#i noticed his hair def seems lighter than it is now

[martianluvr]

2019 ktm marco my beloved <3

[descendantofthesparrow]

Regained Passion -Harry Hook x reader - part 1 - The dance studio

=

-canon deviant, after D2; Ben invites more vks over, including Harry and Gil-

Harry huffed in frustration as he forced himself to walk to the dance studio building, FG had made the newest set of VKs go to counselors and his had decided he needed something to burn off his energy, but it couldn’t be sword fighting or tourney as it ‘amplified his violent tendencies’ and he needed ‘a calm environment that tempered him’

“Dumb counselor, dumb FG, dumb dance class” he muttered to himself, shrugging the duffel back on his shoulder to sit correctly as it slid from its spot slightly. The studio was just off campus, being connected to a huge auditorium that had a large stage for their dancers to…well dance.

He stopped in front of the building, grimacing up at the sign that hung off the front of the building “Esmerelda's dance hall” he read, sighing he looked back down at his clothes.

Evie had signed herself up to make some new clothes for him to dance in, and at the moment he was in a flowy white t-shirt, slightly baggy black sweatpants, and wearing his new converse. (he had a feeling he would have to change out of them though) “Let's get this over with” he muttered, walking up the steps and into the building.

He stepped through the doors and looked around, to the left was a reception desk, at least that’s what it looked like, and to the right was a café looking room, with vending machines and a mini kitchen. “Hello! Welcome to Esmerelda's dance hall! Are you a new student?” Harry turned back to look at the desk, now a middle-aged blonde woman sat in the chair behind it, a kind smile on her face.

“I guess” Harry muttered, walking up to the desk and handing her the paper the consular had given him to give to ‘Ms. Smith’ and the woman behind the desks nameplate read ‘Mira Smith’ so he guessed she was the person who he had to give the paper too. “I was told ta give this ta yeh” Mira nodded and took the paper, humming to herself and typing on her computer.

“Yep, got you right here, Harry Hook. You’ll be starting out in the beginners class for teens since we assumed you had no prior dance experience” Harry quirked his brow. He had dance experience just…not the type they did in this school probably. “The school is paying for your classes so you won't have to worry about any payments, follow me!” Mira stood and walked out from behind the desk, leading Harry down the long hallway of doors, each having a number and letter on the wood.

“Your classes, for now, will take place in D-A, with Mr. Bert. Hes our beginner teacher, all our students love him, they say he makes everything very fun and entertaining” Harry didn’t respond, looking at the walls and through the small windows to the rooms. “Well, here you are! Have fun Harry” Mira opened the door and gestured inside, where a good group of teens his age stood, all getting ready for the class. Some were stretching while others just talked to their friends.

Harry stepped through the door, pressing his lips together as some of the teens turned to look at him, brows raising bit. He could recognize some of them from Auradon prep. Harry held down a flinch as a hand clamped on his shoulder “You must be Harry, eh?!” Harry turned to look, seeing a kind-looking man with black hair and blue eyes, a smile on his face.

Harry wasn’t one to trust someone as soon as he saw them but this man just had odd energy that Harry felt like he could trust. Harry felt himself relax and nodded to the man, who held out his hand to Harry. “I’m Bert!” Bert had an odd Boston accent, which again, made Harry feel oddly safe. Harry shook his hand, yelping quietly as Burt pulled him into the group of teens “Now, grab a pair of those black ballet shoes, don’t worry they’re new and ya get ta keep ‘em, and get em all tied up on ya’, and the same ta’ the rest of ya’! get all ready and stretch!” Bert released Harry's hand and walked around the room, helping some of the younger teens stretch and put their shoes on.

Harry looked for his size in the shoes and found one pair left ‘how convenient’ he thought, grabbing the pair and moving over to the wall that had only one other teen sitting against it. He took off his bag and slid down the wall, taking off his converse and replacing it with the ballet shoes.

As Harry got his shoes changed, Bert announced to the new students that had also joined that day; that beginner classes were only an hour-long, and there was no lesson plan, for now, it was learning basics and just having fun with dance. He also said he would teach them to dance along to a song called ‘step in time’. But first, stretching.

Harry mindlessly followed along with the instruction; Harry didn’t want to be here in the first place so he didn’t really feel like trying. “uh, Harry?” Harry looked up, seeing Bert staring wide-eyed at him “have ya ever had any previous dance experience? Gymnastics even?” Harry shook his head, not knowing why Bert was asking “You’re about a half-foot away from a full side split” Harry looked down, raising his brows in slight shock.

It was true, Harry's legs were almost horizontal from his hips “well would yeh look at tha’” Harry muttered, leaning forward a bit, hearing some of the girls of the class gasp in slight jealously.

“How the heck is he doing that! I've been doing gymnastics since I was two and I can't even do that!” a black girl with Bantu knots whispered to her friend, who started starry-eyed at Harry.

“I know… it’s kinda hot” the friend whispered back, laughing slightly as the first girl gently tugged at her hair “I’m sorry it is!” the first girl smirked and smacked the second's thigh.

“You are such a simp” she chortled turning her attention back to Bert and Harry, to which Bert was testing Harry's flexibility, to Harry's slight embarrassment.

“Do you feel any pain like that?” Harry looked down at his almost full side spit and shook his head, he didn’t even realize he had done it. “Could you try to do a full one?” Harry stared at Bert for a moment then shrugged, spreading his legs further and now sitting in a full side split “Well butter my britches” Bert laughed, rubbing his head “and they told me ya were a full on beginner!”

Harry sniffed and moved his legs back into a normal position, now sitting cross-legged as Bert patted his head and went back to stand in the front of the group, clapping his hands to gain his attention “Alright! Now let's start with the basics!”

-

If Harry had been taking the class willingly? He would have enjoyed it wholeheartedly because Mira was right; Bert did make the class very fun. But due to Harry being forced to take the class, he had hated every second. Bert had seemed to realize Harry wasn’t into it and left harry alone most of the time, but he still checked on him during the hour of class.

“Remember to grab the schedule on your way out! Class is same time same place tomorrow! Have a good day!” Harry finished tying up his shoes and stood, shuffling his new dance shoes into his bag, and made his way out of the class, giving a halfhearted finger wave to Bert as he walked out.

He walked behind his class, not wanting to mingle with any of them. He stopped, looking to his right as he noticed an open door. He blinked in slight surprise, inside was a whole group, much more experienced than his class, practicing what seemed to be ballet, the girls wearing shoes that allowed them to stand on their toes.

His eyes locked onto a particular girl, wearing a light blue leotard and an even lighter blue sheer skirt that almost looked silver.  Her skirt flared as she performed a set of spins, her head almost sticking to one spot as she did.

Harry had never seen ballet before, at least in person, so he stood slightly mesmerized as she danced, she stopped her spin and moved gradually on her toes, moving about the room in a way that Harry could only describe as ‘flowing water’. The girl turned once more, bright (e/c) eyes locking with his.

Harry felt his breath hitch as a sudden rush of butterflies erupted in his gut, flying about his body and filling his mind. ‘wha-‘ Harry mentally stuttered, taking a step back from the class as he felt his face heat up. The girl still had her eyes on him, but they were filled with slight confusion and interest. ‘I-I I have to go’ Harry turned and ran for the exit, not noticing the girl's classmates walk over to the door and look after him, some of them giggling to themselves.

-

“Oh he’s pretty!” “Think he’s a new student?”

“Oh def, did you see his outfit!? Besides, I heard that Mr. Bert got a new student today from Auradon prep, I think that was him”

“(y/n), do you recognize him?” Anita Beaucop turned to you from the door, she wasn’t from Auradon prep so she couldn’t have known who Harry was.

“Yes,” you mumbled, resting against one of the beams against the wall. “Harry Hook, one of the new villain kids, Chad calls him a filthy pirate” Anita rolled her eyes and sauntered over to you, grabbing a water bottle from her bag and cracking it open.

“Well,” Anita huffed, her French accent strong as usual “your brother is an asshole, both of us know not to trust him, if Chad doesn’t like Harry, then you should make friends, piss him off and all that” you giggled at that, covering your mouth as Emma, another one of your class friends who didn’t go to Auradon prep, leaned into your space, her eyes drifting back toward the door.

“Do you know If Harry's single?” she purred, her smirk dropping as you shrugged.

“I don’t know, he hangs around Uma a lot, and from what I see he seems really into her” Emma pouted, and crossed her arms.

“I got no shot with that hunk then, Uma’s hot as fuck.” the entire room agreed, including Javis and Saki in the corner of the room, who were both very much into men. “See, even Javis agrees!”

“Just because I don’t like anything on the menu doesn’t mean I can’t apricate it” Javis snorted, downing a granola bar as he did a small stretch session. You snorted and rolled your eyes, fixing your skirt and getting back into the starting position as Esmerelda looked back up from her cd player.

“Okay! Let's run it from the top again! Last round ladies! Then we can all go home and relax” As the gentle music began to play and you started to dance, you couldn’t help but think about the striking ocean blue eyes that sent a spark through your soul.

-end of part 1-

Part one of a new series, not gonna be a long one, maybe 5 parts at least-most…dunno which it's gonna be but, yeah! If you couldn’t guess, (y/n) is Chad's sister (fraternal twin but since its x reader you look like you and not automatically a female version of Chad) and isn’t like him, takes more after her mom n stuff. And yeah we got some simps in (y/n)s class lol.

Hope you enjoyed and will enjoy the next parts (to which I have no clue where this fic is actually gonna go I had a beginning and ending part to it and that was all lol, so lets see how this turns out)

permtaglist

@queer-cosette @sephiralorange @lunanight2012

@daughter-of-the-stars11 @musicarose @random-thoughts-003​

@remembered-license​ @thecaptainsgingersnap​ @rintheemolion​

@imtryingthisout​ @verboetoperee​ @jatp-rules-my-life​

[langdxn]

Omg I love this song idea so much! How about Love Bites by Def Leppard? 💕

So this was a pretty popular request! I’ve also had (quite) a few asks for some Xavier goodness with mixtapes so I’ve merged them all together, I hope that’s okay! This is quite sub!Xavier too and fluffy as hell, so be warned... 🖤🖤🖤

“Fuck you, Xavier, I knew you stole my Hall and Oates!”

A tornado of cassette tapes and receipts circled the front seat as Chet furiously rummaged through the glove box of the Vanta-C.

“Oh please, Chet, don’t pretend you have good taste in music,” Xavier cast a salacious grin over to his passenger, snowed under a pile of parking tickets and rolling papers. “I’ve seen your collection and there’s way too much Whitney Houston in there.”

“Blasphemy!” Ray chimed in from beside you. “There’s no such thing as too much Whitney Houston!”

“You keep telling yourself that, Mr Pet Shop Boys,” Xavier barked back.

“Hey, that’s my Billy Idol!” Montana screeched was a cassette tape flew in her direction. “I’ve been looking for this for weeks, Klepto Plympton!”

“I can’t be held responsible for you jerks littering up my van!” Xavier shrugged, his cut-off jade vest emphasising every single slick movement of his muscles.

Tossing aside an empty hip flask, a distinctive red tape with a Tipp-Exed label fell right into Chet’s hands.

“What’s this?” Chet raved, holding it aloft like a trophy, noticing your name scrawled into the bumpy white sticker. “Is this a mixtape for the shy one?”

“I—uhh,” Xavier stuttered, frantically searching for an explanation, his gaze fixed on the red tape in Chet’s hand as if willing it to not exist. “She needed a new tape for her metal aerobics class, didn’t you babe?”

You leaned forward in your seat in the far back corner, speechless. The whole gang turned to face you, intently watching your reaction to the development.

“Bullshit, Plympton, she’s just as surprised as we are.” Ray landed a reassuring hand on your knee. “Looks like our Xav’s got the hots for you, pretty girl!”

“Then let’s hear it,” Chet slotted the tape into the cassette player, rubbing his hands together as he waited for the first notes.

“Shut up guys,” Xavier snapped, clearing his throat and slamming his hand on the pause button. “We hardly know each other.”

“Hardly know each other, my ass,” Montana smirked from ear to ear, leaning in to whisper to you. “Good luck babe, his dick is huge.”

Xavier swerved the van around a tight corner and pulled to a stop, yanking the handbrake with all his might and peering over his sunglasses.

“Last stop, the studio. Everybody out, you motherfuckers!”

