#he put a note in my chart and seemed...excited?

[secondbeatsongs]

I love being someone's science experiment

[tttabii]

PREGNANT & PROMISES - THANOS/CHOI SU-BONG X READER

warning : none just fluff

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BACK IN THE DAYS when everything felt smaller  dreams seemed so far away, there was just you and Su-bong, on the rooftop of his small apartment, staring into the night sky and gabbing about the future.

"I want to travel," you murmured softly but firmly. "See other countries, dance in the rain in Paris, get lost in the streets of Tokyo, eat every food that we can."

"That sounds nice," he chuckled, propping his arm beneath his head as he listened. "What else?"

"Get married."

That had made him stop short and turn to look at you with eyes twinkling with something unfathomable. "With me?"

"Duh." You laughed and nudged him playfully. "Who should I get married to if not you?"

"True," he insisted, slipping his fingers under yours. ""I'd marry you in a heartbeat, you know."

And he had meant it.

Life had been easier then before his big break. He spent all his time in the studio honing beats, writing lyrics, and chasing dreams, while you were along to bring home-cooked meals, sneaking after hours just to sit next to him as he worked. On the days he had off, he was in your apartment, playing video games with his lazy arm over your shoulders, stealing kisses along your neck between matches.

He was always patient. Always. Even when you fought and were obstinate and frazzled and screaming, he would never shout back. He would just watch you, wear you out talking and screaming, and when you finally calmed down, he would apologize if he was in the wrong or pull you to his chest, pressing soft kisses on your forehead.

"I love you, you do know that, right?" He had whispered one night with his fingers running through your hair.

"I know."

And now, years later, everything had changed—except for the way he loved you.

Su-bong had finally made it. His songs were topping the charts, his concerts were sold out, yet he was still coming back home to you. Still calling you in the middle of the night just to hear your voice. Still sending you flowers with little notes that made you smile like a lovesick fool.

But what he didn't know—what you have not been able to tell him yet—was that you were pregnant. You had taken the test only a few days ago after staring in shock at those two pink lines, hands trembling with excitement and nerves. Though early in the pregnancy about a few weeks, thoughts of having a baby with him, of building that future you had talked about years ago, warmed your chest.

Tonight was his concert, and you had a front-row seat, VIP of course. The energy in the arena was electric, and the screams of the fans deafening as he rallied from hit to hit, commanding stage presence while putting forth raw emotion through his voice. Yet, as the music faded into silence, the arena quieted, and the giant screen above him focused right on you.

 

You blinked, caught off guard as gasps and murmurs spread through the audience.

Su-bong, standing under the spotlight, wiped the sweat off his forehead before looking straight at the camera—straight at you.

"I have some news for all my fans—it is a tad bit breathy," he said. "There has been a very special someone in my life—someone who has been with me from the start. And it's high time the world knows about her."

Your heart pounded in your chest.

"This one's for you, baby."

The music set out, seductively slow, and then he began to rap—words that talked of late-night studio sessions, of homemade meals, of whispered dreams on rooftops. He rapped about love, about patience, about a future he wanted to share.

And you knew for sure that he was now rapping about you.

Tears welled into your already glittering eyes as the audience erupted into cheers—the love in the room suffocating. And with him gazing into your eyes from the stage, full of tenderness, you knew it was the perfect moment to tell him—

The crowd was still cheering as Su-bong bent low on the stage with sweat streaming from his body and glistening under the stage lights. He smiled at you as he handed you the mic and was looking into your eyes, even with a crowd of thousands around you.

"And so?" he asked, his cutesy voice filled with teasing. "What do you think of the song? That was just for you, baby."

The audience waited for your response in thunderous applause. The camera showed you on the gargantuan screens overhead. Your heartbeat rang in your ears; you weren't planning to let this out publicly, but, hell, it seemed like a good idea right now.

You brought the mic to your lips, your voice slight but with a throb of excitement.

"I loved it." You smiled, gripping the edge of the stage. "And... I hope our baby will too."

The moment the words left your mouth, the arena erupted with gasps, screams, cheers—it was deafening. But all that registered in your awareness was of Su-bong, whose playful expression now shifted to a frozen gaze, lips parted slightly as if still processing what you had just said.

"W-What?" His voice came out quieter, breathless.

You bit your lip and nodded, "I'm pregnant, Su-bong."

For a brief moment, time suspended. Without a moment's indecision, he surged forward, clasping your hands and pulling you onto the stage, triggering another burst of applause. He squeezed you tightly against him, lifting you slightly off the ground, his face against your neck as a laugh-respiration burst forth.

"Holy shit," he murmured against your skin and afterward pulled away, cradling your face. "Are you serious?" 

You nodded again, tears welling up in your eyes. "Yeah, I am." 

He let out this loud, joyful whoop, spinning you in a circle before turning back to the crowd, raising his mic. "I'm gonna be a dad!"

The entire arena went wild, fans screamed, some were crying, lights started flashing, and confetti cascaded down like it was all planned as one big finale.

Turning back to you, Su-bong pressed his forehead against yours, hands still cradling your cheeks. "I love you," he whispered, pure passion shaking his voice. "And our baby...I'll give them the world, I swear."

And somehow, in that blinding light, loud cheers, showering confetti like stars, you knew this was the future you would always dream about. 

[kazutora-kurokawa]

tokyo rev boys with a black cat girlfriend?

TokRev x Black Cat!Reader

♡ SFW, fem reader, fluff, reader is quiet + observant ♡

Characters: Chifuyu, Baji, Inui

note: thanks for requesting anon 🩵 also I just hit 400 followers so thanks for that, the fact that 400 people actually like my work enough to follow me is crazy to me 😭

❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀

Chifuyu

😺 Black cat girlfriend + golden retriever boyfriend

😺 He jokes about you being a cat in your past life because of the way you act

😺 Super excited to introduce you to his actual black cat and takes hundreds of pictures of you two whenever you're together

"You two look soooo cute together! One more pic I swear!"

😺 When he introduces you to the gang, they're all confused at how someone as quiet as you can put up with his antics

Baji

🔥 You two are the most observant people in every room you walk in, emotional intelligence is off the charts fr

🔥 Y'all talk shit about everyone you see because you can just tell when someone's on bullshit

"Look at that guy over there, he looks like a damn snake."

"Like the animal or he just seems shady?"

"Both."

🔥 He invites you to come with him when he lights stuff on fire, he likes the chaos and you like the warmth (committing arson on the first date 🤭)

Inui

♡ He thinks you act like Koko but you're obviously much calmer

♡ You always catch him off guard because you walk quietly, he almost punched you because he thought you were a gang member trying to sneak up on him

"What the hell y/n? Please stop walking down on me, you're gonna give me a heart attack at this rate."

♡ People think you're weird because you two are always quiet, but you know you don't need words when you can communicate telepathically understand each other so well

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Taglist

@arlerts-angel @i-literally-cant-with-this @trevengersprincess @giugiette @katshimizuu @happy-trenchcoated-impala @kazubarbie @drunkcheesecake @darkstarlight82 @reiners-milkbiddies

[lebbys-world]

Hello, this is my first time requesting any sort of writing, but I've had this idea for a couple days now.

So the idea is, a todoroki x reader. Where reader (preferably fem) is obsessed with mugs, and it's pretty unexpected with people, because she has a resting-B*-face, and is very guarded due to seeing how twisted and weird people can be.

Anyway, in my mind maybe it's todoroki, deku, and bakugo's turn to go on the weekly shopping run, and they're down the dish isle (for some reason), and todoroki sees this mug he thinks reader would like because it has her favorite character on it. So they finish the trip, and he brings the mug to reader, she's so happy and excited about this mug that she's just sitting there unable to express how happy she is so she's tears up a bit, but looks at him and out of nowhere basically tackles, this man into a hug.

That was my idea you don't have to use it, but I just thought this was so cute and had to see it written. Thank you, have a nice day/evening/night ☺️

A Mug for a Hug

Todoroki x fem!reader, established relationship, collections/hyperfixations, fluff !!

notes: thanks so much for the request !! i hope i was able to put your idea into words, even just a bit !! i also used third person for this one, just for the sake of switching perspectives between the reader, Todoroki, and narration !!

Come the end of the week, each of the class 1-A students were given their usual chores for around heights alliance - the method coordinated and conducted by none other than the class president himself.

Insisting that everyone pull their weight, Ida charted who would make dinner, clean the common room, take out the trash, gather groceries, and the like.

This week, Y/N's eyes scanned the posting, her duty was to help make meals every other day, alongside Mina.

Smiling to herself, she fortunately seemed to get one of the best outcomes of this random chore raffle.

As her eyes carried on looking over the paper, they landed on a pair of three names listed below “buying snacks and groceries”:

Midoriya, Bakugo, & Todoroki 

Oh goodness.

Those three definitely won't make it back with the food intact. 

Seemingly noticing the situation he was in himself, Todoroki looked blankly at the board, then looked over to Y/N. 

“Hey, Sho, please try to keep all the food intact, okay?” Y/N chuckled, egging her boyfriend on a bit. “If you don’t, Mina and I won’t be able to make dinner for everyone.”

He smiled softly, “I’ll do my best, but you might have to bring it up with Bakugo. I’m sure he’s the one who really needs that warning.”

“Yeah, I’ll warn him as well.” She rolled her eyes, brows furrowing already at the thought of the conversation.

“Well, good luck. I’ll see you when I get back, alright?”

“Yeah.” She smiled, waving him off as he went down the hall.

Later that day, post-warning scolding, the three boys had managed to, rather uneventfully, gather all the groceries they needed.

As Bakugo yelled at Midoriya for the shopping list, Todoroki made his way down the adjacent aisle, biding his time as the other two double checked the cart.

The shelves of the neighboring aisle were lined with glass, a variety of unique ceramics sitting on top.

There were hand-made bowls, hand-painted plates, printed jars, and, yet, one thing in particular caught his eye.

Near the end-cap of the aisle was a small row of mugs, each with a custom print of a character across it.

He picked up one, smiling to himself, as he thought about the collection Y/N had in her room.

Keeping her interests to herself, Todoroki reminisced of the time she happily went around showing off her trinkets and collection to him.

It made him feel truly a part of her life - being trusted to see such an open and earnest side of her.

He picked up the mug with her f/c on it, running his hand over it gently, before going back to the others to finish checking out.

By the time the trio made it back to the dorms, evening had crept its way in.

In the kitchen stood Y/N and Mina, carefully preparing a broth for dinner while waiting for the remaining ingredients to make their way back.

The two laughing to themselves, Mina happily remarked when she saw the other three walking towards the kitchen, bags of groceries in tow.

“Well it took you boys long enough!” 

“Seriously,” Y/N chimed in, a smile on her face, “did you get lost in that store or what?”

“JUST TAKE THE DAMN GROCERIES-” 

A loud thunk was heard as some of the bags hit the table, Bakugo storming off.

Midoriya’s face paled as he went to make sure all the jars were still intact, rapidly apologizing for the actions that weren't his own. 

“Again, I’m really sorry about Kacchan! I hope you guys can make something good with what we bought, though! Please let me know if you need any help!”

The freckled boy bowed again, and ran off after Bakugo, likely insisting the hot-head apologize as well.

Left behind to help unload the dishelved bags, Todoroki put things away in the pantry one by one, chiming into the girls’ conversation.

As he reached the end of the bags, he carefully unwrapped the ceramic mug he had tucked safely away, and softly reached out for Y/N.

“Hey, I thought I’d get you something while we were out.” He smiled, showing it to her as she turned to meet his face. 

“I thought a mug with your f/c would be a good addition to your collection… though, if you already have it, I can return it and find you a different one..” he trailed off.

Awestruck, Y/N stood for a moment, not knowing what to do.

Her eyes watered, as her heart warmed.

She hadn’t known that Shoto would care so much about her interests like that.

No one ever did before - in fact, it was usually the exact opposite.

People would normally shy away whenever she became more open, so she often put up a mask, keeping what made her happy safe and away from anyone who dared taint it.

But, when she started dating Shoto, she settled on being herself.

She wanted to be herself, with him.

So she tried, and gave him a glimpse into her world.

He seemed happy when seeing her collection, and listening to her rant, even asking a few questions along the way.

Yet. after that, he hadn't brought it up again.

So, Y/N let it be.

But here he stood, smiling at her, a brand new f/c mug in his hands for her collection. 

He cared.

He really cared.

A tear fell down her cheek as she ran into him, wrapping her arms tightly around his body.

Todoroki stumbled a bit at the sudden hug, adjusting himself so as to not damage the mug at all. 

“Sho..” Y/N looked up at him, smiling wide, “thank you.”

“Of course,” his eyes shone back, as he quickly tightened the embrace.

The two haphazardly let go of each other, as Todoroki passed the new mug along to Y/N.

Within seconds her energy had shot through the roof, and she couldn’t stop talking about this f/c mug.

“I mean, HOW DID YOU FIND THIS??” She asked, carefully looking at the print. “This one was a limited run, and somehow you stumbled into it at the GROCERY store??”

“Well it was just sitting on the shelf..”

“Really??”

She ran over to Mina, proudly showing off the newest prized piece of her collection. 

“Mina, just look at what Shoto got me! Isn’t it the best?”

Mina laughed at her enthusiasm, “it really is! Why don't we wash it off and you can use it as your glass for dinner tonight?”

Y/N stood with her mouth wide open, her invisible tail wagging at the idea. 

“HOW DID I NOT THINK OF THAT??”

As the kitchen continued to fill with the warm aroma of food and the sweet sound of three friends laughing together, Y/N hugged her boyfriend once more, new mug in hand, and new, real, memories being made together.

all fictional works are for entertainment purposes only. all rights to characters, media, references, and other third party materials belong to their respective owners. do not repurpose, modify, copy, or repost my work to other sites without permission. ©lebbys-world 2024.

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pfp by hafiism

[jazjelspen]

leaving on wild charted waters [pt.5]

(what if our mc just got tired of Night Raven College and it's inhabitants?)

(what if our mc participates in RSA's annual ball!)

("filler" chapter/splashes of angst but it gets real more into the chapter/fluff/mc having fun/fleshing out RSA students/ basically the same author's note in pt 4 applies here/not proofread/oh and mc has like a few NRC scares here T-T)

(requested tags!: @vivianstar-blog2 @phantomcookiedough)

if you want to be tagged in future chapters please comment or message me! I will only tag you if you directly ask for it and i will only tag you once unless you ask to be tagged on all future chapters of a particular series. thank you to all those who asked for a part 5!)

the ball: part 2

(prepping)

three full weeks have passed since you first seeked refuge in RSA and now it's now a brand new day in the fourth week of your stay. it was the day of the highly anticipated ball!

it was the school's annual ball with students from all dorms joining together for a night of magic and music. many found this boring while others were excited for it. you were one of many that were excited for such an event!

you and your five best friends including a distant friend named Elias Ashes all came to visit the so called 'fairy godfather' of the school, Evan Bleu, a fourth year of RSA working towards his official fairy godparent license but for now is practicing by making wishes come true around the school here and there when the time is right. in this present moment every one of you were standing in certain parts of his dorm room while he stood there overlooking every one with a smile.

"seems like you all seven seem to be in need of my services! would I be standing correct if I said that you all are here for the ball?" all of you simultaneously nodded before Evan spoke up once again while clapping a bit in excitement "amazing! this'll be fun! now, would you all be kind to tell or show some elements of what each of you would like to wear tonight?" asked the platinum haired boy while scrunching up his sleeves to his elbows with a slim white wand in hand.

Alex first hummed while thinking before shrugging "not sure, something nice, fancy, comfortable. elements?... you put whatever you think fits me most." he gave Evan a small smile "giving you all the creative liberty as long as I look good, blue."

Evan chuckled as he nodded "I understand Alex, now who's next?"

immediately right after he finished speaking chirped in the light caramel haired boy, Elias, who raised his hand up as he spoke up second "oh! oh! me... please! I'd like something similar to what you usually give me!.. but with a different type of shoe fit for the occasion please. since last time I lost my left shoe in the middle of the dance..." 

