#i guess ALSO just be glad i didn't paste the little bit that's been sitting in my drafts for about three months

[magicalrocketships]

hiii i was wondering if you had something new about baby max ☺️

HOW ABOUT THIS LITTLE BIT???? Follows on from Enchanted Light Trail basically but it's just tired travelling.

All earlier parts can be found in this masterpost and on AO3 here (although i've got a couple of bits now to update on AO3).

It's You And Me (I Know It's My Destiny): Max and Daniel Go Home

Max doesn't fall asleep on the plane until they're fifteen minutes away from landing in Nice, which means that Daniel has to try and fumble Max's seatbelt around him without waking him up under the steward's watchful eye, and deal with a crotchety and tired Max as they get off the plane and wait for their luggage and try and gather it all together onto one trolley.

It's exhausting. Max is exhausted, and Daniel hasn't been sleeping well in weeks, and Daniel has all of his stuff and grown up Max's stuff and Max's seven year old stuff and Max's toddler stuff for the 36 hours he spent as Daniel's chunky three year old shadow. He's got their hand luggage and Max's backpack and emergency clothes for if Max got big or got smaller. Max's replacement stuffed Pikachu found himself on the floor in the departure lounge, none of the outlets had food Max wanted to eat, their flight was unnecessarily complicated, time-wise, and Christian couldn't hide his displeasure that Daniel was taking Max home and Max hadn't miraculously woken up big again. 

His head hurts. It really hurts, and he's got no fucking idea where the paracetamol is. It's in one of these bags. Somewhere. 

"Can we go yet?" Max asks, clinging on to Daniel's coat. "Why can't we go yet?"

"I think we're still waiting for one more bag, baby," Daniel says, but part of him just wants to leave it here in the airport, go home and collapse face first into the sheets. 

"No," Max says. 

"Yeah," Daniel says, even though he can see Max is gearing up to lose it. It hasn't been bad, staying with Christian and Geri over new year, but it's been different. Max hasn't liked having to share Daniel with anyone, and he hasn't liked that he had none of his own things. Max likes his own things. He likes his little drawer where he keeps all of his special things (and sometimes Pikachu, when Daniel really likes to sob on the inside). The new Pikachu has been grudgingly accepted but it isn't Max's Pikachu. It doesn't smell right. Max says it feels wrong when he rubs it against his cheek. Daniel could well agree but he's too tired. 

One more bag. 

Their bag rolls around. He dumps it on the top of the trolley. God, he can't remember where he parked his car. Max is looking like he's going to cry. 

"Piggy back?" Daniel asks hopefully once they're finally through customs and Max is tearful and noticeably hanging on by a thread. Max nods so sadly that Daniel's fairly certain no one has ever looked sadder about anything. He hefts him up onto his back, and Max half chokes him as Daniel pushes their stupid overflowing trolley in the general direction of where he thinks his car is. 

He finds the car on the third try, and then has to shove everything into the boot and away. Max doesn't want to be in the car and he doesn't want this Pikachu and he wants to be at home and in his own clothes and hugging his own Pikachu and with his own toys. 

Daniel gets it. He really gets it. He's just not made of magic. 

He ends up telling Max a very stupid story about all the adventures that Pikachu has got up to in the flat without them. Max isn't really one for story telling, but his expression of dubious disbelief is slightly better than him crying, so Daniel will take it. 

And when they finally get home, and Daniel has tiredly failed to even attempt to get all of their bags into the lift in one go. He's got the three bags that look like they're the most useful. Everything else stays in the car. 

Max tucks his hand into Daniel's. 

"Pikachu hasn't really been having adventures," he says doubtfully as the lift doors close. 

"No, baby," Daniel says. "He's at home, waiting for you."

Max nods his little serious nod. He keeps his hand in Daniel's. "My home and your home," he says. 

"Yeah," Daniel says, swallowing down what feels suspiciously like a sob. "Our home."

"Good," Max says. 

The lift doors open again, and Daniel takes him home. 

[astraystayyh]

Conversations with Hyunjin

or what i imagine dating Hyunjin would be like (kind of went overboard because i love this man).

warnings: reader feels insecure when hyunjin looks at them for too long. a little suggestive in the end. hyunjin is dramatic but we love him 🫶

if you enjoy please reblog or leave a comment,, means the world to me <3

Minho's version.

"Look a bit to the left... Perfect", Hyunjin gently grips your jaw, his paint-stained fingers slightly moving your head to the side. You were in Hyunjin's little art studio, and he was halfway through sketching a portrait of you.

He didn't explain why he suddenly wanted to draw one, but his multiple kisses on your face the night before were enough to convince you.

But now that you were sitting on this chair and he's been looking at you for the past half an hour, you can't help but feel self-conscious. He was intently staring at you- you wondered if he started to notice all the imperfections on your face.

Hyunjin's brush strokes falter when he realizes that you are fidgeting with your fingers. He tries to hold your gaze, but you avoid it each time, a tight smile drawn on your lips. You scratch your throat, once, twice, and he steps away from the canvas.

"Angel," he smiles when he's right before you. He doesn't have to look down to grab your hands- they find each other instinctively.  "What's wrong?".

"Nothing," you attempt to smile, but your voice is strangled, and Hyunjin feels his heart drop in his chest.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?". His voice is quiet, a stark contrast to his excited demeanor when he just started painting you.

"No! No, baby. Never", you reassure, squeezing his hand tightly. "It's just... I feel like the more you stare at me, the more you'll notice my imperfections".

"What imperfections?" he questions seriously, his head tilted to the side as if the thought of you having a flaw was inconceivable.

"I don't know... I just don't like it when people stare at me a lot, I guess".

"My love, you are the most beautiful person I've ever seen," Hyunjin leans down, leveling his eyes with yours. He needed you to know how serious he was.

"You are only saying this because you love me," you smile, and he shakes his head no vehemently. "The first time I saw you, I squeezed Jisung's arm so bad I almost broke it."

You've lost count of how many times you've heard this story. Each time you hang out with the boys, Han has to remind Hyunjin that he was starstruck when he saw you. But it still made you feel warm inside- like a blanket tightly wrapped around you.

"You looked so beautiful, and you also had this alluring aura surrounding you. I wanted to talk to you as soon as I laid my eyes on you", he pecks your nose, and you scrunch it up in response.

"And I'm glad I did because not only you're the prettiest human alive," he leans away, his hands gesturing up and down in reverence, "but your soul is the most beautiful thing about you."

"Now," he gently flicks your forehead, and you laugh, "no more talk about imperfections."

"Yes, sir!" you giggle, and he smiles softly at you. "You know what? Let's leave the portrait for another day. Come sit with me while I draw?"

"You know I can't say no to that."

And so for the next hour, Hyunjin paints your favorite flowers with you curled up in his lap. You don't talk much as he draws, but his minty breath tickles your neck from time to time and you haven't felt this content in a while. 

°°°°°°°°°°

"Babyyy, what's wrong?" you lean into Hyunjin's side, who was seemingly ignoring you. You've just returned from running some errands to find Hyunjin sulking on the bed.

"Nothing," he huffs, turning his head away from you.

"Then why aren't you kissing me?" you whine, and he steals a glance at you.

"Because you didn't kiss me first."

"What are you talking about?" you chuckle, making him sulk even more.

"In the morning, you didn't kiss me," he grumbles, and you internally melt at his antics. Sometimes Hyunjin made you feel as if he needed your kisses to breathe.

"I did, you were asleep, but I kissed your cheek."

"Well, I didn't feel it."

"Yeah, because you were asleep, dummy," you giggle, and he finally looks at you, his tongue poking slightly against his cheek. He knows he's been ridiculous but it was too late to back out now.

"Well, then you should've woken me up!"

"I will next time", you smile at him, and he brightens up, "You promise?"

"Pinky promise". You lace your pinky with his, and you both kiss your thumbs, stamping them together.

"Now come here" You open your arms wide, and he sinks into them. His mouth falls perfectly on top of your collarbone, and he grazes it gently with his teeth, making goosebumps erupt on your skin.

"Baby?", he calls out a while later.

"Mhm?"

"On second thought, don't wake me up. I probably need the sleep", he says sheepishly, and you giggle, "I know."

°°°°°°°°°°

"Hey, love," Hyunjin leans in to kiss your forehead, snapping you out of your haze.

"Hey," you turn your eyes back to the TV, hugging your knees tighter to your chest. You weren't really watching the movie you put on; you just needed something to take your mind off the weight on your chest.

"Bad day?" he asks, his tone soft, and you nod silently.

Hyunjin kisses your head again, and for a second, the world around you stills and you feel okay. But his lips quickly leave you, and you're left aching for his hold.

"Wait here," he tells you, and you hum in reply; you couldn't move even if you wanted to.

Ten minutes later, Hyunjin comes back to the living room. He pulls you up and leads you to the bathroom. There, you find some candles lit up and rose petals thrown on the ground.

"Let me take care of you," he says as he starts to undress you. You appreciated how he kept his voice barely above a whisper; the bathroom was fit for hushed conversations only.

When you are both bare in front of one another, he pulls you into the bath he filled- your back flush against his chest, and you sigh contently.

Hyunjin pours some gel wash into his hands, then rubs it on your skin, skillfully massaging your tense body. He's so gentle with you- his touch is featherlight, and his mouth leaves a sweet trail of kisses on your back. You feel as if you are floating in space, somewhere where no one can hurt you.

You notice that he used his body wash, not yours; and soon his scent surrounds you until all you could smell is him.

You know that this way, you'll carry Hyunjin with you throughout the night, and onto the following morning when he is no longer there with you.

His scent on your skin will remind you of how he took care of you, how he loved you, how he held you so close to him until you both became one.

°°°°°°°°°°°

"You don't have to stick your nose in the painting to see it", you giggle, and Hyunjin leans away, a faint blush dusting his cheeks.

"I'm trying to see the details. Leave me alone", he pokes his tongue out at you, and you retaliate with the same childish gesture, which in turn makes the both of you chuckle.

You lean your cheek against Hyunjin's arm, and you both contemplate the painting in comfortable silence. "I really wanna be poetic, but this just looks like a child's drawing," you finally say, and he laughs loudly, head tipped back- you can't help but stare in awe at how much joy suits him.

"That's what I thought too!" he high-fives you excitedly before grabbing your hand and pulling you towards the next painting.

It's one of a Renaissance couple kissing, their hands cradling each other's cheeks closely- as if they can't possibly get enough of each other.

"Now this is beautiful", you sigh, and he pokes your side gently. "Let's recreate it."

"You just want an excuse to kiss me", you wiggle your brows at him, and he holds your jaw, beckoning you closer to him.

"And what about it?" he smiles bashfully before crashing his soft lips on yours.

Hyunjin might be biased, but he thinks that if someone were to capture this moment, it would look much better than the painting behind you two.

°°°°°°°°°

"This bag is so heavy," Hyunjin whines, and you stare at him pointedly, "I told you not to buy all that stuff."

"But they were dumpling-themed toys for dogs! I had to get them for Kkami."

"That dog doesn't even like you," you tease, and Hyunjin screeches loudly, stopping in his tracks. "How dare you!"

As you two continue your bickering, an old couple passes you hand in hand. They are seemingly arguing, but as you near them, you can tell they are just joking- just like you two. The fond way they gazed at each other with was a clear testimony of their love.

You and Hyunjin both turn to look at each other; mouths slightly hang agape. "I just got chills," he whispers, and you nod in agreement, "I think we just saw our future selves."

"I can't believe you'll annoy me even when I'm seventy", he jokes, and you lightly punch his side. But in true Hyunjin fashion, he yelps loudly as if you had hurt him.

"Will you still be this dramatic when we are older?"

"This is the only correct way of living", he declares solemnly, and you laugh heartily. The truth is, you wouldn't have it any other way.

Hyunjin throws his arm over your shoulders, bringing you closer to his side. He presses a quick kiss to your head, and you wrap your arm around his middle, resuming your walk.

"I was always afraid of growing up, but it doesn't seem as daunting with you. Because I know I'll have you with me in the end", he says and you beam at his words.

"I can't wait to meet every version of ourselves."

"I know I'll love you in each."

"Yeah? Even if I annoy you every day?" you smile cheekily, and he pinches your cheek affectionately.

"Even then. You are my last love, yn".

°°°°°°°°°°

"Don't come in!", Hyunjin shouts as soon as you open the door. His arms are open wide like a shield blocking you from stepping forward. 

"And why is that...?", you chuckle, slightly pushing him away to pass. He doesn't budge, and you frown.

"Please just go, go, go," he grabs your shoulders, spinning you around until you are facing the door again.

"Hyunjin, what are you hiding?" you ask, amused as you free yourself from his grip. He looks everywhere but at you, and doubt starts to seep inside you. 

"Are you... are you with someone?"

"NO! God, no, how could you think that?"

"Well, you are acting suspicious, I don't know!" You throw your hands up in the air defensively, and he sighs.

"Fine, come see."

Hyunjin walks first into the kitchen, and you gasp softly. To say it's a mess would be an understatement. There are pots everywhere, flour on the ground, and some clearly not-edible cookies on the table.

"This is embarrassing" He hides his face between his hands, and you giggle, gently removing them.

"Did you try to bake for me?" you coo, leaning your face into his until your noses brush together.

"Yeah, I know you've been working hard, and I wanted to surprise you. But clearly, I shouldn't have."

You feel your heart clench at the defeated look on his face, so to cheer him up, you grab a cookie from the tray. Its brown color throws you off, but you still take a big bite. You try your hardest not to scrunch your nose because he definitely used salt and not sugar, and oh- that's an eggshell you are chewing right now.

"This is yummy," you force out, and he rolls his eyes at your blatant lies.

"Please spit it out. I don't want you to die from food poisoning."

You oblige eagerly, thankful for the opening, and Hyunjin leans against the counter, gazing sadly at the cookies. 

"You are the best boyfriend in the world. You know that?"

He timidly shakes his head no, and you smile softly at him, "You are. Now let's clean this and order pizza. I'm starving."

"You are not mad?"

"Why would I be?"

"The kitchen is a mess."

"Well, it's our mess to clean up., And you doing this for me made me so so happy." You stand on your tiptoes and grab the back of his neck, pulling him downward for a kiss. When he leans away, you smile cheekily at him, and he rolls his eyes at you, "Come on, just say it."

"Leave the cookies to Felix."

"Noted."

°°°°°°°°°°°

"Guess who?" you whisper in Hyunjin's ears as you cover his eyes with your hands.

"An intruder who is oddly romantic?", Hyunjin jokes, and you flick the back of his head playfully, "I hate you."

Hyunjin turns around to grab your arm and drags you across the couch. "You love meee", he singsongs as he makes you stand between his legs.

"Yeah, I do" you giggle as he looks up at you, a huge smile on his face.

He looks so pretty from this angle, you think, his eyes wide and sincere poring into yours. You liked how Hyunjin never hid any of his emotions from you; and right now, you could clearly see the adoration he felt for you painted on his face.

You swipe your thumb affectionately across his cheek, and he leans into your touch, totally unguarded. "So... your birthday is in a month," you grin at him, "but since you'll be busy, I figured I'll give you your gift early on."

"You are my gift," his reply is instant. You once thought phrases like those were cheesy but you quickly realized that Hyunjin means them. He says them so easily because it's the truth for him.

"I think you'll really like this present," you smile excitedly as you pull out an envelope from your back pocket.

"Open it," you urge him, and he does as you say. He takes out two plane tickets and looks up at you, confused.

"What are those?"

"We are going to Paris!"

"We are?"

