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#i had like 10 hours or more of animation basics just sitting in me head n waiting for this
some-mari-thoughts · 7 months
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Listen Here, White Boy
Send help i got motivation to pick up Toonio again despite Toonator dying
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aliveahahafuck · 6 months
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So, random funny things that happened at larp this weekend:
I was NPCing as a crab, and at one point, one of the owners, who was also a crab, got this absolute Cheshire grin and ran OOG towards a light post that has been designated as the portal between cities/places within the different larp guilds (ie between all other games put on by guilds within the Underword universe). As more of us saw that and realised what he was doing as soon as we went down, we joined him. And as Crabs were still joining the group, he just started chanting, "COMING THROUGH THE SKEIN GATE: ONE", a few people join him chanting, "COMING THROUGH THE SKEIN GATE: TWO", and finally there's eight of us yelling the chant and at 3, we all shuffle out of the portal and all I hear from a player is "WHO THE FUCK PAID THE FEE FOR 8 CRABS TO GO THROUGH THE SKEIN GATE!?!?!?! THAT'S SO MUCH GOLD?!?!" (Someone who no longer has a crab problem, obviously. Lmao)
I fell asleep at a picnic table because A: the sun was warm, B: it was peaceful listening to the people chat beside me, and C: it was like 11 am and I'd only been up for two hours but had been exhausted the whole time. Except I wasn't completely sleeping, I was in the half awake state you get where you can hear ahit going on around you, but actually processing basically nothing. Because of that, I heard one of the people who I'd been chatting with say, "Should we wake her? There's demons coming." Only to hear what felt like seconds later:
"Hello there, what have we here?"
"It's a nature's hold. Wild animals can't see us."
"I see. And your friend?"
"Ehhhhh, she might be dead, might be sleeping, we're not too sure."
"Okay then, I'll leave you too whateverthis is." (Footsteps as they walk away)
"I can't believe that worked."
"Me neither."
They did end up waking me up and I chatted with them a bit before I fell asleep again for what felt to me like max 30 seconds, but according to my friend was more like 5-7 minutes and was woken up by a familiar voice saying: "Here. This is for you."
And I raise my head and see a hand placing an orange directly in front of me, I look up to the owner of the hand, and it's my best friends uncle, one of the owners of the guild, dressed as a demon with about 4 others and I just kinda blue screen and just say "thank you???" And they all walk off.
Once they're back in plot camp (a cabin a couple meters away but far enough to be out of earshot), I turned to the people beside me and just go: "he gave me an orange? What the fuck do I do with it? I'm not eating the demon orange?"
The consensus was do not trust the suspicious fruit.
(I found out later that he stole it from the player who runs an alchemy shop and also sells snacks; "he took it as he walked by and at first I was mad, but then I realised that demon just took the cheapest item in my shop; I'm going to take that as a compliment.")
Also, the demons just wanted coffee.
I also found out that while I was sleeping, the bottom of my WOOL cloak had fallen off my lap. I was sitting at a picnic table that had an ever growing puddle around it as the day went on. The fucker wasn't dry by the time I got home a day and a half later.
Lil while later, and I, once again, was fucking exhausted. I ended up going into the tavern and just laid down across one of the pew style benches that lined the walls (10/10 wouldn't recommend. Sitting up at the picnic table was better) and took off my belt, which had a few leather bags attached, to use as a pillow. Partly because I wasn't dumb enough to leave them as easy access and lose my shit, partly because the bench was so thin that I wouldn't have been able to comfortably lay down with the one on my back.
The tavern was FUCKING LOUD. Like, holy shit how did I sleep for 1.5 hours with that racket going on, loud.
I don't remember like 95% of what went on, but the things I do remember are someone saying "shit. There's bears outside." Followed quickly by "HOLY SHIT THE BEARS HAVE MAGIC"
And when, I'm assuming, the battle was over, the shopkeeper player yelling out a window, "I'm selling (healing potions), and they're really cheap~~"
Some time later, about an hour into this nap, I'd sat up, stared into the middle distance for a bit, then walked across the tavern to where I'd left my cloak and over vest above a heater to dry, put on the vest, took my cloak threw it down onto of my "pillow" and immediately went back to sleep for another 30 min.
Sunday, I was chatting with a friend when a npc gnome came over and challenged him to an arm wrestling contest. I was also friends with the person playing the npc. The guy I was originally talking to activated a magic item that made him stronger mid competition, to which the gnome activated a "gnomish device" anti magic field and won the contest. At which point he stopped and looked at me:
"You didn't have any magical items on you, right? Or potions?"
"Uhhhh, yeah. I had a potion of purify in my bag."
"Shit. Well, now you don't. It's just water."
He looked so upset that he'd fucked over my potion and he gave me blacksmithing materials as compensation.
It literally took all of 5 minutes for me to get a new potion, for free, because I knew who'd made them, and he knew I play a healer lmao
vlater i volunteered to go grab someone's staff from our cabin. As I'm walking across the central field, all I hear is: "LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU! CRABS!"
I turned to see the person who was playing the gnome, now a crab, just hauling ass b-lining towards me across the field. As previously stated, I'm a healer, a squishy as fuck, lvl 4 healer. I quickly turned and bolted, unlocked the cabin, flung the door open, slammed it shut behind me, and grabbed the staff I was sent to get in the first place. Seconds later the crab opened the door and saw me, this 5foot fuck all human holding this 7foot long staff grinning like a Cheshire cat: "activate magic item: sigil of the weapons master. 7 MAGIC! 7 MAGIC!-"
I like to call that staff "overkill: the weapon" lmao
The owner of it: "it costs 3 gold to borrow it. Unless you're so tiny that it looks ridiculous, then it's free."
I fell into the "Hilariously tiny" group, but also the "we're playing the same rareish race, and we stick together" group lol
After a huge battle where like 9 people died:
"I'm so not getting that staff back. There's no way it survived."
"That's unfortunate, I liked killing crabs with it."
"Yeah, that's always fun, even if its so overkill for them."
(5 minutes later I come running into the tavern again)
"MORE PEOPLE SURVIVED, THEYRE HEADING BACK NOW! (People start excitedly leaving) also, your staff survived."
"IT WHAT"
"It's coming back! I saw Wolfgreir (who had it before the battle) without it and was happy that at least he survived, and then I saw it being carried through the bush, Jaylin (main healer) has it!"
"No way. I was sure it was gone!"
"I can't believe it either."
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voidwritesstuff · 6 months
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Long Way To The Truth
Summary: once in Oregon,Lucas comes across an old friend.
Cw: hurt/confort, Lucas has a fear of needles,mentuons of human experimentation,lmk if I missed any.
♡Chapter 7: Oregon
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Light enters through the small Windows of the white van. Warm and nice sunlight that heats up his sleeping bag, it makes him turn to the side and let out a sigh deeply laced with comfort.
When was the last time he felt so...safe?
For a moment he thinks he can get away with sleeping in, like he can just relax and let life go by. His eyes flutter Open to see the small alarm clock hes got,fallen over probably by one of his one too Many movements while asleep.
Lifting it up,he checks the time, It reads "6:30" am. But he knows theres like a two hour difference,Between his home state and this one.
He simply retracts his hand and tucks it underneath his pillow, to then close his eyes to sleep just a few more hours. After the days hes been having, its better if he just allows himself a moment of the closest thing hes got to a domestic comfort. Itll help him in the long run anyway...
Its not always he decides to sleep a few hours in, with the sun in his hair and a soft breeze just pushing the clouds on the big blue Sky above. Wether he admits it or not,he Needed rest,a break from his hectic routine.
Lucas was exhausted, he just needed a moment for himself. He needs to feel like himself again. And Hes been so caught up in ,Well- Not dying or getting thrown in jail or a ditch, that his body is making the desicion for him.
His body feels like a piece of metal being pulled by the worlds strongest, biggest,magnet. His bones are made of lead and his nerves are just jumbled,tied up wires.
Who cares if he sleeps in? So whats one more day of travel? Its all the same to him,he figures he can wait,he can catch up on sleep and clear his head.
But by the time he wakes up,at 10:30 or so, he feels a lot better. A lot better.
Eventually he does get out of the sleeping bag, rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes with a loud yawn. He throws on his flannel and his boots- he reaches for one of his thermos since he could use a coffee right now.
Thankfully,the remaining water is enough for exactly one cup of coffee. He grabs a platic mug and simply whips up a quick breakfast.
--Please tell me I havent ran out of jerky--He mutters reaching out to one of his backpacks. He rummages though the contents,just the basic deodorant,change of underwear, toothbrush, a shirt-- Aha! Gotcha
He snatches a half empty bag of dry beef Jerky like finding it was a herculean task. And like a kid in a candy store he eats it, sat there on his sleeping bag like hes having breakfast in bed.
Lucas revels in the warmth of the van,provided by the sun that hits the metal roof above his head. Its just a nice,quiet morning.
When hes done, he makes his way to the drivers Seat and turns on the engine. It comes to life with a roar and he starts drumming on the steeringwheel as he pulls into the somewhat empty road infront of him.
Soon the radio accompanies his thoughts, god he loves music- The soft melodies and the quick paced,high energy rythm are enough to get him on a better mood.
As very tough as he liked to show himself to be,Lucas was a simple Man- When his neurotic brain decided to chill out that is.
Music was his escape,his comfort- Just like he had always had a thing for electronics, his first love was always going to be music. Maybe thats why he chose to be a radioman...
He reaches the town of Forlorn Hiraeth, being greeted with long pastures with farm animals, small houses of brick and some with Plaster. And as he drives into the town proper, he notices something...
The streets have a bit of fog, difusing the light from the sun, the roads are a bit cracked with greenery growing out of it- Dandelions and other weeds Sit there bathed in celestial warmth.
Around him the houses are a mix of modern 90s architecture with vestiges of old 60s homes, its a weird mix of appartments and family houses with porches,yards And even a small parking lot for a supermarket.
--Should re-stock on rations--He mutters to himself,pulling into the parking lot. It doesnt take him long to find a spot and leave the van.
With his eyes settling on the old supernarket,its quite wide and a little ornate with that midcentury modern style. The Windows are long,almost reaching the ceiling- It gives him a clear line of sight into the supermarket which hes thankful for. It eases his mind knowing he can see quite a lot of the inside.
Above him a long roof overhangs from the entrance, its really simple and honestly quite nostalgic- There used to be one supermaket like this in the town he grew up with. Then it was demolished And converted into an appartment building.
The Doors slide Open as he enters, he once again takes off his ballcap before even crossing the threshold.
He shouldve made a list-Too late now.
But its a bit disorienting sometimes, for some reason he keeps getting the aisles wrong- he confuses them with those that were in that old grocery store from his home.
--goddamn-- He whispers to himself, shaking off his thoughts and going to Grab a few canned goods that should last him about 2 weeks.
A few cans of peas,corns, beans(his favorite brand being Bush's Baked Beans), some chili and olives. And then he realizes he shouldve grabbed a cart and so he does that- He feels a little silly but he can allow himself this...dont gotta be perfect,right?
He goes to Grab a few bottles of water, some beef jerky and just as hes passing one of the aisles, he stops.
Before him he sees his younger self on an aisle that had alcohol on it, behind him is...Alphonso.
"Can I pleeeease have a beer?" A young Lucas asked the Man behind him.
"Dont be stupid,youre not 21 Years old"
"C'mon! Im going off to fight I think I derserve  a beer"
Alphonso sighed,nodding"Are you sure you dont want your first beer to be with your old Man?"
Lucas just shrugged"Whats tradition anyway?"
The older Man chuckled" Suit yourself,but if im getting your first beer,im taking you somewhere nice. Not store bought" he beamed at his friend who is jumping around like a spring chicken"its on me, of course"
--Young Man-- Says a woman behind him,elderly-- are you alright?
--Wha-?--He turns to see the old woman behind him,no taller than 5'4, olive skin filled with aging lines and wrinkles.
《I seem to recognize your face
Haunting, familiar yet
I can't seem to place it》comes from the radio equipment installed in the palce ,the song played by Pearl Jam but its not like Lucas has enough mental clarity to notice.
Her brown,hooded eyes look at him concerned,her long black hair tied in a half bun.--you seem..out of it?
Lucas clears his throat--Hah, yes. Sorry- lost in thought -- he sees her blink at him for a moment--Why?
--Nothing you just reminded me of someone --She answered,waving it off--apologies
《Cannot find the candle of thought to light your name
Lifetimes are catching up with me》
--ah dont worry- Truth is im not that busy--He replied-- thanks for the concern Ma'am
The womans eyes fall to his dogtags that are poking a bit from his flannel, but shes  quick to nodd back and excuse herself,walking away.
《All these changes taking place
I wish I'd seen the place
But no one's ever taken me》
Lucas sighs,pushing away his thoughts. He better not linger just in case, he was taking his time but he wasnt going to catch a bullet for it.
Soon he gets everything he needs and goes to the check out,as he waits for the cashier to pass everything through the scanner he hears a conversation between another cashier and an elderly woman.
--Its good to see you again Ms.zhao--Says a younger Man.--How is everything?
--Lonely sometimes,With Dexter's anniversary coming up and all-- he recognizes the voice, its the same woman who spoke to him-- Im planning to visit the cementery soon
--Well ive heard the green house is going on a sale soon,perhaps you could get some flowers there?
Ms.Zhao sounded...happy at the idea--Oh, that'd be splendid. Thank you,Rex
Lucas turns to see the old woman leave,trying to get a glimpse at her bicep for something- But shes wearing a red cardigan. "Shit" he thinks before paying for his things.
He leaves soon after,looking for the woman he just saw exit the store. But nothing finds him...
The last name made something in his head rattle, and as he packs his groceries into his van, his mind wanders...
Why did he know that last name? Why did the woman looked at him with recognition- or something close to it.
It makes him even more confused when he realizes that he instictively went to check the old womans bicep- He was looking for a tattoo, a specific one.
"No,it cant be Jane- Jane isnt from Oregon, Shes from Colorado. Did- why would she move?" He thinks,sat there at the wheel of his van.
And then his stomach rumbles and he sighs. Yeah,no use in thinking with an empty stomach.
《Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away》 the radio plays as he drives to a Dinner,the only dinner in the small town.
Once there he does his usual, he parks and while looking at the entrance from his van he just thinks.  The only Jane he knew was Jane Zhao, a nurse from the camp he was stationed at- a woman in her 30s, Chinese-American, kind and sassy.
She gave him shit for being scared of needles, he remembers only knowing her through Alphonso though... she had lost someone too-Her best friend, something Sullivan. Jane was more of an acquaintance to him,tough hes sure Alphonso told her all about his protegé young mister Cole.
Alphonso could never shut up about how proud he was of Lucas. He was a Soccer dad through and through
The bell above him rings as he steps, the Sixties exterior with its Open Windows and large rooves clash with the soft pinks,baby blues and light yellows of the inside, with those large bars that appear in greaser movies and that "Golden Age" posters and decor.
He sits at the edge of the bar, ordering a simple meal to eat and just listening to the music coming from the TV.
With the previous experience a few days back, Being in this restaurant made him a bit on edge. Especially with the TV channel being tuned into MTV.
《I swear, I recognize your breath
Memories like fingerprints are slowly raising
Me, you wouldn't recall for I'm not my former
It's hard when you're stuck upon the shelf》
But thats not whats eating at his mind, he taps on the pristine surface of the bar.
"Even if that was Jane, theres no way- She wouldnt recognize me, its been fourty years almost...I changed...I think" he thinks,going to reach for his dogtags. One is his,the other is Wheelers
--Here you go,sir-- Says a waitress with the nametag "Iris".
--huh?-Oh,Thanks-- he answers, turning to look down at the Plate of food.
God,the whole ambience feels so nostalgic, he grew up in places that looked like this- but some things are off,not the same layout, or equipment...
But the cutlery, the shiny steel,the big plates...even the glasses...
Is...is he getting homesick?
Homesick for the past?
Lucas sighs a little annoyed, Last thing he needs is to dig himself deeper down into old memories. He eats,quietly wondering about  that old woman, was it Jane? If she was would she remember him?
《My God it's been so long
Never dreamed you'd return
But now here you are and here I am》
When hes done, still in silent contemplation, he simply waves over the same waitress that handed him the food.
--Yes,what is it?
--Im uh- not really from around 'ere--He answers, refusing to meet her eye out of awkwardness. A part of him felt stupid for asking this--Say- I met Ms.Zhao- she wasnt an army nurse was she?
--She was,actually-- Iris answered,a little puzzled--Why?
He blinks a few times--I think she worked in my platoon,do you have any idea where I can find her?
The waitress thinks for a moment, looking off into space for a few seconds. Long,eternal seconds...
--i think she visits San Myra's park at night--Iris answered.
Lucas breathes out a sigh of relief-- Thanks, heres uh- a tip. For the help -- he pays what he owes and leaves a few 10 dolar bills.
And before she can say anything, he gets up and leaves. He really cant talk to people...
So with all that in his mind,he goes to ask around for the park hes looking for. Its pretty much in the center of the town so off he drives there.
Its a long wait, he tries to occupy himself with cleaning out his guns, his radio equipment and going to walk around the neighboorhood against his better judgement.
That 50s/60s architecture cant stop haunting him, but its not quite spot on. Some things are off,the colors,the shapes of the rooves and the crash of modern 90s architecture.
He finds himself digging into old memories, the Games he used to play with his dogs, the robotics competition he used to partake in...
Memories of the few pleaseant times while deployed, inner Jokes with his buddies that made him Snicker to himself, dumb little anecdotes and fun Shenanigans.
In hindsight he does pity Alphonso, he had to wrangle a bunch of teenager and a few rowdy "adults" every single Day of his life. He wonders if he ever got stress white hairs from everything- But at least to his credit, he took things in stride And with a big grin and a sassy comeback.
God,he does miss his old pal.
As happy hour begins to push,he goes to a small bar for at least one drink,something to entretain himself.
He sits there at the counter with a few other folk that talk to themselves. Lucas is happy to nurse his beer alone, taking in that 60 and 70s decor that fill the place with life and character.
Theres even an old jukebox and he indulges in a little throw back. He goes up to it and slides a coin in,choosing the song "Aint no mountain high enough" By Marving Gaye and Tammi Terrel.
Within the old machine he can see cogs whirre up,parts move and slide into place. The vinyl, an actual vynil,being grabbed by this claw like thing and being put on a platform with a needle.
It settles into place with a small click and he returns to his spot to simply enjoy the music that starts pouring in.
He turns to his left side to see the other Converse,but instead he sees the side profile of Alphonso.
"I do wonder why you choose me over yer old man" Wheeler asked,half joking and the other half serious.
"Dont-dont worry about it" Answers a young Lucas with his black curly hair all short" Short hair sucks"
The older Man chuckled,the sound so hearty and genuine "I told you- dont be a cry baby about it- itll grow back"
"But my long hair Man! It gave me all my charm!"
Alphonso laughed loudly" Hah! Kid c'mon, theres more t'ya"
"Oh old one give me some of yer wisdom!" The younger Man teased,making a grand display with a wide grin.
"Wise? Yes, Old? Go fuck yerself" Wheeler answered, taking a long sip of his beer" Ya have a good heart,kiddo" the bottle is set on the counter with a soft knock,his eyes are set on the interior of the bottle,spinning it with his fingers "perseviring,Smart, brave. Kind, sweet..."
Lucas remains silent as he usually does when his unofficial dad talks. His eyes glued on the older Man, leaning in a little to hear him better.
