#and like at least with camp counselors . . . there's a TEAM of them

[xspeter]

꥟ part of the “dancing with our hands tied” collection, Luke Castellan x Apollo!reader

꥟ IN WHICH… You discover that everyone at camp can tell.

꥟ W.C: 3k

Capture the Flag is a camp staple. It’s practically what makes the camp what it is! The battle strategy, the team work, the training.. it was perfect.

“Explain to your idiot boyfriend that we should get the Aphrodite cabin because he already has the advantage!”

“Just because we have more campers doesn’t mean we have the advantage! How many times do I need to say that?”

Clarisse and Luke have this argument nearly every week. Always fighting about who gets what cabin, which battle strategies were ethical and which weren’t, that whole ordeal.

You just wish they’d stop including you in it. Especially when you’re trying to clean a little boy's scraped knees!

You sigh, shooting the Demeter child a sorry look, but he doesn’t notice. Instead, he’s got a huge smile on his face as he watches Luke and Clarisse bicker like siblings. “They’re silly!” He giggles.

You smile, placing a blue band-aid on his knee and helping him off the bed. “Yep. Sooo silly.”

He doesn’t spare you a second glance as he leaves, and you’re partially grateful and partially offended. You don’t linger on the thought though, instead focusing the rest of your attention on the two fuming teens.

“You already have half the cabins in camp! Just because our cabins bigger doesn’t mean you get to hog everyone!”

“We aren’t hogging everyone-”

You rub the bridge of your nose, annoyance building in your temples. Are they aware that this is still technically your place of work? You don’t hang out in the infirmary on the daily just for fun. As Apollo Head Counselor it was literally your job to be there, and they were just making it harder.

“Okay, guys, calm down-”

They don’t listen, instead just getting louder and louder. Some of the patients are starting to notice, and seeing as majority of them are younger kids, it makes them nervous. And nervous kids in medical settings? Never a good mix.

“Luke, you’re literally so stupid it shocks me that you’re even still alive.”

“Right, because I understand basic math and you don't, I'm the stupid one. Makes complete sense.”

You sigh, glancing at a little girl that has started fighting the medicine your brother was trying to give her. It’s already been a struggle to even get her to lay down, and they had disrupted any progress you guys had made.

“Can you guys stop yelling, please?” You strain, watching as another little boy begins to cry when Clarisse practically screams fuck you! at Luke.

Again, they ignore you, and you’re starting to wonder if they can even hear anything you're saying. You wouldn’t be surprised if not.

“You know what, Castellan? Why don’t you take your math, and shove it right up your-”

“Okay!” You intervene, grabbing them both by their wrists and dragging them out of the building. Honestly, you’re still not sure they’re processing anything you’re saying or doing, because the entire time you lead them outside they glare at each other like two children.

Once you’ve gotten a safe distance from the patients and any prying ears, you smack both of them upside the head. Clarisse yelps while Luke’s hand immediately goes to soothe the spot.

“Are you guys deaf or just plain selfish?” You ask, nostrils practically flaring. “I mean, did you not notice the patients in there or did you just not care? Because to me it seems like you just didn’t care!”

They both have the decency to look at least a little bit ashamed, and for some reason it almost makes you feel bad. You're not sure if it's because of the genuine guilt on both of their faces, or just your constant need to please. You’re betting on the latter.

Luke swallows, sharing a glance with Clarisse before both of their gazes fall to the floor. “We’re sorry.” Clarisse mumbles, rubbing her arm uncomfortably. To most, Clarisse was rude and rarely ever apologized, but that was just to the people she didn’t know.

If you really took the time to know her, you’d discover she was just as lost as the rest of you. And underneath that hard exterior, there was a sweet girl begging to be found. You just had to be willing to look for it.

Luke nods in agreement, “Really, really sorry.”

Your eyes dart between the two of them, arms crossing over your chest. Some part of you wants to continue raging on them, you feel like it’ll be a bit therapeutic. But, the more rational part of you knows how serious they take the game, and sometimes they just get too into it.

“It’s fine,” You mumble, sucking in a breath and dropping your arms to your sides again. “Just, explain to me again whatever it is you guys are mad about.”

They both go to speak at the same time, and you realize you should’ve been more specific with your wording. You put a hand up to stop them, and quickly say, “Without arguing.”

You don’t miss Clarisse’s eye roll, but you choose not to call her out on it. Luke glances at the dark haired girl, and she gestures for him to speak a bit more aggressively than you think was necessary.

He sighs, turning to you with a slight smirk. It was his signature one, the one that practically dropped trouble. “Basically, Clarisse wants the Aphrodite Cabin because they have more campers, but she already has more than half the cabins in camp. So, I think we should be able to keep the Aphrodite cabin.”

You nod, “Which cabins does Clarrise have?”

The Ares child answers, “Demeter, Hephaestus, Dionysus, and Ares- obviously.”

You assumed that meant the other cabins were on Luke’s team, and if that was true, that meant he had the majority of the bigger cabins. Which meant that Clarrise should get Aphrodite.

But, the puppy dog look on Luke’s face makes your heart skip a beat, and you wonder if maybe you could bend your morals for him. Just this once. It was just a game after all, right?

Unfortunately, Clarrise has this knowing look in her eyes, like she knows what you’re thinking. It makes you feel small, so you do your best to seem as nonchalant as possible and say, “Then Clarrise should get it. But, maybe give Luke Dionysus? Since there’s only two of them.”

A huge grin overtakes Clarisse’s face, and she sticks her tongue out at Luke. “Ha!” She shouts, pointing a finger in Luke’s face. “I knew your girlfriend would agree with me.”

Luke rolls his eyes, a slight blush overtaking his cheeks at the word girlfriend. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. We’re still gonna beat you.”

Clarisse just shrugs him off, shooting you a wink as she walks away. Your friendship with Clarisse definitely was unexpected considering your clashing personalities, but you loved the girl like a sister.

Luke sighs dramatically, bottom lip jutting out a bit as he crosses his arms over his chest. “You really couldn’t have just given them to me?” You snort, you know he’s not really angry with you, which is why you roll your eyes with a grin.

“Sadly, no.” You shrug, “Besides, we both know you’ll be able to win without them.” It was true, Luke’s quick thinking and obvious knack for battle strategy set him up for success. But, it was also pretty well known majority of the kids in the Aphrodite Cabin would rather spend their time braiding hair and gazing at themselves in puddles. So, you didn’t think it was that hard of a loss.

Luke chuckles, “Why? Because they’d rather stare at their reflection then actually play the game?”

You pretend to think, scratching your chin and gazing up at the sky. “Um, yeah, exactly my point.”

He snorts in response, allowing you to lead him back into the infirmity silently. You almost find it strange how he doesn’t even question you. Just… follows. “I didn’t think you’d be so stereotypical, Sweetheart.” He jokes.

You shrug, “What can I say? I’m full of surprises.”

Luke watches as you push the door open, immediately going to greet a waiting patient. She’s a little bit older, probably around Percy’s age, but you still talk to her gently and kindly. Still treat her like a little kid, but not in a condescending way.

Luke’s not sure how you manage it. It makes his heart flutter in his chest for reasons he can’t explain.

“Yeah.” He sighs, eyes trailing your every move. “You are.”

꥟

You didn’t particularly enjoy being stuck in the medical tent during capture the flag. Not because you wanted to actually play the game, no, but because you were completely alone.

Some of your siblings always offered to stay behind with you, but you never let them. They’d be miserable staying with you, even if they wouldn’t admit it. Thus, here you sat, alone.

It wasn’t all bad. You enjoyed the peace, a rare thing to get at Camp Half-Blood, and most of the campers were too hell-bent on winning to even bother stopping by. Which meant you got to enjoy the unusual serenity all by yourself.

The birds sing hymns that you don’t know the words to, and the leaves dance together like professional ballerinas. It’s all very beautiful, really.

At least it is until Percy Jackson rips through the trees, a wide smile on his face and his chest heaving. His eyes dart around the opening, before they finally land on you.

You're sat outside the tent, jean shorts surely stained an unflattering green color and shins covered in shards of grass.

“Oh! Good, you’re here.” Percy breathes, jogging over to you. You stand, doing your best to discreetly wipe at your butt.

“Yep. I’m..” You let out a sigh, “still here.”

Percy just sniffs, giggling a bit and bouncing on his toes. He looks like a little boy who’d just been told he could get his favorite candy from the store. “He got it.” He says.

You raise an eyebrow, “Who got what?”

“Luke got the flag.” He grins, “I’m supposed to wait here to make sure no Ares campers cross the threshold.”

You nod. The makeshift infirmary was placed directly on the invisible threshold, but you found it a little weird Luke would send Percy to lookout for incoming Ares campers here when majority of them would probably be somewhere deeper in the woods.

You knew that, and surely Luke knew that, which meant..

You give Percy a sympathetic look. It’s not his fault he gets… distracted so easily when playing the game, but you also understood how seriously Luke took this. It just sucked he resorted to lying to the kid instead of coming up with something else for him to do.

“I see,” You mumble, eyeing a small cut on Percy’s knee. “What if I patch that up while you wait?” You ask, gesturing to the cut with your chin.

Percy shakes his head, eyes never leaving the woods. “Can’t. Have to make sure no one crosses.”

You sigh, chewing on your bottom lip. Percy could be so stubborn, that’s probably why he and Annabeth got along so well. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. Besides, it’s so quiet you’ll be able to hear them if they do. Just come inside, alright?”

Finally, Percy tears his gaze away from the open area to you, and he’s got that familiar glint in his eye. Percy’s smart, he always had been. And you weren’t the best liar. “What do you know?” He asks suspiciously, pointing an accusing finger at you.

You throw your hands up in surrender, shaking your head. “All I know is that you’re bleeding and it’s my job to take care of that, okay? So let me do my job.”

You can see the inner battle in Percy. He wants to stay out and do what Luke told him, but he also knows the cut on his knee stings like hell. He sighs, lowering his hand and glancing cautiously to the clearing. “Alright… but, promise if we hear anything you’ll let me go back out?”

You smile, “I promise.”

Seemingly satisfied, Percy allows you to lead him inside and begin your work. The floor in the tent was still grass, which meant the chair he was sitting in was quite unstable on the ground.

He rocked on it, eyes going wide when it leaned just a bit too far back. You snort when he does, and he sheepishly rubs his hand on the back of his neck.

You begin your work with no words exchanged between you, instead humming a familiar tune.

“That’s the song you sing at the campfire, right? Here comes the sun?”

You nod, glancing up at him. Percy smirks, hands messing with his helmet. “Luke said that was his favorite song, and I could never really understand why because it’s just… it feels odd to me for someone like him to like that song. But I think I understand why now.”

You’d like to pretend that Percy’s statement doesn’t make you go pink in the face, but it does. Luke said that was his favorite song? Of course, it didn’t automatically mean it was his favorite song because of you, but… it was nice to imagine, right?

“He did?” You ask, clearing your throat and trying to be as causal as possible. “And why do you think you know why? It could just be because it’s a catchy song.”

Percy shakes his head, “Nah. Trust me, it’s definitely not just because it’s catchy. It’s cause-”

The deafening sound of footsteps interrupts the both of you, and you both share a look before Percy is darting out of the tent and outside. You follow closely behind, a fresh pack of band-aids still in your hands.

Luke is leading a chase, with a giant red flag in his hands and a wide grin on his face. Dozens of campers follow him. Percy runs to them, jumping up and down and screeching something you can’t make out. Everyone is laughing, grinning. Everyone except for Luke.

His eyes look over the scene, looking for something you’re not sure of. It’s not until they land on you that it clicks. He was looking for you.

Instantly, he shoves the flag over to some unsuspecting kid and rushes over to you. It’s such an exhilarating feeling, being the person he looks for. You aren’t sure when that had happened, or what you had even done to deserve it- you just know you’ll thank The Gods everyday for allowing it.

Luke’s arms wrap around your waist, engulfing you in a bone-crushing hug. Instantly, your senses are overrun by everything Luke. You can feel him, smell him, practically taste him with how close he is. It’s too much and not enough all at the same time.

Your arms wrap around his neck, dropping the pack of band-aids in the grass and standing on your toes. You grin into his neck, “I knew you’d win.”

Luke snorts, giving you one final squeeze and backing away, but his hands remain at your waist. It makes you feel faint. “It was nothing, really.” He says with a shrug.

You furrow your brows, unconvinced. You know Luke is more than proud of his accomplishment, so why was he acting so easy going right now?

“Is that so?” You ask, swaying on your feet. “So, you aren’t going to be bragging to Clarisse for the next week about how you beat her?”

He scoffs, shaking his head. “Oh, no, of course I am. But, I can’t say that in front of a pretty girl can I? Gotta play it smooth.” He squeezes your waist as he says it, and your cheeks instantly fluff. A pretty girl. He was calling you a pretty girl.

Compliments from Luke were hardly rare, but he never said them in front of so many prying eyes. And it’s then that you notice everyone staring at the two of you, most all have knowing smirks on their faces, but some look on in jealousy. You hate to admit that it almost makes you prideful.

You were the only one Luke ran too- the one he looked for. That had to mean something, didn’t it?

You look away from him, rolling your eyes and shoving at him playfully. “Shut up, you flirt.”

He pretends to look hurt, giving you his best puppy dog eyes and grasping at his chest. “Oh, how you wound me!”

You giggle and open your mouth to respond, but Clarisse's familiar screech of anger interrupts you. “Where is he?”

You raise your brows, watching as Luke winces. While he would be claiming bragging rights for the rest of the week, being around her right now definitely wasn’t the best idea.

You suck in a breath, whistling lowly. “I think you’d better run.”

Luke’s lips thin into a line, tilting his head. “Yeah. Probably.” But, he doesn’t move. Instead, he just stares down at you. You raise your eyebrows in confusion, “Are you going to go?” You ask.

Luke grins slyly, “Yeah, just one more thing..”

It’s then that you feel the familiar warmth of Luke’s lips on your cheek, suspiciously close to your mouth. But, just as soon as he was there, he was gone. Running off and leaving you flustered and alone.

Your hands intertwine in front of you, a large cheesy grin on your face. You turn and begin walking back to the tent to clean up, but everyone’s eyes on you stops you. You glance down at your clothes, and then feel your face, checking for something- anything.

When you don’t find anything, you let out a nervous laugh. “What…?”

Everyone shares a look, one that you know all too well. You let out a groan, hands running through your hair, “It’s not like that!”

Percy shakes his head, “Yeah, okay. Of course it’s not.”

You just roll your eyes and storm into the tent. They were seeing things that just weren’t there! Luke was your best friend, and it was normal for best friends to be affectionate!

Hugs, compliments, cheek kisses… there was nothing else going on. Luke was just your friend being happy to see you.

That was all.

taglist: @apolloscastellan @ddarling-ddearest-ddead

[earthpleasures]

SIMP OF CENTURY !

Percy Jackson x fem!child of nyx!reader

Summary: Your reserved personality sparked curious thoughts in Percy's mind for years. Whenever he tried to get close to you, it backfired on him. But Hero of Olympus was never taught to give up.

Warnings: swearing, reader described as having 'night-like dark eyes'

Word Count: 1.7k

A/N: I haven't watched the pjo show, which means Percy's character and looks are based off the books. Louis is just a fan cast. I adore Walker, and I think he's such a good actor. So if you wish to imagine Percy as show Percy, you're free to do so! <3

dividers by: @benkeibear

"when I saw her walking down the street

she looked so fine, I just had to speak.

i asked her name but she turned away"

- mmm yeah by austin mahone, pitbull.

Everyone in the Camp Half-blood liked Percy Jackson, the most influential figure of the Second Titan War. Y/n did too, but not in the way young boy wanted. She saw him as a hero, no more of that. Which made Percy yap about her next to Annabeth's ear. Blonde could swear goddamn Seaweed Brain had no fucking dignity when it comes to Y/n. 

Being one of the children of Nyx, she was powerful. She was powerful yet in the background. He still remembered the scary ass encounter he had with her mother, Goddess of Night warning him to stay away from her daughter. 

Percy ‘impertinent’ Jackson never obeyed a word of Gods, said goddess being a primordial goddess didn't change his view of Immortals. Of course he was a little scared though, not of a goddess but of an angry and protective mother.

