#and i still don’t get why none of the teachers question the fact that i come to class every fifteen days

[jules-and-company]

got a little chance to continue hogwarts legacy

- on god fuck sebastian and the rest only poppy and natty are my true friends. like who takes me on a whimsical adventure to find long-lost birds and resolves a trauma ? poppy sweetiepie sweeting. who asks me to come to the great hall just to have a therapy sesh and then carries out a fight that i’m also personally involved in and WHO literally sacrifices herself for me without second thought ???? who tells me i’m the best friendship that’s ever happened to her ??? natsai motherfucking onai. AND WHO only takes me to dangerous-ass tombs full of inferi and spiders for dark relics that only serve his own personal obsession ??? who devalues everything i’m working on (aka the ancient magic file) because he’s so busy focusing on his goal (peak slytherin tho ?) ???? WHO CALLS ME STUPID TO MY FACE ???? sebastian fucking sallow. he’s an extremely interesting and complex character and i still enjoy his presence but christ alive. at first i bonded with him ´cause he was just as toxic as me but even THAT is going too far

- SPEAKING OF. when ominis said « he went alone inside the tomb » i felt we were fucked. but i didn’t think i’d find him controlling literal INFERI and i certainly didn’t think i’d have to beat his uncle’s ass BEFORE THE BOY FUCKING KILLS HIM

- i think i missed the mark where i could learn avada kedavra but let’s say it was a conscious choice. why would i want to learn the Brutal Kill Curse. first of all fights would be a lot less interesting. second i haven’t even graduated my fifth year. I AM FIFTEEN. WHY WOULD I

- when i started the fight with rookwood i didn’t think i’d have to kill the bitch. why do i have to kill everyone round these parts ??? where are the authorities ???

- officer singer only came for harlow but when I WAS gang-ambushed by at least sixteen goons and as much inferi PLUS the most dangerous man in the region suddenly you can’t fucking find me ???? why does the ministry want me dead

- after getting my ass handed to me at least twelve times during the last boss fight, i decided to leave that last principal quest where it is from now and do literally everything else. so that when i come back before ranrok i have become god

- i admit, seeing all the teachers there to help fig and i was JOYOUS (lack of headmaster tho ??? black get your lily-white racist aristocratic ass down there and help your literal coworkers and a 15yo child)

- everytime i have to destroy a piece of equipment to make room for what i find in the crests (i’ve been stupid enough to not do the merlin’s enigmas so far) i die a little because i know i’ll never find them again

- i just LOVE the grapcorn. i’ll name him bessie (mulan reference)

- i am MOURNING for lodgok. why did it have to come to this

- i don’t know about y’all but i never use plants (mandragora, chinese screaming lettuce) or potions other than a shitload of wiggenweld, nor do i have the four categories of spells at all times in my pocket, but not because i have disdain for all that, but because i am at all times panicking. so brutal force it is or nothing

- just in terms of modeling the character, i was skeptical at first of wearing simply the school’s uniform, but now i ain’t never changing. beating everyone’s asses in standard issued checkered green skirt and this green tie may be used for strangulation

- i don’t know if it’s supposed to be the same thing for the playing character regardless of house but. why do i feel like since i am in slytherin i act in a certain slytherin way. like have the developpers been smart enough to match unchoosable personality with housing. that would be cool

- more whimsical colourful adventures, less dark tombs exploring that i only get out of at the ass crack of dawn with blood all over me and five new traumas

[naneun-no]

On “Insecure Jikookers”…

Alright. I might lose followers for this and that’s very okay; curate your timeline and protect your peace babes. But for YEARS, every time the phrase “insecure jikooker” has come up on my feed my eyelid has done a little twitchy twitch 🤨🤨

And I have always ignored it, because I’ve never wanted to be out here policing ppl’s language and we are literally supposed to be having fun and celebrating love, like for me that’s the whole point, but —

I’ve been seeing the phrase popping up again surrounding the release of AYS and I just gotta say it.

You guys the term seems so culty 😬🥲

Like I think I get the origin (maybe)? It probably started when some of the early jikook bloggers (if you are one I salute you, I am not worthy, trust me this is NOT a dig at anyone, jikook bloggers are by and large cool and kind af 🙇‍♀️) would get these sketchy asks that were antis or cultists in disguise just casting aspersions on jikook’s bond or being blatantly homophobic and/or in general being rude little anonymous internet gremlins. Or maybe it was people who did want to believe that jikook was real but kept nagging and begging for reassurance at every turn, which I can totally see becoming annoying as hell and prompting people to start using the term.

But it feels like it’s used now as like a catchall for anyone who expresses any doubt or asks any critical questions? Even like… reasonable ones? And I used to see a lot of “hey believe what you want to believe but this is what I believe” but now it seems like the sentiment around jikooker communities has by and large become “if you don’t believe you’re an idiotic dumb person who has never known love — you’re either a rival shipper in disguise or WORSE (dun dun dunnnnn) an Insecure Jikooker — and we don’t want people like you around.”

And idk it just feels weird for a community that has always seemed to kind of pride itself on being the “rational, fact-based” ship… like we LOVE to be smug about how jikook don’t need edits to be obvious, don’t need slo-mo zooms with red circles and arrows because their chemistry and fondness and affection is just plain to see in basic footage. We’re the levelheaded ones 😌.

But doesn’t that mean that we should always be encouraging critical thinking, and if someone comes to a different conclusion than us, so be it? Like it or not, none of us have foolproof confirmation that jikook are anything more than very close friends. That’s literally all we know. The rest is our best guess based on vibes, anecdotes, dot-connecting, subtext and body language observation, experience, perception (!!This is a big one because confirmation bias is real!!), and suspicion. That’s literally it.

Look maybe I’m just projecting 😅 but when you criticize people for expressing reasonable doubt over something that is literally not confirmed, it’s just a little too religious fundamentalist for me! (This is why I was a bad Christian, because I always raised my hand and asked questions the Sunday school teacher didn’t like.)

Feel free to ignore me. I never want to come across as pushy or trying to stir up anything, it’s just a phrase that grinds my gears and I’m sort of hoping I’m not alone in that… but if I am, so be it! 🤣 would love to hear people’s thoughts because maybe I’m missing something.

(P.S. If you’re a troll who spams jikook blog inboxes this is not me defending you. You’re still annoying and you need a better hobby. Have you tried yoga? Snowboarding? Fly fishing? Filming food vlogs and/or painting? You should try cooking. You should stop being an anonymous internet troll stomping on everyone’s proverbial sandcastles and instead write a poem. K bye ✌️ )

[mytaiyakeylover]

scary stares.

synopsis: his gaze is penetrating, like that of a predator ready to pounce on its prey, and you can't help but wonder at what point you managed to anger the gang leader.

pairing: mikey x gn!reader

a/n: i don’t even know how my sleep deprived brain came up with this. was watching some random horror movie at 3 am yesterday and this is what happened😳 part 2?

warnings: just the reader freaking out and mikey being his usual oblivious self. guess some hints of angst too. reader misunderstands mikey, which isn’t that weird.

word count: 1.3k

series masterlist | previous | next

It’s unnerving. The way he keeps staring at you. Black, abyssal eyes penetrate your soul, making you feel exposed — naked even. You don’t know what he wants — what he’s expecting from you.

You feel small under his gaze; like a mouse. It doesn’t seem to bother him whatsoever, dead eyes simply watching you from the other side of the classroom, not paying any mind to what the teacher is saying. Usually you would have at least tried to pay attention — which you are — but the blond boy sitting at the back of the classroom is staring so intently, you can practically feel his eyes lingering on your vulnerable figure.

He doesn’t break eye contact when you look in his direction, and you find yourself shrinking. Perhaps you’re overreacting. One of your friends had once told you that he probably likes you, but you’re not too sure. Not when he keeps looking at you in a similar way that a predator watches its prey. You rake through your brain, trying to remember at what exact instance you had managed to anger the gang leader, but find none.

It’s quite hard to pinpoint what exactly you must have done however, as neither of you had even as much as exchanged one word with each other. The teacher doesn’t make things easier for you as he starts putting students into groups for some project. By some miracle you and Sano just happen to get into the same one. But you try not to show the relief you feel when his tall friend — Ryuguji — also joins you.

They may be friends, but even you were observant enough to notice that the short boy was less intimidating with him. That Ryuguji more or less, had at least some control over the commander. It was also common knowledge that between the both, the taller one was always the more reserved and collected one.

“…So, uh,” you start, rubbing the back of your head sheepishly. “What exactly were we supposed to do?” You ask tentatively, still feeling quite intimidated by the shorter boy. Ryuguji lets out a barely audible sigh, but then smiles. You think he must be sensing your unease and is trying to make you feel more comfortable.

“Guess somebody must have zoned out, huh,” he states, a teasing smirk appearing on his lips, which urged you to let out an embarrassed laugh. “Guess so,” you mumble, smiling faintly as a soft pink hue dusts your cheeks.

The other boy doesn’t say anything, eyes vacant as he seems to be deep in thought. You’re not too sure of what he’s thinking about, but there is something in your gut telling you that you want to know. Still, the question remains unspoken, letting curiosity simply continue to eat at your sanity. Bits by bits; like a parasite.

It has always been a bad habit of yours. Sometimes you wish you had more courage. More courage to speak your thoughts. Perhaps then you wouldn’t have been here right now, feeling like this — so helpless and lonely. It's not that you don't enjoy being alone; in fact, you love it. However, there have always been moments when you wish you had done things differently.

You know you should ask. Should ask why he’s been staring at you for so long — in such a way. To clear things up. To save yourself from the growing anxiety. To protect your sanity.

Then someone clears their throat. It’s Ryuguji. You guess he must have noticed the tension between you and his friend. Sano still doesn't make any acknowledgment of either of you, and you can hear the dragon-tattooed boy sigh from your right.

“There is nothing much, we’re just supposed to answer these questions and then discuss them,” the tall boy explains, losing any hope he may have had previously for his commander. You can practically sense it by the apparent vein that has popped out above his right eyebrow.

A barely audible, “Oh,” leaves your lips at his words. Then you sit down, doing your best to avoid making eye contact with the other boy. He’s still staring, and you're not quite sure what to make out of it. A part of you hoped that it would at least be easier for you to understand what that gaze means. Unfortunately, instead of making things clearer, it only seems to confuse you further.

The closeness isn’t helping in the slightest, despite the desk separating the both of you. If anything, it only makes you more nervous. You try to break the tension by asking him questions here and there, whenever you get to a new question that you need to discuss. Sano never answers you however — never says anything at all, in fact, and Ryuguji looks truly fed up with his behavior.

Time passes. Ryuguji is speaking, but you only seem to hear the ticking of the clock, so all you do is nod. Nodding at him with a polite — and perhaps slightly awkward — smile whenever you catch his lips moving. Heart beating erratically in your rib cage as the oh so familiar irrational sense of fear and dread envelopes your senses.

The feeling leaves you confused as you had never experienced such emotions without any apparent reason. Communication was never a problem for you before. Despite occasionally overthinking things, it had never occurred unless it was due to something you had said that was foolish or poorly thought out. Your friends would sometimes tease you, claiming that you paid too much attention to trivial matters.

“(L/n)-san,” you hear Ryuguji’s voice calling out for you, pulling you out from your thoughts. His eyebrows are furrowed, a look of concern plastering his face. “Are you okay?”

Your eyes widen as you rush to come up with a response. "Of course," you say, realizing you had zoned out. The boy arches an eyebrow in response, dismissing your later stuttered apology with a wave.

A lump forms in your throat as you catch the pair of onyxes still very much concentrated on you. Your cheeks flare up at their intense look, but try not to acknowledge that fact. Instead you simply turn around, and continue on with the questions.

Minutes pass by and you feel cold sweaty trailing down your neck as they remain fixated on you. You try to form a coherent sentence whenever Ryuguji is asking you something, but they only come out as a stuttered mess. The boy is considerate enough to not comment on it however.

You feel a wave of relief flooding your system as the bell rings and the teacher announces the end of the lesson. However, it's only when your feet step out of the classroom that the feeling fully registers in your brain. Even then, you fail to notice the forgotten notebook on your former group member's desk.

Draken sweatdrops at how quickly you bolted out of the classroom, noticing the notebook you had accidentally left behind. He feels slightly guilty for the obvious discomfort you were displaying, fully aware that Mikey's weird demeanor must have caught you off guard. The short boy did look kind of creepy throughout the entire lesson.

He sighs, about to stand up and try to catch up to you, but a familiar voice stops him in his tracks. “Hey, Ken-chin?” There is a slightly dreamy lilt to it, and the addressed boy feels his brain short-circuit. He can’t help it, he’s never heard his friend speak in such a manner, like…ever.

“Don’t you think (Y/n)-chan is pretty?”

[luvsymai]

FAKE BOYFRIEND ; Shoto Todoroki

Chapter 3: HE CURSED AT HIM RESPECTFULLY.

Genre: Romance, fluff

Warnings: none

<- Series

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___________________________________

You were in your dorm, in the comfort of your bed, you were thinking of Todoroki and your conversation from earlier. You were having second thoughts if that was a good decision or not.

When you two went back to the cafeteria, you expected Mina to spill the tea to Iida and Midoriya already, and you were right.

Iida shouted, “You two are dating!?” like his life depended on it, hence the embarrassment you felt back then and the eyes on the commotion. Midoriya, on the other hand, was trying to process the info. Though you were a hundred percent sure that the rumors would spread like wildfire tomorrow.

You sighed. You didn’t expect that you’ll have to be pretending to date Todoroki, out of all people. But you’ll have to expect that the rumors of you dating Todoroki was bound to spread.

You know that he was the one who proposed to be in a fake relationship, but you hoped that it wouldn’t get awkward between the both of you.

You still wanted to get close to him, after all.

The next day, you braced yourself for the rumors, but you really weren’t ready when almost the whole school was crowding you!

“Are you for real?! You’re dating Endeavour’s son?”

Questions were thrown at you left and right as if they were a paparazzi and you were a celebrity. You would’ve enjoyed the attention if it weren’t for the fact that you were almost late to class.

Well, technically you are a celebrity, since your father is also a pro hero.

Since the whole school knows that you’re dating Todoroki, it’s no surprise when your father would know about the rumors, too. Hell, he’d probably react like…

You were out of your trance when you suddenly realised that you were actually late for class. Like, really, really late. There are still a few people still trying to ask you questions but you just shrugged them off.

When you reached the front door of your classroom, you were very exhausted. Opening the door, all eyes were on you, almost like they knew the reason why you were late. You felt your cheeks glow red.