"Yes! In a week. I've prepared everything! I made all the reservations and a list of all the places we could visit. And I got us an exclusive tour of the exhibition you've been dying to see", you explain happily. You've been planning for this trip for a month now, you wanted it to be perfect for him.

Hyunjin's eyes well up with tears and he bites the inside of his cheek to stop himself from crying. You knew how badly he wanted to go to Paris, and you went to all of these lengths to make him happy.

"Yn... I..." he stammers, and you hold his hands, gently squeezing them into yours. "It's okay, Jinnie. I know."

"No, I need to say it... I..." he pulls you onto his lap and you place your legs on either side of his body. He buries his head in the crook of your neck, and you pat his back gently, giving him a few moments to gather his thoughts.

"The reason why I wanted to draw your portrait is because I wanted you to see yourself how I see you. I wanted to capture you in a way only I can because I'm so in love with you," he pauses and you kiss his temple, overcome by emotion.

"I hoped that decades from now, someone would find those portraits and they will see how perfect you are. This way, you'll live again through my paintings and my love for you."

"Jinnie...." you whisper, at loss for words. Now it was your turn to tear up.

"Can I finish your portrait in Paris?", he clears his throat and you giggle through your tears, "Please."

"We also should get a portrait done of the two of us on the streets. And we'll hang it in the living room."

"Isn't that a bit pretentious?"

"It's our home. Who's picture are we going to frame? Han?"

"I mean he is our biggest supporter...", you trail off and he laughs at your words, "He really is. But I'm your number one fan."

"Prove it", you smirk and he flips you around until you are laying on the couch and he's caging you with his arms- the necklace he bought with your initial on it dangling over you.

"Oh I will."

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

(if you want to know how Hyunjin celebrated op's birthday, you can read When I fell in love heheheh)

[sahisan]

silence.

tomioka giyuu x gn!reader.

⭒ summary: everyone knows that giyuu isn't much of a talker, so this depicts the silent moments with him that you both have come enjoy.

⭑ cw: sfw. mentions of giyuu's past (final selection w sabito). a bit of angst. reader is bad at comforting. giyuu loves you sm. like loves.

⭒ wc: 2.8k.

⭑ a/n: this took me too long wth, almost a month i fear lol. this was written during my demon slayer hyperfixation comeback (it's gone now) so uh. also acheron fic coming soon (i hope soon)! pls like and reblog !!

it wasn't exactly silence after giyuu finished speaking. there were sounds of birds chirping, wind occasionally blowing, resulting in sounds of swaying leaves on the trees being more audible. some even fell because of the invisible force of the air, ending up meeting the gravel ground near the engawa.

having told a good share of his past to you—precisely about sabito and the final selection, which were the main reason he wasn't exactly thrilled about taking part in the hashira training—giyuu decided to stop himself from telling you any more, choosing to leave other topics for later.

but will you still have this 'later' now that he's shared even a small bit of himself?

to you, the silence was awkward. not having the faintest idea of what to say in reply to that wasn't exactly what you would want to experience, yet here you were. it felt useless even trying to think of something, to try and make something up in your mind, even taking a bit more time than you usually do when thinking of a response, bur nothing could've prepared you to thinking of what to reply to this.

it made your stomach churn with how you realised you couldn't seem to know what to do, what to say, how to comfort him; the closest to you person finally started to open uo, little by little, bit by bit and you instead feel like an immobile log, only being able to sit there and listen, not being able to muster up a word of comfort.

and you know, you know that it's because you've never heard the said words of colsolation in your life; thus, you didn't know how to comfort giyuu.

another gust of wind blew through the air, nearly ruffling your and his hair, and for a moment you think of giyuu with his hair no longer in a low ponytail, but instead it being messy and disarranged and you think of running your fingers through it. you hope you'll have such opportunity, even if only once.

another fallen onto your lap leaf helped you out of your thoughts; it would be even more awkward if you hadn't managed to say something at all, daydreaming and continuing on staying silent. you take the leaf between your fingers before it manages to fly away and take a look at it; elm.

"i'm... sorry," you finally spoke, voice quiet as to not disturb anything around. you felt so meek just hearing your own voice. "i don't really know what to say. but i'm sorry for what happened with sabito."

you took a pause; you were never one to have a good way with words, and it made everything even worse in this situation.

"just know that... i'm here for you whenever you want to talk to me about anything. i'll listen."

giyuu's head was in the same position as yours—lowered to look down at his lap. he couldn't say the atmosphere was tense, no, not at all. he knew this was a lot to digest in such a small period of time, no matter how long you've been silent, and he could see your hesitation in choosing the right words; you surely didn't voice your inability to properly comfort him, but didn't blame you for your lack in knowledge about it. he could guess why.

"it's alright," he said just as quietly, silently exhaling a small breath. it felt as if it was easier to breathe now that he had shared this bit of his past to you. "it was about time i told you anyways. i'm already glad you listened. don't bother with words."

you still felt that just listening wasn't enough.

"have you eaten yet?" giyuu broke another silence after a few more minutes of listening to the wind's unregulated breathing, wishing to change the topic to not overexert you mentally any further—what he's told you was enough and it wasn't like he wanted you to dwell on that story. he simply wanted you to know.

"forgot to."

giyuu knew quite well as of now that you tended to, much to his dismay, forget to have some of the meals throughout the day, and it didn't make it better when you could even skip lunch because of training or meetings or anything at all. once, he even told you that he was going to forbid you to enter the training grounds unless you've had at least two meals throughout the day. it's safe to say he physically couldn't do so, so for that period of time you and your exercises were safe.

giyuu didn't need to hear more from you. standing up from his sitting position on the engawa, he then offered you a hand to help you up. and with the gesture, you both knew that there was no need for more words.

the silence in the small soba restaurant never bothered you; it's a place where people came to eat, not to talk, after all. you two were the only people inside for now, but the sounds of utensils clanking and the smell of more food being cooked in the kitchen were very much present, and still, besides that, it was silent.

and still, your mind never seemed to get over how giyuu just brushed your inability to utter something reassuring off. maybe he didn't even want and didn't need the comfort you failed to provide; maybe he expected something like that from you, judging from your earlier reaction to his words just as he'd started talking. yes, he must've known you were bad at feelings, especially other people's, but was he used to it? he undeniably looked like he was, and that was just sad.

chopsticks carefully picking up the soba and guiding them into your mouth, noticing giyuu doing the same near you, your mind picked up the thought that, probably, saying something regarding what he told you about would be inappropriate, but you couldn't shake off the feeling of needing to get something out; something that could just show him that you understand him that much, at least.

"sabito would most definitely be out to get you for the mindset you have now."

out of the corner of your eye you notice that giyuu's hand, previously holding his chopsticks with a bit of noodles picked up, stops. it's not at all an abrupt stop, more like when coming to a thought one's mind has been chasing for a while already. you stop, too, having finished chewing.

and when the silence between you two starts feeling a little too long and a little too tense, and you start thinking that you may have said a very wrong and inappropriate thing, giyuu speaks up in a such relaxed and unimpressed manner that you involuntarily start questioning your choice of words. you'd expected him to get mad or upset, but not—

"you for yours, too."

oh.

"...touchè."

well.

the nights are—mostly—always silent.

the nights spent with giyuu are silent in their own, unmistakable way.

you two seem to create another form of serenity together—everything becomes as still as possible, wind appearing barely once for a few moments to ruffle the trees' leaves and then disappear without a trace.

your head is gently laid on giyuu's lap and gaze fixed on the night sky above with the stars filling the inky abyss, each sparkling more than the previous, as if trying to catch your attention, your eyes move from one to another, wanting to get a look at them all, wanting to engrave the look of them in your mind and keep it here; but there was just so much — you aren't sure if there even exists a number as big as the number of stars up there.

("do you think we get a star out there after death?"

"...maybe."

"would you try to look for mine when i die?"

"..."

"...sorry."

"...i would.")

with giyuu still looking somewhere in front of him—you can't quite decipher where, maybe he's just spaced out—your hand somewhere a bit lower your chest and his hand laying loosely over yours, you close your eyes and slowly inhale the night air; it smells of pine and momentarily happiness.

a few moments later giyuu's head tangibly shifts, and, having little self-restraint when it comes to curiosity, you open your eyes again—maybe he'd be looking at something different now?

and as your eyelids open, you find him to be staring at no one other than you.

eyes usually cold as a snowstorm and endless as the abyss above you both have now descended to endearment and devotion as they look into yours. they twitch slightly lower and to the side, watching your lips for a few seconds, before coming back upwards to your eyes.

he's so enchanting—close to being as enchanting as the stars he's now blocking your view of. maybe he even looks like one in your mind, or maybe it's just his endless eyes, the colors of which blend into the matching endless night sky. you notice yourself not minding the blocked view if the one doing it is giyuu.

with the main sight now being his eyes instead of the gleaming celestial bodies—you can't exactly complain—you feel like staring into them an eternity more, and then another and another until you've memorized each and every pattern in them. and you're sure that if eyes could talk, both your and his would scream affection.

"you're blocking the view," you say, having no more stars to see right in front of you, them being replaced with giyuu's face.

"you seem to be enjoying it all the same," giyuu declares, unimpressed, despite his eyes narrowing the slightest bit in amusement. you're pretty sure his mouth's corners nearly curve upwards. you would've loved to witness him smile, especially at the moment.

you hum quietly, eyes wandering over his face—how can one attract so much? and it's not just about his beauty; he's everything you've ever needed and didn't know you ever needed in your life. "i never said i wasn't enjoying it."

giyuu, too, can't seem to be able to tear his eyes away from you—starting from your eyes as well, they descend lower to your lips (he's a very patient man), neck—and he regrets both of you being too shy and humble to try and leave hickeys on each other, he would enjoy that sight very much—then your uniform which just suits you so much, and, in the end, your hand, one of which is held by his—when did he go from it simply lying on top of yours to holding it?—and he involuntarily laces your fingers together slowly, eyes following each and every movement. your hands are almost just as his—arms a bit scarred underneath the clothes, skin on the palms calloused from holding your katanas, along with healed nicks and occasional cuts.

humming as well in acknowledgement of your words, his gaze follows the trail back to your face and settle back on your eyes. he has to remind himself to not look into them too long, fearing he'd get too lost in their infinite beauty.

"we could stay like this forever," giyuu suddenly speaks up, and with the quietness of the words said they don't seem to disturb the silence at all.

"we could."

you get what he's trying to say. there was never enough time for both of you since the moment you've joined the demon slayers, and then the hashiras, signing yourself a death warrant when doing so; it's pointless to deny the truth and the inevitable, and you both long learned to embrace it.

but all the sadness and inevitableness can be forgot at times like these, right? even just for the night or for a few hours before the two of you go back to your routine duties.

"but what would you do then?" you continue, being tempted into asking the question with the smallest teasing lilt in your voice, as if prompting him to speak about his feelings about you.

feelings are hard, especially for someone like him—especially for someone with the past and job he has—but slowly, bit-by-bit, step-by-step, you try to get him to understand them, even if you're lost in your own and sometimes can't find a way out of your own feelings. you guess it comes with the job.

guyuu stops to think for, maybe, a bit more than a minute or two, and lets the silence embrace both of you again. again, it's never tense with him (you don't really want to remember the time he told you about sabito, though it still lingers in the back of your mind and comes up in the most unpleasant times), as you two gratefully grab onto the every little bit of serenity and peace you have.

while he thinks, your gaze, once again, roams over his face, with the twinkling stars now serving as a simple background for what—who—you're seeing, being a pleasant compliment to the sight in front of you. moonlight obligingly illuminates a great half of his face, letting you see most details on it, and who would you be if you missed on this opportunity?

nearly just as he's about to start talking, his lips opening and, dear gods above, he can sense your eyes shifting to his moving lips. it's always with you that he feels like a teenager—not really lovey-dovey, but it's a fact that he lets himself be more open to feelings with you.

"i would..." giyuu starts, taking a small break before continuing—to gather his thoughts, knowing you're watching him as intently as you can, and it's not in the least bit uncomfortable as it would be if it wasn't you.

"i would look at you," he says. "for the rest of eternity. i wouldn't want to do anything else besides it."

as he finishes speaking, you slowly but surely feel the tips of your ears becoming a shade of red; thankfully, it's not your face. yet.

"is that so?" you manage to whisper out, taking slow and barely audible breaths to try and calm your fast beating heart. he probably can hear it with how your back lays on his lap, but that doesn't really matter. "wouldn't you get bored?"

"never."

you're sure your face gets a small tint of red.

you, involuntarily, hold your breath after his words, eyes widening a tad bit, and it's only a few seconds later that you quietly exhale the air you didn't know you have been holding in.

the words he says are so simple—but he does have a way with them, and that's what makes you love him more and more with each syllable leaving his lips.

there's moonlight illuminating his—and your—face, and you seem to notice it just now. it shines onto a great half of his face, letting you see even more details on his skin, and if it was illegal to stare for so long, you'd be long behind bars, living your worst ever imaginable life without having something as precious and pretty as giyuu to look at.

his eyes shift. you get the hint just as his gaze moves onto your lips—you've been looking at them so attentively, it'd be a shame if you didn't notice that.

having taken a, supposedly, not so fitting of a position to kiss, you have to sit up using your hands and place them on the grass beneath you to hold yourself up, and your face moves just enough for him to understand. you don't make any rash movements; you're careful but your intentions are evident.

giyuu's face shifts closer, too. it moves forward until he feels like both your and his lips are soon to meet together. one look into each other's eyes is all it takes for his appearance to soften and lean towards you.

your lips touch in a kiss and you feel like you could die right now and there because of how soft it feels, coming from him, usually so sharp and harsh; it feels like your lips are melting together but you don't have it in you to mind—it's been far too long since you two have had any time to yourselves and your small affections and you don't know when you'll have another night like this.

his eyes settle closed the same time as yours do, and as much as you like looking at him, it just helps the atmosphere around you even more. giyuu's lips slowly, gently move against yours and you just happen to think of how tender they are, and that warms your chest more than anything.

it's silent and wordless with giyuu, and you just happen to love it.

[heartsforhavik]

i loved you from the start (raiden x gn! reader)

warnings: none!

summary: just a pure sfw story of raiden having a crush on the reader. (gender neutral, only pronouns used are “you”)

a/n: yeah so. remember when i used to be a havik account? LMAOO sorry i think raiden is very laufey coded and he’s so wholesome in mk1 :> anyways this has been sitting in my drafts for 3 days i'm so glad i finally let it out of the basement

“hi y/n! it’s great to see you. lovely weather we have today, right?” raiden greeted, with his signature bright smile.

raiden was well beloved in your village, and everyone always appreciated his and kung lao’s efforts as farmers to help the village thrive. you were never very close to him, but you still respected him.

"thanks, raiden. yeah, the weather's been real nice lately. i'm glad i can finally walk outside without my skin boiling." you sighed.

raiden laughed. "indeed. i'm glad the weather's been going easy on you."

"i suppose so. what about you? i can imagine you aren't very comfortable working under the burning sun. has it been better for you these past few days?" you asked.

you both continued your little banter for a couple hours, just walking around the village with no particular destination. but little did you know, he had the biggest crush on you, and he was ecstatic that he could finally talk to you.

it was because he was usually very shy around you. he gets quiet when there's nobody else around, it was usually you two being together in awkward silence. but today was different. he woke up that morning wanting to talk to you. he immediately got himself freshened up and went around the village to find you with his newfound courage. he was glad his day with you went well and he didn't mess up or say anything weird.

"it's getting dark. the time went by so fast, but i didn't even notice because i was having such a fun time talking to you." you admitted.

"well, i suppose time goes by when you're having fun." raiden smiled.

you chuckled. "yeah.. i guess so."

you both stood in silence for a bit, neither of you wanting to go home.

