#i realize not all season are everybody's cup of tea

[girlinthetardis04]

My wisdom for tonight is this

[chaikachi]

Do you think part of the reason why Ruby was so upset at Blake and Yang in particular isn’t because she’s genuinely mad they got together (or homophobic as I’ve seen some people joke) but because she’s /jealous/ that they were able to take enough time for themselves to even think about their own personal relationship, when meanwhile Ruby has been fighting for her life since the end of volume 3? Like maybe Ruby would love to stop and talk to her friends and sister about her potential love interests (as a girl her age should get the chance to) but she doesn’t have /time/, and seeing Yang and Blake kiss just made her realize what she’s been denying herself in order to be the Heroic Leader. idk I’m in my rosegarden feels and I bet watching Yang and Blake be so close just makes her feel more alone than ever.

LMAO I'VE SEEN THE HOMOPHOBIC JOKES 🤣🤣 how anyone actually believes that allegation is very funny. But yeah I agree. Since the very beginning of the show, Ruby has just wanted to be a normal girl with normal knees who can "paint her nails, try on clothes, and talk about cute boys" with her friends (Note: Oscar has been called cute twice already in show). And Ruby has not had the chance to do so at all because she hasn't stopped moving. Even leading up to v9, everyone else had other things they were focusing on and she's just been trying to hold everybody up. Never taking time for herself to sort out her own struggles. So she's feeling alone and left behind. I went over it a bit in the Treasure Analysis about the framing at the end of v9e6 where the Bees are warm and cozy by the fire, Weiss is warm with her cup of tea, and Ruby is sitting cold by herself by the window across from an empty chair. All alone in crowded rooms without the one person that makes her not feel that way.

The volume starting with Oscar as the very first illusion that Neo uses - and RG being the only pair that was split up in v8 that didn't end up reunited in v9 - sets up his absence very strongly right out the gate. And that absence just seems to grow with each episode.

As much as I do love RG, I don't know that Ruby necessarily knows she likes Oscar or has reached that point. At least not yet, but distance makes the heart grow fonder (as we have seen with Renora and the Bees) and I have a feeling we're not ready for how close they're going to end up when everyone is back in Vacuo.

Part of her upset here in the Ever After, is that she is crushed under the weight of so many things that she doesn't even have time to entertain such an idea as a crush. In any other circumstance, Ruby would have been elated about so much of what they're experiencing. She would have been excited for the bees just like she had been in v6 and she would have been all over this fairytale nonsense in the Ever After.

But she's tired. Weiss is snapping at her every other hour, Jaune is a broken husk of himself and needs their help more than he can offer it in return, and the Bees got to spend time sorting out their feelings and find comfort and support in each other... while Ruby is just dealing with all of this on her own.

She doesn't feel seen. She doesn't feel wanted. She doesn't feel prioritized. The only person that ever asked 'what about Ruby' is in another dimension and the only one in Ever After that noticed before she broke was Little (who has VERY STRONG PARALLELS to Oscar as I just brought up in a recent ask).

This volume is very rough emotionally on our characters, but I'm really optimistic for Vacuo being an arc of resting, rebuilding, and recovering for all of them. But especially for Ruby. Because there ain't no way all of what was brought up this last episode can be resolved in the 3 we have left until the season is over. But at least Oscar is waiting for her with open arms once she gets there. 🌲💕

[iamanartichoke]

I need spoilers for episodes 5 and 6. They've got to be out there. I can't take two more weeks of this.

I think what's giving me this vaguely ill feeling, right now, is the sinking realization that there was no grander plan behind Loki's getting drunk, breaking the Timepad, just general kinda incompetent behavior. There were theories and there were hints and subtext and it amounted to nothing.

Cut for spoilers/negativity, sorry.

Basically I'm getting major "that opening scene in IW was just too full of holes, the-sun-will-shine-on-us-again, one little dagger, Loki has to have something up his sleeve - oh .... no, no he's really dead, there was no greater plan" flashbacks.

It's so incredibly frustrating for Loki's narrative to come so close to something profound, again and again, only to swing and miss at the last second. The pieces are there. The threads are there. And tptb keep choosing to just ... sit on them, bc idk, it's easier for Loki's complexity to remain unexplored?

Tom says that episodes 4 and 5 are where the series takes off and I'm just like, you can't wait until the second to last episodes to have something happen! You've been dropping breadcrumbs since episode 1 - episodes 4 and 5 are where you start to sweep them up! You've only got 6 total!

Also, I was really interpreting Loki having confused friendship with romance, bc that's what makes the most sense for his character but then there was this, and the aforementioned 'oh so this really is just surface-level material and I shouldn't even waste my time examining the subtext and context clues' feeling occurs. (Note - this article isn't overly flattering to Loki, bc of course it isn't, so just be aware of that before reading.)

So, yeah, it's just - it's not exactly the content of this episode that has me so upset. I can live with bad plots and dangling threads. Lord knows I tolerate other, arguably much more terrible tv shows for the sake of the parts I like (Reign, Once Upon a Time, a few seasons of Pretty Little Liars, just to name a few).

It's not the content. It's the refusal of tptb to take Loki's character to the depths he deserves, especially since they promised us that this series would really explore his identity and his gender and all of these things that the fandom mostly has wanted. It's frustration in the overall way the surface-level plot makes Loki's characterization suffer. And it's definitely the trigger of those feelings of heartbreak and fury and denial and grief that followed IW. I practically have ptsd from that death scene.

(I realize that these are hefty words to use to describe one's reaction to fiction, especially in the sense that an emotional downward spiral is being legitimately triggered by a tv show, but - look, everyone already knew I was cringe, okay, so leave me alone with my feelings.)

I think that if the show had more episodes, there would have been hope for it? Like all the breadcrumbs that have been dropped implied lots of fascinating things to be explored, but they just didn't have room to explore them as thoroughly as they'd need to in order for all of it to have an impact. Loki/Sylvie does not feel earned. Mobius turned on the TVA super quickly (so did B-15, for that matter). Ravonna went from kinda sus to outright villain in, like, ten minutes. And Loki and Mobius's friendship didn't exactly come out of nowhere, bc it was set up as the outcome from the first episode (in my opinion) but it did happen much too quickly. It wasn't earned, either. And the reason I'm harping on this is because these are all really good character journeys that could have been done so much better - yeah, even Loki/Sylvie - if they had just paced them better, used more of their own subtext, and had a few more episodes in which to develop the characters alongside the complicated plot.

(Yeah, there may be a season 2, but I'm not here for waiting a whole nother year or so for it to be filmed, produced, and released only for it to continue to ultimately not meet my expectations.)

So, yes. I'm sorry for the negativity; I realize I went from "hey I mostly liked this! It wasn't that bad!" to "I will ragequit and kill everyone in this story and then myself" in, like, a few hours but - well. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'll most likely rewatch it again tonight. I may or may not cry it out and then do my best to enjoy the remaining two episodes for what they are, not for what they could or might be. Once the rawness of all of this fades, I'll focus on the things I liked and come up with my own headcanons, I suppose. Or maybe I'll overall change my mind again. Idk. Whatever. I just need a glass of wine and a few more xanax tbh. (Great. Now fiction is going to give me a drug problem as well lmfao.)

Also - it is actualy really, really funny that, if you think about it, it turns out that a fanfic by Tom isn't actually all that good. (I'm being facetious, but the general sentiment is true.) I'm sorry, Tom. I know you're excited about this and you said this episode was your favorite, so I hope you don't see some of these reactions (either here, or on twitter, or reddit, or wherever he may end up) and feel bad about yourself/your project. I guess there's just no universal cup of tea for everybody.

[enigmalynne]

Something to be Thankful For

Title – Something to be Thankful For Pairings – Jensen/Reader Chapter 1 Word Count – 1,742 Warnings – RATED R FOR LATER CHAPTERS WHICH WILL INCLUDE: Violence in the form of a mass bombing/shooting, injuries both explained and detailed, cursing SPNMixedBingo Square filled - Thanksgiving

Jensen walked into his usual coffee shop with a smile on his face. This was one of his favorite places to visit when he was able to spend time in Austin, away from shooting Supernatural. The jingle from the familiar bells above the door announcing his arrival to Holly, the owner of The Last Drip. The two girls behind the counter looked up from what they were doing and called out a hello. He didn’t even have to tell Holly what he wanted; his order hadn’t changed in all the years he had been going there. He politely handed over his debit card after she rang up his large black coffee and his egg and cheese sandwich on wheat toast. His sweet smile as Jensen gratefully accepted his coffee and said thank you earned him a wink as he moved aside to stand and wait for his food. As he waited, he looked thoughtfully around the café.

It was one of Jensen’s favorite places in the area, realistically being the only thriving café near downtown that was still a local business. Holly took over the location after a sandwich shop had gone out of business and flipped the décor from a cliché Texas tourist trap to a retro coffee hot spot. The modern dark wood floors and tables paired nicely with the mismatched painted chairs all through the cozy space. Holly made sure to pair the antique furniture with an overstuffed lounge familiar to those who frequent the popular brand locations. Jensen genuinely loved it. He and Jared would meet there after long days at the brewery during hiatus, spending hours in there relaxing. Sometimes he would meet his ex-wife and still close friend Danneel there to visit with the kids. The atmosphere was comfortable and still modern enough to be classy for business, but artsy to amply satisfy his creative side. As he was looking around, an unfamiliar woman caught his eye. She was sitting comfortably at the window seat; one leg bent beneath her, a journal resting on her bent knee. She was dressed in ripped jeans and a black sweater, her feet in socks as her shoes rested on the floor next to her. “Your usual breakfast sandwich,” Holly said, handing the item out. “Who’s the new girl in the window seat?” Jensen asked Holly as he took his breakfast from her. “I haven’t seen her around here before.” Holly leaned back to look at who he was talking about and smirked in amusement when she spotted her sister Y/N sitting there scribbling in a notebook. “That? Oh, that’s Y/N, my sister from Florida. She just moved to Austin to work with the Sheriff’s Office. You should go say hi!” Holly exclaimed enthusiastically. Jensen stared at Y/N and smiled fondly. “Y/N …” he muttered as he carefully looked at her, testing how her name felt on his tongue as he watched her reposition her legs to get more comfortable, fingers pushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “Jensen… Jensen?” Holly said with a smirk. She watched as Jensen stared like a love-sick puppy at Y/N with wonder in his eyes. Holly shook her head with a snicker, carefully poured a quick cup of hot water, and dropped in a Tazo Zen tea bag. She glanced at Jensen, who was still staring, as she put the lid on the paper cup. Setting the cup in front of him, she snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Hey, Romeo!” “Huh? What?” he asked, startling and looking over at her. He realized that he was staring at Holly’s sister and got embarrassed. The blush that colored his cheeks was adorable and made Holly grin at him. “Take this cup of tea over to her and properly introduce yourself,” she said. When he didn't take the drink, she scooted the cup closer to him. Holly smirked, putting a hand on her hip. Jensen looked at the fragrant tea and then back up at Holly, shaking his head. “No. I mean, should I? She looks busy,” he said cautiously, looking over at her again. Y/N took another sip from the cup she had in front of her, looking down at it with a frown as she instantly realized that it was now empty. Holly’s smirk turned into a kind smile, aware of Jensen’s shy side. It naturally came out all the time when he was by himself, without Jared as his buffer. “Yes, you should. Take that with you. Make a good impression, Handsome,” Holly said softly. With a reassuring nod, turning away to make another customer’s coffee. Jensen looked at the tea Holly put in front of him and sighed. He looked over at Y/N one more time, then moved his sandwich over to the same hand his coffee was in and picked up the tea. Slowly and cautiously, he walked over to where Y/N was sitting. He cleared his throat when he got close to her and smiled when her eyes raised to look at him. Jensen blushed when he noticed the surprised recognition in her eyes. “Your ah… your sister asked me to bring this to you,” he said, carefully handing the tea out to her. Y/N’s eyes widened as she pointed eagerly to him. “You… you’re Jensen Ackles…” she said softly. Jensen chuckled a little and nodded his head.

“Yeah,” he said humbly, holding out the paper cup a little farther. Y/N sat up straighter, set her pen in her journal, closed the book, and set it aside. She reached out to carefully take the paper cup he was brought her. “Jensen Ackles is bringing me…” she lifted the lid of the cup he handed her. “…my favorite tea.” Jensen laughed wryly at this and shook his head. She looked back up at him. “Wow.” Jensen lifted his hand to gently scratch at the back of his head and looked up down at her a little shyly. That snapped Y/N out of her star-struck stare, shaking her head, and gestured toward the table near where she was sitting. “Oh, my God. I’m so sorry. I’m an idiot. Hi. Please, sit down. Thank you for the tea. I’m Y/N Y/L/N. You…” she stuttered out. Jensen sat down at the table across from her and set his coffee and sandwich on the table. “I take it you know who I am, but yeah… I’m Jensen. You’re a fan?” he asked tentatively. Y/N nodded. “Huge fan. Since season 1. It’s my guilty pleasure,” Y/N said. Holly watched as they started talking, smiling to herself. Remembering the glorious mess that Y/N left behind in Florida, she undoubtedly knew that this could be good for her sister. Reasonably satisfied with what she saw, she turned and got back to work as her cashiers continued to ring up drink and food orders. “So, Holly said something about you moving here from Florida?” Jensen said, opening the wrapper to his breakfast sandwich. Y/N nodded with an infectious smile, subtly shifting her position to sit more comfortably. “Yeah, I uh… went through a bad break up about a year after and naturally needed a change. So, when Holly told me that I had a room here with her if I was genuinely interested, I went ahead and sent in my application to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office. Three weeks later, it was a thing. Put in my papers and packed up my meager belongings. Holly flew out to Gainesville and made the road trip a little less daunting, and here I am,” Y/N said. If Jensen was startled by the start of her story, he didn’t show it. Y/N looked down at the hot cup of tea in her hands, smiling softly at it. “I’m sorry about the breakup,” Jensen said softly. Y/N looked back up at him with a gentle shake of the head. “Don’t be. It realistically was a long time coming,” Y/N said just as softly. Her kindly smile turned sad. “Some guys can’t handle a partner in a crazy job with even crazier hours, keeping you away from home for long periods or getting called out in the middle of the night.” Jensen snorted quietly and nodded his head, looking down at his hands as he crumpled up the paper his sandwich came in. Y/N paused for a long moment, and then looked contrite. “But… you probably know all about that, don’t you? I’m sorry to hear about your divorce, Jensen. I’m sure that couldn’t have been easy,” she said soothingly. Jensen looked up at Y/N with unspeakable sadness in his brilliant eyes. His charming smile, small as it was, was genuine. “It wasn’t. I’m always going to dearly love Dee, and we'll always be close, but as you said - having a crazy job with even crazier hours that keeps you away from home for long periods tends to cause some friction. Sometimes the writing is on the wall. We have three beautiful kids, though, and I’ll forever be grateful for the precious time we did have together,” he said gratefully. That made Y/N smile widely. “And that’s all that matters in the end. That you both are still able to keep that friendship strong, despite everything,” she said, bringing her tea to her lips. Jensen stared at her, his eyes filling with wonder for a moment. That wasn’t the reaction he was realistically expecting from her. Y/N looked at him quizzically. “What?” she eagerly questioned. Jensen simply shook his head with a light scoff. “Just… not the reaction I expected, honestly. Most everybody else tends to get excited to see me as a free man. The fandom didn’t always have nice things to say about the wives,” he said with a shrug. Y/N smirked and leaned forward as if to eagerly tell

Jensen a well-kept secret. “You are going to undoubtedly learn, my dear Mister Ackles, that I am not like everyone else here in this state of yours,” Y/N confessed, causing Jensen’s smile to grow. “Is that so, Miss Y/L/N?” he questioned her. Y/N nodded solemnly at him. “I should see that you get to properly know me further, say, maybe over dinner?” Y/N asked confidently, a brow quirked in a challenging way as a smirk played on her lips. Jensen faked offense at her offer, huffing a scoff at her indignantly. “Miss Y/L/N! You undoubtedly stole my line!” he exclaimed joyfully. This naturally caused Y/N to chuckle.

