#making slow progress forward by going on to a new lesson once i felt pretty comfortable

[medicinemane]

Sigh... end of the month is up and that means time for me to be pissed off about duolingo

I need 400 more xp in 6 days for the stupid badge

I've done a lesson every single day this month, and... that's like 16 lessons I need to do in 6 days, like 10 lessons I fall short when keeping a perfect streak and doing the same lesson over and over cause it gives more xp than new lessons

Really fostering learning duolingo, nice job

[randomoranges]

sometimes my life is an actual sitcom. i wish i could say i made this stuff up, but now, i legit met a guy while selling a shoe rack who came back to chat me up post sale bcs he thought i was pretty. he then proceeded to tell me a million times in one hr and has since been very over the top about being into me. as much as it’s nice to have attention u also gotta pace yourself. hes so over the top it’s ridiculous and also getting more annoying.

also never fucking send ppl semi nude photos unprompted wtf is wrong with yall.

anyways i live vicariously through teacher au and use real life shit to put the characters through the same thing. today i vibed with edward. 

this takes place before he and étienne are together

this is a blurb. i just needed to get a thought out of my system

edwards answers are legit what i wrote

the gag of all of edwards exes having names that start with c continues XD

Unsolicited

 Edward knows he technically shouldn’t, but he’s bored at work and for once, the kids are actually quietly doing their own thing. He decides against his better judgement to open Facebook and scroll aimlessly for a moment or two, while time goes on. It’ll give him a chance to see what exciting lives the rest of his friends are living and envy those who aren’t stuck at work.

 He quickly notices a red little number up on the top right corner to signal that he has one unopened conversation and for a moment, he wonders which of his friends would have messaged him. There hadn’t really been any ongoing chats at the moment, so he’s pleasantly surprised and looking forward to hearing from his friends.

 He’s only a little disappointed when he sees that it’s not from any of his friends, but instead from a guy he’d met just last Friday in the most strangest of ways. (His friend had hosted a garage sale and had asked for help. Edward had gone. He’d brought along some of his own stuff. This one man – Charles – had bought his old wooden shoe rack. Charles had chatted Edward up. They’d exchanged contact information and had more or less chatted since then. It was a strange way to meet someone – but, not the strangest.)

 Charles is – cute and they had a pleasant chat. Edward certainly hadn’t minded the attention, even if it had come from out of nowhere. He’d been looking forward to meeting up with him again, but as the days had gone on and their conversations had progressed, he’d found himself slowly losing a bit of interest over Charles’ over-eagerness.

 There were just so many times Charles could say he thought Edward was attractive in an hour before it got redundant and annoying.

 Edward was flattered Charles was interested in him, but Edward didn’t want to rush this either. He’d just gotten out of a serious relationship and with the end of the school year looming close, he had other things to deal with. Once summer break arrived, he would have more time and more energy. In the meantime, however, he didn’t need this stranger he barely knew to wax poetics and tell him he wished to wake up beside him to see how he woke up – or whatever garbage he’d been told. Edward was willing to give this a go, but he wasn’t looking to settle down and get married with Charles after knowing him for three days and it quite honestly felt as though Charles had already booked their venue at times.

 He was – over the top and intense. Edward had appreciated the fact that Charles had told him he’d found him attractive when he’d first seen him and he liked that he had actually returned to chat him up. It had been a little weird when Charles had called him his beloved and stranger still when he’d apologised from taking up his time and keeping him away from his friends when they’d talked that first time, but Edward had let it slide and had almost found it charming – in its own bizarre way.

 Now, it feels as though Charles is trying too hard, when really he doesn’t have to. Edward thought he was attractive, had even told him so and was more than willing to see where this would lead. but if However, if Charles doesn’t slow down, Edward will back out and move on. (Which reminds him – there’d been that whole other conversation where Charles had told him that he looked forward to living their lives together and that he didn’t want to lose him. To which Edward had politely told him that it would be best to get to know each other first.)

 Edward wants some fun – not some intense long-term lovey-dovey besotted nonsense. At least – not after three days of talking with the man.

 Still, he opens the conversation, curiosity, and boredom getting the best of him, and at first, it’s nice, until Charles asks him if he could have a photo. Edward lets out a long-suffering sigh and is glad his students are too busy with their work to notice.

 Charles has asked to send him a photo right now, of all things.

 Edward is so not in the mood for any of this.

 “No. I’m in class teaching. My students are taking a test.” He writes out. He doesn’t care if he comes across as annoyed, but this man is being irksome in his own infatuated way and it’s – pathetic. He likes the attention, to a degree, he enjoys feeling wanted, but Charles needs to calm down his ardours.

 He leaves it at that and doesn’t bother with Charles for the rest of the day.

 By the time Edward’s done, he heads to his car and figures he’ll check again to see if he’s gotten a new message. There is still part of him that is curious about this whole ordeal and so he’s a little bit pleased when he sees that Charles has sent him a few messages after their last chat.

 He’s less enthused when he gets to the last one.

 The first was in regards to the whole photo debacle, saying maybe next time. The second mentioned that he was going for a jog. And the last message – the kicker really, was a photo Charles had sent of himself, shirtless and thankfully from the waist up.

 And to think Edward had nearly sent him a post-work exhausted face selfie for the fun of it.

 He grumbles, puts his phone away, and figures he’ll deal with it when he gets home.

 It’s not that he necessarily minded the photo – he did find the guy attractive to a point, but – it had been unprompted. Unsolicited. He hadn’t asked for a photo. He hadn’t been expecting a shirtless photo. He wasn’t in the current mood to receive such a photo. He could have been at school on break and gotten this photo.

 He’s angry and annoyed by the time he gets home.

 Edward putters around and leaves Charles on read. It’s one thing going after sex and expecting these photos and it’s another to get them out of the blues. He lets his friends know of this debacle and relishes in their reactions. He’s glad someone gets it.

 Finally, after making dinner, playing a few rounds of video games, taking a shower, getting his lunch ready for the following day, and having a nice chat with his friends, he decides to answer Charles.

 “Even if a photo of a woman, man, or person shirtless may be nice to receive, it’s always better to send it with consent and with fair warning. Especially when you’re not expecting one and that with my work, there are often children nearby.”

 He doesn’t expect an answer so quickly, especially since it’s been five hours since the photo was sent, but Charles, true to form, answers. Edward laughs out loud when he reads how very sorry Charles is and how he genuinely thought Edward would appreciate it. Edward sighs again and groans, passing a hand through his hair.

 He tries to find a polite way of trying to get this man to understand and he’s only a little surprised by how easily the words come to him, “There’s a time and place for everything. You don’t send these types of photos willy-nilly whenever you feel like it. There’s context, time, mood, etc. Consent and fair-warning. Imagine you were sitting with your family, friends, or kids and you received such a photo without warning. You can’t assume that the person on the other side is in an appropriate setting to receive these types of messages and images without checking beforehand.”

 It’s at times like these he wishes men could be less – like this. He likes a good shirtless photo just like anyone else who’s into men, but he hates that this seems to be a norm. And at least this was only a shirtless photo! He doesn’t want to think of the number of times when he was having a nice conversation about literally anything unrelated to the human body, only to find himself with a photo of a man’s junk, completely unprompted.

 Sometimes, he almost wishes he were into women just to be spared this.

 Edward figures he’s given Charles enough etiquette lessons for the night and puts his phone away. He pulls up something decent to watch on television and does his best to forget about the incident for now. If anything, he reminds himself, he doesn’t need to commit to anything with this besotted Romeo.

 FIN

[the-melting-world]

Defining Moment | “Esmerelda”

~ In which Kipling, Ozy, and Khleo unlock a very powerful Door…

@arcana-echoes

This 🕯 is scented with “Esmerelda” by Ben Howard

~ 2.3k words

On the days when the umbras are permitted to venture off the temple grounds, Kipling, Ozy and Khleo visit their favorite reef.

***

(Ozy’s POV)

Ozy and Kipling sat on the edge of the cliff that stretched over the shallow reef. The sun was warm enough to make every limestone, salt-slick surface sparkle. The shallow waters sloshed and undulated across a rare spectrum of turquoise transparency. 

“Let me see it,” Ozy said with his usual over-eagerness.

Kip bristled at his impatience, but only a little before handing over her pocket journal of micro-poems. Ozy took it and devoured Kip’s progress with hungry hazel eyes.

He softly read it aloud, his voice radiating calmness and reverence.

Earth took you far But never forget Water brought you here We all start somewhere

Kip self-consciously reached for her ghost lock. “It’s not done yet.”

“But it will be someday,” Ozy said, his voice easing back into something more breezy and content. Then he soured Kip’s mood by adding, “Just as soon as you have something worth saying!”

She snatched her journal from him and set it off to the side. “That’s the last time I show you anything.”

Ozy grinned, knowing that most certainly wouldn’t be the case. The silence was interrupted by the sound of a Door opening. Ozy and Kipling turned to see Khleo stepping out from an immaculately formed portal. He didn’t, however, close the Door properly. Instead, he let it slam shut as soon as he passed over the threshold. 

Ozy had warned Khleo before that this was very dangerous. Perhaps Khleo couldn’t be bothered with exhausting his arms by sealing off the portal when he barely had the strength to open it in the first place. Ozy studied Khleo’s slight upper body with concern.

I told him not to go opening portals without me and Kipling there. Why doesn’t he ever want to listen?

Ozy decided against bringing it up. The day was too perfect and he didn’t want to ruin the mood of either of his friends. So the three umbras sat together, engrossed in their light banter and easy talk. They brushed elbows and flicked each other’s ghost locks to prove their various points. They complained about the heat while simultaneously expressing their gratitude for the sun. And when they decided that it was too hot for them to bear, they stood up on the rock and peeled the clothes back from their swimsuits underneath.

Ozy caught the way Khleo stared at Kip while she was preoccupied. It was a look that Ozy had seen on Khleo’s face a few times before and sometimes Kip even returned it. Ozy found this puzzling, but not enough to compel him to investigate further. Right now it was merely a curiosity that he pulled out and observed from time to time. Let Kip and Khleo have their lingering, heavy-lidded stalemates to themselves. Grey magic and the gaps that Ozy still needed to fill was what generally occupied his thoughts.

For now, however…

“Let’s jump into the water on the count of three!”

Ozy just wanted to live in this moment with all of his mind and heart and body. He took Khleo and Kipling by the hand. Despite Kipling’s protests and Khleo’s fragile frame, Ozy happily swung them forward as he leaped off the rock. Together in the air, there was an instance before gravity claimed them where there was nothing but salt and sun and bliss.

Ozy’s descent was clean and acrobatic while Kip and Khleo spiraled chaotically into the lagoon like orphaned kites. The three of them were swallowed up by the shallows where they splashed and played until Khleo and Kip wandered off on their own, as they were often prone to do.

Ozy let them go, content to float on his back and be alone with the warmth of the shallows and his own thoughts. He gave the easy current permission to drag him under the shade of the one of the many cavernous pockets where the water cooled under his toes.

Ozy opened his eyes to see if he recognized this cave. It would have looked like all the others... 

If not for the ancient glyphs pulsating on the walls.

***

(Khleo’s POV)

Khleo finished tying the cowrie shell necklace for Kip. When he leaned back to take in his handiwork, he cursed under his breath. “Damn. I didn’t make it long enough.”

Kipling shook her head as her fingers drifted up to inspect the choker. “No, it’s perfect.”

Khleo tried not to let his relief show as he helped her off the rocks and back into the water. 

He shrugged. “It’s not like you can’t find a dozen of them at the straw market, but… shells look good on you and I just thought –”

Khleo lost his train of thought when Kip tucked a finger behind the twine of his own necklace and pulled him off balance. But she caught him and brushed her lips against his chin.

“I’ll never take it off,” Kip whispered into his skin just below his lips. Then she let go and backed off before Khleo could take it any further.

“Kip, wait.”

She was already underwater, swimming towards the reef bed. Khleo took a deep breath and followed her. The umbras navigated the shallow reef like they were born right there between the corals. They had been to this spot so many times, swam these warm, tropical waters so much that their eyes no longer burned from the salt. 

Kipling led Khleo into the deeper parts of the reef where the stingrays and greater fish carried on with their lives. Khleo recognized where they were headed – a hidden grotto that they had discovered years ago. 