"You care for everyone you come across, and hell yer fathers have the emotional awareness of a pea- And you are so much better than them" the older Man sighs" youre the best of all of us,dont forget that- Even when i-" he makes a pause,conteplating something before correcting himself  " when some of Us kick the bucket"
"You talk like yer not coming back" the younger Man chuckled,feeling a little unconfortable at the idea of his best buddy not returning.
"Just old Man ramblings,kid-" he refuses to meet his gaze, his brows furrowed with deep concern that goes unnoticed by his companio.
"Hah,you just said youre not old"
"Maybe I am just starting to lose it" Wheeler says with a quick smirk, he rises his beer" for a better future?"
Lucas grins" and to good Friends"
Their bottles clink and-
--You done with that one,buddy?--Says the barkeeper infront of him.
--Sorry- i yes-- Lucas hands the empty bottle and adds--How much do I owe you?
He pays and finds himself already at night, he walks back to San Myra's park and waits sitting on a bench in silence.Thumb tracing the name on one of his dogtags "Alphonso Wheeler"
Not soon after he sees Ms.Zhao walk past him,up to a statue of a young soldier being held by Saint Nicholas of Myra.
Lucas is quick to follow the old woman and when she looks to her side he asks--Ms.Zhao?
--Oh hey its you--She answers--Yes, its me- What are you doing he-
--I was told you were an army medic,for Vietnam--He starts,the words just coming out like waterfalls,like hes desperate,lost child trying to find an adult to rely on--You tended To Captain Alphonso Wheeler from Alpha Company, a few times actually- Im-
--Lucas--Zhao finishes with a surprised,If not bittersweet look on her face--Lucas Cole
His eyes widen,his heart fills with hope--Jane?
--Ill be damned--She breathes out.
Finally,Someone he knows that isnt dead.
--Well,shit-- he breathes out.
--Dont just stand there,you Crud muffin! Give me a hug--Jane pulls him into a tight embrace. He has to bend over to hug her back,he smiles and burrows his face on the crook of her neck.
Tears pick at the corner of his eyes,he squeezes her a little with a wide grin.
Around them the air is silent,mist creeping from the corners, the streets a little barren. Beside them the saint holds the young soldier,reuniting Him God in peace, with Grace.
--You havent changed a thing --She added,pulling Back with a smile-- Still tall and lanky, that wild black hair and that deer in headlights look!
Lucas feels his face darken--Hey! I grew out of deer in headlights look a long time ago
She snorts--Hah! You did,now you look like a wet cat now
--Hey!!--He yells, flustered.--You and Al' always found a way to make fun of me! Not fair
--Life aint fair,kiddo-- Jane chuckled-- Jesus, you got taller?
--Or maybe you just shrunk--He teased back.
Jane has the Audacity to look impressed-- Finally biting back? About damn time
Lucas groans with annoyance,holding his face in his hands-- Jesus christ!
The old woman cackles,hearty,boisterous,loud and so genuine-- its like im seeing my grandson! Ha--she leans on the display plaque that details the story of saint Nicholas of Myra--Speaking of kids,any of your own? A hot wife? Orrrr husband?
His face grows Darker with blush, suddenly very aware of his personal connections-- No- Not really- for neither. Not yet anyway
Jane raised a brow-- huh..!--He looks at her a little insulted at her disbelief-- Thought you'd have people making line at your door,after all Wheeler told me how full of yourself you were when you were a kid
--I- well- I was 19! Of course I was full of myself-- He said,leaning on the small metal fence that met at the sides of the display plaque.
--well you were really,really full of yourself. Like- a lot
--Okay,okay,Point made,Jane--He looks at the statue,the young soldier- barely in teenhood with dirt on his face and an innocent grin.
He hears the shuffling of cloth,then then a groan of annoyance--Ah shit,got a light?
Lucas turns to see Jane with a cigarette in her mouth--Those things Will kill you
The old woman rolls her eyes-- tell me something I dont know- Do you have a light yes or no?
A soft sigh leaves him and he grabs a lighter from his back pocket. He keeps to himself that the lighter used to belong to Wheeler and flips it Open, soon she lights up her cig And looks at the saint statue.
--i...I heard about Wheeler-- she said quietly,as if hoping he didnt hear.
But his eyes fall to the young soldier and sighs-- course ya did
--I know you suspected that there was foul play involved--She said,exhaling smoke--You were the talk of the ward...
--Because there was,Jane--Lucas replied--Thats why I'm here, im...chasing after this one lead..Its one hell of a long story
She nodds--persevering...just Like Wheeler told me you were-- She takes a drag from her cig--I'd call you bullheaded . Couldnt you just...take a plane?
He shrugs-- Cant pay me to board a plane.. not with those goverment spooks chasing me
--What did you get into,Lucas?--Jane asked,her tone akin to one of a scolding mother.
--Its a long story...
The older woman rubs her eyes,being mindful of her red eyeshadow-- Ill regret telling you this...but I was offered a position not a few days into the ward back at 'Nam, to monitor enemy soldiers exposed to a biochemical weapon...
He snaps his head to look at her--Agen-- He stops,looking around for a brief moment before returning his gaze to her-- Alpha Romeo . Why didnt you-
--I didnt know the symptoms...I refused. It was inhumane! I didnt want to be part of it. But then I was told of the state you were in, and I just...knew -- the older woman's eyes fall to the young soldier statue-- I didnt tell you because I thought itll help you leave it alone...that you'd convince yourself with a lie and...and leave in peace. I mean you were almost like Wheeler's son, and I guess I saw myself as an Aunt, I wanted a peaceful life for you, Kid-
--Dont- Dont call me that-- His voice sounds stern,angry. But it soon breaks down,shaky-- please...
She turns and coos,going to hugh him with one arm as he tries to hold back tears--its not your fault-
--How would you know?
Lucas wipes off his tears angrily, he feels like a child again,lost in that muddly jungle, disoriented...
Jane shakes off her cardigan, dropping it on the floor,she shows her tattoo on her bicep. Its a faded red heart with a cross, the name "Dexter Sullivan" written on it.
--My best friend got shot--She starts, not meeting the Mans gaze-- many times...Then, he was brought to the ward, I was on call and I tried to save his life- Keep pressure on the wounds, I ran to the bloodbank to get transfusions ready. Hell,we shared bloodtypes so I just went and gave him my blood until the doctors could get everything ready
The radioman turns to the older woman, with his eyes misty and red and feeling...Moved.
--When that didnt work, I tried to Stitch the wounds myself- But in the end...he died--Her voice cracks and now its her who has to fight the tears--I spent so,so Many years blaming myself, the doctors kept telling me we were overrun with wounded, that I just afforded him a few seconds of life,allowing him to see that I was trying so damn hard. He died knowing I cared for him
--Oh my god,Jane-
--When he died I was broken. I hated myself,i felt stupid,useless, so guilty--she says, anger in ver voice-- I wouldve wished death took me instead, but as I aged I realized... he died with me around,he died knowing he was cared for,loved...it wasnt my own malpraxis that Killed him- He was already on deaths door when he got there--She continues-- I was a nurse- a damn good one, but he was bleeding out. I did all I could...
--Alphonso- He died in my arms--He added, sniffing--Shot clean through the head by-- he coughs out a sob-- By me- we got sprayed by well- you know what... theres not a day where I dont regret calling for air support, where I wish I was taken and not him
--You werent in sound mind...
--I know-- he replied--But I pulled the trigger, im the reason hes dead...
Jane takes a drag from her cig and offers one to him--Cmon, I saw you smoke a few times
He rolled his eyes, grabbing one and lightning it up soon after- The bitter taste of nicotine in his mouth that soon fills with smoke as he inhales.
《When you were young and your heart
Was an open book
You used to say live and let live
(You know you did)
(You know you did)
(You know you did)》One of the nearby houses blooms witt music. Neither mind,its good to have something to drift their attention away from the pain.
--Im here to chase down these fuckers,im going to expose them all--Lucas growls with a vibrant,youthfull anger in his voice.-- Im going to avenge Wheeler and anyone who died at the hands of the chemical
--Putting the world on your shoulders...Hah,I know the feel -- her voice softens as he takes another drag of the cigarrette.
《But if this ever changin' world
In which we live in
Makes you give in and cry
Say live and let die
Live and let die》
--But Lucas...--Jane continues--Itll eat you alive. The grief- it never ends really,but you can do something about the guilt--She takes his free hand,squeezing it-- Even I havent fully forgiven myself for Dex, but anger and grief makes you bitter- And if youre going after them as hard as I know you Will, you need your mind clear
《What does it matter to ya
When you got a job to do you got to do it well
You got to give the other fella hell》
--I have a job to do,Jane. Itll get done, Even if I dont make it out
--Good lord,Lucas. Youre sounding just like Wheeler now--She says,exhasperated--But dont you want a happy ending? What Will you do when you get your victory?
Lucas sighs,feeling childish again. Jesus, he hasnt thought about it yet--I- I didnt mean to- Do I really sound so....
《You used to say live and let live
(You know you did)
(You know you did)
(You know you did)
But if this ever changin' world
In which we live in
Makes you give in and cry
Say live and let die
Live and let die》
--Bitter?--She asks and He nodds-- Yes, you do. I have no doubt Wheeler knew of the chemicals, something seemed off with him
--Yeah...yeah he did sound off--He answers--He sounded so certain that he wouldnt come back, the day he took me out for my first beer-Right before deployment, He told me to never forget I was the best of our Group- Even when they kick the bucket. How wouldve he known?
--It was an army operation,and he was a damn good soldier
--Do you think...he got an offer?
--Most certainly--Jane agreed-- Knowing him he probably said no.
Lucas sighs with relief,messing witt his hair as his head hangs low at the mild scare he got from imagining his best friend working for Mayer, or its predecesor.
At least Wheeler was on the right side of history-- Probably yeah, i- God, this is so insidious
--Make Wheeler a favor,forgive yourself, Will you?--She says, patting his back-- He wouldnt hold it against you,ever. He loved you like a son, he wouldnt want you to suffer,and neither do I
He chuckles-- you know me a lot more than I know you
She smiles with that bittersweet look in her eyes--Yeah,he never shut up about you-You were the great Lucas Cole,promise of his platoon
Lucas snorts--He was big on hyping me up- All the damn time
Jane rolled her eyes--Oh he'd sing only praises about your aim,your kindnes...and all the dumb shit you did
He laughs loudly, taken by surprise. Its a warm,nostalgic laugh--Hah, im sure he did
Silence falls,the wind blows and the mist thickens. Between them they stand there,reunited.
Above them the Sky is starlit and clear, the music from that one house now a mere hum, the street is barren, and theres an air of privacy,of domesticity to this moment of sincerity.
The nurse figures its quite late now,she turns to the Man she sees as her surrogate Nephew and says--Need a place to stay?
--I can sleep in the van-
--Nonsense, itll fuck up your back--Its so weird to hear an old woman curse-- My son has left the nest a long time ago,my husband is well asleep- I can tell him tomorrow
He snorts-- youre too sweet-- he sighs and nodds,he could use a comfy bed--Fine, cmon ill drive you there
At Janes house,Lucas is guided to the barren bedroom of the place. The beds comfortable and warm, and with his heart and soul a little lighter, he can rest.
The house is quiet, the room is small and cozy-It has the outline of his old room back at his family home...it makes Him feel cozy,safe.
Next morning introductions are made,the ex soldier meets his host's husband, Jared Lawson. Both men get along quite well, specially when Jane tells her beloved who Lucas is.
Its nice to have people he sort of knows,he feels...welcomed,at home, and Jane is a great Cook so he gets not only a hearty breakfast but also some snacks for the road.
--You and Wheeler eat like damn starved hogs-- the nurse teased, seeing her guest inhale a Plate of Bacon and eggs.
Sheepishly,Lucas shrugs and keeps eating.
Just as hes ready to leave, his heart aunt stands there with her cream dress,her red cardigan and her crimson bandana holding her black hair in place. She unties it and her hair falls in beautiful Rolling waves.
--lean down ,Lieutenant
‐-Yes ma'am --He says,and leans to eye level. She Gently curls his hair into a bun and ties it with that red bandana.
--Red's a good luck color in China, now you carry a piece of me with you.
He chuckles,feeling his eyes get misty already--Ill come visit once everything is done, maybe ill even bring a hot wife and kids for you to meet
She laughs--You better, I want to be an aunt for Real
--Am I not enough Auntie Jane?--He teased like he was that shit head of a teen he used to be
--Hah! Asshole
They say goodbye with a good tight hug, and Lucas hops into his van and drives off. His spirits risen, his hopes high and his grin wide.
Its good to be reminded that youre not alone in things that feel like bigger than you. Just because his buddies are dead, it doesnt mean theyre gone
Jane is still there.
Wheeler lived on in his heart
Perhaps he can start the work in forgiving himself.
And as he watches the Rolling mountains of Oregon,the beautiful trees and Lakesthat frame the road he goes through, and under that blue skies
He decides to at least try to be Kinder to his mind and soul,and that young soldier that lives within him.
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duochromium · 8 months
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if you had the choice to meet one touhou character irl (assuming your personal safety is a priority) who would it be and why
me and w.d. gaster had this exact discussion once except they were fully allowed to murder you if they felt like it
the specifics: you and one 2hu of your choice are locked together in a white void. you are both spawned around a table, chairs, and meal in the middle (it is irrelevant what). this white void is separate from both our universe and touhou’s. both of you will be sent back home after one hour and the 2hu will lose all memories of this event happening (you won’t tho)
this is basically just a specific way of asking “what 2hu would you sit down with and try to talk to for an hour”
he immediately suggested sumireko which i countered with “sumireko is just some high schooler i ain't tryna talk to a woman for an hour straight”
yukari would be a good pick because
-generally respectful
-extremely wise and would probably be down to talk philosophy (dude imagine talking philosophy with someone thousands of years old. enlightening)
-probably wouldn't kill me if i'm not a dick?
rinnosuke would be interesting just because he’s super interested in the outside world so he’d just ask you questions. i wouldn’t be able to break it to him that he isn’t actually going to remember any of this afterwards.
the worst picks would definitely be flandre or rumia. rumia is just giving you a slow and agonizing death but even if flandre doesn’t want to eat you she’s still probably going to be interested in some form of traumatizing you
the worst pick that wouldn’t hurt you has got to be eiki just because she’d yell at you any time you (pesky mortal) try and interrupt the silence she wishes to dine in
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both orin and komachi would probably only want to talk about death and ways you could die. like they’d be really relaxed and non threatening the entire time but i really doubt they’d be up for a more comfortable conversation topic
sanae would probably just want to ask about mecha anime as soon as she finds out you’re from the outside world
aunn lunges at your neck after you turn your head a little too fast due to her underlying pitbull genes
alice would only want to talk about her dolls for the entire hour and it would get really creepy after 5 minutes but that wouldn’t stop her
i think if yuuka didn’t like the meal she would split your head open and feast on your brain just because she’s bored
marisa would be a pretty fun conversation actually, not to mention you could have her tell you about magic which i’m sure is extremely fun
okuu and you have a funny conversation for 10 minutes before she has the idea to see if she can break out of the white void by nuking it. you die in the process
mystia would be awesome if i can bend the rules where she has access to a grill and a supply of fresh lamprey. i have GOT to try those damn eels of hers
yuyuko would be pleasant but she’d steal your food and you’d be kind of hungry. fatass
kaguya or mokou see the white void and immediately think “oh i’m getting fucking pranked by that immortal bitch” and try to commit suicide to get out of it. they come back to life 5 minutes later very pissed off that they’re still not in gensokyo
junko has a nice meal with you if your skin color is up to her standards
tldr: yukari because she wouldn’t kill me and is probably fun to talk to
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pbandjesse · 2 years
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I'm sitting at a wedding right now and I am trying to get this posted so that when I get home I don't have to think about it. Because like writing last night's was tough. I was so incredibly dizzy and could not see. So I was doing it talk to text just like I am now. But I had to have James read it so if last night's was weird I am very sorry about that I was not in a good head space. And I was very concerned about getting that post done.
I feel a lot better today but I did need to sleep. I was just gone. I woke up at 7:00 with every intention of going to the market with James. But I had to make them come back from putting their bike on the car and email Annie and Ann and let them know I was not coming. I had to sleep. And so I would sleep basically the entire rest of the day.
Not the entire entire. I woke up at 10:00 and I still felt dizzy so I slept another 2 hours. And when I woke up at 12:30 I felt like a person again. And that was wonderful and exactly what I wanted. Because I did not know how I was going to come to work tonight. It just was going to be a disaster.
So I got up and took a shower. And felt way more human. I had such a good day yesterday and to end it by being so exhausted that I could not see was not how I wanted to end such a good day. But I tried to be positive about it and get a bunch of stuff done this afternoon.
I would pretty much jump right into the staff project. I had to take all of the leather circles off of the sticks and it was really difficult. It's not real leather and the twine or whatever they had used to attach it was just a disaster so I decided to take the entire thing apart. I was just going to paint them and call it a day but I don't want them to look that bad. So I will work on them throughout this week. And I did get them all painted. Color matching to make it look a little bit more like skin was interesting to say the lease. But I had to make it thick enough so that you couldn't see the old marker underneath. I want to make them very cool.
I would do some research into Blackfoot language so that I could have the names of the animals in Blackfoot. And I thought that would be really neat. And so I did find that and so when I get to painting that will be part of it. I think I'm going to do animal symbol on one side and the English word and the Blackfoot word on the back. I think that would be really neat.
And then I just kind of rested for the rest of the day. I had a bunch of snacks and just kind of chilled. I had thought that I was supposed to be at the museum at 5:00. And so that would give enough time for me to wait for James to come home. Because they had the car and want to take it and put gas in it and pick me up a little bit of food. And they got home around 4:20 and we sat on the couch and eat and talked and then I headed out.
That was really excited to work this wedding and feel like things are all normal again. I'm back at work and I have really good things going and that just feels really nice. But I got here and realized I wasn't actually supposed to be here until 5:30. Deborah, the other educator tonight, also made that mistake. So she was just chilling and I decide I'm going to go walk over to Starbucks. Because I have thought about stopping and I didn't hear I thought it was going to be late. So I enjoyed my walk up to Starbucks. I got a pink drink. Talk to the cashier who is very nice. And then I came back down here.
I got the chase set up for the couple and then I made one for me and James. And it has been such an excellent night. And helping with wedding stuff. This poor wedding has had a few big disasters. One the florist still has not shown up. The wedding started hours ago. So we had to spend some time untangling string lights that we could use as centerpieces. Because they don't have anything. And then the van driver was angry because nobody tipped him. And I don't get paid enough to get yelled at so I went to go find Kelly and Angie. So they could deal with it. And then I just spent the night chilling. The groomsmen took a picture of me with the Polaroid camera. Told me that I looked very pretty. They were all very drunk. And everyone has really been enjoying all the history I've been sharing with them. One solid group of people was in with me with the print shop and then they actually asked me to come over to the garment loft to talk to them. And I'm just having a great time. I can really like flex my skills tonight. And I've been working a little bit. Gave my website out to a couple people. I need to remember to always have business cards with me. I think this week I'm going to redesign mine so that they have my social media stuff more clearly on the back. But that is a problem for another day.
Now though I can hear that they're doing their first dance and I'm pretty much done cleaning. I think I'm going to go wash my hands and then head home. And I'm excited to just be at my house for a little while. I don't have to be back here until 5:00 p.m. tomorrow. So I hope to get the staffs worked on and maybe a couple other things. Pull some prints for my thank you cards. But I really hope that it's just a beautiful day and that I don't feel as bad as I did last night. I cannot let myself get that exhausted again. Good night everybody. Take care of each other.
