#i think my computer needs a rest for tonight lmao it may or may not have taken me 3 & a half hours to make them…

[arklay]

shows up out of nowhere to say hii i finally made ithrenil :]

[moon-child-goddess]

Characters: Miguel O'hara X Reader

I wrote this for a friend who asked for it. I told her i would have it out for her birthday. Honestly don't know how i feel about this. Also not proofread completely.

Summary: Miguel and the reader are working on a project and after something happens the reader ignores him.

Warnings:  Language, some yelling I guess, mentions of sexual harassment, I am sure there is more, but I am tired lmao.

Miguel and I sat on opposite sides of the dimly lit lab. Each of us glued to our portion of the project we had been working on for the last three months. Our nights had been exactly like this working together in silence with the occasional conversation. Where I would try to get Miguel to laugh. But it was him, and making him even exhale in a way that could be considered a laugh was nearly impossible. We were working on building a nanobot that would help the other spiders out in the field.

A grunt came from Miguel who was hunched over a table placing pieces together. I chewed on the end of my pen watching him work. He was distractingly, incomprehensibly attractive. He paid no mind to my staring even though I knew he could sense it.   

I watched him fix his hair before reaching for his soldering pen. He quickly glanced up in my direction. There was a faint uptick at the corner of his lips that any normal person would miss. It was the closest I would ever get to a smile from him.  

A blush rose up my neck as I violently turned back toward my computer. The force of my turn was a little too fast and I almost toppled the chair over.  Miguel let out a ‘laugh’ under his breath. I pulled at my neck trying to get rid of the blush.  Lord help me if he ever actually laughed my heart may stop.  

Miguel working on soldering meant that he was almost ready for me to add a code, and I was nowhere near ready right now. Maybe just maybe If I had spent less time ogling him, I would have found a solution to the exploding problem we had last time. The cursor blinked at me in a taunting manner. I should be able to do this; I could code in my sleep.

After the last bot had exploded Miguel tried to kick me off the project. Which means I need to prove myself even more right now. I don’t want to disappoint him again. It took me over a week to convince him to let me help finish this project.

But now I didn’t know where to fix it. I was tempted to start over from scratch, but this code was a long one and it would take longer to start from scratch than I had. The trash bin next to my desk was filled with scribbled out notes and energy drinks.  

“It is ready.” Miguel spoke lowly now standing directly behind me. I flinched, even with my heightened senses he moved faster than I could detect.

His hand rested on the back of my chair, fingertips barely grazing the back of my neck. My heart skipped a beat at the contact. I need to get in control of myself. This is my boss. Well kind of boss.

“I need some more time. Let me come back to it tomorrow. I don’t want to ruin another bot.”  I ran my hand over my face. I wanted to finish but I knew he wouldn’t leave me here to work.

Miguel nodded, fully understanding where I was coming from.  He stayed close behind me watching as I closed the computer down. His gaze was making me nervous my heart rate sped up. When I went to stand up, I stumbled a bit my legs were like Jello the nerves making it worse. Miguels hand shot out helping steady me. The small smile was back on his lips. I ducked my head down avoiding his gaze.  

“We will meet here tomorrow at the same time?” There was a question in his words. As if he doubted, I would show up. I nodded.

“Good night, Miguel.” I whispered, fixing strands of his hair that were sticking out of place. His eyes closed at my touch.

----

I was in the cafeteria with an unfinished sandwich sitting in front of me.  I had a tablet with my code pulled up. I wanted to… no needed to have the code ready for tonight. However, looking at my mistakes I was beginning to think I was not cut out for this. 

I let out a groan before hitting my forehead on the edge of table. It was going to leave a mark.

There had to be an answer.

My brain was exhausted from staying up all night going through all my notes. No amount of energy drinks was fixing that problem.

There was so much background noise echoing in the room. Other co workers were in here chatting with their friends. It kept pulling my attention away from my task. I just didn’t want to sit in the lab any longer. It was making me restless.

“I am aching from sparing, so I am going to hit the ice baths. I need to cool down.” Someone down a table from me announced to their group. I watched as he walked out the room.

That’s it!

 Holy crap that is the answer. Before I could think of anything else I ran to find Miguel.

“Miguel!”  I called out over the moon to share this with him. “I think I figured it out!”

I entered his office abruptly, not bothering to knock. There was no indication to whether or not he was in here. I found Miles standing in a corner, eyes wide clearly shaken about something, but I may have just caught him breaking into the office.  

Miguel made an appearance from the shadows stepping off his platform. Ever the dramatic one.  He was pissed, his eyes a dark black and jaw clenched. His thumb and pointer fingers were massaging the bridge of his nose as he worked through a breathing exercise.  

In a blink it changed, and he was looking at me. That stupid small smile took over, and his shoulders lost tension.  

“Figured what out mi vida?”

“The code! Of course.” I grabbed his hand yanking him down the hall to the lab. Miles better thank me for saving his ass. Before I dropped his hand, he squeezed my palm.

I wasted no time in getting my computer started. The glow of the monitors was the only light in here, as Miguel went to turn on the overhead lights.  He pulled up a chair and sat next to me leaning in.

“I am adding in a few more lines that should start a cool down process; if it starts to get too warm.”  I looked over my shoulder as he nodded at me. He watched my hands fly over the keyboard and I explained everything I was doing.

We plugged the code in to the nanobot and ran some tests. It didn’t overheat, it performed its functions flawlessly. After months of work we had a finished prototype.

It works! I jumped up standing on the stool and did a happy dance. Was it cringe? Yes, but I was too tired to care. Miguels large hands were on my waist keeping me from pummeling over on to the floor. They were warm and made my skin burn. My mind short circuited at the touch. It was all to much.

“It works.”  I whispered. My face moved closer, our eyes meeting. Staring one another down.

“It does.”  His minty breath fanning over my face, his hands moving up my waist a bit.  

I giggled lowly and without thinking I kissed him. He froze like a statue, his hands dropping from me. He stopped breathing and didn’t blink. It sobered me up right away.

“I am so sorry.  I will just go now.”  I leapt down to the ground. Backing away, slowly assessing the damage I had done. He slowly came to his normal self just slightly confused.

“Y/N-” His voice was soft almost begging me to listen, but I didn’t. I took off to my room.

---

It had been three weeks since that incident, and I got good at avoiding Miguel. After working with him so closely I knew his routine, so I did the opposite. And went on more missions with the other spiders. My reports were given directly to spider women. One mission had taken four days, which was a relief. Miguel was nowhere near so I could relax. He had called during the mission once, but I ignored it.

Eventually I was going to have to face him and pay pence for sexually harassing him in a workplace. For now, I was going to pretend I wasn’t embarrassed. I had better self-control than that.  How could I be so stupid?

----

I was handing over some gadgets to Spider-women.  I was thinking about swallowing my pride and talking to him before I made his anger any worse.

“You will have to talk to him soon. I can’t deal with his mood anymore.” She took the tools from my hands, giving me a stern look.  She had to be reading my mind. I winced. Miguel valued space and I crossed the line.

He had to hate me for sure, maybe he was going to banish me back home.

“I know.” I mumbled leaving before she could say anymore to me.

Miguel was leaning up against the stark white wall opposite the door glaring down at me. I backed up to run away. Call me a chicken, I was not in the mood to deal with this yet. I was thinking about tomorrow once I had a chance to rehearse.  I don’t think I could handle rejection from the one person I have liked in a very long time.  Before I could get anywhere though he was grasping my forearm, dragging me behind him. A cold sweat ran through me.  

He opened the door to the lab. He dropped his hand placing it on my lower back guiding me into the room. As the door slammed shut, I turned to face him. There was a spot on the wall behind him that was fascinating, and I gave my full attention to it.

“Y/N can we talk? Please?” He was pleading for me to give him time. I wanted to I really did. I just- couldn’t do this now.

I tried to slip past him back through the door, but he was too quick, blocking my way out.  He was going to be stubborn about this he made that very clear.

I did the next best thing and back up till there was a table between us. Just in case he started to yell. He raised a brow not missing one move I made.

“You have been avoiding me.” He stated. Coming over standing at the table in front of me.

“No, I have been busy-” Miguel raised his hand shaking his head. He had a frown that seemed to deepen with my lies.

“Don’t lie Amor. I walked down the hall, and you were running the other way. Sick for all our meetings. That says avoiding.”

“It’s not like that.” I had no legit argument, and I knew it…he knew it. I was avoiding him. 

“I have been thinking of you… and that damn kiss all month.” He rubbed his jaw emotions ticking through his face.

“I got something I wanted. For you to run and hide like a coward. Which by the way you are far from being one normally.” He growled out with his teeth bared. It was kind of terrifying, almost threating. I could see why Miles was scared of him.

“I did not mean- I am sorr-”

“Do not apologize.”

 I bit down chewing on my bottom lip. I didn’t know what to say or do. I was at a loss.

He stepped towards me and I took a step back. I needed to keep my distance, so I could make an escape after he broke me.

“Do you not like me?” The words hit me like a tornado. There was hint of pain behind the idea.

“No! no.”  He took two long strides towards me and this time I didn’t move. I stood my ground.

“Then you should not have avoided me. That kiss is far from over.”

Before I could react, his lip were on mine. There was a millisecond where he waited for me to respond, and as he was pulling away, I met his lips. Once I did, it was passionate and messy. He fought for dominance. His warm hands were on my hips moving to settle on my thighs. There was a gentle tap telling me to jump and I did. He moved us so I was sitting at the table behind me.

Miguel tilted my head up, so he had better access. I let out a soft sigh tangling my fingers in his soft hair. I don’t think anyone else could kiss me like this. I didn’t want anyone else to really. It was more than the fireworks they say in the movies. This was a roaring fire engulfing my senses.

He pulled away slightly and bit my bottom lip ever so softly, and I shuddered. I could feel a ghost of his smile against my lips. I couldn’t catch my breath before Miguel went back in. Slower this time. Miguel used one hand to pull me closer settling between my legs. I let ous a gasp at the sudden movement and tugged at his hair. Which earned me a small groan. It was my turn to smile.

When he pulled away, I was panting, needing air. Miguel began to trail kisses down my neck to my shoulder nipping at my skin. Before setting his forehead on mine.

“I didn’t want you to run mi vida it just surprised me. Please don’t run again.”

“Sorry, I honestly thought you wanted nothing to do with me.” “Never.” He murmured and placed a kiss to the tip of my nose

[lovelybarnes]

restless- b. barnes

pairings: bucky barnes x reader, mentions of natasha romanoff, sam wilson, and steve rogers warnings: mentions of nightmares and clingy bucky but it’s mostly fluff about: bucky can’t sleep without y/n a/n: i was going to post this yesterday but i fell asleep :| my computer was literally open and nearly dead when i woke up lmao

today marks one week that you’ve been gone, and with it, the official shortest amount of sleep that bucky has gotten in a week. he supposes it’s sightly pathetic that he can’t sleep well- or, really, at all- without you, but you continuously tell him you chase his nightmares away for him, and without you there to make them disappear, where else will they go but deep into the crevices of his mind, where they’ll hide long enough for him to let his guard down and lull himself to sleep, only to wake up with the ugly memories of things he hoped he’d forgotten. he’s constantly told that his attachment to you is overbearing- not by you, though. never by you- because it must be, with how much he clings to your side, always touching some part of you so that he’s sure that, yes, you’re there. not a dream or an illusion, although you’re good enough to be one.

he misses every part of you; your fingers and the way they run through his hair, trace his features with such tenderness he nearly believes he is what you see, your voice and its ability to transform the most mundane words into the greatest poetry, sing soft songs into his skin until he’s fallen asleep, your eyes and how they examine him in the best way possible, glowing when they meet his.

he longs for you, but he can only imagine your smile, the bitter reminder that you’re probably showing it to some psychopath for the mission you’re on. he hates steve every time the memory is evoked, the panic that comes with your being used as bait for some of the most screwed up villains in the world only returning stronger. he’s tempted to go get you himself, uncaring if he screws up the mission because at least he’ll have you.

stark will call him pathetic, then go to bed with the love of his life, so bucky prefers keeping his thoughts about you to himself, much like he’d like to keep you. you’ve told him you can handle yourself, and bucky never doubts it, having been victim to the using of your skills when he first encountered you as the winter soldier. you kicked his ass then, and you kick any and all ass now.

it doesn’t help his sleeping schedule, though your calls do. he swears you’re an angel because there’s no way a normal human could glow like that through a screen, but you always laugh off his words and simply tell him to turn his brightness down. however, you haven’t taught him that yet, so he greets you with the same sentence every time. his smile is always brighter after your calls, the dark bruises under his eyes reduced as if he got a full night’s rest. it’s your effect on him, and as much as everyone teases you both for it, they appreciate it.

you’re due to come back in a week or two, but bucky is unsure he can wait that long, and judging from your chirpier-than-usual voice in your latest interaction, you’ve finished early, like you always do. he likes to imagine it’s because of him, behind the deprecating voice that screams at him why would it be? (the answer is that you love him and hate every second you’re away from him)

sam scoffs when he overhears him telling that to steve, sitting down next to bucky, “man, there is no way you can tell that from a phone call. even if you could, i know she’s good, but to shave two weeks off mission time? natasha hasn’t even been able to do that.” a proud smile grows on bucky’s face without his permission as he shrugs, “she’s that good,” he brags, choosing to ignore the fake gag sam sends his way.

you frown when he tells you what he thinks on your call a few hours later, lips puckering into a small pout, “how did you know? i wanted it to be a surprise!” you ask through a crackled voice. so much for state of the art technology, bucky thinks, but is glad nonetheless to hear your voice. “i know you too well, doll. you’re really coming back today?”

you nod excitedly, biting your bottom lip. “mhm! i missed you and my bed too much to stay here a moment longer. villains are such pervs,” you complain, nose scrunching. bucky’s jaw sets when he hears your words, immediately thinking the worst. “but, i’m coming back today, so it’s fine. what do you want to do when i get back?”

bucky shrugs, “be with you,” he answers simply, making you laugh. “other than that, dummy. we could watch a movie, have a little date night to make up for the one i missed while i was gone.” bucky grins at this, remembering his plans for that night. “okay,” he agrees, “we’ll watch one of those movies on my list. although sam put some weird ones.”

you concur through chuckles that pass through the phone, reminding him how much you love him. he swears an oath to never let you go again and bites back a yawn that you see right through. “you’re sleeping the moment i get back,” you instruct, and bucky nods with your words, even when the sole idea of your being within arm’s reach is obviously too enticing to pass up for sleep. “whatever you want, doll. as long as you’re here.” he replies, thinking about spending the night pressing kisses to your hair and checking for any injuries you may have withheld from him.

the sentence is dishonest and you both know it, but you leave it at that, missing him too much and sure he’ll rest with how exhausted he must be. you say goodbye without the actual words, only giving a blown kiss and a “see you later.”

bucky spends the rest of the hours without you thinking of you, skimming through the words written in the little blue notebook you got him to replace his old one. that one sits on his dresser, the disuse proven by the layer of dust that covers it. the names he spent hours agonizing over, tracing his fingers over the indents made by the pen, are hidden by its cover. they never fade from his mind, though. only half of the pages of the one you gave him are blank now, and the ones that aren’t are bright and white, inviting him to drop his pen on the lines and jot whatever reference he didn’t understand but wants to. he eyes the names of the movies and shows, some accompanied by quotes that refer to them. “new girl: nick miller,” he reads, remembering how one of your friends said he was the avenger version of the character. “friends: ‘joey doesn’t share food,” sam told him that one when he didn’t let him have any of his chips. he looks at clueless, recalling the way all of his teammates stare at scott whenever the movie comes up. there are a couple pages like this, some of them recommendations and others titles he kept hearing. tonight, he decides on starting a new show, but he leaves the actual show up to you to decide.

you arrive a couple hours later, when stars have littered the darkness that bled through the sky. it’s all very rom-com-filmesque, the way you light up when you see his face- even through how tired you clearly are- and how you jump into his arms, ignoring the ache in your muscles because the way his arms wrap around you seems to make it disappear. he gathers you in his arms and kisses everywhere on your face, treasuring your laugh and the feeling of your lips pressing to his shoulder when you hug him again.

even when you pull away, he doesn’t let go of your hand, flesh fingers tracing small circles into your skin. you don’t complain, even when steve shoves papers in front of you and asks you to sign them with a sheepish look. sam comes by and teases bucky lightheartedly, hounding bucky to let you have both your hands. you chuckle at his request and squeeze bucky’s fingers, kissing the back of his hand, “oh, no, he better not,” you half-joke. he smiles, red tinting his cheeks as he gently draws you closer.

you don’t feel like driving at the moment, and you need to water your plants, completely sure that wanda forgot to do it, so you end up going to your room, even though you spend most of your time at his own room or your apartment outside the compound. you can tell how little the room has been used by the spotless counters and floors, furniture clean of any of the knickknacks you usually leave. you only sleep here when bucky leaves for long missions, his absence is overly blatant when he’s gone, and your plants keep you from feeling too alone.

you usher bucky inside, tugging open your drawers to search for something for him to wear. you grin at the soft fabric under the pads of your fingertips, recalling the memory of stealing them from bucky’s closet to soak in his scent when you couldn’t have the real thing. the considerable use has washed away all traces of him, and you decide that needs to be fixed, picking out clothing for him.

you change into one of his old shirts and make tea while he changes, smiling when you feel his arms wrapping around your waist and kissing your jaw. “what do you want to watch tonight?” he asks, and you contemplate it while you pour your drinks, shoveling spoons of sugar into each one to make it as sweet as possible- his favorite. “new girl, i think you’ll like it,” you reply after a moment.

he unravels his arms from around you, taking the mugs from the counter and following you to your room after you peck his cheek in thanks. “okay, i want to see what this nick miller is all about,” bucky says, making you laugh softly. “c’mon,” he urges, opening his arms for you after setting the cups down. you cuddle up to his side after you grab your computer, setting up netflix and choosing the show.

halfway through the first episode, bucky feels the fatigue hit him like a ton of bricks, hours of missed sleep catching up to him now that he’s finally relaxed and comfortable. keeping his eyes open is a job all on its own, and the sweet smell of your hair combined with the way your fingers move on his chest, softly writing letters and drawing shapes, is too much to resist.

you barely notice when he shuts his eyes, the evening of his breathing alerting you he’s succumbed to his tiredness. you stop the video and quietly shut your laptop, placing it on the bedside table while moving as little as possible. he feels you shift through your efforts, pulling you closer in his sleep. you chase away his nightmares like you always do, letting him sleep his first full night since you left.

he wakes up rejuvenated and embarrassed, sputtering out embarrassed apologies that you shush with kind reassurances and tender kisses. he’s reminded of how wonderful you are when you turn, arms extending to reach into your bag and carrying out a small stuffed animal that you say reminded you of him.

[meltwonu]

| 🍒 CH-CH-CHERRY BOMB! 🍒 |     [CHAPTER 12]

pairing; dom!seungcheol x camgirl!reader

this chapter’s notes; camshow, sex toys, overstimulation, tiniest mentions of daddy!kink, a lil bit of a filler chapter!, this is the most btsvt chapter that it’ll ever get so i’m sorry if you dont like that!! 😭😭, a bit of a lighthearted chapter too tbh to ease everyone back into cherry bomb! 💕 I know its been like two fuckin weeks since the last update which is honestly insane to me! I almost couldnt remember where we even left off lmao kdjfhds 😩💕💕 Thank you for being so patient with me and waiting it out while we had two weeks of Monster Mash! Starting Monday, I’m gonna be going back to my normal posting schedule! 💕 have a great rest of the weekend, yall! 🍒 

chapters; 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - ?

“Wait, seriously? You want to work here? But--but I thought you were from out of town?”

Jun’s eyes light up with excitement; fingertips crushing the resume you passed to him moments prior. “Um, well, there was a change of plans… and I’d really like to work somewhere where I have a friend! If you guys are still hiring, that is...” You reply back meekly.

It’d taken you all morning to write up a resume, blushing a little when you realize most of your income had been from camming. It’d also made you pause for a moment when you realized that it meant Jun would also know your real name too; as well as everyone who came through the diner and all of your coworkers.

“Yeah, of course! I, um, just give me a second to pass this to my manager, okay? I’ll be sure to put in a good word!” Jun shoots you a wink before he turns to leave.

You take the opportunity to sit down at a nearby booth, fishing for your phone to text Seungcheol.

‘I think I might be getting the job!!’

cheollie ✨: oh? Not that I doubted you, but is it confirmed already?

‘Mm… Jun is trying to put in a word for me! But I’m confident!’

cheollie ✨: thats my baby ;)

You hear someone call your name hesitantly, only to find Jun standing a few feet away looking at you sheepishly. “Um, sorry, your name’s on the resume so I figured…”

“Oh! Yeah, it’s fine!” You awkwardly giggle. “I figured writing ‘Cherry’ as my name wouldn’t be too smart when you need to cross-reference my ID if I get the job.” Jun laughs as he takes the seat across from you in the booth, papers in hand.

“Well, I convinced my manager to let me interview you. Told him that if we’d be workin’ together that I’d want to scope you out for myself! He bought it, can you believe it!?” Grinning, he sets your crumpled resume down next to a small stack of papers. “I don’t doubt you’d pull your weight around here but I do have to ask… Why here of all places? I thought your, uh, other job was enough? Or I guess I assumed...” You bite your lip, flip-flopping on whether or not you wanted to let him know exactly what happened that led to your sudden decision.

“Um… There were just some big life changes I had to make on the fly and I’ll be living around here now! I’m trying out some new things… I also figured if I worked with you, then you’d know my schedule the best too! And you seem like a really nice and cool guy.”

Jun nods, smiling back at you.

“You got that right!”

“You’re seriously going to start working there?” Jeongguk raises a brow, cables in hand as he sets up the extra PC in his streaming room. “And the guy working there knows you? That doesn’t bother you?”

Seungcheol laughs under his breath, “Yeah and he knows me now too. And knows I’d kick his ass if he tried anything.” You pout from your place in the expensive gaming chair; eyes focused on Jeongguk who shimmies under the desk to start plugging in the cables.

“Well, yeah he does know me, but he’s also one of my regulars and knows the schedules I’ll need, so I think we can trust him!” They both nod and Seungcheol is quick to cross the small room until he’s right behind you.

“He seems like a nice guy though, I don’t think we have to worry.”

Jeongguk slides out from underneath the desk, dusting off his pants as he stands. “And if he does end up being a weirdo, there’s always a place for you at the roller rink!”

Seungcheol rolls his eyes, hands gripping onto the backrest of the chair.

“No.”

“Hey guys, welcome back to Golden Closet Gaming! I’m JK, your regular host! Today, we have a suuuper special guest! Why don’t you introduce yourself, pretty lady~”

You take a deep breath as you lean in close to the mic; somewhat nervous and a little out of your usual element. “Hi everyone~ I’m Cherry! Some of you may know me from, um, the other side of the streaming-sphere but I’m joining my friend today in hopes of boosting our channels together and having a ‘lil bit of fun!!”

Seungcheol sits at the side as he watches the two of you; a small smile painted on his lips at the way the two of you seem to fall into your characters easily despite the somewhat different platforms and influx of different viewers.

The sound of donations and comments pour in a lot quicker than Jeongguk, himself, is used to; eyes wide and eyebrows raised as he pauses to watch them flood the screen.

sleepy_wonu has donated $100

xcaliburDK has donated $100

sleepy_wonu: never thought i’d be donating here but here we are

xcaliburDK: i was always a silent watcher but u kno i had to donate for my favorite girl!

seokGENIE: i feel like i’m entitled to something for taking your shift so i wont be donating, sorry pretty girl

j__min: can’t believe this kid got a collab with you before i did :(

j__min has donated $200

dtsug__a: i dont normally watch streams either but im curious

Jeongguk laughs, still in disbelief as the donations continue to pour in from a combination of your viewers and his. He always made a decent amount from his viewers but he couldn’t deny the pull you had from your viewers as well. “Wow, um okay, my donations are adding up a lot quicker than they usually do. That’s… Hey, whaddya say to streaming with me regularly?” He jokes. 

A shy laugh bubbles up your throat; ears and cheeks burning hot at the idea. You had never collabed with any other streamer before and despite your initial hesitance and unsureness, you too, were shocked to find how well the two of you were doing without your usual content.

“Erm, I’m not very good at gaming though… I don’t think your viewers would like it very much...”

seokGENIE: thats ok jk sucks at gaming too, it wouldnt be too different

j__min: lmao fkjdhf

dtsug__a: does he get roasted often on this channel? If so i’ll be tuning in more often

dtsug__a has donated $100

dtsug__a: for your troubles, pretty gal

“On second thought, let’s let this be a special occasion, huh? Maybe collabs for the holiday, Cherry?” Jeongguk grumbles and Seungcheol has to bite his lip to keep in his laughs from his side of the small room. You start to feel more and more comfortable at the lighthearted atmosphere; tucking a stray hair behind your ear before you lean in towards the mic again.

“Ah! Speaking of, don’t forget to tune into my camshow tomorrow~! JK and I will be gaming on there as well but… with some added fun to match my channel~! 21 and over only~” You blink at the computer screen, still a little unused to the idea that you weren’t technically being filmed. Although, it was a nice change for once; not needing to be all done up for a show and simply just talking to your viewers and reading comments.

sleepy_wonu: is dom daddy gonna be on the show too?

“Dom daddy? Oh you mean Se---”

“Yes! Kind of!” You cut off, laughing nervously. Nobody knew Seungcheol’s name except for Jun and you were trying to keep as much of him private as possible, until he was ready. “In a sense, he’ll be there! You guys will just have to tune in to find out!”

Jeongguk laughs into his own mic, scooting in closer to his desk as he loads up the game.

“I think that’s enough chatting for now, huh? Let’s get started! Tonight we’ll be playing Phasmophobia! We’ll be playing something more lighthearted on Cherry’s channel, as she requested. So tonight we’ll be playing something I picked out. You ready, baby?”

Seungcheol narrows his eyes, quietly taking a sip of his water.

“Ready when you are!”

“I gotta say, sweetheart, for someone who doesn’t play video games too often, you’re not too bad.” Seungcheol comments, nodding his head in amazement as the three of you exit Jeongguk’s PC room. He’d had a hard time keeping in his laughs as he watched from the side and he had to admit, you were even cuter when you were outside of your usual element.

“I have to agree with hyung, but maybe it was also the adrenaline and screaming that kept you goin’.”

The two males share a laugh as you pout and plop down onto Jeongguk’s living room sofa. “Hey, how were the numbers for tonight, by the way?” You ask quietly.

“Honestly? I think we made almost triple of what my channel usually sees. I know I don’t really make a ton off of my streams since I don’t really do anything, like, crazy but shit… Even I’m shocked at how much we made.”

Seungcheol’s lip ease into a smirk; Jeongguk really had no idea how much the two of you had made off of a couple videos alone.

“We still have one more stream to do and then we can just pool up the money and split it down the middle!”  

Jeongguk nods, stretching as he sits himself down onto the other end of the sofa. “I’ll bring my spare PC stuff so we can set up a little early tomorrow, if that’s cool with you two? Maybe have some food before we get started too ‘cause god knows I’m gonna be starving.” You look to Seungcheol who nods and checks his phone for the time.

“Yeah, we need to set up the cameras and lighting a little differently too so we’ll probably start earlier. Just text me before you drive over so we know when to expect you.”

You yawn next to Jeongguk; adrenaline having worn off as the tiredness finally sets in. “It’s so weird, usually I’m only just starting my stream right around this time but I’m so exhausted now...” Seungcheol’s eyes from cute crescents as he smiles down at you, stepping closer as he goes in to smooth down your hair.

“You really were screaming a lot, to be fair. How about we head home and you can sleep in the car?”

“Okay~”

Seungcheol lets you sleep in on Saturday morning, watching as your chest rises and falls with soft breaths.

He takes a moment to think over the last few weeks of his life and he can’t help the disbelieving expression that crosses his features when he realizes just how much had changed over the course of just weeks.

When the two of you had met, he wasn’t expecting much. He expected the two of you to hang out for a few days before you went home and forgot he even existed outside of your camshows and the comments section. But now that so much had happened between the two of you, Seungcheol felt a deeper connection to you and felt the need to protect you even moreso than ever.

He sees you shift slightly, sleepy eyes blinking open as you peer up at him. “Good morning, sweetheart.”

“Mm… g’morning ‘cheol…”

You grimace sleepily at how hoarse your voice sounds, “Ew, I sound so… gross.”

Seungcheol moves to get out of bed, leaning in to kiss your forehead before he shuffles towards the bathroom. “I’m going to wash up but you can stay in bed if you like. I’ll make you some tea for your throat, okay? We have a long day ahead of us and I don’t think you wanna sound like that later tonight.”

Nodding sleepily, you lay back down as you yawn and let the sleep take over once again.

“Are you really sure ‘bout this?” Jeongguk takes a bite of his pizza as he watches Seungcheol pull the desk closer to the bed.

“What do you mean?” You ask; readjusting the light that was closest to the younger male. “Like, I dunno, I’ve never been on a cam show like this so… I mean do I have to do anything different?” You laugh lightly as you go in to pat Jeongguk on the shoulder.

“No, just be you. And we went over it already earlier, the only thing that’s different is going to be me! No weird tricks or anything, I promise.”

Seungcheol places another monitor on the tabletop, grunting as he goes. “Yeah, and in all honesty, I would hate to have to watch you get off, ‘Guk.”

“Oh shut up, hyung. You say that like I don’t know what you’re packin’ under those sweats. I think it’d only be fair! Just two bros getting to know each other.” Seungcheol pretends to gag just as you double over in laughter. “No, absolutely not, ‘Guk. And also, nobody told you to watch those videos!”

Jeongguk pauses, lips pressing into a firm line. “You right, you right…”

You leave to get changed just as Jeongguk starts to help Seungcheol set up the last few bits of equipment. He leans in close to the older male, eyes glancing around the space to make sure you were completely out of earshot. “Hey, hyung, honest question.”

“Sure.”

“Are you really okay with all this?” Confusion crosses Seungcheol’s features as he raises an eyebrow at the younger male. “What’s ‘this’ exactly, ‘Guk?”

“Y’know, her living here and you camming all of a sudden, among everything else really… And the question if you’re in love with her which, by the way, we still all know that you are.”

A blush coats Seungcheol’s skin, fingertips almost losing grip of the camera he was about to mount to the desktop. “Listen, yes, okay, I do… like her a lot. But she’s going through a lot right now too and I don’t want to freak her out either. There’s a lot of life changes we’re going through so I’m just going to ...wait.”

“You’re a good man, hyung.”

“Hi everyone!”

You wave to the camera, winking and blowing a kiss to the camera propped up between the two monitors on the table. “I know, this setup is a little wild and not my normal but this is part two of my collaboration with Golden Closet Gaming! Do you want to introduce yourself to those who missed our other stream?” You turn to Jeongguk who nods; this time a little nervous as he stares directly into the camera.

He’d said he was okay with being filmed since he wasn’t actually part of any sexual acts, but he still found himself a little camerashy now that the two of you were live.

Seungcheol sat directly behind the monitors and cameras; his phone open to your cam show to watch from a different angle.

“Ah, hello! I’m JK of Golden Closet Gaming! I’m a friend of Cherry’s and no we won’t be fuckin’.” Jeongguk ends with an innocent smile that has you holding back your laughter.

therealchan99: i dont think dom.cheol would like that very much anyway

universe_WZ has donated $100

universe_WZ: unless he’s into watching

dom.cheol: no

alphagyu97: oh shit hes back

angelhan: huh, so hes not there?

