#at some point you'd think she'd earn a break

[spiderb00bs]

You mentioned in your Shauna that you think about. Jackie and Shauna fighting over Beefy!reader sooo can you please make a chapter on it? I also wouldn’t mind a chapter of Jackie x Beefy!reader

Okay, ready?

ꕥ Be the reason Jackie breaks up with Jeff, like, before the plane even crashes! She doesn't even have to be in the woods to realize she doesn't like Jeff, she just has to look at you once!

ꕥ You were new to Wiskayok, and you tried to join the Yellowjackets, which quickly earned you a lot of stares from the captain.

ꕥ Jackie who thought she was being super discreet and indifferent, but in fact you always caught her staring at you.

ꕥ Jackie who watched you intently in the changing room. She felt like a pervert, but she still couldn't keep her eyes off you.

ꕥ The way your team shirt perfectly conformed to your muscles, or the way your top held your breasts so well, or the way your abdomen was exposed every time you lifted your shirt to wipe the sweat from your forehead…

ꕥ Jackie saw it all! And the next second she was breaking up with Jeff.

ꕥ She couldn't help it, she'd never felt like this!

ꕥ her breathing quickened when she saw you, she was speechless around you, the heat she felt when she looked closely at your body. She'd never felt anything like that.

ꕥ Not with Jeff, not with anyone.

ꕥ Everyone thinks she's going to get back with Jeff. I mean, they've broken up a million times, of course they'd get back together sooner or later.

ꕥ Imagine the surprise of the whole school when they saw Queen Jackie Taylor clinging to the giant of the team. Walking through the hallways and flashing the smiles she never did with Jeff.

ꕥ How sweet!

ꕥ Now that you're officially dating, you're carrying her books. It doesn't matter, you're carrying all the weight, she doesn't need that shit!

ꕥ Carrying her bag, her training stuff, you'd carry her if she asked you to!

ꕥ Now, Jackie is the queen of that school, she likes to be the center of attention, so get ready, cause this girl is going to show you off.

ꕥ Talking to some girls in the school hallway and making you hug her from behind, just so the girls see that you're with her. Enjoying the envious looks some people give her when you're sitting next to her at lunchtime.

ꕥ Kissing you affectionately when some girl at another table starts looking too much in your direction.

ꕥ Putting your arm across her shoulders, only for her to take your hand and put it on her hips…

ꕥ Making out with her in the school parking lot, letting everyone see how proud she is to have you with her!

ꕥ Which reminds me…

ꕥ Jackie can't keep her hands off you! That girl's got her hands all over you 24/7.

ꕥ Hands on your biceps, hands on your back, hands on your leg, hands on your shoulders, hands on your abdomen…

Hands

Hands

Hands!

ꕥ Speaking of which, Jackie begs you to keep your hands on her during sex.

ꕥ Grabbing her hips, pulling her hair, rubbing her clit, teasing her nipples. Hell, anything. She just wants to have your big hands touching her all the time.

ꕥ I don't know, but maybe, like you who are dating Jackie instead of Jeff, Shauna and you had something weird going on at some point.

ꕥ DON'T GET ME WRONG! You certainly didn't have sex with her. I mean, like, you noticing stares or some weird stuff, and immediately staying as far away from Shauna as possible. You love Jackie very much and you would never do that to her.

ꕥ I don't have much to say when the plane crashes. But maybe the reason for Jackie and Shauna's fight is because Jackie found out that Shauna hooked up with Jeff after they broke up, and plus when she read the diary, she also found out that Shauna was trying to go for you now…

ꕥ I don't know, but you can be sure of two things.

ꕥ Either you'd bring Jackie into the cabin again after the fight, or you'd die next to her in the cold.

ꕥ Period. ꕥ

[27spoons]

When We Are Together | Natalie Scatorccio

summary: y'all remember that one episode in s1 where nat and tr*vis make out in the plane? word. what if it was gay and YOU instead of him?

pairing: natalie scatorccio x fem!reader

warnings: drug use (marijuana), kissing, mostly just fluff idk, reader being a simp with like zero experience

wc: 1770

ao3

"Fucking nothing out here." You grumble as you step over some underbrush, Natalie following close behind. 

"Yeah, well, not exactly like we can just… conjure up a deer or something." She gestures to nothing as she speaks, kicking a rock. "But if I hear one of them saying some shit about us not bringing back food one more goddamn time…" She doesn't finish the thought, but she doesn't have to. You know exactly what she's saying.

"Yeah, well, I'd like to fucking see Jackie do this shit. She'd probably squeal at the first sight of blood." You scoff, "Or wouldn't even be able to kill the fucking animal because "it's too cute!" or some shit." You shoot Nat an easy grin, and… damn. The grin she flashes back at you almost has you walking into a tree.

"Dude." Nat laughs as she walks past you, "You're so easy." But there's no malice behind the words, just that teasing tone you've come to adore in the past… however long you've been out here. You're sure someone is keeping a calendar, but you honestly couldn't give a fuck at this point. All you know is that you're stranded in the middle of fucking nowhere.

"Yeah, well… whatever." You murmur as you catch up to her, trying to hide the fact you are definitely blushing.

Nat laughs again. God, you love her laugh. Have you always been this big of a simp?

"Why are we here?" You cock an eyebrow as the two of you come up to the crash site, "Preeeeeeeeeeeetty sure we cleaned out the plane of food, like, forever ago."

"Nah. Not here to hunt. Figured we could use a little break, if that's alright with you?" She spares you a look over her shoulder, that soft, teasing grin still plastered on her face. "Because I'm so sure you're just… eager to get back out there and hunt for absolutely nothing."

You roll your eyes with a sarcastic scoff, "You know me so well. I'm just… itching to walk through an empty forest for the next eight hours."

"Yeah, there's the spirit." She says as she ducks into the plane's cabin, "C'mon. I might have a joint left over."

You whistle at that, "Damn, Scatorccio. You sure know how to get a lady going. Think I would have sold my soul for a quarter gram a few days back."

Nat huffs as she sits down on the plane floor with a grunt and opens up her backpack. "What can I say? One of my many charms." She fishes out a plastic bag with a crumpled joint inside of it, but honestly? The joint could have been literally falling apart at the first touch and you would probably still find a way to smoke it.

"That might just be the most beautiful thing I have seen in my entire life." You eye the joint as she brings it to her lips, sparking the lighter to life. The end of the smoke flickers orange as it burns.

You catch yourself staring at her lips again—too long, definitely too long. Your throat tightens as the memory of that kiss against the tree creeps in. You glance away, hoping she doesn’t notice, but the heat rising in your face gives you away.

"Oh, c'mon." Nat drawls as she exhales, "Don't be like that. C'mere." She takes another hit and leans in, gently grabbing your jaw and coaxing your mouth open.

You inhale the smoke she exhales. And… damn, is it delicious. Arguably better than it would have been if you just took the hit yourself.

But, before you can do anything else, Nat is leaning back with a low chuckle and bringing the joint back to her lips, "So easy." You roll your eyes and flip her off, which earns a giggle from her. 

Yes, an actual giggle. Which, of course, only makes you smile wider.

If anyone had told you you'd be giggling with Natalie Scatorccio in the cabin of a wrecked plane, smoking a joint, and doing things that friends do not do, you probably wouldn't have believed them. Would have been a nice thought, yes, but you wouldn't have believed them. It's not that you and Nat never got along; you two just never hung out outside of stuff with the team. You had heard the rumours about her, who hadn't, but you never cared all too much. After all, what business is it of yours what she does with her free time? She played soccer well enough and seemed like a good enough person.

Now that you've gotten to know her, however? Well, you were right. She is a good person; she just hides it under layer after layer of defences built up over the years. A part of you wishes you knew why she has all these walls, but you figure she'll tell you when she's ready. You're happy enough just doing it is whatever the two of you are doing right now.

A whistle cuts you out of your thoughts, "You in there?" Nat chuckles, holding the joint out, "I asked if you wanted a hit, Princess."

"Princess?" You scoff and grab the joint from her, brushing your fingers against hers (maybe on purpose. maybe not.) as you take it. "Thought that title was reserved for Jackie." You inhale the smoke, and… damn. You needed that. You really needed that. You fucking missed weed. It's slightly stale, but you'll take it. On the exhale, you let out a low laugh, "Goddamn, Nat. Now that is good shit." It really isn't. It's ditch weed. That's fine, though. You'll take anything.

"Oh, Jackie is a princess. You're just Princess. There's a difference, y'know." She shoots you that same easy grin as she takes the joint back from you, "With you? Compliment, yeah? With Jackie?" She shrugs and takes another pull; then her grin shifts to something slightly cockier as she realises that you're still staring at her lips, like a lovestruck fool.

Nat gives you a long look, eyes narrowing scarcely. She leans forward slightly, and when you don't budge, she keeps the smoke in her mouth and moves to straddle your waist, resting her arms on your shoulders. She gives you this look, and you part your lips for her to exhale a steady stream of smoke into.

Once you exhale the smoke this time, she doesn't pull back. She remains close to your face, sitting on your lap, her eyes half-lidded. A part of you wants to say it's the weed, but you know you're lying to yourself. There's a non-zero chance she's stoned from this; probably just a gentle buzz, if anything at all.

"Hi." You say with a sheepish grin, which earns another one of those delicious giggles from Natalie.

She laughs, low and soft, her breath warm on your cheek. “Hi.” Her voice is quieter now, gentler, but it carries that same teasing lilt that always makes you want to roll your eyes and smile at the same time. "This is okay, yeah?"

"Yeah. Yes. For sure." You mumble out a little too quickly to be passed off as smooth.

"So easy," Nat repeats for the third time, that damn easy grin on her face still.

A beat of silence passes, and you just stare at her, like a dumbass. The cabin creaks ominously around the two of you as you do. Do you kiss her? She had to have climbed into your lap for a reason, right? She wouldn't do it if it were just for shits and—

"And so stupid." Nat murmurs, and then she's kissing you. It's soft and slow, and it makes something warm flutter in your chest. You feel your face flush as you kiss her, but you also feel yourself smile softly into the kiss. You bring your hands up to cup her face and remember what she told you earlier, "Stop overthinking about what you're doing and just do it. It's not like you're doing rocket science. You're just kissing." So, you try and do just that. You kiss her a little more aggressively, and-

She's trying so hard not to laugh right now.

"Sorry." You mumble out as you pull back slightly, to which she shakes her head quickly and brings the almost-gone joint back to her lips, taking one more hit. 

"It's cool. You're just… aggressive." She exhales the smoke away from the two of you before placing the last of the joint between your lips. "Just… slow down, yeah? Not a race. Not like I'm going anywhere right now."

You take the hit, then snuff the roach of the joint out on the cabin floor. "Yeah," You murmur, "Yeah." You keep one of your hands on her cheek as you lean back in to kiss her, slower and less aggressive. Your other hand drifts down to her waist, which you think is the right idea, until she's fighting another giggle, which causes you to pull back… again.

"Sorry, sorry. That just… It tickles." She gives you an apologetic grin and doesn't stop you when you move to kiss her again.

You wrap the arm that had the hand on her waist around the small of her back and try to lay her down on the ground, which earns a soft humming sound from her, which you really like, and it's going well…

Until her head meets the sharp corner of a broken tray table, the dull thunk cutting through the moment like a poorly timed punchline.

Smooth.

"Ow." Nat murmurs as you pull back off her and try not to pout at your lack of suaveness. You don't outwardly complain about it, but Nat sees you trying to keep a calm face all the same. "Hey, come on. Who hasn't rolled over a broken tray table while making out in a blood-stained death trap?" She chuckles, which quickly turns into a giggle, making you giggle. It also displays her dimples, which… yeah, you like—a lot.

She moves to straddle your waist again, knees on either side of your thighs. One of her hands rests on your shoulder while the other comes to thread through your hair. "You're a really good kisser, you know?" Her expression becomes slightly more serious, "I don't wanna go back yet. Do you?"

You shake your head with an "Mm-mm" sound, and she's leaning down to kiss you again—slow and tender—just like before.

Why the hell didn’t you talk to her before the crash, again? Maybe you needed the end of the world to finally get it right.

a/n: natalie is a girlkisser and i will not be taking questions on that statement

I hate s1 tr*vis with a burning passion. s2 travis I can fuck with. sometimes.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

What would you say your least favorite episodes are? Which episodes would you say are the worst, from a storytelling and thematic standpoint? Are your two lists mostly the same, or almost completely different?

Miraculous has 130 episodes in the first five seasons and there's no way in hell that I'm going to try to rank them all, so I'll just look at the episode list and give you my personal picks for my least favorite episode and the episode that did the most damage to canon from each season. Please note that this is just what my memory serves up as the worst since I'm not rewatching the whole show to give each episode more thorough consideration. I'll also list any episodes I considered just for the fun of it and link to my posts on them (or more broad posts where I happened to talk about that episode in detail) if I remember that such posts exist.

Season 1

Least Favorite: The Pharaoh

Worst writing: Lady Wifi

Dishonorable Mentions: The Bubbler, Copycat, Kung Food, Gamer, Animan, Volpina

It was hard to pick episodes in season one because there aren't any truly major problems in this season. A lot of the episodes have weird morals or odd choices, but there's nothing narrative breaking and the odd morals are all pretty equally bad. I went with The Pharaoh for my personal least favorite because of how appallingly bad the Egyptology is. Anything that contributes to people having wildly inaccurate ideas about Ancient Egypt goes on my shit list. No, ancient Egyptians did not use magic spells to try to resurrect people! They didn't even believe in the resurrection of their own gods! Their beliefs were all focused on giving people a good afterlife, not on bringing people back to this life!

Lady Wifi got the label as worst written mostly for reasons external to the episode itself, though there are internal problems. The first reason is that this episode really leaned into the idea that Alya was obsessed with outing Ladybug and Chat Noir's identities to the world, leading her to do some questionable snooping. I would expect an episode like this to end with a lesson about respecting people's privacy, but it doesn't. The episode ends with Alya doing the same stuff she was doing at the start, just with a more benign target:

Alya: Wanna see my new smartphone? It puts my old phone to shame! Just look at these pics! Marinette: Huh? What's with all these photos of Adrien? Alya: Well... with a mask and a costume, don't you think he looks a little bit like Cat Noir?

You'd think that she'd be a little more impacted by the fact that her akumatized self almost handled her idol over to the bad guy! Note that I don't want Alya to feel guilty here, I just want her to look at her akuma and reflect a bit, leading to character growth. Something like Marinette asking Alya who her next suspect is and Alya announcing that she's done outing heroes. It's time to out a villain instead!

The small-scale side of this problem is that it leaves the episode without a clear lesson, making the episode feel kind of pointless. The large-scale side of the problem is that Alya's character genuinely needed a lesson around respecting privacy because she goes on to become Rena Rouge without the show ever addressing the issue of her identity-revealing obsession. I think that was a bad call for Alya's character and the show itself.