Supernatural:

@akshi8278 @vicmc624 @agirlwithdemonblood @flamencodiva @hobby27 @mimaria420 @compresshischest09 @kkrivers

Jensen/Dean Taglist

@deandreamernp @siospins @sacriceria

[kurinoot]

[day 2] two tempting bentos | ushijima wakatoshi

-> being the manager of a powerhouse school sure adds pressure, but you’re there to prove to them that you are the right person for the job, especially to a certain well-known ace

pairing: ushijima x reader

themes: fluff, manager!y/n, neither one of them has feelings for each other (yet!), continuation on white day special, slow burn (?)

word count: 2256 words

author’s note: sorry if I had to post this one late, as my dysmenorrhea was keeping me from working well (+ a bit of writer’s block) and I had to had this one proofread lol :( I hope you enjoy this one and drop any comments (and constructive ones) if you have one! also, thank you for a couple members of the hq discord server (I don’t know their un :() who willingly beta-ed (if that’s even a word lmao) this one.

Thankfully, it was already lunch time, as the grumbling of your empty stomach finally prompts you to walk to the school cafeteria. On the way, you unconsciously pat your stomach as you finally feel the reverberations and the consequence of the lack of breakfast for today. As soon as you arrive, you immediately take notice of two familiar figures on a nearby table. One of them is already waving at you like one of those wacky inflatable tubes that you closely associate him with, which brings a growing smile on your face.

“Ah L/N-chan! Wanna come sit with us?” Tendou giddily invites you and ushers you to the vacant space beside him, which you replied with an eager nod, sitting beside him.  With Ushijima sitting in front of both of you, you took notice of him who seems to be occupied with drawing something, which piques your interest.

“I never knew you could draw, Ushijima-san!”, you initiated, surprised.

“Yeah. I drew quite frequently as a child,” he replies with his usual deep voice, looking stoic with eyes and hands still occupied with the drawing. Somewhat mesmerized by the sight and view of the ace drawing, you kept watching as it slowly unraveled before your eyes, seemingly forgetting that you haven’t eaten even a single bite of food throughout the day.

Tendou sardonically interrupts, “Manager-chan, you better eat if you don’t want to keep your stomach from waiting!”, which cuts your train of thought (and apparently your daunting stare at Ushijima’s drawing). He ushers a tray of his remaining food to your direction, to which you thank him for, albeit the embarrassment of not being able to bring your own lunch for the day. You quickly fold your hands and utter an “Itadakimasu!” before you began ravishing the remaining food, much to the pair’s dismay.

“So L/N-chan!”

“Hmm?”, you hum in reply; your mouth still chewing on the food you’re eating.

Tendou then inclines himself onto the table, with his chin resting on the back of his hands and smirking with narrowed eyes at your direction, “Have you made preparations for today’s training?”.

You almost choke on your food, with eyes bulging the moment he reminds you of your managerial duties as Tendou knowingly cackles in response. Ushijima however, despite the playful banter happening in front of him, was still focused on finishing his artwork, much to your chagrin and much to Tendou’s entertainment (despite getting used to it). 

“If you are only playing around as a manager, then you do not deserve to be our manager”

Both you and Tendou stop, with both of your attention drawing to Ushijima, who has now stopped scribbling and is now looking at the both of you, particularly you.

You blankly stare at him in shock, somewhat speechless, “”E-Eh?”.

“You need to stop fooling around and do your duties as our manager.”

Tendou, who seems to feel a little bit of unnecessary tension between you and the captain, can only look consecutively between you and him. He tries his best to somewhat support you by putting both of his hands on your tired shoulders, to no avail. He tries to casually interject, “Wakatoshi-kun! L/N-chan probably just hasn’t rested well today!”

“Besides”, you start, prompting the two boys to look at your direction.

“Everybody makes mistakes, and it’s not like I haven’t done my job properly!”, you end as you seek to prove the ace wrong and to show that you have been doing well as the manager of a powerhouse school for the past two years. With that said, Ushijima scornfully looks at you as he resorts back, choosing not to retort back as to not attract unnecessary attention.

The entirety of the conversation has somehow left an air of slight tension between you two, as a pregnant pause engulfs your table afterwards. What started out as a casual lunch had ended in unnecessary tension and silence. Tendou can only do so much as he tries to break the ice to try and stop the tension from developing into something worse.

“Oi, oi! See you later! Good luck with that, Wakatoshi-kun”, he exclaims, gun pointing at his best friend whose only response was a deep, guttural hum. He then glances at you. Still dazed from the events earlier, you did not get what Tendou meant as he winked at you knowingly before he wiggled himself out of the cafeteria, leaving you alone with Ushijima.

“Look, if you’re not doing well, how are you supposed to do your duties?”, Ushijima reminds you as he starts cleaning up his things to prepare for the next class as well as for the training later on. Speechless and dazed, you can only nod in response as he calmly leaves the table, leaving you alone clenching your fist and thinking.

I’m going to do my job and I’m going to prove him wrong!

After a couple of days did you only realize that it’s already Valentines’ season and you know how much your friends are endlessly talking about making chocolates to give to their crushes as well as the girls in your class. You have been thinking for a while now of what to give the team as a gift just to celebrate the day in your own way as well as show your love to the boys. Then it got your mind reeling of numerous gift ideas.

“Y/N! Lunch is ready!”, you hear your mother call you from downstairs.

That’s it! I’ll prepare bento for them!, you thought out immediately, somehow thanking your mother in silence for giving you an idea in the right moment. You then blast out of your room with excitement, rushing downstairs to eat as well as ask for your mom’s guidance for your Valentines’ gift for the boys.

After a couple of attempts later, you were at least finally able to create a decent onigiri that brought you tears of joy, as you finally feel the worth of God-knows-how-many attempts. Your mother, who has been guiding you, clapped her hands in happiness as she shares the same sentiment.

A few days later, as it approaches Valentines’ Day, you decide to bring them each an onigiri as well as freshly-brewed tea to at least help them rejuvenate after training (and because you believed that it’s best to prove your worth as a manager).

Classes have just ended, so you gently pick up the onigiris that you’ve made as well as a big thermos of warm tea as well as the reusable cups and then make your way to the gym. To no surprise, you see Ushijima, who has already changed into his training uniform, already warming up while waiting for the others. He seems to notice your presence as he hears the shuffling sound of a plastic bag as well as the rattling of the cups. You continuously walk towards the nearby bench where Coach Washijo was already waiting, who then sees the food and drink you’re carrying.

“Ah, I’ve made some food and tea for them after!”, you say the moment you saw the coach’s eyes went to the food and thermos. Washijo only smiles at your outburst, somehow seeing your intent as the manager.

Meanwhile, you unknowingly feel Ushijima’s stare at you as you feel a sharp shiver in your spine and a sudden flutter and racing in your heart beat, which was somehow an entirely new feeling for you. Only then you turned around and saw the ace staring at you, with intentions somehow unclear to you.

I must be palpitating, I think, you thought to yourself, dismissing the fluttering feeling in your heart. You have already made sure that your main priority as the manager is to only do your duties to support the boys and nothing more beyond that. 

You dismiss everything and you just went back to your daily managerial routine, setting aside the food and tea you prepared as well as helping to mop the floor free from sweat and all.

After the training, you immediately bring up the bag of onigiri that you’ve made, which caught the attention of the other members, Goshiki in particular.

“”Woah! L/N-senpai brought us food!”, the budding ace exclaims as he quickly grabs his share of the food from your hands. You then distribute the other onigiris to the others, up until there are two pieces left. A smiling Tendou and a stoic Ushijima then walk towards you, with you already giving them the remaining food, to which they accept.

With that, you then start preparing the cups, pouring each with warm tea and giving it to each of the members. While pouring another one, you hear Tendou and Ushijima talking while they’re munching, somehow leaving you eavesdropping on the two.

“So how does it taste, Wakatoshi-kun?” Tendou asks his friend as he munches into his own food, to which his stoic friend bluntly replies with “It’s not good”, leaving you disappointed which made Tendou cackle in amusement.

The alarm of your phone rang early in the morning, prompting you to wake up, slightly scrubbing your eyes, and check your phone.

It’s already Valentines’ Day.

You already know that it might initially cause a stir within some of the boys, as Valentines is often seen as gift-giving only for intimate purposes, but you wanted to show how much you love them as your manager as well as be able to show your support for them, and you felt that preparing them bentos would be the best way to showcase it.

You were glad to wake up early, as you were able to prepare each bento just in time for you to prepare yourself for school. You smile in accomplishment as you comb your hair to finish organizing yourself before you go to school.

“Are you sure you can carry them?”, your mother asks with concern, especially after seeing your effort in making a bunch of them.

You sigh in assurance, “Mom, I’m the manager of a powerhouse school. I can do this!”.

After class has ended, you immediately went straight to the gym to prepare for today’s training as well as prepare the bentos for the boys. To your surprise, even the early bird Ushijima was not yet there, which gave you more time to prepare and even rest before they arrived.

A few minutes later, the team has scrambled together into the gym, only to find you napping on the bench. Everyone slowly steps closer to you except Ushijima, who only stood still, hoping to not disturb your nap. Up until the rest of the team noticed what seemed to be bento boxes stacked together did they stop for a while and took interest in it.

Semi somehow gets ahold of one of the boxes, “Eh? They’re bento boxes.”, he hushes. He then examined the one he’s holding when he noticed a sticky note attached on the top. He reads, “Happy Valentines’ Day, Semi-san! With love, L/N-san”.

Initially, the team took it as a sign of confession, as they have knowledge of the special day today. Only did they find something else when Goshiki sees another box with the same sticky note message attached to it, only this time it belonged to him.

“L/N-san’s giving us Valentines’ bento?!”, Goshiki finally realizes, as the other members of the team finally went to check and see theirs. Tendou, in particular, laughs at the thought, not before he finds his designated box with the same sticky note message, immediately taking interest in it. 

Ushijima, who notices the silent onslaught on the bento boxes, finally decides to step forward. Tendou, who has become immersed in his own box, sees his best friend approach and then decides to pick up his box and then gives it to him.

“Here’s yours, Wakatoshi-kun!”, Tendou stirred as he hands out Ushijima’s designated bento box, or boxes rather. Ushijima accepts it, and right off the bat he notices the yellow sticky note attached with his name on it along with a mandatory ‘Happy Valentines Day!’ as well as your name. He gently opens the warm box and goes to see tamagoyaki and sausage octopuses on the side, and much to his internal delight, was a bed of Hayashi rice sitting nicely on the large portion of the box. He then goes to check the other box underneath to see a mix of steamed vegetables and a couple of pieces of sushi beside it.

Everyone was so immersed in their own bento box that they did not notice you waking up from your light slumber, and much to your shock, you wake up to see them already eating with happy smiles on their faces. Only then did they notice you awake when they hear you move from the bench.

“So, do you guys like it?”, you shyly asked whilst rubbing your eyes from your light slumber, only to find the entire team facing you with serious faces after scrubbing. Goshiki, the ever enthusiastic budding ace, praises you, “We love it, L/N-san!”.

You look around to see everyone eating their own lunches, and much to your shock, you actually see Ushijima eating the food and immersing himself in the bento boxes that you made for him. Somehow, Tendou looks at the both of you in amusement, taking note of the prior events. He then internally smirks on the possible development that is happening before his eyes.

Happy ‘Valentines’ Day, indeed, he thinks as he continues munching on his bento.

back to valentines’ masterlist

[smoll-ratt]

Dr.Junkenstien x Maid!Reader

Part Four

——————————————————————————

Your steps echoed against the cold brick as you made your journey back to the maid quarters. Remembering the slanted step from before, you jumped up the un-even path and glared at the bottle. The murky green glass held a dark liquid that seem to stain the inside of the glass as you swirled it. Your hand chilled as it held the bottle, and the chill it's sent down your spine indicated it was kept somewhere cold and perhaps dark. The hair on your arms began to stand and a wave of subtle paranoia took over you.

Something was watching you.

You stopped and glanced behind you to see a shadowed figure in the dark. Your heart seemed to stop as the figure stood there growing more menacingly . A cold sensation began to creep its way on your flesh. Goosebumps covered your skin as air felt to slowly escape your lungs. However, before you were fully engulfed with a sense panic your brain dismissed the figure. In a sense of adrenaline you couldn't see it despite knowing it was the there.

Suddenly, an awful presence drew your attention down the hall on your right. Darkness surrounded the set of stairs that greeted you at the end of it. That's when you realized where you stood. A little fork in the castle. A path you struggled to go down when you were a child and unknowingly avoided to this day.

You had collected the trays from a visitors room that night, where a kind women invited by the king was staying. Her hair was as golden as the sun and her skin white as winter, giving her a radiate glow the first time you saw her. However, after seeing her once you had only seen two other times. Once returning from the king's quarters and once through the crack of the door to her room. She had handed you a tray and smiled at you through the small space before sending you off to the kitchen without a word.

Walking down those stone steps is where that night became less enjoyable and from then on a chain of similar events began.

Your feet as child barley made a sound against the cold stone. You focused on balancing fragile cups and plates in the tray which often clinked against the silver metal. Behind you, someone's steps echoed down. As routine you moved to the side to allow space for the person behind you. You waited  for them to past but no one did. Puzzled, you looked behind you and the stairs were emptying and dimly lit by the torch at the top. When you continued down again the steps behind you returned. You looked up again to find that the stairs remained empty.  Yours hands tightened around the tray as you quickly ran down and reached the end of stairs. Every hair on your neck rose to their ends and you could feel your small frame tremble in fear before the last step.

You looked up once more.

Waiting for you was the visitor barely peaking around the corner of the top step with the same smile on her face. You turned back quickly, forgetting the last step and facing a dark figure like the one you have just seen in the present, before falling forward and breaking what was in the tray.

You remember crying that night against the wall as a maid scolded you and another cleaned up your mess. You tucked in your knees as close as you could to your chest trying to explain what had happened over and over again until the older maid struck you across the cheek and grabbed you by your hair.

You remember Madame did nothing to sooth you.

You turned the bottle to its poorly written label and glared down with rage. You remembered the sting on your face after being hit and the words excusing your feelings from the one who should've cared the most. You ripped off the label and rubbed the glue clean off the glass.

The kitchen stood still as you passed it. The mess from the rats earlier had been cleaned and everything stood in place. A small rat squeaked by your foot and you left back to your quarters with the small rat following you.

As you got to the quarters you waited outside the door as your thoughts stirred.

Before you could open the door the maid from the kitchen opened it, sending your small friend squeaking away. Her brown hair was pulled back under her bonnet as her apron on top of her brown dress was covered with flour and stains.

"Good to see you survived visiting that estranged man." She greeted you with a sad excuse of a smile and lead your way in to where the eldest maid laid. The room grew dim as the sun began to set, blessing the room with soft rays of light and dust.

"Yes..." you began, ignoring her comment, "he was quite-"

"Rude?"

You bit your tongue and mumbled under your breath.

"...interesting is what I was going to say." 

"What did he do? Bark at you? Glared at you?" You stared down the back of her head. Hate was a familiar emotion with her. She wasn't part of the eldest group of maids but was part of those expected to take charge once the elders before her died, therefore leaving her treated better amongst the rest. She had more control over the staff and to your disliking, respect.