The blur of everybody grabbing their bags and jackets zoomed past you like a neon kaleidoscope. Before long, you were the only one left in the van, deafening silence replacing the cacophony of gossip and the grinding of lighters sparking up joints.

You were staring into mid-air for what felt like hours, concentrating on that red tape nestled in the player. Was Xavier telling the truth? Or had he actually made a mixtape for you? There’s no way a guy as flawless as that aerobics maestro could be interested in you; he was right about one thing, you hardly knew each other. Not that familiarity seemed to bother him too much, the talk of his past hookups suggested the less he knew about the girl he was screwing, the better.

“Cat got your tongue, baby girl?” Xavier piped up from the van door, peering his heavenly blue gaze over his sunglasses. “Haven’t you got a class?”

“N—no, not for another half hour,” you stumbled over your words like a lovesick teenager, tucking your hair behind your ear and gazing at the floor. Xavier hauled himself into the back, swinging the van door closed behind him and crashing down on the seat beside you.

“Then we’ve got all the time in the world, beautiful,” he purred into your ear, his arm draping over your shoulder as he leaned over you.

The tense air between you filled with familiar sounds from the tape player, Def Leppard booming through the speakers Xavier had rigged in the back.

If you’ve got love in your sights, watch out, love bites

“Is this—“

“Yep,” Xavier hummed. “Just for you, babe.”

“I—I love Def Leppard,” you stumbled over your words, losing yourself in his oceanic gaze.

When you make love, do you look in your mirror?

“I know you do, baby,” he husked, a hand reaching to ghost featherlight fingertips over your bare thigh, daring himself to slip his fingers beneath your skirt. “I know you better than you think, shy girl.”

Who do you think of? Does he look like me?

“You think so?” You quirked an eyebrow, leaving Xavier swallowing hard and rearranging his tight white trousers, his pants failing miserably at concealing the raging hard-on beneath the thin fabric. Not that Xavier minded you knowing the state he’s got himself in, the restriction of his clothing just made him more frustrated.

Do you tell lies? And say that it’s forever?

Suddenly, you swung a thigh over his lap and straddled Xavier’s waist in one slick move. The actor’s arm was still draped across the chair you just left, stunned into silence for the first time in a long while.

Do you think twice, or just touch and see?

“You still sure about that, lover boy?” You cupped his delicate face in your hands, fingers digging passionate trenches into his neck as you leaned in to kiss him deeply.

When you’re alone, do you let go?

“You kept that quiet,” Xavier chuckled into your mouth, humming contentedly as his hands finally compute your move and surge up to wander across the expanse of your back.

Are you wild and willing or is it just for show?

“I keep a lot of things quiet, Plympton. You should try it sometime.”

I don’t want to touch you too much baby

Trailing your hand down the hollow of his throat and following the curve of his chest to the waistband of his pants, Xavier’s breaths quickened and his heart raced. He simply couldn’t conjure one of his quick-witted one liners to entice you further — for a start, you didn’t need enticing further. Your sudden assertion of control over him made Xavier weak, knocking all sense of power out of him as you assumed your place on top of him.

‘Cause making love to you might drive me crazy

“What’s the matter, baby?” You cooed as you slowly inched his zipper down and set his length free with a groan caught in the back of Xavier’s throat. “Cat got your tongue?”

I know you think that love is the way you make it

“I—I… fuck,” Xavier slicked back his quiff and searched your eyes for confirmation. “Am I dreaming right now?”

So I don’t want to be there when you decide to break it

“Not quite, Xav,” you hummed as your fingers curled around his tip and palmed him softly, his hips gently rocking into your touch. “Just be a good boy and let me take control.”

Love bites, love bleeds, it’s bringing me to my knees

Raising your hips to line his tip with your soaking folds, electric anticipation bolted through your core as his length slipped inside you. You both moaned erotically in unison, Xavier’s head throwing back into the chair as you eased down onto his cock.

Love lives, love dies, it’s no surprise

“You know you could’ve just told me you liked me, right?” A groan died in Xavier’s throat as he bottomed out, hands gripping your hips as you sank down onto him.

Love begs, love pleads, it’s what I need

“Now where’s the fun in that?” You whimpered lightly, sinking open-mouthed kisses into the nape of his neck. “After all, you thought I was shy.”

When I’m with you are you somewhere else?

“I also thought you wouldn’t be up for banging on the first date but we’ve not even made it to a first date yet.”

Am I getting through or do you please yourself?

“I think we’re way past first dates, don’t you?” You punctuated with a slow roll of your hips, sending Xavier’s eyes shooting to the ceiling. “You made me a goddamn mixtape, Xav.”

When you wake up will you walk out?

“Yeah well—oh fuck—it wasn’t supposed to come out like this,” Xavier growled under his breath, jutting his hips up to meet yours.

It can’t be love if you throw it about

“What wasn’t, baby?”

I don’t wanna touch you too much baby

“How—how I feel about you,” Xavier glanced down to where your bodies met, watching his cock emerge from your folds soaking wet, your arousal dribbling onto his white pants.

‘Cause making love to you might drive me crazy

“Use your words, Plympton,” you snapped down onto his length and wriggled your hips to take him as deep inside you as possible, instigating a tight, burning, wanting sensation deep within your walls — teasing Xavier only led you even closer to your own orgasm. “You didn’t pick Love Bites just because you’ve got a high school crush, did you?”

Love bites, love bleeds, it’s bringing me to my knees

Constricting your walls around him and drinking in the accompanying moans spilling from his lips, you resolved to hold off cumming until he spoke out.

Love lives, love dies, it’s no surprise

“You’re really gonna make me say it, aren’t you?” Xavier tried in vain to distract you both by pistoning his hips up to you, but he only succeeded in chasing his own release as his cock smoothly grazed your pulsing walls with every thrust. “Fuck, I’m gonna cum—“

Love begs, love pleads, it’s what I need

“Goddamnit Xav, just say it so I can say it back already.”

Xavier shot you a perplexed look, raised eyebrows tangling with his blissfully parted O-shaped lips to create his own brand of ‘about to cum but confused about it’ look.

If you’ve got love in your sights, watch out, love bites

Spotting his weakness, you started grinding down on him with a smooth flick of your hips, tightening your walls around him and watching in awe as his back arched frantically and his cock twitched fervently, desperately, relentlessly.

“I… I think I’m in love with you.”

With his confession, Xavier pumped into you and gave into his release, pouring against your walls just as you unleashed a fresh tidal wave of arousal over him. Your blending moans filled the van well above the music, a symphony of lust-blown cries as you both gripped onto each other.

Yes it does, it will be hell

Melting gasps and exhausted breaths into one, you fell speechless as you rode out your orgasm together. Venturing both hands to cup his face, you stole a blissful kiss from his lips and melted into him as his arms wrapped around you. Pressing your forehead against his, you whispered softly.

“I love you too, Xavier.”

[lbalsa]

dreams

alice in wonderland!au

cheshire!naib x reader

a/n: this is like. def ooc but let's just blame that on the fact that it's an au hahahahha…. this was also entirely self indulgent sorry not sorry. catboys <3

where the hell were you?

 you allowed your eyes a few seconds to adjust to the dark light and quickly realized that you were in completely unfamiliar territory. you were flanked by deep purple wood as far as the eye could see. there did not appear to be any structures of significance— not even a sign— but there was a trail. rather, there were four. actually… you happened to find yourself at the exact crossroad connecting the paths.

 you attempted to remember how you got here, but your mind felt empty. you couldn’t recall anything. the dim lighting of the forest, being placed in the middle of a crossroads, no sounds or signs of organic life...

 it was eerie, to say the least.

the well-known feeling of panic began to bubble in the pit of your stomach, and it suddenly became impossible to breathe.

 “hello there,” suddenly greeted a voice behind you. you whipped around so fast it caused a sharp pain in your neck, but you didn’t mind it as you were much more interested in how someone had managed to sneak up behind you without making a single sound.

 you were greeted firstly by piercing, feline eyes, and equally striking bright blue hair— and fur. the man-cat hybrid sported the body of a man but the feet and paws of a cat, which, in all honesty, was not nearly as shocking as the fact that he was floating in the air above you.

 you shook yourself from your stupor of awe and asked, “who are you?”

 “who are you?” he echoed. “you seem lost.”

 ignoring the blatant ‘uno-reverse’ situation, you’re glad he brought up the topic of you being lost first. you don’t trust him— he didn’t even answer your question (though, to his credit, neither did you)— but you need all the help you can get.

 or maybe it’s because something about him made you want to put your guard down; he reminded you of someone— but your wispy memories gave you little more to remember than a smile that somehow never failed to cheer you up.

 “actually, yes, i’m a bit lost. can you point me in the direction to go?”

 “that…” the cat circled around your form in the air, as if studying you, “depends on where you want to go.”

 you caught on to the game that he was playing, but honestly, you were just desperate to get out of these creepy woods.

 “then, where will these paths lead me?”

 you blinked as the man (cat? you still weren’t quite sure) vanished right before your eyes. you stared at where his frame was just mere moments prior until you heard his voice behind you again.

 “this road,” he gesticulated with his tail, “will take you to the mad hatter’s place. but, he likes to play tricks on people, so i would be wary if i were you.”

 he teleported to the path on your right.

 “and this one is the one to the march hare’s. he’s a bit… trigger happy.”

 his smile got wider, as if he had just said something very amusing. you lost track of how many times you had seen him disappear before you (though you still didn’t understand it), this time materializing right next to you, scaring you out of your mind.

 “would you stop that?” you snapped— or, tried to, but it came across as more of a confused plea. the cat smirked mischievously at you, once more vanishing before your eyes just to appear again at your side as he smoothly took your left hand in his and placed a light kiss upon your knuckles.

 you really wished you had his power of turning invisible right now. maybe then he wouldn’t notice how red your face has gotten…

 “stop what?” the cat purred.

 taking your hand out of his, you said, “the whole vanishing act thing! it’s very disorienting.”

 “all right,” the cat gave in surprisingly quickly, flourishing his cape and giving you a playful bow before beginning to disappear one last time, slowly, until the only thing you could see was the ghost of a familiar grin. a minute passed and you were still reeling from what had just occurred.

 you stood at the crossroads, not any less lost than you were before, but your heart felt significantly lighter.

 ♠ ♣ ♥ ♦

 your eyes slowly fluttered open as light bombarded you through your curtains. you move to stretch before realizing that a weight around your waist is keeping you in place. your slight movement caused naib’s eyes to snap open in alarm. he blinked at you for a moment before closing his eyes once more and snuggling into the crook of your neck. you giggled, leaning into his warmth and placing a kiss on naib’s forehead. he smiled.

 he really is just like a cat…

[thgfanficinspo]

Fear of the Water - Ch 18

Finnick deals with the fallout from Annie’s breakdown (some sexy Capitol Finnick) (Henry Cavill was my fancast for Finnick before the movie came out)

My AO3 - Chapter 1 - Jonsa - Coryo - Discovery of Witches

(ANNIE)

When I wake up, I’m in a white tube. It’s small so small and I’m strapped down – arms, legs, body, even head. There’s a whirring, buzzing sound coming from within the walls. Then there are voices.

“Aw, shit, she’s awake.”

“Should we put her back down?”

I struggle against my bonds. Are they going to kill me? Why am I here? What are they doing to me?

“Yeah, she’s gonna fuss.”

There are footsteps now – coming toward me. I try to tear my arms out of their bonds but nothing happens. I scream. The voices yell to one another and I scream and I scream and I scream. I don’t want this. Finnick and Mags said it was over now and I was safe and I don’t think they’d lie to me but maybe they did or maybe they never said it at all I don’t want to die.

There’s a sharp pain in my right thigh. Then it goes dark.

(FINNICK)

We’re supposed to go back to that damn waiting room with the grey walls and floor-length windows and fake orchid.

I skulk around in the hallway after the others have gone inside, hoping to catch a moment alone with the female doctor who flirted with me. She comes out through a doorway which she locks behind her. She’s too distracted by the papers in her hand to notice me. I clear my throat and she looks up.

“Mr. Odair. Shouldn’t you be in the waiting room?”

“It’s a bit stuffy in their for my taste,” I say. “Especially after all that drama.” I straighten up and close the space between us.

“Yes, that was really something,” she agrees. Her eyes rake my body up and down. She has to turn away.

“Have you ever seen anything like that before?”

