#I might do one w/ cooler colours for wind

[yourfavoritecascade]

I’ve always been this far above the clouds, only this time I’m free…

Skyscapes my beloved

[fivelakesinwriting]

Drew starkey x reader where the cast is hanging out and swimming at the lake and it’s night. the cast notice the romantic tension between drew and the reader, they all slowly leave so they can be alone. Finally drew kisses her (can u do smut pls)

Hi, sweetness! I actually love this, so cute. And as a water girl/ lake lover, this is dreams.

Author's Notes: I just want to be friends with these people, so badly and this is basically one of my dream parties. And Drew Starkey can take me night swimming anytime... This one is long, but I think it's fun, it's flirty and I think it's kind of sexy. Please let me know what you think xoxo

Warnings: Swearing, Drinking, Sexual references - sexual innuendos (I didn't do full smut, sorry. But it's still fun! I do have an idea for a potential second part...)

Requested? Heck yes! Requests for OBX are open!

*My work is not to be transferred, copied, translated or reposted to any other sites without my permission. Please see my masterlist for all other works and warnings. Thank you! xoxo

It was the perfect night for a swim. The sky was so clear it was almost as if they could reach up, grab the stars and count them in their palm.

Instead, they all decided it would be the perfect night to have a fire on the beach to accompany their swim. Everyone packed a bag, a cooler and drove down to the beach.

Drew drove her in his truck, just the two of them, down the to beach. His windows down to let the late night summer breeze hit their faces. He smiled over at her quickly when her heard he laugh, her hands pushing her long hair out of her face as the wind created a tunnel in the cab of the truck.

"Windows up next time?" Drew laughed softly as he adjusted his hat on his head then made the turn to the parking lot for the beach. The lot was empty except for the few cars that were waiting for the two of them to arrive.

"No. I like it." She smiled as she twisted her hair and held it to the side while he slowed his truck down, then parked it beside Chase's car.

"Good. I like the whole windblown look on you. It's cute." Drew smiled over at her as he pulled the keys from the ignition and undid his seat belt.

"Says the guy who doesn't have to brush his hair." She replied as she unfastened her own seat belt, then followed his lead and hopped out of the truck.

"You made it!" Madelyn squealed with a slight slur, her arms tossed around her friend's neck, their bodies hitting Drew's truck with a soft thud.

"We were like, five minutes behind you." Drew replied with a laugh as he reached into the back of his truck to pull out her backpack and his cooler. He kicked Chase in the shin as the wavy haired man walked up with raised eyebrows and a cheeky smirk.

"I didn't say anything, asshole." Chase grumbled as he reached down to rub his bruised flesh.

"You thought it." Drew replied under his breath as he lifted their items from the back of his truck and started to walk down from the parking lot towards the beach.

Drew walked next to Chase on the beach, the two watching as Madelyn drunkenly grabbed Her hand, and pulled her down to the shore. An eruption of giggles filled the quiet night air as the cold water of the lake touched the tips of their toes.

"So, you two?" Chase asked as both he and Drew placed their coolers down at the same time. Each man opened the lids of their respective coolers and pulled out either a can, or a bottle of beer.

"Getting there." Drew nodded with a sip of his beer, and another adjustment of his hat on his head. He kept his eyes trained on the shoreline as Madelyn grabbed Her hips and pulled Her down onto the sand.

"Guys! Sorry, we're late. JD forgot that cars need gas in order to function. So, we had to stop." Rudy called from the parking lot, before he came running towards them.

"S'alright." Drew laughed as he hitched at the waist, reached into his cooler and pulled out a beer to hand to the blonde man.

"Are they drunk already?" Rudy asked with a point the girls who wrestled on the beach as he pulled the tab on his beer.

"Madelyn is, yes." Chase laughed as he pushed his hand through his wavy hair.

"Ladies!" Madison yelled as she ran as fast as she could through the sand, stumbling only once, to get to the girls who still wrestled on the beach.

"She's drunk, too. Shotgunned a beer in the gas station parking lot." Rudy snickered while he watched all three women hug on the sand with a raucous of giggles.

"So, we lighting this thing? Or are we going to stand here like creeps all night?" JD asked as he finally made his way over to the rest of his friends and dropped down a pile of fire wood.

The boys took their eyes of the girls, letting them play in the sand for a bit longer, and took to building the fire in the stone pit on the beach. Drew tossed in the match and watched as the flames began to burn up the newspaper used for kindling. He jumped slightly when he felt arms wrapped around his chest from behind.

"Did you bring my bag down?" She asked softly in his ear, the sand from her body falling onto him.

"Yeah. It's right by the cooler. Going for a swim?" He smirked as he turned his body slightly to look at her. If it was possible, her hair was even messier than it had been when the windows were down in his truck.

"Yeah! The waves look like so much fun." She smiled as she ran her hands over his shoulders then made her way over to her backpack and began to rustle through it for her bathing suit.

"First of all, where are you going to change? Second. You're going to freeze your ass off in that water." Rudy replied as he crunched his beer can, tossed it into the garbage bag already full with a few empties courtesy of Madelyn and Chase, then grabbed a full can.

"Question one. I will change in Drew's truck. Question two. You don't know my threshold for cold, Pankow." She replied with a skip in her step as she carried her bikini in one hand towards Drew's truck to change.

Drew flicked a stone at Chase who mouthed a less than quiet "go" at his friend as the woman walked away.

"To help her put on a bathing suit? I'm sure she's fine." Drew replied as he finished off his own beer.

"She might need help tying those strings, Drew." Madelyn stated with a sing-song in her voice, her shoulders shaking from side to side.

"Fuck you, guys." Drew scoffed as he stood up, tossed his empty can then made his way towards the parking lot with his hands in his pockets to sounds of whoops and hollers from his friends.

He walked up to his truck and vaguely saw the shape of her body move around in the back seat of his truck. He bit at his bottom lip, then ran his thumb over it as he leaned against the driver side. It took all his conviction to not steal a peak through the open window.

"Good in there, hon?" He asked softly, his hands still in his pockets as he kept his eyes fixed on JD's license plate across the lot. He would not look at her bare back as she tried to tie up her bikini, one hand holding the triangles of her top to her breasts while the other reached behind her to tie the strings.

"No. I hate these fucking things. Can you help?" She grumbled from the backseat, as she reached to open the back door and shifted in the seat so her back faced him.

"Sure." Drew nodded as his bottom lip made home between his teeth again. He took the large step forward to stand behind her then took hold of the strings to her bikini and pulled them tightly around her chest.

"Thank you." She replied softly as his fingertips brushed over the back of her neck and tied the strings in a knot, his hands lingering over her shoulders for a brief second.

"You're welcome. This is a nice colour on you." Drew stated as he hooked his index finger in the top string of her deep purple bikini.

"Thanks, Drew." She smiled as she sat up on her knees in the backseat and faced him.

"Lady! Are you coming swimming or not?" Madelyn yelled from her spot on the sand, her bathing suit already on which led both Her and Drew to believe Madelyn changed on the beach.

"Yes, Madelyn! I'll be right there!" She laughed while she pushed her hair back from her face.

"Tell Drew to hurry up with your bikini! It's not that difficult!" Madelyn giggled as she took a swig from a wine bottle before she took off back towards the fire pit.

"Don't say anything back. She's more wine than woman at this point. Come swimming with me." She laughed as she reached for his biceps as he held his weight against the door frame of the truck. She pulled her body up close enough for a kiss but didn't give him the satisfaction of pressing her lips to his.

"Alright. I don't need help with my swimsuit, though." Drew grinned as he pushed himself off the truck and walked back towards the fire. He let out a heavy exhale when he knew he was far enough away from her earshot.

Drew, Chase and the girls made their way into the brisk water for a nighttime swim while Rudy and JD chose to stay and tend to the fire. Chase let out a loud yelp as a wave rolled in, cold water reaching up to his chest.

"You're a baby, Stokes!" She laughed as she began to tread water, then make the few front strokes over to Drew.

Drew took hold of her waist then pulled her close to keep her above the rolling waves. Their height difference apparent in the water.

"It's fucking freezing. What are you? A polar bear?" Chase replied, teeth chattered as he wrapped his arms around himself.

"You have to go under! Otherwise you're just two different temperatures." Madison giggled before she dove under the water, her feet splashing water high above everyone's heads.

"No. Fuck that. I'm not drunk enough for this." Chase shivered as he began to make his way out of the water. He raised his eyebrows at Drew as he looked at the woman in his friend's arms, her legs wrapped around his waist.

"I'm coming, too. I need more wine." Madelyn smirked as she swam over to Chase, her own eyebrows raised up at Drew.

"I'm going back up, too. Rudy is ruining that fire." Madison stated quietly as she pushed her long hair back from her face, and made her way towards the shore.

"They're all wimps." She smiled up at Drew, her arms around his neck as they both waded in the water as a large wave rolled over them.

"I don't know, hon. It is kind of cold in here." Drew laughed with his hands on her lower back to keep her close. It was the closest they had ever been, with the least amount of clothes on.

"I think it's nice. And you're warm, so I feel good." She stated softly as she placed her right hand on the back of his neck, her fingertips twirling the hair.

"Don't get me wrong. I'll deal with this cold water if I can have you wrapped around me like this. I really don't mind it." Drew grinned as he wrapped his left arm around her waist securely while his right hand grabbed at her thigh.

The two of them simply waded in the water for a bit, wrapped around each other and in the sexual tension they had created. She kept her hands on the back of Drew's neck, occasionally twisting a bit of hair at the nape.

"Drew?" She asked quietly after a few moments of sweet silence between them.

"Yeah."

"Did you see anything when I was changing in your truck?" She smiled at him as she placed her hands on his shoulders, her eyebrows raised.

"I mean..I may have seen just the side of these." Drew replied as he tilted his head to the side, the hand he had on her thigh reached up to brush the underside of her breast.

"Drew!" She laughed as she tossed her arms around his neck and pulled him close for a hug, her legs tightening around his waist.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself. You're so pretty." Drew smiled while he nuzzled his face into her neck and tightened his grip around her.

"I forgive you." She whispered as he pulled his face from her neck and looked into her eyes, his nose brushed against hers.

Drew muttered a barely audible, "thank you" as his adjusted his hold on her, both his hands on her thighs to keep her around him. He felt her hands in his hair, giving the slightest of pulls and the other shoe finally dropped.

Drew pressed his lips to hers, closing the tiny space between them. He released a sigh of relief through his nostrils while she whined ever so softly in the back of her throat. The kiss between them had been building for weeks.

They finally broke apart, but only for air. Drew gripped at her thighs while he peppered her lips with kisses. Her hands pulled at his hair as she tried to catch her breath again.

"Drew?" She asked between pecks on her lips.

"Yeah, honey?" Drew muttered as he kissed his way from her lips to her neck.

"Do you think I could steal a peak at you in the back of your truck? It seems only fair." She asked as she released a heavy breath, her hands on his shoulders as his lips created a seal on her neck.

"You can have way more than a peak if you want, honey." Drew grunted as he lifted her higher around his waist, he pulled his lips off her neck so he could look at her face.

"Okay. Will you take me back to the truck to get warm?" She asked softly, her eyes downcast to watch as her fingertips caught the beads of water on his chest.

"Thought you'd never ask." Drew grinned as he adjusted her legs around his waist, then began to walk them back towards the shoreline. He placed her back on her feet softly on the sand and gave her backside a nudge towards the parking lot before he ran his hands through his hair.

"Are you guys finally coming back to the fire?" JD asked with a raised eyebrow as he poked the flames.

"In a second, yeah. She's cold, so we're just going to sit in the truck and warm up. Change out of these swimsuits." Drew replied as he shook the water off his fingertips.

"Whatever you say, Drew." Madison grinned as she rolled onto her stomach in front of the fire and cracked open another can of beer.

Drew muttered under his breath as he grabbed Her backpack then made his way through the sand towards his truck - the back door open. He walked to the front end of the truck, dropped the bag then made his way around the open door where his heart began to race.

"You're naked." Drew stated flatly as he looked at the woman sat up in the backseat of his truck without her purple bathing suit, the heat of the truck blasting.

"Can't sit around in a wet bathing suit, and you have my bag." She smiled over at him.

"Yeah, but you're naked in the back of my truck." Drew smirked as he held his weight against the frame of the door, his eyes scanning her body shamelessly.

"Do you want to come be naked in the back of your truck with me, Starkey?" She laughed as she turned to sit up on her knees, facing him.

"Uh huh. Sure do." Drew nodded as he reached down to untie his swimsuit then tugged it down to his ankles. He climbed inside the back with her and shut the door behind him, leaving his swim trunks in the parking lot.

Please let me know what you think if you have a moment Thank you for your support! xoxo

Requests for OBX are open!

[jincherie]

4 o’clock | 03

✩ — pairing: taehyung x reader ✩ — genre: hybrid au, single dad au, light angst, fluff ✩ — rating: sfw ✩ — words: 5.5k+ ✩ — warnings: slight angst ✩ — notes: another impulse update while the inspiration was ripe!! I hope u enjoy it :3 I’ll go over it and fix any mistakes with tense and grammar tomorrow either before or after work, so sorry for those in the meantime! i haven’t written in past tense in a while lol

— prompt: “Why are you crying, It’s only you and me here, Me and you, Oh you”

Even if it weren’t for the two twins that had endeared you so, you were sure you would have eventually been drawn to the beautiful soul of Kim Taehyung, like a planet to its star.

— masterlist || 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 — posted; 14.03.2020

“Ah— no— Haru! Don’t touch that please!”

You sat back, content to watch the chaos as it unfolded; Seokjin had sent you some small reports to write and you were making the most of the moment and finishing them while Jungkook and Namjoon helped watch the twins. It was nearing eight o’clock and the cafe had long since closed, the lights dimmed but still on— Namjoon had been counting the tills in peace until the two hybrid twins had grown curious about what was happening on the other side of the counter and darted around to investigate. Jungkook snickered at the scene as he swept the floors, not being shy about his laughter since Namjoon was too caught up to reprimand him right now.

Ordinarily, you didn’t babysit the twins at the cafe— but you’d brought them to get a hot chocolate since the weather was getting cooler and they’d been behaving so well lately you wanted to give them a treat. You’d already texted Taehyung to ask if they were allowed it, and he’d told you yes. The twins had been ecstatic the second you told them where you were going and why. Apparently they were big fans of Uncle Joon and Uncle Koo, despite spending a majority of their time with you these days.

