#especially since she'd have to keep it a secret for some time SHES READY TO BE OPEN ABOUT IT AFTER SUPERNOVA

[mikodrawnnarratives]

Thought about my theory while reading the trilogy for the first time. I had gotten right that Maggie was Evie very early on but I had also theorized that she'd have a much bigger role in the story. I was consistently getting hype to see Maggie investigate Nova more, like I REALLY wanted to see Maggie be ONTO Nova's identity, and the bracelet was just the beginning.

This went along with my theory that Maggie was found by Captain Chromium and her different name was a result of being put under some kind of witness protection. A niece of Ace Anarchy that survived him just wouldn't be safe if she was in the public eye as Evie Artino. But Hugh and Simon would know, probably not Adrian, and Maggie wouldn't be clueless to her real identity. Theory went that she was trying to find her sister and she'd help Nova escape prison! Maybe..

Nowadays I like some aspects of the theory since it would make much more sense for THAT to have happened, but Maggie's character doesn't align with it very well. It would change her a lot if she secretly had connections to Hugh and Simon, knew her real identity, and all. It would make Hugh and Simon also look a little bit like jackasses cuz REALLY??? THE DUMPING GROUND??? FOR THE ARTINOS DAUGHTER??? WHERE SHE GAINED A SURVIVOR MENTALITY?? If they put her there they'd take her back quickly if they were to be written like they Cared

A more updated au-ified version of this that I thought of was: What if the Tucker Family took her in? Either adopted or fostered, doesn't matter too much for au purposes. Idr how young Adrian was when he met Ruby, but maybe Maggie was at the children's home for a little, they realize it's overcrowded and underfunded, take her out and fund the place, and then they meet the Tuckers.

They'd HAVE to get money for it of course, since they are crammed at their home already in canon, but the family that swears on no secrets sounds pretty fitting for Maggie. Secret girl who wants to know everything about her family.

She gets an older sister and two barely older brothers, she's the baby!! They'd remind her of it constantly and she'd hate it!! She'd be little contrarian. She doesn't get as hyped as her siblings do for the Renegades Council, bc contrarian but her own list of reasons for being upset with them. From failing to protect her family (she knows WHY still hurts), then didn't consider adopting her (doesn't fully understand their reasoning), and Dumping her at an orphanage that SUCKED but they at least took her out of not toooo long afterwards (maybe she'd be there for four or five years? She wouldn't remember a ton but enough to dislike it)

The Tucker's would know at least a little about her backstory, and the gravity of it staying a secret in the family. The twins would know less than the rest, I could see Maggie not wanting them to know as much

Since Margaret Tucker would have a family that'd struggle with money, she'd probably still steal a bunch to help out. She'd have spent some time at the children's home where she'd learn that, but she really puts it to use to help her family. She'd steal, pawn it off, come back and hide the money in various places around their home so it isn't a sudden increase in cash. Just "oh sweet! Must have lost this"

She's not very good at the "no secrets" rule.

One secret they'd def find out about is her becoming a Renegade, but Ruby might defend her. She'll be with clean up teams and could really exercise her asset perception to help the city! She wouldn't be in danger

Maggie Tucker may be a little less of a problem than canon Maggie? Since she'd probably have a little more stable life and having an actual family would do a lot for her methinks. But she'd still steal Nova's bracelet, and No Secrets Maggie who's been waiting for this moment immediately investigates Nova. And Supernova would go different, as well as many interactions between them

(post reveal here would feature sister jealousy lol "oooo your jealous of Rubbyyy!!" Nova: "I'm not jealous!!" "LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE" Maggie loves them equally)

[garez19]

yandere! best friend’s brother x reader (pt.2)

notes/warnings: sibling abuse, gender neutral reader, english is not my language, i have ABSOLUTELY no idea how to use punctuation, not proofread

i really hope this one’s turned out okay. im pretty new at this whole blogging concept so… bear with me.

wc: 1.6k

[part 1] [part 2]

six months had passed since you graduated. you had been trying your best to find the common ground between iris and emil for six months.

as you both pursued your education further, you and iris had already picked different career paths, which meant your schedules weren’t as aligned anymore. however, you were still her best friend, and you were always going to be her best friend. iris, the master of destroying everything she’d ever touched, somehow couldn't break you, no matter how hard she tried. and for that, she felt blessed. you must’ve been a gift sent by gods, a reminder that she was, in some ways, truly special.

yet you weren’t sure if she'd still think that once she found out you started hanging out with emil. it shouldn’t have been such a big deal, but it was. hell, it wasn't even your idea.

it all started 6 months ago, the day you’d met in the coffee shop—desperate, looking for salvation in his demolished mind, and about to break. ready to collapse, something his sister wasn't able to cause. the reason he took the lead. the only thing iris wasn’t able to accomplish, which was why he took the lead—slowly, trying not to startle you.

“mind explaining why you’re telling me all this?” he asked as you took another sip from your coffee. he had reason to be confused, and you couldn't really blame him when he implied you were doing all this to feel about yourself.

“because, like I said, you don’t deserve it. and because I know iris is better than that,” you answered. he let out a loud sigh while contemplating leaving, not wanting to communicate with someone who idealized iris to this point. then he imagined the look on her face when she realized you were not her very dear friend anymore. he decided to pursue you a little bit more.

“okay, thank you, appreciate it,” he replied indifferently as he leaned in closer to you, “and how are you going to help me exactly?” he mumbled. were you going to try and fail miserably again? you pulled back to regain space. “I will try and talk to her. and then–” he cut you off, “I don’t want you to.” he was so certain about not wanting help, which certainly pushed you off.

“emil, you need–” you tried once more, yet he interrupted again, “look, I’m the one who has to deal with her when you’re done lecturing, and I don’t want any part of it, okay?” he took a deep breath. “I’m not a child anymore.”

you were so much like iris in the sense that you only did whatever seemed the best for you, and never looked back. he could sense that, hell, he could see that. and you seemed confused—like a spoiled kid who wouldn’t take no as an answer, like it was your first time getting rejected. and it seemed you needed some guidance, as you kept opening and closing your mouth.

“hang out with me.”

you were baffled by the sudden request. because, from what you’d seen, emil made it very clear that he didn’t like you any better than his sister. you looked at the dessert—a slice of cheesecake, untouched.

“if you want to help in some way, just hang out with me. I don’t have any friends, and I'm feeling quite bored.” he added. and you highly doubted it, given that you had seen him with a handful of people. but you did not really have the guts to turn him down, especially when he put it like that. he put the cheesecake right in front of you, as if he was getting ready to leave.

“well, sure.” you answered before he said anything. “should I keep it a secret from her?” you asked. you still didn’t want iris to cause him –and you– a headache. even though you still felt like she deserved knowing, no matter what.

“yeah, ideally,” he affirmed. dealing with iris was not quite the biggest problem, but her realizing the toy she’d adored so dearly was about to be taken wasn’t something he wished to happen so early. not when you were still a mere puppet of iris. (no matter how hard you tried to act like a saint) not when you were going to crawl back to her the moment she called out your name.

but no matter what, if she wasn’t willing to share her toys, he was going to carve one out for himself, one that is almost identical to hers.

***

you failed to understand how your best friend was cruel to such a person. you failed to understand why the two were never able to get along when emil was nothing but compatible all the time. he was okay with everything, not because he didn’t want to upset you –or anyone, for that matter– but because he never seemed to have any strong preferences for anything. he liked going around the town for new adventures, but if you wanted to sit down and drink a cup of coffee, who was he to say no?

“have you decided what you want to study?” you asked as he was absently scribbling down some song lyrics of an old band, wearing only one earbud. “I’m thinking of medicine,” he replied, still seeming unbothered. emil had a knack for biology, and he liked exploring the world studying it. he looked up at you when you didn’t give him a reaction, “how are your studies going?” you grabbed your book on the table and put it back in your backpack. “not bad, I guess.” you muttered. you two, seemingly bored with your little studying session, had agreed to study together at least twice a week. it felt nice, and although emil and iris didn’t resemble each other personality-wise, they still brought a similar type of comfort to you.

and they brought a similar type of suffering.

“your phone’s going off.” emil said as he looked at the phone on the table.

iris🤍

you took a peek at emil. he seemed still, not looking at you but the phone. he didn’t seem upset, bothered or disappointed. and it was as if he simply was not there. he just observed the whole scene as a spectator.

you took the call. and to be fair there wasn’t anything new. she kept going on and on about how busy she was, and how much she missed you, and if you were available anytime soon. you truly missed her too, but there was some weird sting on your stomach—like it was making sure you remember you keep secrets from her.

and well, it felt so stupid, if you had to be honest, because at the end of the day you didn’t do anything wrong.

“do you still only talk to me because you feel sorry?” he said, making you snap out of it.

“pardon?” you were taken aback by the sudden question.

“are you still trying to feel better about yourself?” he accused once more. still not a visible expression on his face, as if he simply asked out of curiosity.

you didn’t answer, more like, you didn’t bother to answer.

“it’s not like I’ve done anything I should feel bad about myself.” was all you told him. and when it was time to leave and you finally saw an expression on his face–a sour one specifically– you smiled.

“sure, there were times I felt bad, but I’ve never done anything out of pity.” you said genuinely. and you then saw another expression again, one you hadn’t witnessed until that moment: he was surprised.

then you left. to meet iris. your loveliest friend.

***

emil was intrigued by how honest you sounded. you didn’t try to hide anything, nor did you feel the need to sound sympathetic. it was a short, silly sentence. it was the sentence he wished he had heard six months ago, as it gave him a different type of rush—a different kind of validation. you weren’t running out with him for redemption. you liked his company–to a degree, at least.–

he didn’t care about iris, her stupid mind games, or his parents’ unconditional love for her, her promising future, or even her petty rivalry with him. because after all, it’d be a funny scene to watch when she found out you were, in fact, not hers.

however, he was still going to remove that white heart next to her name once he got his hands on your phone.

***

the more you’d spent time with him, the more anxious you started to get. you liked emil’s company, that much was true, but you were also frightened whenever you imagined iris’ disappointment.

you were not doing anything wrong. you were not. you were not. you

“you’re definitely going to fail.” emil said while he took notes on his book. damn, it really felt like you were cheating on your spouse sometimes.

“yeah, whatever, I’m bored.” you whined. “you still haven’t got any friends?” you suddenly asked; not realizing how that sounded, nor what came over you. he turned to you quickly. oh, welp.

“and what if I have?” he blurted.

“what? I was just wondering.” you said, laughing awkwardly. your nervousness made him snap back.

“just for the record, I haven't,” he chuckled. “I’m afraid you’ll be stuck with me for a little longer.”

although you hadn't noticed the tension, his firm grip on the pen very much proved he wasn’t feeling that humorous today.

another study session had ended. you were stretching your back while emil put your stuff in your backpack.

“come over for dinner tomorrow.” just when you were ready to go, he hit you with the offer.

however, having dinner with emil and iris as a friend of both of them was not the idea you’d had for tomorrow. definitely not.

[peachhcs]

begging on my hands and knees everyday for more james and hannah, i’ll take sneaky link era, i’ll take them figuring their shit out, i’ll take their first hangout with everyone and everyone reacting to their boss lady and guy that does what she says dynamic for the first time. i’ll take anything honestly they are my new hyper fixation.

ayeeee becoming active again means answering my month old asks. apologies to whoever asked this so many eons ago 🙏 here's when hannah and james weren't quite public nor official yet and he makes a trip to michigan when samy is away for the weekend for a game and he has to hide in the stands of hannah's meet so no one recognizes him

classes are officially OVER so you all know that means i'm back and ready to supply with new fics and requests. thanks for sticking this out with me through my hiatus 🤗

au masterlist

with samy out in california for a soccer game, hannah had the whole apartment to herself for the entire weekend. her whole plan started as just using the time to study, cleaning up a bit, and just unwinding by herself since the start of the semester had been so hectic.

oh, how fast that changed.

hannah mentioned to james that she'd be alone this weekend, not thinking much of it. the next thing she knew he was texting her telling her he was currently boarding a plane for detroit. it quickly dawned on the brunette that james, her..whatever they were..was coming to michigan. to see her. for the whole weekend.

they would be by themselves for the whole weekend.

it felt so, so wrong to go behind samy's back like that. her and hannah were friends since day one. they told each other almost everything, besides this of course. and hannah wanted to tell samy about james but she just didn't know howm especially when the two didn't even know what exactly they were.

so hannah just decided not to tell samy. the girl would be in california the whole weekend. the younger duke sister would make the apartment look like james wasn't even there when he left sunday morning.

it was just a matter of making sure everyone else in ann arbor would not find out james was there because of her. not that it was hard or anything, but it was already going to be a hurdle because her parents were in town to watch her meet which meant tyler would be there and that meant his hockey friends would be there and that meant hannah needed to make sure james would be as unrecognizable as possible.

"i feel like they're gonna know it's me," james stated as he threw on a michigan hoodie and one of many baseball hats hannah owned.

"i mean..the only person you really know is tyler and maybe he won't see you if you sit far enough away from them," hannah bit her lip though because she was a little afraid of people finding out about her and james.

not because she was ashamed, but more because they didn't even know what they were and agreed to keep it a secret. plus, tyler might rip one to james if he knew he was dating his twin sister.

"hey, don't worry. no one is gonna find out," james caught her worry fast. he cupped her face with his hand, a reassuring look on his features so she would mirror them.

she leaned into his touch, but not too much because she just did all of her makeup. "i know, i know. i think it's just all around nerves."

"you're gonna be awesome out there. i don't know a gymnast better than you," the boy praised earning a blush on hannah's cheeks.

he leaned in to press a gentle, but loving kiss to her lips. he was definitely taking off all her lip gloss, but hannah didn't care. she loved kissing him and seeing his own lips have a shine to them afterwards. sure enough when she pulled away, james' lips were stained with her berry gloss.

"you taste like berries," the boy pointed out.

"yeah, you have some now," she reached up to swipe his bottom lip. the hockey player blushed a bit.

"good," james pecked her lips one last time before letting her go because she had to be at the arena soon.

"i'll see you later. you know how to get over there right?" hannah started collecting her bag.