“I haven’t personally.”

“No?” I’m not nearly as smooth as I usually am. I’m too anxious to be charming. “Annie’s something special then.” I step up behind her and move her hair away from the side of her neck. “Like you.” I press my lips to the side of her neck and she nearly collapses. I keep my arms tight around her waist and pull her against me.

She gasps my name.

“Will you tell me something?”

“What?” she asks breathlessly.

I flick the tip of my tongue over the pulse-point of her throat. “What are you planning to do with Annie Cresta?”

“Anthea!” We both look up. Her male colleague is standing at the other end of the hallway. He’s a good ten years younger than she is, but he has an air of superiority about him. And he looks pissed.

The woman – Anthea, I guess – goes ramrod straight and tosses off my arms. “It’s not –”

“We need to talk,” he says simply, his glaring eyes locked on mine. Anthea hustles down the hall and through the door the male doctor came through. He and I maintain eye contact as long as possible, until the door shuts behind him.

I growl under my breath. “Fuck.”

I’ve definitely made things worse. If that other damn doctor hadn’t come in . . .

Mags is pacing around the room with one of her hands over her mouth when I come in. Proteus stands a few feet away from me, apparently deep in thought. Eefa has made a surprise visit, which she clearly regrets. No sign of Broadsea, but that’s no surprise. He’s probably passed out in his own puke by now. I normally wouldn’t care but I feel that since Eefa made it here, he should’ve at least tried.

Proteus raises an eyebrow at me, silently asking what I found out. I shake my head.

The same two doctors as before come out to speak to us after about twenty minutes of waiting. They’re much more serious. “She did suffer trauma to the head while in the Arena,” the man says.

“But you don’t think that’s what’s causing her issues,” Proteus says.

Anthea nods. Gone is the quivering woman in the hall, replaced with someone cold and angry. She’s going out of her way to not look at me. “The tasks we had her do when she first woke up didn’t indicate any neurological or physiological issues. We did scans, too, after her tantrum at the recap, and they didn’t show anything out of the ordinary.”

“Tantrum?” I repeat.

“Then what’s wrong?” Proteus asks over me.

“We believe it’s mental illness,” the male doctor says.

None of us know what that means. We don’t have mental illness in the districts, at least not the words to describe it, but the Capitol has words for everything. They have enough leisure time to think about things like that, to come up with ailments to explain their every mood.

Our faces must betray our inability to understand because they take a different route.

The female doctor is the one to speak. “We are going to have Annie Cresta declared mentally insane.”

“What?” I spit.

Proteus speaks over me again. “Isn’t that a bit premature? She hasn’t been out of the arena for long.”

“We believe a swift announcement is in her best interest at this time,” the male doctor says.

“Her closing interview with Caesar Flickerman has been canceled,” the female says, totally ignoring our reactions. She may have succumb to my charms and looks before, but now she seems immune. “President Snow will make the announcement during that time slot instead.”

I don’t know what to say.

“What would you like us to do in the meantime?” Proteus asks after a moment, voice totally neutral. The crease between his eyebrows is the only sign that he’s troubled by all of this. The only sign.

I could kill him.

“She’s currently under anesthesia, but I recommend you board the train back to your district soon,” the woman continues. “Before anyone gets wind of this.”

“Why?” Eefa asks, brows creased.

“What do you mean, Why?” I ask.

“Why are you declaring her insane? What exactly is wrong with her?”

“Why do you think?” I snap. The first thing I hear her say in a week and she asks something stupid like that?

“I’d like to hear the diagnosis,” Eefa says.

The woman doctor sighs and looks down at her clip board. She knows we won’t understand any of it. “She shows symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, attention def –”

Proteus holds up his hand. “That’s enough.” He has no idea what any of it means, either. “Eefa?” he asks, turning to her. She nods, satisfied with what she’s heard. Maybe she was making sure they covered their bases; we generally accept that mad people are mad, but you need real proof to declare a victor mentally insane before the whole country.

“There is one piece of permanent physical damage I ought to mention,” the female doctor says. “Due to the stab wound in her abdomen, she won’t be able to conceive or carry children. There’s too much tissue damage.” No one really cares about that right now. What we care about – what I care about – is getting Annie out of here without adding to the damage that’s already been done. “I thought one of you ought to tell her once you’re back in your district and she’s had a chance to calm down.”

“I think you should get ready to leave,” the male doctor says. “She’ll be up in –” he checks his wristwatch and bobbles his head as he does the math in his head “– ninety minutes, give or take.”

“Yes,” Mags says distractedly. “Yes, of course.” She blinks several times.  “I’ll start preparing. And have Brae send for the train. Proteus, please get Annie’s stylist so we can get her ready to go.” The others go – Eefa practically sprints out – and I want to move, too, but my muscles won’t let me. Mags’s hand finds my shoulder. “She’s alive, Finnick. That’s what matters.”

I nod again because I can’t think of anything to say.

“Go. Clean up. Clear your head. I’ll be along in a few minutes. I just want to check in on her.”

When I get upstairs to our rooms, Greer rushes towards me and starts making a lot of gestures. I’m not sure what she’s asking until she runs her hand down her hair in a smooth, wavy motion. Like the way Annie’s hair falls.

“Annie?” I guess.

She nods.

I’m too tired to explain it all. “She’ll be all right.”

I start undressing before I make it all the way into my room, discarding my clothes as I go. Somes picks them up as he follows behind me.

I blast the water in the shower to its highest setting and make the temperature as cold as I can bear. I only take hot showers in the Capitol when I’ve just seen a patron. Different temperatures for different problems. It helps me compartmentalize. Keep my head straight.

I’m good at that. Compartmentalizing, keeping my mind focused on the task at hand. I always have been. A lot of victors simply can’t do that – it’s why they turn to drink or drugs. But I haven’t. And I won’t.

I don’t notice the slip of paper folded on my pillow until I start dressing. The paper is off-white and thick – the sort of expensive, heavy stuff they only use in the Capitol. I open it up, and the custom watermark at the top of the page informs me that this is from C.X.S.

President Snow has left me a handwritten note of congratulations.

The others have all gotten them, too.

Mags says he always does for the victors of the winning district. Etiquette, she says, is the most important thing to Coriolanus. Not for the first time, I wonder how well Mags knew him when they were young.

Broadsea whips a lighter out of his pocket and sets the note on fire before dropping it in an empty metal bin. He hasn’t even opened it. Eefa drops her own note into the bin; Mags gives Broadsea her letter to burn, too. I don’t know if she’s read it. Proteus tucks his away in his jacket pocket and tells me to do the same if I want to be smart. I don’t have a reason to save it; I’ve already memorized every word. But I decide to keep it anyway. In case I ever need a reminder.

Mr. Odair,

Congratulations on your very first victor. This is an exciting time for your fellow victors and all of District 4. It is an especially important time for you, as this is your first time mentoring a victor.

Of course he adds a little statement of regret at the end of my note containing a veiled threat:

I hope that you will not be bogged down by the weight of responsibility. It would be unfair for anyone to expect a young man such as  you to take on the burden of Miss Cresta’s care.

It seems innocuous enough, but it’s another little reminder to stand back and just let things unfold. Men like Finnick Odair don’t get involved with that sort of thing, and girls like Annie Cresta never really go home.

My best regards to you and your new victor,

President Coriolanus X. Snow

[lewyn-martell]

yo real talk you got any tips on how to tell the difference between each beatle when looking at old pics and vids

dude i wish i could be of more help because i don’t have a system of like checking the nose or the hair because i just… do tell them apart instantly, but i’m gonna try to list some differences between them. 

first of all, if you see them doing a performance, there’s always the same positions they occupy unless something happens (like in 1964,s NME in which john changed to paul’s microphone during twist and shout because his was falling apart njsnjsn or the rooftop concert).

paul is always (looking from this perspective at them) on our left, george is always in the middle and john is on the right. ringo is, obviously, the one on the drums. this can only normally change when john and paul sing on the same microphone, but it’s usually like this. in early days george was always the one with the big ass guitar and paul is the left-handed one.

other things to notice about paul: he’s got anime legs, which basically means they’re pretty skinny, but not like george who is skinny everywhere, it’s just his legs nkjsnksjns and he’s a lot of times with his legs together, the opposite of john who stood with his legs apart, which i think lead people to believe paul was effeminate (which he def wasn’t). plus, he obviously uses left-handed instruments, so if you see them with their instruments paul will be the dude with the fretboard on his right hand.

looking just at his face, you can see that his chin is… uh… divided? i think it’s called chin dimple njknakj (here in brazil we say something like booty chin) and if you see him in profile you can see it’s prominent). his eyebrows are thin and of a very noticeable shape and the format of his face is also pretty recognizable, like some kind of fruit-shape…. i’m sorry nsjskjnskj his eyes are big and umm sleepy? (i’m finding out i can’t describe facial features for shit in english) and you can see wrinkles around them every time he smiles and ever since he was a young man. he had bunny front teeth before he busted them in 66 and he was the one with the darker hair, although that information is not totally helpful with low quality black and white photos or ones with too much contrast.

john lennon is the one with the lighter hair. his nose is long, thin and points down esp when you see his profile. he’s also got cow eyebrows and a long face. he is the one with the thinner lips, longest eyelashes and got spots on his face. he was the one who appeared to be the chubbiest (thicker? smth like that) on early days and as i mentioned he stood with his legs apart and seemed to be looking at nothing in particular at all times because he was fucking blind.

you can tell george instantly apart because of his eyebrows. they are… thick and almost like… a unibrow and his eyes are very intense and the darkest among the beatles. he is definitely the skinnier and has a signature smile. his nose is…. cute shaped,,, idk how to describe it, but look at it. also, his lower lip is much… fuller than the upper one. also, during performances, he tends to bend down a lot and sometimes move his legs in a much different way than john and paul.

ringo also has lighter hair. he is the only beatle with blue eyes and he’s got a big nose, in a very different way than john’s big nose. he’s got like, no jaw at all and his lips are very full. he’s also the shortest. he’s got some fangs (so does george, but i always found ringo’s more pronounced cause his teeth are way less straight) and a killer smile, it’s instantly recognizable because his whole face lights up.

so, if i had to tell it quickly, i’d def look at their eyebrows, noses and face formats first.

like, on this photo, can you see how paul (the first one, left to right) is the one with the thinner eyebrows? john (the next one) is here with his long face and nose, ringo is the one with the small head and you just have to look at george’s eye region to say it’s him.

look at this, omg they’re not on their usual positions and there are two big ass guitars !! do not fret, i’m sure you can tell ringo apart cause he’s the one *ahem* sitting down, so there’s only three to go. notice that dude in the middle with the skinny legs and left-handed instrument: that’s paul. so now i would start to sweat because you can’t really see the faces very clearly, but notice the lost blind look and lighter hair of the one on the left, that’s definitely john, you can kinda see his long nose too, right? so the other one is george.

now, can you tell which is which without me telling the answer? hauhauha 

in all seriousness, the easiest way to tell them apart is actually knowing them and getting used to them. when you start reading about them and seeing them perform, you can actually see how they are very different people.

i sincerely hope i helped.

[heartfulofsighs]

Baggage Claim

Description: Seunghoon back from a business trip only has a mind for growing his company. You are in the middle of running from the by the book life that was drowning you. When a minor inconvenience sets you in his path will you be the reason he eases up? And could he be what you need to get serious again? 

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 

I’ve been wanted to get this out forever. Not sure how many parts will be in this series but def more then 3. There will be smut eventually but the first parts will be very tame. Thanks always to @negrowhat who I keep on retainer now to bounce ideas off of lolololol. About 2.7k

   He listened to the ringing tone his brow furrowed in deep annoyance. He couldn’t figure out how this had happened. Not only that he felt just the tad bit attacked by the events of the day. He already had enough on his plate and here was this… He glanced down at the black suite case that was most definitely not his and groaned. There was a pink luggage tag hanging from the front shaped like a crown. “Take me, I’m yours.” The tag said on one side, on the other was a name and phone number. He had called 5 times in an effort to get his bag.    “Hey, you’ve reached_____. Please leave your number and I’ll try to get back to you...I’m travelling so it might be longer then usual. Take care...bye!” You sounded mostly cheerful and it made him just a touch madder. He took a breath and left another message. He had already confirmed with the airline that his bag was indeed not left there. He took a breath and left another message. His tone was clipped but he couldn’t help it he had work to do and you were holding him up. “Hello, my name is Seunghoon and I do believe we switched bags at the airport. Please call me back as soon as you hear this. Thank you, bye.” He ended the call and stared at his phone. You should have noticed by now that you didn’t have your bag. Time was ticking and he finally gave up, he pushed the bag, your bag, to his car and placed it in the trunk. He had meetings to think over. Things that weren’t going to wait for you to pick up your phone. “This is not theft…” He said gently to himself, “she didn’t pick up the phone,” he opened the car door and got in, “what the hell else am I supposed to do with it?” He said as he pulled the door closed.

