#like if a talent wants to leave the company! okay! that’s fine!

[topflights]

the mjf wants to leave aew storyline is the only fun one and im right

[pia-nor481]

She Looks Like a Star- Chapter One

Multidriver x reader (mostly Oscar this chapter)

With the growth of her fan base she decides it’s best to join a big company, what she didn’t expect was how scary it was actually going to be.

2.6k 18+

Series masterlist | Main Masterlist

She was nervous walking down the hall, wearing obnoxiously loud heels and a tight skirt, not sure how to feel while wearing what was unusual attire for her. Typically she spent her time in lounge wear, lingerie or nothing so having to wear business smart clothes was a little unnerving. Every few steps she looked at the document in the open folder, trying to find the correct room for the meeting she was supposed to be sat in, in about twenty minutes.

With her head pointed down and her mind in a whole other world she walked straight into a man in the dark hallway. "I'm so sorry, are you alright?" She was momentarily stunned by the Australian accent. "Yes, I'm fine, I should have been looking where I was going." After overcoming her bashfulness she looked up, and was met with a sweet smile, only then did she acknowledge the hand on her waist, keeping her steady. "Are you sure, It seems quite hard to walk in those shoes." He said in a lower volume, looking her up and down. Only now was she able to take him in; His messy brown hair, unusually pale skin considering his accent and the tight navy blue t-shirt showing off his strong arms. She was so taken aback that her only reply to the question was a quick nod. "I'm Oscar by the way. I think we'll be working together at some point soon." She smiled finally gathering her things and straightening out her clothes. "It's nice to meet you Oscar." 

"I'm still pretty new around here, but I have a year of navigation experience on you so...Where are you trying to go?" He asked, taking the folder from her arms, trying to save her from carrying too much. "Board room two. I'm supposed to be meeting Christian to discuss my contract and well the logistics of working here." Oscar let out a quiet 'Ah', hooking his arm through hers. "It might help walking in the right direction." He gently laughed, turning around. Her face became warm as they walked. "Don't worry, my first day was a complete mess. I was locked out of the building, seriously late to my first meeting and I waited at the wrong set for about twenty-five minutes. So you're actually starting quite well." Her nerves eased slightly, she could tell Oscar wasn't a particularly chatty person but it was clear how hard her was trying to almost comfort her. "So where did you work before coming here, I'm sorry to say that I don't think I recognise you. Then again I'm not really a big viewer." He said almost shamefully, not realising before he started speaking that it could very easily be taken in an offensive way. "No, no it's okay. I didn't really work with a big company, I did more amateur and home-shot videos. I'm guessing you worked for another company before?" She was unsure as to why it was almost embarrassing that she made all her content on her own. "Yeah, I worked for a smaller company for quite a while actually. You must be pretty talented to make those videos on you're own, especially if it meant you've landed a spot here." Oscar spoke with a sense of excitement during the latter half of the sentence. She looked down as she spoke, entrusting Oscar with fully guiding her. "I now this place is one of the best, but why did you leave you're last company?" Oscar sighed just thinking about it. "I had almost no autonomy. There were certain things I wanted to do, not just because I enjoyed it, but because it makes for a good watch too. But they always shut me down with out even considering it." Oscar seemed genuinely sad about it, she quickly spoke up, questioning how awful that must have been. "Yeah, it was really annoying. But a lot of the videos were scripted like that corny rubbish with the awful acting you usually see with ads. That was the worst. Although you won't fully escape that here, that's one of Sebastian's favourites to film." He laughed at the end. 

"Oscar, stop boring the poor girl." She looked up to see Christian pen in hand standing outside of what she assumed to be bored room two. "Alright, alright I'll go." Oscar said smiling, passing her folder back. "Don't forget you have a scene wit Lando today." Christian shouted towards him. "I know, set room four." 

"Sorry about him." Christian said, guiding her into the room. "So I'm sure you've read the terms and conditions regarding pay and so on. But I do want to elaborate on what would be you're schedule with us. I'm aware and happy that you will continue to film and post you're own content in you're own hours. So here you will be filming a minimum of three videos a week, and a least one of them must be with another actor here, and a maximum of nine, Of course we do not expect or require you to reach that number. So dates, ideas, sets and time allocation need to be made at least three weeks in advance, four weeks if you require and permits or new equipment of any kind. In addition to this, you will be meeting the other actors today and you will be doing a scene with one of them next week. We will have an additional meeting regarding that and what we call a logistics meeting with the other actor to ensure everyone is on the same page." One of the main things she took away from that was how much Christian was able to talk with needing to take a breath, the other was how much work would actually go into this job. "Right, I'm happy with all of that." She spoke rather quietly. "Great. You will also be meeting a few members of the production team, mainly the camera and sound crew which Toto is in charge of." She nodded swiftly as he continued to explain how the company works and what would be happening in the future.

"So you will need to sign here...here...and here." She did so and looked back up waiting to be told what was happening next. "So you have you're own private room here, it's like an office with a bed and a wardrobe. You will be added to the schedule and as you now have your company email feel free to join in and ask questions when needed. So any last questions?" At this point she was feeling a tad overwhelmed but was happy with the outcome. "No, all is good." She spoke with a small smile, slowly standing up. "Wonderful. I'll see you on Tuesday for the next meeting." They shook hands before she left and as soon as she was out of the room and the door was close, she let out a particularly loud sign of relief. Only now did she realise how taxing this could be

She made quick work of finding her office, initially struggling with the key before placing all of her belongings on the desk. She sat down taking a deep breath deciding it would be best to log in and check what he schedule was for next week. Tuesday she had a meeting with all of the actors, directors and some members of the logistics team to discuss the increase in shooting hours for the next set of holidays and what ideas would be used for those videos. That same day she had a meeting with Christian and Charles about their scene on the 14th. She was more shocked than she should have been. Already she was supposed to be shooting, she didn't even know what he looked like and yet she needed to come up with an idea for the video, and be able to put into words what her limits actually were. Before there was no need to plan ahead so much. She could just put on a pretty outfit, turn on the camera and have fun. Now it felt all too much, as though it was more than a fun and paying pastime. She was quick to shoot up upon hearing the knock at the door. "It's just me." Oscar shouted through the door, opening it quickly before sitting down. "So, how was the meeting?" He asked, leaning in as close as possible. She didn't notice to start but Oscar was only wearing trousers and a robe, his blue shirt missing. "It was okay, pretty overwhelming, but good." She said, bringing her eyes back to the computer. 

"Since you want to know and wont ask, Lando gets pretty handsy sometimes, that's usually why I film with him last, or wait a few days to film with someone else. It not a territorial thing, he just likes to see the marks." He spoke softly as he stood up, pulling the robe off. His collar was covered in love bites and teeth marks, while his back was painted with scratches. "Oh wow." Oscar just laughed at her lack of filter. "It's not as bad as it looks, and he's not like this with everyone." He said, eyes closed as the robe began to cover his skin again. "Oh, so you get special treatment. I see how it is." She giggled, avoiding his eyes, scared he's begin to dislike her. "I wish...He doesn't really film with the guys much anymore, I am of course the exception."

He took a deep breath before making sure the door was closed. " Since we're both pretty new I'll fill you in with all the secrets. Lando gets attached very quickly, it's so easy for him to love. That makes him a great person, one of the best you'll ever be around. But that trait is bad in this industry. He joined five years ago, along with George and Alex, but they aren't important to the story. When you start, Usually you're paired with just once actor for a while. For him that was Carlos, and for a lack of a better term he pretty much fell in love with him, but not in a 'I want to date' way. It's complicated. After a few years Carlos left to go to another company for a while and Lando was completely distraught and well angry with Carlos." She was a little shocked that Oscar was so willing to tell her so much. Then again it didn't really affect him. "So Zak, the head of the logistic team, paired him up with Daniel for a while, thinking it would do him some good, they're pretty different, but in a good way." 

Oscar was hesitant to continue, checking his watch every now and then, but since he started he couldn't really stop. "Yet Lando resented him. Daniel didn't take it to heart, knowing the whole situation. He's been here for eight years longer than Lando so he's seen a lot and could tell Lando was struggling. I'll be honest Lando is a massive brat usually, so that coupled with the whole situation was a lot. It made some great content sure, but it was still difficult for every one around them. Long story short they began to get along and at some point Lando fell for Daniel, may I add, both times it wasn't completely one sided. But when things got pretty good for them, Daniel took a break from filming all together, it broke Lando all over again." She took a sharp inhale at the end, it sounded devastating just hearing about it, so she could only imagine how it felt. "So Lando decided he didn't want to film with any of the guys anymore. He started working on some more kink based content with different actors. But slowly he's been coming back. So when I joined last year he didn't want any thing to do with me. Not in a mean way, it was more like he was apprehensive. And of course Zak decided to pair us up and well, we've been filming with each other at least twice a week since." He said shrugging his shoulders, finally doing his robe up properly. "Oh wow that's a lot. Is he not worried you're going to leave him at some point? Not to be disrespectful to you, but surely that's a concern of his." She said as Oscar stood up, motioning for her to do so as well. "First, you need to get changed as Christian has instructed me to accompany you while you meet the rest of the actors, so I'm going to turn around, promise I wont peek." He laughed, checking his watch again. She was quick to start stripping of her clothes, reaching in her bag for some more comfortable attire. "Second, of course he worried, wouldn't you be? But we're adults about it so its usually okay. Now that you say that, that's probably the reason I'm covered in marks." He trailed off, shocked that he didn't think of it sooner. 

She placed her hands on his arms, turning him so they were face to face. "Is this okay?" She questioned looking down at what she was wearing. Oscars eyes followed hers, although stopped much sooner than she did, he couldn't help but stare, mainly at her tits as he could see all the way down her top. He may fuck on camera for most of the week, but he was no better than the average man. "You look perfect." He didn't know what was making him so bold, usually he's quite reserved, not particularly shy, just not talkative. He doesn't know what's gotten into him.

"Come on, it's getting late and it's kind of required that you meet everyone on your first day." They walked out the door and back into another relatively dark hallway, towards on of the many break rooms; Oscar was told to go to the second 'bed set' break room. "So, why'd you tell me all of that?" Oscar didn't expect her to ask him to explain his actions but it seems he really had no choice. "I care about him, so in a way it's just me looking out for him." She hummed with a smile. "If it wasn't me that told you, some else would have, its no real secret. Well the events were not a secret but Lando's true feelings and how bad he really was at the time is more of the secret." After Oscar's little rant she began wonder if they were actually together or if it was once again a two side love relationship without the relationship. "So who's the first one on you're calendar, and don't try to hide it. I know I'm on there but you wouldn't have been staring at that screen so intensely if I was the first." She sighed at his words, ever the observer he seemed to be. "Charles." Oscar was pleased with that, thinking there wouldn't be anyone better. "Actually that's really good for you. He's a lot more sensual and romantic so I believe that Zak thinks he's the safest option because you're content is just you getting off when ever you feel like it, not too focused on the production." He began, not realising he was rambling. "I thought you said you didn't know who I was." She huffed with a teasing tone, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well maybe I lied...Okay I looked you up when you were in that meeting." There was a long pause until they reached the door.

Chapter Two

[kopilot-pop]

[Tired] pt.1

- Le Sserafim x 6thMember!Reader

Summary: After a harsh criticism from one of your teachers, you started to fall into a bad habit again. You started staying overnight at the company, your knees are always bruised, and you probably shouldn’t have 3 cans of Redbull everyday… Thankfully, your bandmates have easily recognized your behaviors and decided to put it to an end.

Warnings: overworking, self-hate, etc.

a/n: I think I’m a bit too obsessed with hurtfics lmao. I mostly wrote this as just a platonic relationship fyi.

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Nauseous.

That’s how you feel right now.

Sitting in front of you is the dance teacher, with her legs crossed and tapping her clipboard. This wasn't the first time, actually, this is the third time you were put in this situation this week.

You’re the main dancer of the group, so the teacher always put extra pressure on you compared to the other girls, but today she seemed extra fed-up with you.

Thus, here you were, dragged out to an old practice room in the middle of a session with your whole group.

“That’s it?” She sighed.

“That’s all you can do? Really? Did you even notice all the mistakes you’ve made? Listen, Y/n-”

There’s not much you can do. You’re well aware of the steps you missed and you’re also well aware of how talented the woman sitting in front of you is, too. That doesn’t change the fact that every word that comes out of her mouth feels like a stab wound.

“I don’t care how talented you think you are-“

‘I don’t think I’m talented.’

“Did you even practice at all? This is a special stage L/n Y/n-"

‘You watched me practice every day.’

“Are you trying to be an embarrassment on live tv?”

‘I’m trying my best not to.’

“Main dancer my ass, a trainee could do better than you-”

‘You just came back from yelling at them…’

“Are you not even embarrassed to stand next to your group? I mean, if I’m being honest here Kazuha-”

‘Ah, there it is.’

If there was anything this teacher was know for, it’s the constant comparing and belittling between teammates. You thought you might have gotten used to it by now, but that hit your throat.

You don’t have anything against your teammates - goddamit, you’d risk your life in a second for any of them. But, whenever she decided to use the girls to bring you down, it hurt just a little more than usual.

After several minutes of the teacher’s lecture, you were finally let go.

When you entered the practice room the girls were starting to pack up. You checked the clock and realised that it's almost midnight. Eunchae is curled up against the wall, wearing your jacket, while Sakura is trying her best to wake her up. Your leader noticed you immediately and walked up to you in worry.

"Hey Y/n, everything okay?"

"...Yeah. It's nothing."

Her deep frown made you sick to the stomach. You don't want her to worry- you don't want any of the members to worry. This is something you can deal with yourself, right? If you get better everything will be perfect. Just perfect.

"I was thinking of staying a bit more. Y'know, the teacher had me held up for quite while." You let out a tired chuckle.

Chaewon didn't like the idea at all and you could tell.

"I... fine. Just make sure you to keep contact, okay?"

"Of course."

"Huh- is Y/n not coming with us??" Yunjin with her tired body dragged herself towards the two of you. She gives you a tired hug and leaves for the car.