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August 30: End of August
There were a lot of people today. A lot of interacting with people, a lot of socializing, a lot of taking. A lot of ME talking. I met with my oral histories student at 10 and we literally talked for about an hour and most of it was just me throwing information at her. Really hope I was actually helpful in some way. And then I went from that straight into an interview for the part time position. That we are finally interviewing for. Three months later. I didn’t have a lot of feelings about the candidate. I think she’s over-qualified and I had some other minor issues but I know some other people have… stronger opinions. I mostly just felt uncomfortable because the interview session wasn’t really organized at all—we had a list of questions we could pull from but we weren’t, like, asking them in order, so basically one person monopolized the whole thing by just chatting and asking whatever questions he wanted. Which, fine, whatever, but it just brought me back to being in school and like obsessing over when I should raise my hand.
And at 1, I had to show our processing student a project in Locked Storage that I had promised to show her. It was fine, she’s very nice and she actually likes Locked Storage, but I had just sat down to, like, not be around people and then I had to do another thing that I was, like, in charge of. More talking, more explaining.
Also today, I sent out two letters of invitation for additional oral history interviews, which is always scary. I actually got same-day answers, though both are still a little in flux. And I got some big (though good) news from my best friend, which threw me by a lot.
Then there were the little chats and stuff that happen throughout the day: talks about the candidate, a potential new Alma…thing main campus library wants us (me) to experiment with. Etc. The front of the library was also very noisy because they were tearing up the tile to put in new, better tile, after switching out our security gates put holes in our floor. The amount of BS I have heard about floors over the last two years, seriously. Some drama about the roof (“They don’t give us smurfs keys to the roof because I would put patio furniture up there… Hey can you watch the desk, I need to go up to the roof and harvest my tomatoes.”)
And the Moldovans. I have to say. The Moldovans have been disruptive. In particular they keep propping open the door to the department and letting in all the noise. But they also just wander through our space, or peer in at us like we’re fucking zoo animals, and today a couple who may or may not have been Moldovans were sitting in our kitchen. Like?? No one introduced me to these people so I don’t know if they’re our foreign guests or just some law students who wandered in through the propped open door. For the second day in a row I could barely read at lunch, yesterday because of all the sound bleed and today because there was a presentation being given to the delegation with the workroom door open for some reason? Fuck me ever finishing this book I guess :/
Bad news is up stupid late again and I can’t keep doing this, I literally can’t. Good news is I’m leaving work early tomorrow and also I only have one (1) meeting and no other specfic obligations. Bad news is I’m leaving early to go to the DMV. Good news is that if all goes halfway decently, I will have my license renewed and upgraded and it will no longer be hanging over my head! Knock on wood.
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purplesurveys · 2 years
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1613
1. Is there a certain place or store you especially hate going to? So we have this local bookstore chain that’s majorly gone down in quality over the years. I used to love going to their branches just to spend half an hour going over their book catalogue and all the pretty school supplies that they had, but it seems as though going to any of their stores these days just feels like walking through a ghost town. Barely any books and all their writing/crafting/whatever supplies scream entry-level/basic. Sometimes I think about how they’re still managing to pull through when customers don’t really walk through their doors anymore.
2. When was the last time you made plans with someone? Earlier this evening Angela, Reena, and I made plans to go out for some drinks then a sleepover at my place next weekend. Separately, Reena and I also plotted out our game plan for snagging Yet To Come tickets tomorrow morning lol.
3. How long do leftovers usually sit in your fridge? It really varies. Some leftovers will be gone within the same day; sometimes we forget about certain Tupperwares until somebody finds mold in it already lmao.
4. What is something you do for other people that shows you care for them? Ask questions about whatever it is they’re sharing.
5. What was the last animal/pet that you met? This jolly little aspin that walked over to us at our Tanay accommodation. According to the staff, he isn’t owned by the place and is most likely a stray who just wandered through the premises, and ugh was he the cutest. He had the most active little tail that wagged more quickly than I’ve seen on any dog hahaha and also liked head scratches.
6. Is there anyone in your life with whom your opinion changes on frequently? My mom. Most of the time we’re in good terms but sometimes her attitude that I hate so much will spike up. The difference between just swallowing it down as a teen vs now is that at 24, I’m pretty much numb to it at this point and will not hesitate to bark back, which will lead to bigger arguments. It’s a big reason why I’m in the belief that we will never have that close mom-daughter relationship that others have; we’re just too fundamentally different from one another.
7. Do you ever look up set lists for concerts? Yeah, I hate not knowing!
8. Have you ever woken up thinking that the dream you had was real? Sure.
9. Have you ever kept a journal? Do you currently keep one? I’m going to count these surveys, which I’ve been doing since I was like 10. I didn’t start archiving them through Tumblrs until I was 14, though.
10. Is there a certain song or band who remind you of specific people? Well yeah, I feel like that’s a very focal and universal point about music; there’ll always be songs that remind you of certain people, memories, experiences, etc.
11. Would you prefer to take a picture of yourself or have someone else take it for you? I never figured out the perfect selfie angle for myself so I’ve always asked other people to take photos of me instead.
12. How often do you style your hair differently from how you normally style it? Not often at all.
13. What was the last thing to really surprise you? How well my pitch went today (honest to god thought we were gonna flunk it into oblivion) + hearing the news about my latest promotion.
14. What did you do this past weekend? I spent the weekend with my family in Tanay. Barely any wifi and no cellphone signal at all for those two days, so we learned to make do with games we thought of off the top of our heads haha. 15. Is there something in particular you always seem to forget? Continued from last night. It’s always the little things. Like forgetting I turned on the water heater to make coffee, charging my phone the night before, where I placed this and that, etc.
16. Have you ever found out that you have been sleep walking? I found out because I was told that I did, yes. But I’ve never woken up mid-sleepwalking, if that’s what you mean.
17. What’s the last thing you promised yourself? That I’m gonna have to work on this thing that I’ve been procrastinating tonight.
18. Have you ever tried making something from one of those short cooking videos? How did it turn out? Does Yoongi’s tuna salad crackers count? I literally made a batch as soon as I watched him making it in that short scene from In the Soop, haha.
19. When was the last time you had to wait in line for longer than a few minutes? Like three weeks ago when I was trying to order food from this deli inside the grocery store. Staff had no sense of urgency and I was getting hungrier by the second, but it didn’t feel as though I was ever gonna get my turn so I just walked away from the line and told my dad we could get drive-thru instead. 20. Have you ever written a review for a product you bought online? Sure, that’s a norm in the K-pop buy-and-sell scene but you mostly review the service and not so much the product.
21. Would you rather go out somewhere with your friends or stay at home and hang out with them instead? Go out with friends! I can easily get bored at home.
22. Do you ever interact with any brands/companies online? If I have a concern or complaint, yeah.
23. How happy are you with your current job? If you don’t have a job, what’s something you think you think you would dislike about working? I have my ups and downs with it. I got promoted again so my personal morale is a bit higher right now, but of course I get bad days too.
24. Is there anything you seem especially sensitive to, such as sounds, smells, etc.? Yesssss, I’m sensitive when it comes to certain sounds like when somebody scrapes their utensils against their plate a certain way and it makes this high-pitched sound that I can’t stand. Also loud bangs, slamming doors...I hate those.
25. What was the last board game you played? No idea. 
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cheekygreenty · 3 years
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Leave Me Lonely p.1 - The Darkling x Reader
Based on Ariana Grande’s song Leave me Lonely ft.Macy Grey. Was supposed to be just one part but I got carried away as per usual 🤓
'Get the General!' Zoya's eyes were borderline frantic but her composure remained the same, the once pristine blue kefta was dirty and ragged and her long luscious hair was disheveled, a piece of it in the way of a small cut on her temple.
'Zoya are you alright?' You were exiting the General's tent when you saw her approach, your body filled with an alarming feeling as you raced to meet her and some other Grisha, The skiff, she was manning a skiff across the Fold not even an hour ago, why is she back?
She ignored your question and continued with her dutifulness, 'The General, this is urgent'
You nodded and ran back, mind whirling with the possibilities of the skiffs return. Zoya was a great Squaller who'd successfully manned many journeys across the Fold so why was she back here, all scratched and bruised.
He was conversing with First Army Lieutenants and Captains when a rough grasp around his arm interrupted the flowing conversation. He squared his shoulders but when he saw your panicked face, he relaxed but only the smallest amount. Not even 10 minutes beforehand you two were involved in a heavy argument and at the feel of his tense muscles beneath his kefta, you guessed he thought you were back for more.
You had a right to come back and throw insults at his face, hell, he was the one who brought out that side of you. A vicious, ruthless, and malevolent side you never knew you had, but you ignored that urge.
-Dangerous Love, you're no good for me darling-
'We have a situation.' You cocked your head in Zoya's direction and waited until his company excused themselves and stood to the side before you let Zoya speak.
'I think we may have a sun-summoner.' She said without any negligible hesitancy. The tent suddenly froze in time. The Grisha held their breath and the otkazat'sya paled as your eyes grew wide. A Sun-Summoner.
'We were 2 markers in and were attacked by volcra, a searing light came out of nowhere, or rather came out of a girl, a first-army soldier.' You could see the lieutenant perk up at the sound of one of his being mentioned but Aleksander's expression hadn't changed since Zoya started talking.
'Bring her to me.'
'A Healer is bringing her now.' As she concluded her statements, she silently moved off to the crowd of other Grisha who'd come back from the skiff journey looking equally as shaken as she did.
You leaned back on the desk for support as you settled the information she'd just given you. This was Zoya, a very, very credible witness who'd just said a Sun-Summoner had been found. A legend come true, a myth that no longer needed debunking.
You looked at him again, this time noticing a flicker of hope in his eyes. He stared right back into your own wide eyes and gave a gentle nod followed by a small squeeze of reassurance to your hand which still held a tight hold on his arm. He kept his back to the entrance but you had a full view of her once the tent flap opened.
She was brought in by two guards in a scuffed First-Army uniform, Whether it was from the volcra or just daily use, you didn't know. She looked slightly sickly but mostly scared, like a wounded animal being hunted by its prey.
'Bring her closer.' You had let go of his arm now, that feeling of surety left you cold as his touch disappeared from yours. The guards brought her forth a bit more, letting her go and stepping back as their General finally turned around.
'Closer.' She took a tiny step forward. The poor girl is petrified.
'Well?'
'Well, what. Sir?' She was on the defense, I don't blame her. He was intimidating even when he wasn't using his powers.
'What are you?'
'Alina Starkov, Assistant Cartographer, Royal Corps of Surveyors.' Her fearful expression suddenly changed into a more devastated one. 'They’re all gone. It’s my fault. That’s why I’m here, isn’t it?'
'Answer the question.' He leaned back against the desk just as you did.
'A mapmaker, sir' It was clear to you that Ms.Starkov had no idea why she was here. She was scared, alone, and being interrogated by the most feared man in all of Ravka. The tent erupted in a peal of laughter but you had no time for such snobbiness.
'Quiet' You ordered and a silence fell over the space once again. There was a time when you wouldn't dare command a tent full of Grisha, but Aleksander had changed you; changed the way all his Grisha looked at you.
'So who actually saw what happened? Zoya? You manned the mainsail.'
Zoya repeated what she told you, and Aleksander asked the girl whether she'd been tested but your ears stopped listening once she'd stated she grew up in Keramzin. You too grew up in Keramzin before you were shipped off to the Little Palace to train and become a skilled Heartrenderer. You knew they tested all the children, so how the hell did she slip through the cracks?
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You came back from your thoughts just as Aleksander approached her and subsequently amplified her powers. A beam of light so bright and strong you felt some heat from it pounced from her skin and up through the ceiling.
Everyone looked away from the harsh ray but you couldn't turn away. It was beautiful and magical, the physical embodiment of hope, but short-lived as Aleksander let her go and she fell back with a look of awe. He moved quickly, whispering into Ivan's ear and then moving back to you.
'Accompany them to the Little Palace. Ride on a horse and be on the lookout, and give her your kefta.' You nodded curtly, knowing he only trusted his inner circle with the transport of the Sun-Summoner to Os Alta, and that included you. Alina was dragged out from the tent still in a daze of her own.
Your earlier argument with him vanished from your memory as he leaned down to briefly kiss you on the top of your head, 'Be safe.' And with that, you left to find your horse.
***
The backroads were peaceful and quiet as your horse galloped along the dirt road. You wanted so badly to sit in the carriage and speak to Alina, a fellow child of Keramzin, but you listened to Aleksander's command and served as a lookout for any oncoming dangers. So far it had been all clear, but as you approached a hill, a tree blocking the road caught your attention. You slid off your horse and signaled the coachmen to stop too.
'The road is blocked! Beware!' One of them shouted and then all hell broke loose. Shots came from everywhere and anywhere while your horse, in a frightful spell, escaped the way you came.
You had no clear line of vision as dust and dirt clouds plummed above ground and a bullet scratched your left shoulder, then your leg. Your eyes stung and lungs burned as you tried to get yourself out of direct lines of bullets and bombs, eventually finding a place behind thick trees.
Ivan and Fedyor joined you almost immediately both panting and the latter holding his hand to his chest.
'You're bleeding Y/N, where is your kefta?' Fedyor panicked and lay his other hand on your leg where the blood glistened like a jewel.
'How many are there?' Ivan risked asking, trying to get your mind off of the bleeding wounds. Your hands were up in the air as you listened for heartbeats and your heart dropped to your stomach. Too many.
'At least 15 more.' You looked around the Grisha desperately devising a plan in your head that would bring you all out alive.
'Get to the carriage, protect the girl' You signaled to the three Heartrenderers and Squaller.
'But you're hurt and you cannot fight the-' Ivan was cut off by the darkening of the forest, a classic tell that Aleksander was here. Relief flooded you all. The shadows loomed over you, directing their course to near the carriage and then up ahead to where Alina was.
You waited for him to erupt from behind the trees and help you, but the minutes ticked by and you were still hiding from the skilled Fjerdan fighters without backup. Fedyor looked to you, disappointment and pity clear on his face.
Only momentarily did the fighting cease as bullets carried on their assault. You assumed they would flee from the fear of being in the Darkling's presence, but they hit back twice as hard. In return, you all fought back equally as strong, knocking out bodies left right and center despite your dwindling body.
All throughout the fight, you had one thing on your mind and that was why Aleksander chose to ignore you. Was he still mad from your argument? No that couldn't possibly be why he would leave you to potentially die at the hands of druskelle.
Yes you were a soldier, but no doubt he knew the extents of the Fjerdan army and their skilled fighters. If outnumbered, a Grisha was basically of no use.
-If you're gonna love me and leave me hanging here....-
You understood she was the Sun-Summoner but you were you. You were the person he shared his bed with every night, the person who could calm his stormy mind, and the person who stayed with him through it all even though you hurt more than he loved. It stung like a throbbing wound and snagged at your already dwindling will to keep the relationship alive.
-then I'd rather you leave me lonely-
—————-
Part 2
Taglist
@aleksanderwh0r3 @theonelittleone @searching-for-gallifrey @lostysworld @0-artemis @exo-1204 @staradorned @bookfrog242 @simp-for-ben-barners @keepdaydreamingbb @acciorudolphx @pansysgirlfriend @pansysgirlfriend @justmesadgirl
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sleepy-belphie · 4 years
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I have a request if you’re up for it. An MC who just arrived in the Devildom who’s lover just dumped them the day prior. The bros know MC isn’t emotionally or romantically available at the time but the bros still fall in love regardless. How will the bros handle the situation? Thank you! 🙏💗
Hi! I sort of took this idea and ran with it and wrote basically a headcanon short story for each bro lmao. Sorry I got a bit carried away but I hope you like this and it satisfies you! :) 
Also thank you so much @midnight-dome for the help with Asmo, you’re a lifesaver
Tags: @kawaiiblack
~~~~~
Lucifer:
The success of the program depends on your wellbeing
So he checks in on you every other day like clockwork 
“Is there anything you need to make your stay more comfortable?”
You always say no
At first, he’s glad you’re staying in 
Because it means less trouble for him
But when you skip all of your classes one day, he comes to your room ready to give you a firm reminder of your tasks here
He’s about to knock when he hears you sob 
Now, Lucifer has heard a lot of crying in his life
But he’s never heard someone sound so completely broken
He shocks himself when he turns on his heels and walks away
He shocks himself even more when he texts the group chat and demands everyone leaves you alone for the day
That evening he comes into your room with a small plate of food
By then you were are least on top of your sheets
You knew he was gonna ask the same question as always
But this time, his words were different
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Help?” 
He simply nods
And though he didn’t outright say what he meant by help, you knew
“I...don’t know?”
“Hm, okay. I’m going to listen to some music in my study. The door will be unlocked should you wish to join me.”
Then he’s gone
The few precious moments Lucifer isn’t working, he prefers to not be disturbed
So why on earth did he invite you to join him in his study?
He doesn’t have time to ponder it because the door opens and you come in with a blanket wrapped around you
The first night you both listen in comfortable silence
A few nights in, you start asking Lucifer about the records he puts on and he has no qualms educating you on it
On night 10 you tell him about the breakup
Once you’re done he, again, asks the same question
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
‘You’ve done more than enough to help me Lucifer, thank you.”
He finds himself blushing from the sincerity in your eyes and the warmth in your smile
That night you fall asleep before the record finishes
Surely you’d wake up aching if he left you in a chair
So he picks you up, carries you to your room, and tucks you into bed carefully
He tells himself he’s doing it for Diavolo
It’s for the program, this is his job
He’s gonna need time to accept his own feelings before he can tell you anything
For now, he’ll keep doing his “job” and spending evenings with you
Mammon:
He didn’t want to be your babysitter
He was a busy guy! He had stuff to do, money to make, things to steal
Some days he gets Beelzebub to keep an eye on you so he can do what he wants
One night in particular he heads to your room to make sure you won’t interfere with his plans
“Yo! The Great Mammon has things to do so don’t-”
He pauses when he sees you sitting on your bed with your headphones plugged into your laptop
He would have assumed you were just watching a sad movie by the tears streaks on your face
But the pain in your eyes…
He’s seen that look before
His brothers held that same look the day they fell from Heaven and lost Lilith
Mammon sits on the bed and you jump, finally noticing him
You expected him to make fun of you but instead, he grabs the tissue box on your bedside table and hands it to you
He glances at your laptop to see what you were watching and sees a paused video of you and someone else
You tell him about the breakup and Mammon listens closely
“What a jerk! Ya deserve better than that! I’d teach ‘em a lesson if they ever showed their face around here!”
You smile for the first time since he came in the room and he feels like he’s done something right
“How about we get some late-night food? I know a 24-hour restaurant with the best baked newt ever. Your treat.”