You had given your mom maybe a week’s notice. The idea had been in your mind for so long in retrospect, you could have given her more time. Could have let her know that you felt like you were drowning. That everything anyone said to you felt like a lie. You could have told her that your job felt like it was crushing the life out of you that everytime you got home you weren’t any happier. It had taken a lot of self convincing. A lot of you telling yourself that wanting to be happy wasn’t a crime and disappearing...well that disappearing didn’t make you a quitter. It had morphed from a two week long trip to you buying a one way ticket. Your mother was practically in hysterics but then she took a few days out of the weeks notice you gave her and calmed herself. She called you while you were packing most of your life into one large black suitcase. “I want you to be satisfied with your life. You only get one. So if this is what you need to do with yours...then do it.” There was a part of you that knew this could all be melodramatic bullshit. That all the problems you thought you had weren’t real problems. But you went anyway. You had found a long term airbnb and paid for 5 months. It had taken a lot of saving, your trip may have seemed spur of the moment to everyone else but you knew the truth. You had laid out a very neat plan for leaving. What you didn’t know was what would happen after the 5 months had finished. Would you stay? Would you come back a new person like in the movies? Maybe you would come back with a whole new perspective only to have your old life crush you all over again. You considered the option then immediately turned your mind to other things. You pushed your bag in front of you and thought about catching a cab. It didn’t cross your mind that your bag seemed lighter than before.

“So have you opened it?” He rolled his eyes and shook his head, “why would I open it, it isn’t mine.” He pointed out. His friend Mino leaned back on his couch eyeing the bag suspiciously. “Maybe it has an address or something inside?” He pushed. “There’s an address on the luggage tag...but it’s her home address.” He was beginning to lose his temper. Mino was suppose to be over for meeting prep and here they were wasting time over luggage.  Seunghoon had already moved on. You hadn’t called him and he had mentally chalked the clothes in his bag up as a loss. He had taken his usual post flight nap, and now he was ready to work. They were gathered in his living room for a particular purpose. Getting ready for a meeting on a sponsorship. He loved his friend but most times his odd lack of focus drove him crazy. Hoon was on the opposite side of the spectrum. Once he set his mind to an idea it was hard to be distracted. He had to see it through to the end. He bit his bottom lip his thoughts centered around getting what he wanted.   “So it’s a she?” Mino questioned. Seunghoon made a frustrated noise, “why does that matter?” He asked. “It doesn’t,” he said, “I was just curious.” Mino ran his hands through his hair and sighed, “sit down, relax a little, you’re all bent out of shape.” “Are we finally gonna talk about this meeting?” He asked. He didn’t have the patience to talk about anything else. “I have some more questions about the guy we’re meeting.” He pushed. Mino kept his eyes on the bag, a small grin forming on his face. “Later,” he stood up and put his hands on the zipper, “let’s just take a quick peek in here, then I promise we’ll prep.” He started pulling the zippers apart before Seunghoon could stop him. In fact he watched in a sort of annoyed horror as he opened the bag dramatically. “Wow,” Clothes piled out and Hoon put his hand over his face. “She packed a lot,” Mino babbled, “look at all these shirts...she must be staying for a while.” He picked one up and read the saying across the chest out loud, “not your babygirl.” “Put that down.” He seethed, “what your doing is an invasion of privacy...what if she sues me?” “Relax, it’s not like I’m looking at her underwear or anything. I’m just trying to see if maybe she has a card of where she’s staying out here or something like that.” Mino explained. “You aren’t making any sense.” Hoon pushed. Mino looked up, a small grin on his face, “what if this was all fate?” “What are you talking about?” He moved away from his friend, fed up. “What if you two meet while switching the bags back...and it’s like...meant to be?” His voice was rising with excitement. “Like a fairytale!” “Put the shirt down, and please stop.” Hoon whispered. Mino rolled his eyes and obliged, setting the shirt down, “you have no imagination.” He said softly to himself. He repacked the bag and carefully zipped it up. “Fine let’s talk about this meeting that you’re so worried about.” He leaned back again. “What do you want to know?” He asked, “don’t be mad if I don’t have all his secrets.” He warned. Hoon sat on the couch opposite him and sighed, “I don’t need all the secrets, really I just wanna know if he has a soft side for anything? Any charities?” Mino was studying his hand with rapt attention. He cleared his throat, “he donates a lot to charities that benefit single mothers.” He said. Hoon nodded. “Also instruments to high school music programs.” He added. Hoon liked Seungyoon he thought that he ran a good clean company. Adding him to his list of clientele would be a win on everyone’s part. He sat back and considered his pitch. He wanted to make sure it was clear and concise. “I think what you have down already is perfect. I think you might be worrying about this too much.” Mino offered. He rolled his eyes. “Someone has to worry about it.” He said softly. “You really need to relax, all this stress...it can’t be good for you.” Mino added, “maybe after we get through with all this you should take a vacation.” Hoon rolled his neck and sighed. He didn’t feel like arguing.

The Airbnb was more of a loft then anything. It was painted blue with two white garage doors facing the street. A flight of metal steps leading up the side of the building gave you hope. The host had mentioned them in the instructions.  You climbed the stairs dragging your bag and worrying that it indeed felt much lighter. You stared down at it and noticed your pink crown luggage tag was gone. Shit. Your fingers trembled as you pulled on the zipper right there on the landing. In front of the boring brown door that you should be knocking on.   “Oh no.” You breathed out loud. The clothes peeking through the small space you had unzipped did not look like yours. They were all monotone and vaguely smelled of cologne. “This isn’t my bag.”  You said. You couldn’t figure out what to do. You stood straight and knocked feebly on the door. Your phone was somewhere in your backpack, maybe your bag was still at the airport? Maybe you could call the airline and tell them what happened. “Hey welcome!” The door swung open. The girl standing in the doorway was shorter than you and all around smaller in the way you had gotten use to. Most girls were smaller than you. It wasn’t an observation you thought about anymore.  She had gigantic brown eyes and long dark hair. Her skin was perfect, not a blemish on it. She beamed at you with straight white teeth and reached for your arm. “Come in come in. It’s cold out there.” You had to admit she was pretty strong for someone so small. Once you were in she closed the door and faced you. She brushed imaginary dust from the front of her crisp white tshirt and then extended her hand. “I’m Cherry!” She announced. You shook her hand and introduced yourself though you were less cheerful about it. “Lemme take you on the grand tour-“ “Actually, can you just show me which room is mine?” You asked, “also the WiFi password so I can check my messages?” Your voice rose in panic the more you talked. You couldn’t control it. She cocked her head studying you then nodded, “sure, you’re room is this one right at the beginning of the hall….the WiFi password is treehouse.” She showed you to the door and you wished you had been able to control your worry more. She seemed perfectly nice and you hoped you this first impression wasn’t going to hang over the five months you were staying. “I’m sorry,” your voice was stammering the words barely making it out of your mouth, “it’s, my...my bag it’s just…” She stopped walking and looked at your suitcase trying to figure out what you meant, “what happened to it?” She asked. She rubbed your arm, concern etched on her face, “hey, maybe you should sit down?” She suggested. You shook your head, “I just need to check my messages, and call the airport,” you took another step and took a big breath. This was an easy to solve problem.    “I think, I think I picked up someone else’s bag at the airport…” You turned, the offending bag that was definitely not yours squarely in your sights. “I opened the zipper just a little cause it felt too light, and those aren’t my clothes, also it smells like cologne.” Cherry’s already wide eyes got even bigger. Like he has yours and you have his? He’s probably calling you.” She said. You started to try and shrug off your backpack. Your phone was in there. To your new room mate’s credit she watched patiently as you dug your phone out. She spelled out the simple password and clapped her hands when a slew of voicemail notifications popped up on your screen. “He’s been calling you. That must mean he’s got your stuff!” She cheered. You felt yourself beginning to calm down. You held your breath as you prompted the newest message to play. “Hello, my name is Seunghoon and I do believe we switched bags at the airport. Please call me back as soon as you hear this. Thank you, bye.”

You let out the breath you were holding in one big whoosh. Cherry smiled hard, “see, it’s gonna be fine! Just give him a call back and you guys can trade back.”    “Yeah,” you agreed. Your hands were shaking a bit but there was a rush of relief. Your whole trip had almost been derailed. You would have had to cut into your very careful budget for clothes, and shoes, and everything else you had stuffed in your bag.    “Call him back.” Cherry urged. You tapped your phone screen and held it to your ear. You didn’t know her but it was reassuring to have her touch your arm. The ringing tone felt like it was echoing in your ear until it stopped.

“Hello?” His apartment was empty. Mino had gone home long ago and he was enjoying a hot cup of tea while he watched a movie. There was a quiet breath taken on the other end of the line. He waited.    “Ummm, hi...I think we may have switched bags at the airport?” He sat forward on his couch.    “Yeah, I have your bag.” He blurted out, “when can we meet?!” He winced at how loud his voice sounded. He listened as you took a large breath. He could almost feel your relief.    “Listen, I’m happy you have my stuff but I’m not sure if I have the energy to leave my airbnb right this minute.” You confessed. He considered this and understood. He was use to travelling all over and had his own tricks for jet lag. Maybe you didn’t. He looked at his watch, it was getting late. Your bag was near his front door. He stared at it and wondered what you would wear until he got it back to you. “Is it possible to meet tomorrow?” You asked him. “I have a meeting.” He answered automatically. “Oh, maybe at your lunch break? I mean we’re just switching back. I promise I won’t take up any extra time...I’ll even meet you near your job.” You sounded desperate and he felt a bit guilty. “Do you want to give me the address to your airbnb? I can just drive there and we can switch?” He asked. There was a pause. He bit his bottom lip. “I’m not sure how my roommate would feel about that...please, can you just give me a place to meet you tomorrow? Like a cafe? I promise I’ll be there at whatever time.” The desperation was giving way to exhaustion. He would push normally, for his way which made the most sense. Why have you trek somewhere with his stuff when he could just pick it up? But for some reason he found himself giving in. He sighed, “There’s a cafe inside of my office building. I’ll text you the address and you can meet me there tomorrow.” He finally said. “Thanks!...do you know a time?” You asked. “Let’s say 2, I should be more then done with my meeting then.” He answered. “Ok, I’ll be there I promise. Thanks so much for your understanding, I really appreciate it.” “No problem.” He said finally. He rubbed his eyes and tried to be happy about getting his things back. He focused on that and not the stress of having the wrong bag in the first place. He could forgive you easily. You sounded like you were a few steps away from crying and he didn’t want that. “Bye then.” You said after a while. Then the line clicked off. He opened his eyes to look down at his phone. He typed out the address to his building and then got up to take a shower. His mind already already going back to his meeting. You would be the easiest part of his day...all things considered.

[one-trigger-lullaby]

Part 1 of Lance losing a leg and having more in common with Shiro than he ever thought possible

This was supposed to be just one part, but it’s going to be a few so, buckle in? Plus, let’s be real I wanted to write this so I could write Shiro and Lance bonding which will def be like 100% of part 2.

~

His leg is not where it is supposed to be.

That is the first thing that registers within Lance's mind as he wakes up in a world of white, his left leg far lighter than his right.

His memory is foggy at best, unable to tell him why he is where he is. Why his left foot doesn't feel the way it did before.

He thinks maybe it isn't there anymore.

He doesn't truly register it for a moment. His blue eyes are dull, pointed up at the ceiling and his hand leans down to wrap around what is left of his leg.

His hand is shaky and trembling as it slides down his hip. His hand stops quickly, cupping the stump that ended mid-thigh. His knee, calf, ankle, toes, they aren't there.

It becomes real.

The grief is heavy as it enters his system, clogging his pores. Tears make a sheen over his eyes and he hangs his head. He tries to hold it in but sobs are quick to make their way through his throat and out of his mouth, he is unable to halt the terrible sounds of grief.

