#you're why im here six years later

[cadriona]

I don’t know where else to put this, but have a funny story of how I ended up writing fanfic.

Probably similar to many other people who started writing fic, it began because I had been reading a lot. And at that time, I had been on fanfic.net instead of ao3. Mind you, ao3 had already been in existence (and has been for the better part of a decade), but fanfic.net was the first site that I had found and I ten to have this odd loyalty to whatever comes first.

Anyhow! before some things went to shit, there was a fanfiction.net app. It was an awesom app, and you could download the fics just by clicking into it, and it made reading so much easier offline. The number of times i refreshed my follows page to see if anyone updated-

But other than for reading, there was also the option for publishing fic on the app. Of course, I had the idea of a fic brewing in my brain, but nothing put down. However, my brain had came up with a title and a summary, so I was like, why not? and on the fic publishing page inputed said title, summary, and other associated things like characters, rating, and etc, thinking it would save it as a draft or something.

Turns out one shouldn’t be making these decisions at midnight right before sleeping, or before reading all of the instructions.

The fic had published, with only a title, summary, and associated fanfic.net things.

There was nothing in the fic.

I woke to a single review:

and thus i was sitting there in my bed, mind blank, realizing the enormity of my errors, and then spent the day stewed in madness on an empty word doc that filled up before i knew it and the first chapter was out.

Thank fuck it was a sunday i guess?

Also oh no it was a sunday because my ass thought it was a good idea to show my writing tutor (to get help/beta read??) and- it went well. I feel bad for the dude tho, an english prof and gets randomly shoved a fic by one of the high school students he was tutoring. Thanks, sir, you were a real one.

But yea, I guess that’s the story of how bad decisions, me misunderstanding the instructions, one (1) review, and my procrastinating student ass started writing fanfiction.

[rafeandonlyrafe]

good boy

words: 1.5k

warnings: established relationship, marriage, protective!rafe, (guard??) dog, fluffy

“rafe, it's literally two weeks. ill be fine!” you say, folding his clothes, having dumped out his suitcase onto the bed to reorganize it when you saw how he packed it, just chucking things in.

“two weeks where im a hours away from you by plane.” rafe sighs, watching you carefully repack his suitcase as he pouts on the bed, not wanting to leave you.

“you know, cameron, i lived a whole 20 years before meeting you.” you point out, knowing while rafes concern comes from his love for you, it will completely overwhelm what is supposed to be an enjoyable family vacation and leave him miserable the whole time.

“i don't see why you can't just come with me.” rafe groans, flopping back against the bed. you smile and round the bed to where his head is resting against the pillows. you press a smooch to his forehead, rubbing your hand over his head, petting at his soft hair.

“baby, it's just for your family. you know that.” it's not like you don't want to accompany rafe to a tropical paradise, but you would feel way too awkward intruding.

“what if something happens to you? and im not here to protect you? id be the worst fiancee ever.” rafe grabs your head from rubbing his head, holding up the ring on your finger for him to admire.

“nothing will happen. nothing ever happens here.” you laugh. you're not sure what crime is like on the other side of the island, but your neighborhood is incredibly safe.

“im still worried.” rafe sighs. “you in that big house all alone.”

“im gonna spend 99% of the time wedding planning.” you hum, thinking about the tabs pulled open on your laptop of different venues, dresses, and color palettes.

that finally gets rafe to crack a smile. “can't wait to marry you.” rafe says earnestly. he only proposed a month ago, some people would say that you were too young to get married, but rafe knew when you came into his life and turned everything around for him that he had to put a ring on your finger.

“i can't wait either.” you bend down to press a kiss to rafes lips. “but seriously we need to talk about your packing before we tie the knot, why do you only have one pair of shorts packed for an island?”

-- two years later --

“remember those two weeks you left before we were engaged? it's not really much longer. you should go, baby. it's a good opportunity.” you are sat on rafes lap, back pressed against his chest as he scrolls through his email.

“it's just work, and it's a whole lot longer than two weeks. i don't want to leave you here alone for over a month.” rafe closes out of the email, making you sigh.

“i was fine for those two weeks, ill be fine now. promise. i think you should go! it's a big conference.” you turn sideways on his lap so you can look rafe in the eye. “besides, it's still six months away. plenty of time to prepare.”

“prepare?” rafe raises his eyebrows. “so you'd be good with security cams around the whole house and personal security?”

“cameras on the outside and hell no. you don't want some random guys watching after me do you?”

you can see the gears turning in rafes head as he frowns. “yeah, you're right. no men.”

“so you'll go?” you smile. rafe closes his eyes for a brief moment before nodding.

“yay!” you squeal. you're not excited to be left alone, and you love being around your husband more than anything, but the work trip is a big deal, and you know he'll be kicking himself if he misses out on such a good opportunity.

--

“rafey?” you call, eyes sweeping across the living room as you enter your shared home, a head full of fresh highlights.

“hubby?” you call out, continuing deeper into the house until you see movement through the glass door leading towards the backyard, but it's not the typical roll of the ocean against the shore.

“rafe?” you question as you open the door. you expected to find him in his office, where he was before you left for the beauty salon.

rafe smiles, waiting for your eyes to look down, and when you finally see what is sitting at rafes feet, you let out a gasp.

“oh my gosh!” you squeal. 

“wifey, meet max. our new australian shepherd.” rafe gives a command with his hand, that has max running towards you.

you sink to your knees as the young dog excitedly greets you, licking at your hands as you pet him.

“hi maxey.” you coo at the dog, you're guessing around two years old, with max being full size but still having some young features.

“rafe, you didn't tell me you were getting us a dog!” you stand up, max following close behind as you rush to give your husband a hug.

“i have a confession.” rafe says, his hands looped around your waist. you frown, worried that max was just a foster and you'd have to give him back, or that something went wrong with the adoption. you often talked about getting pets before getting married, but wanted to wait a little bit, and then time just slipped away and before you knew it, you were over a year into your marriage. 

“what?” you whine out.

“ive been working with a trainer behind your back. i wanted to make sure max was ready before we chose him for sure. he knows commands, me, your scent, our house. everything. he knows his primary responsibility is to protect you and our property.”

“oh my gosh!” you slap rafe in the chest, surprised that he was able to keep such a secret from you. “how could you do all that without telling me?” you laugh, not angry, but surprised that he was able to orchestrate everything.

you don't wait for rafe to explain how he was able to find so much time, stepping out of his hold to kneel down and continue petting max.

“we have some more training sessions so he can learn with you as well.” rafe further explains, also leaning down to pet max behind the ears as he pants excitedly at his new owners.

--

“what is it maxy?” you ask as he lifts his head up, looking around the living room. “you miss your daddy?”

you sigh as max lets out a sad sounding huff, petting your hand over his head, scratching at his neck which you know is his favorite. rafe has been gone on his business trip for a month now, with only a week and a half left until he returns home.

max suddenly jumps off the couch, eyes on the backyard. he lets out a bark, claws clicking on the hardwood floor as he moves to the glass door. he lets out another bark, making you stand.

“what is it boy?” you ask, looking out the window.

max lets out another bark, this one the familiar territorial bark that he’s practiced in his training with you and rafe. you know the only reason that rafe feels safe enough leaving you home is that max is a great guard dog.

you get closer to the window, squinting your eyes to try and see in the darkness when you sudden jump back with a scream as a squirrel runs across your patio, causing max to bark and run along the glass door until it scatters into the yard.

“holy shit, maxy, you scared the shit out of me.” you press your hand to your chest before kneeling down, scratching behind his ears. “it was just a squirrel.” you reassure him with a pat.

your heart rate is just starting to calm down from the fright when you hear the front door open. max instantly takes off with you following after him, letting out a sigh of relief when you see rafe standing in the foyer.

“baby.” he sighs happily, setting his suitcase down as you run into his arms, pressing your lips together. “i missed you so much.”

“i missed you too, what are you doing home though?” you ask, giving him another kiss before he can answer.

“they didn’t need me for the rest of the week, decided to get home to my lady.” max barks, making rafe lean down to pet him, still holding you up. “and my good boy too, of course.”

“so happy to have you home.” you nuzzle your nose into rafes neck, inhaling the familiar scent that you missed so much. 

“happy to be back with you, wifey.” rafe says, carrying you further into the house.

“oh, and you will be very happy to know maxy did a great job protecting me while you were gone.” you tell rafe. it mostly involved max barking in warning at any delivery guy or car turning around in your driveway, but his presence did help making you feel safer and less loney.

“hopefully not too good.” rafe huffs as he looks at your pet. “can’t have him replacing me now.”

you giggle, surprised rafe can manage to be jealous of your dog. “never.” you swear, pressing another kiss to his lips.

taglist: @winterrrnight @bejeweledreverie @drewstarkeyslut @forstarkey @f4ll-for-you @dilvcv @drudyslut @jjmaybankswifes-blog @rafescokenostril @jjsmarijuana @jjmaybankisbae @seeingstarks @angelofcigs @cece45450 @babygorewhore @vanessa-rafesgirl @michelleisheres-blog @outerbankspov @drewstarkeyswifehoe @cutielando @kamninaries @buckyswhxre @rafeinterlude @bellbottombaby @deeaardiary @rubixgsworld @emma77645 @wearemadeofstardust0 @leighbronk

[reidmania]

sharpest tool | s.reid

(chapter five, i know it wont work)

‘I left you here, heard you keep the extra closet empty in case this year, i come back and stay throughout my twenties. What if I won't? How am I supposed to put that gently? And down the road, you will love me until you resent me. Mm, mm, mm, i’ve had the thought, tried to work it out through anxious pacing. what if I'm not, worth the time and breath I know you're saving?’

summary; spencer wasn’t prepared to be confronted by the realism of what he had done, he wasn’t prepared to see that penelope had been hanging out with you.

warnings; mentions of ghosting, spencer’s perspective guys!! this is quite angsty icl, theres no real indication of why he did what he did (unless u can see all my hidden clues) fem reader, like always. if u guys have any assumptions or guesses about WHY spencer did what he did, drop them in my asks, im so curious.

taglist; @gghostwriter @lavonee @guiltyyassin @spencersinonlygf @criminalmindssworld @iknwreid @fortheloveofgubler @yokaimoon @sapphirecobalt-1 @eddiesdrummergf @livvyliv15 @lover-of-books-and-tea @sebastiansstanswhore @bloodredrubyrose @sp3ncelle @nemobee777 @jencole214 @hazzarules @ameerakane20 @lucere @cultish-corner @psyches-reid

2.4k words

SERIES MASTERLIST

The bullpen hummed with its usual rhythm—the tapping of keyboards, the muted sounds of phone calls, the faint rustle of papers. It was a familiar backdrop, something Spencer could usually lose himself in, find comfort in. Today, though, it all felt distant. His fingers hovered over his keyboard, but his mind wasn’t on the profile he was supposed to be writing. It hadn’t been for days. Instead, his thoughts kept drifting back to you.

Two weeks. Fourteen days. Three hundred thirty-six hours, and still, not a single word between the two of you.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. He hadn’t planned to cut you off. Everything had been going well, hadn’t it? The late-night phone calls, the texts that made him smile at odd moments during the day, your smile in the morning after he had stayed the night, the way you had slowly become a part of his routine. You were more than just someone he talked to—you were someone he had started to let in, fall in love with.

