#BUT actually buying things in real life is hell and it makes me so sad

[running-in-the-dark]

help I can't stop thinking about furniture. it's keeping me from thinking about the other way more important things I need to be thinking about (Jenkins, Dan Fielding, etc.)

[muddyorbsblr]

gestures & rain checks

See my full list of works here!

pre-story author's note: Yes I am very aware that it's been a solid month since Valentine's Day. Yes I am still posting this 🫡

Summary: It feels like your friends are getting plucked away from you one by one as their respective (or in Nat's case prospective) partners make grand gestures to ask them to be their Valentine.

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Word Count: 4.8k

Warning/s: language (nope still not sorry, Rogers); mentions of alcohol; tooth-rotting fluff; gun use [let me know if I missed anything!]

Things to be aware of: Morgan being a precious beb; himbo!Thor hours; lowkey sad Reader hours; chaotic group chat vibes in the end

You always had a distaste for this day. Valentine's Day. To you, it was the one day a year that you would do everything in your power not to step outside because it reeked of flowers and chocolate marked up to the heavens for merchants to take advantage of last minute gift shoppers hoping to make a gesture big enough that their crush would let them score at the end of the night. Or guys buying extravagant and ridiculously large arrangements to make amends for wronging their partner as if a 10-foot tall teddy bear was gonna magically press some Undo button of him going on Hinge or Tinder and talking up a dozen other girls on the side.

There was one year that you let slip around Nat and Wanda that this day "smelled like a cemetery" with all the bouquets that bombarded you the second you exited the perimeter of the Compound. Hell, the second you left the main section that housed you and the rest of the Avengers. And you stood by that opinion stubbornly, mostly because you'd only ever witnessed flowers being given when someone was desperately trying to glue back together the pieces of a severely damaged relationship.

And also because no one had ever given you flowers in your entire life. Or chocolates. Or a teddy bear. All your past relationships were with men who were still mentally and emotionally boys that believed emojis and gifs sufficed and were as good as the real thing. Nary a single soul had ever actually spent a lick of time or effort to give you something that told you they deserved your time and effort in turn.

And after so many years of being barely an afterthought, the day just felt like this entity that you resented to an irrational degree, where all you wanted was to lay in bed and wait it out until the clock struck 12 and it was February 15th. Then you could go on a hunt for all the overpriced chocolate that suddenly got their prices slashed by 50% or more.

That was the plan again for this year, had it not been for both Nat and Wanda barging in to your apartment and practically dressing you up like you were their own life-sized definitely seen some better days Barbie doll. "Come on, we can go and have a Galentine's Day 2. Maybe hit up a club and get some free drinks…" the assassin trailed off, zipping up your dress and playfully swatting your ass to nudge you forward. "March on, soldier."

The common area was nearly bare and eerily quiet when you all got there, which made perfect sense considering that most of your teammates who were happily committed to someone were off spending their day together, probably executing their own personal twists on those cliched gestures of adoration. Knowing Tony, that would probably consist of a two-storey tall stuffed bunny or a lavish new vacation house as a nice private little getaway spot for him and Pepper when they wanted to have a date night.

Only Morgan and Shaun were at the big dining table by the kitchen, the little girl working on bracelets with the martial artist nursing a cup of coffee while he handed her beads to add to her work. "Whaddup, Ten Rings…Baby Stark," you greeted them, ruffling his hair and pressing a kiss to the top of your goddaughter's head. "What're you two up to this fine completely ordinary day?"

"Oof, I take it you're gonna be spending the day watching a bunch of couples be all extra lovey dovey just like me?" You threw him a look, squinting your eyes at him that had him throwing his hands in the air in surrender. "No need to mentally squish my head, Y/N, we're on the same side, I swear," he chuckled, scooting over to the other seat so you could sit next to Morgan. "How about this, karaoke later tonight? Just us and anyone else that doesn't have a date with dinner and co--" You swatted his arm to get him to stop talking, not so subtly signaling in the little girl's direction. "I mean…adult balloons?"

"Wait how come you have special balloons?" Morgan asked, looking up from her activity book and earning barely stifled chortles from both Nat and Wanda. "Why can't I play with them? I like balloons."

You leaned back in your seat, making a motion with your hands as if you were wiping them clean of the whole conversation. "I'm not helping you out of this one, buddy."

He scratched the back of his head, obviously backed into the corner with his own words. "Eeeeeh…put a pin in that and ask me again when you can order a beer, Baby Stark."

The child pouted at both of you, slumping down in her place at the table and slipping back on her princess pink headphones before focusing all her attention on her activity book again, grumbling something about how grownups shouldn't have conversations around her if they didn't want her to ask questions. Valid enough point, but you still weren't going to be the one to give her her first lesson in Sex Ed class a good decade ahead of time.

"Anyways…" Shaun poked at your side, calling your attention back to him. "Karaoke, ladies? We can pick up Katy and Wong before we head over and sing some Disney duets and gorging ourselves on shots and nachos--"

"Hold up, Wong?" You all turned your attention to Stephen, who'd just walked in to the common area. "This I gotta see. You guys have room for one more?"

"Sure thing, as long as you use your sling ring to help us get into Tony's private stash," you quipped, taking a sip of your coffee. "There's no way I'm getting through this day stone-cold sober."

"Or we could go for the really hard stuff and break into Thor's stash of mead from Asgard before he depletes his supply." He showcased the ring in question with a wiggle of his fingers. "Just a portal away."

"I like the way you think, Strange."

"You can all cease your scheming to pilfer my liquor, my friends," Thor's voice boomed into the area, a bounce in his step as he made his way to the coffee pot. "I would happily supply you all with two barrels if that would be enough for your gathering?"

"That's perfect, Thunder. Thanks." You started to tuck into the breakfast plate served by the Compound kitchen staff, mumbling your next question to the blond god. "What've you got planned with Jane for today?"

"Ah." A wide grin stretched across his face at the mention of his girlfriend, the sight both warming your heart and pinching it at the same time. A bittersweet reminder that in the midst of romantic plans with sentimental or grand gestures, your plans involved getting shit-faced with your fellow single friends. Plus Wanda and probably Vision. "Well, I have employed the aid of Wilson to order an ornate bouquet of Jane's favorite flowers which should arrive this morning. Then for lunch I shall prepare her a meal."

"Lunch?" Wanda questioned, tilting her head to the side. "Forgive me if I overstep, my friend, but aren't the romantic plans usually made for dinner?"

"Well, yes…but Jane has graciously agreed to adjusting our schedule for this day so that I may spend the time after lunch aiding my brother in a gesture of his own." A lump formed in your throat at the words. "It seems he wishes to get into the spirit of the holiday, and I am simply ecstatic that he came to me asking for a helping hand."

"I asked nothing of you, you over-muscled oaf," you heard the raven-haired god call out from the main entrance, two large packages hovering a few inches above the ground blanketed with a glow of green from his magic. "You volunteered when you imposed yourself in my space and hovered over my phone."

"Pfft, semantics," Thor waved off, already making his way over to Loki so that he could do some more apparently unnecessary volunteer work. "Are the flowers in one of your parcels?"

"I like flowers!" Morgan chirped from her seat, bouncing in place with bright excited eyes. "Prince Loki, can I help? Please?"

He let out an exaggerated sigh, a trace of a fond, amused smile betraying his facade. "Very well, little Stark. Come along."

Your goddaughter squealed, skipping over to Thor and placing her tiny hand in his. "Uncle Barbie, tell me who his princess is?" He leaned down to whisper the answer in her ear, making her sprint in place with even more excitement. "I promise I won't say a word."

"Barbie? Like your doll, little Lady Stark?" You could practically see the wheels turning in Loki's head from learning about the nickname.

Morgan nodded her head vigorously. "Auntie Y/N came up with it. She calls him Macho Barbie." She proceeded to talk about how you came to give the blond Asgardian the nickname that bizarrely stuck to him more than "Point Break" ever did, said god looking like he already dreaded the coming days -- maybe even years -- now that his brother knew that little tidbit of information.

Once they'd all made their way up the stairs and you could no longer hear the little girl's chipper tone, realization sat heavy in your heart from her reaction to whatever Thor whispered to her just a few seconds ago. Whoever it was that Loki was going to make this grand gesture for, it was someone that Morgan knew enough to the point that she couldn't contain her excitement finding out who the woman was.

It was someone in SHIELD. Maybe even someone in the Compound.

"You good, Babes?" Nat's tone was cautious, approaching you like you were a wounded animal, teeth bared and ready to pounce if she so much as breathed wrong.

You answered with a terse nod of your head. "There is absolutely no fucking way I'm getting through today sober."

"Y/N, dude, I'm sor--"

Bang

"What the fuck?" All eyes grew wide at the sound, your body stiffening as another shot rang out, reverberating throughout the common area. "FRIDAY? Threat assessment," you called out, already readying yourself for combat once whoever was outside made their way to you in the compound.

"No threats have been detected," the AI answered simply. "There seems to be no living target for the gunman."

You could only manage to repeat your words. "What the fuck?" Shot after shot rang out, an interval of three to five seconds between them. Each deafening bang making you flinch, your head spinning with possible explanations on why FRIDAY didn't deem the supposed attacker as a threat. "Where's the target then?"

"Shots are being fired at the training area, by the track field, Agent Y/L/N." You all started to make your way to the area, everyone still on high alert despite FRIDAY's findings.

"Y/N?!" You shared a look with everyone else in the room at the sound of Loki's voice calling out for you, the god looking frantic as he appeared at the top of the main staircase, a sigh of relief escaping him once he saw you standing at the bottom. "You're alright," he exhaled, hurriedly making his way down. The quickening pace of the gunshots had him squaring his shoulders, stepping in front of you and marching toward the sound.

"We've handled way worse than gunfire, Laufeyson, you don't have to lead the defense," you told him with a touch more bite to your tone than you intended, irrational jealousy coursing through you knowing what he was preparing for before he started charging down the stairs. You sidestepped him and started walking toward the training area, brows furrowing together when you saw that from where you stood, the marks from the bullets digging into the ground where forming some sort of shape.

"It's a message…" Wanda mused, angling her head to and fro to see if she could get the whole picture from the ground. "I'm going up, I wanna see what's worth risking Pepper's wrath with all the lawn work she has to commission now." She held her hand out to you, wordlessly offering to take you up with her, an offer that you gladly took, clapping your hand over hers, both of you giggling as your feet lifted off the ground.

Once you two had risen high enough, it was clear what the message was. The shots had been positioned so that the markings would take on the shape of a heart, and the ongoing shots were creating initials. "N…" you read along, barely able to contain your excitement when you saw that the next letter was an R. "Natasha Romanoff!" you yelled out, the assassin's eyes lighting up with a mix of giddiness and curiosity as she tried to look at where the gunshots could've been coming from.

You did your best to turn your head, trying to see who was behind the gesture, kicking your feet in the air once you saw the gunman. "What? Who is it, Y/N?"

"It's Barnes," you squeaked, giving Rogers a reckless wave when you caught sight of him jogging toward all of you with a megaphone in hand.

"Natasha Romanoff," Bucky's voice boomed through the speaker system, making the usually cool and collected former Russian spy put a hand over her mouth to hide the way she was steadily turning pink from how flustered she was. "I know I have a long way to go to make up for how we first met, but I think you're swell and I'd like to try starting it off with maybe dinner tonight?" Both you and Wanda squealed and held each other tight mid-air watching her nod her answer, running over to her once your feet touched the ground again.

"You two won't be pissed if I take a rain check for tonight, will you?" she cautioned, still a wistful tone in her voice from processing what was happening.

"Absolutely not, you go enjoy your date. More drinks to go around and all that," you told her with the biggest smile. "But tomorrow night we're all staying at my place and you're giving us a full report."

"And remember to wear the red lacy underwear," Wanda teased with a comical wiggle of her eyebrows, earning her a poke to the ribs from both of you.

Nat pulled away from the two of you, walking back toward the indoor gym with Steve walking alongside her, starting to talk about how his best friend had been trying to work up the nerve to ask her out since he got sworn in to the team nearly a year ago. From the sound of the conversation, it seemed that Rogers was divulging some information that Barnes probably swore him to secrecy not so long ago.

"And then there were seven," Shaun spoke up, walking toward  you and the sorceress and clapping a hand on each of your shoulders. "Thor came through and left the barrels in the kitchen for us."

You were about to start talking about the food arrangements when the sight of Wanda's husband flying toward you all with a bouquet of camellias and hydrangeas in his hand. "Wanda, my love, I owe you my deepest apologies."

"Whatever for, Vis?" She broke away from you and Shaun to greet the synthezoid, placing her hands on his upper arms as he pulled her in for a chaste kiss.

"It did not occur to me that you might have wanted to make plans for today until Mr Stark had gone into detail of his own itinerary today for his wife," he explained, handing her the bouquet. "Unfortunately I cannot procure a reservation for us tonight, but I still wish to do something for you. Would you allow me the honor of making you a meal and perhaps watching a movie in the private theater?"

You and Shaun gripped each other's hands like you were high schoolers watching their best friend get asked out on their first big date, shaking and pushing each other over the sweetness of the gesture. "I don't need fancy restaurants or pretty flowers, Vis. Getting to spend time with you, especially after everything that's happened to us, is more than enough. I just need you."

The Sokovian turned back to face you and Shaun, a touch of guilt in her expression. "Rain check? I'll bring extra snacks tomorrow night to make up for it?"

"Don't worry about it, Babes," you reassured her, both you and the martial artist waving off her worries. "Enjoy your evening."