"yup, don't worry. i'll call you if there's problems."

they exchanged one last goodbye (or more like 2 or 3) before hannah escaped her apartment. she walked with some of her teammates who lived close by, temporarily forgetting about the boy in her apartment as she started preparing for the meet.

the stands were pretty full like usual. michigan gymnastics was quite popular amongst the students, so the girls always got a good turnout whenever they were at home. hannah scanned the stands for her parents and brother during warmups. she spotted them in one of the middle rows and waved. tyler brought a handful of hockey boys with him like usual. she could make out moldy, tj, ethan, mark, and luca who also all waved and jumped up like crazy when the girl saw them.

hannah grinned and without being too obvious, tried finding where james ended up. between all of the other students and michigan fans, it was hard to spot him in the maize and blue.

she almost worried he didn't make it in until she finally found the hat he was wearing on the complete other side of the stands. he was sitting middle, hat pulled pretty low over his eyes, but she knew it was him. a tiny smile graced her lips before looking away so she didn't draw any attention to him.

the gymnast almost felt giddy with the idea of having her..situationship (?) hiding in the stands so he wouldn't get recognized by the other hockey players and student population in general. everyone always knew when hannah was talking to a guy, so this was a first for her.

james' gaze found where hannah's parents and brother was sitting across the stands. he figured that they wouldn't pick him out of the crowd being on the other side, but he kept his hat low just in case and tried to blend in as best as possible. his eyes were on hannah anyway, watching her warm up in her events which seemed like she was all-around today. the hockey player always got nervous when she was all-around because it was more chances she might hurt herself, but he also knew hannah was trained in this and injuries were low chances for the most part.

the meet began shortly after warmups finished. james used the screaming of the student section to also cheer when hannah was anounced. the duke sister waved to everyone with a wide smile and james couldn't help but think how much she fit in with everyone down there. it made sense why she loved it so much because he's never seen such a glow on her face besides right now.

michigan started with vault and james was on the perfect side for a good view of the dismount.

it was no secret how good the michigan girls were at gymnastics. it was why they drew such a big crowd at every meet, but even from vault, james could telll why they were nationally ranked in the top 10 DI college teams. the girls were good.

when hannah's turn came james' gaze never left her. her parents and brother from the other side also cheered her on with excitement. vault wasn't hannah's favorite or specialty, but she was still damn good at it.

she stuck the landing which earned a lot of cheering from her teammates and student section. james jumped up as well, one weight off his chest because the first event was over. the event he was most excited to see bars because it was hannah's favorite and also the one she was really good at. she was a gold medalist in this event. although, it also stressed james out because it was the scariest event in his opinion.

hannah was anchoring the group in bars like usual. james ended up catching her gaze when she glanced in his direction. a soft smile sat on his lips as a small gesture of encouragement. hannah returned it before looking away so no one caught onto who she was looking at. the boy glanced up to where her family was and luckily, no one seemed to really notice who she may be looking at.

when it was finally the brunette’s turn james literally held his breath as soon as she swung on. she was in the air not even seconds later. it made sense why bars was her best event because james had never seen a routine more clean and perfect as hers. she swung through her passes like a pro, hardly even missing a beat as she pointed her toes and straightened her legs within milliseconds of grabbing the next bar. his breath still hadn’t left his chest though because hannah needed to have a successful landing for him to breathe again.

she made her last pass and then geared up to make her dismount. she did three big swings before spinning off the bar and landing square on the mat. she didn’t even stumble or anything as she spun around to signal to the judges that she was finished.

more cheers erupted in the stands for hannah's successful routine and landing, always so elegant and graceful. james breathed easier now that she was back on the ground.

as suspected, hannah got almost close to a perfect score, 9.998 which was around the same as her vault. her teammates clapped her on the back for pushing michigan ahead of their opponents. the girl flushed at all of the praise and people in the stands chanting her name.

the rest of the meet went smoothly and hannah’s near perfect scores earned michigan their win. no wonder why she was an all-around because she definitely proved how good she was at all of the events in general.

james snuck out of the stands before someone started talking to him. he knew hannah would be caught up with her family and brother’s hockey friends so he decided to just head back to her apartment with the spare key to wait for her there. however, the two weren’t as sneaky as they hoped because moldy was the one who pulled the girl to the side to ask about it.

“you got eyes for someone nowadays?” the hockey player smirked. hannah played dumb though.

“what are you talking about?” she laughed.

“i saw you looking at the other side of the stands,” nick nudged her arm, the smirk still on his lips. he was like ryan and gabe were to samy who knew everything about her after becoming so close their freshman year when he loved a floor above her and samy.

“you’re funny,” the brunette shook her head.

“it doesn’t..happen to be one of the bc hockey guys does it?” nick said and hannah snapped her head back to him, shock written on all of her features.

“how did you..”

“i’m not that blind, duker. he’s pretty recognizable,” nick shrugged. “you can always pick out a hockey player in a crowd.”

“okay..well, don’t tell anyone. we’re not even..” hannah trailed off when she noticed the other guys looking in their direction.

“i got you. who’d i even tell anyway?” the taller boy smiled.

“my brother?” hannah said like it was obvious but nick shook his head. he left it at that as he casually rejoined the group while hannah’s parents took their turn congratulating her.

“you did so good, honey! congrats on winning!” her mom squeezed her daughter tighter.

“thanks mom. thanks for coming, it means a lot,” the girl grinned. a lot of the times, her parents had to pick which event they’d be at and most times, they chose dylan or tyler, so it was good to see them here tonight.

“we wanna take you out for dinner if that’s okay? celebrate your win!” sharon exclaimed and hannah grimaced. she knew james would be able to handle himself for a few hours, but she felt bad leaving him alone.

but her parents only came down so much…she’d just text the boy to apologize and promised she’d spend the rest of the night with him.

“yeah, that sounds great,” hannah quickly grinned and pulled her phone out to shoot a quick text.

hannah

got pulled for dinner, sorry!!!

hope you’ll be okay by yourself for a few hours promise i’ll be back soon!!

james

don’t worry i’ll be good!

have fun w ur parents :)

the girl smiled at his text before shoving her phone away and head to dinner with her family and brother’s friends.

—

the group parted ways when hannah’s parents dropped her and nick off by their apartment complex. coincidentally, nick lived in the same building as her and hannah again.

“so, how’d this whole thing start with haggy? i thought you didn’t date?” nick wondered while the gymnast blushed.

“i..i don’t…not really. i don’t know. we started talking over the summer kind of. i guess he’s liked me for..awhile,” hannah explained.

“so it’s like hookup?” it always sounded so bad putting it that way.

“maybe? i don’t know. yeah?” the girl flushed.

“do you like him?”

that was a scary question hannah always hated hearing. whenever someone asked her that it always made her freeze up. she wasn’t someone who liked people in that way. she liked them, sure, but more as something fun and never serious. whatever her and james had thought was starting to feel way different than anything else.

“yeah?” hannah said unsurely.

“that doesn’t sound sure,” nick raised his eyebrow and stopped as they made it to the front door of the building.

“i don’t even really know. you know how i am. i don’t go all in but..something about this is different. i..i wouldn’t mind..going all in,” her words brought a smile to nick’s lips.

“that’s a first coming from you, duker. i respect it though. he seems like a good guy so i’m not worried if something does end up happening,” nick chuckled while hannah shook her head.

they made their way inside to the elevator. hannah pressed 4 while nick pressed 7.

“well, my lips are sealed. i won’t tell,” nick agreed which hannah appreciated.

“i owe you,” she giggled as the door slid open to floor 4. she waved goodnight to nick and made her way down the hallway to her apartment. her and samy had a cat welcome mat at the front door that was dirty from when samy walked in with muddy sneakers after a rainy practice.

it was dark besides a small light from the hallway. hannah quietly shut the door and followed the soft glow to her bedroom. james was already tucked into her bed looking half asleep on his phone. his gaze bounced to her when she stepped into the doorway.

“oh, hey. sorry, i got tired,” he mumbled. the girl smiled.

“sorry to keep you up,” she hummed, kicking her shoes off and dropping her bag onto the ground.

“it’s fine. how was dinner?” james threw his phone down and made room in her bed for her.

hannah crawled in even though her hair was still up and she was in her warm up t-shirt and sweatpants. “it was good. my parents are good. brother is good.”

“good, i’m glad. you did really good today,” the hockey player complimented earning a bright blush on hannah’s cheeks.

“thank you. it was nice finally having you there.”

james smiled, leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to her forehead. his eyes were dangerously close to closing again, but he wrapped his arm around her torso to bring her closer. hannah immediately snuggled into him without a second thought. it was..freeing to not have to worry about someone seeing them in the moment and they had the whole apartment to themselves for another day.

“i should make more spontaneous visits more often,” james mumbled sleepily.

“yeah, you should,” the duke sister agreed. she’d take having him here over anything and that was saying a lot.

the meet wiped her out, so it didn’t take long for hannah to fall asleep once james finally shut his eyes. they stayed wrapped up in one another the whole night.

[starrgaziinggg]

SMAU | undercover JYP-U

directory | next part ->

chapter 34 -> a night to remember

Walking out of the exam hall on Friday afternoon had you feeling ecstatic. It had been a long two weeks, not only considering exam prep. With the account revealing Jeongin's 'secret', your mind hadn't been able to solely focus on studying.

You had no idea who was running this account. Revealing your friend group's secrets was one thing, but to lie about Jeongin stealing exam answers was something else entirely. It took on a whole new malicious level of thinking, and you had no idea who would hate you all enough to do something like that.

Disregarding those thoughts to the back of your mind, you had said your farewells to Minho, Lix and Hyunjin as you and Chae had walked back towards your dorm to get ready for the party. Hyunjin had told you the boys spent hours putting up decorations in their dorm, trying their best to reign in the Halloween theme for Ryujin.

"I'm so fucking glad that exams are over," Chae sighs, practically skipping along the street as you descend towards the guys dorm.

It had taken you both three hours to get ready, after returning from your exam. The other girls had started an hour before you'd even arrived.

"You have no idea how much I'm looking forward to getting drunk tonight," she continued, spinning around in her costume. Ryujin had planned Harry Potter themed outfits for her, Yuna, Chae and Lia, and while the former three girls looked incredible, poor Lia was still stuffed in her bed with the flu.

"Oh girl," you chuckle, watching your friend smile back at you with glee, laughing when Yuna attempts to push Ryujin into a bush in front of you. "I know exactly how you feel."

And you did. The only things on your mind were 1. To have fun and wash away the stress of exams tonight and 2. To find out what monster was behind this account.

You knew it was taking a toll on your friends, too. Jeongin, the usually chirpy boy with the biggest, 'I don't give a fuck' mindset out of anyone of your friends, had been reduced to a shell of himself after his so called secret was leaked. You, Hyunjin and Minho had sat with him for hours consoling him and trying to figure out a way to navigate the situation.

What you couldn't wrap your head around was why the account would lie about Jeongin's 'secret'. It made no sense considering everything else they had revealed was fact. It threw a spanner in the works for you, and it was hard to pin the blame on anyone.

"Wait till you see the guys in their costumes," Ryujin claps her hands, grinning like a maniac. She'd spent hours choosing which costumes to give them, since none of them had the time (nor the energy) to choose them themselves. Maybe it was a bad idea to leave her in charge. At least, some of the boys would definitely agree. She'd been especially brutal with Changbin's outfit, all things considered.

Walking into the boys dorm, what could only be described as chaos ensued. Ryujin had clearly spared no expense, and you counted Hyunjin lucky that you'd forced Ryujin to let him do a couples costume with you and keep him out of her evil scheme.

Jeongin was jumping from furniture to furniture, pretending to shoot webs out of his hands while Chan shouted at him. Chan's costume might have been your favourite as you stood clinging to Ryujin as laughter overcomes you. It might have been, but when you turned to your left and caught a glimpse of Changbin, your opinion quickly changed. Ryujin literally collapsed into a heap on the floor laughing at him.

"I know we've had our fair share of disagreements, but really Jin?" Changbin whines, tapping a crumpled Ryujin with a cowboy boot. "Look at the state of me!"

Minho pops up out of nowhere to stab Changbin's neck at that point, manically laughing when Changbin rubs at the spot Minho's fake weapon had attempted to impale him. You shake your head at their antics, smiling when a pair of toned arms wrap around your torso.

"You look sexy as fuck," Hyunjin says lowly into your ear, placing a kiss against your cheek as he spins you in his arms.

"Watch the makeup!" You laugh, shaking your head and giving him a once over. If he thought you looked hot, he was something else entirely. You decided to give him a proper kiss, placing your lips against his momentarily.

"Ew," you hear Jeongin say from Chan's confinements after being forced back onto two feet firmly on the ground. "Get a room!"

You roll your eyes at the younger boy, grabbing Hyunjin's hand and pulling him towards the kitchen. You hear the music start playing and can only assume Jisung has managed to connect to the speaker.

"I'm serious," Hyunjin says into your ear from behind you, placing his hands on your hips and spinning you around to face him. You hear a chorus of 'ooh's from your friends; Ryujin, Felix, Yuna, and Chan in the kitchen. You flip them off without a second thought.

"Yeah yeah, I'm hot, move on," you say cheekily, giving him a grin. Hyunjin just shakes his head at you, pulling out ingredients to create your favourite cocktail. "Mojito?"

"Of course," he replies, expertly concocting the drink you love so much. "I bought the ingredients yesterday just for you."

"Don't act like it's not your favourite too," you point out, to which he puts up his hands in defeat. You watch as Ryujin busts into the kitchen with her camera, giggling like a maniac.

"Pose for a picture! I'm gonna post all our costumes as a competition and see who gets the most likes," she explains, ushering you to Hyunjin's side and making you both turn around to face her. You roll your eyes with a smile, leaning into the tall man beside you and making a peace sign.

Just before Ryujin snaps the image, Hyunjin presses his lips to your cheek, making you grin. The flash goes off, and Ryujin audibly squeals when she sees the photo she's taken.

"You guys are ridiculously cute, look," she says, turning the camera to show you both the image. Hyunjin wraps an arm round you, giving the photo a thumbs up.

"You're so talented, Jinni," he says in approval, which you nod at. "If we don't win I'll be pissed."

"Mojitos!" Yuna interrupts then, bounding up to you and Hyunjin and giving him a pout. "One for me?"

Hyunjin shakes his head smiling, bringing out a third glass. "Whatever you wish."

Yuna sends you a grin before pointing at Ryujin, the latter attempting to take a picture of Jeongin whilst he springs around the room. You can't help but laugh at your friends antics, thankful your mind has been well and truly taken away from all the drama this semester had caused you.

"Stay still!" Ryujin shouts, furiously moving her camera to track Jeongin's position. Seungmin walks into the kitchen then, so Ryujin turns her attention onto him instead, making him pose.

"Aren't you the cutest," Yuna compliments when Seungmin's finished, pinching his cheeks. He swats at her, rolling his eyes. Hyunjin hands both you and Yuna your cocktails, which you thank him for with a peck.