Spencer hadn’t meant to ghost you. He’d had no intention of leaving things hanging like that. But now, two weeks later, the silence felt like an unbridgeable chasm, and the thought of contacting you filled him with a strange mix of fear and guilt.

"Spence, you good?"

JJ’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. She was standing beside his desk, her phone in hand, a playful smile on her face. For a moment, Spencer blinked up at her, disoriented, as if surfacing from deep underwater.

"Yeah," he said quickly, though the word came out more like a reflex than an actual answer.

JJ’s smile didn’t falter, but there was a glint in her eyes that told him she didn’t believe him. "Well, Penelope sent me something you’ll get a kick out of." She tapped her phone, scrolling for a moment before turning the screen toward him. "Check this out."

It was a photo—a bright, colorful snapshot of a shelf lined with bobbleheads. Not just any bobbleheads. Your bobbleheads.

Spencer’s heart thudded in his chest as he recognized them instantly. There was the Star Wars figurine, the baseball player, the goofy doctor who bobblehead you’d joked reminded you of him. He could practically hear your voice in his mind, laughing as you told him the story behind each one. You’d shown him your collection months ago, one of the first times he came to your house, your face lit up with enthusiasm as you shared that little part of yourself with him, it was when you were both still friends, yet he had noticed the way you had began letting him in to the small things, all the things that made you, you.

But now, it wasn’t you sharing it. It was Penelope.

Spencer’s mind scrambled to piece together how this had happened, why Penelope had this photo. You hadn’t mentioned anything about meeting her, but then again, why would you? Penelope hadn’t said a word to him either. How had she ended up at your place, seeing your collection?

JJ, still smiling, didn’t notice his silence. "Penelope is having a girls night with a friend" she explained, her voice light and teasing. "And apparently, that friend has a whole shrine of these things."

Spencer’s stomach twisted. He hadn’t realized that your world and his had collided so suddenly. He hadn’t prepared for it. And now, here it was, right in front of him. The life he’d stepped away from was continuing without him, and it stung more than he wanted to admit.

"Hey," JJ said, her eyes narrowing slightly as she studied his reaction. "Why do you look like that?"

Spencer’s throat felt tight. He managed a stiff nod, his voice barely above a whisper. "Uh- its... It’s hers." He didn’t need to say a name, the team hadn’t met you, but they knew about you, enough about you.

JJ’s eyes widened in surprise, and she lowered the phone, her playful demeanor fading into something softer, more curious. "Oh… I didn’t realize. Penelope didn’t say who it was."

Spencer glanced away, the weight of her gaze heavy on him. He didn’t want to talk about it. Not now. Not with JJ, and certainly not here, in the middle of the bullpen where the rest of the team could overhear.

"Spence, is everything okay?" JJ’s voice was gentle now, her concern clear. "You’ve been kind of… off lately. Does this have something to do with her?"

Spencer shook his head quickly, trying to brush it off. "No, it’s not that. I’ve just been busy with work. That’s all."

But JJ wasn’t convinced. "You sure? You never really said a word about her since… well, since you started talking to her. But now it feels like something’s changed— you’ve been so weird lately.."

Spencer wanted to mumble about how now there was nothing to smile about any more with the lack of your communication, but he chose against it. This was his doing. Before Spencer could respond, Derek wandered over, holding a coffee in each hand, his usual swagger in full force. He caught the tail end of the conversation, his sharp eyes flicking between JJ and Spencer.

"What’s going on?" Derek asked, handing one of the coffees to JJ and leaning against Spencer’s desk. "You two look serious."

JJ gave a small shrug, but her gaze lingered on Spencer. "Penelope was hanging out with a friend who has this crazy bobblehead collection. Turns out, it’s Spencer’s… friend."

Derek’s eyebrows shot up, his curiosity piqued. "Oh, that friend, huh?" He grinned and elbowed Spencer lightly. "The one you’ve been keeping all hush-hush about?"

Spencer forced a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. "Yeah. That one."

Could he still stay that? You were everything to him, friend sounded like the wrong word to define you, but with what he did, maybe a nothing, would be a better word to define what you were to him.

That felt so much more wrong.

All of this was wrong.

Derek chuckled, but there was a hint of concern beneath his playful tone. "Man, you’ve been acting weird lately. You wanna tell us what’s going on?"

Spencer shifted uncomfortably in his chair. The last thing he wanted was for the team to pry into his personal life, especially now. Especially when he was still grappling with the fallout of his own decision to pull away from you.

"I’m fine," he muttered, his voice a little too flat.

"You don’t look fine," JJ said, her worry deepening. "You can talk to us, you know."

Spencer opened his mouth to respond, but the words stuck in his throat. How could he explain? How could he tell them the real reason he’d ghosted you without giving away too much? The truth was too raw, too personal. It wouldn’t be fair to tell them and not you. He just couldn’t tell you.

But how could he explain that to them? To you? How could he admit that the reason he’d cut you off wasn’t because of anything you’d done, but because of the fear that had wrapped itself around him like a vise, squeezing tighter with every passing day?

"It’s… complicated," Spencer finally said, his voice barely audible.

Derek exchanged a look with JJ, both of them clearly unsatisfied with his vague answer. "Come on, pretty boy," Derek said, leaning in a little closer. "We’ve all got complicated lives. What’s really going on?"

Spencer clenched his jaw, the tension in his chest building. "I can’t talk about it."

JJ’s face softened, her voice lowering. "When was the last time you spoke to her?"

Spencer’s heart skipped a beat, and for a split second, he thought she might know. But she didn’t press further, didn’t push for details. Instead, she just watched him, waiting for him to say something more. He couldn’t answer the question like she wanted him to. He deflected

"I just…" Spencer hesitated, his eyes flicking between JJ and Derek, both of them watching him with quiet concern. "I don’t want to hurt her."

JJ’s expression shifted, a flicker of understanding passing across her face. "You’re not going to hurt her, Spence."

Spencer didn’t respond. He couldn’t. Because the truth was, he was hurting you, he would get you hurt,—whether he wanted to or not. For the record, he really didn’t.

Derek sighed, crossing his arms as he leaned back. "Man, if you care about her, you owe her an explanation. Ghosting someone like that… it’s not fair."

Spencer flinched at the word "ghosting." He hadn’t meant for it to feel like that, but he knew that’s exactly what he had done. He had disappeared, left you hanging with no explanation, no closure. And you deserved better than that.

But how could he reach out now, after two weeks of silence? What could he possibly say that would make up for the way he had just dropped off the map? He knew he had hurt you, broken promises to not only you but to himself.

JJ placed a hand on his arm, her voice soft but firm. "You don’t have to tell us everything, Spence. But you should tell her something. She deserves that."

Spencer swallowed hard, guilt clawing at his chest. He knew JJ was right. He knew he owed you an explanation, something to help you understand why he had pulled away so suddenly. But the thought of opening that door again, of letting you back in… it terrified him.

Because Spencer knew, there was no coming back from the promises he had broken.

[77ngiez]

SANYA KAZARINA HAS A COMPLEX DISSOCIATIVE DISORDER, AND HERE'S WHY: a pafl analysis

point zero: definitions

im aware that my knowledge regarding cdds is above average. so, in an effort to avoid being like that one xkcd comic, i'll define the terms i use real quick.

complex dissociative disorder: abbreviated to cdd. an umbrella term that covers did, osdd, udd, and p-did.

dissociation: a mental disconnect, typically from reality. everybody dissociates to an extent - some less severe forms of it are zoning out, driving on autopilot, or getting really absorbed in a show you're watching. in cdds, the dissociation is at a maladaptive level.

alters: short for alternate self states. the dissociated parts of a person with a cdd.

point one: childhood

why do complex dissociative disorders form? it all comes down to stuff that happens in childhood, before the personality is fully integrated. experts disagree on the exact cutoff point [some say as low as 6 years old, others say as high as 12], but 9 is the typical agreed-on point. when somebody dissociates too much during childhood, it keeps their personality and identity from fully forming and integrating. this level of dissociation is almost always a result of childhood trauma.

sanya most certainly has childhood trauma. she grew up without a mother, her father died when she was six, her brother was overprotective, and other caregivers were nikita and kolya. she's also shown in canon to use fiction as a coping mechanism, which is a dissociative trauma response by nature. i don't think it's a reach to say that sanya likely relied on dissociation a lot through her childhood.

as a side note, one common risk factor for cdds is the disorganized attachment style. this attachment style forms when a child's caretakers are inconsistent and unpredictable. all things considered i think this matches sanya as well.

point two: dissociation

i just talked about sanya's dissociation during childhood - now it's time to talk about examples of her dissociation at the current time.

first off, sanya pretty clearly has a dissociative barrier around the concept of grief. what's a dissociative barrier? it's a mental "wall" that uses dissociation as the "bricks". it's the same thing that keeps people with cdds from remembering their trauma, or times when other alters were in front. with this dissociative barrier, sanya has separated herself from the painful emotions that will otherwise come when she loses someone.

another example of sanya's dissociation is in the beginning of 100 epitaphs, when she believes yura to be dead. at first she freaks out, but then she shuts down. this is pretty much textbook dissociation, imo.

point three: alters

i wanted to discuss this one later on because a lot of people tend to see cdds as just "alter disorders" and i wanted to point out some other aspects of the disorder first. that being said, though... sanya not being a singular person is kind of blatantly obvious.

the girl on the right is the sanya that we all know and love. the girl on the left? that... is not sanya. like pretty blatantly so. i'm gonna call her sasha, for ease of reading.

sasha and sanya are pretty clearly different, both visually and in terms of personality. i'll point out the differences.

sasha:

glasses

hair down

typically wearing that fuckass "just escaped gym class" fit from false disposition

seems to be less rebellious than sanya, is fine just staying inside and doing what sergei says

kind of a wimp

sanya:

contacts

ponytail

usually wearing her gopnik fit and has her tshirt sleeves rolled up

rebellious and aggresive, doesnt listen to sergei

not a wimp

they are different people within the same body who go by different names and even interact with each other mentally. they are literally alters

closing statement

[mins-fins]

☆ 4 free boba

❝ the jasmine milk tea has spoken. ❞

⌗ NOTE 𓈒 𓈒 𓈒 hiii…. six months later….. i have no excuses!! i literally just hate everything!! me trying to progress the plot without killing someone 😞😞 i start med camp soon… i can already feel the med student exhaustion coming, but my new roommates are nice!! thank god im away from the abusive baby!! alright see you in december with the next update 😊

⌗ WORD COUNT 𓈒 𓈒 𓈒 1.3k

⌗ PREVIOUS | MASTERLIST | NEXT

YOU'RE ABOUT TO BECOME A DROPOUT.

talk about stress from your horrible job, the field you decided to study is enough to make you want to jump off a bridge. you thought studying architecture would be fun, because it's been such a vibrant interest of yours since when you were young, but oh boy, becoming an adult just crushes every single dream you had as a kid.

you always threaten to drop out, but your friends (namely renjun) always forbid you from doing so, he always says you have too much to achieve to quit because your professors being an ass, you've gone through even worse stuff before.