"I wish the king would rid of him already. There's no place for such evil, ill manner..."

You never wish to follow her orders.

"How much did he say to give? Damn bastard didn't leave a label."

You hated each word out her mouth and wished her heart would stop in place.

"I worry Madame's temperature is rising too much."

You wished to pull her hair,

"She was given tea but I'm afraid all that did was put her to sleep. At least she has no rash or spots, nothing too concerning of the past season."

Let out all the pain she had given you and disgust you held inside,

"How much should she be given? She would've had soup but those filthy rats..."

Spit on her,

"The king has an event arising in the future so you and I, or anyone free if need be, will attend to her care. Do you understand me? Y/N? How much medicine should she be given?"

And strike her across her face as she did to you.

"Y/N! You stupid churl, no wonder you were hedge-born, your stupid ears don't work. I won't ask this again. How much medicine should she be given?"

"A spoonful, should be enough."

The maid turned away with the bottle and gently shook the eldest awake. You glared at her before the Madame awoke with a slight cough. She went ahead and poured the brown liquid into a wood spoon as you prop the old lady up with a pillow.

She sipped the medicine and winced at the taste.

"Not the most delicious thing I've had," she said and the other maid chuckled. As she tucked the old Madame back to bed, you placed the bottle on the scratched up wooden table beside you. The liquid stilled in the soft light through the window where the moon in the sky was quick on its way. You said left them to talk as you resumed to the other chores  before nightfall but while taking a moment to yourself, reliving the anger, you noticed through the dark, right before a right turn, a white lab coat heading down a hall with a staircase at its end.

[generallybarzy]

every side of you

mat barzal x reader

summary: every now and then, you shut down into a pit of hopelessness, of anxiety and self-loathing, and you were determined to hide that side of you from Mat, in fear that it would drive him away.

an: alrighty, so this is a shorter fic than usual but it’s really personal and important to me as it hits close to home as something I deal with. It started out as just a blurb I wrote as a sort of “therapy” to comfort myself when this type of thing would happened, but I figured I’d share it here since others probably go through the same thing.

warnings: anxiety attack, self-loathing, depressive episode, etc.

word count: ~3k

Broken.

There wasn’t really a better word to describe what you were feeling- exhausted, hopeless, anxious, unmotivated, finished- but broken might be the easiest way to describe it. In a world full of things that upset, worried and disturbed you, there was nothing you hated more than the hopeless, empty feeling you would get every now and then when something seemed overwhelmingly impossible- no matter if it was a task at work or something as simple as just waking up and getting out of bed in the morning. And because you were too overwhelmed to try or even get out of bed, your own voice nagged away at you in your head, calling you names. Weak, stupid, lazy, everyone’s so sick of you. Why can’t you get your shit together?

It didn’t happen that often, really, especially since you started dating Mathew. There was little room for something to overwhelm you to the point of you crying and closing yourself off from the world when you had such a sweet, caring boyfriend to make sure you’re feeling okay at all times. Not that you’d ever told him or were planning on telling him about these depressive, tired moods you fall into. No, that was a really ugly side of you.

The side of you that stayed up until 4 in the morning working tirelessly just because you were overwhelmed and stressed to the point of not being able to close your eyes. The side of you that didn’t eat properly for days on end because you were too tired to drag yourself to the kitchen. The side of you that would shut down and not contact anyone for days, just because you didn’t want to sound annoying or needy. The side of you that kept telling yourself “You’re a burden, you’re annoying everybody, you’re so fucking weak.” The side of you that would stress out to the point of being physically ill, leaving you to cocoon yourself in blankets with headaches and nausea.

You didn’t need Mat to know about that side of you.

Ever since Mat came around, you had been feeling perfectly fine, so it didn’t seem necessary to admit to him this… problem you used to run into. He had been busy enough, with the hockey season starting soon after you started dating, so you never found the need to tell him.

But now, you hadn’t spoken to him in two days. At least, you think it’s been two days. You didn’t know what day it was. You didn’t know day from night anymore.

It was always a gradual build up before you fell apart, and this time- the first since you started dating Mat, you had nearly forgotten what it was like. It was nearing the end of his western road trip when you started getting bad. Mat was far out west playing hockey and you were getting overwhelmed balancing work and school all alone when something in you just snapped. For two days, everyone’s little comments and snarky words wore away at you; you were stuck in a constant cycle of wake up, work, sleep, repeat, most of the day spent huddled on the couch under the same dirty blankets, with a cup of tea cooling off before you could even drink it. You were stuck in a cycle of tears, nausea, and headaches, crying because your head hurt, your head hurting because of how much you were crying- it was horrible. On the third day, you actually called off of work, too drained and hopeless to even drag yourself out of bed. Mat always found time to text and call you during road trips, and you always loved to hear his voice. But, somewhere along the way, you stopped answering him.

You couldn’t explain exactly why you didn’t answer, but you were too tired to respond the first time, and then each time his name popped up on your phone, asking if you were alright and begging you to answer him, you felt so horrible, so guilty, and something in your mind reasoned that you’d rather stay silent than deal with his questions; rather lose him than reveal to him this side of you. You didn’t want to sound annoying, you didn’t want him to think you were overreacting.

Wow, he’s gonna think you’re such a fucking baby. You can’t even handle work and school? You need someone to hold your hand through life? That must be so annoying to him.

He was getting back from the trip today, you knew he was going to come straight to your apartment from the airport, and he was going to see you like this, and he was gonna leave you because of it. He didn’t have time to deal with someone as screwed up as you.

You’d spent all morning- having called off work- huddled up in your bedroom with the blinds closed, hiding under the blankets, just trying to stop crying. How could you just wake up and already be so overwhelmed? A few hours later, you managed to drag yourself out of the room and make yourself some tea- thinking it would soothe your raw throat- before collapsing on the couch in tears where you stated for the rest of the day, and into the night, apparently. God, you felt so exhausted.

In the midst of your self-loathing, your phone started vibrating on the coffee table and the screen lit up with 'Mat🖤'. You didn’t have the energy or willpower to reach out and grab it, and even if you did, you wouldn’t be able to form the right words for him. What would you say? What could you say? "Hey, sorry for ignoring you for two whole days! I'm having a breakdown so I couldn't even gather the energy to text you back once! I'm mentally unstable! Break up with me!"

It stopped ringing.

And then you heard heavy footsteps speeding down the apartment building hallway and frantic knocking at the door.

“(Y/N)? Are you in there? Please answer me.” Just hearing Mat’s voice on the other side of the door made you choke up and let out a strangled sob. He heard, and the panic in his voice was obvious as he called out again. “Baby? What’s wrong?” You could hear him fumbling around for the spare key you’d given him for emergencies.  

Before you could process what exactly was happening, your boyfriend was stepping into the room. After only a few seconds of trying to figure out what was wrong and where his girlfriend was, his eyes landed on your figure on the couch, and you heard his heavy duffel bag drop by the door and his footsteps rush over.

"Holy shit." He knelt down in front of where you lay huddled on the couch, stroking his fingers over your tear-stained cheeks and running his wide eyes over you, trying to figure out what was wrong and if you were physically hurt in any way. "(Y/N), baby, what’s wrong? Please say something."

At the first familiar sight of Mat, his soft dark hair a mess from rushing here from the airport, his pretty hazel eyes worried and searching and, you shook your head, your emotions squeezing your throat shut. Forming words would be a miracle at this point. "Can't." Your voice came out raw, strained, from little use in the past few days, and the tears started flowing as you reached out weakly for him.

So he pulled you- blankets and all- into his arms.

You breathed a sigh that you didn't realize you had been holding since he left, since he last held you, and all your walls crumbled. You sobbed into his dress shirt- he still hadn't changed from the flight- and clung onto his jacket. He smelled so familiar and comforting, like warmth, like home, like Mat,  and you weren't planning on moving your face from the crook of his neck any time soon. You had half expected him to yell at you for ignoring him, to break up with you right here, but no. "Shh, shh, I'm here." His hand cupped your head against him, fingers carding through your hair in a way he knew calmed you down. He'd seen you cry before but… nothing like this. "Take your time."

His heart ached, his heart broke watching you break down against his chest. Part of him felt so guilty, though logically he knew that was unnecessary. Should he have tried harder to contact you? Should he have pushed more to try and get in touch? Were you upset with him? Did something happen? He couldn’t deny how much he was panicking inside, but he held it together for you. He could tell you needed something steady right now.

Minutes passed like this- you, wrapped in blankets and pulled into Mat's chest, breathing in his scent and feeling his heartbeat thumping under your ear, Mat holding you tight, arms tucked around you and face pressed against the top of your head- before your sobs calmed into shaky, shallow breaths. "Hey. Breathe with me, babe."

You mimicked the sound of Mat's breathing, your chests expanding in rhythm against each other. "There we go." His hands smoothed over your back and you could feel him physically relaxing with you. His lips trailed against your hairline for a few moments before he leaned back, gently laying you back on the couch with a soft look in his eyes. “Wait here a second, I’ll be right back.” He left for the kitchen, and you could hear him kick his shoes off on the way. When he returned, he held a glass of water up to your lips, instructing you to take small sips and watching carefully as you drank. He sat back on the couch with you, pulling you into his arms delicately. "You wanna tell me what happened?"

“I’m just… “ You swallowed, your throat still feeling dry and raw from crying. “Tired.”

“Babe, I’ve seen tired. This is a lot more.” He prodded gently, his eyes showing nothing but care.

“I just... get like this every now and then."

"Every now and then?” His eyebrows furrowed, his voice taking a tone you’d never heard him use before: delicate, scared, careful. “Does this happen often?"

"Used to."

“Shit…  Has it… has it ever  happened since we started dating? Or any other time that I could’ve been there to help you?” You shook your head against him and he breathed out a sigh of relief. It felt good to know that at the very least this hasn’t happened before at a time when he could've prevented it. He wasn’t sure what he would’ve done, learning you’d been like this before while he was blissfully unaware of the state you were in. Suffering silently with an ignorant boyfriend. How shitty of a boyfriend was he if he didn't even know you were having a hard time? “Okay. Okay. Do you know what caused it?”

You breathed him in, wiping the tears from your eyes as you gathered your thoughts.

Mat felt you struggling to explain yourself and kissed your forehead. “It’s alright if you can’t explain it.”

"Just... Everything becomes overwhelming. Work, classes, my friends. I feel so… exhausted and alone… I stopped communicating with anyone. It’s too overwhelming to talk to anyone. I’m so anxious and hopeless. I feel like everyone is annoyed with me. I feel like shit. I feel like a fucking burden."

Mat quieted down for a few moments, letting your words sink in. Holy shit. You felt like a burden. He made it his life’s purpose as your boyfriend to make sure you never felt bad about yourself, and here you were so overwhelmed and hopeless you were shutting yourself off from the world. He felt miserable, he felt like he’d failed as a boyfriend. "Fuck.” His mind was racing. Was it something he did? Did he add to your anxiety? Did it happen because of him or in spite of him? How could he fix it? Well, for now he only knew one thing he could do. “Let's get you to bed first, alright? Then we'll talk about this.”

He peeled you out of your cocoon of blankets and lifted you into his arms easily, letting you dry your tears and silence your whimpers on the collar of his shirt, not caring how wet it got. When he finally laid you down in bed and tried to move away to change, you latched onto him, and he had to coo to you softly for your grip to loosen. "Hey, hey, lemme get out of these clothes, then I'll cuddle you, alright?" You weren't sure you'd ever heard his voice get this gentle and soft before, but it made you warm and helped to ease the anxiety inside of you.

"Mhm. Okay."

You watched with wet eyes as he smiled and pushed one strand of your hair aside with a single finger. He stripped out of his dress shirt and pants as quickly as he could before climbing back in beside you, pulling you into his chest and pulling the blankets up around the two of you. He lay a palm across your cheek, his thumb right under your eye to catch any tears, and pulled you in for a delicate kiss. "How do you feel?”

How did you feel? You felt scared Mat was upset with you for ignoring him, guilty for making him worry so much, but overall your anxiety had lessened ever since the moment he pulled you into his arms.

“I’m… better. I’m better now that you’re here.”

“Good.” He smiled against your skin, breathing in your scent. Shit, he had missed seeing you, hearing your voice. “Alright, baby. Obviously you've had a pretty hard time while I was gone. When did you start feeling like this?”

“I- I don’t know. It’s a build up. Maybe the last few days?”

“When you started missing calls?” You nodded, staring at his neck and not wanting to look him in the eyes. You were so humiliated that he was seeing this side of you. The broken side.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, baby. I get it. You said everything was getting overwhelming and you were getting anxious? And that you felt like everyone was annoyed with you? That's why you didn't answer me? You thought I was annoyed?"

You shrugged, taking a breath to steady yourself. "I was stressed and crying, and missed so many calls because I was crying… and then I ignored you because… I guess I thought you’d be angry with me.”

“Absolutely not.” His lips glided across your forehead. “I wasn’t angry, not even for a second. I was worried. You worried me, babe. You should’ve just told me what was happening. I would’ve tried to help.”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry. I just...” You felt the tears start up again and Mat noticed too, and quickly pulled you in to lay kisses across your cheeks. "I overthink things when I’m anxious."

“Hey, no, don't apologize."

You felt his hands rub up and down your back, and that soft display of affection gave you enough confidence to form words. “I didn't know how to explain why I missed all those calls without telling you about…this. I didn't want to let you see this side of me. I thought you would break up with me. So it was easier to just ignore you."

"No, no, no, what?” he shook his head.  “Why would I break up with you? Over this?"

"Because I'm… overreacting? Unstable?"

Mat went silent, his arms tightening their grip around you. "...What?"

"You don't deserve someone so broken, who you have to keep putting back together."

"Listen, listen, listen." He tilted your face up to look at him, forcing you to be eye-to-eye with him. When you finally met his pretty, hazel eyes, you found nothing but love. No annoyance, no anger, only love, care, and urgency. "Do you have any idea how scared I was when I didn’t hear from you? When I walked in and saw you crying on the couch? That was like, one of my worst nightmares.” His voice cracked a bit. Not hearing from you had been hard on him. He could barely pay attention to the games, and it had shown in his playing. “Please, please don’t keep things from me because you’re scared of how I’ll react. I love you. You’re not overreacting. You're not unstable. You're not a burden. You're not broken, baby. Even if this side of you isn’t great, it's just another part of you that makes you, you. And I love you, so we'll manage this together, alright?”

“Together?”

“Yeah, together.” He laughed a little, trying to lighten the mood. “I’m your boyfriend, we’re together, so you never have to go through anything alone, ever again. I’m always here. We’ll figure out some way to get through this. I promise.”

He leaned in to press a kiss against your mouth, all the urgency and care for you spilling out from his lips as they moved against yours. You would’ve stayed like that forever, but an aching in your head had you pulling back and burying your face in your boyfriend’s neck. 

“We can think about getting a doctor’s opinion, or get some at home activities or something to help keep you calm while I’m gone, or-”

“Tomorrow, Maty? My head hurts. Just hold me.”

"Anything you need, babe.” He readjusted your position in bed gently, careful not to hurt your head even more, and you ended up sprawled out on top of him with your face directly on his chest, his arms around your back. “I'm never going to judge you, so don't try to shut me out. Especially not when you're going through this. I don't want you to feel alone in this relationship, ever."

“I love you so much, Mat. Thank you for helping me calm down.”  

"I love you, baby. I love you. Good or bad, I love every side of you."

--

“Hear you falling and lonely, cry out:

"Will you fix me up? Will you show me hope?