He’s shocked when you agree
He makes a point to hang out with you more often
He can’t recall exactly when you went from “a human” to “his human” 
Maybe it was when you held his hand while you erased all your photos and videos of your ex from your computer
Or when you texted him at 3am because you couldn’t sleep and before he could even think about it he was up and on his way to your room
Or when he spotted you in one of his jackets while walking home from RAD
But his greed was kicking in and he wanted you to be his and only his
However, much like he puts himself first, he knows you need to do the same
So though his nature and mind wants to kiss you silly and have you for himself
Part of him knows he’ll ruin things if he lets his greed take over
So he’ll fight his nature and try his best to be patient
Leviathan:
He had been playing one of his games online
He’s on a big winning streak and feeling a bit cocky
He sees he’s been matched with someone else so he gets into gamer mode 
Then he loses the first round
He’s a bit shocked and pissed that his streak was now broken but he has to prove his superiority to whoever this opponent was
So he rematches them
And loses again
And again
He loses 7 rounds in a row
By this point he is fuming
So like any salty gamer he sends a very lengthy, angry message to their inbox
Accusing them of using cheats and hacks because there was no way anyone was more skilled than him at this game
He gets a reply a few minutes later
“Um.....is this Leviathan? Avatar of Envy? It’s MC…”
You knew it was Levi because his username is the same across all his social media platforms
Cue Levi barreling into your room a minute later
“How are you so good!? You’re cheating, aren’t you!? You cheater!’
You weren’t cheating, you just had been playing games day in and day out to distract yourself so you got really good at it
Levi all but demands you to come to his room and show him what you know
You were already playing all night anyway so why not play with someone? 
Initially, Levi would have you come over just to show him your tactics 
(Also to get some team wins on his stats because he never has anyone to play with)
But you were actually pretty chill for a normie
Maybe if he exposed you to his otaku ways you would take to them and he wouldn’t be the only one in the house anymore!
You don’t become an otaku but you do get invested in almost every anime he shows you
He starts inviting you over for midnight premieres of new episodes
He starts buying extra merch because what if you wanted one?
He was used to disproving looks from his brothers when he mass buys stuff from Akuzon
But you only smile and listen when he tells you about his new special edition item
You never once judged him and his unconventional ways
This epiphany makes him extra nervous for your weekly hangouts
It was only a matter of time before you came across a break up in an anime
When the episode ended you told him about your break up and how the protagonist reminded you of yourself because they also were taking a break from love
Levi has seen this anime before actually
He remembers how the protagonist reacted to a side character confessing to them and it went bad
So while he knows he likes you, he holds off on saying anything because the last thing he wants is to be a bad story arc in your life
Lucky for him he’s always a flustered blushing mess so you shouldn’t suspect a thing
Satan:
He is the Avatar of Wrath so whenever there is rage, he is aware
He feels anger radiating through the house one day and thinks his brothers are just fighting again
Imagine his surprise when he realizes the source of the anger is coming from your room
He walks in and sees you throwing things around and screaming, your room was destroyed
He sees you’re about to step on some glass and instantly swoops in and picks you up so you don’t hurt yourself
But then you curl up against him and burst into tears
He stands there, not quite sure what to do 
He ends up sitting on the bed and letting you cry for a while
You word vomit about your break up and he listens carefully and notes the anger welling up inside you as you speak
He knows all too well what anger can do to someone and a fragile human shouldn’t have to go through that
“Would you like some tea?”
He can spare 30 minutes for some small talk with the human if it meant that you wouldn’t be left in your thoughts
You look at him like he has three heads but agree because your room is a mess and you don’t wanna deal with it right now
Tea time becomes a daily occurrence and soon enough it escalates to full-on hangouts
Going to the bookstore, going to cat cafes, going wherever you wanted to really
One time you both took a day trip to the human world
Lucifer wasn’t happy to find out his brother and you were gone for an entire day but he lets it go when he sees that you’re smiling genuinely for the first time in weeks
What Satan didn’t expect was how these outings made him feel
He finds himself distracted from his books because he can’t stop thinking about how cute you looked holding that black cat at the cafe
Or how happy you looked when you took him to that ice cream shop in your hometown that you really love
He wakes up and you’re the first thing to pop into his mind
He’s not dumb, he knows he’s fallen in love
But he also knows this isn’t the right time, you aren’t ready
So he’ll keep being there for you as a friend
And if you ever want him to be there as something more, he’ll happily oblige
Asmodeus:
There was a movie night at the House of Lamentation
Today’s movie was an action movie, courtesy of Mammon
Amidst all the face punching and explosions, there was a budding romance between the main characters
After the third obnoxious makeout scene, you leave the room claiming you need to go to the restroom
But you leave just a *little* too fast and Asmo can feel something is up
And he thrives on gossip so he intends to find out what is it
He leaves the room a few minutes later and catches you in the hallway, determined to get you to spill the tea
You tell him about the breakup
He wasn’t prepared for the tea to be so bitter
“Oh. Well, you know what’s good for that? Face masks!” 
He had to save face somehow and beauty was his default
He’s a bit shocked when you agree but you both ditch movie night to do face masks and talk a bit
He decides to share a couple of bad date experiences he’s had to make you feel better
“Trust me, you haven’t felt embarrassment until you have someone vomit Enfield brains on your new pants and shoes while at one of the hottest clubs in the Devildom.”
You spent the entire night giggling and listening to his stories
Devildom products are surprisingly effective on your skin so you keep asking Asmo to show you new products
Plus his company is nice
Self-care days become a common occurrence
Then those self-care days become self-care sleepovers
He starts intentionally waiting to try anything new because he wants you to be there when he does
He buys more of those scented candles you told him smelled nice
A few weeks later you’re having a self-care sleepover again and you have this really cute focused look on your face while painting your nails
He knows he likes you, but this was different than his usual attraction
He didn’t want to fuck you
Well he did but not just fuck you
He wouldn’t mind if there was something more
But you routinely ended your self-care nights by yelling ‘Fuck love!’ at the top of your lungs and laughing
So he knows now isn’t the time and he’s actually okay with that
You were a sight to behold regardless of his relationship status with you
But he hopes you’ll indulge in him one day
Beelzebub:
Mammon keeps pushing his human watching duties on Beel
But he doesn’t really care because he’s being paid in cheesecake
After his third day of keeping an eye on you, he notices you aren’t eating much
Being the Avatar of Gluttony, this is basically a crime
He starts bringing extra snacks with him when he hangs out with you
“I think the chocolate flavor is better than the vanilla. What do you think?”
He actually doesn’t have a preference 
He just wants to know which snacks you like more so he can bring more of them
He makes a game out of it so you don’t think about how much you’re eating
“It motivates me to work out longer when I get a snack, could you help me?”
You sit on his back and after every pushup, you both eat a bit of whatever snack he has
He keeps going until he thinks you’ve eaten a decent amount
Or you say you’re getting full
Belphie notices that Beel is refilling his snack stash more often but he doesn’t say anything
Beel feels an immense sense of accomplishment when you finish your plate at dinner a few days later
Soon after you tell him about the breakup
“It hit me hard but you made it easier to cope, Beel. These hangouts are the highlight of my day so thank you.”
There’s a certain pang Beel gets in his stomach when he’s really hungry
Somehow your words made that pang happen in his chest
But this didn’t hurt him, quite the opposite actually
He felt good, he felt happy
It was strange for his stomach to be the quiet one while his heart went wild
But this wasn’t a change he minded too much
He wasn’t sure what to make of it but he knows he wants to figure it out with you
And he’ll take his time doing so because he liked how things were now
Belphegor:
He’s intrigued by you after the first week of your stay
He’s never seen a human who slept as much as he did
Frankly, he was impressed
Until Lucifer informed everyone about your recent breakup and made it clear to not upset you
That’s when Belphie realized these were not the leisurely naps he takes, but depression naps
One day he sees you sleeping in the living room and you looked so distressed
Sleeping was meant to be a peaceful state but you looked so unhappy
So he wakes you up
“You’re in my sleeping spot.”
You weren’t in his sleeping spot.
“Oh sorry, I’ll move-”
“You’re already here. We can both fit.” 
Before you can protest he’s all comfy next to you and falling back asleep
Having another person next to you was kind of comforting so you let it go and go back to sleep
What you didn’t know was Belphie could partially influence your dreams
He can make them more pleasant but he can’t control what you dream about
He knows it works when he wakes up and you have a relaxed expression on your sleeping face
You wake up soon after looking confused
“Good dream?”
“I think? I had a dream I rode a unicorn to the moon then carved my initials into it?”
Napping together in the living room becomes a routine
And every time you woke up you told him about the dream you had with a small smile
A few weeks later he notices he no longer has to influence your dreams for them to be good
So he leaves you be and instead curls up in the attic for his afternoon nap
He wakes up a bit when he feels someone lay down next to him
It’s probably Beel
“Why didn’t you tell me you moved napping spots?”
His eyes open and he looks over to see you pouting at him
“I just sorta ended up here.”
“Well, I can’t nap without my cuddle buddy now can I?”
You’re teasing him and he should be annoyed
But he’s blushing
He spoons you to hide that fact, resting his forehead on your shoulder
But while your dreams were getting better, it didn’t mean you were ready to move on
So he just enjoys his intimate cuddling sessions with you and tries not to think too hard about the fact that he really likes how your body fits against his
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I cannot say how the first 2 years of my dog's life went. All we know for certain is that when the investigators got there to help law enforcement execute the warrant for the removal of 200+ animals from a property -alive and dead, born and unborn- in rural Missouri, he was outside in a small, open-air crate covered in his own feces with no name provided by his owner.
After a 4 hour ride in a loud, unfamiliar trailer, he was covered in his own feces again and terrified; even snapping at the vet and techs that were there to triage him and the rest of the animals brought in.
Rescues like this take time before the animals can become adoptable. There's legal reasons, like disposition of the warrant, and there are practical reasons. Animals need to be vetted, their behavior looked at. But they get names. In accordance with our shelter tradition, animals are given names with a first letter that matches the first letter of the county they were taken from. My dog came from an S County. It's difficult to find 200+ unique S names. My dog, before he was my dog, was named Smokey-Joe.
He had kennel cough and a bad ear infection, so even after he was neutered, he had to spend more time at the shelter. I came across him while he was being taken out for a walk. He looked so unique and goofy, a brindle colored corgi and Shar pei mix... his head smaller than his neck, legs short and squat. It was love at first sight.
I had my now-husband come to the shelter to meet this dog and I think he fell in love too, at least a little bit. Thus, as soon as he was cleared medically, I signed the adoption papers and Smokey-Joe was now Frodo Waggins... a Hobbitses with short legs and hair feet.
And Hobbit he did, for 9 years. Second breakfast and elevensies... a couch dog with the occasional zoomies and a desire to sniff All The Things in his yard. Neurotic and basically untrainable at this point (or at least beyond my means, but I'm already crying so I will try to steer away from the What-Ifs and I-Could've-Done-Betters) The fiercest he's ever been was barking at the door when he's heard someone coming in he isn't expecting. He'd run away scared once they were in, but for a brief moment he was a tough boy defending his home.
Frodo had a rough start with his cat-sister Sophie. He was afraid of her for quite a long time and she was none-too-thrilled with him, but after years they became comfortable. Then my son was born and he was caught between the anxiety of a crying baby and the joy of dropped table scraps. Comfort and routine came again, a new house where he could run the fence with neighbor dogs and chase the occasional squirrel and stray cat back over his fence.
But he's started to deteriorate. His eyes are failing him, as well as his back legs. He sometimes has trouble finding his food, let alone eating it. He cries more and doesn't do the things he used to love. He forgets he's been outside and immediately asks to be let out again, where sometimes he just sits and sniffs the air.. He's long since stopped letting himself be groomed properly. He freezes in fear over a bath, but attempts to trim his nails have led to him snap and growl. His normal groomers won't see him any more because they don't want to stress him out. After growing pains and his crotchety behavior with our new cat Pugslet, they have become comfortable together while Frodo snaps at his cat-sister Sophie if she moves too close to him. His quality of life has deteriorated and we no longer reasonably have to means to maintain what he does have, let alone the means to improve.
Today is the day I take my beloved Frodo Waggins back to the shelter where I first met him. They will take him back to a vet I've worked with for 10 years and whom I trust and enjoy what fleeting company we share. She will administer a sedative to help him sleep, then another chemical that will stop his heart.
Shelter rules state that I cannot be back there when it happens. A part of me is sad and feels I'm shirking some duty I have to him, but a part of me is okay with this. We all grieve in different ways. And where I feel like it's my responsibility to be with him in those last moments, I know and trust the people he will be surrounded by. He knows them too. I know he'll be anxious either way, but I feel there's very little my presence would do to improve the situation. It would only make things harder for me.
This morning he is eating peanut butter flavored Frosty Paws and a slice of garlicky cheese pizza he begged off me for breakfast. He's been in and out of the backyard 3 times already in 2 hours. And I am crying.
I hate that I have to make this choice. I hate that the choice means he is no longer with us. I hate that I can't fix things for him. A part of me fears it's too soon. I'm doing him a disservice. But part of me knows he's deteriorated this much, and he'll only continue to get worse. I tell myself a little too early is better than too late. He doesn't deserve to suffer, and my family and I don't deserve to watch him suffer just because the decision is hard.
The house will be quieter this evening without his constant whining to be let outside or up on the couch or begging for food while we eat dinner. I could have done better by him. I did the best I could. I loved him for 9 years and I'll still love him until it's my time too.
There will be a funny shaped hole in my heart that will never entirely be filled. But I will try to remind myself that my dear Frodo Waggins will no longer be in pain, will no longer be scared every thunderstorm or loud car driving by.
Goodbye Frodo Waggins. You were best dog you could be, and you'll always be in my heart.
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Touch it for Real, Part 9
Genre: Humor / Fluff / Angst / (Eventual) Smut 18+
Warnings: OMG they were roommates / slice of life / slow burn / mutual pining / crude humor / cursing / virgin!baek / idiots to lovers / unresolved sexual tension
Characters: Baekhyun X You/Female Reader
Description: You teach Baekhyun how to date. (Basically the Get You Alone M/V)
A/N: DO NOT YELL AT ME! It is going to be okay. 
Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , Part 4 , Part 5 , Part 6 , Part 7 , Part 8  , Part 9 , Part 10
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You had a secret.
For such an abstract and shapeless thing you could sure feel it sitting in there.
It was pulsing.
Your secret felt like a splinter lodged just under a single taste bud that sat in the center of your tongue. You could feel your white blood cells attacking it, trying their best to push it up and push it out, but still it clung tight with its sharp barbs lodged within your cell walls. You brushed your tongue against your teeth.
The secret did not budge.
What you knew about them though, was that secrets did not like to stay hidden forever.
Your fork slipped and clanked noisily against the ceramic plate and the bright orange carrot ball rolled across the smooth white surface nearly sliding over the edge onto the white linen. Whoever decided that your steamed vegetables needed to be shaped into spheres simply for aesthetics should be forced to come out here and explain how you were supposed to spear one of these things while also avoiding the risk of it shooting across the table and hitting your date in the face.
Ben turned out to be very nice. If you were into tall, handsome, clean-looking, and responsible guys who drove their own cars and also had things like health insurance and retirement plans. When you first saw him, you were struck by the firmness you felt when he shook your hand and smiled brightly at you. He had all of his teeth and a head full of hair. He was definitely walking around on his real legs too. He looked like the kind of guy who didn’t let the clean laundry sit in the dryer for longer than a day and changed out his toothbrush every three months. You couldn't see a single fault.
You were trying your best to make a good first impression.
Really, you were.
Well, while also keeping an eye on Baekhyun who sat beside you with his focus down on his plate as he sliced his food into bite sized bits. His control of the fork and knife felt so careful and so exacting, it neared obsession. He had not ordered the steamed vegetables. None of his food rolled.
Across from him, looking just as cute in person as her online dating profile pictures conveyed, was Mia.
Mia was fine.
She was fine.
You didn't want to get into it.
Her clothes were fine. They were exactly the kinds of clothes you had expected she would wear.
Her hair was fine.
She actually had a hairstyle that reminded you of one of the characters in an anime you watched with Baekhyun once and you wondered about the upkeep costs of that particular shade of blue that streaked through her hair. You wondered if she had to switch to blue towels and blue pillow cases or if everything in her house was just stained forever.
Baekhyun’s cheeks blushed when he shook her hand and his smile was bashful, if not a bit tight when she complimented his glasses. Your mind briefly considered the plush, expensive white towels you both owned at home and a flash of horror overcame you for a split second when you imagined those towels streaked with a blue stain from the shower.
He bought those glasses at a store. Anyone can go to the store and buy glasses. Did such a superficial compliment really warrant such a deep shade of pink on his cheeks?
You took a sip of your glass of wine and the sweet, cool liquid had a tart aftertaste that lingered on your taste buds long after you swallowed and you stabbed roughly at the runaway carrot again, impaling it with the prongs of your fork.
Finally.
“I got it,” you said out loud to yourself with a wide smile and you held your prize up in front of your face for a second. Long enough for your eyes to drift across your table to meet Ben’s and you caught the soft amused chuckle that puffed from his nose.
You’d already gotten through the backstory. Starting with the curious question from Mia about how you and Baekhyun got to know each other and you took a quick glance toward Ben as Baekhyun explained that you and he had been roommates for a couple of years. You caught the slight smile on Ben’s lips as he looked down into his water glass and you wondered if he was pleased that he already knew the answer to this question as you had been quick to tell him this important detail about your life as you chatted with him during the last week or so.
Mia on the other hand simply let her eyes drift over from Baekhyun’s face to land on yours for a moment and you offered a disarming smile by way of explanation. Not that either of you had any explaining to do. You could live with whoever you wanted to live with. It took her ten seconds to return your smile, although you didn't quite believe it, or believe that she was done with her curiosities about this topic.
You couldn't really blame her although you’d given her nothing to be suspicious about. Not in the last 20 minutes since you’d all arrived and nibbled on shared appetizers, at least.
Hell, you hadn’t even touched him all day. From before you both arrived at this fancy restaurant and just relinquished your coats to some stranger simply because she held a hand out and sported a severe enough hairdo and manic look in her eyes that was too frightening to question. From the morning when you woke up and wandered into your kitchen to make toast for one and you ignored the sound of his feet shuffling in, half-asleep to grab a yogurt from the fridge. You hadn’t even helped him style his hair; which looked stunning, by the way, with the waves and the faded brown color that absolutely looked like something the perfect boyfriend would let you play with as he laid on your lap. He hadn’t even asked for your help picking out his outfit. He’d simply done it all on his own and waited for you by the front door wearing those jeans and smelling like that familiar scent that he bought for your date with him weeks back.
When had this all become so awkward? You’d never been afraid to touch Baekhyun before but now, well, the touches hadn’t ever concealed quite so much meaning before.
By the time the entrees arrived the conversations had moved on to hobbies and interests.
Ben was a movie buff, and his favorites were mostly mainstream blockbusters of the Marvel Superhero variety. He enjoyed many of the genres of films you’d mostly seen just the previews of. His top ten contained a bit more horror than you were comfortable with. One in particular, a prolific film based on a Steven King novel, had been the kind of psychologically terrifying film that made your chest rattle and you had spent most of the second half of that movie with your face buried in Baekhyun’s arm begging him to just describe to you what was happening and to tell you when the scary parts were over.
When he asked you what your favorite movie was you hesitated for a moment before pulling the movie Forrest Gump out of basically thin air. Yes you had enjoyed the movie. Yes it was something you’d seen more than once and if it was on television right now you would sit down and watch it from start to finish and you would enjoy it. It was a respectable favorite to have. It was the kind of favorite movie you would not be embarrassed to show to your grandmother.
But it wasn’t actually your favorite and you could feel the burden of Baekhyun’s eyes as he turned his head to look at your face when you said it.