“Oh, he is! He’s behind the camera~” You gesture beyond the camera to where Seungcheol sits and he leans over to quickly wave upside down in front of the camera to prove his existence.

j__min: ah, of course~ we know your daddy would never let you play with anyone else~

j__min: he likes you too much ;)

emerald.tae: oh? also hi new watcher!!!

emerald.tae: ur videos were great!!

emerald.tae has donated $200

therealchan99: im gonna need to start fighting ppl for ur attention i swear

gentleman_josh95: implying u had it

chwenon: yooooooo lmao

“You guuuuys, be nice! Just for that, I’m gonna be sending you a special private pic, okay ‘therealchan99’? You guys pick on him too much!” You pout.

therealchan99: hahaahhAHhhahaHAAHAA FUCKIN LOSERS SUCK ON THAT

tangerine_kwan: bruh

chwenon: damn guess we should can it

You respond to a few more comments as Jeongguk sits by and watches the way you interact with your viewers. He also takes note that you had a donation minimum before you started actually doing anything on your channel and that you’d already hit it pretty quickly.

“Okay! I think we should start now, huh? Oh, I should explain what’s going on!” You giggle cutely, settling into your space on the bed. “So JK and I will be playing this stilt man game! We have to get our character to the finish line without falling or the level restarts! JK has to get to level 30 and I have to get to level 20 and whoever reaches their goal first, wins!”

“I have a higher level to reach ‘cause our skillsets are different and we all know I’d smoke her if we both had to reach the same level.” Jeongguk grins.

seokGENIE: sure

seokGENIE has donated $69

sleepy_wonu has donated $100

hoshi_tiger_xx has donated $100

“And the reason why ‘dom.cheol’ is behind the camera is because...” You pause, eyes twinkling with playfulness as you stare directly into the lens. “In order to get me to do my best, he’ll be controlling a special toy I’m wearing~ Hehe, if my character falls, he’ll raise the vibration setting each time as punishment and leave it on until I cum…”

“Which we are assuming will be a lot. Unfortunately, no medic on standby.” Jeongguk jokes. Seungcheol rolls his eyes as he laughs from behind the camera.

“We have a safeword, don’t we, sweetheart?” You nod in response, “Mmhmm!”

“Let’s get it!”

It takes all of four stages before your character falls for the first time.

Seungcheol turns the vibrating panties on and you immediately jolt as you try to keep your character upright on screen. “Oh, f-fuck!”

kitty_junjun: uh ohhhh it begins

artist8hao: i don’t think she’s gonna last.. babygirl is so sensitive, she’ll probably cum soon

xcaliburDK: i’m giving it until level 6 before she cums

emerald.tae: oh are we placing bets

“Noooo~ Don’t place bets on me, I’m weak!” You whine; already squirming as the vibrations attack your clit. Seungcheol grins from in front of you as Jeongguk laughs from your side, already on level 7 on his own screen.

You had to admit, it was a little weird for someone else to be in the room with you while Seungcheol basically used a toy on you, but the younger male seemed to not care about it at all. Although, he had already seen most of you and Seungcheol at this point.

Your fingertips are shaky on the keyboard and computer mouse; already fearing the way Seungcheol’s eyes almost become darker the longer you struggle.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart? Is the game too hard?”

“A-ah, n--no, it’s not that b-bad…” Squirming, you grind down a little harder onto the bed just as your character falls on screen and Seungcheol raises the setting to the second highest in the blink of an eye. “Ngh, fuh---fuck!”

“Uh oh~ Should I slow down to let you catch up?” Jeongguk teases.

“N-no, I can beat y-you!”

The donations and comments pour in as you struggle to keep your calm and get your character to the finish line; letting out a sigh of relief as you finally enter the fifth level. You let out a choked sob as you already feel your panties starting to stick to you like a second skin from how wet you were getting and Seungcheol can’t help but chuckle.

“You know, you’re technically allowed to cum whenever you want. It’ll just… slow you down, is all.” Grinning, he watches as you look beyond the camera towards him as you pout.

“But I--I wanna win!” You cry; palms clammy as you try to rush through the fifth stage, only for your character to fall almost immediately. “Nooo~”

Seungcheol clicks the vibrator to its highest setting and your body goes rigid as the vibrations wreck your body. You start to grind against the toy as you chase your orgasm and forget about the game almost completely. In a perfect world, Seungcheol would have his cock snug between your walls, but instead you clench around emptiness as you crave his cock.

artist8hao: ah shes already cumming lol

seokGENIE: on level 5? Fuck

universe_WZ: her cute lil cunt cant take it, poor babygirl

seokGENIE has donated $50

emerald.tae has donated $75

alphagyu97: cum baby, u kno u wanna

alphagyu97 has donated $75

A small choked whine is all you can manage before you do cum; eyes clamped shut and fingers wrapped tight around the computer mouse as the waves of pleasure crash down onto your body. Donations and comments flood the side of the screen from a combination of your viewers and Jeongguk’s as they watch your face contort in pleasure.

“Ah, sweetheart, you’re really falling behind~ JK is going through the stages so quickly while you’re sitting there cumming~” Seungcheol teases. He licks his lips, simultaneously wishing you were sitting on his cock while you played your game.

That’d have to be for another time, he thinks.

It takes a second for Seungcheol to turn the toy off and your body immediately slumps forward as you catch your breath. “Ngh, d-damn it…” You grimace when you re-adjust yourself and find your panties soaking wet.

“I’m already on level 17, babe. You gotta catch up!”

You can only groan in response, flexing your clammy fingers before you try to focus on your own screen again.

kitty_junjun: oho looks like our princess is focused now

tangerine_kwan: u got this baby

j__min: show ‘em who’s boss, babygirl

You tune out the sounds of the comments and donations as you manage to get yourself to level eight without falling, but level nine proves to be just a little too hard as your character falls and Seungcheol turns the vibrator back on to its lowest setting again.

“Be careful, baby. Wouldn’t want to fall behind again would you?”

Seungcheol feels his cock throbbing in his sweats as he watches you bite your lip. And for the first time all night, he wishes that Jeongguk would just win and go home so that he could have his own private time with you.

“I’m on level 22 already. D’you think she can even catch up?” Jeongguk teases. He spares you a side glance, taking in your form slumped closer to the table as you try to fight the vibrations.

Your body was already extremely sensitive from your first orgasm and you quickly losing your confidence as you struggled to keep your character upright. If you came even just one more time, there was no way that you’d be able to beat Jeongguk with how quickly he was going through the stages.

therealchan99: she’s cumming just as quickly as JK is getting thru the stages hfdsf

gentleman_josh95: shes so cute when she cums tho

angelhan has donated $50

angelhan: thats the real prize angel

“T-thank you…” You whimper out, fingertips twitching against the keyboard and mouse as you focus your attention to the game to the best of your ability. 

You manage to get to level ten with no more issues just as Jeongguk gets to level 25 and you let out an exasperated sigh as your character falls over again. “Uh oh~ I think I’m gonna win!” Jeongguk cheers; giddiness washing over him as he works to get to the end. 

“Nooo~ That’s n-not, ah, fair!” Whining, you grip the mouse tighter as Seungcheol raises the setting on the toy again, watching as you rub your thighs together at the feeling. 

hoshi_tiger_xx: sadly nothings fair in the gaming world babe

hoshi_tiger_xx has donated $50

dtsug__a has donated $50

dtsug__a: cute for thinkin so tho 

“I don’t th--think I can, hah, c-catch up...” You moan. Your character on screen falls over one more time and all you hear is Seungcheol’s small ‘tsk’ under his breath as he sets the vibrator to the highest setting and leaves it there. 

It doesn’t take long before the vibrations prove to be too much for you and you let go of the keyboard and computer mouse as your hands ball up into fists on top of the table. 

The pleasure washes over you in sharp pin pricks; small whines and whimpers falling from your lips as your eyes completely clamp shut. 

Jeongguk lets out a surprised noise at the way the donations and comments almost make the screen lag and for the first time, his character on screen falls over at his split second loss of focus. 

“Ah, fuh--fuck!” You start to squirm once the pleasure starts to bleed into overstimulation and Seungcheol is quick to respond, “You’re gonna cum one more time as punishment for giving up, sweetheart.” 

alphagyu97: ooo she's in troubleeee

gentleman_josh95: ahhh daddy still has to punish you after all 

seokGENIE: damn is this what this channels abt? this is hot 

artist8hao: babygirl always misbehaves

chwenon: she seems to like it too much 😏

dtsug__a: hooooo shit, thats hot 

“It’s n-not my f-fault, hah, JK is j-just good at g-gaming...” You mumble. 

Jeongguk manages to get to level 30 within the time you sit and grind against the toy; small noises of excitement falling from his lips as he cheers for himself!

“Aww, poor baby. Maybe you’ll focus a bit better next time, hmm?” 

You nod frantically as a small tear slips down your cheek and your lips part in a breathy moan. “God, I--I’m c--cumming!” 

Your body locks up, ears ringing as you cum one more time. Seungcheol wishes he could work you through it; hands massaging your skin as you take your pleasure or thrusting his cock into you as he chased his high with you. 

Instead he watches from across you as your body twitches as your face contorts in unadulterated bliss, licking his lips the entire time with images of what could’ve been dancing behind his eyelids. 

Jeongguk watches as the donations far surpass what the two of you made on his channel; brows disappearing into his poofy head of hair. “Wow, uh, y’all seem to really like it when she gets punished, huh?” He mutters under his breath. 

“Don’t you?” Seungcheol teases. 

“Truuuuue.” 

A garbled moan has both of their attention on you as you try to shy away from the toy still vibrating against your overly sensitive clit. “Ah, ‘m too sen--sensitive now...” You cry. 

Seungcheol turns the toy off completely as your chest heaves in deep breaths; pouting at the fact he wasn’t able to enter the camera frame to take care of you. 

Jeongguk grimaces slightly at the way your body sways in tiredness next to him, unsure of what to do next now that he’d won. 

“Haha, um, medic?” 

[themilky-way]

the help

gif credit: starkissedtom

pairing: peter parker x gn! reader

summary: when peter comes back home from being spider-man, he finds that someone is already there to welcome him. 

warnings: mentions of cuts and bruises, a very hilarious, mistaken taquito robbery (in my opinion, if i’m to be quite honest lmao)

author’s note: back on my peter parker bandwagon bc i miss that mf

----------

as soon as it had come, summer left without notice. the sun rays that continued till the evening were now replaced by the moon’s melancholic ones, and it appeared that this year they were brighter than they’d ever been. tricolored leaves-dry and shriveled from its ending cycle-peppered the crosswalks, streets, and roofs of new york without leaving a junction of space. drafts of sudden wind caused random civilians to pull their jackets closer and walk into the closest coffee shop for warmth. night came sooner now, with the time change and all, so the majority of the city’s lights whirred to life beginning at five in the afternoon. no one ever complained because they’d been looking forward to these aspects of autumn ever since it’d left the year prior, and everyone made sure to express their excitement as vividly as possible. 

the one person who didn’t fit into this group was new york’s friendly neighborhood spider-man, and who could blame him? stacks of messy and scribbled papers lined the desk he should’ve been at, with his backpack unopened from every zipper and pencils and pens of all hues poking out from them. the wall in front of his workspace was decorated with tiny sticky notes that had reminders on them, almost as if they’d encourage peter to finish his tasks. they served a purpose, perhaps not its intended purpose, but more of an excuse in case aunt may asked him. essentially, his plan went like this: cross out random assignments, maybe add a few question marks for emphasis, and hope for the absolute best. so far, it’d worked.

tonight, peter’s plan was still in effect. towers of packets and due dates were now progressively worse than they’d been last week, but his mind was somewhere more important than his college entrance exams. as of now, he was kneeling on the edge of an old building that provided a clear view of downtown queens, internally debating whether a suspicious-looking man exiting a 7-eleven had stolen a box of taquitos or a whole wad of cash. “friday, what’re we thinking?” 

“peter, it may be that he just has these things at random.” 

he furrowed his brow. “no one has stacks of cash unless you’re dwayne johnson,” he paused for a second, and a cricket chirped as if on cue, “that guy’s not dwayne johnson.” he swung away before he could register another thought, changing the direction of his webs to ultimately land at the small shop, and he did what he needed to do. the mask allowed him to voice his witty commentary amidst a series of hard blows, which did not earn any laughs from the opposing side. his vision was pure technology and estimated diagrams-courtesy of friday, thank heavens for her-that enabled the web-slinger to trap the robber against the counter. the man yelled something, but it was too vague for anyone at the scene to fully comprehend. peter snatched the money back and handed it to the owner and then stood back, waiting until the sirens of police cars became more audible to swing away. when he did, he wished his fellow observers a good and safe night, placing a web ball shaped like a spider to a little boy gazing up at him. truthfully, he’d be lying if he said this wasn’t his favorite part of his (unofficial) job because it most certainly was. 

on the way back to somewhere, he asked his computer buddy for the hour, and he realized the somewhere was going to have to be home. so, he swung and he leaped and he ran for a short while to get to the window of his bedroom, except he found the light on instead of how he left it: off. 

his mind first told him it was may who had discovered his absence and was about to give him a whole lot of hell for leaving without notice. yet, as his eyes scanned the window for clues of a foreign presence, the panic in him settled and was replaced with confusion and then with relief. 

“hey-oh, crap-hey, watcha doing here?” peter asked as he entered through the narrow vicinity of his window, bumping the top of his head along the way. it was you he was referring to since you were seated rather comfortably in the chair of his desk, writing what looked to be like his homework?

“may let me in. i just told her you needed help with physics and that we’d be studying,” you spun the seat to answer. you weren’t totally lying per se; you had been filling out his study guide and reading his physics textbook-minus peter. “i hope you don’t mind me showing up like this, and doing your packets. i know you’ve been struggling and i wanted to help.”

the boy standing in front of you still had his mask on, but the moment he dragged it down his tired face, you abandoned everything near you to rush up to him. new but trivial scratches caressed his chin and nose, while a bruise or two accentuated the highlight of his cheekbones. he hadn’t noticed them at all. hell, he hadn’t even felt them for a split second until the pads of your thumbs had touched them. “can you-wait, just hold on for a little, let me go grab the kit,” you stammered. peter’s hand grabbed your own in an attempt to keep you there instead, assuring you they didn’t hurt as bad as they seemed. his eyes were honest, and maybe it was the pent-up fatigue washing over him or the stress of needing to be everywhere at once, but he was genuine about his pain for once.

“you’re tired, too. get some rest, yeah?” his grip tightened on your hand to hearten his request before leaning in steadily to kiss the skin of your forehead. “you’re warm? do you have a fever?” he questioned, “i’ll go run-well, swing actually-and i-i’ll buy you some medi-”

you placed the gentlest touch to his cheek and kept it there so he’d take a breath and calm his nerves, surprising you a bit when it looked like it worked. “i’m perfectly fine, i promise. you need to sleep, too,” you repeated, adding a tiny smile.  

somewhere in the joy of the moment you entangled into an embrace. peter’s suit smelled of smoke and barbecue sauce when your nose pushed against his chest, and he laughed at how detailed you expressed your opinion on the matter. he, on the other hand, was more curious about whether you solved problem three on-what was it? page 5? no, definitely page 6.

in the middle of bickering, you’d cleaned up and peter had changed to regular sleeping attire, to which you’d been offered a matching set as an insinuation for you to stay. “i, personally, would like to rejoice in the act of sleeping in the top bunk,” you proudly claimed.

he turned off the light when he ensured you were under the blanket. before settling down below, he reached up to press a kiss to the tip of your nose. 

“yeah, yeah. it’s full of baby spiders anyway.”

[avengersassemble-fics]

You Again

previous part

masterlist

word count 3k

an: lmao LISTEN do i know its been two years since this was updated?? yes BUT ya know the people ask and the people shall receive lol feel free to catch up if ya want. also!! if you're invested in this pls bare with me on the links, my blog was changed in 2019, but I fixed the master list links so use that or search on the blog! be careful.. things aren’t always what they appear ;)

We’ve been together long enough for me to figure it out

The sentence flowed out of her red stained lips easily which threw everyone for a loop, surprised glances were tossed around the group. Barry’s mouth formed an O shape and Diana’s brows raised as she glanced between you and Bruce, whose angry eyes were locked on the smirking Selina Kyle. Bruce’s hand locked onto her arm and started pulling her away, leaving his team behind and Diana cleared her throat.

“Right then, let’s. . Get back.”

Her sympathetic eyes locked onto your face, which had a blank expression and led everyone back to the plane. It was strangely quiet, except for Barry who spoke quickly to Clark about something, “And I told him, all I did was push people over and run away, but he didn’t believe me! So..”

With Alfred’s help the plane almost completely piloted itself, Diana didn’t have to do much for it to return to the safe house. As it neared, she flipped a few switches to conceal the aircraft, and landed the plane just outside the familiar abandoned building. The engines slowed to a hummed noise, and everyone got up from their seats - everyone except for you. Barry passed you first but paused, which made Diana press her elbow into his back to make him move along. Clark stopped beside you, and placed a hand on your shoulder carefully, which caused you to look up from your pensive state, a small hmm leaving your lips.

“You wanna come inside?” He asked. You looked from his stare to your hands, and sighed.

“Don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

Clark smiled sadly at you, “Not too much of a choice.”

You laughed at his honesty. It wasn’t actual laughter, but he recognized the sarcasm laced in it. The half smile, the way you shook your head, and you finally stood. He let you walk off first and into the light drizzle of rain. Each step the pair took further from the ship, the ground beneath it began to descend. You didn’t even need to look behind you, Bruce was ever the brilliant man for that detail too.

Tonight you were learning quite a bit from him. Just like before.

When Clark and you joined the rest of the group, the chatter quieted. Barry was attempting to locate food in the kitchen, and Diana stood straighter from leaning against the wall near it. She smiled sheepishly at you, and Clark left from your side. You looked at the computer in the room, and was the one to ask the dreaded question.

“When is he going to be here?”

Diana glanced at Clark for a moment, who only shrugged his shoulders, “We’re. . . Not sure.”

You nodded, and found yourself drawn to the couch, and planted yourself there on one side. Tonight made everything much more clear for you about the breakup, about those last few months of your relationship with Bruce. It wasn’t the Batman revelation that made the split happen, no it was something much worse. Something that happened just a couple months after that.

Work had gotten busier for you. That wasn’t to say you weren’t successful during your relationship with Bruce, he didn’t play into that. You were successful before you met Bruce, but somehow in those last few weeks things had exploded for your business. You found yourself swamped in work but it was good, it was so good for you and your career. But with it, and with Bruce’s new found vigilantism, you began to see less and less of one another.

He stopped sending flowers, he stopped sending those cute emails like he would at random times in the day, you heard from him less and less. But it wasn’t all his fault, it fell on you as well. Some dinners were cancelled, calls were missed, and texts unsent. It wasn’t on purpose, it just happened. But you didn’t want it to. You never wanted it to.

One night, you remembered the rain and how hard it fell that night, you drove out to see him, in that house by the lake you often wanted to call home. You did, kind of, you stayed there for most nights during the week, but not so much anymore. It was hard to see past the sheet of rain as you pulled into the long waved driveway. But you did it. You parked behind his car and switched the engine off, and squinted into the glass windows. All the lights were on of course, but there was no sign of him.

You had to fling the door open and grab your purse and rush inside. You fumbled with your key and slid it into the lock and let yourself in, but it didn’t matter, you were completely drenched. As you shut the door behind you and wiped some of the water from your face, you heard the tap of feet come down the hallway. But it wasn’t Bruce’s, Alfred came around the corner, and looked shocked to see you.

“Hey Al,” you greeted, and smiled at him.

“I keep telling him to pull the car in if he’s expecting you,” he casually said. You set your purse down and removed your wet jacket, and Alfred was quick to grab it from you.

“Oh he wasn’t expecting me I just thought I’d surprise him,” you said, “is he..?”

“I’m afraid he is,” Alfred replied, already knowing the question. You nodded and started towards the bedroom you shared with Bruce. You didn’t know what you were going to find out that night.

You were pulled from your thoughts when the door opened, everyone looked to it and weren’t surprised to see Bruce enter the room. He looked nervous, everyone could see it, and you just kept your arms rested on your legs, and stared at him.

Bruce let the door close behind him as he took a couple steps into the room. He looked between Clark, Diana, and you. Barry was eating something behind the group in the kitchen, and wasn’t paying too much attention. Clark and Diana stood behind the couch, arms crossed in front of them, but Diana was the first to break the silence.

“Do you care to tell us what’s going on, Bruce?” she asked.

Bruce glanced your way again, but you had averted your gaze to the wall, “I’ve been in contact with Selina about what’s going on, after the Arkham break out,” he stated very carefully.

“Only after?” Clark asked. Bruce narrowed his eyes at him, but you sat there and your stomach turned.

“For this matter, yes,” he said honestly. But Clark knew this wasn’t the answer you had hoped for. He looked at your shoulders tense, as did Bruce. You just continued to rub your hands together.

“Well, what does she know?” Diana pressed.

“The mayor’s office has covered up the fact that all of Arkham’s inmates were broken out,” he said, “not escaped. Someone initiated it. She doesn’t know who this guy is, but he’s planning some kind of siege on the city,” he paused, “he’s only starting with Gotham. Metropolis, Central City, Star City, they’re all going to be targeted.”

Silence filled the room. Diana looked down at her feet and Clark up to the ceiling for a moment. Barry was fully paying attention at this point, and shifted his weight from one leg to another, “Shouldn’t we be getting more guys in on this then? Anyone?”

“I know a lead in Star City,” Bruce said, “but getting him in may be difficult.”

“It’s a start,” Clark said. There was a nodded agreement amongst them, and Diana looked to you once more. She motioned for Clark and Barry to follow her out of the room. Clark followed, pushing Barry along in front of him, who exclaimed his confusion.

That left Bruce and you alone in the open. He had his hands twisted in his jacket pockets and looked at his feet. You finally broke your stare from the wall and looked at him. You both didn’t say anything, and you could feel the sting in your eyes. It was funny, you had told yourself just 6 months ago you wouldn’t cry over Bruce Wayne ever again. Yet here you were.

“What did she mean by it,” you asked in almost a whisper. But he heard you. He just didn’t know how to reply. His silence though bothered you.

“What did she mean by it, Bruce,” you said a little stronger now. That made him finally look up and meet your gaze.

“We’ve been. . . Intimate a few times,” he said, “nothing more than that.”

You nodded, a hurt smirk on your face, “For how long.”

Bruce took a step forward, “(Y/N)-”

“Dont fucking gaslight me,” you said, standing from the couch and pointed at him, “tell me the truth. For how long.”

“Fine! You really wanna know?” He yelled, and put his hands on hips.

“Yes! I want to fucking know!”

“Over a year! There! Are you fucking happy?”

You blinked at him as your jaw dropped a little. Over a year. You broke up only 13 months ago. That could only mean. . . You couldn’t even finish the thought, but his face gave you the answer you never wanted to hear.

“Is that why you pushed me away,” you whispered, “because-”

“Yes,” he breathed, “I. . . Couldn’t bear the thought that I had done it. And I couldn’t admit it to you.”

A single tear fell down your cheek. You shook your head as you focused on a spot on the floor, “Did you. .  In the house did you-”

“Yes,” he mumbled, “a couple of times, yes.”

“A couple,” you stopped yourself, “in the bed that. . . that we would-”

“Yes,” he finished for you. Silence fell over you both as you two began to process what he was sharing, every gruesome detail. Tears were on the brim of your eyes, and Bruce looked on sadly. He tried to take a step closer to you, and you moved away to the end of the couch.

“What do you think-”

“I’m sorry,” he pleaded, “I’m so sorry. I loved you, I still love you-”

“No,” you cut him off this time, “you don’t do that to someone you love.”

“Please just let me explain-”

“No,” you cut him off again, and took another step back, “no you don’t get to explain anything to me.”

Bruce stopped in his tracks, and watched you glance over him one time, and then you turned away from him. And in that moment, he felt like he lost you all over again. He watched you walk away, just like he did over a year ago. And it still broke his heart.

You made it to your room and shut the door very softly. You had managed to hold the tears in but couldn’t any longer. They slid down your cheeks and neck and you stared at the bed before you. The thought of last night came into your mind and something in you snapped. You practically tore the clothing off your body and threw it into a corner of the room, it would go forgotten for awhile. You took your time picking out shorts and a basic tee to throw on when you looked over at the bed. Your skin burned just looking at the sheets and covers on it.

Frantically, you tore every piece of bedding off of it and threw it in the same pile as the clothes. Tears clouded your vision as you worked on peeling each dirty memory from the bed, until it was bare. And you were bare. A quiet sob left your body and you covered your mouth with your hand, and eased yourself onto the ground. You pulled your legs to your chest and leaned against the bed. Tears just slid down your cheeks, and you sat there. Alone. Quiet.

There was a soft knock at the door, but you didn’t bother to acknowledge it. However, that didn’t stop the person from pushing your door open. From the corner of your eye, you saw the tall figure, who tried to look for some kind of sign they could come in. The best you could offer was a glance, and your face scrunching up in another cry. A plea.

Clark entered your room and shut the door behind him. He hurried over to you and sat beside you and that’s when you started to cry once more. His right arm wrapped around your shoulder and you leaned into his side. Your body shook from the cries, and he wrapped his left arm around you to soften the gasps. His chin rested above your head as you burrowed yourself more and more into him.

He sat there with you until you started to calm down. Until the gasps stopped, until your sniffles disappeared, and until you released your legs from your grasp. He tilted his head to get a look at you, and all he could see were those (e/c/l) pensive eyes staring at the wall.

“Stay here,” we whispered. You nodded in response and he carefully detached himself from you. As he stood, you watched as he entered your bathroom and entered the closet in there. He was gone for just a few moments before he reappeared with a fresh set of sheets, and new comforter. He didn’t say anything as he worked around you to fit the sheets on, dress the pillows in new covers, and smooth the comforter over the bed. You didn’t make eye contact with him again until he kneeled before you, and rested his arms on his legs.

“Come on,” he whispered, and held a hand out for you. You looked from his face to his hand, and hesitated only for a moment to take it. Clark pulled you up from the floor, and with his strong arms he helped you climb into bed, and under the covers.

He offered a small smile, and you still gripped his hand. He turned as if to leave, but the fact you didn’t let go of his hand pulled his attention back to you.

“Can you stay for a bit longer, Kent?” You whispered it to him, but he heard you.

He would always hear you.

He nodded and crawled over you so he sat beside you. You sat there quietly for a few moments before you spoke again.

“Did you hear?”

You played with the blanket covering you, and Clark sighed, “I did. . . I’m sorry.”

You shrugged, “I know you can’t help it,” you smiled sadly to yourself, “I just,” you laughed a bit, but this time he could hear that hurt, “Bruce he was the first one that I let into my life, after..”

You trailed off, and Clark frowned, but you didn’t look at him. You just kept playing with the fabric of the blanket.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

You glanced over your shoulder a bit, and then focused back on the blanket you played with. You moved a bit, shimmied down the bed and Clark couldn’t help but smile at your movements. You proceeded to lay your head in his lap, and he carefully moved his arm so it rested behind your back. You were positioned so that you stared ahead at the door, and Clark instinctively started to gently run his fingers over your hair.

He remembered vividly the last time he did this with you. Before you went off for college, before he disappeared from your life. He sat in this same position, and you rested your head in his lap and fell asleep. It would be the last time you saw him for years. But not the last time he would see you.

“Clark,” you suddenly called out.

“Yes?” he asked. You twisted a bit so your head laid straight up in his lap and you could meet his gaze.

You bit your lip a bit as you wondered about your question, “After you left. . . Did you ever come back?”

There was something in your still wet eyes, and they looked at him in a way he hadn’t seen himself in years. You were looking for the truth, it was something you needed to know. Clark cleared his throat and shifted a bit back towards the headboard.

“I did,” he admitted, “a couple of times, but. . . You were gone by then. And your mom she wouldn’t-”

“She never told me,” you said quietly.

Clark nodded, “I saw you once,” he paused and you looked at him in shock, “in Metropolis. Sitting outside a restaurant.”

That was enough to get you back sitting up, and facing him completely now, “You saw me?”

He nodded, “You were reading Jane Eyre, your favorite, the same copy your father gave you. You had this blue dress on and I saw you from the other side of the street, couldn’t miss you,” he smiled a bit to himself, and you looked at him with sad eyes, “I was going to go over, but then I saw Bruce join you, and you two kissed and I thought. . . You’d be better off not knowing I was there.”

You smiled sadly at him and then suddenly you had moved to lay down. Clark’s arm wrapped down your back as you cushioned yourself into his side. You didn’t say anything and neither did he. Why you felt the need to hug onto his side was beyond him, but Clark didn’t budge the rest of that night. You needed someone there with you, and if you needed it to be him then he would be there.

----------

this is the old tag list y’all I cannot believe im doing this to you, if you wanna be removed just let me know im cackling im so sorry

@panic-angel3314 @dutifullyfuriousnerd @mrsemmaevanswriting @fourtristattoos @offlikeadirty-shirt@barrel-racing-lover @sexyvixen7 @bless-my-demons @sarcastic-ohohoh @whovianayesha@neohhetric @my-dccomic-dreams @hellomistressj @avengersgirllorianna @spunky-89@dammitkyloben @topthis808 @theboldandthebootyful @andtheytoldustotellyouhello @amandakwoodstock @brooke-supernatural16 @kissingwintergoodbye @missthang2734 @random-fandom-lady @supernaturaldean67 @crimesolversherlock​ @lunaticgurly @sweetiele-ash

[purplesurveys]

1193

Have you ever been cheated on?  Nope.

Whose car were you last in?  Other than my own? Hans’s, but that was over two months ago. 

Have you ever thought about getting your nose pierced?  How timely is this, Andi literally randomly asked me how I feel about septum piercings this afternoon haha. Anyway, I have no problem with it on other people but I personally wouldn’t pick my nose as a spot for piercings.

Have your parents ever smoked pot?  I don’t know, they may have but there’s a big chance they haven’t. They don’t really share much about their youth so I would never know.

Do you tend to make relationships complicated?  That’s definitely not me.

Are you good at giving directions?  Not at all; if anyone asks me directly I usually immediately refer them to whoever I’m with at the time. Or I tell them to check Waze.

Would your mom care if she found condoms in your room?  She would and she’d definitely be pissed about it. Not that I have to worry about this ever happening, though.

Did you speak to your father today?  Yessssssss, I literally just caught a glimpse of him like two minutes ago.

Did you kiss someone before you were sixteen?  No, I was 16 turning 17 when I had my first.

Could you go a day without eating?  Yeah, but I wouldn’t feel well by the end of it. I’ve formed a habit of skipping breakfast and lunch on weekdays now, and I always feel like complete shit once I clock out. Considering I only eat dinner these days, I guess I can say I do regularly go entire days without eating.

Are your nails always painted? I never paint them/have them painted.

Have you ever met any bands/band members before?  Just local ones.

What color is your hair?  Black.

Your best friend needed somewhere to stay, could they live with you? Yes.

Have you danced in the rain?  Maybe? I don’t know. Doesn’t sound like something I would do, though.

When you said something naughty when you were little, did your parents wash out your tongue with soap?  Nope. I never liked getting in trouble, even as a kid, so I stayed out of it.

What do you think of spanking little children when they do something wrong? Okay or not?  That’s a common practice where I live, at least it was during my time. My mom didn’t believe in spanking her kids, which I’ll always be thankful for; but the cousins I lived with didn’t have the same fate so I regularly had to watch them get spanked - with sticks, slippers, belts, etc basically anything that was within reach. I think today’s generation of parents are different; I hope they are.

Who was the last male you hung out with?  Gab, Kyelle, Al, and Hans.

