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yessa-vie · 5 months

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❝LIKE YOU WANNA BE LOVED❞ — jeong yunho.

PAIRING. jeong yunho x fem!reader

GENDER. strangers to lovers. fast burn. yunho and reader are young adults (but I still consider teenagers since they are not at uni but finishing high school, so technically 17-18 year old) who met during summer. mostly fluff with a tiny bit of angst.

SYNOPSIS. with an encounter on the rock near the pier begins a friendship that, within a month, turns into butterflies in the stomach, sweaty hands, ragged breaths and hearts beating out of control.

WORD COUNT. 5,580 (not counting the end quote).

NOTE. another old story I did as a birthday gift to one of my best friends, also edited to fit Korea and the situation. not my best work, so I may edit this story further on, but for now I'm ok with the changes I did, but again, fast burn is not usually my style, but I hope you enjoy it regardless.

IMPORTANT. this is a work of fiction, it has zero intent on portraing how any of the people quoted here are in real life.

Jeju Island. That was what awaited him during this month of vacation. He had never been to Jeju Island before and it excited him, so many people he knew went and said it was beautiful. Friends of his always came and went renewed, so to speak. Now it was his turn. A month with the family in a rented beach house. Summer at its peak. A time to think and a time just for him.

He didn't want a relationship, far from it. He had just ended a relationship, why get involved and not enjoy the single life? A month by the sea, summer behind him, beautiful women passed by the door of his house and let's face it, he attracted attention, from his perfect physique to his innocent childish face – which was anything but innocent.

“Yunho, we better get going or we’ll be late!” Yunho heard his mother call him and soon closed his window, picked up his bags and left his room heading towards his car to put his things.

Another positive point, his parents would go in one car and he’d go in another with his younger brother. It wasn't that he didn't get along well with his parents, but he preferred to go alone with his brother, they could listen to whatever music they wanted, and he wouldn't have to worry about getting the car seat dirty and getting looked at.

After a while everyone was at the beach house, as beautiful as the photo sent. A white wooden staircase at the entrance and the balcony with light wooden floors. The house was simple. Two floors, a mix of wood, cement, and glass. In the coziest interior that the outside view could provide. The room was of a light cream color that it looked white, the entire wooden floor giving it a rustic feel. A fireplace with an LCD on top, surrounded by a pastel “L” shaped sofa and an armchair of the same tone, on the left side a glass door that opened onto a balcony that – thanks to the relative distance between the houses – made it possible to view the beach without having to go in front of the house.

The kitchen was relatively large, with the counter being made of marble, the cabinets made of wood and glass, and high wooden chairs so that they could reach the small counter in the center of the kitchen. On the left side of the room there is a staircase leading to the second floor. Four bedrooms were there, but to his happiness, at the bottom there was a small staircase that connected to the attic, which, to his happiness, was extremely tidy and a window that covered the entire wall facing straight to the sea. That would be his room for the month.

He packed his things and when he looked at the clock, he saw that it was already 4pm, he decided to help the family get settled, as he went downstairs he saw his parents in the kitchen talking about something while his mother was cooking.

"You need help?" Yunho was wearing black shorts, a white tank top and a black cap and flip-flops.

“Don’t worry about us, enjoy your vacation, do like your brother and go to the beach!”

Yunho's father said and he watched them a little more and when he received a smile from both of them, he smiled too and went out the door, walking a little along the beach.

The flip-flops didn't bother him, and the cap helped keep the sun out of his brown eyes for a while. He was already near the navy pier when he decided to sit down. It was already close to sunset, and he had a privileged view from his vantage point.

The sky was orange and pink, several people were already leaving, others were watching the sunset, he could see that they were either a group of friends or couples in love. He didn't let himself be shaken by it, mainly because he barely had time as a cream Golden Retivier soon appeared at his side barking and wagging his tail.

“Hey big guy, what are you doing here?”

Running his hand around the dog’s neck, he noticed a collar, but before he could utter any words, he heard a female voice and then she knelt down next to him running her hand over the dog.

“Thanks for holding him,” she smiled. Yunho thought it was one of the cutest smiles he had ever seen. He watched her quickly. Straight black hair falling over her shoulders, charming almond-shaped eyes, the cutest smile on her lips, a teal tank top over a bikini and white shorts with flip-flops on her feet. “(y/n),” you commented giving him her hand.

“Yunho,” he said, shaking your hand giving you a toothless smile that you found extremely cute. Yunho knew how to act around girls, but he especially became an idiot if he found them interesting. “So… He’s yours?”

“My sister's actually...” You commented laughing and sitting next to Yunho on the rock and looking forward with the Golden lying at your feet. “She got it from an ex-boyfriend of hers,” you let out a nasal laugh. “We all like him despite everything and well, if we were really going to keep this little guy, our parents made us promise that we would go out with him whenever we could, and it was my turn to go out with Thor” you commented pulling Golden's head up receiving licks in the face and laughing, making Yunho laugh too.

“He's beautiful,” he commented, running his hand over Thors's head, who licked his hand in response.

“And he liked you,” you commented, laughing, observing him. “I’ve never seen you around here...”

“Ah, I just moved, for a month,” you looked like you understood and shook your head.

“I see, that explains a little…”

"What?"

“You're here to watch the sunset,” you said with a charming smile, in Yunho's opinion, on your lips.

"What you mean?" He looked at you without understanding.

“Let me guess, either you live around here, or you walked too much and got tired sitting on this rock and watching the sunset, now which one is right?” You didn't look at him despite the sparkle in your eyes and the mischievous smile that gave it away.

“The second one,” he commented blushing slightly.

"Where are you living?" You asked without expecting anything but making conversation.

“I don't know any references here, but…” They both laughed as Yunho was remembering what he did during that time he was walking. “Since it took me two hours to get here and I was walking slower than a snail,” you laughed contagiously, making him release a smile that you thought was charming, “I think that an hour or thirty minutes of walking will be enough for me to go back home.” He commented smiling. "And you?"

“I live that way,” you pointed to Yunho's side, the same path he had passed, making him smiled at that. “I was heading back, considering the sun was already setting when Thor ran like crazy and only stopped when he reached you,” you smiled at the boy who was looking at you enchanted.

“Well, do you want to accompany me back?” you looked at him without understanding. “I came from there too, we can go back together...” you were silent for a while and Yunho quickly tried to correct himself. “I mean... if it’s okay with you or-”

“Hey! Don’t worry,” you laughed a little, taking Thor by the collar and going to Yunho’s side. "Let's go?"

It had been three weeks since Yunho was in Jeju. You met every day. Your family had invited him and his family to dinner or lunch with them and Yunho's family did the same to you. They lived just three houses apart. You had gotten surprisingly close.

Yunho now knew of two boys who “chased” you at school, he knew they had a crush on you and that's why they were always around and watching you, he could see the reason why they liked you thought, of course he could. You also knew things about Yunho, things he never told his friends or his brother. This was a good thing. But Yunho was afraid of confusing things, after all he was a master at confusing things.

He already knew every little detail about you without you needing to say anything. He knew what to do and how to do it. He wanted to protect you from everything and everyone, in addition to being stressed because you had taken the final college exams and was waiting for an answer. You wanted to enter Seoul National University, but he knew that it wasn't easy to get into that university, but he knew how much you had studied even if he didn't know the details regarding how you felt emotionally.

Unconsciously he had memorized your perfume, how you made him feel good and complete, something he hadn't felt since the end of the relationship. Yunho knew your scent, he knew all the smiles – and their meanings – that you gave out to everyone, he knew and loved the faces you made when he pushed you into the sea, or when you simply walked at night and the cold air hit your face.

He loved hugging you and having you in his arms. He loved being able to call you “little one” whenever you arrived and hug him warmly with that smile like a child on Christmas Day. Yunho loved everything about you and that was his biggest fear and warning alert. He knew that falling in love with a girl like you was easy, but he didn't want to confuse things. He noticed the glances you directed at him, how your smile was different in some moments when you were together, how the concern on your face was evident whenever he and your father were in the same space, the face of relief and joy that your face showed when Yunho was congratulated or simply did well in the areas established by your father.

He had to admit that he thought your father thought he was your boyfriend, or at the very least, a suitor. Not only him but your mother too. He also noticed the exchange of looks between you and your sister, noticed the hints that your sister threw at the two of you whenever you were together or Yunho would go to your house so you could go out somewhere, but what stressed him out and confused him was yourself.

Despite all the signs from your family and the statements from the boy's family that said there was something more than a simple friendship, he didn't see any sign coming from you. He didn't want to ruin the friendship that had begun, nor did he want to go back to Gwangju and leave you behind. He had become attached to having you by his side every day.

At that moment, you were both silent, walking side by side on the beach. The sun would set in less than three minutes and soon night would wash over Jeju. The silence was both pleasant and unwelcome. Yunho thought about ending the silence, but what would he say? ‘I think I'm confusing things and I think I'm starting to like you as more than a friend’? Yeah, that was out of the question.

“What day are you leaving?” Your eyes didn't meet his.

Yunho looked at you briefly, trying to memorize the few moments he would still have left with you as this trip would soon be nothing more than another memory. In two weeks he would hit the road back to his city so he wouldn't know when to return.

“Two weeks,” he lowered his head.

"Which day?" Yunho stared at you without understanding. “What day exactly are you going?” You asked hugging yourself tighter after a gust of cold wind came. Yunho automatically hugged your side trying to keep you warm. "Thanks..."

“It’s still not sure, but we have to return before the fifth...” He replied without looking at you and lowered his head. He didn't want to think about leaving you, not after having you so close, bringing him the security and complete feeling he had whenever you were near.

“Great,” it was the first real smile you’d let out since you started walking aimlessly as the sun began to set. Yunho looked at you without understanding. “You gonna stay for my birthday!” Yunho soon cheered up and a cute smile took his lips, being imitated by you who finally looked at him.

You were getting closer and closer to the pier and the cold of the tidal wind tormented you each time, making you lean more and more against Yunho, which made him smile every time. When you finally arrived at the rock where you had met, you remained there for a while in silence, enjoying each other's warmth.

For some reason the wind had died down and consequently the cold from the sea air, but you didn't move away, much less Yunho. Your head was resting on Yunho's chest which was slowly going down and up, he was controlling it, because in reality, his breathing was failing him. Yours was no different. Yunho's hand on your waist as he caressed that area leaving your body burning. Yunho was different from the other boys. You had created a friendship with him that was never possible with many people you had always lived with. You looked up at Yunho, thinking if you should let your intrusive thoughts win.

“How can someone be so perfect with just under the light of the moon?” That was the thought that kept running through your head. You shouldn't find him beautiful in a silly, passionate way, you couldn't fall in love with him, you didn't want to lose this short-term friendship that made you feel so good. Yunho barely noticed you watching him. Little did he imagine that you were recording every detail of his face and how you held yourself back from touching his face and pulling him to face you so that they could finally kiss.

Little did you know that in his head, he was holding himself back from doing the same. Yunho had his right hand on your waist, making a small caress while his left hand rested on your leg, his head was going through a thousand and one things, but reality brought him back when he felt his hand being welcomed by another hand, a warm hand with slightly cold fingers. He looked at his own hand, following the arm of the other hand that overlapped his, finding you looking at both of your hands with a shy smile and... Dumbfounded? He had never seen that smile. Something burned in his chest and a thousand things stirred in his stomach as if the carnival had just begun.

You looked up and the two pairs of almond-shaped, goofy eyes met. Yunho pulled you closer against his body involuntarily and automatically. You lowered your head, feeling your cheeks itching, Yunho undid the clasping of your hands and touched your chin making you look at him. Both of your eyes were different, with a different shine. You hid your face in the hollow of Yunho's neck, making him shiver when he felt the heat of your breath in that place, and he was a little scared when he felt you place a simple and – almost – innocent kiss in that area.

Yunho tangled his free hand in the hair at the back of your neck, pulling it lightly to find his face. Noses touching, breaths mixing, butterflies celebrating, hearts fluttering, the certainty of one thing and the doubt of another. Little by little the centimeters between your faces ended and a simple and innocent kiss took place between the two.

The sensation was the most perfect combination of elements and sensations. A fire dominated both your bodies and the feeling of accomplishment took over completely. Neither of you wanted to open your eyes, neither wanted to part your lips, neither wanted to forget the feeling of liking someone and that person reciprocating.

The lips parted to quickly come together again. This other kiss was different, of longing, of desire, of passion, of love, of fear, of security, of desire, of fulfillment. A perfect dance in synchronization of all the elements that surrounded you made the moment more and more perfect. The tide, the location, the feeling of freedom, the sound of the waves breaking, the feeling of tranquility and lightness. The kiss was delicate, nothing rushed, there was nothing to rush there. That was the consummation of the best feeling in the world for any being, the feeling of correspondence, of friendship, of love.

The lips parted. Both red and swollen, making both want to resume what you were doing, but when you met each other’s eyes, you stopped. That was the certainty, you liked each other and wanted each other, get closer to each other, the good you did for each other was something more than visible. But doubt soon caught up with you and you lowered your head. Yunho was returning to his city in two weeks, what would be the probability that this continue? What would work? They didn't have any clue and that was a problem.

“Let’s not think about that now, okay?” Yunho cupped your face and you nodded, soon kissing him again. And the explosive consummation of their feelings hit you again.

It was the night of the 31st, your birthday. Everyone was there, friends, family and obviously Yunho and his family. You and Yunho didn't let go of each other for more than thirty minutes. Forming an extremely cute couple, the type to have cute and sickening nicknames, you always hugged each other, whispered to each other, etc. As the party ended around midnight and everyone left and, as a birthday present, you asked if Yunho would and could sleep there. Your father didn't like it very much at first, but he couldn't do much, other than accept it, after all he liked and trusted Yunho, he knew he was a good boy and would do everything he could to not disappoint his little girl. And if he did leave, he wanted you both to have the best memories of this summer vacation.

The night was basically the two of you exchanging caresses, imagining what would happen when Yunho left, what would happen if you decided to continue the relationship and if it was worth trying to maintain it. You quickly fell asleep in Yunho's arms while he sang and watched over your sleep as well as stroking your hair lightly.

August 4th is the last day of the two of you together. You had decided to spend the night with Yunho, you wanted to enjoy all the time you still had with him. As soon as they hit the road, you would head home. Dinner was peaceful, a few jokes here, laughter there, jokes aside. Soon the first floor of the house was the same as when his family had arrived, apart from most of the suitcases being present near the door.

You were lying on Yunho's bed watching him pack some things that were missing from his last suitcase. Your eyes were burning, your body hurt, you didn't want to let him go, long distance relationships are rarely successful. You stayed with him practically the entire summer and now you would have to spend the rest of the year away from the boy.

Yunho put a handful of blouses in his suitcase and turned to pick up his pants, finding your sad gaze directed at him, that was more painful than he ever thought it would be. He left his pants where they were, his suitcase open on the floor, some clothes still on the hanger, nothing mattered to him other than his little girl in bed looking at him sadly. He knew why you were like this; he knew because he was the same way.

Neither ever thought or believed in a “summer love” or a “holiday affair”, that was something that neither of you thought would ever happen and you also never understood people talking about them with a look of longing or, whatever that they felt, but now you understood.

You both wanted to be able to relive that month of summer every day, walking on the beach, playing, laughing, playing with Thor, jumping in the sea, chatting, having each other's warmth and imagining that, at that moment, you were infinite, that nothing could stop you, that feeling would be eternal and that no one could ever take that away from both of them.

You were unique on that vacation, without lies, without anyone but you and you alone. You just wanted to run away and hide, spend the rest of yours lives together. Too dramatic and irresponsible, but that's how you felt. You wanted to be close to each other, Yunho forever wanted to be sitting on the rock near the pier with Thor coming towards him barking and you coming behind, catching up with them and kneeling down, petting the big and clumsy little Golden Retriever.

You wanted the feeling of the first kiss again, wanted to relive every vain moment without caring about the world falling apart around you. Yunho wiped the tear that insisted on falling from your eyes. Your head fell on the chest of the boy who hugged you back, not just any hug, that hug that says more than any words, that memorable hug, that hug of longing, that hug of affection, love, goodbye.

"I do not want to leave you."

Your voice came out weak and shaky between a few tears that were already wet Yunho's shirt.

“We’re not going to let each other go, remember?” Yunho commented, stroking your hair, placing a simple kiss on the top of your head. “You will always be with me, no matter where. You made me be me, you completed me, you made me feel like the happiest person in the world...” you moved your head away and looked him in the eyes. Watery, red eyes met and Yunho sighed. “We both know that everything could go wrong after I get in the car and hit the road, I just want you to know that I will never forget this summer.”

Yunho's words of conviction brought in you the feeling of happiness that you hadn't been able to allow yourself to feel since the night before. You both knew it was more likely that you would never see each other again, but that didn't mean you had to forget about each other. His eyes lit up when he noticed the first real smile you allowed yourself to give in the last 24 hours, making Yunho smile too.

“Yunho…” Your voice was weak. Yunho ran his thumb over your face, making you smile slightly at that, feeling it and trying to memorize everything. “I wanted to repeat everything...”

“Me too, little one.”

He placed a kiss on your forehead, your hands quickly cupping Yunho's cheeks, pulling him closer to your face with a slight smile and his eyes were shining, not with sadness, but with happiness.

“Shall we go to the rock?” Both smiled. Yunho was already getting up, but you stopped him, hands on his forearm. “Finish your bags, I don’t think when we come back, we’ll have time for you to pack them later.”

A mischievous smile appeared on your lips.

“(y/n) are you sure?” You approached the boy, looking at him with a toothless smile and that spark that Yunho loved in his eyes.

“I trust you and I don't think we'll have a second chance anytime soon,” the kiss was quick, but full of desire, desire, trust and longing. You and Yunho finished packing your bags amidst small stolen kisses, some tickles and small moments where you distracted Yunho by the simple fact of existing and being in his room.

“Shall we go, little one?”

You nodded, taking his hand and you soon headed to the rock where you met for the first time.

The path was relatively long, but that didn't stop you from keep on running, laughing, kissing, hugging and screaming – in the moments when Yunho decided to carry you on his lap when you started trying to tickle him again. Soon the beach could be seen and your hands quickly intertwined as you walked along the shore and – occasionally – joined the other beachgoers. You kicked the sand, went close to the sea to feel it on your feet, trying to relive every moment, until at dusk, when almost no one was on the beach, you both sat on the rock facing the dark horizon, the reflection of the moon in the sea, the waves breaking, seeing the stars, the wind from the coast, that for both of you was all you had to remember from that vacation.

“The best memories are made of small moments, they are made of people, the right people and the wrong people. They are made of a longing, of a desire. Memories are memories that our unconscious keeps and releases from time to time to remind us of who we are, what we have become, what made us change.” Your speech was serious, but your eyes were focused on the ocean in front of you, your hands always intertwined, the constant reminder that Yunho was still there with you. The silence was nice, it wasn't uncomfortable like it probably should have been. You laughed softly and looked at Yunho with a goofy smile and shining eyes. “You are one of my fondest memories, Yunho.”

“And you mine, (y/n).”

Yunho grabbed your face with his left hand, bringing you closer and your lips soon met. A simple touch of lips. Just a taste of what was, what is, what would always be.

You both spent a few more moments enjoying the moment in which it all began, remembering moments that you thought were lost, moments that you would give anything to relive and never forget. Once you left the rock hugging each other, it must have been close to midnight when both arrived at the beach house where Yunho and his family were staying. Then you went up as silently as possible to Yunho's room.

As soon as he closed the door, began a warm kiss that would remain in their minds for a long time, knowing that when you saw each other again, the desire to repeat it would be extreme. Both walked awkwardly towards the bed, laughing between kisses, feet and legs intertwining from time to time, hands running and exploring each other's bodies. That was when you felt the bed on your knees, pulling Yunho closer to you, not wanting to break the kiss for anything, but Yunho moved away a little, supporting his weight on his arms, looking at you from above, both of you with a smile on your face, eyes shining like two pairs of obsidian, lips swollen and red.

“Are you sure you want this?” Despite the breathless voice and the desire to have his mouth on every part of your body, he wanted to be sure.

Before you started getting involved, when neither considered it anything other than friendship, you had already had a similar conversation where you said that you couldn't give yourself to someone the way some girls did, that you both had to have something relevant for you to get along with, for you to give yourself in such a way and it would not be easy for that to happen.

“Yunho, we may not be officially dating, but our relationship is the relevant relationship I was talking about,” your voice was firm despite your breath being missing a little, a small laugh came out of both of your throats, and you continued with a slight smile and little blushed. “You make me feel good, you give me confidence and I have no problem with that happening between us.”

“I promise not to hurt you.”

You knew he could never do that to you, but that sentence brought greater security as Yunho continued to look into your eyes, waiting and looking for some kind of change, of apprehension, of fear, but he didn't find any. A cute smile took over your face along with a slight pink tint on your cheeks. Yunho smiled lightly, kissing your forehead, then your nose, both cheeks, chin, and a simple kiss on your lips and then focusing on your neck, taking the opportunity to wrap one of his arms around your waist when your back arched with the trail of kisses that he left around your neck.

You both wanted that, there was no better time for it to happen. What would be the possibility of meeting again? Practically zero. You just enjoyed it, you only had one night, one more night together, why not make it more special? Why not make it that memory that will make you let out that goofy smile, bring you that feeling of freedom, that desire to come back, have the feeling of loving and being loved?

"Will we try?"

Yunho asked after closing the trunk of the car and observing your reaction as you stared at his arms, exposed thanks to the tank top he was wearing.

“You had to wear a sleeveless shirt.”

Your comment was low enough that only you both could hear, an embarrassed smile on your lips as you approached him, running your hand over the nail marks on Yunho's arms and back, making a slight grimace when you noticed how visible they were, making the boy laugh and hold your hand.

“Why hide it?” He commented laughingly, looking into your eyes, making you blush a little more before he pulled you in for a quick kiss. The lips trailing from your mouth to the base of your ear. “You still haven't answered me...”

One last kiss under your ear, along with a light squeeze on your waist, caused your mind to go into short circuit, pressing your thighs together, which didn't go unnoticed by Yunho who laughed softly, depositing a last kiss on your cheek. Your hands quickly going to the back of his head, a small caress there and you could swear you heard a grunt come out of the boy. Knowing that you had as much of an effect on Yunho as he had on you was gratifying to say the least.

The memories of the previous night quickly infiltrated both of your minds.

“We can, but when will we see each other again?”

Yunho smiled and kissed you again, he heard the horn of his parents' car and immediately went to the driver's door and opened it, but before entering, his arms were quick around your waist, pulling you between his legs. The kiss was quick and full of feelings. Your hands wrapped around his neck, while his fingers tightened around your waist. It was only when Yunho felt a salty taste amid the kiss that he pulled away, lips red, just like the eyes that stared at him. You had cried. He quickly pulled you closer, feeling your face hide in the crook of his neck, tears wetting part of his shirt, but he didn't care as his hands ran up and down your back.

“Don't worry,” he said wiping away the few tears and kissed your forehead and got into the car, closing the door, lowering the window and then starting the car. “I’ve already made arrangements with our parents, I’ll come here next vacation, you just need to accept me into your house and we’ll see each other again.” Yunho gave a mischievous smile as you stared at him with your mouth open, not knowing what to say. “I love you little one,” Yunho blew you an air kiss and squealed behind his parents’ car, leaving you unresponsive for a few moments.

You ran to your room soon after and rolled over in bed with happiness, stifling a scream with your pillow, you quickly ran to your cellphone marking the next long holiday on the calendar, such as the next day of the start of winter vacation, which was supposed to be the time when Yunho would return. Your happiness was greater than anything else, you didn't know whether to scream, jump, run, or whatever to release the happiness you contained within yourself.

Your fingers quickly sent a simple message to Yunho for when he arrived in Gwangju, to call so you can talk. Even though you didn't know exactly how everything would happen from that moment on, you couldn't care less. Yunho had said he loved you. He would come back to you, you just had to wait for him, which you knew you would do even if he didn't ask.

Yunho had marked you; you were his, just as he was yours the moment he saw you run after Thor on the beach the day he arrived in Jeju. Deep down, you both knew that it didn't matter if it worked or not, because in the end, what you experienced that summer had been more than remarkable, you belonged to each other even before the night you spent together and that was enough at that moment.

"And what was eternal, will not remain only in the smell; in the speech; in the embrace; in the eyes. It will remain inside, intensely stored in the heart.”

(Victor Hugo Felipe)

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ilivelikeimtrying · 12 days

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for the writer ask game- 1, 9, 40? :)

Do you listen to music when you write?

Depends on if the song or beat fits the scene, like action or romance, but usually I work in silence because my head is loud enough.

9. Current W.I.P.?

I actually have a lot. Including a Zombie AU, Superhero Hero/Villain AU, Vampire AU, and many more different AUs for Nimona, a one-shot for Big Hero 6, and some works I've been planning on finishing for TMNT.

40. Share some backstory for one of your characters.

I'm gonna take this as an OC line.

So, technically I have two characters, one that I have worked on for years, and the other one...

I'm so sorry Ace.

But yeah, their name is Tani.

Tani has been a character that has grown with me since 2014. She started as an OC for Big Hero 6, but slowly became someone for many different fandoms, and if I could, he could probably be a character in his own right.