They resurfaced in a place where the surrounding rock curved into a dome ceiling high overhead, making it the perfect echo chamber. Khleo and Kipling used to prop up on the walls and spend hours shouting nonsense and badly memorized songs just to hear their own voices comically bounce and resonate off the glossy, concave rock. 

Today, however, they didn’t rush to create silly echoes. The grotto was deep enough that they had to steadily tread water in order to stay afloat. Holding a steady gaze took some effort. The umbras fell into a slow, natural orbit around each other.

“So,” Khleo said, “what were you and Ozy talking about?”

Kip shrugged. “A little poetry. You would’ve hated it.”

Khleo lightly splashed some water in her direction. “Hey. I don’t hate poetry. I just think it’s really…”

Kip smirked. “What? Stupid?”

“I was going to say boring.”

They both broke into laughter, their voices delightfully reverberating throughout the warm grotto. 

“I’m glad you warmed up to him,” Khleo said after the giggling spell wore off. 

Kip floated a little closer. “You know at first, I couldn’t understand why you wanted us to be friends with him. And the only reason I even tried was for you.”

“I know,” Khleo said softly. There was a pause that he tried to fill by going in for a kiss, but he snapped out of it when Kip made a flustered noise before continuing on with her point. 

“I get it now. Why you brought Ozy over to us. You care about people... animals too. Especially when everyone else around them doesn’t.” 

Khleo paid close attention to the way Kip’s syrupy brown eyes took in his features – his wet curls, the army of freckles across his nose, and his lips, slightly parted in uncertainty. 

“And I think that’s what I like the most about you, Khleo.”

Finally, she let him kiss her. Khleo couldn’t always find the right words to express what he felt in his heart the way Kipling could. He didn’t have a mind like Ozy. But what he couldn’t say on his own, he could show. Whatever he could not solve in the moment, given time, he could prove himself. He always found a way to take the things that were supposed to be far from his reach. 

When it came to Kipling, Khleo never needed to prove anything. She kept every secret he ever had. She made him think before he broke a rule, but still loved him through his recklessness. At least, Khleo hoped it was love. He wanted it to be love. 

The chamber echoed with that kiss, so easy and wet and safe. The two umbras would have kept going if they didn’t need to keep themselves afloat.

“Kip?” Khleo whispered. “I have to tell you something.”

Kipling withdrew some, the longing in her eyes shifting to concern.

Khleo clarified, “There’s nothing wrong, but what I have to say…” he glanced at her necklace. “It’s important.”

Kip’s smile came back. “Okay.”

Khleo steadied himself with a deep breath, but before he could speak, the cavern roared with the familiar sounds of a portal unlocking overhead. Khleo’s stomach dropped just in time for Ozy to cannonball directly between him and Kipling.

For once, Khleo was not happy about Ozy’s arrival. Kip was a lot more expressive about how she felt in regards to Ozy portaling in unannounced. Ozy, however, was resolute in his belief that his intrusion was completely justified. He made it very clear that he wasn’t going to go away.

It wasn’t enough that Ozy had to drag them all the way to a different cave. There he made them help him unearth a pair of gauntlets from a hunk of rock covered in dead inscriptions from the umbra precursors. 

Khleo thought he could go back to the other cave with Kip, but Ozy wasn’t done with them yet. After he secured the gauntlets, he dragged them outside back up onto the rocky shelf where they had started. Before Khleo knew it, he was suffering through an impromptu lesson in grey magic. Meanwhile, the sky overhead darkened with storm clouds. 

Kip, to Khleo’s surprise, was being pretty patient with Ozy as he fitted one of the new gauntlets to her hand and walked her through the controls. Ozy gave Khleo the other gauntlet along with some basic instructions. Khleo was only half listening as he flared his fingers through the openings and counted the tiny light bulbs and switches that hugged and wrapped around his knuckles and wrist. 

Khleo began to speculate the possibilities of this artifact compared to his older, more basic model. How wide could he open the Door with this sort of upgrade? How fast could he encourage the water in the tunnel to rotate? How far could he bridge the gap between one location and the next?

“Khleo, are you listening to me?” Ozy snapped his fingers. “After Kip locks the Door, just stand back and wait for me to find the jump point, got it? Wait for me, Khleo.”

Khleo gave Ozy a placating smile so he would leave him alone. The storm clouds had claimed the whole sky by now. Though there was not much wind to drive it, warm rainwater began to fall. Not that the umbras cared. Outside of hurricane season, island storms tended to have short lives. 

Ozy was all fired up. Like usual, he had an uncanny sense of where to focus the gauntlets across the invisible control panels. He seemed to know exactly where each portal would appear and how to quickly build a desirable exit. But the more Ozy directed Kipling, the more condescending he became. Despite the tension between them, Kipling had managed to open a very large Door. 

In fact, this one was more massive than anything Khleo had seen before. The body of water on the inside was turbulent – a reflection of Kip’s lack of skill in that area. Still, the immense portal was too great to go ignored. It yawned in Khleo’s direction.

“Ozy, if you want it done right so badly, then just do it yourself.” Kip tried to remove the gauntlet.

Ozy’s eyes grew wide. “No! Don’t take that off. You have to lock it, Kip. You’re the only one who can, so just listen to me. Look at the glyphs.”

Kip groaned. “What glyphs!”

Khleo did his best to tune them out while he edged closer to the door so he could get a better look. He wanted to shape the water tunnel so it could start rotating correctly.

“They’re right there on the Door, Kip. You’d be able to see them if you opened up your chakra like I showed you!” He pressed his finger to the spot between her eyes. “Watch. It’s not that hard.”

Kip smacked his hand away. “Don’t touch me again.”

Khleo knew this wasn’t going to end well, but he wanted to try out this Door before it disappeared. The Door tugged him gently toward it at first. Just as all Doors do.

Then suddenly… it yanked.

Khleo lost his balance. He caught himself in time, but not without sacrificing his mobility. He couldn’t go backwards or put any distance between himself and the Door. He couldn’t create an exit to match the girth and weight of this portal. It was too big for him. His arms were already about to give up. 

“Kip? Ozy? Something’s wrong.”

Khleo struggled to keep from sliding directly into the giant hole, but he didn’t know how long he could hold on. When he received no response from his friends, he looked over his shoulder to see that they were still heatedly bickering. 

They would notice what was happening before it was too late... they would notice, right? Right?

And then it hit Khleo.

This would be his last moment with his friends.

No, Khleo finally panicked, I don’t want it to be. I don’t want to go through that Door!

“Help me. Please look. Kip. Ozy… shit!”

The Door took him.

[vintage-brass-tc]

4/30/2021

On Friday, a marching band event was held at M’s new school for all the band kids. This was one of the many meetings to prepare for the busy year ahead of us, including the sessions I mentioned in the past couple of months. This one happened to be about our choreography!

I’ll get right into it. Let the highlights commence.

||||||||||||||||||||||||

I never found direct instructions on getting to the room we were set to go in, so I roamed the clearing when I entered, guided by the different people standing at certain checkpoints in the hallways. I reached a certain spot in one hall and there was a door blocking one of its directions. My gut told me to maneuver through it, but I didn’t, instead listening to the hall guy’s instructions.

Soon enough, I made it.

I walked into the auditorium, pretty confused as to why we would be placed there. I was very obviously puzzled when I then entered the room and realized. Not only were there like…only fifteen kids inside the area, but by some coincidence, W was there too. I was led to the wrong place.

W was already looking at me prior to we had made eye contact. He tilted his head to his left and furrowed his eyebrows at my arrival. I mirrored his movements, being just as baffled as he was. He then began to walk around the occupied chairs he stood behind.

He strode over to me and stopped around 8 inches away. He then leaned towards my face, making his usual serious eye contact. “Are you here for marching band?” His face was full of curiosity. “Yes, marching band.” I replied. I attempted to stay calm under his piercing gaze, which was always hard, as much as I’ve seen it before.

“I thought so,” he stated, “I’ll walk you there.” Without any wait whatsoever, he began p to move briskly up the wooden stairs of the auditorium. I speed-walked behind him. With quick strides, he glided through the backstage area. His quick footsteps reverberated throughout the room, followed by my rushed ones as I jogged to catch up with him.

I finally made it right behind him before we exited the room and we walked together in silence, which was accompanied by the taps of our shoes on the thick floor beneath us. I decided I wouldn’t leave him hanging. “Thank you for helping, W,” I said to him, genuinely. “Mmhm!” He hummed happily.

Soon we arrived at the starting destination.

“And here’s the band hall!” He exclaimed, beaming, as we entered. “Uhhh...” I felt my face flush slightly with embarrassment as I looked around. The room was empty, minus the four or five staff members present inside it. He froze for two seconds, slightly stunned. “I guess they already left.” He said.

“Haha, yeah.” I responded to him and chuckled after muttering to myself, “of COURSE they did.” Luckily, after our little moment of humiliation, we weren’t left hanging for a while. A lady went up and offered to lead me to where the marching band was. Of course, I gratefully took up that offer.

“And I’ll follow YOU (this time)!” He said in an upbeat tone of voice. “Hehe, alright!” I giggled. I shot my head back to smile at him, and he was already smiling. He moved with an adorable bouncy walk too while he trailed behind us.

We all walked for a little bit before the girl began some small talk about what instrument I played and whatnot. W parted from our little group at some point during the awkward conversation.

~~

“And through this door here...” she told me.

Funnily enough, it was the other side of the door that I had the gut urge to pass earlier. I suppose my ignorance led me to seeing W though, so it wasn’t all that bad. The lady smiled and I passed through the now un-propped open door while she held it for me.

“Thank you.” I told her in a quiet voice. She responded with a smile before softly shutting the door. I turned to look around the room, which was a gymnasium. Groups of people were either at the front or the sides of the room, chatting amongst themselves.

While I stood, a friend in my section greeted me joyfully, told me where to put my stuff down, and all that jazz. I placed my mildly translucent water bottle, hair-tie, sunglasses, and phone down on the flat, open seat-like area on the wall. In hindsight, I probably didn’t need the sunglasses or hair tie, but oh well. Bless the great indoors!

After I carefully pushed my gray sweater off of me, I noticed that all of the kids were beginning to gather on their spots at the front, so I followed suit. We soon stood in a formation of neat rows and columns after some slight controversy on who should stand where in line. After that, the rehearsal began.

~~

I didn’t see M at first when I walked in, but soon my eyes were gifted with the sight of his presence. Soon enough, he started to speak into his microphone. His voice and appearance is always better in person than it is in my head. ❤️

I believe he greeted us and thanked us for coming out to join him, but briefly due to a time crunch. He then let the choreographer introduce himself. While the guy talked and gave us a starter, M leaned on the wall.

I took this time to take in his outfit, and thank goodness I did. M looked great. All I’ll say to avoid being super specific is that he wore a hat as usual, and a long-sleeved baby blue shirt.

Fast forward during some preparation on posture and terms to remember, we began our first lesson in our dancing: A quick instruction on tendus. Soon after starting to demonstrate them, the choreographer told the front few rows to get low so the back could see what was going on.

He presented to everyone how they would shift their weight correctly and point our inner leg out in front of us while we did this. We then learned the correct way to lift that leg off the ground on each side and did some reps on those. Yada yada.

As the repetitions progressed, I noticed that M began to record the class. I figured he would use this footage for the future in case we had to learn these again in class. At 2-3 points in time, the camera was pointed right at me while I relayed the movements the class was taught. And it wasn’t even for a second. It was more like 8-15 seconds, give or take.

One of the times, I snuck a long glance at the camera, and then at him. He met my eyes while he was taping and stared into them with a pensive and interested look. His luminous dark brown eyes shone as a puppy’s would when begging for scraps.

I felt a light smile begin to tug at my lips as I looked into his eyes for a moment longer. I then focused back on the task at hand while he did his thing. He soon started panning the device to his left, and stopped taping (for now) after 6 seconds or so afterwards.

I would like to repeat that this happened at least 2-3 times, each during different reps...HDHGGHDYGS. I feel helpful. Just hoping my face wasn’t that red in the footage.

~~

After this fiasco, we were being taught how to bend one leg and glide the other across the floor in a circular motion without bending it. I’m not quite sure what the term was for this exercise (I think we called it a bend?), but it was pretty fun!

At some point during the leader’s examples and explanations, M walked near me. When I saw him in the corner of my eye, I internally flipped out. I felt his body give off some heat, which traveled smoothly from him to me. I felt my heart-rate begin to increase at the contact, and my eyes widened a little bit as well.