"oooh I'm so sorry... yes I'll keep that in mind!" exclaimed the white haired boy in blue.

you then raised your hand third, still unsure of what exactly you liked as long as it was comfortable for the night. "uhm, I'd like to go next!--" you spoke up while Evan gave his full eyes and ears to you "perhaps something comfortable yet fun looking?.. I'd still like to look good without feeling heavy or too tired at the end of the night!" you smiled as you spoke as well as mentioning several other elements to your outfit that you'd like to wear and have on you for the occasion. 

Evan nodded and kept a mental note of what you wanted "a unique yet well established mix! I just know for a fact your outfit will be amazing!"

Neige then was next to speak, but anything he said became slowly muted in your ears since you felt two small set of eyes looking at you. you slowly turned your head towards the open window of the room to come face to face with a little bat. a bat that seemed very familiar but you couldn't exactly put your finger on it on where you remember it from. what made it even weirder was that it's beady little eyes were looking right at you when you slowly started to realize that you have never seen a bat on campus before. 'how weird..' you thought 'perhaps it's a pet, or it's from the courtyard..' you felt like you had it on the tip of your tongue but you really weren't sure. it did out nerve you though because the only other place you've seen bats around was in NRC, specifically Diasomnia.

but if the only place bats could come from is Diasomnia then... could it?..

no it couldn't be, no way-- they wouldn't be that crazy in sending a small mammal to find you and watch you right?-- right?? 

if so, poor bat. 

but also if so, you knew you'd be overly annoyed and irritated beyond belief. why couldn't they just leave you alone?? wasn't it clear enough with you leaving that you didn't want to be around them anymore!?...

even if you did miss them all to death. 

yet despite this you reminded yourself that you left for a reason. you left because no one helped you enough and most of the time you fended for yourself and Grim when no one looked your way when you asked for help. they insulted you belittled you and made you feel worthless. threw you in overblot after overblot to play therapist to all those affected with issues that weren't any of your business to begin with yet were dragged in anyway. you were forced to live in a haunted dorm with the floors creaking and ceilings at times caving in on their own-- sometimes the ghosts were helpful and kind at times but your bad first impression of the beginning of your experience tainted the rest of it.

then.. what even was there to miss?

'no, I can't go back. I came here for a way home and a place to stay where I won't have to risk my life every week or month. I can't do this to myself anymore.' you reminded yourself. 

you let out a deep sigh before you felt a sudden gentle shake of your arm, you snapped your head towards who that was at the same time you snapped out of your thoughts. the one who shook your shoulder was Rielle. 

"hey... you seemed to be staring at something outside but it flew away and you stayed staring at that spot.. you feeling alright?" your favorite RSA redhead spoke as we realized that everyone in the room looked at you worryingly. the feeling of all eyes on you made you shrink down a bit.

"im fine im fine just-- remembering some stuff from back at NRC.. it's nothing really I didn't mean to make any of you guys worry." you shrugged as you gave them a sheepish smile. "anyway, where were we?" you asked, but then everyone kinda had a confused look on their faces now.

"_____," Rielle spoke "we've all finished saying what we wanted to say, we're gonna go get a quick bite before getting ready and finally leaving for the ball."

you looked at him with wide eyes and a slightly gaped mouth, to which Chenya ever so politely with one finger pushed your jaw up to close your lips together. "was I zoned out for that long?.." 

"uhh-huhh.." Chenya intercepted "kinda scary to be hones-- yoWCH!"

Alex slapped Chenya on the arm for his comment and spoke with an irritated tone "he's lying _____ don't listen to a thing this fur-ball has to say." huffed the young man. 

"ahh well-- then let's get going then! so we can get ready and be on time for the ball!" you stood up from wherever you were sitting "and thank you very much for your time, Evan!" you spoke as you gave thanks to the boy in blue before you walked over to the door, the rest of your group rushing in getting up and speed walking towards the door with you. all but Elias whom seemed to wait till everyone left so he could leave himself.

Evan waved at all of you as you walked out "bye bye starshines! see you in a few!"

everyone else said or yelled their 'see ya' laters.

when you were all now away from the proximity of Evan's dorm room though Chenya decided to start speaking,

"he calls everyone 'starshine'... me-ow always thought it to be kinda cheesy dontcha think?-- yoWCH!"

"shut it cat, it's just his thing leave the poor guy be."

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(getting ready)

the next few hours went by in a total blur. you all ate together while talking about school, common interests, and of course the ball. you all walked back to the Evan's dorm room to see a several group of students you recognized already walking out looking dashing and formal.

 once you all walked in it seems like Evan just finished up getting Elias ready-- and gosh was he sparkling like the night sky. "ah! hello everyone!" spoke our 'fairy godfather.' "come in! I just finished up my friend here so whomever is ready can come on next!" 

and the rest was also a blur but you clapped here and there for each of your friends who each looked flattering and stylish in their own unique ways with outfits that really suited their personalities. it wasn't until it was your turn to get ready that you fully now fully in the moment.

"now let's see... something comfortable yet fun.." mumbled Evan "let's try.. bibidi-babidi-boo." with a quick move of his wrist he pointed his wands towards you and a splash of tiny specs of stars engulfed your body to form the shape of your desired outfit. your hands almost covered your face as a reflex to shield yourself but quickly relaxed when you felt nothing but magic hugging you tightly before it dispersed and showed your outfit and-- it looked like something you'd only wish for in dreams. at first it was a bit weird to see yourself so formal after being in NRC for so long but you got used to it when you saw how it complimented all your features and your body type... and it felt hella comfortable!

except there was one thing missing...

Evan gasped as you poked a foot out "oh my! my apologies my dear" he flicked his wrist towards your shoes to change them to whatever pairs of shoes your heart wished for, along with some artistic contribution from Evan as well. 

your entire group either were stuck frozen staring(respectfully) or complimented you to death, overall everyone shared the same opinion: you looked absolutely amazing.

as everyone fell into chatter and were getting ready to leave and go out in about in new fabulous attire Evan had to announce one important thing "now remember everyone! spell only lasts until--"

"--the clock strikes twelve! we know we know blue, at twelve we all go back to normies." spoke Chenya as he tried to get comfortable in these formal clothes.

"very well then! now go on everyone, have fun! take lot's of pictures and make many memories! oh and don't forget to post on Magicam so I can see too!" the blue fairy waved you all off as you all walked out and cheered many 'thank you's and 'see you soon's in unison.

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(the ball)

you all walked to the ball since the ballroom was in such close proximity to the dorms. you all joked around and playfully mingled in a buzz of pre-party excitement. as you all approached the entrance you and your friend group stared in awe at the glowing entrance and banner welcoming you all to RSA's annual ball.

Neige let out a small 'whoa' under his breath as he held his hands up together under his chin "I knew the fireflies were a nice touch!"

Raps nodded, "just wait until you see the murals inside!"

as you took your first steps inside you could truly feel your breath sucked out of your lungs... in a good way. 

the scene that stood before you inside was nothing but magically. the ballroom was very large and wide with various sets of tables that you all helped set up now being occupied by several groups of students at the ball. classical music played in the back as well as an empty dj booth waiting to be used beside the small yet very talented orchestra playing only a few main instruments. despite how far away they were from the entrance you could still hear the vibrant and elegant melodies play in and out your ears as if it were right beside you. various students from various different dorms were slowly starting to occupy many parts of the ballroom aside from the tables to either just stand in their own groups in the corners of the room or to just get food on the many side tables out on display for all to get. and when you looked up your mind just exploded even more with how beautiful the ceiling and wall murals looked thanks to you and Raps's team up. they looked similar to the vibrant and detailed church murals you've seen before except the paintings here were much more vibrant and rich in color and beauty. and we can't forget to mention the chandelier! with the light hitting each speck of glass hanging onto the chandelier it's like it emphasized the scenery and made the murals pop and look almost heavenly.

wow, you really had much to say about the event.

Rielle gently grabbed your wrist and carefully lead you to any empty table you guys could find with enough seats for the six of you to sit together, once you did you all made sure to leave a few items or coats to mark this as your spot.

"lets go get some grub now! all those sparkles and fancy outfits have made me hungrier than a hog." Chenya tittered before Alex and Raps each grabbed the cat's left and right arms individually to drag him to the table as they exclaimed 'you bet!'. 

Rielle was about to head over with the other boys until he noticed that you haven't moved, seeing you still a bit star-struck at all the flowers, paintings, lights, and all other decorations you all set up as a group made him smile softly. "not joining us, shrimpy?" he asked,

'shrimpy'... you swore you almost heard Floyd's voice ring in your ears.

"I'll--" you interrupted yourself immediately by snapping your head to look at him in a split second "what?.." an almost afraid expression contorted your face. 

Rielle immediately noticed this reaction and his heart cracked seeing that look on you "o..oh!-- I'm so sorry _____ I didn't.. know you wouldn't like it--" he then by reflex quickly but gently held one of your hands with a genuinely guilty look on his face "it's just-- it's silly really but you at times remind me of a little shrimp since y'know.. I grew up in the sea! but I didn't know it’d come off in a bad way! I’m truly sorr!—“

ahh right, now you remember. he's told you that he was originally born and raised a merman, just like those other three you used to know.

you immediately stopped him from talking by simply interrupting him "no no! of course not!--  look you didn't offend me at all it's just.. it reminded me of a nickname a..."friend"... from NRC called me too.." you paused only to smile warmly, which melted off that frown off the redhead's face. "but I like it better when you say it."

the young man nodded in understanding, feeling better now that you told him how you really felt as well as feeling a bit special. he gave your hand a bit of a gentle squeeze before he heard the voice of Chenya steadily coming closer and closer.

"hurryy Red! your favorite strawberries and cream that you like are at the dessert table and everyone's getting their grubby hands on them before youu! let's gooo!~" Chenya linked arms with Rielle before dragging him away from you, leaving your hand cold. 

"I..I'll be right back _____!" he exclaimed before being dragged further into the crowd by his cat-eared friend.

even if the moment was resolved fast, it still left you a bit spooked.

You waved them off before you took your seat at the table you all decided on staying until you looked to your side to see Neige. you thought he left with the others but I guess not. "oh! hey Neige, not eating either?"

Neige who was currently on his phone perked up at the mention of his name and gave his full attention to you "I will! just that-- I'm kinda a bit occupied with some comments on a specific post lately.. they've been really weird and all.. I closed comments but as im previewing what they said before--" he spoke as he eyed his phone with a weird look on his face. "I understand what they mean but-- I also just don't get it exactly."

"mind if I take a look?" you asked before he gave you a nod and a sweet smile and handing you his phone. you gently took it from his hands to see it was the picture that you and him took on Magicam, you scrolled down to meet with an enormous amount of comments that you could only assume to be from NRC students considering what they are saying..

"so they went to RSA?.. lol they really switched up on us.."

"traitorous much?..."

"ooo so this is why my house leader has been meaner than usual."

"all of our house leaders have been meaner than usual anon."

"lmao tf is that the prefect"

"y is the ramshackle prefect in rsa..."

"that explains why everyone is talking about a boat."

"they do know they just started a war, right?"

and this was just a few of what you were able to read.

god, these comments really weren't helping..

"ah.." you sighed as you were hit in the face with the realization that now not only does everyone know, but that they are not handling it well. honestly you were glad they were at war with themselves at your departure. all you wanted was to leave them to their own devices with you not having to tug them all back like rabid dogs. yeah, let them be at war. let them handle things themselves, it wasn't your job to apologize for everything they did. 

you wouldn't really call it a betrayal that you left, it was a necessary act to take care of yourself. so if they wanted to call you a 'traitor' because you left to find a better way back home then so be it.

"night raven students, guess my leave from there to here has got them in a buzz.." you shook your head as you huffed "ignore them Neige they are just so pressed because of your school and their school being rivals. nothing against you personally at all." you flashed him a gentle smile in hopes of turning his frown upside down "not only that, but we're at a ball!" you held one of his hands gently as you tried to stay optimistic "c'mon let's eat something fast then hit the dance floor once the dj starts! we will not let some students from across the sea ruin our night of fun."

Neige could feel himself sigh and let out a nice big smile at your words, since you were definitely right on that part, we couldn't let students that aren't even a few feet close to us ruin this night.

then just as fast as they left the rest of your group came back quickly with food! especially Chenya and Alex who both seemed to be balancing plates of food on their heads and arms.

"me-ow thought that maybe we'd bring your plates to you since both you lazy kittens didn't get up~" purred Chenya.

Rielle was the next to interact "here, your favorite!" he spoke sweetly before placing a dish you've grown to love in RSA right in front of you.

you thank him kindly, once everyone set their plates down and ate you and Neige silently agreed to ignore the comments that you read together. the thing is that you felt even more uneasy than usual.

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

(the needle)

after eating and the dance music started that's when all of you jumped onto the dance floor and stated jumping and dancing your faces off, even if some of you didn't even know how to dance or were not very used to it you all felt comfortable enough with each other to not even think about being judged. both music and blood were beating against your ears and the beat of your heart was hitting against your throat as you were dancing and jumping while all of you interacting and holding onto each other in the middle of the crowd of other RSA students that were enjoying their own times with their friends too. for once in your life you've felt free and full of healthy adrenaline. after months of having to play Cinderella at Night Raven College you were finally able to have your own night at the ball where no one could bother you anymore, no headmaster to boss you around and no upper or even lower class-men to ruin this for you anymore.

at least you really hoped this was the case tonight.

there was a moment where you felt a strong breeze from behind you, then another breeze, and another. it got to the point where you had to snap away from the excitement to now move your head towards whatever was that was basically flying beside you. you looked over at the side where you felt your last breeze and it was towards one of the open windows that were open to let in the fresh night air.

how odd.

it was a bat hanging from the top of the window, maybe the same bat that you saw recently?...

then there was a small yet very bright ball of light that shined right beside the bat as if accompanying it. anyone could've mistaken it for a small firefly but something was different, very off, it seems as if these two were watching you. what weirded you out more was that no one beside the windows noticed these two, almost as if it was only you who could see it.

you stayed there standing in the middle of the dancing crowds, you squinted your eyes to get a better view but all you could see was the little bat flapping it's wings as if motioning a 'come here' movement.

"hey ______! why're you standing our song is playing!" Raps exclaimed you out of your thoughts, you flinched a bit before giving them a small yet obviously forced smile to them all before responding back.

"oh! I.." you paused as your eyes flickered between your friends and the bat with the little bright light "I need to use the restroom! I'll be right back!--" you exclaimed right before you tried to squeeze yourself through to go straight to the window in hopes that your friends were too high on the dancing adrenaline to not notice you. when you got closer the bat it quickly flew out and darted to somewhere up higher..

the bright little light stayed for you to finally approach it, seeing how close you finally were this same light started to slowly fly towards a quick back exit from the ballroom where almost no one paid attention to. as it flew you could hear your name being faintly ushered by said light, this only piqued your interest even more and the faint tone of it's voice held a sense of familiarity to you. it caused your legs to then quickly catch up to it out the exit and swiftly walk out.

the light lead you to a brick wall behind one of the school's towers, the light seemed to phase through the wall before coming out again when it saw you didn't follow it. the small light slowly walked through the wall, following each step you took. you took a deep inhale, puffed out your cheeks, closed your eyes and walked right through the wall! when feeling no impact from it you then opened one of your eyes and let yourself exhale.

looking around your surroundings you see that it's all dark, a large and wide stone space with a small window above the ceiling that shined the moonlight towards the middle of the room where it rested a spinning wheel with the bright little light that continued to usher your name landing right on top of the tip of the spindle. your footsteps echoed and bounced across the room as you slowly approached the spinning wheel.. you watched the little light continue to glow and then seep itself into the needle of the spindle. your hand, without any of your control, then slowly reached towards the needle. it was slow with your conscious trying to stop it from moving but your hand continued to hover over the needle. right as you felt your finger graze the tip of it..a large puff of black smoke immediately engulfed and wrapped itself around your entire body.

until you felt a heavy weight lean and hold onto you, two arms around your waist, a face on your shoulder, black hair in your own face as well as the shadow of horns... very familiar horns.

"my child of man... I have you again."

oh.. no.

oh no.

(hope this came out alright! I don't know if I proofread this properly at all so I'll just count this as not proofread T-T hope it's still a nice chapter to start off the angst and drama that will seep in from NRC to RSA!)

