#tree wifi ass

[bastard-coded-bastard]

What unites people? Stories. And who has a better story… than Bran the Broken?

ARE YOU ON DRUGS, TYRION????

lets run the receipts yeah?

Arya Stark: literally becomes a face stealing assassin, redefining “youngest daughter” AND kills the night king

Sansa Stark: survived littlefinger, Cersei, Ramsy Bolton, JOFFREY–then becomes queen in the North all while serving face and trauma informed statecraft.

Daenerys Targaryen: Walked into fire, birthed dragons, freed thousands, then got done dirty by a plot-speedrun and the writers’ misogyny.

Theon Greyjoy: Betrayed his family, lost everything, got tortured, found redemption, and died protecting a glorified USB stick.

Tyrion himself: Has committed war crimes, survived every regime change, carried 90% of the shows quotable dialogue—and yet decided to throw his vote behind Bran “I can’t be Lord of anything, except apparently the entire continent” Stark.

AND BRAN??? BRANS STORY IS:

climbing a tower like a dumbass, sees two beautiful blondes making out (his life’s high point tbh), gets yeeted out a window.

is in coma

still in bed does a bit of cryptic dream shit talks to wolves maybe. mostly just lays there.

seasons 3-4 is carried around like a sack of prophetic potatoes, Hodors back pain intensifies meets jojen and meera, two forest randos with zero charisma and they essentially exist to push his ass through the snow while he stares at trees and says weird things like “he will come for me.”

Spends like another TWO SEASONS in a tree doing Psychic Lore Downloading™.

becomes omnipotent or whatever whilst still doing nothing with all that information— bro is like we stay informed 🙂‍↕️☝️ “its not much but its honest work 🤓”

revokes his identity as bran

Later gives Sansa a fashion compliment about her own fucking assault

goes ‘i can never be the lord of anything’ whilst rolling into the political summit and said “why do you think i came all this way’ 🫷🤓🫸”

I DON’T KNOW, BRAN. YOU TELL US. You’ve been silent for six seasons and now you’re a motivational poster?

BRO EVEN HOT PIE HAS A BETTER FUCKING STORY THAN YOU BRAN.

Hot Pie discovered the power of carbohydrates. Bran discovered the power of being stationary.

EVEN GENDRY HAD MORE DEVELOPMENT THAN BRAN. Bran didnt win the game of thrones bro got installed like a chlorophyll infused NPC.

[gallusrostromegalus]

Feeling despair over the general state of things? Blorbo from your shows not enough to hold the horrors at bay? Need something healthier to be insane about? Need to go outside more?

Want to become a pokemon trainer like you dreamed of when you were ten?

MERLIN BIRD ID APP BY CORNELL UNIVERSITY

It's a fun little app that lets you use your phone to identify birds by song. You hear a song, open the app, let it listen for a moment and it tells you what the hell is making that noise (if it's a bird), and shows you a picture of the little feathery bastards, so you can squint at the surrounding shrubbery with a better idea of WHAT you're looking for.

After thinking "Man, I wish I had that app to ID that lovely bird song!" and then completely forgetting that I wanted to do that by the time I got back to WiFi approximately five million times, I have finally managed to install it.

Friends.

I am becoming a pokemon trainer.

This is very literally like the Pokemon anime where Ash would find some godforsaken beast in the shrubbery and immediately whip out his Pokedex to Identify it. I will be out walking the dogs and will hear... Something? And now I can find out what the hell it is! Curiosity immediately rewarded!

And that's one hell of a dopamine hit.

You can increase the immersion into the pokemon trainer by also having Dogs (TM) with you. It's like having a starter pokemon, if your starter refused to go in the ball and was less keen on battling wild pokemon so much as generally yelling at, attempting to micromanage, or just straight-up eating them.

My dogs (functionally an off-brand Houndoom and Yamper-if-it-was-a-psychic-type) are thrilled that they're getting this much walkies, if somewhat confused by my stopping on the trail at random intervals to wave my phone around. They're Very Excited by me taking new, circuitous routes around the lake to get closer to trees and bushes to pick up songs because my phone was old when the pandemic started and the mic sucks. I'm pretty sure it's a matter of time before one or both of them figure out that I'm following birdsong and then I'll really be up shit creek because they fucking LOVE going on a hunt for something, and know that if they alert at something correctly at least a few times, I'll believe them when they pretend to alert at something. Like say, pretending they hear another bird, no I promise it's real you're just a comparatively deaf-ass human no I'm not trying to extend walkies how could you say that-

FURTHERMORE, Merlin Bird ID will keep a life list for you.

That's right.

You can put Birds in your Pokedex to fill it out.

And boy fucking howdy does my autistic ass love collecting things/completing sets, and that "congratulations, new lifer!" Thing lights up my brain like nothing else. I saw a blue grosbeak for the first time ever last night because the app told me ITS BLUE LOOK FOR SOMETHING BLUE!! AND BEHOLD, IT WAS THE BLUEST OF BIRDS!! I sailed through breakfast with my in-laws, a normally harrowing experience, on that high and I'm still going.

Granted, once the Blue Grossbeak took off and I was released from its enchantment, I realized that Herschel was rolling in half of a dessicated fish carcass while Charleston was attempting to work down the other half at speed, but that's just the joy of pet ownership.

...what I need to do now is figure out how to enter birds I can see that are not making noise into the list. There's so many ducks here, and all of them shut the hell up whenever the hounds and I are near.

Anyway,

MERLIN BIRD ID APP BY CORNELL LABS!!

Go insane in a way that makes you go outside and touch grass!

[kxsagi]

hihii can i req reader that is like academically smart but is also very naive at the same time?? reader would probably fall for the most obvious clickbait or something feel free to do with any bllk characters (especially sae 💋💋) thank youu but also feel free to ignore this if you don't want it

“𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦”

a/n: i read rage bait instead of click bait after writing everything, but decided to keep it since it’s still fitting 😭

ft. isagi yoichi, itoshi rin, kaiser michael, itoshi sae, shidou ryusei, nagi seishiro, mikage reo, karasu tabito

isagi yoichi

“you’re literally smarter than me, so why are you fighting with an anime profile picture?” 

you’re writing a full essay in the comments under a rage bait post that says “math is fake and only lazy people like numbers.” 

“love. they want you to argue. that’s the whole point. it’s bait.” 

you, while typing aggressively: “it’s the principle.” 

isagi literally has to pry the phone out of your hands. 

“they’re trolling. why are you citing academic sources in a thread about flat earth?” 

alternates between being impressed and deeply concerned. 

“you’re so smart it’s scary. and yet, you just fell for a post that said ‘gravity is a scam made by the big ladder.’” 

will still throw slurs under his fake account at anyone that tries to come after you. 

itoshi rin

“get off the internet. log off. i’m blocking you from twitter.” 

you: reading a post that says “the mitochondria isn’t real.” 

also you: seeing red. 

he watches you scroll past rage bait like, “no... don't take the bait... dammit.” 

“you know better. you literally know better.” 

gets mad with you but refuses to engage. 

he’s just staring at you spiraling over a troll who said “logic is fake” and muttering, “wtf is wrong with this generation.” 

turns off your wifi like a concerned parent. 

“you’re not arguing with someone named @cattboysupreme69. go read a book.” 

kaiser michael

“you’re falling for rage bait again, huh? i love this dumb little hobby of yours.” 

finds it hilarious that you get so fired up over random garbage takes. 

literally records you pacing and ranting about how “emotions are valid sources of decision making, actually.” 

“schatz, you’re a valedictorian. why are you beefing with someone who said ‘plants don’t have feelings so vegans are evil’?” 

fully encourages it for fun. 

“no, no, quote them. let’s go viral.” 

brags to his teammates like, “my girl’s a genius and also beefing with half of conspiracy tik tok. goals.” 

secretly reports every troll you argue with behind the scenes. he’s protective in a petty, passive-aggressive way. 

itoshi sae

“this is why i hate people. and also why you shouldn’t be online unsupervised.” 

you fell into a rage trap that said “women don’t belong in STEM.” 

sae, watching you rage-type a dissertation just said, “block them and move on.” 

you: “no. they need to be educated.” 

he takes your phone. 

“they don’t. they have 12 followers and use comic sans unironically.” 

quietly annoyed but impressed that you always come with facts. 

lowkey reads your arguments later and thinks, “damn. my girl snapped.” 

would absolutely start threatening people if they get too bold with you. 

“she might be arguing like it’s a thesis defense, but if any of you make her cry, i’m breaking your nose.” 

shidou ryusei

“babe, you’re smart as hell, but you’re also fighting with rage bait like it personally insulted your dog.” 

thinks it’s hilarious. 

“they said books are just dead trees. you really gonna let that slide?” 

you: frothing with rage “i will not let that slide.” 

shidou: eating popcorn and hyping you up “go off, professor! educate their ass!” 

he will 100% jump in and start trolling with you. 

“yo, babe, say something about their spelling. that always pisses ‘em off.” 

gives you an award when you get someone to delete their comment. 

“queen behavior. love that for you.” 

nagi seishiro

“can we not. like ever. please.” 

the most done every time you scream: “WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE SUN ISN’T A STAR AND IT’S A PLANET?!” 

he just wants to play games, not watch you get into a 14-comment back-and-forth with a dude named @trumpfan420. 

“you’re literally a genius. why are you arguing with people who think australia doesn’t exist?” 

lies on your lap and sighs dramatically. 

“you’re lucky you’re cute when you’re mad.” 

secretly proud of how well you school people, though. 

once tried to help you argue but got bored after one sentence. 

“i told them ‘L’ and left.” 

mikage reo

“you’re academically brilliant. and also very online. it’s like watching an intellectual gladiator fight trolls.” 

every time he hears “REO. THEY SAID SHAKESPEARE WAS MID.” he already knows what’s happening. 

you’re pacing around the house, typing furiously, quoting sonnets and throwing in stats. 

“you’re smarter than the entire room but still letting a 14-year-old with a controversial hot take ruin your night.” 

he makes tea and sits beside you while you rage. 

“need a bibliography link, baby?” 

lowkey brags to others: “yeah my girl just flamed a whole subreddit with APA formatting.” 

you’re his little chaos genius and he loves it. 

“you’re going to be a nobel prize winner and twitter’s most feared debater at the same time.” 

karasu tabito

“you’re out here fighting for your life against rage bait and i’m living for it.” 

watches you with popcorn like it’s live TV. 

“ohhh here they go. someone said philosophy is just overpriced poetry. let’s gooo.” 

he fully instigates sometimes. 

“babe, someone said gravity isn’t real. thoughts?” 

you start ranting, and he just grins like an agent of chaos. 

“why are you like this?” 

“why are you like this?” 

says he’ll block the trolls for you. ends up ratioing them with memes instead. 

y’all are the duo that trolls the trolls and then drops a full essay for fun. 

if anyone dares say “women can’t argue,” karasu just goes, “you sure about that?” and lets you annihilate them in 5k characters. 

© 𝐤𝐱𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐢

[littlejoyss]

Manchild

Stray Kids - Hwang Hyunjin x Reader 

College AU | Enemies to Lovers

Word Count: 12k 

[A/N: This was a request made by this anon. Thank you, anon! Also, don't worry, I'm still going to upload my soulmates series, this was just something I wrote after editing my recent story.]

Summary: After your best friend convinced you to go on a camping trip, you told yourself it would be fun... Until you realized the man who is a pain in your ass was also invited.

The car smelled faintly of sunscreen, trail mix, and regret. You had been staring out the window for the past hour, watching pine trees blur into an endless green smear, pretending you weren’t acutely aware of the boy stretched out in the backseat. Hwang Hyunjin. Artist. Campus heartthrob. Certified pain in your ass.

He hadn’t said a word since he got in, too busy scrolling through his phone and occasionally scoffing under his breath like the concept of nature personally offended him. 

“Can you move your knee? You’re digging into my seat,” you said flatly, not turning around.

There was a pause. A deliberate one. Then his voice, low and drawling:

“Didn’t realize we were measuring leg room by your standards now.”

You grit your teeth. It was starting already. It wasn’t like you had wanted to go on this trip. But when Felix, your best friend and chronic optimist, barged into your room three weeks ago, waving a flyer, her eyes sparkling, you’d barely had time to protest.“A weekend in the woods with everyone! No WiFi, no professors, no stress. Just campfires, stars, and…wait for it…swimming!”

“Pass.”

“Come on! It’s a big group.”

However, you didn’t know this big group would include him. You’d noticed him. You always noticed him. And judging by the smug little half-smile Hyunjin gave you every time you crossed paths on campus, he noticed you, too. And now? Now you were hurtling toward three days of forced proximity with your nemesis, courtesy of your overzealous friend group.

The car finally jolted to a stop at the edge of a clearing. “Alright, campers! We’re here!” Chan announced from the driver’s seat, clapping his hands together like a dad trying to rally the troops. “Everybody, grab your bags. Let’s set up before it gets dark.”

You unbuckled your seatbelt and stepped out, stretching your legs and making sure your favorite necklace was still on, only to hear the sound of a duffel bag thumping against the dirt behind you. “Don’t tell me you overpacked,” Hyunjin said lazily as he slung his own bag over one shoulder. “We’re not glamping, princess.”

You turned, fixing him with your best glare. “Don’t tell me you brought a sketchbook you’re not talented enough to fill.”

His smirk was instantaneous. “Oh, good. We’re doing the thing where you insult me to hide the fact that you missed me.”

You let out a sharp laugh. “Missed you? I only agreed to this trip so I could bury your body in the woods.”

Around you, the rest of the group, fifteen in total, bustled with energy. Felix and one is his classmates were already wrestling with tent poles. Seungmin was muttering about bugs. Changbin had started unearthing a suspiciously large cooler of snacks. You exhaled, pinching the bridge of your nose. This was going to be a long weekend. Especially since, thanks to Felix’s “brilliant” tent assignments, you and Hyunjin were sharing the same one. You were starting to think this was on purpose. Actually, the more you think about it, it was definitely on purpose. Felix had been asking you about the ‘beef’ between you two for a while now, since Felix is friends with Hyunjin. 

“Oh, would you look at that,” Hyunjin drawled as he glanced at the tent assignments scribbled in Felix’s loopy handwriting on a scrap of paper. “We’re tent buddies.” The grin he shot you was sharp and wolfish, the kind that made your blood run hot, not in the way he’d like to think.

“This has to be a mistake,” you said, snatching the paper. But no. There it was: your name next to his, circled in Felix’s pen with a suspiciously enthusiastic little smiley face.

“Sorry, (Y/N). We ran out of tents,” Felix called cheerily from across the clearing, clearly overhearing your protest. “You and Hyunjin will just have to share. You’ll be fine. Maybe it’s good for you.”

“Define ‘fine,’” you muttered under your breath.

Hyunjin, unbothered as ever, bent to unzip the tent bag with all the grace of someone who had absolutely no intention of helping beyond this point. “You know,” he said casually, “I think Felix is onto something. Maybe this is the universe telling you to drop the act and admit you’re obsessed with me.”

You snorted, grabbing a tent pole. “Obsessed? Please. I don’t have enough free time in my schedule for that level of self-loathing.”

His laugh was low and infuriatingly genuine as he held one of the fabric panels aloft. “Keep talking, princess. You sound just like someone trying very hard not to sound obsessed.”

—

The setup wasn’t going well. “Hold it steady,” you hissed, gripping one end of the tent pole as you tried to slot it into place.

“I am holding it steady,” Hyunjin countered lazily, his other hand scrolling through his phone again. “Maybe you’re just weak.”

You shot him a look sharp enough to draw blood. “Do you want to sleep on the cold, hard ground tonight? Because if you keep running your mouth, I’ll make sure that happens.”

He arched an eyebrow but finally set his phone aside, holding the canvas taut with both hands. The tent billowed briefly in the breeze, smacking you in the face.

You sputtered. “Are you serious?”

“Oh no,” Hyunjin said with a fake gasp, eyes wide in mock horror. “Did my lack of upper body strength offend you?”

“You are so-”

“Hot? Talented? Charismatic? Yeah, I’ve heard all that before.”

You groaned, dragging a hand down your face. Why had Felix done this to you? Why hadn’t you just feigned a sudden illness and stayed home?

Eventually, by some miracle, the tent stood upright. You stood back, arms crossed, glaring at it like it personally offended you. Hyunjin plopped down onto the sleeping bag on his side of the tent, propping himself up on one elbow like he was posing for a Renaissance painting.

“You know, I think this will be good for us,” he said, voice dripping with fake sincerity. “Bonding time. Just you, me, and all your unspoken feelings.”

You didn’t dignify that with a response. Instead, you grabbed your water bottle and ducked out of the tent, muttering something about helping Felix gather firewood. Anything to avoid spending one more second breathing the same air as Hwang Hyunjin.

By the time you reached Felix, you were seething and fidgeting with your necklace. “Let me guess,” he said without looking up, arms full of twigs and pine branches. “You’re either here to murder me for the tent assignments or to demand a transfer.”

You dropped your water bottle into the dirt with a little more force than necessary. “Both,” you said flatly. “Why would you do this to me? Of all people, him?”

Felix straightened, brushing his hands on his shorts, his grin infuriatingly bright in the dying light. “Because you two need to get over yourselves. And let’s be honest, this whole rivals act? It’s getting old.”

Your mouth opened, then closed. “Rivals act? Felix, he’s…he’s-”

“-literally just a guy who flirted with you once in sophomore year and now lives rent-free in your head?”

You gawked at him. “That’s not…he doesn’t…ugh! You weren’t there, okay? You don’t know how it started.”

“That’s because you don’t even know how it started.” Felix tilted his head, giving you that maddening look of his, the one that said he was trying very hard not to say I told you so. And maybe he wasn’t entirely wrong.

The truth was…you couldn’t remember the first spark that lit this particular fire. It had been a dozen little moments, a too-sharp comment in class, a group project that ended with him calling your handwriting painfully cute (you’d thrown a pen at his head), late-night run-ins at the library where he’d smirk and ask, “Studying or just waiting to run into me?” God, his ego was so big.

“Anyway,” Felix said, hoisting the bundle of wood onto his shoulder, “the way he looks at you? Not exactly the picture of hatred.”

You froze. “What does that mean?”

“Nothing,” Felix sang, already walking back toward camp. “Better hurry. Campfire’s starting.”

Sure enough, when you got back, someone had already managed to coax a fire to life. The group was clustered around it, blankets draped over shoulders, the scent of roasted marshmallows hanging in the air.

“(Y/N)! Over here!” Jisung called, patting the empty log beside him. But before you could take a step, Hyunjin slid into the spot with the practiced ease of someone who’d been watching and waiting for the opportunity.

