#btw in case you didn’t realize the new chapter is out in japan

[plague-of-insomnia]

Bard in Ch 212

[shnuggletea]

I realize many of you have already read this on either FF or AO3 but in case you read on Tumblr only, here it is!

Heads up, these ANs are a repeat of STYH so if already read that one, feel free to skip these! Working on a few modern day ones but they're not quite ready yet.

So, I have a few fics to chose from for next and I was assured these were wanted to be heard. Or rather read. Please keep in mind, the sequel to Bad Karma, Terrible Fate, and Cell Mates isn't on this list because they will be posted next along with the ones I'm listing here for consideration. I like to do a cannon based fic and an AU in tandem when posting. Or try to anyway, I'm also still posting for SM and working on originals so this might get a back seat from time to time.

So here's what I got (none of these are finished yet but close):

The Shogan's Daughter: Kagome agrees to marry a man, sight unseen so that her village falls under his protection. With a steady rice supply and a few soldiers to protect them, she leaves home and enters the house of one Inuyasha Tenoe. Married life is made so much more difficult with enemy threats hoping to take Tenoe's title from him, ex-lovers weakening Kagome's resolve, and falling in love with your husband no matter how hard you try not to. Set in a Feudal Japan.

Beautiful Hell (working title): She was free. It almost killed her but she had escaped and now she just had to stay out of the dark clutches of her former king. And not be discovered for what she was by the new one. Too bad the Prince is a glutton for punishment, meeting the fiery Kagome, and doing what? Putting her in his harem of course! The setting is a made-up world but hints at Arabic tones.

Hidden Demons: Kagome was doing as commanded, going deep into the Vragoli territory and entering the fabled Crnac Mountains. But she is there to ensure peace, wanting nothing more than to keep her home, Fatamorgora from any more attacks. Her first time in Nema Dusa and yet, the King feels so familiar. Confused, she'll have plenty of time to figure it out, or will she? Her mind slipping all around with dreams that feel more like memories of a past she never had! The setting is made-up here as well but similar to The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings kind of vibes.

All of these are romances and have lemons btw. Let me know what you guys think?

Possible trigger warning with some violence towards a child! I didn't go into detail or anything graphic but just know poor Shippo gets beat up.

FF HERE

AO3 HERE

Chapter Nine

Ever since she started eating with them, Kagome had sat next to Shippo. But as Miroku's 'bitch' she now had to sit next to him. And let him wrap an arm around her from time to time. But when he tried to touch her ass, she drew the line there.

"Cut that out!"

He smirked with a devilish glint in his eyes. "Lovers touch, Kagome."

"Except, we aren't actually lovers?!"

"And we don't want everyone knowing that now do we?"

He had a point and it would all be pointless if it didn't look like they were a couple of sorts. Resigning herself to getting touched, she closed her eyes tight. "Fine. Just don't take liberties."

It wasn't that she found Miroku unattractive. He was a very good looking man. But he was a friend. If he ever confessed to her, she would give him the same answer she gave Koga. She was pretty sure Miroku felt the same about her but that didn't mean he wasn't a horny bastard, taking advantage of the situation.

Her eyes squeezed shut, she waited to feel her butt getting accosted and only felt a chill across her skin. Miroku was laughing when she opened her eyes again, even though Inuyasha had his hand twisted back to Miroku's chest in a painful-looking position.

"Hey Buddy. I've been looking for you."

She had never heard Inuyasha call anyone so much as 'friend' let alone 'Buddy'. His tone was clear he wasn't there to be friendly. "Hey, Inuyasha. You were looking for me?"

"Yeah, we need to chat," Inuyasha said, twisting Miroku's hand a little more.

"I'm in the middle of something here, in case you didn't notice?"

She glanced towards Shippo who just shrugged. The rest of the table was ignoring the duo, must be business as usual for the two. They had never done it around her before though so she struggled to see the humor in it. Miroku was still chuckling as if it was the greatest joke of all time.

"Alright, just give me one second," Miroku leaned around Inuyasha to look back at her, "pardon me, dear, I'll be back in just a moment. Then we can get to you bearing my child as we discussed."

She was feeling very uncomfortable with the conversation but Inuyasha steered Miroku away swiftly after that. They didn't go out of eyesight, just earshot. If anyone was listening, she couldn't tell, every time she glanced over, they were in some kind of heated discussion and those around them focused on their food. Kagome didn't pretend to know what they were talking about but Shippo chuckled from time to time as he listened.

Looking his way, she wanted to see if Koga was listening to anything going on. When she found his eyes staring back at her, she quickly turned her head to look anywhere else. Given the fire his eyes held, he had heard about her new 'relationship' and wasn't pleased. But, since it was Miroku, then she should be fine from now on since everyone was terrified of Miroku's cursed hand. Even with the runes in place, his hand was still sealed up, giving many the impression he could rip the runes on his hand off and use it on them.

Shippo chuckled again and it made her smile, as well as get curious. "What is it?"

"Miroku enjoys messing with Inuyasha too much." He said through his laughter.

Looking back again, Inuyasha's face was red. If she were to guess, he had pulled at his hair in irritation at some point while Miroku was still calm and smirking. Whatever was going on, Shippo and Miroku enjoyed it a little too much.

Lunch over, they all progressed to the yard for free time, only she was swept up by an anxious Kagura. "Kagome. I need a Doctor."

Rushed but silent, Kagura was oddly quiet as they speed-walked to the infirmary. Her eyes danced to the door when she left it open. With haste and care, so to not look too eager to shut them out, Kagome shut and locked the door. The guards had a key but it still gave a sense of privacy.

Kagura had yet to still, pacing the length of the infirmary while she pulled her wheeled stool out and waited. She already had a feeling what this was about. After all, she did consider sticking to the maternity ward after her rotation there.

After several more minutes of agitated pacing, Kagome caved. "Kagura, there's no point in worrying until you know for sure. Right?"

A small amount of calm washed over the demoness, enough to get her to sit at least. Kagome rolled up to her side and placed a comforting hand on her knee. "I'm late."

"How late?"

"...a month?"

She kept her face stoic, her bedside manner training coming into play with this one. "That's pretty late, Kagura. Any symptoms?"

"Demons don't really have 'symptoms' with pregnancy. Not like humans that is."

Irritation was clear in Kagura's tone. But she had a point as Kagome was clearly not adept to Demons and their differences. "Alright. Teach me. Tell me what it's like to be a pregnant demon?"

"Nausea, having to piss all the time, pimples, and whatever else you humans get, we don't get any of that shit. Instead, we feel it."

"Feel it?"

"Feel it growing. I can feel it growing and moving inside me. I'm sure I'm pregnant even without any tests. Demons have never needed them in the past and frankly, I'm not sure it would even work." Kagura had a point there. "So all I really need to know is… can you get rid of it?"

This time, Kagome didn't hide her shock. "Wha… you want to terminate the pregnancy? Why? It's Sesshomaru's right? You two seem like you'd go through hell and back for one another, surely he wouldn't mind having a child with you or you him?"

Jumping up, Kagura went back to pacing. "Like that even matters?! Look where we are Kagome! Open those big, pretty teal eyes of yours and pay attention! We're in prison! One designed to suck the life out of everything and one inside it. This isn't a vacation, you're never going back to your old life, Doctor! And I don't even remember my life before this place, it's been so fucking long."

She took a deep breath to steady her nerves because that was a lot to unpack. "I know this is my home forever… but we have to keep living, Kagura. We can't let them break us. That would be letting them win."

Kagura pulled at her perfect hair, mussing it up beyond repair. "I know that! But what choice do I have?" She fell to her knees before Kagome, grabbing up her hands in a tight grip. "Please, Kagome. They will only take my baby away and do whatever they want to it! To them, we're just vermin and a baby of Sesshomaru's would be experimented on for as long as it lived. Which wouldn't be long with all they would do to it. It doesn't deserve that, that life."

Conceding, she had no choice but to agree with Kagura. But there was only one problem. "I have nothing to terminate a pregnancy with here. And if I ask…"

"They'll make you tell them who. FUCK!"

Kagura was pacing again and Kagome jumped to her feet to stop her. "Do you want this baby? If you weren't in here and its life wasn't threatened, would you have it?" Kagura nodded hard, "We still have some time. I'll do all that I can to help you. Something will have to change and I refuse to let your child suffer. Trust me, Kagura."

oOo

It had been three days since Kagura had come to her and Kagome could focus on nothing else. How the hell was she going to save Kagura's baby? Kagome didn't have a clue but she wasn't about to just stand around while an innocent life was taken. And Kagura wanted the baby, she just didn't want her child to suffer. It was a terrible place to be, unable to protect your own child.

Everyone was coming back from 'work' and Kanna was milling her way through the crowd. Ever since the day in the yard with Naraku, Kanna and Shippo had gotten...closer. They worked in different places but met up on their way back every day now.

Which was why it was strange to see Kanna alone.

"Kanna? Where's Shippo?"

She shrugged, her face as neutral as always. "He told me to go without him."

"He did?" That was weird, Shippo likes having a friend and spending time with them.

"No, someone else told me for him."

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Something wasn't right. Kanna didn't react but Kagome didn't expect her to. "Go on to your room."

"You mean cell…"

"Whatever, just go!"

Spinning on her heel, Kagome ran as hard as her human legs allowed and then pushed harder. The laundry room was in her sights when she heard it. Once again, her experience served her and she really wished she was wrong.

Rounding the corner, she saw a group of wolves circled around something, beating it. Staggering forward, she quickly saw that the something was Shippo.

"No! STOP!"

She flung her body at them, trying to get inside and to Shippo who was a quivering mass of blood and swollen flesh. They laughed and shoved her back, only to continue. She tried again and got tossed, hitting one of the washing machines hard before hitting the floor just as hard. Now she crawled, using her palms on the cold floor to drag herself towards one of the wolves. He didn't seem to notice as she took hold of his leg. But he did notice when she bit down on the back of his ankle as hard as she could.

"AHHH!" He kicked her off hard and the others turned on her with him. "You stupid bitch!"

Another grabbed the one she bit by the shoulder. "Koga said she's off-limits. Just her friends."

She wished she could say she was surprised. Koga was attacking her friends to get to her. "You can tell Koga to fuck off!"