My head twisted somewhat to the left so I could get a better look at him. He was about 5 inches to the left and a foot behind me, and he stood still, now facing the front, while he held his phone up.

A second and a half later, he sat down quickly yet softly right where he was standing.And when I heard that? I swear I could feel my pupils dilate because HOOOH, I was beyond happy.

I shifted my body and hand’s position on the ground so I would appear more vertical and orderly. This way, he would get a better shot of the instructor without my hair or something being in the way.

He sat there for a good while as he got the footage, then stood up a little bit before we were off to begin attempting the movements. The excitement never left inside me. I was smiling that whole time.

~~

Boom, first water break!

All the kids cheered and started chatting while they went to grab their stuff.

As the others spoke, I looked over at him. He was smiling, confused and attempting to do a tendu while the instructor guy watched. He wasn’t great at it, but the sight made me feel even more relaxed than I had felt before, since it reassured me he wasn’t perfect at everything.

After some more chatting between the people in my section, we were called over to get back into practicing. When we came back, we learned what a passé was and how to do it. Again, while everyone’s eyes were fixed on the dancer in front of us, I felt some warm air hit my back as I sat on the ground. This breeze was accompanied by the sound of shoes hitting the floor.

He strolled slowly behind me once again, unknowingly teasing me with our closer proximity, along with the scent I so dearly loved that more noticeably lingered around him. The amount of time he took and how close he was when he moved near me leads me to believe his actions weren’t entirely unconscious.

After the slow trail, he came to a stop in the same place as before, to the left and just slightly behind me, only about three inches from my side. He then moved a little closer and sat down right next to me, just avoiding the touch of our knees.

We were seriously that close.

I adjusted myself just as I did last time, so I wasn’t too close to him to make him uncomfortable, although I did allow my body to lean juuuust a little bit near him. He didn’t seem to mind too much.

My mind began to spin a little as his cologne engulfed me, the mask I had on failing to block it, and I closed my eyes to take in the atmosphere.

How warm he felt compared to the room around me.

How his breathing was barely audible, yet so comforting.

How the aura he set out put me in a sense of calm, as if I was protected.

How just the mere presence of him right beside myself put me at ease.

I opened my eyes and didn’t even try to fight the smile already planted on my features when I turned my head to the left. I looked at his face, which was fixed on the instructor, but it had a twinge of softness as well. It may have been my imagination, but I believe he was smiling a little bit too.

Being here, coexisting with him felt so natural to me, and I surprisingly kept my composure the whole time.

Because my head was already rotated, I casually tuned in to the directions while watching the movements being taped on his phone. He probably noticed my attention because, again, he was grinning, and he seemed very content as well.

Interrupting our silent moment, his phone displayed the ‘10% battery remaining’ icon, which almost made me laugh. He dismissed the warning without a second thought against it and continued recording.

I looked back at the real choreographer, and not too long later we were told to stand up. This time, he remained on the ground. I stood up, leaning on my left hand at first, so for a quick moment I was moving my body towards him. Despite this, I got up as cleanly as I could just in case I would end up doing something dumb, like falling on him.....or bumping his head with my hip. 😳

He sat there for an extra two seconds before he, himself, got up, beaming. From the little view I got from gazing down at him, the way he sat was just adorable. He reminded me of a child—he looked so young. Younger than I remember at least. <3

~~

The choreographer gave us a speech about how the little things matter and stuff in band especially, just basically something meaningful, and I looked at him during part of it.

He already had his soft eyes set on me.

He nodded slowly at me with a huge grin that caused noticeable dimples, even with the little space the mask was covering. While the encouraging words were spoken, it looked like he was getting emotional. Like was growing closer and closer to crying. Aww. 💕

I allowed my body to cave in slightly and I gave him a timid smile while tilting my head to the right.

The way he looked at me with encouragement was so lovely. His acting was so....personal. So vulnerable. Unlike the tough and dominant demeanor he set out when I had him in the past.

I’m so proud of him.

When the first closer was finished, he gave out his own speech.

“You’re all probably hurting in places you’ve never felt before,” he told us, making us laugh, “and that’s okay!” He then reminded us that we’d have to teach each other these moves, and probably teach him too in the future.

He mentioned that he tried to get footage on the phone to help him as much as he could, but then his phone ran out and he was like *!!!!!* panicking. He said this very expressively, putting his hands out in front of him like he was holding two tennis balls.

Again, I found it so cute that he was being more like himself than ever before in this crowd. He’s way more open than I remember from the past. He used to be more hesitant when it came to showing his weakness.

After those thoughts were out of the way, he spoke with a clear voice, telling us all how the conductor’s statement of ‘the best bands are the best at the smallest details’ spoke to him and represented his usual motto clearly.

He was speaking with so much passion in his voice that I bet everyone could hear it.

||||||||||||||||||||||||

WOW, that was a bunch to unload! I need to stop worrying about including everything so I can get these out sooner and do better stuff with my time. Hopefully this was worth the wait, and if not, oh well! Just finding some time to ramble about stuff that happened with M. 😂❤️

If I begin posting about stuff from this week too, it’s just an excuse to talk about M and W, so you can ignore it. GJDHSJGSA — It’ll only be small things anyway!

Alright, think I’m done here! Have a great weekend everyone, and stay safe. School year’s almost over, so we better make the most of it. :)

[420pogpills]

✿ my rollerskating diary ✿

making a new post for it so i can put it under a 'keep reading' since it's getting long and i don't want to keep flooding anyone's dashboard with it. but basically i just started rollerskating this week and i'm documenting my journey just because :'D this is all very long and rambly so feel free to ignore it, i'm just rambling for myself haha!

(pinning it so i don't lose it, since i can't reblog and add stuff under an existing 'keep reading' link)

starting from june 15th

DAY 1 rollerskating update: i fell on my ass two times so hard that i still feel my spine vibrating 😭😭😭

DAY 2: doing alright.. i went in with 0 expectations LOL so i'm happy! i shoved shirts down my pants so my butt was nice and padded, falling was less scary! i've gotten a y3 tool to loosen my trucks a bit too cause they are crazy tight.. also decided to get an instructor! there's someone who does 121 lessons super locally to me so i'm going for it, i reallyyyy wanna get good at this :')

DAY 3: i can actually skate a bit now? i loosed my trucks and wheels a tiiiiny bit and definitely felt a difference. my biggest issue now is with stopping ohhhh my god why is that so hard? 😭😭 also absolutely cannot walk on skates?? i thought that was gonna be one of the easiest things but boyyyy. but yeah definitely seeing improvement which is exciting! today’s practice ended with my worst fall yet, i fell so hard on my ass.. it was a bit scary and now i’m in quite a lot of pain buuuut we keep on moving! can’t wait to actually have a lesson but it ain’t till the 29th…

DAY 4: short-ish practice today. focused on using my toe stop, tried to work on slowing down and stopping mostly. kind of felt more unstable today compared to yesterday? which left me feeling a liiiitle discouraged :’) but i know it’s early days!

i think it’s because of the bad fall i had yesterday, i moved a little more hesitantly to avoid falling again so i kept focusing on that instead of fluid movement. there’s been a pretty sharp pain in my tailbone from that fall, so realistically i think the smartest thing to do was for me to stop altogether until the pain goes. but because i just started i feel like i’ll have to start from square one if i take a week off or something :( i just really want to get better at this soon so i can go practice outside cause currently i’m relying too much on grabbing on to things and i feel like i’d improve more in more natural surroundings. but i think until the pain goes away, i won’t be skating outside just yet :’) plus it’s planning to rain for the whole upcoming week.. skating is hard man aaaaa i can’t wait to get better at it!

DAY 5: shortest practice so far today (literally did like 10 minutes) because i wanted to get on the skates so my body doesn't forget the feeling but i didn't want to skate and risk falling today because i really wanted to give my coccyx a break as it's still hurting from that fall on day 3 lmao.

i actually went on a mission today, i walked around my local area and beyond trying to find some good spots to practice. like i said in day 4's post, i am just relying too much on grabbing on to walls and tables when i practice at home, so i just really want to get out there.

i found 3 places that i'm going to keep in mind for now (and will be looking for more soon i reckon!) one is a tennis court in a park like 15 mins away from my house. literally no one ever uses it and the ground looks pretty good so that's gonna be my number 1 spot. there's also a basketball court there that looks even better for skating but that place does get used by people a lot, so i'm only gonna use it if i'm ever feeling super enthusiastic and manage to get to the park at like 7am or something haha! the other spot is a massive parking lot of an exhibition centre that doesn't have any events at the moment due to covid, and the other is a smooth long path by the water! (but the water is gated off so i won't fall in :P) there's a great long path by my house, but there's always people there, walking or riding bikes, so i can't risk going there just yet in case i crash into a child or a dog or a bike haha i'm not good at stopping yet :')

DAY 6: another short one today due to some pain (i suffer from chronic pain) - again i just wanted to keep my body familiar with skates and skate around a bit, practice stopping, but not fall and risk causing myself more pain while i'm still recovering from that fall earlier in the week cause yeah unfortunately, it's still hurting :'D bUT i got something today that i wanted from the very beginning - IMPACT SHORTS! i know they aren't gonna work miracles but any protection is better than none so i'm excited about them.

gonna skate some more at home tomorrow and tuesday, and them from wednesday i promised myself it's time to be brave and start practicing outside! i'd start from tomorrow but i've got plans on tuesday so i didn't want to risk getting scrapped up or too hurt since i'm seeing a friend i haven't seen since last summer! looking forward to that :)

DAY 7: today was the first time i felt like 'okay i really want to go outside now' - the space at home is just too cramped, and the tiles sometimes catch me up, but today i actually felt pretty confident on the skates! i fell twice but both times on my front and catching myself on my knees is pretty easy. i hope i can keep that confidence for wednesday when i go outside for the first time :')

i know my first time outside i'm gonna struggle and fall a lot, but i think once i don't have any limits like walls or furniture around me, i'm going to improve much faster since i'm going to be much more reliant on my own balance and strength. honestly nothing more exciting than seeing real progress. cannot wait to get better, and get more confident, and skate in more places!

[alottanothing]

Left to Ruin Chapter Three

Summary:  For two years, the prince and the pharaoh travel Egypt in order for Ahkmenrah to better understand the land he would one day rule. Every new city and monument the prince meets fills his heart with wonder but he learns not everyone in his country wishes him to wear the crown.

Previous Chapters

Word Count: 6247

Warnings: Just a wee bit of violence near the end. 

Tag List: @xmxisxforxmaybe​, @r-ahh-mi​, @theultraviolencefan​, @hah0106​, @rami-malek-trash​, @diasimar​, @sherlollydramoine​, @flipper-kisses​, @ivy-miranda-2390​, @txmel​, @sunkissedmikky​, @concentratedsassandcandy​, @babyalienfairy​ (Let me know if I missed you, or if you would like to be added to the tag list)

A/N:  Those of you who’ve been commenting, liking and reblogging are seriously so nice 🥰 I love you all!! And those of you posting excerpts you enjoyed from the chapter in your comments bring me buckets of smiles❤️ pretty sure my heart swells a bit too. Thank you all for giving this story a shot, and I hope you stick with it for the next 20 some chapters! Once again as a disclaimer, I am not an ancient Egyptian expert and google only knows so much. So yeah, I took so historical liberties while writing this to make my life easier, but tried to keep it as “authentic” as possible

“In three days time, Prince Ahkmenrah and I will begin a pilgrimage that will last no longer than two years,” Merenkahre announced the next morning during another council meeting.

Ahkmenrah sat in his usual place next to his brother, struggling to survive the war in his head. Sleep had been elusive the night before; he pondered from the time the sun set and the sky turned black until the soft hues of morning lit the heavens. Everything was rapidly changing about his life, and he felt powerless to hinder its progression. Change was growth, and he was old enough to know that growth was good, but he wasn’t ready to give up the routine he had gotten so accustomed to. All those carefree evenings with his friend seemed somehow ages ago and Ahk missed them, just as much as he missed Nouke.

“And, to honor the wise suggestion of this venture, I will leave Kahmunrah to rule while I am away.”

The pharaoh’s unexpected decree prompted skeptical looks from more than a couple of the men sitting around the long table. However, they kept their obvious discord to themselves, muttering under their breath much too quietly for Ahk to make out. Kah stood immediately, showcasing a look of surprise and gratitude the likes of which Ahkmenrah had never seen his brother hold.