Something about naming, out loud with your own lips — the light and fun, mindless guilty pleasure of the film that was actually your favorite movie that you’d watched hundreds of times and returned to watch again and again every time you felt even a little bit upset; something about saying it out loud to this table of people with countless of hours of media consumption under their belts and opinions about things like prolific directors, production companies, hefty CGI budgets, and overused, tired tropes that absolutely should be dropped in 2021, well it just felt too vulnerable for you to say out loud.
You swallowed a sip of your wine and refused to turn your head to look at Baekhyun until you heard the sound of his throat swallowing the ice water he sipped.
When Mia changed the topic to Anime you felt Baekhyun come alive beside you and Ben slinked back in his seat a little as the two of them got to talking about something that was highly anticipated and was slated to be released next year. Rumors about artists and directors with names you could not know flew easily from their lips and Mia mentioned the name of one previous work that you recognized.
In fact you had watched the entire thing last year with Baekhyun and you remembered talking excitedly about it with Mia during one of your early text conversations.
Your face lit up and you happily joined in, excited to finally know what in the world they were talking about when you accidentally let something slip when you reminded her of what she had said about the anime before. Luckily you stopped yourself before you could admit that you had actually been the one she had been chatting with at the time.
Still, she caught it. She was very quick and sharp and you watched her face as she registered that you’d referenced something that only Baekhyun should know about. Had you just fucked up?
“Ahh, we,” you raised your index finger and waved it lightly toward where Baekhyun had stiffened up in his seat beside you, “he told me about what you said.”
There was a moment when her eyes widened and she looked at Baekhyun briefly before returning her focus to you.
“He...told you about me?” She lifted a hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, straightened her back and leaned forward with her forearms rested in front of her plate on the table. Her off-the-shoulders number dipped when she leaned in and you caught a bit of black lace and the bunch up of her impressive bosom.
She smiled a coy smile aimed across the table.
You followed the smile and your eyes reached Baekhyun. He’d been hit with the smile and had been too stunned to return it. Instead, he lifted a hand and rubbed it over the back of his neck twice before reaching the same hand forward to grab the ice water he’d been sipping all night as he pulled in a mouthful and puffed his cheeks before covering his lips with his flattened palm and swallowing noisily.
“I also mentioned you to my friend,” Mia said not quietly enough for it to be just for him and you dropped your eyes down to the half finished chicken on your plate.
She was fine. Mia was fine. She’d done absolutely nothing wrong. She was nice and she was probably a good person, but you kind of wanted her to die.
“So,” Ben interjected suddenly and you looked across the table at him as you tried to conceal the surprise on your face to find him sitting there.
You noticed he was done with his food and his plate had already been cleared away by the super attentive waitstaff.
The negligence of your own date weighed heavily on you and you angled your chest forward to face him directly for whatever questions he had for you.
He was pointing toward Baekhyun and Mia with his extended finger and raised eyebrows.
“You two work in computers?” It was a work question. He’d gathered this much from the brief introductions everyone had given and while you had failed to offer any insight as to what you did for a living, Baekhyun and Mia had both mentioned computers.
“He’s a software engineer, and I’m a programmer. Similar but not the same,” Mia explained. You weren't sure of any of the details or of how they were different. You hadn’t really put much thought into it. You knew Baekhyun worked the magic with the keyboard and could fix anything that you happened to break.
“I’m in advertising. Just got scouted by Comma Entertainment and I’ve accepted.” Ben had a hand raised to his chest and his eyebrows were up. This seemed important to him and you let your lips form into an impressed O shape as you raised your eyebrows. His tone and the way he said the name of his new employer seemed to warrant the excited reaction.
You weren't familiar at all with his industry but you knew how to react like you knew what he was talking about. He certainly seemed impressed by himself. Who were you to discourage his enthusiasm.
“You’ve heard of it?” You sold it too well. Baekhyun had leaned close to you and whispered an aside question and you shot him a tense look with your eyes as a warning, but you quickly pushed your smile wide for Ben who was, deservedly, very excited about his new position.
“Of course, who doesn’t know Comma for advertising. That’s a very big deal. Is that why you were so busy last week? We hardly got to talk.”
Your subject change was so slick. If you hadn’t been the one to do it, you’d have been impressed by it. The disappointed pout on your face sold it well.
“Actually I was at the bank a lot last week. It was so weird. I had a few accounts that seemed to be hacked but then it turned out to be nothing. Had to change all my passwords though, so that was annoying.”
“That sucks. They didn't take anything did they?” Mia spoke up from beside Ben; concern written all over her face.
“No. Whoever did it just seemed to access purchase histories mostly. Some loser of a hacker. Didn't even get any money.” Ben’s lips pulled wide and he was laughing with his head thrown back at his perceived victory over the hacker that had been messing around in his bank records.
“You can learn a remarkable amount of information about a person’s bad habits from their bank history, Ben. Sure utilities and rent; that’s boring. You can find out how often someone gets hammered at bars. How many of those bars are also strip clubs. How many maxed out credit cards they make minimum payments on each month just to keep their head above water. Their gambling losses and the motel rooms they book in the bad part of town…”
Baekhyun was speaking up beside you. You turned and you looked at his profile as he spoke so candidly and with what you could only describe as a certain smugness on his voice.
The only reason he’d stopped talking was to catch his breath. It was the most he had spoken all night and you honestly felt taken aback by the suddenness of his words and more, the topic he spoke on. It felt weirdly pointed. It just felt so detailed; almost accusatory.
“What?” You hissed the question; focused it hard and as under your breath as possible to the man seated beside you.
His lips closed up before his eyes turned to look at you and you caught a quick blink of his eyes that preceded a softening of his features that had no business looking that confrontational in the first place.
“I’m not saying any of that stuff applies to Ben.” Baekhyun lifted a slim dismissive hand to wave toward your date. “It’s just an example. For all we know Ben’s only weakness is eating fried chicken every day.”
Ben’s lips were pulled into a thin line on his face and his jaw unclenched when you looked back at him. Then he was smiling at you and it was bright and convincing. You smiled back at him and shook your head at your wacky roommate’s antics.
“Actually it’s pizza. You caught me buddy, I’m a hardcore pizza addict. Every night.”
“Well, not tonight.” Baekhyun shrugged with an odd smile landing on his lips.
Ben’s tight smile flattened and the two men seemed to be staring at each other for longer than you thought was polite for a shared first double-date.
“So what is it that you do?” It was Mia who ultimately broke the tension and you looked across the table into her eyes. She had a pleasant smile on her face and was still chewing on a piece of bread, clearly unbothered by the strange standoff that had just been going on between the two men at this table.
Surely you weren't the only one to notice how odd it had been. Had you just imagined the tightness in Baekhyun’s fist that laid over his thigh and the hard glare in Ben’s eyes?
With Mia’s question though, you felt your own lips pull closed and your eyes danced around the table to the other curious parties who also were now looking at you to answer the question.
You’d prepared well for this date. You’d made sure Baekhyun had the detailed first date topics, questions and answers for perfect small talk, even the section on table etiquette. You’d made sure he knew you’d be here to steer the conversations toward topics he was comfortable discussing and you’d even set up a safety signal he would use if he wanted to bail and just go home.
You’d planned it all out, down to the detailed progression of the evening and how at the end someone might even suggest going together for drinks. And should one of the dates wish to split off, it would be completely okay as long as the corresponding person felt comfortable. You’d even promised that under no circumstances would you abandon Baekhyun to do this on his own if he didn't want to. Not even at the behest of Ben, your date.
They were looking at you and you'd gone quiet. You’d been so busy preparing for this date that it never occurred to you that you were also actively involved and that someone might possibly ask a question about you and your work.
Your work. Well…
“Uhh...I don't really do anything worth mentioning.”
You felt it. It was a warmth that had pooled in the skin around your nose. Your cheeks felt warm and you felt just insignificant enough for it to take your undeserved confidence and throw it out the window.
Ben and Mia were watching you. You pulled your bottom lip in between your teeth and bit down on the dry chapped skin on the surface.
“Nothing?” Ben said and his eyes were wide with a look of confusion on his face.
“Well, not nothing.” You were not completely unemployed. You had been quite impressive before. You’d been working with the best publicists of an entertainment company and had been in charge of crafting and perfecting the asset sheets of many of your company's highest profile artists. You’d been the best at it and at one time had been highly sought out for your expertise. You had a way with it. You could work some real magic. You could make a dud of a raw potato sound like a five star course in a Michelin star restaurant. Losing your position in the spring of 2020 had really been a huge blow to your confidence. You looked back at how far you had fallen. Boring data entry jobs to make ends meet. Taking on weird side gigs so you could afford tiny luxuries like your favorite scented lotion or the name brand tampons instead of the store brand.
“I do have a job.” You added lamely. “It’s just not at all interesting.”
Ben dropped his eyes from yours and Mia shrugged her shoulders and stabbed a carrot ball expertly on the first try.
“Yeah but what is it?” Mia said as she chewed daintily. The heat in your cheeks spread and you let your eyes wander away from hers over the various dinner items that covered this table.
Beside you, Baekhyun’s movement caught your eye and you turned to see him place an elbow on the table in front of him and he leaned forward.
“She’s a dating coach. She’s really good at it, but much too modest when she talks about herself.”
Oh no. He wasn't about to spill the beans was he? This was definitely not something in the approved list of first date dinner topics. Wasn't this topic too incriminating? Wouldn't Mia put two and two together and figure out that you had been coaching Baekhyun all along? Also, wasn't this new profession of yours too brand new to start talking about so freely like this? What the hell was he doing?
“A dating coach? What’s that?”
Strangely, Mia didn't seem to be looking at Baekhyun with wheels turning and sirens blaring. She was looking at you with her mouth empty and hung open with a look of genuine interest in her eyes.
“Do you like, feed them what to say in an earpiece?” Ben was speaking up from the other side of Mia and you laughed at the absurdity of such a silly rom-com movie cliche.
“Well no. I’m not a pickup artist. I am a dating coach. Think about it like a sports coach. I am teaching my clients the skills to play the game. Skills to overcome dating anxiety, or I’m teaching them to identity and move away from self-sabotaging behaviors, limiting beliefs, or preconceptions that are detrimental to a healthy relationship.
I have clients that don't even know where to begin. My goal is to strategize with them and place them effectively within the dating scene so they stand the best chance. It’s incredibly hard to be objective about your own love life, but I provide an outside viewpoint. I step in and intervene when I see something that isn't in line with their relationship goals or the vision they have for dating.
I’m not teaching manipulation or just telling them what to say. There are no love spells to make someone fall in love with you. I’m changing the way they believe in themselves so they can present themselves to someone else in the absolute best way to begin a real relationship with someone.”
You’d been leaning in as you spoke animatedly with your hands. You felt the genuine excitement building with your words. You were surprised at how much of your previous profession’s language applied to this new exciting endeavor you were embarking on, but there really were tons of overlapping similarities between the two fields. The explanations just poured out of you.
You hadn’t said any of this out loud before to anyone but the more you talked about it, the more elated you felt about what you were doing with your life. With how much you had been helping Baekhyun and how much progress you had seen in just one day of helping your clients — Baekhyun’s friends Minseok and Sehun. Sehun had finally, finally sent you his first selfie that wasn’t taken from his lap after you’d sent him many examples of good selfies taken from different angles. Minseok was already halfway through the materials you’d sent him to study and had been working hard on identifying and changing the self-defeating language he’d used in his rough draft dating profile.
“She has an app.” Baekhyun piped up from beside you. He’d leaned back in his chair as you spoke.
Both Ben and Mia’s faces mirrored each other’s. Their eyes were wide and their mouths hung in amazement and you quickly closed up your own mouth and grabbed anxiously at your wine glass, feeling a little bit embarrassed about having talked so much. You couldn't resist the chance to smash their misconceptions about what your goals actually were with helping your clients. None of these people were unlovable. They were all worthy of finding someone and you were going to give it your all to help them see their own value.
“Not at all interesting?” Mia spoke up, “that’s super interesting. That’s really, really cool. Can—Can I have your contact info? I have a friend that would be interested in your services.”
“You have an app too? This is something we could advertise online. It would do extremely well on certain kinds of reddit forums and definitely in most online gaming communities.” Even Ben sounded excited, if not a bit overly judgmental, and you heard a quiet, but hostile scoff next to you.
You ticked your head toward the sound but did not turn to look at him. You knew that scoff well enough to hear the annoyance in his voice at whatever he thought Ben might be insinuating about online gamers and the connection to the incels that haunted the forums of reddit.
“I think it’s a bit premature to think about online advertising. I’m still only one person.”
Ben smiled and shrugged off your quick dismissal of his idea to partner up and advertise your business to the desperately lonely and pathetic gamers of the world. Hell, the more you thought about it, the less inappropriate Baekhyun’s annoyance was. Ben could use some coaching on choosing less insulting words.
Thankfully the dinner was over and the check had been taken care of. You looked away from the palpable awkwardness that slapped you across the face when Baekhyun waved away Ben’s card and paid for the entire bill with his own.
“You can get me next time, buddy.” He definitely said this word sarcastically. It was out of line and you simply could not find the right moment to pinch his leg under the table to get him to behave himself in a discrete enough way that would not get you caught by the other two people at this table.
You let it slide simply because you had no way to stop it. He was ignoring the way you waved your finger frantically at him down by your calf. You knew he could see you in his peripherals.
No, Baekhyun. Stop that. Be nice. Your hand was saying. He wouldn't even look at it.
The dinner was over and the movie was starting soon. You’d picked a restaurant that was close enough to the theatre that you could walk.
You paired off. It was far from natural. You actually caught Baekhyun’s eyes as you stepped quickly and walked ahead of him, falling into step beside Ben and you left behind Baekhyun and Mia to bring up the rear. It took every ounce of self control not to turn around and look behind you to see how closely they walked to each other. To see if Baekhyun kept his hands shoved securely in his pockets or if he swung his arms at his side as he walked, inching a hand closer and closer to Mia’s swinging hand in the hopes of a back of the hand brush of his warm skin against hers.
Your steps must have stalled. You’d reached the theatre and you looked up to locate Ben, only to find him at the box office purchasing four tickets for the movie you’d all agreed to watch days ago. For the life of you, you couldn't remember what you were seeing. You merely followed where you were led and found yourself seated in a center row of a movie house sandwiched between Ben and Baekhyun. You noticed the center armrests had been lifted when you arrived and simply did not bother to lower them since everyone was too full from dinner for any movie snacks or drinks.
The house was mostly empty and then lights dimmed as the movie began. You searched your brain and nearly pulled out your phone to check your chat logs for the name of the film but decided against shining a tiny bright light in a dark room.
The movie began and you were quickly drawn into the narrative. It was a dark film and as the soundtrack began to take on more sinister sounding tones you recognized that your heart was racing and you were feeling the tension all over your body. It was not a gorey horror film, but it was leaning more toward the psychological suspense thriller genre. Not really something you watched much of.
To your left, Ben sat completely still; focused only on the movie screen. He looked so calm and nearly unaffected by the terrifying things happening on the screen. He occasionally shifted in his seat but did not react to the jump scare that flashed before your eyes and made you flinch hard in your seat. You’d reached the point in the film when the main characters were in genuine danger and you began to wonder if anyone would make it out of this movie alive. Was this one of those films where everyone was doomed?
It happened again, another jump, another loud shocking sound and another noise startled you and you dove to your right, hiding your face in the warm shoulder of the man sitting beside you.
The realization was instantaneous. The second you felt the warmth of his arm, and the smell of him hit your nose, you pulled your head up and you straightened out your spine, mumbling a quiet apology to Baekhyun for using his arm to hide behind as you removed any and all contact points you had with his body. You angled your hips and your knees away from him and even went so far as to stick your hands well under your own thighs and keep them there so you didn't grab for him again. You had been doing so well by not touching him at all today. Why did it have to be a scary movie?
Things grew more frantic on the screen. You held your breath and tried your best to keep from reacting as much as you could. How long was this movie? How much longer did you have to endure this? You should have paid more attention to the details of this part of the date. This was your own fault. You were acting like a big baby because you couldn't handle a little frightening scenes in a movie.
It was coming again. You could feel it building. You closed your eyes and terrible sounds were erupting all over. You would just not look. You could make it through if you just didn't look. With your eyes closed the sounds felt louder than ever and when you thought you couldn't take it anymore you considered committing the enormous sin of getting up during the climax of the movie to use the bathroom just so you didn't have to sit through this anymore.
There was a shift beside you then. You felt warm fingers inching down your forearm, traveling the path your hand took that led below your thigh and someone was reaching for your hand and pulling it out from where you’d been sitting on it. Someone to your right was gripping your hand with his own warm hand and you opened your eyes to look down between the hidden space between your hip and Baekhyun’s hip. There, you saw the grip of his hand that wrapped securely around yours.
He squeezed down once and you followed the length of him up to catch a glimpse of the side of his face. He was looking up at the screen. His eyes were open and he did not flinch at all. He was so still aside from the occasional movement of his lips when he moistened them with his tongue.
You could handle this if he lent you a little bit of his strength like this. Your eyes returned to the screen but your mind wandered back down to the secure comfort you felt in his hand.
You felt your own secret throb.
It made you flinch just a little bit and Baekhyun’s hand shifted then. He moved, lifting the tight grip for a moment and you wondered if he was done, would he take his hand back and leave you cold and afraid again? The lift was for the shift of his fingers and you felt the push of each digit between yours. He pushed his fingers between yours; interlocking your hands together with his and his thumb moved lightly over your own thumb, brushing comforting strokes again and again through the loud and scary and shocking scenes that played over that screen.
This time the racing you felt in your chest had nothing to do with the scary movie. He was touching you. He was holding your hand in secret. It felt forbidden with his date sitting right beside him like she was and with your date seated right beside you like he was. All of your attention was down on the slow pressure you felt from his thumb as it traced the shape of your own thumb down from the very bottom up to the tip, around again. The simple up and down had a slow and sensual rhythm to it. When he lifted his hand his thumb moved and you held your breath to feel that same very slow touching trace the outline of the palm of your hand again and again. He drew absentminded shapes into your skin with the pointed tip of his thumb and your eyes drifted closed as the longing grew within you. He followed the paths of the creases in your skin like a palm reader. He did not even need light to see them, he simply felt them and traced along the paths.
You let him.
You felt bewitched.
You loved him.
The credits rolled on the screen and the lights switched on. The change was abrupt. You were taken by surprise and shocked by it like you were from the jump scares in the film.
His warmth left you. His wandering light touch, his deliberate and careful exploration of the lines that made up the palm of your hand vanished.
Everyone was standing and everyone was walking out of the theatre house and your mind felt clouded and dazed but you followed where their steps led and you found yourself standing outside of the exit doors with the three other people who you entered with.
Baekhyun stood beside Mia and Ben occupied the space of the sidewalk square that you also stood inside.
It was the end of a night. You felt an overwhelming urge for this evening to be done so you could go home and shower and maybe eat something sweet and distracting and maybe made out of chocolate.
“Well this was fun,” it was your own voice that ultimately called it.
Mia had been looking at Baekhyun who had been looking down at his own feet as he lightly tapped his foot on the concrete below. Three taps.
Tap, tap, tap.
You felt a jolt of realization. Baekhyun had just tapped his foot thrice on the floor below him well within your sight and you recognized what that meant. He was feeling done. He was done with all of this exhausting socializing and being out in public with so many people around and he wanted to go home now. This was him asking you for help now as he wasn't sure how to end the date but wanted it to be over.
“What about...grabbing some drinks, maybe...” Mia was talking only to Baekhyun as she looked at him, “if you aren't too tired.”