This was a missed opportunity to give Alya some majorly deserved focus that had nothing to do with her role as best friend to the lead. Season two introduced three new heroes, but Chloe was the only one given a multi-episode storyline. Nino and Alya just randomly got their miraculous in one-off episodes even though they're leads' best friends and the heroes who stick around. I would have liked to see them get storylines, too.

Based on season one, Alya could have been given her miraculous after an arc focused on earning Ladybug's trust. This could have even ended with Alya learning Marinette's identity if you want to keep that plot point. Instead the show just decided to pretend like the identity-revealing obsession was never a thing from season two on and Alya doesn't really do anything to earn a miraculous. She just gets one because she's Marinette's bff. I think Alya deserves better than that.

The other reason also relates to Alya's overall writing. If memory serves, Lady Wifi was the first case of Alya being written more like a tabloid journalist than an actual reporter, an issue that has plagued her character for the rest of the show because the writers cannot make up their minds as to which one she is! Does she investigate things or just believe whatever crap she's told? Pick a lane, give a reason for the nuance, or give her a character arc around being more discerning! It even makes some of her actions jarring like when she posts the kissing photo at the end of Oblivio. Alya, what are you doing? Those are your coworkers and you know that Ladybug hates the Ladynoir stuff!!!

The tabloid journalist to true reporter route could have been another way to play Alya's miraculous journey. Introduce Lila at the end of season one, have an Alya-focused arc around defeating Lila in season two, and let the arc end with Alya learning to be more discerning thereby earning her miraculous. The lesson would be something like it's good to have an active imagination, but we need to be careful to not conflate a good story with facts.

Season 2

Least Favorite: Queen Wasp (Queen's battle – Part 2)

Worst writing: The Collector

Dishonorable Mentions: Despair Bear, Prime Queen, Gigantitan, Glaciator, Anansi, Frozer, Reverser

This season had several strong contenders, but I picked the two I did because they're both narrative breaking on a scale the others can't even come close to.

Everything about the Chloe arc is a mess and Queen Wasp perfectly encapsulates the issue because nothing about it works in the overall narrative. Queen Wasp is the episode where Chloe gets her miraculous for the first time and it is the least interesting way you could possibly go about her big debut. It also introduces the running issue of the writers having no idea what they're doing with her character. This episode was written like Queen Bee was going to be a one off and yet she keeps coming back! This was also the first of many episodes that totally botched addressing Chloe's mommy issues. I could go on, but I doubt that I have to. See my Chloe deserves better tag if you really want more Chloe content.

The Collector gets the award for worst writing because it's the first instance of the show introducing a ton of things that should have been important to the overall narrative only for the writing to forget about these things after the end of the episode. Ladybug never tries to find out more about where Gabriel got the grimoire, Adrien forgets that the grimoire exists, and Lila knowing about the grimoire somehow has nothing to do with her figuring out that Gabriel is the butterfly holder. We're also introduced to the lore that the butterfly holder can akumatize themself which is total BS. This should have been the big villain Nathalie reveal! They could have officially confirmed that she knew everything by having her be the stand in Hawk Moth to protect Gabriel's identity.

Season 3

Least Favorite: Chameleon

Worst writing: Chat Blanc

Dishonorable Mentions: Backwarder, Animaestro, Bakerix, Reflekdoll, Oni-Chan, Desperada, Ikari Gozen, Timetagger, Ladybug, Miracle Queen

Notice how the list of dishonorable mentions keeps getting longer and longer as the show goes on? I have a sneaking suspicion that trend will continue.

I think the fandom has beaten the problems with Chameleon to death, so I'll keep this brief. This episode was the first time Lila's lying powers were super obvious and I hated that writing choice with a fiery passion. I also hated how Adrien never got a proper character arc about why it was wrong to stay quiet about lies. It's a good flaw for a celebrity to have, but flaws are only good if they're actually addressed in a timely manner. A fact that is extra true when you're writing for young children who generally aren't going to be able to follow a minor subplot that takes three seasons to resolve.

For Chat Blanc, see the power of love rant as that covers my main issues with this episode. Since that post has the main issues covered, let's go over two more minor issues! The first is the way Tom and Sabine were played here. One of my favorite fix-it fics was spawned because canon had them do nothing after they saw their teenage daughter threatened by a powerful adult. Good parents don't do that! Let them be good parents!

Adrien keeping his identity from Marinette is the other mark against Chat Blanc, but I do think canon could have made that work. The problem is less that he did it and more that canon acted like it was no big deal. Letting him wrestle with wanting to address the partial reveal, but also wanting to respect Ladybug's no-reveal rule would have heavily mitigated the issue. Having Marinette ask Adrien out would have done even more to solve the problem because then it doesn't feel like he's taking advantage of the situation (which is a common and understandable complaint that I've seen), but heaven forbid that we let the girl ask the boy out!

Season 4

Least Favorite: Ephemeral

Worst writing: Strikeback

Dishonorable Mentions: Truth, Lies, Gang of Secrets, Mr. Pigeon 72, Furious Fu, Sole Crusher, Queen Banana, Optigami, Sentibubbler, Rocketear, Wishmaker, Hack-San, Glaciator 2, Gabriel Agreste, Kuro Neko, Penalteam, Qilin

...yes, I did list pretty much every episode in the season. What's funny is that I don't necessarily like the ones I didn't list, they just didn't feel like major problems for the show or get under my skin to the level of things like Qilin. Meanwhile some of the problem children had parts I genuinely liked, but still made the list because of some major issue I couldn't overlook. For example, I like the ending of Glaciator 2, but think the first half of the episode has a lot of major problems.

Ephemeral almost got both spots because it has so many issues, but the timeline does get reset at the end, so I decided I'd give the win to the episode that's in the canon timeline. My biggest issue with Ephemeral is the power of love crap, but I'm once again linking to the power of love rant for details on that.

That's not the only major issue with this episode, though. Marinette's plan for how to reveal Chat Noir's identity was both horrendous and totally unnecessary. If time is going to reset, then just tell Chat Noir the truth of what you're planning! Then he can give informed consent on the issue! You could even have him go talk to Luka solo without a time reset coming into play!

Speaking of Luka, I wasn't a fan of Luka continuing to lie to Ladybug about the fact that he knew the secret identities. He carries a small part of the blame here for not stopping Marinette's crazy plan when he had the power to do that. Su-Han also gets a spot on the shit list but he basically lives there so that's not worth digging into.

If Strikeback had led into a really cool season five, then I'd probably give it some slack, but Gabriel getting the kwamis was pretty freaking pointless so no mercy!!!! This episode was a writing disaster that makes no freaking sense! There's the obvious problem that the writers had to hand Felix the win by breaking the lore for Ladybug's yo-yo, but the issues go well beyond that. We also get Ladybug giving a rant about flaws that the season never actually gave her and Ladybug losing because of an evil twin and not because of anything she actually did wrong, once again undermining her apology because it feels like her blaming herself for something that wasn't her fault instead of her owning up to actual flaws that cost her something. Add in the fact that the real reason for the loss was the identities which are still a secret as of season six and this episode can go die in the fiery heart of the sun!

Extra points off for making Felix seem interesting and then squandering all of that by turning him into Kagami's discount Adrien consolation prize. Extra extra points off for letting Adrien find Felix's stupid spyglass and then using that for nothing in season five. There were so many good setups here but a setup is only as good as its payoff and the payoffs were all shit!

Season 5

Least Favorite: Derision

Worst writing: The final parts one and two

Dishonorable Mentions: Every other episode in the season.

In season four, I said that I liked a lot of the episodes on the dishonorable mentions list, they just had some fatal flaw that got them on the list. The same is not true here. I didn't enjoy a single episode in season five. Only positive moment I can think of is the hand raise scene in Kwamis Choice. That was cute, but not cute enough to save that disaster of an episode.

I've ranted about Derision a lot and shared many posts from others, so I'll just link to one of those rants and one of those posts, then give a quick tl;dr here. This episode makes Marinette look unhinged and is a massive retcon that makes no freaking sense. It's also the only time Miraculous has genuinely upset me on an emotional level. Other episodes have worse messages, but this showed such a fundamental lack of writing ability and critical thinking skills that it got to me. I doubt that anything could have made me keep watching the show after the disaster that was the season five final, but Derision was where I first decided that season five was it for me. After Derision aired I stopped watching the episodes as they came out and just waited for the whole season to be streaming because I legitimately didn't care anymore. I knew wherever we were heading was going to be a bad time.

The final gets another link to the power of love rant because that's my biggest issue with it, but there's obviously a wealth of problems at work here. No, Marinette didn't win because Gabriel changed his mind. He rewrote the universe to his desired state! That's a hands down win. Also, his reason for changing his mind was laughably bad. A video? Seriously? Terrible writing. Adrien being lied to was terrible. Adrien being kept completely out of the final fight was terrible. The resistance doing nothing useful was terrible. The special-only characters showing up was confusing. Emilie dying was boring. Saving Nathalie was boring. The list goes on and on. Just a total embarrassment of a season final with bonus embarrassment from the fact that this was initially the series finale meaning that anything the later seasons do to imply that this was bad is basically a retcon.

[dorminchu]

another wip for wednesday — aot (despicable animal); annie, gabi & falco ft. survivor's guilt

I do really like this scene too. last one for a while. ft. some author's notes in bold

"Oh yeah? What about that other guy?"

"What other guy?"

Falco looked as if he'd been forced to Shift again. The color drained from his face as Leonhardt turned to him. Gabi gave him a withering glance and said, "Oh, Grice was telling me there's a guy you'd been seeing." She brightened. "I didn't really think you were interested in anyone. He won't tell me anything else."

"It's not your business," Falco snapped, looking like he'd rather sink through the floor than continue the conversation.

Leonhardt gauged their expressions. After proving herself a ruthless killer for Marley this was the last conversation she'd expected to have with the cadets.

"Mr. Krueger is an outlander," said Gabi. "He emigrated to Liberio."

"Many people chose to come here after the armistice," Leonhardt said. "Some of them don't care if I'm Eldian."

Grice's shoulders relaxed but he still looked as if he was going to be sick.

Gabi scowled, churlish. She planted her hands in her pockets as if to disguise her clenched fists. "He's not Marleyan. I heard he served in the conflict a year ago, he blew himself up. He was going to bomb us all to hell. And you can just forgive it because he said he's sorry?"

"There's no point in holding a grudge," Leonhardt said without really believing it. "I might as well direct the anger at myself if I'm going to blame the other side for everything Marley has done."

Gabi shook her head as if to clear it. "Mum doesn't want to believe it. I mean, we let him into our country just 'cause the Queen said so. What should Marley want to do with him? He's just a devil-blood from that stupid island and he's allowed to live in Liberio like any other Warrior. If he were one of ours maybe he'd have some reason to be here."

"He's Eldian," Leonhardt said in a cold voice. "As am I. As was your cousin. It was off the backs of us that Paradis's fate was secured. None of us asked to sign up for the Warrior Unit. We were selected and we'll be cast aside. I doubt the Warrior Unit will still exist within your lifetime."

"You don't care about Marley at all," said Gabi in disbelief.

Leonhardt drilled a hole into her with her eyes. "So you'd die for your beliefs. Either you'll grow out of it, or you'll come back home in a box and break your mother's heart. It really doesn't make a difference to me and I'm sure it will make less to Marley." Gabi tensed. An argument she couldn't win, a slap in the face to everything that had been ingrained into her since childhood. Leonhardt had already suffered enough zealous idealism for one lifetime. "I did what I had to so I could see my father." She still kept the trick ring. The only souveneir from her time on the island. "Now I'm back home, and I've made peace with the fact that my father will outlive me."

Falco said, in a quiet voice, "Ms. Leonhardt, she didn't mean to imply that you were unpatriotic."

"Don't speak for me!" Gabi snapped. "It's not my fault that Reiner and Bertholdt and Marcel are dead."

That'll probably earn a slap. THEN Gabi wells up, angry and hurt. Gabi for all of her experience on the front lines was just a kid. She didn't know any better because all she'd ever fought was cannon fodder. She stormed out of the room and Leonhardt didn't watch.

Falco started to go after her. "Grice," she started to say through a tight throat.

His footsteps paused.

"Why didn't you say anything? During the festival. You knew enough." His voice was shaking. "You stayed quiet."

What good would it have done to turn him in? He'd have escaped and killed more civilians. The words she could not say weighed heavy on her tongue. She'd never smoked, but she found herself longing for a cigarette. "It wasn't my choice to make," she said, unable to meet Grice's eyes. "Just as it wasn't yours or Gabi's. We fought the wrong enemy and we'll be paying the price as long as Paradis exists." She turned. "Mr. Krueger and I will be dead in two years, but it makes no difference."

Grice swallowed dryly. His eyes flickered to her. "We're the enemy of his motherland."

Leonhardt bit her tongue. "You think I'm weak."

Grice looked up at her in alarm. "You're not weak at all, Ms. Leonhardt."

Leonhardt sucked in a frustrated breath. Braun would've listened to the kids. Even Hoover would've known what to say. Leonhardt was here to fill the absence left in her fellow Warriors' wake. A replacement no one was happy about. Another hand-me-down, like Braun to Marcel. No one had to say it even if Gabi all-but had. She was Vice Captain. She ought to be happy after all. The sole survivor from that devil island.

"What else should I have done?" she snapped. "Hoover and Braun were dead. Jaeger lost his mind. He's nothing like he once was. He'd just as well sacrifice anyone for his suicide mission, I don't give a damn how sorry he feels."

She turned to meet Grice, who flinched.

"He's a renegade," she said, in a tone she couldn't disguise past her tightening throat, "and I deluded myself. I thought he could be convinced to stand down. I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

She hadn't meant to take it out on him. Grice listened where anyone else would fix a placid smile and think about what flowers to bring in a year. Too good-hearted to understand, but he wasn't a fool and she was no better than Gabi to snap at him.

"So don't blame yourself," she said. "This isn't your fault."

[acourtofthought]

I know there’s been hints that SJM is most likely gonna be telling Az/Gwen’s story next. But is it weird that I hope she does Elain first. Lol you know tell all the sisters stories first. But it’s also because I don’t think I handle another book of Elucien being awkward around each other 😭

I think it would make sense for her to close out the Archeron sister's "saga" before moving on to other side characters but....I realize Sarah will write where the wind takes her.

I will just never understand the argument that Elain hasn't been set up enough to have her own book. Sarah is on record years ago as saying she's always wanted to write a book for the sisters followed by confirmation that back in 2015 / 2016 she knew early on where she wanted Elain's story to go which allowed her to plant crumbs for her story as far back as ACOMAF. She then said she KNEW who the first two spin-offs were about but was leaving the third open and considering something set in the past. In the Live Talks LA with Eva Chen in 2021 she spoke about the crumbs that were also in SF for Elain's journey. Just because she then began talking about the crumbs she laid for Az in the bonus chapter and how she wanted to further explore his character it doesn't erase that Elain's crumbs were already in the series well before that, it didn't suddenly mean that it was an absolute certainty that she decided to put aside Elain's story for Az's especially not when she said her initial plans for the spin-offs didn't change, the world just expanded.