The couple have you a curt nod and a smile before happily flying away hand in hand back to their apartment.

"And then there were five," you and Shaun said in unison, walking back to the common area to load up those barrels that Thor left for tonight's 'festivities'. When you got to the kitchen area, Morgan was adorably sitting atop one of the barrels in question, feet happily swinging in the air with a big smile on her face.

"Off the goods, little Stark, we're not risking you getting drunk your dad's gonna kill us," Shaun said in a panic, already lifting the little girl up and off the barrel and making her squeal and giggle as she giddily exclaimed "I'm flying!".

"If you really think that she can get drunk from osmosis, we have a lot to talk about, sweet little summer child," you joked, walking up to one barrel and starting to push it toward the garage. "Think you can use that ancient mystical ring magic for makeshift wheels so we don't bust out our lungs lugging this all the way to your truck?"

"I can assist you, darling." Your skin bristled at the sound of Loki's voice, taking every ounce of strength you had to not stiffen or recoil at his use of the word. He was only saying it out of habit. Probably a remnant of his upbringing as a prince on Asgard.

He didn't mean it the way you wanted -- more than anything -- for him to mean it.

"No need, Laufeyson, I've got it from here," Strange butted in, conjuring an energy shield with his magic that he slid under the barrels, starting to wheel them toward the garage. "Carry on. Oh and friendly advice, man to god? Your future girlfriend, you know, the one you're making this big gesture for? She might not appreciate you calling other women 'darling', so I highly recommend kicking the habit while it's still early. Avoiding future battles and all."

The god sucked his teeth, the action causing his jaw to clench and sending your thoughts someplace they had no business being. You had no business thinking about another woman's man that way, no matter how hot he was.

"I will remember that. Thank you, Strange," he said softly, making his way back up the stairs.

"Thanks for the save," you muttered, opening the door to the garage for the sorcerer to guide the barrels through. "Don't think I could've gotten away with being on Bitch Mode with him a second time today. Not like I can help it, though. Some lucky Midgardian bitch is gonna be his by the end of the night."

"Pretty sure you're the only woman I know that considers being Laufeyson's girlfriend a good thing."

"Yeah, Y/N, like I know he's on our side and everything but most days he still has me on edge. Like passing him on a bad day's gonna get me a stab in the ribs, not a death glare like normal people," Shaun concurred, nudging your shoulder to hopefully stop your lamenting before you got in too deep. Again.

"I'm really down bad, huh," you sighed, letting out a little yip when a portal to the dark dimension appeared just a few feet in front of you. "The fuck--"

"Hey Strange," a reverberating ethereal voice called out from the portal, and then a tall woman with platinum hair with beauty that you could only describe as 'dark celestial' stepped out. Her eyes trained on the sorcerer next to you. "Heard that today's something of a holiday in this dimension. Figured it might be a good idea to stop by and maybe you could show me around your uh…" She turned to you and Shaun, both your jaws slack on the ground. "What's this place called again?"

"Avengers Compound?" Shaun said at the same time that you blurted out, "New York?"

"Compound York?" She raised an eyebrow at the two of you, amusement coloring her face as she gave you both a once over.

"Eherm…no," you answered her, chuckling nervously and shifting your weight between your feet. "This structure here is Avengers Compound, which is in Upstate New York. New York is a city, but also a region…and a state…?" you drifted off, already feeling a pinch in your head from trying to explain the best you could. You looked over to Shaun. "The more I try finding the words to explain, the more I realize how complicated it actually is. Save me."

Stephen stepped forward. "How about I just take you on a tour around New York, then?" His face stretched out into a wide grin, clearly unable to hide his giddiness over the knowledge that she crossed dimensions to be with him today.

"Is that…New York the city, the region, or the state?"

"The city. New York, New York. There's a whole song about it and everything I can play it for you in the car." He proceeded to drape his arm around the dark sorceress, leading her to his car further down the expansive garage.

"Your little human friend is right, things here are complicated. Downright confusing." She looked back at you and Shaun again as they walked away, hand in hand. "It was nice meeting you both! Stephen speaks highly of you all," she called out, her majestic voice echoing throughout the area.

"You're really pretty!" you blurted out in response, causing her voice to melt into a chuckle, telling her partner how she found you 'adorable'. You threw your head back and groaned toward the ceiling. "I'm a fucking dork."

"At least you're an adorable dork," Shaun shot back, nudging your shoulder and lightly touching the back of your head to get you facing forward again. His phone chimed with a text notification. "Katy. Her shift's over, she said she'll get us a room for eight. I'm texting her now to get a smaller one." He held up his hand, palm facing you. "And then there were four?"

You sighed, clapping your hand against his, your friend giving you a reassuring squeeze once you did. "And then there were four." You jerked your head toward the apartments. "I'll just go change into something that involves 'eating pants' and I'll meet you down here in ten."

The walk back up to your apartment wasn't that long, but it still felt like it with how quickly you slipped back into your lamenting over how your friends had such an eventful day today. Nat had her very public grand gesture. Wanda had her husband trying to cook human food in the name of spending time with her. Strange had his girlfriend literally rip a hole between dimensions to get here.

"And all I have waiting for me are two barrels of mead and karaoke microphones," you muttered, walking through your front door and begrudgingly unzipping your dress from the back. You were just about to half-stomp your way to your closet when something on your bed caught your eye.

Three shiny roses lined with gold, tied together with a gold ribbon at the foot of the bed. A large heart-shaped box of chocolates at the center. And a little teddy bear dressed as a bee with red antennas that had hearts at the end, at its fluffy little feet was an embroidered message. "Bee mine".

"What theeeee fu--"

"Y/N," an all too familiar voice called out from behind you. The air left your lungs at the sight of Loki in a form-fitting forest green button-down tucked into onyx black slacks, tucking his hair behind his ears before smoothing his hands over his shirt. "You're early--"

"What're you doing--Was this you?" you babbled, gesturing at the gifts on your bed. For a second, your heart beat erratically, the thought that maybe this was for you, before reality and logic sunk in. "Okay I think I know what's happening…"

"You do?"

"Yeah, you got the wrong apartment. Gimme a minute to change and I can help you move all this over to--"

The rest of your words died in a little squeak at the back of your throat, the god closing the distance between you two with a few long strides, framing your face in his hands and placing a tender fleeting kiss to your lips.

"Those tokens of my affection are exactly where they belong, little mortal," he murmured against you, tracing up the bridge of your nose with his lips until he pressed a kiss to your forehead. "As am I."

You let out a shaky breath, fighting against the urge to melt in the god's embrace as he snaked his hands around your waist. "The gesture your brother mentioned this morning…this?" He proceeded to press kisses down the side of your face, his warm exhale as he whispered 'yes' into your skin making you light-headed. "This is for me?" you gasped out, whatever was remaining of your logical brain smacking the rest of you with how stupid a question that was.

"Who else would it be for, darling?" He pressed a kiss to your jaw, tightening his arms around you and pressing your body against his. "There is no other in this or any other Realm that could have captured my heart so completely." He kissed the corner of your jaw, making his way down the side of your neck, holding you tighter to keep you up when your knees finally buckled from the sensation. "I did this for you, because I wish to ask something of you. That you become mine as much as I am yours."

"M-Mine?" you stammered. "Y-You're mine?" Since when? How come you didn't get this particular memo? Could've saved you a lot of turmoil and nights spent alone staring up at the ceiling trying and failing to hypnotize yourself out of being into him.

He kissed the tip of your nose, resting his forehead against yours. "I have always been yours, darling."

Your hands traveled up the length of his arms, like you were grounding yourself and trying to tell yourself that this was real. He was really here and he was telling you the words you wanted more than anything to hear for who even knew how long at this point.

He's here, you thought to yourself. And he's mine.

There was only one word that you could muster up in that moment. "Yes." I've always been yours, too.

Karaoke Dreamin' on Such a Winter's Day group chat

myfirstnameisagent: Don't kill me but…rain check?

busboy10: Are you kidding me, Y/N?? You said you'd be down in 5 minutes tops and we're gonna meet up with Katy.

nromanoff: Sweet, now you're gonna have a story to tell tomorrow night, too.

myfirstnameisagent: Actually about that…rain check on tomorrow night, too? I'm kinda not there right now…

busboy10: There?? What do you mean "There"?? How'd you get out the Compound without me seeing you? Or whoever the hot date you're ditching me for is?

imjustwong: Where is everybody? We ordered nachos.

myfirstnameisagent: Yeah…I'm not in the Compound…or in New York…any of the "New York"s. Might not be for the next week. Maybe more. The three of you better not drink all the mead in one go.

busboy10: ??????

thevision: Agent Y/L/N, my wife is showing many signs of distress over her inability to contact you. Your phone seems to be going straight to voicemail.

thewanda: Y/N WHERE ARE YOU I HEARD A BANG FROM YOUR APARTMENT ARE YOU OKAY??

myfirstnameisagent: Babes, I'm fine. That was just the Bifrost.

thewanda: EXCUSE ME??

nromanoff: BABES WHAT--

pointbreakbarbie: My friends, I heard the Bifrost be summoned near Lady Y/N's abode. Is there an emergency? Must I make my way to Asgard to assist?

myfirstnameisagent: Thor your brother said if he finds you here I have permission to stab you, don't even fucking think about it.

thewanda: I REPEAT. EXCUSE ME???

busboy10: Y/N are you in Asgard?? With Loki??

myfirstnameisagent: Yes. And yes. See you in two weeks.

thewanda: He better use that healing magic on your legs so you don't walk funny.

A/N: It took me a whole month to write this because real life was trying TKO me in the work department and also I got sucked in to the worlds of Hello Kitty Island Adventure, Disney Dreamlight Valley, and Delicious World and I've been too weak to even attempt time management 🤣

I'm working on stuff tho I swear it 🫡 Horny bitches cuts are in progress, stories are in progress…lots of progress 😅😅

Also for reference, this was the lil stuffed bear that Loki gave Reader:

and the roses looked like this:

'everything' taglist: @simplyholl @loopsisloops @imalovernotahater @coldnique @loz-3 @huntress-artemiss @salempoe @vickie5446 @athalialaufeyson @lokiprompts @kats72 @kikster606 @asgards-princess-of-mischief @lokixryss @thomase1 @mischief2sarawr @lovingchoices14 @goblingirlsarah @iamlokisgloriouspurpose @creationsbyme @maple-seed @mjsthrillernp @ladyofthestayingpower @mygfloki @sititran @glitterylokislut @ozymdias @fictive-sl0th  @lokidbadguy @mochie85 @silverfire475 @joyful-enchantress @elizabethmidnight2017 @holdmytesseract @smolvenger @gigglingtiggerv2 @lokidokieokie @lunarnights95 @superficialdomina @kmc1989 @november-rayne @goddessofwonderland @buttercupcookies-blog @peaky-marvel @lokiified @tom-hlover @dryyoursaltyoceantears

[whyse7vn]

CARDBOARD BOX -

[ ot7 x reader ]

BTW ☠️😂

8 participants - 8 online

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hobi: thinking about when we all lived together and jimin would make jungkook tap dance for food

jk: good times :D

namjoon: but jungkook cant tap dance?

jimin: exactly

namjoon: so you starved jungkook?

jk: no i tapped??

jin: horribly

jk: :(

tae: i liked it

jk: honestly 🥺?

tae: honestly

jk: :D

hobi: why is joon acting like he wasn’t there to witness it???

namjoon: sorry

i just tend to block out the traumatic memories i have with you guys

which is most of them

jin: jungkook was the one dancing for food not you

namjoon: being a witness to that was traumatic

yoongi: it was funny

jk: thank u

yoongi: no

namjoon: moving on

y/n: remember when jungkook would like disappear for 4 hours everyday and come back to the dorms at like 5 am

hobi: OMG YES

jimin: the era where he hated us 😪

yoongi: bring it back

jk: i didn’t hate you guys ☹️

tae: he was just getting his dick wet don’t worry about it

namjoon: he was barley 16?

tae: pussy slayer since 05 😝

namjoon: 05??

yoongi: he was 7 in 05

jin: victim since 05

jimin: jin was like 27 in 05

jin: ??unprovoked

and not fucking true

jimin: as long as you’re alive i’m provoked

y/n: 27 in 05 is crazy

jimin: i’m saying like 😭

hurry up and die maybe?

hobi: bros 31 ☠️

namjoon: ok stop guys

jin: fucking hate all of you

jk: omg it’s raining outside i’m so sad :((

tae: my fault stepped outside and mother nature just couldn’t contain herself

she freaky like that

hobi: paying for ur assassination

jk: what does that even mean

tae: the sky squirting for me bro

jk: oh

that’s nice didn’t know that was possible !!

can you make her stop tho

tae: tell namjoon to step outside and she’ll stop

namjoon: ???

tae: it will be hot and dry as shit if joon steps out ong

jk: namjoon pls step outside

namjoon: kook you need to stop taking tae’s word for things

jk: what

i take no words

i have my own

namjoon: nvm

y/n: life would be so much fun if one of you was a crack addict

jin: ????

yoongi: freak

hobi: real

jimin: namjoon is right here like….

namjoon: leave me ALONE

jk: i’ll be a crack addict for you

tae: i’ll be a better addict

jk: NO YOU WONT

tae: YES I WILL

y/n: shut up

jk: sorry ☺️💕💖

tae: i could so break jungkook’s legs

jk: ☹️

how will i tap?

hobi: you don’t need to tap anymore kook

ur free from that life

y/n: tap by taeyong

jimin: he may be free from tapping in this life but is the tapping life free from him?

