#but also getting over that hill and finally unlocking something gives me a huge sense of accomplishment

[cosmosarcana]

i'm not huge on mobile games but legends of idleon fucks

[leejungchans]

— dance with me?

word count: 1.7k

pairing: dino (svt) x ateez oc (juliet)

warning(s): none!!

genre: an overwhelming amount of fluff bc i love lee chan

set on february 11, 2021

summary: during a late-night date on dino’s birthday, he asks juliet a special question.

juliet’s masterlist

minnie 🐭❤️ [22:16] i’m heading down now!! (◕‿◕) don’t drive off without me please ur so sexc 😩😩

From where he is, parked a street down from the building where ATEEZ’s dorm is in, Chan shakes his head fondly, looking out the window from the driver’s seat for any sign of his girlfriend.

Sure enough, just a few minutes later, Juliet emerges from the building’s entrance, glancing down the mostly empty street before spotting the familiar car.

Under the light of the street lamps, he can see that she’s wearing a huge puffer jacket with a scarf wrapped around her neck, purple hair stuffed under her beanie to avoid catching the attention of prying eyes. With all the layers she has on, she reminds him of a waddling penguin as she speed-walks towards the car.

Cute.

Chan unlocks the door as Juliet approaches, her eyes smiling while she settles into the passenger’s seat before leaning over the console to hug him. “Happy birthday, Channie,” she beams, taking off her mask to nuzzle the bottom half of her face into the thick material of her scarf.

“You already said that,” Chan teases, also smiling as he watches her fumble with the seatbelt for a bit.

“That was from almost twelve hours ago at 12 am! I think it’s illegal if I didn’t wish you a happy birthday again,” Juliet protests. “Sorry for being late, by the way. Have you been waiting long?”

“It’s only a few minutes, don’t sweat it.”

“Okay, but there’s actually a good reason! I was about to leave the building when Mingi-oppa called me because I left your present on the table, and I had to go back up to grab it! So you have him to thank that you have a birthday present.”

Juliet takes out a small gift bag, its handles tied together with ribbon so he can’t look into it, and hands it to him with a sweet grin. “Don’t open it now, though,” she warns half-jokingly.

“What? Why?” Chan whines. “I can’t even open my own present on my birthday?”

“No, because if you open it now then I’ll have to explain the meaning behind your gift, and if I do that I might actually cry. There’s a card inside explaining it.”

“What if I want to hear it from you?”

“Then you can call me when you get home,” she responds cheekily.

Chan relents. “Fine, you win. But you didn’t have to get me anything, I hope you know that,” he adds the last part seriously.

Juliet smiles reassuringly. “I know, but I wanted to. I hope you’ll like it, though.”

“I know I will.” It’s at that moment when he finally gets a good look at her face, the light from the street lamps hitting it just enough for him to note the dark circles under her eyes. “You look tired, baby. Don’t get me wrong, you’re beautiful no matter what, but is everything okay?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah.” As though on cue, Juliet brings a hand up to cover her mouth as she yawns. “Just a little tired from comeback preparations and practising for Kingdom. I’ll be fine, though, don’t worry.”

“I’ll always worry about you,” Chan admits. “You shouldn’t have come so you can rest.”

Juliet frowns. “No, I wanted to see you. Plus, it’s your birthday.”

“Okay, but you have to promise that you’ll take care of yourself.”

“I always do!” A pause. “Okay, sometimes I don’t, but I’ll try,” she promises genuinely.

Chan smiles. “Good. Let’s go, then. Seatbelt on?”

“Mhm!”

“Um, where exactly are you taking me?” Juliet asks suspiciously, noting that they’re currently driving up a hill away from central Seoul.

“Patience, Minnie. You’ll find out soon,” Chan says with a mischievous smirk. “We’re almost there.”

She feigns an offended gasp. “I am always patient! I’m just asking because I’m too pretty to meet my end now.”

“If something happens, I’ll protect you.”

“Nice try, but don’t think I haven’t watched that episode of GOING SEVENTEEN with you guys in the haunted house,” Juliet teases with a raised brow. “If anything, we probably need to call Wonwoo-ssi or Minghao-ssi.”

Chan groans. “Can we not talk about my members when we’re on a date?”

This only earns a laugh from Juliet. “You’re cute when you’re jealous.”

“You’re going to tease me even on my birthday?”

“It’s how I show affection!” she defends while the car comes to a stop at the side of a dimly lit road. “Are we here?”

Upon his nod, she unbuckles her seatbelt to hop out the car, snow crunching under her boots. Immediately, harsh winds whip at her face and she shivers, the temperature even lower due to the higher elevation.

She hears a lighthearted tsk from behind her before feeling her jacket being draped over her shoulders. “You left it in the backseat, silly,” Chan says softly while he helps her into it, referring to when she took it off during the car ride. “You’re going to catch a cold.”

“No, I won’t. I have you to remind me,” Juliet says cheekily, earning herself a light flick on the forehead. She follows Chan to a clearing a few paces away from where they parked and immediately realises why he took her here.

Seoul, with its sparkling lights, is captivating at night when you’re in the heart of the city, but perhaps even more so when you’re looking at it from afar. She can’t help but admire the stark contrast between the tranquil hillside they’re at that compared to the vibrant city centre it overlooks.

“I sometimes come here with the members when we want to be away from... the loudness of it all,” Chan explains quietly as they move closer to the railing. “To think. Or just to take our mind off certain things.”

Juliet leans closer to his side to link their arms, her head coming to rest on his shoulder. “It’s beautiful. Thank you for bringing me here.”

“Don’t come to places like here often?”

She snorts. “I don’t just let anyone drive me to a dark hill in the middle of the night.”

Chan laughs, gently resting his head on hers. “You have a point. Does this mean I’m the only person allowed to take you here?”

“I’d like that. I also have a horrible sense of direction, so I don’t think I can remember the way here even if I tried.” Despite her quip, something in Juliet feels fuzzy and warm at the thought of this place being one only they know of.

It brings a sense of giddiness, the same one she felt when she was much, much younger; when she and her friends first decided on a secret hideout at their school back home in Sydney. Only this time, there’s more to it than just childhood innocence.

Juliet doesn’t know much about love. She’s had crushes here and there throughout her life, but none of them ever developed into something further. Of course, until she met Chan.

She doesn’t know much about love. But this feels like it.

And that’s more than enough for her.

His voice cuts through her thoughts. “I actually have something to ask you.”

At her hum, he continues.

“I was wondering if you’d want to be on Danceology. You know, like for a collaboration. We can choreograph and dance it together... anything you want, really.”

Juliet looks up at the boy with wide eyes, not knowing if she heard him correctly. “You’re sure?”

“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. Or you don’t have to decide now, I know you’re really busy these days. No pressure at all.”

“No, no,” she clarifies. “I meant if you’re sure you want to do one with me?”

The look in his eyes is so tender that she feels like crying. “I wouldn’t want anyone else.”

Something tells her he’s not only referring to Danceology.

Juliet leans her forehead on Chan’s shoulder to hide her face from him. “You’re going to make me cry on your own birthday,” she mutters.

“Is that a yes?”

She nods against him while blinking away the hot tears prickling at her eyes, feeling his lips press against her temple.

“That’s the best present you could’ve given me.”

“Yah, you can’t say that!” Juliet says, somehow finding it in her to crack a joke. What can she say? Humour is one of her many coping mechanisms. “You’re only supposed to say that if I didn’t give you anything! What does that make the gift I got you?”

“Best of the best?” At her laugh, Chan presses again, “am I still not allowed to open it?”

“No, you’re not.”

[00:05—Outside ATEEZ’s dorm]

“Okay, fine, you can open it.”

“What made you change your mind?” Chan grins, already reaching for the small bag in the backseat.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Juliet admits, smiling as she uses the dimmest setting of her phone’s flashlight to illuminate the dark interior, the overhead light being too risky to turn on at this hour lest they want to draw unwanted attention to themselves. “I guess I want to see your reaction.”

She stares quietly as he undos the ribbon tying the handles together before looking into the bag and taking out a small box. Despite her shyness and the sudden urge to jump out of the car and run back up to the dorm, Juliet continues to hold up her phone as he takes out the silver band within it.

It’s simple, minimalist, inconspicuous enough to wear during the day but at the same time uniquely his due to the custom engraving on the outside of the band. A snowflake.

She bites the inside of her cheek from nervousness as Chan silently reads the small card that came along in the bag, subconsciously tracing over her neat handwriting with his finger.

“Like a snowflake, I fell for you hahahaha (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) You asked me to be yours during the first snow of the year. I hope that is only the start of many more years to come. Happy Birthday, always be happy and healthy ❤️ And don’t forget to take care of yourself!! (♡`Д´) If you forget I’ll come over and nag you, but maybe you’d like that more than not ㅋㅋㅋ — 🐭❤️”

Chan’s eyes are glossy when he finally meets her curious and worried gaze, trying to gauge his reaction. He beams brightly.

“Told you I’d like it.”

find their collaboration here!! 😼

a/n: blessing you guys with this gif bc look at him go!! ;-; stream dino’s dancelogy to be sexcie 😼 pls don’t let juno flop </3 also i thought it’d be too mean if i didn’t tell you what the present was bc i definitely considered not saying anything about it 👀👀 anyways let me know what you think about this chapter 🥺 personally i am <///3 bc bwhehwhs i want what they have but also i’m not very good at writing fluff whjehdhw i cringe at myself sm when writing it 🤡

thank you so much for reading 💕 please do consider leaving feedback whether it’s a reblog, a reply or an ask, it would mean the absolute world to me as feedback really motivates and supports creators 🥺 and feel free to chat with me about juliet or anything else through my asks!! as always, take care and have a good day!!

[anagentinwriting]

Lifeline - Part 7

Summary: (First Responders!AU) Moving to Los Angeles and living with your brother, Thor, was never part of your plan nor was being a 9-1-1 dispatcher, but plans change when you are faced with your own emergencies. In your case, it was leaving behind a relationship that wasn’t as perfect as it seemed. Will this be the fresh start you were hoping for or will your past find a way to catch up with you?

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Odinson!Sister Reader

Word Count: 2800+

Warnings: Angst, Fluff, Language

Lifeline Masterlist / Main Masterlist

You had four boxes. Your life fit into four boxes. Sure, you didn’t have a bed or furniture, but luckily a few friends pitched in and gave you stuff they had laying around. Darryl had a spare TV and a TV stand; Sam offered you a coffee table and a few end tables; Bucky had three lamps his mom had given him, so they were pretty vintage, but you were okay with that. Nothing would match, but at least it was a start. Thor agreed to help you move the bigger furniture that couldn’t fit in your car and ended up inviting Sam, Bucky, and Steve along to help since they had the day off. More so, we were using Steve for his truck to haul things.

You unlocked the door, carrying your luggage and a box from your car inside. You looked around, remembering how the pictures online didn’t do the place any justice compared to seeing it in person. It had exposed brick on one of the walls in the living room while the rest of the walls were gray with white trim. It was small with an open first floor and stairs going up to the second story where the bedroom was. It even had a small balcony overlooking the first floor. Your bedroom had a walk-in closet with a washer and dryer in it and a furnished bathroom with a footed tub. 

A huge feature that attracted you to this place was the security system. Your new landlady, Maria Hill, reassured you that she installed the best security system on the market from X-Con Security Consultants. They even created an app where you could look at all the cameras outside, and if the alarm is triggered, police are notified right away. The seven-foot concrete walls built around the nook of houses and the front entrance gate also made you feel more confident about living here. You had a few neighbors inside the walls, but from what Maria told you, they were great company. 

You left your luggage at the door and set the box on the island in the kitchen. The kitchen had dark brown cabinets with a marbled countertop and newly installed stainless steel appliances. You always loved to cook, and you were surprised you only had one box labeled kitchen on it. You let out a deep breath realizing how excited and nervous you were to start over. You were excited to decorate and bring your new place to life with your personality, including the cutest nicknacks, rugs, and furniture. But there was a sense of nervousness to be out on your own. What will happen when he finds you? Will he hurt you, take you away, or worse? It sent a shiver down your spine just thinking about it. 

“Is this everything?” Sam asked, placing two end tables in the living room area. 

“For now,” you replied with a half shrug. “I’ll accumulate stuff.”

“Where’s the bed?” Steve questioned. 

“Right there.” You pointed to the air mattress still in the box. 

“That’s not a bed, girl. Come on, peeps, we're going shopping. Steve's truck can handle the haul,” Sam announced, marching back out the door with Thor and Bucky behind him. 

“Well, can’t argue with that. I guess I’m buying a bed today.” You shrugged, and Steve smirked, following you out the door. 

_______

The furniture store had a lot of cute things you wish you could buy, but for now, you decided against it. All you needed was a bed, so that’s all you were going to get. This place had a huge selection of beds, but it was going to be a challenge to find the right one. 

“YN, this one is amazing. Lay next to me and try it out.” Bucky patted the bed beside him.

“No, come over here, and you’ll know what it feels like to have a real man in your bed,” Sam challenged, throwing his hands behind his head and closing his eyes.

“Real man is a strong word for you, Wilson. Don’t you think?” Bucky joked, throwing a pillow and hitting him in the face.

You rolled your eyes and laid down on a few beds, but they were no good. It was like Goldilocks and the Three Bears. You just couldn’t find the right one. One was too firm, one was too soft, and you still haven’t found the one that was just right. You walked around the corner of beds to find Steve lying comfortably on a bed with his eyes closed.

“Is this one any good?”

He opened his eyes and smirked. “I like it, but lay down and try it out.” He tilted his head to the open spot beside him. 

You lay down beside him, closed your eyes, and let out a sigh of relief. “And this one is just right.”

“Hi, I’m Justin Hammer. Is the lovely couple looking for a new bed?” the salesman asked, stepping over to you and Steve. 

 You opened your eyes and sat up. “Oh, We’re not…” you stammered, trying to find the right words. 

“Yes, we are looking for a bed. What kind of deal could we get on this? We just moved in together, and she hates my bed, and we can barely afford this price,” Steve replied without missing a beat.

“Let me see what I can do.” Justin nodded and walked back to the front table. 

You gawked at him. “Have you done this before?” 

“What…share a bed with a woman or negotiate a ridiculous price down?”

“The price.” 

“Oh yeah, but it was for my truck.”

“YN,” Thor waved at you, getting your attention. “Come check out these bunk beds. Just think of all the space you would have for activities.” 

“Why did I bring them along?” You threw yourself back on the bed, running your hands down your face. 

“They all rode with me to your house.” 

“So, it’s not my fault; it’s yours.” 

He held up his hands in surrender and smiled. “It would appear that way, wouldn’t it, but you did get free labor to help you move.”

“I guess that does outweigh the embarrassment.” 

Justin returned and gave you a different offer, which was a great deal for a queen size bed. Steve offered his hand to you and pulled you off the bed. Both of you walked over to the front desk together, keeping up the charade to sign the paperwork. 

“Anything else I can do for you two?”

Steve pursed his lips and looked around. “Do you have any deals on couches? YN’s couch is pretty shot.”

“What are you talking about? My couch is the best!” You bumped him on the arm, earning a smirk from him.

“Wires are sticking out of it,” Steve added, shooting you a knowing look.

“Fine, but only if there is a good deal and we can afford it.”

“Follow me,” the salesman smiled, walking in front of you. Steve and you followed, and he nudged you with his elbow and mouthed, ‘we got this.’  

Justin was telling us about a few pieces, and Steve was listening intently to him. You looked over your shoulder to catch Bucky doing hip thrust movements, and Sam had his back to them, hugging himself to look like he was making out with someone. Thor wiggled his eyebrows and was going to start another motion, but you caught his eye, and he stopped immediately. He waved at you and grinned, putting his hands on his hips. Sam nodded, glancing at you before walking away from them, almost like he was ashamed to take part in it. Bucky just stared wide-eyed at the floor, not making eye contact with you. All you could do was roll your eyes and return to listening to Justin still talking about couches. 

The impromptu adventure to the furniture store was going to take two trips. One for the bed and another for the small deep gray sectional couch. We also had to make a quick stop to pick up some new bedsheets, which took much longer than necessary since everyone had to give their opinion on your choice. After getting the bed up the stairs, the guys went to pick up the couch as you got to work on putting the bed frame together. It was a quick snap in place and moving it to the right spot in your room. You put the box spring down first, then the mattress, and started to put on the fitted sheet when you heard yelling on the first floor.

“PIVOT, PIVOT, PIVOT,” Thor shouted, and you couldn’t help but smile. You peaked your head out the door to see them trying to get the couch in the door. 

“SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP,” Bucky yelled, rolling his eyes.

“Come on, guys. All we have to do is tilt it and go straight,” Sam added. “No pivoting or arguing necessary. Let’s try it again.”

You watched them go back out the door, tilt it, and walk straight through the door and into the living room. At least one of them knew what they were doing. You put the comforter on top and placed the pillows at the top of the bed. You smiled to yourself and jumped onto the bed, letting out a sigh of relief. 

“Wow, already got the bed together?” Steve asked, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed.

“What, like it’s hard?”

“No, it’s--” you narrowed your eyes at him “--nevermind. Is it just as comfy as it was in the store?”

“I love it, but lay down and try it out.” You tilted to the empty side of the bed. He smirked and laid down next to you. “Satisfied?”

“More than satisfied.”

Steve let out a deep breath, and you could feel yourself sink in closer to him. Steve brought a strong presence, and he was a good man, something you weren’t used to. He was charming and playful but never overdid it. You closed your eyes, feeling the hairs on your right arm stand up when his arm brushed against yours. Your hand tingled, feeling the urge to reach out and take his. You bit your lip, hoping your mind would concentrate on something else instead of the man a few inches away from you. Your eyes flickered open, glancing at Steve. His eyes were closed, but it looked like he was at a battle with himself; With his jaw clenched and his eyes shifting under his eyelids before he finally shook his head and let out a sigh. 

“Hey, YN.” Your head shot to the door to see Sam walk in, glancing between the two of you. “Ohhh, are you two testing the bed out?”

“Yeah, you want to test it out?” You asked, sliding over and patting the bed in the middle.

“No, I would hate to interrupt.” You patted the bed again. “Well, if you insist,” he smiled and jumped between you and Steve. Sam turned up to look at the ceiling. “I am just gonna come out and say it, but this bed sucks.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you’re never gonna have to sleep on it in then, Sam.”

“That you know of, Steve.”

“Okay, and on that note--” you got out of the bed “--I’m going to order some pizza as a thank you for helping me move in and getting me this comfy bed,” you added with a small smile leaving the room.

“Wow, Steve. I’m impressed how you were able to get YN into bed twice in the last few hours. And here I thought you weren’t interested in Thor’s sister?”

“Stop. It’s not like that.”

“For now.” Sam elbowed him in the side, forcing him to crack a small smirk. 

_______ 

You sat at the table in the break room, sipping on your favorite caffeinated beverage. After moving into your condo last week, you’ve had a few rough nights. It’s like every little noise startled you awake, but the security system app helped with those long nights, especially with how you could look at all the cameras without leaving your bed. Also, sleeping with the lights on helped, and so did having a bat underneath your bed. 

“Dang, Chicka, you look exhausted?” Luis greeted, entering the break room to refill his coffee.

“Thanks for pointing that out, Luis. I’ve just had trouble sleeping since I moved into my new place, but I’ll get used to it.”

“Oh man, you’re not living with your big bro no more? Moving up in the world, thata girl,” he commented. “Not gonna lie, you’re brother intimidates me a little bit.”

“He has that effect on people.”