Who is your favorite person to text?  I don’t text anymore, but I do chat with Angela on Messenger everyday.

Who did you last take a picture with?  Does an online photo count? We had an event held through Zoom last Wednesday and we had a photo op by the end of it.

What’s your favorite brand of jeans? I don’t have any. I just wear whichever pair I’d feel good and confident wearing.

Which show is better: Spongebob or The Fairly Odd Parents?  Nooooooooo you’re making me pick between my two absolute favorites. I might have to go with Spongebob, but it barely barely barely won. Fairly OddParents is great too, at least until they added the baby fairy.

Has anyone ever told you that you looked like someone else?  Many times. Idk if I’m happy about it because something tells me it just means I have quite the common face. Idk. I don’t think too much about it and as long as I’m compared to someone I personally find pretty, it’s fine lol.

Do you enjoy the sound of crickets at night and birds in the morning?  Not so much. I find them too loud, especially the crickets.

Who is the most overrated singer?  Taylor Swift.

What is your favourite planet?  I don’t have one, but let’s go with Saturn.

Do you have any pets that you had since you were born?  Wow no. 23 years is a very long time.

Do you own anything that you had when you were a baby?  Yep, my mom kept all our umbilical cord stumps. It’s in our baby albums.

Do you enjoy Mario games?  Very much so. It’s the only franchise I can play HAHAHA

What’s your favorite online game?  I don’t play online games.

Have you ever been hit with a ball in gym class?  I probably have been.

Do you ever turn your cell phone off?  I used to sometimes shut it off whenever I’d fight with my ex and I didn’t want to deal with the world for a while. Now with the toxicity out of my life I never turn it off lol.

Who was last to cook for you?  My mom made pasta for dinner tonight. Then after that I asked her to make me coffee mixed with Milo.

Do you check your texts right away when you receive them?  Depends on who texts. I get anxious when it’s media texting, so I tend to ignore those for a few hours unless they ask something urgent. If it’s someone from my inner circle, like a friend or one of my parents, I would check and reply immediately, or at least as soon as I see the text.

Who is your most trusted person?  Mmm, probably Angela. I literally reached out last night to ask her to log on to my Facebook so she can unfriend Gab and her family on my behalf. I don’t think I would’ve asked that from anyone else.

How late did you stay up last night?  A little earlier than my usual, around midnight or so. I knew my load was going to be packed today since my manager had filed a leave which meant I had to cover for her tasks as well, so I wanted to get enough rest so that I didn’t wake up sleepy and cranky.

When/where are you most likely to sing?  As long as I’m alone, I’ll sing. I like to do it, just not in front of other people.

Would you ever wish to explore a cave?  That would be soooooooo nice. It’s been a while since I’ve been in a cave. :(

You see the person you fell hardest for. What do you do?  I imagine giving her an awkward smile and probably being the first to approach. Then I would ask how she’s been. I’m in a place in my life where I’m sure I’ll be able to do that.

Have you been/are you depressed?  I’ve been there many times.

Are your pop-ups blocked on your computer? Yes.

Have you ever ridden in a car with someone who was high?  No. I would hate to be in that situation.

Who is the best hugger you know?  Laurice.

Have you ever had to be put to sleep for an operation?  Nopes.

Does anybody have any proof of stupid things you have done?  I know Angela has a few. Gabie took a few as well; whether she still has them or not I’m not updated on anymore, nor do I care.

Why did you text the last person in your inbox?  I was just reminding Angela there was a BTS video coming out tonight.

Have you ever been able to do a split?  No but I’ve attemped to do it many times.

Did you ever date the last person you kissed?  Yes.

Are you intimidated by the last person you know talked badly about you?  I never keep track of things like that. I know it would bring nothing but unnecessary stress, so I never snoop or ask around to check if anyone’s been talking not-so-nicely about me behind my back.

Have you ever cried in school?  Maybe only about once or twice in the 18 years I was in school. I absolutely hate crying in front of people, and I mainly do it when I’m alone. I don’t think I’ve even ever cried in front of Angela; that’s how much I hate it.

Last person of the opposite sex you screamed at?  I don’t remember ever screaming at a guy.

Do you have any weird sleep habits?  I...wouldn’t know, since I’m asleep when I do them. I always sleep alone too, so no one would be able to tell me how I sleep. All I know is I’m not much of a mover and I usually wake up in the same position (or almost the same position) I fell asleep in.

Do you consider yourself an emotional person?  Yes, I’m sensitive in every sense of the word.

When was the last time you had a headache?  Last Wednesday when not eating for the entire day finally hit me like a truck by the end of my shift. :/

When was the last time you encountered a puppy? Cooper circa September.

Is there anything that happened a long time ago that you still laugh about?  Yes, many instances.

Do you ever try to interpret your dreams?  No, I don’t think anything of them beyond “just weird scenarios of people I know doing weird things.”

What was the last thing you bought impulsively?  Three orders of sushi, 24 pieces in total.

How do you feel about singing songs out loud in front of other people? No amount of money would make me do it.

When was the last time you were feeling really, really nervous?  This afternoon when a supplier we’re currently working with asked to call. Normally my manager would be the one mainly in touch with people like them, but since she was out today I was next in line.

If you’re no longer in school, what is something you miss about it? If you’re still in school, what’s something you think you’re going to miss about it? I miss seeing my friends everyday and being able to hang out after our classes, even if it just means sitting at a table doing nothing together.

Do you use your turn signals when you’re driving?  Excessively. I use it even in the subdivision lmao, or on one-way roads.

How exactly are you feeling right now?  Content. It’s a little hot and mosquitoes keep flying around me, but I’m not letting these affect my mood. Just focusing on the fact that it’s a Friday night and I can let go of work for a couple of days.

Have you ever had to board up your windows because of a hurricane?  Never happened before. I just close up my windows completely so that they don’t slam if ever the wind gets too strong.

Do you tell anyone to chew with their mouths closed?  I don’t recall ever feeling the need to do this. The sound doesn’t bother me much anyway; definitely not as much as it annoys most people.

Have you ever ordered pizza and sent it to someone else’s house?  Yup I did that for Angela and Kata recently, for my birthday, along with truffle mac and cheese. Basically my favorite orders from Mama Lou’s, haha.

What was the first thing you drank when you woke up this morning? I believe it was water.

Do you think stretch marks from having a baby are ugly or badges of honor?  Ugh this question is so outdated I don’t even want to take the time to answer it.

Ever done a keg stand?  No.

Who is the last person you lent money to?  I don’t lend my money.

Do you share clothing with anyone?  Mmm, sometimes. It’s usually me borrowing clothes from my sister, though.

Have you ever visited anyone in a rehab?  Nope.

Was the last thing you drank a Coke or Pepsi product?  No, it was just water. I’d never be caught craving for soda.

Honestly, do you think that you’re going to be an overprotective parent? No. I experienced having strict parents, so I know it’s not something I would want to pass on to my kids. I want my kids to be able to go out with friends and attend parties and get tattoos (when they’re older) and express their identity without being scared of me.

What was the last kind of chips you ate?  Piattos cheddar chips.

What is one thing that you really wish you could understand, but don’t?  Investing and stocks.

What is the last thing you charged?  My laptop.

Have you ever held a snake?  Yes. I’m always the only one in the family willing to do things like this when we go on vacations haha.

[naturallytom]

Great Perhaps (Peter Parker x reader)

a/n: this is by far the longest oneshot ive ever written (10,292 words babey!!) but i really love how this turned out!! i hope u enjoy!! just a few notes; 1) this is based off looking for alaska so it’ll loosely follow the premise of it but it’s not exactly the same, 2) i don’t have a taglist so any & all posts will be tagged ‘oneshot: great perhaps’!! 3) endgame never happened in this lmao

warnings: language, making out, underage drinking, mentions/descriptions of bad mental health, mentions of suicidal thoughts, mentions/descriptions of death, grief, sadness™

please reblog/leave feedback!! 

moodboard/teaser

102 days before (8/24/19) Peter groaned, wiping the sweat off his forehead. Stacking up the last of the boxes, he sighed, grabbing the water bottle from his now empty dresser and gulping it all down. Leaving his room, he entered the kitchen where May was, making dinner for Peter’s last night home. “Hey May. Is dinner ready?” Peter asked, sweat drenching his clothes. “Not yet, go take a shower!” May grinned, knowing that’s exactly what Peter was going to ask. “Awesome, thanks May.” Peter replied, heading off to the bathroom. He tried not to think about not seeing Ned or MJ for a while, at least until Thanksgiving. MJ was going to NYU and Ned was taking a gap year to travel, but planned his travels so he’d be home for Thanksgiving to see his best friend. He felt the lukewarm water making contact with his skin, Peter sighing in relief. With the late August heat, warm showers felt like hell, but cold showers were still uncomfortable so Peter was stuck trying to compromise. It had been nearly a year since Peter got out of the soul stone. The months had been long, filled with therapy and nightmares, but he had made incredible progress and was ready to leave New York to go to a new state and get a fresh start at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He hopped out of the shower, throwing on some sweats and an old shirt, before joining May in the kitchen. “Perfect timing, dinner’s ready!” May smiled, Peter sitting down as May served him spaghetti and meatballs with a side of salad. “I bet you’re hungry, been packing all day!” May commented, a sad smile gracing her lips. 

She was so proud of Peter, but she would miss him tremendously when he was at school. When Tony Stark knocked on her door to tell her Peter was gone, her world had ended. When he knocked on her door again, this time with a weak Peter, she hugged him so tightly Peter thought he couldn’t breathe. He didn’t mind it, though, he had felt so empty in the soul stone it was nice to feel contact with someone else again. Peter didn’t even have to apply to MIT, Tony knew what an extraordinary kid Peter was and when Peter said he wanted to go to Massachusetts for college, he used his connections to hook him up with a full ride when him and May were sure the nightmares had stopped, or at least weren’t happening as frequently. “Yeah. I mean you were too, but you got a break.” Peter teased, May feigning offense. “To make you dinner!” Peter chuckled, taking another bite of his favorite meal. After dinner, Peter helped May clean up. “You’re not gonna go back to your room just yet, right? Gonna stay out here for a bit?” May asked quietly, thinking of all the times in the days and weeks after Peter’s return that he shut May out, often returning to his room immediately after dinner without saying a word. As the months and therapy went on, Peter began opening up more and spending more time with May again. “Yeah.” He nodded, seeing her smile and pull out a DVD. “Anchorman.” She smiled. “Figured we could both use some comedy.” Peter grinned, seeing her pull out ice cream as well. “I got some ice cream, figured we could have a little movie night before you go.” She offered, Peter getting the ice cream scooper out. “Just like old days, yeah?” “Just like old days.” - The next morning, Peter woke up with a pit in his stomach. He was so ready to get a fresh start, but he was leaving his home. He was leaving May, Ned, MJ. “Honey? Ned is here!” May called, knocking on Peter’s door, before opening it and letting Ned in, who couldn’t get more than two feet with the boxes everywhere. “Hey man.” Peter greeted, getting out of bed. “Hey Peter, I know you’re leaving soon, but I wanted to stop by and say goodbye. Again.” He said, his voice cracking. “Aw man, it’s okay. I’ll be back before you know it!” Peter comforted his best friend, giving him a hug. “Yeah, but, I’ll miss you.” Ned whispered. “I’ll miss you too. Facetime me?” Peter asked, his voice low. “Yeah. Yeah of course. Good luck, man. Go save the world.” Ned smiled sadly, giving Peter one last hug before Peter walked him out. “Well, Peter. Today’s the day.” May sighed. “How do you feel?” “Nervous. ‘M scared to leave you. But I’m excited.” He answered honestly, chuckling when May pulled him into a tight hug. “I love you, you know that right? A-And you can always call me. Or Tony. He may get to you faster but both of us are here for you.” She rambled, the tears she had built up finally spilling over. “It’s okay, May, I know. I’ll call you a lot, I promise.” Peter comforted. May pulled away, cupping her nephew’s cheeks and pressing a kiss to his forehead. “Let’s go pack the car, okay? We have a long drive.” - After a three hour and twenty eight minute drive, May was finally pulling up to MIT. “Why don’t you go to your residence hall and check in? I’ll wait here and see if we can park here or if I have to move.” May suggested, Peter nodding in response. He hesitated before he opened the car door and heading over to his residence hall. “Hey! Welcome to MIT, what’s your name?” The student asked. “P-Peter. Peter Parker.” He answered. “You’re on the second floor. 218.” The student smiled, handing Peter his ID. “Thanks.” Peter mumbled, before going out to find May, when someone approached him. “Hey, you Peter Parker?” He asked. Peter nodded in confusion. “I’m Thomas, your roommate. I just heard you check in.” Thomas introduced, extending his hand, Peter shaking it. “Hey- have you heard about a girl? Supposedly her name’s y/n, she knows one of my friends, Oliver. I’m sure she’s nice but apparently she’s super well known.” Tom told Peter, who shook his head. “No I haven’t. Hey, Thomas-” “Call me Tom!” Tom interrupted. “Alright, Tom! I’m gonna go find my aunt, I’ll see you back here.” Peter told him, earning a nod from his roommate. Peter made his way back to May, who had already began unpacking. “Peter! You all checked in?” May asked, wiping some sweat from her forehead. “Yeah. Met my roommate too. Said something about a girl named y/n who knows his friend Oliver.” Peter relayed the information Tom told him to his aunt while helping her unpack the boxes. “Hopefully they’re nice, honey.” “Yeah, I can’t wait to meet them.” - Hours later and Peter was moved in with Tom and all of them were drenched in sweat. Tom and his parents had gone to see what the rest of the evening entailed, while May and Peter hung out in the dorm. “Alright well, you’re moved in. Anything else you need?” May asked. “Maybe we should see where the counseling center is. You know, just incase.” Peter said, May nodding. “Of course, honey. Then let’s get some food.” She said, putting her hands on her nephew’s shoulders. The pair had found the counseling center, before going to get food. They ate with minimal conversation, neither of them wanting to say the one word they had to, though May would be staying in a nearby hotel because of the long drive. Eventually, the time had come and the two had to part. “Promise me you’ll call me if you need anything? You know I’m right up the street for tonight and my phone is always on incase you need me and you have Tony’s number- Oh! Let me give you Ned’s mom’s number in case you ever want to talk to her instead and-” “May, May, I promise I’ll call. I’ll be okay, yeah?” Peter promised, placing his hands on her shoulders. She pulled him into a hug, Peter tucking his head into May’s neck, a habit he had picked up since he returned. “See you tomorrow, goodnight. Sweet dreams. I love you so much.” May whispered against his forehead before placing a kiss there. “I love you too, have a good night.” Peter responded. - Opening his dorm, he was met with his roommate on his laptop. “Hey Peter.” Tom greeted. “Hey Tom.” Peter responded, getting a bag ready to go take a shower. “Listen, when you get back, I think we should get to know each other.” Tom told him. Peter groaned internally. He didn’t feel like recalling his time in the soul stone tonight. He never did, but especially not tonight. He wanted to sleep peacefully, without nightmares brought on by those memories. “Yeah, uh, sounds good.” Peter responded, before heading to the showers. When he returned, Tom was still there, still clicking away on his computer. “So where ya from?” Tom asked him. “Queens. You?” ‘I’m from Providence. It’s in Rhode Island. What are you majoring in?” He replied. Peter put his things away, hopping onto his bed. He hoped Tom didn’t bring up the Avengers or what happened after he returned at all that night. “Brain and cognitive science with a minor in biology. How about you?” Peter responded, opening his phone to see a text from May, saying that she missed him already. Peter’s friends and family were surprised when he said he wanted to major in brain and cognitive science and minor in biology. They were sure he’d do chemistry or engineering of some sort. The other person who wasn’t surprised was Tony, but that was because Peter told him. After nearly a year of dealing with anxiety, numbness, and PTSD, Peter told Tony that he wanted to study what goes on in the human brain so he could figure out what what was wrong with him. Tony told him the symptoms he was continually experiencing were quite common, and to try not to think of it as there was something was something wrong with him, rather that he was in the process of healing and that it takes time. Peter wasn’t convinced, but accepted the explanation. “Nuclear science and engineering.” Tom told him, Peter muttering a “that’s cool” before turning his attention back to his phone to reply to May. “So you haven’t heard of her? Y/N?” Tom asked, breaking the silence. “No, why?” Peter replied, confused as to why Tom was so hung up on her. Maybe it was his ex, maybe it was his crush. Whatever the case, Peter didn’t see the big deal. “I guess we’ll find out a little later in the week. She’s friends with my friend and he said she’s cool but kinda shady.” Tom said, still typing away on his computer while Peter, though it was early, went to sleep, hoping he had a peaceful sleep. - Peter woke up at 6 am the next morning. He didn’t have any nightmares, but he didn’t sleep great. Maybe it was the feeling of anxiety he felt the entire night, maybe it was because it wasn’t his own bed from home. He grabbed some shorts and a t-shirt, heading to the bathroom to change and wash his face. Glancing in the mirror, Peter sighed. He had no sense of identity anymore, before he could say he was Spiderman, a hero, a kid genius. Now he felt as if his experience in the soul stone was his identity and it was filled with an empty hole. He splashed some water on his hair, trying to get his curls looking at least decent before leaving the bathroom. - “Okay honey. Time for me to go.” May said, holding Peter at arms length. Her voice cracked when she spoke, making tears fill up in Peter’s eyes as he nodded. “I love you. Please call. And no drugs or alcohol, please. If you’re gonna drink do it responsibly. I don’t want to get a phone call saying you’re in the hospital for drug or alcohol related accidents.” She cried, pulling her nephew in for a tight hug. Peter nodded into her shoulder. “I love you too.” He muttered, wiping his eyes. “I’ll see you soon, yeah?” May said, assuring both of them. “Yeah. Have a safe trip home.” He told her, making her nod. “I’ll text you when I get home, alright?” She smiled sadly. Peter once again nodded wordlessly, giving her one last hug before he watched her get into the car and drive off. “Hey! Peter!” He heard. Wiping his eyes, he turned around to see Tom standing there with another guy and a girl. “Hey man this is my friend Oliver and the girl I told you about. This is y/n.” **Peter had never seen a girl so beautiful. She was radiant and her beauty was so effortless. Everything seemed to move in slow motion when she moved, her hair blowing gently in the late summer breeze behind her. “Hey. I’m y/n.” She introduced, holding out her hand. Peter was frozen, captivated by her before he finally placed his hand in hers, shaking it gently. “P-Peter. I’m Peter.” He stammered. She smiled and Peter swore the sun got a little brighter. “C’mon. I’ll introduce you to some friends.” She offered, Peter smiling and following her. They made their way to an empty classroom, where there was a group of people all sat in empty desks. “Geez y/n we thought you wouldn’t show up.” One of them said, Y/N rolling her eyes. “Oh be quiet you know how I am.” She replied, a smile on her face. “She’s right.” A softer voice giggled. “Peter these are my friends. Simon, Charlotte and Paige. You already know Thomas and Oliver. Everyone, this is Peter. He’s Tom’s roommate.” y/n introduced. Everyone nodded and smiled, Peter returning the gestures as they sat down. “Simon and Paige are dating and Charlotte and Oliver are dating. I’m sure Tom would’ve told you by now if he was taken.” She grinned, Tom rolling his eyes. “Hey I’m trying, okay? College is supposed to be full of cute girls.” Tom pouted. “We haven’t even started classes! We only just moved in today!” Paige pointed out. “How could you possibly be trying?” “Hey y/n why don’t you tell us your relationship status since you’re roasting Tom about his!” Oliver interrupted, his arm around Charlotte, who giggled. y/n raised her hands in surrender, a soft smile on her lips. “It’s complicated.” She answered, winking at Peter, who blushed. - Peter spent most of the day with his new group of friends, getting to know each of them and each of them getting to know Peter. They knew he was Spiderman and that he returned from the soul stone, but respected him when he said he didn’t want to talk about his return or experience in the soul stone and didn’t bring it up. The group decided to get dinner before going their separate ways to prepare for the first day of classes the next day. “So you like her? y/n?” Tom asked as him and Peter entered their room. “Hm? Yeah. Yeah she’s nice.” He replied, reaching into his pocket to get his phone to text May. To his surprise, when he opened the message app, y/n had texted him, asking him if he wanted to get lunch the next day. Peter was confused. This was sent to only him, not the group chat they had made. “I’m going to take a shower!” Tom told Peter. Peter nodded, telling him he was gonna go take a walk around campus and familiarize himself with the layout. - The summer night air felt nice against Peter’s skin. It wasn’t too hot, like it was earlier. But it wasn’t too cold, like Peter knew it would get as summer transitioned into fall. Looking up to the sky, Peter smiled when he wasn’t able to see a few constellations and stars against the navy blue with a hint of pink and yellow sky. “Peter?” A voice called. “That you?” Peter turned around, seeing y/n. “Hey.” He smiled. “Mind if I join you?” She asked, Peter shaking his head. “Not at all.” This time it was her turn to smile, her eyes sparkling under the minimal light from the building they were in front of and the moonlight. “So how do you know so many people already?” “Orientation.” She responded as the pair walked. “We all met at orientation and clicked right away.” “That’s really nice.” Peter replied honestly, y/n nodding in agreement. “So what else is there to know about you, Peter?” y/n asked. “I dunno. Not much really.” Peter shrugged. “Are you single or taken?” Peter felt his face heat up at the question. “Single. Why?” He answered, making her shrug. “‘M curious.” She told him, glancing at him. “Ever kissed anyone?” Peter shook his head. “Hm. I thought you would’ve by now, you’re cute.” She said, grinning when he blushed. “You know, it’s okay to struggle sometimes.” Peter’s eyes widened. “How did you-” “I saw you going to the counseling center with your mom.” She cut him off, making him nod. “I may go sometimes. I wanted to check it out. You were just there at the same time.” “My aunt.” She looked at him questioningly. “I was with my aunt. Both of my parents died when I was younger.” He told her, answering the question she didn’t ask but Peter knew she would ask. “My dad died when I was young. ‘S just me and my mom.” She said. “I’m sorry. It sucks.” Peter spoke, making her nod enthusiastically in agreement. “The stars look so pretty at night.” She hummed, looking at the night sky decorated with the stars. “You like space, Peter?” “Not really.” He winced. “The stars do look nice, though.” “They do.” She sighed. “I love astronomy. I think it’s so interesting and space is so beautiful.” “I’m more of a chem person.” Peter answered simply, earning a ‘valid’ in response. “Well. I better get going. Classes tomorrow.” She grunted, pulling herself off the grass, Peter following her movements. “Well, it was nice talking to you.” Peter said. “Yup. I wanna do it again sometime.” She told him, grinning when he blushed again. “Do you mind if I kiss you?” She asked, taking Peter by surprise. “What? Is-isn’t your relationship status complica-” Peter was cut off by her lips on his cheek in a kiss that was over almost as quickly as it started. “I’m a complicated girl.” She winked. “See you tomorrow!” She called as she walked back to her dorm. As Peter walked back to his, his mind was reeling with what happened. He wondered why she wanted to kiss him, even if it was only on the cheek and why her relationship status was complicated. He wondered why she said she was complicated. Peter wanted those answers but coming from his own experience, he hated when people asked about personal things he didn’t want to talk about. His mind wandered to the interest he picked up after he returned: quotes. More specifically, last words. He loved regular quotes, ones that inspired him each and every day but since he became dwelling on his own last words, his focus shifted to last words. He became replaying his last words ‘I’m sorry,’ over and over again in the soul stone, wondering if anyone besides Tony knew his last words and if they made an impact on anyone. His favorite that he found was by Richard Feynman. He said “I’d hate to die twice. It’s so boring.” Peter hoped he wouldn’t die again for a long time or lose someone close to him. For Peter, death was more than boring. Death was emptiness; it was a void that was never filled no matter how much Peter yelled, screamed or cried in the soul stone. He hoped nobody would ever feel that way. It never occurred to him that someone might be feeling that way while they were alive. 71 Days before (9/24/19) It was nearly a month into the semester and Peter was slowly but surely adjusting to college life. It had taken him a little while to get used to waking up in a place that wasn’t his apartment in New York and in the beginning, Peter found himself waking up in a panic some days because the thought of ‘what if I’m back in the soul stone?’ made its way up to the front of his head and manifested itself in his thoughts. Since it was nearly a month into the semester, midterms were coming up. Students all over campus were panicking about midterm grades and exams, as well as the occasional midterm project. Peter and his group of friends had been spending lots of time in the library, prepping for exams. Peter was most worried for his cellular and molecular neurobiology midterm. He understood the information, it was just a lot of information. Plus, he had three other exams to worry about. Despite the stress that came with midterms, Peter had enjoyed getting to know his new group of friends, particularly y/n. He still thought she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen and she intrigued him. She was closed off and reserved, yet was so open about other things. She barely had to study but got all As on her assignments. She was spontaneous, yet planned out things like getting lunch or dinner. She was an Anthropology and Humanities double major, a combination that would stress most people out to no end, but not her. Peter got lunch with her often, if he wasn’t eating with her, he was eating with Tom or the whole group was eating together. They laughed and joked around and most of the time on the weekends, they preferred to go to someone’s room, make a ton of popcorn and watch a movie rather than go to a party, though they did go to the occasional party and make fun of who was the funniest while drunk. While the weather was still nice, Peter found himself studying outside in the quad, looking over his google doc of notes and diagrams while listening to spotify-made playlist. He usually made his own, but since coming back, he found he barely had the energy or creative motivation to make new playlists. “Let me guess. Studying for cellular and molecular neurobiology.” A familiar voice interrupted the instrumental music playing softly in his headphones. Taking them off, he was greeted with y/n sitting across from him, smiling softly. He paused his music, putting his headphones away before turning to her. “How’d you know?” He chuckled. “‘S what you’re always studying for. Do you even study for your other exams?” She teased, making Peter roll his eyes, though he couldn’t ignore the way his heartbeat sped up. “Have you studied for any of your exams?” He retaliated, making her feign offense. “I have, actually! I studied a solid hour for my intro to anthropology exam!” She replied. “Wow I’m shocked.” Peter laughed. “Are you here to study or did you just want to come tell me that you studied for one exam?” “Wow, Parker. Wanna get rid of me that badly?” “F course not. If I wanted you gone so badly, I would’ve asked you leave ages ago.” He chuckled, earning another eye roll. “Listen, midterms are over on Friday for both of us.” She started, Peter nodding. “Wanna do something fun Friday night?” “Like what?” Peter asked, curious as to what she had in mind. “Dunno.” She shrugged. “Like a party or something.” “Yeah sure. Um, is everyone else going?” Peter felt his heartbeat pick up again as y/n shook her head. “Nah. Pretty sure some of them got midterms on Monday. Besides, I think we should be able to have a night to ourselves. Don’t ya think?” She asked him, eyes wide and sparkling under the fall sunlight. “Yeah. Yeah for sure.” He answered nervously. “Cool! I’ll text you on Friday to tell you the details!” She spoke enthusiastically, getting up from the table, giving Peter a wave before heading off in the direction of their res hall. - Friday was here before Peter knew it and while the thought of his exam was all he could think about at first, after he finished his exam, he felt himself getting nervous about going out with y/n. Was it a date? Did she like him? Did he like her? His thoughts were interrupted by his phone vibrating, signaling he got a text. Checking his phone, he saw it was from y/n, telling him to swing by her dorm around 8 to head over to the party she had decided on. He replied, telling her that sounded like a good plan, before checking the time. 5:30 pm. He sighed before texting Tom to see if he wanted to get dinner. Tom replied quickly, telling Peter that sounds good and to meet him in the dining hall. Peter made his way to the dining hall, seeing Tom walking up to the entrance. “Tom!” Peter called, waving at his roommate from a few feet away. Tom paused and waited for Peter, greeting him with a pat on the shoulder. The pair headed inside, asking each other about their days and if they had any exams and if they did, how they went. The conversation was mundane until they finally sat down with their food. “So do you have any plans for tonight?” Tom asked. “Uh, yeah. y/n and I are gonna go to a party.” Peter responded, seeing Tom tense up. “Just you and her?” Tom asked, Peter nodding. “She said it’s to celebrate finals being over for us.” He replied, Tom sighing. “Is there something going on between the two of you?” Tom looked at Peter, hoping he’d tell the truth. “I dunno. Don’t think so.” Peter muttered. “Do you want there to be something between the two of you?” Peter only shrugged at this question, the two of them eating in near silence before they headed back to their room. Peter got ready fairly quickly, letting Tom know when he was planning on leaving to go get y/n. “Be careful, man.” Tom cautioned. “Yeah I will, don’t worry.” Peter responded casually. “No I mean with y/n. You don’t know her.” Tom warned, Peter mumbling a response before leaving. Peter knocked on y/n’s door, smiling when she swung open the door. “Ready to go?” She asked, Peter nodding. “Where are we going?” Peter asked, curious as to what party she had found. “Just a frat party on campus should be fun.” She replied, leading the way to the party. They arrived in a few minutes, y/n greeting the boy at the door, briefly introducing Peter before dragging him to the kitchen where the drinks were, grabbing shots glasses, pouring alcohol into one and handing it to Peter. “What is this?” Peter asked as y/n finished her first shot. “Vodka. Drink.” She instructed, taking another shot. Peter did as she told, nearly vomiting at the feeling of the alcohol running down his throat. She poured him another, and another, and another until they were both drunk enough to let loose, but not enough to blackout. Don’t Tell ‘Em played hazily in the background, Peter and y/n dancing as well as they could with the alcohol in their system. When My First Kiss came on, y/n turned around to face Peter, throwing her arms around his neck. “You’ve never been kissed before, right?” She asked, Peter shaking his head. “Perfect.” Next thing he knew, her lips were on his in a messy kiss, her hands cupping his cheeks while his made their way to her waist. Peter knew in the back of his mind that they would have too talk about this at some point, but between her lips on his and the alcohol in his veins, he couldn’t find it in himself to care and pushed the thought away to deal with it another day. 50 days before (10/15/19) It had just about been a month since Peter and y/n went to the frat party and they hadn’t talked about what had happened. Peter brought it up to her briefly, but y/n had brushed it off as being and it not meaning anything. Peter couldn’t lie, that hurt, but he tried to ignore it. That worked for a while, he was able to ignore the butterflies he got in his stomach when she was around and the way his heart beat faster when she walked in the room. But then they kissed again. And again. And again. Currently, she was sat on Peter’s lap, both of them fully engrossed in a messy kiss, her hands cupping his cheeks, his resting softly on her waist. “Hey,” He mumbled as she pulled away. “Can I ask you something?” “You just did.” She replied, her eyes still focused on his swollen lips. “What are we? What is this?” He asked, gesturing to the space between them. “We’re friends, Peter.” She muttered. “Friends don’t kiss. At least not the way we do.” He replied. “Fuck, Peter. We’re just fucking friends.” y/n groaned, climbing off his lap. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. If you wanna be just friends, we can be just friends.” Peter soothed, as much as it hurt him. “Good. We’re just friends.” She grumbled, turning away from the door. Peter sat down on his bed, allowing her to climb right back onto his lap, Peter brushing some of her hair out of her face. “You’re really pretty.” He sighed, earning an eye roll from her. “Shut up and kiss me.” She mumbled, pressing her lips to his. Their kiss was interrupted when Tom walked in, immediately groaning and covering his eyes. “Jesus can you two get a room?” He grumbled, putting his stuff. “Technically, we did.” y/n giggled, making Peter smile and Tom roll his eyes before y/n turned back to Peter. “I better get going.” She climbed off his lap once again, this time Peter following her, watching as she put her shoes on, before giving Peter one last kiss and leaving. “Sure there’s nothing going on between you two?” Tom asked, sitting down at his desk and taking out his computer. “Nope. She says we’re just friends.” Peter insisted, taking out some homework to work on. “Well what do you say?” Peter shifted uncomfortably under his roommate’s gaze. “I say…whatever she wants to be, that’s what we’ll be.” Peter responded. “I’m telling you, man. You gotta be careful. She’s playing you.” Tom warned. “I’ve talked to Paige and Simon and they said that y/n told them she’s been hooking up with some frat boy on campus.” Peter felt his heart clench at the revelation, but didn’t say anything, rather, put some music on and focused on his homework, even though it was Saturday and he’d much rather be reading a book or playing video games. The next day, Peter went to y/n’s room, where rather than make out, y/n just wanted to talk. “What d’you want to talk about?” Peter asked nervously, y/n shrugging as she let him into her room. “Anything and everything.” She replied, laying down on her bed, motioning for Peter to join her. “What’s something no one knows about you?” Peter thought for a minute before responding. “I, uh, kind of got interested in last words and quotes about death after I came back.” “Why?” y/n asked, looking up at Peter. “I don’t know. I guess I had just had so much time to reflect on mine before I came back, I just wanted to know what other people had to say.” “That’s fair.” She replied. “What was it like?” “What was what like?” Peter answered nervously, knowing she meant being in the soul stone, but wanting to hear her say it. “Being in the soul stone.” She told him, making the knot in Peter’s stomach grow tighter. “Um,” He sighed. “It was really dark. And empty. And cold. No matter how much I yelled or screamed, no one heard me.” “Do you think that’s what it’s like when we die?” She asked, looking up at her ceiling. “Yeah. I think that’s exactly what it’s like when we die.” Peter told her honestly. “Wow.” She sighed. “Yeah. Wow.” Peter felt her move to lay down on his chest. “Do you have plans for Thanksgiving?” “Nope. I was planning on staying here. That’s far away, though.” She replied. “Really? Not going home?” He asked, surprised. “Nah. Going home is hell for me. I’d be going home to a loveless house.” “You could come to my apartment.” Peter offered, making her look up at him yet again, this time her eyes full of surprise and hope. “Really?” “Yeah I could ask my aunt. ‘M sure she wouldn’t mind, though. Especially given your circumstances.” He assured her. “Wow, uh, yeah, sure Peter! I’d love that.” y/n grinned, cuddling back into his chest. The two of them laid in silence for a little bit before Peter decided to confront y/n with what Tom had told him the day before. “Hey y/n?” He asked. When he got no reply, he looked down to find the girl fast asleep on his chest. He smiled, giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead, deciding that asking her about who she was hooking up with could wait for another day. - It wasn’t until Wednesday of the next week that Peter could ask y/n about what Tom had told him. “Hey y/n? Can I talk to you about something?” He asked, sitting next to her on a picnic table outside in between classes. “Sure. What’s up?” She replied, looking up from her anthropology book. “Uh, someone told me that you were hooking up with a frat boy on campus. Is, um, that true?” He scratched the back of his neck, something he did when he was nervous. “Yup.” She replied. “So what am I?” Peter couldn’t help himself asking. “What are you? Peter you’re my friend. We’ve been over this.” She groaned. “y/n you’re just using me.” Peter snapped. “Yeah, and? I don’t date, Peter. You should know this by now.” y/n replied, both of them getting frustrated. “Okay so you don’t date. But you’re leading me on and hooking up with other guys in your free time!” “Not my fault you fell for me, Peter. And if you seriously can’t deal with me simply making out with you and nothing else, maybe we shouldn’t be friends anymore.” She spoke harshly. “I’m not gonna keep hurting myself to please you.” Peter mumbled softly after a moment of silence.