"seriously y/n! why not?"

your tired of hearing chenle whine in your ear about stupid shit that doesn't matter. he's gotten good at annoying the hell out of you, you'll give him that. he's like a mosquito, buzzing around in your ear and slowly making you go more and more insane the longer he's around. "because chenle, i've done you so many favors this year! i'm not doing you another one!"

you hear a frustrated sigh sound from the zhong, but you don't budge, even as he continues following you through the halls, begging for you to just do this one thing for him. "just get jisung to do it for you".

chenle looks dumbfounded by the suggestion, as if that was a stupid to say. "are you kidding me? jisung can't lie for shit! he's gonna get me caught immediately!"

you scoff, a sarcastic grin tugging at your lips as you push the doors to the library open, eyes narrowed as you search for a certain someone. "go ask one of your other friends" you mutter, searching the place top to bottom before you finally find your target.

you don't think you've ever made your way over to mark faster in your life, when he finally spots you, he almost jumps back from how you quickly put your hands on him and try to hide behind him. "help me please".

mark blinks, raising an eyebrow. "what's going on here?"

"chenle's harassing me".

chenle gasps loudly at the accusation, offended. "i am not! you're such a fucking liar!"

"hush! were in a library!" mark nudges you off him, and you cross your arms, remaining silent. "now what are you two going on about now?"

"he wants me to do him another favor!"

"it's one favor, i don't ask a lot for you like jisung, at least mine makes sense!"

"i'm not covering for you because you have no time management, chenle".

chenle's face drops, and that familiar frown tugs at his lips. "what kind of a friend are you?"

"oh don't pull that card! when was the last time you did something for me—"

and just like that, you two begin arguing, mark awkwardly in between your just below average shouts. he's beginning to grow anxious as chenle grows louder, this is the school library, give him a fucking break. so, before chenle can let out that imbecilic dolphin screech, he slaps a hand over his mouth. "you two can never agree on anything".

chenle glares, aggressively shoving mark's arm away from him. "y/n please! i'll do anything!"

you scoff. "really?"

"i'll pay for all your boba for the next few weeks!"

you blink, that does sound like a tempting offer, but chenle's rich already, so you aren't really taking any of his money if you got him to buy you boba for the next three weeks.

but chenle clearly senses that, because he knows you well enough at this point. he sighs, lowering his head. he cannot believe what he's about to say. "i'll take over your shift this weekend.."

mark quite literally gasps at the words, and you blink again, your first instinct is to let out a chuckle of disbelief. "are you serious?"

chenle rolls his eyes. "yes".

you laugh again. no, he's not serious. any minute now chenle is going to burst into laughter and say it's a joke, but the punchline is taking too long to arrive. "oh my goodness your deadass?"

"yes y/n i am!"

now it's your turn to be surprised. "since when were you so considerate?"

chenle has to resist the next eye roll (and a smile, for some reason, how strange). "you're doing me a favor so i'm also doing you a favor, stupid.."

those words are ironic, but you don't voice such thoughts, you simply smile. "is the free boba a plus?"

chenle stares, and mark glances between you two, trying to figure out if your telepathically communicating or just zoning out. "yes".

you smile, satisfied. "fine".

"fine?"

mark gives you a look. chenle is never that convincing, especially not to you. "did you just— did chenle just promise you a favor? did you just agree? were you two just civil with each other!?"

you place a hand on mark's shoulder. "it's a true mystery mark".

all mark can do is give a stare of disbelief.

"DID HE HYPNOTIZE YOU OR SOMETHING? I'M SCARED".

donghyuck's fear is also mixed with amusement, but you're too busy fueling your bubble tea addiction to care about that. he places his arms on the table and leans forward, suddenly very interested in this arrangement. "so what did you agree to do for chenle?"

you stare at him for a moment, narrowing your eyes. "i'm going on a date with some weird dude from his class".

renjun chokes on his drink, beginning to cough uncontrollably. jaemin sends him a weird look, jeno beginning to gently pat his back to make sure he doesn't choke. "why would you agree to that?"

you blink, pretending to think it over. "free boba, and.. i can be lazy this weekend".

jeno's jaw almost drops. "you're kidding".

you shake your head.

"chenle agreed to take over your shifts!? since when was he so considerate?"

you slam your hand onto the table and point at renjun. "that is exactly what i said! i thought he was kidding!"

"all that for you to just get laid?"

you give donghyuck an incredulous look. "no one is getting laid, i'm simply getting a guy off his hands".

"yeah hyuck, y/n can't flirt for shit".

"oh and you can? the only thing that gets you anywhere is your looks".

jaemin gasps, a true tone of offense in the inhale of air. "you take that back!"

"it's pretty true actually".

jeno winces as jaemin lands a slap on his shoulder, he scoots closer to you and wraps his arms around. "can't believe your such an abusive best friend" he mutters, leaning against you.

"you're supposed to be on my side".

"i am! but that doesn't mean it isn't true!"

"you two are giving me a headache" your roommate massages his temples, gritting his teeth, you can just barely pay his shoulder with how jeno is squeezing you.

"even more than donghyuck?"

"never more than donghyuck".

donghyuck bites his tongue, holding back the very rude rebuttal he had planned. "all of you shut up, we have to focus on the main mission".

"the main what?"

"getting y/n laid".

you choke on your spit, beginning to have an uncontrollable coughing fit. donghyuck almost laughs at the sight, but renjun glares, so he keeps silent. "wait since when was that the mission?"

"y/n is painfully single!"

"no i'm not! i have jeno!" you point at the other with your thumb, and donghyuck scrunches his nose at that response. "i don't need to get laid, you need to get laid".

"that's projection".

if you weren't being crushed by the weight of jeno's grip, you would absolutely clock na jaemin right in the face. "if you want y/n to get laid so bad just do it yourself.."

"oh there is no way in hell i'm getting in bed with him—"

"what the fuck is that supposed to mean!?"

renjun's eye twitches, now you and donghyuck are fighting. how great. he's definitely having a great day.

he won't even try to break up a physical fight.

[ohbo-ohno]

a place that feels eerily familiar to you, like you knew it in a dream + price !! 🫶

congrats on so many sillies following you!!!

1k game here

this one was kinda hard to think of something for but i hope you like it! also thank you ily <3 i love my sillies

2.2k of john price x single mom reader. this is kinda labyrinth inspired, except i've never see labyrinth so we're going on vibes alone. no smut! this is another one with very little of the character requested, but im gonna get better about not doing that i promise <3

You're gobsmacked as you stare at the scene in front of you.

The walls are painted almost aggressively bright, with rainbows crisscrossing over each other in every direction, random bursts of white you think are meant to be clouds. The colors make you squint a little, you didn't even know paint could be that bright.

It's almost painful to look at. It's also... familiar. You're not sure why, but it is.

You shake off the odd sense of déjà vu, refocusing on your goal.

"Alice?" You call out again, cupping your hands around your mouth and shouting as loudly as you can. "Alice, baby, where are you? Can you hear me?"

Nothing.

It's hard not to fall to your knees and just give up. The only thing keeping you standing is the memory of your sweet baby girl in that man's arms. Her little cherubic face tucked into his neck, tiny body dwarfed by his massive form...

You force a full breath into your lungs, then another, then another. You won't be able to help Alice if you can't keep your head.

"Alright, think," you whisper to yourself, taking another moment to scan the room. "If I were a piece of shit baby-stealer, where would I keep a perfect angel?"

Nothing responds.

The room is definitely meant for a child, but scaled up to your size. The door you'd come in through has disappeared, leaving you stuck in this weird rainbow nightmare.

There's a bed against one wall - not really a bed so much as a stack of no less than six mattress one on top of the other, all with the same purple bedsheets. They nearly reach the ceiling, and on the very top your sure you can see several stuffed animals.

There are bookshelves against one wall, floating shelves styled after unicorns where the books rest along their backs and the unicorns themselves stick out from the wall. It's horrendously impractical - all you can think about is how much dusting they would need, how dangerous they could be if they fell on top of someone.

The floor is a nice hardwood with a large plush rug in the center, stylized to look like a white cat curled up in a little ball.

The room is spotless. Nothing is out of place, there's not a spec of dust anywhere to be seen, and nothing is stained. You wish your own daughter's room was this clean, but three year old's are a very messy species.

This room is clearly meant for a kid, but you can tell it's never been used. No child could keep a white rug so clean.

You sit on the floor in front of the purple bed and try to collect your thoughts, eying the room around you.

The man - John Price, he'd said around a cigar - had been clear about your task. Find your way out of the labyrinth in twenty-four hours, and you'll be reunited with your baby.

Of course the jackass had neglected to mention it's a magical labyrinth. Of course he hadn't told you that the maze would literally reconstruct itself right in front of your eyes.

This room had appeared practically out of thin air too, which is why you suspect that no one's ever been here but you. The whole place has an air of cleanliness that leaves your skin crawling.

The walls though... there's something so familiar about them.

It hits you a few moments later.

You'd had a coloring book as a little girl that was rainbow themed - each page featured a rainbow in a different setting, or a different shape, or an animal with rainbow patterns, things of that nature. Your favorite page had been the one without any design but rainbows, arches crisscrossing over each other in every direction. You spent hours painstakingly coloring it properly, despite the fact that it was nearly impossible to tell where the top of the rainbow was in certain places.

You'd begged your mother to paint your room like that, promised her that you'd help, that you'd never complain about your chores again, all typical little kid stuff. Your mother had refused, and you'd forgotten all about it by breakfast the next day.

That pattern from the coloring book is the same one decorating the walls, complete with the incorrect colors in certain places. That's where you remember it from.

And... and that bed. Mattress stacked on top of one another, purple bedsheets. It's just like an old copy of The Princess and the Pea your father brought home one day. You had been so entranced with the idea of a bed so tall that you'd never even cared about the end of the story. You vividly remember begging for a tall bed like the princess had, and you'd gotten it - you slept in a loft bed for most of your teen years.

It's clear from there what's going on. The unicorn shelves are plucked from your memory too, originating from a years long obsession with the mythical creatures. The rug, now that you think about it, matches one your kindergarten teacher had. The whole room is filled with things that you thought would be great in a bedroom as a little girl.

So.... how do you get out?

There's no door, no windows, no attic, nothing. Just a sealed rainbow box.

You skim your memory as quickly as possible, trying to imagine any sort of escape route you might've wanted. When you were little, you'd gone through a phase of wanting to live in a tower like Rapunzel, but that had a window. You also tried to run away once, becoming very enamored with the idea of living in a tent. You'd wanted to live in a treehouse for a bit, and that....

Oh. That's it.

You'd wanted to live in a treehouse, and your father jokes that you would roll right out of the hatch when you were asleep. You'd proudly said nuh-uh and told him how you'd drag the mattress over the hatch every night.

You glance over your shoulders at the six mattress stacked on top of each other and sigh.

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

It takes a while, but you finally manage to shove the last mattress away from it's spot.

Not only is there a trapdoor beneath it, there's one singular pea.

You'd laugh if you were any less exhausted.

You leave the rainbow room all but destroyed - the stuffed animals had gone flying and knocked off the books, and the floor is almost completely covered by mattress - but you're far too excited about your small win to worry about cleaning up.

You climb down the ladder in a tiny, enclosed space, breathing slowly to keep yourself from hyperventilating. It's almost pitch-black and you can't fight off the image of the walls shifting around you, deciding you're not supposed to be here and.....

You breathe a sigh of relief when your feet hit the floor.

Your first instinct is to call out for your daughter again, hope that she hears and cries out for you, but this room - dark and undecorated - is dead silent. The kind of silent that feels wrong to break. So you inch forward towards the only door you can make out along the wall.

Your hand shakes as you push it open, tense as you reveal....

A nursery.

A nursery with your baby in it, your little girl all curled up in a crib that she's a bit too old for. She's wearing something different than what you had her in, but she's real and she's safe.