"Don't take too long Y/n." Sakura gives you a worried smile after helping Kazuha carry a sleepy Eunchae on her back.

"Yeah, I promise."

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

You're an amazing liar.

That's what Chaewon realized while staring at the sun slowly coming up from the skyline.

As the leader, she stayed up late waiting for you to come home. A worried Yunjin insisted on waiting with her, but unfortunately she fell asleep after a bit on the couch.

Chaewon called you 50 times and messaged you a 100 times, but you haven't responded to a single one of them. She was pissed off at first, but that anger slowly dissolved into worry- all sorts of concerns popping up in her head.

'What if you passed out? What if you got hurt while practicing? You sprained your ankle in the past, what if the same thing happened again? Oh, what if your trainee habits are happening again? What if-'

Her train of thoughts stopped when she heard the door lock beep. She practically sped to the front door.

You sent her a nervous look, frozen while trying to take of your shoes.

"..."

"..."

"Hey unnie.."

"Do you know what time it is?"

Chaewon folded her arms and glared you down. She started her usual lecture. How worried she was, how disappointed, and how absolutely furious she is because of you ignoring all her efforts to contact you. She was absolutely furious.

"Didn't Kkura unnie tell you to not take long? Didn't I tell you to answer my calls?? It's 7 in the morning Y/n! You're telling me you were in the practice room for, what- 6 hours?! Do you realize how dangerous-!"

"YES! Yes, I know! And I'm sorry. Just... please... can we talk about this later?"

Chaewon looked at the bags under your eyes and let out a sigh.

"..Fine... Go get some rest.... This isn't over."

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A/N: I know this isn't the best place to cut, but like... I'm extremely tired. So sorry. I'll come back with a second part soon. Love y'all <3

[82mitsu]

{18Trip} <CHAPTER 001 SIDE-A: Sun will R1ze!> 001-A06 Off to a rocky introduction

A translation of 18TRIP's CHAPTER 001 SIDE-A by 82mitsu. ENG proofreading by sasaranurude.

TL note: 

Renga mistakens 罷免 (himen, to dismiss someone from a position) for 日麺 (himen), a word combining day (hi) and noodles (men). Which is why he thinks it's some new type of noodle. Joke has been reworked to make it make sense in English.

Kaede: (Who would’ve thought it would be happening on my third day of working here. A face-to-face meeting with the current Ward Mayors…!)

Yachiyo: Uuuwuhg… I’m nervous. Me supporting the Morning Squad… Guh-gonna puke…

Kaede: T-take it easy, Yachiyo-kun. Kafka said he’s also part of the Morning Squad. Remember?

Yachiyo: Y-you’re right. Ugweghh~ I need to look back at my notes in times like these!

Yachiyo: For the meeting with the current Ward Mayors, wait in front of the office… Okay! When I see them, greet them and… Eh, what do I say!?

Yachiyo: Gugugugreet them……..!? Our greetings need to be able to correspond to any time of the day so a goodmornafternight will do, yes!?

Kaede: It’s morning right now, so I think a normal good morning is fine enough…

Kaede: (Agh… Now I’m nervous too… Though I did meet all of the Mayor Wards once before.)

Yachiyo: Mutter mutter… Profile memos of the current Ward Mayors…

Yachiyo: The 2nd Ward Mayor is Kamina Yukikaze, an active figure skater… Gweh! Isn’t he a celebrity!?

Kaede: It’s common that mayors of a special tourism ward are famous people to begin with, since their role also includes advertising. 

Yachiyo: The 3rd Ward Mayor is Nishizono Renga… Hweh! He’s that high and mighty model talent, right!? W-w-w-w-what do I do, are lowbrow commoners even allowed near him…!?

Kaede: ……

Yachiyo: The 4th Ward Mayor is Lu Liguang… the Number Two from the Lùróng Family overlooking Chinatown… Isn’t he s-s-s-s-s-someone you don’t wanna cross paths with…!?

Kaede: Who’s to say—we have to meet him regardless…

Yachiyo: Leaving the others aside, Kamina Yukikaze is a top athlete, a living national human treasure! Aaaaah what do I doooo, Chief, how can you be so calm about it~!?

Kaede: Uhm, Yachiyo-kun, calm down…

Yachiyo: Ah!!! That’s…!!

Yukikaze: ……

Yachiyo: Athlete Kamina Yukikaze…!! The Scion of Ice…!! The handsome beauty of a gem that’s a living national treasure!! In t-t-t-the flesh……

Yukikaze: ……

Yachiyo: He- suh- he smiLED…!!!?

Yukikaze: I missed you…

(Yukikaze hugs Kaede)

Yachiyo: ~~お@dあk%!?!?!?

Kaede: (I'm the one who's being hugged here, yet Yachiyo-kun is jumping out of his skin…)

Kaede: Yukinii, sorry. Hold off. Since Yachiyo-kun’s freaking out…

Yukikaze: Huh? Oh, good morning. Are you an employee?

Yachiyo: Eh, wuh, wah, chee, kami…!?

Kaede: (Why and how are Chief and Kamina-? I think? Why can I interpret him…)

Kaede: The current 2nd Ward Mayor, Kamina Yukikaze, is my older cousin. Sorry, I should’ve told you earlier…

Yachiyo: D’oh, hooh, yuki, couh!?

Kaede: (D’oooh, the living national human treasure- Kamina Yukikaze- your cousin!? I guess…)

Yukikaze: I was hoping to see you as soon as possible after getting back from my overseas trip. It felt like an eternity until today.

Kaede: Sorry, Yukinii. All I’ve been doing is running all over the place since the company got established. How was the competition?

Yukikaze: …It felt lonely because you didn’t watch.

Kafka: Aaah- close, too close, touching is forbidden.

Kaede: Wah, geez Kafka, be careful with suddenly wedging yourself between us.

Kafka: Is there something wrong up there for you to hug someone the second you see them? Grabbing hands is also off the table. That’s a criminal amount of skinship.

Yukikaze: ...Long time no see, Kafka. Congratulations on the success of your surgery. If you're feeling left out, want a hug from me too?

Kafka: Hah? Are you trying to make me snap?

Kaede: (Here he goes again… Kafka’s always harsh with Yukinii.)

Kaede: (Just as I expected, though, from the moment I heard how the squad of current Ward Mayors would have Kafka in it. too…)

Kaede: Ah, another car has stopped… Looks pretty luxurious. Wonder if it’s the 3rd or 4th Ward Mayor?

Kaede: (And then one more car popped up immediately right after…!? S-such dangerous driving…!)

Renga: Yes! Passed him! How’s that Liguang! I, the greatest in the whole world, arrived first!

Liguang: Sigh… how stupid…

Renga: What was that!?

Kaede: (The nightmare from the airport all over again… These two are fighting every time I see them…)

Yachiyo: It's the a-actual Nishizono Renga… Lu Liguang is as beautiful as a model too… Howawa…

Kaede: 3rd Ward Mayor Nishizono Renga-kun and 4th Ward Mayor Lu Liguang-san, right. It’s our first time… well not the first meeting, but um, I’m the Chief of HAMA Tours.

Liguang: …Ah, you… We met at the airport.

Kaede: (That’s unexpected. Liguang-san remembered me!)

Renga: …! You’re…

Kaede: Ah… H-hello.

Kafka: Seems like all Ward Mayors have assembled. Guess it’s time to go inside the office.

Renga: …

Kaede: (Renga-kun’s, like… staring really hard…!? Wonder if I upset him somehow…)

Renga: Listen, you…

Kaede: Y-yes.

Renga: No it’s… uh…

Renga: The rose—it’s in a vase. That’s all.

Kaede: (...!)

Kaede: (I didn’t expect that either. He took the rose and brought it back home with him…)

Kafka: —And that covers everything for my “NEO18Wards” plan. Any questions?

Liguang: ……

Yukikaze: You’re amazing, Kafka. Your wisdom is seeping out from these documents. 

Kafka: Hah? What’s prompting you to state the obvious? Well, whatever. I guess that means you approve, at least. 

Renga: …I'm not convinced.

Kaede: …!

Renga: I recognize you as the 0th Ward Mayor. But, the 3rd ward will bring HAMA back to life in its own way!

Liguang: …Hah, big talk for someone who’s been dragging everything down.

Renga: Whaa-!? Who’s dragging what down!?

Kaede: (Uh, well, Renga-kun’s the person responsible for the weird changes to Landmark, right? I’m anxious, to be honest…)

Liguang: Ignoring the idiot in the room, I cannot endorse this. The plan itself is logical, but teaming up with this fool beside me is illogical. 

Yukikaze: I think it’s a good idea. Most importantly, being able to work together with Kaede makes me happy enough. 

Kafka: Okay, nobody asked for your feelings on the matter. Also, everyone will be work colleagues from now on, so make sure to address people properly by their title. 

Yukikaze: Yes, I got it. Chief, right.

Kafka: Sigh, anyway, I didn’t expect for all of you to be on board from the get go. But I want everyone to reaaaally think about their own standing thoroughly, okay.

Liguang: …

Renga: Standing!? What are you implying with that!

Kafka: As the 0th Ward Mayor, I have the right to sack the other Ward Mayors.

Renga: Sack, like a potato sack? We’re getting potatoes…?

Liguang: Sigh… Bèndàn…

Kaede: Renga-kun, getting sacked means you’ll get dismissed…

Renga: …Dismissed…

Renga: Ahem, I-I knew that!!

Renga: No, wait…!? Are you threatening me!?

Kafka: …Calm down for a second and think about it with a cool head. HAMA failed to meet the tourist quota for two years in a row. The way things have been going needs to get completely overhauled or it’s a bust, in other words.

Kafka: Renga, Liguang too, you should’ve been putting serious effort into the revival of your own wards these past two years. You understand what I’m getting at, yes? Basically—it’s time for a change.

Kafka: In any case, if we don’t overcome the tides this year, then the special ward zone will fall and everyone here will lose their status as Ward Mayor. Why not try doing things differently than before, even if it’s just once?

Liguang: …Is this what the plan is for?

Kafka: Morning Squad will go out on the field first—if the first tour isn’t received well at all, then you can take your leave. 

Kafka: All I want is one chance. I beg of you.

Kaede: (Kafka…! Going as far as bowing down…)

Renga: Ueh, nuh, uh…

Liguang: ………

Liguang: …Understood—I’ll obey until the results of the initial response are out.

Kaede: (...! Liguang-san… He’s way more upright than he looks…!)

Renga: … Me, too… I’ll go along if you insist…

Liguang: Why are you the one acting condescending?

Renga: Haah!? I’m being my normal self!?

Kaede: (...And they’re back to fighting in the end.)

Yachiyo: Hawawa… C-can these people here really help us out…!?

Kafka: Friendship is beautiful, isn’t it.

Kaede: (Eh. That’s your takeaway from seeing this play out in front of you?)

Kafka: Guess it was a good thing I was prepared for this, right?

<<previous chapter / next chapter>>

chapter 001 side A directory: TBA upon completion

[elryuse]

Would you mind writing a Yandere CL oneshot?

DANGEROUS GAME

YANDERE CL X MALE READER

In the glitzy world of K-pop, CL was a rising star, adored by fans for her angelic voice and captivating performances. Yet, behind her radiant smile lay a dark obsession that consumed her every waking moment.

Her fixation? A young trainee named Y/n, whose raw talent and innocent charm had caught her eye from the moment he stepped into the company.

"Annyeonghaseyo... I'm Park Y/n...please train me well CL sunbae".

"Oh wow... You look young.. How old are you"?

"Uhmm this year I'll be 19 years old".

"Wow that is really impressive Y/n".

"Thanks a lot Sunbae.. I promise I will train hard and debut with success".

"Well you should start training now".

"Of course sunbaee".

At first, CL was merely assigned to mentor him, guiding him through his rigorous training regimen with patience and encouragement.

But as the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months, CL found herself drawn to Y/n in ways she couldn't comprehend. His shy smile, his earnest dedication to his craft, ignited a fire within her that she couldn't extinguish.

"Y/n, I think you're training too hard.. You look really tired.. Why don't you rest for a while hmm? Let's eat something nice".

"I don't really think, I should do that Sunbae.. I mean.. Jisoo Sunbae and Jennie sunbae gonna kill me if I do that".

"Bsh... They won't know. Cmon.. I'll treat you to some nice Korean Barbeque".

"W-well.. If it's a Korean Barbeque.... Fine.. I'll go".

"See that wasn't that hard right"?

Obsession slowly morphed into infatuation, and infatuation into love. CL's every thought revolved around Jae, her desire to possess him consuming her every waking moment. She couldn't bear the thought of him belonging to anyone else but her.

"Y/n, Do you want to eat with me.. I'm free at 9 tonight".

"I can't Sunbae.. Jennie Noona and Lisa Noona is asking me out to have some tteokbokki".

"Wait what!? Jennie? Lisa? Why are you going out with them"?

"Well they said, They were sorry for treating me pretty harshly.. So yeah.. Free Tteokbokki I guess.. Hehe".

"But what about me? I want to eat with you too".

"Aww sunbae we can do it tomorrow right".

"Still.. I hate it".

"Calm down Sunbae.. You're not my GF... I'll text you later okay.. ".

"Wait.. Y/n".

Determined to make Y/n hers, CL resorted to drastic measures. She sabotaged his interactions with other trainees, spreading rumors and planting seeds of doubt to isolate him from the outside world. She showered him with gifts and attention, manipulating his emotions until he became utterly dependent on her.

"What Are you doing here Sunbae... You're bothering my Training session".

"We need to go.. We've been missing out on all the fun lately.. ".

"Sunbae.. I need to focus.. I'm about to debut.. Stop acting like my GF... Cause we're not dating".

"..... ".

"Look... We can do it later Sunbae.. Just not right now".

"Why? Why can't we do it.. Yet you always did it with the others.. Jennie... Lisa.. Rosé... Why... Tell me why.. Why do you pick them more than me... I cared for you the most.. ".

"Sunbae.. They're just my sunbae too. Just like you too".

".... So that's it? After I gave you so much"??

"Look I'm sorry.. But I'm busy Sunbae.. ".