Az is connected to the Illyrians and time travel (though we don't have a solid plot for that just yet since there was nothing left to resolve in terms of time travel by the end of HOFAS) but Elain, back in ACOWAR was connected to Koschei and Vassa (problems that have been waiting for a resolution for books now, things we were reminded of in the novella). Then in SF she was connected to the Spring Court which has been a problem for the IC because of Tamlin and it's weakened state. Feyre said "let's help one sister before helping the other", Elain began standing up for herself saying that nobody can tell her what she can and can't do and declared she'd do whatever was needed for Rhys and Feyre. She's connected to Lucien who is connected to Beron, Tamlin, the humans, all things that have plots directly connected to them. I'm not sure how Elain could be set up anymore honestly and I'm not sure why you'd want her to be further set up in a Gwynriel book. It's also not just Elain's book, it's Lucien's and the two of them combined are the most setup pairing of the entire series, even more than Nessian was.

But I agree, there's nowhere for the Elain / Lucien bond to go but resolution at this point. We're not going to see Elain break her silence towards Lucien until we have her POV so another book where we have everyone commenting "there's Elain ignoring Lucien again" would feel ridiculous. I also think it's important for Elain's arc and her HEA with Lucien for her to not default to him simply because he's the last man standing in her vicinity. The plot surrounding her has been her struggle with fate versus choice and to have her end up with Lucien because the rest of the IC got paired off seems a strange direction for her story to take. I also don't think it feels right (I know it's silly to base your theory on a gut feeling but there it is) to have Az throw a tantrum about not having a bond in SF, act like a tool towards Lucien and then end up happily mated in the next book. I think his romance arc could use a bit of cooking time to make it feel a bit more well earned whereas Lucien's character has suffered and suffered and suffered. At some point, it's really too much to put one character through what she has Lucien without him getting his HEA.

[sorrcha]

HELLO bound, hunt, mistake, and pain for! Bug and Skaldi (as many as you'd want to do for either of them!)

alright !! here we go

bound: has your oc ever been imprisoned or captured? what happened? how did they get out? were they left with any scars?

bug has been thrown in jail for petty crimes like stealing and trespassing a few times, but she's always snuck right back out without any issues. it's never left her with any scars- if anything, she thinks it's funny that people keep trying to imprison her and she just keeps escaping. she's careful not to return to the places where she was put in jail, though, since she wants to avoid being recognized/re-captured.

skaldi is less fortunate. he's only been imprisoned once in his life. he managed to break out by heating the bars with his fire breath and then forcing them apart wide enough to slip through :o

he burnt his hands badly on the metal, though, since his scales aren't fire/burn-resistant. he then had to fight his way out and got other scars from the guards that tried to stop him.

hunt: who or what is your oc hunted by? a person/feeling/past mistake? are they able to let their guard down, or are they constantly alert?

bug isn't hunted by anything other than loneliness. she tries to escape the feeling but it's a core part of what she is, so.. not easy to get rid of LOL. she can let her guard down when around others, though, which gives her some peace.

skaldi had been hunted by his old bounty hunter organization after he left in disgrace.. becoming a bounty hunter had been his only goal for the longest time, so the feeling of failure chased him for a while, too. he has trouble letting his guard down thanks to years of training/conditioning to always be alert.

mistake: what's the worst mistake your oc ever made? what led to them making it? have they been able to fix it? how have they moved on?

i'm not sure for bug. i really don't have a narrative for her yet.. right now i'm gonna say her worst mistake was probably deciding to never settle in one spot? i feel like if she'd chosen one place to put down roots she'd have been a lot happier earlier on.

skaldi's worst mistake was probably becoming a bounty hunter (though he doesn't think it's his worst mistake. he thinks his worst mistake was not trusting ruarc to the point where she had to do something really drastic to earn his trust).

pain: what's the worst pain your oc has ever felt? do they have a high pain tolerance?

the worst pain bug has ever felt........ hm. probably when she got the that diamond-shaped scar on her forehead. not sure how it happened in the first place but it definitely hurt

answered this for skaldi in the other ask ^^

[scarletooyoroi]

"You have to turn your head sideways, but that one there is the head of the Iniquitous Baptist." Dehya points up at the sky from where she and Thoma lie on a blanket atop one of the man cresting hilltops that dot Inazuma's skyline. Their campfire burns nearby, keeping them warm as the temperature dips and Dehya tugs her thick new cloak over herself as a makeshift blanket. She likes stargazing, and she likes finding the shapes that are so familiar to her, but in a different part of the sky. She likes it here.

She likes her company, too.

"Took me ages to remember that it's 'baptist' and not 'bastard'." She laughs, remembering her father's surprised face when she, much too young to be using such language, had repeated the wrong title aloud. She'd heard it outside a bar one evening when her father had gone inside for a drink and left her out front, bored, unable to go inside with him. A group stumbled past her talking about taking on some bastard or other, not even the Baptist, and the association clicked in her mind.

She lets out a soft breath and turns her head to the side to look at Thoma. "He's tough, but I bet we could take him. Maybe someday, if I drag your ass to the desert. Lots of neat ruins there to explore. I bet you'd love it."

What they had planned was spontaneous in nature. Times, restrictions, all of that freely cast to the wayside as they saddled up the appropriate gear for a time all of their own. Thoma's own contributions being the freshly finished picnic meal tucked within. Why not when a slew of daily commissions made it hard to even catch dinner? Even then, with as much energy as they hold, the indoors simply weren't cutting it.

Not when Dehya's particular hobby had them comfortably huddled together. Aside from the barrier of cloak between them, they were virtually hip to hip, gazes brightened with resolution and curiosity focused on the heavens above.

"No kidding... Before I hadn't even considered you could catch the view of them above, the stars sure aren't picky." He mentions with a modest chuckle. Taking her advice had led his perception to be mildly altered, switched up just enough to let him foresee the odd blight that managed to be angled within the skies. That taunting visage of one of the stronger vanguard's of the Abyssal forces being distinctly reflected. It nearly made his heart jump from his chest!

"Well I'll be, Dehya, I think I'm actually seeing it concretely." The way the stars made their sharp imaginary arcs from each other, as if appraising their craft with mute beams of light.

"Wha--? Pft!" Just after he finally seized the view! Within moments that abrupt ~bastardization~ of the name caught him with a haymaker of humor. His laughter bouncing free as he almost knocked that head of his to her shoulder. Finding a way to make those demonic apparitions seem a little less frightful was a power he can appreciate. As a martial artist, he's learned just how valuable it is to also balance fear and belief, to keep all reason sound for when one's life was on the line.

Doubly so for the sort like Thoma, who had a heart too kind to ever leave the bitter route of innocent fates.

Amidst the mirth that brings a golden form of sanctity to his heart, that subtle mention hadn't escaped his attention, leading to those eyes briefly going wide for a fleeting second. Propping his head up onto an arm, he'd situate onto his side, all so a particularly curious look could focus on the Flame Mane.

"Telling me that's been an idea rolling in your mind? Having the two of us bump against Teyvat at large?" The fact she ever considered it leads to a joyful feeling increasing in vibrancy. By now the curve of his lips fixed into a smile that she often earned, this one considerably more sensible as playfulness and honesty alike felt fitting. Now what exactly should he be going with?

"I've been considering it myself. Not just a break of time from Inazuma, but seeing what's out there. The thought of having our kinda spirits and steady arms breaking new ground? I can't help that feeling of getting a little excited."

A sensible stir of energy settles in the air between them, and as it stands, it's wholeheartily welcomed. The opportunity to watch as the grace of the moonlight and the flickering stars adding that holy sort of glow to her figure--

Thoma knows he can certainly get lost in that.

"I'd like to see your home with you."

@svnsworn

[julessuretries]

Seeing people call Ragatha an "abuser" post episode 5 is actually insane to me because for me, episode 5 singlehandedly sold me on her character, whereas before I was kind of apathetic.

She's not "toxically positive" - she's just got some sort of fawn response given her mommy issues and feels like she needs to be "well-behaved and proper" in order for people to like her.

One of my closest friends from college was exactly like this and it was hard to see them go through the recurring issue of being unable to break past surface-level acquaintanceships with people precisely because they were "too nice". Like, do you know how uncomfortable it is to have to explain to someone they'd probably have an easier time connecting with people if they, just, stopped being overly helpful? It's a really weird conversation to have: like, am I actually encouraging this person to be worse? I kid you not at one point I think I actually said "you'd be better of if you were meaner", but, like, no one else was willing to say it and he was desperate so I guess I had to.

But unfortunately the only person who'd ever be bold enough to do that in the show is Jax (because he's literally already done it) but it's hard for Ragatha, or anyone, for that matter, to take any advice he gives sincerely even if he's kind of right because he's already such a jerk (and might be projecting some of his own mommy issues if we're being honest).

Looking back at the pilot, Ragatha's behavior towards Pomni seems all the more depressing. She literally pounced on the opportunity to befriend Pomni from minute one because newcomers are rare and I imagine she's been lonely for a very long time. Which is why seeing Jax do a better job bonding with Pomni gets under her skin because from her perspective she's put in way more effort and therefore deserves her friendship more. That's obviously a very transactional and problematic way of viewing relationships, but isn't surprising given what we've learned about her upbringing. She's likely been taught that love is something that can be earned with enough effort and is now reaching her limit having to come to terms with that not being the case.

The best things in life come free. Genuine connections have to form naturally. While I'm not totally convinced that Jax is being fully honest in his attempts to befriend Pomni, I do think he understands something that Ragatha doesn't. People want to be friends with people they can relate to and trust. And even if Pomni isn't a jerk like Jax, she at the least can rest assured she's seen the worst of him, whereas Ragatha could reveal her "real self" at any time. It's about taking a calculated risk - even if Ragatha deep down is still a nice person (which I personally think she is), there's no way for anyone else to know that for sure. It's less risky to be friends with people who are more open about their flaws than with someone who feels like they could crack at any moment and you'd have no idea what would spill out.

Ragatha is a really tragic character but also so incredibly real. Unfortunately even if she did decide to be more "genuine" with who she was as a person she'd still have a long journey ahead of her, since I'm not very convinced she even knows who she is.

Wow this episode was good.

“We need more complex female characters”

YALL COULDNT HANDLE HER

It’s crazy that her character flaw is thinking that if she ever expresses a negative emotion everyone will dislike her and yall immediately proved her right. Goddamn.

[the-poke-nebula]

Plot Drabble: A Matter of Family, Part II

"I see him- Right there!"

Noelle would point to a man, who was facing off against another Trainer. She wielded a Krookodile, while the man wielded... something. It almost didn't look like a Pokemon, but it looked vaguely similar to a Ferroseed.

"I ask again... you were once part of Team Rainbow Rocket, right?"

"...yeah? And I was a Skull, but I've since reformed! What's your beef, anyway??"

"My 'beef' is with anyone who treats Pokemon and anyone else as anything less than equals. With those whose greed and ambition for power clouds their judgment and morals. Like those that head these organizations, like Rocket, Cipher, or Magma and Aqua.

They think they can earn more by making others feel pain? Here's what they'll earn; all of that pain, redirected back to them!"

A torrent of insects came from the Ferroseed-looking Pokemon upon Kana's Krookodile- an Infestation. Between the bugs, the seeds sprouted along its body, and how ill Ripper looked from a former Toxic attack, it wouldn't be long before he fell to the chip damage... while the Ferroseed looked like it was barely touched. Ripper tried to give a large bite at the foe, but it passed through like a hot knife through butter.

Ripper used Crunch! It didn't affect foe Vijam...

"I meant Your beef with me, specifically! I told you, I've quit that nowhere job AND left Team Skull to make myself a better person!"

"A likely story. I know of you, specifically. I read it in the news- When you had nothing; no Rocket, no Skull, you took over a poor man's home and kept it hostage. Your kind are all alike- always saying you'll do good, but turning around and biting the hands that feed you when backed into a corner."

The Ferroseed would then begin to multiply- Double Team? The Krookodile, despite struggling, still managed to bite at the Ferroseeds, but... wait. None of them seemed illusory...

Ripper used Crunch! It didn't affect foe Vijam...

"That's enough, Alcaeus!!"

The Alchemist would turn his head to look towards Noelle and Lucian, who had come up to the scene just moments before.

"Ah, so my dear frozen-hearted sister has finally joined us. Have you reconsidered my offer?"

"Hell no. I'm trying to stop you from hurting someone. You heard her- she stopped being a Rocket and a Skull a long time ago, leave her alone." She'd say, just as the Krookodile passed out from exhaustion.

"I was afraid you'd say that... but we are so close to this battle's conclusion. She only has one Pokemon left, and if she can't even get past my Ferroseed, what hope does she, a lowly ex-Skull, have of ever really beating me? I suppose all the other Skulls are just as weak as this..."

Oh, that ticked her off. Hurt her personal pride all you want, but never insult the pride of Skull in her presence.

"No. We're settling this, you pompous, arrogant asshole. Frosty, let's teach him some manners- set up some Hail!"

From out the ball came her final Pokemon; a large, Ice-Type Snorlax. Frosty was ready to roll.

As the Ferroseed used its Infestation to trap the Snorlax once again, the large Snorlax would breathe out into the sky and cause it to start hailing. The apple-sized hailstones would fall, hitting each and every one of the Ferroseed clones, dissipating each one until the last one, the real one, was struck.

Vijam fainted!

"Hmm... that Ferroseed must've had Wonder Guard as an ability- but that doesn't make sense... only Shedinja gets that ability."

"That's normally true. What did you do, Alcaeus?"

"I simply took the power that was granted to me, and made something imperfect, better. To truly make a Perfect World, in my design... to make an omelet, you need to break a few laws of nature.

But... I must thank you for knocking out Vijam... it means my next Pokemon will be stronger... and will be the last one you face this day."

He'd prepare another Reborn Ball, and threw out... something else. It looked like a Darkrai, or a... Dusknoir? In either case, it looked mad, and it seemed to get even stronger with that rage.

"You see, Vijam didn't just use Double Team. It in fact cloned itself constantly, setting up a foundation for an ultimate combo! Based upon Kingambit's Supreme Overlord Ability, Duza's Fallen Boost gives it the power of the fallen! With each clone you neutralized, each of them count as a Pokemon in itself, which gives Duza more power!

End this, Duza! BOOST KNUCKLE!"

Before even anyone had time to react, the mutated Pokemon burst forward with a great punch, socking right into the Snorlax's stomach and sending it careening past his Trainer, falling onto it.

It's super effective! Frosty Fainted! Kana has run out of useable Pokemon!

"FROSTY!" Kana rushed over to give her Snorlax some aid, taking out what meager resources she had. "Don't worry, big guy, I'm here..."