Because Tani is so used in different Fandoms (my friend calls in the Taniverse) their backstory changes a lot, but it more often than not has a structure that is similar:

Tani is a child of an affair, but for reasons of keeping face and social image, her parents decide not to divorce or to give her up. However, they are not attentive to Tani and often neglect her, leaving her malnourished, or with dirtied clothes which contrast her siblings who do not necessarily care for her though she is the youngest. But when her 'father learns of how intelligent she is, he allows her to raise in her education. Before she could go further though, at the age of 5, she was taken away from them by a social worker to an orphanage in New York, who would end up adopting her. However, even her she was not emotionally stimulated, though she was given more then she could have ever hoped for.

Her aunt, as she begins to call her, is focused on education and financial success in life, so her education continued here as she was dubbed a prodigy in her schools. They focused on her face and image in the world, learning and schooling never stopped, not even at home, and people only ever praised her for what they wanted of her.

And She didn't really like that.

(Tani figures out he's Bi and Genderfluid at 13, and later when she's around 17 figures out that they're greysexual, if I go into that now though I might as well right her story.)

Thank you so much for the ask!

#ask #ask game #writing ask game #thanks for the ask!#oc #my oc #nimona #big hero 6 #tmnt #tani

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whatifxwereyou · 3 years

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The Oncoming Storm Part 16: The Road Ahead

Liu Kang x Reader and Kung Lao x Reader (gonna do both, two paths!)

Here we go! Yay! I'm excited for the decision you guys made and worked on planning it out last night. Looking forward to some more Kung Lao followed by some delightful Liu Kang, followed by some shenanigans- and then the big choice. Then the fic will split and change names depending on who you wish to follow. I also have two more new fics on the way. I'm still sorting out the notes for those. One will be Liu, the other Lao. Lao's will be very action oriented and Liu's will be a bit more psychological. Hope you are all having a fantastic Monday! Much love and thanks for reading!

Part 15 Part 17 Chapter Index

You mulled over the decision but not for long. It wasn’t a difficult one. “I don’t see why we shouldn’t do it how you’re suggesting.” You shrugged. Kung Lao adjusted behind you. You were still weary but felt stronger as time passed, though marginally so. “If Kung Lao is excited about going to Japan, then he can come with me to Japan.” Just to prove that you could, you sat upright though you felt the weight of your body was still a bit too much for you. Kung Lao placed his hand on your lower back to help support you without drawing any attention to your wobbliness. You were very appreciative of his discretion. Every movement you made that was off, sent Liu Kang’s blood pressure through the roof. “And if Liu Kang is familiar with Huangshan, then that will give us a leg up there. We could use any advantage we can find. If I remember correctly, the Yellow Mountains are huge.”

Liu Kang nodded to confirm that it was true. You didn’t remember much about Huangshan other than what you had read about in school. From the little you did remember you were grateful to have a guide so you wouldn’t have to hike for days to search for an obscure point hidden amongst the rocks.

“Then it is decided.” Raiden looked to you for confirmation and you nodded.

“For the record, I promise that I’m not just excited about Japan and the festival. I’ve spent some time there so I’m familiar with getting around. Not specifically Mount Osore, of course but some familiarity is better than none.” Kung Lao then leaned closer to you and whispered with a grin in Japanese. “I’ll make sure that we’re both safe.” You smiled fondly. You spoke enough Japanese to get by. Your mother had grown up in Chiba and had spoken it often in your youth. You weren’t practiced and would likely be barely conversational but could get by better than most. You’d always wanted to go to Japan. This was a funny way to go about achieving that dream. Honestly, you’d never left home other than a few trips to Vietnam to take your students to competitions.

“Your trip will give me time to do a bit of research in Huangshan. I’ll do my best to see what I can find out before you meet me there.”

You urged Kung Lao’s hand away from your lower back and scooted away from his lap where he’d held you. Liu Kang, still crouched nearby, reached for your hand, and urged his fingers to your wrist to check for a pulse. You sighed and watched as Kung Lao tried not to laugh at your frustration. You waited patiently for Liu to get what he needed but when he didn’t let go, you decided to swat his hand away.

He smiled and turned his gaze, aware that he had lingered for much longer than necessary. The air in Raiden’s chamber was stifling. Between the haze of magic that you’d cooked up and being somewhat sandwiched between two of your favorite people, you could barely breathe. You were suddenly ecstatic to spend some time away from Raiden’s Temple. Not that you didn’t appreciate it. You did! But it would be nice to see the rest of the world. Yours had shrunk from your hometown to this temple and even though it was technically bigger than your hometown it was also out of time, in a way.

“We can head out as soon as Lord Raiden is ready to send us off.” Kung Lao seemed excited. “Right?”

“Immediately?” Liu objected.

“Why not? What are we waiting on, you think?”

“Do you really think that it’s the best idea to leave right this second, Kung Lao? Y/N just had a vision last night. And after what we just witnessed she can barely sit upright.” Liu Kang counted the reasons on his fingers. “Not to mention that I’m burnt out. I need rest.”

“Wow, the pun.”

“…not intended.” Liu considered and seemed pleased.

“Bull.” You teased and Kung Lao laughed and offered you a high five which you reciprocated. Liu rolled his eyes at them both with a heavy sigh.

“Joking aside, wouldn’t it be wise to take a day and be better prepared?”

“That seems like a waste of time.”

“There’s plenty to do today, Kung Lao. Find a place to stay while we’re there. Food. Clothing. Timing. Research where and how to approach this…” Liu counted the reasons again on his fingers.

“I…” You began.

“We can figure that out just as easily when we get to where we’re going.”

“And what if we’re attacked?”

“You really think that something’s going to hunt us the moment we arrive?”

“I don’t think-“ You tried again.

“Not the moment we arrive but we have to consider the possibility considering the way that voice spoke and what Lord Raiden saw.”

You decided to tune them out as they argued. Considering it was about you and your trip you were a little annoyed that they were talking as though you were not there in the room to help decide. You could feel Lord Raiden’s piercing gaze on you as if he were curious to see how you would handle being talked over.

“Listen, boys, your both pretty,” you spoke loud enough to interrupt them. Liu Kang and Kung Lao silenced, looking to you with wide eyes. “And you both make valid points but I’m making the decision. We’ll leave tomorrow morning. I need a chance to rest and prepare. And no, I’m not making this decision on either of your recommendations. This is what I think is best. I know that I’m too tired to do what needs to be done there today.” You scolded them but did so with a smile. It felt nice to be listened to. “This is my quest and you will follow my lead. Got it? I won’t be talked over and steam rolled by you two.”

“Got it loud and clear.” Kung Lao smirked. “I like take charge Y/N. She’s fun.”

Liu Kang on the other hand still looked incredibly worried. “Yes, of course. I’ll follow where you lead, Y/N.”

Raiden stepped closer and you could see the hint of a smile on his face. You were glad that you’d taken his silent encouragement to interrupt the two brothers. “Tomorrow morning you will meet me here and I will send you on your way.” He then turned to Kung Lao and offered him a look that was also a warning. “Remember, this is important.” Liu Kang narrowed his eyes at his brother as if to warn the same thing. You couldn’t hide your curiosity as to why that was. You would absolutely be asking about it later. What kind of trouble was Kung Lao know for getting into exactly?

“You two worry too much. I’m taking this very seriously.”

“When you are finished in Japan then Kung Lao will call me.” Raiden addressed you without further explanation. “I will return him here and send you to meet with Liu Kang in Huangshan.” How exactly would Kung Lao call upon him? You supposed that he was a god, so there was probably some unspoken magic. You’d make a point to ask Kung Lao about that later, too. It would be easier than asking Raiden. He really was intimidating.

“Will do.” Kung Lao smiled and Liu Kang nodded his agreement.

“I’m going to stop by the infirmary to get checked out now. Just in case. I don’t remember any of what went on here, but I can feel how tired I am.” You were nervous to try and stand on your own, but you also didn’t want to feel anyone else’s worry that day. You’d had enough from Liu the other night. You found his worry sweet, but also a little excessive. Liu Kang seemed surprised and impressed that you were going there on your own without him twisting your arm. Before he could say anything, Kung Lao had jumped to his feet.

“I’ll walk you there.” He offered you a hand. You rejected it and stood on your own, just to prove that you could, even if you hadn’t been positive that you could. It had been worth the effort it turned out, even if your legs were wobbly. Kung Lao had a way of making you wish to prove that you could do things beyond what you thought you were capable of. Even so, he offered his arm, unbothered that you’d ignored his hand. You took it. Your body was exhausted, after all. At least your neck had decided to continue supporting your head. You’d been through a lot lately and were grateful that your body listened to you at all.

“I’ll check in on you later.” Liu assured you and you smiled.

“See you then. Raiden? Thank you.” You bowed politely to them both and Raiden silently acknowledged your gratitude with a bow of his own. There was more that you’d wanted to say to Liu Kang, but Kung Lao was already leading you out of the room. You’d have time to talk to him later. You stole a glance over your shoulder and found him watching you go. Usually when you caught him staring, he would avert his eyes and go about his business but this time he offered you a knowing smile that made your heart flutter. Then he went to speak with Lord Raiden.

Kung Lao led you down the long hallway and around the corner. You pulled from his arm and leaned heavily against the wall once out of sight of Raiden’s chamber. With an exasperated noise, you let your full weight rest against the wall and caught your breath that you’d practically been holding. Your whole body was sore as if you’d worked out far beyond your limit. “I need a second.”

Kung Lao laughed and stood before you, amused. “Exhausted, huh?”

“So exhausted.” You swatted his hand as he reached for you and then whined as he urged his arm around your waist and pulled you away from the wall. You continued like that toward the stairs. He supported most of your weight but didn’t drag you or hurry you too quickly. “Thanks, Lao.”

“No problem, Y/N. Figured you needed an out and a little help to get it. Liu was radiating with worry. Kinda knew you were trying to save face especially after your cute little speech.” He teased but you were grateful that instead of making you sit and breathe, he was just dragging you along like it was no big deal. You did kind of want to lay down and sleep for a year though.

“He worries about me a bit too much, I think. I don’t want him to stress over me. Thank you for helping me do that and not just picking me up like I’m an invalid.”

“I get it. Happy to help.” He shrugged. “Definitely thought about picking you up and doing just that but you seemed particularly defiant after your episode, there.”

“I am feeling particularly defiant.”

“I can tell. And those dragons, Y/N, well, I’m impressed.”

“…how long was I out like that, by the way?”

“Oh, a long while. About an hour, I’d say.”

“An hour?” You gasped, stopping your walk and pulling a bit away from him, just so you could turn to face him. “Raiden and Liu had to keep all that back for that long?” What the hell? You could barely summon an ink jian yesterday and had made dragons, a vortex, and a throne for an hour while you were unconscious!

“Who’s worrying now?”

“No wonder he’s burnt out, Kung Lao! No wonder my body hates me.” You shook out your fingers. They were tingling on and off with numbness. Kung Lao urged you onward.

“Don’t feel bad about it, Y/N. It was awesome.” Kung Lao was beaming with pride. His smile was just like it had been when you were kids, but it suited him better now- with just the slightest hint of dimples and the cutest little wrinkle on his chin.

“It was terrifying. My body did all that without me.”

“When you can control it then you’ll change your tune.”

“Probably but still!” You weren’t sure that you would ever be able to control it to that extent at this point. Honestly, you were still perturbed that it had happened in the first place. Your body and arcana doing things without your permission, speaking in other voices? It was spooky and not in a fun Halloween sort of way. More of in a possessed-by-demons way.

“When we get to Japan, we’ll stop and pick something up to wear to the festival. Probably yukata? Going to look into the appropriate garb.” Kung Lao was apparently done talking about that now.

“You have no idea how much I long for new clothing.”

“Oh? But why?” Kung Lao looked you over while you walked. You were steadier as you went, less losing your footing and wobbling. His grip had relaxed on you, but he still kept his arm around you just in case. Probably. “You’re very cute in the hanfu.”

“Yeah, well your fancy Raiden’s Temple clothing is easier to function in. I need jeans, Kung Lao. Jeans and comfortable shirts! These are pretty but they’re a little too delicate for me. I certainly can’t fight in them. I’m not delicate. You know that.”

“I do. All too well.”

You shoved him playfully, but he didn’t let go of you. “You know what I mean.”

“I do. I get it. Still like the hanfu though.”

“Where did you get all yours, anyway?” You tugged on the jade ring on his belt. You loved what he wore. It was as though it had been personally tailored just for him. He smirked.

“You earn cool clothing with great power, Y/N. Someday you’ll earn your own too.”

“That’s a dumb answer.” You rolled your eyes at him. The trip to the infirmary was just about over and you were grateful for his conversation along the way. Your legs were tired of carrying your body around. Once inside, you waved at Chen who was across the room and surrounded by boxes. Chen smiled at you and held up a finger as if to tell you that she’d be with you in a moment.

You escaped Kung Lao’s arms and turned instead to face him. He folded his arms over his chest and smiled down at you. “Kind of feels like we’re in one of those movies we used to watch at your Grandma’s.” He sounded amused.

“Like Disciples of the 36thChamber?” You recalled one of your favorites. You had nearly destroyed the old VHS tape that your Grandma had recorded it on for you. You’d fast forward through the commercials, seated way too close to the television.

“Or Police Story.”

You smiled fondly in remembrance. Those were some of your happiest memories. You’d spent hours watching your Grandma’s tapes and then you’d go outside and pretend that you were skilled enough to be part of them. You’d held onto those memories tighter than most because he had died. It was still amazing to you that he was there and alive. You really should have talked about it but now wasn’t the time. When would it be though? “I’m not sure that what we’re about to do is going to be anything like those movies but I am pretty excited to remember what the rest of the planet looks like outside of this temple.”

“It’s a healthy reminder. Grounding. This place can be all consuming and a little overwhelming.” You were surprised to find that he understood the idea better than you had expected him to. Kung Lao was very much full of surprises. “Do you need me to stick around or are you okay down here on your own? I don’t love this place. Bad memories. Besides, I’ve got a dozen things to do before the day’s over and we’re on our way to Japan.”

“Oh? Is that so? You were pretty adamant that we leave immediately.” You teased.

“Does that mean you don’t want me to leave? Is that what you’re getting at?” He grinned, eyes sparkling in amusement. His whole face lit up when he smiled. It was remarkable.

“I didn’t say that. I’m just calling your bluff.”

“What bluff?”

“Boy, you can be frustrating.” You shoved his shoulder and he pretended to be pushed back and then smiled.

“Really though, can I go?”

“Go, Kung Lao. I’m fine here. Chen will help me if I need it.”

“Okay, okay.” He laughed and then walked backwards toward the doorway into the hall. “But if you need me then just send someone to find me.”

“Just go!” You laughed and as you turned away, you heard a crash behind you, as though Kung Lao had knocked something over while walking backwards. You did your best to resist looking backwards so that he could save face, but you laughed anyway. Then you took a seat against the far wall of the infirmary, waiting near where Chen was working. Moments later, Chen took the seat next to you with a smile. She looked tired but still happy to see you.

“I noticed that it wasn’t Liu Kang who brought you here today. And that Kung Lao was fully clothed.”

“…do you think that I’m strategically permanently disrobing them or something? I told you what happened this morning.” You furrowed your brow in sincere confusion at the accusation.

“One could hope. Perhaps I gave you too much credit.” Chen laughed and folded her hands neatly in her lap. You sat then in silence for a moment. “Are you here to gush more about Liu or…?”

“Or what? I’m actually here for medical reasons as I so frequently am? Since I have never once ever come to you just to gossip? Especially gossip about myself?”

“Or you could be here to talk about that dopey smile Kung Lao had on and the fact that he knocked over a whole stand of medical supplies on his way out. Or that he was in the infirmary willingly again. I can count the number of times he’s been here on one hand. At least before you got here. And those times were dragged in bloody and beaten.” You didn’t like the mental image of him bloody and beaten.

“You’re the most ridiculous gossip I have ever met.” You whispered in an accusatory tone.

“I know!” She shouted and you held your face in your hands and laughed. Chen had a way of making you smile more than anyone ever had. “Besides, you can do both those things while here. Gossip and the medical stuff. It’s called multitasking, Y/N.”

“I’m leaving for a few days on an errand. Wanted to check in before I go. Today was a lot too and I’m feeling particularly drained.”

Chen frowned.

You felt instantly slighted and turned your gaze to the floor. You were capable. Everyone worried about you, but you’d be fine. You knew this was scary and you kept repeating Raiden’s warning of death in your head, but you could do this. You would fight until your last breath.

“Why are you leaving?”

“Everyone looks at me like that, Chen. I’m fine.” That wasn’t true, you supposed. Kung Lao didn’t often look at you like that. Even as kids he hadn’t.

“Do you want me to list all the reasons that’s a lie? Because I could. I won’t and since you probably have to do this, I’ll send you with extra supplies just in case.” Chen shook her upset away and mustered optimism for your sake. You were grateful. “Are you going with Liu Kang? And more importantly, will you get to have any fun with Liu Kang? Or Kung Lao? I’m not picky at this point. Both very good looking.”

You ignored the gossipy remark and instead explained your vision that morning and very vaguely touched on where you had to go and what you had to do. You weren’t sure how much you should share so you were careful to leave out the most important details. To be honest, you had no idea what you expected to find in either place but it felt good to have a purpose that you knew you could achieve. You very briefly touched on the disturbing incident with Lord Raiden but avoided most of the messy details. You’d been dead unconscious through it, anyway. Chen’s face flickered back and forth between worry and trying to keep a smile up for you. You supposed you couldn’t blame Chen.

“Well, then I’ll make you a little kit to travel with.” Chen patted your shoulder and stood, setting about shoving supplies into a portable first aid kit nearby. She was filling it with the basics but also small bottles of pills and several syringes. She then set about writing instructions for how to use each of them. You were almost certain that you wouldn’t need any of it but were still grateful. “Just in case. Better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it.” She closed the small case and then handed it to you where you placed it in your lap. Then she took both of your hands and sat next to you.

“Thank you, Chen.”

“It’s no problem. This one though? This is a personal prescription given to you by your friend and doctor. Please. Please, I’m begging you. Get drunk. Make some stupid, immature mistakes with one or both of those men. Please? For me? I’m begging. Literally.”

“Ch… I… what?” You stuttered and felt your face burning again. You thought you’d gotten past that today. “Did you not hear the whole part about ancient sacred objects hidden away by a demon creature that I have to find? Or… were you not listening?”

“Oh, no, I heard you. But please… also do the other thing. You can do both. Really. I mean that in every way you can interpret it.” Chen let go of your hands and then tapped the medical kit. “Also, glance over the notes I wrote for you just in case you do need any of this stuff.”

“Oh my God, Chen.” You laughed, leaning your head back against the wall behind your chair. “…thank you for bringing some levity to all this.”

“Thank you for bringing me such delicious gossip all the time.”

You rolled your eyes but still smiled. You were grateful to have Chen looking out for your well-being both physically and mentally. It was so easy to get lost in the haze that was Liu Kang and Kung Lao but with Chen’s constant teasing and joking, it helped you from getting consumed by it. “Would you walk me back to my room by any chance? Not so great on my feet today.”

“Sure, but I’m going to tease you the entire time about Liu Kang being half naked in your room first thing this morning. Still not completely convinced that he was just being comforting unless that word had changed its meaning since I learned it. You kids these days and your slang.”

“Could you possibly keep your voice down?” You stood, slipping the medical kit under your arm.

“It’s fine, Y/N. Everyone in here knows already.”

“I-Chen! What?” You were stuttering again. They all knew? You looked around the room and several of the nearby monks nodded to confirm this was true. Your face was on fire again.

“You’re a fool if you think it’s not super obvious or something. In fact, we have a pool going on down here. One of us is going to be much wealthier after you’ve sorted things out.” Chen shrugged. “I am one of the only people voting for both.”

“You are all terrible monks. Every single one of you.” You said very loudly, and the other monks laughed. Some waved as you and Chen made your way out of the infirmary. Others wished you luck on your journey. One even whispered he was betting on Kung Lao. You suddenly felt very exposed. Were you really that obvious? Chen stayed close to you as you walked and steadied you as she needed to. After you were sure you could talk without dying of embarrassment, you couldn’t help but be curious. “…who’s winning this pool?”

“We all agreed that you’re not allowed to know. I’ll tell you much, much later down the road.”

You laughed, again grateful for Chen and how ridiculous she could be. You were exhausted but also excited for the journey ahead. The next morning you’d be meeting with Kung Lao and travel to Japan to a Buddhist shrine inside a caldera. It was enough to look forward to that it would keep you from dwelling on Chen’s teasing and what Raiden had barely touched upon that morning.

If you didn’t get rid of the shadow hanging over you then you weren’t going to live to see Mortal Kombat.

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firemanwhenthefloodsrollback · 3 years

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Who Saved The Day? Season 6

Going right back in with season 6 of Who Saved The Day because last time I didn't move straight on to the next series I accidentally left it a month. It's a controversial statement sometimes but season 6 has always been my favourite season by far and I will never get over my obsession with the darkness and moral complexity. I think this is going to be a hard instalment of deciding who saved the day but I'm excited to get started.

A reminder of the rules: in every episode, including the first parts of two parters, someone must save the day including when the day isn't really saved. The day can only ever be saved by one person and when there are multiple candidates, the person who did the physical saving of the immediate physical threat gets the point.

At the end of season 5 we left it with:

Buffy: 54

Willow: 7

Angel and Giles: 5

Spike: 3

Anya, Faith, Oz, Tara, Xander: 2

And 9 characters including Dawn who have 1 each

So without further ado:

1. Bargaining Part 1: Willow

Straight in with a hard one. Willow is the main man in the spell to bring Buffy back, which certainly solves a problem in a more general sense. The buffybot didn't save the day at all so there isn't really another candidate here.

2. Bargaining Part 2: Dawn

I really really nearly went for Buffy here but I felt like Dawn was the one who solved the main problem. Reaching Buffy when she couldn't function like a human being feels like the greatest achievement here. According to my own rules, I really felt like it should have been Buffy getting Dawn down off the tower but Dawn was the one who solved the main problem.

3. After Life: Buffy

Buffy kills the thing with an axe. An underrated and very very creepy episode. The late seasons moved a long way away from the horror movie origins of the high school years, but After Life is one of the greatest horror movie-esque episodes of the later seasons, and potentially also overall. Willow and Tara did the spell but Buffy wielded the axe.

4. Flooded: Buffy

Buffy kills the demon and most, most, most importantly, save the pipework. Now I'm 25 and have my own relationship with the water company I finally understand the true horror of this episode.

5. Life Serial: Buffy

Three times as a matter of fact.

6. All The Way: Dawn

Dawn saving her own life in one of the sweetest late season episode endings, I feel. This episode and a few others like it remind me of how much the things that seem silly and easy to deal with in the later season were major threats early on. For Dawn, this is a disaster on the same scale as the things Buffy was facing and hoping her friends could face in seasons one and two. I love that Dawn got to save herself here and show the kind of strength that Buffy was using to save the day inn the high school seasons.

7. Once More With Feeling: Spike

Xander averted the demon taking Dawn, Buffy and/or himself away to his magical demon world, but Spike saved Buffy's life during Something To Sing About and I feel like I'm gonna count that? It gets presented in the episode as a bigger deal than Xander's saving of the day, which is thrown away as a comedy line.

8. Tabula Rasa: Xander

By accident, but that'll do sometimes. Treading on something by mistake is the kind of saving of the day that I feel like I could actually aspire to.

9. Smashed: Tara

I have absolutely no idea who saved the day here. Normally I'm very insistent on it being the person who stops the supernatural threat saving the day who gets the point, but I really don't know what threat that was here? Obviously a lot is going wrong psychologically, and I love this episode both for Buffy and for Willow, but neither of them faced a 'threat', as such. So the person who solved a problem and kept someone safe at the end of the episode was Tara, choosing to stay with Dawn to keep her safe even when it was potentially awkward.

10. Wrecked: Buffy

It really depends on what the actual villain is here. I originally gave Willow the point for killing the demon that was chasing the car, since that was in a very real sense the monster of the week, but it's just impossible to watch this episode and feel that that was the real threat or the time that the day got saved. The threat here was Willow's addiction and the episode makes it very clear that that's what we're meant to be focusing on, so Buffy helping her at the end is portrayed as saving the day. There's a mystical element to it and it resolves the issue that was the main threat here, so Buffy it is.

11. Gone: Willow

Willow changes the settings on the invisibility gun thing and Willow makes the trio visible again. Just thinking about the trio makes my skin crawl, more and more and more with time.

12. Doublemeat Palace: Willow

How profoundly and wonderfully symbolic.

13. Dead Things: Buffy

Tara honestly deserves it more for the way she talks to Buffy at the end of the episode - one of the rare moments of pure, open-hearted, uncomplicated goodness in a very dark season. Tara is the one who comes closest to making things better here, but the rules I've been using for the other seasons were that the person who deals with the supernatural threat or monster of the week gets the point even if someone else does something more emotionally resonant. I also almost gave it to Spike for stopping Buffy going to the police, but he also didn't really stop her going to the police so no point for Spike. When Buffy recognises Katrina's name and leaves the police station, that's the moment that ruins Warren's plan, so Buffy gets the point.

14. Older And Far Away: Anya

One of my absolute favourite episodes and certainly one that deserves to get talked about more. Anya puts two and two together about Halfrek being the demon who cursed them, and her bringing Halfrek to the house is what gets the curse lifted, so a well deserved point for Anya.

