#also I agree with kit. rules around clothes are weird

[echo-goes-mmm]

Moonflower #5

Masterpost

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Warnings: sexism, dehumanization, fantasy illness

Mistress had braided her hair and put it in a bun, which was quite nice on her. She also added some red paint on her lips and gold dust on her eyelids. Kit wasn’t too sure about that.

He looked away before she caught him staring, but:

“What do you think?” she turned her head a bit, showing off her weaving.

“Pretty,” he said. She hummed a bit, looking into the mirror on her vanity. 

“I suppose you couldn’t say it if it weren’t true. What time is it?”

“Nine fifty-two am.” She looked at her watch.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that.” She picked out a pair of black shoes from her closet. Flat ones, not one of the pairs of tall shoes, and Kit realized he was a bit taller than her. Huh. He didn’t feel like he was, and he certainly wasn’t yesterday.

Maybe she was wearing tall shoes then.

They stepped out of Iris’s rooms. 

“Everything alright, your majesty?” asked Sir Brennan, as polite as could be.

“Of course. Ms. Mira will be here in a few minutes; we’ll be in Kit’s rooms.”

“Understood, your grace.”

It seemed a bit silly to move across the hall for very little reason, but Kit supposed Mistress valued her privacy.

Ms. Mira was right on time, at one minute past ten. She was tall, and blond, with brown stern eyes and a strong jaw. 

“Good morning, your grace.” Her voice was low in pitch and volume.

He wasn’t sure how to feel about her.

“Hello, Mira. How are you? And how’s your sister?”

“I’m wonderful, darling, and Mina is obnoxious as usual. Something about a muse, she won’t shut up about it.” Mira rolled her eyes, but the corners of her mouth were turned upwards.

“And who are you?” Mira turned on him. “Are you my model for today?”

“He is,” said Mistress.

Mira stepped closer. She cupped his face, a thumb on his chin and two fingers under his jaw. He willed himself not to flinch, but the grip was firm, not painful.

She tilted his face back and forth, her eyes studying him. He averted his eyes, trying to be good, but she tsked.

“Look at me,” she said.

He met her gaze, the hair on the back of his neck standing up.

“Hmm. Fascinating.” She let go of him, and pulled out a notebook and pencil from her pocket.

“Do you always look so pale?”

“No ma’am.”

“He’s ill,” explained Iris, “recovering from poisoning.”

“I see.” Kit opened his mouth to explain, but Mira held up a finger. “No, no,” she said. “Don’t tell me. I’ll have to make a new wardrobe for you again anyway.”

She scribbled into her book. “Might as well work with what we have. Have you ever had your measurements taken before?”

Kit shook his head.

“I didn’t think so. Right then. First things first, name?”

He tensed. The audacious rudeness of asking for it so blatantly made his nerves buzz. “You may call me Kit.”

“Mhm. Height?” Kit shrugged. She raised a brow, and shut her book with a snap. “I guess I’ll have to start from the beginning.”

Mira pulled out a length of.. not quite rope but something similar.

“Stand up straight, shoulders back. No, don’t puff out your chest- here.” She maneuvered him like a doll, and he stood as still as possible.

Mira bent by his foot and slowly straightened, holding the measuring tool to him. She squinted at the number. “Adequate,” she muttered, and Kit didn’t think she was actually talking to anyone but herself.

Mira stepped back a bit, looking him up and down. “Despite the color, your skin is a shockingly good texture and even tone,” she jotted it down. “I’m sure once you’re well, we could do some lovely things with color. Are you wearing makeup?” 

“I don’t know what that is.”

“Like this, Kit,” Mistress gestured to her face. “You saw me put it on.”

“Oh. No, then.”

“Are you sure?” asked Mira. 

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Hmph. And what do you do day-to-day?”

“He’ll be with me,” interrupted Iris, “as… a companion.”

“So nothing athletic? Good. I assume we’re not talking servant-wear because otherwise I wouldn’t be here,” she chuckled a bit, mostly to herself.

Mira started measuring around his head, then his neck, from shoulder-to-shoulder; it went on. She constantly adjusted his posture- “no slouching, my dear”- but she was gentle in her firmness.

“I’m thinking subtlety, less look-at-me and more tasteful I-belong-here. Thoughts?”

Iris smiled, “Perfect.” 

Kit agreed with her. The less flashy the better. 

“Modest, or do we want to show off a little skin?” Mira turned to him, expecting an answer.

“Modest, please. But, um, I don’t mind skirts above my knees.”

Mira gave him a blank stare. “Skirts?” 

Kit had the sinking feeling that he’d done something wrong. 

“Kit,” frowned Iris, “We can’t have you wearing skirts or dresses. Men don’t do that here.”

“I- I didn’t know.”

“Fascinating, but no matter,” said Mira, dismissive. “We can get experimental another time. Do you know your shoe size?”

Kit shifted. “Do I need shoes?” They looked uncomfortable and rigid. Like they would bite into him every time he kneeled.

Mira opened her mouth, her brow furrowed, but Iris intercepted her objection.

“I suppose not,” she said, “but at least wear socks.”

“Yes, Mistress.” Mira wrote something in her notebook, underlining it twice.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” said Mira, suddenly more polite, “What do fae normally wear?”

“Um, there’s not... rules. Some don’t wear clothes at all.”

“Incredible. And you like skirts?”

“They’re easy to sew when I wanted something new. I did have some pants and shirts. It’s the gentry that wear complicated things like lace or silver thread.”

“Amazing. Well, I’ll make some mock-ups for formal wear and send you some altered clothes I already have on hand.”

Mistress Iris and Mira said their goodbyes, and she was gone.

“I think she likes you,” said Iris. 

___________________

Just as Mistress predicted, Chef Christine did want to talk to him. The walk to the kitchen was somewhat familiar, and he took comfort in the fact that he might be able to actually find his way around at some point.

The kitchen wasn’t particularly busy, a few people cleaning and prepping for lunch.

“Ah, there you are!” A woman with a white coat that said ‘Executive Chef Christine’ on the breast came towards them.

“You must be Kit,” she smiled. “How was breakfast?” 

“Good,” he said, mildly bewildered. Too many people were asking for his opinion today.

“Wonderful. Let’s talk.” Chirstine led them further into the large kitchen, and Kit suddenly felt a bit cold despite the ovens and lit fires. He shrugged it off. There might be a draft somewhere.

Christine brought them to a small table crammed into the corner, pulling out a chair for Mistress.

Kit sat heavily, his legs a bit tired. It must have been the long walk.

The table had a huge binder on it, full of papers. Christine flipped through the pages until she landed on ‘KIT’.

“So I have ‘no iron or steel’ and ‘no salt’, but I don’t have your preferences.” Christine picked up her pencil. “Anything you don’t eat?”

“Songbirds.” Christine’s eyes widened. Kit flushed a bit. “I, uh, feel bad eating them. They just sing so nice.”

“Oh, um, okay. Anything else?”

“Uh, deer? I have, I mean, had, a friend who's a deer-man so it feels wrong to hunt them. And snakes, for a similar reason.” Christine stared at him, and he fidgeted. “Sorry.”

“No, no, I’m just surprised! We don’t cook any of those animals anyway.” She smiled, and Kit felt a little better about being so obviously soft-hearted.

“Although I’m a bit curious,” said Iris, “what did you hunt before? No deer seems a bit restrictive.”

Kit looked down at his hands. They were shaking, and his head felt a bit light. 

“Um, pheasant. Turkey. Fish. Boar, if I could get it.”

“How did you manage hunting boar?” asked Christine.

“It’s easier if you have a partner, but a spear works fine if you can drop from above. Just aim for the neck.”

Christine glanced at Iris. “Okay, well, is there anything else you want to tell me? Likes, dislikes?”

A headache was forming between his eyes, the light of the kitchen becoming harsh.

“I could do with less honey… it’s like… drinking wine…” 

“Kit, are you alright?”

“I’m fi-” his throat closed up, and he wheezed, choking on the lie. It hurt, and he grabbed his throat.

Through his blurry vision, he could see the pots and pans on the counters, hanging from the ceiling. All gray steel.

Steel cake pans, cast iron pots, knives, muffin tins. All steel or iron. He needed to get out.

He tried to get up, but his legs fell out from under him.

“Kit!” Iris grabbed him by the arm, and he slumped towards the floor.

“What is it? What’s wrong?!” said Christine, and her voice was jarringly loud.

“I- I don’t know!” Iris shook him, and he tried to tell her that it hurt, but he couldn’t.

“Kit, what’s happening?!” 

The room wouldn’t stop spinning, and there were so many people talking now, all the other cooks staring staring staring.

“Dizzy,” he slurred, which was not what he meant to say.

“Get him some water,” Iris barked at Christine. “Stay with me,” she said, and where else would he be going?

“Here,” Christine handed Iris the glass, and she held it to his lips. He shook his head the best he could. He’d choke on it; his tongue was heavy and clumsy in his mouth.

“Oh my god,” said Iris as fuzzy black spots drifted across his vision. “It’s the metal! Help me get him out!”

Kit stumbled as they pushed and pulled him out of the kitchen and into the dining room.

“I’m so sorry,” said Iris, letting him lie down and pant on the cool wood. “I should have known.”

“Don’ wor’ ‘bout it,” he mumbled. Kit closed his eyes. He could feel and hear Iris sit down on the floor next to him.

“Is it always this bad?” she asked. “Every time?”

“Nooo. ‘M just really sick. Won’t… be so… hard ‘n stuff,” he waved a hand, “soon.”

“Very reassuring, thanks,” said Mistress, dry as a bone. 

Kit smiled a bit into the wood. It made his face hurt, so he dropped it.

It was a half hour later when he could finally push himself off the floor. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” said Iris, helping him up. “It’s my fault. I knew you were ill. Sunlight and fresh air helps, right?”

“Uh huh.”

“Then I’ll show you the gardens.”

“Gardens?”

“Mhm. Come on.”

taglist: @paintedpigeon1

[paradiseismine]

Finn and his characters tying you up - Headcanons

Pairing: Finn Wolfhard + Finnverse characters x f!reader

Love note from Nina: Yes, all of Finn’s characters would tie their partner up. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.

Summary: Headcanons for Finn Wolfhard and his characters, on how each one of them would tie you up sexually.

Warnings: a bit of kinky stuff, but no smut. kinda fluffy I guess (?)

Finn Wolfhard (himself)

How did he bring it up the first time?

Finn said he needed to talk. You got curious and even a bit anxious, he seemed to want to keep a very serious tone to the conversation. His face was absolutely flushed as he grabbed your hands and, looking into your eyes, said:

- Babe, I want you to know that I love you and respect you very much, ok? It’s been such a joy and a privilege to have you in my life… To get to call you mine, to be a part of your life, to kiss you, to make love to you, all of it. It’s just that… I’d like our intimacy to be a bit more, uhm, intense, you know?

- I love you too, babe. You’re my everything. But I don’t think I understand… What do you mean by that? - you asked, fondly. Finn scratched the back of his neck, apprehensive.

- Could we… Maybe… I mean, could I tie you up sometime? Just the hands, if you’re ok with it… - his face was really flushed as he said it.

- No problem, my love - you agreed. - I trust you 100%, you know that. I’m glad you could trust me with your desires. Next time we do it, you can tie me up, ok?

Finn smiled, relieved. He feared being misunderstood, or taken as a creep. Little did he know, now you were dying to be tied up by him.

What does he use to tie you up?

Some fancy “tying bdsm kit” he made his assistant buy while he was out filming, so no one but you would ever know about this side of him without signing an NDA. It’s apparently made out of some special fabric-like material that doesn’t bruise your skin and is very comfortable. Being a celebrity, Finn’s not only afraid of accidentally hurting you, but also of people seeing any sort of scrape or bruise on your body when you go out in public. What if they think he’s violent with you? Well, he only is when you ask him to be.

How/where does he tie you up?

With his busy schedule, the first places you get to be tied up in are hotel rooms, as you guys would meet in between his shootings and band gigs. He ties your hands gently at first, but as you get comfortable, he begins tying your ankles too. Seeing you all tied up feels so private, so intimate… He loves it, and so do you.

Boris Pavlikovsky

How did he bring it up the first time?

Boris was always into “weird” stuff. He liked to drink while fucking you from behind, he’d ask you to spit on his body (just to see what it felt like) and stuff like that. When you two were getting it on and he found something that could be used to tie you up, you pretty much knew what he had in mind. He looked at you in an inquiring way, and all you had to do was nod and put out your wrists for him.

What does he use to tie you up?

He uses pretty much anything he can find at the moment. You’ve been tied up with dish cloths, robe belts, shoe laces and even a measuring tape. If it can be tied around your wrists and you don’t oppose to it, you’re getting tied up with it.

How/where does he tie you up?

Anywhere that tickles his fancy. He’d tie you up in the bedroom, in the kitchen, even in the shower. He keeps the knots simple, but firm. He only ties you hands, though: your legs need to be all spread out for him.

Mike Wheeler

How did he bring it up the first time?

He took you to the basement for the usual make out session - at least that was what it seemed. After some heated kisses, he held your face, making you look into his eyes.

- Do you trust me? - Mike said, gently caressing your cheek, his eyes always as dreamy as ever.

- Of course, angel - you responded, smiling.

- Tell me if you get uncomfortable at any moment, ok?

You simply looked at his hands doing the work. Ugh, he’s so hot.

What does he use to tie you up?

A belt. Specifically, he likes to take off the belt he’s using beforehand and tie you up with it. There’s something about undressing you, then undressing himself and tying you up with his own belt that gets him extra hard.

How/where does he tie you up?

He simply ties your wrists together. You don’t resist in the slightest, of course, completely taken by his dominant energy. He likes to have that kinkier type of sex in the basement, where you guys can make some more noise without getting caught/heard by anyone else in the house.

Miles Fairchild

How does he bring it up the first time?

Very early into the relationship, actually after your first kiss, Miles was already calling you “mine”. And being “his”, you knew what kind of stuff he liked: the freakiest possible. He started tying you up within your first month together, and as time went on, it got more and more sophisticated. You two have a safe word, so if you don’t like something, you can say the word and he’ll stop immediately to check on his precious doll.

What does he use to tie you up?

A rope. The same kind that could be used to tame the horses in the manor’s stable. He finds it animalistic and sexy, like you’re a wild creature he has to tame and take care of - that’s kind of how you feel, too.

How/where does he tie you up?

Miles had read an awful lot about shibari - he has literal books on the subject. Expect to be in his room, tied up in some crazy positions, with very elaborate knots concocted by him. There will be ropes all over your body - if not actual ropes, warm ropes of his cum.

- Slutty princess of mine, how would you like to be all tied up and hanging from the ceiling? - he asked, his eyes darker than ever. - You’d look so pretty like that, like my own little puppet sex doll…

Trevor Spengler

How did he bring it up the first time?

You two were making out, you know, as you usually do. Trev stopped kind of abruptly, and you could tell he had something else in his mind.

- Babe… - he started, his voice raspy with lust. - There’s… There’s something I’ve always wanted to try, I don’t know if you’d be into it, and it’s totally fine if you’re not, but I-

- Trevor - you interrupted, reassuring him with a gentle caress and a loving smile - It’s ok. What is it that you want to try?

- I, uh… Can I tie you up? You know, as like a sex thing?

- Sure - you chuckled. - I think I’m gonna like that too, love.

What does he use to tie you up?

A silky tie. He’s afraid anything rougher would irritate his princess’ delicate skin.

How/where does he tie you up?

Trevor is a sucker for car sex, and loves tying you up in the Ectomobile. He’d usually tie your hands up and ask you to suck his dick with your hands tied. You look so submissive doing that, it drives him crazy - specially when you grab his dick with your tied hands.

Ziggy Katz

How did he bring it up the first time?

He knew he’d feel embarrassed: that was a given. He had finally gotten a pretty girlfriend and didn’t want to scare her off, of course. After a lot of pining and reconsideration, he simply blurted it out while you two were making out on his bed after school.

- Would you let me, like, tie you up? I mean, it would be Tera hot to have you all tied up to the bed frame while we do it, you know?

- Sure - you laughed. - How do you wanna do it?

What does he use to tie you up?

Bedsheets. It had to be something that doesn’t look like it’s gonna be used for sex, ‘cause his lazy ass will totally forget to hide it afterwards, so if it’s just the bedsheets, his mom won’t be suspicious.

Where/how does he tie you up?