“Hey Baek, isn’t your grandmother coming over early tomorrow? Do you still have to get ready for that?” You interjected suddenly and Baekhyun looked up into your face with his mouth open and you watched his eyes move slowly over your face as he recognized what you were doing. You were giving him an out. Mia had asked him to go for drinks and you were giving him an excuse, should he need it.
You both knew his grandma came every other Sunday. You both vividly remembered the wonderful visit you had at the beginning of the week with her and she wasn’t due to arrive again until next Sunday.
He could simply correct you if he really did want to go with her. He could call you a dummy and tell you that you had the wrong week again and playfully tap you on the head to jog your brain back into functioning the right way as he often did when you got something mixed up.
“Oh, yeah she is,” Baekhyun grabbed your convenient reminder from the air and smiled a rueful smile directed at Mia. His smile widened with the wince on his face, “that’s too bad.” He added and Mia took it well.
She smiled and nodded her head and there were well wishes for a safe trip home all around as you all parted ways.
Ben said he would text you later. Baekhyun told Mia the same and you waited until they both walked away to follow Baekhyun back to his car for the quiet ride home.
The silence was heavy, but it was comfortable.
Baekhyun didn't speak at all and you could tell by the way he carried himself that he was tired. He wasn’t normally an extroverted person and found it very draining to carry on a full conversation with friends he knew well. Strangers like he had been with tonight, well, you could see the fatigue in his movements and you knew he needed something warm to drink and maybe some comfort with a familiar favorite tv show to zone out in front of.
You handled it better. You were used to having to go out of your home occasionally and you even enjoyed socializing with your coworkers on the few days you went in to the office for work. You felt a bit drained but mostly you were preoccupied with watching how he was handling it and you were also burning with curiosity to know how Baekhyun felt about the whole thing.
He’d wandered into the living room and he found the sofa. You followed him close behind and grabbed the remote, flipping to a familiar and funny cartoon that you often saw him playing in the background as he worked on things. He didn't usually watch it that closely but it was comforting enough to stay on and keep his mind occupied for a while.
You didn't speak. Everything you had to ask him could wait. Even the scolding you had for him about how he acted toward Ben could also wait. You’d let the man breathe a little first.
You busied yourself in the kitchen making two cups of hot tea and when you returned you found his head leaning against the back of the couch with his eyes still glued to the screen. He had a passive smile on his face and he reacted positively to the wacky scenarios the characters found themselves in. He would occasionally speak out loud, speaking along with a funny line he knew by heart and you found it impossible to resist saying the follow up joke. You knew this show as well as he did.
He accepted the tea with a smile and had a few sips and you set your mug on the coffee table in favorable of the comfortable side of the sofa, the side with the pillows that allowed you to rest your head comfortably as you watched the big tv.
You were feeling pretty good. Baekhyun had now officially gone on his first date with a real girl who wasn’t you and he’d had a nice time. You could see from where you laid your head down how relaxed his face was as he giggled at the show.
You stretched and you felt his warm thigh with your foot. This sofa was long enough for you to stretch out completely and you only barely reached where he sat at the other side. You wiggled your toes, unable to resist the light messing with him that you often gave in to and his hand reached down to grab ahold of your foot, which he held in place as he paid attention to the tv.
Your phone buzzed in your pocket and you sat up a little bit to pull it out.
You saw a text message from Ben.
From the preview you got the idea of what kind of text message the man would be sending you an hour after your first, and apparently your last date with him.
-Hey you seem like a super cool girl, but...
The preview showed you enough to know that he was dumping you before you’d even gotten anything started with him.
You opened the text. Your curiosity outweighed your sense of self preservation.
-...but whatever’s going on between you and your roommate, well it doesn’t really seem like there’s much room for me. I just don't think I can start something knowing I’ve already lost. Thanks for inviting me tonight. The movie was fun. Good luck with everything. - Ben
You felt the sting.
You couldn't help it. You’d spent all evening watching Baekhyun interact with Mia with every ounce of your self control devoted to not letting your jealousy show at all. At one point you’d been so damn engrossed in them that you forgot Ben was even there. What an unfair and shitty situation to have put him in. You quickly keyed out an apology for your crappy date etiquette and thanked him for going out with you tonight.
You couldn't even blame him for anything. He had been sweet and he had tried his best to be the perfect gentleman. What had you expected?
You sent the last message you would ever send to Ben and tossed your phone roughly toward the coffee table. It bounced but landed in the middle.
The racket called Baekhyun’s attention and he turned to look at you with his eyebrows raised in question.
“Ben just rejected me.”
Somehow saying this out loud to Baekhyun felt better than hiding it from him. It felt less miserable than keeping it inside of yourself and letting yourself suffer the sting of the rejection alone.
Baekhyun’s lips pulled into a small frown and he took out his cell phone from his pocket and tossed it roughly on the coffee table beside yours. It took a similar bounce and your eyes widened in surprise at the sudden gesture.
“No way, not Mia too,” you said in genuine fear and Baekhyun shook his head with his shrug still well in place.
“Nah, I just can't lay down with my phone in my pocket,” he said as he wiggled on the sofa trying to get comfortable, “though in hindsight I can see how you would think that, sorry. Mia hasn’t texted yet.”
He was wiggling, finding no comfort in all the positions he tried and you caught his wandering eyes for a second as you lightly tapped a hand over your belly.
This…
This would be fine. This was something you both did sometimes. Baekhyun said your belly was warm and comfy and made the best noises and he liked to use you as a pillow when he was just too tired to go to his own bed.
He moved right away at your invitation and you let your legs part around his chest as he laid his head down right on top of you. He turned his head to face the tv and didn't even squirm too much before he sighed out loud. His arms laid on either side of your waist and you felt the constriction as he lightly squeezed around you.
You really hadn’t gotten to touch him all day. Your fingers found their way into his hair and you felt a low moan from the back of his throat travel though your body as you raked your nails down the back of his head to his nape.
“Peanut,” you said softly, feeling every little bit of the annoying little tickle of that stupid secret sitting inside of you.
You could feel the heaviness of his body as he gave in and relaxed his muscles on you. You felt every breath he took and they seemed to be changing as you played with his hair and he gave in to the relaxing comfort you offered him.
“Hmm?” He replied after a long while. You angled your face and could see that his eyes were closed.
“How was the date? Was it nice?”
You had so many hopes for him. You were trying your best to ignore the pangs of your own selfish jealousy and get past it all to get to something good for him. Something that would make him understand how incredible he was. How beautiful he was inside and out and how precious of a human being he was.
“Mhmm, I liked it.” He said softly and he shifted and you felt him tighten his hold around your waist briefly before he relaxed again.
“Did you really? Do you think you liked Mia?” You kept your voice strong. You did not allow your fears to overcome your voice. You were okay with this if he was okay.
He did not answer right away. You’d stopped playing with his hair and you kept your hand rested over his head. He was so warm. He was so lovely.
“Do you want me to like Mia?”
No.
Mia would be so good to him.
You did not answer. Your answer would have been no. It would have been selfish. You’d just been dumped by your date, how dare his date have gone so well. You’d both been on the same date. You could still see the way she looked at him. She found him just as lovely as you did.
You felt a thickness at the back of your throat and you swallowed it down.
“I’m trying, Bug. She’s very nice to talk to. Do you think I should like her?”
Was this because of his mistrust of people? Was this his shyness about letting someone he didn't know very well in close?
You couldn't respond. You did not trust yourself to do the right thing.
“You should go rest if you’re sleepy,” you said, you know, like a coward.
It took him a few minutes of laying on top of you before he realized that you were right and he would be much more comfortable in his own bed. He nodded and pushed up with his arms, and his eyes stayed closed and his head stayed hung down as his feet shuffled and he made his way into his bedroom, leaving his door open you merely heard the loud sound of him plopping down on his bed.
You were stuck where he left you.
Stuck in about as crappy a mood as you’d ever found yourself.
You hated everything about this. You hated how much you loved him and you hated how receptive he was to the idea of dating Mia. You hated how she looked at him and giggled at his small jokes and you hated HATED the way his cheeks blushed and the shy smiles he gave her when she talked to him.
You laid there and you stewed in your mood for longer than was good for you and the only thing that made your it up was the simultaneous buzzing that brought both of your cell phones to life on the coffee table.
You reached for yours. It’s as your dating coach app. Baekhyun had received a new message from Mia. The feelings that surged through you were taking over your sense of what was good and what was right and what was proper behavior for someone like you to participate in.
You swiped to read the message.
-Hi Baekhyun. Sorry I couldn't wait until tomorrow to text you. I had an amazing time tonight and I was wondering if you would like to meet up tomorrow after your Grandmother’s visit for coffee? I have something I’d like to ask you.
You felt as if your body was on fire.
You could feel it deep inside your chest, deeper still inside your belly where his head had been resting moments before. You felt it in the palm of your hand where his thumb had traced the patterns of lines there. You felt it in your lips that he had kissed and in your tongue ached inside of your mouth from your stupid secret.
You reached for your phone. You opened the app for the power he’d given only to you and you responded to her message as if you were Baekhyun.
-Hi, Yeah, that sounds fine. I’ll meet you at 1pm.
Your hands moved on their own. You moved to the internal commands of your app and you deleted both of the messages from the chat history. When you picked up his phone you saw the notification for Mia’s message vanish before your eyes and when you unlocked it and accessed his chat log, there was no sign of the unimaginable and unforgivable sin you had just committed against him.
Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , Part 4 , Part 5 , Part 6 , Part 7 , Part 8  , Part 9 , Part 10
Tag list: @j-pping  @blahblahblah-boo  @his-mochi-cheeks  @amyeonzing@littleflowercrown13  @baekinmylife  @insta1010  @nana-banana  @f4ncyvelvet@bbhbeth  @totallynerdstuff  @byunbabybaek @maijinki @bbyunz@theclawofaraven @kingkushdealer  @uhobob @baekswifey​ @punchmebaekhyun @xlxbaekhyuneex
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sirthisisa-wendys · 3 years
Text
The General (part 10): Geto Suguru x Fem!Reader
synopsis: this is it. this is what the end looks like. 
wc: 1.5k
tw: none
a/n: WOW. This is the end. We’ve come a long way in... ten days! IT REALLY FEELS LIKE IT’S BEEN WEEKS. This is the end of Lady y/n’s and Geto’s journey... It has been SUCH a pleasure writing for you all. 
masterlist
Three children come tumbling out of the carriage, tripping over themselves to be the first to dart past your mother and father to hug you. You look upon the faces of Nobara, Junpei, and Yuji with astonishment; the tears leaking from your eyes are not ones of sadness any longer. Giggles and kisses and hugs are exchanged between you all as you stoop down to greet the overexcited bundles of joy. 
You look up just as Gojo and Nanami are exiting the carriage, eyes on the children with gentle smiles. Your father instantly recognizes Gojo, and holds his hands up in celebration. 
“Welcome back, Gojo-kun!” Gojo begins to chatter with your father and the three children descend on Megumi, who looks helpless as they ask him too many questions to keep up with. Haibara appears seconds later, flanked by Yuta, and they greet you and Kaori with a fondness you relax into, their faces blending back into the bright paintings of your memory. It was all beautiful - Nanami, Haibara, Yu, Yuta, the children… but everyone knows that one person is missing from the environment. 
“Gojo, whe--” Just as you turn to Gojo to interrogate him about Geto’s whereabouts, a large shadow passes over the sun, blocking your eyesight for a moment. When your vision returns, you watch an enormous golden dragon descend from the sky. It’s scales shimmer in the sunlight and toss reflections of rainbows around, almost blinding you to the man sliding off of it’s back.
When you see the General, it’s as if there had been a dam in your heart. The flood of emotions overwhelms your body, and you can only stand among your family and friends in shock as he approaches you, dressed in illustrious fabrics and smiling like the world was his. 
“Y/n,” he whispers as everyone watches your reunion. The entire thing was too beautiful - too sweet. When he envelops you in a deep hug, you feel the weight of the world transfer over to his shoulders and ease your burden. You were no longer alone. The tears you shed fade into the silk of his purple haori, and you’re enveloped by the sweet words and tender forehead kisses of your lover. 
“I thought you were dead…” you murmur into his chest, and Geto shakes his head, his hair tickling your face. You look into his onyx eyes and ask the obvious question without speaking, and his hand comes up to cup your chin.
“Let me tell you the tale over dinner, my love. It is a story that requires some nourishment.” 
“Yeah, because I’m starving!” Gojo announces behind you, much to the chagrin of Kaori, who rolls her eyes at the outburst, despite there being a small smile painted onto her face.
_______________________________________________________________________
“It wasn’t an easy battle,” Gojo begins, shoving a piece of sushi into his mouth. “First of all, we were outmanned four to one. Then, when we were pushed back to the base of the mountain,” he continues, mouth full of food. “It’s like we don’t have anywhere to go but up. And that meant a slow, freezing death for a lot of soldiers.” 
“They took their charge seriously,” Haibara interrupts, attempting to preserve their honor. “Their sacrifices weren’t in vain.” Yuta nods, hanging his head a little as he consumes the bowl of soup silently. 
“But Prince Geto here tried one last trick that very nearly got him killed,” Gojo growls, pointing his chopsticks at Geto, who is watching his friends animate the tale of their escape and not saying a word. “Releasing all of those curses at once,” the white haired man mutters, stabbing a fish eye with determination. “That almost cost us our General.” 
“You what…?” you look over at Geto, who is chickling softly. 
“I released quite a few of my curses to attempt to overwhelm my younger brother, Naoya. He did quite well fending them off, but by the time he was finished, Gojo and Haibara had escaped with a little under half of our forces. I lost my way up the mountain and was sustaining a pretty large gash from the fight… but that’s when Mei Mei and Utahime found me.”
“Mei Mei? Utahime?” Kaori questions, but Gojo pats her hand, trying his best to soothe her. 
“Listen, they were mountain women. Healers, really.”
“In any case, they healed me, but it took about a month before I could recover from my wounds. By that time, the Court had already pronounced me dead. However, Gojo and Haibara weren’t too far from the Imperial Palace, intent on cutting down my younger brothers and my father.” 
“Your father did put up a nice, long fight,” Yuta murmurs, still not making eye contact with anyone at the table. “But it’s never enough, is it?” 
A tiny hand sneaks it’s way from the bottom of the table, patting around the wood for something beside your mother’s elbow. It seems that only you notice it, but your mother looks over and notices the hand, takes a piece of fish from the spread, and hands it to the gremlin beneath the table. The hand slinks back to where it came from, disappearing beneath the wood as Gojo rambles about his trek up the stairs to the Palace doors, and how Yuta had already wounded the Emperor by the time they arrived. 
“I just think it’s interesting how…” That meant Gojo did not find anything about that interaction interesting. 
You look over to Suguru and place your hand on his underneath the table. He looks back at you and grins widely, gripping your fingers tightly as he leans over to whisper in your ear. 
“I told you I’d come back for you. All you needed to do was wait.” 
“But how did you make it back to Palace, Geto?” your father asks, frowning. Geto’s eyes look up at the group’s collective gaze. 
“I made it down the mountain with ease, and rode my rainbow dragon curse all the way there.” 
“How long did that take?” Toji wonders, and your mother is holding her hand over mouth, obviously trying not to laugh as another small hand appears next to Toji’s elbow.
“A day.” Toji hands the little fingers a rice ball from his plate without bothering to look, and it disappears just as quickly as it appeared beneath the table. “It was the longest day of my life.” 
“And you made it back just in time to save me from a pretty nasty fate,” Yuta laughs. 
“Basically, Geto promised to not wipe the whole Imperial Court out if his father would reinstate him as the eldest son, give him his birthright, and…” Gojo thinks, tilting his head back to find the final piece of the puzzle.
“And give him control over the villages he had acquired.” Nanami finishes for him, surreptitiously sliding a piece of tonkatsu underneath the table, and Gojo snaps his fingers in response to the addition.
“Right, that. So, the Emperor said ‘yes’ because it was either that or die, and then we had the camp join us in the compounds surrounding the Imperial Palace. Geto was crowned Prince pretty quickly after that, and then presented to all of the villages one by one as the next in line for the throne. And here we are,” Gojo pauses, frowning suddenly. “Can someone tell me why I feel little fingers on my legs?” 
Children snickering echoes from underneath the table, and you try to hold in a laugh, pressing your lips together tightly and feeling little fingers pat your feet, then slide up to pat the table beside you in search of another morsel of food.
_______________________________________________________________________
The night comes quicker than you expected, and you find yourself standing in front of the moonlit window, held from behind by Suguru. He’s littering kisses down your neck and you’re relishing in his touch, your skin feeling like it hadn’t been caressed in ages. 
“You’re even more beautiful than I dreamed you would be,” he breathes into your ear, and you shudder, leaning back into him even more. “I spent so long thinking about your face...” He presses a kiss to your cheek. “... your soft body...” His hands drift over your hips. “...the way you feel pressed against me like this.” You smile at his words, and he turns your face to him, blinking slowly. “I fought heaven and hell to come back to you.” 
“I’m glad you did,” you whisper before pressing your lips to his, feeling your mouth part almost instantly. Suguru grips your hips and turns you to face him, pulling you closer than you thought possible. You slowly follow him to the bed, still connected by the lips, and when he sits back on it you follow, straddling his half-clothed figure in the moonlight. 
“I’ll have to make up for the time we lost,” he murmurs, nipping at your bottom lip tenderly. 
“That’s three long months, my Gen- I mean, my Prince.” Suguru laughs at his new title, mouth latching onto yours again as he unties the fabric at your waist and pulls the shoulders of your kimono aside. 
“I’ll make it up to you for the rest of my life,” he speaks against your neck, sucking hard at the skin there. “That is... if you’ll let me, Lady y/n.” 
“It’s actually Princess y/n, now,” you correct him, and he breaks out into a wide smile, his right eyebrow twitching up. 
“Is that so?” He searches your eyes for any falsehood, and you grin sheepishly, pressing yourself against his chest. 
“If you’ll let me, my love.” Suguru huffs out a laugh, and pulls you under the sheets with him in the midnight hour.
_______________________________________________________________________
TAGLIST: @kamisamaundercover​ @jotazinha​ @just4readingfics​ @mxhi​ @sammytamaki​ @brownskinnedgirll​ @keelyshayee​ @leanne-tamashi​ @vabybizzle​ @amaris9​ @fuegy-fuegy​ @ambiguous-something​ @honoredsatoru​
did I hear that the General is getting an epilogue?
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marsbutterfly · 3 years
Text
Skyfall
Tumblr media
Summary: When you are hired to kill the most dangerous mafia boss, things get a little complicated.
Wattpad Version! | AO3 Version!
|◁ II ▷|
“This is the end
Hold your breath and count to ten
Feel the Earth move and then
Hear my heart burst again”
7:34pm
The clock on your wrist tics quietly but in the silent room, it nearly sounds like bombs being dropped from above. Not a word is exchanged between you and the man sitting across the room but you know exactly what he wants.
In his hand rests a dark colored suitcase, you can barely tell until the light hits his belt ever so gently but you finally see the gun he’s been carrying.
You take a deep breath, getting up for your seat. The sound of your heels clicking on the floor fills the atmosphere as you walk towards him, the smirk on his lips is undeniable and you don’t understand what he has to be smiling about.
He stands up a second after you and walks in your direction, bumping against you and dropping his suitcase and the papers in his hand. In response, you throw on the floor the suitcase you once held. 