yoongi: what

jimin: mentally jungkook is still my little tapping slut

jk: aw man ://

namjoon: did you need to call him a slut??

can we just be nice

jimin: yes i needed to call him a slut

he’s a slut

tae: he was sixteen tapping for you

ur calling a sixteen year old a slut

guys i think jimin is really weird for that actually

jk: me 2

jimin: so?????

you literally said he was fucking at 16 you indirectly called him a slut too

jk: right !!!!

tae: UMM NO???

i called him a pussy slayer actually

and that could mean anything

jk: like what?

tae: shut up jungkook

jk: ok

i’m sorry

it’s still raining

i’m upset

jin: anyways i think yoongi could be nicer

yoongi: ?????

y/n: yoongi’s great

jin: TO YOU

yoongi is actually really really mean and we need to talk about it

jk: i also think yoongi’s great !!

when i was sad about getting old and sick he told me i probably won’t get cancer and most likely die from getting stabbed at 30 on the 12th of december 3pm

namjoon: oh

y/n: yoongi….

yoongi: no cancer !!

jk: NO CANCER ^0^ !!!!!!

tae: yoongi being cold and mysterious will only get you so far in life

jk: yoongi don’t be cold

🔥🔥🔥

here

y/n: jungkook ur so silly

where are you

i want to bite you

jk: 😳

OMW HOME I PROMISE

WON’T BE LONG I SWEAR

jimin: take me back to the days where you had to buy bitches 46 plots of land and a horse to get pussy

i can’t do this being dumb ass hell shit

hobi: maybe ur just ugly idk??

jimin: ????

yo wtf

hobi????????????

hobi: who said that not me whatttt?

jin: that’s why taemin has jimin blocked

jimin: HE DOES NOT HAVE ME BLOCKED

yoongi: woah ok?

jimin: just saying

anyways

jin: ur ugly 😂

jk: beauty is subjective

yoongi: do you even know what that means?

jk: yes ofc ??

maybe…

no 😔

tae: subjective sex

namjoon: stop

tae: SUBJECT SEX

i class i would love to participate in

y/n: is this you telling us you don’t know how to have sex???

tae: NO

this is me telling you i love sex and partake in it often

hobi: stds

jk: i’m confused

why do you want to take a class on it then ???

y/n: right

you wanting to take a sex class implies you know little on the subject of sex actually

tae: SHUT THE HELL UP

jimin: nothing about my beauty is subjective btw

it’s fact

jin: that ur ugly

yoongi: lol

jimin: namjoon tell them i’m not ugly

namjoon: guys he’s not ugly

jin: he’s really ugly

y/n: namjoon tell tae to stop shouting

namjoon: taehyung stop shouting

tae: NO

NAMJOON TELL KOOK AND Y/N I KNOW HOW TO FUCK

namjoon: kook y/n taehyung knows how to fuck

hobi: namjoon i wont lie to you but u lowkey a bitch

jin: right

namjoon: thank you for that hobi and jin i also love you very much

jk: ohmygod joon loosing his mind again

that is NOT what they said

joon come back to us

fight this namjoon fight it

hobi: fighting by bss

yoongi: who fighting?

jimin: joon and his crippling coke addiction

coke winning

namjoon: can we not

tae: i’ll laugh when you overdose

y/n: exo core

namjoon: i just helped you what is ur issue??

jin: do you notice how yoongi appeared again when the word fighting was said????

we NEED to have this man locked up i’m telling you

yoongi: i’ll have you sectioned

jin: WHAT THE FUCK?????

NAMJOON TELL HIM TO TAKE THAT BACK

namjoon: yoongi take that back

please

yoongi: i take it back

jin: good

yoongi: not

jk: yikes jin he got you

yoongi ur really cool

yoongi: shut up

jk: sorry 😆

y/n: stop being mean

yoongi: cant help it :3

tae: who wants to see me split a watermelon with one hand

jk: ME ME

OHMYGOD ME I DO I DO

I WANT TO SEE

PLEASE SHOW ME PLEASE BEOFRE I PASSED OUT PLEASE

PICK ME TAE I WANT TO SEE ME MEMEMEMEMEMEMMEMEME

hobi: tae how is ur financial situation these days

tae: kill yourself

hobi: ok wtf???

i was just asking

tae: jungkook im sorry but no broken watermelon today blame hoseok

jk: hobi what the hell man i was really looking forward to the broken watermelon

y/n: i heard tae filed for bankruptcy

tae: NOT TRUE

jimin: i heard he lives in a cardboard box

tae: SHUT UP I DONT

jk: tae omg……… 😧

is this true

tae: NO OBVIOUSLY NOT

YOU WERE AT MY HOUSE YESTERDAY

AND I ORDERED US FOOD

jk: pls dont shout at me

i’m trying to remember if your house was a cardboard box or not

jimin: (it was)

tae: NAMJOON

namjoon: guys

jimin: ur no fun

y/n: sorry 😔

tae: yeah

you guys better be sorry

stupid idiots

jimin: shut up broke boy

namjoon: jimin please

jimin: whatEVER

tae: namjoon i don’t say this a lot because normally it wouldn’t be true but man i love you

guys i think me and namjoon were married in our past lives

cuz like were so in tune with each other

like he just gets me

i get him

i believe in every life we find each other

like we get married in every single life except this one

namjoon: no offence but in every life i would find you and divorce you if that were true

tae: oh

y/n: LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOO

yoongi: lol

jimin: no i see it the crack addict and the broke bitch love story

tae: at least someone gets it

nvm

should of read the whole message first

u guys are just closed minded

im telling you me an namjoon are like super alike someone thought i was him yesterday and he was so real and right for that

jk: i thought you said that guy that called you rm in the park yesterday was a racist not real or right

tae: jungkook

jk: yeah ^0^

tae: stop talking rn

jk: okay😵

hobi: cocaine is like really expensive how would tae and joon work out

tae wont be able to help feed into joons addiction

y/n: why do you know that cocaine is expensive

hobi: i know a lot of things that just happenes to be one of them

jimin: if you think about it when have you ever seen a crackhead be like nah im not gonna have crack today

they make that shit happen no matter what

and i think thats what attracts tae and joon together

like joon will do anything and everything to get his fix and tae would do anything and everything to have a place to sleep so their hardworking nature is what leads them to love

yeah

jin: ok !!!!!!

jimin i think you need a hobby or something

that was…. a lot

yoongi: shut up

jin: WHAT DID I DO???? AM I WRONG OR DID YOU ACTUALLY ENJOY JIMINS MINI FANFIC LIKE?????????

yoongi: i’ll punch you

jin: and i believe that!

shutting up #now

hobi: i wish i was mark lee rn

he probably doing something really canadian as we speak

jk: like what?

hobi: idk being nice

jimin: you called me ugly five minutes ago

you could never be mark lee

hobi: that literally wasn’t me i have no idea what ur talking about sorry i’m actually mark lee rn so i fr don’t know what ur talking about dude sorry dude i have to go on stage and dance with nct 127 now and then i have vocal practice with nct dream right after so i’m sorry dude i like have zero idea what ur talking about like actually like a sticker 2 baddies beatbox

me as mark lee and scene

jk: 10/10 really believable idk mark lee but i really though you were him for a second

y/n: great performance thought mark was here fr almost kissed you passionately on the mouth

yoongi: what

hobi: thank u thank u

you can still kiss me tho haha lol as mark or not idm

y/n: ok omg come here!!!

hobi: FR?????

y/n: no !!!!!!

but i did imagine us kissing like last week for like five seconds

hobi: yesssss 🙌 😝

a win is a win

yoongi: its not a win

she threw up at the thought

y/n: no i didn’t

yoongi: yes you did

you told me

y/n: i DID’NT

stop trying to gaslight me

it wont work

tae: have you imagined me naked

jimin: liked it better when you weren’t talking

tae: i liked it when YOU weren’t talking

jimin: shut the fuck up

jin: how about you both shut the fuck up

jimin: now why are YOU talking again

yoongi beat the shit out of him

yoongi: nah dont want to

the thought of his face isn’t pissing me off anymore

jin: thank you <3

yoongi: i could punch hoseok tho

hobi: no thank you ???

y/n: yoongi has a framed picture of all of us on his bedside table that he hides whenever you all come over in case you find it

he also has each one of our debut photocards in a small little binder in his studio in a little safe

yoongi: not true bye

yoongi left “BTW☠️😂”

y/n added yoongi to “BTW☠️😂”

y/n: very true very real seen them with my very two eyes

yoongi: you wear glasses

that you don’t actually wear

so who knows what u be seeing

that is NOT true

y/n: i wear glasses to READ and you know that

so shut up

guys yoongi would punch none of you because he loves you very much ok? 😍💖💯

tae: yoongi do you kiss our picture goodnight be honest

yoongi: fuck off actually

namjoon: thats very sweet yoongi

we love you too

jin: i DON’T

i fear my life when i’m around yoongi picture by his bed or not

i’m shaking in my boots i’m scared

yoongi: pussy

jin: i’m telling you ever since he broke that poor woozi guys nose i have not looked at him the same

y/n: ok but that was a mistake right yoongi

yoongi: ?

y/n: it was

and besides has yoongi broken your nose?

jin: no but it’s coming

i know it

yoongi: true

jk: i feel safe around yoongi

yoongi: you shouldn’t

jk: because he hasn’t broken my nose

but jimin did punch me once

jimin: dont bring up my past

hobi: if we think about it jimin should be locked up

jungkook you can press charges you know?

jimin: CAN WE NOT TALK ABOUT ME AND WHAT I’VE DONE

like we were talking about how yoongi actually love us

lets get back to that

yoongi: jimin should be put behind bars

jimin: yoongi loves us

yoongi: jimin is a bully

jimin: YOONGI LOVES US

tae: i love you back yoongi

yoongi: kill yourself

jimin is a literal bully like actually

jimin: and ur a fake one cuz u love us

jk: jimin you are bully

yoongi: ur right jungkook

you are so right

jimin: jungkook yoongi loves you

that’s why he’s agreeing with you

jk: i love you too yoongi ^0^

yoongi: jungkook jimin is bullying you

has been since you were 16

jk: ohmygod……..

jimin: jungkook yoongi has a photocard of you that he’s probably decorated and everything just cuz he cares so deeply about you

jk: he does????????

namjoon: ok both of you stop

jimin you ARE a bully

and yoongi its ok that you actually like us you should stop pretending you don’t

jimin: I AM NO BULLY

yoongi: i like not one of u 😒

namjoon: yeah ok

jk: GUYS OHMUGOD

tae DOES LIVE IN A CARDBOARD BOX I REMEMBER NOW 🤯🤯😨

tae left “BTW☠️😂”

—

think of this as a flash back/ forward idk of the good happy times ok? ok thank u >_<

sorry for the shit ending i just really like the first part and wanted to post

tags: @piw6n @92jinnies @birdie-vhs @kooksmilitarywife @hob3loveofmylife @jujubiism @bloopkook @ratchetpizza1 @myntalks @arloo00 @watamotee33 @y2kcy3brz @taiwan0618 @freyadanvers @gguksbeloved @raetf @bbsantc @winuvs @medicinemybish @bxnnyhime @leleluvsbts @baetukki @zyaaaszn @thelilbutifulthings @jazminethecreator @k4ngelz @jmnscutie @threeopossumsinacoat @cynicalyoongs @lightningpussy54 @eunthv @gigiiiiislife @lowkeykin @elissasimp @socksfirstalways @knjlvr06 @lailaisarmy @thvkives @xstfudaisyx @xxxanimangxxx @solstice34 @ml8dy @hoeforseoks

[juicywritinghoard]

a few more prompts

This crime is going almost too well?

Can you play with my hair? 

Of all the people to body swap with. Of all the days. 

This is no time for cute cat pictures and heart emojis!!!

And ANOTHER THING. Zombies-

Hey. Honestly? [deep breath] [SCREAMS]

Nothing like yard sale drama and intrigue! 

I did not see your text. Actually I can't read. It's very sad. Sudden onset adult illiteracy is very real-

Do not put it in your mouth! 

I know I got in trouble for buying them a very cool toy last time, but hear me out. 

Bite me. You gotta.

I am not eating this raw, actually. Nope.

How long did it take you to make that for me? NO I am not crying 

You drive me insane. Obviously I would go to hell for you 

What does this button do? I gotta know

Sword fighting is even more charged than I expected and I was not prepared 

I know you grew up in a wet cardboard box all alone but I cannot believe you have not experienced this. I think we have to, right now,  immediately 

We both showed up alone to the couples cake decorating class, so obviously-

Oops! Run

It hurts, but it rules

After a bad day, what we really need is some chocolate and violence.

Meow? Are you kidding me? 

Oh don't even get me STARTED on monsters- 

Pick your battles. As in let go of some of them please I swear you cannot fight it all

You know that object from the thrift store we thought was haunted? Haha so guess what,

Good chances we all die. Counterpoint, everyone who lives gets ice cream with sprinkles, so gear up!

I think I pretty explicitly said not to get it on the carpet.

So your mic wasn't off,

Please dress up with me? Please please please?

It isn't my blood. Don't get it twisted 

Can we kiss behind the mini golf windmill one more time? 

Magic is real, it just looks fake. 

Quick! Propose to me! Also, what's your name? 

We have to get you a new super costume.

You're enchanting. You're resplendent. You're a little bit on fire,

I gotta be honest. I have no idea what's going on and I think I waited too long to say so. Sorry?

Why do they have cat ears? They're supposed to be DEAD

I have normal feelings about this. And regular opinions. And I'm vibrating a reasonable amount.