“To left! TO LEFT! HOW THE FUCK DID YOU GUYS FORGET ABOUT Y/N!?” Connor screamed his lungs out as Y/n ran to the red flag. Her keeping quiet for most of the game caused all other red team members to forget about the girl's presence. 

Percy took a breath as he charged towards her. His sword touched her back, threatening her to step away from the flag. “C'mon, stars. We both know how this is gonna end.” She wet her lips and sighed. “Yeah, whatever.” She stepped away from the flag. Percy was about to smirk with victory when she rushed towards the flag again. 

Without thinking a second, he threw his body over hers, preventing her from grabbing handle. “What the fuck Jackson!?” Her angry voice rang through the area as they rolled on the soil together. His legs straddled her. “Looks like we ended up on top of each other again.” He said, referring to all other games. Y/n narrowed her eyes as her lower suddenly lifted from the ground and threw the boy over her body. “Arrogant bastard.”

She ran to the flag without allowing herself to catch her breath, leaving Percy behind who's groaning with pain on his back. “Damn, girl. It hurted.” He mumbled as he stood up. Last thing he saw was Y/n smirking at him with her knuckles wrapped around the handle of the red flag. She let herself fall into the shadows of the flag tower and mix into the darkness. 

She was only child of Nyx that could shadow travel properly and was allowed use it only once during game since it would be unfair to other campers and game wouldn't really have a meaning as long as she played. And of course she kept it for this moment. 

He cursed as he heard the honk announce the victors, tearing a few pieces of grass and throwing them to air. “Well, at least we had physical contact…” He pouted, trying to console himself.

“Hey, what's up, stars? Drawing the moon again? Can I see it? Please?” He spoke quickly, afraid she would disappear into darkness as usual. Girl looked up to him from her sketchbook. Sparks of little stars illuminated her night-like dark eyes, passed to her from Nyx. 

“Don't you have better things to do, Jackson? Training new kids, doing your shit as one of the ‘Counselors’? Or better, go mourn your loss and your back.” 

Her voice was bitter as ever. Y/n didn't really have any friends in camp. It wasn't that she had distaste for others, socializing wasn't her thing at all. However she never acted rude when someone reached her for help. Only ‘friends’ she had were her siblings. Being their counselor, they had to speak to their oldest sister even if they didn't want to.

He narrowed his eyes. “That's rude. You almost broke a few of my ribs.” Y/n raised her eyebrows with eraser on her hand. She spoke while getting rid of a crocked line from the white paper. 

“Sounds like a you problem, my ribs seem to be perfectly fine.”

“And also, looking at my schedule, I have all day for you.” He smiled, green eyes reflecting the sunshine. She gave him an uninterested stare. “Good for you then?” Percy knew damn well that expression on her face. She's going to disappear again. He exclaimed her name. His fingers wrapped around her wrist before she became one with shadows. 

He shadow traveled before, he knew the feeling. But it didn't relax his senses as his reflexes screamed to kick and escape. When they arrived at their destination, it was dark everywhere. His brows furrowed unintentionally. “Where are we?” Y/n looked really troubled with his presence being next to her. “What the hell is wrong with you!? Why would you stick to my wrist like a leech!?” He smirked at her distressed state. 

“Only a leech for your attention.” He winked.

“If you keep talking like a fuckboy, you will experience my affection right on your cheek in a very violent way.”  

“Yes ma'am.” 

He put his hands to his hips as he inspected their surroundings. Giant green pine trees were surrounding them, not a sound coming from the forest besides wind hitting branches. “So, back to my previous question, where are we?”

She bit her lower lip as if she didn't wanna answer the question asked. “Uh, we're kind of… on the other side of the world?” Percy's face went completely blank. “What?” 

“We're in a country where it's night right now.” He stared at the moon shining above them, the weather was clear enough to see the stars with bare eyes. “Really? That's quite exciting, which country are we in?” She thought for a second.

“Turkey.” He couldn't help but snort. She pressed her lips together at the strange choking sound he let out. “If you're going to make that immature ass joke I am gonna leave you here and never come back.” He tried to retain his serious look after hearing her not-so-fully-threat sentence. He knew she would actually leave him here with no mercy. 

“Okay, okay. Jokes aside, this forest is the definition of peace.” She looked around them, smiling at the beautiful view while inhaling the clear oxygen. “Beautiful places are always hidden by the ugliness of metropolises.” His gaze locked on her rarely seen eased-up face. “Yeah, it's beautiful…” 

“I travel to places where it's night whenever I feel the pressure of a stressful day or when I am trying to escape your boyish remarks.” Percy put a hand on his chest and fake gasped. “How dare you call them boyish? I put my whole heart into them!” She let out a low toned giggle, keeping quiet to not to disturb the rest of the animals. 

“I apologize for my rudeness, Mr. Jackson. I haven't noticed that you poured your heart into wasted attempts of flirting.” Percy sat on a fallen log, tip of his foot digging into fresh soil. “They're not wasted attempts. Nothing is wasted when I do it for you.” 

For the first in their years of banters, Y/n was taken aback. “I… appreciate your efforts Percy. But I just don't get what makes me so valuable in your eyes. I am not the strongest swordsman in camp, or the most beautiful girl around. I don't return your flirts or compliments. It's strange to see you never give up on… me.” 

Percy looked into the depths of her eyes, green eyes holding more than just interest ignited in his heart. “I don't care about how beautiful or how strong you're. I care about who you are. I care about the girl who can't help but chuckle when she sees owls flying around her, I care about the girl who helps anyone in need of her, I care about the girl who makes incredible drawings.” With languid movements, he stood up from the log he was settled on. His calloused hands gently reached to her, fingers interlocking with hers.

“I always kept my efforts on you because you never said anything about me harassing you. If I ever sensed you being uncomfortable around me to the point you can't stand my presence, I would've stopped. Hope kept me going.” Her confused expression softened as his sentences progressed. She could feel her eyes watering, tears were ready to overflow and roll down on her cheeks. 

“Percy…” His finger rubbed her palm, grayness from the pencil smearing his thumb too. “I am so sorry Y/n. For making you feel distressed in a place where you should be secure from all threats. I've never been flawless and i-” 

His eyes shoot open when soft, cold lips pressed against his. Her hands clutched on his orange t-shirt, eyes closed as she let herself get lost in sensation. Soon enough, he came to his senses too, hands flying to cup her cheeks. 

When they parted he laid her forehead against hers, she let out a chuckle. “You look so red, like my rose drawings.” He embraced her, not giving an answer to her teasing. All he needed was to feel her skin against his and inhale the scent he has been longing for years. His face buried on the crook of her neck. “Y/n?” 

She wrapped her arms around his waist. “Yes?” 

“I think I am gonna faint cause my heart is beating abnormally fast.” 

“What- PERCY! OH MY GODS!” 

Her shock filled shriek echoed through the whole forest, six feet tall Percy Jackson collapsed on her. “Are you kidding me!?” She did the first thing that came into her mind, took him back to Camp Half-blood.

Percy opened his eyes, the ceiling of the cabin welcomed him. “Fuck, it was all a dream again.”

“Woah, you dream about me?” 

Young boy let out an almost girlish scream as he pulled his blanket over his chest like he tried to protect his pudicity. Y/n grimaced. “Goddammit Percy, roosters are amateurs next to you.” His ragged breath slowed down when he saw the very face that was the star of his ‘dream’. 

“You aren't dreaming, I kissed you, so-”

“WE'RE DATING NOW!?” 

And that was how all residents of Camp Half-blood learned about their relationship.

Upcoming days, Percy was like a limb of her. Eighty percent of his time was spent with her, the other twenty percent he was yapping about her to Grover and the rest of the Seven. 

Contrary to what she thought, days turned weeks, weeks turned months, months turned years. Percy kept torturing everyone around him about his girlfriend, his fiancée and his wife. 

And maybe they weren't Immortal, but through generations, Camp Half-blood remembered the lovesick couple of 21th century.

©2024 earthpleasures do not repost, copy, translate, modify

[dollmini]

ㅤ ⊹ ࣪ ˖ never really moved on ⟢ ot5

SYNOPSIS you’ve been told many times before that feelings never go away—specifically romantic ones. that crushes simply go dormant until something rekindles the spark in your heart. unfortunately for you, all five of your prior crushes make their grand return in your life at the same time.

WARNINGS all fics contain sexual content. individual warnings will be placed for each individual fic. each fic is set in present with flashbacks and back story added in.

GENRE nsfw, minors dni, “to all the boys i’ve loved before” au, university au, american au

NOTES i am going to take my time writing these fics, as they will likely be long fics. at the same time, i will also be trying to multitask other projects. please be patient with me and don’t hound me for updates. they will be posted as soon as i finish them. thank you.

FEATURING CAST belle shim, yang jungwon, byun euijoo, oh haewon, keum donghyun

PROLOGUE

TO THE BOY WHO WAS MY SEATMATE

SYNOPSIS first day of tenth grade, high school, english class. that’s where you met taesan. your high school was rather large, and your english class was on the furthest end from your previous class. you were running late that day, and the only empty seat was in the back next to the reserved boy with black hair, who you came to know and love as dongmin—taesan, he preferred. the two of you were one in the same, but he moved away the following year. you never expect to see him again, let alone be as close to him, until your university teams up with another for a summer-long camp for teens, and you both end up being counselors there.

WARNINGS tba

POST DATE tba

TO THE BOY WHO WAS MY FIRST KISS

SYNOPSIS back then it was seventh grade, only just thirteen years old and just now really getting interested in crushes. park sungho was a friend of a friend—one you’d always thought was cute. it was just a quick kiss as a dare at a friends’ birthday party. now, it’s university, twenty-something years old, the group meets up again, and sungho is as beautiful as ever.

WARNINGS tba

POST DATE tba

TO THE BOY WHO WAS MY FIRST DANCE PARTNER

SYNOPSIS your best friend begged you to sign up for a dance class with her, claiming that now that you were transitioning into secondary school, you couldn’t be lame now and not have a hobby. the only problem was that you couldn’t dance and never had an interest in it. that was until you were paired with lee sanghyeok, at least. it was fun, but you and your best friend quickly found out that it wasn’t for you, and ended up quitting. sanghyeok, though, continued and that’s how you find yourself watching his performance years later after being dragged out by your friends.

WARNINGS tba

POST DATE tba

TO THE BOY WHO WAS MY FIRST LOVE

SYNOPSIS donghyun was your everything. the two of you met through mutual friends—namely taesan—and it blossomed into something more. it was your first serious relationship, and you were almost certain he would’ve been the one you married. however, toward the end of your senior year, the both of you grew apart and eventually decided to break up. it was hard, but ultimately it was for the best. you had made peace with it. that is until you run into him again in the fall, much like when your relationship first started.

WARNINGS tba

POST DATE tba

TO THE BOY WHO WAS MY NEIGHBOR

SYNOPSIS most of the people living in your quiet neighborhood were elderly with adult children or new parents with young children. myung jaehyun was the only one close to your age. in turn, he became a close friend—one you often spent most of your time with outside of school. but when your parents divorced in your freshman year of high school, your bond and subsequent crush on jaehyun fizzled out until it was scraps of what it used to be. however, it felt like nothing had changed when you step foot back into the neighborhood when you were on winter break. nothing at all.

WARNINGS tba

POST DATE tba

EPILOGUE

[delcakoo2]

ema’s fic rec’s ₊˚⏃⊹!

i decided to make a lil’ masterlist of fics i thoroughly enjoyed for you guys to also read and support these amazing authors <3 make sure to give them lots of feedback and love; do not be a silent reader T-T! also, there will be no social media aus or smut in any fics below. have fun!!

★ = ALL TIME FAVORITE !!

ENHYPEN !

⚠︎ yang jungwon:

http-do-you-luv-me? ★!!! (16k, jock won, e2l, f, a)

i have reread this masterpiece countless times and it’s p much my comfort fic T-T i could rant about it forever, even if u dont read enha/longfics just read RNNN, all time fav fs <3

for any price ★ (9.4k, assassin won, f, a)

saw assassin and clicked immediately jshsjs, very unique and exciting!! plus yeonjun is featured.. *stares*

in your dreams ★ (10k, dreamwatcher? won, e2l, f, a)

you cannot find any other fic like this one, very creative idea and has a bit of everything !!

love that blooms (demigod au, f)

chasin’ your pretty thoughts (22k, mindreader won, f, a)

lost cause (8.5k, classmate won, f, a)

would you be so kind? (3.7k, classmate won, f)

crepuscule (11.5k, vampire won, f, a)

closer (4.7k, ravenclaw won, f, a)

war tactics and kisses (demigod au, f)

attention, please! (9k, jock won, f, a)

⚠︎ lee heeseung:

always been you (16.5k, badboy/bestfriend hee, f)

my camp counselor is kinda hot (demigod au, f)

attention, please! (8k, jock hee, f, a)

⚠︎ park jay:

study lessons (12.3k, jock jay, f, a)

⚠︎ sim jake:

none for now <\3

⚠︎ park sunghoon:

the 7th sense (10.3k, dragon hoon, f, a)

marriage discount (2k, fake dating, f)

reasons to date (2.8k, classmate/friend hoon, f)

enchanted (3k+ ongoing series, prince hoon, f)

⚠︎ kim sunoo:

none for now <\3

⚠︎ nishimura riki:

sixteen eighty-five ★! (6k, e2l jock/newsclub riki, f, a)

another all time fav, everything about it is just what i enjoy in a fic and i could reread it over and over <33 niki is so mean but then so nice it’s just auhsjs aww

dear bus-noona ★ (0.8k, stranger riki, f)

i barely read short drabbles, but this was absolutely adorable and had me laughing and smiling even with just 800 words <3

kitty got your tongue (14.6k, assassin riki, f, a)

sucks to be you, sleepyhead (demigod au, e2l f)

all i want for christmas is you (5.4k, e2l, fake dating, f)

attention, please! (10.8k, jock riki, e2l, f, a)

lucky charm (2.6k, classmate riki, e2l, f)

behind the net! (9.8k, jock riki, team manager reader, e2l, f, a, plugging my own fic cuz why not)

⚠︎ ot7:

silenced ★! (20k+, zombie apocalypse series)

i just love apocalypse aus so when i found this i KNEW i’d love it <3 the boys are all so loveable and unique in their own ways and mc is so chill but also a badass <3 very high recommend!!!!

TXT !

⚠︎ choi yeonjun:

steal my heart (19.6k, royal + arranged marriage au, f, a)

i said “why won’t you forget?” (2.7k, runaway beomjun, f, a)

mr. vice president (7.3k, frenemies/academic rival yeonjun, f, a)

⚠︎ choi soobin:

actions have consequences (4k, lifeguard au, f, a)

⚠︎ choi beomgyu:

the prince and the jackal ★!! (11.8k natureprince gyu, f)

AAH ANOTHER ALL TIME FAV, i could talk about it forever, but it’s just so unique and close to my heart and the bantering is so cute, idc if u dont read txt read rn it’s amazing <3

the only exception ★ (12.4k, stranger gyu, f)

this fic is just so warm and homely? it made me smile lots T-T

i said “why won’t you “forget?” (2.7k, runaway beomjun, f, a)

favor (4k+ twoshot, classmate gyu, f, a)

⚠︎ kang taehyun:

none yet <\3

⚠︎ huening kai:

none yet <\3

EXTRA ! (i don’t read bts anymore, but i wanted to include these since they’re still favs of mine!)

so you wanna be the best ★ (8.1k, POKEMON TRAINER JUNGKOOK! f)

I GREW UP WITH POKEMON, DIGIMON ALL THAT. so when i saw this??? i genuinely screamed this. one is vv close to my heart <3

lifeguard ★ (12.6k, lifeguard jungkook, f)

this fic will get you to giggle at least once, istg one of the funniest fics i’ve read it is HILARIOUS i’m not over jk putting sunscreen on mcs back and her thinking it was tae the whole time T-T

thank you for reading!! again, make sure to give the authors lots of love :D

[thetopichot]

The Yuuriboys but they're camp counselors.

Alphonse (The Popular Camp Counselor):

He's the fav of the fandom, he's the fav of the kiddos mostly because he's hip & has similar humor to them. He also has pink hair so points for that. He also reminds me of those popular teachers who are also coaches that alot of the class likes so yeah.

Auron (The Strict One):

Yeah, he's no fun to the kiddos. He looks scary & has like this resting bitchface which you can tell that he'll be strict & hold everyone accountable to the rules. (Even though he's a rulebreaker himself) Well at least the moms that bring their kids to the camp thinks he's hot, I guess. Dark hair, bedroom eyes, moody demeanor, I totally get it/ref.

Biggs/Lucien (Probably Big Foot or sum djdjiensj 😭😭):

Kids think my mans big foot or those scary campfire story creatures that they would talk about. Seth would talk about this creature in the woods to scare the kids & Biggs just pops out to take a shit in one of the bathrooms at the camp. Mf goes like "Oh uh, Gwrah!" The kids scream & run. Finn & Auron are disappointed in both of them for scaring the kids but Auron would lowkey find it funny ajajnsjdj.

Charlie (The Sacrifice):

When one of the counselors or when one of them are trying handle a fight between kids, Charlie is the one that will be sacrificed for the greater good of just saving some counselor's time. He's also the lab rat on doing field trips or camp activities such as going on a climbling rope. If no one wants to pet the snake at the zoo, he would be the one to do it because you know damn well that Auron is NOT touching a snake cause FUCK THAT. Luckily, he's always praised for just helping kids have courage even though he doesn't want to do none of these things but hey he gets paid a extra 2 dollars so I guess sure why not?

Faust (The One That Talks Shit):

Yeah, Faust would talk shit behind a kid's back & he would gossip about everything at the camp. Like Auron has weak ass bones & if you poke his shoulder, he would be immense pain or he would gossip about a kid's crush on another camper with the camp counselors. Similar to Auron, he's also a asshole too which not many of the kids like either.

Finn (The Father Figure Of Camp):

In my experience when I was a kid, there would be always that one camp counselors that acted like a sweet parent who genuinely want those kids to grow & have a amazing experience at camp. Yup, that's Finn. I dunno anyone at camp that wouldn't like him since he does his job at being a camp counselor very well because he actually loves his job & he's a nature boy so, hell yeah! Even more of a bonus for Finn is that he could go hours & hours about talking plants & their origins & the kids absolutely find it so cool. Finn would absolutely make food for the kiddos if they were on a hike. Finn is just a wholesome boyo honestly 😭😭 I WANNA MARRY HIM NOW-

Jack (The Hype One):

Whenever the sport activities come around, he's the man for the job. Man is hype asf when it comes to team activities. Well, Jack is the guy who throws hype ass college parties & team activities are no different. Sir is the definition of YOLO & would probably bring like a speaker & fuck it up as he should‼️‼️🗣🗣

Seth (The Camp Counselor):

He is literally the definition of Camp Counselor. He hikes, he cooks meal on a camp fire, scary stories to tell at camp, swims in mountain lakes, knows things about dangerous plants, lives without fear, BRO IS HUGH JACKMAN NAME ME ONE THING THAT WOULDN'T MAKE HIM A PERFECT CAMP COUNSELOR-

[munsonfamilyband]

I'm in the mood to give Steve good parents so fuck it, here we go.

Steve's dad, I always name him Richard, was lower middle class growing up, he wasn't poor but he also wasn't anywhere near his mom, Elizabeth. Betsy was the child of Italian immigrants (I personally love the idea they're Sicilian) and her dad had managed to open a thriving business when he first emigrated. She grew up wealthy, but her parents always made sure that their children knew that they weren't special - experiencing the discrimination her parents went through as immigrants definitely helped with making that message stick.

She was a cheerleader in High School but she also worked on the school newspaper and worked as a camp counselor during the summers. Steve's dad was a mathlete and head of the debate club. They met when Betsy approached him for an interview for a recent debate success.

Betsy was best friends with Sue Anderson (she was a bridesmaid in her wedding to Charles Sinclair) and friendly with both Karen Childress and Joyce Moldano until Karen started ditching them to hang out with her "boyfriend" Ted Wheeler (both Sue and Betsy tried to get her to see that he was much too old but she wouldn't listen). Joyce was a more complicated falling out that happened slowly as Lonnie Byers started showing interest and then started isolating her from all of her friends. Betsy still sent a gift to Karen, both for her and her new baby, when she found out that Karen had given birth. She also went to Joyce personally with lasagna when she heard about Lonnie running out of town.

Rich was best friends with Donnie Henderson, pushing him to pursue Claudia Yount when they were juniors, going on double dates with them when he and Betsy got together (after she got sick of his longing looks that he thought he was hiding and wasn't so she asked him when he was taking her on a date). He and Charles Sinclair were mathletes together and he gave Betsy tips to pass along to Sue when she had spilled that her friend had a crush on him. Rich had always been friendly with Jim Hopper Jr. but he was also friends with the Munson brothers and they didn't seem to like him that much. Wayne seemed nicer so on one occasion Rich tried to approach him and ask if he had done something to offend them, but Wayne had been two years older than him at the time and just scoffed and told him to run home to daddy.

(Years later he found out that Al had told Wayne that Rich had said something rude to him about being trailer trash. He only said that because he had been pissed seeing Rich sit with Lizzie Franklin at lunch, having forgotten that they were on the debate team together, nevermind the fact that almost everyone knew that Rich was gone on Betsy Lombardi.)

Betsy loved to read, and when Steve was little she would read to him all the time. (It's part of why they missed Steve's dyslexia.) As he got slightly older she started reading her favorite fairy tales to him, and then eventually when he asked for something new she broke out the Hobbit and they would cuddle up in his race car bed and she would read until he fell asleep.

Rich loved sci fi, any kind he could get his hands on. He would record episodes of Star Trek and he and Steve would sit on the couch together on Saturdays and spend all afternoon and night watching it together. When the first Star Wars came out he and Steve went together to go see it, then made them both lightsabers out of cardboard when they got home. Betsy would find them in the basement wearing blankets secured with safety pins like robes and dueling with their lightsabers. She managed to get it on tape once.

When Steve got to middle school his parents couldn't avoid the travel they needed to do for work any longer. Betsy went out and got them a very expensive cell phone and made sure to put the number on the fridge so Steve could see it and call anytime he needed them. They also made sure to call at least every other night, but in the early years it was often every night and only got less frequent when Steve got to high school.

They sent him little gifts from wherever they were staying, Steve getting a package at least once per trip. Sometimes it had candies and snacks, sometimes it was figurines and magnets, sometimes they even sent him clothing they thought he would like (Betsy keeps his measurements updated regularly so they can send him things that fit).

As Steve got older he went through the period of feeling embarrassed by how close he was to his parents, so he often didn't tell people about them other than saying that they weren't home often.

When he went through the events of '83, he managed to hold out for 3 days of not wanted to bother his parents before he called and begged for one of them to come home. Steve knew contracts, and he knew that the NDA the government made him sign wasn't legally binding without his parents there, so he could tell them everything. His parents were home a day later and he fell into his mom's arms and told them everything. The following year he was too out of it in the hospital from the concussion Billy gave him to properly give his parents number. When he got home, after Hopper refused to let him out of his sight for 4 days, he was able to call them and his mom rushed home, arriving that same day. A similar thing happened after the mall fire in '85 except his parents had been called by Sue about the fire so Steve never managed to call. When they arrived at the hospital it was only Steve and Robin, who they loved instantly.

When they heard about the earthquake on the news, they both immediately got on a flight home. Only, that was finally when everyone else learned about them because Steve's room was very full. Betsy had tunnel vision and ran to Steve's bedside, petting his hair while he blinked awake, while Rich went to Robin and pulled her into a tight hug that she returned without hesitation. Everyone else in the room was completely confused by these two people's appearance until Robin introduced them, so Steve could sleep again.

A month or so later Steve came to them, clearly nervous, and explained that while he did like girls he also liked boys and he might have a boyfriend, maybe? Betsy and Rich glanced at each other for just one moment of eye contact before they both stood and pulled Steve into a group hug. They reassured him that they loved him and just want him to be safe, then they demanded to meet this boy that has Steve so flustered.

Later that week they were reintroduced to Eddie, who had been unconscious when they had come to the hospital. Instantly they adored him. Rich and he had a long conversation about Star Trek and rock music, Eddie even giving Rich some recommendations for some metal that he might like. Betsy somehow had an even longer conversation about Lord of the Rings and she even grabbed a notepad when he started explaining Dungeons and Dragons to her. Steve was definitely jealous that his parents were taking up all of his time with Eddie but he was also so glad they liked him, and very clearly approved of him.

When Eddie went to the Harringtons years later and mentioned wanting to ask Steve to illegally marry him, Betsy burst into tears and grabbed Eddie in a bone crushing hug. Rich clearly had tears in his eyes and clapped a hand on Eddie's shoulder and told him they whenever they did it, wherever they did it, they would happily be there and would love to be involved in planning however they could.

[dekuscrubbb]

So could we get a breakdown of what all the counselors do? Also, are the bois over certain cabins? Like Warriors cabin 3, Legend cabin 2, etc. Etc. Or is more like they're over their station and the campers just move between stations?

okay, fair warning... this might get a little long!

wild's sheet is the only one... done...... and actually needs to be...... redone. but he's in charge of archery, most of the meals, and survivalist/wildlife survival classes (which are required for all the campers to take)

both he and hyrule are the ones leading the survivalist classes, although they almost always have one of the other counselors with them, due to the fact that 20+ kids are tricky to keep on task for two people in the middle of the forest.

he and malon get along well, and she comes over sometimes to help feed the campers, but is ultimately pretty busy with the ranch. whenever there's a field trip to lon lon, they make lunch for the campers and catch up.

occasionally he and twilight will team up for horse riding lessons when there's a group larger than 5 being taught at one time.

i don't talk about warriors enough!! and i should. he's usually a cabin counselor, which means he's in charge of one of the cabins housing the sleepaway kids!

he's a bit of a denmother and spends a lot of his time making sure his campers are doing well.

see how legend has a red and white shirt and some of the campers have that same color scheme but flipped? well, that's to symbolize what cabin they're in. its to help with rounding up kids.

but its also helpful for the numerous cabin wars when legend and warriors put on. they're team building exercises and for fun, but due to legend and warriors' prevalent rivalry, they can get a bit out of hand. much to sky's chagrin.

warriors is also in charge of any plays and etc being put on at camp. as well as any large team events in tandem with legend + seldomly sky.

sky does a bit of everything around camp, but is mostly known to help out in arts and crafts as well as being the lead pest control guy. soooo, known for cleanup and being an extra pair of patient hands.

he's also a cabin head, but only for the kids who switch to sleepaway halfway through camp. has to be shaken awake violently most of the time, as his campers are fully aware of the 4 daily naps the guy takes.

the kids adore him because he'll get rid of the skulltulas and scare off any wolfos around camp, but he also gifts them little wood carvings if they stick around to watch him work.

sky is also known to share little secrets about his coworkers to the campers, just to make sure his chaotic image is upkept someway. he enjoys being both a voice of reason and keeping the remaining counselors on their toes.

they're highly coveted and are a bit too much of a source of contention between campers sometimes, as the trading games created with them cause.... fights.

legend is the second cabin counselor, most of the time at least. sometimes twilight beats him in the counselor beat-down at the beginning week of training, but its not usual.

although legend is a bit snappy and can seem cold towards the campers, they know better. they're used to the calmer, more caring side of legend since they have to sleep in the same cabin.

and don't tell anybody, but the hot cocoa legend sneaks out from the kitchen is the best balm for nightmares.

legend hates lake duty, but is the strongest swimmer among the counselors apart from wind. but since wind is about 4'9" on a good day, legend is essentially forced into lifeguard duty.

a few other counselors might hang out on the coast or do some games with the campers, but legend and wind are usually the two keeping supervision when it comes to the lake.

usually the guy to go into town with twilight, or at least the first to volunteer, as a majority of the counselors come along anyways.

although hyrule, four, wild, and wind are considered "junior counselors," wind is the youngest and definitely treated as such. even if he's probably the more level-headed and mature one at times.

its easy for him to connect with the campers, since they're closer than age, but he finds it infuriating that they treat him more like a peer than somebody in charge.

he teaches swim lessons in the shallower parts of the lake and holds water games + fights. teaching the campers how to properly act within water and the certain things to keep in mind when doing so.

he will also take the campers on river rides in the canoes through the forest, with at least two other counselors along.

when wind was also just a camper, he played pirates in the faux-pirate ship. he met tetra here and they stayed friends, even if she remained a camper rather than apply for counselor training.

twilight is the second guy you can find getting rid of pests, as well as the one guy you should go to for bear hugs and a cuddle if you need it.

he's in charge of trail rides, horse riding lessons, and the one to plan out any excursions into the small town just outside the forest housing the camp. bit of a worrywort and more than a little overbearing according to the campers.

although, also according to the campers, he's been acting a little weird and more withdrawn than usual. plus, there's a rumor that he's been staying out after dark, who knows!

he's a good cabin head, but he doesn't know if he likes being responsible for that many kids at a time, especially since he doesn't feel like he's up to the task. tends to fail the "counselor beat-down" on purpose, unless legend gets too annoying /lh.

hyrule is at the nurse's station most of the time, but in the afternoons he goes to help out legend or wild for whatever activities they're in charge of at the time. anxious, but good at his job, and endlessly annoyed at how many times the same kid can sprain their wrist.

luckily, having trained-ish magic and being somewhat knowledgeable when it comes to actual first-aid, hyrule is able to keep the campers relatively in good health. although, they have had to send a few home from injuries he couldn't deal with.

enjoys wandering around camp and the forest, and he's good enough with any sword that he's not too worried about the local wildlife.

hyrule and wild are rather close, and tend to wander off whenever they aren't keeping track of campers. they've gotten into some.... trouble on their own.

in charge of arts and crafts and gets a little too into the creation process. he's used to helping his grandfather with blacksmithing back home and holds the campers to the same standards at times.

but you can...... only make so much with pipecleaners and pinecones. for the most part he's pretty calm and enjoys his job, but if he has to take one more boxcutter away from an eleven year old terrorizing the arts and crafts tent, he's going to lose it.

he and wild have a theory about time's funding for the camp and they use up a lot of their free time discussing it. its unknown whether or not they truly believe this, but the mounting amount of evidence they keep finding is driving the two crazy. especially since time doesn't exactly confirm or deny anything.

will occasionally help out sky with pest control + whatever, but isn't a big fan.

and that's..... i think it! or as much as im able to write right now. got more flowers to plant, you know how it is! spring is very busy. nod.

asks are still open and whatever questions you may have can be made there! :)

[fandombead]

Sanders Sides human AU where they’re all camp counselors at some backwoods Alphabet soup upstate summer camp—

Camp Sandside

Also locally known as Camp Mindscape

C!Thomas is the newest camp director trying to keep the camp funded and running every year. He advertises and keeps in touch with people who help everything work out each year.

Logan is head of schedule and morning role call. He makes sure camp has an educational side to it, so they have something to take away. He enjoys accompanying on the nature hikes and takes their slightly older campers stargazing. You can find him usually hanging out in the camp archives and he can answer any question about its history.

He coordinates camper activities with Patton, who is the poster child for Campy Dad-Counselor™️. Patton knows every campfire song ever how to make 477 different crafts from sticks and rocks you can find in the forest. He is good at wrangling the kids and making any activity fun so everyone gets included. He’s excited to be there every day. He’s been there the longest and has dappled in every other job as needed.

Remus runs all the sport activities and Roman throws together a little theater group production for the parents at the end of the summer. Both twins help each other out for those activities depending on whose day it is. They also keep up the Canteen and craft workshop. They tell the best campfire stories. (Fun fact: they went to this camp as kids and are working here now during college)

Virgil’s shadowing Patton with first aid as a trainee nurse and handles safety protocols/checks. He’s just stressed out trying to keep everyone alive till the end of the summer. He particularly sticks around at the sport fields, lake, and obstacle course. He barely sleeps and runs on caffeine and spite. He enjoys playing guitar for the kids at campfire time. He makes sure everyone wears sunscreen, is drinking enough water, and that no one wanders off from the group.

And not least of all, Janus, who is the mental health counselor and resolves incident cases between campers. He also is someone the other camp counselors can confide in because the job is draining. He makes sure everyone is taking care of themselves and not doing too much, short-staffed as they are. Camp has run much more smoothly since they added him to their team and everyone is happier for it after getting used to the changes.

They all really enjoy the work and each other. What started as an interesting, versatile summer job that let them hangout together turned into a fun tradition they were quite invested in. Every summer is a memorable one and they look forward to it every year.

I just think it’d be a fun story setting, a series of glimpses at camp life with chapters dedicated to silly or fun happenings at the camp. For some reason all that are coming to me is chapters that sound like history event logs and just imagine it’s because the twins hijacked Logan’s documentation of them and rewrote them with more flair and drama. The Hiking Disaster of 21’. Battle at…Vine Lake (okay maybe not the name but I WILL work Vine in somewhere—maybe that’s the name of the theatre). The Kayak Wars. Surviving the Storm. Bear-ly Active.

(Actually half the chapters will be puns and you’ll know Patton had a hand at assisting the twins’ shenanigans for those retellings~)

Depending on the number of campers, they might also each be head of a cabin and in charge of 3-5 campers specifically on top of everything else that they manage to make good connections with even the most unlikely campers by the end of the summer. (I mostly thought of this just because I wanted an excuse for Logan to be head of the ‘Crofters Cabin’ bwahahaha)

I want Campy adventures!!!

Side notes expanding on the AU bc I have tons of scattered ideas:

I also had the alternative (/prequel? With a few tweaks) idea where some or all of them are campers instead and they meet at the summer camp years before they decide to work there~ ^^

I think that’d be a great story too, where they become lifelong friends in the end and grow to be glad they got sent to this weird old camp for the summer and just have a great time after getting through a few challenges. And they go back every year to see each other again.

Patton calls the campers “saplings” and other nature/tree related nicknames

Their camp shirts have a white star border in black incorporated on the front with the Camp Acronym and everyone styles theirs differently (example: Remus cut the short sleeves off of his)

I imagine they have a rival camp too that every one of them is personally invested in beating yearly, as you do in Camp media. (Alt version where it’s “light” vs “dark” sides camps)

Logan got stuck up a tree once as a kid camper and they still haven’t let him live it down. There’s a photo of it in the archives he keeps trying to get rid of but someone keeps replacing it every year. They call him Pinecone and Lookout 🤣 (Forest Watch)

Janus was someone they never expected to see again. He came to camp in their last years of being campers and joined the group through Remus and Patton. After some getting used to him (Roman and Virgil kept butting heads with him), they were tentatively friends…Roman saved him when he fell in the lake and Janus came in clutch and saved their team at the camp games! they kinda took one step back when he joined as counselor, but they worked it out eventually for good that time~

The twins have a fun rivalry they try to drag their friends into every year…even as counselors now 😂 there’s always some sort of competition going on with them, especially when they start being heads of their own cabins and take pride in their little campers destroying the other teams (but especially each others’)

I think each cabin has a little flag the campers remake every year hanging out front, featuring the animal trait and color of each counselor in charge. Tentative Ideas:

Logan’s Cabin: Team Crofter (of Discovery Cabin). Campers have dark blue bandannas/necklaces

Patton’s Cabin: Team Friendship (of Amity/Compassion Cabin). Campers have light blue bandannas/bracelets

Roman’s Cabin: Team Braveheart (of Ambition Cabin). Campers have red bandannas/necklaces

Remus’s Cabin: Team Chaos (of Endeavor/Spontaneity Cabin). Campers have green bandannas/bracelets

Virgil’s Cabin: Team Storm (of Vigilance Cabin). Campers have purple bandannas/necklaces

Janus’s Cabin: Team Serpent (of Accord/Cunning Cabin). Campers have yellow bandannas/bracelets

They collabed on these name ideas themselves~ The twins’ cabins also relate to one another.

Roman’s theme is having goals and dreams and Remus’s theme is trying ways to reach them, not giving up when it doesn’t work the first time. Together they encourage campers to find something they wanna try that’s new and going for it~

You can probably pair Virgil and Logan’s cabins + Janus and Patton’s in a similar way of their themes relating or balancing each other.

Every year you return to camp, you get a charm to add to your bracelet/necklace (typically all moved to whatever cabin color you are for the current year’s summer). Represents the overall theme of that summer, received at the end.

[dynamic-k]

:D

U back :) So how was camp? :>

IT WAS AMAZING AND AMAZING AND AMAZING AND-

I'm an ambivert, but the instant I set foot on campgrounds I was in full extrovert jittery ramble mode for some reason-

I quickly bonded with my cabin mates, had fun with this thing called axe throwing [where i get ta yeet little axe hatchet things at a target and surprisingly I was good at it], sipped on brewed coffee since there wasn't espresso, played dodgeball and broke my glasses when a ball smacked me right in the face, but i had my superglue and a spare pair of glasses, so i repaired the fracture, left it to set, and walked back into the gym building to play more dodgeball-

I went down the potato-sack slide [a hard plastic big long slide that you sit on a potato sack and slide down, it's so fun~], did this awesome zipline at least 50 times over the week, discovered I love high speed activities, got 11,000 steps Sunday, 19,000 steps Monday, 21,000 steps Wednesday, 18,000 steps on Thursday when my legs felt a teeny bit sore, and I forgot the general amounts for Friday and Saturday, but they were about the same amount with minor fluctuation.

I played a cool game on the beach in a flat sandy area on day one, Sunday, and it's called Dragon Ball. IT'S SO COOL, IT'S A LITTLE LIKE DODGEBALL, BUT WITH EXTRA STUFF-

So- Two teams are in the middle of a giant circle to be the last team standing, and every other team stands on the outskirts of the big circle with access to balls. :D Teehee, yey for game violence-

[except the balls don't really hurt- I got hit on the cheek once and was fine-]

The two teams are individual 'dragons'. The head of the dragon wears a colored headband, and every other member of that team makes a train of people by setting both hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them.

But the people on the outside of the circle cannot just target the head of the dragon and get that person out to immediately kill the entire team, you have to hit the backmost person first and work your way up to the head dragon person with many shots.

IT. WAS. EPIC.

apparently, I am good at aiming balls where I want and I got QUITE a lot of people out, my competitive personality completely taking over-

I ended up as the head dragon, wearing this lime green neon green headband [soft, fuzzy, stretchy little thing~] Our team was originally contemplating doing like- A rock, paper, scissors tournament to decide who would wear the headband and be the head dragon, meaning that the moment all your team is out and you are the last one, you are quickly targeted. And the balls tend to come from all directions, as you're in a circle. Now, I am really good at ducking and dodging by looking at ball trajectory [I love high speed reflexive games~], but being in a circle and surrounded on every side does ush the limits of my ability to see what is coming for me.

Before the game began and we understood the rules, our dean, Gabe, called the names of who was on what team, one team at a time, and one of the two counselors on each team grabbed a random headband from the bag [as it doesn't matter if two or more dragon teams get the same color, we still know who wins and who doesn't].

Anyway, I looked at the bag of headbands, intrigued and wanting to pick one out too, but only one headband per team is taken, and my counselor had already selected a neon green one and left, leaving me to follow in mild disappointment I cannot wear a headband.

Then I discover that I could actually wear the headband, if my team let me be the head of the dragon~

So, I jokingly, actually I was quite serious, told my team I just really wanted a headband. Nathan, my other counselor aside Clare, was super nice, he offered it to me to my surprise, and since I knew I was proficient in dodging and had spoken this to my team, I was shockingly just handed the headband-

I love that thing an unusual amount- It's a cheap, fuzzy neon green piece of stretchy fabric in a circle band, to be worn on the head. I have an attachment to it.

We had great fun, and when I inevitably was in the "Ring of Fire", as Clare dubbed the circle everyone with balls stood in, I was eventually the last remaining member on my team.

I stuck close to the other team's dragon, which had around 4 or 5 people left to get out, and i was by myself. I did this thing where i stepped backward and then forward and rotated and tried to move fast so I could be unpredictable, and it did keep me in for a good 2 minutes before I didn't see one ball heading my way and got hit in de cheek. [was fine, i promise- they don't hurt that much at all-]

I had fun even though our team was eliminated~ I LOVE MURDERING DRAGONS WITH DODGEBALLS OKAY- /insanity-toned

Afterward, I removed the headband, unsure where we were supposed to return it, but then I wondered if I could keep it. I didn't feel right walking off with it, since I wasn't sure how valuable they were or if the camp needed them for something else later, so I found Clare and asked him.

Clarence, Clare, my family group leader and the father of the dean who runs everything, he let me keep my headband.

He originally stood there and stared at the headband, unsure for a moment, I stood there and widened my eyes and basically pleading expression with my hands behind my back in a joking way.

BUT HE SAID I COULD KEEP IT, SO I SCURRIED OFFFFFFFFFF

I wore it every day, entire rest of the week, and made it part of my personality~ XD

HEADBAND- :D

there are more stories, but I have been quite busy since returning from camp, and hardly have time unless I really make time-

Like, using the bathroom while on a device and monitoring any and all online work or notifications, or using my lunch break exercise time to sit on the couch and be inactive so I can try to work through more of the emails I've gotten~ MULTITASKING HAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA

:3 I've been brainrotting stuff-

I've been brainrotting so much Spark AU, and also some Second's Tale because I'm trying to figure out the ending that I never planned-

Second's Tale is so stuck right now, but I wanna update it so badddlyyyyy

also the poor poor Guessing Game- I'M SORRY LEENA-

..plus a few other fics..

And here I am with a new AU idea too- *sheepish* Can't say nothing, can't say it-

I wanna try and finish the entire AU before I publish, that way I don't end up hooking people and getting everyone riled up and impatient for this new thing of mine- I can bring it to completion first! (That may.. take a while. BUT NEW AU-)

The only downside might be the fact I kinda got tired for a few days afterward? Like- I used up so much extrovert-ish energy at camp, and then kinda went strangely peaceful and quiet for some time afterward, like my introvertism tendencies are trying to balance out all the energy I used.

I wouldn't even call that too much a downside, except for the fact I felt bad for not responding to online stuff right away, and my brain felt slower to function and process. I tend to beat myself up when I have difficulty doing stuff, lol-

[tetralea]

hello hello, hope you're having a great day dori!

i just really need to know about the Summer Camp AU, so give us a bit 👀💗

Hii, I had a great day thank you I hope you did too!

This is my baby, so ofc I’ll will! :)

Basically both of them are counselors at a boy-girl summer camp, both of them in charge of a group of little boys. Charles has been to this camp, Max is new, they are ofc captains of the rival teams in the camp where you have basically 0 personal space on main. Their boys ofc mimic their rivalry, to make it cuter, and Charles also helps with the oldest girl group, for added trouble and fun. They are pinning for each other hard, often called out by others like Dan and Lando or Mick and Andrea (because we need Andrea here for Charles for moral support). Like at the lake when Max sees Charles first half naked and wet and he tries to keep it PG but oh well, he totally didn’t choke on his snack a little or made a snarky comment “there are kinds here too, Leclerc, put on something.” Or when Charles sees Max taking his shirt off for the first time. “It would be nice if you kept that on, Verstappen, there are kids here still.” Ofc only after he dropped his water bottle when he saw it. And this goes on with some camp activities. And then Charles has to stay in the camp in the only day off they had in weeks, at least he got the solitary bunk for the day and the night and Max stops by, he say for make Charles less miserable because he is annoying but clearly he just wants Charles to get to enjoy that day a little too, so he proposes the skinny dipping.

There was a knock. Understandable, people were alone there usually for a reason, getting some much needed privacy.

“Yeah? I’m dressed and all.” Not the best way to answer the door, but it was effective.

It opened revealing someone he never would have expected. “Thank fuck.” Max stepped into the small space, making it feel crowded. “Wouldn’t have wanted to disturb you.” The blonde boy explained, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Then why are you here?” Charles sat up, expecting some kind of mockery from

Max, who was just standing there. He was in camp attire, which meant he went back to the bunks and changed from his regular clothes. It was easy to forget how real clothes looked on them when they wore the camp colors all day, slept in them and there weren't many options to choose from.

Max shrugged and opened his arms, trying to fit them into his pockets. The uniform shorts didn’t have a pocket. Max’s hands were awkwardly pinching the seam of the short now. “There is a bonfire, if you are interested.” He said finally.

“I heard it through the door, but I’m not in the mood.” He kept his eyes on the other counselor, waiting. Why was he there at all? He wanted to stand up to feel like he was not being towered over, but he didn’t want to seem too interested either.

“Sure.” Max nodded, eyes alerting Charles. “I just thought you were not out all day, Carlos said you came here to rest, so maybe I thought you wanted some fun, but if you’d rather rest that’s fine.” It was one breath. Charles raised his eyebrows.

“You went to my cabin?” Clearly, since Carlos and Mick were there with the boys.

“I thought you’d be there.” Max stated the obvious. “Can I sit or could you stand? It's really weird to look down at you like this. And I’m tired too.” There was no chairs in the room, so the only place for Max to sit was the bed, which was covered by Charles’ bedsheets now.

The brunette stood up, moving his limbs around. He was laying for so long. “So? What do you want, Max? For real?” A small smile formed on his lips, clearly being entertained by the other’s awkward stance.

“I just thought to come here and ask if you wanted to do something fun. It doesn’t have to be a bonfire. Since you were in all day instead of coming with us. We can go to the lake, we could swim.” He offered, his eyes shining, finally something came to him. He heard from his boys how much Charles liked to sit at the lake at late hours, enjoying the stars. They were beautiful. He had to give it. With little to no light there they were clear and shining breathtakingly.

“I don’t have swim shorts with me, I’m sorry.” Charles looked around, like he was searching for them. “And I don’t want to go back to the cabin to get them, if the boys see me I won’t have any rest.”

Max snorted, shaking his head. “You are no fun. We don’t need those.”

“Are you drunk?”

It was very straight forward, and threw Max off. His lips opened and closed, eyes widened, staring at the brunette boy dumbly. “That is not relevant now.”

Charles laughed, amused, stepping closer, his green eyes looking into the clear blue ones, like he tried to see if Max was drunk. He stood close, awfully close. He leaned closer, and before Max could have done something he positively would have regretted he spoke. “So?”

“Are you asking me to go skinny dipping with you?” Now saying it out loud, maybe it wasn’t the brightest idea, but Charles was grinning, most probably thinking Max went mad. It was absurd.

“Yeah, are you too afraid to do it, Leclerc?” He dared the monegasque, pushing more into his space against his better judgment.

“Not at all, Verstappen.” With that Charles grabbed his green hoodie from the top bunk, pulling it through his unstyled brown hair, smoothening it out at the end. “Let’s go, I could use some swimming.” He nodded towards the door.

Max got out and he turned off the lights.

“Are you sure everyone is at the bonfire or with the kids?” Charles asked jogging next to Max, the gravel cracking under his sneakers. The blonde one only nodded, and pulled his hood on his head, just in case. Charles did the same as they walked through the only well lit part of the camp towards the lake.

Down the slope they slowed down, both of them balancing with their arms out in the darkness. The lake was reflecting the stars in front of them and the yellowish lights of the camp were flickering from behind them. Yet they felt they couldn't see a thing.

Finally when they arrived at the docks, it was easier to walk. With hushed breath they kicked off their shoes, picking them up as they walked on the green flimsy material covering the docks. They walked to the very end, and turned right to get to the furthest point.

Charles kneeled, dipping his fingers in the water. “It’s nice.” He whispered, standing again. They should have gotten naked now, right.

The moon and the stars illuminated the lake and everything around it, covering everything in a light glow or leaving only black silhouettes there. It wouldn’t have been different with their bodies either.

“Alright, I’ll turn around. But if you dare to push me in the water, I’ll make sure you get fired tomorrow.” Charles threatened, turning his back to Max nonetheless, pulling the hoodie off his white shirt.

He never asked Max to turn around, but he did anyway. He didn’t want to, oh no, he wanted to see Charles, to see the parts he hasn’t yet, yet yearned for it more than he wanted to admit. He saw him shirtless, he saw him in briefs, but whatever was under he hadn't seen it.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll peak?” His voice was a whisper yell, while he pushed his own shorts. Their clothes were ruffling and the water was splashing as they moved on the dock.

Charles giggled. “No, not really. I mean, I’m sure you have seen something like this before.” He felt his cheeks heat up to his own words, hidden in the monochrome moonlight. Many things, heavily implied in one sentence, hanging between them until Max spoke.

“Yeah, but it’s not the same.” His voice was distant and Charles didn’t want to turn until he heard the splash of water. Max was sinking into the lake, trying to make as little noise as he could.

Charles turned, looking at Max just catching a glimpse of his gaze as it turned to the woods behind him. With pursed lips and racing heart he sat, letting his legs sink under the water. He hissed, drawing Max’s attention immediately.

There was not much to see from the way as he was sitting, yet Max looked away as he got convinced Charles was fine. “It’s colder than I thought.”

Another splash of the water confirmed that the monegasque was also in the water now, and Max turned, kicking the water under himself, to stay afloat.

“It is fresh.” He laughed, his voice wavering a bit.

“But very nice.” With a soft groan Charles turned his face to the sky, closing his eyes enjoying the peace and quiet. The water was nice, swirling around his body, soothing his skin and making his muscles work. He was a bit sore from yesterday’s classes he taught. Swimming will help with that. Neither of them talked for a little while, they swam around, never losing the other one from sight, never really leaving much distance either. Charles submerged before, turning to float on his back, the sweet water not helping him like the salty at home, but he could make it work.

“So nice.” He groaned, and sighed, closing his eyes, letting the water mute the noises of Max’s moving around him. “Thanks for not letting me stay in the cabin.” He said, his own voice sounding alien through the water.

“Yeah, it’s nothing.” Max mumbled from much closer than he expected. He turned his heat to look at the blonde boy. He hasn’t really looked tonight. Max’s hair was still dry, eyes fixed on Charles, his lips tugged into a smile. He swam even closer, making Charles change his position quietly getting closer to the docks again. “You need to rest too if you want to make it, you know, and you couldn’t really do it today.” The explanation was soft, muted by the water, a bit messy as Max was swimming and talking.

With a small laugh Charles grabbed the wooded, floating panel, resting the back of his head against it, his fingers holding onto it, making it easier to stay afloat. “Yeah, it wasn't as planned.” He admitted, looking at Max joining him. “But he got so scared, you should have seen him at the nurse. He was crying and holding onto me. I could have left, but I would have felt like shit.” There was a small sigh, his eyes fixed on the dark waves, taking in the surreal yet beautiful sight.

“You are very good with them.” Max admitted, his eyes trained on the brunette, watching his eyes shine, his lips twitch before breaking into a kind smile. His gaze stayed there, he didn’t even notice.

Charles closed his eyes, seeing all the kind faces of his boys for a second. Seeing something else, another kind face, playing and joking and laughing surrounded by a pack of kids too. “Thanks, but I could say the same to you. You can really make them listen and focus.”

Max laughed. “Yes, except when they need to go to sleep, that’s always a bargain.” He looked to the lake for a second, taking in the view before turning back again. He never was this close to Charles, at least not in peaceful terms like this. He knew he had those dimples showing when he smiled, but he never saw just how they form as the cupid bow lips turn to a smile. He wanted to kiss them.

“Bedtime is always a chaos.” Charles hummed, with a little nod before turning towards Max. This time the blonde didn’t look away, he let the now dark eyes look at him, look at him looking. He was hoping the darkness would hide it instead of him this time, that he can cheat life and he can look at Charles like this without being seen. He never noticed how the brunette never looked away either, he was trying to cheat darkness and tried to see the same thing Max wanted to hide.

He tried to move closer, but the water was deep and he needed more leverage, one hand wasn’t enough, he would have forgotten about himself and let go. “How about sitting in the beginners' pool?” He suggested, tilting his head, making it sound so soft, so inviting, Max forgot to breathe, before nodding.

Charles thought about warning Max not to look, making a joke of it, but what was the point. “I trust you won’t look.” He whispered, holding his breath. “Yet.” With that he pushed himself out of the water until he could put his feet flat on the flimsy surface to stand. With quick steps he crossed the dock and stood in the little artificial pool in the middle of the docks. He sat on his knees before he could have heard Max getting out and then feeling the water move as he joined. It was much more comfortable like that, not having to swim and float every second. Both hands freed.

“Would you be happy if I was fired?” Max asked, now not looking, stubbornly examining the vast water.

“Not at all.” Charles shook his head, leaning just a bit closer. “A competition is only fun with a good competitor, and you are just great.” He admitted, and Max smiled, exhaling slowly. “I mean, we could be so fired for this.”

“You mean swimming, at night, without a guard, naked?” Max listed their sins and Charles laughed a little, dropping his head, biting his lips.

“You are drunk too.” He remembered.

Max shook his head, turning to face him, the water hiding the inches he covered to get closer. “I’m as sober as I can get, so we can’t add that to the list.” They were almost chest to chest.

“No, that, not.” Charles eyelids dropped as his eyes followed the line of the plump lips, the curve illuminated by the moon. He would have found them easily anyway.

He leaned in, his head lightly touching the wood, but it didn’t matter when Max covered his lips with his own. A small sigh welcomed, a quiet groan as they kissed, lips moving against each other in a slow, trying rhythm. Charles' hands were leaving a wet trail on Max's neck as he cupped the pretty cheeks, pulling him closer, opening his lips, inviting the hot tongue to lick into his mouth. It was an uncomfortable position and they forgot just how much they weren’t wearing anything, until Max’s hands found Charles bare hips, coaxing him closer.

“Is that okay?” He mumbled into the dark, hot space between their lips, pulling on the petite hips.

“Yeah.” Charles slowly moved in front of Max, his thighs going around the strong ones, floating above Max’s lap. Chests pressed together, he was holding onto the round shoulders, while Maxs arms around his back secured him in place. It was perfect. He leaned in again, tasting the stranger yet familiar lips on his own for the second time. He couldn’t hold back his moans and whimpers, as their tongues met, sharp teeth tugging on his bottom lip, plush ones soothing the ache. “God.” He pleaded pushing closer, unthinking. The water took the edge off, the much anticipated friction never came. With a frustrated noise he tried again with the help of the big palms occupying his ass, their hard cock trapped between their abdomens rubbed together.

“Fuck.” It was muffled and bitten by Max but not less satisfied.

Charles pushed forward again, pressing Max’s back to the wooden railing under the water, his arms embracing the blonde, hands making his still dry hair wet, ruffling it at the back, on the top, nails scratching on the pale shoulders, keeping himself close, trying to touch and feel as much as he could. Like his palms were hungry, hungry to touch, to feel Max’s skin under his own. Finally.

He moaned softly, as Max’s palm slid up, following the graceful line of his spine, little drops of water were running down on the freckled skin on their wake. The long fingers reached up, adding more water to the already wet hair, messing up the short strands, making Charles’ hair even more wild than it was before. He sighed, relaxing into the touch, arching his neck, giving more space, like it was something he always ached for, when Charles kissed down on his neck, lapping up the cooling water drops, warming the chilling skin with his hot, wet mouth. He hummed to the taste, like someone who was eating their favourite snack, licking and sucking lightly, trying, teasing, committing it to his memories. Max lifted his head, giving him space to wander to the other side, his skin tingling in the wake of the hungry lips.

Max groaned, pulling Charles closer in the water, one hand still holding the rounded ass, the other grabbing and groping the strong arms, lean side, petite hips. He needed, wanted to feel, to touch, fucking finally.

[purgemarchlockdown]

New Apple

(Also Known as: Nott Broke, I am now writing the WKTD-Amane Cross Analysis. This is also the Trans Amane Momose Thesis)

(CWs: Cults, Child Abuse, Child Death, Body Horror, Homophobia, Transphobia.)

(Spoilers for We Know The Devil and Milgram.)

I am a unrepentant fan of the Visual Novel We Know The Devil. I love it dearly, I think it's one of the best Things ever made.

I am also a...fan, to say the least, of Amane Momose. I think about her every day. And as a result I've thought about these two things together a lot. I think there's a lot of thematically cohesion that can be derived from putting the two together.

Since this is Milgram Focused, I'm going to put an explanation for what the plot of WKTD is first before continuing.

WKTD is a 2015 VN about Three Bad Kids at a Christian Summer Camp who are sent to meet The Devil one day in a cabin in the woods. This game is about Queer Religious Horror and has great prose and you should play it-

Now, there are already comparisons that can be drawn to Amane's cult and the game's main premise, but let's discuss each of the three kids first.

No Prince For The Princesses

Starting with Jupiter. Jupiter is the tomboyish good kid of the bunch or, more accurately, tries her best to be the good kid to minimal success.

Laughing off a head injury isn't all that Jupiter's good at; she has the best grades in class, and coaches make her starter on whatever team has the most pressing need for someone who can do sports. She's a perfect role model, except for how she always misses the winning goal and she always blanks on the last question. She leads when no one else wants to, which is always.

Jupiter can keep up until right when it matters the most. It's here where I mention Jupiter snaps a hairband against her wrist, a common tactic used as an alternative to self-harm.

Her place in the dysfunctional group of problem kids becoming clear as her issues with being the perfect good kid and her immense self-hate and loathing start to seep through. Jupiter struggles under this weight of expectations and pleasing others but tries to pretend she an:

Neptune: ascetic monk at not giving a shit.

To her own detriment, she hangs out with the Worst Group in the Camp of Worst Kids just so she can get them to stay away from her. If they just like her enough then they won't bother her. Even if she personally dislikes them and how they act.

Not that she...enjoys acting like this. She's disgusted by the idea of the Counselor liking her. Because:

Jupiter: He likes people he can make a little uncomfortable and won't give any trouble about it.

Though as Venus says, that's exactly why he likes their group.

Jupiter is someone who's resigned to reality being like this. To being considered a bad kid even though she tried so hard. Sure it's unfair and people have tried a lot less than her but:

Jupiter: You can still get better at this, if you try, you know?

Even I can say "I'm sorry" Even I have hope I swear! I'm going to be a good girl now! That's it!

Anyway, Jupiter Kisses Girls. She Likes Women. She's a Lesbian. She has a Seven Minutes in Heaven Scene with Neptune where they Kiss-

That kiss having a lot of relevance to how (specifically) a t1 Amane attempts to approach certain taboo ideas and concepts.

Jupiter: It's not real if we don't say it out loud, right?

Amane tends to talk around things in T1. It's not immediately noticeable but it's prevalent in a lot of her speak. Specifically when taboo ideas come into play. Instead of saying anything directly she talks around it.

(Apostle and Death)

Amane: Okay! I’m kind, so I shall forgive you. That’s nice, isn’t it? If my parents were in my place, you would have been lectured for another hour.

This is my favorite example, as Amane is just calling her parents unkind here. But, Amane isn't really good at talking around things. In the same VD, when faced with the knoweldge that she's being underestimated she immdieatly talks about her genuine feelings about being treated like a child, and being talked down to because of it. Being very forward and open about her own emotions.

Outside of that we have instances of her showing interest in things that are believed to be taboo, or at least in things discouraged by her community.

(20/06/27, Amane’s Birthday)

Amane: I don’t need it. I’ll gratefully accept your well-wishes, but I don’t eat things like that. Also…… Shidou-san, I can’t say I’m especially fond of the way you assume that all children will love frivolous things like this. Shidou: ………… Is that so… I apologise. I’m sure everyone else will be happy to eat it, so don’t worry about it. Sorry for intruding. Amane: ………… ……cake……

She even disrespects the blue flag in Purge March, the flag representing "discarding vulgarity"

Considering both how a lot of the generally aesthetics of Magic and Purge March seem to be considered frivolous. And her being forbidden to go to an amusement park.

T1Q5:When you go to an amusement park, what do you like to ride? A: That is a place I should not go to.

I think we can infer that these things are consider vulgar and wanting them anyway. She wants something outside of what she has. Something that she tries to Hide in her interrogations. (Interrogations)

T1Q3: If you were allowed to do anything, what would you want to do? Nothing really. I am not lacking anything.

T1Q17: What would you do if the world ends tomorrow? If everything ends? Then, I might do all sorts of things I have never done before.

(Put a pin in these interros, we are Going to come back to them.)

It's wrong to want such a thing, she knows this well. That's why she doesn't say it out loud. It's not real until she does. No one can punish her for it if she doesn't say anything.

Except...they Do. Same with Jupiter, people who didn't try as hard to get into the "proper, good girl" summer scouts got in when Jupiter didn't. Amane studies so hard and yet she only gets a 83% when Kotoko is tutoring her.

(20/06/18)

Kotoko: There, I’ve finished marking. 83%. How do I put it… Even though you act like this, it’s not like you’re super brilliant at studying or anything, huh.

She just blanks at the last question.

Misses the winning goal.

Something about Her is...inherently holding them back from this illustrious standard of being a good girl. It's just, impossible for her to be one. She knows this herself.

Only if, only if, only if I could be a good girl

And even though she tries, she Can't do anything to change that. In the same way that no matter how hard Jupiter tries, people instinctively understand that she's something Other somehow. The both of them being harmed over and over again in an attempt to live up to ideals that they will...never be able to live up to.

The system of We Know The Devil works like this, you choose two kids and leave one behind each hour. Leave one behind enough and they become the devil. The worst kid out of all of them.

Jupiter does her best but her best is never going to be enough. So if she gets excluded enough times...

Even the best kid has the devil inside her.

Jupiter wants to touch, to hit, to pull.

Venus: I wish I could be meaner. I wish I could be so much meaner.

She's never going to be able to make up for this incessant greedy Want.

Her hairband snaps here, she can't keep the devil away for much longer, and she knows it.

Jupiter: You know, I actually liked when the captain talked about how heaven was on merit; as long as you do good things, maybe you can one day be good… Jupiter: But then they said we don’t believe that anymore and it’s only what’s in your heart that matters. Jupiter: Just when I think I got it right, they changed it. Jupiter: I can try hard, but I think… Jupiter: God knows my heart isn’t really in it. And that was my only shot, right?

Amane considers love a showcase of mercy,

T2Q9: What does love mean to you? A: To spread mercy with no limits.

And considers her punishments love.

T2Q2: Do you believe you were loved? A: Very much deeply.

I suppose when you think about it, trying to beat the devil out of someone is mercy.

But, you can't really do anything about it if someone does want the devil.

Jupiter: It's wrong to want such a thing, you know that, don't you? So don't do it. I still know that much.

In each color ending, the devil gets destroyed. The devil only getting one moment for whatever they wanted.

For revenge, for love, for "please take me back."

One Singular Moment to live as they are before having it burnt out of them.

...Someone had to have opened that door at the end of Purge March

(Milgram T1 Glitched Character Voicelines)

Amane: Ahh! I'm so sorry...! I'm sorry...! I'm sorry for breaking the rules!

Lukewarm, I Spit You Out

We have more bad kids to go through, so let's talk Neptune.

Neptune is, to be blunt, a self-proclaimed bitch. She doesn't act like she's supposed to belong her which is exactly why she belongs here. She uses profanities, sneaks alcohol into the camp, and the summary of this game calls her a mean girl. Though this meanness of hers betrays a certain amount of care and worry for her group, or, at least they like to think of it that way:

Neptune is very kind or possibly super mean and hates us. But that's okay. She's really funny.

This kindness of hers comes out in many ways. She's concerned for Jupiter, trying to get her to actually give a shit about herself, especially when she does so much work.

Neptune: I mean like, aren't you doing fine? Neptune: Aren't you trying harder than literally everyone else here? Neptune: You're so chill about everyone's bullshit it makes me so mad and then you won't extend even the slightest of that chill to yourself and that makes me EVEN SO MADDER. Neptune: Can't you just be a little less…good?

And wants Venus to get out of his egg, to let himself be a bit of a bitch, and stop apologizing for himself when he is doing nothing wrong.

Neptune: Wait, I got it. I dare you to not say sorry for the rest of the night. Jupiter: Oh my god. Venus: I can do that! Jupiter: …can he though? Neptune: No it's perfect. Neptune: It'll fix something annoying, and this will make everyone's life easier, and all of us win. Venus: Is it really annoying? Neptune: You shouldn't have to apologize for things you don't need to apologize for.

Neptune deeply cares about the people around her, it just comes out as harsh words and actions. She wants to make Jupiter's life a living hell so that she's forced to say that it hurts.

Neptune: People are supposed to get hurt by things. It's fucked up to not. It's not good for you.

Though, as Venus calls out, the way Neptune acts doesn't fully come from self-confidence.

Venus: ...your problem Neptune is. Venus: You think being mean is more honest. Venus: But you're just as bad as Jupiter. Venus: And me.

Neptune, like the other two, deeply hates herself. Like Jupiter she has a consistent "tell" that shows she's the devil. She throws up this black ichor-like substance. Poison really. The only thing she can say. She's a bad kid through and through.

Now, Amane is self-proclaimed annoying.

Es: Regardless of whether you’re a child or an adult… you are beyond annoying. Amane: Oh, my. I am honored by your praise. Es: As I said. Amane: (giggles)

She takes Real Pride in being, a little shit to people.

20/06/03

Fuuta: ……huh? What’s your problem? You’re just leaving all your meat? What a weird kid. Amane: You say that, but you’re not eating all of your food either. ……are you not able to eat your vegetables? Even though you’re an adult. Fuuta: Huh, what, so you’re just eating grass? What are you, a rabbit or something? Since you’re just a brat, you should be eating your meat properly. You won’t grow if you don’t. Amane: ……you make some really funny jokes, don’t you, Fuuta-san.

This behavior is mostly present in T1, mostly cause T1 is Amane's testing period. She's trying to see what she can get away with. These behaviors disappearing by T2 because she learns that she can't get away with much. Introducing us to a less playful, more angry and genuinely despairing Amane. (Of Blessedness and Punishment)

Amane: This is unforgivable! I won’t forgive you! (screams)

That isn't to say Amane doesn't genuinely want to help out though, even with her more aggressive attitude. In fact she goes out of her way to "help" Fuuta and responds to Yuno's questions and worries honestly and patiently.

(23/06/27, Amane’s Birthday)

Yuno: By the way, Amane. Have you ever wished you were never born? I’ve thankfully lived a pretty fun life so far, so haven’t really. But you seem to be struggling with something. So I kinda wondered if you thought like that. Amane: ……I don’t think that. Being born into this world is the first miracle any person experiences, and is something to celebrate. Even if after birth I was put through trial after trial, the value of that will never disappear.

Amane is kind, genuinely so. She helps the cat, she tries her best to "guide" people back to the better path. The problem is, is that her want to help gets tied up in her community and her worldview. Causing more harm than she would like, it's almost like she can only spit out doctrine when that isn't the case.

Amane: Hm. Is that so? Are the prisoners who weren’t forgiven feeling lost right now? Maybe they need our faith as well.

Outside of that, Amane is rather opinionated, she tries to keep it down but it seeps out anyway. She's expressed numerous times her frustration with being treated like a child (ie: being treated like she has no rights of her own.) And expresses that openly and bluntly.

(20/06/13)

Shidou: I…… I just don’t understand. If everything about MILGRAM is true…… why did a child like you have to become a murderer? Just imagining what sort of circumstances must have led to that, it makes me so sad…… Amane: ……*sigh*. Is that right. I don’t think I’m going to get along with you, Shidou-san.I don’t agree with the fact you refuse to acknowledge that I have my own free will, and that I should be held accountable for my actions, just because I’m a child. I may have only been alive for 12 years, but all the choices I’ve made, even if they weren’t the best ones, were entirely my own. What point is there in you getting sad when I have no regrets myself?

It's easy to call her annoying or petulant for this, especially when Shidou (seemingly) is just concerned for how how a child is in prison of murders. And again she Does act annoying on purpose.

But Shidou is being actively patronizing and forcing his view of Amane Onto her. When Amane rebukes this, instead of apologizing or reevaluating he dismisses what she says. Something that deeply frustrates her.

Neptune: I'm an evil bad slut right? I'm a bitch and a flirt. Neptune: I'm a bitch because I let people know when they walk over me. Neptune: I'm a flirt because boys keep talking at me. Neptune: And this is somehow my problem, because they can't get over themselves and leave me alone? Neptune: How is that fair? Why should I get hurt by that? It makes me so mad! Neptune: Why would I be anything but MAD about all this stupid obnoxious BULLSHIT.

You’re sorry? I don’t care! Please, go ahead and die already Remember MY cries, MY repents, MY words of “I’m sorry” that I said to you?

Amane cares a lot about being treated Properly, about the people around her being treated Properly. She can't really...accept injustice. She broke one of her cult's doctrines because she wanted wrap up what was probably a Small Wound at worst judging by the state of the cat. She's not going to waver just because the people around her believe otherwise.

Amane: ……I’m fine. I don’t know what you’ve done or what it is you’re worried about, but I think if there’s something you believe in, you should stay true to it. It’s not something that should waver just because other people said something. I personally don’t plan on changing my own beliefs even if I’m told I’m wrong either……

Amane believes in the idea that people can get better, and wants to see people get better even if she can't. She's going to help even if she has to be Violent to do so.

Neptune: You asked me to come out. So I'm coming out. The door opens and it's her but it's not her She grabs Venus and crushes him against the wall like he's a little doll.

Amane: Don’t you think it’s a good opportunity to be reborn? If, right now, you could shake off those around you trying to drag you down to depravity, and could change––

When Neptune's the devil she forcibly tries to turn the other two kids into the devil alongside with her. She knows this whole situation is a nightmare and wants to force the two into accepting who they really are, even if it meant hurting them.

Why should they be the ones to suffer when their trying so hard to be good? Why should they be suffering when they already ARE good?

Neptune: Doesn't it feel unfair? You're already good, so why do you have to try so hard to be good? It makes me mad. They want you to prove you're good. But you're already so good. What is that? Why do they do that?

We must not give into them, they are the ones that should be judged

Why does She need to prove that she's righteous when the people around her can break the same rules she does and get away with no consequences?

I don’t need it any more, if you’re going to break your vow Here and now, it’s my turn to tear you apart

It's just so Unfair. Why is she the one getting hurt for no good reason? Why was the cat the one who got hurt for something that wasn't even its fault? It's just not right. None of this is right.

Neptune: Does that kid look happy to you? Well I guess we have different opinions and you will have to stop me from making him into what he is trying very hard not to be.

Help Me God, I'm In Love

We have one more kid to go through.

Venus is known for being very much a doormat, and very easy to push around. A small detail when their sitting down to listen to the Bonfire Captain's story is that Venus tries his best not to take up space.

Venus sits with his legs crossed, taking up as little space as he can, which is at most not very much.

And As mentioned before he constantly apologizes for himself, even when it isn't even his fault. That dare Neptune gives him? He immdieatly fails it, the sorry is an instinct, he does it automatically.

Though even then, Venus is known to be...a bit of a little shit. Maybe even quite Mean. He has a bite to his words and can be extremely judgemental. Not that he seems to notice .

Jupiter: Do you think he notices how much of a jerk he is sometimes? Neptune: I wish.

Amane: An arts university, though…… Does that mean you’re good at drawing, then? It may be a bit rude to say, but that’s rather unexpected.

(I Love how Amane implies that she thought Mikoto was too boring to be an artist. Incredible.)

Not only that but he's strongly opinionated, often surprising the people around him with them and how pointed and critical he can be. The people around him being so used to how shy and docile he seems.

Jupiter: Why not you. You're safe. You're like a puppy. You're harmless. Venus: …did you lose your nerve? Jupiter: Except when you talk.

He doesn't mean to be mean on purpose, he doesn't even like being mean, but it just comes out of him. He can't stop himself. He's so angry and bitter about certain things that his real feelings bleed out of him.

Neptune: Wow Venus I'm ALMOST impressed. Neptune: You are, deep down, kind of a little shit. Venus: I didn't mean it in a mean way. I wasn't teasing. Neptune: That's so much worse, Venus. Venus: I guess I just don't get it? Venus: I don't like being mean and I don't want to be mean so I try really hard not to be mean. Venus: I don't get any of the 'just kidding' because it's not just kidding.

But Venus is easy to pick on, he smiles weirdly, he tries his best to avoid causing too much conflict, and the idea that Venus is "not like the other boys" get floated around pretty early depending on what interactions you chose, and Jupiter and Neptune discuss this their 10AM interaction:

Neptune: Are you seriously worried about him? Jupiter: Maybe. A little. Jupiter: He's weird. Not in a bad way, necessarily? Jupiter: But maybe in a bad way, possibly. Jupiter: Sometimes I don't even know what he is.

Jackalope: That isn’t even really Amane Momose anymore. You’ve awakened something much bigger.

There's something....different about Venus, like Jupiter and Neptune before him. Everyone can tell, and thus treats him differently for it but he's just not exactly sure what that...Is.

And it's so Frustrating.

Venus: …I don't know what's wrong with me.

Venus: But I can't. Not when it comes to this. Jupiter: What is "this"? Venus: Whatever they want out of me that's not fixing radios. Venus: To be tougher? To grow up? To-what's that?

He's jealous, so deeply jealous of Jupiter and Neptune and he doesn't even know why.

Venus: I'm mad about a lot of things I guess. Jupiter: Liar Jupiter: You're not mad. Jupiter: You're jealous. Jupiter: Why are you so jealous. Jupiter: It's flattering. But it's weird. Venus: I don't know.

Muu: ……hey, are you listening to me? What are you staring at……? Amane: I’m not staring at anything. Muu: Liar, you definitely are……

Amane: ……cake……

He wants...something from them, he doesn't know what but it's something important to him. Something that would make him feel like he's himself and not...whatever he is. It's not even like he necessarily minds being different. He doesn't even think he can be anything else.

Venus: I know I'm bad at getting anyone to like me and I'm weird and everyone else can deal even though I can't, but I can't. Venus: I'm just going to be like this. I'm not going to be any different. Jupiter: You're asking to get beat up. Venus: I don't care.

T2Q20: How do you feel about you not being like everyone else? A: Nevertheless I was born as myself, so I'm happy.

This deep want appears in Everything he does. Everything he does is to somehow get that Thing he Wants the Most. He can attribute it to something else but everyone can tell he wants Something.

Neptune: Venus, your problem is that you are very nice. But you want something. And you think being nice is going to give it to you. But it never will. And until you figure out what it is you want. Every kindness of yours will be full of that want.

Amane: Ah, I am looking forward to it! Seeing whether your judgement will align with that of these higher standards! If that is the case, maybe Milgram would be the right world for us to live in, rather than the outside world!

Milgram relies on your judgement, isn’t that right? In that case, you could become the mediator for a far more righteous world!!

That isn't to say he Isn't afraid of being found out. Of having the kind of person he is being revealed. In a game of truth or dare he chooses dare because:

Venus: I mean, it's kinda like Jupiter said? Truth is embarrassing and dares could get you hurt. Getting hurt is way less scary.

But then the contradiction of this gets pointed out to him, people can be embarrassing with dares as well. It's easy to hurt and embarrass someone.

I've already mentioned that Amane hides...a lot, she tends to talk around things and use double meanings and what not. But she also doesn't want to seem frivolous or wasteful. She wants to stay seeming mature and smart and pure. Being immature is dangerous to her, another reason for people to view her as useless and weak. Another reason to get hurt.

She isn't that. She can prove it. She's not greedy or materialistic.

Venus: I don't want to be strong. I don't want to be that sort of person at all.

She doesn't want anything.

Venus: I want them within me and without me. All through and about me. I want feathers in my lungs and eyes on my skin. I want my heart to see and my lungs to fly.

Nothing at all.

T1Q17: What would you do if the world ends tomorrow? If everything ends? Then, I might do all sorts of things I have never done before.

This is when I reveal Venus is Trans.

Venus is Trans! She uses She/Her, I've been using He/Him for her previously to reveal she's trans like how the VN reveals she's trans.

Venus wants to reveal the truth, to be seen as she is, to have:

That wing to see the truth and that eye to lay it bare.

She wants to be honest and live as herself. To really Be Her. When she becomes the devil she says it's nobody's fault but hers. She wants this. She wants this so much.

She's not doing it cause she was forced or coerced she did it cause she Wanted To. She wanted to do it so badly. She does it with such glee it's honestly terrifying. She killed out of hate and duty and Enjoyed It.

The devil is lonely. We kicked out the devil and it must miss us. It keeps begging to be let back, to let it in.

And Amane Did.

Smoke and Honey

Amane Momose is undeniably monster-coded.

Jackalope: That isn’t even really Amane Momose anymore. You’ve awakened something much bigger.

Amane: Right now, I am both Amane Momose and I am not. I am speaking on behalf of our faith.

Amane: Yes. It is only natural for a person(/human) to apologize to another for breaking a promise. Es: … Amane: Why are you looking so doubtful? Are you not human?

This happy pinky promise hurts to break

There's so much to discuss that if I did do it in detail we would get so set off track very badly, but Amane Momose is Other. She's the Other, she's not human. She's never Been Human. Atleast not by the standards of her cult.

In the Milgram Cat Symbolism, Cats has been highly associated with sin. Yuno portrays her cat self as the most honest but also sinful version of herself. Kazui does the same. Amane being the cat, implicates her as a sinful force in the world. Something dangerous and terrifying that needs to be destroyed.

Amane Momose, somehow, is a threat to normal human existence (at least in the existence of the cult.) She's too opinionated, too dedicated, too Bad of a kid. Having her exist at all as she is, is a threat. She doesn't Want to stop being herself, she's supposed to want to stop. Humans aren't supposed to act like she acts. What if that stubbornness was directed at something against the cult?

Adults also hate perfect kids who love the world so much they can't stop themselves from saving it.

We Need to Destory The Devil No Matter What or Who it is. To choose someone to act as the scapegoat, the worst girl, the one kid too weird, too strange, too threatening.

What does Amane do? She's already a liability, just a child, useless and unhelpful. What if she was destructive? Better to teach her now to be better, right?

It's not like she isn't destructive, it's true. She does harm. Horrible harm actually. I completely understand wanting to restrain her for those reasons.

But, she had One Moment, and it was ripped away from her.

Jupiter: If I taste what it's like, I know, there's no way I'll be happy being human ever again.

I Wonder what else is left for her now.

[every2time]

𝐂 𝐑 𝐔 𝐄 𝐋 𝐒 𝐔 𝐌 𝐌 𝐄 𝐑 - where the hell have you been, loca!?

throughout the school year, y/n l/n has been infatuated with the guy everyone wants, star setter of their high school's volleyball team nishimura riki. it started off as just thinking he was cute and trying to ignore it, after all, everyone did, right? she had never spoken with him how could it be a crush? even if it was, she couldn’t have him, they were in two different social groups and his standards would probably be way above y/n or so they thought. but what happens when they have summer jobs at their schools summer camp program and they’re assigned as Counselors in Training to the same class. the two find out they have more in common than they think and the guy y/n thought would never even peak at them has found himself infatuated as well.

warnings: minor swearing, mentions of twilight /j

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀written (1.9k words)

TO SAY Y/N WAS NERVOUS WAS AN UNDERSTATEMENT.

The entire year, they had done the best they could to stay away from Riki, and being friends with Jungwon did not make it that easy. The first person to know about their situation was Isa. After one of Jungwon’s volleyball practices, they admitted that they thought Riki was fine as if it was a sin amongst men. It felt like one, not at first, but after telling Heesung it sure did. You for some reason told him, not thinking much of it until you ended up hiding behind the bleachers because he shouted, “This person likes you!” towards Riki and Jungwon. And once he knew, all your friends did. You survived that day, but the teasing only got worse.  

For some reason you did not mind it, it was like you wanted everyone to keep talking about it. It gave you the false hope that he could even like you. But now you would have to interact with him at some point. A kid with a bloody nose? What if you need to ask him for the first aid kid? What if Mr. YJ leaves you two alone? That was truly your worst nightmare. Around people you knew, you could be your true self, but alone, you didn’t stand a chance, you could put on a faux confident persona, but it would be hard.