“You honor me, father,” Kah bowed with uncharacteristic sincerity.

“I trust you will honor me in return by taking this task I lend you with the utmost seriousness. You are to listen to my councilors as I do; consider their guidance before acting.”

“Of course,” Kahmunrah nodded.

“I will warn you,” the pharaoh spoke transparently. “This mantel I leave in your hands is not a kingship. While I am gone, I am still pharaoh. You will act in my stead, but all matters of extreme supremacy are to be brought to the Queen, and it will be her word, over yours.”

Ahkmenrah could almost feel his brother's proud arrogance billow out of him like a hot breeze over the desert sands. His smug posture withered, and his face twisted back into its usual mask of apathy--plainly insulted by the limits Merenkahre put in place.

“So be it,” Kah huffed, falling back to slouch in his chair; arms folded tightly across his chest as he pouted shamelessly.

The pharaoh exhaled deeply, looking aside long enough to roll his eyes before turning his attention to his Grand Consul, his top advisor, Merhet. “Will you see that all arrangements are made: boats prepped and ready to sail three days hence?”

Merhet nodded, “It will be done, my pharaoh.”

***

Three days hardly seemed sufficient time to stock boats with enough provisions to last the duration of their impending journey, but the pharaoh’s men worked tirelessly and by nightfall on the third day, everything was in place. Ahkmenrah spent those few days on the high balcony of his bed-chamber watching the ships from afar, and the men tasked with readying them. He counted three in total to make up the fleet: one for guards and Medjay, another for food, and various other supplies. The grandest and most decorated was undeniably for the pharaoh and the prince. The sight fed his sense of adventure and the anxious need to finally go. And yet, Ahk could not stifle the part of him that wanted to stay.

The fourth morning arrived much quicker than the prince thought it would. He awoke with a smile and a tingling in his stomach that fueled his every movement in a swifter pace than normal. Ahk donned the nicest of his garments, the ones usually saved for celebrations or feasts--draping himself in finery. He figured the added embellishment was fitting. This was a celebration to him--the start of a journey--and he was going to treat the occasion how a prince was expected to. Each layer he added made him feel grander: robes of gold and jeweled wekesh that, in actuality, was much heavier upon his shoulders than he cared to admit. Still, he wore it all proudly.

For all the array that was the princes’ dress, the pharaoh's was grander: leopard skin and heavy kohl around his eyes, with a scepter in his hand. Ahkmenrah never felt more proud seeing his father dressed so, and when he grinned at him, Merenkahre grinned back.

“Look at you both,” Shepseheret beamed.

She greeted them at the base of the palace stairs where the chariots were waiting to take the king and his son to the docks.

“My heart already misses you,” her eyes twinkled with tears as she continued to smile.

The pharaoh embraced his queen and left her with a long kiss.

“I will think of you every day,” he promised.

Shepseheret gave her husband another quick kiss before pulling Ahkmenrah into her arms for the tightest embrace he was certain he had ever received.

“Oh, my darling, Ahkmen.” She kissed his cheek. “Enjoy this journey.”

“I will, mother,” Ahkmenrah vowed, returning the gesture, kissing her cheek too.

As he began to turn and follow his father to the chariots, Setshepsut, his little sister, came running down the palace steps shouting his name with a look of fear upon her eight-year-old face.

“Ahkmen! Wait!” She crashed against his side and held onto him tightly. “Don’t forget me okay?”

The prince cast her a sweet smile and crouched to better meet her eye to eye.

“You mustn't worry, Set,” Ahk said, gently wiping at the tears on her face. “I could never forget you. And I promise to bring back presents, alright?”

Setshepsut sniffed and her fear began to slowly lessen, “Alright.”

Ahkmenrah hugged his little sister properly for a long time, suddenly realizing how much he was going to miss her as well.

“You know my friend, Nouke?”

Set nodded.

“Will you do me a favor and look out for her, for me?”

The thought of leaving his friend alone for two years was starting to settle, and it yanked mercilessly on his heartstrings. A part of him needed to know she would be okay while he was away; he hated that he wasn’t going to be able to make sure she was being taken care of.

“Like you’ve watched out for me?” Set asked.

Ahkmenrah grinned, “Yes. Like how I have for you.”

His sister gave him a wide toothy smile, nodding her promise to look out for her big brother’s best friend.

“It is time, my prince.” Kamuzu’s deep voice bellowed from behind him, motioning toward the chariots, and Ahk eyed them wearily.

The pharaoh was already stationed regally in his, waiting for Ahkmenrha to join him. A battalion of guards and Medjay were lined up in perfect position as well.

To a degree, it looked as though they were readying to march off to war. Men held banners--sigils of prayer to the gods to watch over and bless their journey. Others were holding drums to steady the march of the impending parade. All of them had weapons on their belts or spears in their hands, and for a moment, the thought of leaving did feel like Ahk was preparing for battle.

With a deep breath, Ahkmenrah found his courage and joined his father.

It was only when the prince climbed into the chariot that everything became absolutely real. All the talk of the past three days finally coming to fruition. The adventure he always craved was starting; he would spend two years away from his family and his friend and his home. And once he returned; his father was going to crown him pharaoh.

All at once, every notion whirled through his mind making him excited, homesick, and nervous at the same time. As the palace gates opened and the parade lurched forward those teaming sensations rooted deeper. For the first time in all of his life, he was venturing beyond the palace walls without Nouke beside him, and the gravity of that notion tugged a frown on to his face. Frantically, his eyes searched the crowd of servants who gathered to see their pharaoh off--his heart racing with the fear that he wouldn’t find her in the chaos. But Nouke was there, right at the front alongside her mother and father, a doleful smile across her face, waving as he passed by.

The sound of drums and the braying of the horses pulling their chariots turned Ahkmenrah’s attention forward as the soldiers and the steeds marched in rhythm with every rolling thrum. The initial pace was slow--a rate that would take the better part of the afternoon to reach the ships waiting for them. But as the streets blossomed wider, the parade fell into a steady march that was less sluggish. The echoing sounds of procession coaxed commoners from their homes or to their windows, gathering with awe to catch a glimpse of their pharaoh and their prince.

Ahkmenrah had difficulty quelling the wholehearted smile curling onto his face, seeing life in Waset through a clearer lens. Every grinning face or look of wonderment he caught filled him with zeal and compassion. One day, they would be his people to guide and protect with the teachings of Maat--a lesson his father referred to often: the moral rule that helped the people know what was right and what was wrong.

The growing crowd coupled oddly with the knowledge of the duty that awaited his return. It was slightly more overwhelming than Ahkmenrah wanted to admit; a pang of anxiousness biting within the depths of his stomach as he smiled to his subjects despite it. The moment was bittersweet no matter how he looked at it. His predestined fate was to become a dutiful leader- a fact that he had learned at a young age, and one he would never be able to ignore. But at the same time, the child in him yearned for a piece of that undetermined life he saw in the care-free faces of the common people--to live a life without the looming strain of supreme responsibility. Ahkmenrah wanted to be a good king. In his heart, he knew he owed his father that peace, aware to some degree that Kahmunrah must have failed him. Ahkmenrah sought to make his father proud. A king had to make sacrifices (another lesson Merenkahre had repeated countless times over the years) and as he stood on the back of his chariot, seeing all the people dependent on him, Ahk knew the first sacrifice he would have to make was his childhood.

Once all the boats were loaded with personnel, the captains wasted no time in sailing north along the current.

Despite the lavish cabin on the royal ship, Ahkmenrah preferred the deck where he could watch the landscape change with every passing hour. It was there he watched his home shrink into the horizon, a sight that instilled him with a heavy wave of melancholy as he was reminded just how long it would be before he saw those familiar buildings again. The first night away was the toughest, missing his mother, his sister and his friend, but he found a peacefulness laid out in the map of the stars overhead. Ahk would settle himself near the bow of the boat, nestled against barrels and crates, gazing at the twinkling stars and the moon that ruled them.

The first city along their journey was almost as grand as the capital Ahkmenrah called home. Men-nefer was a sparkling metropolis nestled along the banks of the Nile, with the towering pyramids dotting the horizon. Countless narratives pulsed throughout the streets, stories of pharaohs of old that Ahk was anxious to explore. The history emitting from every building filled the prince with ample excitement, chacing away every ounce of his homesickness.

A man in fine raiment greeted them at the docks, Sefkh: Men-nefer’s governor. For the better part of two months, it was his grand home the pharaoh and the prince stayed to rest. Despite the change in scenery, little changed in the way of Ahk’s routine.

The prince wanted to wander the strange streets, see the sights first hand, and meet the people. But the most adventurous act was the morning he, Meren, and Sefkh ventured to pay their respects at the ancient pyramids. There were no words descriptive enough to adequately sum up the sense of reverence and bewilderment that accompanied standing at the base of the old tombs. Ahk wanted to stay there for hours to walk around every side so he could fully appreciate them as the marvel they were, but by early afternoon, he found himself back in the halls of Sefkh's homestead.

The rest of the princes' time was spent with his father, learning crucial lessons that would ensure he became a great king. What was new, however, was shadowing his father to city councils; seeing how governors ruled and protected simply their city and not the whole empire.

When the time came to move on, the ships at the port were resupplied, the pharaoh thanked their gracious hosts, and the prince and his father rode through the streets on their chariots waving to those who had gathered to see them off.

Every new city started and ended the same; with a parade through the streets to some mayor or governer’s grand house where they would stay for weeks or a month until the pharaoh decided it was time to move on. With every new sight and passing day, Ahkmenrah felt the hint of melancholy that plagued him vanish. Their odyssey stretched as far north as the mighty river could take them until the dull grey of the Nile bled into the vast blue water of the sea. Ahkmenrah yearned to sail deep into that horizon wondering what mysteries he would find on the other side, but their ships never strayed too far from shore, stopping at every major port city along the coast.

Fresh stories and cultures spilled into Ahkmenrah’s heart with every new metropolis--filling him with histories and tales that kept his spirited heart thrumming with fervor. Months became seasons and seasons turned to years, and before long, the palace and the ones he had left behind were as distant in his mind as the cities behind him.

One of the last cities their journey brought them to was the port city of Thonis, a thriving seaside town located amid the blue waters of the Mediterranean and the grey waters of the Nile River Delta. It was one of the few bustling spots that their train of ships drifted past to save for the return trip south to Waset. Ahkmenrah had watched in awe floating past, noticing the temple near the city’s shore, and promised himself to explore it given the opportunity. Comparatively, Thonis was much smaller than most of the places they had visited, but Ahk still was utterly captivated by it like all the rest. Perhaps even more.

Upon their arrival into the modest, but beaming city of Thonis, the pharaoh and his son were greeted by a man named Pa-heb. Like every time before, Pa-heb was the governing rule of Thonis and welcomed them into his home for as long as they wanted to stay. He was a stoic man, much like Merenkahre, who in Ahk’s opinion valued material possessions far more than anything else. He took pride in all the treasures he procured over years of being a merchant; Pa-heb stopped many times to point them out during the tour of his household. The home itself was indeed grand for the small metropolis in which they found themselves; with picturesque foundations built adjacent to both the Nile and the Mediterranean. Yet, despite its grandeur, it was empty. Pa-heb had no wife, no children, no one to warm his halls--just his worldly treasures collecting dust.

For the weeks that they were there, Pa-heb kept the pharaoh, the prince, and the crews well-fed and entertained with many stories of his time as a merchant in lands far beyond Egypt. Ahkmenrah liked those tales the most, though it was apparent that each story was told with the hope to impress them, or perhaps to brag--Ahk wasn’t sure. During the day, Merenkahre continued his teaching and the prince listened to every word with an attentive ear. On the few evenings he found himself free of dutiful lessons; Ahkmenrah visited the beach and the Temple of Khonsu. The prince adored the roaring sound of the sea waves breaking against the shore--so different than the rush of the Nile--and the salty breeze that whipped at his hair and clothing. And Ahk was certain that he had never felt such reverence than when he was within the walls of the Temple. Not even when he stood at the base of the pyramids.

On his final day in Thonis, Ahkmenrah woke early to ensure he had ample time to stroll along the beach one last time. He watched in wonder as the sun rose, its light painting the sky and the water mirroring pastel hues until all that remained were their natural blue. The morning air was cool over his skin, but the warm breeze billowing over the top of the water danced over his flesh in contrast, eliciting gooseflesh to prickle and form. Ahk even marveled at the sand and the distinction of pure white grains against the olive skin of his feet--small details he would remember until his last breath.