"You're playing a dangerous game Park Y/n....you better watch out.. ".

But as her obsession deepened, so did her desperation. CL's once bright facade began to crack, revealing the darkness that lurked beneath. She would stop at nothing to make Y/n hers, even if it meant destroying everything and everyone in her path.

As CL's grip on reality slipped further, Y/n began to sense the danger that surrounded him. But by then, it was too late. Trapped in CL's web of obsession, he could only watch helplessly as she descended into madness, her love transforming into something far more sinister.

In the end, CL's love for Y/n would consume them both, leaving behind nothing but a trail of broken hearts and shattered dreams. For in the twisted world of idols and trainees, sometimes love was the deadliest melody of all.

"I'm Gonna Kill you... If I can't have you. You're mine Y/n...I've known you longer than all of this whore...".

THE END

[onelocket]

Can I request a fyodor x reader who’s a photographer? Taking photos of natural scenery and usually always has a prompt to go by, but also tends to beat themselves up about their work and maybe something along the lines of them saying they hate their work? Sorry if that’s too specific 🫶

hello anon! don't worry, it's fine!! this request surprised me a bit, but it let me open up to an idea. i hope i did okay, thank you for requesting ♡

a keen eye needs a keen heart Fyodor D. x photographer reader

involves -- domestic relationship, slight parallelism if you can spot it ^^

offering -- JAEHYUN, d.ear - try again (Instrumental ver)

Click after silence, silence after click.

It is, by this point, all you can only hear in these engulfed moments of life being copied in a digital showcase. It's as if you're shrinking nature into tiny, portable photographs—and to you, you find it endearing.

Nowadays, many humans have pushed the Earth they can not live without as some topic to either mingle or discard; however, there were still some people who truly show affection for it. One of them being you.

Photography has been your door, the natural scenery of this world being the contents. With the prompts who linger in your head from photo to photo like the wind enveloping you peace in your space, there has yet to be a talent and skill to which makes you feel the same passion as photography has.

Although... sometimes, it can be very overbearing to shoulder.

The burden of habits were, inherently, starting to flood you. While you had no desire to give up on what you're good at, you ended up doing the same things everyday.

At this point, you wouldn't be surprised if you woke up and find your fingers already meeting the camera, waiting for your head to think up a prompt.

It's almost like you weren't thinking anymore, just doing.

..

Cracking your train of thoughts back to reality from the unlooked-for process of zoning out—a soft groan finally cuts through the silence as not even, perhaps, a stray animal crumbles the fallen leaves to accompany you from the quiet.

You've been snapping photos of the dark forest trees that you were more than sure are enough already. You still need to edit them later, but for now...

"I need to go find Fedya." You mumble, glancing at your camera one last time before you carefully put it back in your bag, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear while you began to walk.

You weren't alone in this forest. Your boyfriend—Fyodor, was also following you to momentarily keep you company before he gave you some alone time.

You didn't have a solid lead of where he could be now, but he couldn't of gone that far..

"I'm here, moya milaya." Till suddenly a familiar voice hugs your cold ears, making your body turn as you see him. The male with a fluffy ushanka, the white of his clothing topped by his long black cloak. Fyodor's voice and appearance makes your bittersweet face curl to a softer smile, walking to his direction to hold him.

"Hi." You lacked energy to say more than that, allowing his arms to give you an embrace close to a hug while he looks at you fondly, "Are you okay?" keeping his voice low in hopes to calm you.

"Yeah.." You mutter, deciding that to talk might be the best despite your exhaustion.

Stepping closer, you pretty much sink your head on his chest as Fyodor lets you without a word, his hands on your waist like you were a delicacy. "I'm just... annoyed, that's all."

"Annoyed?" He asks, although does not budge further than that. Muffling your voice a bit on his clothing, you continue, "I... I have this burning feeling that none of the pictures I took were good enough, but I feel too tense to try again." feeling a grunt wanting to escape your throat. "I.. tsk, I just..."

"Now, now." Fyodor interrupts you, gliding a hand on your back to comfort you. "Breathe, (Name). I can barely hear your breathing."

"Sorry." Your grunt wins your head, escaping with your apology. However, you follow suit to your boyfriends suggestion as you take his quiet embrace to find the rhythm of your breathing.

When you swiftly swept that off, your hands wrap a little tighter on Fyodor's body as the warmth of his coat hiding your arms gives you a chance to take a deeper exhale. You vent once more, "I still need to take so many more pictures today, most in different places thanks to this list of ideas. It... I just..? Ah, for damns sake— I hate this job sometimes."

"..." Fyodor kept quiet, simply gliding his hand on your back like a light massage as he kept you leaning onto him.

Perhaps he was thinking, perhaps he was surprised. Even so, you were slowly losing your conscious to tension and irritation anyway.

"I see. How about you stop for now and take a break?" He finally spoke out, making you tilt your head just a little to let him know you were listening—although you still kept your head on his chest. "If you don't now, you'd be too tired to take photos properly, right?"

"...Right." You hum out in defeat, a light one, that is. Your boyfriend had a point after all, a break sounded nice right now. "Okay, I'll take a tiny break."

Your agreement makes Fyodor close his eyes, albeit you don't see. "Alright. There's a cafe nearby, at the marketplace we walked by. Would you like to relax there?"

And undoubtedly, you had no reason not to accept.

Coffee and tranquility, light hues of brown and lighthearted topics were all that you two shared as you spent more time in the cafe.

Honestly? There was a part of you that thanked he wasn't talking deep topics with you right now, otherwise you might've exploded... though then again, Fyodor wouldn't be the guy to do that anyway—with you too tired to think, how would he get amusing yet interesting responses?

You were sitting comfortably on your chair as Fyodor was back at the counter to pay for the drinks you two had. Your hands occupied with your camera as you scrolled through photographs of your lover enjoying his food, with his endearing smiles you'd never want to miss.

He can be really cute sometimes, is what you thought to yourself.

"(Name)." Yet your little happy circle gets dashed on by his voice, making you turn you head around.

You knew he saw you looking at his photos, which made your cheeks burn a little. But he does not participate in teasing you with it as he tilts his head, "Shall we go now?" making you nod in reply—quickly closing your camera again to get yourself standing up.

At least you've saved the photos. You can look at it later.

As you two left the cafe to now walk through the marketplace, your eyes easily come across a stall that was undeniably different from the rest. It held the same shape of the stalls surrounding, however it was selling toys rather than any consumable product.

It led you to lightly tug on Fyodor's arm, making him follow your heads direction. "Can we go over there, Fyodor?" You ask him like a kid, making him softly chuckle. "No need to ask it that way. Let us go."

It didn't take long for you to get closer to the displays, eyes faintly sparkling at the sight of the items now in front of you.

Your attention is soon grabbed by a specific teddy bear, small, yet very cute.

It had your usual button eyes, lighter shade for its tummy and round ears. You couldn't help but find it the way its sown a bit eye-catching however, realizing it might be hand-stitched—which lessened your surprise for it's location.

"Is something wrong, milaya?" Fyodor wakes your squinting eyes to. You stop bending over and stand up straight again, smiling as you turn to him. "No. I just found the plush to be cute. It looks hand-made, too."

Taking his silence as a gate to continue, you add, "It's hard to see at first, but the fabric it's made of is actually similar to a normal towel rather than your usual fabrics for teddy bears. The buttons are black, yet they have faint scratches of them.. make's me feel a bit bad, actually." getting a bit distracted from your thought as you look back at the item.

Fyodor couldn't help but smile, eyes watching you stare at the teddy bear like you truly were some kid at an amusement park. "Is that so? How keen of your eyes to have noticed that quick."

But before you can counter a playful reply to that, another party joins you two.

"..E-excuse me." The voice squeaks to, childishly and feminine. "Are you going to buy one...?"

The tiny child comes out of its hiding spot, a girl with short brown hair... and a bit of a fatigued expression.

"Hi there." You speak up first, hiding your camera as you felt it might frighten the little girl. "What's wrong, do you want the teddy?"

"N-no." She shook her head at you, her eyes taking slow turns to you and your boyfriend as you step next to him. "I... made the teddy."

"...Oh?" Fyodor was the first to talk this time, your surprise a copy to his. However he does not let it give any chance to appear rude as he smiles at her, "Do you own this stall?" you following to his friendly approach with your own soft expression.

The child nods as her fingers play with one another nervously, "Yes. Um.. I..." eyes losing contact with Fyodor's while she tries to find her words. You two kept quiet, your own eyes falling back to the teddy just beside you, though you still listened.

"Nobody.. is buying any. I-I'm trying to earn some money... so I can help and save my little brother..."

"..."

So that's the reason.

Immediately couldn't you help but find your fingers meeting the same teddy you've been staring at. "In that case, Fyodor.. I want to buy this." You spoke, stepping a foot forward and showing the item now in your arms.

The corner of your eye sees the girl blink expectantly at your action, Fyodor.. silent for a bit, before he quietly clears his throat.

"Go ahead. I'll pay for it." He responds with the smile he put back on, glancing at you before walking to the little girl. She had stiffened for a second until your boyfriend crouched down, "You'll be the one to save your little brother, I'm sure of it." his expression unreadable to you in this position.

Your eyebrows furrow for some reason, seeing a hint of surprise on the girls face. Why was that? You had no clue. Perhaps it was his expression, but you couldn't see it anyway.

Though soon you see the girl smile, pink hugging her cheeks. It served you finally exhaling that deep breath you didn't realize you were holding back, your own smile escorted suit while you hear a hum from Fyodor and see a tilt of his head.

Their silence was met, but it was a happy one as she looked like she could finally have some hope in her eyes again.

"..." You swore something possessed you as your other hand made work of grabbing your camera, trying to be sneaky with stealing a clip so you wouldn't startle the girl nor get Fyodor back standing up. Not now.

Not while he was making a child smile, him knelt down like he was her father. It all happened so surprisingly and suddenly that you failed to control your instincts to click a moment of it to stay forever.

Perhaps you should also take pictures of the stall too. If it gets recognized, you too can help the girl and her brother. The thought made your heart warmer.

With the teddy bear now in your possession, both of your hands were occupied by the stuffed toy and your arm linked on his as you two kept walking. The day was about to end, and new hues of color were now drowning the sky—yet in an alluring way.

"The sky looks beautiful." You breathe out, colors of purple, pink and orange mixing with each other like a harmony made to be one.

Fyodor doesn't reply, however makes your words known as his gaze also follows the paint of the sky.

It's been a while since you've looked at something like this and felt no burden carp your head. You've been prompted with too many morning scenery, it honestly felt so good to see the opposite for once after a long while.

It makes you pull out your camera, slowly unlinking your arms from Fyodor. Before you knew, the look of endearment and pure joy reappears on your face as your features only accentuate it further—and while you weren't looking, such expression on your face makes the male next to you smile as well.

Click!

How many times have you taken a photo today? You had lost count.

Taken in, your feet lack to tell you the way it walks closer to the railings you two were just in front of; Fyodor initially wanting to inform you, however stops himself and just follows behind.

Click!

You rose your camera a bit higher, trying to find a better angle as the colors keep pattering with one another.

You felt like the photographer you always were—your heart fluttering and beating through rushes of attachment and sentiment, no longer numb like you felt it go a few hours ago at that forest.

"There we go." You hear your lover call out, making you lower your camera down to your abdomen. "See, I believe you push yourself too harsh, milaya... all you need is to let the burdens go once in a while, and recall to the true reason why you're keeping up to what you've been sticking up with till now."

Recall to the true reason why, huh.

..It's a bit embarrassing now, as the seconds pass. Crimson pats your cheeks as you fully turn your body to Fyodor, hands still on your camera while his was on the railing.

Why couldn't he just say all of this earlier? At the coffee shop maybe, or even when you two were still at the forest. You ended up taking too many pictures of the things that you found fondness in, things that you kept smiling to as you snapped the photographs. Albeit they weren't natural scenery, it had as naturally brought you back to your talent, yet without the reminder of your habits.

There was only one thing you could say.

"Fyodor... you planned all of this, didn't you?" You finally ask.

"If I simply spoke with words, I fear they wouldn't be enough... so experiencing it is arguably better. You wouldn't of seen this sunset sooner than how you would at home, would you?"

Fair enough.. though it still makes you laugh. Plan after plan, he never seems to get short circuited on it just to get you happier.

"You really didn't have to.." You try to whisper, feeling a bit bad now. But Fyodor doesn't seem to even feel the same way as you did as he simply closed his eyes with that same smile, "Well, what other ending could I have given you?"

After all, a keen eye needs a keen heart. And sometimes, it just needs a small reminder on why.

[hippolotamus]

Seven Sentence Sunday 💛🤍💜🖤

Tagged by the lovely and talented @daffi-990 (who is whipping up an astounding moodboard) @wikiangela @spotsandsocks @jesuisici33 @rmd-writes @hoodie-buck @spaceprincessem @stereopticons 💖 Definitely go check their snippets if you haven’t!

no pressure tagging @shortsighted-owl @eddiebabygirldiaz @elvensorceress @giddyupbuck @disasterbuckdiaz @monsterrae1 @mysteriouslyyounggalaxy @eddiediaztho @thewolvesof1998 @forthewolves @wildlife4life @chaosandwolves @heartshapedvows @loserdiaz @your-catfish-friend @statueinthestone @buddierights @911onabc @the-likesofus @fionaswhvre @barbiediaz @eowon @ladydorian05 @apothecarose @vanillahigh00 @welcometololaland @lizzie-bennetdarcy @honestlydarkprincess @pirrusstuff @watchyourbuck @steadfastsaturnsrings @gayedmundodiaz @weewootruck @exhuastedpigeon and anyone else who wants to (please tag me if you decide to participate so i can ohh and ahh over your work)

After today I’ll likely be slowing down a bit, and might not be on quite as much for the next week or so. But please keep tagging me so I can see all your awesome words and creations.

Okay then, more from you’re where I wanna go (prev snippet here) Buck & Lucy are in Chicago now being the best QPR spouses in existence.

“I need your assistance with something.”

Buck glances up from the newspaper to see a very anxious looking Lucy, if the way she’s biting her lip and wringing her hands together are any indication.

