#idk how much longer I’ll keep the video up cause face but go enjoy it while it’s there 😇

[justmeinadaze]

Playing the Game Part 10 (Steve X Plus Size Reader)

A/N: I bare you this gift because I can! (And I love you).

There's definitely a taglist somewhere. Idk where it is. Please enjoy! This series was my first time writing for Daddy Steve. I think I've gotten better. ENJOY! <3

Warnings: Daddy Steve and Sub Plus Size Reader and all that implies (I regret nothing!), Smut, angst, and all the fluff. Steve and Y/N get into a fight and he throws a tantrum (and something of the readers against a wall).

Word Count: 3432

It had been two years since you started your relationship with Steve Harrington. You two had been living together for just shy of a year and happier than you ever thought you could be. Your sex life between you guys had hit heights you didn’t think possible. Before he moved in, you both had just started treading the line of Steve being more dominant in the bedroom. 

Now he was more than comfortable when it came to punishments and keeping your bratty butt in line. The quiet moments were even sweeter, when he would hold you after and tell you how much he loved you. In the mornings, sometimes he would surprise you with breakfast in bed or at night take you out to a fancy dinner where he could show you off, dancing with you till the restaurant you were at had to close. 

Your family fully embraced him especially since his dad still hated that you were together. Instead of cutting Steve off like he threatened, he severely reined in the income he provided to his son hoping that it would scare him enough to leave you causing fights between the two of you often. 

“Steve, I feel bad! I feel like you struggle because of me!”

“Baby girl, I’m alive because of you! You woke me up to what actually being fucking happy feels like!”

“That’s sweet and everything but some of the extra stuff you insist on doing for me is financially draining you—”

“Don’t talk down to me like your him! I have enough money to take care of us AND give you the life you deserve!”

“But the thing is you don’t!”

“What should I do, huh? You want me to break up with you so I can get my inheritance back? Then what? I’ll just go back to my apartment, sit alone, and just be miserable for the rest of my life. But, hey, at least I’ll be rich!”

“Penny for your thoughts, babe.”, Robin smiles as she bumps you with her hip. 

“I just…I don’t know. Steve’s been acting kind of different lately. I feel bad because I know he wants to take care of me and be that ever attentive boyfriend but with my salary and his income at Family Video…”, you sigh. “I wish he understood that I don’t need the extras. I just want him.”

You friend pulls you into her arms as she hugs you. 

“The financial thing won’t be an issue too much longer if he lands this job at his dad’s firm.”, Eddie retorts as he continues staking comics on the shelf in front of him. 

“I’m sorry. When he what?”

Eddie’s eyes meet yours in apprehension. “I…thought you knew. He’s been interviewing at his dad’s office these past couple of weeks.”

You glance at Robin whose eyes are just as wide as yours. “He didn’t mention anything to me.”

“Why did he tell you, Munson?”

“Again, I thought you knew, sweetheart. He didn’t imply that you didn’t. He picked me up from the bar about a week ago wearing a suit. I asked him why he was all dressed up and he told me. No hesitation of anything.”

As if on cue, Steve enters your store shaking his umbrella before placing it near the door. As he turns to face everyone, he realized you guys were already staring at him. 

“Hey?”

Your head tilts to the side as you fold your arms over your chest. 

“Wow, holy shit. Look at that comic I see on the wall over there in the back of the store where I can’t hear a thing. Eddie, can you show it to me?”

“No. I want to watch her kill him.”

Steve’s head turns to his friend as Robin growls. “Come on, you idiot.”, she scolds as she tugs on his arm.

“Ok, apparently I did something.”

“You look good, Harrington. No interview at your dad’s firm today?” 

His jaw tightens as he walks towards you, placing his jacket on the counter. 

“Not today no. My final interview is Friday.”

“And you didn’t tell me because…”

“I knew you would get mad.”

“You’re fucking right I would except now I’m even more angry because you hid it from me. Steve, you can’t work there. It will be like living with him all over again.”

“First off, you need to check that tone, little one. Secondly, I handled it.”

“What does that mean?”

“Y/N, it’s a good job. I’ll make more money, benefits, and things like that. And… he said he would give me my inheritance back even if we stay together.”

Your mouth opened to say something but the words wouldn’t come out. The only words you could manage to muster out was a meek but strong, “Fuck you.”

Steve’s eyes lit a blaze as he stepped closer to you. “Want to try that again?”

“Fuck. You. EDDIE!”

“Yes! Yes, ma’am!”, the boy exclaimed as he skidded around the corner. 

“Close the store for me tonight.”, you glare at Steve as you toss the metalhead your keys. “Daddy and I have some things we need to hash out.”

###########

You angrily slam open your apartment door as you both stomp inside. 

“Well, baby girl, where do we begin?”, Steve asked sarcastically. 

“Don’t! Don’t you dare call me that right now Steve. I am furious with you!”

“You just called me by my title in front of one of our friends. I can call you whatever the fuck I want and you have no right to be angry with me! You’re the one that’s always saying you feel bad because you think it’s your fault that my father cut me off. Now I’ll get the money AND have a better income. What’s the fucking problem!?”

“The problem is you are going to be fucking miserable! Do you really think that makes me feel better?! You working somewhere you hate? Why does it have to be with him?! There are so many other companies you can apply for.”

“My father runs almost every major company in Hawkins, honey. There is no where I could go where I wouldn’t be under his thumb.”

“Then why leave Family Video. You love it there and working with Robin.”

“I love you more.”

“Steve, what does that even mean?! I have never asked you to be anything more than yourself and to do what makes you happy. I’ve also told you a thousand times I don’t need extra things like fancy dinner dates or jewelry!”

His head snapped towards you then, glaring at you through angry eyes. “Fine! You know what? Fuck it! You’re right, Y/N. I spoil you too fucking much. We don’t need these extra things. You don’t want me to take you to dinner that’s fine.” He glides past you into your shared bedroom and starts pulling things out of your closet. “These clothes and my suits? Don’t need them.” 

Steve grabs the box you keep your jewelry in and hurls it across the room. “Won’t be needing that anymore. From now on, baby, I’m going to be one of those strict Daddy’s. You don’t need any of these things or want any of the nice shit I do for you, right? RIGHT?!”

“Jesus, you’re already starting to sound like him.” He charges up to you till his face is hovering just above your own. Your fury filled eyes meet his as you stare at each other. “Steve, I—”

“Don’t talk. Just listen, little girl.” His nostrils flare as your jaw clenches. This was the first time since you told him the origin of your hatred for that name that he had used it and it still seemed to get a rise out of you. “I’m tired of having this fucking fight. I know you feel bad that my dad cut me off but that had nothing to do with you. That was a long time coming. Do you seriously think being me, I wouldn’t have done something to piss him off.”

“Then why work for him, Steven?” If he was going to use the name you hated, you could play that game to. His face twitched in anger but you noticed something else that you hadn’t seen before. “Are you hiding something from me? Beside the interviews…”

He turned away from you, grabbing his jacket as he headed for the front door. Hastily, you ran to cut him off, placing your body in front of it. 

“Daddy, what’s going on?”

“Move.”

“No.”

“God, you are just on a roll today with being a fucking brat.”

“Said the baby who doesn’t feel man enough to tell me the entire truth.”

He snickered as he took a couple steps aways from you. A few moments passed before he finally spoke. 

“I went to a jewelry store with Jonathan a couple of weeks ago. He was looking at engagement rings because he wants to purpose to Nancy. While we were browsing, I kept thinking ‘This would look beautiful on Y/N.’ or ���I bet baby girl would love this one.’” He chuckles out a sigh as he turns to look at you. “Honey, even a down payment on the cheapest engagement ring is over a month’s worth of my income at Family Video. Then I got to thinking ‘Geez, Harrington. Can’t even afford the fucking wedding ring. How are you going to help pay for the wedding? Honeymoon? A house so you and Y/N can start a family? Kids…”

“Steve—”

“So you’re right. Not only am I not man enough to tell you the truth but I’m not man enough to fucking give you the life that you deserve.”

You felt terrible. He had never mentioned any of this to you so you thought he has trying to make more money to be able to provide you extras but instead was willing to work under a man he hates to give you what he considered as necessities.

“Steve, I—”

“Just move, Y/N. I need to clear my head.”

You threw your arms around his waist as his remained at his sides. “Daddy, I love you so much. I wish I could make you understand, I…I don’t need a fancy ring, honeymoon, or even a fancy house. All I need is you. If you want to work at a different place or make more money that’s fine. I support you but don’t do it for me. Do it for you and do something that makes you happy.”

He sighed; his tone still stern but much softer than before. “This is the last time I’m going to ask. Move. Or I will move you.”

You did as you were told and he slammed the front door as he left you alone.

#############

Steve wasn’t gone for long, coming back an hour and a half later to find you on the floor of your bedroom next to the pile of clothes he had thrown with your knees to your chin and your head in your lap. 

He moved the bottle of vodka to your side out of the way as he sat down, leaning against the wall behind you. 

“Y/N…”, he began but your gravelly voice cut him off. 

“I hate when you leave like that.”, you turn so your watery eyes can find his. “I know you’re just trying to cool off but I hate not knowing where you are especially after a fight. I get scared you’re going to disappear again.”

“I went for a walk. Just around this little area, ya know? There’re these two-story houses back there.”, he gestures absently outside. “There’s one in particular with stuff hung up in the window that have to belong to a little boy’s room. Sometimes, I picture me coming up the driveway in my BMW, running up the walkway in my suit and some kind of ratty but overpriced brief case filled with documents I don’t care about.”

You scoot back so your closer to him as you listen to him speak.

“I would open the door and see my beautiful wife sitting in the living room with our kid who definitely has my hair…” He smiles when you giggle. “…and you’re reading them one of the new comics you got from the store. As I head towards you guys to see what you’re up to, I pass our wedding photo. Robin has on this goofy pink bridesmaid dress you picked out but she’s rockin’ it.”

“I always liked purple.”, you grin. 

“Oh, that’s a good choice. Eddie and Dustin are making stupid faces that they refer to as metal.”, he playfully rolls his eyes. “You stand out though…in your gorgeous white dress that just flows perfectly around your hips… and you have this…fucking beautiful wide smile…”, Steve’s voice cracks as he turns his head away from you.

“Daddy…”

“You think I just want to make more money to do this extra stuff for you and yeah, I do. I wish I could do more than just dinner and a fancy necklace. My dad always took my mom to Europe and things like that before he fully settled into being a douchebag. But the things I do for you now, I do because I CAN afford them and I do them because I fucking love you. This job? My inheritance? I’m doing that for us.”

His hand reaches out to caress your cheek. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you, baby girl. I want THATlife with you.”

You tackle him, crashing your lips to his. Steve’s back falls against the floor as you straddle his waist, his hands brush your hair back as he holds your face to his. Your kisses come with a sense of urgency as if you’ll explode if you don’t have him right this moment. 

Leaning back, you hastily pull off his shirt as his own palms rip yours open. Pushing the garment down your arms, he tosses it to the side as he sits up to suck on that sweet spot on your neck that has you running your fingers through his hair as you moan. 

As your hips grind against his, he groans, flipping you on to your back as he yanks off your bra and squeezes your tits roughly in his hands. Steve’s tongue plays with your nipples as your back arches, pushing yourself harder against him. 

“Please, Daddy. F-fuck. Fuck me.”

He growls at the sound of you begging, needing to be inside of you just as badly. With your legs still clinging to him, he sits back on his knees to unbutton your pants, trying desperately to tug them off. Quickly lifting yourself up, you unbuckle his belt blindly as your mouth trails kisses up his stomach. 

Steve sighs happily above you as his fingers tangle in your hair before pulling your head back to kiss your lips. 

Raising your body, you allow him to remove your jeans and panties so he can do the same as you get to your feet. You wrap your arms around his neck as he follows you to your bed, collapsing on top of you as his tongue glides along your skin. 

“Daddy. I need you…please…”

“You need me? Where do you need Daddy, baby girl?”

You whimper as you roll your hips, dragging your pussy lips along his cock. “I need you inside of me, Daddy. I need you to fuck me.”

Steve smirked as he spit into his palm, stroking himself a few times before guiding himself into your core. Your eyes rolled back as he gradually lowered his chest to yours, balancing on his elbows as he gazed down at you. 

“How do you need it, honey? Do you need it deep…and…hard?” With those last few words, he roughly thrust his hips into yours, grinning as your mouth fell open. “Yeah? Does that feel good, baby?”

“Yes—mmm—your cock feels good. Tell me…tell me more about…our future, Daddy.”

A breathy laugh escapes his chest. “What do you want to know?”

“Are you still fucking me like this?”

His grin grows as his forehead presses against yours. “Baby girl, I’ll be making love to you till we physically can’t and even then, the nurses will have to pull us apart.”

You laugh and he stops moving as he watches you. “How do you see our future?”

You lift your head to kiss him. “All I see is you.”

Steve pumps into you again at a faster rhythm as you drag your nails down his back. “Cum for me, baby. I want to feel you squeeze my cock when you do.”

Your hands clung to his shoulders as the ball in your belly dropped and you panted out moans as you came. 

“Yes… fucking good girl. My good girl.”, he praises as he chases his high. 

His breathing stutters as he grunts just above your lips. Pressing him tighter to you, you felt him warm your insides as he thrust his seed into your sex. 

Delicately, he pulls out of you, Steve’s strong hands behind your back as he lifts you to your feet.

“Be careful, baby. Don’t step on the things here.” He gestures towards your jewelry box he threw. You silently nodded as he led you into the bathroom and prepared the shower.

“How much control would he have over you?” Steve looks down at you in confusion as he guides you under the water before following behind. “Your father?”

“Not much but he owns the company and is in the building so…” As he starts to clean your body, he notices your eyes stare off into the void. “What are you thinking, honey?”

“My dad has been wanting to invest some money and purchase another business in Hawkins. Right now, he just owns the shop my mother works at. I shouldn’t say just…I mean the store has made a lot of money for them both. What if… he could convince the owner to sell Family Video?”

“Y/N, if he wants to invest money somewhere he should do it in you. You love that comic bookstore.”

“Yeah, but I love you more.”, you respond coyly raising your eyebrow as you repeat his earlier words. “Plus, the lady that owns my store is barely involved and trusts me with everything so it’s basically already mine. Steve, my family loves you and he would definitely take care of you, Robin, and Keith.”

His forehead leans down against yours as you wrap your arms around him. 

“It wouldn’t hurt to talk to him about it.”

“Yay!” Steve smiled against your kisses as you excitedly brought his lips to yours. “I just want you to be happy….I just want you.”

After finishing your shower, he dries you, tugs one of his shirts over your head, and places you into bed. You watch him as he wonders around the room, tugging on some shorts before bending down to gather your jewelry box in the corner. 

“I’m sorry for this.”, his jaw clenches as he hangs his head. “I’m sorry if I scared you or anything.”

“You behaving like a baby doesn’t scare me.”

Steve chuckles as he smirks in your direction. “I deserve that.”

“You hiding things from me and then leaving like you did. THAT frightens me…”

“I deserve that to.”, he sighs. Steve walks on his knees towards the side of the bed and reaches over to pet your head. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner that I was interviewing at my dad’s firm. Seeing those engagement rings had me both excited and terrified. I spent so much time not being with you when I could have been, you know? I feel like I wasted so much time being a dumbass that I want my life with you to begin as soon as possible. I’m just broke as hell.”

He smiles when you laugh. “You started off sounding like this would be a great proposal speech and then ended it like that!” Your fingers grip the ones he has resting on your cheek. “Baby, you could purpose to me with a zip tie and I would say yes. Our wedding could be in the Hawkins grocery store wearing overalls with messy hair and I would still say I do. You don’t need to impress me with over the top or even traditional things. I’m already impressed, Daddy.”

Steve leans up to kiss your lips, yelping jokingly when you pull him on top of you. 

“Now that was a way better proposal speech, baby girl.”

[kaorusakurayashikiswife]

new beginnings

pairing: Kaoru Sakurayashiki x f!reader

wc: 2k

warnings: angst (not really idk); fluff; exes to lovers; not proofread

notes: first post!! I saw that there weren’t really a lot of writings for Kaoru and decided to take it upon myself to write some!! I hope you enjoy, and please do tell me if there’s a mistake anywhere or if I there’s a warning I should add

“Are you ever going to skate again?”

Kojiro grins at you, handing you your food. You were on your break from work and decided to visit your old friend from high school.

“Kojiro you know why I can’t”

“It’s been a year I’m sure everyone wants to see you skating again!” You can’t blame him for his enthusiasm, it had almost been a year after you decided to quit skating due to breaking up with Kaoru. Before you quit you were known in ‘S’ as one of the top contenders, good enough to go against Adam, you had never gone on a beef against him since you had no interest to compete against someone like him.

“C’mon (Y/N)! You know everyone wants to see the infamous RIN again! After your sudden disappearance last year your fans have been missing you, there's even a new guy you can compete against!” You leaned in to cover his mouth, you didn’t want anyone knowing the name you were under while skating in S.

“Fine! I’ll visit but I’m not competing, I just want to see the poor soul that caught Adam’s eye.”

Kojiro smiled, knowing you, you’d probably compete either way, he knew that you’d been missing skating in S after he found you practicing. Your break up with Kaoru had changed their dynamic as you wanted nothing to do with him while he regretted letting you go.

The break up was because Kaoru kept insisting to go against Adam, you knew it was a bad idea, you had tried convincing him many times that the Adam he once knew was gone. Kaoru didn't like it as Adam was very dear to him, he had snapped at you and told you that you didn’t know him and that he’d rather break up with you than listening to your nonsense. You pitied the man, you’d heard what Adam had done to him a few days prior and wanted nothing more than to slap the man for hurting Kaoru.

“You won’t regret it! I’ll see you then RIN”

You hit him again, wanting to keep your professional life and personal life separate, “Say that name again out loud and I’m not going”.

Kojiro watched as you left the restaurant, sakura keychain still in dangling out of your bag like it had been so many years ago.

“You guys really are similar in that aspect”

Once you get home you sigh, your job has been taking a toll on you and you really needed a break. You look into your closet and see your skateboard, the only reason why you quit skating is because it reminded you of him, he was the one to teach you how to skate after all. The same man who decided to leave you to chase after the memory of the friend he once knew.

Making up your mind you change into your outfit and head down the same familiar path leading to the mine.

“Yo (Y/N)! Long time no see”

“You asshole! you call me by my name here and call me by my S name in public! Do you have a death wish?” You get closer to Kojiro to give him a piece of your mind, until you see four guys next to him: two boys who look like they’re in high school, an intimidating guy with clown-looking make-up, and a little boy who you think you’ve seen on TV.

“IS THAT RIN?!?” the redhead boy yelled, it caused everyone to turn to you, you were now the center of attention, mutters about the sudden appearance of one of the most known skaters in S.

“Who’s she?”

Compared to the redhead, the blue haired guy seemed like he was new, you assumed he was the rookie that Kojiro had mentioned earlier in the day.

“She’s a really well-known skater in S! she’s beaten a lot of people here, it’s said that she’s on par with Adam, but they’ve never gone against each other!”

“damn right and never will, I like not having broken bones thank you” you muttered, as everyone calmed down, they introduced themselves and seemed intrigued to see an old face.

“I came to see the new rookie everyone’s been talking about, I’m only here to watch though” everyone’s faces dropped, they seemed disappointed to not be able to see you skate.

“Then why’d you bring your skateboard hm?” Kojiro smirks at you, knowing that you’d come here to skate a little, even if it was just for fun.

“Fine, how about this? SNOW” you pointed at Langa and motioned him to follow you, “you’re coming with me, I wanna see why everyone is talking about you” you take Langa along and decide to skate against him in the course.

“Sorry I’m late, I forgot to charge Carla earlier today so she finished charging a little later than usual” Kaoru stood next to Kojiro to see why everyone seemed more excited. “Right on time Cherry! Look who’s skating today”.

Kaoru looked at the screen, it was you, he hadn’t seen you in a year and you never bothered to answer the messages he had sent you, not that he blamed you for that. You looked just as beautiful as he remembered, if not more, the way your hair flowed freely made you look ethereal, and your face seemed to glow while you were skating, an expression he had missed seeing from you.

He wanted to apologize, after the incident with Adam that landed him in the hospital he realized that his friend was gone, no semblance of him left. While in his hospital bed he remembered the words you had told him before he broke up with you. He knew he had no right to apologize now, but seeing you at S made him realize he missed you and wanted you back, if you’d have him of course.

Langa was surprised, your style of skating was different from anything he’d seen before, it looked complicated but you didn’t seem to be struggling at all. Due to him being distracted he hadn’t realized that you’d already crossed the finish line before him.

“That was good! You knew how to snowboard before learning how to skate right?” You asked excitedly, it had been a while since you’ve had this much freedom while skating. “Yes, how’d you know?”

“I’ve always wanted to learn how to snowboard! Your stance seemed similar to those in videos I’ve seen online!”

As you walk back to the rest of the group you see him. Kaoru’s hair got a bit longer but apart from that nothing seemed too different, he still had that unapproachable aura around him. He seemed to be staring at you but you refused to look at him in the eye, you still missed him after all.

“Long time no see (Y/N)” He tried reaching out to you but you didn’t move at all, “Don’t call me that here.”

“Right, sorry Rin”

It seemed that everyone around you was aware of the tense atmosphere, although nobody really knew of what relationship you and Cherry held.

As everyone headed home, you decided to stay back and skate a little, you didn’t know when the next time you were going to be able to skate again after all. That’s when you notice it, just a little behind you were Joe and Cherry trying to catch up to you. “Rin! I thought you weren’t skating anymore?” You didn’t need to turn to see that there was a smile on his face.

“Don’t you have any fangirls to be with?” You retort, speeding a bit to gain distance from them.

“They all went home, why? You jealous?”

“As if.”

“Cherry over here wants to talk to you.”

In all honesty, you’d forgot he was even there at all, if it weren’t for Carla telling him the angles once in a while, you wouldn’t even have noticed him. You were pondering whether you should listen to what he had to say, “He’s been all gloomy ever since he saw you”. You heard someone fall, assuming it was Kojiro you kept going, he deserved it anyway.

You and Kaoru skated in silence for a bit, the only sounds heard were the wheels of both of your skateboards. As you were the first to pass the finish line you stop, getting off of your skateboard and getting ready to go back home.

“So what’d you want to talk about?”

Kojiro looks surprised, he thought you hadn’t noticed him staring at you. Frankly, he wanted to apologize and ask for a second chance, he knew he was undeserving of it though, you only wanted the best for him, but he pushed you away.

“I wanted to apologize for before, I know you meant well, but I only pushed you away when you tried helping me. I should’ve listened to what you said.”

Although it was a bit short and awkward, you knew he meant it. To be honest, you don’t blame him, he only wanted to know what had happened to his friend after he disappeared and came back with a whole different personality. You would’ve done the same if a friend whom you considered family did the same. You knew that even though he had finally come to terms with the fact that the Adam he knew in high school was gone, he was still hurting. You understood all of this, yet it was still hard to forget how angry he’d gotten at you, how he went on and on about how you didn’t know Adam at all (even though you’d been there when all four of you skated together in high school), and how he couldn’t be with someone who talked ill about his best friend. You remember how he broke up with you through a phone call after being late for a date, how you had to show up in your friend’s front door with all of your stuff, in fear of going to Kojiro’s restaurant because he was probably there.

“You didn’t need to wait a year to apologize to me” He flinched, knowing full-well what you were speaking of. He knew he had messed up the moment he ended the call, but his pride didn’t let him go back to your shared apartment to apologize to you, and he assumed that you were probably packing your bags as he headed to Kojiro’s place to drink.

“I didn’t know what to do after I went back to the apartment with your stuff gone”

“Well, I can’t just stay in my ex-boyfriend’s apartment after he just broke up with me can I?”

There was a silent pause, you were basically ready to head back home, but decided to wait to see if he had more to say. “Alright, if you’re done I’ll be heading home now.”

He quickly grabbed your wrist, stopping you from leaving, “it’s late, let me take you home”.

You declined, Kojiro had already promised you to take you back home. At the mention of his name he looked confused.

“Kojiro left a long time ago though?”

You were surprised, looking around for the tall muscle-headed idiot, but Kaoru was right, he left you behind. You were really going to kill him this time, it was probably part of his plan so you could talk things out with Kaoru.

“If it’s not too much trouble, I’d be grateful if you did then” you offered him a small smile, you had to be nice to the person driving you back to your apartment.

The ride home was silent, all he could hear were Carla’s directions to your apartment. As you got home and thanked him for the ride he stopped you again.

“Can I have another chance?” You stayed silent, he took your silence as a rejection and started his engine to leave, but this time, you were the one to stop him.

“You still owe me a meal at Kojiro’s” He blinked, confused as to what you were saying. Then he remembered, he had made you a promise that every time you beat him in S he’d buy you your favorite dish at Kojiro’s restaurant.

He smiled, frown no longer on his face after the promise of a new beginning, “Of course, tell me when you’re free to get it”.

[captaincoffeegirl515]

What the hell was that last act???

So first of all I want to say that I did enjoy most of the movie. It was okay. The sex scenes didn’t do anything for me though since I’m just not interested in sex at all. But while I more-or-less liked the movie, I felt that the big plot twists in the last act and the ending were badly done because… how the fuck did ANY of them manage to get away with ANY OF THAT??? Like from a legal standpoint it’s just ???

This got so much longer than I anticipated, so the rest is under the read more. And yes, there are so many spoilers. So if you haven't seen The Voyeurs yet and don't want spoilers, please avoid this.

Seb and Julia literally confess to selling their old apartment in order to spy on the people who live there and use them for their art show. Like, yes, they put that clause in the Terms of Agreement for the apartment (which literally no one ever reads) but there is still the matter of Informed Consent. Informed Consent is usually in the form of a contract Pippa and Thomas both need to read and sign, or via verbal questions and answers which is filmed so Seb and Julia would have physical proof of an agreement. This is basically telling them what footage was taken, how it will be used, and if Seb and Julia have permission to share the footage publicly. In Thomas’ case, since he’s dead, his next-of-kin will be asked. Only then are Seb and Julia legally allowed to publicly share and showcase the Pippa and Thomas’ pictures. And Seb is a professional photographer! He should know that!

Have you ever seen prank shows? Like even the ones on YouTube. Have you noticed at the end of some videos, there would be a part where the filmers would approach the person who was pranked and ask if they could use their footage in the video. That’s Informed Consent. They need to ask permission to use a person’s footage in a video or if they need to blur out the person’s face for privacy. Seb and Julia even showed a picture of a dead man for chrissakes! Remember the outcry when that YouTuber posted a video of a suicide victim in Japan???

