#but for my own selfish reasons i need to keep this friend around until i graduate. i need someone to help me with food engineering.

[southislandwren]

am i crazy for being a little pissed off at my friend. she asked me to come water her plants while she's out of town for a week. she lives with TWO other people and i live 15 minutes away in a different fucking town, and i work another 15 minutes in the opposite direction (hint: it is extraordinarily out of my way and a pain in the ass to water her plants). Also they're plants?? 1 week without water isn't going to kill them???? just water them heavily right before leaving and again as soon as you get back. argh im just feeling like a piece of meat thats available to her to use for any stupid purpose

[insanechayne]

~ ~ ~

[rafeyswrd]

for your rafe cameron series 🧡!

i hc that rafe hates that his shy gf is a people pleaser so whenever ppl ask reader for/to do things, he tells them no and teaches reader to be selfish sometimes

sweet girl . part one.

part two.

. . . finally done with uni and travel work so!!! i have not written in too long, so hopefully i have done it some justice!! part 1 because i truly think it deserves more :(

warnings. manipulative rafe? oblivious reader. bad friends lowkey.

Rafe Cameron adored you to the ends of the earth, every breath you took called his name. He cannot think of any quality you owned in which he disliked (maybe, slightly, being a pogue). But God he could not stand how nice you were. You knew it was a bad habit, a habit that made you likeable for all the wrong reasons. 

Your heart was racing, and the base of your palms overloaded with sweat. No matter how many times you tried to relieve the stress, your mind would not stop reeling. It took days of convincing on your friends’ end, but it finally came to their luck when you’d hesitantly agreed.

Terrified. Terrified is the word you would use to describe how you felt. You were in shambles just thinking of the ocean, the deep seas scaring you in ways you would rather not imagine. But your friends needed you, after constructing a plan to get another batch of gold – all they needed was you.

“Are you ready?” JJ asked. Your shaking hands were gripping the edge of the boat before you nodded. 

You tried, you really did, only you felt the panic settle in when your legs were the only identifiable object below you that did not jitter you. Your eyes stung painfully, and you were sure they would swell soon enough. After every exhale you did, water filled your lungs and the fish that trickled by your trembling feet, did not help but cause a worrisome tremble of your body. 

It was a long while with overwhelming darkness consuming you, and time didn’t register then, not until Rafe’s angry voice was loading through your ears.

He was beyond furious. He wasn’t supposed to leave you alone today, but how could he say no to you when you were practically begging? (it did not take much — in fact.)

Rafe stood near his bed, watching your breathing steady and lashes gently flutter open. He paced near you with haste speed, before sitting down near your arms. “Do you know how stupid you are?”

“wh-what?” 

“You wanted to keep this relationship a secret,” his breath shook with every word he spat out, yet the touch on his hands were laced with gentleness. “So you better stay outta trouble. I can’t come ‘n get you around your shitty fucking friends.”

You sat up slowly, taking notice of the way your clothes lay folded on his desk chair, his own clothes hanging loosely around your body. You knew Rafe cared about you, he is your boyfriend, but it never crossed your mind that he’d find anger in your misery. 

You gulped, shrugging your shoulders yet your hands still circled by his, “I-I don’t get it, they’re my friends and they asked, it was a risk anyone would tak-”

“No the fuck it’s not, my God Y/N,” he dragged his hands over his face, before leaning close to you. “No friends would ask you to jump into the fuckin’ ocean knowin’ you’re scared shitless.”

His jaw clenched and you squint your eyes at the furrow of his brows, “Rafe…I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.” The frown residing on your face was evident, reaching out with one hand to clasp his rough hands with your own, and another tenderly caressing the creasing of his skin.

You didn’t understand his anger, but it was justified in your head, nonetheless. How could he ever be wrong in your eyes?

Not a second had passed and he was already mimicking the sadness plastered onto you, before using his other hand to caress your cheeks — a touch so soft sighs escaped the pair’s lips.

“Baby,” he cleared his throat, “Im- m’not mad at you. No one loves you like I do. I wouldn’t risk your life; your friends are selfish.”

He cradled your head onto his chest, wiping and pressing on your pouting mouth. “‘s not the first time either, you care too much ‘ts going to hurt you.” you shrug into his chest, heart aching at the sound of his own beating erratically breath your ears.

Rafe sighed, gulping and leaning onto the headboard, “gonna have to have me stuck by you all the time, i’ll be your backbone while you get to be all sweet ‘n shit.”

“you think i’m sweet?” a saccharine giggle escapes you at the roll of his eyes, and Rafe tightens his hold on you, knuckles white as you draw mindless patterns on his chest.

[abilouwrites]

WHO TELLS A TEENAGE GIRL SHE’D MAKE A PRETTY BRIDE

AND THEN LEAVES WITHOUT WARNING, ON A FRIDAY NIGHT

I’ve never been comfortable with love, rarely found comfort in another person. Except him, cradled in his arms on a Tuesday night. My leg over his, his between mine. My arms around his neck and fingers twisting the green curls in my fingers. He peppers kisses against my chest and collarbone, “I can’t believe we’re about to be second years” I murmur. My breath hot against his skin as his hands slide up my tank top.

“I want to marry you” Izuku whispers, so faint I can barely hear it. In the privacy of my room with my fan blowing the words wish away into nothingness.

“I do too” I agree, a little more firm. A little more existant than his, I lay next to him a happiness of just existing next to him. Of being with him, a hopefulness of the future.

Oh how quickly that was ripped away from me. A startling Saturday morning, knocks on doors. Shouts from downstairs. Letters taped to doors, each one. Even mine. Scribbled handwriting and some stains through the ink. I stare at it as I ride the elevator down. Baggy sleep shorts and one of his shirts I took last night after we did our homework together.

Gone, just like that. Like he just disappeared; gone out to nowhere. Izukus excuse to leave me after telling me he loved me. Because he was worried about my safety. Mine and everyone else’s.

“How do you feel y/n?” Momo asks as I stare in silence at my letter. Biting at my lips and picking at my fingers, “y/n?” She repeats my name softly. Passing me a cup of green tea. It shakes in my hand that I grasp for it. Her reflexes catch it from my slippery grasp and she sets it on the table. She sits next to me, a friend from my elementary days. A girl I’ve known my whole life. She wraps an arm around me and holds me to her.

“I don’t understand” I repeat again and again, as if the more I say it the clearer his reason for leaving me will become. Leaving me after I’ve told him how many times I’ve been left. In this same situation, again and again I have loved and love has been ripped away from me, “why would he leave? He’s safest here?” I try to make sense of it. But there is none.

No logic was made in his choice to leave. But he still left, “he told me he loved me” I whisper, “he thought I was asleep but I wasn’t and he told me he loved me. And now he’s gone”

I’m still reeling from this, standing slowly. Iida chastises me but I’m in my own world. One where I need to lay in bed and mope, wail and cry until the hurt leaves my body. Until I don’t want to run out and find him, I’m too tired to keep begging for someone’s love and affection. I don’t have it in me anymore to love. And maybe that sounds selfish but to be gifted a note that says he wants to protect me and the school but still leaves me. Knowing it may hurt me more than death to see him leave.

I close my door, sinking to the ground on shaky legs and sore bones. A lump shoves itself into my throat; I bow my head and I’m overwhelmed by the smell of him. The sweet cinnamon of his cologne. Vomit biles in my throat as I rip the shirt off. A desperate attempt to rid myself of him. A shoving cleanse of everything he’s gifted me.

Tears fall down my face, thick hot tears fall down my cheeks. Bowing at the curve of my lips, snot running down my nose. I’m shirtless crying in my dorm room, wailing and sobbing like some stupid girl but the boy I loved and the boy who told me he wanted to marry me just left me. Left me with no good explanation. God I want to die.

Air doesn’t feel like it’s air, and I can’t breathe. I’m weak as Momo lets herself into my room. Quiet and gently she grabs a shirt from my closet and tugs it over my shoulders.

“Shh. I know y/n just breathe”

I don’t fight her, I don’t fight as she lifts me into my bed. And lays with me, I don’t fight. I don’t have anything to fight. As the tears fall from my face and collect on my pillow, as they stick my eyelashes in clumps. As my nose runs and tears fall into my open mouth.

“He told me he wanted to marry me..” I hiccup against her skin, “and then he left me”

I repeat it again, softer this time. Like the way Izuku said he wanted more, more than just a girlfriend, “he told me he wanted to marry me, and then he left me”

[nomoreusername]

Out Of Our Hands

Pairing:Newt x gender neutral reader

Summary:When you get infected and keep hiding it, the plan to do that until the end falls apart when you accidentally hurt Newt.

They were getting worried. They were starting to notice. They were looking at me when I passed by. They would be too careful with what they said. They know that something was wrong.

Something is. Something hidden under my sleeve.

I kept my mouth shut. There was no reason to speak up. There was no cure. There was no solution. There was just getting Minho out and accepting my fate. It's that simple. Painful to the point where I've numbed all of my emotions but simple.

I like the roof. It's empty. It's quiet. It's high up enough to where if I jumped this hell would end.

I'm not allowed to though. Not until we save Minho.

Up here though, I pretend that isn't happening. I pretend that there's nothing to fear. I pretend that there's nobody that needs to be saved. I pretend that I don't need to be saved.

I do need to be. It's just that I can't. I can't, and Minho can.

Looking at the ground, I closed my eyes as tears streamed down my cheeks. Letting them, I just hummed to myself as I kept wondering why. Why couldn't I be fast enough? Why couldn't I be immune? Why couldn't I rescue my friend, then get back to the Safe Haven, marry Newt, and start a family?

As I was deep into my mind, falling back into my endless spiral of destruction, someone tapped my shoulder. Quickly opening my eyes and turning around, I saw Newt, standing there with a strained smile.

"Love, are you alright? You weren't down for dinner,"He pointed out.

"I'm fine,"I lied, looking him right in the eye so he would believe me.

"Are you sure?"He asked, trying to put a hand on my shoulder. With my head reminding me that soon doing that would turn out with some kind of blood, I flinched and pulled away, still refusing to look at him. With both of us silent, it was clear that something needed to be said, but nobody quite knew what. They didn't know how to say it in a way that wouldn't destroy the other.

Only all of that is me.

"Did someone hurt you?"He whispered. Resisting the urge to ask if a Crank counts, I shook my head no and went to leave. If I stayed with him something would happen. I'm not sure what, but I'm not allowed to be by people. Not when I'm like this. Not if I didn't have to be. Why would I put someone in danger just for the selfish reason of my own comfort? Especially someone I love? Especially my Newt?

"Y/N,"He called as I walked over the door. Completely ignoring him, I pulled on the rusted handle, just needing to get out of here as fast as possible. Tuning out him asking what was happening, I glared at the metal door. Going to try it again, this time willing to dig my nails into the keyhole just to escape, before I had time to react Newt pulled on the handle.

It took what seemed like years to process it.

His hand was in the way of my nails.

My nails scratched him.

I drew blood.

I'm a Crank.

If he's not immune, he will be too.

I may have just given him a fate worse than death.

Pulling away, he just wiped it off on his pants as I managed to look at him. Shaking my head no, I knew that if I had one wish, it would be to take that second away. It would be for him to be immune. It would be for him to not be affected by whatever the outcome is.

I can't though. I can't so I may have just ruined him. He worked so hard on himself, and I may have just destroyed it all.

Only this time, he wouldn't be able to get another start.

"No, no, no, no, no,"I rushed out, looking at the red on his hand. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so, so, so sorry,"I repeated, wrapping my arms around him and repeating my apology.

"It's okay, love. You didn't mean to,"He tried to assure me.

"I'm sorry,"was all I could keep getting out as the tears poured until I was sure there was no water left in my body. Until all I was, was a bite and a doomed soul.

"Y/N,"He whispered, pulling away and pressing his palms to my face. With my heart shattering until the cracks couldn't even be seen, I was forced to realize how awful this actually was. Now that I had to think about if Newt wasn't immune, I had to think about just how agonizingly taunting it would be. To know your time is limited but not be able to do anything about it.

"It's okay. A scratch isn't going to kill me,"He said softly.

"I'm a Crank, Newt. I'm turning into a Crank,"I finally confessed.

"You're what?"He uttered, his eyes going unnaturally wide as he just stared at me in disbelief.

"I'm a Crank,"I managed to repeat.

"How?"He asked in a cracked voice. With the shame building up in me like never before, I rolled up the sleeve I had spent so long admiring for keeping my secret.

Now I hate it. I hate that it helped me not say anything. I hate that it's part of the reason I could have just dragged my love, my soulmate, my reason to keep fighting, down with me.

"Y/N,"He whispered, taking my arm and almost studying the bite mark that was now surrounded by veins, as if to be sure this was real. As if I would try to hurt him.

But I may have done something worse than hurt him, and we won't even know until tomorrow morning.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I would never do that to you. I would never try to make you suffer, and I'm sorry. It won't even fix anything, but it's true. It's all I can say. I love you, and I'm sorry. I will love you forever, and I'll be sorry forever,"I swore.

"Don't be sorry, okay? Don't resent yourself over this. No matter what, don't blame yourself."

"But-"

"Y/N,"He said firmly, pulling my sleeve down and taking my hand in his. "You can't help not being immune, and I can't control it if I am. You never wanted to be infected, and you didn't mean to scratch me. Those are the only things that we know, and none of those are worth blaming yourself over,"He coaxed, pressing a kiss to the back of my hand.

I didn't believe his words. Not all of them. All of these events, and whatever the unthinkable outcome may be, go back to me. There's no other way to put it.

"Come on. Let's go to sleep, love,"He suggested. Not wanting to do any more damage, I just nodded and let him lead me down the stairs and to our rooms. After carefully opening the door he kept his hand in mine as he shut it. With neither of us having near enough energy to change and barely enough to walk, we just collapsed on his bed since it was closest.