“At least I’m not alone then,” he chuckled, snapping the lid on his mug. “Where did you move to?”

“This little condo on Kingwood Street. It has this great security set up by…”

“X-Con Security Consultants?”

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“A buddy of mine runs it. Great guy, super-smart when it comes to breaking into people’s houses. He can always find the weak spots people never even think about.” Luis smiled as you narrowed your eyes at him. “But, he doesn’t do that anymore after he went to prison.”

“That’s good,” you nodded with wide eyes. “I think.” 

“Anyways, have a good shift, YN.”

“You too, Luis.”

______

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“My fiance’s been stung by a jellyfish. Please send help?”

“Where are you?”

“Santa Monica Beach. Please hurry, he’s having trouble breathing, and his cheeks are swelling up.”

“I am dispatching units to you now.” You tapped the receiver to quickly get in touch with a first responder. “I need all available units at Santa Monica Beach. The victim is in his early thirties and his fiance believes he was stung by a jellyfish. He is wearing purple board shorts and answers to the name T’Challa. Upon arrival, Nakia will be waving her hands and bring you to him.” You clicked the receiver back to the caller. “How is he doing, Nakia?”

“He’s still wheezing but conscious, but his leg is starting to swell up. He tried talking, and it sounded very hoarse.”

“It’s the nematocysts in the tentacles, but whatever you do, do not remove it. From the sounds of it, he may be showing signs of an allergic reaction. Do you know if he is allergic to anything, or does he have an EpiPen nearby?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Okay, then I want you to keep him lying on the ground, but lift his feet in the air about 12 inches off the ground. Can you do that?”

“Yeah, yes, I can do that,” Nakia replied as you heard her shuffling through the phone. “What now?”

“Keep him conscious and calm, but don’t give him anything. Responders are only a few blocks away.”

“Hey, hey stay with me. Don’t pass out on me,” she ordered. Sirens were coming through the line and when you looked at one of the screens in front of you, you knew they arrived.

“Oh my god, there here. Over here,” she shouted before she hung up. 

“Hi, are you Nakia?” Carol asked, earning a nod and followed her to her fiance. 

Val accessed him over by checking his breathing, response time, and his pulse. “T’Challa, I’m administering you an epinephrine shot now, and a dose of diphenhydramine to help with the itching and pain.”

Steve stood back and watched Sam and Val working together. He was still surprised with how fast and efficiently they could work together. Sam laid the stretcher on the ground next to him, and on the count of three, Val and Sam moved him onto the stretcher and strapped him in. 

“I thought you needed to urinate on jellyfish stings?” Thor asked, walking beside Sam, who was carrying one side of the stretcher to the ambulance with Steve on the other end. 

“What?” Bucky narrowed his eyes at Thor.

“Yes, it was on the Discovery Channel.”

“No, Thor. That’s a myth, and it’s not proven to do anything at all,” Sam added, rolling his eyes.

“Really, then why was it on TV?”

“I don’t know, ask the idiots who said that,” Sam stated, continuing to walk while Thor stopped and turned back around to assist Carol with the lifeguard. 

“Had to hurt the big guys' feelings?” Val asked with a hint of amusement in her voice. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll apologize later.” Sam waved it off. 

Bucky held the cot still as Sam and Steve put him on to it and slid him into the ambulance. Val quickly got into the ambulance and started administering oxygen. Nakia hopped into the back, and Steve shut the doors, tapping on the back, signaling to Sam it was safe to take off to the hospital. 

_______

AN: Thanks for reading Part 7! She is all moved in and what a crazy fun adventure to the furniture store. And let's be real, who doesn't want to get the best deal possible, even if it means fudging the truth a little bit! Haha! In case you haven't noticed yet, I am someone who loves to throw in pop culture references, and in this case, it was a quote from Stepbrothers and Friends! I couldn't resist! Haha! And finally, Steve and her may be slowly (ever so slowly...relationships take time, right?! Haha!) catching feelings for one another, but will something or someone get in the way? Only time will tell or maybe it’s the next chapter.😉 Anyways, I hope you all are enjoying it so far, and likes, reblogs, and comments are always welcome. Thanks again!

[possiamo-andare]

Cigarette Daydream: JJ Maybank

JJ x Reader

MASTERLIST

word count: 6.1k

summary: “Do you have a minute?” JJ asks a stranger sitting on a park bench. From there, relationship between the reader and JJ blossoms in the span of a few hours.

a/n: this imagine could not have been written without @teamnick​ who has been my supporter since day one. she has been hyping me up even when i think i don’t deserve it and initially gave me the ideas to start this fic. so thanks so much babe, i couldn’t have done it without you. secondly, please listen to the song cigarette daydream by cage the elephant when reading this, I love that song <3

~

Nothing ever interesting ever happened in OBX. At least not to you. Although you loved where you lived, it was a tourist stop and when the tourons were gone, there weren’t many people left behind. In some ways, you envied the Pogues; they were free to do whatever they wanted. They had no reputations to uphold because everyone saw them as troublemakers already. You probably guess that this was where your crush on JJ started. JJ had always lived the way you wish you could.

JJ Maybank was a Pogue. If anyone suited the title of Pogue more than JJ, you hadn’t met them yet. He was everything Kooks hated about Pogues. He was a player, rambunctious, rowdy, impolite, and hated Kooks. You both had gone to the same school but because your friend group consisted of Kooks, you and JJ never interacted. You had always found JJ handsome, his light features contrasting the dark features many other Pogues possessed. He finally left a lasting impression on you when he pulled a prank on the principal.

It was the second month into school when Principal Morgan was giving a speech on dress code when JJ projected pictures of Principal Morgan dancing in a club, clearly intoxicated. You had no idea how he had gotten those pictures or how he bribed the computer lab to project them but by the end, JJ was yelling from the crowd that the “hookers” in the photos were definitely not following the dumb dress code. From then on, you had a crush on JJ Maybank.

This was a crush you told no one. If any of your friends knew you liked a boy like JJ, you surely would not hear the end of it. This was also not the type of crush that would make you want to  interact with JJ. When you usually had crushes, you would try your best to be around them but not JJ. It would look too obvious if you started talking to him or if you started sitting next to him in Algebra. Instead, you watched him from afar and on days where he wasn’t at school, you would drive past the Cut where you knew he was. You knew this entire obsession was stupid since he’d never seriously date a Kook but you couldn’t help it. As much as your brain told you no, your heart had started planning your wedding.

You had a crush on JJ for six months before you ever spoke to each other. It was the first week of summer and your friends were all away at cottages  with their families so you were alone for the first few weeks of the summer. You had decided that to pass the time, you would go down to the park and read for the afternoon. With your earbuds playing Cigarette Daydream and a new book in your hand, you sat on a park bench and read the first few chapters of your book.

Around one pm, you finally looked up from your book, your eyes growing tired from focusing so much. When you finally glanced up, your eyes immediately caught sight of a familiar blonde. It was JJ. You had never seen him at this park and if you knew he came here, you would’ve gone somewhere else. What was even more surprising was that he was walking in your direction. Your eyes instantly trained back on the words in your book. This time, you only pretended to read, your heart rate speeding up at the thought of JJ approaching you. You couldn’t believe it yourself so you looked up again to confirm if he was in fact moving across the grassy hills of the park towards you, and you were bewildered to see that he was. Your eyes focused on the words in your books again, trying your best to steady your heart rate and ignore JJ.

When he was finally closer, you thought he would walk past you but instead, he sat down on the bench you were sitting in, his hand clasped together. You could sense by his laboured breath he was stressed about something. You opted to say nothing but it was proven to be difficult when JJ spoke to you first.

“Do you have a minute?” JJ asks a stranger sitting on a park bench. He was desperate and she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen so he didn’t have a problem enlisting her help.

You looked up from your book, hesitant that he’s even talking to you know. “Hm?” You quietly hum out, trying to catch your breath. You both made eye contact and you thought you would die. He was looking at you. He saw you. You had always thought that as he walked through the halls, that he was looking at you but you were never sure. Now you were sure. JJ Maybank was looking at you and you were trying to find the words.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He muttered, his breath even more laboured than before. Something about you was so familiar but at the same time, he was sure if he had ever seen someone as beautiful as you before, he would have surely remembered. “Listen, I need your help. I know you don’t know me but I'll give you fifty bucks.”

You didn’t speak. You couldn’t. When JJ realized you weren’t about to say anything soon, he sighed, glancing to his left where he had walked from. You looked where he was and watched in horror as a touron, angrily approaching your bench. Suddenly, it all made sense. JJ was trying to avoid her and for some reason, he needed your help. Without overthinking it, you finally spoke.

“What do you need me to do?”

JJ looked back at you, a smirk written across his lips. “I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend.”

This request took you by surprise. You had thought maybe he was going to ask you to find a place for him to hide but not this. Besides, how does one pretend to be involved when JJ is known for being a player? You knew he didn’t have time to answer all your questions so instead you nonchalantly shrugged your shoulders and went back to reading your book. You hoped the less you had to look into his eyes, the less nervous you would be. It didn’t work. As long as JJ was beside you, you were a nervous wreck.

“Have you had a boyfriend?” JJ asks in an exasperated tone. You look up from your book as you watch sweat beat down his forehead. When you make eye contact, he speaks again. “Like, hold my hand or some shit.”

You frown. “Of course I have.” You’re lying. You’re trying to act cooler than you were and you were failing. “I just don’t know if fifty bucks is enough for me to hold your hand.”

JJ chuckles for a moment, his anxiety subsiding. He had to admit, even though he had just met this girl, there was something about her that made his heart skip a beat. “Well, it’s all I got.”

In an instant, JJ’s hand reached out for yours. At first, you instinctively moved your hand away from his and you watched as he smirked at your nervousness. With a deep sigh, you move your hand back near his and he interlaces your fingers together. You’re not completely positive, but you’re sure you feel an electric current flow between your hands. By the way JJ uncomfortably shifts in his seat as he watches the touron approach him, you’re sure he’s felt it too. You want to ask him what it means and if he’s ever felt it before but you never get the chance. The touron has gotten closer to you and now she’s yelling at JJ.

“JJ, what the hell is wrong with you?!”

Instead of standing up to confront the angry girl, JJ instead continues to sit and hold onto your hand. “Charlotte, calm down. I didn’t do anything.”

She glances at you for a moment, glaring, before looking back to JJ. “Didn’t do anything.” She scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest. “You beat up my fucking boyfriend!”

JJ chuckles, clearly not bothered by the accusation she was making. You knew it was probably because it was true. “Never told me you had a boyfriend. Besides, he called me the ‘r’ word. And that’s not polite.” You could hear the obnoxious undertone in his voice and you couldn’t help but giggle.

Charlotte looks at you, growling. “What’s your problem bitch? Did you know your boyfriend here is an asshole?”

You laugh, both at the fact that she called JJ an asshole and your boyfriend. It was almost surreal that anyone was associating you and JJ together. “Nah, I’m laughing because your ignorant boyfriend got what he deserved.”

JJ looks at you in shock and you are shocked yourself. Never in a million years would you have said that to anyone but being in this situation with JJ unlocked some type of newfound confidence you didn’t know you had. For a moment, you regret saying anything but when you look to JJ and see the huge smile on his face, you instantly regret nothing.

Charlotte scoffs, rolling her eyes. “Well, I hope you have that same attitude when Rafe shows up and beats your ass.”

JJ furrows his brow, letting go of your hand and standing up to finally confront the touron. “The hell are you talking about?”

Charlotte smirks, knowing she’s hit a nerve. “Yeah. I told Rafe what you did to my boyfriend and now he’s on his way. Should be here any minute.”

Your shoulders drop and the smirk that was on your face only moments ago turns into a frown. You knew Rafe. Being a Kook, you and Rafe had some of the same friends and would see each other on occasion. Unfortunately, whenever you saw Rafe he was always fistfighting someone. Most of the time, it was JJ and as Kooks yelled out for Rafe to win, you had always secretly wanted JJ to win. Rafe had noticed on many occasions that you looked away from the fighting and had once had gotten angry at you for not cheering him on. To say he had left a bad taste in your mouth would be an understatement.

“Go to hell Charlotte.” JJ growls, cracking his knuckles as he looks over her shoulder. Charlotte continues to smile, confident that she has rattled JJ.

You stand up beside JJ, trying to hide the terror in your voice as you speak. “JJ, we should go.”

JJ looked to you for a moment, his face relaxed. “I’m sorry.”

You shrugged, closing your book before standing between JJ and the touron. Her chest is puffed out and although she looks confident, you can tell she’s nervous. “Have fun trying to catch us.”

As you say this, you hear the revving of motorcycles behind the touron and when you raise your gaze, you see Rafe, Topper, and Kelce on their bikes, speeding towards you. Seeing your brother, Topper, on the bike pedaling forward is kinda surreal. Not many people outside of your friend group know that you’re related, only because he’s so embarrassed to have a sibling as shy as you. Usually you don’t interact in public and you were sure if he saw you with JJ Maybank, he would drop the act.

As they come closer, JJ taps you on the shoulder and tells you to run but you ignore him and wait until they are close enough. When you decide they are, you raise the hand you have your book in and launch it towards Topper. He instantly tries to swerve and bumps into Rafe, who bumps into Kelce and soon, they are all on the ground. JJ lets out a gasp and you do the same. You never thought that plan would work but you and JJ don’t stick around long enough to see them try and get back up. Once their bikes hit the floor, you and JJ take off. You’re running beside him through the gates of the park and down the boardwalk. You and JJ run past the Wreck and you don’t stop running until JJ does. JJ, on the other hand, has no idea where to go because no matter where he does go, Rafe will find him. He glances at you as the both of you run and can’t help but feel sorry for looping you into this crazy mess.

You both finally stop once you get to the Cut. Both of you refuse to speak as you try to catch your breath. You take a seat on the floor, your head down, as you process everything that has happened so far. Moments later, JJ sits down beside you and is the first to speak after minutes of silence.

“I didn’t know a Kook had that in them.” JJ breathed out, a smile on his lips as he watched you.

You looked to him, still trying to catch your breath. “Did you really beat up her boyfriend?”

JJ smirks. “Yeah.”

You lean closer to him, scared to ask the next question. “Why?”

JJ chuckles at your bewilderment. “I made out with her at a party and she never told me she had a boyfriend. He confronts me the next day and calls me the ‘r’ word and I decked him.”

“And why did you need me?” You inquire, your feet throbbing from running.

JJ shrugged. “I thought she would be easy on me if she knew I had a girlfriend. Needed one and then I saw you, sitting there and reading.”

You shake your head in disbelief, a smile forming on your lips. “You’re really such a cliche.”

JJ frowns, a confused look written across his face. “What do you mean?”

You shrug. “I don’t know. A player who makes out with girls who have boyfriends and narrowly escaping death. Little cliche, don’t you think?”

JJ shakes his head, a smirk on his lips. “Nah. I’d say cigarette daydream.”

You throw your head back and laugh aloud. “What’s that?”

JJ frowns. “You don’t know that song?”

You nod. Of course you do. You were listening to it when you were reading. When your eyes looked up from your book and saw JJ, you were listening to that song. You found it ironic to hear JJ say it. “Yes, love that song.”

“Well,” JJ begins, grinning like a cheshire cat. “A cigarette daydream is someone who has been around but does so dream like.”

You giggle, rolling your eyes slightly. “You think very highly of yourself.”

JJ shrugs. “I have to when I’m beating up assholes.”

You shake your head in disbelief. “Anyone ever tell you violence isn’t the answer?”

JJ shrugs, looking to the sea. He thought of his dad and what little memories he had of his mom. “I guess.”

Your eyes follow his gaze and you look at the ocean with him. “You guess?”

JJ frowns, his mom’s smile flashes before him. “I think my mom read my this quote but after …  never.”

You didn’t need clarification. You knew what had happened to JJ’s mom; the entirety of OBX knew. “Well,” You paused, unsure of what to say. Right then, JJ wasn’t his usually fiery self. He was just a boy and felt way more comfortable talking to him. “What was the quote?”

JJ thought for a moment, wanting to say it right the first time so he wouldn’t seem dumb. “Angry people are not always wise.”

Your eyes widened. “Pride and Prejudice? Your mom read you Pride and Prejudice?”

JJ smirked, looking at you. “Yup. Told me this quote was important because so many people tried to be angry as a way to show how amazing they were but that was never true. I guess I let her down in that aspect.”

You shook your head quickly, placing a hand on JJ’s shoulder without even thinking. “No, JJ. She’d be proud.”

JJ sniffled for a moment, glancing back at the ocean before shaking his head. He tried to wake himself out the daze you had put him in since the two of you had met. His body felt limp. He initially thought it was because he was so tired from running but the more time he spent with you, the more he realized it was because you made him feel as if you two were the only people on the planet. “I totally forgot to ask you your name. If I’m gonna be fake dating you, I gotta know your name.”

His signature smirk reappeared on his lips but this time you were not as easily fooled. You softly smiled, taking your hand off his shoulder. “It’s Y/N.”

JJ’s brows pulled together, that name sounding familiar. “Have we met before? Feels like we have.”

You smile wider. You know he didn’t mean for it to sound like a compliment but it was. “Not really. We go to the same school.”

JJ nods, trying to remember if he had ever seen her in the halls. He wishes he could say he remembered but he didn’t. He was sure he would never forget her now. “Oh, sorry.”

You shrug, not offended at all. You believed you weren’t all that special when that was far from the truth. “It’s okay. I remember you though.”

JJ smiles, raising his brows. How could he not remember a girl like this? “And what do you remember?”

You roll your eyes at his crude innuendo. “Not that that. I remember the prank you pulled on Principal Morgan.”

JJ laughed loudly this time; the first genuine laugh he had shown you since you began this adventure. “Serves him right. Trying to police girls bodies like that.’”

You shrug. “I could never do something like that.”

JJ frowns, his bottom lip pouting. “But you did. You threw a book at Topper. Who would’ve thought of that?”

You giggle. “Well, I’ve always wanted to throw something at him. He’s my brother after all.”

JJ’s jaw dropped. “He’s your what?”

You giggle at his reaction, nodding. “Yup. Bet you didn’t know he had a sister.”

JJ shook his head. “Well, now I gotta buy you ice cream for committing to the part and making your brother crash his bike.”

You bite your lip from smiling so wide. How could this be happening? Nothing ever interesting ever happened to you and yet, here you were, with JJ Maybank about to get some ice cream. It was all overwhelming. You had dreamed about this happening for months and now that it was, you couldn’t contain your excitement. You had walked five minutes to the nearest parlor and ordered ice cream, making sure you paid. JJ had insisted but you told him to get it next time. It was such a bold thing for you to say and you had originally thought it as an innocent gesture but when you saw JJ’s cheeks heat up in surprise, you realized what you had done.

Trying to save yourself from the embarrassment, you quickly found somewhere to sit in the air conditioned parlor. JJ followed behind, a grin on his face and chocolate ice cream in his hand. You had chosen a booth thinking JJ would sit opposite of you but he didn’t. Instead, he sat right beside you, a small spoon between his teeth. He looked so good, sitting beside you with the dimming light from the window splashing across his face. You looked away, feeling overwhelmed.

“Am I squishing you?” He asked, eating another spoonful of ice cream.

You looked back at him, your cheeks on fire. “You can always move to the other side.”

JJ shook his head, watching you with a smile on his face. “Nah, I like where I am.”

You gulped, your ice cream untouched. “You can’t do that.”

JJ frowned, a glimmer of humour still in his eyes. “What do you mean?”

You sighed, your stomach churning. He made you so nervous, you couldn’t even eat ice cream. “You can’t flirt with me.” You scoop up a small piece of your ice cream and swallow it.

