, she didn't try to socialize. She was nice, picked up after herself, and she seemed to be close with Oscar and May. But she didn't talk much. She would often sit in one spot and read or sleep. Cerise never pressed her for details or pressured her to socialize, but she worried for her.

-

It was Spring. Oscar and Maylea had started school, leaving Garnet the only one of the Pines to stay over. Most of the day went on as it normally did whenever Garnet was over - she slept on the couch for most of the morning while Cerise made lunch for them. Nothing seemed out of place.

That was until Cerise had left the room. It was only for a second- she had spilled some water on the ground and was looking for something to clean it up with. She had only left the room for a seconds at most before she heard Garnet jump up from the couch and scurry across the living room and into the kitchen. Some cabinets flew open and soon the sound of some rummaging followed. It wasn't until she heard something very heavy fall to the floor and spill out onto the ground.

"Garnet? Are you okay?" She called, quickly walking down the hall to the kitchen.

"E-Everything's okay! Nothing's wrong!" Garnet called back.

Cerise still continued her trek to the kitchen. She could already see a pile of coffee beans that covered the floors and Garnet's little white hands trying to scoop them back into their tin container. She turned the corner and found Garnet on her knees with a mountain of coffee beans beside her. Once she saw Cerise standing by the corner, she immediately stopped what she was doing and stood up.

"I-I'm sorry, Ms. Cerise. I didn't mean to mess everything up. I can clean it up! I'll even get you more! I can-"

"Garnet, Garnet, Garnet," Cerise said, kneeling down in front of her, "I'm not mad. I have more in the cabinets, but I need to know what you were doing and why you were in there?"

Garnet looked down at the floor, "You... wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"That was the same thing your papa told me when I first saw you. Try me."

Garnet fiddled with her fingers, "I...I can smell...no, that's not...you...I can smell you."

Cerise tilted her head in confusion. "You...can smell me?"

"Your emotions, to be specific. It sounds...weird, I know. But I can. I know I can. I have for a while."

Cerise nodded, "Uh, well...how...how did you-?"

"I stayed in a place with all of these machines and stuff...I think it was a hospital. Mr. Ironwood always came to see me. Everytime he did, his smell would change. I didn't notice it at first. I wasn't around him long enough to notice. But then, he was asking me questions about what I remembered when they took me from Mount Glenn. His smell kept changing. It changed with his face. It took me a while to put it together but I figured it out."

The older woman scooted forward, "Do Oz and Qrow know?"

The little girl shook her head, "No one but you knows. I'm... I'm too scared. If I tell them, then I'll just be like the monsters. I don't want to let them down. I want to remember - I need to remember that day. I want to help them. That's... that's...," Garnet sat down and hugged her knees, "...I don't want them to get rid of me."

"Garnet, they would never get rid of you. You mean so much to them - to all of us!"

"I'm not like you, Ms. Cerise. They have to plan their lives around me. I have to hide myself because I'm a reminder of the monsters. Your Strings, Mr. Qrow and Mr. Ozpin's magic - that's normal. Nothing about me...about this, is normal. They don't need another thing to mess up their lives..."

Cerise frowned, pulling Garnet into a hug. "Garnet, they would never think about you like that. You mean so much to them, and I'm sure whether you tell them or not, they will still care about you either way."

Garnet hesitantly hugged her back, burying her head in her shoulder. She muttered, "Cherries..."

"Hm?"

"You smell...like cherries when you're...happy. I like it, though. Just...strong. You're... you're happy a lot."

"I," Cerise started, quickly pursing her lips into a slightly forced smile, "I'll tell you what; why don't you and I bake something together? It'll help wash out the scent a little."

Garnet beamed, "Really?"

Cerise nodded, smiling sweetly, "I'll clean this up and I'll call down so we can get started. Go wash your hands, okay?"

Garnet nodded, bouncing down the hall as Cerise went to find a broom to sweep up the pile of coffee beans. Cerise felt a twinge of anxiety as she thought of Garnet's strange ability.

'You're overthinking things again,' She thought to herself, 'Garnet will be okay. Qrow, Oz, May, Oscar - they care about her. You care about her. She's... she's going to be okay.'