They glanced at one another and then returned to their advance on her. At least they now left Shippo alone. That comforted her as fear shivered up her spine. They could smell it, smell her fear. It was why they kicked her lips she was sure. Their auras flickered, staying the same orangey-pink but flashing the closer they got to her. Was this what an aura did when malicious intent was planned? Naraku's didn't flash but his was so dark, she was sure it only sucked in light, not let any out.

They bent down to her and one had their hand around her throat when they were all ripped off and back. There were growls all around, some from the wolves but most from Inuyasha as he stood protectively over her. Miroku pushed them back more with his fist and then his hand, holding it up while keeping the palm hidden in his clenched fingers.

"Don't make me use this!" He screamed.

They coward but recovered. "You wouldn't!"

"Yeah, you'd suck up your friends too!"

Miroku shrugged, "the runes knock off some of my power. Enough to keep them safe while sucking you assholes up!"

They stepped back with that and she didn't know if it was the truth or not. But they believed it so it was enough for her.

With Inuyasha and Miroku here, her attention went back to Shippo. His ragged breaths fogged up the floor he laid on, his fur matted with blood. "Oh, Shippo."

Crawling again, she made it to his side while Miroku and Inuyasha wrangled the wolves out of the room. Before they were completely gone, Inuyasha grabbed one of them up. His blood-red eyes matched his aura, shining bright and fierce.

"If you or any more of your mangy mutts ever come near her again, I'll shove your nose so far up your ass you won't know whether to fart or burp for the rest of your life. Got it?"

The one in his hold nodded heavily as he was dropped to the floor to run. Then Inuyasha's eyes went to Shippo, his head now resting in Kagome's lap.

"Miroku, make sure they don't come back."

Miroku looked confused but more like he wanted to argue. But Inuyasha flashed him a warning glance, his aura nearly blinding. Which made her earlier theory of malice fall to the floor because Inuyasha had no intention of ever hurting her, that she was sure.

The three of them, he shut the door and slowly came to kneel at her side. Shippo was barely breathing.

"I should….we should get him to the infirmary...I can…" She said through her heavy sobs.

Inuyasha laid his hand heavily on her shoulder. "Kagome...there's nothing you can do."

"But he'll heal! I just have to…"

"You can't give him the time he needs."

She stared at him with watery eyes. His own hurt reflected back. No tears, but it was clear he would mourn the kitsune too.

Most people, even most doctors, would understand. They would pick themselves back up and move on, telling themselves they did all they could. Because most doctors would have already done all they could.

But she wasn't most doctors.

Placing her hands over Shippo's tiny body, she sobbed again as her cords of, for lack of a better term, magic dipped into him. She felt every break, tear, cut, and bruise the poor child had endured. He winced and whimpered when she pulled bones back together. Especially the rib that pierced his lung and when she inflated his spleen, sewing the shattered organ back together with her mind.

Her concentration was set and she had no clue what Inuyasha was doing or thinking. This was her biggest secret since she was a child but she had no regrets, not even ones of revealing herself to him.

An exhausted and satisfied sigh left her as she left Shippo alone. The outer cuts and bruises she left for appearances. The only thing that matter was Shippo would live now.

Falling back, Inuyasha caught her. "Are you okay?!" He was checking over Shippo and then glaring at her. "You did it, you healed him, didn't you?" She nodded. "Why? Why the fuck would you…" shaking her head he growled, "this is how you got caught, isn't it?!"

"He's a child…"

"He's a demon!"

Summoning strength from deep inside, she pushed up into his face and yelled. "He's a life! And my friend!" A sob bubbled up too, "and they did this to him because of me."

Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her, crushing her to him. "You don't belong here. You shouldn't be here at all"

She wasn't sure if he meant that in a good or bad way but his comfort was too nice to turn down, twisting until she was cradled in his hold. It caused her to brush her arm against his, pain searing through her and making her hiss.

He pulled her back, inspecting the deep cut closely. "Can't you heal yourself?"

Kagome nodded but then shook her head. "I can't. Any of them could have seen...and I'm human…"

At that, he ripped the hem of his shirt and wrapped it around her arm tight. "I'm going to kill every last one of them. And then Koga…"

"Inuyasha?" Shippo whispered, coming around.

Kagome gently pushed the Hanyou back, grabbing Shippo's little shoulders to keep him still. "Shippo! Hey buddy," she cooed, a few tears slipping free, "you're alright now."

"They...cornered me...made me tell Kanna to go without me and then started wailing on me."

"They didn't say anything? Like a message you were supposed to deliver?" Inuyasha asked his eyes on Kagome's.

"No...nothing…"

The smile on Inuyasha's face was forced so she forced one on her face as well. "You got lucky, kid. The doctor here saved your life. But you're gonna hurt for a while so take it easy."

It was then that guards showed up, looking genuinely confused either at the scene in general or that there wasn't a body or two to deal with. She was surprised they showed up at all.

oOo

Her arm was still stiff but it would be fine. Kagome had replaced Inuyasha's makeshift bandage with a real one but held onto his piece of shirt, hiding it amongst her things. The attachment she felt to a tiny shred that was his was truly telling and Kagome worried about what it said.

Just about to collapse to a gurney for the night, a knock rapted on the infirmary door. She moved slowly in part to the hour but mostly due to her aching muscles screaming at her. She should probably take something but she didn't want to waste her supplies or her gifts on herself.

Her breath caught in her throat when she opened the door and the man smirked all the more at the sound of it. "Inuyasha?"

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 229: The Real Me

Previously on BnHA: Dabi fought a dude who could control ice. For like three pages. Then we cut to my boy Twice, who had located an unconscious Toga (who as you recall had her blood blown up a couple chapters back, so yeah) and was understandably freaking out about how to get her some help. To make a long and somewhat confusing story short, you know that long-haired guy who hacked Giran’s phone? Turns out he has the power to create human puppets or some shit, and he created a bunch of Twice duplicates and sent them to capture the real Twice (who you might also recall has some traumatic history involving clones of himself). Seems they want to use Twice’s quirk to create a backup clone of Re-Destro, just in case history repeats himself and he ends up kicking the bucket like his great-great granddad. Wouldn’t that be sad. Re-Destro getting murdered. Wouldn’t that just be a darn shame. Anyways so let’s see where this leads.

Today on BnHA: The Villain Flashback Arc continues with today’s installment featuring, you guessed it, more villain flashbacks! We learn more about our little buddy Twice who was apparently orphaned as a young teen and subsequently found himself alone in a cold and uncaring world. Honestly you guys, after reading this I’m amazed that he’s still as nice of a guy as he is. Anyway, so he used his quirk to clone himself because he was lonely, and the clones and him engaged in a petty crime spree or two, and then somehow or other it all led to the whole murderfest that fucked up his head so badly. Back in the present, a struggling Jin tries to escape and help Toga, so Skeptic orders his puppets to break Jin’s arms. They do so, but this has a curious side-effect that Skeptic may not have been expecting. Namely, that having that much damage dealt to him makes Twice realize that he definitely is not one of his clones, and is in fact the real deal. This appears to at least temporarily cure his split personality woes, and the chapter ends with him creating about a dozen duplicates to go fuck up the Liberation Army’s day. Hell yes.

(All comments are my unspoiled reactions from my initial readthrough of the chapter. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity immediately afterward, but aside from that there are no changes.)

hey guys, sorry I’ve been inactive all week; I’ve been sick and haven’t really had much energy. I still am sick, but I appear to have reached the stage of exhaustion where I’m all “eh, fuck it, yeah sure whatever” where it’s ironically easy to motivate myself to do stuff because I have no willpower to resist, lol

so anyway. we’re apparently not missing a beat, picking up right where we left off last week with Twice’s mask being pulled off by one of the gorilla puppets

wow and they’re just like. flinging him aside

DON’T FLING MY BOY NO!! AND GET AWAY FROM TOGA

AHHHH

shit, how creepy is that? are they cold because they’re just ~puppets~ and not actually real, living people? what a disturbing touch

now we’re cutting back to Skeptic, who’s giving the puppets orders and addressing them as various letters of the alphabet. how can he tell them the fuck apart

meanwhile Giran’s asking what they’re doing to his pal. ;_; Giran you continue to be the best

and Re-Destro’s forcibly directing his attention elsewhere, but he’s also answering his question, strangely enough

that’s a lot of detail to be giving the guy when you could have just smacked him and told him to shut up. these villains are so confusing

but I guess they’re just telling him all this to taunt him more, because now Skeptic is bragging that he learned about Jin’s psychological disorder from Giran’s client data

hey btw I don’t think I’ve said this yet, but fuck this guy so hard for taking advantage of Twice’s trauma and using it against him. what a shocker, the Meta Liberation Army of dickheads pulls another dickhead move. these guys are so classy

oh my fucking god you guys Giran is getting hotter with each fucking chapter though fffffffff

if you’d told me a month ago that this dude would be nipping at Aizawa and All Might’s heels for the title of BnHA’s most eligible bachelor I would have called you a liar and a thief, yet here we are. good lord

that said, I appreciate that he’s thinking about how hard it’ll be on poor Twice, but they also just said they’d kill Toga as well, so I imagine that part of it would be pretty hard on her too. just saying

SDLFKSDLFHK SPEAKING OF

FUCK ME YOU GUYS I ALMOST LEAPED TO MY FUCKING FEET, WHAT THE FUCK. DON’T TELL ME THEY’RE GOING TO SNAP HER NECK. HOLY SHIT

SOMEONE BETTER SAVE HER OR I’M GOING TO FLY OUT TO JAPAN AND GIVE HORIKOSHI MY STUPID COLD. THAT’LL SHOW THAT BASTARD. HAVE SOME BRONCHITIS YOU PIECE OF SHIT

AND TWICE IS WATCHING ALL PANICKED AND SCREAMING THAT HE’S GOING TO KILL HER

AT FIRST I WAS CONFUSED AND WAS LIKE, DOES HE BLAME HIMSELF FOR GETTING HER IN THIS SITUATION? BUT THEN I REMEMBERED THE CLONES AND THAT YEAH IT’S LITERALLY HIM KILLING HER THOUGH OMGGGGG

AHHH HE’S SO CONFUSED THIS IS SO CONFUSING

I’M TOO SICK TO DEAL WITH TWICE’S EXISTENTIAL CRISIS YOU GUYS, IT’S REALLY FREAKING ME OUT, HELP. THE FUCKING PANELS ARE ALL WOBBLY-LINED AND THEY KEEP ZOOMING IN ON HIS FACE AND SHOWING HIM ALL BUG-EYED SCREAMING “WHO AM I” OVER AND OVER AGAIN OH GOD

OH SHIT!?!?