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s3 episode 16 "apocrypha" thoughts

(giggling and kicking my feet) it’s mulder and scully time <3

and it was a GOOD episode!!! i was sad, but damn was i compelled! back to the very beginning of the episode to begin the note-taking journey, with a tiny recap of where we left off beneath the “keep reading” bar…

hehehehe i am excited!! i love to spend the evening with the ultimate duo. and we have so much to cover!

so many twists and turns to walk down! krycek is back! skinner is hurt! scully is sleuthing! mulder is in hong kong! we had best begin!

YAAAS we got another “previously on the x files” <- i loathed these at first for throwing me off my typical groove, but now that i know we only bust them out on special occasions (multiple part episodes) i look forward to them

ugh scully is so pretty. “you say that every time” and it’s true every time??? 

we get a recap: flash bang alien, inky eyes, skinner on a hunt for answers before being interrupted, scully’s dad’s friend johansen, the rat bastard 

timeskip to 1953. a man from johansen’s squad who is covered in burns is telling his story, and it is being recorded. he is being visited by those who claim to want to bring him to justice, but he says he won’t tell. 

so after johansen started a mutiny and locked the rest of the sailors in the sub, those trapped on the lower levels knocked the dude with the inky eyes on the head with a wrench. so he is knocked tf out. and liquid started pouring from his eyes (BLEAUGH) and into a drain. the survivor who has all the burns and who is recounting this calls the liquid “the enemy”

a guy that looks a lot like matty healy (but much cleaner) is asking him what he means by calling liquid “the enemy”. so the interviewee says that the thing went back to where it came from. 

GASP!!!!!! HE ADDRESSES THE MATTY HEALY LOOKING FELLOW AS “MR. MULDER”!!!!!! oh this is JUICY!!! and the camera pans over to another man putting in a cigarette!! GASP!!! WE KNOW WHO THAT IS!!!!

baby cig man says “you can trust all of us” (<- LIES, LYING, SAID BY A GUY WHO IS LYING)

(you can tell the actor playing baby cig man had just one line but he worked SO hard to get cig man's voice right... it made me giggle)

why does young mr mulder look kinda cute. aww. so little. almost wanna squish his cheeks.

they changed the intro again. smh! messing with my rhythm.

anyway, back to main plot. scully’s rolling up to the hospital to find skinner, where she is met by agent fuller and agent caleca, two names i do not think i have heard before. scully asks for hair and fiber from the crime scene and these two are like “we don’t have that yet” so she says “um get it?” (not really but basically) (and they claim it was some random guy that shot him… not buying it)

oh! skinner is being wheeled out! she��s off to go investigate. now if it were ME being rolled about with my shirt off after a gunshot wound and emergency surgery, i would not want people seeing that. but hey, she’s a doctor so maybe she’s chill like that. still! i’d be soooo embarrassed omg

SHE GRABS HIS HAND OMG!!!!! he opens his eyes a tiny tiny bit and tells her that he has seen the man who shot him before!!!

man, i thought just the hand grabbing was gonna be all tender, and it was! but getting a clue at who did it was a bonus too

back to the rat bastard and mulder. at least krycek seems aware that mulder can and will kick his ass and is deferential to him. 

scully is looking over skinner’s chart. OH! she asked for guards. and she wants them NOW. she does not CARE about your excuses. WOO!!! she says idgaf if you two agents stand out there YOURSELVES, get GUARDS ON him!!! YAAAAS!

back to krycek and mulder cam. mulder notices that they are being followed and tells him to speed up. at gunpoint! and this mystery vehicle runs them off the road!!!!!!

noooo, their faces are all smushed in. someone pulls rat bastard out and asks where the tape is, but the fellow who attacked him gets flash banged, because again, krycek has alien flash banging powers.

but poor mulder still has his bloody heady on the dash :( he sees some odd flashing 

scully gets called into the lab and this guy has some info on the dude that shot skinner. she says it will take too much time to run the hair sequence, but to do it anyway.

(also, i can’t tell if this is the same guy from the lab as before that clearly had a crush on her or if this is a different one but idk i guess it doesn’t really matter... he doesn’t seem like her type)

so the two men that krycek flash banged last night are now in treatment for radiation, and who is visiting them but cancer man!!! he is once again lighting up as they are dying. he bends down and moves a bandage, and sees the eyes of a patient meet his. but he says to HAVE THE BODIES DESTROYED OMFG HE DOES NOT GIVE A FUUUUCK THIS GUY IS EVIL!!!!

mulder at da hospital. bandage on his head. awwwwww :( it’s so sad and pathetic... he’s baby.

AND SCULLY IS THERE!!!! WITH A SMILE!!!!!! WOOHOO I WISH I COULD LIVE IN THIS MOMENT FOREVER!!! YES YES THOSE ARE MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS!!

the police found him and he mentioned “we” so she says “who’s we” and he has to say KRYCEK… she is (very gently) confused

an excellent person to have by your bedside whilst recovering. 

she tells him that she is sorry for the bad news, but skinner has been shot as well. but the doctors seem to think he’ll be okay. and she has an idea on who it is that pulled the trigger!

GASP!!! she pulls out the scans on the hair. two of them, in fact. the first being from the man who shot skinner, and the second being from the man who shot melissa. and they’re a PERFECT MATCH!!!! CONSPIRACY!!! CONSPIRACY, I CRY!!!

(shrill violins, fade to black)

oh! it’s the united nations alien council. um i realize now i don’t know their actual name. but you know who i’m referring to, right? the guys. the gang. the squad. just a couple of dudes.

they’re discussing the site “WHERE THEY RECOVERED THE UFO” well! there you have it! word of god confirmation! it’s indeed a ufo that the french sailors came across in the last episode!

“it seems we have an information leak, gentlemen”, one of them announces, which makes me say, okaaaay ominous <3

and they say cig man has responded in a way no one could have predicted… omg was he behind the skinner thing…?

scully visiting skinner <3 asking how he is feeling <3 he doesn’t seem surprised about the news his shooter was the same as melissa’s, especially because those three men had warned him before about pursuing her case. he says she should be careful about saying that the case was shut down because people don’t want it to be caught but. it’s looking them right in the face.

OH! the man that shot him was one of the ones who attacked him a few months back on the stairwell! well i didn’t even catch this. some detail noticer i am. AND KRYCEK was the other one!!!! yes, and they stole the tape yes yes i’m recalling!

ohhh it’s serious. he tells her that she cannot afford anger, that if she’s angry she’ll make a mistake. “i’ll be okay”, she says (voice breaking) (<- said by a woman who is lying)

he says that if she can’t keep her head, it’s okay to step away… this feels very chekov’s gun… but she says that’s exactly what they want. OH! i love that she knows she can get to the bottom of this. i love that she believes in herself.

scully is furiously typing on her laptop. asking to devote full bureau resources to finding krycek. got her glasses on n everything. terribly beautiful whilst angry. she is saying he can explain everything that is going on, but i don’t think anyone is gonna listen to herrrr because the fbi does not give a fuck!!!

scully is now entering their office to see the giant yellow scuba suit. “it looked great on me in the store” says mulder, who needs to make a joke or people will die. perhaps he needs to make a joke even more when people really ARE dying.

so, why is it here? great question. it was covered in oil, the french guy was covered in oil, his wife was covered in oil, and it’s all diesel oil from world war two submarines. a new meaning to the term “oiled up”.

theory time with mulder: it’s a medium for an alien creature for body-jumping. he laughs when she laughs, aware of how ridiculous it sounds, but also aware of her thinly veiled fury; what else could he do? he does know how it sounds, he does know what she needs, but the truth. the truth.

so what does this thing living in the oil want with krycek? a great question. 

omg guy from the lone gunmen is ice skating! and so is another one. wow a team bonding mission <3 AND THE OTHER ONE!!! FROHIKE!!! 

is this something they do often... no, this must be a sleuthing mission.

frohike goes in a locker and opens something. GIVES IT TO MULDER!!! YAAAS THE TAPE!!! they say he should “call upon their services more often” YAAAS they want that sweet sweet agent time <3 

but noooo! the tape is gone!!!! mulder gets mad and throws the empty case. still, a reunion with his pals <3

cig man is watching tv. sipping some sort of liquor.

(whenever i see someone drinking a beverage with ice in it on a tv show, i think of that one tiktok of a prop master explaining how they make prop ice and the many different kinds they can do. i think this looks like glass ice to me. shoutout to people who make videos about props; you make my heart very happy)

BRO... THE TAPE JUST APPEARS. KRYCEK HAS ENTERED????? but the guy who shot skinner is there too!!! and is holding krycek at gunpoint!!!!

cig man watches krycek's eyes go all inky (correction: OILY) and black. omg……

cancer man is rolling up 15 minutes late for the UN alien meeting. lmao it's funny in a way. he moved the ufo to a new location! he promises it will be absolutely inaccessible.

someone asks why he won’t bring it to nevada like the others. probs because even the normies know about nevada as the alien place. dweeb.

GASP! they want answers for what happened to skinner. cig man says for all he knows, it's just random. even though they have a drawing of the guy who did it, who is “one of his”, he’s denying it. AND THEY’RE ALL GROANING BECAUSE NO ONE BELIEVES HIM FOR A SECOND LMAOOOOOOO

(so funny to me that despite being on the super secret alien council, cig man still manages to be unprofessional and lie through his teeth to people who seem far more competent, even when secrecy effects the entire planet. something very funny about him lowkey sucking at his job)

so he needs to get the shooter out of the country NOW or else skinner can make an ID and no one can stop the arrest!

back to the agents trying to piece things together. the lone gunmen are babbling on about how to best find what was written on the case but mulder has the secret: rubbing a lil pencil over top LMAOOO. he finds a phone number!!

and who picks it up when he calls but… the un alien club!!!

it’s the well groomed man!!! mulder says krycek gave him the number. and he asks to meet with mulder. allegedly in central park? is this a trap...

so, the dude who did the shooting is named luis. the other agents are saying to scully they can’t look any further than they already have, but she says keep looking, she’s seen stranger. and the lab guy says “i believe she has” when she leaves lmaoooo GET UP. he's down bad fr. pathetic. get up.

i mean i am too but i'd like to think i'd have more dignity about it

mulder in da park. is he alone… are they gonna get him??? the well-groomed man meets him. they’re playing some mental chess with who can ask each other what. so he tells mulder there WAS a ufo at the bottom of the ocean that was shot down during ww2, and a salvage attempt had been made, but there were complications.

so it looks like they’re both looking for krycek. but the well groomed man leaves by saying “anyone can be gotten to”. very very ominous. and mulder calls scully and says check on skinner RIGHT NOW.

she gets down there and he’s NOT THERE??? apparently he was moved to a different hospital. WHO TOOK HIM?????

scully slaps her badge on the door of a ambulance on the side of the road and asks if he’s got a skinner in there. this dude says yeah and he must be freaked tf out, but she’s coming along for the ride now.

skinner wants to know what she’s doing here, and she says she just wanted him to be safe. she pulls her gun out and opens the door and WHO IS IT BUT LUIS!!! WHO FIRES AT SKINNER!

TRAFFIC GUNFIGHT CHASE!!! luis just got hit by a CAR!!! she got him!!!

and she’s SCREAMING at him. screaming like we have never heard before, are you the man that killed my sister??? he’s begging for his life.  he says he can tell her where krycek is…

the police roll up, telling her to put the gun down. and she sadly holds up her badge and explains that she’s basically the police but actually better so y’all are kinda late to the situation. they take him into custody. and she’s tearing up. i do not trust that he doesn’t have a poison tooth in there. 

she calls mulder, who is rummaging through his car, and tells him that he was right, someone was going to kill skinner. and it IS the man who shot her sister. and allegedly krycek is going to north dakota. mulder says please meet me in new york with two tickets to north dakota asap. 

what’s in north dakota, she asks? the salvaged ufo!!!

cut to north dakota cam. agents are rolling up, and how terribly i wish i could see what happened on the flight and ride up to there. how tense the silence was, how valiant the attempts at breaking it were. UGH. someone pls write the fic someday i’m already emotional.

she’s got a vest thing on and it’s cute. i get that we have bigger things at hand but i can still appreciate a vest moment!!

they go into a silo... but the door locks behind them!!! they go 8 stories down!! that is a lot!!!! 

now they’re opening a door to what looks like a nuclear waste thing. idk i don't know much about nukes. but it’s just a big empty silo. so they have to check 199 more. 

except they hear a thunk in the tunnels!!!

scully finds one of the (barely alive?) burn victims that had been flash banged by krycek just as mulder announces “he’s here”, and a large group of soldiers runs in

OH! they go to start running from the soldiers and he grabs her. it was so subtle but so sweet. i’m gonna gnaw at something. 

NOOO! they’re surrounded!!! and cancer man is coming up. she yells that they saw bodies in there and he says “you saw nothing” <- wow absolutely garbage fellow has sunken further than even before by adding gaslighting to his resume

so they’re getting taken into custody but cancer man is going deeper, and he tells the soldiers to take the bodies away. he goes down to the nuclear thingy, and lights up, which i feel would be a bad choice in a circumstance where things were actually nuclear, but okay. 

we see something very dark and oily? and hear people throwing up. OH! it’s krycek, with the black stuff pouring from his eyes and mouth. on top of a triangular looking ufo. the oil is pouring into a spiral thingy? and it gets sucked up. 

MULDER AT HIS DESK WITH HIS GLASSES ON!!!! AND A HEALING CUT ON HIS FOREHEAD!!! could a man be any more attractive? it’s debatable.

knock knock. who is it? it’s skinner!!!! limping, and not supposed to be back in the office for a few more weeks!

mulder gets up to shake his hand and help him across the room. a right gentleman, he can be. OHHH so this is why i have seen those bloopers of skinner with a cane LMAOOOO

he’s looking for scully though lmao. yeah not interested in YOU, mulder. 

mulder thanks him for getting shot because he stood up to the evil. he’s saying no, no, i wasn’t doing that, at all. i don’t know what you’re talking about. but not in a humble brag way, in a denying allegations sort of way. it's interesting. my brain is still stuck on this moment.

he says that he “mistakenly” believed he could bring melissa’s murder to justice. mulder says hey, what do you mean by that? so that is why skinner needs to go see her.

she's out and about, though. she’s bringing flowers to melissa’s grave NOOOOO :((((((( she doesn’t even say anything, she just sits there. 

UNTIL MULDER COMES AND BRINGS FLOWERS TOO??? and she has to brace herself to see him. 

he touches her shoulder gently before he sets them down. oh my GOSH

she tells him about how someone told her the dead speak to you from beyond the grave, and that is what a conscience is. he says that’s interesting, that he’s never thought of it that way. a man who sees her suffering and doesn't know what to say to make it better.

and she thought that finding the man who killed her would bring closure but it didn’t. 

he grabs her by the arm at this point, and says he needs to talk to her. tells her that they found luis dead. whoever was behind it all tried to cover it up. 

“i think the dead are speaking to us, mulder. demanding justice” <-stop. stop i’ll cry. you think i won’t cry? you think, for some reason, i won’t sob? i won’t collapse into a heap? you’d be incorrect. you’d be naive and mistaken. you’d be an utter fool, even in a world of fools.

(muffled screaming of me trying to keep it together)

but funny i should type that, because we also hear some muffled screaming on camera, that of krycek trapped in the ufo?? or in the room with it, deep in the nuclear silo?

episode ends with his screams.

WHAT!!!

so much has happened. and really one thing is on my mind: who is gonna hug scully? who is gonna tell her that the anger is okay, even if it’s futile? who is gonna hold the baddest woman alive close and listen? even if all she has to say is silence? 