“What is it? Are you okay?” He drops the paper to the table and begins pushing his chair out until she holds a hand up to stop him.

“No, I’m fine. Nothing like that. It’s just-“ She cuts herself off, like maybe she’s not sure she wants to give voice to the rest of the words. They’re only just starting to become better acquainted with each other, but he wants to do everything he can to let her know she’s safe with him.

“Luce,” he says gently, “you don’t have to tell me. But you know you can.” After a moment he adds, “What do you need?”

Lucy knits her brow together, looking almost everywhere except at Buck. “We didn’t talk about this. Before, I mean. Sometimes, back home, I like to go out for an evening. Maybe find a companion if I’m lucky.”

Buck will admit he’s exceptionally confused about what Lucy’s trying to say. Of course he knew about her preferences, that she enjoys the company of other women. He’s not sure what that has to do with him now though. They both agreed it’s no problem for either of them to find a partner for an evening, if needed. “Uhh, okay? That’s, um, that’s fine.”

“The thing is- being here, being somewhere else- there’s something I’d like to try. Something I’ve never been brave enough to do at home.”

She is uncharacteristically nervous. He doesn’t see a trace of her usual confidence or bravado. Eventually he decides he doesn’t want to keep his distance, leaving his chair in favor of standing in front of her, taking both hands in his own.

“I promise, whatever it is, you can tell me.”

She nods slowly in response before finally looking him in the eye. “I want- will you help me to-” Her eyelids close and she swallows so he can track the movement of her Adam's apple. “I don’t want to look like myself. I want to look-” Her voice, already warbling, drops almost to a whisper. “like a man.”

When the final words leave her mouth, Buck feels as though a hundred thoughts are flying through his mind at once. Pride that she told him. Curiosity. Wondering how best to be helpful. If his clothes would fit her or, if not, how quickly they could get something tailored.

“Nevermind. This was foolish. I’m sorry.” Lucy’s eyes pop open and she tries to pull away, but Buck doesn’t let her.

“Hey, no, don’t apologize. I don’t think it’s foolish at all, because it’s not. I wanna help.” He ducks his head so she’s forced to see him. “Please let me.”

[daisy7beauty]

Online friend — Haerin x reader

summary: Haerin has had an online friend for around two years now. Their first meeting might be coming sooner than she had originally thought.

pairing: Kang Haerin x fem!reader

tags: online friends, trainee, fluff

word count: 869

————————————

Haerin has had an online friend for a while now.

When she had begun her life as a trainee, a lot of the pressure that came with it made her feel horrible. Not wanting to seem weak in front of the others, she buried all of her feelings inside.

She felt like she couldn’t talk to anyone about it. Her parents weren't the most supportive ones, so she was afraid that instead of comforting her, they would use it as a “We told you so” moment, insisting that she quit. So she decided to vent her frustrations out on a blog.

It was anonymous, of course, god forbid the company found it and kicked her out, or something. They had very strict rules about social media and a blog isn't that much different.

It didn’t receive much attention, which was fine with her, she just needed a place to complain and rant. But one day, she received a private message. It was from a user under the name ‘raccoon_luvr05’, who was apparently also a trainee and related to Haerin.

They had started to talk on the blog site, eventually exchanging their phone numbers, agreeing to only texting, as they wanted to remain anonymous. Haerin would be lying if she said she was never curious about the person behind the messages. They understood her more than anyone she has ever met, and she didn’t even know their name!

The only thing she knew was that they were a year older than her, they were from Jeju and a three year trainee under Starship Entertainment. It was honestly impressive how little they knew about each other, despite sharing their deepest secrets with each other for around two years.

If she were to be honest, Haerin had developed sort of a crush on them. She didn’t know if it was a boy or a girl, but the way they comforted her and cheered her up during her hardest days when she just wanted to quit, made her heart jump. Just thinking about it made her blush, making Hanni tease her from the other side of the practice room.

Her phone was in her hands, the messages between them open on her screen. Haerin stared at them intensely, mentally hyping herself up to send an already written message. After about two weeks of thinking and mulling everything over, she decided that she wanted to meet them. She knew that it was risky, her school made her watch all those cautionary videos about strangers online, but she just couldn’t help herself.

This particular week made her even more sure in her decision. They weren’t able to text as often as they used to, as her friend was currently moving companies, due to Starship delaying their groups debut once again. Haerin missed them so much that it surprised her. The whole week she spent wondering about how they were doing, and if they were fine. Their separation was the final nail in the coffin that made her realize just how much she liked them.

Just as she was about to send the text containing her question about finally meeting up, someone came into the practice room she was in. All of the members stood up and greeted the manager that stepped inside. Haerin saw a young girl behind him, nervously clutching a bag in her hands.

“All right, as you all know a new trainee is joining us today. She will be one of your group's members from now on. I know it may feel a bit strange, since you haven’t met her before, but please be kind to her. She is very talented and we believe her to be a perfect fit with you guys, so please don’t disappoint us, okay?”

All of them nodded, saying yes, bowing to the manager as he left the room, leaving just the girl behind.

“Nice to meet you, my name is Kim Minji, and I’m the oldest. You can consider me an unofficial leader, so if you have any problems or concerns, come to me.”

Minji smiled at the newcomer, the rest of the girls following her example and introducing themselves as well.

“Nice to meet you all, my name is y/n and I was born in 2005, I hope we can be friends.”

She had a soft voice and her eyes almost never left the ground. Haerin was the same when she just joined, understanding the girl's position. She was sure that y/n would open up soon enough.

They had talked for around an hour, before Minji seemed to remember something.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Could you give me your number, so that I can add you to our group chat?”

Y/n nodded, waiting for Minji to take out her phone, before saying her phone number.

As she started speaking, Haerin paused for a moment. It felt like she had seen that number somewhere already. She quickly opened up her phone, scrolling through her contacts, trying to see if that's where she remembered it from.

“Oh.”

She let out quietly, her finger stopping at a very familiar contact profile. It seemed that her wish of meeting her mystery person came true quicker that she had imagined.

-end-

[ukulelevillainwrites]

who follows the rules anyway?

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9

complete

pairing : anthony lockwood x she/her reader

word count : 4.5k

content : in this part you get angst, reader and lockwood’s backstory and some plot with a side of ‘i didn’t know where else to go’ in subtext :)))

They ate dinner in silence. It was clear that the two guys she had in front of her weren’t used to having people over. They were sitting around the kitchen table, notes and drawings covering the cloth beneath their plates. She read the messages closest to her. Many were about cases they probably worked over the past couple of weeks. But here and there she noticed some insults directed at Lockwood and she was glad to see she wasn’t the only one who thought those things. A drawing of a visitor caught her attention. It wasn’t very detailed but its expression seemed sad and lonely nonetheless.

“Who’s that?” she asked.

“That’s the ghost we have to take care of tomorrow. It’s probably a Type One so we should be done quickly.” George answered.

“Where is the house you have to take care of?”

“Hopkins Street in Soho.”

“I’ve been on a case near there! Though it was more dangerous, the Type Two we had to contain was more threatening than we had anticipated. And the house was big too, are you gonna be okay just the two of you?”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine.” Lockwood cut in.

“We could always add a third person, worst case scenario they just stand by…”

“I’d be happy to be there in reinforcement… And that way I could pay you back for letting me stay here.”

Lockwood was far from enthusiastic about the arrangement. y/n saw his jaw tighten as George accepted her offer to tag along.

“I’ll go to Satchell’s to restock.” He got up and aimed for the door. “You and y/n can prep the bags so we can leave when I come back.” He left the table without looking back. There was no room for discussion. It’s like he couldn’t get out fast enough. I guess the feeling is mutual then. But who cared if he couldn’t stand to be in her company either? At least she could repay George by helping him out back. And that way she didn’t have to figure out what her next move should be for another day. She could pretend to be a proper agent one more time and forget about her disgrace.

George immediately filled her in on all the research he had done on the case. Apparently even for a Type One explaining every little detail couldn’t wait until tomorrow. She listened to him ramble on about the history of the house on Hopkins Street and felt at peace for the first time that day. It reminded her of their walks back from a job early in the morning. She paid attention as much as she could until her eyes decided to close on their own.

----

It was getting unbearably cold and the fact that she was restrained to a small iron circle didn’t help her condition. The night had been a disaster so far. It made her regret Fittes, her old teammates, her decision to stay here and help. She wanted to be a true professional and apply her impeccable methods. What could be better than to follow Marissa Fittes’ instructions to the letter? What could possibly be worth denying everything her supervisors had taught her her entire career? Anthony Lockwood’s sheer will apparently justified changing everything.

It had started as soon as they had set foot inside the house. She wanted to be thorough and efficient. She offered that the group went through the house together to look at each room and possibly locate the source before facing any type of ghost. But their leader had decided otherwise and didn’t even bother to listen. He sidelined her immediately.

“You’re here in reinforcement, right? So we’ll come get you if we need a hand.” He had told her before leaving her behind surrounded by an iron chain. It made her furious. Sure, she hadn’t exactly been warm yesterday, or even polite, but still. He could really use her training and her talent. His stubbornness was really stupidity at this point. And what kind of agency didn’t have supervisors?

She was going on and on in her head about everything that was wrong with this situation when George interrupted her train of thoughts as he entered the room.

“We still haven’t found anything, we’re taking a break in the kitchen. Care to join us?”

Of course, Lockwood wouldn’t have bothered to tell her that. Instead, he greeted her with

“That tea is really awful. Who made it?” he said with a wince.

“I did, and at least I was nice enough to bring tea for everyone.” She went to pour herself a cup from a thermos she had packed.

“Well, it was your job.”

“My job was to prep the bags with George, not play housekeeper.” She said coolly without looking up. She turned her back to him so he couldn’t see the look on her face. That tea really was terrible.

“The tea isn’t the only thing that’s bitter tonight.” He said with a smirk.

She turned around to face him.

“Tea isn’t part of a regulation kit.”

“In our agency it kind of is.” He cut in.

“What I’m trying to say is that you could appreciate the intention instead of making your snide comments. Earlier you literally walked through the door shouting orders without helping us even a little and now you keep criticizing me. You can’t spend the evening reprimanding everything I do.”

“I’m in charge and I can when the work isn’t done properly.”

The room fell silent. She wanted to scream at him, hit something, anything. But this was still a haunted house. She needed to keep her emotions under control. No matter how much she wanted to put him in danger specifically, George didn’t deserve this. Ignoring the satisfied look that Lockwood gave her, she turned to George.

“Is he always so difficult to work with? I’m surprised you haven’t lost your sanity.”

“He’s actually tolerable most of the time.”

Lockwood smiled at her with a “I told you so” grin.

“But you obviously have quite an effect on him.” He told her with a wink.

His smile disappeared instantly and it was George’s turn to laugh.

“Instead of having you two brooding in separate corners of the room, maybe we could try and do the job we were hired to do?”

They went for another tour of the house, using all their senses to try to detect any activity. The only result they got was a drop in temperatures which was a start. They settled into the coldest room, figuring the source was probably nearby. They set up a circle in the center and the boys started to search anything that could be the cause of the haunting. As y/n went to pick up a figurine carved in ivory on a shelf an annoying voice interrupted her.

“I need you to stay in the circle while we look for the source.”

“But my Touch is better than yours and George’s combined! Stop being a jerk and let me do my job for the first time this evening.”

“We’ll tell you if we need reinforcement.”

As George was about to protest she raised her voice.

“I’m getting really sick of your behavior. Stop treating me like I’m a beginner. I can handle myself. I worked for the most prestigious team in the most prestigious agency for God’s sake!”

“Well, you’re not anymore. Your behavior hasn’t been much better and until I know that I can trust you I’m not letting you touch anything in this house.”

“Fine. If that’s how it’s gonna be I’ll be better off anywhere else.”

She left the room in a rush. She was putting both of her teammates in danger anyway with how angry she was getting. It was better for everyone if she left.

She went down the stairs in a hurry and slammed the door on her way out. The fresh air outside helped a little. But she would need a two-hour walk at least to calm down. She started to walk down the street as she heard footsteps running behind her.

Lockwood caught up with her and grabbed her arm to make her turn around.

“Where do you think you’re going? You don’t have anywhere to go and we organized the night with you as backup. If we don’t have you standing by you’re putting both of us at risk if something goes wrong.”

“I’m putting you two at risk anyway with how angry I am at you. I thought getting to know you would change the opinion I had of you but I was right from the start you’re just an arrogant jerk.”

“And I was right to think you were just pretentious and helpless that night we met. If it weren’t for me you’d be dead but instead you disrespect me in my own house and act surprised when I don’t trust you on a case.”

So he did remember that night. She tried to hide her surprise.

“Oh right so I’m supposed to be grateful for you ruining a perfect opportunity for my career.”

“You didn’t need me to ruin your career you handled it very well yourself.”

That stung. She turned around before he could see the tears that prickled her eyes and stormed off into the night.

“Nice one Lockwood! And I’m the one with zero social skill.” George said from the doorstep before going back inside, leaving Lockwood alone in the deserted street.

---

“y/n I need you to keep the visitor under control while we look for the source!” Kipps shouted as he ran up the stairs, followed closely by Bobby.

“But wouldn’t it be better if-” She tried to point out that her talent would be most useful if she went to look for the source herself but the boys were already gone. Reluctantly she went back to the living room, using her senses to see if the visitor had come back yet.

She was alone for now. Just her and her frustration to keep her company. After a week of strenuous efforts and late nights, her leader still didn’t seem to warm up to her. Obviously if he kept her aside and gave her tasks that didn’t let her show her full potential he could never be impressed with what she could do. But she kept her head down, it was only the first week, she needed to follow his directions to remain on his good side, or at least his neutral side. And if the visitor showed up she would do her best to fight it, maybe that would show him. She tried listening to reason the best she could, but the truth was that Kipps’s behavior vexed her. She couldn’t help feeling underestimated and a kind of sorrow rose in her. What more could she do to make him notice her? His approval was the only thing she sought at the moment. It consumed her so much that she didn’t realize the visitor had resurfaced. It started creeping up behind her when suddenly she felt a presence as the temperature dropped several degrees.