You step froward on instinct, standing at the side of the crib. Just as you're reaching in to grab her and run, a voice speaks up from behind you.

"What are you doing?"

You jolt, spinning around and pressing your back in front of where your baby sleeps.

It's the man again. He can barely fit through the doorway (literally ducks) and he's broad enough to nearly block it. He's almost cartoonishly large, with tree trunk thighs and arms, a soft padding around his body that makes him look both terrifying and nice to hug.

His beard twitches as he frowns at you, thick eyebrows dipping low over his eyes.

"You're not supposed to be here."

You shake your head a little, getting your racing heart under control. "You said if I could find Alice in twenty-four hours I could go home."

He shakes his head slowly, stepping further into the room. The door disappears behind him. "No, I said find your way out of the labyrinth and you could keep her."

Against your own will, you feel tears start to sting in your eyes. "But..."

"How did you get here?" He asks again, shifting back a bit. His face softens just slightly, but that isn't saying much.

"I found a door," you say. "Under the mattresses."

He hums. "You remembered, then."

Now it's your turn to look confused. "Of course I did. It was my dream as a child."

His head tilts to the side as he takes a few steps forward. "You would be shocked how many parents have forgotten their own dreams. It's pathetic," he spits.

You try to push a little further back as he comes within reaching distance, but you have nowhere else to go.

"Pathetic?"

"Yes. How are you supposed to fulfil your child's dreams if you can't remember your own?"

"But... but not all dreams are meant to come true."

He scowls at you, leaning a little further forward. "Really? You don't remember how devastated you were when you didn't get that treehouse? Or the rainbow walls? You cried for hours, I saw it in your memories. Why would you want to put your daughter through that?"

That's... invasive, but you try to move past it. "But my dreams weren't always good for me. I couldn't sleep in the treehouse, what if something went wrong? There could've been a storm, or someone in the woods, or I could've gotten too scared to go inside - any number of things. And I would've been bored of the walls by the weekend, of course my mother didn't spend days painting them just for me to be over it before I even said thank you."

He hums a bit, bringing a hand up to stroke his chin. "You would deny your daughter's dreams because you don't want to create them, then?"

You scowl at that, holding yourself back from poking a finger into his chest. "Are you calling me lazy? How dare you! You know, I work two jobs to take care of that little girl all by myself since her daddy's a deadbeat, I work myself to the bone making sure she can eat, and you call me lazy for not painting the walls the colors she wants?"

He latches onto the wrong part of the sentence. "Her father's not in the picture?"

You glare at him. "That's what you got from that?"

He seems to be stuck in deep contemplation, taking another step forward so your chests nearly brush and you're forced to stare up at him.

"So, it's not for a lack of love, then?"

"What? Of course not. If I could, I'd give Alice everything she could ever want and more. But that's not how the real world works."

"It's how the labyrinth works."

"Excuse me?"

He gestures broadly to the nursery. "The labyrinth is kind to her inhabitants. She gives them everything they desire, because it's easy for her."

You've never been more confused in your life. "Okay? Good for her, then."

You get the feeling he's reached a conclusion that you can't even see in the distance as he nods to himself, leaning to the side a bit to glance at Alice. You fight down the urge to leap over the crib and cover her body with yours.

"Then you will stay here."

That jerks you back to reality. "Wait- what?"

"You will stay in the labyrinth, where she can provide for... what did you call her? Alice? Yes, Alice. You and Alice will be taken care of here."

"But-" you splutter. "But I found her! You said I had to find her!"

He shoots you a slightly exasperated look. "No, as I said before, you had to find your way out. You didn't. And look at that, time's up." A timer appears in the air in front of him, ticking down to zero. "Now you and little Alice are mine. It's been a little empty around here recently, it won't be the worst thing to have company for a bit."

You feel heat rush to your face. "No! Let us go, you can't keep me here on a technicality!"

He smiles - a real smile, brightening up his eyes - and surprises you by cupping your cheek with one big paw.

"Oh my dear, it's my labyrinth, I can do whatever I want in it. And it's not a technicality, though I could keep you based on several of those too."

You fume as you glare up at him, hands curled into fists. "I'll find my way out. You can't keep us here."

He chuckles, patting your cheek once before stepping away. "Oh, yes, I think you'll be fun to keep around for a while, darling. Try your best to escape, if you'd like. I don't think I'll mind finding you lost a few more times."

[mizu-kie]

Itoshi Sae x fem reader.

Tags : Angst, one sided love, Rape(Not by him), Ending.

Warning read at your own risk! Its not in detail but still.

unedited part 1 check out for part2 for sae's pov

"Prepare for dinner by seven at the same place. "Your boyfriend then proceeded to march out of your shared room, and you smile at him as he waves good bye."

"Take care." You instantly check your wardrobe for anything to wear. You found a box, and you instantly smiled when you remembered it was a dress he gave you on your first date.

You're finally using it.

You stared to imagine his reaction after all, you haven't seen him smile since you met him, and he's also always away. It's hard to be in a long distance relationship, but you're glad it worked out.

You check the time; there are still four hours left. You need to prepare yourself; you know Sae hates it when someone's late. You tried calling Sae's number multiple times, but he's not answering. You catch a glimpse inside the restaurant; it's the same restaurant you both like and the one he asks you for a date at.

Earlier at home, you tried calling him; you thought he would pick you up, but it was getting late, so you decided to come here by yourself.

After hours passed and you were getting furious, some staff came out and asked you multiple times if you had any reservations or how they could help you, and you answered them. "I'm fine." Or ". "Just waiting for someone." A group of men suddenly approaches you.

"We've been eyeing you for 30 minutes now, so how long are you going to stand there?" One of them asks They keep approaching at you, which makes you scared and run. You thought you lost them, but they suddenly appear in one alley. This time you tried to dial Sae's number while running, and you screamed when one of the men grabbed your hair.

You woke up in the hospital full of bruises, tears fell from your eyes, and you jumped out of the bed but collapsed after feeling the pain between your thighs.

A nurse opens the door with a basket of fruits and rushes to you. "Ma'am, please stay in bed." She guided you to your bed and gave you a cup of water. She placed the basket on the table besides you.

"A tall man gave me this; he seems in a rush so he leaves instantly." She said while fixing the blanket to cover you.

She also told you that those men were arrested with a possession of drugs they'll serve prison for a long time that gave up relief.

Days later, you're finally home. Your boyfriend never showed up or texted you after that, and the feeling of solitude surprisingly comforts you now that you think of it.

Sae never shows emotions towards you; there was a time that you felt like he lost interest in loving you. "Or probably he never loved you." You said it to yourself. You thought he was tired after practicing and sometimes didn't bother to reply to you, but at least you knew he was fine and doing great if he only read your reply.

At the hospital You know it's him; the feeling of betrayal and disappointment you never felt for him before has come to your senses. For the last time, you dialed Sae's number, hoping that he would answer it, but he failed.

To:Sae

When i met you two years ago when we visited and stayed in Madrid for six months,i went to a soccer match with my cousin who truly loves soccer (he really forced me to watch) but i didn't regret it because i met you there,your so good that i instantly have a crush on you, my cousin is a friend of one of your teammates and often invites your team that's how we officially met i know you don't have an interest with me that why i never really bother you that much but when we are leaving you ran towards me and ask me to be your girlfriend which made my heart jump in joy,after that we went into long distance which is hard but i understand before me your obsessed playing soccer, i cant just show to your life and stops or bother you with your dream, please don't give up being the best player cause im giving up this relationship, im sorry to bother you these years,im saying that i enjoy being with you and i love you i still do —im just giving up, those having crush on you turns into crushing me into pieces ,i know i deserves someone better . This will be the last time we'll be talking to each other. I love you; take care. My final good-bye.

To be continued... Sae's pov

[mail-me-a-snail]

oc interview: ✨✨vance✨✨

thank you to @swearingcactus AND @glitchinginthegarden AND!! @v-eats-bugs for tagging me !! finally got to sit down and answer this :3

let's hit it !

🧡 Name?

"Just call me V."

his first chosen name was penn, but he started going by vance after his medical transition. he doesn't give it out freely bc that was the name arasaka knew him by; he doesn't mention his surname, either, bc it's a pretty prominent one with much of its members still working for the megacorp in question.

🧡 Nickname?

"...Well, last I checked, 's still V."

apart from "mano" from jackie, vance doesn't have much in terms of nicknames. his old netrunning handle was N3tH0und (net hound); it's a retired username that's been largely scrubbed from the net, but sometimes he signs his major hacks with it just to fuck with people. it's a ghost's name, and it's fun to haunt the net only when he knows for certain that it can't be traced back to him.

🧡 Gender?

"Guy! Never been asked that outright before."

🧡 Star sign?

"'s not my scene--can't say I know much about it--but Misty's got me down as a Cancer, whatever that means. Says that's probably why I'm, er, so 'intuitive', as she called it. You ask me, that's just the merc work--bein' able to read a room, that is."

i first drew vance on july 7, 2023, so i consider that his birthday. like vance, i have no idea how being a cancer applies to him, but google says cancers are loyal, domestically inclined, and committed to their loved ones, so that sounds about right!

🧡 Height?

"Six flat. Johnny's pretty sure I'm taller than 'im...but he's slouchin' all the time, so don't think he's got a say in it."

🧡 Orientation?

"Usually go for other guys. But I guess the definition of that is pretty loose these days, 'specially in NC, huh. The hell does it matter to me if you've got certain...parts. If you're a guy, you're a guy, and if you're down, I'm down, y'know?"

vance is a gay man with a preference for masculine-identifying individuals. like he said, if you identify as a "guy" in any form, then that's good enough for him. he's not one to talk about having "appropriate" parts, and he thinks it's dumb that they're gendered in the first place. he's not usually looking for anything serious and he's more than okay with just being an input and having one as well.

🧡 Nationality/ethnicity?

"Nay's Indian. Tay's Filipino. Ya ask anyone, I look more like my mom."

nanay and tatay are the filipino words for mother and father, respectively. vance has a very limited grasp of either language but he at least knows that much from his dad's mother tongue.

🧡 Favorite fruit?

"Oh, man, 's been a while--this one time when I was growin' up, think I was ten or eleven, 'Saka sent Dad a basket of 'ganic fruit. For his 50 years o' service, I think it was. Anyway, had my first apple then. What I wouldn't fuckin' give for one right now."

he likes fuji apples the best :3

🧡 Favorite season?

"Gotta be winter. I got to go a lot of places back in '65--Europe, mostly--an' most of them were snowy. Loved seein' my breath fog up. You don't get that here. You get hot rains and the pavement steamin'--guess it's pretty, in its way, with all the city's neon shinin' through the rain.

"But it ain't a real winter without snow."

🧡 Favorite flower?

"If ya hike it out to the Badlands in the summer, you'll find these little white flowers blooming on the cacti; Net says they're called Saguaro blooms. I like their...tenacity, I 'spose."

"But if I had to give ya a traditional answer...blue hydrangeas. Maya--she used to grow 'em in her apartment, still don't know how she did it--she gave me some blooms for my birthday back in '70. A welcome home kinda thing. Don't got her green thumb, so they died a week later...but they were real pretty. Somethin' to look forward to comin' home to."

🧡 Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate?

"Coffee--can't say it works for me, though."

he likes all three and refuses to drink his coffee black. he will put so much milk and creamer in that cup that it might as well be a dessert. johnny is disgusted (affectionate).