The end of the day, I'm helpless

Can you keep me close? Can you love me most?“

-Someone To Stay, Vancouver Sleep Clinic

[kleines1904]

Imagine – Alex Morgan - Part red

My heart nearly broke all the bones to find its way out of my chest the first time I played for Portland. The Thorns were such a good and respected team in the US, it was always my dream to play in the NWSL, to play for them. Never would I’ve imagined that these years would be the best time of my life, especially the six months after my first season. Being the top scorer in the league opened a few opportunities, like playing in some European countries, but I decided against all of them.

 The reason for that?

 Pretty easy.

 Alex Morgan.

 I always believed that I wouldn’t fall in love with someone head over heels, that I’m independent, that I don’t need another person to be happy. Everything I needed was a ball, the cheering of the crowd in the background the second I stepped on the field, and my friends.

 I was so wrong.

 From the moment I met her I knew Alex would play an important role in my life. Being openly gay and supporting many foundations for LGBTQ+ soccer players made me one of the most popular players in the league. But the most important advantage: I didn’t need to hide who I was. Everybody in the team knew, it wasn’t weird at all (read: ‘Lesbians in the locker room? No problem’). When I got kicked out of my apartment, I had a few options, but Alex telling me she would love to have a roommate again shut out everything else. I can still remember the moment I told my friends back in Germany, everyone laughed at me for a whole minute before they realized I was serious about it.

 Alex being openly bisexual and single for a long time never bothered with hiding her beautiful, naked body at home. Sure, we did shower together a lot, ‘cause we were both playing for the Thorns, but walking around the apartment in nothing but a towel or even less was something different. I needed Christen to talk me into talking to Alex, and Tobin telling me she would do it otherwise, to actually girl up and tell the forward about my feelings for her.

 It took us five minutes to lay down on the couch and make out, I was never happier in my life. I never thought life could be this wonderful, that one could be this happy.

 I closed my easy smiling at all the memories. Biting my lip to stop a big smile spreading across my face I started playing with the tape around my left ring finger, realizing I’m not wearing my favorite ring. It was different every time I had to take it off, especially when I was playing for the German national team and Alex wasn’t by my side. When we didn’t start a game together with the Thorns, we always support each other from the bench or the stands.

 Today was different.

 It was the first match of the Women’s World Cup in France and while we had to play Alex and the team were busy preparing for their first match miles away. It certainly felt different without her, that’s why I was often caught playing with the ring around my finger (‘a promise ring’ Alex told me when she gave it to me on my birthday, I cried a little), my teammates really thought it was a good idea to record it and show it to the whole world on twitter. I will never hear the end of it from Tobin, Kelley and Christen…

 I took another deep breath when we got out on the field, knowing my teammates and my whole country needed me to be at my best tonight. While the national anthem was playing, I looked around the stadium. I didn’t sing, something I picked up from my good friend Megan Rapinoe, we both had our reasons for that. After the whistle blew to start the game I was in my zone. It wasn’t a surprise when I scored twice that game, always kissing my ring finger after a goal and thinking about the love of my life.

 /////

 “You did it! Semi-finales!” I laughed as I jumped in Alex’s arms.

 “You too,” Alex let me down slowly and kissed me on the lips before I could breathe in properly. Who needs to breathe when you can feel Alex Morgan’s lips on yours? “I’m so glad you’re here.”

 Behind her I saw Kelley shuffling around nervously, knowing she was anxious to finally walk over and get a hug too. Kelley, Christen and I knew each other from college, where we played together for years. Back then I was so inspired by the USWNT, if I had a say in it, I would play for them, unfortunately I’m not making the rules. Germany has a great team and I loved playing a big role within the team, but my heart always belonged to the NWSL and everything the USWNT stands for.

 “Come on in here.” I finally said when Kelley was about to bolt over and was only hold back by Allie who was shaking her head. Seconds later I was surrounded by my teammates and friends.

 “So, you have a few days off,” Alex began when everyone calmed down and Kelley was done teasing me about all the Instagram stories and twitter.

 “I do have a few days off, yeah.” I looked over at my girlfriend who wore the promise ring I gave to her, I smiled and tried not to blush when she gave me a kiss on check, despite us being in the hotel lobby where everyone could’ve seen it.

 “Okay so after we got some food, I need to show you something in my room.”

 “Is that so?” I stopped and whirled her around so I could look into her beautiful eyes, I saw her eyes shining with something and swallowed. “You have a room for yourself?”

 “Yeah.”

 “Oh.”

 Alex tugged at my hand, and a few seconds later I followed her out of the hotel. We dropped each other’s hands automatically and started walking to the vegan place Alex claimed being the best in Europe. My head was still clouded with her having a room for herself, which was rare. I felt a bit guilty when I only answered short, but Alex seemed to know what was going on, because she kept smiling and smirking at me teasingly.

 Playing a World Cup game is always exciting, but I can tell you, having a half-dressed Alex Morgan sitting on your lap is much more thrilling. My hands wandered to her sports bra while she was trying to get my pants off in a hurry, I had to laugh and break the kiss to help her because her fingers were shaking so much.

 Two days later I had to say goodbye, gaining a few hugs from the team again, but everyone knew we would see each other shortly after, because two days later it was the semi-finale: USA against Germany. I loved and hated everything about it.

 /////

 I ran out on the field with my teammates, enjoying the cheering of the crowd while we started our warm ups. A few minutes later I heard the crowd going wild again, I automatically looked up at the USWNT coming out on the field. Luckily, I was too focused to let a goofy grin take over my face when I saw Alex. She was also focused, as everyone else, this was a big game for our respective countries.

 When we walked to the locker room, I saw Pinoe running my way. With a big smile I hugged her and ignored the ‘I love you, but we’re gonna beat you’. Moments later I locked eyes with Alex, who smiled. My body moved on its own, while we hugged each other I heard the crowd around us going wild again. Being wrapped up in her scent made me take a deep breath, I never wanted this to end.

 “Good luck babe.” I said and smiled at her when we broke the hug. “Just stay healthy okay?”

 “Yeah, you too. See you after.” Alex replied and touched my shoulder again before she headed off to her teammates.

 /////

 It was the 30th minute when I saw one of my teammates break through on the wing, I instinctively stayed a few yards behind the defenders. Seconds later the ball came my way, I stopped it and dribbled around Julie, before I was in a good position and shot the ball right by Alyssa into the net. My heart skipped a few beats when I heard our fans cheering, but after a few seconds I held up my hands, signaling I won’t be celebrating much. My teammates jumped on my back yelling at me how amazing the goal was, and yes, I was proud, I was excited for us going to the finale, but we still had to beat the best team in the world.

 Only ten minutes later Christen scored a goal, I had to physically stop myself from walking over and congratulating her, and stopping the tears forming in my eyes. She has been through so much last year and now she scored such an amazing goal. Slowly I leaned down and took a deep breath, this was going to be the most difficult game in my life, and I would do everything for us to win.

 /////

 “Shit are you okay?”

 I wanted to scoff, but put my foot on the ground and hissed when I felt the pain. Becky looked at me apologetically, Kelley was also on her knees by my side, same as a few of my teammates. It was a mistake by Sam, who tried to play the ball right by me, but I was wide awake and stole the ball before it could get to Christen. Minutes before I did something similar and nutmegged Tobin, if it wasn’t for the whole world watching she would deny it till her death, but the counterattack ended with me only hitting the post.

 This time I waited for my teammates to get into the box and tried to dribble around Becky, who obviously wasn’t having my shit today. Just when I was looking up, I felt a sharp pain in my ankle and then my body fell on the hard ground. I knew immediately something was wrong.

 My breath caught in my throat when our medical signaled to the bench that I couldn’t play anymore. Becky walked away after I nodded at her, but everyone knew I wasn’t okay. I made eye contact with Alex, who was hovering close by. I could see how worried she was, I gave her a nod, even if the pain in my ankle didn’t stop for a second.

 Watching the following 20 minutes from the bench was hard. I know we had the potential to maybe get to overtime, but realistically I know they were too good. When I saw Lindsay kicking the ball inside and Alex being a bit faster than her opponent, I know she would score. My heart sank into my stomach, I knew this would most likely be our last game, they wouldn’t give away a 2-1 lead.  

 “Wow, bold.” I heard someone mumbling beside me. When I looked at Alex, I saw her making the tea sipping celebration we talked so much about. I smiled, truly happy for her.

 When the final whistle blew, I slowly stood up and hobbled on the field. I had to comfort a few of my teammates, especially the ones who played their hearts out tonight for 90 minutes. After I limped to the circle in the middle of the field, I listened to our coach saying a few words. In this moment it all became real; we hadn’t made it to the finale. My whole body screamed at me, after the long tournament, the physically and emotionally exhausting game days, it seemed like it was all for nothing.

 The following minutes flew by, I could only breathe again when I saw Alex walking my way. She had that little smile on her face I loved so much. She was also still worried, because she looked at my ankle, which I still couldn’t put weight on, and up to my face again.

 “Congrats babe,” I mumbled when I put her into a long and emotional hug. We didn’t let go of each other for what seemed liked minutes. “I’m good, don’t worry. Your goal was so great.”

 “Thanks.” Alex buried her face into my neck, before she took a step back and looked down again. I rolled my eyes. “But, you can walk, right?”

 “I can.” A smile took over my face, her voice was rougher than usual, due to all the screaming on the field.

 “Thank god. Becky just tried-“

 “I know,” I interrupted. “don’t worry about it. You’re going to the final, and it’s your birthday- happy birthday by the way.”

 “This is the fifth time you’re congratulating me today.” Alex laughed a bit, she still had her arm around my waist while I was leaning on her, only partly because of my hurt ankle.

 “I don’t care.” Her eyes sparkled when I grinned at her. “And now go and celebrate with your team, prepare for the Netherlands.” I ignored Alex rolling her eyes about me being diplomatic again when she helped me stumble to the sideline. “You deserve it. I will call you tomorrow, okay?”

 “Okay babe.”

 Alex made sure that someone was near me to help me go to the locker room when Kelley and Tobin came over. We talked for a few minutes before we parted ways. I took one last look at the stadium and then at the team across from us.

 I knew they would make it.

 /////

 If someone would ask me what has been worse, my still injured ankle or sitting in the stands while your girlfriend and most of your best friends are playing a World Cup final, I wouldn’t know the answer. Every time the US was close to scoring a goal I stood up, at one point I couldn’t even feel the pain in my ankle anymore, I was too excited and too anxious.

 Alex had a few chances to score, but it took a defender trying to kick the ball away from her high in the air to start the game entirely. I worriedly watched as Alex still laid on the ground, even from this distance I knew she was hit. I could breathe again when Alex stood up and Pinoe scored, we were on our way.

 A few minutes later I frowned when the Netherlands had a few breakthroughs, luckily without scoring, Alyssa made sure of that. A counterattack lead by Rose brought Alex into a good position, she stopped and dribbled by the defender, before she took a shot. I jumped out of my seat when she scores, my hands held high, before I gave my ring a kiss. When I looked back down Alex formed a heart with her fingers and hold it my way, it was the first time a tear escaped my eyes since we lost in the semi-final.

 /////

 Everyone around me was smiling, laughing, having the time of their lives. Pam, Alex’s mum had her arm around me while we watched the players on the field getting their gold medals. I’m sure at least five different cameras caught the moment, but I didn’t care. Alex and I loved our privacy, we tried not to kiss and being overly romantic in public, just because we thought it was something between and for the both of us. It was even more surprising when she came running to the stands after the game and immediately pulled me in for a long and passionate kiss. At that moment I didn’t even care about the headlines in the morning, or the possible hateful comments, I was so proud of my girl that I could only grin, she deserved it. They deserved it.

 That smile dropped from my face when I stood in front of Pam’s car minutes later. I had to blink a few times and look at my phone again, but Alex really did just do that.

 “What are you looking at sweetie?” Pam asked, I jumped and locked my phone before she saw what her daughter just did in front of the whole world. The dancing, the champagne, Jesus Alex.

 “Nothing, just- they are celebrating.”

 “Sure they are.” Pam eyed me, before she helped me into the car. It was definitely inappropriate to have these kinds of thoughts while sitting in your girlfriends’ parent’s car, but, damn it Alex.

 /////

 During the drive to the party location I had to laugh too hard and too often at the different Instagram stories the USWNT posted, Pam literally took my phone away because she nearly drove us off the street due to my emotional outbursts. She ignored me pouting like a pro.

 The second the door busted open I knew we were in for a long night. I got a lot of videos and pictures from the girls celebrating, hence the motherly act from Pam to separate me and my phone, but it was so much better live. Kelley screamed into my ear when she hugged me, already wasted but still thoughtful to not step on my injured ankle. After she ran off to her girlfriend, I was pulled into a hug by Christen who gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

 “I’m so proud of you.”

 “And I’m proud of you.” She leaned into me while we watched Tobin who talked to her family. I literally couldn’t put into words how proud I was of my friends. Then I caught a glimpse of Alex who already had two wine glasses in her hands and bit my lip.

 “Is everyone really that wasted?”

 “Because of the nonstop drinking for two hours and the ignoring-concussions-thing going on?” Christen and I looked into Kelley’s direction, who was oblivious while she chugged down a beer. “Yeah.” She laughed while I pushed her softly in the direction of Tobin, who couldn’t stop glancing over at us. I could see how happy she was to have Christen by her side again.

 “Hey babe.” I whipped around to look at Alex, still with two glasses in der hands while I had hardly touched the beer her father gave me minutes ago.

 “Hey Champ.” I laid my arm around her and gave her a soft kiss, but this obviously wasn’t enough for both of us. Alex circled her arms around my waist and opened her mouth while we kissed, I couldn’t breathe for a moment. After a full minute of kissing her passionately I felt a tap against my shoulder and smiled while I took a step back. Alex pouted, but Tobin didn’t look that impressed while she pointed at all the cell phones around us.

 After I congratulated everyone on the team and staff, I sent Alex off to keep partying. She didn’t really want to leave my side; I couldn’t decide if it was for her being protective of me or her not being able to walk straight anymore (as if ever). She was seriously drunk.

 While everyone took pictures of the team dancing on the counter, I only had eyes for her. I felt a bit embarrassed when I caught myself being grateful for the USWNT winning the World Cup. I would’ve given everything for us to win, but I’m also glad that my best friends get to have these moments together. By the looks of a few of them, especially Alex, Julie, Kelley and Rose I knew they would be hangover tomorrow and the days after (read: please, drink water).

 I knew that a week, months or even years later we would look back at this tournament knowing it was one important milestone for so many things. But the most important one for me: My girl was world champion, again.

[skvaderarts]

Hiraeth Chapter 51: Folly

Masterlist can be found Here!

Chapter Fifty-Two: Folly

Notes: I do so love these talking chapters. That’s where the character development happens. But this shall be one of the last ones. There is a lot of action that has to happen soon. No time for words! ACTION!

(-~-)

After spending an entire morning at Morgan’s graduation ceremony, they had come to the unanimous conclusion that such events were extraordinarily dull and that they should have listened to the young woman when she had initially opted not to attend. The sheer amount of pomp and custom had been enough to render even Vergil’s more formal sensibilities raw and unwilling to linger much longer. But they had been forced to stay to the very end as Morgan had apparently been one of the top students. They had to allow her the time to speak, and she had used it to politely but ruthlessly denounce the school’s stagnation before exiting the stage, all of the faculty aside from one teacher seemingly shocked by her words.

By the time they had exited the building, everyone had been thoroughly exhausted. They had opted to travel via public avenues as a means of cloaking themselves, and as such, had spent nearly three hours simply trying to reach their destination. It had been a no-brainer when Vergil had simply opened a portal and silently pleaded with them to just take the direct route back. It was more difficult for any unwanted observers to track, at the very least. As as soon as they had arrived back at V’s doorstep, everyone had practically collapsed on the floor in the entryway. It was barely noon, but they were all sure that they were done with the day.