"Not only genetically modifying a Pokemon to suit your needs, but dealing such a harsh blow to a Pokemon? You're no better than the teams you preach against."

"Think what you want, Dragon peddler- but make no mistake. This wasn't a true 'battle.' This was but an exhibition; a show of what happens when you get in the way of my design. But don't worry... if you're so angered at my decisions, you'll be happy to know that I plan to destroy those evil teams... starting with their Leaders."

"Even if that wasn't a suicide mission, that's still a thought of murder! You know we won't be able to allow that."

"...as closed-minded as always...

Fine. Go ahead, and just try to stop me. It'll only end in your tragic ends. I'll give you time to prepare for the inevitable struggle... you'll need it."

[tuiyla]

that infamous ryan murphy quote about how quinn was supposed to be this unsympathetic mean girl character to me and dianna “ruined” that is crazy to me because the poor girl finds out that she’s pregnant as early as season 1 episode 4 😭 and proceeds to get knocked down by life nearly every single episode after for the remainder of the first season. dianna did play a large part in making quinn so likable and sympathetic (in the following seasons especially but even just in season 1 also) but even just her character on paper kind of makes your heart ache for her. she’s only 15/16 years old, gets pregnant under some dubious circumstances, loses so much in the process, is kicked out of her own home and disowned by her father, bounces from place to place to live until actual angel mercedes steps in, struggles with the hardships of teen pregnancy and the decision of what she wants to do while literally being 15/16 years old. and of course she makes her fair share of mistakes along the way, she’s by no means perfect. she’s a bully when we first meet her and she lies to finn about him being the father. but my god i don’t know how you couldn’t not feel bad for this child, dianna and her wonderful ability of making quinn likable to watch onscreen aside.

We're doing it we're answering asks, let's goooo

That said an ask about the infamous Ryan Murphy quote has been sitting in my inbox for about 4 months at this point oops haha, but we'll answer one at a time

Cause girl! That's what I've been saying! Like, regardless of what RM actually meant when he backhand complimented Dianna I truly believe that this bitch didn't consider how sympathetic Quinn was bound to be and he's so wrong for that. There's no way you can have a character go through as much as Quinn did, on a show like Glee that ostensibly champions the downtrodden and not have her be sympathetic. I truly believe that three male writers didn't think people would feel for Quinn as much as they did in that situation. Which is bonkers because was she cruel towards Finn? Sure, but even Beth's conception itself is so dubious like we've covered before. But even IF Quinn was just some cold-hearted calculating whore who wanted to hurt Puck and Finn and everyone around her, she's still a 16-year-old pregnant girl who gets disowned. Come on! How the fuck am I supposed to feel more for Finchel's "tragic" inter-social (i.e. high school) class relationship in the face of that. Fuck relationship drama, this girl is h o m e l e s s and pregnant.

I really feel like the message of Glee throughout Quinn's pregnancy storyline up until the point Quinncedes happens is that Quinn... had all the hardships coming. That she deserved to be knocked down a peg. Only it happened through her getting knocked up and it's super messed up that the show pretends she's anything but a victim. Who the hell cares that she's bitchy. Who the hell cares that popularity is important to her. Newsflash assholes, it's just as important to out supposed heroes. Lmao I get so mad about Quinn's treatment. And this is why I can't in good conscience get behind people who say s1 is Quinn's best and that the pregnancy storyline was done well. No it wasn't. It decentred her whenever possible and wasn't in the least bit sympathetic if not for like, a single scene in Ballad and from Home on. And, of course, if not for Dianna. RM should be grateful Dianna did her thing with Quinn cause framing your arguably most tragic character as if she had it coming just because she's a bully at 15 is not a good look. But that's a recurring thing for Glee, ain't it. The more I think about it the more I believe Quinn and Santana's treatment re: pregnancy and outing are similar.

Quinn is a walking talking, but mostly crying tragedy. It's frankly disturbing that for some time they cling to this idea of her being irredeemable when she's just a mean kid playing into the same system everyone else does, too. But she happens to be on top and schadenfreude is real, I guess. Except it really wasn't for me there was no part of me that felt any justice in what Quinn went through. And guess what? Neither did Rachel. And I don't think Rachel is meant to represent the audience's perspective when she shows Quinn kindness in season 1 but alas, she does. I don't trust no bitches who don't feel the same.

[kittievampire]

Kin of the Demon Prince (pt. 2)

Warnings : Cursing, Childhood Trauma, Mention of drugs, Mention of alcohol, Mention of violence, Mention of getting jumped, Angst, Thoughts of Abortion (IT DOESN'T HAPPEN THO), MC is a fuckin unit, Female MC, Pregnant MC, Single Mom MC, MC x Diavolo

Link to part 1

Link to part 3

Link to part 4

Link to part 5

Link to part 6

Link to part 7

Link to part 8

Link to part 9

Enjoy.

You felt like you could hear your heartbreak. Like a glass window slowly beginning to crack, little pieces falling out and hitting the floor with tiny clanks. Diavolo, your beloved King, he didn't want you anymore?

"W... What?" You asked softly as tears welled up in your eyes.

Solomon furrowed his brows and rubbed the back of his neck. "I... I told him... About the baby and he said that he didn't want a child with you... He said that the future king of the Devildom couldn't have some half-breed child," He said softly, not meeting your eyes. "He asked that you keep this a secret and never try to contact him again."

Your heart shattered as tears streamed down your face uncontrollably. You were frozen in your spot, to the point where you didn't even sob or cry loudly. No, there were just tears. An endless stream of them pouring from your eyes.

Solomon sat down beside you and placed his hand on your shoulder, biting his lip as he thought of what he would say next. "If... You want... I could place a cloaking spell on you and your child..." He offered quietly.

You looked over at him. "Why... Would we need that? I-If he wants n-nothing to do with me... Why would he come looking for us?" You asked, your hand being placed on your hand on your stomach, almost as if defending your baby from someone who wasn't even here.

Solomon placed his hands on his lap. "Security purposes. Now that you're someone who has... Something that could ruin his reputation—" He shifted in his seat- "He may send people to get rid of you. Of course, I may just be overthinking. I could also cast a spell that lets you know if his people are nearby. I just don't want you to get hurt again."

Your bottom lip quivered as you looked down at your stomach. You didn't want to put the baby in danger. After all, you were planning on keeping it. Hesitantly, you nodded your head.

After Solomon cast the spells and left your home, you finally buried your head in your hands and wept.

Your body racked with sobs, letting out the occasional scream as a result of the anger and sadness you felt. You ended up gripping your hair at the base and pulling at it, almost as if trying to rip your locks from your scalp as you tried to think of what you'd possibly done wrong.

Were you wrong in thinking he wanted a child?

Were the two of you supposed to break up once you left?

Were you only temporary?

"Diavolo!" You screamed, earning the sound of silence in response. Your sobbing calmed and you went silent. Sinking into the couch, you looked down at your stomach as your mind wandered.

What was the point of it then?

If your child looked like him, wouldn't that only bring you pain?

Why, then, should you be forced to live with that kind of suffering? You couldn't give up a demon child for adoption, but you could abort it.

Then, you thought about yourself when you were younger. Your living situation. That time your mother almost killed you by smashing a glass bottle over your head. How she'd abandoned you as soon as you were born, instead devoting her time and life to drugs and alcohol.

No.

You wrapped your arms around your stomach.

You can't give up your baby so easily.

You're better than that bitch who gave birth to you. You wouldn't abandon your child as she did hers. Even if Diavolo didn't want it, he didn't have a say anymore. Now, it was only you.

"Baby..." You whimpered out. "I'm so sorry," You apologized, a soft smile forming on your face. "Mama's going to do everything she can to make sure you have the best life, okay?" Your trembling hand caressed your stomach. Leaning your head back, you let out a sigh. "Even if Papa won't be a part of it."

_

Time had passed by so quickly. You didn't even realize when you were in your third trimester. Carrying the child of the Demon Prince was definitely no easy feat. You sometimes craved those weird foods that could only be found in the Devildom, like Super Spicy Newt Chips or Barbatos' tea. And, for whatever reason, you always gagged at the sight or smell of pickles. Your energy depleted twice as fast as the average pregnant woman. While Solomon was there to help every now and then, you accepted that this was the pain you had to go through for your baby's sake.

The day of her arrival, though, was probably the most pain you've ever felt in your entire life.

Solomon had managed to somehow get doctors to your house to help with the delivery of your daughter. He used magic to ease the pain a little, but this was the offspring of a powerful demonic bloodline you were pushing out of you! Screams filled the room as you pushed, the sides of her horns scraping your insides slightly. You thanked the heavens that her horns were curved inward, or else you'd practically bleed to death then and there. Your wails of pain were silenced as you heard the cries of your child. With blurry vision, you looked at one of the doctors who was holding your baby. They cleaned her up, tucked in her wings comfortably, swaddled her up in a red blanket, and handed her over to you.

They said something to you that you couldn't be bothered to make out. You were too busy staring in awe at your baby.

She was beautiful.

Black and gold horns with a red shading sprouted out of either side of her head, curving inward a little, a few tiny sprouts of red hair were present on the top of her head, and her golden eyes stared into yours.

Gently, you leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, cradling her as gently as humanly possible in your arms. "My baby... My sweet child..."

_

You and Diavolo had discussed the topic of baby names before. This was a pre-relationship question that came up during a game of Twenty Questions. Of course, you had to explain the game to him, as it was a human game.

Which was funny, because he had heard of the game, pitched the idea, and had no clue how to play.

So, you looked up some questions on your D.D.D., hoping to find some funny questions to ask while also being respectful to the future king of the Devildom.

"Let's see... What would the perfect day look like to you?" You ask, causing him to look up for a moment, pursing his lips as he pondered for a moment.

"Perhaps a calm and quiet day. Barbatos would make tea, there wouldn't be too many documents for myself and Lucifer to fill out, and perhaps a long bath." He looked down at you and smiled warmly. "Of course, it would be better if you were there to spend the day with me," He said, hand reaching over and gently grasping yours. "If you would allow it, a day of privacy with you would be perfect."

Your face flushed a bright shade of pink and you swallowed the lump in your throat. "Yeah... Maybe... U-Uh, anyways, it's your turn." You quickly move your hand away from his and place it on your cheek to feel just how hot they'd gotten.

Diavolo chuckled softly. "Hm—" He thought for a moment— "What makes you feel the most loved, MC?"

You blinked, cursing under your breath. Of course, he'd ask something like that. Honestly, you didn't quite know what you expected from him.

You took a moment to think carefully about your answer.

"Probably just being there," You answered quietly, making his ears perk up a bit.

"Oh? How so?"

Your teeth bit down on your bottom lip as your body tried to stop itself from answering. Thanks to the life you'd lived, you had grown quite accustomed to hiding things from people. Specifically, personal details about your feelings and your past. However, when you looked into Diavolo's eyes, you saw that you could tell him anything. He wouldn't judge you, mock you, or claim that you're overreacting. He would be there for you. That was part of what drew you closer to him.

"My family practically abandoned me when I was born. Since I had no one else to rely on, I started relying so much on myself that I just kind of... closed myself off from everyone else. I had friends, but they were never there for me when I needed them to be. One time, I got jumped just outside of school when a few friends and I were headed to the arcade. Instead of helping me, they ran. When I got home, my mother berated me for being so weak and 'putting myself in the position to be jumped.' The next day, when I confronted my friends about it, they just shrugged off my feelings and continued about their day—" You started rubbing your shoulder in an effort to comfort yourself while you remembered that day— "No one was ever there for me when I was alone... So, if someone would just be there for me, in any way, shape, or form, I would probably appreciate that more than anything."

The silence that fell upon the two of you was blatantly awkward, mainly to you. You didn't want to look up at him, worrying about his reaction.

"MC..." You heard him say softly. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that... It's infuriating to hear, I wish I could be more helpful to you."

You shook your head. "The past is the past, it won't change. Besides, I don't think I would want it to. Everything I've been through made me who I am today. That's the only thing I'm thankful for," You said, looking up at him to see a sweet smile form on his face.

"I agree wholeheartedly. Had you been a different person, I may not have fallen so hard for you, MC," He said, smiling growing only slightly wider, causing you to blush. Fumbling, you quickly grab a hold of your D.D.D. and scrolled through the questions on the screen, picking a random one in your desperation to change the topic.

"What is your favorite baby name?" You asked him, placing your D.D.D. down on the table in front of you. Immediately, you ask yourself why the fuck you would choose a question like that. Damn these awkward and slightly intimate 20-question pages. Diavolo leaned back, looking up at the ceiling while crossing his arms.

"My favorite baby name..." He repeated with a small sigh. "Well, for a boy, it'd have to either be Andras or Damien. For a girl... Hmm, that's a tough one... I do love the name, Selene." You smiled at him as you leaned forward against the table. "Any special reason?"

Diavolo laughed a little at your response. "Not really, no, I just like the names. Especially Selene."

Tag list; @lavynne , @jessiegerl , @romaissa , @krispsprite , @unlikelysublimekryptonite

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[fairytales-and-folklore]

Chapter 6: A Flock Of Crows

featuring art by the wonderful golden-trash-panda ♥️

Glyphs may not work in the human realm, but witches and palismen retain their magic wherever they go, so in an effort to help out with expenses and supplies, Amity, Willow, and Gus have been putting their magical education to good use and practicing what little they've learned about replication spells. So far, there's been very little progress, only managing a half-materialized sandwich that crumbles to dust seconds later, or managing to get the cloned object to look like a sandwich, only to have it taste like abomination goo, dirt and grass, or, in Gus's case, absolutely nothing, because it's just an illusion.

Until one day in mid-October, Gus successfully replicates Amity's concealment stone (which she'd luckily thought to take with her) magical qualities and all. He shows Amity and Willow how he did it (after all, it requires someone skilled in illusion magic, since that's essentially what a concealment stone is) and together, they each successfully perform their own replications, giving them five concealment stones — one each for Amity, Willow, Gus, Hunter, and Vee (because shapeshifting to keep up with her human form can get exhausting.) Now, everyone can conceal their pointed witches' ears without having to rely on hats or headphones! 

This also comes in handy when they decide they want to go all out and dress up for Halloween.

Autumn is in full swing in the human realm, bringing with it cooler weather, cozy atmospheres, and most importantly, Luz's favorite holiday: Halloween. The demon realm doesn't really have Halloween, given that they're kind of living the aesthetic 24/7, so the Hexsquad is intrigued as they listen to Luz gush about all her favorite things about spooky season.

They're walking around town together, marveling at the change in scenery — in little over a month, the world around them has gone from lush greenery and golden sunlight to misty gray mornings and bright, fiery hues of red, orange, and yellow. Hunter walks along between Gus and Willow, delighting in the satisfying crunch the leaves make under his sneakers. He doesn't know why, but he has the strongest urge to gather them all up into a big pile and leap head-first into it. He's thinking about suggesting the idea to Willow and Gus, when Luz says something that catches his attention, banishing all other thoughts from his head.