"you should get home now. it's getting late." raiden advised. he didn't really want to see you go, but he also wanted you to stay safe.

"okay.. goodnight raiden. i'll see you tomorrow." you said, before placing a kiss on his cheek and walking away.

raiden stood there for a solid minute, frozen where he stood. did that really just happen? is he dreaming? he hoped he wasn't.

he walked home with a cheeky grin on his face, and even went to sleep with that same grin. that moment where you kissed him replayed in his head over and over until he finally fell asleep.

that next morning, unfortunately he couldn't immediately talk to you. he had to go back to work. but he was okay with that. he knew once he was done, he can go talk to you again and maybe even offer to take you out for a nice dinner. he was tired of just looking at you from afar, yearning for more than friendship. he was tired of not having the courage to make a move, fearing rejection. he was tired of being completely head over heels for you, and never doing anything about it. he was always feeling as if cupid himself shoots an arrow through his heart every time he speaks to you. he had to do something now.

"you seem happy today. is there something exciting about our harvest?" kung lao scoffed, noticing his best friend's excitement as they worked.

"the harvest? no, not really." raiden replied.

"oh? so if it's not the harvest... is it a special someone? ooh, does someone have a crush?" kung lao teased, playfully elbowing raiden.

"w-what? no.. i mean.. maybe.. how did you know?" raiden stammered.

"i saw you walking around the village with someone yesterday. is that who it is?" kung lao asked.

raiden blushed, hiding his face with his hat.

kung lao laughed. "oooh, i wanna meet this person! let me see if you two are a match made in heaven."

when they got done with their work, they both immediately went to find you. when they found you at madam bo's, kung lao was ecstatic.

"hello there! y/n, is it? raiden talks about you all the time." kung lao greeted. raiden elbowed him.

"oh really," you laughed. "i'm flattered, raiden."

raiden loved hearing you laugh. it was like a sign that you were pleased by something he said or did. there are many things he would do for your approval or just to make you laugh. even if it slightly makes him look like a fool.

"it's such a coincidence you both found me here. you know, raiden and i talked almost all day yesterday. it was very fun." you shared. after hearing what you said, kung lao had a mischevious grin on his face and raiden blushed.

"oh really? that sounds like lots of fun. wanna tell me more, raiden?" kung lao teased.

"i- uh... um.. i have to excuse myself to the restroom." raiden stammered, running off.

you looked over to kung lao, in confusion. "what was that all about?"

kung lao laughed. "i think raiden has a crush on you!"

"me? really?" you asked.

kung lao shrugged. "but you didn't hear it from me. i'll leave you two alone to figure it out."

you sat there, confused, as kung lao left.

"hey, y/n, sorry about that. i guess i ate something weird." raiden laughed. he was lying. he didn't even touch the toilet. he had paced around the restroom nervously until he gained the courage to come back. he sat down across from you, hoping you wouldn't question it.

you laughed. "your friend says you're interested in me."

raiden blushed. "me? uh.. i.. don't know what he is talking about."

you smiled at how flustered he became all the sudden. "no worries, raiden. i am interested in you too."

his eyes widened in surprise. "you are?"

you nodded. he let out a sigh of relief.

"in that case.. how about i buy you some food? we're already in madam bo's. might as well enjoy a nice dinner." raiden offered.

"i would love to." you replied. you both ended up enjoying the food, and became closer that night. surprisingly, raiden was thankful that his friend exposed him. if kung lao never revealed raiden's feelings to you, he wouldn't have such a wonderful significant other now. (kung lao is forcing you two to offer him free food at your future wedding just because he's the reason you two are together.)

[outlanderfandomfollies]

MIK s2e2: MĀORI CULTURE: Sam recalls some poignant moments when he gets a Māori "moko"

After reading a post about a TV Line recap of MIK episode 202, I decided to watch this episode about Māori culture for myself. I was touched by the scenes where Sam and Graham each tell their stories in the process of getting a nonpermanent version of a "moko" (or tā moko), a deeply meaningful form of tattoo in the Māori culture.

Tā moko artist Hohua Mohi explains that someone who wants a moko will "sit down for a good hour" and start talking about some part of their life that is meaningful, like their family, where they came from, etc. As they are talking, the moko artist is drawing, and consequently, every moko is unique and very personal.

The Story Behind Sam's Moko

SAM: Well my dad left, when I was, uh, very young, three years old, so I didn't--I didn't know him at all. HOHUA: Yeah. SAM: I actually didn't know his name.

SAM: And uh, my mum brought me up with my elder brother in the south of Scotland. She's--she's been very, very strong my whole life. And she struggled, I think, to look after two young boys.

SAM: Um, and it probably wasn't until I was… mid-20s that I finally, uh, met my dad. And, actually, very recently, I got to see him just before he died, which was uh, incredible, just to learn about him and his life.

SAM: And, uh, we spent a few days together. I work a lot, and I'm very fortunate. But I always put it first. So I guess, uh, relationships are difficult.

Sam's Moko Explained and Revealed

HOHUA: So, if you look at it, it talks about your--your father. It talks about your dad and then your brother in here. This manaia here represents your mum. And so it's obviously facing upwards. SAM: Yeah. HOHUA: I've been giving you advice. SAM: Ah, so she's been giving me advice, mm.

HOHUA: And if you look at it, rather than just follow a single line, all of these colors, they branch off, they branch off, they branch off. SAM: Yeah, yeah. HOHUA: And it was-- They came from you talking about how you wanted-- ultimately, you know, you don't know whether or not you're gonna settle down there, but you- you want to go and see the world. SAM: Somewhere else, yeah, yeah. HOHUA: So that's what--that's what this will remind you of. You know? SAM: Different branches.

HOHUA: Yeah, but also, no matter which way you branch off, never forget where... [speaking native language] SAM: Wow. HOHUA: Hmm. SAM: My friend. [shakes hand] So beautiful. GRAHAM: That is really-- SAM: Thank you so much. GRAHAM: It's pretty. SAM: Isn't that awesome?

SAM: A strange experience as well. GRAHAM: A unique experience. SAM: Yeah, just also very personal. It felt like going to therapy a little bit. GRAHAM: Yeah. SAM: But, uh, very, very honored. GRAHAM: Yeah. Yeah. Really, thank you so much.

Being a therapist myself, it seemed to me that the process of getting a moko is very much a therapeutic experience. The person getting a moko focuses inwardly and shares important parts of their past that define who they are. The moko artist appears not to be judgmental and listens at a deep level. Then the artist presents the moko, which is a visual symbol of something very unique about the person. And they also give verbal feedback to the person about what they have understood to be the essence of their story.

Sounds like a "therapeutic" encounter to me!

[edited]

___________ NOTE: Images of Sam's moko were enhanced for clarity and to accentuate the colors. Thanks @thetruthwilloutsworld for making the TV Line Recap post. I'd never watched any episode of MIK before. I'm glad I watched this episode. I enjoyed learning about Māori culture, as well as finding out more about Sam's and Graham's personal backgrounds.

[coeluvr]

I would like to begin by saying that I absolutely love your if. Adore it to bits. Would pay to give MC their much needed hug and pat Helios and Fadiya. Especially Fadiya, I love the others but Fadiya is just so absolutely bbg like I wanna pat her, hug her, cry on her shoulder and examine her under a microscope to try and understand how someone can be so absolutely lovable and make me go ":D" just by thinking about her like she's so amazing adorable gorgeous perfect and every synonym for all the words that I just listed but she's also so stupidly oblivious and I'm crying because Fadiya, bbg, I WANT TO MARRY YOU CAN YOU NOT TELL-

Anyway we don't get enough Fadiya appreciation, like this blog could become only about Fadiya and it still wouldn't be what she deserves.

Fadiya's greatness aside I do actually have a question, one that has been nagging at me since I read your post about Luceris and Farah's love story..

Why is Luceris such a manhwa ml.

Like, Oml, bro literally checks all the boxes.

White or black hair? Check.

Blue or red eyes? Check.

Daddy issues and a dead mom? Check.

Laments how miserable he is because of the scheming people around him while sitting in his luxurious bed in his bedroom that's like the size of 3 living rooms while somebody fans him with a palm leaf very slowly and a maid feeds him grapes that probably got harvested from a plant that was watered using the tears or a starving medieval peasant? The vibes are saying check.

And most important of all... He falls in love with a blonde person. Oh and who's also nice and nothing like the scheming nobles??? AND THEN HE GOES PSYCHO MURDER MODE WHEN SHE DIES???

Coe, with all due respect, Lancelot is just waiting to fall down a flight of stairs, hit his head without dying, and regain the memories of his past life as a broke 17 year old with parental issues who got hit by a truck while saving a kid.

Aw I'm glad you like this story! 💗 Thank you for your kind words.

I completely understand your love for Fadiya, anon. She's truly amazing beautiful everything good in this world. 🥺 She's a bit oblivious but that's just part of her charm okay. She's a cutie!

Lol I get a lot of "Farah and Luceris sound like a fairytale romance" and I get it because it is supposed to be that way. 🤭 I love them and their silly little love story. 🥺

Lancelot didn't get hit by a truck and didn't transmigrate so I guess I'm safe from the manhwa allegations? 🫣 There is time travel but that's just for our lovely MC so...

[yoinkschief]

Hello Jay, I would like to hear your headcanons about Tom and his mom 👀👀👀 Go on, speak into the mic 🎤

AAA HI NEIL I'M SO GLAD YOU ASKED

Taps mic 🎤 ahem

Buckle in cause this got absurdly long I did not expect to get this long omll

So I guess I'll begin when he was younger,, when his mother and father first got married they were just going into their 30s, and while weren't actually trying for a kid they did end up having one: Tom

Barbara (Tom's mom) was ecstatic at having a kid whereas Peter (Tom's dad) was terrified, he knows he has anger issues and is very aware of how he's gotten easily frustrated with children in the past and doesn't want to get angry towards his soon to be son (though Barbs has been a dear with helping him and his anger, truly he'd be in jail by now if not for her)

Fast forward a bit, Tom's born and while Peter isn't magically cured of any anger issues, Tom is just the sweetest little guy and he, genuinely throughout his fatherhood, has not once gotten angry at his son. Gotten angry a good few things, but his son and wife weren't in that list

Tom is also born completely nonverbal (this is a little reference to how 2004 he's drawn without a mouth,,, I know that all the characters are at this time because mmm animation but in most fanart of 2004 only Tom is the one kept without a mouth because that and his one eye gives him creechur vibes I love it so I incorporated it like this) due to his autism, and he did get formally diagnosed early on due to this

It's a bit of a struggle trying to figure out what he's saying but he's a quick learner for how to read and write so if he can't get what he's trying to say through hand motions or actions he'll go and write it down (at least when he gets around 5yo, the years before were hard and they had to learn a weird, Tom version of sign language,, to clarify not actual sign language just learning what motions of his mean what)

One interaction I think about a lot with Tom and his mother is in Tom's youth when he's, maybe, 4? And he sees his mom shave her hair for the first time. Tom didn't like the sudden change as she looked like a different person and was having trouble understanding why it was gone

It took Barb a while to fully understand what he meant, why he was crying and whatnot, but finally able to sit him down in her lap he started making a lot of motions towards his own hair and then Barb's, and the interaction goes something like this:

"Are you talking about my hair?" Barbara quietly concerns, gesturing to her now bald head.

Tom made small grunts with wide eyes, rocking in his mother's lap incessantly.

"Okay, okay," She nodded holding her son's hand gently in her own- less so holding and more resting them in her own. "It's gone, baby."

Tom didn't seem to like that answer, shaking his head no with his hand reaching up to grab and tug at his his in distress. His eyes were screwed shut, why would his mom do that? But Barbara was quick to respond with carefully holding her son's hands again, their fingers interlaced as he squeezed on her hands instead in his temper.

"You don't like that it's gone?" She tilted her head to the side, bringing Tom's hands away from his face and towards her chest.

He shook his head no with an upset grunt, swinging his hands (and by proxy his mother's) side to side to drive the point further.

"Ohh,, pumpkin," Barbara gave Tom a sad smile, resting their hands in her lap as she gave him a small, reassuring squeeze.

"It’ll be alright-”

Tom hated that answer more, giving a frustrated noise as his eyes started welling with tears.

“Honey,” Barbara frowned at the tears coming out of her child’s eyes, it hurt to see him so upset, gently running her thumb along his cheeks to swipe them away. “I’m still mama, I’m still you mom.”

She led Tom’s hand over her heart, letting him feel the steady beating of it. The constant and steady pattern of thumping seemed to entrance him for a moment until his mild rocking and distressed noises slowly came to a halt.

“See? It’s still me, baby.” She cooed, running her thumb along the back of her son’s hand. “My hair is gone, but I’m here.”

“Sometimes, in life,” Barbara began, setting Tom’s hands down in his lap again now that he was calmer. “things change, and we can’t control it. Like my hair, you couldn’t control that, could you?”

Tom looked up from watching his hand feel the steady movement of her heart pumping, looking up at his mother’s face. He still looked displeased and upset, but less so, even going as far as to reach for where her hair used to be, trying to grab at the air around her head like it was still there. Fruitless.

She held his hand again, pressing it against her cheek with a broad smile, one she gave him often. He couldn’t keep his resentment for long, giving his own goofy smile back with a giggle. The way her gap tooth showed when she smiled that big was forever burned into his memory, only disappearing from her face so that she could kiss the palm of her son’s hand.

Tom shook his head, frowning at the thought but keeping a wide eyed expression to his mother as she continued her lesson. She smiled to him once again.

“Well, that happens a lot in life.” She sighed, cupping Tom’s cheek in her hand. “And no one likes it, you’re not alone for thinking that. But what you can control is how you deal with the change. Like how you showed me how upset you were, so now we’re talking about it. Do you feel better about it now?”

Tom took a moment, eyes casted down as he thought on it. He gave a small nod as he looked back up at her.

“Good.” She beamed. “And from now on, I’ll do my best to let you know beforehand when I make a change like that, alright?” She kissed Tom’s forehead, causing the child to give a small giggle. That was her favorite noise.

Now, Tom was always a Mama's Boy (not in a derogatory way, he just loved his mom a whole hell of a lot) but even moreso after his father died. They both were grieving and so it caused them to cling closer together because of it, to the point that had it not been for his friend (at the time only Matt, but later Edd too as this was before Tord was introduced to the friend group) he probably would've completely self isolated

They do a ton of things together as Tom gets over and they both eventually heal from Peter's death, baking, sewing, shopping, watch movies, anything they can do when they have the chance to hang out together

They were so close in fact that Barbara was genuinely the first person he came out to for being nonbinary (He/They pronoun user :) ) and of course she loved him unconditionally, but he didn't even tell Matt, Edd or Tord (now in Highschool and having been introduced to delinquent) that yet

However, later in his highschool years, around late Junior year (11th grade) or early Senior year (12th grade) of highschool his mother dies as well. Not from a freak bear with a gun attack though, instead from Pneumonia, which is something she tends to get a lot and always had in her youth, and while it usually isn't fatal and there is treatment and whatnot and she definitely took as much as help as she could, this time just hit different it seemed.