That, and why would we try and separate right now? If we know that our time is limited, what's the point in staying apart?

What's the point in doing anything but falling asleep beside each other, knowing that no matter what, we will always be loved? Even if something should be breaking us apart, making us fight, making us hate each other, how could we? We are each other's everything. We're each other's rock, each other's light, each other's world.

I know that if he isn't immune I gave him a death sentence. He knows that too, but for now, we'll pretend not to. For now, he'll just hold me close to his chest as I wrap my arms around him, praying that this won't be the last time I fall asleep with my boy by my side.

And despite what I am, I know that he's doing the same.

[stevesbestgirl]

Phases of the Moon - Part 3

Steven Grant x f!Reader, eventual Marc Spector x f!Reader

4747 words

Warnings: minor angst, mutual pining, idiots in love, chances of a few minor swears, miscommunication

As always, keep in mind that I am not a system and am not an expert. All of my information about their relationship comes from the Moon Knight show and I use that as my reference point.

*Bold type is spoken by Marc when Steven is fronting.*

Masterlist

Steven sent you his schedule for the next week on Sunday, “We can start the north wing this week, if you like.” He was a bit nervous about it- after what Donna had said.

You wanted to see him again; you were still happy to be friends with Steven. But you hadn’t replied yet- you needed a bit more space than you’d originally thought in order to get over this crush.

Steven was working Tuesday again and even though you hadn’t responded to his message, he’d still hoped you would show up. But his break came and went and he started to worry that Marc had been right. Maybe he had blown it. He’d must’ve done something on Saturday that made you decide not to come back. He knew he could be a bit oblivious, but he couldn’t figure it out for the life of him.

Come Wednesday, he spent far too much time agonizing over whether he should call you. He was up so late, he overslept Thursday morning. It was strangely nostalgic of his life before he’d known about Marc, but the charm quickly wore off when Donna got on his case. Not that she ever needed a reason, but she seemed pleased to have an excuse to torment him.

In fact, she must have enjoyed reaming him so much that morning that she returned in the afternoon. He did his best to appear busy as she marched up to the counter, her phone clutched in her hand, “I suppose you and your girlfriend think you’re being rather cute, don’t you?” Her tone was more derisive than downright angry.

“Sorry, what are you on about?”

“Like you haven’t seen this?” Donna brandished her phone. Steven tried to get a look, but only caught a glimpse of the some website before she huffed and pulled it back around, reading aloud, “Received a tour today from the gift shoppist, Steven Grant. Steven’s knowledge of Egypt is only surpassed by his enthusiasm for it, which makes this museum patron pity the museum management who waste his talents for touring in the gift shop. So-” 

Steven didn’t realize he was smiling until Donna looked up from her screen, “Oh- don’t look so pleased. Your girlfriend can write all the reviews she likes, but it won’t convince me to make you a guide.”

“There’s more?”

“Like I’m going to continue stroking your ego or whatever,” Donna wrinkled her nose. “Just get back to work. At the counter.”

As soon as Donna disappeared from sight, Steven had his own phone out, not bothering to hide it from the customer that had just walked over to browse. He scanned the site until he found it- your review. 

He read aloud, beginning hushed and growing louder as he went, “So, I will most definitely be returning for the rest of the tour in hopes that others might share in the experience. As lucky as I’ve been to enjoy a private tour, it would be selfish to keep Steven a secret.”

Steven’s chest felt light, “Did you hear that, mate?” The young man clutching a plastic pyramid looked around, confused, but Steven didn’t wait for a response, “I think she likes me. Or she did like me. Bloody hell, I’ve gotta call her- I’ve gotta call her right now.”

He pulled out his phone and faltered, “Wait, but-” his finger hovered over your contact, “If she liked me enough to leave that review, why hasn’t she replied to my message?”

The customer gave a weak shrug, hesitantly setting the pyramid on the counter. Steven seemed to only notice him just then, “Right, of course, let me get that for you.” He cashed him out and once he was out of sight, he continued staring at his phone. He’d texted you Sunday; this was the fifth day with no response. What if you’d changed your mind?

“Steven, just call her.” Marc sounded exasperated, watching on from the mirror behind the counter.

Steven glanced at the mirror, looking stricken, “What if she doesn’t like me anymore? That’s why she hasn’t answered.”

Steven was putting the phone away, moaning under his breath about how he’d blown this. Marc knew he could front, call you himself, but that kind of defeated the purpose. This was Steven’s show to run.

Steven pressed his palms into the wood, “Alright, get a grip on yourself, mate. C’mon.” 

His halfhearted attempt at a pep talk stuttered to a halt when he glanced up, seeing you walk in. You were dressed casually today, wearing a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt with planets on it. Not that it made any difference to Steven; he thought you looked lovely in whatever you wore. 

“Marc, she’s really here right, I’m not just mad, am I?”

“Two things can be true,” Marc quipped, falling silent as you approached.

*

You tried not to look too much at Steven as you approached the gift shop; you needed to keep yourself in check today. No flirting, no admiring, and definitely no pining. Steven was your friend, that was all.

“You came back.” Now your eyes were drawn to Steven as he spoke, sounding like he’d seen some kind of angel instead of just you, torturing yourself.

“Of course I came back, I need the rest of the tour, right?” You smiled; that wasn’t flirting, right?

“I didn’t hear from you, so I thought you might have gotten tired of hearing me talk,” he chuckled weakly. 

You breathed a sigh of relief; at least it didn’t sound like he’d seen your review. He deserved it and you hoped he might read it someday, but it was easier this way. It gave you time to quash the little ache in your chest at the sight of him.

“I’m sorry about that, my cousin’s been dragging me off to visit family all week, so I’ve been a bit scattered.” Lying to Steven didn’t feel very good. “But I’ll always come back for a tour; you’re not giving yourself enough credit.”

Steven couldn’t figure out what you were thinking. You were being perfectly pleasant to him- it didn’t seem like you were upset. But you’d withdrawn from him; you weren’t being as playful- as open with him as you’d been before. You were being polite. Distant.

He tried to swallow past the tightness in his throat, “Does that mean you want to start the north wing today?”

“If you’ve got time for me- if not, that's completely alright, I should have told you I was coming-”

He nodded furiously, “Course I do; always got time for you, don’t I love?”

You tried to keep your expression even; why was this so hard? Why did he have to be so sweet and charming and positively dense? “Thanks.”

There was a beat of silence before Steven clapped his hands together, “Well, let’s get started then.” 

Things were awkward. And it was your fault. But you couldn’t let yourself be sucked back into that magnetic field of Steven’s warm personality. It would make this- being friends- impossible. You were probably giving him a weird vibe. And maybe he was mad at you for ignoring him. Most people would be; you might’ve been if you were in his position.

But he didn’t give up on you, that was for certain. He still spoke to you with the same enthusiasm as before. You wondered if he even had it in him to be mean to someone; it seemed doubtful. 

It felt like if you tried hard enough, you could envision the little bubble of radiant energy that emanated from Steven, with you standing just outside. He was trying extra hard to make you smile, it seemed, adding little jokes to his explanations. You couldn’t help yourself, lips turning up as he asked you, “Why didn’t Cleopatra go to the psychiatrist?”

“Why?”

“She was the Queen of Denial.” He rocked on his heels and did a “buh dum tss” motion with his hands, a goofy smile on his face.

You couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled out of you, “That was absolutely awful, Steven. How long have you had that abomination in your pocket?”

He seemed rather relieved to see the hint of your usual self and suddenly it felt the same as it had before. You were back to making your little quips and teasing him again. He realized he’d missed hearing your laugh. 

He kept moving, beaming as you continued to complain about the bad jokes. He’d been scolded an awful lot of times in his life, but he never liked it so much before you did it. The way you’d roll your eyes at him, but then you’d smile; it made his stomach drop. 

Glancing at his watch, his stomach dropped again, but not in as pleasant a way, “Oh bollocks, I’m late getting back again.” He hadn’t thought you were coming today so he hadn’t set an alarm.

This time Steven pulled you by the hand back toward the gift shop. “I can’t believe we’re doing this again,” you huffed, trying to keep up with him and ignore the way he was clutching your hand.

“Sorry, I’m a bit hopeless I’m afraid,” he grimaced as he hurried around a corner, only to stumble to a halt as he caught sight of Donna over by the front desk with JB. He ducked back behind the wall, pulling you back with him. Surprised by his sudden change in direction, you stumbled.

In a moment of rare coordination, Steven kept you upright by your hand, pulling you back in and catching you in his other arm. Your breath caught in your throat as you stared up at him, pressed to his chest by his arm around your back. 

“Careful,” he breathed, speaking so low that his accent was barely audible.

You peered out, comprehension dawning on your face. That is, until you inhaled, the scent of whatever kind of soap Steven used filling your senses. You were far too close- this was not good. It felt like you were short-circuiting, staring up at him with your mouth half-open like a deer in headlights. Two minutes ago, you were thinking that maybe you could pull off this whole friend deal and now you were struggling to form even a single word because proximity to Steven was intoxicating.

“Sorry to surprise you,” he whispered again, only now beginning to blush. 

“You’re- uh- it’s fine. Fine,” you managed to get out. You peeked around the corner again, “I think you’re safe now.” 

You took a hasty step backwards and now Steven looked flustered, “Right. Better get back then and hope she hasn’t gone to check on me.”

You nodded, following him back the rest of the way to the gift shop, relieved to see Donna wasn’t poking around. You leaned against the counter, hoping your face wasn’t flushed, although you supposed you could blame it on all the rushing around, “Sorry.”

His brow furrowed slightly, “What are you sorry for?”

You gave him a wry smile, “Seems like I keep getting you into messy situations. I’d hate for you to get into real trouble.”

“I’ve been in real trouble before, you don’t need to worry.” He chuckled and you almost felt like you were being left out of a joke. But he smiled at you, “But just to be safe, when will you be back? So I can set another alarm. Just in case you get busy again, you know.” You weren’t prepared for Steven to tease you; you suddenly felt a bit warm.

You turned away, absently examining a stuffed mummy off one of the racks, “When do you have time?”

“I’m working the morning shift tomorrow; if you came by around two, we could do like we did on Saturday,” he offered.

“You don’t mind staying late after a real shift?” You smiled; teasing him wasn’t flirting. And he was doing it to you too. 

“I told you, love, I’ve always got time for you.” It was like he wanted you to suffer.

You chuckled weakly, “And you’re sure you haven’t gotten yourself punished with inventory again this week?” 

“I haven’t been punished quite yet, although that might change now that Donna’s read your review,” Steven smiled. “She was a bit steamed about it this morning.” You tried to smile back, but your mouth was suddenly dry. Steven tilted his head, “You alright?”

You prayed your cheeks didn’t give you away even as you could feel the warmth creeping through them, “Sorry, yeah. I didn’t, um, realize you’d seen that. It’s a bit embarrassing.” 

“Why’s it embarrassing?” That little furrow between his brows returned and you wanted to shout the answer at him; it felt like it was so obvious and it was somehow more humiliating that he hadn’t picked up on it.

“You didn’t think it was-” you bit your lip, searching for the most diplomatic way to put it, “A bit much?”

Steven’s lips parted in understanding, but his brow remained furrowed, “A bit more than I deserve, maybe, but I thought it was lovely. No one’s ever said something so nice about me- not that I can remember anyways.” 

You had to bite your tongue to stop yourself from telling him that he deserved to hear so much more than that; Steven was oblivious, but not that oblivious. At least you didn’t think so. “Well, I’m glad I posted it then. Especially if Donna wasn’t happy,” you smiled.

“She read about half of it to me and it was quite satisfying, if I can be honest,” Steven grinned guiltily.

“Did she see any of the others?”

“The others?” Steven cocked his head. “Did you leave more than one?”

You shook your head, “No, the other people who have been listening to your tour did.” He stared at you like he didn’t understand, so you smiled, chagrined, “Okay, so maybe I mentioned it to a few of them when that little boy was asking you if he could draw on the walls like in the displays.”

You gestured for him to check his phone and Steven was quiet for a long moment, just scrolling through and seeing his name before speaking softly, a small smile on his face, “No wonder Donna was so short with me this morning.” 

“And you still didn’t get inventory? You must be having a good day.”

Steven remembered how nervous he’d been this morning, thinking that you didn’t want to see him anymore. You’d pulled away from him and he wasn’t sure why. But all of those worries had dissolved into nothing when he’d heard you laugh. And he’d gotten to hold you close, albeit because of Marc’s split second of intervention. And you were coming back to see him again tomorrow.

The corners of his lips tugged up, “Yeah, I guess I am.”

“Well, I’ll leave you to it,” you patted the counter. “See you tomorrow at two then?”

He nodded,  “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Once you were out of sight, Marc spoke up, “No one’s ever said anything that nice to you, huh?”

Steven rolled his eyes at the gift shop mirror, “I was excluding people I share a body with.”

“Oh, well you should have said so-”

“Yeah, I’ll be sure to mention that to her next time, won’t I?”

Mark’s retort was cut short by the clack of Donna’s shoes on the polished floor. “Stevie, glad to see you’re back at your post,” she mused, sarcasm evident. He opened his mouth to protest, but she tapped her watch, “I came by at three seventeen and where were you? Not here, that’s for sure. Off with your little girlfriend again? You know what I’m gonna say.”

“Donna, no- I’ll stay late tonight to make it up-”

“What good does that do me? No. You’re in the back tomorrow.”

“I can’t work late tomorrow, I’ve got a date.” He was going to ask you to dinner after the tour was finished.

“Well I imagine you don’t anymore, do you?”

“I can’t cancel, Donna, I’ll do the next two Fridays instead.” Steven hated that he had to plead with Donna; he usually just put his head down and took it, but he couldn’t cancel on you. He couldn’t risk messing this up again. 