He sobs in earnest, mourning as if he's lost a friend and not just a limb. It's a weird feeling, being so attached to something you never gave much thought to before.

Entitlement to something uncertain.

A comforting weight drops onto his shoulder, "Lance? Hermano?" the voice is soft.

Lance looks at Hunk through blurry vision and sniffles, "Hunk."

He's sure he looks wrecked because Hunks expression shatters and, next thing he knows, Lance is being wrapped up in a bear hug. It's the warmest hug he's ever had, but it's also the saddest.

Hunk rubs his back as he sobs, his large hands smoothing his hospital gown down.

"It's okay," Hunk mumbles, his own voice heavy with thickened tears, "It's going to be okay, hermano."

Lance's wails are loud and grieving, he doesn't believe Hunks words. How can he?

Nobody needs a leg that can't stand on its own.

Hunk is his rock, he holds Lance through the worst of his pain and grief.

He vaguely remembers him holding him as he bled out, too, ever reliable.

Lance still doesn't let go as his sobs quiet, but Hunk doesn't ask him to, he just rubs his hair gently and whispers calming words into his hair, telling him it will be okay.

Everything will be okay.

~

Hunk doesn't know how long he sits there rubbing his friend's back long after he's fallen asleep, he just knows his face is itchy with dried tears that had dripped silently down his cheeks.

His heart has never known the ache it feels now. He's never understood the pain he sees every time Keith looks as Shiro's arm, the guilt and remorse every time Shiro rubs its stiffness away before now.

He selfishly thinks his hurt is worse. He had to hold his best friend as he bled out, dying in his arms. He had to live in that moment knowing that even if Lance survived the horrific ordeal, he would never return to the way he was before. He will never be the same.

He hopes he's proven wrong.

There's a light knock on the open door and Hunk shifts gently to peer around the curtain. Shiro smiles softly, if not a bit awkwardly, "Can I come in?"

Hunk purses his lips and nods. Shiro walks in, his eyes going to Lance near immediately, a sympathetic pain on his face. He sits on the edge of the bed, quietly observing the way Lance curls in Hunk's arms. "How is he?"

"Not good," Hunk admits, his eyes shining.

His answer gives Shiro a sad twist of lips. Shiro puts a hand, his flesh hand, on Hunk's arm, "He's going to be okay. Pidge is making him a prosthetic as we speak. He'll get used to it like I-"

"He isn't you," Hunk cuts sharply in his eyes lock on the crown of Lance's head. His stomach twists in guilt, a heaviness settles. He mouthes over an apology, but it doesn't make itself known. His lips clamp shut and his eyes shoot down.

Shiro gives him a sad smile, "It's okay. This is hard on everyone. And...and it's going to continue to be hard but Lance isn't going through this alone."

No, Hunk thinks, he won't be alone, he won't have to suffer alone like-

"Like you," Hunk can't help to say. He checks Shiro's expression, but it hasn't changed.

"Like me," Shiro agrees in a soft tone. "He won't be alone, we'll all be there to help him adjust."

Hunk rubs the side of Lance's cheek gently. "You'll be more help than I will be." Hunk's heart pangs at the thought, but he knows it's true; none of them understand what Lance is going through as Shiro does.

"You being there for him will be enough, trust me."

Hunk wants to.

~

His healing is slow and sluggish, even with the help of a healing pod. Pidge comes in a few times to measure every bit of his existing leg along with the remaining stump on the other. She barely looks at him, her shoulders heavy with guilt and determination to right a wrong that she believes has been committed. Lance wants to reassure her but doesn't have the energy to. Doesn't really know what it is she thinks she did.

Lance hasn't seen Allura though Coran comes in often, even when he doesn't have to check Lance's injury, but he isn't surprised, he's sure she's busy looking for a new paladin.

For the good of the universe, he tries not to be bitter.

Shiro, Keith, and Hunk are the most frequent of his visitors. Hunk isn't a surprise, but Keith and Shiro had been an unexpected addition to his daily routine.

Hunk smiles as he walks in, a steaming bowl of something that smells heavenly in his hands as Shiro and Keith walk in behind him. Shiro waves quietly and moves to sit in a chair at his bedside as Hunk lifts the bowl onto Lance's tray. Keith just stands in the corner, staring at his feet.

"It's supposed to be sort of like pea soup but...not with pees?" Hunk says with a small chuckle, his smile only dimming a bit when Lance doesn't make a move to smile with him, his eyes staring down into the bowl despondently.

Lance robotically lifts the spoon from the soup and dips it back in, blowing on the hot liquid for a second before putting it in his mouth. It doesn't taste like much, but he doesn't know if that's his fault.

Hunk sits opposite to Shiro and starts rambling about something that Lance isn't in the mind to pay any attention to, all of his energy in feeding himself and nourishing his broken body. The others seem to be enjoying whatever he's saying though, as Shiro laughs and Keith seems, at the very least, engaged.

Lance lets himself zone out as his hand brings soup to his lips over and over until he has emptied the whole bowl, his stomach full of warmth.

Hunk takes the bowl away and says he's going to be right back after he puts it away. Keith follows and Lance thinks it's for lack of better things to do.

Lance moves his head to stare out of the window. Shiro stands, "Have you rubbed your leg today?"

Lance shakes his head and doesn't look down as Shiro removes the blanket from his stump. The healing pod sped up the healing process enough that his leg didn't need to be bandaged so Shiro only had to unwrap the brace Coran had fitted him with before digging his fingers into the ridged, deformed skin.

Shiro's hands are magic as they eased the tense muscle underneath his skin and rid him of his phantom pain. Lance lets his eyes slipped closed as he appreciates Shiro's ministrations, appreciates that Shiro doesn't require him to converse.

Shiro understands, and for that, Lance is grateful.

~

Lance feels somewhat optimistic the day Pidge comes in with his new prosthetic.

Only Shiro and Coran are present as per his requests, and Pidge still doesn't so much as look at him as she explains how she made his new leg.

She doesn't look happy as she presents him with his beacon of hope.

"Shay lent me some Balmerian crystal to power it, so it should work fine for a long time without needing to be replaced completely. I added a compartment or two on the sides where he can store weapons or other things during missions," Pidge says, running a hand down the shiny blue and silver plating.

"How durable is it?" Coran inquires, pinching his goatee between two fingers.

"It's made of tougher stuff than Shiro's arm is, actually. I picked up some of the minerals from Lrn when we visited and I decided to keep it around and now it'll be Lance's leg, so..." Pidge trails off.

"Then I guess we should get Lance set up with it as soon as we can," Shiro smiles at Lance and Lance weakly smiles back. Shiro's smile broadens and he pats Lance's shoulder.

"That sounds wonderful. Are you ready, my boy?" Coran asks.

"As I'll ever be," Lance says uncertainly, staring down at the handcrafted prosthetic that would soon hold him up.

Metal would meet-- replace flesh and Lance would earn to walk on a limb he couldn't feel.

Shiro gently jostles his shoulder, "Coran is going to put you to sleep now, we'll all be here when you wake up."

"Hunk?" Lance asks as Coran sits at his side with a needle.

"Sure," Shiro agrees softly, "he'll be here, too."

This time when Lance drifts off, he has hope.

~

Lance awakens slowly, his eyes opening to Hunk's smiling face. "Hey, buddy, how do you feel?"

Lance groggily shifts his head to the side, seeing Shiro and, just behind him, Keith. Coran is at the foot of his bed. "How do you feel, my boy? Tip top?" he asks.

Lance pulls himself up on weak arms and shifts until his back is against his pillows, wincing as his stump stings. Then he notices. His leg is heavy, heavier than his right but not unbearably so, and it occurs to him that there's something there now.

Lance looks at Hunk, his eyes wide, "My leg?"

"Do you want to see?" Shiro asks, his metal hand resting over his new prosthetic. Lance swallows and nods.

Shiro pulls back the blanket and Lance is amazed at the sight of the two legs together. His right is mocha-colored and covered in bright white and pink scars, a stark comparison to the gleaming metal that covered the left, accented with blues that match his eyes.

They're both the exact same size and length, crafted with a delicate precision that makes Lance's heart warm, knowing that Pidge must've spent hours upon hours perfecting this for him, even the bolts that hold metal plates down are customized with the Voltron insignia painted in blue.

He starts getting teary-eyed, he can't help it. He sniffs hard, "Where's Pidge?"

Hunk and Shiro share a glance, hesitant, and it's Keith that answers, "Sleeping. She hasn't gotten very much."

Lance nods slowly, a small smile etching onto his lips, "It's--really nice." His brow furrows.

"But it's a lot?" Shiro guesses.

Lance hums. It is a lot. Just under than a month ago he had two flesh legs and now...now he was missing the scar he got when his younger sister bit his knee during one of her games of 'Shark attack,' and the scar he got the first time he crashed his bike when he was seven. He can almost see the outlines where the scars would be on his flesh leg, and he feels loss.

They were all gone, and he fears that if he spends enough time in space, his memory will disappear too.

"Are you okay?" Hunk asks in concern. Lance doesn't answer.

"Can everyone give us a moment?" Shiro asks kindly. The three look hesitant but nod and leave, letting the door fall shut behind them.

"What's going through your mind?" Shiros asks softly.

Lance's opens his mouth, a lie on his tongue, but he pauses, looking into Shiro's eyes. His jaws shut. This is Shiro, he reminds himself, he understands.

"It's flawless," Lance says in a hoarse whisper, finally letting his hand roam over the smooth metal.

Shiro's brow creases, but he looks like he understands and it's a relief. "Just because the blemishes and imperfections are gone doesn't mean that they never existed in the first place, Lance."

"I know, but...I don't know when I'll get to go home and I feel like if I don't have them, then..." Lance's throat becomes clogged with tears.

Shiros firmly grips the hand that has started to clench itself around his leg, "You will go home, Lance. All of us will, one day. But this leg doesn't have to be anything more than just the thing you use to stand on. Your memories are always going to be yours, this leg will never change that."

Lance nods weakly but doesn't feel convinced.

Shiros sees this and continues, "I know what you're going through, Lance, but it won't be this way forever. Tomorrow you'll take your first steps on this leg and the rest will only get easier."

Lance meets Shiro's eyes, lip quivering, "Promise?"

Shiro pulls him in for a hug, "I promise."

~

Pidge isn't present when Lance takes his first steps, but he doesn't expect her to be, he understands how hard she's worked for him and hopes she's resting well.

Shiro's hand is steady on his arm as he puts his feet flat on the ground, taking a deep, nervouse breath."You ready buddy?" Hunk asks from his right.

Lance stares down at his feet, brown and silver, and nods.

"Alright, take it slowly," Shiro says, gently supporting his arm as he starts to lean up.

Coran is watching him carefully as he stands, watching for any problems or signs of pain.

Lance leans heavily on Shiro as he straightens, bracing his arm against his chest. He's shaky, but he's standing. Slowly, he comes more into himself and supports his weight completely on his own legs. He rotates his hips and makes a face, "Feels weird."

Shiro chuckles, "It takes some getting used to."

"Slowly take a step towards me," Coran says, his expression lighter as he sees Lance able to stand on his own without so much as a flinch.

This time, Lance holds tightly both Shiro and Hunk as he lifts his flesh foot, letting all of his weight rest on his prosthetic.

His foot falls without incident and he bends the prosthetic as effortlessly as his real leg, dropping it down in front of the other. A grin splits his face as his friends cheer.

"You've done it, my boy!" Coran cries with a happy smile.

He hears a sniffle to his left and notices that Hunk is crying, but not a sad cry. Even Shiro has a tear in his eye as he looks down at Lance with pride.

Hopelessness has blossomed into the ability to change and overcome.

"Where's Pidge?" Lance asks.

"In her room, I think, but maybe you should-" Hunk is cut off abruptly when Lance pulls away from him, taking a few small but steady steps away.

Shiro follows with him with a look of fond exasperation and catches him when he stumbles in the doorway. "Be careful."

Hunk and Coran follow, Hunk nervously but Coran ecstatically, ready to brace his back if he falls forward.

"It really is amazing you're able to walk so soon," Hunk says in wonder.

"The healing pod sped up his recovery enough that his muscles haven't atrophied with his time in bed," Shiro says.

"I love alien technology," Hunk says with an earnest, happy sigh. Lance can't help but agree.