Help, help, I'm not supposed to be in this universe!! 

I will help you ruin your hair, obviously, but you have to tell me what's going on. 

You wore that to the funeral?? 

Baking is science. Wizardry is science. You know what isn't science? 

Tired, angry, and covered in spaghetti sauce, and here I am at your door. But I can explain?

Bear. Seriously 

gonna destroy you and end your legacy forever xoxo <3

Nothing could possibly make me laugh right now. Don't you dare start doing silly voices at me. 

You know what this giant fancy crystal is good for? Blunt force head trauma 

I know it's super dangerous but when your eyes glow like that I can't focus on the battle at all…

Life finds a way?

Fighting? No, no, we're having a great time arguing about this. 

[camelspit]

PICK THE WOMAN THAT YOU WANT ELIMINATED!!

Master Cadence by @tw-5

Umber by @chronically-ill-psionipath

Tinker by @thefoxysnake

Esha Aria by @camelspit

Lady Galvin by @an-ungraceful-swan

Note! Definition of a sexywoman:

According to the sexywomanpedia, a sexywoman is "a character who shows the 'lanky suitman villain' tropes, is popular with wlw, and/or is highly divisive." Some factors to consider are morality (or lack thereof), overall mysteriousness, and strength (physical or abilitywise.)

Propaganda:

Master Cadence:

"she’s a linguist. she’s a woman in stem. she’s tired of everyone’s bullshit. she’s fruity as hell. her house is cool as fuck (a howls moving castle style boat-thing made of metal that she built herself because she didn’t want to live in the elven cities???? come on). she’s a MASTER. what more could you want." @let-them-sing-of-others

"she’s an academic. shes smarter than u. she hates on the council and she’s RIGHT. she hates sophie actually you know what she has a hater complex but in a hot way. i love her yr honour." @necromycologist

"she spent YEARS researching on ogres and their culture. idk about you, but i would try keeping her in my good graces because she KNOWS ABOUT DEADLY POISON. WHY ARE PEOPLE NOT TALKING ABOUT THIS. I WOULD SHIT MYSELF IF I CAME ACROSS HER IN REAL LIFE EVEN IF IT WAS IN A GROCERY STORE ON A RANDOM TUESDAY AND SHE WAS BUYING OREOS. FOR ALL WE KNOW, SHE COULD HAVE LOADS OF THAT IN HER HOUSE/ON HER PERSON!!" @corruption-exe

"ok not to be a lesbian or horny on main (<- ace) but HOLY SHIT i want her to step on me. this lady has intensified my sexuality crisis" (anonymous)

Umber:

"Shes an evil hot powerful shade that got killed in the book she got introduced in what more could you want" @thefoxysnake

"Umber (Redacted) is one of the women in the series that isn’t JUST psychological manipulator! She also fought! She broke bones (if I remembered correctly) and messes with everyone’s minds without even revealing her true name! She has a boyfriend! A BOYFRIEND. TRIX. She went through something ‘the incident’ (mentioned in the latest book) and joined the Neverseen! She got Trix, her Pookie to be in the Neverseen as well 🥺. You can tell she was also a good lover how Trix was so sad over her death. KEEP IN MIND SHE DIED BEING CRUSHED, so for those who likes angst; there you go. She died in her mission. She was Tam’s mentor and an EXCELLENT fighter if I do say so myself. Who wouldn’t vote Umber? A girlboss with a sweet boyfriend and has murderous tendencies? 😔🎉 Vote for Umber PLEASE! I’M BEGGING YOU! PLSPLSPLSPLS 😭😭" @chronically-ill-psionipath

Tinker:

"she's trans! she's autistic! she's a mad scientist! she's everything you could possibly want in a woman!!!!!" @gay-otlc

"shes a mad genius she built a mad science castle she invented steampunk literally why would you not love her" @necromycologist

Esha Aria:

"shes sooo funny guys. she fucked with the system to get some dick and almost got away with it. she chose that dick over her daughter. she may be exiled but at least she has her man. morals and consequences mean nothing!!!" @camelspit

Lady Galvin:

"She's one of the greatest alchemists there ever was, and yet no one recognizes her for her talents. She's surrounded by people who will never understand or appreciate her, and because of that she tries to make their life hell. She has no ambitions, no future, no goal, and yet she doesn't break. She wears her cool ass capes and rules over detention with an iron fist, desperately searching for the control she lost when she realized her job wasn't up to her. She's an evil supergenius stuck in a children's school." @lizzie-dude

[romanitas]

look at me go, it hasn't even been a month! we're back with (i think) the penultimate part of the spy au !! thanks to @perseannabeth who helped me figure out some plot points literally irl for the final stretch. there's always been a vague plan for the end, hopefully it lives up! also again available on ao3 if tumblr formatting screws up.

-

Annabeth hasn’t seen Percy for four and a half weeks. She’s been off the Jupiter Industries case for just as long, what with Luke Castellan’s involvement; they’re currently restructuring the plan forward. She’s not used to boredom, but she’s not sure she could consider it full boredom when her brain will not stop churning. She’s aware it’s usually a stomach churning, but no, in this case, her mind is on the go in a thousand different directions. She doesn’t feel nauseous or sick - just overwhelmed mentally, which as far as she’s concerned is one of the worst kinds. She’d rather be vomiting.

She’s back at her apartment - her real one. It’s nearly as empty as the fake one. She doesn’t keep a lot of things around, not wanting too many distractions on top of the fact that she feels like she spends very little time actually in it. The most personalization is an owl throw pillow with a matching blanket on the couch and a few architectural prints across her walls. It feels emptier than it ever has, and she cruelly imagines what it might be like if Percy came here. She really, really needs to stop thinking about him, but it feels impossible, because if she’s not thinking about him, she starts to think about Luke. And that’s worse.

She faceplants directly into the owl blanket with a groan and lays there, ignoring the wafting smell of her Korean BBQ takeout sitting on the countertop. This has been her life each day for the last week: different dishes but a very familiar static and face full of fluff, followed by dejectedly eating lukewarm food. And then she just gets mad at herself for being such a sad sack. She’s Annabeth fucking Chase. What the hell did Percy Jackson do to her?

Reyna checks in periodically. She sends minute updates, but not enough for Annabeth to start doing her own poking and prodding. Frank stops by a few times to make sure she’s eating, and she does welcome his company in an absent way. He brings some of the best takeout, but he knows all her favorites. He carries the conversation in directions that serve the best distractions.

“You should use this time to get out,” he says one day, dragging some naan through the rest of his curry. When Annabeth stares at him, he clarifies. “I mean, maybe think of it like a vacation? You never take a vacation. Do things you’ve always wanted to.”

She grumpily shoves her own naan into her mouth to avoid answering him. But maybe he has a point. Maybe she does need to leave the house more often, if only to refresh herself. To get back on her feet. It’s only a matter of time before they give her a new assignment, and she refuses to fall into distractions again next time.

She takes herself out. She ventures further than a ten block radius and tries a new Pho place she’s been wanting to check out. She looks up a current run of temporary exhibitions around the city, buys tickets for three of them. She makes a reservation for herself at one of the museum restaurants, uncaring that it’s definitely overpriced and she can get a burger down the block for half the cost. She is utterly determined to give herself a good, clean, solid break from her time with Percy, so she’s prepared for the next chapter. Whatever it brings.

Naturally, it’s at one of the exhibitions that she runs into Sally Jackson.

Annabeth isn’t sure she could have been caught more off guard by Luke. She turns the corner and nearly runs into the woman, but her instincts make her sidestep at the last second. She’s not fast enough to avoid eye contact, because Sally moves at the same time, an apology on her lips.

“I’m so sorry - Annabeth?”

Why is this her life? Annabeth freezes, and she can feel the guilt rain down on her like a tsunami. She’s very rarely caught off guard like this, but this warm, wonderful woman unnerves her in an unexpected way. She just assumed she would never see her again, another casualty of her break with Percy.

Despite it all, Sally offers her a small, tentative smile. “Hi,” she says, tone infused with that very same warmth Annabeth knows she doesn’t deserve.

She swallows. “Hi,” she replies, weakly.

Sally reaches out to give her arm a gentle squeeze, and Annabeth nearly combusts on the spot. But the older woman can sense her discomfort, because she pulls her hand away just as quickly and sighs. “Will you get a coffee with me?”

Every single part of her is telling her to say no; every rational, logical piece of her being knows this is a bad idea, but there’s a quiet desperation that wins out against her better judgment, and Annabeth nods mutely. Sally smiles again, then walks them both towards the museum cafe. She orders Annabeth’s coffee exactly the way she likes it and orders herself a chai latte. By the time they sit down at the table, Annabeth’s nerves are shot, so she just wraps her hands around the cup and takes a sip, burning her tongue immediately. She winces, and Sally offers her a napkin.

“Percy told me you broke up.”

Annabeth almost laughs, hollowly. There’s no way he would have told her anything - Percy might have been royally pissed at her, but he’s also not cruel, and she knows he wouldn’t jeopardize her by spilling all the beans to his mother. He also wouldn’t want to put his mom in danger. Instead, her shoulders sink, and all she can do is nod once.

“He didn’t really tell me why,” Sally continues, wringing her hands around her own cup. She gets a thoughtful wrinkle in her forehead that looks so much like her son Annabeth almost flinches. “He said it wasn’t his place to share your history, but he did tell me you lied about a lot.”

She doesn’t know if hearing that from Sally is worse than her whole exchange with Percy a month ago. She doesn’t say anything, but her lack of answer is its own confirmation.

“My son is everything to me,” she says, and Annabeth prepares to be reamed out. Why wouldn’t she be? She just broke this woman’s son’s heart, and they’re two of the kindest, best people she’s ever met. “And I have never seen him so miserable.”

It’s not yelling, but it might be worse for real this time. Which is why the next thing Sally says is the most surprising part of all.

“I think he misses you.”

Annabeth’s head whips up so fast, and she says the first thing since her awkward greeting, which isn’t much more articulate. “What?”

It’s Sally’s turn to be quiet, again looking thoughtful as she finally takes a sip of her own drink. “I’m only telling you this because I know he was happy with you. Happier than I’ve seen him in a long time. And I know what he’s like now. I’m not going to ask you what happened. I know you hurt him, deeply, and I know maybe it’s not my place to sit here with you and tell you all of this. I know maybe things have been damaged too greatly. I know it’s his life, not mine. But what I want to ask you anyway is if you want to fix it, and if you still love my son.”

Annabeth’s eyes well up. She can’t answer this one with a nod. It’s everything she’s been trying to push away, the impossibilities of Percy chasing her down more harshly than Luke in the alleyway. “I love him,” she admits, and saying it aloud to someone else nearly knocks the wind out of her. “But I don’t know if I can fix it. I really, really hurt him, and there are parts of it that feel too broken.”

She shouldn’t be sharing this with Percy Jackson’s mother, but there isn’t another person who’s spoken to her about Percy specifically like this. A person who prioritizes Percy the way he should be, no matter what her own stupid heart and head are doing. Frank worries about her, but she’s the one who needs to grovel, and Sally will always, always put her son first.

Sally takes another sip, watching her carefully over the brim. She’s never felt more scrutinized in her life, and she’s a goddamn spy. Annabeth’s been alone for a very long time, and those months with Percy and his friends and his family were the closest she felt like a real, normal person in a long time. But she isn’t normal. She can’t just slip into a real architect’s life and become a new Annabeth Chase.

“Are you willing to try?”

She’s taken aback by the question and the way it connects to her thoughts, and she’s sure the surprise is on her face. “I don’t think he wants me to. It should be his choice, not mine.”

Sally hums. “Will you give me your address?”

“He’s not going to come to my house.”

“It’s for me. Not him. I won’t give it to him.”

She hesitates. She’s unlisted for a reason, her residence deeply under wraps. She still gets mail, of course, and it’s not like she lives there most of the year. But then she stubbornly takes the receipt from the drinks, scribbles the P.O. box on the back before she can second guess herself, and slides it back over. “Can you memorize it and burn it?” she says teasingly, trying not to feel ashamed of joking about it.

Sally slides it into her pocket. “I’m giving you a chance now, because I love my son and I want his happiness more than anything else, but I can see you're in just as terrible a state as he is. I wanted to see for myself, after I realized it was you.” She lifts her drink again, and Annabeth’s not sure if the pause for dramatic effect is intentional or not. “This is not forgiveness. It’s not my place to give it. This is me having a conversation with you, because you’re a very smart, put together woman who has spent a significant amount of time with Percy.”

Annabeth doesn’t feel very put together at the moment, but she’s hardly going to interject.

“And above everything, Percy is my son.”

It’s not a threat, but it almost feels like one. In lieu of another response, Annabeth takes a cowardly sip of her coffee.

“Thank you, for having coffee with me,” Sally says, and it sounds like a goodbye. Like this might be the last thing they ever say to each other. They sit in silence for a few more minutes, finishing their drinks, and it’s Sally who leaves first. She climbs to her feet in a cool movement and adjusts her bag before giving Annabeth a nod, then walks away from the table.

Annabeth sits there for another thirty minutes, though what she spends it thinking about, she doesn’t really remember.

-

Three days later Annabeth receives a package in the mail, with Sally’s return address. She holds the box in her hands and doesn’t really know how to process it. She sets it on the kitchen island and stares at it, afraid of opening it for stupid reasons. Watching it out of the corner of her eye, she heats up a box of frozen mac and cheese, then reaches for a steak knife to slice open the packing tape as the microwave beeps.