She ducked at the last minute and narrowly avoided the ghost that flew above her reaching for her neck. The phantasm was now hovering between her and the iron chain, she had no refuge. She drew her rapier unaffected and ready to fight. The ghost tried to attack again, it was aggressive and used her frustration to its advantage. She formed complicated patterns with her sword to keep it away from her. They stayed face to face like this for several minutes with no sign from Bobby nor Kipps. Her arm grew tired of this face to face. It was getting harder and harder to draw the ghost off but her mind stayed focused. Fortunately, it was hard to break her spirit. That was until a cramp painfully twisted the arm that held her rapier. The pain was so sudden that she grabbed her arm and dropped her weapon as a reflex. Probably the worst reflex to have in this situation. As her iron defense touched the floor the visitor attacked. She ducked again, getting closer to the iron chain. As she went to step inside, she tripped and broke the circle. Her rapier was out of reach. She grabbed the chain and tried to fend off the ghost with the chain, not using the flares at her belt that certainly would have caught fire inside. Where were Bobby and Kipps? She could really use a hand right now. As the phantasm got very close to touching her the door flew open.

Finally. In the darkness she only saw a silhouette in a long coat drawing the visitor’s attention away from her. She was thankful but she didn’t recognize who it was. Bobby or Kipps would have been coming from upstairs so she wondered how this stranger could have known when to barge in. Nevertheless, the diversion was enough for her to grab her rapier, ready to fight once more. The living room was lit by the ghost lamp outside. She turned around to see her rescuer fending off the phantasm. He was quick on his feet, the movements of his sword clear and precise. His posture looked elegant even in a fight. He seemed completely at ease and it didn’t look like he needed her help. Once more she felt rather useless. She remained alert but couldn’t do more than watch the scene unfold. It was like the visitor had forgotten she was in the room standing right behind it. As the fight went on the guy in front of her tried tempting it more and more each time he dodged a sudden move from the ghost. She slowly walked around to join him on the other side of the room as the ghost was getting closer each time it tried to reach him. What was he doing? The point wasn’t to tempt the ghosts but to keep them away. It’s like he found it amusing somehow. She felt a burst of energy and a shiver ran down her spine. It was getting particularly angry. She hurried to reach his side telling him to get out of the way. She held her sword high, ready to fight off the new blow she was expecting when instead she was pushed behind. She lost her balance as she was shoved against a sofa sitting in the corner of the room and tripped the reckless idiot in the same movement. He held on to the armrest to quickly stand up and stood between her and the visitor. It was getting close, too close. At the last moment it disappeared. The air warmed up and the tension that filled the room was replaced with relief. Only for a moment though.

“Are you crazy? You could’ve gotten us both killed if my team hadn’t just located the source!” She pushed him away as she stood up from the sit he had pushed her into.

“A good evening to you too. What a lovely night isn’t it?”

She looked at him in disbelief.

“You’re not even gonna acknowledge the fact you almost got killed three seconds ago?”

A voice came from the hallway.

“Tony! To what do we owe the pleasure?”

The boy rolled his eyes at her before turning around.

“Shouldn’t you be alone in your big house at this time of night?”

She had never seen Kipps like this before. Sure, he was proud most of the time, but never to that extent.

“You should thank me for saving your teammate from a certain death. I did your reputation a favor here.” He talked about her like she wasn’t standing right next to him. How could someone she met 5 minutes ago irritate her so much?

“I’m sure she could handle herself just fine.”

“I could but he didn’t really give me a chance.” She said, glaring at him. “I didn’t need your help, I had the situation under control.”

“A simple thank you would have sufficed. Next time I’ll just enjoy the show from outside then.” He gave her one last look before exiting the room.

He left the same way he had come without looking back. Or at least she thought. Outside he had glanced one more time through the window where he had first seen her battling the phantasm, his lips curving slightly as he made his way back home. 

---

The memories of that night kept coming back to her, fueling her rage as she made her way down Wardour Street. He didn’t let her do her job then and he didn’t let her do her job now. And he was acting like an arrogant prick with a smug look on his face while he was doing it. Her head was heavy with the events of the past two days and she felt overwhelmed. She was angry at the universe for turning her life upside down. She had a plan and she was following it. Why did things have to change so suddenly? She was mad at her instincts for misguiding her and she hated the way she kept overreacting. The further she walked the more anger she realized she had to unpack. She had weeks of frustration from all the efforts she made to gain Kipps’s trust and approval and the ironic twist of fate that undid all that in just one day. She also had the hurt from El’s betrayal that still twisted her stomach. The uneasy feeling that something wasn’t right with Mrs Dufour. The shame of being fired. The unbearable weight of figuring out her future now that she threw away the one that she had designed for herself. She wasn’t ready to deal with that just yet and decided to focus on tonight instead. Who cared if she didn’t have a future, at least she still had a friend in the city that very kindly accepted to take her in. Well, until she left him and his colleague alone in a haunted house that is.

She regretted taking her anger out on Lockwood, though some of it was well deserved. She actually didn’t know how to feel about him. Somehow she was convinced he could have been very nice to work with if she had given him a chance from the start. On the other hand, she still wasn’t over how he literally kept her from doing her job all those weeks back. And the fact he behaved the exact same way tonight certainly didn’t help. Still, she hoped they were safe even with her gone.

The stroll did help a lot. She had been gone for half an hour but the fog in her mind already started to lift. She still needed some alone time but she really should apologize for her behavior later. The guys wouldn’t be home for a couple more hours anyway. No need to rush. She could always apologize tomorrow. And she would owe them one less night at their place.

She made her way to the border of the Thames, passing Scotland Yard on her way. It was one of the only buildings with light coming from the windows. She followed the river south, taking deep breaths to try and ease her mind. A gentle breeze rustled her hair and she finally allowed herself to relax for the first time today. The water made her feel safer and the quiet streets made her appreciate the city even more. It was a shame she couldn’t do this more often without taking risks. She could have stayed there for hours but as she leaned on a banister she noticed a boat getting weirdly close to her. It kept coming her way until a girl with a straw hat on came into view. She pointed to somewhere behind her mouthing something. Was it directed at her? She frowned mouthing “what?” back to the girl. She insisted. ‘Watch out.’, she finally understood. She turned around to see men gather and she ducked on instinct. The only people out at this time of night couldn’t be good news.

Curled up behind a brick wall, she slowly craned her neck to try and see what this was all about. There were three men standing a few feet away from her. They were partially hidden by a tree. She moved slightly to her right to have a better view. Relic men. It was very clear that this meant trouble and she needed to get out of there. She turned around, hidden behind the wall to thank the girl on the boat but she was already out of sight.

The easiest way for her to get out of there unseen was to go back the same way she came, practically on her knees the whole time to remain covered. She made slow progress but she would soon be able to reach Scotland yard and from there she could keep walking the other way. She didn’t really care where she was going as long as she was out of danger. She was reaching the last few feet when she heard a familiar voice that made her blood run cold.

“Good evening gentlemen.”

George was right. She was right. Mrs. Dufour was standing there, casually chatting with relic men. Her dismissal seemed even more unfair now. She wasn’t in such a hurry now. She could finally get her answers and get to the bottom of this.

“Did you bring it?” one of the men asked though it sounded more like an order.

“Of course I did. Here, I’m sure you’ll get a good price for it but I want 25%, no less.”

The man closest to her laughed as he dismissed her with a hand.

“Yeah, right.”

“It’s an original from Mrs. Overton’s ancestors. A piece from a prominent family like hers has got to be worth a lot more than the other pieces I brought you. And I’m putting my job on the line for this. 25 or I’ll find someone else.”

Did she really say Mrs. Overton? She was selling the clock she was supposed to bring back in a few days? y/n couldn’t believe it. How was she going to justify the missing piece to their client?

The shock made it hard to breath. She had flashbacks from the day before when she heard voices outside Mrs. Dufour’s office. She tried to step away slowly and discreetly but the friction of her feet on the ground made a sudden noise that made the group look in her direction. She stayed ducked but she heard one of the men get closer to investigate. She only had one option if she wanted to get out of here unharmed. She stood up and immediately started running. She could hear one of the men yelling to go after her from afar but she didn’t turn back to check. She hoped the supervisor didn’t recognize her but now was not the time to worry about this detail. She had more chance losing them if she got lost in the streets instead of following the river. She made a turn on her left, hoping they would lose sight of her. Instead she felt a sharp pain in her left arm. How could she get a cramp in this part of her body while running? Without slowing down she passed a hand up and down her arm to ease the pain. Instead of finding the soft fabric of her jacket her fingers met something wet. She looked down at her bloodied fingers trying to keep up her pace. Not only were these men chasing her but they were throwing knives at her. Letting them catch her wasn’t an option from the start but even less so now. She tried to ignore the sharp ache and kept running until she found a hiding spot in a deserted alleyway. She used the trashcans and piles of cardboard boxes to avoid her pursuers. They ran past her without looking back. She waited a few minutes trying to calm her breathing down.

The street was silent again, she couldn’t hear any voices or steps coming her way. She peered out from her hiding spot and only saw the ghost lamp at the end of the street. She came out and sighed in relief. Her mind had gone completely numb but as she stepped out of the alley she became painfully aware of the situation. Panic started to rise inside her. She wanted to curl up in the middle of the street as her breathing accelerated. Somehow she still wasn’t getting enough air. Her lungs hurt, the world started spinning around her. The wound in her arm was burning, she felt blood running down her arm. All her senses were blinded by the pain and the stress, she couldn’t think straight. Behind her she heard something crack. A leaf, a branch maybe or just a rat passing by. But that was enough to send her running as fast as she could. Her instinct was the only thing guiding her at this point. She needed to get help, to find people she could trust. She needed to go somewhere safe.

---

All the lights were out inside the house. They probably hadn’t gone home yet. The case could have turned more complicated than anticipated. But she didn’t feel like waiting for them in the street with blood trickling down her arm. She felt dizzy and lightheaded, her throat was sore from the cold autumn breeze and her wound wasn’t getting any better. She climbed the few steps in front of the door, her right hand in front of her in case she tripped. As she got to  the door, she kneeled and retrieved her hooks from the sock where she always kept them. Her dad had always told her this skill would come in handy. At the time she didn’t believe him but still let her teach her. It was a fun father-daughter activity after all. But right now, with the pain she was in, she truly blessed him for having weird hobbies.

In three clicks she unlocked the door and stepped inside without worrying about the noise she made. Her head was heavy and relief flooded her as soon as she closed the door behind her. It didn’t matter that her day had ended up worse than the day before. It didn’t matter that this seemed unconceivable yesterday. The fight, Dufour, the chase, all of it was behind her now. She was safe. As she stepped deeper into the house the walls started spinning. The masks on the wall looked like they were mocking her. She felt the urge to dismiss them with the back of her hand. A sharp pain shot through her arm as she lifted it. She cried out and didn’t notice Lockwood coming down the stairs.

“y/n? What are you doing?”

She hadn’t heard him coming and jumped in surprise, prompting another sharp pain in her left arm.

“y/n? What’s wrong? Wait how did you get in?”

At that she smiled faintly. But her head was spinning too much. Her knees buckled. She saw movement in front of her as the floor got closer before she collapsed in the hall.

[straightupsickfics]

best friends, ex-friends til the end | royjamie

(better off as lovers)

this is definitely something that i wrote to get out of my own head after thinking about it literally since the show ended.. but maybe someone else will enjoy a little (~2.1k words) sick jamie + reluctantly caring roy kent <3

Sicktember Prompt #2: “What happened to your phenomenal immune system, huh?”

Jamie really doesn’t think anything of it when most of the lads (...and Ted, Trent, Rebecca, and Higgins) are all out with some kind of mysterious cold throughout the early fall. He felt bad for them, yeah, course, offered to bring Colin and Isaac and Dani soup, even. But it didn’t occur to him that he should be, like, “worried about germs,” or whatever. 

Jamie Tartt never gets sick. 

Like, ever. 

He has an unbeatable immune system, and, according to his mum, he always has. Not that any of his ill teammates seem particularly interested in hearing about that particular fact when he shares it on one of his soup drop offs. Isaac had actually told him to “fuck off outta here with that gloating,” while Colin cough-laughed beside him. 

Well, fine. Jamie knows when he isn’t wanted. He leaves, confident they’d be fine in a few days, no doubt thanks to the soup he’d left them. Then, they can all make their way back to normal on the pitch. The whole dynamic’s been off for weeks with everyone being taken out one by one by this thing, and Jamie’s getting sick of it. He needs everyone there to really dominate the way he’s used to, even if it means he has be “a bit of a fucking prick about it.” (Roy’s words). 

It turns out, all of that ass crack of dawn training is paying off after all. Like, really paying off — Jamie is better and faster than ever now, all thanks to his supreme commitment to the game, and his unmatched talent. 

And Roy’s training. 

Okay, mostly Roy’s training, but he wouldn’t be admitting that much out loud without more than a few pints in him. And since Roy isn’t letting him drink at the moment, Jamie figures he’s in the clear. 

So, yeah, Jamie Tartt’s life is fucking mint as of late. 

Now, leaving Isaac and Colin’s, he looks down at his phone and finds a message from Roy himself, think of the devil. 

Granddad: McAdoo just said you’d been by… WTF are you thinking?? You want to lose a week with whatever fucking bubonic plague’s going around the club???

Jamie: Christ, do you get tired of yelling at me, old man? It’s FINE. Jamie Tartt don’t CATCH the plague 

Granddad: 🙄 If you say so, but don’t come crying to me when you’re laid up in bed you absolute muppet. Get some sleep, I’ll see you at 4:00 AM. 

Jamie: Be there with bells on ♥️

*

The next few days go by in a blur of training, post-training FIFA with Roy, and sleep. He’s been feeling knocked on his ass every night this week, overtired and exhausted in a way he usually isn’t, thanks to Roy’s brutal workout regime, but he can hardly complain with the way he’s been playing. He’s been getting home late most nights, too, always a little reluctant to leave Roy’s and go home to his own empty flat. 