He makes sure you can’t “escape”, making firm knots and tying your hands above your head onto the bed frame. Ziggy secretly loves it when you struggle to free yourself and try to touch him, because then he gets to hold you in place and feels even more dominant.

[builder051]

some things never change

Chasing ghosts

Warnings for mentions of alcohol/drug use and SA

__________________

James wakes in the LaZBoy in the corner lf the living room, his head barely supported by the throw pillow jammed between the chair's arm and cushioned back. Light streams through the cheap blinds. James wonders what time it is. Then, vaguely, what day it its.

He rubs his eyes, which feel full of the haze of leftover burning smoke. His mouth tastes like smoke, too. Sort of like tobacco. A little like weed. He's evidentially been partying, even though that's not typically his thing. At least, not anymore.

James stretches and punches in the chair's footrest with his heels. It makes a popping sound, and that arouses a gran from the sofa across the rom.

"God, you're fucking loud," a small, hoarse voice complains.

"Tash?" James squints to distinguish her mop of red hair from the mound of quilts and afghans. There's a trash bin on ghe floor near what would appear to be Tasha's head. James assumes she's been partying too. Maybe she's the reason he's been partying in the first place.

"Hmph," the pile of blankets replies. James takes it as an affirmative.

"Ok." James pushes to his feet. Dizziness threatens to send him reeling for a moment, but he manages to shuffle into the kitchen and pour water into the coffeepot before his stomach bottoms out and he retches into the sink.

James's mouth and nose burn with bile, and he stifles a hacking cough.

"You ok?" Someone asks from behind James's shoulder.

James tries to keep his natural fight or flight response at bay whilst also stopping another dry retch before it finds its way into his throat. "Huh?" he says quickly. "I-- I'm--"

"Buck," Steve murmurs apologetically. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok," James chokes. He swallows hard and forces a smile.

Steve looks at him a little doubtfully. Then furrows his brows in an expression of real concern.

"What happened last night?" he asks in a low voice.

"I'm..." James swallows again, then turns back to the sink and spits. "Still trying to figure that out."

"You came home at two-thirty," Steve offers. "If that helps."

James shrugs. "My guess is that the supposed knight in shining armor wound up getting... pretty busted up."

"You're not all beat up, though," Steve says. "And you weren't that out of it. James is sure he's giving the mildest report humanly possible.

"I know I was high," James immediately admits, putting up his hands in honest innocence. "On what, I have practically no idea."

Regular cigarettes and pot can usually blur the edges for him a little, but it takes something heavier to drop him on his ass. Prescription grade, at least. Though he doesn't explicitly tell Steve that.

"Well," Steve says, glancing toward the living room to see Tasha's current grade of consciousness. "If you were high, she was fucking blitzed." Steve pauses. "And I don't know if it's, like, a thing, or something. I've never partied like that, but--"

"Just spit it out," James says with a sigh, taking the towel from the handle of the dishwasher to wipe his face.

"She didn't have any pants." Steve looks fairly mortified. "Like, you had her all covered with your jacket, like a dress, and all..." He trails off.

That partially explains why there are so many blankets on the sofa. Also why there are no sounds of the laundry machines tumbling all traces of last night out of Tasha's scant clothes.

"Meh." James shrugs. He puts the towel back. "Happens sometimes. Especially if there's something like... an unplanned interruption."

Steve takes a deep breath. "Wow." Then, "If you knew it was, well, that kind of party, why'd you let her go?"

"No question of letting her," James says, suddenly exhausted. "She's 18. She can make her own decisions."

"But, alcohol?" Steve ask. "Drugs? Guys?"

"She doesn't like guys," James says quickly, and with a snarky smile.

"But she was, obviously, well, you know--"

"Transactional," James says. "At least that's probably how it started." He looks into the living room to see if Tasha has stirred any more, which she hasn't. Drunken wakings are like that-- coming and going a bit before one knows what's really real. He hopes that's where Tasha is right now.

James glances at Steve, who still has the same curious look. "Do I really have to spell it out for you?"y

"No," Steve says, "But--?"

"Well, share your body and I'll share my drugs is one thing." It still brings a disgusted look to James's face. "But when you go in there to get her and she's naked and trying to break her own thumb to escape the handcuffs and the second guy's dropping his pants to take his turn..." James squeezes his eyes shut. He feels sick all over again, though he's already emptied the contents of his stomach.

"You want to take her in?" Steve suggests, his eyes wide. "Do a kit or something?"

"You can ask her when she gets up," James says doubtfully. "But if she's behaving anything like her regular self, she's gonna say she agreed to the first guy, and all he's guilty of is being rough. I'm pretty sure I punched the second guy out before he got on her.

"That's just..." Steve pauses..."Nuts. That you know this. That you aren't freaking out about this."

"Yeah, well, I learned pretty quickly that there better be specific relevant details when I first tried taking her to the ER after she turned 18. Hadn't moved out of the home yet, but was still trying to party like a college singleton."

"How'd you... take that?" Steve finally asks.

"Went with her when I could. Surveilled from a distance when she wouldn't let me. Only took her to the ER once after a rough one, and I found out real quick that statutory didn't apply anymore. Of course she agreed she'd consented, and I was the one who looked like a fool."

"What're you doing?" a miserable voice comes from the vicinity of the living room. "Are you talking about me?"

"Shit," James mutters. He wonders if she heard him talking about last night. He hopes not, lest she think he's broken some kind of unspoken sibling confidentiality rule of which they have yet to factor Steve into as something between boyfriend and brother-in-law. “Morning, Tash,” he says, giving Steve a glare that’s clearly meant to say their previous conversation is strictly under wraps.

“Hi.” Tasha slowly gets to her feet from her couch bed, still wearing the bottom blanket as a sort of toga dress over James’s backward hoodie. She stumbles a little, and James practically runs to keep her from falling, even though he’s not completely steady himself.

“Hey,” Tasha groans, grasping James’s arm as he pulls her into a hug. “I feel gross.” She pulls away, holding her hand an inch or so in front of her mouth.

“Yeah, I’m not all sunshine and daisies myself,” James admits.

“What were you rolling on?” Tasha asks skeptically. “Tylenol?”

“Tash, be serious, please.” James wants to roll his eyes, but he doesn’t want to exacerbate his current headache.

“Oxy?” Tasha tries again.

“Hey,” Steve snaps, suddenly up with the program.

“Don’t worry about it,” James tells him. “My privacy really isn’t the issue here.”

“So you were finally giving in to your cravings.” Tasha touches her tongue to her upper lip.

“So maybe I was.” James does his best not to let anger creep into his voice. He goes with cold, hard honesty instead. “I actually can’t remember what the fuck I took last night. Did. Drank.” James runs his hand through his hair.

“The sink says Guinness,” Steve supplies. “And your clothes say weed.”

James nods. It’s a fair enough assessment. He’s pretty sure pills were involved as well, lest it not be his type of party. The oxy makes sense. He probably rolled a little ecstasy with it, as he thinks he recalls lying on the couch in the house for some unknown period of time before reality set back in and he had to find Tasha.

Lying on the couch. That’s what Tasha ought to be doing right now. More drugs than what piped through James have probably hit her miniscule system. The fact that shey’s up, no matter how unsteady, seems to be a feat to be reckoned with.

“And what’re you on?” James asks, though he knows he’s unlikely to get an answer. At least an honest one.

“Same as you.” Tasha shrugs. “Maybe a little more. Maybe a little less.” She nudges the not exactly empty trash bin beside the couch with her foot. There isn’t much in it substance-wise, but the yellow bile at the bottom appears to be streaked with blood.

Broken capillaries at the back of the throat aren’t necessarily uncommon, James reminds himself, but the whole scene is a little unsettling. Sort of like the fact that she’s still wearing her temporary coat-and-blanket dress, making no move toward increased modesty. It’s as if the partying of the previous night has, for both of them, brought on exhaustion and an expulsion of cold, hard honesty. Something of the type James is more likely to spill; something mature that implies she’s out-aged the fun of the previous night.

It’s weird for Tasha, acting like the miniature grown-up that James knows she isn’t. But then he thinks back to the way he found her last night, and how he’s told her story to Steve without her express permission. Guilt fills James’s stomach, and he doesn’t feel beyond vomiting again. He just hopes Steve does have the sense not to let her know what he knows.

“Do you want to go to bed?” James asks Tasha, gesturing down the hall. “I don’t know what time it is, but it seems as good a time as any to crash.”

“Hm.” Tasha looks at him skeptically.

“I’ll get you some Tylenol. Gatorade, even.”

Tasha gives him a long, hard look that turns her skepticism into something else. James can nearly swear he sees tears at the corners of her eyes, but when he blinks, they’re gone.

“Can I bunk with you?” Tasha’s obvious attempt not to look teary gives her away, but now she seems congested as fuck, wiping her nose on the sleeve of James’s jacket.

“Yeah,” James replies, pulling two bottles of sports drink from the fridge, then putting his arm around Tasha. “Of course.”

“You do too much for me,” Tasha mutters into James’s shoulder. “I know you know it.”

James shrugs. He still feels a little on the toasted side himself, and, to be honest, his little sister’s warm comfort, no matter how binged or beaten, is a positive presence in his life. He wants her to be ok. It makes him ok. If one day she decides she’s not, they’ll handle it. Together. But for now, sleep is in order.

Tasha sandwiches herself between Steve and James in their not exactly spacious bed, stealing the covers and complaining of hot and cold in cycles as the drugs work their way out of her system. She clings to James, then to Steve for a while.

“She won’t freak out if she wakes up and I’m the one with her?” Steve asks conscientiously.

“No,” James replies with purpose. “You’re nice to her, and there’s nothing to be gained by banging you.” James smiles a bit to buffer the ragged truthfulness of the words, but Steve just sighs and nods.

“She’s never had an ‘older brother’s boyfriend,’ has she?” Steve asks.

James shakes his head

“I mean, like, some non-relative to take care of her.”

James raises his brows, but Steve quickly cuts in with a “you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, one that she’s not screwing or getting drugs from, or getting drugs for… There’s a reason so many of them in gangs, you know?” James says.

“You mean,” Steve starts. “She was—“

“Let’s pretend I didn’t bring that up.” James feels warm and sweaty, and Tasha’s unconscious body lies between them, lips subtly parted and hair draped wildly across the pillow.

“Ok,” Steve nods solemnly.

“Home life was tough. College seems like it’s maybe just as bad. Could be a little worse…” James shakes his head.

“And, well, you’re both better at picking at flaws on the other one,” Steve quietly points out

“Yeah,” James sighs. “That’s… probably the truest thing I’ve heard all night.”

“Hate to break it to you,” Steve says with a grin, “But it’s definitely morning. Maybe even noon by now.”

“Fucker…” James reaches over Tasha’s sleeping form to grasp Steve’s upper arm.

Steve shrugs. “Maybe. But I do suggest getting some sleep.” He nods down to Tasha’s curled, heavy-breathing frame.

“You’re kind of full of it, aren’t you?” James smiles. “Finding ways to take care of us?”

“Well, I have to somehow. And if it’s by throwing blankets on the couch and washing puke out of the sink, I’m here for it, I guess.”

“You’re—“

“Helpful?” Steve suggests, grinning. “Kind? Loving? Necessary?”

“Sure.” James reaches carefully over Tasha to give Steve a kiss on the cheek.

“Now,” Steve says, nuzzling James’s forehead as Tasha’s hair comes up to tickle his chin, “We get our well-deserved rest.”

[balancingdiet]

Tabula Rasa

Detective Conan & Magic Kaito Characters: Shinichi/Kaito Words: 2000 ish Chapter: (1) ... (4) (5) (6) 

Shinichi always finds his neighbour weird. But he didn’t expect to find his neighbour lying on a patch of grass and donned in Kaitou Kid’s costume, too.

Shinichi had been so focused that he didn't realize the door opened until he heard it closed. He glanced over, watching as Detective Takagi approached him.

“How is it?” Takagi asked, staring at the suspect sitting in the interrogation room behind the one-way mirror.

Shinichi swallowed a sigh. Things weren’t good, and the interrogation was going nowhere. He had switched himself out and let Inspector Shiratori take over at the moment. Despite all the evidences already laid out in front of him, the suspect was still a tough nut to crack.

“The suspect isn’t saying anything," Shinichi explained.

“I see,” Takagi said, glancing at his watch. Out of nowhere, he started fanning himself. “Did they switch off the AC?”

Shinichi frowned. Now that Takagi mentioned, he did feel a little hot… He uncrossed his arms, considering to take off his jacket, but stopped mid-way as he crossed his arms again. 

“I don’t have the time to play games at the moment,” Shinichi muttered.

Takagi tilted his head. “What do you mean, Kudo-kun?”

“Detective Takagi doesn’t wear his wedding band during work.”

Silence fell, until Takagi laughed—with a pitch that Shinichi found all too familiar.

“Really?" Kuroba said as he fiddled with the wedding band. "But he was wearing it when I knocked him out."

“I lied,” Shinichi drawled and turned to the one-way mirror again. “It’s to bust you out, but I didn’t expect you’ll admit it so quickly.”

“I’d figured you have enough things on your plate at the moment.” Kuroba stuffed his hands inside his pockets and gestured towards the suspect sitting in the interrogation room, alongside with his lawyer, Inspector Shiratori and Inspector Megure. “Who’s he?”

“Do I really have to drag you out?”

Kuroba ignored him and pressed his face close to the mirror, eyes squinting at what Shinichi guessed was the name tag on the suspect’s hotel uniform. “Adachi Sakamoto...” Kuroba widened his eyes and looked back at Shinichi. “Adachi? He’s not the chairman of the hotel, but he’s related to the chairman?”

Shinichi really shouldn’t have said anything, but the word simply slipped, “Yes.” 

“Interesting,” Kuroba peered through the glass again. “Given his authority, he must have the master key to gain access into those victims’ room to see their holiday plans on their computer… That’s how he knew where the victims were going, killing them when they were alone...”

Shinichi narrowed his eyes. “How much have you read from the file?” 

“Till the part where the first victim made a complaint that her make-up kit was stolen from her room.”

“That’s already two-third deep into the case file.”

“Speed-read is my forte.” Kuroba smirked, which was weird for Shinichi when it didn’t quite fit Takagi’s features. “So what’s the thing you got from the hotel that made you think he’s the killer?” Kuroba asked.

Shinichi pursed his lips. He’d broken more rules today than he’d ever did since he worked here three years ago, and it puzzled him just how much he was growing less concerned about it. Maybe it was because Kuroba was wearing Takagi’s face, or maybe it was just Kuroba that he was getting used to—

No. Not ever. 

Shinichi watched as Inspector Shiratori slammed the table in the interrogation room, but the suspect didn’t even flinch.

Maybe he just had too much on his plate to care, like what Kuroba said.

“Adachi Sakamoto made a stupid slip-up,” Shinichi began to explain, “he managed to delete all the footages outside those victims’ room, but he’d forgotten to delete the one when he accessed into the security room to erase those footages.”

“What’s his excuse?”

“He said he went in there to take a nap.”

Kuroba scoffed.

They stood in their spots in silence, looking in vain as Inspector Shiratori and Inspector Megure dealt with the suspect, but nothing seemed to be able to rile him up enough to confess—

From Shinichi’s sidelong glance, Kuroba suddenly straightened.

“What is it?” Shinichi asked tentatively.

Stroking his chin, Kuroba glanced over his shoulder, his face split into a stupid grin. “In exchange for my information, I want the gemstone.”

Shinichi wished he was surprised at Kuroba’s demand, but he wasn’t, which made it all the more annoying; to think that he understood Kuroba well enough to see it coming. He looked at Kuroba warily. “How valid is your so-called information?”

“Very valid, which also explains why no one suspicious, much less anyone that looked like Adachi Sakamoto, was found following those victims in any of the security cameras around the crime scenes."

Shinichi closed his eyes and rubbed a thumb between his brows. “You’ve read the entire case file, didn’t you?”

Kuroba grinned and put out a hand. “Gemstone, or nah?”

“For the sake of those three victims, shouldn’t you share the information without any compromises?”

“For the sake of the three victims, shouldn’t you compromise and give me the gemstone, in exchange for the information?”