“Well, that was the most painful four hours of my life,” Nero said, slumping over on the stairs. “I used to think that going to all of those damn sermons that the order wanted us to go to was torture, but that? I think I’d rather Vergil cut my arm off again.”

Morgan stared at Nero in silence for a moment as she looked him up and down, realizing that he either had a very realistic prosthetic, or that his arm wasn’t missing. But she had heard him say the word “again” hadn’t she? He stared back at her before a mischievous smile spread across his face and he held up his right arm. Sure enough, it seemed to momentarily disappear, leaving nothing but a deflated sleeve before reappearing. He wiggled his fingers for emphasis. 

No. She refused to ask about this one. It was just too early in the morning for that.

“To be fair, I never said that attending would be enjoyable. I said it would be satisfyingly petty. Was I incorrect?” V said tiredly as he entered the house behind them. He was already working his way out of his coat, ready to sit down and make a warm cup of tea. Lucia had chosen to stay behind with Flora to keep an eye on things. Perhaps he could track her down and ask her if she’d like a cup? Yes, that was a good plan. He was too tired to be self-conscious. He was staying in this house until they had a plan.

“Fair enough. You’ve got a point.” Nero sighed, sitting on the stairs to unlace his boots. They were covered with snow and slush. No one who wanted to live would be stupid enough to head past the foyer in such a condition. There was just no point.

“So… why’d ya have to sneak into your sister’s graduation? Didn’t you used to go to that school?” Dante asked casually as he tossed his coat on the hanger that V kept in the entryway. The boots came off easily enough. He would make quick work of those. No need to even sit down.

“Because I punched one of the teachers in the face right after I walked off of the stage with my diploma and then they banned me from the school grounds and all related properties.” Bren shrugged, unperturbed. “I’d do it again in a second. I regret nothing.”

“You punched a teacher in the face? At your own graduation ceremony?” Vergil asked, unsure as to whether or not he’d heard that statement correctly. Surely he had been mistaken. He couldn’t think of a single reason why someone would want to do something like that. Mentors could be ruthless, that much was true. But what possessed him to do something so extreme? He couldn’t say that it was his business, but he was admittedly intrigued.

“Oh yea, I punched him. Cold cocked him, actually. And I’d do it again.” Bren hung up his coat, offering to take the remaining coats and put them up for everyone else. “He was a total creep. Used to sneak peeks into both locker rooms when everyone was getting ready for practice. I’m glad that’s all he did. From what we know. He’s upstate now doing ten years. Got caught taking bribes for the sports team. Hope he rots in there.”

Vergil paused before nodding. He could get behind that easily enough. “Fair enough.”

Dante laughed and shook his head. It seemed that there was at least one thing that they agreed on. Although to be fair, the younger of the two had the feeling that Vergil would have done more than punch the teacher in the face. It was lucky for that creep that he had not made that kind of mistake in his brother’s vicinity. How unfortunate. He would have loved to see him get what he had coming. “I get the feeling that he got off pretty easy. Vergil would have probably impaled him.”

“No. They would have found him lying chest down looking up at the sky if I had been one of the parents of those unfortunate students. I dare not sully Yamato’s blade with such lowly blood.” Vergil then stopped curtly and headed into the living room, ready to sit down and not have to be around a stadium full of people again. Or anyone for several hours for that matter. His social battery had been taxed to its absolute limit recently. But there had been no way that he would have allowed both of his sons and the Linquist siblings to go that far away without an escort. He couldn’t stop them, so he decided to tail them and keep an eye out for anything mysterious. Thankfully things had gone off without a hitch. Another good reason to come back the way that they had.

It took everyone present a solid few seconds to register the implications of how that would be physically possible. And once they did, each of them shuddered slightly, the mental image alone gruesome enough to cause them pause. But after a moment they resumed hanging their coats and taking off their shoes, seeing no compelling reason to dwell on it any longer. Strangely enough, none of them could say that they disagreed with his proposed methodology. As long as they didn’t have to do it, then they could totally live with it.

“Sorry, I’m still getting used to the fact that you can do… What do you call it? And how did you do that? What’s a Yamato?” Morgan was clearly confused. She felt like he’d been dropped feet first into the tenth season of a complex show with lore she couldn’t hope to understand. The waters were deep and she was floundering.

Vergil produced the blade from seemingly nowhere, holding it out slightly so that she could have a better look at it. But he dared not let her touch it. “This is Yamato. A demonic blade passed down to me by my father, the Dark Knight Sparda. It has the ability to cut through anything, down to and including the fabric of reality itself, allowing me to open tears in space-time like the one we just passed through to get here. It would have made short work of that teacher.”

“Can I play with it?” She seemed impressed, barely resisting the urge to reach for it.

“Absolutely not.” He stared at her, unable to believe that she’d actually just asked him that.

“Damn.” In truth, she’d known the answer long before she’d asked. But that didn’t stop her from hoping that it wouldn’t be the case. “Wait, your father is the Dark Knight Sparda? Like the guy everybody talks about in all those myths and legends and stuff? He’s real?”

Dante nodded. No use in hiding things. She was going to need to be up to speed as soon as possible. They didn’t benefit from hiding things like this from her. At this point, the fact that most of them were at least part demon was just cursory information. They had no reason to lie to her. “Yea.” 

She paused, seemingly considering something. The sudden widening that her pupils underwent indicated that much to anyone looking in her general direction. “Wait… He’s a demon, right? So you guys are, what? At least part demon? All of you?”

Both Dante and Vergil looked at one another before nodding, followed by Nero a moment later. V simply stared at her blankly, shrugging. He didn’t really need to say it at that point, did he? If his uncle, father, and brother were all at least part demon, then it went without saying that he was as well. That was simply how genetics worked.

“That’s so metal, man.” She nodded to herself, clearly unconcerned and genuinely impressed. It seemed that she was unphased by the sudden realization that she was in a room occupied by only one other pure human seemingly not concerning her in the slightest. But considering the things that she and V had been through together, it shouldn’t have been that surprising that she was unphased by their somewhat supernatural status.

Nero laughed to himself. She was pretty funny, and it seemed as though she was impervious to fear. He had the feeling that whenever she and Nico finally met that they would be the death of him. Maybe she could teach the plucky mechanic to drive like a sane person instead of a violently unstable maniac with a death wish. 

“Guess that explains a little bit more about how everything went totally out of control in Redgrave City so fast. I’m not going to pretend to know why everything that happened, well, happened, and I honestly don’t want to even know because nothing would be a good enough answer, but at least I get how it all went down a little better now. Demons.”

Vergil stopped dead in his tracks. Had that been why she’d been staring at him like that back at Magnolia’s house? She knew about that?! How was that even-

“Look…” She sighed, realizing that what she was about to say was going to make very little sense to anyone other than herself. “My brother talked to me on the phone about it before he came to talk to you guys. He said that the cult he’d been in had kidnapped the son of the person who had been responsible for the attack, but that the person had decided to let him live because he’d helped them find him. I told him that he should still come talk to you because he shouldn’t have been a part of something like that, even if he thought they might be doing bad things for a good reason. He was contributing to that same evil, you know? I’m not gonna pretend I understand what either of you did or why, but I’m choosing to just let that go because it’s all that I can do. And because you spared my brother’s life when he was doing something almost as stupid himself. What other choice do I have?”

He stared at her quietly, everyone in the room going quiet in an effort to not interrupt. None of them could pinpoint why, but this had far more weight to it than they wanted to acknowledge. The tension in the room was incredibly heavy despite the fact that the Darkslayer had “You could choose to hate me. You could seek revenge against me And you would be right to do so. I’d have no right to stop you.”

“Yea, you're right. I could.” She shrugged. “But hating you is the easy choice. And I wasn’t raised to take the path of least resistance. That’s why I’m still here. So I’m going to choose to do the hardest thing I’ve ever done and just let it go. They aren’t coming back either way. But I’m still here and I have to keep going even if I don’t know where I’m headed. Even if it might be worse than where I already am or just as bad. Because there is a chance that where I’m going might be better. Your son taught me that much.”

V started before turning away to face the fireplace. He went to light it again, seeking anything that he could do to escape the gravity of this situation. He wasn’t sure what he felt about any of this. It was just so very much. What he wouldn’t have done to turn back the clock and do… something. Anything to spare them all this suffering. But he couldn’t. It was like she’d said. He had to keep moving forward. And although she claimed he’d shown her that, he wasn’t sure he’d learned that himself until long after he’d met her. 

Could you teach someone a lesson that you yourself had yet to learn?

Just as she was about to continue, there was a knock at the door. Everyone turned in the direction of the door, subconsciously readying themselves for yet another attack. For all they knew their enemy had finally found them. Hopefully, Flora knew a spell that could reverse the damage. Dante sighed and stepped towards the door, unlocking it and then opening it. And then he scoffed, chuckling under his breath.

“Well, I’ll be. Haven’t seen you in a few weeks! Where did you disappear to?”

“I must say, it is a pleasure to see you again, Dante. May I come in? My sincerest apologies. I had to step away and attend to a few affairs back at the office. I hope nothing major has occurred in my absence.” To the collective surprise of everyone, it was Sirrus. He shrugged out of his coat and hung it on the rack, heading towards the living room as he greeted everyone in turn. Upon catching sight of Vergil, he stopped, a curious look crossing his face as he drew a few feet closer to the Darkslayer who was sitting down on the couch away from the rest of the group. He seemed to be reflecting. “And I see that Vergil has indeed returned! Glad to see it. When last I’d spoken to Magnolia, she had informed me of your extended absence. And she seemed quite forlorn. I fear she believed that you would never return. Thank you for silencing her disbelief.”

“A whole train station blew up and it’s all over the news. Also, V’s curse is worse and there’s an uber-powerful summoner in town using infernal magic.” Flora said dryly as she came down the stairs and made her way into the kitchen. Why was she not surprised to see Sirrus in town again? He’d been around quite a bit recently. The red-haired man stared at her unblinking as she left the room before allowing his hand to travel slowly up to his face as he turned in the direction of the rest of the crew. She shook his head slowly, disbelief evident.

“... Why is it that every time I turn my back on the lot of you that you stick your fingers in the light socket like unruly toddlers?”

Each of the descendants of the Dark Knight Sparda blinked blankly. They couldn’t answer that particular question in any meaningful way, unfortunately.

“I wanted to thank you for your extravagant housewarming gift. In-person. And I noticed the distinct lack of a gift receipt in the event that I could not bear it upon my conscience to receive it.” V didn’t have an answer to this newfound guest’s mostly sarcastic question, but he did have gratitude. He was admittedly thankful for the gift and for Sirrus’s sudden return. The change in mode and subject matter was a welcome one. The reality of what they faced hadn’t changed, but any distraction from the suffering that surrounded them was appreciated. And to be fair, V actually did enjoy being around him.

Sirrus paled before turning away to hide his slight blush. In this cold weather, it was hard to discern what was flushed skin and what was simply a negative reaction to the intimate weather.  “Think nothing of it. It was the least I could do given the circumstances. You saved my life, and this house is far too stately to lay empty, and you did save my life. Too many treasured memories have been formed within its walls to allow it to languish. And I felt a strong desire to ensure that you were… comfortable. You have enough to worry about.”

An awkward silence fell over them for a moment as Morgan looked at V and then at Sirrus before looking at both of them again. She then shook her head and headed over towards the couch. She was going to have to ask V how he’d managed to afford a house like this. Their trauma payments from that charity group after the attack hadn’t been this big. A house like this had to cost a small fortune, especially in this city and especially in this neighborhood. He was probably the youngest homeowner in the entire area!

“If you’d excuse me for a moment, I bought groceries.” He waited for V to nod in agreement before heading towards the kitchen in the back of the building. He paused in front of Morgan, nodding politely before heading towards his destination again. Everyone returned to the task of making themselves comfortable, realizing that they had all gone on alert the moment that they’d seen Sirrus arrive. This situation with Belial had them on edge. They couldn’t wait to be rid of him. Perhaps Sirrus could add something useful to their almost nonexistent plans?

Morgan scooted over so that V could sit next to her, looking the young summoner up and down as she shook her head slowly from side to side. He gave her a sympathetic look that quickly migrated to confusion as he realized that she was only doing this in jest. He was missing a joke here, wasn’t he? Why did the humor of others so often fly right over his head? “Am I missing something?”

“Oh, you’re missing a lot of things, bub.” V mentally chastised Griffon, silently hoping that Morgan couldn’t look at him and tell that he had been momentarily annoyed but his avian companion. He had yet to mention the fact that he possessed a demonic panther and a talking bird with a severe death wish. Although he had the feeling that she wouldn’t really mind. “Not right now, please.”

She pointed towards the kitchen, a smirk crossing her face. She then folded her arms, leaning over so that she could whisper in V’s ear. “So you haven’t noticed that he… You know what? Nevermind. I’ll let you figure it out. It shouldn’t be that hard if I’ve only been around him for like 30 seconds and I already caught onto it.”

A moment later Sirrus called from the kitchen stating that he’d brought everyone tea. Flora sighed in relief. Finally, something that made sense around here. “Wonderful. Spectacular. Finally, some good damn tea.”

(-~-)

I hope you liked this chapter! Now, on to the next one! I’m excited for next week. I have something devious planned! Oh, it feels great to be back! Take care of yourselves out there and I will see you in the comment section! TGIF!

[mcustorm]

Thoughts on Love, Victor Season 1

PSA: If you think that you might be gay, don’t get a girl emotionally invested! Please!

Ya know, at first when I thought about what I was going to write about this show, I thought that I should split the writings into the first half/last half of the show. Now I’m thinking “screw it”, if only because if I was going to go that route I should have stopped, parsed through my feelings about the first 5 episodes, and written those thoughts before proceeding with the next half. That, of course, did not happen, so to prevent the back half of the season’s events from miring the first half, I’ll just write about the whole shebang. There’s probably a joke about that word somewhere, I’ll try not to make it.

Anyways, let’s start by saying that on the whole, I really liked this show. It was not as good as Sex Education season 1, yet in my opinion waaaay better than HSMTMTS season 1. Most of the characters were likable and felt developed enough, it moved at a nice pace, and you can tell that a lot of heart went into this. Perhaps because we all watched this in a day, it felt like a 5 hour movie rather than a 10 episode tv show.

Additionally, I of course like the Latinx representation. The intersectionality of the Latinx community and the LGBTQ+ community has been presented on at least five TV shows to my knowledge: Ugly Betty, One Day at a Time, Diary of a Future President, The Baker and the Beauty, and now Love, Victor. Let’s keep it up!

As for the premise of the show itself, I *love* that this show acknowledges that Simon’s journey, at least at his house, was leaps and bounds easier than many other people’s. Victor’s parents are more conservative and religious, and they don’t have their shit together, so this is not the best environment to drop that bombshell in (which is why it was so incredible when Victor decides to do it anyway). Simon and Victor’s DM’s being a framing device for the show was a great way to tie the universe together.

The hook of Love, Simon was that you know all those cheesy and cliche rom-coms that straight people have gotten since the dawn of time? Well LGBT people deserve those stories too! Love, Victor is sort of presented with that same thesis in mind, which is why watching these episodes felt like different things I’ve seen before all over. The whole season ironically feels like Alex Strangelove: The TV Show, right down to the often cringy relationship with the girl, the openly gay love interest who conflicts our protagonist, and the goofball friend who chases after a girl who is seemingly out of his league.

Mia’s character felt a lot like Laila from All-American, being a black girl who is ordained as the hottest girl at school (which I feel like is a title only given in fictional schools), who also has a missing mother and problems with her rich dad. Pilar, on the other hand, feels like Casey from Atypical, in that she is openly rebellious in large part because of her mother’s infidelity.