ACTUAL TWICE FLASHBACKS OH SHIT?! I was not expecting this oh snap. I am so into this

anyway, so he’s thinking -- with surprising coherence -- that because of his rough appearance, people were always afraid of him growing up

but also, what was that part about him not having a family? so he was an orphan then?? Horikoshi you are aware that I already love Twice and am emotionally attached to him, yes? but like if you want to hit me with even more feels and fuck me up some more then be my guest I suppose?

anyway so whoever he’s talking to here says Jin, who is apparently sixteen here, evidently hit some dude with his motorcycle by accident. oh shit

and baby!Jin says the guy jumped out in front of him and he was obeying the speed limit and everything

and the man he’s talking to seems vaguely sympathetic but says that regardless, it’s usually the victim who ends up winning these cases, and that Jin may end up with a criminal record. “but don’t let it get to you.” oh, sure. yeah, let’s just look on the bright side here

he says that no matter how many times you stumble in life, you can always start over

well shit is it any wonder this kid ended up going the villain route and making a bunch of clones of himself to live his best life? I mean jeez, he had absolutely no one on his side and was slapped with a criminal record when he was only sixteen. that shit is rough

oh fuck me and it just keeps getting worse

well that’s nice. so make that homeless with a criminal record, then. jesus christ he was still just a kid

so apparently his parents died in a villain attack when he was in middle school, and he had no relatives. I guess the state didn’t give a fuck either, damn

I find it extraordinarily easy to empathize with, actually! that’s one of the things that makes you such a great character!

so I guess he originally ended up making a clone of himself just because he was lonely. okay wow. not only does Twice continue to be the most likable villain in the series, he’s working his way up there as one of the most likable and relatably human characters, period

look at this shit! he’s just a guy who had a run of bad luck and tried his best to cope with it in whatever ways he could. there’s nothing villainous about him, he was just someone whom nobody wanted. he had his entire future stolen out from under him in the blink of an eye and had nowhere else to turn. he just wanted some friends for fuck’s sake

and so then he and his merry band committed a bunch of petty crimes. but they just needed some cash so they could live! like, all he wanted to do was just chill out and be happy. I got your back Twice. it’s not your fault

and then the flashback just kind of cuts to him tied to the chair in the aftermath of the clone hunger games. so I guess that’s all the backstory we’re getting as far as that goes. ngl I would have really liked to see just a bit more of the lead-up to that specific event. he’s such a nice guy that it’s a bit hard to picture him just suddenly going “RAWR I’M GONNA MURDER ALL Y’ALL.” but what I’m thinking is that all of the tragedy in his past contributed to him forming his violent alter ego personality, and that one of the clones must have just snapped one day and the rest is history

anyway so now we’re cutting to his first meeting with my new boyfriend Giran

ah okay, so he’s scared because if he actually is one of the clones then just a tiny bit of damage would be enough to finally do him in

btw Giran, possibly the one good thing Re-Destro and his buds did was getting rid of that scarf and sunglasses though bud. if you decide to change up your look after all of this, I’m not going to complain. there’s a reason I thought you were just some douchebag this whole time. obviously I shouldn’t have been so quick to judge you, I realize that now of course

but seriously Giran who wears sunglasses at night indoors. I mean, idk, maybe you get migraines or something. but if not I’m just saying

regardless, questionable fashion choices aside, Giran is actually a super nice guy, a mensch if you will, and he is now casually changing Twice’s entire life in the span of a few sentences. awww

how the fuck were you planning on smoking that cigarette while wearing a paper bag over your face. ??

also, Giran on this page kinda reminds me of Sanji, if Sanji was, like, a beatnik about to throw down on open mic poetry night

anyway so that’s the end of our happy flashback, and now we’re back in the present with Twice resuming his freakout!

but in spite of his mental struggles, he’s shaking the puppet clones off and trying to dash toward Toga again omg!

up in his little tower Skeptic seems fairly surprised

in related news, fuck this guy so much. also he’s using one of his puppets as a chair, which is one of the creepiest touches Horikoshi has put in this manga to date. but also they mentioned last week that Skeptic makes the puppets out of any human-sized materials that happen to be lying around, so I kind of wonder if maybe this dude originally was a chair. the mysteries of BnHA

moving on though, yeah, Twice and Toga really do have a strong bond though, don’t they? their chemistry is as beautiful as it is strange

oh shit but they really did hit him though

FUCK YOU F AND G

FFFFF SON OF A BITCH

DLASFKJLKJ PLEASE DON’T YOU FUCKING PSYCHOPATH, I CAN’T WAIT FOR YOU TO FUCKING DIE YOU ASSHOLE!!!

motherfucker! and we just established that he’s afraid that a broken bone will be enough to kill him if it turns out he really is a clone!

-- holy shit, but. on the other hand, if it doesn’t kill him though, that just might be enough to cure him of that particular fear once and for all. oh shit, unexpected plot twist

though in this particular situation it probably won’t make much of a difference how sane he is if he’s still got two broken arms though fuuuuuuuck

anyway... gotta click to the next page... even though I really don’t want to, sob

aaaaaaaand they’ve broken them. well shit. at least it wasn’t graphic. he’s just hunching forward and screaming and his arms are facing the wrong way, fuck

and now Skeptic is all “your legs are next,” and uh, can Twice actually hear him, though?? like, what? did I miss something here? is he piping his voice in through the shed’s convenient sound system or something?

anyway he’s telling Twice not to struggle anymore, and Twice is muttering to himself all darkly about how much that hurt

and apparently Toga’s regained consciousness now!!

wow Skeptic, okay sure, go ahead and keep talking about how you’re about to kill Toga in front of his eyes. just keep on digging yourself deeper. it’s like he doesn’t realize there’s only one page left in the chapter and things are just about reaching a tipping point and our heroes (?! I mean they are, though, for this arc at any rate) have had just about enough of his bullshit

lol I can’t take the tension omg

please do something badass please do something badass please d --

oh snap

Twiiiiiiice ;_; so it’s like I thought. they unexpectedly cured you of your identity crisis angst

anyway I guess this chapter is a longer one than usual because it’s page 15 now and we’re still going! so I will now resume my “please do something badass” chant. c’mon Twice. kick some assssssss

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS

THIS TIME I REALLY DID LEAP OUT OF MY CHAIR OMG. BOIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

LMAO ARE ALL OF THEIR ARMS BROKEN TOO. FUCK IT, IT DOESN’T MATTER. DEKU HAS SPENT APPROXIMATELY HALF THE MANGA WITH BROKEN ARMS AND IT’S NEVER STOPPED HIM*

*forest angst aside. and anyways that all worked out in the end, so

“wounded heroes are the most dangerous.” well fuck. given that we’ve just seen an exhausted and delirious Shigaraki eradicate an entire wave of people, and a bloodied and wounded Toga straight up murder one of the Army’s leaders, I think it’s safe to say we can apply this statement to villains too. and I for one can’t wait how dangerous a wounded -- but now sane -- Twice can be. motherfucker how I am loving this glorious arc

[mrevaunit42]

Butterfly, Star Butterfly (Kingsman Au part 1)

hello everyone, Mr.E here after a seriously long time of not writing full stories. Sorry, life has been pretty chaotic for me and draining. I’m fine but it’s been hard to sit down and actually write a story but here I am with my newest story and letting you know despite the fact Halloween is over, I am still going to write a few stories for starcoween (a totally silly event I made up forever ago) After that i might do a part 2 to this, might give out some birthday gifts I owe. Not really sure yet but we shall see. 

Story Prompt: Star Butterfly is a young woman that works for Disney, a humble yet successful shop located in her hometown of Mewni that sells various merchandise based on their popular retellings of classic fairy tales. At least that’s what they want you to think. In truth, they are an agency operating at the highest levels of discretion, protecting the world from any and all threats but this time Mewni’s the target and the secret organization is going to need some help.   

I absolutely love the film Kingsman. For those who don’t know it is a British spy film that’s kind of a mix of my fair lady, James Bond and some playful satire of genre. and I couldn’t resist making an au of it. that being said, it is a rated R film so don’t watch it if you’re not supposed to! Seriously just read this story and wait. Oh btw there is some cussing in this story but that’s it really I didn’t follow the plot of the movie one to one and it’s more on a personal level than it was in the film. and Yes I totally poked fun at the codenames and Disney. 

so that’s it for me. Have an amazing week! I will try to finish either Monster Hunter Marco or the corpse bride au this week along with the next two nova chapters. I was also thinking of putting up some au ideas I came up in case somebody needed some ideas or inspiration for drawing or writing and the spiderman homecoming au notes that me and my good friend @hains-mae came up with if anyone is curious. Not sure yet. oh btw she’s taking commissions if anyone is interested. I hope you enjoy the story and have a good one!

notification squad: @nerdymetalhead @hipster-rapunzel @artgirllullaby @ladyxgilex @thefandombytes @minthia-ren @burstingamerworld @isolated-frequencies

“and in other news, Lucitor electronics is proud to present….”

Click. Silence filled the void left behind the radio.

Star Butterfly stared longingly outside the cab window, the soft pitter patter of the rain echoed dully against metal was a soft, relaxing music to the 25 year old.

When was the last time she simply drove for the sake of driving? When did she last roam the streets of her beloved Mewni without the constraint of staring at minutes tick away? When was the last time she wore something she chose of her own free will rather than an obligated, yet admittedly stylish, uniform.

She was wearing her usual outfit for work: black blazer jacket with a white long sleeved collared shirt underneath, an elegant pink tie alongside practical black work pants and matching brogues loafers.

“Miss?” her cabbie driver called to her softly “Miss, you have phone call from your mother.”

“Oh!” Star slipped out her self imposed dazed and reach into her jacket pocket “Thank you John, I’ll take it….”

Star blinked quizzically upon realizing she was staring at her own reflection who held an equally surprised face: Her driver had already rose the divider between them so she could take the call in private.

“What a considerate bloke” Star murmured to herself, unfolding the thick black rimmed square glasses and slipping them over her eyes “I suppose I should give him a raise.”