🧡 Average hours of sleep?

"...Hours, plural?"

vance is a champ at power naps and between the relic and an insomnia left over from his arasaka days, he doesn't get to bed much. if you do somehow get him into bed by morning, however, be prepared to not see him until near-evening the next day.

🧡 Dog or cat person?

note: those 10,000 photos are just the ones he has on his phone; do not look at the cloud where his kiroshi photos are stored.

🧡 Dream trip?

"...Was actually, erm, thinkin' of--well, when we get all this shit sorted out--I was thinkin'...might bring Johnny somewhere colder. Somewhere with snow. Said he hasn't seen snow before, so, I-unno, thought he might like it out there."

please take this time to imagine johnny in his android body nuzzled up to vance in the snow, red-faced and, for the first time in a long time, in awe. they're going to have hot chocolate later in some cabin vance rented out for the season--but right now, they're watching their shared breath cloud together in the air, simpatico even in this.

🧡 Favorite fictional character?

"Oh, oh--there's this real old holovid I used to loop when I was fifteen. 's fucked how they got most of it right. Anyhow, Rick Deckard. I used to think he was so damn cool."

deckard, with his big-collared jacket and general gruffness, was definitely one of vance's transition goals. that, and he watched br2049 right after--with how deckard was treating K, vance started projecting Really Fucking Heavily on K. like wow! you're a total killing machine with a father who just might love you. that's crazay man. could not be me

🧡 Number of blankets you sleep with?

"Run pretty warm as it is already, so just the one. Like the...texture of it, as it were. The weight o' it."

get this man a weighted blanket please god. i think it would fix him. alternatively, just lay on top of him and he'll be happy.

🧡 Random fact?

"I used to klep a lotta shit when I was a kid. Wires, chips, motherboards--mostly tech, really, from the vendin' machines and bus stops 'round the city. Sold 'em for a pretty eddie down in Heywood; got no buyers in the Hill, not when we could all afford the tech those Heywood kids were tryin' to kitbash together in the first place. Don't really know why I did it.

"To strike out, maybe? Maybe I liked the challenge. There's somethin' about makin' a machine give its own parts to you; get a vending machine to dispense its motherboard, a bus stop sign its LED, and ya feel like ya can make anythin' bend to your will."

--

thank you again for the tags!! this was a lot of fun to do :3

tagging @netripper , @knuckle-cluster, @matapang-coffee, and

@nakitengoku AND whoever else would like to do this! no pressure to do so ofc!!

if u ever dont want to be tagged in these kinds of posts, just lmk!

[gutsybitsies]

summer camp 2 electric boogaloo

summary: kiddie big 3 kids have to go to get along camp to prevent ww3

There was a reason that children of the Big three made people in the modern times nervous, Chiron thought as he watched the kids lounge around in the Big House. Back in the age of heroes, even mortals without godly ichor running through them could accomplish great feats. But now, this group of children under 13 had the power to destroy towns and when they grow into their own, cities. And if things turn out really, really bad, they could mess up entire continents.

But that'll take a while, Chiron thought as he watched little Hazel, their exchange camper from Camp Jupiter, try to put rainbow stickers on Percy's face. She's having a hard time because Percy kept moving around to try and catch the popcorns that Thalia was throwing at him. Bianca was IM-ing Nico, who was in California, and he's tripping verbally over his excitement at meeting at the other big three child there.

"Jay is so cool! He can fly! He's like Superman!" His chubby 9 year old cheeks glowed in the misty spray. Nico pulled a preteen into view, "Jay, do the thing! Do the thing!"

The kid, Jason, as Chiron knew him by, grinned and held out a finger. Electricity crackled at the tip of his index finger. "Don't get too close like you did last time, Nico."

Jason wasn't complaining about this exchange program, at all. He'd been disappointed when Hazel was chosen to go instead of him, but then Nico came and immediately started following him around like a puppy. And it was nice having someone treat him like a teddy bear instead of, well, instead of the exact opposite. Nico wouldn't know the word respect if someone had spelled it out for him (no, literally, the kid has a really hard time reading and spelling).

Jason concentrated so that the crackle of electricity on his finger started to turn into different colors. Nico screeched in delight.

"We have to keep them friendly with each other, united," Hera had commanded Chiron. "To make that happen..."

"So that's why you will all be flying over to Greece to attend a personalized program just for the Big Three kids, designed to unite you into a cohesive unit."

"Why fly?" Bianca complained. "None of us like planes!"

Percy nodded and pointed to himself. "This guy likes staying on the ground, and the death kids like to stay under the ground, no offense."

Bianca slapped his shoulder. "Offense taken!"

Chiron sighed, "A plane will be the fastest way to get to Greece."

"I can take turns shadowtravelling with Mrs O Leary," Bianca said, definitely overestimating her own abilities. "We'll be able to make it to Greece faster than a plane."

"Maybe we don't care about speed," Percy said. "Maybe we care about comfort and we commandeer a ship and I can get us across the Atlantic in 5 days."

"Bianca, it's not so simple, and Percy, we don't have a ship for you," Chiron said. "When Hestia and Hera envisioned this summer program, it was to keep peace between their three brothers and their children. Everything is symbolic of the bonds of family and the Olympic court between the six of you. Some people are more prideful than others, and would prefer that all of you travel through his domain in order to reach the new summer enrichment program."

"Friendship camp," Hazel said. "You're making us go halfway across the world for friendship camp because they want us to get along. Isn't that why I'm here and Nico's visiting California?"

"And Zeus," Nico started to say before thunder rolled ahead from where Nico was, and he grabbed onto Jason's arms for safety. "I mean, some people insist that we go to this camp on a plane because he says so? Also Bianca!! I have so much to tell you about the Roman camp-"

"That's great, Nico, you can tell me all about it later!" She cut him off before he could go on another ramble.

Thalia gave a frustrated grunt, "Look, I'm not jazzed to be on a plane either."

"That makes Jason the only one out of all of us who's going to be happy about this," Bianca said. Everyone looked at Jason, who looked even more embarrassed.

"Bianca, I don't want to fly," Nico pouted. "I'll puke all over you."

Jason rubbed his shoulders. "I'll carry puke bags for you."

"Jason's the designated flight attendant," Thalia decided. "He'll attend to our every needs. He'll be the one getting the lifejackets and water and snacks!"

Hazel looked on with awe as she watched the rest of the Greek kids make fun of Jason, and as Jason just grinned happily through it all.

Two days later, a private chartered plane picked up Jason and Nico from California and flew over to Long Island.

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

The plane landed in a makeshift airfield near Camp Halfblood, where Hazel, Bianca, Percy, and Thalia were waiting with their suitcases in tow.

Percy thought he'd see Jason and Nico step out of the plane for a quick leg stretch, but neither of them came down the steps.

The four of the handed off their suitcases to be stowed in a separate compartment on the ship before making their way inside.

Ah, that was why they didn't see Jason or Nico.

Jason had taken up residence on the biggest couch on the plane. Nico was nowhere to be seen, until you realize that he must be the small quivering mass underneath a blanket that was on Jason's lap (or maybe sitting between his legs? Percy wasn't sure, he was covered by a blanket).

"Shhh," Jason gestured, and mouthed, "he finally fell asleep!"

The mass moved a little under the blanket, and Jason immediately started gently petting it while shushing it. "Shh, shh, it's going to be okay. We're all good, I got you."

Bianca gaped at the sight. "I-What have you done to my brother?"

Jason shrugged. "Nico? He was really nervous so I put a blanket over him."

"This is the first time I've seen Nico so quiet and still," Percy whispered back. "Are you Mary Poppins?"

"This is just like how we put a hood on horses so they don't get jumpy," Hazel said. "Wow, Jason's like an animal handler."

"Makes sense because Nico's like an animal. You haven't seen the way he tears into my mom's cookies."

The plane moved smoothly, but Jason noticed the nervous expressions on the other kids' faces. Thalia sat next to him and tried to put him in a headlock, but Jason just whipped out a hand and said "Shhhhh, he's resting!"

It was too late, and Nico had popped his head out of the blankets already. The plane hadn't taken off yet, but it was heading down the runway already.

Nico clambered off of Jason, taking the blanket with him, and scrambled to where Hazel and Bianca were sitting. He gave a hello wave to Percy and Thalia before jumping on his sisters and covered them all with the blanket.

"This way, we can pretend this isn't happening." The other kids heard him say from under the blanket.

The plane jolted as it took off, and someone, definitely not Percy, screamed in nervousness. He inched towards the pile of Underworld kids in the blanket.

"Uh. Is there room?"

Hazel peeked out. "No, sorry. But you can cuddle with Jason and Thalia?"

Percy looked over at the Graces, and Thalia had already started to cling to her little brother like a teddy bear. The plane jolted again.

He ran over to the Graces, and just like Nico had done, jumped on them.

"PERCY GET OFF-"

"I DON'T CARE I DON'T LIKE THIS-"

"Maybe we should hood you guys too-"

"HOLD ME TIGHT AND SAVE ME-"

Nico laughed as he grabbed onto Bianca and Hazel under the blanket. Their ears popped, and Hazel took out some gum for them to chew on. Pomegranate, his favorite flavor. Planes were terrible, awful, no good contraptions. But he'd take it if it meant spending more time with his favorite people in the world.

"PERCY I SWEAR TO GODS-"

The end.

(edited to add ao3 link)

[dollible]

wait. wait. hold the fuck up.

im a singlet except when i smoke weed i experience what i imagine it must like to be plural i stop being me and start being somone else and start like rapidly switching between identities

is this actually a plural thing??? not trying to ask youto diagnose me but ive never h

eard this experience echoed before

i came here for the dollposts

Short answer is, dunno!

Long answer is, aptly, kind of all around the place, and it starts like this: as I was writing this draft, I typed "I'm not the right person to ask: I don't know much about plurality or know many plural people," stopped and realized that (1) pretty much everyone I know is plural, and (2) I've actually researched plurality *a lot* on separate occasions around 2011, 2016, 2019 and 2022.

(the ask is referencing this post, which says: "weed is funny when you’re plural. it’s always a fifty-fifty between getting relieved of the burden of existence for six hours, or someone really pent up in your head suddenly taking complete control over your body to grope it so intensely it feels like you’re about to get a train run on by the entire lacrosse team")

It's not really remembering. It's more like... forgetting to forget. It kind of feels like getting clobbered over your head. Can't imagine why! It's probably just the wind. It's the end of 2024 now; I wonder if I'll read this text in another few years with a fresh new pair of eyes. (I am editing this paragraph five days later, and I already can't remember writing that sentence.)

I'm not fond of the term "diagnose" as applied to plurality (in the widest meaning of the word) for several reasons. One of them is: a diagnosis is, among other things, a treatment plan for an abnormal condition that causes dysfunction or distress. It doesn't really matter if you've learned The True Sacred Name or whatever of the demon that haunts you, as long as it isn't fucking with your day-to-day life.

As far as "abnormal" goes, well... What we call an "identity" is at this point is understood to be, at least in part, a continuous narrative process. Each of us is two hundred billion humming cells that dream together, and in that shared dream two hundred billion are a singular thing. Can anyone say they've never held conflicting opinions, or never talked to themselves, or never changed their stance on their own with no need for convincing? No orchestra is ever perfectly in tune, not even over the length of a single piece. Is that inherently wrong? Even when presented with perfect software synthesizers, we (meaning both 1st person plural "we" and humanity in general) always detune them on purpose to make them sound alive.