“But Uncle Joon!” Haru whined, big eyes pointed right at the poor male in question. You did feel a little bad for him; he was just trying to count the tills and finish closing after all. “Wanna help!”

“Yeah!” Hansol chorused, popping up from behind his sister. “Wanna help!”

Namjoon seemed like he was absolutely lost for how to handle the situation, standing crowded with the tills held to his chest, and when he finally caved and sent a pleading look your way you couldn’t help but chuckle. You supposed you could put him out of his misery.

“Hey, cutie cubs! I have something over here that I really, really need your help with! Could you come help me?”

Of course, the answer was yes. At the opportunity to help one of their favourite people ever, their eyes lit up and you stifled a laugh as their tails flicked and whipped excitedly. They were scrambling around the counter within seconds, big eyes directed at you now as they clung to the leg closest to them.

“Yeah, y/n?” Hansol inquired, patting your thigh excitedly. “Need help?”

“I absolutely do!” you confessed dramatically, leaning closer. “It’s something only you two can do.”

They almost vibrated in their excitement, making you think maybe there was a little too much sugar in those hot chocolates. They leaned in closer, Haru whispering with wide eyes, “What is it?”

“Well,” you started, pulling out two pieces of blank paper. “I have something important I’m writing for one of my jobs, and it needs some pictures… but I don’t have any! Do you think you could draw me some pictures to send with it? I don’t know anyone who can do it as well as you…”

The twins gasped, sold immediately on the idea. You’d learned very quickly that of all their hobbies and things they like to do, anything to do with painting, drawing, and colouring— they liked that the most. Eagerly, they climbed onto the free seats at the table where you were perched, looking at you obediently and patiently. Their ears betrayed their excitement though, flicking and twitching restlessly. You passed them a piece of paper each and let them choose one of the markers from your pencil case. Haru chose blue, while her brother went for a light green.

“What do we draw?” she asked after a moment, marker looking very oversized in her tiny hand. To her credit, she had it in an expert grip.

“Anything you want,” you answered immediately, unable to help but laugh at their excited gasps.

“Weally?!” In his glee Hansol’s ‘r’ glided into a ‘w’ sound even more than usual and you almost clutched your chest in fear that you had a literal heart attack. They’re so cute, they’re so cute it’s over for me!

“Yup!” you nodded, waving your hand for them to go ahead and do whatever they want. They didn’t need to be told twice; they launched into their efforts, markers meeting paper eagerly. You could have sat and watched them all night, so endeared by the way their tongues stuck out in concentration and their ears flicked every so often. Unfortunately, you still had a report to finish and so begrudgingly you returned to that as they scribbled artfully across the pages, having granted Namjoon time to escape to the staff room and for Jungkook to grab the mop and bucket and begin sanitising the floor.

Like that, the cafe settled into a nice ambiance— the radio still played soft tunes across the store and the only out of place noises came when one of the twins dropped a marker or Jungkook bumped into a table or chair due to his shapely rump.

It lasted a good five minutes, and you suspected it would have lasted longer if Namjoon’s phone didn’t start ringing on the counter. The twins barely spared it a glance before returning to their works— man, you chose the distraction well, huh. There was the slight sound of cluttering and something falling in the direction of the backroom before Namjoon emerged with tousled hair and wide eyes, a note sticking to his cheek as he looked around hurriedly for his phone.

“Who on earth…” he muttered to himself as he searched; you pointed to your cheek when he caught your eye and he reached up to remove the note, appearing sheepish. It didn’t take him long to find the phone after that, hurrying to pick it up before passing it over to you on the bench. “Y/n, can you answer that? I think I flicked a coin in the sink and I don’t know if it went down the drain or not— thanks!”

Bewildered, you hurriedly scrambled to the counter, grabbing his phone and seeing that he’d already answered the call and just left it running. You didn’t have time to see who was on the other end before you brought it to your ear, not wanting to leave them hanging any longer than they already had been.

“Hello?” you said, sounding somewhat hesitant. Any caution you might have had was quickly thrown to the wind when a familiar dulcet tone greeted you from the other end, though.

“Wh— y/n?” Taehyung sounded surprised to hear your voice, and you didn’t blame him considering he’d called Namjoon’s phone. “Uh, hello. But, um… why…”

“Hey, Mr. Kim!” The change in your attitude was instant, something fluttering in your abdomen at the knowledge of who you were talking to. “Sorry to surprise you, but Namjoon is counting the tills and kind of dumped his phone on me. Is everything okay? Did you want to talk to the twins?”

Taehyung made a sound of understanding before hurrying to reassure you, “Ah, no! No, that’s okay, I’ll see them soon anyway. Um, I was actually calling because…”

He faded off for a moment, an awkward tone slipping into his voice when he resumed. “Um, all the buses near my work were cancelled because of maintenance or something and, um… I don’t really have a way to get home… so I was just…”

It took barely a second for you to realise what he was getting at. “Ah, you need someone to pick you up? No problem! I’m with the twins at the cafe right now, so I can come pick you up while Joon and Jungkook watch them for a few minutes if you’d like!”

The hybrid on the other end seemed flustered at your easy agreement and instant offer.

“I, um… that’s fine, if that’s not too much trouble? I’m sorry to be bothering you— I’ll pay y—”

“Nope, it’s okay!” you were quick to reassure him, making sure he knew that you didn’t expect compensation just for being a decent person. “Don’t even think of paying me extra, I don’t mind at all! Just text me the address and I’ll be there as soon as possible!”

The line was silent for a few moments before Taehyung spoke once more, sounding slightly choked up. “Thank you, y/n.”

“No problem,” you assured, saying goodbye before hanging up and placing Namjoon’s phone down. A few moments later your own buzzed in your pocket, most likely with the address you’d requested.

Ducking into the backroom, you let Namjoon know what the call was about and he easily agreed to watch the kids while you went to pick up their dad. Once you secured his blessing, you returned to the main area to see Jungkook currently being subjected to the twins and their marker, scribbles and drawings beginning to make their ways up his forearms. Hansol had managed to land the arm that already had some tattoos on it and was having the time of his life colouring them in. As soon as he saw you, he pointed excitedly, “Look, y/n! Uncle Koo’s a colouring book!”

The male in question seemed absolutely endeared by the twins and of course easily agreed to continue watching them while you went to pick up Taehyung. The twins were excited to see their dad again soon and so let you go in peace when you told them what was happening.

Fifteen minutes later found you on the road and nearing the destination that Taehyung had texted you. Apparently it wasn’t at his actual workplace, since there weren’t any bus stops there and he usually had to walk twenty minutes to the nearest one, but it was still in the general area. You were thankful that you’d driven the twins to the cafe instead of walking earlier, since it meant your car was already outside and waiting. You were also thankful one of your friends had bullied you into cleaning it the other day because you knew you’d be embarrassed as hell if Taehyung climbed in and found all the bueno bar wrappers that had been on the floor of the passenger side. What could you say? You had an addiction.

As the GPS on your phone told you that you were growing closer, you began to scan the streets for the golden-haired male in question. It didn’t take you long to spot him, because even in the dark he stood out as a spot of beauty in his surroundings, hair gleaming flaxen in the streetlights. He was only in a white button-down and slacks, but still he looked incredibly good. Honestly, if you saw an image of him you would have sworn up and down that he was a model. The flick of his ears as you neared the curb where he stood told you that he’d heard you from afar, but he waited until you were alongside him to shoot you a sheepish smile.

He was somewhat shy as he climbed in, tentative in his movements as he placed his bag down by his feet and shut the door, resting his hands in his lap. “Thank you,” he murmured again, low tone making your heart skip a beat. What was it about him that seemed to make you so… giddy?

“It’s not a problem!” you assured him again, making sure he caught your smile before you set the destination in your phone and turned to the road; you knew vaguely where you were, but you didn’t travel often to this part of town so you’d need a little bit of guidance to get back to Namjoon’s cafe. It was too dark to tell for sure, but you could have sworn the hybrid’s cheeks flushed slightly.

You didn’t think that the silence would have been all that awkward, but you didn’t want to really risk it—there was still a bit of distance between the two of you, understandably. He was basically your employer right now. But you couldn’t deny the urge sparking to life deep inside you that pushed you to get a bit closer to him. Inexplicably, it was something you wanted.

“When I left, the twins were having the time of their lives,” you informed him, unable to keep the smile from your voice. Your eyes were on the road but you caught his head lifting in your peripheral. “Originally I had them drawing something on paper, but when I came back they’d turned Jungkook into a canvas and discovered his tattoos. I think they were overjoyed to have a living colouring book.”

At your words, Taehyung couldn’t help the laugh that tumbled from his throat at his kids’ antics. “They love colouring,” he murmured in response, letting his head fall back against the headrest. Your brief glance over reveals his form, slumped slightly and wrought with exhaustion. A shard of concern wriggles its way into your chest, unsettling you slightly. Was he eating enough? Sleeping enough? You felt so bad for him that you wished you could lift every single worry from his shoulders and give the world to him on a silver platter. His twins deserved it, and so did he. You weren’t sure exactly when, in the past month or so of looking after his kids, that such feelings had had time to bloom, but they had. “I wish I could get them more things, since they go through materials so fast, but… paints are getting more and more expensive these days.”

You hummed, trying not to let the sadness currently permeating your chest to show on your face. “That’s true,” you responded softly. “I imagine they’d go through paints and markers faster than you can blink.”

Taehyung chuckled, the sound soft and low, eyes closed as he sank into the seat. “Yep. I have boxes full of drawings at home. They refuse to part with any of them.”

It was your turn to laugh now, able to imagine it all too easily. “I think they’d never talk to me again if I ever lost the ones they gave me.”

Soft melodies drifted through the car as you drove, your phone’s playlist still on the one you used to lull the twins to sleep. Endearingly enough, it seemed to be working wonders for their father, too. Every time you glimpsed over, it seemed like he was that bit closer to completely dozing off next to you. You were sure he’d be embarrassed about it later, but you honestly didn’t mind. It relieved you a bit to know he was getting at least a little bit of rest.

Well, he was until a low, rumbling sound echoed in the small space. You bit your lip to contain the laugh that attempted to bubble in your throat, but were unable to help the glance you gave to the side. Taehyung looked mortified, gaze averted out the window and cheeks red as his hand rested over his stomach, as though to muffle it should it make any further incriminating noises. His tail curled beside him in embarrassment.

“Well, I suppose that’s good timing,” you said, unable to keep the smile from your voice. “Are you in the mood for a noodle dish or something soupy? Or rice? I was gonna stop by somewhere and grab something for dinner anyway.”

Taehyung’s hands quickly rose, waving awkwardly. “Oh, no, it’s okay— we can just—”

You hummed, pinning him with a look as the car drew to a stop at a set of traffic lights. “Have you eaten today?”

He might have been embarrassed, but you could tell he wouldn’t be able to lie to you. You were proven right when he simply blushed, averting his gaze with his ears angling down.

“It’s okay,” you said, reaching to pat his leg before you had to return your hand to the gearstick. “I haven’t had dinner yet either, and we can grab something to take back for the twins too! Is there anywhere you’d like to go in particular?”

Perhaps it was the hunger, but he didn’t take long to give in and acquiesce to your gentle nudging. His voice was soft when it brushed your ears in response. “I don’t mind, anywhere is good.”

You pondered his words for a moment before speaking what came to mind, “I think I know a place that you’ll like.”

— x — x —

“Woah.”

You smiled at the wonderment in Taehyung’s voice, glancing over to see him looking around in awe. You’d decided to take him to your favourite fusion restaurant, since you remembered that they actually made that dish that he liked— japchae?— and it seemed you’d made the right choice. The restaurant was underground, and the ceiling sprinkled with woven trains of fairy lights. The walls of booths and along the tables were somewhat porus and absolutely covered in layers upon layers of scribbles and drawings from people who had visited over the years. A bowl of markers rested by the door and you were sure to grab one on the way past.

One of the table staff saw you and grinned, making her way over immediately. Her gaze didn’t even linger on Taehyung as it swept over him, something you appreciated.

“Y/n!” she burst, moving forward to bring you in for a quick hug. “It’s been a while! I feel like I haven’t seen you in years.”

You rolled your eyes, blushing slightly. “It’s only been like, a week, Jihyo. What, you weren’t there when I ordered last time?”

“I had placement,” she said, sighing dramatically. “We can’t all finish the semester on time, y/n.”

You laughed in response, and the brunette was quick to get back on track. “Table for two? In the usual spot?”

“Yes please!” you answered with a smile, feeling Taehyung shift in confusion behind you. You wonder if he thought that you were only coming for take away. Originally you were, but as you entered the restaurant you’d read a text from Jungkook saying that they’d taken to twins back to your house, so you felt less pressed to get there sooner.

The two of you follow Jihyo towards the back of the establishment, taking a seat when she gestures to do so in the booth furthest from the front and closer to the kitchens. She left you with menus and told you to press the button when you were ready to order.

“We’re eating here?”

You looked up to catch Taehyung’s gaze, and the expression you find there wasn’t upset or antsy, more confused. It occurred to you a moment later that maybe you should have asked for his opinion before deciding all on your own.

“Oh… Sorry, Mr. Kim.” Your cheeks heated in embarrassment at your own audacity. “I should have asked you— I just got a text from Jungkook saying they took the twins to my place so I figured we didn’t have to rush and could relax a bit. Would you like to get takeaway instead…?”

At your explanation, the male relaxed in his seat, shoulders releasing the small amount of tension they’d held. “No, it’s okay. And you can call me Taehyung, you know. I don’t think you’re that much younger than me, actually.”

Your head tilted in surprise as your hands opened the menu automatically. “Wait, how old are you?”

Taehyung hummed, opening his own menu and looking down, visibly growing happier at the sight of some of the dishes. “Twenty-four,” he answered distractedly, finger trailing over number 37 on the menu. “Are the pancakes good? I wonder if the twins would like them…”

It took all your willpower to snap your mouth closed and swallow your shock— twenty-four?! That’s so young! It wasn’t like he looked old, but to have kids… you thought that he was late-twenties or early-thirties and had just aged really well. You were left reeling at the fact he really wasn’t all that much older than you at all.

It made you even sadder, actually, as you realised that he must have been only twenty-one or so when the twins had first come into his life. It can’t have been easy, especially if the situation was as you suspected with the twins’ mother.