"Yeah, well I got it better than some of the other guys. Chan's saying his frat bros have a Halloween themed party going on and want us to join, but Changbin's refusing to be seen by anyone else in his costume," he explains, nodding to Changbin who's sulking in the kitchen corner as Ryujin takes his picture, too.

"A frat party?" You question, sending Seungmin a raised eyebrow. "Do we not recall how the last one went down?"

You point at the subtle scar on your cheek for good measure, which Yuna pouts at, giving it a kiss.

"You're beautiful," she says with a grin, which you stick your tongue out at. "But yeah, as much as I'd love to see Chan's gorgeous frat friends again, I dunno if it's a good idea."

"You know I'd usually agree, but Chan says there's not a lot of people there, since they had their actual big Halloween party on Saturday. This is just a small costume party for the frat guys and their close friends," Seungmin informs you, shrugging his shoulders.

Hyunjin turns to you with a shrug. "I'd be down. I wouldn't be surprised if Alex has already messaged me about it," he says, referring to one of his friends that's also a member of the frat. You'd been informed by Hyunjin later on that he was the one that had driven you to the hospital that one time. "But if you're not up for it, we don't need to go."

He turns to you, and you sigh. "Oh, what the fuck, why not. It would be nice for you and Chan to see your friends again. Plus, we could all use a good night. As long as that guy Changbin fought isn't there."

"Nah, Chan said he was some guy from a rival frat," Yuna says with a grimace, shivering. "Was winding him up all night apparently. Anyway, that's a no go topic for tonight. This is post exam, audition and drama stress fun."

She gives you a wink as Hyunjin cocks his head at the blonde. "How did your audition go, anyway?"

Yuna had already informed you how her audition for the end of year showcase the drama department put on had gone, after it had happened. The play that had been chosen was Legally Blonde, so obviously Yuna was gunning for the lead.

"Excellently, of course," she replied with a flick of her hair. "I think the recent drama gave me a good edge to my performance."

Hyunjin laughs at her, but Seungmin says nothing, just grabbing his phone where it was placed on the counter. "Let's tell the others we're gonna go, yeah?"

Nodding in reply, you walk through to the living area of the boys dorm. Jeongin's finally pulled his mask down, bleach blonde hair fluffy atop his head. He was desperate to get it dyed back, his roots growing out quickly. Hyunjin was much the same, though you'd admitted to him you liked the blonde locks, and forced him to keep it just a little longer.

"Ryujin, I love you, but I'm changing before we go," Felix says, shouting through to her whilst running into his room. Changbin groans at that, digging his heels into the carpet with a pout. You chuckle, taking your jacket from Hyunjin and thanking him.

"I want to change too! Chan, please can we go back to ours?" He pleads, giving the older man his best puppy eyes. Chan shakes his head absentmindedly.

"No can do. Felix!" He shouts, though Felix reappears instantly, sporting a hoodie and baggy jeans. "Oh. Excellent timing. Let's go, everyone!"

"Yes dad," Jisung groans, pulling the witch hat off of his head and chucking it on the ground before leaving the boys dorm. You watch Ryujin give him a glare, complaining she spent good money on that, before heading to the front of the pack with Chae, Chan, Minho and Felix.

"This outfit better pull me mad chicks tonight," Jeongin says, hanging back with you and Hyunjin as you follow the same route to your sister university. Hyunjin shakes his blonde head at him.

"You do realise you need actual rizz to pull chicks, right?" He berates the younger boy, ruffling his hair with a grin.

"Fuck off, Hyunjin," Jeongin whines, pulling away from his older friend. "You clearly have no rizz, since you two haven't even -"

"Okay!" You shout, pushing the younger boy away and watching him turn around with a devious smirk. "Ignore him, he thinks he's invincible in that Spider-Man costume."

Hyunjin chuckles, not saying much as you cross the road to the frats. As Seungmin had mentioned, the frat wasn't brimming with drunk college students like the last time you were here. It appeared much more civilised, Chan's friend greeting you at the door and ushering you in, with maybe twenty people drinking casually and chatting around the large entryway.

"Plenty of drinks in the kitchen," his friend grins, chucking an arm around Chan as you all start to mingle. "Yuna, Sungwoon's been talking about you nonstop, he's outside."

Yuna gives a happy squeal, giving you a wave before making a beeline outdoors. Jeongin pulls you towards the kitchen area with Felix, and before you get a second to think you're downing shots with them. Taking note of the fact Hyunjin's standing with Alex, you make three drinks and head in their direction, passing the two men their glasses.

"Thanks, angel," Hyunjin smiles, giving you a kiss on the cheek. He slings an arm around you comfortably, and you appreciate how easy it is to be with him. You didn't know what you expected, being official with Hyunjin, but it was honestly better than you could have imagined.

"Yeah, cheers," Alex thanks you, clinking your glasses. "I'm actually glad you guys are finally together. Hyunnie boy wouldn't shut up about you for months."

Hyunjin rolls his eyes, pushing his friend with a laugh. "Yep, shut up Alex."

Raising an eyebrow, you squint your eyes at Hyunjin. "Months, eh?"

"Don't let it get to your head," he smirks, giving Alex the evils.

The next couple hours are spent chatting to more of Alex's friends, which had become Hyunjin'a friends by association, sprawled out on the comfortable sofas in the living area. The girls dip in and out, coming to chat periodically before getting swept away again.

After a while, you feel yourself start to yawn, the stress of exams evidently taking their toll. Hyunjin saunters up to you, making Jeongin gag from his spot beside you on the sofa, instantly fleeing the scene.

"Hey babe," he grins, pecking your cheek. Smiling back, you pull your knees to your chest, leaning into him. "Tired?"

"Mhm," you sigh back. "Those all nighters have fucked me up big."

He laughs, patting your head fondly. "Wanna come back to the dorm with me? I'm shattered too, but these freaks don't seem like they're leaving any time soon."

He nods his head towards your friends, scattered around the frat. You can't help but smile at them, most of them still in their costumes, chatting and drinking. It was your favourite thing to see, then having fun. To Hyunjin, you nod sleepily.

"Sounds good to me. Let me say bye to the girls," you say, heaving yourself off the sofa and wandering off in Yuna's direction. She notices you straight away, pulling you in for a side hug - evidently blasted.

"Peeling off early with your boy toy?" She raises her eyebrows mischievously, placing your face in her hands. "Don't blame you. My guy's gone to sleep already, idiot."

"Where's Ryujin?" You say in between laughter, taking the odd alcoholic concoction out of Yuna's hands and pulling her into the kitchen.

"No clue to be honest," she says, downing the water you give her. "Saw her last maybe an hour ago?"

"She just messaged saying she's alright," Chae chirps, joining you both. "Like five minutes ago? Dunno where she actually is though."

"Aw, let her have her fun," Yuna swats her hand, tilting her head. "After everything with Changbin she deserves a bit of freedom."

"My thoughts exactly," you agree, winking at Chae who laughs. "Anyway, get home safe, message me when your back, and let me know how Lia is. See you guys in the morning?"

The girls hug you, bidding their farewells. You wave bye to Jeongin, Chan and Jisung, the only of the guys you can see, before meeting Hyunjin at the entrance and leaving. You both spend the short walk home chatting about the night, keeping both your spirits high.

"Did you see Felix like, at all?" Hyunjin asks while he uses his key card to unlock the door to his dorm. "I swear I saw him once and then he disappeared."

"Honestly I feel like everyone split off to mingle pretty early on," you reply lazily, kicking off your shoes and jacket. It was almost eerie how quiet Hyunjin's dorm was, usually bustling with all the boys. "It was nice to talk to your friends, though."

"Yeah, they seemed to like you a lot," he grins, turning and placing his hands on your hips. "Not surprised though, with a face like yours."

"Oh, that's all I am, huh?" You say slyly. "A pretty face?"

"And a beautiful dancer, a smartass, a funny little thing..." he berates you, which you hit him on the shoulder for. He only shakes his head. "Seriously though? How lucky am I to call you mine, yeah?"

"Im yours now, am I?" You raise an eyebrow, letting him pull you closer towards him.

He rolls his eyes dramatically, inching forward. "If you're willing to be stuck with me."

You grin, tilting your head. "Right back at you."

He ends your back at forth by kissing you, a hand placed on your cheek, simultaneously moving you backwards to his room. Giggling between kisses, you turn the handle to his door and watch him kick it shut behind him, deepening the kisses and moving you to sit on his bed.

You pull apart, watching his handsome face stare down at you with a smile. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because you're stunning," he says instantly, not missing a beat. "And I thoroughly enjoy looking at you. You do need to take that face makeup off though, because it's completely smudged."

"So is yours!" You laugh, placing a thumb over his lips and smudging it even more. "Fuck, no makeup remover here."

"Come again?" Hyunjin says, holding up a bottle of makeup remover and cotton pads. You furrow your eyebrows in astonishment.

"You have makeup remover?" You ask shocked as he hands you it whilst removing his own makeup.

"I dunno," he says once he's finished. "I bought some stuff you might need incase you stay over. Dorm full of boys, not much feminine equipment here."

You laugh as you finish removing your own makeup, setting everything down on his bedside table.

"How considerate of you," you smile when he sits next to you on the bed. He rolls his eyes.

"It's more of an excuse so you stay more."

"Oh yeah?" You respond slyly before he starts kissing you again, a hand moving to your cheek. You stay like that for a while until you take the initiative, playing with the hem of his tshirt.

"What's this?" Hyunjin says with a smirk, breaking away from you momentarily to look at your hands.

"What?" You say with a giggle, shrugging shyly. "Is it so wrong of me to want to take your top off?"

"You first," he nods, which you hit him for with a laugh. "Seriously though, are you sure you're okay to take this further?"

You squint at him. "Do I look like I'm not sure?"

"Baby," he sighs, tilting his head. "I'm just making sure you want this. God help me, you must know how much I want you."

You feel a tingle down your spine at his words, but you play it cool, smiling up at Hyunjin.

"I want you right back," you reply, nodding to solidify your certainty. He laughs at you, shaking his head.

"And you're not drunk?" He says seriously.

"I stopped drinking hours ago. Stop stalling, dickhead," you say, pushing his shoulder gently.

"Okay, okay, I guess I'm just nervous," he says with a shaky laugh, and you tilt your head at him. "Come on. I know you've heard the rumours about me on campus hell, even from our friends. I don't want you to have expectations here because frankly I have very low confidence on how long I'm gonna last."

You chuckle at him, taking his face in your hands. "I don't care about your sex god rumours, Hyun."

This seems to give him some confidence, because with a final shake of his head, he's kissing you again, slowly pushing you down onto his bed. He kisses your neck, hard enough to leave marks which you'll kill him for in the morning but right now you just don't care.

"I have no idea when the guys will be back," he says breathlessly as he pulls away from your neck.

"Better make this quick then," you smirk, almost confused at how easy this feels. In the past, your sexual encounters had been rushed, messy one night stands or awkward fifth date endings. You'd never felt so many feelings towards someone you were intimate with before, and it made all the difference.

"Next time, I promise I will take my time with you," he says, reattaching himself on your chest, moving your top to the side to give him access.

"Next time?" You say breathlessly, which he rolls his eyes at, pulling you towards him to remove your tshirt and his own, and Jesus - this boy should take his top off more often. His toned stomach, defined biceps...the list goes on.

"Trust me," he whispers, unclasping your bra and throwing it on the floor. He looks up at you, puppy eyes that draw you in immediately. "There's gonna be a next time."

And you're entranced, watching him work his magic on your body, hands and tongue everywhere. He pulls down your skirt, and then your underwear, and you don't feel insecure for even a second when he attaches himself to your core, spreading open your legs. Your hands fly straight to his hair, tugging at the blonde strands without a coherent thought.

"Hyunjin," you groan, lifting his head up to face you. "I want you, now. Before anyone gets back."

He smirks, his classic smirk, wetness dripping from his lips. "Don't have to tell me twice."

After removing his jeans and boxers, he rolls on a condom, aligning himself, an arm propping himself up by your head. He leans in, kissing you gently.

"You're so beautiful," he whispers, using his other hand to move the stray hair from your face and rubbing your cheek with his thumb. "I can't wait until I can spend hours making you feel good."

This man. He made you feel so ridiculously turned on it should be a crime. He pushes into you slowly, not leaving your eyes as he does so. The stretch is manageable, but you wince nonetheless, his hand intertwining with yours immediately.

"You're okay," he says, a statement that makes you feel at ease instantly. "Tell me if it hurts."

"It's okay," you smile, pecking his lips quickly. "You can move."

It takes a minute of his slow movements for you to get used to his size, but once you do, the pleasure is unmatched. He finds a rhythm that works for the both of you, hitting the spot deep inside of you that has you whining his name and your eyes rolling back. He places a hand on the headboard of his bed, increasing his pace when he sees how much you enjoy it.

"You feel so fucking amazing," he groans, dipping down to kiss you as much as he can through your breathlessness. "Fucking hell, you have no idea how hard it is to hold back right now."

"Then don't," you say instantly, prioritising his pleasure over yours. You definitely had heard the stories on campus of Hyunjin - one in which he was the only guy who had made a girl finish in her life before, so you knew he'd make it up to you. Right now, all you wanted was for him to let go.

"Fuck, don't say that," he shakes his head, moving a hand to grip your waist as he pulls himself inside and out of you rapidly.

"Do it. Cum for me, Hyun," you all but whine, which seems to be his breaking point, he groans, thrusting into you hard a couple more times before slowing down and stilling inside of you.

"I hate you," he groans, face hidden in your shoulder. You laugh, catching your breath as your chest rises and falls. "I seriously hate you. I could have kept going."

And that's the moment the door to the boys dorm swings open and you hear the boys crashing in, completely smashed. Jeongin's distinct voice overpowers as he stumbles around the living room, complaining that daddy Chan removed him from the fun.

"Good thing you didn't," you smirk, a hand gently pulling through Hyunjin's blonde hair, which he laughs at, groaning as he untangles himself from you to dispose of the condom.

"Bro, you're smashed. Go to fucking bed," you hear Minho say to Jeongin, whilst Hyunjin pulls on his boxers and chucks you one of his large tshirts. You pull it on, laughing at the guys outside. There's a banging on Hyunjin's door then, which he rolls his eyes at.

"Hope you wore protection, sex lord!" Jeongin shouts through, Hyunjin replying with a, 'shut the fuck up.'

"Jeongin! Go to sleep!" Seungmin shouts from his room, Hyunjin flopping back into bed with you.

"I say we wait five before we go out to brush our teeth," Hyunjin chuckles, kissing you on the lips gently. "Hopefully by then Jeongin will have crashed."