“Okay. Bye, then.” She waved him off, turning back to whatever she was doing, while Peter walked away, unsure of how this would affect everyone else in their friend group. 

20 days before (11/14/19) Barely a month had passed since the fight between Peter and y/n. Tom, Paige, and Simon supported Peter and his argument while Charlotte and Oliver favored y/n’s side. The group all hung out together, but there was an unspoken tension in the air that was splitting them apart. Thanksgiving was coming up, but with Thanksgiving, came finals soon after. All the students kept this in the back of their minds, but still looked forward to their few days off. Peter had texted May briefly, but hadn’t called her in a while or told her what really happened between him and y/n. He was in the middle of doing homework when he felt his phone vibrating, prompting him to pick up and check, seeing an incoming call from May. “Hello?” He answered. “Hey honey! How are you?” May asked cheerily. “‘M okay, just doing homework.” Peter responded. “Yeah? How are your classes going?” May’s voice softened when she heard her nephew’s soft voice. “Good. They’re good.” He told her, almost sensing the frown on the other side of the phone. “And you, Peter? How are you doing?” May asked again. “‘M doing okay.” He told her, hearing her sigh. “Peter, sweetheart, you can be honest with me.” May told him. “Are you going to the counseling center?” “No, I don’t need to. ‘M not having nightmares.” Peter replied honestly. “Well that’s great honey, but you don’t sound like you’re doing alright mentally.” May pointed out, Peter sighing. “It’s a long story, May.” He nearly whispered. “I got into a fight with one of my friends.” “Aw sweetie I’m sorry. You wanna talk about it?” She asked sympathetically. Peter shook his head, forgetting that May couldn’t see him. “No, ‘s okay. I’ll tell you about it over Thanksgiving.” He responded, “Okay honey. I can’t wait to see you again.” She smiled. “Can’t wait to see you too, May. ‘M excited to come home.” He breathed. As much as he loved college, he was getting homesick. “Good. I’m glad. I miss you, Peter.” May told him. “Miss you too, May.” Peter sighed. “I’ll let you get back to your homework now. Love you, Peter.” May smiled. “Love you too, May. See you soon.” Peter said, hanging up and putting his phone down. He did a couple more problems before he was interrupted by Tom coming into the room. “Hey man.” Tom greeted, taking out one of his earphones. “How were your classes today?” “I mean they were good but I’m so tired. I could fall asleep right now.” Peter chuckled. “Oh same. I just wanna sleep.” Tom replied. “Early night tonight?” “If I can finish these problems.” Peter laughed. “Did you wanna get dinner tonight?” Tom nodded. “Wanna go soon?” Peter felt his stomach growl. “Yeah. For sure.” “Cool. I think I’m gonna take a quick shower and then we can go?” Tom suggested. “Sounds good.” Peter told his roommate, who gathered his stuff before heading to the bathroom. Peter watched as Tom walked out before turning his attention back to his homework, trying to concentrate. His mind however, filled with thoughts of y/n. Even though they had fought and even though she hurt him, he still couldn’t stop thinking of her. To Peter, y/n was the prettiest girl he had ever met. The thoughts of her were still enough to give him butterflies and make his heart beat a little faster. He wished they hadn’t fought. He wished he could still be with her but as her boyfriend. His thoughts were interrupted by Tom coming in, towel drying his hair as soon as the door closed. “Ready to go?” Tom asked Peter, who nodded. “Yeah.” He responded quietly, making Tom look at him with concern. “You okay, man?” Tom checked, Peter nodding slowly. “Yeah. ‘M fine.” He muttered. Tom didn’t think Peter was fine, but he dropped it. If there was one thing he learned about Peter since meeting him, it was that Peter would open up if and when he was ready, but not to pry.

7 days before (11/28/2019) “I think you should talk to her.” May told her nephew at Thanksgiving dinner. Just like previous years, it was just the two of them enjoying a meal they made together. “What if she doesn’t want to talk to me?” Peter asked quietly, taking a bite of turkey. “Sweetheart it’s thanksgiving. Didn’t you say she wasn’t going home for the holiday? She’s probably all by herself at school. Give her a call.” May responded. Peter sighed, knowing she was right. He smiled softly, letting his aunt know he would call y/n when dinner was over. The two finished their meal with Peter telling May all about school and how classes were going and which finals he was most worried about. When they were done, May excused Peter to give y/n a call rather than help her with dishes like she usually insisted he do. “Are you sure?” He asked, May smiling and nodding in response. “It’s getting late, go call her before it gets too late.” May instructed. Peter thanked her and told her he’d be back to help her after he got off the phone. As he made his way to his room, Peter felt the pit in his stomach grow. What would he say? What would she say? He took a seat on his bed, took a deep breath, and pulled out his phone, glancing through the text messages from Mj and Ned who were both asking when they’d see him again. He made a mental note to reply to them afterwards. Dialing her number, he shakily brought the phone to his ear while it rang. The more the phone rang, the more nervous Peter got. The phone rang and rang and rang and eventually Peter thought she wouldn’t pick up until- “Hello?” “y/n?” Peter asked, shocked she picked up. “Peter.” She responded simply. “Um, Happy Thanksgiving.” He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. “Happy Thanksgiving. You at home?” She asked, Peter nodding even though she couldn’t see him. “Yeah, I am. Where are you?” He asked, this time she shrugged on the other side of the phone, even though he couldn’t see her. “At school.” She told him. A silence took over the pair before Peter broke it. “Hey y/n?” His voice was soft, almost a whisper. “Yeah Peter?” “‘M sorry about the fight.” He mumbled. “Me too, Peter. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” She said softly. “‘S okay. I miss you.” Peter smiled sadly. “Miss you too. You coming back on Sunday?” She asked. “Yeah. Looking forward to finals.” Peter chuckled. “Shut up. Don’t remind me.” She laughed. “Wanna hang out when you get back?” “Of course.” Peter answered. “Awesome. See ya then.” She grinned. “See you then. Nice talking to you, y/n. Hope you had a nice holiday.” “You too, Peter.” And with that, they hung up, both of them relieved. Peter texted Mj and Ned back before heading back to the kitchen where May was setting up dessert. “Hey honey! How was it?” May smiled. “Good. Really good. We’re okay.” Peter answered, smiling. “Good. I’m glad.” May grinned. “Me too, May.” 1 day before (12/3/2019) y/n was in Peter and Tom’s room. The three of them were hanging out and y/n had a little too much to drink. Both boys knew she kept alcohol in her room and knew she must’ve been drinking before she sloppily knocked on their door. 

It was entertaining, though. She was rambling and telling funny stories, Peter thought she was adorable. “I can’t believe finals are soon.” She gasped suddenly, sitting up on Peter’s bed. “Came up fast, didn’t they?” Peter chuckled. “So fast. Like…like a race car on a racetrack.” She mumbled, eyes wide. “Oh my god..I’m in college!” “Pretty sure you have been for the past three months.” Tom chuckled. “Well yeah but I didn’t ever think I’d make it to college.” She responded. “Thought I’d be dead by now. Surprised I held on for so long.” Peter and Tom went silent. They knew exactly what she meant, though it was a shock to them. She was so happy and energetic, seemed like the happiest girl in the world. Neither of them suspected she was anything but happy most of the time. “Wanted to die for so fucking long.” She mumbled softly. “‘M doing better, though. I feel better.” “That’s good, y/n. Really good.” Peter told her honestly. “Won’t feel good in a few hours though.” She muttered, taking a sip of vodka from a half empty mini bottle. “Will feel sick.” “Uhh where’d you get that?” Tom asked, confusion taking over both him and Peter’s faces. “This?” She responded, holding up the mini bottle of alcohol. “Brought it over here. Want some?” Tom shook his head. “Peter?” She offered. Peter shook his head. “Well,” She shrugged. “More for me.” She continued drinking until the bottle was empty. “Peter.” She spoke, sloppily moving over to Peter, who was sitting on the floor. “Yeah y/n?” He replied. “I like you. A lot.” She giggled, resting her head on his chest. “I like you too.” He smiled. “No! No like…I like you. In a more than a friend way.” She giggled again. Peter froze, not knowing what to say or how to react. “Oh shit.” Tom mumbled. “I really do.” “y/n you’re drunk..” Peter’s voice trailed off. “Drunk words are sober thoughts, Peter.” She said softly, laying on his chest a little longer before sitting up. “I’m gonna go back to my room.” “Are you in the right condition to walk back on your own?” Peter asked. “It’s only a few doors down, Peter. I’ll be fine.” She laughed. “You sure?” Tom asked, earning a nod from y/n, who got up, stumbling slightly. “Peter, we will continue this later.” She declared, giggling before leaving their room. Peter and Tom chuckled, before getting ready for bed. Peter picked up the now empty mini vodka bottle, threw it away, turned off the lights and him and Tom went to sleep without a second thought. 

After 

Peter and Tom woke up the next morning to one of their RAs knocking on the door, announcing a hall meeting. They stepped out, choosing to simply sit in front of their doors, as most of the other sleepy students had chosen to do. “Okay guys,” one of the RAs said, their voice shaky. “Looks like everyone’s here so we’re gonna get started.” Peter glanced to his left, across from him, and to his right, but there was someone missing. y/n. “Wait!” Peter blurted out before he knew what he was doing. “y/n’s not here. should we wait for her?” The RAs glanced at each other, debating what to tell Peter. “Please?” Peter whimpered out. “Can we please just wait for her?” “We don’t usually announce things like this, especially not in this manner but since she lived on this floor, we thought this might be more appropriate. Last night y/n y/l/n was killed. She was walking around Cambridge when she was hit by a car. The driver wasn’t paying attention to the road and ran a red light. They hit her going full speed.” One of the RAs finally told the students, who gasped. “If any of you need any grieving resources, we’re here, but the school will also bring on grief counselors for anyone who needs them. There will also be an email sent out later today.” Peter didn’t hear the last bit. It felt as if he got the wind knocked out of him- the hall was spinning and he felt sick to his stomach. Tom sat there in shock, his hazel eyes filling with hot tears. “They’re lying.” Peter whimpered. “They have to be lying, Tom! We saw her last night- She can’t be dead! She went back to her room!” “I don’t think they’re lying, Peter.” Tom mumbled, hot tears spilling from his eyes. He didn’t bother wiping them away. “I don’t think she went back to her room last night.” “W-What if she’s okay, though? Maybe she’s just in the hospital or maybe…she died on impact.” Peter finished softly as reality began to set in. “She’s dead.” Tom nodded, bringing his roommate in for a tight hug in the middle of the hallway while all the other students went back to their rooms to process their emotions. “Peter? Tom?” One of their RAs approached them. “Do you guys need anything?” It was clear that they weren’t okay, but how could anyone be okay after getting news that their friend died? Peter and Tom both shook their heads. “Thanks though.” Tom told the RA who smiled sadly, giving them each a pat on the back, letting them know that they were there for them if they needed anything before they all went back to their dorms. Peter felt numb. There was no other way to describe it. He physically felt the tears falling down his cheek and the sunlight coming in through the window of his dorm, but emotionally he felt numb, as if someone froze his emotions. Tom and Peter sat on the floor of their room in silence that was broken by the occasional sniffle. Both of them sat still, allowing the tears to just run down their cheeks. 

“We have classes today.” Peter spoke quietly, standing up slowly. “Should get ready.” 

“Guess so.” Tom replied, both of them starting to get ready for the day. Unlike other mornings, the boys were silent as they got ready. There was no music that played, nor was there conversation between the two of them. They just got ready, grabbed their stuff, and went off to classes or to breakfast without a word. The rest of the day went by in a blur. Peter went from class to class in a daze, his body physically doing the actions of walking from building to building to his various classrooms, taking down notes and information he’d need to know for finals next week, but his mind was somewhere else. In his mind, y/n was alive. She was alive and thriving, making jokes and rambling about the stars and her favorite constellations. And that’s where Peter wanted his mind to be. He didn’t want it to be focused in reality and he didn’t want it going back to when he was on Titan, so his mind opted to be somewhere where y/n was happy and alive. It was a sunny day. It was sunny but that didn’t make sense to Peter because even though y/n was alive in his mind, he still saw people crying and he still heard people talking about it walking around campus. It didn’t feel like a sunny day because y/n wasn’t here with them on campus. It felt like it should be cloudy and rainy even though it was December and people would much rather prefer snow. May called him later that same evening, after she knew all his classes were done. She wanted to check up on Peter- she got the email from the school about what happened. “‘M okay, May. Really.” He told her. “Are you sure Peter? I know you guys were friends-” “Yeah. Yeah I’m sure. I have finals to worry about.” He assured his aunt, who didn’t believe for a minute that he was okay. And worry about finals is exactly what Peter did. Over the following week, he buried himself in his work, only taking a break to eat or to get a few hours of sleep. 

He seemed to be doing pretty okay on the outside. He saw his friends, he was eating and sleeping, and he felt pretty good about his finals (which, as a college student, is a rare occurrence so feeling good about finals is a different level of feeling good). 

Anyone who knew Peter, knew differently. He saw his friends- Simon, Oliver, Paige, and Charlotte, occasionally and only for a short amount of time. He was isolating and distancing himself from his friends, including Tom. They had all picked up on it. And Peter knew that on the inside, he wasn’t doing well. When he took food breaks, he ate very little. Nights were the worst. He could no longer look at the stars, they were just a reminder of y/n and she wasn’t there anymore to tell Peter if another planet was visible or if you could see the big dipper and outline it for him. He could barely sleep at night, the thoughts and nightmares keeping him up. In his nightmares he was back in the soul stone. Surrounded by darkness, completely alone. But then there was y/n, crossing a street. No matter how much he yelled and screamed, Peter would only be able to watch as a car collided with her body. So he did what he could. He went into denial, not allowing his feelings to surface and distracted himself with whatever he could. He attended the memorial service for y/n with his group of friends. As soon as it was over, he went right back to studying for his finals while his friends went to hang out and spend time with each other. Finals came and went, and soon it was time for Peter to go home. May picked him up, greeting him with a big hug and asking how finals went, followed by how he was doing. Both questions were answered with a simple, one word answer; good. May didn’t believe Peter. She noticed it pretty quickly- he was just like he was when he came back from the soul stone. Withdrawn and in denial. The pair enjoyed their holiday season and for a brief period of time, it looked like Peter genuinely was doing okay. That ended pretty quickly. Peter soon went back to spending time alone, cooped up in his room, shutting May out. It was New Year’s Eve when May called Tony. She told him what was going on with Peter, how he was exactly like he was upon return from the soul stone. Tony was worried about the kid. Grief and guilt are not easy to deal with, Tony knew that better than anyone so he told May he’d be there as soon as possible. It was 2 pm on New Year’s Eve when Tony knocked on Peter’s bedroom door. May went out to get Peter’s favorite foods for later. “May, I’m fine I told you-” “It’s not May, kid.” Tony replied. There was a pause and some shuffling before Peter opened the door, shock written on his face. “Mr. Stark? How did you-” “Your aunt called me. You wanna come out here or should I go in there?” Tony asked, glancing at the mess that was Peter’s room.

Peter wordlessly stepped out of his room, him and Tony taking a seat on the couch. Peter was, in simple terms, a mess. His eyes were red and puffy, his curls were wild and untamed, it was obvious the kid wasn’t doing well at all. 

“Why’re you here? Not that I don’t want to see you but May didn’t tell me you were stopping by.” Peter spoke, his voice hoarse. 

“She’s worried about you-” Tony started. 

“I’m fine.” “Yeah your current physical state and the state of your room really reflect that.” Tony replied sarcastically. “What’s going on, kid?” Peter paused for a moment, his eyes drifting down to his lap. “It was my fault.” He finally whispered, hot tears filling his eyes. “What was your fault?” Tony asked. “y/n’s death. She’s my friend.” Peter answered. “Er, was my friend.” “May told me about what happened. How was it your fault, Peter?” “I didn’t stop her. I didn’t walk her back to her room and make sure she was settled in. I didn’t tell her that she was too drunk to walk anywhere by herself. She said she was fine and I just believed her!” Peter muttered. “I should’ve done something. Maybe she’d be alive if I did.” “Peter, listen to me.” Tony told Peter, who had tears falling down his cheeks. “This was not your fault. You didn’t know she was going to go out after that, you believed her because she didn’t give you a reason not to. You can’t blame yourself for that. Trust me, I know what you’re feeling right now.” “No offense, Mr. Stark, but I don’t think you know anything about what I’m feeling.” Peter mumbled, a silence coming over the two of them. “Remember Titan?” Tony asked quietly, Peter closing his eyes and nodding. “When Thanos snapped?” Another nod from Peter. “Do you blame me for what happened to you?” Tony asked Peter, who shook his head furiously. “No! No absolutely not Mr. Stark! You couldn’t have known I’d be one of the ones who’d get dusted.” Peter assured Tony. “I blamed myself for so long.” Tony whispered, tears now filling his eyes. “But Mr. Stark it wasn’t your fault.” Peter told him. “I should’ve made sure you got sent home, I never should’ve let you on the spaceship. I should’ve done more to stop Thanos. I should’ve done more to save you.” Tony said. “Mr. Stark-” “Eventually I got to the point where I couldn’t live with the hypotheticals and being so totally consumed with the past.” Tony explained. “I had to move forward and accept that I did all I could.” “How long did that take?” Peter asked quietly. “Time, kid. It took time for me and it’ll take time for you. It doesn’t happen over night.” Tony smiled sadly. “Were you angry? Because..I’m really really angry.” Peter said, his voice still quiet. “What are you angry about?” Peter let out a breath before answering. “I’m angry at y/n for walking around Cambridge drunk. I-I know that’s not fair but if she just stayed in her room than maybe she’d still be here. I’m angry at the driver who ran the red light and hit her. I’m angry at the universe for taking her away.” Peter spoke, his voice getting louder until he paused and took a breath, allowing some tears to fall. “God, Mr. Stark! It’s not fair! I was happy! I was doing really well! And..and then all of a sudden she was gone! Is it me? Do I not deserve to be happy?” Tony pulled Peter into a hug, his body shaking with sobs. “That’s it, kid. Let it all out.” Tony soothed. “You’re gonna be okay. You’re gonna be okay.” Peter cried until he thought he’d run out of tears and then more would come. Eventually, Peter pulled away from the hug, wiping his eyes. “Sorry.” He mumbled, Tony shaking his head. “Don’t be sorry, kid. This is normal.” Tony assured him. “And, uh, you deserve to be happy. Sometimes these things happen and most times, the timing sucks. It doesn’t mean that you’re being punished for anything or that you don’t deserve to be happy.” “Sure feels like it.” Peter muttered. “I know it does.” Tony paused. “Have you put on your suit?” Peter knew what he was referring to. The suit Tony made for him that Peter got in Berlin. Peter shook his head. “No. Don’t feel like a hero right now.” He told Tony. “I know you don’t. You don’t have to put it on right now.” Tony assured him. “Do..do you think I could ever be able to put the suit on?” Peter asked hesitantly. He was scared for the answer. “I do.” Tony answered confidently. “It may take some time, and that’s okay.” “How much time does this…process take?” Peter asked, earning a shrug from Tony. “It depends, kid. It comes in waves.” Tony answered honestly. Peter nodded. “Guess I should clean up my room.” He said, a small smile tugging on his lips. “Don’t worry about it, kid. Take a shower first. You need to take care of yourself first.” Tony smiled, Peter nodding. “Yeah. Okay. Thanks, Mr. Stark.” He said sincerely, going to take a shower. Tony texted May and updated her before going to Peter’s room and cleaning up what he could, at least enough for Peter to walk in it again. When Peter came out from the shower, dressed in a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, Tony could see he looked much better, even if his little curls were flopping onto his forehead. May came home as well, bags of Peter’s favorite foods and a couple movies. She gave Peter a hug, rubbing his back softly, mouthing a ‘thank you’ to Tony. Tony gave Peter another hug before he left, telling Peter to call him or stop by whenever. Peter spent the rest of that night with May, eating ice cream and watching the ball drop at midnight. Over the course of his winter break, Peter started reaching out to friends more. He reached out to his college friends, the group of them deciding to go out for dinner at y/n’s favorite restaurant when they’re all back and settled at school. He reached out to Mj and Ned, the three of them reuniting. Tony was right. The grieving did come in waves. There would be days where Peter felt great and genuinely happy and days where he was sad and down and just needed to have a good cry. The nights became easier. Peter found that the nightmares were going away and if he did have one, he was able to fall back asleep. Little by little, he worked his way up to putting on the familiar blue and red suit, then to swinging around Queens again, until eventually, he found himself sitting on the rooftop of an apartment building, staring up at the stars. y/n was right. The stars were beautiful. He easily found her favorite constellation (the big dipper), a nearby star shining exceptionally bright. He knew that was her. Even though she wasn’t able to shine down on earth, Peter knew she was among the stars, shining down on him and their friends, a beautiful sign that maybe things would eventually be okay.

_______________________________________________________________________

[chazz-anova]

My official Far Cry 5 fanfic!

Alrighty everyone! After a LONG time, I’ve finally finished the first section of this fic and I am so excited to start posting it everywhere lmao, so please feel free to leave your comments in the replies I’d love to hear what people think! Now without further ado; here’s chapter 1!

Veronica glanced lazily at the clock, which read 3:28am. She'd gotten off work about 4 hours earlier, but couldn't seem to lull herself to sleep no matter how many drinks she had or smoke breaks she took. Lately, the young sheriff's deputy had felt unsettled, like she was stuck in a rut. Ice clinked in her Crown Royal glass as she raised it to her lips, finishing it with a swig. "What's wrong with me Olive?" She asked the calico cat that padded silently into the room. The cat replied with a dainty mew and climbed into Veronica's lap. While petting her companion, she glanced around her modest townhome. 

It was a tastefully furnished two story home with a balcony and a neighborhood pool. She sat on a powder blue couch that was joined by an armchair off to the side. The TV screen in front of her read 'Are you there? Press X to continue" Answering the question aloud, she muttered "Sometimes I wonder if I am still here" She lifted Olive off her lap and replaced her with an engraved silver tray, a baggie of weed, and a Cherry Dynamite flavoured Swisher. She may be a deputy, but some vices she was reluctant to give up. 

A few moments later- Veronica stepped out onto her balcony, blunt in hand. She slowly took in the familiar scenery, living right on the outskirts of Hope County afforded her one of the best views. The Whitetail Mountains towered over the town beyond, the neon lights of various restaurants and gas stations glowing upwards and framing the tall peaks in a surreal glow. Her gaze turned up to the stars, dazzling like diamonds on the velvet black sky. As she lit up and the lighter illuminated her balcony, the atmosphere shifted a degree 'Everything will be different soon.' The thought flew through her mind without warning, and she shivered as though possessed. "Jeez..." She murmured and took a long drag of the sweet smoke, shaking her head and praying for rest to come quickly, after this she’d go and try to lay in her bed until sleep overtook her finally. 

Running. Feet pounding the ground. Lungs shriveled and screaming for a full breath. Tears welled up in Veronica's eyes as she wind cut at her skin. In front of her, millions of faceless souls reached their hands out; grasping for her as she ran, seemingly suspended between them and what she ran from. The group was insistently whispering "Help. Help us." Veronica turned around, slowing a fraction. Behind her there was a plume of green smoke billowing out of an unseen source, threatening to take her mind and steal her heart if she got too close. The entities in front of her were murmuring "Please help us" "We need you". With each  pleading moan their voices grew; louder and louder until their words were a guttural, rasping cacophony of screams. And just as suddenly as they appeared, they were gone and replaced by deafening silence. The air seemed to be holding its breath, and Veronica turned to see the smoke gone as well, leaving her alone in the blackness. 

Upon waking, Veronica gasped and clutched her heart, which was fighting to escape her chest with each beat. “Fuck!” She exclaimed and looked around her room. In the darkness she saw everything was normal, her desk and computer stood in front of her and no one occupied the chair in the corner to her relief. She took her phone from the nightstand and saw that it was only 6:20am. “Man, screw this.” She burrowed back under the black covers and pulled them over her head. 

The next time she awoke- gentle sunlight streamed in through the half open curtains and her eyes fluttered open. Checking her phone, it was now 10:42am, and relief filled her. Looking underneath the time she saw a message from her co-worker and good friend, Joey Hudson. It read “Come to your shift ready for some bull today!” Veronica sighed, typing out her response “Always do!” 

Soon enough, Olive jumped onto her bed and sat, giving her an impatient look. “Alright you little beast, I’ll get up.” She smiled at her furry friend and swung her feet over the side, striding into the kitchen and grabbing the cat food while also setting her coffee pot to brew.

In about 20 minutes- she was sitting on her balcony with a hot cup of mostly cream and sugar with a little coffee, and a quickly rolled joint. ‘Please let today go by quickly...:’ she prayed to no one in particular. Her work outfit looked creased from not being washed recently, and she knew Sheriff Whitehorse would have something to say about that. ‘After this joint I should probably get going.’ V thought, looking through the balcony windows at the clock. 

Veronica stepped into the grey/white walled sheriff’s office; seeing Nancy at the front desk on the phone, examining her long nails disinterestedly. She gave her a quick wave before heading back to Sheriff Earl Whitehorse’s office, where a commotion could be heard. 

“I don’t care how scared of him all you backwoods hicks are, where I’m from we get shit done!” An aggressive man declared, venom dripping from his words. ‘This must be the aforementioned bullshit Hudson mentioned.’ Veronica sighed before pasting a professional smile over her frown and stepping into the room. “You’ve got no right to just come in here like-” Hudson’s confident voice was absorbed by the same angry voice that had started the yelling, “Oh I’ve got every right missy. Know why? Because I’m a federal marshal, and what I say goes.” The tension in the air was malleable. Between Hudson glaring daggers at the stranger and Whitehorse’s dejected look, Ronnie knew she had just walked into a shitstorm. “Woah, let’s take it down a notch okay?” She said, directed at the man in front of her. He was of a bulkier build, and his stance said he was used to having things his way or the highway. “Oh great, another dumbass deputy to deal with! Sheriff, get your team and your shit together.” The man pushed past Veronica and Joey, shouldering his way out of the room. “Nice to meet you too!” The youngest deputy called before turning back to Hudson and Whitehorse. “So, who pissed in his cheerios?” 

Hudson just shook her head angrily, as Whitehorse replied grimly “Joseph Seed.”

“That pastor who’s been causing trouble in Hope County?” 

“That’s the one. He’s formed some kind of militia and is kidnapping folks… I’d get yourselves ready, because as soon as the judge fills that warrant we’re all going to pick him up.” 

V met his words with an incredulous look, retorting “He’s bad enough that we all get to join Captain Sunshine there on a simple warrant like that? I mean, every time we’ve had to deal with him and his followers it’s never seemed that severe.” Hudson spoke up, pulling her phone from her pocket and presenting a video “Look for yourself. Someone sent this in a couple days ago.” 

Grainy footage showed a tall, shirtless man in aviators preaching to a flock of similarly dressed people. The video zoomed in on the man’s chilling blue eyes; and the camera suddenly fell to the ground, showing the owner of the device being dragged forward and put on his knees before the preacher. In a casual manner he reached forward and placed his thumbs against the man’s eyes, pressing while his victim’s screams grew louder and more pained. Soon the man fell to the ground, and Joseph flicked the blood from his hands as though it were water. Veronica’s eyebrows raised in surprise as the scene was cut off and a new image appeared on the screen.

The recording was now taking place outside. There was a sizable wooden stage and Joseph stood in the center, a large curtain obscuring what was on a stand behind him. “My children, we must repent for our sins!” Joseph called while pulling the curtain down with some flourish. Veronica gasped in shock upon seeing the man from before who’d had his eyes crushed. He was lifted up onto a wooden pole, his eyes had been replaced by a white flower in each eye socket. Looking down his body- it was clear someone  had mutilated his chest cavity as well, carving out space for a bouquet of the same flowers.  On both sides of his head antlers had been impaled into his skull, where dried blood decorated the base of each antler in grotesque detail. 