(a/n: sorry if this seems unfinished. It's been sitting in my drafts for a while and I didn't want to keep anyone waiting.)

[holidaywishes]

She’s Adorable

  Requested: 👍

  Summary/Request: Loved the last writing omg it was so good !! Can I request one where you’re really really shy and Fred takes you to a team party and you sort of become really closed off and only stick to him? Maybe you slowly get used to Steph but after everyone let’s Freddie know that they thought you were adorable and actually really like you? If that makes sense? It’s okay if it doesn’t, thanks love !!

  Warning: fluff, a little bit of angst due to insecurity

  Author’s Note: I AM SO SORRY that this has taken so long! It’s been in my drafts since I got the ask but I wanted to put out a couple chapters of my Fred series before I wrote this and then it got a little buried. It’s a little short and maybe not exactly what you were asking for but I hope you still like it and that it makes you happy!

  masterlist

  the other masterlist

xx

Freddie’s P.O.V

  You and (Y/N) met about three months ago but you didn’t start dating until about a month ago. Which meant she hadn’t really ‘bonded’ with any of the team or their girlfriends yet but you wanted her to be able to stand her own with them because you knew once they got to know her, they’d love her. She was hard not love.

  “They’re going to love you!” you pleaded with her after she rejected your invitation to the team’s Halloween party

  “I don’t know, Fred...” she sighed, “I don’t know anyone well enough to like... feel comfortable...”

  “You’ll get to know them!” you tried again, “I promise, they’ve all been where you are”

  “But they’re not like me. The girls are all confident and like fit in super easily with everyone”

  “(Y/N), trust me. They will love you, you don’t have to be nervous.” You continued to plead with her, reassuring her that the team would love her and she’d have a bunch of new friends in both them and the girls, until she eventually agreed

  “Okay okay!” she laughed, “our couples costume has to be ah-mazing then”

  “Oh.. it will be” you laughed, wrapping your arms around her and kissed her forehead

“What’s your idea?” she asked with a smile

“Peanut Butter and Jelly” you said and she wrinkled her nose up at the idea

“Hmm nope”

“Wonder Woman and Superman”

“Hmm...”

“Beer and a solo cup”

“Creative but no,” she laughed, “we’ll just have to keep thinking about it.” After a couple days of tossing around costume ideas, you and (Y/N) had narrowed it down to Chucky and Tiffany from the Bride of Chucky or

“The twins from the Shining?!” you whined, earning a giggle from her, “you want me to wear a dress?”

“Yeah, it’s time for you to be the sexy one for a change”

“Are the twins from the Shining sexy?” he raised an eyebrow at you and you grimaced at the words

“No, they’re children... okay forget the twins. So I guess that means Chucky and Tiffany!”

“Great! Neither of us have to wear a wig!” He joked

“That’s exactly why I picked it!” she replied

“This is going to be a great party”

“I still don’t know...” she hesitated, “don’t go too far away from me. I might need an out...”

“I got you.”

xx

  “What if they don’t like me?” you whined to your best friend, Jennifer, as she helped you with your makeup

  “They’re going to love you!” she exclaimed

  “That’s what Freddie keeps saying,” you sighed, Jennifer nodding emphatically, “but I don’t know. I’ve met some of the girls when I go to the games and they’re all... they’re just not like me”

  “What does that mean?”

  “They’re confident without trying,” you started, “I think it has something to do with how pretty they are...”

  “HEY!” she yelled and you leaned back in your chair, “you’re beautiful. I don’t want to hear you say that you’re not pretty, okay?”

  “You don’t get it..” you tried

  “Freddie loves you, he thinks the stars rise and fall with you!

  “It’s not him I’m worried about,” you stood up quickly, walking to the kitchen to grab a drink, “it’s the team. Most of them are young and... superficial? I don’t know if that’s the word I wanna use but.. you know what I mean? They’re quick to befriend the girls who are there already because they’re pretty and tall and they fit this mold that all the other NHL wags seem to fit. I don’t. But I really like Freddie and I guess... I don’t know, I guess I’m worried that if his friends don’t like me, he’ll second guess our entire relationship.”