But now your time was out as you approached the dirt road of the camp's entrance. When it came to activities, your school surely went full out. Each year they redesigned the grounds to fit a new theme. This year’s theme was a tropical island and instead of log cabins they had beach huts with white sand surrounding its foundation. And the mess hall was now in the theme of a cruise ship. You started to pull the bags that were in the front seat closer to them as you prepared to get out of their car.  

You parked the car with no sense of urgency, trying to ignore these jitters was well…crazy. But everyone has jitters on training day. You walked up to the mess hall, one bag hanging on your shoulder and the other in your arms. You were happy to see the familiar faces of Jungwon and Danielle when you opened the door. “Y/n where the hell have you been, loca!?” Jungwon grabbed your shoulders and shook you in faux excitement. You stopped moving completely with your face scrunched up in disgust.

“Please never make a Twilight reference again?” Danielle said, scrunching her face up as well, trying not to laugh. “Hey, how are you Y/n?” she greeted you with a soft smile. “See, a normal thing to say.” she turned to Jungwon who replied with an eye roll. “Hey Y/n.” he leaned in to hug you and Danielle followed. “Hey loca!” you replied with the same excitement he gave you; he gave you a flat expression.  

“Heesung is slow I swear- Oh hey guys!” Isa halted mid-sentence to greet you all. Haerin, Kai, and Sieun trailing behind her giving a wave. Heesung came behind them holding at least 4 bags, clearly struggling. Isa approached you, “Now the goons are all here, except Minji. Where is she?” You all shrugged or gave a head shake in unknowingness. “Probably blessing the wicked people of our society or something along those lines,” Heesung said, dropping the bags on the ground. “You wish I was doing that!” Minji appeared out of nowhere and you all jumped. “Jesus Christ— Minji!?” You shouted. She shrugged, “Oh, your man is here Y/n we just saw.” Kai giggled. You gave a blank expression. “Stop bringing this negative energy.” You rolled your eyes. “Negative energy is insane to me.” Sieun sipped what you guessed was a melted caramel Frappuccino.

“So where is everyone at?” You all turned your heads at a speed that would usually give a person whiplash. “Welcome children to..paradise!” Ms. Joy greeted, doing jazz hands above her head with a very breathy voice on ‘paradise.’ Ms. Park Sooyoung, or Ms. Joy as everyone called her, was essentially the camp's principal. She organized camps schedule, knew every child, and did everything else no one wanted to deal with. She was your 8th grade teacher and has been teaching 8th grade ever since then. “Hello...?” Jungwon said it as more of a question than a greeting. She let her hands fall and her expression went blank. She came from behind a blow-up palm tree wearing a green palm tree romper.

“We’re getting ready to start training, I was just waiting on you all!" Her voice is enthusiastic but also flat at the same time, she picks up a stack of paper from the lunch table and hands you each a map of the camp. “New year, new layout my Meraki veteran kiddos.” You take the map, sharing it with Jungwon, eyes scanning over it. Your heart thumped as you heard the mess hall doors open. There he was. 

When the gang walked in, you could hear them all chatting loudly about how camp would be. Jake was saying how he prays that the kids will be easy to deal with since he only has sports and sometimes dealing with the food. You forget this is their first year, boy are they in for a treat. Meraki Summer Camp started about 5 years ago. You and Heesung were one of the first people to sign up. You two became Counselors in Training about two years after that and the rest of your friends followed since you were all the eligible age. Though you are “veterans” it is still hard for you to adjust. Camp changes every year.

Meraki was known for being over the top, though. It’s a nice fancy school that you happened to get in with a scholarship. From 7th grade to now you have been at Meraki- Yes there is Meraki Elementary, Middle and High School and even a daycare. Everyone knows where they get the money from to make these changes every year.  

You realized that you had been staring at the map for a while now, not looking at anything but pretending that you were. You looked back and saw Jake and Wooyoung hauling in some bags, Sunoo and Sumin following behind them as Riki and Jay scolded Taehyun and Sunghoon for ‘barely carrying anything’ which was true considering they had nothing but their backpacks and two lanterns.

“I literally took everything out of Sumin’s trunk and carried it to the door for you.” Taehyun rolled his eyes. You didn’t know him- hell, have not even gotten within 10 feet of him. Even if you were friends with infamous player number six Jungwon, talking to anyone on the volleyball team besides him felt forbidden. You just felt like you couldn’t, but no one else could. You didn’t know exactly what you were afraid of, or you just didn’t want to think about it. So, you settled on not talking to them just because you didn’t know them.  

But, back to Riki. Your eyes accidentally met his while he looked to be scanning the room. You quickly looked away and back at the map. “Look who decided to show up.” Jungwon says, smirking at the crew. Riki approaches and you feel your heart rate pick up but try to calm yourself down immediately. You don’t even know him, you think. Shit, but you are going to have to, aren’t you? “Hey Jungwon.” Riki greets, rolling his eyes. Him and Jungwon begin talking, probably catching up a bit, he said he had not talked to the team all summer. After them, a lot of others started to pour into the mess hall.

People on the list were not the only ones who would be working here. There were always tons of people working on things all over camp. You scan through the crowd of people and your eyes find Mr. Yj and you brighten up a bit. Mr. Choi Yeonjun, also known as Mr. Yj, was your performing arts teacher until he left Meraki and became a full-time dance instructor at some big company. Everyone called him Mr. Yj because of Mr. Choi Beomgyu, since they happen to have the same last name, everyone just collectively agreed on giving them nicknames without a second thought.   

“Mr. Yj!” He looks over to you with a surprised expression as you run over to him. You hug him and he squeezes you in return. “Y/n how the hell did they get you back working here?” he chuckles. You roll your eyes, last year there were a lot of complications because you were assigned with middle schoolers and they can be a lot, everyone knows it. They’re usually one of the largest classes and it’s mostly the same students every year plus some newbies. You threatened to quit a lot because of how hard it was, but it was an empty threat.  But this year you, Mr. Yj- and Riki had gotten lucky. “You and I both knew I was coming back.” You shake your head with a scoff. “Well, if anything I’m glad. I got you and Nishimura? I’m chilling.”

you keep forgetting about that. Working with Riki should be a dream, right? Absolutely not, being infatuated with some guy wasn’t what you wanted especially when you knew you didn’t stand a chance. “Yep, he seems cool..I guess.” You say shrugging. You scrunch your face up as Sieun approaches the two of you, by the look on her face you knew she was about to tease the hell out of you.  

“Y/n, why are you leaving your CIT mate behind? and Mr. Yj don’t you want to meet both of your CITs?” Sieun teases, resting her arm on your shoulder. “He’ll make his way over here, Sieun. He can walk.” You roll your eyes again. You look over and see Riki standing alone looking all over the room, he locks eyes with Mr. Yj and walks towards you all. “Speak of the devil.” Sieun says and you don’t even turn to look at her. “I can hear you smiling.” “Come sits by me when you’re done!” She turns on her heels and walks away, grinning extremely hard. Riki approaches and Mr. Yj daps him up, you accidentally show the cringe you felt on your face when that happened.

“That was crazy,” you mutter to him, shaking your head.  “Riki, my man! How are you?” You glance over at Riki whose hair has faded streaks of blonde (that looks like it could be his natural color) and is way longer than the last time you saw it. You had not looked at him before this moment, and you were still trying to avoid looking at him. But he was so damn attractive. After Mr. Yj and Riki were done chatting, Mr. Yj turns to you and holds his hand out. “You know Y/n right- we’ll have plenty of time to break the ice but just making sure.”  

Your eyes widen slightly, curious to hear his answer. You have never even spoken to each other; the only reason he knows you is because Heesung has a big mouth and Sieun is crazy. “Um, kind of. We have mutual friends.” he says looking between you both. Mr. Yj nods, “Jungwon right?” a sigh escapes your lips. “Unfortunately.” you joke and are shocked to hear Riki chuckle. “Well, that is good. You are like the perfect CIT duo. Especially for the performing arts program. I have not seen you dance in a while Miss L/n. Neither you Mr. Nishimura.” Mr. Yj scolds jokingly. Riki dances? you think. “Well, who's ready to organize our little beach hut and learn some rules from Ms. Joy!” He says patting us both on the back and we both seem to groan at the same time. Maybe Riki is a little different than you were thinking... 

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𝐂 𝐑 𝐔 𝐄 𝐋 𝐒 𝐔 𝐌 𝐌 𝐄 𝐑 a riki smau.

rating: 14+

genre: smau, fluff, angst, teen

pairing: non idol! riki and non idol! fem reader

NOTE I hope this made sense i love writing but i’m also new and still learning so let me know if you like it!

TAGLIST. OPEN!

@luvistqrzzz @kyanmeai @viagumi @zonked-times @ilovewonyo @1-800shutthefuckup @maybemiko @chakelika

© EVERY2TIME. do not plagiarise, repost, copy or translate any of my works.

[fyrewalks]

meta: bob + broken glasses

one.

bob is ten the first time someone breaks his glasses. it happens two weeks after his bubbe returns home to new jersey; two weeks since his mom has been out of bed or off the couch longer than a few hours. nearly three months since his dad's latest deployment and six since his older sister, stevie, died.

it happens on the playground, easy to assume it's some childish skirmish over a swing set - bob's shy even then, made worse by his grief, and prefers to stick to the outskirts and swings during outdoor play at day-camp. (summer day-camp instead of montana, instead of his mom accepting the good natured teasing about her being a city girl or the not so quiet arguments between his grandma and dad about who will take the floyd ranch someday.) none of the counselors hear the taunts. bob doesn't repeat them. the kids accuse him of being different; he assumes they're saying it because of his dead sister. (he won't realize the kind of different they mean for a few years.)

he hides his broken glasses in the back of one of his drawers. his mom doesn't notice, his dad's calls home are too infrequent, gracie's six and easy to distract. it's not till a few weeks of meal trains and hushed discussions about his mom and doctor's appointments among the aunties who come over to watch them that anyone notices he's supposed to be wearing them at all.

two.

the second time it happens, bob is a few months shy of fifteen, all awkward limbs and little self-confidence. it's his second cross-country meet and he doesn't want to be there. the floyds are back in virginia - after three different middle schools, there's only a few vaguely familiar faces here and none of them are on the team. it leaves bob feeling more out of place.

he came out as summer ended on a friday night, a rare shabbat dinner that's just gracie and their parents instead of the eclectic mix of friends from their synagogue and whoever on base that wants, or needs, a place to be on a friday night. his mom cries, though she tries not too, while it's his dad whose the first to hug him and reassure bob he's loved no matter what. he knows his parents talk about it later, that they confide in each other their fears about his future, but they brave his confession with watery smiles and the promise everything will be okay.

he doesn't come out at school. it's less a definitive choice and more that he doesn't need to. other kids simply just know. bob isn't sure what gives him away - if it's his slouchy posture, his voice, or something else entirely. most leave it alone, but there are taunts and curses in between classes; he's shoved into a locker, once. bob doesn't like it, but considers it tame. he's bounced between montana, virginia, and florida his entire life, usually living in the shadows of navy bases. he isn't ignorant. (new jersey, at least, only carries the weight of his dead sister.)

it's tame until it's not. until his second cross-country meet. bob's in the middle stretch, pace decent enough to keep up with some of the older kids, and he's actually starting to enjoy himself. and then there's a hand on his back and he's crashing to the ground, literally tasting dirt. bile rises in his throat as he watches his glasses get stomped on deliberately, he can't unhear the accompanying slur.

he makes it to the finish line with a limp, mud on his face, and broken glasses. when his mom fusses over him later, bob blames it on being clumsy. no sense in making her worry; he doesn't like it when she cries.

three.

bob's sixteen with a long summer of open blue sky awaiting him. he skips dinner with his grandma up at the big house in favor of the bunk house with the ranch hands hired for the season. someone hands him a beer with a wink and a sly 'don't tell your grandma'; it doesn't taste great, but after a day of fixing fences, he likes that it's ice cold. he likes that he belongs, he likes that he can imagine his dad at this age too - it's the first time he feels like a man.

most of the ranch hands know him, they've seen him grow up in bits in pieces. they finish dinner and bob's content to listen to the way conversation flows and settles around him until they drag him into it too. does he like school, what's florida like, how are his folks and sister back home. then - you kissing any girls, yet?

bob answers honestly, he hasn't kissed anyone. at first, he doesn't mind the laughter, but it turns bitter in the mouth of one of the new ranch hands. there's something ugly in his eyes.

a chair scrapes back and adrenaline blurs it all together. there's shouting and fists and someone pulling him out of the way. trying to retreat, bob catches an elbow in the face and his glasses end up under someone's boot.

the unmistakable sound of his grandma's shotgun ends the skirmish. his grandma stays behind to deal with the mess while an older ranch hand gets him fixed up in the big house. later, when bob still can't sleep, his grandma sits on the edge of his bed with a sigh. it's too dark to read her expression. she tells him that his dad will take it better coming from him rather than her and that if he wants to drink in her house, he better never get drunk or stupid; he can't throw a punch worth a damn.

four.

he's eighteen, and his mom won't stop crying. there shouldn't be tears, not with bob's new diploma and a mit acceptance letter pinned proudly to the fridge. at least, there shouldn't be so many tears; it is a bittersweet occasion, an unavoidable reminder of the dead sister forever frozen at fourteen.

grief isn't the reason for the tears, though. no, the real reason is the neat stack of paperwork tucked safely in bob's desk committing him to the nrotc and eight years of navy service after. it's a choice he refuses to budge on and it leads to a few tense weeks in the floyd household.

he knows somethings wrong the minute he walks in the kitchen two weeks after graduation, both parents seated at the small table, clearly waiting for him. gracie isn't home; she's got regionals coming up, they should be with her at practice. (bob's long since taken the backseat to her gymnastic aspirations and he's mostly been okay with her hogging their parents attention; he just hates that it's their focus on him that causes alarm bells to go off.)

it starts off simple enough - reminders of his parents sacrifices. his dad doing his best to ensure his children wouldn't be forced to choose between the life sentence of a ranch or the navy. his mom, happy with the life she chose, but still always wondering about the life she might have had if she hadn't dropped out of college to marry and raise children. it's the reason they both pushed so hard for academics and sports and extracurriculars. then, it's the pricey flight lessons touted as more of a financial burden then it really is for the floyds. if he wants to fly, isn't that enough for him?

bob might not get the whole picture, but his maternal grandparents paid for his truck. all cash. between all three grandparents, he knows his parents haven't hurt for much (so long as their pride hasn't stood in the way).

but god dammit, what about his own sacrifices? what about bob, ten and anxious and terrified, begging his mom to get out of bed? what about bob, stuck in the routine of waking up gracie and making sure she has breakfast and lunch even after his mom escapes the fog of depression? or his childhood? one marked by four elementary schools, three middle schools, and two high schools. no one should be surprised that he chose the navy when his dad's service defined his early life.

why is his choice to join the navy and fly any different than gracie's devotion to gymnastics? it's the same risk. gracie could break her neck too.

or, what about plain want? clear blue sky - bob saw so much of it on the ground, he wanted the 30,000 ft views too.

but these thoughts are kinder than the words actually said. bob drags up every awful detail of his mom's depression, how his dad's grief and ill timed deployment felt like neglect. it doesn't matter if his points about chores and helping with gracie were valid after that. the damage is done on his side.

there's more yelling and tears and then the final blow - his dad shouting that bob's gay and it makes him weak, the navy will chew him up and spit it him out. but his dad's temper runs fast and quick, it ends with a too quiet 'fine, if the navy's your choice, you got a day to get out of the house.' they won't burry another child.

bob, the ever dutiful son, listens. on the flight to montana, cramped in a back row, he looks at his glasses held loosely in his fist and thinks it might hurt less if they were broken.

four, five, or six?

three months after his parents kick him out, he goes from montana to boston. he starts at mit and he finds, surprisingly, with some encouragement from new friends that beer and whiskey and cigarettes make him braver than he's ever been.

and the thing is, he's got his dad's same quick temper; it's just he's never had much use for it, always too quiet and too shy to find anywhere to put it. but a crowded bar? a guy being a jerk and not listening? sure, that's as good a place as any.

turns out, his grandma is right - bob still doesn't know how to throw a punch. sometimes, he remembers how he got the bruises, crooked frames, and scratched lenses. sometimes, he doesn't. either way, bob tells himself he's got it under control. except - he misses classes, he can't wait tables hung over, and no one is exactly impressed with him at the nrotc.

in the end, it's a combination of things that get bob to quit drinking his second year of college. (although, he still occasionally sneaks cigarettes when stressed.) gracie crying, a few letters from his parents. more than a few genuine apologies. a concerned commanding officer, citing his dad's respectful career record and how bob won't measure up like this. a patient rabbi and a better group friends than his first roommate, the one who dragged bob out partying his first night in boston. trading bars and beers for the library, more classes to average out his abysmal gpa.

it changes somethings, a relationship with his parents that sometimes feels like walking on ice, deciding to focus on weapon systems than outright piloting, but not everything. bob recommits to his faith, goes back to pretending things don't bother him, and decides life's a lot easier when people think he's just some nerdy stick in the mud than someone who can't handle his liquor.