When the video finally faded to black, Veronica handed the phone back to Joey. “Wow, I’m glad I didn’t have anything heavy for breakfast.” She deadpanned, shaking her head. “This is a mistake, we need more people.” Whitehorse murmured and walked out of the room with an exasperated look. “Old man’s taking this real hard… I think he saw something real messed up on the last call out to Joseph’s compound.” Hudson looked after him with worry clear on her face. The other deputy nodded, unable to clear the images from the video from her mind. “Even though he’s clearly an ass, maybe the Marshal is right and we’ll just go snatch him up real quick.” 

“Hopefully..” Hudson murmured and left the office as well, leaving Veronica alone. 

The rest of the day- Marshal Cameron Burke holed up in a back office making heated phone calls, trying to find a judge to sign his warrant. V spent most of the day riding with another deputy, Staci Pratt. Veronica couldn’t stand Pratt, so every call they went on was a chore. However, the shift was finally drawing to a close as the pair pulled up once more at the station. 

As soon as they walked in the door, Burke was on them. “You two, I suggest getting some rest tonight, because I found a judge. Once I’ve gathered everything I need, we’ll be flying out to Joseph’s compound.” Veronica checked the clock in the lobby, nodding “Well it’s 9 now, when are we leaving?” The Marshal sighed, as though responding was a chore, “We leave when I call and tell you we’re leaving.” V narrowed her eyes while crossing her arms, “You know, I’m not sure what your problem is, but don’t talk to me like that. You’re an adult, not a petty child, act like it.” The federal marshal was shocked someone had stood up to him, and unsure what to say. Seizing the opportunity to make her escape before her mouth got her into more trouble, Ronnie rushed past the man, shaking her head. ‘What an asshole!’ She thought as she punched numbers into the timeclock, hurrying out of the building without further incident.

About 20 minutes later, Veronica was speeding down the winding country roads in her beat up Mazda Miata. The roads were entirely empty, save for a deer she saw on the side of the road while taking the next turn. Upon rounding the corner- a large flare of light and an earth-shaking explosion caused her to slam on the brakes. “What the hell…” She peered out of the window. “Guess I should go check on that.. being an officer of the law and all…” Her murmured words were enveloped by another explosion, causing her to jump. Some days the job of a deputy wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. 

Ronnie had finally reached the area where the explosions had been coming from, after breaking several traffic laws to get there. Stepping out of the car, she drew her gun and took a preliminary look around the clearing. There were almost cartoon-worthy scorch marks on the ground that had wiped away any sense of greenery on the ground, but no one seemed to be around. V kept the gun at her side and started her sweep of the area. Right as she was going to start heading back to her car to report this to the station, she heard someone walking through the woods to her left. “Note to self, don’t light the fuse before you’re ready to have it blow up..” She heard someone mutter to themselves before she yelled “Freeze! Who are you and what’re you doing here?” A man of medium build walked out of the treeline, holding his hands in the classic ‘I surrender’ style. He wore a green sweatshirt, and a matching ballcap. “Charlemange Victor Boshaw at your service ma’am, I apologise for the bother-” 

“You describe an explosion as a ‘bother’?” Veronica interrupted, gun staying trained on him. 

“Well yeah. It sure bothered me that it exploded.” 

“May I ask what you were exploding?” 

“So my totally awesome cousin Hurk gave me some dynamite that he made himself, and of course being a good buddy I told him I would try it out! Well, silly me I didn’t realise that Hurk only knows how to make short-fused dynamite! So when I went to light it, it exploded preemptively so that’s why there’s those scorch marks… ma’am.” 

Veronica cocked her head to the side, giving the man an incredulous look, “Would you be offended if I said that was the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard?” He thought about it for a moment before responding sincerely “Nope.” The deputy nodded, saying “Well I appreciate the honesty! Unfortunately, I’ve gotta call the station for this one.” She fished her badge from her pocket. The man crossed his arms, asking “Well what exactly are the charges?” 

“Uhm… detonation of an explosive device and illegal possession for one.” 

“I supposed I can’t argue with that.” He said amiably, watching Veronica reach for her radio off the utility belt she still hadn’t removed after work. 

The pair sat on the curb together, one handcuffed one not. “So you’re the Sharky Boshaw?” Ronnie asked, giving him a mischievous smile. Sharky grinned and shrugged modestly “The one and only!” 

“You’re a legend around the station, I’m surprised I haven’t seen you before! Out of curiosity… why choose this spot for blowing shit up?” 

“Well I was actually on my way to the store when I saw this spot and thought to myself ‘That would be a good field to set off some fireworks’. Then I remembered Hurk had put his stuff in my backseat, and that dynamite is just a less pretty firework, so here we are!” 

When his story was finished, V gave him a look that was part amused, part withering glance. “I can’t tell if you’re joking.” He shrugged with a lackadaisical smile. Before either of them could continue the conversation, a light brown Crown Vic pulled up and the sirens on the roof let out a quick whoop before one of the night shift deputies stepped out. “Hey Veronica! Boshaw, the backseat’s ready for you!” He said, helping Sharky stand and turn towards the car. Veronica stood with him, and gave a curt nod to her coworker, “Thanks for coming out, Sam.” 

Finally after that detour, V was almost home. It was a relatively long drive back and forth, but she didn’t mind it. Working with Sheriff Whitehorse was worth it since she’d known him almost half of her life. Veronica and her mom had moved to Hope County when she was only 12, her mom found work as an officer and then an office administrator for Earl until Nancy came along and gave her mom the chance to take her pension, and start a new job as a conservation officer at a small national park nearby called Polebridge. 

The actual sheriff’s office was in Missoula, about two hours away from Hope County, making Veronica’s drive home take about an hour since she lived practically in between the two. 

 Keeping her eyes on the road, she dug one-handed through her purse for her phone. Once it was in hand she said “Hey Google, call Mom.” and a soft chirp came from the device, processing the demand before dialing. Three rings in- a cheery voice answered. “Hey sweetie!” 

“Hey, mom, I just had a question?”

“Sure what’s up?”

She paused, rethinking her request for a moment. In that second, her nightmare from last night danced through her thoughts and her mind was made up. “Oh um, well I’m going out on a warrant tonight, and I was wondering if you could watch Olive for me? It’s probably nothing, I just had a weird feeling.” 

“Of course! I’d love to see my grandkitty! I’m glad you know when to listen to your gut.” 

“Well I learned from the best! I just got home now, can I pack her up and head over?”

“That’s fine! I’ll be here for a bit. Can I plan on you staying for dinner?”

“Uh… yeah that’ll work, I don’t have any plans. I’ll see you soon, love you!” 

“Love you too!” 

The line disconnected with a click as Veronica pulled into her driveway and stepped out of the car, fetching her keys from the caribinger she kept it on. As she approached the door, she heard insistent meowing on the other side. “I’m comin’…” She chuckled and pushed the door open to reveal Olive, who immediately rushed to hug her legs as she stepped over the threshold. “Hey monster, ready to see grandma?” She asked in a baby voice and grinned at her, reaching down to pick her up. As soon as she did- the cat clambered up to her shoulder and balanced precariously “Why are you like this?” She joked, removing her before making her way to the hallway closet and pulling out the cat carrier and a half-full bag of cat food.

Once she’d put a few more odds and ends into an overnight bag, she took out her decorative, pink bong and loaded a bowl. The water bubbled and pure white smoke filled the center chamber as she lit the greenery in the bowl. After coughing her lungs up for a few moments she set the glass piece on the table and stood up, “Okay, now we can go!” She declared and bundled Olive and all her things into the Miata. 

In a quick 15 minutes- the two of them pulled up in front of her mom’s. It was a tidy ranch style home, painted robin’s egg blue with crisp white shutters. V knocked on the door, Olive’s carrier in one hand. 

Her mom answered the door with a sweet smile on her features, immediately wrapping the deputy in a tight hug, “Hi Ronnie!” She exclaimed before pulling back. “Hi mom!” She responded and stepped through the door, setting Olive down. Sarah Rook looked like an older version of Veronica except her hair was a chestnut brown as opposed to V’s dirty blonde; they shared aquamarine eyes and a light spattering of freckles.

The younger woman pulled the zipped and freed the hyper cat, who immediately jumped from containment to survey her surroundings. “Someone’s impatient!” Her mom chuckled and watched the cat sprint off into the hallway. “She takes after me I guess.” Veronica smiled and inhaled deeply, “Is that steaks and mac and cheese I smell?” 

“Well I thought I’d at least fatten you up before you leave tonight.” Her mom said and ushered her into the dining room. There was a round white table there that was joined by a tall china cabinet filled with memorabilia. The places had already been set, two red and white checkered table mats sat across from each other at the corresponding seats and the silverware was laid out neatly. “Sounds good to me, I’m starving!” Veronica took a seat and watched her mom buzzing about the kitchen as she put the finishing touches on their meals. 

Once everything was done, the table was filled with food. A bowl of salad in the middle, with a basket of rolls to the side. Their plates were adorned with juicy t-bone steaks, mac and cheese, and potato salad. “I knew there was a reason I hadn’t put you in a nursing home…” V joked as she savored a bite of the rare steak, just how she liked it. Her mother scoffed, and took a sip of water, “As if you could.” They both shared a smile and then turned to see Olive padding into the room, her head in the air as she scented the air. “What a brat.” Veronica said as she jumped up on the table expectantly. “You did say she took after you!” Her mom retorted, picking up the naughty cat and setting her on the floor. “So, what’s this warrant you’re going on?”

“Mom, you know I’m not supposed to divulge any details...”

“Oh please, I used to be in the game, and still kind of am. I worked for Whitehorse long before you did, I don’t think I need to be counted as a citizen.” She said, rolling her eyes. Veronica looked uneasy as she considered it for a moment, then relented; “It’s some doomsday cult leader… Joseph Seed. Something about him really freaked me out.” She confessed, almost hanging her head. Being freaked out was not the norm for this deputy. “Why’s that?” 

“I think it’s just his ability to brainwash all of these people… anyone who can do that has too much power. Also Earl is scared of him, which is weird. He’s usually so gungho about catching the bad guys, but he doesn’t even want to go on this warrant.” 

“That’s certainly odd. I’ve never seen that man back down, there must be something seriously bad going on.” Her mom looked off, her brow furrowed in deep thought. “Hopefully this mission will just be in and out. That way I can get back to my baby!” She said the last part in a higher pitch, directing it at the cat, who was sitting in the window behind them. “I hope so too sweetie. People like him are the reason I’ve got a bunker.” Ronnie smirked, saying “Yeah you and everyone else in Hope County, it seems like.” 

“It never hurts to be prepared!” 

“I guess so.” She relented, standing and grabbing their dirty dishes. 

After all the dishes were cleaned and hugs were shared, Veronica stretched and glanced at the clock which showed 10:45pm. “Man how’d it get so late so fast?” She mused and stroked Olive’s soft little head. “Hopefully a late dinner won’t give you any nightmares.” Her mother thought out loud and wrapped Veronica in another suffocating hug. “It was nice having dinner with you baby, I love you!” She smooched Ronnie on the cheek before pulling away and giving her a loving grin. “I had a good time, and the steaks were amazing. Thanks for having me over, I love you too!” She returned the kiss on the cheek and put her hand on the doorknob. As she stepped out her mother wished her luck on the warrant later, and then she was in her car once more. 

20 minutes later, V was brushing her teeth, staring at herself in the mirror wearing a simple black night dress that fell to her thighs and was fringed with lace at the bottom. Long day… who knows when that asshole Burke is gonna call me.’ She thought, spitting out the toothpaste and wiping her mouth with the back of her arm.  As she flopped into bed, the black sheets felt cold without Olive’s presence, but she felt it was for the best. It was 11:11pm as she glanced at the clock. “Make a wish…” She murmured while her eyes shut, the feeling of a full stomach lulling her to sleep. 

A blaring ringing tore through the dark silence in Veronica’s bedroom. It was her phone, blasing her generic android ringtone. Her eyes snapped open and she grasped for her phone, having to blink the bleariness away before seeing that it was Hudson calling her. She looked at the clock for the second time that night to see only two hours had passed, making it around 1am. She slid the green answer icon across the screen and answered, her voice thick with annoyance, “Hello?” Instead of Joey’s pleasant voice, she was met with Marshal Cameron Burke’s gruff one, “Rook, get your ass up and get dressed. We’re executing this warrant now.” 

“Do you have any idea what time it is?”

“Yeah, time to arrest that asshole Joseph Seed.” Burke practically shouted, and then Veronica was met with a dial tone. She scoffed, pulling the phone from her ear to look at it and see only her lock screen, a photo of Olive in a taco costume. “Guess I’m getting ready.” She grumbled and turned on the lamp sitting on her nightstand. The light flooded every corner of the room, forcing V to squint as she flipped the covers off and walked over to a chair in the corner of the room that was covered with clothes and blankets. She snatched her green work button up before finding a tank top and some jeans. On top of her dresser, she eyed her jewelry box and plucked out a rose gold heart-shaped locket with a matching chain. It was engraved ‘To Veronica, Love nana’ Once she was dressed, she buckled her utility belt and hurried down the stairs to the front door. 

Something forced her to stop and take a look at the open plan townhome. All was calm and nothing stirred in the living room, yet she felt eerie as she left. Almost like she was abandoning her castle. She shook her head, shaking the thought off and stepping through the door to lock it. As she was walking to the car she pulled out her wallet from her back pocket, it was a replica of the one used in Pulp Fiction that said ‘BAD MOTHERFUCKER’ on the side. She opened the zippered secret pocket, pulling out a faded scrap of paper. On it was written ‘Good luck on your first day! -Mom’. She’d slipped her that on her first day at the sheriff’s department. At the time, V had laughed and said “I’m not a kid!” But stowed it away nonetheless as a good luck charm. A sudden, bone-chilling breeze whipped across the land, forcing a shiver to wrack her body. Veronica stepped into her car, feeling like this was going to be a long night. 

The deputy’s hands clenched the steering wheel- frustration written all over her features. She’d already been to the station only to get redirected to some field by Nancy, who was the only one not joining this adventure. Apparently the sheriff had asked her to come in and man the scanner, just in case things got out of hand and they needed to call reinforcements. Ronnie shook her head as she saw Hudson, Whitehorse, Pratt, and Burke standing in front of a matte black helicopter that had a badge on the side. Upon walking up to join them, Veronica called “Well this is fancy!” Staci stepped up next to the marshal, exclaiming “Yeah, the feds decided to help us out on this one!” He clapped Burke on the shoulder- earning him a heated glare. “Anyways… everyone pile in. Hudson, you’re flying us.” The grumpy man got to the point, motioning everyone into the copter. 

In no time they were in the air, flying to Joseph’s Compound on an island in the middle of Hope County. Veronica looked at the screen of the gps in the front, searching for the time. She found that it was 2:37am, and asked “So what exactly is the benefit of going to get him so late?” Cameron replied- his voice dripping with unearned confidence “The benefit, Rook, is catching him by surprise.” As Ronnie was about to speak up, Pratt cut in with, “You don’t catch men like Joseph Seed off guard.” 

At that moment Joey spoke up, “Crossing the Henbane now.” Everyone looked out of the wide windows, only to catch sight of a perfect rendition of Joseph Seed’s face captured forever in stone in way of a towering monolith. “Crazy motherfucker…” Burke murmured, his gaze held by the monument. “Jesus Christ.. we’re officially in peggie country.” Hudson shook her head before looking back to the skies. “You know, they call this Angel’s Peak. It’s a holy place for them.” Pratt said, sounding almost wistful.

“How much longer?” Cameron asked. 

“Just long enough for you to change your mind so we can turn this bird around.” Whitehorse insisted. “You want me to ignore a federal warrant, sheriff?” Burke scoffed.

“No sir, I want you to understand the reality of this situation. Joseph Seed… he’s not a man to be fucked with. We’ve had a few run ins with him before and it hasn’t always gone our way. Sometimes.. sometimes it’s better to just leave well enough alone.” 

Burke scoffed, lifting up the warrant. “Yeah, well we have laws for a reason; and Joseph Seed’s gonna learn that.” Instead of replying to that, the sheriff radioed Nancy to make sure she was still there, and told her that if she didn’t hear from them in 15 minutes to call backup. V looked down and saw a white church surrounded by other smaller buildings, she was mystified. The whole situation didn’t even seem real. ‘Maybe it’s just because it’s late and I haven’t gotten any good rest lately.’ She thought, trying to comfort herself. Somehow it didn’t help. 

“So what’s with calling them ‘peggies’? I’ve never heard anyone at the station call them that.” Veronica asked, hoping to lighten the mood. “Project Eden’s Gate. P. E. G. It’s what the locals call them.” Earl explained. Somehow she knew he was trying to distract himself as well. 

As they got closer, it was obvious there were people everywhere. “So much for taking him by surprise.” She muttered, shaking her head and thinking ‘I could be asleep right now.’ The helicopter jerked slightly as it landed on the ground, the blades whirling to a stop. All of them exited the bird, taking in their surroundings. Peggies surrounded them on all sides and the compound had as many as 12 buildings; dorms, a barn, and various other houses. The cult members regarded them suspiciously, casting daggers their ways and muttering insults. Ronnie looked to her left as they walked down the main path, there was a man wielding a flamethrower and keeping a pire of fire sufficiently lit. “They don’t fuck around…” V commented, her brow furrowed. 

The group made their way into a fenced corridor topped with an arch that said ‘Church of Eden’s Gate’ with the cross adorning the center. As they walked, a creaking then metal clanging could be heard behind them, causing Veronica to whip around only to witness them closing the gate behind them. “Why are they closing the gate?” Joey asked, looking to her partners for answers but receiving nothing. They approached the door to the church and could hear a choir of members singing a hymn as Whitehorse motioned for them to hold up. “Going in there, we do this my way, quietly.” He said sternly, mainly for Burke’s benefit. Cameron smirked and put a hand on Earl’s shoulder, “Relax sheriff. You’re about to get your name in the papers.” Veronica couldn’t help but shake her head, something was wrong here. 

As the white double doors swung inward, V took in the scene and was enthralled. Joseph was standing at the front of the church delivering a sermon, “Something is coming… you can feel it can’t you? We are creeping towards the edge, and there will be a reckoning. Because we know what happens next; they will come for us… to take from us. Take our guns, take our freedom, take our faith. We will not let them!” The church patrons were captured by his presence, hanging on every word. 

The deputy, marshal, and sheriff made their way to the platform Joseph stood on. White candles surrounded him, casting a holy glow on his features. “We will not let their greed, their morality, or their depravity hurt us anymore!” The preacher’s voice grew as Marshal Burke reached him and held the paper warrant aloft. Whitehorse murmured “Goddammit…” and Cameron said forcefully “Joseph Seed, we have here a warrant for your arrest, under suspicion of kidnapping with intent to harm. I’m gonna need you to step down with your hands where I can see them, and come with us.” Veronica noticed three figures she hadn’t seen practically melting out of the shadows to stand behind The Father.

“Here they are, the locusts in our garden. They’ve come to take me from you, to destroy all we’ve built!” The peggies started to converge around Joseph, their voices joining together as they objected. He parted through them, his calm demeanor quieting their shouts. “We knew they would come. This is what we’ve prepared for. Go…” He sent them off and came to stand in front of the pews, raising his hands up. “I saw the lamb of the first seal and I heard the noise as if of thunder as one of four beasts sang ‘Come, see’-”

Cameron cut him off, “Step forward!” Joseph stepped closer- undertered from preaching, “And I saw and behold, it was a white horse... and Hell followed with him.” He finished while looking from Earl to Ronnie and finally holding out his hands, a worn brown rosary dangled from his wrist. “Rook, cuff this son of a bitch.” Burke growled. 

V stepped forward, about to pull out her cuffs when the people behind him caught her eye once more. She recognised them to be his family. From right to left; there was a gruff looking man with scar tissue climbing up his side, next to him a beautiful young woman wearing no shoes and a lacey, floral dress. Veronica’s gaze lingered on her a moment before she took in the last figure- a tall man wearing an expensive looking duster. His piercing stare found hers and she felt as though he was seeing straight into her soul. Ice filled her veins and she froze in place, suddenly feeling like a gazelle who had just realised the lion was upon her but only when it was already too late. There was so much animosity in the man’s eyes, like he hated her for even thinking of taking his brother. 

“Earth to Veronica.” Burke’s annoyed voice snapped her from the trance she was in, causing her to shiver before finally producing the cuffs. The metal clinked around Joseph’s small wrists, and right as she was about to secure the second ring, he turned his hand to grip her wrist tightly and V looked into his eyes. “God will not let you take me.” He said calmly without an ounce of doubt. “Good thing God doesn’t get to decide in the end.” She retorted before shaking off his hand and slapping the final cuff on with a resounding click.  

As they walked out the church doors with Joseph in cuffs, armed peggies started to surround them. “Back up!” Hudson yelled, taking lead. Burke pushed a woman down when she got too close, and the crowd became more riled up, closing in as they walked to the helicopter. Soon, they started throwing rocks at the group and screaming, trying to defend their Father. The whole time Joseph stayed eerily silent, even as they were getting into the copter. Pratt fired off a few warning shots to the cultists that were trying to mob the vehicle, Veronica and Burke pushed a few of them from the copter as they gained height, yet the peggies continued trying to swarm them.

One of the cultists did something, because the helicopter went into a tailspin, and the engine sputtered. Joseph looked skyward and began singing Amazing Grace, his tone calm despite the chaos. They made impact with a tree, then another and everyone but Joseph was screaming, their lives flashing before their eyes. Upon impact, the whole world cut out and everything was black.

Veronica’s eyes opened, and the world spun in streamers of color. Nancy’s frantic voice could be heard over the ringing in her ears, she was yelling into the helicopter’s headphones. She looked around and saw Burke across from her, dangling by his seatbelt, Earl was next to him, doubled over; and Joey was to her right. She tried to take in a deep breath and sputtered on thick smoke that was no doubt coming from the engine. Before V could swing forward and grab the headset to alert Nancy, she was pushed lightly back into her seat by a battered Joseph Seed. He smiled at her softly, grabbing the headset on his own while maintaining eye contact. “I told you that God wouldn’t let you take me…” He murmured soothingly. “We’ll see about that…” Veronica persisted. He shook his head and spoke into the headset mic, “Dispatch? Everything is just fine here. Call no one.” Veronica scoffed, ‘Surely Nancy will know something is wrong-’ The thought began to cross her mind before she heard her last hope’s response: “Yes, Father. Praise be to you.” Her mouth dropped open in shock and horror, watching the man she came to apprehend smirk before whispering “No one is coming to save you.” 

He climbed from the wreckage and met a handful of his flock, reassuring them in a hushed tone. V started to struggle against her seatbelt, which was stuck fast. “Fuck, fuck, fuck..” She muttered and beat at the clip. Her companions began to wake and she turned to see Joseph standing on the hood of a car, his hands raised as he delivered an impromptu sermon, “The first seal is broken… now we must take what we need, for this world will be no more. We must stop all those that stand in our way- including these harbingers of doom. Begin the reaping!” He screamed the last sentence into the night air, his followers cheering. 

They swarmed the copter for the second time that night, Veronica, Joey, and the others squirmed trying to get free. Hudson freed herself finally, only to be savagely pulled from the wreckage kicking and screaming. “Joey!” Veronica yelled, reaching after her only to just miss her hand. More peggies ran over and were about to reach in, when a ring of flames surrounded them instead. “Fuck!” V exclaimed, pulling frantically at her seatbelt. Burke was able to free himself and dash out of the small opening in the wall of fire. Heat was searing her skin and desperation made her claw at the restraint harder and harder, finally the belt snapped and she tumbled forward to what used to be the roof of the vehicle. Ronnie caught herself just barely and found herself sprinting away into the foreboding woods. 

Branches whipped at her face, scratching her cheeks and forcing her to hold her hands out in front of her. Not far behind, the men who hunted her yelled, “She’s escaping! Grab her!” Emotions overwhelmed her; panic, fear, anger, confusion. “Goddammit give me a break!” She huffed, breath ragged from sprinting. She spotted a soft light in the distance, a campfire. V ducked behind a thick tree trunk- whipping her head around in both directions wildly, adrenaline and fear coursing through her. The angry voices were distant enough for her to turn and survey the campsite. 

There were two lawn chairs on either side of the fire, and a cabin beyond that. One of the cultists patrolled the perimeter, both hands on his handgun. She caught sight of a sizable branch in front of the fire, and knew what she had to do. Ronnie crept forward on the balls of her feet, trying to avoid any stray twigs as she made her way to the branch. Finally she was there, taking the worn wood in her hands and feeling the weight of it. ‘This should do..’ She thought with a grim look. The deputy continued forward, waiting for just the right moment to slip behind the guard. Veronica gripped the bat harder and was about to swing when the guard turned around, surprise on his features. She wasted no time slamming the branch down on his head with a crack as he turned his gun towards her. The first blow slowed him- and for good measure she delivered the finishing blow. Through the branch, she could feel his skull give and an initial spray of blood shot from the wound, flecking V’s face in red freckles. She gasped and looked down to see his body twitch twice more before stilling, his heart steadily pumping out his life force.

Veronica felt cold as she watched the light drain from his eyes, shock starting to take over. She’d never actually killed anyone before. The world faded back piece by piece as she grabbed the man’s gun, and more screams came from the woods. She had to keep moving. A small drop off into the woods was her escape, and she crouched in the ferns on the woodland floor. There was another fire in the distance, and her enemies were scouring the area for her and Burke. 

Suddenly- her radio crackled, causing her to jump and grab it from her belt to muffle the speaker. “Hello? Hello.. it’s Burke… I think I lost them.. I see a trailer ahead across a bridge and I’m going to try to get inside. If anyone is still alive, if anyone is out there...” The signal was lost and it cut out. “Well I guess that’s where I’m going.” V sighed, and started slowly making her way through the woods. She passed the second fire, narrowly avoiding detection by two guards standing there. From there, she ascended a small hill that led to the bridge the marshal had mentioned. It creaked as she took to the wooden planks, practically crawling her way to the other end. When she got there, a white trailer with a green roof stoof in front of her. There were steps leading up to the back door which she pushed open cautiously, eyes darting side to side straining to catch any movement in the darkened abode. 

As soon as she cleared the door Burke was to her left, hands out and ready to attack. Veronica grabbed his arms, stopping him in midair before he regonised her. “Oh my god, Rook… you’re alive!” He cried with relief. “Yeah, no thanks to you, asshole. You left me to die back there!” She scoffed, glaring daggers at him. “I… It was just fight or flight, I was-” He struggled to defend himself.

“It doesn’t matter. Whitehorse told you this was a bad idea, this is your fault no matter what you have to say.” Ronnie cut him off, pointing an accusatory finger at him. When he had no retort she continued, “Now we have to find a way out of this shit show, and to rescue the others. Did you have a plan?” Burke sighed, walking further into the trailer, motioning for her to follow. The walls were wood panelled, and words were scratched into most of the walls; ‘The Father’, ‘Walk the path’, along with other mantras and bible verses. Pictures were also posted all over the spots that had no words. They all depicted the members of the Seed family in various poses and situations. One such picture was a framed portrait of all of them, Cameron grabbed this and stared into their eyes. He looked haunted. 

“The plan is to put all of these fuckers in jail. No matter what it takes.” He gathered himself before tossing it on the table and going to point out of one of the front windows. “To get out of here, I was thinking I could try to hotwire that truck, unless the keys are in it. It’s probably only a couple hours back to Missoula, then we’re gonna come back here with the National fucking Guard, and take care of these lunatics.” 

“Fine, let’s just get out of here before-” Veronica was cut off by a shot ringing out, and one of the windows behind her shattering into a spray of glass. “They’re in there!” Screamed a man, and more shots were fired at the trailer. “These guys just don’t give up!” She exclaimed, exasperated. Burke took shelter against one of the walls, pulling out his gun to fend off the attackers. V scanned the room and found a gun mounted on the wall, she grabbed it and cocked it before crouching under the shattered window, sitting up to aim outside. There were four peggies firing at them. She took aim at the first, shooting him square in the chest and knocking him to the ground. Burke took out one on the other side then turned to say “Cover me! I’m gonna go get that truck started!” Veronica nodded curtly before turning to shoot out the window twice more. 

Even more cultists were arriving at the scene and taking up arms, it seemed almost hopeless. V fired shot after shot, taking out as many as she could until she finally heard the sweet roar of an engine, and Cameron shouted for her to join him in the truck. “Finally, fuck!” She gasped, dashing from the trailer and ripping open the door to the vehicle. “Let’s fucking go!” He yelled while she slammed the door and immediately leaned out of the window to shoot at the peggies behind them. Burke careened down the simple dirt road, Veronica shooting at their enemies as they approached a chain link fence and busted through the gate with no problem, then they were crossing a bridge to the main road. 

Burke was gasping, close to panic, while V just felt numb. ‘Shock must be setting in, great.’ She thought distantly. “God, I had no idea Rook. I didn’t know how bad it was, how right Whitehorse was… I wish we’d never served that warrant.” He rambled, glancing between the deputy and the road. “It’s too late for wishes, Burke… they’ve got the road blocked!” She exclaimed at the sight before her; peggies had their trucks and sawhorses blocking off the next section of street. She lifted her gun once more, shooting at them while Cameron swerved wildly to avoid the obstacles. One of the cultists to their right set off a flare, letting the rest of them know where they were. 

The pair crashed through another barricade, and Ronnie kept shooting at the people pursuing them that were in an identical looking truck. “We aren’t losing them marshal!” She shouted. “Alright, I guess we gotta try something else.” He huffed before taking the truck off road, almost going airborne as they crashed through a wooden fence. Blinding headlights were blazing behind them as more and more peggies joined the chase. Veronica happened to glance in the bed, and spotted some red sticks. “Oh fuck yeah.” She chuckled, reaching out of the window and grabbing a stick before producing her simple purple lighter that had miraculously stayed in her pocket. She lit the fuse on the dynamite, squinting her eyes as the cord came to life and the flame hissed. V chucked it at one of the trucks behind them, causing a loud boom and fire bloomed from the wreckage. “Shit! That’s pretty satisfying.” She commented, turning to Burke who still looked too scared to be impressed. 

After lighting a couple more sticks and tossing them out, causing some major chaos, they found themselves about to go under an overpass. Right before they passed underneath, a sleek white plane flew out of the clouds and began shooting at them, hitting some green crates on the side of the road only for them to explode. Keying into this as they finally passed under the bridge, she fired quickly at the crates scattered around an upcoming roadblock, sending people flying in every direction. “A plane, are you kidding me?” Burke yelled and pounded a fist against the wheel.

A gargantuan bridge waited on the other side of the roadblock, there was a sign mounted near the top that read ‘Henbane River Bridge’. As they raced across, Cameron took a deep breath before saying “Home free, after this we are home free!” Veronica wasn’t so sure as more planes swooped overhead, and suddenly a high-pitched whistling could be heard getting closer and closer, before V yelled “Bomb!!” and orange flames whooshed across the bridge, enveloping their truck and sending them tumbling into the river below. 

The vehicle was in a freefall with chunks of concrete, the river’s waters rushing up to meet them. Neither of them had time to say anything before they made impact. Veronica was incapacitated for a moment and when her eyes opened they were underwater, trapped once again. She saw Burke across from her pounding on the window, shattering it on his third try and swimming up to the top, leaving her to drown. Ronnie gathered together her last bits of energy, slamming her elbow into the passenger side window until it finally broke, and she maneuvered her way from the descending car. Her arms flailed as her lungs screamed, daring her to take a breath before breaching the surface, and then it went black. 

Not too long later, her eyes snapped open and she grasped at the wet silt underneath her, she was on the shore. On the bridge there were countless flashlights casted down upon the water, looking for her. She heard Marshal Burke yelling off in the distance, and saw a group of peggies pulling him away as he shouted “I am a federal marshal! You can’t do this!” Veronica tried to get the will to get up and run, knowing she was next; but her muscles screamed with exhaustion and wouldn’t cooperate. She was able to lift herself to crawl maybe a foot before collapsing once more, staring up at the sky and trying to accept that this was the end. 