This really fucked with Tom during some of his most important years of his life and caused him to go into a BIG depressive episode for a long long time

Side note that I guess also kinda applies: Had it not been for Tord being just as stubborn of a jackass as Tom, he would've completely self isolated. Edd and Matt helped a lot in his youth but he also had his mom to encourage him, but now with his immediate family all gone he didn't see much of a reason to interact with people. And where Edd and Matt lack in persuasion, Tord more than makes up for in the lack of giving a fuck and would literally drag Tom outside even if he was kicking and screaming. This is mostly because Tord is second only to Tom himself in how durable he is, like a brick shithouse (built like one, too) and not afraid to make Tom hate him if it meant getting him better in the long run (a running theme I have for their relationship :) they're less so "GRR I HATE YOU I HOPE YOU DIE /GEN" and more of like have this weird understanding with eachother where like "I'll literally kill you if you touch me but I'd kill anyone you touched you" type beat, unafraid to get the other to hate them for the greater good because they have the understanding that they wouldn't do something so wildly stupid for no reason. Yes that plays into The End and the future events of WTFuture)

I love them so much oh my god you have zero idea

Anyway, TL;DR

Tom and his mom are extremely close and helped each other get through the worst of times while Tom continues to learn the lesson of "everything changes, it's out of your control, and you can only control how you proceed with it"

[spookyserenades]

AHHH, I JUST FINISHED CHAPTER 17 AND AM NOW LEFT TO SIT WITH MY FEELINGSSS 😫😫

Honestly, though, another AMAZING chapter!! I keep getting floored by the sheer word counts you’re producing! 25k?? WOW, you’re incredible! Everything was so well written, bestie; I feel like you’re a born writer. The contrast between cute, fluffy scenes and those genuinely chilling moments was so well put together. Speaking of spooky moments, that scene with shadows creeping around our ghost-busting musketeers made me so anxious. I was legit feeling claustrophobic!!

That scene with Seokjin was just 🤌🥵🥵 (need I say more?) and YOONGI!! My poor hearttttt. The way he loved his mother despite her being pretty sporadic parental-wise, it was clear that she cared greatly for Yoongi despite her affairs. It honestly broke my heart just imagining how Yoongi felt the moment he heard of his mother's tragic passing 😭

AND (bear with me 😉) TAE! You big old doofus!! I’m so conflicted. Why would he do this to our MC? Why would YOU do this to me?? (lol) I’m so stuck between understanding his actions and being heartbroken. On one hand, I get why he’d try and move on. MC appears pretty taken, but hookups? TAE—

How could this happen to my shy bear? Literally how??? He’s so shy. 😩 I’m NOT prepared for the angst that’ll follow this next chapter…

Anyways, I loved this chapter so much! I feel like I’ve already rambled enough, so I’ll leave my thoughts with that. You’re a fantastic writer, Dana!! Can’t wait to read the next one!

HIIII BESTIE AH THANK YOU FOR READINGGGG!!!! HOPE YOU AREN'T TOO EMO THAT IT IS OVER!!

IIIII really didn't expect this update to be so long!! I didn't mean for the paranormal investigation scene to go on for as many words, but with that added scene of Jeongguk explaining his tattoo and then the Yoonjin snuggle I couldn't stop!! But thank you love-- I guess the one blessing of being an unemployed lump is ample time to write 💀 You're the absolute sweetest, I can't 😭 My week has been made by you 💜💜💜

OOF Not that I'm glad that you felt like you were claustrophobic during the ghost scene, but I lowkey am 💀 That's the vibe I was going for, the shadows pressing down on you!

Ohhhh my Angel. The past two chapters (Seokjin-centric, which I also love) have me desperately missing him! I thought it was time to dive into his past a little bit, especially because he trusts Y/N completely by now. Despite his mother's flaws, Yoongi still adored her, and she did try her best to be a good mother. Eventually, when I get to Yoongi's prequel, we'll find out more about their interesting relationship!

HA BEAR WITH ME! PUNNY! Tae is operating off of what I like to call Capricorn Spite. and probably jealousy and confusion. Considering he was very clearly into Y/N (despite her realizing that) it seems he's trying to either distract or distance himself :( And while he IS very shy, he has been sort of overcoming that personality trait, and I think the photography class (him getting to express himself) has brought him out of his shell and realizing his potential to grow as a person. Ah. Def more angst to follow but keep in mind this story plans to have a happy ole ot7 ending (when I'm like eighty at this point 💀)

AHHHH but thank you so so much for your love and for reading AND for sending in your thoughts bestie 🥺💕 I love you so much and can't wait to update again in June when Jinnie is back!!!

[smolghostbot]

Patchwork Melody - Summer

Part two of the four-part story, the part where Patch and Melody are forced together into their "status quo". Link to part one here. Dashes denote a POV change.

Word Count: 7.2k! I think this is the longest part, but boy it's a little bit long I'm sorry... CWs: The main "conflict" of this chapter is confronting Patch's past abuse. So. Yeah. No explicit details are given for any actions, but kidnapping, physical contact, and scars are mentioned. There's also a brief onset of a panic attack, though it doesn't progress as much as the one in Spring.

Tag list: @gt-daboss @reborrowing

=====

Part 1

Patch stared up at the human, who seemed to have a slightly different eye color (maybe a trick of the light?), but was unmistakably Melody, the human who had allegedly “accidentally” kidnapped them not two weeks prior. The human was wearing a bright yellow sundress, contrasting the somewhat dark and dingy alley… and making it frankly embarrassing that the sprite is just now noticing them. Seriously? This human is big even by their standards, how do they keep sneaking up on me like this!?

While they could try to run, should try to run, they instead felt compelled to give a single small head nod, silently giving the human a chance to say whatever they want. With their arm feeling better, and knowing their enemy this time, they'd be able to escape a bit easier if push came to shove… hopefully.

Melody started off by asking a simple question, "How, uh… I guess you're still hanging around here, huh?", which garnered a simple cautious nod from Patch.

"Oh, cool. Um, have you… been by my door at all? Not like, in a weird way, but…" Melody trailed off, as Patch nodded their head, getting a surprised reaction from Mel.

"Oh! You have! Did you, um, get any of the apples? I was wondering if I was feeding you or just the local rats, y'know…" Patch gave another simple nod, this time accompanied by a soft bow.

"Nice! I'm… glad I could help you out. Is your arm feeling better?" Patch remained still at this question, afraid of giving away their secret defense.

"That's fine, you don't have to answer. So… you don't have to answer this either, but, if you're still around here, maybe we could… meet up again? On better terms. Maybe… tomorrow evening, at sunset. By my porch? We can both sit as far apart as you want and I could maybe just, ask some questions? You don't have to agree now or anything and I totally get it if you don't want to. But I just… I feel this need to make it up to you. I know, I know, I'm acknowledging a debt, but… there is one. I'll, uh, bring snacks, too."

Patch was silent, thinking about this. The human could easily catch up to them again, why would they set a trap like this? Why even lure them back in after freeing them? To savor the betrayal? Was this some kind of long con? No. She didn't know I was here. That face was clearly one of surprise. What's the plan here?

"Okay, well… this alleyway, uh, is kind of dark and sucks, and not super safe for me to just be standing around in… so I'm just… gonna go inside now”, Melody stated, with an air of awkwardness in her tone, as if coming up with an excuse on the spot, “But just… remember what I said. Sunset, front porch."

And with that, Patch watched in curiosity as she walked away from them, again.

The next evening, against their better judgment, the sprite made their way to the apartment door they recognized from the little flower bed outside of it, where they had been abducted previously. Why am I here? I shouldn’t be here… but she did promise food, they reasoned, and food was in short supply at the moment.

Sure enough, Melody was sitting there, on the ground, wearing an outfit similar to when they first met, though the shirt had a different figure on it. Unsure how to make their presence known, Patch walked closer to the human, fear in every step as they looked around, worried not only about Melody spotting them, but any other humans as well. As usual for this area, nobody tended to walk around, which was good. After all, that's why the sprite had set up shop around this building anyways.

Patch's thoughts were interrupted as Melody called out to them, her voice soft yet projecting, "Oh, it's you! You actually showed up!"

Patch awkwardly took a few steps back, keeping well more than a human arm's length between them, which caused the human to sigh softly.

"Okay, if that's where you're comfortable. I promised snacks, so here you go, I was out of apples so I figured a pear slice might be good? To be honest, I don't know what you actually eat… maybe you could tell me, and I could bring that next time?"

Mel gently placed the pear slice as far away from themself as possible, and watched as Patch walked over and tried to drag it just a little bit farther away.

-

Patch nodded and bowed as they began to take bites of the fresh fruit, once again eating around the skin of the fruit, which Mel watched with fascination.

"So… I noticed you never eat the skin of the fruits… should I peel them for you next time? If… If there is a next time." At that, Patch nodded.

"Oh, that reminds me, sorry, um, so I don't know if this helps, but, I figured since you can't talk, we could communicate like this!" Mel said, as she picked up a notepad next to her and reached out to place it near where the pear slice was placed. Once again, Patch tried to pull it even farther out of reach, but when they failed to move the heavy notepad, Mel took the initiative and scooted themself away from the small figure slightly.

"You can draw on there, I have a pencil if you need it, I could maybe break off a piece of the lead for you?"

Immediately, Patch's eyes lit up, and they swung their backpack over their (better) shoulder, reaching into the bag and pulling out their own little piece of pencil lead.

"Oh! You just, uh… had that, huh? Okay. Well then… What does your kind eat? So I can get you more types of food, if you want to keep doing, you know, this."

Patch started drawing at once, doodling little drawings that Mel couldn't quite make out from how far away she was sitting. After the little being stopped drawing, he stepped away from the notepad, and resumed eating the pear after putting the pencil lead away. Melody took the chance to scoot forward again and grab the notepad. Looking over the drawings, she was amazed at the quality, considering how fast Patch drew the figures on the page. Several different fruits, vegetables, and grains that Mel recognized were drawn, as well as some things that she wouldn't expect, grass, flower petals, and seeds that she couldn't identify. "I see… so you eat plants… are you some kind of herbivore?"

The confusion on Patch's face was obvious, even from the distance Melody was sitting. Once again, she chuckled as his little head tilted in confusion, his large ears flopping a bit as he did. "Sorry, a herbivore is a type of animal that eats plants. Like, they don't eat other animals or bugs or anything. Is that right?

Patch nodded affirmatively as they finished eating the slice of pear. Afterwards, they cautiously began to back away, having fulfilled the deal of answering a question in exchange for food.

"Ah… okay, I guess I get one question a day, then? Fair enough, if you want to answer one question for a snack then that works. Um… I'll be here tomorrow, too, if you want more. I'll try to bring something different, too, and make sure you get lots of different foods to eat."

Melody stood up, startling Patch, who began to back up faster, before they noticed that the human was moving towards her building's door. "See you tomorrow, then?"

The sprite cautiously nodded their head yes as they turned and left.

-

For the next several weeks, this pattern continued, with Patch showing up to Melody's patio every day to answer another question in exchange for a piece of fresh food. Throughout those weeks, Melody learned much more about the little being and his people. He was an adult, yet only ten years old, apparently about the equivalent of being in his early 20s. He enjoyed drawing, and had a real talent for it. His people live around humans normally, and scavenge things that the humans don’t need in order to survive, but Patch wouldn't elaborate on why they did that. For every answered question, the curious human had three more. Even despite that, Melody had grown to appreciate these little talks, though each one was only a few minutes long at best. And, the best part to her was that Patch seemed to be slowly growing more comfortable around her, no longer quite as skittish as he had been earlier in the summer.

As Melody sat at work, looking through the notepad and reminiscing about the previous weeks, remembering each conversation based on the drawing, she was already thinking about more questions to ask her new friend. There were still a few unanswered questions that she wanted answered, but wasn’t sure how to ask. After all, she was still terrified of losing the trust she was slowly building with this tiny creature, that she still couldn’t name. Her new little friend could draw most things, but she still couldn’t decipher the writing system he used. Research at work had given no results, which was maybe to be expected when dealing with a mysterious secretive being, but still. Melody would have killed to know what her new friend was, and what their real name was.

Part 2

“Hey Patch! I wasn’t sure if you were going to show up today, with how cloudy it is. Guess I’m just that irresistible, huh?” Melody said with a wink, as Patch rolled his eyes. In truth, the sprite was counting on Melody bringing food today, they had no luck scavenging recently… not that they would tell the human that.

“I’m just kidding, don’t worry. Anyways, I wasn’t sure what to bring today, but I got some berries at the store, and figured you could bring the leftovers home with you!” At that, Melody placed a few berries near the sprite, a couple of raspberries, blueberries, and most tantalizing of all to Patch, a strawberry, almost half the size of the sprite. He wasted no time taking the berries, wrapping each one in fabric, and shoving them into his backpack, before grabbing a tiny knife out of his bag and beginning to cut into the strawberry.

“Woah, okay, berries was a good idea then. But hold on, you know the deal, now I get to ask a question. And, I was thinking today I would maybe ask a tough question, so if you don’t want to answer it just let me know and I’ll ask a backup question.”

Ah, there’s the catch, thought the sprite, who had been thinking that this was too good to be true. Still, in the spirit of not offending the human, they waited to hear out her question.

“So… you’ve told me a lot about your kind, but I want to know more about you. So… what’s your story? When we, uh… first met, you mentioned another human who was, um… not nice. What happened there?”

Patch was as still as a statue as they heard the question. The sprite had done a good job of almost forgetting about them, and now they were being asked to describe them… how to even begin to sum up that time… and in drawings, no less. They would struggle to even speak about it, if that was an option for the mute sprite.

-

An awkward moment passed between the two, with Patch frozen in deep thought, before Mel started to worry that they had offended their little friend. “Okay, okay, no worries, uhh I had the backup question, remember? New question, forget about that person. No need to bring up bad memories. Um… so… do you have a favorite animal?”

The unamused expression on Patch’s face made it clear that he caught her bluff about the question being planned in advance, but regardless, he relented and motioned for the notepad. After he finished drawing, Mel noticed Patch continuing to mark something, this time on the back of the page. She paid it no mind, figuring he would show her when he finished, but she was surprised when Patch folded the page back over as if nothing happened. Getting the idea, Melody decided to ignore it, figuring she would check it later.

“Okay, so what do we have here… Oh my gosh, is this what I think it is?” Melody cried with delight as she took in the drawing of one of Patch’s kind, distinguished by the giant ears, riding on either a rat or mouse (Melody couldn’t tell), wearing some kind of saddle and harness, as if it were a mount. “Do… do your people ride on rodents like this for real?”, she said, awe in her eyes. As Patch nodded yes, Melody began to squeal with excitement. “Oh my gosh, that’s adorable! Do you have a little mouse friend?” Patch shook his head no, but Mel continued to coo at the idea. “Oh, that would be the most precious thing ever!”

Finally, after the human calmed down, a silence overcame the both of them as Melody watched the little being eat the strawberry with fascination. Patch ate individual seeds, dipping them in the juice of the strawberry. It was fascinating to Melody, but the look they got from Patch told her that their staring was making him uncomfortable. “Oops, sorry, sorry. I just can’t help it, you’re so cute when you eat! But I’ll mind my own business, sorry.”

After eating almost half of the strawberry, and removing most of the seeds, Patch finally seemed full, putting his little knife back in his bag. As he went to leave, his ears twitched moments before the sound of thunder was heard. Melody could hardly get a farewell out before the little being ran off in a panic as a few sparse raindrops fell to the ground. As Melody went inside, she hoped that Patch got home safe.

It wasn’t until the next morning that Mel remembered the back of the notepad. Taking a glance at it, she saw what was clearly a detailed drawing of a hamster cage… with a small figure inside, distinguished by their large, pointed ears.

Mel’s stomach dropped a bit at this, as she was unsure what to make of the situation. Was this… literal? A metaphor? She made a mental note to ask Patch for a follow-up… but the next time she saw him, she couldn’t bring herself to ask, remembering how distressed he was last time. He would tell them when he was ready, they reasoned.