15. As You Were: Buffy

Buffy throws the grenade. Weird episode.

16. Hell's Bells: Buffy

Buffy and Xander do kill that demon communally, but for very obvious reasons I refuse to give Xander a point for this episode and I defend that decision.

17. Normal Again: Buffy

Buffy makes the horrifically difficult decision to go back to the world we recognise so no one else is getting close to this point.

18. Entropy: Willow

Was...... the day saved here at all? Willow solved the issue of the hidden cameras which was technically the threat here I guess?

19. Seeing Red: Xander

My least favourite episode by a very very long way, and not one I ever rewatch. I had to use a plot summary to help me with this one because I just don't do Seeing Red at all. Xander gets Buffy the ambulance, which is the closest thing to saving the day that we get here.

20. Villains: Anya

This episode was so hard to make a call about that it kind of undermines the idea of doing my silly little project at all. Anya finds where Willow has taken Warren and leads the way there, and probably comes the closest to saving the day of anyone?

21. Two To Go: Giles

Giles!

22. Grave: Xander

The yellow crayon speech makes me tear up and it always, always will.

So that was season 6! Some very difficult calls and fewer points for Buffy than any other season by a fair way. At the end of the season we are left with:

Buffy: 63

Willow: 11

Giles: 6

Angel and Xander: 5

Anya and Spike: 4

Dawn and Tara: 3

Faith and Oz: 2

And 8 other characters who got 1 each

I'm excited to get to season 7 and finish my weird little project off. No one is coming for Buffy, obviously, and I'd be very surprised if anyone takes the number 2 spot away from Willow, but what happens further down the leaderboard is anyone's guess.

#who saved the day series #buffy #buffy the vampire slayer #btvs #season six

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thejudgingtrash · 3 years

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Invisible Strings (2,5k)

(Ruby Red!Percabeth AU and I hope tumblr doesn’t mess up things again 🙄 Not beta’d, this was just a random sprint for a scene)

“Mister Jackson!” yelled Mrs. Dodds as she was trying to chase after the taller student who unfortunately had longer legs, better stamina and much more urgency to get out of this situation. An unwelcoming combination and another chain of chaotic events that had unfolded.

“Come back at once!” Percy didn’t think to march back to that wretched woman that called herself a math teacher. Why now? Why me?, he cursed in his thoughts. Alas there was no time. He had to flee if he didn’t want everyone to witness what was about to unfold.

“Percy!” Grover huffed as his best friend had just shoved his backpack into his stomach. He was more than aware of Percy’s… condition, but that didn’t mean that Percy could just do what he wanted, whenever he wanted. That and he was much slower due to the cast around his foot and the tight pants from the mustard yellow school uniform.

But things took a different turn as Percy’s stomach turned and the feeling of the quick drop from a rollercoaster reappeared.

“Argh!” Percy yelped. Nausea spread through his body like a mutated infection and he felt sick. Waves of heat followed, however, there was no fever. But it was no ordinary sickness that plagued him, no. It was much worse.

The two boys fled as best as they could, Grover with his crutches and Percy’s backpack in his hands and Percy who tried to not trip and turn invisible in front of the entire few confused students in the hallway that were watching. Not to mention a certain crazy teacher that was chasing after them.

“Quick! Into Mr. Brunner’s classroom! The room should be empty, the sixth graders are on a field trip,” Grover remembered and took a sharp turn with his best friend following. Percy ran into the classroom; possible students be damned if they were in there. Luckily, his best friend had been right. The room was unlocked and entirely empty. Chalk dust and smelly remains of unwashed teenagers stood in the air.

Grover barely sneaked into room as it happened right in front of him. The student would have never thought that he would see it happening live in front of him.

“Take care of my-” Percy was unable to finish his sentence. His vision blurred and it literally felt like someone had pulled the rug under him. His feet didn’t feel like they were touching the hard floor anymore.

Grover’s jaw dropped as Percy seemed to have been pulled up by an invisible hand and pulled back into nothingness with force. Perseus Jackson had disappeared and Grover had no idea where he was. Or rather when he was.

For Percy it felt like a minor earthquake. His vision shook and his feet found the ground again. Instead of the bright daylight in the old castle that usually was his school, it was the middle of the night. The tall windows showed the moon in all of its beauty. But now there was no school. It was quite literally an old castle. Instead of neon tubes amounted on the ceiling there were dozens of candles trying to bring light to the room. Instead of two dozen wooden desks where students normally sat around to at least pretend to learn something and a blackboard in front of them, there was only one mighty secretary in the middle of the room. It overflowed with scrolls and books, coins and other instruments. An abacus? Swords stacked on the walls? Who knew.

Percy grimaced at the thought of the carelessly displayed candles that were a fire hazard as he was alone in this room. It was good for him for the moment to have a source of light but with his clumsiness it would be a matter of minutes until he would accidentally knock something over and set everything ablaze.

Bookshelf after bookshelf was stacked against the wall, some with carefully crafted decorations, many books written in Latin and therefore nearly unintelligible for Percy. Taking Latin in class and understanding Latin on a whim were two very different things. The dim light did the rest as it was simply not bright enough to snoop around further. Percy walked around the desk and looked at the other items on the table. A fancy quill, dark ink, a couple of envelopes, a tricorn hat and an unfinished letter.

Beloved mother, the person wrote and didn’t bother to finish the correspondence. July 17th, 1764 was marked as the date in the upper corner. What a lousy child, Percy shook his head. His eyes moved to the left where a finished letter remained. It had been written by someone else.

To my dearest son Apollo, the first line was the most Percy could read as the cursive was way too embellished and elongated for him to decipher in such a short period of time. Apollo! His heart swelled. The friendly school ghost was still alive, not a ghost yet and thriving in 1764. Technically that meant Percy could try to sneak out and look out for him…

A laughter erupted outside the door and the doorknob turned. Percy was lucky he didn’t scream. He was ready to jump underneath the table for all he cared. He wasn’t in the mood of getting chased through a house in a different time period yet again. The young student was lucky. He was able to hear the muffled voice of a woman say, “Oh no! Not in here Zeus! I do not wish to defile your son’s study yet again!”

“Alright, my dear. Let us make sure my wife shall not interfere this time,” sighed Zeus. The woman’s laughter slightly echoed as they moved further away.

Percy frowned. Yikes, Apollo was right when he said his father was a rake. Then he shook his head and carefully approached the door. The steps got quieter. The student inhaled and with all of his courage he turned the doorknob. A cloud of perfumes and spices hit him straight in the face. Then the sour and foul smell of sweat, urine and other unpleasant things followed.

Percy sharpened his senses. He could hear music. String music to be exact and a pianoforte in the background. More laughter, heels stomping on the floor. Or where people dancing? Dancing to the string music? Conversations tried to dominate and drown out the music but it was an everlasting fight of audience and musicians. Who could be the loudest?

The hallway that Percy was used to was no longer covered in its ugly orange coating, instead a lovely violet was illuminated by dozens of candles that hung around in the walls and standing still in candle sockets. Gone were the lockers, the corridor was filled with pompous vases and statues, expensive artwork which included a painting of Apollo smirking at the observer. Percy cracked a grin and shook his head. That was Apollo to you.

“Wait!” pleaded a young woman as someone else climbed up the stairs. It was a tall man and from his stance and body language he seemed to be more than just displeased. The young woman fought her way up the stairs with the hoop skirt and layers upon layers of fabric.

“Please wait! Let me explain!”

The man she seemed to hunt down, didn’t bother listening to her and it was a matter of mere seconds until Percy got exposed. Panic spread through his synapses and the muscle memory forced his feet to go. He took a turn around a corner and approached the first door. The room was already occupied as the door stood ajar.

If Percy didn’t know any better it was that Zeus guy and his mistress as a middle-aged man in the finest robes was kneeling on the floor and taking the pair of tights that covered his lover’s milky legs. Oh my god no, Percy thought and approached the next door in a haste. He opened it and was greeted again by an empty room to his relief.

But the steps only got louder and louder. Percy looked out for a hideout. There was nothing but a couple of sofas, another row of bookshelves and a contrabass in the room. Oh no, Percy thought as the steps approached. He looked to the windows, only to realize they had been covered by heavy looking curtains. Better than nothing. He ran to the window and thanked the gods for the broad windowsills. Percy was scrawny enough to fit onto them.

“It’s not what you think it is!” The woman tried to explain as the man stormed into the room.

“Oh yeah?” The man huffed. He sounded familiar. Way too familiar. Percy decided to pull a little bit of the curtain aside. He saw the broad shoulders of the man and the emerald green tail coat he was wearing. The man had long black locks that were tied into a pony tail. A proud stance that prevented the golden heels on his feet from looking utterly ridiculous.

“Also, it would be improper for me to run after you. It should be you defending me, in case something happens,” the soft voice of the lady demanded.

“Me defending you?! Anna, did you forget you carry daggers in your corset and had a goddamn sword hidden underneath there?” The 18th century man pointed to the wide skirt.

“I don’t think-” He had crossed his arms and spun around in an annoyed whiff only for his eyes to widen and his face to pale. Percy behind the curtain pressed his hand against his mouth as he was also shocked. The man standing in front of the other woman, was him. Him as in Percy.

It was weird looking at yourself for the first time without a mirror in front of you. Was your forehead really that wide? You really needed to visit the saloon soon again. Whoever that other Percy was, he made a waving motion with his hands, signalizing “Hide!” to student Percy.

“What are you doing there? Could someone be spying on us?” this Anna lady asked. The candle light brightened up her face and Percy saw her light gray eyes for the very first time. Her heart shaped face made him speechless. His heart stopped beating for a second or two. The pointy nose and rosy cheeks, white teeth and the light eyebrows. The way she bit her lip as she was calculating the next move, the slight worry in her eyes. She didn’t look as ridiculous with that huge red wig as most other people would. The green dress hugged her curves despite the ridiculously large amounts of fabric surrounding her. She didn’t seem much older than he was, but the authority her voice carried made her seem that way.

“Nothing, nothing!” the other Percy clearly lied.

“Did you already forget?” Anna huffed as she tried to place her hands around her waist without ruining the beautiful dress. Her eyes were glued to his back. “I can tell when you’re telling a-”

She did not finish her sentence as she had been cut-off by the other Percy. Cut off by his lips, to be exact. The Percy behind the curtain looked shocked at the scene in front of him.

The strange girl and his other self separated. “I’m…” The other Percy harrumphed and looked to the side. “I’m terribly sorry, I don’t know what overcame me and-”

“Oh, shut up!” the beautiful young woman barked, grabbed the other Percy by the ruffled collar and pulled him in for another kiss. The pair kissed as if there was no tomorrow left. The Percy on the other side of the room had never kissed a person in his life. The truth or dare kiss five years ago from Nancy Bobofit did not count. But as far as he could tell… he did a great job. At least Percy assumed he did as the woman grabbed his hair and didn’t seem to want him let go. Oh wow, the large hands found her tiny waist and Percy hoped that both of them remained steady on their feet. From the swaying it looked like they would fall flat to the ground.

Then the wicked feeling came back. The dizziness, the spots in his vision, the rumbling ground. Percy’s fingers clung to the windowsill as he felt being spewed into his right time line. If he had been sorting his thoughts right, he would have disturbed the wood shop class by Ms. Minerva. Percy closed his eyes and shoved the curtain aside. No screams or gasps, no puzzled students. He opened the sea green eyes again.

Oh yeah, the kids are on their field trip, he remembered. Ms. Minerva otherwise would have reprimanded him further to Mrs. Dodds pleasure. The flabbergasted student quickly left the room. Percy had to lie to janitor Argus about why he was still at school and fortunately managed to get away with his lame excuse of forgetting his smartphone in a classroom. Said smartphone he just pulled out of his pocket and pressed the first number in his call logs.

“Grover!” Percy exhaled. “I just spent my time in 1764, I saw an unfinished letter in Mr. Brunner’s classroom.”

“You are okay! Where are you? Mrs. Dodds wants to murder you!”

“Just got out of school, I’m on my way home.”

“Oh, thank goodness!” Grover sighed into the speaker which created a little bit of static. “You were gone for almost two hours! I shoved all of your stuff into Jason’s stomach who was not pleased with you ‘skipping school’ earlier.”

“Shit,” Percy cursed. Two hours? How? It felt more like five minutes, did he truly spent that much time lingering around? He should have picked up Estelle from band practice an hour and a half ago. His mother would kill him.

“There’s something else I need to mention,” Percy began. “I didn’t just land there in 1764… I saw someone…”

“Who?” Grover asked.

“Myself,” Percy answered. “It was clearly me… Or a twin brother I didn’t know I had and I was…” Kissing a pretty girl. “Having an argument… with some weird girl that I didn’t know either. I shooed myself away for her not to notice me! Grover, what the hell is going on?!”

Percy imagined how Grover’s eyebrows rose and how he was fumbling with the zipper of his favorite jacket as he always used to do whenever he was trying to connect new information. Someone else yelled in the background. It sounded like Mrs. Underwood.

“We need to talk about this later and strategize, mom needs me downstairs,” proposed Grover. “Percy, you have to speak to your mother about the time traveling! She knows more about all of this, she has to! Who knows into what time period you’ll jump next! Pretty sure that London in the 1940s seems more than just dangerous with world war two going on. Or… I don’t know. Any other year when vaccines still weren’t a thing yet. Catching the plague or medieval herpes sounds horrific.”

Percy winced. Both at the thought of more uncontrolled time jumps and also at the thought of medieval herpes.

Grover was right. He needed to speak to his mother and confess. It wasn’t his annoying cousin Jason who had inherited this weird time traveler gene.

It was him, Perseus Jackson, the poorest bastard one could imagine.

I tried and I blame you for everything @marisolsnose 🤷🏾‍♀️

#pjo #invisible strings #Percy Jackson #annabeth chase #grover underwood #percy jackson and the olympians #percabeth #percabeth fanfiction #pjo fanfic #mel writes

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gothic-safari-clown · 3 years

Text

The Mind’s Power Over the Body

Part 18: Unstoppable

Story summary: They only ever had each other. It had been that way since high school, ever since Elianna transferred to dreary Arlen and took Jonathan under her wing. They go separate ways for college, and when they're reunited at Arkham Asylum professionally, Elianna comes to find that they've both changed during their time separated. Can she look past the promise of danger and stay by Jonathan's side as they slide further and further into the darkness while she grapples to come to terms with the truth about herself? Can she accept what needs to be done in order to hold onto the only person who holds any meaning in her life? This is a very self-indulgent AU that draws from several different canons of the DCU and ignoring others, starting in the Batman Begins Nolanverse. This will follow the plot of the movie, although the timeline has been very slightly tweaked.

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11 / Part 12 / Part 13 / Part 14 / Part 15 / Part 16 / Part 17

Word count: 2011

This chapter is really dumb and cheesy just a heads up 😂 I wanted to dabble in old school fanfic while I wrote this one I think. Idk, it’s kinda cute

El had come to hate the weekends. There was no substance to her days off now that she knew the thrills offered by the wretch of a city. Jonathan wouldn't let her run his underworld errands with him; an attempt to keep her safe from Falcone, he said. While she understood and appreciated the sentiment, the result was dreadfully long and slow weekends. They couldn't go to Arkham to supervise the project, lest they draw suspicion, and if Jonathan wouldn't take her with him to meetings, it left her with very little to do in the apartment.

Luckily, the day after her nightmare Jonathan had no reason to leave the apartment. On the other hand, he had spent his day worrying over her incessantly. Well, as much as Jonathan could "worry incessantly" in his own subdued way.

He had let her sleep in for hours, made her breakfast when she woke, and she was currently curled up on the couch next to him with the softest blanket from his linen closet. He had even let her pick the movie they were watching.

"Hey, Jonathan?"

"Mm?"

"Am I dying or something?" He looked across the couch at her, confused. "You're being really nice today. Are you still 'being me,' or am I dying?"

"Oh. Neither." He fell back into silence rather than offering the explanation that El was looking for. She waited patiently for a minute or two, giving him the opportunity to explain himself of his own volition before sitting up with a huff and pausing the TV, moving to sit next to him.

"What's going on? Is everything okay?" El watched as Jonathan set his jaw firmly, releasing a long slow breath, all the while staring inscrutably at the coffee table. By the time he finally looked at her, the anticipation had made her too anxious even to admire the hue of his eyes as she normally would.

"Last night, you..." he trailed off and let out another sigh before continuing, "it made me worry. I've been thinking all day, and I'm wondering if maybe you would be better off leaving Gotham now and going somewhere without me." Whatever she had been expecting, this wasn't it. Her brow furrowed, and she struggled to organize her thoughts enough to argue as he spoke again. "I know you, and I know that that wasn't normal, and it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't gotten you involved."

"So what?" she sputtered. "Jonathan, you got me involved, but if I didn't want to be still involved, I wouldn't be. Don't worry about me. You're not responsible for my decisions."

Her words did little to soothe him, and he leaned against the back of the couch with his head tilted all the way back to look at the ceiling. "No, I'm not, but this is clearly taking a toll on you. I just think it might be better if-"

"I understand what you're saying, but you're wrong," interrupted El. "If I were to leave now, I would just worry about you more. Without me, you're on your own here, and it's going to take a lot more than some stupid bad dream to make me abandon you. I know that you can handle all of this on your own, but as long as I'm here, I'm going to keep supporting you in whatever ways I can."

He was technically right, to an extent; it wasn't normal for a nightmare to break her like that. But the fact remained that it was only a dream, and the fact that it had immediately followed a dosing of fear toxin only served to solidify her point further. It would never have affected me like that if I hadn't insisted on a second toxin trial.

Jonathan mulled over what she said for what seemed like ages, to the point that Elianna wasn't even sure where his train of thought may have taken him. Regardless, she knew that he must have been trying to come up with some absurd reason why she should leave anyway. Deciding to let him think (and knowing that she would win this debate with this move), she pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders and lifted his arm to slot herself against his side.

He looked down at her as she settled his arm around her back, only to find her already looking up at him patiently with big green eyes. Shit. He could never argue with her when she looked at him like that, and she knew it. He did his best to steel his resolve, but then she blinked at him so sweetly that he had no choice.

"Fine," he sighed, finally looking away from her. "But no more toxin. From now on, you're just helping me supervise, understood?" He felt her nod fervently and wrap her arms tight around him. How did she always manage to get under his skin so well?

"I can't believe you thought you could get rid of me that easily," she scoffed. "I'm here to stay, love. I left you behind once, and I'm not going to do it again." Jonathan was amused by the childish notion behind her words but appreciated the sentiment nonetheless.

He was silently glad that she had pushed against him on this particular issue. While he still believed that she would be safer away from the city, he really didn't want her to leave. She was too...important. As proven by how easily she could get him to concede just by looking at me, for fuck's sake.

"You know I would never try to get rid of you." Jonathan still faced difficulty coming to terms with her effect on him, but this time he didn't have the energy to fight it. Deep down, he knew that he had let her win, selfishly wanting her to stay. Unwilling to resist, he let his cheek rest against the top of her head. "Sometimes I might think about it, but I'm not stupid." He felt her laugh.

"Understandable." She tilted her head back to look at him, and he lifted his head from hers to mirror her gaze. A soft smile spread over her face. "One of these days, I'm going to get you to admit outright that you love me." She said smugly, undeterred by his impassive expression.

He could tell by the look on her face that she had begun speaking absentmindedly, but Jonathan found himself more focused on the conversation in his head; naturally, Scarecrow had his own opinion on what El had said.

She's got a point. We should just get it over with now.

That isn't what she means.

Sure it is! See the way she looks at us? Come ooonnn, what's the harm? If it goes south, I'll just take care of it.

You absolutely will not.

I still don't see why we shouldn't get rid of her anyway. Loose ends, Jonny. If she's dead, she can't snitch.

She isn't going to. She would have done it already, and she's never told anyone about everything else we've done; why would she start now?

Yeah, and why do you think that is? Principle? Honesty? She likes us, Jonny. If you don't take care of it now, then I will.

With that, the straw man retreated to the back of Jonathan's mind in smug silence. The ambiguity of Scarecrow's ultimatum made him nervous, as he was unsure of what Scarecrow's version of "taking care of it" might be. But Jonathan knew ultimately that his alter was actually right this time. All of the jokes, the affection, the trust, and when she looked at him the way she had done just a minute before...

It was almost terrifying to think that the woman he had held so dear for so long might harbor feelings for him, and the true rush of the unknown exhilarated him. As strange as it would be, Jonathan knew what he wanted to do and resolved on the spot to act upon it before he could talk himself back out of it as he was wont to do.

"Not verbally, necessarily," she spoke up again, "but one of these days, you're going to do something, and I'll kno-"

The rest of El's sentence was cut short by something that could not have caught her more off guard, and while some part of her seemed to process it immediately (judging by how hard her heart was beating), it took a moment for her brain to catch up.

Jonathan had interrupted her by cupping the side of her face with his free hand and, in one fluid motion, had tilted her head back more and kissed her full on the mouth ever so softly. Her mind hadn't yet finished racing with unanswered questions when her internal monologue switched abruptly to, "oh, fuck it."

At that moment, she didn't need to understand anything. By way of response, she lifted her own hand to close lightly around his wrist, keeping his hand against her face and returned the tentative kiss with one of her own.

Both of their stomachs exploded into butterflies, but for vastly different reasons. Jonathan felt a rush of relief from the reciprocation and a flutter of nervousness caused by sudden instability for the future that it implied. In the same moment, Elianna found an emotional release and a thrill caused by the same unclear future, eager to build something new, powerful even.

Whatever her motivation, when El kissed him again, Jonathan was more than eager to return the action, and all of his apprehensiveness began to melt away. It was a rare moment of clarity for him, as he found himself truly in the moment. She had kissed him. Things that had been so important to him only minutes before were suddenly irrelevant, and when El pulled away and buried her face into his neck, holding him so tight, he was all too glad to squeeze her closer.

He thought that he had never been more determined to do anything as he was to keep her safe previously, but having finally given in to the impulse that he had been repressing since their teen years, Jonathan realized his previous resolve had been trivial. This, with all of its implicit devotion attached, changed everything so drastically. Nobody would ever hurt her again; not Zsasz, not Scarecrow, not anybody.

It was a good feeling, if a bit overwhelming. Following his new theme of letting himself enjoy the things he wanted, Jonathan allowed himself to feel at ease, content. He even cracked a smile when a small voice chimed, "I told you so," from somewhere near his collarbone.

"Yes, you did." He stroked back her hair and left a lingering kiss on top of her head, and felt her delighted smile split her face as she hugged him tighter (if that was even possible).

"Now you're really not getting rid of me. You know that, right?"

"I know. That's what I wanted." El hummed happily in response, breathing in the smell of his clothes. Being wrapped up against him like this felt...right. Like this was what their entire friendship had always been leading to, and now that it had been fulfilled, nothing could stop her.

Ever at the whim to her desires, and knowing that Jonathan couldn't be relied on to do the same, El straightened back up to stand on her knees and captured him in another kiss, deeper than before. With no protest, Jonathan locked his arms securely around her waist to keep her close and responded in kind.

Everything else forgotten, the new couple passed the day away in a world of their own making, testing the limits, and exploring new possibilities. Totally focused on each other, they both forgot everything about the killing of the city, the crimes they were committing together, the hells they had been put through, all of it wiped away; with every kiss, every gentle touch, every movement erased every atrocity, past and future. The new, stronger nature of their companionship made them unstoppable.

#the mind's power over the body #Attraction To The Insane #Jonathan Crane #scarecrow #Elianna Montgomery #jonathan crane x ofc #scarecrow x ofc #slight au #fanfiction #multi chapter fic #scarecrow fanfic #fic series #cillian murphy #cillian murphy scarecrow #tmpotb chapter 18

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mychemicalimagines · 4 years

Text

Imprinting Changes a Man-Paul Lahote-Chapter 2

Summary: Growing up in a small, close-knit tribe in the great state of Washington, the Chief’s daughter, Melissa Black, has her entire world flipped around when she finds out the legends she grew up on were true. What will happen to her, her best friend, and the rest of the guys they grew up with? Will life ever be the same?

Warnings: Cussing, Bella-Bashing, Leah-Bashing, Possible Eventual Smut

Words: 3185

Tag List: @elskinner45, @jayrart, @paullahotes, @laurastrutz, @k-n-e, @oopsiedoopsie23

A/N: I hope you guys like this chapter! @you-a-southpaw-doll and I decided to change up some parts of the story. There is no Emily. Mel is taking the place of Emily and Rachel. Someone else will be Sam’s imprint later. If you have any questions or concerns please either message me or @you-a-southpaw-doll or submit to our ask boxes! COMMENTS PLEASE:]

Italics are Pack Mind Conversations!

I hang up the phone after talking to my dad. We never thought that we would get another wolf so soon. Since the new wolf just phased an hour ago, and I was with Sam when he did, dad suggested that Sam and I be the ones that help the newer generation of wolves in the tribe with their phasing. Dad says he trusts us and he saw how I helped Sam through his phase.

I couldn’t believe it when dad told me that he believed in us to be the ones that tell the others what’s going on, and how to help them through their first phases. I walk over to the kitchen, grabbing the flour and cocoa to start making my famous brownies. I made these the day that Sam phased and they helped him feel a little better.