“Wow, you’re young,” you couldn’t stop it from rolling off your tongue, and coughed before continuing, ignoring his amused look. “And they are! I like both the spring onion and the kimchi one. For the twins though, they might like the spring onion one better. I’ll get some to take back to them so they can try it, actually. Maybe some of the chicken too… I’m craving chicken.”

You’d started off talking directly to him, but as you went on you had ended up talking more to yourself. You missed the soft smile that Taehyung sent your way. It was silent as the two of you ruminated over what to order, and neither of you spoke until it was time to order and the waitress (not Jihyo this time, unfortunately) was walking away with your meal ticket and the menus.

“Thank you.”

It caught you by surprise, his sudden words. You looked to him with wide eyes, mid-sip of your water, and blinked in confusion. He chuckled at the sight you presented before leaning back in the booth, taking the permanent marker into his grasp and fiddling with it between his fingers. You continued your sip, waiting for him to continue in his own time. You didn’t have to wait too long.

“For caring so much about Hansol and Haru,” he explained, eyes flicking to the side before rising to meet yours. His ears were lowered slightly, bashful, as he continued. “It means a lot to me, and I know that it means a lot to them. They…”

He cleared his throat, reaching for his own cup of water. He still looked exhausted, but the smell of food in the air had livened him considerably since you entered. “They’ve never really said anything, or asked about their mother, and I don’t know for sure whether they have put you in that role… but I’m glad they have someone else that they can trust and feel safe with. I know whenever I leave them with you that they’ll be okay, and I don’t have to worry, because you always spoil them and they’re always happy. So thank you, for that.”

You blinked, surprised at the sudden sting to your eyes. Flustered, you waved your hand at him, blinking rapidly to ward away the tears. “You should warn a girl before you spring something heartfelt like that on her, Mr. K— Taehyung. I might cry and then our food will be ruined.”

He was still for a second before your words sank in and he laughed, tipping his head back from the body of it. It was a joyous sound, and it made your heart sing to hear it— after the mushy way his earlier words had made you feel, you didn’t know if you were in a good place to handle it. You waited until he calmed to continue, wanting to respond properly now your thoughts were in order.

“But you’re more than welcome, you know.” His eyes met yours as you spoke, fingers fiddling with the marker. “Those two are so beautiful, Taehyung. I can see you give them everything and they really deserve it. I’ll have you know that if I could and they asked for it, I’d climb up and pluck every star out of the sky just for them. Everything I do for them is really the least I can do. I’ll always care for those two, even if you were to move away and forget all about me.”

He snorted at that last part, but you could tell he was touched from the tender look in his eyes. “Don’t worry, that’s not happening any time soon.“

A few moments of silence followed his words, but it wasn’t uncomfortable, and it was soon broken by the arrival of some of your meal. Your mouth started salivating the second your plate touched the table, but you held off until you asked the waitress for some plastic containers and she brought them back for you. Once you’d put some of the food aside for the twins, you happily dug in to the meat dish you’d ordered.

You didn’t catch Taehyung’s fond look as you put some food aside, but you did hear it when, moments later, he let out a soft sound that echoed surprisingly like a moan. Your head shot up and he blushed bright red, cheeks so full of food he looked more like a chipmunk than a lion. He chewed and swallowed the majority of it down before offering a sheepish explanation, “Sorry, it just tastes so good… it’s been so long since I had bulgogi.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at that, almost choking on your own mouthful. You didn’t say anything though, mind wandering to other things— namely, the mention of the twins mother. You wanted to know so badly what the situation was, but you were also painfully aware it was absolutely not your place to ask. But at the same time, the twins were young, and what were you meant to do if they ask difficult questions about their mother as children tend to do? You were torn, but you didn’t realise the extent to which your thoughts were playing across your face.

“You want to know about their mother.”

Freezing, you shot him a guilty look, mouth full of spring onion pancake. You feared that you’d look over and see an upset expression on his handsome face, but it was surprisingly neutral— if anything, he seemed amused at the mess you were making as you struggled to keep the food in your mouth.

“It’s okay,” he chuckled, taking a bite of his meal and humming at the flavour. “It’s only natural to wonder since you haven’t seen her. It’s not hard to tell that she’s not around.”

You finally managed to swallow the entire contents in your mouth, shooting him a look of apology. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to say anything if it’s painful…”

The hybrid shrugged, pushing the food in his bowl around with his chopsticks. “It’s okay. It’s been three years, the wound is old…” He picked out a piece of beef, munching it before continuing. “Their mother was another lion hybrid— I met her in an adoption shelter we’d both ended up in until we were of the legal age that we could leave. She was my first love. I thought the world of her. It wasn’t planned, when she got pregnant. She didn’t really want the a baby but, well… you know how it is.”

Something sharp stabbed in your chest at his words, your expression softening. Hybrids still faced a lot of discrimination in more ways than one, and they didn’t have access to all the same types of resources that humans often took for granted. So if she’d wanted to abort the pregnancy, you doubt she would have been able to…Taehyung cleared his throat, continuing.

“When she became pregnant, and after she had the twins, it became clear that she wasn’t really the woman I fell in love with… When I saw those two, my beautiful little cubs, and held them in my arms— I knew I would love them for the rest of my life. But she… it wasn’t a sentiment we shared. She grew cold and fought with me, saying I’d ruined her life. And then one day she left, before they’d even been weened. I haven’t seen or spoken to her since.”

“I’m so sorry…” it was all you could think to say, your heart aching for him. You couldn’t imagine the amount of betrayal that must have felt like, the hurt that would have resulted. And on top of it, how difficult it must have been to be on his own from the very beginning.

He wrinkled his nose, sniffling slightly before shooting you a reassuring look. He waved his hand through the air, returning to the meal more heartily. “Don’t be— like I said, the wound is old. Besides, I thought you should know since you spend so much time with the twins. They’re curious, and they’re kids… I wouldn’t want to put you in an uncomfortable situation if they asked something difficult.”

“I appreciate that,” you said, sectioning off another piece of pancake to put in your mouth. Your thoughts ran a mile a minute at the information he’d given you, but you did your best to push them to the backburner for now— you didn’t take him out and force food down his throat for the sake of hearing about his partner. “I am still sorry, though… It seems like a lot of things have happened to you that you don’t deserve.”

“That’s how it always is,” Taehyung shrugged, nonchalant. Something about how accepting he was of his own misfortune bothered you— he shouldn’t have had to be accepting of the way the world has treated him like dirt. You allowed your eyes to wash over him, taking in the slight bags under his eyes and the somewhat pallid quality to his skin. In that moment, you decided to do whatever you could to help him— both for him, and the twins. If it meant you continued sending home little care packages with the twins, then so be it.

Despite the somewhat depressing start the conversation had, it soon melded into more comfortable, relaxed topics. Taehyung seemed interested to know a bit more about you, apparently wanting to corroborate the many things his twins reported back to him with facts straight from the source itself— you. He asked about your schooling, what you wanted to do— eventually he allowed himself to verify some of the things the twins apparently told him, like if you really had a giant gudetama plushie in the corner of your bedroom. You’d blushed at that one, especially considering that it was true. In turn, you’d gone ahead and asked him about some of the things the twins had told you— like if he really didn’t like mint chocolate chip icecream, and if all the older ladies in the building really pinched his cheek and called him handsome every time they saw him.

At that he had cleared his throat and blushed too, before quietly admitting it was true. It seemed the twins were very good at digging up dirt on the both of you.

You didn’t linger in the restaurant all that long, making your way up to the counter after you’d eaten your fill. The conversation continued right up until you reached the register, at which point Taehyung promptly froze. You turned, in the middle of pulling your card out, and caught him looking with white eyes at the total, like he’d completely forgotten that he’d have to pay at the end of it. It wasn’t hard to guess the direction that his thoughts had gone, and when Jihyo read out your total for the table you left it barely a second before moving.

“Boop!” you said, smacking your card on the reader and relishing in the confirmation beep that sounded a second later. “Paid!”

Taehyung looked at you with wide eyes, hand coming to grip your sleeve. “Y/n, that was so much! You didn’t have to—”

“It’s okay, I got paid today,” you smiled at him, holding up the bag of takeaway containers before passing them to him. “Plus, it wasn’t just our meals— now we have some food to take back for the others, too!”

You were oblivious to the fond, amused smile Jihyo was sending your way, especially since she slapped a brighter one on when you faced her. “I’m glad you two enjoyed yourselves! I’ll see you next time y/n, make sure you bring him too! The chefs apparently liked watching his expressions as he enjoyed the food.”

You laughed, bringing your arm up in a mock salute as Taehyung blushed red beside you, risking a sheepish look back at the kitchen. Two chefs were peeking out the doorway, and waved when they saw him looking. Embarrassed, he tugged your sleeve and began moving towards the door, urging you to leave. You couldn’t help the laughter that escaped you on the way out, waving to Jihyo as you went and promising you’d be back soon.

— x —

Later, when Taehyung was laying in his own bed after Namjoon had dropped him home, the twins cuddled next to him — they’d been so ecstatic at the special food they’d gotten that they hadn’t left his side all night, clinging to him like never before— he couldn’t help but reflect once more on the changes in his life, however big or subtle. The most noticeable was you, and oddly enough, when he thought of you now, gratitude wasn’t the only feeling swirling in his chest like it had been before. There was something else there, something new and warm and even though he didn’t look any closer at it, scared to see its name, it comforted him all the way to sleep, sending him off to cozy dreams of the sun, the twins, and you.

a/n: pls let me know what u think and whether u enjoyed it by liking and rbing!!! it helps me know i’m doing somthing right!!! also feel free to support me on my kofi and send me an ask or too with what u think !!!1 thank u for reading and i love you!!! <3 <3

— masterlist || 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06

[stealingpotatoes]

The World As It Should(’ve) Be(en)

(feat. some illustrations with no consistent style that were all done in under ten minutes)

I know I’m not the only one who thought Delilah’s “The World As It Should Be” could have been a lot cooler.., so get this: what if there was another mission to dh2

(trust me it's a cool idea -- if you can’t be bothered to read, just look at the pictures) 

So EVERYTHING is the same up until the bit where you go into the portal. You roll up to Death To The Empress thinking that's the last mission... but no! You go in the portal and it gives you your end of mission stats! and you're like ?? wait what i thought i was about to go kill Delilah?

The ACTUAL final mission (and actual Delilah take-out mission) takes place in a Much Better version of The World As It Should Be. 

The final mission starts and you land exactly at the port where you start Death To The Empress, but everything is different about Dunwall. everything’s completely off and wack;  it's sunny, the streets are bright, everyone looks happy! there are flowers everywhere! It's super aesthetic and pretty. The clothing’s also different from the rest of the game. 

You walk through the same streets you walked through in the mission you just did, and there aren't wolfhounds and ppl patrolling the streets, it's not in ruin, it all looks very nice! (you land at the docks for parallels/ to make it very obvious what's changed, not because it makes sense). People are talking; they're happy! there are no guards about at all so you can walk freely and see it all, explore around this world. And the people are talking about how great empress delilah is, mainly. 

And as you go through, you find notes, books, and dialogue etc that hints to an entirely different past; in the first parts of dunwall, you find that delilah has been empress for like 26 years! not just a month and a half. The story pieces together as you go along, and you work out that this is a world where Delilah was never thrown out and her father's false promises were fulfilled. This is her world as it should be. 

But things keep happening to remind you that it isn't real; perhaps the sky sometimes turns to the Void, with whales floating above you, and things will somtimes momentarily look like a painting of Delilah's, not detailed reality. People’s speech repeats and loops too often. Creepiest of all, people randomly turn to stone, then back out, as if it never happened. If you put the corrupted rune in earlier, there might be more glitches than if you didn't. the glitches get more pronounced/ more obvious as you get closer and everything starts to feel a little too perfect, more and more as you go on. Everything becomes more uncomfortable. (And if you kill people in the world, nobody reacts at all. They just let you do it)

Plus, overall it feels like a very childish city? as if this might all be a little girl's dollhouse, not a real place. 

You make your way to the Tower, where you find that there’s a party going on. A really nice party -- puts Lady Boyle’s Last Party to shame. Dunwall Tower again looks super nice and aesthetic. The outfits are again really nice but again rather childish. 

A cool glitch here would be the partygoers keep stopping and just looking dead at you w no transition or anything. One second they’re talking, the next everyone at the party is staring straight at you. Then suddenly they’re talking again, as if that never happened. Also a lot of the partygoers faces repeat too often, reminding you that this is a simulation. 

In the tower/ closer to the tower, you find more history stuff, but it's more intimate/ detailed i guess? ONE VERY NOTABLE THING YOU FIND is letters from Jessamine (!!!) who is very much alive but is just -- and has always been -- the imperial princess!!!!!!!

The letters mention stuff that shows she and delilah are close. jessamine is in this and not suffering bc it's delilah's childish, perfect world! where nothing went wrong and jess is still her sister and del doesn't hate jess! (this is to kind of push it in your face that Del is Like You i guess, but also that smthn smthn she's still thinking like a little girl bc this all stems off childhood trauma etc)

Tho as people, not the player character, Emily & Corvo are ignored in the world as it should be/ there's no mention of jessamine's family bc this is delilah's world and she's not thinking abt other people. 

At the party, you see a woman who you discover is Delilah's mother, alive and well -- which again pushes the whole "this is delilah's perfect world". She talks to you a bit, talks about delilah. Makes you see a different side of her (but you can't be sure it's real; this is Delilah’s perfect, adoring world). She says she ought to go somewhere else. Things keep glitching, whales phase through the walls (it’s super cool). 

You continue through the party, when suddenly you see a woman in a dark dress. She stands out from the rest of the party, in their bright colours, and it’s pretty hard to miss her. This woman is none other than Lady Jessamine Kaldwin, your dead mother or secret wife (whose, bear in mind, soul you let go 2 missions ago). Her outfit is similar to the one in Delilah’s childhood painting of her, childishness of Delilah’s world repeated. 

The fact Jessamine is here makes Delilah almost more relatable (especially seeing as you just spoke to her lost loved one, her mother). It makes you understand her more because you know the protag wants more than anything to have a world where Jess lives. It helps you to understand why Delilah made this more. Actually, this whole mission is sort of "uhuhuh delilah is actually sympathetic" BUT you can still very much interpret it as her lying to you, because this is a manipulation of reality -- what's to say she isn't still lying?