Victor’s story this season sure was something to watch. The biggest question for me was, just how much sympathy should he be given? The world is inherently unfair to Victor. None of us should have to go through the agony and anxiety that so often comes with being in the closet and coming out. But for Victor to have visited those problems on Mia, who is going through things herself? That makes him pretty morally gray.

But he was still finding himself! But he loves Mia, just not like that! I get it, which is why he should have cut things off as soon as he got back from New York, no he should have cut things off when she asked him if there was “anything else” in her bedroom, no he should have cut things off when he literally felt like he and Benji were the only two people in the room at the concert, no he really shouldn’t have done this to begin with.

The line between Victor finding himself and him deceiving Mia is the conflict of the show, but the moment for me when I was like “Damn, Victor” was after he intentionally derailed Mia’s shebang-ing that she planned, he found the gall to lie to Benji and plan a seduction! That is why the season finale was so glorious. Because yes, while the world is unfair to Victor, he’s being unfair to the people around him.

I have made it a point not to read other people’s opinions extensively so as not to bias my own thoughts, but is Felix everybody else’s favorite? Felix’s character and arc was great. He was a supportive friend yet still felt like he had a story and stakes of his own, something which some TV shows get right (Sex Ed) and some TV shows get various shades of wrong (Jamie Johnson, Andi Mack). I like that he knew his worth and cut things off with Lake, and I like that she realized that her happiness with him should take priority over what others think of her.

I was soooo sympathetic to Mia. Her world is being turned upside down at home. Clearly, she has not even processed her mother being out of her life, and now her Dad is “replacing” her Mom while the baby is also “replacing” her! In Mia’s eyes, at least. Mia just needs to know that she is loved and appreciated. Which she *thought* of all people she’d be able to get from her boyfriend. Shucks.

As for the rest of Victor’s family, I also thought the parents’ storyline was pretty interesting yet unfortunate. Armando just can’t come around to trusting Isabel, which I actually kind of understand. Isabel, meanwhile, is being prevented from doing the thing she loves to do, which sucks especially because she’s in a radically new environment. Adrian is of course great, protect him at all costs. Pilar’s seemingly permanent mode of “angsty” is completely justified, as her friends back in TX are moving on just fine without her, she’s having trouble opening up and fitting in, and her family is WYLIN.

Some things that didn’t go so well for me was Andrew’s character, who feels like he’s just there to obstruct at any given moment. Y'all knew that when Victor and Benji were having that convo in the bathroom, someone was in the stall and someone was Andrew. Also, my guy, how are you not even somewhat aware that you are a total douchecanoe? I liked Benji, but Venji didn’t quite work for me because of all of the cheatation that it took to get there. Benji was pissed and ready to stay away from Victor permanently after the [attempted seduction], but once his relationship was over he was completely fine with putting his tongue down Mia’s boyfriend’s throat.

Overall, I really enjoyed this show. Some of these teen dramas I’m admittedly only watching for the LGBT content, so to have that be at the forefront of a show for once was amazing. The conflict was realistic if frustrating, and to me most of the characters seemed fully realized. Thankfully, the show didn’t even feel too “spin-offy” even with Nick Robinson being all over it.

In any given multi-season serialized show, the trajectory of the show goes one of two ways: the first season puts your feet on the ground of the series, and then later seasons go above and beyond with the storytelling (The Office, Breaking Bad, Bojack Horseman, Jamie Johnson) OR the first season is pretty great TV, and the following seasons fail to live up to its glory (The Good Place, Dear White People, really most every Netflix show ever). Which category Love, Victor ends up in is something to look forward to. Where do we go from here now that Victor is taking his first steps out of the closet?

Stray thoughts from the episodes:

The soundtrack on the whole, was not my cup of tea. I still liked a couple of songs, so that means somebody out there liked more of them.

I completely forgot Natasha Rothwell was in Love, Simon. More of her! More of Ali Wong! More of Beth Littleford! They were all great.

So Roger got his ass beat by Armando, and he still wants to get back with her?? Roger is reckless, man.

Speaking of reckless, Victor’s closet skills completely fell apart towards the end there. Assume somebody’s always watching!

Lake’s mother is a trip.

Good for the family for standing up to the grandparents.

Oh my god, Simon and Bram. Those guys are mine, and now they’re growing up and moving to the Big Gay City. They’ve come a long way.

Speaking of the Big Gay City, we were in Atlanta for a season and got *0* acknowledgement of the vibrant gay community there. More things to look forward to.

Was anybody else singing Selena along with Isabel? That is my favorite Selena song!

By rule of Felix being a male and Pilar being a female close in age, I immediately thought they were going to be a thing. The writers didn’t pull that thread too much...

That moment at the end there when we all thought Victor was going to hold off on his announcement only for him to go “fuck it” and say it anyways? And then he got to exhale? Perfect. chef’s kiss

What with June being Pride month, the SCOTUS ruling a couple of days ago, this entire show premiering today, and Delliot things going down in less than 24 hours, this will likely be the gayest week of the year. I suggest we all enjoy it.

Stay Peachy!

[flying-elliska]

Hi Ellie! I really enjoy reading your opinions on the season. Even tho they are quite different from my own. I'm very disappointed in it, so it's nice reading positive things. However I want to know what's your opinion on the fact that Lola has as much struggles/storylines as all the other mains together lool. I think the amount of "problems" are my main problem of the season. It feels oversaturated, and on the verge of misery porn (not there but close).

I'm glad to hear that ! I really feel like the fandom can be sort of an echo room of negativity sometimes and those opinions can influence your own so I find it important to provide a different side of things even tho yes, I am not always happy with all the choices they're making.

I'm.....hmmmmmm. Divided on that. On one side it is a lot for the limited time they have and I am afraid that at the end of the season some of that shit will feel skipped over, like the sexual assault.

At the same time, well. Some people, in real life, actually do have it that hard, and I find the people acting as if that never happens really offensive. Especially since most of Lola's issues are related to each other, it's not like a car appearing out of nowhere. The issues with her fathers and her mother fan into her self-worth/depression/addiction issues ; their inability to support her made her feel isolated, had her committed against her will ; she was vulnerable so she met a predator who took advantage of that ; her sister reacted to the family bullshit in an opposite neurotic way causing the rift between them ; because of all that she finds trusting ppl and intimacy difficult and believes she doesn't deserve good things ; she would not want to enter Tiff's superficial fake bullshit and isn't able to be on the same level as the people of her age because she has gone through so much bad shit ; etc.

It's a lot, but it's coherent. A lot of this mirrors dynamics I have seen (even tho in a less extreme way) in my own life and that of my friends. Because this is the world we live in : often drastically lacking in compassion, understanding, support and education - having family problems often affects your entire life afterwards. This is how people are routinely marginalized, ostracized, turned into problems, made to feel like mistakes because it's always about individual responsibility and not about how society might have let down it's most vulnerable members. A lot of people like to pick on people who are down to make themselves feel better, too. This is a dynamic, a row of dominos falling on each other, it's not a piling on of unrelated stuff.

So yeah I understand criticizing the writers for being overly ambitious. And they made a choice to go dark this season and that's not everybody's cup of tea. But I wish people would stop with this "too dramatic" bullshit for a minute and realize that the way they're talking might affect other people who feel seen by this storyline. It's one thing to prefer upbeat, fluffy stories. It's another to tell people that their stories of pain are not worth interest and empathy and honestly...that's fucked up. Ugly things don't disappear just because you don't want to see them.

Misery porn to me is when shit happens just to see characters suffer without any sense of reprieve or depth or causality. I don't think it qualifies because we've had a lot more sweet moments in the season than I was expecting, there is clearly a point to all this and it's linked together, and I still believe we will have a happy ending.

[crowkingwrites]

Acting on Impulse

Pairing: Patrick Hockstetter x Reader

Words: 1165 / Ao3 Link 

Sometimes being me was very easy. Despite my parents’ divorce, both of them showed nothing but love for me, their only child. I knew I was a bit more spoiled than I should be. Two birthdays, two Christmases, two of everything. I never really had to share or struggle for much. I made friends as easily as my father made money. One could argue that I was extroverted, but others knew my charisma came directly from my father’s political prowess.

Henry Bowers and I had been closer than most people would assume. Our fathers were a part of a football fan group together. Henry and I had been shoved into jerseys and our mouths stuffed with crackers and cheese more times than I could count. Still, Henry and I saw each other as siblings. Which made school that much easier for me despite the other half of me.

Sometimes being me was harder on some days. As much as I loved Henry’s friendship, I harbored a crush for his best friend. Patrick wasn’t any normal girl’s cup of tea. He swore more than a sailor did, called most people ‘tits’, and had a terrible reputation on the account he had dead bugs inside his pencil pouch.

Which he did. I still had a crush on him.

I tried to tell my best friend, Kelly, about this crush, but before I could Patrick shoved a middle schooler into a nearby locker.

“Ugh, how could he be so mean? I don’t understand any of them,” Kelly held her books closer to her chest.

“Any of them?” I questioned. “Belch is very nice.”

“Belch is nice when its convenient to him,” Kelly said with more bitterness than usual. I wanted to ask her more about that. Until Patrick ruined my chance.

“Hi, tits,” Patrick greeted Kelly with a sneer. Kelly rolled her eyes. Kelly was more sensitive to the ‘tits’ comment after everyone had started a rumor that a fifteen year old had ‘the breast implants of a porn star’. I could see her swallow her mean thoughts. She leaned into me.

“Call me when you get home. I still don’t fucking trust him,” Kelly said before she walked away. Patrick cocked a brow and watched her leave.

“Stuck up bitch,” he said. His eyes returned to me. “All of you rich girls think you’re better than guys like me.”

“I don’t think I’m better than you,” I told him. “I know I’m smarter though.”

“Do you now?” Patrick rolled his eyes. “Look, Henry’s not going to be with us. He’s got something up his ass today. So, I’m just walking you home. Unless you think I’m going to kill you on the way there.”

“No, you wouldn’t kill me unless I pissed you off.”

“How do you know I wouldn’t just strangle you on a whim?” The question floated in the air as we stepped into the autumn air. The breeze bit my cheeks, but my favorite cardigan kept me warm. Patrick wouldn’t actually harm me. He shoved boys younger than him around, but never girls. Or at least, I hadn’t seen him bully girls as bad as he bullied boys.

“Y/N?” Patrick snapped my attention back to him. “You okay?” In that moment, I was more than thankful for Henry ducking out this afternoon for Patrick and me to be alone. Henry had his suspicions for weeks, but he figured out who my secret crush was after he saw Patrick’s hand brush by my arm. I can’t imagine how red my face was now.

“I’m-I’m fine,” I lied to myself. We started walking. The weather created noise around us, until Patrick broke his silence first.

“You bite your fingernails a lot,” Patrick observed.

“Oh, it’s just a thing. Not a big deal,” I tried to push my motor tic to the back of my mind. While close friends like Kelly and Henry knew of my Tourette’s, they never pointed my tics out unless I harmed myself. Patrick didn’t know. I tried to let it slide. My fingers started snapping.

“You got a song in your head or what, tits?” Patrick’s tone bite more than he realized. Maybe I read too much into it. Or maybe he did hate me and I was just a silly girl with a silly crush.

“Uh no,” I wasn’t good at explaining myself. I never was. The first time I met my new stepmother I kept “meowing” at her. She loves me very much, but I can imagine meeting an eleven year old who meows wasn’t a great first impression. I watched Patrick’s hair flow in the wind. He looked so angelic, but I knew how rotten he could be. I wished in my heart I wouldn’t meow at him.

“Patrick,” I shifted my whole body, trying to calm myself down. I still snapped my fingers together as if I was some 50’s greaser. “Do you like fall? Its my favorite season.”

“Yeah. Everything dies,” Patrick’s smirk returned to his face. “I like watching everything decaying. The leaves, the bugs—fuck! Ow! Why the hell did you hit me?” I tried to suppress my tics, but I felt as if I lost control of my body…again.

“I’m sorry. It’s my tics. I have Tourette’s, remember?”

Patrick’s face turned upward as if he was trying to remember something. When he shook his head, another wicked smile took place on his face. Maybe he wasn’t mad at me after all?

“Isn’t that the cussing on accident curse or something?” Patrick laughed. “I bet you say a lot of filthy words and get away with it, don’t you?”

“No. Not really,” I thought Patrick would be different, but it seemed every boy I liked wanted to know how much I cussed rather than asking if I was okay. I felt an arm go around my shoulders.

“So, you’re twitchy. What else can you do?”

“Uh-I bite my fingernails a lot.”

“I knew that. I meant what can you show me?”

“I can’t just show you things. It’s out of my control.”

“Wait, seriously? It’s not all just for attention?” Patrick laughed. His comment hurt, but I had all of his attention now.

“No. I really can’t control it.”

“You’re a freaky little twitch. Gasp! Twitch is your new name now.”

“What?! No!”

“Everybody!” Patrick cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled into the neighborhood. “I gotta walk Twitchy home! She’s not feeling all that well! Be careful! She bites!”

“What? I don’t bite!” I shoved him.

“There she goes again! She hit me! Did you see that?” Patrick tickled me at my sides, and I felt my anxiety melt away. I shoved him in his chest again just to watch him dramatically fall over. He jumped back up and tackled my torso. He brought my body over his shoulder, never minding the homework that fell out of my books.

“Patrick!” I laughed.

“You’re dangerous, Twitchy,” Patrick commented. “Somebody’s gotta control you.”

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[tarot28]

Day in my life :)

Hi I’m in midterm season and like deep into the semester right now, but I have plans to ramp up my activity soon.

In the mean time I wanted to make an outline of my daily routine and practices that I try to include every day, more for myself just so that maybe I can look back on this and see what worked and didn’t or see how things change and progress.  In italics I put the parts that are more relevant to my spiritual health.

Morning I usually have to work or be logged on by 830 or 9 every morning so I try to wake up around 7 or 730.  Depending on the day and like my mental/emotional state the order of events changes but here we go :)

I start with a workout three or four days a week, but if I really don’t feel like it then I don’t push it too much.  I’m really trying to be more gentle and accepting with myself because I don’t want to add stress to my already tentatively balanced work-college-tarot life, even if working out calms my body and mind down for the day.  If I don’t workout, I stay in bed for a little bit and check in with myself and do like a quick meditation either from bed or the shower.  I eat breakfast and then get everything set up for the day so that I don’t have to try to rush to log on to everything at the last minute.  I also make a big cup of tea and put it in a travel mug for my commute upstairs and I make it super duper hot.  I love tea because it just feels kinda witchy and I can’t handle my caffeine so coffee is kinda out of the question. 

After I eat and set up, I hop in the shower and get dressed pretty quickly because my time management skills still need a little work.  Work is usually slow for the first half hour so I write down like three or so intentions for the day.  These are just brief statements about how I want my day to go or things I want out of the day. 

Late Morning/Afternoon Work, classes, more work it’s fine it’s that online remote learning mid day rush, so I try to pack my schedule and be as productive as I can in the work day.  I make sure that I ground myself by taking the time to breathe while I cook lunch and half listen to my class.

Evening By this time my parents are home from work, so I usually pick 3 or 4 assignments to do downstairs that don’t take up all my attention.  Social health is lackingggg big time but I get it where I can right now.  I make sure that I eat without my phone or laptop around so that food and meal time remains something that’s more grounding than other events in my day.  After dinner I stay downstairs and work through the assignments the best I can.