I hope these will help the new wolf feel better about everything. I mix everything in the bowl and pour it into a pan. After I put it in the oven, I walk upstairs to the pile of clothes that I keep in the spare room since Sam brought them over. I grab two pairs of shorts and walk back downstairs. I check the oven quickly before walking out the back door.

I lay the shorts on the banister and stand on the porch for a little bit. I try to listen for voices or sounds in the woods, but the only thing I can hear is the wind blowing. I sigh and walk back inside. It ain’t for another hour until I hear voices outside the door. I look up from the pan to look out the window.

I can’t tell from how dark it is outside so I go back to cutting up the brownies. I start hearing their conversation from outside.

“How are there shorts outside already?” A new voice says, from outside.

Jared! That voice belongs to Jared Cameron. He’s the new wolf!

“You know the Chief’s daughter, Melissa?” Sam says.

Jared doesn’t reply but I hear the shorts be removed from the banister and zippers being pulled up.

“She is part of the council and my best friend,” Sam explains. “This is her house.”

“Will this be the...like...the meeting house?” Jared questions.

“Yeah. It’s where I am most of the time anyway, when I’m not on patrol.”

I look up when I hear the back door slide open. Sam walks through first and smiles slightly. He moves out of the way to show Jared walking in behind him. Jared keeps his head down as he walks further into the house.

“Hi, Jared.” I say, softly.

He looks up and the edge of his lip curls up in a smile.

“It’s okay. Are you hungry?” I ask him, moving the brownies to a plate.

He nods and walks over to grab a couple pieces.

“Grab as many as you want.” I push the plate closer to him.

He mumbles a ‘thank you’ and Sam ushers Jared to a chair at my small table.

“You can ask us any questions you might have.” Sam tells him, while grabbing some brownies.

“Why? Why do we turn into giant wolves?” Jared asks, after a few minutes.

“You know our legends?” I ask him.

He nods while taking a bite of his third brownie.

“Well...that means Cold Ones are near making the wolf gene agitated.” Sam says.

He explains the legends in more detail and everything that it means to be a Spirit Warrior.

“You also get a tattoo!” I say, excitedly.

Jared chuckles slightly. “But what about my parents?”

“I’m sorry, Jared, but they are unable to know. All they will know is that you are working for the council now.” I say, softly.

He sighs and leans back into his chair.

“That also means you can’t hang out with your friends anymore.” Sam informs him.

“Wait. I can’t hang out with Paul anymore?” He asks, looking up from the table.

“No. Anything can happen. Your anger is going to be easier to express now, so we are keeping you from school. We don’t want any accidents to happen.” I say.

He nods before looking away slightly. I reach over and gently pat his hand.

“It’s for your safety, Jared. We don’t want anything to happen to you or anyone else for that matter.” I gently explain.

***

As the days go by, Jared starts to come out of his shell. We come up with a schedule for the patrol for when Jared does finally go back to school. He’s still technically a senior in high school, so when he goes back, he’ll still be one. Sam and I have discussed that school is super important. Even as a Spirit Warrior, we want to make sure he still get good grades.

“So...I’ll just tell them that I had to deal with a family emergency or something that kept me from coming to school?” He asks as we finish up the schedule and final school details.

Sam nods. “Yeah. You can just tell them that you had an uncle in England who was dying and requested you specifically to take care of him, so you had to go. And, after taking some personal time to cope with his death, since y’all were close, you were able to go back to school.”

Jared nods. “I can get behind that. Then again, I don’t really know if anyone would actually ask where I’ve been. It’s not like they notice me when I’m there.”

We talk about it for a little bit, and in an attempt to cheer Jared up, I still telling him jokes and puns. Similar to what I did with Sam when he first phased. Over the course of the next two weeks, we help him with the transition, and get him ready to go back to school like he hadn’t missed anything.

When the time comes for Jared to go back to school, he spends the night before his first day at my house. The morning of, he comes down, in his pjs. I look up as I finish cooking breakfast.

“Come on, wolf boy. You need to get ready for school.” I tease Jared.

I start putting out plates of bacon, eggs and sausages.

Jared smirks at me. “Mornin’ to you too. And, it’d be wolfman. I’m not a boy anymore.”

I laugh. “Hush and sit like a good boy.”

He chuckles but does as he’s told. I hand him his plate so he can start eating. I clean up from breakfast, only taking care of the dishes I used to cook. I leave the other stuff out since Jared’s still eating. Sam comes down, and sits at the table, fixing himself a plate too. Ever since he and Leah broke up last week, Sam’s been staying with me, in the spare room.

I feel bad about their break up, ‘cause I know Sam really liked her. But, Leah was a bitch and only looked out for herself. She also couldn’t understand why Sam was hanging out with me more often since he phased. And...she wasn’t Sam’s imprint, which only upset Sam even more. I don’t mind him staying with me.

It’s like the sleepovers we used to have when we were little. Plus, I know it’s been hard on him, not really having anyone else to talk to ‘bout the whole phasing thing. I give a soft smile and keep cleaning. The three of us talk until Sam goes back upstairs to get ready for his patrol. I look at Jared.

“C’mon. Go get dressed. School starts soon.” I say.

He chuckles. “Yes, mom.”

I laugh and flip him off, playfully. He chuckles and finishes his last bite of eggs and bacon. As he walks upstairs, I finish cleaning up the kitchen from breakfast. By the time I’m done with the last dish, Sam’s already left for patrol, and Jared walks down, backpack slung over one shoulder. I dry my hands and look at him.

“Ready?” I ask.

He nods. “Yea. I guess.”

I walk over and gently pat his shoulder, disregarding the fact that he’s nearly a foot taller than me when he stands.

“It’ll be ok. Just try to stay away from things that might upset you, ok?”

He nods. “I’ll try.”

“Good. C’mon. Let’s get you to school. We gotta stop and pick Jacob up on the way.”

He nods and we head out to the truck my dad’s been letting me drive. On the way to school, we get Jacob. I drop the two of them off and head back to the house to rest a little bit before I have to start cooking lunch for the pack, which only consists of the two guys. I look at the time a few hours later to see it’s almost time to pick up Jared.

Even though he’s 17, I have to drive him to and from school now. He didn’t have a car yet so his mom was taking him. I told her I would take him to and from school since he’s ‘working’ for the council now. She understood and even told me a few days ago that she put Sam and I down as emergency contacts and we’re able to talk to teachers about him.

I told her she didn’t have to, but she insisted since he’s mainly working for the council. She even said he’d probably call us first anyway. I grab the truck keys and my wallet and walk out to the truck. I drive to the school and wait outside the front doors. Jacob is going to Embry’s house today so he didn’t need me to pick him up.

I see Jared talking to Paul outside. I roll down my window.

“Jared! Come on!” I call out to him.

I see Paul shake his head and walk away. Jared walks over and gets into the car but slams the door.

“My door better not be broken, Jared Cameron.” I say, glancing over at him.

“Sorry, Mel.” Jared mumbles.

We ride back to my house in silence. I pull into the driveway behind my house, causing Jared to jump out and run inside. I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion and turn off the truck. I step out and walk inside to see Jared slamming his books onto the table.

“Jared Cameron! What has gotten into you?!” I snap slightly.

“It’s not fucking fair!” He snaps right back.

“What isn’t?”

“I didn’t choose to turn into a wolf! I can’t even hang out with my damn friends! Paul wanted to go throw the ball around on the beach today to practice, and I can’t because I’m a fucking Spirit Warrior who has to go on patrol. I can’t even tell them! It’s fucking bullshit!”

I notice Jared starting to shake slightly.

“Jared, you need to calm down.” I say, softly.

“No! You don’t understand!” Jared snaps once again.

“You are not phasing in my house.”

He rolls his eyes and pushes past me to go out the sliding door. I bite my lip in anger and turn around walking out the door behind him.

“Jared, none of us choose for this to happen.” I whisper slightly, hoping that helps him.

“Nothing is happening to you, Melissa. You’re the golden child on the council. Perfect life, perfect family!” Jared shakes harder, turning back around.

I look up to see Sam running toward the house. He runs around Jared and stands in front of me.

“Jared! Get to the woods! You’re starting patrol early.” Sam says.

“No! It’s your guys’ faults that I can’t go hang out with my friends!”

“You know why you can’t hang out with them.” Sam says, putting his hand up to shield me slightly.

“Because I turn into a wolf. Big fucking deal! You’ve been shifted for months and nothing happened!”

I walk around Sam to stand in front of Jared.

“Jared, it’s because he took control of his emotions. Right now you’re letting your anger get the best of you.” I say, softly.

“No! It’s not! My emotions are fine!” He snaps.

What I said makes him even angrier because he starts shaking and breathing hard.

“Mel...Step-”

Before Sam can finish his sentence, Jared phases right in front of me, causing a giant brown paw to swipe down in front of me. Pain shoots through the right side of my face, chest and my upper arm as I fall backward onto the ground. I see blood gushing from my chest as more blood falls into my eyes.

I look up slightly to see a guilty looking brown wolf, staring back at me, before the pain completely takes over and I pass out.

Third Person P.O.V.

Sam rushes over to Mel as she lay bleeding on the floor.

“Jared! Get to the woods now!” Sam commands.

Jared whimpers before backing up and running into the woods. Sam quickly picks up Mel before running to her truck. He lays her down in the front before driving quickly to the hospital. He makes it to the hospital just in time. The nurses and doctors take her to one of the rooms to begin to do their best.

Sam walks over to the telephone on the nurse’s desk and dials Billy’s number that he’s had memorized for years..

“Black residence.” Billy says into the phone.

“Billy? Get to the hospital! Mel is hurt...bad.” Sam says, quietly.

“What...What happened?” He asks.

“I’ll explain everything soon. Just get here!”

Sam hangs up, doing everything in his ability not to just slam it down. Sam walks outside the front door to sit on the bench outside to wait for them. He looks down at his shoes and the slightly damp dirt from yesterday’s rain. He sighs quietly to himself and brings his hands to his face, curling both into loose fists.

He rubs his eyes, much like a baby does when they’re fighting sleep. He presses his hands harder against his eyes, rubbing them till he sees stars. He does this, almost as if he’s trying to erase what happened outta his mind. It doesn’t work and he eases the pressure and uncurls his fingers till he just has his head resting on his palms.

He looks at his shoes, not knowing what to do and trying his best to keep calm so he doesn’t phase back. That’s the last thing he wants, and its the last thing Mel, and the others need right now. It only took Jake and Billy about ten minutes to get there. Sam looks up. Billy and Jake take in Sam’s appearance.

Shirtless, in shorts and tennis shoes, while covered in a lot of blood.

“Jake, go inside and talk to a nurse about your sister.” Billy looks up at his son.

Jake nods and runs inside as fast as he can. Sam looks back down and rubs his eyes once again, trying to push the tears away that he didn’t notice covering his eyes.

“What happened?” Billy asks, rolling his chair up to the bench.

“Jared...He was angry that he couldn’t hang out with his friends. Mel tried to tell him, but he was too angry. He...He phased, catching her face and chest with his paw. I couldn’t tell where else. There was so much blood.” Sam whispers, almost soft enough that Billy couldn’t hear him.

“Sam, it’s not your fault. It’s not Jared’s fault either. The wolf took control and he wasn’t ready yet. Mel is a Black. She’ll recover.” Billy says, rubbing Sam’s back.

Before Sam could reply, Jake walks outside.

“What happened to my sister?” Jake glares over at Sam.

“We were on the back porch. We heard a noise coming from the woods. We...we didn’t see anything so she got up and walked down the stairs but a bear ran down the hill. It got a swipe at her before I could do anything. I scared it away and brought her here.” Sam informs Jake, as he stares at his shoes again.

Jake sighs to himself. “Dad, we have to do something!”

“Don’t worry Jacob. We will get Charlie on it.” Billy looks up at Jake.

It wasn’t for another couple hours that a doctor finally walked out. Billy looks up from his lap to see Carlisle Cullen. Sam growls slightly, going unnoticed by Jacob. The only reason it’s okay for Sam to even be on Forks Land is because La Push hospital wouldn’t have been able to save her. They don’t have the necessary equipment for this type of accident.

“Don’t worry. She’s safe and her vitals are stable. She’s got three long scratches down the right side of her face going from her temple to her chin. It’s honestly a miracle that it missed her eye. She’s also got three more going from her collarbone to her breast, and three smaller ones on her shoulder going down her bicep just an inch. They are deep enough for them to be scars for the rest of her life. We have put her in a medically induced coma so she can rest for awhile while we pump blood into her and she can heal.” Carlisle informs them.

Jake tears slightly before looking away. His older sister, the only one that stayed behind, is going to be scarred forever because of a stupid bear. Billy takes in a huge breath. His daughter is now scarred for life because of the wolves that protect their tribe. Sam looks away, sighing heavily. If he was just quick enough to pull her out of the way then his best friend would be fine.

Sam looks up at Billy. “I’m...I’m going to go tell Jared.”

Billy nods and whispers. “Let him know. It’s not his fault.”

Sam nods and walks out of the hospital. He runs toward the woods, making sure to pass the treaty line before phasing.

Sam’s P.O.V.

I hear Jared whimpering in our mind connection.

“Jared?” I say.

“Is...Is she dead?” He asks me.

He hasn’t read my thoughts so he doesn’t know what happened to her. I flash my memory of what the Cullen said to us. Jared whimpers louder. I read his thoughts and run to where he is.

“Jared, Mel will be just fine. She’ll be scarred, but it is not your fault. You just weren’t in control as much as you thought you were. Now you know why we don’t want you to hang with anyone outside of the pack. Mel isn’t going to be mad at you. She will be, though, if you keep kicking yourself.” I say, sitting my wolf down.

“Sam. I almost killed her!” Jared snaps at me slightly.

“Don’t yell at me.” I command him.

He whimpers slightly. Before we can talk any further, I feel another connection to the pack form.

“What...What the fuck?! Why am I a giant dog?” A voice enters our minds.

“...Paul?” Jared asks.

“...Yeah? Jared?” The voice asks.

#paul lahote #paul lahote fanfiction #paul lahote imagine #paul lahote x reader #paul lahote x oc #paul lahote x you #paul lahote x y/n #paul lahote x ofc #twilight #twilight imagine #twilight fanfiction #twilight imagines

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aurora-australis-tumbles · 4 years

Note

if you still do the short fic thing, jack/phryne and #17 please!

Sure, Anonymous, though I think we can all agree the “short” part is hilarious at this point. 😂

meeting at a party whilst drunk au

---

Jack knocked on the door, his head pounding in rhythm with his fist. He winced, then quickly schooled his features; whatever was waiting for him behind that door, he needed to be in control when he met it.

“This lavatory's fully occupied!”

Jack cleared his throat and called out loudly in response, ignoring the way his throbbing skull protested the maneuver. “Police! Open up.” He knocked again and this time his head basically just knocked back.

Control, Robinson, he reminded himself firmly, you’re in control.

The door opened to reveal the last person in the world he was expecting.

Her.

Oh. Oh fuck.

The barest hint of recognition graced her lips as she greeted him with a smile and, thankfully, as a stranger.

Though, of course, she’s wasn’t.

***

The party is loud and hot and not at all Jack’s scene except his wife has just told him she is officially setting their divorce in motion so why the hell not come out tonight and get blotto on someone else’s dime.

That the someone else is an old friend from the army who can now afford it helps to ease Jack’s guilt a bit about the last part.

Still… the party is a lot. And Jack has had a lot. A lot. He needs some fresh air, or at least some quiet. He stumbles a bit at the top of the stairs and decides he’s not ready to brave them just yet. Luckily there is an empty room at the end of the hall, cool and quiet, and Jack makes it his sanctuary from the sanatorium.

He is swaying pleasantly on the edge of the tub, drunk but not sick, when there is a knock at the door.

“Occupied!” he yells, louder than he means.

The door opens anyway.

He blinks and stares at one of the most beautiful women he’s ever seen in his life.

“Occupied,” he repeats dumbly.

“Oh! Sorry! I thought you said ‘come in’,” she grins at him, then walks over to the mirror to adjust her makeup.

“Sorry, how does ‘occupied’ sound anything like ‘come in’? And further… more,” he slurs out the word, but tries to cover it smoothly, “why would you want to come in if someone was here?”

“It’s a paaaaaarty,” she reminds him via the mirror. “Anything goes.”

“This is exactly why we have a vice squad,” he grumbles and she laughs.

“Good thing I’m not the police, then.”

He doesn’t disagree.

***

“You must be the Inspector,” she said, just the slightest bit of surprise in her tone. Maybe he should have offered his title last night after all. “Apologies for my urgent call of nature.”

“This is the scene of a crime,” Jack reminded her with all the gravitas he could muster while still wondering if this was some kind of dream.

“Well, lucky for you, I'm wearing gloves.” She offered him her hand. “Miss Phryne Fisher.”

Nope, not a dream then; his subconscious wasn’t creative enough to come up with that name.

Jack took a deep breath, but all that did was give him a heady whiff of her perfume and fling his mind right back into the previous evening. Focus, man, focus! Policework! Detecting! Ask her a question or… something!

“I assume you weren't close to the deceased.”

Oh fabulous.

She let the non-question question slide and answered him anyway.

“Never had the pleasure, but by all accounts he was charming.”

***

She’s at the mirror, still fixing her red, red lips, with her back to him. He’s trying to be a gentleman, he really is, but all he can focus on is the long line of her spine, exposed and accentuated by a deep blue dress with a dip in the back so deep he feels like he’s falling.

That could also be the booze.

He tries to readjust his line of sight into one he can be proud of, but when he looks up he meets her eye in the mirror and she winks at him and that’s that; his ears are burning and it has nothing to do with the whisky.

***

“Do you think it was poison?”

And of course Hugh was already nodding. “Most likely…”

“We are yet to determine the cause of death,” Jack interrupted. For god’s sake, Collins…

He looked back at Phryne.

“Miss Fisher, I appreciate your curiosity for crime.”

“Well, every lady needs a hobby.”

“But please…”

And she’s back under his arm and examining the scene and Jesus Christ did this woman own any clothes that covered her back? She was still speaking though, brilliant insights he’d be lucky to get from any of his constables on a good day, so he forced himself to focus.

“... but the fetal position of the victim outline, although not terribly well executed, indicates a degree of pain rather than the flailing limbs one might associate with a struggle. And then of course there's the fact that death occurred after breakfast according to Mrs Andrews which suggests something ingested?”

***

“Are you drunk?” She’s finishing up her lipstick now, and returning the tube to her purse.

“I’m not not drunk,” he replies, and it’s the truth. He thinks. Grammar is hard.

She laughs and turns around to face him. “What’s your name,” she asks, leaning back on the sink, the dress leaning back even further to spotlight her every curve.

“Jack.” He answers before he means to, but everything is a little slow right now including his natural reticence. Oh well, in for a penny… “What’s yours?”

“Jaaaaaaaaack,” she stretches his name out like taffy as her head falls back and she looks up at the ceiling. “I don’t just give my name out to every handsome man I meet,” she tells the roof of the room and Jack realizes she is just as drunk as he is. Well that’s nice anyway. Equality and all that. She rotates her head around, swiveling it towards him conspiratorially as her hair swings a little in her face. “I’ve heard this is a dangerous town,” she whispers, her red lips inches from his own.

“Have you?” Jack whispers back and she nods. His eyes are on those red lips now, and Jack pulls himself back, physically and metaphorically, before he gives in to the urge to taste them. He is technically still married after all, even if he’s the only one who thinks so. “That’s too bad. Why stay in Melbourne then? Seems like a lot of trouble.”

“Oh, Jack… I like a bit of danger. And I bring my own trouble.” She winks again and he rolls his eyes, which makes the room spin, so that was a mistake. “Besides,” she continues, “I just got here.” She grins at him. “You’re my welcome committee!”

Jack raises a glass in toast, realizing too late that he doesn’t actually have a glass in his hand anymore. “Well welcome to Melbourne, Miss… Trouble.”

“Oh I like that. I might keep that.”

“I expect you will.”

***

“All wild surmise, of course.”

“Of course. Now…”

***

“Now what, Jack?”

“Now… what?”

“What happens next?”

“I don’t follow.” Which could still be the booze but he is beginning to think is just her.

“Well I like you, Jack. And I can tell you like me. So what happens next? Do you want to come dance with me? I promise I won’t step on your toes.” She stretches out an arm in invitation and he grabs her hand out of instinct and impulse and intoxication.

“Rejoining the crowd isn’t really what I had in mind, Miss T.” He doesn’t mean it the way it comes out, but it comes out like a proposition and he knows it immediately. He is opening his mouth to apologize when she raises an eyebrow and grins at him and he is suddenly speechless.

“Is that so, Jack?” She glances around the room. “Not my usual style, but when in Rome….”

“I…” His mouth is dry and his head is spinning and goddamnit he is still holding her hand! In response to his stammering she merely raises her left leg and places her high heel-clad foot beside him on the tub, the slit of her dress falling downward as she does, exposing her shapely leg up to the thigh. Duty and desire both flair up within him and Jack swallows, hard, realizing that if he doesn’t stop things right fucking now he is going to snog this woman senseless in his mate’s upstairs bathroom.

Would that really be so terrible?

Couldn’t he… just this once...

But duty says ‘no’ and desire warns ‘not like this’ because he may be drunk but he is still Jack.

Regret writ large across his face, he musters every ounce of self-discipline he possesses and slips his fingers under her ankle to move her foot back down to the floor, his hand holding her silk covered leg a full five seconds more than is required.

Not that she complains.

She doesn’t say anything, in fact. Just smiles at him, serene and sweet, her eyes full of good humour, compassion and understanding. Understanding for… him. He is frankly startled by how much she seems to understand. Her senses are surely as dulled by the booze as his and yet she is clearly still sharper than most people he knows and Jack suddenly has his second realization in as many minutes: under different circumstances he really would have liked to have known this woman better.

She doesn’t draw out the moment, though, just releases his hand (why was he still holding it??), smoothes down her dress and heads to the door. She pauses when she reaches it, though, and with her hand still on the handle, turns back to address him one last time.

“It was very nice meeting you, Jack.”

“You too, Miss Trouble. I know it goes against your name and your nature, but try to stay out of it?”

“Not a chance,” she assures him with her third drunken wink of the night and he laughs in spite of himself. “Thanks for the welcome, though. And Jack?”

“Mmmm?”

“Next time you corner me in a lavatory, I expect you to make it count.”

And then she is gone, leaving him in quiet, though not in peace.

He really should have gotten her name.

***

“Do you have a card?” she asked, feigning coquettishness, that same humour from last night still in her eyes if one knew where to look. “In case I need to call the police. Because I'm a woman alone. Newly arrived in a dangerous town.”

He swallowed, and reached for his cards. Time to lay down the law, so to speak. “I plan to make this town less dangerous, Miss Fisher.”

“Good. I do like a man with a plan. Detective Inspector Jack Robinson.”

And then she was gone, leaving him in quiet, though not in peace.

He tapped his remaining cards against his hand absently. Beside him Hugh looked confused.

“Huh,” he noted in his very Hugh way. “Your cards only say J. Robinson, don’t they? I wonder how Miss Fisher knew your full name.” He frowned, giving it real thought and Jack knew he should redirect the lad but his brain was too busy desperately processing the last 90 seconds.

“Although,” Hugh continued, “I suppose Mrs Andrews might have told her.” He chuckled. “Funny that she asked for your card if she already has your number.”

Jack’s head was suddenly pounding in a way that had nothing to do with his hangover.

Oh she definitely had his number.

Fuuuuuuuuck.

| Short Fic Ask |

#mfmm fanfic drabble #mfmm fanfic #phrack #phrack au #drunken shenanigans

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soobiniebaby · 4 years

Text

Angels & Devils Part IX : Magic Hour

Tomorrow x Together Fanfiction

~ p a r t s : main post || prologue || part 1 || part 2 || part 3 || part 4 || part 5 || part 6 || part 7 || part 8 || part 9 || part 10 || part 11 || part 12 || part 13 || part 14 || part 15 || part 16 || part 17 ~ p a i r i n g : love triangle involving choi soobin and choi yeonjun ~ g e n r e : high school au | some social media au | some fluff & angst | childhood friends | love triangle ~ l a n g u a g e : English ~ w a r n i n g : contains swearing, alcohol, kissing (?) and may contain mature themes (angst, etc.) ~ a / n : This will be my first fanfic (go easy on me pls) and i’m just writing this as I go along, so bear with me juseyo The setting (place/country) of the story is up to the reader’s interpretation ~ s u m m a r y : What should she choose? Han Baby: the new girl with a troubled past MO Academy: her new high school Choi Soobin: student council president, member of the Ecosave club, volunteer at the Humane Treatment of Animals, member of the Honor Society, a vocalist in the Jazzed club, the school’s all around golden boy Choi Yeonjun: leader of the Dance club, star of the Jazzed club, the school’s it boy with a bad rep 5 best friends, 1 new girl, 1 childhood friendship, 1 epic love triangle? What will this school year bring?

Yeonjun had been on cloud 9 the whole weekend.

Ever since he and Baby talked things out and she finally said yes to him that Friday, he hadn’t been able to stop himself from smiling. They had been texting ever since he had left her apartment.

Even the horrendously boring and rigid dinner he had with his parents that night became so much bearable since he had been texting her under the table nearly the whole time.

At the end of the day, he’d call her on FaceTime and they’d stay on video call until one of them would fall asleep.