“Oops,” he said, not even bothering to sound sorry. He patted the log on his other side. “Plenty of room over here, princess.”

Your jaw tightened. You should’ve walked away. Should’ve sat on literally any other log in the entire forest. But you wanted to show that you weren’t going to let him affect you. So, you sat next to him. The log was rough beneath your hands as you sat, careful to leave an inch of space between your thigh and Hyunjin’s. You stared straight ahead at the fire, determined not to notice how his cologne was way too strong.

“Wow,” Hyunjin murmured, just loud enough for only you to hear. “Didn’t think you’d actually sit. Brave move.”

You kept your eyes on the flames. “Don’t flatter yourself. I just didn’t want to trip over your long legs trying to walk past.”

Across the fire, Jeongin and Changbin were laughing about a disastrous canoe trip last summer. Someone had already cracked open a bag of marshmallows, and Jisung was burning one to a crisp on purpose, cackling as Seungmin scolded him like a camp counselor. You wanted to relax, to lean into the warmth of the fire and the easy chatter around you. But Hyunjin’s presence was like static in your chest, unsettling and impossible to ignore. And of course, because the universe had a cruel sense of humor, Chan clapped his hands and said, “Alright, truth or dare. Let’s make it interesting.” Groans and cheers went up in equal measure.

When it got to you, Jisung grinned like he’d been waiting for this moment.  “(Y/N). Truth or dare?”

You hesitated. Picking dare felt like handing them ammunition. But truth? Truth wasn’t safe either. Not when Hyunjin was sitting next to you like a devil in ripped jeans and a hoodie. “…Truth.”

“Okay,” Jisung said, tapping his chin dramatically. “Who was your first campus crush? Be honest.”

A chorus of “oooohs” echoed around the circle. You opened your mouth, ready to throw out some random name just to get it over with.

But before you could, Hyunjin leaned closer, voice low and teasing, “Don’t choke under pressure, princess.”

You jerked back, shooting him a glare. “Why? Scared it’s you?”

“Could be. You did write my name in your planner that one time.”

“That was for a group project, you ass.”

“Was it?” His smirk was maddening. But his eyes…his eyes flickered just briefly, something quieter, softer. You didn’t know what to make of it.

You started fidgeting with your necklace and blurted out the first name that came to mind. “It was Lee Minho.”

Half the group made surprised noises, the other half laughed. Minho raised his brows across the fire, smirking. “Huh. Didn’t see that coming.”

“Yeah, well, it didn’t last,” you muttered.

But when you dared a glance at Hyunjin, his smirk was gone, replaced with an unreadable expression as he stared into the fire.

“Hyunjin. Truth or dare?” Seungmin said next, his voice carrying that perfect mix of boredom and mischief.

“Truth.”

Seungmin’s sharp eyes glittered in the firelight. “Alright, big shot. What’s your biggest regret?”

The group collectively ooohed, some laughing, some muttering “good one” under their breath. Even Felix perked up a little, marshmallow halfway to his mouth.

Hyunjin leaned back slightly, resting an arm on the log behind you. You tried not to notice the heat of it barely brushing your shoulders. His smirk was still there, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes this time. “Biggest regret?” he repeated lazily, as if buying time. “That’s a heavy one for a game like this, don’t you think?”

“Chicken,” Jisung teased, earning a quiet laugh from Changbin. 

But Hyunjin shook his head faintly. His gaze stayed locked on the fire as he answered. “Not saying what I should’ve said when I had the chance.”

The air shifted. Not enough for anyone else to notice, but you felt it in your chest, like someone had tugged the cord of a too-tight knot. No one pressed him for details. Maybe they thought it was about an ex, or a lost opportunity, or something else entirely. But there was something in his voice, in the deliberate way he avoided looking at you, that made your stomach twist. Felix, sitting across from you, was watching carefully. His mouth quirked like he was holding back another “I told you so.”

“Wow, emo answer,” Jisung said after a beat, breaking the silence with a grin. “Guess that’s on brand for the artist guy.”

“Shut up,” Hyunjin said easily, tossing a small twig into the fire. Sparks jumped and swirled upward.

—

Sophomore Year

The music was too loud. Bass thumped against your ribs like a second heartbeat, and the smell of cheap beer clung to the air along with something sharp and sweet, citrus, maybe, or vodka. Someone laughed too hard behind you, the sound splintering into hiccups, and you leaned harder against the kitchen counter to steady yourself. This wasn’t supposed to be your scene. You didn’t even like house parties. But Felix had begged. “Come on,” he’d said, hands clasped dramatically under his chin. “It’ll be fun. You need to live a little.” You hadn’t planned on staying long, just an hour, maybe two, to make Felix happy.

Except now it was pushing 1 AM, and the room tilted slightly every time you blinked.

“Whoa.” A warm hand landed lightly on your arm. “You good?”

You looked up, too fast, and nearly stumbled. Hwang Hyunjin. Of course. His hair was longer back then, falling into his eyes as he studied you with a half-amused, half-concerned expression. He wasn’t holding a drink, which made him stick out in this crowd. He also wasn’t smiling, not his usual smirk anyway. Just… watching.

“Fine,” you said quickly, forcing your voice steady even as the word wobbled. “I’m fine.”

His mouth twitched. Not quite a smile. Not quite not. “You’re drunk.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

You groaned, dragging a hand down your face. “Why are you even talking to me?”

“Because you’re about two seconds from tipping over,” he said easily, stepping closer, not close enough to touch, but enough that the hazy warmth of him made your skin prickle. “And as much as I enjoy chaos, I don’t feel like watching you crack your skull open on this nice floor.” You opened your mouth, then shut it again. The room was too loud, too bright, too Hyunjin. You hated how nice he looked while you felt like a mess. “Come on,” he said, nodding toward the sliding glass door that led to the backyard. “You need air.”

“I don’t need anything from you.”

“Sure.” He didn’t argue, just waited. There was that infuriating patience in his eyes, like he already knew you were about to follow. And maybe you were. Because the kitchen was too hot, and you couldn’t breathe properly, and you hated that Hyunjin was right. The night air outside bit cool against your skin, sobering and sharp. You closed your eyes and tipped your head back, grateful for the silence.

“Better?”

You cracked an eye open. Hyunjin leaned casually against the railing, hands tucked in his pockets. The porch light cast him in gold, making the angles of his face too pretty to look at for long.

“…Better,” you muttered.

You hated him. Or at least, you told yourself you did. It had started in Professor Yoon’s Art History seminar. He always strolled in five minutes late, sketchbook in hand, like the rules of time didn’t apply to him, and took the seat in the back corner, your corner. Every time. It wasn’t just the lateness. It wasn’t even the way he’d sprawl in his chair like he owned the place, long legs kicked out in the aisle, spinning his pencil between his fingers with infuriating ease. Or the way he would flirt with any girl who walked near him. It was his smirk. That smug, knowing little half-smile he’d flash whenever you raised your hand to answer a question, like he was testing how much space he could take up in your head.  You hated how good he was at it. 

But then there were moments when his ego slipped. Like the time he stayed after class to argue a grade with Professor Yoon, voice lower and steadier than you’d ever heard, hands flexing nervously around his sketchbook. Or when you caught him in the library once, headphones on, hunched over a piece he kept erasing and redrawing until the page went soft under his pencil. It didn’t look like someone coasting on talent, like he usually did. It looked like someone was trying too hard not to mess up. And maybe, you started wondering if his arrogance was more armor than truth.

But then he’d open his mouth. Like now. “You know,” Hyunjin said, his voice low and lilting, almost teasing, “you’re not so bad when you’re not glaring at me across a classroom.”

You rolled your eyes, hugging your arms tighter around yourself. “Wow. High praise. I’ll put that on my resume.”

“I’m serious.” He pushed off the railing, taking a slow step closer. “You’re… interesting.”

You frowned. “Interesting how?”

His grin was back, sharp and wolfish. “Interesting enough to make me wonder what you’d look like in one of my sketches.”

Your stomach dropped. For half a second, you weren’t sure why. Maybe because for one awful, fleeting moment out here in the quiet, it had felt like he’d been sincere. Like there was a version of him behind all the cocky remarks and practiced charm, a version you almost wanted to know. But no. Of course not. Hyunjin was Hyunjin. Campus heartthrob. Chronic flirt. The boy who turned sincerity into a punchline.

“God, you’re insufferable,” you muttered, turning toward the door.

“Wait-” His hand brushed your elbow, not gripping, just enough to make you pause. “I didn’t mean-”

You shook him off. “You always mean it.” 

You hated that part of you was disappointed.

—

Present

The fire had burned down to embers by the time Chan stood, clapping his hands together like a camp counselor. You wonder if he used to be one. “Alright, campers,” he said with a grin, “I have a proposition.”

“No,” Minho said immediately.

“Yes,” Jisung said at the same time, eyes gleaming.

Chan ignored them both. “Night swim. Lake’s only five minutes that way. Who’s in?”

Groans and cheers rippled through the group. Someone threw a half-roasted marshmallow at Chan’s chest. “It’s freezing!”

“Which makes it more fun,” Changbin countered, already kicking off his sneakers.

“I’m in,” Felix said, bouncing to his feet. “Come on, (Y/N). You’re coming too.”

You blinked at him, still caught in the sticky web of your own thoughts from the flashback. “What? No! Why do you always drag me into things?”

“Yes.” Felix grabbed your wrist and tugged you up before you could argue. “It’s tradition. Campfire, then night swim. You’ll regret it if you don’t.”

“Tradition for you, maybe,” you muttered, but you let him drag you toward the tents anyway. Around you, the group was a blur of motion, people pulling on hoodies, kicking off shoes, laughing like it was the most natural thing in the world to go barreling into a dark lake at midnight.

You ducked into your tent to grab your swimsuit, only to find Hyunjin already inside, shirtless, rummaging through his bag. “Jesus Christ!” You spun so fast you nearly tripped over the zipper. “Do you mind?”

“Do you mind?” he said casually, not even looking up. “It’s my tent too.”

You slapped a hand over your eyes. “You can’t just…ugh! Warn a person next time!”

“Relax. I’m wearing shorts.”

“Not the point!”

But even with your eyes covered, you could hear his grin. That maddening little smirk in his voice. “I take it you’re coming to the lake?” he said.

“No,” you snapped automatically.

“Yes,” Felix called from outside the tent. “She’s coming!”

“See? You are obsessed with me.”

You dropped your hand, glaring. “If you don’t shut up-”

“You’ll what? Push me in the lake? Oh no.” He clasped his hands in mock terror. “Please don’t ruin my perfect hair.”

—

The trek to the lake was chaotic, filled with stumbling flashlights and laughter that echoed through the trees. The air smelled of pine and smoke, sharp with the chill of night. You hugged your hoodie tighter around yourself as you trailed behind Felix. The water glinted silver in the moonlight when you broke through the tree line. It was beautiful in a quiet, eerie way, the surface perfectly still until Changbin sprinted past and cannonballed in with a yell.

Screams and laughter followed as one by one the group splashed into the dark water. You stood on the edge, toes digging into the cool sand, debating your life choices.

“You’re not chickening out, are you?” Hyunjin’s voice was suddenly in your ear. You startled, whipping around to find him standing closer than he had any right to, hair falling in soft waves around his face, bare shoulders catching the moonlight like a painting.

“Maybe I just don’t feel like swimming in a pitch-black lake with God-knows-what lurking beneath the surface,” you said stiffly.

“Or maybe,” he said, voice low and dangerous with amusement, “you’re just scared I’ll out-swim you.”

You shot him a glare sharp enough to cut glass. “Please. If you drown, I’m not saving you.”

Felix’s voice rang out across the water. “(Y/N)! Hyunjin! Get in already!”

“Come on, princess,” Hyunjin said, tugging off his hoodie and tossing it to the sand. “You know you want to.”

You did not. But you weren’t about to let him win. “Fine,” you said through gritted teeth, pulling off your hoodie, which accidentally snugged on your necklace. “Try to keep up.”

You didn’t wait for his reply, just bolted for the water, letting the cold bite into your skin as you dove in with a splash. When you surfaced, gasping, Hyunjin was right there, closer than he should be, dark hair slicked back, a grin tugging at his lips. “Not bad,” he said softly, water dripping down his jaw.

You splashed him in the face. He sputtered, blinking water out of his lashes, and then his grin widened, sharp and dangerous like a predator about to pounce. “Oh, you’re dead,” he said.

Before you could react, Hyunjin lunged forward and sent a tidal wave of water crashing over your head. You shrieked, flailing as icy lake water drenched your hair and streamed down your face. “HYUNJIN!” you yelled, choking on laughter and outrage all at once.

“You started it,” he said smugly, treading water like a damn siren, hair plastered to his forehead in a way that should not have been as distracting as it was.

You wiped water from your eyes and narrowed them dangerously. “You really wanna do this right now?”

“Oh, I really do.” That was all the warning you got before he launched another splash your way, hands cutting through the water with deadly precision. You shrieked again, shielding your face with both arms as a wave hit you square in the chest.

“Oh, it’s on,” you growled. Your retaliation was swift and merciless, two cupped hands scooping up as much water as possible and sending it flying into his smug, perfect face. Hyunjin let out a bark of laughter, flinching back but not retreating. Instead, he came at you in full force, and suddenly you were locked in an all-out water war, both of you laughing so hard it hurt.

“You fight dirty!” he accused, spluttering as you kicked up a spray with your foot.

“You’re one to talk!” you shot back, ducking under the surface to evade his next attack. When you popped up behind him, you sent a stealthy wave into his back, earning a startled yelp.

“Cheap shot!” he cried, spinning to face you.

“Cry about it, princess,” you teased, throwing his own nickname back at him.

For a moment, his eyes locked with yours, and everything slowed. His grin faltered, not completely, but enough for a flicker of something softer to slip through. The moonlight caught on his wet skin, his chest rising and falling, and his hair clung to his sharp cheekbones like he’d stepped out of some tragic romance movie. You felt heat bloom in your chest, and not from the cold water or the adrenaline.

Hyunjin’s voice was quieter now, but there was a dangerous edge of amusement to it. “You like calling me that, don’t you?”

“What?” you asked, trying to sound unaffected as your heart thudded in your ears.

“Princess,” he said simply. The word hung between you, heavy and charged.

You rolled your eyes, splashing him one more time just to break the tension. “Don’t flatter yourself. It’s just accurate.”

“Mm.” He leaned in a little, water rippling around his shoulders. “Keep telling yourself that.”

Before you could come up with a biting retort, Felix’s voice rang out from further down the lake. “Are you two done flirting, or should we leave you alone?”

You whipped your head around to see most of the group watching from a respectful, or not-so-respectful, distance. Changbin was cackling so hard he nearly slipped off his inflatable float, and Minho wore his trademark unimpressed scowl.

“We’re not-!” you started, but Hyunjin cut you off with a maddening smirk.

“Yeah, we’re done for now,” he called back smoothly. Then, under his breath to you, “Unless you wanna keep going?”

You shoved at his shoulder, sending him splashing backward with a laugh. “Shut up.”

The laughter and splashing gradually died down as the group pulled themselves out of the water, dripping and shivering but exhilarated. You were among the last to leave the lake, the cold seeping into your bones, but the night air was buzzing with the kind of energy that only comes after a challenge well met. Hyunjin, being petty, refused to get out of the water just yet.

You tugged your hoodie back on over your damp skin and wrung out your hair, eyes scanning the shore for your towel, when a sudden, sinking realization hit you. Your necklace, the delicate silver chain with the small charm you always wore, was gone. You stopped dead in your tracks, heart skipping. “Wait…Chan, did you see my necklace? I swear I had it before we jumped in.”

Chan blinked. “Nope. Didn’t notice.”

You swallowed the lump forming in your throat and crouched, fingers skimming the sand and waterline desperately. The charm was small, but it caught the light, a faint glint that you hoped would guide you.

“Hey,” Felix appeared at your side, concern flickering across his face. “What’s up?”

“My necklace,” you said quietly. “I think I lost it in the lake.”

Felix’s brows furrowed. “Here? We can try to find it.”

Felix crouched beside you, already scanning the damp sand with sharp eyes, his voice softening. “Don’t panic. It’s probably just at the edge somewhere. You were tugging at it earlier, right? Maybe it slipped when you dove.”

But your stomach was sinking like the necklace surely had. That charm wasn’t just jewelry. It was the one thing you never took off, a tiny anchor of comfort in a world that so often felt too loud. Your fingers dug into the wet sand, searching, searching, your breath coming a little faster as the minutes stretched. “I’ll check further up the shore,” Felix offered gently, heading off without waiting for an answer.

You pressed your palms to your eyes, willing the tight ache in your chest to ease. Of course, this would happen. Of course, on top of Hyunjin’s teasing and the awkward proximity of sharing a tent, you’d lose the one thing you couldn’t replace.

“Hey.” The voice came from behind you, quieter than usual. You didn’t look up. You didn’t trust yourself not to snap.

“Go away, Hyunjin,” you muttered.

“Not happening.” You felt him crouch down beside you. “What’s wrong?”

“My necklace,” you said through gritted teeth. “It’s gone. Slipped off in the water.”

There was a pause. Then, without another word, Hyunjin stood and walked back into the lake.

You blinked after him. “Wait…what are you…”

“Looking for it,” he called over his shoulder, already waist-deep in the water.

“Hyunjin, don’t! You’re going to freeze!” you shouted.

He glanced back with that maddening grin, but it didn’t have its usual sharpness tonight. “Then start planning my funeral, princess.”

You groaned, dragging a hand down your face. “You don’t even know what it looks like.”

“Small. Silver. A heart. You wear it all the damn time,” he replied simply, diving under before you could argue further. The water rippled where he’d disappeared, moonlight catching on the surface like scattered coins. You waited, heart in your throat, seconds ticking by like hours. Then, Hyunjin surfaced with a gasp, shaking water from his hair. His arm came up, and in his hand, pinched carefully between two long fingers, was… “Is this it?” he called, holding up the delicate chain so it glittered faintly in the moonlight.

You stared. Relief crashed into you so hard your knees went weak. “You, oh my God, yes! That’s it!”

He grinned, triumphant and a little breathless, wading back toward shore with the necklace dangling from his fingers like a prize.

“You’re insane,” you said as he handed it over.

“Maybe.” He was still catching his breath, droplets of water sliding down his jaw and neck, clinging to his lashes. “But at least now you don’t have to cry yourself to sleep over it tonight.”

“I wasn’t going to cry,” you shot back automatically, though your fingers clutched the necklace tight like a lifeline.