Part 3

A few days later, it was all over the news: A tropical storm was coming. Everybody was preparing for it, people panicking and going to the stores for supplies, taking off of work, planning safety routes. But Melody could only think of one person, that being Patch. The last she had seen him was in that alleyway. Where was he living? Would he be safe? He probably doesn’t even know about the storm, thought Melody. That afternoon, umbrella in hand to combat the rain, Mel returned to the spot where she had seen Patch earlier in the summer, and gently called out in a whisper, “Hey, Patch, are you around?”

-

Patch rolled over in their makeshift shelter, nestled between the bricks in the dark alley they had called home for several months. It was more like a nest than a proper home, made out of an assortment of discarded fabrics and materials, used to keep body heat in and the elements out. It was the middle of the day, which would normally be when Patch would go out to try and borrow, however, traveling through the rain at their size was an exercise in futility. Patch chose instead to remain at home, conserving energy and heat by taking a lazy day. It wasn’t until they heard that familiar voice calling for them that they decided to wake up and investigate.

“Listen, I don’t know where you’re hanging out, or if you can ever hear me… I might just be talking to myself… but please come by later today, okay? I really need to talk to you…” Patch was a bit concerned with the urgency in the human’s voice, as she normally spoke in a relaxed manner, except for… that one time. Putting on their backpack, and grabbing a piece of plastic to use as a makeshift umbrella, Patch left their little nest, being sure to approach the human in such a way that she wouldn’t know where they came from.

-

Mel was relieved as they saw the tiny form of Patch walking near, using a discarded yogurt lid as a little umbrella. “Oh, thank the gods, you were still here! I was worried I was talking to myself… listen, we need to talk, this is important.”

She kneeled down, cringing slightly as her knee rested on the rainy concrete, but she disregarded it quickly as she focused on delivering her message. “Listen, there’s a big storm coming, and the worst of it will be here in the next few days. I don’t… know where you’re living right now,” Mel said, as they looked around the alleyway, wondering where Patch had actually emerged from, “But… I just wanted to let you know that it’s going to be pretty bad. And… if you don’t have anywhere to stay, um… I figured you could… stay with me?”

Melody immediately saw the apprehension in Patch’s body language as he took a hesitant step back.

“Whoa, whoa, don’t run, don’t run, listen. I… uh… saw that drawing… and I want to assure you, this is nothing like that. I just… I want you to be safe. You wouldn’t be… whatever the situation was last time. You’d just be a guest, staying for a few days until the storm passes, and then you can leave, I swear it. Hell, if you want to leave during the storm, you can too, though I don’t know why. Consider it a promise, a pact, whatever you want. I just want you to be safe.” At that, the human put her free hand over her heart, before extending it towards Patch, held as if she was going in for a handshake. Melody still didn’t know if Patch was technically a fae, but they felt like treating this with that much severity was still the right thing to do.

-

Patch was torn. Melody had seen the drawing, and they clearly already had guesses based on the last time… Patch knew they meant well, but couldn’t avoid thinking of the situation. Once again, they’re being approached by a human in an alleyway, being promised safety and protection… memories flooded back of the last time this happened, of how that human acted so sickly sweet to them for all of a single evening before… could they trust that Melody wouldn’t do the same? Sprites were particularly sensitive to the weather, Patch knew that the human wasn’t lying about the approaching storm. The decision caused them to start breathing heavily, weighing two options that both seemed risky. They could chance staying outside during a natural disaster, in a shelter barely protected from wind, or risk the human showing their true colors like the last one did. Was this truly good intent, or was it the long con, spending weeks gaining the sprite’s trust just so they could be thrown into a box like some kind of prize? Patch tried to think rationally, but their thoughts began to spiral as their chest tightened, worried about making the wrong choice.

“Patch? You okay?”, the human said, pulling her hand back.

Hearing the nickname snapped them back to the present slightly, enough to assess the situation a bit more rationally. If they stay out here with that storm coming… they die. If they go with the human, Melody… even in the worst case, they’ll live. Probably.

Still panicking, chest pounding heavy, they held out a hand, mirroring Melody’s earlier gesture. As the human reached back out towards Patch, the sprite winced, only to have Mel gently poke their outstretched hand with her index finger, in a sort of facsimile of a handshake. They remained there for a moment, staring at each other, before Melody spoke.

“It’ll be different this time, I promise,” Mel said, determination in her voice. “Do you… want me to carry you to my apartment, or do you want to walk there?”

Patch took a step back, and bent down, placing their hand on the ground palm-up. Melody got the cue and mimicked the motion, waiting to see what would happen, before Patch climbed onto her hand. A small shiver ran up her arm as the sprite climbed aboard, his tiny wet footsteps moving around on her palm before he sat down, and looked up at the human, nodding his head. Very slowly, and a bit clumsily, Melody stood up, before very slowly walking towards her apartment, her guest in tow.

Part 4

“Okay, well, um, let me formally welcome you this time to my apartment. It’s not much, and it may be a bit unsafe for you to go wandering, but make yourself at home regardless,” Melody said, as she opened the door, “I could, um, put you down on the floor, if you want, but I’d feel a bit better if I could put you down on a table. So we could be more eye-to-eye, you know.”

It took a moment and a glance from the sprite before Melody realized the odd sentence structure, quickly rephrasing in a way that her mute friend could answer easily. “Sorry… Just point where you want to go, I guess.”

After a moment of deliberation, Patch pointed to Melody’s coffee table, a shorter table that they could easily climb down if need be. The human nodded and gently placed her hand palm-up on the table, letting Patch walk off, though it was more of a stumble. The human sat down on the floor in front of the couch, such that Patch was at her shoulder height. Afterwards, the two of them looked at each other with uncertainty, both anxious about what the next few days would look like.

“So…”, the human mused idly, unsure what to do now, “Um… are you, uh… hungry? Thirsty? Need anything?” Patch shook their head in a no, although truthfully, they were a little hungry, as always. However, the sight of Melody standing up from a sitting position always made Patch anxious, being such a reminder of the vast height difference between the two. Instead, the two of them sat around for a moment, before Melody broke the silence again. “Do you like games? We could play like… a board game or something. I don’t know. Honestly, I’ve never really, uh… had a guest over before. That’s pretty sad, huh?”

Patch took a moment to think, before having an idea of what to do, they just hoped Melody would understand. After doing an exaggerated confused tilt of their head, they pointed to a nearby book, hoping to start a conversation about it. “Oh, that? That’s just a book I’ve been reading through.”

After another awkward silence, Patch smacked their palm against their face and began another approach. They made mouth shapes with each hand, and began pantomiming the two hands talking to each other. It took a moment before the human seemed to realize what they were doing. “Oh! Sorry, you’re trying to start a conversation, aren’t you. Oops… Ok, um, let me try again,” With that, Melody began to speak a bit more on the book Patch had pointed to. “It’s, um, about this vampire, well, she doesn’t start the story as a vampire, but it’s not really a spoiler because it’s part of the premise, but it doesn’t happen until partway through the first book, but anyways she has to find this guy-”

Patch was desperately trying to keep up as Melody began to ramble about some kind of creature called a “vampire”, nodding their head and tilting their head when they needed clarification. This side of Melody was a far cry from the stuttery mess that Patch was speaking to just a moment ago. It wasn’t exactly the conversation Patch had in mind, but it was oddly endearing watching Melody speak so passionately about something.

“- So then by the third act of this book she has to choose whether to embrace her vampire side or side with the humans and it’s this really great story and that’s where I’m at right now… sorry, I’ve been talking for ages, ”

Patch nodded, still trying to process the conversation. The concept was interesting for sure, and in some ways, they could relate… not that they could express that to the human.

“Sorry, I get pretty excited when I talk about books sometimes, heh. But hey, look at the time, it’s about dinner time and I’m ready for some food… What about you?”

Patch’s eyes went wide as they stared at the giant red eyes of the human in front of them, and the toothy grin on her face. She’s… just teasing, right? She doesn’t mean…

-

Melody was beyond confused as her little friend suddenly seemed terrified as soon as she mentioned food, backing away from her slowly. “Are you… not hungry? What’s with the face? Where are you going? What happened? What did I say?”

After a moment, Patch seemed to turn red with embarrassment, as he bashfully scratched his head behind one of his ears. He waved his hand dismissively, before motioning to his stomach to confirm that he was indeed hungry.

Melody couldn’t even grasp what Patch had been set off by. “No, seriously, what was that? What happened, so I don’t say it again? Was there like, a specific word?”

After noticing Patch go completely still and silent, seeming lost in though, Melody decided to simply sigh and continue on. “Well, I’m just gonna… go get the food now, then. I actually made a salad yesterday, so you can have some vegetables from that if you want." The human left, and a moment later returned with two plates of greens, one containing only one or two pieces of each item in the salad. “Here you go, bon appetit!”, The human said with a flourish as she placed both plates on the table, with the smaller portion placed near Patch. The little being seemed afraid of climbing onto the plate, but after an encouraging nod from Mel, he stepped up and began to eat, using his own small utensils from his bag. Melody watched with confusion as Patch went out of his way to position himself such that he was facing away from her.

Part 5

After the meal, which was slightly awkward without any conversation, Melody tried to think of what to do next. “I guess… the next step is to figure out where you’re gonna be sleeping tonight. Not that we’re going to bed now, but just to plan, you know,” the human said, closing her eyes in thought. “I mean, the obvious choice is the couch, but what to give you for a blanket… it’s way too hot out for somebody so small to use one of my throw blankets. I don’t really have anything small and light, aside from, I don’t know, a sock or something.”

Patch shook his little head aggressively no at that, with a fervor that Mel hadn’t seen in a while from him. “Okay, yeah… I mean, I was thinking of this one soft pair I have, but I guess maybe that would be weird. I guess the only other thing I have would be a washcloth? It would be a bit of a rough texture, but it would do for a few nights, if you want.”

Melody made a square with her fingers, roughly indicating the size of the cloth. Seeing that, Patch accepted, and Melody nodded her head to match his own motion. “Got it, I’ll get one for you later. For now, um, want to sit on the couch and watch TV?”

-

Watch TV? Patch thought, confused. They thought about it, not sure if they remembered what a TV was, but decided to just accept, hoping that whatever it was would be uneventful. Truthfully, after such a comparatively big meal, the little sprite was tuckered out, and the comfort of being in a human home again rather than their shelter on the streets was a bit… intoxicating, almost. All they really wanted to do was curl up and fall asleep, but their human host seemed insistent on waiting a bit before calling it a day.

The human held out her hand again, letting Patch climb on as she sat on the couch, placing Patch on the far side of the couch. Melody pressed a button on a plastic box, causing the device across the room to spark to life with a fanfare. Ah, that’s what that was called, Patch thought, remembering the device from the first house they lived in, as a young child. At the time, it mostly showed old images in a somewhat brown tone, but this was a much more vivid display with many colors. Patch wondered if the difference was technology improving over the decade, or if it was some kind of choice. After all, they grew up in the house of a much older human than Melody, a human who was older than their parents and grandparents… the reminder of their family made the sprite sigh.

As usual, Melody broke their train of thought by asking about what they wanted to watch. “I’m not sure what types of movies you like, but I like fantasy, mostly… they really let you imagine what it would be like to live in those worlds. Here, I’ll show you one of my favorites, check this out!”

It was a fairly boring story, at least according to Patch, some quest to destroy a ring for some reason they couldn’t keep up with, but what entranced the sprite was when the image would soar over the world, showing scenes that the sprite couldn’t even imagine previously, of geographic features that must be absolutely astronomical in scale to the little sprite, as the people in the TV were already so small compared to their surroundings. It felt like only moments before the video ended, although the darkness of the room and the rain picking up outside indicated that the sun had sunk below the skyline ages ago.

“Well, I’d show you the rest of the trilogy, but it is getting really late, how about we call it a night?” Mel asked, getting a nod of approval from the sprite. The human stood up and went to the bathroom, returning with a folded-up washcloth. She set it gently near Patch on the couch as she spoke. “Here’s the washcloth, as promised. Hopefully this is comfortable enough for you.”

In truth, it would be difficult for this couch to be less comfortable than the alley nest they had been sleeping in. Even despite the sprite’s reluctance to fall asleep around a human, Melody hardly managed to turn out the lights and utter a “Good night, Patch!” before the little sprite began to drift in and out of consciousness.

Part 6

The sprite woke up in a sweat, looking around. Ah, of course I’m back here, they thought, as they stared out the bars of the cage. A dream, again, or perhaps the couch they were on was the real dream. They were never certain, but the deep blue eyes staring at them felt very real. They spoke, their tone a sickly sweet one hiding a poison underneath. “Aww, did somebody have a little nightmare? You were twisting and turning in your sleep. Well, no need to worry, you’re safe now, here with your favorite person. Why don’t you come out here and let me hold you for a minute, to calm you down?”

The sprite began to panic. As much as they hated this cage, it was a brief respite from the human. As the door to the cage opened, the human spoke again, their tone beginning to drip with frustration.

“That wasn’t a question… come here, —”

…

The sound of the human using that name, their actual name, was finally enough to shake Patch awake, convinced it was a dream. After making sure that they were, in fact, awake, they tried unsuccessfully to go back to sleep. They would repeatedly nod off, have a dream about being approached by a human, either human, and jerk awake, only to repeat the process. Eventually, they simply decided to stay awake after only a few hours of sleep, spending the rest of the night looking around the room, taking in potential places to hide or escape… just in case.

-

The next day, the storm was raging outside in full force, causing the apartment to be dark aside from the artificial lighting.

Melody came out of her room to see Patch wide awake on the couch. “Hey Patch, good morning! How did you sleep?”

Patch nodded, though the bags under their eyes would have told a different story if Mel had looked closer.

Melody and Patch resumed watching more movies, with Mel explaining details as she noticed her friend’s confusion with the medium. Patch spent the morning drawing on the notepad, making little sketches of some of the wide landscape shots and even some of the fantastic creatures, though Mel was quick to inform him that they were fictional… probably. “After all, I would have said the same thing about a little fae with big adorable ears too, if you asked me a month ago.”

However, one thing that was bothering Melody was just how timid their friend was. It felt like every movement of hers spurred an intense fear reaction from her little guest, who still seemed skeptical of her intentions. Finally, Mel paused the movie that was on, and decided to confront him about it.

“Listen, if you don’t want to, I won’t force you, but… I want to understand what’s got you so jumpy. I feel like everything I do is upsetting you, and I don’t understand why. I want to help. Because, well, I don’t know if you feel the same, but I think of you as a friend,” the human pleaded. “Is this about… that other human?”

After receiving a small, but hesitant nod from Patch, Mel continued. “Can you… try to explain what happened? What they did? What you did? Anything would help me know how to be a better friend, please.”

Patch sighed. They knew from when Melody had originally asked that she would inevitably ask again, this human was curious if nothing else. But, maybe, just maybe, explaining to somebody what that human did would help. Patch made a motion for the notepad they had been writing in, and Mel took the initiative and flipped the page. “Would it help if I do something else for a bit and come back? Less pressure?”

After thinking on it, Patch accepted that offer, and Melody stood up, walking into her bedroom and closing the door. Patch could hear the distant sound of running water coming from inside the room as they solemnly began to draw. About a half-hour later, the human returned, and after asking permission, took a look at the thoughts that had plagued Patch for years.

-

… Horror was the reaction Melody had, seeing the drawings in front of her. She had suspected something bad when Patch drew the hamster cage, but this… this stranger has treated Patch like… she struggled to believe this was real. After the first drawing, an innocent one of Patch taking the human’s hand, the other drawings depicted a story of Patch being captured, threatened… tormented. Patch kept in a cage, the human’s fingers around the tiny thing’s neck, Patch being held above a grinning mouth, and other drawings that Melody couldn’t even bring herself to describe. Mel shuddered at the idea that somebody like this lived so close to her, somewhere in the same city block, even. What kind of sick person would treat any living being like this?