"You want me to use your toothbrush?" You ask, an eyebrow raised.

"Hell no! I bought you your own," he fake gags. You smile at him sleepily, ruffling his hair.

"You're just the cutest," you coo. He swats at you in return, pulling you into his arms.

"Nah. All you."

"Gross!" Jeongin shouts. "Nobody wants to hear your declarations of love!"

You only shake your head at him, thankful for the man holding you. Everything may have gone to shit in the last two months, but at least one good thing had came out of it. And you weren't planning to get rid of him anytime soon.

@cursed-mars-bars @imasimplol @hyunverse @aestaeticous @dorisnumber1fan @amnmich @detectivedoodle @mara-mars @end0rchans @raresevng @nhyunn @lixie-phoria @beomgyusonlywife @seolarpower @cuddlethebear r @weird-bookworm @ceelestic @worcesheshestershiresauce @hyuneyeon @downbadreading @where-is-innie @its-hannjisung @weird0o0 @sxhxnax @moretinyideas eas @realrintaro @pinkcherryblossomangel el @tesywesy @beaann @cutesince2000 @lynlyndoll @furryenthusiastbread @nyasstars @eyearebee @lynlyndoll

[1moreff-creator]

The latest ask you got made me go check out your post on mashing the DRDT cast and P:EG cast together and another dynamic that I think would be interesting is Arturo and Diana.

I know there's still a lot more of DRDT and Eden's Garden to get through before we can say how they'd interact but I feel like there's already a ton you could say about what they'd think of each other.

It does sound like an interesting dynamic!

Spoilers for DRDT CH2, P:EG CH1. CW: Arturo, (mentioned) suicide.

Arturo & Diana

I didn't mention it in the original post, but I do think there's a chance Arturo would consider Diana a "beautiful person." She's popular, pretty, etc., so she meets the criteria. Unfortunately for everyone involved, though, she's not as confrontational as J or Wenona (also brought up as "beautiful" in the og post), so I don't think Diana would instantly tell him off like the other two. I think she'd tell him that if he wants to be friends with her, he can just chill out a bit and don't treat her any differently than he'd treat his other friends and that's okay.

Unfortunately, Arturo wouldn't exactly take the hint. He'd probably keep fawning over her, which would make Diana uncomfortable, but she'd struggle to push him away. Eventually, someone like Hu or J or Ingrid or Wolfgang or maybe Jean or Desmond or whoever would have to step up and try to encourage Diana to tell Arturo off, or just do it for her if she's still struggling. Diana would probably keep giving him the benefit of the doubt for a long time, though. Especially after learning his secret, since she'd feel a good amount of pity over the whole sister situation.

I don't really know how this would turn out in the end, given that as you said there's still a lot about these characters that we don't know. I like to think Diana would eventually tell him to go find other friends because she's getting irritated by his fawning (in as polite a way as she can), and by that point there would be an entire Diana Defense Squad of J, Hu, Wolfgang, Ingrid, etc., ready to tell Arturo off when he starts being weird again. That said, I have zero clue on how Arturo would act after that point, since we're missing a lot of critical details on this aspect of his character. So... I guess we're leaving it here!

Hope that made some amount of sense! Thanks for the ask!

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

wibta if I started a different discord chat for my friend group just to exclude one person

I know it sounds bad and that I'm just starting shit but we've all been friends for 10+ years now so it's not something I'm considering lightly. We currently have a private discord server of just the 4 of us that we switched to as opposed to a traditional gc since we all have different phones and its good for having multiple conversations, quality photos and videos, and keeping a clear record of when and where plans are made

Anyway, this isn't a recent problem but the friend (A) has always had a tardiness problem it started with her not being able to wake up early in the morning but even if we have late night/afternoon plans she still can't get dressed and/or finish her makeup on time and causes us to be consistently at least 1 hour late which I was hoping she'd start growing out of after highschool but this isn't the case (we're now all 22+) and is especially frustrating when going out to eat bc by the time we leave all of us are hangry and expected to eat hours earlier. Recently A has started prioritizing other friends of hers which is nbd she can have other friends we all do except she'll drop plans last min with us to go with them which is also annoying bc it's disrespectful for the rest of us to be blown off like that. We're clearly not her priority anymore but she always expects to be ours, plans have to be on her work schedule, on her timeframe, on if she will be tired etc. plus being an afterthought leaves out a friend in the group (B) who had to move out of state with family and now he can't tell if we're making plans behind *his* back and he feels left in the dark when in truth he knows as much as I and the other local friend (C) do

It's to the point we've stopped doing any plans that start before like 2pm because we can't rely on her to be ready but she'll be upset if we don't wait for her while she's still getting ready, esp cuz we usually carpool, which already limits what we want to do together in the first place

However, it was my birthday recently and I'm currently ~2hr drive (no more than 3 with heavy traffic) from A and C, who doesn't have a car and needs to be picked up by A. I really wanted to go to my fav breakfast place and had some other plans for after and I kept emphasizing what time A needed to get here because the place closes early (they only serve breakfast). And at this point no one should be surprised she didn't arrive until after 1pm, after the place was closed, and at that point no one had eaten all day so we had to rush and find somewhere else that'd be open and nearby bc we were all starving and half my plans for the day were gone bc they were based on places we'd go after breakfast that also close in the afternoon (2-5 depending on the place) and since they are my closest friends and dont know my other friends who live closer and I've only known for less than 2 yrs (who I wasn't comfortable to ask for bday presents from yet still) (still got one from 1 even tho I insisted they didn't have to tho lol) they were the only people I made solid birthday plans with this year so it was really heartbreaking to deal with and have everything I was excited for be cancelled since it's hard for me to go out like this on my own w anxiety and busy work schedule too but I scheduled the day off. I was hoping that she would try even just a little bit because it was my birthday the one day I ask for literally anything and we rarely see each other now bc of conflicting work schedules and I DID plan for her to be semi late in secret but I didn't expect her to arrive for breakfast after 12

Anyway that's the whole backstory plus the recent straw on the camel's back but I just want to make a new chat between me, B, and C, to plan virtual movie and game nights bc she never reads the events chat anyway and all our online call plans grind to a halt for hours or days waiting for an answer bc at least C still wants to try and include A even tho her schedule is so busy or she's tired or will prob be late to the call and make us wait for her or cancel or leave early or we debate what game/movie A wants but she doesn't even NEED to be there it's just like.. Minecraft. Or a pirated 90s movie we're streaming or wtvr

I've tried saying like "hey I'm gonna be playing x on Saturday if anyone's free come and join me" but that usually just ends in me gaming alone bc it's so noncommittal the others will catch up on other work they have but really I'm just trying to hang with any of them even if 1 person can't make it at the time we don't always have to only call in a group yk?

A is nice otherwise like she's still my friend just planning anything with her is starting to be like pulling teeth and I still want to keep in touch with her and hear how she's doing from our discord server but stuff like that I just want to start separating her from weekly calls (which are currently more like monthly) bc she's so flakey but I know it's kinda shitty to purposefully leave her out and she'd be upset if she ever found out I was doing that.

I'm also open to advice on how to deal with this situation in general, thus the detail, without causing a huge fight or make anyone pick sides +her tardiness won't be something we can talk through it's something we've worked on for years and recently have just given up and accepted since she's late even to things that are important to her

What are these acronyms?

[shiorihyugawrites]

A Soft Place

In a post-Rumbling world, where the threat of Titans no longer looms, Vanessa Sinclair finds herself living a quiet life, working at her family’s bakery in Wall Rose. Curvy and self-conscious, Vanessa has always faded into the background, overshadowed by her more outgoing friends. But everything changes when Captain Levi Ackerman, Humanity's Strongest Soldier, begins visiting the bakery regularly. What starts as a simple exchange of tea and pastries quickly evolves into something more. Levi, drawn to her quiet strength and beauty, takes Vanessa on a journey that forces her to confront her insecurities, while learning that sometimes, what lies beneath the surface is more than enough. (Levi x Plus Sized OC)

Chapter Twenty Seven

Three weeks had passed, and Vanessa couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Levi, as calm and stoic as ever, had been acting just a bit… off-kilter. It wasn’t anything glaring, but in the quiet moments when she caught him alone, she’d see subtle signs. Like the other day when she found him at the bakery, sipping his tea. Vanessa had walked in from the back room, ready to ask him something, and froze in her tracks.

Levi was smiling.

Levi, smiling to himself.

It had been a small, soft smile, just a flicker on his normally stoic face, but Vanessa had never seen him like that. The moment had been so strange that she almost asked him if he was feeling okay.

But then, just as quickly as it appeared, the smile was gone, and he was back to his usual unreadable self.

Vanessa hadn’t said anything at the time, but her mind had been replaying that moment ever since. She tried to brush it off, but the odd behavior didn’t stop there. Her mother, Vivian, had also been unusually giddy. For the past few weeks, Vivian had been sneaking glances at Vanessa, especially when Levi came over, and then she'd launch into some commentary about how "things are getting serious" and how "Vanessa isn’t getting any younger."

Robin and Emma were no better.

The two had insisted that they all get friendship rings—a harmless gesture at first. Vanessa had gone along with it, mostly because it seemed to make her friends happy. But something felt strange, they’d also been pushing her to keep her nails manicured. Robin had insisted, “You have to keep your nails looking perfect! You want to show off that ring, right?”

Vanessa didn’t see the need for it. “It’s just a friendship ring, Robin. Why the fuss?”

Robin had given her a sly grin, waving her hands dismissively. “You’ll thank me later. Just keep them looking nice, okay?”

Emma had been no less subtle. She’d commented at least twice that week about how beautiful Vanessa’s hands looked when they were all dressed up. Vanessa couldn’t help but feel like everyone around her was acting strange. Levi’s occasional secret smiles, her mother’s incessant comments, and now Robin and Emma’s bizarre focus on her nails? Something was going on, but she couldn’t figure out what...

…

It was another early morning at The Sweet House. Vanessa stood behind the counter, arranging pastries and filling orders. The bakery smelled of warm cinnamon, sugar, and freshly baked bread—comforting and familiar. Yet her mind wandered back to the strange behavior everyone around her had been exhibiting.

Levi was due to visit the bakery soon, as he always did, and Vanessa found herself nervously smoothing her apron, wondering if today would bring more of his cryptic smiles. She wasn’t sure whether to press him for answers or let it go.

As if on cue, the bell above the door chimed, and Levi stepped inside. He was dressed as usual—his coat framing his lean, strong figure—but there was something different about him today. He seemed… lighter, like the weight he usually carried had shifted slightly.

Vanessa greeted him with a warm smile, though her eyes were full of curiosity. “Morning, Captain,” she teased, handing him his usual tea. “You’re looking suspiciously happy again.”

Levi accepted the tea with his usual calm, but the corner of his mouth twitched, as if he were suppressing a smile. He gave her a quick glance, his steel-gray eyes betraying nothing.

“Just a good day,” he said, his voice as flat as ever, though Vanessa could sense something beneath the surface.

She tilted her head, narrowing her eyes. “Uh-huh… Are you sure you’re not hiding something? You’ve been smiling more lately, and that’s not exactly your style.”

Levi met her gaze, his expression neutral but with a flicker of amusement. “I don’t smile.”

Vanessa crossed her arms, a playful grin spreading across her face. “I saw it with my own eyes, Captain. You smiled the other day. I almost had to check your temperature.”

Levi huffed, taking a sip of his tea as if to avoid answering, but Vanessa didn’t miss the way his eyes softened slightly when he looked at her.

“Maybe you’re imagining things,” he replied dryly, but there was something warm in his tone.

Vanessa wasn’t convinced, but before she could question him further, the back door swung open, and Robin and Emma burst into the room. They were carrying trays of freshly baked bread, but their eyes were on Vanessa and Levi. Both of them exchanged a look that Vanessa didn’t quite catch, and then Robin cleared her throat.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Captain Levi,” Robin said with a grin, setting the tray down. “You’re here bright and early. Planning to steal Ness away for some secret mission?”

Emma, trying to keep a straight face, added, “Yeah, you two seem to be in on something we don’t know about.”

Levi shot them both a sharp glance, and Vanessa, sensing the shift in the air, raised an eyebrow. “Alright, what’s going on with you three? You’ve all been acting weird for weeks now.”

Robin’s face went blank for a second, clearly trying to think of a way to steer the conversation away from dangerous territory. “What? Us? Nooo, we’re just our usual fabulous selves!”

Emma nodded, her expression painfully forced. “Yep, just making sure everything’s perfect for the bakery. Nothing else.”

Vanessa’s eyes flicked between them, then back to Levi. Her suspicion deepened. “Right. Sure.”

She wasn’t buying it.

…

The next day, Levi made his way toward the jeweler’s shop with a steady, purposeful stride. Today, it wasn’t just him heading to pick up the ring—Vivian had insisted on coming with him. Levi had agreed, knowing how important this was not only for him but also for Vanessa’s mother, who had been as excited, if not more, about the upcoming proposal.

As they approached the jeweler’s shop, Vivian could barely contain her excitement. She clutched her purse tightly, her eyes shining with anticipation. “Oh, Levi,” she gushed, almost bouncing with energy, “I can’t believe we’re here to get the ring! My Vanessa is going to be over the moon. I just know it!”

Levi glanced at her, offering a rare, small smile. “It’s about time,” he muttered, his usual stoic tone softened with a hint of excitement he couldn’t quite hide.

The bell above the door chimed as they stepped into the shop. The jeweler, the same elderly man who had worked with Levi to design the ring, looked up from behind the counter and smiled warmly at the sight of them. “Ah, Captain Levi, and you must be Vanessa’s mother,” he greeted, nodding politely to Vivian.

Vivian beamed. “That’s me! And I’m so excited I can hardly stand it.”

The jeweler chuckled softly as he reached beneath the counter, pulling out a small velvet box. “Well, I think you’ll both be pleased. The ring is ready, and I must say, it turned out beautifully.”

Levi stepped forward, his eyes trained on the box as the jeweler opened it. Inside, nestled in black velvet, was the gold band, shining softly in the light. The delicate oval-cut diamond sat perfectly in the center, not too large, but its brilliance caught the eye. The butterfly etchings on the sides of the band were subtle but intricate, each wing perfectly detailed. And inside, engraved in elegant script, were the words Levi had chosen: More than enough.

Vivian’s breath hitched the moment she laid eyes on it. “Oh my God,” she whispered, one hand flying to her mouth as her eyes welled up with tears. “Oh, Levi… it’s perfect. It’s… it’s even more beautiful than I imagined.”