On Saturday, he and the guys had hung out at Kai’s house. They all put together a care basket, each boy contributing a little gift or token along with a note, to wish B a speedy recovery. He had delivered it to B by the end of the day, stopping by her place for a quick visit as well.

“There’s a cute plushie from Hyuka, a novel highly recommended from Tyun, a collection of movies from Gyu, and handpicked snacks from Soobin. And there’s a get well soon card with a short message from each of us.” Yeonjun says, slowly laying out each boy’s gift in front of B. “Also, Soobin requests that you take a picture with his gift so you guys will have something to post for your project this week.” he adds.

“Alright, I’ll make sure to take a few pictures before devouring them.” B says, excitedly looking at the snacks. “Wow, these gifts are amazing. The boys are so sweet.” she says in awe, grabbing the plushie from Kai and holding it close to her chest.

“The boys? What about me? Aren’t I sweet?” Yeonjun asks.

“Well, I guess you are, but you didn’t get me a get-well-soon gift.” she says, pouting.

Yeonjun laughs. “Don’t worry, I’ve got your get-well gift right here.” he says. When she raises a brow at him in confusion, he simply puts a finger under her chin and tilts it upward as he gives her a kiss, keeping it tender and sweet. He feels her smile against his lips and he pulls away, smiling back at her. “See? Bet you feel better already.” he says.

“Much better.” B smiles, feeling tingles all over her body. “Still no gift, though.”

Yeonjun stepped back, shocked. “Was that not enough for you? What more do you want from me?” he says, exaggeratingly putting a fist over his chest.

B laughs. “You’re so dramatic! Don’t get me wrong, your kisses are great, but I want a gift that’ll keep me from getting bored or feeling lonely while I’m on lockdown for the week. The boys’ gifts are all spot on.” she explains. “If I’m gonna be stuck alone here for the next few days, I’m gonna get bored and lonely.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got the perfect gift. You’ll see.” Yeonjun says mysteriously.

B raises a brow but raises no further questions. That night, she makes sure to take pictures and sends them to Soobin, each of them creating their own social media posts for their project.

When Sunday came, B decided to plan out her week of isolation, wanting to make it as productive as possible. First, she messaged the boys to thank them for their gift basket and to beg them to help her keep up with schoolwork and lessons, which they gamely accept. She also checks her other messages and sees a few from the girls.

She finally messages them, feeling guilty upon seeing how worried they were.

Meanwhile, Yeonjun starts to make plans of his own, wanting to make sure that the coming week would be perfect.

•°•

Monday

Wanting to start her first day of missing classes on the right foot, B had managed to convince at least one of her classmates in each class to secretly have her on call during the periods, so that she could listen in on the lectures on her phone, as if she were taking an online class. She had called Taehyun for first period Economics, Kai for second period History, Yuna for third period Biology, Beomgyu for after-lunch Maths, Taehyun again for Foreign Language class, and Soobin for Creative writing class.

“Why not me?” Yeonjun had asked her with a pout when she told him her plan.

B laughed at how adorable he was. “Because Soobin is one of my closest friends, plus he’s my partner in the class, so it would make more sense if I called him. Besides, it might seem too suspicious if I called you instead of him.” she reasoned.

The whole day, B had her phone by her side as she struggled to listen to the lectures and took down her own notes as well, making sure to catch any dates for assignment deadlines or quizzes. By the time last period was over, B had gotten showered and dressed, first for a quick visit from her family doctor to check on her condition and then for some time to hang out with Ryujin, who had promised to visit since she was immune to chicken pox.

Sure enough, the doctor came by and did a quick check up of her vital signs and assessed her rashes, simply advising her not to scratch them. He was there for a maximum of 20 minutes before leaving.

At a little past 5:30 PM, Ryujin came ringing on her front door holding a box of cinnamon rolls from Kang’s Kafe.

B excitedly hugs her as soon as she opens the door to let her friend in, squealing and thanking her for the cinnamon rolls.

As they step into the apartment, Ryujin observes “Wow B, you look so happy, you’re practically glowing, and I’m pretty sure it’s not the rashes.”

B blushes and waves her hand dismissively. “Oh, it’s probably just cause I’ve been getting a lot of sleep lately, but thanks.”

“A lot of sleep? More like a lot of Yeonjun.” Ryujin says, smiling devilishly. “Come on, tell me more about it! How are you feeling? What is it like to date him? Have you guys done anything yet?”

“Well if you must know, I feel really happy. So happy in fact that it keeps me too distracted to even think about how itchy these rashes are.” B says, rubbing her arms which had small specks of rashes. “And technically, we haven’t even gone on a date yet, but we’ve been talking a lot and he’s called me on Facetime the past 2 nights and he’s just really sweet. And no, we haven’t ‘done anything’ yet, we’ve just kissed a couple of times.”

Ryujin lets out a squeal. “Ah, it sounds so exciting! I’m so happy for you! Honestly, seeing how hard you were trying to avoid him for the past 2 weeks was hard. I wanted to shake you or something just to knock some sense into you. It was actually kinda funny seeing how stubborn you were about it, I mean he obviously liked you but anyone who knew your current situation could see that you definitely had feelings for him as well!” she laughs. “Speaking of, what have the other guys said about you 2 dating? I bet Gyu’s been teasing you 2 nonstop.” she asks, referring to the guys in the student council.

B laughs nervously. “Oh, uh, we haven’t really told anyone yet.” she admits. “I haven’t even told Ningni—I mean Hyuka, about Yeonjun asking me out at the party, so none of them have any clue about Yeonjun asking me out and me avoiding Yeonjun and everything. I’ve only told you and Yuna.”

Ryujin smacks B’s arm. “B! Why? You should’ve at least told Kai about it! Isn’t he your best friend?”

“He is, yes! It’s just hard, I mean I’ve told him about my past crushes and stuff back when we were younger, but it’s just that Yeonjun is his one of his closest friends, so it just feels kind of weird. Like it might make their friendship awkward, especially if things between me and Yeonjun don’t work out.” B says defensively.

“Please, those guys are thick as thieves, nothing could ever break their friendship apart. And stop saying that you and Yeonjun won’t work out, you’re worrying too much about something that hasn’t even happened yet or something that might not even ever happen. Instead of thinking the worst about the future, you should just try to make the most out of the present instead.” Ryujin says.

“Wow, that’s actually really good advice, Ryu.” B admits. “Fine, I promise I’ll try not to worry too much and stuff. But Yeonjun and I agreed that we’d wait until I’ve recovered enough to go back to school until we tell the guys anything about us dating.”

“Oh sweetie, he’s a guy. Heck, he’s not just a guy, he’s Choi Yeonjun. Guys like to talk about girls. And just like you’ve been talking to Yuna and I about Yeonjun, I’m pretty sure Yeonjun has been talking to at least 1 other guy about you too. The question is, which guy could he be talking to?” Ryujin wonders.

•°•

Tuesday

“So that’s what I’ve got planned out for the next few days. Well, while she’s still confined to her apartment, at least. I’ve got a whole week of stay-at-home dates and romantic stuff planned. I just want to make it as good as possible, even if she can’t leave her house.” Yeonjun says, finishing up explaining his plans in great detail. “It’s what she deserves, especially after hearing how much she struggled the past 2 weeks. I just want to make sure she won’t regret her decision to finally say yes.”

“Yeonjun, that sounds amazing.” Beomgyu says, looking at the blue-haired boy in awe. “I always knew you had your ways to woo a girl, but damn I’ve never seen you plan out something like this before. I especially like the part where you sort of kidnap her.” Beomgyu laughs. “Congrats on finally getting the ‘yes’ by the way. It was kinda killing me to see how hard the past 2 weeks have been on you too.”

“It’s what she deserves. It’s crazy cause I don’t think I’ve ever liked a girl this much before, especially since I’ve only known her for a few weeks.” Yeonjun gives him a bright smile, and Beomgyu could tell just how smitten he was. “And thanks, Gyu. Thanks for being there for me these past couple of weeks, too. And thanks for keeping it between us.” he adds, remembering how Beomgyu had noticed how different Yeonjun had been acting, and how Yeonjun himself had finally told Beomgyu about everything.

From how Yeonjun had been watching B at the party to how Yeonjun had found himself smitten by B during their 7 minutes together to how Yeonjun had asked her out twice and even to how he had winked at her onstage. He didn’t mean to tell anyone about his feelings for their new friend so soon, but he couldn’t bear the weight of it any longer. Now he was happy to be telling Beomgyu about how he had taken care of B when she was sick and how they had finally been able to talk things out.

“Dude, you’ve got it bad.” Beomgyu says, laughing and clapping him on the back. “I have to admit, it’s a bit weird seeing you talk about a girl so much, but I can’t help but feel proud that you’ve finally found someone you genuinely seem to care for.”

Yeonjun nods. “Yes, I really do. And thanks Gyu, really. She just feels really different, I guess. And I’m hoping that the more I get to know her, the more I end up liking her, instead of the other way around. Usually with me, girls can make a strong first impression at the start but then when I try to get to know them more, they end up feeling just like everyone else. I don’t think it’ll be like that with her, though.”

“With all the things you’ve got planned for her, I highly doubt that’ll be the case.” Beomgyu says. “I’m sure she’ll love it. Go get her, Yeonjun!”

And he did.

That afternoon, he stood outside her apartment door feeling just a tiny bit nervous, his hands full, whispering and instructing the people behind him for the last time before he rang the doorbell.

“Coming!” Yeonjun could hear her yell from inside the apartment, and he smiled to himself.

He braces himself as she opens the door, and as soon as he sees her face, his heartbeat instantly speeds up.

“Hi, Baby.” he simply says as he stands in front of her with a bouquet of blue roses, the string quartet that he had hired for the afternoon starts to play a soft rendition of Euphoria by BTS.

She stands there for a moment, a hand covering her mouth as she stares in awe at the blue-haired boy before her and the blue roses he held, to the four string players holding their instruments and serenading her, until the chorus comes up and Yeonjun softly sings, “Take my hands now” as he takes one of her hands in his and squeezes it gently. “You are the cause of my euphoria.”

She unfreezes then, taking a step towards him and wrapping her arms around him to give him a hug, which was a bit of a challenge considering the dozen roses between them.

He laughs as she gives up on trying to hug him and settles on standing on her tiptoes to give him a quick peck instead. “You’re supposed to take the flowers first, silly.” he says.

“Yeonjun! This is just…wow.” she says, taking the flowers in her arms, they were heavier than they looked. “This is incredible. You’re incredible. This it too much, this is… just, thank you so much.” she says, flustered.

“Oh, Baby. This is nothing, don’t sweat it.” he says, savoring her reaction. If she was gonna smile this wide and get this flustered every time he made a romantic gesture like this, then the rest of the week was going to be fun.

•°•

Wednesday

B had been wondering why Yeonjun had made such a strange request that morning, but she was happy to oblige. It’s not like she had anything better to do in her apartment, and she spent most of her time listening to lectures through phone calls in her bedroom anyway. She had called the same people as she had for the past 2 days, glad that she had found a way to keep herself up to date on lectures.

She had almost forgotten about Yeonjun’s request until her last class for the day ended, and she heard sounds coming from inside her apartment. She kept her bedroom door closed the whole day, so the sound of some unknown person in her apartment was alarming.

She quickly dials up Yeonjun’s number, trying to keep herself calm and telling herself that it was probably not a dangerous intruder but rather something related to Yeonjun’s request.

“Hey Baby, what’s up?” he says, answering on the second ring.

“Hey Yeonjun, uh, I’m in my bedroom right now and I thought I heard something from inside the apartment so I was wondering if it’s something to do with what you texted me this morning or if there really is an intruder and I should call the police.” she says, trying to sound causal and calm.

Yeonjun laughs on the other end, which causes B to relax a bit. “You are adorable. Very smart and safe that you checked with me first though, everytime you hear strange noises in your apartment, call me right away okay?” he says. “For now, don’t worry though, I promise you’re safe. It’s part of the plan, I asked some people to help me set up for our date today. Sorry for making you panic, I should’ve given you a heads up.”

B scoffs. “Psh, I was not panicking. I’m just being very smart and safe, like you said.” she says. “What kind of date requires you to ask for help to set up though? What exactly do you have planned for today?”

“Now why would I tell you that? You’ll find out in about an hour anyway, but for now, promise me you’ll stay in your room until I tell you it’s safe okay? If not, you’ll spoil the surprise.” he says.

B nods. “Yeah sure, I can do that.” she says, even though the curiosity was killing her. What kind of date did Yeonjun have planned now?

Just then, B hears a voice from Yeonjun’s end of the call. “Hey YJ, you want me to ride with you to Kang’s? Or should I ride with Soobin?” Beomgyu asks.

“Hop right into the car, I’ll just finish up this call.” Yeonjun responds. “Hey Baby, gonna grab a quick snack at Kang’s with the boys before I head to your place. I’ll make it quick, so try not to miss me too much.” he says.

“Don’t worry, it’s the rest of the guys that I really miss anyway.” she says teasingly. “It’s only been a few days, but I haven’t seen them in forever.”

“Oh? So since you’ve been seeing me almost everyday now, you don’t miss me? Yeonjun says, and B could practically hear him pouting from the phone.

She laughs. “Don’t be silly, you know I miss you too.”

Yeonjun laughs too. “I miss you too. See you in about an hour, alright? And wear something nice.” he simply says before hanging up.

“Was that her? Was that B?” Beomgyu asks as Yeonjun gets into the car, joining him in the back seat before the car starts to move, taking them to Kang’s café.

Yeonjun nods. “Yeah, she was worried cause she heard a noise in her apartment but I told her it’s just the dinner people.”

Beomgyu raises a brow. “The dinner people? Wait, which date is this? The one where you hire people to set up the apartment in like a super romantic—”

“Yes yes, it’s that one.” Yeonjun said, amused at how excited Beomgyu was, remembering that he told Beomgyu about all his date plans for the week. “I’m a little worried that it might be a bit too much? What do you think?”

Beomgyu laughs. “Honestly, what you’ve got planned for today is…small compared to what you’ve got planned for Thursday or Friday. Considering she’s not supposed to leave her apartment, it’ll be a challenge to pull off too.”

“Oh, I asked her doctor about it and he said that as long as she’s very careful about who she comes in contact with and limits exposure as much as possible, then technically I can take her out. Just a matter of how and where I do it.” Yeonjun says confidently. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, I can pull it off.”

Beomgyu gives him a smile and a pat on the back. “I’m sure you can, Yeonjun. Don’t worry about sticking around at Kang’s either, you can leave as soon as you want, I’ll back you up. Try not to keep her waiting, you know?” he says supportively.

“Thanks, Gyu. I’ll just order something for takeout and I’ll go.”

•°•

B takes a deep breath and straightens out her dress one last time before finally opening her bedroom door and taking a step into her living area.

And she was immediately rendered speechless.

The place looked almost unrecognizable. The furniture had been moved around to make space in the middle of the room for her small round dining table and 2 chairs. The lights were all off, the apartment illuminated solely by candlelight, with tea candles and blue rose petals scattered all over the apartment, carefully sprawled all across the floor and sprinkled on the furniture. The table was set up for 2, with delicious-looking dishes already in place and a bottle of white wine along with a flower arrangement and 2 candles in the center.

She could hear the string quartet from yesterday from within the apartment, and after letting her eyes adjust to the dim light and looking around she could see that they were hidden away in the kitchen, softly playing their rendition of Home by Michael Buble.

Then Yeonjun reveals himself, he was waiting right outside her bedroom door, and he holds out a hand to her. “Han Baby, I know it’s a bit early, but would you do me the honour of having dinner with me?” he says grandly.

B lets out a laugh, looking at him in awe. “It would be my pleasure, Choi Yeonjun.” she says, taking his hand.

He smiles back at her and leads her to the dining table, pulling out her chair and letting her sit before joining her.

“I’m not sure what food you’d like, but I got garlic butter baked salmon, chicken kievs, Caesar salad, a bottle of Moscato and a serving of chocolate covered strawberries for dessert.” Yeonjun says, presenting the table on the food.

“Wow, they all look so good.” B says, feeling her mouth start to water. “How did you do all this? How did you put this all together?”

“Well, I had a bit of help, of course.” Yeonjun says, pouring the wine. “I asked my driver Hwall and some help from home to bring over the food, move the furniture and set up the candles and flowers. And the string quartet, whom you’ve met yesterday, are a few friends from my old school.” he says, giving a quick salute to the four string players in the kitchen, who warmly smiled back at him. “I hope you didn’t mind having strangers in your apartment, I’m sorry if you got scared. I should have been more considerate.”

B accepts the glass of champagne but shakes her head. “Yeonjun, it’s fine. I trust that you’re being careful and that you wouldn’t compromise my safety. This is all very lovely, thank you.” she says, reaching over the table to take his hand and gently squeezing it.

He smiles warmly at her. “Thank you for trusting me. I’m glad you like it.” he says, once again savouring the moment. The warmth in her eyes as she looked at him, her initial shock upon seeing the dinner set up, how good it felt to have her hand in his, and just everything about her in general.

Since he couldn’t be out too late on a school night without raising suspicion from his father, he wanted to make the most out of every minute. From sharing the most compelling yet laughably random conversations over dinner, to the sickeningly sweet banter over dessert, to the intimacy of slow dancing in her living room.

He made sure to bid his friends from the string quartet goodbye and help B with putting her furniture back in place before calling up Hwall and letting him know it was time for him to go.

As she walks him out of her apartment, lingering by the doorway for just a moment to say goodbye.

“You know, you never cease to amaze me, Choi Yeonjun. I’m starting to think there’s nothing you can’t do.” she says, as he stands outside her door. “Except fly, of course.”

Yeonjun smiles at her quizzically. “What makes you think I can’t fly?” he asks playfully, pulling her closer.

“Because you’re only human?” she says, laughing. “Besides, I don’t want a boy who can fly. I just want you.” she says, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Aw, Baby, you’re so sweet.” Yeonjun says, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Now, let’s say I could fly, would you still want me then?”

“And you’re so silly! Of course I would.” she laughs, stroking his hair. “But for now, I think you have to go.” she says, seeing his driver standing by from the corner of her eye.

“I’m afraid I do.” he says, giving a quick nod to Hwall before completely wrapping his arms around B’s waist and holding her tight, which causes her to squeal.

“See you tomorrow?” he says, finally letting go.

She nods. “See you tomorrow.” she says, waving him off and watching him walk away.

Right before he gets into his car, he takes one last look up at B’s apartment, and he’s pleasantly surprised to see her still standing outside, a hand on her chest as she smiled to herself, spinning in place a couple times before walking back into her apartment and closing the floor behind her.

He couldn’t wait to see how she’d react for what dates he had planned next.

•°•

Thursday

With Yeonjun’s simple request, once again, B didn’t really know what to expect.

She certainly wasn’t expecting to be ambushed at her front door with a bouquet or blue roses and to be serenaded by a string quartet on Tuesday, and she definitely wasn’t expecting her apartment to feel like a romantic 5 star restaurant yesterday, but his request for today’s date caught her so off guard that she couldn’t help but to overthink.

Wear something comfy?

What did he mean by that? What kind of date would entail such a simple request? Would it be something as simple as staying in and watching movies together? Knowing Yeonjun, it probably wasn’t.

While still keeping track of lectures through cellphone calls, she spent more of the overthinking about what kind of date Yeonjun could have possibly planned for the day, and what kind of outfit she’d be wearing.

At the end of the day, she decides to message her girl friends for help once again.

And right as she finishes fixing herself up, she hears the doorbell ring. She calls out “Just a second!” and quickly swipes on some blush to finish the look before running up to the front door and opening it.

“Hey, Baby.” Yeonjun says, smiling at her. “You look nice. You definitely found the perfect balance between cute and comfy.” he says, checking out her outfit.

“Hey Yeonjun! Thanks.” she says, smiling back. Just as she opens the door wider, ready to welcome him into the apartment, he takes her completely by surprise and says “Come on, let’s go.”

She blinks once, twice, still surprised. “Let’s go? Go, uh, where?”

“You’ll see. C’mon, put on some shoes and grab your things. Hwall’s waiting for us downstairs.” he says casually.

“Go? Where? And how? I mean, I’m still highly contagious, my doctor said I couldn’t leave—” B starts, still a bit dumfounded.

“I’ve cleared this with your doctor. Yes, you’re still possibly highly contagious, but where we’re going, there won’t be anyone for you to infect.” he says.

Confused, B decides to put on a pair of sneakers and grab a small sling bag before locking her apartment door behind her.

“Ah, before I forget.” Yeonjun says, rummaging through his bag before pulling out a surgical face mask wrapped in plastic. “You’ll have to put this on for now. Safety reasons.” he explains, handing it to her.

She obliges, and once the face mask is secured, he grabs her hand and leads her to the car.

•°•

“So…where are we going?” B asks for what feels like the hundredth time.

“You’ll see.” Yeonjun responds for what feels like the hundredth time.

“Are you kidnapping me? Should I be worried?” B asks. “Hey, Hwall, is he kidnapping me? Should I be worried?”

Yeonjun’s driver Hwall looks at her through the rear-view mirror as he drives. “I assure you, with sir Yeonjun, you’re in good hands.” he simply says.

B lets out a huff. “You didn’t answer either of my questions, but fine, I trust you.” she says, looking out the window and noticing how unfamiliar everything looked. They were now going uphill and had a fairly decent view of the town. “Wow, I am just now realizing just how little I know about this place. I mean, I just moved here, and all I know is how to get to school and back.”

Yeonjun laughs. “I don’t blame you, but it’s practically the opposite for me since I’ve lived here since I was a kid.” he says. “Don’t worry, I’ll show you around the whole town pretty soon.”

B gives him a curious look but doesn’t say anything. She continues to look out the window for the rest of the ride, noticing how high up they were going. Once they reach the top of the cliff, the car suddenly pulls over and stops, causing her to look around excitedly.

“Is this it? Are we here? Where are we?” she says excitedly, trying to look around for any clue as to what Yeonjun had planned for their date. All she could see, however, was the edge of the cliff and how high above the town they were.

“Huh, I guess we got here a bit early.” Yeonjun says, looking out the window. “Molang isn’t here yet.”

“Molang? Who’s Molang?” B asks, raising a brow.

Just then, she notices a low whirring noise, not knowing what it was or where it was coming from. She notices the sound getting louder and louder, until a helicopter comes into view.

As she spots the helicopter flying in and slowly approaching them, her jaw drops. “No way.”

Yeonjun laughs as he stares at her, amused by her reaction. “Yes way. Baby, this is Molang. My beautiful Airbus ACH175 helicopter.” he says, waving at the pilot through the window, who raised a hand back to acknowledge him. “And that’s Sunwoo, our pilot for today.”

“Yeonjun, I—” B starts, but she doesn’t really know what to say. “I—”

He laughs again. “Are you ready to fly?”

B simply nods, staring at the helicopter that was now landing in very close to proximity to where the car was parked. Once Yeonjun opens the door for her and she steps out, that’s when she notices that they were parked next to a helicopter pad situated right by the edge of the cliff.

“Okay, so, helicopter? How?” she manages to say, still struggling to put together coherent words. She could feel the end of her cropped sweater flapping around her torso as they came closer to the helicopter

“Let’s just say that there are a lot of perks that comes with being the sole heir to my father’s business.” he answers, almost yelling to be heard above the noise, taking her hand as they approach the helicopter.

They take the proper precautions and double check everything to make sure that they were securely strapped in, with Sunwoo the pilot briefing them on basic safety protocols and informing them of how they can communicate via the headsets provided.

Yeonjun buckles B into the backseat himself, making sure that she was strapped in tight and taking off her face mask, telling her “Don’t worry, I asked and made sure that Sunwoo is already immune to chickenpox beforehand, so you being contagious won’t be a problem.” before stealing a quick kiss and securing her headset. Next, Sunwoo helps him buckle up next to B, making all the necessary safety checks before they take off.

“Are you afraid of heights, Baby?” Yeonjun’s voice suddenly rings into B’s headset.

“No.” she replies, looking at him and squeezing his hand tight as she feels the vehicle lift off into the air. She wasn’t exactly scared, but she wasn’t expecting to leave the ground when she woke up that morning.

The view was simply breathtaking. She had flown in airplanes before, and as much as she enjoyed being at airports and taking the window seat, but nothing could compare to seeing the small town from a thousand feet in the air.

Below them, the world looked green and blue, the town highlighted by the abundantly green trees and the river that surrounded it.

Throughout the ride, Yeonjun had begun to point out the most random things to B. From the park where he won his first soccer match in when he was in the 5th grade, to the building that his father owned which he absolutely hated. He told her endless stories of the places he’d run away to when he felt like escaping, and stories of the places he’s learned to love the most after years of living in one place.

As the sun started to set, the city lights started to light up slowly, then all at once.

“Wow, this is amazing. It feels like magic.” B says, staring in awe at the town below them, now illuminated in hundreds of shining lights.

“Magic hour, when the sun sets and all the lights start to turn on.” Yeonjun agrees.

B could feel her neck start to ache from keeping it outstretched the whole time as she tried her best to look out the window, drinking in as much of the view as she could.

Meanwhile, Yeonjun had his eyes on her the whole time.

•°•

Friday

Just then, B hears her doorbell ringing.

She yells out “Coming! Just a minute!” before getting up and making sure she was appropriately dressed before making her way to the front door.

As bummed out as she was about their her supposed last stay-at-home date with Yeonjun being cancelled, she also couldn’t help but feel curious about what could have possible come up that Yeonjun had to cancel it.