Anyway, you can go up and talk to Jessamine (the game sort of encourages you to talk to her). But she doesn’t recognise you. Emily and Corvo don’t exist in Delilah’s false world, so Jessamine has never known you. It’s very painful for the protag (you can hear it in their dialogue), because their loved one is alive, but she doesn’t know you. You have dialogue options to try to convince her it’s you/ she knows you, but they don’t work. 

While Jessamine doesn’t recognise you, she does say she’d certainly like to spend more time with you. She tries to convince you to stay here, more or less (yes, Inception is one of my favourite movies, what about it?) But the protag says they have a mission/ that they need to see Delilah.    

Jessamine will offer to take you to Delilah, which results in a conversation -- will get to that later. The other option is keep winding through the party and to the throne room yourself. 

Either way, you get to the throne room, where you find Delilah. Again direct parallel. Same pose as before, but this time, her throne room isn't dark and covered in murderous vines, it's bright and full of adoring people/ partygoers (it’s a sort of parallel to the start of the game too, especially if you walk in with Jessamine).

 Delilah doesn’t quite know you’re here. She has a vague idea of who you are, but she doesn’t hate you at all. Breanna is by Delilah’s side, no matter what you did in the Conservatory. However, you don’t see any of the other Coup Crew members there -- this highlights how they were just tools to her, not people she cared for.

So you have three (yes, three — this is where things get even more fun) options here. Lethal, non-lethal, and the option I’ll get to later. 

Lethal is straightforward. You kill Delilah however (nobody stops you), and the entire world begins to collapse in on itself/ break apart and very disruptively becomes the Void again. This maybe ends with you having to fight/ assassinate some Delilah copies in the near empty void/ something more similar to the World As It Should Be as we see in game.

Non-lethal is easier if you placed the corrupted rune on the throne in DTTE, but you can still do it otherwise. It would of course be something to do with trapping Delilah in the World -- somehow cutting off the exit before you go so she can’t escape, should she realise this isn’t reality. 

If you pick either of these ways, you go through the portal again and return to the depressing and dark Dunwall, your Dunwall, and free your family member. (Or take the throne if you’re in super high chaos, I guess). All goes the same. 

Now, the third option. The third option is to stay in the false world. It’s to stay with Jessamine, in this perfect Dunwall. To get this option, you talk to Delilah after Jess takes you to her (though you can still talk to her without Jess guiding you, Jess’ll appear). 

Of course, you have the option to talk to Delilah and say this is all crazy, it’s not real, and proceed to do the former two options. But you also have the option to say you understand her or something, and she more or less offers for you to stay. 

When you first express interest in staying, the Outsider suddenly appears. He’s there to try to convince you that you need to get rid of Delilah, and that your other family member is frozen in stone back in the real Dunwall. But then what Delilah does, absolute madlad, is make a copy of your family member, but how they looked in DH1, not now (idk HOW, but she does it -- she is god in this part of the Void so she just can). Delilah wants you to stay, especially if you’re Marked. Jessamine also tries to convince you to remain here, and she’s harder to ignore. 

You again have the option to reject Delilah’s reality (you get a lot of options to do this), but if you choose to ignore the Outsider, you say something about him “wanting to keep power for himself”, just a lot of insulting really (being about as nice as he was to you, maybe.)e’ll disappear again, unable to stay in Delilah’s part of the Void. And you can stay with your unbroken family, with Jessamine who is alive. And not return to the real world, where you don’t know if your family member will be able to be revived from stone. 

(Seeing as Delilah was in Jess’ heart, perhaps she’s able to make a Jess who is almost the same as the Jess you knew)  

The third ending plays on the themes of “emily/ corvo has been ignoring the suffering in the Empire”. This is the ultimate way you can ignore it all. You can choose to completely and utterly ignore the now in ruin empire that you walked through earlier, and ignore all the people you promised to help along the way and everything you learnt. Or, you can show you’ve changed since the start, and go back to harsh reality. It won’t be nice, but you can’t ignore your people’s suffering again. Imo it gives the character more of an arc, rather than only having the option to return to the throne. 

But yeah, if you pick the third ending, the Outsider of course does his speech. He tells you how the Empire has falled to chaos, fallen to civil war, as everyone vys for the throne and its power. He tells you how your allies fare. And then you see Empress Delilah on her throne in the false world (you see a few glitches to remind you it’s fake). But then you see the protagonist and their family together. It’s a really cute family moment, and aside from the protagonist being the wrong age compared to their family (you’ve got adult Em with dh1 Corvojess, or dh2 Corvo with Jess and 10yo Emily). There are no glitches bc the protag would be ignoring them.  Everything seems entirely perfect. 

Anyways! I hope you liked this! Don’t get me wrong, I love Dishonored 2, it’s one of my favourite games. I just think the World As It Should Be was a sort of missed oppurtunity for something VERY cool. 

[larinah]

August 20th, 19—. I HAVE HAD what I believe to be the most remarkable day in my life, and while the events are still fresh in my mind, I wish to put them down on paper as clearly as possible.           Let me say at the outset that my name is James Clarence Withencroft.           I am forty years old, in perfect health, never having known a day’s illness.           By profession I am an artist, not a very successful one, but I earn enough money by my black-and-white work to satisfy my necessary wants.           My only near relative, a sister, died five years ago, so that I am independent.           I breakfasted this morning at nine, and after glancing through the morning paper I lighted my pipe and proceeded to let my mind wander in the hope that I might chance upon some subject for my pencil.           The room, though door and windows were open, was oppressively hot, and I had just made up my mind that the coolest and most comfortable place in the neighbourhood would be the deep end of the public swimming bath, when the idea came.           I began to draw. So intent was I on my work that I left my lunch untouched, only stopping work when the clock of St. Jude’s struck four.           The final result, for a hurried sketch, was, I felt sure, the best thing I had done.    

      It showed a criminal in the dock immediately after the judge had pronounced sentence. The man was fat—enormously fat. The flesh hung in rolls about his chin; it creased his huge, stumpy neck. He was clean shaven (perhaps I should say a few days before he must have been clean shaven) and almost bald. He stood in the dock, his short, clumsy fingers clasping the rail, looking straight in front of him. The feeling that his expression conveyed was not so much one of horror as of utter, absolute collapse.     

There seemed nothing in the man strong enough to sustain that mountain of flesh.

       I rolled up the sketch, and without quite knowing why, placed it in my pocket. Then with the rare sense of happiness which the knowledge of a good thing well done gives, I left the house.

       I believe that I set out with the idea of calling upon Trenton, for I remember walking along Lytton Street and turning to the right along Gilchrist Road at the bottom of the hill where the men were at work on the new tram lines.

       From there onwards I have only the vaguest recollection of where I went. The one thing of which I was fully conscious was the awful heat, that came up from the dusty asphalt pavement as an almost palpable wave. I longed for the thunder promised by the great banks of copper-coloured cloud that hung low over the western sky.

       I must have walked five or six miles, when a small boy roused me from my reverie by asking the time.

       It was twenty minutes to seven.

       When he left me I began to take stock of my bearings. I found myself standing before a gate that led into a yard bordered by a strip of thirsty earth, where there were flowers, purple stock and scarlet geranium. Above the entrance was a board with the inscription—

CHAS. ATKINSON MONUMENTAL MASON WORKER IN ENGLISH AND ITALIAN MARBLES

       From the yard itself came a cheery whistle, the noise of hammer blows, and the cold sound of steel meeting stone.        A sudden impulse made me enter.        A man was sitting with his back towards me, busy at work on a slab of curiously veined marble. He turned round as he heard my steps and I stopped short.        It was the man I had been drawing, whose portrait lay in my pocket.        He sat there, huge and elephantine, the sweat pouring from his scalp, which he wiped with a red silk handkerchief. But though the face was the same, the expression was absolutely different.        He greeted me smiling, as if we were old friends, and shook my hand.        I apologised for my intrusion.        “Everything is hot and glary outside,” I said. “This seems an oasis in the wilderness.”        “I don’t know about the oasis,” he replied, “but it certainly’s hot, as hot as hell. Take a seat, sir!”        He pointed to the end of the gravestone on which he was at work, and I sat down.        “That’s a beautiful piece of stone you’ve got hold of,” I said.        He shook his head. “In a way it is,” he answered; “the surface here is as fine as anything you could wish, but there’s a big flaw at the back, though I don’t expect you’d ever notice it. I could never make really a good job of a bit of marble like that. It would be all right in the summer like this; it wouldn’t mind the blasted heat. But wait till the winter comes. There’s nothing quite like frost to find out the weak points in stone.”        “Then what’s it for?” I asked.        The man burst out laughing.        “You’d hardly believe me if I was to tell you it’s for an exhibition, but it’s the truth. Artists have exhibitions: so do grocers and butchers; we have them too. All the latest little things in headstones, you know.”        He went on to talk of marbles, which sort best withstood wind and rain, and which were easiest to work; then of his garden and a new sort of carnation he had bought. At the end of every other minute he would drop his tools, wipe his shining head, and curse the heat.        I said little, for I felt uneasy. There was something unnatural, uncanny, in meeting this man.        I tried at first to persuade myself that I had seen him before, that his face, unknown to me, had found a place in some out-of-the-way corner of my memory, but I knew that I was practising little more than a plausible piece of self-deception.        Mr. Atkinson finished his work, spat on the ground, and got up with a sigh of relief.        “There! what do you think of that?” he said, with an air of evident pride.        The inscription which I read for the first time was this—

SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF JAMES CLARENCE WITHENCROFT BORN JAN. 18TH, 1860 HE PASSED AWAY VERY SUDDENLY ON AUGUST 20TH, 19— “In the midst of life we are in death.”

FOR SOME TIME I sat in silence. Then a cold shudder ran down my spine. I asked him where he had seen the name.        “Oh, I didn’t see it anywhere,” replied Mr. Atkinson. “I wanted some name, and I put down the first that came into my head. Why do you want to know?”        “It’s a strange coincidence, but it happens to be mine.”        He gave a long, low whistle.        “And the dates?”        “I can only answer for one of them, and that’s correct.”        “It’s a rum go!” he said.        But he knew less than I did. I told him of my morning’s work. I took the sketch from my pocket and showed it to him. As he looked, the expression of his face altered until it became more and more like that of the man I had drawn.        “And it was only the day before yesterday,” he said, “that I told Maria there were no such things as ghosts!”        Neither of us had seen a ghost, but I knew what he meant.        “You probably heard my name,” I said.        “And you must have seen me somewhere and have forgotten it! Were you at Clacton-on-Sea last July?”        I had never been to Clacton in my life. We were silent for some time. We were both looking at the same thing, the two dates on the gravestone, and one was right.        “Come inside and have some supper,” said Mr. Atkinson.        His wife is a cheerful little woman, with the flaky red cheeks of the country-bred. Her husband introduced me as a friend of his who was an artist. The result was unfortunate, for after the sardines and watercress had been removed, she brought out a Doré Bible, and I had to sit and express my admiration for nearly half an hour.        I went outside, and found Atkinson sitting on the gravestone smoking.        We resumed the conversation at the point we had left off.        “You must excuse my asking,” I said, “but do you know of anything you’ve done for which you could be put on trial?”        He shook his head.        “I’m not a bankrupt, the business is prosperous enough. Three years ago I gave turkeys to some of the guardians at Christmas, but that’s all I can think of. And they were small ones, too,” he added as an afterthought.        He got up, fetched a can from the porch, and began to water the flowers. “Twice a day regular in the hot weather,” he said, “and then the heat sometimes gets the better of the delicate ones. And ferns, good Lord! they could never stand it. Where do you live?”        I told him my address. It would take an hour’s quick walk to get back home.        “It’s like this,” he said. “We’ll look at the matter straight. If you go back home tonight, you take your chance of accidents. A cart may run over you, and there’s always banana skins and orange peel, to say nothing of fallen ladders.”        He spoke of the improbable with an intense seriousness that would have been laughable six hours before. But I did not laugh.        “The best thing we can do,” he continued, “is for you to stay here till twelve o’clock. We’ll go upstairs and smoke; it may be cooler inside.”        To my surprise I agreed.

WE ARE SITTING now in a long, low room beneath the eaves. Atkinson has sent his wife to bed. He himself is busy sharpening some tools at a little oilstone, smoking one of my cigars the while.        The air seems charged with thunder. I am writing this at a shaky table before the open window. The leg is cracked, and Atkinson, who seems a handy man with his tools, is going to mend it as soon as he has finished putting an edge on his chisel.        It is after eleven now. I shall be gone in less than an hour.        But the heat is stifling.        It is enough to send a man mad.

[fullmetalscullyy]

the way it was - chapter 30

summary: what if riza never went to war? riza hawkeye has just married the man she loves. six months into their marriage, an unexpected surprise stops her from following roy to the military. a canon divergence au that explores what might have happened had riza been unable to join the military. there will be plenty of family fluff, angst, and royai.

rated: m | warnings: no archive warning apply

read on ao3

1914

i can't live in a fairytale of lies

and i can't hide from the feeling cause it's right

Tensions were high in the Mustang household.

Roy spent more time in his work office after hours than was usual. He was planning, organising an attack, for what, Riza wasn’t privy to just yet. Her main focus was keeping Mia distracted and entertained so Roy could work in some semblance of peace, however even that was becoming more of a struggle for her nowadays. Her lower back was almost in constant pain by the time they were sitting down to dinner. Riza fatigued more quickly and her brain was frazzled. Headaches pestered her throughout the day, completely unwelcome, from two different fronts.

On one hand, she was nearing the end of her pregnancy, which was a blessing. According to the doctor yesterday, the child was at full term and could come at any time, even though she still had a few weeks until her due date. Riza would welcome that wholeheartedly. The aches and pains were a lot worse this time around than they were with Mia.

On the other hand, her final teaching exam had been looming. Throughout the day she had notes spread across every surface as she studied and crammed for it. Looking after Mia while Roy ‘unofficially’ worked in the evening was nothing Riza would ever complain about, however it would have been nice to have had the extra energy afterwards to at least look over some notes while in bed. By the time her head hit the pillow she was asleep.

After taking the exam, a huge weight was lifted off Riza’s shoulders. Then the nerves kicked in, waiting for results. The professor had advised it would take a few weeks to get back to them all, but Riza just wanted to know. She wanted to be successful. After years of work, she wanted it to pay off. It had been two weeks since the exam.