Inside she finds a dozen chocolate chip cookies, wrapped up neatly in a transparent blue bag. Underneath them is an envelope, which she nervously lifts and carefully opens. There’s a note inside, and what looks like two tickets to - to an aquarium. Not just any aquarium, the one where she met Percy - or rather, where she orchestrated her meeting of Percy. Puzzled and sad all at once, she reads the note in Sally’s loopy writing.

Annabeth,

I bought these for you both a month ago. I’m giving them to you alone now as a final gift from me to you, and I hope you use them. Use the time to think about everything. Don’t try to return them.

Perhaps one day we’ll see each other again. Take care.

Sally

[orlaogden]

Mchart week: The Road Trip

They are both unusually quiet in the morning. As if they are afraid to break the peaceful silence and ruin everything, so they let their bodies speak for their tongues. Kurt fries bacon and eggs, Diane warms up bagels and makes coffee.

A light brush of hands, short timid smiles. She adverts her eyes, and he feels a sudden pang in the chest. His arms snake around her waist, he just can't help it, his lips kiss the side of her head above the right ear. Despite the short glimpse of sadness he felt radiating from her just a moment ago, she leans in his embrace readily, caresses his back, kisses his shoulder. They're bathing in morning sunlight, in the warmth of their embrace and in the smell of the coffee.

"Kurt. Let's get away from the city for a while?" Diane blurts out.

"You mean, go to the country?"

"No... Go on a trip. Spend some time in nature." She knows he would love it. She knows that she will enjoy it too and they need it.

Kurt's eyebrows go up. Diane and nature: a beautiful combination but a rare one.

"Why?"

"To make a room," she pauses and finds his left hand with hers. "To clear more space for... love. Just be simply Diane and Kurt for a while."

Kurt is almost ready to laugh. He thinks that he is always himself and that being in love with her is his default state of being. But he gets it, so he just squeezes her hand and kisses her cheek instead.

"Do you have something particular in mind?"

"Nope. We can make arrangements today and go tomorrow."

"It's a deal then." He smiles into her hair.

The silence between them sparks with anticipation of something exciting as they eat.

***

Eventually they decide to go to Starved Rock. It's not too far from Chicago and it's beautiful.

Kurt's driving the car. Lyle Lovett doesn't provoke a sudden wave of longing anymore. The car doesn't reek of incense. Everything falls right into place. They're not going to meditate, they're going to walk and see the waterfalls, although Diane doesn't even mind watching him fishing for the whole day, breathing in the fresh air and the closeness of the most important person in her life she missed so much and desperately tried to forget in the fear of no future.

"You know what. We should try an axe throwing next."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. I'll show you my moves." She adds with a cheeky smile. 

"I always thought it's a pity that you had got over it before we could try it together." 

"Maybe you'll find that the axes are actually hotter than guns."

"I know for sure that you'd  look hot as hell with an axe. As for the technical side… Maybe I am a simple guy, but I like complicated things, you know."

"Oh, I know. You wouldn't marry me if you haven't." Diane sighs. "There are actually so many things we haven't tried doing together…"

The majority of the trip they discuss their plans for future activities they want to try, building a bridge to their life together in DC. Diane thinks that maybe her cowboy is not an artsy person but he sure knows how to have fun and make her feel warm inside. 

The playful talk only dies out when they stop at a parking lot near a gas station to buy some coffee. Somehow coffee gets forgotten pretty quick as they indulge in a not exactly silent make out session.

***

“There is something humbling about the ancient rocks. We try to be important, be heroes, make a difference, while they’re just standing here and will outlive us all…”

“You’ll be able to make a difference again when you’re back in a courtroom. Real difference for real people.” 

And you will feel better, his tender green eyes tell her. She already feels better. The earth, the rustle of leaves, water and his steady presence ground her. Baby steps are not so frustrating anymore. Finally she knows what she needs to do: go back to what she does best. Leading a law firm, fighting for clients she actually cares about. Finally she doesn’t feel so painfully alone.

She looks down at the calm water surface and muses. 

This is crazy how you start to think that a person you have mutual interests with understands you on a truly deep level, seeking his advice because you feel like drowning, only to realize later that he doesn't know you at all. And it makes sense, because he really doesn't.

And this is crazy how a person, you have so little in common with on a surface level, gets you better than anyone else in the world. It doesn't make sense at all, but it feels so right when you don't overthink it.

***

"Ouch!" Diane stumbles and almost falls but Kurt's strong hand supports her in time.  

"Are you alright, hon?" he asks gently caressing her side. Diane takes a deep breath trying to not lean too much onto him.

"I think I've twisted my ankle. I'll be alright in a minute."

"You need to sit down and rest for a bit…" Kurt looks around trying to find something suitable. Sadly, they are out in the wild and there are no benches. "What do you think about this nice looking rock?" 

Kurt helps Diane to reach the big flat rock he spotted and sit down. Then he takes three steps back, checks her out affectionately and pulls the smartphone out of his pocket. 

"You look like a princess who got lost in the woods."

"Yeah, seventy years old princess in leather pants", Diane answers sarcastically. 

"Princess SexyPantsass", Kurt says lightheartedly and gets a perfect shot of her laughing. This will be a nice addition to his growing collections of Diane's photos. 

When Kurt helps Diane to stand up again, his stomach grumbles loudly. 

"I think we should head to the picnic area. Maybe this place has a dark history, but I don't want my galant knight to starve!"

***

Kurt gives Diane a plate with a hot aromatic grilled cheese sandwich and two sausages on the side while she spoonfeeds him a pasta salad she made this morning. He feeds her grapes. She wipes her hands with a napkin and pats his knee. They clunk two beers and toast their trip. The silence they've immersed into now is comforting in all its cozyness. 

A gust of wind ruffles Kurt's hair, and Diane's fingertips tingle. He is relaxed, almost serene. He looks at her with such tenderness that her lips start tingling too. She brushes breadcrumbs from his mustache, lightly touching the upper lip with her pinkie. He smiles and kisses her fingers. She can't restrain herself anymore. One hand goes up his cheek and disappears in the thick silver hair. The other hand goes up his chest, then his neck. And they are kissing, and kissing, and kissing. Bottles fall clinking against each other. Diane silently prays for the bottles to be empty, but when they end the kiss she looks only at him. 

"Now I'm starved for something else", Kurt breathlessly murmurs in her ear, sending a tingling sensation down her spine. Diane is half turned on, half hyper-aware that they're in a public space. 

"I'm afraid we have to starve for this much longer, my love", she whispers, moving away from him. The look on his face when she says the last two words almost makes her cry. 

“Thank you for coming back to me.” She literally breathes the sentence out. Her guilty look adds: Despite me hurting your feelings again and again.

It is both an apology for how she had left things and gratitude for him finally being here for her, not on the phone with a despicable organization, not somewhere else.

“Thank you for choosing us again.” Kurt answers simply, his voice is breaking in the middle. 

Her brows form two slanting lines, her lips tremble. As though they both could go a different way. They almost did, but no, she couldn't, they couldn’t.

She just hugs him then. If she could melt into his soft flannel shirt, she would. His hands clutch so tightly on her back as if he is afraid she would disappear. 

The next moment an angry kid passes them muttering something about "gross adults". They break their embrace and laugh, probably making the kid even angrier. The unexpressed thought makes them laugh even louder. 

On the way back to the car they see a double rainbow. 

"Everything is gonna be alright", Diane thinks. Kurt opens a car door for her. Going back home doesn't seem so depressing anymore. 

_______________

The song in the edit: Love Will Keep Us Alive by Scorpions. 

Thank you @rexlockhart for organizing such a wonderful fandom event! 💗💗💗

[beautifulmadnesss]

"Slowly Sinking, Wasting" Rafe Cameron x Maybank!Reader

Summary: JJ's younger sister starts feeling left out when Sarah Cameron joins the Pogues, so she decides to start spending time with the kooks and coping in all the unhealthy ways she learned from her father.

A/N: This is set in season 1 and is before he goes psycho.

"What are you doing here?" He asked with a smirk, not moving from his spot on the couch.

"Looking for the real party, can you help?" I crossed my arms over my chest, which also helped conceal my shaking hands. I was trying not to think about how low and desperate I was, seeking help from Rafe Cameron.

"Damn, I thought you were too good for us, or is it cool now that Sarah has replaced you so you thought you'd go dark side?" I tried to keep my face neutral, not showing how truthful his words were.

"Do you actually care? I'm here to buy some coke, if you're not selling, I'll go somewhere else."

"$100 a bag." He leaned back with a smirk, knowing full well I couldn't pay that. "First one's free with a little quality time."

"No way in hell," I scoffed.

"I'm not a perv, just hang here with me for a little while, answer some questions, and I'll give you the bag for free, I'll even show you how to hit a line, unless you already learned that from your dad." I pushed away the thought, I wasn't like him, I was just going to take a little something so I didn't feel so crappy. Just this once.

"Fine," I conceded, plopping down on the couch next to him.

"First, why are you doing this?" He asked as he cut the lines with a credit card that probably had a limit high enough to purchase our house.

"Since when are you interested in my life, thought you didn't associate with Pogues."

"Only the boring ones. Plus, that was the deal sweetheart, coke for questions." He held out a rolled up $20, but pulled it back slightly when I reached for it. His eyebrow quirked, waiting for my answer.

"Because I'm lonely." I answered, taking the bill from him and quickly snorting the entire line.

My nose immediately burned and my hand flew up to cover it, feeling sure it would start bleeding at any moment.

"Here, it helps" Rafe offered me his glass of whiskey that I was fairly sure would only help by making me drunk, but at the moment that sounded great, so I accepted.

"Does your dad hit you?" He asked after I finished off the glass.

I poured more into the glass and drank some before I answered. "Yeah."

"Guess we have some things in common." I turned toward him in shock. "My dad's just as much of a dick, he just hides it better with money."

This time, I didn't bother to pour more into the glass, I just drank some from the bottle and passed it to him without a response.

"I'm sorry your friends treat you like shit." He passed the bottle back to me.

"I'm sorry your dad's a dick." I replied, taking another sip.

We sat in silence for a while, just passing the bottle back and forth. I wasn't really sure when I passed out, but when I woke up I was laying in a bed, under the covers. My head felt like it was going to explode before I even opened my eyes. I groaned, really regretting my idea to get drunk and high.

"Don't ask what's in it, just drink." I opened my eyes to see Rafe Cameron wearing only boxers and holding a very suspiciously colored liquid. I immediately looked down to see if I was still wearing clothes. "I told you I'm not a perv. I slept over there." He pointed to a window seat with lots of fluffy pillows and a blanket.

"Why are you being nice to me?" I asked, taking the cup from his hand.

"Because you're sad and lonely. It's not really fun to pick on people that are already sad and lonely." He smirked and I glared at him. "Drink." He tilted the cup towards my mouth and despite the lingering worry that he might be poisoning me, I drank.

"That's awful," I coughed after only a small sip.

"Well, thats why you shouldn't do drugs or drink underage."

"You supplied me with both."

"Only because you asked. Now you should finish that and then I'll drive you home." He turned and walked toward his closet.

I sipped some more of the awful drink and tried not to stare at him. Rafe Cameron, evil rich kook. Who also happened to be really attractive, athletic, and apparently even kind of nice.

"You know, you're pretty hot yourself." He said, turning around quickly and catching me staring. I ignored him and continued finishing the drink.

"Come on, I'll drive you home." He unceremoniously pulled the blankets off me and didn't even wait for me to answer before going to the door.

"You just want to rub this in JJ's face." I accused, despite following him out to his car.

He turned around so suddenly I didn't have time to stop so I just bumped into his chest.

"There are certain benefits, yes." He smirked and looked me up and down.

"You're dropping me at my house, not the Chateau." I demanded as I climbed into the passenger seat of his car.

"Fine."

"Fine," I shot back childishly causing him to laugh. It took me a few minutes to realize we were in fact going to the Chateau and not my house. "What the hell, Rafe?"

"Relax, I'll park down the street, but I'm not dropping you off to be alone with your dad."

"You're a lot less confusing when you're just being an asshole."

"Maybe you'll have to come back again." His tone was light, but he sounded like he meant it. "You actually aren't all that awful." HE parked and I sat frozen for a few moments.

"Thanks, Rafe." I said before opening the door and getting out. "You're not terrible, either." I added before closing the door and walking toward the Chateau. I couldn't help but peek over my shoulder one last time and to my surprise he was still parked in the same spot watching me walk off. I turned back around and smiled a little to myself.

A/N: This could become a full enemies to lovers if people want it. Edit: you did, so here is the link to part 2 and part 3

[tobiasdrake]

Ace Attorney 4-3, Investigation 1. In keeping with Gavin being surprisingly friendly for a prosecutor, I love the way 4-3 spins directly out of our developing relationship with him specifically.

Klavier Gavin is the only prosecutor ever to voluntarily hang out with the protagonist prior to the big conclusion of their arc. Some prosecutors have showed up to hang out in future titles; In fact, Gavin does too. But this is the first time we've actually been able to get to know them before the showdown.

And you can see why, too. Gavin's not only the friendliest prosecutor. He's also the only one who. Like. Has a life outside the courtroom. Other than Edgeworth being a sentai fanboy, I guess.

This one's going to have to be in two parts.

Rockstar prosecutor Klavier Gavin is a rockstar. So we're going to set a chapter of the story at a rock concert. His rock concert. What a great idea.

OH YOU CAN BARELY TELL THAT A MAN WROTE THIS

The least believable thing in the entire Ace Attorney universe is that the Gavinners somehow have a successful rock career. Rock is a counterculture movement, giving voice to the unheard.