The Japanese interviewer was right to disapprove of their methods because even though there was a clause in the Terms of Agreement, the prank (because isn’t that what that whole show they did was?) or experiment still resulted with someone killing themself (yes I know it was murder, but the world doesn't know it). They can possibly still be held liable for causing Thomas to kill himself the same way a prankster can be held liable if their victim dies from a prank because of this thing in Law called the Eggshell Rule or Eggshell Plaintiff.

What this means is that a defendant is liable for any injuries caused by the defendant’s actions, regardless of how unforeseeable or uncommon the plaintiff’s reactions to the defendant’s actions are. So for example, there is a scary prank where the prankster jumps out of the bushes and terrifies people. One of them turns out to have a heart condition, suffers a heart attack, and dies. Regardless of the victim’s frailty, the prankster can be held liable for exacerbating the condition and causing the victim’s death. Likewise in the movie, they can say that Seb and Julia, by orchestrating the whole thing and making Thomas see his girlfriend cheating on him, could have caused him to become broken-hearted and kill himself. Therefore, Seb and Julia can be liable for Thomas’ death.

And then here’s the kicker! The famous photographer and his wife, a famous model, both suddenly end up blind AFTER their big art show where they displayed Pippa’s scandal. And not by accident. No. This was obviously surgically done. And NOBODY suspected foul play?? Nobody thought about revenge?? Nobody thought it strange how their blindness was clearly done with a surgical/medical precision nor suspected the couple’s subject, Pippa, who they thoroughly humiliated, who also worked as an optometrist technician at a lab that has the machines that could cause that kind of blindness??? And they're both still alive! They can easily tell the police who did it!

It should have been way too easy for the police to know that it was foul play. Blood tests can tell that Seb and Julia had been drugged. How they were blinded can be traced to the optometry lab. Pippa would be the easiest main suspect due to her connection to them with revenge as the main motivation after they humiliated her in that art show.

And yes, I agree that what Seb and Julia did was wrong. They used Pippa and Thomas, and then murdered Thomas so they can have some juicy story to tell!

Even so, what happened to Ethical Codes in the medical field? What happened to the Hippocratic Oath? Non-maleficience rule? “Do No Harm”? Pippa should have been slammed with, idk, medical malpractice or something, after using her knowledge of the LASIK machine and using it to permanently blind people (which is an actual fear real people have about LASIK surgery), have her license revoked, be fired from her job, and possibly serve jail time. Why is she walking free all willy-nilly and still being allowed to continue stalking Seb and Julia?

I’ll admit though that maybe I’m being more harsh towards Pippa because I myself used to be a Board Certified medical professional (my license expired last year because I hadn't been working in that field for a while) and because of that, her actions angered and horrified me more.

Normally, we as an audience are made to root for the main character or hero, but I found it difficult to do so because Pippa herself is a terrible person. She's a pervert and a creep. She was obsessed with the lives of other people, stalked them, and even went as far as committing crimes in order to fuel her obsession - trespassing, breaking and entering, destruction of private property.

And my goodness this actually makes me think of a few Ben Hardy stans who are like this. Well, idk if going to Ben's school so that she can get a copy of a school film he was in can be considered a crime, but it's still fucking creepy.

Pippa’s got that Savior Complex where she tries to rescue this poor neglected wife from her horrible cheating husband (the same one she herself wants to fuck because she’s obsessed with him). And then when it all goes south, she immediately turns around and blames THOMAS of all people because “he started it”. Like, so what if he did?? He still had enough maturity to realize when they were taking it too far, and decided to stop with the stalking. He told her to stop multiple times but she was too blinded by her obsession and lust for a man that she doesn’t even know.

AND THEN!! She stalked a grieving husband (I know we know that was a lie but Pippa didn't know that) and proceeded to cheat on her boyfriend with said grieving husband. And frankly, I don’t understand why she’s so vengeful about Thomas’ death considering how easily she forgot him so that she could cheat on him. Like. Who knows, maybe he still would’ve killed himself regardless of the poisoned drink because the last thing he saw was his girlfriend cheating on him with the man she’d been obsessed with for the past idk how long. Even in the scene after Thomas died, there was a momentary grief where Pippa was all “it’s my fault Thomas died” but it was all too brief and immediately after she went back to obsessing and asking about Seb. And they want me to believe that she’d want to avenge Thomas’ death? No. I think she blinded Seb and Julia because she was angry at being called out for her obsession. For being told that she was wrong to go that far. It wasn’t about her “love” for Thomas. It was about how humiliated she was about being wrong.

Can you believe that Pippa gave this whole speech with the fable about being content with what you have and not to try to be greedy by wanting more and then she just immediately DOES THE OPPOSITE OF THE MORAL by cheating on her boyfriend because she wanted more aka Seb???

The more that I think about it, I feel like the true villain of the movie is Pippa herself. Her obsession with Seb is what started the whole thing. If she had been able to keep a healthy distance, none of that would’ve happened to begin with. There would be no fights over how far things were going. Seb would have no scandal to tell. She worsened Thomas’ insecurities of not being enough for her, making him go to great lengths just to try to please her. Poor Thomas. He truly deserved better.

Pippa also has awful friends. Instead of stamping down the creepy behavior, they’re giving tips on how to listen in on other people’s private conversations! And then later try to excuse her cheating on Thomas. And then help with her obsession AGAIN.

Acting-wise, I felt that Natasha, Ben, and Justice were incredible and I loved them. I love how conflicted Ben played Seb and how you can see it in his eyes. My favorite scene was the one where Seb and Julia had that confrontation over the wine where Seb asks if she ever felt guilty and Julia just stares right back and stares him down. Natasha was brilliant as Julie pretending to be all friendly and vulnerable with Pippa. Justice was very emotional and I love the scenes where he was horrified at how far Pippa was taking everything. For me, Sydney was the weakest one at acting. While there were some okay parts, her face can be really stiff at some points, like during the sex scenes.

Overall, I thought the movie to be quite thought-provoking especially in this day and age where people can find the most intimate details of another person’s life so easily, be that through Carrd, Instagram stories, Facebook feeds, and other social media sites. It makes you think about parasocial relationships, how people can be so obsessed about people that they’ve never even met, and how that obsession can easily grow into something dangerous that can ruin lives. Good movie, terrible last act. Too much sex for my taste, but then it wouldn’t be called an erotic movie.

Outside of the movie, I really love the chemistry between the four of them. I love watching their interviews and seeing how they interact with each other.

Last but not the least, I know this may be random but my brain likes to zoom in on the weirdest things. How on earth did Pippa manage to get Seb on top of that operating table?? No offense but Pippa is fucking tiny. Seb’s like twice her size and mostly muscle AND unconscious. Like ??? Sorry but that threw me off so much it’s ridiculous.

[yslkook]

#do you have the bandwidth (7)

#corporate masterlist summary: the closer it gets to the new year, the more memorable moments you have. word count: 6.1k warnings: cursing, alcohol, discussion of mental health a/n: ENJOYYYY and thank you to @taestybae​ <333

After you had texted Jungkook after the holiday party, it seemed like neither of you went longer than a few days without texting each other. Most of it was for work related reasons- but Jungkook was aching to talk to you about anything outside of work.

And at work, his head spins when you spend a few extra minutes at his cubicle as you’re passing by-

“Your boss would be ashamed at the state of your desk plant,”

“We don’t all have a green thumb, okay-”

“You don’t need a green thumb to take care of a succulent, Jungkook! Look at it! She just needs a friend.”

“You be her friend then.”

“We are friends,” You murmur with a blinding smile, “Aren’t we?”

“Y-yeah,” Jungkook swallows nervously.

And then you had asked him if he wanted to have lunch with you and Seokjin, a request that had made his head spin. Do you even know what you’re doing to him?

From the oblivious smile on your face, he thinks not.

But it’s so easy to insert himself into conversation with you. You always look to him, to make sure if he has something to say, that he says it. You do that with everyone, really. Whether it’s at work or not-

“Hey, I made a lot of samgyeopsal last night,” You say, opening your container once you’re seated at the table, “Figured you’d want some?”

Jungkook looks at you and then the container a few times. His stomach rumbles and his heart flips, a betrayal of his own body. 

You’re already placing some in his plate without asking, along with some rice. It’s all so very domestic, despite the fact that you’re both in the middle of the office cafeteria.

“Jin likes samgyeopsal, too,” You muse, “Especially the way Grandma makes it. Grandma cooks so much better than me. She says Appa used to cook better than me, too.”

You laugh and Jungkook is stunned. He doesn’t think you’ve ever opened up about home to him before. 

“What else do you like cooking?” 

Your eyes light up as you rattle off different things you’re trying. You tell him you want to become better at baking-

“I’m a ready and willing test subject, here at your service.”

“Oh, really?” You snort, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Jungkook eats his food in awe, his eyes wide and sparkling and lips tinted with sauce. It surprises you, how eager you are for his reaction. He moans in satisfaction, even closing his eyes as he chews.

Your face heats up. The noise that comes out of his mouth should most definitely be inappropriate for the general public of the office cafeteria.

“So much better than anything I could offer you,” Jungkook groans.

“I’m sure I’ll think of something, Jungkook.”

And while the end of the year means that things are starting to wind down with the holidays approaching- everyone is out of the office from Christmas Eve until the day after New Years- you still meet with your submissions team once before bowing out for the holiday.

It feels oddly nostalgic, as if you’re saying goodbye to friends rather than colleagues-

“Any plans, Sana?” Namjoon asks at the end of the meeting. All of your laptops are down, having finished your work about twenty minutes ago. 

This was the best part. Finishing the work early so that you could catch up with each other. Ever since Tokyo, you’ve felt the bonds between the four of you strengthen into something more than just workplace associates.

“Going to my grandparents’ with my dad,” Sana replies, leaning back in her chair, “You?”

“Visiting the family. I’ll be here for new years though,” Namjoon muses and turns to you.

“Oh, yeah. Me too,” You nod and Jungkook nods in agreement.

“Nobody’s traveling this year?” Namjoon asks, “We’re all wasting our youth. But our families are gettin’ older, huh?”

Namjoon is nothing if not tactful. 

“Maybe next year,” Jungkook jokes, eyes crinkling.

You groan and smack your palm to your forehead, “It’s too early for ‘next year’ jokes, Jungkook. Reign it in.”

“No such thing as too early,” Jungkook protests.

“You’re the type to come in the first day back and tell everyone that you haven’t seen them since last year,” You tease, and Jungkook lets out a surprised laugh.

“So what if I am? It’s a timeless joke!”

“Oh, is it?”

Namjoon rolls his eyes as you both playfully bicker. “Before we leave, since this is our last meeting for this project… Thank you for all of your hard work in the last few months. You’ve all really stepped up, and I’m proud to lead a team as strategic, smart, and flexible as this one.”

“Watch out, Namjoon, you’ll put a tear in my eye,” You interrupt with a grin. He shoots you an impressed glare and you shut your mouth.

“As you know, Tokyo will be here in February. And I expect nothing but the best from us. But until then… Enjoy the holiday, and be safe and well. And spend time with your loved ones.”

Jungkook catches the soft look in your eyes. You bite your bottom lip nervously, feeling like you have to say something. At least to Namjoon.

So you muster every ounce of bravery in you and open your mouth. “Thanks, Namjoon. For… everything.”

Well, nobody said you were a poet.

And sometimes you might text him after work, too. Sometimes you send pictures of your dinner and dessert to him. And he, without fail, compliments every single one of them with an array of emojis. 

Jungkook sometimes can’t believe it. He finds himself asking Taehyung if he’s dreaming- that you’re really texting him. Taehyung rolls his eyes and smacks the back of his head.

Sometimes when you try new wines with Grandma, you tell him about it. You send him snapchat videos once in a while, after a few glasses of wine detailing your assessment of the wine-

Hey. It’s me. Today, I tried this five year old pinot noir. Don’t even like pinot noir like that. Don’t you think all wines taste the same? Except pinot noir. Pinot noir tastes like the devil’s lettuce.

When you send him snapchat videos, his heart seizes in his chest at the flash of your name on his screen. The camera will be facing you, voice slurring and a little high pitched. In one of them, he thinks you’re in your bed, under the covers half asleep. 

And when he sends you little videos back, he stammers in nervousness. In fact, he drops his phone more than once while recording himself doing his skincare routine to send to you.

The fact that you willingly send him these silly snapchat videos of your sleepy voice, sends a flutter of butterflies through his belly.

Jungkook starts going to bed with a goodnight text from you more often than not.

You surprise him again, on a random Thursday night, asking him what he’s doing. It’s the Thursday before Christmas.

Normally, Seokjin is your go-to to text when you can’t sleep at night. But you find yourself curiously hovering over Jungkook’s text message thread more often than not these days.

Jungkook is playing video games and the moment he sees your name flash across his screen, he gets distracted. A chorus of protests echoes in his ears when he suddenly pauses to check his phone. It’s close to 1 AM, and he wonders what you’re doing awake.

you : hi you: what are you up to you: i cant sleep lol jungkook: is this a booty call? You: lmaoo shut up. if this was a booty call u would know jungkook: what’s a dude to think

Jungkook blames his next text on the fact that it’s after hours, also known as vulnerable hours.

jungkook: when a pretty girl texts u at 1 AM what am i meant to think you: idk, go ask whoever else is texting u at 1 AM 

Of course, you don’t take the bait. Who does he think he is?

you: i was just thinking about u

He pretends like his hands don’t shake as he types his response to you. It appears that he’s feeling brave tonight.

jungkook: want to facetime? 

His heart races in anticipation when he sees three dots on his screen. They go away in a flash and before disappointment settles in, you’re FaceTiming him.

Jungkook nearly fumbles his phone in his hand before he answers. 

“H-hi,” He mumbles in greeting, a tired smile gracing his features.

You cannot believe that you’re FaceTiming Jungkook. You don’t remember FaceTiming anyone who wasn’t Jin. You wonder if he can feel your nerves through the screen.

“Hi,” You say with a wave, “What are you wearing?” 

You wink at him, eyes dark, before bursting into laughter.

“I thought this wasn’t a booty call,” Jungkook deadpans. As if his cheeks aren’t pink from your words.

“‘S not,” You promise with a laugh,  “Were you sleeping?”

“Nah, I was playing video games with-”

“Oh! I’m sorry, I just barged in on your plans with your friends,” You say apologetically, chewing on your bottom lip, “I didn’t even ask if you were free-”

“Relax, I’m the one who asked if you wanted to FaceTime, remember?” Jungkook says soothingly, and you instantly feel your heart calming from the sincerity in his voice.

“Yeah. ‘Cause you thought this was a booty call,” You grin and Jungkook giggles.

What a sweet sound.

“I’m going to get into bed,” Jungkook murmurs, “Gimme a sec.”

He leaves his phone slanted on his chair, giving you a view of him walking away from you to refill his water bottle from the fridge. You can’t help but stare- even though his clothes are quite baggy, you can make out the outline of his ass through his sweatpants. 

He does have a nice peach. You’ve always thought so. You could probably bounce a quarter off of his ass. Not that you ever would.

“I feel like I’m in your pocket,” You say once Jungkook picks his phone up and heads to his bedroom. He makes sure the lights are off before heading in and closing the door and puts his headphones in his ears.

“You can be my pocket pal,” Jungkook says, getting comfortable in bed.

“How flattering.”

You’re cuddled under your covers on your side, the light from your nightstand illuminating your face. Jungkook sees dark circles lining your undereyes, and a tint of nervousness in your gaze.

You look cozy and cuddly, a little contemplative, and he wonders what’s on your mind. 

“Hey,” You say, voice turning a little serious, “Thank you. For… For answering my text. And for being my friend, in general.”

Your face is heating up, vulnerability pooling in your eyes. You want to look away- maintaining eye contact even through the camera feels like too much. But you’re working on it. You’re working on being more vulnerable to those around you. 

You want to let him in. It hurts how much you want to let him in.

“O-oh. You don’t… You don’t have to thank me for being your friend,” Jungkook stammers. How must you feel about yourself if you feel the need to thank him for just being a friend to you? “Are you...okay?”

Your eyes widen and you play with the hem of your shirt to distract yourself for a second. “Yeah-”

“You don’t have to pretend with me,” Jungkook says softly. 

You pause for a second, heart pounding in your ears. The only person you’ve ever talked to this about is Jin. But maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if you spilled your thoughts to Jungkook.

You’ve never been the best with words. 

“Um,” You say in a tight voice, “I just… I had a really hard day today at therapy. So I can’t sleep.”

Jungkook catches the hesitation in your tone. He’s not the best at comforting people, he thinks. But he’ll try, for you. For you, he’ll try anything.

“Are some days easier than others?” Jungkook asks, trying to probe what you’re comfortable with sharing and what you’re not.

“Yeah. I’ve had worse days, but this has been a tougher day than usual…”

“What do you usually do? On tough days?”

“Mostly just sleep. And then wake up feeling worse,” You laugh dryly.

“Maybe journaling would help. It’s a good way to get rid of the buzzing in your head,” Jungkook suggests and your eyes light up.

“Really? I’ve been thinking about it but I never know where to start,” You reply, “Do you journal?”

“Yeah, sometimes,” Jungkook nods, “You just write...Whatever comes to mind. Get it off your chest. You can make your journals pretty too, if you want.”

“I’ll look into it,” You muse, “Thanks, JK.”

Jungkook’s eyes turn into crescents as he gives you a blinding smile. “Talking to friends helps, too. Even if you don’t want to share everything. Just talking helps.”

Your smile begins to fall and Jungkook quickly tries to backtrack but you beat him to it. “I don’t… have many friends, Jungkook,” You say softly, “As you may have gathered by now. I don’t think I have much to offer.”

Another dry laugh. It breaks his heart a little. What do you think of yourself? Do you recognize when the room lights up when you enter it, when people laugh at your jokes, when people praise you? 

“You have me,” Jungkook says instantly, “You have me, you have Jin. I’m always here if you want an ear.”

“Even at 1 AM, when you’re playing video games with your friends and I’m the dumb bitch who interrupts-”

“Stop that,” Jungkook says firmly, “Yes, even at 1 AM. Especially at 1 AM.”

He reminds you of Jin, when he tells you to stop with the immediate self-deprecation. It makes you smile fondly.

“JK,” You say slowly, “I’m… here for you, too. If you ever need an ear.”

He throws you another blinding smile. It’s no surprise that your dreams that night are filled with that soft bunny smile.

As Seokjin claims, the best way to get to know someone is over food. Not that he’s wrong- but it’s the first time you’re meeting Yuna and you’re incredibly nervous.

You feel like you’re going on a first date. This unfamiliar first date feeling keeps creeping back more and more lately. How bothersome.

Grandma even asks you why you’re so jumpy-

“You finally going on a date?”

“No! I’m meeting Jin’s new girlfriend. Her name is Yuna,” You roll your eyes.

She gasps, “It’s about time someone snatched that boy up, if you wouldn’t.”

You arrive about ten minutes early to brunch, tapping your foot against the floor restlessly as you scroll through your phone. You wait at the table for them to arrive-

Jin nearly screeches your name from across the restaurant. A pretty woman, Yuna you presume, only laughs at his antics. She loops an arm around his upper arm easily. Despite many of the restaurant patrons glaring at them for causing a scene, Jin pays it no mind.

“Hi,” You breathe and Jin pulls you to him for a tight hug. He holds you in his arms, peering at you as if you’re transparent. “You gonna let me say hi to Yuna, or are you gonna keep staring?” You ask dryly.

Jin gasps, clearly affronted, “I haven’t seen you in days! Excuse me, for missing my best friend.”

“You’re excused,” You grin, but squeeze his arm in appreciation.

Yuna waves at you from next to Jin, rolling her eyes at him. “If he ever lets go of you, maybe I can finally say hello…”

“I knew this was a bad idea. Bringing you both together,” Jin grumbles.

“Hey, you made your bed. Now lay in it,” Yuna says, rubbing his cheek fondly.

To your surprise, Yuna doesn’t pull you for a hug immediately. Instead, she shakes your hand. It might seem awkward to anyone else, but you appreciate it. You appreciate not being hugged by someone you had just met. Jin probably told her that you don’t like impromptu hugs.

You’ve been on edge all morning. But it starts to fade away, slowly. When you sit down next to Yuna and across from Jin. Jin doesn’t mind that you both are engrossed in conversation without him- in fact, he encourages it. He only watches with adoring eyes, drinking his coffee.

“How did you and Jin meet,” You ask curiously, “He gave me the big picture, but lemme hear the details!”

“Seokjin! You never told your best friend how we met?” Yuna gasps, hand against her chest dramatically, “I don’t know if I should be offended or not.”

“What! I did,” Jin pouts, glaring at her playfully.

“Oh, did you? Actually, I would be more offended if I was your best friend and didn’t know all of the details,” Yuna complains.

“Oh, I like her,” You grin, pointing to Yuna, “Bottom line, it’s Jin’s fault. So tell me then-”

“Well,” Yuna says, turning back to you, “As funny as it is, I met him at a coffee shop…”

And she tells you about how Jin started frequenting the same coffee shop for weeks in hopes that he’d catch a glimpse of her after the first time. Your heart aches only a little over the fact that you had no idea. It’s okay though- it’s not about you. She tells you that he had somehow figured out her coffee order and was waiting with her order when he asked for her number.

Yuna whispers that she was a sucker for him right off the bat, and you both share a laugh over that. Even though it’s only been a few weeks, a little over a month, you can see how much she likes him. And how much he likes her.

She also looks at you in the same way Jin does sometimes- like she can see right through you with knowing, curious eyes.

It doesn’t unnerve you as much as you thought it would.

You’re on a mission, with two bags of fried chicken in the passenger seat of your car. Today, you’re planning on paying a visit to Jimin and Hoseok in their dance studio. They’ve been here for years, and you haven’t seen them. Not even once.

First date jitters settle in your belly again. You’re only making good on your promise to them in Tokyo- that you wouldn’t be so much of a stranger again.

Fried chicken and bubble tea would be the way back into their hearts. Hopefully.

With a deep breath, you park your car into the lot, away from the rest of the cars. And you take your time pulling the food and trays of bubble tea out of your passenger seat before arriving at the front door of the studio. One of the students who is about to leave sees you struggling at the door, and lets you in without a second thought. 

“Thank you,” You murmur and he nods at you before exiting the building.

You spot Jimin with his back turned away from you, talking to Hoseok. It must be something important, from how serious the expression on Hoseok’s face is. But Hoseok pulls away from Jimin when he sees you in the mirror that lines the wall.

He looks surprised, but gives you a bright smile. 

“Uh,” You say, with a weak smile, “Hi. I brought food.”

“Is that fried chicken?” Jimin says, peeking at the bags. You nod and Jimin smiles, taking the bags from you and setting them on the floor.

“And you got our favorite bubble tea flavors,” Hoseok says in approval. You help him set the food and teas in front of you and stretch your legs.

“You should’ve texted! We could’ve gone to dinner or something,” Jimin says, plating the fried chicken for everyone.

“Ah, I wanted to…” You trail off, “Wanted to see the studio. And surprise you both. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“It has,” Hoseok murmurs, scratching his chin. His eyes are warm and sunny, just as you remembered all those years ago. It’s interesting, how it’s been so many years since you’ve held a conversation with either of them. And yet, it feels like no time has passed at all. 

You suppose that’s what adulthood is. And maybe you missed some of it while you were in your very own black hole.

“Tell me,” You demand softly, “Tell me everything. And where is Yoongi? Jin mentioned he has a recording studio?”

So they do- they tell you everything, from how they got the seed money for the school, how they train backup dancers and main dancers, and have just expanded their team so that they can train younger kids, too. 

“Took a while to get here,” Hoseok shrugs, “But we’re here.”

“Yeah. We are,” You say wistfully, “I’m happy for you guys. I remember...how this was your dream. In school. So… I’m happy to see it come true.”

“Ah, don’t go getting all sappy on us now,” Jimin teases and you roll your eyes.

“Hey, finish your bubble tea. Let’s dance it out,” Hoseok says. Your lips part in surprise, about to protest. But they’re both persuasive and you’re not immune to their charms.

So you dance with them, the music bouncing off of the walls, the mirrors and reverberating in your blood and making your heart pound. You dance with them, you laugh, and you even cry a little.

Nerves seize you as you walk towards the karaoke bar from your Uber with Jin and Yuna. You had driven to Jin’s apartment and left your car there, to Uber (and pregame) with them. He refused to let you take an Uber by yourself all the way from home into the city. It’s been years and you’ve given up fighting him on it.

Yuna has an arm slinked around your shoulders as she leads you inside, seemingly sensing your nerves.

So many people, mostly faces you don’t recognize are at the karaoke bar. Yuna pulls you away, to introduce you to her girlfriends.

Yuri, Sooyoung, Seohyun. They talk to you as if you’ve been a part of their circle since the beginning. It makes you yearn for it- for girl friendship.

Yuri suggests a round of drinks and shots for everyone, and you go with her to the bar to get the bartender’s attention.

You catch Jungkook’s eye and you tell Yuri you’ll meet her at the bar.

“Hi, Jungkook,” You breathe, a little nervously. You smile brightly at him, opening your arms for a hug without a second thought. He also looks delicious, a fact that you had been all too aware of. He’s wearing a baggy white shirt and a bomber jacket, paired with tight, black jeans and combat boots. Two silver hoops sit pretty in each ear, and a metallic feather dangles from his right ear. He has his hair pinned back, exposing part of his undercut to you on his left side. On his right side, his hair falls over his eyes in an effortless waterfall.

You want to push his hair back. You resist the urge and clasp your clutch tightly.

He smells spicy and warm. Like always. You could drown in his arms, you think. You don’t want to let go of him, you quite enjoy the feel of his strong arms easily wrapped around you.

But he lets you go and you let him go.

“Hi,” He says, his eyes crinkling, “How’s it goin’?”

“Good,” You murmur, “You sober?”

“Nah, had a few drinks with Tae at home,” Jungkook says, pointing to Taehyung. Who’s currently chatting Yuri up at the bar.

“He’s trouble,” You laugh lightly.

“You don’t have to tell me twice. I live with the guy.”

Jungkook had seen you walk in with Seokjin and Yuna earlier. You were deep in conversation with Yuna, throwing your head back in laughter. He’s glad- he’s glad that you’re finding friends outside of Jin. He knows it’s hard for you to open up. But he’s proud of you for trying.

He knows this because you’ve told him. Late at night, via text. During vulnerable hours, as he’s dubbed them. He’s flattered that you feel comfortable enough to share such things with him. He’s only known you again for a few months, but the way you had been in the beginning is a stark contrast from how you are now.

You’d been mean in the beginning, a little rough around the edges. But now, you’re a little softer. He likes you like this. Jungkook doesn’t like when you’re deliberately mean. 

Even if you haven’t truly apologized for how you’d treated him in the beginning, he thinks it's mostly forgivable.