"…and then the neighbors give you free candy," she concludes, while Amity nods sagely like she's listening in on a very important lecture.

"Free candy?" Gus and Hunter echo in unison, earning them a sigh from Willow that's half-fond, half-exasperated.

You see, the two of them have become little sugar fiends since they started living in the human realm. The demon realm has its own variety of candy, of course, but human realm junk food just hits different, maybe because it doesn't have nearly as many restrictions or regulations as demon realm junk food, making it far less healthy and thus far more appealing to their taste buds. And without a constant source of supervision to keep them all in line (listen, Camila does her best, but working long hours and looking after six kids is exhausting, she can't always keep track of everything) they've gone a little wild.

You'd think they would've learned their lesson after the dozen sundaes incident, wherein the two of them snuck into the kitchen late one night to raid the fridge and managed to eat their way through twelve bowls of ice cream, only to throw it all up a few minutes later and try to hide it with an illusion until they could figure out how to work a vacuum cleaner, which they mistook for some kind of fancy human realm mop, and then proceeded to break — but alas, the sugar addiction is just too strong.

"And what exactly do we have to do in order to obtain this free candy?" Gus asks, arching a plotting eyebrow.

"I'm glad you asked," Luz replies with a mischievous smile, leading them through the entryway of a shop decked out from top to bottom in Halloween decorations. All at once, five sets of eyes grow wide with wonder.

Gus goes wild for all the realistic-looking decorations, the bloodier the better (though he adamantly avoids the section with clown costumes.) He and Hunter make a game out of trying on the most gruesome masks they can find and jumping out from around corners to try and scare each other, dissolving into fits of laughter every time because really? This is what passes for scary in the human realm? Most of these masks are just faces in a regular Tuesday crowd at the Bonesborough Marketplace.

In the end, it's Willow who manages to win their impromptu little game of hide, seek, and scare when she finds a bright red plastic pitchfork, hides behind a rack of devil's costumes, and pokes an unsuspecting Hunter right in his invaluable assets, causing him to yelp and blush brighter than a set of devil's horns when he turns around and sees her beaming at him through a set of plastic vampire teeth, cackling like a pantomime villain.

"Muahahahaha! I am a creature of the night and you are my unsuspecting catch!" she shouts, giggling madly as she bounds up to Hunter and wraps her arms around his shoulders in a tackle hug. "And with my razor-sharp teeth, I shall bite your neck and turn you into a vampire just like me!"

But because she's about a head shorter than him, Willow ends up tugging Hunter a little too close to her face, and in the sudden impact, Hunter stumbles, shivering as he feels her lips accidentally brush against the side of his neck. Before he knows it, he's instinctively tilting his head back to grant her even more access, mumbling a soft, eagerly accepting, "Okay."

Willow freezes, uttering a soft surprised little oh the moment her lips make contact with Hunter's neck, pulse jumping like a staccato beneath his skin. She abruptly pulls back, eyes wide, cheeks flushed a sunburnt shade of pink.

"Um…gotcha! Ha! Now you're a vampire too!" she exclaims, voice squeaking an octave higher than its usual register as she slaps a pair of plastic glow-in-the-dark vampire teeth down in the palm of his hand and turns to run away, toppling over several dozen bins filled with fake plastic swords and pitchforks as she bolts to the front of the store. Meanwhile, Hunter is left standing there, staring after her, fingertips smoothing over the spot on his neck where her lips had just been.

It takes him a little while to make his way back to the front of the store (Gus literally has to drag him out of his trance) where he finds Willow fawning over a selection of funky patterned socks and tights, trying to decide whether she wants the ones with the little bats or the little fear gourds.

"Those are pumpkins, Willow," Luz laughs from the other side of the display, choosing a pair of purple and white striped socks to match her favorite sweatshirt.

"No, Luz. Trust me. They're fear gourds, and if you're not careful, the little light inside will steal your soul," Willow warns, deadly serious frown flickering to a bright, cheerful grin as she adds, "Aren't they just adorable?"

"Oh, Hunter. Hi!" Willow exclaims, cheeks taking on a soft pink hue as her gaze lingers a little longer than necessary on Hunter's neck. "Which pair do you think I should get — the fear gourds or the little black bats?"

"You would look cute in literally any of them," he blurts without thinking, startling a snort of laughter out of Gus.

Willow arches her eyebrows in surprise, blush deepening to a bright cherry tomato.

"Uh— I just mean— the socks are cute, so by that logic, you would look cute wearing— um— fuck," Hunter falters, suddenly becoming very interested in a Little Red Riding Hood costume on a higher-up rack, only to realize it's one of the scantily-clad options in the adults-only section, and dashes down the opposing aisle with a mortified yelp.

Gus watches the whole catastrophe unfold, doubled over with laughter, while Luz and Amity exchange an entire conversation with an increasingly giddy Willow using just their eyebrows.

In the end, Willow decides on a completely different pair that she finds last-minute — bright green with glittering golden stripes. She doesn't know why, but the combination of those two colors just looks really nice together.

From there, Luz introduces them to all things caramel apple and pumpkin spice, taking them to Robin's Roast to try the newest holiday flavors. After that, she takes them to the little candle shop in town so they can smell all the holiday scented candles…which Gus and Hunter both attempt to eat, despite Luz's several warnings — "Been there, my dudes. Trust me, it is not worth the stomach ache. Just because it smells good, doesn't mean it tastes good."

Gus still ends up taking a bite of one labeled Blueberry Pancakes, and gets asked to leave by the store owner — "Look, if they didn't want us to eat it, then they shouldn't have named it after human food."

Hunter backs him up, confessing that he was about two seconds away from trying to drink one labeled Coffee Shop because it smelled exactly like the inside of Robin's Roast, and the only thing deterring him were the lit wicks.

On the walk back home, toasty cups of salted caramel cocoa, spiced apple cider, and pumpkin spice coffee clutched in their hands, they debate what they should all dress up as for Halloween, Luz exclaiming that she's always wanted to do a group cosplay, but never had friends who wanted to before now. Vee already has plans with Masha and her friends from summer camp (who, luckily for Vee, ended up being totally cool about the whole basilisk thing) which leaves the rest of them trying to decide what will best fit a group of five.

They've been spending a lot of their Saturday mornings watching old cartoons from the 90's and early 2000's, everyone huddled together on the living room couch with clinking spoons and cereal bowls clutched in their hands, fighting over who gets the last of the Captain Crispy — and after much debate, they decide to dress up as the characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender. 

Then, of course, comes the debate over who should be who.

"Hunter is Zuko," Luz decides, pointing a half-chewed plastic coffee stirrer in his direction. "Bad but sad boy with a secret soft marshmallow center. You're basically Gen Z's Zuko, so it fits."

"I have no idea what that means, but I accept," Hunter says, arching an eyebrow in confusion, but looking pleased at having been assigned his favorite character.

"Luz should be Aang," Willow suggests. "The Avatar could wield all four elements, and Luz was the first Hexside student to study all nine tracks."

"And because she's also an uncontainable ball of energy," Hunter jokes, dodging Luz's playful kick to the shins.

"Gus should be Sokka," Hunter suggests a moment later, stepping into stride beside his honorary little brother.

"Because my first girlfriend also turned into the moon?" Gus retorts with a cheeky smile, eyebrows arched in amusement.

"That's rough, buddy," Hunter quips back in a solid impression of Zuko, and Gus laughs, holding out his fist so Hunter can meet him halfway for their special handshake.

"Willow should be Toph, because they're both adorable badasses who can manipulate nature," Amity chimes in, and Willow beams back at her.

"While all of that is true," Hunter interjects. "I think Willow should be Katara."

"But if I'm Aaang, then Amity needs to be Katara, because then it can also be a couples' costume," Luz asserts, smiling brightly as she holds up their entwined hands.

"Ugh," Hunter scoffs, rolling his eyes.

"Oh no, here we go again," Amity groans.

"That ending didn't make any sense!" Hunter explodes. "Zuko and Katara had way more chemistry. They're the ones who should've ended up together!"

"But Aang liked Katara from the very beginning," Luz argues back. "And Zuko started out as their enemy!"

"Says the captain of the SS Heczura," Hunter retorts. "Enemies to friends to lovers is a classic trope, you can't just—"

"I'm staying out of this shipping war," Gus laughs, linking arms with Willow and Amity and striding ahead while the Kataang vs. Zutara die-hards bicker behind them.

"Yeah, last time the furniture got involved," Amity giggles, remembering the epic couch cushion battle that had ensued after they'd finished watching the finale and Luz and Hunter had found themselves on opposite sides of the shipping war.

Willow merely hums in response, a furious blush creeping into the tips of her ears as she replays the last few minutes of the conversation, musing over all the unspoken implications. If Hunter is Zuko, and Hunter thinks Willow should be Katara, and Hunter thinks Zuko and Katara should be together…

"You okay, Willow?" Gus asks, peering over at her with a teasing smirk. "You're looking a little red there."

"Oh, I'm fine," Willow squeaks. "I'm just, uh…feeling a little overheated, that's all." Which isn't entirely a lie.

"Fire nation getting a little too hot for you?" Gus retorts, snorting with laughter as one of Willow's vines comes up to playfully smack him across the back of the head.

In the end, Luz wins the battle by playing the ultimate wild card: canon. So, on Halloween night, all five of them activate their concealment stones — Luz borrows Vee's, since she won't be needing it to win the costume contest at the Old Gravesfield Halloween Festival in her hyper-realistic basilisk "costume" — giving them all the costumes and makeup of their chosen characters without ever having to spend a dime, and head out into the night, lapping the neighborhood until the sky turns from a hazy blood orange sunset to a misty sapphire blue, running through clouds of fake fog and exclaiming excitedly over the neighbors' decorations.

"Oh come on, you got a full-sized Milky Way and mine is only bite-sized," Luz whines, jealous of Hunter's latest haul as the five of them head back home, exhausted but happy, pillowcases filled to the brim with free candy. "I'll trade you for my Three Musketeers!"

"Pfft, like I would downgrade from caramel to nougat," Hunter scoffs, giving Luz a playful shove as she tries to make a grab for it.

As they make their way back to the house, they pass under a collection of power lines, where at least a dozen crows are perched like little blips in a heart monitor, eyeing up their shiny candy wrappers like they'll make the perfect treasures for their nests.

"Kinda crazy how the crows here are just regular birds," Willow remarks, looking up at them with a nostalgic smile. "You can't use them to make calls or anything."

"Yeah, I won't be making that mistake again," Hunter says, shuddering at the memory.

"Did you know that in the human realm, a flock of crows is called a murder?" Gus says conversationally, and Hunter can't help but smile. It's nice, no longer being the only one who spouts random fun facts he learned during a research rabbit hole.

"That's really cool," he says encouragingly, falling into step beside Gus. "What about a group of—"

But before he can even think of another creature to ask about, Luz comes whizzing past him, snagging the full-sized Milky Way out of his unsuspecting hands and racing up the street, cackling maniacally. 

"Excuse me, I have to go commit a flock of crows," he says, taking off after Luz at lightning speed and wrestling the (now smushed) candy bar out of her hands.

In the end, it hardly matters, because they all end up sharing their haul anyway, dumping pillowcases full of chocolates, caramels, hard candies, and sour gummies out onto the living room floor and splitting everything between them as they queue up Luz-approved Halloween classics Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare Before Christmas with Camila and Vee.

Hunter falls asleep with his face tucked against Willow's shoulder, despite the fact that there weren't actually any scary scenes to hide from in the first place — but hey, Willow's not complaining.

Elements of this chapter were inspired by this tumblr post by lemkid. Captain Crispy is a reference from Pages Remain by lollytea.

✨ Read Next Chapter | Chapter Masterlist ✨

Being Human

The Owl House » Huntlow

Title: Being Human

Author: fairytalesandfolklore

Fandom: The Owl House (Masterlist)

Relationship: Hunter | The Golden Guard x Willow Park

AO3 Rating: Teen & Up (a complete collection of author's notes, inspiration credits, content warnings and tags can be found on AO3)

Summary: A slice of life series following the Hexsquad's adventures in the human realm over the course of a single year — a little bit of angst sprinkled in between lots of warm fuzzy found family fluff, humor, and slow burn huntlow romance.

What will they think of him when they find out what he is, after everything he's done, after everything they've already had to forgive him for? Gus, who makes him feel simultaneously protected and protective — the closest thing to a brother that Hunter has ever had (and didn't know he'd wanted until it was already his.) Willow, who— Willow, whose smile managed to warm his insides before he could even take one bite of the soup she just set down in front of him. Willow, who makes him feel everything, all at once.  Happy. Nervous. Excited. Terrified. Vulnerable. Safe.  Like he's free-falling off the top of the Knee, heart racing like he's running for his life, and yet…somehow, he knows, without a shadow of a doubt, that when he finally lands, something soft will be there to break his fall.

Read On AO3 | Read On Tumblr: Chapter 1 » Chapter 2 » Chapter 3 » Chapter 4 » Chapter 5 » Chapter 6

[wildestdreamsblog]

A dwindling, mercurial high

Pairing: Andy Barber  x Reader

Warnings: Soft!Dark Andy, Swearing, Alcohol consumption, Sexual themes, mention of cheating, drama. If you’re not 18+ please, PLEASE, do not interact. Be mindful of the warnings. Let me know if I miss anything.

A/N: HIIIIII. My first Andy Barber fic! I hope you enjoy! Also can you believe it’s been a month since I started my tumblr?  Crazyyyyyy! Happy one month to me! Thank you for the support, likes, reblogs, replies, for following my account! I hope your days are always as beautiful as Helen of Troy!

You were my Helen, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, End

"You know," you started saying at the tall and muscular man walking beside you, "I'm starting to think you have too much time. Don't you have your business to go back to in Boston? Hey-"

You couldn't stopped him as he dipped his spoon in your gelato. You gave him your death glare before slapping his wandering hand away from your dessert. "Andy, are you sure you're rich? Why are you always taking my food away from me, hmm? You most certainly earn more than I do."

Andy laughed wholeheartedly. You stared at him, at his face, at his relaxed stance- and you couldn't stopped looking at him. His face was being illuminated by the afternoon sunlight. He was an art you think you were starting to like, an art you were starting to want to understand. What did the strokes mean? What did the colors indicate?

Who are you, Andy Barber?

"Well, Helen, you have yet to answer me-"

"Stop calling me Helen."

"Do you think Delilah ever loved Samson?"

Andy was.....different. He never ran out of topic to argue you with, never ran out of opinions, and you meant strong opinions. Each time he found you, he'd be tagging along uninvited, eating your food, asking you things about yourself, arguing with you, and you thought the most thing that unnerved you was the way he kept looking at you like that- like you were a breath of fresh air, like you were something he was unknowingly looking for his whole life.