A figure came into her field of vision and the barrel of a shotgun was dangerously close to her head, she didn’t even have the energy to protest as the person lifted her over their shoulder with a grunt, and began carrying her through the woods. Her vision faded in and out, allowing her to see them pass by a radio tower and then a cabin, only to walk down some metal stairs. Then she could fight no more; and everything went black. 

[madokasoratsugu]

cinderella au meta notes

or: the plotline that never happened because i was so caught up in the euphoria of writing Fritz/Lucette Cinderella AU, i forgot that i had to have a plot

also: a bunch of bonus facts i guess !

this basically spoils the whole fic (that you can read here) which contains Fritz and Rumpel route spoilers, so read with caution ! under the cut bc it got Long :”))

this meta was initially written on a tumblr post bc it was meant to be a short ~2k thing (HAHAHA). then it got so long my computer started crashing and i had to move to google docs. 

i wrote this with disney live action remake osts AND six the musical in the background. it was a wildin’ experience listening to ‘dont lost ur head’ while writing Fritz be a chaotic mess in the beginning, then listening to ‘how does a moment last forever’ when writing the Fritz/Lucette garden scenes.

Karma and Fritz are childhood friends ! both boys who were more interested in being a knight than inheriting a kingdom, but learnt their responsibilities along the way.

on that note: none of the characters were exactly...planned to appear. the initial tweet thread idea only had Fritz, Lucette and Alcaster casted - the other characters just kinda wrote themselves in this meta. 

im pretty sure it started with Karma barging his way into the fic in act one, then i had to have someone balance him (Waltz), then i needed someone to play the music for their waltz (obvs that had to be Rod), and then i got sad thinking Rumpel would be left out, but Lucette’s broken glass slipper scene conveniently needed someone. the Widdensovs just kinda came into the picture by virtue of Lucette just needing someone to interact with when she wasnt at the ball LMAO 

everyone else just didnt make it in the natural progression of the fic, and i didnt want to shoehorn them in just for the sake of having them appear.

however: Parfait was initially going to make an appearance as a duchess who snuck Lucette out to her father when she came to the castle for help when her manor burnt down. here’s a lil snippet of her scene:

(no one had, the last time she came; the smell of smoke still clinging on her, her head slamming a cacophony - surviving only thanks to the bravery of a certain court lady now disappeared, who heralded her to a servant’s exit, gave her gold and directions to her father, told her, run, told her im sorry, and cried, tears dripping endlessly from her pale pink lashes.)

Parfait is well and alive in this AU btw ! she’s just ‘disappeared’ bc she’s living somewhere secret with her goth wife Delora.

(side note: i realise Rumpel seems a lot like Lucette’s fairy godmother in the act thirteen. not intended, but i liked the imagery enough to let it stand :”)) bippity boppoty chevalier ! )

Varg and Lilja are both Swedish words. ancient Angiellian is partially Swedish. there’s probably ikea in this AU. let that sink in.

the swan mask Lucette was wearing was meant to allude to Odette and Odile from Swan Lake (because Fritz and Varg, white and black, swans are pretty yadda yadda), and i was going to write some really neat symbolism about that but i forgot lol ! 

(also the idea just never worked for me bc Odette and Odile aren’t the same people like Fritz/Varg but i wanted to reference Barbie Swan Lake (2003) ok let me live)

pour one out for our man Fritz who got rejected on his birthday. f. 

Emelaigne is the MVP. older sisters, no matter how truly Head Empty they are, always pull through when you need them. 

“isn’t the moon beautiful tonight” is a direct reference to an anecdote (which may or may not be true) about Natsume Souseki, a famous japanese writer, who translated ‘i love you’ to that phrase in order to account for the indirect characteristics of japanese speech.

Rumpel is the royal doctor, and has been apprenticing in the castle since Fritz was a child, before taking over the position as an adult ! so yes, Rumpel definitely rubbed off on Fritz in terms of values and morals.

with regards to Fritz and Lucette’s curses: i never really gave it much thought, but the vague idea i had was Lucette being cursed by Hildyr for disobedience (manipulative parenting say eye), then Hildyr dies lol and Lucette breaks her curse eventually.

with Fritz, he was likely cursed out of political reasons/jealousy and Varg was the result. works bc either way the curse meant for Fritz to be 1) inconvenienced or 2) dead/taken out of consideration for succession so like...a pain in the ass replacement who behaves the exact opposite of a prince works too.

this was hinted at vaguely in the fic, but Fritz became very secluded and hid himself in the castle for the years it took him to come to terms with his curse and break it. even then, because there was no one around him to really affirm his identity or accept him, he remained very withdrawn and a shell of his former self. 

i reckon it took him about 5-6 years to break the curse. so that’s a lot of time alone. Fritz was basically a NEET.

all jokes aside: Lucette and Fritz each broke their curses with their own willpower and effort, but remain the mostly the same because there was no one around them to truly understand or accept them for who they were, or who they became.

(until they met each other, of course)

also, idk if it was hinted well enough but Lucette and Fritz actually were in an engagement once, when they were children/early teens ! i intended to allude to this more with Hildyr giving Fritz Lucette’s portrait, which results in him recognising her, but it just never fit in anywhere. so yeah ! that’s another reason how/why Fritz knew who Lucette was at first glance. 

i figured the previous engagement would also help ease the court into their eventual marriage despite the whole ~*disgraced noble*~ thing. idk. i know nothing about western history and how it worked except for ALEXANDER HAMILTON (america sings for yooouuu) and divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.

however, Alcaster broke the engagement, as stated in act thirteen. the reason was basically: Angielle in this AU works not by a hereditary monarchy, but rather the previous monarch getting to choose whomever the fuck the want to succeed them. Hildyr and Alcaster were both in line for the throne, and Hildyr wanted to ensure that even if she couldn’t get the throne now, she still had a chance in the future if her daughter married Alcaster’s (who would then be king) son. Alcaster was like lol fuck off because he wanted power all to his family and took things into his own hands to ensure that would never happen (which involved: inciting public hatred against witches/Hildyr, breaking Lucette and Fritz’s engagement, and generally being a dick.

that’s about as plot heavy as it gets yall. the rest is just dumb idiots falling in love !

...............except for the political usurp that happens later, with Fritz’s faction forcefully taking the throne away from Alcaster’s tyrannical rule, which leads to a dramatic sway of public favour to Fritz and Lucette.

and then they live happily ever, ever after. 

(carrie underwood. yes i am planning an Enchanted AU dont look at me.)

the end !

[xuxikook]

When You Love Someone • Na Jaemin

Pairing: Na Jaemin X Reader

Summary: in which not everyone had a good day, and we all have our breaking point. We just hope someone will be there to be with us.

Genre: Angst¿ , Fluff.

Words: 1300-

A/N: When you love by Day6 🙌🏼 Im sad so i wrote this lmao

Jaemin walks his way back home after being out with Jeno at a computer café near his school. Playing games for hours after school even if he’s still in his uniform.

Stopping by a convenience store to grab a can of coffee, knowing he’ll be staying up all night doing his homework. He walked home passing by the playground made for the kids in the neighborhood.

His eyes wandering only to land to a figure sitting on the swing swiftly moving forward and backward at such slow pace. Squinting his eyes he already knew who the familiar figure is.

“Y/n?” He whispered to himself stopping to look at you. The noticeable red cheeks can be seen as you look far down the streets where the busy cars are passing by one another. Your baby hair sticking on the sides of your face as the wet tears the had dropped acted as a glue.

Jaemin sighed to himself as he looks at your crying self in the empty play ground, sobbing once in a while. As you try to hide your face to the people passing by. His heart aching a little on the realization that you’re crying on your own.

Jaemin, the happy boy who pass happiness to people around him frown. Before walking in the play ground. Going sitting to the empty swing beside you. Quietly.

Debating how to ask you- if he should ask you “why are you crying.” Or “what happened.”. He smacked his lips looking at the ground before looking at you. Finally deciding on what to say to you-

“Today was a hard day, isn’t it?” Jaemin softly said as he look up to the sky knowing you’ll look at him. Not wanting to look at your wet face and think different kinds of questions.

Your head turned to look at him, a tear falling as well. Smacking your lips as you nod your head as an answer to him. Jaemin knew, he knew that you’re crying badly.

You looked straight without saying anything. Your voice not coming out even though you wanted to answer him properly. Another tear falling from your eyes. Making you cry a little bit more. You covered your face with your hands as you use your thighs to hold it up.

Jaemin looked at you to see that your crying had not stopped. Feeling bad himself and not knowing to what to say that may trigger you more into crying.

Jaemin loved the people that surrounds him, from his family, neighbors heck even those people who works at the convenience store. He cares for each person, he wants everyone to be happy even though something he needs to sacrifice things just to make people happy.

You were special to Jaemin. Knowing each other since you two were kids, going through the same things, common trials and problems. He knew that you’re that person he never wants to feel sad, or be unhappy the most.

But you were that person who’s always quiet when unhappy, you were that person who always keep things to themselves. One of the things Jaemin hates about you the most.

Watching you cry pulls the unseen heartstrings Jaemin has. He had a great today, hanging out with the boys chilling at the cafe and winning every time. Today was a good day today, and he wants nothing but to pass that he felt today to you. Only if he can.

Jaemin want nothing but to cry for you, wishing it was just him having a bad day instead of your fragile self. He wants to be the one hurting instead of you. He only wants nothing but to make you smile, and not have any scars in your heart.

Even though he doesn’t know what you’re crying about.

He guess that’s what it is when you love someone so much that it overflows because this is how it is. Your unhappiness makes him feel differently inside.

Jaemin hoped that he can be a little helpful at least, but he can’t. Even so, he hoped that he can be your resting place every time. He wants nothing but to try try to make you feel at peace.

Jaemin watched you and frowned on his own. Your head moved once again to look at him and gave him a sad smile as another fall down. Jaemin passed your a small smile that somewhat calmed you a little. No tears are forming in your eyes from crying so much.

To Jaemin you were such a soft hearted person even if you act like you don’t care about things around you most of the times. He knows what you think every time you message him in the middle of the night knowing he’ll be awake doing homework. All your thoughts, all your dreams and all of the things you regretted. He knows it all.

He knows you from your breaking point to your happiest point in life. He knows how pretty your smile is and he knows how sad your crying stage is. He wants nothing but to see your pretty smile lighting up every time. You two brighting up each other’s day. As well as your friends.

“Yah-“ Jaemin started at the realization that your tears are not forming anymore. “Stop crying.” He demanded and you you looked at him with a sad smile.

“There’s no more tears.” You said laughing in between sobs making Jaemin smile that knowing that you’re going to be fine from now on.

“Do you want me to get some water so you can cry more?” He joked as he starts swinging slowly. You wiped the wetness off your cheeks as you look at him him.

“I’m tired of crying now.” You commented making the both of you laugh a little. You pulled back your hair to keep it from sticking as you place it to one side.

It was quiet for a minute or so as you two look at the house on the opposite side of the street.

“Do you think Mr. Seo saw me—“ before you could even finish your sentence Jaemin’s hand was in front of your face. Holding up a can of coffee.

You looked at him confused. He smiled at you before grabbing your right hand that was gripping on the metal chain that holds up the swing. Locking your fingers on the can holding it.

“Have this to cheer you up.” He said as he lets go of your hand and increasing the pace of his swing.

“You’re cheering me up with a Can of coffee?” You asked him raising your eyebrows at him.

“People drink coffee in the morning to give energy for a new start. So I’m giving you one.“ He stated. “Whatever may have happened today, you may have broken down after a while. This will be an energy for you.”

You stared at him for a couple of minutes. “So you- basically turned into a poetic human being after seeing me breaking down?” You joked and Jaemin blushed at the realization of what he had just said. Where was all of this energy when they have to write things for their literature test?

“Maybe.” He winked at you making you laugh, “Plus I’m giving you one of my favorite things in life.”

“Well I’m honored for this.” You said jokingly bowing at the kid beside you who couldn’t help but laugh a little. “This is enough for me to be able to rant to you tonight.”

“Whatever you say, I’m ready to listen here.” He said as he looked at you cracking a smile.

Jaemin guessed thats what it was, 

When you love someone it over flows and it wont stop, because thats how it is.

[writerofmanyfandoms]

Just Kiss Me Already

Summary: Requested!Anakin SkywalkerxReader! Modern AU. You have had the longest crush on Anakin Skywalker(since high school), and you fear that since the two of you are in college that you lost your chance. Will you be able to confess your feelings to him, or be doomed to hide them away?

Pairing: Anakin Skywalker x Reader

Word Count: 2900

Warnings: fluffy, mentions of alcohol, adult language, mentions of streaking, mentions of sex

Author’s Note: Hey everyone! Hope all is well! Sorry for such a long break! Things have been so hectic! I also had so much unneeded trouble trying to get this story out! Lmao. I work Friday 2/22 and Saturday 2/23, so I won’t be around those days. For sure I will be back on the 24th! I had so much fun writing this, and I love writing for Anakin. I have another Anakin story coming soon that was requested! Thank you for being patient with the request, I understand that it has been a hot minute! But I see them, I love them, and I want more! Feel free to send me ideas, I write for a multiple list of Fandoms!

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or the characters. Also, I do not own this GIF, found on GIPHY

You were relaxing on the soft grass, a soft blanket beneath you and your opened laptop a foot away. Class had gotten out an hour ago, but you were stuck working on a project. The hot sun, cool breeze, and the sound of the wind blowing through the trees made you doze off. You couldn’t help it, relaxing nights of sleep were far and few between, and you didn’t see the harm in resting your eyes for a minute.

“Y/N! Hey, it sure looks like you’re studying hard.” A familiar voice teases, the warmth of the body being felt as he sat beside you, causing you to sit up.

“In my defense Anakin, I was up all night working on my political science essay.” You told him, leaning over and shutting your laptop.

“Well, do you think you could spare me some time tonight? Padme is having a party at her place and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me and Obi-Wan?” Anakin asked, raising an eyebrow.

Even though he knew you would probably say no, he still wanted to ask. He never knew you may surprise him one day by saying yes. You couldn’t help it though. College had so much going on, and you had to stay on top of your grades or you would lose your scholarship. You gave him a look, and sort of shrugged your shoulders. If you could, you would roll your eyes at the thought of Padme inviting him over.

In all honesty, you liked Padme. She was fierce, confident, nice, and down to earth. The only problem was that Anakin had seemed smitten with her. Why wouldn’t he? She was gorgeous, and the way she could speak to a room sort of terrified you, but in a good way. If only you had been able to tell him sooner, but that was something to process at a different time.

“I don’t know. I have this project due Monday, and I want to make sure it is perfect. We have to debate our political opinion and I feel like I have so much to prepare for.” You told him, looking away to avoid his eyes.

Those damned beautiful eyes. Just looking into them would cause you to cave, and you knew it. And if he smiled, you would surely be a sucker. It wasn’t as if you liked pining away for him from afar, but it was all you could do. You weren’t the type of person to broadcast your feelings, and have no shame in speaking up. You weren’t Padme, and that was why you feared Anakin did not return those feelings.

“Come on, what if I help prepare your speech on Saturday? Please.” Anakin near pleaded, causing you to look up at him.

That was it that was all that it took to cause you to cave.

“Fine Anakin. But you better be at my apartment by 10:00 AM with Starbucks!” You told him, smiling like an idiot when you saw his face light up.

“Thank you so much, I have been getting kind of bored taking just Obi-Wan lately. I will pick you up tonight around 8! I will text you before I get there.” Anakin said, jumping up, giving you a quick hug.

“You woke me up from my peaceful nap for just that? A text would have sufficed.” You teased, hiding the blush that crept to your cheeks.

“I know, but I would have rather seen you! I’ll see you tonight!” He called out, waving as he walked away.

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes, wondering why you agreed to go. Parties were not your thing, and you definitely did not want to go to some college party where everyone was too drunk to handle themselves. Oh well, at least you were able to rope in some help for your project. That counted for something.

As the sun began to fall, and darkness was slowly creeping in, you decided to pack up your things and head back to your apartment. The quicker you got this thing over with, the quicker you were able to come home and finish binge-watching Game of Thrones. You definitely needed to catch up before Anakin accidentally spoiled it for you.

It didn’t take you too long to get ready. You made sure to jump in the shower and washed your hair, wanting to look as if you semi tried. For clothes you opted for casual wear, wearing your favorite jeans and band shirt. You had made the mistake of overly dressing to your first party, and you definitely were not going to make that mistake again.

Before you knew it Anakin was knocking on the door, seemingly out of breath.

“Hey! Sorry that I didn’t text first. My phone ended up dying and I have been with Obi-Wan. He has been helping me with my coursework. Business school is a lot, but if I want to own my mechanic shop, a business degree would definitely come in handy. So I thought I was running late and when I got here I ended up taking these stairs two at a time.” Anakin explained, causing you to laugh slightly.

“You’re fine! I totally understand. Sometimes I want to just scream at my computer and avoid my responsibilities.” You agreed, laughing as you grabbed your purse. “Well, at least you are already an amazing mechanic. You are the only person I want to call when my car breaks down. Which it does, a lot.”

“Well, I am only such a great mechanic because old reliable out there has given me so much practice! Maybe the only reason why it breaks down so much is so that you have an excuse to see me. I have to work on that thing at least five times a week.” He teased, watching you carefully as you locked the door. Even when you were dressed so casually Anakin couldn’t help but think that you were the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on.

“Oh don’t be so dramatic Anakin! It is definitely not that much. Besides, you are my best friend, if I wanted to hang out with you, I don’t need a car breaking down to do it!” You tell him, opening up the door to his own car.

Unlike your older Toyota, Anakin had a pretty nice Camaro. It was older, but he had fixed it to his liking and you always called it the lady magnet. Though it attracted more men to it than anything.

“Where is Obi-Wan?” You asked, reaching into the backseat for a bag of your favorite chips. You loved how Anakin would keep them in there for you.

“He decided to go with Satine tonight.  It is about time. I keep telling him that she is totally into him, but he is kind of oblivious about it.”

“I know the feeling.” You mumbled under your breath, glancing out the window.

“What was that?” Anakin questioned, raising an eyebrow and looking over at you briefly.

“I said that it must suck. But I am sure they can work it out. They do seem like a cute couple.” You answered, unbuckling as soon as the car pulled in.

You could feel your stomach in knots, not really wanting to go inside of the house. Watching Anakin attempt to flirt with Padme did not sound fun, and you felt as if you would be the fifth wheel. The whole way to the door you mentally prepared yourself, taking deep breaths.

“Hey Anakin, come in!” Padme greeted, giving Anakin a hug. “Y/N, I am surprised you show up! I am glad though.” She said with a smile, hugging you and shooting Anakin a look.

You internally rolled your eyes, staying close to Anakin as you entered the house. You truly liked Padme, she was nice and she was a mentor for your Political Science classes. She definitely knew what she was doing.

“Hey, you can stay here for a second. I can go grab you a drink. I will be right back.” Anakin said, walking off with Padme.

You wanted to argue and go with him, but you figured to leave it alone. At least he knew what you liked. You eyed the house, and all the people inside of it. They were bobbing along to the music, and you really didn’t know a single person. Other than Obi-Wan, but you definitely did not want to barge in while he was talking to Satine. Luckily a familiar voice brought you from your trance, and you smiled looking over at Ahsoka.

“Hey, Y/N! I am surprised you showed up! You never come to these things.” Ahsoka teased, leaning on the back of the couch.

“Well, I let Anakin sort of talk me into coming here.” You trailed off, blushing at Ahsoka’s knowing look.

You had known Ahsoka since you started college, actually being roommates for the first semester. You considered her to be your best friend, and the only person to know of your crush on Anakin. Oddly enough, she was good friends with Anakin and was always pushing for the two of you to get together.

“Oh my goodness, Y/N! Seriously. If you don’t get together soon I will scream. The two of you have liked each other for God knows how long. At least since the two of you were in high school. We are all getting tired of seeing the two of you pining after each other.” Ahsoka teased, watching as Anakin walked over. “And this is my cue to leave, so maybe you will finally tell him how you feel.” She teased, saying hi to Anakin as she passed.

“Here you go, everything alright?” Anakin asked, handing you your drink and taking a sip of his own.

You nodded your head, watching as some people trickled in and out of the house. The two of you talked, laughed, and just did what the two of you always did. Talking to others felt so hard sometimes, but talking to Anakin was always easy. From the first moment you had met him until now, you were crushing hard. There had been so many times that you wanted to tell him, but you just couldn’t. After all, why would he like you back? Especially now with Padme in the picture.

“Come on everyone! We are playing Truth or Dare!” Ahsoka called out, gathering up people from inside the house.

“Isn’t that a bit juvenile?” You teased, grinning as Ahsoka stuck her tongue playfully at you.

“As long as no one streaks, I am good. Last time it happened I was scared it was going to be me.” Anakin said, causing you to laugh.

After everyone settled in a space, and the game started, you suddenly felt a bit nervous. Anakin’s hand was wrapped casually around your shoulder, and you couldn’t be more aware of it. You knew it was just friendly, but the warmth of his body was enough to send you over the moon. You had sort of dazed off, thinking of Anakin and why you couldn’t tell him when you heard Padme calling your name.

“Truth or Dare?” She asked, and your face heated up as you felt people looking over at you.

“I know she will pick Truth and play it safe.” Anakin teased, and you shook your head.

“I will do something different and pick dare.” You said, not at all confidently and your stomach was turning as you saw Ahsoka whisper something into Padme’s ear.

“I dare you to kiss Anakin,” Padme said with a grin, and you thought you had actually felt your heart stop.

“No, I ca-.” You began, but Ahsoka was quick to cut you off.

“You have to, it is a dare!” She said, with the largest grin on your face.

“Come on, Y/N. It isn’t a big deal.” Anakin said, making you want to just turn around and leave.

Of course, he was right, it wasn’t a big deal. It was a huge deal. It was a ginormous deal. It was such a big deal that it couldn’t possibly have a word to describe it. You knew your entire face was red and you didn’t care. You wanted to be at home cuddle in bed with Game of Thrones on. But no. You had to agree to this to make Anakin happy, to see his stupid cute face all happy. And now you were stuck here being forced to kiss him. Of course, it could be worse, she could have dared you to kiss someone else, but she chose Anakin.

“Just kiss me already.” Anakin teased, pulling you from your thoughts.

You closed your eyes and took some big breaths. You slowly leaned in and placed your own lips against his. It surprised you when you felt him lean in, tangling on his hands into your hair. It felt so good, that you knew it had to be too good to be true. But the kiss felt like fireworks as if your whole life had lead you to this moment and it was the most glorious moment you had experienced so far. You could spend forever kissing Anakin Skywalker, but just as quick as it had happened it ended.

The next few moments were a blur to you. They went by so quick, yet everything seemed to be in slow motion. You could hear everyone cheering, mostly Ahsoka as she chided that it was about time. You could see the look on Anakin’s face, he seemed confused as you stood up. An incoherent excuse escaped your lips as you dashed out of the party, needing some air.

All of this had to be some cruel sick joke. You knew it. Anakin would have never kissed you like that. He didn’t like you. He was definitely into Padme. You were halfway home when you heard a car horn from beside you.

“Hey, Y/N. What the hell? You just dashed out of there. What is going on?” Anakin called out from his car, the windows rolled down.

You could feel the tears sting your eyes, and you shook your head. You couldn’t explain this to him. Because to him, it was just a stupid kiss, nothing more. But to you it was everything. It meant you could never go back to being just his friend, and watching from a distance as he sought out Padme.

“Come on Y/N, you can tell me. You are my best friend.”

That was it. It was as if a dam broke and a flood of our emotions came pouring out.

“You want to know what is wrong. You are! I have had a dumb, stupid, awful crush on you for as long as I can remember. I have always wanted to tell you, but the timing was never right. I wanted to kiss you like that so many times, but I never could. And when we started school and you met Padme, I knew I couldn’t. You like her, I can tell. I always catch the two of you talking, and I can’t compete with that. She is some fierce woman who can persuade a room of politicians. And I am plain old me who is too quiet for her own good.” You shouted out, not realizing that Anakin had put his car into park and was approaching you.

“Y/N. I am sorry. I should have said something too, but I am an idiot. I have liked you since the moment your bike went flat in front of my house and you fell into the bushes. As I fixed it you spent the whole time thanking me, and we were like 10. You offered me some homemade lemonade in return, and we have been friends ever since. I wanted to take you to Prom and be your date. I wanted to have you wear my letterman or make you a mum for homecoming. But I was too scared to admit how I truly felt. I knew you would never like someone like me. Or I thought at least.” Anakin told you, cupping your face into his hands. “And Padme is just a really good friend. Not like you. In fact, she was the one who kept telling me you liked me. She said she could just tell, and would always try helping me confess to you. That was why I asked Ahsoka to play Truth or Dare. I knew eventually Padme would ask you that, and that maybe a spark would happen. And it did. And now that I know we belong together, I don’t want to lose that. I love you, Y/N. And I wish I would have said something sooner, but I am an idiot.” He explained, causing you to blush. You really had no idea. “Since all of this is out in the air, did you want to try dating?” Anakin asked, causing you to smile wide.

“Just kiss me already.” You teased, wrapping your arms around him and pulling him in for a kiss. It felt as if the world stopped turning as he wrapped his arms around your waist, bringing you in as close as he could. Something good did come from this party, and you were actually glad you went to it.

[verdigrisprowl]

May 7 Dancitron Movie Night - Alien 3

Prowl and Soundwave are Completely Frigging Exhausted.

On the bright side, Prowl figured out that he can send his alternate visual feeds of the movie so she can watch too.

Today ItsyBitsySpyers 7:46 pm *Soundwave's tired as Pit from barely recharging - when he's brave enough to try - but he's here and attempting to be alert. He has plans for another of his favorite pieces of content and by Pri... by Solus, he will watch it.* ItsyBitsySpyers 7:47 pm *So he's in his seat, slouched down more than usual, but trying to stay upright nonetheless.* VProwl 7:49 pm *on the other hand, Prowl shows up, sits down, leans on Soundwave, and immediately falls asleep.* ItsyBitsySpyers 7:51 pm *Soundwave leans into Prowl right away. It's so nice to not have to rely on his own strength to stay upright... ish.*

*One feeler slips out to form a protective loop over Prowl's lap, up the back of the couch, behind his shoulders, and back down. To Pit with what anyone else sees. It's kind of hard to care when you keep having nightmares about dark energon infesting your loved ones.* Specs 7:52 pm *In comes a slightly-frazzled looking dragon! For Ravage, she's got energon fish with tinsel skeletons. For everyone else, it's the usual assortment of mercury cakes, rust sticks, and other delightful draconic goodies. For Soundwave, she has a carefully-made gummi version of the dancing chestburster from last weeks movie. And, since this is SPECIFICALLY for Soundwave, she's approaching him with it before putting everyone else's goodies on the table.* Um... ItsyBitsySpyers 7:53 pm *Ravage is strolling down the stairs and sniffing before she even gets to Soundwave. He smells tinsel. Don't mind him licking his chops.*

*Soundwave lifts his helm to look at the dragon, and then at the chestburster gummi.*

[[...Is that...]] Specs 7:54 pm It's the one from last week's movie. I, uh, I didn't quite get the hat right, but it should still taste good... *hopeful dragon grin* If you'd like it, of course... Magnum Ace 7:55 pm -pings Soundwave for entry- ItsyBitsySpyers 7:57 pm *He keeps staring at it, unable to process its existence all the way. It's so - it's so ridiculous. He can't believe the dragon actually reproduced that damned thing with energon.*

[[He won't be able to eat it, but it is...]] *Finally huffs, if quietly. Mustn't disturb Prowl.* [[It's amusing. He will keep it. Thank you.]] *Ace gets a bridge, albeit a little slower than usual. Calculating bridges is hard when you're sleepy.*

*He also gets a warning.*

@M: [[Frightening content tonight.]] *Well. Frightening for anyone who isn't him, anyway.* Magnum Ace 7:59 pm -Don't worry. Hopefully him and Bull are too tired to register much- Specs 7:59 pm *the dragon made seven iterations of the damned thing. she was determined to give this to Soundwave. sometimes, it's not talent, just spiteful determination.* You're very welcome, Soundwave. *with a happy churr, the dragon heads over to the rest of the snacks, stopping at the bar to give Ravage his tinsel fish* VProwl 7:59 pm ((sw voice: [[Well, mark him down as scared AND horny.]])) ItsyBitsySpyers 7:59 pm ((LMAO)) Specs 8:00 pm ((bless u prowl)) Magnum Ace 8:00 pm -But he's going to ping back that he got the warning, and trot through the bridge- Bull 8:01 pm *Bull comes in after Magnum looking tired and still has a patch to cover up the fresh repair to his left side* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:01 pm *Ravage is practically getting high just off the THOUGHT of tinsel at this point. He actually goes so far as to bunt the dragon before pulling the fish under the bar with himself.*

*Soundwave just tiredly toys with the gummi, wiggling the tail. He nods at Ace and Bull. Noting the patch, of course.* [[Hurt?]] ItsyBitsySpyers 8:03 pm ((TEN MINUTES grab ur snacks and stuff)) Specs 8:04 pm *a ravage bunt! she is... blessed... the dragon chirrups delightedly, getting to placing the snacks in their rightful place with vigor* Bull 8:04 pm Yeah, had a rough game today. *Bull was just happy for the pain blockers in the patch* Magnum Ace 8:04 pm -is standing below the table and just looking up. Kinda hard to climb when his leg is still healing- Some teams still like to rough their opponents up ItsyBitsySpyers 8:05 pm *Oh. Oh, he should... hold on.*

*Soundwave stretches the other feeler out to the opposite side of the room and pulls it back with a small stair set in tow.* *Plop. There you go, both of you.* VProwl 8:06 pm ((when is somebody going to address ravage's terrible addiction)) ItsyBitsySpyers 8:06 pm ((whenever someone actually realizes that bird's food hoarding is unhealthy and addresses that)) Magnum Ace 8:07 pm Thanks. -that makes this easier. Now they can climb stairs instead of table legs- Specs 8:07 pm ((in all fairness to the dragon, food hoarding is PERFECTLY NORMAl in her culture, which is why it's such a big thing to give other people food- of course Bird hoards food, everyone hoards food)) Bull 8:07 pm Thank you. *makes sure to stay close to Magnum incase he needs a hand. Specs 8:07 pm ((she has no excuse for dealing tinsel to ravage, tho)) ItsyBitsySpyers 8:07 pm [[Gave them a rough time right back, he hopes.]] Magnum Ace 8:10 pm -Bull, he's stubborn. He'll be fiiiiine- You mean us? We don't do that. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:11 pm [[What do you do?]] Magnum Ace 8:11 pm Dodge ItsyBitsySpyers 8:11 pm *He can't imagine telling the owners that they're being attacked helps, since the humans seem to think them replaceable objects.* [[...That is all?]] Bull 8:11 pm And play the game as it's meant be played. Specs 8:11 pm Why not? Eat those who would harm you. *the dragon hops onto the back of a couch, and gets into a comfy loaf* Magnum Ace 8:12 pm I....don't think that would work Specs 8:12 pm Well, you don't have to ACTUALLY eat them. The point of the phrase is that you shouldn't just let people beat you up. Omicron 8:13 pm *big predacon comes in, walks outside after the bridge and carefully, shakes herself out there of clinging ice crystals and once sure she got ride of most of it, comes in and sits. oo, she's foggy, nice* Magnum Ace 8:13 pm We won the last championship without attacking the other teams ItsyBitsySpyers 8:15 pm [[The point is to stop them from attacking you at all, championship or not... but as you like.]] *As long as they aren't murdered.*

*Soundwave tilts his helm at the steam rising off Ice Queen. How dramatic looking.* [[Greetings.]] Magnum Ace 8:16 pm -So, best not to bring up more of what can happen on the field. Got it- Swoop 8:16 pm *teeeeeeeeeeeenntitively pings soundwave* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:17 pm ((WARNINGS: I already packed the DVDs so I couldn't prewatch this and am going based on memory. I might miss some things here. Outdated incorrect beliefs about extra chromosomes, violence, blood and gore, deeply unpleasant death, animal death, mentions of and attempted rape, prisoner abuse, mentions of drug use, probably some flashing lights or flickering somewhere. Tonight is not an easy watch.)) Bull 8:17 pm *Keeps silent since he's sure they wouldn't understand their reasons* Magnum Ace 8:17 pm They 're slowly realizing that their way isn't working...we can take a few injuries VProwl 8:17 pm ((sounds like a barrel of laughs)) ItsyBitsySpyers 8:18 pm *Soundwave pings Swoop. Solus have mercy on his head, he is not alert enough for a rampaging Dinobot. Please let him behave...*

@S: [[Greetings.]] Omicron 8:18 pm *biiig fanged, happy grin from Icy back at soundwave, she's so cold that the air is making fog more then steam but hey, it works, happy predacon* Hello Swoop 8:18 pm *is unusually hesistant over the comm with Soundwave* Bird watching movie? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:18 pm @S: [[She is not down here. He can call her if you intend to come and behave.]] Swoop 8:19 pm Kay... Bull 8:19 pm ((Boy this movie brings back memories. It was the one Alien movie my dad didn't want me watching... even though I had seen far worse as a kid)) Magnum Ace 8:20 pm -carefully sits on table, wincing slightly- Considering the game we have tomorrow, I'm glad they didn't aim at my shoulders ItsyBitsySpyers 8:20 pm [[What is tomorrow?]] Magnum Ace 8:20 pm Baseball game Swoop 8:20 pm ((I don't love how much of this movie's plot comes from contractual decisions but tired, don't give a fuck Ripley is wonderful.)) Magnum Ace 8:21 pm Today was soccer ItsyBitsySpyers 8:21 pm [[No arms in soccer?]] Swoop 8:21 pm *wanders into dancitron in pterosaur form, low to the ground, head twitching around as he looks for Laserbeak* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:21 pm *Laserbeak is on her way down. She's as tired as the Boss, but if she can perch-sit with Swoop, she will.* Magnum Ace 8:22 pm Right, only goalies can use their arms and hands when it comes to the ball Everyone else cannot Swoop 8:22 pm *makes a beeline for her* Bird. Bull 8:22 pm *Bull raises his hand* I'm our goalie for soccer. Prowl 8:23 pm *arrives immediately after Swoop* Omicron 8:23 pm *icy waves a wing* VProwl 8:23 pm *Doesn't even stir as the movie starts. He's still sound asleep.* Swoop 8:24 pm *doesn't know what to do with himself* Magnum Ace 8:25 pm . . . ItsyBitsySpyers 8:26 pm *Bird pats him gently with a feeler.* {{Swoop.}}

[[Then your arms are more important?]]