Levi stared at the ring in silence for a moment, taking in every detail. It was exactly as he’d envisioned—simple, elegant, and deeply personal. Something Vanessa could wear every day without worrying, but still something that would remind her of how much she meant to him. More than she ever realized.

Vivian’s tears flowed freely now as she reached out to gently touch the edge of the velvet box. “She’s going to love it,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “I just know it. This is… it’s everything.”

The jeweler smiled, watching the emotional reaction with quiet pride. “I’m glad you both approve. I could tell this ring was made with a lot of thought and care.”

Levi nodded, his gaze still locked on the ring. “It was,” he said quietly.

Vivian sniffled and wiped at her eyes with a handkerchief she’d pulled from her purse. “I’m just so… so happy. I always dreamed of the day my Vanessa would find someone who truly saw her for the beautiful, kind, and talented woman she is. And to see how much effort you’ve put into this, Captain, it’s…” She paused, her voice trembling with emotion. “It means the world to me. And it will mean everything to her.”

Levi shifted slightly, feeling a rare wave of vulnerability pass over him as he listened to Vivian’s words. He wasn’t a man who spoke much, especially not about his feelings. But he hoped that everything he’d put into planning this—the ring, the proposal, everything—would show Vanessa how much she meant to him without him needing to say all the words.

“Thank you,” he said simply, his voice low but sincere.

Vivian gave him a watery smile, reaching out to place a hand on his arm. “No, thank you, Levi. For loving my daughter the way you do. I can’t tell you how much it means to me.”

Levi gave a small nod, his usual stoic demeanor firmly in place, but inside, he felt a swell of something that he couldn’t quite put into words. It was more than just love—it was a sense of purpose, of belonging, that he hadn’t felt in a long time.

The jeweler carefully closed the box and handed it to Levi. “Here you are, Captain. It’s all ready for you.”

Levi took the box, holding it in his hand for a moment before tucking it safely into his coat pocket. “Appreciate it,” he said, his tone firm and businesslike, though there was a quiet gratitude behind his words.

Vivian, still dabbing at her eyes with her handkerchief, looked at Levi with a knowing smile. “Now, when are you going to propose? Have you planned it all out yet?”

Levi exhaled softly, thinking about the answer. He had a few ideas floating around in his mind, but now that he held the ring, it all felt more real. “Not yet,” he admitted. “But it’ll be soon. I’m just waiting for the right moment.”

Vivian smiled, her eyes twinkling with excitement. “Whatever you do, I know it’ll be perfect. Vanessa won’t suspect a thing.” She let out a small laugh, her mood lifting. “She’s already wondering why you’ve been acting strange lately. She told me she caught you smiling to yourself!”

Levi gave a rare, faint chuckle at that. “She did. Almost blew it.”

“Well,” Vivian said, straightening up and clasping her hands together, “you’ve got my blessing, Captain. And believe me, I couldn’t be happier. I’ll keep my lips sealed, but I’m just counting down the days until I can see her face when you ask.”

Levi gave a short nod, his expression softening ever so slightly. “Thanks, Vivian. For everything.”

As they left the jeweler’s shop, Levi felt the small weight of the velvet box in his pocket. It wasn’t heavy in the physical sense, but it carried a meaning far greater than any object he’d ever held. This was the next step—something he’d never thought he’d be ready for, but now he couldn’t imagine not doing.

And as Vivian chatted excitedly beside him, already planning how to help with whatever proposal idea he came up with, Levi’s mind wandered to Vanessa. Her smile, her laugh, the way she’d transformed from the timid, self-conscious woman he first met into the confident, radiant person she was today.

She didn’t know it yet, but soon, he’d be asking her to spend the rest of her life with him.

And Levi had never been more certain of anything in his life.

…

Levi and Vivian strolled down the cobbled streets back toward The Sweet House, the winter chill nipping at their noses. The velvet box containing Vanessa’s ring was safely tucked away in Levi’s coat pocket, but he could still feel its weight—a constant reminder of the monumental step he was about to take. He kept his hands in his pockets, his mind working through the next steps, though for once, his sharp focus was softened by the warmth of the moment.

Vivian, walking beside him, was positively glowing. Her cheeks were still flushed from the excitement of seeing the ring, and she couldn’t stop smiling. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, she looked up at Levi, her eyes filled with affection. “Levi,” she began, her voice gentle but full of emotion, “I just want you to know how much I care about you.”

Levi glanced at her, momentarily caught off guard by the shift in her tone. “I know,” he replied, his voice quieter than usual. He wasn’t used to these kinds of heartfelt conversations, but with Vivian, they always seemed to come naturally.

Vivian’s steps slowed as she continued, “You’ve been such a blessing to our family. Seeing how happy you make Vanessa—it’s everything a mother could hope for. And to think… soon, you’ll officially be part of our family. I can’t even describe how much that means to me.”

Levi didn’t say anything at first, but he took in her words with deep respect. He knew how much family meant to Vivian—how fiercely she loved Vanessa, and how she extended that warmth and love to him without hesitation, even from the beginning. It was a kindness Levi wasn’t used to, but it was something he appreciated more than he could ever express.

“I’m honored,” Levi said finally, his voice low but sincere. “You’ve always been kind to me. Welcoming. That’s not something I’ve experienced much.”

Vivian’s eyes softened as she looked at him, her steps coming to a slow halt. They stood there in the middle of the quiet street for a moment, the bakery still a few blocks ahead. “Oh, Levi,” she said, her voice trembling slightly with emotion. “You deserve every bit of kindness and more. You’ve been through so much, and yet, you’ve come out the other side stronger. I see that strength in how you care for my daughter. And as her mother, there’s no greater gift than knowing she’s with someone who truly sees her for who she is.”

Levi stood there, taking in her words, feeling a rare sense of gratitude. He wasn’t one to dwell on his own past, but Vivian’s words brought a flicker of warmth to a part of him that had been cold for so long. “I respect you,” he said quietly, his steel-gray eyes meeting hers. “For raising Vanessa. For everything. She’s the woman she is today because of you.”

Vivian’s eyes brimmed with tears again, and she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand. “You have no idea how much that means to me, Levi. I’ve always wanted the best for her. And now, knowing she’s found that in you… I can’t even put it into words.”

Before Levi could respond, Vivian suddenly threw her arms around him in an excited, warm hug. He stiffened at first, as he always did when people hugged him, but after a second, he let himself relax into the embrace. Vivian’s affection was always overwhelming, but it was genuine, and that was something Levi had come to appreciate more than he ever thought he would.

Vivian pulled back slightly, only to plant a kiss on each of Levi’s cheeks, her laughter light and full of joy. “You’re going to make such a wonderful son-in-law,” she declared, her voice full of pride. “I can’t wait to officially brag about you to all my friends. ‘Captain Levi, my future son-in-law,’ I’ll say. They’ll be so jealous!”

Levi couldn’t help the small smirk that tugged at the corner of his mouth. “They’ll never hear the end of it, will they?”

Vivian grinned mischievously, wiping at her eyes again. “Not a chance! I’m already planning what to say the next time I meet up with the ladies for tea. Oh, they’ll all be asking about you.”

Levi shook his head slightly but couldn’t hide the faint amusement in his eyes. “I’m sure they will,” he muttered dryly, but there was a hint of warmth in his voice.

Vivian linked her arm with his as they continued walking toward the bakery, her voice full of excitement. “I just can’t wait. Vanessa has no idea what’s coming, does she?”

“No,” Levi replied, his tone soft but sure. “She has no clue.”

Vivian let out a small, happy sigh. “She’s going to be over the moon, Levi. You’ve done everything perfectly. She’s been through so much, but you… you make her feel safe. You’ve brought out the best in her.”

Levi’s heart swelled at the thought of Vanessa—her laughter, her warmth, her gentle but fierce spirit. “She’s done the same for me,” he admitted quietly, surprising himself with the honesty of the statement. “I never thought I’d have something like this.”

Vivian smiled softly. “Well, now you do. And I couldn’t be happier for both of you.” She gave his arm a gentle squeeze as they neared the bakery. “You’re family now, Levi. You’ve always been welcome, but now… you’re truly part of us.”

Levi didn’t say anything, but he felt a warmth in his chest that he hadn’t felt in years. Vivian’s kindness, her motherly warmth, had filled a gap in his life that had been left cold and empty since the loss of his own mother. He respected her deeply, not just for being Vanessa’s mother, but for the way she had welcomed him into their lives with open arms.

As they reached The Sweet House, Levi glanced over at Vivian, giving her a small nod of thanks—his silent way of expressing the gratitude he couldn’t quite put into words.

Vivian, still brimming with excitement, beamed up at him. “You’re going to make Vanessa the happiest woman in the world, Levi. I can already see it.”

Levi’s lips curved into a barely-there smile. “I hope so.”

“Oh, I know so,” Vivian said, giving him another quick hug before pulling back. “Now go home and start planning that proposal! You’ve got my full support.”

With that, Levi turned and headed toward HQ, the ring nestled safely in his pocket, his heart full as he walked through the streets. The next step was clear. The next chapter of his life—their life—was about to begin. And for the first time in a long time, Levi felt truly at peace.

~

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[mistfallengw2]

Q, 9, and 23 for Tocchix/Lotta AND Tocchix/Huki :3c

@mystery-salad

otp question meme

I'm gonna assume Q is 1, and I'm gonna answer together since they also get the bonus of being a pod in all AUs where Iotta survives :D

1. Who is the most affectionate?

Tocchix is the most outwardly affectionate in both cases, though he gets to be openly affectionate only with Huki due to his relationship with Iotta being a secret.

That said, while from an outsider point of view Iotta seemed on the verge of killing him most of the time, she was surprisingly affectionate, proportionately even more than him going by her standards. Even before they got together, he was the only one she let in her space and accepted as a team partner, allegedly because "she had trained him to her liking and it'd be a waste to switch partners", but objectively because he did his best to get along with her and eventually she liked having him around. After getting together with him "for her own reasons", she found herself a bit too taken by the relationship, and being extremely sweet to him in private was something she enjoyed far too much, going as far as stealing private moments with him whenever possible as a sort of game.

As for Huki, they thought they were the one being too affectionate in previous relationships, but they were pleasantly surprised when the awkward and reserved guy they had been crushing on for months turned out to be the biggest cuddler in existence, with years-worth of affection backlog ready to be unleashed.

In the AUs, Iotta becomes far more affectionate than she ever allowed herself to be (how much and how fast depends on the AU), and eventually always extends some of that to Huki, though only platonically on her part.

-

9. Who worries the most?

With Iotta, Tocchix was again the one who openly worried the most, especially during missions (it was the one safe way to show "affection"). Sure, she could handle herself better than he could between magic and minions, but he never thought twice about jumping into danger to save her from as much as a scratch. On her part, Iotta despised that kind of behavior because "any bruise or scratch would weigh on their performance" (as an undercover Inquest spy, she was paranoid about potential consequences if people under her responsibility got hurt) and she often would expend her own life force to fix his wounds even when not necessary. Additionally, even long before they dated, Tocchix had learned to read through the lines of her angry remarks and gratuitous scolding, so he had a pretty good grasp of when she was actually worried. To this day, he fondly remembers how often that happened.

With Huki, Tocchix worried on overdrive for the first year or so of their relationship, much to Huki's amused annoyance. It took a few "minor relapses" to go exactly as Huki had said (regular treatment for their condition usually keeps them stable, but on occasions their metabolism goes faster than expected and crashes, so they need to anticipate it) before he calmed down, but the fact they are still so frail never stops worrying him. On the flipside, Huki does worry whenever Tocchix is on dangerous missions, but they agree that it's a more understandable type of worry.

Again, Iotta becomes more or less the worrywart towards Tocchix in most of the AUs (exact reasons and flavor depends on the AU), and later also get noticeably unnerved by Huki's overall frailty, though never as much as Tocchix does.

-

23. Who comes up with cheesy pick up lines?

Tocchix attempted to say cheesy things and petnames at the very start of the relationship, but Iotta immediately shot down any attempt, finding them cringy at best and not wanting to hear more of them. Sure, there was also a strongly-ignored factor of "not knowing how to respond", but she'd never admit that or the fact that at least one braincell of hers wholeheartedly giggled and blushed at them.

The start of the relationship with Huki is very awkward and a bit of a leap of faith for Tocchix, and after not being allowed to say them it takes him a while before attempting to come up with any. Huki knew that and respected the pace he set at all points of the relationship, but never shied away from saying cheesy things every now and then. Eventually they both end up being so cheesy they're a real danger for the lactose-intolerant.

[basketballanonsblog]

Slumber party

"Y/n, we're here!" Nayeon announced their arrival before handing you a bag of drinks and patting your head like a child.

She wasted no time in putting her feet up while your girlfriend greeted you with a kiss on the cheek.

"Nice place you got here. A girl could get used to this, right Jeongyeon?"

"Unnie! I'm sorry about her, y/n."

"It's okay. I'm glad she feels relaxed here."

The ten of you settled quickly in the front room, with the drinks.

Lively, conversations and laughter filled the space. It was the first time your apartment had felt like this. Full of warmth and love, it feels like home.

With the love of your life and your friends around you, it makes you wonder how you managed to spend so long without this.

You smiled at one another, just like when you first met.

This amazing woman brought colour back into your world.

-x-

Sana, Dahyun, Mina, and Chaeyoung returned to their respective apartments after a few hours, while the remaining five stayed.

They could barely walk straight, and you weren't going to allow them to drive home like that.

You and Jeongyeon managed to get the four of them into the two guest bedrooms, but you saw her place a blanket and pillow on the couch.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting ready for bed..."

"You can sleep with me tonight."

"Can I now? I'd prefer dating you a bit longer before you take me to bed."

You blushed at the thought, and ok, maybe you could've worded it differently.

"Not like that! I mean, literally, sleep."

She giggled before stepping closer and resting her head against yours.

"Shhh, I know. I'm only teasing." She gave you a quick kiss before pulling you upstairs.

"My room is minimalist." You quipped as you opened the door.

You were right, Jeongyeon thought. But its simplicity was fitting, the dark colour scheme of the bedroom felt tranquil.

"Do you have a preference?"

"Huh?"

"On which side of the bed you'd prefer."

"Oh. Um...no."

The pair of you laid down, facing each other. She snuggled you, curling into the rhythm of your heartbeat.

"This is nice, our first sleepover."

"I love you." You breathed out while kissing the top of her head.

"I love you too." She fell asleep almost immediately, and for the first time in years, you followed soon after.

-♡-

Food.