Despite working harder, Roy was as attentive as ever. He was worrying about her. Riza reassured she was fine, just exhausted. Roy thought she was stressed. Admittedly, Riza did think that was true as well. She was aware that would be bad for the baby but with everything hitting at once, and them not being able to do anything about the timing, it didn’t leave Riza with much choice. Powering through as best she could, Riza managed to juggle everything. Roy still fought to get away from his home office to help with Mia, however the ringing phone would draw him back to plan. With a defeated aura, he’d trudge back through and continue working.

Riza was incredibly curious. Roy would tell her when he was ready what was going on, but every day that passed and with every overheard snippet of conversation, the desire to know didn’t let up. It was so mysterious. She’d barely been awake enough recently for him to get a chance.

The ringing phone dragged Riza’s attention away from cooking dinner.

“I’ll get it,” Roy’s disembodied voice called through from the direction of his office. Followed by a muffled thump and a quiet curse as he tripped over or banged into something.

Snorting, Riza nodded and left him to it, rolling her sore shoulders. The stretching of the skin brought quick relief as she stirred the pot in front of her. A wave of heat washed over her, prickling sweat on her brow which was hastily swiped away with the back of her hand.

“Riza, it’s for you,” Roy called through.

That stumped her. She wasn’t expecting a call –

Was it her results?

“Mia, stay away from the oven, okay?” Riza turned the heat down low as her heart thudded inside her chest. It battered against her ribcage relentlessly as she entered the hall. Even more so when Roy shot her a grin and a thumbs up. He knew just how much she was waiting on the call from her professor.

With shaking hands, she took the phone from him. Roy winked and skirted around her, walking through to the kitchen to check on their dinner.

“Hello?”

“Riza,” a warm voice greeted her. “It’s Professor Stevenson.”

This is it.

“Hello, Professor.”

“I come bearing good news,” he chuckled, “although I knew before even grading your test you would pass with flying colours. My assumptions were correct. Congratulations, Riza! You passed!”

A light blush warmed her cheeks upon hearing the compliment, before elation completely overtook her entire being.

She’d passed.

“I passed?” She had to make sure.

“You did, yes,” the Professor confirmed, an amused lilt in his voice.

She’d passed.

“Thank you…” Riza trailed off. She wasn’t sure what else to say, too relieved just to finally know. Shoulders sagged as her posture slouched. A light laugh left her, happy and content that she no longer needed to worry and wait on the verdict. She felt free from it. Finally.

“I will be sending your certification over to Central University today,” Professor Stevenson announced. “It should arrive within a few days, but I will call you and inform you once it has been delivered, if that would suit you?”

“That would be very appreciative, thank you.” Riza tried not to gush but it was hard. She couldn’t wait to tell Roy.

“Not a problem, Riza. Any questions please do not hesitate to give my office a call. I’ll be back in touch in the next week or so about your next steps now that you’re a fully certified teacher. Congratulations.”

Riza quickly bid him farewell and hung up the phone. She rushed through to the kitchen, the hot flush from earlier hitting again as the wall of heat from the cooking food curled around her skin. Riza didn’t care that sweat was gathering on her brow or in her hands. Her eyes found Roy’s and everything else melted away, now that her results were finally sinking in.

“Well?” He was grinning expectantly. Given that Riza could not keep the beaming smile off her face no matter how hard she tried, he still waited for her to announce her news.

“I passed!”

Roy whooped loudly, causing Mia and Hayate to jump in fright at the volume. His arms wrapped around her shoulders tightly with a laugh as he rocked her side to side in his pride.

“Yes! I’m so proud of you,” he laughed in her ear. “I told you you’d nail it!”

“You did,” she laughed as her smile wobbled. Tears sprang to her eyes and she sniffed.

“Are you crying?” He laughed in disbelief, swiping away a tear with his thumb as he cooed softly, pulling her tightly into his embrace. “Oh, Riza!”

“Shut up,” she mumbled petulantly, burying her face into his chest with a laugh.

“Are you unhappy, Mummy?” Mia bit her lip hard, her knuckles white as she gripped the arm of her chair.

“No, Mia, she’s not unhappy,” Roy answered for her. “She’s extremely happy! They’re happy tears.”

Riza was grateful. Another laugh left her, remembering how prone to crying she’d been right after Mia was born. Groaning internally, she hoped that didn’t happen again. Rebecca had teased her about it but this time Roy would never let her live it down.

“Happy tears? Like when you told me you were having another baby?”

“Yes, just like that,” Roy answered as his hands rubbed up and down Riza’s arms. “Mummy passed her big exam so now she’s a teacher!”

Mia gasped and clapped together, eyes twinkling with glee. “Does that mean she’ll become my teacher? That would be so cool!”

“Not right now, Mia,” Roy laughed at her enthusiasm. “She has to wait a little bit but one day soon Mum will be teaching in a school just like yours.”

“Oh, wow!”

Riza pulled away from Roy, seeing his grin and the pride on his face. He pecked her on the nose, cupping her cheeks in his hands firmly.

“Congratulations, love,” he murmured. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Yeah, proud of you Mum!” Mia called to her from her chair at the table. Looking over Roy’s shoulder, she saw the bright smile on Mia’s face.

“Thank you,” Riza breathed, her eyes meeting Roy’s again.

He flashed her a grin. “We must celebrate!”

*          *          *

Riza walked through the streets of Central at sunset. The air was cold but at least there was no wind to chill her completely. Still, the winter jacket was pulled tighter around her neck, ensuring it was buttoned right up to the top. Readjusting her scarf, she picked up the pace to walk to Central University. Fingers flexed inside gloves, trying to move some heat to the cooler tips.

The university wasn’t far from home. The main campus was a few streets over, barely a ten minute walk. Roy had offered to drive her to the university, however Mia had homework that needed to be completed for tomorrow. So, after not venturing too far out of the house in recent weeks due to their hectic home life, Riza wanted to get out and go for a walk. It was easily manageable, even with her aches and pains, however they weren’t as ailing today as they had been recently.

Sucking in a deep breath, Riza enjoyed the light burn it left in her airways, smelling the cold in the air and the aftermath of the rain from earlier in the afternoon.

He hovered of course, as Riza slipped on her shoes, but she felt fine and wanted to go out and get some fresh air. The peace of the walk would do her good after what felt like running around after everyone at home for the past few days. Pouting, Roy had relented, easing up. A flash of irritation spiked within her chest at the assumption that she needed an escort to go anywhere, but Riza calmed herself. He just cared, that was all. Aftering being starved of it throughout childhood, Riza reminded herself that it was a nice feeling to experience, despite how worried he could be about the little things. Shaking her head fondly as she walked, Riza felt a warmth spread across her chest. Roy loved her and cared about her, that’s why he hovered.

As directed, Riza asked for her certification from the front desk. Idle wandering left her scanning the notice boards in the reception area while the receptionist exited into a room behind her to pick out Riza’s post. There was nothing interesting, some flyers for events that had already passed, but their posters forgotten about and neglected to be removed.

“Mrs. Mustang!”

Turning, confused, Riza stopped dead when she spotted who’d called her name.

Fuhrer Bradley was smiling broadly at her underneath his moustache, his one eye closed with happy cheer. A woman was standing next to him, her fair brown hair falling past her shoulders and pale pink dress skimming the bottom of the ground. A white jacket covered her shoulders, along with a scarf in the same blue as the Amestrian Military uniform. That was Mrs. Bradley, Riza realised in shock. And the small boy who’d shot her a smile was their son, Selim.

“What a coincidence running into you here,” Bradley chuckled in amusement as he approached.

Riza didn’t trust him one bit.

“Hello, Sir,” she greeted with respect.

This man, after all Roy had told her about his treatment of him and the threats that had been made upon her, deserved none of her reverence, however she couldn’t make things worse for Roy. She’d continue to play along and play oblivious to it all. That was the smart thing to do.

“How are you doing?”

“Fine, Sir.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear it.” His expression was nothing but open and friendly. A ploy. “I trust your husband is recovering well from his injury?”

“He is, yes. Thank you for asking.”

“Good. I have not had the chance to drop in on him recently to ask personally. Could I ask you to pass on my regards?” His pointed stare felt like a message. Instead of the fear Riza had experienced initially, all she felt now was disgust and irritation.

“Of course, Sir,” Riza replied smoothly. Roy would definitely hear she’d run into Fuhrer Bradley tonight. “I know he will appreciate that from you.”

“Marvellous,” the Fuhrer beamed. “And I have been incredibly rude, I apologise.” Turning to his left, he motioned towards his wife and child. “This is my wife, Clarisse Bradley, and my son, Selim.”

“A pleasure,” Mrs. Bradley greeted warmly, so different from the hidden identity of her husband. As Riza took her offered hand and shook it, she quietly wondered if Mrs. Bradley was aware of what her husband was, or if she was unfortunate enough to be oblivious to it all.

“It’s very good to meet you, Ma’am,” Selim beamed. “I’ve heard all about your husband! He’s a hero!”

Riza almost flinched but caught herself. That was not a title Roy liked to go by in the slightest.

“Thank you,” Riza smiled politely, offering the child no more than that.

“Selim,” the Fuhrer admonished lightly for his enthusiasm.

“Sorry,” he smiled sheepishly.

“It’s all right,” Bradley assured. “We must be going. We have a private tour of the premises scheduled for this evening. Mrs. Mustang, it was lovely to see you again.”

His single eye flashed as his wife and son offered Riza the same sentiment. It was a warning. For what, Riza didn’t know. She just hoped she would never run into him ever again. With every look he gave her it made her skin crawl.

They left the reception area, walking down a hallway further into the University. Riza watched them leave as Selim excitedly whispered about meeting a family member of the Flame Alchemist. Patiently, his father tried to calm him as Mrs. Bradley smiled fondly.

“Riza Mustang?” The receptionist called to her quietly, probably wondering if she raised her voice to a normal level, it would startle Riza. It was certainly a possibility.

Giving herself a shake, Riza shelved the surprise meeting for the moment and shook off the uncomfortable feeling it left her with. Smiling, she thanked the receptionist and took the manila envelope from her hands. Inside was her teaching certification.

The receptionist sat back down in her chair and returned her attention to the notes on the desk, Riza already forgotten as she continued to work.

With shaking hands, Riza unsealed the envelope and opened it up, extracting the certificate inside slowly and carefully. Unsettling conversation forgotten, Riza smiled and felt some relief as she read the paper, citing her as a teacher. Finally. Nestled between shining gold leaf and beautiful swirls of black ink, Riza’s name was printed proudly on the dotted line.

Stepping back into the cold autumn night, Riza shivered, tucking the envelope underneath her arm. Winter was almost here. After being inside, the chill tugged at the exposed skin of her face, nipping painfully, as it fought to invade through her layers. Soon, frost would cover the concrete and the grass, creating a delightful crunch underfoot as everyone walked through it.

The campus was empty as she walked across it. In the night, the long, bare branches on the trees would look menacing to a child if they were to come across them. Like something from a scary story. They reached tall into the sky, often silhouetted by the lamps lining the walkway underneath Riza. Clouds hid away the moon in sporadic intervals, darkening the sky for a long bout once she reached the other end of the campus. A gentle breeze had kicked up, so she ducked underneath a sheltered walkway, glancing up at the sky to see the moon hidden from view once more. Walking here would mean a slightly longer walk home, but Riza decided she felt physically able enough to handle it, so relished in her extra time to herself. Heading in the opposite direction of home, Riza took her time and enjoyed it.

Suddenly, as she neared the road she had to cross to reach home, something felt… off. Riza couldn’t place it, and her brow furrowed as she approached the crossing, still underneath the shelter of the walkway. It felt like she was being watched. Subtly glancing around, she saw no one. Opening up her ears and focussing on that sense more so than her others, she heard no footsteps either.

Perhaps she shouldn’t have taken the small detour...

“Mrs. Mustang.”

Riza stuttered to a stop. She froze in place, fear seizing every muscle in her body. She recognised that voice from a short while ago, but there was an otherworldly quality to it. It echoed, like it was multiple voices speaking at once, but that was impossible. Only Selim Bradley spoke with a voice as innocent as that… However, this was anything but innocent. It sounded evil. The hair on the back of Riza’s neck stuck up in a warning, her instincts screaming at her to run. Trying to take a step, her feet were stuck, glued to the concrete beneath her feet.

“Please, remain still,” the boy commanded gently. “Things will be much easier for you if you did.”

Her heels relaxed and lowered back onto the ground, ankles succumbing to a sudden pressure, like someone was gripping them tightly. A breath was sucked into her lungs and she let it go slowly. Her free hand formed a fist, clenched tightly by her side.

“Selim?” Her eyes darted ahead, searching every crevice for where the boy may be hiding, but there was no sign of him. The cars in the distance continued to pass by, oblivious to what was happening under the darkened shelter.

“That’s right,” he answered, that voice echoing in the suddenly deathly silent night. Riza focussed, determining he was behind her, hidden out of view. “Although Pride is another name I go by. The First Homunculus. That’s the more preferable one, actually.”

Homunculus.

Suddenly, the shadows elongated in front of where she was standing with a darkness that was not natural. A large eye appeared, staring up at her. It was so unsettling, Riza shifted and wanted to turn and run. It was horrifying to look at, leaving her feeling violated as it stared relentlessly, unblinking.

Despite being urged to remain still, her flight response kicked in. Still unable to move, a pressure surrounded Riza’s wrists while another crawled up her ankles and calves, rooting her. Something tightened around her neck, shifting the fabric of her scarf gently, but not constricting enough to cause any pain. Just discomfort. Eyes widening, Riza felt true fear and a sweat broke out over her entire body.

“Please tell your husband that we say hello,” Selim purred.

The pressure around her wrists tightened and Riza felt warmth. Something bit into her skin, cutting into her flesh cleanly. She was sure he’d somehow managed to draw blood, but with what? The restrictions on her neck reminded her not to move to look down and examine the fresh wound. If it could cut into flesh that easily then she wouldn’t risk it.

“I told you it would be easier if you remained still,” Selim snickered as the pressure disappeared from her wrists.

Riza felt she could breathe easier as it did so, however, suddenly the pressure around her neck increased the smallest amount. Choking on her breath, Selim shushed her violently. Out the corner of her eye, Riza saw a black tendril of… of something appear, moving towards her cheek. It flicked towards her, like one would do to an irritation, and Riza felt it swipe at the skin of her cheek. Biting her lip, Riza squeezed her eyes tightly closed as she fought to remain as still as she could. Angering whatever this thing was would do her no favours at all.