*Glance at Prowl. Hmm.... slight nudge.* Swoop 8:26 pm *leans into the feelers and closes his optics* VProwl 8:27 pm *doesn't stir.* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:27 pm *Sleep it is. He'll just curl the feeler a little tighter and resume watching.* Magnum Ace 8:27 pm In soccer he's the one that keeps the other team from scoring points if the rest of us fail ItsyBitsySpyers 8:28 pm *Nod.* Bull 8:28 pm Need every part of my body for that. Just hoping my side will be good enough to still bat tomorrow. Specs 8:29 pm ((sorry, cat tried to turn off the computer)) Omicron 8:29 pm *chrips* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:29 pm ((np)) Magnum Ace 8:29 pm -pats- You'll be fine, don't worry VProwl 8:29 pm ((is the stream going in and out or is it just me?)) ItsyBitsySpyers 8:30 pm ((audio wise?)) Swoop 8:30 pm Bird Miss you VProwl 8:30 pm ((whole stream)) ItsyBitsySpyers 8:30 pm ((no problems here)) Swoop 8:30 pm ((doing okay for me)) VProwl 8:30 pm ((video is stuttering)) ((boo)) Magnum Ace 8:30 pm ((all good here ItsyBitsySpyers 8:32 pm {{Bird miss Swoop too. Away long, long, yes.}} ((close browser and restart?)) Swoop 8:32 pm *perks up a little, bird missed him!* Omicron 8:33 pm [I had my laptop muted *turns on and listens*] Swoop 8:33 pm *but then his brain catches up with him* yah... Bob dead Omicron 8:33 pm (seems fine here)) Specs 8:33 pm ((audio's fine here, for the computer having been nearly restarted by a horrible goblin who I love and cherish)) ItsyBitsySpyers 8:34 pm {{Bird remembers. Very sad, so sad. Poor, poor Bob bug.}} Swoop 8:34 pm *shrugs uncomfortably* Omicron 8:34 pm ((*releasing the noodles here*)) VProwl 8:35 pm ((why doesn't she just tell them)) Prowl 8:35 pm ((newt ;v; Omicron 8:35 pm ((scared to?)) Swoop 8:35 pm ((doesn't want xenomorphs on the books?)) Magnum Ace 8:36 pm ...... VProwl 8:36 pm ((also you might want to WARN this guy that a tiny alien might be inside of the corpse waiting to pop out)) Magnum Ace 8:36 pm -doesn't like where this is going- Prowl 8:37 pm ((well it should be dead at this point yeah? Swoop 8:37 pm *shifts his weight from forelimb to forelimb* Specs 8:39 pm ((mr. clemens has one of Those Voices that I have to lip-read to understand. im die.)) Omicron 8:39 pm (*patpats*) VProwl 8:40 pm *suddenly starts upright with a shout.* Specs 8:40 pm ((it's fine lol. I just get to squint at his face a lil more)) Swoop 8:40 pm *HOPS and turns reflexively at shouting* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:40 pm ((i'm sorry, this movie has a real problem with too soft/too loud audio, i never watch it without subs))

*Soundwave jerks upright and reflexively squeezes the coil, but quickly loosens it again* VProwl 8:40 pm *where the hell— what— who— where— what— how—* Magnum Ace 8:40 pm -shifts around a bit more uncomfortably at the sight of the furnace- Prowl 8:41 pm *startles* Swoop 8:41 pm ((okay NOW I'm getting jumpy video)) Omicron 8:41 pm *gives a chirp to the smaller mecha* Bull 8:42 pm *is just not watching at this point* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:42 pm *Bird just keeps petting Swoop. Nobody needs him to start breathing fire in a startle or something.*

*Soundwave pings Prowl.*

@P: [[Calm, calm. Prowl: safe. Prowl, here.]] Magnum Ace 8:43 pm -ducks head- Omicron 8:43 pm *fans her wings* VProwl 8:43 pm ((hell of a flower)) Omicron 8:43 pm *Icy's warming up, if someone needs to hide under wings they can* Swoop 8:43 pm *is a big fan of Bird pets and easily distracted to boot* Specs 8:44 pm *she's got a fur coat, she can take advantage of the Safe Wings anytime she wants. which is about now.* Swoop 8:44 pm *wanders somewhat aimlessly looking for where to camp himself, giving a wide berth to places he usually goes* VProwl 8:44 pm *grabs Soundwave's arm as he looks around, trying to orient himself. Right. Right. Movie night.* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:44 pm *Picks the upstairs remote out of his subspace and stretches it over to the baseball players. Just in case.* Omicron 8:44 pm *Icy carefully lays her wings in a loose flop, she does chirp to the dinobot from the back* Prowl 8:45 pm *sits back down slowly* Swoop 8:45 pm *chirps back reflexively* VProwl 8:45 pm *looks around the room.* ... Sorry. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:45 pm *Soundwave rests his other hand atop Prowl's to try to provide comfort, not minding the grab. If it's necessary, it's necessary.* Magnum Ace 8:45 pm -give them another scare like that last one, and they just might- Prowl 8:45 pm It's fine. Swoop 8:47 pm *wanders into an unfamiliar corner and climbs on top of a table to perch* Magnum Ace 8:48 pm -hope it's not the table him and Bull are on- ItsyBitsySpyers 8:48 pm {{What you going here for, eh?}}

*Spins a hovery circle around Swoop, curious. Is it easier to see from here?* Swoop 8:48 pm For sit Omicron 8:49 pm *if he's near, Ice Queen stretches out her neck to sniff at* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:49 pm {{Why sitting so far?}} Swoop 8:49 pm *hope you like the smell of dust and caves and burnt metal* Dunno VProwl 8:49 pm *lets go of Soundwave and slouches back down.* Omicron 8:50 pm *she's smelled worse, and there's not a lot thats truely 'bad' to her* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:51 pm @P: [[Resuming recharge?]] Omicron 8:52 pm *checks on fluffy dragon?* Specs 8:52 pm *fluffy dragon is the fluffiest loaf. it's safe here.* Magnum Ace 8:52 pm ........... Omicron 8:52 pm *gives them a lick then* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:53 pm {{Kay. Want snack?}} VProwl 8:53 pm @S «No, I'm up now.» ItsyBitsySpyers 8:53 pm @SProwl: [[Are you all right, there?]] Swoop 8:53 pm Huh? Oh. Nah. *pauses* Bird want snack? Omicron 8:54 pm I dislike that warden ItsyBitsySpyers 8:54 pm {{No, no. Bird fine.}} She was in the middle of pigging out when Soundwave called her down.* {{You change mind, you letting Bird know, kaaaaay?}} Specs 8:54 pm *licks Icy's snout right back. she's okay! just a little nervous after seeing something more her size get chestburst.* Swoop 8:54 pm Kay : > Prowl 8:54 pm @S: Hm? *she didn't expect to be asked after* Yes, yes, I just wasn't expecting anyone in the room to shout. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:55 pm *Soundwave nods to the Prowl at his side and lets his hand drop. Seems to be all right now.*

@P: [[Can he do anything to be of service?]]

*Confirmation ping to the other Prowl. All right. He wasn't sure.* Prowl 8:57 pm *a ping of concern to her alternate* Omicron 8:57 pm yeah, I don't like this warden ItsyBitsySpyers 8:57 pm [[Neither does he.]] *May he get himself infested and serve as a host to a better life form.* Swoop 8:57 pm *has no idea what's happening and doesn't particularly care to try to catch up* VProwl 8:57 pm @P «... Yes?» @S «No, I'm fine. Sorry for being disruptive.» Swoop 8:58 pm *instead he rocks a little on the table so it ends up going off balance and then falling back in place, not a wild rollercoaster but still a little bit of a balancing act for a dinoborb* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:58 pm @P: [[No apology needed.]] ((it's going to be very rough in a moment iirc so people might want to be afk as needed)) Prowl 8:58 pm @P: Your status? Omicron 8:59 pm I've dealt with that kind, type when younger. *rumbles, and folds up one wing, helping to keep specs braced under and let them peek out better, other wing is streached out.....and then low growling* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:59 pm ((and clear)) *Bird whistles in surprise at the sudden movement and grabs the table with feeler claws. Don't fall...* Magnum Ace 9:01 pm ohno Swoop 9:01 pm *isn't the best at a lot of things but being in the air is his jam, this is easy peasy* VProwl 9:01 pm @P «Normal. Sorry for disturbing you, I'd been dozing.» Magnum Ace 9:01 pm -hides face- ItsyBitsySpyers 9:03 pm *Ahh. Even if the rest of his life is a sleep-deprived shambles, he can still have this moment to appreciate a delightful alien.* Omicron 9:03 pm well *closes wing on specs* VProwl 9:03 pm ... Oh, it's one of these movies. Omicron 9:03 pm *she still has another free wing to hide under if anyone needs* Specs 9:03 pm *thanks* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:03 pm [[It is.]] Swoop 9:03 pm *gets bored with his self-imposed earthquake and flops down over the table, wings ending up on either side* VProwl 9:04 pm *SLJDFKLJ NEEDLES IN HEAD* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:04 pm ((lmfao and here i thought this movie was safe for prowl as far as needles in head go)) VProwl 9:04 pm *HWY THIS* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:04 pm ((*just gives up and facepalms*)) @P: [[...He apologizes. He did not know.]]

*Well, if Prowl wasn't going to sleep before, he definitely isn't now.* Swoop 9:05 pm *is now a tablecloth* VProwl 9:05 pm *not going to watch the screen.* @S «Yep.» Prowl 9:05 pm @P: No apology needed. Specs 9:06 pm *blinks* It was me? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:06 pm *Bird decides to see if she can get Swoop to stay still by going to grab treats to put them on his tablecloth wings.* [[What was you?]] Omicron 9:07 pm ?? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:07 pm [[Oh. He sees.]] VProwl 9:07 pm *looks tentatively at the screen.* Swoop 9:08 pm *makes a sad little noise when Bird zips off but is quite content to watch her set up a tea party on his wings* Omicron 9:08 pm can someone smack that warden? *loosens wing for fluffy dragon?* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:08 pm [[Perhaps the alien will.]] Specs 9:08 pm *peeks out, to see if there's Actually A Dragon* Omicron 9:09 pm good Prowl 9:09 pm *scowls* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:11 pm *Blips.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:13 pm *There. Bird has arranged a full smorgasbord on Swoop's wings.*

*...Maybe she'll take a FEW things. But the rest is just gonna sit there.* Swoop 9:14 pm *looks at what she arranged sideways and gives the littlest of snickers* Omicron 9:14 pm that's a big needle....*clamps wing again* Swoop 9:15 pm Now Swoop table Specs 9:15 pm *nope nope nope nope nope nope nope* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:15 pm *One of the first times he's seen one with a changed shape based on the host. How fascinating.*

*...But, hmm.* {{Swoop not Dinobot. Now, Swoop Tablebot.}} Swoop 9:16 pm Keehee That BORING altmode, Bird Prowl 9:16 pm Did it get him? Omicron 9:16 pm ....HAH VProwl 9:16 pm It got him. Prowl 9:17 pm ...Good. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:17 pm [[...He's tired. He thought he heard you say]] [][][]Good.[][][] Swoop 9:18 pm ((that expression of hers)) ((goddamn)) ((so far passed unimpressed)) Specs 9:19 pm ((I'd let her punch me)) VProwl 9:19 pm *... hmmm. pings his alternate; offers a video feed from his optics.* Prowl 9:19 pm You heard correct. *oh! accepts* VProwl 9:20 pm *it's got Prowl's HUD measurements and calculations riddling the feed, sorry about that.* Omicron 9:21 pm -oh yeah loosens wing again- Prowl 9:22 pm *it's almost familiar the calculations and everything* Swoop 9:22 pm *for once isn't wiggling enough to send goodies everywhere* Prowl 9:22 pm @P: Many of these Earth documentaries have audio description but these Alien ones do not. Thank you. Swoop 9:22 pm *most of his twitching remains from the neck up for now* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:23 pm *Soundwave's hands twitch.* VProwl 9:24 pm @P «You're welcome.» *glad his alternate can process visual data.* «Let me know any other time you want a feed.» Omicron 9:24 pm hmmm Prowl 9:25 pm @P: I will. Magnum Ace 9:25 pm -NOPE!- VProwl 9:25 pm *he's just gotta hold very still for the rest of the movie. no problem.* Omicron 9:25 pm *twitches slightly and tilts head before giving out a poof of cold-cloud like a smoke ring.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:27 pm *Can sense the cold from here. He twitches again. No cold, thank you.*

*And then a third time.* Omicron 9:27 pm *its not much, just a poof, she won't make ice inside* Prowl 9:27 pm @S: You heard me correctly earlier. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:28 pm @SProwl: [[You cheered a warden's death?]] Magnum Ace 9:30 pm -whelp, if Bull doesn't mind he's taking the remote and going upstairs, possibly pulling Bull with him- ItsyBitsySpyers 9:30 pm [[...He thought so.]]

*Slump.* Bull 9:30 pm ((I'm gonna head off. Got headache and too tired; so night all)) VProwl 9:30 pm ((gnight)) Magnum Ace 9:30 pm ((g'night! ItsyBitsySpyers 9:30 pm ((night <3 rest up, hope your head gets better)) Omicron 9:30 pm (rest well!) Prowl 9:31 pm @S: He was clearly a terrible warden. The conditions of this prison are abysmal. If he had listened to Ripley when she tried to warn him the first time, he wouldn't have died. Swoop 9:31 pm Bird ItsyBitsySpyers 9:31 pm {{What what?}} Swoop 9:32 pm Tell a story Omicron 9:32 pm hmmm Swoop 9:32 pm please? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:32 pm @SProwl: [[...That is fair.]] *Bird flops on Swoop and folds her wings up.*

{{Bird tiiiiiiired. Not want story telling.}} Swoop 9:33 pm *lays his head down so his beak is hanging off the table too* Kay *is now a combination snack tray and bed and is totally fine with it* VProwl 9:35 pm *he rests an arm on Soundwave's feeler.* Omicron 9:36 pm (has anyone seen the isolation game based on these earlier movies?) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:36 pm *The whole thing slithers a bit more to allow for the part under the arm to scooch into a loop and cling to it.* ((i have it but have yet to play it)) Omicron 9:36 pm [I was playing some of it] VProwl 9:39 pm ((how convenient, to need to die, and be in a base full of murderers)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:39 pm ((i hope it's as good as it looks)) Windchill 9:40 pm (( I hear it's good once you get into it. Haven't played though. )) Swoop 9:42 pm *chirps and murmers to himself, it's not really a song, it's just a way of not being totally still* Windchill 9:42 pm *Windchill is here. He has two heads tonight; one stacked on top of the other. The top one is Blue, riding around like a jetpack baby.* Swoop 9:43 pm *is a tablecloth covered in goodies and a borb friend* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:43 pm *Bird whistles tiredly to Blue and goes back to being quiet, listening to Swoop carry on with his sorta-song.* Windchill 9:43 pm *Swoop...has become a tablecloth?* Omicron 9:43 pm *big dragon predacon with fuzzy dragon under a wing over here* Swoop 9:43 pm ((ngl that is actually one of my favorite movie "rallying the troops" speeches)) Specs 9:44 pm *fuzzy dragon is fuzzy* Windchill 9:44 pm *Blue cheeps, it's almost polite....* Swoop 9:44 pm *is draped right over that table, wings and beak over the edge* Omicron 9:44 pm *fuzzy dragon gets another lick* *chirps at Blue, hello young wiggly one* Specs 9:45 pm *Icy gets another lick onna snout* Windchill 9:46 pm *Windchill gives Swoop a once over...and decides it's better to not have noticed. He's gonna take his squeaky spawn and make for a seat.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:47 pm *Clutches the arm tighter.* Windchill 9:47 pm *But he's interrupted when Blue spots Food and cheeps her demands.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:48 pm *The ship is coming...* Swoop 9:48 pm *isn't looking to socialize beyond Bird and is quite content with his spot* VProwl 9:48 pm *... pats feeler with his other hand. is he stressed for the humans or for the xenomorph? ... or excited for the xenomorph?* Windchill 9:48 pm (( Well, that's didn't age well but I'mma ignore it. )) Swoop 9:49 pm ((yeah this was during that "we tried real hard" period of cgi)) Windchill 9:49 pm (( Yeeeep. )) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:49 pm ((yeah they had some problems with the Runner, and this was apparently better than the puppet)) *Oh, a little of A, a little of B... pinch of C...* Swoop 9:49 pm ((it'd be a REALLY complicated animatronic)) ((it makes sense to use cgi)) Magnum Ace 9:50 pm ((wow, did they really screw it up? VProwl 9:50 pm ((i'm blessed by a cruddy internet connection, it keeps stuttering and the image is low definition.)) Magnum Ace 9:50 pm ((shit, they did)) VProwl 9:50 pm ((i can't tell CGI from a jim henson puppet rn)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:50 pm ((i'm sorry ;; )) Windchill 9:50 pm *Blue slams her chubby hands over dad's eyes. He grunts, his mouth forming a firm line of patience.* *Can he see anything? No.* Prowl 9:51 pm ((it's for the best honestly Swoop 9:51 pm *is a lazy boy* *still twitchy and making constant noise* *but lazying with borb* Omicron 9:52 pm sparkling you'll get things faster if you're calming most times Windchill 9:53 pm *Tries to gently pry off one hand at a time, but with limited success. As in, none.* Swoop 9:53 pm ((fuckin brutal)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:54 pm [[They are all in trouble now...]] VProwl 9:54 pm Mm. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:55 pm *The Ripley human is dying, they're running out of bait, the Company is arrived...* VProwl 9:55 pm ... Why is it hunting them so fast? It's just using up its own food source. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:55 pm [[It came from a dog. Perhaps it doesn't have the intelligence the human-hosted ones do?]] *Shot in the dark. He has no idea why.* VProwl 9:56 pm The others hunted just as fast, didn't they? I just didn't notice at the time. Specs 9:57 pm ((oof, as a CGI animator, I feel the struggle making that beast, but at the same time...)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:57 pm [[Mm... true. More prey, here.]] Windchill 9:57 pm *Chirps plaintively, trying to coax his spawn into releasing his eyeballs. She does, and crawls down to rest on his shoulders like a fat scarf.* Finally. Specs 9:57 pm ((it definitely looks like they wiggled a rubber alien in front of a camera)) Windchill 9:58 pm (( It is a thing of beauty. )) Swoop 9:58 pm ((I love him taking his glasses off. He's ready for a real fight.)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:58 pm *Bows his helm a bit.* Omicron 9:59 pm dramadic VProwl 9:59 pm Unless the xenomorphs are secretly domesticated and provided prey at regular intervals by their owner species, they would easily and rapidly slaughter any natural range they live in, both by overbreeding and overhunting. Unless prey species are far more durable on their home planet? Windchill 10:00 pm *He picks up a few snacks to the tune of excited peeps and licks one before offering it to her.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:00 pm *Perk? It survived molten lead?* Omicron 10:00 pm I thought those things were spread out? Prowl 10:00 pm *not for long* Windchill 10:00 pm *She gobbles it down GREEDILY while he finally takes a seat, if only for a little while.* VProwl 10:01 pm *oh, they killed it with thermodynamics. Prowl's delighted.* Prowl 10:01 pm Ah, the lead on its body reacted to the cold water. Clever bit of thinking on their part. VProwl 10:01 pm *hey alternate hope you don't mind half the screen being covered in a fuckton of calculations pertaining to that maneuver because Prowl's delighted by it and wants to mull it over.* Prowl 10:02 pm *not at all, she absorbs the data along with him* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:02 pm *Slump. Never mind. It's dead, and now they've come for the Ripley human.*

[[They might hibernate, away from home. Wait for new hosts. New locations. The eggs last...]] VProwl 10:03 pm He's definitely lying. Windchill 10:04 pm *Blue snags another treat out of Chill's hand. She's rude.* Are you gonna watch the movie now? Omicron 10:05 pm ((soundwave mun, did I miss a posts from you from the trip to icy's ship? *poking things on tumblr*)) VProwl 10:05 pm Seems a poorer strategy than just evolving to not overhunt. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:05 pm ((i think you did? i don't remember seeing one from you after my last one)) Omicron 10:05 pm [bugger *goes to look*] Windchill 10:05 pm *Chill gets yelled at for daring to ask such an impertinent question. He'll be quiet, then.* Gross. Omicron 10:06 pm blah ItsyBitsySpyers 10:06 pm *And it's bowed again.*

[[A brave human.]] VProwl 10:06 pm ((i appreciate that a frigging alien is bursting out of her chest and her first instinct is to grab it by the neck.)) Omicron 10:07 pm *nods* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:07 pm ((time marker: 10:28pm)) Swoop 10:07 pm *looks at Bird sideways* Windchill 10:08 pm Well. They made another one after that. VProwl 10:08 pm *movie's over, he gets to look around again without depriving his alternate of the view.* Windchill 10:08 pm *He's trying to ignore the gross eating noises in his ear.* Specs 10:08 pm *the dragon squirms out from under the safety of Icy's wing* I need to go. Thank you for the movie, Soundwave! ItsyBitsySpyers 10:08 pm [[You're welcome, dragon.]] Magnum Ace 10:08 pm -peers down the stairs. It safe?- Prowl 10:09 pm A pity she had to sacrifice herself. *will end the connection with her alternate with a grateful ping* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:09 pm *Soundwave pings the baseball mechs. Yep. It's safe.*

[[Another? He knows of the fight with the Predators, but...]] *Shakes his helm a little.* [[He will look for it.]] VProwl 10:09 pm *acknowledgment ping.* Indeed. It was unfortunate. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:10 pm *It won't be the same without the Ripley human, though. She was one hell of a fighter.* Windchill 10:10 pm Yeah, or...so I hear. I haven't seen the entire thing. *Might have tried to watch and took a nap instead...maybe.* Omicron 10:11 pm *gives dragon one more lick in farewell, getting back up. paaauses, winces at some water of the floor* oh...sorry about that. Windchill 10:11 pm I think that's the order they go in. Swoop 10:11 pm Bird ItsyBitsySpyers 10:12 pm [[He appreciates the data.]]

*To Ice Queen.* [[We will clean it later.]]

{{Eh? What? What want?}} *Bird twitches awake.* Magnum Ace 10:12 pm -okay, good, he and Bull need to be going now- Swoop 10:12 pm Me Swoop want to nap too *twitches* Windchill 10:12 pm *Peers at Swoop from the corner of his optic. but is sure to not make eye contact. * Omicron 10:13 pm *Icy is still in a really good mood, so someone gets a headbump- carefully on her way out* [I'm apoofing] ItsyBitsySpyers 10:13 pm {{Oh. Come on, us go. Upstairs lounge good nap spot. Warm.}}

((bye all who are going!)) Windchill 10:13 pm (( 'Gnight! )) Swoop 10:14 pm *fidgets* Me Swoop.... other Dinobots. Windchill 10:15 pm *With a mouth full of half-chewed snacks, Blue peers around Chill's head at the rest of the room.* Magnum Ace 10:15 pm ((and g'night from me too)) ((thanks for the stream!)) ItsyBitsySpyers 10:15 pm {{Ohhh. Kay. Hold on. Bird fix Swoop table.}}

*She'll start picking the snacks and things off of him so he can move without making a mess.* Omicron 10:16 pm (good night! and I'll hunt for that last post) Swoop 10:16 pm *nods his head and shuffles awkwardly in place once he can move* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:16 pm *She pats his cheek.* {{You Swoop go nap. Bird tell story after wake up.}} Windchill 10:17 pm *Are these people...edible?* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:17 pm *Ravage thinks so. Of course, he's out of his head on tinsel right now, and you probably shouldn't take advice from a cannibal anyway. Bad life decision.* Windchill 10:18 pm *Her dad is a cannibal, it runs in the family.* Swoop 10:19 pm *puffs up with a little bit of excitement* Kay. Windchill 10:19 pm *Everyone is too far away to hunt down for more snacks, so she'll go back to the ones in Chill's palm. Windchill, for his part, seems largely unaware of her malicious thoughts. Mostly.* Swoop 10:20 pm Me Swoop love You Bird : > ItsyBitsySpyers 10:20 pm {{You Swoop funny.}} *Pat pat.* Swoop 10:20 pm yah *and, with that, he hops off the table and out of Dancitron back to sleepy town in the Dinocave, the other Dinos will surely thank her for putting Swoop to bed* Windchill 10:21 pm *He has to wave bye at Swoop without turning his head, making him look like more of a weirdo than usual.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:22 pm *Bird cackles softly and floats back upstairs. Time for her to crash out as well. She doesn't sleep well unless the Boss sleeps well, and lately...* Windchill 10:23 pm I should take the bitty home, too. *Stands...CAREFULLY. Spawning requires having a sense of balance, apparently.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:23 pm *As a carrier unit, he'd believe it.*

[[Do so safely.]] Windchill 10:24 pm Mmmm. *Gives Soundwave a Look, as if he can't quite decide what the funniest response to that is.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:25 pm *That's probably for the best. Soundwave's being 1000% serious for Reasons.* Windchill 10:25 pm We'll try. I'm sure she'll keep me straight. Windchill 10:27 pm *He prods his spawn's pale underside; she's eaten enough to put him to shame today and he has to be careful with that, too.* Say bye, Blue. *The room at large gets a gross grunt and a yelled "BAH." Good enough.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:27 pm *Soundwave copies Windchill's "bye" and parrots it at Blue, whether she says it or not. Might as well be nice to younglings.* Windchill 10:28 pm Well..We tried. *Gives a mental shrug, and heads for the door.* Bye, suckers. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:29 pm [[Goodbye.]] Windchill 10:29 pm *Blue stares rudely back at Soundwave as they leave.* *The End.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:32 pm *Nobody here but him and two Prowls. He finally stops trying to look like he's alert and upright and leans into Prowl rather heavily.* VProwl 10:32 pm *meets him in the middle.* Prowl 10:34 pm *will leave with a ping to them both and drop it down to just one Prowl in the room* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:34 pm *Returns the ping goodbye.* [[...How tired are you.]] VProwl 10:35 pm *bitter laugh.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:36 pm [[You too.]] VProwl 10:37 pm Me too. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:38 pm [[Do you /feel/ like trying to recharge?]] VProwl 10:38 pm I'd better. Do you? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:40 pm [[...No. He'd rather not.]]

*Soundwave shakes his helm.*

[[He still hasn't figured out where to go on that... vacation. The one you suggested. He will look into that.]] *Rubs fin against Prowl's shoulder.* [[But you should. One of us should.]] VProwl 10:43 pm Mm. When did you last recharge? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:47 pm [[He tried th... four days ago.]] *Shakes his helm.* [[It's fine. He's gone longer.]] VProwl 10:48 pm ... What's AVERAGE for you? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:50 pm [[It used to be longer.]] *But Prowl's not going to let him have that answer, is he. Long vent.* [[Post-multiverse, twenty hours.]] VProwl 10:50 pm *Prowl stares.* ... What would help make it easier. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:51 pm [[Time travel.]] VProwl 10:51 pm What's plan B. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:53 pm [[Chips from - someone else. A few years ago. They'll give him another three days.]]

*He's banking on being so exhausted at that point he won't dream and can catch up on rest.* VProwl 10:54 pm "Chips"? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:57 pm *Pinches the air with thumb and a finger, leaving a tiny space.* [[Small devices. Plugged in. Temporary hack.]] VProwl 10:58 pm *DARK look.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:58 pm *Leans back.* VProwl 10:58 pm Side effects? Physical AND psychological? ItsyBitsySpyers 11:05 pm [[Slowed internal function in all but brain module, longer physical response times, processor overheating, chilling elsewhere, faint visual auras if optics move too quickly, increased paranoia, spark strain with use beyond recommended timespan, occasional docking program glitches. The glitches aren't suspicious; he investigated them himself and they are all a result of not sharing full process data with the creator.]] VProwl 11:07 pm Uh-huh. Go to sleep. Wake up screaming a few times. It's better for your system. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:10 pm [[Mph.]] *Soundwave buries his face again. He really doubts waking up terrified that he's become a zombie or that he's enslaved again or that he's had his spark ripped out or that he had to kill all of his minicons again is better for his spark than the chips.* VProwl 11:13 pm *... sighs, and leans more heavily on Soundwave.* Or get some software that'll regulate your defrag cycles or something. Staying up like that isn't healthy. /You/ know that. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:16 pm *Equivalent of a mutter.* [[Was trying to avoid going back to Ratchet.]]