RAAAAAAAAH i’m gonna CRY.

i feel like i could write another thinkpiece here but i also feel like i need to let this one sit for a bit. 

scully holding skinner’s hand, scully waiting by mulder’s bedside, scully saving skinner’s life, scully screaming, so guttural, at the man that killed her sister. scully in glasses and scully in vests and scully in coats. furious and devastating and calculating and guilty. 

i have some major questions re: krycek and cancer man and why don’t they just deal with him already??? like for real. i know the answer is gonna be that someone from higher up would just replace him, but i do think it is funny how he goes about blatantly committing all those crimes and then clocks into work the next day like nothing happened. and no one can act like anything happened because they’ll tear the fbi down if they do. we all have a coworker like that, don’t we? that sucks terribly but you can’t do anything about it because the inside supports how terrible they suck? sigh. many such cases.

krycek, if i’m supposed to feel bad for you, i don’t. starve in that ufo and see if i give a damn. 

skinner denying any concept of heroism… i think he’s doing it to keep himself safe. like he said to scully, any sort of accusations are risky. i don’t think he wants anyone to get the idea that he is a hero, even if he is in reality. i also think he has a complex and a great fear of being PERCEIVED as a hero after the things he did during war, and who knows what else he did but hasn't spoken about. but interesting still that he would deny a gesture as simple as being thanked. 

there are many dots in my head. i would like to think they are connecting, but honestly i’ve got matty healy dupe mr. mulder on my mind still just because it was so funny. and then also scully angst. and a deep deep desire to get into that car on the drive from the airport to north dakota, to just listen in on whatever went down. maybe i’ll have to write it if no one else does! isn’t that terrible? when no one else will write the exact thing you want to read, so you have to do it?

(i’ve actually never written fic before so that would be a major commitment. but a one shot here or there sounds interesting)

anyway. lots on my mind. it was a good episode, but kept a lot of things unsolved. which is the point, i know, but they dangle the answers in front of you!! then snatch them away!! i wanted a tiny bit more of the tea. 

but i guess, on the other hand, we know what the tea is, don’t we? we know cancer man and the UN alien squad are hiding this, they’re aware that this alien creature can cause radiation, they’re aware of ufos and they’re covering them up. they might not be aware of the exact nature of the creature, but they ARE aware of it, and that it’s a weapon of mass destruction. what isn’t clear is how tf krycek got roped into this. but again i really dgaf about his loser ass. 

i’m plotting. i’m pinning things on boards and tying them together with string. and then making predictions from there.

(actually, think it’s cool we see a bunch of different kinds of aliens on this show. there were the poison blood clones, standard alien 👽 fellow, and now the oil creature. fun that we get multiple perspectives and takes on what could be. perhaps scarier than just plain old little 👽, but!!! interesting for worldbuilding purposes)

back to plotting….

[backtothe99]

(18Trip Translation) Tao Kinouchi Novel: Back to the 99 - Track 2

all novels have spoilers for information about the characters revealed in the main story, proceed with caution!

Tuesday, June 29, 1999 / 2

“Hey, they added new songs. You guys should sing this one!”

As soon as we met up with Kinari at the karaoke bar, Goz, who was looking at this month’s songs, made a request.

Goz is an oddball that prefers listening to me and Kinari sing instead of singing himself.

I was looking at the booklet that had older songs in it, but Goz quickly loaded a song into the machine with the remote before Kinari and I could agree.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“The song’s about to start, here’s the mic.”

The intro to the song started playing, and Kinari and I were handed microphones and started taking turns singing a song that had been on top of the charts recently without any prior discussion.

Since he’s good at high notes, Kinari mostly sang the high-pitched parts, and I ended up just singing the rest of the song.

When we improvised on the lower harmony, Goz got so excited he started banging the tambourine like crazy.

��He’s so loud. Can he even hear, or is the tambourine drowning out our voices?” I thought to myself, but I found his behavior so funny that I couldn’t help myself and harmonized with the tambourine.

“Ah, that was good. What should I have you guys sing next?”

“You should sing too, Goz.”

“I’m busy picking songs for you two, just thank me.”

“By the way, that tambourine’s so loud.”

“You just want to bang on that tambourine, don’t you?”

As soon as Kinari and I were done singing, we started pointing out Goz’s silly behavior.

This is what our usual exchanges are like. Both Kinari and I find Goz easy to tease, since we get along with him so well.

“Quiet! I need to make you guys shut up. You just wait, Goz-sama will bring you both a special drink from the bar.”

After being thoroughly teased, Goz got up and left the room.

This too is a usual occurrence. Goz creates mystery drinks at the bar by mixing various drinks together and forces us to drink them.

I guess it’s something like a hobby to him.

“What are we gonna do, Tao? He’s gonna make some crazy colored drinks again.”

“We got no choice but to drink them, don’t we?  … It’d be bad for the bar if we left any leftovers”

“You’re such a good guy, Tao…”

Since Goz was taking his time making the drinks, I started looking through the booklet, thinking of singing something.

And then Kinari said, “Oh, yeah, I brought this,” and took something out of his school bag. I thought it’d be a deck of cards, but instead, it was just a cassette recorder.

“Oh, what brand is this?”

“No, my father made this. He likes tinkering with machines, and I remembered he gave me this some time ago and put it in my bag.”

Having a dad that can create a whole cassette recorder is pretty awesome. I wonder what his favorite machines are.

“Your family seems to get along well, Kinari.”

“... Not really. It’s always tense between us.”

When I told him my honest impression, Kinari’s expression got darker, and his eyebrows furrowed just a bit.

Honestly, that shocked me. Maybe because Kinari kinda seems like he’s a being out of heaven, I had assumed he and his parents had the ideal relationship.

But I guess every family’s got its obstacles. I started feeling ashamed of my narrow-mindedness.

“You see, my parents are overprotective. They’re always fussing over me. … It’s really annoying. Though, I guess they do it because my body is weak.”

“... Sounds like a hassle if they keep interfering with your life.”

I tried to lightheartedly go along with it, but honestly, I felt like I completely understood where Kinari’s coming from.

My parents probably interfere with my life more than Kinari’s do with his.

… But they only do it to me.

I have the ringtone turned off so I won’t hear, but I get loads of mails and calls from my parents. I can’t bear with it.

It happens every day.

Right at that moment, I saw Kinari press the record button on the cassette recorder.

“What’re you gonna record?”

I asked without thinking, and Kinari laughed like a kid that pulled off a prank.

“Come on, I want to record your singing. So, what's next?”

I couldn’t hold back my laugh as I picked up the microphone.

“Then you should record your own voice too, Kinari.”

In the end, we picked a duet that we always sing together, and sang away cheerfully as if to forget our parents.

As soon as the song ended, Kinari hit the play button on the cassette recorder. I got a little embarrassed when I heard our singing voices on the recording.

“Do you think Goz will quit asking us to sing if I give him this?”

“Eh… Don’t do that. Please. He’ll use it to tease us for the rest of our lives.”

I winced at Kinari’s rather horrifying suggestion.

And then, Kinari, who was laughing until now, suddenly became expressionless.

“The rest of our lives, huh,” he whispers, and then quietly says to me, “this is a song for the dead, you know.”

 I nodded, realizing that the duet we sang really was meant to be sung for people who passed on, and Kinari turned to face me.

“Hey, Tao, if you were to die tomorrow… What would you want to say to the people you’d leave behind?”

Kinari’s eyes met mine.

At that moment, his eyes… Reflected my figure as though they were mirrors.

I stared back at him as though I was being sucked into his gaze, even though I didn’t really understand the meaning of the words he’d just asked me.

“Hey, you nitwits! Goz-sama has brought you your drinks!”

The door suddenly burst open, and Goz entered the room in high spirits. The glasses he held in both hands were an eerie mix of green and purple, and Kinari and I both grimaced.

“Get lost, go away. Take your drinks and leave.”

“Kinari~ You wanted to drink that bad? Here you go.”

“Woah… What did you put in this? Even the smell is awful…”

I never got to understand what that question meant because of Goz and his insane drinks.

Then, I thought to myself, I’d ask Kinari next time we saw each other.

After singing to our hearts’ content, we went outside and noticed how time had passed.

We got to the station and were about to part ways, but I hadn’t gone through the turnstile. Kinari called out to me with a puzzled expression, “Aren’t you gonna take the train, Tao? Isn’t your house kinda far?”

I froze, not knowing how to respond to that.

Goz had an immediate reply.

“We’re on a diet, so we’ll go home cycling instead.”

“How lame. You should work out instead of dieting.” Kinari said back, but he didn’t delve into the topic any further and walked off towards the ticket gate.

Goz was probably just covering for me. He usually goes home by train, but just as he had said to Kinari, he dutifully followed me to the bicycles rack.

“You should just go back to the train.”

“Going back’s too much of a hassle. Let me ride with you.”

“If we get caught by the cops, we’ll get in trouble…”

I said that, but I was planning to let him ride from the start. Goz knows that I get sick when riding trains, and lied to Kinari for me. But even after doing so, he didn’t ask for any favors, and didn’t start fussing over me.

… If I’m being honest, Goz’s casual acts of kindness have saved me time and again.

When we were starting out middle school and Goz and I were in the same class–

I was horrified that people would find out that I was that fraud boy that showed up on TV in the past.

Wanting to be loved by my parents, I started this trick of guessing cards. While on TV, I was called a genius and a psychic, and my parents believed I was God’s child.

But in the end, I couldn’t bear the pressure of having to keep up the lie, and revealed on a live program that I’m a fraud.

The one thing I hadn’t anticipated wasn’t the harsh criticism I’d receive from society having turned its back on me, but my parents continuing to believe, without a doubt, that I was God’s child.

All that being said, because my puberty started early, and I suddenly grew taller, by the time I entered middle school, no one could tell that fraud child was me.

One day, just as I was feeling relieved about that, Goz suddenly said,

“You’re that psychic kid that was on TV some time ago, aren’t you!? I knew I had seen you somewhere before.”

At that moment, I thought my death was looming right over me.

But instead, Goz went on:

“You revealed it was all fake during a live broadcast, didn’t you? I thought you were, like, super cool!”

… That was completely out of the blue.

I never thought I’d come across the miracle of meeting someone who knew who I am, but didn’t despise me for it.

Goz and I have been inseparable since then.

… I wonder if that’s what best friends are like? I’ve never gone out of my way to confirm it with him, but that’s what I think. Goz knows pretty much everything about me, anyway.

Pedaling was a lot heavier with Goz on board, and as soon as we reached a hill, I groaned a strained, “Get off, man!” and pedaled with all my might.

Goz laughed out loud from behind me and said, “Look ahead and keep going, Tao!” with clearly no intention of getting off.

The hustle and bustle of the station is far behind us, our path is being shined upon by the residential area’s lights, and a dog is barking somewhere. I’m pedaling, and Goz is laughing.

It’s a trivial, pointless, and might in some ways even be a boring, ordinary day.

But I think days like this are the most precious thing in the world.

Being “normal” is a treasure worth more than anything else.

Novel directory: Tuesday, June 29, 1999 / 1 | Tuesday, June 29, 1999 / 2 | Tuesday, June 29, 1999 / 3 | Wednesday, June 30, 1999 | Souta Gozu

[tomorrowxtogether]

Tomorrow X Together: “The fact that you always get a new tomorrow is a miracle”

On their sixth mini-album ‘minisode 3: Tomorrow’, the Big Hit boyband continue their group mission to create a better future, while looking back on their story so far

Tomorrow X Together (aka TXT) have always been a group that looks to the future. That forward-looking essence is built into their name, which stands as a promise to work as a team to create “a better tomorrow”. On their sixth mini-album, fittingly titled ‘minisode 3: Tomorrow’, they take that approach and feed it into a narrative that looks forward to a new day when they can reunite with a long-lost companion from their past.

It’s a record that’s full of optimism, and as singer Taehyun tells NME two weeks before its release, the boyband hope its story will “make people excited about the future and their tomorrow”. On ‘minisode 3: Tomorrow’, the idea of the future is both a motivating force and a notion filled with anticipation. In the bright, energetic ‘Quarter Life’, Beomgyu, Taehyun and Hueningkai use it to keep themselves going through a quarter-life crisis.

‘Deja Vu’, meanwhile, looks forward to reconnecting through an intriguing concept. “Not knowing the reason of my tears, my anemoia,” they sing in its first verse and that last word – a reference to a nostalgia for a time you’ve never known – crops up again in the title of the remix that closes the mini-album. “[The lyrics] say that the expectation of meeting ‘you’, which feels like a far-off future, is really big,” Taehyun explains. “But we’re so anticipating and excited for that moment of our reunion.”

As our protagonists look forward to that reunion, they take stock of what they already have on ‘Miracle’ – a sublime piece of glimmering electronic rock – and take a moment to remind themselves and us not to take those around us for granted. Soobin, Yeonjun, Taehyun and Hueningkai participated in the lyric writing – although Taehyun is quick to point out all five members worked on the theme of the track – filling it with reflections from their own experiences over the years.

“We mostly focused on two overarching themes – the little miracles that we face in life and what’s invisible to the eye but is still important,” says Taehyun, ever keen to dive into the discussion. The second, he notes, was harder than the first because “everything seemed like it was visible”. Eventually, though, it was this release’s title – and their band name – that provided inspiration.

“At the end of the day, we thought of tomorrow or the future – the fact that you always get a new tomorrow seemed like another miracle to us,” he added. To the 22-year-old, there’s something almost magical about the group experiencing those new tomorrows together, too: “The fact that all five members are always together to this day seems like a miracle to me.”

If there’s one thing you can rely on TXT to do as they move forward, it’s to always be creating something new. Across their journey so far, they’ve made it their M.O. to tackle a broad spectrum of genres – from acoustic ballads to raging emo-rock and almost everything in between – and make them feel distinctively, inimitably their own. That’s an approach that extends to ‘minisode 3: Tomorrow’, charting new ground in UK house and Afrobeats. The mini-album also offers up new combinations of sub-units, the three youngest members taking on ‘Quarter Life’, while Soobin and Yeonjun share ‘The Killa (I Belong To You)’.

The stories behind these songs embody the passion and hard work that Tomorrow X Together put into their music, with each team having to adapt to new sounds and arrangements. “I had to fit my key to the other two [members], which was a little higher compared to my most natural range,” Beomgyu recalls. Rather than complain or be easily defeated, he adopted a determined attitude to help him: “I approached it with the mindset of, ‘I’ll make it happen in my 101st attempt if not [on] my 100th’.”

Soobin had his own struggles on ‘The Killa’. “It’s not my go-to genre, so I had some trouble singing the song in the beginning, and it took me quite a while to wrap my mind around the vibe of it,” he shares candidly. In the studio, the producer suggested he use what Yeonjun had recorded to guide him in creating his own take on the track. “In a way, he was like my bible, my reference, so I think I learned a lot from him this time,” the group’s quiet leader says, gesturing to Yeonjun with a small but grateful smile on his face.

‘Minisode 3: Tomorrow’ might form another commitment from TXT to keep looking to the future, but it also throws its gaze backwards. Its plot line references back to the promise shared in the video for ‘Nap Of A Star’ to “meet again, even if we part ways”, while the record’s second track brings back the morse code that’s appeared in the band’s work since their debut. ‘Deja Vu’’s lyrics, too, call back to songs from throughout their story so far, with nods to the likes of ‘Run Away’ and debut single ‘Crown’.

Diving back into the past wasn’t just a nostalgic exercise, though, but a tool to help them push on. “As we were preparing for this album, I did look up many of our past performances from our albums,” Hueningkai says. “I was inspired a lot while listening to our songs from the past as well.”

Now is a perfect time for TXT to review everything they’ve done since they first introduced themselves to the world in 2019. Just a few weeks before we speak, the group celebrated the fifth anniversary of their debut – a milestone moment that follows plenty of big achievements over the last half-decade. As the five members indulge NME in reflecting on their time together so far, the overarching mood is not one of boastful pride but of immense thankfulness.

“I never expected that I would make it this far, so I only feel a huge sense of gratitude for the fact that I’m standing here right now,” Hueningkai says as his bandmates nod in agreement around him. “I just want to do my best to make sure that I live up to everybody’s expectations.” Next to him, Yeonjun casts his mind back to their pre-debut days. “Our trainee days were rough,” he begins, causing Hueningkai to throw his ashy blue hair forward in gentle laughter. “But we went through challenges together as one team, so I’m grateful for what I have right now. I will never take anything for granted and keep on doing my best.”