  “Sweetie...” Jennifer said as she made her way to give you a side hug and bring you back to the chair to finish your Tiffany makeup, “that’s not going to happen. Yes, this girls fit a mold, but you are so much more than some mold and Freddie knows that.” Just then, the doorbell rings and Freddie lets himself in

  “Tiff, baby, where are you?” he yells as he closes the door, laughing as he catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror, “my hair looks crazy...”

  “Just try not to stick to him all night okay?” Jen whispers as you turn the corner to meet your boyfriend, who had managed to get the Chucky look just right without any help; or so he says

  “Wow. You look... so sexy” he smiled and you rolled your eyes

  “Thank you. We should probably get going or we’re gonna be late.”

  “Aren’t you gonna compliment me?” he chided

  “You look great, babe! Just like a murderer-turned-psychopathic-doll!” you laughed and waved goodbye to your friend as you walked to Freddie’s car. When you got to the party, you asked Freddie to sit with you for a second before you went in

  “Just breathe. Everything is going to be fine.” And, as if his words were holding you up, you made your way into the house, ready to show off your confidence.

  “FREDDAYYY!” Willy and Penny greeted as you walked through the door, Freddie smiled awkwardly at the tipsy state that Willy already seemed to be in, “you two look great. Chucky and Bride of Chucky?” You nodded with a small smile, clinging to Freddie’s arm

  “And you are...?”

  “Taco.. Bell” Willy said as he pointed between his and Penny’s costumes

  “Clever” Freddie laughed before they walked past you to get another drink

  “OH MY GOD! I LOVE THIS!” Stephanie exclaimed as she met the two of you by the couch, “this is such a great costume for you guys!”

  “Thanks” you smiled. You had always liked Stephanie, she didn’t seem as uptight as some of the other girls could, which you always attributed to her and Mitch being together from the start. Even still, you weren’t overly familiar with her, “Morticia?” you asked

  “Exactly! My Gomez is around here somewhere...” she giggled as she scanned the crowd

  “I’ll be right back okay?” Freddie whispered to you, forcing you to squeeze him tightly to let him know that you were still nervous, “I’ll be quick, I promise.” He kissed the top of your head and was gone in an instant

  “AH THERE HE IS!” Steph shouted when she finally found Mitch, who was already on his way to her

  “HEY!” he said with a smile

  “Hey” you repeated, standing awkwardly for a minute

  “So.. who are you supposed to be?” he asked to break the silence

  “Tiffany... Bride of Chucky...”

  “So Freddie must be dressed as Chucky then. That’s awesome”

  “Thanks!” you yelled over the music, smiling when the conversation kind of ended there

  “We’re gonna go dance, wanna come?” Steph asked and you shook your head

  “I’m just gonna wait here for Fred.” They shrugged and left you to sit down. When Freddie didn’t come back right away, you began to feel like it was a mistake for you to come but you still wanted to try

  “Hey!” Nick greeted as he plopped down on the couch before. He was new, you were new, maybe you could actually have a conversation with him

  “Hi!” you smiled

  “I’m Nick!” he said, and you realized he’d completely forgotten who you were, “nice to meet you”

  “(Y/N), nice to meet you, too.” You sighed, deciding not to correct him

  “So... what are you?” his words were slightly slurred and you realized that he was probably edging on being drunk

  “Bride of Chucky” you responded

  “FREDDIE’S DRESSED AS CHUCKY!” he laughed, “OH SHIT! THAT MAKES YOU HIS GIRL!” You smiled awkwardly at his realization

  “That’s me!”

  “I’m sorry! There are so many faces to remember and I might be a little drunk right now” he confessed

  “No worries. It’s okay, I completely understand. I’m new too, remember?” you laughed, “I’m just gonna go find something to drink. You need some water?”