“…”

“…”

The clock ticked behind them as they began their staring battle. The lack of AC was not helping with the growing tension, but Kuroba showed no sign of retracting back his hand, and Shinichi, too, refused to move the arm that was pressing against the jewel in his jacket's pocket 

Another slam came from the interrogation room, and this time it came from Inspector Megure—

Kuroba suddenly turned, catching Shinichi off guard momentarily. Close to the mirror, Kuroba pointed at Adachi Sakamoto. “Look at his fingers.”

Unsure of what to say towards the change in Kuroba’s heart, Shinichi followed his instruction instead. It took him a while, but now that he realised, he figured it was natural for Kuroba to notice it faster than him too, given his disguise expertise; it wasn’t just his fingers Shinichi should look at—there was a slight, glossy tint on all of his clean and trim nails.

Adachi Sakamoto had painted his nails with clear-gel nail polish. 

Those four words was all it took to unlock all the locks Shinichi couldn’t break before.

Shinichi brushed past Kuroba as he stalked off towards the door, but he turned around right at the last moment, catching Kuroba’s stare.

“We’ll talk when I get back home,” Shinichi said, before gesturing a hand over Kuroba’s disguise. “And you might want to change out. Similarly to Hattori’s case, I’m sure Detective Takagi’s wife wouldn’t be pleased to know you disguised as her husband.”

Kuroba chuckled. “Is she going to throw me to the ground?”

“No, but she has a gun.”

With that, Shinichi dashed towards the interrogation room.

---- 

After Shinichi went into the interrogation room with the new information, Adachi Sakamoto broke down half an hour later. (He even took out his shoes and threw it at Shinichi in anger, revealing his red-painted toenails.) Adachi had been struggling with his gender identity for a long time and occasionally, he would resort to stealing visitors' make-up to let out steam. But soon after those desires and turmoils escalated into something darker, and so he disguised as a woman, followed three victims for the past one month and killed all of them.

Once the confession was made and the culprit was taken away, Shinichi let the rest deal with the press conference that would be held during the evening news slot. Although Shinichi’s colleagues had gotten over the shock of the entire Edogawa Conan’s mess, his reason to shy away from the media wasn’t known to most people, except for Inspector Megure. As a former colleague of Ran’s father, he understood Shinichi’s decision to keep a low-profile, and he agreed with his doing, which Shinichi was thankful for.

(Because unlike Inspector Megure, his mother, Professor Agase… they all wished he and Ran could get back together again.)

In the midst of the press conference preparation, Takagi suddenly trudged out from the toilet, his clothes a little wrinkled and eyes looking disoriented. But no sooner after hearing the outcome of the case, Takagi seemed too distracted to question why he fainted in the first place.

Ignorance is bliss, Shinichi thought.

(Though in his head, they were spoken in Kuroba’s voice.)

----

It was only till Shinichi reached home then he remembered he hadn’t eaten for the entire day, but his stomach seemed used to it, or perhaps it had given up trying to remind Shinichi it even existed. He shuffled his way to the kitchen and switched on the lights, wearily looking around to find something to eat (not drink i.e. coffee). 

He spotted the basket of fruits sitting on the counter—the fastest meal he could find—and reached out for an apple. 

His hand hovered over the fruit as he frowned.

The Kaitou Kid card, along with the little imprint that should be on the apple was gone; it was clearly a brand new apple. 

Shinichi turned to his fridge. The bag, which contained most of Kaitou Kid’s costume, was gone too.

Sighing, Shinichi grabbed the apple and gave it a bite. Now that he had some solid food, he wouldn’t feel too guilty for his non-empty stomach if he drank some coffee. He took a mug from the rack, and another bite from the apple—

Shinichi nearly choked.

Through the kitchen window above his basin, he spotted Kuroba squatting in his backyard.

He dropped the mug and apple and stomped outside.

“What are you doing?” Shinichi scowled over Kuroba’s shoulder.

Kuroba stood up and turned, dusting his hands and (Shinichi’s) shirt. “Your plants are dying because of your pathetic care.” Kuroba gave Shinichi the side-eye. 

Shinichi looked down to check Kuroba’s deed. The only two potted plants he had in his backyard were now neatly pruned, and they looked much alive and new, like the first time his mother gave them to him last fall. The dead leaves and stems were gathered next to the plants.

“I wouldn’t say dying when they’re growing,” Shinichi muttered.

Kuroba rolled his eyes. “It’s called overcrowding. And that’s bad.”

“Ok, plant expert. Now get out of my property.”

Kuroba put out his hand. “You promised to give me the gemstone.”

“I didn’t,” Shinichi reminded. “I said we’re going to talk.”

“The murderer confessed, and I saved your plants. I don’t think there’s any need for a talk. Just give me the gemstone.”

Shinichi couldn’t deny Kuroba did help in getting the murderer to confess, but he certainly didn’t ask him to save his plants. Still, he didn’t intend to bring that up and cause another pointless conversation, so he took out the gemstone from his jacket.

Under the dark sky with little light, the gemstone looked even more impressive than he saw earlier this morning. Shinichi glanced up, checking for Kuroba’s reaction. He looked unimpressed, though Shinichi figured the thief must have encountered much more valuable ones.

Which only made Shinichi wonder why Kuroba was so desperate to get this gemstone back. 

“I only have one question,” Shinichi said. Before Kuroba could argue, Shinichi continued, “Just tell me who stabbed you, and I won’t pursue the matter.”

Kuroba frowned. “I’m still not telling you.”

“Take it as that I'm curious. Once I know who it is, I’ll never speak about the stabbing incident again.” Shinichi waved the gemstone in his hand. “And you’ll have this back.”

Kuroba considered for a moment. “You have to delete the photos of me as Kid too.”

Shinichi pursed his lips. He was still hoping he could hold onto them and used it in the future for real threats, but he knew if he refused, this negotiation would go nowhere. Sighing inwardly, he nodded. “Ok.”

There was a few seconds of silence in which Kuroba readdressed the potted plants by their feet, and Shinichi wondered if he was going to back out on the deal again. But then Kuroba looked up, and something in his eyes changed. It wasn’t like the gutsy gleam Shinichi saw in the hospital, or the playful glint that could be found on a daily basis.

His eyes looked tired, and a little sad. And both seemed out of place and strange on someone like the ever-charming Kuroba Kaito and the invincible Kaitou Kid—

“It’s me,” Kuroba said. “I stabbed myself.”

Taking the gemstone from Shinichi’s weakened grasp, Kuroba raised it under the moonlight.

[ourrightside]

5 Beauty Products You Need To Try Based On Your Zodiac Sign Pt. 1

Okay, okay before you click off because you think horoscopes are not real (which they totally are), promise me you’ve never checked the horoscopes page in a magazine or blog out of sheer curiosity. Yeah, I thought so too.  

Personally, I’m kind of what you call a “Horoscope Snob”. I’m not an Astrologer but I do believe in Zodiac Signs. I’m not here to impose my beliefs just check your sign based on your birthday and consider the products I recommend below based on the alignment of the stars!

 If you’re born between March 21- 20 April, you’re an Aries...

(I’m an Aries stellium) If so, you are blessed with energy, optimism and independence. Hands down, Ella Woods (portrayed by Reese Witherspoon) is the queen of all Aries Women. Other Aries women include Sarah Jessica Parker, Maraiah Carey (skinny), and Lady Gaga.

You guys are extremely enterprising and maybe a little vain, but wouldn’t you be too if you got accepted to Harvard Law School? 

These products will keep you energized and reflect your true colors

1. Balls in the Air - Goop

To maintain energy in the long run, subscribe to keep your lively attitude and fitness levels in check! Make sure to use your energy towards things or people who improve your life and bring you joy even if it seems more fascinating to start fights for banter.

2. First Aid Beauty Body Scrub

The most athletic people I know are Aries Women. Their energy is so divine and super fiery. If you don’t exercise regularly I highly encourage you to do so, Aries, because it’s going to keep you from combusting. Instead of starting fights, get that endorphin rush from exercising!

That being said, I highly recommend you keep your skin looking great in between those workout sessions. This product contains 10% AHA which means it’s great for exfoliating and shedding off dead skin.

3. Yves Saint Laurent Water Stain Lip Stain 

The color that symbolises an Aries is red. This newly launched product is easy to use and you can throw it in your purse for a light touch up whenever you want. I think all red undertones suit Aries women, but I recommend mostly the “Vague de Rouge” color 602 - a popping strawberry red one.

4. Hair Oil - Ouai

Aries Women are not afraid to take risks, they are tomboys at heart and don't shy away from doing crazy experiments with their hair. Every Aries woman is different when it comes to this but we can all agree that their hair needs to be tamed by this hair oil! A lot of times you just need to wear your hair untamed and completely wild. 

5. Dr. Barbara Strum: Anti-aging Primer 

Your impulsive nature is charming - but it may be what's destroying you. To keep yourself from running thin, use this product as a part of both your skin care and makeup routine. Doubling up as a primer and day cream, investing in this will not only keep your skin looking as young as your spirit but also gets rid of any uneven texture or dullness!

 If you’re born between 21 April - 21 May, you’re a Taurus…

(My Moon Sign and Midheaven) You guys are your own best friends, like seriously, I get you. You’re ambitious, stubborn and you take your pleasure seriously. You’re a boujee bitch, treating yourself is a lifestyle, not a hobby. But you deserve it, you work hard and play hard. Ruled by Venus, you tend to be either attractive or extremely charming, Taurus women also include Gigi Hadid, Megan Fox and Audrey Hepburn. 

1. Gimme Brow Kit 

If Taurus women have one thing in common, and we all know what it is - eyebrows. Brows are so important to them, I mean they either make you or break you right Taurus? I recommend any Benefit Cosmetic Brow product when it comes to this field. These women knew about this secret before “ fleek” was even a thing - and their secret is finally out! 

2. Dior Backstage Glow Face Palette 

I’ve personally purchased this twice. I feel like every Taurus woman would love this product! Dior is such a signature brand that hits every Taurus’ sweet spot when it comes through with their products. The bronze, color and glow you get in one palette is insanely luminous!

3. Slip Silk Pillow Case

Most Taurus people I know can take a nap anywhere however if it was their way they would be sleeping in gold-made cloth, let’s be real. Is Silk a close second, Taurus? Hear me out, Slip Silk Pillow case brings so many benefits for your skin and hair, so no more bedhead and irritated skin for you! I just believe there is no sign that deserves this more than you - no shade but invest in your bed, Taurus! You’re always in it. 

4. Sunday Riley Auto Correct Brightening and DE puffing Eye Contour Cream

Kind on the pricey side, but is that really a problem for you? Use this product to depuff your under eyes after all that sodium you consumed last night. Instead of feeling bad, you’ll be waking up as beautiful as ever - NO REGRETS. 

And what you truly need is....

5. Amika Polished Perfect Straightening Brush 2.0 

I don’t get why you guys get a bad rep for being lazy - you’re just selectively active! This hair tool would help make your hair look amazing and sleek in just 7 minutes. All you have to do is brush your hair and watch it de-frizz. This was made for you, you’re welcome.

If you were born between May 22 - June 21 you’re a Gemini…

Honestly you guys scare, but in a good way. Every Gemini I know has the facial expression of someone that’s about to bite you, but again in a good way. Seriously jokes aside, you guys are a blast to be around. You are adaptable, outgoing and extremely intelligent. Although you guys have a male spirit, you also have a flirtatious provocative side – I mean Naomi Campbell and Marilyn Monroe are the queens of Geminis! They love being different and challenging - keep reading! 

1. Flaunt it Butt Sheet

You guys have a hard time sticking to anything unless it’s super interesting or eye grabbing. I gotchu, here’s a sheet mask, not for your face, but for your butt. I know you’re intrigued, go ahead and purchase it.

2. Kiehl’s Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil Herbal Concentrate

So you’re ranting to everyone about how the world is ending soon due to pollution and our lack of care towards mother earth while chugging down water from a plastic bottle. I mean it’s outrageous to you! Here is a gift from Mother Nature, go ahead and use this CBD oil to calm down your worries and pimples.

3. Winky Lux Confetti Lip Balm

This lip balm is the perfect one for you, Gemini! No seriously, it swipe this clear balm on your lips to get the perfect shade of pink depending on your PH, it’s just for you. It’s your shade. 

4. Dr Jart Shake & Shot Rubber Masks 

Okay so maybe you’re over the whole over-socializing lifestyle, maybe for two days you want to convince yourself that you want to be tamed, so here’s a cool milkshake face mask to get you going. (don’t let it explode)

5. Eyeliner Brown Marc Jacobs

Hands down the best eyeliner. If you’re tired of your look, go ahead and do a small brown eyeliner for a small change. And if we’re being honest, whenever you’re really tired of your look dare to create fake freckles all over your face with this product and pretend that they’ve always been there.

 If you’re born between June 22 - July 22 you’re a Cancer…

Sigh, the mother of the zodiac signs. My sister is a Cancer and the rumors are true – I have two moms. You rock the girl-next-door look but you tend to be more reserved or cold at first. When you guys are not hiding in your shell, you’re emotional, sensitive and caring. And if anyone were to glance at your loved ones the wrong way, let’s just say your mama bear claws come out to play.

And sometimes you might feel like you’re so alone on this earth because you’re overwhelmed by your emotions, but it’s okay Margot Robbie and Ariana Grande can relate! Finding products for you may be hard due to your already built in routine but here are some suggestions:

1. Kat Von D Tattoo Liner

Okay so secret’s out: you guys cry a lot. Go ahead and deny it profusely as you purchase this eyeliner – it seriously does not want to come off, even if you want it to.

2. Diptyque Baies Candle

Cancers LOVE home décor. You guys stay at home often which is why you want your space to always be the best it can be. This candle may be pricey but it’s definitely an investment, it can change the smell of your room that kinda stinks due to the lack of circulation in there.

3. Biologique Rechere p50

Now, I know you guys have a hard time switching products especially skincare because you think you found what already works and I totally respect that, but if your routine does not include this then please reconsider. It’s so good that it kinda has its own cult and it’s kinda weird. 

4. SUPERGOOP Unseen Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40

Hold on to your hats Cancers, here is another thing you have to worry about: protecting your skin due to the blue light that’s emitted from our phones and computers. No worries though, use this product that helps protect your skin from these lights! After applying the velvety material go ahead and enjoy your faboulous day of screen watching! 

5.  Lancôme Doll Lashes

I really don’t want to make a joke about crybabies anymore so I’ll stop. But seriously, this is hands down one of the best mascaras ever (it’s not waterproof though sorry) and this is coming from someone with very short straight eyelashes. It’s made for you Cancers and it’s the ultimate mascara to complete the Girl Next Door Look. 

 If you’re born between July 23 - August 22 you’re a Leo…

We get it, you’re a Leo!! I’ve never met a Leo who did not miss a chance to say they are a Leo. I understand why though, these creatures are charismatic, honest, generous and honestly boastful! Queens of this sign include Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Kylie Jenner and Selena Gomez. Now, I know this thread is for suggesting products based on people’s signs, but I know for a fact most Leos scrolled down to this section to read whatever compliments I have to say about them. 

Now before you click off read a few SUGGESTIONS that may improve your already extraordinarily beautiful self.

1. Gisou Hair Oil

The ultimate Leo stereotype is that their hair generally matches their ego – they’re both big. Tame your hair and make sure it’s healthy with this golden honey infused serum.

2. Salted Caramel Kylighter

A highlighter approved by King Kylie. This highlighter won’t let your face go missing in the crowd. It will surely make you glow between your friends. Super attention grabbing, this highlighter is strong but not enough to let anyone think you’re a greasy chicken. (if you know you know)

3. Radiance Plus Golden Flow Booster Clarins

To protect that precious skin of yours while still maintaining your after-vacation bronze, use some of this product to make sure there is still warmth in your face all year round.

4. Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser 

After using so many products on your face to look glowing and bronzed all the time, let’s talk about unclogging those pores! To be used only a few times a week, this exfoliating cleanser works like a charm in revitalizing skin.

5. Tom Ford Perfume

I just feel like Leos need a perfume that is attention seeking, and we all know Tom Ford’s perfumes can be smelled a mile away. Leos please use this scent in order for the crowd to genuinely prepare itself for whatever performance you have in mind.