You look so pretty- is the first thought that runs through his head. As it generally always is. You’re wearing a black velvet off the shoulder top that proudly shows your tattoos off on display and a thin gold necklace at the base of your throat. A watch sits pretty on your wrist, your pants are tight around your thighs...

He could stare at you for hours. Jungkook loves the way your face relaxes when you laugh, loudly and genuinely.

Jungkook’s throat goes dry, the same way it did at the holiday party. He can’t keep his eyes off of you- your bare shoulders, the dip of your chest, the swell of your ass… 

If he doesn’t watch himself, he might have to rub one out in one of the dirty bathroom stalls. And this time, he probably won’t be so lucky to be alone in the bathroom the way he was at the party.

He just can’t believe how pretty you are, and how he gets to see you like this as often as he does.

Taehyung snaps his fingers in front of Jungkook, waving his hand in front of his face. “Hellooooo,” Taehyung says, “Anyone home?”

“Shut up,” Jungkook grins, shoving his hand to the side.

“The hell are you staring at?” Taehyung mutters, following Jungkook’s line of sight and sees you, “Oh. No wonder. Your girl’s here.”

“She’s not my girl,” Jungkook protests.

“Yeah, don’t I know it,” Taehyung scoffs, “You gonna make a move? Or should I?”

Jungkook rolls his eyes, shoving Taehyung’s shoulder. Seokjin approaches both of them, throwing an arm around them and Jungkook forces his eyes away from you. Jungkook smells alcohol on Jin’s breath- he’s screeching about how he wants them to meet Yuna-

“Jin, she’s right there,” Jungkook says with wide eyes, “You can just-”

Over the last few months, being under Namjoon and Seokjin’s tutelage feels like he’s gained two older brothers. While Jungkook was initially wary about developing such close relationships with colleagues, let alone superiors, the pull of friendship was too tight for him to really resist.

Jin smacks Jungkook’s shoulder roughly, “You think I don’t know that! That my girlfriend is right there! She’s with your girl-”

Jin’s smile twists into a smirk and Jungkook’s jaw drops. 

“Close your mouth, Kook. Lookin’ like a damn fish outta water,” Jin says smugly, “I know everything. Don’t you forget it, kid.”

Jungkook just pouts at him, “I’m not a kid.”

“You kissin’ anyone at midnight?” Taehyung asks smoothly, with his legs spread and his arm over the back of the seat to face you.

You scoff, “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

He’s easy and fun to talk to. You don’t notice Jungkook’s smile dissolving into a pout.

Taehyung looks at Jungkook knowingly, with a smirk and innocent, dark eyes. Dangerous. “Wanna be my midnight kiss?”

He’s bold. You don’t think you’ve ever met someone as bold as Taehyung. But you understand why him and Jungkook click.

“You fuckin’ wish, Taehyung,” You swat his shoulder playfully, taking a long sip of your drink.

Jungkook crosses his arms across his chest petulantly. Taehyung knows about his not so secret crush on you. He’s doing this to annoy him, but also to tell him to get a move on with you.

But he likes slow, and he wants slow with you. If you’d ever give it to him. 

“Can’t blame a guy for trying,” Taehyung says loudly, looking over your head to Jungkook subtly.

“Oh, I can definitely blame you for trying,” You roll your eyes, “C’mon. Let me get us some drinks-”

“I don’t-”

“I know you don’t like alcohol. I saw they have this fancy peach and mango drink, thought you’d like it,” You shrug and Taehyung’s face splits into a broad smile. 

“How thoughtful of you,” Taehyung beams, ruffling your hair fondly, “C’mon, Jungkook. Our girl is buying.”

You and Jungkook both roll your eyes this time, and you let your gaze land on him. “Your friend is a nuisance,” You mumble to Jungkook loudly, grinning when Taehyung pouts at you.

“Hey! I can hear you!”

“Good, that was the point.”

You were happy to be in settings like this without needing Seokjin to be a buffer for you. You think it’s progress- you can’t remember a single moment in the last five years that you didn’t need your best friend by your side to get you through events like this.

And now, you’re alone with Taehyung and Jungkook. All on your own. You think he might be proud of you. You think Appa might be proud of you, too.

“What can I get you, JK?” You ask, leaning close to him at the bar to hear what he says. 

“Soju,” He says instantly, his breath close to your ear. A shiver trails up your spine at his low voice.

“Me too,” You murmur, “We’re the only ones with any taste in this entire establishment.”

His eyes crinkle when he laughs. You love the sound. Neither of you realize that Taehyung has long disappeared. 

You lean against the bar, pushing most of your weight onto your elbows as you both wait for your drinks. Jungkook is so close to you that you can feel the warmth radiating through his white shirt and his leather jacket. You had already teased him for his white shirt before-

“You must have a lot of faith in yourself and in our friends if you think that white shirt will stay white all night.”

“I’ve got my good luck charm with me,” Jungkook winks at you.

Who does he think he is? You know he’s not talking about a physical charm, from the way he’s looking at you with stars in his eyes.

“Any resolutions this year, JK?” You prompt him, wringing your hands together.

“Nah, not really,” Jungkook shrugs, “Maybe just go see my parents and my brother more often. I wanna get back into photography, too.”

“Photography,” You hum, “That’s so very you.”

“Is it?”

“Yeah,” You nod with a small smile, “You seem like… You know how to capture a moment, even if it’s something mundane. You could make anything special, Jungkook.”

Jungkook’s cheeks flush at your soft praise. He wants to make you feel special. “T-Thanks,” He mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck shyly, “Do you have any resolutions for the new year?”

“I don’t know,” You shrug, “I think this year… I want to let myself be happier. Not much of a resolution but…” You trail off, suddenly alarmed.

“Sorry,” You mumble, “Didn’t mean to kill the mood.”

“What?” Jungkook says with wide eyes, “You didn’t. Trust me.

“And for what it’s worth… You deserve to be happy. H-happy looks good on you.”

A pet name almost slips out of his lips. Almost. The beaming, bashful smile you give him makes his heart race and his insides warm. 

“Is that the only thing that looks good on me?” You bat your lashes at him, lips formed into a pretty pout and Jungkook feels his knees weakening. He swallows nervously. Do you even know what you do to him?

Before he can muster a stuttering reply, the bartender appears with your bottles of soju. You turn a little too quickly on your heel, your heel slipping out from under you.

Of course you’re going to trip and bust your ass in front of everyone. And most importantly, in front of Jungkook. You squeeze your eyes for the inevitable thump of your ass hitting the wet floor, but it never comes.

Instead, you feel a warm, strong arm wrapped tightly around your waist. You feel your back against a solid chest. Your throat instantly goes dry and you force yourself to turn in his arms to look at him.

“You’re clumsy,” Jungkook says quietly, only for your ears. His eyes are teasing, his voice low from the rumble in his chest.

“N-no,” This time you’re the one who’s flustered, “Floor’s wet…”

Neither of you move away from each other. Your hand is still tight around his bicep, his hand firm against your waist. How is it that he always makes you feel like you’re the only girl in the world?

He could kiss you. You could kiss him. He could kiss you. You could kiss him. 

Instead, you stay in his arms for a little longer. Both of you sipping on your soju and sharing sweet smiles and starry eyes.

At least until Seokjin whisks you away, yelling at you for not even having one drink with him yet.

There are about thirty seconds left until the New Year. You can’t help it- you want to see Jungkook. He makes your heart flutter and pound at the same time- with his smile that you like to pretend burns a little brighter when it’s directed at you.

You find him, towards the back of the bar. He’s in conversation with Taehyung and Jimin but when Taehyung notices you noticing Jungkook, he grins to himself. And leaves the conversation, dragging Jimin with him.

You don’t notice that. You only see Jungkook.

The confusion in Jungkook’s doe eyes is cute, but it washes away when he sees you. His heart picks up again, throat going dry.

The countdown has begun already. Fifteen seconds left.

“Jungkook,” You say a little breathlessly. Jungkook can see the slick of tipsiness in your eyes when you flick your gaze from his lips to his eyes. You lean into him, chest to chest. Your voice catches in your throat when you realize your proximity.

You can see the mole beneath his pouty lower lip. Neither of you moves.

“Yeah?” He murmurs.

You could kiss him. He could kiss you. You could kiss him. He could kiss you. 

Five!

“I just-”

Four!

“I’m happy you’re in my life again-”

Three!

Jungkook says your name. “Me too. Really happy-”

Two!

His eyes are wide, unsure but sparkling. Adoring, even. And he’s looking at you like that.

One!

A chorus of cheers erupt behind you and you muster all of your courage. To press your lips against his cheek gently. Jungkook’s heart stutters, singing at the lingering touch of your lips against his skin. It’s not much, but it’s enough for his cheeks to turn pink and for yours to heat up.

It’s just you and him in this crowded, noisy bar. Everything else fades away when you stand with him.

A soft gasp leaves his lips, blowing on your face. He gives you a bashful smile, and you’re surprised at your own actions.

Your name sounds so good on his tongue. Like honey.

“Happy new year,” Jungkook says softly. He dares to press his forehead to yours and you exhale shakily at the action. You feel warm all over, as if bubbly champagne has been poured into your veins. You feel his hand at your waist.

“Happy new year, JK,” You say easily with a disarming grin. 

Jungkook wants to kiss you, kiss the gloss right off of your pretty lips. But not yet, not here. Not when he hasn’t taken you on a date, when he hasn’t even held your hand yet.

Not yet. Not here.

The way he looks at you, as if you’ve somehow captured stardust in your smile, it excites you and scares you at the same time. You don’t think anyone has ever looked at you this intensely, as if they can see right through you.

It sets your nerves on fire. You sway on the spot, leaning into the warmth of his forehead on yours.

“Happy new year,” Jungkook says again, dimples on display. He wonders if you can feel the tremble of his hand against your waist. Or if you can feel the way his heart is about to explode out of his chest.

You think you could spend hours glancing into his deep, sparkling eyes. A flash of his cold eyes from months ago intrudes your memories, but it’s gone as soon as it comes. 

His brown eyes are so warm and toasty- ringing in the new year with his soft gaze on you like this feels right.

tags: @koo-zy​

[rogue-bard]

I was wondering how you make dice?

I’m interested in making my own, and I thought I’d ask about.

Thanks. ☺️💚

Hi!!! You have no idea how excited I am about taking about dice making haha, so sorry if I ramble on a bit too much. Also keep in mind that I'm a beginner and don't reeeeally know what I'm doing.

Because I don't know how to cut anything short, I'll put this beneath a readmore...

So, first, you either have to make or buy silicone molds for your dice. There are pretty cheap ones I found that are made in China; shipping takes ages and the quality was poor (on some molds, the numbers came off...), but with a little luck, the molds of the dice you want to make are good to use. I saw these molds on amazon as well as etsy.

There are also a ton of people on etsy who make molds, but they are pretty expensive (as you would expect for the work put in). I have no experience with making molds myself, but there are pretty extensive videos about it on youtube!

So, if you have molds, you need epoxy resin. I only used Dr. Crafty for now, and I think all of them behave a little differently, so I'm not gonna get into mixing except for saying that you need to follow the instructions on the bottles very closely! Oh, and I do it on the balcony because there will be fumes. I would not be comfortable doing that inside, even with a mask. You also absolutely will need rubber gloves. I am in luck to not belong to the huge percentage of people who are allergic to this stuff, but it's still really uncomfortable on your skin and it won't come off easily, even in tiny amounts. (For that matter, protect your table and everything that might accidentally come in contact. I use a silicone mat I originally had for baking. Stuff comes right off of that and you have no problem!)

Plus, doing this outside in summer has the added benefit that you can just put your resin bottles in the sun, as resin needs to be pretty warm to not cause bubbles.

You can use tiny amounts of mica powder for glitter effects (most normal glitters will be too heavy and sink), or large amounts for opaque dice. Less is definitely more, when it comes to mica powder. (Worth noting is that you might wanna look up if that stuff is ethically sourced before purchasing; I've heard horrible things)

Or, if you like transparent dice, you can use alcohol ink (though if you put enough of that into your resin, it will also be opaque).

You can mix and match alcohol inks and mica powders as much as you like and have fun with it! Or you can make dice transparent or in color A and then just drizzle alcohol color in color B on top and poke it around with a toothpick! Or you can use gold leaf or anything else that you can think of, to put in there. Just keep in mind, that heavy stuff will sink to the bottom (which is usually the "good" face - like 20 on a d20 or 6 on a d6; so sinking tiny stars or something to there might be a fun effect too!).

My epoxy resin is a two-compound resin, which I *think* all of them are, but I'm not sure. In any case, I put my colors into one of the compounds before mixing the two compounds together, so I have as much time as I want to get the color right without having to worry that my resin will harden too fast.

Once you've done all the mixing, you can bang the mixing cup around a little, to get as many bubbles out of it as possible, and then you have to get it into the molds. If you have completely closed off molds, where you put the top on after everything is done, the you can just pour it in from the mixing cup. In any other case, you need either pipettes or a syringe. I tried and failed with pipettes because I always got more air in those than I got resin, but I also never used I pipette before that, so maybe I'm dumb...

Once you've filled your molds with all the resin and stuff you like, you have to make sure that there are no huge bubbles in it. I haven't really figured this step out yet, either, but for some reason I'm doing better than a friend with a pressure pot... Just... Turn the molds every which way and bump them against your table? Idk, if that does anything, I keep hoping it'll knock bubbles loose and make them go up (which is why I turn the molds on all possible sides).

After you're sure there's no bubbles, put a bit of extra resin on any openings (except if you have a completely closed mold), as resin contracts when hardening. Your excess resin can fill in the holes that that will create.

Then that stuff needs to settle for however long it says on the bottle - and if you used a looot of alcohol ink and/or it's rather cold where you are, then you'll have to wait even longer. I usually just put my molds in an airtight box so the fumes don't escape, and then take that into the cellar, so it's out of the way, but I think it would be better if it was kept warm.

Once it's completely cured, you carefully waggle the mold a bit around the dice, as to not to rip any numbers off when you take out the dice. And then you turn the mold inside out as much as you can, and take out the dice!

If there's any huge surface holes, you can try to fix them with more resin... I just use clear UV resin for that, because that hardens in minutes. But ideally, there won't be many holes.

You can now either sand all the sides, or only the sides that visibly need sanding - whatever you prefer. I think you need to wet sand it, I think dry sanding would probably not go too well, but I don't know. I start with a 400 grain and work myself up to 12000. Now, that 12000 grain wasn't cheap and I think is completely unnecessary, it's probably enough if you go to 4000. Just make sure not to sand off any numbers. Because I've done that. More than once. It sucks.

Aaaand you're almost done! Just get whatever color paint you like (preferably water proof, if you like to spill your drink while playing...) and ink in the numbers! I usually go for acrylic paint, but only because I had that lying around anyway. I'm sure there's plenty of colors that paint on epoxy.

And then you just need to enjoy the nice click-clack sound they make in your hands!

I hope you didn't die of old age during this lengthy explanation......

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #416

“don’t pray for me when you’re the one to blame  /  don’t think of me when you go up in flames”

Does your town/area have a farmer’s market? Do you ever buy your vegetables there rather than grocery store? Not close enough for us to actually go there for groceries, no. If you had a significant other and somehow got a chance to kiss your celebrity crush, would you still go for it? Well no, given Mark's been in a serious relationship for like six years, and I'd feel disloyal to my partner. I can just dream about it, ha ha. Do you tend to be attracted to people that are more similar to you in interests and mannerisms or do you tend to be attracted to someone opposite/complementing to you? I tend to be drawn to people I'm more similar to. What is a talent that a lot of other people desire or value but you really don’t care to have (e.g., singing, etc.)? *shrug* If someone asks you to hang out, but for some reason you’re just feeling lazy/don’t want to go anywhere, do you ignore them, make up an excuse, or just tell them the honest truth? Tbh, odds are I'm making up an excuse. Would you like to meet an alien? That would depend on its motives. It might have wisdom to share, or it may be nefarious, in which case I don't wanna meet it obviously. If so, would you trust them enough to go back with them to their planet? That's a no no matter how it acts. Trust issues, my friend. And that's with humans. What do you think is at the end of space. It's kinda science that space is infinite... Do you like D&D or Magic: The Gathering the most? I've never played D&D because I know I would be way, way too awkward to actually do it. M:TG is fun, though. What is your favorite Disney movie? TLKKKKK. What’s your favorite book series? Wings of Fire tops the list right now, but Warriors will always have a very special place in my heart. What’s something you wish they’d build in your neighborhood? Idk. Do you usually keep ponytail holders around your wrist? No. I don't even wear my hair in a ponytail because it's too short. Sunny D or orange juice? Orange juice. I have to be in a very specific mood for Sunny D. Can you snap out of a bad mood fast? Nooooo, unless something drastically good happens. How can a person tell if you’re mad or annoyed? My face will probably give it away, mixed with me being short and snippy or more awkward than normal because I'm trying to not be a bother. What’s something you enjoy that’s outside your age level? Certain TV shows. When your friends come and hang out at your house, what do you get up to? The only friend I have that I hang out with once in a blue moon is Girt, and we'd usually play board games or watch TV. Do you think it’s ignorant for people to have unprotected sex when they’re not ready for a child? Yes. Like yes, I'm pro-choice so won't look down on someone getting an abortion, but I still think you should be willing to act to prevent things from getting to that point where that procedure is chosen. For it or against it, abortion is a serious decision and should be treated as such. What were your favourite things to do as a child? My favorite thing had to be video games, specifically Spyro, and I also adored Webkinz and Neopets on the computer. I also loved playing make-believe with my toys like every other kid. I loved watching Dad play video games, too. I've also been a drawing fiend since I was very little. If you were shopping with your best friend, and they picked an outfit that was completely unflattering, would you tell them? I honestly don't know if I would. Her being comfortable and happy in it is what matters, anyway. Do you prefer using air-con or having the windows down when you’re driving on a hot day? Team A/C for sure. I hate the feeling of wind just slapping the hell outta your face and making a nest out of your hair. Can you ever manage to finish three courses when you go out to eat at restaurants? No. What would you say your favourite farm animal is? Pigs! They are so incredibly misunderstood. They're very intelligent, CLEAN (I know, can you believe it?), silly, and happy animals that I just adore. Is your ex currently in a relationship and if yes, how do you feel about that? Idk if "the" ex is with anyone, and it's for the better I don't, probably. Which one of your friends should be a stand-up comedian? Girt. Is your mom a better driver or your dad? Oh yeah. Dad tailgates like a motherfucker. What's your least favorite genre of music? Either rap or country, idk. Do you like poems? I do. Do you enjoy drawing? I have a love-hate relationship with it. I LOVE when something comes out the way I wanted it to, but if it doesn't, I feel very disappointed in myself and bash it into my head that I could do better. Do you even have any drawing talent? So I'm told. Have you ever seen The Sound of Music? Yes, in elementary school's music class. Ever seen Beetlejuice? If so, did you enjoy it? Oh yes, that was one of Jason's favorites. I liked it. How do you deal with oppressive heat? Complain, sweat my ass off, do anything I can to cool off that doesn't involve taking clothes off. What’s one thing that people definitely CAN’T count on you for? To remember pretty much anything whatsoever. What about something they definitely can count on you for? An ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on. How do you feel about your handwriting? I like it. Is there a store that bothers you immensely for some reason (people who shop there irritate you or the employees who work there are rude, etc.)? Uhhhh I don't think so. What’s something you complain about frequently? If I'm hot, or my legs hurting. If you’re home alone and someone knocks on the door, what do you do? Ignore it. I'm not answering. What’s one book that you have read that will stick with you forever? Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo. It's an anti-war pacifism novel, which is something I'm very much passionate about. Would you ever get one of those old school “mom” tattoos with the heart? No. I know with certainty I want a tribute to my mom when she passes, but definitely not that design. Are you a Giants fan? I don't care for sports, but the NYG always make me think of Jason's dad, who is like, obsessed with them. So I guess I feel a bit of warmness towards them just for memory's sake. Last time you went pumpkin picking? Never. Do you prefer eating corn straight off the cob or corn already taken off the cob? I think corn on the cob tastes better with all the butter and spices you can put on it, but I do enjoy off the cob too because it's just so much cleaner. Would you want your family to go on Wife Swap? Well, I live with my mom and she's divorced, so... I don't have to worry about this. How old is your current e-mail address? God, I've had it since I was a kid. Last time you conversed with someone in a language other than English? Not since taking a test for German in high school. Last video you favorited on YouTube? Oh my god, it was this video from my favorite reptile channel (Snake Discovery) of them taking their pet tegu to the park. She clearly had SO much fun. Now mind you I very rarely favorite things, so yeah, I adored the video. Do you like chocolate with coconut filling? Noooo, I'm not a coconut fan at all. What was the first thing you ate today? Mom made bacon, yuuuuum. Do you know how to play Mahjong? No. Mom loves it, though. Do you have any skirts longer than knee-length? I don't own any skirts. What’s the farthest you’ve gone with someone you weren’t dating? Just flirting. Ever had a promise ring? No. What about one of those “I’ll wait until marriage” rings (I think they’re called purity rings or something)? They're called abstinence rings, and yes, in HS. Funny how looking back I was definitely breaking that vow while I wore it lmao. What is the shortest time you’ve heard of people being together before getting married? My late grandma and her second husband got married SO fast. Like they were together for probably a couple months (maybe less?), then boom, the news came that they were engaged. Are any of your friends currently pregnant? Facebook friends, yes, which are mostly composed of old friends and acquaintances from school. One poor girl very recently got into a bad wreck, but thank goodness she and her unborn daughter are okay. Have you ever played golf? I loved playing putt-putt when I was younger, and then Jason and I once had a mini-golf date. It was really cute. When was the last time you waxed anything on your body, if ever? It's been some years since I used to wax my eyebrows. Have you ever been in a car accident? Yes. A minor one, but still. Can you honestly say you love the last person you kissed? Yep. Are you smiling in your Facebook profile picture? Yeah. Would you ever go on Fear Factor? Noooo. I would NEVER get past day #2 where they tend to do the disgusting shit, and I'm way too out of shape to do the wild stuff they do. What colour was the last mask you wore? Blue. Can any of your friends sing well? Which one has the nicest singing voice? Oh yes, Sara has an absolutely beautiful voice. When was the last time you had a nightmare? I had two last night, actually. I have this habit of taking my APAP mask off in the middle of the night because it's a nuisance, and I never remember doing so. When I do that, I'm much more prone to have nightmares because the mask helps my sleep apnea, which causes my nightmares/terrors. Where do you see yourself in ten years? I do NOT want to imagine this. It's either going to be beautiful or a fucking catastrophe, of that I'm sure. Does your family have traditions? Just pretty ordinary holiday ones. Have you ever met anyone half-way famous? Tez is famous, as far as I'm concerned. :') I also have some musician friends trying to make it, but idk how far they've actually gotten in the industry. Is there a celebrity that you are related to? No, just ancestors. Would you call your last relationship a mistake? Definitely not. Would you ever take up a job in photography? Ugh... that's the fucking dream. But I'm massively losing hope. Do you throw out your assignments once you’ve gotten them back? When I was in school, it depended on whether it would serve as good study material or not. Who was the last person you messaged on Facebook? My old friend Jenna messaged me a few days back just to say she was thinking about me and wished me well, which I really appreciated. Of course I messaged her back wishing her the same and all. Have you ever developed a crush on someone the first day you met them? Don't believe so, no. Do you have any friends who never shut up about their boyfriend/girlfriend? Well, I used to. She vanished. Have you ever showered with a member of the opposite sex? No. Don't want to. I want to be alone when I shower.

[dreamlikeapsycho]

I saw the max facts (pun intended 😂) you did for that question a while ago. So I was wondering if maybe you could tell us some more facts about Max it doesn’t have to be anything too detailed but anything you know would be nice to know, pretty please 😊

Okay... RANDOM FACTS ABOUT MAX - PART 2

I went on deep analysis mode this time to try and say all of Max's little nice and cute moments I know of.. Pls take notice, tho!! I'm not trying to flex or anything, I'm just a simple peasant girl on Maximilian's kingdom for a long time and it happens I have FBI blood in my veins 😭 so It's all gather on my brain and hard drive lol SO! I'm just answering this ask with a lot of thought and care so you can know more about Max and how he is even more awesome than you think!!! (And just in text form, cause Max doesn't need to be tagged on more personal stuff on IG (there’s too much illegal fishing at my tumblr pond already! 👏). It’s probably weird to know certain things, yes, but at least I'm respectful, I'll never bother him with this kind of stuff). Well, enjoy the bible below to end up knowing very little about him, still haha.. Just some more small facts.

- Max was at a barbecue just yesterday. It was someones birthday from the set of his new movie. He drank his beer, like usual, idk about the meat.. there was wurst and chicken.. I'm not sure if he's trying to be a vegetarian or not (after that thoughtful video he posted) 🤔.. maybe he didn't eat it, I don't know!!

- a little while before the start of this shooting, he was at the Baltic Sea filming for the series he's gonna be in (just one episode again! Don't get your hopes too high lol he's gonna be a security guard who disappears mysteriously, so....)

- He helped his friend renovate his house a few weeks ago!! How could I forget that on the first post.. Then, he had to go to Hesse for the movie shooting, and his friend had to call another friend to come help him lmao damn

I think I could describe some videos I have then... at least there's some cool and funny stuff. (Friends himself tagged in the past and cast friends)

- Max's dad went to the same uni as him. Also, he voiced a police officer on the phone in a short film Max wrote and directed all by himself (he didn't act on it, but he was also another police officer over the phone haha). Another thing, his dad made the official music for one of his plays.

- The falafel day.. his friend was taking a piss filming Max at the shop from afar and zooming in, saying "omg, guys! I found Noah from Dark! He's right there buying falafel" lmao, then, Max is just standing there looking all wonderful with his perfect hair and such, moving his hands, scratching his chin, ordering his food, and his friend talks some more, doing like a rough Max voice "yeah yeah, I'll have that one. Good, yeah". 😂

- the day he went to take a walk in nature. His friend asks him for a cigarette, he is denied, he goes to take it anyway, Max slams his cup of tea on the table and tries to take his cigarette back and it's all black and they're just laughing lmao (I love his laugh btw, so giggly!)

There was storys posted by Max himself.. so, maybe you saw it, but it's from before dark s3 came out.

- The pigeon storys. He filmed two pigeons chasing each other at the station, one always running from the other and he captioned "me trying to flirt" haha

- He screen recorded an ad for an app that deletes people from pictures and made some joke too, I can't remember exactly what he wrote, smt like "when you break up, but still wants to keep the picture" lol also, he unfollowed like 5 people that week after posting that... hm 👀

- he posted a video of him walking in the dark with really cold wind.. you can only see his hair flying around. Also, with a mask on, another chasing a cat in a big field, and that one drinking his coffee and eating his yogurt (you most likely saw it already)

- Ohh.. His friend was playing Max's drums the other day!!! Made a lot of jokes, it was obvious he was messing around in Max's room (maybe they live together, maybe he just waters the plants lol idk). Some of the jokes were "I've been playing this drums since 1921" and "the drums and me are a perfect pair, don't ever believe otherwise". I wonder what Max said to him.. he can't do anything about it, he's not in Berlin hahah. He has a little giraffe in his room, and other home decors (you can see it on his drumming video on his own IG)

- he likes to read on longer train rides.