It is physically impossible to get any farther from counterculture than literally cops. This is it. The extreme distant end from counterculture. Who the hell would buy cop-themed rock?

The Daily Wire wishes conservative media was as well-received as the Gavinners.

It's especially bizarre when you consider that we're in the Dark Age of the Law, a period of time when the criminal justice system is so widely known to be corrupt and brutal that pop culture came up with a name for it while it was still happening. Everyone knows that the justice system is broken and exists solely to persecute the innocent but we're all gonna buy tickets to watch a bunch of cops play guitars and cheer for how cool prosecutors are.

Nonetheless, this is such an unassuming setup for a murder. Why would there be a murder? We're here to make music. We're here to make cop music. Can we have one nice evening? But no. Gavin and his guest star Lamiroir take the stage and....

It does not go well. In fact,

It goes aggressively not well. Fortunately, the victim lives long enough to tell us that Lamiroir saw him get shot.

Romein here speaking in code to give us a riddle to solve. I usually hate cryptic moments like this when characters use a short window of opportunity to speak in cryptic tongues rather than deliver useful information. But with Romein, it makes sense. The man has been shot and ours is not his first language. He's wracking his brain right now to find correct enough words to use.

In any case, this sets up our crime for chapter 4-3. A classic Whodunit in an enclosed space - complete with a vanishing killer who somehow teleported out of the room despite us breaking in through the only exit moments after the gunshots were heard.

A limited number of people have access to this backstage area and half of them are cops. One of them shot Romein LeTouse. Which means now would be a good time to talk about the cast of characters involved in this case.

We have two sets of characters here. First is the guest singer Lamiroir and her entourage.

The mysterious and lovely Lamiroir, a famous international singer who is probably the real reason all those people are here. Come for the legendary international celebrity but also cheer for the fucking cops so they don't get mad and shoot tear gas into the crowd.

Siren of the Ballad Lamiroir is easily our most interesting character in this case. Not originally from her "home country" of Borginia, her entire persona is a manufactured illusion.

As well as her manager and translator Romein LeTouse whose name makes me sad that our local salad buffet place shut down during COVID. He's one of only two people involved with this case who can interpret for Lamiroir, who speaks only a foreign language. That's a problem, seeing as he's our vic--

Oh, never mind, she can speak Japanese "English" just fine. They were doing that for publicity. Convenient!

And her blind child pianist Machi Tobaye. He and Lamiroir seem like they make for quite a pair. These two, I can believe having a famous musical career. Machi, incidentally, can "also" only speak his native language just like Lamiroir but I'm sure that won't be important.

These two characters form an inseparable performance duo from a foreign land, whose relationship with each other and their late manager will carry much of the intrigue for this case.

The other key set of characters would be our cops.

Of course we have Ema Skye, our embittered forensic scientist whose talents are wasted as a field detective. Of course, she's definitely off the suspect list on account of the fact that she was with us when the gunshots were heard.

There's Prosecutor Gavin who is having the worst day. He probably didn't dunit but then again it wouldn't be the first time, would it?

And Detective Dickhead. His hair truly must be seen to be believed. He is attempting to pull off the Japanese Thug Pompadour in a way that can only be described as, "Hello, Officer."

Just like Ema, Gavin and Daryan both have airtight alibis as well.

It's hard to get a stronger alibi than "Thousands of people saw me onstage while the murder was taking place."

AND THEN THERE'S THIS ASSHOLE

That's it. That's all we get. Glimpses of the Golden Fucko as he bazingas around dodging attention. Okay, dude. Way to not look suspicious, I guess.

That's it. That is our small cast of characters aside. It's not a lot of people to look into. In fact, Mysterious Golden Fucko aside, nobody seems capable of fitting everything we know about this mystery.

Continued in part 2.

[patrocles]

*guy who knows fuck all about twilight voice* i cannot even begin to describe how interested i am in your extremely specific thoughts on twilight. especially in regard to its takes on classism

I appreciate you so much for saying that especially since everything following this will be so deeply incoherent.

This is mainly in regards to the films since I've seen them recently and I haven't read the books since I was like 14.

The thing about Twilight is that the two defining discourses that dominated this series were "Is Bella a bad Feminist" and "Team Edward vs Team Jacob".

The idea that Bella (aged 17), upon meeting Edward (aged 109) and begins dating him, is ready to give up everything in her life to marry him, die, and become a vampire and devoting her entire life to him; does this set back womanhood decades or is this simply Bella exercising her free will. And the other being which guy is better for Bella, the mega wealthy Edward who can provide everything for her or working class poor Jacob who's the childhood friend.

Twilight didnt define the tropes of love triangles or even the concept of the girl plucked from obscurity and given the fairytale life by someone so insanely rich who could have chosen anyone but still chooses her. It's not even an objectively bad fantasy to explore. But I think what's kinda unique to Twilight and I think what a lot of bad booktok romance novels can trace their tropes back to in Twilight, is this idea that wealth can excuse any wrong-doing.

Edward is deeply controlling of Bella, he's condescending and belittles her, he grooms her, he leaves her deeply traumatized when he randomly abandons her in the second book/novel to the point of near catatonic depression. But ultimately at the end of the day it's fine because what Edward can provide for Bella makes it all worth it! He can take her places and buy her things, of course she'll be humble but that's why she's so #real. Hell it doesn't even matter that we don't even know what they even like about each other beyond mutual obsession and possession in the general sense. And this is something that's so pervasive in the romance genre, it's what spawned 50 Shades specifically. Abuse, physical or emotional, is excused by obscene wealth because what's temporary discomfort and domineering misogyny to private jets and mansions.

If we're being honest, the question of whether or not Bella is a good or bad feminist character is sort of moot when what we're actually seeing is just a sad story of an emotionally isolated girl have her entire existence wrapped up in Edward and know that she's never going to have a come-to-Jesus moment and value her own self worth over Edward. There's a scene in Eclipse when she tells Jacob that immediately after graduation, she's going to marry Edward and become a vampire like him. Jacob is angry about this but it's not even a "pick him over me" moment, but as a friend who doesn't want to see his best friend give up her entire existence to this guy. Even says, "he's got his hooks in you so deep". There's another scene when her father, (the MVP), just wants her to see her other friends outside of Edward and have some sort of life outside of Edward and it's almost like a metatextual awareness that SOMEONE in this story recognizes that Bella is being groomed and that this is all really REALLY toxic. It's a horror story! But of course it immediately pivots back to star crossed lovers bullshit because LOOK, Edward took her to a private island and they can travel the world. But more than anything it feels like they’re trying to establish a sort or attempt at a balance but what’s scary is knowing that Jacob and Charlie’s concerns and reservations are essentially pointless and empty compared to Edward’s financial and physical capabilities and the depth of his grooming in Bella. It’s actually charming that Charlie thinks he can realistically stand a chance against Edward if he really wanted to establish true parental control over his child. Like it’s genuinely sad to watch, actually.

And sure, so much of that we can write off as just being dated at worst. But definitely not end of the world stuff especially considering where that kind of trope has grown into way more severe cases of straight of kidnap/rape fantasy in mafia romance erotica we see today. Which is kind of MAD when you think about what teen girls were reading in the 00s versus what the teens of today are reading. I guess thanks Steph for being Mormon and keeping it PG???

But for ME, PERSONALLY, what's been kinda itching my brain in relation to this is how this pertains to Jacob. It is hard to view Twilight as mere late 00s nostalgia campy mess when I think about how absolutely awful Jacob is treated by the narrative for the sole crime of not being Edward, and by extension, wealthy. This isn't even about which guy was better for Bella, but how the story decides it was necessary for the reader to know that Jacob was NOT the correct option. He goes from earnest good guy who genuinely cares for Bella's physical and emotional well being as just a friend to her when Edward abandoned her, to basically a fucking incel who can't respect boundaries, and then Edward and Bella's lapdog in their happily ever after for no other reason than the narrative demanding it happen for Bella and Edward to be together. And for you the reader to want that to happen.

I've never been able to divorce the racial and classist undertones to this narrative choice to this. In a lot of media that came after that deals with love triangles, the "Jacob archetype" eventually became the often times not white, best friend, good guy type who was never really The One, but just another option for our Main Girl to explore until she gets back to the The One.

But thing is, Jacob was never just random guy option 2. He was working class poor and indigenous. A lot of his character is defined by this and his culture. And this HONESTLY made the Cullens animosity towards Jacob and the Pack kind of actually ridiculous and racist. Like I get Steph was just using the trope of Vampires and Werewolves: eternal enemies, but that isn't really applicable here when the shapeshifting isn't an trait that can be passed on to anyone like vampirism, but something unique to these specific people whose land they're infringing upon. So the little side digs and remarks and the absolute audacity that the Quileutes are just being so unreasonable when the Cullens have the money and means to live anywhere, but choose this boundary of a poor people who're merely trying to keep what's theirs, and we're still supposed to root for the Cullens because they're the Good Ones is like........... girl okay.

And this is all completely secondary to the way Steph appropriated the Quileute tribe, fucked around with their cultural traditions to invent her own lore, never financially compensated the tribe despite her and the producers of the films making MILLIONS, and two of the actors featured in the first film were recast for New Moon because they wouldn't cut their hair. BUT I DIGRESS.

I watched the New Moon special features where Chaske Spencer (who plays Sam) talks about how Jacob's house was extremely authentic to places he lived on his reservation. I'm not indigenous, but I did grow up working class poor and I personally always loved that this was a factor to Jacob and the pack. It didn't define them as people, but provided a sort of grounding depth and relatability that makes you want to explore them more. It isn't a lot but it's something. And hell, even Bella comes from a working class background which I genuinely liked especially as a youth when I'm trying to find some way to connect to this perfectly pretty white character.

But what's kinda frustrating in so many ways is how despite the alleged importance of Jacob and the Pack to the overall story, they are shelved so much. So we really don't get to see them, explore them as characters, their dynamics, and the tribe much as much as they could have been except for the very few times it's relevant to Bella and Edward. And given that Breaking Dawn specifically was TWO FILMS, there was no excuse for it. And it feels insulting to have the concept of the Pack, but we have to save our precious screen time for Bella and Edward playing chess.

I don’t even think people really understand just how almost non existent it is to see authentic depictions of lower/working class people in these kinds of stories. If you’ve never grown up poor it’s probably not something you even notice, just how default upper middle class almost everything (especially in YA) actually is. I think it’s something people don’t want to have to tackle so it just gets avoided? Unless we specifically need the 1 side character who is The Poor Friend, we need to have characters be in financially comfortable positions so the Plot can happen without having to worry about pesky things like bills. And so again, in that sort of authenticity it’s a double edged sword because while that is great to have included in a series like this, the classist undertones are so pervasive in how so much of Edward’s allure to Bella is rooted in wealth. A sort of inherent superiority to her own simple, non important life because of the trappings of his dress, his car, his mansion. There’s an unearned moral goodness that’s applied to Edward because of how we as a society view wealthy people as being inherently good and well meaning despite their actions consistently contradicting this. And it isn’t hard to see the ways in which this grooms Bella and that we the viewer must applaud this, cheer this, and would be aghast and disgusted if Bella was put off by the grandeur and wealth and wanted nothing to do with it because why would you possibly give that up? Again she can have the allusion of financial independence with a cute little job, but we know it isn’t necessary. We arent really meant to support the Quileute’s animosity towards the Cullens because they’re being irrational despite having bigger stakes that are considered frivolous and irrelevant to the Cullens (like retaining land autonomy). The best that Jacob could ever achieve in this story is to be at service to the Cullens and that’s meant to be a happy ending for him. Whatever his hopes and dreams were are inherently inferior to how important being the guard dog to a half vampire miracle child.

So yeah. I get the whole Twilight Renaissance, I get why people go back to it especially as it pertains to girlhood nostalgia. The soundtracks remain in constant rotation. I get why people want to reclaim the thing that made them happy in their youth when society shamed them for it as being just Cringe Girl Stuff. But for ME, it is hard for me to watch these and not be icked with how a lot of things were portrayed especially when it could have been a better story.

[mandareeboo]

Unfinished Work #58: "Coffee Time"

I'm kind of sad steam ran out for this one! It was gonna be interesting. The basic idea from here was that Octavia would start seeing Loona as a friend and invite her over when Stella got her things. Loona would admittedly only ever see it as a job, since Octavia never asked her about her day or life. Once that was out Octavia would apologize and they'd become actual friends. It just didn't pan out.

Title: Coffee Time

Summary: Loona finds a very angsty bird coming by once a week to break into her routine and steal her coffee.

Being a secretary is the pits. Maybe it would be worth something if there was any real need for it, but I.M.P. is almost solely walk-ins so Loona honestly, legitimately has nothing to do most of the day. Her main work was keeping up with clients while the others went off murdering- usually via text, since even the dumbest of the damned don't tend to casually discuss having people go to the human realm for them on a call. It's a lot of quick, autocorrected, boring messages that Loona's basically turned into a one-woman algorithm of 'yes, we're doing it. Yes, they're there. Yes, we really are gonna kill a bitch. No, I don't want your unsolicited dick pics.'

Loona's claim to fame is in two very specific aspects. One: she has legs for days. Two: she makes a damn good cup of coffee. The nice thing about a hellhound's nose is that she knows the exact second it's perfectly brewed, and exactly how much to add. Her coffee is consistent, it's reliable, and it's sad that it's the highlight of her day to make some stupid bean juice, but it is.