Of all that TXT have experienced in the last five years, it’s some of the stages they’ve been given the opportunity to perform on that have surprised them the most. “Like Lollapalooza, or our stadium concerts and dome performances,” Taehyun lists. “I never imagined that would happen, so I have to say those moments kind of blew my mind.” After the translator finishes conveying his words, he switches to English: “Seeing crowded stages was really special.”

Last year’s Lollapalooza headline set, in particular, felt like all of the group’s drive, appetite and raw talent all brought to fruition wider recognition of a very special act. It was TXT’s second performance at the Chicago festival, seeing them level up from a late-afternoon slot on a small stage to main stage-topping glory in just one year came with much more positive feelings than their Lolla debut.

“The only thought in my mind was just happiness – I was so, so happy throughout,” Beomgyu recalls of their time on stage in Grant Park last August. “I could see this never-ending wave of light flashes that people were radiating with their cellphones, and it just gave me the feeling that we were the stars of the evening, which hyped me up so much.” Even after the performance was long over, that warmth remained: “I kept on having this lingering happy feeling with me.”

Over their first five years together, TXT have earned themselves many other titles than just bona fide festival headliners. They’re regularly referred to as the it boys and leaders of K-pop’s fourth generation, and now, no longer new faces on the scene but established stars, they’re thinking about what they might mean to those who follow in their footsteps.

“We had our own role models in our minds from the beginning, so we know how much that means to somebody,” Yeonjun says thoughtfully. “I just hope that we will become positive influences and hopes for up-and-coming artists.” Meanwhile, Hueningkai adds that “as an artist, I want to become someone who can be respected and admired by other people. Just becoming somebody else’s role model itself would be great.”

As TXT continue to look to the future and move forward with their adventurous music and affecting storytelling, they have other ambitions they hope to fulfil, from small but important things to grander aims. “As a group, our biggest priority is always to remain healthy and happy at all times,” Taehyun notes. “We have our third world tour coming up, so we just want to enjoy those moments fully. I just want to impart messages of hope and positivity to everybody and just fill everybody’s head with optimism.”

Tomorrow X Together’s new mini-album ‘minisode 3: Tomorrow’ is out now

[handspunyarns]

You Were Marked: Day Thirty.

pairing: din djarin x fem!O/C  

word count: 4.3K  

chapter summary: Din gets Marathel to a medical center on Canto Bight. 

warnings:  female bodily functions, descriptions of injuries, mention of wounds, blood, past abuse, rape, object rape, and medical procedures, English and Mando’a cursing  

***Please feel free to comment, kvetch, or otherwise speak your mind about my work. ***     

You Were Marked: Masterlist    

You Were Marked: <- Previous Chapter 

Siewan sighed as she entered her notes from her last patient into her charting system.  Normally, she wouldn’t be down here in the trauma center — her usual gig was up on the women’s floor — but they’d been short-handed again in trauma and it was slow upstairs.  Besides, she got an extra spiff for picking up the extra shift, and the adrenaline kept her on her toes.  Tonight, they’d had an entire wedding party — along with most of their guests — wigged out on synthetic spice edibles.  They were legal here on Canto, much to the dismay of the local medical community.  Siewan enjoyed a bit of the stuff herself from time to time, but it seemed that tourists had a problem with moderation.  So far, that had been their biggest bit of excitement this night, and Siewan was now enjoying the relative quiet at time-and-a-half, thank you very much. 

From her vantage point behind the check-in desk, she could hear the outer doors hiss open.  She heard the guard say no weapons to whomever had come in, but she didn’t bother looking up until she heard a mechanical but distinctly male voice say: 

“Weapons are part of my religion.” 

Siewan looked up to see a Mandalorian, in full armor, helmet, and weapons, carrying what appeared to be an unconscious woman wrapped in a blanket.  The security guard said, “No weapons in the trauma center.  You can put them in the lockers over there, or take off.” 

The Mandalorian looked down at the woman he was holding, then over at the lockers, then back at the security guard. “This woman needs medical help.” 

“And you need to ditch the weapons.  You can’t come in until you lose them.” 

“She’s unconscious.” 

“I don’t care.” 

The Mandalorian tilted his helmet in vexation.  “Tell me where I’m supposed to put her while I do that.” 

Siewan came through the inner doors with a gurney.  “Put her here, sir Mandalorian.” 

The security guard sighed.  “You’re not supposed to do that, Siewan …” 

“Yeah, well, he has a point, Gid, he can’t very well hold her and take the weapons off at the same time.”  The armored man carefully placed the woman on the gurney, making sure she was lying flat and that her braid was not trapped under her head.  Siewan watched his gloved hand briefly linger on her cheek, and then she pulled up her chart tracker.  “What’s your name, sweetheart?” she asked the unconscious woman. 

“Her name is …” began the Mandalorian, already pulling off weapons to stack in a locker. 

The chart tracker beeped.  “Oh, I can get her chip, sir.  Let’s see … Marathel ap Un … Unmapeth.  From Jakuu?” 

“Uh … yeah,” said the Mandalorian, now starting to fill a second locker with his arsenal.  He finally removed enough weaponry to appease the security guard, and he followed the nurse through the inner doors. 

“Can you tell me what’s going on with her, sir Mandalorian?” 

“Mando is fine.  She … has injuries, some new, some old.   A concussion, exposure sickness.  And … issues with her cycle.” 

Siewan raised an eyebrow at the Mandalorian.  If he was cognizant of her menstrual cycle, he was rather chummy with her indeed.  They got to the door to the treatment area, and she buzzed the door open.  He made moves to go in with the gurney, but Siewan stopped him.  “Only patients and close others can come back here.” 

He took a quick breath, saying, “I’m a Guild bounty hunter.  She’s my bounty.  I go where she goes.” 

“Credentials,” said Siewan, her friendliness gone.  The Mandalorian reluctantly raised his arm, and she scanned his Guild badge, which did not have his name, only his serial number and standing with the Guild.  “And her fob?” 

“She … doesn’t have one.”  Siewan scoffed and began to push the gurney through before he grabbed her arm.  “Please, Miss …” 

“Remove your hand before I call security.” 

He immediately moved his hand from her arm to Marathel’s gurney.  “Please,” he said again.  “She is … fragile.”  He dropped his voice lower.  “I rescued her from a torture cult situation. She’s been abused since she was a child.” 

Siewan narrowed her eyes.  “You have knowledge of the extent of her injuries?” 

“Yes.” 

“And she’s not in danger from you?” 

“Good lady, on my honor, on the honor of Manda’lor, I am here to protect her.” 

Siewan didn’t know why, but she believed him.  She considered herself a good judge of character, at least when she could see the person’s eyes.  She didn’t know much about Mandalorians — other than the urban legends of them being faceless murder machines — but this one was willing to take off his weapons to make sure this woman got some help.  He was standing still, just looking back at her while she measured his character a little more, and then nodded.  “C’mon, then, let’s get her back so the doc can take a look at her.”   

The Mandalorian breathed a sigh of relief, which cemented her opinion of him.  “Thank you.” 

They went back through into the exam rooms, passing the curtained cubicles, most of which held the wedding guests that hadn’t fully finished blazing yet.  Din shook his head slightly; he was against legalization of synthetic spice products.  Not because he believed drug use was evil, necessarily, but because he made a decent living off hunting marks related to the industry.  

He looked again at this nurse who so far had been kind.  She was another sweet-faced woman, and he hoped that Marathel would feel safe with her.  They came to a large exam room, with windows that fogged over once they were inside to give privacy.  Another nurse came into the room with them, and when he and Siewan moved to lift Marathel off the gurney, Din had already lifted her and moved her to the exam table as if she weighed nothing.  “Mando, my name is Siewan, and this is nurse Brey.  He’s going to get a history from you regarding Marathel’s injuries.” 

Din lifted his hands, shrugging.  “Where do I start?” 

“Most recent first?” asked Brey. 

Din began with the exposure sickness, and then moved on to the concussion and the dislocated shoulder due to her promixity to a chemical explosion.  Noticing that Siewan had a pair of scissors and was about to cut the blanket off Marathel, he cried out, “No!” The two nurses looked at him, puzzled.  “No, please, I can remove the blanket from her.  Please don’t cut that blanket.  It’s a source of comfort for her.”  Siewan and Brey exchanged glances, and then the female nurse stepped back.  Din reached to remove the blanket, then he faltered.  He was reticent to expose her, to see her unclothed and vulnerable while unconscious again, but he carefully unwrapped the blanket from Marathel, doing his best to not let his eyes linger anywhere on her.  He then turned his back as he folded the blanket, unknowingly hugging it to his chest.  Thankfully, the nurses draped her with a sheet to give her some dignity. 

It took some time to catalogue all of Marathel’s injuries.  Siewan asked many questions, and he gave as much information as he could while remaining as vague as possible.  Two doctors had come in as Din began to describe the whip marks on her back — describing them as wounds, but leaving out the whipping part — and the nurses rolled Marathel to her side.  One of the doctors gave a low whistle.  “You said she was in a torture situation?  I’m sorry, you need to be more forthcoming, Mando,” said Siewan. 

Din began to regret this decision.  Yes, Marathel was in distress but she might have been able to get to Tatooine again just fine.  Or he could have shouted out to Fennec to get him the location of those Reconstructionists; but no, he had to go to Canto, because it was close, and he was afraid to have to cope with Marathel bleeding out again, even though he was fairly sure that a woman couldn’t die from having her damn period, but Marathel was exactly the kind of woman who possibly could, for Frith’s sake, because she defied rules of reality.   

For a brief moment, he wished that it was still the time of the Empire.  Back then he could have been as vague as he wished; apparently the era of people minding their own kriffing business was over. 

Yeah, and if you’d minded your own kriffing business you wouldn’t have Grogu. 

As if on cue, a quiet whimper sounded n the room.  Everyone in the room went silent.  One of the doctors asked, “Did anyone else hear a cat?” Meanwhile, Siewan just managed to catch Din moving something he’d had secluded under his cape, trying to conceal it with the blanket.   

Siewan locked eyes — well, visor — with Din.  He heard her mutter to Brey, “Get me security.” 

Din fully turned to the medical crew, holding his hand up to them, clutching the bag.  “No, no, please don’t, I beg of you.” 

“What’s in the bag, Mando?” 

“A child. I have a child in this bag …” 

Siewan rolled her eyes.  “That breaks all the rules of this hospital!” 

“I know, I know.  But I’m bound to keep him safe.  He’s too little to be left alone.  And he loves this woman.  He sees her as his Mama …” 

Siewan listened to Mando’s voice taking on a shrill tone, like he was sliding into panic.  “It’s okay, it’s okay, Mando.  Just … chill.” 

Din took a breath.  “I’m sorry.” 

Siewan thought for a moment.  “Is the child’s presence why you’re being so vague?” 

“… yes.  There were horrible things done to her, and I don’t want to say them aloud in front of him.” 

“Is the child in danger?” 

“I’m his protector. I have to keep him safe and concealed.” 

Siewan came forward, still with her hands raised in front of her.  In the calmest voice she could muster — and she was great at calm voices, if she said so herself — “Look, Mando, this is a safe medical center.  We specialize in protecting women and children, innocent lives.  My usual ward is very secure, and it has a childcare center.  Many of my patients are fleeing a dangerous situation, and often bring their children with them.  Your child will be safe there, I promise.  I have the clearance to take you up there and get the child settled in, so you can concentrate on helping Marathel. Are we cool?” 

“He will be safe?” 

“Absolutely.  Biometric locks, the works.” 

“Are there … any fish or frogs or eggs up there?” 

Siewan stared at Din.  “… why?” 

“I forgot to bring food and the kid eats … interesting things when he’s hungry.” 

Siewan turned to look at her co-workers.  Are you hearing this?  She turned back to Din.  “They have a variety of snacks and food items.” 

Din sighed with relief.  “Wizard.  Let’s go.” 

On the staff turbo lift, Din watched as Siewan swiped a badge, looked into a retinal scan, and tapped in codes to set the lift in motion.  “You weren’t kidding about the security.” 

“Nope.  It’s a source of pride with us.  We have several secure wards and childcare stations.  I don’t even know where they all are.  I’m a floater between two, but I’m taking you to the one I like better.  It will be closer to where Marathel will probably be admitted.” 

“Thank you for your kindness, Miss Siewan.” 

“It’s Charge Nurse, buddy, but Siewan will work for you.  And this isn’t kindness.  It’s my job.  Kindness would be pulling rank to make sure I’m Marathel’s charge nurse for her stay.  Think of me as her concierge. And once we get this child of yours checked in you need to fill me in.” 

“Yes, ma’am,” said Din, now thankful that his decisions had led him here.    

The inner set of lift doors opened, and Siewan went through a few security steps to open the outer doors.  Din was impressed.  As they walked to the childcare center, Siewan asked, “So this Marathel is pretty important to you?” 

Din sighed.  “It’s complicated.” 

Siewan chuckled. “It always is.” 

“So everyone keeps telling me.” 

“Then you should believe them, Mando.  Here we are.” They were standing in front of a completely non-descript door that looked nothing like what Din would consider an entrance to a childcare center. Siewan punched in another complicated code, did another retinal scan, and then held up a wristband to a sensor.  The door slid open and they entered a tiny room that resembled an airlock. Siewan waved to a camera above her head.  “See?  Totally secure.” 

“What if you’re brought in here against your will at blaster-point?” 

“We have protocols in that eventuality.  But I can’t tell you about them.” 

“Because then you’d have to kill me?” 

“Yup,” answered Siewan with a grin.  The inner door opened and a short, round, half-Rodian came out.  “Hey, girlfriend, what it is!” 

“Hey yourself, honeybunch, what you got?”  The rotund green woman looked Din up and down.  “He’s a little old for the program.” 

Siewan chuckled and said, “Mando’s got a little one in the bag.” She heard a little mewling sound in the bag, and then she bent down to see the tiny hand gripping Din’s thumb.  “Hey buddy, you wanna come out and say hi?”   

The half-Rodian introduced herself as M’nka and ushered them through the second door into a larger room that held a desk, an exam table, and a large wall of frosted glass.  M’nka patted the exam table, saying, “Pop the kid up here and let’s take a look, Mando.” 

Din opened the bag and Grogu buried himself as deep in the bag as he could go.  “Hey, kid, these nice ladies want to see you.” 

“Mama!” cried Grogu. 

Din sighed and stroked Grogu’s ear.  “I know, buddy.  But this is another one of those times where I have to help Mama. There are doctors who need me to talk to them, and I need you to be brave, and stay here with M’nka.  I think she’s very nice. And I think you’ll like her.” 

“Mama,” muttered Grogu, and he scowled. Still, he stood up in the bag and allowed Din to pull him out and set him on the exam table.  Both M’nka and Siewan squealed and exclaimed how adorable Grogu was, fluffing his hair and tickling him, making the boy laugh.  Din noticed however, that their tickling and playing with Grogu was merely a distraction so that they could examine him, scan his vitals, swab his saliva, and get a retinal scan without upsetting him. Within moments, Grogu’s biomedical information was downloaded into a pair of wristbands: one for Grogu, one for Din.  Din noticed they were yellow, same as Marathel’s yellow dress, and his heart stuttered for a moment.   Finally, he noticed that M’nka was talking to him.  “I’m sorry?” 

“I need to get your retinal scan as well,” said M’nka. 

Din shook his head.  “I am unable to do that.  I cannot remove my helmet.” 

“Okay, then, you get to spit in a bag.” 

“I beg your pardon?” 

M’nka held up a small clear bag that contained a fibrous material inside.  “Turn and face the wall, we will turn our backs, and spit in here until all of the fiber is moistened.” 

“You must be pulling my leg.” 

“Not at all.  This is how we will test if it’s you requesting access back in here, as you cannot do a retinal scan.  You spit in here now.  Then you take these fiber cards for access later.  When you come back, you will put a fiber card in your mouth until it turns pink.  That’s when you insert it into the slot under the retinal scanner.  If it matches your sample, you will gain access to this space.” 

Din tilted his helmet and sighed.  “Do I need to avoid any food or drink before using the cards?” 

M’nka replied, “Red gelatin.  Anything red, really.  It totally messes up the scanner and it might pop out you’re a Sleestak or something.  And any sort of alcohol, or recreational drugs.  That includes synthetic spice.  You cannot gain access if you’ve been imbibing.” She tilted her head to match his.  “This is the way we protect your child.” 