“Give who a raise dear? The driver?” A familiar yet controlled voice called out to her as a ghostly image appeared in the center of the spacious vehicle.

Even the cartoonish greenish blue tint of her mother’s image did nothing to dampen the woman’s rather imposing stature: Full black coat, collared shirt, vest and tie. A long business skirt given her old fashion tendencies and unnecessarily high heels. Her periwinkle blue hair wrapped in a practical braid.

“I assure you Agent Rapunzel he is well paid for his services” Moon blinked in confusion, her eyes narrowing at Star’s surroundings “You’re not at the shop?”

“Well mum…” Star began only to falter when Moon rose a stern finger.

“Names Agent. You never know who could be listening.”

Star rolled her eyes, earning her a scowl from her mother.

“Headmistress Aurora, we’re on highly secure channels. I highly doubt anyone is currently listening.”

Moon shook her head disappointingly “Spoken like a true agent. When you get to be in my position and age, you’ll find some caution is wise.”

“Yes Mu….Headmistress. I apologize. I’m running late to shop on the count that I took a bit of a nap. Just came in from America you know. Lovely town by the name of Echo Cre…”

“I’m aware where you have been Agent Rapunzel” Moon cut in “I’ve read your mission report. Excellent work.”

“Thank you”

“Try not to be late from now on. Grumpy is a bit on edge lately.”

“Lately?” Star rose an eyebrow.

Moon pursued her lips “More than usually. Do not antagonize the poor woman love.”

“Swear on my honor she won’t hear a word out of me gov.”

Moon frowned, torn between chastising her daughter once more or simply leaving it at that.

With a flick, her mother’s image vanished from view and Star was left with her once again empty cabbie. Star remained silent, rubbing her eyes tiredly as the rain filled the void with its melody once more.

Star wasn’t too surprised the shop was still fairly busy despite the less than ideal weather conditions. Everyone near and far wanted to buy something from the humble yet widely successful Disney store.

Not that Star could blame them: Stunning outfits, well crafted toys and high quality items based on their fairy tale inspired line of merchandise. It brought in a pretty penny and was a convenient cover for the memory of a single person to blur among the countless people that could be found within on any given day.

Star patted the tired cashier reassuringly on the shoulder as she made her way past into the break room which was empty save a lone, still steaming mug of coffee sitting on the table.

“We need to really cut back the hours” Star muttered to herself, sliding the cup off to the side and gently pressing the underside of the table “Poor dearies are running themselves ragged.” A small compartment hidden within frame flipped into existence and began to boot up its programming.  

“Please remain still” a smooth, calming robotic voice asked politely while a soft green hue softly basked Star in its glow. Star complied with the machine’s request, sitting as unmoving as stone as the sensor began scanning the room with a near invisible beam.

“Identity confirmed” The voice spoke cheerily “Agent Rapunzel, please stand by”

Star rolled her eyes as the entire room slowly descended into further into the earth, the flimsy painted walls of the break room becoming smoothly elegant granite sides.

“This is so bloody unnecessary” Star muttered to herself, waiting patiently for the elevator “Whose bright idea was to turn an entire room into an elevator? A closet would’ve suffice. Typical spies.”

“I know right? It’s almost like they were overcompensating for something” a familiar voice jokingly teased “Spies, right?”

“Spies” Star nodded agreement, rising to her feet and enveloping her fellow, similarly dressed agent in a firm hug “How are you Jackie?”

Jackie clicked her tongue “Agent Rapunzel, did you just break protocol?”

“Only if you sell me out Agent Ariel” Star replied with a grin.

Jackie gave a good nature smirk “Like I would Agent Rapunzel. How are you?”

“I’m alright” Star lied “And yourself? How was Japan?”

Jackie gave a noncommittal shrug “You know how it is: No time to see the sights and there on business only.”  

Star felt the twinge of longing and for a moment, the mask fell.

“Star?” Jackie asked quizzically “Are you okay?”

“Jackie….” Star began slowly “Do…you miss it?”

“It?” Jackie was confused what Star was getting at “I’m not sure I’m following….”

Star let out a defeated sigh “Don’t worry about. Just a rouge thought. Shall we pop in and see what’s bothering Grumpy?”

Star brushed past Jackie, ignoring her friend’s concerned gaze.

Grumpy was not grumpy at Star’s tardiness: She was furious about it.

Margaret Skullnick, codename Grumpy,  was an older, trollish woman who never smiled in a day of her life. Unlike the more traditional Headmistress, Grumpy was far more lax with her appearance: overly bright red hair, two golden hoops on her ears, built like a muscular tank and had unnaturally pointed teeth.

“You are late Rapunzel” she glared deeply with growl.

Star rose her hands defensively “Ariel was here, you could’ve started without me.”

Jackie shook her head “Don’t drag me into this, I just work here.”

“Sit. NOW” Skullnick snarled, barring her teeth viciously.

Star and Jackie practically dropped into their seats.

“We have a problem” Skullnick began, making her way over to the monitor hung over the fireplace.

“Don’t we always?” Star jested

Skullnick ignored her “The criminal underworld is murmuring. Loudly I might add.”

Jackie and Star shared a worried glance. While both knew what the code-phase meant, neither had ever expected to ever actually hear the word spoken outloud. The two women straightened up in their seats at once

“Murmuring?” Jackie leaned closer “What could possibly cause that?”

“We don’t know” Skullnick answered truthfully “But the fact remains that every single mole, sleeper agent and informant has been relying the same information to us is troubling. Someone is preparing for something big and for the first time in recorded history, we haven’t the foggiest idea what it could be.”

Skullnick tapped at away at the tablet in her hands. Mewni, in all its splendid glory, appeared before them.

“What we do know is many of the murmurs repeat Mewni over and over again. It is more than possible this is the target.”

“Home?” Star rose to her feet “We need every available agent on the case! If the underground murmurs, I cannot imagine what horrible plan someone has set in motion.”

“That’s just it Agent Rapunzel” Skullnick stared directly at Star “I’m looking at all available agents.”

Jackie and Star looked at one another.

“No matter how serious the situation is” Skullnick explained “The fact remains we still have other operations that must be done. Threats to national and international security do not just come one at a time you know and all we have are rumors. Until solid proof is obtained, we cannot simply pull agents from actual credible threats.”

The girls nodded grimly.

“Go to the ground” Skullnick told them “Use every resource we have available. The informants are scouring the city for clues but so far no luck. If this threat is real, then someone is going to an awfully lot of trouble to ensure no one has all the details. And once you have a lead, no matter how small, contact me. I rather be safe than wrong. Understood?”

“Yes Grumpy” The two spoke in unison

“Dismissed.”

“Mewni under attack?” Star muttered to herself in a daze “That’s a lot more terrifying than I’d like to admit.”

“Agreed” Jackie nodded “Do you think the threat is real?”

Star pursed her lips “I don’t know. I want to believe mother is simply overreacting but I’ve never been through such a short briefing before. We don’t even have leads”

“Admittedly that is highly concerning” Jackie scratched her chin “We better work quickly. The sooner we discover or debunk this, the sooner we can have a strategy ready.”

“Alright, I’ll head over to the informant’s house” Star began as stepped towards the exit “A fresh pair of eyes may be needed in case they missed anything…umm do you remember where they live? I swear they keep changing addresses every other month. It’s so….”

Star turned back to her fellow agent only to find Jackie fidgeting uneasily, guilt dancing in her eyes.

“You know” Jackie spoke softly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear “Maybe I should go to the informant? I mean I haven’t seen them in such a long time and it’s pretty rude of me….”

“Jackie….”

Jackie bit her lip as she rubbed her sleeve anxiously.

“I…might know a guy who could help us” she murmured uneasily.

“That’s great!” Star felt a wave of relief wash over her “when can you meet up with him darling?”

Jackie remained quiet, her eyes downcast and forlorn.

“Jackie?” Star placed a comforting hand on her shoulder “What is it love? What’s the matter?”

Jackie took a deep, calming breath “He’s my ex. A bloke by the name Marco Diaz….”

“Oh….” Star muttered dumbly before the familiarity of the name hit her full force “….oh…”

Star remembered now where she heard the name before: Marco was Jackie’s boyfriend back from a few years ago when the two of them were aspiring Disney trainees. He ran with some troublemakers and did some odd jobs for unsavory people but on the whole meant well and was trying to leave his checkered past behind him. As far as she could tell, Jackie was rather happy with him. If everything had gone according to plan, Jackie might’ve married him one day…..

But fate had other plans in store. Being a Disney agent came with a heavy cost and that cost was a personal life. Marco grew increasingly suspicious of Jackie’s absences and trips but telling him the truth was out of the question so Jackie was left with no choice but to break up with him, claiming college was just too overwhelming for her to handle both it and a steady boyfriend.

Jackie used to lament how painful it was to watch his hurt face twist into a stony indifference and while she finally moved on from him, she couldn’t shake the guilt she felt about breaking his heart. He hadn’t deserved it but Jackie was left with no other choice.

“I can’t see him Star” Jackie admitted, tears lightly forming in her eyes “I’ve done far too much to him already, asked too much of him….I can’t put him through anymore…..”

“It’s alright. I’ll speak to him, alright? Do you know where I can find him?”

Star frowned at the locationn before her, eying the half cracked windows and the faded brick exterior warily

“Drunkard’s Haven” Star read the sign distastefully “I should’ve hazard a guess it would be a dive. I reckon I’ll run into an unruly lot. Wouldn’t be the first time.”

Star held a firm grip on her umbrella as she took a deep breath in and pushed open the door.

The interior of the bar was dim while a light hazy smoke wafted through the air. The illuminations of various signs promoting drinks, teams and other goods. Empty mugs and half slumped, dazed drunks filled the tables. While certainly not the best pub Star has ever been in, she had seen far worse.

Star strolled up to the counter confidently, ignoring the shuffling of drunken zombies who were slowly taking notice of her disturbance.

“Hello!” Star gave a cheery wave.

The bartender awkwardly returned the greetings.

“I don’t usually get your lot around here” the bartender spoke bluntly.

“What, pretty ladies?”

“No, posh folks.” he gruffly replied.

“Ah….” Star gracelessly replied “Well your lovely pub is tucked away in some off beaten street, bit hard to come by.”

“What will you have miss?”

“Information actually. I’m looking for someone.”

It was amazing how a simple sentence could alter one’s environment: What was once a relaxed stupor became tense and suspicious as the drunks slowly shook themselves awake.