Hyunjin tilted his head, eyes narrowing slightly as they searched your face. Whatever he saw there made his grin soften into something else, something quieter. “Sure,” he said lightly. But his voice held none of its usual bite. “You’re welcome, princess.”

You opened your mouth, a dozen retorts lined up and ready, but none of them felt right. Instead, you swallowed hard and said, very quietly, “Thank you.”

His grin returned, crooked and boyish. “Don’t mention it. Seriously. Don’t. I’ve got a reputation to maintain.”

“You mean your reputation as the most insufferable human alive?” you teased, slipping the necklace carefully back over your head.

“Exactly.” He flashed a wink before stepping back toward camp, leaving a trail of wet footprints in the sand. “Glad we’re on the same page.”

You watched him go, your necklace warm against your skin again. And try as you might, you couldn’t quite smother the smile tugging at your lips.

—

By the time you trudged back to the tent, the air had turned sharper, the smell of the lake still clinging faintly to your hair. Most of the group was already bundled up inside their respective tents, low murmurs and occasional laughter floating through the clearing. You tugged off your damp hoodie and tossed it over your bag, trying to shake off the way your chest still felt too tight, too full. From the cold. From the swim. From Hyunjin. He wasn’t back yet. The thought shouldn’t have mattered. It shouldn’t have made you pause with your hands frozen halfway to unzipping your sleeping bag. But it did.

When the tent flap rustled a few minutes later, you turned automatically. Hyunjin ducked inside, hair damp, a towel slung lazily around his neck. He was shirtless again, because of course he was, and this time you didn’t bother pretending not to notice the way the moonlight caught on his collarbones. “You survived,” you said, keeping your voice dry to hide the way your pulse had picked up.

“Barely.” He dropped his towel and flopped onto his sleeping bag with all the grace of a cat claiming its favorite sunspot. “Pretty sure my toes are frozen solid. You’re lucky I didn’t die of hypothermia saving your sentimental jewelry.”

You rolled your eyes and sat cross-legged on your own bag. “You didn’t have to do that.”

His eyes flicked to you, unreadable in the dim light. “Yeah, I did.”

That shut you up. Silence stretched between you. Outside, the wind rattled faintly through the trees.

“You’re still glaring,” he said after a moment, his voice quieter now. Not teasing. “What’s that about?”

“I’m not glaring.”

“You are. You glare when you’re thinking too hard.”

You scowled, mostly because he was right. “I just…” You hesitated, fidgeting with the edge of your sleeping bag. “Why did you actually do it?”

Hyunjin propped himself up on one elbow, watching you. “Do what?”

“Go diving for my necklace like some…I don’t know…heroic idiot.”

A ghost of a smile tugged at his mouth. “Would it kill you to say thank you again?”

“I already said thank you.”

“Yeah, but it sounded like it hurt your soul to admit it.”

You tossed a pillow at him. “You’re insane.”

He caught it easily, grinning. But then the grin faded, and his voice dropped low enough that you almost missed it over the wind. “Because it mattered to you. Maybe I like knowing there’s still something I can do that actually matters to you,” he added softly.

The knot in your chest pulled tighter, and you hated how unprepared you felt for this version of him. The version who wasn’t smirking, wasn’t teasing, just looking at you like he meant every word. “That’s…stupid,” you said finally, though your voice lacked conviction.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “But it’s still true.”

“You know,” you said slowly, “this whole enemies thing was a lot easier when you weren’t…nice.”

Hyunjin’s grin returned, softer this time. “Guess I’ll have to work on being more of a jerk tomorrow. For your sake.”

“You’d better,” you muttered, lying back on your sleeping bag and pulling your blanket over your head. But your lips betrayed you, curling into a smile you hoped he couldn’t see in the dim light.

—

The next morning, sunlight spilled across the tent in golden stripes, warming your cheek and dragging you out of sleep. You groaned, rolling onto your side, only to be met with the sight of Hyunjin, already awake and sitting cross-legged on his sleeping bag, sketchbook balanced on his knees. He didn’t look up right away, pencil scratching lightly against the page. His hair stuck up in chaotic spikes, still faintly damp from the lake the night before, and there was a soft crease on his cheek where he must’ve slept on his hand. “You’re staring,” he murmured without looking up.

“I’m not,” you croaked, voice thick with sleep.

“You are.” Now he looked up, lips quirking in a smirk that was far too smug for this early in the morning. “What? Can’t resist me first thing in the morning?”

“God, you’re insufferable. It’s too early for this.”

“It’s never too early for the truth. Besides, I didn’t even get a good-night kiss after saving your necklace. Tragic.”

You sat up, rubbing your face. “Tragic is you thinking you deserve one.”

“Cold,” he said with a mock pout. “And here I was thinking we had a moment last night.”

“Yeah, a moment where I considered tying a rock to your ankle and leaving you in the lake.”

He grinned, leaning forward slightly. “Admit it, princess. You’re warming up to me.”

“I’m warming up to the idea of murdering you in broad daylight,” you shot back. But the corners of your mouth betrayed you, threatening to curl upward despite your best efforts.

Hyunjin tilted his head, studying you like you were one of his sketches. “You’re cuter when you’re not glaring at me, you know.”

“Stop saying things like that.”

“Why? Because you’re starting to believe them?”

Before you could come up with a suitable retort, a voice called from outside the tent. “Breakfast, people! Pancakes! Get ‘em before Changbin eats them all!”

You scrambled for the zipper, desperate to escape the charged air of the tent. But Hyunjin was faster, slipping out first with a lazy wave. “Ladies first.”

“Ugh.”

By the time you made it to the picnic table, most of the group was already gathered, plates piled high with pancakes, syrup, and fruit. You slid into a spot next to Felix, who shot you a knowing grin. “Sleep well?” he asked innocently.

“Fine,” you said quickly, shoving a pancake onto your plate. “Totally fine. Nothing to report.”

“Uh-huh.” Felix’s grin widened as his eyes flicked between you and Hyunjin, who had just taken the seat across from you, stretching like a cat in the sun.

“What?” you asked sharply.

“Nothing.” Felix hid a laugh behind his orange juice, while Seungmin, seated two spots down, muttered, “This is exhausting to watch.”

After breakfast, most of the group dispersed to clean up or wander back toward the lake. You ducked into the tent to grab your toiletries bag and clean clothes, but froze when you saw Hyunjin rummaging in his.

“Don’t you dare say anything,” you warned as you snatched up your bag.

“Say what?” he said innocently, but his grin was already forming. “That you keep running into me at highly vulnerable moments? That maybe, just maybe, the universe is trying to tell you something?”

You huffed, brushing past him. “Please. The universe hates me. That’s the only explanation for this trip.”

“Mm. Or loves you enough to give you a wake-up call.”

You ignored him, marching off toward the camp showers. But your smugness was short-lived because when you got there and unzipped your bag, your stomach dropped. No towel.

You glanced back toward camp. Hyunjin was already heading your way, your towel slung casually around his neck like he owned the place. No. Absolutely not. “Don’t say it,” you warned when he got closer.

“Say what?” His eyes gleamed with mischief as he leaned against a tree, crossing his arms. “That there’s only one towel left? I got mine dirty after the lake.”

You pulled the towel off his arms and clutched it to your chest. “I called dibs.”

“Did you? I don’t remember hearing that.”

“That’s my damn towel!”

Hyunjin tsked, shaking his head. “So selfish, princess. I share my air with you all night, and this is the thanks I get?”

“You’re insufferable.”

“Mm. You keep saying that, but here we are. Sharing a tent. Sharing mornings. Sharing towels.”

“We are NOT sharing a towel.”

“Not yet.” His grin turned wolfish. “But give it five minutes.��

You froze, the towel clutched like a shield between you, heat blooming in your cheeks. “Hyunjin,” you warned, but your voice cracked in a way that only made his grin widen.

“What?” he asked innocently. “You’re the one holding onto my towel like it’s a lifeline.”

“It’s mine!” you snapped, spinning on your heel and storming toward the girls' showers, muttering under your breath. “Unbelievable. You’re actually the worst.”

“Pretty sure you said I was insane last night,” he called after you. “Which one is it, princess? Worst or insane?”

“Both!” you yelled back without turning around.

“Aw, don’t get shy now. You’re cute when you’re mad.”

You didn’t respond. Not when your heart was hammering so hard it felt like everyone in camp could hear it.

—

Later, as you stepped out of the shower, hair damp and skin still tingling from the cool air, you caught sight of yourself in the foggy mirror. Your necklace, back where it belonged, rested lightly against your collarbone, its silver heart warm from your skin. You shouldn’t have been thinking about him. About the way his voice had softened last night. About the way he’d looked at you, not like the cocky, infuriating boy you’d spent years bickering with, but like someone who saw you. You weren’t falling for him. You weren’t. …Right?

When you returned to camp, Hyunjin was lounging in a hammock strung between two trees, sketchbook in hand again. He glanced up at you over the top of it, lips curving, but he didn’t say anything. You sent him a glare that lacked any real heat and dropped onto the bench beside Felix. He leaned over with a smirk. “So, how’s your little lake hero doing this morning?”

“Shut up.”

Felix grinned knowingly and went back to his extra pancakes. Across the clearing, Hyunjin’s pencil moved again. You didn’t have to look to know he was sketching something. Or someone. You hated the part of you that wanted it to be you.

—

That afternoon, the group decided on a hike up to a nearby lookout point. You tried to stay near the middle of the pack, determined to keep as much distance as possible from Hyunjin, but of course, the universe had other plans. “Hey. You’re falling behind.”

You whipped around to see him strolling up beside you, hands tucked into his pockets like the steep incline wasn’t affecting him at all. “I’m not falling behind,” you huffed, adjusting your bag.

“Mm. Sure. Or maybe you’re just slowing down so I’ll walk with you.”

“In your dreams.”

“Oh, you’re definitely in my dreams,” he said smoothly, grinning when you stumbled on a root. “Careful there.”

“You are impossible.”

“And yet…” He leaned closer, voice dropping to a mock-whisper. “Here we are again. Alone in the woods. Starting to think you like me, princess.”

You opened your mouth to argue, but stopped when his hand shot out to steady you as you slipped on a patch of loose dirt. “Careful,” he said again, softer this time. “Wouldn’t want you to break that pretty necklace after all that trouble.”

You hated the way your chest clenched. Hated it even more when you realized he hadn’t let go yet. “Hyunjin,” you said, and your voice was quieter than you meant it to be.

“Yeah?” His thumb brushed your wrist before he finally stepped back, hands up in mock surrender.

“Stop… being like this.”

“Like what?”

You stared at him helplessly for a beat too long before shaking your head and pushing past him. “Just… stop.”

But you could feel his eyes on you all the way up the trail. And worse, you couldn’t decide if you hated it or liked it.

—

That night, the air was cooler, the scent of pine and lakewater clinging to the breeze as you zipped up your hoodie and slipped into the tent. You tugged a blanket over your lap as you rummaged through your bag to put your toothbrush away. You’d made it through the day without too many Hyunjin-related disasters, barely. The hike had left you pleasantly tired, though not enough to keep your brain from replaying every look, every smirk, every brush of his hand. You didn’t want to think about it. About him.

The tent rustled behind you as Hyunjin ducked inside. He was in sweatpants now and an oversized hoodie, hair pushed back. In one hand, he still carried his sketchbook and pencil. “Getting cozy?” he asked lightly, flopping onto his sleeping bag.

You didn’t answer, focusing on digging out your toothbrush and a hair tie.

“Not in the mood for witty banter? Tragic,” he said, but his voice lacked its usual bite. He leaned back against his elbows, eyes flicking to the tent flap. “I was thinking about heading down to the lake for a bit. Clear my head. Maybe draw. You know… breathe.”

“Mm,” you said noncommittally, pulling your blanket tighter.

“You could come with me,” he added casually, though his tone was just a touch softer than usual. “We could talk.”

The suggestion hit harder than you expected. You swallowed and shook your head without looking at him. “Pass.”

“Pass?” he repeated, one brow arching.

“Yeah.” You busied yourself tying your hair up, avoiding his gaze. “It’s late. I’m tired.”

There was a beat of silence. “Right,” he said finally. 

“You’d better go soon before it gets colder,” you muttered, lying back on your sleeping bag and pulling your blanket over your head. 

“Goodnight, princess,” he said after a moment.

You didn’t answer. Not out loud, anyway. But you heard him get up, heard the faint rustle of the tent flap, and listened as his footsteps crunched over leaves and pine needles, fading toward the lake.

You lay there for a long moment, staring at the dark fabric of your blanket, your chest too tight to breathe properly. Every sound outside seemed louder. Crickets chirping, the soft wind in the trees, the occasional laugh from the others at their own tents. But the loudest sound of all was the pounding of your heart. What the hell are you doing? You threw the blanket off with a frustrated groan and sat up. Your eyes darted to Hyunjin’s sleeping bag, empty, just as you knew it would be.

You weren’t sure what exactly possessed you to shove your feet into your sneakers and slip out of the tent, hoodie clutched tightly around your body. But you couldn’t stay there, wrapped in your own thoughts. The walk to the lake was quieter than it had been the night before. No laughter, no splashing, just the soft hush of water lapping against the shore. Moonlight spilled across the surface, making the lake look like molten silver. And there he was.

Hyunjin sat cross-legged on the edge of the small wooden dock, sketchbook balanced on his knees, pencil moving slowly over the page. His hair caught the pale light, making him look unreal, like a figure from a painting. Why is he so sexy if he’s so dumb?

 You froze at the edge of the trees, caught between the urge to turn back and the pull to keep moving forward. Your chest felt too tight, your hoodie too warm despite the chill. He hadn’t noticed you yet. His pencil scratched softly against the paper, rhythmic and steady, and for a moment, you let yourself watch him. The curve of his shoulders. The way his brows drew together slightly in concentration. 

You told yourself it didn’t mean anything, that it was just curiosity, not the restless tug that had kept you awake. But then his head tilted, just enough for you to see the faintest flicker of a smile at the corner of his mouth, and something in your stomach twisted painfully. You didn’t think. You stepped out of the trees, the boards of the dock creaking softly under your sneakers as you made your way closer.

Hyunjin stiffened at the sound, his head snapping up. When his eyes met yours, they widened slightly, caught off guard. “You,” he said after a beat, voice low. “Didn’t think you’d come.”

“I didn’t either,” you admitted, your words quieter than you expected.

His gaze held yours for a moment longer before sliding back down to his sketchbook. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“Something like that.” You stepped closer, stopping just short of where he sat. “What are you drawing?”

He turned the sketchbook slightly, just enough for you to glimpse a rough outline of trees, water, and…the shape of a figure sitting on the dock. You.

Your breath caught. “Is that supposed to be me?”

“Don’t sound so horrified,” he said lightly, though there was a hint of defensiveness under his tone. “You’ve been my muse all trip, whether you like it or not.”

Your lips parted in a retort, but the words tangled somewhere in your throat. He wasn’t smirking now. He wasn’t teasing. He was just watching you, his pencil stilled in his fingers, expression unreadable in the silver light.

You swallowed hard and crossed your arms over your chest. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Yeah,” he said softly. “Maybe I am.”

The silence stretched, thick and heavy, until you couldn’t stand it anymore. “Why do you keep doing this?” you burst out.

“Doing what?”

“Looking at me like that. Saying things like that. You drive me insane all day, and then…and then you turn around and…” Your hands curled into fists at your sides. “Just stop.”

“Stop what?” His voice was calm, too calm, which only made your pulse race harder.

“Stop…” You broke off, huffing out a frustrated breath. “Stop acting like you…like we…like this means something.”

Hyunjin’s brow furrowed slightly, but his tone stayed maddeningly even. “Who says it doesn’t?”

“You don’t mean that.”

“Don’t I?” His head tilted, and now there was a flicker of a smirk, but it wasn’t his usual cocky grin. It was softer. Sadder. “You think I go around drawing people for fun? You think I dive into lakes for people I don’t give a damn about?”

You swallowed hard, the sound loud in the stillness. “You shouldn’t.”

“Too late.”

You hated him in that moment, hated the way his words lodged deep in your chest, hated the way the moonlight made him look almost gentle, hated how your feet refused to move backward.

“Hyunjin…” Your voice shook, more than you wanted it to. “I can’t…”

“You can’t what?”

“I can’t do this with you!” you burst out. “I can’t keep fighting with you all day and then…”

“Then what?” He was standing now, sketchbook forgotten on the dock, and before you realized it.

“Then making me feel like…” Damnit. Why can’t you speak?

“Like what?” His breath was warm against your forehead now, his voice low and rough.

“Like I want you!” You yelled, the words torn from your chest before you could stop them.

Silence.

And then, “Fuck it,” Hyunjin growled, and his hands were on your face, pulling you into him like he couldn’t take another second. The kiss hit like a spark in a campfire, messy and desperate, teeth clashing at first until your lips found a rhythm. Your fingers bunched tighter on his hoodie, dragging him impossibly closer as if you could pour every ounce of your confusion, your frustration, your want into the space between you. His hands slid back into your hair, tilting your head so he could deepen the kiss, and a soft, involuntary sound escaped your throat. That seemed to undo him completely, his arms wrapped around your waist now, lifting you slightly as your back hit one of the dock posts with a muted thud.

“God, you’re infuriating,” you breathed against his mouth when you pulled back for air.

His lips curved, swollen, and slick. “You’re one to talk.”

You opened your mouth to fire back, but he kissed you again, harder this time, and all thought dissolved like mist over the lake. When you finally broke apart, you were both panting, your foreheads pressed together. Neither of you spoke. The air between you was charged, heavy with everything left unsaid.

“Fuck you.” You finally whispered.

“Oh, yeah? I bet you want to.”

​​Your hand moved before your brain could catch up. The sound of your palm connecting with his cheek echoed off the water, sharp and shocking in the stillness. Hyunjin didn’t flinch. His head turned slightly with the force, his hair falling into his eyes, but when he looked back at you, his grin was still there, wider now, feral and breathless.

“Fuck,” he muttered, his tongue darting out to taste the corner of his lip where your slap had left it reddened. “You hit harder than I thought, princess.”

“Don’t.” You started, your voice shaking. Your hands were still trembling from the contact, from everything. “Don’t make this worse.”

His smile faltered then, not all the way, but enough for a flicker of something real to show through. His thumb stilled against your skin. “Too late for that, isn’t it?”

You hated him for being right. Hated the way your body betrayed you, leaning infinitesimally into his touch, like it didn’t remember what your brain was screaming. “You’re impossible,” you whispered.