  “That sounds nice” he sighed and followed you to the kitchen, where you grabbed yourself a glass of punch and Nick a glass of water

  “THERE SHE IS! MY BRIDE!” Freddie yelled from across the bar before he made his way to you, “YO TIFF WHERE YOU BEEN?” He laughed at his impression

  “I thought you said you were coming right back” you said to him when he finally reached you

  “I did.. I said that...” he replied, nodding once to Nick who stood behind you, “but I wanted to see you chat up everyone”

  “Oh yeah? And you never thought to save me?” you smiled

  “You were doing fine...” he scoffed

  “I was sitting alone on the couch for like 20 minutes before Nick here re-introduced himself to me” you said

  “I’m sorry, baby, I got caught up talking to people. There were pictures...” he mumbled, “I’m sorry. I’m here now.” The two of you spent the rest of the night together, you glued to his hip, while he spent the majority of the party doing more talking than you’d ever really seen him do. On more than one occasion, you found yourself lost in his smile and his laughter

  “So... have you started to drive her crazy yet?” Auston asked suddenly, forcing your head to jerk to look at him

  “No” you laughed as you scrunched up your nose at Freddie

  “Why would I?” Freddie asked

  “Well... I mean.. come on. The late night ‘practices,’ the long stretches without seeing each other, having to fuck over the phone...” you furrowed your brow at the words coming from Freddie’s teammate

  “What late night practices?” you smirked, trying to distance yourself from whatever Auston was trying to stir

  “You’ll find out when the team’s on the road fo--”

  “Alright, that’s enough!” Freddie interrupted, Mo helping him get Auston sobered up

  “He’s harmless, you know,” Alannah started, “just lonely. He also doesn’t want to settle down, so seeing Freddie in a relationship has him all confused.” You knew she was probably right and you trusted Freddie, but you had only been with him for a month, so who was to say that he wouldn’t do something while he was on the road. It wasn’t long after Auston’s drunken words that the party wrapped up and you said goodbye to everyone.

  “You know what he said... it’s not what you think” Freddie stammered

  “What do you mean?”

  “Nothing happens on the road”

  “I know” you whispered

  “I mean some of the guys do stuff but I’ve never..” he started, “I’m not that guy anymore.”

  “I know” you repeated, leaning across the centre console to kiss his cheek

xx

Freddie’s P.O.V

  You woke up to (Y/N) asleep next to you in your bed and your phone buzzing with a string of one line texts from your friends

  “Bring her out more often” Alannah sent

  “Why are you hiding her?” Nick said

  “I knew I liked her” Mo joked

  “Sure, she’s quiet but she’s sweet” Mitch admitted

  “I’m not a huge fan, she seems a little stuck up” Auston’s text read and you could only roll your eyes at his words

  “She’s adorable” Stephanie said and, for some reason, her approval seem to bring a sense of relief to you that you didn’t know you needed

  “You think so?” you sent back as you walked out of the room

  “Yes! I know I’ve met her before as just your friend,” she replied, “but seeing her with you was so sweet. Her little face lit up whenever you spoke or made us laugh, like she was so proud. It was so cute”

  “I’m glad you guys liked her,” you admitted, “she was nervous you wouldn’t.”

  “Well tell her we loved her. Tell her Auston is an idiot because he is.” You laughed at her last response just as (Y/N) woke up, stretching as she walked over to you

  “Who are you talking to?” she asked before kissing your neck

  “Steph”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Yeah,” you smiled, “she says that everyone loved you”

  “Everyone?”

  “Yes. Everyone.”

  “I think Auston might have something to say about that” she raised her eyebrow at you

  “I told you everyone would love you and it would appear as though I was right. Again.”

  “Don’t be too proud of yourself, Fred. It was one party, where everyone was already very drunk”

  “It’s the drunks you have to please” you teased and she rolled her eyes

  “If you say so”

  “I do. Which means I’m right. They loved you, just like I knew they would. What do I get?” you joked

  “How about a kiss?” she smiled, walking over to you to lay a small peck on your nose

  “How about a lil more?” you teased, pulling her to sit on your lap

  “Like what?” she giggled

  “Like...” you started, your voice trailing off as you thought about what to ask for, “hmm, how about we spend all day in bed?”

  “I like that idea” she smiled, wrapping her arms around your neck, so you could carry her back to bed

  “Starting November off right.”

[prettyboyjackhughes]

-Maybe it wasn’t meant to be- |J. Hughes| [Part 3]

I just wanted to put a little note here and say thank you for reading and all the support! You guys are awesome and have been the whole reason I enjoy writing this story so much! Let me know what you think!