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she forgot to check through the peephole before opening her apartment door, and as soon as she saw the person standing on the other side, she felt her heart skip a beat.

“Baba!” Kai exclaims, throwing his hands in the air. “Surprise!” he says, before engulfing her in a hug.

She unfreezes then, her mind in scrambles, trying to comprehend what was happening.

“Ningning! What are you doing here? And why are you hugging me, step away from me, you might get chickenpox!” she exclaims, trying to pull away from his embrace.

“Actually, I’m here because I have chicken pox.” he admits, subtly rubbing his arms, which B suspected were covered in itchy red rashes. “A few people from school have started to show symptoms, actually, myself included.”

“Oh my god, you have chicken pox? Are you okay? Did any of the other guys get it?” she asks, concerned.

Kai shakes his head. “I’m fine, just a little itchy. And no, as far as I can tell, it’s just me so far. The school’s in chaos now, everyone’s starting to show up to school wearing face masks and spraying alcohol every 5 mintues. Everyone’s afraid of the chicken pox.” he says, shivering.

“That sounds disastrous.” she comments. “So what brings you here exactly?”

Kai grins. “Well, since I have chicken pox now, and you’ve had chicken pox now, and no one else in my family has had chicken pox so I’d be a major health threat to them, I was wondering if I could maybe…stay with you?” he asks sheepishly.

“Oh, like we could quarantine together?” B asks. “I was actually medically cleared by my doctor already so I can come back to school on Monday but I’d love to have you here! Why not?” she says, squealing excitedly as she hugs her bestfriend.

Kai laughs happily. “Oh thank god, Lea practically kicked me out of the house and sprayed me with alcohol the whole time when I got sent home from school. I was able to grab a few of my things before I was banished from my own home.” he says, relieved.

“Oh, you poor thing.” she says, ruffling his hair. “Come on in, I’ll make sure the guest bedroom is clean and ready for you.” she says, welcoming him into her apartment.

“Thanks, Baba! Oh, I’m so excited, I’ve missed you so much! I haven’t seen you in a whole week.” Kai says, whining. “I can’t wait to catch up with you. Honestly, MOA has felt so boring without you so there’s not much I have to say. But I can’t wait to hear all about how you spent your week!”

B laughs hesitantly. “Oh, psh, there’s not much to tell you either.” she says weakly.

“Don’t say that, I’m sure spending a week at home felt like a mini vacation! So tell me, what did you do the whole week?” Kai starts, as they enter the guest room.

I’ve been going on dates with our dear friend Yeonjun B thought to herself, though she knew she couldn’t bring herself to just tell her bestfriend about it.

So what could she tell him about her week?

15 notes · View notes

margot-stanley · 3 years

Photo

INTRODUCING MARGOT STANLEY

[BEANIE FELDSTEIN, F, SHE/HER] who’s that? oh it’s {MARGOT STANLEY}. i hear they’re {17} and a {JUNIOR} at {CRAWFORD COUNTRY DAY}, have a voice like {SHOSHANA BEAN} and are part of {THE CANARIES}. they’re known to be {+AMBITIOUS, +TALENTED} and {-SELFISH, -JUDGMENTAL}. some people say they remind them of {a strict schedule, a loud mouth, show tunes and power ballads, never letting them see you cry, and always speaking your mind}. only one way to find out! [ria, 26, pst...smh]

BASICS

Full Name: Margot Marie Stanley

Nickname: N/A

Birthday: September 16

Age: 17

Zodiac Sign: Virgo

Hometown: Westerville, OH

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Grade: 11th

School: Crawford Country Day

Occupation / Activities: Student / The Canaries

LIKES/DISLIKES

LIKES: being the best, strict schedules, accomplishing a goal, working smart, sutton foster, musical theater, opportunities to showcase her talent, people magazine’s ‘sexiest man alive,’ attention, praise, romance, tea (the drinking kind),

DISLIKES: rejection, being undermined, sports, high school, body shaming, social hierarchies

TL;DR BIO

Margot Marie Stanley is the daughter of notorious choreographer Dakota Stanley and suburban local Monica Lerner-Stanley. While her parents are technically still married, their marriage is...non-traditional to say the least. Dakota resides in Los Angeles where he takes many male lovers while Monica remains in Westerville, taking care of Margot and engaging in affairs of her own. It’s an arrangement that works for them, even though Margot hates it. Margot has a one track mind and her sole goal is to finish high school and book a one-way ticket to the big apple where she will pursue her Broadway dreams with a vengeance. In the meantime, she will continue bulldozing her way through community theater productions and trying to take over the Canaries so that maybe they can actually win for once.

FULL BIO

Margot Marie Stanley is the daughter of notorious choreographer Dakota Stanley and suburban local Monica Lerner-Stanley. Monica was the definition of someone who peaked in high school. In her hay day, she was popular, she was beautiful, and boy could she dance. After high school, she went to college for dance where she met Dakota while he was teaching a seminar. They had a whirlwind romance but ultimately, they went their separate ways. Years later, by chance, Dakota was back in Ohio for a dance competition and they reconnected. At this point, Monica was a hasbeen. Still beautiful and still a joy to be around, but her life hadn’t amounted into much at all. She was working as an administrative assistant at Howell Dentistry by day and a Breadstix waitress by night. But something about her charmed Dakota and now that he was older, he was ready to settle down.

Monica and Dakota got married and shortly after gave birth to their first and only child—Margot. Monica’s parents were always skeptical of the marriage and relationship because...well...anyone with eyes could see that Dakota was clearly gay. Monica, desperate to be loved and to have a family of her own, had overlooked the obvious signs and had chosen to be with the only man who had ever promised her commitment. Overtime though, the truth came to light and the couple was faced with an important decision: divorce or...stay together. It was the 21st century and weirder things had definitely happened. So, choosing the non-traditional route, Monica and Dakota decided to stay legally married for Margot’s sake (and for tax-purposes), but they opened their relationship.

Dakota moved to Los Angeles where the dance industry was booming and kept a long list of young, up-and-coming gay men as company. He called them his “business partners,” but Margot knew a sugar baby when she saw one. Monica, on the other hand, kept her affairs more low-key. She stuck to online dating and never saw the same man twice, but the revolving door of lovers that came through their house did build a little bit of resentment in Margot.

When it came to her parents, especially her mother, Margot often felt like the adult. Her mom was a mess and her dad was emotionally awol, so it was always up to her to pick up the pieces when things got complicated. Sometimes she wished they would just get a divorce so she wouldn’t have to dodge questions about them and make excuses for why her dad was in LA while she and her mother were in Westerville, OH. She wished they would just get a divorce so both of them could get a shot at genuine happiness.

Dakota and Monica didn’t see it that way though. Sure, their marriage was void of love, but they got to share the one thing that mattered to both of them the most: Margot. Even though they were separated, both Dakota and Monica considered Margot to be their greatest creation. Dakota poured money and resources into his daughter, enrolling her in dance, singing and acting lessons from an early age. Dakota Stanley made stars and winners and he’d be damned if his daughter wasn’t one of them. Monica, on the other hand, saw her daughter as a best friend. They were a team and no matter what happened, she believed they would be okay as long as they had each other.

Despite being a longtime choreographer for Vocal Adrenaline, Dakota Stanley would’ve rather died than send his own child to a public school. Monica never would’ve been able to afford tuition for Crawford Country Day on her own, but with Dakota’s money, it was possible and then some. On top of all the workload that came with attending one of the top high schools in Ohio, Margot’s schedule was packed with lessons that took place outside of school. She worked with top choreographers and highly sought after vocal and acting coaches, all with the intent to train her for her destiny—Broadway. Ever since she was a little girl, her father instilled in her the desire to be a star. When she got a little older and it became obvious that she had talent, Dakota poured a hefty portion of his expendable income into resources for his child. Monica, having shared some of those dreams when she was younger, supported Margot fully...although she feared her daughter would one day be disappointed.

Margot didn’t share her mother’s fears. Sure, she appreciated the concern, but she was going to be a star. It was as true as the grass was green and the sky was blue. She had worked hard for it her entire life and all that effort wouldn’t be for nothing. It couldn’t be. Up until Margot was about thirteen, she moved through the world confidently and with an unmatched certainty about her future. It wasn’t until her audition for Young Cosette in a Lima Player’s production of Les Miserables in the eighth grade that she got her first taste of rejection. Bryan Ryan, an unforgiving community theater director, had not been shy or kind when he told her that she didn’t look like a star and then promptly handed the role over to Kenna Giardi.

The comment and subsequent loss cut Margot like a knife. Luckily, she was strong and she still believed in herself. She didn’t need some washed-up, wannabe theater legend telling her what she looked like or what she could be. However...the further she got from that incident and the less she snagged lead roles...the more she feared that he’d been right. The theater community was small in Ohio and she quickly learned who the power players were. Because of this, it wasn’t lost on her that she didn’t look like Kenna or Gigi Stone or Ivy St. James. But she could sing circles around them all and she was a better actress by a landslide...at least in her eyes.

Each time Margot didn’t get a role she wanted, she became a little harder and more jaded. She just had to get through high school. Maybe her small town in Ohio couldn’t see her for the star she was, but New York would. People that mattered would, and as far as she was concerned? No one in Ohio mattered, especially not the girls she was in constant competition with. Margot’s superior attitude didn’t aid in her making friends, but who needed friends? Certainly not her. So Margot kept to herself. She auditioned and participated in the Lima Players productions as they came, she went to her lessons, and she did what she could do make sure she was a featured soloist for the Canaries. She was outspoken and bold and never shied away from giving her unsolicited opinions because as far as she was concerned, she knew best. If only the Canaries would just listen to her...then maybe they’d have an actual shot at earning a nationals title.

#crhq:intro

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spiderman-spoilerman · 4 years

Text

SPIDERMAN EXPOSED BECAUSE OF TAYLOR SWIFT ADDICTION: What Is Peter Parker to Spider-Man?

This shit that has been going on for months now has finally been solved. For the longest time I’ve been following Spider-Man oh so very closely, eager to find out his identity—not to expose it to the media vultures, oh no, our hero deserves more than that. But… to satisfy my own curiosity. He’s the only Avenger hiding his identity, you know? You’d think they’d be okay with it after all these other superheroes get to run around freely…

Anyway!

As you all know, countless names have been linked to Spider-Man. He seems close with Tony Stark, but that’s hardly relevant. There’ve been links to JD Slinger, the American Pop Singer, in a very poor attempt to sell records—you’re not Hannah Montana JD fucking Slinger! Stick to your trash music!!!

However untrue and disappointing Slinger’s attempt at fame is, he’s not the only one with musical elements that is linked to Spider-Man.

A few months ago, a viral video entering adorable and kind of pedos-get-the-fuck-out-of-here-territory circulated around the internet and into our nightly news, as does every baby goes viral video does. You can check it out on the link below for a good dose of endorphins.

[Link: Baby boy wants to be Taylor Swift, re-uploaded by djflash]

[Description: A six-year old boy is standing in the shower with a towel draped over his body like a makeshift cloak, he is clutching his tooth brush on and seems to be furiously lip syncing. The camera shakes as the person behind the camera stifles laughter.

May Parker, the original uploader and aunt of the then-toddler Peter, asks: Aren’t you tired Peter? From all the singing? You’ve been singing for two hours. Aren’t you cold?

Peter is intensely staring at the mirror as he lip-syncs but pauses to look at May. He says in a tired and raspy voice: Yeah, but, but my fans! I need to sing, Auntie May, for the fa— [looking harried] DROP EVERYTHING NOW, MEET ME IN THE POURING RAIN—

The sound of Peter singing is drowned by May’s scream as Peter falls on his butt, having jumped with his passion for the song, and tripping.

It cuts off with May laughing while taking Peter in her arms, phone capturing her picking him up and hearing Peter crying as he tries to get back to the mirror: It—doesn’t hurt May. Need to get back—my! My concert!

Video ends]

Now how does a viral video of a baby Taylor Swift fan connect to Spider-Man?

Well, May Parker posted it on Facebook when Flash Thompson, who claims to be a good friend of Peter Parker (although I highly doubt this, he’s only in it for the clout and Spider-Man’s love, click here for more on Flash), decided to share it to everyone. One of his reposts on Twitter propelled it to viral success.

Weeks later, May Parker decided to bless us again with more content by taking a video of her now teenage (17 years old—PEDO’S STAY AWAY) nephew singing, once again, a Taylor Swift song.

[Link: I’m so glad im seventeen and can properly thirst upon this wonderful hooman]

[Description: They are in the kitchen this time and May Parker is being discreet with her video-taking. A Taylor Swift song ends softly from his phone’s tiny speakers. A Spotify ad interrupts but the video cuts it off two seconds later for another Taylor Swift song to filter in.

We take in the scenario. Peter is in his pyjamas, shaking his booty while singing Stay Stay Stay. He flourishes his hands a few times, dramatizing, “That’s when you came in wearing a football helmet, and I said, [he changes voices] “Okay, let’s talk” [he finishes one pancake and pours a new batter in before using the ladle as a microphone, as if in anticipation for the moment, and, back bent, face scrunched up, belts: STAYSTAYSTAY I’ve b EEN LUH-VING YOU FOR QUITE SOME TIME- TI-HIME! YOU THINK THAT ITS FUNNEH WHEN I’M—OH MAN, I spilled batter on my shirt!”

The camera shakes with May’s silent laughter. Peter does not seem to notice. He looks side to side, almost as if he is looking for something to wipe the batter with, but there are no paper towels in sight and his shirt is dripping with the excess batter the size of his fist.

In the most compelling, and understandable, moment of decision making, Peter has chosen not to be responsible and strips instead, to the utter delight of seventeen-year old’s in the world (and ONLY those younger than that! Pedos, I swear to god, if I see you, I kill you, that last blog was the last time you make me burn my eyes!)—a wonderful set of abs and toned muscles you would not expect from a seventeen year old boy singing to Taylor Swift with the squeakiest voice in the world. Adorable. Ten points for my good boy ranks.

The video ends with Peter staring further at the shirt and licking at the batter before it violently cuts off to the roaring laughter of one May Parker]

It is peculiar, to watch May navigate the wonders of technology, too, because the first video was on her Facebook years unnoticed before Flash Thompson unearthed it for the world to see (Mr. Thompson, what exactly were your intentions going through a beautiful May Parker’s Facebook pictures?). But this time, she also apparently intended to send it to Peter’s friend’s Instagram account. However, the fluke came when she posted it and tagged them instead.

People who have followed her upon the first viral video have now decided it to be God’s work to distribute the video, making it viral within days. The very same people were the ones who noticed that Peter Parker’s singing style is the very same as Spider-Man’s.

I hear you gasp. Well, of course. I spit my tea as well, when I realized it too.

See, unless you were living under a rock, about a year ago, Spider-Man was exposed as a Taylor Swift fan when he saved a ten year old girl and began teaching her about the History and Influence of Swift’s discography and career, before proceeding to sing with her the hit song Speak Now. All of it was caught on camera, of course.

The people who spread this new video started a conspiracy theory that Spider-Man and Peter Parker are very similar people. One user @finn-man-the-aquaman pointed out that Spider-Man and Peter Parker’s voice are very similar. Another user @maxine_and_spider-man compared the dance moves from the two videos, putting frames of each steps beside each other, and found that it was so uncannily similar that it couldn’t have been a coincidence. It was an interesting point to make, because both Peter and Spider-Man had particular steps, all seemingly on a whim, but also matching each other perfectly. They are by no means good dancers, God no, but their whimsical dancing looks like two bad dancers following one choreography, couldn’t follow it technically but committed to it emotionally.

Twitter user @emiliar summarized it the best: the chest pump, the feet extension, the little jig, and the butt shake, before leaning backward and singing at the height of their emotions— apparently this is a common dance choreography?

To which @pissshitcry responded with a video that would bring us the wonderful breakthrough that I’ve been walking you all through.

[VIDEO uploaded by spidermansavedmetwice]

[Caption by @pissshitcry: No. Apparently: ]

[Video Description: Spider-Man is swinging through the buildings before stopping by Midtown High School, in front of a harried looking student, screaming frantically, and this is it folks: CAN YOU GIVE THIS TO NED LEEDS, TELL HIM SPIDER-MAN THANKS HIS FRIEND PETER! tHANKS! Before zipping away

Video ended]

Now. Okay. I know, calm down guys, I’m trying so hard not to run up the hills and do an Irish Jig, because I am so, so, so excited about all these new revelations! Nobody has quite documented this, too, so people, watch out for more of my content in a few weeks.

SO! Implication one: Spider-Man knows Ned Leeds.

Implication two: Peter Parker helped Spider-Man somehow.

Implication three: Spider-Man knows Peter Parker.

Cut, do it again, but with more emotions: SPIDER-MAN KNOWS PETER PARKER.

Let’s zoom back to a few weeks after the viral hits and Taylor Swift posts a video of her watching the video and then saying into the camera, with that iconic red lipstick and perfectly sculpted eyebrows: I have never thought this would be something that will happen to me in my career ever, but seeing a super-hero sing praises about me and teaching my [and she quotes from Spider-Man’s erratic explanation about her history] “unattainable song-writing prowess equal to that of the rock singing legends of ye old—” really does bring a smile to my face! More than that, Peter Parker is an absolute cutie too! He looks like such a sweetheart, baking those pancakes, apparently, for her aunt? Be sweet to your aunts guys! But also. I came here to cordially invite both Spider-Man and Peter Parker to come out to my concert in New York in two weeks! I’ll be there May 25th at the Lincoln Center, and maybe we can all sing together!”

She ends the video with the iconic Spider-Man wrist flip. The video has been circulated and has now gained over an estimated 100 million views.

It sparked a buzz of interest among the people, Peter Parker having received much of the spotlight. He hasn’t said anything in relation to Spider-Man but had reluctantly agreed to go to Swift’s invite. And I cannot emphasize the reluctant part. Kid looked so uncomfortable, but maybe he’s just shy!

Okay. Now, this thing is the most glaring indicator of what I will be telling you. The night of the concert. Everyone is there for Swift, but everyone is also there waiting for the much-awaited Spider-Man and Peter Parker saga. Halfway into her song list, Taylor Swift stopped to talk. The time has come.

Peter Parker walks into the stage, and the crowd welcomes him with adoring cheers, similar to Swift’s entrance herself. She introduces him, even though she absolutely does not need to, and the people scream their approval.

When Swift gives him his own mic, he almost drops it before catching it with his incredible reflexes. Swift calls for Spider-Man to reveal himself, much to the delight of the crowd, chanting his name as if it was a concert for him, which, in many ways, it kind of was. However, Spider-Man didn’t appear after that and the duo had to continue on.

It was a cute performance, with Parker stumbling a few times before getting the groove with Swift and belting it out as well. Everyone joins in on them singing and enjoying her old songs, Swift smiling and laughing the whole time.

Peter leaves the stage Spider-Man plushies and roses thrown for him, to which he received with a graceful bow. Swift resumes her concert after a few hearty jokes thrown in—but wait! What’s that?!

A screaming insect crashes at one of the large LED walls at the stage and the camera [and the collective crowd] is surprised to see the superhero—SPIDER-MAN!

“Ehehehe, hello Miss Taylor Swift, Ma’am!” He says, in a particularly deeper voice. Autotune? Before they sing it out, as they would—Swift laughing, and Spider-Man trying—Spider-Man explains that he was nervous meeting Peter Parker, before scrambling to correct that it was Swift he was nervous about meeting.

Swift then teases Spider-Man about a potential crush, which.

BRINGS US TO MY BREAKTHROUGH POINT.

TAYLOR SWIFT WAS ABOUT TO BRING US THE GAY COUPLE OF THE CENTURY, BUT SPIDER-MAN WAS TOO CHICKEN TO GET TO IT.

Okay, alright, I hate pedos, and we don’t exactly know Spider-Man’s age but we do know that he’s very young, what with all the pop culture references he’s been dropping with the intuition of an internet native. So, he’s young, alright? Possibly Gen-Z, even. Here’s a post you can see about his age analysis.

SPIDER-MAN. HAS. A. CRUSH. ON. PETER. PARKER.

[Insert hand chopping movements]

AND THEY ALMOST HAD A CUTE MOMENT ON STAGE HAD SPIDER-MAN BRAVED IT THROUGH.

PETER PARKER, AND I MEAN, PETER PARKER! SPIDER-MAN HAS A CRUSH ON YOU!

We’ve established that Spider-Man knows Peter Parker. They’ve met. Peter has possibly helped, or even saved Spider-Man himself. Now, saving a superhero is something that not just anybody does. And Parker himself is a student at Midtown Science High—he’s a smart kid! And seeing as these events just happened months apart, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to imagine them meeting again, perhaps, with Parker making pancakes in dewy mornings, and a tired (and yearning) Spider-Man is watching from the windows as Peter dances along to Swift’s songs.

The watching from the windows theory and thus getting to know the choreography might not be so creepy if you factor in the fact that Spider-Man might be hiding his crush for Parker’s safety!

It is like the modern incarnation of Super-Hero romance, only now, its more inclusive! To exist in such a beautiful world, and to watch such an innocent tale bloom in this cruel, cruel world. We could only hope to see more of them together, maybe as something... more?

COMMENTS:

reblogged by thunderstrike: this is like someone trying to overanalyze twilight for some depth—THERE ISN’T ONE!

thunderstrike reblogged by spidahmanna: come on, give them some credit at least for recounting the most batshit insane crossover in the universe as we know it so far

reblogged by skdfas: this person needs help, but very entertaining to read

reblogged by nedleads: oH MY GOD

reblogged by kliyon: new ship, age appropriate Spider-Man x Peter Parker

reblogged by ekeke: um yes, i need a dash of meet-cute with one cup of flavored angst—soda please, I like it to hurt— large fluff, a BFF serving of some of them yearning, and a happy sad-meal for one please.

reblogged by unaunann: im done with this site, who wants to burn the internet with me?

3, 000 reblogs in 1 day

Tony, reading the blog: Hmmm…

[Later]

Tony: Okay so I read this blog and I have remedied it.

Peter: Oh my god thankyoumisterstark I swear I didn’t mean to—

Tony: You are now the biggest shareholder for Spotify because I know you don’t want me to pay for a premium account, but if you’re gonna listen to those damn ads while singing to Taylor Swift, at least earn from it, you know?

Peter: …that’s what you took from the whole thing?

NEXT ARTICLE: The Avengers film a parody of Queen’s I Want To Break Free. Is Captain America is as beautiful as Rogerina, or is he too buff??? Tony Stark is an iconic drama queen, perfect for Freddie Mercury, and more!

#spider-man: far from home #Spider-Man: Homecoming #spiderman #taylor swift #tony stark #fluff #WHO WANTS A REACTION FROM THE AVENGERS FOR THIS #Spider-Man Identity reveal #parody #fake blog post #avengers #fanfiction

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wordsinwinters · 5 years

Text

Then Again, Part 24 (Peter Parker x Reader)

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 25,

Summary: After an intense argument and a forced-to-share-the-bed situation during their junior year decathlon trip, Peter and the Reader examine their faults and failings. As they attempt to fix their mistakes and improve their friendship, that friendship quickly begins to evolve into something else.

Slow burn fic in which all characters are included and their dynamics explored; multiple character POVs.

Total word count: 43,528

Betas: @girl-tips-from-satan and @fanboyswhereare-you

Masterlist (with AO3 links)

Without further ado,

Then Again Part 24:

(Words: 3,391)

After clarifying to Flash that it was not like that, I return to my and Michelle’s room, ice bucket in hand.

It’s brighter now. The light on the nightstand is on and Michelle’s sitting up, eating Twizzlers from a bag she keeps upright with her feet. Her hair is tied back too. On screen, Bella analyzes her bruises and Edward starts an argument.

“Holding out on me, huh?” I ask, gesturing to the candy.

She shrugs and smirks. Another good sign. A great one even, after a long day like today.

“I planned on bartering for some ice, but I waited for forever and there was no one to trade with. What was the hold up?”

I make a pretend distressed face and blow out a long breath as if the story physically pains me. Walking over, I put the ice on the nightstand between our beds and sit on the edge of mine. Peter and Ned’s side of the wall still hasn’t settled: the t.v. noise continues flickering, now at a faster pace. One of them is undoubtedly trying to annoy the other into picking something to watch, and the exchange of incoherent voices seems to support that assumption.

Part of me wants to check in on them and hang out for a bit, but I need to focus on my current task: explain things clearly to Michelle and give her Flash’s apology. Plus, I’m pretty sure she’s too tired to stay up much longer and I doubt she’d want to be left alone (even if she assures me otherwise).

Either way, it’s time to tell her about my conversation with Flash.

“You know how, um--” I pause, wondering where the best place to start is. She knows what Flash did, there’s no need for extensive exposition. She raises a curious eyebrow at my hesitation and glances pointedly from the bag between her feet to me as if to say, You can have a Twizzler once you spill. A fair and simple trade. Better to dive right in, then. “You know how Flash blackmailed me this morning? To give up my spot?”

Michelle’s head tilts to the right.

“No?” Her eyebrows scrunch and her lips press together. “I think you forgot to mention that.”

We stare at one another, mutually perplexed and frozen.

Huh. I was certain she had put it together.

Behind us, Ned shouts muffled words and laughs loudly while his and Peter’s t.v. volume begins to increase.

“I, uh,” I start, tilting my head too. “I thought you knew.”