JJ shakes his head, the amusement still in his eyes. “I can’t help it.” His hand reaches for yours and you’re too slow to pull away. He lightly intertwines your fingers with his.

Your stomach lurches forward. You can’t do this. Love is always better in your head. Daydreaming about JJ felt so much different than having him actually interested in you. Love was too scary and daydreaming about your crush was always safer than falling in love. You wished you could go back to yesterday when he didn’t know you. You moved through the booth and stood up, looking to the door. You still didn’t want to be rude so you at least tried to say goodbye.

“I need to leave.” Your eyes move from the door to JJ’s face and you can tell he is trying to not act as hurt as he feels.

“If I’ve made you uncomfortable -”

“No,” You sigh, rubbing your temples. “It’s scary.”

JJ stands with you, his face neutral. “Y/N, I’m - shit.” You watch as JJ’s eyes move to the door behind you and you turn to look. You wonder if it’s Charlotte but then you hear laughter. It’s Kelce. You watch as he approaches an employee, probably asking for you. He doesn't see you yet and that’s only because the booth is blocking you and JJ. If he even takes one step forward, he will spot you and JJ.

JJ grabs you by the waist and pulls you past your table. Once you turn around, he lets go of your waist and grabs a hold of your hand, pulling you towards the back exit in the back of the parlor. You try to walk as fast as you can, knowing running will be too loud. JJ takes the lead this time, pushes the door open for you first. Unfortunately, you both never thought of where Rafe and Topper were. You both were so distracted by Kelce’s appearance, neither you or JJ thought that Rafe and Topper would be waiting at the backdoor for you. Once the door was open, Rafe held it open as Topper grabbed ahold of your arms and pinned them behind our back. You scream in surprise and in an effort to defend you, JJ lunges at Topper. Before he can, Rafe grabs a hold of him and hits him with a baseball bat. JJ’s body slams against the floor and you scream for him. Tears flood your face as you watch in astonishment at how cruel Rafe was being and how Topper was letting it happen.

“Rafe, you asshole!” You scream in horror as you watch Rafe kick JJ again in the abdomen.

Topper laughs at your screams, his cruelty at allowing this behaviour shocking you. Topper was always mean, but he wasn’t this far gone. At least, you didn’t think he was. “You want my sister dirty Pogue?”

JJ coughs, turning onto his back as he winces in pain. There’s a small smile on his face and you know he’s about to say something stupid. “If … she’ll have me.”

You want to smile at what he says but Rafe kicks him again and you feel the tears slide down your cheeks. “Please Rafe! Stop it! Stop!”

Your pleas fall on deaf ears as Rafe continues to kick and kick JJ until JJ is no longer smiling and instead trying to block Rafe’s foot. Your screams are hurting him more than any blow and he wishes, for a moment, that he didn’t enlist your help because now you have to watch him get his ass kicked. Finally, Rafe stops his assault on JJ and turns to you.

“Now everything makes sense. You never cheered for me because of him. You’ve got a little crush on this dirty Pogue.” He points his bat towards JJ.

You glare at Rafe, beyond angry at him. “You’re a psycho! Go to hell!”

Rafe rolls his eyes and steps over JJ to stand in front of you. “Not the shy girl we all know now.”

Topper lets go of you for a moment and you know he’s underestimated your anger. Before he can latch back onto you, you raise your arms forward and leap towards Rafe. You scratch at his face with your left hand and, before he can step back, punch him with your right hand. He stumbles back for a moment, disoriented, and this gives JJ enough time to stick his legs out to trip Rafe. Topper tries to hold you again but never gets the chance. JJ is up on his feet and pushes Topper off you, making him trip over his feet before he fell on the floor. You and JJ take this as a moment to run and you do, pushing yourself to run as fast as you could. Your body is already so sore from running today but you don’t let yourself slow down. Not until JJ does. He only slows down minutes later when the both of you are blocks away from Rafe or Topper.

“Holy shit.” You breathe out, placing your hands on your knees. You try to take even breaths in and out so that you don’t hyperventilate.

JJ stays quiet, only the sound of him breathing. His entire body is sore and he can already feel the bruises start to form from where Rafe kicked him. When he finally catches his breath, he straightens his back and looks at you. He wants to smile but he is too sore from everything. He wonders if he can call John B and ask him if he can crash at his place. He knows the answer will be yes but first, he has to deal with you. There’s something that Rafe was saying that caught his attention and now he needs to know.

“What did Rafe mean back there?”

You instantly know what he means and you tense. You straighten your back to meet his gaze, completely embarrassed but knowing you had to tell him the truth. “Whenever you and Rafe fought at parties, people would always cheer for him but I never did. He figured I had a crush on you.”

JJ nodded, his heart beat picking up at the thought of you liking him. He had only met you today but if he knew you liked him even a fraction as much as he liked you, he would tell you. “And do you?”

You blink, hesitating. You don’t want to admit what JJ knows to be true. You’re mortified at the thought of JJ knowing how obsessed you’ve been about him. “I - well,” You gulp, not exactly knowing how to tell him he’s the only person you have been thinking about for the past six months.

JJ steps closer to you and you instinctively step back. You’re so scared. He notices this and stops himself from stepping forward again. “Oh, nevermind.” He clasps his hands together, embarrassed he even asked.

You want to scream for him but you can’t find the words. This entire situation is too new to you and instead, you stay quiet as you watch JJ think you don’t like him. You feel terrible, especially knowing that you do like him but you hate feeling vulnerable. You look to the sky and watch as it turns into a deep orange. When you look back at JJ, it looks as though he has recovered.

“Well, it’s good you don’t because I don’t need your help anymore. Here,” He fishes through his pocket and hands you five 10 dollar bills. “You can go.”

You don’t know what to say. Instead, you hold back tears as you turn around and start to walk. You don’t know where you’re going or what you plan on doing when you get there but you can’t be here. Every time you look at JJ, you feel as though your heart will break. For a moment, you think it has.

~

You don’t know how but you found yourself back at the park. As you sat down on the same park bench, a wave of deja vu hit you like a ton of bricks. You used to come here almost everyday and it was a spot where you could relax. Where your mind didn’t wander to thoughts of JJ but now, your mind was consumed by him. It was a curse. You had spent six months fawning over him like a lost puppy and now that you knew him, and he seemed as interested in you as you were to him, you grew too scared. You wanted to slap yourself. Why were you so shy?

You heard a small rustle of leaves behind you. Still spooked from everything that had happened, you turn around as quickly as you can. When you meet the gaze of the person behind you, you calm down. It’s Charlotte. She seems to be slightly annoyed by how jumpy you are but then again, she’s a touron and doesn’t know what has happened to you today.

“What do you want?” You ask, your voice riddled with annoyance. She had started this entire mess and if it wasn’t for her blabbing to Rafe, JJ would have never been hurt.

She said nothing as she moved around the bench you sat at and stood in front of you. When she was finally in front of you, she spoke. “Can I sit?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know, are you gonna tattle to Rafe?”

Charlotte rolled her eyes and, taking your response as a yes, sat down beside you. “You’re not dating JJ.”

You look at her, not bothering to defend yourself. In truth, the act had been dropped a long time ago. You were never acting with JJ. “No. How did you know?”

Charlotte smirked. “You looked like you were gonna vomit from nerves when he was holding your hand.”

You rolled your eyes, a small smile written across your lips. “That obvious, huh?”

Charlotte nodded. “Yup. But I know you like him.”

Your stomach drops. How obvious were you really? If she could tell all of that from your facial expressions, you needed to work on hiding your emotions. “Everyone likes JJ.” You try to deny the accusation by not confirming it but it’s already clear to Charlotte.

Charlotte raises her brows. “I mean, you like, like him. I know you do.”

You shrug. “Whatever.” You waited for the teasing to come but it never did. “Why do you even care? Why be this nice when hours ago, you were more than fine with letting Rafe beat up JJ?”

Charlotte frowned. “I was fucking embarrassed. My boyfriend broke up with me and I wanted to blame JJ. Why do you think Rafe and his goons aren’t chasing you right now? I told them to lay off.”

You roll your eyes. “Wow,” you say sarcastically. “Thanks.”

Charlotte shrugs. “You don’t have to like me, but I’m trying to fix my mistake.”

You look away from her for a moment, trying to calm yourself. You wanted to be mad at her but the shy girl in you that hates confrontation wanted to drop it. “Why are you here?”

You can hear the smirk in Charlotte’s voice before you even have the chance to look back at her. “I know he likes you too.”

You raise your brows, shocked she was this observant. When you look back at her, you speak. “How do you know?”

Charlotte shrugged. “The way he looked at you.”

Your eyebrows pull together in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

Charlotte finally looked to you, her face soft for the first time. “When  you threw that book at Topper, most people would have thought that to be reckless but JJ looked like he absolutely adored you then and there.”

You smile at her, your opinion about her slowly starting to change. “I’m scared. I’ve never… you know…”

Charlotte nodded, catching on quickly. “Love is scary but love brings people joy and happiness. Everything that is hard, is worth it.”

You feel your eyes tear up. You know she is right and you know what to do. “I have to go.”

Charlotte smiles, watching as you get up from your seat on the bench. Go get ‘em, tiger.”

As you ran through the bushes and grassy hills of the park towards the Wreck, JJ was already there; watching as Kie cleaned up after the last of the customers for the day. He had never felt like this. Truly, he wondered what you had done to him because his mind couldn’t stop itself from thinking of you. As he watched Kie scrub the grill, clearly in desperate need of help, he just sat and watched, too upset over what had happened through the course of the day.

At first, he had thought making you tag along was a bad idea since you never asked for it but the more time he spent with you, the more he was grateful he had someone like you to talk to. He liked you for so many reasons and one of them was that you saw him for more than he was. JJ had so much potential but not many people were willing to give him that chance. You let him speak and you never made him feel ashamed for doing so. And now, just his luck, when he started to think you liked him, you did not. He wished things were different, but he knew he couldn’t force you to like him. Especially since you were a Kook.

Finally, Kie slammed the brush against the grill, exasperated. “Hey, J! Be a pal and scrap this crap off.”

JJ looked up from the ground, his eyes glossy. “Yeah. Sure.”

Kie watched in confusion as JJ dragged his feet towards her, looking very glum. She wanted to ask what was wrong but before she could, the front door to the Wreck opened and you stormed in. Of course, Kie didn’t recognize you and since JJ’s back was turned to the door, he didn’t turn around. Kie, thinking it was another customer, spoke politely. “Sorry, we’re closed.”

“I need to speak to JJ.” You say, watching as JJ’s back stiffens.

The second he hears your voice, his ears perk up. You wonder if he has the same effect on you and you know the truth. When he turns around, as slow as ever, there’s a small smirk on his face. He doesn’t fool you anymore and you know you have hurt him but you remind yourself not to dwell on it, You’re here now and you hope you can repair your relationship with him.

“Let’s talk outside.” JJ instructs, walking past you and trying his best to slow his racing heart. He had no idea why you were here and what you wanted from him but he tried to stay calm. If you were just here to hurt him more, he would be sure to stay strong.

When you closed the door after JJ, the both of you said nothing. You had only thought so far ahead and now, you were struggling to find the words to tell JJ how you felt. Thankfully, he filled the silence by rambling.

“I’m not sorry for dragging you along. I had an amazing time with you and regret nothing. And if you’re here to rub it in my face that a player like me falls for the first girl he -”

“JJ!” You raise your voice, watching as the boy is startled by your yelling. “I’ve never had a boyfriend. I don’t know what this is like. I’ve never had to put myself out there. It was always hanging out with my friends or reading and I was fine with that because I couldn’t get hurt. But I also found my life incredibly boring because there wasn’t much love in it. I’m here though and I’m being vulnerable so please don’t let me down.”

JJ says nothing for a moment, blinking away tears. “I won’t. But you have to tell me what you want.”

You take a deep breath. “What do I want right now?” You ask, watching as JJ nodded his head. You say the first thing that comes to mind. “I want you to kiss me.”

JJ smiles, stepping forward. This time, you don’t step away. You let yourself be with JJ in this moment. “I think that can be arranged.”

When your lips capture his, it’s magic and neither of you are too fast because you know there will be more times like this from now on.

~

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[the-hidden-writer]

An Odd Family Tree

A series of snippets from the lives of the FitzSimmons family, set post 7x13. Also, the series of events that lead up to the birth of their grandson.

Available to read on AO3 and FF.net.

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Epilogue (2)  [FINAL]

Cows. He’s back in the ‘right’ timeline and the first things he sees are cows.

He never liked cows. Sheep he could deal with. Dogs? He loved them! Sheepdogs? He’d never actually seen one before, but according to common sense he should love them, right?

But no, he had to land in a huge sloped field full of those big burly beasts. At least they sort of resembled sheep with their long brown fur that seemed to cover their eyes. Someone really needed to give those cows a haircut.

It took him almost a whole hour to orientate himself with his surroundings. Since the transportation device he’d just used had never actually been tested before, there were a few unpleasant side effects.

The main side effect that Deke came across was that he’d lost most of the feeling in his limbs. It was only towards the end of that hour did he remember that he was a robot. Huh.

After finally gathering up the courage to move and checking his pockets for the generous amount of money he’d brought with him, he stumbled his way down the hill to the quaint little farmhouse at the bottom. It didn’t take much effort to convince the friendly farmer that he was just an airheaded traveler who’d lost his way. He even managed to persuade her to give him a ride into the nearest city. Which, as it turned out to be, was Inverness. As in, Scotland.

Honestly, the accent should have given it away.

She was kind enough to just drop him off on the outskirts of the city. As much as he wanted to visit Loch Ness, he had a much more important place to visit.

He was too self-conscious to ask anyone what year it was. In his timeline (not technically his, but the one where he’d ended up living most of his life) he wouldn’t think twice about asking a random stranger even the stupidest of questions. But he didn’t belong here, he technically really shouldn’t be here is what Enoch had said, and so he had to try and avoid bringing too much attention to himself at all costs.

That, and the fact that he wanted to make a good first impression.

But that left him with the problem of not knowing what year it was. Honestly, they should at least display the online newspapers in store windows! The device had been programmed to take him to whenever and wherever the majority of his DNA was concentrated into a small area so that he’d hopefully get to see his grandparents together. He’d hate to arrive and there to be only one of them, or worse, none at all.

And since he’d made it to Scotland, he had a glimmer of hope that it had worked and that they were both still alive.

Asking around a little (he’d given up on trying not to), nobody seemed to recognize the names Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons. But more than one person asked him if he meant Alya Fitz-Simmons who was apparently a very famous person within the city. That most certainly caught his attention. And after another painful two hours of asking random people, one elderly woman eventually gave him an address as well as a message to pass on (“Tell them that Elaine says hello.”)

He hailed the closest taxi he could find and practically screamed the address into the poor driver’s ear. The journey felt like it dragged on for hours. And still, somehow, it was over too quickly. The driver pulled into an estate that seemed to be a village of its own. Deke paid him and asked if he could stop a little further away and just show him which of the houses he needed to head to.

Once his feet touched the dusty old road, Deke felt like his metal knees would just collapse from under him. It was a straight path from where he stood to his destination.

It was the most homely, picturesque cottage he’d ever seen. There was a small wooden gate that led to the ivy-covered stone building, and there was a relatively wide area surrounding it that was protected by tall bushes. The section of the garden he could see through the arched entrance was filled with various species of vibrant flowers and bonsai trees. Next to the house, peeking over the top of the bushes, was a strong Acer tree that stood proud against the sky.

It was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen, and he hadn’t expected anything less.

He dragged his feet closer. One foot in front of the other. He was glad he didn’t need to breathe because there was no way he would have been able to at that moment.

It was only a few feet away. He suddenly broke into a run, half-prepared to break down their door but then his ears caught-

“Bobo! Nana, Bobo, look at me!”

He screeched to a halt. Though he knew it should be impossible, his heart still felt like it had been ripped out of his chest. It still felt like blood was pounding in his ears. It felt like his vision was blurred and his head was spinning.

It couldn’t be-

“You’re doing great, sweetie!”

That was his Nana’s voice. Jemma Simmons. Nana!

He quickly retreated to behind the bushes and resorted to pulling apart some of the sharp twigs (he needed to get used to the fact that it didn’t hurt) in order to peek into the front garden.

There… there was his Nana. His Nana looked like how he vaguely first remembered her- her hair grey and neatly tied in a bun with a pair of glasses hanging around her neck by a chain. She was sitting on a tartan armchair with her hand help up as if shielding her eyes from something. Next to her was-

“Get down from there! You’ll fall off and break your leg and I’m not gonna make that trip to the hospital.”

Bobo. Fitz. His usual, grumpy self with his itchy sweater and long beard. Deke felt a memory be unlocked when he caught sight of the walking stick beside his Bobo’s chair. Fitz had his phone in his hand but was glaring a little boy that was wobbling dangerously on a branch of that magnificent Acer tree.

In a flash, someone jumped up to catch him before he could fall.

“That’s enough of that for one day, little dude.”

Dad! His Dad, in all of his blonde glory. He looked a lot happier and healthier than what Deke remembered.

And if Dad was there, then…

“Play on the ground now Deke, okay?”

Deke felt himself choke up.

Mom.

She looked exactly like he remembered her, but there was one major difference. She was laughing. She was laughing and smiling and she was happy.

It was the first time he’d ever seen his mother truly happy.

“Okay.” Said the boy, and only then did it hit him what his Mom had just said.

She’d called the boy Deke.

Despite his family being right there, Deke felt his eyes wandering towards the boy that had begun to chase a white butterfly that was flying around the garden.

Untamable brown hair. A scarily familiar spindly frame. Mischief shining on his baby face, as well as complete and utter adoration of the adults around him that was matched tenfold by said adults.

Doubt began to creep into his mind so intensely that he almost missed it when the boy, himself, turned in his direction.

Only then did Deke realize that he’d been shaking that entire time.

Green eyes met green eyes. One pair was full of trauma and survivor’s guilt, and the other of pure childhood innocence and curiosity.

Deke had never exactly seen a picture of himself when he was younger and had no idea what he would look like, but he was pretty sure that he never had the chance to have that sort of perfect childhood. He’d seen too much. The envelope containing many USB sticks filled with voice messages and pictures suddenly felt extremely heavy in his pocket.

That’s when he made the decision.

The second he noticed the tiny version of himself open his mouth, he turned and ran, not caring that the bushes noticeably rustled behind him, scaring a bird.

A robin. How fitting.

As the voices that he’d yearned to hear for years became distant, Deke finally stopped running.

There was no way he could show himself to that family. They were all happy together in the way that it was supposed to happen... Yes, he was jealous of himself, who wouldn’t be?

The last time he saw his Mom alive was the seconds before she was killed in front of him. The last time he saw his Dad was when he was being dragged, kicking and screaming, to his death sentence while Deke shrieked at him that he should’ve just listened and given up hope.

And his grandparents… he didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye either time.

The people he had just seen in the garden were Alya Fitz-Simmons, Owen Shaw, Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons joyfully playing with Deke Shaw. They belonged to that version of him, not himself.

People regularly called him selfish, so is it still selfishness if you’re doing something for the benefit of an alternate version of yourself?

Little Deke Shaw should live a normal existence. The life that Deke had often found himself begging for. A life without a weird future-past-adult version of himself intruding.

...He might go visit Loch Ness after all.

Pulling out that damned white envelope, Deke smiled through his pain.

He pulled out a pen from his backpack and scribbled on it.

“Elaine says hi.”

Before he went on a Loch Ness Monster hunt... he had a delivery to make.