Rifling through the cabinets, Loona finds two unmarked white mugs and pulls them down. She fills one higher than the other. The smaller cup gets a shitton of creamer in it; like, an absolutely ridiculous amount. It's basically milk with extra steps. The other gets the rest of the bottle- and it's never enough for Moxxie's bitch ass, but Loona decided a long time ago that if he wanted his preferred amount he should buy his own or get his wife to stop drinking half a damn bottle at a time.

Setting them down at the front of her desk, Loona flops back into her chair, pulls up Sinstagram, and waits.

Her job is a routine. It's simple. It's monotonous. Sometimes it's really fucking boring. Most of the time it's really fucking boring, actually. But Loona doesn't exactly have a lot of options on her plate.

Then the door gets kicked open, and suddenly it's new and refreshing.

"You would not BELIEVE the shit my dad told me today," Octavia grouses. Loona's eyebrows raise as the avian casually grabs one of the few waiting room chairs and pulls it over to her desk. She didn't invite the Goetia. She'd offered to listen whenever she wanted to rant, after that night in L.A., but she'd really not expected her to take her up on that. It was just one of those things, y'know? A yarn nice people use but don't really expect to have put into practice.

"You didn't walk here, did you?" she asks. Loona didn't even want to consider the stink Stolas would make if his owlet had walked into the shadiest part of Imp City alone.

"Of course not. I took a bus." Octavia's beak wrinkles as she recounts it. Loona wonders if it's the first time she's taken a bus in hell. They make Earth buses look spotless. "The dick isn't here, is he?"

"Blitz? Nah. He's off murdering the ex of a client." Loona's pretty sure he'll be home soon, though. Annoying as they all were, the imps were damn good at fucking their way up and out of fucked up situations. "We got time."

Octavia looks at the mugs, grabs the darker one, and slugs it like its vodka. Loona's too amused to tell her it's not for her. Because, fuck, who cared? They can make their own fucking coffee. Loona casually pulls the off-white milk monstrosity towards herself. "Anyway. My dad told me the wildest shit today. He was betrothed to my mum. It was some... fucked up arranged shit."

"You didn't know that?"

"You did?"

"He's royalty, kid. Rich bitches don't usually marry out of love."

"Well, yeah, but," Octavia grasps at straws, "We don't talk to the rest of dad's family. I just assumed it was because he and my mum pissed them off and eloped."

"Maybe," Loona replies. It's not like she knows a damn thing about it. "I don't, like, know your dad or anything, but he always gave me hella gay vibes. I didn't think he liked women at all."

Octavia takes a smaller sip, clenching her talons around the warmth for comfort. "I... don't know. I've never asked."

"He'd probably tell you if you did."

"Yeah. Probably. Does it... bother you? Our dads dating."

Loona's pretty sure 'dating' isn't what their relationship could be defined as. But she also doesn't want to break it to Octavia that she's heard they bone for profit, either. Not her table. "I really don't give a fuck what they do. Blitz is just my dad on paper."

(It's almost a lie. Loona sees Blitzo mostly as, like, an obnoxious roommate whose also her boss. But she also knows her role is nepotism at its finest, and that he gets her presents and remembers her favorite things, and Loona just. Can't think too deeply about it. Can't rely on that. It's only a matter of time before that goes away. It always does.)

"He's so... gross."

"Just be glad he's not giving you shitty cutesy nicknames."

Octavia shudders.

Loona's phone goes off with an obnoxiously loud chime. She sighs. "Sorry, kid. That's my cue to bring them back."

"'Via," Octavia corrects, immediately standing up. She fiddles with her beanie nervously. "Can I... come back sometimes? And talk to you? It's just nice to have someone around my age to bitch to."

Loona agrees. It's about time her job had some actual fucking requirements. And if that requirement is hanging out with a cool but troubled teenager, she can handle that. By the time the portal's open Octavia's gone, the chair is back in its place, and Loona's sending the usual 'we killed the bitch, like we said.'

Moxxie's grating voice breaks through Loona's eardrums like sandpaper as he lifts the almost empty coffee pot. "Goddamn it, Loona. Can't you do your job?"

"Do it yourself you fat bitch," she intones blandly, hiding a smile behind the pages of a grimoire that's as old as hell itself.

———————————————————————————————————-

"Wow," Octavia says the second time, finding the exact same setup. "This really is all you do all day."

"It's called a job," Loona replies, waving her in. "A really stupid one."

The Goetia trilled as she pulled the chair up. She seemed a bit more hesitant this time around- probably because she wasn't in a blind rage like the last time. "What's it like, having a job?"

The hellhound gestured to herself, sitting in the same damn chair with her legs up on the same damn table. "It's this. Sit here all day. Same time every day. Make some coffee, keep clients up to date, and portal the idiots home when they're done fucking around topside."

[shiiaaathai]

idk i just have a few things to say about bad buddy

Okay but like.... I loved bad buddy's ending? I was so scared that it would end with them just hiding from the world... I felt like that would be such a return to the past after everything they went through.

And in any other series I'd find it bittersweet that one of them is out of the country and all the lying would piss me off. But in this case it makes so much sense.

On one hand I feel like saying "fuck the parents, just date, they have nothing to do with you". But on the other hand I can completely understand why they decided to lie and wait for a better opportunity. It's actually the perfect plan.

Because think about it. Their parents were already slowly questioning themselves and their decisions. Pat's dad was clearly feeling bad over the whole scholarship thing AS HE SHOULD. And Pran's mom was already questioning if making her son miserable and compete throughout all his life was the right choice. You can see their partners slowly but surely trying to change their mind to make them friends again. And the best part? We don't really see much of it. We understand it all through sub context and a few seconds of screen time.

However, the end made it so much more meaningful. Pat's parents clearly hear Pat fall on the roof and say "just leave it to their generation". And Pran's parents clearly hear him laughing and singing with Pat in his room and just accept it and smile. His mom leaving the guitar out in the open is also a sign that she doesn't want her son to fight her battles anymore.

They probably understand or even understood throughout the years that their sons were still together, making little connections like "oh he's getting a call but it's too late for it to be a client" or "oh he's home again when Pran is home too" or something along those lines.

And to end that train of thought, when Pat is at Pran's room he is no longer silent nor is Pran telling him to be quiet. They don't care. They know that their parents are changing and slowly accepting reality. They know.

I admit I was feeling so sad for the first 30 minutes of the episode. All I could think about was how in the hell did they break up and why we didn't see it happen. But I loved how they decided to show us what was happening. And if they made us buy it for 30 minutes they sure as hell made their friends and family buy it for a while.

I was already impressed on the other episodes by how mature the characters were becoming, with Pat knowing that they couldn't just run away forever just to be together. I know that Pran realized it first (mostly because he didn't want his mom to worry) but I didn't think in a million years that Pat would reach that conclusion, he just seemed happy to be there. I love how that mimics real life. You can't just run off without money and a job and expect it to work. It was so realistic that it impressed me.

And another thing, it's the last one I promise, about this BL is communication. This is supposed to be an enemies to lovers BL and yet even when they were enemies (even when they were kids), they communicated everything. And that doesn't change throughout their relationship. Bratty as they may be to each other, fighting all the time, competing all the time, they are one of the most healthy couples I've seen on TV.

They weren't just there for each other during the happy or sad parts, there were there for each other all the time, even just on calm and normal days, just existing near each other and again: that's so real. That's what a relationship is all about.

This is hands down one of the best BL's I've watched for sure.

[kleoyeager78]

10 things I hate about you | 9

Trigger warnings: sexual assault, verbal abuse.

I would say my life started going downhill when Eren started bullying me but I would be lying.

Honestly it was way before then. I think it really started the day I was born.

-

I was born into a middle/low class family.

We weren’t dirt broke but we weren’t doing so well financially. Still somehow we still managed to live in a decent house in a decent neighborhood. So I guess you can consider us middle class.

My father was a teacher.

And my mother… well if I’m being honest I never saw my mother with a real job.

She would always tell me she did music but every time I saw her she was passed out on the couch with alcohol and drugs all around her.

Nevertheless to me she was a very good singer. When I was little she would always sing to me old songs or would always show me tapes with her in a studio singing.

My earliest memories are of me singing with my mom in our kitchen while she smoked her cigarette with the window open and her tiny fan going.

Well it probably wasn’t my earliest memory but it was definitely my earliest memory that was actually good.

Now that I think of it my earliest memory was probably my dad coming home drunk and fighting with my mom.

My dad always did that.

He would go to work, go straight to the bar when he got off, then he would come home and yell at my mom and tell her how much she fucked up his life to which my mom would do the same and then he would beat her for it. And then he would go to sleep and go straight back to work.

Yup that’s definitely the earliest. I remember I would always start crying from the loud ‘booms’ coming from the living room and my mom would always come into my room and put a tape of her singing on my tv to calm me down.

That’s probably why I got the memories confused. Because that’s what my parents always do. They fuck up and then they do good shit to make it seem like everything is fine.

They’ve done it my whole life.

Especially my dad. My mom does it but not as much as him. Probably because he does more fucked up shit or the fact that my mom is always too stoned out of her mind to realize what she’s doing is fucked up.

But even though my dad did a lot of fucked up shit I couldn’t bring myself to hate him back then.

He never once put his hands on me and he was the only parent that paid me some attention and gave me the love I yearned for.

He would always buy me things and call me his little angel and I can’t lie it made me feel like the most special girl in the world. “How could I hate a man who made me feel that way?” I used to think to myself.

Well that feeling was bound to come to an end. I was bound to recognize what a monster he truly was.

And when I did, I was able to say that I despise him with all of my heart and that any love I had had for him is now burning away in hell.

Flashback

I was 12 when my parents divorced and I was currently living with my dad since my mom got sent to a mental hospital.

I missed my mom so much.

Even though she was never mentally there for me I couldn’t help but miss her presence.

And plus my birthday was coming up and she usually always made it special. It was the one day out of the year she actually tried to pretend she was a good mom.

I never had a birthday party because we didn't have much money, but my mother would always make me a cake, purchase me some balloons, and give me a little gift while cooking supper.

Although to someone else it didn’t seem like much, it was the world to me. It was a dream of mine to have a normal family so I was very grateful for my mom’s efforts.

But this year was different since my mom wasn’t with me.

I didn’t plan on sitting around and being sad for my birthday though. Nope not me, I had a plan to have the best birthday of my life and nobody was going to stop me.

My dad was coming home at 3pm from a night out so I figured I would put my plan in action then.

When he got home he went straight to watching tv which made me groan.

I didn’t want to interrupt his television since these past few days he’s been getting angry at me very easily. I figured because he doesn’t have my mom as a punching bag anymore.

I felt like I would get in trouble if I interrupted his tv so instead I went to sit next to him until a commercial.

It seemed he was in a good mood today though because as soon as he saw me he paused the tv.

“What’s up princess?” He said sweetly, making me want to throw up. These past few days he’s been so bipolar. One minute it’s princess and the nexts I’m getting called the whore who looks just like her addict for a mom.

“D-dad” I stuttered. “I was wondering if you could rent out a bouncy house for me and Hitch for my birthday.” I asked nervously.

“A bouncy house?” He asked, sounding like he was confused about me asking for a bouncy house but I was determined to execute my plan.

“Yup! Or really just 30 bucks I have money saved up to pay for most of it. You just have to give me 30 to cover the whole thing.”

“I don’t know princess-“ my dad was about to ask me if I was sure but I cut him off because I was more than sure.

“I’m willing to work for the money!” I blurted. This wasn’t part of the plan I just randomly thought of it but still I was more than willing to work for it.

This seemed to catch my dad's attention. “Work for it huh?” My dad took out a cigarette and lit it. After he took an inhale he talked again. “ I’ll have to see princess.” With that my dad got up and walked outside.

I just sighed and went back to my room.

If he says no, I won't be upset because I definitely considered a backup plan. which was spending my money on snacks, then going to the community pool with Hitch and she suggested we have a sleepover at her house so we could conclude the night watching movies. That seemed to me to be just as enjoyable as a bounce house. Hell any day sounded good to me with Hitch.

A few hours had passed by and I was still sitting in my room.

I decided to go see what my dad was doing since it was almost dinner time, but when I went to find him he was nowhere and his car was gone so I figured he went out.

I just sighed and prepared myself a sandwich for dinner.

After I ate I got ready for bed. And then I went to sleep. I thought it was the end of the day for me but boy was I wrong.

I woke up in the middle of the night from the front door opening.

I found it weird I woke up from this because my body was never usually this aware but I didn’t think much of it and quickly shut my eyes again.

I heard my bedroom door creak open and I saw my dad's shadow. I pretended to be asleep so he didn’t scold me for being up this late.

He came over to me and placed a kiss on my head like he usually did when he came back this late.

What I didn’t expect him to do though is climb in my bed. He never did that before so I was shocked but then I remembered I had to pretend to be asleep.

He wrapped his hands around my waist and put his head on my shoulder.

My dad was never this close or touchy with me but my mind told me he was doing this because he missed mom. I thought that he probably needed comfort because she was gone and that’s why he had been aggressive these last few days. If that was the case I was more than willing to give my dad comfort.

Trigger warning: Sexual assault

Well that was until I felt his hand in my underwear.

When I felt them I immediately stopped pretending I was sleeping and was about to sit up but my dad covered my mouth and forced me to lay back down.

“What do you think you’re doing cupcake?” He whispered in my ear. I couldn’t help but smell the alcohol on him and that’s when it hit me he’s drunk.

I tried to talk but his hand was on my mouth which I tried to move.

All he did was laugh at my efforts to move his hand while he continued to roam in my underwear.