You didn't know it now, but this man would change your life. You didn't know it now, but this man would love you fiercely. You didn't know it now, but he would also break your heart, and you'd break his.

"Do you think she was a victor, villain, or a victim?" He asked again before licking his spoonful of sweet dessert.

Your eyes trailed to his tongue before lifting your eyes to the darkened eyes of Andy. "A villain."

Andy hummed thoughtfully, turning to you. He cocked his head to the side, "I think she's a victim."

"Victim how?"

He looked intently at you, as if you were the answer to all of his questions. His lips turned into an empty smile, before looking away. "She didn't expect to fall in love with the great Samson. She couldn't break her loyalty to her people. She was stuck, a victim of her own choice. A choice she made not knowing she'd later on meet the love of her life." He chuckled humorlessly before returning his eyes to you.

You frowned as he looked at you, his eyes was jsut so...torn. And to what you didn't have an answer. "You don't hurt the people you love. You couldn't. You couldn't physically do anything to hurt them." you answered, before smiling at him and continued walking, enjoying the view. Your polaroid camera hang on your shoulder, taking pictures of the blue water, of the nature, of something that would commemorate your rare break from work. You could hear Andy's step as he caught up to you. He was silent. Well that was a first.

"I think Delilah truly loved him. In some stories, she stayed beside Samson. She knew the risk of perishing if she stayed, but she stayed."

"Andy, she betrayed him."

Andy shrugged, "We're only humans. We can't always make the right decisions."

You stopped walking and nodded your head because yes, he had a point. You were not petty to deny that. "Despite you stealing my food, I enjoy these talks of ours. I think I'm gonna miss these talks of ours once you return to Boston."

"I'll always make time for you." Andy declared, as if he was really sure, absolutely sure that you were more important now that anything he ever held dear. Andy was enamored by you, by your quick wit, by your strong personality, by your independence, by your beautiful smile- by you. He was feeling something he had never felt before, and even then, he was feeling a tinge of regret.

"What is it that you do again?"

"I'm a writer. I interview people who have stories to tell. What about you, Attorney Barber?" you asked him cheekily. As open as he was about his theories, he was not one to share about his personal life.

He proceeded on telling you about what he does, what his business was about- but never mentioning the name of his business. "A man has got to keep some secrets, don't you think?" he joked as you took picture of the lake. He looked at you before calling the attention of a passerby.

"Excuse me, will you be so kind to take a picture of us?"

"Sure!"

Andy gently snatched your camera away from you before passing it to the kind teenager. He maneuvered your body in front of the camera, the view of the water behind you before standing so near you. He placed his hand on your shoulder possessively.

Later on, you looked down at the polaroid he had written on.

Yours, A.B.

After that day, you had not seen Andy around for a week. It was like he just vanished. You couldn't help but think of him, if he was hungry because he looked like he always was considering he was stealing food from your plate. You couldn't help thinking about him. He was..something. And the radio silence from him was making you think that he was really a busy person, that he really just had fun talking to you and it meant nothing. You shouldn't give meaning to that. You were still assisting Jayson to the best of your ability with his wedding preparation. It was days from now and everything was already set.

But like in movies, he appeared just when you thought of him.

You were busy going over the documents sent to you by your boss. He knew you were on leave, yet he was taking time off your precious day to help him. You couldn't say no because the man was like a father to you, a generous senior who took you under his wing when you were just a young and naïve aspirant.

"I need to buy new pens," you mumbled to yourself as you go over the papers.

"Busy bee." A deep voice whispered near you ear, making you jump up from your seat, almost spilling over the coffee you ordered in your favorite coffee shop where you were currently doing your job.

You glared at him as he sat down in front of you uninvited. You noticed his deep eyes, his eyebags- a clear sign he didn't sleep well. He looked tired.

"Oh look who it is- Attorney Barber. I don't have time to bicker with you today."

"Thought you were on leave?"

"I also need to not piss my boss off." You grabbed your phone and showed him the online app you were using for shopping, "Also, I have so many beautiful things I want to buy."

He laughed as he took a sip of your coffee.

"Hey that's mine! Order yours!" you crinkled your nose at him.

"Well, Helen, what's mine is yours, and all that vice versa thing." he mumbled as he wiped his lip with a napkin. The barista came over to personally deliver his order, two iced coffee and two pastries. "Andy, that's for married people only."

"Here, as my apology to you." he placed the coffee in front of you, replacing the empty cup he just took from you.

You nodded your thanks before proceeding on your work. "Well if what's yours is mine, I'm just gonna check out the things I have on my cart and have you pay for them," you mumbled, distracted by the errors you saw on the document.

"Go ahead."

You looked at him, unbelieving he was real. "Are you planning on being my sugar daddy?"

He flashed you an amused smile. "This is exactly the rest I needed," he stated seriously. He looked worn out despite his appearance.

"When did you last sleep?"

He scoffed, looking down at his phone before answering. "I only sleep a few minutes last night before going here. I needed to see you."

"Why?"

He shrugged, "I just needed to."

Andy observed you from his seat. You didn't bring up his disappearance, you just asked him how he was. And he was okay, now that you were here in front of him. He couldn't tell you the reason why. And you didn't ask him.

"You need sleep, not coffee. Come on." You gathered you things and swiftly put them inside your bag before waiting for Andy to stand up. He was looking at you, with clear confusion in his face. "Where are we going?"

"To sleep."

It turned out, he did not make any arrangements for the night, didn't book any hotel to stay in. To tell you the truth, this was an impulse decision on his part. He just really needed to see you, despite everything. One second he was in his office, the next thing he knew he was grabbing his keys and was driving to you. You didn't need to know that.

You took pity on him. "This doesn't mean anything, okay? I just want you to sleep before you collapse. I can't and won't carry you when you finally collapse from exhaustion." You warned him as you opened your quaint apartment. The apartment was okay to you. In fact, you loved the independence this small space gave you. You loved your space, yet you felt quite insecure as Andy followed behind you before he closed your front door himself. His eyes doing a quick scan of your apartment, taking your decorations in, your apparent love of pink and white, your little decorations you've collected, pictures of your family, of your friends- of the polaroid of you and him that you stuck on your refrigerator through a magnet. His face softened when he saw that but he did not comment.

You went straight to your bedroom upon arriving at your apartment, leaving him to muse over your things. You fluffed your pillows, straightened the covers, opened your aircon before calling for him. He leaned on your door. You frowned at him, "Come on. Sleep."

He looked at you as if he was torn, as if he was making a difficult decision. His hands were in his pockets, his stance relaxed but his face showed his reluctance.

"I don't know if this is right." He finally said.

"You don't know if it's right for you to sleep?" you kidded because you did not understand him. He was always coming for you, appearing even when you least expected him, tagging along in your little errands and you little vacations even when you did not invite him. And this was where he was trying to draw the line? To sleep?

You went to him, looking up to him when you finally reached him. You had to tilt your head just to look at his eyes. "Andy, I'm not gonna take advantage of you-" he chuckled at that, mumbling 'As if you could' before letting himself be pulled on your bed. "-I just really want you to sleep."

You turned your back on him as he got himself comfy on your bed, burrowing his face on your pillows, wanting to inhale your delectable smell. You turned off the light.

"Please feel free to take advantage of me," you heard his sleepy mumble before you closed the door.

You laughed at what he said once you were seated on your dining table, trying to focus on the documents in your hands. But your mind was going back to what he said. And you hated it because what he said planted a bunch of lewd things in your head. You were already confused about your feelings with him even before, but now... you hated to admit it but God, Andy was a hot man. And describing him as 'hot' was an understatement. You were never one to appreciate men just because they're pretty to look at, but Andy was so much than that. He was charismatic, intelligent, and the way he kept on throwing you amusing topics was the most entertaining talk you ever had with any man.

And you know, a good conversation is such a dangerous thing.

You were stirring the pot. Yoy were cooking when you heard your bedroom door open. It was already dark outside. You expected him to wake up hours before, but he must have been really tired because he slept for almost five hours. You turned to him with a teasing smile on his sleepy face, "Well, look who's up."

Andy hair was messy from his sleep. He was rubbing the sleep off his eyes as he walked near to you. He pouted at you before sitting down on your dining chair. He was so big the entire apartment looked smaller and you noticed how masculine he was, how small you were compared to him. "You didn't take advantage of me."

You laughed as you transferred the dinner to your glass bowl. "Oh, I'm sorry. Should I have?"

"You should have. I can't forgive you for not doing it."

Shaking your head at his silliness, you removed your laptop and your papers off the table to make room for your dinner. "You wanna eat?"

"A bed and a dinner? I'm luckier than Paris at this rate."

He volunteered to wash the dishes as you finished you work. Once he was done, he sat in front of you, typing down on his phone. "Chocolate or coffee?" he questioned offhandedly.

"Chocolate, please."

Turned out, he ordered drinks. He was driving to Boston in a couple of hours to make it on time for his meeting.

"Aren't you going to leave now?" you asked as you drink your chocolate drink. Your love for chocolate was an affair you would never end. You asked because he was still here, hanging out with you as you watched your favorite series on your television. He was sitting beside you, dangerously close. Your sofa was made for two people, but his muscular built was making the sofa smaller, his spread thighs touching yours.

"I will. I'm just waiting for you to take advantage of me."

You faced him, looking to see if he was serious, and he met your eyes. "I'm serious." he declared, reading the confusion on your face.

You bit your lip as you grabbed your phone, opening your shopping app and smiling cheekily at him. "Okay, let's buy these and have you pay for them." You joked at his crestfallen face. You laughed at his face before returning to your position. You were watching your show when you felt his eyes still on you.

"Andy, what is it?" you raised your brow at him.

"Should I kiss you?" he whispered.

You stared at him before biting your lips. "Do you want to?"

He looked at your lips longingly, before returning his eyes on yours. "More than I ever want anything in this life, Helen."

"Then I think you should go for it," you whispered as he neared his face to you, his jaw clenching, his eyes darkening. The anticipation of the first kiss with someone, with how would they taste, with how their lips would feel against you flew from your mind as his lips finally landed on yours.

His lips moved slowly, tasting you, savoring you. His hand was on your neck, pulling you closer as he deepened the kiss. You felt his tongue playing sensually with yours, teasing you. You heard him moan, his grip on you tightening when suddenly, he lifted you to his lap. You squealed as your hand automatically landed on his broad shoulders.

He gazed at you, licking his lips as he ran his hands over your legs that were spread on either side of his thighs. "You taste better than I ever imagined."

He gave you no warning before he kissed you again, devouring you, tasting you, committing you to memory. Andy grounded you down his hardening cock, guiding you as he rubbed your clothed pussy on him. You could feel yourself clenched as he grinded on you harder, his lips tracing your neck. Andy pushed down your strap, baring your shoulders to his hungry gaze. He tugged down on your top, staring at your breasts. You watched him over your hooded eyes. You felt shy as he did nothing but stare at them. You went ahead and covered them with your hands when he bound your hands on his hand.

"Baby," he looked at you, "you're a goddess. You are my goddess." he whispered before he leaned in to take a nipple inside his sinful mouth. He started sucking- all while keeping eye contact with you. You couldn't stop a moan from escaping from your lips. He was sucking your nipples, alternating between the them. He took your breast as if he was a hungry child. "A-Andy," you moaned, your breasts incredibly sensitive from his lips.

"What do you need, baby?" his coarse voice was the only thing you could hear. You whimpered as he grinded on you harder. You could feel yourself, could feel how wet you were. "Tell me, baby. I'll give anything to you, for you." He promised darkly, his muscles bulging from the restraint he was showing.

"I need you."

The next thing you knew, he was lifting you and depositing you on your bed. You watched as he removed his shirt, blessing you with his muscular body. He was watching you as he removed his belt, his pants, before crawling to you. His face burrowed to your neck, inhaling your scent. He gave you no warning before he removed your shorts. He had already dealt with your top. "Are you wet for me?" He smirked at you before reaching your panty, and completely destroying them.

"Hey! That's expensive-"

"I'll buy you whatever you want."

You felt his long digits tracing your slit, circling your clit before he inserted his finger inside you. "So. Fucking. Wet." He growled. He angled your face the way he wanted it before kissing you again. Andy could not get enough of you. He tried to resist, tried to distance himself away from you. But look where it got him, hungrier for you than he ever was. He knew he could never leave you again, now that he knew how you tasted, how your moans sound, he could never leave without this. That was what he was thinking as he went down on you. As you came on his tongue. As he removed his boxer. His cock was touching his stomach, he was harder than he ever been. And he could not think straight but to know how you feel inside.

"Do you know how much I thought of you like this?" he asked as he gripped himself and positioned himself, "A thousand times since I met you." He admitted.

You looked at him, surprised at his admission. You felt the tip of him protruding you, using your juices to coat his head before inching inside you. You gasped at how big he was, at how full you already felt. He lifted your legs on his waist, fucking you deeper. He grunted once he was sheathed inside you. "Fuck, you feel so good. Feel so right." He thrusted once, testing, "Feel so mine."

The sound of your wet pussy was resounding, but his growls and moans were louder. You were never with someone who was as vocal with his pleasure as Andy was. Andy rolled his hips, he was deeper now than he ever was. You could feel yourself starting to climax as you scratched his broad back. Andy started pumping faster when he suddenly stopped. "Open your eyes, I wanna see you fall apart." He ordered darkly and you couldn't help but follow his orders. Only when you looked directly at him did he start thrusting in you. You started coming, he was still watching you when he followed soon after. His hot seed painting your walls, dripping out of you.

He pulled out of you gently, kissing you once before his eyes went to your pussy. His cum still dripping from you. His finger went inside you, pushing his cum inside you. "Baby, now you are mine."

Andy left hours later. He was hugging you so tight when you walked him to the door. You didn't meet his eyes, not sure if what the two of you did was the right thing to do. The high from the pleasure was wearing down and you were starting to overthink this.

"Thank you, baby," he whispered in your ears, his muscular arms still around you.

"Drive safe," you said, probably a little cold as he leaned down on you to look at your face.

"Baby, look at me. I'm coming back, okay?" He said worriedly as he ran his hand on your cheeks. "Are we okay?"

"I just- I just need time to process this." You admitted. His face suddenly darkened, his jaw clenched. His muscular body stiffened at your remark.

"I'm not going away, baby. You're mine now. I'm yours. I wanted to make sure that you know how I feel about us." He eyed you for confirmation that you understood.

He stayed like that until you nodded slightly. He flashed you an unsure smile before leaning down to kiss you.

Your mind played back what Jayson told you, Andy was not good for you and you were not good for him.

You just didn't know how right he was.

————

Please take note that I give no permission for my work to be reposted or published anywhere other than on my Tumblr account.

REBLOGS ARE MUCHOOO APPRECIATED!!! If you made it this far, comments are highly appreciated!  Also, I don’t own Andy Barber’s character and any of their work, this is just purely a fanfiction written by a fan!