Jack had been in a daze ever since his phone call with Alex a few days ago. Charlie was at the center of his thoughts. Memories and images of her; the way her body looked, her smile, the excitement in her eyes. He knew everything about her, had seen every inch of her body. And that’s all he could think of.

Charlie was still shaken over the fact that Jack knew she was in Colorado. He still thought about her, if he had talked about what had happened between them. As she lay in her bed, hugging a pillow to her chest, she thought about what it had been like before.

Alex was at a loss with the two of them. It was very clear to him that they still had some sort of feelings for each other but neither was going to step up and talk to the other. So he did what he always did when he wanted something done. He called Madi. Madi Anderson was Charlie's best friend since the 7th grade and Alex's girlfriend for the past 4 years. She had been studying abroad for the last year and a half and was finally coming home next week. Maybe she would have an idea on how to get things fixed between Jack and Charlie.

"Mads, it's crazy. They still love each other. I didn't mean to get involved or anything but Char is miserable and you've seen the stories about Jack. " Alex says, sitting on the couch in his apartment.

"I mean, it's to the point that Charlie took down the picture of her and Toews because it reminds her of Jack." On the other end of the phone call, and a ridiculous number of miles away, Madi's eyes widened. Charlie’s favorite player since she was 15, the year he got drafted and started playing in the NHL, had been Jonathan Toews. Her family had lived in Chicago for the first 4 years of her parents’ marriage and her oldest brother’s birth, solidifying her and her family’s love for the Blackhawks. She had always joked with Jack that she loved Jonathan Toews more than she loved Jack. For her 16th birthday, Jack had taken her to the Blackhawks convention. He had gotten her a meet and greet with Jonathan Toews. She had screamed when she had opened the envelope, jumping up to hug Jack. The two of them had spent the 3 days of the convention in Chicago, by themselves, playing as adults. Jack had made sure to get Charlie to take a picture with Toews and get him to sign it, something she had treasured for years afterwards. But her favorite picture was the one with Jack and Toews in it. That was the one Alex was talking about.

“Mads, we gotta fix this. I can’t watch them fall apart like this anymore. It’s been 3 years and it’s…it’s too hard.” Alex said, his voice breaking a little. Madi’s heart broke a little for Alex.

“Honey, we’ll get this fixed. And if they don’t work out, we’ll figure something out.” Madi said, comforting Alex. After being together for almost 4 years, most of it spent being long-distance, Madi knew how much Alex cared about his friends. He would put everything into making sure his friends were taken care of before he would even think of taking care of himself. That’s why she knew this was so important to Alex. So, to make sure her boyfriend would take care of himself, she had to come up with a plan.

“Okay, sweetheart, here’s what we’re gonna do. I’m coming home at the end of next week. You’re gonna figure out a way to get Charlie back to Plymouth when I get home. On my way, I’m gonna stop by Jersey, grab Jack, drag him home. You said the boys are gonna be home too right?” Madi asks, tucking her leg underneath her as she sat on her bed in her room.

“Yeah. Trev, Coley and Patty are all gonna be home.” Alex says, wishing more than anything that Madi was there in person, talking this all through with him.

“Okay, we fill the boys in, make sure none of those idiot dumb asses try and make a move on Char and stage a movie night. Just like we used to do back in the NDTP. But the only issue is going to be keeping Jack and Char from seeing each other before we do that. Especially since they live 3 houses away from each other. But maybe forcing them to see each other and having the movie night will stir up those old feelings from before and make them realize that they both still care about each other a lot.” Alex smirks, just as in love with his girl as he’s always been.

“See this is why you’re the mastermind of all our good plans. Thanks, baby. I love you. I’m gonna go look at tickets and head over to Charlie’s to convince her. See you in a week.” Alex says, listening to Madi’s goodbye before he hangs up. He texts Charlie, letting her know he’s on his way over.