Lance tells the others he wants to talk to Pidge alone, thinking back to how Pidge had been acting around him as of late and unable to help thinking that it is partially his fault, and they agree albeit hesitantly.

So he is left by himself in front of her door. He knocks and, without any other warning, the door slides open to reveal a bleary-eyed Pidge. Lance frowns, "I thought you were resting?"

Pidge's eyes widen, "Uh-" she pauses, her eyes roving around as if looking for an escape, "-should you be up right now?"

"Yes," Lance replies slowly, "can we talk?"

Lance can see Pidge swallow, "No, that's probably not-"

"Please?" Lance says, "I probably shouldn't be standing on this leg."

Her eyes flash down to said leg in an instant, grimacing at its wobbliness. She doesn't look happy about it, but she waves him in.

He hisses through his teeth as he gently sits on her short bed. She takes a seat at her desk, her eyes cast to her hands clutched between her knees, a look Lance has gotten used to seeing on her face.

"So," Lance starts, "what've you been doing?"

Pidge chews her lips for a second, pondering. She shakes her head, "Why are you here?"

Right to the chase, then.

Lance frowns, his left hand moving to absently scratch at the hard surface of his leg. Pidge's eyes follow the motion. "You haven't--I mean...are you okay?"

Pidge's head lifts, surprise clear in her wide eyes. She doesn't say anything, and Lance takes that as a sign that he should continue.

"It's just--I know I haven't exactly been...present... but I didn't mean to make you feel unwelcome or-"Lance cuts his rambling off abruptly, looking at Pidge from underneath his eyelashes.

Pidge just looks more confused, 'What?"

Lance doesn't understand and tilts his head to the side, hoping she continues without verbal prompting.

Pidge's lips twist uncertainly and she casts her eyes to the side, "You didn't do anything."

"Then why?" Lance asks. He feels like he knows, somewhere in the back of his mind, like an inkling.

Pidge's fists clench in her lap and then she says, in a voice so quiet, "It's my fault."

"What?" Lance looks at her with wide, confused eyes. "Pidge it wasn't-"

"It was," Pidge hisses. Her eyes are glassy as she says, "It was, Lance. It could've been prevented and...and it's all my fault."

"Pidge... no one could've..." Lance trails off as his throat clogs itself, he tries to control himself and his thoughts. "...it wasn't any of our faults; we couldn't have predicted it." But I wish we could've. I know we all do.

Pidge shakes her head jerkily, her head hanging so her bangs fall in front of her eyes. Lance can see tears dripping down her face. "I saw the soldier. I saw him but there was too much going on and I didn't see what was in his hand and-" she's cut off by a sob. She moves her hand over her mouth and looks up at lance, grief-stricken, "-I'm so sorry."

Lance moves before he thinks about it, carefully and slowly dropping down to one knee before pulling Pidge in for a hug, "It isn't your fault."

Pidge sobs, loud and ugly as she clutches at him like he might disappear. Lance feels her tears dripping down his neck and, before he knows it, his hands are shaking as they wrap around her back and his eyes are leaking the embodiment of his own sadness down his cheeks.

Lance shushes her shakily, "It's okay, it's okay Pidge, mi hermana."

"It's not," Pidge sobs, "It isn't okay and I'm sorry."

Lance starts to gently rock her, "It's not your fault, Pidgey, I don't blame you."

"You should," Pidge insists.

"No," Lance says gently, sniffling. "I should blame the Galra who did this to me, not you. You didn't do anything but give me the ability to stand on my own again. You didn't do anything short of amazing."

Pidge shakes her head, "I had to. I couldn't deal with...I did this to you." Her words are punctuated by another wracking sob.

Lance leans back and uses the pads of his thumbs to wipe underneath her eyes. Hse gives her a small smile, "I love you, Pidge. You wouldn't do this to me."

Her face is crumpled as she nods shakily, not fully understanding but accepting. Lance pulls her back into his arms and he holds her for a long time.

He realizes that he is not the only one who needs to heal.

(Part 2) (Full work on Ao3)

[badgalyadi]

random survery. / 474 + 560.

How’s your mood? Do you feel any different than you did earlier today? def better than it was earlier

What do you look for in a friend? Is it important that your friends have similar hobbies and interests to you? Or is it more important that you just enjoy their company? i think as long as i enjoy your company, we’re good.

Has anyone ever spread a malicious rumour about you? people have been doing this since middle school lmaooo

Are you comfortable with talking to the opposite sex, about sex? yeah, sex isn’t that deep of a topic lol.

What are your views on people who claim to have had spiritual or paranormal experiences? damn that’s crazy.

Have you ever had a friend that you were really close with, but you ended up drifting apart? Why do you think this happened? lol, life.

How much of an issue would you say peer pressure is for you? FAKE. no way ur gonna get me to do something i don’t wanna do, idc.

Would you be able to give up eating your favourite food(s), if your doctor said you had to? nope.

If you’re single, do you ever feel jealous of people who are in relationships? And if you’re in a relationship, do you ever feel jealous of people who are single? no.

What’s in your pencil case? pens, unsharpened pencils, mechanical pencils, erasers both big & small, a sharpener, a stapler, extra staples, and highlighters.

Is there anything in your room that you wouldn’t want your parents to find? maybe so.

Are you wearing anything fragranced atm? i’m wearing the fragrance i brought back from cuba. it was only $3 and it smells so good, deadass makes me it :(

Was your last illness something contagious? i had a cold, so i guess yeah.

When did you last update your Facebook profile photo? it’s been a year.

Have you ever felt confused about your sexuality? in middle school. terrible time to wanna figure that shit out but 💀

If you found out your friend was sleeping around, what would you say to him/her? nothing b/c i don’t care lmao do you.

How should someone of the opposite sex go about starting a conversation with you? it’s not that deep, just say hi.

Tell me about someone you dislike. Why do you dislike them? Do they know that you dislike them? obsessive and shady asf, can’t mind her business.

Have you ever felt so strongly for someone that you believed them to be totally irreplaceable, as if you could never be happy with anyone else? yeah, and i don’t think i’ll ever feel that way about somebody again b/c i learned u really can live without anybody whether u like it or not.

Out of all the horror films you’ve ever seen, which one scared you the most? uhhhhhh sinister or insidious idk

Who was the last person to tell you that they were disappointed in you? not airing out names. she didn’t directly say it, anyway.

If you’re an only child, do you ever wish you had some siblings? And if you have siblings, would you like any more? i always wish i had other siblings lmao i see people w theirs and be feeling sad as hell :(

Are you friends with the last person you texted? yeah.

Your last Facebook friend request - was it from someone of the opposite sex? no.

What does the eleventh text message in your inbox say? issa meme.

Has anyone ever called you easy? yeah LOL

Would you consider having a child with the last person you kissed? whommm... can’t be having a baby rn when i’m still the baby myself

Is there a cover version of any song that you like more than the original? soooo many.

Have you ever liked someone who was a player? yea lol

Do you own anything that has sequins on it? also yes.

Have you ever done anything to embarrass your parents? not on purpose but they def do shit that embarrasses me too so we’re even 

Do you own a teddy bear? yethhhh

What’s the worst relationship advice anyone has ever given you? all of it. nobody ever knows what they’re talking about LMAO.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy are you with yourself as a person? a 6.5 lmao.

Would you ever kiss someone with facial hair? yeah. Have you ever drooled in public? nah. Do you agree that facebook is taking over the entire teenage population? ???????????? what 80 year old wrote this Have you ever met a mainstream band? no. Have you ever yelled at an electronic as if it could hear you? i get mad sometimes & be fighting random shit LMAOOOO so yes Have you ever been bitten by a dog? yeah LMAO

Would you ever shave your head? if i didn’t have to? no. Have you ever spelt your name in Alphabet Soup? no. What do you think would happen if the Earth suddenly stopped spinning? my stupid ass has no idea & i’m not boutta guess so i can be made fun of What did you want to be when you were little? probably some generic shit like a princess idk Have you ever drawn a picture with sidewalk chalk? yeah. What is the worst possible way to die? slow, painfully. Have you ever burnt yourself with a lighter? sooooooooooooooo many times. Would you ever meet someone you met online? mayhaps. What’s your favorite online game? cricket noises.. What do you think of gay/bisexual people? A1. Have you ever kissed the TV? no. Have you ever thrown your cell phone across the room? yeah, then regretted it LMAOOOOO Have you ever been hit with a ball in gym class? not often but once in hs i got sockedddddddd in the face during volleyball & thought it was on purpose so i hit her w the ball even harder and ended up getting suspended cuz i wasn’t discreet about it lmao Will you be single over winter? [brain muscles overworking themselves] what season is this Where do you wanna live when you grow up? out of miami mayhaps. Are you wearing jeans, shorts, sweatpants, or pajama pants? pajama pants. Would you get married if you could right now? nope. Do you consider yourself spoiled? maybe so. Do you get annoyed when you see someone you don’t like? i usually just focus on other shit. Could you see yourself dropping out of high school? surprised i didn’t. Is there anyone you want to see right now? santi?! What were you doing 12 a.m. last night? fixing my living room. Do you think you will be in a relationship 3 months from now? :] Are you a mean person? no, i really try not to be. What woke you up today? yesterday*, alarm clock. Have you kissed anyone whose name started with a T? probably lmaoo

Did you date anyone last summer? nah, i was minding my business, enjoying my life. Where will you be twelve hours from now? class. Do you remember the first time you kissed the last person you kissed? yeth Have you ever slept on a couch with that person? also yeth Have you written a letter to a soldier? no. Ever been in a perfect relationship? lmao “perfect” How do you feel about the person who texted you last? loveeee me some them. What are you looking forward to? cricket noises.. Do you think you are an argumentative person? hhhh.. maybe..  How did you feel when you woke up today? tireddddddd asf. Have you ever had a best friend who was of the opposite sex? mhmmm What time did you go to sleep last night? i always go to bed late asf. i’m boutta go to bed now just to be up in two hours. What color are your eyes? brown. The last song you listened to? a veces, it’s literally on repeat. When you shut off your alarm clock, do you tend to fall back asleep? if i don’t get up, yeah. Do you believe change is always good? sometimes.

How long was your longest relationship in highschool? 3 years. Do you know who Philip DeFranco is? nah. What’s the most illegal thing you’ve EVER done? 💀 the OP responded to this with weed, i’m really screaming rn.. Where did/do you want to get married? all these questions about marriage, whew. What’s the highest level of education you’ve reached? i’m in college rn Is your last name extremely common, like Gonzalez? no, but i don’t think it’s rare either. Ever notice how most flags are red white and blue? no. Have you ever had a crush on a family member? what the fuck How old is your YOUNGEST friend? bitch.. i don’t know How old is your OLDEST friend? i don’t. know. How long should people be together before they propose? these questions are starting to make me uncomfortable lmaoo Have you had your first touch screen phone yet? that’s how you know this survey is old. Don’t you hate when parents divorce but then still argue regularly? can’t relate, hope i never do. Would you ever join the military? sike. If you could have any dog, what dog would you have? a shihpoo. Would you ever kill a bunny and make soup out of it? what the fuck x2 Do any of your friends own a ferret? no. Do you believe that Christians are better than non-Christians? no? Do boys really rock pink more than girls do? ????????????????????? Do you own a pair of skinny jeans? yerrr What’s your view on the Islam culture? hard to have an opinion on something you know nothing about. Do you know what, “C'est la vie” means? i know i’ve seen this but idk what it means Do balloons make you have a better birthday? nah; they’re loud asf too when they pop, so. Krispy kreme donuts aren’t as good as Dunkin Donuts, are they? DELETE THIS. What is your favorite song from, “Aventura?” THE SPANISH GROUP?! WAYMENT...... i don’t even know. prob something generic. yesterday i was listening to por un segundo lmao :( If you could legally assassinate any celebrity, who would it be? bro.. Do you use Twitter or Formspring? twitter. rip formspring babie love you. Why did you last cry? a few hours ago, real crybaby bad bitch hours. If you had to lose 5 lbs, how would you do it? lower my calorie intake. Is there anyone who seems to think that you are a pillow? ???????? Tell me about your BEST New Year’s Eve ever. wasn’t this one. If you HAD to change your name, what would you change it to? alejandra, idk why that name sticks with me. i just feel like i look like someone named alee & idk how that makes sense but it does to me LMAO. Lunapic editor is amazing, no? whommmm... How do YOU write, “Okay?” depends on my mood, who i’m talking to, what we’re talking about.