“Dad please” I managed to say as I got his hand a little bit off my mouth. He just slapped his hand back on my face.

“You said you wanted 30 bucks right? Well be a good little slut and give me what my money's worth” with that he shoved his finger inside of me making me scream.

He kept doing that until he was satisfied and after he was done he got off my bed and laughed.

-

End of trigger warning

“Damn giving your body away for just 30 bucks huh y/n?” he laughed while I sat there shaking. “Didn’t know I raised a whore.”

I began to sob. At the time I didn’t know what he did was wrong so I was only crying about the way he talked to me and treated me. Not the fact he sexually assaulted me.

When he saw me cry it only made him laugh more. He leaned down to my ear and whispered. “If it makes you feel better it was the best 30 bucks I ever spent” he kissed my forehead and then tossed money at me like he was tossing trash in a trash can.

I laid there feeling like shit. At the time I didn’t even know what a slut was to be honest. All I know is that my dad loved to call my mom that so it couldn’t be good. And that meant he didn’t think good of me which broke my heart.

A few minutes passed and I finally got the strength to get up and take another shower. I felt dirty in a way I couldn’t explain so the only way to fix it was a shower.

When I got out of the shower I still felt like utter shit so I called the only person who could help me feel better.

Hitch.

She answered the phone with a mouthful of food. “Hey y/n what are you doing up this late?” She said with food in her mouth.

“H-hey Hitch” I said on the verge of breaking.

Hitch's line went silent when she heard me break. She immediately got serious because she knew something was wrong. “Y/n what’s wrong?”

“It’s my dad,” I said, beginning to sob.

“What happened? Is everything alright?” She asked her voice full of concern.

“H-he c-came home a-and-“ Hitch noticed that I was having trouble speaking and she wanted to be able to understand me to help me so she interrupted me and told me to text her.

So I did.

She let out the biggest gasp when she read the text.

“Y/n” she said voice also breaking.

I began to don harder and all Hitch could do was listen. “I hate the names he calls me,” I said.

“Y/n he literally assaulted you. This is way more than name calling.”

“Huh?” I was very confused. I didn’t understand what she meant by assault since he didn’t hit me or anything. “He didn’t assault me, Hitch. My dad would never hit me”

Hitch sighed. “Y/n he sexually assaulted you.”

I was still confused. I knew nothing about any of this. I was very uneducated, I guess that’s what happens when you have no one to teach you about these things.

Hitch noticed my confused silence and started to explain. “Sexual assault is when someone touches you inappropriately without your consent and that’s exactly what your dad did.” I was starting to understand what she meant and it made me more sad. “If you want I can meet you half at the park tomorrow and you can stay with me for a while.” Hitch suggested.

“I-“ I couldn’t even get the words out before Hitch was interrupting me again.

“ You don’t have a choice actually. You need to get away from that monster.”

“My dad isn’t a monster.”

“Says only you y/n”

I didn’t even question her. Hitch was way smarter than me so she was most likely right.

“Hitch?”

“ yes”

“Can you stay on the phone with me all night?”

She giggled. “I didn’t plan on letting you hang up”

Her words made me smile. “Why are you up this late anyways?”

“I was watching h20” she said in a low tone.

It made me laugh at how embarrassed she was. “You’re addicted”

“It’s just that good y/n” she said in defense. “Anyways do you want to start packing your clothes while on the phone?”

“Oooo yes! We can find matching outfits”

“Omg yes! We can literally be twins all week” she agreed. The line went silent again. I didn’t say anything because I felt like she wanted to say something else. “Y/n?”

“Yeah?”

“Give your dad back his money.”

I was taken aback by her sentence. “What about our bouncy house?”

“We can just go to the pool. Besides we don’t need any money from that filthy pig”

I sighed. Like I said I always listened to Hitch because at this time she was my most trusted friend and the only person who cared about me really. “I’ll do it in the morning when I’m about to leave”

“Okay, make sure you throw it in his face and then run,” Hitch laughed.

I laughed too.

We ended up laughing all night until we both fell asleep arguing about which H20 character is better.

I was so glad I had Hitch, she was always there for me when I needed her and she always knew how to make me feel better.

A/n ~ I’m sorry this chapter is so dark but I wanted y’all to get y/n’s background info. The next chapter will be how she met Hitch and then after that I think I’ll take her back to the present.

[du-hjarta-skulblaka]

So, state of my mind currently;

I feel like im handling trauma related anxiety a hell of a lot better. Certainly better than I was expecting. And I think its because I finally stopped and seriously asked myself...what can my mother do to me?

Because at this point the answer is basically nothing. She could show up at my front door ten minutes from now and what would happen is we would call the police and frankly, the whole situation would likely be resolved pretty quickly.

It's not completely gone? I still have that little pit of dread at the thought of her, but clinging onto that fact that I am physically safe is massively helping now that I'm able to internalise it. In a weird way its also helping that like...I have bigger problems now?? I have things to do, I have a job to prepare for, I have groceries to buy, money is a far more present issue to stress over than a vitriolic middle aged woman trying to power-play someone who has zero trust or sympathy left for her.

What I am worried about is Charlie. She's still in a very risky place but again, I'm able to focus on her. I'm not the target anymore, she is. And God FUCKING help that sad old cunt if she causes a single thing to happen to my sister.

Im talking to the police tomorrow to see if we have enough grounds for legal action and I've given Charlie resources to look into regarding housing, both emergency shelter and longer term accommodation for vulnerable individuals. The idea of her actually getting out too is...really surreal, and honestly a little scary? Police makes everything feel very Real and escalated. But for the first time in quite possibly my entire life I feel like im on equal, possible even better footing than my mother is. And that's...wild.

[wildcatofgreen]

"Your bag idea was stupid, y'know that?" The wind painted the younger cat's face with cool air. It was always refreshing, riding her bike like this. Going as fast as she could, but with the ride still being calm. Felt like one of those amusement park rides that just swing you around in the sky. No real adrenaline to it--just the feeling of going fast and the wind proving it.

"What?" Cory sounded almost offended, "That bag trick's worked for the past decade. You must'a did it wrong." Tink-tink, tink-tink, Carol could only assume her sister was kicking her feet, her shoe's clinking against the metal of her bike rhythmically. She also noticed that, before they got on, she actually put her goggles on. Wasn't used to the wind yet, probably? Takes a while for everyone, so Carol can't blame her.

"Did it wrong? What do you mean??? You saw me put it together!"

"Tsk," it felt like she was smirking, "You still gotta sell it, sis. Nobody messed with me when I did the bag trick."

"Yeah, I wonder why the super cool sky pirate didn't get anyone questioning why they made their clothes into a bag."

The older wildcat leaned into her sister's back more, the tinking of her shoes ceasing, "Oh c'mon, ya act like I'm ruthless."

"You are if you wanna be," she sneered.

The motorbike's engine hummed.

"So, what's up, sis? What would get an engaged girl like you so down in the dumps so quickly?"

She went quiet, for a moment. Trying to figure out how to, well, say it. Because it was still hard to talk, even after today. Especially to her sister. Especially to her sister--

"Cat got your tongue?" She sneered right back at her junior.

"That's my line!!!" She couldn't help but laugh, attempts to stifle it all but failing.

The wind blowing across their faces sat in the air. A pit grew in Carol's stomach.

The younger sighed. "Why do you care about me, Cory?" She lowered her head as she drove.

"!!! "The hell do you mean 'why do i care'? You're my flesh and blood! Why wouldn't I care?" She sounded actually offended, this time.

"You got so many other, better things to do. Why waste your time with your lame younger siste--"

"Nah, nah, cut that shit out, Tea. Stones and everybody else in the world knows you're not lame--two time planet savior." The older wildcat sat back up, with a sigh. "I'd be a real shit sister if i wasn't always worryin' about my family. Stones know I'd never forgive myself if I didn't."

"But, the Sigwada--"

"Ain't shit compared to you. The Sigwada's my pride and joy, but I bought that. I can't just buy another you. You're the only Carol out there."

The pit in her stomach lessened, slightly, but still stayed around. It was nice, to know how much her sister really cared. Nice to know she still wanted to be here for her. She couldn't help but crack a sad smile.

"I love ya, sis. I really do. That's never changed, not since the day you were born. "Swore on my own life to make my baby sis happy, no matter the cost." The tinking came back. "Just what I wanted to do."

That's just the kind of girl she is, huh?

...

Fuck.

That shouldn't have made her start choking up, it really shouldn't have. It was obvious how much her sister loved her. It was the most obvious thing in the world--anyone could see how much Cory gave a fuck.

But it still choked her up to hear it. Haven't heard those words in a long time.

"Thank you, sis," the wildcat muttered, sniffling.

"Thanks? For what--crampin' your style all day?" She snickered.

"For helping me."

It brushed past their faces again, the wind. The two wildcats brought to a point of silence, only sniffles and the engine's rumbles staying in the air.

"Sis, I," the elder trailed off.

"Without you, I... Iunno if I'd ever tell Sonar that. If I ever would've wanted to, either. I don't think I would've ever even realized. It didn't feel like a possibility--not a realistic one. I don't..."

"Stop the bike."

!!! "What?" She wiped some tears off her face. "Why? I don't--"

"Just, stop it."

After a bit of contemplating She just, would. It'd eventually come to a halt, on top of a bridge that crossed between Shang Mu and Shang Tu. It was an amazing kind of view--perfectly fit between each city, one could see either city's lights from here. Conjoined by grassy plains and trees and whatever else fit between 'em.

And at top, in the sky, a full moon. Stars littered the night sky as well, almost as if tiny cities were attempting to shine as brightly as they could, thousands of light years away.

The wildcats got off the bike.

Corazon brought her sister in for a hug, her arms gripping tightly.

Shock rain through Carol's body again, a sense of deja vu coursing through her. But she didn't care right now.

She returned the hug to her older sis, just as tightly, just as lovingly.

"Ain't never leavin' again, sis. I fucking promise that."

Carol couldn't do anything else but cry.

---

"The fuck are you doin'?" Cory raised a leg to rest on the motorcycle, resting her arm on top of it.

"Making a pit stop! I'll be back really quick I promise!" The younger wildcat was already running into Shang Tu's palace, waving to her sister.

All she's gotta do is get in, get some food stuff and get out, right? Shouldn't be too hard. She's a super cool ninja kitty for stone's sake. She'd be fine.

[sweetiehyuka]

Ghosting.

Chapter 3

wc - 0.8k

warnings - mentall illness

~

5:58pm

I think I relate a lot more to TV characters than real life people. When I see the actors completely overdoing it for their role, making the most ridiculous facial expressions and laughing abnormally loud, it always makes me smile. I see myself in that a lot. Since I feel empty like 80% of the time, a lot of my emotions are rehearsed. I cannot count the amount of times I've stood infront of the mirror practicing my happy face, my shocked face, my sad face, etcetera etcetera.

The other 20% of the time my reactions are actually genuine. Like when I tear up every time someone hugs me, or when I laugh everytime Soobin chokes on his food. Stuff like that. Don't misunderstand me - in that 80% of times I still feel things. Being empty and feeling no emotions at all are two different things. You still feel the emotions, you just have absolutely no mental energy to show any kind of a reaction. I'm not saying I'm a sociopath or anything, nothing like that. It's a different kind of detachment. It's kind of like I woke up one day in control of a body foreign to the one I once existed in.

Yes, I technically am the same choi beomgyu that snorted glitter whilst making a birthday card for his brother in nursery, and that spent his weekly allowance buying his mother flowers when he was 8, and that was voted "wildest imagination" by his class when he left primary school. I just... to put it morbidly, I feel like that beomgyu has died and I am now stuck in a life in which I am controlling a corpse, desperately trying to revive the spirit of someone that is no longer even alive.

A bright flash of lightening on the TV show I'm watching pulls me away from my train of thought. Oh shit. How long was I spaced out for this time?

Tonight, me and Soobin are in the living room of our shared flat, binging cartoons on the TV.

yawn !

I shift my gaze away from the TV and towards Soobin, who has his mouth wide open and his eyebrows furrowed as he does a very loud yawn. He looks cute. Like an angry bunny.

"You look like an angry bunny," I say, pairing my taunt with a shit eating grin. He smacks my arm lightly, grinning back.

"Shut up idiot."

I just giggle. I feel drained. I'm in no mindset to spend time with people right now. It's nothing on Soobin. It's just me.

"I think I'm gonna head to bed."

I do a little wave goodbye as I stand up.

"Alright bro, see you in the morning." he responds, waving back.

I think this is why I am closer to Soobin than I've ever been closer to anyone in my life. He accepts everything and questions nothing. Sure, he teases me about a few things, but like - take now for an example - who the hell heads to bed before the sun has even set? Me. It's not common, I know. But I do. But Soobin just doesn't care. He doesn't ask me why, or beg me to stay up a little longer, he just lets me do whatever the hell it is I need to do in that moment. Which of course, is great, because I'm clearly quite erratic.

However, this does come with its downfalls. I can't open up to him because his nonchalant attitude towards life in general just makes it seem like he either doesn't understand me or he simply doesn't care enough to try. It's ridiculous that I feel like that, of course. He clearly cares about me, and he doesn't question anything I do because he cares. I just don't have any energy to fight off that little nagging voice in the back of my head that tells me he's only humouring me because he knows I don't and can't trust anyone else but him, so it all just takes over until I can't breathe and can't think and it's all just easier to bottle it up and never tell anyone anything at all.

Sighing, I enter my room. I let my heavy door shut behind me, the harsh slam slightly alerting me. How the fuck do I always forget it does that?