“And you’re still standing here.” His hand slid from your jaw to the back of your neck, fingers tangling in your hair. “Tell me to let go.” You should have. You wanted to. But the words refused to come. “You can’t,” Hyunjin said quietly, almost like an accusation. “You don’t want me to.”

His forehead pressed to yours, your breaths tangling in the chill night air. The silence stretched, heavy and unsteady, until your hands bunched in his hoodie again, not pulling him closer this time, but shoving. “I hate you,” you said, but your voice cracked like breaking glass.

“Then hate me properly,” he growled, and kissed you again. This kiss wasn’t desperate. It was violent with emotion, like two storms colliding. His hands were in your hair, yours gripping his shoulders, both of you moving like you were trying to hurt and heal in the same breath.

When you finally wrenched away, gasping, his hands still cradled your face like you were fragile even now. “You done slapping me, or should I give you more reasons?” he asked hoarsely, lips inches from yours.

Your hand twitched at your side like it wanted to. But instead, you shoved his chest hard enough to put space between you. “Stay away from me,” you whispered, voice barely holding steady as you turned and fled back up the dock. You stormed up the path, heart pounding so violently it felt like it would burst out of your chest. The chill night air bit at your damp lips, the taste of him still lingering there, maddening and sweet and wrong. You stumbled over a root but caught yourself, muttering curses under your breath as you tore through the trees. You needed to get away. To breathe. To shove him out of your head before you do something even more reckless.

But the crunch of footsteps behind you made your stomach twist. “Princess.”

You didn’t stop. Didn’t even turn. “Go back to your damn lake, Hyunjin.”

“Not until you look at me.” His voice wasn’t teasing anymore.

You quickened your pace. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Too bad.” A hand caught your elbow, not harsh, but firm enough to stop you dead. You spun on him, shoving at his chest with both hands. “What? You want me to hit you again?”

“Maybe,” he said evenly. His eyes searched yours, unreadable in the shadows, but his voice cracked a little when he added, “But I’d rather you just fucking talk to me.”

You froze, thrown off by the shift. Gone was the smug grin, the infuriating drawl. He wasn’t smirking now. He wasn’t even angry. He looked…raw. Like he’d peeled his own armor away before you could do it for him. “I want you to tell me the truth.” His grip loosened on your arm. “Do you really hate me?”

You opened your mouth, ready to lie, ready to throw every defense up between you, but he stepped closer, and the words stuck in your throat.

“Because I don’t hate you,” he said, quiet but unwavering. “Not even close. I’ve tried. I’ve spent years trying, and I can’t. I don’t know when it happened, or how, but you’re…” He broke off, exhaling hard, his fingers raking through his hair. “You’re it for me. And it’s driving me insane.”

The world tilted under your feet. “Don’t say that.”

“Why not?”

“Because you don’t mean it!”

“Yes. I do.” His eyes burned into yours now, all the usual playful heat stripped down to something sharp, desperate, and terrifyingly real. “I mean every damn word, and I’m so tired of pretending I don’t. That night during sophomore year. At the party? Yeah. I fucking meant what I said. You look so gorgeous when I sketch you. I wasn’t flirting with you like I flirt with other girls. I know I do that a lot. But, fuck, I should’ve just told you how I felt that night. I’m such an idiot!”

Your breath caught. Sophomore year. The party. You’d spent the past year telling yourself you’d imagined it. The way his eyes had lingered too long. The way he’d murmured, “Interesting enough to make me wonder what you’d look like in one of my sketches,” as though it had meant something more. But you hadn’t imagined it.

“Stop,” you said, barely above a whisper. How many times have you said that word today without meaning it?

“No.” His voice broke on the word. “I should’ve said it then. Should’ve told you you’re the only person who’s ever made me feel like this. Like I’m out of control, like I can’t breathe unless I’m near you.” He stepped closer again, and you took a shaky step back.

“Hyunjin…”

“I tried to let it go. I dated other people. I flirted. I laughed it off every time someone teased me about you. But I never stopped. Not once.”

You shook your head, forcing a laugh that sounded too brittle, too hollow. “This isn’t funny.”

“Do I look like I’m joking?” His hands hovered at his sides, like he wanted to reach for you but didn’t dare. His jaw clenched as he said, “Tell me you don’t feel it too. Tell me, and I’ll walk away.” You opened your mouth. Closed it. Your heart slammed against your ribs so hard it hurt. “Tell me.” His voice cracked on the last word, raw and desperate.

“I…” The word stuck in your throat like splinters. You wanted to say it, to scream it, but the years of walls you’d built around him wouldn’t let you. So you did the only thing you could. You ran. You spun on your heel and bolted up the path, your sneakers slipping on pine needles. Branches whipped at your arms, tears stinging your eyes before you even realized they’d fallen.

But you didn’t make it far. A hand caught your wrist again. This seemed to be a pattern. “Don’t.” His voice was low, broken. “Don’t run from me. Not now.”

“Hyunjin.”

“Please.” One word. Barely a whisper. But it shattered something in you.

You turned, and the sight of him nearly undid you completely. His chest heaved like he’d been holding his breath this whole time, hair falling into his eyes, shoulders tense like he was bracing for a blow. “I don’t know how to do this,” you admitted, your voice shaking. “I don’t know how to be around you without…without feeling like I’m drowning.”

“Then drown with me.” He said it like a plea. “Drown with me,” he repeated, softer now. “Because I’ve been drowning in you for years, and I don’t want to come up for air anymore.” His thumb brushed your wrist where his hand still held you. 

And then you were moving, closing the space between you before your brain could catch up. Your hands fisted in his hoodie, pulling him down into you like you’d been waiting forever, and his mouth crashed into yours for the third time that night. This kiss was slower than the previous two. It felt more like a real kiss. His hands framed your face like he was afraid you’d disappear, like he had to memorize every angle of you right there in the dark.

When you finally tore away for air, your forehead pressed to his, his breath fanning hot over your lips, he whispered, “Tell me you don’t feel it. Lie to me.”

You couldn’t.

—

The next morning hit differently. It wasn’t the golden sunlight streaming through the tent, warm and dappled. It wasn’t the faint chill of the air or the soft rustle of sleeping bags. It wasn’t even the far-off laughter of their friends already starting to pack up camp. It was him. Hyunjin was still asleep on his side of the tent, one arm tucked under his head, the other stretched lazily across the sleeping bag like he’d been reaching for something. Or someone. His hoodie had slipped off one shoulder in the night, revealing the sharp line of his collarbone, and his hair was a messy halo of soft brown strands catching the early light.

You hated how your heart tripped at the sight. Last night felt like a fever dream. The lake. His hands on your face. His mouth on yours three times. His words still echoed in your chest, low and raw and impossible to ignore.

You shoved the memory down hard and turned onto your side, facing away from him, willing your brain to shut up. It was fine. Today was the last day. You’d pack up, head home, and then you could shove this whole mess into a box and bury it six feet deep where it belonged.

Except then he shifted behind you, a sleepy groan rumbling from his chest. Finally, his hand made its way to your hip, lazy, like his body had decided for him before his brain could wake up. You froze. The weight of his palm there was light. You stayed perfectly still, staring at the tent wall in front of you like it might save you. Maybe he was still asleep. “Mm.” His voice was low, hoarse with sleep, barely more than a breath. “You’re still here.”

You swallowed hard, your fingers curling into the edge of your sleeping bag. “Where else would I be?” you asked, your voice quieter than you meant.

There was a pause, then a soft laugh that sent goosebumps racing down your arms. “Don’t know. Thought maybe you’d bolt again.”

You winced. You had bolted last night. Twice. But you didn’t move now. You couldn’t. His hand shifted slightly on your hip, his thumb brushing over the fabric of your hoodie. Every nerve in your body lit up like it was responding to a silent command only he knew how to give. “Don’t make this harder.”

“Harder than what?” His hand stilled, the air between you suddenly fragile. “Then pretending nothing happened?”

You let out a shaky breath, staring at the dim light filtering through the tent walls. “I don’t know if I can be what you want.”

“I don’t want anything from you,” he murmured. “Except…you. However you’ll let me have you.”

You turned in his arms. His hand slipped from your hip to your back, pulling you closer almost instinctively. Your forehead pressed to his chest, and for a moment, you just breathed him in. Clean laundry and faint pine and something that was just him.

Hyunjin’s fingers trailed lightly up your spine, stopping to rest at the nape of your neck. “Tell me to let go,” he whispered.

You didn’t. Instead, your fingers clutched the front of his hoodie. “I don’t hate you,” you admitted, so soft he almost missed it.

His chest rose sharply against your cheek. “Say it again.”

You looked up, meeting his eyes, warm, searching, hopeful. “I don’t hate you.”

Hyunjin’s lips curved, not into his usual smirk, but something softer, smaller. Like he didn’t trust it yet, like he was scared you’d take it back. “Good,” he murmured. His thumb brushed along your jaw.“Because I don’t think I could survive it if you did.”

You opened your mouth, but the words tangled on your tongue. There was too much, too many feelings, too many questions, too much of him. So instead, you buried your face in his hoodie again, letting yourself have this one impossible moment.

The world outside was quiet. Peaceful. Until the tent shook violently. “Rise and shine, lovebirds!” Felix’s voice sang from the other side of the fabric. “Time to pack up before Chan leaves you here.”

You both froze. Hyunjin’s hand stilled on your back, his fingers flexing slightly. Slowly, his head tipped forward, his forehead resting against your hair as he let out a quiet, strangled laugh. “Lovebirds?” he mouthed.

You shoved at his chest, cheeks burning. “This is your fault,” you hissed under your breath.

“My fault? You’re the one still in my arms,” he whispered back, grinning now, his voice annoyingly smug even at a whisper.

“Hello?” Felix called again, shaking the tent harder this time. “Don’t make me unzip this thing. I’ll do it.”

You bolted upright so fast you smacked your head on the tent roof. “We’re up! God, Felix!”

There was a pause outside. You could practically hear his grin. “Mm-hmm. Ten minutes. Don’t make it awkward.”

“We’re not-”

But he was already walking away, his laughter carrying across camp.

You sat there, fuming and flustered, clutching your sleeping bag like a shield. Hyunjin had the audacity to stretch lazily, arms over his head, like he wasn’t the literal cause of your humiliation. “So,” he drawled, eyes gleaming with amusement. “What’s the plan, princess? Sneak out separately to save face? Or just own it and walk out together like the power couple we apparently are?”

You gawked at him, heat crawling all the way up your neck. “Power couple? We’re not…this isn’t…”

“Not yet,” he said with a wink, already grabbing his bag.

“Hyunjin!” 

“Relax. You’re cute when you’re panicking.”

You groaned, burying your face in your hands as he started rolling up his sleeping bag like nothing had happened. Except everything had happened. And now you had to step out into the daylight, and into a camp full of friends who were way too observant for their own good. This was going to be a long morning. You tried to keep your head down as you worked, furiously shoving your sleeping bag into its stuff sack like it had personally wronged you. Hyunjin, of course, was the picture of calm, humming softly under his breath as he rolled his sleeping mat. The sound grated on your nerves. “You could at least pretend to be embarrassed,” you hissed, throwing him a glare over your shoulder.

“Embarrassed?” He glanced up, all faux innocence and infuriating charm. “Why would I be embarrassed? Everyone knows I look good with you.”

Your jaw nearly hit the floor. “You…unbelievable.”

“I mean, Felix said it himself. Lovebirds.” Hyunjin smirked, tossing his pillow into his duffel with far too much flourish. “Kind of catchy, don’t you think?”

“Hyunjin?"

“Yes, princess?”

“Shut up.”

He chuckled, low and pleased, clearly enjoying every second of your flustered silence. You tugged at the tent poles harder than necessary, nearly snapping one in half. He didn’t offer to help until the very end, holding one side of the tent steady as you yanked out the stakes. By the time everything was packed and the last of the gear loaded into the cars, you were sweaty, annoyed, and determined to put as much distance between yourself and Hyunjin as possible. You slung your backpack over your shoulder and made a beeline for the car you’d arrived in, throwing your stuff in the trunk before climbing into the backseat.

But your heart sank when the door on the opposite side opened, and Hyunjin slid in next to you without hesitation.

“Seriously?” you blurted.

He blinked at you, all wide-eyed and mock-offended. “What? There’s plenty of room back here.”

“You didn’t sit back here on the way up.”

“Yeah, well…” His gaze flicked to yours, and the teasing smile faltered just slightly. “Things change.”

You opened your mouth to argue, but Chan chose that exact moment to climb into the driver’s seat, Felix already in the passenger side. “Everyone in? Great. Let’s roll.”

The drive started out quiet. Too quiet. You pressed yourself against the door, arms crossed tightly over your chest as you stared out the window, determined to ignore the heat radiating from Hyunjin’s side of the seat. He was… too close. Not in a technical sense, there were still a few inches between you, but it felt like his presence had its own gravity, pulling you in no matter how hard you tried to resist. It didn’t help that Felix kept throwing knowing smirks over his shoulder every few minutes, or that Chan’s eyes flicked to the rearview mirror just long enough for you to see the faintest trace of amusement there, too.

You were not going to give them the satisfaction. You pulled out your phone, scrolling aimlessly just to keep your hands busy. But your heart still thudded like a war drum in your chest when Hyunjin shifted slightly closer, his long legs stretched out in front of him as he slouched into the seat. At first, you thought he was just trying to get comfortable, but then his arm brushed yours, light, accidental, but deliberate enough to make your breath hitch. You didn’t look at him. Couldn’t.

For the first hour, you kept your focus on the passing trees, the occasional curve of the road. Anything but him. But as the drive dragged on and the soft murmur of Chan and Felix’s conversation faded to nothing, you felt Hyunjin’s shoulder dip lower.

You risked a glance. He was asleep. His head was tilted slightly your way, lashes resting against his cheeks, lips parted just enough to let out the faintest sound of breath. His hair had fallen into his face, a few strands sticking stubbornly to the corner of his mouth. He was leaning on you now, barely, but enough for you to feel the gentle weight of him, the faint rise and fall of his breaths.

Your first instinct was to shove him off, to hiss at him to sit up and keep his hands, or in this case, his entire existence, to himself. But you didn’t. You couldn’t. Because sitting there, warm sunlight flickering through the window onto his face, Hyunjin didn’t look like the cocky, frustrating boy who’d spent years teasing you. He looked… soft, and that was dangerous.

You should’ve been mad. You should’ve been annoyed. But instead, a warmth bloomed in your chest that had nothing to do with the sunlight. God. When did this happen? When had the line blurred between irritation and affection? Between annoyance and… No. You couldn’t even finish the thought. But as his head shifted against your shoulder, a faint contented sigh leaving his lips, your throat tightened painfully. You were in trouble. Because for the first time, you let yourself admit it, not out loud, not even fully in your own head, but deep in the quiet corners of your heart where truth couldn’t be denied.

You loved him. You loved him, and it was terrifying. Terrifying because you didn’t know what to do with a feeling like that. Terrifying because once you’d let it in, you couldn’t shove it back out. Terrifying because…maybe he loved you too.

You clenched your hands in your lap, every muscle in your body taut with the effort of keeping still. If you moved, you might wake him. You didn’t want to disturb his peace. The car rolled on, tires humming softly against the road, the afternoon sun warming the glass. You stared straight ahead, trying to regulate your breathing like some kind of meditation exercise. Hyunjin’s head was fully resting on your shoulder now, his hair tickling your cheek every time the car hit a small bump. 

It should’ve been annoying. It was annoying. Except…it wasn’t. God help you, you loved this ridiculous, smug, overdramatic manchild. And he didn’t even know it. Or maybe he did. He probably did. This was Hyunjin. He had an annoying sixth sense for these things and an ego big enough to assume you were head over heels anyway. You’d never hear the end of it if he found out for real. You sighed quietly and let your head rest back against the seat. You could feel his breath, slow and steady, against your shoulder. His hair smelled faintly of campfire smoke and the cheap shampoo he swore was “aesthetic.”

There was no saving you.

You sat there in silence, memorizing the weight of his head, the faint sound of his breathing, the way your arm felt warm where it brushed his. When the car finally slowed, turning into the familiar lot back home, you felt your stomach drop. Because this moment, this fragile little bubble you were in, was about to burst.

Sure enough, Chan glanced at the two of you in the rearview mirror, the corner of his mouth twitching. “We’re here,” he said lightly, like he wasn’t watching your emotional downfall in real time.

Felix turned too, his grin bright and so smug. “Cute nap, lovebirds. Should we give you two a few more minutes?”

You flushed crimson. “We are not lovebirds.”

But Hyunjin stirred before you could finish, a soft groan rumbling from his chest. He blinked his eyes open, confusion flickering there before he seemed to realize exactly where he was and who he was leaning on. “Oh,” he said sleepily, voice husky. Then, with zero shame, “Comfy.”

“Hyunjin.” You hissed, trying to shove his shoulder.

But he only sat up slowly, stretching like a cat, completely unbothered. “What? You could’ve pushed me off anytime. But you didn’t. Interesting.”

“Shut up.”

His lips curved in that infuriating half-smile. “Didn’t hear you complaining.”

“Shut. Up.”

Felix’s laughter rang out as you shoved the car door open and all but bolted, Hyunjin’s amused chuckle following you like a curse. As you stormed ahead toward your building, your face still burning, you could hear his steps falling into place behind you. “You know,” he said conversationally, “you make a really good pillow. I think I’m going to make this a thing.”

You whirled on him. “Don’t you dare.”

But he only grinned wider, completely unbothered by your glare. “Too late. It’s tradition now.”

“Tradition? You…” You jabbed a finger in his chest. “Manchild,” you muttered weakly, pulling your hand back.

He smirked, that dangerous glint returning to his eyes as he fell into step beside you again. “Your manchild.”

Your heart did something very inconvenient in your chest. “Not even close,” you shot back, but your voice cracked, and the grin that spread across his face said he knew you were lying.

Because maybe…just maybe…you didn’t mind the sound of it.