“Yeah, I got that from the, ‘You know how’ part of your sentence.”

A beat of silence passes between us; I can tell that’s not the end of her sentence, so I wait. If she had more energy, maybe she would be frustrated with me. Right now though, all she can muster is a look of stunted disbelief, an emotion I’d label the tame, languid cousin of scandal and outrage: a gentle but honest really?, with the edge of a potential eye roll. She plops two ice cubes in her water, takes a sip, then continues.

“How would I know something like that when you never said anything to me?”

The wall gets louder behind us. The boys have resumed their argument it seems. It’s playful, probably, but the t.v. volume is increasing at the same rate as their voices so I can’t distinguish any words to really tell. Michelle notices my distraction. She gives an abrupt smack to the wall as a warning to them.

Her eyes remain level with mine, though, questioning.

“Because,” I say, “you always notice things without people telling you.”

She pauses again, looking thoughtful. Unable to deny it, she makes an eh sound which translates to true enough, I’ll give you that and her shoulders relax as her eyebrows smooth back into their usual place. She reaches over and extends a Twizzler like an official olive branch. To complete our silent agreement, I move on to exchange my end of the bargain: I tell her the rest of my story.

The sound behind us stagnates right around my second or third sentence, which is an unexpected relief, seeing the boys rarely halt their ridiculousness when they make up their minds to annoy one another. While trying to ignore them and stay on track, my phone buzzes a couple times. Probably Flash, now that we’re on better terms. It’s probably a meme. Unimportant.

Quickly rambling on with only a couple short moments of respite for chewing or sipping water, I go over the rest of the incident. I explain how I ran into Flash, everything we said to each other, his apologies (one for her, one for me) and, of course, how unsettling it was to see him in such casual wear as pajamas. As I talk, tracing back once or twice to recount my version of what happened -- or what I thought had happened -- this morning (and shooting my phone annoyed looks when it buzzes again since it must be him), Michelle eats her licorice as if on autopilot, keeping her face deliberately blank even though I can tell she’s picking through the strings of her old assumptions and matching them up to my own version to compare narrative split ends.

“You know,” she says after I finish, a half eaten Twizzler dangling from her hand as she waves it to gesture. “You could have double-checked with me this morning, to make sure I actually knew. You would’ve been on that stage with us today if you had. I would’ve confronted him and gotten to the bottom of it all. I would never have just let it happen.”

Fortunately (or unfortunately, I haven’t decided which), I’ve already come to terms with this fact. It was an incredibly stupid mistake to have made -- to have misread both Flash and Michelle -- but it happened and the consequences are over. Today has been irreversibly stamped into the short timeline of my high school career and nothing will change it now. The opportunity was missed. And at least there’s next year. The less I think about it, the better. It’s done.

“True,” I shrug. “But who knows if I would’ve gotten all those questions Flash answered right. Maybe the way it played out was for the best.”

That might as well be true, why not? I offer a devil’s advocate smile and she shakes her head, finally giving into a full eye roll.

“Don’t remind me. But really, I doubt that. He was good today, but you would’ve been better.”

Would I have been? After all those… distractions from the previous 24 hours, I have no idea if my concentration would have been up to par. All the same, it doesn’t matter anymore. The two of us are on the same page at last and that’s all I have room to care about tonight. We can relax completely. No more tension, no more unanswered questions. No secrets. Well, aside from my teeny tiny stupid one.

I start to move backward, further onto the bed. Then I stop.

Just because it did work out though, that never really had anything to do with my behavior or the choices I made. I had no idea what would happen. There were multiple reasons I let Flash take my spot this morning, apart from the real fear of nonexistent blackmail, but I still shouldn’t have given up so easily.

I turn and look at her.

“Really though,” I say, realizing the truth of it, “I’m sorry for bailing. If Flash hadn’t come through, if he froze up like last year, I know it could’ve been... things might not have ended up as well as they did. I hate flaking on you, especially when you worked crazy hard this year. I promise, next time I’ll come to you first.” Michelle’s posture stiffens and she has her subtle, trademark backed into an emotional corner face, the one she makes when someone unexpectedly gets too sincere. Try to make it a little funny, at least. “And, naturally,” I add, leaning back, “I’ll never trust your infinite wisdom and analytical skills again.”

Michelle smiles then. Whether it’s from relief or amusement, I can’t tell, but it’s still the lopsided one I know is genuine. Infectious, I can’t help but return it like a reflex. The final drops of my own relief rush through my veins, rivers of warm comfort settling under my skin.

“First,” she says, holding up a finger, “there’s no need to doubt me. Technically you were never blackmailed which is why I didn’t catch on, so you can keep faith in my deductive skills. Two,” another finger goes up, “I highly doubt this scenario will happen a second time. Third,” and another, “don’t sweat it.” She waves her hand away.

“But what if it does?”

Egging each other on is vital to our friendship. Previously unsure if we’d get back to that level of normalcy by tonight, I’m practically perfectly happy knowing we actually have.

“I’ll kick your ass. Naturally.”

Yet again, she offers a Twizzler, this time with a promissory bow.

Now less hungry and far more relaxed than before I left, we both shuffle back against our headboards and turn our attention to the movie. Leah tells Jacob to get over Bella, and he angstily rants to the younger boys about how relationships are all but prisons. I try to get more comfortable, sliding an extra pillow up behind my back. After a few minutes, my phone vibrates. Oh yeah. I’d almost forgot to check it. I reach over, surprised to find that it hasn’t been Flash.

Peter, 11:03 p.m.:

“Hey. Update: still alive.”

Peter, 11:04 p.m.:

“You?”

Peter, 11:10 p.m.:

“shit... are you dead? have you been kidnapped??”

Peter, 11:12 p.m.:

“:(”

Peter, 11:17 p.m.:

“If you don’t reply soon, beware. Ned is being dumb and annoying. the worst.”

As I read, another pops up:

“You know. like always.”

I hear Ned shout a complaint a second later, though it’s too blurred from the t.v.’s interference to hear his exact words. My lips tug upward a bit.

The housekeeper interrupts Edward and Bella’s makeout session, staring at him with a mixture of fear and hatred, and they breathe-laugh until she leaves.

I type back: Alive, safe and sound. I consider writing, But barely. I ran into Flash a few minutes ago. I don’t though, knowing it would only aggravate him without purpose. Plus I don’t want to go over it again, especially the particulars. It’s boring at this point. It was boring to begin with, and now after verbalizing it once, it would be exhausting. Instead, I type: It sounds loud over there. How come?

His bubbles spring up immediately.

“See above.”

“Ned = annoying.”

There’s a small crunch from their room, like a water half empty bottle hitting someone.

Knowing those two, Peter probably read the insult aloud to Ned as payback for their t.v. argument, if Ned wasn’t already reading over his shoulder.

I reply: “Ned? Never. He’s an angel and we’re thrilled to have him.”

As expected, a few seconds later I hear a distant whooping sound and the shadow of Ned shouting something grateful and co-conspiratorial to me.

In reply, Peter sends back three eye rolling emojis.

At the same second I send a shrug, his bubbles turn into: “btw I have a really great idea”

An idea? For what? Even though the wording is positive, it makes me nervous.

“?”

Four messages follow, one after the other, as quickly as he can type them.

“Okay so hear me out”

“I know you don’t like Freud…”

“BUT”

“Operant. Conditioning.”

The bubbles disappear.

What?

This makes no sense to me. Is it supposed to? We haven’t discussed operant conditioning in Psych for months. And, now might not be the time for me to point it out, but he’s mixed up in the first place.

Unable to resist and not knowing what else to say, I send back: “You mean Skinner?”

The bubbles start up, then stop. Twenty-ish seconds later:

“You got me there. +3 points! but what do you think?”

Despite the background noise of Bella vomiting peanut butter chicken legs into a toilet, the “+3 points” nearly makes me laugh. We haven’t played that game (if you could even call it a game) in months.

“Peter,” I type. “Context is important, remember? No clue what you mean”

Figuring said context will take a few minutes, I put my phone back down and look up at the movie. Maybe I imagine it, but Michelle’s head seems to twitch when I do. It might’ve been a small jump from seeing the kick in Bella’s stomach matched with the suspenseful music.

Buzz. Pause. Buzz. Longer pause…. Buzz.

Three is usually Peter’s go-to, so I check it.

Peter:

“I know you’re going to say you’re not mad at me anymore, but you deserve to be and probably are a little bit subconsciously or unconsciously (idk which is which so +2 to you before you correct me)”

“so in order to get our friendship back to normal I think we should try operant conditioning”

“Like me doing nice stuff when I see you so you think ‘oh wow I get to see peter today! how cool! love that guy, he’s the best!’ when really it’s just me pyshcologically tricking you into positive associate by giving you snacks when you come by my locker”

Another pops up: “Psychologically* Im dumb”

And another: “I’m*** smh”

I stare.

That’s possibly the worst idea I’ve ever heard. The last thing I need are more reasons to look forward to seeing Peter. I mean, the part he quoted isn’t all that far off from how my brain usually reacts when I see him. Simplified, for sure, but a similar sentiment nonetheless.

I wrack my brain for a response, trying to block out Edward’s shaky Portuguese begging. “Sure, you can try your best.” No. Sarcastic and challenging is definitely the wrong approach here. “Maybe. Talk about it later?” That could work. It might also mean he brings it up on the bus tomorrow, potentially resulting in unpredictable reactions from anyone who overhears. I’d rather people not know so much about our personal post-fight dynamics. “I’ll think about it.” That one’s neutral enough.

Still... it’s basically a promise to talk about it soon, which means I have to think about it now and knowing myself, I’ll likely try to puzzle out his plans, imagining dozens of scenarios before I can sleep tonight, allowing his general plan to start working before it even begins, given that I’m fully aware of how considerate and generous he can be when he decides to make an effort. If I spend tonight creating stupid Peter clumsily attempting to display kindness and affection scenes in my head, it’ll just end up… being overwhelming. It’ll worsen this inconvenient, impossible crush.

Or, maybe my expectations will simply go too far and that’s how I’ll ruin it. I’ll agree to this idea now, and by the end of the week or month or whatever the timeframe is, I’ll be disappointed at the reality. Yes, that’s most likely. I’ll read too much into it, as always, and my brain will make it all more painful than necessary.

So instead, I type:

“Subconscious. Unconscious would be trauma related, memories your brain hides from you and whatnot. You weren’t *that* awful. And I think you mean classical conditioning?”

Sent.

I’m the worst, sometimes.

I wait for his response with a taste of guilt. His bubbles appear immediately, then evaporate. Again, Ned and Peter’s voices mingle with the t.v. flipping sounds, trampling heavily over the somber music and hum of Jacob’s motorcycle coming from ours.

Just say you agree, part of my brain argues. It’s not that hard. Or say no flat out. Explain yourself to some degree, otherwise you’re an avoidant coward.

I lift my phone, about to type.

Then, a plastic crunch hits behind my head. Either Peter or Ned definitely just threw a water bottle at my side of the wall.

Michelle turns to look at me, left eyebrow raised in amusement. Her eyes flit from me to my phone to the headboard.

“What’d you do?” she asks.

Before I can open my mouth to speak, music blasts at a deafening volume behind us: someBODY ONCE TOLD ME, THE WORLD IS GONNA ROLL ME. I half jump from shock, phone flying out of my grasp, and Michelle immediately hits the wall with her open hand. I AIN’T THE SHARPEST TOOL IN THE SHED. Ned’s laughter is the only thing I can hear besides the Shrek soundtrack. SHE WAS LOOKING KIND OF DUMB WITH HER FINGER AND HER THUMB--

As I hop off the bed and retrieve my phone from the floor, Michelle speedily unlocks hers.

The song continues pounding for about eight seconds. Thankfully, however, by the grace of god (or Michelle, I suppose), it lowers. I’m about to text Peter when Ned appears on her phone directly across from her face, his own face turned, half out of frame.

“Come on, Peter!” he shouts, head shaking in melodramatic pity. “Turn it down, seriously! You’re so obnoxious!”

Peter makes an indignant noise.

“That was all you!” he protests, his voice more distant in the background. “You’re the obnoxious one!”

Ned rolls his eyes and turns back to face the camera.

“Anyway,” he says with his usual grin and cheerful charm, “hi MJ. How’s it going? We’re just--”

“Guys,” calls Peter’s voice, “I swear I tried to take the remote from him!”

“-- hanging out,” Ned continues, bulldozing on, “you know, over here. Chilling, one might say. Celebrating.”

Michelle squints at him as if mentally weighing the value of continuing this conversation.

“What if,” she suggests, “you did that in a way that doesn’t tempt me to report you two to Mr. Harrington?”

Ned starts to respond in a fake scandalized tone, but Peter jumps into frame and shoves him to the side for a chance to speak, the camera shaking as he fumbles and grabs it.

“Again, just to restate, I didn’t do anything-- Ned was the one messing with the t.v. the whole time.”

Ned pushes Peter’s face with one hand and yanks his phone back with the other, Peter disappearing momentarily before popping right back up behind him just as the camera steadies.

“You can ask your roommate,” Peter says to Michelle with his arms open wide in surrender. “I’ve been texting her for the last ten minutes. I couldn’t have been messing with the t.v. at the same time.”

The mention of our conversation jolts my pulse a smidge.

Michelle looks my way.

“It’s true,” I say. “But I don’t know if it irrefutably proves he didn’t do it, seeing as he has two hands and all.”

She nods and looks back at them. Her face, only minutes ago full of sly joy (and the rollercoaster of emotions with which she reacted to the Flash story) remains unamused.

“Overruled.”

Ned ha!’s in his face, but Peter barely seems to notice aside from a distracted shoulder shove.

“Actually, can you point me in her direction?”

Michelle does, and I sit up a bit straighter, feeling strangely unprepared.

He inhales as if he’s about to say something longer and more serious, but instead, after a short pause, all he says is: “You suck. Minus ten points.”

The screen goes black. Whether he or Ned ended the call is hard to tell.

Knowing exactly what he means though, I reach for my phone to text him a real answer to his question, hoping to minimize my guilt and satiate his curiosity.

“Should I ask?” Michelle tosses her phone onto her bed.

Might as well explain it now rather than later.

“It’s not a big deal,” I say, partially to convince myself that it isn’t. “Peter pitched an idea to help fix our friendship. He wants to psychologically condition me to look forward to being around him. Snacks or something.”

Her eyes widen slightly before rolling. I realize my word choice is poor (though accurate).

“And?”

I lean my head back against the headboard.

“It’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Part 25

Next update: ... next Friday? Let’s hope.

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Tagged: (If I’m missing anyone, send me a message!) @caitlyn-blackwell @tmrhollandkay @theconscientiouswriter @twentychemicalpanics @spiderllandtrash @aesthetic-fan-96 @darlin-you-bitch @dracoswaifu @sunflowerangst @teardrops-in-tyranny @deafeningnerdkitten @chronicles-of-jess @all-of-the-best-people-are-weird @europhicmads @peterpakerr @abigail-1998 @5-seconds-of-sarcasmm @spidermanbarnes @evanhansenisahufflepuff @profmmcgonagall @tr1chst3r @axielle-suson @spiderdudeparker @m-x-x-k-s @wowieok @wanderinglocally @catnolannn @converseskyline @flopmalum @saltoids @doctorwhofandomlife @meyrapp @everythingeverywherelistening @irlshitpost

@spideymood @solarspidey @tiffanypooh @carrotsunshine @breebree1198 @idontlooklikereginageorge @stumb1ing @bit-bot0711 @justthatshortlittlenerd @avzuzu @melonmochi @happysynonym @the-redthread @i-love-superhero @ohgloryyy-blog @nicunty @pxrrished @shugr12110629 @realitykilledtheteen @thehanneloner @lionfart @tryn25 @slythergirlimagines @twentyjuanpancakes @hollandorks @littlekay15 @hi-mishamigos @eversweet-imagines @thisisthetragicstoryofme @augurydemon @daisy-john @siriuspadfoot14 @debiwolf-t @casual-vaporwave @swimmeranxiety @dangerousluv1 @piggygamer103 @ghosthiam @homecomjng @deep-thoughts-in-the-shower @bughead-isendgame @qu3en-of-letters @brightcolorsoffendme @cutehollands @enoumen-t @dottirose @justthatshortlittlenerd @thatgirlthatlikesmarvel @moonofmy-life @royal1958 @ashleyhearto @pinkleopardss @cutie1365 @spideyschmood @dragoste-lunes @peterparkley @gold-masks @stonesandskeletonbones @myhealingstar @cancerous-lizard666 @a-typical-antisocial-fangirl @love-and-protect-bucky-barnes @fangirldreamsandstuff @fandom-stuff @unabashedlyswimmingtimemachine @jellzu @aussie-mantle @stevieboyharrington @septicquill @thingfromlove @dude-whatawave @me-a-hopeless-romantic @condy-wants-a-cookie @susurrantsoul @kawaii-girl-101 @lxstneverfound @ukulele-tea-and-ocean @tepidtrash @emilymarie0422 @styles-bucks @shortstack-ofpancakes @lilbeatlebear @imyourdadssideblog @the-introverted-loner-art @marvelcuties @lesdragly @atomic-chickenwings @reanne @schwankyblock @nedthegay @kateelyse96 @outsider-underwater @omg-lexiloveyou @le-yona @desteweirdo @thingfromlove

#peter parker x reader #tom holland x reader #peter parker imagine #tom holland imagine #peter parker x you #tom holland x you #spiderman x reader #spider-man x reader #avengers imagines #spiderman imagine #spider-man imagine #peter parker #tom holland

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king-of-the-issues · 4 years

Text

🏳️‍🌈Happy pride everyone 🏳️‍🌈

I thought I’d make a ‘little’ (sorry, it’s going to be a long one and it’s going to be a bit of a mess) post about my own story and journey within the LGBTQIA+ community. Hopefully it can help educate some, maybe others will be able to relate, or you’ll just find out a little more about me.

I grew up in a fairly liberal family and area - although the area was technically conservative until very recently, I’ve been lucky enough to not have known anyone majorly homophobic or discriminatory (my grandad is a little stuck in his ways though). I’ve always been told that being ‘different’ is good and normal and there’s nothing wrong with liking someone of the same gender. Although we were never really taught anything about same-sex relationships and being the late 00s, sex education was very heteronormative. We were never told that being gay was wrong and we knew of gay teachers in the school and kids with two mums or two dads and it was never really a big thing.

I first started questioning my sexuality in my early teens, I wasn’t very ‘girly’ and I didn’t really have any crushes on boys at school. So I figured I must be gay, or at least bi. Looking back at this I can see that although I thought I was well educated, I was not. And though I may have been right in the long run, my justification and understanding of why it was so was definitely built on a lot of gender stereotypes and I wasn’t fully aware of what it meant to be gay or what my true feelings were. But I still wasn’t sure, so I just assumed that I was straight, I’d never had feelings for a girl, so why would I be gay?

I finally started to better educate myself when I joined tumblr in 2013 as a ‘Wholock’ fan blog. I started following other fan accounts who just happened to be part of the LGBTQ+ community and so would post things about themselves and their community. Through this I definitely learnt a lot more about sexuality. There wasn’t just an L,G and B, but there was a P and an A and a Q and so much more. I started watching more LGBTQ+ you tubers, tv and movies and educating myself further.

At this point I was doing my GCSEs (16 years old), I’d never been in a relationship hetero or otherwise. I hadn’t even had my first kiss and I still hadn’t really had any crushes. A boy hadn’t paid any attention to me in anything other than a platonic way in about 4 years. Some of my friends were in relationships and getting male attention, so I was still thinking, was there something wrong with me? If I’m not gay, do people think I’m gay and that’s why they don’t pay me any attention? So I started dressing more feminine and wearing more makeup in the hope that something would change. It didn’t.

When I started Sixth form in 2014 (17) I saw a film in the cinema that truly opened my eyes and I think I can say that seeing that film was the turning point and the moment I started to educate and question myself further. That film was ‘Pride’, the true story of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners. Something about this film really got me, like many other films and tv shows I fell in live with the movie and it’s characters. Only this time they weren’t just characters, they were real people, who played a huge part in LGBTQ+ history. So I learnt more about these people and their stories. I posted about it a lot on tumblr and found other lovers of the film and they taught me more about their lives. This film was also my first major introduction to pride, London Pride in particular. I had missed the parade that year, but was hoping to attend the next year. This was also the year that same-sex marriage was legalised in England and Wales. There was a lot of things in the news and on tv about the history and struggle of the LGBTQ+ community, including ‘Our Gay Wedding the Musical’. As a lover of musicals, I wasn’t going to miss this, but not only was it an excellent musical, but I learnt so much more about the history and ‘legal side’ of being part of the LGBTQ+ community. It also introduced me to a lot of LGBTQ+ musical artists, personalities and songs.

In both AS and A2 Level art, I completed projects focused on sexuality and gender identity. I explored a range of artists, historical figures and other influential people within the LGBTQ+ community. I was able to better understand the many different identities that existed and the work that has been made to get where we are now as well as questioning my own identity.

For A Levels I had picked Art as one of my subjects. I have always loved art and at this point it was the direction I was planning on taking my life and career. I was still very much continuing to educate myself about the LGBTQ+ community and was discovering LGBTQ+ art and artists. This was also the time that Grayson Perry’s second tv series ‘Who are you?’ was airing, which looked at various aspects that affect a person, including gender and sexuality. With Grayson discussing his own relationship with gender and sexuality. At this point in time, A Levels were all split into ASs (year 12) and A2s (year 13). Which at the end of both would be an exam in all the subjects you took (4 for AS, 3 for A2). In art we were given a selection of titles and had to pick one to work from. From this we would have to create research pieces and supporting work, leading up to a final piece, which we would complete in a 5 hour exam. At this point I had been looking for a way to represent the LGBTQ+ community in my work and when ‘Community’ was given as one of the possible exam titles, I knew what I was doing.

I began with studies of people I had learnt about through general media, Pride and Our Gay Wedding the Musical. On a side note, this was when I developed my love for graphite portraits, my first of which was of Nathan Taylor and Benjamin Till the couple who both created and were married in OGWtM. I continued my general research into artists and styles, when one of my teachers introduced me to the work of Paul Harfleet. Paul created the Pansy Project, where he would plant a pansy (historically a derogative term for a gay man) in a location of homophobic abuse (verbal or physical). He would also edit photos to put Pansy’s into the mouths of famous people who were homophobic or used homophobic language. I used this idea as my inspiration and my final exam piece featured well known people who have used such language or hold such views, with handmade pansies in their mouths, with Oscar Wilde in the middle, who was imprisoned for being gay, holding a bunch of pansies as if he’d put them there. My research for this piece had introduced me further to the political movements, fights and protests, the work that had been made and was still being made to help people just simply live their lives as themselves. When I finished my AS Level, I was hoping to carry this theme onto my work in my A2s.

Because I was hoping to do this I decided that I now had to go to Pride as it would be a great opportunity to take reference photos. I intended to go with some friends, but they all bailed, so I ended up going with my mum. My mum has always been reasonably liberal, but she never really had the knowledge to educate myself and siblings on the different types of relationships, gender and sexuality. By going to Pride, it definitely opened her eyes and she has since become a huge advocate for equal rights for all and as a childcare provider is trying her best to educate the children she looks after and make her environment inclusive. I absolutely loved Pride and collected so many great photos and saw so many inspirational people. Including the cast of the Pride movie and originators of LGSM.

In A2 art, we were required to complete coursework that would feature various pieces and research that would accompany an illustrated essay. In order to continue my focus on the LGBTQ+ community, the title I created was ‘How has art reflected society’s attitudes towards sexuality and gender’. I continued to look at the work of Grayson Perry as well as the story of Lily Elbe. During Pride I had taken a picture of a drag queen dressed as the Queen and used this as a reference for a painting. From this I edited picture of well known people to be the opposite gender. Looking back at this, I do regret doing this, as well as other aspects of my following work. I feel that although my intention was to show gender as fluid and present some ‘what if..’ questions, I feel that the way I went about it could have been insensitive and seen as mocking those with gender dysphoria and identity issues. Continuing from my queen portrait I decided to look specifically at the royal family and at monarchs and members of the family throughout history who are believed to be part of the LGBTQ+ community and how that has been ‘covered up’ or ignored. I also looked at drag artists and how the royal family who, though are typically seen as being very conservative and modest, have in fact historically been very flamboyant in the way they dress and present themselves, with the line between feminine and masculine clothing once being very thin. Again, although my intentions were good and the questions I was presenting were important, I don’t feel I went about it the right way. Although I did try to justify it at the time, I feel I shouldn’t have been presenting these people who may or may not have been LGBTQ+ as so, especially when suggesting that some monarchs who may have cross-dressed, could have in fact been transgender.

Aside from the artistic side my research greater deepened my understanding of the range and fluidity of gender and sexuality. Including gender non-conformation, gender-fluidity, gender-queer, demisexuality, polysexuality and being queer. At this point I was still confused about my own sexuality, but would tell people that I was just a straight ally. I remember being asked by both a classmate and university interviewer whether I identified myself as within the LGBTQ+ community and both times I answered no. Looking back, I wish I had said that I wasn’t sure, that I was confused. Because it is okay to not be sure and be confused, no matter your age.