The man apologizes profoundly as you help him collect the papers on the floor. You say over and over that it is ok, while all the curious eyes in the room land on you. As you stand up, you hand him the suitcase you once had in your hand and he nods, thanking you for the help and apologizing one last time.
You begin to make your way back to your car, the smirk on his lips still engraved in your brain as a chill travels down your spine. “Why was he smiling?” You ask yourself not wanting to admit it but you are a bit scared of knowing the answer.
Though once you open the suitcase, you understand why. Inside, rests the pictures and information of your next target, the millionaire leader of an enemy gang. Though you don’t enjoy taking sides, you’ve been paid a large amount of money to take her out, more than you have ever made.
The war between these two gangs has been going on for the longest time and you have killed enough people on both sides to earn a fair amount of enemies, but this time you couldn’t help but feel a sinking hole opening in your heart.
Hanji Zoe has always been the deadliest member of the underground group. Her kill count is even higher than yours, at least 500+ heads under her belt. They say her torture methods surpass even the ones they use in hell.
She’s known as the Devil herself.
“For this is the end
I've drowned and dreamt this moment
So overdue, I owe them
Swept away, I'm stolen”
8:15pm
Your keys unlock the heavy doors of your house and somehow the marble floors feel colder than ever. Your shoes rest in their designated spot by the coat holder and you throw the suitcase on the couch.
Two cups rest on the counter near the bar area inside your home. One of them contains what you assume is whisky, due to the color and the amount of ice in the cup, it has always been her favorite after a work day.
The lipstick marks are fresh meaning she has just now gotten home. Upon paying closer attention, you realize the shower is on and steam is coming out of the bathroom. You think about joining her but ultimately decide to have a drink first, trying to forget about your next target.
Gently, you take two rocks of ice and place them in the clean cup specifically placed out for you. Pouring yourself a single shot of whisky, you walk towards the balcony feeling as the cold air of the night hits your face.
You knew this day would come but you hoped it would take longer. 
Deep in your own thoughts, you don’t realize the water has been turned off in the bathroom and wet footsteps approach your body.
It’s not until her wet arms wrap around your black dress that you realize you are no longer alone. Her face is buried in your back and you can see steam leaving her arms as the hair on her skin stands up.
The tattoo of your initials on her hand still brings butterflies to your stomach. The memory of the night she got it is still one of your favorite moments you spent together, especially since it was after your first date and she told you she knew you were the one.
“I missed you.” She says, placing a kiss on your skin. You can feel as her breasts are pressed against you and a gasp leaves your body.
“I missed you too.” You reply, a disobedient tear rolling down your face as you chug the contents of the cup in your hand.
“What’s wrong?” She asks, placing her hand on your waist as she turns your body around so you can face her. She is a few inches taller, nothing too extreme but enough to make you look up at her gently.
Her thumb brushes the tear on your cheek before rubbing it above your lips. You take a deep breath, gathering the courage to tell her the news you just received.
“You are my next target.” You say and Hanji nods, a sad smirk on her lips.
“Let the sky fall
When it crumbles
We will stand tall
Face it all together” 
9:00pm
The brush goes through her hair with ease for the first time, as if she took care of the tangles in the shower already knowing what the news you were bringing would be. After shower moments were the ones where Hanji was the most vulnerable.
She would simply close her eyes and appreciate the attention she’s been given as she fades in the echo of your voice. You hum a melody quietly, Hanji’s favorite song in the hopes to bring her any comfort at all.
Your tears drip down your nose onto her scalp as you put her hair in a ponytail, attempting to help her get ready for the party she will be attending in an hour. At the highest floor of the second tallest building in the entire city.
“How are you going to do it?” She asks, lighting a cigarette and blowing the smoke up in the air while trying to make rings out of it. You giggle, touching her shoulders before sliding your hands down her arms.
You notice the goosebumps rising on her skin and can’t help but smile at how she reacts to your touch. “Must we talk about it?”
“I need to know.” She replies and you nod, sighing heavily while finally agreeing to talk about the elephant in the room.
“I’ll be on the roof of the Paradise building. I am pretty sure they will send someone to watch me do it.” You begin, spraying the bottle of perfume around her and noticing as the drops of liquid fall on her tan skin, masking the smell of the cigarette.
“But they might not.” She says and you shrug your shoulders.
“They might not.” You say quietly.
“I wouldn’t expect any less from this city’s top 1 assassin.” She says, taking your hand in hers and planting a soft kiss on your palm, leaving behind the red mark of her deep colored lipstick.
She stands up, allowing the robe to fall to the floor and reveal her naked body. You can’t look away from the perfect shape of her breasts, the line that goes through her abdomen from a previous surgery and all of her battle scars.
“Make me yours one last time.” You say, pulling your shirt above her head as you expose yourself to her and she nods, a devious smile curling up on her lips.
You see a few old bullet wounds, some healed while others are still healing. Every single one of them tells a story about who she is and how she has lived her life but your favorite story has always been the one of how she lost her eye.
It was three years ago, the day you met. How could you ever forget?
“Let the sky fall
When it crumbles
We will stand tall
Face it all together
At Skyfall”
Since you were a teenager, you’ve been good at killing. First your shitty parents and every family member who sided with them, including your own brother and sister. Finally being able to control your life, you decided to make a living out of it.
This career put you through college where you earned a chemistry degree, learning how to mix your personal kinds of poison, some of which no one has ever even heard of which makes it hard for the police to find who was responsible for it.
At first, you would go for basic targets: rapists, animal abusers, anyone who dared hurt another soul but word got out of how excellent and quick you were at your job and your number of clients tripled and your name was in everyone’s mouth.
One day, you got a call from a blocked russian number. A smile creeped on your lips as you heard a familiar voice over the phone, Erwin Smith. The man who gave you a chance to grow in this life and made you who you are today, your mentor.
“Y/N, I’m dying.” He says, his voice is faint and you notice his life force is fading away. 
“I can tell.” You reply trying to lighten the mood and he laughs.
“Will you still work for the next boss?” He asks, coughing out a liquid which you could only assume was blood. 
“If that is your dying wish.” You respond and he hums in agreement over the phone, “Then yes.”
Later that week, two men showed up to your house to escort you to Erwin’s funeral. The rain poured over his coffin, hiding away the tears of those who loved him.
Surrounded by at least five men sat a woman in a black coat, her eyes looking in your direction as she took the cigarette to her lips. The tattoos on her leg on display for anyone to see, you could’ve sworn she was silently flirting with you.
And in a moment of weakness, a car drove by shooting up the place completely. Of course they were received with a buffet of bullets as well, but nearly a third of the people around the casket were now dead.
As a bullet makes its way towards you, the brunette with danger in her eyes rushes forward to protect you only to receive the bullet with a glass platter. Needless to say, an uncountable amount of shards found their way into her eyeball.
While she bled in your arms, you tried to make sure she remained awake.
“What’s your name?” You ask and she smiles, bringing your hand towards her lips and licking your thumb with a palpable sexual energy.
“Hanji. Hanji Zoe.” She replied, “The new boss.”
“Skyfall is where we start
A thousand miles and poles apart
Where worlds collide and days are dark
You may have my number, you can take my name
But you'll never have my heart”
10:05pm
Once you are finished redoing Hanji’s hair, she stares at the closet before finally picking out a blood colored suit. No shirt underneath, she places the blazer right above her nipples, only enough to cover them while allowing the rest of her breasts to be exposed.
You on the other hand plan to dress yourself in a completely black outfit hoping to blend into the darkness of the night. Luck was on your side for there were no stars to brighten the sky, allowing you to take complete cover.
As far as you know, nobody is aware of your relationship with Hanji, not even her subordinates. Keeping business away from your private life has always been a priority, even before you committed your first paid killing.
She places a final kiss on your hands and one of your lips, though it does not feel like a goodbye and you sadly accept any kind of comfort you can find.
When her car is out of view, you decide to go up and take a shower by yourself. You wanted to decline this job, to throw everything away: your reputation, the money and simply run away with Hanji to a place where you could live your lives.
But you can’t. Before even knowing who your targets are, you are always made to sign a consent form and if broken, it would cost you your life.
The warm water hits your face and you can still smell Hanji’s strawberry shampoo in the air mixed with the fading smoke of her cigarettes. You begin to remember every shower you spent together, every kiss you shared at the most exquisite places around the world.
Hanji always knew how to make you feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Eventually, you can no longer if the water streaming down your face comes from the shower or your tears.
As you finish your shower, you begin to get ready. The black outfit had never been colder and the unsettling feeling at the pit of your stomach still remains. While putting a mask above your face, you look at your rifle.
It has your initials and Hanji’s secretly carved on the side and on the other it has the date you started dating. A good luck charm, as she liked to call it.
Tonight will be a fucking awful night.
“Let the sky fall (let the sky fall)
When it crumbles (when it crumbles)
We will stand tall (we will stand tall)
Face it all together
At Skyfall”
1:53am
Hours have passed since you've been sitting at the top of this building by yourself, looking through the binoculars at the party happening not too far away.  In the end, they decided not to send anyone to watch over your shoulder as you do your job.
The richest and most powerful people in town were all attending and, even though they wore masks, you could still tell exactly who they were. The years of analyzing and recognizing targets from afar has given you the extraordinary ability to identify covered faces.
By the bar, you see her as she rests her arm on the glass top. She looks beautiful. Her whiskey brown eyes match the liquid in her cup as the black mask covers her features. For a second, you could’ve sworn she looked directly at you.
The instructions were clear: at 2am, a single bullet should be shot directly to her head, killing her instantly. So you position your gun, looking through the lense as Hanji disappears in the crowd for a bit before returning to her usual spot.
You sigh, stopping the tears that attempt to cloud your vision. Your finger slowly moves towards the trigger, as if time itself is desperately trying to stop you from killing your loved one, but it doesn’t matter. No one could stop you now.
Counting the seconds, you make sure the shot to her head is clear and you pray she won’t suffer at all. “Goodbye, my love.”
Time nearly stops once you pull the trigger. You watch closely as the bullet goes through her brain and blood splatters across the clear counter causing every person in the room to desperately run for their lives, not knowing they are all safe.
Only one man stands in the room and he raises his glass at you for he is the only one who knows no more shots will be fired. The asshole who hired you to kill the love of your life. Fucking Zeke Yeager.
With every ounce of your body, you decide that killing him isn’t worth it. He deserves to live to suffer in the future.
You bring your body back up, beginning to disassemble your rifle. It takes you less than a minute to be on your way and you can hear as police sirens approach the building in front of you.
“Where you go, I go
What you see, I see
I know I'd never be me
Without the security
Of your loving arms
Keeping me from harm
Put your hand in my hand
And we'll stand”
Finally getting back to your house, you throw the bag containing the gun on the couch before plopping your body right beside it, a long sigh escaping your lips.
Your eyes then notice the packed bags, all ready to leave as soon as possible. The clicking of heels comes from the other side of the house and you smirk, rushing your thumb through your lips.
“I feel bad for the lady you hired to die in your place.” You say, turning around and propping your chin on the back of the couch.
“Would you prefer if I had died in her place?” Hanji asks, rushing her hand through her freshly shaved head in an attempt to get rid of any hairs that still remain attached to her.
“Of course not, love.” You reply, walking towards her before taking the glass of wine from her free hand.
“Hanji Zoe is dead and the witness to it is Zeke Yeager himself.” She says, a devious smile on her lips.
You can’t help but link your mouth with hers, tasting the delightful mixture of alcohols she has had tonight. Her hands travel through your body, exploring every inch of your skin before gently brushing against your inner thigh.
You gasp gently, nearly melting in response to her actions. God knows you want to melt but you don’t have time.
“It’s 4:25am, the plane leaves in 35 minutes so we should go.” She says and you nod.
You grab one of the packed bags plus your rifle and she grabs the rest before extending her hand to you, hoping to walk away from this life with you by her side but not before staging your own kidnapping and death, everything so no one would ever look for either of you.
Once done with arrangements, she smiles. 
“So where are we going to make our new home?” You ask.
“My home is wherever you are.” She replies and you feel your cheeks getting warm before she continues, “But I was planning the Carribeans.” 
“Fuck yes.” Is all you say and she laughs, squeezing your hand as you both say goodbye to the apartment you’ve shared for years. Leaving behind a life of danger to live together in the house of your dreams, far away from all the negativity.
Just you and Hanji. And maybe a few cats and dogs along the way.
“Let the sky fall (let the sky fall)
When it crumbles (when it crumbles)
We will stand tall (we will stand tall)
Face it all together
At Skyfall”
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obeiii-mee · 4 years
Note
Hey! Sorry to bother you with a second ask but i thought this one would be cool. Fluffy headcanons of the demon brothers watching scary movies with MC??? Somewhere MC gets scared, and some where they don't? Thanks again!! :)
It’s no bother!! I love getting requests from you guys! The more, the merrier. I sort of hc that the brothers and MC do have movie night every week or so and with them being demons, they tend to levitate towards the horror genre. Thank you for sending this, this is really cute :)))
Without further ado—-
————————————
The Brothers watching Scary movies with MC:
Lucifer:
-Haha mf already knows how this is going to end
-He warned you, he really did
-The horror movies DevilDom has to offer are nothing, and I mean nothing, like the ones from the human world
-I’m not going to go into detail but imagine Two Girls One Cup, in a less kinky and more gorey way (then times that by 10)
-But you were adamant into giving it a go and he literally could not deny you in that moment
-Because you were giving him the puppy eyes
-That’s like, the finishing blow you use every time to get your way with him and as far as you know it’s the only one that works so-
-He expected your reaction to the last second
-You were traumatised for lack of a better word and you were basically watching the whole film through the cracks between your fingers
-Seeing you in that state was like a punch in the gut but he couldn’t stop himself from throwing in a subtle ‘I told you so’
-“I told you watching something like this before bed is a bad idea, MC.”
-He might be a bit condescending and judgemental at first, but he’s probably going to baby you a bit for the rest of the night
-Because he feels bad he allowed you to watch it in the first place
-HAHAHAHA SOFT LUCIFER HAS BEEN SUMMONED, USE HIM WISELY
-He will start muttering words of comfort to you later because he’s certain you’re going to have trouble sleeping
-Because of that one time, he’s very hesitant to let you watch another horror film anytime soon
-But he will relent eventually (especially if you want to watch a human horror film as those are technically less extreme)
-If it makes you happy, he will go through with it, even if he has to let you cling onto him for the rest of the day
-Besides, the way you cuddle into him while you’re watching a horror film is very cute and endearing to him
Mammon:
-Ah yes, the most effective method of waking up the entire House of Lamentation at 3:00 am
-Mammon screaming his own vocal cords out in his room as he tries to get through his human’s favourite horror movie without dying of a heart attack
-It was his idea because he’s definitely the type to go: “Yeah let’s do this, it will be fun. Don’t get too scared alright MC? The Great Mammon will be here to protect ya.”
-And then ten minutes in, he’s basically in your lap
-Half an hour in, he turned himself into a demon burrito with his blankets
-You were enjoying the movie, laughing at the stupid sound effects and poor quality while Mammon next to you has wrapped himself in like two dozen blankets and pillows
-“Mammon you’re going to overheat.”
-“Don’t be silly human, I’m a demon who lives in hell. I can take high temperatures the same way I can take this damn movie!”
-He doesn’t take either of them well
-Mammon and the horror genre don’t mix well together to begin with
-So even if you might enjoy horror, he doesn’t react well to it at all
-And he’ll be low-key relieved if you tell him you guys don’t have to watch any sort of horror film for your date night
-“Well I guess if you don’t want to, then we don’t have to. Can’t make my human do something they’re uncomfortable with eh?”
-But if you do watch a scary movie with him, be sure to show any sort of physical affection to him as often as possible
-You don’t have to say anything, just hold his hand or let him put his head in your lap or something
-It might stop him from screeching like a female sloth in heat
-The last time that happened, his brothers weren’t too pleased with him
-They about to recreate the horror film scenes onto him, bring the popcorn have fun
Levi:
-For some reason, I feel like he doesn’t get scared easily while watching stuff
-I mean, after decades of obsessively watching animes with brutal character deaths (like Attack on Titan style) and grotesque horror games that are pretty nasty even to demons, let alone humans;
-A horror film, from the human world or even DevilDom, doesn’t do much for him
-It will have to have very good psychological horror in it if you want the hairs on his arms to stand up in anticipation
-Tension is a big deal for him and he will immediately shut off the TV if there are any cheap jump scares
-But, if you manage to find just the right thing for him?
-You’ll both be hiding under the bed in no time under the bathtub more like
-Hell, if the film you’re watching is that good, he might even be holding onto you for dear life without realising it and getting flustered about it
-For weeks afterwards, any sound that is remotely similar to one from that movie will probably send both of you into panic
-You came to his room one night because you’ve had a nightmare about the stupid film and legitimately thought there was a fucking demon serial killer in your room
-So you wanted to stay in his
-“But what if there is a serial killer in your room and now you just led it to me MC????”
-It’s all jokes, there’s no question he would lock both of you in his room and then stay there with you wide awake until dawn
-You’re his best friend after all, he would have to be completely heartless to leave you on your own! (Besides Levi is terrifying when he wants to be)
-One time you were sleeping over and the sound of fumbling woke you tf up
-And Levi immediately turned into his demon form, like he was ready to throw hands with this fictional murderer that supposedly sneaked into his room
-“DON’T WORRY MC, I’LL PROTECT YOU!”
-“Ah never mind, it’s just Mammon breaking into your room again to steal your Ruri-Cham figurines and sell them on Akuzon.”
-“Oh OK.”
-“.....”
-“WAIT MAMMON WTF YOU FUCKING SCUMBAG, GET OUT OF MY ROOM-“
-I’m playing Minecraft
Satan:
-Believe it or not, Satan doesn’t care much about horror movies
-Don’t get me wrong, he loves watching his brothers shit their pants out of fear in the middle of one while he silently smirks to himself because watching other people suffer brings him euphoria
-Especially if someone actually manages to find a film that is excellent enough to spook Lucifer, because then he will be cackLING
-But, overall, he watches a lot of shows revolved around drama and crime
-That’s his thing
-However, he won’t turn you down if you’re up to watching a scary movie with him
-Any time spent with you is valuable time seeing as it won’t be long before his brothers start hogging you again like the cockblockers they are
-He is honestly surprised to find out you seem to be rather amused by those sort of movies
-So, even if it’s not inherently something he does on the regular, he would definitely watch a scary film with you if you enjoy them that much
-But in exchange, he makes you promise to read with him until bedtime rolls around (imagine Lucifer having a fucking curfew for his brothers and you lmao)
-So for the rest of night you guys just read together, ya know, like sappy romantics
-Tbh, this man will do almost anything with you as long as both of you are having fun
-He knows it’s not likely, but he insists on sleeping in the same room that night just in case you have nightmares and he needs to comfort you
- :)
-Satan is a gentleman. Idk how many people that don’t play OM expected to hear this
Asmo:
-Why would you want to watch a movie when you could be watching him???
-I mean, you would rather watch all that gory stuff on the TV than his beautiful face?
-He may get salty over a fucking movie tbh
-Horror films aren’t something he generally looks for while trying to pick a movie to watch
-He can definitely handle them better than Mammon but it’s not something he takes great pleasure in watching
-But the first time he ever sits down with you to watch one, he’s very intrigued to see your reactions
-You started feeling the sensation of absolute dread creep in at the very beginning and you were trying your best to act like you weren’t getting affected by what you saw on the screen
-But you were
-You went from “I’m grown ass adult, I can watch a fucking horror movie, no problem.”