“What do you want?” She pushed the words out of her throat, focussing on getting as much information out of the boy as she possibly could. But this was no boy. This… thing was something else entirely.

“Just to say hello. And now, it is time for me to leave.”

The restraints on Riza tightened for the tiniest second, all doing so together, cutting off her airway. Another choked breath left her, then the restraints disappeared. The shadows and the enormous eye disappeared in a flash, muting into nothingness.

“Tell him we say hello,” the boy whispered into the evening air. “And nothing else. We will be watching,” it threatened, fading out completely into silence.

Riza stumbled, spinning in place on shaky legs as she frantically searched for the sweet young boy she’d met only a short while ago. He was nowhere to be seen.

Just like his father, Selim Bradley was not as he seemed.

Rubbing the muscles of her sore neck, Riza panted for breath, eyes wide.

What just happened?

Her knees trembled as she struggled to catch her breath. Finally able to flee, she blindly walked to the road, electing not to cross but just to get away from the university campus. Riza didn’t even notice she was walking in the direction away from home. The hairs on her neck still refused to flatten down and her stomach roiled with unease.

Something trickled down her cheek gently, the smarting pain finally registering in her startled brain. Lifting a hand, she swiped at the wetness, feeling a slick liquid coat her fingers. In the lamplight above, Riza saw blood.

[regrettablewritings]

If you are so inclined. I’m in love with the way you write for one Dewey Finn. So. Perhaps letters F, M, O, and W?

Heehee~ Welcome to the cult, fledgling :3

F = Feelings (When did they know they were in love?):

Dewey knows he’s in love when he realizes he’s growing beyond himself.

He’s a pretty forward guy at first glance: He’s loud, he’s impulsive, he lives his life according to the rules of rock ‘n roll. So you wouldn’t be blamed for buying into the idea that he’s about as confident as he acts, completely forgetting the fact that Dewey is, in fact, very low on actual self-esteem deep down. He knows he’s not the tallest, he knows he’s no Adonis by any means (hell, he’s lucky if he can even be considered a Dionysus at this point), and even though he’s aware that realistically, there is no race in growing up (especially at this age), he still feels insecure about where he appears to be compared to his peers.

But you stick around anyway, which is weird to him in a sense, but also very nice because having you around means he doesn’t have to think about how crappy he feels about himself. When you’re around, he can goof about and make jokes. He can pretend like he’s going to eat the last slice of pizza, only to pop it in your mouth because he knows you’ve had a rough day and it’ll cheer you up. He has someone there to remind him that sometimes he actually needs a plan before he does a task that’ll land him flat on his ass. Hell, he even enjoys show tunes more openly because seeing you sing and dance to them makes him want to join in, too, and  --

That’s when it hits him. Well, not exactly then, but in the moments in between where he’s by himself. He generally doesn’t like these moments because for so long, they’ve just been moments where he falls into introspection (something he’s already terrible at) and winds up falling further down a rabbit hole of despair.

But after a while of dating you, these moments of introspection start to change. It starts off small, barely noticeable. Until one day, he manages to take a look at himself and not think himself into a flinch; he just thinks, “Hm. That’s . . . not a good thing about me. I should probably fix that . . .” And he does. Well, he makes the effort to. Which is certainly more than he would’ve two years ago. He has no idea where this energy has actually come from, however. Maybe he’s more confident because he’s found a purpose in life? A relatively steady job? Or --

Yup. That’s when it hits him: Maybe he was giving you the last slice because he didn’t feel comfortable being greedy like normal and he wants you to feel nurtured in some way; maybe he’s letting you help him plan things because that’s the responsible thing to do instead of just fucking bullrushing into every damn thing; maybe he’s enjoying musicals a bit more than he ever would’ve admitted because, well, there really is more to rock ‘n roll than he would normally like to admit. There’s more to himself than he would normally be able to see.

And you see that in him. Sure, you see this chubby, overexcited and brazen rock god wannabe. But you also see this insecure guy doing his best, who has the actual drive and potential to be something far greater than what even he knows -- he just needs the right push.

He’s glad you’re his push.

M = Memory (What’s their favourite memory together?):

It’s difficult for Dewey to actually choose to be quite honest. He absolutely treasures memories where he’s able to marry his two passions in life: You and music. Does he go with the first time you saw him perform with the School of Rock? The first time he heard you play chords he’d taught you? The first time you two did karaoke together?

No, actually. Because try as he might, it’s actually a lot simpler than that: Date night at Fat Sam’s Donut Hut. It was after 9 in the evening, and you two had hunkered down in a booth and were having way too much fun playing a dumb little game where one would sing a tune of a song but only using the word “donuts” until the other one guessed what it was.

It was so. Stupid. And that was probably why the both of you kept playing it (well, that, and competitiveness). He was actually quite surprised with how many of yours he was actually able to get right, considering many of them were actually pop songs and musicals specifically chosen to throw him off. He didn’t even know he knew anything from Putnam Spelling Bee! He’s not even sure why this particular memory warms him up inside at first, but he theorizes that it may have something to do with the absurdity of it all, or the authenticity of it.

And while those are certainly contributions, the reality of it is that later that evening, post-shower, he took a moment to glance at himself in the mirror. He can’t help but swear he looks . . . a little different. He’s still weighty, but it’s almost like he’s carrying differently. Like his normally godawful posture has progressed to just, well, mediocre posture. There’s some color to his cheeks that he knows isn’t there due to the hot shower. And honestly? He probably thinks this way because he actually feels good about himself for a change. Huh. Weird . . . He wonders why . . .

And that was when it clicked that he loved you.

O = Orange (What colour reminds them of their other half?):

Bright orange. If only because of a rather unfortunate hair dye incident . . . Also maybe black, but that’s only because that was the color of the wig you had to wear until you could get your hands on some dye. He tries to nickname you based on the orange color, but it turns out Orn’gy Porn’gy/Orgy Porgy just . . . He can’t get away with that.

W = Wedding (When, how, where do they propose?):

Bold of you to assume he would ever want to get married. (Okay, but seriously, I actually had fics planned surrounding some of these topics, how dare you make me have to skirt around things in this?)

Dewey actually never really put much thought into marriage for most of his life. Maybe because marriage and rock goddom generally don’t mix. Or maybe it’s because watching his parents’ failed marriage scarred him more than he would like to think or admit . . . Nah, it has to be that first bit. After all, what could be cooler than not having to settle down, being able to travel the road, bang a groupie on every continent? Settling down with in a nice, safe environment created by the both of you’s contributions of excitement and cooperation, thus giving him a sense of belonging and accomplishment the likes of which he’s secretly felt lacking for much of his life?

. . . Oh, shit, that actually does sound pretty nice if he has to think about it.

So nice, in fact, that he just blurted it out as the two of you sat on the floor of the apartment together.

“Hey . . . Do you wanna get married?”

He wants to kick himself for its shitty delivery. It sounds less like he’s asking you for your hand and more like he’s an overly curious kindergartner snooping about his teacher’s private life!

And suddenly, the normally thoughtless Dewey Finn is abuzz with everything wrong with this scene. He didn’t plan this out; he hadn’t begun the week thinking, “I’m going to propose to this beautiful fool”, much less woken up that morning thinking that. He wished he had taken a note from your book and put himself on hold to think this through. Maybe then he could’ve thought about enlisting Ned’s help and making the moment memorable. He knew fancy establishments weren’t your cup of tea, but at least going to a nice place might’ve commemorated the evening. He at least could’ve grabbed a cupcake or something from the bodega a few blocks down. But he didn’t.

And now you’re going to reject him or, at the very least, strangle him or give him the silent treatment or --

“Really?” It’s not said with the bemusement or cynicism he had expected. In fact, if anything, it sounded . . . hopeful.

Okay, credit where credit is due: Sometimes, it helps to be spontaneous.

Thanks for asking!

[sogriart-blog]

I was tagged by @unicorngender let’s do dis what’s your favourite song(s) to sing/hum? I sing along to most everything I listen to hahaha. So favorite is probably anything Oh Hellos or Folksy, Or anything from Anais Mitchell. Hadestown has some stuff that’s really fun to sing along to while I work.

what are your favourite flower/tree/plant (all 3 or whatever you have an answer to) Mmmm Camphor Trees, Lavender, and succulents. all of the plant life in my area is either palm trees or ever greens, so.....

favourite colour(s)? Honestly anything Green-Blue I adore

what do you always doodle (if you ever do)? lots of faces and plants. animals I see. Sometimes food or flowers I like. I’m starting to draw more characters from made up languages

how do you take your coffee/tea? If you don’t like those what’s your fav warm drink? as the self proclaimed tea emperor, I love tea. I especially like green tea but I’ll drink most any kind if it’s good. I prefer it plain or maybe with honey or lemon if I’m feeling sick. Chai and Early Grey I like cream and sugar in though. (if it’s early grey I’ll drink it either way)

favourite candle scent? I’m allergic to the kinds of scents/ materials most scented candles use but I’m a sucker for vanilla if I accidentally get near one.

sunrise or sunset? I like both! but if I had to choose probably sunset. Means it’s a new beginning and a new day.

what perfume do you wear if any? No perfume but I have some neat eucalyptus deoderant

what’s your go to dance move when you’re alone? I’m really shy but if you’re up at 3 am you might catch me twirling and spinning

favourite quote? I don’t have a favorite/ the ones that I do like a lot tend to lose their relevance/ emotional punch after a few years, but my recent favorite is “There's a whisper on the night-wind, there's a star agleam to guide us,And the Wild is calling, calling . . . let us go.” -Robert W. Service

favourite self care thing(s) or routine(s)? Self care: Baking cookies, making my favorite meal, reading or drawing while huddled up in a blanket Favorite Routine: Hot shower, morning stretches, cup of tea, drawing my ocs or gay stuff

fuzzy socks or house slippers?   I love slippers but lose them constantly, and socks are harder to kick off. Plus I can slide around on the floor

what colour are your eyes? uhhhhh Hazel but my mom says they change color (I don’t believe her but it does sound cool!)

what’s your favourite eye colour on others? there’s so many nice ones.... honestly I like all of them but green eyes have a very nice color to them

favourite season? why? winter, spring, summer! really any time we don’t have massive gross heat waves and when the weather’s nice an temperate!

cheek, neck or nose kisses? nose or cheek kisses? I think?

what does your happy place look like? rocks covered with moss and algae, tidal pools, patches of green and sand. Waves nearby and a forest at my back

favourite breed of dog? Anything that Boofs! personal favorites are pitties

do you ever want to be married? If so what colours would you pick for your wedding theme? mmmm maybe in the distant... distant.... distant... distant future.... probably forest aesthetic or beach or just.... teal and grassy and pretty

silk or lace? Uhhhhh. I hate the feel of silk and lace tends to get destroyed when I’m near it sooooooo ???

favourite weather? big dramatic clouds, soft breeze, maybe on the cooler side. Or a warm day but with gentle sun and a few clouds. Preferably anything that isn’t too hot. Uhhhh I’m tagging anyone that wants to do this and also @landofvinesandmonoliths

[saveme-ruinme]

Dog Names & New Friends

Time Travel AU pt. 3

Jeongguk x Reader

Work Count: 5k+

Summary: the one where Jeongguk comes up with some terrible dogs names and Min Yoongi makes an appearance

Autumn was one of your favourite seasons. You loved the way the trees changed colour, turning the spring green leaves into autumn red and orange. You loved watching the crimson leaves dance in the wind, painting the entire park red. The cooler weather was also something you enjoyed, as you never really were a fan of summer, never liking the heat that you couldn't escape from. The cold weather usually meant wearing leggings and cute knitted sweaters, and scarves that you could hide your face in when it got too cold.

Autumn also meant that Jeongguk would stop hanging around your place in shorts and tank tops, showing off the hard work he put in at the gym. It also meant not having to deal with him stopping in at your apartment to get a bottle of water when he went for a run, where'd you be subject to a sweaty and probably shirtless Jeongguk standing in your kitchen, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath while you watched his Adams apple bob from sucking down half a bottle of water in a single breath. You'd always complain that if he was going to drink all the bottle in your fridge, he should at least pay to restock them as a means to distract yourself from the sinful thoughts of licking the sweat off his bare chest, or wondering what else his mouth was good at.

For you, autumn was a break from dealing with an almost constant state of arousal whenever you were around your best friend who was much too attractive for his good, and having to lamely blame the hot weather for why your cheeks were always red.

"Can you take me with you?" Jeongguk asked, looking at you with a very hopeful expression as the two of you huddled next to each other to escape the cold breeze as you sat next to each other on a bench in the park. "I want to see the future too!"

"No," you deadpanned, not even bothering to spare him a glance as you crushed his dream, choosing to focus your attention on the group of kids playing in the fallen leaves.

"Why the fuck not?"

"Because you'll destroy the space time continuum," you explained with a shrug. "The universe seems cool with me jumping backwards and forwards through time, but it might rip apart at the seams if I take you with me. That, or you'll be the cause of the apocalypse, and do you really want that on your conscious. Do you want to be the reason the world ends?"

Jeongguk scoffed. "The world isn't going to end if you decide that going to the future by yourself is lonely and want to bring someone else with you- and by someone else I mean me."

"And how do you know? Are you a time travel expert? Have you seen this future where I take you with me and the world doesn't end?”

"Oh, didn't I tell you? I can see the future, yeah not as fun as actually going but still pretty good."

You snorted and raised your eyebrows at him. "Really? Then what was the breed and name of the dog we'll adopt in our future."

Jeongguk couldn't help but smile at your use of 'we' and 'our', becoming giddy at the thought at spending his future with you. "A golden retriever, and we called it 'Mike'."

Furrowing your eyebrows, you couldn't stop the confused expression on your face. "Wait- what? What the fuck kind of name is 'Mike' for a dog? Who in the hell calls their dog 'Mike'?"

"What do you mean? Mike is a good name," Jeongguk defended.

"No, no the fuck it isn't," you countered, chuckling at his stupidity.

"Fine," Jeongguk begrudgingly agreed. "How about… Sam?"

"Why are you trying to give our future dog human names?" you wondered aloud.

"Well I don't know! What the fuck did we name our dog?"

"I have absolutely no idea, I don't know if we get a dog, but if we did we'd get a pug and call it 'Turbo'."

Jeongguk levelled you with a hard stare. "That name is horrible."

"At least it isn't fucking 'Mike'!"

"And why a pug? They're such useless dogs! They're tiny and they're eyes bug out of their heads. At least with golden retrievers they can do things, and I can take it to the park and not worry about it spontaneously combusting from running too fast."

"Don't disrespect pugs like that, you brat!" you curled your hand into a fist, slamming it against his shoulder.

Jeongguk had the audacity to laugh, barely flinching from your jab. Irritated that you barely hurt the bastard, you punched him again, this time with more force. He let out noises of discomfort at that punch, rubbing the spot where you fist connected to his arm.

"Alright, fine! We'll get both dogs. And a husky too, for good measure."

"You're not allowed to name any of them, though," you told him, irritation subsiding to mild annoyance.

"No way! If you get to name the pug 'Turbo', I get to name the golden retriever 'Sam'."

You sighed in defeat, knowing those were fair terms to compromise on. "Yeah, I guess. But what are we gonna name the husky?"

The two of you lapsed into silence as you wracked your brain for names. It was like you forgotten every kind of dog appropriate name as you were unable to come up with anything good. You had started looking around the park that Jeongguk and yourself were currently sitting in, trying to find any kind of inspiration for a name that was suitable for a dog. Thinking of dog names was significantly easier than thinking of names for humans since there was more possibilities, but that still didn't mean that you could. You had the unfortunate trait of going blank whenever you were asked to think of things like this. You'd never understand why you weren't good under pressure.

Next to you, Jeongguk was deep in thought as he spaced out, and at first it was to try and think of a name. But then he got distracted at the thought of sharing his future with you. Cohabitation with you and three dogs made his stomach flip in excitement, as he desperately wanted to skip ahead of a few years where the two of you were in a comfortable relationship with your three dogs in a house just big enough for it. He wanted to be able to kiss you whenever he wanted, and share the same bed without some lame excuse that was most likely a lie on his part just so that he could wrap his arms around you in the middle of the night for warmth when you inevitably stole all the blankets.

He imagined waking up in the morning next to you, feeling content and loved, rolling over to kiss you awake before you would shove his face away, complaining about morning breath in that slightly husky, I'm-still-asleep voice. Jeongguk fantasized about doing mundane activities with you like grocery shopping. He'd follow you around the store, diligently pushing the shopping cart around, and occasionally sneaking snacks into it as you browsed the store with your little shopping list of things the two of you needed for the home you shared together. He craved a domestic life with you, that was comfortable, honest, and open. A relationship where the two of you could love each other without restraint, where he didn't need to hide his affection behind friendly gestures.

"How about 'Snowball’?" you asked, breaking Jeongguk out of his surprisingly non-sexual fantasies about you.

"What?" he questioned, unable to remember what you were talking about earlier.

"Snowball, the name for the husky," you reminded.

Jeongguk's face scrunched up, obviously dissatisfied at your name suggestion. "Sounds like a name for a cat."

"It can be a name for a dog too!" you defended. "It's not like you're coming up with any names either!"

There was a pause as Jeongguk panicked to think of a dog name. "Rex," he settled on, not exactly knowing where the name had come from, and sounding very unsure of himself.

"Rex?" you repeated, not seeming convinced.

"Yes, Rex," he said again, with more conviction.

You eyed him for a moment, mulling it over. It wasn't a terrible name for a dog. It was actually the most decent name Jeongguk had come up with since you started talking about dog names.

Before you could give him a reply, your fingertips had begun to tingle in a way that was all too annoyingly familiar to you. "Oh no," you groaned, inspecting your hands. "Great."

Jeongguk was confused at first at your annoyed outburst, but as he watched you inspect your hands, he had clicked almost immediately, sighing in resignation. "You're going," it was more a statement than a question.

"Unfortunately," you replied, as the tingling sensation crawled up your spine, and spread through all your limbs. "Here," you said as you passed him your bag, not wanting to cart it around with you in the future. "Take that for me."

"Make sure you have your phone," Jeongguk reminded you, watching you fade slowly before his eyes. "So that you can call me to pick you up when you get back, and take some cash with you too, just in case." He dug a few bills out of your bag, quickly shoving them in your hands while they were still somewhat solid.

You smiled at him fretting over you. It was not without purpose, however, as there had been way too much instances where you had walked for too long trying to get back to your own house, or getting hungry in other parts of your time stream, but not having any money to just drop in at a McDonalds to buy a cheeseburger or something like that. Jeongguk as well had been in more than few situations where he had run into different versions of, mostly younger versions of you, being wholly unprepared to spend more than an hour in a different point in the time stream.

"Yes mother," you said playfully, poking his side with your fading fingertips, ignoring how light your head had become, and how gravity seemed to be falling away for you.

He had barely felt your finger touch him, taking that as a sign that you were almost gone. "Have fun."

"I'll bring you with me next time," you told him, both of you noticing how unsteady your voice had become.

Rolling his eyes, knowing very well that he probably couldn't go with you anyway, after all he wouldn't want to destroy the space-time continuum and cause the apocalypse. "Don't get my hopes up like that," he spoke but it was too late as you had already disappeared from beside him.

He tried not to be too dramatic about how cold he had suddenly become with you gone, noticing how the wind had kicked up a bit, making him shiver. What the fuck was he supposed to do now? The tricky thing about time travel, he found, was that there were times when you'd be gone for hours, and there would be other times when you would disappear and be back before he had time to comprehend you leaving. So, he was really clueless about waiting for you, afraid to do anything since you could be gone for five minutes or five hours. He looked down at your bag in his lap, wondering if he should go back to your apartment and wait for the call from you to pick you up from wherever you had turned up.  

You owned his whole heart, having stolen it from him when he was young and naïve and entirely unwilling to give it back to him, but there were times when he got tired of waiting for you. It seemed like all he ever did was wait for you, not that he minded all that much since he was pathetically in love with you and would take you any way he could, however since the two of you had met in your natural point in the time stream, Jeongguk had become selfish over the time spent with you. Instead of waiting for you to show up in his life, he got to spend time with you whenever he wanted since he knew where you lived.

Waiting around for you had become slightly exhausting. Waiting for you to get back from whatever year you had travelled to. Waiting for you to stop dating that girl, and then waiting for you to get over her - though that made him sound like an asshole.

Waiting for you to realise that he was in love with you.

Maybe his hyungs were right - he shivered violently at that thought - maybe he should just confess to you. You always talked about seeing him in the future, and he guessed that if older versions of him were alright with seeing you, then he didn't destroy your friendship like he was afraid of doing. Comforting as that is, it still didn't help with actually trying to confess, as it made facing the apocalypse you always talked seem like a walk in the park. He snorted at his own joke as he looked around the park you had dragged him to.

The kids that were playing in the leaves had decided it was time to leave, and Jeongguk watched the group as they brushed themselves off before leaving the park. He thought he should probably do the same, not wanting to look like a loser sitting in the park by himself carrying a galaxy printed backpack that had cute little food badges attached to it.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, he quickly searched through his contacts, stopping at Taehyung's name and pressing call. The phone rang once, twice, three times before Taehyung picked up, sounding very happy that Jeongguk had called him on his own accord.

"Little Gukkie! What can I do for you?" Taehyung asked cheerily.

"Hyung! Are you busy?" Jeongguk questioned, slinging your bag over his shoulder and making his way over to his car.

"Nope, not at all. Jiminie went to bother Yoongi-hyung, and left me all alone. Why? Did your time travelling girlfriend jump through a wormhole into the future, leaving you behind all by yourself?" Taehyung teased.

Jeongguk was glad that Taehyung wasn't in front of him to watch his cheeks heat up from humiliation that he was exactly right. "I was going to ask if you wanted to get something to eat together but never mind," he sulked, earning a laugh from his hyung.

"Oh don't be like that! Let's go follow Jimin and watch him make a fool out himself in front of hyung," Taehyung suggested eagerly.

"Why do you care? Maybe you should find someone to date so you can stop bothering everyone else."

"Please, like you don't want to see it either," Taehyung said, and Jeongguk could hear him rolling his eyes. "And if you know someone who is single then please, introduce me to them. Until then, hurry up and come and get me."

Taehyung didn't let Jeongguk respond as he hung up on him. And once again was his hyung right, he did want to go and spy on Jimin, watching him try and fail at flirting with Yoongi. Not that it was Jimin's fault, he could charm the pants off anyone else by smiling at them, it's just that sometimes talking to Yoongi was like talking to a brick wall. A very blunt brick wall, who spoke without thinking and hurt a lot of people's feelings, or so Jeongguk had heard. Personally, he liked Yoongi's upfront nature. He liked to know where he stood with people, and Yoongi would let everyone know where they stood with him, something that Jeongguk appreciated. And it was funny watching Jimin get all flustered around Yoongi.

As Jeongguk drove to Taehyung's place, he weighed up whether asking for advice on how to ask you out on a date was worth all the teasing he'd know he'd receive. Taehyung was one of the few people he could talk to about this, but he would also never hear the end of it from him, especially if his advice worked. Although if it did work, and Taehyung did tease the two of you endlessly about it, maybe it would be worth watching you beat up the older male to make him shut up. Perhaps he'll decide after they laugh at Jimin and his relationship troubles. That seemed like a good idea.

When you were finally pulled back to earth after travelling through the time stream, the park you were sitting at looked almost the same as to when you had left. The only things that seemed to have changed is that Jeonnguk wasn't sitting next to you, kids playing in the leaves earlier weren't there anymore, and the afternoon sun was sitting quite low and shining through the trees, directly into your eyes. If it weren't for the fact that Jeongguk wasn't sitting next to you, you would have thought you had simply fallen asleep at the park and woken up at a later point in the day.

You pulled your phone out of your pocket to check the date. Companies made their cellphones so good that if you travelled to any point after the phone was made, it could tell you the date you had travelled to. Luckily for you, whatever you had on your person when you passed through the time stream came with you, which was very handy when you were eating something like an ice cream cone, as it wouldn't go to waste. The universe didn't grant you control over your ability, but at least you got to take your clothes with you. God forbid you started travelling without your clothes. You’d gladly trade off keeping your clothes for ending up in the same place in a different time.

Opening the calendar app, you were surprised to find that you had gone a week into the future. Only a week.

What the fuck was the point of that, you thought angrily. Travelling a single week into the future?! Made things easier on you, you supposed, now you wouldn't have to stumble around in a completely different year. It was only a week. And it was also getting dark very quickly. You didn't really want to be out and about in the dark, especially since you didn't belong in this time so someone already knew where you were and would not come looking for you. Figuring you had nowhere else to go, you decided to head over to Jeongguk's place, hoping someone would be there and let you stay until you left again.

With a sigh, you stood up off the bench and began to make your way to his house, thankful that you weren't the far away. It would only take half an hour for you to get there. You could always take a taxi, but you didn't want to waste money like that, and compared to Jeongguk you were incredibly inactive, so walking around like this was the only exercise you got. Not that he didn't always offer to bring you with him to the gym ("it's free for me to bring friend for eight visits, y/n, you should come with me"), but you always refused, deciding the only time you would exercise is if it was for major concern of your health, which it was currently not. You were young, just having reached your twenties, you'll be fine.

"Y/N?"

Turning automatically at the sound of your name, you were surprised to see Min Yoongi idling next to you in his car. You were also surprised he knew your name, only having met him a handful of times, and barely spoke two whole sentences to him. The most you knew about him was that he liked going to music shops, and that Jimin had the biggest crush on him. Although the last time you saw him - which was not that long ago - he had bleach blonde hair, but sitting in his car in front of you, you saw black strands peeking out from beneath his beanie.

"Yoongi, hi," you said politely.

"Uh hey, what are you doing out here?" he questioned, "weren't you out with Guk and the others?"

"Was I?" you asked, dread filling you as you realised that there was probably no one at Jeongguk's place, since you were all apparently out. Great.

"Yeah, I just came from there, how did you get here so fast?" Yoongi asked once again, glancing back to see where you had come from. You stumbled around your words, panic filling you as you scrambled for an excuse as to why you weren't where future you was. Yoongi just watched you flounder blankly, waiting for an answer. "Oh, wait, let me guess, time travel?"

You balked, shocked at how he had managed to guess correctly. "What? No!" you laughed awkwardly, trying to play it off cool. You didn't know Yoongi well enough to trust him with your secret. "I wish I could time travel, because I definitely cannot do that."

Yoongi raised his eyebrows at you, clearly not believing you. "You know I thought Jimin was kidding when he told me, but I guess not, huh?"

"Jimin told you?!" you exclaimed, furious at you secret being spilled without your knowledge. "What? When- how- why?"

Laughing at you sputtering nonsense, he leaned over and opened the passenger side door. "Get in." You eyed him warily, not feeling very happy about finding out that your 'friends' can't keep your secret. "I have some very interesting things to tell you, so if you don't get in the car, you'll never know. You can't try asking past me either, he'll never tell you."

His statement made you feel a little uneasy, especially about his comfort of talking about himself in the past for someone who had told you that he was sceptical about you being able to time travel. However, you had no other alternative, and you were incredibly curious about what he had to say, so you got in the car with him anyway. Yoongi couldn't be all bad if Jimin was pretty much in love with him, you tried to reason with yourself as you buckled your seatbelt. You decided to trust Jimin's judgement, even if he couldn't keep his mouth shut.

The smirk on Yoongi's face made your heart jump in fear. You didn't understand what had him feeling so satisfied with himself, and you really hoped this night didn't end with you getting probed by scientists.

"Stop looking at me like I'm going to kill you," Yoongi spoke up, glancing at you briefly before turning his eyes back to the road.

"Where are we going?" you asked, trying not to sound like you were terrified.

"My place," he answered simply.

"Why?" you asked again.

"To talk about some things."

You nodded in acknowledgement, nervously fidgeting with your fingers, remembering that you phone still did work so if anything seemed suspicious you could call the cops and then call Jimin to yell at him for having terrible taste in men.

"Stop thinking so much, it's honestly not as bad as you think it is," Yoongi tried to reassure.

"Then what is it?" you snarked, not liking his arrogant tone.

He rolled his eyes at you. "You can't wait for the surprise?"

"Unless that surprise is you killing me, then no."

"Fine, have it your way," he said, before pulling over on the side of the road and turning off the car.

Silence stretched between the two of you as you stared at each other, waiting for Yoongi to say whatever he intended to say. You could feel your heart pounding in your chest, not liking the sudden turn of events. You honestly weren't sure if he was going to hurt you. Jimin and Taehyung had told you about Yoongi and how he always got in trouble for fighting which led to him being expelled from college. You didn't understand why Jimin felt so strongly toward him, and sitting in his car like that you suddenly understood why Tae and Guk had dubbed him the 'scary hyung'.

Yoongi stared at you with dark piercing eyes, and you studied his face, attempting to read his mind for any malicious thoughts toward you. His black bangs fell into his eyes which had faint dark circles under them. You finally realised why Jimin had once described Yoongi as having sleepy eyes, as you stared into them you saw that they were kind of droopy, like he was half an hour away from falling asleep. That, however, didn't do anything to lessen the sharp gaze that felt like it was peering right into your soul.

"We're the same," he said after what felt like a lifetime. "You and I have the same… ability."

There was a brief moment as your brain worked overtime to comprehend his words, struggling to understand what he meant. For a moment, you truly didn't understand what he meant. You felt like he didn't know you well enough to call you the same, and that made your mind whirl chaotically as you struggled with that until you finally comprehended what he meant by ability.

You gasped in shock as you finally understood what he meant, looking at him with wide eyes, not quite sure how to feel about meeting someone with your ability. Not quite sure you believed him.

"You know, I just realised why you've been looking at me funny all night. You knew about me, but you also knew that I didn't know about you," he observed in quiet understanding. "Wow, time travel really is fucked up."

"Hang on, you're like me? You can travel through time?" you asked, finally speaking up, having gained your voice once again after having that bombshell dropped on you.

"Yup," he answered. "I've been doing it for as long as I can remember. It's also really fucking annoying, I mean we can travel through time but only at random. Can you control it?"

"No," you say dramatically, mind still reeling from this new information. "Well this one time I travelled on my own once, you know forcing myself through the time stream, but I had this really fucking bad migraine afterwards. I've never been able to stop myself from going, though."

"Yeah, me neither," Yoongi agrees. "It's really fucking annoying. There was this one time I was I was in the middle of this speech when I started to feel myself go, I hate that weird floaty feeling, and I had to just run out of the class. When I got back an hour later I failed my speech and got detention for a month. It fucking sucked."

"Is it just us? Do you know anyone else?"

Yoongi snorted. "Yeah, and we all made a fucking club dedicated to it," he said sarcastically, causing you glare at him. "Do you think I know anyone else? I didn't believe Jimin when he told me about so of-fucking-course I don't know anyone else."

"All you had to do was say so, jeez no need for the fucking sarcasm," you muttered bitterly, crossing your arms in annoyance.

"Well it was a stupid fucking question," he snapped.

"You're a stupid fucking question," you replied childishly, suddenly very annoyed at Yoongi.

"Yes, I am, and it's 'why the fuck is time travel actually so fucking useless?'"

You cracked a grin at that, agreeing wholeheartedly at it. "Mine is 'why give me a power I can't control?'" you laughed.

For the first time since you met him, Yoongi smiled at you. Not just a smirk, but a genuine smile. One that brightened up his face and made his mouth look bigger as he showed off his gums to you. You realised he had a cute smile, it made him look younger and happier, and you had the startlingly realization of the reason why Jimin liked Yoongi so much. His cute smile that showed off all his gums looked very out of place of someone who seemed perpetually tired, and rocked distressed jeans and bomber jackets like no one you've ever seen.

"Honestly, I would rather be able to willingly turn into a fucking squirrel than randomly hop through time," Yoongi told you, making you laugh at the mental image of a tiny Yoongi with a bushy squirrel tail and huge buck teeth.

Soon, the two of you were laughing together in his car, naming the most ridiculous things you could think of to have other than your time travelling ability. You could've sat there for hours and talked about time travel with Yoongi if it wasn't for the tingling feeling that crawled up your spine.

"Really?" you say to yourself. "First, I only go a week into the future, and now I can't even stay for more than an hour?"

"You going?"

You sighed, checking to make sure you had your phone as it felt like gravity had begun to fall away from you. "Yeah, unfortunately."

"You should probably get out of the car then, otherwise you'll fall onto the ground and hurt yourself on the other side," Yoongi warned.

"I wanted to keep talking to you, though," you admit. "It's nice to talk about this to someone that understands!"

"Calm down kid, you already know in this time so it's just me playing catch up. All you have to do is wait a week."

"Can't I talk to you about it before then?"

"I won't believe you," Yoongi shrugged. "Now get out of the car, or else you'll hurt yourself."

Yoongi reached across you, opening the car door for you knowing that by now you'll have lost feeling in most of your body. He was right too, as he watched you clumsily stumble out of his car, barely managing not to trip over. Yoongi rolled his eyes at your incoordination, even if he did understand exactly what it felt like.

"I'll see you later, or I guess you'll see me later" he said, amused at his own joke.

Not having the mental capability to say anything back since apparently your brain had floated away already, you opted for waving at him, eyes glazing over as your slipped from reality and into the time stream, making your way back to where you belonged.

Yoongi watched you disappear, not having actually witnessed anyone time travel before. It was a new experience for him, being a spectator, and he didn't even blink in fear of missing it. He studied how you faded out of existence, watching how your body lost its solidarity, fading to translucent before disappearing completely.

That was fucking weird, he thought to himself as he started up his car. He decided that tomorrow he was going to force Jimin to take him to you, wanting to talk to you more about it all. He had a million questions, probably the same ones you've been itching to ask him for a week. Yoongi was strangely excited at the thought, never having met anyone like himself. And he supposed Jimin would probably get a kick out of it, having two time travelling friends.

[roamingmom]

Last Easter we visited Phuket, Thailand. Phuket is actually pronounced “poo-KET”, the h is silent. Which leaves it sounding rather unfortunate. However, I can assure you it is not!

As it was my first time in Asia – I had loads of preconceived conceptions and quite a few expectations. I had heard stories about crazy ping-pong shows, lady boys, full moon parties and cheap off the grid beach living- channel Leo DiCaprio in “The Beach”.

Yeah, so that was totally not my trip to Thailand or like any of my experiences in Phuket.

Our resort was on the quiet west end of the Island (far away from the nightlife of Patong Beach) at The Wesin. We didn’t attend any full moon parties and I’m pretty sure I didn’t see even one lady boy. At least not one who was advertising.

Thailand – The Land of Smiles

The Thai people are deserving of their title: “The Land of Smiles” as they are generally courteous and kind.

In fact, I can’t remember one unpleasant or rude person while there. Except on arrival when clearing customs. The line up to clear was long and moved painfully slow.

Of course there were language frustrations as many of the locals in Phuket do not speak great English. However, they always greet you with a slight bow and a warm smile. The rest just seems to work itself out especially when it comes to settling on a price. They will often write the price down to be clear. You can then choose if you wish to barter.

Our taxi driver’s wife and little girl. They almost always came along for the ride.

  Phuket, Thailand

Phuket is the largest Thai Island and is located in the south of Thailand on the Andaman Sea. A magnet for beach lovers and divers. It is also a great base for exploring smaller out Islands and Inlets such as: Phi Phi, Krabi and Phang Nga Bay.

The interior of the Island is filled with lush mountainous jungle which is home to monkeys, snakes and mosquitoes. Dengue Fever and Malaria are prevalent in the interior of Thailand. Care should be taken if you plan on doing any jungle trekking.

Thailand was one of the first of the Asian countries to hop on the tourist bandwagon. Unfortunately this is prevalent in many areas in and around Phuket. Unless you’re staying at a swank resort – you will not find unspoiled tranquil beaches. That said: there are loads of beautiful locations and cool experiences to be had. You just have to share or stand inline.

Elephants

If you’ve always dreamed of riding an elephant in Thailand then you might want to revisit your bucket list. The current ethically friendly way to interact with these big beauties is to bathe them. There are several Elephant Sanctuaries in Phuket where you can have loads of interaction. Just make sure you bring your bathing suit!

  A bit of a climb

Yes, I’m afraid she might step on my toes!

Declan and Lola

Lola, 45 year old retiree

Lola, a 45 year old retired Asian elephant

This was a definite highlight for my 9-year-old. Above is Lola, a 45-year-old retired Asian Elephant. Note that she does not have tusks and is smaller than her African cousins. Declan did have a climb on her but she didn’t seem to mind as it didn’t really disrupt her bath.

Big Buddha

You can’ miss this dude as he’s 45 metres tall and sits atop a massive hill. The view from Big Buddha offers sweeping visits of Phuket.

The temple is a peaceful place with Dharma music playing melodically in the background. There are sarongs available for free (donation) to cover your knees and shoulders should you need them. Big Buddha is an active place of prayer so your visit should be as silent as possible.

  Big Buddha Phuket, Thailand

Monks praying inside Big Buddha

  Snake Show

As mentioned there are lots of dangerous and poisonous snakes in Thailand. A safe place to see these critters is in a controlled environment like a snake show. What qualifications does this guy have? Can’t say. But he’s crazy enough to play with King Cobras and the rest of this slithering aggressive bunch. Was cool to see…I guess. But really not my fave way to spend my time.

Nuts.

The start of the crazy

  Phuket Town & Markets

Phuket Town is easy to navigate. It consists of about 5 main streets, some smaller streets (“sois”), and a walking street called Thalang Road. Many of the Sino-Colonial mansions (from nearly a century ago) when Phuket was a booming tin mining town are now being refurbished. Stylish coffee shops and hip restaurants are also beginning to line the store fronts.

There are many markets in around Phuket. We went to a night market to take advantage of the cooler temperatures. You could get everything there from a knock off designer bag to a bag of edible insects.

  Delicious Fruit

Fried Insects anyone?

Lots of People

Night Market

Grilled meat

  Phang Nga Bay

From Phuket you have to get out on the water to see the smaller outer Islands.  There are many way to do this: high-speed boats, ferries, long tails, big tourist boats and private charters. We did the latter and it was worth every penny.

We didn’t book until we were in Phuket as we wanted to see what the winds would be like. Being experienced boaters we could tell that many of the southern Islands were exposed to some big bodies of water.. We found a great and easy company to deal with called Coralseekers. The boat was perfect and our Thai crew were outstanding.

On a near glass calm day we decided to head north to the gorgeous emerald waters of Phang Nga Bay. The drawback of Phang Bay is the emerald coloured water is a result of the limestone bottom. Thus you don’t get the clear blue Caribbean waters, like in the south (near Phi Phi),  and you can’t see the bottom. However, you get dramatic limestone karst shooting up from the water. The result is some beautiful boating water with stunning views.

The vistas of Phang Nga Bay were made famous by “The Man with The Golden Gun”, and Koh Tapu, “Nail Island” is referred to as James Bond Island. Koh Tapu is heaving with tourists. Take your pic and get out! There is much more to see and do.

  Phang Nga Bay

Phang Nga Bay

Phang Nga Bay

James Bond Island, Koh Tapu

  Floating Sea Gypsy Village – Koh Panyi

Further north from Koh Tapu there is the floating village on Koh Panyi. There are about 1500 people who live here. It’s a Muslim village so cover yourself appropriately. No alcohol is permitted.

  Koh Panyi, Floating Sea Gypsy Village

Longs boats in Phang Nga Bay

Floating Sea Gypsy Village

  Kayaking

Heading  back to Phuket Harbour we moored at a couple of quiet inlets so we could play in the water. Phang Nga bay has many Hongs, “rooms” which you can kayak through when the tide is right. There are several tour companies that serve the caves. Our charter came with kayaks so we self explored with our crew.

  Kayaking near the Hongs with our Captain.

Playing Phang Nga Bay

  Wat Chalong

Wats are Buddhist Temples. Most Thai people are Buddhist so it goes without saying….there are lots of Temples. Most are quite beautiful. My favourite was Wat Chalong.

Temple

inside

Wat Chalong

  Food

I happen to love Thai food but I appreciate not everyone does i.e. my husband.

However the fresh seafood is delicious, the local fruit (coconut, mango, papaya, dragon fruit) is juicy and the rice is plentiful so even the picky eaters are covered.

The base of most Thai food is: coconut milk, chilies, lime, shallots/garlic, and fresh herbs (lemon grass, coriander, etc.).

If you are feeling adventurous make sure to head to one of the local markets to try out the food stalls. Don’t miss the one with the fried insects!

  Tiger, a local brew

Not sure. But it was good.

Fresh coconut cocktails

Fresh Pad Thai in an egg blanket

curried crab

Thai Massage

Yes! Absolutely. But that is another post all together.

Relax

So after sparking for a nice resort. We wanted to make sure we took some time to relax and enjoy it. The weather in April was perfect. Balmy days with hardly any rain. A bit humid but just enough to make your skin feel great. Our resort had loads of activities from Yoga to Muay Thai Boxing which we took advantage of.  We also took many opportunities to sit poolside with a coconut cocktail chatting with other travellers from around the world.

  And more beautiful sunsets

More Coconut cocktails

Muay Thai wars

Ohmmmmmmm

watching the sunset over Phuket with my biggest dude

Other Tips:

Getting Around

Taxis and tuk-tuks are everywhere.  I don’t recommend renting a moped unless you want to spend time in a Thai hospital. Make sure you secure a price per person before taking a taxi.

We found a guy on the first day and negotiated a per hour rate with him. Mr. Pong then took us where we wanted to go and did most of our negotiating when necessary. We did take a tuk-tuk once as it seemed like the thing to do.

Safety:

There are some dodgy areas in Phuket. Patong Beach and the Bangla Road offer a wild party scene. We took a walk in daylight with the kids (not kid friendly at night). It was littered with bars, restaurants, night clubs and tattoo parlours. At night, this is where you could catch a ping-pong show or other sex show and probably see a pretty lady boy or two.

  Some keepsakes for sale along the Bangla Road

The infamous Bangla Road in daylight

The tacky Patong Beach sign

It’s safe to imagine that trouble could easily find you in these areas if you let your guard down. However, if you play it smart and let common sense prevail you should do just fine anywhere in Phuket. Remember, if it seems to be good true, it’s a scam. Walk away. Even if the person is smiling.

Travel safe.

Love,

Kate

x

Happy Days in Phang Nga Bay

Phuket – Better Than the Name Suggests Last Easter we visited Phuket, Thailand. Phuket is actually pronounced "poo-KET", the h is silent. Which leaves it sounding rather unfortunate.