General Taglist: @moonlitcelestial @akindaflora @beppybeesnuggets @rylea08 @yxna-bliss @felixsonlyrealwife @wolfs-howling @velvetmoonlght @rougegenshin @ilovvesleepp @qwonyoung23 @imagine-all-the-imagines

[nipuni]

Hello time to yap about life and media again! 🥰

It's been a month and a half since we fully moved into this new old house and it's been a steep learning curve!! so far we had to learn how to care for a garden and grow fruit, how to deal with extremely humid weather, the mold!! also learning about various repairs, electricity and plumbing, we had a leak that turned one lamp into a waterfall, the rcd keeps tripping every time it rains, had to fix a door in the dark after Nicolas got himself trapped in a room when the handle broke during a power outage, the heating system is an air to water heat pump and it took us ages to figure out how to set it up correctly so we spent weeks wearing 3 layers inside the house, I even fell down the stairs!! I'm not used to having stairs inside the house lmao It's a big adjustment when you've always lived in small apartments in big cities all your adult life, but to be honest we love it!! everything feels like a new quest for us to tackle and it is so much fun figuring it all out as we go, reading technical manuals by candle light, the teamwork of installing and assembling furniture and networks, pruning the trees, celebrating every small mundane accomplishment and new skill learned every night over dinner, I may be corny as hell but it all feels like a privilege and an adventure 😭

Media wise we watched the second season of Arcane! This series never fails to make me fall in love with art again, not that I've ever fallen out but I can't say that the whole AI debacle hasn't been ass for the morale. Aesthetically it is a masterpiece. The character design, the cinematography, the mixed media montages aaaa Seeing the work, the skill and care that was put into every frame reminded me of how important and human the storytelling aspect of art really is. I wonder if we will see a shift to the more story driven or conceptual arts when we look back on this period, but I ramble, back to Arcane. I have mostly praise for it, wonderful characters and very touching relationships. I think our only issues were with the pacing being too slow at the start, every character climbing out of a very low point, and then too fast which made the second half feel a bit rushed. This season also felt a bit more tropey than the first one but still really solid. It remains one of the best animated series ever made and I am so happy to see it succeed in this current environment 😭 It feels like teenagehood condensed into a show, we really enjoyed it. I hope we get a season 3!!

Also there was an update in our David Tennant filmography quest! we watched The Politician's Husband and unsurprisingly we loved it!! It was gripping and the acting was brilliant. It is actually what I was expecting Rivals to be like, I realize 🤔 I think it could have used a 4th episode, felt like it ended too quickly and there was room for more, as if they ran out of time to tie things up so they picked the quickest route. But it was really good!! These miniseries are always so engaging and so short, I need mooreee.

We missed our DT nights!! Nicolas spent the last week hunting for more of David's work for us to watch. We've been hosting family for a few days again last week and on top of work and everything else we had to pause them for a bit. But now we are back to our nightly routine and he's over the moon!! Instant mood boost it's embarrassing lmao both of us falling this hard for this guy is too enabling, he even made his name our guest wifi password, we are besotted 😂

Oh! I also I saw a Veilguard Q&A was happening and read a few replies I saw posted here, and it proved to be a huge mistake! It was a disappointing and truly infuriating read. What even happened during the production of this game lmao How come the average fan seems to have a much better grasp on the lore, characters and plot than the people who made it 😭 There is this gaping disconnect between intent and execution. The way that fans are trying to make sense and give meaning to the complete mess that is the writing in an attempt to salvage and preserve the aspects they loved about it is saddening. I am mentally throwing tomatoes at John Epler as we speak. His answers felt so unserious and baffling at best and offensive and petty at worst. It's been eye opening, I could go on a two hour rant but the more I learn and dwell on it the more bitter I become about it all and I'm already seeing ten year old discourse resurface and people getting weird about it so I'll just ..🚶‍♀️ In my eyes this world and it's characters now belong only to those who love it and lives in my memory 🫡

Anyway, this ended up being at least twice as long as I was planning to make it again 😭 and I still have to catch up with asks aaaa it's been a busy month sorry I'll get to them soon!! Thank you for reading and for the support and for just being here!! I hope you all have a great week 🥺❤️

[mia-can-yap-too]

Snow White and the Evil Queen

synopsis:- The Evil King, Kaiser, has just found out that some whimsy guy with skin as white as snow (not really), named Alexis Ness, is the finest shyt of them all! After some mid witchcraft, it is up to you, the princess, to save Snow Nes– I mean White.

warnings:- fluff, crack, mentions of witchcraft and poisoning, seven short gym bros, an ad break

🌸:- so the nonconsensual kissing of unconscious peoples in the OG story always weirded me out so theres obvious consent here, also no one is kissing unconscious people thats disgusting. also thank you so so much to @jeonwiixard for beta reading i love u ho

divider creds to @/uzmacchiato

A long while ago, back when people didn't have wifi, they used to spend almost all of their time in front of cursed mirrors instead. And by 'they' I mean Kaiser, The Infamous Evil King.

No one knew where he'd gotten the mirror. Some say he got it for 30% off at Walmart. In his defense, it seemed like a good deal.

Anyway, every day, he would ask his enchanted mirror the same question.

"Mirror Mirror on the wall, who's the finest shyt of them all?"

And for years, the mirror lied comfortably, like a toxic best friend.

"Obviously you, King. Look at that winged eyeliner."

But then came a day when the mirror was particularly thirsty for drama.

"Actually... it's Ness. He was voted white boy of the month, don't blame me."

Hearing that made Kaiser so infuriated that he threw a Swarovski-encrusted goblet at the wall.

"WHAT?! NESS?! The stable boy with those god-awful Labubus?!"

The mirror flinched. "The forest aesthetic gave him mad aura. He glows now. He has thousands of followers on Faestagram. He even winked at that cute princess."

Kaiser scowled. "Fine! If he wants to be the finest, then he can be the deadest too!"

"That's not a word..."

Ignoring the mirror, Kaiser snaps his fingers. "Oh, Royal Huntsman! I summon thee!"

In came Isagi, looking as tired as ever. "Yes, Your Royal Pain-in-the-Ass?" he deadpanned.

Kaiser ignores that too.

"I need you to take care of a certain... stable boy for me. Take him into the woods and make sure he never comes back."

"You want me to kill Ness."

Kaiser shrugged. “Let the wolves have him. I don't care.”

“I thought you liked Ness.”

“I liked being prettier than Ness.”

“...You're insane.”

Kaiser grinned. It was almost maniacal. “And you work for me.”

Isagi sighed in a way that clearly showed how done he was with his shit.

“I need a new job.”

With the promise of views that would make for some bomb selfie backgrounds, Isagi lured Ness into the woods.

Ness twirled. “Wow, such fresh air! I feel radiant. This is doing wonders for my skin!”

“You're literally wearing perfume.”

“I prepared for this journey. It's called aesthetic.”

“You know you're supposed to be dead, right?”

Ness paused. “Like… metaphorically?”

Isagi pulled out a dagger.

Ness started screaming like a generic anime girl and threw a raccoon at him.

Chaos ensured.

Eventually, Isagi gave up, rubbed his temples and snapped, “JUST GO. Run into the woods. Hide in a cottage. I don't know. I don't care. I'll tell Kaiser you tragically tripped over your own narcissism and drowned in a puddle.”

Ness sniffled dramatically. “You… you're letting me live?”

“No. Isagi is a free elf, bitch.”

After a near death experience with some incredibly violent tree branches, Ness found himself at a suspiciously symmetrical cottage.

Outside, a sign read, ‘NO SKINNY LIFTERS.”

In the cottage, lived seven cursed gym bros, all once tall and hot, now short and beefy.

Their names were; Biceps, Triceps, Glutes, Back, Chest, Legs and Shoulders. They even had a cat named ‘Pre-Workout’.

Ness, of course, stumbled inside. Ah, you can't take him anywhere!

The seven short, aggressively-jacked men were all shirtless, and glistened with sweat. They were all doing various workouts while Taylor Swift's ‘Bejeweled’ played in the background.

“...Did I die and go to gay Valhalla?”

Bicep paused mid-plank. “You're not protein.”

Chest scowled at the trail of glitter Ness left behind. “And you're shedding sequins on our yoga mats! We use those for pilates, you know!”

Glutes gasped. “Is he injured? Or just that radiant??”

“I swear to John Cena if this is another cursed royal…,” started Shoulders.

Ness clutched his pearls. “I am not cursed! I'm persecuted! And I've walked for hours. My fresh manicure broke! A squirrel threw an acorn at me!”

Glutes looked over to his frat brothers with his large doe eyes. “Can we keep him? Please?”

Legs sighed. “Can he cook?”

“Can he spot?”

Ness perked up. “I can make a divine mushroom omelet! And I sparkle when I cry.”

All seven gym bros turned to each other, and nodded slowly.

“He may stay.”

You were a wandering princess who heard rumors of ‘a boy finer than the king and dumb enough to trust raccoons', so naturally your first instinct was to investigate.

You found Ness dramatically pretending to faint in a meadow. He fluttered his lashes when you touched his shoulder.

“Oh, dear Princess!” he cried out with a hand to his temple. “I think I have been poisoned! By jealousy!”

You blinked. Then sniffed. Then sniffed again.

“Is that Bleu de Chanel I smell on you?”

Suddenly the world became dark. A single spotlight shone down on Ness as jazz played faintly in the background.

He flipped his hair in slow motion. Water droplets came out of nowhere.

In his hand was a bottle of perfume, which he held gently as he stared into an imaginary camera.

He spoke in an obnoxiously french accent. “Pride by LGBTQ. Wear your colors.”

Everything went back to normal after that.

“Um… what the fuck was that?” you asked.

Ness chuckled, his voice going back to normal. “It was a sponsorship. I'm an influencer, honey, how do you think I pay my bills?” (a/n:- this is a joke, there are no sponsors <- for legal purposes)

“Oh, okay,” you were already used to the weirdness in fairytales from experience, so you didn't let it get to you.

Then just as you thought nothing weird was gonna happen again, a shadow fell over the meadow once again.

“Step away from her.”

It was Kaiser, emerging from the fog like he paid the weather to match his mood. Which wasn't that unlikely now that I think about it. Anyway, his cloak was billowing. Rings glinting. Hair slicked back with excessive amounts of rage and hair gel.

“Really?” you deadpanned. “Witchcraft? Again? Micheal, we've talked about this.”

He looked at you with stormy eyes and his mouth twisted into a pout. He ignored Ness entirely. “You should've picked me.”

“You literally tried to murder a man with a fruit basket! I mean, look at him!” You shoved Ness’ face towards him. “Does he look like he can do any bad thing ever?”

“Darling, he winked at you! The audacity!”

You rolled your eyes. “And you tried to turn a forest into an ice biome because I said I liked winter.”

“I was being festive.”

Before anyone could throw hands or poisoned apples, the gym bros appeared. All shirtless and oiled up and holding tree logs as dumbbells.

“Who's threatening the sparkle twink?”

Kaiser squinted. “What the… Why are they so small?”

“We got cursed at a rave,” muttered one.

Chaos nearly broke out until Ness, sensing a romantic climax, gasped, clutched his chest and dramatically collapsed into a fake coma.

“Only a true love's kiss can save me!” he wailed pre-collapse. “Just saying!!”

Everyone turned to you, the hero in this story.

You, who had never signed up for this nonsense, sighed, knelt and leaned in.

Only to be yanked back by Kaiser.

He growled, “If you kiss him, I'll…I'll hex the moon!”

You stared him down. “And if I kiss you?”

Silence.

Even the birds stopped singing.

“...Then I'll burn every mirror in the kingdom and let you ruin me,” he replied way too fast to be nonchalant.

Ness sat up, offended. “HEY—”

You kissed Kaiser cuz well, who could resist?

It was electric, ridiculous, and lowkey kind of hot if you ignored all the gym bros watching.

Somewhere in the distance, the cursed mirror exploded in protest. It was just that good.

Kaiser pulled back, dazed. “I forgive Ness for existing.”

You smirked. “You're welcome.”

In the end, Ness became a loved forest influencer with 2.7 million followers, the gym bros embraced their dwarfism and opened up a gym named Flex and Hex available to fae of all heights and you and Kaiser ruled together, with him making laws out of pettiness and you vetoing 70% of them.

And you all lived happily ever after.

taglist:- @jeonwiixard @lizbix @alexisjusthere @saeyari @pinkymangacaps @sleepy-waffle @rayne-rayne-go-away @fromsaltandsea @kaikaidenkai @l0v3ly-st4rs @annawrites444 @byzantiumhollow @blu3-l0v3r

Once Upon A Prince — Masterlist

Previous — Ice King Rin

[polysucks]

What do you think: which asoiaf house deserve better?

It’s too easy to say the Manderlys or the Tarbecks deserved better.

I am a true hater to my core. If there is one thing about me everyone should know is that I will find something to complain about. Periodt.

So, let’s talk about which house deserved worse.

House Bracken

If any house deserved worse, it’s these perpetual, scheming, backstabbing opportunists. The Brackens are like that stupid fuckin coworker who keeps getting their corporate cock sucked despite being objectively terrible at everything. Their entire existence revolves around making bad decisions, siding with the stupidest decision makers in Westerosi history, and somehow still managing to stick the landing. The only reason they’re still around is bc the chad Blackwoods would be considered kinslayers if they finally followed through with ganking the virgin Brackens because they WONT STOP FUCKING THEM. AND BREEDING.

“Waahhh fuck the Blackwoods, they suck, I should burn their houses down!” Sir, that’s your AUNT. Y’all are literally all First Men.

Those horsefuckers have been “feuding” (it’s literally hearsay) with House Blackwood for thousands of years, and they still can’t get a single W. Go ahead, go check in on them, take a shot whenever they are either betraying someone, sucking the cock of whoever’s in “power” this week, or trying to steal land that they will inevitably lose again. You’ll get alcohol poisoning. They backed Aegon the Dork in the Dance (woof), they backed the Blackfyres in the rebellion (really?), and in ASOIAF, they’re STILL making terrible choices, switching sides between the Starks and Lannisters like a bad wifi signal

And let’s be real—their entire personality is just hating the Blackwoods. That’s it. You ask a Bracken what they care about, and it’s not power, wealth, or horses (the Rills did horses better get a new gimmick)—it’s screwing over the Blackwoods at every possible turn. Get a fucking hobby. Touch GRASS. Suck CLIT.

Meanwhile, the Blackwoods are over here with their REAL weirwood tree, ancient legacy, and genuinely interesting history and baller fucking seat (Raventree Hall??? HELLO????? METAL AS FUCK. Stone Hedge is so LAME!) , while the Brackens are just flailing around going, “What if we betrayed our allies again? That worked so well last time!” 🤦‍♀️

Honestly, the only reason they still exist is sheer fuckin’ luck at this point.

First off, House Bracken is basically the Riverlands equivalent of Elon Musk. Hollow threats. Zero rizz. Fake as fuck. Total LOSER. Weak ass bark, zero bite. They act like they’re a major power, but they’re not. They think they deserve what they have!!!! Every time they make a move, it backfires spectacularly, and yet they just keep doing it. They fail upward!!!! They fucking learn nothing. They are medically incapable of making a good decision. I’d say it’s in their genes but the family tree of the Brackens and the Blackwoods is a wreath, and the Blackwoods don’t fail this fuckin hard.

Greatest Hits:

• “We Were Kings, We Prommy!” – The Brackens love to tell people that they used to be kings in the Riverlands. Oh, you were kings? Cool. So were the Blackwoods by your standards, and guess what? They didn’t get demoted to second-rate nobility because they were bad at being kings. That was time. That was just a natural change in power dynamics. Eso es solo economía basica. (Also, their kingdom lasted longer but like. Whose counting?) (me. I’m counting.)

• The Dance of the dumbasses – During the Dance the Brackens backed Aegy (imagine being that wrong) while the Blackwoods supported Rhaenyra the Perfect and Did Nothing Wrong. But here’s the kicker: not only did they lose, but they also got their castle burned to the ground by the very same side they supported. Imagine baking ur neighbor a pie and they still burn ur house down. Embarrassing. Whack. Sad. Take a lap.

• Blackfyre Rebellion: Worst Bets Edition – When the Blackfyre bastards popped up, the Brackens were like, “Hell yeah, bad decision 2: electric boogaloo!” Meanwhile, the Blackwoods, once again, stayed loyal to the crown. Because it was in their best interest. Guess who won? I’ll give you a hint: not who the Brackens backed. And guess who got punished for backing them?

• Their Weirwood Crimes – This one’s just sad. The Chad Blackwoods, like proper First Men, still worship the Old Gods and have a massive weirwood tree. The virgin Brackens, meanwhile, chopped theirs down centuries ago, probably just to be spiteful. The internalized racism is coming from inside the house. And where did they build their new godswood? On top of the stump like a bunch of insecure toddlers. It’s like they knew the Old Gods weren’t on their side and tried to cover it up. Lady Bracken (geodndndge please what is her name please reply to my emails) is correct when she says the gods are punishing them. Y’all deserve it. Stupid horse fuckers.

• The Award for Most Inconsistent Allegiances – Every major conflict, the Brackens flip-flop faster than an American politician on Twitter. Like we call Walder Frey the Late bc he’s opportunistic— man what the fuck about the Brackens? They backed the Tullys, then turned on them. They supported the Lannisters, then tried to hedge their bets when things got rough. Go fuckin cry about it. Pound sand. Die mad. They switched sides between the Starks and Lannisters during the War of the Five Kings like they were speed-dating for survival.

It’s already bad that the Brackens are losers (imagine being born a bracken. I would simply. choose not to. Be. Born.), but the fact that they’ve spent thousands of years being consistently outclassed by the Blackwoods just adds insult to injury. The Blackwoods have a richer history, cooler symbolism, and an actual legacy—while the Brackens have…horses? They fuck horses? The Rills got horses, too, man. Pick a better personality. And a track record of failure? It’s like watching a rivalry between a college professor and a loser who gets kicked out of bars for trying to fight the furniture.

Honestly, House Bracken only still exists because somehow they keep getting pardoned after every betrayal. Westeros has wiped out noble houses for way less (RIP House Darklyn and Tarbeck gone but not 5gottem).

They’re like fucking cockroaches. They just keep crawling back. House Bracken should’ve gone extinct centuries ago, they refuse to die.

Fucking clown shit for real.

This message has been proudly brought to you by the Official Council for Blackwood Riverlands Supremacy—preserving history, honoring the Old Gods, and reminding you that Brackens have been taking L’s since the Dawn of Days.

[fancyfeathers]

Part three of my Burn It All Down series as incorrect quotes

(Part one)

(Part two)

Conner: “Nice rock.”

Dick: “Thanks, my sister gave it to me.”

Songbird: “I threw it at you.”

Dick: “Aren't they the sweetest?”

Firewall, running off two hours of sleep for the last two days: “Are you flirting with me?”

Hex: “No, I'm just hot and talking- YES, I’M FLIRTING WITH YOU!”

Blitz: “I have an idea.”

Songbird: “A good idea?”

Blitz: “Let's not get ahead of ourselves.”

Barry: “We have fun, don’t we, honey?”

His Darling: “I’ve never been more stressed out in my entire life.”

Blue Lantern: “Good morning!”