[theyreonlynoodlesmike]

It's Just a Movie - The Sequel: Part 1 (The Lost Boys x Fem!Reader)

Next Chapter ->

Warnings: mental institutions, mention of mental breakdowns, mentions of mental illness, mentions of deaths, unintentional gaslighting(?),

Word Count: 1.4k

Welcome back everyone :) I hope you guys enjoy the first chapter and please let me know what you think!!

Moments later, you found the strength to open your eyes, but you were surrounded by darkness. You tried to blink it away, tried to see what you were holding, but then you caught sight of a light. For a moment, your head flooded. You were dead. All the stories of the light at the end of the tunnel were true. And, even if you felt fine, even if your strength had returned- You still reached for it.

You didn't have time to regret your last moments, or you didn't see a point in doing so. You'd had time, so little but so much, in a world that you loved. With people you loved. And, who were you to hold on? Who were you to-

It was only when your hand touched smooth plastic that you realized it was just the flashlight of your phone.

In a second, your internal monologue cut off and shock ran through you. Your hand grabbed it, and then the lights flicked on to bathe your surroundings. Movie theater seats. Your wallet in your hand. And, behind you, a giant white screen.

Just like that, you felt like your entire world had turned upside down again. Your moment of peace was shattered. To think, you had accepted death, but this?

You were running before you could even think. You ran out of the theater, only to run right into your friends. You gasped, and you froze. While they should've been a welcome sight, you felt a pit in your stomach. You knew what this meant, knew that this was confirming your first thought since you realized the light was just your phone. You didn't have a reply as your friend asked,

"What's gotten into you?" And without even a word, you ran out of the lobby. It couldn't be. It couldn't be. Not after all this time - But it was. The world outside the theater was the world of your hometown. Was your world.

 ***

 All things considered, you thought you handled the news well. You only had a minor mental and emotional breakdown, one that earned you the spot in the mental hospital you were currently living in. Really, beyond the initial shock of the event, you hadn't broken down since. But, to everyone else, you were still breaking down. As the notes on your file said, they thought you were 'schizophrenic with delusions of grandeur' and had memory issues.

They thought you had some sort of break, a break where you thought you were a character from your favorite movie. A character that just so happened to look eerily similar and who had the same name. And, you'd already screamed at them about the chances of that. You were told, over and over again, that she'd always been in the movie. That the actress was like fifty-something, and had decided a normal life in Nevada was worth more than a movie career, and that's why she'd never been in another movie. You were told that the similarities were just a coincidence, and your therapist thought that it may've been the cause of your 'obsession' with the movie. And, to top it all off, no one seemed to know anything about the original movie. When you tried to watch it, you were greeted with the sight of your own face on the screen.

You sighed as you leaned back in your chair, your fuzzy pajamas and sweatshirt keeping you warm in the chilly office.

It was a nice facility, all things considered. One with views of trees and rolling hills. It would've been nice, if everything wasn't dead due to the winter. Part of you yearned for the California heat. Where the plants stayed alive all year. Where everything seemed to live forever.

Your therapist cleared her throat to get your attention. You looked at her, away from the window. She was young, early forties at most. She had blonde hair that was neatly tucked into a ponytail. She wore a gray cardigan and a white shirt with a pair of brown slacks. Not too dark, not too bright. Perfectly in-between. Really, you were starting to think that everything the hospital did was to try not to remind you of the movie. Well, outside of these sessions.

"You were saying that she's kind, y/n. We see that she befriends Sam." She reminded, and you glanced at the screen. You were the one with the remote in your hand, and you'd stopped it at the scene where Michael drinks from the bottle. You sighed.

"Well, yes, she is kind but not-" You stood. Now that it'd been weeks after your initial breakdown, you were free to move around the room, to approach the TV, to hold the remote. But you still couldn't have shoes with laces. You reminded yourself. "Not for that reason. See-" You gestured to the screen, to the boys sitting around it. "She cares, but her kindness to Sam is all a part of the plan."

"The plan?" Your therapist asked, even if you'd gone over this time and time again. You'd long gotten over talking about yourself, but, really, what was the point of this? Three days a week you'd walk through the whole movie, and you felt as though you kept saying the same thing. Maybe if you stopped trying to convince them- No. That was the point. You reminded yourself. They wanted you to give up, and the thought made your jaw click. You knew that, in order to make your case, you had to base your 'assumptions' on the movie. Not on what you knew to be true because you were there. The annoyance you felt crept into your voice as you said,

"Yes, the plan. In the end, Max says 'What ideas did you put in their heads'. She," You pointed at the screen. "Plays a much bigger part than it seems. She's the reason for all this. She knows. You can see here." You pressed play, the sound off as you gestured to the screen. You could see how she tried to laugh with Paul, but her eyes- Her eyes showed worry as she looked at David. "She's laughing one second, worried the next. She's stuck between playing her part, and trying to save them."

"Save who? Michael?" The therapist asked.

"Yes, but no-" You stared at the TV, your eyes far away as you did so. You were staring through it, staring almost back in time. You talked with your hands as you said, "She's trying to save everyone. She's trying so hard to make sure everyone lives that she-" You faltered. Your voice broke. The infamous ending. It was what the Lost Boys was known for. And you couldn't even say it.

"That she dies." The therapist finished, and you looked away from the TV. You looked to her, where she sat with her glasses and her perfectly tied back hair. She was so clean, so put together, even as she attempted to be casual. So different from your company for the past few months.

"Yes." You said as you looked away, back to the screen. You watched it play out for a moment. You watched them jump around, the overlapping of their faces. Of a face that looked far too much like your own. You ignored the sound of her writing, of pen scratching against paper, even as the scene faded and went to the next. On her notepad, she wrote,

Y/k has started using 'she' instead of first person - hasn't noticed when I say it either. A subconscious distinction has been made. It's time.

Your therapist looked up from her notes, and she gave you a smile. You only saw it when your head turned back to her, and her voice was kind, always kind, as she said,

"Y/k, tell me why you think she dies." And your eyebrows furrowed at the question.  What kind of question was that? You pointed with the remote at the movie, and said,

"Because that's the ending. She clearly dies." And I landed back here.  You internally finished.

"But there's the sequel." Your therapist said, and you stared at her. The sequels you remembered, the god-awful Frog Brothers sequels, couldn't have you in it. They couldn't even exist, knowing the end of the movie in this world. The Frogs gave up hunting, started to look for a cure. Or, at least, that's what you read in the theories on the internet. It was possible, but something told you no. 

You gave a shake of your head, clearly not understanding. Your therapist was still smiling, even as she put her pen down and folded her hands. Even as she said, 

"Now, y/k, don't tell me you haven't seen The Lost Girls."

[quickdeaths]

Anzu shifted uncomfortably back and forth on her legs, as she watched Masaru chase after Shinobu. It wouldn't end well, she was sure, but what right did she have to stop him trying to talk to his own sister? It was good, then, that Sonia came up to her - something that could take her mind off of things, even as she winced upon hearing the thumping of the security officer's fist against Shinobu's stomach. She wouldn't have hoped that he'd have shown a little more restraint with her, but Anzu knew how things went. Shinobu wasn't someone who ever earned any sympathy from anyone, and she never got the benefit of the doubt during her worst moments. At the first sign of trouble, everyone was so willing to throw her away.

"She'll probably be okay," Anzu mumbled with a small sad frown on her lips. "Shinobu-chan is really, really tough, and she recovers from injuries really fast." At some point, that tight rubber band would snap, she was sure, but for now everything was working as intended. "As long as she didn't break a rib or something, what's probably gonna hurt most for her is her pride." The reasonable thing to do would be give up on killing her brother, but Anzu was pretty sure that wasn't an option for her best friend. If anything, this would just make her a little crazier about it.

When offered, Anzu took the notebook, before letting out a small sigh and leading Sonia by the hand away from the last bits of the assembled crowd. It wasn't really any sort of secret, not really, but if she was going to blab about Shinobu's life, she'd rather not have any eavesdroppers. There was also Haruna to consider... Anzu had looked at her, trying to implore her to go after Masaru, but her sister had stayed rooted in place, before being swept off with the crowd back towards campus. Just someone else she'd need to check on later - was there anyone else around who was as responsible while also being as underappreciated as Anzu? No, absolutely not, not even close, in her logic.

"Yeah, Masaru-san is Shinobu-chan's older brother," Anzu started, referring to him more politely than her childishly familial nickname when speaking to someone else. "And he used to be the Ultimate Archer here, too, like, six years ago." He was a year older than Haruna, so that much was easy. "I don't know everything," she admitted, having found a spot to stand underneath a tree, away from the alumni or the crowds, "cause I was just a kid, and I was also living with my dad in Kyoto for some of it." Not that that was much excuse. She should have been around, and should have made a better effort for Shinobu back then.

Probably, she shouldn't be telling all this to Sonia, either, but Shinobu sure as hell wasn't going to, even if it was important for a friend to know. Once again, it fell to Anzu to make sure that Sonia and Shinobu's relationship kept being so clear and communicative. Hadn't Sonia called out her name, just a short while before? That had to mean something, and from what she'd seen already, it was obvious that Shinobu liked her. Sorry, Shinobu-chan, but this is for your own good.

She opened the notebook, flipping through the macabre drawings of dead and decaying animals - all bones and rotting flesh and blood - in clean black ink. You're so creepy sometimes, Shinobu-chan, but I bet if your fangirls knew about this side of you, you'd at least get people who you're more compatible with. "Shinobu-chan didn't train when she was little. She was just a normal kid who liked drawing and reading, and she didn't have any expectation of learning how to shoot. I think Masaru-san got started from the time he could walk, but Shinobu-chan didn't have anything like that."

Anzu closed the notebook tight, not wanting to look at anything else inside it. "But you know how Shinobu-chan's dad is, and Masaru-san got it really bad, so he ended up running away from home. Today is the first time I've seen him since then, and probably for Shinobu-chan too." Anzu shrugged. Haruna, also, but this wasn't about her. "So, Shinobu-chan got dragged into replacing him, even though she'd never done archery before, and her mom ended up leaving because of what happened with Masaru-san, and, uh, well I guess you know what Shinobu-chan's like now."

Shinobu could give any more details if she wanted to, even if Anzu was pretty sure she wouldn't, but that was enough to provide Sonia a pretty clear picture. "I guess how Shinobu-chan sees it is, if Masaru-san hadn't run away, none of this would have happened to her." That's what she'd said, right? Her happy childhood with her mom, her dad, and her older brother, a future where she could have chosen things for herself, any kind of life for herself - all gone 'cause of Masaru's absence. Anzu couldn't blame him for that, but she could understand Shinobu, too.

She shook her head. "I don't know. I don't think I'll see her for a while. She's probably gonna get a short suspension, and even then, she might not come back to school until she's feeling less miserable. Shinobu-chan's usually the 'sulking by herself' type when she's upset." She pushed the notebook back into Sonia's hands. "So, you'll probably see her as soon as I do, and it might be nice for her to remember that I'm not her only friend, right? If you held onto it for her, and made the effort to give it back?" She had other motives, of course, but Sonia would probably take that at face value if she had to guess. "Anyway, I have to go find my stupid sister, so, I can't really stick around. I'll see you later, Sonia-san."

For all the answers she now had, even more questions had formed in their place: Anzu's ease and worry in chatting with Shinobu's older brother. The fact Shinobu even had an older brother and once she clearly disliked. The fact that Anzu had a sister who eyed Shinobu's brother with so many words unspoken between them. And then of course Shinobu herself, who had been sent into a raging fury that Sonia didn't know she was capable of. Her friend was so often cool, calm, and reserved, even when her father had belittled her the one time Sonia had visited their household. The fact she'd lashed out so quickly, so easily, and so full of hatred was jarring, and the way she'd crumpled against Sakakura-sensei's fists even more so.

Only when Masaru addressed her was Sonia pulled from her thoughts, looking to him with an apologetic smile and a shake of her head. "Oh, it is not your fault, er, Yaguchi-san," She insisted with a weak chuckle. "Sorry, it is just a bit odd to call you 'Yaguchi-san,' too: it is what I call your sister, after all." She supposed if she tried to address one of them as 'Yaguchi-san' in the same space and they both turned around, it would be rather difficult to get the right person's attention. And calling them Shinobu seemed far too personal and familiar: they would likely hate it, Sonia suspected, that anyone besides Anzu deemed it fit to call them by their first name.

An invented problem that she'd never face, Sonia realized: she couldn't imagine the elder Yaguchi sibling being near his sister again, unless he wished to have his nose broken. She sighed softly at his insistence that their household had been what had done this to her, to the both of them. "I know something of familial expectations taking a heavy toll," She assured him, looking past him to where Sakakura was lifting up Shinobu. "You needn't worry, I am sure your sister has her reasons. It was nice to meet you as well, perhaps we may do so again under less violent circumstances."

Wishful thinking and likely would never happen, but it was polite nevertheless to say. As Masaru limped off towards his sister, Sonia walked over to Anzu. "I am not entirely sure what happened," She admitted quietly as the whispering crowds began to disperse. "That is...Yaguchi-san's brother, yes? And he attended Hope's Peak years before?  Then why is he not upholding the family legacy-OH!"

Sonia gasped, watching as Shinobu bit into Masaru's wrist and Sakakura punched her again, this time in the stomach to knock the rage, and wind, out of her. "I-is she going to be all right?" She looked to answer, unable to hide her worried expression. "Has she ever been hit like this before?"

It was hard for either of them to ignore the fallen notebook, as it hit the ground with an audible 'thud.' Sonia took the initiative to approach, pick it up, and then return to Anzu once she'd retrieved it. "I doubt she would like to lose this," Sonia sighed, holding it out for Anzu to take. "You should take it to her, Anzu-san. You are the only one she might not despise seeing right now, you are her best friend."

[ontowanderlust]

Of Part time Jobs and Hidden Feelings

SYPNOSIS. You'd think that with all those part time jobs, she'd be used to making her feelings be part time too. Alternatively, she who jumps from one part time job onto another, she should include hiding her feelings into that roster as well.

PROMPT. Can feelings be part time too?

TROPES. S2F2L. “She fell first, he fell harder”

WC. 3k words. (Super haba kasi if isahang post so hehe)

WARNINGS. Use of profanities. Lots of them. Sorry guys. Masyado pong pasmado ang bibig ko kaya nadala sa fanfics.

TAGS. Part-timers; Alternating point of views;

NOTES. I’ve always always wanted to write this prompt kasi matagal na siyang stuck sa utak ko. Like siguro months din ang duration ng stay nito sa utak ko omg. This was supposed to be a spin off story from my commissioned piece kaya lang I thought na it’s best to leave it be and just branch this out as something else. Hence, being a svt fanfic.