“Patch...” Was all Melody could say, her blood simultaneously running cold and burning with hatred towards his abuser as the images swirled in her mind. Patch wasn’t just captured, he was treated like a plaything, some kind of toy for a complete monster of a human. “Fuck.”

Melody noticed her little friend staring at her, anxiety in his eyes and his ears pulled apprehensively against the side of his head as his hands fidgeted with the scarf around his neck. “No, no… I’m not mad at you, how could I be? I just… what they did to you… how long did this go on for? How long were you their…”, She couldn’t bring herself to say the word she was thinking. “How long were you there?”

Patch shyly held up two fingers. “Two? Two what? Days? Weeks? … Months?” Melody questioned, getting more worried as Patch stayed silent. Finally, she quietly said “... Years?” garnering a small tearful nod. Melody had to stop herself, remembering Patch’s age. The poor thing had spent the start of his young adult life like that. Melody noticed Patch fidgeting awkwardly with his scarf again… the scarf he was wearing during the middle of the summer. As he fidgeted, loosening the scarf, Melody could just barely make out a deep mark across his neck now that she was looking out for anything unusual. Patch could only look everywhere except Melody’s eyes, tears welling up in his face.

“Patch… take off your scarf”, Melody said, somewhere between a question and a demand. Patch nervously complied, keeping the scarf in his hand as he anxiously fidgeted with it, while Melody took a close look at the scar on his neck. It wasn’t directly where his vocal chords would be… but it was close.

Melody wasn’t known for being a particularly quick to anger person, but she had to do some impromptu deep breathing to calm down, lest her anger scare her timid friend. “Fuck. Is that why you can’t…?” She asked, terrified of what the response would be, but Patch shook his head in a no, to the human’s relief.

“Either way, I need you to know… I’m sorry. For what that… that monster did to you. I swear to you, I would never… I’d like to think nobody would act like that, but I especially would never… ugh, no wonder you were so terrified!”

There was a long, painful silence that followed as the both of them looked at each other, pain in Patch’s eyes and fury in Mel’s. After another deep breath, and choosing her next words carefully, Melody decided to break the silence. “I know I’m not perfect… but mark my words, as long as I’m here, you’ll never have to fear them again. I promise.”

Patch made a beckoning motion, breaking Melody out of her rage. She saw him holding out his hand, and gently moved her hand closer to match, expecting a simple touch, but was caught off-guard when her little friend wrapped her finger in an embrace. Melody held her hand deathly still, as Patch began to cry enough tears to match the storm raging on outside.

The rest of the day was uneventful. The two of them watched TV, with Melody eventually noticing her little guest’s fascination for the wide shots and switching to nature documentaries after the movie ended. Before long, Patch fell soundly asleep on the couch, right next to Melody, who dared not move, not wanting to wake him up.

Part 7

“So… now that the storm is over, I guess you want to leave, huh?”

It had been about a day since the rain stopped, and the flooding outside had receded to a point where Patch could safely leave, if he wanted. Back to… living in an alley, raiding trash cans and plant pots for food…

Patch sighed, knowing that what they were about to do was stupid. If Patch wasn’t way past “Don’t interact with humans”, they would be judged so heavily for what they were about to ask. But despite that, and despite their own fear, they had to try.

-

Patch motioned for the notepad, and Mel diligently grabbed it for them, even though she was confused. Was he just saying goodbye or something?

It took a moment for her to recognize what Patch was drawing. It was a simplified version of Melody’s apartment, with a figure representing Melody standing inside it. In the space between “outside” and “inside”, there was a small figure, clearly representing Patch. Finally, there was a strange spiked figure on the outside which Mel deduced was the little fae’s way of drawing the sun. Melody tried to decipher what he was saying using their limited knowledge of Patch’s culture.

“The storm is over, and you’re… inside the wall? What… oh! Your people, you mentioned they live in human houses without being noticed… stop me if I’m assuming too much, but… you want to, um… move into my walls instead of leaving?”

Patch nodded, and Melody seemed conflicted. “Well… I can’t just pretend you don’t exist, Patch. We hung out, we watched movies, we bonded! How am I supposed to just… ignore you sneaking around and taking things?”

Patch’s expression dropped, as he went to put on his backpack, only to be interrupted. “Hey, hey… I didn’t say I was kicking you out, I said you couldn’t sneak around here. If you want to stay, it wouldn’t be like this”, she said, motioning to the notepad. “If you want to stay… I’d love to have you. But as a roommate, or a friend, not a stranger who steals my things. That’s fair, right?”

Patch wanted to argue that it was borrowing, not stealing, but considering the language barrier between them, arguing semantics seemed stupid. They considered the deal Melody had made. For the last few days, she had treated them nicely, and her disgust at their past had made Patch trust her much more… Hesitantly, he nodded, and the deal was made.

“Really? Oh my gosh, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting you to agree, but I’m honored! From now on, I’ll be the absolute best human roommate possible! You won’t regret this, I promise! Okay, let me think, we’ll need to get some strings for you to get around… I’ll need to make you your own room somewhere… obviously not with a box or anything…”

Melody’s expression darkened a bit as she thought to clarify something for Patch. “Oh, and Patch? Just to be clear… you can still leave, whenever you want, just say the word. Or, uh, draw it. You’re a friend, not… you’re not trapped here. Anyways…”

As the human began to ramble again, making a list of things her new roommate would need to feel at home, Patch felt an emotion that they hadn’t felt in years… a small, skeptical glimmer of hope.

[runfast-runfar]

Hey friends!! It's been a while!! I want to try and post on here more regularly because I genuinely miss this community of people so much! So here's to little life updates becoming a thing again :)

July 2024

I think I mentioned on here a few months back, but the startup I was working at for 2 years shut down in April and so I have been unemployed since then. Getting my next job has been rough.. but things are finally moving a bit more and I am getting more interviews and hopefully something will work out sooner rather than later.

Life hasn't been too exciting recently, mostly because of the lack of job and me being me, a huge introvert, my days haven't been filled with much. But to be honest, in many ways, that's been quite nice.

Last week I went to go see the movie Twisters and it was SO good!! I'm biased because I am in love with Glen Powell (and also low key in love with Daisy Edgar-Jones in a be BFFs with me please kinda way lol!) So that was a nice afternoon out!

I've been getting back into running after about a year and a half pretty much off from it. When I went to residential treatment last year for my ed I had to cut back on running and a few months prior to going there I had been running less just due to not doing well with food. So the past maybe month or so has been the first time going back to running consistently since close to 2022!? And I am so glad I took the time off I did and didn't force myself to do it otherwise I think it would have ruined the sport for me! But I love it and am so happy to have that escape/coping skill back. I will run and either listen to music or sometimes listen to an audiobook, and it's honestly my favorite way to decompress.

I usually end my run at some sort of shop lol, today was ending at the local farmers market and then walking home :)

I saw this pin there today too and tbh if I had an income I would have bought it lol

Since being unemployed I have been dog walking/and dog sitting pretty often which tbh if this could be my full time job, I would die happy haha! I walk this dog Finn every week (and spend probably 1-2 weekends every month or so staying at his house dogsitting) and it is always SUCH a highlight! He's got a super special place in my heart my Finny boy! For OG's who followed me years ago I used to dog walk/dog sit an Australian cattle mix pup named Finley who was my heart and soul! She passed in 2020, but I watched her for almost 6 years and there is something about dogs named Fin/Finn I think because these two pups have such incredibly special places in my heart!

Life has been good in some ways and incredibly hard in others since I've really last been on here. But that is life I guess, there's often good and bad intertwined.

I hope that you're all doing well!

[skarletterambles]

Just got back from Twisters!

I know the first thing everyone does it compare it to the first film, but I honestly feel they're a little like apples and oranges. Both are juicy, sweet fruit that's good for you. One's red and had an odd shape, while one is orange and round. That is, they share a lot of qualities, and the differences between them aren't inherently bad or good.

Do I like the original better? Definitely. But that doesn't mean I didn't really enjoy the second one, too.

Spoilers below.

Pros:

Glen Powell is super easy on the eyes.

The words "suck zone" were uttered.

Chickens are the new cows.

The mention of the Fujiwara Effect warmed my weather geek heart.

Excellent CGI.

Romance was less a focus in this than it was in the original, which surprised me, considering the marketing. There's a difference between rekindling a dying relationship and sparking a new one, of course, but the second movie focused more on bonds forged through emotional support than romantic vibes.

I watch enough YouTube storm chasers to get a kick out of the way the movie lovingly roasted them and that culture.

El Reno: a name that will live in tornadic infamy, even if the storm it's most known for didn't hit the town itself (thank goodness). I'm glad they used that location instead of destroying Wakita again or some other random town.

They didn't take the cliché way out and make Javi a bad guy. It would have been so easy to turn him into a money-hungry bastard who saw the other guy was winning over the girl and went off the deep end. The fact that he swerved back into wholesomeness was definitely the better way to take the story.

The tornadoes didn't growl like lions.

The characters were likable enough that I cared if they lived or died. (Which may seem like a low bar, but in an action/disaster movie, it's far from a given.)

Kate's grief and trauma were portrayed realistically, not as a joke or something she should just toughen up and get over.

The wind turbines being wrecked by a twister must have seemed a bit over the top when the scenes were being shot, but after the ones that got knocked over, twisted, and even set aflame by the Greenfield, Iowa, tornado earlier this year, the ones in the movie actually fared better! Life imitates art, I guess!

Cons:

I'm not a fan of country music so the songs didn't appeal to me much. The background soundtrack was kind of forgettable, too. Nothing like the epic "We're on the hunt for a tornado" theme from the first movie (the d-duh-duh DUDDA DUH DUH" one).

Some parts were really predictable, especially the very beginning and the end.

Ben grew on me, but I think Melissa was a better example of "character from outside the storm chasing world who's terrified and confused and just wants to survive the craziness."

We learned all about Kate's past but very little about Tyler's. I would have liked more insight into what made him tick and how he got into his line of work. I know we got a little at the rodeo, but considering how much of the movie was spent going over Katie's history it felt a little unbalanced.

Kate and Tyler's banter was fine, but didn't approach the chemistry that Jo and Bill had.

Having said that, I also felt the movie was a tiny bit longer than it needed to be.

A movie theater is a terrible place to ride out a tornado. Any large room like that is. Without the support of walls, collapses are a huge risk. (Not to mention the way the Xenia F5 dropped a school bus on the stage in the high school auditorium.) You want as many walls between you and the tornado as you can get. I understand there wouldn't be room in the bathrooms and back hallways for everyone, but having Plan A be to hide between/under theater seats made me shake my head.

At least as far as I could see (and I did sit through the credits) Reed Timmer didn't get any kind of shoutout. As a significant inspiration for one of the main characters, I felt he deserved that.

Mixed:

The stormchasing sidekick characters were more diverse, ethnically, but I didn't feel they had the variety of characterization that the originals did. They all had the "grungy truck stop" aesthetic but not that much individual personality. That might be just an effect of a first viewing when it's hard to concentrate on details, though. I liked the guy usually riding shotgun with Tyler, and the drone pilot, but they're no Dusty. (Then again, who is?)

Decent humor. Not as prominent or quotable as in the first, but still worth some chuckles.

There weren't as many in-jokes and callbacks to the first movie or storm chasing culture in general as I had hoped. The ones that were there (like Kate using dandelions to do what Bill did with a handful of dirt) were nice, though.

Was the firenado realistic? No. Was it cool looking? Yeah. Was the cool factor worth stretching credulity that much? Meh. I guess.

They did point out that sheltering under an overpass is a horrible idea, which was good as that's a widespread myth that has gotten people killed, but at the same time...the characters still did it. And then proceeded to prove why it's a terrible idea by getting sucked out by the wind tunnel effect. I get that they were panicking, but if you know an underpass is a bad place to be, why not do what experts actually recommend and get down in a ditch? In a storm as strong as the one they faced, they were still screwed, I guess, but I still would have liked to see the characters act like they knew what they were "supposed" to do.

It was definitely less cheesy than the first film. As a Wisconsin girl, I like cheese, though.

I always find nitpicks to ramble about, but overall, I enjoyed it a lot. I had tried not to get my hopes up, and this movie exceeded my expectations. I don't know that I'll rewatch it every few years like I do Twister, but I wouldn't mind seeing it again at some point.

[blubushie]

JESUS, your dad got his head stuck between two boards? That must've been traumatizing, god, I can't imagine going through something like that! I get you're lenient with your blog but that needed a trigger warning or something! Give your father my deepest condolences... everything else is fine, though, I guess.

[Animal Fact Anon holy shit your dad is so cool, talk about a reputation like hello??? The fucking zebra shark?? 2x malaria?? Broken ribs and a collapsed lung???? Maybe 'cool' isn't the right word but ?!?!!]

Yeah he's a bit of a mad cunt and I'm cut from the same cloth. (Also he's glad you think he's cool—"At least someone does!")

Every bloke in the family is a little... off, really?

You've got:

• Me (I don't need to explain)

• Dad (don't need to explain)

• My younger brother who branded himself with the family cattle brand. I witnessed this when I was 12 because my brother is insane and decided his little brother with a medical special interest should witness and doctor his severe burn. He also lives in Texas. The branding thing has stuck with me enough that when I was a stockman and cattle were being branded I had to stay back because I couldn't watch it without getting queasy. Not cuz I felt bad or anything it's just that the smell of burnt hair and flesh brought back memories.

• My eldest brother who dances to Billie Jean at literally every fucking wedding he's been to for the past 30 years. Also he doesn't like me. His wife REALLY doesn't like me (she thinks I'm dangerous cuz I've taken the kids shooting). He just doesn't like me cuz our dad dumped his mum for mine and had me though, so I'm the kid who had it all (ignoring how the divorce left Dad in poverty so I also grew up in poverty WOOP)

• My maternal uncle who's an ARA antivax hippie vegan and hates me. Also he's gotten COVID more times than I can count so I avoid him like the literal plague. He gives me creepy vibes.

• My paternal uncle who, as a teenager, let his dog loose so it'd attack my aunt's dog just for an excuse to talk to her. Her dog damn near killed his dog. Then they started dating. His dog got a steak for being such a devoted wingman. This uncle also REALLY fucking hates lettuce and none of us know why but he will have an absoute meltdown if it touches food on his plate. No one, not even my aunt, has gotten an answer as to what the fuck's up with the lettuce thing.

• My youngest maternal cousin who was an alcoholic surfie who died of diabetes before he reached 25. He was convinced he'd die before he reached 25 but he literally drank and ate himself into an early grave knowing he couldn't be doing that shit with his diabetes. I have one memory of him showing me how to catch minnows with my bare hands, and I still use that trick for catching bait fish.

• My oldest maternal cousin who's a deadbeat dad and I hate him because he doesn't do right by his son or daughter. He's all they've got since their mum is institutionalised for mental issues. My aunt and uncle raise his kids while he lies on the couch smoking hooch all day (I really do NOT like him).

• My maternal second cousin who's nonverbal autistic, but both his deadbeat stoner dad and hippie antivax grandad refuse to get him tested. This boy suffers in school and my heart breaks for him. I had no idea what this kid looked like from 3-5 because he always wore an Iron Man mask all day every day, and he stopped speaking entirely around 6. He's now completely nonverbal and despite being about 13 years old he has the functionality of 6 year old. Last I saw him, he still tries to conversate with me when he sees me though, and he'll sit down and pet Misty and he knows I like talking so he'll pick from a few topics I write down for him and have me talk about them. He understands speech just fine, he just doesn't talk himself. And also really really really hates seatbelts so I knit him a seatbelt cover and now he uses them (turns out he just didn't like the raw edge of the belt). His little sister has some behavioural issues but she's genuinely a sweetheart and seems to be the only person who always knows what he's thinking, so she acts a mediator for him a lot.