At different times in my life, I've considered myself a singlet, median-plural, a proper system of multiple and uncountable people, not a person at all, or a daydream that was never meant to be. I don't think I ever came to a definitive conclusion. Maybe there isn't a conclusion to arrive to. The walk definitely is.

I cannot say for sure if "this is actually a plural thing." It's also been a bit of a minute since I either examined my own (hypothetical(?)) plurality or partook in anything other than stims. But if I did, how would the answer change your life? Would you be pressed to introspect? Would you feel scared? Would you rejoice at newfound company? Would you feel multiple conflicting things at once?

Maybe what really matters is what you're drawn towards. Practice shows that plurality is at the very least a self-fulfilling prophecy. After all, it's a narrative of sorts, isn't it? So is the identity of the girl reading this. Reach into the stream of consciousness accompanying you everywhere. Go on. Feel it. Try to talk things out. I cannot promise you that you'll find anything in there, or that you'll find anything unquestionably good. You do, however, hold more agency over your identity than you may think.

Also, hey, first ask! I've tried to make my reply as uncomfortably personal as I could. I hope you can find some use out of it.

[perrydapandapillowpet]

Percy: y'know, Luke had a point

Annabeth: how?

Percy: if his dad is lin-manuel miranda, he had a right to rebel

Annabeth: I mean, I guess

Percy: if I had to listen to the Hamilton soundtrack for years, I'd start a war and possibly kill everyone I ever cared about

Annabeth: sure

Percy: like, imagine if you're trying to sleep and "my shot" starts playing in your left ear, while "satisfied" is playing in your right ear

Percy: and then you look up and lin-manuel miranda is staring you right in the face like "ma name is alexander hamilton"

Percy: the songs are catchy, but...

▪︎Nico walks up to the duo▪︎

Nico: are you guys talking about the new God of theives

Percy: mhm

Annabeth: more of him *points at percy*

Nico: out of all people

Percy: I think apollo made this decision

Percy: too bad I'm too tired to visit him

Percy: I'll just have to call

Percy: ☆ the squad ☆

Percy: *on the phone* jason

Jason: w h a t

Percy: gather the squad

Jason: why can't you do it

Percy: I'm tired okay

Jason: *hangs up*

▪︎two hours later▪︎

*the squad is gathered in chb*

Piper: sooooo

Jason: ask him.

Percy: I need you to go visit apollo

Thalia: but like

Thalia: why

Percy: this is hermes

Reyna: uh huh

Percy: this was obviously apollo's decision

Will: but what if you're wrong and this all goes to waste and apollo wasn't even aware of this

Percy: be optimistic

Percy: who else's decision might that be?

Will: idk Rick?

Percy: who?

Nico: *facepalm*

Frank: are we visiting Roman apollo or Greek apollo?

Percy: it's the same thing

Leo: wait. why do we have to go and you don't???

Percy: you see these eyebags?!?!?!?

Leo: bitch i know you've had those eyebags since the moment you've stepped foot in this camp

Percy: no need to call me out

Percy: Wise girl help—

Percy: Annabeth?!

Piper: I saw her put on her hat and disappear

Piper: sooooooo

Percy: AND YOU DIDN’T TELL ME?!?!?!?

Percy: *crying*

Hazel: fake crying really isn't going to get you out of this so save yourself the tears

Percy:

Percy: yeah my face isn't even wet let's go

Jason: how are we gonna get to the empire state buliding

*everyone looks at him*

Jason: what

Thalia: n o .

Percy: I usually like hugging my nearby hunky hunka himbo, but not this time

Doorman/elevator man: Yeah no

Nico: I can get there myself

Frank: me too

Leo: I am not taking Festus for a mini trip

So...

Percy: six hundredth floor please

Percy: why

Thalia: yeah why

Doorman/elevator man: HARRY POTTER ALL THE WAY—

Thalia: *punches*

Thalia: I lost my patience and have no money, so

▪︎the elevator opens, elevator music playing loudly ▪︎

Reyna: you know, it's really tight in here

Leo: and really hot

Piper: I swear to the gods, if you burn us...

Leo: alright chilllll beauty queen

Nico: ugh I'm getting claustrophobic

Nico: Jason can you get your ass outta my face

Nico: I understand that your height is high maintenance

Nico: but that doesn't give you the right to shove your cheeks in my face

Jason: I'm on the other side of the elevators

Nico: what—

▪︎elevator dings▪︎

Percy: now remember

Percy: don't get distracted by the wonders of olympus

Percy: we gotta go to the sunshine

Piper: but that's so bright

Will: I have twenty sets of emergency sunglasses

Will: take

Thalia: DAM we look good

Nico: I see the light

Hazel: WHAT

Nico: no, apollo is right there

Thalia: oh no, I need to use the bathroom. I'm gonna go

Percy: pussy

Leo: Apollo!!!!!

Apollo, in all his glory: oh, my favorite relatives! What brings you to olympus?

Piper: was the Hermes situation your fault

Apollo: what situation

Reyna: ya know, lin-manuel?

Apollo: what about him?

Frank, whispering: he got casted as Hermes for the show

Apollo: *jaw drops* NO FUCKING WAY

Percy:...yeah

Nico: im guessing it wasn't your fault then

Apollo: ask Hermes himself

Will: no way we're talking to a man who played Alexander Hamilton AND lipbites AND writes music

Apollo: I did all three of those things, so watch your mouth!

Will: whatever, I was right.

[thatforgottenbasilisk]

the unofficial adventures of the unofficial archive group chat

Chapter 1 (AO3)

Originally posted on 1/22/2024

Summary:

TIM TAM TOM: martin you do not owe him an apology

TIM TAM TOM: i think you promoted yourself to his best friend actually

sash (❁´◡`❁): He's going to be asking you out any day now

TIM TAM TOM: married within the year

sash (❁´◡`❁): However I wouldn't bring up spiders again with him he's got the 'intense arachnophobia' note on his employee file

mahtin: He showed you his file?

sash (❁´◡`❁): No

mahtin: Oh

OFFICIAL archive discord

#general

hibitchcus flower just slid into the server.

hibitchcus flower just changed their nickname to TIM TAM TOM

Turbo nerd as in the movie joined the party.

TIM TAM TOM just changed Turbo nerd as in the movie's nickname to sash (❁´◡`❁)

sash (❁´◡`❁): Acceptable only because of the kaomoji

Good to see you, Blackwood, Martin

TIM TAM TOM: ugh god marto please tell me you just made that account 5 minutes ago

Blackwood, Martin: I'm sorry I've literally never heard of Discord!!

sash (❁´◡`❁): Give him a break he probably thought it was an official work thing

sash (❁´◡`❁): Directly affiliated with the Magnus Institute, London

TIM TAM TOM: please sash no jon references this early in the morning

Blackwood, Martin: It's 11:30?

TIM TAM TOM: if it's the AM it's too early in the morning

sash (❁´◡`❁): You voluntarily wake up at six, don't act like you're one of us

Blackwood, Martin: You're a morning person?

sash (❁´◡`❁): He goes to bed no later than 10 pm except for on special occasions

TIM TAM TOM: why would you call me out like this

TIM TAM TOM: im wounded

Blackwood, Martin: You should be

sash (❁´◡`❁): You should be

TIM TAM TOM: youre ganging up on me already i see how it is

TIM TAM TOM: also your name is giving me hives

TIM TAM TOM just changed Blackwood, Martin's nickname to MARTY PARTY

MARTY PARTY: Now I'm getting hives

sash (❁´◡`❁): You can change it in the top left corner

MARTY PARTY: Thank you!!

MARTY PARTY just changed their nickname to mahtin

mahtin: There, more acceptable

TIM TAM TOM: what did i JUST say about jon references

mahtin: You don't pronounce the 'r' in my name either? Nobody does? This is London?

TIM TAM TOM: yeah but jon is the most intense about it

sash (❁´◡`❁): MAHTIN YOU FORMATTED THIS INCORRECTLY!! JAIL FOR A THOUSAND YEARS!!

TIM TAM TOM: MAHTIN THE STANDARD WAY THAT WE FORMAT THINGS HERE HAS TWELVE-POINT FONT, NOT ELEVEN!

sash (❁´◡`❁): MAHTIN I DO NOT CARE IF YOU HAVENT DONE A REPORT LIKE THIS SINCE YOUR MASTER'S THAT YOU GOT TEN YEARS AGO! I'M GOING TO BE A BITCH ABOUT IT ANYWAY!

TIM TAM TOM: MAHTIN!

sash (❁´◡`❁): MAHTIN!

mahtin: I mean, to be fair, I truly haven't got a clue on how to do half these reports and follow-ups

mahtin: It's been too long since I've done anything outside of, you know, Library Things

mahtin: I don't blame him for being frustrated sometimes

TIM TAM TOM: once you get used to it its not hard at all

TIM TAM TOM: esp since you did it in uni all u gotta do is dust off them memoreez

sash (❁´◡`❁): Jon is unecessarily dramatic and mean about it though

TIM TAM TOM: ^^

sash (❁´◡`❁): He's like that with most things, though, so it's fine

sash (❁´◡`❁): He doesn't mean anything personal by it

TIM TAM TOM: we only bully him a little bit for it

mahtin: ah

sash (❁´◡`❁): ... 'ah?'

TIM TAM TOM: ??

mahtin: I see

mahtin: I may owe him an apology?

sash (❁´◡`❁): You what

TIM TAM TOM: im torn

TIM TAM TOM: on the one hand hell yeah lets go marto my man

TIM TAM TOM: on the other hand jon? is he okay? did you actually hurt his feelings ? the only reason hes not in the discord is bc hes fucking insufferable rn and also bc electronics dont like him-

mahtin: I could tell you what I did? To make you not torn?

TIM TAM TOM: no

mahtin: Well I'm going to say it anyway to determine if an apology is in order

sash (❁´◡`❁): Yes go ahead don't let Tim convince you otherwise

mahtin: Well

mahtin: I may have started a bit of a fight with him?

mahtin: Might have implied that he didn't pay attention in Uni?

mahtin: I was completely pulling it out of my arse but I was tired of being corrected on a bunch of little things like I'm SORRY it's been over TEN YEARS since I did ANY education

mahtin: So I dug in my heels on some inane little thing and now it's kind of. On sight

mahtin: This has been going on for a few days now? I'm surprised nobody picked up on it honestly

mahtin: I mean who has an argument about spiders? Even most arachnophobes agree that the jumping ones are cute! They're small and fuzzy what's not to love!