That's what Jeongyeon awoke to the smell of. She was warm in your embrace, and as lightly as she could, she pressed a kiss to your jaw before carefully getting out of bed.

"Good morning, unnie!" Mina decided to cook breakfast for everyone, Jeongyeon tried to help, but she insisted she was alright.

"Where's y/n?"

"Still asleep."

"Really?" She stared in awe for a moment until she gave a small smile.

"Is that bad?"

"Just the opposite. In the time I've known y/n, sleep was an issue; She'd be up at god-awful hours. The weariness of being lonely weighed heavily on her. I know it hurt her when Chaeyoung and I met because I only had to wait less than a quarter of the time for my soulmate. You can imagine my relief when you found each other."

Hearing your plights hurt her, but she took comfort in the fact that you had people like Mina around you.

"You really care about her."

"Y/n is one of my closest friends."

"And an ex-crush." Poor Mina nearly choked on her drink.

"She told you?"

"We try not to keep secrets."

"There was a little something there after we met, but we nipped it in the bud. It would've hurt us in the long run, especially since we hadn't met our soulmates. Keeping our relationship platonic was for the best."

You appeared, wrapping your arms around Jeongyeon from behind. Bringing the conversation to a halt.

"You left me alone in bed." You whined playfully. "I expected you to be the first thing I saw when I awoke."

"I'm sorry, my love. I couldn't resist Mina's cooking."

You looked to your friend.

"I see. You're trying to tempt her with food."

"Sorry, not sorry." She smiled cheekily.

"Have some, y/n."

"In a minute, I'd rather not move when you're in my arms." You tucked yourself as much as you could against your girlfriend’s shoulder.

Mina winked at Jeongyeon before leaving you two in your own little world.

[jillsandwhichs]

Valenfield Oneshots/AU's Collection, Chapter 3, Thanksgiving

Masterlist

Pairing: Jill Valentine & Chris Redfield

Summary: Jill & Chris host a thanksgivng dinner at their house

Status of their relationship in this oneshot: Married

WC: 2.2k

Type: Sfw

A/n: Hi! Hope you all enjoy. Please check out my masterlist, there's a lot of stuff there. You can get to know me, you can see the rules of my blog and then you can see all of my fanfictions. You'll be able to find the previous chapters to this fic and upcoming ones. You'll also be able to find my Wattpad & AO3. Thank you

"Where is my stupid spoon?" Jill groaned out in annoyance. "Honey, look a little harder." Chris replied, sitting just behind her at the island counter.

"Oh smart ass, I've been looking this entire ti-" She stopped speaking as she looked right in front of her, the big spoon sitting on the wooden shelf above the oven.

Chris sarcastically spoke from behind her, "Told ya so..." Chris loves to be right. Jill rolled her eyes to herself, and bit her lip, almost as if she was trying not to smile.

Ultimately, Jill changed the subject, "When will Claire be here?" Jill questioned. "Is she still bringing the baked mac and cheese, because she knows we can't cook it!"

Chris looked at Jill with a look that clearly showed he was amused by her franticness. "Don't worry, she's bringing it, I messaged her a little bit ago." Chris answered Jill's question.

Around the holidays, especially ones like this, Jill over thinks everything. She was never really into events and special days like these until she was with Chris. Now, he's given her a reason to want to celebrate them.

"Okay, good, that's good." Jill replied, placing the spoon down and letting out a sigh. "So I'm doing stuffing, turkey, pigs in a blanket and homemade dough bread, that's enough, right?" Jill asked, completely turning around to face her husband, Chris.

"Baby, I think that's plenty, we'll have leftovers for days." He stood up, walking towards her slowly, before placing his hands on her hips.

"You don't know that! What if Claire wants to take some home? Or maybe Parker!" Jill said, throwing her head back in frustration. "Such a drama queen." Chris squeezed her hips a bit, making sure she knew he was teasing her.

Jill gave a half sarcastic smile before leaning on her tippy toes to give him a small peck on the lips. "Always." She then kissed him once more before going back to focusing on her cooking.

Cooking skills weren't something Jill always had. Since she grew up without her mother or father, there wasn't anyway to learn recipes or secrets to cooking. Chris was actually more of a cook than her, he's the one who taught her most of what she knew. Aside from that, she'd sometimes watch cooking shows in her free time.

Which she really never has.

She slowly swayed her hips side to side while stirring the stuffing in the pot, making sure all the seasonings mixed together perfectly. Chris just admired her as she did so, he loves her little things that she does that are just so... Her... Like swaying her hips, her dramaticness or even her little humming she does when she's focused.

"The stuffing is almost done. The turkey is still cooking, same with the pigs in a blanket... Can you check if my bread has formed, hun?" Jill asked with a low, gentle tone, seems as though she's relaxed. "Sure." Chris retorted and walked over beside Jill.

He lifted the tin foil and seen the bread wasn't fully done yet, but it looked great, and Chris was excited to eat. "Don't even think of touching it if it's not fully formed, I don't need your fingerprints in my bread." Jill said sternly, knowing she's able to keep Chris in check.

"I wasn't! I really wasn't..." He smirked and went back to sitting, continuing to scroll on his phone while he waited for their guests to arrive.

Jill replied in a sarcastic, teasing tone, "I'm sure." She giggled.

-

A little while later, the food Jill had made was officially ready. Although, despite her being able to take criticism, Jill didn't want her food to taste weird or just off, she tried especially hard for this Thanksgiving considering multiple people are coming over.

"You okay?" Chris questioned Jill, as she rested her head on the counter, sitting in one of their many barstools. "Mhm." She replied and sat her head up, her short brunette hair falling back to her shoulders. "Claire's just a bit away, along with Parker. I still haven't gotten any message from Rebecca, but I'm sure she's coming." He smiled.

"I'd love to see her, it's been so long." Jill said with a kind tone. Rebecca and Jill weren't always close, until Rebecca joined the BSAA, that's when they were able to get to know one another more.

They're quite the set of polar opposites but opposites attract. Jill's also close with Claire and Parker, especially Parker. He was assigned her partner in the BSAA so working together has brought them closer together.

"Oh shit, I almost forgot." Jill stood up at a rapid pace and walked over to one of the many cabinets in their kitchen, she opened them and took out a few wine glasses.

"Wine?" Chris asked, standing up to go beside Jill. "Yeah, I can't believe I almost forgot." "Well, it's probably because you've been overthinking the entire dinner." "Oh hush." Jill said in a playful tone. She knew he was right.

Popping the cork off, Jill began to pour the red wine into each glass. The sound of the wine filling up the glass was so satisfying. "Do you think that's enough?" "We always have more." Chris smiled and took the bottle and placed it beneath the counter.

Jill nodded and looked up as a knock at the door was heard. "I bet it's Claire!" She smiled and sped walk towards the big front door.

Opening it, she stepped back to get a wider view of their porch and who was standing on it, it was indeed, Claire, Chris's sister.

"Hi, Claire! So good to see you." Jill gave Claire and quick hug, allowing her to step into Jill and Chris's home. "Great to see the both of you. I'm sorry if I'm late, traffic was so crazy, which surprised the hell outta me." Claire chuckled and placed a large tupperware on the medium sized white table.

"Baked mac and cheese here, and I brought some pickle wraps too." Claire smiled and pulled those out as well. "You sure you didn't just bring those for you? Cause I surely remember you downing them last Thanksgiving." Chris teased his younger sister. "Oh haha!" Claire let out a snarky fake laugh.

"Well, we made stuffing, bread and pigs in a blanket, and of course, turkey. Parker is bringing mashed potatoes and a meat board. We still have no intel on whether or not Rebecca can make it."

"It's to bad if she doesn't make it..." Claire replied to Jill, sitting at the counter with them. "Oh, I have a quick question." Claire said with a gentle tone, taking a bite of one of her homemade pickle wraps.

"Shoot." Chris said, sipping his wine. "You two know Leon Kennedy? My old... Friend?" Claire questioned, taking another bite.

"Yes, what about him?" Jill asked. "Is he okay, Claire?" Chris asked, seeming a little worried.

Chris and Jill did infact know of Leon. Chris knew him a bit better though, and a lot longer. They haven't seen him in a while though.

"Well... We're dating, or whatever, it doesn't matter." Claire said nonchalantly.

"What? Claire, that's great for you!" Jill said with a bright smile. "Leon, seriously?" Chris said with a laugh, not being able to contain the humorous statement.

"What? You like him!" Claire said with a confused tone. "I don't know if he can handle you, that is all." He said with a shrug, sipping more from the glass.

"Well, he's been able to handle me all these years, with us just being friends and all." Claire laughed, looking at Chris and Jill. "I think you two make a good team so why not a good couple?" Jill said kindly to Claire.

Claire and Jill are close good friends. Ever since meeting Chris, her and Claire were friends almost instantly. Jill has viewed her like a sister and now, she really is her sister in law.

"At least someone gets it." Claire was obviously kidding around, her and Chris have a close enough relationship where they're able to act like this, instead of distant, not so close siblings.

Another knock was finally heard. "Finally." Jill stood up, placing her glass down while walking up to her and Chris's front door.

"Ah, Parker! It's so great to see you!" Jill smiled. Parker was probably her bestest friend.

"Jill, you look good, how're ya?" Parker said with classic manly chuckle that's recognizable after knowing him for so long.

Parker walked in and said hi to Chris and Claire, despite him not knowing Claire to well, he's still respectful.

"I got the mashed potato and the meat board, made by yours truly." Parker placed it down on the table, alongside the other plates and bowls of food. "Looks great, thank you for doing it on such short notice." Chris retorted.

"Rebecca coming?" Parker asked while sitting down beside Claire. "No clue, but hopefully." Claire spoke to Parker. "I see. Well, let's hope!" He smirked and sipped the wine Jill had poured earlier in the hour.

-

As the hour passed, they waited for Rebecca to show but sadly, never did.

"I don't think she's making it so we can make our plates." Jill said quietly, she seemed a little bummed but there wasn't much she could do. They all nodded and began loading their plates.

Jill hoped the food tasted as good as it looked. She knew Parkers and Claire's would but she didn't know about hers.

"Jill, this turkey looks better than any turkey I could ever make." Claire gave the subtle compliment. "Thank you, but trust me, yours was so good last year. Hopefully, my skills have paid off and this'll taste good." She chuckled.

It got quiet as they ate, all of them trying to be respectful and not speak with a mouth full of food, which is something Chris really hates, so he didn't mind.

"Is it good?" Jill asked after sipping her wine, cleansing her pallet. "It's really good, well done Jill." Parker gave a half smile. Then again, any food is good to Parker. He once ate frog legs while they were at work, so Jill didn't know whether or not to trust his word.

"Handsome, is it good?" Jill whispered to Chris who was right beside her. "Yea baby, of course." "Honest?" "Honest." Chris smirked, kissing the top of her head.

"Claire?" "It's actually good Jill, stop doubting yourself." Claire said in a playful demanding tone. Jill rolled her eyes playfully, taking a bite of the potatoes.

"Thank you two for coming, by the way." Jill spoke, sipping her wine. "I mostly did this to try my cooking." Jill chuckled.

"Trust me, anytime you two invite me over, I can't say no." Claire smiled. "I didn't expect this life for my brother, personally." Claire stated.

Jill nodded, holding Chris's hand on the table.

"When I joined the BSAA, I immediately knew you two loved one another." Parker said with a chuckle. "Especially since Jessica always pointed it out to me, but we all know why she did that." Parker let out a humorous cackle.

"Oh Jesus..." Chris groaned and rubbed his temple just at the woman's name. "Glad she's gone!" Jill smiled and rolled her eyes. "Cheers to that." Claire said with a eye roll, matching Jill's attitude.

Jessica was someone who was once apart of the BSAA, who was partnered up with Chris. A year or so ago, she was fired for some things she was involved in, ever since, the group could actually speak freely on how they feel about her. Hate is a strong word but for Jill, it's possible.

"Can't believe we lost Jessica, Clive and Raymond all in the span of a couple weeks." Chris sighed and took a bite from the meat board.

"It was a crazy time." Parker replied with a laugh.

The group continued to eat, eventually finishing their plates, there was only a bit left on them anyways. "Woo, I'm stuffed." Claire laughed and slumped in the dining chair.

"Me too." Chris replied. "You all did great on the meal, thanks for pitching in, you two." Chris thanked Parker and Claire. "Of course." Claire retorted.

"I'll take care of the dishes, you guys can just hang around." Jill said with a soft tone, stacking the plates and carrying them out to the kitchen.

"I'll help her." Chris stood from the chair and nodded to the two, going out to his wife. Claire and Parker began to conversate, for once.

Hot water was spewing out from the faucet as Jill scrubbed the plates and silverware with a clean, new sponge, the soap getting on the upper side of her smaller sized hands.

"Need help baby?" Chris questioned, grabbing her waist from behind, placing his head on her thin, warm felt shoulder.

"I'm good honey, thanks." Jill replied, turning her head and puckering her natural pink lips. Chris smirked and kissed her, tightening his grip on her slim waist.

"Dinner was great though, you did really good, I'm proud of you." Chris spoke with his gentle tone, the tone he really only uses with his wife.

"Thank you, Chris." Jill said quietly, placing the plates in the strainer.

"Of course." He turned her to face him then, he kissed her passionately, his hands wandering downwards. Jill pulled away, "No." Jill said sternly. "Fine." Chris rolled his eyes with a tint of blush rested on his face. Jill smiled and walked off, back to Parker and Claire.

[saintsir4n]

7. FALLING

thank you for the support

WARNINGS: MENTIONS OF MENTAL HEALTH

"DON'T tell me you're fallin' in love, it's been what, a couple of weeks?"

"I am, he gets me you know," Carson gushed, speaking quietly to Keelie. "Sounds like bullshit I know, but word to God, I'm serious."

Fortunately, the nail salon wasn't busy so only five other people were being tended to.

Keelie huffed out a laugh, "The dick that good?"

"It's the best," Brian was probably the best she ever had. It was only two days since their date and they couldn't stop, he caught her whenever and wherever.

All the time she spent with him, she noticed a lot. He was quite jumpy, and anxious, especially when it came to his phone. Very cagy about his past and she knew to respect that even though it drove her to overthink.

"White boy got it like that?" Keelie was shocked, she'd never seen her friend act so enamoured about a guy.

In the past, Carson was very naive, and way too trusting, so she hoped that history wasn't repeating itself.

Carson giggled, "He really does. Girl, he talks me through it."

Keelie instantly choked on air, "He what?"

"You heard me."

"He's vocal?" Keelie lowered her tone, making sure the customers couldn't hear much to their disappointment. Carson nodded in response. "Damn."