Night I usually go back upstairs around 9 and finish up a couple more assignments.  By 11 at the latest I get ready for bed.  In the same notebook that I write my intentions for the day I make a list of things I’m grateful for underneath the intentions to kind of close out the day.  Then I decide to be the worst and get on instagram for a half hour or so. BUT then if I feel like I need it, I do another short meditation or breathing exercise, which has been happening a little more frequently than usual because mental health is like under siege a little and I’m doing what I can to mitigate :) 

Take aways/summary/feelingssss Soooo thanks for reading but the main strategy and mindset I have going into constructing my daily routine is like doing what is helpful but not too much effort.  If something isn’t helpful then I know I won’t stick to it because I love instant gratification.  Also I have a lot on my plate and I don’t want stress to come from things that are supposed to alleviate stress from my daily life.  

Lastly, I’m in a place where I feel like my routine is where I want it so I’m going to start adding readings in, so stay tuned for that.  The reason I kinda dropped off of doing readings was because it was taking time and effort (mental/emotional) away from other aspects of my life that needed it wayyy more and I’m glad I recognized that but I’m ready to get going again.  Also to end on a real but depressing note (a downerrrrr lol sorry not sorry this is important) I recently went through a period in the past week and a half where I lost a major support person in my life and realized that I want to be the source of my own stability in my life and I think I’ve got my health-conducive routine down and I love reading tarot because it’s empowering for me and I love helping people where I can.  Lmao I’m rambling but essentially, I’m ready to step forward and step into myself :)

Sending so much love and good vibes to everybody <3 L

[purplesurveys]

659

Mosquitoes find you particularly delicious. The rainy season where I live is essentially equivalent to mosquito season, so there is definitely a certain period in a year where they are more than usual; and because I like having just my windows open when I sleep (I find the aircon too cold most of the time), the mosquitoes find their way to my room and so there’d be days I’d wake up filled with new bites. I’m lucky enough to have never had dengue. You cheated on Heads Up 7 Up in elementary school. We don’t play that here. We do have a game called 7 Up and it *may* be a variation of that, but 7 Up involves running and chasing haha. You had a favorite Spice Girl. I’m definitely not old enough to have reached Spice Girls’ peak, and out of all of them I only know Victoria Beckham. You remember watching the first episode of SpongeBob when it came out. I was only a year old when Spongebob first came out, so I didn’t watch it by then. I do know what episode you’re talking about, though – Spongebob was pretty much all I ever watched as a kid. You like to draw. I was never any good at drawing, so I hate every bit of it.

You wish you had a car. Sort of? I have my own car bought by my parents, but I am aiming to get my own car when I could afford it. My dream car is the Mini Cooper Clubman. You used to want to be a model. I’m embarrassed by it now, but it was a legitimate dream of mine before, so much so that I let my dad know of my intention (then) of becoming a runway model. Idk, I had a past friend who was into VS models and reblogged them all the time, so her interest rubbed off on me and I wanted to be like them as well. I cringe every time I remember, lmao. You wanted to be on the show All That. I wanted to be on all the Nickelodeon shows that had the same theme as All That. You enjoy public speaking. I’m good at it and can enjoy it on a good day, but sometimes I’ll get anxious. You have witnessed something supernatural. Nope. I’ve had friends tell me their stories and I believe them, but I can’t say the same for myself. You believe in the supernatural. Just ghosts. I don’t believe in folk creatures, like the ones we have in our native culture. You aren't heterosexual. My survey answers in the last six or so years have made this very blatant. You think the whole transgender thing is stupid. That’s twisted and sad and pitiful. You own a dreamcatcher. Two – one mini dreamcatcher and another giant one. I’ve had an attachment to them since seeing New Moon of the Twilight Saga – there’s a part where Jacob gives Bella her own dreamcatcher at a time when she got depressed and was having nightmares every night, and I know there had been many times when I was like Bella, so I wanted one for myself as well. You'd want a boho wedding. So not my style. My wedding’s going to be minimalist and at most, pastel-themed. You think pink is the best color for cars. Not for me, no. Simple is better; I like my cars white. You've been called a free spirit. Nope, and rightfully so. I wouldn’t call myself a free spirit either. I like trying out new things, but I also like having security blankets and safety nets around. You're the same height as your mom. Yeah pretty much. She’s just a tiny bit taller. You grew up watching Nickelodean. I grew up watching Nickelodeon*, but this works too. My cousins and I just flipped among three channels – Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, and Cartoon Network.

You have a sibling who looks like you. Nah we all have our own distinct looks. There are angles and expressions wherein we look more similar, but generally it’s easy to tell us apart. You like to write in a journal. This account is pretty much like my journal, and I love using this blog for my thoughts and ramblings. You're tired. It’s Friday, it’s the end of the week, and I’m so, so, SO tired. And of course I’m celebrating by drinking two cups of coffee and staying up as late as I want, lol. You felt sick today. The last time this happened was late last year. I felt feverish while I was out for dinner with Gab, but the weird thing about it was that I felt better and as if nothing happened literally a half hour later. You're very creative. That is the LAST word I would use to describe myself. You can be disorganized. I’m organized about a lot of things, but I’m also disorganized about a lot of things. I could never maintain my closet no matter how much I put an effort to fold everything neatly and start from square one. You have a fever right now. Nope.

You've enjoyed babysitting. We never explicitly used this term but I was always the go-to elder kid to look out for my baby cousins, especially when we still lived under the same roof as an extended family, and I loved every bit of it. I was okay with being the motherly figure while everyone else played games or with toys. You want to go to New York City to visit. Yeah. I like bustling cities, so I feel like NYC would be right up my alley. I don’t care much for Times Square though and I would probably spend most of my time going to their museums. You love tea. I’m not obsessed with it; I can take it or leave it. And I don’t like the teas that come with a teabag; I drink either the traditional Chinese tea or just sweet, unhealthy iced tea altogether. You don't play an instrument. Yeah and I get sad about this like two times a day lmao. I wish I could play just a tiny bit of piano and/or violin. You used to want Taylor Swift's hair. I never actively wanted to be anything like her.  You enjoyed High School Musical. Of course. I was THERE when it came out, and I stayed for every bit of the first film, High School Musical 2, and High School Musical 3. I was right smack in the middle of the HSM frenzy and it’s one of the more cherishable moments of my childhood haha. Everybody knew the songs, the steps to We’re All In This Together, and had HSM shirts, bags, pencil cases, and notebooks. You watched The Rugrats Movie in the theater. I barely remember that it had a movie, and I don’t think I ever saw it. Definitely not in the cinemas. You've performed on stage in a musical. I’ve performed on stage (as part of a big group) for annual school productions, but I think they were all plays. Hated every second of it. You've had the lead role in a musical. Certainly not. You've had cramps so bad you threw up. No, but close. A few weeks ago I had a headache SO bad I actually had to run to the toilet only to dry heave. It’s never happened to me before so I got scared and I just slept it off to see what happened the next day. You've never had Nutella. 2010 Tumblr pressured everybody to get Nutella because it was all the rage at the time and all the cool kids were having it, so I also did at some point. You have a favorite blanket. The one Gabie gave me two Christmases ago is my favorite. You own family heirlooms. I’m sure we have some but they haven’t been passed on to me yet.

You have carved and painted pumpkins before. No, pumpkins aren’t really a thing here. As far as I know, coloring/painting on Easter eggs is a more common activity. You have colored Easter eggs. Yes, I used to do this with my (second) cousins when they were younger.

You've walked through a haunted house. I always say I’m into horror stuff, but tbh I think horror movies are the furthest I can go HAHAHA. I’ve never been in a haunted house whether day or night, and I think the only time you’d get me to do it is if I got paid for it. You've dressed up on Halloween. Plenty times. I was Dora the Explorer last year :D :D You've tried to kill yourself. You've had a false rumor spread about you. In Grade 6 I had a rumor come back to me saying I was bi and was seeing my friend Andi (who, to be fair, I had a crush on at the time but I didn’t realize it yet). I just found it cool at all that I had a rumor about me considering I wasn’t a popular kid and had literally 2 friends, so I didn’t let it bother me haaaaah. You've been kicked out of a store (whether for a good or bad reason.) It was at a McDonald’s lmao.  My friends were playing a card game and were yelling every five seconds; I knew people were going to get pissed so I distanced myself as much as possible even though I was at the same table jkfghdgh. Eventually an old man had had enough and asked us to leave, which I was GLAD to do. You have a favorite stove burner that you always use. I don’t have a favorite...the one I use often just happens to be my regular one. You enjoy eating at fast food restaurants. I find them dirty and nasty so I only eat there if I absolutely have to, but I do like getting takeout and enjoy fast food in general. You like arrows and feathers and peace signs. Ugh cringe, this SCREAMS 2010 Tumblr hahahahaha. I mean I liked all of these at some point, but not now. You want to wear a flower crown for your wedding. Hell no. It was cute for a while, but not anymore. You have signed someone else's yearbook. We don’t do that here. We pay tons of money for our yearbooks that it’s practically destroying them if we ever wrote on them lmao. You were shy in high school. For the first half, I was shy and pretty unpopular. By the latter part of high school I managed to gain friends and end up in the ~popular~ circle, but I was still shy compared to my peers. I didn’t take up a lot of extracurriculars (which is what the popu kids tended to do) but I managed to stay within the circle until the end of it. You're shy when first getting to know someone. Of course, as most would be I would imagine. I can warm up fast, though. You've gotten all A's in a class before. In high school, this was me with English and history. In college, this would be me with my history electives.

You had a favorite class and a favorite teacher in high school. Sure! Our biology teacher in sophomore year was evvvvverybody’s crush. She was so pretty and kind and smart; when we went to a beach for our field trip, I tried getting stung by a jellyfish just so she’d treat the bite on my leg cos she was one out of two faculty members who knew how to treat stings HAHAHAH. I didn’t get the highest marks in her class, but I enjoyed nonetheless. You were a teacher's favorite. BY NO MEANS. Gabie was, though. We were total polar opposites when it came to how we acted in class. You've won a costume contest. I...don’t think I ever did, but my mom did go all out when it came to coming up with our costumes as kids. You have a favorite Disney princess. It used to be Ariel, then I found her annoying. My present favorite is Rapunzel. You get carsick. Only if I excessively do something while in a moving vehicle, like text or read. You've flown first class. Never have. You hate inequality and wish life were more fair. Don’t we all? You've had a bad neighbor. They weren’t bad per se. Just a bit chaotic and the kids (a little older than I was at the time) clearly had behavioral issues. I was so relieved when they moved out. You've done a cannonball. I don’t think so. You have fallen and hit your head. Nope, and that sounds like the literal worst thing. You like sunflowers. Sure! It’s a popular UP symbol – every year, a few weeks before the university-wide graduation, they’d plant huuundreds of sunflowers to line up the entire road leading to my school :) We usually refer to sunflowers as a sign of encouragement to keep on keeping on, so that one day the sunflowers will bloom for us as well. You like the name Skylar. It’s alright. I like it because it’s the name of the badass mom in Breaking Bad, but otherwise it’s nothing too special for me. You've had a friend named Sarah. I have acquaintances with the name Sarah but they’re not my friends. You have an Aunt Robin. Nope. I would end up being the Aunt Robyn in a few years, hahahaha. You have an Uncle Rick. I’ve never heard of an Uncle/Tito Rick, but with how big Filipino families are I wouldn’t be surprised if I turned out to have one. You have a cousin Annabelle. No, but close. I have an Auntie Bel whose whole name is Amabel. You think flying a kite is boring. I never had fun doing it, or whenever we had to do it as a school activity. You were born in the year of the Dragon. Tiger, yo. You like your Chinese zodiac sign better than your American one. I don’t care for either. Your laptop has shut off because it got too hot. It’s never done this before, thank goodness. I try not to overwork it either. You've accidentally caught something on fire. Nope, I don’t think this has happened to me before. You make your bed every day. Aside from my mom requires me to, a neat bed makes the entire room feel much cleaner so I do it anyway. You wear a digital watch. I have a bad record of losing watches, so I never like wearing them. You have a favorite park. We don’t have a lot of parks here to even pick favorites from to begin with, which is a shame. You've hiked a mountain. I want to sooooo bad. It’s just never happened before/yet. You want to hike a mountain again. ^ You've been a slave. What the fuck. You feel like you've had your free will stolen from you. My parents were quite strict before but it never felt this bad. You speak in tongues. If you mean I can speak more than one language, then sure. You enjoy medieval festivals. Never been interested in anything medieval. Your favorite fair ride is the pirate ship. I don’t ride rides. Cotton candy isn't that good. It’s a cute concept but I wouldn’t always pay for it.  Men look good in pink. Men – and anybody – would look good in any color so long as they’re comfortable with it lol. You went to youth group. Hell no. I’m glad my mom never forced me either. You were baptized in a lake. No. Just in a church. You were on Color Guard. I have no idea what this means. You went to your senior prom. We had a junior prom that I went to, and that was it for my school; but I was also asked to go to a senior ball of another school. Your first kiss was just an experiment. No, it was a legit kiss. You dated a guy you didn't like. Almost did, though. You have fallen asleep in class. Never. I never want this to happen, either. You have won an award. A few times. You type fast. Yeah, you get used to it through the years. You have a lot of dreams for your future. I still want to do a lot, yes. You've gone camping in the woods. Never, but it’d be a cool experience. I wouldn’t want to be alone though. You love to sleep under the stars. I don’t get to do this but it sounds like a lovely time. You've gone camping in the fall. I haven’t gone camping at allllllll. You own a pair of slipper socks. That sounds way too hot for where I live lmao.

[ayakashiramblings]

Their Starbucks Orders - Dawn Faction

Ok, but I’m going to be frank here and say that I probably mixed up the menus. I looked at some Asian ones and the typical drinks here so feel free to correct me if you think any of them don’t make sense.

Finally, Ginnojo sucks. Boy-bye.

Koga Kitamikado

The only reason why he is here is because of MC, Kuya, Toichiro, Yura, Masanobu, some business partner, an elderly lady, a baby or... 

Basically, anyone from the city can drag him along. But it’s like his 387th choice when it comes to choosing drink establishments.

He orders.... tea.  Yay, Kuya and Yura get another Tea Party Buddy!

Whatever tea matches the blend you give him. It will remind him of you and your cute little sachet.

Secretly wants you to be the barista but then reconsiders upon realizing you could be serving tea to everybody else.

There’s also this seasonal drink -  Lemon Yoghurt Fermentation Frappuccino!

According to Starbucks, the beverage puts the limelight firmly on the benefits of fermentation, with three specific fermented ingredients. 

There’s rich yoghurt, flavoursome cheese, and a hint of amazake, a traditional Japanese drink made from fermented rice.

Still weak though to him.

Kuya and Yura

Hoo boy. Pinkies out and palms in your face?

I grouped them for a good reason. 

Would have probably flown back and forth between various Starbucks branches in various regions AND countries... were it not for Kuya/Yura’s MC saying she would miss him.

Cue both of them losing to the puppy eyes and MC high-fiving Gaku/Koga.

Feels morally obligated to report back to one another on whether the Dark Caramel Coffee Sphere Frappuccinos or the Watermelon & Lychee Aloe Frappuccinos are really as amazing as they sound.

You can bet Kuya is sneering at those ’authors’ who deem it necessary to talk about their novel aloud and make their writing painfully obvious.

True authors come up with ideas while napping on Koga’s or your veranda.

Somehow, the caffeine does Absolutely Nothing?

He has a soft spot for the chocolate drinks to satisfy his sweet tooth and not burn his tongue off. 

Low-key had a bonding moment with Yura while sipping with two straws on the same drink.

Yura did survive on fruits for his daily sugar intake so he does have a preference for certain fruity palettes. 

BUT. HE. LOVES. THE. JELLY.

So that’s why he would most likely go for the Yuzu Honey Jelly Yoghurt.

His MC is jelly of his love of jelly over her.

Brings back some for everyone... to the point he might as well open up a Starbucks.