The bartender’s eyes narrowed distrustfully “And why would a pretty thing such as yourself be looking for someone?”

Star beamed “An old friend of mine. Heard he was wondering around these parts. Figured he might fancy a bit of stroll for old times sake.”

“And who…” the bartender rose an eyebrow “are you looking for specifically?”

“A bloke named Marco Diaz.”

Star fought the instinct to simply strike at the now fully awaken drunks, their eyes wide with anger and greed as they mindlessly shuffled to their feet.

“It seems I’ve said the magic words” Star mused, glancing over the other occupants of the building carefully “Bit in trouble is he?”

 “You could say that.” The bartender murmured with a glare “The local patron is not happy with the quality of his services. Mr. Diaz owes him a bit of scratch which is not including the product he was told to deliver. The fact that Mr. Diaz hasn’t been returning our boss’s phone calls is a bit concerning. They had a previous agreement that your friend has not been honoring.”

“Ah” Star gave a strained smile “I can see how that could certainly paint him in such a negative view. Well I rather guess I should be off no? I didn’t mean to so rudely awaken all your customers.”

“Actually” the bartender spoke with a menacing edge as the others closed in “Do you mind if we have a bit of a chat about your friend Marco?”

Star sighed dramatically as the dull thud of the door’s lock being clicked into place echoed through the now quiet pub.

“I rather not” Star grin charmingly

“You don’t have a choice love.”

Star shook her head disappointingly “Not respecting a lady’s decision? Rather brutish of you.”  

“Sorry darling. We’re not much on manners here.”

Star clicked her tongue “Manners maketh man. Ever heard that before?”

Silence was their answer.

“Well then” Star cracked her fingers “Let me show you how to be proper gentlemen.”

It was satisfying to watch the bartender’s face slip from cocky smugness to full blown panic as Star lashed out, gripping the back of his head tightly and smashing it against the counter. Bartender staggered backwards, a river of blood dribbling down his face and staining his clothes as he weakly clutched at his now broken nose.

“Rule the first” Star began, pivoting on the balls of her feet and driving her fist into the nearest unsuspecting throat “Always respect people. It’ll get you further in life than if you’re an arsehole”

One of the drunks lunged at her but the seasoned agent hooked the handle of her umbrella over his wrist and dragged his fist into another of his comrades and sent them both reeling to the floor.

“Oi what’s the matter with you bitch?!” the nearest drunk rambled at her before pulling back his fist.

“A true gentleman never curses at a lady” Star replied with a cocky grin while she dug her knee as far as she could into his stomach “in fact a true gentleman never would need to curse. Much more colorful ways to express your anger and frustration darlings.”

Star stepped back, narrowly avoiding the knife that swung into view as she twirled her umbrella upright like a sword.

Her foe stumbled uneasily, brandishing his deadly weapon in a rather unimpressive fashion.

“A true gentleman” Star went on, effortlessly dodging an unfocused stab sent her way

“also carries himself with grace and respect not only for himself but for others as well”

The drunkard’s attack were wide and too far to actually threaten the secret agent who playfully batted the blade away with her pseudo-sword. Her opponent growled furiously but Star’s laidback defense proved too much for the inebriated man.

Star rolled her eyes before delivering a solid whack to his skull and rendered him unconscious.

“Well then loves” Star said with a smug satisfaction “I best be off. Nothing here but a waste of time and effort.”

Star’s ear twitched as the dull sound of metal scraping wood filled the air and for the first time since the battle began, her instincts took hold.

Star flung her umbrella wide open, clutching the hilt as tightly as she could while making herself as small of a target as possible. The video feed sprung to life in a strange muted tint. She noticed the bartender lifting something to eye level but Star had little time to hazard a guess when she heard a deep click and a deafening bang.

Star was nearly knocked off her feet as her shield violently shuddered, the image blurred and static for a moment before resuming its live feed of what was occurring in front of the weaponized rain deterrent

The muggy feed showed the bartender giving a condescending smirk her way, pumping the shotgun in his hand for another shot.

Star held on as the metal joints of the umbrella groaned under the next volley, the smooth clothed surface becoming tattered and worn as an empty cartridge hollowly clattered against the floor.

“You” Another shot, the umbrella began to bend inward “Bitch” half the feed froze “You think you could come in here” Star could hear the fabric being ripped to shreds “and just knock us around silly? Well you got another thing….”

Star was saved by the most unlikely of sounds: The gentle rapping of a fist against the bolted pub door.

The bartender jumped, spontaneously aiming toward and pulled the trigger without remembering he hadn’t loaded the next shell into the gun. A satisfying hollow click was the most beautiful noise Star could ever imagine.

Star wasted no time: She flung her near useless gadget to the side and made a mad dash directly towards the fumbling bartender, his hands nervously attempting to load more ammo into his useless weapon.

His eyes went wide with fear as Star approached and in a last ditch attempt to protect himself, he held the barrel tightly and howled in agony as he recoiled from the still burning hot metal.

Star tried not to enjoy herself too much as she clobbered him with a solid hook, sending the dazed bartender sprawling into the wall of alcoholic drinks. He, along with his products, tumbled to the floor and remained still.

“That” Star murmured softly, wiping the nonexistent dirt from her suit “concludes today’s lesson.”

Star blew a strain out of her hair, picking up her discarded umbrella as she strolled towards the door, body tense for whatever lay on the other side.

She undid the bolt slowly and calmly opened the door

“Oi Ralphy, about time you open the door mate, was near freezing my arse out…you’re not Ralphy.”

Star’s heart leapt a little without warning as she found herself face to face with her target.

The police photos did not do the young man before her justice: In his mug shot he wearing plain clothes, his brown hair disheveled as his brown eyes glared angrily at the person photographing him. In person, his brown hair was a little longer and tucked under his black beanie. He wore a white undershirt which was covered by a red hoodie which was further covered by a simple black jacket. Laid back jeans and poorly choice sneakers for the current weather rounded out his attire and while Star was certainly unsure if this was the very same Marco Diaz from the photo, her glasses compared the two images and confirmed a match.

Marco shifted nervously under Star’s silent gaze “Umm…sorry luv, I was confusing you for another bloke.” he scratched his neck sheepishly “A-are you lost? Because I’ve never seen any woman willingly come in here before. The environment is a bit toxic and stale of piss ale, misogyny and outdated ideals.”

The soft pattering of rain was the only response Marco received

“Listen darling” Marco whispered with a hint of concern in his voice “These aren’t exactly good people. I reckon it’s best if you move along and pretend you didn’t see nuthing.”

“Mr. Diaz I assume?” Star asked with a preppy edge.

Marco’s jaw twitched anxiously “….maybe….depends on whose looking.”

“I would like to have a bit of sit and chat with you. If that’s alright.”

Marco shook his head, unable to keep the displeasure from his face while he chuckled “Yeah, see about that…Umm I’m a bit unfamiliar with you and you are pretty but you’re a bit too posh for my taste. Look, I just need to pop in for a sec and talk to Ralphy about an extension.”

“Don’t worry Mr. Diaz” Star replied with a matter of fact tone “You have your extension.”

Star noticed Marco’s frame tense, his jaw locked as Star gently pulled open the door all the way through, gesturing inward in a playful manner.

“Oh that’s not fucking good.” Marco stared dumbfounded at the bodies that littered the floor, the low pained moans that wailed from within.

Marco locked eyes with Star, completely unnerved by her cheerful smile and relaxed posture.

“Well Marco?” Star gave him a flirty smile “Fancy a bit of a date?”

Marco bit his lip, queasily swaying from side to side before breaking into a run.

“I’m pretty sure what you did qualified as assault.”

Star clicked her tongue disappointingly, her eyes rascally as Marco squirmed uncomfortably in his chair.

“I am hurt you didn’t want to take me out Marco” Star’s tone was conversational yet amused

“Well you’re a bit 6’s and 7's” Marco replied in a tense tone, rubbing his sore arm as his eyes darted around for anyone who could help but the cafe’s patrons were preoccupied with staying warm and what delicious meal did they want to try next than noticing the hostage situation before them .

“Hi!” Marco nearly jumped out of his skin as the waiter greeted them “What will we be having today?”

“Usual for me” Star grinned happily “and you honey, what would you like?”

Marco looked at Star, glanced at the waiting waiter then back to Star once again.

Was this a trap? A joke? Was the waiter in on whatever this was? Was everyone else? What the hell did he get himself caught up in? Was Ralphy going to blame him for crazy face’s actions? How the hell was he supposed to pay off his debt now? He was in some serious sh…

“Sir?” The waiter politely interrupted his train of thoughts “Your order?”

Marco stared blankly at the waiter “The usual….I mean her usual, I don’t usually come in to places like this. No offense.”

“None taken” The waiter rolled his eyes before disappearing into the kitchen.

“So whose on your payroll?” Marco asked breathlessly, hands clutching the edges of the table tightly “These your people? Gonna bloody kill me without a second thought? I don’t what you think I’m caught up in but I didn’t mess with no one.”

“Really?” Star seemed unmoved by Marco’s claims “Because according to your file, you’ve been arrested several times for assault, trespassing, breaking and entering and disorderly conduct.”

Marco pursed his lips “Yous with the bobbies or something? Look, I haven’t done anything. Whatever you think I did, I didn’t. After the last time, I got the message loud and clear: Stay on the straight and narrow or go to jail and I ain’t doing hard time because some crazy got me mixed up for someone else.”

Star leaned back into her seat “What did you need extension for?”

Marco’s mouth tightened “That’s a bit of personal business I’m afraid luv. And if you ain’t a cop, I’m not saying a bloody word.”

“Marco, I’m trying to help you.”

“Help me? By getting a confession out of me?” Marco snarled quietly “I ain’t going to jail just because you mixing up crooks and me.”

“Marco” Star whispered gently

“….” Marco remained silent, torn between fact and lies.

“Look” Star brushed her hair behind her ear “I’m not a cop. I need help with something but if I can help you out too, I don’t mind.”

Marco shifted anxiously, his voice low and subdued “Alright. So there’s a local….sponsor who likes to trade money for favors…..take this here, drop that there, move this across town, just….stuff.”

“Mhm” Star nodded but said nothing.

“As you can no doubt tell by my outstanding record” Marco went on “I’m having a bit of trouble coming up with the scratch I need for college. So I figured one…tiny little…delivery wouldn’t hurt….”