Donna gave her head a derisive toss, “Well, guess you should have thought of that before you took an extra long break, yeah?” And she clacked away, taking Steven’s good mood with her.

Steven shook his head insistently, “I can’t- I can’t cancel on her.” But still, he took out his phone, sending you a text, “Spoke too soon on inventory, I’m afraid.”

You were already on the bus, on your way home, so you replied quickly, “Oh no. Was it because of the reviews?”

“No, completely unrelated.” Steven wasn’t going to tell you that it was because he’d gone over on his break either. He didn’t want you to feel guilty about coming around to visit him.

“Well, I’m still sorry- I’m sure it wasn’t justified. We can reschedule, no big deal.” 

“We could still get dinner after I’m off at eight, if you like?”

Last week you would have been overjoyed at the offer, but now you felt strange. You wanted to go, but you had a feeling it might be bad for you in the long term. You were already pushing your luck as it was. 

“I’m sorry, Steven. I’ve actually already got plans for dinner tomorrow.” It was difficult to type and even more difficult to actually send it; you hated lying to Steven.

“Right, of course. I’ll let you know my schedule tomorrow. We can choose another day.” He felt a bit of panic; what if you had a date with someone else?

“Looking forward to it.” You sent a follow-up message, “Don’t forget to read those other reviews. Hope they cheer you up a bit.” 

Steven sighed at his phone. So much for his good day. Although, thinking about the nice things you’d said about him, the way you’d looked at him when he’d held you close- maybe it was still alright. He returned to the website, searching more thoroughly this time. 

There were a handful of others, the most recent from barely twenty minutes ago. He wasn’t even sure when you’d found time to speak to anyone today, but somehow, you had. And they were all lovely. He felt his face flush at the idea of all of those people saying nice things about him. One in particular caught his eye, though not because of what it said about him.

In the very last paragraph, it read, “Steven, if you’re reading this, you’re a lucky man. Hold onto her. -Dorothy.” She signed her name on the review like it was a letter. Steven remembered the older woman who’d been trailing after you during his tour; he’d slowed down a bit that day so she could keep up.

“Well Dorothy, I gotta get my arms around her to hold on, don’t I?” he murmured sardonically. 

Come Friday, Steven started his shift feeling a bit downcast. He should be walking around the museum with you right now- making you laugh, finding a way to hold your hand again. Instead, he cursed Donna under his breath and clocked in. He was pleased to find out from the first shift at the gift shop that she’d left for the day; at least he wouldn’t have to listen to her complaints today.

Around four, Steven’s heart leapt as your name popped up on his phone, “How’s the inventory going?” 

“I’ve not started yet. Manning the counter until 7 and then inventory after close.”

“I could call Donna and try to order a pizza if it’ll make you feel better.”

Steven chuckled, “Afraid she’s ducked out early today.”

“That’s hypocritical.”

Steven hit a bit of a busy spurt in the gift shop; it was Friday, which meant that the kids in the after-school programs were extra rowdy. They needed to touch absolutely everything, but rarely had the pocket money to buy anything. So he spent a great deal of his afternoon fixing the displays, his phone still hastily stuffed in his pocket.

Meanwhile, you were deciding where to order pizza from. If Donna wasn’t in, you could afford to brighten Steven’s day a bit. Especially since you still had a sneaking suspicion that he was working late because of you.

He’d told you about JB’s negligence; you waltzed right through the lobby at quarter to seven with a pizza box in your hand and he didn’t even look up from his phone. Pausing at the entrance to the gift shop, you watched Steven for a second. He was typing something on his phone, only to shake his head and mutter something before deleting and typing again. He repeated this process twice before tucking his phone away and moments later, your own phone chimed in your pocket.

Steven’s head snapped up from the plushes he was sorting and you lifted the pizza box, “I really wanted to order that pizza.”

A slow smile spread over his face, “Are you having a laugh? You’ve actually brought pizza into the museum?”

You shrugged, “You told me JB wasn’t the best security guard.”

“Actually I said he was bloody awful, but you’re much sweeter than I am,” Steven chuckled. 

You set the box on the counter, “If we want to eat before I get busted with this, we’d better get going.” Noting his hesitation, you added, “It’s vegan cheese. Don't worry."

The corner of his mouth quirked up. He'd only mentioned it offhand, but of course you were listening. You always listened- you made him feel like the most interesting person in the world, even if no one else but you cared. He followed your lead, taking a slice of the still warm pie, “Thanks- for this. I’ll admit, I was having a bit of a shit day-” he caught himself, “Sorry-”

“Steven Grant, did you just curse?” The little bubble of laughter that left you was pure delight.

His face went hot, “Yeah, sorry, slipped out I guess.”

“No, I love it,” you grinned. “I wanna hear more Steven curses.”

“You want me to- curse?”

You nodded, laughing again, “Let them all loose- all the curse words you know, right now.”

“I don’t think it works that way,” he chuckled weakly, half-tempted to comply, if only to see the way your nose scrunched up when you laughed. “After all, you’ve gotta earn a true curse.”

“I suppose you’re right,” you conceded.

He smiled, tentatively checking his watch; he didn’t want you to go. He was about to invite you to stay while he did inventory- he could tuck you in the back until JB had done his walkthrough, but then he remembered that you were supposed to be busy tonight.

His brow furrowed, “Did your dinner plans fall through?”

He seemed so genuinely concerned, you crumbled immediately, “That was a bit of a fib actually,”

Watching his expression fall made your heart ache, “So you didn’t have dinner plans tonight?”

You chewed your lip, suddenly nervous, as you shook your head, “I thought maybe we shouldn’t get dinner- together, you know. It would’ve felt like a date and you made your position on that clear, so I-”

“Oi, what the- You can’t bring food in here!” JB had started his rounds early, likely eager to get out of work on a Friday night.  

You jumped whipping around, “Right, sorry about that. Wrong address.”

JB grabbed the pizza box from the counter and shoved it into your hands, giving you a firm push toward the exit, “We’re closing up anyway, get moving along.”

Steven felt a flash of anger that was unusual for him, “Hang on now, no need to be so rough.” And he wasn’t finished talking to you; what had you meant about his “position?”

“Stand back now, Scotty, let me do my job, yeah?” He pressed a hand to Steven’s chest and Steven felt the irrational urge to grab his fingers and twist. 

“You don’t need to touch her- she wasn’t hurting anything!” 

“Look mate, it’s Friday, I wanna get out of here, alright?”

Steven pulled JB’s hand from his chest, glaring at him as he dropped the closed sign down on the counter with a loud clatter, “What’s stopping you then? It’s closing time.”

 JB glanced off in the direction you’d gone, muttering something under his breath before moving on. 

Steven wanted to follow you- to chase after you and talk more, but he was on thin ice as it was. He’d been lucky to get his museum position back at all, after everything, and if JB was feeling cross with him, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he reported back to Donna. And he was always on thin ice with her. So he stayed where he was. But once he was sure JB was out of earshot, he pulled his phone out.

You hesitated a second before picking up; you were just out front. You’d needed to stop and take a moment to admonish yourself for blurting so much out; you’d been so swept up in doing something nice for Steven that you’d forgotten about the lie you’d told him. When he’d brought it up, you’d panicked.

“Hello.” You grimaced at the forced normalcy in your tone. 

“Are you alright, love? He shouldn’t’ve pushed you like that and I’ll be sure to have a word with-” there was a pause as he considered who’d he’d be chatting with, “-someone, about this on Monday.” You’d never heard Steven so riled before.

“I’m fine, Steven. No need to get all worked up, alright?” You were hoping- praying even, that Steven had only called to check on you. But that hope was short-lived.

“Yeah, you’re right, I know. I just-” he took a deep breath, “Right. I’m good- I’m aces. Very calm.” There was a pause, then he cleared his throat, “What did you mean, back in there?”

You played dumb, “What do you mean?”

“Well, you said you didn’t think we should get dinner because it would feel like a date.”

“Right, that,” you acknowledged.

“Then you said that I’d made my position on that clear. But the thing is, I don’t remember that. And sometimes I forget things, but I don’t think I’d forget that, you know?”

“Steven, we don’t have to-”

“If I said something, I want- no, I need to know what it was. Please tell me.”

“Right.” You sighed, “Last Saturday, you mentioned that you’d told me you were working because otherwise it would have seemed like it was a date.” 

“It wasn’t, was it?” To Steven, giving you a tour wasn’t a date. Not a proper one, like you deserved. But he did remember saying that and now that he recalled the memory, he remembered the way you’d faltered in the conversation. And you’d worn that dress.

And suddenly it all made sense. The long silence in your absence, the way you’d been reserved when you came back; he’d hurt you. And you’d still left him that lovely review. You’d still come to see him again. You’d brought him dinner at work just to toe the line he’d accidentally drawn in the sand. 

“No, of course not, you said so yourself,” you agreed quickly. “Sorry Steven, I’m getting on the bus, so I’ve got to go.”

“W-wait-”

“I’ll see you again soon, alright Steven?” And then you were gone. 

If he could have made it down the street to the bus stop before they pulled away, he would have made a run for it. But he heard the familiar hiss of the brakes just before you hung up, dropping his phone onto the counter and fisting his hair. 

“God, I’m such an idiot!” He raised his hand in a mock toast, “Cheers to Steven, the biggest knob on the whole bloody island.”

“Statistically, probably not the biggest.” 

Steven glared at his reflection in the mirror at the back of the counter, “Not helpful, Marc.”

“I wasn’t trying to be helpful.”

“Great. Thank you for that. Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got work to do.” He began working on the inventory, but the real work was brainstorming how he could make this up to you. You deserved something special- something that would make it obvious how he felt about you. 

[ohwell-itsme-but-danganronpa]

Antag & Protag Duos Canon Divergent AU

it's Miu in the locker next to Shuichi so they're the circumstantial friends

and Kaede with Kokichi are almost the classic lead + support except you can't tell which is which (they're both leads and Miu and Shuichi are both antags, gay people win)

I mean, Miu and Shuichi friendship is so chaotic, he could let go and say what he thinks more often, he'd be more rude. Progressively leaning more into the antag role

And their talents combined used for meddling

And working with someone who's being straightforward and friends with her would be better for Miu's state of mind

She was something along of frenemies with Kokichi, but here she's besties with Shuichi and she's in on the planning, equal on the team, so she won't backstab him

And then there's Kaede and she doesn't have Shuichi at her side, hiding behind her extroverted self during introductions and already creating the illusion of leadership and community being built around her. No, she's with Kokichi

And that affects people's first impressions of her

Those two argue a lot, not really fighting but if she wants to do something one way he insists on doing it the other, it isn't even about the leader role, each simply thinks they know better and can't move forward until they reach a consensus and every so often one will tell the other to leave them alone but "you're stuck with me, no way I'm leaving you to your own devices, somebody would end up dead if that happened"

The funny thing is they're right when they say that, it's a joke for them… they don't even know

Protag Kokichi go brrr He's always working, doesn't need to hide it and sneak at night

"Don't strong-arm everyone to work with you, work with me, I am as feral about it as you are, also I don't trust you further than I can throw you (and I couldn't even pick you up) so I am going to keep an eye on you, alrighty?" glowing eyes Kaede: equally glowing eyes and clenched fists "We're going to catch the mastermind"

They're like wild hogs to me (I don't know what I am saying) [this sentence pops up in my head every once in a while and it's so true, the real oumatsu dynamic]

Kaede to Kokichi: you're the most suspicious person I've ever meet, my headache, there's something deeply wrong with you, my peace of mind depends on knowing your whereabouts, if anything were to happen to you, I would kill everyone in this room and then myself

They don't need to trust each other to be the best of friends, it's actually better this way, that's the whole reason they're each other's closest allies in fact

And maybe it does happen, maybe she does lead everyone as a protag to make the decision not to vote after he dies with Shuichi, having agreed to go along with the plan our antags made

Maybe she's grieving and sobbing and self-loathing because when they split up in their plan to figure out antags scheme she chose to pursue Miu for… selfish reasons that make her feel so gross with herself now that he's dead and she doesn't know he agreed to it and that they all betted on her anger to get them this outcome

But I dunno so don't ask me [

[alexs-arcade]

Joven y hermosa

Valeria Garza x male reader

summary: Valeria questions how you lover her with all of the things she does.

warnings: mentions of drug cartels and terrorism, implied self doubt, not much else.

Fem readers DNI

recommended you listen to Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Rey while you read.

(Wrote this mainly to cause my dear friend and writer pain)

Valeria had been in the drug cartel business for a long time. Living by rules like, Keep friends close and enemies closer. She has been the mastermind on helping up and coming terrorists to keep her business intact, cause as everyone knew as long as terrorism existed her drug cartel would never have a war to worry about. A lot of sacrifices had to be given to get where she was and nothing could make her give that up. Or at least nothing ever made her question it…until she met you.

A romantic relationship, something she never expected to find after whatever fling she had with Alejandro when a part of the Mexican Special Forces. It took a long time for her to even accept that she liked you and even longer to trust you enough to want you close. You never really left her side when she needed you and all she did was buy you something to show gratitude. Valeria after a while would question if you would love her if she continued her business. Every decision made her think of you, you were who she did it for now. Something in her head knew what she did was morally “wrong” but it meant you were safe and she could be with you. 

Valeria always thought that for all the love and care you gave her, she struggled to do the same without feeling as though her efforts were not good enough. Her wall between the world and her emotions was crumbling. Something about doing this made her think you didn’t want her to do this. Would you leave her? Would your love fade? What would happen as you both continued to grow. She knew you would but seeing the war and how she would take advantage of it made her feel sick.

Would you really want to live this life till it takes hold of your own? SHe knew she couldn’t leave but you still could. You had a life in the new age to live and discover. Your electric soul would live in her mind forever as hers ached.