MORE NOTES. This is a mixture of smau and written fic pero mas prominent yung written. And since this is a mix of different perspectives, point oh's are Jeon's point of view. And originally, I planned on posting this as one shot kaya lang super haba na niya and I fear that sa sobrang haba, pati kayo mawalan ng gana in the middle of it so chop natin into parts. Wag na rin kayong umasa na tapos na siya kasi to be honest, ang tagal na nito sa drafts ko and ngayon ko lang naisipang i-drop dito. Don't worry naman, tinutuloy ko siya... kapag may time and energy ako. Kaya lang super tagal na kahit ako, di alam kung kailan ko matatapos. lmao.

🏷️: @moonwonuu

One.

“Talagang ginawa mo, oh my god,” she could hear the awe behind Seokmin’s voice as he stared at her as if she’s some sort of mirage, absentmindedly placing the cups of ramyeon on top of the counter to which she began to scan through the machine.

“You know very well that I don’t say things without the intent of pushing through, Min-ah,” she grunted, giving him a pointed look as he continued to stare at her before snapping out of his trance as he took out his phone- no doubt to tell everyone in their group about his latest discovery, earning an eye roll from her.

True to her guess, her phone pinged with notifications followed by another consecutive pings- much to her exasperation. Di ba uso ang tulog sa tropa niya? (Spoiler alert: hindi.)

“Onga,” Seokmin agreed, nodding his head as he locked his phone, flashing her a sheepish smile. “Pero kasi naman, Riri, why would you apply for a job when you have no need for it?” He asked just as her co-worker made his way out of the break room, pausing in his tracks when he saw her with a customer. She watched him made eye contact with her before making his way towards the furthest aisle from where she were. Wow.

“Okay, I’ll ask this with much love and sincerity- nabubuang ka na ba?” Seokmin’s voice brought her attention back to him. “Maiintindihan ko pa kung gipit tayo sa cash at mahigit ang pangangailangan natin sa buhay kasi kailangan mong bumuhay ng tatlong anak pero di ba ikaw yung palamunin nina kuya Cheol?”

‘We don’t hit customers,’ she chanted in her head as she flashed him her award wining customer service smile, ignoring the small cough that came from the aisle where her co-worker had disappeared to. Ah, really. Of all times her friend managed to discover where she worked, it was the time where her co-worker had just clocked in. ‘We don’t hit customers no matter how hittable their faces are.’

“Kuya ko ba yun?” she deadpanned, crossing her arms as he shrugged, leaning against the counter.

“Hindi,” his cheshire grin makes her want to really deck him this time. “Kaso di ba palamunin na nun si kuya Han? So like, by extension, it applies na rin sayo? So ano to, nagbabagong buhay ka na ba at gusto mo nang bayaran si kuya sa lahat ng ginastos nya sainyong magkapatid?”

“Gusto mo pa bang makalabas dito nang buhay, Lee Seokmin?” She asked, hoping for her smile to be as menacing as her brother’s, feeling a small satisfaction when her friend let out a squeak before nodding his head furiously, fingers miming a zipper motion on his mouth. “Si kuya Han lang yung palamunin nun, huy. Tsaka didn't we talk about this? Learning experience ‘to for me para ma-hone pa yung mga skills ko.”

He raised an eyebrow, looking at her suspiciously. “What skills?”

“Social skills, what else?” She shrugged as she watched Seokmin gave her an incredulous look before turning around to peek at the aisle where her co-worker had disappeared to before turning back to her.

‘You call that socializing?’ the disbelief in his face looked palpable and if she didn't know any better, he would've scoffed out loud if it weren't for her looming threat. Takot lang ni Seokmin sa kanya, eh.

Pushing the plastic bag filled with his items, she nodded sagely, flashing him her best customer smile before jerking her head to signal that she's forcing him to leave. ‘Yes. Now get lost, dummy.’

Her friend's eyes narrowed at her while she glared back, daring him to continue. A minute passed before her friend backed down, shaking his head, reaching down to pay for his items.

Once he had collected his change, he raised the hand holding the plastic bag as he turned to leave the premises. “Eto na, sabi ko nga aalis na po ako, mahal na reyna,” he bid her as she scrunched her nose at how loud his voice being at what, two in the morning? “Matulog ka after ng shift mo, ah?”

When she’s sure he had left, she took out her phone, curiously checking for what he had sent in their group chat. Shaking her head, she narrowed her eyes as she typed in her reply, wondering how on earth did Seokmin took the picture without her knowing.

Fighting the urge to huff, she pocketed her phone as her face began to scrunch. Really, what’s so surprising in her taking up a part time job anyway?

Marami namang students ang gumagawa nito so bakit siya hindi pwede, di ba? And hindi naman siya ganun ka-entitled, right? Or siguro kasi not many would get a job just because they have trouble sleeping during the night? Or siguro… not many would get a part time job on a whim.

Ah well. Not many would want the graveyard shift anyway. In fact, when she had applied for this job, the manager looked like he would fall over in relief when she said she’s okay with taking the graveyard shift.

And so, for the first few days of working, she found herself finally enjoying the solitude of the night as she’s being productive instead of wallowing in her own thoughts.

That is, until her manager introduced her new co-worker, Jeon Wonwoo.

Subconsciously, her eyes wandered towards the aisle where he had hid himself only for her eyes to dart back to the monitor screen she was staring earlier when she saw him finally emerge from the said aisle before going towards the next aisle which happened to be where the beverages are.

‘Ang awkward,’ fighting the urge to groan out loud, her fingers kept on tapping on the counter as her eyes kept on darting from the monitor screen to her co-worker’s back who had busied himself by restocking the same items she had “stocked” hours prior. ‘Luh, gaya gaya?’ She bit the urge to voice out.

While she was grateful for the company he provided, (he doesn’t really have a choice in that matter anyway) it felt as if the guy didn’t like her- not even for a tiny bit. (Why else would he ignore and avoid her?) She watched him as he moved from the beverages towards the canned goods aisle with curiosity lingering in her eyes.

It’s not like her to take offense- hell, she doesn’t really care if people liked her or not. But for someone who doesn’t know her, it made her curious as to what she did for him to immediately dislike her upon first meeting especially since she had always been enamored of him the first time she saw him and that was what? Freshman week?

Bitterly smiling to herself, she shook her head as she threw him one last glance, tilting her head when she saw him turn his head slightly. The action had been minuscule but when your older brother goes by the name Yoon Jeonghan, one couldn’t help but become vigilant especially with subtle gestures.

Deciding it was nothing, she turned her attention back to the counter to see if it needed cleaning- for the nth time that night- early morning? ‘Lord, baka naman.’ She let out a small sigh. ‘Wala bang pa-divine intervention diyan? Mukhang mapu-pudpod na rin yung kamay niya kakapunas nung de-lata oh.’

“Uhm,” her reverie broke when she heard someone clearing their throat followed by a smooth baritone voice. If she didn’t have any self control, she would’ve shivered right there and then. “Gusto mo ba ako naman dyan sa cashier?”

Turning to look at him, she could feel her eyebrows furrowing. Has there been an instance where he was the first to approach her? “Kung gusto mo lang naman,” he was quick to add, no doubt noticing the look on her face. “Cause kanina ka pa rin naman nakatayo diyan.”

“Yeah, no, sure,” she blurted out, shaking her head as her eyes widened- was that a flash of amusement in his eyes? And was that an upturn of his mouth? The change in him was quick before she could even dwell on it. It’s as if… it never happened at all.

“Was that a yes or a no?”

‘Uhm, Lord? Ito na ba ang divine intervention mo?’ Wordlessly, she stepped out of the counter to make way for him, silently berating herself as she made her way towards the beverage area yet again, not noticing the way his gaze followed her for a moment before settling behind the counter.

Should she say something to keep the conversation going? But the time for her to reply had passed so should she create another opening for him to talk? Staring at the grapefruit flavored yogurt in front of her, she had came into conclusion, ‘Mukhang nabubuang na nga ako,’

Right? Who in their right mind would overthink as simple as starting the conversation? One with their co-worker as well? It’s like a simple decision, you want to talk or you don’t. There’s no in between- and oh god, is she channeling her inner Woozi?

Just before her thoughts could even spiral further, her train of thoughts- for the nth time that night- had been broken by the sounds of desperate running, making her and her companion turn their heads towards the door only to see masked men making their way into their convenience store.

‘Lord, alam ko humihingi ako ng divine intervention pero mukhang napasobra naman po ata?’ She could feel a headache incoming as she turned to look at her companion who had already had his arms raised. ‘Hala siya. Pinalaki ka bang duwag ng mga magulang mo, Jeon?’

Before she could even comprehend it, she could feel her hand reaching behind her as she grasped on what felt like a cup of yogurt- perhaps the same one she had been glaring at earlier, throwing it as hard as she can towards one of the robbers, hitting him squarely on the head, much to Jeon- and the two masked men's shock.

Did she just-

Earning their attention, she didn’t think twice before throwing whatever she could reach behind her as the robbers advanced towards her, making her spring into action- throwing herself at one of the men, hitting him with the can of soda her hand last took from the fridge.

“Yoon Rianne-”

“Get help!” She gave her a pointed look as she tightened her hold on the masked man while she swung her can over the other man. “Tawagan mo pulis or kung sino man, I don't care just- get. fucking. help!” she grunted as she threw all her weight, shaking the can on her hand as she quickly opened it, spraying liquid onto the other man she had been fending off her.

From her periphery, she could see the hesitation running behind his eyes before reaching for his phone while she gave her all to distract the two guys. She could almost feel the gears on his head turning as he watched her worriedly, already knowing what goes on with his mind- number one being, what the actual fuck?

Honestly? Di rin niya alam bakit niya yun ginawa. Was it because of reflexes? Years of being the subject of her kuya’s pranks when they were kids? A product of her hyperfixation of learning eskrima? Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. And since nangyari naman na, might as well go hard right? After all, di siya pinalaking duwag ng kuya niya.

She didn’t know how long she had been holding on to the guy but when she felt the weight from the other man becoming lighter, she sharply turned her head only to see Jeon beginning to follow her actions but before he could even do something, she watched in horror as he slipped on the liquid that had spilled from the soda she had been brandishing earlier.

Lurching forward, she reached for his outstretched hand, trying to catch him. She would’ve successfully saved him from falling if it weren’t for the fact that she was still on the masked man’s back as she attempted to help her co-worker and in doing so, her balance shifted that the sudden force had brought the man down with her, crashing into a pile of entangled limbs- her face jerking backwards as one fist came contact with her eye while she might have kicked someone- judging from the pained groan- to somewhere the sun doesn’t shine.

She would’ve done more- if it weren’t for the sound of keys dropping on the floor followed by a shriek from none other than their store manager. “What the fuck?”

Swallowing a groan as she threw her head back in exasperation, she couldn’t help but bitterly think, ‘Jeon, ang sabi ko tawagan yung pulis. Hindi yung manager.’

“You do realize that I’m letting you both off easily right?” Their manager looked at them with a mixture of pity, annoyance, and amusement as she looked up from her phone, struggling to lock it with one hand as the other was busy with placing an ice pack over her now bruised eye. “What, with the damage done to my store rather than yung perang dapat nanakawin sana ng mga yun?”

She blinked, looking at their manager blankly for a bit before turning to her co-worker who’s now rocking that yellow pikachu band aid on the bridge of his nose then staring back at their manager, wincing when she removed the ice pack from her eye. “Ah but Jeon didn’t really-”

“-realize na yung drinks na tinapon namin were expensive,” he spoke up making her turn to him, raising an eyebrow while he ignored her stare and simply looked back at their manager who looked just as surprised as her.

Huh.

She knew for a fact that the manager had reviewed the CCTV footage of the encounter earlier and while Jeon had been hurt during the fight where he was just pulling the other man off of her, he had not taken part of the said fight. So why on earth was he being let off?

And more importantly, why is he not saying anything about it?

The manager's exasperated sigh had her attention being brought back to the situation.

Seeing the manager shake his head, her heart dropped. "As compensation for protecting my store, l'll give you guys a severance pay and sasagutin ko na rin yung gastos niyo dito," he told them, sympathy evident behind his eyes. "However, since may damage yung store, I'm afraid your severance pay will have to cover the dues."

Letting out a small resigned sigh, they both nodded as their faces fell, the manager giving them gentle pats on their shoulder before leaving them as silence befell them.

Hyperaware of the coldness of the ice pack, she placed it on her lap as she closed and opened her fist to shake off the cold sensation before reaching for her phone.

“You shouldn’t stop applying cold pack on your bruise,” her companion cleared his throat giving her the excuse to study him intently the first time that night. “It will get worse and painful if you stopped.” He explained as she mutely nodded, placing the ice pack back on her eyes, jumping slightly at the combined cold and painful sensation.

Silence engulfed them once more, making her fidget on her seat. “Sorry I got you fired,” she mumbled, closely monitoring his reaction, tilting her head as she heard him hum in acknowledgment. “I don’t know why you did that but I could still run after him-”

“Sorry I couldn’t help you earlier,” he cut her off, offering his own apology, hands fidgeting on a small object she couldn't recognize. “It’s not an excuse but when I saw those men, I just…froze.”

“Understandable,” she shrugged, silently accepting his apology. “Mabilis lang reaction time ko kasi si kuya.” She didn’t know why she’s explaining but she felt like she had to or else she might be known in Jeon Wonwoo’s memory as that crazy beverage throwing girl from the convenience store.

Blinking, she may had forgotten that this was the first time they had interacted so she didn't know if he knew who her brother was. Back pedaling, she cleared her throat. “Uh I mean si kuya Jeonghan yung-”

“I know,” the small reassuring smile on him had her pausing for a moment before snapping herself out of her stupor. “Next time I’ll do better. I won't let you handle them alone.”

“Ah. So gusto mo uli manakawan?” she raised an eyebrow at him, wincing when she realized that she moved her bruised eye, earning a look of concern from him to which she waved dismissably at.

“No,” he shook his head when he's sure that she's alright. “I mean I’ll train my reaction time. Next time mas mabilis na ako magreact kesa sayo. Para di na ikaw yung manunugod bigla bigla.”

Trying to fight the smile threatening to come out. Is he really this… endearing? “Geh, sabi mo eh.”

It looked like he wanted to say more if it weren’t for the familiar sound of Seokmin’s voice from a distance. Inwardly cringing, she couldn't help but think if it's really a good idea to ask for her friends to pick her up rather than her brother.

“Ay talaga naman, Seokmin,” she wanted to facepalm earning a fond shake of Jeon’s head.

Deciding that was his cue, he stood up, pausing for a moment as if he was contemplating on something before nodding his head as he took her hand, placing the object he was playing with earlier on top of her phone.

“Wag ka muna manunugod ah? Get well soon,” he mumbled her name as he walked off while she was left to stare at his retreating back.

Looking down, she let out a small fond scoff as she inspected the grapefruit flavored yogurt cup. Did he really think…? Cute.

Despite her hesitation, she removed the lid and scooped a mouthful before grimacing- a sight that greeted her friends as they came to collect her.

She doesn't like grapefruits and yet, this yogurt may be her favorite out of all.