[lesliesknopes]

madney fic recs 🔮

decided to make a post of my favourite madney fics because there are so many underrated gems and they can be impossible to find.

1K-10K

as you wish by lilythesilly (1K)

“As you wish.” 

“Ah!” Jee-Yun holds her sippy cup up to the television, like she’s toasting Westley on screen. 

“That’s right, Jee-Jee,” Chim says and reaches down to grab her when she toddles back over to him. “It means ‘I love you’.” 

--

Or, Chim watches The Princess Bride.

touch me with slow hands by maddieandchimney (2K)

Maddie and Chimney celebrate their engagement when it's just the two of them.

midnight under moonlight by lullatone (2K)

“So, what you’re saying is, is that your father is a-”

“A werewolf, yes.”

“Which means you and Albert are also-”

“-also werewolves, yes yes."

How am I supposed to tell you? by IGotOutOfTheOceanForYou (3K)

Summer camp counselors Maddie, Josh and Linda meet their new team member, but for one of them he ends up being more than just a new colleague.

i like you a latte by lilythesilly (3K)

“How long are you and Maddie going to pine over each other from a distance before you actually do something about it?” 

Chim sticks his finger in his mouth and holds it up in the air. “Wind says I have about another six months, but the Santa Ana’s say eight.” 

“Chim,” Hen says quietly, which stops him in his tracks. Oh god, she’s about to say something sincere. “You deserve to be happy.” 

It leaves a sour taste in his mouth and he tries to swallow it down. “C’mon, look around me! There is an espresso machine shaped like a volcano right there.” But she continues to hold his gaze, and in Chim’s experience not taking Hen’s advice is always a mistake so he relents, “I am happy. But I could be…happier I guess.” 

Hen smiles gently and squeezes his shoulder, picking up the now empty pastry tray. “So then do something about it.”

-

Or, a Madney Coffee Shop AU.

mountain sounds by lullatone (4K)

Anyway, the point is Maddie’s supposed to be on vacation right now.

Instead she’s stuck on some dirt road with a flat tire, no cell service, and a sneaking suspicion that she made a wrong turn a few miles back. 

AKA: Maddie gets stranded and meets a very handsome bearded man in the woods.

& part two!

 we just got the start wrong by theyarnmaidstale (4K)

After weeks of being at odds, Chimney knows exactly how he and Maddie got off on the wrong foot, but now, as he's kissing her under the mistletoe at Bobby's Christmas party, he'd kind of like to get on the right one.

Those who hate Los Angeles, have never been in love by olimakes (6K)

He pulls out his phone again.

“Chimney?”

It takes him a minute to answer, a minute to pull his eyes away from the screen and meet Maddie’s concerned gaze.

“What is it,” she asks.

He licks his lip. “It’s, uh, it’s my father. His assistant at least.” Maddie frowns and he continues. “He’s coming to LA. Apparently, that means sending a four-page email via his executive assistant. Not a phone call.”

Or, learning that his father is visiting, Chimney struggles.

10K-25K

Alone together by jupiterfics (13K)

There aren't a lot of places Buck can sit comfortably with his thoughts, but here—out on the water, body weightless as long as he lies still, no sound but the lap of the waves and the breath thrumming in his chest—here there's nothing in the world to drag him down, no anger no worry and, most of all, no regrets to fill his lungs and suffocate him. Here on the water it's fine that he's alone.

He wonders if Maddie felt alone when she died.

or;

Five years after his sister is legally declared dead, Buck finds his way to Los Angeles and joins the 118, hoping he can make Maddie's memory proud.

And the universe smiles down on him.

This World May Lose Its Motion, Love, If I Prove False to Thee by louderthanwords (18K)

Maddie arrived in L.A. eight months ago after fleeing the cult she was raised in and her abusive pastor husband. Now as she moves into her own apartment and continues to build her new life, Maddie’s friendship with Chimney begins to blossom.

& part one (although not madney centred)

in another life, i would be your girl by madneyfiles (25K)

Maddie and Chimney are in a secret relationship, knowing their love won't be approved by their parents, who are fierce business rivals. Their plans to run away when they turn 18 are shattered when Maddie's marriage to Doug is fixed by her parents after she turns 18. The only reason Maddie feels compelled to agree? Her brother, Evan.

25K-50K

She Made Herself Stronger (by Fighting with the Wind) by princessfbi (35K)

“Books are my love language,” Maddie said as she handed Chimney the book. “Movies are yours. This is a movie, right?”

Chimney jerked his head up in alarm as he looked at her and Maddie couldn’t help but laugh as she dropped the ruse.

“I’m kidding. I know Fight Club is a movie.”

The Madney Bookstore AU we all deserve and the Buddie Teen Romance to add a spice of chaos.

(Don't) let this be the end by yourestrongerthanyouthinkyouare (43K -INCOMPLETE)

Evan Buckley has a sister. He never talks about her, not because he hates her but to keep their memories safe in his heart, because from the moment she stopped talking to him, memories are all he has left. Maddie Buckley gave up everything to save her brother and she never regrets doing it, but she would do anything to hug him one last time.

50K+

sometimes a shadow wins by maddieandchimney (52K)

It's been Chimney and Doug against the world for fifteen years, so when Maddie unwittingly gets caught between the two best friends, everything changes.

You Are So Much More Than Your Father’s Son by louderthanwords (82K)

She knew it was a risk to leave. After ten years of being married to Sergeant Doug Kendall, Maddie knew exactly what it might cost her to flee Hershey with her son and daughter. She just hopes her brother can forgive her for the danger she’s brought to his doorstep when she arrives in LA with her kids after five years of silence.

& part two & part three

Stronger than Fear by diaz_evan (90K)

“No, wait! Chimney!” Buck rushes out but is stopped immediately by three armored Peacekeepers. “No!” He pushes against their arms, fighting against their killer grasp. He gathers all his strength and breaks through, so he can be seen from the stage. “I volunteer!”

Maddie and Buck are District 12's Tributes. The fight to keep each other alive begins now

[my buddie fic rec list]

[frost-westbrook]

Team Metal hcs

Derek 'Frost' Westbrook

Youngest Team Metal member at 28

Joined the Army per recommendation of his high-school guidance counselor

Never meant to join special forces, got thrown into it after boot camp, and said 'fuck it, why not'

Bunks with Truck everytime they have to stay overnight in field due to him not snoring like Grinch and Sandman

Takes over Team Metal when Sandman died

Always has at least one of their dog tags in his pocket when he's in the field

Always makes time during leave to visit their graves to pay respects

Whenever he sees something one of them would've liked he always whispers to himself 'x would've liked this'

Used to play hockey in high-school but dropped it after joining the army

Sandman

I've thought the name Nick suited him

Never goes anywhere without his sunglasses

Arm wrestling champ, has beat everyone on Team Metal. Even beat Soap and Price

Only listens to classic rock

Literally joined the Army because he had no life plan, like Frost he never meant to join special forces

Was quarterback for his high-school football team. Does yearly football games with Team Metal

Truck

Idk always saw him as a Frank

Loves fight games like mortal kombat and street fighter

Was trained by his father at a young age how to shoot guns

Says corny ass pick lines to every girl he meets

Joined the Army since he came from a military family

Nicknamed Truck by his first team, Team Viper, due to his extensive knowledge of vehicles

Gives the best hugs

Says fuck more than anyone on the team

Grinch

I hc his name to be Alex. No I won't explain

Smokes weed which Sandman yells at him for

Has so many infractions, that it's surprising he has been kicked out yet

Frost is the reason they haven't kicked his ass out yet, due to him convincing the army he's a good man

Joined the Army cause he was bored

Never ever takes his hat off

Tells horrible jokes that Frost only laughs at

Has had a fist fight on almost every base they've been stationed at

Respects Price for boonie hat

[tinyinvadr]

Alright, here we go, Rhombus of Ruin time! This is gonna be a shorter fic since it’s a shorter game, and after this it’s Psychonauts 2!

Psychoborrower in the Rhombus of Ruin

Chapter 1

This was it. The moment where all of my training was about to pay off. Against all odds, I did it. I conquered my fears, foiled an evil plot for world domination, and became a Psychonaut.

But that was only the beginning of my story.

I was heading out on my first official mission: to rescue Truman Zanotto, Grand Head of the Psychonauts. And for a mission like that, I couldn’t ask for a better team.

Piloting the jet were agents Sasha Nein and Milla Vodello. Camp counselors by day, super psychic agents by… well, it was still daytime, so I guess it’s more of a “when they’re needed” thing. Getting to go on a mission with them became a dream of mine from the moment I met them. They were so cool, and I learned so much from them.

Also with us was Grand Head Zanotto’s daughter, Lili. To people who don’t know her, she seems like an ordinary girl on the surface. But there’s a fire within her. Literally. She is… really good at burning things, it’s a little scary.

Stationed in the bathroom was Coach Oleander. Sure, he may have stolen a bunch of kids’ brains with the intention of putting them in armored death tanks only the day before, but after we helped him work out his issues, he was a changed man. Well… mentally, anyway. Not much we can do about the constipation. Poor guy had to have been on the toilet for an hour, at least.

And of course, where would I be without my best friend, my partner in crime fighting, and the guy who made all this possible?

In a short time, I’d come to have a very high opinion of Raz, especially considering how much I resented him at first. I found myself frustrated at his optimism, and I hated the advantage he had against me with him being a human. But it turned out that we had a lot more in common than I originally thought, and when I made the choice to reveal myself to him, he didn’t think any less of me.

I tried not to verbalize that too much, though. He already had a big enough head, he really didn’t need the extra ego boost.

Unfortunately, we weren’t making much progress on the mission at hand. Sasha managed to get in contact with HQ, but they dismissed him, assuming it was just something about camp. Which meant it was up to our little team to carry out this rescue mission without any assistance from the rest of the organization.

While Sasha and Milla worked on trying to track down Truman, the rest of us were left sitting around.

I felt really bad for Lili. She expressed that she’d been kind of cold towards her father recently, feeling embarrassed when he would visit her at camp, and her previous feelings of doubt that the Psychonauts were even needed anymore.

I wanted to reassure her, but I wasn’t sure what to say. Even though we’d both been going to camp together for several years, I kept my distance from the other kids, so we didn’t really know each other all that well. But hey, if I was able to form a strong bond with Raz in such a short time, I could easily do the same with her.

“Hey… We’ll find him.”

Lili sniffled. She’d been crying, but she might’ve still been getting over that cold she had. With everything Raz and I went through, I didn’t really stop to think about things from her perspective. The past couple days were really rough for her, too. She got kidnapped, and then the next morning, the same thing happened to her dad.

I noticed Raz had gotten quiet, which was weird for him. I would’ve thought it would be hard to get him to shut up. He was practically living his dream. Well, so was I, but I’m not nearly as chatty as him.

My question was answered when I heard his voice echo in my head.

Hey, Flint.

Huh?

I’m practicing Clairvoyance. Trying to see things from other peoples’ perspectives, y’know?

Yeah, sure, but I’m just sitting on your shoulder right now. The only change in perspective you’re getting is shifting an inch to the right.

I guess… Hey, wait, look at me for a second.

I turned my head slightly so I was looking at Raz’s face. His eyes were shut tight, and he was deeply concentrating, his consciousness residing in my head instead of his own.

Whoa, I look huge!

Heh… yep.

Man, no wonder you were scared of me.

Please, as if I could be scared of you. You’re just a big goofball.

To be perfectly honest, I was terrified of Raz the first time I interacted with him in person. Especially since I was under the impression he was trying to sabotage me in the mental world, which turned out to just be my own paranoia. It wasn’t something I liked to think about, but it was the truth of how I felt at the time. Unfortunately, you can’t exactly hide your thoughts when you’ve got a guest in your mind.

It’s okay if you were scared. I get it. And I know we didn’t get off to the best start.

Hey, don’t worry about it. I was being stupid.

No, no, it makes perfect sense why you acted the way you did.

This could go on for a while. We both had a habit of being overly apologetic.

Let’s just agree that all of that is behind us.

You’ve got it, buddy. So, you excited for our first official mission?

Yeah… Wait, why are we still talking in my head? I’m right next to you.

Oh, right, sorry. My sister and I used to do this all the time, so I’m just used to it.

You have a sister?

Four siblings, actually.

Makes sense, considering your dad-

Nope, we’re done talking about this!

Heh… he’s too easy.

In a desperate attempt to kill boredom, Raz practiced PSI-Blasting at stuff in the jet. In doing that, he noticed one of the overhead compartments was locked, and marked with the Grand Head’s seal. He blasted it open, but all that was in there was a music box.

It toppled out of the compartment, and Lili caught it, a look a relief on her face.

“My Dad’s music box! What’s this doing here?”

Her first instinct was to try and form a connection with her father by using Clairvoyance on the music box, but she wasn’t able to reach him. Raz offered to try it for her, and it seemed to be working somewhat, but he described a strange interference that was blocking him out.

At that, Sasha instructed all of us to focus our thoughts on Raz and Truman in order to strengthen the connection. I contributed as much as I possibly could, but I didn’t really feel like I was much help. I’d seen Truman before when he would visit Lili at camp, but I didn’t know him on a personal level. Still, I focused to the best of my ability.

We were able to strengthen the connection enough to where Raz could see the lab where Truman was being held captive, but he wasn’t sure where exactly it was.

After digging around for clues, the situation became increasingly concerning. First of all, Truman was unconscious, with a Psychoisolation Bonnet over his head. As for the power source, it was a mineral Milla identified as Psilirium.

She and Sasha went on to explain that Psilirium is a rare and incredibly dangerous mineral that can cause psychics to hallucinate. Even just using Clairvoyance on someone who was standing near it was enough to make Raz dizzy.

He continued his search, and from there, we narrowed down the location of the lab. It was an abandoned Psychonauts facility located deep in the ocean, in a place called the Rhombus of Ruin.

There were plenty of legends about the place, mainly spread around by the Psychonauts themselves. After all, few were brave enough to venture to a place where people supposedly go missing, so it was the easiest way to keep the general public away from their research facilities.

We set a course for the Rhombus of Ruin. It would take a while to get there, and Raz was completely drained from the Psilirium exposure, so he was knocked out for most of the trip.

Lili was in better spirits since we had a location on her dad. She wound up the music box, letting its tune play.

“Don’t worry, Dad. We’re almost there.”

A couple hours later, we were finally approaching the Rhombus, and Raz also woke up around that time.

Sasha assured us that everything would be fine, but I had my doubts. Even with proper protective gear on, Psilirium sounded like serious business. On top of that, the last thing Raz heard before he came back to us was a warning straight from Truman’s mind, begging Lili to stay away because it’s too dangerous.

Just as we were flying over the Rhombus, something strange happened. The jet’s controls had been compromised somehow, and we were set to crash right into the ocean.

I held onto Raz as tightly as I could, but I lost my grip on his shirt as the plane took a nosedive. Everyone else had seatbelts on, but Coach and I weren’t so lucky. We both went flying towards the front of the plane. Thankfully, he caught me before I could crash into anything.

“Hold tight, Flint! We’re going do-!”

The impact knocked me out. What happened after that, I think I’m better off not knowing. I don’t wanna think about how long we were underwater, or how close I was to drowning. Let’s just say it’s a miracle I made it, and it’s a good thing Coach caught me when he did.

All I know for sure is that when I woke up, I had ended up in the heart of the Rhombus of Ruin.