“¿Me seguirás amando cuando no tenga nada más que mi alma dolorida?” She whispered to you one night as you were relaxing. She knew you didn’t know what she said completely but taking what you did know you nodded and intertwined your pinky with hers.

It made her smile a bit. She was never a fan of touch and you were always respectful of that. She didn’t deserve you. She knew that but selfishness took over and she kept you. You were her man, her life, her reason, and her fear. She wished that as she grew older and less conventionally attractive that you would stay.

Valeria wasn’t religious but she would pray that you would stay by her side forever. She got to know more than just a pretty face as did you and you needed each other. Wanted each other and forever would love one another. Everything from the music you say reminds you of her to just the way you love her unconditionally whether she thought she was deserving.

“Will you still love me when I’m not young and beautiful?” was the last thing she had asked you before her loud thoughts dimmed as her head rested on your shoulder. Her guard was down around you, she knew you would keep her safe just as she does you.

Silence breaking once more as you replied with a soft and loving “Yes, I will love forever no matter what”

[generouskittentidalwave]

I HAVE A BONE TO PICK WITH THE KUNG FU PANDA SERIES, I'M GRABBING IT BY THE THROAT AND DRAGGING IT TO THE DEPTHS

JUST COME'RE, COME'RE FOR A MINUTE AND EXPLAIN TO ME

WHAT. THE FUCK. IS THIS?

This has GOTTA be another Macaque disguise in order to mess with Wukong's image cause I refuse to believe that THIS is Wukong.

Now don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with adaptions made of our beloved monkey gremlin, a lot of them are super cool and well made! But there is a difference between an adaption and then just full on disgracing the source material BECAUSE HOW CAN ONE FUCK UP THIS BADLY ON SUCH A WELL KNOWN AND BELOVED CHARACTER? OKAY SIT DOWN FOR CLASS TIME AND LET ME STATE MY CASE.

First of all the looks, why is only one eye red and gold? I'm sorry but if I remember correctly Wukong wasn't half way in the furnace. My second gripe is with the monkey species they chose for him. Listen, Wukong is supposed to be the representation and embodiment of a monkey, he isn't supposed to be a specific species of monkey in the first place as he is not only his own species of monkey but he is supposed to represent all the monkey species. So making him into a specific species of monkey doesn't work all that well in the first place, but out of all the species they could've picked why the species that looks like a reverse oompa loompa?

AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON HIS POWERS

Okay okay, get this, not only did they heavily nerf him, but they also made it so all his power comes from THE GOLDEN CIRCLET. YEAH THAT'S RIGHT THEY MADE THE TRAUMA RING AROUND HIS HEAD INTO A CROWN THAT GIVES HIM POWERS AND THAT HE WANTS TO GET THE CROWN BACK.

The crown is most known for being the equivalent of a shock collar for him, how do you mess that one up THAT BAD?

And we haven't even touched on his backstory yet oh no no no no. Sit down as you are gonna LOVE this one folks

Apparently Wukong was great friends with the gods in heaven until he was framed for something he didn't do and was imprisoned, not in the mountains by the Buddha, but was imprisoned in the red jade mines for it. Not only that but he basically poisoned Po and his trainees as he could only get out if he replaced himself in the mines with another and keep them there until like sunset. First of all Wukong would never do that in the first place sure he was impulsive and reckless but he wasn't bad for the sake of being bad, he was just a bit of a trouble maker that needed proper guidance. NOT ONLY THAT BUT PO'S TRAINEES WHO ARE LITERALLY KIDS BEAT HIM. LIKE- HELLO? LITERAL KIDS BEAT SUN WUKONG? THE MOST OP CHARACTER IN KNOWN HISTORY?

Apparently the ldb was the one behind things and Wukong needed to stop her which we saw that be done much better in Lego Monkie Kid (amazing show I HIGHLY recommend watching that instead of this). And Wukong redeemed himself and became besties with the gods again.

OH OH AND TO ADD MORE SALT TO THE WOUND? MONKEY'S BROTHER IN KFP IS NAMED "WU KONG", THE SAME BROTHER WHO CAUSED THEIR OWN MOM TO DIE DUE TO HIS OWN SELFISHNESS.

LIKE BRO WTF DO THEY HAVE AGAINST WUKONG? WHY ALL THE BEEF AGAINST SUCH A BELOVED AND AMAZING CHARACTER AND MAKING HIM OUT TO BE A HORRIBLE AND PATHETIC GUY WHEN HE ISN'T?

Kung Fu Panda is beloved by China for it's good representation and understanding of it's culture, so how the franchise could let one of the most well known characters in Chinese mythology and stories get slanderized THIS BADLY by one of their spin off series is beyond me.

I know this has just been me ranting about how a recurring character in a series was characterized in a spin off series kid show people hardly know about but like- for some reason I was just absolutely flabbergasted by this characterization of Wukong as a whole in a franchise that's known for doing plenty of good research on chinese culture, mythology, belief and stories. My only hope is that this was Macaque disguised as a fake Wukong the whole time just pulling a funny prank.

[hanniiesuckle17]

Chapter 69: Unbiased But Not Really

A/n: I FEEL SO BAD FOR NOT UPDATINF SO HERES ANOTHER CHAPTER!!!!! The next update will be on the new schedule which is next Wednesday 8pm CDT! Tag List is Open<3

Tag List: @ashisparanoid @mini-meanhoe @leggomylino @hanstagram @desertofdessert @hoes4hoseok @jeongqin @mrsunshine999 @jisungsjheekies @hannie-squirrel00 @cotccotc @yangs-jeongin @binniebutter @orangegyu @little-precious-baby @raethethey @sofie296 @love-letters-2-jisungie @bluejayboys @bunnyjaycheoluwu @mingiholic @doom-fics @justhere4kpop

SMIY Tag List: @sanccharine @txt-yaomi @lyramundana @pink-hwaberry @butterfliesinthenightsky @billboard-singer @exololyunho @atinytinaa @honeyhotteoks @hijeongguk @aloverga @aestheticsluut @hwaightme @layzfeelit @honey-lemon-goose @alyssajavenss @minkyuncutie @yunho-1999 @lonewolfjinji @mrowwww @bxffietheblxxdy @soupbinlily @hwakay329

Pairing: Jeong Yunho × Reader

WC: 1.3k

Genre: Series, Fluff, Angst, Comedy, Idol au, Secret Relationship

Updates: Wednesday 8 PM CDT (Hopefully)

Warnings: Cursing, Privacy Invasion, Dieting, Overworking, 18+ Themes (eventually), Intense threats, Mention of suicide, Mention of violence

Summary: Privacy. Normalcy. Love. Y/n was ready to give all of that up when she became an idol. She was more than happy with the absence of those qualities in her life until a certain six foot mountain of sunshine and chaos was cast opposite her in her first drama. Confronted with the fact that she no longer knows what she wants; Y/n must decide if he's truly worth giving up the life she's dreamed of... and how much damage she'll let happen before she makes a decision.

✭

Y/n’s POV

Your foot tapped anxiously on the sidewalk. Thousands of different ways to have the upcoming conversation were overlapping and passing through your mind. A sharp pain was beginning to form between your eyes.

You pinched the bridge of your nose hoping that the pain would simply rub away from your eyes. As you opened your eyes you saw a tall figure walking down the tree-shaded sidewalk. His hands were stuffed into his jean pockets and his head was turning behind him every couple of steps, clearly hoping no one was following him.

As the man drew closer you saw his breath catch in his throat as your eyes met. A soft gentle breeze blew across the park, pushing your hair against your cheek. The tall man stopped a couple feet from you, keen on keeping his distance. "You came...." Yunho nodded, looking down at his feet. "I honestly didn't think you would come. Especially to help me."

"Well, the real reason I came back was....you know, well...to see you." It broke your heart to see the pained expression on his face. Yunho could barely meet your eyes, only glancing at you every few seconds. "I'm a selfish man." He laughed at his own words. Quiet and under his breath.

You took a small step closer, careful not to scare him away. "I like you selfish."

Again he laughed, not meeting your eyes; looking everywhere except for you. "Y/n, you can't say things like that."

"Why not?" The swings on the playground behind you squeaked in the wind. Both of you turned at the sound, anxious that you were not the only ones in the park.

Yunho scoffed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm trying to be your friend here because I don't think you're ready for me to be anything else." You hadn't noticed before at the awards, but his hair had gotten longer, shaggier. Almost hanging around his neck and forehead. "So- why do you need my advice?"

"Will you promise you won't hate me after I tell you?"

Yunho took a step forward, finally meeting your eyes. "After everything we've been through I still can't hate you. No matter how much I should. So, I think we're fine."

You took a deep breath, wringing your hands together. "Yuta wants to try dating...for real...this time..."

He stood in silence. He stared at you with an unreadable expression. Perhaps your voice had been drowned out by a breeze and he didn't hear. Yunho opened his mouth and then closed it again. Clearly, he had heard you and was deciding against whatever he was going to say.

So many things were running through his mind that you would never know. "I-....Why would you-....." It was obvious Yunho was too frustrated to get out a straight answer. "How can you possibly expect me to be unbiased here?"

"I'm not sure that I do..." You watched his brows furrow, something that always happened when Yunho got stressed. His hands came up to his face, attempting to rub away the apprehension. "Yunho, I don't know what to do."

"What do you mean you don't know what to do? You only have two choices!" He immediately regretted raising his voice, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm sorry."

"No, you have every right to yell at me." Another breeze weaved between you and the trees, bringing with it sweet summer smells. "I'm literally the biggest asshole for even asking you, but you always know what to do....and I'm stuck."

“Do you like him?”

You sighed, pulling at the sleeves of your shirt. “No…yes…..I don’t know. I’m confused. I used to like him- back when I was a trainee.” Yunho’s lip snagged between his teeth and he couldn’t look anywhere but the sidewalk. “But, I can’t tell if I am just getting caught up in the acting or I actually am starting to like him.”

The two of you stood in silence. You could see that Yunho absolutely hated this conversation. "You were right. I would have just stopped talking to you over the phone. I'm really thinking about walking away right now."

"While I'm confused about how I feel about Yuta...I can't stop thinking about you." Yunho stared at you, searching your eyes for anything that would tell him you were lying. "I keep comparing how I feel with Yuta to how I felt with you."

"And?"

"I don't know....Everything with Yuta has been for show. It's not like a real kiss or...I wasn't really thinking about how it made me feel." Yunho took a step forward, looking down into your eyes. The breeze lifted and pushed his dark hair around his face. His eyes were still silently searching yours. Hesitantly his large hand, came to the back of your neck, thumb resting on your cheek.

Just the feeling of being touched by him was something you had almost forgotten. His hand rested so gently against your skin, cradling your cheek that you almost felt like crying. It was as if Yunho was afraid you might shatter in his hands.

"How do you feel?"

You let out a shaky breath, leaning into his touch. "Like...." All words were escaping you. It was as if all you could focus on was the feeling of his touch. He watched you struggle for a few moments, pushing down the lump forming in his throat.

The next thing you felt was his lips pressing softly against yours. The kiss was soft, and slow, leaving every part of your body electric and tingling. You let out a small gasp as you felt his other hand rest on your hip and slip just under the hem of your shirt, tenderly brushing over your warm skin. Yunho slowly pulled you into him, your chest brushing up against his own as his lips kept you almost melting in his embrace.

He pulled away just enough to see your face. Your eyes were still closed, reveling in the warmth that was pulsating through your entire being.

"How do you feel?" He asked softly, murmuring against your mouth.

"Honestly, like my knees are going to give out." Yunho's grip immediately tightened, fully wrapping around you. He couldn't help the proud smirk on his face. Slowly you opened your eyes, to be met with Yunho's soft brown ones. "So...um..."

"Come back to me."

Once again thoughts were rushing through your head. "Yunho..." He sighed, gently pushing himself away from you. "I love you."

"If you love me, why can't you just be with me?" His hands shoved themselves back in his pockets. "Am I really not enough for you? Because you're it for me. You're all I want."

You covered your face, pushing back your hair. "I love you, Yunho. Can I not love being an idol too?"

"You can! Of course, you can! But you seem to think that you can't have both; at least not with me." Yunho reached out for your hands again. "Y/n, I love you. You are more important than this life to me. If it's what you want I'd give it up. I'd walk away in a heartbeat."

"No- that's not what I want. I know you love it just as much as I do." Your thumb brushed over the top of his hand. "Can we talk more about this? This is a conversation that doesn't involve just us."

Yunho nodded, pushing a piece of hair behind your ear. "Yeah. We can talk more tomorrow. Then we can decide what we want to do." For a moment the two of you just looked at each other. "Will you text me that you got home safe?" You shook your head, looking down at your shoes.

Gently, Yunho pressed a kiss to your forehead. "I love you, Yunho."

"I love you too. Go on." He let go of your hands, and gently pushed you down the sidewalk. "Go home. We'll talk tomorrow." You turned around to see Yunho watching you walk away. Somehow as you walked home you felt both more confused and more at peace than you were before.

Previous Chapter ✭ Next Chapter

SMIY M.List

Masterlist

[squarebracketsmileyface]

I’m like, bombarding you now and I’m sorry- but I have so many thoughts. 👁️👁️

Like for instance- how much would Sorry, Its Locked have changed if Jay and Alex’s roles were swapped? Alex, who stayed relatively sane(at first), though still denied any feelings Jay(he’s straight, its just smex, shut up). And Jay, who gets so angry and hurt and harbors so much resentment for Alex over the whole thing that The Operator latches onto him instead. Jay who spirals and starts killing their friends(and probably Amy too out of sheer jealousy and resentment), who up and vanishes for years and Alex never knows why(was the smex that bad?).