• My paternal cousin everyone is convinced is either gay or autistic or a trans woman or all of the above. Him and I get on fine so I'm also on the bandwagon of That Boy Ain't Right cuz there's something in him I recognise, I just don't know what. Don't reckon he's a woman or gay though, and if there's anybody he'd come out to it's me cuz the family is conservative but he knows damn well I won't judge. I'm pretty sure he's just on the spectrum.

• My paternal nephew who's the only bloke what came out normal. He's going to uni in a few years and GOD do I hope he comes back normal. He's spoilt but he's a good kid.

[teddybeartoji]

breaks into your inbox………. hello mickey :3 i saw the selfship ask game and !!!! i’m here to ask . abt . mitoru and misho <333 🍾🥞🍮 <- with these questions!!! they were all so cute so it was hard 2 pick…….

anyway I LOVE YOUU sending satoshoko your way as we speak ……. they will wipe your post-leak tears gently!!!!! 🫂🫂🫂

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEARII HIHIHIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!

FOR MITORU

🍾 - who confessed first, and how did it happen?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MITORU THE PAIR OF STUPIDS!!!!!! IT WAS A DRUNKEN CONFESSIONN😭😭😭😭 we're both lightweights buuuuut he's sooo much worse plss and i guess he just couldn't hold it in anymore:(((((((((( like we talked before mitoru is still very very much a friends to lovers story!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we were just hanging out at suguru's place, watching a movie and having a few drinks and thenn we ended up kind of cuddling??? very normal for us though nobody blinked an eye. he gets soo sleepy and eextra clingy after he's had One Single drink so i was just playing with his hair while he rested his face in the crook of my neck. and then he just kinda whispered it to me.............. and it caught me so off guard. bc like hhhhhhh you didn't wanna tell me that somewhere elsee?????? sugu and shoko are sitting like right fucking there and you're telling me that you like me rn?????????????????? looking back at it it's cute but at the time i did freak out a little. like i just didn't know how to. deal with it. it was a lot. i was just sitting there with a red face lmao

ooh i had to ask him to repeat it like three times bc yk i thought he was just messing around. "i like you" "i like you too, dummy." "no, like i really like you." "i really, really like you too." "like i wanna kiss you -like you." "oh... oh??? OH??????????????????????????????????????????" yeahh look i'm just glad that sugu and shoko decided to NOT ask abt my flustered face and i'm glad that satoru was so out of it i might've actually died

we all stayed at sugu's for the night btw. it wasn't necessarily awkward the morning after. just a little.. mmm quiet. bc when i woke up - suguru and shoko had both left?????????🤨🤨🤨those little shits. fuckass cupids SMHHHHHHHHHH. but i am very thankful bc then we got to have this silly little conversation over coffee. it was very sweet actually. we were both very nervous. and he ofc pretended to not remember it AT ALL🤨🤨i get that it might've been hazy in his mind but are you actually trying to tell me that you were blackout drunk after three drinks satoru?🤨🤨 wahh he's my stupid<333333 this got so long butttttt that's how it wentt hehehehe and then we also ofc got our first kiss interrupted by sugushoko coming back home:33333333333

🥞 - who spoils the other more?

no matter how much i try to spoil him................................. he always outdoes it...................... SMHHH I CAN NEVER WIN AT THIS GAMEE>:(((( while he loves spending money on it (i'm not even gonna lie i love that a lot lmao), iiii spoil him with affection. i am glued to him. at all times. i'm spoiling him with kisses and praise and sweets and more praise and compliments and smooches and wahhh the smile on his face is so worth it i luv him sm:(((((

🍮 - what's something you do that always makes your f/o smile, and/or vice versa?

do a bit. that sounds so ridiculous, and it is ridiculous but i am nothing if not a storyteller alright, when i tell a tale from my past you fucking BETTT that i am acting out the different characters and the tones, i set the scene i yell i laugh it's a whole show. and he loves it:3333333 he also loves hearing me lose my shit in estonian lmao. like when i'm on the phone with a friend and we're talking abt drama or smth yk?? and i'm just pacing around the room, borderline screaming strange words into the phone hagsaghsahshga it's a Sight.

his stupid jokes. i am not immune. in any way. the stupider the better. aaaand when he acts clingy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and when he brings me flowers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and honestly. just seeing him makes me so happy. it's soooo sappy but i can't help it okay he's my favourite boy in the whole wide world:((( I LOVEEE HIMMMM ARIII I LOVE HIM SO FUCKING MUUCHHH

FOR MISHO

🍾 - who confessed first, and how did it happen?

she did actually. bc while i act All-Knowing... i don't actually really understand how ppl feel by just gauging their expressions😭😭 blame the autism here ok. after our first (PROPER🤨) kiss i just stared at her bc ?????????? did you mean that or are you playing with me rn????????? she kinda laughed at me so i died a little but then she held my face in her hands while telling me that she does, in fact, really like me:3333333333

🥞 - who spoils the other more?

i spoil her a little more:3333333 just bc i love doing it sm!!!!!!! i love her smile so fucking much i would literally kill for her ok. i always buy her snacks and things that she has mentioned that she likes yk? and i like doing stuff like drawing her a bath and washing her hair and just pampering her:33333333333 if you think i sound like a servant here just wait until the next question... wheew the things i would do for herr!!!!

🍮 - what's something you do that always makes your f/o smile, and/or vice versa?

do everything she asks me to. like there genuinely is just ZERO back talk. she wants water but i'm in bed and half asleep? you got it babe. she wants smth to eat but her phone is too far (mine is even further)? fret not queen i'm on it. she needs to take a piss but she's tired? I WILL FUCKING CARRRYYY HER THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i got that servant in meee i love her so baddd OHHH AND ALSO!!! when i ramble:3

aaand it always makes me smile when she shows interest in the video games that i'm playing!!!!!!!!!! they're not reaaally her thing, so it means a lot when she takes the time to watch me play and ask questions abt them!!!!!!!!!!! i think it's veryvery sweet!!!

selfship asks<3

[madelineorionswan]

A Bittersweet Summer

August's entry for @hp-12monthsofmagic School's out for Summer

A/N: Guess what, guys?! This story is about my boy Albert, whom I suddenly remembered just as I saw the topic for this month. And let me just say... prepare for tears because this one is a tragic story. Haha... I just like torturing my characters with trauma, don't I? Also sorry for the late entry, I had exams going on and a really bad writer's block😅😅

Warnings: grief, (keep tissues ready), Death, horse riding accident.

Summary: The summer after Albert's first year at Hogwarts starts wonderfully. That is until it ends with the worst tragedy.

The streets of Hampshire were bustling with life as people were busy purchasing and selling goods in the local shops of the market. Alongside the many sellers and buyers, pedestrians and domestic animals trampled on the earthen streets. Suddenly, amidst the thicket of people, an azure and bronze carriage rushed through the streets, pulled by two tawny horses. People turned their heads briefly to acknowledge its passing but quickly returned to bargaining the price of their groceries, unbothered by it.

Inside the carriage, a young boy of twelve was sitting beside the window, smiling widely as he observed the countryside rushing past. His heart fluttered in his chest with giddy excitement, a most unfamiliar feeling in his life. But nonetheless, he was excited to reach his family's home, one he had dearly missed for the past ten months of school.

A few minutes down the bumpy road, The carriage entered past the gates of a grand estate, The Wyevernbush Estate. The horses stopped past the fountain, where the footman got down from behind the carriage and opened the door for the young lord to get down. He placed a stepping stool for Albert, who wasn't tall enough to reach the ground. Just as he got down, he heard someone happily shout, "Albert!".

He craned his neck to look behind the fountain, where he found a rosy-cheeked boy smiling with glee and running towards him. The young boy's antics had a tall bearded man and raven-haired woman laughing as they followed closely behind him. The young lad hugged Albert as tightly as possible, squeezing out most of the air in his chest. Nevertheless, Albert hugged him tightly, having missed his little brother, Edward.

"How was your new school!? You must recount all of your adventures to us in great detail!" Edward squealed excitedly, making his parents, William and Elisabeth, smile fondly at the two boys.

"Now, Eddie, let your brother relax a bit. He's had a long journey back from his school," Elisabeth scolded her son lightly. The young boy pouted and attempted to protest, but Albert quickly interfered.

"Hey Chuck," he whispered in his adoptive brother's ear, "How about I tell you all about the school during dinner?"

"Really? What's in it for me?" Edward scowled.

Albert quickly searched his coat pocket and found two lemon drops. "I'll give you these if you wait till dinner," he offered.

Edward, who had a huge sweet tooth, didn't waste a second in grabbing the two sweets and exclaimed, "Deal!" before jogging back inside to munch on the treat.

Albert shook his head, laughing fondly. William and Elisabeth, finally having gotten Edward distracted, hugged their elder boy tightly. He might not have been their own, but he still was their little Albert.

"We're glad you're back home again, son," William said, ruffling the young boy's curly brown locks affectionately as Elisabeth kissed his cheek.

"Bertie, you must tell me about the food. Are they feeding you well? Is the food up to your taste?" Elisabeth asked, anxious as to whether Albert was doing okay.

"Yes, Mama, I am eating well. There's no need for you to worry. Besides, I have so much to tell you about the world of magic!" Albert said excitedly as Elizabeth chuckled.

"Yes, dear, we're all very excited to hear," She chuckled as Albert continued to describe his school.

The parents accompanied Albert to his room, and throughout the entire time, he could not stop talking about the self-driving carriages, the magic spells and even the giant castle that consisted of Hogwarts. This all amused William and Elisabeth, who had never seen Albert this excited about something.

"Do you know the plates over there fill up on their own! You don't even need to get another-"

"Slow down lad, I think we've learned more about this place than even the professors there," Willaim chuckled, "Now you must rest up for dinner tonight. I believe you have a very excited audience waiting for you."

After yawning and nodding, Albert retreated to his room and closed the door. As he gazed at his bed, a fond smile appeared on his face. He then sank into the silky covers and quickly fell asleep with a content expression. The first week of summer had started off wonderfully for him.

---

Over the course of the next few days, Albert's previously quiet and shy demeanour appeared to have undergone a sudden transformation. Any family member who was aware of his attendance at the School of Wizardry had to endure hours of him enthusiastically discussing his various areas of study, the different locations he had visited, and the skills he had acquired. William and Elisabeth were overjoyed at his excitement, and even the estate's workers were willing to lend an ear, despite their preconceived notions about witchcraft.

Needless to say, Edward was the most enthusiastic member of the family. The little man was so eager about Albert's adventures that he would regularly sneak up on him doing homework or stay up all night to hear his tales of magic. But he was always amazed, even when he attended to the same stories repeatedly. Nothing made Albert happier than seeing his little brother smiling with glee every time he told him a story about a lost hall he found in the school or about the spells he learnt where he could conjure many random objects into existence.

Of course, the young boy was disappointed when his brother told him he could not show it to him, often asking Albert to prove himself to be a wizard.

"You know, sometimes I don't believe you brother. Don't you think your stories are a bit exaggerated?" Edward said sarcastically.

"Well, if you don't believe me, how about I show you my books, Chuck?" Albert asked with a small smile.

"Really?!" Edward's eyes gleamed with enthusiasm.

"Why, of course! Come on then; do you want to read the book about potions or about charms?"

"Potions, please!" Edward said and got busy trying to understand the ingredients and usage of the potions described in the book.

That's how the weeks went by. So, how could it have gone so wrong so quickly?

The morning of 20th July 1893 started off just as usual. The sun was shining brightly, and everyone was busy working on the estate. At 9 a.m. the breakfast bell was rung downstairs in the dining hall and the first to come downstairs was Edward who was closely followed by Albert. The boys quickly sat themselves down at the table. As they got busy spreading butter and jam on their toast, they suddenly heard a quiet chirrup. The buys turned towards the window and saw a small sparrow busy flitting about.

By this time the parents too had joined the boys and started to partake in their classic English breakfast. While Albert started talking to his parents, Edward continued to follow the quick fleeting movement of the bird closely. The bird had flown from window and decided to perch on the grand piano in the dining hall.

"Look, Mama! That sparrow is trying to play the piano," Edward squealed happily as he saw the sparrow jumping from one key to another as if it was trying to play a tune.

Elisabeth's face turned pale as she unconsciously dropped the glass goblet in her hand, which shattered on the ground, spilling orange juice and shards of glass everywhere. She gasped, and Willaim turned towards her, his brows furrowed with concern.

"Are you quite alright, my dear?" He asked, worry etched on his face.

"Th-there's an sp-sparrow on the piano," Elisabeth's voice trembled with fear. William followed her gaze and found the sparrow flittering on the piano keys. His face fell, and his eyes turned solemn.

"Come on, dear, a pretty bird sitting on the piano means no harm. It is just a harmless superstition," William tried to reason despite his fear of something happening.

"But Papa, what does it mean?" Albert asked.

"Nothing, my boy. It means nothing. Shall we all go on a relaxing drive on horseback through the moors to refresh ourselves?" The boys agreed in an instant.

"What say you, my dear?" William asked Elisabeth. She contemplated for a moment and agreed to let the boys go but refused to go herself. "My sister and some other ladies will arrive soon. I must attend to them," she said and went to the parlour.

"Now let us go have fun, boys," William said, smiling. The boys quickly gobbled up their breakfast. They raced towards the entrance, grabbed their coats, and quickly put them on while William followed behind them leisurely.

The father and sons put on their riding boots and walked to the stables to get their rides. Although William had no problem getting on his horse, It did take the boys a little help to get on. But with the assistance of their butler, they were on, and the three horses trotted to the nearby moor.

William led the way as the boys followed. As usual, Edward wanted to hear stories about Hogwarts. Albert obliged and started to recount a story about how he had met a senior student named Ernst, who seemed surprisingly familiar yet unknown.

"Boys, make sure you have your eyes on the road," William warned.

But the warning was not headed by the boys, who were now in a heated conversation about the best Thanksgiving dinner, Albert had at Hogwarts. they continued to chat while trotting across the field. Suddenly a beautiful apple tree caught the boys' eyes. The tree had beautiful red apples which would have a made a perfect snack for later.

"Want to try and get those apples?" Edward whispered to his brother when he saw their father was out of earshot.

Albert gazed tentatively at the tree, which lay at a distance on the corner of a cliff. Only a skilled rider could pluck an apple without plummeting from the edge. He couldn't risk it. Edward was only 9 and had just started riding horses. Sure, he was tall enough but nowhere as skilled.

"No, Chuck. It's too dangerous," Albert said, trying to avoid his brother's gaze and look for their father, "let's find Papa."

"Oh, come on now! Don't be so boring, it'll be an adventure!" I thought you loved adventures," Edward pouted.

"Don't you think it's a bit dangerous? It's on a cliff," Albert protested, "I can't let you go there, Edward."

"Please?" Edward tried to plead.

"I said no, Edward. We can't go there," Albert said sternly.

"But-"

"No buts. You know I don't like being this stern. Let's just go find Papa. If you still want to go, we can accompany him," Albert said firmly, making Edward scoff. Albert sighed, knowing how stubborn his sibling can get, but decided the course of action would be to find their father, who had gone much ahead of them.

He urged his horse to move faster by kicking his heels into its abdomen. The horse began to trot, and Edwards's horse followed closely behind. However, our young rider was quite stubborn. He kept trotting slowly behind Albert, but as Albert moved further ahead, Edward began to slow down. Eventually, he turned his horse and galloped towards the apple tree.