- there's a video of him screaming inside a wardrobe after being jumped by a friend and one of him putting lipstick on with the song "I'm a sexy motherfucker" playing in the background hehe we was tagged, it was easy to find when there wasn't much tagged post.

- There's moments of ppl filming something/themselves and he just comes and photobombs it lol he is just like thiss 👏 showing his tongue and doing a funny face and such. One of those I saw it on the IG of a Das Boot cast member I actually already followed before.

- this group was such a blast. There's a few pictures, one of them he's in a dress, he has white stockings on til his thighs, heels and all haha lovely

- His improv-group.. he was almost in tears singing "I believe I can fly" with the group on their last day.. But he was happy! A mix of emotions. He loves everyone, he expresses his love a lot to people in general, he says it and adds heart emojis to make sure haha you can see his comments going on IG of his cast friends, especially from Das Boot (I followed a lot of the guys). So, about always commenting something funny on people's posts.. I didn't saved those, so I forgot most of it, but one I remember was that someone posted a video of a hailstorm and he was like "what are u doing, free ice!! Go grab them" hahaha

- Max has that Noah picture where he's peaking by a wall (you know that one Baran posted) printed and framed! 👏

- Things he’s pretty much always with: his backpack and his big headphones (it's always on his neck. At almost every picture, from every year, with different people etc. I was confused when he had normal headphones at his farm storys. Maybe he forgot them in Berlin 😭. Besides those, his rings, necklaces and bracelets (always, for years and years! Same ones, even). He uses frequently on premieres, as I saw it. Sometimes they also show up on his characters in his one-episode works!! Hahah is so nice when that happens. You can notice this on my screencaps.

- that pic of him that is everywhere now (with glasses, holding a bottle of champagne), I posted that months ago.. There's 2 more pics and 1 video. One pic, he is pretending the automatic lighter that's on the table is a Harry Potter wand (but I think I cropped the table, right.. I can't remember). This was actually posted by Max himself and he tagged his friend who took it. I went to see if they posted smt and there was a picture where he is literally biting the cork of that bottle off with his teeth Lmaoo, and one video.. he is talking on the phone trying to block the view with his feet.. this man!!

- he really doesn't care about buying too much unnecessary clothes and shoes and stuff. He is mindful of his things and the environment!! 

- there's a video of him on the set of Der Zauberlehrling, I need to recall where I got that from (maybe I could share this one. I'm not sure), he is messing with the broom and someone asks him "hey Max, what's that animal?" and points to the fluffy microphone. He says "it's a fucked up coala bear" (in english) 😂

Again.. I can't say names or anything, cause ppl are not mindful! Like.. I know I'm probably weird, but only for myself and my FBI office LOL I don't go over there and follow/reply to all these people’s posts and storys or take their videos and tag Max on them, this is just not.... nah. I'll always be respectful (yeah, some older stuff has gifs, cause he had like 10k followers, and 5 fans on tumblr lol But i never sent/tag him in anything personal directly.. that’s why i only posted on tumblr for the past year, in fact! I never thought things would be the way they are now a year later.. so, newer stuff it's not posted/gif nor ever will). I don't want him to be weirded out and like, disappear from IG!! I think about these things.. when people are being weird and stuff towards him. I don’t know how ppl don’t think about this when tagging him recklessly in random pictures and videos!!!

I wish he had more interviews, so we could know more proper stuff about him. (The few interviews he has are translated on my IG highlight. There's still an 8min interview missing there, cause I'm contemplating about being more of a bother to german speaking people, since I only have basic german..

[chaoticneutralwriter]

Thirty Second Heartbreak

You think you’re doing pretty well for a human being who has to deal with two demonic entities in your life, to the point where you think you’ve become unfazed by them (maybe even prefer them over dealing with the arguably more trivial things in your life, like working customer service). But alas, you are still only human and humans grieve over the darnest things.

guardian demon! Jimin x reader

genre: fluff, comedy, slice of life, supernatural, aspects of slow burn

word count: 8.6k

Related works: see masterlist under guardian demon!jimin section

Story progression from Worlds Collide

A/N: Oh my God, the struggle to start this was fdskgh but probably because there was no way I could avoid a more ‘slower’ installment this time compared to the previous ones. BUT! All necessary! Don’t want to jump to the....exciting bits so soon. :D I hope you enjoy...while you can. (LOLL i kid idk i’m just gassing yall up).

The sound of the door unlocking, opening and then closing brings your attention away from your screen momentarily, spotting the familiar figure of Jaehee as she throws her shoes off, clearly disgruntled. You turn back to the video you’re watching just as she ambles over to your place on the living couch, collapsing onto the other end in a mess of limbs.

Taking out an earbud, you comment. “You look like you’ve been through hell.”

“Ugh don’t even get me started.” She groans back, rubbing at her temple before she spills her guts. “I’ve been trying to help Jason look for a place with his roommate since the place they’re renting now is so dingy. I don’t know how many viewings I’ve been to now but every time I think we’ve found a decent enough place, they complain about the stupidest thing!”

“Such as?”

“How it’s ‘too far’ from their school and work.” She air quotes it before squawking incredulously. “It’s literally a five minute bus ride away! How is that far?!”

You snort with a shake of your head. “Yeah, that’s like, nothing? What are they expecting, especially living in the city here?” 



“Exactly! Not only did they want to a nice, cheap place but somewhere close to one of the busiest parts of the city? Nah uh, not happening.”

“So? What are you gonna do about it?”

Jaehee lets out a heavy sigh, exasperation lacing her every word as she lets her head flop back against the couch. “They still haven’t decided on a place, and I’m making his roommate look for some himself but they got about half a month left to find one because the idiot—!” She interrupts herself by making a strangled, growling noise that expresses her restrained frustration (for her boyfriend or his roommate, you’re not too sure at this point), “Put in his notice already! Like I get you have to let the landlord know two weeks ahead of time but were they really that confident in finding a place by then?!”

You grimace at your friend’s predicament because it really does sound like a pain in the ass.

“You working any time this week?” Jaehee asks after a moment. You pause your video to think about it.

“Hmm, I only work this Tuesday and Wednesday. Why?”

“Let’s go out for lunch or something — check out some of the cafes I have saved from Instagram.”

You hum in consent; it’s been a while since you’ve been out (besides for work) anyways so you’re okay with a little outing. “Sure, how about this weekend?”

“Sounds good!”

-

“Have a good day!” You say cheerily, waving off the customer you just cashed out. As soon as they’ve walked away from your register, your smile immediately drops, eyes whipping to the time before immediately you’re pressing the button for the mic on your radio. “I’m going to take my break. The line’s dead.”

“Yeah go ahead, Alicia will cover you.”

“Thanks.”

You don’t hesitate to speed walk out from behind the cashier counter and beeline your way to the very back of the store where the staff lunchroom is, all the while dodging the few customers lingering in your path. You will not be stopped here if you can so help it. Punching in the code on the security pad in record timing, you fling open the door while tearing the earpiece off to place on the communal table then heading over to the fridge to grab the large iced latte you had bought before going into your shift today.

And thank god you did because you don’t think you would be able to make it through the day without it. It’s your first shift of the week and being that it fell on a weekday, the store isn’t so busy. It’s great on your part because then you don’t have to deal with talking to customers and putting up a fake smile but it makes for the shift, however short it may be,  feel ten times longer than it is.

You’re only here for four and a half hours but you already feel like dying.

As you settle into a chair, you pull out your phone to scroll through your social medias as well as take the time to reply to messages in your group chat. You’re sipping on your drink when a sudden chill overtakes the room. Before you can so much as shiver, a voice nearly makes you shriek.

“So this is where you work? Man, how depressing.”

You nearly fall off your chair at how hard you flinched, managing to stifle your would-be shriek into a more controlled yelp. It’s only when you recover were you able to shoot the intruder a hard glare.

“Jungkook! What are you doing here?!” You hiss, trying to keep your voice down. The offending demon merely shrugs nonchalantly from across you, leaning back in his own seat in a very impossible way where he should’ve tipped over but he doesn’t.

“I was bored and decided to follow you — find out any of your dark secrets you might be hiding.”

“You know even Jimin doesn’t stalk me as much as you’re doing right now.”

“He’s boring; doesn’t know how to have fun anymore.” Jungkook sighs almost tragically as he gets up to stride around the room. You watch, a little thrown off by the juxtapose this demon-disguised-as-an-idol has to his surroundings. He’s got on a black hoodie that has bold white letters on the front that spell out Balenciaga, Kappa sweatpants and Puma runners; casual yet so bougie at the same time, it’s painfully obvious that Jungkook does not belong here, a lunchroom of a minimum wage job and that’s not taking into account his good looks either.

You sigh out in both annoyance at the scene and at Jungkook’s unannounced appearance.

“Look, I don’t have time to entertain you so I think it’s best if you —“

It’s quiet but you distinctly hear the trill of the lock pad being woken up and the numbers being punched in, announcing the arrival of a co-worker. You immediately clamp your mouth shut, eyes darting to see who would walk through the door. Not like it would matter because the more worrying issue here is that Jungkook has not left yet. The door clicks open and in walks Emily, a girl who usually helps out around the floor.

“Hey!” She greets you cheerily, none the wiser of the demon standing just mere feet in front of her.

“H-Hey…” You reply back, trying hard to be casual and maintain your attention on her rather than on Jungkook who’s grinning so widely, you think his cheeks would split. “Done for the day?”

“Yeah, thank god! I’ve been here since twelve.”

“Wow….but lucky you, at least you’re leaving.”

It’s currently seven in the evening, you started at five today and are scheduled until closing which was nine-thirty. You envy her for getting to leave, regardless of your otherwise short shift. Emily clocks out at the computer, taking off her work vest, walkie and headset, placing them back in the appropriate charge holders. It’s then that Jungkook decides to saunter over, silent as a ghost to peer curiously at the equipment and hover over your co-worker as she opens her locker to grab her bag and other belongings.

You try to grab his attention to get back, facial expression doing the talking for you but all he does is bunny grin at your cartoonishly angry faces.

“You’re part of the closing team today right?”

You instantly school your expression as Emily shuts her cubby locker, turning your way to head over to the wall hooks to grab her jacket.

“Y-Yeah. I hope we get out early since everyone’s been working on the go-backs as much as they can so cleaning shouldn’t be so bad…” Your voice comes out higher than normal, and though you technically have nothing to worry about (his demon visa only allows for you and supernatural beings to see him after all), it’s still hard to ignore a begrudgingly handsome 5’10” man. Actually, you think it’s even more frustrating because you’re the only one who can see him. And that doesn’t add to the fact that he’s being a total little shit right now — what is he doing with those radios? You try to subtly lean your head to get a better look but your co-worker speaks, pulling your gaze away from the mischievous demon.

“Yeah, it has been pretty slow too but you know how it gets when we’re just about to close; they all come swarming into the place out of nowhere.”

“Damn it you’re right….” You groan, the thought effectively distracts you from your demon problem momentarily. You let your head flop back, eyes looking skyward as if to pray to the retail Gods to have mercy. Emily pulls on her jacket, fixing it into place while slinging her bag over her shoulder to throw one last pitying look your way.

“Well, fingers crossed it doesn’t happen. I’ll see you—“

A piercing screech erupts in the room, causing both of you to wince and whip your head towards the rows of radios by the computer desk. Emily’s confused while you’re not impressed because she can’t see the stupid, wide eyed look Jungkook has on his face, mouth shaped into a perfect ‘O’ and looking like he just discovered the next best thing after Nutella, finger poised just inches from a walkie.

“Did someone forget to turn off their radio? That was a nasty feedback.” Emily remarks, shuffling over to take a quick peek only to walk away with a puzzled shake of her head. “Weird.”

“Y-Yeah…” You agree uneasily, shooting up from your seat and attempting to change the subject. “Weird—anyways! I should probably head back out there, get this done and over with.”

“Ha ha, yeah you’re right. I need to get going too; I’ll see tomorrow then!” Emily smiles, waving at you before she hurries out the door, finally leaving you to be able to openly glare at Jungkook.

“What did you do?!” You hiss, pulling on your own walkie and shoving your phone away into your back pocket.

“I don’t know! But it was cool!” He squeals, giddy as a kid on Christmas. It makes your head begin to pound and you just know that you’ll end up with a headache if you stay here any longer. But the conundrum here is that you don’t want to leave to finish the remainder of your shift, and not because you don’t want to work. No, you’ve found yourself a bigger problem.

“Look,” You say sternly, “I better not see you in and around the store doing…whatever the hell you just did there!”

“Hmm, can’t promise you that poppet.” Jungkook grins, wiggling his eyebrows. “I’m a free demon, tied down by no contract or mortal so you have no power over me.”

You huff, aghast at his declaration because you cannot have him running around causing a mess in the store (that’s more work for you!). Your mind races before the thought strikes you and you stick your nose in the air, challenging. “I’ll tell Jimin.”

You almost smirk in triumph at the way Jungkook’s snarky grin falters, eyes flickering as you see him consider his options and when you think you got him beat, he squares up again, mirroring your stance only it’s annoyingly more effective with his height advantage.

“Go ahead — I’ll have you know that he loves me too much to do serious harm to me.”

You don’t know if he’s bluffing or not but you really have no time for this; you already hear your manager asking if you’re back from your break yet over your headset. You answer that you’re on your way back out now before shooting Jungkook one last warning glare.

“Just. Leave. Or at least stay here!”

His only response is to continue to look like that meme of the cat with a knife pointed at it. Begrudgingly, you turn to leave, already feeling your blood pressure skyrocket.

You continue to work as the cashier for the remainder of the night, keeping up an impressive front that everything is fine and you’re not beside yourself with anxiety at the thought of whether that troublemaker of a demon had pity on you to leave you alone or not. So far, you’ve not heard a peep of any supernatural business coming from anywhere around the store. Your hope runs higher once the clock reaches nine and you only have half an hour left on shift to clean up with your co-workers before you can finally head home.

“Alright guys, how are you sections doing?” You hear your on-duty manager ask over the radio.

“Still got some stuff to put back.” Someone replies.

“Any up at the front?”

You turn your gaze from dumping the trash in the smaller bins by each register into the larger garbage bag, bringing up your mic to speak into, “There’s a couple of stuff here.”

“I’ll go grab them.”

Things were going pretty well, you manage to finish emptying the trash bins and as you’re tying the bag up, that’s when you hear it — a static noise coming through your headset but before you can make anything of it, it’s gone. Not a minute later you hear one of your co-workers, Daniel, say over the headset, “Stephanie where are you?”

“I’m in aisle 48, why?”

“Did you say you need help?”

“….No?”

A pause.

“….Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Then who said they needed help then?”

You chime in after a moment of your own puzzlement. “No one said they needed help.”

“Yeah I didn’t hear anyone say they needed help.” Your manager adds in as well too. You see her coming up to where you’re standing by the return bins behind the register, shooting you her own pinched look of confusion. You can only shrug, just as lost.

“I swear I heard someone say they needed help….Or I’m going crazy.” Daniel responds, sounding unsettled. You honestly don’t know what to make of it either…..unless……

“I think the store might be haunted.” Your manager comments as she begins to unload the assortment of items left in the return bins.

“…..What makes you say that?” You ask nervously though the thought of a possible poltergeist isn’t what got you sweating.

“The last store I worked at, we actually had some unexplained things happen — all caught on camera by the way. Like, stuff being knocked over with no one there to cause it, or hearing people when there’s no one there just like now.” She says this all in a really light-hearted tone, even adds in, giggling, “Whenever we had to close the store, everyone would be so scared to go to the back by themselves; we would all just move in a group.”

You give your own stiff laugh, glancing out onto the store floor in hopes that a certain demon didn’t hear that and get any ideas. Your manager shuffles off with the items in a cart, off to put them back in their appropriate spots which allows for you to begin dragging the garbage bag and grab the handful of damaged items to put in the back. You nearly break out into a run to get these tasks done because your mind is set on another goal: find out where the hell Jungkook had gone off to.

You pass by Daniel who, on meeting your eyes, only shakes his head in disbelief, still not over what had just happened.

“I swear I heard someone….” He begins to defend himself and though you would’ve loved to validate him that it’s most likely true, you don’t for various reasons.

“I think that’s a sign that we should all go home soon.” You teasingly say instead. He laughs as you scurry past him to fling back the ‘Employees Only’ double doors, throw the trash bag by the door that lead out to the dumpster and deposit the damaged items in the designated racks. You swear you do it in record timing, you’re left slightly panting by the time you barrel out of the flapping doors of the back room area, but before you can begin to think of where one might find a demon lurking in a department store, you hear a loud crash.

“What was that?” Your manager asks over walkie.

“I don’t know, but something big fell over around aisle 50-56….”

You hurry on over to the scene of the crime, arriving fourth among your co-workers who had thought to do the same thing. From the end of aisles 52, you hear a very loud gasp, followed by a barrage of concerned remarks.

“Oh my God, what is this even doing here?!”

“Didn’t we sell this?”


“Okay, I’m low-key a little spooked and it doesn’t help that this was the Halloween decoration.”

Sure enough, your eyes travel downwards to see a massive dark shape lying on the ground. Once you’ve approached the group, they’ve already propped it back up again to reveal that it was a six feet tall witch, abnormally pallid face haggard and twisted into a wicked, gnarled grin, complete with rows of sharp teeth and wispy, long white hair. You grimace, metaphorical hackles raised as you stand at a safe distance away from her outstretched, clawed hands. You’re not a big fan of anything horror to begin with, but at least before, you would’ve still been assured that this was just a mannequin-like, overgrown store centrepiece …..and not something that could possibly be possessed if given the chance. 

That being said, your eyes nervously dart around but find no signs of the demon on the loose.

“Rachel, didn’t we move this to the back? What’s it doing out here still?” Daniel asks your approaching manager on duty.

“I….thought so too?” is her puzzled reply. She does a once over on the witch, trying to think of whether or not maybe the other managers have forgotten about it and had left her here in the corner to rot but it all doesn’t seem plausible; the store is very strict on moving out seasonal items once the occasion is over and Halloween was well over at this point.

After coming up short on an explanation, Rachel shrugs, “Either way, we have to move it to the back. It doesn’t belong here anymore. Anthony and Daniel can you do two do that while we do final touches?”

“Sure.”


“Yeah.”

Your two male co-workers go to grab a side on the witch to lift her up but as soon as they touch her, she comes to life, shrieking and cackling while waving her arms around and everyone present find themselves shrieking along with her.

“OH MY GOD!!!” Stephanie wails, hand pressed over her heart. “I NEARLY FUCKING DIED!!”

You can’t voice your own agreement with her, too preoccupied trying to calm your own racing heart after nearly jumping into the shelves of clothes behind you. Amidst the loud complaints of the near death experience, you faintly hear another set of cackling that wasn’t coming from the witch. Rachel eventually reels everyone back in once everyone’s general panic has died down to hearty laughs. The boys get set back to the original task and the rest of you were given the duty to put back the remaining straggler of items from the return bins earlier.

But once again, not even a minute goes by before you hear another startled shout coming from back room.

“Guys everything okay?” You hear Rachel ask over walkie.

“Oh my God, I think this store might actually be haunted!” Daniel’s voice cuts through, pitch a tad high from whatever encounter he just had. “The lights just turned off in here, we’re leaving right. NOW.”

You distantly hear a swoosh of air from the force the back doors swing open, followed by a garble mixture of nervous laughing and rapid talking.

“Okay guys if everything’s fairly clean then we can definitely head out now and put the remainder of the stuff back early morning.”

You check your watch and see that it’s 9:15, which by your work standard is a way early wrap up time for a closing shift — but you’re not about to complain. You’ve got a demon to catch and the faster you get out here, the better. So you race back to the lunchroom where mostly everyone was already gathered, taking off their headset, vests, and clocking out on the computer before grabbing their things from their cubby lockers.

“You need to get a priest in here and bless this place or something Rachel.” Daniel half jokes but you think underneath it all, he’s actually pretty serious. Everyone else seems to agree and you can only offer a wry smile, not sure if that would actually keep Jungkook away from causing any more trouble, or if an exorcist is a better option. Either way, everyone seems more antsier to leave than usual, even if they seem like they’re not taking these supernatural activities too seriously. You all move out of the lunchroom in a group, hastily making your way to the front entrance in hopes that you don’t encounter any more spooks. Your manager reaches up to the panel by the sliding doors, punching in the alarm code with speedy fingers and once the initial beep has sounded, she pulls open the doors and everyone goes rushing out into the cool night air.

“Goodnight everyone!” You hear a chorus voices call out and you return your own before you start making your way to the bus stop, bag strap clutching tightly in your grip. You arrive to the little shelter, huddling yourself into the seat in the farthest corner, leg bouncing in a mixture of impatience and jitters. Naturally, you swivel your head to either side of you to check on your surroundings but find that no other soul to be approaching or presently with you. You swallow, breathing out deeply while rolling your shoulders a little to finally settle back in your seat. Maybe Jungkook got bored after everyone left the store, off to find some other unfortunate being to —

“Y/N!”

“GYAK—GOD!”

The brunette throws his head back to let out a boisterous laugh, leaving you practically clinging to the bus advertisement panel for dear life. After a few breaths, you shake yourself from your frozen state to shove Jungkook by the shoulder. He only continues to laugh, clutching his sides and curling up on himself.

“You—! That was you in the store wasn’t it?!” You accuse right off the bat, eyes glaring as he calms himself finally to breathy giggles. Once he’s reigned in those too, he looks at you square in the face, dead serious.

“No, it was bloody Mary, come back to take revenge because you didn’t let her use her coupon six times.”

Your mouth hangs agape, so caught off guard by his answer but when it actually registers, you wheeze. Now it’s your turn to throw your head back and laugh. Vaguely, you remember that you probably look really crazy right now because no one other than yourself can see Jungkook, sitting beside you but you don’t care; it’s late and if anyone has caught sight of it then all the more reason for them to leave you alone, just like how you want it. Eventually, you calm yourself, catching your breath and with a sniffle, you half-heartedly slap the demon’s arm.

“You’re awful.” You say weakly, failing to keep the lingering mirth out of your voice. “You didn’t have to scare my co-workers and in turn, me, half to death.”

“But it got you out early, didn’t it?”

You go to argue but find that you can’t. Jungkook sees and isn’t afraid to let you know he’s got you beat with a smug smirk and quirked eyebrow.

Well played, you think, well played.

-

The weekend couldn’t come any sooner and you find the joy in not having to set up an alarm all the more sweeter. It puts you in a better mood knowing that you can finally sleep in and wake up when you actually feel rejuvenated enough. Which is why you’re feeling more energized to be out and about with Jaehee as you two make your way to one of the cafes she had bookmarked. It took a bit of searching (the cafe, evidently enough, was located on the other side of the plaza you were in, facing out towards the busy roads rather than grouped together in the inner circle like the rest of the other establishments), but you were settled into a cozy cute booth of the aesthetically pleasing cafe, iced latte and an assortment of fancy pastries to try out in no time.

You and Jaehee catch up for the first couple of minutes while sampling the little cakes in between conversations. After you finish two of the four you both bought, you ask Jaehee about her impromptu real estate agent job she’s taken on for her boyfriend and his roommate. Instantly, she lets out a groan of irritation at the mere memory of it.

“God, it’s still a mess. I actually have a scheduled viewing later today; I was wondering if you’re okay to tag along. It won’t take long.”

You nod your head, sipping on your latte. “Yeah it’s fine, I don’t got anything else planned for the day.”

Jaehee nods, slouching in her seat a bit as she pulls out her phone. “Good, I might just need the moral support. Like, the roommate was also supposed to come too since Jason’s at work and because, well, he’s the one looking for a place right?! But ugh! He’s like, ‘I’m too lazy’. I’m ‘bout to drag his ass if I have to at this point.”

“Gosh, you’re honestly doing the most right now and I don’t even know what for.” You say, frowning at how this situation sounds to be more and more of headache the more she talked about it. That’s what you kind of admire about Jaehee; she’s willing to go through such lengths for the people she cares about the most but at the same time, you really wished she knew when it starts to get too ridiculous. Even if he was busy with work and school, Jason or at least his roommate should still try to make an effort in apartment hunting instead of leaving it all to Jaehee (regardless of any amount of compensation that was probably offered).

“I know, it’s because they think they can get a place so easily when it comes down to it but it’s not. Like, we were lucky enough to score the place we live in now but that was before the housing market really went to shit.” She says, firing off a text message (most likely to her boyfriend’s roommate). “I honestly would’ve left it up to them too but….” Jaehee grimaces with a shake of her head. “Some of the places his roommate sent to me to check were so sub par for the offered price, like, you can get a much better place for the same price and also if they’re willing to dish out another $75 on top of their budget.”

“Huh.” You reply, not sure what to say to that but also thinking that the whole situation speaks for itself. You’re low-key glad that it’s not you that has to deal with this all, considering the fact that you have enough on your plate. On second thought, you think crazily enough, having to deal with two demons doesn’t seem so bad compared to what Jaehee’s doing — at least they leave you alone for the most part, save for Jungkook’s random bouts of shit disturbing but overall, they’re not bad company; just enough spice to your otherwise mundane life. The notion makes a wry smile begin to tug at the corner of your lips.

“By the way, how’s it going with Julien?”

“Huh? Wh— Oh! Yeah, Julien….Um…Good? I guess?”

Things have been….interesting between you and Jimin. He still goes out nightly to do….God knows what but you’d rather remain ignorant to whatever demonic activities he gets up to but when he does come around to pester you, it’s very much ‘the usual’; a lot of bickering and pranking (mainly on his part) where often times it leaves you fuming and red-faced and him smirking triumphantly or in a fit of giggles. Despite your indignation though, you surprisingly don’t mind it….that much. It’s a weird push and pull with you two, where even though it seems like he shows up just to judge your choices, poke fun at your human first world problems, you’ll still be able to find him standing at the end of your street, waiting to walk you back home after a late night shift so that you don’t have to face the convenience store corner alone without fail. On the rarer occasions, you’ve caught him humming parts of the ‘The Truth Untold�� during late night showers where you wake to get yourself a glass of water and the first time you did, you had stood in the hallway, completely mesmerized (you told yourself it was the good acoustics, you know, to help you sleep at night).

A puff of air releases from your nose quietly, unconsciously; the beginnings of a chortle bubbling up in your chest as you muse about your aloof guardian demon who looks like your idol crush. He’s started out to be such an anomaly, a disturbance to your normalcy, but now, you’re starting to see how interwoven he’s become in your life — settling into an empty space you hadn’t quite noticed until now and making it into his own.

“Uh…Y/N? You okay?”

“Huh….?”

“You like, spaced out on me.”

“O-Oh…Sorry, was just thinking about something…”

“Julien….?” Jaehee teases with a waggles of her eyebrows.

“Oh my God, you’re annoying.”

Jaehee only laughs, scooping up another forkful of the pink decorated cake. “We should finish up here and get going, I’ve finally convinced Jason’s roommate to get his lazy ass up and go to this viewing with us so we gotta go meet up with him.”

“Yeah, sure.”

You both finish off the rest of the cakes and you your latte before leaving the cute little cafe. After a quick subway ride, you arrive in the area where Jason’s university is; a hub of students walking around either on campus or around the neighbouring streets leading to downtown. You and Jaehee head off in the direction where a small residential area is located by the school, just a block around the corner, an admittedly convenient place to live in for those attending the school but also understandably not the best of living spaces. Right off the bat, you could tell that this is a very old neighbourhood, one that has probably been around since the building of the university. Many of the small bungalows look cramped beside each other with their collective, muted grey, brown and off white colour schemes, facing out with even smaller yards with overgrown lawns and low chain linked fences, all rusted and has seen better days.

Subsequently, Jason’s place falls in with the monogamous look the neighbourhood has taken and you can’t help but grimace when you and Jaehee step up the small wooden patio of the front entrance, noticing how badly chipped the white paint is. It makes you wonder if the interior is as dismal as the exterior, and if that was the case, then you can see the reason why they would want to find a new place despite how convenient the location is.

Jaehee gives the doorbell a ring, quickly growing impatient as a minute passes and your third companion doesn’t answer the door. You shift idly in place, but then decide against it as a loud creak gives off from the old wood — best to stand still lest you wanted the entire patio to give out on you, seeing that it very well may if you so much as sneeze on it. You both wait a bit more until finally you hear shuffling from inside and the locks click, door finally swinging open to reveal what you assume to be Jason’s roommate.

Personally, you’ve never met him until this moment but you can’t help being a little bemused; the guy looked like he straight just rolled out of bed and put on the nearest clothes he could grab.

“Took you long enough Henry.” Jaehee snaps, already heading back down the steps towards the little driveway. You follow after her without so much of a word or second glance at the male to see if he would follow. 
“We need to start heading to the viewing, it’s literally just down another block across the street.”

“I just got up…”

Well that solves that mystery, you think wryly. You stop by Jaehee’s side as she stands at the end of the driveway, looking back to see Henry locking the front door and closing the screen one in front of it afterwards. He shuffles on down in his sweatpants and university hoodie, ball cap on over his head to no doubt hide any unruly bed hair. It makes you glance down at your own outfit for the day through the lenses of your shades, it’s one of those days where you’re actually coordinated and looking pretty cute, if you do say so yourself (self pat on the back).

When he finally catches up to you, Jaehee takes the time to formally introduce you. “This is my bestie and roommate, Y/N.”

“Hello, nice to meet you.” Henry greets, offering a small smile. You return it with a simple hi and a small wave before Jaehee ushers the both of you to start making your way. The weather is nice and clear, sun beaming in a fairly cloudless sky but has yet to reach the point where you can feel the heat bearing down on you. A perfect temperature where it’s not too hot, not too cold and all you need is a light jacket. The air feels fresh, promised with the coming of spring soon along with the budding of leaves sprinkled on the branches of the trees you pass by. You inhale deeply, enjoying the breeze and the way the sunshine makes everything seem a little more vibrant.

You take it back when you reach the so-called apartment. Well, you had expected it to be an apartment but it’s another one of those small bungalow houses, the only difference is that this one is a lot better kept on the outside; grass trimmed with a small garden and even had an overhang on the side that separates the garage, leading to what you assume is the backyard. You spot a figure standing on the sidewalk just outside the home, in the middle of stubbing out a cigarette. It made you and Jaehee pause to look at each other, wondering if this is the owner waiting on you to arrive. It’s Jaehee that speaks up first.

“Hi there, we’re here for the viewing…?”

The man turns, lanky with a scruffy beard, dressed in a plain grey t-shirt and jeans with a baseball cap. He gives you both a wry smile.

“Funny, because so am I. It seems that the guy is showing someone else around right now.”

“Oh! Okay…”

And so you have no choice but to wait around outside until the person who had arrived first was finished with their viewing. It doesn’t leave much for you to do, and you find yourself pulling out your phone to scroll idly through your social medias. You get pulled into conversations with the other two but for the most part, Jaehee and Henry are discussing about other possible viewings they should see with Jaehee pushing Henry (and through him, Jason) to get some of the required paperwork when signing the rent for a place (i.e. credit scores).

You’re bored by the time the man in the grey t-shirt gets his turn. Sighing, you tuck your phone back into your pocket and glance around, actually seeing more people approaching the home most likely for a viewing as well. As your eyes scan over the patrons, they lock onto a figure standing right across the street from you, casually leaning against a lamp post, staring right at you through their own pair of dark shades. You had to lower your own to make sure you weren’t seeing things but nope, there he is, in all of his dark denim glory and you just know he’s smirking (honestly when is he not). Before you can even sputter, you see him reach into his back pocket, pulling out his phone and fingers making quick work on it. Not a moment later, your own phone vibrates.

It’s only then that you tear your gaze away to avoid looking suspicious (or crazy, who knows; you can never tell if you’re the only one who sees him or not), pulling out your own phone to see a text notification. You swipe your lock pattern, quickly tapping to open the message.

“Fancy seeing you here.”

You hate how you just read that in his voice, teasing lilt spot on. Your fingers fly to reply back.

“I should be asking you that, aren’t you allergic to the sun nowadays?”

Instinctively, you glance back at him to see his reaction but should’ve known to be disappointed because he only coolly inclines his head downwards to read your text off his phone before you see deft fingers work on a reply.

“I’m a demon, not a vampire. Besides, what is this haunting of a department store I keep hearing about going around?”

You suck in a breath, glancing up nervously to see if he’s caught wind (being a demon and all). You duck down when you catch sight of the those dark shades locking onto you, even when you can’t even see his piercing eyes behind the lenses. You could only hope your own shades hide the way your eyes shift briefly with unease.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about but considering the fact that I have a literal guardian demon, this shouldn’t even be that concerning?”

“Y/N! It’s our turn now!” Jaehee calls, pulling your attention away from the demon.

“Oh, yeah coming!” You scurry after the duo who had walked up the length of the driveway to meet with the agent doing the viewing. He introduces himself, shakes all of your hands and then leads you under the overhang to a door on the side of the house. Upon opening it, you realize that the space up for rent was the finished basement of the home, not the actual house itself as the door leads to a pair of stairs going downwards and straight into a small, tiled kitchen. It’s simple, open spaced with two bedrooms (one on each side of the living room area), one bathroom down the hallway leading from the kitchen and a laundry room. It’s adequate enough for two male students to live in.

Jaehee seems to think the same, nodding her head in approval as she directs Henry to ‘take a good look’ around. You hang off near the entrance seeing as how you’re just here for the shits and giggles, which allows for you to resume your conversation with Jimin. When you pull out your phone, you see a string of messages.

“You’re funny doll but you’re not dumb.

This has Jungkook’s name written all over it.

So have you been talking to that brat? I thought I told you not to.”

You roll your eyes, shooting off a reply.

“Hey man, he’s the one who follows me. Not like I willingly go out and look for him.

If it bothers you so much, then why don’t you just do some demon voodoo magic to ward him off?”

You don’t get an immediate response and it makes you smirk triumphantly for once. Yeah, you know him by now that whenever he brings up Jungkook and how you should stay away from him, his tone never gets stern enough to where he would personally go out and burn the younger demon with hell fire. In fact, you want to go as far as to say he’s using Jungkook as an extension of keeping his eye on you without actually having to constantly shadow you. You don’t mind, but you still find it funny that as loathing as he seems to be of his junior, Jimin undeniably has a soft spot for him…. or at least some semblance of trust, which is a good sign right?

Your phone vibrates and you glance down to read the new texts.

“What are you even doing there anyways? Don’t tell me you’re downgrading….

Please don’t.

No offence but this house looks ugly and I just saw you go through a side door that leads down to the basement of it.

That’s never a good sign.”

You actually snort to yourself, smile wide on your face as you go to reply but then back track a couple of times, debating on whether or not you should take this opportunity to mess with him. Unfortunately before you get the chance to decide, Jaehee, Henry and the sales agent are shuffling over to where you’re standing, looking about ready to leave.

“So I will definitely send you the paperwork that you need to fill out through the email you gave me and if you have any questions, feel free to email me as well.”

“Sounds good! Thank you so much!” Jaehee smiles, nodding to the agent before turning to you. “We’re ready to go, sorry if you got bored.”

“Nah, it’s all good.” You reassure as you follow her out with Henry. When you emerge back outside, your eyes instinctively go to the lamp post where you last saw your guardian demon, but find that he’s no longer there. Figures.

You shrug it off (you’ll probably see him later tonight anyways), turning back to Jaehee who’s talking to Henry about how they should take the place because this is the best one she’s seen so far in terms of meeting their requirements. Henry nods, seemingly agreeing with her and says he would let Jason know about it. The look of relief washes over your friend instantaneously and you just know that she’s glad that this headache will be settled once and for all.

“Make sure you tell him! You guys seriously only have less than half a month left before you get evicted!”

“Okay, okay!” Henry’s smiling good-naturedly, clearly not letting that looming fact dampen his spirits. It’s commendable because if it were you, you would be a hair away from a mental breakdown. His easy-going response makes Jaehee’s smile falter a little and you can only send a helpless sorry look to her; seems like she’s not quite out of the woods yet.

“Anyways, we’re gonna head home now since all of this has made me tired so bye.” She’s turning away in a huff, not so much as another glance at Henry. You smile awkwardly, sending a hesitant wave before following after your friend.

“I swear to God they better take that place like, I’m so over everything.” You hear Jaehee mutter under her breath as she rapidly types out a message, probably to Jason because you get the feeling that she’s lost faith in Henry to do something as simple as that.

“I think it’s a pretty good place for them too. And it’s only slightly farther from where they live right now anyways so there shouldn’t be any commuting ‘problems’.” You add in half to placate her and half in honesty.

“Exactly, and the rent is around what they pay for already.”

Your discussion carries on to Jaehee telling you about the places she has seen in the past weeks (quote, ‘it was the saddest and dinkiest place I’ve ever seen’) to how she’s also received some pretty shady emails from landlords about possible viewings. You make it back home in no time, the both of you taking off into your rooms to change into something more comfortable as well as wipe off all your make-up. No sooner had you closed your bedroom door and flopped back onto your bed, flinging your bag and sunglasses off to the end of your bed, completely worn out for the day did a familiar face pop up to hover over yours, brown eyes looking none too pleased, arms crossed. It’s then you realize he’s lost the dark denim jacket you last saw him in, revealing the simple black fitted t-shirt underneath, which showed off nicely toned biceps. His sudden appearance had made you flinch in surprise, but find that you’re too tired to care, settling back into your mattress unperturbed.

“You never answered my question.”

“Hello Jimin, I’m doing great too.”

“Not funny. I need to know so I can make sure I won’t be caught dead going into a shack of a house.”

His words make you perk up, giving him a cheeky look. “So if I said I was downgrading, you’ll move out?”

The words fly out of your mouth before you even register what you just said. For a fleeting moment, Jimin’s face takes on an unreadable expression but it was enough for a dull ache to start blooming in your chest and in its centre, regret. It was meant to be a light-hearted, teasing jab, like the ones you always engage in with Jimin but you find yourself wanting to backtrack because, even when you won’t admit it out loud, you don’t actually mean it. Besides, it’s not like you see him on a daily basis to begin with, so you’re not particularly sick of seeing his face every day…. And last you heard, demons don’t need sleep so what’s the point in getting his own place when he won’t even use it that often?

You’re about a breath away from blurting out your own poorly constructed ‘psyche!’ moment when, in a blink of an eye, the air around him shifts, a dangerous gleam in his gaze. He moves slowly, deliberately, arms uncoiling like a snake ready to strike and it makes you tense up, effectively pulling you out of your head. His hands come down on either side of your head, caging you in as he lets out a dark, breathy chuckle.

“Oh, my darling Y/N….” He leans in close, voice but a low rasp that actually sends goosebumps along your skin. “Have you forgotten that it was you who bound your soul to me?”

Oh shoot…. By technicality, he’s right; as if you can even forget about the night you first met him anyways. You have no arguments there, and his smirk widens knowingly as he watches you chew on your lower lip nervously. You hate how you get the feeling that one of his favourite hobbies is making you squirm and when he catches you in those moments, he likes to milk it as much as he can. Point proven when he doesn’t let up in iterating his point.

“Or….” He continues purring with a languid tilt of his head, “Do I need to remind you so you won’t forget…?” He trails off vaguely enough to have your imagination running wild without your permission.

Like a nail in the coffin, your face instantly flushes, indignantly or from being extremely flustered — or maybe a combination of both. Either way, you feel like you wished the bed would swallow you whole but Jimin, ever so cunning and sly, always knows when to rile you up only to have it all come crashing down on you. It’s the same old trick, but you always manage to fall for it so his next words knock you right out of the spell.

“Besides, I know you’ll miss me too much to let me leave.”

Instantly, your face morphs to one of disgust, the teasing tone that replaces his seductive one acts like the bucket of cold water you had desperately needed.

“You’re insufferable.” is the only thing you can manage to seethe out but it comes off more of a pout, cheeks still burning strongly. His face breaks into a huge grin, eyes disappearing as he throws his head back to laugh, finally easing off on you to a comfortable proximity but still keeping his hands firm on either side of your head. You choose to petulantly turn your face to the side, refusing to be subjected to this humiliation any longer.

Thankfully the chiming of your phone allows you that moment of escape, hand eagerly bringing up the phone to address the notification and when you get a glance, it nearly makes your eyes pop out. Faster than you thought possible, you whip into a sitting position and it’s only thanks to Jimin’s inhuman reflexes that saves the both of you from causing each other’s concussions.

“Woah, if that was your plan on trying to kill me, you’re gonna have to do better.”

You ignore him in favour of the news you received in your group chat in the form of a video trailer. More specifically, a trailer for BTS. Concert. TOUR. DATES.

You’re silently screaming, heart pounding so hard you think it might explode out of your chest as fingers tap furiously to open the link, all the while in your mind you are chanting;

Please let it be in my city, please let it be in my city, please let it be in my city, please let it be in my city, please —

Your eyes are laser focused, the new title track blasting through your phone’s speakers as clips of past concerts flit by in rapid succession. Bold words flash by in accompaniment with keywords being ‘BTS’, ‘WORLD TOUR’, ‘LOVE YOURSELF’. It all further adds to the buzzing live wire your body has become and it reaches the apex once you see the name of the first city and date flash across the screen. You swear you stop breathing.

Moment of truth.

Time seems to slow for you, but the names go by within seconds and then...the video ends. 

It takes some time before you think you finally let out a slow, deep breath, the buzz dying out of you just as quickly as it had come like being on a roller coaster.

Your arms drop from holding the phone up so close to your face and you can’t help your heart from doing the same.

“Ah...So they’re going on a world tour....” You hear your guardian demon muse airily from beside you. “Aren’t you excited?”

Shoulders slumping, you bring your group chat to type back a response, saying the words aloud for him to hear as well.

“They’re not coming.”

[dc41896]

Liquid Courage-Mini Imagine (2)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by LEWIS TAN (@lewistanofficial) on Dec 13, 2019 at 10:57pm PST

This is the second mini imagine idea (well from what all I added it’s probably not mini anymore lol) I had for this post and I hope you guys like it 😊!

“So guys as y’all probably know, we just wrapped and it’s definitely bitter sweet,” you spoke into the camera sitting on your vanity. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to get back home and rest for a while with Pluto, who I know is probably driving my mom crazy. But also I’m really gonna miss my time here with the cast and crew that have really made this experience even more surreal and amazing!”

“I think I can speak for everyone here when I say that we can’t wait for you to see what all we’ve done and hope you guys enjoy watching as much as we did making it!,” you finished with a smile. “Now before I erupt in tears and look like a hot mess, y’all know what time it is right? Alexa! Play my Celebrate Playlist!”

Hearing the familiar beat of Ain’t My Fault by Zara Lawson, you stand up performing your best dance moves in front of your phone and doing an occasional twerk. Laughing and flashing a peace sign, you cut the video and post it to your Instagram as well as your Twitter.

Still swaying to the music as you reply to comments, you hear a knock at your door and what sounded like a familiar voice. Opening the door of your trailer, you have little time to react as you’re greeted by champagne being sprayed all over you.

“HAPPY WRAP DAY!!!,” Lewis shouted laughing as he finished shaking the bottle. “I promise Tan if you got any of that in my hair, we’re gonna have problems,” you respond trying to take the bottle from his hands.

Your relationship with Lewis in the span of you guys filming, was reminiscent of that of siblings. Not that you fought at all, but you guys were always trying to mess with each other, which is how your prank war started.

You occasionally teamed up to prank your other co-stars, but most of the time it was you against him. Because of your antics and how close you guys were, this gave some, including the makeup artist and your other best friend on set, Liza, think that there was a bit more to your relationship.

Every time she brought it up, you always dismissed it saying that Lewis was just your friend and co-star, nothing more.

“No I didn’t get it in your hair princess and it’s funny how you think you’re gonna reach this bottle,” he teases holding it over his head as he tries to run away from you.

“Can you both please just date already? Better yet, get married so then I can be maid of honor!,” Liza interrupted.

“Liza, no,” both you and Lewis replied at the same time making her hold her hands up in surrender.

“Yea yea I know, you’re just friends,” she answers. “But don’t come telling me I was right if something happens!”

“Noted, thank you Liza,” Lewis sarcastically smiles as she walks away, making you laugh. “So you’re going to the party tonight right?”

“Yep! Why were you gonna spray me again?,” you smirk as he follows you to the door of your trailer.

“No I’m not gonna spray you again,” he laughs, hand on the back of his neck. “I was just wondering if you were going because maybe we could ride together, if that’s something you’d want to do?”

“Yea, that’s fine! Want to meet about 30 minutes before?,” you ask taking a drink from the half empty champagne bottle. “Yea sounds good, I’ll see you then. That is if it doesn’t take you forever to get ready,” he answers taking a drink himself.

“Whatever Lewis you know you take just as long as I do if not longer.”

“Mhmm yea keep telling yourself that,” he winks closing the door behind him before you could try to say or do anything further.

~~~~~~

Choosing a cropped black tank with a matching high waisted, bodycon skirt that stopped slightly above the knee, you slid into your stilettos finally ready. Applying your perfume and earrings as a last touch, you hear a knock on your door signaling that Lewis was ready to go as well.

“Quick whi- whoa,” he stops as soon as you open the door for him to come in. “What? Is there deodorant on my outfit?! Man I thought I was careful,” you ask searching your outfit for evidence of the residue.

“No no, you just look gorgeous! I mean not that you don’t always look good because you do and not like I’ve been watching you or something or-,”

“Lewis it’s ok I get what you were saying,” you laugh, interrupting his small ramble. “And thank you! Now I’m guessing you were gonna ask me about which shirt you should wear?”

“Yea I can’t decide which looks better,” he answers holding up both shirts. “I say the cream, I think it’ll match better plus it’ll bring out your eyes,” you answer with a soft smile.

Soon after he changed his shirt and you both took a few pictures, you were headed to meet the rest of the cast and crew to celebrate all that you guys had accomplished.

In the car, everything seemed normal between you guys as you talked and sang along to whatever was on the radio. However in the back of both of your minds, you couldn’t help but think of the compliments you had been given by the other.

You’d be lying if you said Lewis wasn’t attractive, but you didn’t think anything was there from how he acted around you. He was always so friendly and sweet, so you figured he was just like that with all his female friends.

Then again, these situations tended to be hard for you to read, so you honestly didn’t know what to think.

You pushed all that to the side though as you guys arrived to your destination.

~~~~~~

Making sure to say hello to everyone, you made your way around the room giving out hugs and having conversations. Of course Liza and a few of your other cast mates noticed how you and Lewis came together and gave you knowing smirks, to which you just shook your head.

As the night went on, there were shots, laughs, and dancing. Hearing one of your favorite songs, you began rapping the lyrics to MotorSport, which Sisi, one of your co-stars, caught on camera and cheered you on throughout your full performance.

Seeing a photo booth in the corner, you made sure to try to get pictures with everyone you wanted. You’d always remember your time filming and everyone involved, but it was nice to have mementos you could cherish as well.

You already had a group picture including Lewis, but he pulled you into the small enclosed machine once more saying how he wanted to get a picture with just the two of you. Looking at the screen, you notice how both of you had quite the looks compared to how you left earlier, making you burst out in laughter.

Somehow, you ended up wearing Lewis’ chain and some oversized shades, while he ended up shirtless with a blonde wig. Knowing Lewis though, and hearing various stories from his friends, you weren’t surprised that this happened given his extensive history of going home not dressed the same as he left.

“Are you laughing at how I look?,” he asks trying his best to do a hair flip but failing seeing that the wig was unbelievably stiff.

“No not at all honey,” you laugh positioning the wig to fit better on his head as you sat on his lap. “Alright first pose is a smile!”

Watching the countdown on the screen, you both smiled in time for the flash that illuminated the small area. “Ok next one, funny face!,” he suggests followed by both of you waiting again to do your poses.

“Um idk what to do next,” you giggle. Seeing the countdown begin again, you both quickly do the first pose that came to mind, which was definitely not on the same page as each other.

Lewis was trying to face you and make an angry expression as you leaned in to kiss his cheek, causing you to kiss the corner of his mouth. In the midst of the flash, you both slightly jump back from each other, hearts now slightly racing trying to figure out what to say next.

“Sorry I should’ve stayed looking forward,” Lewis nervously laughs. “No no! I should’ve been the one to keep looking forward or told you to stay still,” you reply nervously playing with his chain.

Neither of you know how, but you happened to look at each other at the same time, just gazing into each other’s brown eyes as if you knew what would happen next. Leaning in, you meet his lips as you wrap your arms around his neck and his wrap around your waist.

Coming to the party, your intent definitely wasn’t to kiss your best guy friend. You honestly didn’t know how it ended up happening, but figured the three shots of tequila paired with some suppressed feelings from earlier might have had something to do with it.

“HA I KNEW IT!!,” you hear Liza shout from outside before being shushed by whoever else was with her; interrupting your moment.

“Remind me to get Liza after this,” Lewis smiles before kissing you again.

Taglist: @fumbling-fanfics @crushed-pink-petals @honeychicana @themyscxiras @lady-olive-oil @melinda-january @felicity-x0 @lovelymari4 @ellixthea @jojolu @jnk-812 @brwn-sgr @captainsamwlsn @nina-sj @itshinothey @wildfirecracker

If anybody wants to be tagged, has asked to be tagged and doesn’t see their name in the taglist, or only wants to be tagged for certain people I write for, just let me know😊!

[0225pm]

hello!!!!!

haven’t posted anything in a long while and i decided to post one tonight before i sleep bc i feel guilty for not updating farhan’s newspaper hahaha. i’m also waiting for my hair to dry a little so yeah kill two birds with one stone!

my eyes are super irritated now btw like the right eye esp wtf i kept rubbing at it bc it feels like there’s smth in my eye and i HATE rubbing my eyes bc it’ll give you wrinkles and break all the capillaries around your eyes causing dark circles like mine is alr dark enough i don’t need it to be any darker. like i think it’s bc of my contacts?? a sigh that i must change my lenses alr pls sponsor me bb degree 500/500 brown or grey lens i’m ok hahahaahahahah. ok so i will try to summarize today as fast and as short as i can even tho i like to type everything down in details so that future me and future farhan may be able to recall memories easier but das ok we gotta be quick

ok so today i called farhan around 230pm cus i had a feeling he slept quite late ytd since he was woken up from his sleep. and i thought 230pm ok la can la not too early not too late cus he has to shower and prep and come over to my area as well. after some calls he finally picked up and then it changed to a video call? he has been video calling me a lot these days like instead of the usual normal calls and i’m not complaining tbh hahahaha i actually love it cus i get to see his face even tho we’re not physically together but i look damn ugly ah so sometimes i’ll not put my face in the camera damn stupid i know cus it’s not like he hasn’t seen my face in its worst condition like back when my acne were literal cysts and he still stayed and didn’t leave but hahaha these kinda insecurities will take a looooooong time for it to go away one la hais anyway ok sorry back to the story of the day!!!

wtf sorry if the paragraphing is weird ah or if got long gaps cus i’m typing w my phone n idk why it’s not letting me like just down space once small little paragraph space but ok nvm let’s not bother about that lmao. ok so then i got ready and did my hair and i’m kinda regretting cutting bangs the other time cus my hair got used to the long fringe that now my bangs curl up if i don’t use hair straightener or if it got wet or if i sweat like it doesn’t stay straight down so sad. then picked out my outfit in my head but i was still wearing home clothes when he came over cus i thought i should wait before i change since we haven’t technically decided on where to go and i rly didn’t wanna sweat before we go out. then we laid in bed for a bit and farhan was being such a cranky old man i just wanna give him a loving punch but i didn’t ofc. then i changed and wore this super cute outfit with my windbreaker and i actually rly like what i wore wth like it’s cute ok but there he was judging my outfit 🙄 annoying pe hahahaha cus it was so hot out and for me to wear a wb like a bit crazy ah so we went out of the house n all then i forgot my damn mask again cb i cannot sia always forget nowadays like can they just lift the rules alr. so i went back to take and then i was like fak i cannot i gotta change into smth less hot bc it rly was so damn hot outside like it looks like it’s cloudy n was boutta rain but no sia so panas gila so i changed into this little ahpek blouse which tbh is one of my fav vintage blouse that i own. i like the fit of it it’s oversized but not too crazy oversized that it just looks weird. i asked farhan and he said it just looks like when someone had sex and then borrowed the man’s shirt to put on and i feel like wow that’s actually quite hot sia mcm give me a bit of an extra boost of confidence liddat lol but anyway ya besides the point.

then after that we went to tampines and had saap saap thai for our lunch. it was niceeee since we haven’t been there in a long while so the food was great at least imo la. but the chilli pedas gila but i think quite shiok ah. the soup if not spicy not nice or like still nice but not as nice if it’s not spicy. but i’m a noob so i put like hujung je the chilli hahahaha farhan put like half sia gila. we also had milk tea and green milk tea which was initially farhan’s but we swapped bc the milk tea was too sweet for me. then after that we went to nine fresh!!!! my top fav bbt shop currently bc of the rly interesting toppings u can put. i think next time i wanna buy 0% ah cus i feel like the 25% like quite sweet sia idk why or maybe it’s bc the toppings alr sweet so when it’s mixed it feels like there’s double the sweetness. then after that we went to this korea mart. shine korea i think but wtf i feel like the shine korea like....... idk sia they don’t have a lot of variety and they don’t sell loose packs like how i feel most korea mart actually sell loose packs of instant noodles. i still like the one at bedok maybe next time i’ll head there to buy the items i need and cook smth for farhan 😂 even tho it’s just instant noodles but i learned a recipe on how to enhance the noodles and make it taste professional looooool so i rly wanna try making that for us to eat next time. oh and i’m so happy that farhan enjoys my wrap!!!!! this would be a story for another day.

then after that decided to head back since there weren’t anymore korea marts around. i had to withdraw some money for my mom first so we did that then walked back to where he parked his bike. then upon reaching home we just rested up for a bit. watched some videos and all. and i just wanted to sleep idk why when i’m laying on his chest or like shoulder i feel sooo comfy i legit just wanna sleep. but as time kept ticking we decided to head outside to lepak since we’re not married yet perhaps he felt like it isn’t good or nice of him to stay in the house till late but idk i think my dad was kinda distracted with soccer to even care much today so i felt like we could have stayed longer if we wanted to and omg leh my stomach rly said hello go berak so many times to me today walao i think 3 times? but good la hais i’m so constipated sia my bowel movements damn irregular annoying sia and unhealthy hais. then when we were outside it started pouring!!!! at first not so heavy but it got heavier throughout and it felt so nice!! and i know farhan can’t do this often but he stayed till like 5am before he left and it just brings back that memories of when he would stay till late just to keep my company and spend more time with me.

sobsssss i miss him alr 😭😭😭😭😭😭

i forgot to wish him happy monthsary before he left and he just wished me now as i’m typing this i want to reply him so i’m just gonna end the post here okay hehe goodnight!!

[logicallyanxious]

Brothers

*CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS VIDEO*

Now on Ao3:

 https://archiveofourown.org/works/19397842/chapters/46161067

Words: 2649

Characters: Roman Sanders and Remus Sanders.

Warnings: Blood mentions, injuries, evil/nonsympathetic Remus (idk what tags to use for him yet like we have for Deceit), fighting/violence, gun/shooting mentions, fire mentions, death mentions, intrusive thoughts/nightmares. A lot of angst.  Let me know if I should add anything else.

Summary: Basically a prologue for my fic Creative Differences, but both can be read separately. As kids, Roman noticed Remus becoming darker and banished him from the imagination. After years, he returns, stronger than before and ready to fight. Now Roman must deal with the hits – both physical and mental – as his brother tries to take control of their territory.

Roman rubbed at the sore spot on his head as he made his way to his room. Him and Remus had fought a lot growing up, but he’d never thought his brother would actually hurt him. He knew his brother played dirty, but that, in there, was just straight up nasty.

He pushed open his door and immediately felt his headache worsen. He groaned, rolling his eyes as he saw Remus lounging on his bed, waiting for him.

“Leave me alone, Remus,” he called, frustrated at how the other side hadn’t even looked up at him as he’d entered. “I don’t particularly wish to see you at the moment.”

“Pity,” Remus replied, still refusing to really acknowledge his brother, “as I don’t particularly feel like leaving at the moment.”

Roman felt a growl of annoyance as he glared down his brother, who’d finally looked up at him.

“You see,” Remus began, a twisted smirk on his face as he pushed himself into a sitting position, “this just so happens to be my room too. So if one of us is leaving, it’s not going to be me.”

Roman stepped back at that, shocked. It was true, what Remus claimed, but it hadn’t been the case for many, many years.

As children, they’d shared the imagination. They’d gotten along then, if only just barely, and Roman could recall hours spent playing with his brother. The floor was lava was a particular favorite of theirs.

But Roman imagined fantasy worlds, showing Thomas what’d it’d be like to be a prince riding on a noble steed. Showing him magic and wonder, helping him see a world where all his dreams could come true.

Remus though… Remus always drifted to darker thoughts. He’d help twist shadows into ghostly figures, creaking floorboards into the screams of the damned. He’d enact revenge fantasies, thoughts Roman didn’t dare indulge in, one’s where classmates Thomas didn’t like died in a fire.

“Remus, this isn’t fun anymore!” Roman remembered shouting, his first shaking at his side. 

His brother had ignored him, keeping the gruesome daydream going.

“What, don’t like fire? How about a shooter then?” He replied, shifting the scene.

Roman grimace as he heard bullets ring out down the hall, the kids in Thomas’s class screaming and ducking under their desks.

“Stop it!” Roman had cried.

“They deserve it!” Remus had bit out, turning to glare at his brother. “They’ve been bullying Thomas all year. There’s no hurt in imagining, it’s not like Thomas actually wants them to die.”

Roman had stepped away, watching his brother laugh in glee as bullets tore through the air. He knew that in reality Thomas was just zoned out during a math lesson, but Roman couldn’t help being worried. Something inside Remus had twisted, his eyes dark and crazed. He was changing.

Remus began hanging out with who Roman dubbed as the Dark Sides. He watched Remus continue to change, his clothes shifting from white, having been matching his own, to black. Roman watched his brother grow darker and darker and didn’t know how to stop it.

Remus had always antagonized him, always been chaotic, but Roman had never believed he was capable of being evil.

So, he’d pretended everything was okay. He was an actor, after all.

“The floor is lava!” Roman had announced with a laugh, jumping onto the nearest couch.

The ground underneath them shifted, the carpet growing hot, steam rising. Lava bubbled out from under it, the furniture floating, becoming safe havens.

Remus held onto an armchair before swinging over to the table. Roman jumped over as well, but his foot slipped. He cried out, grabbing onto the ledge and trying to pull himself up.

“Remus, help me!” He’d pleaded, struggling to get up, the heat below him singeing his pant legs. 

His brother had looked down at him, his eyes dark. Roman froze, feeling every nerve of his body go on edge. For the first time ever, Roman felt true fear when looking at his brother.

He could no longer recognize Remus. This was no longer his brother.

“R-remus, please!”

Remus had crouched down, grabbing Roman’s hand. For a second Roman felt relief. Of course Remus would pull him up.

But then he’d smiled, a broken caricature of a grin, and the fear returned.

“Goodbye, Roman.” He’d whispered, slowly lifting his fingers, one by one. “I think one creativity is enough, don’t you?”

Roman heard Remus laugh as he fell, as he felt the lava burn him. He’d sunk into it, unable to even swim. But he couldn’t die, not really. He’d just reappear later, good as new.

In that moment he decided Remus was right. One creativity was enough.

The next day Remus wasn’t surprised to see him. He didn’t look remorseful for what he did either. 

“Good morning, brother.” He’d greeted in between bites of deodorant.

“You don’t get to call me that anymore.”

That had Remus looking up, his head tilted.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Then beg.”

Remus let out a laugh, finding Roman amusing. 

“Still mad about yesterday, I see. Honestly Roman, when will you learn that daydreams aren’t a big deal. It was all fake. You’re fine.”

“But you’re not. You’ve changed. Ever since you started hanging out with… With them. So now it’s time to choose. Them or me.”

“Don’t be absurd.”

“Them or me!” Roman shouted, pulling out his sword and pointing it at his brother. “I want my brother back because I don’t know who you are.”

“I’m still the same old Remus.”

“You aren’t!” Roman stepped closer, his sword inches from his brother’s face. “So right now, I want you to choose. Them or me?”

“Roman, please don’t make me do this.”

There were tears in Roman’s eyes as he pushed the sword against his brother’s throat.

“No, don’t make me do this.”

“You’re making a mistake, brother. You hang around with Patton and Logan, but you don’t know who has the real power.”

“It’s not about power!” Roman screamed, pushing them both closer to the door. “They’re my friends. Can you say the same about Deceit? Or- or Anxiety?”

Remus let out a laugh as the door pushed open and he stepped out into the hall.

“This isn’t the end,” he’d said, a wide, unsettling, grin on his face. “One day I’ll be back. And when I return I’ll be stronger, stronger than you. And then Thomas will get a new creativity. A better one. You won’t be able to stop me.”

“Is that a threat?”

“It’s a promise.”

“Goodbye, Remus.” Roman felt tired as he pushed the door closed.

“Goodbye, brother.”

Roman shuddered at that, the room suddenly feeling cold. Empty. He felt so alone, more alone than he’d ever felt. But still, he’d felt more at peace than he had in months. As if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

And so he’d become Thomas’s main source of creativity, taking full control of the imagination. Of course, Remus was still there, leaking through at night as intrusive thoughts. But, luckily, he was kept in check and soon it became easy for Roman to forget he’d ever had a brother.

Or, almost forget, at least. He’d still be reminded at times where his ideas were shot down or when what he produced was lackluster. He’d still be reminded that his replacement stood ready, waiting for him to slip up, to disappoint Thomas. So, he’d spend hours creating, perfecting his ideas, determined to be the best creativity. Though, his brother’s promise always remained in the back of his mind.

Which is why he wasn’t surprised to see him again, not really.

“You remember my promise?” Remus asked, jumping up and making his way towards Roman. 

Roman nodded, gripping his sword. “I chased you off once, I’m not afraid to do it again.”

“Do try your best, brother. I know how much you enjoy a good fight.”

He lashed out, his weapon digging into Roman’s gut. Roman looked down at the red seeping into his white uniform.

“Stop. Y-you can’t-”

Remus hit him again and Roman fell to his knees with a grunt. Remus grinned, grabbing a fistful of Roman’s hair and forcing him to look him in the eyes.

“I told you I’d be stronger.” He let go, kicking Roman to the ground before walking off. “I think it’s about time that I take back what’s rightfully mine. Don’t you think so too, brother?”

Roman felt his consciousness begin to slip as he watched his brother go. His wounds throbbed and he was thankful that at least as a side it was impossible to bleed out. He tried to push himself up, tried to follow after Remus, to stop him, but it was no use. He watched him disappear, vowing that tomorrow he’d do better.

Unfortunately, the next morning followed the same pattern. Any time Roman got close to Remus he’d lash out, his weapon cutting into Roman, causing him to collapse. He willed his wounds to heal, forcing himself to stand, but he was getting so tired.

He swayed as he stood, holding out his sword. “Y-you can’t do this!”

Remus had just laughed at that. “Oh, but I already have. Fight back all you want, we both know it’s no use. Besides, I’m the better creativity, you’re just holding Thomas back.”

“I’m not!” Roman protested.

“You’re weak. A failure. So easily replaced. Unwanted…”

The list kept going but Roman pressed his hands over his ears, shaking his head. He swung his sword forward, but barely managed to slice through the fabric of Remus’s shirt. 

“So he does know how to use his sword!” Remus feigned excitement.

“Please, just leave me alone. Please.”

He thought his brother took pity on him, as no more blows came to him, but Remus turned to other forms of torture. Each time Roman closed his eyes images of dog butts or Thomas’s Aunt Patty naked came to his mind. He pushed them away, exhausted, his eyes heavy and tired. He lacked the energy to fight back, his wounds still fresh, as he was no longer strong enough to have them heal themselves. 

Still, Roman refused to give in, to surrender. This was his territory too, he refused to admit defeat, admit that his brother was stronger than him.

“I’ve gotta admit, you’ve lasted longer than I would have guessed,” Remus noted nonchalantly as he watched Roman stumble past, half dead.

“Well, I am Thomas’s creativity.”

Remus rolled his eyes at that.

“So am I.”

Roman grimaced, hating that he had to share that title.

“Just give up already, relinquish your power.”

“Never,” Roman looked up, glaring at his brother, “the longer you’re in here with me, the longer you’re leaving Thomas, and my friends, alone. I’d fight you for the rest of eternity if I could.”

“Friends?” Remus let out a laugh, “you’re still on about that?”

“Of course.”

Remus’s laugh deepened, growing darker. “You know they don’t really care about you, right?”

“Yes they do.”

“They use you for your ideas and the second you don’t meet their standards they’ll cast you to the side.”

“You’re wrong!”

“Fine,” Remus’s eyes darkened, “then I’ll show you.”

He pushed Roman to the ground, bringing his foot down on his face. Roman felt his lip split, a coppery taste filling his mouth. His head smashed into the ground and everything went dark.

Roman blinked, suddenly no longer in his room. His brain felt foggy as he stood with Thomas and the others. He must have been summoned.

“So, Roman, give us the ideas for the next video,” Thomas requested, the others eagerly awaiting his reply.

“I, uh…” Roman searched his brain. Hadn’t they just finished a video? “What if we uh…” He did his best to think, refusing to let Thomas down. “Make slime?”

Everyone collectively groaned.

“Really playing to the algorithm with that one, huh?” Virgil commented, seeming annoyed.

“It’s completely unoriginal!” Patton protested.

“Besides, slime is so last year,” Logan added.

Roman flinched. “I’m sorry, I just need more time. I promise I’ll-”

“More time?” Thomas scoffed, “You’re my creativity, you should have ideas at the ready.”

“I know, I’m sorry I-”

“You know, I’m sure my friend Remus could do better,” Virgil said and Roman tried his best not to look hurt.

“Yes, I think Remus could really challenge the viewer and push the boundaries of this channel,” Logan nodded in agreement.

“No, guys, I’m creativity!” Roman reminded, sounding panicked, “I’ll think of something.”

“We don’t need you anymore,” Virgil told him.

“We don’t want you anymore,” Patton added.

“What if we do… Uh… ASMR!”

The others began booing and conjured tomatoes. They threw them, hitting Roman. 

“Go away, we aren’t friends with you anymore!”

Roman felt anger pulse through his veins. They couldn’t treat him like this.

“I demand you stop! I demand you stop now!”

“We hate you, Remus is the better creativity,” Logan told him, throwing another tomato.

Roman grabbed his sword, lunging forward. In an instant, it had cut through Logan, who crumpled to the ground.

“You killed him!” Patton shouted, “You’re no better than the dark sides! You’re not my son! I hate you, get out of here! I-”

Roman couldn’t take any more of Patton’s yelling and slashed out, the sword slicing through his throat. Blood sprayed out, covering Roman in red as he watched his friend fall. He turned to Virgil, who stepped back, his eyes full of fear.

“I-” Roman couldn’t find the words as he looked down at his sword, at the blood on his hands. He looked up at the fear in Virgil’s eyes and felt his stomach twist. “Virgil, it’s me. We’re friends.”

He took a step forward and Virgil took a step back, shaking his head.

“P-please, don’t hurt me…”

Roman felt like he’d been punched, tears streaming down his face. 

“I-I’m sorry, I-I don’t know what happened, I don’t-”

He dropped his sword, falling to his knees. He sobbed into his hands, letting out anguished cries.

Suddenly he felt metal biting into the back of his neck. He gasped, looking up. He turned to see Virgil gripping his sword, Logan and Patton standing with him, each one covered in a sickening crimson.

“Wait…!” Roman held out his hand but Virgil ignored him, swinging down with full force.

Everything went black.

Roman opened his eyes with a gasp, back in his room, his brother standing over him.

“Well, that was fun, now wasn’t it?” 

Roman ignored him, too busy retching on the floor. He wiped his mouth, turning to stare at his brother with broken eyes.

“Th-they would never… I would never…”

“But you did. I didn’t control your actions.”

Roman shook his head, feeling dizzy. It was a nightmare, just a nightmare. Twisted thoughts that his brother had forced onto him. He stood, stumbling forward.

He had to get out of there, he couldn’t breathe. He needed to steady himself, steady his mind. Everything hurt, his mind was swirling, the thoughts wouldn’t stop.

He hurried down the hall, his brother’s laughs echoing before finally fading away.

Where would he go? Who could protect him from his brother, from the chaotic voices that screamed in his head.

He fell against a door frame, bringing a shaking hand to the wood. When no reply came he knocked again, this time louder, more urgent.

He heard a voice inside, but his head was pounding too loudly for him to make it out. The door was pushed open and after a few seconds of stunned silence the other person spoke.

“R-Roman?”

“I-I’m sorry,” he managed to speak, his lip throbbing, “I-I didn’t know where else to go.” 

He stumbled forward and the other person caught him.

In that moment, he felt safe.

[crispychristianawrites]

Mark Lee on You’ve Worked Hard Today

A/n : AHH I've always wanted to be on you've worked hard today with Mark cause he's from Vancouver too and just talking to him would be such a blessing and a dream come true for me!!(I'm highkey writing this for myself but it's also easier to write about mark lee since he's from Vancity like me KEK) 

Disclaimers: discussions about poor childhood, mental illnesses, stress, fears, etc. 

Pairing: Idol!Mark x Reader

I stared at the clock, patiently waiting for time to pass so I can start heading home for the day. I had a free block last block and couldn't wait to get out of my schools tacky uniform. It was autumn and soon it would start snowing. Wearing a skirt was cold and I was never fond of them in the first place. I scribbled some more notes before the bell had rung. I packed my books and went straight to my locker. “aish I need to bring home my huge law textbook because of that dumb quiz” I mumbled to myself as I took the huge book and closed my locker. 

--------

I patiently waited for y/n to walk out of the door to see me here. I wonder what her reaction will be like. What if she cries? Oh no, Idk what to do if she starts crying. What if she faints? Right as I was pondering about scenarios she had walked through the doors. “y/n-ah” I called to her. She looked up and immediately backed away with her hand covering her mouth. “oh my God, no way I'm dreaming” she nearly yelled. I looked directly into her eyes and she started to cry. “oh noo noo don't cry,” I immediately walked over there and hugged her. She just cried “I can't believe this is happening oh my God, I don't think you understand how much this means to me,”. She hugged me back and I rested my chin on her head. I slightly bent down to her level and asked, “do you want to go to a cat cafe with me?” her eyes widened but she of course accepted. 

---------

I was walking behind Mark Lee while we were on our way to the cat cafe. “why are you walking behind me?” he asked as he grabbed a hold of my hand and brought me right next to him. I swear he could feel my heart beating so fast right now. He looked down at me and smiled. My God, that smile made me want to melt to my knees. “Mark, do you know that you're insanely handsome,” I said in English. He smiled. “I didn't know you could speak English, a lot of people tell me that but I don't believe them most of the time. I like to think Taeyong hyung or Jungwoo hyung is more handsome.” I laughed at his remark, “really? because I think you're the most handsome in NCT. And yes, I'm from Vancouver as well. I grew up there.” I replied. “thank you y/n. Seriously.” we continued our walk to the cat cafe. 

We sat down near a window and patiently waited for our coffee to be served. “so y/n, what do you want to do when you graduate?” Mark had asked me in the nicest way. “I want to become an idol, not for being a fan, because I want to create music that inspires people and makes people feel better. I want to share that with the world.” 

He grabbed ahold of my hand again and I blushed at his action. “that's amazing.” he said. “but my dad won't let me, he says I'll go nowhere if I go into music.” I looked down starting to tear up. “ah y/n don't cry.” he stood up and wiped my falling tears away with his sleeve. “ah sorry Mark.” I had apologized because I didn't know I would be crying so much. “it's just that my family doesn't have a lot of money so I’m very limited to what I can do and how I spend my money.” more tears had flown out and Mark just cupped one of my cheeks and wiped the tears away with his thumb. “Do you mind if you sing a bit for me or rap, whatever you’re comfortable with? I just want to help you improve so you gain confidence with what you want to do.” I just nodded shyly and looked at the ground, I started to sing No Longer and Marks eyes grew wide. “Wah y/n! You’re a really good singer.” I just blushed at his comment. “I also make YouTube videos for fun.” I was beaming because someone had told me I was good at singing. I gently pushed the phone screen towards Mark as he watched me cover Cherry Bomb at one of the older showcase stages for the song. He was in pure shock at how good you were at dancing. Not only could you sing but you could also dance really well. “Woah y/n that was really good. Have you ever considered auditioning for any companies?” he asked politely. “Honestly Mark, no I haven’t. I never really had the confidence. Growing up, I wasn’t well-liked and even now I’m not and I think the pressure of wanting to do something my parents don’t want me to do makes me feel trapped and sad. I don’t talk to a lot of people so I keep everything to myself and mentally.. I’m not the most stable.” Tears had started to come out of my eyes as I told Mark some of my past and the worries I have. “Please just try one audition y/n. If you don’t make it, just keep going because you’re really good so I’m sure you’ll make it one day.” Mark smiled at me and I felt extremely reassured. “Thank you, Mark, I enjoyed this talk but it’s getting late,” I said with a bit of a stutter. I was sad that this had to end, Mark is one of my biggest inspirations. “I’ll walk you home,” Mark said with a gummy smile plastered on his face. 

“Hey y/n,” your head perked up when he said your name. “Give me your hand” he took my hand and threaded his finger through mine and gave me a gummy smile. I SWEAR my heart stopped beating. 

Eventually, we ended up at my house after talking about random things. “Really, I’m sad to say that this but you are my biggest inspiration and getting the opportunity to talk to you made me feel so relieved and so much better. I really hope one day we can perform on the same stage Mark, I love you so much and literally thank you for everything.” You had just ranted all of that with tears forming around your eyes yet again. “No y/n, don't cry again! I really enjoyed my time with you and I hope we can perform on the same stage too. I hope your dreams will become a reality and I hope you never forget this moment. I won’t forget you y/n” he hugged you and kissed your forehead. “Thank you for supporting NCT and me! Please don’t feel so worried, you’re doing great” he smiles at you again. 

a/n: AH I actually archived this in my google docs for THE LONGEST TIME, THIS WAS FROM SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR FREJFKRJWEJOIRE!!!! I just wanted to get back into writing again and I think bringing this back was good! I might make this into a series for all of NCT and maybe some other idols too??? But, yes, thank you for reading!

[imnotcameraready]

chivalry is dead (5)

A/N: idk what to write here for this chapter, to be Fuckin Honest — this didn’t feel like a lot to write, and then i checked my wordcount and was like “woah! that’s the longest chapter” and i didn’t wanna cut it so here’s A Lot!!

WARNINGS: sympathetic deceit, threats, minor character death, knives, swords, descriptions of blood, blood, cursing, panic, chaos, Getting Lost in the woods, crowds, arguing, a chase, mentions of a bear, loneliness, — if i’ve forgotten any, please let me know!!!

Words: 5465

Pairings: nothing yet!!! slight hints of the good Royality™ and some Soft Loceit™ and some i guess hard-stop platonic Anxciet — DLAMP is still endgame but i told y’all this would be a fuckin slow burn

Part 1 (chivalry is dead) — Part 2 (i’m wishing) — Part 3 (the bells of notre dame) — Part 4 (honor to us all) — Part 5 (i’ve got no strings)

AO3 link!

@starlightvirgil @forrestwyrm @daflangstlairde @marshmallow-the-panda​ @askthesnake @k9cat

enjoy!! <3 <3

“I’ve got no strings, so I have fun….I’m not tied up to anyone….They’ve got strings but—”

“Would you shut up already? Of all the songs for you to be singing, too. Singing won’t get rid of me.”

“I can dream, can’t I?”

“Ppft. I don’t know, Dickhead in Distress, can you?”

“What’re you doing here, Dragon Bitch. Go kiss a mirror.”

“Just paying you a little visit. Excited to see you so vulnerable. Once I find the others, I’m gonna take a lot of pleasure in cutting your head off in front of them. Maybe we’ll even get a crowd.”

“I hope you never find them.”

“Then I’ll just kill you alone. Or maybe I’ll guillotine you! Oh, I’ll set up the most beautiful blade — cold steel, perfectly manicured and sharpened. Maybe that’ll actually draw them out of hiding, rolling your head along the main road, watching the blood paint the cobblestone red.”

“That’d….that’d hurt Thomas. Holy shit. You’re insane.”

“And you sicken me, what’s your point? You know I wouldn’t do that. Not with all your little lover boys in town.”

“What?”

“Didn’t you feel it? They finally checked in on us. Nerd Declassified Creativity Survival Guide let them in. It’ll be the coup of a century. And, if I find them....”

“Don’t hurt them.”

“They’ve got strings—”

“—No, no come back here. Don’t!—”

“—but you can see—”

“—Please, you can’t—”

“—there are no strings on me!”

As Anxiety, Virgil has a running mental list of all the things Thomas perceived as dangers. Ergo, these were things Virgil didn’t want happening to him. He doesn’t like not knowing what’s at the bottom of the ocean. A drink left unattended at party was a potential danger. He doesn’t like being caught in a lie and doesn’t like having to be out socializing for unexpectedly extended periods of time.

Waking up in on the ground in a forest was pretty high on that list. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the blue sky, dotted with small clouds, through an opening of tree branches.

He sat up, blinking his eyes more and trying to take in their surroundings. Dirt and leaves were stuck to his hair and the cloak he’d wrapped himself in. To his left was Patton, laying face down in a pile of leaves, and to his right was Deceit and Logan similarly splayed on the ground.

Immediately Virgil thought the worst, but his worries alleviated when Deceit groaned, and Logan’s arms pinched in to push himself up. Patton sat upright as well, arms stretching around himself.

“Well,” Patton hummed, “We’re not in Kansas anymore.”

The forest around them was thick, tall trees in every direction and stretching as far as they could see. They seemed to have landed in a small clearing, on a patch of grass and leaves and flowers, but still very much in the middle of the forest.

“Here I thought the Playwright’d be helping us,” Deceit said, picking the leaves off of his coat, “This is ridiculous. We’re in a forest.”

“This isn’t good. Oh my God, this isn’t good — Logan, what do we know about edible berries?” Virgil asked, turning around in a few circles.

Logan looked around, mouth open as he assessed the situation. Then, he patted the inside of his coat, mumbling to himself.

After standing up, Patton went to grab Virgil’s shoulders, stopping his spinning. “Don’t look around too much, kiddo, you’re gonna make yourself dizzy. And–And it’s okay! We’re in the Imagination now, and we’re gonna find Roman.”

“How’re we supposed to find Roman when I can’t even find the treeline?!” Virgil asked, grabbing Patton’s arms back, “And we just FELL. From the SKY.”

“Yeah, well….that can happen! It’s the Imagination, it’s okay. Besides, we survived! Roman wouldn’t let the Imagination hurt us,” Patton pulled him a little closer, patting his arm twice.

Virgil grabbed Patton’s hand and yanked him closer to his chest, causing the moral side to let out a small “Woop!” and open his arms as well. There had to be a number of panic attacks in one day that the anxious side could take, some sort of pain threshold, and he was certainly on his way to reaching it. Deceit watched them hug for only a few seconds before turning around and looking for Logan. And, by proxy, the book.

If the Playwright handed them a book saying that it’d help, calling it “deus ex machina,” then it likely had some sort of answer. Right?

It seemed Logan himself had the same thought, because he was sitting on the small stump, pressing his finger to it. Deceit approached and sat besides him. Logan had opened to a new page, one not indicated to earlier by the Table of Contents. “Imaginary Map” was the clever name, and the map itself stretched both pages. It didn’t indicate where they were, but there was a forest, a mountain range, and a lake, all forming a jagged triangle around what looked like a town. A small river ran through the town, between the mountains and lake. There was a compass in the bottom left corner as well, cardinal directions written in the Playwright’s neat but floppy handwriting.

“It’s a safe assumption that we’re somewhere here,” Logan circled the forest area, “But I cannot tell where the sun is.”

“If it follows a pattern. Roman’s been known to keep it on daytime for much longer than just one day,” Deceit said.

Logan shrugged. His foot was tapping on the ground, rubbing the corner of the page between his fingers. There were a lot of questions he had and a lot of feelings he didn’t understand. Why had Roman done this? It was excessive, to break oneself into pieces like he had allegedly done.

And he hadn’t ruled out the possibility that Roman had just dressed up different, was putting them through this story for god knows what reason. That Roman was upset about something or other, and thus had set up a narrative that held the other Sides at fault, with him sitting in his room safe and sound. Did Logan find that easier to explain? Perhaps. Did he want that? He was merely thinking of all the potentially logical explanations for Roman’s behavior.

He blinked when Deceit put a hand on his. “You’re gonna tear the page,” he said, voice quiet.

Slowly, Logan nodded, though he didn’t remove his hand from Deceit’s. The comfort was welcome at this time. “Thank you.”

They both examined the map, opening the book further when Patton and Virgil approached to see, the later having calmed down.

Virgil immediately pointed to a small gap between the tree drawings, then pointed to biggest tree drawing in the forest — it looked like the other trees, just slightly bigger. “I think we’re in this gap thing. And we gotta head to that tree,” he stood up straight, cupping his hands around his eyes and looking at the sky.

Logan glanced at him, then back at the map. “What makes you say that?”

“Big tree. First checkpoint, like in a video game,” Virgil said, jerking a thumb back toward the clearing’s center, “Wanna stare at the sun with me?”

Deceit carefully took the book from Logan’s hands, and Patton slid into Logan’s seat as he vacated it. He went to stand besides Virgil, lifting his glasses to the top of his head and watching the sun as well. Well, they weren’t staring straight at the sun, because that was dangerous. More like they were trying to figure out where it was in the sky through the thick tree coverage. Either way, it looked like they knew what they were doing, so he looked away. Patton hoped they knew what they were doing.

“Patton,” Patton glanced up from where he was fiddling with his shirt’s drawstrings, “You’ve been quiet.”

Deceit was watching him with a raised eyebrow beneath the bycocket hat that had replaced the bowler. Though, his hair was falling out of place beneath it. Patton leaned forward as he answered. “Oh, you know. Just worried’s all.”

Deceit stiffened when Patton cupped his cheek and slid the hair back into the hat, but he just kept talking. “I mean. It feels bad. Roman didn’t even tell us how he’d been feeling. And does that mean he’s been doubting himself this whole time? He thinks we don’t like him, and I know for a fact that that’s wrong.”

Patton sat back, crossed his legs, and nodded to himself. “We love Roman. I,” he trailed off, and then chuckled quietly, “I know I love Roman, a lot. We–We’re best friends!”

“And yet, he didn’t disclose his feelings.”

“Yeah, well, that’s what hurts about this all. But that just means we have to make sure he knows we love him! We’ve just gotta sure he knows so well that he doesn’t question it anymore!”

Deceit raised an eyebrow at Patton’s explicit and tunnel-visioned optimism. Judging by the shine in the moral side’s eyes, though, there was nothing Deceit could say to convince him otherwise.

Ah, curse them all and their stubborness. Deceit would have to find a good time to address that with Patton, to be honest. It always hurt, a little, when he caught Patton beating himself up over failing to emotionally connect with the other Sides. Nothing that a cuddle and some cookies wouldn’t stave off, but Deceit was….well, this whole endeavor with Roman was showing him that he couldn’t keep “staving off” the other Sides’ problems.

He shook his head, clearing it, and both him and Patton looked up to the sound of crunching leaves as Logan and Virgil made their way closer.

“East, right?” Virgil stuffed his hands into his pockets, pulling his thick cloak tighter around himself as he did so.

“Very much so. At least that will give us nearly a full day to find the forest’s edge. From there, we will be able to discern the distances between objects,” Logan said.

“It better not be too far. I don’t wanna be spending the night in the woods.”

“Well, sleeping in a forest is not ideal, though I have enough of an idea on how to arrange a lean-to that we may be able to survive one night.”

Virgil tutted, shaking his head. “What if some animals find us? Like a really big bear or something?”

Logan paused and, for a second, Virgil was worried that he’d respond with some statistic about what kinds of bears live in forests with trees like this. What Logan said, though, was “We’ll throw Deceit at the bear and run,” just as they stopped in front of Patton and Deceit.

Virgil and Patton both snorted at the offended gasp Deceit gave. “How dare!”

“Awh, Deceit, don’t worry! Logan’s just joking,” Logan opened his mouth to clarify that, yes, he was posing a hypothetical suggestion to alleviate Virgil’s worries, “We just couldn’t bear that!”

Logan rolled his eyes, pointedly ignoring Patton’s grin. Well, alright then. He clapped, drawing attention back to himself. “Okay. The sun is still rising, in that direction,” he pointed with one arm, “And, compared to the map, Virgil’s supposed first checkpoint is in that direction,” he shifted his arm.

“Although we don’t know distances comparatively to this map, I can only assume that if we walk continuously in that direction, we will soon find the large tree. That will also help us figure out the comparative distances on the map.”

After a round of agreements, the four Sides gathered themselves and began their trek, Logan leading the way with the book’s map open in front of himself. Some woodland creatures were about. Patton pointed out a squirrel, two squirrels, a bird (a swallow, according to Logan) and they’d even seen a deer in the distance.

There were still some loose ends to tie before this supposed quest, Deceit thought. He slowed his walk so he was in line with Virgil, who was bringing up the rear.

“Sssso.”

Virgil glanced at him from the corner of his eye, quick, before starring forward again. “What?”

“Truce,” Deceit was watching Virgil, lips pinched in thought.

Virgil stopped, as did Deceit. He turned to fully face him, brow pinched tight and mouth open in a small O. It looked like he was trying to weigh his options, or, Deceit considered, weigh a new insult.

“We have had our differences, Virgil. And I cannot say that I fully trust you either. But I think, for right now, we….should work together. I plan on working with you,” Deceit’s eyes narrowed when Virgil’s scowl deepened. “For Roman’s sake. At least.”

Virgil kept glaring at him. Deceit wasn’t sure if Logan and Patton had stopped walking, he wasn’t keen on taking his eyes off of Virgil. Since their steady falling out, he’d regarded Virgil as more of a live wire than anything else. He was a leading factor in stifling Thomas’ interactivity, after all, and that was detrimental to Thomas’ development as a human being. They very much had their historic differences. But, given Virgil’s display of protection in the Mind Palace….while Deceit wasn’t a fan of being immediately attacked, he understood the reasoning behind the decision. Fight or flight.

They held their stare-off for only a moment longer, until Virgil blinked, looking away towards the other two Sides. “You’re right. For Roman’s sake,” he added the last part softer, regret laced through his voice.

That was good enough, Deceit supposed. He started after Logan and Patton — they hadn’t stopped, and were two blue dots in the distance — when Virgil called after him. “Hey, Deceit?”

“Yes,” he looked at Virgil, who was tugging at his cloak’s sleeves, jaw set.

“I’m sorry. For attacking you earlier,” he said, quiet and strained.

Deceit’s eyebrow raised. That was unexpected, Virgil apologizing for a reaction. “It was understandable. I entered where I shouldn’t have, without forewarning. And you were already tightly wound from Roman’s extended disappearance.”

“Maybe it was valid, yeah, but still,” Virgil followed after him, steps slow and eyes trained not on Deceit’s face but his chin. “‘M sorry.”

Virgil felt a hand brush his and looked down to see Deceit holding his hand out, open for Virgil. “It’s okay, Virgil,” the other’s voice was so soft now, “Just some steps backward, and more steps forward to come.”

There were about a million things Virgil thought to say. Something about how that was just mumbo jumbo, something about hanging out with Patton too much, something else about how untrue that could be.

But something about the way Deceit’s hand was shaking, the way his snake eye twitched, like he was fighting an impulse, drove home that he honestly believed it. And, for Virgil, that was all he needed to take his hand and keep walking.

They’d been walking for maybe fifteen minutes total before coming across another clearing, this one much wider, with a thick oak tree in the center. Was it oak? The bark was reminiscent of an oak, but the tree itself was so big that it seemed more like a redwood.

Patton began walking around the tree, looking it over, while Virgil and Deceit followed behind Logan. He was the first to approach, drawing his hand down the bark as though feeling every etching.

“Well. This is your checkpoint,” Logan said.

“I don’t see how it’s so significant that it had to be marked on a map,” Deceit said, tilting his head upward, squinting into the light to see how tall the tree was.

“Just a hunch. I don’t really, either, other than….it’s big.”

“Maybe it’s just a big tree? Does Roman usually just make things like this?”

“I don’t know. I try not to interact with Roman’s creative process, especially his pet projects, similar to how he does not interact with mine,” Logan looked around, “We should walk the perimeter. There may be something different.”

Deceit and Virgil both nodded, and then turned in opposite directions. Logan followed after Virgil, one hand touching the tree still, and they found Patton first.

The moral side was on his tip-toes, examining something on the tree’s trunk. “What’d you find, Pat?” Virgil’s voice surprised Patton enough that he stumbled back a little.

“Ah, sorry!” Virgil checked on him, but Patton waved him off.

“It’s okay! I just got a little spooked — that’s a door.” Logan and Virgil looked at where Patton’d been inspecting.

Sure enough, there was a light circled outlined on the bark in black chalk. Logan moved closer immediately, taking a knee to inspect. There was a door-sized circle drawn on the bark, as well as a fully-blacked out circle where one would expect a handle, and a small keyhole drawn in just beneath.

In the center of the door was Roman’s crest, also drawn in with black chalk. Written beneath the crest was “A place for solitude.”

Logan squinted at the words, mouthing them quietly. He ran a thumb over the words and, finding them unchanged, rubbed a little harder. None of the chalk was coming off. Curious.

One could expect Roman to have magic in his world, given the present fantasy elements. This seemed to Logan like it could be the first indication of magic.

“What do you think that means?” Logan turned around, finding Deceit, Virgil, and Patton all standing behind him.

Logan looked back at the door and stood up slowly. “....I’m not sure. I don’t know how this world works,  so trying to predict what it might mean could lead to the wrong assumptions, but it feels like something outside of reality.”

Patton nodded, and rubbed his own arms. They were lonely words indeed, and while it was a tree trunk, Patton was sure it led to something else. “Do you mean like magic?”

“It looks like we’re not getting in, if this is even a door,” Deceit stepped back as he spoke, “I don’t know how we’d even try to open it. We should try to find the road to town.”

“But this door’s got Roman’s crest on it. Another Roman’s probably in there,” Virgil said.

“There’s no way for us to get in, and it’s unconfirmed that this even a doorway. Plus, if it is another Roman, he probably heard us by now. He might not want to see us.”

“How would he have heard us?”

Deceit pointed up to a few feet above the door’s drawing. There was a circular window, seemingly without any glass.

“Hey L, has the map updated or anything?” Virgil asked, still looking at the window.

Logan frowned, pulling the book from his jacket. He flicked open the Table of Contents with emphasis, but stopped and spread out the page. There was a new section that had been scratched out, beneath “The Playwright,” and Logan couldn’t make out the words. Hm.

He opened the Imaginary Map, at the back of the book. The tree that they were at had been colored in with a dark brown trunk and bright green leaves, and had been labeled.

“The Playwright has named this tree ‘The Thief’s Nest,’” Logan said as he scanned the page, “Beyond that, nothing has changed.”

“Alrighty, so the Thief lives here! We’ll have to check back when he’s home and maybe he’ll let us in?” Patton nudged Logan, gesturing for him to follow.

“I find it unlikely that someone who describes their home as ‘a location for solitude’ would allow us entrance,” Logan stood up, looking at the Book again, “But I suppose we don’t have any other option. We should start in that direction.”

Patton nodded, a smile on his face. “Maybe we’ll be able to steal him away from his loneliness!”

His pun was met with an angry huff.

“Wow, it looks like Patton stole the air from your lungs,” Deceit quipped, “And here I thought thievery was wrong.”

He and Virgil had already started in the direction Logan had pointed to, a few steps away from them. Logan groaned at the pun, walking past Patton and ignoring Virgil’s snickering as he continued to lead their way out of the forest.

Finding the edge of the forest was simple — the map had shown that the distance between the Thief’s tree and the clearing that they’d landed in was actually shorter than the distance from the tree to the forest’s edge, confirming that the distances on the map were precise, to a comparative extent.

Once they got through the treeline, Virgil pointed out the road, only a short distance away, and they were soon on the path. On the horizon was a large castle, looking nearly as tall as the mountains behind it. The Sides could make out some buildings below it, sprawling and larger as they grew closer. This must be the town on the map. It was surrounded by a wall but there was a gate on their path, its doors open.

There was probably no harm in entering an unguarded door, Deceit had reasoned. They went in.

The town was certainly bustling, more people walking around as they walked along the road. Windows were open, store-fronts had crowds standing before them. Upon first entering, there were only one or two shop stalls between the streets, the more they walked but the deeper they got, the more stalls and stores there were; there were more people scattered around, talking in hushed voices or mulling around doorways. The buildings grew taller, too, the closer to the castle they got. Still semi-in the distance though much closer now was the castle, a towering figure with light-grey walls and red

The group held each others’ clothing ends as they slowly pushed into a large market-place area, such like a town square. Virgil was looking around, arms tucked in close and body pressing even closer to Logan as the crowd densified around them. Someone in the crowd caught his eye, though, and he squinted.

Slowly, he pointed his hand out in front of Logan and Patton. “Isn’t that the Dominos delivery guy?”

“Maybe — hey, that kinda reminds me of that one thing we saw on Tumblr, about how every face we see in a dream’s a face we’ve seen in real life,” Patton tapped his lip thoughtfully.

Virgil saw the gleam of getting to explain something in Logan’s eyes. As soon as Patton said “that one thing,” he frantically signaled from Logan’s left, waving his hand across his neck to call ‘cut.’ But the deed was done.

“Actually, that would imply that the human mind is unable to create new faces, but that hasn’t been proven in a way that can be measured. According to a media article published by Stanford University’s Neuroscience Department, there are many ways that the human dreamlike state’s facial recognition cannot be calculated in an adequate way, including that such a test would involve precise knowledge of every face that a person has seen throughout their lifetime, including passing strangers. Though it’s heavily implied, due to how humans use REM sleep to store memories—”

“Hang on, hang on,” Deceit waved a hand at them, drawing immediate silence, “Listen.”

They both stopped, Virgil flicking his hood off so he could better hear. Patton was already looking around, trying to find where it was coming from.

“A dream is a wish your heart makes”

“Yep, that’s him,” Virgil murmured.

Patton pointed to the left and Deceit nodded. “Let’s go,” Deceit said, before Patton grabbed his arm and tugged him down the road.

They both immediately picked up a brisk fast-walk, jogging after the music, with Logan and Virgil right on their heels.

“When you’re fast asleep~”

“Is this going to be a trend, do you think? Following music?” Logan huffed quietly, “It seems to be a motif.”

“Motif?” Virgil asked.

“Yes. Given how the Playwright was discussing this whole scenario, it seems that some literary devices will be used to aid us in finding Roman. The use of music, specifically Disney music , may be a way to lead us, the protagonists, towards the next plot point.”

“In dreams you lose your heartaches~”

Virgil pursed his lips. “You know, I don’t know if we get to be meta here.”

“Why wouldn’t we? We’ve done so in multiple episodes, for comedic relief,” Logan said. Patton and Deceit rounded around a corner, and there seemed to be a soft ukulele accompaniment to the singing.

“Well,” Virgil said, as he and Logan jogged after them, “I don’t know if we’re allowed to break the fourth wall in fan—”

Deceit and Patton had stopped just around the corner, and Virgil slammed into Patton’s back, making him stumble forward a few steps. Logan stopped himself, tripping on his feet but being caught by Deceit and held steady.

“Oh, shoot, sorry,” Patton helped Virgil upright, “We just found him.”

“Whatever you wish for, you keep~”

There was a small crowd, only about twenty people, gathered around a set of five barrels. And Roman.

Well. One of the Romans, they all reminded themselves, because this certainly wasn’t their prince. He was wearing a loose white tunic shirt and a red vest trimmed with gold, all of which was tucked into a bright red waist-sash. Beneath the sash was a pair of puffy pants tucked into knee-high black boots with golden heels. His hair was messy, swept up and blowing around in nonexistent wind.

“Didn’t the Playwright say something about every Roman having part of his crest?” Patton asked, tilting his head.

“He said that the book’s cover would update with parts of his crest as we talked to more of the Romans, not that they each would be adorned with the crest,” Logan looked at the book’s cover, then flipped it open to the Table of Contents.

“Have faith in your dreams, and someday~” the Roman’s voice rang clear as day over the hushed crowd, even over the bustling sounds of people walking past.

A new section appeared, a sub-section of “The Playwright” called “Authors Notes.” That definitely hadn’t been there prior. Logan squinted and began flipping to it, but was interrupted by Virgil nudging him and pointing.

“He is wearing the crest, I think. Look at his pants.”

The Roman’s pants had a jagged designs on them, red pants with golden stitching in a zig-zag and with small gold circles around it. “Doesn’t it look like his crest’s mountains and swirly whatever’s?”

….He supposed Virgil had a point.

The Roman stood up on the barrel and struck a pose while strumming on the ukulele. He was watching someone in the crowd, smile broad as the sky.

Then, he hopped from one barrel to another, making a pose as he did so. “Your rainbow will come shining through~” he spun on the barrel on the word “rainbow,” and Virgil stiffened.

“He has good balance and coordination,” Logan placed a hand on Virgil’s shoulder, rubbing gently, “He didn’t fall off the ladder, and he’s will not fall off the barrels.”

“....What if you’re wrong,” Virgil hissed.

Logan raised his eyebrow at Virgil, as though daring him to repeat that sentiment. Virgil just rolled his eyes and glowered back at the Roman.

“So,” Patton turned around and whispered to the group, “We….probably have to talk to him.”

“No matter how your heart is grieving~”

“We definitely need to talk to him,” Deceit said, turning his head towards Patton, “But to do so we’re also gonna have to interrupt his performance.”

“Do you think we can just wait until he’s done?” Virgil tugged at his sleeves, watching the Roman do a twirl after another jump, one leg kicked into the air, “Maybe he’s got good coordination, but if we interrupt him, and he gets really shocked, and he falls over—”

“Then one of us can catch him. I do agree, though, that intervening is not the best course of action. It may upset this iteration of Roman.”

“Alright, then, how about we wait until the song’s over?”

“If you keep on believing~”

“It’s almost over, right?”

“I think this verse repeats?”

“How….how do you not know how this song goes? Isn’t this Princey’s ringtone?”

“I don’t know. I don’t typically retain the memory of lyrics, that is overseen by Roman, and I don’t listen to his ringtone. I just retain facts, schedules, and our internal clock, among my other duties.”

“And yet you’ve memorized the Rainforest Rap?”

“Let’s not hound Logan for his music tastes, Black Parade.”

“The dream that you wish will come true!”

All four of them were startled by the uproarious applause that broke out. They looked up to see the figure laughing, leaning forward from the front-most barrel to high five someone in the crowd. As he leaned in, he acted like he was listening to something, ukulele held high and away in the gesture. His movements were was comical and exaggerated, hand cupping his ear, legs in a bent splits over the barrel.

“....D’you think they all have names like, ‘the position-name’?” Virgil asked, watching the Roman lean back up, do a backflip onto another barrel,“Because I think this one’s a clown.”

“Perhaps he’s the performer,” Logan suggested.

“Oh! Maybe he’s the thespian!” Patton clapped.

“We just missed his mid-song break,” Deceit said, pinching the bridge of his nose as the Roman began strumming his ukulele again,  “Oh my God, we missed his song break.”

Virgil nudged him with his elbow. “It’s not like he’s going—”

“STOP! THIEF!”

The four Sides, along with most of the civilians who’d been watching the performance, all turned around around. Behind them were some taller buildings, fluctuating between three and four floors of height. After craning their necks, trying to find the source of the yell, Virgil tapped Logan’s chest and pointed.

Four buildings down, running along the building’s rooftop, was a man. He had a large black cloak, covered with deep red patches, that billowed after him. That was all they could see from this distance.

Fortunately, they weren’t the only ones who had spotted the man on the roof.

“Hey, Aladdin!” the performing Roman shouted, cutting himself off by waving his ukulele into the air, “Stealing from the dragon’s hoard again?”

“Aw, shut up and get running, Sir Talks-a-lot!” came the reply.

The Roman laughed, loud and brash, but only Patton turned toward him. He saw the performing Roman jump off of the barrel he’d been standing on, into the crowd and disappearing from Patton’s sight.

“One jump! Ahead of the breadline!” he sang, strumming the ukulele once, harshly, before the crowd around him dissolved into shouting, running, and chaos, “One swing! Ahead of a sword!”

Patton looked back up at the running figure. The cloaked man jumped off of one of the roofs, pirouetting mid-jump and throwing something at the guards. Two of them dodged, but one was struck, falling over. Virgil flinched as he noticed the fallen guard had been hit with a throwing knife, the handle wrapped with a bright red fabric.

He tugged Deceit’s arm, hissing at the other two, “We’ve gotta follow him.”

“Do you think that’s another Roman,” Logan asked. He glanced at Virgil, who nodded before immediately running in the direction of the cloaked figure and guards.

Deceit opened his mouth, but was shoved to the side by another person in passing. “Hey, watch it!” he snapped, looking around to see who’d pushed him.

Laughter, childish laughter. He looked down to see a young boy with messy light brown hair and a black cloak. The boy turned to him, cupping his hands around his mouth.

“Sorry, mister Deceit! I’ve gotta run!” the golden brooch that pinned the child’s cloak together glistened in the light.

Logan and Deceit heard Patton’s breathing hitch when he saw it was the sun from Roman’s crest. Another one.

“You know, the Playwright implied it’d be hard to find them all,” Deceit mumbled.

A guard shouted, something indecipherable, but the child took is cue. He turned and kept running, away from them all.

“Wait,” Patton shoved Logan to the side and ran after the child, “He’s–He’s just a kid—!”

“God damnit,” Deceit hissed, pressing shoulders with Logan as they both turned in opposite directions.

They looked at each other, then the stage. The crowd had completely cleared now, chaotic as people ran away from the multiple groups of guards. The Roman they’d seen performing earlier was nowhere in sight, barrels kicked over, though….they could hear faint singing from beyond the wall.

“We should regroup later,” Deceit said, “Right here. Tomorrow morning, if need be.”

“After sunrise. You follow Virgil, I will follow Patton,” Logan responded.

He patted Deceit’s back and they pushed off of each other, taking off in their own respective directions.

[praphit]

JW 3: excommunication vs badassery -  WHO YA GOT?!

Well, I'm back here again talkin about John mother bleepin Wick; that must mean that people are messing with him again.

In the 1st movie, we learn that John Wick belonged to a secret soceity of assassins, but he got out of the game, so he could properly grieve his dead wife. The only piece of that life he had was in a puppy, and some assholes came around and killed that puppy.

A puppy! Not John Wick's old dog who had lived a full life and kinda wanted to go cuz he's seen too much shit - they killed John Wick's cute, innocent, lil puppy!

So, JW had to kill not only the people who killed his puppy (no no no no no),but everyone associated with them: family, friends, if you have ever delivered a pizza to those scumbags, if you bagged their groceries, it was on!

He killed 3 guys who were involved in a bar once with a pencil! A PENCIL! Who does that?! Who says to themselves "Man, I'm so mad that I'm gonna go into that bar and kill three men with this number 2." Who?! An unstable human being, that's who! I love him, but damn!

In the 2nd movie, they said , "John Wick has gone too far! Yeah, we killed your pup, but you didn't have to take out the our whole community!" Soooo, they decided to take more of his stuff - they stole his car. They got Ruby Rose and Common after him to say "Look, John, we're square, let us take the car, we'll rough you up just a little bit... and let this all go."

But, you already killed the man's puppy, now you gonna swipe his ride? What the hell is wrong with y'all?! You know who this man is!

Of course, John Wick had to kill off multiple gangs, along with Ruby and Common. For one night, the streets were literally painted red with blood. John Wick's killing went beyond cinema. Those actors haven't been the same since. Ruby Rose has given up movie making for the CW network, to make-out with women while dressed as a bat (not making that up) She figures she can hide in the CW. 

Look at her... she’d rather look ridiculous than be near anything John Wick related. 

I don't think Common has put out any hit songs since that John Wick 2. The carnage that he saw in the production of that movie was mind-shattering.

They said  - "John Wick! That's it! We tried to square things up, but you wouldn't listen! Now, you're excommunicado!"

Now, in the church world, I know what excommunication means - no more Ritz crackers and wine for you, dirty stares when church folk see you at the market, they draw devil horns on your pic in the prayer list, and you're no longer invited to church picnic's, but they never send people out to beat yo ass. Can you imagine if church were that serious?? A pastor having a pack of assassins just waiting for you to disobey him/her. Maybe Russia would do that... seems like they might do church differently out there.

But, that's where we're at with “John Wick 3: Parabellum!”

He's been cast out of the fold! No one is allowed to help him. They cancelled his social media accounts, his gym and yoga memberships, and coupons at Whole Foods. They beat the hell out of him. Told him he’s got one hour until certain horrible death. Took ALL his shit! He's done!

In John Wick's time of need there are only two people that he can turn to. Two people who haven't totally turned their backs on him - Halle Berry and that woman from "The Addams Family"; good ol what's her face. 

So, he's off (though a bit beaten up and bloody), to murder everyone in his path to finding these two people. It's like a video game in a sense - there should be an action total at the end of each scene:

112 dead

52 shots to the head

34 broken limbs 432 bullets fired 40 gallons of blood spilled

10 dicks and 7 balls chomped on by Halle Berry's dogs

Number of New Yorkers freaked out by all of this (0)

He kills people with a horse! No joke! 

And a book - at one point John Wick destroys a giant of a man: busts up his ribs, his knees, his shins, his kidneys, his balls, his jaw, his neck... all with a book. I'll never see a bookshelf in a home the same again.

All of this mayhem and blood leads John Wick out into the desert. Where he has to meet with some high elder to... do a job to reverse the excommunicado to... be... an assassin slave or something... idk. There are people out there who may complain about the lack of sensible story in this movie, and... yep! - they're right, but you know... it's all about survival and revenge - what more do you need??