Power bottom Jay who really doesn’t want to kill Alex, he likes him too much(maybe he’s a little obsessed now, just a bit), so every time they run into each other and Alex starts to question him Jay shoves him down onto the nearest surface and keeps him going till he’s so spent he can’t think straight. And this cycle keeps going until both of them hate each other so badly its angry and its hateful on sight(but they still can’t get rid of those feelings god damn it-).

Alex who teams up with Tim or with Brian when he realizes Jay is too far gone? Who finally accepts that maybe he is a little gay when things start happening between them. Jay, who gets so jealous and angry and believes there’s no longer any other way to spare Alex(if he won’t be with Jay then he can’t keep him safe, the only option left is to put him in the ground).

Oh My God

The way i wanna write this so bad now lmfao. It'd take so long but oh my god fucking IMAGINE IT holy shit. im going to go feral over this i fear.

This got really long lmfao

like... 1.8K words long 💀💀💀

Anyway, i love this idea so much so enjoy whatever tf this is under the thingy-ma-bob

Amy still dying but this time its because of Jay's jealously rather than Alex's hopeless final attempt to save her from his own fate is such a fun iea.

Honestly, i feel like Jay's motivations to kill (which have obviously been twisted by the Operator and all that, he wouldn't kill without it twisting him) would be very different to Alex's. At least in Sorry It's Locked. Because in S,IL Alex's motivations are purely to save people, it's just that the operator twisted him until he thinks killing is the only way to save people, he thinks him killing them is going against what it wasn't, when that's still what the Operator wants, as long as more people get exposed to the sickness along the way. Whereas the S,IL version of Jay probably wouldn't kill out of a twisted and misguided kindness, he'd still think he was doing the right thing, but I honestly think the Operator would have an easier time getting him to kill.

to me Alex is an extremely caring and selfless person. Like, sure he's a bit of a nob and his student film was shit and he just couldn't recognise that because he was pretentious and a film student, but like, idk in my head before the Operator got to him he was the sweetest person, hence how he managed to pull Amy lol. The Operator had to convince him that killing was the way to save people in order to get him to do what it wanted. Whereas with Jay i think he'd have a much easier time killing for selfish reasons, and honestly i feel like he'd still film like he does as the protagonist of MH. I think the Operator would convince him he'd been wronged by the people he was killing and that it was righteous revenge or justice for himself or something like that? You know?

He'd think he was doing the right think in the sense of his own sense of justice, rather than doing the right thing to save the other people exposed to the Operator sickness. And because of his hyperfixation on Alex, it'd definitely go in the same direction of him not wanting to kill Alex, because Alex hasn't wronged him, the world around them has wronged him by making Alex think they needed to hide that they were sleeping together. It was the world's homophobia that caused Alex to refuse to accept that he was queer in any way. And obviously if Jay doesn't blame Alex, it'd be really difficult for the Operator to convince him to kill him, because Jay's actions are based on getting the justice that he thinks he deserves.

He kills Seth and Sarah and tries to kill Brian and Tim because he believes that they weren't supportive enough to make Alex feel comfortable to come out or whatever. Right? But With the Operator going down that route to get him to kill, because that's the easiest route to take, it creates a bit of a problem for itself in the future if it wants Jay to kill Alex eventually. But i don't think it actually thinks. As in like, i don't think it is making any conscious decisions about what it does, its like that fungus that grows inside ants and takes over their nervous systems and makes them climb up high so it can spread its spores. I don't think it's a thinking creature, it just does what it does.

Anyway, i think in Alex's place, with justice as his motivation, Jay would kill more people, and i think he'd make an example of them. He'd still film everything because of the memory loss the Operator causes, but he'd use those videos to kind of, like, show off what happens if you're a homophobe. Or if he thinks you are one. Idk if that makes sense. And idk magic operator powers stop anyone thinking the videos are real, just like with the fact that we see Alex kill tunnel guy in the videos, but no one else in universe actually thinks they just witnessed a murder recorded and put on youtube.

I think with Jay in Alex's role, in Sorry It's Locked they'd probably have more than just one encounter where they have sex. Like, for Alex in actual S,IL that happens mostly just kind of impulsively because like, Jay is coming onto him and yeah, he does kind of miss what they used to have, he still felt shit about having to kill Amy so wanted to distract himself from that, and then afterwards he was like SHIT I NEED TO DRIVE HIM AWAY TO TRY AND SAVE HIM WITHOUT KILLING HIM. or something like that. Whereas with Jay in Alex's place I think he'd purposefully try to tempt Alex closer and closer to him, to try and get him on his side, to become like partners in crime. You know? Everything revolves around Alex for him, so of course he wants to keep him close and under his command.

I think Jay would still be the sub in their dynamic in this, but I think he'd be a bit more like he is in chapter two of If It Ain't Broken (which is up by the way, cheeky lil self promo lol). Because subs can be pushy and the one in charge of scenes in every way other than what they actually do within the scenes themselves. Does that make sense lol? Just because they're being submissive within a scene doesn't mean they are submissive in every aspect of their relationships. Y'know?

And I think at first Alex would be like, fine with it, like, he misses what they had, and he misses Amy (he doesn't know Jay killed her, all he saw was the Operator and someone who he couldn't actually make out and then everything goes blank and he wakes up somewhere else distraught knowing she's dead or something like that) so of course if Jay is offering comfort he's going to take it. He'd still be like, not accepting that he's queer himself and that he genuinely likes Jay, like you said. I think Alex wouldn't find out Jay's the 'villain' until quite a bit later than Jay found out that Alex was the 'villain' because Alex wasn't too concerned about hiding what he was doing because he thought he was saving people (except maybe tunnel guy, that seemed like a weird fear response lol)

ANYWAY, in this like, reversed Sorry It's Locked au i think Alex would take longer to find out Jay was the one killing people, because Jay would be more carefuly about hiding that it's him. He'd film all the murders and shit, but i fell like the main mystery would be who is killing, rather than like, who's behind the hoodie mask. (i know that's probably not like the main mystery, but it is to me lol)

Jay doesn't want Alex to be scared of him, and he's aware enough to know that knowing he's killing people would scare Alex off. The only things he really sees the way they are are things directly related to Alex, and he knows Alex will be scared of him/hate him if he finds out Jay's the one who killed Amy.

And (jesus this is long i'm so sorry)

Jay seeing things mostly as they are when it comes to Alex directly would mean that he'd see when things start to change with how Alex treats him when they sleep together. Aka Alex not wanting to do it as much because he's spending time with Tim and/or Brian and they're showing him what it's like to be in a healthy relationship (they let him still say it's just sex and nothing else, because that's how he feels most comfortable/safe/secure in himself, but they still make sure it's a healthy relationship while also trying to help him feel comfortable enough in himself to recognise that he's queer. I guess a bit like how Tim's going to try and help Jay come to terms with his gender identity in like, the actualy version of S,IL i'm writing, yknow?)

Anyway, Alex kinda drawing back from Jay and insisting on asking him questions and getting answers, rather than just letting Jay shove him onto the floor, or pull him in by his collar, or whatever so he can distract him with sex. Alex doing that would terrify him. Because his entire motivation is based around like, 'getting' Alex? Like, he's trying to make it so Alex feels safe to come out? Kinda? I don't know. He want's Alex to himself and Alex pulling away and trying to like, actually get answers rather than them just having sex would be the exact opposite of what he wants?

I think when Jay finds out Alex is in an actual relationship with Tim and/or Brian (whoever he teams up with, maybe both of them honestly) that's when the Operator kinda convinces him to kill Alex as well? Like, he's so angry and jealous and like, almost betrayed? that he goes from trying to have Alex to himself to just wanting to hurt Tim and Brian any way he can? Maybe? i don't know. Like, he wants to take Alex from them any way he can, and if he can't do that in a relationship sense then he'll have to do it physically.

I think first he'd try to like, capture Alex and keep him prisoner maybe? He wouldn't think of it like that, he'd convince himself Tim and Brian were bad for Alex in some way and that he's saving him, but eventually he'd just want to hurt Tim and Brian really fucking badly for 'what they did to Alex' (showed him a healthy relationship and made it so he decided that, no, he doesn't wanna keep doing this with Jay, actually). And that would be how it kinda ended? Like, I think it'd be a kinda murder suicide thing? Maybe? I don't know I'm very much making this up as i go along surprisingly (not surprisingly) lmao

I think Jay would kill Alex in front of Tim and Brian (with a knife, i think his weapon of choice is still a knife, and I think if anyone has a gun it's Brian but he's incredibly hesitant about ever using it), and then he'd turn the knife on himself. It'd be, like, to Jay it'd be that he and Alex would be together in death, and Tim and Brian would be left with only each other and they wouldn't get to have Alex?

does that make sense?

Then Tim and Brian have to navigate life after that, 1. navigate the revelation that it was Jay all along killing people (Jay was the mystery masked man rather than hoodie) and 2. that Jay took Alex from them even after they worked so hard to help Alex come to terms with his sexuality and everything?

maybe?

[oldphone-whodis]

I need to talk to someone about moonwater but I’m like terrified of interacting with people when it’s not anonymous

But Remus is my favorite character ever I love him with all my heart and I absolutely believe that he and Regulus could I’ve been together because their vibe just match like

Grumpy boyfriends hanging out in the library or destroying horcruxes together like whatever you have about them I want it

That's absolutely understandable! It can be so scary to talk to people when you don't know what they feel about what you're going to say. I have to remind myself sometimes that those people I see posting stuff that I like aren't just famous untouchable celebrities; those are my peers. We're actually all friends in Book Club together!

Remus is a very interesting character, and I can totally see why you like him! I like him too. Regulus is one of my favorites personally.

I love the Grumpy boyfriends hanging out in the library. They so are.

They just do their own things in companionable silence.

Maybe Remus gets some sleep in at the library because he's just always exhausted between full moons, hanging out his friends, going to classes, reviewing class material, and writing any number of essays they assign. Not to mention the time he just doesn't have for any personal hobbies. And I'm sure his body is constantly in pain even outside the full moon because bodies kind of suck sometimes and he's definitely got aching bones and sore muscles.

Regulus definitely helps his boyfriend out by doing some of his essays and such for him. And it allows him to become familiar with the future material since Remus is in the year above him, so by the time the next year comes around, Regulus will already have a guideline and a light familiarity that will make the material in class come easier to him. So it's really a win-win for him. His boyfriend gets to catch a break and he gets a headstart in his studies.

Maybe Remus worries that Regulus feels obligated to do his work for him though. And I think maybe for a little bit it puts a strain on their relationship. Remus will stop sleeping in the library so he can do his work or just not go altogether. And then Regulus will be worried that Remus isn't sleeping and it's obviously taking a toll on him.

They probably have a few uncomfortable tense silences where neither of them can focus because they're both concerned and stressed out.

Until finally they talk it out.

And Regulus hadn't even realized that Remus was concerned about Regulus, and he's very touched by the thoughtfulness. It's unfamiliar to him, and it's just another reason why he's glad he has Remus.

And Remus didn't realize that Regulus was using homework as like a study guide for future classes and was more concerned about Remus's physical wellbeing. It's definitely a big weight off his shoulders to know that he's not being a burden.

Regulus would probably have to have a talk later with Remus about his awful prioritization skills.

×

Now as for Horcrux hunting together.

First this means that Regulus becomes a Death Eater because the events leading up to him discovering the Horcruxes requires him to allow the Dark Lord to borrow Kreature.

So I think their relationship becomes very strained. From what I understand, Remus tends to avoid his problems and downplay how things happened and probably has a bit of learned helplessness.

So Remus is uncomfortable with the path Regulus has gone down by becoming a Death Eater, but he really doesn't know how to bring it up and talk about it. And he still loves Regulus, but he hates the things he's doing. So maybe Remus avoids Regulus, keeps his distance. And any time Regulus asks, Remus is like oh no! Don't worry! I'm just super busy and stuff.

And Regulus of course isn't stupid. He knows Remus is avoiding him. He knows Remus is uncomfortable. He loves Remus, and he's absolutely selfish. But he also doesn't want Remus to be uncomfortable around him. So he probably breaks things off for Remus's sake. Because he knows he won't. That self-sacrificial idiot (affectionate, bittersweet)

And maybe they have an argument at that moment. Where everything comes free. And they go back and forth and can't even come to an agreement. And they leave. And it hurts to disagree on something so fundamental.

But when the Dark Lord asks for Kreature months or years later, and Kreature comes back shaking, sobbing, clinging, in tears, Regulus finds out what happened with Kreature.

And Regulus is going through it. Everything he thought he knew about the Dark Lord and his beliefs just got shattered. And Kreature — his best friend — got seriously hurt because of his narrow mind.

And he has to go to Remus with poor distressed Kreature cradled in his arms. And Regulus apologizes. Because Remus was right. And Regulus had been too stubborn to be swayed. And he had to learn the hard way, by having someone he cared about deeply being hurt. And he wishes he'd just listened to Remus.

And Remus thanks him. Says he's glad he came around. That he's sorry Kreature was hurt in the process. And how can he help.

And so they start their investigation.

First researching that locket. Finding out it is Slytherin's Locket. And then trying to figure out why the Dark Lord is hiding Slytherin's Locket in some horrible potion on an island in a cave. It's just all so convoluted for something that's highly valued sure but otherwise would be better just put on display somewhere.

And eventually they find out about the horrific existence that is a Horcrux. And Regulus finds a new level of disrespect he has for this Dark Lord. The Dark Lord's main focus is just to not die. What's the point of not dying if you don't also live though?

And while researching and investigating the whole issue together, they're actually looking out for each other. Making sure to take breaks. To eat and drink water. And to sleep. And they both sleep so much better than either have in ages wrapped in each other's arms.

And Remus still has his responsibilities with the Order that he's taking care of with the werewolves. And then coming home hurting and exhausted.

And Regulus just takes care of any injuries Remus may have (I love you).

And he draws nice warm baths for him (I love you).

And he gives him massages (I love you).