It’s not like Roy seems to mind either, though. He’s been making them dinners almost every night, after all. Or, well, he makes dinner and sets out two plates and doesn’t tell Jamie to get lost, which is basically the same thing, right? It’s nice, having some company. Having Roy for company, has become something he never knew he needed. 

Or maybe he just never let himself even think about asking for it. 

After one such night, Jamie showers and climbs into his bed (empty, always empty, these days, something a former version of himself would never believe let alone enjoy). He thinks about Roy. Thinks, tiredly, how nice it might be if Roy were here now, and then shakes the thought away. Since when does he think about Roy Kent in bed? 

(Since always, he’s had a poster of him over his bed since he was thirteen.) 

Thoughts of Roy are replaced with thoughts about water. His throat’s been dry all day, and a glass of water sounds killer right now, but Jamie’s asleep before he can do anything about it. 

*

Jamie wakes up to something jackhammering. 

No, not jackhammering. It’s his phone, vibrating on his nightstand. 

Fuck, why is it so loud? He pulls himself up to look at it, but he feels like he’s been him by a ton of bricks. Bad idea. He feels like utter shite if he’s honest, like he got hit by a truck in his sleep. His head’s pounding, for one thing, he can’t even think straight, and the dry, scratchy throat from last night has grown into a monster of a sore throat. Plus, he feels sweaty all over. 

Shit.

Roy was going to kill him. 

Shit. Roy. Their training. It’s that thought that gets Jamie into an upright position, at least enough so that he can grab his phone before laying back down with it. There are five missed calls from Granddad, and a handful of texts and other notifications that Jamie ignores for now. 

Somewhere in his scrolling, it hits Jamie that the sun is coming in through his window. It’s almost 8:00 in the morning, and he’s completely missed their training. He’d slept through his alarm, missing the training with Roy, and, judging by how entirely fucked he feels, would likely miss the team training today, too. 

Jamie swallows and winces. His throat feels like he’s swallowing burning knives, but he calls Roy back anyway. 

Roy answers on the first ring, and by some act of Jesus Christ himself, doesn’t sound pissed off. 

“What the fuck, Tartt, are you alright” 

No, he definitely doesn’t sound mad, he sounds… concerned. 

“Mm? Yeah, grand.” Jamie tries to sound relaxed, but his voice sounds awful, hoarse and gravelly and blurred with congestion. 

“Fuuuuck,” is all Roy says for a minute. Then: “Let me in, I’m outside.” 

*

“So, what happened to your phenomenal immune system, huh?” Roy says when Jamie finally makes his way to the front door and lets him in. 

Jamie tries to roll his eyes, but even that hurts his head. “First time for everything, yeah? What’re you doin’ here?” 

“You didn’t show up for almost four hours!” Roy explodes. “You weren’t answering your phone, no one had heard from you, I was—” Roy stops himself, looking at Jamie and then away, suddenly finding the cars in the driveway extremely interesting. 

“Aw, you were worried about me,” Jamie supplies. It would be much better if he could actually enjoy this moment, but as it is he feels like he could collapse at any moment, so he holds onto the cool granite of his kitchen island. 

“Fuck off,” Roy growls. 

“You came to me in me hour of need,” Jamie says, then turns to the side and coughs, ruining the moment. 

“To be fair I thought you were dead in a ditch somewhere, had to make sure I didn’t need to see about finding a replacement.” 

“I’m irreplaceable, hello? There’s no replacing an icon.” Not that he feels like much of an icon now, with his nose starting to run and an annoying itch starting to form somewhere behind his sinuses. He scrubs a hand over his face, wishing Roy was here in his flat on literally any other morning. 

“Muppet,” Roy says, shaking his head and studying him in a way that always makes Jamie feel all squirmy inside. 

“S-shit, gimme me a second,” Jamie says, breath catching as he turns away and sneezes four times in quick succession. “Hh’itsh! Hpt-ISH! Uh-hu’ishhiew! IshhIEW!” 

“Were those sneezes? Y’sound like Phoebe’s cat when she sneezes.” 

Jamie just groans, turns around, and flops onto the couch. He doesn’t even have the energy to argue with Roy, and he loves arguing with Roy. 

“Bless you, by the way,” Roy says, voice just marginally softer as he follows Jamie to the living room. 

“Sorry I missed training,” Jamie says, voice half lost to the pillow he’s currently trying to disappear into. “Y’can find a new way to punish me for it next week, m’sure.” 

Roy’s quiet for a minute. “Think you get a pass. Team spirit, lookin’ out for the lads when they needed it and all.” 

Jamie lifts his head up, arches an eyebrow. “Thought you said don’t come cryin’ to ya?”

“I came to you, didn’t I?” 

“‘Cause you were worried about me,” Jamie says, smiling despite how bad, well, everything feels just now. 

Roy’s here. Jamie’s flat feels warmer with another person here, which helps, since he’s freezing on top of everything else. 

“Do you have any tea in this place?” Is all Roy says in reply. He’s already back in the kitchen, navigating around Jamie’s cupboards like he lives there, and Jamie’s thinking how nice it all is when he falls asleep again, right there on the couch. 

*

When he wakes up again, Roy is still there, Jamie’s feet in his lap, and it’s much later in the day, he can tell immediately. He must be so sick he’s hallucinating, because there’s no way Roy Kent came over to watch him sleep, covered him with a blanket, and is watching You’ve Got Mail on his TV. 

“Ah, you’re alive. I was starting to think I should call someone,” Roy says when Jamie stirs. “You look like shit. Take that,” Roy continues, pointing to a bottle of something and a glass of water on the coffee table. 

Jamie feels, impossibly, worse than he had this morning, his head feels like it weighs about a million pounds. He doesn’t argue, just swallows the medicine and water and grimaces at Roy.

“Didn’t have to stay here,” Jamie says. His voice is wrecked. 

“Fuck, you sound fucking awful,” Roy says, his hand on Jamie’s ankle — how long had that been there? He moves his thumb up and back absentmindedly, and suddenly it’s all Jamie can focus on. 

What is happening?

“Well, never drank that tea you were on about earlier,” Jamie says.

Roy nods. “Never do want to listen to me,” he says, but his voice is different now, softer. Kinder. Fonder.

“Took the liberty of ordering a takeaway, should be here soon. Soup for you,” Roy says. His hand is still there, warm on Jamie’s ankle. 

“huh-IItshh! IishhIEW!” The sneezes catch Jamie completely off guard, shivering out of him before he can do anything but lean into it. “Sorry,” he mutters, sniffling. He looks pathetic, he knows that, and he’s torn between elation that Roy’s here and complete humiliation. “You’ll be down with this next,” he warns.

“Bless you. Y’really do sneeze like a cat, Tartt.” 

Jamie’s laugh turns into another coughing fit, and when Roy leans up to rub his back, he decides that happiness wins out over embarrassment. 

They’re side by side now, closer than they’d usually sit for FIFA, though not by much. They’d been getting closer in just about every way these last few months, and Jamie realizes he’d like nothing more than to lean into it. Let Roy deal with all of it in that growly, take-charge way he has about everything else. He’d feel better soon if Roy said so, right? 

“Food should be here soon, if you want to close your eyes for a few more minutes. This prick hasn’t put Meg Ryan out of business yet, so…” Roy trails off, eyes trained on the screen rather than Jamie, who nods. His eyes and head are still so heavy. 

Daring a look at Roy out of the corner of his eye, Jamie lets his head rest on his shoulder, sniffling into the soft fabric of Roy’s ubiquitous black t-shirt and yawning. He could get used to this, if he let himself. Whatever this is…

“You’re thinking really fucking loudly,” Roy says, voice impossibly close to his ear. He doesn’t sound mad about it, though, more like amused. Jamie’s still half convinced he’s dreaming this entire day. Jamie Tartt doesn’t get sick, for one thing, and Roy Kent doesn’t play nurse with his players. “Close your eyes.”

“Fine, but only to stop your yelling, Granddad,” Jamie says with another yawn. He doesn’t lift his head from Roy’s shoulder, and Roy doesn’t say anything else, just turns his attention back to the movie.

Jamie’s ninety-nine percent asleep when he feels it, the faintest, softest brush of lips against his sweaty forehead. 

Maybe this is something after all. 

Maybe Roy Kent does play nurse when it matters. 

And maybe Jamie Tartt does get sick, though he decides then and there that it’s not too bad if this is what he gets in return. Pretty fucking mint, in fact. 

[smoshkidtv]

i caved and decided to post my opinions on tumblr (again) BUT i have a lot of Big Feelings so i need to share it somewhere (even if it’s to a wall)

- i’ll preface by saying i’m actually really excited for this show! it looks like the cast is having a lot of fun and it looks like a good mix of sketch and unscripted content. i think to me, even as a smosh fan who’s mainly here for i&a, seeing the overall success of the company makes me happy and more than willing to support it.

(more thoughts under the cut. i otherwise wanna say that i’m hopeful things will be okay! please keep any discussion friendly and respectful ^^)

- i am gonna miss more ian & anthony centered content, but i can’t deny that i think we’ve been kind of primed for something like this happening. i&a have often said in videos that they don’t want to be the singular faces of smosh anymore, and want to elevate their talented cast. to me, that’s fine as long as i see them in other content like pit and games, and we still have lwspod where it’s the two of them (+ erin).

- whatever’s happening to the main channel is still up in the air. we don’t know if we’ll get i&a sketches or not, but like what a few others have said, it’s understandable that sketch takes a lot of time, money, and effort. even looking at bit city, this show has a lot of production value that surely was not cheap. maybe it’s testing grounds for something new, since the show does feel like a variety show of some kind.

- i also hope they don’t leave paying members hanging. i know the description said there would still be bonus content for members, but it’s unclear for what tier that’s for. i’m hoping they introduce an extra special incentive for those who are smosh royalty.

- i guess to me, i&a holds a very special place in my heart and i will always look for them in upcoming videos. i’ll still watch smosh videos they’re not in, but i’ll obviously cherish the ones they are in even more. i know no one is saying this, but i don’t think i&a are leaving at all, or it doesn’t really feel like they have plans to? they both have talked about how fun it is to work at smosh, so i’m hopeful that they will continue being in content (even if they’re not the main focus anymore).

[fourseasonscomeandgo]

Like Pieces Into Place.

Pairing: SNSD Tiffany x fem!reader.

Word Count: 2k

Genre: Fluff.

Tiffany's POV

After a year of postponing the long awaited comeback of the group, SNSD finally has the songs for the new album defined.

I was personally involved in this project, as I monitored and directed the recording sessions of all the members.

That's how I met y/n.

She is an exclusive producer for SM Entertainment, she started working for the company shortly after my contract ended. She has been involved in creating music for all (or most of) the active groups under SM, and worked numerous times with Taeyeon.

During the recordings I spent a lot of time with her, as we worked side by side.

Eventually, when you spend so many hours cooped up in a tiny studio, with only one person, who is kind and fun, you become friends, so y/n and I started a friendship. We would go for lunch after the sessions, sometimes even for drinks, we were always in touch, and when we had free time we would get together and hang out.

On the day of the last recording, when we called it a day, and all the people involved in this work called the album finished, y/n came up to me and confessed that she had feelings for me.

I guess you're never ready to hear that someone likes you, whether you like them back or not.

y/n is younger than me, she's 28. It's not that she's not attractive, it's not that we don't have a great time whenever we're together, and it's not that she doesn't listen to me and care for me every second. But y/n is like Seohyun, who is 31 and I still look at like she's a baby, so it's even worse with the producer, who is even younger.

"I can't be your friend, Fany, not when I want to take care of you and love you the way I want to."

"I only see you as a younger sister, y/n, sorry."

But no one tells you how hard it is to turn down someone who really loves you. Because when it's the person who cares about you the most, there's something inside you that keeps you from distancing them.

She always worries about me.

After the finishing of FOREVER1 I didn't see her much, only once or twice when we coincided because of mutual friends, until the day of the release. At the showcase she was with the other people who participated, supporting us.

I just greeted her politely, as the atmosphere between her and I has been a bit tense since she confessed to me. She rushed over and hugged me, bringing her hand to my hair and delicately moving her fingers through my forelocks. I can't deny that I sank into her scent and the warmth of her body for a second.

I just missed her presence, her friendship.

She congratulated me for my effort and dedication, reminded me how talented I am, told me she was proud of me, and so she filled my ears with beautiful words. And then she left to go greet and congratulate the other members.

I continued the event nicely, we did the interview with the press, took pictures, and when all the formalities were over, we all stayed for a little party.

I was having a good evening, but as I was walking towards the table where my colleagues were, someone bumped into me, provoking them to drop a bottle that exploded into pieces when it hit the floor, hurting my foot with the broken glass.

From the table everyone could see me. I fell to the floor, holding my ankle as if the pressure would cause it to hurt less. y/n got up from her chair and ran to me before anyone else, kneeling next to me.

"Fany! Are you okay? Let me see." She asked taking my hand to pull it away from my leg, but I refused.

"No, y/n, it's okay, don't worry." I brushed it off.

"What are you talking about? You're bleeding." She accentuated.

"I'm fine," I repeated standing up, wincing from the pain with every movement "y/n" I called, scolding her, as she put her arm around my waist and brought mine around her neck "I'm fine, really."

"Okay then, can you walk?" she pulled away from me, leaving me at my mercy.

Due to the fear of resting my foot and the pain increasing, I held it in the air, which caused me to wobble and eventually lose my balance, causing my foot to hit the ground and drawing a shriek of suffering from inside me.

"I told you." She mocked, quickly holding me again "I'm not letting go of you again, don't worry."

She gave me a flirtatious smile to which I scoffed, rolling my eyes at her. She helped me over to the table and sat me down in my seat, to go get something to disinfect the wound with and then bandage it.

"Ah, Fany-ah," Sunny spoke from the spot across from me "you are so lucky that someone like y/n loves you so much," she laughed bitterly, jokingly "god gives bread to those who have no teeth."