TIM TAM TOM: martin you do not owe him an apology

TIM TAM TOM: i think you promoted yourself to his best friend actually

sash (❁´◡`❁): He's going to be asking you out any day now

TIM TAM TOM: married within the year

sash (❁´◡`❁): However I wouldn't bring up spiders again with him he's got the 'intense arachnophobia' note on his employee file

mahtin: He showed you his file?

sash (❁´◡`❁): No

mahtin: Oh

TIM TAM TOM: if sash says dont bring something up w someone it means she hacked into somewhere she shouldnt and saw things nobody wanted her to see

TIM TAM TOM: she does that with everyone btw

sash (❁´◡`❁): It's easier to just look at the 'phobia' part than dance around like "hey, most people at the Fear Research Institute are absolutely fucking terrified of something, which club are you in? what should I not talk about with you?"

sash (❁´◡`❁): It's EFFICIENT and not personal information in the FEAR RESEARCH INSTITUTE it's basically an icebreaker question in Artifact Storage

sash (❁´◡`❁): For example

sash (❁´◡`❁): No clowns or mannequins with Tim

TIM TAM TOM: or creepy dolls

sash (❁´◡`❁): Or creepy dolls

sash (❁´◡`❁): I'm fine with pretty much anything in all honesty but I'll let you know if that changes

mahtin: Does my file say anything? I don't remember what I said my fear was

sash (❁´◡`❁): Yours was something existential like 'loneliness' or something like that

sash (❁´◡`❁): I don't tend to get that deep with my coworkers so if it's not going to come up in conversation I don't put in as much effort to remember it

mahtin: ... Interesting

mahtin: I don't remember what I said my fear was but I'm fairly certain it was something concrete

mahtin: Might've been snakes? I used to be scared of snakes for a while

mahtin: Then I got a part time job at a pet store for some extra money and their snakes were cool so no more of that

mahtin: But I was only asked the fear question once? During my interview?

sash (❁´◡`❁): ... Weird

TIM TAM TOM: ... indeed

[jalebi-weds-bluetooth]

hey jalebi, it's nura!

despite your recommendation i ended up watching EJ bc i was SO curious to see just how bad it was and yeah.. what even was that lol. im glad that those involved in making the show had fun reuniting but that def didn't feel like IPK, more like a parody. i don't think ill have any trouble forgetting about this and not considering it canon lol

the rewind commentary (or at least whatever clips i could find on youtube) was so sweet tho, loved getting more insight into arnav's mind and feelings. as an introvert myself, i will always be able to understand how difficult it can be for someone like arnav to verbalize his feelings, especially in retrospect when you are filled with remorse for your actions. but on the flip side, it was lovely to see him also talk about all these moments and recognize that he was in love all along (which we knew all along but it's nice to hear it from him too) 🥰

now im rewatching clips here and there of IPK again and i think i know which might be my fav scene. it's during ep 182 (i think) when arnav is helping khushi with food the afternoon of akash and payal's wedding and the neighbourhood thinks he's a waiter. that whole sequence where he's just flirting with her with the bowls in the plate and him saying she can thank him later.. like i can't get that out of my head 😵‍💫 we don't get to see playful arnav too often (esp in the first half of the show) but this was def one of those moments that gave ME butterflies in MY stomach lol 🤭 like yeah we get more heated scenes than this but idk im stumped as to why i like this scene so much. am i crazy or is this a scene the fandom generally likes as well?

alsoooo i was wondering if you're cool with me DMing you instead of always sending an ask so that i don't have to send you such long asks and we can have an actual convo. if not this is cool too, no worries!

- nura 💙

Hey Nura <3

Haha I guess I made you curious enough with the amount of bad rep for it eh, lol. Regarding Rewind, true, we have to imagine we're getting a very deep look into Arnav's mind and I can see that perhaps after six/seven years he's gotten slightly bit more chatty about his feelz! Also, I loved it because it really felt like post therapy Arnav!

OMG THE FANDOM LOVES THE MORNING OF AKASH PAYAL'S WEDDING. It is soooooo damn beautiful. I really wanted more of those feelz T_T It's soooo precious.

Oh I love everything! Feel free to DM, send an ask, anything!

Take care and thank you so much for sharing your feelz <3

Love,

Jalebi

[haveihitanerve]

Reunion Continued

here you go-the rest

Curt sighed, opening the bottle and sitting down at the table. “Roland, id like to apologize. I left. I didn't think about you or the band i just- i just left. Because i was sick of being just the band. I wanted to be, i wanted to be me.” Roland nodded, staring at his glass. “I get that Curt. I do. But you left me.” he finally looked up and locked eyes with the man. Curt swallowed. “You left me. You never called, you never texted. Never even bothered to tell me where the fuck you were going. Or invite me to your wedding. I thought we were friends!” “we are.” Curt said softly. “Really? Because it sure as hell didn't feel like you were. It didn't feel like we walked through fire together. It didn't feel like we were brothers. It felt like you left me to burn alone.” Roland took a swig of his drink and looked away. “You've been gone what? Nine years?” “nine years, two months,” they started to say in unison. “three days, four hours, six minutes and-” they glanced at the clock. “24 seconds.” Curts lips twitched slightly before he sighed. “Rollie. Im sorry. I am. I- i shouldn't have ended it the way i did. But its not just my fault. The band was crumbling. You know it was.” Roland scoffed. “Don't fucking do that Roland. Im right. You know i am.” Roland rolled his eyes, staring at the table, but he couldn't contradict Curt. Wouldn't. Roland was an arrogant bastard. He knew he was. And he also knew he had a reason to be like that. He was a talented musician and really skilled at what he did. It was why he was so arrogant and full of himself. But Curt, curt had always been good. Always been down to earth and since they had been brothers, he had kept roland tethered. Grounded. It was what made him, would always make him, a better person than Roland. But Roland knew his friend didn't think like that. Even if he had called him an arrogant prick on more than one occasion. Roland sighed. “Fine. Yes. You're right.” he sulked. Curt tried to hide his victory grin, but didn't succeed. Roland sent him a withering glare, but it didn't have half as much heat behind it than it would have had with someone else. It never did. “Fukc.’ Roland muttered, standing. Curt shifted, standing as well, and blocked his path. “Roland. You've gone through some things this year. Its tough. I know you have been. Lets,” he shrugged. “Don't push me away. Lets just play something. Yeah?” He grinned. “What do you say Ro. Give me a chance?” Roland snorted, but couldn't help the way his heart lifted ever so slightly at the words. “sure curry.” 

An hour later they found themselves sitting on the couch together, knees touching, each strumming an acoustic guitar as they tried to fall back into the rhythm of old times. Curt sent a glare at Roland as the latters fingers flew across the strings, strumming almost scarily fast and accurate. “Damn showoff.” he muttered. Roland breathed a laugh, a light, easy thing, a sound that had not been rare in the past hour in Curts company. “Careful.” Curt warned, a smile tugging at his lips. “Or you might start loving me again.” Roland chuckled in response, strumming his guitar. He smirked, stopping, and cocked an eyebrow at his old friend. “What ever gave you the impression that I stopped?”

whooo. done. heres the link to the first half if you need it-

hope you enjoyed that.

i just reread it and theres defo stuff i wouldnt put or change now, but i think its okay for a first draft

[koneko-3]

Chapter 1 of "Far"

Deep within the thicket of the woods laid an infant. Alone it sat on a stump only to be surrounded by 6 individuals. These individuals wore long robes covering almost everything while wearing strange masks. They seemed to be preforming a ritual on the dear child only to be stopped by one. The child started to cry. The one individual spoke, "I'm sorry, but do we really have to continue doing these? It just seems wrong sacrificing newborn humans." One of them looked at him, "you know, its important to our culture and our needs of survival." They all stared af the child. The one that spoke out started to speak again, "Why? It's an innocent human being with a life ahead of them. They sacrifice this poor child in need for their home. I-I cant. No. Lets stop this." They all gasped and stared at him. One spoke out directly at him, "Do you even hear yourself?!" They all seemed angry at him. "Hear me out, how about we raise it as one of our own?" He suggested. "One of our own?" "Is that even possible" between the five of them suggested. One spoke out. "How are you going to manage that? We arent humans." "We can always try. At least it's not a wisp. I cant stand wisps. Humans are fragile creatures afterall. So they wont live long. And we can sacrifice the child later." They all agreed upon it. "The child will live a life of 20 years then. It will not interact with the near village or the wisps of the woods." The child started to cry. "Oh god make it stop!" One of them shrieked. "So then, this begins the life of the sacrificed human."

*14 years later*

A little girl was out picking berries in the forest. She wore only a robe as she carried a strange mask with her. Her hair was long and a dark chocolate brown. "Hmm, i wondered how much berries i should take with me today?" She asked herself. "Oh Mai!" Mai picked up her mask immediately and put it back on. "Oh look at you picking berries, how sweet." The moax looked at her. "Its nothing much Moxi, i was hoping to get a lot today." Moxi giggled. "Oh Mai, you're such a joy. Lets get you back home now." "But why?" She whined. "Danger is approaching Mai. The six of us need to protect you from it." Moxi said with a serious tone. "Okay then... i wanted to pick some more berries." She crossed her arms and sighed. "Well you can later Mai. Please come with me." Mai starts to follow Moxi into a small makeshift shelter. To Mai this was her home. She sat alone in her home for hours wondering what kind of danger this was. Was it a bear attack? Or maybe a bunch of crazy animals we're coming to attack. She was really curious. She left her little home only to be alone. So she went back to picking berries. She kept picking berries until her basket was full. She got and there in front of her was a strange woman. Her hair was short but her bangs covered her eyes. It didn't seem like she had eyes at all. It stared at Mai. "Um, hi there?" It seemed amazed at Mai. "Oh my you are so pretty, but are you one of them? Oh i hope not!" Mai started to feel creeped out by this being. "Um... can you explain to me who you are? You're kinda creeping me out." Mai exclaimed. "Oh you dont know? I'm Aoi, the only wisp with a name." Wisps... Mai heard of these creatures before. They didnt have any eyes but were able to wield magic. Mai started to back away from Aoi. "I gotta go!" Mai screamed. Aoi grabbed Mai's arm. "Wait." Mai's face turned fully red. "Let go of me!" Mai screamed. Mai was able to escape Aoi's grip but Mai forgot one thing. Her mask. She had to go back for it. She ran back but Aoi was now gone. She felt something touch her shoulder. She turned around to see Moxi. Mai screeched. "Mai, what are you doing out here?" The only thing Mai could do was panic. "I-I... I thought it was okay to come back out." He scoffed. "You should know better Mai. And why is your face showing?" At this point Mai started to hyperventilate. "Moxi, Im sorry! Im really sorry!!" Tears started streaming down Mai's eyes. "It's fine as long as you didn't encounter anything." Mai placed her face in her palms. She turned around to pick up her mask and her basket. "Let's go back Moxi..." she said as she placed her mask back on her face. "Alright let's go Mai, and don't let this happen again." Moxi told her. The only thing that was on Mai's mind at the moment was Aoi. She had never seen a Wisp before until now. But she knew something about their encounterment would start something. But she wasn't sure yet what it was so the only thing she could do was keep it a secret. No one was allowed to know.

The day had seem to turn into night. Mai stayed alone in her shelter. "I wish it wasnt so lonely in here. But Aoi huh... she seemed beautiful. I wonder why everyone else doesnt like Wisps. They dont seem to harmless." Mai spoke to herself. "I wonder why the others dont like them. At least wisps dont have to wear these stupid masks. I wonder what it would be like to be a wisp. Being able to do magic like they do. It sounds incredible!" Mai could only dream of what its like to be a wisp. She yawned and decided to head to bed. She closed her eyes and left into the world of dreams.

She opened her eyes to find herself in a bed. She didnt feel like herself. She felt a bit shorter and her hair wasnt long. Something wasnt right. She looked around the room as it looked like a room for a little boy. She'd never seen a place like this before. She got up to look around. Mai found a mirror and looked into it. She only saw a little boy instead of herself. She figured she was dreaming. Her chest started to hurt. She started to cough. She collapsed onto the floor as she coughed. And everything went black. Mai suddenly woke up in her bed. "What was that? Was that real?" Mai started throwing out questions. "I shouldn't worry about it. It's probably nothing." Mai noticed it was still dark out but she couldn’t go back to sleep. The only thing that was going through her mind was that dream. "I wonder why i had that dream. Is it suppose to mean something?" She questioned. Mai decided to shrug it off for now and went back to sleep.