"Voice husky and everythin', he puts it down, lifts me up, keeps me hooked even if he's just starin', he knows he's got some sort of power over me. Drive's me crazy, I swear.”

“He’s packin’ right? He has to be with that shit eatin’ grin.”

“Respect me, I wouldn’t settle for no little dick,” Carson’s response had them both snickering.

The friends abruptly looked up when the shop bell rang and Brian walked in, eyes immediately landing on Carson.

"Ladies," he nodded at a few of them as he walked by, greeted Keelie before leaning over the counter and pressing a few kisses to Carson's lips making the customers awww in the background. Keelie moved away to help them. "You good baby?" she nodded, noting the irritation in his eyes, but before she could say anything he asked, "You get your nails done?" she nodded again, showing them off to him. He pulled out a 50-dollar bill and put it next to her.

She looked shocked, "You don't have to."

"I want to," Brian insisted, still not smiling.

He's annoyed, she realised.

"You ready to go, your shift is done right?" Brian questioned.

"It's done," she replied, "I'll go get my stuff."

He nodded, watching her go into the back, then sighing when he heard Keelie's voice.

"I'm watchin' you," she warned, walking passed.

He snapped his head, looking in her direction as she picked up a new electric file, "I didn't do nothin'."

"Tell that to my third eye," Keelie took note of his annoyance, wondering why he was so worked up.

Brain didn't respond.

Carson came back, with her bag in hand and immediately saw how riled he was.

"Yo, Keke what did you say to him?" she asked, coming up to Brian who put his arm around her.

"Nothin', I only said hi. Didn't I Eminem?" Keelie taunted, sitting down in front of a regular.

"Yeah, Lil' Kim's right," Brian jabbed, making the whole store laugh.

Even Carson smiled, sticking her tongue out at Keelie who flipped him off.

Brian whispered something as they walked out and onto the street, "Come on, I gotta show you somethin' before we meet the team."

"What is it?" she wondered.

His ringtone disrupted his response. He pulled out his phone, keeping it close to his chest and ignored the ring.

She squinted at him, "Brian?"

His phone started to ring again, just as they reached his truck.

"Is that your mom or somethin'?" she pressed.

"What? No, it's just..." he trailed off, annoyed by the constant ringing and switched off his phone, but that only irritated Carson more.

She shrugged off his arm, "Do you have some secret life you're not tellin' me about Brian?" she was frustrated and he hated that he was making her feel that way. "Do you have a wife, kids, some white picket fence?"

He tried taking her hand but she didn't let him, "Baby, calm down, it's nothin'."

"Then why do you look tense?"

"Because you questionin' me alright? Nothing's wrong, I'm good, you good?" he didn't mean to snap at her. He'd never done it before.

Carson took a step back, looking him up and down. Why's he acting like this? her annoyed gaze settled on something she hadn't noticed before.

"Yo, what happened to your hand?"

It was red and slightly blotchy.

Brain flexed his fist and shook his head, "It's nothin'."

"Was it Vince, did you get in the ring with him again or somethin'?" she was met with silence, "Just answer the question."

"I just did," he breathed out. "Trust me, I'm tense 'cause everythin' is on top of me at the moment. I have bad days and good days like everyone else"

She had to ask, "And your phone?"

"It's Harry," he rushed out, "I left my shift early to come and see you, to spend to with you."

"Okay," she didn't have anything else to say.

He groaned, "Don't be like that, lemme show you want I got you."

Carson just nodded, watching him unlock the truck and pull open the passenger seat, retrieving the present he got for her.

She gasped when she saw the jewel-encrusted sunshine ornament. She remembered telling him about it on their date but she didn't think he was listening.

"Y-you... how?"

"I kept an eye out," he carefully placed it in her hands. "Just wanted to make you happy."

It cost nothing, but it meant everything.

She clutched it tightly, smiling so hard her cheeks hurt.

"Thank you, baby."

And it was like everything was forgotten.

So Brian smiled and embraced her tightly, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Let's get outta here."

__

The next day Carson squealed when she saw her car, more importantly, the engine that looked like it cost 15k. Jesse even claimed to have tweaked a few things, things she didn't notice before. She couldn't believe it. Her flashy rims, the turbine, and the compressor were fixed and the stereo was finally working again too.

"Like it?" Jesse asked with a proud smirk.

"Like it? you did this before street wars and whilst you were fixing the Supra?" she gawked, eyes blinking rapidly at the shiny parts.

He sheepishly shrugged, "Had to do it for you. The rims were the easiest to do. The engine took some time but it was nothin'. Speakers are all set. Check them out, you'll love it, drivin' down sunset blarin' them to the car Gods."

She laid a fat kiss on his cheek and hugged him.

"I love you, you know that? The biggest, bestest and brightest," she listed, beaming at the car.

"I love you too, now lemme get back to the Supra. Go paint your Charger, I know the designs will be sick."

Jesse left her to her own devices. Carson put down the hood, then reached into her pocket to add the last addition.

She slid into the front seat, slid off the plastic and placed the sunshine ornament on the dashboard, it stuck very easily.

"I hope you love it, Dad," she whispered, wishing he was here.

After a moment she jumped out, blew a kiss at the car and walked around the garage, finding the paint she was going to use for the designs, then pulled out her sketchbook and some overalls to protect her fit. She got lost in her own world when she started, everything was going to plan.

She felt so blessed.

So what could go wrong?

She heard some of the guys talking from the distance but she didn't pay much attention.

She barely flinched when she felt someone kneel behind her and wrap an arm around her shoulder pausing her painting.

"Hey blondie," she greeted him as he kissed her cheek.

"Looking good," Brian nodded to the design. Every time he saw her work, whether it was in her sketchbook or some other street racer's car, it made him wonder why she never did this professionally, just like Jesse. Art school or engineering.

She leaned into his hold, "Thank you."

They talked for a while, she asked if his hand was okay, but was told that it was nothing to worry about. He kept saying she would win any race she would enter and couldn't wait to see it happen, all while taking some pictures of them.

He had pictures of the pair of them all over his phone.

Pulling her from the ground, he cupped her face and pressed his lips to hers. The feeling coursing through their veins wasn't foreign anymore. They embraced it like a warm hug. It was light yet intense.

When she went to move away he squeezed her sides.

Carson's laughter caught Dom's attention and he stood by the entrance, but neither of them saw him yet.

"Check it," Brian tried taking the paintbrush from her but she ended up getting some of the excess paint on his shirt.

"That's what you get," she mused.

"Oh, that's what I get?" He wiped the rest of the paint on her overalls, earning a fierce glare.

Finally seeing a displeased Dom standing off to the side, Brian shifted back slightly.

"Need a cigarette," he murmured.

Carson's brows furrowed, "Didn't you say you quit?" damn he must be stressed.

"I have to make a parts run 'round Simi Valley for Harry," Brian dismissed her question, looking directly at Dom.

"Drive safe," The Torretto man said with indifference.

"Bye, Sonny," Brian breezed passed Dom, after kissing her goodbye.

Carson stood there awkwardly, Dom continued to stare at her, and she didn't understand why.

"I had a guy on the phone, said you hadn't finished his design yet," he expressed, breaking the silence.

"I'm on it."

"Are you, 'cause you seem distracted?" There was a lot of judgment in his tone.

She scoffed, "Get off my back. If I say I'll finish the design I'll finish the design," she put down the paintbrush and frowned, "Brian's not a distraction. I thought you liked him."

"Me likin' him got nothin' to do with anythin'. Just focus," he always said the same thing to both her and Mia. His sister for school and Carson for her occupation. He knew that his godsister was falling in love with the guy, they all did, it so was obvious. "You wanna win big at race wars right? Make sure you keep your head straight."

She huffed, "First Vince, then Brian, now you, must be somethin' in the water right? Why are you all in my grill? Just mind your business."

"You're my business. Always have been, always will!" he yelled, causing her to walk out of the garage in a huff, "And don't you forget that!"

__

Later that day, Carson stood proud, grinning at the finished product of her car, trying to forget all the stress and worries she felt. She was happy. I'm happy, she kept telling herself. The team congratulated her for creating such a beauty before leaving to go and see Dom and Brian drive off in the completed Supra.

She tried not to overthink. Everything was going to plan, right? But the feeling in her stomach was growing.

Carson wanted to ignore it but her dad always told her to listen to her gut.

The sun was fading and she knew it was time to get back to her shared apartment. Letty had dipped, Mia was studying, Vince and Leon were inside whilst Jesse with stuck in his head working on the computer.

In the corner of her eye, Carson caught the orange Supra pulling up the garage.

Brian and Dom were talking intently about something, she couldn't get a good read on either of them, with their shades being on but she was too tired to even try.

"Yo Summer, where's everyone?" Dom asked, noticing her furrowed brows. The garage was scarce and Jesse didn't look up at the sound of his voice.

Brian smiled as he walked over to her since she didn't look too happy and he instantly felt a sense of dread.

"Inside," was all she had to say, "I'm bouncin'," she went to move but Brian caught her keyless hand, "Yeah?" Dom left the pair alone and eventually, Jesse joined him, finally snapping out of his trance and wanting to badger him about the sweet ride. "I gotta go, Brian."

"Why don't I come with you?" He suggested, with a smirk playin' at his lips.

"Won't your Sylvanian family be blowin' up your cell?" He laughed but she was serious as hell. "I've got work in the mornin' you know?"

"I won't keep you up and my phone will stay on silent. I promise," he came closer, pulling off his shades and staring into her eyes. The sun's falling rays struck her iris' had it stirred something inside of him. "I just wanna hold you, Sonny," he whispered as she scrunched her nose, making him cup her chin and peck her lips a few times. "We'll get some beauty sleep together. Okay?"

His words were making her trip and fall over any gut feeling.

So she agreed, "Okay. But we're just gonna sleep," she warned him as he pulled open the driver seat, letting her get in before jogging over to the passenger side. He gently shut the door, eyes lighting up at the ornament on the dashboard. "Only sleepin'."

Brian nodded, watching her start the engine, "A good night's rest and my beautiful girl to hold onto, not a bad way to live," he said softly, earning the cheesiest smile from her, "That's all I want."

"And that's what you've got."

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

a/n:

https://pin.it/1s5Uvmk (how i imagine her car to look, obviously with huge bratz doll silhouettes across the sides) it's funny because her street name at this point is "barbie" but that won't stop her from doing what she wants. and what's cute is brian's street name is "bullit" so we've got bullit and barbie.

https://pin.it/1c7m5sX (how i imagine the sunshine ornament to be but without the moon). in the behind the scenes videos of this film, the director wanted no rearview mirrors in the car, because he wanted it to be as accurate to the street racing culture of the time, so carson doesn't have one. so just imagine the gift sticking to the dashboard. 

some more angst in this chapter between brian and carson. the way he caught an attitude with our girl was disrespectful but of course, all it took was a gift to calm her down. it's sad i know but it's all part of the build-up. carson loves love and even though she knows something is up she'll tell herself to be delusional for a little longer and let him "hold her".

i've been getting a few messages about how often i update but it states multiple times that i publish every sunday (even check the first few chapters pls!)

also with the mature scenes that i write, pls prevent yourself from saying "robbed" or "call 911". what i write should be enough and it gets annoying when i see things like that. as stated in my bio, don't comment on any of my stories if you're a minor!

-

[sleepyselkiesims]

Part 55

Ever since the dreadful night of Moon's passing, Ana struggled to sleep. She kept having horrible nightmares, and would wake up screaming. But was Uncle Ellis t-posing a dream, or reality?! Was life the real nightmare?!

Hollie thought he had prepared for being a step-parent, but as an only child, being screamed at was new to him.

Most nights, especially after the Murphy Bed dream, Ana ended up sneaking out of her room to spend time with her twin. Like some kind of bunk-bed guardian angel.

Unfortunately, Ana sobbed in her sleep, which Ella did not appreciate. They needed to find a way for Ana to feel better that would let Ella keep her personal space.

When Ella was up for it, the twins played with dolls just like they used to as toddlers. But Ana's imagenings got kind of distrubing, so they had to try something new...

Ana loved writing about all her little daydreams, but she'd never used an actual journal! What if someone read it and learned all her dark secrets?!?

Andre was still lost in a gloom, and didn't know how to help. "Looking on the brightside" only got you so far.

Eventually, Hollie surprised the girls with a nice outing, just the three of them. it was time to enjoy the Festival of Youth! Ana was so excited!

Ella wasn't particularly excited, until she came across a strange blobby green creature that gave her a quest befitting a noble knight.

Ella would bravely traverse the lands, searching high and low for mythical creatures to trade for a bounty!

One of the creetures she came across on her journey was Strawberry! But Ella had never actually interacted with Strawberry, so didn't recognise it.

By far the most confusing hurdle to her quest was when Ella came across a near replica of herself! What dark sorcery was this?!?

The evil clone kept Ella lagging just a bit too late, and she never got to see her quest through to the end. Seriously, the festival is juuuust to short to ever win this thing!!

Hollie tried cheering the girl up with some matcha icecream, but Ella found it a measly compensation for her failure. Why did it have a face, anyway?

Ana on the other hand absolutely loved her pink icecream crepe! It was so cute!

She'd spent her festival of youth making pretty flowers to decorate her room and Strawberry's cage. And was also really hard to photograph in a flattering pose for some reason.

Hollie stayed by her side throughout, encouraging her creative streak.

He also made sure to give her the traditional Blessing of Youth, to carry her into the future. Ella would've gotten one too, had she not forsaken all humans to complete her quest. But alas.

Hollie really made the festival fun for Ana. In fact, she completely forgot she'd ever been sad!

The day out really bonded the two, so much so that Mimsy called just to point it out!

With Hollie's encouragement, Ana felt ready to tackle anything, try new things, and make mistakes! ...Wait, that's Mz. Frizzle. Wrong franchise.

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Heya! How are you and how are things going? What's the first thing you have to do before you start writing? Like do you have any rituals or do you need to set up notes, character plans ect?

Hi! Thanks so much for the ask!

First, I have to be listening to music, with lyrics. I dunno why but it helps with focus most of the time. Currently I'm listening to a lot of romance songs for the different relationships in my series The Secret Portal, and I have some paper beside me so I can write down the song and the relationship it reminds me of. Helps a bit with mindset, especially since I'm in my first romantic relationship.

I definitely do have a lot of notes to set up. I also need to have a game plan for the session, a goal to reach. Oh, and my water.

Unless I write during a free point in the day, my main session is after a shower and maybe some more before bed after dinner. I guess you can call that a ritual since my mindset has to be right to get any work done.