I let out a laugh and raised my middle finger at my best friend playfully, indicating for her to shut up. She was right, though.

y/n came back with a bag full of products from a pharmacy for my wound. She had gone out to look for somewhere open so she could heal me properly. Then she stayed with me all night, keeping me company, since I couldn't walk.

Of course I was lucky, I was conscious. You don't find someone like that every day. It just wasn't in me, those feelings weren't in me.

It was the night of the MAMA's, I had been invited as a host, and I was behind the stage, waiting with some idols who were going to perform after I presented the award I was in charge of.

y/n was a special guest of the event, as people who work behind the scenes, in the creation of the music, are sometimes even more important than the artists themselves. As a major producer who worked on almost all of the nominated projects of the night, she was there, witnessing it all.

At a certain point I turned my head and saw her appearing backstage. The aespa members were behind me, ready for their performance, and upon seeing the producer they got excited and went to her quickly, to which she welcomed them with open arms, hugging one by one.

y/n had told me before that she had a special fondness for the members of said group, so it was no wonder she had gone to greet them and give them encouragement before they went on stage.

She hadn't seen me yet, so I just watched them lovingly as they interacted, as it was a tender scene. But the more I watched the more I noticed a certain hand playing with y/n's fingers, sliding down her arm, resting on her waist. Touching y/n too much.

My y/n.

No.

Not mine.

Tiffany, what are we saying?

Karina was very close to her, being very affectionate, and the girl didn't seem to care, she was even comfortable with such displays of affection.

I don't understand, if you like one person, shouldn't you be indifferent to the flirting of others?

Maybe not.

My countenance changed to a totally serious one and there was a discomfort in my stomach and another in my chest. I simply turned my head away from the scene and assumed that the nuisance was just the nerves.

Some minutes later I felt a hand on my shoulder and as I turned, there she was, with that smile that always made me feel better. Except this time I wasn't too happy with her.

"Hey" she mumbled.

Taeyeon once mentioned that y/n had a very attractive voice. I never understood until that "hey".

I melted.

"Hey" I returned.

"How are you? Easy?" She asked, standing next to me.

"Fifty-fifty." I explained "It's been a long time since I've stood on stage at these awards," I added "but at least it's not to sing, if it was I'd sure be dying of nerves."

We both laughed, she agreed with me, and we kept doing small talk, until I asked her a question and she looked at me, but she stood amused, not answering, looking at me. Carefully, she lifted her hand and led it to my hair, to arrange it, tenderly running the tousled parts, to finally put a lock behind my ear.

"You look beautiful today, Fany."

I couldn't suppress the smile that broke out on my face, and I was going to respond, I was going to tell her that she looked beautiful too, but a voice interrupted me.

"y/n-nim!" The named looked in the direction the voice came from and her face lit up.

"Lily-ah! Haewon-ah!" She exclaimed cheerfully, going towards them and leaving me.

After that she disappeared with the two girls and I had to go up to present the award. As I went back to the audience zone, I saw that her seat was next to mine. I was happy to think that we would spend the rest of the MAMA's chatting, but I ended up disappointed, as she only interchanged a couple of words with me and then spent almost two whole hours talking to Tzuyu from Twice.

Who on top of that kept looking at her seductively and wouldn't let go of her hand.

And I thought Tzuyu was shy.

Even at the end of the ceremony we didn't meet again and I went back to my apartment sad, angry

and jealous.

Because it's true that you don't realize how much you love and need someone until you see her talking in Chou Tzuyu's ear.

I mean, until you lose them.

And that image on repeat, imagining her with someone who wasn't me, was driving me crazy.

I tried to lie down and sleep, relax.

I got up, made some tea, drank it, went back to bed.

I tossed and turned, kicked, groaned.

I got up, made myself a sandwich, ate it, tried again to rest.

Why does she have to be so perfect and friendly? Why do other people have to love her the way I should have loved her months ago when she told me she liked me?

I got out of bed, angry, for about the fifteenth time in the night. I put on some other clothes and grabbed my car keys.

It was 2:31 in the morning and I was at the door of y/n's apartment, ringing the doorbell.

The door opened, a y/n with tousled hair, in pajamas and half-open eyes appeared behind the door.

"Fany?"

I didn't even give her time to think about what I might be doing in her apartment at those hours in the morning. I threw my body to hers and grabbed her face to pull her close to me, thus being able to trap her lips between mine.

It took her a bit to react, but when she did, she put her hands on my waist and tilted her head to make it more comfortable for me. She held me tighter against her body to deepen the kiss.

For the first time something inside of me settled about her. Like a piece of my internal puzzle that I didn't know where to place, and only now do I realize that she is the only one who knows where it belongs. Those feelings were in me, they always were.

—ica.

[keep-it-krispy]

LMK Ride Or Die AU

The AU is (relatively) parallel to cannon up to a point.

Sun Wukong (60), World famous Dancer and musician, wants to retire. He holds a battle of the bands style contest in Megapolis (his hometown), in which the winner will receive his Lucky golden Microphone (staff equivalent), and the opportunity to become his apprentice.

Mac (Macaque) is a bass player/beatboxer/break-dancer who turns out to be Sun wukong's twin brother, the black sheep of the family.

MK (21), a college freshman that works part time at his adopted father's noodle shop “Pigsy’s noodles” [his name is Paul, (42)], and a music prodigy with the uncanny ability to learn any instrument in under an hour, thinks it would be neat to enter the contest with his friend Mei [(22, Popular Twitch streamer and music buff, Heiress of the dragon family (Old Money)], who has been wanting to start a band since forever.

They convince Tang [(38, Paul’s Husband, accomplished Scholar and teacher at Malin’s college)] to be their manager, and recruit Sandy [(43, Ex con, Lyricist/poet, and lifetime friend of Paul] to write their songs. Calls themselves “the Monkie Kids”.

Red Kingston [(23), Red Son] A robotics genius trying to break into the music industry to spite his parents; Penelope Kingston [(48), princess iron fan, retired actress] and Bruce Kingston [(52), Demon Bull King, founder of Bullcorp [Apple equivalent Tech company]] decides to compete; seeing it as an opportunity to kickstart his career.

Other notable competitors are Jin and Yin (20) [Soundcloud rappers and Classmates of MK], and Malin Meister [(19), Nonbinary Social media influencer, rising Independent Artist/performer, and child of the late Laura Demona (58, Lady Bone Demon alternate, once an Actress and bitter Rival to Sun Wukong)].

The Monkie kids win, and MK gets chosen as Wikongs’s successor.

Red acts as the main antagonist, until new competition in the form of Spider Queen (22, Melissa bitsy) and her lackeys show up and threaten to throw the rest of them into obscurity, forcing them to work together to take her down.

For the main group, the majority of the plot goes much the same way as the cannon story; The crew learns the ins and outs of music production, how to operate in the music industry, improve their skills, compete to get gigs, become closer as a group;

But things get shaken up for Malin and Milton [(21), The not mayor alternate. Son of a corrupt politician/ Businessman who’s always overseas, trust fund kid. Plays right hand man/platonic life partner to Malin. He loves their 5D chess like approach to navigating life, and relies on their devastating smarts, weirdly accurate prediction skills, and artistic talent to get by] a week or so after Wukong’s contest.

Malin finishes editing their latest video, and decides to get something to eat as they wait for it to upload. They leave their office and go downstairs to see Milton standing, dazed and confused, in their Livingroom.

At least, they thought he was Milton. Until the actual Milton knocks at their door.

[”Oh, you don’t need to worry about me. I’m fine.” Milton smiles. Malin is about to respond, when they feel a faint buzz in their pocket.

They look away from him to check their phone, face twisting in mild worry ”Are you certain you're okay, Milt? You never come over unannounced, and you've been acting pretty weird since you got here. something has to be wro-….” the words die in their throat as they unlock the device, confusion blossoming forth, as the text {”I'm outside.”} **was displayed on the screen, Clearly sent from Milton's phone number. Their blood ran cold, looking back at the man they had previously believed to be their friend, and seeing no phone in his hand.

It was strange, Malin hadn't noticed before. He looked exactly like Milton, from his head to his toes. He had the same voice, the same verbal ticks and gestural mannerisms; even his clothes resembled something they had seen on their friend before.

His eyes, though. Pure white, with no Irises or pupils, emanating a soft light they had previously mistook for the sun shining weirdly through the window. It was in that moment Malin realized that he hadn't blinked even once. during the whole conversation he had just sat there, not blinking or breathing. For a whole hour.

They looked at the front door, a sick feeling rising in their stomach as they made their way over. “Milton” made no move to stop them, just leaning back on the couch and crossing his legs with that familiar disarming smile. Malin gripped their self control with hands of iron composure, gulped, and opened the door.

…

……

……….

That was not Milton.]

They throw open the door, grab the real Milton and bolt, thoughts flashing between a reasonable “strange man broke into my house” to a maybe not as unreasonable as previously thought “Shape-shifters that want to steal our skin”

Of course, the mayor has unspeakable Eldritch power, so it's no chore for him to chase them both all over town and heard them into Milton’s manor. Once safely locked inside, cornered and terrified, The mayor explains to them that he’s from an alternate universe, answers their questions, assures them that he's not going to hurt them, basically waiting for them to stop panicking.

When the both of them calm down enough to make sense, he demands asks if he can stay with one of them until he can “find a way back to his universe”. he Just needs to rest here for a while “And then I’ll be out of your hair.” The threat behind his words Is crystal clear, and while Milton is sick with unease, Malin is confident in their ability to Handle This.

Milton takes Malin aside to discuss this with them

[”……. You have a plan, right?” “Milton, I appreciate your faith in me. But I'm not a miracle worker.” “Mal- come on. there has to be a way out of this.” “A wise man once said: Sometimes the way out isn't over, or around; but straight through.” “….I don't like this..” “If you're scared, he can stay at my house-” “No way.” “Then the only way out is..” Milton sighs, Malin pants him on the shoulder “We can rotate, I take him every other week.” “Mal I… I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone with this guy-”

“Every other week?” The Mayor interrupts from his spot on the other side of the room “That sounds like a great idea! That way, I can spend an equal amount of time with the both of you..”

They both take a moment to look at the man, standing well out of normal hearing range. Disquiet displayed on One, and determination emanating from the other “… Are you sure?” “Are you doubting my abilities?” “No- I'm worrying about your safety.” “I thought that was my job?” “Malin.” “I'll be fine, Milt. Just trust me.” Milton takes a breath “….. Always.]

And that was that. For the rest of the season the Mayor just kinda hangs out, helping around when he feels like it, advising them when they need it, being creepy when he thinks its funny, learning about their world. Malin’s just wondering when he'll get around to killing them.

Malin and Milton, go on to do their villain thing, plotting the downfall of “The Monkie Kids”.

A month before the main story, Malin discovered something that tied Sun Wukong to the death of their mother (its a long story), and has been waiting for an opportunity to do something about it ever since they found out.

Participating in his contest was a bust, so they move on to Constructing a plan around the annual Lunar New Year Music Deathmatch Tournament, Which Malin is certain The Monkie Kids will be participating in.

They plan to orchestrate a scenario that will allow them to confront Sun Wukong at the event; the result of said confrontation either being closure, or a domino effect that will defame Sun Wukong, destroy the main crew’s friendship, careers, and everything they’ve built; All the while boosting their own fame in one go.

Destiny, Fate, and inevitability is gonna be a big theme in this AU. In cannon, The Lady Bone Demon used the spider queen and her failure to kickstart her own conquest. This conquest causing the entire series to focus on her downfall.

And much of the same was supposed to happen in this alternate universe. Maybe not step for step and word for word, but the ultimate goal was congruent.

Spider queen’s crew would come back for vengeance. Malin would “assist” her, maneuvering her into a position that would briefly look like victory, a position that would place Sun Wukong within Malin's reach. Malin would confront him, and he would tell them that “Laura got herself killed.”

Outside events would prevent him from elaborating (he didn’t do it), and Malin would take that as a confession. In the wake of The Monkie Kids victory, The unfairness of it all would drive Malin to do everything in their power to take “The Monkie Kids” down, Ultimately resulting in their own defamation, abandonment, and eventual destruction.

But the introduction of the mayor had changed things.

Weirdly enough, the Mayor wasn't very secretive. Milton and Malin Didn't exactly know what they expected from an ancient, eldritch, space warping, gravity defying, scary as hell demon guy claiming to be an alternate universe version of one of them, but “being an open book” was absolutely not it.

He answered all of their questions, shared events that happened in his universe readily, and was more than happy to divulge information Malin couldn't even pry out of their own mother (when she was alive). Perhaps it was because nothing either of them could do would ever hurt him, Perhaps it was because he knew the both of them were too terrified of him to Inquire something that warranted more than a surface level explanation, perhaps he just didn't care, but the end result was the same.

One day before the Lunar New Year Music Deathmatch Tournament, Malin was standing in their living room, Watching the front of their house through the window. All of the arrangements had been made, the stage was set, And the show was ready to begin. All they were waiting for was a phone call from Milton, confirming that the last of the loose ends had been tied up.

The Mayor watched as well; He had been watching this whole time. This human was an interesting kind of dull. The way their eyes diligently snapped across every room showed their constant awareness of their surroundings. The intentional nature of their word and action, from the tiniest of gestures to the loudest of voices, spoke of iron self control. The extensive charts, lists, notes, and written observations on every being they have, are, and/or will ever meet demonstrates their borderline obsession with manipulation and control; however, the location in which they kept these documents exposes either simple civilian ineptitude, or a total lack of care for who might walk in and see it

[Opening the door, he was greeted with quite the spectacle. An entire room filled with documents and poster boards and conspiracy charts on every individual he had seen them interacting with, they even had one on him!

The war room isn't much of a surprise. It was true that Malin didn't look like the plotting and scheming type, but extensive interaction with them would at least clue one into their acute awareness of other people and their lives. In his eyes, it was a show of social competency; he was a little impressed with their attention to detail. But, Really? Above ground?? Just out in the open??? not even a lock on the door????).]

Malin was most like his lady, their mother, in the way that they approached the world. How they took it, struggling and fighting, into their merciless hands and gently shooshed it until it came to heel. They hungered for it’s salvation, and destruction in equal measure.

They would make a fine replacement.