Jack closed his eyes, seeing Charlie asleep on their bed, her face buried in her pillow. He had woken up before her, the weekend before he had left for the road trip that would eventually break them. He sat up, tracing the curve of her spine, tracing shapes on her back. The thing that killed him about this memory was the fact that things had seemed so good. He had felt like he loved her more than he ever had when they were in Plymouth. He had been thinking about asking her to marry him but had decided to wait, giving both of them a little more time to grow up and get settled. As he was thinking about all of this, she had slowly opened her eyes, smiling at him and he leaned down to kiss her. She clawed her way on top of him and cuddled into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight to him.  They had spent the day in bed, savoring every minute of being with each other before he was on the road for two weeks. Things had been so perfect. And then he had left for the road trip, they fought and she left. Everything changed all because of a few stupid things he had said out of exhuastion, irritation and in all honesty, missing her. He wanted her back, he wanted that feeling back so badly that at this point, he would give anything. He’d give up hockey, his entire life, to have her back.

Alex knocked on Charlie’s door then turned the handle, letting himself in with the key Charlie had given him. She was somewhere in the apartment because he could hear music playing and her singing along very loudly. It was good to see her somewhat happy since she had been at a really low point for a while now.

“Char? I’m in your apartment.” He called, walking back towards her room and knocking on the door. The door creaked open and he could see into the bathroom where Charlie was.

“Hi Turcs! Can you order food? I’m starving!” She shouted, leaning back so he could see her. He smirked, sat down on her bed and got his phone out to order them dinner. A few minutes later, she stepped out of the bathroom, brown hair dye stained all over her shirt and her hair a much darker color than it had been this morning when he saw her at the rink.

“You like it?” She asked, flipping her hair around. Slightly stunned by the color change, Alex nods.

“It looks really good on you, Char. I like it. What made you decide to do that?�� She tugs off her t-shirt and pulls on a sweatshirt, one Alex instantly recognizes as Jack’s. He chooses not to say anything.

“I don’t know. I guess I was just kinda sick of being blonde. So I decided to change it up. Cool how I can do that, huh?” Alex shakes his head, lifting his phone up and snapping a picture to send to Madi.

“Hey, speaking of changes, Madi comes home for good next week. How would you feel about going home to Plymouth for the week?” Alex asked, casually. He glanced up from where he was ordering pizza on his phone to catch her reaction as he asked the question. She stiffened for a second but then her shoulders dropped and she turned to face him, a smile on her face.

“Um, hell yes! I haven’t been home in almost 4 years, I need to go home and visit.” Alex tries to hide his thrill that their plan is starting to fall into place.

“Okay then! It’s settled then. We’ll leave Thursday?” He asked, knowing that Madi would hopefully be getting in with Jack late Friday night. Charlie nods and the two of them spend the rest of the evening eating pizza, watching New Girl and eventually, Charlie fell asleep on Alex. He helped her to her room, made sure she got changed and did all her nighttime routine stuff, got her into bed and left, locking the door with his key on the way out.

Jack had just sat down on the couch, turned the TV on and was scrolling through Netflix when the knocking started. He ignored it at first, figuring it was probably Mallory, coming to try and ‘talk things out’ like she had tried to do when he started ignoring her calls and texts. But the knocking didn’t go away. If it was Mallory, she would’ve given up by now. She wasn’t exactly what you would call a ‘driven girl’ in any sense.

Finally getting annoyed by the constant knocking, Jack tossed the remote to the side and got up to answer the door. As he pulled the door open, nudging Luca out of the way, he was met with a glare. Madi Anderson, Charlie’s best friend and self-designated protector, tiny as she was, still scared the hell out of him. When they were in high school, everybody knew not to mess with Madi. Even with her only being 5 feet, 3 inches, she terrified Jack and majority of the boys at Plymouth High School. Alex was the only one who could manage her. Plus, she went soft for Alex.  

"Do you not know how to open a door?" Madi asked, crossing her arms and glaring at him. Jack said nothing, only stepped out of her way and let her into his apartment. Despite being terrified of Madi for the majority of his school career, the two of them had gotten onto good terms. They were pretty good friends now.

“Uh hi to you too? Why are you here?" Jack asked, following Madi into the living room of his apartment.

“I'm here because your dumbass made a mistake 3 years ago and hasn't come home since then. Get packed, Jacky. We’re going home." Madi said, flopping down on the couch and petting Luca. Jack's eyebrow went up.

"Plus all of your best friends managed to be home this weekend. So I decided, on my way home from Germany, which is an 8 hour flight I might add, to drag your sorry ass with me back home." The other thing about Madi was that she swore more than anyone he knew. Even more than Quinn when Jack had forced him to play goalie for him and he was taking shots on him.

“Mads, I can't go home. There's...There's too many memories there.” Jack spat out, running his hand through his hair. Madi sat, watching him. She and Alex had talked through this whole little scheme they had, a thousand times. Alex would get Charlie home a day before Madi and Jack would get into town, enough time to fill in the rest of the boys on what he and Madi were doing so they wouldn't get in the way. They would say that they were having a movie night, just like they used to do, back in the NDTP. Which was technically the truth but the surprise would be, for Jack, that Charlie was there. For Charlie, it would obviously be that Jack was there. This would force the two of them to face each other, possibly bringing those feelings they both still had to the surface.

“Jack Hughes come on. You’re coming home and there’s no more moping allowed. You’re gonna go home, get drunk with your best friends and have a good time. Now go pack.”  Jack stood and Madi nodded, satisfied. Jack walks back to his room, thinking about how it would be going back to Plymouth. He had missed his family of course, but they always came to visit in Jersey. He was still scared that he would fall apart because to him, everything with Charlie was in Plymouth. He shook his head, refusing to think about that. He grabbed enough clothes to last a week, mostly sweatpants, t-shirts and a few sweatshirts. He tossed two pairs of jeans and some socks, plus a few other things into his duffel bag. He walked into the bathroom and heard both Madi and the dog come into his room. Luca hopped up on his bed and Madi settled herself on the floor; something she had gotten from Charlie. He packed some stuff from the bathroom then walked back out, setting his bag on the floor.

“We’re bringing Luca home with us.” Madi says, looking up at Jack. Jack raises an eyebrow.

“Luke told me we had to.” Madi says, standing up and crossing her arms. Jack shakes his head, knowing Madi wouldn’t budge on this. So he packed up Luca’s leash, food and water dishes, food, and treats and the 3 of them headed out the door to the rental car Madi had. Madi let Jack play music, knowing he would stay quiet if his music was on, plus that meant the topic of Charlie wouldn’t come up. Even though Madi was the most terrifying and intense person everyone knew, she sucked at keeping secrets. So the less Charlie was talked about, the less issue there was of Madi blowing their little plan. The two of them rode in silence for the whole ride, only really talking when they would stop to let Luca out to run around and go to the bathroom. But the whole ride, all Jack could think about was all the memories that he was going to have to suffer through being brought back as soon as they crossed the Plymouth city limits.  

[the-starryknight]

23, 31, and 41 for the ask game!!

Hello lovely Bee!! Thank you so much for asking, I'm having such fun answering these <3

23. Single or multi POV, and why?

This is an awesome q' and one I know we've talked about -- I answered it a bit here. What I said was that while I love reading both, I much prefer to write single POV. I love working in a super-strict single POV where there are Major Important Things the POV character doesn't know and I think it's super fun to find ways to bury that in the prose so my readers can play detective along with my POV character. If I've done it well, the story twists in a surprising but not unexpected way. The most fun I've had doing this was my Sleight of Hand.

31. Hardest character to write.

Oooof. Yeah, sticking with my default answer: Harry. I can't get into his head. I love him, I love reading him, I enjoy it when I do get to writing him, but I find him to be an enigma, much like my Draco often does! That said, I always find my fics with a Harry POV to be a valuable challenge because I end up with something I hadn't expected, but Draco remains my writerly comfort zone.

41. How many stories do you work on at one time?

In terms of the actual writing stage, I work on one at a time. But before the writing stage, I spend a lot of time planning and mulling ideas over, and might put some words down before I'm fully "writing" it. So right now, I'm "writing" one story, and have two projects on the backburner, am turning over & writing in bits and pieces several secret secret fics, and am mentally drafting the fic I keep unintentionally teasing :')

Thank you so much for asking, sweet Bee!! <3