Din nodded, and replied, “This is the way.”  He gave Grogu another cuddle, pressing his forehead against Grogu’s and promising to come get him as soon as Mama was taken care of.  Grogu still looked dubious but allowed another childcare worker to take him into the glass-walled room, where Din caught a glimpse of some laughing kids and brightly colored toys through the door.  He faced a corner and spit into the bag as best he could after gratefully accepting a cup of water from Siewan.   

M’nka thanked Din and turned to process his saliva sample, saying, “Hold up your wristband to the scanner by the door.”  Din did so, and the glass cleared to allow him to see the large room where many children of different ages were happily involved with activities.  Grogu was already at a low table, eating a cookie while scribbling on a large piece of paper with a brown crayon, along with several other small children.  “Your son seems to have settled in already.” 

“Cookies have that effect on him.  Just don’t give him a lot of fruit.” 

Back in the lift, Siewan went through the security protocol, and asked, “Is that secure enough for you, chief?” 

Din nodded.  “It is very good, yes.  Thank you.” 

“Now we can get back to Marathel.”  Din nodded again, but said nothing. “It’s really bad, what’s been done to that woman, isn’t it?” 

“Are you going to contact the authorities?” 

“Not yet.  I’m sure the shrinks would like a chat with her, but she will be free to leave if she decides to do so when she wakes up.” 

“What if she … requires surgery, or something?” 

Siewan turned her head to look at him.  “Legally, you can play your bounty hunter card and claim responsibility for her, make choices for her… even without a fob.”  Din looked down to his feet.  “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.” 

When they got back to the room, the doctors had Marathel’s feet in the stirrups.  Din turned his back immediately. Marathel was fully draped, but he still felt like a voyeur.  He wondered if he should hold her hand.  A third doctor had joined the discussion, and one said, “The bacta tank should help with most of her issues.” 

Din shook his head.  “She doesn’t respond to bacta.” 

All the medics sighed deeply.  “Well, that changes everything.”  Siewan asked Brey to contact a couple of specialists.  “Think maybe you should have led with that, Mando?” 

“I’m sorry,” muttered Din.  He was distracted, still not quite right in his head, it seemed.  Brey and Siewan continued to take notes from both Din and the doctors.  Din then had to explain how Marathel had been repeatedly raped, both by males and by foreign objects, briefly describing the Dilimgau.  There was a short silence in the room after that, then the doctors — one of whom was apparently a gynecological surgeon — went back to their examination.   

The gyno doc asked for a speculum and Din wracked his brain to remember what one of those was, and then he heard her say, “All this … scar tissue.  Do we have a child’s speculum in here?” Din suddenly realized what they doing, guessing what a speculum was, and then he had to stop breathing for a moment when it finally got through to him that a trauma center needed such a device that was small enough for a child, and Din thought he might lose it altogether, and then he heard Marathel whimper.   

Whirling around, he did his best to focus on her face as he went to her side and touched her shoulder.  “Marathel?” he whispered. 

One of the doctors replied, “She’s all right, Mando, we have given her some tranquilizers and lightly sedated her.  She woke up briefly when we began the IV and a synth-blood transfusion.  Despite her injuries, she is still quite strong and fighting hard.  Even without bacta, she should recover just fine.  We do think she should have a D&C to help her acute menstrual issues, though.” 

“And that is …?” 

“Dilation and curettage.  It’s a surgical procedure where I will open her cervix and remove the uterine lining, along with all these clots she’s experiencing.  Do you have any knowledge of when her last cycle was, before this one?” 

Din shook his head.  “All she told me was that her cycle was ‘seldom and strange’, to use her words.  And she recently found out that she is sterile, but knows no details.” 

“Recently found out …?” 

Din rolled his eyes, annoyed with himself for getting too specific again.  “She received some medical care recently, but I am not aware of what was done for her at that time.”  That, at least, was the partial truth. 

Siewan narrowed her eyes.  “What was the time span between her first set of injuries and her most recent injuries?” 

“… three weeks or so.” 

“Care to explain that?” 

“If I don’t, will that affect your level of care for her?” 

“No,” replied Siewan. 

 “Then … no, I don’t care to explain that.”  He took a breath.  “This D&C … is this a permanent procedure?” 

The gynecologist replied, “No.  It is strictly for her current condition.  It will also allow us to assess her state of healing.  From what I can tell, the care she’s already received was strictly for repair but not reconstruction.  Were you aware of that?” 

Din’s stomach turned over.  “Yes, that was her decision.”  He felt their stares on his back.  “I … want her to make those decisions for herself.  Please do what needs to be done for her so that she can do that.” 

Siewan watched him watching Marathel’s face.  She looked at his hand on her shoulder, and wondered if he realized he was gently stroking her skin with his gloved thumb.  Wondered just how complicated his feelings were.  Wondered if this Mandalorian was simply making things more complicated than they needed to be.   She quietly scoffed.  Mandalorians are just as dopey as any other man in the galaxy.  What a bunch of derping nerfherders.  She said, “Hey, Mando?” 

He shook himself out of his reverie and turned to Siewan, who was holding out a holopad to him.  “… what?” 

“You need to put your mark on this, so they can take her to surgery.” 

Din looked to the rest of the medics, standing around Marathel’s feet, which were out of the stirrups and lying flat.  He looked at the holopad and saw the line he was meant to sign.  Under the line it simply said Mandalorian and his guild serial number, protecting his anonymity as a bounty hunter.  He touched his gloved finger to the screen, but the connective fiber in his fingertip didn’t register on the screen, for whatever reason.  He paused, knowing he’d have to remove his glove before all these people. 

“You need to let them take her up, Mando.  You have to sign for her, since she can’t.  You said you were responsible for her,” said Siewan in a firm tone. 

Din gulped and reminded himself that Marathel’s needs were more important than his Creed — once again.  Perhaps always flashed briefly though his mind, so quickly he didn’t quite register it.  He pulled off his glove, exposing his hand to the medics as he scrawled a mark across the screen.  Siewan handed off the holopad to Brey, and the group of medics pushed Marathel out of the room and away.   

Siewan reached out and patted his arm.  “They’re going to do their best by her.” 

Din nodded, pulling on his glove and trying to shake off the shame and conflict he felt.  “How long does this procedure take?” 

“Couple of hours.  They need to fully sedate her, then however long they need to go the job, then recovery.  They’re going to put her on my ward when she’s done.  In the meantime, let’s take you back up to your boy, spend some time with him.  I just got a page that he’s tried to eat the room Derbit Lizard three times.” 

“I told you he goes for critters when he’s hungry.” 

“Yeah, you mentioned fish, frogs, and eggs, metal man.  So, let’s grab some food for both of you and I’ll take you back up.  They have some private rooms up there; I can put you guys in one so you can eat and wait.” 

“Thank you for your kindness, Siewan.” 

Siewan snorted, and led Din back down the hallway.  “Kindness, nothing.  You’re buying me some food, too.  I need to crash for a while so I can meet this Marathel of yours when she wakes up, get her situated on my ward.” 

“I think you’ll like her.” 

Siewan smiled and patted Din’s arm again.  “I think I already do.” 

You Were Marked: Day Thirty-One. ->

[spotsboogaloowrites]

Hi! The OC ask game for 3, 5, 8, 13, and 22 🩵

OOH!! I am excited to respond to these!!! Thank you so much for expressing interest in my gal Lyra! That said *cracks knuckles*

(I put read more as this definitely may be a bit of a longer post with some minor spoilers for plans for my fic!)

3. What song describes your OC?

… I’m cheating and putting two because I associate Lyra very heavily to the two following songs!

Collared- Vane Lily

While the original context behind the song does not fit her exactly, the lyrics and sentiment expressed in the song really fits Lyra’s complexes with seeming like a good person and being good enough for everyone around her. In a way, she is collared by the near perfect expectations she places on herself just so she feels like a good person. Also the Christian imagery does play a role in her story but that’s for later.

POLLYANNA (I BELIEVE IN YOU)- Catherine Warwick

A much happier song that just really encapsulates Lyra’s own curiosity about the world, desire to believe in a better world, and her feelings towards her fellow Strawhats.

5. Do you ship your OC with a Canon character? If so who?

I am OC x canon trash. Of course I do haha! That said, Lyra is shipped with

*insert a drum roll here*

Sanji!!! Yup! Lyra was an OC made with our lover cook in mind! The two are planned to have a major slow burn (like… they are planned to get together late post-timeskip) but that has not stopped me from planning a lot for them. Figuring out how they would work together not only has helped expand Lyra but really get to analyze Sanji as a character, appreciating him so much more (he’s become my literary analysis project at this rate lol).

So on that note, I’m very open to answering questions about them and my thoughts on Sanji and what I plan to do with him! Keep in mind though I’m still getting through the show (getting through Thriller Bark. That said I know quite a lot of spoilers so no need to walk on eggshells with me (yes I know all about what happens in WCI)) so I can’t answer everything but I will do my best!

8. What hobbies does your OC have? What do they do to unwind?

Lyra often is the kind to prefer keeping her hands busy when she is unwinding. When she isn’t working on the logbook (as she serves as the chronicler of the crew), she often can be seen doing chores on the ship, sketching (she is a bit of a doodler and with her hoping to add illustrations to the logbook, she practices drawing various things a lot), and training (it is not uncommon to see her and Zoro having a sparring match when they move to the Thousand Sunny). She also enjoys reading, being a huge fan of reading any sort of folklore whether it be fairytales, myths, legends, etc., and stargazing with it not being uncommon to see her with a star chart when she is keeping watch for the night, enjoying to spend the time trying to identify the constellations.

13. Does your OC have a rival? How did it start?

Lyra doesn’t exactly have a rival, not really holding grudges easily. The closest things she has to a rival are Foxglove, a figure from her past that she definitely does not have fond memories of (but that’s to be revealed later), and Porkchop from the Foxy Pirates. She really despised how she treated Chopper like a pet and the constant adoration she got from the Foxy Pirates fostered a major dislike for her. Not that she would ever try anything to establish this rivalry. Simply booing her is enough of a challenge for this failgirl.

22. Fight or Flight? Are they a lover or a fighter?

Having been trained from a young age to fight, Lyra is definitely geared towards fighting compared to flight, being a surprisingly strong and adept close combat fighter. That said, Lyra definitely is more of a lover, not being against fighting but definitely the kind to be more empathetic rather than confrontational. That said, that does not prevent her from being willing to fight for what she loves.

Thank you again for the questions!! They were a joy to answer and I hope you enjoy this insight on my gal!

[cutest-bunny-writings]

The Missing Paper Clause; Chapter 1: New Arrival

Warnings: people being referred to as specimens, discussion of skipping a meal, MC is pretty invested in finding out everything about the subject in question, mentions of creepy and rude coworkers

The Missing Paper Clause Chapter Index

"Did you hear? They're going to bring in a new guy for one of the programs! I can't wait! A brand new specimen to enjoy!" You squeal to your friend, your assistant.

"Don't get too excited about this, Dr. L/N. There's no guarantee that he'll be put under your jurisdiction." She smiles and makes some more marks on her stack of papers on her clipboard. "He's scheduled to arrive around the end of your lunch break today."

"Screw my lunch break, this is more important!" You beam and yank her clipboard into your own hands. "Do you know his name, age, exterior and interior physical qualities? Any interesting medical history?"

She laughs as she grabs her clipboard back from your excitedly flipping fingers. "Nothing yet other than the gender. I'm sure you're going to have a field day with his genealogy charts and medical history inspection," she side-eyes you playfully. "Even if that technically isn't your job."

"Oh please, it's not like my actual purpose here is adequately acknowledged anyway."

It's always bothered you that no one seems to actually take your purpose of participating in these programs seriously. You're treated like more of a secretary than a person with several master's degrees over various fields and subjects. As far as most of the men around here are concerned, you're just a really pretty forty-two-year-old woman.

They'll learn their lesson soon enough when their experiments blow up in their fave for not following your advice.

"Dr. L/N? Don't you think you should eat something before you meet the new specimen? It doesn't have to be lunch exactly. I can get you a protein cookie or something?"

"You mean those vegan ones from the brand Lenny and Larry? Because absolutely! I love those things! And they're huge! Get me the white chocolate macadamia nut one."

"Can do."

You hear her pen flying across what you assume to be scratch paper or a sticky note on her clipboard as she scribbles a note, probably about your cookie.

"To my office!" You practically sprint down the hallway in excitement to prepare all the paperwork for the incoming specimen and wait out the hours.

The time passes and you continue to pull various papers from different filing cabinets to build a blank file to be filled out during the initial screening process and hopefully the induction process.

Next

[ystk-archive]

[Translation] Perfume discuss recording “Love Cloud” (TV Bros, 23.06.06)

“At our first London concert in nine years, we performed a new song!”

A~chan: We performed our new song "Love Cloud" at our show in London! Nakata-san made it specifically for this overseas appearance.

Nocchi: Nakata-san did advise us that it might be better to perform songs that the crowd would be familiar with, rather than debuting new material at a foreign show. But we wanted to ask him to make something new anyway since the London concert is the best version of our live performances so far and Japanese fans would be watching it too through online streaming and the ABEMA TV broadcast.

A~chan: Yep, we totally did. When we were able to meet with him, that was the main thing we discussed. After that was the "how about doing a 'Polyrhythm Pro Max' version?" conversation (editor's note: they're referring to the iPhone's top-of-the-line Pro Max model). So something where when the song starts, the audience will be like "huh, what song is this? Is this a new song?" and then they get all hyped up once they realize it's one they already know. We're doing that at the [Primavera Sound] festival in Spain and also at the London show, and it was because we could talk about it with him that this new arrangement exists.

A~chan [continued]: We also talked about the new song. I told him that since it was going to be our first overseas concert in four years, I thought it'd be good to have a new track to showcase specially for all the people who waited for us. I wanted to bring a surprise along with us, so he made a track just for the overseas show... During the recording he was like "I made something seriously awesome." He was in a really good mood, huh?

Nocchi: He was!

A~chan: He kept saying things like "isn't this good?" and also expressed that he wants Perfume to have the kinds of songs that other artists on the chart would envy. Though I understand that there are all sorts of artists whom appear together on music shows and sing certain songs that they can only do because of the point they're at in their careers, or artists who specifically pick a particular song to perform, and singers each have their own reasons and sense of timing that explain their choices in music. He said he wants people to think the songs that Perfume sings are really cool. We were extremely moved hearing Nakata-san tell us his dream for us. It was one thing after another while we were sitting there like "Nakata-san, you really thought of us this much..." We were simultaneously excited and moved to tears from hearing him talk like that.

A~chan [continued]: The new track turned out really, really great. Usually when we record he has his back to us the whole time, but while we were working on Love Cloud he kept turning around and saying things like "oh, isn't this awesome?" He was in a super good mood. That said, even though I think the song is cool, when it came time to record the vocals it was insanely difficult. It might've been our longest recording session ever. I must've spent at least three hours in that recording booth.

Kashiyuka: It's because it's a new type of melody for us, isn't it? Nakata-san himself seems aware of the fact that we couldn't pull off this kind of melody in the past but now we can, and he said that when he was young he could never figure out how to put vocals to this sort of thing. So even though we received this song from him and it's really good, it was so tough to sing.

A~chan: It was~ (cries).

Kashiyuka: It's like I couldn't pick up on the notes in the melody at all, even though I can hum it no problem.

A~chan: In my case I was struggling to understand Nakata-san's instructions. "It's not (while humming) 'uuu, uuu~,' it's 'uuu, uuun." I was like...huh? What d'you mean??? All while the song was still playing and I had to sing to it. Like what am I gonna do...

Kashiyuka: It's been a while since we've seen Nakata-san's strict, Spartan side (laughs).

A~chan: He was super aggressive (laughs). Normally the songs play about four bars ahead of us as we record, and before we start a section we discuss it and say things like "I get it" or "I'll try" in response to his direction. Then we usually get a signal to begin but this time it was just, "Like I said, it's 'uuu, uuun.'" And then it was like a phone call getting disconnected, the way I was suddenly thrown into it (laughs). What's worse is the song was played two bars ahead and I had to start singing immediately while still trying to understand what he wanted and I just couldn't keep up. I was so confused that I stopped the recording for the first time by saying, "Um... I really don't understand, I can't pinpoint the melody."