Albert, who had now caught up with William, both turned their head and saw the young boy, galloping towards the apple tree. They both immediately panicked and galloped behind them.

"Edward, NO! SLOW DOWN!" William shouted.

"I-I Can't!" Edward called out, losing control of the horse. he desperately tried to hold on to the horse's reins but he couldn't do it.

"Don't worry I'm gonna catch you!" William raced his horse to Edward's but he still was at a distance. They were now dangerously close to the cliff's edge. As they approached, Albert's horse hesitated and turned away from the cliff, but William's horse continued to pursue the chase. William urged his horse on, urging it to run as fast as it could.

But unfortunately, Edward's was faster. The horse was inches away from the cliff when it reared onto its hind legs. Edward held on for dear life but slipped off the seat, his body falling with a thud at the base of the tree. The horse neighed loudly before kicking his heels and running away to the distance, his rider, left at the base of the tree. William pulled his horse to stop, quickly got off and rushed to his son's side. His face turned pale, as he pulled his son's body to his lap, blood gushing from the back of his head.

"No-" Albert faltered for words at his father's expression. he never thought he would ever see this sight.

The strongest man he had ever known, his eyes were now pooling with tears. And at what cost? The cost of his son's life.

Albert knelt beside his younger brother. His eyes filled with tears as he let out a choked sob and caressed his delicate and lifeless face.

"I'm sorry," he wept, "I should have let you get the apple."

"No, Albert you did the right thing," William tried to console his son, "It is just that God had to take Edward away from us, sooner than most."

"B-But that's not right, he was supposed to grow old with me and we were supposed to have fun together. He wanted to see Hogwarts!" Albert's lips quivered as tears rolled down his face.

William wiped his own eyes and then wiped Albert's, letting out a sigh. He had no words. So he just hugged his son as slightly as he could, hoping to squeeze out the unsaid pain. The Wyevernbush family would never be the same ever again.

Not after the loss of dear little Edward.

[where-pain-is-so-pretty]

December Project 12

- Living Inside My Own Confusion

Pairing: Joel x Reader

Category: Hurt/Comfort

TW: Depression! Suicidal Thoughts! Crying! Self Harm!

Word Count:

Request: - my own thoughts -

Requester: none

Note:

I'm finally back continuing the December Project (in February?!…) Pls, ignore the numbers, I messed up the order on purpose because I just couldn't keep up with my original schedule. But I promise all requests will be posted sooner or later! Title are lyrics from Lost by Linkin Park!

It was close to 2 am when you opened the door of the AirBnB you shared with the Blind Channel guys, finding all of them, except one, already asleep. They were here for promo and studio work and you went along to visit some friends and see one of your all-time favourite bands live. A quick getaway from day-to-day life.

And reconnecting with your old friends here in the UK had been refreshing and fun, but now that you were back 'home' and the adrenaline rush of the concert was about to subside, a certain emptiness bloomed in your chest.

Now it was past 3 in the morning, and you wished after-concert blues was the only thing bothering you. Seeing your favourite band had brought you the serotonin you had desperately needed, but it only lasted for about an hour and now things were even worse. There was this all too familiar tightness in your lungs and your racing heart felt like a broken bird trapped inside your ribcage.

Your mind was circling around the conversations you had with your friends, earlier this evening. Leaving you bitter, once more you realized how behind on life you were.

They all had a partner, kids, a great job, finished their degrees, or were about to build a house or travel the world. When you were glad you made it out of bed in the morning or afternoon. A functioning life was something you could only dream of. You had dropped out of university, to take care of your mental health, but finding a therapist had turned out to be harder than expected. These rejections had led you to feel not sick enough to receive help. Other people had it worse, and although you clearly weren't alright, you were still functioning somehow, weren't you? So, how bad could it be? You lived for the little things, chased every bit of serotonin you could get. May it be a concert, a new tattoo or a one-night stand, as long as it made you forget about the chaos in your head for an hour or two.

And you weren't jealous of your friends, in fact, you were more than happy they had such carefree lives. You just wondered if it ever was your turn. Your friends must be so tired of you for never getting better, for always being the one who was behind and not okay.

Maybe life just wasn't for you. Maybe you should have ended it already, your friends would be better off without you anyway.

"Aren't you cold?", a familiar voice echoed through the darkness behind you. It was Joel. Of course, it was. No one else would be awake at this ungodly hour. Shaking your head, you didn't turn around, fearing he might sense what was going on inside your head if you faced him. You wanted to feel cold, needed to feel the sharp pain on your bare arms. It kept you at ease, helped you resist the urge of hurting yourself.

"Are you alright? You have been sitting there for an hour." He asked, voice soft. You turned your head slightly, still not looking at him but at the other side of the room. For a second you focused on both Aleksi and then Olli. Both of them already peacefully asleep in their beds.

"I'm good.", you lied as you locked eyes with him for a moment to underline your false statement. Trying to avoid his question you added: "What about you? Noticed you staring at your phone ever since I came back." You knew it was typical Joel behaviour but you also knew that usually, something was bothering him when he acted like that. And maybe this question would distract him enough from your condition.

"I guess. Couldn't sleep and started checking stats and doing some TikTok stuff, the usual." he shrugged. His brows were narrowed as he examined your face. "What's bothering you?" his tone more serious this time. You didn't want to answer, you wanted to be left alone with your thoughts, drown in them until you were exhausted enough to find some sleep. You considered telling him another lie, but he had already seen through the first one. And knowing Joel, he wouldn't let go of it until you told him the truth. His grey-blue eyes stared right into yours, demanding an answer. There was no escape.

"Too much…" You finally mumbled looking down at your hands. You regretted saying these two words the moment they had left your mouth. Knowing they would only cause more questions.

And it was not like you did not want to talk. You wanted to scream it all out to get rid of the troubled feeling inside your chest. But you feared you might bother your friends if you did, drag them down or overshadow their problems with your own. These struggles were yours to fix, nobody else's and especially not Joels'. He dealt with enough shit already and on top of that, he and the boys had work tomorrow. You could wait.

To your surprise, he stayed silent and left. For a second you were almost relieved, but then he came back, a black piece of clothing in his hands. He stopped right in front of you and wordlessly handed you the hoodie. You were about to protest, still feeling comfortable surrounded by the chill night air, but his gaze was firm on you. Arguing with him wouldn't lead anywhere.

You took it from his hands and started unfolding it. When you were about to put it on, Joel lightly nodded. He was such a mother hen sometimes, you thought, as you pulled the black sweater over your head. A shiver went through your body as the soft, warm fabric embraced your cold skin. It was big enough for you to disappear in it, the sleeves covering your hands almost completely.

You watched him sit down on the window sill beside you, fumbling with something in his large hands. At second glance you recognized it as a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He took one of them between his thin lips, the orange flame of the lighter illuminated his features for a few seconds. He had bags under his eyes, stubbles on his chin and his hair tied up in a messy bun. He was worn out from travelling, stressing about work and dealing with his insomnia, and you had nothing else to do but to bother him as well.

Taking the first drag of the cigarette he silently offered it to you. You accepted, turning the cigarette between your fingers as you watched it burn down before taking a drag as well. You breathed out the smoke and handed it back to Joel. You sat in silence while sharing the rest of the cigarette, the only background noises the soft snoring of the other guys and the fade sounds of the city outside.

"Wanna talk?" Joel asked as he flicked the stub out the window.

These words were enough to cause you a mild panic attack. Your heart started hammering against your ribcage. You swallowed heavily, your mouth suddenly dry not only from the taste of the cigarette. Taking a deep breath you fought the knot in your throat and the tightness in your chest. "I don't know…it's a damn lot…" You didn't know where to start or how to tell him. Nothing made sense, everything seemed too much, too confusing to sort out and explain.

"I'm here, I'll listen!" His answer was short but it almost made you cry. You really did not deserve him, or any of your friends. He was mindlessly fidgeting with his lighter, his eyes still fixated on you. The worried expression in them filled you with so much shame and regret. These problems probably only seemed this big inside your head, because you had created them to have something to cry about, to sabotage yourself, as an excuse to not feel okay. You just couldn't waste his time like this, it seemed unfair, he shouldn't have to deal with you and your stupid thoughts.

"Thanks, Joel, but you should try and get some sleep. You have to get up early tomorr-"

"Y/N! Would you please stop searching for excuses!" For a second he almost sounded angry although he spoke in a low voice to not wake the others. Sheepishly you lowered your head, mumbling a quiet "Sorry..,".

One of his hands found yours, lightly squeezing it, showing he wasn't mad at you.

"You are not doing well, I can see that! I won't force you to talk. But please know I'm here if you need to and I'm also here if you don't. I'm not going anywhere!" A nod was all you managed to do in response as you fought back tears.

His words made you feel everything at once and a part of you wanted to run and hide, while the other was about to throw yourself into Joels' arms and cry your heart out. You did neither and kept staring at your intertwined fingers. Focusing on the shape of his, the lines on his skin and the chipped nail polish, as his heartfelt words slowly made it through the loud chaos inside your head.

"Y/N, please look at me!" Joels' voice was only a whisper. Hesitantly you lifted your head, your whole body tensing up as you tried to put a smile on to cover the tears that were about to fall any second now. Even now you were afraid of letting him inside. Fearing he might judge you. When you met his eyes you felt your guts twist in guilt. Wishing you could do or say something to make the worry disappear from his face.

Joels' free hand reached out for your face, softly lingering on your cheek. "I'm here! I won't judge, I promise!" You could feel your cheeks heat up under his touch and new tears dwelled in the corner of your eyes. You couldn't stop them. A strangled sob escaped your throat as you broke eye contact to hide your tears from him. Covering your face with your hands, you barely noticed Joel pulling his arms around you. You were too weak to push him off, so, you surrendered, letting him hold you as you allowed your feelings to take over completely.

And for a moment, you were drowning, consumed by the darkness of your thoughts. All the pain you kept inside washed over you at once and you lost yourself in it.

You were violently sobbing into Joel's chest now, your body tense and shaking while he held you. Aware that your make-up rubbed off on his black shirt and that your eyeliner ran down your face mixing with your tears. You hated yourself for being so pathetic, for wasting his time like this.

"I'm…not worth all this…" you sobbed out, trying to wriggle out of his embrace, but you weren't strong enough to fight him off; and in reality, you didn't want to.

"You are so damn worth it Y/N!" He pressed him against you further and you gave in again. Your nails dug into his shirt as you held onto him, your face buried in his chest, shedding your tears. His embrace around you almost hurt, yet, he gave you what you needed most. Comfort. He kept your head over water, kept you from drowning. And instead of your chaotic mind, you focused on the warmth of his body, his large hands on your back, the rising and falling of his chest. And between crying and listening to his heartbeat you finally found the strength to talk.

"I…I..feel like I'm falling apart and I don't know how much longer I can go on like this…I'm so overwhelmed by life and I fear it won't ever change…I'm afraid of never being okay again." A heavy sob made you pause your rambling and you tried to swallow it taking a few deep breaths.

"A few months back I tried to…I tried to end it…" Your voice was shaky and you felt another wave of tears coming, as you told Joel what you had kept to yourself for way too long. You let them fall, knowing that in his arms you were safe from the demons inside your head. "Shh…it's okay! I'm here…" Joel had stayed silent for the entire time, not asking questions, his hands soothingly running up and down your back. You didn't deserve him, you weren't in the exact shape of being confronted about your mental issues or possible solutions. That was for another time when your mind was clearer and your chest felt lighter.

"We should go to bed." You suggested when the tears had finally dried up. He lightly nodded against you, slowly loosening the grip around you. You risk glancing up at him, fearing to see pity and judgment in his eyes. Instead, he greets you with a soft smile, his gaze heavy on you, and there was still a hint of worry and maybe even pity in it, but he wasn't judging you. The tear stains on his cheeks and his glassy eyes were what broke your heart. And you were about to apologise for trauma-dumping on him but Joel stopped you right away. "Don't you dare to apologise!" he sounded serious but there was also something playful in his voice. You didn't respond and only you took the sleeves of the hoodie between your fingers and brought it to his face, carefully wiping the remaining tears away.

"Thank you, Joel!"

"Not for that! I'm always here if you need me!" His lips touched your forehead for a second and then he pulled you into a hug again. And he held you for the rest of the night. insisting on sharing the bed with you, not wanting you to sleep alone.

[fumikomiyasaki]

You could do💋 for any of our ships of you want

Interrupted kiss

Occupied in student council work and busy with Dragiselles business, Inessa sighed working herself through the papers in the Dorms own magic library... her pen circling as the Ice queen grew annoyed being distracted by her phone... she did so much work yet still she felt the distance between her and Dragiselle grew distant... maybe she should finally give up... lingering in this thought a familar face entered the room.

"Thalassa you need something?"

"Just taking some work load of you."

"Why? Its my work to handle. " Her tone was annoyed, mainly cause she didn't want to bother others.

"Thats also not the whole truth... some of it is the dorm leaders too... so its the dorms work."

"Tch... "

Inessa sighed as Thalassa sat next to her and worked with her.

"I ask again like I did before... you must have a bigger reason why you care so much about me than just me being the Vice leader."

Being direct about it Inessa saw her bright red face avoiding a gaze.

"You see... its cause I... like like you... but I am aware of your crush as well."

Something that left the Ice queen flabbergasted yet... all the feeling of worry, resentment and previous doubts felt fading.... maybe this was the better option than linger on an unrequited crush... and so she silently took her hand... looking at her.

"But... what if we try?"

"Huh?"

Inessa drew a little closer to her, both of their faces leaning more and more to another -

"GET BACK HERE YOU!"

Suddenly the library door bursted open and Stellaluna entered with Taron chasing after some new invention of Tarons. Quickly leaving the two girls in an emberassing mess withdrawing from another... with a sigh Inessa got up and freezed the invention. Scolding the both of them while Thalassa looked after her... face still red and in awe...

She left a note if they wanted to meet up later to continue where they left up for now... hoping that Inessa would take the invitation.

After class Carol was glad to meet up with Kaminari to spar again... since he trained her she slightly got better at fending of some of the more annoying and pushy students herself and it just felt to her like a safespace each time she visited him...

On that day he noticed however that she pushed herself past her limits the past days, getting not enough rest and with one block stopped her...

"Your body may be here but not your head, for now you should rest... the usual?"

She gave a firm nod... "Guess you are right, maybe a tea would do me well about right now..."

Sitting down, chatting a little and feeling a bit more rested, a smile returned on her face, one he loved seeing on her, warm welcoming, there was a reason many said looking at her it was like the embodiment of hopefull. Yet he did notice some small wounds on her legs.

"Let me look at this if you don't mind me."

"I-I... sure."

Her Face lit up red from how close he was treating her leg... she grew nervous, her heartbeat quick... untill eventually a sudden noise made her panic, tumbling lightly untill both tripped down to the ground... as she opened her eyes he layed on top of her leaning close to her face only inches away... however despite the emberassment none of them moved away... quite the opposite to Carol it was a good opportunity to lean in... but as she did the sudden noise returned and they got interrupted... the sudden noise being someone disturbing...

Gregory used one of his portals to stop by NRC and Seek her out.

"Urgh... what is it Greg?"

"Ya need to help me.... a surprise test is coming up."

"Can't that wait till later?"

"Nope."

Kaminari noticed her frustration especially cause she been robbed of a nice moment with him yet took her hand so she could calm.

"Its fine... we can spend some time later."

"Thank you."

And so she followed after Gregory in the portal... yet her thoughts still lingered back to that moment...