More specifics of my multi-day process under the cut just in case you're curious for a long-term process. I'm pretty sure you meant session by session, hence the above, but just in case:

I have a lot of different character notes or plot notes up at all times. To focus on my writing process for The Secret Portal Part Two, I have a general outline up just to easily keep track of what chapter is what and chapter ideas coming up from a bird's eye perspective. I also have another document that expands on the outline as I try to set up a more cohesive structure and scenes to happen in the chapter itself. I also try to figure out the order or the timeline.

As I plan each chapter, I look at the extended notes I have for it and try to plan out more details or a sequence of events. For example, the last chapter I wrote for Part Two was an extended family Christmas gathering from my character Ash's perspective. Going in, I knew there was going to be a lot of family members in a small house and at some point Ash would get so overstimulated from all the thoughts (she's a telepath) and relieve herself to her room where she'd take comfort in these telepathic probe devices.

When it came time to fully plan out the scene, I first focused on setting up a little family tree. Then I figured out what would ignite Ash getting overstimulated. I pulled up my character sheet on Ash and figured out how to line up all the things that bother her for the perfect breaking point. I also tried to figure out the details: as in, why now? Why is it just now that the thoughts were too much? What specifically will happen to make her go to her room? When she uses the probes, what will she see?

To figure out what events Ash would see was a little difficult. I have a series-long brainstorming document I consult frequently. TSP is planned to be a five book series, so it's important to plan ahead. I try to see where I am and judge what I need to develop now for later. I eventually realized there was a significant hole so I decided to patch it with a little vision.

After that, I'm usually ready to write the scene. I just have to be sure to plan first, otherwise I find myself approaching the scene awkwardly. Sometimes I will refine the details as I write-- realize that not everything worked, so I cut an idea or change something. Sometimes I'll leave myself a note to repair the scene in revisions if I understand that it's weak/I forgot something if I'm not in the mood for fixing it now. Sometimes I will fix it.

TSP Part One is in the later stages of revisions. I have a list of things to revise next time I read through it, as well as some behind the scenes details to work on. Usually I'll pick one to focus on, but may get some other stuff done on the way. For example, I'm currently reading through to add in some character ticks since I found myself repeating/some characters had the same physical reaction to some things. As I'm reading it, though, I am making minor revisions in dialogue or narration to make it more fitting of the character in question. Sometimes I'll notice an awkward transition and fix it. Maybe I'll add in more details. Maybe I'll change something (e.g., Lexi's hairstyle, Alium's lack of stairs, etc.) as I go and press "pause" on the focus of the read-through so I can quickly get it out of the way.

Sometimes I'll do behind the scenes work, though I'm usually not that consistent with that. If I'm busy doing something else I've been designing bedrooms for my characters to a) help with descriptions later down the road and b) get more into their mindset. Just don't tell my professors I'm doing this.

So I hope you've gathered, if you've read this far, that the writing process isn't very linear for me. I jump around at will depending on what my brain is telling me to do. I got stuck on the opening scene for the next chapter of TSP Pt2 so I've been revising Part One and doing behind the scenes work. I also have beta readers going in the background.

Again, thanks for the ask and if you read this far double thank you!

[worthless-weight-in-gold]

WEIRD HEADCANONS

WHAT   THEY   SMELL   LIKE  . Roses and either tangerine or peach, usually faintly of cigarettes underneath it. More here.

HOW   THEY   SLEEP  .   She sort of surrounds herself in pillows and then doesn't move much in her sleep at all. Pillow under each arm, under her knees, and under her head. She sleeps on her back generally, she trained herself to after hearing it's good for your body and this whole pillow setups supports your joints in order to try to do ballet for as long as possible. She's a bilateral sleeper, more on that here.

WHAT   MUSIC   THEY   ENJOY  .   she likes lo-fi, bedroom hip-hop, emo, pop, some riot grrrl, and classical music. The former three she listens to mostly, classical is just for dance. Here's a playlist of some songs she likes! this is in opposition to what she likes singing -- she actually has a very light siren-y voice and likes to just sing notes and melodies without words to herself a lot.

HOW   MUCH   TIME   THEY   SPEND   EVERY   MORNING   GETTING   READY  .  around an hour and a half, depending. eun yoo's pretty consistent about looking her best, and she does a full skincare routine in the morning and almost always wears a full face of makeup, usually imitating a natural or light makeup style. between skincare, makeup, hair styling, and picking an outfit she has to wake up pretty early before any plans.

FAVORITE   THING   TO   COLLECT  . comics and graphic novels! she's lowkey a huge fucking nerd about these, which is generally something she keeps secret because she thinks it's kinda cringey and childish and a bit too boyish for her taste usually.

LEFT   OR   RIGHT   HAND  .     left handed! although she's kinda learned to be pretty ambidextrous, she can actually write with either hand. her left-handedness really only shows when she signs, because she leads with her left.

FAVORITE   SPORT  .   do we count ballet? we should probably count ballet. if we don't, she really likes watching ribbon gymnastics as well as ice skating. she honestly doesn't really mind any sport that involves dancing, whereas the second any type of orb gets involved she gets bored.

FAVORITE   TOURISTY   THING   TO   DO   WHILE   TRAVELING  .   never had the chance/interest to do touristy things, but if she was taken to museums she'd probably end up having a really good time; art museums especially. she'd make fun of art she didn't like, take selfies in front of what she did, and inevitably make a dance inspired by some piece or another.

FAVORITE   KIND   OF   WEATHER   . she likes an overcast warm day with a cool breeze. she also likes it fully snowing, and snowing a lot, if she doesn't have to go outside in it.

WEIRD   /   OBSCURE   FEAR   THEY   HAVE  .    breaking an ankle. it's not an uncommon injury but it could end her ballet career. she's also petrified of causing her brother's death, which isn't an obscure fear but she's scared of it to a WAY higher level than most are; she's so terrified of causing his death that she actively avoids interacting with him so much he thinks she hates him. it is an actual phobia of her which regularly impacts how she lives her life on a daily basis.

THE   ONE   CARNIVAL   /   ARCADE   GAME   THEY   ALWAYS   WIN   WITHOUT   FAIL  .     i mean, ddr. she's incredibly active, and has amazing control over her body. any game that involves just doing something, physically, is one she's usually pretty good at once she gets a hold of the rules. also (since some arcades have them) she kills rpg games; more on that here.

tagged: @misstruthing tagging: @mutatedangels @rachalcx @wynterlanding @sonderiings @detectivewoof @samhlaiocht

[whentheorcinusbeorca]

One-shot: Money really does buy happiness

"Pirarucu, I still don't know why you want me to come with you."

"You can't just wear the same clothes every day, you know."

She was telling half of the truth to them.

"But— Miss Anemone made this for me! I can't just— I don't want to not wear it!"

"I'm sure she'll understand. Besides... If you agree to help, you can get whatever you want."

The mere mention of that got their attention.

When they were younger—back when they were still with their family and not Anemone—their parents had always bought everything they had for them and their older siblings.

They still missed them, even now.

"Whatever I want...?"

"Yeah! Let the clothing search begin!"

She grabbed at their arm, causing them to ack as the sleeve was pulled down slightly, exposing some of the scars on it.

This was one of the things that they'd wanted to keep a secret from her, at least for now.

They pulled the sleeve back up as she'd stared at them in slight confusion.

They didn't want her to know about Petrel, either.

---

"That looks SO perfect on you!" she gushed. "Look, there's even little wings and everything!"

As they stood in front of the mirror, they couldn't help but think that it did.

There they were, in the outfit of a tengu.

Especially since Petrel was a Nega-Birdman, and tengu were somewhat birdlike themselves.

Lookin' good, Moray, Petrel told them from within.

"Oh, almost forgot about the mask!"

She dropped the finishing touch onto their face.

"AHHH, YOU'RE SO CUTE AND HANDSOME AT THE SAME TIME IN THAT!" she squealed. "That's it! We're getting this for you, one million percent!"

They couldn't help but faintly blush a little at this. Nobody had told them anything like that before.

As she bought the outfit, she suddenly had another idea. "Right! There's another store around here that sells little figurines on all kinds of things. Judging by what you thought about that, you're probably into yokai and stuff, right?"

They almost seemed to light up at this. "I do! I've got this encyclopedia on them I read almost every day. My parents...gifted it."

Pirarucu could sense the happiness fading as they finished talking.

"I'm...really sorry about what happened with your family and all. I hope they're all okay somewhere."

"Yeah..."

The two remained silent as they walked into the store.

"Hey, don't you think that we should look at the—" She noticed that the half-Monster was no longer next to her and was instead looking at a display at the corner of the shop. "Oh."

"There's a jorogumo, kappa, tanuki, oh, look, there's a tengu, I'm getting that..."

"Moray... You don't have to get something just for yourself, just putting it out there..."

They jolted as the realization hit them. They'd never gotten anything for Anemone or Octo at all!

Reacting quickly, they took a nekomata figure for their newest friend, and settled on a kitsune for Anemone.

"Just as I say that, you go ahead and nab those, too," she laughed. "You might not afford them all, they're kinda expensive."

"I can, too!" they blurted out. "You know my family had a lot of money, and—"

They cut themselves off as they realized that no, they hadn't mentioned that to her at all.

"Ugh, please disregard that last part. Just forget I said that. Or at least pretend to."

"Really? Your parents were rich, too? Woww, I never knew that..."

"P-PLEASE! FORGET I SAID THAT, I'M BEGGING YOU!"

She couldn't help but laugh a little at this.

Back during the Undeadification, in the time before one of the resets, Anemone had asked the same thing of her and the others after a particular rant about her beloved Amoeba Goonyans.

"You certainly don't look the part."

"Nevermind, let's just get the stuff and leave."

Walking over to the counter, the duo were ready to know the cost.

She doubted they'd afford the meager thousand that pulled up, but she was rather pleasantly surprised when they'd taken out a little extra money, telling the cashier to keep the change.

The sight was enough to make her think about bringing them along with one of her shopping trips with Clione.

---

"Moray! How was your little trip?"

"Went well," they told her. "I got these."

"Ooh, nice!" Her eyes glimmered as she laid her eyes on the figures. "The outfit you got would look perfect!"

"I'd want you to keep the nekomata for the next time Octo comes here. I thought he'd like it, so..."

"I'm a woman of my word, so it's safe with me!"

"Thanks." They smiled, letting Pirarucu know that she'd done her part.

"Moray! We've got a Monster with an outfit request for you, nyamo!"

"Coming, Goonyan!"

Soon the two were alone.

"To be fair, I never really thought that would actually work," the scientist said.

"Yeah. I knew they'd probably needed to relax once in a while."

"Do you think we should do this again? Goonyan could even pitch in a little for money..."

[be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie]

I propose a memory loss au where Spider is horribly injured and put in a coma indefinitely, but luckily the scientists are able to put his memories in the body of an avatar. The only problem? His "memories" are shit due to the injury and now he's only got the vaguest of memories surrounding everyone.

Picture:

He isn't sure why he does what he does next. All he knows is that when he walked up to the boy (who was shorter than him---not by much, but still shorter and for some reason that felt weird) and cupped the back of his neck to gently bring his face forward it felt right. When he pressed soft kisses to both of his cheeks, then his forehead, then his nose, it felt right. When he pressed their foreheads together and whispered "Hey, Neteyam," it felt right.

And for a second the boy, Neteyam (he must be), melted into him, allowing it. But now, as if remembering himself, he pulls back from Spider with a gasp, his eyes widening. Fear. Why is he afraid, Spider wonders. He doesn't know much these days, but he knows that this is right. He knows that he and this boy belong to one another.

Behind Neteyam, a woman, a man, two girls, and a boy have frozen. Their eyes are locked on where Spider's hands are still cupping Neteyam's neck with varying degrees of emotion.

"Bro, what the actual fuck," the boy blurts at the same time as the older of the girls crows "I knew it!"

But Spider pays them no mind. His entire being is focused on the woman. She looks ready to kill.

Anon. I am so upset that you have left me with this. It has haunted me since it entered my inbox. I neeeeed a fic of it so bad actually. Write it for me anon, pls. This is HAUNTING ME, oh the rent??? It's fucking free.

Is his body still there, so he hasn't been fully transferred?? Is he stuck in his coma body if he isn't in the avatar? How did he get hurt?? Where are they, are they in High Camp or at Awa'atlu?? Must've been fun for our boy Neteyam, especially if it was our secretly mated au and his mate is just missing and then horribly injured and Neteyam has to walk around being chill even though he feels like he's missing a limb.

If this is our accidentally mated au then that explains why he's just drawn over to Neteyam and just does what feels natural. AND why Neteyam would just relax into it, because he's been missing Spider and keeping away for so long. And the fear is totally for Spider, not for himself.

Lo'ak being like what the fuck while Kiri knew killed me. I do wonder how Jake and Tuk felt. I bet Tuk doesn't care really, she's just invested in hanging out with Spider again she doesn't really care what he's doing with Neteyam. Jake is like "Oh shit," because now he's dialed in on Neytiri.

UGH, it could go one of two ways. Yes, she could be furious at Spider and blame him, but she could also be angry at herself. At this point (if this is our accidentally mated au) she's been aware her son had mated with someone but that he wouldn't tell her who for a while now. She had thought he trusted her, and that he told her everything. It felt like a huge failure that he didn't trust her with something that special, and she'd been telling herself it was because of who he mated with that he wasn't telling the family. But now it's hard not to feel like it was her, that she was the reason. Her family would've been accepting right away if they knew. I'm sure she'd lash out at Spider at first, but I have a hard time not believing that self blame would be there and she'd realize it quickly. Maybe after some time alone or a chat with Jake or Mo'at.

On a happier note, there is a romantic comedy of sorts to follow in that Spider is going fully off of vibes. He's just gonna be doing all SORTS of physical affection, even verbal. Just saying shit that comes to mind, any memories, doing things that feel right like taking Neteyam's hand or cuddling him and Neteyam is loving it but also wants to die because they have been a SECRET for like YEARS NOW and no one is used to this and he is very embarrassed and tense. Kiri, Lo'ak, and Tuk (even Jake a little lol) are relentless in teasing him and pretending it's gross.

Neteyam says he's going out hunting and Spider's like, "Okay, bye" and gives him a very regular and normal kiss goodbye because again, he's going off vibes. Neteyam just stands there and reboots for like a minute while Kiri and Lo'ak take turns seeing who can pretend to throw up the loudest in the corner.

Spider: *takes Neteyam's hand*

Kiri and Lo'ak:

Spider: *kisses Neteyam*

Kiri and Lo'ak: