#in defense of past me these uploads are from last year as well

[claire-starsword]

what’s up my friends my followers my beloveds remember last year when i searched every corner of this virtual earth for signs of Shining Force Chronicles III and found absolutely nothing, barely a screenshot or two?

anyway today i was not looking for it. Here’s a channel with a full playthrough. enjoy.

[floef-likes-everything]

Wingman

Large summer writing project alert! Well, not really as I've been working on this for a while, but now I have the time to finish it. The prologue is under the cut, and the entire fic will be uploaded to my ao3 over time :D

Summary: Grian hasn’t left the Hermitcraft Server since he joined. There was no reason, as everything he’d knew before it was destroyed because of his own poor decisions. So when some of the Hermits convinced him to come and support them in this competition they were about to compete in, Grian didn’t expect his past to catch up to him so quickly.

He definitely didn’t expect to become the wingman of his presumed dead friend.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to leave?” Mumbo was leaning on one of the various chest scattered around Grians mansion with a frown on his face. Grian, in the meantime, was gathering supplies for the short trip off the Hermitcraft Server.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” he asked in return. He had tried to hide the slight shake in his voice, the clear indication that he in fact was terrified of what he was about to do. He was however determined to go through with this crazy trip and Mumbo was not going to talk him out of it.

“Because you have no idea whether the Watchers are still after you,” Mumbo pressed. “I understand you need some space to get your creative fluids going again, but going off the Server might be a bit of a rash move.”

“Look, Mumbo, I really appreciate your concern,” Grian started as he lowered his backpack to look Mumbo straight in the eye. He really did and if this opportunity had arisen a few weeks ago he’d probably have listened to Mumbo. Grian started to feel burnt out on the gigantic project that was the mansion and he needed something else to do. He needed some new views and influences and when Ren had invited him to come watch him and some other Hermits in an event called the Championships he had agreed without giving it much thought.

“I’m going to be fine,” he continued. “Ren, Iskall, Cub and False are all going to be there, I’ll just watch whatever this Championship thing is and that will be it. I doubt the Watchers will take interest in an event like this. It sounds way to… chaotic for them.”

In fact, Grian had no idea whether or not the Watchers would enjoy something like this. They might as well do, but he didn’t want to think or worry about it. The Watchers rather disliked the chaos of larger Servers, they wanted everything to go according to their own plans. It was easy to influence a group of about ten Players, but much more than that would become unmanageable. If Grian remembered correctly from what Ren had told him, the event had 40 participants and a lot more Players who would watch.

“If you say so…” Mumbo mumbled, though he didn’t sound very reassured. Grian had of course offered that he could go with him, but Mumbo had kindly denied that offer. He didn’t do well in crowds, he’d said.

“I do,” Grian said as he put his sword and axe away in his enderchest. He imagined that the organizers of the event wouldn’t appreciate it if spectators took weapons with them. “I’ll be fine, Mumbo, really. It’s been over two years now, they’ve found something else to spend their time on. They don’t have the patience to still want to go after me, they’ve dropped the subject.”

“You can’t know that for sure,” Mumbo tried once again. Whenever they had a conversation about the Watchers and Grian possibly leaving the Server, he would act like this. Sure, those conversations had only happened over the last couple of weeks but they had gotten more and more frequent.

“I – if they really wanted me, they would’ve come for me,” Grian said with confidence. “They are able to pass Xisuma’s defenses if they wanted to, trust me. But they haven’t, so I’m not interesting enough for them anymore.”

If the Watchers still wanted him, they would’ve come for him months ago. He knew Xisuma’s defenses on this particular Server were one of the best but he had never personally dealt with Watchers before, not that Grian knew of at least. He was surprised that Xisuma knew of them at all when he finally opened up about his past to him, but he had never experienced them like Grian and his friends had.

“And if you don’t mind, I really should go now otherwise the gang will leave without me,” Grian said as he stuffed an extra stack of golden carrots in his inventory. He wasn’t sure if he would be provided with snacks during the watch along of this event so he wanted to come prepared. “I’ll be back before you know it, Ren said it’ll only take about two hours or something and I don’t plan to stay for the party afterwards. It’s not as if I know anybody there. I just want to… get out for a bit, alright?”

“Yeah, sure,” Mumbo said but he still didn’t seem happy about any of this. Grian felt selfish for leaving Mumbo behind, but sometimes he felt like he had to be. Mumbo only wanted to protect him, but this mansion and project were killing him.

“Great,” Grian pulled a smile on his face and unfurled his colorful wings. “In the slim chance that I don’t return, you’ll finish the back of the mansion for me, right?”

Before Mumbo could throw an insult at his face, Grian beat his wings to propel himself up into the air and away. It was a short flight back to the shopping district and it was a quiet one. The sun was already descending and the view he got of the middle island of the Server was wonderful. A shopping district was forming slowly but surely and Grian doubted if the mycelium island was even big enough. Hermitcraft was their life, tucked away in an almost invisible part of the universe. Every Hermit was the same in a way, yet so different. Everybody had found this group running away from something or searching for refugee and most didn’t leave after. They were a found family, though sometimes a bit of a dysfunctional one.

Four Hermits in similar green outfits were waiting for Grian near the central Nether Portal of the shopping district. Cub pointed as Grian came into view from behind one of the larger shops. Grian landed gracefully and tucked his wings behind his back before joining his friends.

“G-Man, are you ready for the best event in your lifetime?” Ren started, dramatic as ever, before Grian could even greet him. “You are going to want to join our team next time, I’m sure of it!”

“Good evening to you as well,” Grian said with a grin. “I just have to wait and see, I guess. You have to impress me by winning.”

“Well, I don’t know about that,” False said with a short laugh. “Players from all over participate in this Event, it’s quite the show-off of power to be fair. Some can get real sweaty over winning. Plus, we bring two newbies, so don’t expect us to win that easily.”

“Hey, Cub and I aren’t that terrible,” Iskall immediately said in a slightly offended tone. “We’ll show these people what we Hermits can do.”

“Hmm, yeah, just wait and see buddy,” was the answer from False, who didn’t sound to confident. “Are we ready to go?”

[wh-da-backup]

Lyric stubs uploaded nov 2009

I can taste your past on your stream of consciousness I'm drawing it in. I'm drawing it in. I'm drawing it on my wall, that tainted silver hall. and now it seems we have nothing to talk about i can sense your thoughts i'm drawing them toward me

drawing them out

whatever you caught it's spreading like butter itchy record suicide* your null-G skull's gravitational pull will surely soon cause my head to implode

(* cause if you scratch a record, you ruin it)

I don't wear make-up repulsion's been my best defense if you blind yourself on lies I don't need your help I don't wanna be so helpless hate me for who I am and I won't mind

I can't stand that look in your eyes

yeah… don't see me that way

as they led their collective horse to water help him still and shoved a tube down his throat they drowned him from the inside but had nowhere else to go

put your money where your mouth is how bitter does it taste? a wishing well of broken dreams a deafened magician

I've walked on water before frozen still crystal ballroom floor*

(*refers to walking on ice)

a bubble rests on a blade of grass she runs across the lawn without batting an eyelash ten more years turn around and she wonders if she could've made it last longer than it did everything seems so much bigger when you're just a kid

hey don't forget we were all innocent once before the world seeped in through the cracks in our minds now with weights on your conscience and scars on your soul you think back and you seemed so much happier blind I miss the innocence… where did it go?

and now with the hail falling down from the sky and the blood on our hands of the ink in our eyes and the past and the future conflicting inside

we turn around and beat helplessly on closed doors

a green smashed open sprite can propped up against my wall the hornets at my window

I won't let you in at all

you met me in a time when darkness swam around my mind you coaxed the hidden genius that took me years to find you gave me hope and calluses

I drawing on you and you really don't mind

separation anxiety for you in the next room my fingertips are starting to soften I'm losing my sign of you my shiny shiny calluses

I'm drawing on you and you really don't mind

I'm waiting for you and they really don't mind

I used to be drowned in my bubble of ignorance then I was washed ashore, breathing on land and now the music seeps into my mind like water seeps into the sand

I used to be torn apart and windblown around not I tower in castles

oh wave knock me down

and has my mind gone too far out to sea can it be love when you're oh so different from me could this be more than reality would allow words cannot tell you how i feel now

with memories of music just passing the time

and of falling asleep with you there by my side

I hear them say that i live in my own little world they say the the atmosphere ends at the edge of my head and right now I'm raging in the middle of a civil war it can only end with my adversary gone

and this time i'm afraid that i don't have long I cry in the darkness, "I miss you! where have you been?" Whenever there's trouble in me

that's the trouble I'm in.

And I don't wanna hear it the way you always see things and I don't wanna know your plan for a perfect everything you never tell my anything

do you notice any difference are you so indifferent oh you always ask me but i never finish

coats are so expensive lies are so intrusive mind club uninclusive shut down, cage your retina

[servin-up-surveys]

survey #097

(taken january 2nd; uploading surveys taken while gone)

Were you ever scared of driving? What scared you about it? I'm like, paralyzingly terrified of driving to a point where I don't and haven't driven for a few years. One of my absolute biggest fears is getting paralyzed from the neck down (I would rather die), WAY more than what is rational, and that's the main thing that keeps me from driving. Well, that and killing somebody, because I WOULD kill myself if I did that. I could never live with it. I know it's an inconvenience, but it's just ultimately safer for everyone.

If you have any piercings or tattoos, do you remember the name of the person who did them? I remember the nickname of the guy who did three of my tattoos, June Bugg. I feel like he might've given me a piercing too, idr. I don't go to that location anymore.

What’s something that someone has said to you in the past that really offended you? Nothing in my entire life has offended me more than Sara invalidating my trauma and calling me a weak-willed deadweight.

Do you do that typical girl thing out in public where you have to have someone come into the bathroom with you? No, I wouldn't want a friend in the bathroom with me. That would make me uncomfortable.

Who was the last person you made plans with? Girt; he's coming over tomorrow.

What is something you and your parents used to argue over often? Until late into being a teenager, Mom would always get on me about always being on the computer. It never did anything, though; that's how I still am today and Mom has long since stopped commenting on it. Pretty much my whole family just knows that's how I am. Dad and I never really argued about stuff...

Give me a song that is underestimated/not well known: Honestly a whole lot of Otep songs. They're a very controversial band with how aggressively leftist they are, and I will openly admit the vocalist Otep Shamaya is fully capable of being a bitch (she's active on social medias), but the vast majority of the songs they make fucking annihilate. I know one that I've always been surprised by how "underground" it is is "Shelter In Place," which heavily enforces gun control and even addresses the NRA as a terrorist organization, so some people have very strong opinions on it, but idc, that song gives me fuckin goosebumps.

Does everyone in your family have a job? No; I don't, and Mom isn't being paid for cleaning the church right now because of disability stuff, so.

Name a reason you would most likely go to jail for: "Assault" for defending a loved one is definitely it. I am NOT afraid to throw the fuck down if somebody attacks my family, and I know in some cases judges or whatever don't accept situations as "self-defense."

If you’re a girl, have you ever had the urge shave your hair? Not all of it, no.

Is there a real fireplace in your house? Yes, but we never use it.

What’s the scariest book you’ve ever read? Uh, idk.

Do your parents drink? I am incredibly proud of my dad for being a recovered alcoholic; he never touches it anymore, at least that I know of. My mom drinks a little something very few times a year, kinda like me.

What’s your favorite seafood to eat? I only enjoy shrimp.

What does your best friend love that you hate? Uh... good question? "Hate" is a strong word; I can only imagine a situation where I love something and he doesn't, that being horror games. This mf couldn't handle the first necromorph appearance in Dead Space lmfao.

Name the creepiest horror movie character for you: Ghostface from Scream has scared me since I was a kid; I'd cry if I even saw a picture of him, lol. I kinda wanna watch the movies by this point though, like he's still super creepy to me, but he doesn't scare me anymore.

What do you believe in more: ghosts or demons? I definitely believe in ghosts, at least of some sort.

If you have a dog, what kind is it? She's a chihuahua; the last breed Mom and I ever would've sought out, but she was a friend's dog that Nicole was really insistent on us taking, and she works very well with us. We love her.

What’s the last reason you held someone’s hand? Because I wanted to and it's not rare that we do anyway when we're cuddling on the couch.

Has anyone ever tried stealing your boyfriend/girlfriend away? Not my current one, but in the past, yes.

If you were in the hospital, do you think any of your exes would come see you? No; none of them would even know, anyway. I wouldn't wanna see any, either.

Do you like being called baby? It's not my favorite, but it's whatever if Girt's the one who says it. I appreciate that it's not something he uses frequently, though.

What do you think of your best friend's ex? Well, she cheated on him and it really hurt him, so I don't think well of her. Although I am a believer in that people change, and they were together well over a decade ago, so I'm sure she's grown as an individual and I will not take that away from her. I know literally nothing about her other than what she did, not even her name.

If you had a child at the age you’re at now, do you think you’d be a good parent? No, absolutely no. I struggle taking care of myself, I could not handle a child right now.

What was the last thing you watched on YouTube? John Wolfe playing The Devil in Me.

What was your favorite job you’ve ever had? I didn't enjoy any of my very brief jobs...

What’s your phone’s wallpaper picture? Both my lock screen and home screen are currently agonizingly cute meerkat artwork.

When was the last time you saw the person you had your first kiss with? February 2017. I've since then seen a single picture of him because of a mutual friend on Facebook, but idr when this was and it was just a picture.

Why did you move to where you’re living now? Because the old house was a health hazard with mold issues, and at this time Mom had severe cancer so did NOT need that. Mom also had a hard time keeping up with rent at the old place, so that contributed to us needing out.

What was the most severe punishment your parents gave you when you were growing up? My mom wasn't afraid to spank my sisters and me, and I do remember her once hitting me so hard on the arm that I kinda had a mark for a short period. I should mention my mom is very against physical discipline like that now; she nearly cries when Ashley's husband Nick decides spanking one of the kids is "necessary."

Have you ever been to California? If so, when was the last time you were there? No; that is the literal opposite end of the country for me and I have no reason to go there.

What’s something you’re really bad at compared to others? Social situations as well as just knowing how the hell to be an adult. I don't understand money, I don't understand legal stuff; I understand very little and need help with like, everything.

Do you know anyone who treats retail/restaurant employees poorly? Not anymore. Colleen sure as hell was that person, but thank fuck I cut her out of my life many years ago.

What was the topic of conversation the last time you spoke to a sibling? Uh... I don't know.

Are you currently looking for a new job? Kinda passively, I guess. Sometimes I'll hop on Indeed and search for shit but I have absolutely zero hope.

Who is the person you are the closest to? (emotionally, not physically) My mom, and Girt.

Are any of your relatives musicians? No. I don't think, anyway.

Have you ever been in fear for your life? Yes.

What was the last caffeinated drink you had? Do you drink this often? By pure coincidence my mom just randomly brought me a Mountain Dew, lol. She's proud of me for taking better care of my teeth after the dentist. I don't drink it often anymore for sure.

AC/DC or Aerosmith? I like both, but I enjoy more Aerosmith songs.

Do you have a brother? (Do you like it that way?) I have a half-brother named Bobby, and I love him bunches even though I only see him once every few years or so... He lives in Tennessee. Right beside NC, yes, but we're in eastern NC and it's a LONG state so it is not a quick drive at all. He's amazing though, such a good, friendly, very intelligent person. He goes on hikes a lot and DAMN would I love to be able to do that with my big brother when I'm in better shape.

Is it possible/likely that you’ll become a cat lady? I MIGHT have a few cats when I'm older, I'm pretty much certain I'll have at least one, but I will never take in more animals than I can adequately provide for, and cats aren't my main pet type focus anyway.

Do you believe there’s a devil? No.

What have you been diagnosed with (if you don’t mind sharing)? Preface: I may not have every single one of the psych diagnoses; it's a strong theory that because of me having seen so many different doctors over time, there are many overlapping diagnoses. There's severe chronic depression, social and generalized anxiety, bipolarity II, AvPD, PTSD, and OCD, and right now I'm kinda-sorta in the process of seeking a professional to possibly receive an autism diagnosis, or at least get clarity that I am or am not. I don't feel like elaborating on all the reasons right now, just know I have a seriously thick novel of evidence that makes me and others (including my own mother) very suspicious that I just went undiagnosed growing up. ANYWAY physical stuff, my body carries inactive MRSA, I probably have a thyroid problem that I am soon to get properly examined, I have high cholesterol, severe sleep apnea, and uh... OH, this is brazenly obvious to me, but I haven't officially been diagnosed with muscle atrophy in my legs because I'm getting examined for anything else it might be, and sure enough the other options are running very low.

How often do you drink energy drinks? I don't; they're just too sweet, and something being too sweet for me says something.

Is Google your homepage? Yes.

Have you ever been on an island? I have, for a 4th grade field trip.

Do you enjoy jogging? I can BARELY jog for like a couple strides because of my legs. Suddenly and quickly putting so much pressure on my knees would make them buckle.

Have you tried Krispy Kreme doughnuts? (Was it love at first bite?) Krispy Kreme is my favorite place to get donuts so hell yes. When that "hot now" light is on, BOY the temptation to stop is almost unbearable, lmao. We have one very close to our house, but Mom and I avoid it because together we WILL eat a dozen super fast, lol.

Have you ever been a fan of The Killers? I mean, "Mr. Brightside" is a fucking classic and a legend of a musical piece, and I also like "Somebody Told Me," but that's pretty much it, I think.

In how many languages (besides English) can you count to 100? German... so long as I could look up what 12 is again, lol. For some reason I have SUCH a hard time remembering 12. (I just looked it up and it's "zwölf," yep, don't remember that shit lmfao)

What’s your favorite lollipop flavor? Probably strawberry. Maybe watermelon.

What do you think of shows like Maury and Jerry Springer? They're cringe as fuck, like it's excruciating.

How did you form your opinion of marijuana? Originally I was very against it because it's just another substance that affects the mind and perception and also has more carcinogens than cigarettes, but as an adult I am fully for legalizing it, though of course with regulatory laws and standards. Science is what changed my mind, really, and just knowing how incredibly beneficial weed can be for many kinds of people. I also just think it's a MASSIVE overreaction to have so many peopled jailed for weed, like bro you have WAY bigger fish to fry. I just feel like many, many improvements would be inevitable if weed was legalized worldwide.

How often do you sleep naked? Never. I only once or MAYBE twice fell asleep naked accidentally as a teenager when I was with Jason. I would feel way, way too vulnerable and also self-conscience deliberately sleeping naked.

Who is your favorite musical artist/band beginning with "N?" I just whipped out my iPod to check, and I'd say Ninja Sex Party. They kinda recently came through NC for an acoustic tour and I almost asked Girt about going because he loves them too, but yeah I didn't wanna ask ANYBODY to pay for something.

Are you much of an outdoorsy person? It sucks, I totally would be if I was in better shape/didn't feel like I was dying after five steps, and if it wasn't hot or even warm out.

How big of an Oprah fan are you? I know virtually nothing about her, so.

Have you learned the quadratic formula yet? (Do you remember it?) Well yeah, a very long time ago. I looked it up and I was wrong on what it is btw lmfao.

What is the one question you most want to ask someone and who? If Jason forgives me.

Would you agree that "variety is the spice of life?" As someone whose life is nothing but a pure, unvarying routine, yes, it absolutely is. I would give so much for my life to be more varied and exciting.

Why did you need your most recent x-ray and what were the results? At the dentist, I just needed updated x-rays of my teeth. Helped them locate cavities and stuff.

Do people more often mistake you as being younger or older than you are? Younger. I'll take it, lol.

Would you like a bottle of Yoo-Hoo or it’s not really your thing? Dude, I love those. Haven't had one in maaaany years though, which sucks. It's a warm memory of mine that when I was younger and my dad and I would go fishing with our neighbors, we would always stop at the gas station for Yoo-Hoos on the way.

Are you single? If not, what is your significant other's name? No; Donald Jr. but I've always known him as Girt.

What are your plans for tomorrow? I have a doctor appointment in the morning and Girt is coming over later. I think we're gonna color in this horror chick coloring book I got for Christmas. :')

Is anyone else in the room you’re in? Just my cat; he's asleep right behind my laptop. He loves that spot, I'm sure because of the heat leaving the computer.

What are you listening to? "Dicke Titten" by Rammstein, what a fuckin anthem lmfao

[kimhargreeves]

Pleasure and Pain-Edward Nashton x Reader (smut)

Summary: You find yourself being kidnapped by the Riddler. Things turn from deadly to something unexpected.

(Warnings: This is smut so there will be mentions of abuse, implied rape, degradation,dacryphilia, overstimulation, choking,etc. Here's for all of your thirsting for the Riddler but haven't found a single smut one shot yet, you are all welcome!!)

I had been knocked out. The last thing I remember was walking down the Gotham streets leaving the iceberg lounge. It's wasn't a great place for a lonely woman to be but I had be there, work is work no matter how dangerous things may get. I absolutely despise working there for Falcone and Cobblepot, but I have bills to pay, not only that but I am planning to leave this city for good.I had been knocked out. The last thing I remember was walking down the Gotham streets leaving the iceberg lounge. It's wasn't a great place for a lonely woman to be but I had be there, work is work no matter how dangerous things may get. I absolutely despise working there for Falcone and Cobblepot, but I have bills to pay, not only that but I am planning to leave this city for good.

There's been enough damage done so the best thing I can do is leave this awful destroyed many of us have called home.

But now here I am tied up to a chair with tape over my mouth and with no place to escape. I tried moving my hands but they were too tied up, I had a knife with me for self defense but that wasn't on me anymore.

"You're awake." A deep male voice spoke throughout the room I was in.

The room was dark and i found many torture devices on either a wall or placed on a table nearby. I looked around and began to get scared at the things, my palms began to get sweaty and my legs were shaking.

"Looking for this?" The man evilly chuckled clearly showing a psychotic side. He held my small pocket knife in his hands when he came around me and took the tape off me.

This man is The Riddler. I recognized his mask and attire due to the many live streams he's been uploading, needless to say there's already a huge group supporting his beliefs.

I scoffed and began to laugh at him. "Do you really think you can scare me? Are you going to ask me one of your little riddles and let me go?"

Truth be told I was extremely scared, I believed in Gotham for years and never once had I faced the killer before me. Worst thing is this guy isn't fooling around, he's the one who killed the mayor and two policemen.

A hard slap landed on my cheek making me feel a stinging pain. I've received harsher treatments, I shouldn't let this knock me down. "How does it feel being the one tied down."

I ignored his words and looked back at him. "What do you want from me. Money?"

Riddler grabbed my hair and held me tight in his grip. "I want you to suffer the same way I did. No one is saving you this time." He ended with another laughter.

He really is a psychotic man. I tried pushing him away from me but that clearly failed. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You're going to die soon so I might as well just refresh your memory."

Riddler softly spoke and showed made me turn my head to the left, on the wall many pictures were plastered, want to come my attention one with the little boy with glasses in the choir. That's one of the orphan kids back then at Wayne orphanage.

The quiet boy who barely spoke to anyone, fascinated with riddles and puzzles. It all made sense now, "Edward Nashton.. you're that little boy."

"Who's not so little anymore." He sang and laughed right after. "Don't you just love living the past? All the fond childhood memories we all shared."

Him kidnapping me now makes sense. I wasn't orphan I felt lonely growing up, so the only way I felt satisfaction with myself was taking advantage and bullying those weaker than me. A group and I back then at the orphanage used to bully Edward.

We didn't have much going on back then so we did whatever we could not bore ourselves. What we did back then was horrible.

I looked over at Edward and deeply regretted harming him the way I did back then. "Words can't describe what I did to you, Ed."

"You don't have the right to call me that not after what you all did!" He snapped and began taking off his mask.

"I had many countless nights because of you. I dreamed of the day where you would be the one getting punished instead of me. And now it's all going according as planned." He giggled and had a sadistic smile on his face.

"What I'm about to do to use worse than what those fools had to go through. I remember over hearing that there's one thing you were afraid to lose."

One thing afraid to lose? My blood ran cold, but no he wouldn't do that now would he??

Edward made his way back to me and held my chin. "How does the saying go? You always harm the ones you love. You used to bully me every day, which must've meant that you liked me." He sang the last part.

"And I know you are secretly enjoying this, being all tied up and helpless." I pressed my legs together and felt ashamed because he was right. I did like Edward back then but I was a bitch to everyone.

"No more lies, (Y/N), or you'll end up like the mayor." I had chills imagining the horror the mayor must've felt..but I was also feeling excited...

"Stand up!" He loudly said making me stand up right when he untied my legs. I flinched when I felt his gloved hand across my stomach, he held the pocket I had and started to cut off my clothes soon leaving me all bare, I felt a rush of embarrassment and excitement.

He began dragging me further in the apartment until we made it to a room until he ordered me to sit

I did as he said, and sat on the edge of the bed, waiting obediently. “Lie back, hands above your head.” A shiver went through my spine at his dominance and proceeded to lie on my back.

Edward stood above me another wicked smirk across his lips. “Look at you. Such a little whore all tied up for me. Not even a fight. You just let me do whatever I want.”

I felt my cheeks heating up, I should be embarrassed at myself for enjoying being taken advantage of. "You really think I'm enjoying this?" I made it seem like I wasn't interested, that i wanted this to be over

Placing a knee between my legs, he leaned back and harshly grabbed my the face, “You'll see."

Edward crawled his way up and placed his lips over mine, his tongue wasting no time exploring my mouth. He straddled me and I felt him running his hands up and down my torso, his calloused fingertips rough against my soft skin. 

His lips soon left mine and his teeth raked along down my neck, biting every so often. “Fuck." I breathed out, getting lost in his touch. He hasn't done anything yet, yet I am already losing.

He leaned back onto his knees, my legs trapped beneath him. Unexpectedly, his hand came down to strike one of my breast, “Shit!” I hissed and felt a rush of excitement down my legs.

I winced and tried to move away when another smack came upon the other breast, before he reached down with both hands and cupped your breasts in palms, rubbing them, “You look so beautiful. All tied up, helpless, completely at my mercy like I wanted." Edward whispered in my ear, “Your make me so fucking hard.” 

Slowly Edward crawled his way back down and threw one of my legs over his shoulder, “My, my, look at you, you’re dripping and I've barely started anything."

Edward hooked his arm around my leg and used it to gain better access to my core. I looked and bit my lip. This is really happening.

"Oh my God." I bit my lips hard when he used a thumb to tease my clit, my eyes then shut tight when I felt him licking a long stripe up my slit. I gripped onto the covers below and moaned out loud he only started getting rougher.

I noticed a small grin plastered on his face. Both my hands gripped his hair tightly when I felt myself getting closer. He flicked and sucked, his tongue flattened as he licked a wet stripe from my clit to my opening, pushing his tongue inside of me.

My head fell back and I began to pant hard. The sounds coming from Ed as he sucked me were dirty, the moans and slurps began to drive me closer to the edge.

"I'm close!" I cried out and squeezed my legs when I arched, slowly, he entered a single finger inside my entrance and moved it just barely, teasing you as he continued assaulting my clit. 

Before I could come Edward removed himself from me I glared up at him and felt my punching him for leaving me like this. "You can't leave me like this you bastard." I shut my mouth when Ed wrapped a hand on my neck.

"Someone sure sounds ungrateful."

"I'm sorry..sir." I blushed hard when I said those three letters.

Edward suddenly added another finger and started ramming them into me. The familiar sensation returned getting tighter.“Fuck, fuck, I’m gonna cum!” I cried out, wrists raw from pulling on the tight rope I still had on. I cried out loudly when he continued fingering me until I came over his face, his glasses becoming wet.

This didn't stop him though, Edward flipped me onto my stomach and crawled up on the bed. I caught myself onto the headboard, hands gripping the wood tightly when I felt Edward behind me, surely he got himself rid of his clothes. He grabbed my waist and rubbed the head of his cock against my folds. He entered me slowly, feeling my walls stretch around him as he did. “You feel so fucking good."

Ed grabbed my hips roughly and pulled them back to meet his hips as he slammed into me. “Fuck, Ed!” my head fell forward, knuckles turning white as my grip tightened. 

His hand struck my ass, a red mark forming immediately on it, he reached his other hand around my front and gripped your throat, using it as leverage to pull me back against his chest. His fingers tightened around my throat as he thrusted hard into me.  

“You feel so good sir.” I moaned and tears began forming in my eyes. My legs began to shake as he reached down and rubbed fast circles on my clit. “Oh my god!"

Edward laughed behind me crazily and leaned close to my ear. “You wanna cum?” He asked, his cock twitching inside of me. My makeup was already ruined and running down your my cheeks.

Even though he knew I was on the edge, Ed continued to rub my clit faster this time applying more pressure, falling over the edge as he felt my walls clench around him in a desperate attempt to keep from cumming. He kept going hard and fast, his seed filling me and dripping out every time he pulled out. 

I squeezed my eyes shut and finally came around him. Without a word, Edward pulled out and flipped me over, ruining my orgasm for a moment until his fingers re-entered me. He thrusted them upward into my g-spot as fast as he could. The assault on the most sensitive spot quickly became too much and I tried to writhe away from him, “Agh! Okay stop!” I cried out, trying to wiggle his hands out of me.

Edward smiled to himself snd shook his head, “You said you wanted to continue cumming.” 

His fingers moved faster and his other hand came to press down on my lower stomach, intensifying the mixture of pleasure and pain. His thumb came down to rub my clit hard making me scream, the pleasure transitioning to pain, “Shit, shit!” 

I felt another sharp slap on my cheek and saw he wasn't satisfied. “We’re not stopping until you cum again.” My breathing was shaky when I came down from your intense high once again.

I continued to pant and try to regain my birthing back. I winced when I felt Edward started to untie me, my wrists were red and bleeding a bit. Edward adjusted his glasses from falling down until I wrapped my arms around him and brought him down to kiss my lips

"You aren't escaping from me again this time." He said with another sadistic smile.

[mack3030]

Things the Sims 4 Community Can Do About Paywalls...A Post...

[This is going to be a bit long, so you may want to save it and read it when you have time, or just...you know, buckle in.]

I thought I would ring in the new year by talking about something that I feel we as a community need to finally decide on. (It’s been debated since 2017 or so, and it’s now 2021...) I’d like, if possible, to try to suggest some real solutions and choices that we can make that will hopefully create a better and more honest community out of all of us.  Now I would like to start by making some postulates. In geometry, postulates are facts that do not need proven with a mathematical proof. They are assumed to be true. Thomas Jefferson and the founding fathers would call these “Self-Evident Truths”. I would like to use these as a bit of a basis for my arguments. 

Truth: The Sims 4 has been enough of a cash cow for EA.  If you buy the base game ($40) plus all expansion packs (40 each x 10) + all game packs (20 each x 9) + all stuff packs (10 each x 17) you would come to a total of seven hundred and 90 dollars ($790) plus tax. This is of course, without sales, bundling, etc, which many people DO take advantage of, but STILL. That is a TON of money for EA’s pockets.  EA makes a majority of its money on the fact that the Sims 4 is an “incomplete game”. It “completes” the game further and further by adding more “expansions” to the game to the point that it seems almost useless to buy the base game alone without adding to it. 

Even with sales and other things, it’s easy to spend over $500 dollars on the sims 4 game + expansions. Still a lot of cash for a game that is years old. This is just money that is spent on the game that goes to EA. This does not account for:  * Money spent to buy a new computer because your old one wouldn’t run the sims.  * Money spent supporting CC artists who have donations open or early access.  * Money spent on access to sites that have ads/paywalls/exclusive sims 4 CC such as Leosims, etc. (Which are the problem, frankly)

We should be able to respect the fact that a majority of us paid a hefty amount for this game. It is unfair, and frankly greedy to REQUIRE people to pay MORE just to unlock or gain access to specific user created content. 

I am not talking about a VOLUNTARY support or donation because they like what you offer. I am talking about FORCING people to pay if they want to ever be able to use the CC or mod you offer. 

Now, the typical defense for this is “Well, I’m an artist! I spend time/effort/etc working hard on these meshes, the code, etc to make this content!”  Which leads me to point #2. 

Truth: Mods, CC, and other content for the Sims 4 are useless without the game. Once they are created/uploaded to the game, all copyright to those objects IMMEDIATELY transfers to EA. 

I teach art in a Missouri public school. Our state standards dictate that when art students are in middle school grades, they have to learn about copyright, fair use, and creative commons. While I am not a copyright lawyer, I have had to learn enough about this subject to teach it. So allow me to break down a few facts about copyright: 

First, when ya make it, ya own it. There’s not a process to apply for a copyright. The moment you create something that is 100% your own work, you hold the copyright to it. 

Second, when you make something that is created based off of or USING someone else’s intellectual property as a reference or resource it is a fan creation. In art, we call this “fanart”. It is not 100% your own work. Someone else’s intellectual property is involved. 

Fan creations always have tread a very thin and shadowy line when it comes to different companies and the legality of them. You can easily search google for various articles explaining it, but to summarize it in a short method: 

Most companies do not actively go after those who create fan creations unless they are making profits that could instead be going to the creators of the intellectual property. If the fan creation is discovered to be making profits and/or taking the intellectual property in a direction the creator does not approve of, they have legal options to pursue (court, cease and desist letters, etc). 

Third, Copyright can be transferred from person to person. In most cases this is done through a written document that both parties sign, however there IS an exception to this that EA uses to allow itself to transfer your copyrights to your content to them: 

EA’s agreement with you is non-exclusive, meaning that the moment you hit “agree” on the sims 4 terms and conditions, you have handed over your rights to any CC you create for the game. 

If you want to maintain full creative rights over the mesh/mods/etc you make then, you have to not make that content for the sims 4 and make your own platform to host it on. This is way easier said than done. 

Truth: There have been various examples in the past of CC creators who have stolen meshes, bases, bits/pieces of work, or “inspiration” for CC from other sites/companies, who have been called on it publicly. 

The most recent event concerning this was drama concerning itsbrandysims and their use of meshes from imvu/secondlife (you can see my opinion on the subject HERE), but there have been other documented cases. Leosims, for example, has been listed as an example of someone taking meshes from secondlife creators and reuploading them (when it was told to me, I was shown THIS thread as evidence). Another well known creator was accused by a former sims 4 cc creator (who now makes content from second life), and was called out in THIS post in 2019. 

The horrible part of this? Many of these creators are charging people (often at not so great rates as well), for STOLEN content. Content they don’t even own, that they ripped from another place. This should not be accepted by a community that loves a game as much as the Sims 4 community.  Truth: EA has provided a way for people to make money while not hiding content behind paywalls entirely, and the INTENT of this was to OFFSET COSTS.  Almost every post about content locked behind paywalls features this post found on the Sims Forum from 2017. In it, SimGuruDrake, who was the community manager at the time (she has since left the Sims 4 team for another job).  Most of you who have seen this discussion topic before know this post by heart, but I’d like to highlight one important aspect of it: 

One thing that is always important about communication is the intent behind it. The intent for people to be allowed to make patreons and allow early access wasn’t so people could just make money for themselves, the idea was to offset costs to buy programs to make the content. For example, a yearly subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud (which has photoshop, illustrator, etc) costs a couple hundred dollars US a year. If someone was using photoshop to help them create their CC in addition to blender or other free programs, EA/Maxis wanted to allow the creator to not have to pay for making the CC out of pocket.  Can EA/Maxis control what people spend the money they make off of patreon on? No. But it should be noted that the intent of this action was to help people pay for supplies for their hobby more than to make a business out of it. 

Onto the next truth! Truth: There is an image that disputes this post above, however the authenticity of it and timing of it are very disputed. 

This image is often thrown around by people who lock content behind paywalls, but I would like to take a second and try to provide an honest assessment of it.  First of all, I have a bit of a problem with the fact that the original person who “messaged” SimGuruDrake this question has not been identified. This image was not posted on the tumblr of a CC creator who claimed “Hey I reached out to a sims guru and this is the answer I got!” The main pages that have this image are either tweets from CC creators using it to defend their stance on paywalls (ex: here), or tumblrs/tweets “debunking it” (ex: here, here).  I even reverse image searched this image using google, and another platform and could not figure out where this originated from. Of course, I’m not an expert, but...still. 

The fact that the origin of this picture is unknown casts doubt on it. If it were a well known CC maker who is known for being honest, that’s one thing. But the fact that we don’t exactly know where it came from is suspicious. Because frankly, anyone with some decent editing ability could photoshop this. 

Here’s my imperfect edit, but I’m just a self-taught graphics nerd and I am not as dedicated at faking screenshots as some. (And the crap photo quality didn’t help.) Another common issue is that at the supposed “time” that this question was being asked, some state that SimsGuruDrake had already left the Sims 4 team. I will admit, this photo is within the correct timeline, as SimsGuruDrake did not officially depart the sims 4 team until February 2018. (There is a post on the sims forums that has a timestamp that confirms this.) But, if you were in the process of leaving your job within the next month (as a two week/30 day notice is common when leaving a job), would you REALLY be answering questions in DMs on twitter, or be focusing on packing up, and training your successor?  The last thing that really makes me doubt the validity of this picture is the fact that it’s not really easy to message the sims gurus on Twitter. This appears to be twitter from the screenshot (although there are some things that are a little out of place from the current UI): But when I attempt to direct message a sims guru I get this message: 

I even tried seeing if I could reach out via DM to Drake herself, (who now posts under a different twitter) to see if it was possible: 

Could the policies have changed since 2018? Possibly, but I feel that opening up direct messages is just asking for Sims 4 team members to get angry messages, so this could very well be a long running EA policy. I have also reached out to her via a twitter tag (as of 1/2/21), and will update y’all if I get a reply:

Okay, so now that we’ve gone through all of this, let’s talk about the last truth that’s really important:  Truth: Putting content behind paywalls has generally been considered disgusting by many in the sims 4 community, and TAKES AWAY the choice of people to support CC creators they love/appreciate WILLINGLY.  A few notable posts sharing the disgust with this practice can be found: HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE & HERE). And these are just what I can find from a simple precursory search.

Okay, Brainiac. So what can we do to solve this problem? 

Well, there’s a few methods we can employ, and sadly, it’s going to take a bit of a commitment and concentrated effort from the community. 

Step #1: Make the COMMUNITY the VICTIM instead of EA. 

Now when I say this, I don’t mean we’re actually victims, but mean that instead of constantly saying things like “WHEN YOU DO THIS YOU VIOLATE EA’S TOU!”, thus making EA the “victim” of the crime. We change the dialog to saying “When you lock stuff behind paywalls, you cheat the sims 4 community and disrespect their choice to support you or not.”  Because let’s be honest. Maxis/EA really doesn’t give much of a care about if people aren’t following this rule. You can report people to the team, but as far as most people have seen, it doesn’t get anywhere. But if we make it where the community is the party being “wronged” it is much harder for those who have paywalls to not be scared. Because the community, in the end, has to be with them.  DepthofPixels had a really amazing post about this HERE. 

Step 2: Decide to not support anyone who puts their content behind exclusive paywalls and do not hesitate to spread the word about why you choose not to do so. 

By that, I mean

not paying any patreon accounts that don’t offer either their content 100% for free, or offer early access.

And sharing about why you choose to do that on your social media. Something I might suggest would be to make it a bit personal and share something like:

Instead of spending $15 a month to get exclusive content from Leosims (or any other patreon/paywall creator here) I’m spending that $15 supporting creator x, creator y, and creator z, who don’t put their work behind paywalls! 

Link their patrons, share why you like their content, and why you take the stance to make the community better. Make it a positive thing, praising the people who are doing RIGHT by the community. 

Yes, you may not get their content for a while (although there are some different places (

x

,

x

) to find them *cough*. But in the end, is it worth supporting someone’s content when they’re treating the community badly? 

Step 3: Report creators who actively steal content from IMVU/secondlife to those respective companies, and all others to EA. (Even though nothing may happen.)

Here’s the deal. When people steal from either of those sites, they are infringing on someone’s copyright, as well as Imvu/secondlife’s copyright as well. It’s not okay, and they should be held accountable for it. Here’s the LINK for submitting a ticket to Secondlife. I haven’t been able to find one for IMVU, but maybe someone else will find one. Let those companies know and allow them to handle those specific creators.  As to the other creators, EA may not handle them at the moment. But IF (and this is a wishful thinking “if”) there were suddenly a flood of messages about certain creators...? I think they might have to pay attention to some of those messages. There is an official report form, but it might even be worth tweeting to SleddingGuruFrost, who is the current community manager asking about their stance on paywalls.  And last but not least: 

Step 4: Make sure that those who are doing the right thing and not putting their work behind paywalls feel appreciated. Show them some love via a tumblr ask, or by tagging them on twitter, or by going up a tier on their patreon (or pledging for the first time). Celebrate these heroes who are creating content and not forcing it on us. 

Us asking for people to give us a choice to support them isn’t being greedy, or disrespecting their time. We just want transparency, and respect from those who create content for the game we love so much versus them treating us like we’re just a source of income. I know it might seem a bit hard to do this for some of you, and for some it may seem like I’m preaching to the choir, but we have to decide where we stand on this issue and stop letting those who abuse this system keep doing it. We can make a difference if we decide as a COMMUNITY to work together.

With commitment,  ~Sunny

[mel-the-fangirl]

The Escort

Walter Marshall x Reader

Words: 2,064

Warnings: none

Happy super late Valentine’s, Cavillry! As usual, this is a very very late upload but in my defense, it does say in my bio that I am a procrastinator soooo... Anyway, I’m really excited about this miniseries because I love the movie (The Wedding Date, 2005) and I really wanted to write Walter, I hope I do him justice!

Feedback (good and bad!) means the world to me as rookie writer, so I hope you’ll like, reblog and leave me some replies!

---------------------------------------

You could not believe you were doing this. You just couldn't. But there you were doing it, even though your mind screeched at you to stop and save a little dignity for yourself.

The fact that you even considered doing this was already a serious loss of dignity points, so what the hell. People did this all the time, didn’t they? There wouldn’t be a whole network of people clumped into this app if it wasn’t a normal occurrence.

It just wasn’t a normal occurrence for you.

Once you filled your head with rationalisations to make yourself feel better, you took a deep breath and began browsing through what the great city of New York had to offer.

Z, 6’, loving hands, fit, athletic, good manners, for water sports, caramel complexion.

For water sports? What in the hell did that mean? And that single initial in place of an actual name? Serial killer vibes. No, thank you.

Lenny, 6’2”, pretty fit Italian, excellent dinner companion, all occasions catered.

Alright. Okay. Now we’re talking. Tall, European, excellent dinner companion equals to good conversationalist, accommodating. Lenny goes on the list of possibilities.

Terry, 6’, my soft voice will arouse you, my strong hands will pleasure you,  let me show you how a woman should be treated, hourly/overnight rates.

Oh no no no. Major creep vibes from Terry. That ad alone had you reaching for another long swig of wine.

Joey, 5’8”, are you into champagne?, bodybuilder, will treat you like a queen.

“If you like piña coladas…” you sang in not even remotely the right key, topping off your drink

Josh, 5’9”, I can make you feel sexy and wanted. Fit, sensual, strong.

“Well!” you exclaimed drunkenly, almost spilling wine on your couch, “Tough beans, Josh! I don’t need a man to make me feel sexy and wanted!” you faltered a bit, your drunk mind still seeing the holes in your logic

“I just… Need a man to help me not look like a tragic spinster in front of my family and my ex...”

With that thought fresh in your mind, you reached for some more wine.

The ads went on and on as you scrolled through your phone, it was all a little overwhelming, how were you going to make sure you weren't hiring some psychopathic serial killing pervert to pose as your date to your sister's wedding?

The groan you let out bounced off the walls of your apartment. The reality of your situation was sinking in little by little. 

Yes. You were hiring a male escort for your sister's wedding. It was your baby sister's wedding, by the way. You were a hundred percent aware that what you were doing was completely and utterly pathetic but you’ve already weighed the pros and cons in your head countless times.

Showing up alone: pitying looks, whispering behind your back, having to face ex by yourself, staggering levels of embarrassment.

Showing up with handsome -hired- date: mother can finally get off your back, date is more handsome than ex, ex will want to shrivel up and die, no one will know date is male escort except you and him.

Now, let’s break down some of the guests just for the sake of being thorough. 

There’s your slightly overbearing mother (slightly meaning every call you have with her opens with the question: “how's your love life, dear?” or “I have the most amazing man to set you up with!”), all of her judgy eagle-eyed friends (mostly rich widows whose sons your mom shamelessly shoves your way), your extended family (some terrifyingly old school great aunts and uncles who will definitely ask if you’re married and smile sympathetically when you say you’re not), and last but certainly not the least, Jeffrey, your ex-fiancé (best man, but apparently not the best man for you, his words not yours).

"Lordy fuck." you exhaled hard, chugging your wine straight from the bottle

How on earth did you get here? Sitting alone in your apartment, working your way through your second bottle of wine (or third? Who was keeping count?), clicking on ads that spoke of "hot single males in your area" waiting to meet you.

Would it be fair to pin it all on the end of your engagement?

Picturing that moment, you decided that it was only fair. Those were five years of your life you would never get back, you were prepared to sign on for more but, yeah.

You were blindsided, that's the only way to describe it. All the while, you thought that you and Jeffrey were on the same page, at the same place in life. You were the golden couple, the couple that all the other couples wished they could be, when you two walked past, girlfriends would give their boyfriends a slap on the shoulder that meant, "Why can't we be more like them?"

It was so out of nowhere, one minute you were discussing wedding cake options over dinner, then suddenly you're putting the ring in his palm, completely in shock. 

After that, you threw yourself into your work despite the fact that you were already a budding workaholic to begin with. That's how you ended up earning six figures a year. 

Six figure salary, check. Doing pretty well in life all things considered, check.

But even with all that, there weren't any conversations over casseroles and cobblers about your many achievements. Nope, your mother and her friends would much rather discuss their worries that you would essentially, die alone.

Your little sister, Amy, getting married before you didn't exactly help to put a lid on all the chatter. And with Jeffrey being the best man? And you being maid of honour? 

It was a disaster waiting to happen.

Maybe you could make up an excuse believable enough to get you off the hook so you wouldn’t have to go?

Were you really thinking about bailing on your little sister’s wedding? If she wasn’t taking cues from your mother, it would be the only one she ever had.

Not one of your finest moments as a sibling.

With the complications of your situation fully realised, you took to reading the ads with a little more effort. Luckily, you didn’t have to look for long.

Nick, 6’, male, tall, good looking, strong build. You will not be disappointed.

The ad was considerably less flashy than the others but you supposed that’s what drew you to it in the first place. It was understated, simple, and his ad wasn’t entirely made up of overcompensating flexing pics.

Mostly because he didn’t need them.

Call off the search, send the boys home. You had a winner here!

Staring up at you from your phone screen was the most handsome man you have ever seen in your life. Literally.

A mane of thick, artfully disheveled curly hair, eyes that were a light shade of blue that had a sort of dark intensity and intelligence that you could spend days trying to understand, and a smile. Oh, that smile was absolutely suckerpunching. It was odd though, something in your head was telling you that this man did not smile often.

You couldn’t tell if the warmth blooming in your chest and creeping towards your cheeks was from all the wine or from examining this prime specimen. Jeez Louise!

“Phew!” you fanned yourself upon stumbling on a photo of him crossing his arms in a tank top. Good God, you hoped he had a license for those guns!

You had to set your phone down for a minute to think things through although it seemed absolutely nuts that you had to think twice at all. It’s just that after the initial excitement and hormones wore off, it was becoming more and more evident that this man was too good to be true.

Just look at him! Were there actually men that looked like that? And why didn’t they live closer to you? A quick sweep of his profile placed him in Minneapolis.

What were the crime rates like there? And did they have a high rate of murders relating to escort services?

Before you could even google anything related to that, you stopped yourself. If you kept at this rate, you would never get anything done! Finally, after a methodical deliberation (aka ogling the pictures on his ad), you saved Nick’s contact number to your phone.

Aaand that’s as far as you’d go for the night. You could call him tomorrow when you weren’t a floundering drunk. It was like your mother always said, “Always be sober for a business transaction, but anything else calls for a cocktail.”

-------------------------

The following morning, you sat at your little breakfast nook, eggs still piping hot and untouched, and a hangover in full effect. You’ve been staring at the phone number for so long, you could say it in your sleep.

Come on, Y/N, the wedding is five freaking days away.

What if this guy was fully booked? You didn’t want to spend five days surrounded by family with Mr. my-soft-voice-will-arouse-you, did you?

You slammed your finger down on the call icon and stuck the phone to your ear. Your heart beat faster and faster with every ring and your palms became so slick with sweat that you almost dropped your phone a couple of times. 

Maybe you should have taken your mother up on the multiple occasions that she wanted to set you up with someone. Alright, on second thought, you didn’t really want to be with someone who only looked good on paper but was actually an insufferable mama’s boy.

“Hello?” a male voice answered, catching you off-guard

Oh, God. Okay, you’re really doing this.

“Yes, hi! Hi. Uh, I’m looking for Nick!” you chirped, in a startled high pitched squeak you didn’t dare recognise as your own

The silence on the other end was starting to make you sweat behind the knees. It suddenly dawned on you that you didn’t mention any specifics.

“Uh, sorry! I got this number from the, uh, the ad. I’m looking for Nick?”

“Yes! Yes, that’s right, but Nick isn’t in right now. This is his manager.”

Was that a good sign? That a male escort had a manager? Did all male escorts have managers? You clearly didn’t know enough about this stuff.

“It’s a pleasure, Mister..?”

There was another beat of silence before the person on the other line answered, you tried your hardest not to overthink about what that could have meant.

“Foley! I’m Foley, Nick’s manager.” Mr. Foley’s voice returned to your ear, sounding much too bright for your liking. 

Christ, what were you, a cop? To be honest, you were exhausted. Despite all the alcohol in your system last night, you barely got any sleep. You spent the rest of the night reading through some reviews of Nick’s service as an escort.

He had a glittering five star rating.

One woman hired him to pose as her husband at a high school reunion and by the end of the night, she ended up proposing to him. He respectfully declined and even bought her dinner afterwards.

That review alone was enough to convince you that you would be in good hands. So, it was time to buckle down, swallow the nerves, and handle your business like the adult you were.

“Mr. Foley,” you shook your hair out and put on your professional voice. “I’d like to book your client for five days, give or take. I need a plus one for a wedding. Is he available to leave on the-”

“Please hold. I’ll check his schedule.”

“Oh. But I didn’t mention when I-”

“He’s available. Would you prefer to pick him up at JFK or will he meet you at your place of residence?”

“Oh. Uh, I guess I could pick him up. Do I pay for his ticket or..?” you were feeling a teensy bit of whiplash at how fast this was all going

There was some rustling on the other line and the muffled sounds of bickering. You tried not to let that concern you.

“We’ll handle that, Ms. Y/L/N. We have your number, we’ll be in touch for further details. Good bye.”

The line went dead and you were left staring at your phone in confusion. Did you tell him your name?

[shortpplfedup]

Anatomy of a Scene Conversational Ballet: A Pas De Deux, and a few thoughts on how body language betrays our boys every time

Once they start talking, Teh and Oh Aew always fall back into the easy intimacy of their childhood friendship in no time at all, even if some things have changed.

I Promised You the Moon, Episode 5: Turning Point Director: Meen Tossaphon Riantong Cinematographer: Koi Boonyanuch Kraithong Score: Vichaya Vatanasapt Cast: Billkin Putthipong Assaratanakul and PP Krit Amnuaydechkorn

For some reason, Tumblr won't let the video clip upload, maybe because it's so long, 17 mins 15 secs. So I'm using stills to represent the entire sequence from the moment they see each other, three scenes, like a three-act play. This conversation, this dance, takes up a full quarter of this episode's runtime, that's how significant it is to the story. I haven't transcribed the dialogue as I would usually do, because I think it's worth it to watch the scene without understanding what they're saying. I can't believe I, me, am saying this, but sometimes words get in the way of understanding.

I spoke in the last anatomy of a scene post about the tense, nervous physicality Billkin brings to Teh, and some of that remains here, but this version of Teh is a man who has spent the last year in front of cameras. He has learned, somewhat, to control his body. But around Oh Aew, you see vestiges of the restless eyes and fidgety hands return.

In comparison to Billkin's Teh, PP's Oh Aew has always been a quieter, subtler performance, where the eyes do most of the work. But Oh Aew has his own body language tells as well, and unlike Teh he has not become practised at suppressing them. He twiddles those long, slender fingers when he's nervous or contemplative, and he wrinkles his nose, squints his eyes and purses his lips when he's flustered. And Teh flusters him.

In the waiting area, their body language toward each other is polite, almost formal. They're in public, not alone, and nobody in this setting knows who they are to each other (although they might guess they are familiar since they didn't wai before conversing). They face each other head on, at a distance.

In the conference room, they are a bit more private and a bit more intimate toward each other. The table is surrounded by empty chairs but Teh sits right next to Oh Aew. His body is turned toward Oh Aew. When he leans in to sniff him it's almost polite, very un-Teh but something that personal by its very nature could never be polite. Conversely, Oh Aew's body language is more guarded. He keeps shoulders and knees facing forward. Even when he relaxes and the conversation becomes more comfortable and familiar, he still only turns his head towards Teh. When he accidentally brings up Jai, he turns back away for a moment, but Teh just lowers his eyes. He's ashamed, but he's not going to run from what he did. As the conversation moves past Jai, as Oh Aew starts to talk about the people in Teh's life, their life, his face lights up and his shoulders go down. And you watch Teh watch him, falling in love all over again. His hands are still, his eyes are still and he's just listening.

On the roof, where they're completely alone, their body language is the most relaxed. They lean back next to each other, at an intimate distance. They turn in to each other to talk. When Oh Aew asks about Airy though, and this is entirely subconsciously I think, he reverts to an old body language between them, leaning in close to talk about a secret. Once Teh starts to talk about what happened between him and Airy though, both of their body language changes. Teh pulls back, defensively, when Oh Aew starts scolding him. When Oh Aew realises that he is overidentifying with Airy and it's obvious, he tries to reassume his relaxed posture, but his shoulders are up in a way they weren't before. His guard is back up. And the conversation peters out, and then dies. As Oh Aew says goodbye and walks away, Teh turns his entire body to watch him go.

Other than the details of the dialogue, which is very well written and feels like them, the other element that really sells this sequence is the use of score. There is an acoustic guitar phrase as a runner tying the sequence, these three scenes together. I think it's an arrangement of Safe Zone, but they haven't released any score yet for confirmation. When they first see each other, the moment is revelatory even if bittersweet, and the particular piece of score used thematically underscores that. It was also used in a revelatory way during the sex scene in episode 3, though in a more triumphal mood there. When Teh spots Oh Aew in the conference room, an acoustic guitar version of Safe Zone starts up. When Oh Aew waxes nostalgic about the people in Teh's life, we get this souful, nostalgic piano. When they start to talk about Airy, there's this melancholy string/piano duet that I know has played before but I can't put my finger on where else in the story it appears. And Safe Zone on electric piano and strings comes back for Teh's apology and their goodbye.

All in all, the sequence is a real highlight of the episode, and I think worth the time it's given to just breathe.

[anjuschiffer]

[Mutuals]

Some more self-indulgent writing! Mainly because of a post @zestyzealot reblogged a while back and inspired this piece. 

(This is the post I’m referring to!)

Enjoy!

-----

P.Tag: @theatreandcomicfreak @damianette-is-life @toodaloo-kangaroo @elijahcrevan

Tag: @polyvirnl

-----

Context: There’s no miraculouses. None. Nada. But the Bats still exist. Marinette uses her time to expand her brand MDC

-----

AO3

-----

Marinette huffed as she placed the last crystal bead onto the hem of the black skirt in her hands. 

Bringing it to eye level, a wide smile graced her lips, a smile breaking as Marinette giggled to herself as she watched her vision become reality.

Finally! After four long and exhausting days, it was done. When she started on Monday night, Marinette wondered if this project would get in the way of her weekly sleepover with Alya. Thank God it didn’t.

Placing the skirt on her bed, Marinette smiled as she took a picture of her latest piece for her new collection: 12 o’ clock.

That’s when the hatch on her floor opened up with a creak, Marinette watching as her father poked his head into her room. Why was he here?

“Marinette, there’s someone here looking for you.” He said, giving a side glance down below. “Please tell me he’s just a school friend and not another boy you asked to model for you.”

“Dad, I already told you, Luka is Juleka’s older brother, he- wait, he? It’s not Alya?” Marinette asked, wondering where her best friend was at. 

Yes, Alya gave her a heads up that she was running late for their sleepover, but she wasn’t downstairs yet? And her father had said ‘he’ instead of a guy friend’s name, so… who exactly was waiting for her downstairs? 

Because despite only saying the name once, her father tended to commit to memory the names of all of her male friends. “What does he look like?” 

“Well, he’s a bit on the short side,” Tom started, “has green eyes, tanned, wearing a turtleneck with some of those suit pants-”

“Slacks.” Marinette helped.

“Those,” Tom corrected himself, “and he has a dog with him.” Tom ended, watching as Marinette mumbled to herself.

Marinette didn’t know anyone with a dog, nonetheless with that type of fashion, causing Marinette to start pacing around her room, racking up some idea as to who it was that was in the living room. “He called the dog Titus, if memory serves me correctly. Or if I heard correctly for that matter.”

That caused Mari to stop in her tracks.

A turtleneck with slacks, a Great Dane named Titus, tanned skin...emerald eyes.

“No. Way.” Marinette quickly motioned her father to go down the ladder, quickly following him into the living room, her eyes widening upon seeing her theory be true.

There, standing inside the Dupain-Cheng living room was Damian Wayne with his dog, Titus.

“Took you long enough.” Damian said, adjusting the duffel bag on his shoulder. Titus wagged his tail as he saw his boy open the bag and give him his toy. 

Just then, the door swung open, Alya panting as she dropped to the floor as soon as she walked in.

“Girl, you wouldn’t believe who I just saw! There, as soon as I turned the corner of where I lived, I saw the Damian Wayne with his dog, and- why is he in your living room?” 

“Seeing as you finally caught up,” Damian said, walking over to Alya, handing her a heavy plastic bag. “Take care of Titus while we’re out.”

“We?” “We?” “We?!”  Alya, Tom and Marinette spoke at the same time, although Marinette’s came out as a squeak.

“Did you forget what you told me?” Damian waved his phone that was in his hand. Marinette watched as he showed her a tweet...her tweet in particular, Marinette now going into a state of panic. “You invited me to egg-” Marinette screamed, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment as she lowered his phone and dragged him out the apartment, leaving behind a confused Tom and a giddy Alya. 

———

“You actually read that?” Marinette asked once more, covering her cheeks as they walked towards the park square. 

“I did.” Damian hummed as he adjusted the egg cartoons under his arm, a dangerous twinkle in his emerald eyes. 

Marinette let out a silent screech, confusing Damian. “Did you think I wouldn’t read it?” When he saw her nod, he sighed. “I read every comment left under any post I write. Sure, I don’t respond to any of them, but your comment… seemed… interesting.”

Marinette wanted to disappear into a black hole. Damian actually read that stupid comment she had left under his post. 

It was a post from earlier that week - a picture Damian had uploaded from the recent animal shelter he was volunteering at (as well as funding). 

Another post about an animal up for adoption, this time, a hamster named Louis. 

Marinette was scrolling through the comments under the post after retweeting it, when a particular one caught her attention.

-

<3 ACNH is Life <3 @eliza_beth 

Replying to @Real_BloodSon I have a pet chicken and just wanted to ask if the candle method is a good method to check for egg development.  If so, then are they safe to eat? If not, what’s a better method?

-

Everyone knew Damian loved to offer help when it came to animals -as it was no secret- but something stupid inside of Marinette thought she should do the only logical thing in her mind.

She commented on it.

-

Deadlines Are Approaching @a_mari_not_bug

Replying to @eliza_beth and @Real_BloodSon If it turns out that it is a good method, can I have some eggs? I’ve been wanting to egg someone's house as of late. @Real_BloodSon care to join?

-

Marinette didn’t think he would actually read it, let alone actually come. Wait…

Damian lives in the US, not France, unlike her. 

So how did he know where she lived, let alone reside?

“How did you know where I live?” Marinette asked, realizing they were finally at the park, right across from the targeted house, not even realizing that she had brought him over to the house in question.

Damian blinked, setting the cartons down onto the bench.

“Tsurugi told me.”

“You know Tsurugi. As in Kagami Tsurugi?” Marinette asked, wondering where he had met her friend. 

Damian nodded.

“We met during the semifinals for the international fencing competition.” 

Oh. So that’s how they knew each other. 

Damian let a smirk grace his lips. “Obviously, I won.” 

Marinette simply looked at him in awe, causing Damian’s ego to soar more. Of course, that didn’t overcome the other feeling he had inside his chest.

After all, there was no way he was going to tell her that he has been following her account for quite a while. 

So using the amounts of aesthetic pictures, selfies, bakery promos and mini photo shoots, it didn’t take long for Damian to pinpoint where she lived. 

That’s not following Damian. It’s called stalking. 

Okay Drake, but in his defense:

1- it was his side account that he uses for his own personal interests.

Damian didn’t exactly like having thousands of people following him because he was a Wayne. He wanted to be followed for being Damian. 

2- he had been following her for quite a while.

Two solid years to be exact. 

After exchanging social media accounts with Kagami, Marinette was one of the few people Twitter recommended to follow.

Marinette peaked his curiosity when Kagami mentioned Marinette being the person behind her “lucky” fencing bag. (Although, she didn’t want to admit that she used it as a luck charm.) It was an all black duffel bag, enchanting golden embroidery that collected to a single dragon. 

Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Kagami had provided. A girl in her grade from her school in France, who designed the most intricate designs Damian had seen. (Yes, he has seen all of her sketches and final products of the things she had designed…yes it did involve scrolling through her photos and accidentally liking all of them as he went…)

3- it was too late to press that “follow” button when he already kinda didn’t do it as soon as she followed his own account. 

When he finally noticed that she did already follow him, he didn’t know what to do. Should he follow her back? 

“Not yet.” Dick had told him. But just how long did he have to wait? He was stupid for listening to Dick’s advice and he definitely wasn’t going to follow her back now. Or should he?

“So,” Marinette started again, looking around the area, scanning to see that no one saw them. “Have you ever done this before?”

“As in egging a house?” Damian watched as Marinette nodded, wondering if this was her first time doing this. “No, but it shouldn’t be any different than throwing snowballs.” Damian compared, remembering last year’s winter. 

Jon had managed to convince the Wayne’s and the Kent’s to do a snowball fight. 

The Wayne’s obviously won. 

“Guess you have a point.” Marinette replied, attempting to vision Damian’s analogy. She picked up an egg and looked at it and then at the window of the person who had been causing her turmoil these past few days. “Are you… are you sure you want to go with this?”

“Aren’t you?” Damian asked, awaiting Marinette’s signal. He had perfectly balanced a dozen eggs into the nook of his arm, one being juggled in his other hand. 

He was ready and from the twinkle in his eyes, eager to throw. 

Marinette found herself smiling, letting out a laugh as she grabbed a few eggs herself and balanced them in her hand. 

“Between you and I, I've been dreaming of doing this for the longest.” Marinette said with the biggest grin Damian had seen her with that night. “Ready?”

“Always.” Damian replied, mirroring her grin as the two looked at the target, Marinette throwing the first attack.

-

Bonus: 

Marinette hummed as she doodled in her sketchbook, her mind wandering to last night’s events. 

She hadn’t known how much stress she had built up thanks to Lila and her constant need to be the attention of everything. 

The messes Marinette had to clean up due to Lila causing disorder during class and after class, all because of Lila and her gazillion and one ‘medical’ problems.

Marinette didn’t realize how emerged she was towards throwing eggs -with great accuracy- towards Lila’s bedroom window until she threw her last egg.

She remembered how satisfying it was to have thrown all of those eggs at the window, that glee when Damian smiled at her. 

How happy she was when Damian complimented her for her graceful and precise throws despite the low lightning of the park lights. 

Marinette placed her pencil down as she finished adding some last minute touches to the coat she had finished designing when Alya slammed her hands in front of her. Marinette quickly looked up at her friend, tilting her head when she was met with twinkling eyes.

“Did you hear what happened to Lila last night?” Alya whispered, causing Marinette to quickly tense. 

“N-no? What happened?” Marinette asked, closing her sketchbook. 

“Her house got egged. Well, her bedroom window did.” Alya corrected herself, watching as Marinette let out a gasp.

“No way! Poor Lila.” Marinette looked over to Lila, watching as she was surrounded by their classmates to gather to listen to her woeful story. “Who would ever do such a thing?”

“Beats me.” Alya said, looking at Marinette, a faint smile on her lips. “You and Damian wouldn’t happen to have been involved-”

“Us?” Marinette instigated, causing Alya to lean forward. “You think Damian and I would do something that stupid and not think of the consequences that awaited us? No way.” Marinette denied, causing Alya to sigh.

“Should’ve known you wouldn’t be up to it. Only you would step down after overthinking about the consequences.” Alya said as she patted her head before taking a few steps from Marinette. “Not like anyone would know who it was since the security cameras of the area seemed to have gone off at that time, strangely enough. Maybe if I hear what Lila has to say about the event, I’ll get some hints as to who it was.”

With that, Alya left to go and listen to Lila, leaving Marinette by herself.

Finally alone, Marinette let out a sigh, feeling her back relax. She felt as a smile rose to her face. 

Giddily, she took out her phone to send Damian a text when a Twitter notification caught her attention. 

She quickly checked it, her smile growing even more. She went back to sending Damian a text.

You bugged the cameras last night?

Damian: A necessary precaution. 

Marinette giggled at his response.

Also, I saw you started following me. Now we’re mutuals! 

Damian liked your message.

Damian: It was only a matter of time, seeing as we egged your enemy’s home.

More like someone I dislike.

Damian: Same thing. 

Damian: Query. Would you like to join Titus and I for a walk at the park? 

Sure! Class ends at 3. Meet you then?

Damian: Titus and I would await you then.

Marinette grinned as she placed her phone away as the school bell rang, signaling the beginning of class. 

She couldn’t wait to spend time with her newfound friend! Who knows what mischief awaited the two!

[epidaleacalamita]

well after pursuer appeared insurmountable i tried my luck elsewhere. old dragonslayer had similarly high physical defense, but i could easily run past everything between bonfire and fog gate so i took the guy down in like two tries. hooray leo ring

dragonrider despite being another big armor guy actually didn’t have as much defense and took like 60 damage from heavy attacks. also i actually failed to trick him into the classic fall joke and had to actually fight him in the tiny arena. still got it first try because he’s the quintessential slow chump dark souls 2 boss who gets blown up by the tactic of strafe to your right

no man’s wharf was a pain in the ass because the stupid pirate guys can blow me up with a flurry of attacks but flexile sentry was easy enough even with the fight taking so long that the water went all the way up to waist level. it helps that this guy was scaly instead of armored so the dagger actually hurt it. first try

then i went back to licia and into huntsman’s copse to go after the skeleton lords. skeletons understandably take next to no damage from thrusting attacks, but the light slash attacks did serviceable damage. first try. Get Lost Cracker Bones

jabba the hutt blown up easy. was great to finally have a fleshy unarmored boss that took like 170 damage from my r2s. great confidence booster. he doesn’t even get an image upload

mytha is a little dicey as usual with her quick windups and that one move where she spins around twice. but she was another fleshy unarmored boss who actually takes damage from the dagger. first try and after a quick expedition into the bastille i now have the awesome poison knife (still not at 20 dex so i can’t actually use it yet)

walking into iron keep feels like coming home. that sounds corny as hell but this place sucks so bad it’s the iconic Place That Sucks of dark souls 2 scholar of the first sin. this awful place is like a brother to me my heart felt a little lighter after taking the elevator up from the top of the windmill and walking out into the sea of lava. i love this place. managed to first try both dennis and sharron because even if they took barely any damage from my attacks they still got chunked by backstabs. and tomorrow... i begin my attempts to get through iron keep on the dagger only run. ready to get unbelievably mad at this area again like i did in last year’s playthrough

[staywritten]

A Love That Last│Bang Chan

A Love That Lasts │ Chapter Ⅰ

Synopsis: You’ve spent the last two years, helping your very handsome next door neighbor raise his adorable daughter. The two of you fell into a routine before you knew it. And now you had this little family. You couldn’t help but fall for him. 

Genre: Parent!Au, Dad!Bang Chan, Fluff, Nonidol!Au, smut in a later chapter

Word Count: 1k

You were coming off of a twenty-four-hour shift at the hospital, and nothing made you happier than finally being able to sleep in your bed. You stopped by your favorite restaurant before heading home, making sure to grab a large bowl of kimchi soup, fried chicken, and a case of beer. After back to back surgeries, and deal with co-running the ER with your irritating co-worker you needed a nice break.

Balancing all of the food in your hands, you climbed the stairs and walked by your neighbor’s doors. “I got dinner~” you chimed, kicking it lightly, before opening your own door, next do it. You set the food down on the table, and your backpack by the door. Before you could even stretch your bones you felt a rush at your legs as your neighbor’s adorable daughter ran in behind you, hugging you tight.

“You’re home!!” she cheered, with the brightest smile. “I missed you!”

“I missed you too Dollface” you kneeled down, pulling her in a warm hug. “You give the best hugs” you cooed.

“I’m so glad you’re home, I was afraid I was gonna have to eat what Daddy cooked” she groaned, exaggeratedly sticking her tongue out.

Chan scoffed, leaning on your doorway. “Hey! I’ll have you know my dinner would have been delicious”

“Sure Daddy” she teased before whispering at you “It was burnt”

You snorted, trying your best to hide your laughter. Seeing the offense on Chan’s face you covered your mouth. “I-I’m sorry” you giggled “But I smelled it when I walked past your door.” 

“Well if you two are quite done roasting me, I’d like to have dinner” Chan clapped his hands.

You smoothed down Minseo’s curly hair. “I’m gonna change out of my scrubs, I’ll be right back” You walked into your bedroom, washing your face and staring into your mirror trying to collect yourself from just how handsome Chan looked. It really wasn’t fair for him to look that attractive at this time of night. He honestly had to do the bare minimum to get you going. His messy hair, sweatpants low on his lips, that stupidly attractive dimpled smile. You groaned splashing your face again.

Two years ago when Chan moved into the vacant apartment next door with his three-year-old daughter you thought it was a silver lining in your love life. He was breathtakingly handsome, with the cutest dimples, and the shyest smile. He was single and just trying to navigate parenthood with his daughter. Chan worked hard to give her the world, but he was in way over his head. And there was something about watching him and his friends try to raise her that made you help out.

One favor turned into another, and before you knew it, a companionship was formed. You grew to love Minseo like she was your own. And there was something about pursuing Chan romantically that just felt wrong. You two were friends, and if it didn’t work out romantically then it could make the friendship awkward. It would make it weird for Minseo. She had become accustomed to your routine, and kids were sensitive to a routine so why ruin it? At least that’s what you kept telling yourself.

The attraction just remained unspoken.

There was always something there, but neither of you were willing to take the jump and risk it. And you would rather be something in Chan’s life, then risk losing it and being no one in his life.

So for now, this was enough.

You walked out of your bedroom, smiling at your makeshift family. It wasn’t yours to keep, but for now, you could at least enjoy borrowing it.

Minseo beamed up at you, a chicken leg in one hand and kimchi sauce on her cheek. “Our pajamas match!” she gestured toward the red plaid matching top and bottoms that she wore.

Seeing that beautiful smile you knew that you never wanted to do anything that risked losing it. You giggled smooshing her cheeks playfully. “We do match~”

“Daddy got you those for Christmas!” she chimed.

“He did!” you laughed. “Too bad he never wears his~” You sat down next to her, cleaning her face with a napkin and looking at Chan “How was work?”

“Long” he chuckled leaning on his hand, watching you two. A smile never leaving his face. He always loved seeing how bright his daughter got when she was with you, and how that brightness was always mirrored. It was so genuine and warm. “My new client really likes the album so far, we should be able to wrap it up soon”

“Are you remembering to sleep?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, letting out that shy giggle. “Ah, you know me I get restless when I have things to do”

You frowned. “You need sleep” you scolded him before winking “Don’t make me confiscate your to-do list, and tuck you in myself.” His ears began to warm as he looked away shyly. His daughter chiming about how he’s in trouble. “I’m serious Chris, Doctor’s orders”

“I’ll be more mindful, I promise” he smiled bashfully.

After dinner the three of you settle down with a kids movie on Netflix, Chan falling asleep within the first twenty minutes, and Minseo getting so close to seeing the end but she just couldn’t ride out the last ten minutes. You smiled to yourself, gently running your hands through her hair. “What am I gonna do with you two?” Chan’s head resting against your shoulder as he took in gentle breaths, Minseo bundled between the two of you, her little arms wrapped around your arm and the plush blanket.

The credits for the movie ran all the way though and you’d been staring at the Netflix main menu for almost twenty minutes. You tried to bring yourself to attempt to get up. But it was just so warm. Both of them were tangled against you and and the blanket. You looked down at him Chan’s face smooshed against your shoulder, you being close enough to see the tiniest dusting of freckles against his nose or how his cheek dimpled as he moved his mouth. Minseo’s tiny face mirroring his features with those same little freckles, dimple, and pouty lips.

But you couldn’t keep them here forever.

“Hey...wake up sleepy head” you cooed at Chan, your fingers gently grazing his scalp.

He sighed happily “Mmm that feels so good please don’t stop” He watched you sleepily, a lazy smile on his lips. “Did I fall asleep?”

Did he really have to look at you like that? His expression was so open, candid, it disarmed you, and captivated you. There was just something about that little smile, that mischievous twinkle in his eye. Did he really not realize how it made your stomach do this little flip? “You were out like a light” you giggled, continuing to scratch his scalp; Loving how his smile grew.

“In my defense I feel like you put on the most boring movie”

“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. All I’m seeing is that you took a two hour nap” you grinned watching him stand up. You gently moved Minseo from your arms into his. He propped her up against his hip as she buried her tired face in his chest.

“Hmmm why do I have a feeling you did that on purpose?” he smirked

“Now, Chris. I’m not a magician” you quirked your brow. “But I am armed with hundreds of movies on Netflix Kids and I will use them on you if I have to” you winked at him.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time” he chuckled, walking toward the door.

It wasn’t that Chan hated sleeping, he was just restless. Growing up he was always struck with inspiration in the middle of the night, and as a young parent, he couldn’t exactly rest knowing his daughter may wake up in the middle of the night and need him. There just wasn’t times that he felt comfortable to sleep. He survived on napping well enough but you were one of the few people that completely disarmed him. That he could relax enough long enough to sleep.

You walked him the eight feet it took to get to his door, whispering a good night to Minseo before kissing her hair. You pouted cupping her little cheeks, one last time. “She’s so cute” you smiled smoothing down her dark hair. “And you” you peaked up at Chan with a pout “Please get some more sleep tonight, preferably another six hours” you looked at him, with pleading eyes.

“I’ll give it a shot” he opened his door, ready to walk in but stopped to look at you again. “What are you doing tomorrow?”

“Just some chores in the morning but then I’m free, what’s up?”

“I was just wondering if you wanted to come to the park with us” he smiled. “Minseo said she missed you”

“Only Minseo?” you raised a brow.

“And... Me too...” he gave you a bashful look, doing that nervous little giggle of his.

“I’d love to go” you grinned. “Goodnight Chris, see you tomorrow”

“Goodnight” he closed the door between you and sighed against the door. 

Yeah, he had a crush on you. And he wasn’t going to deny it. Waking up to your beautiful face watching him, his daughter in both your arms. It was like a dream come true. But the fact that he thought you were way out of his league and you two had a delicate friendship. He just didn’t have the courage to chance ruining your relationship.

This was good enough… Wasn’t it?

To be continued...

Chapter II

Hey Friends! ヾ(＾∇＾)

I couldn’t help myself D: I have such a kink for parent AU’s and boy I’d be lying if I said Dad!Chan didn’t get me going. I'm also planning on making this a 5 part story I’m aiming to upload daily.

And ever since Chan pointed out his freckles on the v-live I can’t stop mentioning it

If you guys like it please let me know! :3 your words always encourage me also if you’d liked to be tagged in future parts let me know <3

[3laxx]

Bonebreaker

Having at least some extra endurance and strength proved to be quite useful and it was fun, too. With the classmates in her old school, it had been fun at least. Here in Glandus, it was a massacre. --- At one of the infamous Bonebreaker duels Hexside vs Glandus, Luz makes a risky decision that she may not even regret.

This is honestly just a self-indulgent impulse Oneshot again xD I watched a YouTube video of some soccer injuries (YT recommendations amirite) it somehow didn't let me rest anymore. That produced this Oneshot that I've been contemplating uploading for quite some time, especially because of where I took the inspiration. So yeah, have this I guess? Oh yeah and I have no idea of all the medical stuff so don't ask me plis this is fictional

Ao3 / FF.net

---

Glandus and Hexside had always been rivals. That’s how it has been, that’s how it would be years from now.

And not just rivals in any sporting event that Bonesborough held, no, their schools were rivals everywhere they went. Dedicated bus lines were running through the same neighborhoods for Glandus and for Hexside students.

Even the teachers weren’t spared from the rivalry. They claimed they knew the best, that the other school didn’t teach their subject right, and that all their students were better than those that went to the other campus.

Luz hadn’t really gotten any of that.

Just because she went to Glandus because it was closer to her home, she didn’t get hating on Hexside all the time. Sure, she understood what the school spirit meant to most and she was picking a side whenever there were matches of competitions and cheering for her own school, but she didn’t get the threats and the separation Bonesborough had to suffer through that. It went as far that parents started moving neighborhoods, just to be in the area of their kids’ school. Not because Bonesborough was big, but because no Glandus parent wanted a Hexside neighbor.

Sometimes it even went as far that some people quit their job because their colleagues went to the opposing school in the past. Her Mama had told her of that.

Luz had never been one to hate Hexside. Actually, she quite liked their campus – that’s what she could tell from looking from afar, at least, because she hadn’t even been allowed closer than that – and she had met some Hexside kids in the mall once.

They hadn’t exactly been side picking either and they had spent a nice day together, even if their contact had stopped there because of their opposing schools.

Willow and Gus had probably righteously feared bullying, upon being seen with a Glandus student.

Even if Luz had never been much of a Glandus student herself.

She had moved here when she had been thirteen and spent one year in this new city by now because her mother had gotten a better job here than where they had been before. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy being here, it was just that the whole hatred going on had gotten on her nerves. In Glandus she had never really been accepted because she had been new and the kids here didn’t want her included in any activity because she was no “true Glandus student”, but the label still kept her from making friends.

By now Luz had just accepted that she had to finish school in Glandus and be done with the whole class society in Bonesborough. Maybe someday, her mother and her could leave again, leave this whole stupid town behind and not worry about school up into her adult life.

Well, to somehow make the Glandus kids accept her, Luz had joined the soccer team. If she was fighting for their school, at least they’d know she was no threat?

She hated that she had to actively prove to be a part of their school. In her old school, it hadn’t mattered in the slightest if someone was cheering for the school or not. People had just gone there because they had to, because they wanted to study and learn or because they were actively part of a team and wanted to play sports. Here, it was a whole different thing.

If you didn’t go to all games, you were immediately flagged as a traitor, and if you even remotely showed any sympathy towards the other school, you were automatically bullied.

Oh well.

In her old school, she had been on the soccer team as well, and while never being a major player, she had been relatively good at chasing the ball off of the opposing striker and send it back to the other team’s side again.

It had just been school soccer as well, so nobody had expected her to play like a professional, and that’s where she had belonged. In the comfortable mediocrity and at least being active three times a week during practice. Her Mama had told her that was important for her health if she decided to spend the rest of her free time reading and gaming.

Luz supposed that was right.

Having at least some extra endurance and strength proved to be quite useful and it was fun, too.

With the classmates in her old school, it had been fun at least.

Here in Glandus, it was a massacre.

They had let her play once, in a practice match, and she had immediately known that this was no joke. The Glandus students, desperate to be better than the opposing team of Hexside, were playing in a whole different league.

Not even during the practice match, where some of the players had been forced to wear similar jerseys as the Hexside team wore, they had spared their own teammates. Luz had wandered to the bench almost immediately, as per the order of her coach, and had only been allowed to participate in practice from then on.

Of course, she had also been there as Glandus had played a match against Hexside for her first time. The game had been brutal.

Some students had jokingly referred to it as a Bonebreaker, which is what they called the matches whenever Glandus and Hexside ran up against each other. And Luz had been dumbfounded to find that, in fact, no less than three students had been carried off the field with broken bones.

After that, she had voluntarily stayed on the bench, be grateful for the extra sports activity in her weeks, and otherwise kept her mouth tightly shut whenever the coach would announce their next run-up team and their active bench players. She was so glad to be a passive one.

That was until the new season started and she had to watch the Hexside versus Glandus matches again. She didn’t like being at these matches. They usually ended in heartbreak and a lot of people crying while the team and the fans of the winning school gloated and shoved it in everyone’s face.

Especially once it was clear that one school was starting to fall behind in the season.

Which was the case with Glandus this year.

Falling behind usually meant losing, and losing meant berserk mode.

Luz had never seen anyone play as aggressively as her team once more and more points went to Hexside for scoring in several matches.

Glandus had already switched out their goalkeeper and Luz hadn’t heard from them in a while. She supposed they had been excused from school for extreme bullying and having Hexside score so many goals. They also had switched out their team captain in between games, to a much more aggressive character, a striker, who screamed at their team and urged them to attack as much as they could.

Meanwhile, Luz had worked to slip lower and lower on the passive bench. She absolutely wanted no part in this.

Especially since, if Glandus was playing more aggressively, Hexside was, too.

Usually, towards the end of a season, their schools’ hatred grew to unfathomable extents and their matches went so brutal not even the referees cared to whistle at every foul play.

Right now, Luz was watching a match happening again, and she honestly just wanted to hide her eyes and ears from the brutality on the field and the roaring audience behind her.

Her Mama had stopped coming to her games because she couldn’t watch as well, and Luz would’ve loved to stay home with her, but sadly, she had mandatory first-row seats to the massacre that was this match.

Another foul play sent a Glandus student to be carried out by paramedics and their coach switched in their next to last active bench player.

Luz was safe for the moment.

She was the second passive bench player because the coach hadn’t been able to deny her skill in defense techniques, but for now, they were sending in more strikers to give Hexside the final nail in the coffin in their tied match.

And the last minutes were running already. They were approaching the ninety-minute mark and in ten minutes, everything would be over and Luz could finally go home again.

Her gaze went over the field, following the ball and doing her best to drone out the hateful comments her coach made about the Hexside team. The team captain of the Hexside team took the ball and ran up to their goal and while Luz didn’t really want them to score a goal, because she was afraid her team would straight-up murder them, she also hoped they’d make it.

The Hexside team captain was a girl around Luz’s age, with dyed green hair that she kept tied back in a half ponytail. She was really good at this.

Like, stupid good.

Luz imagined she must’ve spent hours over hours perfecting her technique and perfecting her dribbling, her ball control, and her reflexes.

The captain that went by the name Blight dribbled her way up to the front and double passed the ball to a colleague of hers, then she shot and Luz almost held her breath. But the Glandus goalkeeper threw his entire body against the shot, no matter the consequences, not to let it pass.

Frustratedly, the Blight captain gave her teammate a high five and jogged back across the field to get back into her position as the left side striker, rubbing over her face. When she got closer, Luz saw that her golden eyes were furious.

Apparently, she was a true and furious Hexside student and must’ve dreamt of scoring the goal to relieve her team and her audience.

Honestly, Luz was impressed with her technique. She wouldn’t have minded this Blight girl scoring in the least, because if she did, she’d deserve it.

Didn’t she already score the first goal for Hexside?

Luz couldn’t remember.

Her teammates began sprinting after the ball again and Luz squinted her eyes at the captain. She seemed like she was in total control of the game and that the ball only obeyed her. How did she do that?

Almost, Luz considered asking her for a few lessons, but then she remembered that she was wearing the wrong jersey for that.

A girl with pink hair chased the ball off of their defense again and ran for the goal, but was quickly stopped by a foul, and Luz groaned. Her team just wouldn’t stop kicking after their enemies’ ankles and trying to get them out of a good run. In her opinion, the match had to be flowing, not constantly interrupted.

Luckily, her fellow teammates on the bench considered her groan as a reaction to Hexside getting a free-kick. She would’ve been in serious trouble if they had any doubts about her loyalty.

Once again, the match restarted when Hexside lost the ball to a Glandus midfield player who jumped in and secured the possession, before running back up front and passing the ball to a striker who was in position. They were intercepted by a few Hexside defenses but managed to run up to their opposing goalkeeper and try to shoot a goal, yet the Hexside keeper was really good. Her practiced hands caught the ball right out of the air and she immediately threw it to a teammate to try and get the ball away from their goal.

Luz leaned back, her eyes scanning the field to spot the green-haired captain running with the number 12, observing her closely.

She didn’t belong in a school team. Luz was sure that this Blight girl could go much higher if she wanted to, but her coach probably wouldn’t let her join another team to get back at Glandus for winning last season. Or maybe she chose to stay here and shared the hatred of the schools against one another.

Either way, Luz wouldn’t deny her abilities. And if she chose to stay in her school’s team, she was free to.

The Blight passed the ball to the pink striker with the 3, then she ran up front, gracefully maneuvering around a Glandus midfield player, before taking back the ball from number 3 and trying the other side instead, passing the ball to a defense teammate that ran up with her.

Just when she was about to shoot, a suit blocked Luz’s view. She looked up to see the furious expression of her coach glaring down at her, then she gulped.

“Noceda, get up and warm yourself up. You’re up next.”

Grimacing, she looked up the active bench, where no defense players were left. Huffing, she quickly got up not to play the risk of angering him more, then she started jogging alongside the sidelines.

Oh boy, she sure was glad her mother wasn’t around to witness her getting sent on the field. She would probably die worrying for her.

And honestly, Luz was not up to playing against Hexside. The longer the tie remained, the more brutal the match became and usually, the worst injuries happened in the last few minutes when the players tried everything to get the ball where they wanted it.

She jogged around the field, doing a few exercises to get her muscles warmed up and her ligaments properly stretched before the coach already whistled in a completely run-down midfielder and lined her up for next.

Luz hopped a bit in place, puffing her cheeks in an attempt to calm herself down, then she looked around. The entire passive bench seemed glad that she was up and not them, while the active field players looked down on her once they realized she was gonna be in.

She wasn’t the worst but she knew, if the Hexside captain would choose her for a duel, she was done for. Jumping in place, she held her hand out to be switched in but the player coming in barely touched her fingers, shooting her a glare. Their intentions were clear.

If she was to lose this match for Glandus, she would be in hell.

Luz gulped and jogged on the field, then she searched her place on the left side defense, grimacing. She would absolutely have to face the Blight girl, after all, she played left-side striker. This was not going to be good. Despite being light and flexible, and able to squeeze through tight spots, Luz was nowhere near outplaying a captain like her in tactics or technique. She was just a damn good soccer player.

Keeping the ball in her vision and moving along with the instructions from her Glandus goalkeeper, she did her best not to die from the nerves. Here, on the field, the cheers and boo yells seemed that much louder, that much more intimidating. Luz moved along with her teammates when they approached the goal and passed the ball a few times with her defense mates, then she dared a shot towards the middle, a high cross into the penalty area, where her team captain was smart enough to accept with their chest and guide to the front lines. The shot to the goal was defended by the Blight she had seen earlier and shot into the sidelines, making Luz groan. They almost had it.

Her defense teammate gave her a clap on the shoulder, a gesture that could’ve been a compliment but Luz knew better. She had proved her worth – for now.

Gulping, she ran herself free again and accepted a pass from a midfielder, then she tried once again over the left flank, but this time, she ran into the Blight team captain. Her golden eyes looked that much more intimidating up close and after a short duel, Blight stormed past her.

With the ball.

For a short moment, Luz looked down to her feet where the ball had been before, dumbfounded, then she chased after the captain. Thanks to not having to control the ball, she was just a little faster and chased it off her feet in the last moment before she could make a preparing shot into the box just before the Glandus goal. The audience cheered when Luz passed the ball back to her striker, but soon, she felt a shoulder hitting hers and Blight sneered when she caught her gaze.

Apparently, she was not happy that a passive bench substitute had taken her ball and eventually foiled another attempt at the goal. Luz furrowed her eyebrows but kept quiet about it when the Hexside captain began sprinting upfront to her own goal again.

Luz was just happy she hadn’t made a complete fool of herself.

The last five minutes came around and another two Hexside players had been fouled, one even having to leave the field because of his injuries.

The game picked up now. They knew they would have at least 5 minutes additional time due to all the fouls and interruptions the match had to suffer, so it was actually going to be another 10 minutes.

Luz did her best not to let the Hexside players pass through her defense and while she did okay on the most part, their strikers were more technically skilled and were working together better than Luz did with her teammates.

They didn’t trust her that much, and while she did try her best, she only had the ball whenever she was defending the goal. Her teammates never passed to her and Blight and the pink one quickly picked up on that. The attacks shifted to her side of the field and Luz had to do a lot more suddenly, trying to have a foot in Blights dribbling or foiling her passes to the main striker.

Glandus had another failed attempt at the Hexside goal and Luz had wisely stayed behind, because suddenly, Blight started sprinting towards her like mad.

Luz suddenly realized what happened. The pink-haired striker sent a long shot up front and Blight accepted it with ease, running towards her full sprint. Luz knew, behind her, there was only their goalkeeper. She had to do her job.

Searching for an opening in Blight’s sprint, she closed the direct shot to the goal. Blight hinted to the left but Luz sprinted right and as she expected, the striker’s foot pushed the ball right into her feet.

Turning, Luz ran to the sidelines, attempting to shoot back upfront but number 12 was faster. She pulled on her jersey and she considered taking the foul but decided against it, not deeming it enough to get a whistle, so she changed directions to the back of the field and towards the Glandus goal to shoot back to the goalkeeper, but Blight had her feet in her sprint.

When Luz went to the ground yelling in pain because the opposing team captain’s spikes had dug right into her heels, she felt the girl behind her stumbling as well and falling on top of her.

That hindered any attempt of getting up and kicking the ball out of a corner shot. Luz looked up to see the ball rolling over the backline. This was a corner for Hexside.

Huffing, she suddenly felt the anger surging through her and grabbed behind her to shove the Hexside girl’s shoulder while she was still lying across her back, causing her to kneel back and let Luz get back up as well.

“You did that on purpose!”, she accused the captain over the roaring audience of Hexside cheering for their corner, and the accusing screams from Glandus that Luz had been fouled.

The Blight just shrugged and glared at her.

“I didn’t choose to fall over Glandus scum, your dirty feet caused this.”, she shot back and Luz got back to her feet, rubbing her ankle. So, turned out the Blight did share the school’s hatred for Glandus.

Growling, Luz retreated back to her goal without getting a whistle from the referee who had been too far away – and didn’t consider anything below broken bones a foul anyway – to get ready for the corner.

The team captain of Hexside followed her and Luz turned around to shoot another glare at her, but the green-haired girl didn’t even acknowledge her anymore. She was focusing on the corner shot her fellow striker, the pink-haired one, would deliver.

Luz huffed in anger, still feeling the spikes of number 12 hurting in her heel, but she couldn’t focus on that yet.

After the corner shot, she’d wait for a little moment to adjust her kneepad and shoes and be done with it. Unfair players, all of Hexside, she grumbled to herself, before shaking her head. She would not start hating Hexside for playing unfairly. It was an unnecessary foul but she didn’t get the whistle. And besides, nobody probably knew the Blight flopped all over her just to prevent her from getting up and saving the ball to the sidelines.

Huffing and jumping, she waited for the pink-haired striker to deliver the shot. She raised her arm, then she ran up and shot the ball.

Suddenly, everything around Luz went into slow motion. She bent her knees to wind up, then she jumped, along with a few players around her. The ball was flying towards the closer goal post so Luz quickly realized she had jumped unnecessarily since she had positioned herself on the far side goalpost.

Watching one of her teammates, she went down again. The Blight captain had jumped as well but the Glandus player forced her shoulder down, pushing himself up higher. The ball came sailing down on his head and he directed it away from the goal, towards an open area where a Glandus striker was already sprinting to get the ball before a Hexside defense player would get to it.

Luz hit the ground with her feet and was about to chase after her team that was aiming to get to the opposing side as quickly as possible when she noticed someone lying on the field.

The Blight girl had gotten a hard hit on her head by the Glandus player’s knee when he had forced her down. Luz hesitated, even when her goalkeeper started sprinting after the game. Nobody from Hexside or Glandus had stayed in front of the goal. Glandus had taken the opportunity to sprint to the front and Hexside couldn’t let the goal happen.

Nobody but Luz had stayed behind.

Another glance back to the Hexside team captain confirmed that this was no attention-seeking foul. This was also no attempt to get a penalty kick since she was outside the penalty area.

Taking the few quick steps, Luz then went down to her knees and softly shook the girl’s shoulders. She was out for the count. Panic started taking over her when she realized that this could become really serious really quick, so she let her emergency training take over.

Every player in Glandus was trained to take emergency first aid training, in case something like this would happen during their games. Luz had been no exception.

The girl was convulsing and her jaw was pressed shut, so Luz swung a leg over the player’s middle and turned her on her side while forcing open her mouth. She had to make sure the girl’s tongue would not be in danger of being swallowed.

When she had managed that, she kept her fingers in the girl’s mouth, relieved to feel her breathing still, before waving her arm to the sidelines to call for a medic.

“She’s injured!! She’s injured, come here! HERE!!”, Luz yelled desperately, still kneeling over the Hexside captain, but all eyes were peeled to the front. Only a few Hexside fans were shouting, probably angry that an opposing teammate was touching their captain, and that the referee hadn’t realized a player on the ground yet. But Luz couldn’t care for that.

Over the roaring crowd, she yelled back to their coaches, waving her arm frantically.

“HEEEEEEEEY!!!!”

Suddenly, the match became quieter. Glandus had probably failed to score.

Heads were suddenly turned at Luz’s screaming and she waved some more, before turning back to the girl beneath her, who was unmoving but was still breathing. She kept her fingers between Blight’s teeth to keep her from shutting her mouth, then she looked back up again.

The crowd had become a lot quieter now. Some were probably still processing that a Glandus player had started attending to a Hexside player’s need.

Finally, the medics came running, as well as the Hexside players and trainer, while the Glandus players stayed away.

Luz looked back down again, putting her hand in the nape of the team captain’s neck, to make sure it was overstretched. She started convulsing again and her teeth snapped shut, but despite the pain, she wouldn’t pull them out. She had to ensure Blight wouldn’t swallow her tongue.

Screaming, she tried forcing her jaws apart again, before the first Hexside players finally arrived, the medics still a few steps apart. Immediately, as soon as Luz had freed her fingers, her job was overtaken by some other Hexside players and she felt herself being hoisted to her feet while the medics started attending to the Hexside team captain.

The pink-haired striker was suddenly taking all of Luz’s attention. “Who do you think you are, huh?!”, she snapped and Luz, holding her bitten fingers, stumbled back, bewildered when the striker pushed her again, “Who the fuck told you to fucking touch her, huh?!?!”

Luz furrowed her eyebrows, but before she could say anything, a Glandus player approached as well and shoved the Hexside striker away with their shoulder. Gulping, Luz recognized her team captain.

“Louis, I-”

“SHUT your damn mouth, Noceda!”, he growled, then she was grabbed on her ear before he pulled her to the sidelines, “This is the LAST DAMN TIME you’re on this team.”

She winced in pain when she was thrown to the sidelines, stumbling into her coach who glared down at her.

“Go take a shower, and then go home. You’re off the team.”, he quietly scowled and Luz’s face fell while she was holding her ear. All she had done was to help a teammate, what-

“B-But-”

“I’ll talk to the principal about your behavior. Now go before I beat you up right here in front of everyone.”

With tears stinging in her eyes, Luz made her way off the field, feeling the glares of the crowd and the field players in her back.

She didn’t witness the rest of the game. After taking a shower and changing out of her gear, she threw everything into her bag and left the stadium. It was like she was walking in a trance.

All she had done was help someone in a life-threatening situation. It wasn’t like she had betrayed her team or scored a goal in the wrong direction.

It wasn’t like she had done something wrong… Right?

That Blight girl would’ve probably been in real trouble if she hadn’t reacted fast. None of her teammates had stayed behind, and none of the audience had noticed anything. Luz didn’t know if that Blight girl would’ve actually died, but she’d rather not risk it. And if she had learned anything from watching soccer matches on TV, it was to think about the person behind the jersey first.

If she had learned anything from her mother, it was to always help, no matter who was in need.

And if she had learned anything from playing soccer, it was that sportsmanship was worth more than any winning goal.

Soccer was supposed to be fun, bring people together, not divide them.

She sighed when she walked up the front stairs to the porch, before fumbling her keys out. Her mother was probably cooking dinner right now.

When she entered, a questioning gaze met hers. Kicking off her shoes, she broke the eye contact again and focused on getting her jacket off her shoulders.

“Mija? I thought the match wasn’t finished yet?”, she heard her mother’s warm voice ask, and she just shook her head.

“… It was a tie. I don’t know more.”, she finally replied and her mother made her way over, weaving a hand through her hair.

“Aw, Mija, you don’t need to be sad about this. I’m sure next game your team can-”

Shaking her head, she avoided her mother’s touch, grabbing her sports bag again.

“I’ll-… I’ll be down soon. I need a minute.”

Her mother was sensible enough to let her be, so Luz took her things and ran upstairs to put the soccer stuff in the laundry and used the opportunity to launch herself on her bed. What she had done had been right.

It had caused her to lose her spot on the team and she would probably be bullied for the rest of her school life, but she had saved someone’s life. Probably.

Burying her head in the pillow, the tears came. How the crowd had booed her. Both Glandus for caring for a Hexside player, and the Hexside fans for touching one of them.

How the teams had looked at her, how none of the players had cared that the team captain was out, unconscious on the floor, convulsing and-

Dry sobs escaped Luz’s throat when she nuzzled deeper into the pillow, shaking her head and trying not to doubt her actions. She had done the right thing. She had saved someone’s life. Why did it feel so wrong, though?

Sobbing more, she didn’t hear her mother entering the room after knocking several times. She only sensed her mother’s presence when Camila was already sitting down on the mattress and running a hand through Luz’s hair again.

“Oh, Mija… What’s wrong?”, she softly asked while lying down beside her, nudging her to turn her head out of the pillow. Luz sniffled, then she exhaled and looked at her mother.

“… I’m off the team.”, she finally mumbled and squeezed her eyes shut, expecting her mother to be disappointed in her. After all, Luz had never managed to stay in any club until now. Her weirdness usually kicked her out fast, made her an outcast, and not even the soccer team from the last school had wanted her.

But being kicked off for a reason like helping an unconscious player?

Luz couldn’t help but be mad about that.

Instead of disappointment, her mother just gently scratched her scalp, then she hummed.

“What happened, Mija?”

She sighed. It was time to recount the story, apparently. Telling her mom what had happened was harder than she thought, though.

It didn’t help that Camila got quieter and quieter the longer she listened to what Luz had to tell her. When she came to the part where the Hexside team captain had fallen to the ground and everyone had continued the game, her Mama’s hand in her hair stilled. Being a nurse, she knew exactly how dangerous a hit to the head could become. Luz continued telling her how she had put the girl on her side and forced her mouth open before Camila continued stroking her hair. In the end, she told her how the Hexside players had pulled her off their team captain and how her own team and coach had reacted to her helping a Hexside player before sending her home.

Once again, Camila’s hand stilled. She had some choice words to say about that, but she bit them down, in favor of Luz telling her story until the end.

When Luz was finished, her mother wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

“Mija, I am so proud of you. You did the right thing and neither your coach nor your team can deny that.”

Sniffling, Luz pressed closer to her mother and nuzzled her nose in the crook of her neck, as she always did when she was distressed.

“But Mama, they kicked me off the team. They-… I think they hate me now.”

Camila huffed at that, wrinkling her nose.

“If they can’t realize that you did the right thing, it’s their fault for being blind, Mija. You saved someone’s life.”

Luz supposed that was the right thing to do. Even if it got her kicked off the team.

 ---

When Amity woke up, she found that her siblings were both standing next to a white bed, and looked way too concerned for this not to be a dream.

Amity was skeptical.

What had happened that she was in this strange bed? And what were her siblings doing here, all serious and completely non-teasing?

“What-…”, she tried but Emira’s hand in her hair quickly made her shut up, moving with such softness that she had never felt from her siblings.

“You got knocked out pretty bad, mittens…”, Edric said, no hint of a bit in his voice when he shuffled in closer, taking her hand. Amity was speechless at the sheer worry they displayed.

“It was-… Really scary. Do you remember what happened?”, her sister now chimed in, taking her hand out of Amity’s hair.

Her mouth felt dry. Gulping, she tried speaking again, but her voice came out raspy.

“… I was-… Playing…?”, she slowly recounted, but she only remembered that she had been on the field, not what had caused this or anything after.

Her siblings nodded, then Emira tried a smile, though it came out very shaky and not that reassuring.

“You got knocked out cold and started convulsing. If that girl hadn’t been there to help you, the doctors said you would’ve been in a very different situation now.”

Desperately, Amity racked her head to try and remember but she couldn’t. She just remembered the fact that she had played in the Bone Breaker match, not exactly how or why it had come to the accident. And which girl?

Furrowing her eyebrows, Amity looked back up to Emira and Edric, trying to formulate her thoughts somehow, until she decided on the most pressing question she had.

“Girl? What girl?”, she inquired and Edric hummed.

“That other player that you fouled before, the Glandus girl. She stayed behind and made sure you were going to be okay.”

At that, Amity wanted to sit up and scream, but her sister reacted fast and pushed her back down on the sheets. A Glandus payer had touched her?! Made sure she was-… Okay?

“Hey, wow, calm down mittens. Nobody from your team cared to stay, she was the only one who got the medics to notice.”, her sister reasoned and Amity huffed. That made her no less a Glandus student.

“She touched me!”, Amity tried but Emira gave her a pointed glare.

“She was the only one who cared about you. This could’ve ended very differently if she hadn’t.”

Growling, Amity crossed her arms, before Edric lifted his eyebrows.

“… She had her fingers in your mouth.”

Cringing, Amity gagged and covered her ears, shaking her head.

“That’s disgusting! Ew, ew, ew, I had Glandus stuff in my mouth, EW!”, she squirmed, while Edric laughed and clapped his knee. Emira merely rolled her eyes, before she got up and announced that she’d get the doctor notified and would bring some snacks. Edric chimed up that he wanted something from the vending machine, of course, something they weren’t allowed to eat at home since their parents required them to watch their figure, before she exited the room, still hearing Amity complaining.

Huffing, Emira balled her fists. This was ridiculous. She had never understood why the two schools in the Bonesborough area were so petty about each other. It was so useless, especially to rule out half the dating pool in their cities. Oh, and of course it pissed her parents off when they associated with Glandus students.

Most of all, Emira just couldn’t understand why they would battle each other so hard.

This was just school, who cared about that?

Except for Edric, only a handful of students of both schools shared their opinion about the borderline racism between their two schools. Apparently, this girl couldn’t care either.

Emira found a doctor and told them that her sister had woken up, as well as directing them to the room, before making her way down to the lobby where the vending machines stood.

Tapping her foot on the tiles, she pondered on what to get. Meanwhile, her head was still racing. The girl who had cared for her sister had worn the number 18, and her last name had been Noceda. Maybe Emira could find her family and get them a thank you gift, like a box of chocolates or a card. She at least wanted to show her that there were a few people that cared that she had helped out her sister, despite them wearing different jerseys. It’s the least she could do.

She didn’t know exactly how dangerous it had been for Amity, but one thing was very important. None of her sister’s teammates had stayed behind, nobody had even cared. Just that girl.

Humming, she got Edric his treat, then she tapped her chin this time, pursing her lips in thought. The girl had been sent home, as far as Emira could see. Maybe she has even been kicked off the team, as competitive and hostile as she knew their schools. As a Hexside student, they wouldn’t have handled her differently and she doubted the Glandus team was much nicer.

Due to it being a weekday and pretty much nighttime by now, there wasn’t a lot going on in the lobby. Some people were waiting around for treatment, some patients from upstairs that stayed the night wandered around, to get fresh air or socialize, and otherwise, nobody was really loud.

So, she immediately heard when someone said the name she had just been thinking about.

Whipping her head around, she saw a woman on the counter, holding a card that almost looked like a staff card, accompanied by a kind of scrawny girl. She squinted her eyes.

“… Name’s Luz Noceda, my daughter. Could we visit a girl that was admitted here tonight, her name’s-… What was it again, Luz?”

The girl mumbled something that sounded distinctly like her last name, so Emira was quick to pull her own treat and approach them quickly, getting their attention when she got closer.

“Blight, I assume?”

The woman turned to her with kind, brown eyes and she began to smile, nodding.

“Yes, actually. We don’t know her first name, but Luz said her jersey read Blight. Do you know her?”

Emira grinned and puffed her chest, gesturing to herself.

“I’m Emira Blight, her older sister.”, turning around the woman to the girl behind her, she smiled and offered her hand, “Luz, I assume? Noceda? Hi, I saw what you did on the field tonight.”

A little skeptical, Luz took her hand and she shook it, before pulling the girl into a big hug. Surprised, she stumbled into the embrace, obviously because she was suddenly being hugged by a stranger.

“Thank you so much, Luz. Because of you, Amity’s okay. I was really impressed by that.”

Slowly, Luz’s stiff posture relaxed and she patted her back before Emira released her and smiled back at the girl’s mother and spoke to Luz again.

“Thank you, really. I-… I’d really like to express my gratitude. Not everyone would’ve done what you did, Luz. How can I repay you?”

Rubbing the back of her pixie cut, Luz shook her head and for the first time, she said something to Emira.

“Oh, don’t worry. I’d, uh-… I’d just like to know how your sister is. I mean, we don’t have to visit her or anything, but-”

Emira already waved off and gestured them to follow her, something the mother more than readily did. Only now, she could also read the card that hung around her neck, which identified her as a nurse in this very hospital. Pulling Luz along, they followed Emira down the hall to the elevator.

“Nonsense. I’m sure my brother would like to thank you as well, and we’ll see to it that Amity will behave. You know-… School stuff.”

Luz grimaced and nodded, which only strengthened Emira’s suspicion that Luz wasn’t exactly a fan of the school’s hostility as well.

“But I’m sure she’ll be grateful as well.”

The elevator door opened and the three of them entered, waiting for Emira to press the right button and have the doors close again, then Luz began switching her weight on her feet, nervously bobbing around.

“We, uh-… I just wanna know if she’s okay, you know if she’s uncomfortable having me around…”

Once again, Emira shrugged that off and laughed.

“She’ll be fine. You helped her today, she ought to understand to accept that.”, then, the twin leaned against the wall of the elevator, eyeing Luz, “Hey, by the way. I saw neither your teammate nor your trainer was really nice to you after that. And you got sent off the field. Are you off the team?”

At that, her mother grumbled and Luz grimaced, rubbing her biceps. She was quite cute, Emira noticed.

“More like off the school… After dinner, my principal called and expelled me from Glandus. We wanted to object but, uh, I have a file that’s not exactly stellar and we can’t afford a lawyer. So-… I guess I’ll have to try Hexside now. If they’ll have me.”

At that, she felt her jaw falling. They had actually expelled her for helping a student of a different team?! Shaking her head, Emira pushed off the wall and threw her arm around Luz’s shoulders, not caring that the girl stiffened up with the touches of the stranger. Huffing, she squeezed her shoulder.

“They will accept you. I’ll get you in and when principal Bump realizes you saved his team captain, he’ll for sure accept you in. Plus, I’d guess he’d love getting an edge on Glandus and making it into the local news.”, rolling her eyes, Emira continued, “And besides. My parents are-… A little bit influential. Regarding the funding of the school. Bump would be stupid not to let you in after you saved their daughter.”

With wide eyes, Luz and her mother stared at Emira, then the older woman placed a hand on her arm.

“You would put in a good word for my Luz? It’d be-… Fairly difficult to get her back into Glandus with a lawyer. I-… We’d be so relieved.”

Nodding confidently, Emira grinned at them.

“It’s time I use the Blight family name for a good cause.”, she decided, which sent her being pulled into a tight hug by both Nocedas this time, a good, heartwarming hug.

“Thank you so much!”, her mother sighed, and even if Luz was a little bit hesitant, still, she was hugging her as well. Pulling back, Emira softly punched her arm.

“Consider it a thank you, for tonight. And don’t worry about the Hexside students. They might be biased towards Glandus, but I’ll look out for you. Nobody will breathe towards you wrongly. After all, you did kind of betray Glandus for our Hexside captain.”

Chuckling, Luz rolled her eyes.

“That’s honestly so stupid. I never understood this rivalry when I came here a year ago.”, she mumbled and Emira laughed.

“It’s so stupid.”, she agreed, “But only a handful of people seem to understand that.”

The elevator stopped and they exited to walk down the hall, passing some patients and nurses who greeted Luz’s mother, before arriving at Amity’s room.

When they entered, the doctor was already gone, having left behind Edric and Amity who were talking about what happened after Amity had been knocked out, then Emira got their attention by tossing Edric his treat which hit him in the back of the head.

“Hey siblings, guess who’s here!”

Edric turned with a slight scowl but his face immediately shifted to confusion when he spotted Emira’s company. Much in contrast to Amity, actually, who furrowed her eyebrows and stared at Luz. The poor girl was so taken aback by her younger sister’s reaction that she stopped walking and stood completely still.

Emira rolled her eyes and stepped to the bed, nudging Amity’s shoulder.

“Be nice, mittens. She did a lot for you.”

Edric’s face lit up at that and he turned from his sister back to the Nocedas, getting up to shake both their hands.

“You must be that Glandus player! I saw what you did today. Thank you so, so much, honestly.”, he exclaimed and Luz managed a smile for him before turning back to his younger sister. She was crossing her arms and looked down to her feet. This didn’t look good.

“Mittens.”, Emira pressed out with a forced grin, catching her sister’s glare, “We will go outside now to have a word with Mrs. Noceda regarding Luz’s enrollment in Hexside High. Why don’t you two become good friends until then?”

The bite in the older girl’s voice was unmistakable, even so, obvious that Luz flinched. She pulled her shoulders up when Amity gave a snarl before Emira waved her brother – they looked like twins – and her mother out the door, leaving them to their own devices.

After the door clicked into its lock, silence filled the room and Luz found herself swaying from side to side again, before sighing. Amity glared out the window, obviously very focused on ignoring her.

“… So-… Uh, you’re Amity, huh?”, she tried to make conversation but the girl still ignored her, “Uhm, you play well. I believe you trained a lot…?”

Still, no answer. Luz sighed and nodded, looking around the room. There was the light blue hospital floor, the white walls, and ceiling, a small table and chairs, as well as another empty bed. There honestly wasn’t much to distract herself with.

“… Okay…”, she tried again, no reaction, “So, uhm, are you feeling any better?”

Finally, the girl whipped around to her and looked just about ready to snap at her, but something inside her made her hesitate. Finally, she huffed and gave a rigid nod.

“… I’m fine. You can stop talking now.”

Softly nodding, Luz kicked the floor, then she tried looking around again before the girl spoke up once more.

“… But, uhm. Thank you. For tonight.”, it sounded forced, but Luz didn’t care. She dared a little smile, before nodding.

“You’re welcome. It was honestly what everyone should’ve done, though.”

Fidgeting, the girl then looked down to her feet again, before breathing through a few times. It looked like she was struggling to formulate a sentence.

“… I-I heard I bit you.”, she finally mumbled and Luz grimaced, making a fist with her still somewhat aching fingers. It hadn’t been bad, hadn’t been open as well, but she had bitten down pretty hard.

“Oh, yeah. That’s okay, though, it was more important to keep you safe.”

Once again, they fell into silence, but this time, it was a little easier to bear for Luz than before.

“… You’ll start in Hexside now?”, Amity began again and Luz had to suppress a little smile at the curiosity. For someone who had tried so adamantly to ignore her at first, Amity was starting a lot of conversation now.

“Oh, uh, yeah. My principal called and expelled me. I guess helping you was the last straw to kick me out.”, she admitted and Amity looked back to her, tilting her head. Something like disgust snuck back on her face.

“You’re a troublemaker?”, she asked and Luz was quick to shake her head.

“Not really. The Glandus community never really liked me because I only moved here a year ago. They blamed a lot of stuff on me, most of it was me being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I try to be a good student, really.”

That seemed to somewhat settle Amity again because she began fidgeting with her blanket again.

“… Oh. So you’re new.”, she noted and Luz nodded again, “Which year do you go to?”

Luz looked up again to meet her gaze, trying a smile.

“I’m a freshman, 9th grade. You?”

Amity really, honestly, gave her a small smile. Luz wasn’t sure if it was a mean or a genuine one.

“Me, too. Looks like we’ll be classmates.”, she finally said and Luz rubbed the back of her head again, biting her lip.

“… Is that okay? I mean-… I come from Glandus, so… I’d understand if I won’t fit in at Hexside, too.”

At that, Amity shrugged, leaning back against her pillow again.

“You know, as far as I’m concerned, you come from the outside and got off in the wrong school.”, she said and Luz thought she hadn’t heard right, “Besides, Emira is right… You did help me tonight. I think it’d only be fair if I helped you a bit, too.”

Luz managed another smile at that and offered a hand, one Amity took after a bit of hesitation.

“Uhm… Thank you.”

When they parted their hands again, Amity looked back up to her.

“Actually, I was thinking to let you join the soccer team. You know, because you’re not that bad a player and, uh, with a lot of practice you could actually become useful.”, she offered and Luz grinned.

“You know what, I’d actually like that.”

---

Let me know if you liked it!

[drunkserval]

A Fresh Canvas: Incomplete Preview

Quite some time ago I did a silly little thread on Twitter, and I’ve always wanted to take that and actually make something out of it. Well it was a little harder than expected, but it’s coming along!

When I have the entire thing done I will be uploading it to AO3, but for now it seemed seasonally appropriate to at least drop this.

I wanted to have this posted yesterday but festivities kept me busier than expected! Story is below the cut. Keep in mind that this is still technically a rough draft, and will receive its final beta pass before the full story hits AO3.

(Tentative) Title: A Fresh Canvas Fandom: Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System by MXTX Rating: G, No Warnings Apply Summary: Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan are neighbors in the same modern apartment complex who, despite looking similar enough to be mistaken for each other, couldn’t be any more different. Or so they think.

----------------

Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan were neighbors in the same apartment complex. They lived on the same floor, in the same hall, and were often mistaken for one another due to this proximity combined with how similar their appearances were.

But there were key differences, as both would readily point out to their neighbors. Shen Jiu’s hair hung shy of his shoulders while Shen Yuan’s was shorter and lighter in tone. 

And still the mix-ups kept happening, particularly if they were at some distance or facing away. The misunderstanding would very rarely last past the first glance since Shen Jiu would snap and take immediate offense, and Shen Yuan would just sigh and say, "Sorry, wrong one."

Shen Yuan had no idea why Shen Jiu got so offended over it. Surely he didn’t look that bad, come on!

The neighbors eventually started learning to look at the clothes first--or to at least look for Shen Yuan’s thick-rimmed glasses. 

Both men carried and dressed themselves so differently. Shen Yuan dressed in hoodies and jeans--well, if he was planning on going any further than the mailbox, that was. Otherwise why bother changing out of pajamas or sweatpants?

On the other hand, Shen Jiu didn’t touch anything that wasn’t from a known designer. 

Shen Jiu spent proudly--and why shouldn’t he? Because he at least earned his money!

That Shen Yuan kid down the hall? Rumor was that his parents were paying his rent and he'd never had a real job in his life.

But because he never went out, Shen Yuan was one of the only people still hanging around the apartment complex when Shen Jiu went around knocking during a major holiday. 

In Shen Jiu’s arms was a box containing two fluffy black pups.

Shen Yuan’s eyes widened at the sight of them and he completely forgot to greet his neighbor until Shen Jiu cleared his throat. The dogs were like little storm clouds with feet and stubby tails, staring back at him with big black eyes. One started wagging its tail with such vigor that its whole back end wiggled about.

It took Shen Jiu a moment to find his voice as he followed, such was the state that his neighbor had chosen to answer the door in. Hideous cucumber-print pajama pants, a tacky anime shirt covered in snack crumbs, and unkempt hair had greeted him. But the continuous movement of the box in his arms reminded him of his mission. 

“I found... ” Shen Jiu shifted the box in indication as Shen Yuan shut the door behind them, “these, out by the garbage.”

Shen Yuan blinked as the other passed by him, “Have you tried calling any nearby shelters?”

“Of course I have,” Shen Jiu scoffed at the implication that he was so simple. “You try getting a real person on the phone today, though. It’s impossible. I could only leave messages.”

Shen Yuan put a finger to his lips, “Oh, right. Today is…” Glancing at a wall calendar almost as ugly as his shirt he nodded, “Right. Right.”

Did this kid ever so much as leave the building? Shen Jiu was starting to wonder. Shen Yuan dressed like he’d just rolled out of bed in the latter part of the daytime. And he hadn’t realized it was a major holiday. And then there were the countless odorous takeout boxes covering every available surface in his apartment.

Shen Jiu wrinkled his nose but still asked in spite of his rapidly growing doubts, “You don’t know anyone who can take these little mutts in for a day or two, do you?”

Shen Yuan shook his head and heard Shen Jiu sigh. His neighbor set the box down to give his arms a rest… but Shen Yuan couldn’t seem to rip his attention away from one of the pups. It hadn’t stopped staring at him, or shaking its fluffy little behind, for a moment.

“What if we take them in?”

Shen Jiu’s tone was flat, “What.”

Shen Yuan picked up the excited little pup and it immediately started wiggling in his grasp. Not struggling, however--just trying to get closer to his face, paws waving in the air and its little pink tongue darting out to reach for him even though it was still well outside of range. He had to fight back the urge to laugh at the silly little storm cloud. 

“The building allows us to have one animal per unit, right?” Shen Yuan shrugged, “so what if we each took one, even just long enough to find them new homes?”

Shen Jiu frowned. Taking in a dog, or really any animal, had never been on his agenda. He liked his nice clean apartment and intact furniture unlike a certain someone. Plus he was more partial to cats. He moved his gaze from the overexcited animal back to the box. Though the pups looked identical on the surface this one was clearly the calmer one. It looked up at his scowling face but put forth no such ridiculous display… thank goodness.

Who knew? Maybe Shen Yuan’s idea wasn’t so bad. And if it was, it was only a temporary arrangement, in the end. He might be able to get rid of the animal as soon as tomorrow if it was truly intolerable.

Tentatively, Shen Jiu reached out to pick up the dog…

And felt tiny teeth close around his fingers.

Jerking his hand backwards, Shen Jiu sneered down at the animal. “What, you ungrateful little beast!” 

Shen Yuan finally stopped cooing at his own pup to look over and said, “Maybe he doesn’t like your cologne?”

“And what’s wrong with my cologne?” Shen Jiu snapped, voice raising.

Stepping back, “Nothing, nothing!”

“It was a gift, you know!”

Shen Yuan barely avoided tripping over a haphazard stack of game cases as he kept moving away. “P-perhaps it’s just too strong for a dog’s nose, that’s all!”

This time Shen Jiu moved quickly, snatching up the dog by its middle before it could get its ridiculously tiny muzzle around anything, and he stared directly into the animal’s eyes.

“Do that again, and I’ll put you back out in the cold where I found you. Understood?”

The dog stared back at him, placid and indifferent… until its tongue darted out and licked the end of his nose.

“...good enough.”

----------------------

It was a few days before the two of them crossed paths again. 

It’d seem they both had decided to keep their newfound pets and they were both out that day to take the dogs for walks.

The air in the park was warm, so they sat themselves on a bench to enjoy it for a bit longer and soak up some of the sunlight that was so rare that time of year. Shen Jiu’s pup sat like a sentry at his feet while Shen Yuan’s pup curled up on his lap the moment he sat down. 

It was through the ensuing conversation they realized they both gave their dog the same name by sheer coincidence.

One was too lazy and the other was too stubborn, so neither changed it. At least they’d bought different-colored collars. But this brought to light a new revelation, and Shen Yuan just had to ask…

“How did you come up with it?”

“It was just the first thing to come to mind,” Shen Jiu had explained, “from something I’ve been reading, probably.”

"Wait, you read that too!?"

As he suspected! That name was from one of the top-rated web novels that year, from its stallion protagonist: Luo Binghe!

Shen Yuan couldn’t imagine someone as outwardly prim as Shen Jiu reading trashy webnovels, but it turned out to be true. It was just a quick, easy way for him to kill a few minutes of downtime at work, Shen Jiu reasoned in his defense.

Whenever they met up from that point forward, Shen Yuan talked his ear off about his various grievances with Proud Immortal Demon Way.

‘Villains that dig their own graves but don’t bother finishing! Women that lead the protagonist on a three-chapter long subplot just to get to their lewd scenes, only to never see them again! And every single character lost all of their intelligence when the protagonist came around!’ 

And yet he had nothing but praise for said protagonist… almost excessive praise. 

Shen Jiu is annoyed at first but he starts enjoying the company. Which is good because the dog turns out to be a menace.

Well, both dogs could be counted as menaces, just in different ways.

Bing-mei (as they come to call him) would start whining so pitifully when Shen Yuan shut the door between them, thus he often just gave up and took the dog with him whenever it was feasible.

Bing-ge, on the other hand, broke his toys within days, climbed around on furniture he wasn’t allowed on--sometimes when Shen Jiu was looking right at him, too--he barked, he scratched furniture, he tore up pillows.

Despite all the trouble he was causing for his master, Shen Jiu would no longer entertain the idea of giving him up. Not after Bing-ge tore up three separate muggers on three separate occasions and growled at the person who kept taking his parking space until it never happened again.

But the biggest takeaway from their conversations, for Shen Jiu, wasn’t webnovels or dogs. It made him start to realize how lonely he'd been. 

The only other person he really spoke to was halfway around the world for their work and they only spoke a couple of times a month. Now that Shen Yuan was around, Shen Jiu actually started to have things to look forward to besides the monotony of work--knocks on the door, long walks with the dogs, the occasional cup of tea afterward on colder days...

Shen Jiu was never the sort to be up-front with his feelings, so he found a way to show his gratitude by helping Shen Yuan with his confidence issues. He started encouraging him to go out more, and to put a little more effort into his looks when he did. This morphed into helping clean up his squalid apartment since Shen Jiu could barely stand to look at it when he came over. 

Months later, Shen Jiu’s recommendation had helped Shen Yuan to land an entry-level job. That, and a steady habit of going out once a week, gave them something else to do and talk about.

Progress was slow, but visible. Shen Yuan seemed a little less awkward in public with each passing week.

One night they were leaning on Shen Yuan’s balcony. It was a night of celebration, for he’d just earned his very first promotion, and Shen Jiu had brought over wine for the occasion.

He found himself leaning closer to Shen Jiu, telling himself it was just to get a better look at him in the dim light of the city night. His focus wasn’t the best even when he was sober after all. Yet Shen Yuan didn’t stop. And when Shen Jiu turned to look at him in confusion, and their lips met, he didn’t withdraw for several seconds.

Neither did Shen Jiu.

Shen Yuan tried to flee as soon as he realized what he’d done only for Shen Jiu to pull him back saying:

"Don't run, take responsibility. We talked about this."

[unfortunatelysirius]

Shut Up and Dance // Sirius Black [Marauders Era]

「 ❁ 」PROMPT 「 ❁ 」

When Hogwarts decides to host a Christmas gala during the Marauders’ seventh year, students find themselves learning how to dance. And Sirius has to open the gala with his crush!

「 ❁ 」AUTHOR’S NOTE 「 ❁ 」

I loved this prompt tbh. Might upload some more tonight but this is 3300+ words so like… I did sOMETHING OK??? Inbox is open for requests & some love until Wednesday :)

      Half a week before Hogwarts students were meant to go home for winter break, older students were buzzing with excitement. It wasn’t going home that had them so jittery—not even the upcoming feast before the Hogwarts Express was scheduled to leave. Not the plans they had over Christmas or the surprise vacations their parents were sure to spring on them. This year was unusual in that it wasn’t like any year they’d had before.

        Hogwarts was hosting a winter-themed Christmas gala for the first time in decades.

        It was announced at the feast on Halloween. It was Professor Forrest, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, who had the privilege of divulging it, as he had attended Hogwarts during the years galas were annual events. He dreamed of hosting such a spectacle himself. Headmaster Dumbledore thought it was a wonderful idea and even Professor McGonagall was smiling during Professor Forrest’s rather… enthused announcement. The entire Great Hall was in theatrical hysteria; students from every House went crazy, the girls already talking about what they wanted to wear.

        It was all anyone talked about for weeks, their whispers growing louder and more frenzied the closer the gala approached. Going home was all a secondary matter of excitement for the students who looked forward to Firewhiskey-spiked punch, Great Hall decorations, eye-drawing formalwear, and having a night out with friends. The Marauders regularly had common-room parties, but they never had musical guests and the attire was less than formal.

        Unfortunately for the boys, a Christmas gala also meant dancing. Professor McGonagall was a stickler for appearances and called a required lesson for Gryffindors half a week before the gala was scheduled.

        It felt nerve-wracking and strange sitting in a room much like a DADA practical would take place in, and all of Gryffindor House eligible to attend the gala—fifth years to seventh years—were sitting uncomfortably in the benches staring unwaveringly at their Head of House. Professor McGonagall stood in the middle of everyone, after standing and fiddling with a record player for a long, longfew minutes. “This is the House of Godric Gryffindor,” she said stiffly, her eyes grazing the buffooning boys and sticking knowingly on James Potter and Sirius Black. “A house that’s stayed a house of pride and honor throughout centuries. Much above all, our gala is not only a celebration of Christmas tradition—it isa dance where you are expected to have a partner and dance like respectable witches and wizards. I will not tolerate animals. Making a fool out of yourself is not in the name of Christmas spirit at Hogwarts, as it may very well be elsewhere—”

        “You hear that, Prongs?” Sirius said, nudging James with a grin. He barely tried muffling his voice, not noticing the stern look Professor McGonagall gave him. “Behaving like an animal’s forbidden. Suppose you and Lily won’t be able to attend, the way you two have been going at each other—”

        “Bloody hell, Padfoot,” James hissed, but the smirk on Sirius’s face was less than apologetic, even with all the eyes that were now on them. Lily Evans’s face was beetroot red.

        “Mr. Black,” Professor McGonagall said. The entire roomwas staring right at him, faces ranging from disgusted to amused to shocked. The ashen professor’s was beyond scandalized. “Are you volunteering?”

        “I’d rather not, Minny,” Sirius said, crossing his arms and acting smooth in the face of Professor McGonagall’s wrath. The more juvenile male Gryffindors snickered on each side of him. “I’m fine here.”

        “Ah, if not with me, why not one of our student dancers?” Professor McGonagall’s eyes flashed and she looked over at the girls’ side. Her eyes pinpointed on a girl with Y/H/L Y/H/C hair sitting stoically in her seat. “Please join me, Y/N.”

        Y/N L/N was a seventh year Gryffindor who taught free dancing lessons to amateurs as a pastime. She was pretty, quiet, and humble, a girl who went unnoticed by most people. Unfortunately for Sirius’s case…

        Sirius’s smirk wavered and he felt James’s less-than-sympathizing smack on his shoulder.

        “Y/N here is an exceptional dancer and will be opening for us at the gala,” said Professor McGonagall, her hand on Y/N’s shoulder. A minute smile played on her lips which was more than Sirius ever got out of the woman; she was rather stiff in the face. “Why don’t you judge her, Mr. Black?”

        There were quite a few girls on the other side of the room who had the most affronted expressions in realizing Y/N L/N got a free dance with Sirius Black and they didn’t.

        Sirius stood slowly from being slouched and walked over to the middle, unable to miss Y/N’s cutting eyes. She looked as affronted as the girls who got to sulk and watch, yet she was getting a dance without doing anything so it had to be Sirius particularly who put her in a sullen mood. Yet Sirius didn’t remember doing anything to her.

        Bloody hell, she hates me! Sirius thought in distress as he met Y/N halfway and Professor McGonagall drew them closer.

        “Hand on her waist, Mr. Black,” Professor McGonagall instructed, proceeding to move his hand upward when he reached down and cupped right at her hip. Y/N put a hand on Sirius’s shoulder and her other hand took his own that was free, drawing it out from the shoulder. She straightened up and Sirius copied, feeling as nervous as one possibly could, all things considered. “Now, follow her lead.”

        She stepped back to give them space. Y/N’s silently intense gaze was steadfast, Sirius unable to look away, as she took a step back and Sirius indeed followed her lead.

        Sirius was not a bad dancer. In fact, he was a good dancer. As a child his parents had him learn how to dance before he was able to attend Pureblood gatherings. Even if it had been years since he last had to dance in front of an audience, he had yet to forget what was last taught to him.

        The rest of the room watched, transfixed, as Y/N and Sirius danced throughout the room, Sirius occasionally taking her waist with both hands and swinging her around. They alternated and swung, changed positions and met each other’s palms, Y/N’s concentration a force that never wavered; Sirius’s own couldn’t have the same said about it. He noticed the glower on her face when he first walked up to her and she still looked like she had a sour taste in her mouth. Was he really all that repulsive?

        “Excellent,” Professor McGonagall said, looking pleased after Y/N abruptly ripped herself away from him. There were already Gryffindors springing up, excited to share the same subtle intimacy that Y/N and Sirius did. “Girls, boys, up! Find a partner.”

        Y/N acted like Sirius’s touch had burned her and it hurt a good bloody bit, if he was honest.

“Y/N, do you—” Sirius tried, but Y/N was speeding away from him faster than a bloody Accio’ed broom. She barely gave him a last word or glance. She went into the arms of another bloke, a sixth year, who looked all too eager to have his hands all over her. “Fuck.”

        “Tough luck, mate,” James said on his clumsy way past Sirius with Lily, his girlfriend with the same look on her face. James was aware of Sirius’s crush and he’d told Lily one night when he was drunk and not properly thinking. Clearly Y/N didn’t share the same attraction.

        “Why does Y/N hate me?” Sirius demanded when Professor McGonagall dismissed lessons. James and Lily were panting, Remus looking like scarlet and Peter following after some Gryffindor fifth year in a daze. Sirius stayed back to wait for his best mates to catch their breath, giving him a front seat to watching Y/N dart from the room like it was about to bloody blow up. Sirius’s question was directed at Lily, who’d been in the same dorm with Y/N for seven fucking years!

        Lily looked hesitant to answer and it wasn’t even the fatigue making answering difficult. “Er, she doesn’t hate you, Sirius,” Lily said, choosing her words carefully. “She just thinks you’re a player.”

        “What?!”

        “And a prat,” Lily added.

        Sirius stared at her in silence.

        “Sorry, Sirius,” she said apologetically. “I’ve tried telling her you’re not like that, but she refuses to believe me. Thinks I’m biased now that I’m dating James.”

        “Not your fault,” Sirius muttered, his mood now entirely sour, and he wanted to kick something. Or prank the Slytherins. Or jump in the Black Lake.

        No, it was Sirius’s fault for being an unapologetic prat.

                                                     -

        During Transfiguration the next day, Professor McGonagall told Sirius he’d be Y/N’s partner for opening the Christmas gala.

        “What?!” Sirius felt like he was saying that a lot. His heart was going to burst if he kept getting the brunt of horrible news. It was just one surprise after the other, none of them good. “Professor, I don’t think that’s a good idea—”

        “I’ve asked Miss L/N and she isn’t opposed, Mr. Black,” Professor McGonagall said, her tone just daring him to make another claim. “I admit I didn’t expect you to be as excellent a dancer you are, but all things considered, you are the only partner who I think would complement Miss L/N’s level.”

        “Thanks, Professor,” Sirius said numbly.

        He didn’t feel particularly thankful.

-

        He tried getting Y/N’s attention during dinner that evening but she refused to even look at him.

        It seemed Sirius was stuck just sucking up his personal feelings. He hoped his crush on Y/N would disappear by Saturday.

-

        Come the day of the Christmas gala, the castle was again vibrating and buzzing. Students spent the entire day dressing for the occasion, using cosmetic spells to give the illusion of professional application for hair and make-up. Dresses and dress robes were purchased over the course of weeks that led to this day, so students were left to dress and do as they wished with the rest of their appearance. Many students wore hand-me-down attire and Sirius—a disowned-and-proud bloke—was a clear exception having lived with the generous and familial Potters.

        He was wearing new black and white dress robes that perfectly suited his lean, even-muscled frame.

        He stood in the seventh-year boys’ dorm adjusting his collar, the mirror he and his mates used for knowing how they looked each day charmed to elongate. Sirius was nervous, thinking about what awaited him when he arrived at the Great Hall. James, Remus, and Peter assured him things would turn out fine. He’d have a chance to explain the misconception Y/N had fallen prey to and could change her mind about him. Sirius wasn’t so sure…

        But a bloke could hope.

        “Ready, boys?” James asked with a smirk, wearing formalwear similar to Sirius’s. The only difference was he’d lost the robe, leaving him in a dress shirt and tight-fitting trousers. Lily would throw a fit over him wearing something outside of dress code but of course, James could get away with anything. He was too charismatic for his own good.

        “Yeah,” Sirius said, glancing at him.

        Peter had already left to meet with his Hufflepuff date at the door of her common room. Remus was sitting on his bed in chestnut dress robes that had seen better days but looked nice on him. He was looking down at his wrists.

        When he felt their gazes on him, he stirred and sat up pin straight. “I’m ready,” he said hastily.

        The boys gathered their wits about them and went down to the common room, only one of them feeling confident.

        When the boys got down to the bottom of the stairs, James immediately sprung over to a rather beautiful-looking Lily in emerald green to shower her in compliments while Remus and Sirius followed slowly. Y/N was the only other girl in the common room and she was wearing a Y/F/C dress that looked altered to give her form more shape. It was modest by all definitions of the word, but it suited her—it gave her an ethereal beauty that made Sirius want to wince.

        “You look beautiful, Y/N,” Sirius said nicely.

        Y/N scrunched her nose up, looking pained. “Thanks, Sirius,” she said.

        They gave each other awkward glances while Remus excused him over to say, “Hi,” to Lily.

        Eventually, after James was finished worshipping his girlfriend, the group was able to make their way down to the Great Hall.

        While James and Lily made quiet conversation making sure to include Remus, Y/N and Sirius were stuck with each other. It was suffocating until Y/N finally broke; “Are you sure you’re okay doing the dance?” she asked him quietly.

        Sirius swallowed. Was he okay doing the dance? He’d rather not make her hate him even more but… “Yes,” he said surely.

        Y/N looked put out. “Okay,” she mumbled.

        If thatdidn’t assure Sirius she wanted nothing to do with him, he wasn’t sure what would.

        When they got to the Great Hall, Sirius noticed that several students were standing around outside looking nice and talking to their dates and entourages. Professors were already inside, serving drinks and talking to one another amiably. The decorating outside was scarce but looking inside the Great Hall was a different sight to behold.

        The Great Hall was charmed to different icy hues with icicles hanging from overhead, obscuring the sky. It looked like a winter wonderland that’d make anyone stare in awe; the blues and whites made it look like they’d just walked into a cavern in the middle of an ice storm. There were different flowers charmed to look like they sprouted out of the snow and even the tables looked like they were frosted over.

        “Wow,” Lily breathed out and Sirius agreed.

        Professor McGonagall was hovering in the entrance and she hurried over when she noticed Sirius and Y/N.

        “Good, you’re here,” she said, looking them over approvingly. She gestured with her palm, the students noticing and watching. It was just a few minutes before 8, when the gala was meant to be kicked into motion. “Follow me.”

        Sirius gave his friends a helpless look before he wandered after Professor McGonagall and Y/N into the room.

        Students had made their way, too, and they’d gathered in different corners, grabbing their drinks and refreshments like they weren’t expected to join dancing after Y/N and Sirius opened. Sirius felt envious of the on-watchers, wishing he wasn’t about to be stared down by half the population of Hogwarts… fifth years and up, anyway.

        The Frog choir was in the corner, being orchestrated by Professor Claus, the Arithmancy professor. The progression was ready to start, Professor Claus staring at Professor McGonagall in anticipation.

        Y/N and Sirius followed her to the middle, hands going where they were meant to wordlessly. Everyone’s eyes were on them, boring into them like lasers. Professor McGonagall wandered over to stand with Headmaster Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling under his spectacles.

        Professor McGonagall gestured for Professor Claus to begin. Beautiful polyphonic harmonies arose before silence could settle.

        Y/N and Sirius immediately began to dance.

        There wasn’t this strange awkward energy the second time around. Y/N’s hands weren’t holding his like they’d separate light-speed fast if given the option, contrary to lessons. She met his gaze and held it, not a trace of animosity as Sirius expected; he couldn’t contain his surprise. His dancing was enthusiastic and passionate, and he was able to pretend she didn’t hate him without that obvious distaste in her eyes; he twirled her and stepped with accurate footwork like he’d danced for years. He didn’t want to look away. He knew she’d run away after this was over and probably pretend he didn’t exist until they graduated next year—she may have hidden her feelings for him easier than she did last time, but her impression of him couldn’t have gone away that fast—so he tried holding onto the moment.

        Sirius gripped Y/N’s waist and spun her in the air a third time before the harmonies became more upbeat. Different couples joined them now, including Professor McGonagall and Headmaster Dumbledore.

        “Why do you hate me?” Sirius asked now that they weren’t under mass scrutiny any more.

        Y/N blinked, losing her focus. She stumbled and fell into Sirius’s arms. “W—I don’t hate you, Sirius,” she said, mumbling a, “Thank you,” as Sirius helped her stand up back onto her own two feet. They began dancing in pace again. “I just—I don’t like how you treat girls. I saw how you were with Marlene last year and she acted like you didn’t mean any of the things you said. I don’t know, I guess it made it see you differently.”

        “It’s just some harmless flirting that Marlene knows means nothing,” Sirius defended himself. Marlene was like him: she enjoyed banter. “I never do anything with them. I never did anything with Marlene. And besides, I haven’t flirted since the year began.”

        Y/N frowned like she was thinking hard about something. “I didn’t know that…”

        Sirius smirked at her and spun her for a fourth time, nearly bumping into a Hufflepuff couple that gave them apologetic looks. “I know where you’re coming from, love,” he said, “but I can assure you, I’m not a ‘player.’”

        Y/N cringed. “Lily told you that?” she asked, looking extremely embarrassed.

        “After lessons, I asked her,” Sirius said, dodging out of the way of Remus and a Ravenclaw girl who asked him for a dance. “I’ve had my eye on someone for a while… hard to be a player when she’s all I want.”

        Y/N looked disappointed, of all things. She bit her lip and said, “Oh.”

        Oh.

        Sirius full-on grinned. “Is that disappointment I sense?”

        “N-No!” Y/N said, but the way she picked up the pace and made his arm almost come out of its socket said different. “I just…”

        “What if I said you’rethe girl I’ve had my eyes on?” Sirius said huskily.

        Y/N gasped. “You don’t mean that…” First she learned he wasn’t a player and that he wasn’t trying to hurt Marlene and nowhe confessed to fancying her? Sirius knew it sounded strange, even to his own ears. He’d always tried talking to her and being her friend throughout the years. They’d been partners in Potions all of sixth year. She was subdued and shy, his exact personality opposite; it’s what attracted him to her in the first place. “Sirius…”

        Sirius stopped in the middle of dancing so he could have the use of both his hands.  He cupped Y/N’s cheeks and leaned forward, brushing his lips over hers. “I’m not a player, remember?” He smirked and Y/N was as red as Lily’s hair, if not more. “I have feelings. Feelings for you, specifically. I think it started when we were Potions partners and sailed from there. It hurt thinking you hated me, if I’m honest. But I can only blame myself

        “Sorry,” Y/N squeaked, her arms snaking around his waist. “I know you’re not a player.”

        “Nowyou do,” Sirius said and he tipped her chin up. “I wouldn’t hurt you, Y/N. I’m not like that. I care about you and fancy you more than I can put into words.”

        “I… I care about you, too,” Y/N whispered shyly.

        They met halfway in a kiss and everyone in Hogwarts was left to watch in shock.

Bonus:

        James nudged Lily, pointing over at where Sirius and Y/N were kissing like he’d just seen God. “Bloody Hell, Lily, look! I can’t believe my eyes! I think I’m going mad!”

        Lily stopped in the middle of her conversation with Mary and looked over, nearly dropping her drink. “Oh my…” She gaped at the sight.

        “This isn’t a chance I’m in the looney bin right now?” James asked rhetorically. At Lily’s frozen-in-motion state, he knew he wasn’t the only one seeing it. He grabbed Lily and dramatically let out a groan. “The world is ending.”

        The world was indeed notending. But a world where Y/N and Sirius were incompatible was.

[decayedflower]

Stranger II

⋆ gif is mine

Pairing: Yang Hongwon x Reader

Genre: Underground rapper!Hongwon, Barista!Reader | angst, fluff

Word Count: 5.6k

Summary: Don’t get attached. This was his number one rule. Attachment means getting hurt. Attachment means vulnerability. You are the only person you can trust. So how could she so easily sneak past and break the walls he had worked so hard to build around his heart when all she is, is a stranger?

Warnings: cussing, some angst, hamin being a noodle

A/N: Sorry this took forever to upload, life happens ya know? Next chapter should be more exciting as the ball gets rolling. Hope you guys enjoy :)

You told yourself that no matter how in love you were with someone, you could detach yourself from your emotions enough so that—should the day come—you could live your life without them.

Looking at yourself now, you admit you’re a little ashamed. You couldn’t stop bawling your eyes out for 2 weeks straight. You guess you didn’t do as good a job ‘detaching’ as you thought you did.

You mentally slap yourself. You once lived your life without him bitch, you can do it again. 

It was on a rainy Monday afternoon that you found yourself in bed—cheeto dust on your titties—marathon watching Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo. Curse Nam Joohyuk. How could a man be so goddamn perfect? He was handsome, funny, loving—and most certainly not a CHEATER. 

You sigh and decide that you should probably get up and shower before Hyeri comes home and sees your miserable state. You feel bad worrying her so much. She’s always been way too kind and selfless for her own good.

You grab a fresh set of pj’s and determinedly head to the bathroom. The least you could do was stop moping and try to clear your thoughts of him. For both your sakes.

Just as you finish that thought, you catch sight of the item sitting on top of your dresser. Your favorite hoodie. His hoodie. You scowl and toss it into the trash bin. If only all men were like Nam Joohyuk. The world would be a much more peaceful place.

“Sooo, hey.”

“Yeah?”

“You know how Princess Peach is always getting her ass kidnapped?”

You laugh at the odd question. “I do recall the kidnapping of the Princess Peach ass, yes.”

“Well, it just hit me. Why doesn’t the bitch ever fight back? I mean,” Jin places a hand on his hip thoughtfully, “how is it that she manages to get kidnapped by the same dude every single time? She’s a princess. Shouldn’t she have high level security?”

“Huh. I never really thought about that.”

“How could you not! She has marshmallows for bodyguards. It’s outrageous.”

“Does it really matter?” you ask.

He sounds genuinely offended. “Of course it does. You ever see Daisy getting kidnapped?”

“Well, no but—“

“Besides, isn’t it a little ridiculous how there’s this expectation that Mario has to save her? I mean, he’s not even a prince or a knight, he’s a plumber! An italian plumber! The amount of disrespect is just astronomical considering the lengths he goes to—”

“Seokjin why are we talking about this?” You ask, baffled. You take a look at your workstation and head to the stockroom to get more large size cups. Jin trails behind you, obviously upset with your lack of interest in the conversation.

 “It’s a legitimate concern, Y/N. Someone needs to pay attention to these details and it is the duty of I, the consumer, to voice the—whoa whoa whoa, since when do we have oatmeal raisin cookies?!” He screeches mid-rant, staring at a pack of cookies he holds in his hand.

You whip around to have a look, not believing your ears. “What the fuck?”

It’s true. The box of oatmeal raisin cookies sits atop the third shelf, right next to the double chocolate chip cookies.

“The boss sent an email out on Sunday,” Yoongi stands at the doorway holding a box of promotional flyers. If it were possible, you swear tumbleweed would have made its way between the three of you with the silence that follows as you and Jin stare at each other blankly.

“Which,” Yoongi drawls out, “I guess neither of you read.” he states dryly, walking away.

“Who the hell likes oatmeal raisin?” Jin asks defensively. Personally, you couldn’t agree more. Oatmeal cookies on their own were tolerable—it was the raisin part that completely ruined the entire cookie.

“They’re Satan’s spawn,” he scowls, tossing the aforementioned cookie back in the box as if it had personally insulted him. You chuckle and shake your head, walking back to your station with the box of plastic cups.

You start stocking them back up on the counter, making sure it looks neat. 

“Hey Jin,” Yoongi calls out from the front of the store, “can you grab that window marker and write out the menu again? The rain washed some of it off.” He says, examining the missing bits of letters, nose scrunched in annoyance.

You could practically hear the way the older boy starts seething at Yoongi’s lack of use in honorifics. The tips of his ears flare a bright red, his eyes wide in disbelief.

“I’M SORRY, COME AGAIN?! I couldn’t hear you over the DISRESPECT.”

Seokjin takes great pride in being the oldest of the crew. He enjoys taking care of the others as if they were of his own blood, you included. He has a somewhat sarcastic sense of humor—but never overbearingly so—always exaggerating his facial expressions and reactions, which you personally find charming. Seokjin is also infamous for his constant dad jokes, the younger ones usually cringing at their cheesiness and have you bending over in laughter. (The other boys beg you to stop egging him on as it only fuels his desire to keep them going.) That being said, Jin is not someone who gets easily irritated. When it comes to certain things, he is just, well, a bit of a drama queen.

You stifle a laugh, watching as Yoongi pinches the bridge of his nose, a heavy sigh leaving his mouth, very obviously regretting his choice of words. “Hyung, will you please go rewrite the menu outside?”

“Thank you! Can’t you just do that from the get go? I swear you kids are so ungrateful sometimes. I mean, you all seem to forget how I practically raised you brats—”

“Hyung, please get your ass outside or so help me I will go into that break room right now, clock out, take the longest nap of my damn life and just leave you two out here to die.” 

“Alright, alright,” he says, putting his hand up, “I’m going geez. What a drama queen.” He huffs his way to the entrance, shaking his head, marker in hand. “And you guys say I’m the dramatic one.” He scoffs, shaking his head.

Yoongi stands there looking up at the ceiling with his hands on both hips as if silently asking the heavens for a tiny shred of patience.

You snicker behind your hand. You swear hearing those two bicker is your daily source of serotonin. 

It’s 3 more hours into your shift when Hamin shows up at the front counter with his signature soft boy smile.

He first visited the cafe during the summer one day back when you had just been hired. The intense summer heat wave had him coming in search of some shelter from the sun and a drink to cool off. The Grind was promoting the seasonal summer drinks and naturally, as a new hire, you tried your best to advertise it. It was only your second day on the job and in your nervous state you sold him a drink that, to just your luck, wasn’t available that day. You apologized profusely afraid that he would turn out to be a Karen, but Hamin had been very sweet about it. He befriended you after that, making frequent visits to the Grind, declaring that he had found a hidden gem.

After talking to him some more you learned that Hamin had studied psychology for two years at a local college before he decided to drop out and pursue his musical career. Of course he didn’t tell you that last part up until a couple of weeks ago, so you had been under the impression that the reason he spent so many hours at the coffee shop was to study for his exams. You weren’t the type of person to pry into someone’s personal life unless they decided to tell you themselves so you never asked. Ever since Hongwon confessed to you that both he and Hamin were working towards becoming musicians, Hamin began to share more about himself to you. He figured that now that the cat was out of the bag, he could be more open with you. Prior to that day, you knew very little about Hamin’s personal life.

“Hey you! You’re back,” you beam. 

“Yeah, gotta grind,” he pats his bag for emphasis. “Ha! Grind...” he snorts suddenly. “Get it? Cause we’re at...” he gestures to the shop and laughs to himself. He looks goofy standing there in his bright lavender tie dye hoodie, a big contrast to the muted colors of the walls. His tall lean form stands out like a sore thumb. An Adidas baseball cap adorns his head but it’s so washed out you can’t even tell what color it is—or is supposed to be. 

You laugh, shaking your head.

“Oh come on, it was funny,” he says, leaning on the counter.

“It was funny the first couple times Jin said it when I just started working here,” You correct.

“You still laughed though,” he winks at you, making you laugh again. “Anyway,” he straightens up, “Can I get the usual, please?”

You grab a cup and start writing his name. “Just you this time?” 

“Nah, my idiot friend is coming but he’s gonna run late so I’ll just order ahead of him.” He sighs, reaching into his pocket in search of his wallet. “How much is it?” He asks, fumbling through a bunch of receipts and cards.

You wave him off. “On the house.”

“No way, I can—”

“Hamin, dude, relax. You do this every time. I keep telling you, discount: friend. Total: zero.” 

“You gotta let me pay every now and then. I don’t want your coworkers to think I keep coming here to leech off you…”

“Look, if you were really taking advantage of me, you wouldn’t keep disappearing on me for weeks at a time. Consider it an advance payment for when you finally let me hear a song of yours. ”

“Sorry…” He smiles sheepishly, “It’s a deal then. Thanks Y/N, you’re the best,” he grins. You flip your hair dramatically, playing along.

You make his drink and note that work is slow enough, so you head over to his table instead of calling him over.

You place his drink on the table, “so what’re you working on today?” He looks up and thanks you, taking a sip before he answers.

“A solo project. I don’t have anything now that’s worth listening to though…” He says dejectedly. Admittedly, he’s been going though somewhat of a writer's block. 

“That’s okay! I didn’t mean to pressure you. Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be glad to give it a listen if you’re still willing to let me. Good music also takes time, right?” You smile encouragingly.

Someone yells out your name before he’s able to respond. You turn at the sound, “Oh hey!” you exclaim when you see your roommate. You turn back to wish Hamin luck on his writing.

“Thanks for the lunch, Hyeri,” you pat your stuffed tummy in satisfaction. “I forgot to prep mine last night so I was honestly just gonna wait until I got home to eat,” you confess meekly.

She showed up during your shift planning to ask you what kind of food you were in the mood for so she could bring it to you, but Yoongi caught on and sent you on your lunch break so the two of you could eat together instead. Min Yoongi was a godsend. 

“I knew it! Y/N, you have to eat your meals! Do you know how detrimental it is to your health if you’re constantly working and skipping your meals?!” you cower as she scolds you. 

“I know…sorry. I just forgot...” you squeak.

“Ugh. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to raise my voice, I just worry about you,” she sighs, taking her seat again.

“And I’m so thankful!” you say quickly placing your hand on hers, “I’m sorry you’re always having to take care of me. I’ll work harder so that I don’t become a burden to you. I promise. I haven’t been myself these days but...just give me some time.”

She grabs your hand with both of hers, “Hey. You’re never a burden to me, Y/N. You’re like a sister to me. And I would never put your emotions against you. You need time to heal and that’s okay. Take it at your pace. I will always look after you, no matter what. Okay?”

Your heart warms at her words. You were so grateful to have her for a best friend. You engulf her in a hug and look at the time. 

“I should head back. My break is just about over. Thank you for everything, Hyeri. Are you staying? I’ll make you a drink. On the house. You can study there?” you ask.

“Well, I was planning on going to my school’s library, but I guess I could use a drink…” She paused for a moment. “Is Jungkook working today?” She asks, hopeful. 

Her crush on your coworker was so amusing. “Unfortunately for you, not today, sorry.” She pouts cutely.

“I’ll make you a green matcha latte?”

“Pretty please.”

You giggle, “Okay, let’s head back then.” 

It was a good thing the two of you decided to eat at the chinese restaurant across the shop, so the walk isn’t long. You came here so often that the kind elderly woman who owned the restaurant had memorized your order. You couldn’t help it that their sweet and sour chicken was bomb as hell. What you would give for that recipe.

You’re internally groaning at the thought of having to go back into work when Hyeri stops in front of the entrance and lets out a low whistle. 

“Whoa, hey. Which one of your coworkers drives a damn motorcycle?!” She points to a sleek, graphite motorcycle parked on the curb, two cars away from yours. 

“Whoa. Uhh...no one, not that I’m aware of. Jin drives a Honda Civic and Yoongi ubers cause of car issues.” You shrug, opening the door. “Must be a customer’s.”

“Well, I don’t know if it’s just me, but that thing is screaming big dick energy.” She says, following behind you. You laugh and smack her shoulder. 

“You say that but what if it’s some old bald dude that listens to metal?” You ask, leading her to a table farther in the back so she can study peacefully. 

“Well err...hopefully not. I’m just saying whoever rides that thing, I wouldn’t mind riding too. Hell, I could ride all night…” she trails off. You bury your embarrassed face in your hands and try to hold in your laughter so you don’t disturb the customers. 

“Oh my god. Stop talking. You’re gonna get me in trouble.” You point at a chair, “Sit here and I’ll bring your drink. Behave,” you warn playfully.

“Yes ma'am,” She winks and points shooter fingers at you. You laugh with a roll of your eyes, heading back to clock in. 

“You seem...distracted.” Hamin says, amusement lacing his words.

“Huh?” Hongwon turns at the accusation with wide eyes.

He sighs. “I mean,” he says crossing his arms, “ever since you got here 15 minutes ago, it’s like you keep looking around for...something.”

“So, you’re saying for the past 15 minutes you’ve been watching me like a creep?” He turns his attention back to the music software in front of him. “I told you I don’t swing that way.” he says, clicking random notes on the half-finished project.

Hamin snorts. “Don’t change the subject. What‘s got you so distracted dude?” He asks, slurping up the remains of his drink through his straw.

“The only distraction here is the eggplant sitting in front of me...” He trails off when you enter the coffee shop with your friend in tow. You’re laughing, giving her a smack on the shoulder playfully at a joke she tells you.

Hamin stops his obnoxious slurping when he follows his friend’s gaze. “Ohhhhh!” he grins.

“What?” He snaps. “No ohhhh. Whatever you’re thinking, stop it right now.”

“I’m not thinking anything.” Hamin brings his hands up defensively. “Brain empty. No thoughts.” He taps the side of his head with his index finger. “Buuuttt if you were so interested you could’ve just asked, you know.”

“And what would I have asked exactly?” He asks with a tinge of annoyance.

Hamin tsks under his breath, exasperated. “Oh come on. I mean Y/N. You wanted to know if she was working. Am I right or am I right?”

“Why the hell would I wanna know that? I don’t even know her. ”

“Hongwon!” He’s caught off guard at the sound of your voice. He internally slams his own head against the table and forces a smile when you approach the table, avoiding Hamin’s gaze.

“Y/N, hey…”

“Hold on, you know each other already?” Hamin asks obnoxiously, “I only briefly mentioned you to him, but you already know his name!” Hongwon shoots daggers at the side of his head.

“Actually,” Hongwon says through gritted teeth, “we talked for a bit when I was on my way out the other day. It would have been rude of me to not introduce myself since she’s your friend.”

“He was even kind enough to walk with me on the way home even though it was raining. Thanks for that by the way, you really didn’t have to do that.”  Hamin’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Shit. The smile you give him is so sincere that he almost misses what you say completely.

“Really!” Hamin grins, clearly enjoying the situation. He pats his shorter friend’s head in mock endearment. “That’s so sweet of him! I mean, considering he lives in a completely opposite di—” Hongwon sends a swift kick to his shin underneath the table.

“Fuck!” Hamin rubs the spot and laughs through the gritted teeth. “I mean...that’s sweet of him considering he’s normally so shy.” He growls at Hongwon and plasters a smile when he looks back at you. You probably think they’re both lunatics.

“Right…” You laugh, unsure of what’s happening. “By the way, did you want a drink? I’ll make it for you.” You tell Hongwon.

“Oh, uh yeah I was just gonna get an americano. Let me just—” He starts to stand up and take out some cash when you stop him.

“Are you sure that’s okay?” He asks. “I don’t want to get you in trouble…”

“Don’t worry, I get free drinks and pastries since I work here.” You say.

“And she shares them with me because I’m her favorite customer. Right, Y/N?” Hamin wiggles his eyebrows at you. You laugh and pick up his empty cup.

“Is he always this much of a moron when he comes here?” Hongwon asks, scrunching his face in distaste. You laugh and ask them to wait while you bring them coffee. 

Hamin waits until you’re completely out of ear shot before he begins his interrogation. 

“You know, for a pair of strangers, you two seem very well acquainted.” He states, eyes narrowed.

Hongwon scoffs. “You know, I don’t know if anyone’s ever told you this but somehow you have a really punchable face.”

“I don’t know if anyone’s ever told you this, but you’re a terrible liar.”

“Oh shut up. I didn’t lie. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think I needed to.”

“‘I don’t even know her,’” Hamin mimics.

“I don’t know her. I know her name, that’s it. Not the same thing.”

“So you like her.”

He laughs. “What are you, five? How could I like her? I just met her, idiot.”

“You walked her home.” He says pointedly.

“Part way. I only did it because it was getting late and she’s your friend.”

“Ha! Since when do you care about my friends?”

“She’s a girl, it’s different. If something happened to her because I looked the other way, it’d be on my conscience.”

“You live in completely opposite directions.”

“So what?”

“You wouldn’t even do that for me.” Hamin deadpans.

“Yeah but you’re not a cute girl.” He shrugs, crossing his arms.

“So you think she’s cute!” He slams both hands onto the table, leaning forward to peer into Hongwon’s face accusingly. 

“So what? She is cute.” He shoves him away, “that doesn’t mean I like her.”

“Hmm. Okay.” Hamin smirks and leans back in his seat.

“What?” He snaps.

“Nothing,” He says with a look on his face that screams everything but nothing.

Hongwon drags his hands over his face. “You really piss me off, you know that?”

“You may have mentioned that before,” he replies, appearing unbothered.

He’s lucky you decide to come back at that moment. He swears he’d have slapped the smile off his face had he been left alone with Hamin for a minute longer.

You set down the coffee and start to walk back to the counter. “Well, I shouldn’t bother you guys too much so I’ll leave you to it.”

“Wait, Y/N!” Hamin shifts in his seat to face you. “Are you busy Friday?” This puts Hongwon on alert.

 “Hmmm...no, I don’t think I have anything going on actually. Why what’s up?”

“You’ve been wanting to hear some of our music for a while now, right? Well,” he loops an arm around Hongwon’s shoulder, “guess who has a gig that night?”

“No way!” You squeal, covering your mouth with both hands. “Wait, but I thought you didn’t have any music that’s finished.” You frown.

“Well, it’s not that we don’t, I just kinda wanted you to hear our new stuff first. But now that I think about it, this is as good a time as any. If you’re interested, a friend of ours is hosting a party and he asked a couple of artists to play for him. It’s at the Henz Club.” 

“You mean that scary looking club in Mapo-gu?”

“Scary? I mean sure, some odd looking people hang around there, but they’re all pretty chill for the most part. Right Hongwon?” 

Hongwon slaps his arm away. “Right. Well, you’re welcome to come but you don’t have to if you’re uncomfortable.” He supplies. “We’d understand if—oof!”

“Nonsense!” Hamin butts in, shoving his elbow into Hongwon’s side. “You can bring your friend over there if you want, so you don’t have to worry about being alone.” He motions his head in the direction of Hyeri who—not so discreetly—pretends like she hasn’t been trying to make out what the three of you have been talking about for the past 10 minutes.

“Ah, but either way we won’t ditch you after the performance, I promise. How about it?”

Hongwon is still recovering from having the wind knocked out of his lungs and before he knows it, somehow you’re agreeing and Hamin is giving you the details. 

“I’m so excited, I can’t wait to hear you guys.” You say cheerfully. 

“You should see this guy on stage,” Hamin gestures to Hongwon, “he really puts on a show. Like a true rockstar.”

 “You know, you saying that doesn’t make me feel good,” Hongwon says with a frown, sitting back in his chair defeatedly. 

 “Oh and don’t be surprised if you hear a lot of screaming.” He ignores him, “There’s always a lot of fangirls, especially for Hongwon. They literally come in swarms, it's crazy.”

“Oh my god. Stop. You’re so embarrassing.” He groans, looking away.

“Wow, you’re really hyping him up,” you laugh.

“Ignore him. He’s just saying whatever the hell he wants.” 

“No way, it’s really the truth.” He insists, folding his arms across his chest.

“Y/N! We need you in the back!” Yoongi calls out, his head poking out from the staff only door. 

“I gotta go. I guess I’ll see you guys on Friday!” You say, waving. “Coming!” You call out, following after your coworker.

Hamin smiles stupidly as you leave. “Isn’t she sweet!”

Hamin and Hongwon hang around at the café for a few more hours until they decide to grab a bite to eat. For the remainder of the time they spent working on their music, Hongwon had not uttered a single word. The most Hamin had gotten out of him was a “sure” when he suggested they get burgers before heading home.

He exits his car, watching as Hongwon removes his helmet to fix the mess it makes of his hair. 

Sighing deeply, Hamin leans against the side of his car, hitting the park button on his remote. “Come on, don’t be so cold. How long are you gonna give me the silent treatment for?” 

He slips his hands into the pockets of his jeans, dreading to ask but needing to know. “Are you really that pissed off because I invited her?”

Hongwon slips the hollow side of his helmet onto the handlebar and mimics Hamin, leaning against his motorcycle. “Depends,” he says, taking out a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket to light one up, “why’d you invite her?”

Hamin considers his answer carefully, shifting his weight onto the other leg. It’s obvious that Hongwon is already upset, so anything he says will probably get him angry anyway. “I was hoping maybe you guys could hit off,” he says at last, deciding to be honest.

In truth, Hongwon isn’t surprised to hear this—he actually suspected it—but it still pisses him off nonetheless. It wasn’t the first time Hamin tried setting him up with someone. He wasn’t looking for a relationship. This was something he had told him countless times and yet, he continues to pull stunts like this.

“I know you said you aren’t looking for a relationship,” Hamin continues when he proceeds to bring the cigarette to his lips without a reply, “but I just think you could at least talk to her and—“

“And then what? We fall in love, get married and ride off into the sunset?” He cuts him off abruptly.

“No, I just—“ he starts to say but stops when he can’t think of how to word it correctly.

“I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking Y/N went through a bad breakup, and so did I. You think maybe the two of us can find the comfort we couldn’t find with our previous relationships, in each other.” He pauses to take a drag of his cigarette. 

“I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but that's a load of shit. This idea you have that love can just make me forget about all my trauma, is a load of shit.” Hamin flinches at the sudden aggression in his tone. This really didn’t come across the way he intended it to.

“Guess what, I’m fucked up Hamin!” He continues, raking a frustrated hand through his hair. “I have too many damn issues and I don’t need some chick to try to figure me out or fix me. I told you already, I’m happy with the way things are. I’m not gonna play into your stupid games just because you want to play fuckin’ cupid.” Hongwon scowls, taking another drag of his cigarette.

Hamin keeps his gaze on the ground, frustrated with how easily and accurately Hongwon is able to guess what he’s thinking. He didn’t realize how terrible it all sounded out loud. He racks his brain for something—anything—to say and argue that those aren’t his intentions, but Hongwon is speaking again before he’s able to do so successfully. 

“I don’t care if you invite her. Just don’t go expecting anything out of me.”

He nods his head weakly. “I didn’t mean for it to sound like that, bro…” He says scratching his neck, “I’m not trying to find someone to fix you...” he trails off.

“It’s cool.” He sniffles, the cold air getting to him. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to snap like that.”

Hamin is taken aback for a second, not expecting him to apologize. He kicks the floor with his sneaker, “S’cool.”

“You still hungry?” Hamin asks, afraid that their little spat would create unnecessary tension between them.

Hongwon tosses his cigarette onto the floor to put it out with his sneaker. “Fuckin’ starving.”

You went home together with Hyeri later that afternoon once your shift was over. It was always nice to go home when the sun was setting and the air felt cooler. You loved how quiet the city got, allowing you to simply be one with your thoughts. 

Unfortunately for you, today was not one of those days.

You release a sigh as you continue to pretend to not notice Hyeri’s constant fidgeting. “Hyeri, if you want to know so badly just ask already.”

She releases a giant breath as if she had been holding it this entire time. “Oh thank goodness because I felt like I was actually going to die if you didn’t say something soon,” she says grabbing your arm excitedly, like a puppy who was just called over by its owner. 

“What were you doing with those two hotties I’ve never seen before?” You couldn’t tell what made her more excited―the fact that she found them so attractive or the fact that you were talking to men other than your coworkers. “Is one of them single?” she stops walking and gasps, “Are they both single?!”

An older lady walking her Chihuahua gives you a scornful look as she passes the two of you and you bring your finger to your lips to shush Hyeri. “Sorry,” she says with a giggle, “but this is huge!”

You pull her along with you to cross the short crosswalk and to the steps of your apartment complex, “It’s not a big deal. Besides, you’ve seen Hamin before.” You say, slipping your house key into the lock and opening the door.

“Okay but, this time there was another guy too. And you guys talked for like 20 minutes! On your shift!” She says, removing her shoes quickly to stand in front of you excitedly. You stop untying your shoelaces to give her a look.

“He’s a friend I made through Hamin. Who is also just my friend,” You tell her slowly as if you were explaining it to a child but you can tell by her smile that she’s not listening. You sigh and slip your work shoes off, putting them in the hallway closet. Hyeri hovers behind you, not wanting to be too pushy but also too worked up to leave you alone.

You stand up straight and turn around. “Okay fine. Hamin invited me to this party,” this already has Hyeri clasping her hands over mouth, “he and his friend are playing a gig for a friend—”

She’s squealing and jumping around before you can finish your sentence. “And they want you there as their plus one! Oh my—”

“But I think Hamin knows about the breakup and he feels bad and that’s why he invited me,” you say quickly. Hyeri stops mid spin to give you an incredulous look. “I mean, they kind of saw the whole thing since it happened at work,” you say glumly.

Hyeri wraps her arms around you when she sees how you deflate at the reminder. “Hey, don’t make such a sad face. You guys have been friends for a while now, right? I haven’t met the guy but I’m sure he invited you because he wants you there and not because he pities you.”

“Sorry. I think I’ve been trying too hard not to think about it so all the negative thoughts are really hitting me now,” you say, resting your head on her shoulder. She always had such a comforting mom warmth to her.

She releases you and gives you a comforting smile. “Do you want to go?”

“Well,” you sit on your bed exhausted, “I actually didn’t know Hamin played music until recently. I’ve really been wanting to hear some of his stuff and apparently his friend does music too..”

“Girl, there’s your answer! Who says you have to spend your days sad and alone after a breakup? If you want to go, go.” She encourages you. She had a point. Although somewhere in the back of your mind, you felt guilty. When Hamin invited you, you were super stoked and set on going but now that you were really thinking about it, you couldn’t help but think of Jaewon.

“I can tell you’re overthinking this,” Hyeri says. “Don’t. You’re a free woman! Free from a man who took advantage of you and didn’t know how to treasure you. Do whatever the fuck you want because it’s no one’s business. It’s not like you’re planning to go sleep around.” She crosses her arms across her chest, “and even if you are guess what, it’s still no one’s business.” She says vehemently.

You pick at your nails and bite your lip. “Okay.”

“Okay?!”

“Yeah, I’ll go.”

She squeals again and launches herself onto you. You land with an oof on your bed, her head barely missing yours by an arm hair. “Oh, one more thing though,” you manage to say from beneath her. “They kind of invited you too.”

Hyeri lifts herself up at this. She stares at you with wide eyes, “what do you mean?”

“I guess they saw us talking together and figured we were friends. Also, they caught you trying to eavesdrop on our conversation.” You tell her.

“Nooooooooooo,” she cries and runs to throw herself onto her bed face flat.

“It was the hiding behind an upside down textbook for me,” you snicker.

“Y/N, please I’m in the middle of dying of embarrassment.”

[heyheydidjaknow]

I’m uploading this Friday at 12:10 am. Or, at least, that’s when I finished writing this. Yes, we’re still on the angst thing. It won’t last forever, but still.

Chapter 9

“How is she?”

Donatello sits down next to his brother on the couch. “Same as yesterday,” he sighs. “Comatose.”

“I still can’t believe it,” Raphael smirks. “That stupid bitch decided to total the fuckin—"

“Raphael,” he promises coolly, “I will personally make it my life’s goal to make sure you can never open your mouth again if you don’t shut up.”

He puts his hands up. “Yeah, yeah.”

“Will you two be quiet for a minute? I’m trying to listen.” Leonardo kneels in front of the television.

There is a new news story.

“They can’t arrest her, can they?” The tallest brother glances at the others.

“Nah.” Michelangelo is sprawled out on his portion of the couch, eyes dully focused on the screen. “They’ll side with her before someone from a street gang, ‘specially with those…” He trails off. “’ Sides,” he clears his throat, “any good public defense lawyer would call it self-defense, and there’s no way the police would convict a teenage girl of any degree of murder with the injuries she has; bad press.”

“Mikey,” Leo asks, “how come you know that and not how to multiply numbers by seven?”

“Because seven is a stupid number that was created just to make us all feel stupid.”

“Leo—”

“He’s right,” Raph agrees. “They won’t put her away for something like that.” He chuckles darkly. “Besides, there’s no more evidence.”

“After what happened with the neurologist?”

“Donnie,” Leo turns to look at him. “She’s going to be fine.”

He opens his mouth to argue, closes it.

” The perpetrator,” the news anchor reads, ” was found this morning after a panicked nine-one-one caller had seen the hand of the assailant hanging over a ledge. The corpse had, presumably, been flung away from the scene of the incident as a consequence of the explosion, miraculously landing on the roof of a nearby restaurant. The body has been identified as Fong Zhao, who was arrested on multiple charges of armed battery earlier this year. The police have refrained from offering Channel Six detailed information, but we have an anonymous source who claims that he and the gang he is supposedly involved in, locally referred to as the Purple Dragons, was also involved in the hijacking of a truck carrying a substance believed to be tear gas. The driver of the truck testified in favor of this statement earlier this evening. An investigation is currently ongoing regarding the involvement of the men in question, and we at Channel Six implore our viewers to come forward with any information you may have on the case or the supposed ringleader, the recently escaped Xever Montes. More on that later tonight. Up next, a local—”

Leonardo shuts off the television. “Well, there you go.” He stands up. “See? Didn’t even mention her name.”

Donatello breathes out a sigh of relief. “Good,” he nods after a moment. “That’s... good.” He cradles his head in his hand, his concerns hardly pacified by the report.

This, he cannot excuse. This is entirely a matter of his own negligence.

‘I should’ve noticed sooner, insisted to come with.’ He zones out, his brother starting a conversation about something he cannot bring himself to pay attention to. ‘How could she be that reckless? It’s Shredder for fuck’s sake; I should’ve at least noticed the body or something, anything.’ His fingers lace together as he stares a hole into the ground. ‘Even if I couldn’t have stopped her, I should’ve been there, if only after the fact.’ He runs his tongue along his teeth absentmindedly. ‘Some ninja I am. Some friend. Some—’

“So, I broke Y/N’s arms, right?”

His head snaps up. “You what?”

“There he is,” Raph chuckles. “Knew that’d get his attention.”

“Don’t make me go over there,” he glares. His face flushes in embarrassment.

Leonardo rolls his eyes at his brother’s antics. “As I was saying, it’s been pretty quiet, hasn’t it? Since the incident?”

“Now that you mention it,” Raph points out, “since the whole Leatherhead fiasco, I don’t think anything’s really happened. Ya know, besides the Kraang thing.” He crosses his arms behind his head, leaning back into the couch. “It’s been getting’ kinda boring If I’m bein’ honest.”

“It’s that desire to fight that’s going to get you killed,” Donatello informs him, staring at the television screen. “Saw what happened to her, right? Weren’t you just saying how stupid she was being?”

“Yeah, but that’s different.” He smiles sharply. “She’s got exactly no training. As much as you guys seem to have a thing for humility all of a sudden,” he waves his hand contemptuously, “the only reason she got hurt is that she was being stupid, so we’re pretty much undefeated, no thanks to Leo.”

He stands up, deciding against fighting him. “If you need me,” he says curtly, “I’ll be in my lab.”

“Watch it, Raph,” the eldest brother snaps.

“Why should I?” He throws his hands up. “Am I wrong?”

Mikey quietly grabs his comic off the floor, retreating to his room, presumably.

Donatello slides the door in between him and his brothers as he sits down at his desk.

You have been stuck in the hospital for about two weeks now.

‘Technically,’ he corrects himself as he pulls his laptop open, ‘it’s been three hundred fifty-seven hours, meaning it’s closer to fifteen days than two weeks. Why do I know that?’ He pulls up an image, uncapping a permanent marker and working on one of the more mindless parts of his latest project: reviving an incredibly battered map. He already has a frame for it once he is finished, but, knowing his brothers, the fading colors would likely be a point of contention if he did not at least make an effort to make it easier to read. Fortunately for him, it is not laminated. Unfortunately—depending on how you look at it— a lot of the finer details—the integral streets names in particular—are all irreparably smudged and, therefore, will have to be all rewritten by hand, turning a once twenty-minute job into at least a two-hour investment.

He tries to tune out the incessant arguing of his two older brothers as he focuses on making his minute handwriting legible despite the infuriatingly fat marker nib.

“You should have taken her offer for a pen when you had the chance,” he mumbles to himself.

His hand stops.

‘Would it be weird to go check on her again? Just to make sure she’s still alright? I mean,’ he goes back to work, ‘even if it were, how would she know?’

He shakes his head to clear it. ‘Stop that. You’re being a creep again.’

Over those two weeks, his distractedness has become more of a problem than it has in the past in reference to his work. He is hardly a stranger to having a thousand thoughts bouncing around his head at once, but where once a rapid stream of information was there is now an aggravatingly slow sludge. The origin of said mind sludge is not at all a mystery to him, which makes the whole thing infinitely more frustrating. ‘Frustrating? Depressing? Does it even matter?’

He rubs his eye absentmindedly with the heel of his palm as he strains to see what he is doing. The smell of the marker is corrosive in his nostrils. His hand shakes. He sets it down, wringing his hands as if to force them back into submission as he stares holes into the map. ‘This is not supposed to be challenging.’ He closes his eyes, the image of you lying on the ground, a bloody, skeletal figure shaking and begging for your life carved into the backs of his eyelids, a hideous scar.

He can not stop thinking about what you said the night before the incident. Something about being able to care for yourself.

What would you say to him now? He imagines that it would be something to remind him of how the accident is your fault, how he should not beat himself up over it, but all that does is convince him that he should have been faster to act or to respond or something. There had to have been something he, in his infinite wisdom, could have done. What else can he reason? That he is powerless? That he had no say in what happened that night of nights?

‘How come I can plan and build a combat vehicle out of alien technology and an old subway car and I can’t—’

He jumps at a loud banging at the door.

“Donnie!” He can hear Raphael’s wicked grin from behind the door. “Bank robbery! Let’s go!”

He sighs, capping the marker. His breakdown will have to wait.

“Comin’!”

--

The ringing in your ears is already annoying.

You have been awake for about five minutes. You have elected against moving for a plethora of reasons, but the ringing is a relatively large determining factor in your decision. You are, admittedly, not sure where you are until you hear the tell-tale incessant beeping you remember from your childhood. You do not open your eyes yet. You are incredibly drowsy for some reason.

‘Hospital?’

You sit up carefully, wincing as a numb pain permeates through your arms. You run your fingers over your face curiously, feeling for any perceived disfigurement as your eyes scan your surroundings. The small room you have been placed in seems standard; there are a couple of chairs under a window that makes up half of the wall, a television screen in a corner of the room, an inoffensive painting, and a small vase filled with some sort of white flowers.

You feel a protruding scar on the right side of your face. It traces from the bridge of your nose to about halfway across your cheekbone. As you bring your hands down to pull the hospital gown away from your body, you catch sight of your hands. Long, jagged cuts run vertically along the front of your hands, and as your eyes travel up your arms, you notice fewer, shorter scars along the insides of your forearms. You swallow, pulling the cloth away from your body to see long scratches running from your thighs to under your ribcage. You pull the blanket off to find that one of your legs is encased in a white cast.

You blink. ‘What stupid thing did I do?’

You lay back down, fingers absentmindedly tracing the scars. ‘I must have been out for a bit.’ You push the hair out of your face, noting how oddly shaky your hands are as you try to focus on what had happened. ‘Why wouldn’t my folks be here? They wouldn’t ditch me in a hospital, would they?’ You hold them out in front of you, palms to the ceiling. ‘I don’t look old or anything. My nails aren’t much longer than they were before, so I can’t have been out for that long.’

Your eyebrows furrow. ‘Parents…’ You swallow. ‘Oh, right. The fire.’ Your eyes go out of focus. ‘Dead. I was, too, until recently.’ You put your arms down. ‘I’m hungry. Where am I?’ You close your eyes. ‘New York. East coast. How far is the East Coast from the West Coast? I should call her so she knows I’m—no, she’s dead.’

“All dead and gone,” you mumble the tune to yourself.

You cover your face. ‘Focus. What happened?’ You recall what you think is a church. ‘Turtles. Turtle. Oh, TMNT. Where are people? Focus.’ You yank at a piece of your hair, mumbling to yourself as you try to run through the memory again.

The image of that man’s body takes your breath away.

You shut your eyes tighter. ‘Right. Car. Glass. Glass would be a good candy. Could you make glass out of sugar? Isn’t that what a lollipop is?’ You hug yourself tightly, careful of the IV as you roll onto your side towards it. ‘I killed someone. Someones. That’s not a word. Gasoline smells bad.’ You feel tears prick at your eyes. ‘I deserve to die for that. There has to have been an easier way to do that. I deserve to burn again. That explosion was so prettily animated in that episode. I can’t breathe.’

You curl your legs up towards you, using the arm not connected to the IV to hook behind your knees. You bury your head in your shoulder as you force your breathing to slow. ‘I miss her. Where is he? They’re dead and you killed them, you heartless bitch.’

You feel a sob rise in your throat. You swallow it back. ‘Stop being a pussy.’ You hear yourself start to count softly. ‘They’re all dead and gone. You’re on your own here, so get a grip.’ You grip the blanket. ‘After all, who are you going to turn to? The guys who already risk their lives every day? Or maybe Splinter, who will probably tell you some bullshit about letting your pain go?’

‘That’s not fair,’ you argue with yourself. ‘You can turn to Murakami. Casey might be willing to help.’

‘Because Casey’s known for his reliability and Murakami would want to deal with your stupid emotional problems.’

“Twenty-three,” you whisper, keeping your voice even. “Twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six…’

You pull yourself back up, bringing your knee to your chest as you wipe any tears that may have leaked out with the back of your hand.

You do not have to wait long until someone comes in to check on you, a taller gentleman with sharp features and sunken eyes behind curly black hair. He introduces himself as Nurse McGrath, gives you a run down of the dizzying number of injuries you had suffered in the accident, what they had done to fix the problem, and starts to discuss what would become of you now.

“The doctor predicts that you’ll be able to remove your cast in approximately six weeks, and that you will regain your fine-motor skills fully in eight.” He is obviously half asleep, but you can hardly blame him; the clock on the wall reads that it is about three in the morning. “The symptoms from the whiplash should completely fade in about three months. If you would be open, there are medications we can prescribe to help with the pain.”

You smile. “Thank you, sir, but I’d rather not.” You are sincerely concerned what might happen if you start taking any sort of medication right now, considering your mental health.

“I should probably warn you in advance that the police might ask you to come in to identify the guys who kidnapped you.”

You blink, confused. “How do they know I was kidnapped?”

“Anonymous tip, according to the news.” He scratches something into some form or another. “I dunno the specifics, but nobody thinks they’re gonna charge you with anything, ‘specially since the driver was from that street gang.”

You nod. “Gotcha.” You purse your lips. “What day is it?”

“Twenty-fourth, now.”

You sigh. “Well,” you shrug, ignoring the pain it causes, “at least I’m not dead.”

“At least.” He caps his pen. “Technically, you’re free to leave, but the doc thinks it’s a good idea to stay overnight. Your insurance provider has your medical bills covered, so you’re good for it.”

“Honestly? I’m surprised I don’t feel weaker.” You smile. “I’m more than happy to head home tonight, if that makes most sense.”

“Personally, I wouldn’t stay.” He starts heading out of your room. “Your cellphone is locked up. I’m guessing you want it?”

You nod eagerly, realizing quickly that makes the ringing worse.

“I’ll bring it right back, then.”

You refrain from touching it until he leaves.

It looks as if it was put in a blender, but you find it does still turn on. A problem quickly arises: your hands cannot hold the phone. You set it down on the mattress, each movement taking a ridiculous amount of time to coordinate as you type like someone who has never used a phone before. ‘Fine motor skills. Right.’ You type out a message after approximately too long that tells Donnie that you are out of the hospital and heading home.

You check out of the hospital at approximately four-thirteen. The trip home is a straight line of a walk that takes you approximately twenty minutes. Getting in through the door with a walker is a bit of a challenge, but it works out well enough.

You lock the door and windows when you get home, shutting your phone off as you crawl into bed.

You let out a low groan as your head punishes you for your heinous crime of moving. You had realized ten minutes into your walk that you were not at all physically strong enough to walk that long, and you already hate yourself for it, among other reasons. As you crawl into bed, ignoring your body’s protest, you still stand by your decision to not take any medication, especially now.

You feel as though you are being suffocated as you cling onto your pillow, pressing your face into it as you cry silently, the ringing in your ears only getting louder in the silence of your apartment.

‘I feel sick.’

You remember your first night here. You remember the feeling it had caused you, the numb ache of loss as you submitted to the situation you had found yourself in. It feels like an eternity ago, now. You know, logically, it cannot have been more than two months since you got here.

You had decided against taking a cab back home. You had the cash, and you still do, in your bloodstained pocket. You saw many as you walked home, and you had turned a blind eye to them all.

You feel yourself trembling again. You remember the first night you had slept on your own here, the nightmares you swore were the product of a mind much more sadistic than yours ever was. You remember, too, the nightmares you had after Bradford, the way that, for the first time in your life since you were five years old you woke up drenched in sweat and crying for your mother.

What possible dream could come from this?

You reach a hand to the nightstand, hovering over your cellphone as you consider your next action.

Slowly, you retract it, letting it rest next to you. ‘It’s four. He’s not awake.’ You do not have the energy to get up to grab the bottle of sleeping pills from your bathroom.

‘I don’t want to sleep. I can’t take another nightmare.’ You rest your cheek on the pillow, forcing your eyes shut. ‘Mare. Why is it called a nightmare? Are mares truly that terrifying?’

“One,” you whisper. “Two. Three.”

Table of Contents

Chapter 8

Chapter 10