And he makes him cups of hot chocolate (I love you).

And Remus holds Regulus tightly and reminds him of who he is when he forgets because "Who am I without the Dark Lord?" "Yourself." (I love you.)

And he gives him chocolate and breathes with him and prods for Regulus to share what's on his mind when he becomes so filled with dread that he thinks he's going to die. (I love you.)

And Remus writes encouraging words and draws silly doodles on sticky notes and just sticks them everywhere because they make Regulus smile. (I love you.)

Regulus writes a melodramatic little note to put in their fake locket. And Remus assures him that he's not dying anytime soon on his watch. And that the Dark Lord would be after they retrieve and destroy the real one. And did they really need to tell the Dark Lord what they're doing. Regulus assures him that yes, the Dark Lord needs to know that Regulus is pissed at him and that he will not tolerate this sort of disrespectful behavior.

And then they're in the Cave. And Regulus insists he drink the potion. That this is his mess that he dragged Remus into. And Remus corrects him that it's their mess that he chose to be a part of.

Regulus still drinks the potion. And it's hell. And he knew it would be hell but it's so much worse than he thought.

He sees his mother and his father. And he sees Sirius. He sees the Dark Lord. And some of his old friends that he'd lost contact with. And some other Death Eaters. And he sees Remus.

But the real Remus is right beside him, holding onto him. And coaxing him into drinking just a little more, just one more little sip, just a little more.

And he cries. And he begs because he doesn't want to drink anymore. He doesn't think there's anything quite as awful as this. How can he drink and drink and drink something that makes him thirstier and thirstier? And he wants to drink it less and less with each scoop poured down his throat.

And Remus swaps the Lockets and Regulus is insane with thirst and hell visions and tries to take just a little sip from the lake.

Sickly hands claw at his skin from within, trying to pull Regulus into the lake. And Remus jumps in after him.

If Remus was good at anything, it was Defense Against the Dark Arts. And of course, he knows what Inferi are and that they're weak to fire. Remus manages to get them out of there alive.

(and I'm not going to pretend to know how they'd figure out there's more. maybe at that point, they'd need to bring it up with Dumbledore and the Order. But there you go, Anon!)

[yansimstorythatiwillnotworkon]

#9

Thursday

On Wednesday at 9:33 AM, Amai Odayaka’s body was found by Kyoshi Tachibana. Her story was that she was checking every area and every room of the school to see if every student was in class, since three were reported to be out of class. The three students in question were Saki Miyu, Ayano Aishi and Amai Odayaka.

Saki was last seen with Daku, who claimed that she was following Amai wherever she was going. Saki wasn’t seen by anyone since then- not even Daku himself, who waited in the hall for her until 8:30 AM. Ayano Aishi was found in the Nurse’s Office tending to a wound that she’d acquired earlier that day that had supposedly opened back up. Scilla was able to vouch for her since he was the one who accidentally inflicted the injury on her in the first place.

Amai was last seen by Daku and Saki, although Saki has since been labeled missing. The only other person who saw her was Shoku around 7:55 AM, although he went to class around that time as well. His other classmates can vouch that he did attend class at that time.

The only clue that they have towards Amai’s death is a note left beneath her shoes, which was left on the rooftop. The note, after plenty of investigating via the police, confirmed to the authorities that this case was, in fact, a suicide.

The note read as such:

“This may seem like a spontaneous decision, but if that’s the case then that means that I’ve been hiding everything well. I don’t know if I want my death to make an impact as a last wish or if I want it to be brushed off for the sake of those I care about.

“I guess the main question that will arise is ‘Why?’ The reason why is because I don’t think I… fit here anymore. I’ve been through so many stressful moments in my life, all in which I’ve overcome with the help of my loved ones. But this is something else entirely.

“Part of me feels like it’s my fault that bad things keep occurring in my life. Is it my past selfish actions that are coming back to bite me in the form of guilt? I know I’m not the reason my family’s bakery is failing, but I know that I’ll blame myself for the rest of my life once it does. In that case, am I selfish?

“Maybe I’m just a coward. I realize that my whole life has been set around one thing, and that was my family’s bakery. Every ounce of my life was surrounded by thoughts, concerns and wishes for the bakery. When that thought came to me I realized just how much of ‘nothing’ I would be once it was gone.

“I know it wasn’t a waste, but I also know that it was going to be once our bakery failed. I’m eighteen now. I don’t think I have the time to start from the ground up anymore. Even every ounce of my childhood was set around baking. I barely went to the playground, I didn’t go on playdates or anything. Now I just don’t have the time to do that.

“Everything was always set out for me. It was meant to have hardships- but ones that we were able to overcome. This isn’t one of those. So many misfortunes have reached us, and so many that we aren’t able to overcome anymore.

“I know I have people I consider friends and parents who love me, but I don’t think it’s enough. I know that sounds selfish, but I think that’s all I can do to put everything I’m feeling into words. If it was enough, wouldn’t I be fine right now? I don’t know how to fix this and I can’t stand the thought of burdening anyone anymore with whatever the Hell is going on in my mind.

“I’m really sorry to Saki. I’m sorry that your parents don’t talk to you like normal.

“I’m sorry that you have to stress about our health, Kenko. I know that you would’ve helped everyone who needed it if that were possible.

“I’m sorry that your passions are so discouraged, Seiyo. Life’s about making your own path in life, and I think you can do it, no matter how hard it may be.”

“I’m sorry, Ajia. I promise this isn’t your fault. I know that you’re a good person deep down.”

“I’m very sorry, Shoku. I know this is selfish, especially since you always wanted me to be the leader, but I think I need to leave the club in your hands. I know you’ll do a lovely job.”

“And I’m not sure what words I can say to express how sorry I am to my parents. It’s one thing to lose a bakery, but I know that losing someone you’ve raised since birth is much worse. I’m sorry that all of that time amounted to now.

“Mom, Dad, I’m still unsure about this. I wish I had the courage to ask you to help make me feel better, but I’m not a child anymore. I’m not sure that I ever was, or ever could be.

“I’m sorry. But I think my fear for the future overpowers the love I have for you.”

No one believed it. It didn’t matter that it was a page torn from her own diary. It didn’t matter that it was written in her handwriting with her pen and it didn’t matter that there were other note “drafts” that she berated herself for being too selfish or dishonest still sitting in her diary.

Her parents refused to believe it, Shoku refused to believe it, but the proof was there in front of them.

School was let out for Thursday, with Friday being optional to the students for a funeral held in Amai’s honor.

The Odayakas have since shut down the bakery, with Amai’s mother seeking daily therapy and Amai’s father working at the Dark Delights bakery as a way to keep making money.

Taro was nothing if not conflicted. He didn’t have the courage to talk to the cooking club or Amai’s parents, and has instead been talking to Osana and his sister about the incident. He plans on attending Amai’s funeral, but is too disturbed to try to join the Cooking Club.

The Cooking Club have been dealing with their loss in different ways. Kenko seems to be taking it the best, although he was never the type to let his emotions drag anyone else down. Seiyo can’t bring himself to watch his favorite shows like normal, and instead spends his time looking through pictures and videos of the club and Amai.

Ajia, despite Amai’s note to her, has been doing nothing but blaming herself. In her state of grieving she’s broken personal items in fits of rage and has stated numerous times that she’ll never cook anything again. Her parents don’t know what to do outside of continuously offering her their support and therapy.

Shoku went home first, and has yet to open his door for anyone or eat anything. After hearing about how close he was to Amai, Amai’s father has sent a package with gifts Shoku has given Amai to his residence. Geiju has stayed home as well for the time being, and plans on staying home for as long as Shoku will. Shoku’s parents will let him stay home as long as he needs, but won’t let him go too long without food.

That then leaves the mystery behind Saki’s disappearance. Since she was seen following Amai, it was speculated that she witnessed Amai kill herself, and was hysterical and in shock by the loss that she ran away somewhere. No one knows where, but her face has since been plastered all over the town.

__

Info-Chan: Your Senpai is okay.

Info-Chan: He doesn’t think that he’s tied at all to Amai’s suicide, so the only thing wrong is how shaken up he is by the event. As are most.

Yan-Chan: Okay.

Info-Chan: You’re lucky the majority believe Amise’s note. I personally thought that it was a little tacky.

Info-Chan: But in the end it did you well.

Yan-Chan: Yes.

Info-Chan: I get that you’re shaken up, but that’s to be expected!

Info-Chan: You finally went through with an effective plan. Good job!

Info-Chan: I am proud of you :)

Ayano noticed that the muscles in her hands and arms had been twitching often since she dealt with Amai and Saki. She no longer thinks that it was because her limbs were sore, but something else. Some intense feeling that she couldn’t quite place. Then again, how could she? As far as she was concerned she was bare of feelings, anyway.

After she had finished tossing Saki and Amai over, she sat on the rooftop for at least ten minutes, likely processing what all had happened. Eventually, Info-Chan’s blasted alarm finally caught her attention, and she rationalized that she needed to get to work with ridding of the evidence.

The first thing she made sure to do was grab the note Amai had in her pocket. There was something calming about seeing Amai lying there and slowly getting colder. It must have been the relief of not having anything else to worry about.

Next was to get rid of Saki’s body. If Kyoshi had to find anyone’s body immediately, it had to be Amai’s, and Saki’s body was right in front of the door. Anyone from down the hall would be able to see her.

It was hilarious, really. Such a rushed death could’ve been saved and ruined Ayano completely if Saki had landed on either of the hedges. That alone likely would have saved her life. It’s a shame she wasn’t that lucky.

Unfortunately, grabbing a crumpled body proved more difficult than Ayano thought. Akademi was a tall building, so it would make sense that there would be so many shattered bones. It was a strange experience, though. Strange bumps and jagged ends were not something Ayano expected to feel prodding against such regular, human skin. She had skin like that, too. Part of Ayano wondered how that would feel.

Regardless, the gardening club seemed like a dreadfully long walk with the weight of Saki in her arms. As she passed the incinerator, she saw a readied mop and bucket waiting in front of it. Despite Amise claiming to dislike the thought of killing her rivals, she still had several things ready for her just in case. Not only the bucket and mop, but a lockpick, just in case.

The lockpick proved useful. This allowed Ayano to get into the shed and use the shovel to dig a deep enough hole to keep Saki hidden. It took at least twenty minutes to make a reliable hole. It was smaller than Ayano imagined when she started, but still deep enough. Thankfully, Saki’s body was already plenty crumpled to fit into the hole.

After finishing with that, Ayano grabbed the mop to clean up the blood that Saki left behind. Thankfully, that was a much quicker process than carrying Saki’s body. After she was finished with that, she requested a new uniform from Info-Chan, cleaned her own, and began working on her alibi.

She did this by cutting the injury she received a bit deeper, washing the knife used, and heading to the Nurse’s Office after haphazardly wrapping the bandages back around. She told Nurse Kankoshi that her wound opened up and she tried to fix it herself for a long time before eventually coming to help. The wound was by all means real and Amise claimed that Ayano was going to fix her wound before class, which made Ayano’s alibi tight enough to be overlooked.

Speaking of Amise, she of course was with the Cooking Club when the police came to the school in attempt to calm them down and help them feel better, but her efforts definitely proved useless for the more… inconsolable members of the group.

Info-Chan: You should see what your peers have to say about their loss :3

Ayano blinked slowly. She was exhausted, really. The smarter decision would be to go to sleep, but…

Looking over at her own bed, Ayano realized just how dark it was. This coaxed her to turn on her light, which eliminated the choice to sleep at the moment. So instead, Ayano sat down at her desk, scrolling through her computer and heading to whatever social media the students at her school were using.

Eventually, she found a post that had a picture of the school from afar, showing a group of people working on building a large fence around the school rooftop. It was posted by “Beasness”, aka Bea, and was blowing up with all sorts of reactions. Mainly from others from the school, with her own following just asking what had happened. There was plenty of “RIP” and “fly high” in the comment section of the post, but something else caught Ayano’s attention.

Particularly an anonymous comment that was placed suspiciously in the comments despite the dislikes and disapproving replies from others. It read:

Anonymous:

‘ I’m sure literally everyone will disagree with me here, but I don’t think that Amai killed herself. I know what was in her diary and her note and everything, but considering that Amai’s life just started getting “harder” around three days ago, it’s weird that she’d jump to such an extreme “solution”. ’

There were bound to be people like this here and there, but Ayano was surprised that this person would make such a bold comment so soon after the incident. It didn’t seem like anyone was agreeing, so it might not have been something that Ayano had to worry about. Most of the comments were simply saying how inconsiderate this user was being.

Hoshiko commented “Pun intended?” with an angry face, likely so that it wouldn’t look like she approved of the possible pun. Kokona left a long message about how everyone was entitled to their own opinion, but sometimes those opinions didn’t need to be shared. And then Musume asked why Bea hadn’t taken this comment down, if not for the dislikes than for the fact that it was simply inconsiderate. Bea herself didn’t reply to that, but she did leave a like on her comment.

Thanks to the comment being anonymous, everyone was left without a face to slander, and Ayano was left without someone to keep an eye on. Part of what the commenter had said was true. Amai, regardless of what was put into her diary and note, obviously wasn’t the type to solve her problems like that. After a little while stalking Amai, that much was irritatingly obvious to Ayano.

Even the small flaw that Amai had wasn’t enough to make her look like anything other than the perfect girl. It didn’t matter if she could easily be convinced, Taro could just as easily be manipulated, Ayano was sure of it.

Ayano wanted to say that she was glad that Amai was dead. But there was an aching feeling in the back of her…heart..? It wasn’t her head, because her chest is what was hurting. Something… inside her ached. Something inside her was disturbed. But what?

__

Taro sat on the couch silently. It was only around 1 in the afternoon, but the living room was dark. He attempted to distract himself with another book, but it didn’t sit right with him, so instead, he turned on the tv. Despite the dread that had washed over damn near the whole school when Amai’s death was announced, nothing popped up on the tv about her.