It was in this moment that the Mayor decided to reveal to Malin what had happened to his version of her mother, Explaining every event, beginning to end, in full detail and leaving out nothing.

When Malin hears about their alternate mother’s plans, actions, and her subsequent downfall; and draws the parallels between those events and events in their life; They realize that they are very close to setting off a series of events that just might spell their own downfall… They stop, and they think.

Mayor expects his words to cause them to turn to him for help (trying to lure them into accepting his Eldritch power, warlock style) but is surprised when Malin instead calls Milton to cancel their dastardly plot.

[They get this… feeling in their chest. Like a chime ringing deep within their soul, and come to a decision. The phone rings for a moment, once again, and then three times. Milton’s voice filters through the speaker.

{”The arrangements have been made, we wait for your confirmation”}

“There has been a change of plans. Cancel the envoy, I’ll compete myself.”

The other end is quiet for a moment, Malin hears his silent confusion clear as day. One might worry for a seed of doubt using this moment to take root and sprout, but Malin knows better. At the end of the day, their friend beholds their word for gospel. It seems that this instance is no different.

{”Okay, Milton out.”}

The line goes dead, and Malin pulls the phone from their ear to look at the dark screen. They’re usually grateful for such a loyal and obedient ally; but they worry for him, sometimes.

”I’ve no reason to worry, you’re usually right about everything…”

they sigh, oh Milton..

Malin turns to face The Mayor, face set in concentration as a new plot began to blossom in their mind “I will not bend to the wheel of fate, nor will I fall as my mother has. As any version of her has. There is another way, There always is.”

Oh? A mote of anticipation rises alongside his surprise, the Mayor feels a familiar smile creep onto his face “Then what will you do?”

Malin looks back out the window, watching as Mk and his friend once again cut through their neighborhood; completely unaware of the jaws of death that always loomed nearby.

They turned back to him, looking over their shoulder as the light of a new idea shone through the crumbling cracks of the old one “I’m going to make some new friends.”

[inkrabbit]

I love your stories so much! Can i request some hurt/comfort fluff with Cumulus? Again you’re really talented! Keep the great work 🧡

you're so sweet anon <333 haven't really written for Cumulus before, but I like to think she's that very sweet and concerned mother just wanting to look out for you

Okay, come on. Get up.

You’ve been laying in bed ever since your alarm had gone off, but you can’t seem to find the strength to get up and start getting dressed. So instead, you lay there and scroll through your phone, hopping from social media platform to social media platform. You let time dwindle away, trying to ignore the buzzing in your mind.

Cumulus: Are you up?

Your brows raise at the new text, your phone vibrating. Cumulus had always been the nicest ghoulette to you, always coming around to check up on you. You want to tell her you’re fine and that you just overslept a bit. But you know you can’t lie to her. You can’t disappoint her.

You: Just one of those mornings, sorry. I’ll be out… hopefully soon?

Cumulus: brt

Oh no. What have you done? You should’ve just told her you were fine. You didn’t feel like spilling your entire guts out to her right now. You sit up, tossing your phone to the side. Before you can get out of bed, your door is thrown open, Cumulus staring straight at you.

“Oh, honey.” She pushes the door shut behind her, crossing the room and to your bed. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay, really.” You give her a smile. “I just… didn’t feel like getting up, you know? I-”

“You’re lying.” Still, her voice stays gentle as she sits on the edge of your bed. “You know we can tell and you know I worry. Talk to me, please?”

You let out a soft groan. “I just… don’t feel like doing anything today. I don’t wanna get up. I don’t wanna socialize with the other siblings. I don’t even wanna go to mass.”

“Aw, sweetie.” She gets closer, pulling you into her. Your head rests on her shoulder as hers is atop your head. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. I can talk to Papa and tell him.”

“I feel bad,” you mumble softly. “Like I’m even too worthless to get up and go listen to Papa read from a stupid book.”

“No, no.” She kisses your head, giving your shoulders a soft squeeze. “You’re just overwhelmed, honey. I’ve seen how much you’ve been going through.” She finally pulls away from you and you find yourself missing her heat. “Now, you stay right there and I’m gonna go talk to Papa.”

“Cumulus!” She stops when you call her name, her hand holding onto the doorknob. “Thank you. Really.”

She flashes you a bright smile. “Of course, honey.” And like that, she’s gone, leaving you all alone. You lay back down as you wait, your phone back in your hand as you resume your scrolling.

After about half an hour, you just assume she’s not going to return. That’s fine, you suppose. You could always just go back to sleep for a bit. But as you finally set your phone down, there’s a soft knock on your door.

“It’s just me,” Cumulus tells you as she opens the door. She’s holding a tray with food piled on top, that sweet smile returning to her face when she sees you. “You can eat for me, right? Just a little bit.”

“Yeah, I think I can.” You’re not hungry but honestly, you’re not going to tell her that. So again, you sit up and curl your legs back so she can sit comfortably.

“I hope you don’t mind I join you.” She hands you a fork and napkin. “I just wanna make sure you eat. And that you also have some company.”

“Thank you.” You give her a smile as well as you both start eating. It’s just something small: eggs, toast and some orange juice. You’re slow as you eat, but Cumulus doesn’t say anything. She just keeps a small smile on her face, tail flicking back and forth.

“You should come to our next ritual,” she finally says, catching your attention. “We would love to see you there.”

“I can try,” Really, you had thought of trying to go. “but you know how Sister can be.”

“Oh, don’t you worry about her.” She seems to light up. “You know how much she loves Papa. I can always talk to him and he can talk to her.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive!” She reaches out, gently pinching your cheek. “I just wanna see you smile more, sweetie. You got such a cute one.”

Your face heats up. “Thank you.”

The rest of your breakfast is in silence. When you’ve finally finished, Cumulus gathers up everything and slips off the bed with the tray in her hands. She bends down, pressing her lips to your forehead.

“You get some more rest, honey,” she tells you softly. “I’m gonna go get these dishes done. If you need anything, you let me know.”

“Alright. Thank you, Cumulus.” You give her a smile. “I mean it. I really appreciate everything.”

“Just wanna make sure you’re happy.” She makes her way back towards your door, turning around before leaving. “Love ya, honey.”

“Love you, too, Cumulus.” And with that, she’s gone, your door closing behind her. The smile stays on your face as you settle back underneath your covers, phone in hand. You always did love spending time with Cumulus, though you rarely asked her to hang out. You knew she had her own life and worries to attend to. But it did make you feel good knowing she was always there.

About an hour later, your phone goes off again. Another message from Cumulus. This time, however, she’s sent you a good amount of memes with the message “Hope you’re feeling better” at the bottom with a little heart.

[proceduralpassion]

Love You | Chapter Seven

Summary: A chance encounter has all the makings of a lifetime love.

Series Masterlist

WC: ~1k

Warning(s): mention of blood, mild language

It only took a day before Kelly could no longer hold off on calling Odette. He ran out of excuses as to why he shouldn’t in the first place. In the end, he decided that none of the reasons mattered because he enjoyed the time he spent with her and there was absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to continue starting something with her. It wasn’t too late into the night where he thought she’d be sleeping but late enough that he winced when he glanced at the time. 

Still, she answered, albeit with a breathier voice than he was used to.  

“Hey babe, you okay?” He asked, his mind already on high alert. He foresaw that even if he wasn’t sitting in his CFD office quarters right now, the first responder instinct would never leave him.

There was a pause before she spoke and he sat up straighter the moment he caught it.

“Y-yeah, I’m okay,” she coughed and elicited a stronger voice within herself as she continued, “How’s your shift going so far?”

Kelly frowned, but decided in the moment, to answer her question instead of pushing her, “Uh, it’s fine. We don’t use the Q word around here, so I’ll settle for calling it ‘calm.’”

Odette chuckled, “Well, when you’re done with your calm shift, how do you feel about breakfast tomorrow? Almond croissants and hot chocolate are calling my name.” 

“That can be arranged,” Kelly smirked into the phone. He himself had called to ask her out on a breakfast date tomorrow morning. “You really know how to beat a guy to the punch.”

“It’s a talent,” It’s almost like he could hear her smile through the phone as she joked with him. 

“How was your day?” He inquired. Sounding farther away from the phone, he heard her intake of breath and the doubt that was slowly dripping out of his body had rushed back in. “‘Dette, is there something wrong?”

“No,” she immediately answered, “No, not really. I mean, it kind of is. But also kind of not. And it’s under control so nothing to worry about.” She rambled hurriedly and almost incoherently, which only further worried him despite her assuaging words. 

“Hey,” he interrupted her, “Talk to me.”

“Well-” she started. Whatever words she was about to say got drowned out by the blaring alarms calling for Squad 3 and the other fire companies of House 51. Kelly’s groan was almost something of a growl. 

“It’s okay,” she soothed, “We’ll talk later. And you’ll see for yourself tomorrow that I’m really okay.”

Kelly was already up and out of his quarters as they bid their goodbyes. 

**************

Odette sighed a mix of relief and discomfort as she hung up the phone from Kelly. The scalp wound on her head was still dripping with blood even with all the multiple times she had softly dabbed it. The bleeding not stopping after thirty seconds was enough to cause alarm, but her call with Kelly had been a distracted detour from getting her things together to head into the ED.

She was woozy now and knew it’d be irresponsible to drive herself. With the meddling yet well-meaning neighbors she had, she didn’t even need to ask for the older couple to take her to the ED as the wife had all but forced her into her car while the husband stayed back at her house to survey and attempt to fix some of the damage from her now broken window. 

Odette wasn’t entirely sure how a tennis ball had landed itself through her living room window, but she was more focused on the bad luck she had to have been standing right near her bookshelf when it burst through the glass. One of the shards had slashed right where her hairline met her forehead on the side of her face along with several other smaller, more superficial cuts on her arms from when she had blocked her face from the damage. 

She sat back in the passenger seat of her neighbor’s car and decided to silently let her neighbor fuss over her instead of insisting she was okay. Doing anything more took too much energy from her and she was already fading fast the longer she reclined against the seat. Her neighbor’s voice became a muffled noise and she could just barely suss out the sounds of nearby ambulance sirens and lights emanating from the hospital’s ED bay.

***********

When Kelly finally got settled back into his officer quarters, it was after midnight. Odette would more than likely have been asleep by now, but he was still tempted to call her back and pry an explanation out of her. Something felt wrong from their last interaction and he couldn’t shake the feeling. 

There was a knock on his office door and Dawson poked her head in precariously.

“What’s up?” he asked. The hesitance on her face gave him pause.

“Brett and I just got back from taking the last of the fire victims to Med. Some woman had brought in Odette, that girl you’ve been seeing, with a major head lac.”

Kelly was back out of his chair instantly, “What?!” Almost asleep voices from outside in the bunkroom murmured irritatedly at him. “I just got off the phone with her. What the hell happened?”

“I don’t know,” Gabby shrugged, “She was literally brought in just as we were leaving. I told Will that we knew her and asked if he could give us an update when he could… It was a lot going on. She looked barely conscious.”

Kelly shook his head, not content with waiting to hear what happened. Instinctually, Gabby backed up as he exited his quarters. Unaware and uncaring of what attention he was drawing to himself, he stalked straight to Boden’s office, who was getting ready to take a nap on his sofa. 

“Chief, I’ve got an emergency. I need to step out. Can you have Cruz cover for me?”

If there was anything following the confused and alarmed nod of his battalion chief’s, he hadn’t taken stock.

A/N: Don’t forget to like, reblog, and leave reviews if you enjoyed!

Taglist: @sparklemichele @smoothdogsgirl

[goldenpinof]

dan literally loves projects and even highlights them in his ig stories. like how did the dutch promoter think we would fall for that lie? like their story kept changing as to why they wouldn't allow the project and then the truth finally came out that they thought it would make too much of a mess with papers left all over? so they compromised with just the front row? like just tell the truth don't put the blame on the performer. the fact that this guy kept making a point that he was the *manager* seems like it was mostly a power trip.

allegedly, he was probably the actual manager working at/for the promoter's company which is Greenhouse Talent Netherlands? (they are also responsible for the Antwerp show) but it doesn't matter because if Dan's actual team (aka his personal assistant and the merch manager) tells you that it's okay it means Dan is okay with it. too much of a mess? it's just paper! i assume, A4, it's one of the easiest things to clean up even if someone would leave it on or under the seat. how could this Dutch manager think that a "too organized" project didn't have a plan to wrap itself up? a fine? okay, but only if it wouldn't be cleaned up. like, why not give it a go? i honestly don't understand how can a promoter care about the venue more than the venue itself. the venue people didn't want to make a decision, they basically forwarded the email to the promoter, the promoter forwarded it to Dan's team but when they didn't get a reply (which is strange because emails apart you usually have phones of the people you're closely working with) they said it was up to Juul? like, there was no actual forbiddance.

another thing that is even worse is lying on Dan's behalf. imagine the situation when we didn't know better. yeah, sure, a person whose whole career depends on audience interaction and participation hates when that audience is trying to thank him. those lies were so not thought through. like, if the promoter knew how easily we can communicate with Dan and his team he wouldn't say shit like that. but he doesn't know, because he doesn't know Dan, his audience and the whole point of the tour. promoters do not fucking CARE. and they think that they are supposed to have more power than Dan's team. which is very interesting but doesn't make sense to me. promoters are getting hired basically, and yes, Dan depends on them but they also depend on Dan. no performers = no job. so if a performer's team asks you to shut down your stupid rules, do it. you can ask for a physical confirmation to cover your ass if something goes wrong but DO IT. it's in everyone's favor. Juul and her friends spent hours and their own money to organize it then to just get things confiscated last minute. like, bro, shouldn't that much effort ring a bell? i'm sure they did a better job than that promoter's manager would ever do. and they are not even getting paid for it. Vii was fighting for this project like phandom's life depended on it. just to make Dan happy! and the promoter was like, "yeah no, i don't think so." bitch, it's just paper at the very end of the show! Dan loves when we're being creative and when we put effort into things. you can't say "Dan doesn't like projects" when we have proof that he does. you just can't lie on your client's behalf and get away with it.