How old was the last person who kissed you? 28. Do you have any plans for the day after tomorrow? not that i know of. Do you have a good relationship with your parents? yeah. What time did you wake up today? 7. Name something you can’t wait to do: idk. If you had to choose, would you rather be an alcoholic or a pothead? pothead. What has pissed you off today, if anything at all? cricket noises. Can you honestly say that at this point and time you’re happy with the way life is going? no lmao. Can you easily tell if someone’s fake? mmmmmmmmmmm.. depends. Is there someone you don’t ever want to be out your life? yeah. Did you kiss or hug anyone in the last 48 hours? yeah. Looking back in time did you ever waste your time on a certain boy or girl? feel like most ppl have been thru this. Has anyone ever sang to you? yeah bfsjklj Can a boy and girl be friends without having feelings for each other? LMAO yeah. Coffee or alcohol? oof.. both. together. Have you ever kissed anyone whose name started with C or J? yeth and yeth. Do you ever cry during movies? hell yeah w my crybaby ass Do you have any piercings? ears. Have you ever found someone you really like? my BOO. 🗣 Did you go outside for more than 30 minutes today? yeah LMAO Do you remember who you liked three months ago? was that november... idk how to do math LMAO pretty sure i liked ques by then.

[roadkillfuneral]

if connor never found the letter

No Letter AU a.k.a. connor and Evan were set up to be a perfect gay love story

-The story is the same up until the moment after Connor signs Evan’s cast. He doesn’t find the letter and leaves the computer room, already forgetting the nervous boy he just encountered

-Evan goes home and his mom sees Connor’s name on his cast bigger than life itself and invites him over for dinner. Connor never has a chance to even think about his previous plans that night

-As soon as Heidi leaves them alone they begin bonding over overbearing mothers and, soon after, shared disdain towards their fathers, and they’re attached to each other before they even realize

-Sometimes due to Evan’s mother, but more on their own, the two start to hang out. They goof around, talk about books they like and Connor shows Evan loud music and Evan shows Connor… support.

-At some point Evan notices the marks on Connor’s arms and asks about them, completely innocently. Connor lashes out of course, defensive as all get out because it’s not Evan’s business, it’s not anyone’s business, he doesn’t have to talk about it with anyone, it doesn’t matter he’s fine

-And Evan drops it because he’s confused but also because he wants to respect Connor’s wishes

-Connor sees that and not too much time later, he finds himself confiding in Evan, telling him about them, what he’s done, how long he’d been clean, but it doesn’t really matter, he’s fine. And Evan, touched, tells how he’d broke his arm. The real story.

-And then there’s a moment where they both have never felt less alone.

it doesnt end there though

-the friendship progresses pretty much perfectly. Connor’s parents love polite little Evan, and Heidi, at first, is just glad that Evan has a friend, but then she sees some of her lost teenage self in Connor and finds that Connor is actually a funny kid???

-Heidi and Connor totally playfully gang up on Evan “sh hon the grownups are talking” they sip their tea in unison  omg give me heidi and connor cute friendship

-By now Evan is coming to Connor’s house whenever Connor isn’t at his and his crush on Zoe is ever persistent. And one day he makes a fool of himself, trips or chokes and eventually Connor is just like dude. what’s going on.

-so Evan comes clean, all blushy and dumb and gushing, but apologizing all the while because she’s your sister I’m sorry but gosh have you seen her smile? sorry but wow

-then Connor feels it. the tug in his chest and the burning of emotions he thinks are gone, thinks he couldn’t possibly feel anymore

-Connor has always known. He was lucky to grow up in this generation where he sees men holding hands on the sidewalks and it’s been a couple years since gay marriage was legalized. He knows this and he’s long since accepted it, though he’s never been with anyone cos everyone fucking sucks have you met people? they’re gross

-But Evan. He’s sweet and understands Connor and when he laughs- not that awkward laugh, but a real laugh that’s hard and deep- Connor’s heart stammers.

-he feels it even before that moment but he only begins to really comprehend his feelings when he’s jealous

-He manages to ignore it until one day when he asks Evan if he wants to smoke weed with him

-Evan trusts Connor fully and he’s curious and Connor always seems so laid back when he does it

-So he agrees, even if he’s a little skeptical 

-He’s an anxious mess at first and coughs his lungs up and Connor has to light the pipe for him because Evan’s hands are shaking so bad and Connor was just planning on giving him a few hits, making him chill, but Evan takes a few too many drags and he is stoned

-At first Evan is just giggling and rambling and fluttering his hands and he seems fine and Connor thinks its fine so he smokes a little more, feels a little lighter, a little more high

-To this day he doesn’t know who started it. All he remembers is touching Evan’s hands and Evan touching his hair and counting Evan’s eyelashes and then they were kissing 

-Connor has kissed a couple people before, usually pecks and things like that, and he assumed Evan has never kissed anyone before but it feels perfect, it feels like finally

-They’re pretty much making out by the time Evan pulls away, his eyes wide and scared and no longer high. Connor wants to kiss him again but he looks so scared. It’s a silent moment before Evan runs out silently  

-Evan knows he’s not gay. Connor knows he is. Connor knows what he wants. Evan does not. 

-he knows that he’s been admiring Connor, sure. He likes how tall he is and his black nail polish and how when he’s angry (even though he’s almost always angry) his eyebrows pucker but his bad moods make him look likes hes glowing when he smiles or laughs and…. that doesn’t make him gay, does it?

-So naturally he goes to his mother. 

-And he’s like so. asking for a friend. what should you do if your friend of the same sex kisses you (even though he thinks he might have initiated it) and you kinda like it and might wanna do it more

-Heidi freaks out she’s all oh you and connor would be so cute oh what a sweet boy your cousin lindy can flower girl at the wedding 

-Connor is all mom no for a friend

-Heidi smiles and agrees to play along, tells Evan, all wise and mom-like, that if he really likes Connor then he needs to tell him and see how Connor feels and talk out where they should go from there. 

-Evan is scared to death. He likes Connor so much (in what way he doesnt know) and he’s pretty much his only friend and he’s so scared of ruining this but he goes anyways 

-There’s a lot of stuttering and flushing on Evan’s part and mumbling and avoiding gazes on Connor’s part but they both admit to the feelings they have that are definitely not Straight and by the time theyre done they’re kissing again, simultaneously relishing in the fact that it feels much better sober and knowing where they stand 

bonus content

-connor’s long noodle ass limbs getting in the way of everything. when they cuddle its a jumble of connor’s ligaments and evan in a ball watching as his beanpole of a boyfriend tries to adjust 

-oh and cuddling? these two are a fucking mess

-it starts off the most awkward thing ever as i said connor can’t adjust himself and evan doesnt know where to put his hands but they are both very touch starved but they dont give up they keep trying and eventually connor knows just how to curl himself around evan so he can kiss his forehead and whisper in his ear and evan still can touch connor’s hair and snuggle his face into his tiddies chest 

-connor denies that he likes it even a little bit even though he’s the one that initiated it, the nerd

-possessive connor. bruh. 

-once he gets evan he refuses to let him go. if he sees alana even look at evan for too long he feels the need to take that moment to grab his hand (if he isn’t already holding it) or to kiss him or grab his ass whatever connor is possessive but pretty harmlessly. he knows evan likes him and only him but still. 

-evan can also get jealous at times, though his is much more lowkey. if someone flirts with connor he wont speak up, but he’ll feel the need to tell connor how much he likes him and cherishes him. connor understands. 

-weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed

-stop that ‘evan makes connor stop smoking’ bullshit. im here for evan becoming a borderline stoner because it helps with the anxiety. he might evan smoke more than connor. maybe he likes edibles more but im totally here for connor and evan shotgunning because homies share hits

-speaking of evan’s anxiety

-connor is annoyed with it at first tbh. evan’s nervousness and awkwardness grates on him but then he’s okay with it and then he finds it cute and then he loves him for it

-who says i love you first? ohoho boy

-i have way too many headcanons for this but my favorite is that they’re hanging out, probably smoking, def telling jokes and swapping little kisses and they’re laughing and evan just kinda says it

-connor’s mother doesn’t even tell him she loves him that much anymore. she kinda gave up when he started taking out his anger on everyone including her and when evan says it, connor stutters it back, but he says it, and dives down to kiss evan again but honestly no kiss could convey how happy he feels. evan says it many more times that night. 

-zoe doesn’t get it tbh

-first this anxious weirdo comes into her house and is looking at her weirdly and then he’s looking at her brother and her brother is looking back and she hears laughing coming from connor’s room it’s weird but hey at least he isn’t acting crazy anymore

-then one night she hears a car come up the driveway at like 11 at night and she goes to her window to see who in fresh hell it is, forgetting that connor has gone to evan’s for the afternoon

-she sees the two get out of the car and go to the door. they chat a little bit and connor is smiling and their faces are weirdly close and they stop and evan leans up on his toes and oh my god they’re making out on the porch

-she never mentions it but there’s at least a week or more where she can’t look at connor 

-if im being honest i see evan being ace but if he weren’t/still copulates with connor, im here for power bottom connor

-someone that wasn’t me mentioned evan still letting cynthia pay for his college but only if she gets connor therapy and i love it and i love evan getting connor to therapy and i love him getting therapy gwahh

i havent got anything else but um this au kills me daily hope u like it adios

[theolddarkmachine]

SUPER LATE GAJEVY LOVE WEEK 2017: DAY 2- BODY SWAP

Hiiiiiii, have you ever seen the movie It's a Boy Girl Thing? 1) It's really good for being a random, low budget teen romcom and I def recommend checking it out on Netflix. 2) It's what inspired this. Also I wasn't too wildly happy with the last chapter because I felt like I copped out so I just want to apologize for that. Please also see note at end!

“Would you two shut up!” Natsu yelled, his flames escaping his control slightly as he snapped at Levy and Gajeel. The two had been arguing since they left the guild and honestly, he didn’t care that it was Gramps who had told him to take them along on this mission, he had had enough! The old man had had a strange twinkle in his eye when he’d asked him to bring them along, and it’s not that Natsu didn’t know what that look meant. That look meant nothing but trouble. He should know, he was the master of that look. But right about now when the Iron Dragon and Script Mage had been fighting incessantly for what seemed like hours, he was pretty sure he was going to burn the whole damn forest to the ground.

“Butt out, Flame Breath!” Gajeel barked, turning his attention to him instead.

“Yeah, Natsu, mind your own business!” Levy added just as angrily. What was that saying? Couples start to act like each other over time? If only they’d give in to the obvious tension between the two of them, maybe he wouldn’t have to listen to them with their big dumb mouths.

“I give up, you guys find your own way home!” Natsu yelled back, fire engulfing his hands as he threw them up and stormed away. They weren’t too far off from the guild hall anyway, if they couldn’t get home from here well that seemed like a personal problem. He’d done his part, they’d gone to the weird statue in the middle of the woods outside the hall, and found nothing out of the ordinary. Well, there had been that one moment where it seemed to have a surge of magic power, but given his comrades HAD STILL BEEN FIGHTING, he hadn’t paid it much mind. It was gone almost immediately anyway, so most likely nothing to worry about.

He hoped.

****

Levy was worried they may have overdone it with the show they had put on for Natsu when they’d joined him on his mission. Her and Gajeel had agreed to keep their relationship to themselves for awhile. It was honestly none of anybody’s business, but she couldn’t help but feel playing up their fighting would only make things more obvious.  But she was going to go along with it, if only because it was kind of fun to go at the dragon slayer. There was a small part of her that wished she could just hold his freaking hand in public though. Being secretive did have it’s moments where it was kind of fun and dangerous, however. She giggled to herself as Gajeel unlocked the door to his house.

“What’re you giggling about, shrimp?” He asked curiously as he pushed the door open and held it for he.

“Oh, nothing you should worry your pretty little head over,” she smiled up at him sweetly as she brushed past. He rolled his eyes and growled lowly, no real threat behind the sound. He couldn’t actually be mad at his little blue fairy, not that the rest of the guild needed to know that. He was enjoying the bubble they’d been living in and not having to share what they had with anyone else. A loud yawn tore itself from Levy’s mouth.

“I feel you, short stack,” he said in response, smothering his own yawn. “Let’s go to bed.”