Now that he thought about it, he probably didn’t want to think about that anyway. He’d only really known Amai for less than a week, but he could already tell what an amazing person she was. She didn’t seem depressed or troubled, but what exactly would Taro know? Despite the fact that Taro wasn’t too close to Amai, it was still… disturbing to hear that news. He talked to her less than six hours prior to the incident.

What if Taro had somehow worn her down? What if he unknowingly contributed to her actions yesterday?

Before Taro could bury himself in his thoughts, the front door opened. “Oh my God why is it so dark?” Hanako paused in the doorway, dropping her bags and blinking to adjust her vision. She put leaned over, feeling the wall for the light switch and flicking it on. “Jeez, Taro, that is not good for your eyes. You know that.”

Sighing, Taro stands up, stretching his limbs briefly before walking over to Hanako. Despite today being a school day for her, she decided to stay home as soon as she realized that her brother was distressed. Her twin, Haruka, on the other hand, wasn’t willing to get in trouble for something that they could all talk about during dinner.

Taro felt a bit bad. Looking through the bags proved that Hanako had bought him plenty of things that she knew that he would like. Some books he was planning on getting, a favorite snack of his, and so on and so forth. “You didn’t go shopping just for me, did you?” He asks, almost shocked at all of the things Hanako had bought.

Hanako always was quick to panic whenever either of her brothers were upset, and was even more notorious for overreacting, so it wasn’t too surprising. But the fact that she’d bought all of this within the first day that they both stayed home was impressive. She didn’t have a job yet, so all of this likely came from her saved allowance money.

“Duuuuuh.” Hanako muttered, checking her phone laxly. After a moment and as Taro lifted up the bags off of the floor, Hanako kicked the door closed and followed Taro to the kitchen counter. “So, that girl’s funeral is tomorrow?” She asked, frowning at the thought.

Nodding, Taro frowns and takes the groceries out of the respective bag. “Amai. Yeah.” His frown deepens as he sighs. “She was such a nice girl. Everyone at school was just as shocked as I was. It’s obvious that no one expected that from her of all people.”

“I bet.” Hanako frowns. She and Haruka had accompanied their father when picking Taro up, and everyone around was devastated. Hanako hadn’t even properly heard what had happened but the sheer dread around was enough to almost make her cry as well. “It was… unsettling picking you up that day. Especially since everyone knew what had happened except me!”

Taro shook his head. “Dad didn’t want you to overreact, I guess.” One by one, he puts the groceries up where they belong. “Which you 100% would have. I almost cried and I only knew her for a couple of days.”

“Well, duh. It’d be weirder if you didn’t feel like crying.” Hanako said, sitting down at the counter. She put her cheek in her hand and looked Taro’s way. “I bet a bunch of other students are absolutely devastated right now. And it’s not necessarily because they knew her, but because someone as bright as, ah… Amai was ending their own life just isn’t something anyone wants to hear. Imagine if they were struggling at home or something. After hearing the news, they probably feel doomed. ‘If someone as great as Amai just couldn’t do it then how can I?’”

Taro nods. “Yeah, I get it. Dread is something that affects people differently, regardless of who the person in the situation is.”

Hanako nods as well, glad that her brother understood. “So is Osana affected at all by this?” She asks, wondering about the red-head. It had been a while since she’d formally seen Osana or spoken to her. That was to be expected since the two had different lives and went to different schools.

Welcoming the change of subject, Taro smiles a bit. “Most of Osana’s friends our outside of Akademi. The only friend of hers that attended the same school as her was Raibaru, who didn’t really know Amai much either. I’m glad that the two of them aren’t too bummed out about that, though. The day before they were helping Amai’s club out with specific dishes.”

A shiver crawled down Hanako’s spine as she thought about that again. “Gosh, that really is terrifying. Imagine talking to a girl one day and finding her… well… gone the next?” She holds a hand up to her mouth as she furrows her eyebrows. “I don’t know what I’d do if that happened to me.”

“I’m glad you understand.” Taro says, sitting down next to Hanako and laying his head on his arms on the counter. He scratches the counter softly for a moment, a displeased frown on his face. “...Hanako, uh..” He sighs, and quietly continues. “...is it… bad that I wish I hadn’t met Amai?”

Hanako raises her eyebrows, more so in interest than shock. “That depends.” She says simply, coaxing Taro to keep going.

“I don’t..” Taro groans, putting his hands on top of his head as he tried to think, which muffled his voice as he spoke up again. “...Amai was a great person. And she didn’t deserve to die. But, this whole incident is just… I guess I’m paranoid now..?”

Despite Taro struggling to explain how he was feeling, Hanako simply listens, waiting for him to piece it all together. “We met when she was trying her best to make me feel better about Osana. And I’m greatful and she did help me, but if it prevents me from feeling so conflicted or… or even better, somehow prevents Amai from taking her own life, then I’d rather we never met at all.” He mumbles.

Hanako frowns, laying her head down as well to look at him. “So you’d rather feel how you did before you met Amai then now.” She guesses, looking at her brother sympathetically.

Taro peeks out at her briefly, before burrowing his face in his arms again. After a heavy sigh he speaks up quietly. “..yeah.”

Reaching her hand over, Hanako pats her head. “I understand, Taro. You’re not in the wrong for wishing that.”

After Taro murmured a quiet ‘thank you’, Hanako noticed the sound of rain outside. Quite fitting for the overall mood. Hopefully this would help settle Taro down a bit.

He always did like the rain.

__

Bea lets out a long, exaggerated hum as she watches the rain pour outside. She spins in her chair, looking to Kokoro, who was sitting on her phone. “Guess I can’t ask Genka for that talk show for a while after this whole incident, huh?” She asks briefly, flicking her fringe of dyed hair back out of her eye, although it just fell back down again.

“Bea.” Kokoro whined, clearly wanting to say ‘you can’t say that’, but their history preventing her from doing so. “No, you can’t. If you tried to crack a joke on speaker any time this month someone will probably hit you.”

For a moment, Bea wonders if one person hitting her for being apathetic would be worth getting that talk show she wanted. Nothing big, of course. Just a quick announcement in the morning, during lunch and after cleaning time. It would help promote her app, which would also help her bring news to the school. All Bea really was good at was collecting information, so a “talk show” where she could share that information was perfect for her.

Kokoro could tell exactly what Bea was thinking and frowned at her. In return Bea only snickered. “Yeah, whatever, I get it. I’ll wait a little longer.”

After a moment of thought, Kokoro speaks up again. “...Emile could probably do it.” She says, raising her phone up to her face as Bea gave her an irritated smirk.

“Har har.” Bea rolls her eyes. Emile was another computer nerd that actively tried his best to get on people’s good side. He was still a jerk, but not as much of a jerk as Bea. And since people generalize Bea as the bigger jerk, Emile’s schemes are often overlooked. “Stupid, four-eyed freak.” She mutters. She would never admit it (because it didn’t need to be admitted), but she despised Emile. Thanks to Emile valuing reputation over fun, he’s earned Genka’s good side where it lacks for Bea.

Instead of dwelling on her friend’s nasty comment, Bea decides to think of something else. “So, what have the girls been talking about this week?” She asked, leaning her chair back as far as it could go. Rather than joining in on the gyaru’s group gossip, Bea usually just got Kokoro to tell her important things that happened since most of it was crush BS anyway.

Kokoro’s phone screen turns off as she thinks, but she still keeps it close to her, as if she were still using it. That was a habit embedded into her back in middle school. “...uh, Musume says that Scilla–”

“--it better not be anything that amounts to ‘he’s a freak’. The whole school already knows that.” Bea warned her. She reached over to grab her juice box but threw it on the other side of the room when she saw that it was empty.

“No, I mean.. Musume says that Scilla was lying about cutting Ayano.” Kokoro says, anxiously tapping her phone screen. Whenever she did that it usually meant that one of the girls found out something that they enjoyed but Kokoro was 100% against. Not that she’d ever say that.

Bea makes a low humming noise, looking suspicious. “Well, she’s wrong. A whole hallway saw him trip on her and bandage her up. What else is there to it?” She asks, lifting an eyebrow.

Kokoro twists a piece of her hair between her fingers. “...uh, Musume says that… Scilla says… that his scissors didn’t cut as deep as Ayano’s wound was. Like, there was too much blood for it to have come from his scissors, or… something.”

Bea’s eyebrows raised in interest immediately, and she almost stopped smiling in her shock. She scoffs, raising a hand to her mouth as she thinks that over. “...so by that logic, Ayano’s wound got worse somehow. But she claims that it was just from running into Scilla… which would mean that Ayano was lying.”

“Don’t… don’t say that..” Kokoro muttered, fearing Bea letting this newfound information slip. Whenever Bea thought that she had an interesting piece of gossip on her hands, she would usually go on long rants that somehow tied to ridiculous schemes. “I’m sure it was a mistake.”

Bea swats her hand at Kokoro dismissively. “Yeah, yeah. Let’s treat this like a story, then. One of them Wattpad reads.” She says, raising her hand back over her mouth. “So, hypothetically, if Ayano had lied then that implies that she has something to hide. If not, then just tell them what made the injury worse. Even if it was something embarrassing like tripping over an ant, you’d still want to tell the police so that you’re 100% clean. Y’know, an air-tight alibi.”

Kokoro frowns in disapproval and shakily speaks up. “She does have an alibi. She isn’t tied to anything.” She insists, really just hoping that Bea will drop this. “...and anyway, Amai’s case is closed. Even if Ayano was hiding something, it would have nothing to do with Amai.”

“Hmm…” Bea gives her a mischievous look. “Yeah, right, okay. I’ll just keep the fact of the matter in mind, then.” She mumbles, turning to her computer with an excited smile. “Ayano Aishi is hiding something.”

[angelynmoon]

Merlin and Lancelot emerge from their self imposed isolation after three days, Merlin with a skip in their step and Lancelot with a smile that Gwaine called smug.

Hunith handed Theron over with little fuss and no comment on Merlin's change, Effie and Ellie also don't comment except to start calling Merlin mum rather than daddy.

Merlin does refuse to turn the handful of people who ignored their warning back into humans, stating that they needed to learn their lessons about interrupting their time with Lancelot, though Merlin assured Arthur later that the effects would wear off within the week.

Lancelot, while always protective of Merlin, takes it to a new level now that they are carrying a child, he stands guard for Merlin and Gwen both as they talk about what is to come for their pregnancies with Freya, Merlin insists that Hunith stay, they refuse to intertain the idea of someone else delivering their child, and Hunith has assisted in many births, their villiage was very small.

Gaius checks in on Merlin and Gwen, but he has other duties and both are more comfortable speaking with Hunith about woman's problems that crop up.

Arthur is suddenly glad he'd thought to invite Hunith to Camelot, she gave the Castle a softer touch and it was good for Gwen and Merlin to have a mother around, plus all the children adored Grandmum Hunith, even Morgana would only sit still for lessons if Hunith was the one teaching them.

Lancelot is not the only Knight to get more protective over Merlin and Gwen, Arthur knows he has, insisting that Merlin sit whenever possible, and there may be a squire whose only job is to follow his wife with a padded chair for if she needs rest.

Both Merlin and Gwen roll their eyes at him when he offers them chairs, but neither stop him and he's glad for that.

He's worried, more than he thought he'd be, about both pregnancies, his mother died in childbirth, and though no one speaks of it, Uther tried for a spare heir many times, only Morgana survived of his siblings and none of their mothers left the birthing bed alive.

So, Arthur worries and he tries to make life as stress free for his wife and his best friend as he can, he keeps Lancelot in the Castle when he'd normally send him on missions hexd trust to no one else, Gwaine and Percival have taken over those missions, Elyan kept close for Gwen.

But sometimes he dreams, they are not happy dreams, he dreams of blood soaked sheets, of hands pushing a screaming babe at him and of sorrow filled eyes as news of his wife's death are dilivered, the person dead in the birthing bed switches between Merlin and Gwen with no rhyme or reason.

On those nights Arthur cannot bring himself to stay in his marriage bed, it's the bed that would bring his wife's death on those nights and he can't stay there.

The guards make no comment as he leaves his chambers, both of them remaining at the doors as Arthur goes for a midnight walk.

Hunith finds him in his mother's garden, she does not speak, only sits next to him on the bench and pulls him into a hug that he sinks into, he can't help it, it's a mother's hug, something he never got until Merlin came into his life and stayed there.

"Merlin won't let anything happen to Gwen, and neither will Freya." Hunith told him.

"I can't stop dreaming about it, my mother..." Arthur said quietly.

"Your mother's circumstances were quite different, as were all the others." Hunith stopped him, "Your Father banned Magic, you cannot commit the atrosities that he did without consequence, that it came at the expense of other's lives was his own selfishness because he did not stop at the first woman."

"How can I stop dreaming of them dying?" Arthur asked, "I can't stop seeing them die, I can't..., I don't want to have a child at Gwen's expense, and I don't want Merlin to die either."

Hunith looked at him and hummed, "I can give you a draught for the dreams, but it doesn't relieve the cause of them, only a successful birth can do that. But Merlin and Gwen are strong, they have good odds, especially with a Goddess on their side." Hunith motioned to the pond that Freya often lounged in, though she appeared absent tonight,nfir which Arthur was glad.

"It's alright to be frightened, Arthur, I was scared when I realised I was going to have Merlin, I was alone, unwed, and Merlin showed signed of Magic long before I gave birth, it's normal, things will turn out right, you'll see. Now, come on, I'll make you a snack and some warm milk before you head off to bed." Hunith said as she got up.

Arthur followed her, anxieties soothed over for the moment, he was sure to continue his protectiveness but no one was blaming him for that, even Lancelot seemed to understand Arthur's overprotectiveness when it came to the man's Mate and shared the sentiment with Gwen.