The prince stayed as long as he could on the tranquil shore, calmly watching the waves under the protective eyes of Kamuzu; a part of him wanted to stay there forever, and a larger part of him wished he could have shown Nouke such beauty. She would have also found the magic in the small details.

When he returned for an afternoon of politics, lessons, and meals, Ahk missed the sea breeze and the feel of warm water washing over his toes. Nevertheless, he suffered it all--as he always had with a genuine curiosity and the motivation not to let his father down. When night began to blanket the port city, and the moon cast a glow of silver over everything in sight; Ahkmenrah quickly made his way to the temple for one last moment of reverence before their journey moved on.

Of all the temples and monuments Ahkmenrah had seen so far, his favorite was the Temple of Khonsu. It wasn’t as ornate as the other sights the prince had visited, but it still stood high above his head, impressively reaching-- it seemed--for Khonsu himself in the heavens. Upon its entry, two towering statues of the god stood with silver-plated moon disks crowning his falcon head; inside the walls were etched and painted with hieroglyphs that told the stories and teachings of the great god himself. The ceiling was split down its middle, leaving a wide opening the length of the temple to allow the hall to fill with silver light on clear nights.

Ahkmenrah kindly asked for Kamuzu to wait for him outside and serenely strode to the altar at the opposite end of the long temple, kneeling. The prince already did his share of praying that morning; he simply wanted to bask in Khonsu’s reverence, his eyes wandering to the open roof so he could marvel at the crescent moon shining brightly amid its star-filled heaven.

It was quiet for a long time within the walls of the temple until the sound of approaching footsteps broke the silence. The echoing didn't steel Ahkmenrah’s attention; he found he could not turn away from the beauty of the moon. Even when the steps grew closer and Merenkahre knelt beside him, Ahk never turned away his focus.

“I thought I might find you here.”

Ahkmenrah blinked slowly, eyes still upturned and fixated above him, but spoke, “There is something about this place--it seems familiar somehow.”

Merenkahre laughed gently, his eyes glancing around, “I suppose that should not come as a surprise to me.”

Finally, Ahkmenrah turned his focus to his father, finding a pensive smile that he couldn’t place meaning for.

“You were born at midnight,” Merenkahre explained, glancing towards the sky. “On a night much like this. We named you after the sun god, but it was Khonsu whose light welcomed you into this world. It’s only fitting you are connected to his radiance.”

The prince’s mouth quirked into a soft smile on one side hearing the story, and he looked back to the moon.

“Fitting too, for the gift I bestowed upon you when you were born.”

“What gift?” Ahkmenrah asked, his eyes looking to his father.

A slight furrow creased Meren’s brow, confused for a moment, before looking at his son.

“I don’t believe I have ever told you, have I?” The pharaoh pondered.

Inquiry pressed a line into Ahk’s brow, “Tell me what?”

“I had my high priest forge a magical tablet in your honor, and blessed by the graces of Khonsu.” Meren paused for a moment, thinking before he continued. “One day, I will share with you all the mysteries of the tablet that I know.”

A thousand questions spilled into Ahkmenrah’s mind with the notion of such a gift given to him: why he alone was bestowed with a magical totem and not his brother or sisters? Instead, he asked only if he may see it once they return to Waset, and Merenkahre smiled, vowing to do so.

The two of them were quiet for a long time, both savoring the reverence inside the blessed temple halls. Ahkmenrah was going to be sad to leave come the dawn, but he was glad to have been given the chance to see the things he had.

“Thank you, for taking me on this journey,” Ahkmenrah said quietly. “Kahmunrah was right, I never would have ruled with the appreciation I have now. The cities, the people--I want to do right by them all.”

“Yes, uncharacteristically wise of your brother,” Meren scoffed sounding slightly suspicious still.

Ahkmenrah lowered his eyes to his lap, absently tugging at a fraying thread in his shendyt, trying to understand the obvious wall between the pharaoh and his eldest son.

“Father?” Ahk’s voice was low and almost timid. “May I ask why you plan to crown me, instead of Kah?”

It was a question that had always stayed with him from the time he was old enough to understand how a monarchy usually worked. Kahmunrah was the oldest son, and by rights, the heir.

Merenkahre considered his answer for a long time, then sighed, a sound of disappointment.

“Your brother takes everything for granted. More than that, it’s as you said: you want to do right by these people you have met, this country you’ve seen. Kahmunrah, has seen these things too, and still, he takes them for granted.” Merenkahre met his son's gaze, “Just because you rule a people does not mean they will be there for you in a time of need. You have to show them your loyalty, and in return, they will show you theirs. Kah doesn’t understand that.

Ahk bit his bottom lip and nodded; everything his father confessed, Ahkmenrah knew to be true. As much as he longed for Kah to be a brother to him, the prince knew Kahmunrah would always be jaded.

It fell quiet again until the pharaoh spoke guiding the subject slightly askew.

“Did you know; I became pharaoh at your age? Fifteen with an entire Empire in my grasp, with only a fraction of the teachings I have offered you.”

Ahkmenrah nodded, and his content mask began to crumble under the weight of the responsibility waiting for him, sinking into his peaceful demeanor.

“Were you afraid?” he asked, not wanting to admit his own fears just yet.

He watched his father nod, and it allayed some of the looming dread.

“My father died you see,” Merenkare explained. “And as I was his only son, I was crowned before his body was even laid to rest.” He paused, his mind digging up what surely were almost forgotten memories. “In truth, it was difficult to rule without my father’s wisdom to call upon…”

Ahkmenrah did his best to hide the fresh wave of trepidation, but his father caught it anyway and reached to give his shoulder a warm squeeze.

“But you mustn't fear, my son. When I step down, I will remain by your side to guide you until the moment you need me no more.”

A sigh of relief broke past Ahkmenrah’s tight composure and cast a look of unyielding admiration and thankfulness to his father. Meren returned it, and the two of them remained in the temple a while longer.

***

It was almost two years to the date when the pharaoh’s ships once more ported in the city of Men-nefer, and in a way, Ahkmenrah looked upon the familiar skyline with a new understanding. Before he had felt a boy-- still learning his trade. When he found himself amidst familiar streets once more, the prince carried himself with all the wisdom and understanding he needed to become who he was meant to always be. The returned to Men-nefer marked the end of his enlightening journey. And while he was sad to see the end of their venture, Ahk did know, he would return home ready for whatever trial's life would bring.

As before, Sefkh and his family played host to the royal entourage with ample enthuse and hospitality while they rested and resupplied for the four-day sail back to the capital. In a way, the governor's homestead felt like a second home to the prince having spent weeks in its halls on his first visit. He felt safe there--at peace. And he couldn’t keep from smiling as he roamed those familiar corridors.

Sefkh honored their last night with a feast, and the pharaoh, and the prince indulged in the festivities gladly foregoing an evening of more teachings for a night of drinking, storytelling, and mirth. It was late when Ahk thanked his hosts for making the most of the final days of his venture and leisurely ambled to the chambers made up for him with Kamuzu in tow.

Ahk hummed to himself as he walked, a sweet melody that was a reflection of his tranquil mind, and politely bid goodnight to the servants awaiting him in his bed-chamber. Kamuzu followed him in and waited by the door while the prince took his time removing all his jeweled barbels leaving only his shendyt, then wondered unto the balcony overlooking the city.

“I suggest you rest, my prince,” Kamuzu cautioned from where he stood by the door. “Your father wishes to leave at first light.

Ahkmenrah nodded but kept his eyes fixated on the city and the pyramids in the distance. A part of him was sad that his adventure had reached its end, but he knew the memories of all that he had seen would be with him for as long as he lived.

“Home…” Ahk murmured into the breeze, a wistful quirk on his lips.

Suddenly, he missed his mother and her smile that always made him feel safe and warm. He missed his younger sister--how big she would be since the last time he had seen her! Ahk could hardly wait.

And Nouke. Ahkmenrah had so many stories to share with his friend, and his heart fluttered at the notion of sitting with her and telling her about every marvel he visited. His smile grew, and the beckoning of home ate away the sadness of leaving his adventure. Ahkmenrah was ready to be reunited with the people he cared about.

“My prince?” Kamuzu repeated, questioning whether or not Ahk had heard him.

“I know, Kamuzu.” Ahk threw him a content smile as he turned to wander back into the chamber. “Thank you, my friend. I will see you come morning. Goodnight.”

Kamuzu bowed, “Goodnight, my prince. Rest well.”

“And you.” 

The Medjay cast him the ghost of a smile and left without another word.

Ahkmenrah fell asleep quickly. His body was tired from an evening of festivities and the breeze from the balcony was inherently soothing--enveloping him with a wakeless calm.

The prince was in such a deep sleep, that the sound of his chamber doors bursting open didn’t stir him. What did, however, was the loud metallic clang that echoed piercingly in the still air of his chamber.

Ahk’s eyes shot open and he gasped.

Mere inches from his throat was an assassin's blade, restrained with only Kamuzu’s own weapon and the sheer strength he harnessed. Fear ripped through the prince, and his wide eyes darted from his attacker to his protector, mouth dry, and body shaking. With a guttural shout, Kamuzu’s force overcame the man with the killing blade, and he stumbled backward.

“Go, my prince. To your father--QUICKLY!” Kamuzu shouted throwing a pointed finger towards the open door before the hooded man could gather his footing.

Ahkmenrah didn’t argue. His body felt too light and too heavy all at once, but he ran, shouting for the other guards outside his chamber to assist his Medjay friend. The halls that once felt so safe now felt like a maze; every wall and corridor looked unfamiliar and threatening. Tears made his vision blurry, so he wiped them away, reminding himself not to give in to the fear that was fighting and winning to take control.

Ahk only felt safe again when he broke through his father’s chamber doors--two Medjay on his tail wearing looks of confusion. The prince settled on the floor in the far corner of the room, pulling his knees to his chest and hugged them.

Merenkahre woke quickly, the initial look of irritation vanishing the moment he saw his son cowering. Ahk’s breaths came out in labored puffs, shaky like the tremors working through his body. He knew his father was looking at him waiting for some sort of explanation, but the prince kept his focus away from everything but an empty spot on the floor, struggling to keep up the guise of a brave prince.

“What happened?” Merenkahre asked the two Medjay that followed the prince into the chamber.

“We don’t know, my king,” one of them said.

Meren’s jaw grew tight, displeased no one had an answer. The agitation fell from his demeanor when he approached his son, kneeling and reaching to place a gentle hand on his son’s shoulder, but Ahkmenrah pulled away. The pharaoh frowned, his son’s obvious fear instilling him with similar emotion.

“Ahkmen,” he spoke softly. “My son, what happened?”

“An assassin,” Kamuzu’s voice boomed in the quiet air as he entered with two guards flanking him.

The Medjay tossed the body of the hooded man to his feet, and Merenkahre stared in restrained horror at the picture before him.

A moment later, Sefkh entered; the confusion on his face swiftly becoming a similar look of terror as he took in the sight.

“Explain,” Meren demanded as he stood, shielding his son and eyeing Sefkh. “How did an assassin make it into my son’s bed chamber?”

The governor kneeled quickly, “I do not know, my king. I swear to the gods, please.”

The pharaoh took a deep breath in through his nose, teeth grinding, and he looked to his son’s protector.

“How?” he asked simply. 

“There were guards at the prince's door. The only other entry was from the balcony, my king.” Kamuzu explained. “It’s possible he scaled the exterior without being seen.”

The dark-skinned guardian fell to his knees, a look of shame twisting onto his features as he bowed before his king in a show of forgiveness just has Sefkh was doing.

“Were it not for a sense of danger I felt--an intuition, I would not have been there in time to save him,” Kamuzu admitted. “I have failed you, and my prince--for that, I am sorry. I do not deserve your forgiveness."

Merenkahre shook his head and demanded he rise. “You have done no such disservice, my friend. You have done as I have always asked--keep my son safe. Was it not for your instincts, it would be a different body presented at my feet. You should seek praise, not forgiveness.”

Kamuzu nodded, “Thank you, my king.”

The pharaoh turned to assist his son once more, moving in slowly to not frighten him. Gently, Meren took Ahk by the arm and helped him onto a nearby stool. He kneeled in front of him, his grey eyes holding compassion that made the prince feel safe.

“Are you alright, my son?” 

Ahkmenrah swallowed, hugging his middle still feeling shaken up, but nodded.

Meren, nodded too, the ghost of a smile on his lips as he gave his son’s shoulder a comforting squeeze.

“You’re safe,” he promised. 

Ahk nodded again; his focus lost in the middle distance.

The tremors were gone and his eyes no longer threatened to spill tears, but that fear was still very potent. His heart hammered in his chest, and his mind was fraught with the image of the knife and the man who’d been sent to kill him. Why? The question swelled and pulsed in his brain prompting an ache that begged he pay attention to it, but Ahk just wanted to forget.

“As for you,” the pharaoh spoke sternly, casting his restrained anger upon the man who had housed them. “What has occurred tonight, is of the highest treason. Do you know this man?”

Sefkh looked at the unmasked murderer and shook his head, “No, sire.”

“Hmm,” the pharaoh rubbed his chin. “I pride myself on being a good judge of character--I believe you, Sefkh. But this will be the last time I share your city.”

Sefkh let out a sigh of relief but remained kneeling, “Thank you, my lord.”

“Shall I have Medjay search the city for any compatriots of our assassin?” Kamuzu asked.

“No,” Meren decided quickly. “We will not be staying. We leave tonight--I will have a word with the captains and the crew. No one is to let Ahkmenrah out of their sight, understand?”

“Yes, my king.” Kamuzu nodded.

“You are dismissed Sefkh. We no longer require your hospitality.” The pharaoh waved the governor away, a look of indifference on his features.

There was no parade or pomp and circumstance when the royal party left the city of Men-nefer under the veil of moonlight--Khonsu watching over them high in the heavens. The pharaoh offered no parting words of thanks to Sefkh or his family; Ahkmenrah was much too shaken to even think of a word to say.

The prince was escorted through the streets under the guise of inconspicuous robes with a whole platoon of guards barricaded around him. Meren walked with him, his strong hand pulling his son along swiftly, and the grip around his upper arm fostered a sense of security that Ahkmenrah clung too with a sure grip that matched the pharaoh’s. Nevertheless, Ahk kept his eyes on the repetitive movement of his feet, too afraid to look down any shadowy alley out of fear of someone coming from the darkness to destroy him.

It wasn’t until his feet strode over the wooden deck of the ship that his anxiety began to ebb, and his breaths became much calmer. His father quickly led him into the cabin they shared, before returning to the deck to ensure they pushed off immediately. The chaos of it all made Ahk’s head spin more than he wanted it too, and he settled himself in another corner, finding safety in the press of walls against his shoulders as he tucked himself there.

Kamuzu stood nearby, silent as always but giving the prince the sense of security that always helped to bring him peacefulness. The sickly slosh in his stomach began to wane too, feeling the boat lurch and veer into the current of the Nile.

“You should sleep,” Kamuzu said gently, running a wet stone over the curve of his blade to sharpen it.

The prince watched and listened, finding the rhythmic sound and coupling actions somehow soothing. And yet sleep seemed impossible. Ahkmenrah wanted to sleep. He was tired. But the images in his head would never allow the peacefulness he craved.

“Thank you for saving me,” Ahkmenrah said finally. His voice was low and sounded foreign laced with so much fear.

“You owe me no thanks, my prince. This was the duty your father gave me the moment you came into this world fifteen years ago.” He didn’t even look up from his task as he spoke. “It is my honor to serve and protect.”

Ahk was quiet for a moment, entranced with the stone in his Medjay’s hand and the noise it prompted as it slid across the edge of Kamuzu’s khopesh.

“Why did my father give you such a duty?” he asked. None of his sisters had a designated protector, not even Kahmunrah. It never occurred to Ahkmenrah until that moment how strange it was that he, alone, was given such care.

Kamuzu thought a moment, looking at him with abundant compassion. He knew why; Ahkmenrah could see it in the slight strain on his face, but whatever the reason, Kamuzu must have sworn never to tell.

“That is not for me to say, my prince.”

Ahkmenrah sighed, too tired and too distraught to argue and demand reasoning. Instead, he sighed and pulled his knees tight against his chest. It was going to be a long journey back home.

Next Chapter -> Chapter Four: Fourth King of the Fourth King

[auroraawrites]

what would have been (cedric diggory x reader)

gif not mine! all credit goes to @ronweaslley​

requested by anon: can you please do a cedric diggory oneshot? like angst. basically like show your relationship progression if that makes sense? like when he shows you off to everyone, etc. until he dies, and you cope by like wearing his jumper GAH I WANT TO CRY THANJ U

warnings: major angst ahead! involves discussions about death, loss, and grieving.

author’s note: i’d recently been rereading the hp series and full out cried reading cedric’s parts like all the ways through the last task of the tournament. anyways, the italics means its a flashback memory ♥ enjoy

(everything on my blog is my own writing. please do not plagiarize my work nor repost it anywhere else without my permission. all rights reserved)

---

perched at the edge of your seat, you stared out nervously into the abyss of darkened green that was the third task of the tri-wizarding tournament. it had been exactly an hour since the last of the champions had scurried into the maze, and the nervous anticipation of their audience hung thickly in the air. red sparks had gone off twice already, returning a devilish looking fleur and an unconscious victor to the jeering crowd. you should’ve felt relieved that hogwarts champions were the only two left now, but the pure desperation for cedric to be the one that brang it home was all you could pray for. 

rolling your eyes, you couldn’t help the smile that slipped over your features at the sight of the tall, brown haired boy that stood leaning against the hallway across from the charms classroom. spotting your familiar figure amongst the group of students leaving the classroom, he weaved his way through the crowd to stand in front of you, a goofy grin plastered across his face.

you weren’t quite used to being friends with the champion of hogwarts just yet. you had only met him this year after stumbling upon him one night at the library, feverishly pouring over some books that you had also required for an assignment. the pair of you usually only talked in the comforts of the library, but here he was, standing only a few feet in front of you. 

“cedric,” you acknowledged him with a nod and made to move past him, only for him to step in front of your path again. 

“y/n” he said, the smile still etched onto his lips. “i was wondering if you’d like to accompany me to the yule ball?” a pair of ravenclaw girls passed by them, muffled giggles echoing down the now nearly deserted hall. “as my date, i mean.” he hastened, a slight flush creeping up his neck. 

failing to stifle the smile that had now returned to your features, you cast a shy look up at him and nodded, “i’d love to.”

his grin was blinding as he escorted you down to your next lesson. 

eyes flicking over the entrance again, your heart suddenly leaped at the sight of the yellow jersey that had appeared at the mouth of the maze. standing with the rest of the crowd, your cry of triumph had just erupted from your lips when you noticed the peculiar state of cedric’s arrival. for he wasn’t alone at the entrance, the unmistakable red jersey of harry potter gleaming beside him. harry who looked like he was shouting, stood crouched over cedric’s body, the look of fear and agony unmistakable even across the pitch. and cedric. cedric who had not moved since his arrival, lay perfectly still beneath harry. 

a horrible image of cedric being attacked by an unknown monster flashed through your mind as you stood with shaky legs and followed the crowd of students down to meet the champions. your heart thundered in your ears, pushing through the forming crowd with a growing desperation. cedric couldn’t be that badly hurt could he? but it was the sight of mrs. diggory’s horror struck features that made you stop in your tracks. 

ignoring the growing dread within you, you followed her line of sight to cedric. cedric, who lay pale and unmoving against the grass. cedric who’s lifeless eyes stared blankly up at the darkened sky. cedric, who was unmistakably, dead.

nervously pulling at the bodice of your gown, you looked around the empty dorm room, trying to calm yourself before you dared step out into the ravenclaw common room, where you knew cedric diggory stood waiting for you. finally deciding that there was nothing left for you to do but leave, you stepped out cautiously on to the balcony that overlooked the main area of the common room, a blush overtaking you as you spotted cedric down below. 

a look of pure wonder and surprise greeted you as you made your way down the staircase to stand in front of him. dressed handsomely in a dark dress robe himself, your breath caught in your throat as you stared up at him, unsure of what to say or do. 

before you could so much as utter a small apology for being late, he lifted your hand in his own and pressing a small kiss upon you knuckles, his eyes never leaving your face, “you look... stunning,” he finished in a low voice. a strange pang rushed down your navel at the sound of his voice. 

“you clean up pretty well, diggory,” the words were just barely above a whisper. “shall we get going?”

taking your hand, he wrapped your arm around the crook of his elbow and walked you through the halls of the castle, the stream of conversation between the two of you never wavering. arriving at the entrance to the great hall, you noticed that you two were the last to arrive. mcgonagall shot them a stern look but continued on in her attempt to arrange the champions into a line. it suddenly occurred to you that you were about to announce your relationship with cedric to the whole school and a sliver of nervousness pooled in your stomach. as if reading your mind, he gave your arm a reassuring squeeze as you followed behind the rest of the couples into the great hall. 

at the cue of the starting note, he turned at took your hand softly in his, leaning down to whisper a remark about mcgonagall dress robes into your ear as you passed. the giggle that escaped your lips loosened the worries that had coiled in your stomach. following his lead, cedric led you through the dance floor and you both waltzed gracefully around the hall, eyes only for each other. 

time had slowed down around you. your fellow students moved past you in slow motion as they jostled past, trying to get a better look. in the distance, you could hear harry shouting, his words coming into sudden focus as the world regained its normal pace again, “he’s back! voldemort! he’s back! he killed cedric!” 

knees buckling beneath you, you sank to the ground, suddenly finding it difficult to breathe. this wasn’t happening right now. no, it was a dream. this was all a terrible dream. but, as the pitch slowly cleared and you could see the sobbing figures of mr. and mrs. diggory again, you knew that no dark depth of your mind could have ever come up with something like this. 

---

days passed in plastic smiles and reassurances to the people that kept asking if you were alright. you wished they would stop asking. how were you supposed to respond? 

time seemed meaningless to you as day passed into night and back again. you barely left your bed, lying there staring up at the ceiling, a hollow emptiness in your chest. you hadn’t cried. hadn’t thrown a fit of rage. hardly even spoken a word since that night. you knew that your friends were getting worried but you didn’t care. nothing felt real anymore. 

twas the night before the second task and you stood in dumbledore’s office, your hand gripped tightly in hermione granger’s. dumbledore had just explained the premises of the task and after assuring the consent of all the ‘hostages’ as he called them, you watched somewhat ruefully as a potion was making its way down the very short line, soon being pressed into your own hand. 

mustering up all your courage, you popped open the bottle cap and gulped down the sweet tasting liquid in one go. the effects were immediate. as the world slowly faded around you, you quickly wished cedric the best of luck in your head and promptly fell into a deep sleep. 

---

your head broke the surface of the icy water with a large gasp. wiping the water out of your eyes, you caught sight of cedric’s equally drenched and laughing face beside you and you couldn’t help but copy his actions, your own laugh breathy as you both made your way towards the shore. 

cedric had been the first to make it back to shore and the cheers from the hogwarts crowd for it were deafening. helping you out of the water, the pair were promptly bundled up in warm blankets by a muttering mrs. pomfrey. sharing a smile, you sat huddled next to him on the log, listening earnestly as he explained how he had rescued you from the murky depths of the lake. he looked so proud and triumphant. leaning forward before you lost your new found courage, you pressed a quick kiss on his cheek and sat back with a blush. 

having not expected it, cedric sat in shock for a moment before turning to you and returning your earlier peck with a deep, passionate kiss of his own. you could hear the crowd around you crowing at the sight. laughing a little as you pulled back, you returned your head to the crook of his shoulder and stared out into the lake, waiting for the rest of the champions to arrive. 

“y/n,” a soft voice interrupted the quiet that filled the dormitory. turning, you managed a slight curve of your lips as greeting for padma patil, “it’s cedric’s memorial feast tonight.” she whispered, as if afraid that if she spoke any louder, she might break you. 

memorial feast. it was cedric’s memorial feast tonight. nodding, you slowly rose from your lying position. “i’ll be down in a minute.” your voice was hoarse after not being in use for so long. padma left the room and you were once again alone. slowly moving out of bed, you moved towards the trunk of clothes that sat at the foot of your bed. 

pulling it open, your heart gave a painful jerk as you caught sight of the yellow sweater that lay, folded neatly atop it. fingers shaking, you pulled the wool sweater out of the trunk. it was as if the sight of it had brought out the rush of emotion you had been trying to bury these past few days. tears streamed down your cheek as you traced around the hufflepuff badge with shaky fingers and great, racketing sobs echoed through the empty room for the next half hour as you sat, the sweater clutched to your chest. you hadn’t even managed a proper goodbye to him. and now he was gone. 

[pokeshippingflashfic]

Askfic off the top of my head. Someone calls Misty a harpy after she scolds them for mistreating... ?

“Jeezus, you’re a real class act, huh?”

“Excuse me?” the redhead shrieked in a somewhat breathless tone, arms somewhere between crossing defensively over her chest and posturing before her, fists instantaneously ready to physically defend herself.

“Yikes, I wish I’d known before I left town that I was gonna need earplugs today. What a drag…” the opposing young girl shrugged with a hint of a snide smirk. 

“Look, just ‘cause you wanna turn around and insult me for calling you out doesn’t mean I’m gonna walk away and pretend I didn’t see what I saw!”

“And if you’d look, you’d realize that what you saw is none of your business anyway, okay? So why don’t you just turn your scrawny self around and get outta here! These are my Pokemon and I can train them how I want!”

Misty scowled, fingers itching to grab the girl by her neck and wring it until she was more disposed to listening to a more knowledgeable person’s advice.

“I’m telling you as someone who’s seen it before, treating Magikarp like this is dangerous.”

“I have no reason to trust you just because you say you know better! I caught these Pokemon myself for the sole purpose of evolving them! A full team of super strong Gyarados on my side? Hardly anyone will stand a chance!” the young female trainer guffawed. 

An overall distant memory of being stranded at sea with some of her worst enemies and, at the time, more acquaintances than friends fluttered to the top of Misty’s mind. Their raft capsized and she was overcome with cold, dark, and loneliness. 

This was followed by a somewhat more recent recollection of her first day as the covering Cerulean Gym lead trainer, trying her best to tame the territorial and abandoned Gyarados her sisters had left behind when they went on their voyage.

Now, months later, she was finally able to spend a few days with her friends again, had escaped Team Rocket’s latest mon-napping attempt or few and found an opportunity to relax, only to stumble on a stranger using pseudo-abusive training to force their Pokemon to evolve as fast as possible. She was only supposed to be refilling the group’s canteens again for the rest of the night!

Her wary gaze dropped sympathetically to the rather pathetic looking three water-types flailing uselessly in the stream before her, a somewhat aggressive electric-type Misty loosely recognized from the Hoenn region named Electrike posturing on their haunches between them with electricity crackling around its head.

By the time she’d shaken herself from her reverie and returned to the present, the younger lass had turned haughtily on her heel and appeared to be preparing her electric-type to attack her other Pokemon again.

“Wait!” the redhead cried desperately, one step taken instinctively forward even with her arms full of canteens dangling from their straps. But what else was there to say? Other than looking temporarily the worse for wear, the three Magikarp didn’t seem to be malnourished, ill, or afraid. And though the voice in the back of her head was still demanding her warning be validated, another part of her wondered if the girl was right. What business was this of hers?

“Misty? I thought that was you!” a familiar voice called out from somewhere behind her.

“Oh, Ash–”

“–Ugh, now your dumb friends are butting in?!”

“Mwah?!” Ash replied, dismayed at the slight to his ego immediately after his arrival, clutching the firewood he’d offered to gather more tightly in his arms.

“Look, I’ll tell you what I already told her! I can train my Pokemon how I want! This was my plan from the start, to toughen them up and push them to evolve! I’m not doing anything wrong! And you!” she rounded on Misty once more, Ash forgotten in the background though he still appeared to be trying to piece one and one together, frantically glancing between the two girls. “Why are you still even here, you harpy?! Screeching and wailing for me to do what you say?! I don’t owe you such courtesy! I don’t even know you so I have no reason to listen to you!”

“Wha - hey, wait a sec!” the younger male trainer shouted obstinately now before Misty’s fiery spirit could kick in. And to her (rather pleasant, if she were being honest) surprise, Ash leaped in front of her as if to protect her from anymore emotional damage. “I don’t know what’s goin’ on but Misty was probably just trying to help! … Uh, right?” he finished awkwardly, glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

The redhead found herself nodding mutely, still shocked at his apparent chivalry. Glancing past him, she saw the female trainer gritting her teeth, brow furrowed, mortified at what probably felt akin to two strangers ganging up on her. And it hit her instantaneously that she’d found the source of the opposing girl’s bitterness.

Maybe if I try a softer approach?

“Look, I know it might not mean anything…” she began calmly and swiftly, unceremoniously dropping her armful of canteens to the ground and taking a cautious step forward, “but I’m actually a gym leader from this region.”

“Pssht, yeah right!” the lass responded stubbornly, arms crossed defensively over her chest. A few seconds passed before she glanced suspiciously at her would-be attacker, “… Which gym?”

“Uh, in Cerulean. The gym belongs to my family. My name is Misty.”

Perhaps it was the city name or the sound of the redhead’s identity sounding semi-familiar but the girl responded with sudden embarrassed comprehension, though she quickly stifled it so nobody would notice.

“W - well, even if that’s true…” she stuttered instead, gaze alternating between aversion and boldness before she trailed off.

It took every ounce of Misty’s willpower not to roll her eyes. She was finally making progress though so she couldn’t forfeit now.

“I li - love Pokemon but… water-types are my favorite. I’ve always liked them most of all and my dream is to eventually be the best water-type master trainer in the world,” the redhead continued, taking another discreet step forward and offering a halfhearted glance in the direction of the group of Pokemon in the background.

“I know how important it is to be the strongest. The best. I mean, even at home, I wasn’t allowed to help with the gym until pretty recently. And if I really plan to be a master, I know… that there’s a lot I still have to learn and do to prove myself to everyone. But…”

“Ngh…!” The girl was very clearly going through an internal struggle.

Finally facing her supposed adversary, Misty took a firm hold of the other girl’s hands and tugged softly, enough so they were inclined to look each other in the eye.

“… But finding shortcuts like these, though tempting, never ends well. I’ve seen newly evolved Gyarados create storms and wreak havoc intense enough to almost kill people. I mean, I have a Gyarados now myself!” And, before the girl could interrupt, Misty went on, “But the first time we met, he tried t - to drown me.”

She was faintly aware of Ash, still relatively close in case things escalated again, straightening his back, breath caught in his throat at this news. Her story also appeared to have quite the effect on her intended audience, as the young lass before her stared wide-eyed and mouth slightly agape.

“Gyarados are violent and impulsive, instinctive and distrusting. If you really want a whole squad of them to help you prove yourself in this world… then you need to put in the work too. It’s the only way you’re going to earn their loyalty and respect.”

Things were awkwardly silent for the following minute or so. Making one last effort to break the tension, the redhead pulled her hands away long enough to rummage in her bag, removing a small spray bottle and holding it out.

“Here’s a super potion. It may not be enough to get your Magikarp all back to perfect health but it should help for now if they share it. And, for the record, you were right. None of this here is really any of my business but… I guess I just hope you’ll make the right choice in the end.”

The trip back to their group’s campsite roughly ten minutes later was steeped in pregnant and tense quiet murky enough to almost bowl her over. Misty had walked a few minutes away after their conversation to finally complete her task of filling canteens and hadn’t had the nerve to check back in with the girl before returning to their friends.

She could only wonder if she’d really gotten through…

Ash’s pace slowed, he fell a little further in step behind her, but intended to follow through with his inquiry anyway.

“So… that story about Gyarados nearly drowning you? Is that… I guess that’s true, huh?”

Her step faltered too, mind racing as she contemplated her response. Part of her had expected he wouldn’t ask, another part had expected he might even if it would be hard to talk about.

“Uh… yeah.”

“Oh. I guess… when we met him in Hoenn, I didn’t… get that impression. He seemed so…”

“… Loyal and respectful?” she volunteered with a knowing half-smile. “Well, how else would I have known what to say before? Trust begets trust and love begets love. It’s a good lesson to learn, Mr. Pokemon Master.”

“Does stuff like… like that happen often since returning to Cerulean?” he went on, and Misty blinked, impressed by his curiosity.

She was very briefly overwhelmed with memories of her other adventures; PIA Agent Joy secretly inspecting her gym, those awful brothers from Viridian stalking her and seeking vengeance, being attacked by Pokemon and Team Rocket on several occasions…

“Well,” she offered with the faintest giggle, and Ash was grateful for the cover of darkness hiding his flushed cheeks, “no more often than when we traveled together for sure.”

“But that was different!” His response was automatic, almost oversensitive. She hadn’t expected them to talk in such detail about this situation. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought she’d get a rise out of Ash like this. She was torn between taking offense or having her uncertainty put to rest.

“Oh yeah? How’s that?”

She wondered, albeit briefly, if he was about to blame himself somehow. Alas…

“Because! We had each other then, didn’t we? But now that you’re home…” he trailed off, looked at the ground before kicking a pebble in frustration. Where were the words he needed? And the courage to say them to her for that matter! “Now… we don’t… you don’t have me, ‘yknow, there.”

He was suddenly feeling quite overheated, cheeks and neck and ears uncomfortably toasty after his confession.

“… Oh.”

Well, that was unexpected.

“Y - yeah, so you need to take better care of yourself from now on!” he practically yelped in complaint before stomping forward and passing her by, still refusing to look her in the eye in case she noticed his predicament.

... Hypocrite! she replied internally, surprised that it was accompanied by a suppressed bark of laughter as she picked up the pace to rejoin him. 

A good thing too because apparently their conversation wasn’t over.

“That all being said… I think ya handled that really well back there. These kinds of situations can be tricky…” To conceal his lack of breath at such flattering commentary, he continued rambling, “Uh, what’s it called? Like a gray area? It reminds me of when we met AJ right after we first started traveling together.”

“Oh, yeah, I guess it’s sort of the same, huh…?” she replied softly, almost wistfully. “Still no way to know if I made the right call… But I think I did what was best for her and her Pokemon so that’s… really all that I can expect of myself.”

They were one wall of foliage away from their friends now. Ash had resorted to awkwardly clearing his throat, refusing to look her in the eye. Misty, unsure if it was the frustrating prospect of being cornered by a curious May, Max, and Brock later over such odd behavior, or else an impish streak hoping test Ash’s patience one last time tonight, or even the genuine friend in her hoping to give a little something back after all the emotional intimacy he’d bared for her this evening, decided to go for it.

“Y’know Ash, I think you handled yourself well tonight too.”

He stared blankly back at her, one brow just beginning to furrow as he begged the question, “Uh… I did? How?”

She felt an instant warmth spread from her chest to her limbs, heartbeat so violently loud she could feel it pulsing in her fingertips as they unconsciously twirled around a particular canteen strap from anxiety. Still, the memory of Ash stepping to her defense and placing himself between her and any perceived threat had been quite the romantic experience. Not to mention the other precious pieces of himself he’d proffered over the past hour or so…

“Oh, I mean, it’s nothing much. I just wanted you to know that I’m grateful you showed up tonight, I guess. Now let’s get back. I’m surprised they didn’t start looking for us after all this time!” And they crashed unanimously through the underbrush, stumbling back to their destination for the night, one final thought crossing Misty’s mind.

With Ash’s heart sewn so loosely on his sleeve, it was quite easy to tell even after all this time… exactly how he felt about her.

[Btw, my intention was that this fic took place during the short time Ash and Misty travel together again with May, Max, and Brock after Ash’s return from Hoenn.

Btw x2, if you’re so obliged, please reblog this fic and spread news of this blog. I know posts are slower now, work is hectic and I don’t have as much time to write, but I would like to get some more fic requests. Every time I ask lately I’ve only gotten 0-1 at a time.]

[momentsinsong]

Moments In Song No. 027 - Hunter Hooligan

Music speaks to all of us, regardless of where we come from or what we’ve been through. Whether it be from 50 years ago, or today, music has the ability to liberate us from the mundanity of the world. Hunter has spent half their life learning about the special role music plays in our lives and used that understanding to propel their artistry forward. We talk to them about their deep dive into the history of music, the unconditional support of their Grandmother, and the importance of Pop.

Listen to Hunter’s playlist on Apple Music and Spotify. 

Words and photos by Julian.

________________________________________________________________

Julian: When I was listening to your playlist, I noticed that there were two very distinct halves to it. That first half is much more upbeat, dancy, techno almost, there’s some disco in there. Very much a four on the floor type of feel. And then that second half is very much more slowed down, and has that singer-songwriter/acoustic type of feel to it. Is that what you were going for when making your playlist?