****

The first thing Levy noticed when she started to stir awake, was that it was really freaking hot. Like, really hot. Was certain she was cooking from the inside out kind of hot. The second thing she noticed, was a really small arm slung across her waist. The third, and possibly most alarming, was what ever that uncomfortably hard thing was in her pants.

“Gajeel?” She said sleepily wiggling closer to the body behind her. There was only a moment between his name leaving her mouth and her eyes snapping open. Now, Levy wasn’t much of a morning person. Far from it, it took 45 minutes to an hour on a normal day for her to make it out of bed and to the kitchen and another 30-45 minutes before her coffee kicked in and she was able to actually partake in human contact. She was aware that sometimes, her voice could be a bit husky and low in the morning when used before that time. But the voice that she’d heard just now was not her own at all. It was, without a doubt, Gajeel’s.

“Yeah, Lev?” She heard her own voice respond from behind her as the small arm tightened around her waist. Since she had no idea what the fuck was going on, she was going to ignore the fact that Gajeel didn’t even seem to think twice about the fact she was clearly speaking with a man’s voice right now. The bluenette started to count the seconds before the moment of realization dropped. One Mississippi, two Missi- “What the fuck?!” If he’d had his own voice, she was sure that would have come out as a roar. With her voice it sounded, well, harmless. Flipping over, Levy found herself staring into her own horrified hazel eyes. If she was looking at herself, and Gajeel seemed to be her, then it only stood to reason that...

She shakily brought a hand up, terrified to confirm what she already knew was true. breathing in deeply, she looked at the large hands that were now her own, and the forearm that was studded with iron. She isn’t going to admit she screamed, because she wasn’t even sure Gajeel should have been able to make the noise she made anyway, but she definitely let out a manly yell. Then everything went black.

****

Levy-- or would it technically be him? Referring to his body as Levy was weird-- had come back to the land of the living about an hour later. Gajeel would be lying if he didn’t admit it had been a shock to wake up about two feet shorter, a hundred pounds lighter and with tits, but he had to stay strong for his girl. Or... whatever. He currently stood in the kitchen, arms crossed across his chest as he stared up at the cabinet with the sugar for the coffee he was trying to make. He hadn’t even thought about how high that dumbass sugar was until five minutes ago when he’d thrown the cabinet open and stretched up to grab it, seeing that his hand was still about 6 inches from the container. Stretching as far as he could and standing on tiptoes, he was still inches from the thing, but he would be damned if he asked for help. Nope. It wasn’t going to happen. Glaring up at the sugar, Gajeel inhaled deeply closed his eyes, and threw his arm up towards the sugar as he envisioned it turning to iron and lengthening into a claw. He stood there for a second with his arm outstretched before letting out a sigh of defeat. It had been worth a try. Slamming the cabinet door shut, he poured two cups of coffee and took them out to the living room.

There was one thing he enjoyed about being Levy, aside from the boobs which were still fun to play with, and that was how light everything felt. It felt more like he was floating than walking, which was certainly a change from the usual heaviness of his own body. Turning the corner into the living room, he saw himself curled up in the corner of the couch, book open on his knees and Levy’s reading glasses propped on the edge of his nose.

“Lev, if you let anyone see me like that, I will never forgive you,” he deadpanned in an attempt to sound menacing. A fruitless effort since he knew his blue haired girl could never sound terrifying. “Here’s your usual coffee. Black, just the way you like it.” He set the ‘Beware: I Bite’ mug on the coffee table in front of her before falling down onto the couch and sprawling out to take up as much room as he could. Gajeel sipped from his own mug and winced at the bitter taste of the coffee without the sugar.

“Couldn’t reach the sugar, huh?” She said, not looking up from the book in front of her, a  hint of a smile playing across her lips.

“Shut up,” he mumbled as he took another sip of the warm liquid. “Find anything about what the hell might be going on?” Levy finally looked up, leaned forward and grabbed the mug before returning his gaze.

“First of all, talking to myself is really freaking me out,” she said and then took a sip. How she enjoyed coffee in all its plain coffee glory was beyond him. “Second, I can’t really seem to find anything in any of my books. We haven’t run into any wizards with the ability to using soul magic aside from Bickslow, and I doubt he’d switch our souls out for the hell of it,” her eyes suddenly narrowed at him. (He realized now why people found him scary, it wasn’t fun to be on the receiving end of his own glare.) “Unless you pissed him off recently, Gajeel.”

“You know I’d admit to that, short stack,” he mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

“There was something that was kind of interesting, but it doesn’t really go into too much detail,” Levy went on to say as she turned the book around. “Doesn’t this statue kind of look like the one from yesterday?” She pointed at a drawing that resembled that of the one they’d gone out to see with Natsu.

“Sure does, Lev!” He smiled. “What is it?” He watched as she shrugged his shoulders, peering at him through those glasses that looked positively ridiculous on his face.

“All it says here is that it’s a statue of Tezcatlipoca, and he’s been known to be a god of discord.” She paused for a moment than shook her head. “You don’t think our arguing yesterday had anything to do with this, do you?” Sipping the disgusting liquid in his mug, he mulled over the thought.

“Ya got me, Shrimp, but it does seem like a good place to start.”

*****

Once she got used to being a man and speaking to herself, she thought she’d enjoy being so big. She could finally reach books on the top shelves, and could finally see what it was like to look down at people instead of look up. Turns out, she hated being so much bigger. All her limbs felt so much heavier, and she didn’t particular enjoy how she kept accidentally glaring at people. Gajeel apparently had resting bitch face, something she never noticed since he never seemed to have that look around her. (That, or she’d just gotten used to it. Actually, that was probably the real reasoning.) The plan had been to find Natsu and ask him what exactly he knew about the statue. The problem was, upon seeing them Natsu did as Natsu does and, well...

“Solid Script: Shield!” Levy yelled out of habit as Natsu leapt at her.

“Wanna brawl?!” He yelled as he came flying at her, fist raised for attack.

“Salamander, get off her!” Gajeel roared, jumping into the fray disregarding the fact his fist would most likely do little to no damage in the state they were in. Almost as quickly as it began, the commotion stopped as the fire dragon slayer looked from Gajeel to Levy and back again. Staring at Levy’s body he cocked his head to the side.

“Levy, are you feeling okay? It’s not like you to call Gajeel a girl,” he said before turning his attentions to Gajeel’s body. “I mean unless there’s something I don’t know. You’d know better than me, I suspect.” Levy watched as Gajeel used her fist to punch Natsu in the face.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, punk,” she heard her voice say lowly. “Now we need to ask you some questions.”

“But first, could you get off me please, Natsu,” Levy said. It wasn’t that he was heavy or anything, especially in this form, but she didn’t exactly like being this close to Natsu. Gajeel’s sense of smell picked up the earthy, spicy scent that Natsu carried and a hint of something much sweeter. Almost like vanilla, and she wondered if that was Lucy. It may be the fact she said please, but he quickly pushed back, still with the perplexed look on his face before turning to Levy’s body.

“Gajeel?” He asked before leaning forward and taking a quick sniff. “Wow it is you! How the fuck did you manage that!” He turned to Levy where she was on the ground and sniffed. “That sucks, Levy, talk about a major downgrade.” She sat up and shook her head.

“We aren’t quite sure how this happened, but we think it has something to do with that statue and were wondering if you could help us out with any information you might have about it,” she said hopefully. With any luck, he would have the answers. Her hopes were quickly dashed as he shrugged his shoulders.

“Sorry, Levy, I don’t really know,” he said apologetically. “Gramps asked me to take you two out to take a look and see if there was anything weird out there but that was it. There had been a moment where I thought I had felt a surge of magic power from it while you guys were really going at it but it was gone almost as quickly as it came about. Dunno if that helps any.”

Levy nodded before perking up.

“But you said that the master told you to take us?” Her eyes lit up when he nodded.

“If anyone knows anything about that statue, it’s gonna be Gramps,” he confirmed. Looking over at Gajeel, she nodded, knowing that they would both need to head to the guild hall right away. Before she could do anything else, she watched as Gajeel punched Natsu in the face.

“That’s for trying to ambush us, Salamander,” he yelled.

*****

Mirajane looked down at the stein she was drying as she shook her head.

“I’m sorry guys, the master went out this morning and said he wouldn’t be back for a couple days,” she said sweetly. “Why, what’s wrong?” On the way to the guild hall, Levy and Gajeel had agreed to not tell anyone else about what had happened, more to avoid the inevitable questions and jokes that would come with it. They hadn’t, however, come up with a good lie for why they’d been looking for Makarov.

“No reason, Mira!” Gajeel said, trying his best to sound as much like Levy as possible. He’d even worked on not scowling, which was a pretty tough thing for him to accomplish. Levy had lectured him about his rest bitch face and mentioned that she was going to be very upset if he gave her wrinkles from scowling like that while they were swapped. The takeover mage smiled at him.

“If he gets home early though, I’ll let him know you wanted to speak with him! Until then, want to go ahead and have a bite to eat?” It was Levy’s turn to speak up, as Gajeel normally ordered for the both of them. After placing their order, they walked over to an empty table to try their best to avoid people. It was a lot harder to be someone else than one might expect. With a sigh, Levy went to lean against Gajeel before she groaned loudly.

“No offense, Gajeel, but I really hate being you,” she said sadly. All she’d wanted to do was lean against her boyfriend and maybe even cry a little bit. He probably wouldn’t appreciate it though if she started crying in the middle of the guild hall while in his body. She was certain there would be a way to reverse whatever they’d gotten into. There almost always was, but in that moment she couldn’t help but think about what might happen if they couldn’t. Gajeel must have picked up on that fact as he snaked his arms around her waist and kissed her on the cheek. He could feel the eyes of the other members in the hall on them and he honestly couldn’t bring himself to give a damn. His girl was hurting so he had to be there for her.

“We’ll figure something out, Lev,” he said, resting against her. He didn’t like being the one to do the leaning, not being the one leant on. She sighed deeply.

“I know we will, Gajeel.”

They sat in silence for a moment, both allowing their eyes to close and imagine that they were back in their own bodies. In that moment, a warmth overtook the both of them and a gold light enveloped the both of them. The sound of the guild hall fell away as it grew brighter.

“What the-” Gajeel started to say before he was cut off and the light blinded them. Once it cleared, Levy rubbed her eyes before looking down at her hands and seeing them as her small dainty hands. And excited squeal escaped her lips as she turned to Gajeel and actually saw him next to her.

“Gajeel!” She cried. “I’m me!” Before she could say anything else, he tapped her chin up with his finger and pressed a hungry kiss to her lips.

“It’s so good to see you as you, Lev,” he smiled. Her stomach flipped as she heard someone wolf whistle from behind them “I don’t know what happened, or why, but I don’t think I’m going to take being able to see your beautiful face with my own eyes for granted again.” This time she initiated the kiss, smiling as cheers erupted in the hall.

*****

Makarov chuckled to himself, proud of his trick as he watched the two lovebirds from his hiding place upstairs. Sure, he’d gambled a bit sending Natsu out with them, especially given Natsu and Gajeel’s penchant for fighting each other and very well could have ended up the victims of Tezcatlipoca instead. Not that that wouldn’t have been great fun either. But as he watched Gajeel throw him arm around Levy as she nuzzled her way into his chest right there in the guild hall, both looking the happiest he’d seen them, he knew his plan had worked splendidly. Everyone had known they’d been together for ages now, and it had honestly been silly that they’d been keeping up this act like no one knew. In the end it was only hurting them. He caught Mira’s eye from where he sat and winked at his co-conspirator. He turned his attention back to the couple, who had been joined by Natsu and Lucy. They all looked so happy and it almost brought a tear to the old man’s eye. Nothing made him happier than knowing his children were happy.

****************

A/N- So, upon quick reread before hitting "Publish" I realize that if you haven't seen the movie the whole what caused them to turn back thing might not be as clear. So basically in the movie the protags are on a school field trip at a museum and they're arguing in front of the statue of Tezcatlipoca and because he's the god of discord, he switches them until they like learn to be harmonious. Basically, the master knew if he sent them out with Natsu they'd be doing their arguing schtick and get switched and wouldn't be switched back until they were able to be like normal and happy and coupley instead of hiding. Basically. The issue is in order to fully develop all that I feel like this thing would have needed to be much longer than I'd like for a one shot length. Especially a one shot I wrote while working XD