In the morning she woken by Fen. “Mai, you must awake right now. There is important business we all must attend to.” he says as he wakes Mai. She stretches and yawns. Mai was now being led by Fen to the others. Moxi was alerted of her appearance. “Good morning Mai!” He said cheerly. Despite being different from the rest of the trax, he wanted Mai to be comfortable around them since she didn't know what they were hiding from her. Soto spoke up. “Mai, we need too discuss something with you.” Mai was confused. “Why? Did I do something wrong?” Vax started to laugh. “Gosh shes so naive. Oh, Mai…” Mai sat still for a minute trying to think of anything that she did. Then it hit her, her encounterment with Aoi yesterday. How could they know? She wondered. Soto began to speak, "we're here to discuss your future Mai." "Oh thats why…" Mai giggled nervously. "Why else would you be here Mai? I know about yesterday's events but this has nothing to do with it." Soto exlamated. "Oh, sorry for the assumption." Roko giggled and whisper to Vax, "i still cant believe we let her live." Mai felt so dumbfounded that she started to blush from embarrassment. "Guys, please quiet down." Moxi yelled. Everything went silent. "Thank you Moxi. Now we all know that Mai was supposed to have a 20 year span. Well things are changing now to 15." Everyone gasped. "Wait, what?!" Mai screamed. "Mai, you weren’t supposed to know." Moxi glared at Soto. "She had to find out somehow Moxi. I dont know why you suck up to her all the time." Moxi gasped. "Maybe he likes her like that." Vax snickered. A fight broke out between Vax and Moxi with everyone cheering. But Mai was no where to be seen.

[lotus-flowerz]

hello hello I love your writings so far sobs I couldn't help but do an ask myself aa (it's my first ask ever help hwkajd) could I request perhaps gn reader that flinched away from the boys by reflex? (preferably with Diluc, Kaeya and Kazuha but you can add or remove someone if you want to!) like they were hanging out and reader was lost in thoughts and suddenly when they see in the corner of their eyes how the boys raise their arm for smth reader quickly raises their arms above their own head to protect it- how would they react and how would they comfort the reader? I hope it's not too much or if you're uncomfortable with it you can ignore it if you want to whaaaa

AHHH TY IM SO GLAD YOU LIKE MY WRITING! i actually do this too, some of my old friends would make fun of me for it, so i hope that my writing here is accurate >.<

i also added beidou in here, hope you don't mind, i just had to since she's my favorite character <3

TW!! FLINCHING, ANXIETY, PAST TRAUMA, MENTION OF DEATH AND INJURIES

SLIGHT INAZUMA ARCHON QUEST SPOILERS

KAEYA BACKSTORY SPOILERS

The cherry blossoms fell silently from the trees under which you and Kazuha were sitting. Those had remained unchanged since you and Kazuha were children. The beauty of the pink blossoms falling towards the green earth without a care.

It had remained the same through the vision hunt decree, through the war, through watching Tomo get killed by the shogun, through both of you getting injured during said fight. Kazuha's hand was burnt from Tomo's vision, and your body had a large scar running from your knee to the side of your neck from a stray bolt of lighting from Tomo's divine punishment. If not for Kazuha's determination to not lose another friend and Beidou and her crew caring for you, you would be dead.

These days, although you and Kazuha both carried the same trauma, he seemed to be doing leaps and bounds better than you were. Your eyes flitted to Kazuha, who was writing poetry. The only sound that could be heard was his pen gliding across the paper, filling it with his eloquent words that always seemed to flow so smoothly.

You were deep in thought, when out of the corner of your eye you spotted something coming towards your face. Instinctively, your hands flew out to shield yourself, leaving a very confused Kazuha, who was only scratching his head, looking at you with concern in his eyes.

"Dove.. did you think I was going to hurt you?"

You slowly lowered your arms, guilt washing over you.

"No! It's just- sometimes, when movements are too sudden.. I.. you know, I try to protect myself because uh.."

His eyes drifted to your scar, then looked up at your face, only to find it tilted to the ground. He put a finger under your chin, bringing your eyes up to meet his, then kissing your forehead.

One hand snaked around your waist while the other traced lightly over your scar, sending shivers down your spine. You wrapped your arms around him as well, putting a little of your weight onto him.

He kissed your lips, squeezing you tight against him.

"I'll never let anyone hurt you again. I promise."

"Kazuha, it's not-"

"I know it's not my fault. And I know I couldn't have prevented it. But I promise you, you're safe now."

He brought his hand up to cradle the back of your head as you buried your face in the crook of his neck.

"Thank you." you said, squeezing him a little tighter.

"No need to thank me. I love you, Y/n."

"I love you too, Kazuha."

You had been a part of Beidou's crew for just over a year now, after meeting her in the wharf of Liyue harbor after finally finding the courage to leave your abusive and toxic partner. You didn't have a place to stay and you were clearly distraught, so when she asked if you were okay and you immediately began to cry, she offered you to come on her ship. You trusted her, since she was the well-known captain of the Crux. After you had explained your situation, she offered you to join her crew. You agreed, and began dating her about six months after joining the Crux.

Because you had been aboard the Alcor for a year, you knew the crew was loud and prone to get drunk. You had never liked to drink, preferring to quietly sip a small glass of dandelion wine while sitting next to Beidou while she drank a few beers and talked with her crew.

It was now the one year anniversary of when you had left Liyue Harbor, and conveniently, the Alcor was anchored there for a bit for a supplies run, imports drop off, and exports pickup. While out and about with Beidou, you had seen your ex in the wharf. They were about to come and talk to you, when you had pointed them out to Beidou. Beidou had slipped her arm around your waist, glaring at your ex, who glared back and turned heel to walk away.

Now, you sipped your wine beside Beidou, deep in thought. The loud atmosphere wasn't helping your anxieties, and you couldn't get your ex's glare out of your head. You didn't even realize you were completely zoned out until Beidou raised her arm to sling it around your shoulders, after she noticed you were zoned out.

Your arms flew up to shield yourself, and you spilt wine all over the both of you. The cup clattered to the floor, but luckily no one else noticed what just happened.

Beidou's face dropped and she quickly picked up the cup, setting it back down on the table.

"Men!" she called out. "Y/n and I are turning in early tonight! Make sure you scallywags have this cleaned up by the morning!"

The crew cheered their goodnights, raising their beers to their captain and her first mate. Beidou smiled, slipped an arm around your waist, and led you back to your guys' shared quarters.

"Alright doll, what happened just now?"

She closed the door behind her and sat on the bed next to you, looking at you with a certain softness that made you melt.

"I'm.. I'm sorry, I was just thinking of my ex, and how we saw them earlier, and I couldn't get their glare out of my head.. and I left them exactly a year ago.. I don't know why I flinched away from yo-"

Beidou cut you off by taking both of your hands into hers.

"Y/n, don't say sorry! You know, your ex wouldn't stand a chance against even my weakest crew member. They will never hurt you again."

"I don't doubt that for a second," you said, a small smile growing on your face, "Thank you for taking me in, Beidou."

"No, the pleasure is all mine. I couldn't ask for a better first mate. You're safe now, okay?" she smiled, squeezing your hands.

You looked into her eyes for a moment before throwing your arms around her. She squeezed you back, kissing your head.

"C'mon, let's shower and get this wine off of us." she giggled.

You laughed. "Yeah, let's."

Kaeya had told you his backstory, but you never mentioned yours. You just weren't ready to talk about it. Your parents had never been great, you always walked on eggshells around everyone, and everyone was all too rough with you, emotionally and physically.

You had met Kaeya in the tavern one night, while trying to drink away what you were feeling. Kaeya had noticed how obliterated you were and let Diluc know he was taking you to stay at the Knights Headquarters, and would keep an eye on you. The rest was history, and now you and Kaeya had been dating for a little over a year.

Kaeya had told you his backstory on Monday. That same day later on, you had a run in with your parents at Blanche's, where they had yelled at you for deciding to become a Knight, and proceeded to pick you apart from your very core.

In turn, you had been drinking a little more than usual for the entire week. You seemed more withdrawn and just not fully there. And it all came to a head when you were laying in bed next to Kaeya.

He went to put his arm over you, a loving gesture, but your arms came up on instinct to shield yourself. He sighed loudly.

"You're scared of me."

"Oh Archons- I didn't mean to- no, I swear it isn't-"

"You've been acting all angry and cold ever since I told you about my roots. I thought you would be the one who didn't leave me after I told them."

"No, Kaeya- please, just let me explain!"

"I'm listening."

You began to hesitantly tell him about your parents. His face grew angrier and angrier every time you told him another thing your parents had done to you.

"I'll kill them. I had no idea that that happened though. I'm sorry for assuming."

"It's alright, Kaeya. I didn't even consider that you might think I was acting weird because of where your confession."

"I swear they'll never get near you again, alright? You're safe now. It's alright."

He pulled you into him, wrapping you up in his strong arms and putting his legs over yours, making you feel protected and safe.

"No one will hurt you, not on my watch. I love you, Y/n."

"I love you too, Kaeya. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

"No need for apologies, you were gonna tell me when you were ready. Now let's get some sleep, that dandelion wine I downed earlier is starting to get to me."

You giggled, burying your head further into his chest.

"Alright. Goodnight, Kaeya."

"Night, prince/ess."

You and Diluc had been dating for a few months now, you had met when he had needed to hire a new bartender, and you volunteered your mixing skills to the Angel's Share. You had caught his eye immediately, and he had asked you out on a date soon after you began your work there.

Your ex wasn't a kind person, to say the least, so you had been hesitant to say yes. You assured Diluc that this was just because your ex was unkind to you, but you had never mentioned physical harm. You hadn't wanted to worry him.

You were sitting on the couch with Diluc, his arm slung over your shoulders while you stared into the crackling flames of the fire burning before you. Diluc wasn't paying attention, as he was reading a book in his free hand.

He raised his arm up, attempting to adjust to a more comfortable position, but you misread this. Your arms were shielding your face in an instant, and Diluc was looking at you with a shocked and concerned face that quickly morphed to anger.

"I'm going to kill him." he growled/

You lowered your arms and looked down, avoiding looking him in the eye.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that."

"Did he hit you??"

"I, um, didn't want to worry you."

"Barbatos.. and this domestic abuser is just, what, roaming around Mondstat? No punishment for the pain he put you through?"

"I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want him to come and hurt me. I also didn't want to cause any trouble."

Diluc rubbed a hand over his face, before wrapping you in a hug.

"You're safe here, alright? I will never lay a hand on you to hurt you. I won't let anyone else hurt you either, okay?"

"Thank you.." your eyes welled up with tears, "I thought you would be upset that I didn't tell you."

"No, never. It's a hard thing to talk about. If you'd like, I have connections. We can have him arrested."

"I don't want to cause trouble.."

"You won't. He won't be able to hurt anyone else this way. But we can discuss this later. Would you care for a cup of tea?"

"That'd be nice. Thanks, Diluc."

"You're welcome, angel. Tell me if anyone hurts you again, alright? I'll protect you."

"Will do. I love you."

"I love you too."