*But he's not denying that it's unhealthy.*

[[Fine. Only if you rest as well. You were--]] *Spine twitch.* [[You need it, too. Sleeping through that crowd.]] VProwl 11:19 pm ... I've been sleeping. Just—not very well. Or long. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:20 pm [[As he said. You still need it too.]] *Sits up enough to look at Prowl.* [[Can he - is there /any/ way to help? Few see him working, but you are - you're the face of the police.]] VProwl 11:24 pm The face of the police spends most of his time in an office. They know I—well. They're under the impression that I personally fought a Megatron directly channeling the Dead Universe. They've been forgiving if I've had to reschedule a few meetings. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:27 pm [[As they should be.]] *But even now, he has his worries.* [[You're sure none of them want to try it themselves? The channeling. And the Constructicons - are they helping?]] VProwl 11:29 pm Channeling the Dead Universe? God no. Unicron might have been mythologized as a dangerous source of immense power in YOUR universe—but in MINE, the Dead Universe is associated with nothing except danger. *doesn't answer the Constructicon question.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:30 pm *He hears - or, more appropriately, doesn't hear - that dodge, there.*

[[If you need somewhere else to be...]] VProwl 11:31 pm ... You don't need to—to make a special offer out of it. Thought you always set aside movie nights for me. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:32 pm [[He does. He meant other nights.]] VProwl 11:33 pm You're not sleeping. *half shrug.* I think I caused your berth enough trauma the last time we were left together without supervision. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:38 pm [[/That./]] *Strange, low, electronic warbling noise.* [[He didn't - /doesn't/, care about that. It was just a berth.]] *And it's been fixed, besides.* [[He only meant to offer you the right to stay in the apartment alone if you needed it. He isn't using it right now. Won't be, on vacation.]] VProwl 11:39 pm I was joking. My point is—there's no point in sleeping at your place if I'm not sleeping with you. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:41 pm *...That reminds him. He's been wondering all about Prowl's breakdown that night. There isn't time to ask about it right now, and he doesn't want Prowl to think he'd only brought it up to escape talking about the rest of everything anyway. But he will, soon. He promises himself that much.*

[[Oh.]] *Lifts his head and looks at the stairs.* [[...Come with him, then?]]

*Ravage and Laserbeak could use the break from being in the room with him when he tries to rest anyway.* VProwl 11:43 pm *pauses, then nods.* Are you going to try to recharge tonight? ItsyBitsySpyers 11:48 pm [[He supposes so.]] *Faintly playfully, in that really exhausted and sort of resigned way:* [[The law frowns on his intended alternative.]] *And just in case, a humor tag.*

*He carefully extricates himself from Prowl, gets up - that is definitely a wobble - and stares a moment longer. A reassurance must be given before he can go on vacation in a couple of weeks. Or try sleeping tonight.*

[[You'll tell someone if you do require more assistance? Himself, Tarantulas, Ratchet, his alternate... somebody.]] VProwl 11:49 pm They're illegal, too?! *Soundwave. Soundwave please. Soundwave you're killing him.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:51 pm [[...You. He meant you.]] VProwl 11:52 pm ... Oh. *can you tell how sleep-deprived he is.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:53 pm *About as much as him, it seems.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:54 pm *He's still staring.* VProwl 11:55 pm *he gets to his feet as well, and automatically puts a hand to the small of Soundwave's back; he saw that wobble.* I promise. I'll talk to someone if I need it. I've—already talked to Tarantulas, a little. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:57 pm *Silently appreciative. He doesn't need it while standing still, but they'll be going upstairs in a second.*

[[Good. Good. Did he - did it help?]] Yesterday VProwl 11:57 pm *... nods.* Some. VProwl 12:01 am ... You tell someone if you need more help, too. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:02 am *Relieved. At least he isn't keeping it all to himself.*

[[Then he owes Tarantulas his gratitude.]] *Straightens up some.* [[He won't pry unless you open that door first.]] *Prowl talked to someone. If Prowl doesn't want to tell him right away, or ever, that's fine.*

[[Ravage and Laserbeak have been watching over him. The others as well, but - mostly them. He will tell them.]]

[[For now... yes. Recharge.]] VProwl 12:03 am *a weary nod. And up the stairs they go.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:05 am *He'll be asleep before he finishes getting comfortable.*

[survivor-tierradelfuego]

Ep. 5: “I only deal with things in my control” - Ben

James Hayden

Tribal went according to plan. Leanne was blindsided 5-3. Now to do damage control with Naj and Aimee. Hopefully we don't have to do this soon. Zack's constant paranoia before tribal is worrisome. 

Maddison

Pedro just blew up my game and I want him gone. 

James Hayden

Within minutes of tribal ending, Jay sends us a message saying that our next immunity challenge will start in a few minutes. What the hell??? I was not expecting that. It turns out to be a game of tag from hell. We instantly lost Sarah and Amy because they have sketchy internet connection at the moment. Although losing the challenge and going to tribal isn't the worst thing for my game, I accidentally goofed and was eliminated after two hours. It's now down to Zack, Ben, and Naj vs 5 (?) of their people. Zack tried to make a deal with them to end this, but no dice. If we do lose, Aimee probably goes home. I don't want to go to tribal again, so I'm once again praying to the Survivor ORG gods for a W.

Ryan

I was doing so well for the first few rounds, but it feels like I'm going on a downward spiral. I'm pretty sure I've still got numbers with Pedro, Amy, John and Maddison, but I'm scaaaaared

Olivia A

I’m very disappointed by the outcome of that challenge. I think if we kept going we definitely would’ve won. We shouldn’t have taken the deal but oh well I guess. I am incredibly exhausted and almost cried when the randomizer showed that they won. I’m going to sleep!!

John B

Well that challenge turned into a major bummer, but hey, hindsight is 20/20 I guess. Now we have to figure out who to vote and if I had to guess it’s gonna be Ryan or Alan. I hope my alliance can get things together. With Alan having the idol we may need to split votes and Idk who we’d split with. Honestly at this point as long as it’s not me I could care less. Xoxo Gossip John 😘

Kalle N

Pedro exposing alliances that I'm not a part of... OOF. Honestly I don't even care who we vote out at this point. I am getting sick of no one on this tribe being able to make a decision or say a name and if i get voted out i will be relieved. I just want this to end

Ryan

feeling very Sandra right now. “Anybody but me”. 

James Hayden

After more than four hours, WE WON THE TAG CHALLENGE FROM HELL!!! We were only down to Zack and Ben, but we won!! The other tribe agreed to do a randomizer and had a 75% chance of winning, but the Survivor ORG gods favored us and we got the W. After the challenge, Jay said to be online after tribal. This leads us to think a swap is happening. I'm just hoping that the odds are in my favor and end up with some variation of the 5. Ideally, the my new tribe would be me, Sarah, Ben, and two people from the other tribe. As long as my new tribe isn't myself with Aimee/Naj and three new people, I should be ok.

Ryan

I’m getting really close to John, I feel like we’re starting to really control some decisions. Maddison is still my #1 though

James Hayden

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2sp7C2PJIE&feature=youtu.be

Zack M

what can i say right now? i'm not happy. we won the immunity challenge but not because we deserved it. i'm so irritated with the majority of my tribe at the moment. again, i understand that real life is going on around us and the majority don't have the luxury of just sitting around on our computers all day. BUT LIKE CAN WE JUST TRY IT ONE NIGHT?! just once. the challenge was tag. endurance. we have to be ready to go every 5 minutes. did i plan on spending my saturday night like this. absolutely not. was i there until the very end? absolutely. we started out with cody, james, najwah, ben, and i. we were immediately down by 2 because sarah and aimee weren't available. after about an hour john from the other tribe and i were chosen to meet to try to reach a deal to end this challenge early. i got nothing from john even through i tried to be cute and mention that he beat me in the flag challenge. whatever. we continue. during this continuation the host left to shave her head. cute haircut, wrong timing. can you imagine jeff being like "brb guys, do this challenge without me because i need a trim real quick." like what? especially during a game where it comes down to SECONDS. like if you can't be there go ahead and tap in someone else. when she returned she asked if anything had happened ... the rules clearly stated that we were NOT ALLOWED to talk in the game chat ... john on the other side said "nope" .... the rest of us said nothing because again, let me repeat for the people in the back, the rules clearly stated that we were NOT ALLOWED to talk in the game chat. if their 6 (minus john) and our 4 at the time understood, why did he not? also, why did he not get punished for it? THEN we decided to make it harder where we were speeding it up a little to try and get through it tonight. again, let me repeat that, all we did was speed it up. from what i understood we had to "tag" someone at the beginning of the minute. we were not able to wait until the last second ... otherwise why would everyone have not been doing that the entire game? it would have obviously been the go to move. grae, from the other tribe, tagged najwah right before the cut off. she was literally typing as the round ended. it was clearly unfair but again overlooked and we were down another player. i know we are human and the host can't be everywhere at once and at the time ben and kalle from the other team were trying to come to some sort of deal to end the game BUT the game should have been the main focus. on top of letting it slide, my multiple comments of how it was unfair were not correctly addressed. in no way was i trying to get an upper hand for our team. it was clear at that moment we were going to lose and as i've mentioned in multiple confessions i would rather be at tribal than not because i don't know what everyone else is doing. i just love rules. i'm very type a. i pay attention to everything. i didn't think it was cool. nothing can change my mind. it wasn't cool. period. but let's take a moment to sit back and lay in that good karma. i'm a firm believer that good things come to those who deserve it and we did because we had two disadvantages happen to us in the game. in the end, we went to some website ... idk ... and did some random shit. their 5 names and our 2 were put in a list. they picked the number 3 so the host hit randomize or something 3 times and i picked the number 4 because that's my god number and BOOM!!!! ben's name was number 4 so we won. WONT HE DO IT. YES HE WILL. believe in him and give thanks because we won. i thought i was on mute but i wasn't and i clapped. the other team probably hates me and like i'm guessing we are going to expand to 3 groups of 5 tomorrow but i don't even care. if i'm going to lose and be voted out i want it to be right. our team did not deserve to be at tribal tomorrow and guess what .. we won't be. i'm praying i end up on a team with the majority of my alliance or at least my tribe but honestly we will probably lose if we do. i just want a team that wins so i can make it to the merge. that's all i'm focused on right now. the rest can come later. in conclusion, i don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. i don't really care. i'm ready to play survivor. ... oh yeah, and leanne went home at tribal tonight but honestly that feels so long ago and i don't really have anything to say about that except i love you leanne and it wasn't personal. the message to the wrong group killed your game. human error. *mic drop*

Najwah

I am honestly shocked by that tribal. There are no words. I KNEW it wouldn't be straightforward. I knew some blindside would go down coz nothing made sense. However, I really didn't expect them to vote out Leanne haha. I thought it would be me for sure. As I told Cody, everyone are such bad actors. There were so many things that didn't add up and they created a group with "A plan" but no one had a plan and everyone was saying the same thing? Also Sarah was way too comfortable. And she supposedly hasn't spoken to anyone? Haha they're terrible liars. Like at least make something better up. And the jewelery box!! WHERE IS THE JEWELERY BOX? Leanne never had it. Someone else is playing really hard. It's defs one of the boys. I bet. I never trusted Ben and James. 

Najwah

I gave my all in that game. It was already 6am when I got eliminated (quite unfairly, might I add) but I could have gone on all night because there was no way I wanted to go to tribal council again. Especially now that I'm on the outs and don't really know who to trust anymore. I don't trust anyone. Cody called me after tribal but idk, I feel very disappointed because I at least thought HE had my back but I understood, I was close with Leanne and I was the one she was messaging in the group. As much as Leanne made a mistake. I made a mistake by replying. I basically dug my own grave by doing that. I bet they would have never known about my alliance with L had I not replied. Jokes on them because she had a fake idol and lmao SOMEONE ELSE STILL HAS THE JEWELRY BOX. Anyway, I think Sarah is going to win this whole thing. I'd love that. I'm backing Sarah all the way. Love how she plays this game. Low key and she has power. I'm Team Sarah Haywood. 

Grae g

Looks like the girl wanna get pedro out while the John+pedro majority are telling people alan. It seems like absolutely everyone on the tribe is following what they say and that’s gotta go. Plus Pedro showing his own alliances to everyone via screenshot last night didn’t help LMFAO

Olivia A

I’m super excited about this vote because it’ll officially set a divide of alliances in this tribe (in which i will be on the majority). I feel bad about blindsiding John with this vote but Pedro posting that screenshot and showing multiple people in my alliance (including myself!) talking to him is something I can’t let be used against us. So he’s gotta go!!

John B

I think tonight’s vote is coming together. I feel bad but I think it’s going to be Alan. My biggest worry at this point is me or someone I’m close with getting idoled out. Hopefully I can talk to Alan and push them to vote for someone who’s not me lol. Honestly voting people out makes me feel super bad, especially since I kind of spearheaded this vote (I don’t think anyone realizes that though) I just hope this plan can go smoothly and we can get rid of the idol all together. ALSO I put 8 wishes on the wishing tree lol, I’m not sure if that does anything, but if it does I’ll be set lol, I probably don’t need those coins anyway 👀👀 Fingers crossed I don’t get blindsided or idoled out y’all! 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

Alan B

Omg this tribal is gonna be intense, from what it sounds like john is trying to take me out by buddying up with everyone, but it seems like everyone else is trying to back me up, hopefully this will go well but im STRESSED

Kalle N

The game just got a whole lot more exciting. I'm playing double agent by convincing John that we're voting off Alan, when in reality we're going for John's closest ally: Pedro. I don't think either of them will see it coming and I'm very excited for tribal.

Aimee

https://media.tumblr.com/6e98e0f1a1116e0d7faf5e9f51b29ab6/fe59555738f2307b-bf/s540x810/955cfcc9683d192965fc7e708613b934de5531fc.gifv Bye Leanne! I know you were selling me down the river to Amy T. Odd thing is, I didn’t even vote for you. I hope we flushed out an idol. I just don’t get how Sarah is playing what seems like a ghost game and is more “in the know” than I am. How many times can people tell me “oh sorry we couldn’t tell you the vote because we thought you were close with ——“ and expect me to just take that? Why am I not allowed to talk to other people or be close with others but you are? How is it a 5-3 vote but Najwah claims to be left out of the vote. Uh Leanne didn’t vote for herself, and if it was me and Ben that means Najwah voted Leanne. Do they really think I just don’t talk to people and compare notes? I know who everyone is with. I only trust Ben at this point. And if I make it to merge or judge it’s team Ben or Maola. I think there is a small alliance since day 1 that I am not in. I just didn’t even look that hard for an idol today. I was just too distracted by the calm of the flowers. https://jrchair98.tumblr.com/post/184827414479/ゼニガメ-0007-01-11-frames-based-on-gif-from I hope this game gets better for me, because I am just emotionally drained. This is a marathon and I feel like people are lying to me and I’m gonna get backstabbed in a more direct way. Don’t worry fans, I am strong but I needed this camping break to get my head on properly and I am so relieved I won immunity. It’s time to get to work.

Pedro A

OMG THIS ALL TRIBAL IS A MESS

Amy A

Urgh so today is a complete mess! This feels more survivor for me than all the previous tribal councils. The vote has been flipping all day and it can be anyone at any time. I have a new alliance and I think I was able to steer the vote away from Pedro so I stay solid w the outsiders alliance but I know they’ll come for me if they know I’m now in a tight alliance w all the girls and gender non-binary. New alliance is voting for John and I don’t think I made it very obvious I have a sorta alliance w Pedro cos he was the alternate vote. I heard my name somewhere so that freak out is there and a little part of me is scared but all in all I’m a very little confident about tonight 

Amy A

I found an advantage!!!! I get to steal a vote!!! Omg I thought the option I chose was gonna get me a disadvantage for the tribe but I ended up getting an advantage 🥳🥳🥳🥳. I cannot wait to play this strategically to save my behind in a tribal council. I have decided to keep the news to myself for now but I’ll share it with (probably) Maddison soon. I’m really close w her and we have a strong bond. 

Maddison

John just told me that he thinks of me as his number one and I am five hours away from attempting to blindside him. Sorry buddy, you gotta go. Alan B Lol looks like i'm dead in the water tonight if i don't use my idol, i was the only one who didn't help last night bc i didn't understand that it would just end before i woke up today ... HoLy ShIt 6 ppl are saying they're gonna blindside Pedro to keep me alive :O If pedro votes for me ima flip my shit ... Gosh i have no idea if i should use my idol tonight, because it sounds like the tribe is fighting about whether or not i should be allowed to stay. If i can make it past tonight without my idol, it could get me even farther, but i might not last longer than tonight if i don't ... i'd really rather vote john out then pedro, but it might be safer in the long run to eliminate the person that knows i have an idol...maybe i can get pedro to switch his vote to redeem himself and keep a partner alive for a little longer. Although since he's in a group called "core four" he might have already told them ... The tribe has officially split lmao, looks like we're voting john tonight if i can trust the people who are saying they'll back me up ... Ugh my heart is telling me to try and rebuild my alliance with pedro and try to get him on my side but my brain is telling me his other alliance is clearly stronger so i have to stop trusting him. Either way super sad that pedro betrayed me, apparently he told people about the idol, looks like he'll be next on the chopping block ... even though im in a group with a majority of the tribe i still feel like they're secretly gonna vote me out anyway, that would be a damn good way to get rid of my idol since it sounds like everyone has gotten wind of it. honestly id just be impressed but if things work out for me tonight and i still have my idol i think thats the best shot ive got at getting farther ... im gonna not play my idol tonight and trust the majority of the tribe, if it bites me then so be it, they played their asses off to get rid of me if thats the case, like if they were gonna get rid of me they would have just followed johns plan right? Aimeehttps://media.tumblr.com/6e98e0f1a1116e0d7faf5e9f51b29ab6/fe59555738f2307b-bf/s540x810/955cfcc9683d192965fc7e708613b934de5531fc.gifv Bye Leanne! I know you were selling me down the river to Amy T. Odd thing is, I didn’t even vote for you. I hope we flushed out an idol. I just don’t get how Sarah is playing what seems like a ghost game and is more “in the know” than I am. How many times can people tell me “oh sorry we couldn’t tell you the vote because we thought you were close with ——“ and expect me to just take that? Why am I not allowed to talk to other people or be close with others but you are? How is it a 5-3 vote but Najwah claims to be left out of the vote. Uh Leanne didn’t vote for herself, and if it was me and Ben that means Najwah voted Leanne. Do they really think I just don’t talk to people and compare notes? I know who everyone is with. I only trust Ben at this point. And if I make it to merge or judge it’s team Ben or Maola. I think there is a small alliance since day 1 that I am not in. I just didn’t even look that hard for an idol today. I was just too distracted by the calm of the flowers. https://jrchair98.tumblr.com/post/184827414479/ゼニガメ-0007-01-11-frames-based-on-gif-from I hope this game gets better for me, because I am just emotionally drained. This is a marathon and I feel like people are lying to me and I’m gonna get backstabbed in a more direct way. Don’t worry fans, I am strong but I needed this camping break to get my head on properly and I am so relieved I won immunity. It’s time to get to work.

Maddison

Tonight’s vote will draw a line in the sand for the tribe, and hopefully solidify a majority alliance. I do wish Pedro was going home, but I’m not going to push hard for it this early. As long as someone not in my alliance gets their torch snuffed, I’m happy.

James Hayden

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EDaQS-hPPQ&feature=youtu.be

Sarah

I wish I was better at confessionals and didn’t always leave a brick. That will be my goal for the week. OKAY. So tribal went as planned last night with our strong group of 5 (Jess) voting out Leanne. I trusted my group and I‘m glad I didn’t need to play my idol last night (and I love that it’s still a secret except for Cody knowing about it). After tribal, people thought Leanne may have had the idol and that now it was back in the hunt. Turns out, Leanne DID have a fake idol, whatever that means. Moving into a tribe swap, I do feel pretty good about going into one with most people on our tribe. I feel good about anyone in our group of five. I do worry though that with how spontaneous Zack is he may want to make a big move and flip on our tribe. Apparently Naj thinks I am a threat and thinks I will win so I do have to watch out for her but I do genuinely want to work with her. She doesn’t seem to know about Cody and I but she did expose her and Cody’s connection (which I obviously knew about) so she is quick to expose people! I am not as close with Aimee so she may flip too but thank god I have the idol just in case I get in a unpredictable tribe swap situation. So excited to get to know more people and I feel like this game has kicked it up a notch. Ready for a tribe swap! And hoping there are some cracks in the other tribe. 

John B

I’m terrified it’s going to be me tonight. Alan caught wind of the plan I think and told Pedro they were going to play their idol. Now we are splitting the vote so Pedro and I will vote Ryan and everyone else is voting Alan. I really hope people aren’t lying to me, if they are it’s definitely going to be me tonight and I’m going to cry. I’m literally so stressed.

Aimee

Uh, oops. So I got a little too drunk in the woods this weekend to even read these messages properly. Ben voted Leanne last minute and couldn’t tell me in time because I didn’t have phone service. Najwah I’m sorry I doubted you for even a second.

Ben Kessler

Hello it's me Ben. I am very scared about a swap but I know if I get put with my own people, I got this. Hopefully I don't get swap screwed, Aimee trusts me, and I can work my magic with the other tribe. Swaps are out of my control and I only deal with things in my control. Unless there's no swap? Who knows

James Hayden

30 minutes before we need to be online for something game related, Jay tells us to pick a leader. Zack volunteers instantly which is fine with me. It keeps the target of my back and puts a bigger target on his. I think this is a school yard pick for new tribes and hopefully he can keep us #jessstrong #JESSPRESERVATION

Ryan L

essgo babyyyyy hopefully not getting kicked out

[pagesoflauren]

Monday Afternoons and Evenings with Jack (Jack Lowden x reader)

a lil continuation of this thing that I wrote last night. I'm not procrastinating this time, I'm just bored in class :P

(not my gif! But it’s good visual for Jack wandering about the grocery store!)

Mondays are confusing. It’s the beginning of the week; there's a lot of moving parts shifting into gear, people trying to get into the groove of the week and just generally trying to switching from weekend mode to work mode.

Your Monday was hectic; once you got into the office, printers and copiers were going off and you immediately had people running up to you asking for information you had on your computer. You got to your cubicle with a cacophony of questions following you.

Once you helped everyone, you sighed and your eyes fell to a framed picture of you and Jack on your graduation day. He's holding you tightly by your waist and smushing your cheek with a kiss. His eyes are closed and you're laughing, one hand up holding onto your cap so that it doesn't tumble off your head.

Looking at the picture, you remember you need to text Jack your grocery list to make dinner. You had decided to make a chicken and rice dish. When you looked up the recipe again, you laughed to yourself.

Jack it’s a long grocery list. Can you handle it? Of course hennie. Mum didn’t raise no fool. You’ve been watching too much Fresh Prince You can never have too much Will Smith! Whatever you say :P I’m sending you the list right now

Jack’s eyebrows raised when you sent him your twenty-item list of things to pick up at the grocery store. He had gone grocery shopping before, but you were always with him. His responsibilities were pushing the cart and grabbing things that were too high for you to reach on the shelf. When he did go on his own, he usually picked up something easy like milk or butter. He definitely didn’t want to look like a fool in a grocery store, he was a grown-ass man after all. But then again, how difficult could it be? Everything’s labeled after all and the signs are clear, indicating which section of the store he’s in. If he can do it with you, he most certainly can do it without you.

“Hello, this is Y/N. I’m about to go for lunch, so may I--” “Y/N!” “...Jack?” “Heh...hi hennie. Um...” “Are you alright? Why are you calling my desk phone?” “Oh, everything’s fine, m’fine my love. But uh...which milk do we usually get?” “2%.” “Well...what color is it?” “It’s in the green carton.” There’s a pause.  “Jack?” “Yeah?” “It’s the green carton with the cow in the party hat.” “Yes! Yeah, of course...” There’s a pause; you hear the fridge door open and close. “Jack, darling?” “Yes?” “Would it help if I put brands on the grocery lists from now on?” “...Yes.”  You smile, you can see the image of a confused Jack, scratching the back of his head, maybe a slight tint of pink on his cheeks.  “Okay. Are you almost done?” “Yeah, all I needed was the milk. I’m heading to the registers now.” “Great. I’ll see you at home.” There’s proclamations of love and he tells you to have a good lunch with your friend, and you remind him to not put the eggs at the bottom of the bag. 

.

.

.

You come home to Jack finishing up a phone call with his agent in the living room. You immediately go to the kitchen to start preparing the ingredients for dinner. 

“Welcome home, hennie,” you hear Jack say, and feel his kiss on your cheek. You turn to face him and lean up to kiss him, “Hi, my love. Thank you for going to the grocery.” “Of course. I hope I got everythin’ righ’. I was double checkin’ and second guessin’. Yer cookin’ is class A, bu’ if I get the wrong things I know it’s all over.” You giggle, “Jack Lowden, you are the last person I’d expect to be so worried over groceries.” “M’just tryin’ to fluff up my feathers! Gotta show yeh I’d be a good husband n’ all.” You smile. Even if he messed up you know he’d make a great husband. You caress his face, bringing him down to pepper kisses along his cheeks. “Don’t you worry too much about that, my love. It takes more than the wrong groceries to drive me away.”

.

.

.

Jack is scarfing down dinner and almost about to lick his plate clean after you’re done cooking. His mum calls and he brags about dinner. When she asks if he helped, he says, “I bought the stuff and put the pan in the oven.” You giggle, calling, “I’ll get him to cook one of these days!”

Since you cooked, Jack washes the dishes. You change and get ready for bed in your shared bedroom, opening a drawer and pulling a sweater out. A thud against the hardwood floor catches your attention. You look around, finding a small velvet box at your feet. 

Your heart races and you pick up the box with shaking hands. You open it, finding a beautiful ring with your birthstone in the center, with diamonds surrounding it. Tears fill your eyes. When did he get this? How long has he had it? Is this even what you think it is? When is he going to ask you? There’s a concert on Friday, is that--

There’s suddenly footsteps on the stairs. You close the box and stuff it back where it was stashed in the drawer. You pull Jack’s sweater over your head and turn to face him as he calls you.

“What will it be tonight?” he asks. You can’t think. “Um...” “I can get The Office queued up. Seems like a nice way to relax since you had a full day and cooked.” “Y-Yeah. Yes, of course.” “Are you alright?” he’s in front of you in a second, and you feel like you can’t breathe.  “Yeah,” you say, taking a deep breath, “Just...I’m just tired is all.” “Well, we don’t have to be up too long. I can just put it on and ye an knock out whenever.”

You look at him. You love him. God, you love him. You put your hands on either side of his face and pull him into a kiss. He seems surprised, but doesn’t oppose it. He holds your waist and brings you closer. “I love you, Jack,” you say quietly, almost inaudibly. He smiles, his dimple popping out, “I love you, too, Y/N. Now, come on, I feel a bad case’a the cuddles coming on.”

.

.

.

okay I honestly don’t know where the ring thing came from. I don’t plan these out, I just write them on a whim and now I’m like, “Lauren what have you done?!” 

BUT ANYWAY YEAH I GUESS I’M DOING THE WHOLE REST OF THE WEEK WITH JACK LMAO Lemme know what y’all think!!! 

[dearbagelgirl]

Dear Bagel Girl

damn what a day...

I woke up and really debated about going to class lmao :( i didnt pay attention much and i knew some stuff about what she was saying but meh. I was reading your email instead and smiling and shit :] 

Afterwards, instead of doing homework or napping like i usually do in between my classes, I went to eat asap and finish my lab that’s due in the beginning of my class. And then in lab my eye was twitchy and shit and im like kill me. I was knocking out

Then I ran home and knocked out for like 40 mins and fuck i woke up right when it was getting good. And went to work. It was a gameday so I expected to die but it wasnt so bad because today we actually had more workers than usual and it was lit cause I worked with my dude Michael who I never really work with and we WERE GETTING SHIT DONE. 

I came home at 9:30 and rn (it’s 10:30) im in Martha’s room just chilling and talking...

I’m debating what to do. Idk if i can get coffee ... i shouldnt cause then I wont sleep and i’ll forsure die tomorrow during my midterm. But im debating how late to stay up. I forsure have homework to do and some of that homework is helping me study for my midterm but then IDK what to study and practice for tonight. Cause tomorrow I was hoping to go to the gym again but I think i should use that time to study..and I have to eat and do my shot and shower so its like fuck. AND my professor still has class before our midterm so its like CONLEY SERIOUSLY???

lmao i saw my professor on a date maybe? at my job lmao i was gonna say hi but he doesnt know me cause I’ve never really interacted with him but im like “you really having fun the day before our midterm?” smh

Anyways, okay about your foot..babe like this sounds bad? like go to the doctor? especially if its been a couple of days. is there anything noticeable on your foot? like a bump? if not like..idk but maybe you should go to the doctor if it keeps hurting and if the pain gets worse. 

and oh okay..so like lMAO ima tell you this cause its funny of how Diane reacted to this and stuff. I hope you dont get upset but i hope you laugh and dont worry <3.. so idk if you remember but I think i mentioned her in a blog post before about this girl in my lab, Elizabeth. I text her for lab shit and just the class in general. And then she asked for my snapchat and im like yeah here its cool. And im like yeah I should make more friends especially in this class where i can die. And then the next day after i gave her my snapchat (this was like last week i think or maybe 2 weeks ago) i saw her in lab and she was very talkative and im like okay cool we’re talking more about other shit besides lab. And then she just got really close and im like personal space? and then in lab, im listening to what my TA is saying and I have my arm resting on the desk. And all of a sudden, she holds like my arm/hand and im like 0.o and i feel really fucking uncomfortable so i give her a look like wyd and then im like “oh she’s probably just trying to look at my watch to see the time” but then its like theres a clock on her computer and she could’ve just asked instead of holding my hand for more than 10 seconds. And when i make my face, she’s like “oh haha I wanted to see THE TYPE of watch you had” and im like “oh..yeah it’s Neff” and im like wtf...you could’ve asked though why you holding my hand..and then..fuck she said some other shit like “your snaps are so funny” and now idk if you’ve seen the new sc update but its ugly and also hard to see people’s stories now AND SHE’S ALWAYS THE FIRST ONE TO SEE MY SHIT and im like lol its nothing its nothing. But then I told Sandra this and she’s like “she’s trying to do something” and im like NO DONT SAY THAT IM UNCOMFORTABLE AND I WAS JUST TRYING TO MAKE A FRIEND. And then she’s been saying little things and im like either you just dont understand what you’re doing or you do. And it’s like I post you on my story and i told Sandra “she should know i have a gf..i’ve posted it all over my sc and Im gonna mention my girl next chance I get”

Anyways lmao so I tell Diane..and she’s like “WTF TELL THIS STRAIGHTY TO BACK OFF” AND I STARTED DYING LMAO “STRAIGHTY” and she’s like “MMMM JOCELYN MAY NOT BE HERE TO DO SOMETHING BUT I AM. I LIKE JOCELYN. SHE STAYS. TELL THIS LITTLE FRIEND OF YOURS TO STOP” and yeah I WAS DEAD. But the girl has been chill finally cause I mentioned you and yeah i love you <3 but yeah that’s the thing its nothing big 

LMAO today my coworker Daniel came up to me like “aye Vick..how real you feeling?” and i started dying and im like “whats up? what you need?” and hes like “..can you cover some of my shift Saturday?” and i said yeah :( smh so now im working WACk

btw, idk how but let me know how we should fill out this form. email? and then I can just drop it off? or? :o

I really miss you beautiful :( so much 

I love you. I hope you had a good day <3 thanks for sending me your freckles 

-ya know who it is

February 15, 2018