Kashiyuka: Yep, you really did.

A~chan: But when I took a look at the demo, the sound that Nakata-san was talking about wasn't there. It was missing one note. So that's the reason why I wasn't getting it (laughs).

Nocchi: Hahaha!

A~chan: Nakata-san even hums songs like he's shy, so the notes don't come through properly.

Kashiyuka: He sings like he's in a hurry (laughs).

A~chan: Exactly (laughs).

Kashiyuka: He sings and plays the piano in such a rush that I have to ask him for more time so I can process the notes properly.

A~chan: I totally didn't get it. Of course Nakata-san thinks very quickly, and his mind and imagination are moving at speeds so fast that the average person can't keep up with him. Seriously. "Huh? Uhhh, umm, gimme a second..." (laughs). I always try so hard to understand him, but this time I had no choice but to be like "I'm sorry but I'm confused." He said "well, then sing it this way" and then he altered it to how he was originally instructing it to me.

─ This was the first tense recording session you've had with him in a while, isn't it?

A~chan: It was, but we were laughing? Nakata-san was too. We all laughed ourselves silly.

Kashiyuka: While saying stuff like "let me see here, it's supposed to be like this" and "no, hold on..."

A~chan: When we said stuff like "I don't get it," he laughed (laughs). At first I was about to cry trying to figure it out, but I was struggling so much that he broke out into laughter and then I laughed too. Jeez, this track really was hard to record. It's a house-style song.

Kashiyuka: It's probably because the rhythm is so tricky. He wanted to include a lot of syllables and the pronunciation of all the words became complicated. It was a tough battle.

A~chan: It really was.

Kashiyuka: But even Nakata-san was like "try singing it a different way," "no, maybe this way is better," and "whoops, my bad!" (laughs). It was a trial and error process for everyone. We were all trying to find the easiest way to communicate the song.

Nocchi: Yep.

[perseephoneee]

𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 @crazylurkercatlady

↳ ship exchange

-͟͟͞☆ I ship you with Elijah! Literally, the first person I thought of when I was reading your chart was Elijah. You're looking for a secure relationship and put a lot of thought into the people you care about. Elijah exemplifies the principles of a gentleman. He will always respect you and show you love when you don't feel it yourself. When you decide to open up, he'll welcome it with open arms.

-͟͟͞☆ Headcanons:

Sometimes you guys go on dates and you spend the whole time talking about your hyperfixations, and Elijah absolutely loves it (he loves anything you care about).

He mentioned wanting to learn about a specific thing once, so you got him a book all about it with all your notes scribbled in the margins. He almost cried (but he didn't bc it's Elijah and he never shows emotions smh. btw you should work with him on that)

-͟͟͞☆ Tropes:

doesn't talk to anyone (him) x talks to everyone (you)

responsible parents

-͟͟͞☆ Playlist:

manta rays chloe moriondo

at last etta james

lovesong beabadoobee

labyrinth taylor swift

-͟͟͞☆ I ship you with Allison Argent! At first, you might find Allison abrasive because of her strong beliefs and courageous attitude, but you'll learn to appreciate it as you respect the fact that she stands up for what she believes in. She's an incredibly welcoming person though, and enjoys hearing about your hobbies and seeing the art you create. You'll feel wholly protected with her around.

-͟͟͞☆ Headcanons:

You introduced Allison to some of your favorite video games, but she got way too competitive and everybody agreed it was best if she didn't play them again.

If you go to a party, you guys have a secret code for when you feel overwhelmed and want to leave. It makes you feel welcome.

-͟͟͞☆ Tropes:

"you annoy me but also i kinda want to kiss you"

you fell first, but they fell harder

-͟͟͞☆ Playlist:

save me remy zero

house song searows

still into you paramore

gold rush taylor swift

-͟͟͞☆ I ship you with the Tenth Doctor! Literally so perfect for each other. Oh, you want to both go back and forth sharing whatever trivia is in your heads? You bet your ass you're doing it for hours on end. On adventures, you're always finishing each other's sentences, and getting excited over things no one seems to care about. That's okay though! Truly the only thing that matters is you have each other.

-͟͟͞☆ Headcanons:

You didn't realize how much all you wanted was for someone to hold you until you had the worst nightmare of your life and woke him up for comfort (peep my fic hehe)

You meet Sarah Jane Smith and the first thing she does is turn to the Doctor and say, "you did it. you found your perfect match."

-͟͟͞☆ Tropes:

confessed you loved them when they were unconscious

moon x sun

-͟͟͞☆ Playlist:

come on eileen dexys midnight runners

heroes david bowie

more than feeling boston

call it what you want taylor swift

[audioaujom]

(4) Progress Comes at a Cost

LTWF Hub, < prev, next >

Hello again! It’s time for more Logan and Patton, though things aren’t as happy as either of them would like. Also enjoy more of the rather unhinged Michael Reeves-esque Virgil that this story has created lol As far as warnings go, the violence has escalated a little and in my head this feels at the very least a little homophobic (?) Not sure if that translated, but there’s a phobia of some kind in those boys. Just be mindful of it!

Word Count: 2558

Chapter TWs: Bullying, harassment

--

The plan Roman gave Patton was failing.

Well, partially failing. He was still spending a lot of time with Logan outside of class and they were definitely growing closer, but Logan continually frustrated him to no end with how dismissive he was of the stares and insults he was taking from the other students.

It made Patton really sad.

So for now he was choosing to focus on the good times they were having, of which there were a lot. They spent a rather large amount of time talking about class material, given how interested in astronomy they both were and the fact that once they got onto the topic they never seemed to know how to get off of it.

“Where would you go if you could go anywhere in the universe?” Patton asked randomly a few days into his plan, Logan looking at him in confusion.

“Why would I travel anywhere in space? We haven’t developed the necessary technology to sustain life over long periods of time in space, and there’s nowhere hospitable to visit.”

“That’s not what I mean.” Patton scolded lightly, leaning back on his hands to stare up at the ceiling as the two had found themselves moving to sit on the floor at some point. “If it were possible, what would you want to see up close? Where would you go, supposing you could?”

“Ignoring the fiction-like technology it would require to do so…” Logan sighed after a moment, fully giving in to the question and taking a long moment to think. “I’d like to go to the Andromeda galaxy. I don’t think I would need to see it ‘up close’, per se, but… I just wonder what’s out there. It would be nice to be able to find out and then study it more closely. Scientifically, and… personally.”

Patton had to stop himself from jumping up to his feet in excitement, relishing in the first real opinion he’d managed to weasel out of the android since they’d met. “Yeah, me too.” The two were silent for a long moment after that, before Patton quietly spoke up again. “If it was possible, I’d love to go and do that with you. Get on a spaceship and go out and chart the stars.”

“That sounds… worthwhile.” Logan nodded after a moment, Patton’s face blushing scarlet as he added, “I think I would like that.”

Patton was so ecstatic that Roman noticed it when he came back to the dorm, Patton’s wide smile contagious as he caught his roommate up on the fact the plan may not be working as intended, but was doing other good things for the two. He was on cloud nine.

It was three days later, on another innocuous Tuesday afternoon, that things turned sour again.

Patton and Logan were once again reviewing lecture notes on the floor of 102, stopping as several sets of footsteps came down the hallway and stopped in their doorway.

“Oh hey, look!” One of the three—all of which Patton recognized as the same three who were picking on Logan two weeks prior—spoke up, grinning as his gaze landed on Patton. “The android’s freak boyfriend beat us here today.”

“Hey! That’s not very nice.” Patton huffed, getting to his feet and putting his hands to his hips.

“You’re the one giving a microwave heart eyes.” One of the other two commented distastefully, all three of them snickering.

“Microwave?” Logan asked in confusion, also getting to his feet to stand beside Patton. “Is that another colloquial slang term I am unaccustomed with?”

“Man, your denseness takes the fun out of insulting you.” 

“I say we just hit him instead.” The final one spoke up, dark eyes menacing.

“It. Hit it instead.” The first one corrected, Patton unconsciously stepping forward in anger at his words.

“If you three have come just to be mean, I suggest you find somewhere else to do all that.” Patton declared with much more confidence than he felt, one of his arms moving out to block Logan. “You’re not welcome here.”

“We’re students at this university, same as you.” The second one ignored the warning in Patton’s words, stepping into the classroom to widely gesture at all three of them in the doorway. “Or do you not recognize your classmates?”

“There’s a lot of kids in that lecture!” Patton defended, his face flushing slightly in embarrassment. Maybe he did know them, but he’d have to keep an eye out in tomorrow morning’s lecture to be sure. “But it doesn’t matter if you are familiar, you’re being jerks.”

“Aside from your desire to have a go at his USB port, you don’t seem all that bad.” The first boy—and likely their leader, if that was even how they saw him—approached Patton, placing a not-so-friendly hand on his shoulder with a cold smile. “So stay out of it while we’re being nice.”

“No way! Logan’s my friend!” Patton shoved his hand off, glaring defiantly at the taller boy.

“Then I guess you wouldn’t mind joining him.” The last of the three boys—the shortest of the three with bleached blond hair and a cruel smile—stepped around the two facing Patton and swung a wild punch that collided with the side of Logan’s head.

“Whoo! Nice one, Kylar!” The first boy—a brunet who definitely was the obnoxious kid sitting two rows in front of Patton who left halfway through the first lecture never to return—cheered excitedly, watching as one of Logan’s eyes twitched from the impact and ‘Kylar’ prepared to throw another punch.

Immediately realizing that these kids weren’t going to back off, Patton pulled his phone out and sent a few quick texts to Virgil before putting his phone back away to try and help Logan.

————————————

To: Virgil !! Need help in 102 again

Kids here

Logan hurt

Hurry

From: Virgil !! patton?!

ah shit, I'm coming

————————————

Another hit to Logan’s head had his jaw locking up, his eye flickering again even as Patton tried to push past the brunet in front of him to get to his friend. “Hey! Seriously, stop it!”

“Oh, I just got a great idea.” The other boy not wailing on Logan commented randomly, Patton recognizing his mop of black hair as the lazy kid he was paired up with for a research assignment last week named Bailey. “You got your water bottle on you, Alex?”

The brunet—Alex—nodded, slinging his backpack off to pull the metal cylinder out of its compartment on the side to hand it to Bailey. “Always do. Here you go!”

“Hey! Stop it!” Patton once again tried to push past Alex, watching Kyler hit Logan hard enough one of his eyes powered off again. He couldn’t help the dread pooling in his stomach as Logan didn’t even bother to fight back, instead just obediently dropping to the ground as they attacked him. “Don’t do that!”

“Stay out of it!” Kylar yelled without looking back, watching with a grin as Bailey opened Alex's water bottle and dumped its contents on top of the android.

“Stop it!”

“I got him.” Alex rolled his eyes as the other two laughed, shaking his arms out before punching Patton in the face, hard.

This seemed to be the first thing to catch Logan’s attention, the water harmlessly rolling off of him as he propped himself up in concern, looking at Patton clutching his cheek in pained shock. “What… are you doing?” 

“None of your business, tin can.” Bailey dismissed, kicking him back to the ground.

“Leave him alone!” Patton and Logan called at the same time, turning matching looks to each other as the three boys dissolved into a fit of mocking laughter.

“How cute.” Kylar grinned, looking between them. “These freaks must love each other so much.” 

It’s as Alex was ready to swing at Patton again that someone cleared their throat from the doorway, everyone turning to look at the same time.

“Move away or get tased. Those are your only options.” Virgil deadpanned, a strange contraption held in his outstretched hand—which definitely contained more than one regular taser and was held together with what appeared to be tape.

“You here to stick up for these—” Alex started, but cut himself off as Virgil pressed a button on it and it let out a startlingly loud zapping noise alongside a visible jolt of electricity.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” 

“Shit! He’s fucking crazy! Let’s go!” Kylar decided for all three of them, frantically running out of the room with the other two in tow as they all shot Virgil horrified glances before disappearing down the hallway.

“Losers.” Virgil snarled after them, tucking the taser-like thing in his backpack before looking between Patton and Logan worriedly. “Are you guys okay?”

“I don’t think anything has been knocked loose, but the liquid could prove a problem if it manages to leak into my wiring.” Logan was the first to speak, sitting up and letting one of his hands wander up to the panel on the side of his head that the boys had targeted. He could speak, but his mouth wasn’t quite moving properly, not to mention the eye that was offline.

Virgil nodded in understanding, before turning to look at Patton and his reddened face. “Pat?” 

“Worry about Logan first. I’m fine.” Patton said quietly, sitting down on the floor across from Logan without another word. 

Virgil shrugged, taking his backpack off and getting on the floor with the two of them, seemingly satisfied with their answers. After digging through his backpack again and starting to use a spare t-shirt to dry Logan off, he quietly chastised, “You really can’t let them keep damaging you like this, Logan.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell him!” Patton huffed angrily, shoving his hands into his lap to keep from getting in Virgil's way accidentally.

Logan blinked his one good eye, tilting his head off to one side. “It’s not as though I really feel it, so I don’t see the issue.” 

“What the hell are you talking about?” Virgil asked, making sure the back of Logan’s neck was dry enough he could open the panel without worrying about the water getting in.

“I don’t… feel. I am a construct.” Logan explained casually, Virgil and Patton sharing an angry look as he continued, “As long as I am able to be repaired and they don’t interrupt my usual proceedings, what’s the harm?”

“Do you seriously not get it?” Patton asked, trying to hold onto his anger before it morphed into sadness. He didn’t really feel like crying in front of both of them at the moment. “You may not “feel” in the same way I do, but that doesn’t mean that the things you feel don’t matter!”

“I’m… not sure I’m following.”

“...what if I told you that them hurting you hurt me?” Patton tried after a moment, afraid to meet Logan’s eyes as Virgil stopped his work long enough for them to keep talking. “Would you want them to stop?”

“Well, of course.” Logan answered immediately, before both of them awkwardly blushed and glanced away from each other. “...does it really hurt you?”

“Yes.” Sighing softly, Patton shifted himself to pull his knees up to his chest. “Like… a lot. A lot a lot. I wish you could understand how much I care about you.”

“As a third wheel I know I have no right to interrupt, but…” Virgil started, ignoring the withering glare Patton shot his way at the lighthearted jab. “Your programming may dictate that you don’t feel any of the damage they inflict, but that doesn’t mean you have to just take it.”

“That too!” 

Virgil waited a long moment before resetting Logan, making sure they didn’t have anything else to say. After Logan powered back on and had full function of his face again, Virgil turned narrowed eyes to Patton. “Okay, Patton, your turn.”

“I’m fine, really.” Patton tried to protest, but Virgil wasn’t having it.

“Shut up and get over here.” He commanded firmly, Patton’s confidence deflating as he scooted across the floor to his friend. “Let me see it.” 

“Really, Virge, it’s—” He tried one last protest, but Virgil had already smacked Patton’s hands away from his face to look at the slowly forming bruise on his cheek.

“Going to be nasty in a few hours.” Virgil finished for him, pulling his phone out with a shake of his head. “I’ll ask Roman to bring you some ice after his rehearsal today.”

“It does seem rather serious.” Logan interjected, an unreadable look passing over Virgil’s face.

“...so you don’t like it when they hurt Patton?” 

“Of course not. He got hurt in defense of me, and…” Logan trailed off as the look on Virgil’s face suddenly made sense, recognizing the parallels between him and Patton. “Ah. I see your point.”

“Just think of us like companions!” Patton smiled wide, ignoring the slight metallic tang in his mouth as he swallowed down the dull pain in his face. “It’s no fun seeing a companion hurt!”

“Yes, of course.” Logan nodded, before uncertainty washed over his determined expression. “But… I’m not sure companion is the right word.”

“Really? It seems like a word you’d like.” Virgil scoffed, earning a smack on the arm.

“Shush. Let him talk.” Patton scolded, turning his full attention to the android. “Why not?”