“And why are you late, (Surname)?” Aizawa-sensei asks.

“I’m sorry… people were crowding me outside and i had a hard time going to class.” You reasoned while your eyes traveled to Todoroki, who was staring at you shamelessly. Did he also get crowded?

The answer is quite obvious, considering how intimidating he looks. You don’t really need an answer from him to know the most obvious answer. They went to you because you were less intimidating than him, you guessed.

Aizawa-sensei sighed. “So that’s why there were rumors, huh…” He stated, and you felt embarrassed. You didn’t realise what you were getting into until now!

“Congrats for dating, but detention for you later.” You nodded meekly at what your teacher told you, and went back to your seat, the eyes of your classmates following you.

And you were bombarded with questions yet again.

“So it really is true, then!? That you’re dating Todoroki?” Denki asks you, curiosity in his eyes.

“Isn’t it obvious?” You raised an eyebrow at him, your voice laced with a ‘duh’ tone.

“Well, I didn’t expect that you two would be the first couple in this class… like, that’s so random!” Denki states.

Although you looked calm, you were panicking inside. You were about to reply to him, when Aizawa-sensei scolded the two of you which made you both shut up.

While classes was ongoing, your eyes flew to Todoroki who was just a row behind and to your right, which made it easy to stare at him when you could just excuse yourself that you were thinking.

You wondered how he was feeling about all this— whether he felt embarrassed, annoyed, or something else. You didn’t notice that you were staring at him for awhile now until he suddenly turned to you, staring right back at you. This caught you off guard, resulting to your eyes widening.

You quickly looked away from him, putting your hand on your cheek to hide your red face. What the— were you really staring at him so obviously!?

Time flew by and class already ended. You all stood up and bid your goodbyes to Aizawa-sensei. You were about to take your seat, when you noticed Todoroki whispering something to Tokoyami. Whatever he said to Tokoyami, made him nod.

You shrugged it off, thinking that it was just a small agreement between them, and sat on your seat. Aizawa-sensei was about to leave, when suddenly there was a commotion. A chair fell loudly to the ground, which resulted in everyone looking at the situation to figure out what happened. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

“Fuck you, Tokoyami-san.” Todoroki, the root of the commotion, says quite… respectfully?

“Why are you doing this, Todoroki?” Tokoyami says in a monotone voice. It sounded like they were reading from a script!

“Because i wanted to start a fight with you.” Todoroki states calmly.

What the hell, were they filming a comedy or what!? The acting was so… bad and obvious!

“Oh nooo. Aizawa-sensei, Todoroki is trying to start a fight with me” Tokoyami said with the most monotone voice ever, as if he didn’t care that Todoroki tried to injure him or whatever… What are they even trying to do!? Were they joking, or are they just bad at acting!?

Aizawa-sensei sighed tiredly and spoke. “Detention for Todoroki, too.”

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Taglist: @eempxth @1ovesiick @meikoo @serxndipity-ipity-blog @visual-freak @h3artz4soph

___________________________________

[luvrodite]

MARLBORO NIGHTS JASON TODD

↳ smoking jason's favourite brand of cigarettes after his death. reader is an adult. sfw, angst.

Smoke curls through the winter air, tobacco bitter on your tongue. The packet in your pocket lies heavy like stones, and you fiddle with the lighter. On, off, on, off. The flame sparks to life and is snuffed out, again and again.

You know that when you return to the warmth of your apartment it’ll be with the scent soaked into your clothes. It isn’t a foreign scent to you–the bones of an old friend, of a life long gone. 

The first time you catch Jason smoking is in the tenth grade, just after your fifteenth birthday. He hides out in the stairwell by the school’s rear entrance, where the smoke alarm is notoriously faulty–and when you happen upon him, you half wonder if it isn’t because of him. You stare, jaw agape, and he turns when he hears your footsteps, relaxing at the sight of you.

“What are you doing?” you ask shrilly, panicky as though a teacher might come by and call home just on account of your being there. You don’t plan to go down with him, and you wave your hands at him to put it out. “Are you insane?”

He doesn’t listen to you. In fact, he laughs. 

“Will you relax?” he sputters, coughing when he inhales accidentally. A tear slips past his lashline, and his mouth stretches in a broad grin. You stare at the path it makes down his cheek, water staining his skin. When you look back up, he’s watching you. You grimace, feeling your face warm.

“Someone could see you,” you hiss, clutching the strap of your bag. A door slams somewhere around the corner, and you startle. 

“No one’s going to see me,” he soothes, and then pauses as if to think about it. “Unless you keep making a fuss. Then, they’ll definitely find us.”

You stare at him, cross. “Us? This is all you! I’m not doing anything.”

“I don’t know,” he mumbles around the cancer stick. “You look pretty suspicious.”

“You’re hopeless,” you snipe, crossing your arms. “I hope you get caught.”

Smoke curls out of his mouth, and you wrinkle your nose at the smell. He tilts his head, teal eyes assessing you carefully. “Nah, you don’t.”

You flush all the way right down to your fingertips. 

It becomes something of a routine, to wander through the rear hallways on your way to study hall, and linger a few paces away from Jason who almost always has his lighter in his hands and a white and orange stick in his mouth. Nobody ever says anything when you show up ten minutes after the bell, so you figure you’ve gotten off clean. 

The older boy doesn’t seem to mind your company, or your questions, or your gentle reminders that the cigarettes are bad for him. He smiles around the paper cylinder at you when you screw up your face, and always laughs when a far off noise spooks you. 

“Why do you do that?” you ask, leaning against the wall opposite Jason. He quirks a brow silently. “You don’t get mad, when I come bother you?”

He shrugs. “What’s there to be mad about? You’re funny.”

You furrow your brows, unsure what exactly he finds so humorous. He smiles, boyish and unaffected, taking one last drag before dropping it to the linoleum and crushing it beneath his sneaker. 

“You’re not bad company,” he adds, patting you on the shoulder as he passes. Your shoulder burns for the rest of the day.

Jason kisses you for the first time a few weeks before he dies, fifteen and hiding from the hall monitor who he swears has a vendetta against him. You're too busy trying to hide to tell him that maybe there's a reason for that. You duck into an empty classroom–Gotham City High School has a surprising amount of rooms that remain unoccupied–hiding behind the frosted glass with his hand in yours. You’re crouched beneath the window, eyes wide and staring back at him.

There’s none of that fear you seem to always carry, in his eyes. Jason is always brave–sometimes reckless, but you think that requires a certain degree of bravery, still. He grins back, fingers clutching yours tightly. You hold on tighter when the footsteps echo closer, shadows spilling beneath the door. 

Relax, Jason mouths at you and you glare at him. Your heart thunders in your ears.

This is your fault, you stress back at him, pointing at him with your free hand for emphasis. He only smiles, and before you know it, you’re leaning forward clumsily to press your mouth to his. 

He smiles even then. One hand in yours, the other coming up to cup your face. You can taste the tobacco on him, and the brush of his hair against your temple tickles. 

Two weeks later, he’s gone. 

The lighter remains in your locker for the remainder of the year, where you can’t bear to touch it until the last day of school. You slip it into your pocket, fingers smoothing over the plastic casing. The JT scrawled on the bottom makes your stomach dip.

High school is long behind you now, but the weight of the lighter is familiar to you still, the turn of the metal wheel and its sparks bringing forth old ghosts. In the dead of night, you can close your eyes and pretend the drag of wind against your face is something else, that the rustle of the leaves in the street almost sound like footsteps.

“Anybody ever tell you those are bad for you?”

is this totally shit? i hope not. i've never smoked a day in my life you guys please ignore inconsistencies/inaccuracies. anyway i've been thinking a lot about first love jason and the tragedy of having that ripped away just as you get to have it. anyway, i hope this was somewhat enjoyable. please don't expect a part 2 lol.

[faithst]

STRAWBERRY MILK ༄ HYJ

synopsis yujin is very popular in school and gets frequent confessions. when reader ignores his existence, he thinks that they hate him. so, he tries to bribe reader with snacks.

pairing classmate!yujin x gn!reader

genre fluff, platonic

mentions gyuvin, gunwook

warnings mentions of snacks

masterlist<3

it wasn’t unknown to anyone that han yujin was incredibly favored in school albeit having a relatively shy character. he was multiple students’ eye candy and even had a fan club! being used to the attention, he didn’t take satisfaction in how you weren’t providing him any.. at all.

it’s not like you didn’t believe he was attractive but you cared to focus on your studies better than a mere boy and that rubbed yujin the wrong way.

“hyung, i haven’t gotten any gifts from them yet!” yujin signaled you to gyuvin using his eyes “maybe they’re working on it, why are you so worked up on one person that isn’t being up in your face?” gyuvin quirked his brow, amused at the sight.

“do they hate me? i don’t want people to hate me!” yujin frowned, crossing his arms together “i’m sure they don’t hate you, yujin-ah.” the older boy smiled, patting his friend’s back.

every day when yujin walked into his classroom, there would be at least two chocolates or letters on his table. especially on white day, the gifts kept piling over and yujin would share the snacks he was given with his friends.

he memorized every confession letter as they all started and ended the same way but ever since he noticed that you weren’t interested in him, he kept inspecting every recent letter to see if it was from you. none.

“still nothing?” gunwook questioned, feeling nearly bad for the distressed kid, whose head was face first on the table. “having one person dislike you doesn’t mean anything, yujin..” gyuvin sighed, fed up with yujin’s beliefs about you. “what if they secretly curse me and they plan to use everything against me in the future?!” eyes enlarged at the rash thought.

“then how about you switch it up?”

no, yujin did not like gyuvin’s idea as he has never done this before but he swallowed his pride. so there he is, holding a small bag full of various kinds of snacks that he borrowed from gyuvin. feeling a bit chipper for once, he made his way to your table, secretly loving the looks he got from his ‘kind act’. “hi! i know we don’t talk much but i got you some snacks!” shoving the small plastic bag into your face. you glance up at him, confused at the sudden moment.

“oh, um.. thank you?? but i’m not hungry..” confusion is written all over your complexion. “oh that’s okay! you can have it later.” he kept encouraging you to keep it but you were more persistent than he thought “i don’t eat those kind of snacks.. sorry.” (what are you? jiwoong?) you told as a last attempt to stop the boy from bothering you. “oh.” was all he said, interrupted by the teacher entering the classroom.

for the next few days, he left you alone while trying to figure out another resort. that’s when he caught on the fact that you always drink milk in the morning before class starts, so that was his next objective. he got up super early in the morning to buy you milk at a nearby convenience store. feeling hopeful once more, he placed the milk on your table, and you raised your head to see a familiar face. “you like milk right? here.” with a wide grin and proud shoulders.

“i don’t like banana milk, yujin.”

yujin, who was laidback, is now trying to hide his red ears from the embarrassment. what was this deja vu he was feeling? of course, the sudden remark had gotten stares from around and soon enough, people started speculating that he had a crush on you.

feeling pity for the boy, you decided to give him a not-so-subtle suggestion. after class was over, you called out to the boy “yujin, wait up!” he stopped in his tracks and faced you. “i do like milk, strawberry milk.” you smiled to not make him feel like a fool and he was relieved that you didn’t think he was a nuisance.

ever since then, every morning there would always be a bottle of strawberry milk on your table and a han yujin awaiting your reactions from a distance.

© keiwook

[apothe-roses]

I Wanna Ride

Modern Aemond Targaryen x Reader

Part 3

Previous Part | Next Part

Summary: the deal is struck between you and Aemond

Warnings: none, really

A/N: Sorry this took so long! I’ve been really busy with work, and this part was kinda hard to write. That’s also why this is shorter

Word Count: 1.6k

“And he didn’t tell you what he wanted?” Aly looks over at you while adding a slice of turkey to the sandwich she’s making? You shake your head. It had been a few days since everything went down, yet you were still trying to wrap your head around it all. The fact that Aemond would consider helping you at all—foreboding debt aside—just didn’t make sense to you.

“Why does he have to be so cryptic and spooky,” Aly asks, adding a generous amount of mayo to the sandwich.

“Beats me,” you reply. A shout startles you both out of your conversation. You and Aly turn your heads to the living room area. Benji Blackwood and his two friends Kermit and Oscar Tully—“the muppets” as Aly likes to call them—are sprawled across Aly’s couch, cursing at a video game they’re thoroughly engrossed in.

“Oi! You tryin’ to wake your dad up?” Aly calls to them. Currently, Aly’s brother Sam was down the hall, trying to sleep off a migraine. The boys cringe slightly.

“Sorry,” one of the Tully boys stage whispers back to Aly. She sighs. “Anyways, lunch is ready.” In a flash, the boys were on their feet, making their way to the kitchen. Aly pushes the sandwich with the mayo mountain towards Benji.

“Would you like some sandwich with your mayo?” She teases. Benji scowls back, but his expression quickly morphs into a grin. The boys make their way back to the couch. Aly turns to you.

“Listen, if he tries to pull anything with you, just say the word and I’ll kick his ass. Then I’ll call Cregan and he’ll also kick his ass.” You laugh in response. “What’s his deal with them anyways? Are they friends?”

“Acquaintances is more like it. They get along well enough, but Creg’s friendship with Jace sorta puts him on thin ice.”

“…Yeah, I still don’t get it.”

“Look, rich people friendships are weird, okay?” Aly explains. “Sometimes it’s better if you don’t ask questions and just go with it. I find the truth usually comes out on its own time.” She starts resealing containers and putting them in the fridge. You follow suit, deciding to take her advice. You two clean in silence for a couple minutes, until your phone buzzes. You look at the name on the screen, suddenly feeling very nervous.

You show the conversation to Aly. Her eyebrows raise, and she notes the tense expression on your face. “You know you don’t have to do this right? I’m sure I could find some time to give you lessons.”

You think about it for a moment. Aly would certainly be a nicer teacher than Aemond. But her Raven is much different than your Meraxes. Plus, you’d be lying if you said you weren’t looking for an excuse to learn more about the enigmatic, handsome Targaryen.

“I don’t want to cut into your time with your family. I know how important it is to you,” you tell her. “Besides, we’re all adults. I can handle a little tough love.”

“Alright then. Lemme know if you change your mind,” Aly relents, leaving the kitchen. You turn back to your phone to text Aemond.

Saturday morning comes far too soon, and you find yourself heading back to Aemond and Aegon’s shop in the passenger seat of Aly’s truck. One of the doors is rolle up, and you can see Aemond working on a bike. He lifts his head when he hears the engine.

“Well,” you breathe, “here goes nothing.”

“Remember, I’m only a text away,” Aly reassures you. You grin then exit out the passenger side door. Before you turn away, you see Aly glare at Aemond, pointing at her eyes then at him before making a u-turn and driving off. You take a deep breath, then walk over to Aemond. By now, he’s standing and wiping his hands with a cloth. He’s wearing the same outfit as when you two first met, only this time the coveralls are unzipped with the sleeves tied around his waist. The white singlet he’s wearing does nothing to hide the definition of his chest or arms. A few streaks of grime decorate his body, along with a few tattoos. He’s not overtly bulky, but he’s definitely in shape. His biceps flex slightly as he cleans his hands; you try not to bite your lip.

You both stand in awkward silence, waiting for someone to break it. You decide to bite the bullet yourself.

“Where’s Aegon,” you ask, peering into the garage, but there’s no sign of Aemond’s brother.

“He doesn’t typically come in on weekends,” Aemond answers. “Prefers to sleep in.”

“Oh.” You’d hoped he’d be here; his easygoing nature could’ve served as a good mediator.

“So I take it you’re interested?” It takes a moment for you to realize he meant the training.

“Oh I’m yeah. But I want to know what exactly you’re hoping to get out of this,” you reply quickly. Get your shit together you mentally chastise yourself. He’s not worth it.

“Hmm, yes. I’ve been going back and forth on what I want from you,” he starts, setting the rag on a nearby workbench. He turns his back on you.

“And you’ve decided on…” you prompt. He drums his fingers on the table, silent. Then…

“The Conqueror’s Gala. I need someone to go with me,” he states. That’s it? He needs a date to some fancy event? You thought you’d have to do something like clean his house or shine his bike for a month. Not this.

“If you want me to pretend to be your girlfriend, Targaryen-“

“No. Gods no. Nothing like that.” Aemond hastily replies. “My mother is always on my as about bringing a date. Normally, I’d just go with Helaena, but this year she’s decided to side with mum. They want me to prove that I’m capable of spending time with people I’m not directly related to.” His mouth presses into a thin line, and he averts his gaze. He starts drumming his fingers again. It looks like that’s something he does when he’s agitated. You let the silence simmer, silently enjoying the way his jaw clenched.

“Hmmm. I suppose I could spare one evening to get all dressed up and rub elbows with the Westerosi elite,” you sigh in pretend annoyance. He gives you a disgruntled look. “Trust me. It’s not the fun time you think,” he says sharply. Of course a cryptic like him wouldn’t enjoy social events. You try not to laugh at the thought.

“Well, fun or not, I’ll take it,” you tell him. His shoulders relax a little.

“Good,” he says stiffly. “Shall we?” he gestures his hand towards the bike. You realize it’s his own, the bronze coloring of the Vaghar catching the late morning light. You make your way over and take your seat. The bike has the same controls as your Meraxes, but his has extra side mirrors affixed.

Aemond leans over you, one hand on the handlebar and the other on the seat behind you. It takes all your willpower not to gawk at his arm.

“Alright,” Aemond says softly. “Now I want you to start the engine.”

You turn and look at him, incredulous. “You think I don’t know how to start a bike?”

Aemond levels a flare at you. “I’m just being thorough.” You scoff and roll your eyes, but you do as he says.

“Good,” he muses. He’s inches from your ear. The soft timbre of his voice sends a shudder through you. “Now what?” You choke out. You hate the effect he has on you.

“I want you to shift to first gear,” he instructs. All you can do is obey blindly.

“Good. Good,” he praises. He has you go through all the gears and how to break, giving a little praise each time you do something correct. It’s all painfully easy, and you should be insulted he’s making you prove such basic knowledge. Instead, you silently relish the rush of warmth you get with each praise. Hell, you’re almost tempted to get something wrong on purpose just to see how he’ll react? Would he gently explain the correction, or would he go back to being rude and insult you?

“Well then,” Aemond says, pushing off his bike. You mourn the loss of his warmth on your shoulder. “It seems you really do know the basics.” He drawls the last part. Oh yeah, that’s what it’s like when he insults you. You get off the bike, and he starts to wheel it into the garage. “But the Dragon Rally isn’t for the feint of heart. You’ll need to be able to ride long distances in potentially rough weather. You need to be adaptable, ready to make a decision at a moment’s notice. And that’s not even including the Rally itself.”

“What happens at the Rally?” you ask.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Aemond replies, turning his back on you. You scoff. “Yes. I would. That’s why I asked”

He smirks. “All you need to know is that you need to build up your endurance. I’d like to take you on a ride through the Kingswood when you’re next available. Once you’re comfortable, we’ll take more challenging treks. Sound good?”

You nod your head. At least you won’t have to have weird conversations with him when riding.

“Good. Check your schedule, and give me your next available date,” he says before pulling the garage door closed in your face.

You stand there in stunned silence. What the fuck is up with this guy?

You text Aly, and a few minutes later her truck pulls up to the sidewalk.

“Well that was quick,” she observes as you put on your seatbelt.

“You’re telling me,” you reply, looking back at the garage as Aly pulls away.

You were confused. You were intrigued. Something told you this was only the tip of the iceberg that was Aemond Targaryen.

Previous Part | Next Part

Taglist: @valeskafics @carriellie @let-love-bleeds-red @wintrr13 @queenofshinigamis @seabasscevans @fangirlninja67 @toodlesxcuddles @almostpurplelady @goldenpanda16 @aemonds-fire @yentroucnagol @tssf-imagines @n4tforlife @mooncalvin @julczimozart @kezibear

Bold means I couldn’t tag you

[dilute-flower]

What A Lovely Git

Request: hii, could I get a snape and professor reader fic where the students notice a similar wedding ring on both of them and start asking questions, and try to figure out if they're married? and maybe she gets hurt in class once and snapes all worried about her and everyone’s like "they’re married to each other?!" by @acupnoodle

Warnings: None

A/N: This was one of my more popular fics so I decided to post it as my comeback fic hahaha

Verruca = wart in latin btw

Enjoy <3

“Would you stop staring at her like a lost puppy?” Fred Weasley flicks his twin brothers’ ear to pull him back to earth, coaxing an annoyed groan from him.

Ever since the new alchemy professor started teaching at Hogwarts 3 years ago, George has been absolutely smitten with her. Smitten might be an understatement. Enchanted, bewitched, absolutely lovestruck – Fred can’t help but roll his eyes at him. Poor fella, instead of gifting his heart to someone his age, he decided to hopelessly pin a teacher.

“Why wouldn’t she tell me?” George whines and dramatically shovels his breakfast porridge into his mouth. “Who wouldn’t tell you what?” Ron leans across the table to peak at who captivates his brother’s attention.

“Professor (L/N),” Fred sighs “She got married over the summer and won’t tell George who she married.”

“She said ‘Students shouldn’t be too concerned about their teacher’s life’” George mocks her voice “Doesn’t she know that she broke a gazillion hearts with her decision to marry someone?”

Ron shoots Fred a concerned glance, but he just rolls his eyes in response. “He’s been an overdramatic bloke since the beginning of the term.” He pats his brothers back, a little harsher than necessary.

“C’mon Goergie! Get over it. How about you start dating some girls your age? That Hufflepuff, you know, the blond one from our charms class, I believe she fancies you.”

George doesn’t even consider answering, eyes still focused on the woman at the staff table.

“Who do you reckon she married, Ron?”

“I don’t know. Probably some bloke from her hometown.” Ron is obviously not interested in the love life of his teacher, shrugs his shoulders and resumes eating his breakfast.

“It’s quite obvious, isn’t it?” Hermione interferes. “Professor (L/N) spends most of the time at the castle; even last Christmas she stayed in Hogwarts. If she had dated someone at home, she wouldn’t have stayed. She married another professor!”

George huffs at this suggestion, “And who would that other professor be? As far as I can tell, the only other staff member her age is Snape. You don’t think she married that greasy git, right?” He laughs, but Hermione just sends him an apologizing look and nods her head towards the staff table.

“Professor (L/N) is not the only one displaying a new wedding band on her finger.”

Everyone’s head snaps towards the staff table and in fact – Snape is wearing a golden wedding band on his left hand.

 “No fucking way!” Fred exhales and notices that George has become unnaturally pale.

“That doesn’t have to mean anything! This could be a mere coincidence. They’re not even sitting next to each other!”

Denial, the first step to acceptance. But he’s right; the two professors chose to sit as far away from each other as possible, but that could easily be a front to keep students from getting suspicious.

An idea strucks Fred at this moment.

“You know, there’s a way to find out if it’s true.”

“What do you suggest?” George asks skeptically. There’s only one way to get him out of this misery. It’s simple: A prank!

“Veritaserum.” Fred smirks wickedly at George. “We’ll get some from Snapes stores, slip it into (L/N)’s coffee and ask who she married. It will be fun! And you’ll get your answer.” George matches his brothers grin, while the rest of the group looks dumbfounded.

“You’re bloody mad, aren’t you? Stealing from Snapes personal stores... Do you have a death wish?” Ron looks panic stricken at the twins.

“Nonsense. We’re not stealing – we’re borrowing,” George muses “we’ve been doing so since first grade.”

“So, you want to steal– excuse me – ‘borrow’ from one teacher to drug up another?” Hermione’s expression appears as if she can’t believe anyone could possibly be so stupid.

“That’s exactly what we’re going to do. Right, Georgie?” Fred nudges his brother with his elbow playfully, grinning from ear to ear.

“Exactly!”

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

Getting hands on the Serum was the easy part. Letting the professor consume it; A whole different story.

The 5th year Gryffindors have alchemy lessons with the Hufflepuffs on Tuesday mornings. Professor (L/N) always sneaks a cup of coffee from the breakfast table into her first lessons of the day. Perfect, Fred thought at first, but turns out; she never ever lets go of her cup.

“We need to cause a distraction,” Fred murmurs, “Maybe a firecracker?”

George shakes his head and starts rummaging in his pocket, “Got a better Idea.” He retrieves a small object that looks suspiciously like one of their Skiving Snackbox sweets. “Fainting Fancy.”

“Brilliant!” Snatching the candy from his hand, Fred puts on his most charming smile and taps the shoulder of the cute Hufflepuff at the table in front of them, “A treat as sweet as you, only for you,” he offers the candy and winks wickedly at her.

A trick that never fails to work, thanks to his irresistible Weasley-charm. The girl blushes prettily before accepting the treat with a coy ‘thanks’, and eats it.

It doesn’t take long for the ‘Fainting fancy’ to do its magic and cause the Hufflepuff to faint, letting her head fall on the desk with a dull bang. The professor, immediately alarmed, hurries towards the girl and Fred uses this distraction to cross the classroom and slip a few drops of serum into her coffee, without anyone noticing.

He scrams back to his seat and watches as George offers the girl a few sips of his water in which he has dissolved the antidote beforehand. The Hufflepuff immediately awakes with a startled gasp, causing the professor to side-eye the twins with a suspicious glare.

“Mr. and Mr. Weasley, I want the both of you in my office, immediately after the lesson. Is that clear?”

Shit. Seems like she did spend a little time with the dungeon bat after all. At least judging by the new tone, she picked up. But luckily, she didn’t appear to have noticed what Fred was up too.

Unfortunately though, after the incident, the professor seems to have completely forgotten about her coffee whatsoever. She hasn’t touched it ever since.

Fred was, to put it mildly, annoyed. He could have lived with a bit of detention if their plan worked out at least. But the lesson is over, the serum unconsumed and the brothers find themselves waiting inside of professor (L/N)’s office for scolding.

“Why do I have the feeling, that the fainting of Miss Baker today has something to do with you, boys?” She smiled lovingly at them. Ever the nice professor.

Fred and George keep feigning innocence, not giving into her ‘good cop’ act.

“C’mon, boys. Don’t take me for a fool,” She retrieves her wand and nonchalantly waves it in the door’s direction. It opens and in flies the cup of coffee she forgot in her classroom earlier. Fred nudges his brother with his elbow as they observe their teacher using a spell to heat the cold brew up again.

“You know, I love your inventions. They’re creative and simply brilliant! But the whole staff already knows about your little candy, and I can’t keep pretending that I don’t notice.”

Just when she’s about to lift the steaming mug to her lips a knock raps at the door.

Without waiting for a response, the person lets themselves in and to the twin’s horror it’s their potions professor, Severus Snape, himself.

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck! Abort mission!

“I thought I saw a cup of coffee mindlessly drifting through the halls and as expected it belongs to none other than my– ” The easy smile on Snape’s lips dies the instant he notices the twins sitting on the chairs that are placed in front of the desk for visitors.

“Weasleys… In for some trouble again?” He hisses at them, sneering along the way. What a git.

“I don’t think that’s any of your business, professor.” Professor (L/N) winks at the brothers and leans back on her chair, mug still in hand. If they’re lucky, she won’t drink any until Snape is gone.

“No, I guess not.” Snape narrows his eyes, annoyed. “I’ll better see myself out then. Later, (Y/N)?” The second their eyes meet; the smile reappears on his face. It would be heartwarming, endearing even, if it wasn’t Snape they’re talking about. Fred grimaced at the sight.

“Yes, see you later, Severus.”

With that Snape leaves, and Fred lets go of the breath he didn’t notice he was holding.

Finally, professor (L/N) drinks a sip of her coffee and laughs delighted, “You owe me, for not letting Snape in on your little pranks.”

How will they know whether the serum’s already working?

“So, professor (L/N),” George starts, “how are you, on this beautiful morning?”

An expression of irritation crosses her features for a millisecond, “Are you trying to charm me to get out of trouble, Mr. Weasley?”

Not working, then. George shakes his head, blushing furiously. “Just asking.”

The professor becomes suddenly very quiet, a deep frown settling on her usually soft features. Something’s wrong. A red, aggressive rash forms all over (L/N)'s skin and she grabs her throat with both hands hysterically, as if she’s struggling to breath.

The office door flies open again; “(Y/N), I forgot to inform you –” Snape reentered just on time to witness the tears forming in her eyes and she pleadingly looks at Snape, silently crying for help.

Snape rushes to kneel in front of her, concern and fear plastered all over his face as he cradles her face to examine it.

“(Y/N), my love, what is it?” She struggles in his grasp, not able to answer but manages to point at the mug. He retrieves his wand, casting a spell to summon the swallowed liquid outside of her stomach. But it’s too late. The serum is already absorbed.

The rash on her skin forms into loads of wards and Snape snaps his head towards the twins.

“What. Did. You. Do?”

“No – Nothing!” George appears paler than ever, “We slipped Veritaserum into her coffee, we – we didn’t expect such a reaction!”

“Veritaserum?” Snape hisses, venom laced in his dangerous tenor. “Show me the vial!”

Fred quickly scrams his bag, retrieves the vial and hands it to Snape, who inspects it.

“That’s Verrucaserum, you pigheaded dunderheads!” This time he screamed, teeth bared and spit flying all over the place, “It’s a perfect cure for the frogsflu put can be crucial when taken in healthy condition. She could die!”

Fred has witnessed Snape in many angry stages, but this surpasses everything. He’s furious, almost frantic. He’s waving his wand over the suffocating woman and lifts her seconds later as if she weights nothing.

“Out of the way!” He spits, “I need to get her to the hospital wing.”

With that Fred and George are left alone in their professor’s office with nothing but their raging guilt.

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

“They’re just children, Sev. They didn’t mean any harm.”

Professor (L/N)’s voice rings through the stony halls of the hospital wing from where she lays on a bed to the entrance where the twins are lurking. They came to apologize for what they did, even brought some flowers and chocolate back from Hogsmade. They feel absolutely terrible for what happened.

Snape’s by her side, as expected, sitting on a chair with his back slouched towards the entrance, his yellowing fingers clutching their teacher’s hand as if his life depends on it. The pair hasn’t noticed the Weasleys yet.

“I know they didn’t! That doesn’t change the fact that – ” Fred has never heard Snape so desperate before, his voice so soft compared to the tone he usually chooses to address his pupils, and cracking on every other word as if he’s close to tears. It tucks at something within Fred’s chest.

“This,” Snape continues, “This could have caused some serious long-term damages, or even worse – ” He struggles to finish the sentence, “We are lucky I was there. If I hadn’t – what would have happened if…” Snape loses it then, letting his forehead fall on their joined hands and releases a shaking sob.

“Shh! It’s alright, love.” She runs one hand through his hair soothingly, “I’m fine, See!” Gently she grabs his chin and pulls Snape’s head towards hers, their lips interlocking in a sweet kiss.

Fred turns to dare a glance at his brother, who watches the interaction silently, a mellow look in his eyes. Snape’s voices echoes once more;

“You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, (Y/N). I wouldn’t know what to do if I were to lose you.”

George turns to walk away suddenly and pulls on his brother’s sleeve, “C’mon Fred.” He murmurs “We’ll find a different time to apologize. They need their privacy.”

Fred couldn’t agree more.

[jokertrap-ran]

BAD MEDICINE ~Infectious teachers~ [PC GAME] Kashu Remu (Chemistry) Route Translations (Part 13)

MC’s name is retained as the original MC name Kawana Hina.

* Words within ‘   ‘ are spoken in English – *Spoiler free : Translations under cut!

Prologue / Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11 / Part 12 / Part 13

Hina: (I’ve not spoken to him since then…)

Hina: (But…)

———————————————

Kashu: Hey, hey~? Are you still mad?

Hina: …

Kashu: Hey~ Hey, I said~

Hina: …

Kashu: Why won’t you talk to me? Hey! Heeeey! HEY!!!

Hina: …

Kashu: Oh? Why did you look away from me? What’s that supposed to mean?

Kashu: Is it the same reason why you’re not answering me? Hey, answer me!

Kashu: You do know that it’s against the school rules to ignore a teacher when they’re asking you a question, right~?

Hina: (He really hasn’t the slightest inkling that I’m actually mad at him!)

⊳Choice: Sigh

Kashu: Oh, she speaks. Hina: (Ah, I slipped. Aegh, damnnit.) Kashu: Hey, heyy~ Why did you do that? Did something happen? What's that supposed to mean?

⊳Choice: Remain silent

Kashu: Hmm? What? Cat got your tongue? Hina: No… Kashu: Well, looks like it's working just fine~ So, what was that all about? Hina: It's none of your business!

Hina: *Sigh*…

Kashu: Oh, that was a big sigh! Your happiness is going to fly away if you’re giving such a big sigh. Come on, suck it back. Breathe it back in so you don’t lose it!

Hina: (And who do you think is the cause of that sigh…?)

———————————————

Kuzuha: Haha, what do we have here? Looks like a cat clinging to its owner, don't you say?

Hina: Oh… Kuzuha-sensei.

Kashu: Huh? Kakeru-kun~ Wait, no. Kuzuha-sensei.

Kashu: Ahhh, this is so troublesome. Kakeru-kun it is. There's no one else here but her anyway.

Kazuha: No way. You're a teacher, at least act the part.

Kashu: Okay~ So what's up? Need me for something?

Kuzuha: Not you. Her.

Hina: Huh? Me?

Kuzuha: Yeah. Though, it looks like you’ve successfully become his favorite.

Hina: Did I really…?

Kuzuha: Well, you ARE his favorite experiment subject.

Hina: …

Hina: Does it look that way?

Kuzuha: That’s what it looks like to me.

Hina: I see…

———————————————

Kashu: Ohh~ There goes the bell.

Hina: Wha-!? Uh oh, I need to get back to the classroom!

Kuzuha: Sure.

Kashu: See you later~

Hina: Please excuse me!

Hina: (See you later? Does he still plan on hanging around me…?)

———————————————

Hina: Phew… Thankfully, I managed to get quite far without coming under Kashu-sensei’s radar.

Hina: (Although, I do feel like I’ve put in more effort than it’s worth to remain unnoticed…)

Kuzuha: Sup.

Hina: Kuzuha-sensei…? Oh, hello- Wait, no. I mean, bye!

Kuzuha: Be careful on your way home— not.

Hina: Huh?

Kuzuha: Say, aren’t you giving Kashu-sensei the cold shoulder? You’ve never done that before, so I’m here to ask if something happened between you two.

Hina: Well…

Hina: Say, Kazuha-sensei. Could I get some advice from you?

Kuzuha: Hm? What, so something really did happen between you two? Sure, spill.

Hina: Actually…

———————————————

Hina: —And that’s the gist of it.

Kuzuha: Ah… what a turn of events. It sounds almost as if it’s something right out of a fairytale.

Hina: Um, Kuzuha-sensei…? Are you saying that…

Kuzuha: Well, you’re talking about Kashu-sensei here… and there’s frankly not much I can do about him.

Hina: Right…

Kuzuha: However…

Hina: What?

Kuzuha: He doesn’t care much for others. In fact, he isn’t even interested in people.

Hina: …I see.

Hina: (I’m painfully aware of that. He’s only ever interested in the data he collects.)

Hina: (That being said, he has absolutely no interest in the individuals who provide him with said data either. Which would explain what happened the other day…)

Kuzuha: Usually, someone like you, whom he has already gotten all the data he needs from, would no longer be of interest to him.

Hina: …Huh?

Kuzuha: Yet he’s still obsessed with you. Now, don’t you think it’s odd of him to do so?

Kuzuha: Why’s he so desperate if he’s that uninterested in you? When he’s not supposed to care?

Hina: He’s desperate…?

Kuzuha: He seeks to know why you’re ignoring him.

Hina: Isn’t that because he finds it odd that the subject of his experiments, who should be following his every word, has refused to play along with his tune?

Hina: (Ugh, saying this out loud feels like a stab to my own heart. It’s making me feel even more depressed now…)

Kuzuha: Did you know that experimental subjects are easily replaceable for someone like him?

Kuzuha: So, I don’t think that’s what he’s all hung up about.

Hina: Is that so…

Kuzuha: I can’t quite figure out why, but I’m certain that he likes you a lot.

Kuzuha: But, well, he's not exactly the most self-aware when it comes to understanding things of that nature. In fact, I'm sure the thought has never once crossed his mind.

Kuzuha: If you don't understand it yourself, then chances are that he doesn't either.

Kuzuha: So there's really not much advice I can give you. Good luck, though.

Hina: Thanks… I'll try my best.

———————————————

Hina: …Kashu-sensei has no idea that I'm mad at him, nor does he know how much he'd hurt me.

Hina: But, he's interested in me despite not being aware of it himself… And if what Kuzuha-sensei said is true, then that's an extremely rare occurrence for someone like him.

Hina: (I don't really understand it myself either, but…)

Hina: …Why's it that I'm getting all concerned about him now that I have this information…

Hina: (It's odd, really. I'm mad at him, and I should be saddened about this entire situation.)

———————————————

Kashu: Hehe… hehehehehe…!

Kashu: Oh dear~

Kashu: How naughty~ You've gone and done something you shouldn't have again, didn't you?

———————————————

Hina: Huh…? W-What’s this? Wait, but why?

⊳Choice: I won’t run anymore.

Kashu: Oh? What's with that look on your face? What's this supposed to mean? Hey, why are you reacting like this!? Kashu: Fufu, I knew it. Hina: Um… Can't you remove the handcuffs at least? Kashu: Nope. Of course not. This is a punishment after all. It is, isn't it, Sacrifice-chan ♪

⊳Choice: Why am I handcuffed!?

Kashu: Well, that's because you did something bad, didn't you? Kashu: And bad girls have to be punished. Right? Sacrifice-chan ♪

Hina: W-Wait a minute! I haven’t done anything wrong!

Kashu: Huuh~ Did you already forget about what you did? Aww, but that’s fine ♪

Hina: What!?

Kashu: That doesn't matter~ Because the only thing of importance here right now is that you're going to be punished by me, Sacrifice-chan ♪

Kashu: Say, what does it feel like to be linked to me through handcuffs? What are your thoughts on it? Doesn't it feel nice?

Kashu: I quite like it~ But we're only linked by one hand.   Kashu: I'm sure it's a whole new experience to have both hands handcuffed.

Kashu: Hehe, it's a nice sight to behold, don't you think? Now, where should I inflict the first cut?

Hina: C-Cut!? 

Kashu: Of course~ Look, I've even prepared a special knife just for that!

Kashu: Hmm, maybe I should start with the leg? So that you can't run away, of course ♪

Hina: No… Get away! Stop!!! 

Kashu: Ahahahaha~ Stop? No can't do~ 

Kashu: After all, I'm having so much fun!

———————————————

Hina: It was all just a dream…?

Hina: (I'm not handcuffed, and my legs are perfectly intact. Plus, I'm in my room…)

Hina: A dream… That was a nightmare, alright.   Hina: (Ew… I'm all drenched in sweat thanks to that. Guess I'll drink some water and get out of bed since it's already morning.)

Hina: *Sigh* Talk about starting the day on the wrong foot…

Mother: Huh? Wait-

Hina: Morning, mom. What, did something happen? 

Mother: I think not! You're going right back into your room and under your covers!

Hina: Huh? Wait, but why?

Mother: You're running a fever. See? I knew it! Your forehead feels hot to the touch!

Hina: Ehh?

Mother: I'll call the school to inform them that you'll be absent today, so go back to bed, understand?

Hina: …Okaaay…

———————————————

After that…

I was stuck in bed nursing a high fever for a few days. 

I thought that I could sleep it off, but it didn't seem to do the trick. I felt like I'd been in bed for an entire week at least. 

———————————————

Hina: Ugh… Again…? Not that nightmare again…

Hina: I'm already fatigued by the fever but this nightmare's just adding on to the exhaustion I'm feeling…

Hina: (But why do I keep dreaming of him? And they aren't nice dreams of him either…)

Hina: I wonder what he's up to now…

Hina: (Wait, what am I doing thinking about him now! I'm still supposed to be mad at him!)

Hina: (I should be…)

[vivalas-vega]

new perspectives / jake ‘hangman’ seresin x reader / prologue

new series alert !!!! I’m really excited about this one :) I’m still brainstorming a cute nickname for our reader here so if anyone has any ideas lmk and as always lmk what you think and if you want to be added to the taglist for this!

new perspectives / jake ‘hangman’ seresin x reader / prologue

to be tagged in future works, please turn on post notifications for @vegaslibrary 

part one

word count: 1.7k

warnings: none :) series will include language, drinking, smut, the whole nine lol

You knew thoroughly and completely that this was supposed to be the most exciting time of your life… It was the time for new beginnings, to embark on new journeys and gain new perspectives but it didn’t feel that way at all. It felt like the sky was falling and your life was ending though it was truly just getting started and Jake was feeling the same way. Of course he did, you shouldn’t have been surprised, your families had joked you shared one brain since you’d first met at ten years old. A screaming match at recess landed the two of you in the principal's office with your parents and while you’d walked in as mortal enemies, you teamed up in your disdain for your parents and teachers assessment of the situation and left as friends, never to be seen far from the other for the following eight years. 

“We knew this was coming, sweetheart…” he said, planting a kiss on your forehead as you nestled into his side. It was rather dramatic and you knew it, because he was right but that didn’t make this any easier. You weren’t leaving yet and neither was he, it was a simple question he’d asked… wanting to know if you’d made any college decisions yet and halfway through your answer you’d broken down. The weight of that decision had hit you like a freight train and left you wracked with emotion as you cried into his chest.

“I don’t want to leave,” you blubbered and he rubbed soothingly along your back.

“Yes, you do. I do, too. Trust me, if there was a Navy flight school in California I’d be there in a heartbeat.”

“If there was a good biology program in Florida, I’d be there in a heartbeat,” you replied and he just chuckled.

“Wouldn’t do much good anyways, I’d be off to Rhode Island before you graduated anyways.”

“Why would you say that right now?” you asked, another wave of tears cascading down your face. Theoretically you knew Jake’s dream career would leave him bouncing around not only the country but the world for seemingly the rest of his life and it was a disgustingly bitter pill to swallow. 

“Hey, you’re going to be all over the place, too… after Stanford who knows where you’ll go for residency… then you’ll have your pick of fellowships because why wouldn’t you?”

“I’m offended you didn’t say Massachusetts for residency, you have to speak it into existence, Jake.” you mumbled.

“Your plans could change… it’s okay for plans to change,” he pointed out and you looked up at him deadpan. “Right, forgot who I was talking to,” he laughed. “We’re going to be okay.”

You shook your head, “no… we’re not.” This was where you and Jake differed. He had an unwavering optimism for your relationship's survival after graduation but you didn’t share that same hope. You knew what was coming, you knew how few relationships actually survived the first year of college. By some miracle if it did, it would only grow more strained once medical school started, and residency was a completely different beast… not to mention the fact that he would be frequently deployed only god knows where with no ability to call or check in. 

“Honey…” he started, but you just cut him off.

“We have to be realistic,” you muttered. “I think we should…” you trailed off, feeling your throat grow thick, almost as if your body was forcing you not to say it because once you did everything would change. You felt him stiffen beneath you and your body’s attempt at self-preservation was in vain anyways, he knew where you were going.

“We should what? Break up?” he asked, hurt lacing his voice and you sat up to face him as you wiped your tears.

“No, I… I don’t want to break up, Jake, you know that… I just-”

“Think it would be easier?” he asked and you shook your head, taking his hands in yours as you tried to keep him from spiraling.

“I’m not saying this because it’s what I want, Jake. It’s the furthest thing from what I want, if I could make myself have the same dream as you and go to flight school with you so we could keep doing everything together like we always have I would. God, I’ve even tried to want that but we’re just… we’re on different paths. We both dream too big and eventually it was going to catch up to us.” 

“So is this… are you ending this right now? Are we over?” Tears were forming in his eyes and you reached up to swipe them away as they fell.

“No. I’m saying that… I’m saying that we should soak up the time we have together, make the most of it before we both leave and when we do…” you trailed off again, and he cradled your head in his hands.

“When we do, we’re over.” You nodded, your face curling with pain and he couldn’t bear the sight. He pulled you in close, hugging you tight as if he loosened his grip you’d vanish into thin air. “I love you,” he mumbled into your hair and you nodded as you wrapped yourself around him.

“I love you too, so much…” 

And you did just what you said you would. You made the most of the few weeks you had left. Your parents knew what was coming and loosened the reins, sleepovers that had stopped the moment you got together were no longer forbidden and despite their own grief at their babies moving out and moving on they allowed you to spend all of your time together because secretly your impending doom was just as hard on them as it was on you. The four of them had all known your relationship was an inevitability, even had wagers on when it would happen… your mom had won, something she boasted about frequently, she’d even gotten it right down to the day, your junior prom. They also knew what you did, that it would never survive the rigors of college, the unpredictability of the Navy, or the grueling schedule of residency. They’d raised two kids that were larger than life, two kids destined to become the greatest at what they did and you just weren’t old enough or mature enough to figure out how to make each other fit. 

You helped each other pack, studied for finals, danced the night away at prom and walked with each other onto the field for graduation and when the time came to load you onto a plane to San Jose he was right by your side until he couldn’t be.

“This isn’t goodbye,” he said, sensing your body language as you turned to face him before entering the security line. 

You nodded, “I know… I’ll see you at Thanksgiving,” you said softly and his hands rested on your hips. You had said your goodbyes to your parents this morning, they suggested Jake drop you at the airport to let you have your final moments in privacy… as much privacy as the airport would allow. 

“We’re making the right decision,” you weren’t really sure who he was trying to convince but in the end it didn’t really matter. Neither one of you were sure this was true, but it seemed to be the only way to handle things right now.

You nodded again, “it’s not an ending it’s just… all we’re saying is not right now.” He leaned his forehead against yours, eyes fluttering shut as he pulled you as close as he possibly could and you felt tears spill out and onto your cheeks. “I’m going to go learn how to become a doctor, you’re going to go learn how to be the best damn pilot the Navy has ever seen and we’re going to be good.” Again, who you were trying to convince was up for debate. You pulled your head back to instead bury it in his neck as you threw your arms around his shoulders and breathed in as much of him as you could. 

“We’ll be good,” he mumbled and you knew you had to pull away… you knew you had to turn around and walk away from him but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it just yet. You wanted to stay here, right here in this airport wrapped up in his arms for the rest of your life, but you couldn’t… you had a plane to catch and dreams to follow and he did too. You pulled away suddenly, keeping your arms around him as you looked at him seriously.

“Promise me something,” you said as you fought another wave of tears.

“Anything.”

“You’re not going to wait for me, we’re not going to hold back and miss out on life waiting on a maybe.”

“Honey-” he started to protest but you shook your head.

“Promise me, Jake, otherwise I can’t get on that plane. Promise me you’re not going to wait.”

He cursed under his breath, “okay, honey. I promise.”

“And promise me you’re still my best friend,” you said, letting the tears fall now.

“Oh sweetheart, not being your best friend was never an option,” he replied and you nodded, letting your hands rest on his cheeks as you looked him over. This was the last time you would hold his head in your hands and this was the last time you would look at him as your boyfriend, because the second you boarded your plane you would be single and embarking on a whole new journey. He placed a hand on the back of your head and pulled you in, pressing his lips to yours so gently, as if he applied any pressure you’d crumble beneath him. You had other ideas, kissing him back in almost a frenzy as he matched your pace and allowed his tongue to slip past your lips, tasting you for the last time and savoring the moment as he knew it was the last. You pulled away slightly, giving him a few more gentler kisses as you swiped away the tears wetting your hands, 

“I love you,” you whispered and he kissed you again.

“I love you too, honey.”

next part

[ladyazurith]

Totally agree with you about Cater in Book 5. I always found Ace and Deuce's inclusion on the team extremely forced and contrived. Realistically speaking, neither of them should’ve ever made the cut. Neither one of them have any singing or dancing training. While they did practice a little, there’s no way in hell someone would ever become a professional level dancer in the matter of a couple of days, even with the best teacher in the world. 

I’m 99% certain that Yana only did that for plot convenience, because that way she wouldn’t have to craft two new characters to fill in the roles on the team. While I can understand that logic from a real world game development standpoint, like you said, I still don’t understand why someone like Cater could’ve taken Ace’s spot at the very least. Cater is in the Light Music Club, so he has a background in that area. His VA is a professional singer. Cater making the team wouldn’t be as big of a stretch as Ace. It’s not like Ace did much in this arc other than cause trouble and insult Deuce, anyways, so anyone could’ve taken his spot. 

The other question about ch 3 is going to take a bit more thinking, cuz I've tried to make it work before in various stories, but this seems like a complete rework kind of answer is needed.

And yeah, I made a post a while ago about how Cater had to feel about the VDC, and it's something I tackle in some of my fics. Because I don't know how he can look at what happened and who got picked and not come to the conclusion Vil just hates him? Like this man is so driven to win that he's willing to do anything...except let Cater on the team.

And given I ship the two of them primarily their dynamic is something I've put a lot of effort into figuring out. The only thing I've found to justify it is that Vil doesn't like the idea of dating someone just for PR/fame. Because the way he talks to/reacts to Cater is just... not in line with how he treats everyone else. He constantly calls him shallow or implies he's only after fame which is just a wild take.

That he would let someone like Rook be his friend who 100% comes off more like a stalker fan type than Cater. And Rook doesn't even hide it. Like I get they bonded over Theater but it's not like Vil and Cater have no common ground at all. Cater's shown to be into fashion and design, given they go out of their way to mention Cater came up with Heartslabyul's Halloween costumes and designed their LMC clubwear (When for the most part that's all just assumed to be Crewel)

And then there is his friendship with Kalim like I've pointed out. And Lilia which Vil admits is someone he's interested in getting to know better himself. Hell Cater and Rook are friends? Like none of it makes sense.

Especially when Vil also has no problems with associating with other people who are clearly out to use him?!?! Like Azul, Jade, Ace...even Leona? But nah we're gonna hate on Cater. When he's always you know ASKED to take Vil's picture, even in situations where he wouldn't have to ie in public spaces and what not. He's never just taken it without permission.

In the end, despite the fact that Vil calls Cater shallow he's the one that comes across as incredibly shallow about the whole thing. Especially when we have Cater talking about what he sees in Vil and what he appreciates about him and why he looks up to him...and none of it is really shallow? He definitely sees more in him than just a quick ticket to fame.

It just seems so weird when Vil otherwise seems to put effort into helping others better themselves. He can be incredibly generous and thoughtful in certain situations. AND HE KNOWS THAT CATER IS LIKELY DEPRESSED. And that's what he's hiding behind his cheerful facade thanks to Cater's Labcoat personal story.

It's just like consistency, please. Anyway you probably weren't expecting this rant sorry XD It's a sore spot for me if you can't tell lol

[acanvasofabillionsuns]

tell a lie

AO3!

there's also a sibling fic based off the same basic idea, that you can read here! (or they're in a series together on ao3, if that's more your speed)

Summary: Virgil and Janus have been friends for years. They meet Remus, Janus's soulmate, and the two start dating. But where does that leave Virgil, who finds himself tongue-tied around both of them? Warnings: none! Wordcount: 2.1k

“Oh my god, I hate you!” Virgil laughed. “I hate you so much, why are we even friends?”

“I’m sure I don’t know; you’re clearly insufferable and spending another minute in your presence is a nightmare come true,” Janus told him, grinning. Virgil was slightly embarrassed at how he was practically beaming at him, but he was still laughing too hard to do anything about it.

“C’mon, loser, we’re going to be late for class.” Virgil elbowed him and then started sprinting down the halls. “Last one there’s a rotten egg!”

“Shame your headstart won’t help you any!”

---

Most days, Virgil didn’t want to go to school. Going to school meant getting up way too early to go to a place that offered him terrible food and knowledge presented in the worst format available, when he could stay in his bed and get some rest instead. But he liked a few of his teachers, and having an excuse to see his friends was nice, and he was legally obligated to go, so five days out of seven he dragged himself out of bed to go to school.

Some days, though, were days he Did Not Want To Go To School. The thought made him want to cry, and it felt like something Bad was going to happen, even though usually he had no evidence to back this feeling up and if he actually went to school then it almost always ended up being business as usual. Those days happened maybe once or twice a quarter, and he could weasel his way out of going to school on those days about half the time.

Today he was not successful.

Virgil dropped into his chair and flopped forward, arms cushioning his head so that he could be semi-comfortable as he tried his best to go back to sleep and pretend he wasn’t here. He pulled up his hood to hopefully increase his don’t-talk-to-me aura, and either it worked or no one had been planning on talking to him anyway.

He made his way through most of his classes uneventfully. He and Janus shared 4th period, and his company cheered Virgil up enough that he was able to mostly ignore the fact that he was at school. 

Then came lunchtime, and that meant seeing Remus for the first time today. Which was a thing he’d been looking forward to, up until Remus looked at him and asked, “Whoa, are you okay?”

“I—” I’m fine, he tried to say, but the words formed a lump in his throat and suddenly he was struggling not to cry as he said, “I’ve gotta go,” and darted away.

He made his way towards the nearest bathroom, until he realized that’d be the first place they looked for him and also ran a higher risk of being walked in on. He went to the one on the other side of the school instead. It was thankfully empty, and Virgil slumped against the wall and started to cry.

Why hadn’t he been able to say he was fine? He wasn’t, but that never stopped him from saying he was. Unless— 

“Oh my gosh,” Virgil breathed. “Ohhhhhhh no. Ohhhhhhhhhh no, this isn’t real, this isn’t happening, people only have one soulmate and so why would the universe give Remus two—” He cut himself off as he realized Janus had been there too. Janus, who was also Remus’s soulmate, and if Remus was, apparently, Virgil’s soulmate, then that could very well mean Virgil and Janus were soulmates too.

But they’d been able to lie to each other before? But if they weren’t soulmates, that circles back to the question of why Remus has two and they weren’t soulmates as well.

Virgil wiped his face off, pulled out his phone, and distracted himself from his crisis by researching multiple soulmates.

By the time the bell rang, he’d learned that people with multiple soulmates were uncommon but definitely a thing, and that the “can’t lie to your soulmate” thing didn’t kick in until you’d met all of them. Which meant there was a pretty good chance he and Janus were soulmates.

“Well, dammit.”

He had class with both of them this period, and they’d definitely want to know why he’d left so abruptly. And they’d already started dating and got along like a house on fire, so he couldn’t just tell them he was Remus’s soulmate and possibly Janus’s too. The only option, Virgil decided, was to skip school for the rest of the day, tell them tomorrow that he’d felt sick (he does, though more from nerves than anything), and then never bring up the soulmate thing to them ever.

Before his brain could come up with a million different ways the plan could and would go wrong, he slung his backpack over his shoulder and left the school.

---

Virgil ended up in the park only a few blocks away, sitting on the empty swing set. For as much as he usually begrudged his shortness, right now it meant that if he kind of angled himself on the seat he could dangle one leg and kick it idly — he didn’t actually want to swing, anxiety sure that he was too big and would break it, but he also needed to move a little bit or his jitters would drive him mad.

He didn’t— He just—

Virgil liked them both, and he knew they probably wouldn’t hate him if he told them everything, but still. Janus had been his friend for longer, and so was more likely to still be his friend, but Virgil also had more to lose. He hasn’t known Remus that long, so there’s less of a stake in that sense, but that went both ways. What if Remus decided that he didn’t care enough to keep bothering with Virgil? It was too early on for Virgil to be able to dismiss that possibility like with Janus.

Virgil used his ground foot to kick the mulch. Stupid anxiety making him freak out. Who was to say they wouldn’t welcome him as their soulmate with open arms!! No one said that! There were no indicators!

Unless he was just too dumb to see them— and there was his anxiety again.

Vulnerability was scary. And being soulmates was one of the biggest vulnerabilities of all. You couldn’t lie to each other! You knew each other inside and out, because there was no way you couldn’t, not unless you rejected each other. And either concept was terrifying. The mortifying ordeal of being known or the abject terror of being rejected? No thanks!

There was no way Virgil could just tell them about this. He knew himself, and he knew he’d chicken out a thousand times before he’d be able to make himself do it.

His phone dinged.

banana snake: virgil? you’re not in class; are you okay?

THE KRAKEN: r u skipping?? 👀

THE KRAKEN: where r u we’ll join

Virgil huffed a laugh, grounding himself a bit as he did so… Ah.

So.

He’d been just kind of unintentionally, lowkey, having an anxiety attack.

That was fun.

xangstxlordx: so i might be

xangstxlordx: uh

xangstxlordx: living up to my gc name in the park

xangstxlordx: 😎👎

banana snake: eta 7 minutes, remus is already fake throwing up

banana snake: or not fake wtf man

THE KRAKEN: VIRGIE NEEDS US

THE KRAKEN: I DID WHAT I HAD TO DO

banana snake: well, eta 5 minutes then

Virgil laughed again, wiping at the tears he could feel forming.

They were coming here. He had to face them.

But. They’d also immediately skipped class for him and he hadn’t even asked.

Remus threw up to come to help him, Virgil thought, laughing incredulously. And then focused on actually breathing, because he hadn’t been doing a great job at that lately.

“Virgil!” Virgil turned and made eye contact with Janus as he ran over and crouched in front of him, hovering his hand over Virgil’s hesitantly. “Touch okay?”

Virgil wordlessly grabbed him in a hug.

“Oh.” Janus squeezed back, and Virgil felt warmth drape across his back as Remus hugged him from behind.

Virgil breathed shakily, trying not to cry even as the touch calmed him. Janus started quietly counting and Virgil teared up so violently he had to swallow down a sob. He focused on following the counts, trying not to think, and eventually he felt stable enough to actually talk to his soulmates friends.

“Do you guys want to move to a bench or something because I’m getting kind of uncomfortable and I’m sure it’s worse for you.”

Virgil felt the weight behind him shift as Remus threw back his head and cackled. Janus simply smirked, and Virgil could read the mix of amusement with affection and concern in his expression.

“Sure!” Remus cried, and hoisted Virgil out of the swing.

“Remus!” Virgil squawked and clung to him. “Dude!”

“We’re moving to a bench like you asked!” Remus’s tone was innocent, but his face held far too much glee to make anyone think he didn’t know exactly what he was doing.

Virgil looked over to Janus, trailing behind them, for help. Janus raised an eyebrow.

“We are moving to a bench.”

Virgil pouted dramatically, clinging tighter to Remus’s neck in lieu of being able to cross his arms.

You both suck—

His lightheartedness popped like a bubble.

Right. Soulmates.

“Virgil?” Remus looked down, sensing the change in atmosphere. “I can put you down if it really bothers you.”

“No, that’s not it,” Virgil muttered. His shoulders hunched up around his ears.

Remus carried him the rest of the way to the bench in silence, setting him down gently. Virgil curled up into a ball. Janus and Remus sat on either side of him, and he could feel them trade concerned looks.

If he spoke now, he could control the conversation. He could stay silent, but Janus would prompt him to speak eventually. Virgil could deflect until the end of time and Janus would still wring the truth out of him, even without being soulmates. Remus was probably similar, if he was anything like the two of them.

If he spoke now, he could control the conversation, so—

“Have you guys heard of people having more than one soulmate?” he asked quietly, forcing the words out of his mouth. He focused his gaze on his knees, only peeking at the others from the very corners of his peripherals.

“No…” Janus said, tilting his head in an encouraging manner.

“I have, actually! My brother’s got a couple.”

“How does it work?” Janus directed the question to Remus, and Virgil was ridiculously grateful that he didn’t have to explain more.

“Like any relationship, I guess. Lots of communication, spending time together, making sure partners don’t feel neglected, more physical aspects.” Remus’s voice lowered suggestively and Janus gave a little scoff. “And, y’know, since they’re all soulmates, they can’t lie to each other. Multiple soulmates are really cool, actually! The lying part doesn’t activate until they’ve all met each other! So Ro’s soulmates had actually known each other for a couple months before they met him and realized they were all soulmates.”

Janus hummed thoughtfully. Virgil’s stomach did a few flips and jumping jacks, maybe a pushup or two, as he waited for Janus to speak. He glanced over at him, locking in place when he realized Janus was staring at him consideringly.

Did he… get it?

(Would Virgil have to say it out loud?)

“Or…” Janus said, quiet and achingly slow, still making direct eye contact. Virgil couldn’t breathe. “It could even be years before they figure it out, if it took long enough for everyone to meet.”

“Could be,” Virgil whispered. Janus reached out, slowly, for his hand. Virgil offered it up, staring with bated breath as Janus squeezed it like he was trying to meld their hands together. Reassurance.

“Well, then,” Janus said, still quiet. He didn’t seem like he knew what to say after that, but Virgil took it for the acceptance it was and gave a relieved sigh, leaning against Janus’s side and squeezing his hand back.

“I can’t believe I get to rub in Roro’s face that my two soulmates are better than his two soulmates,” Remus commented, and Virgil burst into surprised laughter.

“Remus!”

“Whaaat?!” Remus complained. “It’s true, isn’t it? And it cheered Virgil up so you can’t be mad at me!” He crossed his arms with a dramatic hmph! Janus rolled his eyes but didn’t refute it.

Virgil was grinning so widely his face was sure to start hurting if he kept it up. Tucked between his two soulmates — his! two! soulmates! — he couldn’t bring himself to care.

[miracles-and-butterflies]

Second part to Milk, based on a prompt by @dandylion94.

Dolores went out the previous day “to get milk”, leaving Mirabel in charge of the gremlins, who may or may not have taken advantage of the fact.

Now apologies have to be made.

~~~~~~

Freezer Milk

“And none of you think that maybe, just maybe, you all took things a little too far yesterday?”

Antonio fiddled with his fingers, not moving his eyes from the floor. Camilo continued bouncing a ball back and forth against the wall, ignoring his sister entirely. Luisa just awkwardly glanced at the others, whistling innocently. Isabela just quirked a brow.

“I mean, we acted like we would normally,” she argued. “We would have done exactly the same if you were here.”

“Well… Dolores wasn’t here. It was Mirabel. And she didn’t look very happy.” Antonio pointed out.

“That nerd is never happy.” Camilo said.

“And if she wasn’t happy, then it’s on Dolores for leaving her. It wasn’t really a surprise she couldn’t gain control.” She turned back to Dolores. “Admit it, you knew the second you left Casita that she wouldn’t be able to stop us and yet you still went.” 

Luisa nodded, “As much as I hate saying it, I agree with Bela. You totally used her as pawn.”

“Still,” Dolores insisted, getting frustrated with her cousins now. She knew she hadn’t helped, but the blame wasn’t entirely her own either. “None of you four thought about toning it down a notch and going easy on her? As Isabela said, we all knew she wasn’t going to successfully stop you.”

“Nah.” Camilo shrugged. “Besides, it’s good fun messing with her. She gets so worked up about it. It’s not our fault she can’t act her age.”

“It was like having a mini version of our mother,” Isabela added.

“What? Are you seriously blaming Mirabel now for your behaviour?” Dolores questioned.

“She is a teenager,” Antonio hummed, thoughtfully. “She should be joining in with the fun stuff, rather than just telling us off like a grown-up.” He paused then, sharing a glance with the others. “Why doesn’t she?”

Camilo and Isabela both burst into laughter at the idea.

“Because she’s Mirabel, hermanito: the most boring-est person in the world.”

“Why do you think? Same reason Dolores doesn’t.”

Antonio didn’t seem convinced. “Maybe we should try and include her.”

“What?”

“Yeah, we could include her and then she won’t feel all sad,” he explained. “The teachers say you should include everyone in games at school.”

“Toñito, it’s a very nice idea and your heart is in the right place. But Mirabel will absolutely hate it.” Luisa said. 

Dolores cleared her throat. “We’re getting off topic now. The point is.. you are all spawns of Satan and Mirabel is still reeling from the stress you put her through yesterday, and therefore hasn’t left her room. So, you all need to go and apologise.”

“Gladly.” Isabela smirked. “After you.”

“For the last time, I have already apologised!”

“No, you haven’t! All you did was admit you’d lied to her!”

“Why don’t we all do something together to make it up to her?” Antonio suggested. “As we all need to apologise?”

Dolores and Isabela stopped glaring at the other, considering the idea.

“So long as we all agree Dolores is more to blame than we are, I’ll do it,” Isabela remarked.

Antonio nodded. “Okay! Done!”

“But you were tHE ONES WHO—”

“I’m in too.” Luisa cut in. “At this point I’m willing to try anything to get her out of her room - I don’t think she’s eaten today.”

“Great! Camilo? What about you?” Antonio turned expectantly to his brother.

“I don’t really care. Let Mirabel starve herself. It’s not my problem.”

Isabela elbowed him in the gut. “She did keep you alive yesterday.”

“Dolores?” Antonio prompted.

The listener opened her mouth to argue.

Antonio looking at her so hopefully; Isabela still grinning mischievously; and Camilo, who just kinda shrugged, ‘if I have too, then so do you’.

“You know,” Luisa started. Thank God. The other three were complete gremlins, but Luisa could have her good moments (when it suited her). “It’s a bit unfair that you always expect us to rise to your level, but never try to step down to ours. You could at least meet us half-way.”

“That’s a really good point, Luisa.” Isabela echoed, sounding as falsely impressed as a school teacher.

She takes it back.

Luisa wasn’t reasonable at all.

~~~~~~

With a hum, Dolores set down another heavy bucket. The gremlins, shockingly, were stood in silence, completely captivated by her actions.

“Wait, you’re letting us have a water fight? What’s the catch?” Camilo asked, looking suspicious.

“There is no catch,” Dolores answered. “Can’t I do something nice for us all?”

No responses.

“I’m nice to you, aren’t I?” She frowned.

“No.”

Her first thought was to say, ‘well, that’s because you’re all annoying shits and don’t deserve it.’ And maybe on any other day, she would say it.

“Maybe Luisa is right. I know I can be a little uptight—”

“A little?”

“I know I’m uptight,” Dolores corrected, glaring at Camilo. “But I should try to meet you in the middle more often - on the rare occasion your stupidity isn’t illegal or dangerous.”

Antonio gasped. “Wait, you’re joining in too?”

“Something’s definitely up then,” Luisa remarked.

Dolores kept going. “Mirabel is very stressed and worked up about yesterday. I just considered her another adult, you lot didn’t consider her at all. She isn’t very good at being a child.”

“Don’t say that,” Camilo mocked sadly. “She could pass for ten easily.”

“Not appearance-wise, Camilo.”

“No, no, he’s got a point, actually.” Isabela said.

“My friends think she’s eleven,” Antonio piped up.

“If I hadn’t been there for her birth, I’d believe she was eleven, to be honest.” Luisa admitted.

Dolores groaned.

“Not that I disagree, but that’s not the point I’m trying to make here. I mean, she can be as mature and uptight as she wants once she’s over twenty, until that point she can deal with being a teenager. And I’m hoping that by seeing me join in, she’ll be convinced to be a little less tightly wound and act her age for an hour. I’ll even settle for half.”

“Twenty pesos - you’ll get ten seconds at best.”

“We’re not taking bets, Isabela!”

“I don’t think Mirabel’s capable of doing anything fun, sis,” Camilo piped up. “She’s just so boring. This is a lost cause.”

“Well, Dolores doesn’t usually do fun things. But she’s giving it a shot.” Antonio argued.

Rather than respond, Dolores picked up one of the water balloons and threw it at an unsuspecting Isabela, who shrieked.

Huh.

Maybe this would be fun.

Isabela looked completely drenched - plant residue dripping out of her hair and down her face, the dye in her dress running - as she breathed in heavily. “FUCK! That’s so cold!”

“Good,” Dolores grinned.

Casting their eyes around the various buckets of water balloons around, the rest of the gremlins quickly dispersed to retrieve some ammo, leaving Isabela (too busy shivering and clearing her eyes) to take the brunt of Dolores’ attack.

The water fight had fully commenced.

There wasn’t really anything in terms of teams. Though Dolores did note that Antonio and Camilo never went for each other; it was nice to see how close her brothers were. In sheer contrast, Isabela and Luisa were all but trying to murder each other and rarely went for anyone else.

There hadn’t been any rules against their gifts either, but maybe there should’ve been for those two.

Nor was there any kind of point system. Maybe that was for the better too. 

Isabela is extremely competitive and ruthless to win; Dolores and Luisa can easily get relied up in competition, though never to Isabela’s level; Camilo was probably a more normal level of competitiveness, he’ll bother if he knows he has a chance; and Antonio is just happy enough to be there - if he wins, it’s just an added bonus to a fun day. 

The plan was that Mirabel would inevitably hear the giggling and screaming coming from outside. And in concern of someone getting injured, would come out of her room to see what was going on.

And it wasn’t long before worry clearly got the better of the girl, as she walked out.

Dolores managed to slip away from the fight for a moment to meet her half-way.

Mirabel, with her hair still frazzled from yesterday, eyes red from crying and missing her glasses, did indeed look very worried.

“What is happening? Is everyone okay? I heard screaming and I thought someone…” she trailed off, spotting the water balloons and how drenched everyone was. 

“We’re having a water fight, primita.”

“I can see th— I’m sorry, what? You’re a part of… whatever this is?”

Dolores nodded.

As Mirabel stood puzzled, Dolores simply chuckled. She offered Mirabel a water balloon.

Mirabel blinked at her.

“You throw it at someone,” Dolores prompted, gently. “I promise they don’t hurt and the water is pretty lukewarm now.”

“You’re… okay with them doing this?”

“Yep. It’s kinda fun, actually. Want to join us?”

Mirabel didn’t hesitate in her decision. “Absolutely not. I was only worried that… no matter. If everything is fine, I’m going back inside.”

Stubbornly, she headed for the door. 

Dolores quickly caught the girl’s arm. “I’m sorry, Mirabel. I shouldn’t have lied to you. I shouldn’t have left you to begin with. It was my responsibility to watch them, not yours. I didn’t mean to stress you out or make you think you’d failed your parents and me. You didn’t.”

Not really thinking about it, Dolores pulled Mirabel into a hug.

“…Dolores? My embroider—”

“It’s just water, primita. It’s fine.”

Mirabel went to argue, but seemingly just accepted it instead.

“I forgive you,” she said. “The children are nightmares. I can’t believe you are actually… playing with them? You’re completely freezing.”

Dolores scoffed. “I filled the red balloons ice cold water. I think the gremlins worked it out though… or at least Isa did; probably because I kept going for her with them. Speaking of, they probably won’t apologise, but I know Antonio and, at least, Luisa feel bad.” She shook her head a bit. “I thought me messing around with them would convince you to join in. I guess not. You don’t have to. I don’t blame you.”

“No, Dolores. You are actually freezing, to a concerning degree.”

Dolores paused, pulling away.

“You should—”

“No. You don’t get to fuss over me. I’m seven years older than you and I’m not an idiot. And especially not when I’m trying to prove a point that you should act your age.”

Dolores took the opportunity to glance back at the others.

All three of them had ganged up on Luisa at some point and now had her pinned to the ground. All of them giggling and shrieking.

She turned her focus back to Mirabel, once assured that the gremlins weren’t paying any attention. Mirabel was biting the inside of her cheek nervously, eyeing Dolores anxiously, while her face twisted with worry. Dolores can hear her heart beating faster in her chest.

This must of been what her mother felt like growing up with Tía Julieta.

The girl would calm down eventually and it’s not like Dolores was going to drop dead but… the water fight apology is clearly a bust.

So…

Resigned to her fate, Dolores rolled her eyes. She threw the water ballon hard into Camilo’s back - he mistook the attack as one of Isabela’s and promptly tackled his cousin to the ground - and then held out her empty hand.

Mirabel titled her head in confusion. Slowly, her lips raised in understanding. “Wait, are you letting me take care of—”

“Ten minutes, Mira. You can mother hen me for ten minutes and that’s it.”

[firestarter91]

Dead and Buried, episode 2 - thoughts

Colin looks particularly pretty in this scene, the way the light plays off his lovely face and makes his eyes sparkle, like Cathy I wanted to stare for a bit but unlike Cathy I don't want to ruin this guy's life.

Spoilery musings below.

We pick up the pace this week as Cathy carries on her campaign against Michael and things start getting serious. Half way through this series, I don’t feel much sympathy for Cathy, because the writers haven’t given me enough reasons to do so. Michael comes over as a decent family man grappling with his own internal struggles, he’s trying to get on with life and gain some personal freedom from a suffocating family environment.

The fact he did a bad thing many moons ago doesn’t change that. May be it’s partly because I’m still none the wiser what exactly happened with her brother and how did Michael end up in the situation he’s in now? Although I’m not sure it would make much difference to my feelings as he’s clearly rehabilitated himself. I’m planning on keeping my weekly viewings going rather than binge watching, I just hope this doesn’t go off the rails like The Killing Kind, the previous drama Colin did involving a guy with a dark past.

“I can explain” Cathy tells husband Raymie after being caught outside the front of the McAllister house. Well she does and it sounds exactly as bad as it looks, even her excuse that she's not fucking him but fucking WITH him, doesn’t win her any brownie points. She says she wants revenge, yeah we know. It’s funny how she goes from being all regretful about her actions to offended he’s followed her, like how dare you impinge on my private time whilst I stalk this dude and snoop in his house!

Cathy is also annoyed at her therapist, yeah so am I, I liken them to snake oil salesman. They make you pay good money to do nothing but ask bleeding obvious questions that any sensible person would ask, they supposedly listen, nod their head whilst you talk and then let you go without offering you any advice on what you should do and promptly book you in for another consultation. I just don’t get how that’s a job? You might as well chat to a friend and pay them, they’ll be about as much use and they might just offer you some sensible suggestions, like Cathy’s friend. Not that Cathy is listening to anyone about Michael.

Oh that explains the son’s reaction when he saw Raymie outside the bedroom window, I must have missed that he’s Andrew’s teacher and he thinks he’s in trouble for bunking off, Raymie now realises he’s got McAllister’s son in his class, what a handy coincidence. 😉

Uh oh trouble at home, his wife has found the lace panties that Cathy planted and she demands to look at his phone. He’s in a spot of bother here because whilst he’s not technically been cheating, the messages she finds (unless he's already deleted them) will be enough to condemn him as flirting (literally) with the idea of it. Oh that’s smooth and kind of a shit thing to do, blame the lad for the knickers lol, he even walks away leaving the phone in her hand until she asks does he want it back, that was a disaster well dodged (for now) but the son isn’t so happy, he’s heard them talking.

I love a bit of drunken dancing in the living room and Michael sure as hell needs a release, and that’s found in the bottle and music, he’s clearly unhappy. Next day he’s off with his son to attend a cult Brothers of Caleb meeting and singalong. Cathy is following them, turns out they’re going to initiate a new member as a ‘disciple’, he’s another repentant ‘sinner’ who by joining the brotherhood will have his life tied to serving the cult leader Michael’s father in law, Jack.

Cathy's friend Sally realises she's is out on the prowl again whilst on the phone to her and meets up with Cathy to ask why she’s on a stake out with her son in the back of the car. They can hear singing from outside so Cathy runs up close to take a look, “it’s worse than I thought they’re born again christians!’😂

Poor Michael is sitting there during the ceremony looking like he’d rather be anywhere else, he’s had well over a decade of this shite, having to listen to the ‘we are all sinners’ mantra trotted out by Jack and I don’t blame him for wanting to escape. Worse he can see his son being indoctrinated without having a chance to think or explore the world for himself and that scares him.

Sally tells Cathy she’s almost feeling sorry for Michael, it’s as if Cathy wants him off still killing people the way she’s behaving when the worst he’s done is seemingly join the God squad. Cathy doesn’t care she’s deaf to reasoned argument, at least Sally realises this and walks away. She’s had enough and wants to stay out of it, but in driving off she gets spotted by Jack, Michael and his son as they examine his car which Cathy has scratched with the words ‘cheater’ whilst she was outside the house. I know this is bad news for the friend as she’s going to be fingered as the culprit.

Cathy meets up with Sally a few days later at school, she tells Cathy she looked into his eyes and he seems ordinary, ‘you were caught in his tractor beams’ Cathy jokes (well who wouldn’t he does have such pretty eyes😊), she’s had a long talk with her husband, it’s all out in the open, and everything sorted and done and Michael is buried (not literally obviously), we know of course this is a load of bull.

Therapist again: “how does it end?”

“An eye for an eye” that’s her dream of how it goes, she wants every aspect of his life destroyed. She's on a revenge mission pure and simple, the therapist meanwhile simply pockets some more cash.

Another flashback and we discover that Michael was with a group of teenage boys, one of which was chasing after her at school and after an initial rejection she decides that kind of action is too good to ignore and they have a bit of a kiss and fumble in the back of his car one night, only to be caught by her irate brother Terry and they have a spat. First off I thought it was Michael who was kissing her but I think he was in the front of the car watching them and he tried to break up the fight? It’s rather confusing which one of them is actually Michael during the kissing scene and its aftermath.

Cathy arranges a heart to heart with Michael’s wife at the coffee shop (I just realised it’s called ‘Coffee and Crime’), I like how she manages to coax the wife to sitting down and talking about her own recent issues with Michael, ‘do we stick or do we twist?’ she asks the wife.

Whilst Cathy plants the seeds of further discontent, Michael is having an equally discomforting time with Raymie at school being taken to task about his son’s increased truancy, it’s clear he doesn’t really know what to do about it or say, his wife usually handles this stuff, he had no clue what was going on.

Michael tells Raymie he wants his son to look up to him, he admits that when he was younger he messed up, he was on the periphery of something, got involved and was punished for it. He makes it sound like he was in the wrong place at the wrong time not that he’s some cold blooded killer. We also discover that his son has no clue about his past and Michael doesn’t want to tell him until he’s older, well jesus the kid looks plenty old enough, he needs to tell him before everything goes to shit.

Meanwhile, Michael’s father-in-law is calling in a favour of a reluctant disciple, asking him to check up on the car they spotted driving off after the meeting and find out whatever else he can about her whilst he’s at it, God he’s such a dick.

Michael looks SO GOOD in that blue shirt and suit, wardrobe continue to do the most excellent work with Colin, it's simple but effective.

Is singing a big thing in Irish schools? I can’t remember ever doing that when I was at school, only at morning assembly.

Meanwhile dad has come around to poke his big fat interfering nose into his daughter’s private life and cause yet more trouble, now I’d tell him to bugger off and mind his own business and let me sort my own marriage out but she’s not that type. She’s as much under his control as Michael is and after a heart to heart, daddy says he’s going to find out what’s going on, leaving her all tearful and upset, thinking Michael’s up to no good even though she's convinced he would never have an affair. ‘He’s been straying away from the true path for some time now’ he warns, bloody hell what a nightmare, on the surface her family looks fine but it’s not.

Cathy has messaged Michael and offered a calming shoulder to cry on, he’s told her things are difficult at home but they agree to meet up for coffee, Michael’s wading into increasingly murky territory here, some flirty texting he may just about get away with if he plays his cards right but actually meeting up with that person is crossing yet another line. He knows this of course when he sits down and says ‘but we’re not doing anything wrong..ish?’ 😏 He looks so tempting.

I’m transfixed too much by the pretty to remember much of this conversation but Michael tells her about the knickers. It’s clear he still has no clue who she is but I can’t say that’s odd. She looks so different from those flashbacks, hair was long and dark, and she’s got twenty odd years on her face to grow and fill out as a woman and in any case if you’re not looking for something you tend not to see it. Why should he think it’s the same girl from when he was in his late teens whose now the woman sitting opposite him in a coffee shop intent on trying to destroy his life?

Michael gets a visit at the office from Jack who confronts him about his apparent infidelity, what a nasty git, the not so subtle threat is voiced, 'da' can take everything away from him if he misbehaves. He’s a murderer who got given a second chance by this family, no wonder he drinks, he’s so trapped and fucked he might as well be back in jail. Michael naturally has no clue who the woman was they saw at the house when dad shows him the picture, it’s kind of funny that he’s toying with doing something whilst being accused of actually already having done the deed.

We see Andrew is at home going online to search on Sally.

Is there anything worse than an overbearing, control freaky parent? Yes there is, an overbearing, control freaky religious zealot of a parent, no wonder Michael keeps a bottle of booze in his office desk at work.

Cathy is at a bar, drinking and dancing with Sally, they’re having a gals night out, she walks home afterwards to have drunken sex with her husband, they probably haven’t done it in a good while so he’s a happy bunny. Meanwhile Sally is staggering off to her house, fumbles with the keys outside her door, looks up and gets attacked by a bloke in what looks like a hoodie, he slams her head against the wall. She falls to the ground.

Michael comes home late and obviously drunk to be greeted by his wife, he says why did you tell your dad about the knickers, right then and there you see how suffocated and unhappy he feels with his home situation and I really felt for him. He sounded so broken and upset, her telling Jack their personal issues just piled on the emotional pressure.

His wife is okay but she’s too much under her dad’s influence, she notices he has cuts on the back of his hands, he says he fell over, ‘your dad is such a supersilious wanker’, he’s dead right. He also tells her he’s not having an affair and he’s not a murderer, they both head up to bed and their son appears suddenly from the lounge(?) downstairs (although wearing his black hoodie up he looks like he's dressed for outdoors) where he’s heard everything by the looks of it. Guess it’s a bit late now for Michael to have that talk Raymie suggested.

So the credits roll and we’re left with an interfering dick of a father in law convinced Michael’s having an affair, a strongly suspicious wife, his son realising his dad has a darker past than he thought, a seriously injured/possibly even dead best friend and two possible suspects in Andrew and Michael.

Despite the ending, I continue to feel sorry for Michael, I get Cathy’s upset about her brother’s early demise and seeing his apparent killer has set her spiralling but it's frustrating that two episodes in we still don’t really know what happened back then which is not making it easy to sympathise with her behaviour decades later.

Cathy’s coming over not as righteous but purely vindictive and unhinged, meanwhile Michael is struggling with an oppressively religious zealot of a father-in-law, a cowed wife and a suspicious angry son.

Religion at its worst can be like a cult, it sucks people in, steals their will power and self determination. There’s a price to pay if you try to escape, usually it means you're ostracised from family and friends, Michael was caught up in this "Brotherhood of Caleb" fairly early on by the looks of things and he’s being slowly suffocated by it.

Looking forward to catching up on Monday for the next episode and hopefully by then I'll find out some more about what Michael did to Terry.

[mymoodwriting]

LØV3

F!Reader x Hyungwon

Genre: Yandere AU

Warning: Manipulation, Betrayal, Medication, Drugs, Blood, Anxiety, Tears, Panic

Words: 3K

Chapter Eleven

(Prev//Next)

Prompt: NexGen is the leading company for all of humanities technological advances. Their recent project involves creating a higher functioning AI, one with basic knowledge of the world, and programmed to learn. It’s no surprise the project is a secret from the general public, and you, the company’s head programmer, were chosen to be the AI’s teacher. You wish you could reject the assignment, but the decision was made. Now with an AI at home things were different. Although it might not be such a bad thing, perhaps you could learn and help each other out, for better or for worse.

A/N: I’m super excited for you all to read this chapter, hope you like it >_<

“You can’t see him.”

“Why not!”

“You know why!” Minhyuk countered. “He’s being held for your kidnapping! Why would the police let you near him? It’d come off as stockholm syndrome or something.”

“We’re friends. He won’t get charged with anything if I choose to drop this whole thing.”

“And you think Hyungwon is gonna let that slide?”

“I… fuck…”

     By now Hyungwon surely knew you were gone, and could have made Changkyun’s situation worse. You might not be able to do anything for him right now, and that was eating you up inside. Besides, your original plan of finding evidence against Hyungwon has now made you question Changkyun and what his part to play in all of this is.

“Can you call your friend at the station? Ask them about Changkyun?”

“Yeah, yeah I can do that.”

     You anxiously waited as Minhyuk was on the phone, holding Chae’s orb and trying to make sense of what you had just learned. After a moment you stopped and really looked at the orb. This was the original Chae you had known, and this accident was what changed everything for you. Now that you believed the whole thing had been planned, you weren’t sure how to feel anymore. You couldn’t even understand why. The tears built up, quietly sliding down your cheeks. It was hard not to wonder if you ever really knew Chae.

“Y/n? Are you okay?”

“Huh? Yeah, yeah I’m fine.” You wiped away the tears. “What did your friend say?”

“Well… it did get worse…”

“How?”

“You’re not gonna like it.”

“Minhyuk, tell me.”

“Apparently when Hyungwon went back to the police he brought up the fact that Changkyun has been obsessed with you for months and had been stalking you.”

“What?”

“He mentioned your security system, how Changkyun helped you install it, but that you didn’t know he was still accessing them.”

“He was what? How would… what?”

“Hyungwon even showed them the access history for your security cameras. The police followed the IP address which led back to Changkyun’s office at NexGen. They raided it and found videos of you sleeping in your room, and just lounging around the house and working. The dates on the videos go back months too. Shownu asked me to let you know they wanted to talk to you again about all this too.”

“I…”

    You were at a loss for words, still trying to understand everything Minhyuk had told you. None of this made any sense to you, it just brought up questions, and fears.

“Hyungwon must have planted all this, right? To frame Changkyun and-”

“No…”

“What?”

“How did he know…”

“Know what? Y/n, what is it?”

“Changkyun did help me set up my security system, but I didn’t know he had access, and that he was using it. I never put a camera in my bedroom… and you said the videos went back months?”

“Yeah.”

“I only save footage for two months and then delete it, since my life is so quiet and mundane.”

“I… I mean, Hyungwon-”

“How could he have planted anything like that? Things that don’t exist. How would he even have access to Changkyun’s office? He’s only been to NexGen once, and he was with me…”

“But it’s possible isn’t it? That he set this all up?”

“Perhaps… but even I’m having trouble believing it…”

“Well, if anything. Changkyun isn’t getting out anything soon, and the police still need to speak with you over this.”

“No, I can’t go to the station. Now that I have to go, surely Hyungwon would be staking out the place somehow. Besides, we can’t be here for much longer. Come morning, other employees could recognize me, and that’s a whole lot of trouble. We need to go and-”

    You stopped as your eyes landed on Chae’s orb. Then your gaze drifted over to the computer where you had his code up, looking at Chagkyun’s signal on it.

“Y/n?”

“Chae was with Changkyun for a while…”

“Months before you met him, yeah, why?”

“What if we’ve been looking at this all wrong.”

“Huh?”

“I thought Chae was using my credentials this whole time, but what if he was actually using Changkyun’s…”

“How would you be able to know?”

“I need to access the NexGen servers again, but I can’t do it here.”

“Then where?”

“Changkyun’s place, we need to go there.”

“Is it even safe?”

“At this point the police have surely gotten everything they need, and I doubt Hyungwon would think I’d ever go there.”

“Alright, then let’s go. It’s still early in the morning, so there won’t be any eyes to watch us.”

♥♥♥♥♥

    Minhyuk was right about the people. Since it was so early you didn’t run into anyone, so you were able to make it into Changkyun’s apartment undetected. You ignored the police tape and went in, seeing that the place was a mess. At least you didn’t have to worry about cleaning up. You made your way over to his computer. It was unlocked since the police had surely jailbroke it to access his heart drive. The system was still intact, and you remembered how Changkyun had accessed the servers the first time for you.

“So how long is this going to take?”

“Honestly, I’m not even sure if I can find anything.”

“How come?”

“This is Changkyun’s stuff. I have no way of knowing what wouldn’t be him.”

“Then why not look for something out of the ordinary. See if anything in particular stands out that makes no sense for Changkyun at all.”

“That’s not a bad idea. Perhaps I should start from when Chae’s code had been modified.”

    It was still going to be a headache to get any clue here, but you had to try. As far as you could see nothing was out of the ordinary. Everything you saw made sense for Changkyun given his job and responsibilities at the time. You thought this was perhaps a dead end, a puzzle you couldn’t solve, but then Minhyuk pointed something out.

“Hold on, back up, what’s that?”

“Uh… Changkyun accessed some files from the testing facility, the daily copy that was brought over to HQ. That’s not entirely uncommon as he did look over information on the drone’s schematics occasionally. Even running virtual simulations to get an idea how my code would function with them.”

“Yeah, but the thing is, the file number on that corresponds to the android models, not the police drones. Would he ever look at that?”

“I don’t think so… he worked with me, and I only ever worked on code for drones. I rarely did anything for the androids, and given the access date, I definitely wasn’t working on them at the time. So that means this could be Chae…”

“Why would Chae care to look into the android models?”

“Uh… actually, Chae was eventually supposed to be moved into an android body. Perhaps he knew that… Minhyuk, I need you to go back to the testing facility and check for Changkyun’s credentials in the system.”

“What? I know Changkyun could get into the facility, but how would Chae be able to?”

“At this point I think anything can be possible.”

    Of course now that it was daytime you couldn’t go back with Minhyuk to the testing facility, so he’d have to go on his own. He offered to take you back to his apartment, but you shook your head. You needed to get your medication, and soon, before you freaked out again. Min asked if you had a prescription, which you didn’t, but you hoped you could convince Kihyun to help you out once. Min understood, giving you a ride over and also giving you his spare key so you could return to his apartment afterwards. Along with some cash and his phone, saying he’d call you if he found anything. You thanked him, and told him to be careful as well.

    When you got to the pharmacy you were glad you found Kihyun. He was surprised to see you since you weren’t due for a refill on your medication just yet. You were nervous but you admitted to him that you lost your medication and needed a refill. Of course he asked for a prescription, but you didn’t have one. It would take a while and you knew you didn’t have time for that. You were already reaching day two of going without your medication. Kihyun still seemed unsure, but he knew what you were taking and what going without it could do to you. So he agreed on the condition that you would go get a prescription, so he was really just giving you your medication early. You agreed and thanked him, and he told you to come back in two hours.

    You hadn’t eaten yet so you went to a nearby cafe, staying away from the windows and making sure you were hidden. You were a bit nervous just waiting around, and you couldn’t even call Minhyuk as you had his phone. So all you could do was wait. It made you anxious but you had nothing else to do. It was nearly an hour later when Minhyuk had finally called you. He told you he was on his way back to his apartment, calling you from a borrowed phone. Like you thought, he found Changkyun’s credentials in the system when they really shouldn’t be. It was all in regards to the androids, looking at their files, but there was something else too, something worse as Minhyuk put it.

“What?”

“It seems Chae… had put in a work order for an android…”

“He what!? When?”

“A few weeks before he was handed off to you.”

“What did he do with the android? Which one is it? Where is it?”

“That’s the thing… I found the work order but any other information on the android in question has been destroyed. Worst of all, the code had been modified.”

“Modified?”

“NexGen has four different android models, two male presenting and two female presenting, but the one Chae ordered was completely customized. It has a unique face and body type, and is nowhere in the facility.”

“So he’s had an android for months… doing who knows what…”

“We might not be completely lost here. The code from the work order is still accessible. I made a copy and am taking it home. I can run it through a generator so we can actually know what face this thing has.”

“How long will that take?”

“Less than an hour, but it’ll still take time.”

“We got time.”

“Yeah, although there’s more…”

“What?”

“There were a total of five work orders under Changkyun’s name…”

“Five? As in… Chae has five custom androids?”

“It seems so…”

“What… how did he even…”

“From what I can tell, he made the first two back to back, then another two a month later, and the last a few months ago…”

“Why would he need all those androids…”

“I have no idea.”

“Your police friend… can he be trusted? If we tell him about all this, would he be able to start an investigation?”

“Yeah, although it’ll take some convincing.”

“I don’t expect any of this to be easy.”

“Alright. I’ll start running the codes when I get home and email you the results.”

“After I get my prescription I’ll make my way over to the station.”

“I’ll meet you there.”

    With that you ended the call, and you were left to be nervous about something completely new. Ever since you had learned the truth about Chae, you had thought a lot about what he had been up to. Now with the possibility of him running around with five androids, you couldn’t fathom what he was doing with them. Or if this was all Hyungwon. You were left to ponder all that until you had to go. As you stepped out of the cafe the phone chimed, you had received an email. You were nervous to look at it, but this was the first step to getting answers. You opened the email and the face that stared back at you made your eyes go wide.

“Is that… the detective…”

    You expected some random face to appear, but the fact that it was familiar to you sent shivers down your spine. The face you saw was one of the detectives that had taken on your supposed kidnapping case. What made it worse was that you weren’t entirely sure if it was Minhyuk’s friend or not. You desperately wished you could call him, but you probably wouldn’t be able to reach him on the same number as before. So you opted for sending an email, hoping he’d see it and get back to you with an answer. If he hadn’t said anything from the start, then maybe you were wrong. You returned to the pharmacy, trying not to get so overwhelmed.

“Y/n, right on time.” Kihyun smiled. “Are you alright? You seem a bit anxious.”

“I’m fine. Is my medication ready?”

“Yeah. Let me get it, just give me a moment.”

    Kihyun stepped away from the counter, and then the phone chimed again. You thought Minhyuk had answered you, but instead it was the next result. When you opened it your heart sank. The last one was hard to believe, but this was far worse.

“Alright, here you go.”

    You slowly looked up at Kihyun, really taking in his face, and then glancing back down at the phone. It was a perfect match.

“Who… who are you?”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

“How… you… you…”

    You stepped away from Kihyun, panic started to overtake you. This didn’t make sense, more so than the detective being an android. In your frantic state you were looking around and your eyes landed on the mirror in the corner and you saw Hyungwon in the other aisle.

“Y/n, are you-”

    You ran. As soon as you realized he had found you, you bolted out of the pharmacy and got into a cab. In your panic you asked to be taken to the nearest police station, then realized you couldn’t do that. For the moment your only safe place was Minhyuk’s apartment. Now you really wished you could talk to him and tell him this. That you actually recognized the androids Chae had created. You sent another email to Minhyuk, but you didn’t know if he’d send you a response. When you heard the chime you thought he did, but it was just the next result. This time you were nervous to look at it, but you had to know.

    You felt the world grow still as you stared down at Wonho’s face. It couldn’t be true, this couldn’t be real. It just had to be some elaborate joke, and it wasn’t funny. You were still processing Kihyun, and now you had to worry about this too. The only person you could trust was Minhyuk, and you couldn’t even reach him right now. When you got to his place you fumbled with the key, but still managed to get inside. Once in you could take a breath, leaning against the door once you locked it and trying to calm down. The place was quiet, so Minhyuk wasn’t around anymore, probably at the station. He’d surely call you soon enough, and you could tell him to get back here.

    You went to the kitchen, getting yourself a glass of water, your breathing steady. You were back to waiting, but there was so much more on your mind. Now that you had a moment to yourself you could try to process, to make sense of what you had learned. While lost in your own head the phone chimed again, startling you greatly. You didn’t want to look, you didn’t want to know anymore, but that wasn’t really an option. So you opened the email, took one look at the face on the screen and threw the phone across the room. You didn’t want to believe that it was Minhyuk, but anything was possible. You were wrong, you couldn’t trust anyone, and you couldn’t stay here. You ran to the door, only to watch as it opened before you, Hyungwon stepping in.

    Now you were certain this was all some kind of trap. There was no way he just found you, but in this situation you were cornered. You ran over to the computer and grabbed a letter opener, prepared to fight with it. Hyungwon didn’t seem worried though, simply asking you to put it down and not to hurt yourself. Tears were beginning to blur your vision. You couldn’t describe the fear you were feeling as Hyungwon stepped closer and closer. You weren’t just going to freeze up so you tried to stab him, only for him to grab the blade in his hand and hold it tight. Then you heard another chime. Your eyes trailed over to the computer screen where the program had been running, and your worst fear stared right back at you.

    Slowly you looked back over at Hyungwon, seeing a blue liquid run down his arm from his hand. Blue blood. You let go of the letter opener, your legs giving out beneath you. Hyungwon was quick to catch your thought and gently lay you down, keeping your head in his lap. You thought your mind would be racing, but it was quiet, and it felt like the world had come to a stop. It was hard to deny that everything around you had been a lie, from the beginning, perhaps even before that. Although it all came down to one thing that you couldn’t understand, that perhaps you didn’t want to understand.

“… why… why are you doing this… everything… everyone… in my life… it’s all fake… it’s all a lie… everyone I trusted… why…”

“Sh, sh, I know you must be so confused, but I had to keep you safe, I had to make sure I could protect you.”

“Who… who are you…”

“You know who I am. I’ve always been with you.”

“… what…”

“I’m Chae, Chae Hyungwon.”

[crystallllines]

i fucked up and, when i found out she was upset, I immediately gave her a sincere apology. i answered every question she had about every angle of my mistake.

and then she kept bringing it up. over and over again, like she was trying to pick a fight or like she’d completely forgotten everything i said. and instead of getting upset at that, i would just apologize again and, when asked why i did what I did, i gave her the same exact story i gave the first time because it was the truth. eventually, though, i did politely and calmly tell her that it hurt me every time she brought it up. i did this a few times.

i thought things were over after she sat me down and said she told her therapist all about what happened and he said she was making a bigger deal out of it than it was, and that she forgave me. i thanked her for that.

and then it kept going. and i kept telling myself she didn’t mean it and that she forgave me, really, while sober. and then she brought it up in front of iris, and iris later told me that she (not iris) got upset at iris for not taking her side, which was enough to infer that she was trying to pick a fight with me and turn one of my friends against me at the same time, right in front of my face.

and i still was like “okay, i’m fine with it. this is just who she is; we’ve been friends since high school, this will pass, it’s not worth losing our friendship over”

then today, in the car, she started ranting about this autistic guy who is sort of a new, occasional addition to our group and who is very shy and likes her a lot. that started bothering me. but because she was doing this while talking to jackson, i stayed out of it, not wanting to escalate things.

but then she went on about the fact that the guy didn’t drive and how she hates non-drivers and how “all they ever want is to get people to drive them around” and that.

that did it. 1) no, not true? what the fuck? & 2) hello? saying that in front of someone who you claim is your best friend, who you know doesn’t drive?

i admit, it’s a sore spot of mine. my parents never had any real interest in teaching me how to drive and none of my friends want to give me lessons (jack does, but he can’t because of technical issues of car ownership), so my only real option is going to a driving school/getting a driving teacher and 1) i can’t afford that & 2) it would be torture to know how to drive and not have a car & 3) i cannot afford a car or car insurance right now. the last two points are minor; if i had all my bills and debts covered and had enough money left over for enough driving lessons to get my license, i sure af would do that.

so i flipped out. i don’t remember everything i said, but i do remember i called her a cunt. and, as much as i like that word, i never call anyone a cunt. not to their face, not behind their back, not even in my own mind.

i do regret doing that. but between the torture of having to relive a mistake over and over and over and over again, in front of other people who weren’t even involved, hearing the mean, insensitive things she said about that very nice guy, and hearing her thoughts on non-drivers, i flipped. i should have either kept quiet or just said, calmly, “that’s not at all true. i don’t drive and i have spent years doing my best to avoid asking people for rides unless walking or taking a bus is beyond impractical/impossible and i can’t afford a lyft. i even make sure jack knows that he doesn’t always have to drive me everywhere; if he doesn’t want to, all he has to do is say so, and i’ll either find another way to get where i need to go or i’ll just have to accept that i can’t. what you’re saying is very hurtful.“

because i am certain that nothing that i said got through her. i am certain that she’s mad at me for getting upset and is offended that i would dare speak that way to her, even after the way she’s been treating me for (at least) two weeks. and that certainty makes me not want to even apologize for calling her a cunt. (also, i wouldn’t be surprised if she tries to complain about me to my brother and engage him in shit talk tonight at their place. i wouldn’t be surprised if he engaged, either.)

it just makes me want to question whether our friendship is worth it any more. i have been trying to be a good friend and stay nice and calm and pleasant and sincere every time she gets ugly and mean and i just… don’t think it’s worth it. i don’t get anything out of our friendship anymore but stress, tbh. and that’s sad. because it was kind of nice having a friend who i shared memories and experiences of high school with.

all of that energy could have been put into writing smut, yet here it is instead, wasted on my emotions. i’m going to break my sleep aprn’s rules and read an ebook in bed in the dark for a bit. hopefully i don’t come to regret making that decision, but if i do… well, then I’ll deal and learn from that mistake.