The real hero of this movie is a doctor that John sees in the beginning, who gives him some pills that take away the pain, and give him energy. Those pills are the things of superhumans, cuz that's all he needs for most of this movie. I saw him take a couple of sips of bourbon, and drink some of Halle Berry's spit (don't ask). But, that's all he needed to do all of this killing for nearly a week. I didn't see him stop at Burger King, or grab an energy drink, or take a nap (think of the great opps for product placement --- John Wick doesn't sleep often, but when he does, I bet it's on a Casper Matress), I didn't even see him use the restroom; which he probably needed cuz he was running weird throughout this whole movie - like he needed to pee and his pants were too tight. That's the real tragedy of John Wick - never having time to pee or buy new pants that fit.

But, apparently, John Wick doesn't need any of those things, all he needs is Halle Berry's spit. Just a couple of sloppy, slurpy kisses from Halle and a man or woman is set!

Yes, this movie lacks a bit in plot, but John Wick has always been about the amazing ballet of kills. There is a literal ballet influence as we see a glimpse of John's background - and it's a ballet/wrestling school... that also teaches young kids how to kill. The fighting is just as creative and pretty as in the last two movies, with A LOT more blood.

All is murderously fun enough to subside some disbelief, until... I won't spoil much, but... look, I've watched John Wick get shot, stabbed in crucial arteries, break bones, get hit by two cars, sliced up by all sorts of sharp objects... he keeps going, ok... we're living by "Fast & Furious" rules, whatever, but at one point he goes over the edge of a multiple story building. A BUILDING! He gets shot, falls over, hits multiple objects on the way down, and then SPLAT! - and he’s STILL ALIVE AND READY TO BEAT ASS. Forget "Fast & Furious" we're living by "Looney Tunes" rules.

At another point, he loses a finger (minor spoiler, but it doesn't matter to the plot), if that finger had grown back, it wouldn't have surprised me.

C'mon, man... I've got to take off points for that.

It's a fun movie. Fans of the series will def enjoy it; I did for sure! If you're a casual fan, you'll prob have to suspend the part of your brain that tries to make sense of things, and simply enjoy, but it's worth a watch, if you love action.

Grade: B

I did feel sorry for the simple 9-5 henchman in this movie. Just out there trying to support your family, in a world where John Wick is killing people with pencils. If I were said henchmen, I think I'd pretend to get hit and knocked out by John Wick. Only John Wick normally shoots everybody in the head (many times) before leaving a scene. I'd have to smash a couple of ketchup packets on my head or something; I'd figure something out cuz I sure as hell ain't messing with a killer like him.

An actor I didn't mention is Asia Kate Dillon known as "The Adjudicator". 

She is excellent btw Trying to enforce rules, and I get it! You've gotta keep people accountable to the rules in a world full of assassins, but... if John Wick is the one breaking the rules... maybe you should let that shit go. That's the morale here. Follow the rules! And if you break the rule, you had better be as badass and indestructible as John Wick. He caused so much death in these three movies over a dog getting shot; this series is like a PETA wet dream, and judging on how awesome this dream is, it may continue way passed 3 movies.

[anxiously-unsatisfied-world]

My Idiot - A Bakudeku Fic

Prompt: It's the worst blizzard of the season and Person A hears a knock at their door. When they open it, they are greeted with a soaked and barely conscious Person B. How they react is up to you. (this prompt comes from @curesforwritersblock and can be found Here)

Person A: Bakugou; Person B: Midoriya

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: My Idiot Pairing: Bakudeku Warnings: Strong language, food mention, kissing Word Count: 2,395

A/N: So this prompt absolutely screamed Bakudeku to me so I had to write it (and then procrastinate posting it for some reason? Idk, like it’s been done for two months) But either way, hope you enjoy! :D 

Bakugou has absolutely nothing to do. School is canceled due to the massive blizzard outside, all his homework has been finished, and anything else he can think of just sounds boring. He can't quirk-train since that'd be better to do outside and he beat the video game he was playing last week. Though he could always start up a new one…

Bakugou gets up and walks over to the shelf he keeps all his video games, scanning the titles for one he hasn't played in ages. With all the training at U.A., he hasn't had the chance to play many of these in a long while, so that'd be a good use of the snow day, especially since there's probably going to be more than one of them given exactly how much snow is falling outside.

He selects a game and puts it in the system, gathering a few snacks and blankets before curling up on his futon, ready for a long day of gaming.

Around two hours into the game, he hears a faint knocking but ignores it, believing it to be a tree branch tapping against a window with how faint the sound is. Besides, he'd have to get up otherwise and he's so warm where he is…

The knocking repeats, just as weak as the first time. Bakugou pauses the game and listens in the now silent room, waiting for the sound to repeat. It does, just barely stronger this time, and Bakugou groans.

"Who the fuck would be out in a fucking blizzard??" Bakugou grumbles as he rises to his feet, pulling down the sleeves of the black hoodie he's wearing. He continues to mutter as he heads to the front door, taking a second to peek through the peephole.

"The fuck?" He mutters as he doesn't see anyone outside. Despite this, he opens the door, wincing a bit at the blast of cold air that sweeps into the room, his eyes widening at what he sees.

A person's collapsed on his doorstep, just barely dressed for the weather but soaked to the bone. "Shit," Bakugou says as he steps out onto the doorstep, leaning down and lifting them into his arms, carrying them inside and shutting the door behind him.

The person shivers at the warmth of the house, the only sign of them being conscious is the way they're clinging to Bakugou's hoodie. He carries them into the bathroom, thinking it better to get them out of the wet clothes before doing anything else.

When he sets them down and pulls off their beanie, his eyes widening further, his heart wrenching in his chest. "Damnit, Deku." He says, his voice nearly cracking, "Of course, it'd be you…" He laughs humorlessly, biting his lip and heading into his room to choose a change of clothes for Midoriya.

As he walks into his room, it hits him how dire this situation is and he grabs some clothes, only caring enough to make sure he has one of each item. He hurries back into the bathroom, throwing the clothes on the counter and stepping up to Midoriya.

He leans closer to unzip the coat the other's wearing and as he does, Midoriya's eyes flutter open, weakly blinking at him. "K-Kacchan?" Midoriya mumbles, the words barely audible.

Bakugou bites his lip at the sound, it almost causing him to cry at how weak Midoriya sounds. Sure, he's called him weak in the past but never like this. God, not like this.

"Shut it, nerd. Save your strength." Bakugou says, the words not having any heat in them. It's impossible to pretend to hate him when he's looking this close to passing out.

Bakugou pulls the zipper down and gently wrestles the coat off of him, pulling his shirt off afterward, dressing him in one of his own shirts and hoodies. Midoriya just watches him, faint confusion in his eyes, but he's too tired to protest. Not to mention, these clothes are warm and dry…

Bakugou also switches out Midoriya's pants for a pair of sweatpants, setting all the wet clothes aside for later. Taking care of Midoriya is the more pressing issue than making sure the clothes dry properly.

He carefully lifts Midoriya into his arms again, carrying him into his room and settling him in the blankets he had been curled up in before. Midoriya sighs at the warmth, shivering faintly as the warmth begins to seep into him.

Bakugou watches him with concerned eyes, his hands faintly shaking. Damnit. That was far too close. Any longer and he might have had to go to the hospital. Again. Damn Deku.

Midoriya's eyes slowly flutter shut and his breathing evens out as his body grows warmer, realizing that he's safe. Bakugou shakes his head and makes sure Midoriya is fully covered before heading into the kitchen, grabbing the ingredients for soup and beginning to work.

From how cold Midoriya looked and how quickly he fell asleep, he must have been out in the cold for far too long and therefore, will likely be hungry when he wakes up. This is one thing Bakugou knows he can do without fail. Midoriya's never failed to compliment his cooking before and it should help him to warm up further.

Once the soup's finished, he carries a bowl of it back into his room, setting it down on his desk. He walks over and kneels in front of the futon, taking one of Midoriya's hands in his.

"Damnit, Deku. Why is it you're always hurting yourself?" Bakugou mutters softly. At least Midoriya looks peaceful sleeping like this, though he is still shivering… "Whether you mean to or not, it's stupid of you. Idiot." Bakugou scoffs, brushing Midoriya's bangs out of his face with his other hand.

Despite the harshness of his words, Bakugou's expression is soft as he gazes upon Midoriya's sleeping face. "I guess you're my idiot though… I mean, I did fall in love with you. Heh. How did I fall in love with such a dumbass like you, idiot Deku?" Bakugou questions, feeling safe to admit this since Midoriya's fast asleep.

"Y-you love me?" Midoriya asks softly, his eyes opening slowly to meet Bakugou's own. Or he's not. Shit. This is not how this was supposed to happen. He was never meant to find out this way. (or at all.)

Bakugou makes a face before sighing. No way out of this now… "Yeah. I do." Midoriya's eyes brighten and he grins up at Bakugou, squeezing his hand softly. "What's that look for, idiot?" Bakugou asks, rolling his eyes in faint exasperation for this boy.

"That's good." Midoriya mumbles, settling back into the blankets with an extremely satisfied smile, "'Cause I love you too."

Bakugou's heart skips a beat at the admission but he shakes his head, "You're just saying that. I don't know what the hell made you get out in that storm but you practically got hypothermia. I wouldn't be surprised if the confusion of that is making you say stupid shit like that."

Midoriya's eyes narrow and he scowls at Bakugou, "I do too mean it! I love you, Kacchan." Midoriya repeats and Bakugou lets a soft smile show on his face, even if he still doesn't quite believe it.

"Yeah, yeah. Repeat that when you've had more of a chance to warm up and rest and I'll accept it, alright?" Bakugou asks, standing up and going to get the soup, picking it up and bringing it over to Midoriya.

"Fine. I will. But it's still true." Midoriya grumbles, crossing his arms and pouting at Bakugou.

"Damnit, why do you have to be so cute?" Bakugou mutters under his breath, Midoriya barely able to understand him, but his eyes brighten further when he understands him.

"You think I'm cute?" Midoriya asks with a playful smile, giggling faintly when Bakugou growls at him.

"So what if I do? You're going to eat this soup and get better. Then we can discuss all of this." Bakugou kneels down beside him and stirs the soup, gathering a spoonful and holding it out to Midoriya.

Midoriya blinks at the gesture but opens his mouth, letting Bakugou feed him. Bakugou scowls at the confusion in his eyes, looking away as he prepares another spoonful. "Shut up. I'm just doing this since you're too weak to do anything right now."

Midoriya's heart warms at the fact that this how Bakugou shows that he cares. If Bakugou wants to nurse him back to health, then Midoriya's more than willing to let him.

Bakugou spoon-feeds him the rest of the soup before setting the now-empty bowl back on his desk to be dealt with later. When he turns back to Midoriya, he's met with a pleading expression and he crosses his arms, "What do you want, nerd?"

"Cuddle me? I'm still cold." Midoriya says, making grabby hands at him, his eyes wide and shimmering slightly.

"Curse you and your fucking puppy dog eyes," Bakugou grumbles, dragging a hand down his face. "Fucking fine. I'll cuddle you but I get to play my game while I do."

Midoriya eagerly nods his head and Bakugou walks over, lifting Midoriya up enough to settle behind him, letting him laying against his chest. Midoriya snuggles closer to him as Bakugou grabs the controller, looking down at him with a fond expression.

"You comfortable?" Bakugou asks, unable to stop himself from smiling as Midoriya shuts his eyes and snuggles into him.

"Mhm." Midoriya nods and Bakugou huffs out a soft laugh, reaching down and ruffling Midoriya's still faintly damp hair.

"Good. You get some rest and we'll talk more when you wake up next. By the way, you're not going anywhere else until the blizzard is over and the roads are safe again. There's no way in hell I'm letting you back out there when you've done this to yourself."

"M'kay," Midoriya mutters, his voice slurring as he's on the edge of falling asleep. Bakugou just smiles and starts up the game.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

They remain in this position for several hours, Bakugou not wanting to move until Midoriya wakes up lest he wake him up accidentally. Besides, this isn't the worst thing in the world, having your maybe-requited crush snuggled up against you. There are definitely worse situations to be in.

Midoriya grumbles softly as he begins to stir, warning Bakugou to save and pause the game. Midoriya continues to make soft, barely conscious sounds as he wakes up, which Bakugou finds utterly adorable though he's loathe to let Midoriya know. Don't want to invoke any more teasing.

Bakugou feels him tense up when he's fully awake and before he thinks of what he's doing, Bakugou curls his fingers into Midoriya's hair and runs his hand through his hair, which is surprisingly not as tangled as he expected. That and it's really soft…

Midoriya relaxes slowly and turns to meet Bakugou's eyes, smiling up at him. Bakugou feels a weight lift from his chest when Midoriya's eyes are already clearer than they had been when he first looked into them after he found him.

"Feeling better?" Bakugou asks softly and Midoriya nods, nuzzling up into Bakugou's hand.

"I love you, Kacchan," Midoriya says and Bakugou huffs softly, unable to help from smiling at that.

"Guess I have to believe you now, huh?" Bakugou asks fondly, "You seem more aware than you were earlier, so I have to ask. What the fuck caused you to go out in that blizzard?!"

Midoriya laughs sheepishly and looks away, biting his lip softly before answering, "I, uh, heard someone call out for help and had to go help them. But I ended up getting lost in the blizzard just after helping them…"

Bakugou sighs at that, "At least you found your way here. Better than if a villain found you." Both of them shiver at the thought of that happening. "Now, like I said, you're not leaving until that storm is over and it's all safe for you to go home."

"But…" Midoriya starts, getting cut off by Bakugou putting a finger over his mouth.

"No buts. If you need to call your mom, you can let her know you're safe. But you're not leaving this house." Bakugou says and Midoriya nods, knowing he's not going to convince Bakugou otherwise.

"Thanks for taking care of me, Kacchan," Midoriya says softly and Bakugou scoffs, ruffling his hair.

"You think I'd let someone stay out and freeze? Especially if it's the stupid idiot that I love?" Bakugou asks and Midoriya laughs softly at that.

"True. You're my hero, Katsuki." Midoriya says, giggling when Bakugou's face goes bright red.

"Shut up, idiot…" Bakugou blinks as Midoriya leans up, pressing his lips to Bakugou's cheek softly. Bakugou's eyes widen and he blinks a few times, his blush darkening. "I, uh, Deku… What?"

Midoriya laughs brightly at that, "Oh my gosh, you're speechless!" Bakugou snaps back at that, his eyes narrowing as he playfully pushes Midoriya's shoulder.

"Yeah, I could make you speechless too. It's not that hard." Bakugou says and Midoriya feels a flare of competitiveness rise up in him at those words.

"Oh yeah?" Midoriya taunts and Bakugou raises an eyebrow, cupping Midoriya's face and leaning down, pressing their lips together. He breaks the first kiss and goes in for another deeper one that has Midoriya's toes curling under the blankets.

When Bakugou pulls back this time, Midoriya is visibly dazed, his cheeks a vibrant pink. "Uhh…" Midoriya mutters and Bakugou laughs.

"I can't make you speechless, huh?" Bakugou asks through his laughs, the sound of it causing Midoriya's heart to flutter in his chest. He hasn't heard Bakugou laugh like that in a long time…

"Okay, Kacchan. You win." Midoriya says, grinning as Bakugou puffs up at those words.

"Hell yeah, I do." Bakugou kisses him one more time before leaning back, "So, what do you say about watching a movie together?"

Midoriya nods eagerly and Bakugou turns on the TV. Midoriya snuggles further into Bakugou as they settle on a movie, relaxed and feeling much better than he had when Bakugou found him earlier that afternoon.

Sure, it may not have been the best idea to be out in one of the worst blizzards Japan has had for a while. But it certainly gave him something priceless in the end.

@fairytailtwists @the-forgotten-traveller

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in my BNHA stories! ^^ 

[thewritingstar]

Written In The Stars (Chap 2)

Nalu Zodiac AU

Okay another update!!! I know its taken a while but here it is!! I hope you all enjoy, its a longer chap over 2K!!!

This shall be WC #37 (idk I think it is)

In case you missed Chapter One: Here

Chapter 2: 

“Why are you so happy?” Loke asked as Natsu strolled into their dorm room. He hopped on to his bed and let out a huge satisfying sigh. His grin never left his face and for the first time in his college life, he was on cloud nine.

Their dorm room was typical. A bed on each side of the room and a huge window in the back. Posters of video games and cars lined the walls and their desks were littered with school supplies and an unnatural amount of paper.

“Cause I just got a date with the hottest and coolest girl in school.” Natsu stated.

Loke turned around in his chair to face him. “Who? Let me guess, Karen? Lexi? Brittany? Angel? No, no, it’s gotta be Zoe, or is it-” A pillow to the face interrupted him.

“Dude!” Natsu yelled “It's none of them, you really need to chill out, you fuck boy.” He pointed at the smug boy.

“Ladies man” Loke corrected him.

“Nah you’re a fuck boy. And I got a date with Lucy, the girl in my bio class.” Just the mention of the blonde’s name made him automatically smile.

“Heartfilia?”

“The one and only. Ya know her?” Natsu asked. Of course, Loke would know her, he knew every girl on campus and in a ten-mile radius, typical fuck boy.

“Hell, ya I know her! She's in the Celestial Club with me.” Loke said. This information made Natsu sit upright and he furrowed his brows.

“The Celestial Club? What the hell is that.”

Loke smiled and filtered through his desk, pulling open all the drawers until he found a pamphlet, tossing it to the confused boy. Natsu’s eyes gazed through the small handbook. Constellations and zodiac signs were displayed throughout including the room and days the meets were.

“It’s a club for astrology geeks. Basically, each week we discuss how astrology works in different situations, I’m pretty sure this time is about love connections. Lucy is the club president, and I represent the sign of Leo, ya know, since I am one.”  

Natsu sat there with a blank expression. This information was too much to comprehend. He didn’t know why a guy like Loke would be in lame club like that. Probably just to get into the pants of all the girls in the clubs.

“I can’t believe you are in this.” Natsu rolled his eyes.

“Trust me. It’s a lot cooler than it sounds. Plus, all the girls make it better.” He winked.

Another eye roll came from Natsu as he read the different properties of the zodiac on the back page. The sound of Loke typing filled the room and they sat quietly until he had to leave for his class. Loke’s head snapped to Natsu's as a realization occurred.   

“Wait. Aren’t you an Aries?” Loke called from the bathroom.

“How the hell did you know that?” Natsu questioned. It was Loke’s turn to roll his eyes as he tapped his head.

“Your birthday is in April Natsu, context clues.” Natsu let out an ‘O’ and nodded.

“I still don’t know why she would agree to a date...with you.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean!” Natsu grabbed an empty can of soda off his bed stand and threw it towards him.

Grabbing it before making contact, Loke tossed it in the trash and picked up his backpack, ready to leave. As he opened the door, he turned towards the bruiting pink haired boy.

“You're not compatible.” He said before shutting the door leaving Natsu stunned.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Natsu yelled but the door was already closed. “That doesn't even matter.” He grunted to himself.

Lucy hummed a simple tune to herself as she opened the door to Charmed, Cana’s fortune and magical properties shop, the one where she worked and was very late as well. She loved working for Cana, especially because she got to witness her legendary card reading, her psychic abilities have drawn a lot of attention to the store.

Lucy herself does readings using the astrology principles and crystals scattered around the small store. Not to mention Levy and Juvia, her two best friends who also practice the reading properties. Levy's tea leaf readings and scribe deciphering is very popular as well as Juvia's flower picking, water signs and palm reading. No matter what you use, all the girls would be happy to read you.

“Good afternoon Cana!” Lucy smiled but the happy tone washed away when “You’re late.” was the response.

“I know I’m sorry, I got caught up in my chart making.” She said nervously and passed the middle-aged woman and took her seat at her desk. Cana just laughed and place a cup of green tea in front of her.

“You have a reading in 10 minutes.” Cana said and went back to her tarot cards. “Oh, today Juvia had a reading with a couple and she nearly fell off her chair at the sights of the guy. Poor thing could barely keep her head straight, she might have broken them up too.”

“Did she break them up or did the flowers.” Lucy giggled and brought the rim of the cup to her mouth.

“Well the flowers did have sadness and separating so who knows.” Cana laughed and picked up a card, a big heart was plastered on the front. “New love.” She said and almost like being summoned, Juvia walked in from the curtains in the back, a dazed look on her face and a love-struck attitude. Cana waved the card and Lucy smile, another prediction right.

“Juvia does not understand the universe sometimes.” She complained while placing her head on the table as a mug of tea was slid her way with the card.

“I’m sure the universe will sort everything out Juv. On another note, I have a... date.” Lucy said but making sure the last part came out quicker. This news sparked Juvia’s interested and before Lucy could blink, she was sitting in front of her, eyes widened and ready for the details.”

“Tell Juvia everything! Who is he? What’s he like? Where are you going?”

“Okay, okay. Its Natsu Dragneel, the guy from my Bio class.”

Juvia blinked and slouched in her seat, crossing her arms. “You don’t sound excited.”

Lucy let out a huff, blowing up her golden bangs. “I am, he's nice and funny, and yes, good looking.”

“But?” Juvia chimed in.

“He is an Aries.”

Juvia nodded. She knew how much astrology and compatibility mattered to Lucy. When they had first met, Lucy was thrilled to learn that the beautiful blue flower picker was a Cancer, their friendship easily clicked.

“Well...That doesn’t mean you can’t date him. Just because you may not be extremely compatible to the stars, Juvia believes that you can adapt to each other.”

“Don’t blow off some good dick for the stars Luce.” Cana yelled out.

“Thanks Cana” Lucy said sarcastically, heat rushing to her face.

“Juvia thinks the same, but in other words of course. What's the worst that could happen?”

“I don’t know throw the universe off balance.” Lucy complained and slammed her head onto the desk.

“Okay...wellll, let Juvia knows how it goes. Then you and him can come and do a flower reading! Juvia’s pretty petals will determine your love future. Now excuse me I have to get to class.” She giggled and ran out of the shop just in time for Lucy’s guest to walk in for their reading.

“Welcome! I’m Lucy and I’ll be your star reader today!” She smiled brightly as they took a seat, a sudden wave of energy entered the air.

“Gemini” Lucy thought but kept her smile as she pulled out a parchment sheet and star chart.

“Let’s begin.”

---

After two days of pure torture from Natsu, Saturday came around. He still had twenty minutes until he had to pick up the stunning blonde. He was busy doing pushups on the dorm room floor while Loke chilled in his bed, playing a game on his phone.

“Do you really think it’s going to end badly?” He switched to sit ups.

Loke looked down at him shrugging. “I don’t know man. It takes her awhile to warm up to other people in general, and when you're not compatible, it's even harder, almost like a warning. It took some time for her to warm up to me, not a lot of time but definitely some work.”

“Really?” Natsu sat up. Loke nodded.

“Leos and Virgo have a hard friendship line, its normal for them to have to warm up to each other. To be honest I wasn’t a big fan of her either, but now we are chill and she’s one of my best friends, almost like a sister. You just must be patient, she will come around. I mean you are already friends, right? That's a good start.”

“Yeah, I guess. Hey, how did your club go? Did she talk about me?”

“Don’t flatter yourself. And it was fine, I got a sweet date too. And it's even better because we have maximum compatibility.” Loke smirked.

“Another victim of your fuck boy ways, good luck to her.” A pillow was smacked to his face.

“Just go on your dumb date. And by the way Aries is different than all the other girls.”

Natsu laughed. “Did you say Aries.”

“Oh yeah, she is apart of the club too. Her real name is Amelia Taylor, ya know, pink hair, cute sweaters, really big boo-”

“I got it dude! Don’t have to get descriptive.” Natsu complained and looked at the clock. Quickly he grabbed his wallet and keys and opened the door. “Good luck on your date.” Natsu shot him a finger gun.

“Right back at you” Loke laughed.

--

Looking over herself in the mirror, Lucy determined that her flowy white blouse and blue shorts were date material.

“Ooo, Luce, you look smoking.” Levy called. Levy was currently sitting on Lucy’s bed in her dorm, helping her pick out an outfit as she was reading a large book for class.

“I mean you could cover your chest more, don’t show him everything.” Lucy turned towards the voice. Her roommate, Cassandra Lakes had spat that out.

“My chest isn’t even out Aquarius.” Lucy replied using her celestial club nick name. “And you always wear a tank top or tube top.”

“I’m a swimmer, I worked hard for this bod.” She jumped off the bed and grabbed her bag. “Now I gotta go practice for swim, don’t fuck up your date Lucy, later Levy.” She opened the door to reveal a nervous looking Natsu. “Oh, your date is here.” She said and passed by him.

He placed his hands on the door, keeping it open. “Ready?”

“Yeah.” She let out, a smile framed her face and she yelled a ‘bye’ to Levy.

“Have fun you two!” Levy called out.

--

“That movie was incredible!” Lucy gasped. “Nice choice.”

“Thank you, I checked the ratings beforehand.” Natsu laughed which made her giggle. “Now its time for a good dinner.”

She smiled and as they walked towards the burger joint at the end of the strip, she linked her arm around his making him blush slightly. For a moment she forgot about the stars.

--

“And that’s how my buddy Gray got his bare ass stuck to the ice rink.” Natsu smirked and Lucy let out a loud laugh, trying not to let her strawberry milkshake spill as her hands hit the table. Natsu couldn’t help but smile as he watched her laugh. The evening light mixed with the windows reflection gave her a soft glow. Her giggling died down as she caught him staring and placed her hair behind her ear blushing.

She had to admit that he looked casually handsome. His button up shirt was rolled to his elbow making her slightly drool and his pink blush hair was poking out from his black snap back.

“Soooo, why are you so into the stars and stuff?” Natsu asked while taking a bite of his burger. He watched as her smile and eyes soften.

“My mother. She was an Astronomer at the planetarium, always did the most fascinating lectures about the stars. She’s the one who taught me about all their properties, physically and spiritually. I’ve always been intrigued by them, the stars ya know? They are so beautiful and mysterious. When she passed, I leaned onto the star, embracing everything she believed in. it makes me feel like she’s still here. She was a Virgo too, she was my best friend.”

“That’s amazing Lucy.” He smiled.

--

After getting ice cream and taking a stroll through the park, they arrived in front of her dorm hall.

“So?” He asked.

“So?” She repeated.

“Did I change your mind, about Aries?” He smirked, nudging her shoulder

“Hmm, maybe just a little bit. I guess you’re not too bad.” She teased and bumped his shoulder back.

“I’ll take that.” He smiled.

“Thank you Natsu, I had a nice time.” Quickly she kissed his cheek and rushed into her dorm room leaving him stunned.

Turning around he fist bumped the air.

“Fuck ya! Take that stars. Natsu one, stars zero.” He pointed to the sky.

His grin never left his face as he walked back to his dorm, ready to rub his success into Loke’s face.

----

I hope you all enjoyed!! Thanks for waiting!