“Why, indeed, that is a great idea, Sir Kuya. Let us use Lady MC’s place as...”

“NO!”

Ginnojo

... This idiot, I swear.

Doesn’t give a single hoot about the drinks.

He just goes for all the food. 

Like, why? Who the heck pays that much for the Roast Chicken Soba salad? 

WHY ARE YOU ORDERING 19 croissants?! 

... Babe, there are several other eateries that actually serve this as their actual dishes.

iT’s eXpenSive.

I cannot.

No picture for you because nobody needs to visualise the horror.

NO ONE. NOBODY.

Aoi

Dude, he runs a Milk Hall with Oji (occasionally)

Wait, do we have Milk Halls now? I have never seen one, honestly.

Holy, what if HE is the barista at Starbucks.

The poor man is going to lose his sanity.

Maybe Kuya would purposely order the most complicated drink there.

A red-eye coffee combines a good old cup of joe with an extra something from espresso.

Takes shots (or ventis) of this to tolerate the thing called life as an art student. 

Never mind all that extra whipped cream, chocolate drizzle, or caramel sauce— only ChILDren NeEd iT.

The golden eye is used to side-eye Yura and the teal for rolling at Kuya. 

There was one drink that did capture his attention.

Their Vanilla Latte has a rich, cosy aroma that just reminds him of baking up a storm... the creamy milk instantly giving off an all-around feeling of warmth...

Milk... cooking...

.... OMG WORK!

So, that’s why it’s only a treat. Poor Aoi.

[clownsgobeepbeep]

Scent of Valerians

Finally, I now present to you the first part of my storyline that takes place in the future~

In this first part, not very much happens but it is still important uwu Things start out a little calm 

@post-itpenny @grotesquegabby Although it’s minimal, some of your characters are in this

Part Two

Finally, October had come to be. 

There was no doubt that the weather was at its best now that nearly everything was covered in hues of orange, even the abode belonging to the one who dressed in crimson.

With a stretch and a soft yawn, she awoke in the luxurious bed before her fingers and long nails gently trailed across the velvet blankets over her lap. Once her green eyes had ceased their fluttering, they glanced to the window as only orange was in sight.

“Oh, is it time?” she yawned once again before lowering her hand and removing her blankets off of herself to get off her bed, slipping on her robe to look through the glass. The woman gave a smile as she heard knocking on her bedroom door, responding with a snap before it opened and in came a maid.

“Miss Velvet, I have your tea ready.”

“Wonderful, set it down on my vanity.” the woman motioned behind her before hearing a tray be set down on her vanity, her door opening again before being shut close.

Velvet took one glance to the outside where, in the distance beyond her front yard, was a pair of kids walking around with pumpkins in their arms. Oh yes, it really was that time of the year which was just wonderful, meaning it was time that everything red in her house be turned to orange.

She turned around and walked towards her vanity, sitting in front of it as she took her teacup and sipped from it. Once she set the cup down, she looked into her mirror to apply some lipstick, red of course, even with the new season. Her focus was on her lips despite being able to apply the makeup with such ease and precision, yet she almost made a mistake when she noticed something in her mirror.

A glowing pink.

Velvet whipped around to look at her window where she caught a glimpse of the sight, furrowing her eyebrows whilst blinking in surprise. The hue was gone, she knew it had very well been there and nothing would convince her otherwise. She stood up from her stool and walked over to the window again, taking a good look at the entire area as she bit her lip. She was then slightly startled at the sound of knocking on her door again.

“Come in.” she shut her eyes with a sigh, turning to see another maid walk in with a bouquet of roses.

“Miss Velvet, this was on your doorstep.”

“Who is it from?” Velvet approached the maid who gave a soft shrug.

“I’m sorry, there is no name and it just appeared with the sound of your doorbell.”

“Well, place it down then.” Velvet turned to the window once again before the maid eventually left, closing the door again.

The woman gave one last glance at the window before returning her gaze to the bouquet, nearing it and placing a finger on a single petal which brought a sensation through and to her head.

“W-What are you doing!?”

“No, no…that can’t be. Get away from me!”

A scream.

“Hm, not even by doing this am I impressed. You’re still such a disgrace, why did I let you live?”

A scream.

“This isn’t you!”

A scream.

“There’s nothing you can do about it, I’ve finally won this game.”

A slash as if flesh had been sliced.

“You stole my fucking life away!”

“We want to stay.”

A choking sound.

“Please not this way! Not like this!”

Velvet stepped back in shock with a gasp, hundreds of images having flashed before her eyes...so many of her loved ones in them. There was one, however, who appeared in nearly every single one, a panic coursing through her as she turned and rushed to her nightstand with a hand reaching out.

“My phone...where is it…” she breathed out, looking inside her drawers, the ground, everywhere that her cellphone could have fallen to. However…

“You looking for this?” a voice asked behind her, so Velvet turned with bewilderment written all over her face, especially as she noticed her phone in a hand.

“What are you doing here? How did-”

“Enough of the chit chat. It doesn’t matter.”

“Give me my phone back, I need that-”

“Who you gonna call? Your brother?” the person asked before turning on the phone, eyes skimming through the screen. “He’s too busy right now, just as everybody is. Don’t you remember about the party happening in a few days?”

“Give me my phone!” Velvet yelled before giving a face of surprise upon the sigh of glowing, pink eyes come from the person. “You...you’re the one-”

Before she was able to finish her sentence, Velvet felt herself be pulled towards the person who took hold of her throat, then swinging her to throw her to the side where Velvet expected to hit a wall. However, she opened her eyes to see that she instead continued falling back as a darkness surrounded her.

“What is this!?”

“Where you’ll be staying so you don’t ruin my agenda.” she was told as the person closed their hand into a fist, Velvet noticing that this darkness was in fact another place, and another place that was starting to shut.

“No, stop! You can’t! S-”

The hole was now closed and the other person gave a smirk, then glancing at the phone which began ringing. So, they let the phone continue ringing until it eventually stopped, throwing it down to stomp it.

____________

“That’s so weird, she didn’t answer.”

“Maybe she’s busy shopping. You know how she can be when it comes to her shopping.”

Through town rode a limousine, inside sitting was a pair of woman who sipped on some soda provided inside. Typically it would have been quite comfortable sitting inside a limo with so much space inside, but this was no doubt an exception due to it being nearly filled.

“Speaking of, I think we just turned into Velvet a while ago.” laughed the blonde of the two as she motioned to all the bags and boxes inside. “But then again, anything for my little oyster.”

“You really are going all out this time, huh?”

“Oh no doubt about it. I mean, I even bought all the pumpkins in that farm we visited the other day.

“Jelly, what!?”

“Yeah, I bought the entire farm of pumpkins which are being delivered to my house today. So, Ula’s going to sleepover at Cosmos and Vespers’ so she won’t see the shit ton of pumpkins before the party.”

“Oh my god.”

“No god here Maggie.” Jelly finished her soda before opening another as she motioned to the things inside the limo. “Only Ula.”

“Anyways, where are we even going to next? I don’t think we’ll be able to fit anything else in here.” Maggie glanced at the bag next to her, reaching inside as she held a black jug. “What is this fake blood even for?”

“The party, duh.” Jelly put the jug back inside. “Anyways, we’re gonna give my baby brother a visit to check up on how he’s been progressing.”

“Ah, the cake and desserts.”Maggie licked her lips.

“We’re going to check on those things, not steal Pepper’s cupcakes.”

“Aw.”

_____________

“No, no! Wait, not like that!”

“Pepper please, that’s how it looks in the ske-”

“Noooo!” exclaimed the redhead before his brother in law stepped away with an icing bag in his hands. “No!”

“Pepper, what-”

“This is not icing! It’s frosting!” Pepper tapped the screen of his tablet where there was a sketch of a cake, a small note clearly reading ‘frosting’.

“Pepper it’s the same thing!” exclaimed Vespers before Pepper tugged at his own hair.

“Vespers! Icing and frosting are not the same thing!” Pepper motioned to the icing bag Vespers held. “Icing is thinner and glossier! Frosting is thick and fluffy! Besides, you’re using the wrong color!”

“Okay, okay! Geez.” Vespers set down the bag before walking around the large table that was in the back of the bakery belonging to Pepper. Pepper could work on the freaking cake, maybe like that he’d stop yelling at Vespers every five seconds.

“I’m gonna work on the cookies then.” Vespers muttered out before approaching said desserts which had been baked a while ago, now chilled and ready to be decorated.

Now that it was October, things were obviously pretty tight due to the nearing deadline everybody would have in just a few days. Everybody had pitched in to help out with what was now Ula’s next birthday party, and boy was her mother really going big with this one; it was practically a  Sweet 16, but for the age of 21.

Vespers agreed to help Pepper and Belinda out with the desserts and cooking, Ferry too as well as a few others who were doing their own things elsewhere. The moth was excited about helping Pepper but...he was realizing that it was a hassle, but honestly, he couldn’t blame Pepper. Things had to be perfect.

“Dad, can I have a cookie?” came another voice which made Vespers look to his side where he saw his little girl.

“Oh sure, I don’t think your uncle would mind.” Vespers glanced at Pepper who was too focused on frosting one of the cake’s stories in orange.

“Thank you.” Phoebe took the cookie before taking a bite. “Oh yeah, you guys have company.”

“Company!?” both Vespers and Pepper exclaimed before turning to look at each other in a panic.

“Hide the cake!”

“Hide everything!” Pepper rushed to grab a sliding screen which he started to pull to hide everything they had been working on, until Phoebe spoke up with a giggle.

“Why are you guys worried? It’s just Aunt Jelly and Maggie.” she grinned before her father and uncle stopped what they were doing, feeling like total idiots before said pair walked into the back.

“What are you doing?” Jelly blinked at the two men who nervously laughed to themselves.

“We were...hiding...stuff…”

“We thought Ula and her friends had come over.” Vespers explained before another door opened, this one being the one that lead to the alley behind the shop which made Vespers and Pepper freak out yet again.

“Hi Aunt Jelly!~” came the cheerful voice belonging to Bubbles who pranced inside.

“Ah, Bubbles!” Pepper smiled at the sight of her. “I’m so glad you’re here! Your uncle Vesp and I kinda need help, and-”

“Oh, no.” Bubbles shook her head. “I’m not helping out with that, you guys already have more than enough help. I don’t even know why you guys are putting so much work into a silly party.”

“Bubbles!”

“Don’t be such a dick.” Phoebe commented before Vespers gasped rather loudly.

“Phoebe!”

“Fine, don’t be such a bitch.”

“Phoebe!” Vespers gasped again before he grabbed Phoebe’s hand to drag her to the front of the shop whilst the others were left alone.

“Anyways, I just came to tell you that I’m going to the pier with my girlfriend.” Bubbles announced before Pepper gave a deep frown. “So don’t look for me, bye!” 

“What was that about?” Maggie blinked at the now closed backdoor before she and Jelly’s eyes darted towards Pepper who gave a shrug, preferring not to explain anything. Especially not after the time things got rather tense with Bubbles.

“Anyways Jonesy, what are you doing around these parts of town?” Pepper grinned as he lay on a table which was surprisingly empty, even propping up his elbow to lay his head in his hand.

“I wanted to see what you have done.” Jelly replied as she attempted to look behind him, but Pepper dragged himself so that her view was even more blocked.

“Mmm, well, how about you instead come back the day before? That way-”

“Now.”

“Okay.”

Pepper climbed off the table before moving away the screen he had attempted to use, revealing the work done by him and Vespers, a few others as well.

“Pepper...what the fuck.” Jelly blinked at the sight of all kinds of Halloween themed desserts, Pepper feeling his smile fade as Maggie looked at each of the siblings in confusion and worry.

“Jelly?” Pepper grasped his own hands, starting to rock himself on his heels. “Do you...um, me and Vesp worked really hard on these things and-”

“It’s amazing!” Jelly exclaimed before approaching the desserts and admiring each one with a twinkle in her eyes, Pepper sighing in relief before furrowing his eyebrows as he noticed a thief.

“Hey, hey! You put that cupcake down!” he frowned at Maggie who stopped to stare at him, then bringing the cupcake closer to her mouth. “Jelly!”

“Children, please calm down.” Jelly waved a hand at the red heads while she still admired all the treats prepared. However, she then turned her attention to her purse as the Halloween theme came from it, and she reached in to take out her phone, then answering it as she ignored Pepper and Maggie behind her.

“Hello?”

“Mrs. D’Vitt. Hi, I hope you’re not busy.”

“Oh hi Schrader, what’s up?”

“All the pumpkins arrived to your house and are currently in the backyard. The kids and I started carving a few but there’s still some work left to do.”

“Don’t worry one bit Schrader, you’ve already do-”

“Mom!” came another voice on the line. “Mom! You should have seen Schrader! He cuts pumpkins so awesome! He made a scary face on a giant pumpkin!”

“That’s very nice Cordelia, but can you put Schr-”

“And then he said my gift for Ula was awesome! And-”

“Cordelia give the phone back to Schrader.” said another voice, no doubt Davey’s, right before Cordelia’s voice faded away. Jelly could still hear her though, possibly arguing with Davey.

“Mrs. D’Vitt, it’s me again.” came Schrader’s thick accent which  made Jelly chuckle. “I wanted to call you to also tell you that something came up at the garage, so I’ll be going there for a bit and I’m bringing along the kids so they’re not alone at home. Is that alright with you?”

“Of course it is, I trust you Schrader. Just make sure to not let the axolotls in the backyard. We can’t have them chewing on any pumpkins.”

“Yes Mrs. D’Vitt.”

After a few more words being exchanged, Jelly put her phone away and turned back to Maggie and Pepper, the latter still upset as Maggie had already taken a few bites out of a cupcake that she was still eating as she was on the phone herself.

“Maggie?”

“Hm?” Maggie turned to Jelly with some frosting on her cheek.

“Silly bird...something wrong?”

“Oh no, just got a call from Ama is all.” Maggie then took another bite of her cupcake as she listened to the phone and answered some more. “Yes I’m talking with your aunt Jelly. Where’s Ula right now?”

“Where are they at?”

“Your park.”

“Ah, I see.”

“You’re gonna pay for that.” Pepper whispered into Maggie’s ear as she had just finished the cupcake, then pushing Pepper away as he let out a sound of distress.

____________

“Was that Pepper just know?” Ama asked into the phone as her eyes looked to the front, waving before Ula sat with her on a table.

“Is that your mom?” Ula asked before taking a bite out of one of the cupcakes she had gotten for her and Ama.

“Yeah, your mom’s there too.”

“Where are they at?”

“Your uncle’s bakery.”

“Ah, I see.” Ula nodded before turning to look to the side, enjoying her cupcake with a smile as her eyes twinkled at the sight that was her mother’s park. Everything as beautiful, but everything was even better now that October had come; things were themed to a dark Alice in Wonderland which was absolutely delightful.

Her eyes then darted to the other side as Ama continued talking to Maggie, landing on one of the popular roller coasters. A train was just going up the first hill, Ula then growing a bit startled once it plunged down the steep down as screams were heard even from that distance.

______________

Screams were heard.

Screams had made Velvet look up in complete surprise, especially as a new light poured into the void she sat in. Her eyes blinked at how bright it was, perhaps after having spent a while there. But if she was being honest with herself...it didn’t feel like it had been a very long time.

“W-what are you doing!?”

No. Oh no...things were starting.

Velvet stood up as a choke sounded out, the light up above being slightly blocked as something went through it. She could tell it was coming down and so she extended her arms out, a body falling right into them.

“S...you were also-” Velvet started, then looking back up at the light which slowly disappeared once the opening had closed yet again.

“We need to find a way out of here...you must know the way, yes?”

The person in Velvet’s arm gave a worried look, shutting their eyes before silently shaking their head.