Come to think of it Gwaine was extreemly protective of Gwen and Merlin as well, perhaps it was a Dragon thing, either way, Arthur was glad that so many people were looking after his wife and his best friend, even if he still worried.

--

A/n: So, I figured that Arthur might have some anxieties about Gwen and Merlin's pregnancies and this chapter came along to explore them.

[tagthescullion]

I'll Take The Blame

Fandom(s): Percy Jackson & the Olympians

Summary: Two conversations between Silena and Luke. (Based on @bigmimikyu's art!)

Rating: G

Words: 1968

AO3 link

Silena opened the door to find Luke sulking in an armchair, overlooking the sea.

He was frowning, but it wasn’t a wince caused by the physical pain that had left him bedridden for weeks after his fall, he looked upset.

Silena entered his room quietly, but not completely silently. He didn’t like being startled.

He barely acknowledged her, keeping his eyes on the soft waves of the blue ocean.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

It was a bit of an empty sentiment. She wasn’t happy that he was hurting, but it was immature to keep moping around because a former friend didn’t see eye to eye with you.

“You’re not,” he replied. 

She shrugged. “She’s an uncontrollable force. I’ve seen her at Camp.”

“She’d be a great ally,” Luke argued. “If you’ve seen what she can do, you should agree.”

“You’re not upset because we lost an ally, though,” Silena said. “You wanted Thalia to join because she means something to you.”

Luke turned towards her. His eyes were rimmed with red, but they were hard.

“You didn’t want her to join,” he countered. “Because you never liked her as a person.”

“That’s not true,” she said, sitting on a couch to his left. “I barely know her.”

“You’ve spent most of last summer with her,” he reminded her. “Your observations helped me convince him that she was worth it. You do know her.”

“I—” Silena hesitated. “I think she’s too impulsive, too selfish, too loyal to…” She was about to say ‘Annabeth’, but that was a sore topic. “To individual people. It’s impossible to know who she’ll support. What side she’ll fight for.”

“Then why did you give me the green light?”

“I did it for you,” she admitted. “It mattered to you. I don’t know in what way, or how much you love her, or the idea of her, but you do. I thought it was fair to give you a chance to make her see reason.”

Luke’s frown deepened. He turned towards her, and scanned her face intently.

“You knew she’d reject my offer,” he said, sitting up and leaning away from her. “You knew she’d never join us, that’s why you let us go ahead with our plans.”

He was right. 

Silena had watched Thalia Grace’s every move from the moment she’d been turned into a human again. She’d considered the girl’s every decision, every action. Thalia resented her father, she despised the way Athena had neglected Annabeth, and she wasn’t the biggest fan of the Olympians in general. And yet, it hadn’t been enough. 

Luke had insisted that her biggest flaw was power, that she’d never say no to a challenge, and would never pass the opportunity to accept leadership. It wasn’t often Silena doubted Luke, and this time, she’d been proved right.

Perhaps, power would have been enough to make Thalia betray her father, but not her friends. Not even for a better system, and a less unfair way of life. 

“You needed to see it by yourself,” Silena told him. “You wouldn’t have believed me even if I had shown you a shit-ton of evidence.”

Luke turned back to the window. A dark cloud was beginning to block the sun, dividing the water below them into two defined halves.

Silena waited until three quarters of their view were under the cloud’s shadow before speaking.

“Does this change anything?”

“What do you mean?” He asked, startled.

“Does this make you want to stop?” She clarified. “Your work here, I mean.”

Luke inhaled slowly. “No. We made our choice, and she made hers. We’re on the right path. If she wants to be a disposable weapon for her father and the rest of that mess of a family, so be it.”

Silena wasn’t sure she believed him. It was the first time she’d heard him sound unsure about his position. He’d always been confident, loud, and convincing when he spoke of the new order they’d help build. Instead, his words transpired with the pain of betrayal. He sounded deflated, as if one demigod’s choice was worth more than his own commitment and that of the rest of the army he’d amassed. 

She leaned forward and grabbed one of Luke’s hands. His face snapped towards her.

“You need to get over this,” she said. “I get it, you got dumped by your childhood crush, that’s sad but—”

Luke snorted. “You think that’s what this is? It’s not because of a crush. I’m disappointed in her, that’s all. I hoped she’d be wiser than that. I mean, she’d still be a tree if it weren’t for me.”

“You did poison her, too,” she reminded him. “I wouldn’t expect her to be grateful.”

“It was the only way Chiron would’ve allowed a quest to get the Fleece to revive her!”

Silena tried not to lose her patience. This wasn’t important. Thalia was a weapon they didn’t manage to get. Period and over. Kronos had never agreed to transform her back out of any kind of sentimentality for Luke’s sake. She could have been useful, now she wasn’t. They had to move on from there.

She took a deep breath. “You’ve been given time to recover —body and mind—, and now you have a choice in front of you: you either stay this lethargic and useless version of you, or you get off your ass and become the leader you’re supposed to be. You are a key element in a war that could free us from the Olympian’s slavery, don’t give that up because somebody hurt you!”

There was a flicker of something in Luke’s eyes. She wasn’t sure what it was, but it looked remarkably like despair.

“It’s not only Thalia, is it?”

Luke faced her, his eyes frank and open. He was terrified.

“Do you know,” he began, his voice small, “how in World War Two they used to say ‘careless talk costs lives’?”

She nodded.

He sighed. “They were right. Please don’t ask me about it.”

It made her shudder. Luke was brave, if he was this scared, it couldn’t be anything pleasant. On the other hand, there was always an advantage to being able to claim plausible deniability.

She squeezed the hand she was still holding. He wouldn’t tell her what it was, he was stubborn as hell, but at least he knew he had support, whatever happened.

Months later, Silena would wonder if she would’ve been able to talk him out of allowing Kronos to use his body as a vessel, but by then it would be too late.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Death was boring.

Or it had been for the past several hours.

She had no idea if the delay meant the gods were winning or losing the battle up in Manhattan, and she was too embarrassed to find somebody she knew to ask.

And, gods, were there lots of people she knew. 

Not Charlie. He’d been dead for days, he’d be in Elysium if there was any fairness to death at all. But the line to face the judges was plagued with demigods who’d died over the past couple of days, and behind her she’d spotted more that had arrived after she had.

She’d taken the cowardly approach to her situation, and had camouflaged herself amidst a group of mortals who served as a shield obscuring her form from her former comrades.

Time passed. It was hard to tell how long. Silena wasn’t sure if it was hours, days, or weeks.

She saw demigods huddle together in little groups. They talked, they looked around curiously. A few Hunters joined, some preferred to stay in their own groups.

It was a morose sight. Children dressed in ghostly armour, their eyes shining with defiance to the unknown.

She was starting to get anxious. She felt… she didn’t really feel. It was the most bizarre thing ever. She was. That’s all she could affirm. She didn’t feel hungry or thirsty, warm or cold, the pain from the drakon’s acid was a phantom of discomfort that wasn’t even a real feeling. 

There was a commotion at the front of the line, and people —souls— started moving. 

A deity with dark brown skin and black wings walked through the lines, picking demigods out of the queue and taking them forward, skipping the line. Thanatos, Hades’ lieutenant.

Keeping herself out of sight from other demigods —being invisible was a talent she’d perfected after years as an informant—, and thankfully ignored by Thanatos, Silena managed to back up until she was close to the newest arrivals, mortals, by the look of it.

Or most of them, that is.

She spotted the last demigod she could recognise some twenty yards in front of her. He turned his head curiously, as if sensing a similar presence nearby. 

To avoid his gaze, Silena backtracked quickly and bumped into another person —or spirit, anyway—.

“I’m sorry,” she said hastily, turning around.

In her hurry, she tripped backwards and had to be caught by the ghostly, yet surprisingly solid, arms of the spirit she’d run into.

Her eyes widened when she saw his face.

Tall, dirty blond hair, his T-shirt drenched in blood, the scar on the left side of his face, and his eyes back to their usual light blue.

“I think that’s what I should be saying,” Luke replied.

He let go of her shoulders.

The queue kept moving, prompting spirits to stumble into them,  standing as they were in the middle of everything.

Luke nodded to the side, towards a high wall of obsidian rock.

She walked behind him, and leaned on the wall next to him.

“Shouldn’t you be up front?” He wondered. “Hades gave the order for all of the demigods and Hunters who died to be judged first.”

“Were you not included?” She asked.

He shrugged. “I don’t think anybody wants to see me right now. You, though, have at least one guy who’s waiting.”

Silena smiled cynically. “I don’t think he’s got the best opinion of me.”

“That di Angelo kid told Jackson Beckendorf was waiting for you,” Luke told her.

She raised her eyebrows. “And you know this, how?”

“Weirdly specific dreams,” was all he said. After a long silence he added: “Just blame me for what happened. I think it’s fair.”

“I don’t,” she argued. “You didn’t make me join your side.”

He tilted his head. “I didn’t let you leave, though.”

That she wasn’t so sure about. It was Kronos who had stopped her from leaving or confessing. Would Luke have stopped her too?

He saw the skepticism in her face.

“I’ve done things I’m not proud of,” he remarked. 

She took that into consideration. So he had stopped demigods from either returning to Camp, or to their families. 

It made her think of Chris Rodríguez, of the precarious arrangement they’d agreed on when he’d seen her back in Camp. Even if those demigods had returned, would they have revealed everything? Was it necessary to stop them by force or threats?

She recalled the last months before Kronos took possession of Luke’s body. The uncertainty she saw when he let his defences down. Not only fear for his own well-being, anguish about how deep they were involved with forces they couldn’t control.

“Did you ever want to stop?” She asked at last.

“Does it matter?” He scoffed. “We both made our choices.”

She acknowledged the truth behind that with a nod. “When we were young and stupid, maybe.”

 “I don’t think I’m allowed to feel bad about what I did,” Luke said. “No matter how young and naïve I was when I made my choice.”

“Just tell me.” Silena insisted. “Did you ever regret it? I think I deserve to know.”

Luke sighed. He shook his head, his expression full of pain. “Of course I did.”

[felixschokehold]

I would love Caius headcanons for Caius x human reader! Just maybe some general headcaons for if he had a human mate! Thank you 💕

Oh, dear. First, sorry this reply is so long lmao. I have a lot of thoughts and no self control.

Well, you see, I see Caius as a very cruel, cold creature. In my mind, he's the one that really twisted the twins into the cruel being they are today. His heart is closed off to anyone he crosses paths with and does not care who he hurts.

But...

If Caius had found a human mate, there would be many hesitations in his cruel actions.

At first, I imagine he may be extra cruel to them out of fear of his own emotions. Whether this be in criticizing who they are or what they like, it's just up to his mood. But, he doesn't show physical cruelty, which is the first sign that this human is special.

Caius either recognizes immediately he's somehow 'accidentally' formed a mating bond with a human, or he doesn't recognize his emotions at first and all the kindness and softness he suddenly wants to start expressing repulses him.

Aro and Marcus, of course, know immediately and try to have one of the guard constantly assigned to the human in case Caius gets frustrated and tries to take it out on his mate. But this triggers a jealousy in Caius and in his own selfishness, he starts to keep his mate present with only him. His behavior isolates the human mate for a while until they have a mild break down over suddenly being cut off from everyone; they fear that perhaps everyone has suddenly started to dislike them, or perhaps there is something wrong with them that the other guard don't want to be around.

This causes Caius some distress and this is where I see him first beginning to actually outwardly show any softness. Perhaps it's just him offering a tissue for the human to wipe their tears away, or maybe if Caius is feeling brave, a comforting hand on their shoulder.

But, his words stay short. "That is not the reason you have not seen your friends," would be all he'd say.

Caius, feeling bad (as he should) for this, tries to push his jealousy aside and allow his human mate to be social again. And this activates something more in him; seeing his mate smile and have fun thaws his heart. Day by day, little by little, but he never shows any outward tellings of this.

Not until he can't take holding back anymore. Just one, small impulse of kindness (see also: affection) would be all it would take for his human mate to realize their feelings are requited; a small kiss on the forehead before they retire to their room to sleep, a gift of a beautiful piece of jewelry, or even Caius sending a guard out to bring back the human's favorite meal.

After that, it's history.

Caius may fight feeling human emotions but once he hits that turning point, he begins to melt like butter in a microwave.

Click below to read about my headcanons after they fall completely in love and he no longer holds back.

Caius loves to show off his mate with nice, shiny things. Which means he showers them with gifts. Dresses, rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings. Shoes; heels, sneakers, boots, you name it. Dresses and skirts and jumpsuits and coats. Anything he would like to see on his mate, or that his mate wants, they get.

Does the human mate have glasses? Welp, here's a new pair with blood diamonds imbedded in them. Ope, here's a pair made of pure gold or silver. Oh, they hate wearing glasses? Here's money for lasik.

Every single thing Caius thinks his mate could ever need will be brought into the castle, which may cause some tension. There is no need to leave, everything will be delivered right to your door, darling.

Now, while other Volturi members are around, he would likely act casual. He may hold their hand or tuck their hair behind their ears, but when they're alone, there isn't a moment where his mate isn't in his arms or his lap.

I also see him biting frequently as a show of affection. Clawing. Squeezing. Pinching.

But oh, do not get him jealous. He will attempt to have anyone he sees as a threat tossed aside. His mate has to reign him in and scold him frequently; "Stop trying to get Felix to rip Demetri to pieces and set him on fire. Demetri laughed at a joke I made, he didn't grab my ass".

Ah, the tense romance of it all. Soft, fragile human frequently scolding Caius and putting him in his place as he pretends to be the scariest, meanest monster one can ever dream of.

And he is, of course.

Just not to his mate.

<lsorry this is so long, I do not know how to write brief thoughts lmao>