-To “Welp, not enough of a grown ass adult for this-“
-And Asmo thought the way you tried to hide your nervousness was very mesmerising in a way
-He was planning on flirting with you during the movie anyway, but now that you were pressing himself against him?
-Oh boy, Oh boy
-“Darling if you wanted to touch me, you could’ve just said so. Making the excuse of watching a movie is unnecessary.”
-Nightmares? What nightmares? You won’t have time to have nightmares ;)
-haHAHA funny inappropriate joke
-It’s Asmo, it’s mandatory to have at least one of those added in here
Beel:
-Beel will show up if there’s food and that’s that
-He doesn’t care what type of movie is playing on the TV as long as he has a bucket of popcorn next to him at all times
-Horror films aren’t something he can’t handle, he’s a demon like the rest of his brothers and he is used to...violent deaths and such
-He doesn’t get scared but there are times where he gets attached to the characters
-Especially movies with actual good and not cringeworthy dialogue
-Therefore, when they die, he gets sad even if they’re just fictional and their death had no real impact
-He also thinks that the way you can watch these things without flinching is impressive
-I mean, he can watch it and so can his brothers because they are demons
-They’ve done worse things than the things you see in horror films
-But you’re a human! So it’s weird to see you watch a person get repeatedly slammed against a wall until their neck snaps without batting an eyelid
-Overall, he does not have an opinion on scary movies
-He gets a bit emotional when a character he really liked dies
-But other than that, he’s just focused on eating
-And occasionally patting your head affectionately
Belphie:
-He doesn’t really like horror films because there’s a lot of screaming and tense music and he’s just trying to nap in your lap (rhyme)
-He doesn’t really need sound effects like that in the background while he’s trying to sleep
-But one day he was like “Hey, what if I show my favourite human this particular scary film?”
-And he did
-And he’s internally dying and feeling guilty and yet so flustered because of you
-It’s like you suddenly turn into this very fidgety and anxious mess and he thinks you just look....cute
-At some point you were getting overwhelmed and sprung up on your feet to turn the lights on
-And he just grabbbed your wrists, pulled you down next to him and let you press your head against his chest
-As mentioned, he’s a little shit and will tease you for being such a scaredy cat
-“That was the most predictable jumpscare and you still flinched, wth is wrong with you lmao.”
-But at the same time....
-“Relax. It’s just a horror movie. You’ll be fine. Besides, I’m here. Like I would let something bad happen to you.”
-That’s sweet, even if the tone of voice may not imply it because he’s such a brat-
-He actually really likes holding you for once, because usually he’s the little spoon
-He’s still a bit of a sadist so I imagine him sitting there and watching this while giggling to himself
-Isn’t he the cutest, laughing at other people’s misery and their never ending suffering?🥺🥺🥺 UwU
-Ah well, at least he has the decency to spoil with affection afterwards and make sure you have no nightmares that night
-You know, as payback for the horrific shit he made you watch with no warning
————————————
OK, I think I made a decent job of this even though it took longer than it actually was meant to. Thank you for reading though. I’ve got so many requests to go through and I’ve been feeling motivated lately so yeah!
See you soon
Al~
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bullyhunter--69 · 4 years
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You're all I have, Bird Brain
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Pairing: Big Brother Hawks x Little Sister Reader
Summary: You have to sit back and watch your brother fight for his life on TV, hoping everything turns out okay
T/W: descriptions of a fight and crying
A/N: I got this idea while doing my makeup and rushed to write it because I loved it so much-- I hope you guys enjoy! 🖤
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A frantic knock on your dorm door took your attention away from the anime you were watching on Netflix, causing you to quickly get up and swing it open. Before you could greet whoever happened to be interrupting your binge watching, something wrapped around you with a worried whimper. Dark Shadow..?
"(Y/N), you need to come quick to the common room, Hawks is in a bad fight-" It was Tokoyami, and his voice matched the whimpers coming from Dark Shadow. They were the only ones out of your whole class who knew the full truth about you, and that's only because Hawks had scouted the both of you to his hero agency for the internships class 1-A had done. You had sworn Tokoyami and Dark to secrecy easily, the trust built between you 3 was something anyone could see.
Everyone could see why the now number 2 hero chose Tokoyami, but many were confused why you were scouted as well. The explanation you gave was, "Maybe he just likes my quirk? That's all I can think of." In all reality, you knew exactly why.
He was your big brother and loved you to death, and you were super ecstatic to work under him.
Your love for him wasn't unknown, your friends just thought he was your favorite hero. You had so much merch of him that Izuku's All Might collection was almost surpassed, and you were always seen in a Hawks hoodie.
The aforementioned Hawks hoodie is exactly what you had on now as you basically threw yourself down the stairs and onto the common room couch, right beside Kirishima and basically on top of Bakugo. The blonde was about to yell at you until he saw the tears already streaming down your face. The scene playing out on the TV in front of you was terrifying.
This absolutely gigantic Nomu was tearing into Endeavor and Hawks, regenerating after every blow the number 1 and 2 pro heros landed on it. It was talking-- strategizing against them. This was unlike any Nomu any hero had fought yet and your brother was one of the only 2 heros on scene.
Hawks had already lost a majority of his feathers from saving citizens and aiding the flaming hero at his side, and it was obvious that Endeavor was reaching the end of his fire power too.
Your entire body shook as your hands clasped themselves tightly around the red feather necklace you wore every day. It was one of Hawk's actual feathers- something Keigo gifted you once you got accepted into UA to show how proud he was of you. He could still control this one, but he never did since he viewed it as yours now.
Everyones eyes shot to you as a struggled gasp left your lips and you moved to sit on your knees in front of the couch. Hawks got hit, hard. He fell onto the top of the nearest building, next to no feathers left on his back. He was barely moving and his glasses were busted in half, his coat ripped up and forehead bleeding.
"K-keigo.."
Your eyes were huge, still streaming tears down your face. The fight your brother was putting up for his life had your attention fully captured, so when a hand was placed on your shoulder you flinched and finally let a sob out. You hadn't heard Aizawa enter the building, coming to check on you and Todoroki.
"(Y/N), it's gonna be okay." Aizawa pulled you into a tight hug as you continued to sob, fingertips numb from grasping at the feather so tightly. Finally, when you turned your blood-shot eyes back to the TV, Endeavor gave a final hit to the Nomu. He blasted it to pieces and was finally coming back down from the sky.
You were tense and silent until you saw both heros were being guided towards separate ambulances, your breath heavy as the cameras cut to just Hawks. He was talking to a paramedic and a police officer, beaten and bloody but alive.
When the officer was done with his questions, Hawks was seen pulling his phone out and calling someone. The news reported commented out of curiosity that it could be a lover, and everyone in the room around you besides Aizawa and Tokoyami assumed it was to contact his agency-- but you knew exactly who it was.
Your phone started to ring as soon as the pro heros phone touched his ear and you jumped for it at lighting speed. At this point, everyone was beyond confused.
Mineta made a joke about you having an affair with the hero, which was quickly cut short by a punch from both Kirishima and Bakugo. After the purple perv was silenced, nobody dared to say a word as all eyes fell on you.
With shakey hands you hit the green accept button and held the phone to your ear, small sniffles still escaping you. "K-Keigo, please tell me you're okay.."
Nobody could hear the voice on the other side of the phone but when you finally took a deep breath and used your sleeve to wipe your tears away, they assumed everything was okay. You continued your conversation for a minute before a loud laugh was heard from the other person on the phone, and this seemed to set you off.
"Keigo Takami, you know what I've ALWAYS said about using up all of your feathers in battle! It's not funny!"
This confirmed for your classmates who was on the other line, but not why you were the person that the number 2 hero had chosen to call.
"Just tell me what hospital they're taking you to, Bird Brain, and if it's the same one they're taking Endeavor to as well so I can let Shoto know. I'd rather beat your ass in person than over the phone for that ridiculous comment you just made-- Hey, shut up, I'm tired of always hearing about how great of a job Endeavor did when you almost got yourself killed!"
You had stood up at this point and were getting your shoes on, moving to the kitchen after your laces were tied.
"Just.." A groan left your mouth as you pinched the bridge of your nose. "Please, be careful next time, Kei. I dont know what I'd do if something really bad happened to you. You're all I have, Bird Brain."
You collected up some snacks and drinks in a bag from the common room fridge, as well as some cookies Sato had made earlier that day for everyone to take to him. You knew Keigo hated hospital food.
"I'll be there in 10 minutes, dont to anything stupid before I get there. You'll have more than just some missing feathers to worry about if you do. I'll see you when I get there. I love you Kei, bye."
At this point, all eyes were glued to you as you now stood in front of Aizawa and the entirety of your class. Your eyes landed on Shoto, though. "Sho, your dad is at the same hospital Hawks is at and I'm heading over now. Would you like to join me?"
Todoroki was stunned, to say the least. His, as well as everyone else's, minds were running a million miles an hour trying to figure out what had just happened on the phone between you and Hawks.
"He's in room 203, and as far as Keigo knows, He's not in horrible condition. Just really worn out with some wounds that wont take very long to heal. It more so took his energy than anything."
Your attention turned back to Aizawa and before you could even ask, he was already nodding and had placed his hand on your shoulder. "You can go see him, just be safe. We dont know if there's more of those Nomu out there and you saw how big of a fight Endeavor and Hawks had to put up. Call us if anything happens."
You gave Aizawa a big hug and a thank you before practically sprinting out the door.
Aizawa turned to his class as they sat in shock, Todoroki being the first to speak up. "Why did-" He was cut off by his teacher, who had his arms crossed as he surveyed everyones faces.
"Put it all together. 1. (Y/N) got in by recommendation. 2. (Y/N)'s last name is Takami. 3. He scouted her without her having bird like powers similar to Tokoyami. 4. (Y/N) is also always talking about him. Its obvious, Hawks is her big brother. I thought you all knew already."
Tokoyami spoke up before anyone else could. "I knew, but she didn't want everyone else to know. She didn't want to be known as just his little sister. She wanted her own name out in the world."
This caused the class to quietly talk to eachother about how it all made sense, and questioning others about if they had known. Aizawa walked up to Todoroki and laid a hand on his shoulder like he had done to you prior. "You're welcome to go see your dad if you'd like. Like (Y/N) said, He's in room 203 in the nearest hospital."
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mggssocks · 3 years
Text
Followed
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Not My Gif!
Pairing: Fem!Reader x Spencer Reid
Content Warnings: None just fluff :)
Summary: Spencer makes an Instagram and stumbles across reader’s page.
Word Count: 1,899 words
A/N: This is Season 10 Spencer with Season 13 looks. Also, instead of it being Kate on the team, i put Emily instead because who doesn’t love the season 3-7 team? Also I might make a part 2 depending on how much this blows up. Honestly i’d be happy if i got one like. Anyways.. hope you enjoy!!!
masterlist // part 2 // part 3
It was 8:00 in the morning. Spencer walked in the doors of the bullpen to the bau. He sat his satchel down and began to settle in for a long day of work. It was pretty early so the team wasn’t in yet. Except for Aaron Hotchner who had gotten in an hour prior to Spencer and been in his office ever since. Apparently others had the same ‘get to work early’ mindset as Spencer. Spencer opened a case file but his attention was quickly whipped away due to the sound of the door opening. He sees Penelope Garcia with all her attention focused on her phone. Spencer quirked his eyebrows when she bumped into a fellow coworker and her attention remained on her phone while quickly mumbling a quick “sorry”. As she passed his desk, Spencer decided it would be the great time to speak. 
“Hey, Garcia.” Her feet came to a stop and her head snapped up at him. 
“Boy wonder! I’m so glad you’re here. I really need someone to talk to because if I don’t I’m going to explode!” She sits in the chair across from his desk. 
“Is everything alright?” He leaned back in his chair. 
“No… no everything is not alright. If anything.. everything is all wrong. Very very wrong. I-“ she takes in a deep breath “I was stalking Kevin’s page because the other day I seen him at the mall with another girl. And while I was 56 weeks down in his page, I accidentally liked a picture.” She explained, in a huff. 
“I’m afraid I don’t follow.” Spencer was even more confused now than before she started. 
“I liked a picture that he posted 56 weeks ago!” Her eyes were wide.
“How is that a bad thing?” His lips pouted as he’d never understand social media. 
“Ugh! Reid, you really need to get with the program and get you an Instagram. That means his picture was old and now he knows that I was looking at his page. You understand now?” She asked. 
“Oh. Yeah I understand. It’s bad that he knows you were looking at his page.” He asked as Prentiss, JJ, and Morgan had walked in. 
“Yes. And now I must go into the bat cave and wait for him to call or text me and ask what me lurking on his page was about.” She whined as she stomped her way to her office. 
“What was that about?” Prentiss asked, setting her bags down on her desk. 
“Uhh- rough morning” Spencer shrugged, still not really understanding the whole social media thing. 
“Hey do you guys have an Instagram?” He asked the three. 
“Yeah but I’m barely on it.” Prentiss answered.
“Same here” says Morgan as he takes a seat at his desk. 
“Yeah but I only get on to post the boys and myself sometimes” answers JJ. 
“What about Hotch and Rossi?” He asked.
“Yup! Rossi likes to post about his expensive wine and cigars. Hotch posts Jack every once in a while and a throwback Thursday.” JJ says. 
Spencer’s eyebrows furrowed for what seems to be the 100th time that day. 
“He doesn’t know what that is” Prentiss looks over to JJ.
“It’s something you post like an old picture of yourself every Thursday.” Morgan explains.
“Do you guys do that?” Spencer asked.
“I did last Thursday.” JJ pulls out her phone and opened the app. “This was right after Emily, Penelope, and I caught a guy who was trying to pick up Prentiss by pretending to be an FBI agent a few years ago.” She chuckled showing him a picture. 
Spencer takes her phone in his hand and examines the post. 142 likes. 57 comments. He clicks on her name which takes it to her page. 302 followers. As he scrolls, he sees a picture the team took a while ago and sees a little person profile thing the corner and clicks on it causing other names tagged to each individual team member. Except him. After he examined all of their profiles, he gives JJ back her phone and gets to work like the rest of them. He felt a little left out but he knew it was because of his own decisions and not his team. He liked that they didn’t press him about having a social media because they new he was more old school than anything. And it was ironic because he wastage youngest member of the team with the more old school habits. 
When Spencer got home he decided he wanted the social media app. The idea of being able to share with his friends and only his friends excited him. Being able to post about his favorite things for his friends to see without talking their ears off.
He opened his phone and went to the app store, typing “instagram” into the search bar. He followed the sites instructions as he made his account. Using a snapshot he took of his bookshelf as his profile picture. He sees the option to add the people in his contact list which was only his team, mom, and his mother’s caretaker. But everyone’s profile popped up and he quickly followed each and every one of them. Except for his mom and her caretaker of course. 
Soon enough, he got a follow back from Garcia, Hotch, Rossi, and JJ in that order. Morgan and Prentiss weren’t lying when they said they weren’t on often.
After two weeks, Spencer hasn’t posted anything yet, not knowing what should go on his profile. Morgan and Prentiss ended up following him back and the app ended up adjusting to his interests. Nothing but accounts about interesting facts, books, and doctor who. 
It was Friday night and the team had just got back from a case in Chicago. Spencer opened the door to his apartment and set his satchel down on the couch, exhausted. His mind wonders to get something to eat being that he wonders to get something to eat being that he hasn’t ate since before they caught the unsub. Which was about 5 hours and 7 minutes ago but he still needed to get something into his system. Spencer opened his fridge and sees 3 day old Chinese takeout. He shrugs and pops it into the microwave while looking for a book of his to reread while he eats. After he finishes dinner, he gets on his phone and subconsciously pulls up the app. He clicks onto his explore page to discover something else he likes. While scrolling, he sees a picture of someone reading and clicks on it.
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765 likes
Yourfriend’sig whenever people ask me what to give you for your birthday or Christmas, I always tell them to get you a book or something green and it works every single time. Happy Birthday to my best buddy, @yourinstagram !
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Spencer smiles and clicks the heart button and bookmarks it to look at later.  He liked the picture. Both the picture and caption reminded him a lot of his own love for books and the color green (hence his apartment). 
Once he got out of the shower, he brushed his teeth. He found himself subconsciously scrolling through his instagram bookmarks to find her post. He doesn’t know what it was but something about the picture brought comfort to him. As he brushed his teeth, he clicked on the post once again.This time, he actually clicked on your account. It was a private account with 186 followers. The bio read:
Y/N... bookworm.
Her profile picture consisted of a black cat surrounded by either a bunch of well taken care of plants or artificial ones. His finger hovered over the blue “follow” button. As he bent down to spit his toothpaste out, his thumb accidentally clicked the follow button. But he didn't realize so until he looked down again to see the “follow” button replaced with “requested”. His heart basically drops out of his ass. He quickly clicks the button again, taking back his follow. 
It was now one in the morning, Spencer laid in bed awake staring at his ceiling. Once again, he clicks onto the app. He scrolled down his timeline and saw a picture Penelope posted of one of her new desk animals with the caption “Got her at a thrift shop! Isn’t she cute??”. He saw that Hotch and JJ liked 45 other people. JJ also commented with two red hearts. Spencer likes the post and keeps scrolling. His thoughts wander to the post about the girl again. He’s never thought about a social media post this much since he’s created an account. He wonders what sparked his interest so much about this one. As he makes his way to the post, clicking on her account. Debating if he should follow her. She’s a total stranger. Do the others follow strangers? There’s no way JJ knows 302 people in real life. He mentally shrugs and presses the follow button. Requested. Again.
He swipes out of her account back onto the post now seeing that she commented on it.
yourinstagram thank you, bubs! ily to the moon n back <3333
It was commented thirty six seconds ago. Meaning she’s currently active. Again, Spencer’s heart sinks and he immediately regrets his decision. Going back and unfollowing her. He doesn’t know what to do with himself. He’s a mess. Over a stranger. But he feels like an idiot. Reacting the way that he did just because he saw that she was online. So he goes and follows her.... again.
After clearing out all of his apps, he turns off his phone and lays down trying to get some sleep before work in a few hours. His thoughts wander to her. What she was like. if she was nice or mean. If she was socially awkward or very outgoing. Before his thoughts could get too far into what she was like, he receives a notification from instagram. He opens his phone and clicks on the notification. His heart began to pound when he saw it.
yourinstagram would like to send you a message! 
He clicks on it.
yourinstagram You’ve followed and unfollowed me about 5 times in the past 3 hours. Is there something I can help you with?
Spencer completely forgot that other people got notifications and now he felt like some kind of creep.
spencerreid I’m sorry. I came across your friend’s Instagram post wishing you a happy birthday and i guess i got curious and wanted to follow you if that makes any sense. 
He felt so dumb. 
yourinstagram and following me once wasn’t enough for some reason???
spencerreid Sorry about that. I’m new to this whole social media thing and don’t follow any strangers. You are the first person I’m following that I don’t know in real life. Again, my apologies for the disturbance. I’ll unfollow you’re account If you’re uncomfortable with me. 
yourinstagram i just hope that you’re not one of my raging exes, someone trying to catfish me, or a psychopath lol.
Spencer smiled.
spencerreid Nope. Just me.
She leaves him one read. Spencer’s smile fades when he doesn’t see any three loading dots. She wasn’t texting him back. As he’s about to exit the app, he sees two notifications. 
yourinstagram has accepted your follow request!
yourinstagram has requested to follow you.
********
I hoped you like this!!! If this blows up,i will do another chapter!
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