Firewall: “Bold statement.”

*When the twins were in high school*

Hal: “Remember that old saying. If at first you don’t succeed-“

Blue Lantern: “Try to pretend it never happened.”

Dreamcatcher: “So my therapist was talking to me and she said that I really just need to break down my walls and let people in.”

Dreamcatcher: “So I’ve decided to break the fourth wall.”

Dreamcatcher, looks at camera: “Hi there. I use humor as a coping mechanism.”

Firewall: “You’d do that for me?”

Hex: “I’d do a lot of things to you.”

Firewall: “...you mean ‘for me’?”

Hex: “That too.”

Blitz, after chugging ten energy drinks: “I've connected the two dots.”

Wally: “You didn't connect shit.”

Blitz: “I've connected them.”

Pisces: “No! This is a really bad idea.”

Dreamcatcher: “Stick around. I’m full of bad ideas.”

Apollo: “What's wrong with you?”

Songbird: “Off the top of my head, I'd say low self-esteem, a lack of healthy paternal affection, and a genetic predisposition for anxiety and depression.”

Blitz: “I'm not that stupid!”

Huntian: “Blitz, you literally ate the wax from a babybel.”

Blitz: “BLUE TOLD ME IT WAS EDIBLE!”

Blue Lantern: “I did do that actually.”

Hex: “Oh we never doubted you for a moment!”

Apollo: “Thank you. You’re lying, though, right?”

Hex: “Yes, I am, I doubted you very strongly.”

Blue Lantern, proudly: “I slept.”

Firewall: “…Is that so much of a rare thing that you have to say it?”

Firewall: “I’m telling you, Molotov cocktails work! Any time I had a problem, and I threw a Molotov cocktail… Boom! Right away! I had a different problem.”

Blue Lantern: “They make a strong case.”

Hex: “What goes up but never comes down?”

Zatanna: “The amount of stress you're bringing this family.”

Blue Lantern, sitting on the kitchen counter with a bowl of ice cream she is staring at: “Do you ever feel like exploding? Have you experienced the urge to enter the process of combustion? Has your mind created a logical idea, known as thought, to disperse your body into thousands of particles suddenly?”

Hal: “Honey… It’s 3 am, please go back to sleep.”

Supergirl: “You think you're smarter than everyone else.”

Songbird: “I don't think I'm smarter than everyone else. I know I am.”

Huntian: “I'm a nice person, but I'm about to start throwing rocks at people.”

Blue Lantern: “Blitz is restricted to decaf for the rest of this adventure.”

Pisces: “I'm against crime, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.”

Dreamcatcher: “So, Supergirl, do you have a crush on anyone?”

Supergirl: “The only crush I have is this crushing anxiety.”

Kaldur’ahm: “Treat spiders the way you want to be treated.”

Pisces: “Killed without hesitation.”

Apollo: “Am I a boy? Am I a girl? It doesn't matter. I'm going to burn your house down.”

Blue Lantern: “You believe me?”

Kyle, absolutely smitten: “You’re the last good person on this planet. I‘d believe cartoon birds braided your hair this morning.”

Will: “Can I ask a dumb question?”

Apollo: “Better than anyone I know.”

Firewall: *sucking on a popsicle* 

Blue Lantern: “Pfft, you practicing for when Hex gets home?”

Firewall: *takes a huge ass bite out of the popsicle* 

Blue Lantern: *Concern*

*In the future*

Blue Lantern, feeling insecure: “Do you love me?”

Kyle: “We’re literally married.”

Blue Lantern: “Yeah, but as friends or—“

Blitz: “Why cant trees give off something important like wifi??”

Pisces: “So fuck oxygen, I guess.”

[bat-in-the-scarlet-night]

Batfamily Going Camping?

Just read a fic where it mentions the batfam going camping but didn't go into detail. It had me wondering what the bats would get up to during their trip...

They definitely wouldn't all be in one tent, but it would be funny if Bruce bought a big ass tent that could fit all of them (just in case)

Damien is only partially excited to go just to see and probably sketch some animals

Tim would have a meltdown because there is no wifi (jk they probably have service everywhere). He might pick up his camera again to take some nature shot photos and pics of the family

Jason plus Steph have made it their mission to scare or prank as many of the family members as possible (they may also drag Cass into helping them)

I feel like Dick would spend a lot of time climbing trees for some reason (probably Cass too, but she just likes the height)

Duke is ready to chill and maybe play some games, toss a ball around. He's just a chill guy. Same for Barbra she probably just chilling to

If they camp near a lake or large body of water, you best believe they brought a boat, and they would all would be water skiing/wakeboarding and make a competition out of it (which begs the question: do they all know how to swim?)

[atlantahammy]

Make A Wish... - Cabin 8

Hi, here's my DTIYS for @tmntfandomfamilyreunionlore / @tmnt-fandom-family-reunion and a bit of a WTIYS under the cut xD

I know there were no trees in camp after asking, buuuuut it was too late by that point and i'd drawn it so, fuck it, we ball!

Almost didn't get this in cause my jackass brother decide to turn my PC off at work, and it corrupted my Clip program, so I spent a whole ass day uninstalling and reinstalling that shit after taking 6 hours to back up my setting and brushes.

And I've told him it would do this! but he refuses to listen and thinks he's some computer guru (spoiler: he's not)

———————————– My Commissions | .Carrd | Ko-Fi

Sprite had been walking away from the campfire, tired of the noise from the campers there, and he didn't feel he fit in or should be there. Why should he? He had other things to worry about after all...

It wasn't till he was half-way away from the campfire that he noticed the music, and someone singing, one of the Donnie clearly had their phone, and was playing music, not abnormal, given they were little shits that tended to sometimes have wifi in their battle shells.

It was the singing that caught his attention, as a feminine voice was singing, in Japanese no less.

"Sora o aogeba Michite kuru watashi no koe ga Sarasara nagaru kaze no naka de kimi mo Fuwari maiagar

Koe ga kikoeru Yuku beki michi yubi sashite iru Sarasara nagaru kaze no naka de hitori Watashi utatte imasu"

A dragon woman was sitting in the nearby short tree, Donnie was under it with his phone, playing the instrument.

That dragon was Astra, from Cabin 8, and the Lost Star universe, as was the Donnie, a universe full of magic and about hope, not that he really paid much attention, but he did recall rolling his eyes at it, but right now...

They were away from the rest, just enjoying themselves, and he had to admit, he liked the sound... Cheesy as the lyrics were, he didn't dislike the message.

[cherrywriterrr]

writing smut for rafe cameron is the most spiritually degrading thing i do on a weekly basis. like i’ll be sitting there, sipping iced coffee, minding my little business and then suddenly i’m typing “he growled in your ear while dragging the knife up your thigh” like i’m not gonna have to face god one day.

i black out. i genuinely believe rafe’s coke ghost enters my body like a dark passenger. i blink and suddenly i’m on paragraph three of describing how his rings feel digging into your hips while he tells you you’re his pretty little problem. what do you even call that?? horny possession?? spiritual warfare???

it’s like nle choppa himself grabs the keyboard and goes “let her cook.” and i do. i COOK. then i come back to consciousness and read it back like… why is there a line that says “he fucked you like he hated you and missed you at the same time”? why am i like this?? i write one line about rafe spitting in someone’s mouth and i have to go take a lap. touch a tree.

and don’t even get me started on rereading it the next day like “omg i should post this” while knowing full well i wrote the filthiest, most depraved, rafe coded nonsense imaginable. like yeah let me just upload this for free. online. publicly. so someone’s aunt can read about how rafe calls her daddy’s little secret in a church confessional.

if i ever apply to another job and they dig up my digital footprint… i’m cooked. i’m done for. it’s over. they’re gonna be like “can you explain this post where you described rafe cameron choking someone while saying ‘say thank you, slut’ in all lowercase with no punctuation?” and i’ll be like “yes, actually. it was tuesday. i was writing some REQUESTS hoe.”

like imagine HR pulls up my tumblr and it’s just back to to back filth with tags like #rafe cameron owns me #knife kink #daddy issues literature #this is basically therapy #not proofread. and for what??? for a man who would absolutely ruin my life and blame me for it??

and what makes it worse is i’m writing this shit with full cinematic vision, keyboard ASMR going crazy, chewing on my pen like i’m drafting the next american classic, while listening to THAT song. you know the one. that weird ass song that just goes “pooonyyy boyyyy” over and over like i’m in the most cursed yeehaw porno of all time. i don’t even know what genre that song is. country? trap? demonic soundtrack from the outer banks multiverse?

like i’ll be deep in writing a line like “he doesn’t kiss you, he claims you” while that twangy yeehaw beat is in the background and i’m just nodding along like yeah this is exactly the vibe. this is peak smut energy.

if my FBI agent ever leaks my drafts or my spotify queue at the same time, i’ll have to fake my death and move to a cave. no job, no wifi, just me and the shame.

[stonecoldholly]

Worldwalker: Chapter 2

Summary - After witnessing a ritual at a pagan festival in her hometown, Sam suddenly finds herself in a world where magic exists and dangers far worse than everyday crime lurk around every corner. Accepting her unfortunate situation is one challenge; trusting these otherworldly beings to help her is another. As she uncovers the truth, she often finds that it leads to more trouble than it’s worth. Sam must navigate this new world, find her way back home, and restart her life.

With each passing day, they get closer to sending her back and while Sam dedicates herself to finding answers, Azriel finds himself drawn to her. Together, they search for the solution, but with the multiple rifts appearing across Prythian, rising tensions between courts, and the threat of a possible invasion looming, they are working on borrowed time.

With the weight of the world on her shoulders, Sam embarks on an adventure that only happens in fairy tales, but even the most exciting fairy tales have to end.

Warnings - mentions of death, multiple mentions of a firearm and using it, angst

Word Count - 6,752

A/N - We're getting somewhere now! Feel free to read this on AO3! My username is the same. I will admit that I still don't know how to make my posts all fancy like everyone else, but I'm trying to learn. I'll get there eventually. In future chapters, I will remove part of the summary from my chapter posts.

Part 3

AO3 Link

“I was only looking for the shortcut home. But it’s complicated, so complicated. Somewhere in this city is a road I know. Where we could make it but maybe there’s no making it now.” It Is What It Is - Lifehouse

Unknown Location

It was unlike anything she had ever seen before.

Golden rays of light were streaming through trees blazing with autumn; red, yellow, and amber leaves littered the ground as she slowly rotated in a circle, completely awestruck. A thick carpet of leaves covered the soggy forest floor and the overhanging branches, desperately holding onto the lush foliage it once had, reached towards the sky as though to welcome the rising sun. The musty scent of decomposing leaves and damp earth assaulted her senses and the rustling of wildlife on the hunt for food echoed in the distance. The forest went on as far as the eye could see with colors so vivid, that her senses couldn’t drink in the surroundings fast enough, let alone fully comprehend it.

“Where in the hell am I?” Sam asked out loud, breathless at how vibrant the colors around her were. “There is no way I am in Savannah.”

Sam’s feet started to move as she continued to turn in a circle, looking up, around, down, everywhere she could. She yelped as her boot caught the hump of a jutting root, sending her crashing down into a mud puddle ass first.

‘God damn it, these were new jeans.’

She tucked her pride in the back pocket of her mind and stood, stomping on the ground to get what mud she could off her. She looked around again, listening for anything indicating running water, a house, civilization, anything that would help her. She was completely thrown off and off-kilter. It was just nighttime five minutes ago in the city and now the sun was coming in the middle of a dense, ancient forest.

She pulled her phone out of her back pocket, wiping the mud off it. The screen turned on, but the ‘No Service’ displayed in the top right corner next to the 72% battery caused a sinking feeling in her gut.

‘Can’t call for help.’

On a whim, she tried to find a WiFi signal to latch on to. That, too, proved useless.

She sighed heavily, “And no way to pull up a map. Does the compass work without WiFi?” She asked to the air, tapping on her phone and trying to pull up the compass but the app kept crashing. She rolled her eyes, “Well, thank god for all the music I downloaded, at least there’s that.”

With nothing left to lose, she began to walk through the forest. She only hoped that she was heading in the direction of help.

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

She walked for hours. Her legs cramped from not taking many rest stops, her calves were sore and tight from the uneven terrain of the woods, and scrapes and cuts littered her hands and face from being smacked by branches and thorny bushes. She could feel the blisters starting to form on her heels from wearing her boots for so long and she was physically exhausted. She needed a break, she was tired, thirsty, hungry, and scared.

She hadn’t come across anything that could pass as a shelter, the ground and debris were wet, and wasting energy on trying to start a fire wouldn’t be beneficial. She had nothing to make a trap for small wildlife nor did she have a knife to help prep the animal in the event she caught one. She also didn’t know if she had the stomach for it, used to getting her prepackaged meat from the Food Lion down the road. She could shoot the animal, but the not having a knife issue came back up, and she hadn’t seen an animal yet- only heard them way off in the distance.

As the night started to settle in and her journey led her deeper and deeper into the ever-darkening forest, Sam’s anxiety continued to spike bordering on paranoia. Every rustle of the leaves, every snap of a twig, every soft howl of the wind caused her to jump in fright. She would whirl around in the direction of each sound, breathing heavily and eyes blown wide, only to be met with increasing shadows at her back. The death grip she had on her weapon did nothing to ease her fear; the weight of it was more than just its heaviness.

She was always taught that in the event that a weapon needed to be discharged, the situation must be so dire that you fear for your life. The decision to pull the trigger should never be taken lightly and it should be regarded as a last resort in a worst-case scenario.

This was a worst-case scenario.

Sam was lost in a strange forest at night time with no supplies or gear to survive, armed with only a handgun with a full clip, a cellphone with no service, the clothes on her back, and her limited knowledge of outdoor survival. The odds of her surviving or finding help decreased with every passing minute. She knew the basics of hunting and making a camp, but not enough to increase her odds of walking out of the woods alive.

She considered herself a brave woman, having faced considerable terrifying instances in her 30 years of life but there was nothing in her past that could have prepared her for this. At what point does anyone think the impossible would happen to them? Savannah didn’t have a forest like this, they had a National Wildlife preserve on the opposite side of town, and trees scattered along city park squares did not count as a ‘forest’. It also didn’t get this chilly in October in Savannah, waiting until February or even March for these cold temperatures. The likelihood of her still being near the city was slim to none.

Her stomach was starting to protest in hunger and her mouth was as dry as a desert. She hadn’t come across any bodies of water or a flowing river to help relieve her thirst. The forest was damp so it must have rained recently, perhaps that there was a small puddle of water gathered on some of the larger leaves that would pass as a sip for her. Unfortunately, it was not proving to be fruitful for her either.

Yes, the odds were stacked higher against her.

She sighed heavily and continued to walk through the woods, her steps crunching the undergrowth beneath her feet. Sam could only catch a glimpse of the moon piercing through the overhanging limbs of the trees every so often, the shadows dancing along the path and illuminating animal trails that disappeared into clusters of bushes.

Every sound was intensified at night, the forest being no different. Sam was not normally afraid of the dark, preferring to be left alone in it, but this was a different kind of dark, one she was not used to. She was breathing too loud and too hard, the sound of her blood rushing in her ears was thunderous, and her footsteps were completely out of place in the thick, misty atmosphere. She could hear the trunks of the trees creaking, the yips of foxes, the wind caressing the leaves with every light gust, and howls of wolves from miles away.

She needed to sleep. She was of no use if she didn’t get some rest. She knew that sleeping on the cold, wet ground was not ideal and that she would need to be elevated from the forest floor. Not only to save her from the possibility of getting hypothermia but also from curious animals in search of an easy meal. She had no desire to be served up on a silver platter to one of the apex predators in these woods.

Sam stopped once she came across a tall, solid tree with thick, long limbs spreading away from its trunk. This would have to do for a few hours, at least until sunrise. Clicking on the safety and holstering her gun, she searched the bushes for a long piece of thick vine that was malleable enough to be bent and tied around her and the branch she claimed as her bed for the night. Scurrying up the trunk to the highest branch she felt comfortable at, she wrapped the vine around her thighs and the branch, tying it as tight as she could without snapping it in half.

The rough bark of the tree trunk scratched against her scalp and she did her best to ignore it as she stared at the moon through a small opening in the tree's canopy. Getting lost in her thoughts, her loneliness and anxiety reaching a peak, she let her thoughts pass unfiltered and unrestrained.

‘Did I do something to deserve this? I don’t want to die here.’

Her eyes filled with tears as a tightening in her chest began to squeeze the air from her lungs.

‘What does Melissa and Josh think happened to me? Are they looking for me? Would they look for me? Do they think I’m dead?’

She drew in a shuddering breath and closed her eyes, tears falling onto her shirt. She wanted to be found, to have someone help her, be here with her. She was so damned scared that she would die and never experience the rest of what life had to offer her. Maybe she wasn’t a good person and this was purgatory. She believed she was a good person, despite the fights and altercations she'd gotten into over the years, but she fought for the right reasons. Her friends. Love. Protection. Life.

Maybe this was the end of all that.

‘Please. Please. Somebody.’

‘Please. Don’t let me die. Not here. Not yet.’

Breathe in. Breathe out.

‘…..stop, Sam, now is not the time to break. You can’t break now.’

She took another steadying breath, pressing her back further into the tree and tugging on the vine securing her to the branch. She would make it; she would get through this. She had to-there was no other choice. If it was her time, she would go down fighting, trying, and she would give it her last best effort. Her eyes closed again and as she pleaded to whatever god was listening to help her, she fell into a fitful sleep.

It was only a few hours later, the sky only just beginning to change colors when a heavier rustling in the leaves startled her out of her sleep. She scrambled out of the vines, not wanting to be at a disadvantage, her heart beating wildly in her chest, as she climbed out of her tree bed as quickly and silently as she could. She dashed across the roots in the earth, stumbling and making more noise than she intended in the leaves, and towards a cluster of trees a few yards away. She slammed her back into it, the rough bark biting through the worn leather of her jacket and into her skin. She tilted her head to the side, trying to listen through her raging heartbeat. The leaves kept rustling as if someone was walking through them towards her.

Click.

The safety of the gun clicked off and she inhaled the rich scent of the forest deeply into her lungs to steady herself. She needed to be calm and collected, ready to defend herself within a moment's notice. She could not hesitate if the situation called for it. The possibility of pulling the trigger to end a life left a cold feeling in her gut and she had to take another deep breath to chase it away.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

About 30 feet away from her position behind the tree, the rustling came to a stop. She kept as still as she could, holding her breath and forcing her eyes to stare straight ahead into the labyrinth of writhing shadows ahead of her, her ears straining to hear past the sudden silence that encased her. The air itself shuddered, vibrating her surroundings, as she held her breath. Flickers of fracturing light appearing and disappearing from somewhere in the forest momentarily caught her attention.

It was then the steps continued to draw closer to her, slower, perhaps cautious. She needed to act, she had the element of surprise and she needed to use it to her advantage, whatever advantage she may have. Her inner turmoil was allowing the threat to get closer to her position and even her instincts were urging her to do it now!

But she stayed frozen. The ungodly terror that wracked through her body was coming to a head and despite how hard she tried to stomp it back down, it wouldn’t budge. It just kept overflowing into her bloodstream; her fight-or-flight response fractured and her limbs became heavy and useless. She had mere moments to do something before the threat was on her and she wasn’t ready to die, strange land or not.

‘If you don’t move your fucking legs right now, I swear to God!’ Sam screamed internally at herself, as she felt the near uncontrollable urge to cry, the burn incessantly pressing behind her eyes.

15 feet away.

‘Sam, come on!’

10 feet away.

‘God damn it, Sam, move! Come on!’

5 feet away.

‘SAM!’

Sam spun away from the tree, gun aimed at the threat standing four feet in front of her. Her eyes narrowed, her breaths coming out harsh, and her body tense and ready to fight. But her hands were steady even though she could feel the adrenaline pulsing beneath her skin, ready to explode. As her sight zeroed in on the figure, her expression slackened and her eyes went wide for a different reason.

He was beautiful, stunning actually. He was incredibly tall, towering over Sam’s 5’10 stature and making her feel far more unprepared than she already was. His red hair cascaded down the nape of his neck and shoulders like liquid fire; his facial features were sharp, elegant despite the brutal scar that ran down the left side of his face. His eyes, god, his eyes. One eye was russet, a gorgeous brown with flecks of orange and red with the other seemingly shining like gold but there was something wrong about it. It looked more mechanical than natural and Sam took an involuntary step back. It wasn’t until her eyes caught the tips of his ears peaking out from beneath his hair that she sucked in a breath, her entire body attempting to resist the urge to tremble.

‘This is not real. This cannot be real.’

Sam mustered up as much confidence that was left in her, which honestly wasn’t much, and narrowed her eyes further at the man standing in front of her. Her right hand held high on the back-strap, her left supporting the other side of the pistol, her left wrist canting forward and locking them in place. Aimed, locked, cocked, and ready.

He held his hands up, taking a step back with his palms out to face her as he took in the weapon aimed directly at his chest and the woman holding it. He spoke in a language that she couldn’t understand but sounded familiar. Even his voice sounded beautiful, low, and cautious as his eyes flickered between her and the weapon. Even though she couldn’t understand him, she could read his body language.

He stayed completely still, unnaturally still, with his hands still raised in front of him. He was speaking gently, no doubt trying to defuse the situation, but the pure, unadulterated terror continued to seep out of Sam’s pores even though she remained steady. While her body was telling her that he was absolutely a threat and she should bolt, her mind was warring with itself, claiming that he hadn’t hurt her yet despite the gun trained on him and him obviously able to outmaneuver her quickly if he wanted to.

“I can’t understand you,” Sam said, lowering her weapon an inch but keeping the death grip on it. “Do you speak English?”

He cocked his head to the side in confusion and his eyes continued to drift between her and the weapon she had. He seemed confused not only with her but with the pistol in her hands.

A language barrier. Great.

He tried speaking again, motioning with his hands slowly to the area around them and then back to her.

She shook her head, aiming the weapon a little lower to the ground. “I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”

He sighed heavily and slowly lowered his hands. Sam lowered her firearm but did not holster it, her body slowly easing out of its braced stance but the adrenaline continued to flow through her veins, ready to do whatever was necessary. The red-haired stranger motioned to the area around them again and to her, frustration painting his face.

Sam stared at him for a moment, trying to gauge what he was trying to convey. She cocked her head to the side and furrowed her brow, prompting him to repeat the gesture with his hands once more.

“How did I end up here?” She asked, doing the same hand signs he did as she spoke trying to gauge a reaction to see if she was on the right track.

He lit up for a second, motioning again and speaking the strange words along with it in an effort to help her follow along. Sam clicked the safety on and holstered her gun after a beat, putting her blind trust in this stranger standing across from her. He was the first person she had seen and if there was any chance of her getting out of this forest, it would likely be through him. She would need both hands to try and communicate.

“I. woke up. Here.” Sam pointed to herself, mimed waking up, and then gestured to the area.

He seemed to catch on, nodding his head towards her before gesturing again.

Sam watched his hands intently and then moved her gaze to his mouth, trying to piece together a sentence. This was a lot more difficult than she thought. “How...did...you...uh...shit, do that again, how did you...far? How did you...far...what?...trees?” Sam blinked as he patiently repeated the actions. “How did I get so far out in the woods? Fuck, I’m taking a sign language course when I get back home,” Sam rubbed her face, no doubt looking far worse for wear than she ever had in her life. “I. Walked.” She moved her pointer and middle finger back and forth to imitate a person walking. “After. Waking up.” She mimed again, pointing up to the treetops. “I don’t know where I am.” Sam drew an invisible question mark in the air, changing her expression to confusion, and then motioned to their surroundings.

He pushed his hair up, showing his pointed ears and Sam felt a flash of fear rush through her at the sight of them. He quickly held his hands up to her again, his palms facing her, clearly indicating that he would not harm her. She watched him point to the side of her head and she tucked her hair back behind her rounded ear with shaking hands. He blinked, straightening a little more, and looked at her eyes. She was suddenly being evaluated by this...fae, his eyes running over her face and body, taking stock of what was in front of him. She did her absolute best to hide her nervousness but he had already seen it.

He nodded to her, lowering his hands, his expression changing to one of understanding. He pointed to himself, “Lucien.” He then gestured to her and drew a question mark in the air.

Sam tilted her head, “Loosin?”

He chuckled very softly, a melodic sound that sent tingles down her spine, and shook his head, putting a hand against his chest and repeating slower, “Lucien.”

“Looscen?”

Slower. “Lucien.”

“Lucien.” Sam dragged out, allowing her tongue to press against the roof of her mouth, behind her front teeth in a way it wasn’t used to. “Lucien.” She said more confidently.

He nodded to her, pointing to her with the question mark in the air again.

“Sam.” She pointed to herself. “Sam.”

It took far less time for him to get the sound of her name right, only having to hear it twice before he spoke it back to her. She nodded, a weight lifting off her shoulders for a moment.

It was a crude variation of sign language that they were trying to communicate with. It was amazing, really, how easily they both seemed to fall into it despite the circumstances. Desperately trying to express themselves with hand signals and words spoken in two different languages; it was almost shocking to them both how they assisted each other in attempting to understand. They were complete strangers, obviously very different from one another but still trying to form a figurative olive branch, a peace offering between them, and taking time to assist each other.

A question mark was drawn in the air. “Can you help me?” Sam pointed to him, clasped her hands together, and then pointed to herself hoping it was enough.

Lucien seemed to grasp what she was trying to ask and was in the middle of making a few more hand motions when suddenly he stopped. Sam saw him tense for a moment before turning his head to the left, looking out towards a patch of dense wood that was beginning to lighten with the rising sun. Sam turned to the direction that he was looking in, reaching for the holster of her gun when she finally heard the noise that caught his attention.

A long, low-pitched howl pierced the night and it made every hair on her body stand up. Her whole body turned ice cold as she became paralyzed with fear, an empty feeling growing in her gut that told her that what she thought that howl was...was far worse than what she expected.

Wisps of smoke formed on a shadow's edge in the trees, slowly taking form. Sam was caught between curiosity and terror, the latter winning out. The gray smoke gathered tightly together, evolving into a shape, an animal shape that grew larger and larger the longer she stared. Smaller clusters of the same smokey vapor started to appear beside the first, now in the shape of a rather large dog, and Sam’s bladder felt the urge to release.

Lucien’s eyes snapped down to Sam’s as she took a step back, getting ready to flee. He shook his head, looking slightly apologetic before grabbing Sam’s hand and yanking her along, running deeper into the forest in the opposite direction of the smokey hounds.

It was a mighty effort trying to keep up with his long legs and his speed. She was at a horrible disadvantage in comparison and hard as she might, she could not keep up with him. He seemed to realize that she would only continue to slow him down as her shoulder almost dislocated for the second time in a short span of their frantic running. There was no doubt that they were being pursued by those beasts and the thought of being captured urged her forward, her legs still sore from earlier. Lucien stopped short and Sam tumbled into him, colliding with his back with a harsh OOMPH! Lucien looked down at her as he caught her, giving her an apologetic look again.

All of a sudden, it was a whirlwind. Everything decided to spin, so fast that she was dizzy and her grip on Lucien tightened to near bone-crushing. Her eyes squeezed shut as she felt like she was being pushed through a tube that was way too small. Her lungs screamed for air even though all she could smell was a bonfire and apples.

As sudden as it happened, the sensation stopped and she was back on solid ground. She ripped away, from Lucien, her boots sinking in sand, to double over and breathe deeply. If she had anything in her stomach it definitely would have made a reappearance.

“What the fuck was that? Did we just apparate? What kind of Harry Potter shit did you just pull?” Sam rushed out, standing up and waving her hands in fast movements, looking up at Lucien who was smiling faintly even though he didn’t understand a word she was yelling. This motherfucker had the audacity to find this funny. There was nothing funny about this situation and she felt the urge to vomit.

Lucien, at least, had the decency to try and hide his smile as he moved his hands from one place to another, trying to explain what they just did and Sam straightened her back with hands on her hips. She was about to give him an earful, one that he would no doubt not understand, when their surroundings finally caught her eye.

It was a sea of sand underneath bright sunshine and shimmering heat. Sam wanted to squint her eyes at the sudden brightness but its beauty forced her eyes wide. Sandstone buildings stood tall against the horizon and the sound of a flowing river met her ears. She didn’t know where to look, everything was so beautiful and bright, a vibrant energy pulsing through her as she stood under the sun’s golden rays. Fluffy, cotton-looking clouds drifted across the blue sky and birds singing their melodies danced on the breeze.

She turned to Lucien, absolute awe overtaking her features. She moved her hands but didn’t know what to say or how to say it, so she drew a question mark in the air, blinking in shock.

Lucien pointed to the sun and then tapped his wrist as if he was wearing a watch. Sam, only nodded not quite understanding what he meant but didn’t know what else to ask, the landscape around them completely taking her breath away.

Lucien’s face softened a little and nodded in return, setting his hand between her shoulder blades to guide her forward towards the brilliant city, the fragrant scent of rose blooms, jasmine, and lavender filling her senses. Her eyes were so wide in wonder, soaking up as much of the visuals as she could that she didn’t realize they were walking into the city center. She watched colorful butterflies flutter from flower to flower, the smell of grilled meats and spices filled her nostrils, and laughter and chatter from people, other fae, were meeting her ears.

She subconsciously covered her ears with her hair, not wanting to draw even more attention to herself than she already was. Lucien tapped her on her shoulder and she looked up at him, asking the question silently with her expression. He tapped his nose and then nodded to her and her face drained of color.

She didn’t have to cover her ears because they could smell she was human. They could smell the still damp mud caking her clothes and shoes, the scent of the forest clinging to her clothes like a second skin, and the dried blood from the cuts littering the exposed skin from being in the woods. She suddenly wanted to remain ignorant of what else they could possibly sense from her.

Lucien gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze as he walked confidently through the courtyard, leading up to a sandstone palace. Sam’s neck popped as she tilted her head back to look up at the stunning building in its full glory. Large windows, balconies, breezeways, and staircases made up the towering palace, vines of wisteria overflowing from railings and climbing up the walls. Sam had never seen somewhere so beautiful in person before.

What is this place?

She had so many questions but with the language barrier, they stayed unanswered, and the thought of being able to get home returned to her again. Would she be able to get home? How did she get here to begin with? Where would she begin to start finding her way back home? She felt the tears well up and she shoved the thought aside, it still wasn’t time for her break down. She would have to wait, store it up, and bury it deep down until she had a moment of privacy to process her journey so far and the repercussions of it.

Lucien was speaking to two fae guards, dressed in striking gold and white armor. Sam couldn’t help but shift from foot to foot in nervousness under their gaze as they assessed her and whatever Lucien was saying. She was so out of place that it was painful. She knew some of the whispers coming from around her were about her, judging by other fae pointing or motioning to her. She sighed, and even though they could tell she was nervous and lost, she clenched her teeth and stood up straight, the full weight of her false confidence snapping into place. She would fake it until she made it.

It was a few more moments before the guards stepped aside and allowed Lucien and Sam to pass through. Even though Lucien seemed to stick out like a sore thumb with his red hair among the dark and blonde-haired fae, he seemed to glide through the gates to the palace like he owned the place. Sam followed behind him, looking at the beautiful lush gardens spilling out from the walkway as they ascended the steps to the doors.

If Sam thought Lucien was beautiful before, she had no words to describe the fae male standing just beyond the doors of the palace. Striking? Handsome? Nothing came close to describing the power vibrating around him. If she had to get close, he was the sun personified. His dark hair fell in onyx waves, his dark sun-kissed skin gleamed in the light, and his smile was welcoming but deadly. He was wearing what Sam could only describe as a toga, something you read about Greek gods wearing, and an intricate golden crown sat upon his head. For a moment, a sudden sadness struck her and she missed Melissa. She would love this place and its people.

The Greek god-looking fae smiled warmly at Lucien as he came to a stop, speaking in their native tongue and no doubt explaining what little information he had acquired about the situation to him. His eyebrows raised and he kept glancing Sam’s way, curiosity shining in those golden orbs. Sam could tell he was a wealth of knowledge, his eyes were older than his physical body and for the countless times since she had been in this strange land, she felt horribly inadequate.

He turned to her, taking her hand gently in his. Warmth poured out of him and into her body, chasing the cold that seemed to linger in her bones. “Helion.”

Sam, who lost her breath at those amber eyes turning to her, replied softly, “Sam.” His name was normal enough for her to latch onto it.

A messenger boy ran up, holding a black envelope with a silver wax seal out for Helion. Lucien tensed at the sight of it and Sam knew he recognized the writing. Helion nodded to the boy, handing a sliver of gold over, and opened the envelope. Whatever was written on it seemed to pique Helion’s curiosity even more because he stared at Sam while handing the letter to Lucien, who in turn took it and read it. Sam felt like she was under a microscope when Lucien looked up at her next.

She shuffled from foot to foot, feeling a nervous energy fall into her. Helion turned to Lucien, speaking again and motioning around the palace. Lucien bowed his head and put his hand between her shoulders again, guiding her forward.

Sam drew a question mark in the air and Lucien was quick to respond, moving his hands slowly, motioning to her dirty clothes, and tapping his stomach.

“Clothes and food?” Sam asked out loud, mimicking eating with a fork.

Lucien nodded and helped her up the stairs, following behind two gorgeous female faes who appeared from nowhere.

As she followed beside Lucien, a deep feeling of gratitude settled in her chest and she looked up at him. This stranger, this male fae, who didn’t speak the same language as her had helped her, immediately and brought her to what she hoped was a safe place. He did all of that for a human he didn’t know. Her heart hurt at the sheer magnitude of her emotions and she tried to regain her composure as they stopped in front of a door.

Lucien nodded to what Sam assumed were the equivalent of the palace maids and opened the door for Sam to peer inside the room. Sam almost cried at the beauty of it; the golden detailing so elegantly complimenting the white linens and lush carpet. The massive bed was filled with fluffy pillows and cozy blankets, the floor-to-ceiling windows draped in soft golden fabrics and leading out onto a huge balcony overlooking the gardens they walked by earlier. A golden chandelier cascading with diamonds hung from the ceiling as the main centerpiece. Wing-backed chairs gathered around a glass table, separating the sleeping area from the sitting area, with golden trays of grapes, soft cheeses, cured meats, and what looked like red wine.

Sam looked down at her boots, frowning. She would track mud everywhere and ruin the crisp, clean carpet. Lucien tapped her shoulder and shook his head, waving his hand, which Sam took as ‘you don’t have to worry’. She nodded and slowly stepped into the room, taking it all in and opening the door to a closet filled with light dresses and skirts in a variety of colors. She turned and opened another door, leading into a sandstone bathroom, soft white towels hung from golden rods, and luscious soaps and oils sat on the ledge of what could only be described as a small pool.

Sam turned to Lucien who was waiting patiently by the bedroom door. Sam drew a question mark in the air, again. “Are you going to wait for me?” She pointed to him and her wrist.

Lucien motioned to where he was standing and then pointed away down the hall, indicating he would leave, but he hurriedly pointed back to where he was and knocked on the door, letting her know he would come back by and collect her.

Sam walked towards him, taking his hands in his and looking into his eyes. She pushed all her gratitude into the way she held his hands, “Thank you, Lucien, thank you.” She hoped it was enough. She hoped he could understand her without their signals.

He understood.

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

“How is it, that every time something is amiss, the Night Court is somehow involved?”

Lucien looked up from his seat in front of Helion’s desk. Helion’s study was a room of comfort and knowledge. Books, papers, and little objects holding down piles of notes littered almost every surface in the room but he knew it was all organized. For all his charisma and charm, Helion was an adamant scholar, busying himself with reading, writing, and capturing as much knowledge as he could about as many topics as possible.

Lucien scoffed, “I’ve been asking myself that same question for centuries and have yet to come up with an answer.”

Helion smiled, settling back into his chair. “So, you came across her in the Autumn Court’s forest and you took pity on her?”

“I did. I’m sure you felt the tremors a few days ago. Clearly, it was felt in the Night Court as well if Rhysand is sending his warriors to your borders.” Lucien replied, leaning back in his chair and sipping on the small glass of whiskey Helion had offered him. “I thought it wise to bring her here, where she would be safe, rather than subjecting her to Beron and my brothers.”

Helion suppressed a snarl at the mention of the Autumn High Lord. “And you believe this human, Sam, has something to do with what's going on?”

Lucien gave a halfhearted shrug, fingering the edge of the glass. “I’m not sure but it is not simply a coincidence that Prythian felt its wards shudder and then suddenly a human female turns up so far inland, speaking a different language, looking completely different than the humans we know, and has items on her that we have never seen. She was terrified of me when she saw what I was. If she doesn’t have something to do with it, then that’s one hell of a coincidence.”

Helion made a noise of agreement, “I will say that I agree with you but can we trust her? You’ve only known her for a few hours and now she is a guest in my home.”

“I believe we can. She’s scared and she can’t communicate with us; she needs our help.”

“I’m pleased to see that you still have a soft spot for others after all these years.”

Lucien sighed, his thoughts turning to his upbringing in Autumn and the Hybern wars. “There is no victor in hatred nor is there peace.” He looked out the window overlooking the city center. “We fought for them, the humans. We endured insurmountable pain because of Hybern’s prejudice against them and their need for control; we didn’t send our armies to war for us to turn our backs on them now. We didn’t fight so the world could go back to the way it was. We didn’t sacrifice our people for nothing.” He paused as the weight of his words filled the air, the ghosts of his pain flashed in his mind. “So I didn’t leave her. I offered my hand because it meant something. It means something.”

Helion nodded slowly, his eyes assessing his son, “I’m sure it means everything to that human female. To Sam.” He turned his gaze to the black envelope sitting in front of him. “I’m sure Rhysand will want to take the lead in this situation.”

“I think you should let him,” Lucien said causing Helion’s eyebrows to rise. “Feyre, Nesta, and….Elain...they were human once. I’m sure they have better insight than we do.”

“Oh, I’m sure they do,” Helion agreed. “Rhysand is also daemati, as is Feyre, they will be able to assess if she is a threat or not.”

Lucien’s brows furrowed, “You’re going to allow them to access her mind?”

“Rhysand doesn’t use his gift without express permission from the individual.”

“But she can’t give it. She doesn’t speak our language, there’s no way I would be able to explain what it is he does with simple hand motions and facial expressions.” Lucien insisted hurriedly. While he trusted Rhys and the members of the Night Courts Inner Circle, the thought of a helpless human being taken advantage of like that caused his fists to clench.

“Rhysand has many objects in the Court of Nightmares, one of which is a silver bean that Sam can ingest that will allow her to speak and understand our language. She will have the knowledge for the rest of her life.” Helion supplied easily, leaning forward on his desk. “I know many things about my fellow High Lord; Rhys is a good male, he will take the lead in this situation and I have no doubt that he will find an answer to help her, do not worry.”

Lucien’s shoulders seemed to loosen some tension and he nodded his head to show his agreement. “Is it safe to assume that they are on their way here?”

Helion hummed, “Yes, it would be safe to assume that. I sent a messenger out about an hour ago.”

Lucien rolled his eyes but cracked a small smile at what he knew now was his blood father. “Never mind that you have the Emissary of the Night Court in your study who could have done that for you.”

“Yes, never mind that,” Helion grinned as he stood up and straightened his clothes. “If I had to guess, they would likely arrive after dinner, so let’s collect our little human and give her some food. The poor child could use some nourishment,” He paused and tilted his head. “and possibly some strong liquor.”

Lucien snorted, rising as well. “Just set a pitcher of faerie wine in front of her, she’ll likely need it.”

[chaoticlycollected]

Spoke's latest Episode

I get why it took so long. Having fans act for in it must of took a while (i tried getting a group of 8 years olds to hold a small scene before cause I was asked too)

Spoke sounds so devious, like he was plotting this for the longest time

"Stop drowning you're not supposed to be drowning" the fuck dude? They were choosing to drown then be under your command

dude wanting revenge against Parrot while Parrot is still emotionally recovering from the fact he can be held accountable for killing Wifies (rip Wifies)

the biggest house = leader. in Spoke's mind

Spoke crashing out over a house having 3 walls instead of 4 is Spoke core

oh.. the censored part is crazy

his struggle to spell touch is absurd

I first lost it when I heard the dance of the sugarplum fairy in the bgm cause my band's playing it for our show and I don't have to be tormented by it despite the trumpets not having any music to play there

Spoke needs to hire Horace

"I studdently felt a dark energy pulse through my Minecraft body" um what the fuck. I think Spoke lost his shit again.

Jepexx? why is he an old enemy? he had his life ruined by Spoke

Okay, I think someone made Spoke high, like he think's he Zeus now.

nvm it's Jaron.. but still Spoke ruined his life too

who is Thesis.. i'm going to research cause I need to.. does he mean theseus?

Jaron sounding both shocked and amused

why are there so many cows... and the fuck you never saw them again?

six elixir rocket... everytime i zone out he says some shit that seems to never make sense

aww.. the players are mourning the deaths of their fallen innocents

who trusted Spoke with spies, like this man is the worst one to give spies too

"Zeus found the sky temple" *sighs* He's turning into Ash, he's turning in Ash... the fuck you mean Zeus found the sky temple

nooooooooo Spoke's going to ruin Horace's safe place in the sky.

liar..

oh right.. I forgot Horace had to do shit for AJ. and here Spoke is just ruining Horace's peace.

Horace is going to have a villain arc from this

....Horace's shock seemed a bit too genuine. Like seeming a shit ton of players just stacking up to your sky base is horrifying but talking to a deranged person like Spoke while that's happening is worse

Someone needs to give Horace some therapy

Spoke needs to be checked out. he just called Cherry trees Birch trees, also invitation giving lessons as this is a shitty invitation

"This is why I never want to meet you" - Horace I think Wemmbu treated Horace better than Spoke also Horace got a kill, lets go

"As the best kidnapper on the server" my guy what's up with these random ass titles

Spoke being betrayed during the middle of this. And surviving his first assassination attempt

I just noticed how weird Horace's mic is.

Spoke is the worst sales men. Like Rek offering dental insurance to Fantst during the prison breaks is much better than this shit.

Horace being hopeful? oh my god what a change of pace

Spoke being kind to Horace by giving compliements is nice

invis mafia flashbacks? Spoke getting flashbacks?

oh.. *sigh* it's not anyone dangerous. Just Devious duo being devious :)

oh my god.... what happened to Spawn?

Spoke needs to shut the fuck about about some enlightened figure.

I think Spoke had a concession during this episode and become philosophical. idk how to word it, but the same thing that happened to Evbo in the final pvp civ episode.

noo.. jskdhfkasjdfhkajsdfh why Spoke why,

Hannah... how did Hannah betray? i think she joined the mafia to protect her civ not to do anything else?

this guy.. I have captions on and when he says thetis it is spelled Thesis. He has meant Achilles' mother this whole time?

huh? never mind, Spoke is making question my knowledge of greek myths. He's confused me a few times now

Mapicc asking the real question when he says "who is thesis"

holy fucking shit. why did Spoke keep track, "SIX months ago on this very day" like calm down

I think Spoke's on a power trip. the ending is going to be the end of the civ just like how Wemmbu's civs all ended.

okay googling who stole the lightning from Zeus it says Luke Castellan from PJO which i knew and Prometheus from the myths, so who the fuck is Thesis

the text on the screen confirming she escaped..

Spoke telling the guy with a Parrot skin to say is insane, he definately misses Parrot's friendship

I don't think Spoke needs a church. I think he needs therapy

someone has an Ashswag skin... trauma may happen.

Also Spoke is just yapping on about made up myths, he's just confusing everyone with this

the panic when the lag hit, I think the torches are lagging it

Minions today we steal the SUN! (that's the core of Spoke saying he's going to steal the sun)

also he's treated these people like they are pent up rabid animals

umm.. he's not going to destory the end he is? Cause Minutetech is still there I think.

FATHER! (I consider Minute a father figure to Spoke cause it's my headcannon)

NOOOOOO SPOKE! YOU CAN"T FUCKING RUIN THIS!

Okay Spoke. we need to get off the greek side of the internet

Minute seems so confused by Spoke's ranting, but is so patient with him. oh my god I can't do this.. Spoke please don't ruin your allyship with Minute I love seeing this trio together (cause I ship minmap and spoke is like a child they found and took in cause I can headcannon that)

*sighs* Empires fall from within. the problems arise from the inside then the outside forces push in and finish the blow

there's an overlap and it's confusing

He just proved Ash right....

this ending is actually sad. I think Everyone's getting their hearts broken in different ways.

nope nope. not Lifesteal.. I heard correction and thought of the cleansing the Spoke was apart of

[donteverblameash]

Here's to Showing Up.

DISCLAIMER: Strictly platonic!!

GN!adopted! Y/N

Adoptive dad! Steve Rogers

Words: 1428

Summary: Due to a bit of tomfoolery and a chance to prove yourself, you get hurt at school. But it's not what you think it is when Steve comes to pick you up.

A/N: My ass has NEVER made a Y/N fic before, and this took me WAYYY too long to get done, but it's here! And I'm a little nervous about this one but I hope you like it!! 😭

Fic under the cut :)

In your defense, climbing the old oak tree in your school yard during break time wasn't your idea. It was your friend's, you just happened to go along with it.

When you explained this obvious logic to the school nurse, the person you had to visit because for some reason, the school doesn't allow students to lay in the school yard writhing in pain after falling out of trees for legal reasons, he didn't seem to understand and promptly called Steve to come get you.

You would have rather he done anything else. Wouldn't it be great to explain to your guardian that you nearly broke your arm while attempting to pull an act of absolute bullshitery? As much as you just loved, slash sarcastic, hearing Steve go all PSA on you on the dangers of peer pressure, you weren't in the mood for it that afternoon.

"Do you have to call him? Is it like school policy or something?" You asked, peering down curiously as the nurse wrapped up your arm and handed you a bag of ice for it. "Yup." He responded dryly, popping the 'p.'

"Besides, your guardian needs to get you evaluated by a real doctor. I don't think your arm is broken or anything, but it would still be in best interest to have it checked out by someone with proper credentials. Not to mention, this is above my non-existent pay grade." He sighed and plopped down in the chair in front of his computer, typing away, seemingly bored.

You gave a sigh yourself, shifting on the weird friggin parchment paper stuff that's laid down on the medical bench before reaching down and pulling your phone clumsily out of your backpack, holding it in your free hand. Of course, you had to land on your dominate arm, just your luck.

You decided you might as well distract yourself. Playing shitty mobile games, one handed, on the shoddy school wifi before your fate is permantely sealed was great fun, truly.

Steve surely will be pissed. You just knew it. He actually had a reason this time! You knew deep down you shouldn't have been screwing around up there. But the feeling of getting higher, climbing up branch after branch, and proving everyone wrong when they said you couldn't do it made a certain feeling of pride burn in your belly. The flames in there were roaring, and in the few quick seconds you were on top, you felt like Icarus.

But still, the poor bastard falls, and you did, too.

So this is the part where you cross your fingers and pray. Pray that Steve got called into a mission or his car spontaneously combusts before he can even get the chance to get in. You pray that he wouldn't even care to show up.

Then, like ten minutes later, you realize you must be really bad at praying because Steve runs in and nearly skirts past the room due to his super speed before charging in like a wild bull.

"Y/N, are you alright??" He asked, a bit frantic, reaching his arms out to touch you before withdrawing. Scared to hurt hurt you further. I mean, you were quite positive Steve couldn't even be bothered to hurt you as much as you could possibly hurt yourself, but you appreciated the effort nevertheless.

"What happened? Did someone hurt you??" Steve softly demanded, wanting answers and wanting them RIGHT THEN, and when you didn't immediately answer, he turned to the nurse for assistance, blue eyes wide and glossy.

You distracted yourself from what you thought of as your inevitable doom by finally decided to read that nurse's name tag. Nick Kim-Harris. Good to know.

"They fell out of a tree." The alliteration nurse, Nick, said bluntly, shifting in his uncomfortable chair. Steve narrowed his eyes, turning back at you, confusion now painted in his usually stern but calm features.

"Why were you up in a tree??" Steve stage whispered.

"Because I climbed it." You replied glumly.

"Why did you climb it?!?!"

"Cuz everyone told me I couldn't."

Steve practically face palmed. That was stupid, like, really stupid, but the fact Steve understood your logic, or lack thereof, made this whole thing feel even more stupid. It reminded him of a certain kid from Brooklyn, desperate to prove everyone wrong, no matter the cost. Wither that means being stranded in bed from an asthma attack or, in your case, a messed up arm.

"I'm sorry." You croaked out in a small voice, knowing it wouldn't really fix anything, much less your state, but what else are you supposed to say?

Steve took a deep breath before shoving his hands into his pockets. "It's... okay." He responded. "Well, no, it's not okay, but... I'm not mad. Let's just... get you checked out, then we'll go home. Okay?" Unwilling to fret over this further in the school nurse's office, he held out a calloused hand to you. Hard in looks and soft in nature.

You put your phone in your pocket and slowly climbed off the bench, kinda looking at him like, "That's it?" But hey, at least the doom was not inevitable. You took his hand without further non-verbal forms of communication, and from that, he signed you out of school, his thumb trailing absent-mindly over your knuckles all the while.

Then there was the walk back to the non-combusted car. It was silent. Kind of awkward, kind of soft, kind of just there. Basically, you've endured both worst and better overall, but it wasn't one of your bad interactions with the man.

"Just don't... do that again. You scared me, kid." Steve mumbled once you both got to the car, his voice wavering slightly as he opened the door for you. You nodded grimly in response. Sure, your actions were stupid, but you're not stupid. That hurt like hell, 0/10. You didn't recommend and didn't do it again.

After a time that felt a little bit too long, you got buckled in with much thanks to Steve, as without his assistance, you would still be fumbling with that seat belt.

"Y'know..." Steve started once the car was on the road and on the way to the hospital. You let in a slight, sharp intake of breath, preparing for a lecture you thought you were so close to skirting by.

"I broke my arm scaling a roof once." He finished, a bit of a lopsided grimance on his face that he hoped you didn't notice in the backseat.

"Well, why were you up on a roof, Steven?" You asked, unable not to make him eat his own earlier words. It just slipped out, you swear.

He let out a soft chuckle. "Because that's just kinda what we did for fun back in the day. And like you, everyone told me I couldn't climb it, so I did. Then I lost my balance and messed up my arm real bad, probably worse than yours. I thought my ma was going to kill me."

You raised your eyebrows, now a little bit more interguied with Steve Rogers' story time. "Well, did she?"

"No." Steve smiled, stopping at a red light. "Not when she learned my reason, which is what I thought would really make her kill me. She told me she understood why I did it, but I shouldn't ever again. Because I don't have to prove anything to anyone, and you don't either."

Understandably, your first thought was to drop a sarcastic comment on him, but something stopped you. You paused, looking down at your sore arm, thinking about how you got it. "It's nice to anyways. They underestimate me, and for what?"

"Yeah, and for what? You know they shouldn't, because you know yourself. You don't have to prove a damn thing. Especially to people like that don't influence your life at all. They probably won't be thinking about you tomorrow, so don't waste another second caring about proving them wrong now." Steve stopped his sudden pep-talk. Hoping that wasn't too corny.

"Kinda easier said than done. But thanks." You mumbled, pressing your cheek against the seat belt strap, might as well get a nap in before you learned how much you screwed up your arm.

"You're welcome, Y/N...?" Steve said questionally, not knowing if you're being sarcastic or not but choosing to be polite anyway.

You closed your eyes, allowing yourself to rest but also allowing Steve's lesson to sink in.

After a while, you were at least a little glad he bothered to show up.

[ofherpinkways]

Glitches

(guess who changed her theme lol -🧸🩰🤍)

Slight self aware for these beautiful mofos (with my own personal take on it)

Nah I'm starting think they genuinely are becoming aware (because everything down below has happened to me at least once)

But imagine them purposely glitching out all your other games or parts of your gaming console?

Let's say you were playing GtaV and they messing with radio so you couldn't listen to the music

Or if you were play it's campaign right at end of important mission suddenly they crash your game completely booting out to your consoles home screen

All that time spent trying rid that five start wanted level after dying multiple as you already restarted the mission tree times before?

Of course you got frustrated and decided to abandon the game all together for the night and move onto cod instead

Or about while playing Mortal Kombat so home odd reason no matter what level you set the games you keep losing all the matches even if the combos ?

How after you just finished making a nice ass house in the Sims only the game to crash right before you were gonna save the game?

All the work gone to complete waste

They don't just stop at fucking up your other games soon they start going after your streaming services

Had shitty at work and your only way of escape was watching your favorite comfort show or movie ?

Guess what? Netflix keeps buffering and the wifi is working perfectly so it's not a problem with the internet (writing this one because quite literally no matter what my Paramount won't play Scream 3 :-:)

After about twenty minutes of going through buffering hell hole . You have no choice but to move onto your next set of comfort characters and play cod instead of watching anything

Yes they'll feel bad about crashing all your other favorite games or shutting down any other entertainment apps after seeing how upset it made you

All the progress in other games gone

No ability to laugh or smile after getting treated like shit at work by rewatching your favorite show or movie

But they would do anything to make you pay attention to them instead

Even if comes to the cost of ruining your happiness for at least little while

As long you run back them and their game at end of the day, giving them all your attention

They'll keep doing so

[wispstalk]

Got some wifi so leaving a proper update below the cut with some pics. thanks to everyone who sent messages, I got a little misty when I opened my inbox.

One mutual asked about orgs doing relief in the area and I can vouch for these folks. They do a lot of work for people who get overlooked and are suffering worse than most.

My little city holler was well sheltered from the wind, so our house came through fine with nothing worse than a little seepage in the basement. Even my baby fruit trees survived.

Lots of downed trees and powerlines in the area but most of the houses in my neighborhood are fine. A majestic old oak tree fell at my friend's place and fortunately landed on the road instead of her. Pic of the roots (with a Ray Wispstalk for scale):

Someone told me the water rose about 27 feet so as you can imagine everything is pretty fucked up. This is a pic of the French Broad right after the storm passed:

That's a fucking shipping container floating down the river. I also saw a big ol 500gal brewing tank being carried off-- those things cost about 6k new.

I spent Saturday puttering around the house doing tradwife shit while my partner and his brother went out scavenging lol. He named this creepy ass mannequin "Our Lady of Trash"

They recovered some pieces from the arts district, which is underwater in the pic with the shipping container. BF said he felt a little bad about taking stuff, but I told him that I'd be thrilled to know that any of my pieces survived if I had a studio down there.

Made Disaster Stew over the fire that night and fed a crew of 8 people. It was honestly pretty tasty.

I drank like a monster last night and I'm really hungover and probably need to get a grip. Pouring booze on it isn't a good idea in the long term. But the head brewer at the meadery sent me with a 5-gallon bucket of mead a few weeks ago, so I lugged that shit up to the neighbors' last night and said we all better drink enough to make this easier to carry back lol.

The meadery might be fucked. None of us can get out there. Might be doing Unemployed Insane Shut-In Era 2.0 soon, but I'll live.

All in all, me and mine are safe and intact. I discovered I'm pretty well prepared for disasters. I've been keeping emergency supplies for over a decade, but I've never been put to the test before. I have what I need and enough to share with others who don't. Thanks again to everyone who reached out 🖤