After leaving school I was starting to look more at asexuality and wonder if I was on the ace spectrum. I didn’t think I was 100% asexual because I do want to be in a relationship, but maybe I just haven’t had the opportunity to explore that yet. I have been subscribed to Evan Edinger for about 5 years now and he has spoken openly about his own experiences and as someone who is on the asexual spectrum, specifically being demisexual. I started to consider that I could maybe be demisexual and watched more of Evan’s videos as well as reading about others who identified as demi. I felt comfortable with this label, it felt like it answered a lot of questions and gave an explanation for why I hadn’t experienced crushes like my friends for many years.

I then began to realise that if I was to imagine myself in a relationships, it could be with a guy or a girl, it didn’t really matter and maybe I was bisexual, or at least biromantic. This was something that I had considered in the past but I was only just accepting as a true part of myself.

I was able to go to my second London Pride in 2019, this time with my mum, sister and a couple of friends. We had a great time and I met and spoke to some incredible people. This further made me consider my sexuality and made me feel even more comfortable.

So, on New Year’s Eve of that year I came out as demi and bi to my friends, who were all very accepting and supportive. I am yet to come out to my family and I don’t really intend to, not because I’m ashamed or I don’t think they’d be supportive, in fact quite the opposite. Since going to pride, my mum has been very vocal in her support of the LGBTQ+ community and I feel that if I were to come out to her, she would make quite a big deal out of it, which as someone with anxiety who likes to live a reasonably quiet life, I don’t really want. I also never really talk to my family about my ‘love life’ and relationships, existent or not, so I don’t really feel the need to tell them this. If I was in a relationship with a girl, then yes we’d probably talk about it, but until them, I don’t intend on telling them.

Although I have come out, I still wouldn’t say that I am 100% sure my exact labels, but I think that’s okay. If I am asked I normally say that I am Queer as I find it sums up that I don’t identify as heterosexual without going into too much detail.

I think the main thing to take from my story is, it’s okay to not be sure about your identity. There is no age that you should have had your first kiss etc by. You do what is right to for you, maybe you’ll have the answer soon, maybe it’ll be a while, but that’s okay.

#pride #lgbtq #bi #demisexual #pride film #c4 cucumber #e4 banana #lgsm #art #grayson perry #pansy project

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sevenseasofrog · 5 years

Text

Lads ‘n Lasses

pairing: highschool!ben x fem!reader

summary: single sex schools are never boring

word count: 2982

a/n: wagwan gs, this might not be to everyone’s taste but i’ll see how it goes, this is the first time i’ve imagined myself as the reader while writing ?? not as someone else reading it ?? it’s also set in a manchesterish sort of place bc i had a major mind block trying to write about anywhere else other than where i actually live ,, that probably sounds weird idk aha, it’s defo an au where ben basically is still in education and all sorts of chaos takes place as the year moves forward ,, anyway ,, enjoy !! if you have any questions or likewise feel free to send an ask bc i see how it could be semi confusing ,, love u all a lotta :) ❤️

here’s also some stuff that could make it less confusing (especially if you’re not familiar with lingo from north west england, i’ll maybe add to this with each new chapter that comes out :)

St. Mary’s/ Mary’s- the all girls school the reader attends, quite middle class and full of students who like to make drama for their own entertainment, strong focus on languages and arts

St. Peter’s/ St. Pete’s - the all boys ‘brother’ school to St. Mary’s, very laddish with a focus on sports and science

Niamh & Maria - the reader’s two closest and longest friends

Tram/Met - British version of an overground subway?

Shout - another word for a houseparty

Snide - unfair

Swear down - saying you are telling the truth

also, the reader and ben are between the ages of like 17 and 18ish, the whole thing isn’t very accurate to the uk school system but it works a little better like that so yall are gonna have to go with it aha

ps, this chapter is spilt in two bc i got very carried away when writing it and tumblr has a word limit, hmph. however, that does technically mean that i can say i’ve written two chapters not just one ?? go me !!

Chapter 1: September

4th of September, the night before a new term, new academic year and a nearly fresh start. Your last year at St Mary’s had not been something you were dreading so to speak, and now it was finally here. Thanks to upcoming exams, you only had a little over five months to get through before freedom, and eventually, a completely clean slate at a new, far less intimidating school environment. Anticipation building, you called it a night

6:15am. You woke up to the painful sound of your alarm clock, early morning sun peeking through the split between the curtains. Eager to silence the blaring noise you crawled out of the comfort of the duvet and hastily clicked the stop button in the centre of your phone screen. You made your way into the bathroom, careful not to wake your parents, brushed your teeth and quickly got undressed before stepping into the shower, letting the cool water run down your back without getting your hair wet, since you had it cut and washed yesterday afternoon. Slipping on your school uniform you caught eye of yourself in the mirror and decided that you had nothing to lose by putting on a little makeup, you had time after all. It was about 7am when you made your way downstairs, the house still quiet with only you awake. These mornings were the ones you liked best, just you and your own thoughts, with no one to bother you other than the dogs. It was still relatively warm during the September days so you chose to leave your jumper hung over a chair in the kitchen, putting just your blazer over your crisp, white blouse. Throwing an apple and cereal bar into your bag for later in the day, you figured that you might as well also pack some paracetamol and chewing gum for good measure, knowing it would come in handy eventually. You headed into the hallway to sit on the bottom step of the stairs to put your shoes on, tying the laces as tight as you possibly could, slung the black tote over your shoulder and grabbed your set of keys, which were usually on a hook which your dad had attached to the wall earlier in the year.

The walk to the tram stop was pleasant enough. There was no real breeze and you walked with your hands in you pockets to the beat of the music. Skipping down the steps to the platform to buy a ticket for the week, the change rattled in your pocket, and you had to cover it to stop anything flying out. Once you had finally managed to get the machine to produce a ticket after it spat out the coins you tried to use a few times, you spun round and walked towards the sheltered seats down the further end of the stop. It was only 7:45 by this stage and there were still very few people around. Missing the school rush was certainly worth it for you, and it also meant there was time to grab a coffee on the way to school with Niamh and Maria, who both got on at later stops anyway. You pulled your phone out of your pocket, deciding to text your parents, as you did every morning to let them know you were okay. You skipped a few songs before slipping your phone back into your pocket and looking up to examine your surroundings, following a good few weeks of not coming to the somewhat grimy metro stop, nothing had changed. The ground was still caked in chewing gum, graffiti littered the ticket machines, and the bin was, as ever, overflowing.

There was one thing different though, slightly odd too. A blonde haired boy who you had never seen before was stood on the opposite platform. Weird. It was then that you noticed he was in the uniform for St. Peter’s, with a backpack hung on one shoulder and a gym bag on the floor- grim move from the newbie. It suddenly hit you however. He was on the wrong platform, and could end up getting on a tram further into the city centre rather than away from it. God, this was awkward. You could leave him? it would be kind of funny? but also a bit snide.

No.

Don’t do that you told yourself. Deciding to ‘start the new term right’ you cleared your throat before shouting across

“You going to St. Pete’s mate?”

He looked up from the ground, obviously somewhat confused, checking to see whoever the person who had shouted was talking too. Luckily, this was quite easy, given that he then noticed that he was in fact the only person on the platform. You gave a wave and as friendly a smile as you could muster given it wasn’t even 8 o’clock yet, in a desperate attempt to get his attention, which just so happened to work.

“Um, yeah. Why?”

“Because given that you’re on the wrong platform, you’re gonna have a very hard time getting there”. His jaw dropped a little

“You are joking, right?”

“Nope!”, you popped the ‘p’, just for emphasis, “So... are you just gonna stand there like a lemon or change platforms then?”. He quickly picked his bag off the ground and jogged up the steps to the bridge. As he crossed you rolled the waistband of your skirt up, realising that you previously looked a little to nun-ish for your liking. By the time you had finished fixing up your appearance the mysterious blonde was plodding down the steps, towards you. Shit. Now what?

You had just about composed yourself by the time he reached you.

“Ben. Ben Jones” he spoke, before offering his hand to shake.

“You’re very proper aren’t you!?”, you thought out loud “guessing you're not from up here then hm? Name’s y/n l/n by the way, I go to St. Mary’s”, you said, trying to remain friendly.

“Yeah, moved up from Bournemouth at the start of summer. My parents wanted to come up here so I had a chance of getting some sort of sports scholarship or something for rugby, y’know, for uni and that”. He spoke with quite a low, quiet voice, but definitely had a southern accent that you couldn’t imagine going any time soon. Now he was stood nearer, you had managed to get a clearer picture of Ben; he was very well built and had the physique of a genuine sportsman, He wasn’t too tall- but still taller than you by a considerable amount. His facial features were mostly soft, although his nose looked like it could have been broken in past games and he had the most striking green eyes.

“Well, you’d have had a pretty difficult time getting anywhere if you were stuck in the centre of town.” you both let out a laugh.

“Honestly, I’m such a melt, only I could do that on one of the few days that being on time actually matters”. You broke eye contact momentarily to see that a tram was approaching.

“Right then” you said, stepping towards the edge of the platform. “We’re a bit early but I normally get a coffee anyway, you can come if you want? I mean, you don’t have to get this one if you don’t want but if you do then the offer’s there..” You trailed off, noticing that you had waffled on a bit.

“Aha, no it’s fine! I’d be happy to get this one, you’re literally the first person I’ve spoken to who’s like, my age so it’s not like I have anyone to wait for. Plus, I’ll probably get lost if you abandon me now.” He looked up with puppy dog eyes after picking his gym bag off the floor again.

Stepping on the tram, you decided to offer him your first piece of valuable advice; “Right… Well. If we’re gonna be mates I better give you the rules of the road up here”.

“Go on then, local expert”, he said with a smirk.

“First things first. Don’t put your bag on the floor. It’s crusty and makes you look like a gimp”.

“Noted”, he spoke as the pair of you sat on the grey seats.

“Second. Most of the boys are maniacs and the girls are awful bitches, I’d say that I’d help you figure out who’s who but you’ll probably be able to decide for yourself”.

“Hm, you’re really selling it to me. The brutal honesty is a nice touch”. You gave a playful punch to the side of his arm, with a grin smeared across your face.

“Swear down mate, you’ll thank me later for this though.”

The journey passed in a flash, the pair of you talking like friends reunited. You learnt that he had a beagle named Frankie, lived not too far from you, he played rugby for teams but also enjoyed drama and music.

“You’re quite the character aren’t you! can’t say I took you for a performing arts kinda guy”

“Well… What kind of person did you take me as then, all knowing-y/n”

“Well Ben from Bournemouth.. that would be telling wouldn’t it, I can tell you however that this is our stop though”. You both stood up, grabbing your bags and heading for the doors of the carriage. You had a text from Niamh and Maria earlier on in the journey saying they’d be late and there was no point waiting for them, so you carried on the walk alone with Ben.

“If I left you here right now, would you have any clue where to go?” you questioned, genuinely intrigued.

“Erm.. no… I would have to stand around for a bit and hope someone takes pity on me”

“What about google maps though??”

“Hmm.. Let’s just say that there’s a reason I don’t take geography”

The coffee shop was about the same distance from the tram stop as is was from school, and it was about 20 past 8 when you pushed open the door with a small chime. It was a cosy little café, situated on the corner of the market street with wicker chairs outside and brown leather sofas inside. You never stayed in however, much preferring to enjoy whatever you brought during the rest of the walk to school. Today was a latte day, no questions asked. You liked to rotate throughout a few different drinks, depending on your mood. Ben stood close by as you explained how you’d most definitely be on black coffee by this time next week, but you might have the odd pumpkin spiced latte as September moved into October, just for novelty really. He gave out a small chuckle,

“You really are in a league of your own aren’t you? I’ve known you like an hour and I’m convinced you hold the secrets of the universe or some shit”. You liked Ben. He was good company and you had a fair bit in common;

“and what if I did hold the secrets of the universe huh?”

“I’d use the black market to sell you to a looney philosopher somewhere or other and make myself some fat stacks.” You both doubled over in complete hysterics. Would it be weird to say that you’d never bonded so quickly with someone? yeah, probably you thought, brushing the idea away quickly. Your giggle fit was quickly broken up however when the barista announced that your drink was ready, you fished the loose change out of your pocket and handed it over moments later,

“keep the change mate” you said politely, turning on your heel towards the door once again.

“You really are quite the angel aren’t you?” the boy walking next to you said “ooooo, keep the change mate, I’m y/n and I am the source of all life and joy” he mocked.

“You know it blondie”, you retorted with a smirk.

You had walked a fair deal further, now following the main road and considerably nearer to school when Ben reached into his inside pocket .pulling out a cigarette and lighter. You silently watched out of the corner of your eye as he held the stick in his mouth and lit one end, he inhaled deeply before taking it from between his lips to exhale. Before his could bring his hand back up however, you plucked it from his fingers and drew a breath from it yourself before throwing it down and stamping on it. Ben simply stood with his mouth hung open looking dumbfounded. “Whoa steady on...What the fuck was that about then? Oh… and for the record, you owe me a cig now!”, he spoke with a tone of shock mixed with annoyance

“Boo-Hoo”, you spoke back, “But neither of us can have a first day back if we get excluded before we even get to school you dimwit. There’s teachers stood by the traffic lights down there”, you pointed further down the pavement. “See for yourself if you want…” you trailed off. Ben looked a little guilty, realising that he could have got you both in a good deal of trouble,

“Ah, Right, Okay… Sorry about that..”

“Don’t worry about it. Honestly. It’s fine, you’re new! You’ve got a lot to learn still”, you gave him a reassuring smile, but you could tell that he still felt a twinge of regret.

The pair of you carried on the walk in a comfortable silence, and as you approached St. Peter’s a thought struck you. “Right. After school, wait for me here, I don’t really want you being lost in a new town stuck on my conscience all night”

“How noble of you, Miss y/l/n! How will I ever repay you for this selfless act of charity!” He exaggerated, running his hands through his hair as he spoke.

“We’ll have to see about that one won’t we, I guess”, You hitched your bag back onto your shoulder properly. Before he turned into the courtyard of his new school he grabbed your arm,

“Wait a minute... you give off way too much chaotic energy for things to run smoothly. What’s your snap or your number or something incase something goes horribly wrong” He spoke again, with a slight twinkle in his eyes.

“Hm, go on then, I’ll give you my number then you can just add me on snapchat with it too if you really want. Two birds with one stone ‘n all that”, you reached into your bag and pulled out a pen. “Gimmie something to write on, chop chop matey!” you spoke hurridley, realising that you only had 10 minutes before you needed to be sat down in your first registration of the academic year. In a panic, he stuck out his hand, and you began to scribble down the first few digits.

“Fucking hell! I thought you were writing it down not tattooing it!”, he took in a sharp breath.

“Hm.. What.. Wait! Shit, sorry.. I’m a bit heavy handed”. You finished writing the numbers down with a conscious attempt not to press quite so hard and then threw the pen back into your bag.

“Aight then, I’ll see you later yeah?” He looked up at you,

“See ya later lemon boy”. You shot another smile before continuing on a few meters further down the path and approached the gates of St. Mary’s.

Hello old friend, you thought before taking a deep breath and turning into the school, with no way out for the next few hours at least. You stepped hurriedly through the labyrinth of corridors before reaching the room where you’d be registered. Throwing your bag onto your usual desk you could feel two sets of eyes on you.

“y/n l/n, You have some explaining to do! go on then, who’s the boy?” Niamh began, a devilish grin on her face.

“Gimme a second to sort my life out yeah? I just need to get my bearings then you can interrogate me”, you spoke, followed by a heavy sigh. After you put your bag in your new locker you returned to the desk where you were greeted by your long time friends once again. “Wait a minute, how do you even know? started hiring government spies or some shit?”

“Erm, no. But that’s quite a good idea actually. If you’re that desperate to know, Lewis sent me a message asking if you’d got a boyfriend over summer..” You let out a scoff before Maria could continue. “He still really likes you ya know?”

“Yes mum, I do know, you remind me most days” You all let out a laugh, attracting some attention from the neighboring tables.

“We’re off topic, you still need to explain yourself and we have like, 3 minutes until the bell goes” Niamh interrupted, she had always been the most conscious member of the group, as much as both you and Maria hated to admit.

“Right, I’ll keep it simple. I was at the met stop and he was stood on the wrong side so I told him to switch otherwise he’d never make it to school then he told me that his name’s Ben and he’s new and he’s in our year and then we got on the tram and then we went to get coffee then he decided he wanted a smoke and then I told him off and then we got to school and then I told him I’d meet him after school then I walked into school and now I’m here with you two” You barely paused for breath and gasped before either of your friends could continue, both of them looking shocked and rather confused.

“Right. You can explain that all again later in a bit only at least 76 times slower. ok? thanks? nice” is all Maria managed to respond before the door swung open and your teacher walked in...

Hope you enjoy !!❤️

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gothic-safari-clown · 3 years

Text

The Mind’s Power Over the Body

Part 20: Home

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11 / Part 12 / Part 13 / Part 14 / Part 15 / Part 16 / Part 17 / Part 18 / Part 19

Word count: 1827

El heard the front door unlock from the kitchen, and happily oblivious to the precarious status of her wellbeing, she waited quietly for Jonathan to come in and greet her. She had to make sure that the water didn't boil over anyway.

She only got an inkling that something might be wrong when the door slammed shut, and Jonathan rushed into view, looking slightly disheveled. He hadn't even put down his briefcase at the door.

Before she could inquire as to what was wrong, the briefcase was carelessly tossed onto the dining table, and Jonathan had locked her in a tight embrace, pressing a firm kiss into her hair.

"Woah, hi," she squeaked, hugging him back. "What happened? Is everything okay?" She felt the deep sigh as his body relaxed, and he stepped away again, smoothing down his tie as he regained his composure. Registering a few seconds later that she had asked a question, he nodded and raked his fingers through his hair to push it off of his forehead.

"Yeah, yeah, everything is fine." His heart was only just slowing to a regular rate.

She's safe.

Yeah, I told you. I can't believe how whipped you are, Jonny.

"Why didn't you answer your phone? I've been calling you for hours."

"Oh, I forgot to plug it in last night, so it died at work." She replied casually, still entirely unaware of the panic she had caused. "I had to go grocery shopping before I came home, and it's been charging in the bedroom since I got back; I must not have heard it." She turned back to the stove to give the boiling pasta a quick stir and check on the sauce on the other burner. "Are you sure everything is alright?"

Jonathan moved to stand against the counter next to her, needing to be near her still. "I had to see Falcone today."

"Oh? How was that?"

"Not good. He tried to threaten me into letting him into the operation, and when that didn't work, he...talked about you. I thought maybe he had already given orders, and I had to oversee the shipment as soon as possible to get it finished in time."

"Ah," El frowned, suddenly understanding the trouble. "So when I didn't answer the phone..." Jonathan nodded. Pasta still undercooked, El replaced the pot lid before turning back to the man next to her. "Well, I'm sorry for making you worry, love, but I'm okay." She smiled and stretched up on her toes to kiss his cheek. "Besides, nobody is taking me away from you without a fight. Speaking of which," she plucked a stray burlap thread off of his shoulder, "what happened here?"

Jonathan kicked himself mentally. How had his run-in with the Batman already slipped his mind?

"Scarecrow and I have had an eventful day." He said, suddenly exhausted, pinching the bridge of his nose under his glasses.

"I'll tell you what, why don't you go change out of your work clothes while this is finishing up, and you can tell me about it while we eat." He nodded but hesitated to walk away, which made her chuckle. "Nothing is going to happen to me if you leave the room for a few minutes. Go on." She pushed on his arm gently, which finally coaxed his weight off the counter.

He was still hesitant to leave the room, but he knew that she was right and obeyed, ignoring Scarecrow's continued snickering. He redressed as quickly as he could, hell-bent on returning to the kitchen fast. Of course, she was still there at the stove when he came back, switching off the burner.

Unfamiliar with normal relationships, Jonathan didn't fully understand his impulses, but he was so exhausted from the events of the day that he didn't have the energy to fight them. Before El could pick up the pot to drain the water from the pasta, he locked his arms around her from behind and dropped his forehead to rest on her shoulder.

"Jonathan..." her voice was laced with soft concern, and she raised her hand to rest on the back of his head. "You were really worried about me, weren't you, love?" Her tone was actually serious now, upset that Jonathan was upset. He didn't answer, just staying where he was. "I'll leave my ringer on from now on; I remember what this feels like." He nodded slightly in acknowledgment. "Come on, sweet, let me finish this up, and we can go sit on the couch while we eat. Up, come on," she coaxed gently, and Jonathan finally straightened up, allowing El to drain the pasta and serve them each a plate.

"So you and Scarecrow had an eventful day," she recalled as they settled onto the couch. "Tell me about that."

Dinner was soon forgotten as Jonathan began to recount their run-in with Batman.

"You set him on fire?" She asked incredulously. When Jonathan looked at her, he expected to see shock, maybe horror, but no. What he saw instead was a genuine, thrilled amusement that he had tried to burn a man alive. "That's hilarious. You set Batman on fire."

See, she thinks I'm funny.

"Scarecrow thinks so too."

"Mm, that's probably a bad sign for me," she said casually, returning her attention to her food. It seemed she had finally given up on feigning morality. Took her long enough.

"Yeah, probably, but you've made it this far." She hummed in response.

"So," she started slowly, wanting to address the initial problem, "Falcone?" Jonathan frowned, disliking the reminder that he now had something that could be leveraged over him. Not that he would give it up for the world, but if people were going to use Elianna to threaten him, then something would have to be done about that. Perhaps Falcone could serve as a warning.

Then again, maybe that had been the wrong decision. The old man's sudden mental break could draw suspicion. While it was true that they had been dumping the toxin into the water mains for weeks, the job would be cleaner if they didn't draw too much attention to themselves. And in one moment of anger and weakness, Jonathan had thrown away that advantage.

"I may have overreacted to that. We'll have to be careful about the project until it's ready to go. It should only be another few days."

"Overreacted?" El asked quizzically. "What did you do, gas him?" She was answered with silence and knew that she had guessed correctly.

She was sure that she was supposed to be upset, maybe a little annoyed with him for endangering such a delicate operation, but she couldn't help but feel a little flattered instead. He had done all of that for her?

Done eating, she placed her empty bowl on the coffee table and scooted closer. "He must have said something pretty bad about me to set you off like that." Jonathan's brow furrowed, remembering what Falcone had implied.

"It was...gross." For lack of a better word. He looked at her to find her smiling at him. "And no, I'm not going to tell you, so don't ask."

"I wasn't going to. I just think it's sweet that you did that for me," she said matter-of-,factly and kissed Jonathan's cheek. "Mostly, I'm just curious, would that have been your normal reaction, or was that just because the nature of our relationship changed?" She grinned as he blushed lightly.

"Probably the second one." He closed his eyes in embarrassment and pinched the bridge of his nose again. "Either way, it was an overreaction. It's going to draw attention."

"Oh, who cares. There are only a few days left. Hey, that reminds me, I wanted to make a mask."

"We can just get you one from a hardware store; that should be easy-"

"No, I mean like," she sighed as she gathered her thoughts. "Like, you and Scarecrow have yours, and it's like a character almost. When people see it, they'll know who it is. It's your brand. I want something like that."

It was a fair point, Jonathan decided. And why shouldn't she get to have one like that? "Alright, what are you thinking?"

"Why, thank you for asking, love." She sat up straight as she began to present her idea. "When I was thinking about it, I asked myself, 'what are the most memorable silhouettes of all time?' There are so many to choose-"

"El, please, I've had such a long day." Jonathan almost felt bad interrupting. He knew how much she loved doing dramatic speeches, but he wasn't sure he had the patience for it this time.

"Alright, love, sorry." She raised his hand to her lips and kissed his knuckles. "Anyway, I was thinking something like a plague doctor. I feel like it would match the scarecrow in energy; it's sort of mysterious and technically meant for good, but it's become a sort of a classic horror icon." Jonathan nodded, agreeing with her line of thinking.

"Yeah. It might be a little tricky to pull off in such a short amount of time, but I think that's a good idea." Her face lit up. "We'll need a gas mask to rig into it, a pattern, and a stiff enough material to keep the shape."

"No problem. You know me, I started making my own Halloween costumes at like, ten, I can take care of it. In fact, I kinda already got all of the materials." Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "I made a pit stop between work and the grocery store. I just need a sewing machine. I was going to ask Harley if-"

"No need, I have one." They sat in silence for a moment.

"What?"

"I mean, Scarecrow does. He insisted on making the mask himself. Apparently, I was making it too neat, so he commandeered it."

"Wow, that actually makes a lot of sense," El nodded. "I don't know where I thought the mask came from, but yeah, that sounds right."

"Why don't I go get it out of storage so you can start?" El nodded excitedly, and in just a few short minutes, they had her set up at the kitchen table to get to work. Jonathan's night quickly went from a prolonged panic attack to something warm and comforting. Watching El work and helping her take measurements, and teasing her theatrics slowly helped him feel normal.

Seeing her power ahead with her ideas and devotion to their future life, unimpeded by the threat against her, brought a sense of security in a way that he had never quite felt before. While she worked, he came up with and solidified a plan to provide them with protection for the next few days at least, but it would have to wait for tomorrow. In the meantime, he contented himself with wiling away the time in the kitchen with his paramour, letting the rest of the world fall away.

#the mind's power over the body #Attraction To The Insane #series #Jonathan Crane #scarecrow #batman begins #Nolanverse #jonathan crane x ofc #slight au #multi chapter fic #fic series #cillian murphy #cillian murphy scarecrow #tmpotb chapter 20

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