[THE_END_]

[howsermax]

Thoughts on Pet Sematary (2019)

So I saw Pet Sematary in theaters a few days back, and I’ve gotta say, I was deeply, deeply disappointed. While I love the 1989 film about as much as I love the book, with the screenplay for the film being one of the only good screenplays written by King himself, it was admittedly in dire need of an upgrade. From Louis Creed’s hilarious line delivery, to the obvious switching to a Chucky-style doll during certain scenes with Gage, to the cinematography, the problems with the 1989 version of the flick were only in execution. The story could have been kept entirely the same (with a more ambiguous, book accurate ending), and it could have been an amazing remake. But instead, we got a very disappointing film.

First, I’ll go over what I liked. The cinematography, while gray, was still pretty creative at times in terms of camera movement. All the actors do a pretty good job for the most part, however, Ellie only does a good job after she dies. The practical effects were all pretty amazing, even though Ellie could have used a little more rot. The score is also pretty memorable and interesting. Surprisingly, the movie makes a few changes to the source material I actually really welcome. For example, the Zelda storyline is changed up in a way where it makes more sense why Rachel’s feeling of disgust towards Zelda added to her guilt by making Zelda’s death directly involve Rachel’s reluctance to interact with her. The Zelda flashbacks also have very creative transitions. However, those are all the praises I can really sing for this movie.

The writing is the most noticeable flaw with this movie. The characters never once talk like real people, they simplify story concepts way too often (for example, Rachel’s feelings of guilt in the first place are barely explored), and the movie brings up it’s themes of coping with death and loss in the most amazingly ham-fisted and basic ways possible. After Ellie asks about what will happen when Church dies, Rachel and Louis share a conversation IN PRIVATE about whether or not they believe in the afterlife. The movie quite literally decides it’s going to directly tell the audience that the character who is a surgeon doesn’t believe in the afterlife. Keep in mind, this isn’t really written into any other aspects of his character. I really don’t think these writers passed Screenwriting 101.

But on the other hand, the movie also has a recurring tendency to forget to write about the themes of the story altogether. For example, Pascow is criminally underused in this movie. You may remember in the original movie, Pascow was extremely important, as he spent his screen time trying to stop Louis from trying to cross the barrier between life and death, so Louis can learn to accept death. However, Remake Pascow is the most vague, boring, cookie-cutter horror movie ghost you can imagine, complete with never explaining what he means, and not influencing the events around him. Pascow also doesn’t appear at all during the ending. The writers genuinely don’t understand the importance he serves to the themes of the story. But his underuse is the least of this movie’s problems.

Now, I don’t have a problem with just the concept of changing things from book/old movie to movie. It’s necessary at times, and this remake has some welcome changes up it’s sleeve. However, this movie is almost entirely full of unnecessary changes that make the movie worse in one way or another. The first one I want to talk about is the decision to have Ellie be killed on the road rather than Gage. This is something that was explicitly revealed in the trailer to anyone who remembers the original story, and what’s worse? They extensively spoke about this major plot point in the film industry press surrounding the movie before release. I get that the trailer thing is a topic for a separate nerd tirade, but I can’t describe how stupid it was of these producers to talk about such a big change pre-release. Even though it’s a remake, it’s kind of alienating to movie-goers who don’t know the classic Pet Sematary story somehow. The filmmakers extensively spoke about how they made the change so that the resurrected child could be bigger and more threatening, though I think they were too weak to give us the true depressing movie we came here to watch. Because I guess movie audiences are somehow more emotional than they were 30 years ago? Comparing this attitude to how they actually put the scene together, it looks more like they were trying to pull an ol’ switcharoo on the people who know the story. Which begs the question: WHY ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT IT IN PLACES WHERE POTENTIAL MOVIE VIEWERS CAN SEE IT??

Another huge issue I have with this movie is how fucking seriously it takes itself. The original had a very light sheen of comedy to it, think something similar to An American Werewolf in London. This is extremely prevalent in the scenes involving Pascow, where he casually stands around the afterlife, contrasting against everything and everyone as a walking corpse that nobody can see. The remake genuinely lacks all intentional comedy, which makes it really really hard to actually remember the experience, or care about it. It also ends up making certain parts of the movie unintentionally funny. For example, during the scene where Louis does his internet research on the Pet Sematary, he finds a fucking newspaper clipping about a literal fucking bison being implied to have been buried in and resurrected by the Pet Sematary. I subsequently chuckled out loud in the theater, as my mind was crossed with the mental image of a grieving child lugging an entire bison to the Pet Sematary, and struggling to find a place to bury it in the already cramped cemetery.

The editing and scene pacing is legitimately the most stereotypical modern horror film schlock ever put to screen. Firstly, jumpscares are all over this film, and it’s not a look. From the Orinco trucks, to Zelda in the dumbwaiter, to Church, everything in the film is given a loud THUD effect to accompany it, and I was supplied with many Silent Hill: Revelation 3D pop-tart jumpscare flashbacks through it’s run-time. The placement of the THUDs at times felt like watching one of my Spooky Guys episodes. Again, back to Pascow being utterly useless in the story, he instead spends this film being relegated to “look at me, I’m vague and say 3 spooky sentences I repeat over and over and I’m in a modern horror film and that’s my whole character I’m scary I say stuff about ghosts and death”.

Now here’s the big one. The ending. The ending is genuinely the worst thing about the entire film. Here’s a basic summary from what I remember. So Louis buries his dead daughter and waits for her to come back as his family tries to contact him, while Gage is troubled by visions of Pascow (who does nothing of note through the whole story). Ellie comes back and catches on to the fact that she died, but Louis denies that and gives her a bath. Jud goes over and suspects that Louis has brought Ellie back from the grave, and Ellie gets mad about it and kills Jud. Rachel and Gage arrive back at the house after Louis stops returning their calls, and Rachel is greeted by an undead Ellie. Ellie thinks that Rachel doesn’t want her around anymore, and tries to kill her, Gage, and Louis. Rachel manages to allow Gage and Louis to escape, but she’s impaled and buried by Ellie. Louis puts Gage in the car and tells him to not open the door for anyone, not even Ellie. Louis faces off with Ellie in the Pet Sematary, before being killed by the now resurrected Rachel. Rachel and Ellie resurrect Louis, and for some reason unlike Ellie, Louis and Rachel are big dumb traditional zombies. At daybreak, they approach the car with a can of gasoline, having burned down Jud’s house. However, instead, they decide to unlock the car for Gage. I have a lot to say about this.

First off, this ending is fucking weak compared to the original ending. In the original film, the process of Louis killing Gage with the lethal injection is so indescribably heart-breaking. It’s actually a high point for the actor’s performance, and he definitely sells the sheer emotion of the scene. The remake’s ending definitely suffers from how frequently it fails to actually capture the emotion of the original story and film. With that, let’s just say, this movie is the prime example of why horror movies with dead protagonists fail so often. If you aren’t both careful and skilled, killing your protagonist can result in your protagonist’s character arc not being fulfilled or completed. The original Pet Sematary story has a very strong and compelling character arc for Louis. In the final scenes of the original film, after Louis has begrudgingly put down Church and Gage, and has burned Jud’s house down, he carries Rachel’s corpse with him. Pascow tries to get him to no longer try and cross the barrier between life and death, and that he needs to let go of those he loves. He needs to learn to cope with death, and understand that dead is better. Louis, however, doesn’t listen, and finds a reason to think it’ll be different this time: because she just died. Pascow realizes that Louis has failed to learn his lesson, and shouts an admittely hilarious “NOOOOOOO” as he fades away. Louis waits in his home after burying Rachel, and as she walks in, now decayed and deformed, Louis makes out with the walking corpse, before being killed by her. What works here is Louis has completed his character arc. Granted the character arc consists of failing to learn his lesson, but it’s a powerful arc no less. It drives home how much the movie is truly about being as grateful for death as we are for life, and how a life spent yearning for those who’ve passed to return is a life spent suffering. While the more ambiguous book ending is more favorable, the 1989 film version still drives home this theme extremely well.

Overall, very bad movie. Don’t waste your money on this. Save your money for Endgame, that looks good. Or if you’re a King fan, wait for It: Part 2. Just... please no more ‘80s jokes guys, it isn’t funny anymore.

[whispersafterdusk]

In Your Hands - ch 5

The main foyer of the fort was quiet despite the number of people standing in a circle along its walls, Dexion Evicus in their center and with Serana's Scroll in hand.

"Now, if everyone will please be quiet, I must concentrate," the priest said, finally breaking the silence.  Slowly - almost reverently - he pulled the Scroll open and stared into (or through) it.

"I see...a vision before me, an image of a great bow.  I know this weapon!  It is Auriel's Bow!  Now a voice whispers, saying "Among the night's children, a dread lord will rise."  In an age of strife, when dragons return to the realm of men-"

At the mention of dragons Serana glanced to Ralsten; he barely caught the movement out of the corner of his eye. ((Continued under cut))

"-darkness will mingle with light and the night and day will be as one," Dexion went on.  "The voice fades and the words begin to shimmer and distort.  But wait, there is more here.  The secret of the bow's power is written elsewhere.  I think there is more to the prophecy, recorded in other scrolls.  Yes...yes, I see them now... One contains the ancient secrets of the dragons, and the other speaks of the potency of ancient blood."

Dexion let out a long breath.  "My vision darkens and I see no more. To know the complete prophecy, we must have the other two scrolls."   Just as carefully as he'd opened it he allowed the Scroll to retract back into its case, turning to look first to Ralsten, and then Isran.

"Come on, old man.  You should get some rest," Isran said.  Dexion nodded and walked away, following Isran to the side room with the cots; the other gathered Dawnguard members slowly dispersed as well, leaving Serana and Ralsten standing alone in the foyer.

"Two more scrolls..." Ralsten muttered.

There was a touch at his arm - he looked down to Serana, who in turn nodded her head toward the door leading out of the fort.  The elf followed her outside and some distance down the hill before she turned to him.

"I have an idea on where to begin our search for the two other Scrolls."

"Why didn't you say something inside?  Why come out here?"

"I didn't want to risk anyone overhearing and either trying to stop us, or...trying to stop me, mostly."

Ralsten blinked at her in surprise.  "I wouldn't let them harm you."

"You can't stop an entire fortress of men and women if they decide they want me dead after all.  We've read my Scroll...they probably think my usefulness is nearing its end.  Anyway," she sighed.  "For one of them, at least...I think we need to find my mother, Valerica.  She'll definitely know where the one for blood is, and if we're lucky she might even have it herself."

"You said you don't know where she's gone, though."  Ralsten glanced up toward the fort briefly but saw no one outside.

"The last time I saw her she said she'd go somewhere safe...somewhere that my father would never search.  Other than that she wouldn't tell me anything.  But the way she said it... 'someplace he would never search.'  It was cryptic, but she called attention to it."

Ralsten rubbed a hand down his face, scratching at his beard as he thought (he needed a trim, but there wasn't time to care).  "Somewhere he'd never search...or maybe, never find.  Could she have sealed herself away like you?"

Serana shook her head.  "I don't think so.  She said she wanted to stay awake in case the situation fixed itself.  It had to be one of us, and...well, she's so much more powerful than I am.  It just made sense for her to be out here."

"Fair.  I may need some time to think on that -- and so will you, probably.  You HAVE been gone awhile."

She smiled at that.

"What of the other one?  The one about dragons?" he went on.

"I..." she hesitated, looking somewhat sheepish.  "I wish we'd known before, when we were already in Winterhold, but I think we should try asking there at the College.  That's where Dexion was headed in the first place -- why else would he be going?"

"Another good point.  We'll make Winterhold and the Scroll about the dragons our first...I guess we can call it an attempt, since there's no guarantee we'll learn or find anything and we have no idea where to start looking for your mother.  But before we go there again, I need to stop in Solitude."

"...why?"

Ralsten gestured at his armor.  "I'm not going out into the world, knowing there's a clan of vampires out to stop us, without my heaviest armor.  And I broke one of the armguards before -- well, that part doesn't matter.  What DOES matter is I need my armor repaired and the only one I trust to do that is the man who forged it in the first place, and he works his forge in Solitude."  He paused, lightly biting his lower lip, before fixing her with a look.  "It is also where I live, and I wish to stop at home to resupply.  ...I think the degree of trust I'm offering you is fairly obvious."

Serana nodded slowly.  "No, I understand.  And I'm...grateful, that you're comfortable enough to extend that trust to me."

Ralsten returned the nod then turned to trudge up the hill toward the fort.  After a few steps he finally heard Serana's footsteps crunching along behind him.

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

"Solitude is beautiful - moreso than I expected."

"It's an old, pretty place," Ralsten replied as they both hopped out of the back of the carriage to begin the walk up the hill to the main gates.

"And you live here?"

"I do.  On the far end of the city from these gates, of course.  But the smith is along the way and, assuming he's not swamped, he ought to have the repair work done by tomorrow morning."

Ralsten felt slightly foolish as they approached the guards at the gate; he was wearing his steel plate - everything but the helm and the armguards, both of which were stuffed into his bag (and taking up the remaining space inside it) - and he couldn't help but feel stupid walking around in such heavy armor but with his hands and head bare.  

It at least meant the guards recognized him on sight and waved him in with a greeting, neither of them bothering to give Serana more than a cursory glance.  Once inside Solitude Ralsten felt himself relax a bit: this was home, and home meant peace and safety.

He led her through the familiar streets and up a ramp where the sound of a hammer striking an anvil could be heard; a bald man in brown clothing and wearing a heavy smith's apron was hunched over the sword blank he was hammering into shape, and did not look up as they approached - it was likely he didn't hear them over the hammering and Ralsten didn't want to startle the man so he waited until the other lifted the sword to check an edge, then cleared his throat.

The man turned around, spotted him, and his eyebrows raised in surprise.  "Well, look who it is.  It's good to see a crypt hasn't collapsed in on you yet."

Ralsten chuckled; the smith put the sword back into the flames of the forge and extended a hand to him.  Ralsten clapped a hand to his, then glanced to Serana behind him.

"This is Beirand, one of the finest smiths in Skyrim.  And hopefully, a smith free enough to fix a piece of his work."

Beirand looked him up and down.  "Don't tell me you lost TWO pieces."

"No, no, only the guards.  Here-" Ralsten reached into his pack and pulled them out, offering them to the Nord.

Beirand took them and turned them over in his hands.  "Just a broken strap, eh?  I could have that fixed by evening.  Looks like the leather snapped and the rivets came free - simple enough to repair."

"Take your time, I'm not leaving until the morning."  

The elf dug his coin purse out and hefted it, but Beirand waved him away.  "Payment when its done."

"Fair."  He stuffed the purse away and nodded to the smith.  "I will see you in the morning."

"Aye," came Beirand's muttered reply as he turned back to the sword in the forge, dropping Ralsten's guards to the ground at his feet.

They returned to the streets and were walking in the direction of the Blue Palace; here and there people called out to Ralsten, greeting him or teasing him - many times there were shouted comments about how he was in one piece this time, to his apparent embarrassment.

"-it's starting to sound like you're only known because you tend to come home injured," Serana commented after the fifth time someone made the joke.

Ralsten chuckled, then cleared his throat.  "Well that's not the ONLY reason I'm known here.  See that shop?"  He gestured to a stone building tucked against the wall of a stone archway they were approaching -- there was a small open area in front of the building with a well, and beyond the well tucked against the wall of the building opposite the one he'd indicated was a cluster of market stalls.  The stone building he was pointing at looked newer than the ones around it, and the sign that hung above its door was adorned with a round, banded shield and a hammer and sextant laid over it.

"That's mine.  My grandfather started it - just a simple stall like the ones you see there, but he grew the business, and my father grew the business, and now it's fallen to me."

She gave him a quizzical look.  "So you ARE a merchant.  Why go crawling through caves and crypts?"

"As I said before - later."

Her look tinged with frustration and she followed him in silence under the stone archway.  They traveled passed a few stone residences until he took a sudden left into a narrow alley between two of them, emerging onto a wider street that led directly up to the Blue Palace itself; Serana's steps slowed as she took in the sight of a multi-story home next to a towering building with a tower at its top.

"These houses are huge -- what's that?"

"That is the Bard's College, and the house next to it is mine."

The look she shot him was one of amazement; he fished a ring of keys from his pack and stepped up to a door set at street level, unlocked it, then held the door open for Serana to step inside ahead of him.

She went ahead of him down the short hallway, and stopped in the first room near the fire pit in the floor.  "This is...this is amazing. And its yours?"

"Aye.  A combination of adventuring, a willingness to help those in need and protect my city, and shrewd business deals got me here," Ralsten chuckled.  He looked a little embarrassed as he carefully moved around her and hurried into the room beyond that one to where a pair of wooden mannequins were arranged on sturdy iron stands; the elf dropped his pack to the floor at their feet then set about taking his armor off and hanging it on the nearest mannequin, leaving himself in just his padded cloth shirt and pants as well as his boots.  Serana hadn't moved from near the fire pit, and he stepped around her again to duck into a room to her right.

Inside it along the walls to the right, the rear, and along the one the door was set into were barrels, crates, and a few storage chests.   The far corner of the room had bedroom furniture arranged there; Serana trailed in behind him as Ralsten went to one of the smaller chests atop a pile of crates and opened it - there was the gentle tinkling of glass on glass, and Serana peered over his shoulder in at the bottles arranged inside the chest, some empty and some not.  The elf sorted through the ones filled with...something... and began setting them out on the top of a nearby barrel.

"A vampire hunter.  An adventurer.  A merchant.  And a...dragonborn?  If I heard correctly?"

He grunted in response and didn't elaborate, and she tugged on his arm until he turned toward her.

"Who exactly are you?"

He paused, closing the chest and resting an elbow across it.   "Ralsten Hawkeye.  I don't use my family name all that often - not that you'd recognize the name anyway. Really, no one knew of my family until my grandfather... I think.  I know nothing of my family history further back than him."

She stared at him a moment then moved back out into the fire pit room, circling around it to look through the various things on the shelves -- bottles, alchemical ingredients, scribbled notes and books with recipes, corks and the wax needed to seal the bottles closed, and with an alchemy table pushed into the corner.

"How do you not know your history?" came her voice from the other room.

Ralsten came out of the little storage room, a cluster of bottles held between his arm and chest.  He shook his head and put a finger to his lips to indicate silence; she opened her mouth to say something but stopped when there was the sound of pounding feet on the floor (ceiling?) above them.

"Papa!  I knew I heard the door!"

A young girl -a thin, brown haired Imperial child in a green smock - came rushing around the corner to throw herself at Ralsten's waist in a hug.

"Oof - there's my girl."  He patted her head with his free hand and tried not to let on that her head had hit him in that spot where an enthralled Dexion had struck him with the dagger, where he knew a purpled bruise stretched from the middle of his ribcage down toward his stomach.  "You're growing like a sapling."

"Are you staying home this time?"

"Unfortunately not, little one," Ralsten said, smiling down at the girl as she turned a disappointed look to him.  "I've business to take care of and will be leaving in the morning."

"Aw..."  The girl's attention moved from her father to Serana.  "Who's that?"

"This is Serana - she is traveling with me for the time being.  Serana, this is my daughter Lucia."

"Hello..." Serana said, managing a smile and then looking at Ralsten in confusion when Lucia turned her attention back to the elf.

"When are you going to stay home?"

"Soon, soon...  Have you finished your chores and letters for the day?"

"Uh huh.  Lydia showed me how to hold a shield today!"

"Did she now?  That's good.  You should learn how to protect yourself -- even a bard needs to know how to fight."

With a smile he inched his way over to where he'd left his pack near the mannequins; he pulled his coin purse free and handed the entire thing to the girl.  "Here - go get something fresh for dinner."

"Ok!" Lucia darted up the stairs, then there was the sound of a door opening and slamming shut.

"...you have a daughter."

Ralsten looked from the stairs to Serana, nodding.  "I do."

"Adopted, I'm guessing.  She looks nothing like you."

"Doesn't mean I care any less," he said.  He squatted and rested his pack on the floor, then began to store the bottles inside it.  "Go ahead and make yourself at home.  I'll be a bit getting together everything I plan to carry with us."

He began to move between the store room, the shelves of the little alchemy space, the shelves in the room with the mannequins that held enchanting supplies (with an arcane enchanter taking up most of a corner).  Serana didn't stray far but made sure to stay out of his way; any questions she had were met with "Later" until she stopped asking, then she'd followed him up the stairs into the house proper and entertained herself with admiring the home while he still picked through the contents of cabinets and wardrobes.

Lucia came home soon after, accompanied by a stone faced Nord woman that Ralsten greeted warmly, introducing her as the aforementioned Lydia.  They ate dinner together, Serana politely declining with the excuse that she'd eaten recently, and Lucia spent most of the time talking, filling her father in on everything she'd done over the last month or so that he'd been absent.

It grew late; Lucia was sent off to bed and Lydia retired to her room in the lower level soon after, leaving Ralsten and Serana sitting together in the kitchen.

"I envy you, you know.  You and your daughter."

Ralsten stared at her from over the edge of his cup, swallowing before replying.  "Why is that?"

She gestured to the place around them.  "A home that's actually a home, and not some crumbling, dusty castle.  People here who know you and seem to care.  A daughter who has a parent who cares..."

"Were you ever close with them?  Your parents, I mean."

For a moment she was silent.  "My father...no, not really.  I did spend a lot of time with my mother, but she saw me more like a protege than a daughter.  And now...you already know about my father's obsession, and my mother's not a whole lot better...but if we find her you'll see that soon enough."

Ralsten leaned back in his chair, feeling the warmth of the fire on his back.  "So you and your father were never close, but you and your mother got along...for a time, I guess."

Serana nodded, sighing.  "It was very sudden.  It was almost like one day we were a normal family, then the next I didn't know who they were.  I'd try to visit my mother in her garden and she'd quickly shoo me away, saying she was too busy.  After all that time with her being my only friend..."  She sighed again and shook her head, looking up at him.  "What about you?  What were your parents like?"

He rubbed a hand across his beard and didn't respond for a time.   "...I'm told they were good people.  I'm sure I'd miss them, if I'd known them."

She winced.  "Oh, I'm sorry.  Didn't mean to bring up a bad memory."

"It's not...bad, exactly.  It is however tied in to all those questions you keep asking me."  He smiled at her and drained the mead from his cup, setting it delicately down on the table.  "If you still want to know I don't mind sharing, but you might think I'm crazier than I already am if you knew the whole story."  She nodded, and he sat up to brace his elbows on the table, resting his chin in a hand.

"Like I mentioned downstairs, I only know my family history as far back as my grandfather, and even then I barely know a thing about any of it.  At some point in the past my family left Valenwood - I don't know when, what generation, or even why they left.  But they ended up here...my grandfather was an amazing archer, I'm told.  And through his hunting skill he fed my grandmother and father, and began to sell off the excess...that started as just a tiny market stall, but my grandfather slowly grew it.  And then when my father was old enough HE also helped grow the business - from what I was told, he traveled around on behalf of my grandfather, establishing trade contracts and the like.  Eventually, they amassed enough wealth to buy that shop you saw earlier."

"But we didn't live in Solitude at the time," Ralsten went on after a pause.  "I'm the first of my family to do so, in fact.  My grandfather had built a tiny farm south of here, which my father inherited -- he used the wealth they had to slowly make it more than a hut with a mud floor in the woods...he made it a home. He hired a Breton couple to run the shop's day to day business, and my parents lived on the farm away from the bustle of the city."

He fell silent again; Serana was content to wait for him to speak again without prompting.

"One evening, my father was outside chopping wood and my mother was inside with me -- I was just an infant at the time.  A woman came out of the woods.  She was a vampire, starving and desperate, and saw my father alone and an easy target...she attacked and killed him, and was feeding off him when my mother came out to check on him -- the vampire killed her too."

Serana's gaze dropped to the table, staring a hole through it.  "I...  I'm sorry."

Ralsten shrugged.  "No reason for you to be sorry.  Anyway, this woman - she was going to move on, escape before the murders were discovered, and then she heard me crying inside and realized what she'd done.  She could have left anyway - left me for dead, for a wild animal to get, or she could have killed me herself...but, she came inside, dressed herself in my mother's clothes and burned her own, and took me to Solitude.  My parents were known for allowing travelers to sometimes stay with them and that's what saved this woman as she spun a tale of being a guest of my parents, only for them to have been attacked while she hid with me.  I'm told the guards spent three weeks combing the region for this rogue vampire...never found it."  He chuckled dryly.   "She stayed and raised me, moving into my family's farm and acting as a steward until I got old enough.  Then she told me the truth, and walked into Solitude's main square and announced what she was -- they cut her down in the street where she stood, and I was held and tormented for a month by guards and priests checking to make sure I wasn't corrupted or turned myself... If you can picture it, imagine a frightened young boy locked in a room with just a bucket and a cot, having just seen his mother figure killed, and never knowing what night would be the night the priests would kick the door in again and check if I'd grown fangs."

"No wonder you're hunting vampires," Serana said quietly, after Ralsten had gone silent.  "That's truly awful."

"Yes, it is, and...yes and no, on why I'm hunting them.  There's a lot of-- most people don't see it as more than a vampire having orphaned someone, then taken advantage of them to save their own skin.  Me, on the other hand...she was kind, she never bit or hurt me, I never saw her harm anyone. I'm pretty sure she was surviving off the blood of our cattle and goats...I remember seeing strange, bleeding cuts on them from time to time that I couldn't figure out what might have caused them.  And, if anything, she taught me two things.  First, you don't do the right thing because it's easy, you do it because it's the right thing to do.  And second, everyone will have that choice in front of them sometime in their lives, and you shouldn't assume what someone is going to choose because of who or what they are."

He stood and retrieved a bottle of wine from one of the shelves, coming back down and gesturing at her with it; she held up her hands to refuse it, and he poured a small amount of it into his cup before setting it on the table between them.

"If she could make the choice to do what was right, rather than what was easiest, then I'm curious to see if anyone else of her kind is capable of that."

A silence fell between them, interrupted only by the crackle of the cooking fire that was beginning to burn out behind him.  Ralsten seemed comfortable with the quiet while Serana looked decidedly uneasy; he slowly sipped his wine, gazing up at the ceiling.

"You're hunting them, to try and find a "good" vampire, then."

He nodded, attention still on the stone beams and tile above their heads.  "Basically.  I always thought - well, I was always told, that vampires were irredeemable things.  Evil.  Driven by hunger and a need to just...spread misery wherever they went to somehow increase their power through fear.  She wasn't like that though."  His gaze dropped then to meet Serana's own.  "Neither are you.  Seems I might have finally found one."

[cas-backwards-tie]

What A Destiny Ch. 3

Jason Todd x Reader soulmate au

Series Summary: You’re not from this universe, yet you somehow ended up here… in a universe you’d always wanted to escape to, yet feared the consequences of. You’re not here by mistake but who’s to say?

Chapter Summary: Kara has put herself at jeopardy telling Dick and Jason the truth about Y/N’s existence, something Batman warned against. Kara and Dick want nothing more than to help a furious Jason with the help of some friends find and rescue his soulmate.

Warnings: Yelling, Cursing, Unnecessary Rude Attitudes, Anxiety, Panic, Fighting, Violence, Forest Fires, Arson, Injuries, Blood, Pain, Magic and Feinting.

Catch Up Here: Chapter One, Chapter Two  

A/N: So due to a great response and demand I’m continuing to write this, however, past where Jason and his soulmate actually meet I’m not sure entirely where to take this so if anyone has any ideas or things they’d like to see, please suggest them to me <3 It’d be much appreciated... now, enjoy! :D

Kara pulled out her phone as she flew from the Watchtower to Bludhaven, “Dick, there’s something you need to know. I need your help.” 

3rd Person POV

“Wait, wait, wait.... Repeat that to me again, but slower this time.” Dick holds his hand up in the air for dramatization, his eyebrows furrowed, slightly shaking of his head.

“O-okay! So I was at the Watchtower and a couple of weeks ago, probably a month by now if I’m being honest-”

“Get on with it!”

“- there’s this girl we found who came from another universe and she’s Jason’s soulmate! There! That’s all I know!” Kara’s words still came out more rushed than Dick probably would’ve liked but her message still got across to him.

“You’re sure about this?” Dick asks, cautious as this tale seems super far-fetched and if they want Jason to believe it at all then Kara will need to tell the whole story.

“Positive.” She affirms, nodding her head.

“Let me get Jason over here, first. Stay here.” Dick quickly unlocked his phone and dialed Jason’s number as he moved to the other side of Kara’s apartment, wanting Kara to hear as little of the fighting that’d pursue as she could... but then again, Dick just remembered she has super hearing, so of course his effort would be almost pointless... I suppose it’s just the thought that counts.

Jason’s  POV

“You didn’t tell anyone you came here, right?”

“Wha- no? Why? Should I h-”

“Were you followed?”

“What? No, Dick! What the hell is going on? You’re freaking out like a kid who’s trying to hide something from their parents.”

“Well, that’s kind of exactly what’s going on.” Kara plays with her hands as she approaches slowly from the next room, presenting herself.

“Let me guess,” I chuckle to myself, “you messed up big time, and you need my help?” I pause after the words come out of my mouth, my brows furrowing, “No, that wouldn’t make sense. Why are you here?” Pointing and shifting my body to face more towards Kara, arms folding themselves as I’m curious as to why I was drug here even more now.

“Well this is my apartment, so it wouldn’t really make sense as to why I wouldn’t be here? Why are you guys in here?” Kara makes a weird face, shrugging as her palms face the ceiling.

“I was just trying to figure that out...” I don’t have patience or the time for silly games, “I swear if you only brought me here for some sort of silly gam-”

“Jason you need to sit down.” Dick walks over to me, pushing on my shoulders to get me to sit down but I don’t budge.

“Why?” I shift my gaze from a nervous Kara to a panicked Dick, which doesn’t help considering, “You never act like this Dick, what is going on?!” I start to raise my voice accidentally, their nervousness getting to me.

Just as Dick is about to answer there’s a knock at the door and a few thumps outside on the fire escape. “You set me up!”

“I didn’t!” I watch as Roy steps through the fire escape and into the living room. Turning around I watch as Kara answers the door, the Teen Titans as well as Tim and Wally step through.

“Is this an intervention? I’m really flattered Dick, really...” Panic and worry begin to flood my system as there must be something going on if this many people were invited to the party. I try to put off that I’m calm by taking Dick’s suggestion of sitting down.

“Long time no see,” I get up to hug Roy as he approaches.

“Yeah, well, when you get the call that one of your best friends needs a hand and is into something serious, you gotta wonder what he’s gotten himself into? How’ve you been?”

“T.T if we can get on with this meeting.” Damian interrupts as he squeezes himself between Roy and I to sit on the couch when he literally could’ve just walked around us.

“Right... so... uh, Jason this isn’t exactly an intervention-”

“I knew it!” 

“-uh... yeah... well, Jason we found your soulmate.” Dick announces, taking his seat on the armchair across from me. My soulmate? I want to yell at him, to scream, to tell him he’s a liar but I know that Dick would never lie about something like this... let alone joke about it. He still had his soulmate and everyone knew how much he protected and cared for her.

“Congrats Dude! That’s awesome,” Beat Boy slaps my back with a huge grin on his face. 

“We came all the way here for this?” Raven questions quietly from the other end of the couch.

“Yes... and no. Jason’s soulmate is... well,”

“Kara you need to tell the whole story... everything, this time.” Dick instructs her as she sits up straighter, pushing herself to sit on the edge of her seat.

The first thing I think after Kara announces her story is that... it makes sense. It really does... considering Tim and Bruce still haven’t found their soulmates, which consequentially caused me to doubt the existence or even potential meeting of my own... it makes sense that the only reason is because they were from another universe. However, how could two people from separate universes be intertwined? Why in God’s name would he do something like that? It doesn’t make any sense. How did she even get here?

“Jason? Are you okay?” I focus back in on my surroundings as someone is waving their hand in front of my face.

“W-what? Yeah... I’m fine, it’s whatever.” I sit back, letting myself be engulfed by the couch as I had no idea when I even sat up to the edge of my seat.

“It’s whatever? This is your soulmate we’re talking about Jason.” Roy says surprised, turning to look at me.

“Jason, everyone, the reason why I called you all here was so that we can come up with a plan to break her out.” Dick informed everyone.

“Break her out of The Watchtower? Are you frickin’ kidding me Nightwing?” Tim asks from his position of sitting cross-legged on the floor.

“Look, we have both Kid Flash and the Flash... it shouldn’t be too hard. We also have Starfire, Arsenal and even Supergirl-”

“No way!” Kara puts her hands up in defense.

“What? What do you mean ‘no way’ Kara, you’re the one who brought this to our attention! The least-”

“The least I could do was bring it to your attention Dick, you didn’t hear the consequences Batman said he’d lay down if anyone told.” Dick seemed to contemplate this for a moment before acceding.

“Fine... we have enough people already.” 

“Enough people? You better have a damn good plan Nightwing.” Roy stammers as we all tense a bit at the thought of losing a person.

“I have a plan, here it is.” Dick lays out the plan on paper, mapping out everything which is to go down within exactly an hour, no more, no less. Thirty minutes in and out, no problem. Those were the riskiest missions of all. I didn’t like the odds or the sound of this.

“Okay, Supergirl, Flash, Kid Flash, are you in position?” We receive the a-okay from them as Supergirl had relinquished the fact that she’d at least help us ‘get in’ if not help with the actual fight.

“Arsenal, are you locked and loaded?” Roy gives us a thumbs up from the portal he’d been sent through. 

“Raven, do you think you’ll still be able to get this done?” Raven nodded as she seemed to be preparing herself for what was to happen next. “Whenever you’re ready Supergirl...” Dick gave the que and it seemed as if everything happened in slow motion.

Supergirl enters The Watchtower using the teleports, granting us access as both Flash and Kid Flash race inside to at least get my soulmate out of her cell before The Watchtower starts to lock down.

Arsenal starts a fire outside the entrance to The Watchtower with flaming arrows as he shoots them from the hill. By the time they realize what’s going on it’ll be too late. Once Roy is done starting the fire he hops back through the portal into the living room to join us.

“Go!” Dick shouts as Raven teleports the rest of us into The Watchtower. 

Y/N’s POV

Looking around the room for the thousandth time I end up staring at the bright florescent lights on the ceiling. Shutting my eyes I return to looking at the cool desk in front of me. I wonder what everyone else in this universe is doing right now... where’s Jason? What’s he doing? After all he is my supposed ‘soulmate’. What about Damian, or the Joker or even I don’t know... Alfred?! I wonder what Alfred does all the time when the boys aren’t home... surely you can’t clean forever.

Yawning, I feel myself dozing off as best as I can with the frickin’ sun always shining in my room, making sure I don’t know whether it’s day or night because I’m a supposed villain which could break out if I knew the time of day apparently.... SIKE! The hell if I were to-

I feel a whoosh of air before I feel as if the world’s spinning and turning, which consequentially churns my stomach and makes me heave for air when it finally stops. I close my eyes as my heads bobs back and forth, threatening to roll back.

Composing myself I look up to see a hand out-stretched to me, waiting for me. “Come on! We don’t have much time!” The man whisper-yells at me in a worried voice as I realize who it is and what just happened! I’m free! I’m no longer hand-cuffed and it’s all thanks to Kid Flash! IT’S WALLY! IT’S WALLY WEST! “Wally!” I say a little too loud as he helps me to my feet. Wally looks taken aback from my comment as confusion streaks across his face for only a moment.

Finally I register the sounds of... fighting... coming from the main living space in the next room, the main room. We were in the hallway where the next turn off leads to the room I’d been in only three times. It held The Watchtower’s couches, monitors and even the teleports. Grunts, rushes of air and fists meeting fists can be heard loudly even from this distance. There’s something going on. I’d never seen Wally here before!

I watch over his shoulder as a blur of green, orange and yellow are thrust through the entrance to the main living quarters into the wall of this corridor. As rubble flies and lands close by I wince, cowering as I gasp. Quickly standing back up, looking over Wally’s shoulder to see if the person is okay I’m met with a red-clad figure who briefly glances at us and back to the man who’d just crashed into the wall. It’s The Flash...? But even from the dark, as well as this angle I can already tell it isn’t Barry. I’ve spoken to Barry and this isn’t Barry... who is this? There’s another Flash? “You need to take her and go! I’ll distract” 

My eyes widen as I realize what he’s said but it’s too late, we’re already running. Well, he is. I am not. As we make our way to the entrance from the corridor to the main room I feel myself being dropped. “Oww....” I say reactively, the fall not really having hurt. “Wally!” I turn to see Wally grimacing, his face frozen in a scream as he clutches his head in his hands. What the hell is going on? I look every which way to try and find the source of Wally’s pain but can’t find it as when I turn around I’m met with green balls of light, streaks of lighting, flying, bodies, arrows and sounds from every direction.

Looking between the fights I finally stop to stare at the only people in the room not moving. One is surrounded by a dark purple, almost black circle of.... I have no idea. The other meets my gaze as he starts to run over to me. I start to panic as I think he’s going to rush me until I realize who it is. The symbol- the jacket- the boots- the.... this is... it’s him. It’s Jason Todd.

For the second time in less than ten minutes I grab the out-stretched hand and am hauled up quickly to my feet as Jason grabs my hand tightly, starting to run. “HEY!” I try to turn and look at who yelled but am drug away as Jason starts to run faster. I gasp as I realize what’s going on.

I can’t tell who is who or what is going on specifically but I know what’s happening. He’s breaking me out. I gasp as I realize this, trying to see specifically what is going on around me. “OW!” I stop running, my arm being tugged hard as Jason realizes I stopped. “Come on! Hurry!” In a swift movement I hardly process, he swipes his arm under my legs and continues running.

Reaching who I know recognize as Raven we’re instantly engulfed and closed into a bubble of, well, raven. Shutting my eyes I feel my chest tighten and constrict at the pain, making me curl as much as possible in my position, into a ball.

Opening my eyes the bubble fades and we’re in a completely different place. It’s a cluttered apartment I notice before Jason lies me down on the couch. “You’re bleeding” I wince and cry out a small ‘ow’ as Jason’s hand passes over my thigh, where it looks like I was scraped by some sort of weapon. “Sorry,”

“No... it’s okay. I.. I just say ow when something happens, it’s like a reaction- it doesn’t actually hurt.” Jason’s face contorts to one of confusion before he gets up to leave.

“That’s weird...”

“Yeah, well I’m a weird person, so...”

“Raven, help me look for the first aid kit.”

“I could just heal her.”

“Right.... please, if you wouldn’t min-”

“I thought you weren’t supposed to be polite?”  Raven looks back at Jason as he kneels down beside me.

“Uh... well you heard wrong, now, please!” Jason says with a little more urgency as Raven waves her hand over my leg, chanting words I don’t know but would suspect to be Latin. I want to shut my eyes as this honestly is scary... but it’s also so intriguing and foreign that I want to witness if her spell will work or not... Of course it will, what am I saying?

As Raven retracts her hand the cut is healed and completely gone. No scab, no bruise, no scar, nothing. My mouth hangs ajar before I realize what’s just happened. “T-than-thank you.” I try my best to smile but am utterly terrified. SHE COULD FUCKING KILL ME IF SHE WANTED, RIGHT. FUCKING. NOW!!!

A foreign feeling washes over me which I would’ve only imagined is how someone feels before they pass out, and concluding from the blackness at the rims of my eyes I’d say I was riiiigggghhhh.....

My eyes roll behind my eyelids as I try to wake myself up. I feel an ache in the left of my neck as my hand comes up to try and rub it... groaning out I try to sit up but can’t. Falling back against the couch I finally gather the courage to open my eyes and sit up at once. The first thing I see is green. Bright green. A green boy... a green, boy? What? My face contorts into one of concern, fear and confusion, the look stays on my face even as I recognize the culprit as Beast Boy. I can’t scream but the hum I realize continuously rises in volume as he doesn’t move away from the few inches separating our faces. 

“Beast Boy, what the hell?! I told you to get away from her for exactly this sort of purpose!”

“Yeah man, what the hell?”

“Come on....”

Multiple responses are heard throughout the room as Beast Boy jumps off the couch, moving away from me to sit on an armchair across the room. Taking a deep breath I furrow my brows, a tad scared from earlier, not to mention I don’t even know who else is in the room.

Turning to the voices I swallow thickly, a mental lump stuck in my throat. My lips draw into a tight line as I try not to smile, freak out because of excitement or grimace and frown. “How’re you feeling?” Jason sets down his drink and walks over, crouching next to me as he places a hand on my shoulder.

“Aww, who knew he could be so caring?” I try not to laugh at someone’s quiet comment as Jason looks intently into my eyes, seeming to try and find a gestural answer or sign.

“I... I’m... I’m fine.” I can’t help the growing smile on my face as I look at him. Quickly averting my eyes I look up at the ceiling, then to the window in front of me, then to bed which is to my left.

“Alright, well...?” I continue staring at the bed as I lie my head on the back of the couch, finally able to relax. After a few moments Jason continues, “I don’t know your name... Woul-”

“It’s Y/N.” I finally turn to take another glance at him, worried that this won’t last. Worried that I won’t see him again, that I’ll wake up or this whole ‘thing’ will be over. His eyes are not blue like everyone says... well, some say they’re green, too... but they’re not either. His eyes are more of a grey than blue. They’re like the sky right as it’s turning into a thunder storm, the deep sea as it’s tossed about during a terrible storm in which you’d be worried about your boat sinking and yourself drowning... drowning like I am into his eyes. His eyes are deep, like an ocean, like the sky... you’ll never find exactly what you’re looking for and it hides the emotions he clearly doesn’t want you to see. I’ve only known him for a moment of my short life but I already know of the things he doesn’t want me to see.

“I’m Jason... Jason T-”

“Todd.... I know.” I state out of habit, quickly realizing my mistake, turning my head away in embarrassment. He’s practically like a celebrity! I don’t know him! If I said I do then that’s weird! He’s gonna think I’m weird, he’s gonna think I’m-

“How do you know, Y/N?” He’s turning my face back towards him as he searches my eyes, my soul. “Y/N, I need you to tell us what happened. I need you to tell us how you got here and why the Justice League took you and didn’t let you go?” Now I’m the one searching for answers before I turn to look at the rest of the people slowly gathering around.

“How do you...” I trail off until I find one of them. “It’s because of you. You told.... You know what he said would happen, right?!” I feel a burning sensation behind my eyes as I know tears are starting to build up. “Why? Why would you?”

The kryptonian remained quiet, head sunken to the ground. “Kara, why?!”

“I... I couldn’t let him do that Y/N. He can’t do that! It’s not right to keep someone from their soulmate and Jason deserved to at least know.”

“How do you know her name?” a voice emerges out of the crowd but I don’t bother to find it’s owner.

“Because.... because I know all of you.” 

“Y/N, how?” Jason crouches enough to look into my eyes as everyone’s now standing. Jason grabs a hold of my hand, holding it tenderly.

“It’s a long story,” I sigh, looking back to the ground as I hope they won’t make me do the same thing Batman did... for months!

“We’ve got time. Please, sit down and tell us...” I hear a soft voice say as they approach, making me look up. I freeze. My brows twitch and I let out shaky breaths through my nose as I smile. I bite my lip and return my face to a scowl as I look away.

“Fine” I sit down on the couch as Jason sits next to me, still holding my hand.

“Would you like anything to drink? Or eat? We have pizza.” The same man suggests as I say ‘yes’ to everything... as ‘it’d be nice’.

“Batman... The Justice League, they already made me tell them everything. I already did and they made me go through everything again and again and write down and draw out everything I knew. Please don’t make me do the same. I’ll make it short but I’ll tell you everything.” I take a deep breath before I continue.

“First of all, to make things clear, I’m from a universe where all of you exist, the only difference is... you guys are all comic book characters.... you have comic books here, right?” I ask doubtingly. Everyone nods and I continue. “So yeah, I know who you are.”

“How I got here... I’m not exactly sure... I woke up in the middle of a clearing within the forest. It was dark, it was pouring down rain as there was a thunderstorm going on. I was soaking wet in my pajamas as the last thing I remember was falling asleep. When I woke up I scared scared, there was thunder and the lightning was close by. Seconds would pass as the lightning got closer and closer and I could hardly see anything. Lighting was the only thing that allowed me to see where I was going. I heard the motors coming... probably from the Batmobile now that I think of it, and I ran. I ran as fast as I could through the woods, tripping, getting cut, running as fast as I could because I was terrified. I didn’t know where the hell I was or what I was doing out in the woods. There are no woods near my house so I was confused and scared and I hate the dark. Eventually I was surrounded by the League... later they told me that it was because there was a energy shift at that location... which was their reason for searching, as well as a heat signature, me, that they were looking for.... The reason why they wouldn’t let me go is because I knew about all of you... about this universe, about the others... they wanted to know EVERYTHING, so yeah... they also said that if anyone else got their hands on me then it’d be catastrophic, so... yeah.”

“I mean honestly they said they’d let me go eventually but I don’t know if I believe that... They were trying to find a way to get me home but something stopped them and I don’t know what. Once they found the tattoo then they stopped. They said it had to be no coincidence that I showed up, adapted to a universe which HAS soulmates and got the tattoo.”

“In my universe we unfortunately don’t have soulmates... nothing. It couldn’t have been random that I just show up and randomly get a tattoo with Jason’s name on me... so I think they were testing... they were trying to figure out how it happened. How I adapted.” Eventually I end that part of the story and get to the fun part. Batman had me do the same thing in The Watchtower... tell everyone what I knew about them... also remembering to state that just because I know this doesn’t mean it’s true.

I go across the room, pointing to each person and naming everything I knew about them, their quirks, personality, previous and all relationships- let’s just say Starfire’s was a little awkward for everyone in the room- and their known likes and dislikes and my personal favorite fact about them. “Damian Wayne Al-Ghul... Robin, was to-be the heir of The League Of Assassins-”

“was?” Damian asks from the ground, his harsh green eyes seeming to pour into my soul, judging them. 

“Well... depending on the universe and if the League still exists then yeah... once Ra’s Al-Ghul dies then you’d be the... head? The Leader? Definitely not King but... yeah. You get my point.” Damian seems to approve as he nods, encouraging me to continue.

“... Personal favorite ‘fact’.... is that you’re supposedly really caring, sweet and thoughtful to the ones you care about” I smile as Damian seems to try and shrink away, not liking this thought and trying to push it off as a false as they were, only headcanons.... which I had to explain earlier.

“Timothy Drake... Robin, Red Robin, Joker, JJ and... yeah, that’s it.”

“JOKER?!” Everyone shouted incredulously. 

“Okay... thank god we’re not in that universe.” I sigh, letting my head roll back before continuing.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN, JOKER?!” Tim shouts from his position on the floor next to Damian.

“Well... in one universe, when you were Robin you got kidnapped by Harley and the Joker and they turned you into one of them... Joker put some sort of genetic chip in your neck and could make you transform into him... it... it was weird and really didn’t make sense because really? How would you guys not notice a chip in your neck after all those years? Like, what the hell? Also I guess I should’ve known we weren’t in that universe as Jason and Damian are here.”

“What?” 

“Yeah... anyways, personal favorite fact.... this is hard to be honest, because you’re the one I know the least about. I’d say it’s probably that... you’re really caring! You can tell by everything that’s happened with Stephanie.” 

“Jason Peter Todd... I’d... uh...” I fidget with my hands as I try not to look at Jason in the eyes. “I’d, uh.... rather not say here.”

“What? Why?”

“It’s just.... I really... it’s not anyone else’s business, really.”

“But you could tell us everyone elses’ business?” Damian interjects.

“It’s okay... it’s nothing... nothing they don’t already know... well, maybe not Raven or Beast Boy or the Flash and Kid Flash but still... you can go on.” 

“Are you sure?” I swallow, glancing up at him in the eyes, checking to make sure this is what he really wanted.

“Yes.”

“Okay.... but it’s not pretty.”

“Haha, yeah... I’d doubt it.” Jason puts his hand on my thigh, rubbing soothing circles with his thumb.

I clear my throat before continuing... “Jason, Peter, Todd... what can I say about you?” It’s hard to gather all my thoughts with everything I know about him. “You were what some might call a ‘street-rat’, then you got caught trying to steal the Batmobile’s tires so Batman, I don’t know how... took you in. You became Robin but were according to Bruce, the most reckless and he didn’t know whether or not you’d one day become a criminal if you didn’t get a handle of yourself... Honestly it really depends... in some universes you were said to be the one that Bruce loved the most out of all of his sons... but, there’s others where you wouldn’t know because of everything that’d happened.”

“I mean, I already know we’re not in the Arkham Knight universe because you don’t have the ‘J’ on your face, but... yeah... also looking at you and Dick the only reason I knew it was you was because of your outfit... but looking at Dick now I could probably tell because of the hair or eyes. The only reason I mention that is because you don’t have your white streak which everybody loves. Well, I could see why you don’t but everybody loves it so.... yeah... I think there were some universes where you just didn’t have it? I don’t know... but yeah.”

“What did you mean by I didn’t have the ‘J’ on my face?”

I feel my shoulders sag a bit as I get ready to tell him. “Well... in the Arkham Knight universe... when you were taken by the Joker, he didn’t kill you. He tortured you... he still beat you with a crowbar... he, I don’t know... he did a lot... but he took one of those... those thing you burn cows with, a cattle prod? I think that’s what it’s called... and he burned a ‘J’ into your cheek. You hated it, but honestly, even if you had it I wouldn’t. I would’ve told you to try and think of the ‘J’ for Jason instead of Joker. Joker sent Bruce a video of him ‘killing you,’ but he didn’t really. He brainwashed you to hate Bruce and you came back as Arkham Knight, with the help of Scarecrow you guys tried to kill Bruce... and I already know you and Bruce still exist in the same universe so I know we’re not in the Arkham Knight universe. I’m pretty sure you end up killing him, but I’m not sure... I never saw the ending but I know that you reveal yourself to him as alive and become the Red Hood.” 

You continue to talk about Jason to longer than you’d talked about anyone else. Eventually you get down to your favorite fact. “Well... okay so somewhere I read it actually changed but I refuse to believe it. It was said that your favorite food is Chili Dogs and honestly, I loved that because I love Chili Dogs too... and besides, who has bread as their favorite food? Like what the hell? That’s just so basic and lame.” You end up making everyone laugh at this, lightening the mood from the darkness you’d spoken of just a few minutes prior.

After everything is said and done everyone besides Dick, Kara and Jason leave.

“Seriously! Send me a text soon.. I wanna know how everything goes, alright?” Jason hugs Roy tight one last time, promising to send him a text soon before he walks back over to join the triangle you, Dick and Kara stand in.

“You know he’ll be after you soon, right?” Dick asks.

“Yeah... I was hoping that maybe we could go somewhere for a while... and if he does come...”

“-Then you can always call me. Or Kara, you’ll help them right?” Dick turns to her.

“Of course! I just want to say I wish you the best of luck and please, please don’t hesitate to ask for help. Jason we can’t let him take her back.”

“Trust me... if there’s one thing I’m doing. I am NOT letting Bruce take her back to that place... trust me.” Jason wraps his arm around you shoulder, making you blush and try not to smile as you’d never had someone do that before.

“Thank you,” you tell Kara, thanking her for her offer and suggestions.

After goodbyes and promises that you’ll meet again and have brunch or some sort of get together with both Kara and Dick, Jason leads you out into the hallway. “Let’s go home.”

“Home?”

“Yeah... and I promise it’s not some sort of cardboard box.” Jason jokes, making you crack a smile as you feel you can’t laugh at his self-decrepitating jokes. 

Taglist:

@comicbookworm , @flamesembrace , @miss-mia-rae , @stevette60 , @greenie-or-glader

[thegeminisage]

since i FINALLY finished the comic page im gonna make the poor choice of playing zelda ALL NIGHT get ready for The Longest Post which is full of Big Super Spoilers

since lynel thoroughly kicked my can last night i need defense food and preferably stronger weapons

i technically already had more than enough shock arrows to proceed but i wanna kill him!!!!

LMFAO I JUST COOKED SOMETHING THAT GIVES ME 21 EXTRA HEARTS...HOLY FUCK

okay but in all seriousness i only have like 3 defense things........

i guess i'll try it fuck i dont feel like scouring the world for ironshrooms rn

ok. slept on the bed to get my stamina wheel & 3 hearts, will use my 21 hearts when those run out, got 3 defense things for about 14m of defense, I Can Do This

really i wish i had a one-handed weapon, two-handers are so slow :/

well here we go again :|||

lol why does my heartrate always go up for shit like smh.....

getting better at dodging

ooh he hates my ice arrows

HAHAHA I MOUNTED HIM

maybe i can get a snapchat pic

YES i did i didn't attack him in that perfect moment but hey some thing are more important

NOOO FUCK I DIED

I FORGOT TO REFRESH MY DEFENSE ELIXIR BC I HAD GOTTEN UP AND FORGOT IT WAS ALMOST OUT

JESUS FUCK

im so fucking annoyed lmao i was so close

oh well at least now i can use that whole mount

aaand again

oh. im out of ice arrows.

YIKES i forgot to refresh my thing again just for a sec and almost died

YES i got a perfect dodge purely on accident NICE!!!!

i can see everything from shatterback point, even naydra, but im too scared to jump while the beast is down there

no yk what fuck it. im turning this paraglider around

first tho i really wanna wait to see if i can catch another rainbow...they were so pretty and i lost the other pics i took when i died ):

oh!!! there it is!!!!! and i was just about to give up

ah it last such a short time - but it comes at the same time every day, around 4:05

i'm sure it won;t appear here anymore after the divine beasts knocks it off with the water though, haha

okay.......time to dive

/saves first

AHAHAHA I DID IT

WOW THAT THING IS SO HUGE UP CLOSE BYE

i mean it didnt even move im just Scared. ok

duuude i gave the lynel pic to the lady and got swim pants?! FUCKING SICK where do i get a helm

okay time to go free the divine beast!!

haha wait i came out here without defense stuff. i didn't cook anymore

oh well yolo

or actually this is a game so i live as many times as i want #determination

i do still have some extra hearts left, and stamina, and some healing items, and even some electricity elixirs, sowow!! okay! still huge!!!!!

ah i love sidon so much

he tries so hard and he's so ready and he loves his people so dearly

i bet he's gonna die lol

if it's like, a sage thing, maybe he has to replace mipha if she really is gone

jesus please don't die sidon PLEASE

OH MY GOD I GET TO RIDE ON HIS BACK?

JFC THIS MUSIC IS SO COOL!!!! AAAAKDSHFGKLJ

OH MY GOD HE'S TALKING!!! IN THE FIGHT!!!!! IM CRYING THIS IS SO COOL SKDFHBG

oh my gos he's talking he's talking there's voice acting im literally dying i cant handle!!!!!! this!!!!!! i lvoe him so much

omg omg

dude that was SO cool

and link got to ride on his back and then say goodbye!!! and sidon BELIEVES in him!!!!!!!!!!

god i wish i had gotten the helm before i did this haha i looked up the location but i don't think i can back out now

MIPHA?

MIPHA IS TALKING TO ME??

I CAN HEAR MIPHA'S VOICE

I'M CRYING I KNEW SHE WAS STILL ALIVE

i feel like she's about to die like the old man like Move On but

to see her again!!!!!!! im so emotional

oh my god oh my god

no okay i can leave and i need a second too im gonna go get the helm

apparently theres a quest you can do that doesnt give you the helm but tells you where to find it? but i can do that later rn i just want complete armor

alright nice full set hell yeah

HOLY fuck i was paragliding back and i tried to paraglide over the divine beast and it fucking OBLITERATED ME jesus CHRIST

dude there are these absolutely freaky eyeball things you gotta shoot to get rid of gunk and the music gets all creepy near them lsdksjfgh

oh no i found the cockpit but it's all closed up...is her corpse in there? her ghost? oh my god it says the terminals are unactivated

i'll be honest im a BIT stuck here i hate to have to use a guide, but

NO wait oh my god my runes!!! dumbass

i can lift the bars lol

oh my god the CONTROLS are on???

I CAN MOVE IT?? HOLY SHIT

this map is fucking 3D a 3D map!!!! in the other games they were flat holy shit!!!!

i can even see it moving on the minimap!!! holy FUCK

LMAO i was trying to move this crank with stasis and all along i needed to use magnesis. jesus

uh the music got freaky as fuck after i did the first terminal??? no?? thank you????

LOL YOU GOTTA RIDE THE TRUNK oh my god. oh my god.jesus christ

i am so small. it is so big. oh my god

I FEEL UNSAFE!

who is the boss of this dungeon? there's gotta be a boss

don't tell me i fight it

or the undead mipha

jesus god

i have had to ride this trunk 3 times now and i am not at all comfortable

reminds me of the big windmill in mirror's edge

okay yep i did all the terminals and now the music is downright terrifying!!! nice good Okay

HOLY FUCK WHAT IS THAT BLUE LIGHT

MIPHA?

NOT MIPHA!!!

"my demise 100 years ago" is she Really gone

omg no mipahs talking to me as i fight!!!

im straight up gonna look up what to do im too weak and defense-potionless to do this the hard way

ooh motherfucker doesnt like my shock arrows and lynel bow ahaha

huh that was actually like SUPER easy compared to some of the other stuff i've done

eeeewwwwww

MIPHA? ARE YOU ALIVE OR DEAD IN THERE? oh god oh god

holy fuck

i straight up just cried

she's a spirit and i thought she was gonna like, move on? which is sad enough

but no she's hanging around to pilot the divine beast from the afterlife

she even talked to it i was so sad it's been her only companion for a century of course she fucking talks to it

and i was staying strong!!! i was!!!!!

but she talked about how she wished she could see her dad again and i cried lmao why does this game give me dad feels of all things

i hope she gets to see her dad one more time too i'm so sad she's really dead and not alive like link

jesus fuck

oooh dorephan's talking about the master sword...gimme gimme gimme!!!

aww he was nice to sidon as everyone should be!!!!

holy shit he's really big?? i didn't realize it but he's like twice link's height JESUS

man. i am fucking wrecked lol

time to...explore...the rest of the province...i guess

i got a trident but i can never use it bc it will break. it was mipha's!!!!

on the other hand all three pieces of armor, my shield, weapon, AND bow are all zora themed i took a pic of myself to remember it by lol bc they will all break

i wonder where i should go after this...?

my brother went up to death mountain but i kinda want to do something different so we have something to tell each other about

but i kinda want to do the same so we don't spoil each other

i also REALLY wanna do the southeastmost province for some reason, all that water

tbh tho im getting ahead of myself i still have lots of this left to cover

it's getting harder to tell where i've already been, haha - when the things had borders and there was less visible that was easier

ooooh mipha's ability brings me back from death and she speaks briefly to me ;_; and it's active again in 23 minutes nice!

so i guess each champion gives you a different one and you can chose which to have active but tbh this one seems like it's gonna be the most helpful already

aww i did a little quest in kakariko to root out a theif and i love the way they built up dorian's past that's so cool

i think i was supposed to be able to pick up that yiga dude's sword tho and it glitched on me bc i was too fast :/

ugh i'm doing this oen shrine puzzle where you have to mount a male deer

and i finally mounted one after losing 10000 times and it was past some hills it wouldn't climb down

every time i find one thats close enough they fucking bolt im so fed up :|

and my sheikah sensor isn't picking up any more so i must have literally scared away all of them. fantastic. what a huge waste of time!! guess i will go somewhere else!

also can't solve the puzzle on how to open the shrine at veiled falls so im just batting a thousand today so much for sidequesting tbqh

FOUND A BLUE MANED LYNEL

SO MUCH NOPE

urgh and a blue hinox

exploring might not be worth my time either tbh

yeah no that's two shrines i haven't been able to open and this has stopped being fun, got one more ridge to explore before im done with this province - and some weird islands waaaay out there too but idk if i can get to them yet, and i'd just as soon wait until i unlocked the one next to them

yyyeah looking at them from here it makes much more sense to explore them when i get to that province

at least im all done with this one!! still plenty of sidequests and stuff, but those i can come back t more easily...it's harder to remember which terrain i have and haven't covered when i don't do it like this

i was thinking about how big the divine beast was when i saw it in the distance and

this sounds nuts but i bet im right - what if that flying island thing is a divine beast. WHAT IF

and that is The Day's Liveblog, more tomorrow, except probably not much bc of stream

[technicolorheart9801]

All It Does Is Take: Chapter 3

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6

Ritsu had been oddly subdued thus far, gazing at the complicated transmutation circle with a furrowed brow.

“Do you see something wrong with it?” Mob asked. “I’ve triple checked all of my calculations, but I could have missed something.”

Ritsu stayed silent for a moment, seeming to hesitate, before saying, “N-no. I was… just wondering about her soul. What do we have to offer that could possibly be equivalent?”

To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. And on that day, they lost more than their fair share. Now the Kageyama Brothers are on a mission. A mission that might cost them everything they have left.

Here's the next chapter, and guess what time it is! Reigen Time! He was really fun to write, but feel free to tell me if you feel I got something wrong. Up next is back to Mob POV, so be ready for suffering!

Lieutenant Colonel Reigen Arataka leveled a horrified stare at the sight in front of him. A transmutation circle of the likes that he had only ever seen in books. A human transmutation circle. And there was blood in the middle of it. The Kageyama brothers had attempted human transmutation, a taboo. Reigen was almost blinded by the all-consuming anger that had suddenly devoured him, which was a bit of a surprise, because rage wasn’t usually such a prominent resident in his personality. Reigen preferred emotions that were healthy motivators. Like determination. And all-consuming panic.

Also surprising, it appeared that the pair of brothers had lived, judging by the blood trail leading up the stairs and out the front door, and it was all Reigen could do to follow it without… without… punching a tree or something, just to let his rage out somehow. But in this backwater little town, there was only grass and livestock for miles around, any trees cleared away for farming space. So if he had to assault anything, it would have to be a cow or a farmer, neither of which were preferable options. Reigen liked his face as it was, thank you very much.

The Lieutenant Colonel came back to himself with a start as he realized that he had stopped walking and was currently glaring at the cows chewing grass over on the next hill. No, bad idea, just keep walking, look like you belong here, find the Kageyama's, get answers. That’s what you’re here to do. He cleared his head with a truly cinematic head shake - just in case anyone was around to see - and pointedly continued down the path he had been on earlier as if he had never stopped.

The relatively sparse blood trail led to quaint yellow house with a sign out front that advertised that the place was an automail outfitter. Knocking, Reigen simmered on the porch, a foot tapping impatiently and fingers drumming an irregular beat on the doorframe he was currently leaning against. He couldn’t even- human transmutation was forbidden for a reason, damn it! Now it seemed that the Kageyama’s had paid the price for ignoring the big, blaring, TABOO THIS IS FORBIDDEN DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME warning on that particular brand of alchemy, though he didn’t know exactly what they had given up yet. The door was unlocked and the knob turned slightly, so Reigen shoved the it open the rest of the way. He knew that forcing himself into someone else’s home was rude at best and illegal at worst, but he needed answers, and he saw them sitting in a chair in front of a huge suit of armor.

Reigen probably should have been more curious about that little anomaly, but he had a bit of a one track mind at the best of times. So when he was emotional, like he was now, that single track sort of expands to fill up his whole mindspace until he could only focus on one thing. Which just so happened to be the boy in the chair.

Without conscience thought, Reigen grabbed the front of the kid’s shirt, lifting him to eye level. “I went your house. I saw the floor. What was that? What did you do?!”

                                                        ~0%~

The black-haired boy just leveled his empty gaze ahead, looking right through Reigen and focusing on something the Lieutenant Colonel couldn’t see. The suit of armor behind the wheelchair started shaking, rattling in a startlingly hollow way, and Reigen dropped the front of the kid’s shirt like it had burned him.

“Wait a second, are you…?” Reigen took a step back, finally forcing himself to look at the Kageyama brothers without a haze of anger blinding him. The boy in the chair - no, a wheelchair he now realized - was missing an arm and leg, and Reigen first punched himself mentally for manhandling an injured kid, then put together the fact that this little kid, no more than 12 years old, had attempted human transmutation, and survived. And he must have also been the older brother, Shigeo, because the reports that he read about the elder Kageyama stated that the boy’s most prominent feature was the same bowl-shaped haircut the kid in the wheelchair was currently sporting.

Going on that line of thinking, Reigen realized that the suit of armor - still shaking with repressed emotion - was a kid, too. It must be the other Kageyama brother, Ritsu. Reigen wondered what the poor kid had given up that had made him ashamed enough to wear armor to cover it.

But… the reports also said that Ritsu Kageyama was only about four feet six inches. This armored figure was easily around 7 feet tall, with broad shoulders and a metal helmet that was around the size of one of those overgrown pumpkins Reigen had saw on his angry little stride through the countryside. A metal helmet with bright red glowing eyelights that had way too much emotion in them to just be a last-minute design addition to the armor.

Reigen imagined that his face while looking at Ritsu was much like the one he had worn while gazing at the transmutation circle in the Kageyama basement. Horrified, shocked, and just piecing together that a forbidden form of alchemy that he had only ever read in books had just been done in real life.

Ritsu was in the armor, in a sense. Just not his body. So, not only was the elder Kageyama skilled enough in alchemy to attempt human transmutation, he was also advanced enough to bond a soul to a suit of armor.

And all pieces of the puzzle came together when he remembered that those helpful reports had also mentioned that the Kageyamas had been orphaned at a young age. Reigen was thunderstruck with the realization that these were just children, left alone to their devices without an adult figure looking after them, and with such a powerful - and destructive - force such as alchemy at their fingertips, of course they had gotten into trouble.

And now, they were all alone, with a problem that they didn’t know how to fix and no adult guidance there to help them solve it. Reigen couldn’t, in good conscience, let this continue. These boys needed a way to get their bodies back and they needed an adult that they rely on. And Reigen could give them both.

“Ohhhh… this is a… surprise to say the least.” Reigen had remained standing, neglecting sitting at the table in favor of being able to pace and gesture when needed, because he had a lot of energy to let out in the aftermath of his abruptly ended temper tantrum. He wandered over to the window, looking out at the pastures.

“Don’t worry, it’s a good”-good, sad, terrifying, horrible, what may have you-”surprise. I came to check out a report that said there was a brilliant alchemist living in this town.” The word ‘brilliant’ would have been accompanied by a grand gesture towards Shigeo in his wheelchair, if Reigen was brave enough to look at him. As it was, he just sort of waved his hands towards thin air, still facing the window, because that was more bearable than seeing the nothingness in those eyes again.

“And let me tell you, the last thing I expected to find was a boy skilled enough to attempt human transmutation and live to tell the tale.” Reigen had finally turned away from the glass. The Kageyama’s gave no response to the flattery, only silence left in the wake of the Lieutenant Colonel's sentence. But Reigen was used to carrying a conversation, so he covered the slightly unnerving quietness with an overdramatic twirl into the seat he had neglected at the beginning of the talk, because when he proposed what he had in mind, he would look them in the eyes. Or eyeholes. He covered the lower part of his face with folded hands and gave the boys in front of him a serious look.

“I'd say you’re more than qualified to become a State Alchemist,” Reigen swung his own military issued pocketwatch out of his coat in a flash and dangled it from its chain. The silver sparkled in the sunlight of the window he had been contemplating at earlier. “If you decide to accept this position, you would be required to serve the military in time of national emergency. But, in return, you’ll receive privileges and access to otherwise restricted research materials. Given time, it is entirely possible that you will find a way to get your bodies back. Or even more.”

The big little brother, Ritsu, suddenly slammed a giant metal hand on the table. “I can’t believe this. Don’t you get it? Alchemy did this to my brother and I, alchemy created that-that thing in our basement, alchemy nearly killed us. And you want us to throw ourselves back into it? You want us to see hell again?”

The lieutenant colonel was startled by the sudden display of emotion and the incredibly childlike voice coming from such a hulking figure, but he kept his face carefully blank. He supposed that with all the shaking and the weird impression he got that a suit of armor was glaring at him - even without an actual face, Reigen wondered what his secret was - an outburst was inevitable. Reigen looked into Ritsu’s burning red eyeholes, then looked into Mob’s dull, lifeless ones. They needed this, Reigen knew, but it was still their choice.

“I’m not going to force you, I'm merely offering you the possibility. The possibility of change, to better yourself and help other people, including each other. But the only way to do this is to stand up and seize the chance the military can give you,” Reigen stood and faced them once again and adopted what he hoped was an inspiring pose. “Keep moving forward, seek out the answers you need. Become a better person and keep your eyes on your goal, whatever it takes.”

By the end of his visit, as Reigen was sauntering his way down the path back to the train station, he knew that he would be seeing the Kageyama brothers again. Because when he looked Mob in the eyes on his way out, they were still dull, sure, but they weren’t lifeless. Not anymore. There was a sense of purpose in those eyes.

                                                       ~25%~

[thefamilyineverknew]

Turning 47: pt. VI

“Carry On, My Wayward Son”

16-17 May 2018

Following the directions given by the Waze app, I twist through street lit asphalt noodles on the outskirts of Kansas City toward Bruce’s house. I have no real idea where I am, having surrendered my Rand McNally skills to Lord GPS, the Omniscient. It’ll do, though this willingness to give in to technology does have me concerned about the plight of human capability, knowledge, and will.

The idea of Kansas City used to set my imagination alight. Having grown up 3 1/2 hrs north in Des Moines, Iowa, Kansas City meant one thing: Worlds of Fun amusement park. And I was certain it was...worlds of fun. If only we could have stopped there once when traveling to see our relatives in southwestern Kansas. We never did. The closest we got was a drive-by; seeing the tracks of the Zambezi Zinger and Orient Express roller coasters rising up above the tree line behind the gates. Here it comes, here it comes, here it COMES...there it goes. So close!

I make it to Bruce’s place. He’s putting his kids to bed, but offers me a beer from a local KC brewery and tells me to sit down & relax. I’ve known Bruce since 2nd grade, but we were never all that close growing up, just in the same class. However, in the last 10 yrs we have been able to reconnect via FB, and I’m grateful for it. This stop will be the third time I get to see the man during my stint in the U.S.; twice in Chicago, and then this time.

Bruce Copeland casts a wide net for people, open to hearing an opposing idea, and generous and accepting that there is room to differ without getting bent out of shape. A welcomed relief in this day & age. He has a big heart, and grateful to those who stepped into his life to help get him on the right track. This Bruce is nothing like the one I knew in elementary school; undisciplined, rambunctious, and hilariously disruptive. No, this Bruce is a good sounding board, measured and wise.

He comes down from putting his kids to bed, and we shoot the bull. Talk about professoring and what that was like, the drive, where I’m headed next. And then I lay down the story of the Ancestry results and subsequent message I received from my birth mother. I had yet to contact Arla again, save for letting her know that I would be in contact after processing this huge information, which is what I had been doing, slowly, in waves. Bruce takes it in stride, and we just chill.

The next morning, I’m up early (for me) staring down the barrel of a 9 hr drive. Bruce makes some coffee and we chat about old times, a bit of “where are they now” and “remember when”. So good and all so improbable. I’m completely open to all of this improbability. It seems to be the soup in which I am swimming.

I hit the road west again, this time across the Sunflower State: Kansas.

Now, this drive is notoriously monotonous, droning on forever in a dull, never-ending string of utter nothingness; at least for most. This is not the case for me. I grew up taking this trip at least once a year, fighting for room with my 4 brothers in the back of our brown 1984 Dodge Caravan, sometimes with a dead animal strapped to the rooftop for my dad to taxidermy later (the inspiration for one of my band’s songs,”Skunk in a Box”). For me, the drive is actually dynamic; cruising past vast wheat fields, big white grain elevators, sprawling irrigation crawlers, paralleling the occasional, impossibly long freight train, and rolling through the sand hills where I used to imagine playing Cowboys & Indians (growing up being told that I was 25% Native American, I always fought for team Indian). So the drive, for me, is sheer nostalgic joy.

In making my way to Garden City, I decide to go through the town where I spent my formative years from 2-7; Hutchinson, Kansas. In my mind, and experience, Hutchinson is a place trapped in memories ending in 1978, when we moved to Des Moines. In those memories, it’s always sunny, warm, and golden, like a postcard or advertisement of the time. It’s always Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. It’s always Sesame Street. Always the Krofft Supershow. Always CHiPs. Always The Six Million Dollar Man.

What was our old address? I had it memorized in 1st grade, but now? Hmmm. I kinda recognize these streets, but...hmmm. Eventually I make my way to W. 25th Street and see our old house, remembering jumping up & down on that porch with excitement as a boy, seeing Grandma & Grandpa Rupp pulling up in their impossible road yacht, a 1971 Chrysler New Yorker. And there was my best friend Marci McCoy’s house, where we used to eat Zingers and watch cartoons. And there was the church, across the parking lot from our house, where my dad went through his ordination process to become a pastor. All there, but altered, slightly, by time.

This whole experience has felt like traveling through time; from teaching at my alma mater, seeing old friends, and revisiting people and places once locked in memory, and then, suddenly unlocked. Here it is, right in front of me; where I first learned to ride a bike, where I got my head stuck between some metal bars, where I dropped a bunch of bricks down a tube to hear them splash (inadvertently ruining a septic tank).

So I tooled through Hutch, and so much of it had not changed from my memory. I stopped at Dairy Queen and had a Blizzard, then into Dillons grocery store (exactly the same), and then into the public library. I just wanted to go in and see if it smelled the same as I had remembered. A woman at the check-out desk asked me if I was looking for something. I said, “Yeah...1978”. I mentioned that I moved away as a kid and just wanted to come in and see if it smelled the same. “Does it?”, she asked. “Exactly the same.”

After that, I went to the riverside park, and got back on my way to Garden. Again, I had taken liberties with my time and was running behind, but it was only another 3.5 hours to go...or so I thought.

After an hour and a half, I take a rest stop in Kinsley, KS, heralded as the historic halfway point on the railroad between New York and San Francisco. There’s a little park there with a giant locomotive. I was snapping off a few pics when suddenly I feel the air temp drop precipitously. I look back and see the sky is dark, gun metal gray. Uh oh. I get in the car and sit there, turn on the radio and hear the scratchy emergency weather report coming in; severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes in Ford, Finney, and Gray counties. This is my direct route! Better get going.

The wind was raging, trying push my car off the road. I didn’t get but a few miles from Kinsley before I chose to pull over and wait it out. Driving on these rural two lane highways with semi-trucks passing at blistering speed is gamble enough in fair weather, but in these conditions? Nope, not worth it.

So, I parked my car on a side road, perpendicular to the storm and waited. It was awesome, like being in a terror spa. In Sweden, we don’t get this kind of dramatic weather and I had missed it thoroughly.

Eventually it let up enough for me to get back on the route. The rain, wind, and lightning were still relentless the entire way, but then there was also Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” and Tommy Tutone’s “867-5309” coming through on the radio, so there was a balance.

One last 10 minute leg to go, I rounded past Garden City proper, heading down South Star Highway toward my uncle John and aunt Cindy’s farm, where my parents were there to meet me. I knew what I would have to reveal when I saw them. How would they react? I really had no idea. This might go belly-up. Whenever the subject of “would you be interested in finding your family” would come up, and it very rarely ever would, I got a sense of eggshell walking. So, what would happen when they hear the words I am about to say?

Finally, I arrive, and my folks and uncle are there waiting in the doorway. Greetings and hugs (I hadn’t seen John since 2001). The farm is in the exact same place it’s been since before I could remember, and here it is, right in front of me.

We bring in my bags, and then I begin to divulge my tale...

[freethetreepeople]

Thailand & Vietnam Vacation 2018

Vietnam & Thailand Trip: A Novella

  February 28th/ March 1st: This is the day I began my journey. I was a bit scared of traveling by myself for fear that I wouldn’t be able to produce digital boarding passes in ye foreign lands. Thankfully the Captain gave Helen a cracked (unlocked) shellphone that was a good security blanket. I had never bought sim cards in foreign lands before, but apparently it was quite easy! Well I got on my plane from Denver to San Fran – Success! I then got on a plane from San Fran to Hong Kong and begins reading my novel “The Rooster Bar”. It is a book about three law students who are so encumbered by debt, they quit school and pretend to be lawyers and troll for people at jails and hospitals who need immediate legal assistance and are willing to pay cash. I got about a third of the way done and switched to movies – big mistake. I have a tendency to get screen sickness if I watch too much tv. I got a blinding headache for about 6 hours of the 14 hour plane flight. Luckily I friended two lovely British and Middle Eastern flight attendants and gained the courage to ask them for some extra food and a carbonated drink. But when I told them I had a headache they were like “Do you want Advil?”! I swear back in the day flight attendants told me they were not allowed to distribute drugs. I had never been so happy in my life. The flight attendants also had amazing recommendations for things to do in Vietnam. They told me to see the Cu Chi Mihn tunnels, the war museum, the backpackers street, and eat a Bahn Mi sandwich. I still have the napkin the guy wrote it all down on and it will go in my memory box! You shall live on forever friendly flight attendant!

 After relieving my headache I did watch some good movies from Hong Kong to Bangkok – namely one “Goodbye Christopher Robin” about how A.A. Milne writing Winnie the Pooh ruined his son’s life. It was really good – must watch, but I did end up crying and I felt rather stupid being surrounded by people. I finally got to the Bangkok airport and was SHOCKED at how run down and hot it was. It was like being in this weird skinny factory. I made it to the international terminal and messaged Limp Legged Loc  – he had left the terminal to find food! What a rebel. I tried walking the in direction that I thought would allow me to leave the terminal but a sassy gay Thai airport guy saw me and knew I was lost and pointed me in the right direction. I finally got to the food court and met Limp Legged Loc for the first time – he was a pirate from another ship you see, and we were both porting at the same island and meeting for the first time. Well he looked different than I was expecting, but seemed like a nice pirate friend overall.

  March 1st/March 2nd: Loc and I took a flight from Bangkok to Ko Samui and then a ferry ride from Ko Samui to Ko Pha Ngan. On Ko Samui I begin to notice that everyone is dressed in clothes much frattier and sexier than what I have packed… hmm. Loc and I exchanged drunken tales to pass the time and finally arrived at Ko Pha Ngan. Loc taught me how to buy a sim card – it was the easiest experience in the world! We made our way to our hostel… if you could call it that.. which was essentially a bleak room with two twin beds, some thin sheets, and not much else. The bathroom had concrete floors and a toilet that was basically in the shower area. To give you some idea of the conditions of this place, I saw two cockroaches (or perhaps they were spiders?) having intercourse on day 2. Sometimes slumming it can be fun so I took it all in with a laugh.

Loc and I spent the first part of the day walking around the town, shopping, and eating.  I was very impressed Loc was so patient with the whole shopping thing. I asked him why that was and he said he went shopping with his lady friends/love interests sometimes back home. Good lord – you can not get Tom within 50 feet a mall, so good for Loc. We then rented a motor bike and started riding uphill from the town that was frat city. Once we got back into the residential areas it got a lot nicer. We found a secret bar (whose name I can’t remember!) with a great view of the island and pool. The bar was essentially a deck on a hill so we walked below the deck on these steep stairs to explore what was below. We found a dilapidated deck, some great climbing rocks, and an especially good one of those little pagodas you see everywhere in Thailand. On the way back up one especially large hill we were having trouble getting the bike going straight – they are surprisingly top-heavy. We ended up crashing the bike into the little concrete lips on the edge of the street a few times which was no Bueno. Long story short, we took it back to the guy we rented it from and had to spend about $300 USD between us to fix it. He probably overcharged us, but as we have learned, you don’t mess with the Thai… they also had our passports. They probably copied these while we were gone and our information is being used somewhere in SE Asia.

Finally Emma arrived in a tizzy – She was quite put out with United – they messed up her flight FIVE TIMES. I think she mentioned something about they kept giving away her seat. I will have to ask her the whole story once I see her.

So I was sitting in our room, waiting for Emma to get ready, and I see these snapchats from my best friend and bridesmaid Sonia (with an IA) of her sitting on a beach somewhere in Thailand. And I just get this feeling that she is in Ko Pha Ngan. I knew she was going on a Thailand/Cambodia adventure around this time but I thought surely we wouldn’t be in any of the same places at the same time! So I snapchat her and say “girl.. I think we’re on the same island… are you going to the full moon party?” Indeed she was!! So I use the trusty Captain’s cell phone to navigate us to Sonia and her friend Gilli and honestly it was pretty hard to tell someone how to find them on a beach full of 30,000+ people. They gave us a general location and like a hound dog I began running through the crowds. It was the weirdest thing – it was like I could sense where my bestie was. I ran up from behind and gave her a big ol’ bear hug and we celebrated. Sonia, Gilli, Loc, Emma, and I all danced, bought lots of buckets, drank, made friends, and had a fantastic night. At one point, Sonia, Gilli and I went to these tall scaffoldings out in the ocean with some people and danced and hung out. It was pretty magical. Then I left Sonia and Gilli with my non-sim card phone and navigated the beach to find Loc and Emma. Honestly, it was pretty dumb. I didn’t know how to make it back to our hostel and I didn’t have data. Again, second miracle of the night, I walked 10-15minutes along the beach until I saw a sign I thought I recognized and god bless Emma and Loc were there. At some point I had ditched my shoes, so I distinctly remember running through the streets of Ko Pha Ngan with no shoes like a mad drunken loon. Finally I convinced dad to let me go get my shoes – he was convinced I couldn’t find them in my drunken state, but I SHOWWED HIM SIR. Dad was quite surprised. Dad and mom put me to bed at 3 and they went back out and continued to party until 5.

  March 3rd: We spent most of the day exploring the island and laying out on the beach. At one point I went for a run by myself and that’s where the monkey incident happened! I found an abandoned restaurant (I think) and it was inhabited by monkeys! First mate Helen tried to take pictures of these monkeys but grandpa monkey was not having it! He and two of his sons or nephews (or nieces! Let’s not be sexist) started running at me! Well I didn’t have my rabies shot so I said “I don’t think so!” and ran into the ocean for safety. Later that day we hung out at this casual little bar (whose name I don’t remember gahh!) and met a bartender named Koko, who was the most adorable little shy man ever. He made us mojitos and was pretty distant at first, but after a while he warmed up to us and even let me go behind the bar and make a drink. We visited Koko a few times that day and finally he said he would take us to a locals party after he got off of his shift at 1! Well we went back to the death bunker and I made the mistake of lying down – soon the team followed suit and next thing we knew we had all passed out. Both Emma and I randomly woke up at 1:30 AM and knew it was too late. We had broken Koko’s heart! What a**hole Americans!

  March 4th: We left Ko Pha Ngan in the afternoon and took a ferry to Ko Tao. Ko Tao was much less fratty and more spread out that Ko Pha Ngan. We booked ourselves an extremely nice (but still really cheap when you do the conversion) hotel located on the top of a huge hill. Let me describe this hotel for you. It had a romantic canopy bed (sorry Loc – dis for the girls), a bathroom with lots of stone, a private deck that had a gate and led out to the infinity pool, super powerful air conditioning, many mirrors (good for females), and a beautiful view! Like I said the hotel was on a steep hill so when you looked over our balcony, it basically dropped right into the ocean (remind me to show you a picture). Emma hung up a hammock and everything was right in the world. There was also a set of outdoors stairs that led to a public bathroom and then down further to our room. Every day I would be walking behind Loc and he would say “I need to take a shit and I don’t want to blow up our bathroom” and deviate to the public toilet. Soon this became a funny routine that would go on every day. However, I still don’t love it when guys talk about their poop…

              That night we went out on the town at 9 and started walking along the street into town. It was really dark and there wasn’t another person in sight, so we began to RUN as to not get taken. By the time wee got into the main drag of town we were all super sweaty. We went into this restaurant to good food, but they had stopped serving food, so we took tequila shots. Emma ran away to find the “toasties” from Sev Lev, which she had heard about from her cousin. We ate the toasties and then started walking through town. We were walking by this bar that had a bunch of locals dancing and eating – they looked like a family because they had children and people of all ages. So we walked up to the bar and they motioned us in and offered us some food. They told us it was some man’s birthday and we began to dance with them to traditional Thai music. It was AWESOME. We spent about an hour there and then wandered down to the beach where we went to this bar called “Lotus”. At the time it was so dark, I thought we were in some sort of secluded jungle clearing which I really liked, but when I passed by there the next day I realized that the bar wasn’t in a jungle meadow but literally on the beach next to hundreds of other bars! It kind of killed the magic a little. Let me tell you about that night though! There were guys dancing with fire ropes and fire juggling sticks at the beginning. Then there was a fire limbo. This really strong Thai guy took both Emma and I (separately) and sat us on his waist and limboed under the fire limbo stick! Emma and I also tried it together where I let Emma sit on my waist and limboed under it! So many hilarious pictures for this, so lucky you, I have attached them. I also let one of the Italians and this British chick braid my hair, because I tell strangers to do weird things when I get drunk (see picture). Other highlights of the night: At one point we made this British girl let us take body shots off of her because I was like “I am wearing a dress – can not be the body shot receptacle”; this girl started telling me about her adventurous/gross love life (will not disclose as this is via Deloitte email) and I turned to Loc and go “Loc! Have you met So-and-so? She was telling me the most interesting stories about what she’s into, and excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom” and left him in that conversation. As I am walking away all I can hear is Loc going “what the f**kkkkk?”. Basically by the end of the night we were all these tight-knit drunken foreigners – it was great! I did wander off by myself to go to the bathroom and then wandered into some abandoned apartments and Emma got pretty mad at me… but I always come back to the group! At the end of the night we had to walk up the GIANT hill to get back to our hotel – It was really hard to do this drunkenly.

  March 5th: We spent the morning sitting on the beach and drinking mojitos. This is probably where I got the majority of my tan. The beach was beautiful and full of bars and restaurants and lovely hidey-holes. That day Emma Loc and I spent several hours in the ocean just swimming and chatting. But Emma and I kept getting stung by what felt like mini jellyfish! I asked a few males and a few females and only the females reported getting stuck. SEXIST JELLYFISH! We met some cool people in the ocean – three Spaniards who we talked about culture stereotypes with, and a couple named Denver and Storm who told us the cool things to go do on the island. Note to self – name daughter Storm. Emma and I then went to a Thai massage place where I had the most amazing massage. The massage parlor was on this upstairs open desk facing the ocean with basically just shades for walls and fans everywhere. All you could hear was the sound of fans – it was weirdly peaceful. So this Thai lady rubbed me down with this warm coconut oil (ok admittedly I broke out so bad for the rest of the trip, but it was worth it) and massaged me hard for an hour straight! Not like in America where you pay an arm and a leg and they always seem to be doing other things instead of rubbing you. Also I love when they message you rough because it makes me feel like you are actually getting all of the knots and bad juju out.  Emma and I then walked all up and down the beach and saw so many dogs trying to catch fish in the ocean – it was so cute! Finally we headed back to our hotel and walked up the GIANT hill – dear god lord Jesus that hill sucked, but at least you felt like you had done your mini work out for the day once you were done. We swam around in the infinity pool and hung with people at our hotel. I don’t think we went out that night, but I can’t remember…

  March 6th: We spent more of the day tanning at the beach, drinking mojitos, and eating some random gummy vitamins that Emma had brought. We were having lots of silly conversations like whether green and yellow make blue. We also spent a lot of times at their beach property bars where you sit on the ground or sit on bean bags which was a lot of fun. We ate some really tasty curry and panang meals and I think had our first Mango sticky rice. This is decidedly in my top 5 favorite foods. In the afternoon we went to some bar and met some really cool lone wolfs – an Australian guy who was already drunk and making hilarious conversation; a super jacked British gay guy named Aaron who I decided was my new best friend; this guy from Denver/Boulder who went to CU and, albeit, was living a super cool life, was hitting on me way hard and I was not into; and the Thai bartender who we convinced to take shots with us even though his boss was sitting 20 ft. away. That night we went back to the Lotus beach bar and watched more of the dancing shirtless fit fire guys routines. After that we wondered into the city and saw some lady boys in the street beckoning people. They looked SO HOT, I was v impressed. So we went into the cabaret and bought some beers and watch their shows. If I was being super legit at this log, I would include pictures of that too, but all of my pictures were pretty bad quality. We ended the night by eating a crepe and walking up … wait for it… our BELOVED SUICIDE HILL. As the nights went on we began to build a love-hate relationship with that damn hill.

  March 7th: I woke up early, went for a run, and went to talk to the dive people at Rocktopus. They explained that they could fit our four day session into three so I was overjoyed. Running through town was so much fun. I tried to run until there stopped being shops and it was residential but this one street went on FOREVER. Finally I got to the point where it started going straight up hill and that is when I gave up. I was running back home when I saw all of these colorful umbrellas suspended in a net, so I hoped a fence and wandered into this fair that was being set up (I think it was going on a few days later).  When I got back to the hotel, Loc and Emma were still sleeping. Oh I don’t know if this made it into the other days logs, but every morning we would eat an amazing all-inclusive breakfast on this deck with breathtaking views. And they gave you FREE water so I would drink so much water during this time. I really liked the deck because it was sort of built into a rock and the edges of the deck weren’t really finished. The hotel was a great combination of super nice and fancy, but also island laid-back. That day we went on our snorkeling trip. A truck came and picked us up and took us to a restaurant where we met some of the other attendees. We met one guy named Max Geisinger who turned out to be a famous German guitarist! He has 575,000+ followers on Spotify. We then got on a boat and got our snorkels on and our instructor would let us off at different coves. Emma and I were together at first and then I lost Emma so Loc and I were together for a bit. We saw some awesome neon colored fish, and a giant sea turtle, and a shark. On the last dive, I grabbed someone else’s snorkel and jumped in, but I soon came to realize it had a hole in it. I was trying to keep up with the group but I couldn’t keep my face in the water, so I was essentially treading water for 20 minutes straight. Then the swells of the ocean started getting really big and pushy us towards the shore. At one point I turned to some German guy next to me (there are Germans EVERYWHERE when you travel) and said “I’m a little scared, I think I’m drowning” and then I started swimming back to the boat. That was the longest most frustrating 10-15 minute swim of my life.

We had made friends with some British dudes, so after the snorkel trip was over we went with them to this restaurant known for these special milkshakes – unfortunately when we got there they said their shake machine was broken and there were no special shakes, so we just ate and enjoyed the views. After that Loc Emma and got ready to go out, headed into town, and went to awesome little shack/bar that sold really cheap shots. We took shots from this hot middle aged Thai bartender lady (with especially perky… personality… hmmm) and started out night. We met up with these French guys we had met from the snorkeling trip at guess where… LOTUS. We watched the fire dancers for a bit and decided to wander to this bar called “BND” (Bar Next Door) where they had American ping pong tables! I played some beer pong and then ran away to buy my friends baby guinesses. My hair was in a tizz so I asked this British girl if she had a rubber band. She didn’t but she said she would braid my hair. After she braided my hair I was so grateful I insisted on buying her a shot. I think she thought I was lesbian coming onto her, so after I bought her shot I had to pull out the fiancé card so she’d rest easy. After that I hung out with my friends a bit. Then I ran away again to see things or get more shots and I saw a guy who was flirting with the bartender and got her to serve him right away. I bluntly asked “could you teach me how to flirt with bartenders in a way that they pay attention to you and serve you drinks?” This gentleman’s name was Logan and I think he was taken back by my audacity. He laughed and we started chatting and I learned… surprise surprise, he had gone to CU. He noticed that I had an engagement ring on and we established I was taken and for the rest of the night we had a fantastic intellectual conversation about a myriad of topics and I didn’t even have to deal with him hitting on me. He became my second favorite person after gay bestie Aaron. Loc Emma and I ended the night by getting Truck (we were moving up in the world!) ride back to our hotel.

  March 8th: Last day on Ko Tao. Loc was hungover (theme of our trip) so Emma and I petered into town, explored, ran some errands, and decided to grab lunch. We asked someone the best place to eat and they recommended this place called “Su Chili” on a different part of the island. Emma and I walk a decent way there and guess who we see... Freaking LOC! At this point we decide we have some sort of friendship radar for each other. I got a delicious yellow peanut curry dish (See picture attached) and Emma and I got fresh strawberry and watermelon smoothies. This may have been the best meal of the whole trip. Then Emma went to get one last message so Loc and I walked back to our hotel. As we were walking there we saw this meadow with booths and exhibits and figured a festival was coming up in the next few days. I saw the most AMAZING rainbow umbrellas suspended in a net (see picture) and had a grand time photographing them. It was like something you see on Pinterest. There were also a few other cool works of art, but I won’t overwhelm you with pictures. We went back to Su Chili for dinner and grabbed pizza and then went out. I don’t remember anything particularly exceptional from this night, except that we went to that little pop-up ally bar with the woman with the great fake … yeah. I remember being so full of liquid and Loc and Emma pressuring me into taking shots. I believe we ended the night by getting some sort of Nutella crepe and all was right with the world.

  March 9th: We had asked our hotel to call us a cab at 5 AM so we could catch a ride to the ferry, but unfortunately, they forgot ☹. So we grabbed our packs and started jogging down suicide hill in hopes that we could find a cab in town. As we were jogging, we saw two guys driving up on motor bikes, and Emma flagged them down. God bless Emma and her lack of inhibitions and social graces. She asked if all three of us and our giant backpacks could hitch a ride to the ferry. The two guys were south American (Brazilian?) and spoke pretty broken English, but they agreed. So Loc and I hopped onto the back of one guys motor bike, and Emma hopped onto the back of the other guy’s motor bike. We drove for a good 20-30 minutes in the pitch black on the back of these guys motor bikes while I tried to make small talk. The guy we were with would toot his horn every 2 minutes to make sure the other guy was still behind him. They were both actually driving pretty fast – if we had crashed it would have been a bad story for all of us. We made it to the ferry feeling very very grateful and the south American guys left, I wish I had at least friended them on Facebook! I told you about Loc eating some foreign candy and feeling very dizzy on the ferry ride. The candy plus the lack of sleep probably put him over the edge. We got a ferry to Ko Samui and a flight from Ko Samui to Chiang Mai and arrived midafternoon. Upon getting there, we realized that the hostel we had booked was closed, but we soon found a new one. A guy in a tuk-tuk asked if needed a ride anywhere and we said YES! We wanted to go to the elephant sanctuary that day! The guy’s name was Jimmy and he had a little son named Joe. Jimmy was so sweet – he had even built a little child-sized seat into the tuk-tuk so that Joe could ride along. Jimmy and Joe took us to the elephant Sanctuary and chatted to each other the whole time. It was very sweet to see a father spending quality time with his son, even though he was working.

Jimmy dropped us off at the elephant sanctuary a little before 2 and we started the day by changing into these awesome pink hemp shirts and baggy pants and eating lunch. Soon our guide, Phonkneng took us to this tent to learn some elly language. Really the most important ones were “Dee dee!” which means “very good!” and “Bon Soong”, which means “open your mouth”. There was a pretty old mom elephant, Nong Luck, and a teenage elephant, Lanna, in the pen near the entrance, so we petted them and fed them a lot. Then Phonkneng walked us into the woods to see this other mom elephant, Uthai, and a 6 month old BEBE elephant, Waree! Before we started, Phonkneng was like “I don’t know how to tell you this, but I can see your but”. The pants were VERY baggy and confusing and I had tied them in a way that they were snug around my waist but apparently the material sagged below my but. I was v embarrassed for about 5 seconds but then I just laughed and fixed my pants.

We hugged and petted the baby elephant (Waree) and poured water on him and his mom. Phonkneng told us to push on the Waree’s head because he would push back, which was his version of playing. I pushed on his head and he pushed back and pushed me about 15 feet! I was afraid he was going to push me straight out of the pen (see attached photo)! Then Phonkneng and his coworker took us into the river where Nong Luck and Lanna were hanging out. Lanna was playing and splashing by herself a little upstream and Nong Luck was just chilling in the water. Phonkneng and his associate gave us this organic root/bamboo looking material and instructed us to wash the elephants. We washed the elephants and at one point the other supervisor guy picked up some poop and was chasing me around trying to touch me with poop – in the end I let him because I wasn’t getting out of it lol. Then he lifted me onto Nong Luck and I got to sit on top of her and wash her! It was so much fun! Except that Nong Luck kept reaching back and trying to eat the bamboo root thing (apparently its edible and that elephants like to eat this) and she was freaky strong and hard to swat away (see picture). Then Loc Emma and I were taking some posed pictures by the elephant and the other assistant guy snuck up behind me and grabbed my ankle and I thought it was a water snake and about died. I must look like a perfect victim or something. Then Loc Emma and I each got to stand over Nong Luck’s trunk and she lifted us into the air! I feel like I looked really goofy in my photos, so I will attach photos of Loc and Emma instead! See attached. We were all very sad when it was time to go but we begged Phonkneng to take us on as American volunteers. Unfortunately they did not allow volunteers yet at this particular sanctuary.

  TBC….