“Except it never made it, did it Marco?”

Marco gulped fearfully “I tried. I swear I tried but I was running out options. You high and mighty types judge us effortlessly without a care why we do what we do. I just wanted a clean life but evidently it was too much to ask for and now I’m up shit creek without a boat. I owe money I don’t have to a person you don’t want to be owing to and I got no way to pay it back. And college?”

Marco scoffed dismissively

“That’s more of a far off dream than seeing Jackie again.”

“Jackie?” Star asked curiously.

Marco’s face flushed red “Don’t you worry about that. Look, I don’t know what you were expecting looking for me but I ain’t got anything for you and I doubt you got anything for me.”

Star felt a surge of panic as Marco began to rise from his chair, his defeated weary face tugging at Star’s heartstrings and before she could help herself, the words came tumbling out of her mouth.

“I can get you the money!”

Star mentally smacked herself for blurting it out but it had done the trick: Marco stood there, a mixture of disbelief yet intrigue etched onto his face.

“You? You don’t even know how much I need bruv.” Marco scoffed yet remained still

“Take a seat and find out.”

Marco bit his cheek, unable to choose between the sweet temptation of the door and the alluring of the pretty stranger.

“Alright” Marco relented as he slowly returned to his seat “let’s say I do buy into this whole your my way out of this shitstorm I’m in cuz. If you ain’t a cop and you ain’t a crook, just what are you?”

“A Disney agent” Star replied with the smuggest of grins.

“A what now?” Marco shook his head out of its stupor “Hang on, you taking a piss? You ’re telling me you work at that glorified fairy tale shop what sells those cutesy little knick knacks and thingamajigs to fawning tourists?”

“Yes.” Star straightened in her chair “We belong to a secret organization that operates at the highest levels of discretion. Our mission is to ensure the safety and safeguard the well being of  international security and stability of our planet.”

“You….are…mental” Marco rubbed his eyes tiredly “A'ight I’m done. I don’t know what sales pitching you trying to sell or if you’re having a bit fun with me but I’m done. I got far bigger problems than a mental polish girl and her make believe…”

“Here Mr. Diaz” Star gently removed her glasses and slid them over to him “Take the red pill. It’s a real eye opener”

Marco raised an eyebrow “Really? Outdated jokes luv? You’re lucky yous cute or else you wouldn’t be getting fa….”

Marco’s jaw slackened, his eyes wide as he gazed at the world through Star’s lens but he didn’t see the beautiful 25 year old woman sitting across from him, knowing smirk and gaze but rather a series of complex codes, phrases, jargon that made no sense to him. In the upper left hand corner was a live video feed of someone narrowly avoiding gunfire and next to that the glasses focused on Star’s face, zooming and enhancing as they began to run a facial recognition scan.

“Agent Rapunzel?” Marco murmured dumbfounded before blindly groping the air as Star snatched back her glasses.

“Proof enough Mr. Diaz?”

Marco stared blankly at the secret agent, unable to wrap his mind around what just occurred.

“……why do you need me?” Marco asked bluntly “If you these James Bond types, why you gotta go looking through the gutter for help?”

“Simply put” Star sighed anxiously “Something big is going to happen here on Mewni. Soon but aside the fact we’re getting reports indicating Mewni is the intended target, we have nothing else.”

“So you need crooks who’ve got their ear to the ground to help you” Marco nodded in understanding “Why me though? I ain’t exactly the most thuggish and my record isn’t the worst compared to some other blokes.”

Star pursed her lips, conflicted between telling a lie or revealing Jackie had sent her his way.

“Never mind”

Star blinked, unsure what just happened.

“It doesn’t matter” Marco told her “Either you did your homework, someone just told you I was the biggest loser in town or you just lucked out…..so what do you need from me?”

“Well Marco, heard any big scores coming in?”

“Big scores?” Marco rolled his eyes “You spies are really out of touch with reality. No one calls them that. You might as well be running down the streets screaming how you got your life savings in your pocket! See how long that’ll last you.”

“Ooookay” Star frowned “Have you heard anything big coming in?”

“Nah uh princess, that’s not how this works.”

Star frowned “Then how does this work Mr. Diaz?”

“…I want out.”

Star stared at Marco, unsure what exactly he meant by that.

“Mean…” Marco coughed hesitantly “I don’t want…this…” he gestured to himself pathetically “…Anymore. I….I don’t want none of this. I don’t want to be looking over my shoulder in case some thugs happen to stumble on me. I miss visiting my parents. You know how hard it is not to drive their street and check up on them outta fear some nasty blokes are casing place, waiting for you to show up?”

Star thought of her mother and how often she was tucked away in some sort of secret location that only she and Miss Skullnick knew. She thought of the last time she actually saw her mother, hugged her, talked to her more beyond the scope of business.

Star gave a short but understanding nod.

“The money I’ll figure out” Marco told her gently “This ain’t the first time I’ve had to make up some scratch I ain’t got but college….they’re ain’t going to let me in, not without some recommendation and if you being them cloak and dagger companies.”

“Wait a minute” Star cut in immediately “You can’t just…”

“Whoa, chill princess” Marco waved his hand “I didn’t mean make me one of them types or nothing. Shit, I doubt I’d be kept alive two seconds during your job. But you gotta have some pull right? Ways to make them posh academic types look the other way?”  

Star shifted anxiously in her seat: She did in fact have a way to grant Marco’s request. However, it wasn’t as simple as calling the school of his choice and waving her I’m a secret agent privilege but rather…

“Do we have a deal?”

Star bit her lip. This was the closest lead she was going to get and while she would normally play for the country card, she had a sneaking suspicion Marco wouldn’t care if something happened to Mewni. Too many bad memories….

“Well do we have a deal?”

Star took a deep breath “Deal: You help stop whatever is going to happen and I’ll help you get a better life.”

“I felt like we’ve done this before” Marco muttered under his breath before offering his hand to Star.

Star stared at the gesture, unsure what exactly Marco wanted from her.

“Handsake? Ever heard of one miss posh?”

“Oh….oh” Star nodded in understanding “Of course I have Mr. Diaz, I was just confused why…”

“I don’t want you double crossing me” Marco interrupted hastily with a nervous tinge to his words “Promise me.”

“…Marco…”

“Promise me.”

Star felt guilt shift uneasily in the pit of her stomach at his plead, the vulnerability in his voice. He was at the end of his rope and he was literally taken a leap of faith on a complete stranger.

The wrong stranger.

“Okay Marco…” Star whispered softly “I promise.”

Marco’s eyes were no less guarded but his body visibly relaxed upon Star shaking his outstretched hand.

Marco took a deep calming breath “Okay. Rumor is Lucitor Electronics is looking for extra workers.”

Star raised a puzzled eyebrow “I’m sorry? I don’t quite follow…”

Marco shifted uncomfortably under Star’s gaze “Of course not, that’s the point. You see luv Lucitor Electronics have been known to….push certain products into the town. If they’re looking for extra workers then that’s street speak for we need something moved and we’ll pay great money for you to keep your moth shut.”

“Do you mean…?”

Marco gave a short nod “They’re asking for 2 dozen workers. That’s the largest amount of ‘help’ they’ve asked for in years. Only means one thing.”

“Whatever they’re moving” Star concluded “It’s big and probably dangerous.”

“Exactly. Next shipment comes in two weeks. Give me your number and I’ll contact you when it comes in.”

Star frowned at that idea but quickly scrawled her number on a napkin and gingerly handed it to Marco.

Marco seemed pretty unsure of himself. He rose to his feet quickly, his mouth opening and closing a few times before giving a curt nod and disappearing into the water veil that blanketed Star’s beloved Mewni.

Star carefully placed her glasses back onto her face, trying to ignore the sinking of her heart as Grumpy whispered quietly “She’s not going to be okay with this you know?”

“I know…..”

[emprezz48]

Midnight Thoughts Part it’s-about-my-oshimen-graduating-soon-so-I-need-to-let-it-out-somewhere

Haven’t done this ever since Murai Junna grad... and here am I doing another one about Sakai Mei... 

As usual, Imma put the “keep reading” thing after this so you can skip this post and have a nice day (if you want to read this, feel free to waste your time)

Enjoy~

It all started when I watched the first episode of ebi calcio which was aired in late 2014 (but I watched it like really early 2015). It was a danso episode and Mei participated in it and MAI GAWD SHE WAS IKEMEN AS FFFFFF!!! My weakness is danso, so Mei really caught my attention... It wasn’t the first time I heard of her name (I found out about NonMei combi first but I never really paid much attention???) but after watching this episode, I totally could remember her.

2015 was a busy year for me, so I only had time to focus on a few SKE members (with my oshimen being Rena at that time) but months later after Rena graduated (and when I gave up being busy lololol) I started focusing on more and more members, with Mei being one of them. I found out how cool she is, but at the same time really cute and pretty, and quite a chikin XD (and also how she’s a 97 liner like me whaaaaaaat???) and that was the time when I really like NonMei as a pairing and shipped them like a delulu fan I am lol... I really started to like Mei more and more and she became one of my favourite members.

This photo was back in Fuyucon 2015? I stumbled upon this and I asked myself “Oh? Isn’t this Goto Risako? Wow she’s actually so prettyyyyyyy~ I wonder if she’s close to Mei?” I did my research and found out that this two same-aged girls get along pretty well despite being from a different gen and team, Risako appointed Mei as the leader of gorisa children, Mei calling Risako “Gori” despite the seniority, and there are few others cute moments here and there. If wasn’t for this photo, I wouldn’t have gotten soooooo into Risako, the member whom I can relate to the most... 

Also, being a DD then (without me realizing actually) I like a lot of SKE members, like really a lot. I couldn’t just stick to a member or two, pretty much I didn’t have an “oshimen”. But I was really really really following this two, commenting on their SNS, reading their blogs, digging up their older times in SKE, so on and so forth that it led to my decision to support them equally in 2016 (IT WAS ONLY LAST YEAR WTH) It was a gamble tbh. Despite being the youngest in their respective gens, they belong to the old gen of SKE. They’re also underrated as fuck (oh my god don’t get me started talking about Mei especially, wait you know what? I’ll actually get into that soon.) but I still decided to make both my oshimen instead of finding young buds (I DID FOR A WHILE BUT JUNNA...........)