“A companion is simply someone you spend a lot of time with.” The explanation was clumsy, Logan’s eyes looking down at the carpet as he slowly spoke, “You’re more than that.  You’re more like a… friend. Friend, right? That is the correct term?”

An inexplicable bittersweet success clogged up Patton’s throat, his smile turning wobbly—but not from the pain—as all he could manage to get out was a quiet yet hopeful, “Yeah.” 

“Well, I’ll leave you two to it. Just take the ice from Roman, yeah?” Virgil awkwardly clambered to his feet, trying not to disturb the moment too badly as he packed up his bag and addressed the two staring resolutely at anything but each other. “And you make sure to dry out. Wouldn’t want to put you in rice.”

“What good would ‘putting me in rice’ do?” Logan asked, confused, all tension breaking as Patton giggled softly. “I’m afraid your meaning escapes me.”

“Nevermind. Apparently the joke was just for me.” Virgil sighed, shaking his head as he put his bag on and backed up towards the door. “Just… care about yourselves a little more. See ya.”

“He’s quite strange.” Logan commented after Virgil was out of earshot, Patton smiling fondly at the retreating figure of Virgil’s hoodie.

“You’re telling me.” Patton blinked and turned to look at Logan, blinking back the relieved and happy tears from earlier that would definitely be out of place now. “But he’s a good guy, deep down.”

“You have an odd taste in friends.” 

“You should meet my roommate.” Patton scoffed, before suddenly being overcome with a brilliant idea. “Oh my god, you should meet my roommate! You could come to my dorm and everything! That way we can keep an eye on each other for the time being!”

“Well, alright.” Logan agreed simply, the two getting to their feet and packing up their scattered belongings. “Lead the way.”

Maybe Patton had finally made the progress he was looking for.

I can’t wait to tell Roman!

[sailingesme]

the dreaded anchor drag

5/4/25

We’ve learned a LOT already in this short 2- day, 100 nautical mile journey up to Key Biscane, which is just south of Miami. Major lesson number one: anchor dragging. Good thing we already do set our anchor alarm every night. We were anchored just outside Boot Key Harbor in Marathon, and it had a fierce tidal current, perhaps from the harbor pull and push. The first night, no problems. The second night was the eve of our journey toward Key Largo and then Key Biscayne. We were planning the next morning to get up, pull the motor off the dinghy, tie up the dinghy to the davits on the back of the boat and sail up to Key Largo, nice and early so we could set anchor before sunset with our Aussie friends. Our friends had us to their boat for a pre-journey dinner, kids watching a movie, adults chatting and sharing a beer, and reasons for why we’ve all chosen this lifestyle. We also happened to chat extensively about anchors dragging and the benefits of using all chain on an anchor. We discussed how excited we are to finally get an auto helm and not be hand steering for hours on end. ‘Game changer’ claims Justin. ‘You wouldn’t catch me hand steering for more than 30 minutes’. He declared in his Irish brogue. Another game changer: the lithium batteries he’s about to pick up in Miami in a couple days. Each small upgrade makes a massive difference in this whole experience. Meeting another boat with kids, for instance. Game changer. Having an actual chart plotter (even if it’s ancient) instead of an iPad and phones. Game changer.

‘Goodnight! See you tomorrow in Key largo! Fair winds’ we dinghy our family back to the boat as it’s getting dark so we can all tuck in and get a decent night sleep before the long day ahead. Everyone asleep, and then an hour later our anchor alarm goes off. I mentioned to jimi before that this boat reminds me of having a newborn-I’m usually up at every sound and then I wake jimi if it seems pressing. So anchor alarm goes off, I get up, and sure enough our pattern says we’re dragging. Another thing my father in law, John taught me, is to make sure you’ve picked a point on the horizon to check in the middle of the night, so you know your anchor is set. John, if you’re reading this, just know you’re on this boat every day with all the tidbits you’ve taught me! So I look for my red flashing lights, the three in a stack, not the three horizontal ones, and they’re still there, but damn we’re a lot closer to that one boat… “Jimi, you gotta get up, our anchor alarms are going off” (we’ve set 2). He startles awake, and we troubleshoot what the hell is going on. Are we dragging? The wind is definitely strong, but the tide is super strong. 5 knot current? Can that even be right? So we have a crazy current, and the wind blowing us. The chart says we dragged 365 ft. No way. Thats insane. Plus why didn’t the alarms go off sooner? ‘Oh damn’ Jimi says, as he turns up the volume on his phone….maybe that’s why we didn’t hear it going off…

Finally jimi says, “welp it doesn’t seem to be dragging anymore, and the direction we’re dragging would put us to the side of these boats, not into any of them, so I’m going back to bed!” So we set 3 anchor alarms, and try to get some sleep. Beep! Beep! Beep! Alarms (all 3) go off again, this time a couple hours later, 4am. Again, jimi is sound asleep, (we need to put those damn alarms closer to our bed), and I’m up immediately. This time it’s obvious we’ve dragged. 350feet!!! “Holy shit! Jimi wake up! We’ve dragged so far we’re right next to the Dizzie (our friend’s boat). He’s up in no time and starting the engine this time. “We’re gonna have to pull the anchor and reset it.” He shouts over the engine. (Side note, if you’re wondering what happened to the kids in this story, they’re asleep. Not a stir. )

So I go up front and start yanking that anchor in. And I realize we can’t use that dumb anchor anymore. It’s called a Bruce something or other. And it’s just too flat for these grasses. The reason we used it is because some other friends said that would be better than not having chain at all. That using that anchor with the chain, is more of a guarantee than the one (the one that got us through all the other crazyness- remember the run -agroundings?). ‘I think we need to use old faithful’ I say to jimi cursing Bruce the anchor. “This anchor ain’t nothing but a dinghy anchor!” I’m pretty sure Bruce was pretty ashamed after that. So we motor forward all the way back to our original spot and deploy old faithful. ‘Tomorrow I think we should just switch the anchors so we have old faithful on the chain and the Bruce can just be retired. Stupid Bruce.’

And for the next post, I’ll tell you about the crazy storm we just experienced. I’m just too whooped to write anymore.

[lavendermunson]

say you’ll remember me - steve harrington

chapter 5 of miss americana and the heartbreak prince

summary you love torturing yourself but after a certain visit, maybe you have faith in the way the universe works

cw angst, tv hosts are mean to reader, mentions of insecurity r cuts her hand (nothing scary), allusions to sex, all consensual.

w.c 2k & more to come!!!

a/n not proofread i was way too excited!!! read the end for more notes, i don’t want to spoil anything 🫠

series masterlist | previous chapter | next chapter

“Celebrities are always causing drama, it’s not the first time we've seen her cry in public and I’m sure it’s because of a boy again!”

“Uh, that’s harsh. But I get where you are going”

“Let’s be real, nobody would want to date her. She is too much, I’d feel like a toy being dragged around”

“Yes! When is she going to learn? If she wanted her life to be private she should’ve stayed home”

“She wanted the attention, you know her. Her album dropped two places on the charts”

“Tours. Maybe she will be retiring after all”

The loading circle shows in front of the video you were watching. The wifi is gone, now the only thing you can hear are footsteps getting closer to you.

“I told you to stop watching those videos or any kind of news,” Robin says, taking a seat besides you on the couch. Her arm rests over your shoulders.

“The wifi is gone” you sob, looking at her with glassy eyes. Her face looks blurry but you can feel her warmth.

“Yes. I unplugged that shit before you could watch or read something else” She offers you a hug and you accept, her arms wrapping your body as you sob. “Has he called?”

“Yeah, I put my phone on no disturb after the fifth call and hundreds of texts”

“He must be going crazy. I know you are upset and sad, but ghosting him it’s not the solution babe”

“Did you see the picture? Robs, they kissed”

You never saw this coming. Not with him, not from him. Not when it finally felt like you were feeling understood, free, and loved. Loved for who you are inside and not the person people see on camera.

Were you moving too fast? Did you feel into his lies? Was this all it was ever going to be?

Your mind has been clouded with questions all night, you barely got any sleep. Tossing your dress and jewelry around the room, rolling over the bed, and crying. Tears coming out non-stop.

“You need to talk to him. Please, just hear what he needs to say”

She is right. You have to talk to Steve, for now reply to one of his texts to let him know you are alive. Barely alive.

“I have a case to work on, please text me if you need anything” Robin kisses your head and gets up from the couch.

“Good luck, you are the best you know?”

“You are the best too, dinner together?”

You nod, watching her disappear through the door. You sit silently on your couch, crossing your arms in front of your chest and wishing you could dissolve into the fabric of your fluffy blanket. Your heart can’t take this, it’s too much pain, and you feel like an idiot for trusting someone you met not too long ago.

When you saw him for the first time, when you talked to him for the first time, when you kissed him for the first time… he didn't seem like a stranger, he never felt like one. You clicked instantly, you fell for his charm and his sugar-coated words. His soft touch, the light in his eyes.

Pain. You had to let this feeling go, it needs a new home and you know exactly how to deal with it.

——

Steve gets home from training, he played for the last time with his old team. He has to finish packing to move to Boston.

But even with his feet on the field, the dirt stuck to his face and old uniform. He couldn’t stop thinking about you. Thinking about the pout on your lips when he saw you, the pictures of you crying that made it to the newspaper. He hurt you, he didn’t know it until Eddie called him an idiot and Nancy explained everything to him. He does feel like an idiot, he shouldn’t have agreed with his PR team, and he shouldn’t have let that girl kiss him. She got what she wanted, she is moving to New York after signing with a model agency.

Every place he leaves, it’s a place that becomes cursed for Steve. It happened with Hawkins, it’s happening with California, and maybe it will happen with Boston too. Everything he does, he does it for himself. And he is tired of it, but he can’t let this part of him go, he can’t let his dreams halfway, and he can't let Hopper down.

He knows his dad watches his games, he knows it from his mom’s letters. The one he never replies to, he only reads them. He wants to show him he can do this by himself, that he never deserved him as a son, and that he is so much better than his dad.

But he feels alone too. He fucked up, big time. And you are not answering his calls, you are not reading his texts. He begs for you to talk to him, if you want to push him aside maybe he would accept it because he isn’t made for it.

He just wants to tell you how much he is sorry. How much he regrets it. He wants to look at you for the last time before moving all across the country.

——

The lights in your at-home studio are dim, and the air is thick with the scent of coffee and an aura of nostalgia. You are only accompanied by your guitar, a microphone, a notebook, a pencil, and your computer. The only things you need right now, your phone is still lost on the cushions of your couch, and you didn’t bother to plug the wifi again.

You’ve been strumming your guitar and writing on the empty pages of your notebook. So far you have the bridge, it was something you wanted to have first.

Feeling the worn out chords graze against your fingers, your hand dirty from the smudged pencil, and looking at your handwriting makes you feel at peace. It’s been so long since you’ve written a song. Sadness helps your thoughts turn into poetry.

You hug your guitar, feeling the sound of it so close to your chest. You start to play the song, half of it half finished, and demand a check before writing more. Sometimes new words come in the heat of the moment.

With every chord, you can revisit everything that’s happened. Some moments warm your heart, yet others are bittersweet. The melody is slow, it makes your heart ache and your eyes fill with tears. You take a deep breath before starting to sing, you are careful with your words but your voice isn’t there, you can hear yourself only whispering.

The bottled up emotions spill out from you, tears rolling down your cheeks. They drop on the turquoise guitar you’ve had since you started your career, the one who has been with you through highs and lows. The room resonates with melody, your soft whispered sobs as you get through the song.

The verses unfold, and the lyrics are vulnerable but it has your sparkle. Just like any of your songs. You are sure your fans will be able to witness the chaotic mess that’s in your head right now.

As the final chord fades away, you take a deep breath. You sit alone, with your guitar still in your arms. You are aware of it, you are alone but there is something you can do.

——

After plugging the wifi router again, you look for your phone in the living room but it seems impossible to find it. You can’t call yourself or wait for a notification because you left it on no disturb.

“Where are you?” You toss the cushions back, falling to the carpet. Your blanket flies away and it breaks the vase of flowers you had on your coffee table. “Fuck!” You scream, dropping your knees to the carpet and getting the pieces of glass off the floor before your cat comes back from your room and steps on it. One of the pieces slides from your hand leaving a cut, you pick it up again and walk towards the kitchen.

You take an old piece of cloth to wrap the pieces of glass, making a little bag for them before throwing them in the trash. A trick your mom learned to prevent more accidents, especially when you aren’t the one to take the trash out.

You press your hand against the other, stopping the blood from dripping to the floor and as you get to the stairs your doorbell rings. You lean your head to the side confused, it hasn’t been long since Robin left but maybe she finished earlier and she can help you clean your mess up.

You walk to the door, swinging it open and when you see him you gasp.

“Steve?”

“Are you okay? You are bleeding!”

“Oh yeah, it’s nothing”

“It doesn’t looks like nothing, let me help you”

He closes the door behind his back, letting himself to your house. You don’t protest, just walk towards the stairs to get to your bathroom.

“What happened? I saw your living room all upside down”

“I lost my phone, I broke the vase and I cut myself”

When you get to your bathroom, you take the first aid kit out and Steve takes it. You haven’t looked at him since he got here, too afraid to do it so you keep your head down.

He couldn’t do the same, he was searching for your eyes the whole time. He starts to take care of your wound, rubbing it with a cotton ball wet with alcohol. It makes you hiss, he mutters an apology and continues.

When the band-aid is finally on your skin, covering your wound. He squeezes your hand gently. You watch the kittens that decorate the band-aid, feeling Steve’s gaze buried in you.

“Can you look at me? Please, it’s killing me” He whispers.

You lift your head, your eyes are glassy again. Your chest rises up and down.

“I’m sorry,” he says. Taking a deep breath, he doesn’t get too close to you or even touch you. But he captures you against the sink, your body between his arms with no way to escape. “My PR team told me it was better to take a date, I guess you’ve seen the pictures and I want to clarify all of this. She kissed me, I pushed her away. She got what she wanted, it was only for the night, you know it’s part of the job."He feels his cheeks warm, and you stare at him with sadness in your eyes and he swears he can hear your heart breaking. “I think I’m not made for this. I’m sorry”

“Steve-”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, baby. I need to work this out, I swear I’ll be better at this but right now I can’t… I can’t be with you” his eyes turn glassy too, tears threatening to spill. “Not right now, I need to fix this mess in my head and i need to be better for you”

“You don’t have to apologize, i know things can be hard in this fucked up world we live in. If you want time, i can give you some time”

“What i want is you, i’m never going to forget you”

——

The heaviness of your sleep is starting to fade off, your eyes feel heavy as the sun hits your face. You open your eyes to see your cat at the end of the bed and smile at it, then you turn around to throw your arm over someone’s shoulders but it falls limp on the empty side of the bed.

He is gone.

Was that his way to say goodbye?

“I need to, just got to say goodbye first” Is the last thing you remember falling off his lips when he was so close to you, wrapping his arms under your waist.

The night before comes in flashes as your head pounds, your heart aching as though it never stopped. You can feel the ghost of his lips all over your body, your neck, your chest, your stomach, the inside of your thighs.

“Say you’ll remember me. Say you’ll remember this, we will be together when time is right”

You remember how good it felt when he was finally inside you, chanting how beautiful you are with every thrust, caressing your cheeks with the point of his nose and hiding in the crook of your neck. You remember your fingernails scratching his back, leaving a red mark alongside his beautiful moles and falling to your side after coming together.

How he brushed your hair out of your face to focus on your big bright eyes, he felt so lucky just to be under your gaze. He felt so lucky to be in your bed.

He is never going to forget this, it’s true. It’s going to haunt him day and night but there’s something he has to do first.

“You know i’ll come back for you and we will be fine”

It’s all gone. He’s gone.

And you feel used, but more of that, you feel so incredibly stupid.

It’s time to show what he really lost. It’s time he regrets it.

yes yes. sorry if the last bit is weird and rushed i wasn’t really in the mood of writing a full sex scene so that happened ):

tags @eddiesguitarskills @hipsternerd9 @afraidofshrimp @rexorangecouny @crowssixof @wiltedflowerz-blog @keerysfolklore @micheledawn1975 @thxtmarvelchick @kriitiihere thank you for the support!! (comment if you want to join the tag list!!)

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