 If you’re born between August 23 - September 23 you’re a Virgo…

I attract a lot of Virgos in my life and thank god for that! You guys can get a bad rep due to your detail oriented vision and anal uptight attitude. However, ruled by Mercury you are extremely in-tune with your body and feel bad when things aren’t physically your way, which isn’t good but I think the world would collapse without you. Your vibe is standoff-ish but honestly, I would be too if I had this much of my shit together. Critical but honest, you’re not alone – Queen Bee herself is a Virgo and we adore her! Virgo women tend to be perfectionists and harsh on the way they look but honestly it pays off. I loved following up other Virgos including Blake Lively and Lea Michele. Take a few steps back and look over the suggestions:

1. Spirit Dust

Okay so it’s time for your post workout breakfast and you have no idea what to eat, right? Add this to your smoothie to help you destress and enjoy your endorphins all day. You really need this.

2. Tarte Concealer

How many times have you asked a Virgo for advice and didn’t take it? Always. And how many times have you went back to a Virgo and apologized for not taking the advice? Again, always. Virgos are just known to be the helpers of the zodiac sign, and I’m not saying that they’re perfect (they are) but sometimes they need to hide their shit up due to this reputation, that’s why they need this concealer!

3. Dyson Hair Dryer

You need something fast but also extremely effective to make sure you look effortlessly flawless. I know you can’t stand anything less than perfect, so here is to blow-drying your hair in less than 10 minutes and looking better than everybody else.

4.  Ilia Multi Stick Cheek and Lip

Because Virgos have a practical vibe to them, they love using multi-functioning products. This product can be used on your lips, cheeks, or eyelids! Did I mention it’s certified as “Clean” at Sephora?

5. JO Malone London Diffuser

Super practical and amazing to put around the house. Virgos love practicality and this is the perfect product to get, you don’t need to worry about a candle burning your house down or refilling your machine with batteries when you have this! You don’t need to think twice!

That’s it for the first half of the zodiac signs, enjoy.

xx Nina​

[swiftiesimonriley]

chlorine chapter 7

pairing: stozier

previous chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6

au: aged up characters, college swimming au

warnings: mentions of rescue and injury

summary: as a swimmer on the University of Maine Swim Team, Stan Uris was happy. but what happens when he meets a new student at a party?

a/n: here’s the next chapter y'all !

read on ao3

Work is awkward the next day.

Stan and Bill lifeguard at the campus's indoor pool, when not used by the team is used by local families and students from local schools.

The two were scheduled to work the next day for a birthday party rental, a group of about 30 was scheduled to arrive around 11. Stan made sure to wake up early so he could get to the pool first. He wanted to be the one taking the chlorine and organizing the chairs on the pool deck, not the one who awkwardly standing around until the rental came.

Stan arrives a few minutes after 10, shocked to see the lights on. Stan looks around for a moment, jaw dropping slightly at the sight in front of him. Bill kneels across the pool deck, dipping his arm into the cool pool water with the chlorine test kit.

Stan anxiously tugs at one of the sleeves of his long sleeve guard shirt as he scurries across the deck to the guard office before Bill notices.

He slams the door shut behind him, resting his back against it as he catches his breath. After a minute of calm breathing exercises, which ironically Bill helped him to learn, he sits down at the small desk that takes up most of the office.

After clocking in and placing his bag in, he hesitantly makes his way back out onto the deck, the smell of chlorine hitting him instantly. Stan notices the way Bill's shoulders tense as he shuts the door, the other boy's back turned towards him as he puts the chlorine test kit away.

Stan makes quick work of tidying up the pool deck, pulling out lounge chairs and bringing out pool toys for the younger kids. He sets out some dive toys and small torpedos, as well as a basketball for the basketball hoop that Bill already placed at the shallow end.

Bill stays in the office, leaving Stan on the deck by himself. Stan sits at the guard stand, mindlessly swinging his whistle until the group arrives.

As soon as Stan checks them all in, Bill comes out of the office and helps the adults set up, leaving Stan to sit on the stand.

The rental goes well for the most part.

The parents lounge on the pool deck, smiling and chatting away while the kids play in the pool.

Stan stays in his seat at the guard stand while Bill sits opposite him in his chair. The pair tries to avoid eye contact but make it awkwardly as they scan the pool.

As the kids splash and dive, Stan thinks about what he should say to Bill.

He wants to at least try to clear the air, hating the feeling of tension that hangs heavy in the chlorine filled air. But what could he say to even explain himself? Stan knows he can be with Richie, but he felt his heart drop last night when he saw how upset Bill got.

Stan shakes his head and pulls himself out of his thoughts, watching as the rental group starts to get ready to pack up. He looks over to the deck and sees some of the adults gathering their things while the kids start to swim towards the shallow end and get out.

Stan's thoughts start to drift back to Bill when he hears a splash.

Most of the kids are out of the pool and are toweling off. Stan scans the pool and sees a child underwater in the shallow end. He watches for a moment and notices how the child doesn't move and kicks into save mode.

Stan quickly grips his rescue tube and stride jumps into the water, quickly coming back up to the surface and swimming as fast as he can across the water.

As soon as he gets the shallow end, he dives down and supports the child with the rescue tube and bringing them to the surface. The boy coughs as he's brought up, looking at Stan with wide eyes.

"It's gonna be okay, I promise," Stan whispers reassuringly, his heart pumping so loud he can hear it thump in his ears.

He looks the boy over, noticing the way the child's neck is angled. He feels a batch of nauseousness kick in and he gasps, turning towards the deck.

"Bill we need the backboard!" Stan screams, watching as the other guard runs to the board, the guests watching on in shock. Stan holds the boy's arms above his head, the rescue tube under him for support.

Bill slides in the water seconds later with the backboard, quickly waving Stan over to the wall. Following his direction, Stan gently walks closer to the wall, holding the child's arms above his head for stabilization.

Stan and Bill work as a team, with Bill pushing the board underneath the child, slipping the rescue tube underneath the board. He buckles the starts as Stan stays in position before Bill helps him strap the head stabilizer over the boy's head.

Bill jumps out of the water and grabs the top handle of the backboard, with Stan going to the bottom and helping Bill to get the board out.

As soon as the board is on the deck, a team of paramedics burst through the door. In all of the panic, the guards didn't realize that someone had called 9-1-1.

The paramedics rush over and lift the backboard onto the stretcher and wheel the boy away, the family following behind.

Out of breath, Bill turns to talk to Stan about the rescue but Stan bots to the bathroom, where he pukes his guts out

Stan knew it had been the adrenaline early which made him throw up, but that wasn't going to stop him from relaxing back at his dorm.

He lays out on his bed and watches an episode of Breaking Bad, which he had started at the behest of Richie, who was shocked to find out Stan had never watched it before.

Stan watches a couple episodes, scrolling through his phone absentmindedly during some of the slower parts. He sees an email from his boss at campus rec congratulating him and Bill on their save today, saying if they didn't save the boy sooner he would have had permanent spinal cord damage.

His boss also says someone from the campus newspaper wants to interview them, that this would be a great cover story. Stan just closes his email and rolls over, the sound of Walter and Jesse fighting in the background serving as the soundtrack to his nap.

The article about the save is published on monday.

The cover photo shows Stan and Bill smiling, holding up a backboard with the school logo on it. To the average viewer, you wouldn't be able to guess the two guards in the photo weren't on speaking terms.

The team congratulates the guards at practice, all wanting to know the story.

Bill tells it, recalling the way Stan jumped in and how he came in with the backboard. Stan zones out as he tells it, feeling himself get nauseous once again at the thought of it. Richie shoots him a concerned look but Stan just shakes it off. He didn't need Richie worrying about him right now, with everything going on.

Instead, Stan walks away from the other swimmers and dives into his lane, starting the warm-up.

The team has a travel meet the following weekend.

The meet, which is in Rhode Island, starts saturday, meaning that the team leaves friday.

The team takes a bus, with Eddie and Mike comfortably snuggled up together in their seats with Bill alone in the seats in front of them, and Stan with Richie in the seats behind them.

Stan lays with his head on Richie's shoulder, eyes closed as the bus travels across the interstate. Richie smiles at the sight of Stan, reminding himself to tell Stan how adorable he looked as he slept peacefully for the first time in what seems like forever.

The pair had talked about that night at Ben and Bev's and of course about the rescue. Both events had definitely messed with Stan's head a little bit, and Richie let it be known that he was there for him.

Richie had agreed that they should talk to Bill about that night, at some point. He knew the situation had put Stan in an awkward place, hell it put him into an awkward spot as well.

Its weird going to practice and knowing that there were unresolved tensions in the air. It's also weird knowing that another guy on the team saw him in such an intimate position like that, especially with another team member, especially if that other guy likes said team member.

But, Stan said they should not think about it this weekend, instead focus on the meet. Richie understood that and agreed, not wanting anything to be too much of a distraction for them and this meet.

The bus arrives at the hotel two hours later.

Richie hates to wake Stan up, but coach demands they all get up so they can check in. He carefully grabs his phone and snaps a quick picture of the sleeping boy and sets it as his background before gently shakes the boy's arm.

Stan opens his eyes slowly, looking around and smiling softly when he sees Richie.

"Let's go Stanny, we gotta go check in!" Richie smiles, helping the blonde to stand up before he grabs both of their bags. They follow the rest of the team inside while coach checks them in and gives them room assignments. She lists off the names and corresponding rooms, placing Eddie and Stan together while placing Mike, Richie, and Bill in a room.

Coach has a strict, no couples sharing a room rule, which was understood. They were here to swim, and not on a vacation.

She hands out the keys and tells everyone that they are adults and that they can relax, but to be in bed no later than 11:00pm. Everyone nods and begins to split up and go to their rooms, with Mike kissing Eddie sweetly and Richie playfully ruffling Stan's curls before they depart, pretending they don't see the way Bill glares at Richie.

Stan lies on his stomach on one of the beds in his and Eddie's shared room, scrolling through his phone when Eddie lets out a shriek.

Stan's eyes widen and he shoots a look of concern at the brunette, only to be met with a smile.

"Mike found a party on campus!" Eddie smiles, jumping up to look through the clothes he brought. "He said its like five minutes away and that we're all going."

Stan places his phone down and thinks for a minute. On one hand, he thinks they should rest up for tomorrow afternoon, but he also kind of wants to get out of this room.

He picks his phone back up and shoots Richie a quick text.

To Richie:

You going to this party?

He sits his phone on the dresser and quickly changes out of his sweats and into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, waiting for Eddie to finish getting ready. The smaller boy emerges out of the bathroom a few minutes later, wearing one of Mike's shirts and a pair of blue jeans.

Stan smiles at him, picking his phone back up when it dings.

From Richie:

Yep! Mike, Bill and I are coming to come get you guys.

Bill?

Stan doesn't even have time to worry because a knock sounds at the door a minute later. Eddie runs over and opens it, running into Mike's arms, getting a few laughs out of the others.

Stan looks behind the couple and sees Richie smiling back at him, with Bill leaning up against the wall behind him. Stan grabs the room key and shuts the door behind them, letting Mike lead the way. Mike places an arm around Eddie's shoulders, pulling the smaller swimmer close to him as they walk, with the other trailing behind them.

Stan smiles at the couple, or power couple, as Richie calls them. Richie lets his hand brush against Stan's several times as they leave the hotel and make their way out onto the campus.

It takes a couple minutes for the swimmers to get to the party. They walk through the doors of the frat house, Mike whispering something to the guy collecting cover fees for the guys coming in, with Eddie turning to the others and shrugging as Mike fist bumps the other guy before being let inside.

Loud music echoes through the two-story house, college students from the school everywhere, some dancing, standing around, or making their way to the bar.

Eddie grabs Mike's hand and waves at the others before disappearing into the crowd of students. Bill quickly leaves after the couple does, making his way to the bar faster than Stan has ever seen him move before.

Stan rolls his eyes and turns to Richie, who grabs his hands in his own and smiles back at him. "Hey you," Richie chuckles.

"Hi," Stan smiles, squeezing both of Richie's hands.

"Let's go have some fun"

Stan loses track of time.

Richie grabs drinks a few minutes after they arrive, with both boys downing them before walking out towards the dance floor. It almost feels like the first time they met, at a party like this.

Stan feels happy on the floor with Richie, the taller boy's hands on his waist, his back against Richie's front as they dance together.

Richie squeezes his hips at one point, nodding his head to tell Stan to look forward. It must be the alcohol Richie thinks, but something tells him he has to show off. Stan follows Richie's nod and looks ahead, only to be met with Bill's eyes.

Stan's eyes widen at first, but the buzz takes over and he smiles, leaning his head back onto Richie's shoulder. Richie squeezes Stan's hips again and grinds his hips up against Stan, drawing a gasp out of the blonde, both of them so caught up in themselves that they don't notice Bill walking off.

The couple stays like that for a little bit, drinking in each other's company, and a few more beers, before a shout tears them apart.

Stan feels Richie's grip tighten on his waist as the music turns down, loud yells coming from the other room. The rest of the students start to crowd the kitchen, trying to get a better look at the argument.

Richie helps pull Stan away from the kitchen area, knowing that Stan doesn't like big crowds. Stan frantically looks around for any signs of the other swimmers, suddenly wanting to be anywhere but here.

The shouting seems to only escalate, with Stan turning to Richie, motioning to the door, wanting to go outside. Richie nods and holds one of Stan's hands and leading them to the door, only to be stopped by Mike.

Mike pants, seeming to have run over from the kitchen.

"Guys, its Bill."

Stan and Richie run after Mike to the kitchen, with Richie in front of Stan, hand still in his, parting the crowd to get Stan safely through.

Stan gasps once they make it to the front of the crowd.

Eddie holds back Bill as another guy is being held back, both Bill and the other guy shouting insults at each other. It takes a couple minutes for Richie and Stan to put the pieces together, listening to the yelling of both of them, and the shouts of a girl leaning up against the counter.

From what Stan can gather, Bill kissed the girl leaning against the counter, with the other guy being her boyfriend. The swimmer watches as Eddie starts to struggle to hold back Bill, who's shouting insults at the other guy.

Richie grips Stan's hand with wide eyes as Mike runs to help his boyfriend, only to gasp when Bill shoves Eddie backward and launches himself at the other guy. The other guy does the same to the person holding him back and gasps as Bill tackles him.

Mike helps Eddie up and the pair run over to pull Bill off of the dude as they roll around on the ground, both landing punches and kicks on each other. Richie holds Stan back as the other guy kicks Bill, placing pressure on Bill's arm, a sickening snap silencing the crowd.

To say that coach is mad is an understatement.

She arrives at the hospital around 2:30am, half an hour after getting the call from Mike. She runs to the emergency room, quickly asking for her swimmer's name before she is let back into his room.

Bill sits in the hospital bed, a red cast on his right arm from his wrist to his elbow.

The rest of the swimmers stand around the bed, looking up when coach comes in. She walks right over to Bill, quietly asking him how he's doing before turning to the rest of her swimmers, the smell of alcohol still present.

"I don't even know where to begin," she sighs, seeing the embarrassment on the swimmer's faces. "I am very disappointed, and in regular circumstances, I would be yelling at you right now for what happened, but I need to think about this meet. Obviously, Bill is out," she says, nodding over to Bill, "So I am going to have to make an executive decision here, Bill is out, and Richie will be taking his place in the relay."

taglist: @tiny-tea @ironarm @asthmatic-tozier @itsfreakingstrange @styled-aesthetic @potterheadbbc

[pinksausageduo]

yoon jisung|the heirs

member: yoon jisung genre: fluff summary: heirs au! you the cold hearted ice princess and jisung the friendly outgoing warm sweetheart. when you and jisung are the only senior students staying at 101 academy for winter break. will jisung be able to melt your heart? heirs series: hwang minhyun | kang daniel | park woojin | yoon jisung | ong seongwoo | park jihoon

you looked at the list of people staying for winter break

the only other senior student was yoon jisung

you automatically thought what an awkward winter break it’ll be

jisung and you weren’t close but of course you knew him

he was one of the most liked guys at school

warm, friendly, kind, hilarious, fun, sociable

good looking and ridiculously rich

the mother of the heirs

the 11 guys aka kings of your school who were infamous for their good looks, talents and ridiculously large fortunes

most of them were distant from the other students but one of the only approachable ones was jisung

he was a complete extrovert

on the other hand

you were the ice princess unapproachable, untouchable, cold, distant, elegant, intimidating

too perfect

you had no friends just business acquaintances

not a single person approached you

even if you were one of the wealthiest girls in 101 academy

it was rumoured you had an ice cold heart

you hated being like this

loneliness and emptiness was all you felt

you had no one who cared about you

no friends whatsoever

and your family never thought you were enough

your parents expected

ice cold perfection

and you hated it

but you still delivered

though you still wished someone came into your life and saw past the cold ice princess mask and cared and loved about you with all your flaws

sounds like a job for jisung

you knew it was going to be an interesting holiday

when jisung saw that you were the other student he completely agreed with what you thought

and then cursed the rule that all the senior students needed to eat at least 2 meals together if they’re staying over the holidays 

which meant you two had to actually interact with each other

the first breakfast of the winter break was stiff and awkward to say the least

“good morning miss y/l/n” jisung said friendly

“hello” you curtly responded

jisung fell silent before trying to strike up a conversation again

“what are you doing today?”

“reading” you said without giving a glance at him

he sighed and you felt bad you knew he was trying but you knew you also had to try to be at least polite

so you tried to organise the meals

“jisung-ssi, it would probably be best for us to plan a schedule for both of us to have a smoother winter break, so i’m suggesting we have breakfast and lunch together. either of us can knock on each other’s bedroom’s when they want to have the meal. what do you think?”

jisung was shocked for a moment at how polite you were but quickly agreed

“sounds simple and effective, i’m in”

you nod at him

and then both of you eat your breakfast in silence

the next week went by and you two got along surprisingly really well

and in a very weird way you felt like a couple

you two even had a morning routine

jisung was the earlier riser so he was like your alarm clock

after he woke up would go to your room and he’d knock on the door until you’d say you were up

you’d both spend 30 minutes on showering and dressing

then get to the eating area

and the waiters would immediately come out with your food since you two always order beforehand usually the night before

first you’d pour cereal into your bowl while jisung poured milk then you two would switch

you’d then spread nutella on one slice of your toast while jisung was spreading mashed avocados on one of his slices

then you two would switch

cheers your pieces of avocado toast and then take a bite

it was really relaxing and it was the same routine everyday

once you two finished you had some hot drinks

and that was the only time you two talked

it was also the favourite part of your day

you realised jisung wasn’t some overly social happy rich kid

he was kind caring gentle and funny

and he realised you weren’t an ice princess

in his eyes you were introverted soft spoken and sweet

the conversations were always sweet, warm and short

and whenever you two were talking you felt complete at ease

you also couldn’t help but smile more around him

especially after jisung said to you one of the mornings

“you should smile more y/n, you really look beautiful when you do”

he turned slightly pink but it was no comparison

to your full ruby red blush

you felt your palms go sweaty and your heart start fluttering

it was completely new and different feeling

and it was just as the movies and books said

that rush of warmth

that’s how you felt around jisung

it was the 1st of december

you two completed the whole morning routine as normal

until you two got to eating

it was the first snowfall

the snow looked pristine

white and beautiful

“wow the snow looks perfect” jisung exclaimed

“it does” you whispered detachedly

you hated it

not snow itself

but the perfectness of it all

the supposed flawlessness

it reminded you of yourself

you remember your mother saying from when you were an early age pointing to the snow and saying

“y/n doesn’t the snow look perfect, no flaws just complete perfection, that’s what you need to be sweetheart”

from that time on you loved kicking or just walking in the snow

ruining it of that perfect appearance

it was like the snow was a reminder of who you should be around jisung

and you instantly felt shitty

with that thought you finished your morning coffee quickly

“jisung, i’ll see you later, bye” cutting him right off his sentence

he looked at you worriedly as you rushed away

you quickly went outside

and started pacing in the snow

trying to get rids of your jitters

of course you thought about jisung

the last week or so, was wonderful

jisung didn’t expect anything from you

he was always caring and sweet

and you felt warm and safe around him

you didn’t need to be cold hearted around him

no pretending, no mask, nothing

just you

but jisung’s voice snaps you out of your thoughts

you didn’t realise that you were pacing in the snow in a thin hoodie and sweatpants

nor did you notice how cold you were getting nor how much you were burning up

you were completely swept up by your thoughts

jisung called out your name “Y/N!!”

he rushed over to you concerned with your winter jacket

he quickly puts on it you and puts his hand on your forehead

“y/n you’re burning up, why are you in the snow with these clothes on?” he asked concerned

“umm i needed to think?” you suggested hesitantly

“you’re telling me the real reason why later, but first let’s get you to bed” he said gently

with an arm around you and you leaning on him

you really bright red not just because of the fever

once you got to your room

jisung automatically made you go to your bed

and got your first aid kit to check your temperature

“y/n you’re burning up you’re 38°C stay in bed today okay? let me take care of you today” jisung said gently

“i’m just gonna quickly make some hot chocolate” he added sweetly

“thank you jisung” you sincerely say

making him smile a heart melting smile at you while going out of your room

you couldn’t help but continuously smile thinking that jisung really did care about you

and your heart was all soft and fluffy as that realisation set in

jisung quickly came back with two mugs of hot cocoa topped with toasted marshmallows

yes jisung is that extra to blow torch the marshmallows

he gave you your mug your hands brushing each others

making your conscious giving a girly squeal making you feel like a love sick puppy

then handed you some medicine and water you quickly downed that

and then started to drink your hot chocolate

you realised that jisung was still standing because he didn’t want to sit on your bed if you wouldn’t be comfortable with it

“jisung come lie down i really don’t mind” you say welcomingly (is that even a word)

patting the space beside you which trust me was a lot you had a queen sized bed

“are you sure?” he hesitantly asked

“of course” you reply sweetly

jisung stiffly sat next to you

“jisung bloody lie down and get comfy before you actually turn into a statue” you say with a roll of your eyes

jisung finally complies with a weak chuckle

“can we watch a movie?” he asks looking at your huge flatscreen tv

“yeah sure, what do you want to watch?” you say while drinking your hot cocoa

“the notebook” he says with zero hesitation

“you’ll need tissues then” you say with a cheeky smile

“nah i won’t cry” jisung says confidently while your raise an eyebrow at him

fast forward to the credits scene and jisung is still sobbing

his eyes are all puffy red and tissues are all around him

you shed a few tears but most of the time you were giggling at jisung then comforting him

the two of you order pizza from the kitchens and jisung goes to pick it up

and then you two go on a christmas movie marathon

before you knew it

you were sleeping in jisung arms

jisung had no idea what to do as he held you in your arms

he thought of the last week with you

he was falling for you hard

your gentle calm softness worked perfectly with his loud vivacious personality

you balanced him perfectly

whenever he looked at you he wanted to wrap his arms around you and never let you go

you were beautiful and fragile in his eyes

jisung knew you didn’t have any friends and you were known to have an ice cold heart

in his eyes you were nothing like that and even if you did have an ice heart

it was definitely melting

because of him

he hoped

with those thoughts he fell asleep with a smile on his face and his arms wrapped even tighter around you

for once you woke up earlier than jisung

the first thing you saw was jisung’s face with his hair sticking everywhere and slightly snoring

even then you thought he was the cutest person you’ve ever seen

you then realised jisung’s arms were around you and you did an internal happy dance

“gosh i’m so whipped” you whispered

you didn’t know whether it was the fact that jisung was the first person to see through the “ice princess” persona

or whether it was just him

at this point you didn’t care you were falling for him and no matter what anyone else said including your parents

you were determined to not let go of one of the best things that ever happened to you

“did you really mean all that” jisung hopefully whispered opening his sleepy eyelids

“wait did i just say that out loud?” you said absolutely mortified

“yup now answer my question”  jisung grinned happily

“i meant it” you whispered before pulling the blanket over your head and hoping the ground would swallow you up

jisung chuckled and started tickling you and you couldn’t help but laugh while telling him to stop

your head finally popped out of the blankets

and with no warning jisung kissed you on the cheek

making you blush and your insides turning into mush

“i’m falling for you too y/n” he said sweetly while giving you his signature beaming smile

“really?” you hopefully say

“yes really” he confirmed

before you knew it he was leaning in and you were frozen

but your heart was beating so fast

the moment his lips met yours

you completely relaxed and you enjoyed it wholeheartedly 

it was soft sweet warm

filled with affection

you two broke apart with wide grins

then jisung wrapped his arms around you making

and you instantly snuggled into him

it felt completely right

just like jisung was for you

the next two weeks sailed by

it was amazing

everyday you woke up in jisung’s arms

and you hung out with each most of the day

you now knew jisung inside out and he was the same with you

jisung was so understanding about your thing with perfection and your “ice princess” persona

you remember him hugging you then saying sweetly to you

“y/n perfection is impossible, everyone has flaws but i love you just as yourself with all your flaws okay? and you should too”

you then couldn’t but give him a kiss for what he said

afterwards you two went into the snow and kicked it made a mess of it and then had a snowball fight

it ended with both of you laying in the snow laughing

while you two were lying down in the snow

out of the blue jisung asked you “y/n this has been one of the best few weeks of my life with you so will you be my girlfriend?”

you were surprised but super happy and you of course said yes

but that wonderful winter fairytale came to an end

it was first day back from winter break and you were worried

luckily you had jisung in all your morning classes

EVERYONE was staring at you and jisung holding hands

and you hear the whispers and feel the glares

then people started gossiping more when one of the younger students came barrelling into you and fell

instead of glaring at them walking off as you usually do

you asked if they were okay and helped them up

literally the whole corridor was SHOOK

you just wanted the day to end to be honest

“just ignore the stares you have me okay?” jisung whispered in your ear as he grabbed your hand tighter as you entered the cafeteria

literally more silent then when woojin and his girlfriend came in holding hands for the rest time

you could hear a pin drop in the cafeteria

even the heirs table looked pretty bloody shook

the first one to snap out of it was daehwi who you were acquaintances with

“hey y/n, jisung, come sit” he friendly said

you gave him a smile which resulted with a brief look of shock

“okay seriously what is it with one of our guys being completely single for like forever then first day back BOOM they’re holding hands with a girl” seongwoo groans trying to diffuse the tension

making everyone laugh

“seongwoo you’re just jealous you’re still single” said woojin’s girlfriend poking a tongue out at him

he then poked his tongue out and pouted cause it was true

not for long seongwoo not for long *hint* *hint *cough-nextfic-cough*

she quickly turned to you and said light hearted and sweetly “the stares and looks die down after wait- never-good luck, the cafeteria seemed even more silent when you two walked in then when me and woojin walked in”

“i’m used to it but cheers for dramatic entrances” you say with a smile and you two gave each other a hi five

everyone looked at you two shocked

while jisung just smiled and looked at you adoringly wrapping his arm around you

while you just snuggled into him

“wow the ice princess isn’t so icy anymore” said sungwoon jokingly but surprised

then minhyun’s girlfriend whacked him over the head

“sheesh woman did you not know violence isn’t the answer to everything” complained sungwoon as he rubbed his head

#harrypotterreference #imsocool #totallyhaventreadeachbook20times

minhyun’s girlfriend glared at him and expaseratedly said “sungwoon please don’t be an immature asshole you’re the second oldest and guanlin’s more mature than you!”

“YEAH NUNA YOU TELL HIM!” guanlin cheered then sungwoon shot him a withering glare

“nope no nothing i do not exist i never said anything” he muttered slowly sliding down off his chair

everyone was laughing

“minhyun please say something she’s your girlfriend” sungwoon pleaded

minhyun had his hands up while shaking his head “nope never i support my girlfriend fully, 100%”

“that’s my man” minhyun’s girlfriend said giving him a peck on the lips

they looked so in love

and you blushed thinking maybe that’s the way you and jisung look

definitely

then you heard jinyoung’s voice “hey mum dad keep the pda to a minimum  okay we ARE EATING”

“when you have a girlfriend we are going to constantly bother about you doing pda” woojin butted in

“that will not happen, end of conversation” daehwi jokingly not added while putting his arm around jinyoung

“oh by the way y/n all us girls are going christmas shopping this weekend what do you say?” said daniel’s girlfriend with a welcoming smile

the atmosphere became suddenly a little tenser since they knew you always have declined these kind of offers

but you knew jisung personality has rubbed off on you in the last few weeks

no not sexually get your head out of the gutters

instead of declining you said “that sounds great!” with a smile

everyone visibly relaxed a bit and jisung squeezed you just a little tighter

“wait wait no one’s actually asked but are you two officially together?” daniel asked you two

“yeah we are” you say smiling snuggling even closer into jisung

“damn whoever made the name ice princess really didn’t know you” jaehwan stupidly added not thinking about what happened to sungwoon literally 2 minutes ago

then it was time for daniel’s girlfriend to whack jaehwan over the head

“did your brain cells die when you came into my room blasting punk rock music at 4am in the morning as a joke last week?” she said still a bit miffed over it

“no my brain cells are very much working thank you very much. BY THE WAY it was daniel and seongwoo’s idea!!” jaehwan complained and pouted

daniel’s girlfriend just rolled her eyes while said “which is why minhyun and woojin are better boyfriends, jisung too”

“HEY!!” daniel complained

“at least daniel’s the best kisser” seongwoo said cheekily

“what you talking from experience seongwoo” jihoon said smirking

“i- didn- fuck off jihoon” seongwoo stuttered out then ended jokingly

“yeah yeah you love meeee” jihoon said teasingly with some aegyo at the end

“welcome to the crazy ass family” jisung whispered

but everyone ended up hearing it

which of course means everyone heard your answer which was met with wide beaming smiles

“it’s amazing”

ahh this was my first jisung fic! i hope i wrote him well please tell me if i did. i’m sorry this was so late =this was the first scenario i had such a severe case of writer’s block. i procrastinated so much it’s not even funny. i might not have time for seongwoo’s heirs before daniel’s birthday. so i’m planning to write the daniel angst soulmate scenario first and if that gets done quickly i’ll do the seongwoo’s heirs asap. as always please tell me what you thought and give me feedback!

click here for more information about the heirs

heirs series: hwang minhyun | kang daniel | park woojin | yoon jisung | ong seongwoo | park jihoon

[smsvisao]

Bartholomew Court

Bartholomew Court was an apartment complex situated northbound on Rt.3 in Fredericksburg. The Court, as it was called by locals, mostly housed young adults on hourly wages and the elderly. Apartment 402 housed a drug dealer and a sex worker but just barely.

Daniel, the sex worker, was responsible for half of the living costs shared between he and Youssef, the drug dealer. The agreement was that neither of them cared how they made their money as long as they had it when it was due. The reality was that they depended on each other to generate enough revenue to sustain both of their lives because sex and drugs were a married couple. It often led to the pair arguing like a married couple but that's beside the point.

Youssef slid the black curtains dividing the rest of their studio apartment from their bed space. Or in other terms, dividing the two workspaces. "George will be here in twenty minutes to pick up his order."

Daniel was busy and counted thirteen condoms that he had available to use before he'd need more. He kept them in the top of a bedside drawer along with everything else he needed to perform - three bottles of lube, a first aid kit, and incensed oil to refill the diffuser with. For the more interesting clients, he kept a box of toys and the necessary cleaning materials in the bottom.

George. George... nope. Didn't ring a bell. He remembered most of his clients and most of Youssef's - it was easy because half of them overlapped but he'd never had a George.

Done with inventory, he pushed the drawer shut. "George who?"

Youssef pulled back the curtain just enough to stick his head through. His eyes darted around the space, probably making sure it was ready to go in case "George" wanted other services. Well it was as good as it was gonna get. The room was clean and Daniel had already bathed this morning. Half the time he didn't bother with clothes around the apartment but at least wore pants when one of Youssef's clients were stopping by.

"He's a new-new."

"New-new?" The new-news were risky. They were either clients who had never had a trip or were clients who had no known link to their services. For that reason, they met new-new customers in front of the nail salon across the street. "Thought we weren't doing those."

"He's got a big order."

"Ok but its not like we got a big supply. So again, why'd you agree to sell to him?"

Youssef crouched to the floor in front of him, folding his arms across Daniel's knees. "Hey." A depraved smile crept across his face. "Do you remember what it was like at Sovereign Hope? When you came back past curfew and got locked out?"

He was nineteen and had just been dropped back off at the shelter after meeting with his first client - the Director's husband. The Director's husband hadn't allowed him to shower and the rain that poured only made certain things worse. Everything hurt but the Director's husband was a smart man so there weren't any bruises to show for it. When the night staff finally opened the door, he was berated and then interrogated about where he'd gone and why he came back so late. They wanted to search him to make sure he hadn't brought back any weapons or drugs and normally that was fine except he was done with being probed and prodded like an animal. Refusing got him a door slammed to the face. If he couldn't follow the rules he didn't get to stay.

It was Youssef that snuck him in through a back window and begged the staff to give him a second chance. Youssef was a lot nicer back then.

A hand gloved tight in black latex gave two quick cold pats to his cheek. "Why don't you go make sure your ass is clean or something and leave the rest to me?"

"Will do," He threw his asshole of a roommate a swift punch to the gut. Youssef stumbled backwards and laughed it off.

The time that had passed since then hadn't been kind to either of them. He liked to think there were some parts of himself that he'd managed to hold onto. Youssef was different. He let himself go after he found drugs and now, he was a completely different person.

Outside, there was nowhere to go that wouldn't cost money. So, he often passed time at the main entrance of their unit watching people go in and out. Half of them didn't even live there. At some point there was probably a working code system but now it was just an unlocked door with a broken and outdated keypad next to it.

With eyes squinting at the sun, he figured there must have been a pretty sweet payoff from this George guy if Youssef was bending his own rule. It didn't make sense though. He didn't know the exact quantity, but he knew that there had been plenty of times that Youssef just didn't have the supply and Daniel had to take more clients to bring in enough money to cover rent. That was the scenario at least two times out of every month.

Another ten minutes passed before a blue sedan pulled off from the main road and slowed to a stop in front of the entrance. The man who got out of the car in gym shorts and a baseball cap was someone he'd recognize anywhere.

Not George but Jorge. One of his own clients, his favorite one. He liked Jorge because he was low-maintenance and clean. Usually he only asked for hand jobs and there was only one time that he asked for penetration. Youssef had been out on a pick-up. It was late, around 11 p.m. He never looked forward to clients but after so many sessions of only touching he'd always wondered what it would feel like to be held by the man.

When it finally happened, it was underwhelming and average, but he liked the way Jorge offered to take out the trash for him on his way out. The trash was full that night. Youssef had been gone for two days and he hadn't taken it out before he left. At the time, Daniel thought it was weird that Jorge offered but later it made sense, Jorge was always ... nice. But when he walked up the steps of the entrance in basketball shorts and a sweat stained t-shirt, the look on his face wasn't nice.

"Bad day?" Daniel asked thinking Jorge just hadn't noticed it was him hanging out at the entrance. Their eyes met and Daniel saw a flicker of interest.

"Somewhat. Hey listen, are you free now?"

"I can be. Why?"

"I just placed an order at Mr. Chun's but I won't have time to grab it now that I'm here. Think you can pick it up for me? I'll throw in some extra cash."

Mr. Chun's was the shabby restaurant in the plaza behind the complex but damn was the food good.

"Why not. What am I looking for?"

"A large sweet and sour shrimp platter with fried rice."

"Didn't I recommend that to you last time we met?"

"Oh, was that you?" Jorge looked over his shoulder and then handed him a thin wad of rolled up cash. "Thanks Daniel."

He stuffed the cash into his pocket. Sweet and sour shrimp sounded good right about now.

The door to Mr. Chun's had their menu typed on paper posted on the back of the glass from the inside so that people could see it but not touch it from the outside. A little chime went off when he stepped inside. An older woman in a red apron looked up from whatever she was writing.

"Hello, ah!" She gasped and she pointed at his bare torso. Daniel laughed. "It's too hot for a shirt out there. Go step outside, you'll take yours off too." He teased.

"Oh boy, it must be. Yesterday was in the nineties. Are you ordering now?"

"Picking up. It was a large sweet and sour shrimp for Jorge."

"Okay, this is for you." With a kind smile she handed him a folded piece of paper where she had covered the page in a floral pattern with the green of her pen.

"Wow. Thanks. You did this?"

"Yes, but turn it over, that part is for you. I made it better with my talent. Now not only can you taste our talent you can see it also."

The handwriting was small, and everything was underlined.

I know it's your favorite, enjoy it and keep the extra cash. Don't come back to your apartment. Go to this address asap and ask for Eva. 2583 Rowing St. You'll be taken care of.

"When did he give you this? What did he say?" Daniel asked in a rush.

"He said nothing, except to give it to you. Here." She handed him a plastic bag filled with two takeout boxes, condiments and chopsticks. There was also a ginger ale.

"Thanks."

She wished him a good day but when he began to make his way back to the apartment against the direction of the note he realized the day was anything but good. From the plaza parking lot he could see two cop cars parked to the side of their unit at Bartholomew Court. Not a big deal. The cops hung around sometimes and he'd had run ins with them before but nothing too serious. Youssef on the other hand…

Just as the concern crossed his mind, he saw his roommate being escorted down the steps, flanked by two officers and one in the back. They hadn't sounded the sirens when they pulled up or he would've heard it from Mr. Chun's.

"Dammit, Youssef." Jorge was a leak.

Even so, doing exactly what the note said was a no-brainer. He didn't know what Jorge was tied up in, but he understood that the man was looking out for him.

It made sense to hang back near Mr. Chun's rather than getting any closer to the unit until things cooled down. He pulled up the address Jorge left him on his phone and saw that it wasn't nearby. It was in Alexandria and that was an hour and some change away. He'd have to take a taxi. Crazy how he could spend most of his adult life with a man who helped him stay alive and then eat Chinese food and watch from the sidewalk as he got pushed into a cop car and taken away.

When his taxi arrived, he settled in and gave the address fine enough but couldn't keep his foot from tapping the whole ride north. Maybe it was survivor's guilt. It hurt to be callous, to move on without a second thought about someone he spent a good portion of his life with. Youssef was half responsible for making sure he didn't starve to death.

But what could he have done? Fight Jorge off? Run up to Youssef as he was being drug down the steps of the complex and wrestle him out of police custody? Then they'd both be in handcuffs. Jorge had sent him off and spared his life. Someone, even when Youssef wasn't, was looking out for him. He owed Youssef a lot but decided he owed Jorge more.

The taxi settled at the first red light since getting off I-95. The driver looked back to check on him. "You ever been up here before?"

"Don't think so. If I have, I don't remember."

"It's different from the south. More brown people like yourself. You don't need a car for much up here, but you will need a shirt."

Daniel raised an eyebrow. He hadn't considered himself brown. Youssef was brown. He was…damn, now he didn't know what he was. What a perfect time to have an identity crisis. He thought he was white like everyone else in Fredericksburg. Since when did people start using brown the way they used white and black? What did brown even mean? Compared to the driver's skin that looked like pizza dough, he guessed his skin was more like the color of the fried rice he'd eaten earlier. If that was brown, then so be it.

"Gotcha. What's up here? Trains? Busses?"

"Both. You got the Metro, and you got the county public transit systems. Matter-a-fact… The driver took his eyes off the road to rustle in his glove compartment. "It's not a shirt, and it might be a bit outdated but hopefully not by much."

Daniel took the pamphlets from the driver and unfolded it. "This a map?" He saw red lines, blue lines, green lines, and black targets.

"To the metro. You can pretty much get around the DMV with that."

"DC, Maryland, and Virginia?"

The driver chuckled. "You're fitting in already."

"Thanks for this."

"No problem. I got tons of them."

The rest of the ride was silent except for a few expletives let out by the driver when he was cut off in traffic. The roads got smaller and smaller until the taxi slowed to a stop outside of a row of brick buildings stuck together.

"You said 2583 Rowing St., right? Well this is it. You take care now and good luck."

He paid the driver with probably more cash than what was necessary and then cut into the flow of pedestrians to walk up the narrow stairs of 2583. The building had no sign, no business hours and the windows were tinted.

Wary of being caught without a shirt up here where everything was … new and expensive looking, he was quick to enter the building.

The door ushered him to a cluttered desk that took up most of the space in the room. There was a staircase further back but no way in hell was he taking it without knowing what this place was. At least there was AC.

A woman in grey slacks and a black polo descended the stairs, faltering on the last step when she saw him. She was a tiny thing with a stony demeanor. She probably shed her skin in the winter.

"You must be Daniel." She leaned over the desk to extend a hand. It was cold to the touch and he felt callouses. "I'm Eva. Jorge will be glad to hear that you've made it safely." He'd never met a woman with a dryer voice. Clearly, she'd seen some shit. She sounded like a cop, just in plainclothes.

"Never thought I'd end up here when I woke up this morning." Normally people smiled when they shook but he had nothing to smile about and he guessed she didn't either.

"No one ever does."

"What is this place, by the way?"

She rustled through the papers that were strewn across the desk until she found an empty manila folder. "I know this place is new to you, you coming from Fredericksburg and all but it's a nice place." She scribbled something on top of the folder in pen. "A safe place."

A safe place. He'd heard that before and the tone of her voice was far from convincing.

"Follow me upstairs. There's a place for you to sit and I can explain what Jorge's note was all about - as I'm sure you're wondering."

"Why not?" It was either follow the woman upstairs or wander aimlessly on the streets in the heat and without a shirt. It wasn't until she motioned for him to sit down in front of yet another desk that he realized she hadn't answered his first question. These rooms were just barren, just desks and unorganized paperwork. Was there even anyone else in this building?

She moved a stack of papers towards her side of the desk. "I'll be doing most of the talking and then we can go over any questions you may have after."

Daniel snorted at that. He'd ask the questions when he wanted to. It was his life that was suddenly up in the air. Not hers. "Jorge. Is he a cop?"

"I guess I did say I would tell you." She huffed. She leaned back in the office chair, then continued "No. Jorge isn't a cop, or any other type of law enforcement." Her mouth parted to start on another sentence. Probably trying to change the subject but he wasn't going to let her.

"Then what is he?" Youssef was probably in some cell by now and Jorge had something to do with it. Eva's eyes flickered toward his bare chest with displeasure.

"A private investigator working for our group. He was hired by one of your relatives - your brother, to be exact."

"Don't have one. What's the real story?"

"You do have one." She clipped.

"A man is walking around claiming to be my brother, hired a private investigator to find me, and for what? What does he want from me? This stalker."

Eva sighed. "You're his only sibling."

Was that supposed to make things make sense? Say for the sake of things this was true and he did have a brother. How was it that his brother had enough money to hire a private investigator while he shook his ass on men's dicks to pay rent? How was that fair? If it were true that he had a brother, the gods had a gross sense of humor.

"Only sibling, right. You can tell my "brother" to stay the hell away from me."

"Tell him yourself. Though, as I know him personally," She slid a business card his way. "I don't see that ending well for you."

All black card-stock. In the background was the design of a tree in a shade of gray that was just a bit lighter than the black. Folk Investigation Group was etched in a glimmering white font. He flipped it over and saw a number. Under the number was the name.

Damon Figueira, Lead Investigative Analyst. If this was the name of some long-lost brother, it may have well as been the name of a stranger because it meant nothing to him.

"Why didn't he meet me himself and lie to my face? Why have you do it for him?"

"Damon's work has taken him out of state today and the resident social worker is out of the office for the week. That means you're stuck with me, the resident attorney."

"An attorney, huh." Daniel looked at the spread of documents across the desk. 

"That makes sense."

Eva opened a drawer and pulled out a few papers. She stuffed them into the manila folder. "I'm about done with doing the grunt work for his little family project." She grumbled as she stood. "Here's more of what you need to know for now." She dropped the folder so that it landed in front of him with a smack. "Get the rest from Damon and maybe a shirt while you're at it. This is Alexandria, not the suburban boonies of Fredericksburg."

She shut the door behind her, and he heard the wooden blinds that dressed the small window in the door clatter against the pane.

But he couldn't take his eyes off what she'd written earlier on the folder in black ink and big letters.

Daniel Wood-Figueira.

[lazy-safetastic-13]

OKAY! For the first time, Red sees Fell confronted to one of his biggest fears. So for once he will take care of his guard of a brother! Biggest fear can be something dramatic like something ridiculous, your choice! GOOD LUCK ON YOUR TEST SWEETHEART

I’m exhausted. Lol. 4:02 am. WWwwwwww. 

I haven’t done much for this ship in a while. Giving it my share of love. 

so much for a drabble tho. hueheuheue. :’D

Update: Same thing as before, for the mobile, I’ve been told the read more cut is so wonky. :( As this is a sfw, I’ll undo the cut.Tumblr, pls get to do that. I don’t have the problem, but so many others do. >:(Not Good For Me. I need these read more cuts to be functioning well. Pronto. D’:

Title: It’s Not A Silly Fear

Pairing: Fellbros

Words: 1, 560

Snap!

It came unbidden as his necksuddenly felt weirdly free and the air caressed his bones.

Sans looked disgruntled whenthe collar landed on the hard floors with a thud and sighed as he bent down topick it up. “Heh, the old thing must’ve decided it was time.” He said with afond smile on his features as he examined the damage.

The leather collar used to bea brilliant red, but now it was faded to a maroon; the wear and tear makingitself known as he could also see some scratches, cracks and indents on thematerial. It was such a shame that he couldn’t quite find anything on repairingleather to better take care of it, but living in the underground with ruleslike theirs didn’t grant such luxuries.

Still, it was a gift from hisbrother, and that in itself was a rarity on its own so maybe he could attemptto stitch it up or something.

Sans decided to see if therewas something in stores, or maybe even in the dumps that could help, and placedthe collar on the bed before he teleported. Papyrus wouldn’t be done his guardduties until later, so the short skeleton hoped he had enough time before hisbrother sees the thing and lectures him about it.

“Sans!” Papyrus had comehome, having finished his duties earlier than expected as the dog unitsactually did their jobs right, for once.

And knowing that Sans’ shifthad already ended, he called for his brother … and received no response.

Only serving to irritate thetall skeleton and making him towards his brother’s room with purpose.

He slammed the door open, ausual thing, and grimaced at the messy sight of his brother’s room, again ausual thing.

And his gaze traveled to thebed where he’d usual find Sans napping and what not, but instead, what he foundgot him freezing in place.

Papyrus’ soul felt heavy and his bodybegan to shake. Eye lights bore hard into leather material innocently sittingon top of the top before the tall skeleton seemed to have suddenly appearedbefore it; having unconsciously moved; trepidation setting in his bones andcausing him to feel cold despite being indoors and the clothes he wore.

Gloved hands carefully lifted thecollar, gently—as if it’d break if he tightened his hold on it. It was precious.

He could see the torn and how woredown it was. Logically, it would be easy to deduce that it only snapped andSans was fine, maybe even went to get something to fix it. But Papyrus’ mindcouldn’t help supplying irrational imaginations in his head.

Of images that made his body shakeeven more and tears began to slide down his cheeks. But Papyrus didn’t even noticeas his thoughts began to swirl into turmoil.

Sans smiled at him, blood trailing down hisjaw and tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Paps.”

No no no no.

“I failed you.”

No Sans. You didn’t. Don’t believe that.

“I don’t have much time.”

No! You’ll be fine. I’ll think of something.I always do.

“But I want you to know that I love you,brother.”

No, stop. Please.

“And I’m proud of you.”

Please. Stop.

“Sorry, Paps. Sorry.” Sans faded away with Papyrusdesperately reaching out, only grasp at nothing for nothing was left in itswake.

And Papyrus fell to the ground as he grippedthe snow beneath him. Hopelessness. Despair. Loneliness. Regret.

His brother was no more. And it was all hisfault.

Stronger.

He should’ve been stronger. And now Sans was… his brother was.

Violent sobs racked his whole body and he didn’tcare if it could be heard.

The price was paid for his folly. It was allhis fault his brother was gone.

Sans ported back to his room inquite a happy mood that he actuallymanaged to find a sewing kit in the dumps. He was utterly caught by surprise;however, when he found his little brother sobbing on his floors whilstclutching the broken collar.

The short skeleton was immediatelyon alert as worry set in. He put the kit aside with his magic to be placed onthe bedside table as he himself lowered to his knees and went to slowly touchhis brother’s shoulder.

“H-Hey, Paps? Bro?” When eyelights met with his own, he smiled gently. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

Sans let out a yelp as Papyrus’quick movement startled him and he found himself tightly embraced by strongarms. He could hear the mumbled murmurs as repetitive apologies and Sans becameeven more worried at how shaken his brother was. What happened when he wasgone? Was it when the latter was doing his rounds? Did a monster say something tohim? Was he let go as part of the royal guard? Or … Oh stars, did Undyne saythat Papyrus wasn’t cool anymore and didn’t want to be her friend?

The short skeleton rubbed Papyrus’back as he returned the embrace. “Hey, shhh, hey, it’s okay, Paps. Shhh, it’sgonna be okay.”

“I’m so sorry. So so—”

“Shhhh, none of that.”

“B-But—”

“Papyrus.” Sans couldn’t help butsigh at the whimper. “Why don’t we go on the bed, yeah? I wanna know whathappened, okay?”

It took several moments beforePapyrus moved, carrying Sans along with him who didn’t move nor said a word ofcomplaint about it as the tall skeleton sat on the bed and moved back so thathis back met the wall. Once they were more or less settled, Sans began his questions.

“Now, do you mind telling me whatthat was all about?” Sans proceeded to wipe Papyrus’ tears with the sleeves ofhis jacket as he faced his brother in the other’s hold on him.

With Papyrus having calmed, helooked down and away from his Sans’ gaze. “… You’ll laugh at how silly it is.”

“I won’t.”

“You will.”

Sans placed both hands on Papyrus’cheeks and lifted them up so that their eyes met head on. “Try me.”

“… I … I got scared when I sawthe collar broken.” The silence made Papyrus nervously continue. “I-I know thatlogically nothing bad happened to you since it was on your bed, so it meantthat you got home and s-stuff, b-but my mind,” Papyrus was tearing up again. “I-Icouldn’t help thinking that you were gone. T-That you d-died and—it’s all m-myfault for not being s-strong enough to protect you. I’m sorry, Sans. I, I—”

Sans let out a soft sigh before gently smilingas he wiped them away. “Your imaginations astounds me, bro. It’s not yourfault. You’re already strong—unparalleled to one.”

“Undyn—”

“Not even Undyne!” Sans felt victorious when Papyrus softly chuckled athis claim. “And I’m not going anywhere. I’m too annoying to be killed soeasily. So sorry pal, but you’re stuck with me for a long damn time.”

Papyrus pulled his brother into atight hug, but this time, he was smiling. “… I wouldn’t have it any other way …Thank you, brother.”

“Anytime, Paps. Anytime.”

[Bonus]

It took a whole day or two beforeSans completed fixing up the collar. Papyrus had been more clingy in exchange fornot seeing the thing around Sans’ neck. So the tall skeleton had been more thanrelieved to see his brother put on collar.

The short skeleton pulled at it totest out the durability of his sewing ability, and found himself satisfied atthe result. Though, the heavy weight felt foreign from not wearing it for twodays. Well, at least his brother could stop looking at him as if he’d dust anymoment.

“There, practically good as new.”

Papyrus nodded and let out a deepbreath to collect himself before straightening to stand tall and proud. It wasas if he hadn’t been the clinging baby bones as he was in the past. “I’ll beleaving to do my rounds, and I expect you to be back before dinner Sans. Noneof that greasy food tonight.”

Considering the events thathappened, Sans relented and agreed to not go to Grillby’s.

“And I …” Papyrus shook his head.He’s already showed enough of his vulnerable side. “I expect you to also takebetter care of my gifts to you.”

“Geez, Paps. Don’t be an ass.” Thetall skeleton had the decency to be embarrassed and ashamed. But Sans get thathis brother was just trying to bring things back to normality, so he added, “Butspeaking of gifts, as much I like the collar, I think this one is really reaching itsend. Maybe it’d be time to get a new one.”

“I suppose that’s true.” Papyrusnodded. “All right, I’ll see if I’m able to find one, and of a better quality.”

Papyrus proceeded to head out, andjust before he was about to close the door, Sans called out, loud and clear, “Ilove you too! Take care!”

The short skeleton couldn’t helpbut laugh when he managed to see the reddening of cheekbones.

And more so when Papyrus shoutedback. “I’ll be back! Love you too!” before slamming the door shut.

Stars, they were certainly a weirdpair of brothers.

Sorry if it’s bad, Orz 

I actually had quite a hard time with this. So I hope this was adequate. I tried my best. T^T)

I tried thinking of fears applicable, but found myself really bad at making a good story in my head. So yeah, sorry if I have failed you, my friend! I hope it was still a good read regardless. ;v;) Wwwwww.

[thisdaynews]

Ready for another crazy day at the U.N.?

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/ready-for-another-crazy-day-at-the-u-n/

Ready for another crazy day at the U.N.?

What. A. Day. Get ready for another crazy one.

THE ZIP CODE 10017might be the only in the Western world where news of a presidential impeachment inquiry in the United States didn’t cause an immediate stir.

It’s not that U.N.-world doesn’t care:It’s that special forces of gravity apply here. In the words of one senior U.N. official, “Being here brings all these leaders down a peg. They all look a little bit lost, because for once they are not the center of attention.” In this environment of endless motorcades, security lines and preplanned lectures, Twitter and cable news are not the dominant forces of conversation.

Rest assured, U.N.-world caught up with normal world by Tuesday dinner. Playbook’s UNGA Tuesday evening was spent surrounded by former presidents and prime ministers in their sixties who couldn’t hold a table conversation — because they spent most of the meal glued to their phones searching for Donald Trump updates. If that sounds weird, remember that Greta Thunberg doesn’t act like a regular teenager, so there’s no reason the politicians should live up to their stereotypes either.

Hello again from New York City,where POLITICO’s delegation to the U.N. General Assembly is as breathless as everyone else trying to keep up with the blur of political news. There’s everything from sledgehammers against multilateralism to sidewalk diplomacy, stunning British court cases to jaw-dropping Ukranian bullying allegations.

While President Trump argues that the U.S is doing better than ever, and that any impeachment proceedings will be politically positive for him, you can still expect today to be total chaos. Inside Trump’s world, there’s a clash between public defiance and private anxiety, writes Nancy Cook.

MEETING OF THE YEAR:One source of the chaos will be Trump’s plan to meet this afternoon — around 2:15 p.m. Eastern — with UkrainianPresident Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the man he’s accused of bullying into investigating the family of Joe Biden, under threat of losing U.S. financial assistance. Ukraine adviser Kurt Volker, American Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland and Mike Pompeo are also slated to attend the sensitive Ukraine meeting.

Impeachment backstory:Trump withdrawing aid to Ukraine on July 25 was the last step in a “months-long fight inside the administration that sidelined national security officials and empowered political loyalists — including the president’s personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani,” WaPo reported. No word on whether Rudy will attend today’s bilat with Zelenskiy.

The rest of Trump’s dance card:Trump is also set to hold a press conference (4 p.m. Eastern), meet with other leaders to discuss Venezuela, and with Japan’s Shinzō Abe — hopefully to announce a mini-trade deal.

Today sees a swing back toward the big non-politician names at UNGA, with the Gates Foundation’s Goalkeepers conference and Bloomberg’s business forum. But the corridor chatter will be all Trump and Iran.

IRAN AND MACRON’S SHUFFLE DIPLOMACY:An energetic burst of Emmanuel Macron’s brand of diplomacy couldn’t overcome the enmity between Washington and Tehran that has been building since, er, the French president was born in the late 1970s.

Macron spent Tuesday scurrying from U.N. headquarters to nearby hotels and back, hoping to pull a diplomatic rabbit out of a hat by convincing Trump and his counterpart, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, to meet face-to-face and begin talks.

Macron bumped into Boris Johnson at the Millennium Hilton, across from U.N. headquarters, where the Frenchman had managed to slip in to see Rouhani just before the British PM’s scheduled bilateral meeting. Macron told Johnson that failure to arrange a meeting “is a lost opportunity,” observers said. “Because he will not come back in a few months. And President Trump will not go to Tehran. So they have to meet now.” Johnson then told Rouhani, “I think I agree with Emmanuel … you need to be on the side of the swimming pool and jump at the same time.

Even with the assist of an impromptu Angela Merkel-Rouhani meeting, that didn’t happen before Macron took off for Paris shortly before midnight. Macron did, however, convince Johnson that Trump and Rouhani should meet this week.

Iran deal parties meeting this morning:The remaining parties to the Iran nuclear deal are meeting this morning with a press conference expected at 9.30 a.m., a fact EU foreign policy honcho Federica Mogherini announced at a cocktail reception hosted on Tuesday evening by the EU representation to the U.N. She called the meeting “the best proof” that the “deal is still in place,” though it comes on the back of France, Germany and the U.K. attributing to responsibility to Iran for the Sept. 14 drone strikes on Saudi oil assets.

Trump wants Iran to make deeper commitments related to controls on its nuclear program and to curtail its role in regional military conflicts. The Iranians first want Trump to lift economic sanctions that he re-imposed when he pulled out of the nuclear accord. Read more on how Trump can escape his Iran jam.

VENEZUELA:While Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is in Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump will meet with Latin American leaders to discuss the situation in Caracas.

Catch up on how it happened here: POLITICO’s team of six reporters covering the U.N. provided live analysis here.

GLOBALISTS VERSUS PATRIOTS:We saw our first glimpse of low-energy President Trump Tuesday. The U.S. president stuck to his teleprompter and got zero reaction from his audience, putting some of them to sleep. What Trump did manage to do was draw a clear line across our collective political consciousness, the one that suggests you must choose between being a globalist and being a patriot. “If you want freedom, take pride in your country. If you want democracy, hold on to your sovereignty. If you want peace, love your nation,” he said, urging every country to put their own first. “The future does not belong to globalists, it belongs to patriots.”

Leaving aside Trump’s global business portfolio,U.N. officials scoffed at what they see as Trump’s artificial choice: they say they’re running an organization made up of national government members, with little budget and power, not a cabal of self-appointed world leaders. More on the clash between U.N. Secretary General António Guterres and Trump’s vision’s here.

— Other leaders including Spain’s Pedro Sánchez, and New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern pushed back against the idea of marginalizing the United Nations in their speeches.

Read this:Realists Not Globalists: What U.S. Critics Get Wrong About the U.N, by Richard Gowan.

Ben Chang, Princeton University’s spokesperson and a former U.S. diplomat to the U.N., writes that there are two United Nations: the one that hosted the climate summit at which Greta Thunberg starred, and the U.N. made up of dues-paying members — including the U.S. — whose leaders question climate change and whose policies Greta seeks to change.

Also read:Don’t cede the U.N. to China, by House Foreign Affairs Lead Republican Michael McCaul.

MACRON’S TALKING POINTS:The French president urged the U.S. and Iran to resume negotiations, and for the world to help save the Amazon. Macron — a strong believer in markets — said today’s “capitalism is dysfunctional” because of “a level of inequalities that is unprecedented.”

BOLSONARO’S BACKLASH:Journalists and pundits panned Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro over the Amazon fires. He wore the clothes of a great environmentalist, while at the same time rejecting new protections and new help for the Amazon and its indigenous people.

Idea of the day:Foreign governments and philanthropists directly paying indigenous people from the Amazon region to keep minerals in the ground, trees in the soil, and to manage the overall resource. The source of the idea: a CEO of a global company, who asked to remain anonymous, responding to Bolsonaro’s speech.

BORIS AND BREXIT BRIEF:British PM Boris Johnson arrives back in London this morning to face a growing constitutional crisis (never mind the new travel and public funds scandal). While Johnson has been found in stunning breach of Britain’s unwritten constitution for his suspension of parliament, that doesn’t automatically mean he’ll lose his job or that Brexit will be delayed beyond October 31.

Why? The opposition Labour party remains hopelessly divided on Brexit, and Johnson has much better net approval ratings than Labour’s leader Jeremy Corbyn, putting him in a good position to run a “People vs. Parliament and Courts” campaign when the inevitable election is finally called.

Team Boris is also still insisting their UNGA trip was a big success, based on his climate and Iran interventions.

Read this:Everything you need to know about the U.K. court ruling, by POLITICO’s Annabelle Dickson, Emilio Casalicchio and Charlie Cooper.

And this:How long can Boris Johnson cling onto power for? by Luke McGee

Back in 2015, U.N. members agreed on 17 goals that would serve as a blueprint for their efforts to secure a peaceful, sustainable future. The deadline is 2030.

WHY GLOBAL GOALS MATTER:As the U.N. Development Programme puts it, using language lifted directly from anti-poverty campaign kits, “26 people on Earth own the same wealth as 3.8 billion people who make up the poorest half of humanity.”

Status update:The U.N. has tended to paint a rosier picture than outsiders about how well the world is doing in meeting its development goals. Secretary General Antonio Guterres changed that Tuesday evening: “The Global Goals are our blueprint for a fair globalization. But we are far from where we need to be. We are off track.”

What others say:

The Goalkeepers Report from the Gates Foundationargues for a greater focus on extreme poverty, and says that gender and geography are the biggest factors in stacking the deck for or against a person’s chances in life.

43 years behind schedule: The Social Progress Imperative assessed 149 different countries, across 51 different indicators related to the goals. They say the world will be 43 years behind schedule in reaching the U.N. 2030 targets, and that the U.S. has gone backwards since 2014.

GOING LOCAL:There’s a big push this year for localized implementation of the U.N. global goals. Such as this “Making Global Goals Local Business” campaign. Meeting the global goals will depend on hundreds of partnerships across the world, such as these new initiatives below.

Using data to save lives:The Rockefeller Foundation is allocating $100 million for a “Precision Public Health Initiative.” The goal is to prevent 6 million deaths by 2030 by using large datasets, predictive analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning to reduce preventable maternal and child deaths. Partners include UNICEF, WHO, The Global Fund, the Global Financing Facility and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

$300 million global industry alliance to end plastic waste and clean up oceans:The Minderoo Foundation this afternoon launches “Sea the Future,” which aims to make plastics a cashable commodity. That’s code for an already common (but not widespread) idea: paying customers for returning plastic bottles for recycling. Backers include Conservation International, Walmart, Unilever and The Coca Cola Company.

Breathe freely:TheClean Air Fund and the World Economic Forum are partnering to tackle air pollution. More detailshere.

HELLO (AMBASSADOR) KITTY:Hello Kitty has been rehabilitated. The world-famous “anthropomorphic cat girl” from Japan — last seen receiving a €6.2 million EU antitrust fine — is now a U.N. ambassador, promoting sustainable development goals. U.N. officials unveiled a series of videos, featuring Kitty White explaining the value of equal education opportunities, fighting climate change and expanding health coverage. A human-size Hello Kitty, perhaps an imposter, made an appearance at U.N. headquarters Tuesday.

The Orb is back!

Trolling Trump 1—Greta Thunberg:The teenage climate activist changed her Twitter bio to Trump’s taunting description of her: “A very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future.” The U.S. president tweeted the remark apparently mocking her alongside a video of Thunberg’s fiery plea for more action from world leaders during Monday’s climate summit.

Trolling Trump 2— Venezeulan bookworm: During Trump’s speech, a Venezuelan delegate strategically chose to read up on Simón Bolívar, the Venezuelan military and political leader who helped Latin American countries achieve independence from Spain in the early 1800s. On Twitter, she called Trump’s rhetoric “xenophobic and imperialistic.”

“If we can land a man on the moon, surely we can protect a woman in childbirth.” — Jenni Lee, UN Foundation.

“Why did he want to buy Greenland then? Because he knows it’s going to melt and underneath is all the things he wants to get his greedy little hands on.” — Former Irish President Mary Robinson, on whether Trump is a climate change denier.

“Everything about Brexit makes me want to slit my wrists.” — British CEO speaking to Playbook in the wake of Supreme Court ruling against Johnson’s government.

GLOBAL ENERGY INVESTMENTS REMAIN CARBON-HEAVY:2018 data shows little indication that the world’s current trajectory of energy investment will meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, reports the Internationale Energy Agency.

View the full DataPoint graphic here. Want to add DataPoint to your POLITICO Pro account? Learn more.

THE PEOPLE APPROVE:A Pew study shows that the majority of people around the world have a favorable view of the U.N., including by a wide margin among Americans and two-thirds of Europeans surveyed.

INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD CURTIS:The director, producer and screenwriter behind hits ranging from “Mr. Bean” to “Bridget Jones” and “Four Weddings and a Funeral” is now dedicating his skills to helping people connect emotionally with the U.N. Curtis once joked that he’d had the published version of an interview cut down to 11 seconds. Ensuring interview justice is served, you can listen to Playbook’s full conversation with Curtis in this podcast

Highlights below.

Why do you think the U.N. struggles to make itself known? “If you’ve negotiated the Sustainable Development Goals for three years and you finally get round to issuing it, it’s quite easy for people who’ve done that not to realize this is the public’s first encounter.”

So what’s the solution?“Make it as accessible, as appealing, as noisy, as populist as you can. The people who make the posters and trailers of my movies: I hate them. Because they reduce the incredible hard work of my movie to one picture that doesn’t even come from the movie. But I know it’s necessary.”

Did the climate strikers take your message of simplicity to heart with their concentrated demands?“I’m incredibly inspired by these movements. [And] what’s happening this week at UNGA, you know that couldn’t really be done by anyone except the U.N … what I’ve tried to do is make the relationship between the U.N. and all these outside forces more vibrant.”

CLASH OF THE RECEPTIONS:The U.S. and EU missions to the U.N. conducted parallel receptions Tuesday night, raising eyebrows at the American end. According to Playbook’s European sources, the Europeans were completely aware of the scheduling clash (and very happy with their turnout, see here).

The EU bash morphed into a kind of farewell reception for the bloc’s chief diplomat, Federica Mogherini, who confirmed to the crowd that she would be staying on in Brussels after her term ends November 1. She isn’t easing up between now and then: Mogherini announced the Iran nuclear deal is alive and well to cheers from the crowd, before offering a compliment to Charles Michel (incoming European Council president and outgoing Belgian prime minister), who was present: “The Council will be in excellent hands. I don’t know about Belgium.”

Also spotted at the EU reception:Leo Varadkar, Frans Timmermans, Helga Schmid, Gordon Sondland, Christos Stylianides, Werner Hoyer, Jeppe Kofod, Simon Coveney, Udo Bullmann, Maja Kocijančič, Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, Emma Navarro, Ambroise Fayolle, Shirin Wheeler and Hugo Sobral.

GEN X TIES:European Council President-elect Charles Michel is working to hit the reset button on transatlantic relations that Trump officials say they want. Michel had dinner with Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner at their private apartment in Manhattan. Playbook’s insiders say the dinner stretched for hours. Michel, who is 43, is about five years older than Javanka, as the U.S. president’s daughter and son-in-law are known in the tabloids. The strategy: Keep your friends close, and your Trumps closer.

MEDIA MELTDOWN:Did you notice an uptick in negative media stories midday Tuesday? It might be because the internet and the coffee evaporated simultaneously at 11 a.m. in the U.N. HQ media tent.

HOW TO BE A GOOD AMBASSADOR IN THE PLATFORM AGE:Diplomacy used to be about listening, clever language and well-deployed cocktails. In this megaphone and digital age where everyone is a self-appointed savior, it’s more complicated. Playbook spoke to a handful of U.N. ambassadors for their take on how to succeed in 2019.

League of their own:“It’s all about relationships,” said one ambassador from a G7 country. In other words: don’t nerd out on your policy brief when you could be taking tea. In the U.N. system, it’s also important to know what league you are playing in. The top of the U.N. pyramid are the “P5” — the ambassadors of the permanent Security Council members: U.S., Russia, China, U.K. and France. But the P5 play in what amounts to a “Champions League” and the cast of other teams in that league rotates depending on several factors: how big the country is, the reputation of the country’s leader, whether it’s a temporary Security Council member, and the personal skills of the ambassador.

Germany is a case in point here:Berlin has a very well connected ambassador(Christoph Heusgen)anda respected national leader in Angela Merkel, helping it make up for its lack of P5 status. The European Union is an interesting hybrid: It’s not a U.N. member but it does coordinate weekly meetings of all EU ambassadors, making the U.N. its most tightly organized diplomatic operation outside of Brussels.

UN-TRADITIONAL:One tradition we’d love to skip: the weird photo pose moment before each leader speaks. They sit on a chair that resembles the chairs allocated to Santa characters at shopping malls at Christmas time.

SPOTTED:Amal Clooney and Nadia Murad chatting at the NY Palace.

GOAL!Bill and Melinda Gates hosted their annual Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards Tuesday night at Lincoln Center. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi won the big global award for progress India is making in improving sanitation. A “Changemaker Award” was presented to youth activist Payal Jangid for her fight against child labor and child marriage in India. A “Progress Award” was presented to Gregory Rockson, co-founder and CEO of mPharma in Africa.

SPOTTEDon Tuesday night at the Concordia Summit’s closing BUILD Act reception at the Ricketts residence at the Residences at the Mandarin Oriental in Columbus Circle: David Bohigian, Matthew Swift, Ray Washburne, Brian Baker, Sylvie Légère Ricketts, Lisa Spies, Elizabeth Littlefield, Heather Nauert, Tony Sayegh, James A. Walsh, James L. Richardson, Steven Olikara, Derek Gianino, John Zimmerebner …

… David Campbell, Robert Mosbacher, Jr., Steven J. Brooks, Menelao Mora de la Lastra, Haitian Ambassador to the U.S. Hervé Denis, David John Frenkel, Nancy Brinker, Becca Glover, Teresa Davis, Anita McBride, Jon Harrison, Brian Morgenstern and Lauren Kirshner.

SPOTTEDon Tuesday night at the Verizon “Green” Cocktails at BUILD studio in the East Village: Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg, Verizon Media CEO Guru Gowrappan, Julie Hyman, Henrik Henriksen, Mariana Agathoklis, Rose Stuckey Kirk, Jim Gowen, Jo Lambert, Kyle Dropp and Russell Grant.

All day:U.N. Sustainable Development Goals Summit

Bloomberg Global Business Forum:Keynote to be delivered by Narendra Modi, also featuring Jacinda Ardern, Pedro Sánchez, Sauli Niinistö, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Jamie Dimon, Bob Iger, Henry M. Paulson, Jr., Daniel Kablan Duncan, Hage Geingob, Danilo Medina, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Scott Morrison, and Carlos Alvarado Quesada.

All day:Gates Foundation Goalkeepers Event

Business Council for International Understandingis running aseries of eventsthrough the rest of the week.

IPCC ocean report release:The report warns that climate change is having dire effects on the world’s seas: “The ocean is warmer, more acidic and less productive. Melting glaciers and ice sheets are causing sea level rise, and coastal extreme events are becoming more severe,” according to the release.

Data for Now:Accelerating SDG progress through timely data,8-10 a.m.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-chaspeaks at the Asia Society, 725 Park Ave,9:30 a.m.

Women’s rights:Advancing Women’s Meaningful Participation to Resolve Conflict and Build Peace in Afghanistan, ECOSOC Chamber, UNHQ,12:30-2:30 p.m.

A Conversation with Sheikh Hasina,prime minister of Bangladesh. Afsaneh Beschloss presiding. Council on Foreign Relations, 58 East 68 Street,3:30-4:30 p.m.

The George W. Bush Institute’s partnership with UNAIDS and Merck,aiming to end cervical cancer among HIV-positive women in sub-Saharan Africa, will announce the results from the first year of the partnership this afternoon.

Project Everyone 2020 campaign launchat UN HQ,5:30-6:30 p.m.

Swedish Sustainable Leaders reception,Swedish Residence, featuring leaders of IKEA, Ericsson, Scania, Skanska, Hybrit and others,6-8 p.m.

Future Island Nation:President of Maldives and Parley’s CEO will be hosting an event announcing a “Future Island Nation” program at the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum,from 7 p.m.

Read More

[chaosmagetwin]

The Wild Adventures of Ashley and Paul: Chapter 4

Lot’s to cover in this chapter! If you just want the story, but don’t want to get accidentally spoiled, don’t read the prompt list, or the Extra Errata (all in one link below). The Prologue through chapter 3 are also linked below, so you can catch up on the story, or refresh yourself, if you are interested.

The Prompt list with extra errata! : http://chaosmagetwin.tumblr.com/post/157916938995/100-dialogue-prompts-part-2

Prologue: http://chaosmagetwin.tumblr.com/post/157921576040/the-wild-adventures-of-ashley-and-paul-prologue

Chapter 1: http://chaosmagetwin.tumblr.com/post/157956747605/the-wild-adventures-of-ashley-and-paul-chapter-1

Chapter 2: http://chaosmagetwin.tumblr.com/post/158205424995/the-wild-adventures-of-ashley-and-paul-chapter-2

Chapter 3: http://chaosmagetwin.tumblr.com/post/158480935710/the-wild-adventures-of-ashley-and-paul-chapter-3

“Ok, so... don’t get mad. I might have started a ‘war’.”

“You’re kidding, right? You said you would be home in time for dinner!”

“Time is... relative. I can be back in time, I just have to figure this out.” A sigh came from the other end of the line, one of exasperation. 

“I did say I would pack something up for you if you didn’t make it in time. Good luck, honey.” The Time Line clicked as his wife hung up, and the man sighed. This job was certainly getting harder. He hadn’t expected to be snuck up on by some demon girl. Now that he thought about it, hadn’t she been there when he had accidentally shot that bystander?

She seemed to keep getting in the way. he rubbed his forehead where she had slammed her horns into him. An... unconventional tactic. If it weren’t for his nanites, he’d probably have concussed and fallen to his death. Good thing they worked so quickly. Obviously, he was going to have to change tactics. The gun wasn’t doing the job, and they seemed to find out where he was quickly. If he didn’t know better, he’d think that he was being tested to see if he was a good assassin still. 

Frankly, if it were a test, he was failing. A teenager was his target. It should have been easy to begin with. Sure, the target was over six feet tall, and built like an action hero, but it should still have been easy. 

Maybe it was time he finally looked into why this person was his target.

Ashley stared at the spot the Assassin should have been on the ground as her phone rang. She winced as her injured arm moved to grab it reflexively, and opted to use her other instead. A few awkward moments later, and she had it in hand. 

“Where’d he go?” It was Paul of course. “What happened? Are you okay?” he sounded a little frantic.

“I’m fine, just... a shot in the arm. It’ll heal. I don’t know what happened or where he went, though. What’d you see?”

“I saw you get up there, him shoot you, and then you headbutted him and he fell, then disappeared halfway down. How bad is it? I’m going to call an ambulance!”

“No! It’s fine! I heal quickly! Remember? Look, just... relax. I’ll be home in a minute, okay?” She hopped off the roof and landed heavily on the ground, letting her knees absorb most of the impact. “How are Sarah and Karen?”

For a moment there was silence, then Paul spoke again. “They look fine. Sarah just looks bored, and Karen is kind of freaked out. She keeps muttering about not having spells for this shit.”

Ashley flexed her injured shoulder as she walked, testing it. “Yeah, she’d have to get some more modern spells for it, I think.” She squinted at the bullet wound. Through and through. Good. “In either case, I think he’s gone for now... “

“See you in a bit.” They hung up on each other, and she opened the door a few moments later. He turned to look at her. “Ashley, you sure do look strange.”

“... What?” 

“Yeah. Like you’ve lost some Pixels.” Ashley looked over at Sarah, who shrugged. “Oh no! Your data! You’re being reduced to a bit~!” Ashley rolled her eyes as hard as she possibly could. “Yeah, okay, that was lame. Are you okay? You said you were shot.”

She showed him her arm so he could inspect it. Meanwhile, she inspected their home. There were holes everywhere, all of them at least thee inches wide. Whatever he’d been shooting, it wasn’t a normal caliber. “... How are we going to fix this....?”

He looked up from her injury and looked around before shaking his head. “I have no idea...” He sighed, and looked back at her, a hand brushing some hair out of her face, seemingly out of instinct. They both blushed at the same moment. “Let’s get a bandage on you.” She nodded.

“Our Author wasn’t wrong. Things have gotten weird... An assassin is trying to kill you, our school has disappeared, our house has holes in it.... I’m afraid of whatever is coming next.” She shook her head as they walked into the kitchen. She pointed out the cabinet under the sink. “I get the feeling our story has started up in earnest....”

He nodded as he began wrapping up the bullet hole with the bandage from the first aid kit from beneath the sink. “Agreed. Probably with our authors death. Do you think authors have authors....?”

She shrugged and winced. “Hard to say. Should we... I dunno... do things while the story is going?” She watched his face closely, and saw the uncertainty that plagued him too. 

“. . . I dunno. It’d be... sort of embarrassing, right? If we did....” he sighed, and carefully finished the bandage. “I’d hate to think it was because an Author made us.” She touched his face, and he looked up at her eyes. 

“We’re... new to this whole... relationship thing. I never thought i would.... like people. I never thought I’d... you know. L-Like you. Or that it was even possible.” ‘Like’ wasn’t the word she wanted to say. “I want us to be together... for us. Not because some Author dictated it. It’s just... something we’ll have to think about, right? Now that the story has started...”

He sighed, and rubbed the back of his head carefully. “Yeah.”

“Awwwww. Aren’t you two adorkable?” They turned to look at Sarah and Karen. It was Sarah speaking. “You two should totally go for it. Who cares if it was because of an Author? Do what you want. Forget the rules! Screw the rules and embarrassment! Burn a house down!” Karen rolled her eyes.

“Wouldn’t that just be following the rules, then? If they got together? Besides. The lover of the main character always dies after sex. It’s a huge trope, remember? Since no one wants anyone to die, maybe it’d be best if you didn’t.” Karen’s words were reasonable at least. 

Paul shook his head anyways. “We’ll figure it out. It’s late. You guys have everything you need for sleeping? I’ll stand watch, in case he comes back.”

Karen and Sarah shook their heads while Karen spoke. “I’ve got spells in case I get cold. I’m actually just gonna... make your lives easier and repair the holes, too. You might notice some, uh... leaves.. later.”

“Leaves...?” She nodded at Paul. 

“I don’t know how to repair dead wood, but I can bring it back to life, and then I can repair living wood. It’s a weird workaround, but it works.”

Sarah shrugged. “I guess I’ll see everyone in the morning. Night.” She gave a two-fingered salute as she left the kitchen. 

“Ashley stood up and tugged on her bandage idly. “I’m also headed to bed. Paul, I... I’ll see you tommorow.” She looked at the floor as she left the room. She couldn’t stand seeing his face right now. What would she do if she saw the answer to their questions in his face?

The next morning came early, and with a hard knock to the door. Ashley blinked tiredly at her door, hearing voices coming from downstairs. Karen’s was loud, as she exclaimed, “Don’t you know what time it is? Go away! Wild House is BI!ZAY!” She groaned and pulled on her arm’s bandage. It still hurt?

Pauls voice was in it’s most reassuring tone, which wasn’t a good sign, but too quiet to be heard. The responding voice wasn’t though. “Ah. Paul. Good morning. I see the Assassin failed again.” Her eyes widened at that. It had to be an Author again.

She got up and pulled on her clothes quickly before rushing downstairs. Paul was standing at the threshold of the kitchen, looking in. “No, no, Miss, er... Witch. The only thing I want from this house and story is for it to end.” She peeked around Paul, who jumped slightly when he saw her. It was an Author alright; a tall one, in a business suit, but wide with muscles. She glared at him. “Ah. Miss Ashley. The half devil.”

“Sir.” she said promptly. “How can Wild House help you? We already have an Author.”

He smiled kindly at her. “No, you don’t. The AA degraded him to supporting character when they saw his plan for you two. He was already on a short list just by putting the two of you together. Wild house, indeed. Hmph.” He looked around the kitchen with a bored expression.”You two are wasted on this story of his. And he got the main characters of two other stories involved and an Assassin. I’d change things if I could, but, well.... he already put things in motion. I can only change small details. Now. You two are dating, but not in the story?” She opened her mouth to say something, but he raised his hand stopping her. 

“I don’t care. The story is meant to be a romance, but frankly.... you two are a mismatch. So... Do whatever.”

Paul sighed, and rubbed the back of his head. “Why are you here?”

The Author sighed and stood with a stretch. “To warn you. Step out of line for the story too much, and there will be problems. The AA doesn’t like it when characters get Uppity. Neither do I. Have a good day.” He waited for them to move apart so he could get through. Ashley grit her teeth, and stepped back. Their last Author was odd, but this one was a jerk.

He stepped through them and headed for the door. He looked back at Ashley, and a smile crossed his face as he shut the door. Shivers ran down her spine. “Well, that guy was creepy as fuck.”

“. . . Let’s leave the cursing to the humans...” The normally automatic response was delayed, and she looked at him. He looked shaken as well. For a moment, everyone was quiet. “Let me see your arm. The much vaunted demonic regeneration and all that.”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, sure.” She pulled on the bandage for a moment, and began unraveling it. She regretted taking it off immediately. 

“... Holy shit, Ash. That is infected.” it was yellow, green, and had pus leaking from it. Accompanied to the sights was a smell of something sickly sweet. “What, did he have holy bullets or something?”

“How would I know? I’ve never seen a holy bullet! Or even an infection...” She felt woozy just looking at the injury. “I think I should go to the hospital....”

“Agreed. I’ll call a cab.” He reached into his pocket delicately and pulled out his phone with it’s too large buttons.