I never felt so happy for an idol before. SSK is something that I have mixed feelings about, but when Mei finally ranked last year, I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I eventually cried. 63rd was a nice rank, and although it was just ONE vote, I was proud to be part of the meiteam (name of her fanbase) that helped her rank in^^ A part of me wished I had more money to spend on votes, but in general I was really happy because Mei was happy. In 2015, she managed to rank in during the preliminary round, but not getting ranked in the actually was really a frustrating moment for her. Getting ranked in SSK is one opportunity to get exposed, and I must say I was glad Mei had quite a number of jobs last year. 

I started to think “Wow, 2016 is really a good year for Mei” and everyone was like “RISE MEIMEI RISE” thinking she’ll continue getting chances to shine. Too bad, what we all thought was WRONG.

16th February, that was when Mei announced her graduation during Team E kouen in order to focus on achieving her dreams in becoming an actress. It’s a dream she had for a long time, and her thoughts of graduation wasn’t a sudden one. She has talked more in her blog (I translated it here) Basically this will be a positive graduation as she’s taking one step ahead in her life. 

To be honest, when she said she has thought of graduating since a year ago, I really didn’t know. All the good stuff happened in 2016 made me didn’t realize that she could leave just anytime. Then again, I can’t say that I wasn’t prepared for this. In fact, a day before her announcement, the list of members being able to participate in P4U event was released, and aside from members who already announced graduation before, Mei’s name was the only one not in the list. I must say, her fans got really scared and worried, and watched kouen the next day in fear. I was in that situation too, but I told myself to just think positively. 

Of course, even with that hint, I still cried. I barely heard what she said after the “I will be graduating from SKE” part that I had to find a clip and re-watch it. I thought to myself “I wonder if my reaction would be worst if I didn’t found out about the P4U thing” but after a while, I realized that I’ll still feel sad no matter what. Yes, I am happy that Mei is starting a new chapter in life, I already told myself I’m still gonna support her and try to follow whatever stuff she gonna do in the future. But Mei being in SKE played an important role in how my wota life went for the past year. I was never SO gachi before. Yes, one year is so short, but in one year, a lot of things can happen. So I think things will change a little for me once April starts.

Ok, if there’s one thing I should be frustrated about, then that’s about the fact that she’s a freaking underrated member. Although I did say that a lot of good things happened in 2016 for Mei, that’s just because for the past years she’s in SKE, there was absolutely nothing for her. I guess it was because she was young or something, but I’ve seen her performances at least way back to 2014, and I must say, she is arguably a really good performer! No matter what she does, she looks cool. Besides that, she’s also a fun person who not only just perform, but also “interacts” and play around with members during kouen. MC, excellent. She’s good at tsukkomi. Despite overall being a good performer, it just gets me sometimes seeing her dance positions during kouen.... It’s always at the back... On top of that, never had a chance to center any unit before!!!!!! This is insane to me tbh... There were so many times I saw chances for her to center a unit (for eg. Ame no Pianist unit during TeTsuna shuffle kouen) BUT IT NEVER HAPPENED!!! I WAS SO DISAPPOINTED LIKE THERE WERE SO MANY CHANCES!!!!!!! Like come on... if we can see bad dancers being put up as center (not pointing on any member btw) then why can’t we see members who are clearly capable to center, not getting a chance? Like seriously, all I wanted was just ONE chance... 

Which is why, when Suuchan started her own Suumelo Senbatsu (or what she name it as Melodies) and appointed Mei as the center, I was on cloud nine. Mei never had such opportunity for the past 6 years, yet her own fellow team member could gave her that spotlight. I could never thank Suuchan enough for this, although sadly, Melodies hasn’t fully formed yet (Suuchan still haven’t announced all the members) so they can’t start any activity. With Mei graduating already, we can never get to see her acting out as the center of the unit... but nevertheless, the title still counts, so I’m really thankful to Suuchan, really.

I may have sounded like I’m complaining a bit too much, but overall, I think Mei had a really really great time in SKE. She definitely learnt a lot in the past 6 years and grow up to be the best she can be. I know she love her fans a lot, she’s nice to everyone, even though she don’t give kami taiou during HS or something. In my case, since I’ve never been to HS, I could see her kindness through her replies in 755 (ok at least back when she often uses it before having twitter) I could be asking something specific, or commenting generic stuff like “have fun during kouen” or “how’s your day?” and she would still reply to them^^ Seriously nice. Like really. Cuz I do know that my japanese grammar is kinda horrible, some sentences sound weird, but she was really nice^^ It maybe ridiculous, but I screenshot all her replies to me, since I’m just an international fan who does not have $$$ and freedom to go to HS .^. SIGHHHHHHHH but anyways, I really treasure those replies as those were our ONLY interactions~ I actually wanted to write a fanletter (like legit write one and send it) but there’s way too much problems in my hand so I regretfully decided to leave it out... 

ANDDDDDDD I should wrap this up since it’s already so long......... 

As I’m typing this, it’s roughly 5:10 AM Japan Time so there’s around 13 hours till her graduation kouen? Obviously gonna watch it, but I’m gonna have to sleep first lol. I don’t know what kind of emotion I should have, but I hope the kouen will run smoothly. I also hope she’ll have fun and have a memorable last kouen, and although it’s weird to say this, I am looking forward to it.

Bye.

[krissysbookshelf]

Enjoy An Exclusive Sneek Peek of: #famous by Jilly Gagnon!

Rachel likes Kyle. Rachel snaps a photo of Kyle and posts it online. Kyle becomes insta-famous. And what starts out as an innocent photo turns into a whirlwind adventure that forces them both to question whether fame—and love—are worth the price…and changes both of their lives forever.  

LEARN MORE

Chapter One

RACHEL

TUESDAY, 4:15 P.M.

Loving your mom can lead to some seriously bad decisions.

I’d agreed to tag along on her quest for face creams mainly out of boredom. But the mall with my mother on a Tuesday afternoon—as though I suddenly believed in the calming effects of retail therapy? We’d been here maybe ten minutes and already I was regretting it.

We were almost at the makeup counter that was our raison de mall when she grabbed a black, fluttery top with laces winding up and down the front.

“Ooh, Rachel, isn’t this nice?” She held it out to me. It looked like batwings in a corset.

“Not my style.” I pushed the shirt away, turning to a rack of oversized sweatshirts in neon-bright colors. Where had she even found that thing?

“No, not for you, for me. I think it’s cool. Edgy. Don’t you?” She held the shirt at arm’s length. One chunk of frizzy hair fell from behind her ear onto her cheek. She always cut it too short; at that length, hair as electrical-socket nutso as ours would not be contained behind mere ears.

“Sure, Mom.” I’d be pretty shocked to see my mom commit to a shirt she had to lace herself into. Usually her style tended toward neutral-colored sacks, but if she really wanted to dress like a vampire, I wasn’t going to tell her no. Besides, it’s kind of awesome when parents try to be cool, like watching a baby sloth play the piano or something. Terrible on the execution, and therefore adorable.

“Hey, do you care if I go get something at the food court? I went straight to ceramics club after sixth period, so I didn’t have a chance to get a snack.” Things would move a lot faster if she didn’t have me to bounce awful fashion ideas off of.

She glanced at her watch. “Meet me back here in fifteen minutes. I don’t want to spend the whole evening at the mall.”

“Sure,” I said over my shoulder.

“And don’t be drinking one of those gallon-sized sodas,” she said. “They’re poison.”

Mom was always finding some new threat to my precious development. Too late: I’d topped out at five foot three years ago.

I felt my phone buzz against my hip bone as I passed by Banana Republic, its faceless, elongated mannequins watching disdainfully as I rounded the Wet Seal, following the faint scent of tasty greases.

(From MO-MO): Do you have a new draft of Twice Removed ready yet? I don’t think I’ll be able to look at it until the weekend, but we need to be on top of this.

(To MO-MO): No, I had ceramics today. I’ll work on it soon—we still have what, three months until the deadline?

(From MO-MO): There’s no point in putting it off.

Mo must be stressed about something; trying to micromanage someone else was always her go-to when she had too much on her plate. We were applying together to a summer playwriting program with Twice Removed, but the due date for applications was forever away, and I was doing more of the writing regardless—Mo was more into performing, which meant I usually just let her help with edits. There was no point in calling Mo on it though, unless you wanted to intensify her stress-crazies. The best thing was to divert her to whatever she really wanted to talk about, so you wouldn’t start arguing about not-really-the-point.

(To MO-MO): Don’t worry. I’ll send you something by the time you’re able to look at it. Why so busy?

(From MO-MO): Did I ever mention how much I hate Europeans?

(To MO-MO): That’s racist.

(From MO-MO): You can’t be racist against a continent.

(From MO-MO): Trying to absorb the entirety of their pointless history—which is all just wars and oppressing women, BTW—is making my head hurt. I am SO going to fail this test.

Doubtful. Monique never failed anything. We’d been best friends since we were in diapers, and I couldn’t remember her ever even getting a B. In third grade, she made two entire projects for the science fair in case one was better than the other.

(To MO-MO): That’s what you get for taking smart-kid classes EVEN FOR ELECTIVES.

(To MO-MO): Guess how hard my Art II test will be? Oh wait, we don’t have one.

(From MO-MO): I hate you.

(From MO-MO): I take it back. Distract me. If my head explodes I at least want to die laughing.

I looked around for something I could send to Monique. We had this ongoing game where we’d send each other funny pictures on Flit (basically anything that got an out-loud reaction—from snort to guffaw—scored a point, honors system) and the mall was the perfect spot to play. Monique loved unintentional double entendres or grammar mistakes on store signs. I usually sent funny graffiti or dogs in clothes. There’s something about a dog wearing pants that never gets old.

I glanced around as I made my way across the mall to the food court, but nothing jumped out at me. And now that I was getting close enough to really smell all the different kinds of grease in the air, there was no way I’d be able to focus on the game. I was too hungry to hunt down a costumed Pomeranian. Food would have to come first. I spun around slowly, trying to figure out what I was in the mood for.

There was the depressingly beige buffet of breaded meat bits at China House (pass), sushi that was probably fresh off the boat a week ago at Japan EXPRESS (side of food poisoning, please?), Mrs. Butterbun’s Cookie Shoppe (even thinking about putting an inch of frosting on a cookie made my teeth hurt) . . .

That’s when I saw him.

Kyle Bonham.

Instinctively, I ducked my head over my phone and half turned away, so he wouldn’t think I was staring.

I was, obviously—you couldn’t help but stare at Kyle. He was about a thousand miles away from my type—so clean-cut he could be in an ad for drinking enough milk—and still I went fricking googly-eyed whenever I saw him. Extra embarrassing since I had fifth period with him every single day—it was only a matter of time until he caught me drooling.

He was standing behind the register at the Burger Barn, solemnly counting out change for a little girl who couldn’t be more than seven or eight. She had this dreamy, beaming look on her face, like she was so proud to be getting treated like a grown-up, or maybe like she was half in love with him.

You and me both, babe.

He placed a final coin in her palm and straightened up, his shaggy brown hair flopping over his forehead in perfect just-barely-curls. Somehow he looked even hotter here than he did at school. The burnt-orange Burger Barn T-shirt he was wearing made his eyes—a little too far apart on his face, which made them even more beautiful—look greener. He somehow managed to make his pointed paper uniform cap seem jaunty and alluring.

I looked down at myself. I was wearing a shapeless old oxford I’d stolen from my dad’s Goodwill pile. It was so long it made me look like a little kid playing dress-up, and it had clay all over the hem from where my apron hadn’t covered it up. Then of course there were the faded leggings, starting to go baggy at the knees, the Chuck Taylors that had gotten so scuffed over the summer I wasn’t even sure anymore what color they’d started as, and the sloppy side braid that did approximately nothing to contain the bursts of dark-brown frizz I call my hair.

Great look, Rach. No wonder Monique was always asking to give me makeovers. I was a fricking disaster.

Not that it mattered; I was not the kind of girl guys like Kyle Bonham—or really, any guy—paid much attention to. I’d managed to stay pretty much invisible for my entire high school career by hiding out in the art room. Especially to the painfully adorable lacrosse-star seniors who go out of their way to make even eight-year-olds feel special.

An older couple shuffled up to the register, staring perplexedly at the dozen or so variations on meat and cheese the Burger Barn packaged as “specials.” Kyle watched them blankly, looking like someone out of one of those catalogs where everyone is leaning against rustic wooden furniture just “being themselves.”

I should totally send a picture of him to Mo. After all, what could be a better distraction than a perfect-looking boy? Bonus: if I snapped a picture of Kyle I could look at it on my phone whenever. Yes, borderline pathetic, but it’s not like anyone would know but me.

I walked up behind the old woman, trying to look casual by keeping my phone down by my waist.

I tilted the phone up so Kyle’s face was in the frame. He was staring out over the rest of the food court while the older couple worked out their order. I couldn’t believe I was doing this; he was only a few feet away. Even with my flash and sound off, it would be so easy for him to realize what was going on.

But it would be worth it. In fact, this might be my best entry yet. Not like it was hard to find something better than a misplaced apostrophe, but this was gold-star emoji material.

As soon as he turned his head back toward the couple, I could take the picture quick and head over to the Pretzel Hut, like I’d realized I didn’t want anything Burger Barn had on the menu. At least, not on the food menu.

“Well I don’t know, Fred, I don’t think I want triple cheese. Can’t we get regular cheese?”

“Ma’am, if you like, I can substitute the cheese,” Kyle said, smiling easily at the older woman. She seemed startled that he was talking to her. Enough so that she shifted over into my frame right as I was clicking to take the picture.

Well, crap-sandwich. Great photo of old-lady shoulder, Rach.

I shifted my weight onto my left foot, easing over as imperceptibly as I could. Just move your arm, Grandma…

That’s when I saw her, sulking in the line for the Caribou kiosk about twenty feet past the entrance to the food court: Jessie Florenzano.

. . . and her mom, waving cheerily at me like I wasn’t the last person Jessie wanted to see, especially with her mom in tow. Jessie had been embarrassed by her even before our friendship imploded.

Jessie raised an eyebrow as though she could smell what I was doing. I dropped the phone down to my side and waved back. Jessie rolled her eyes and turned her back on me. I could see her whispering sharply to her mom, who smiled apologetically, then turned to Jessie, frowning. There were very few people I’d rather see less than Jessie, anywhere, ever, but I kind of loved that her mom still automatically acted friendly, four years after Jessie had sliced me out of her life.

I turned back. Grandma was laughing and nudging her husband’s arm.

“You know how I love pickles!”

Ew. Not the mental image I needed before eating.

Kyle smiled and tapped at the register. If I moved my arm a couple more inches… but not too far. He couldn’t know what was happening, and Jessie couldn’t guess; it would be way too mortifying. He tapped his fingers on the counter in a rat-a-tat rhythm as the old lady dug through her wallet.

He was perfectly lined up in the frame, the last traces of a smile lingering on his smooth cheeks.

I glanced over at Jessie. She was resolutely pretending I didn’t exist. There was never going to be a better time.

Click.

He looked toward me for a second. Crap, I was totally caught. I could feel my cheeks burning, betraying me. My breath caught somewhere around my sternum and stopped there, trapped.

  But then he smiled and turned back to the customer, taking her pile of ones and quarters.

I exhaled, trying not to grin. I cropped the photo, typing in Mo’s Flit handle so she’d see it. This was even better than a German shepherd with a tie.

“It’s Rachel, right?”

I looked up, startled. The old couple had moved away to wait for their order, and Kyle was staring at me expectantly. I checked over my shoulder to make sure he wasn’t talking to someone else. Like the Burger Barn only served Rachels or something? But I was the only person in line.

“Um, yeah.” I felt my face going hot again. “Rachel. That’s me.” Oh god, I sounded like the worst kind of stupid. Quickly, I clicked to make my screen go dark.

He pointed at himself.

“Kyle.”

I just stared, totally incapable of forming words.

“We’re in Creative Writing together? Fifth period?”

As though I hadn’t spent every day of the three weeks since school started thanking all the gods for that fact.

“Right,” I said, trying to sound like a girl who didn’t eye assault him daily. “You sit in the back, right?”

“Yeah! So Jenkins won’t call on me too much. I’m not as good as you are at that stuff.”

“I’m not that good,” I said automatically, looking down at the counter. Someone had made a ketchupy fingerprint to the right of the register. Like a cheeseburger crime scene. I couldn’t believe he knew who I was. The semester had barely started, and I wasn’t even his year. Not only that, he had an opinion about me. A nice one.

“No, you are. That story of yours that Jenkins read yesterday was… well it was really weird, but, like, in a cool way,” he said.

“Oh. Um, thanks.” All my words were melting, puddling around my feet in a big sloppy jumble, too liquid-slippery for me to get a grip on. The story had been about a computer that got a weird virus that convinced the machine it was actually the ghost of Queen Elizabeth I. He’d already summed it up: It was weird. I was weird. I could feel my armpits stinging with sweat.

“Anyway, what can I get you, Rachel from writing class?” he said.

You, shirtless, on a stallion?

“Um… what do you mean?”

“To eat?” He frowned. It made his nose wrinkle upward, like it was tethered to his forehead. I was so flustered about him knowing my name that I’d forgotten where we were—in line, at his job. He was being nice because he worked service. For god’s sake, he flirted with the elderly. Even more blood rushed into my cheeks. If you poked them with a pin they’d probably burst everywhere. Like that scene in The Shining all over the Apple Prairie Mall food court.

“Oh, duh. Sorry, my blood sugar must be really low,” I said. That’s always Monique’s excuse when she gets ditzy or snippy. “I was thinking, um, french fries?”

“Small?”

“No, large,” I said quickly. I was starving. He grinned a little, which reminded me that the girls Kyle Bonham hung out with did not eat large fries. They’d probably cumulatively eaten half an order of fries in the last ten years, which was why they looked like miniature supermodels and I looked like the funny friend. “I like how the large container makes my hands look extra tiny and stunted. It helps me get perspective on life,” I added.

Oh dear god, someone take this shovel away from me so I can stop digging my own fricking grave.

He laughed though, shaking his head slightly. “You’re funny. Okay. One large fry is gonna be four thirty-six.”

I dug in my purse for the money. He counted out my change and went to grab the fries. I could feel my heart rate slowing back to “not having a coronary” speeds.

“There you go,” he said. “I think this is the right size for your hands,” he added, grabbing one of my tiny fingers and playfully lifting the whole arm up in the air.

His touch was like an electric shock tingling up my entire arm. I almost snatched it back; guys don’t usually go around grabbing my hands. Only guys like Kyle—guys who win state sports titles and homecoming king crowns—have the balls to do stuff like that in the first place. I hoped I hadn’t nervous sweated enough to pit out my shirt.

But somehow I managed to keep it together long enough for him to squint back and forth between my hand and the fry box, measuring the two against each other before finally nodding as though I’d passed muster.

“Yup, looks like a fit,” he said.

He dropped my hand. I tried to breathe again.

“HA.” I forced a laugh. Poorly. “I should go. I have to meet up with my mom.” Awesome, Rachel, add to your intrigue by reminding him you hang out with your mother.

“Enjoy the fries, Rachel from writing,” he said, grinning. “See you tomorrow.”

“Sure.” I gulped, nodding too many times, too fast. “See you around.”

I walked away as slowly as I could force myself to, which was just this side of a sprint.

Breathing hard, I plopped onto a bench near the fountain. That had been disastrous.

But at least I’d gotten my picture. That had been the point, right? To flit something goofy to Monique? I finished typing her handle, then—because of course I’m oh-so-witty the minute actual guys have disappeared—I typed in a hashtag.

Send.

Immediately, I felt a little twinge. What if he saw it? He’d know it was me.

But that wouldn’t happen. Kyle didn’t follow me—maybe ten people did. I flitted all the pictures in the game to Monique, I’d been doing it for months; no one had ever noticed them before. I think the most attention any of the pictures ever got was a single non-Mo luv, and that squirrel vest had been AWESOME. Why would anyone suddenly care about this one?

My phone pinged with the sound that meant I had a reflit.

I opened my feed to see what Mo had said.

@attackoftherach_face tonight’s brain food.

The picture I’d flitted was below. That sweet, goofy half grin lingering around his lips was too adorable. So much so that it had made me feel sassy enough to flit:

@Mo_than_you_know I’m digging what they’re serving up at Burger Barn today. #idlikefrieswithTHAT

God, I am such an idiot.

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