Hunter: I love making playlists. I am that person who would make friends mix CDs and stuff like that. Every one would be so carefully curated. That’s why I was having such a hard time [Laughs]. Thinking about narrowing down my music taste into 10 songs, I was like, “Wow! This is big.” You know what I mean? I think there was a conscious effort to order songs a certain way. Even when I’m making my projects I am very conscious about the song placement, the tracklisting, I’m very very thoughtful and purposefully about it. I sent you one version of the playlist but I made like six versions that were totally different. It’s just because music is my life. I was trying to think of songs that were really important to me, songs that I loved my whole life, songs that are pretty new to me. I was just trying to find a balance of the songs that I like and also trying to make it make some semblance of sense. 

When you were making the different versions of your playlist, how do you know once you’ve made the final one? What was the deciding factor?

Even up until the night I sent it to you, there were like 15 songs on the playlist. I was like, “I can not believe I have to cut 5 of these songs!” I think every one of those songs is a doorway into my taste. Every single one of those songs is a good signifier of so many other songs that are similar to it that I like. 

So you’re saying like, this one acoustic Amy Whinehouse song is the entryway to a bunch of other singer-songwriter stuff you like. Or this Charli XCX is an entry way to more feel good poppy stuff you like. 

Yes, exactly. And so I think I kind of looked at it like a hallway with 10 doors and each door was to a room of infinite other amounts of music I love. I wanted to pick songs that were important to me, and songs that were special to me. Even the Charli XCX song which isn’t that old, and the FKA twigs song which also came out last year, they’re representative of so much more music I like, and what I like about music right now. 

Which is what?

What I really like about “Gone” is that it is so carefully crafted as a Pop song, as far as the production goes. And lyrically it has the structure of a Pop song, there’s verses, there’s a chorus. I love that it is a collaboration. I think collaboration is everything. What I love about that song in particular is that it’s so expected, production wise, as a Pop song but the lyrics are so bizarre. The chorus-- there’s something very impenetrable about the lyrics of the chorus. There’s something really so dissociative about the lyrics, but it’s still so catchy and so emotional. You feel it. Even though I have no idea what the song is talking about. I think there’s clues as to what they’re singing about, but I think it’s something you feel more. They almost sound to me like an A.I. wrote them. Like if you fed an A.I. a bunch of Pop songs and then it spit out a chorus to its own Pop song, that’s what it would sound like.

I always feel like Charli XCX has always straddled the line between, “I can sing the catchiest, poppiest hook you’ve ever heard” but on the flipside “I can take you down to some artsy, weirdo, off the wall type stuff.

And that’s what I love. I really love artists that straddle that line, for today. I love people who are versatile, who are brave, who are shapeshifters. People who are not afraid to be incredibly straight-forward and simple, but also thoughtful and crafted. I think it’s really cool.

I definitely agree with you on that. We’re definitely seeing a resurgence of female pop artists who fall into that lane. If you think about Lorde, or Billie Ellish, or Tinashe, they straddle that line. That’s what you like about the new songs, what about the old songs on your playlist? What are some of the songs on there that you’ve loved forever?

“I Feel Love” by Donna Summer, to me, is one of the best songs ever written. It’s one of the best dance records ever made. It’s brilliant. The production is incredible. The vocal is incredible. It all just hits you so right. To think that this song was produced in the 70’s is mind blowing. I listened to that song and I’m like, “This sounds futuristic now.” 

For me that song is a doorway into the music that surrounded me as a child. My parents had a really versatile taste in music and played a lot of stuff. My mom and I would do weekend Spring cleanings and she would load up the 6 CD stereo system and we would crank everything from Aretha Franklin, to Elton John, Aerosmith, Tupac, she loved everything. I think I inherited this excitement for music from her. 

She also loved 90’s dance music that was on the radio when I was little. She would go to club nights at The Depot and get mixes from DJs and play them in the car. Also when I was really young, my family is all in N.A., and at the time they would put on these dances as a way for people in recovery to go to a safe space that wasn’t a bar or rave where they might find alcohol or drugs and relapse, and enjoy the music. My family would take me, and I was like 7 or 8, and the music there was just… that the first time I heard “I Feel Love.” So much 90’s dance music that I love now was played at those dances.

How does you starting out at 7 and 8 going to these dance parties evolve into the taste of music you have now?

I started working in studios when I was 13, and that’s when I really decided that I was going to make music. 

When you say working, you mean in the actual studio?

Yeah early on I would bring in my songs, you know little things I would record. I would write with other people, I would ask to come and sit in on a session.

So this was a job you got or did you know someone in the studio?  

So I started taking voice lessons and through my voice teacher got connected to different producers and engineers. And in my mom’s previous life, she was married to the original owner of Hammerjacks, which is a legendary Baltimore nightclub, so she knew people from then who were musicians and who had their own studios and spaces like that. I kind of just really made it a point to be in those places. Around that time I also felt like I wanted to have an education in what American music had always been, and so I started really early on listening to the first records ever made, which were anthropological in nature. From there I became really in love with Blues. 

I wasn’t able to fit her on the playlist but she was there up until the very end, Bessie Smith. I mean this is someone who we’re talking about who was making music almost 100 years ago. I listened to her records and would sing them all the time. I feel like I learned so much about singing from her. She was so ahead of her time. From her ideas about her stage shows, to being a black queer woman, singing Blues in the segregated south, she was brilliant. She’s a forever artist to me. 

I had this idea of giving myself an education of what Pop music in America had been over time. Because Pop music is just whatever is popular. Through that I listened to Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday, and then from there Eartha Kitt and Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Janis Joplin, Tina Turner, and I just kept following the times. Through that I heard so much music I had never heard before. I felt like music had this endless possibility of being anything.  

And this was all on your own? You just decided to do this one day?

[Laughs] Yeah this is just what I did. I didn’t have a lot of friends. You know it’s the whole “queer youth” storyline. Outcast, freak, bullied, blah blah blah. I would spend a lot of time by myself and music was my friend. I wanted to know everything about it.

So you’re building your background knowledge with this research, gaining access to this studio, then decide to make your own music. What was that process like?

When I was really little, I would take songs off the radio and write new lyrics to them. So it would be the same melodies and all of that, but I would just write my own song. When my parents divorced, there was a lot of change and chaos in my family and just in my life, and that’s when I started writing my own original songs. That was when I was 13. Then I would take the original songs that I wrote to my voice teacher and she would help me put chords to them and create these songs. A lot of times it would be me singing this melody to her, and she would fiddle around with the piano a little bit and then we would come up with a chord progression we liked and record them on a cassette tape. Once I had a couple of songs there that I really, really liked, she suggested that I record them in a studio. She worked things out with my family and for my birthday they bought me studio time.

That’s like the best gift ever!

I know! It was this amazing, brilliant thing. It was my grandmother. My grandmother always supported my music and me singing. I had a job really young, around 13, working at a snack bar. But it wasn’t enough for studio time. And honestly she paid for most of the studio time when I was young. She was a domestic worker. She would scrub people’s toilets and then turn around and give me $150 for a day in the studio. And that was never a question. 

What do you mean it was never a question?

She was never, ever like, “I don’t know if I can do this. I don’t know if this is worth it.” Never. The sacrifice she made for that was never lost on me. I knew, even then, what that meant. To have someone who is working so hard, literally barely making enough to survive, support you. I don’t think I realized, that young, how poor my family was. I did know we weren’t wealthy by any means, so the fact that she would do that is amazing. I’m never not going to make this worth it, for her. If I were doing it for me, I would’ve walked away a long time ago. This industry is terrible. It’s full of people who will steal, people who will cut you out and leave you in the dust.  I’ve lost a lot of skin in this game. The reason I do this is for my grandmother, my family, my ancestors. 

My family is Native and has really been through it, for a long time. We have nothing to show for it. Every person in my family has experienced intense trauma, and I have as well. If this was all about “Look at me! I’m so talented,” if this is what it was about for me-- hell no. I would be a happy real estate agent at this point. It’s about making all of this sacrifice and trauma my family has been through mean something, and putting it into art. Maybe one day I’ll be on a Grammy stage, and maybe one day I’ll be dead in a ditch. I don’t know. But I do know that my life is for my community. People like me. People who can relate. At the end of the day that’s what’s important to me. 

Do you take the history of your family and the sacrifices they’ve made, the vulnerabilities and emotions shared from the music you enjoy, and good old fashioned pop sensibility and incorporate all of those into the music you’re making now?

Definitely. For me, Pop music is about a feeling. There’s no pretext. You don’t have to know the story, you don’t have to know the language, you don’t have to know anything about it before you hear it. But when you hear that Pop song, you feel it. And that is universal. That’s why we see this huge rise in K-Pop. There’s not a parallel rise in people being able to speak Korean. People don’t always know what K-Pop stars are singing about but they feel it. Pop music is a feeling, a communication that transcends language barriers, time barriers, space barriers. That’s why Pop is what I’m aiming for. I want to connect. I want people to feel like there’s space for them in the music. 

The music that I’m making now is coming from a place that is newer for me to create from. It’s authentic to what I’m feeling now and where I feel like so many people are at in the world. There’s a lot of pain. There’s a lot of exhaustion, anxiety, depression. I want to make music that makes people feel like they’re powerful. Like my new song “Metal Me.”  To me that song is about personal power. Those sounds, that production, it feels powerful. I want people to feel like they can conquer their demons and fight everything against them. If I can make somebody feel powerful with a song, that’s it. 

Connect with Hunter Hooligan

Instagram

Twitter

Connect with Moments In Song:

Instagram

Twitter

Spotify

Apple Music

[dreamlanddoll]

Step by Step

You’re nervous about having to dance for your welcoming ball, Cedric helps you out (you replace Sofia in this AU- making you the new princess).

this idea was given to me by @omgselinabeckendorf !  A wonderful friend of mine who has the cutest ideas :)

“Mr. Cedric... could you maybe... teach me how to dance?”

Your request initially shocked the sorcerer, blinking his eyes rapidly and shaking his head a little to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Realizing that made him look foolish, he crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow. “And what makes you think I know how to dance?” He attempted to keep his cold demeanor.

You shrugged, pressing your lips together in a smile. “I dunno.. you just seem like the type.”

Cedric’s brows furrowed- what on earth did you mean by that? What were you trying to do? Tease him? He was already getting fed up with this. There was no time for dancing when he had a Kingdom to take over! “Why don’t I just give you a spell to help you dance, yeah? Then you won’t have to waste my- I-I mean.. your time.” he chuckled.

You sighed, getting a little frustrated. You only had a few hours left before the ball! “No! If I use a spell to dance then I’ll never really learn! Plus.. I’d feel like I’m cheating..” you twiddled with your fingers, looking down at your gown hem.

Cedric internally scoffed. Cheating? You’d feel like you’re cheating? At what? Never in his life had he met anyone who was as much of a goody-two shoes as you. It was insufferably adorable. He needed you to leave immediately. Cedric was about to roll his eyes and shoo you out of his lair- but stopped when you looked up at him with big pleading eyes and an ever so slight- never the less effective- pout.

He felt a heat creep up into his pale cheeks and he sighed, dropping his shoulders and throwing his head back. “Fine. I will give you one dance lesson but that’s it!” He said, holding his index finger in the air to emphasize that you get one try, and only one. Or.. so he thought for now. Using his wand, with one simple flick he was able to conjure a classical waltzing tune that filled his workshop. You looked around in awe for a second before thanking him as Cedric took your hand in his and put the other one on your waist. He didn’t really give it much mind at first but once he held you- he immediately felt his heart beat at a concerning rapid pace. He gulped, trying to scramble around his mind to recall what his ballroom dancing class at Hexley Hall had taught him... though, it was hard for Cedric to concentrate with your hand resting on his shoulder. “A-all right, now when dancing, you must allow the man to lead.”

You looked at him, puzzled- and honestly a little annoyed. Ready to hear some old, traditional, misogynistic bull, you raised an eyebrow and asked, “Why?”

Cedric opened his mouth to answer, but nothing but a slight chocking on his words came out. He puzzled as well. “I’m.. not sure. No matter though, just follow me for now.”

You looked to the side- fair- you thought. You didn’t even know what you were doing after all. You saw that Cedric had put a foot backwards, so you followed suit with the opposite foot. Getting used to following him, he began leading you in a simple box-step, telling you to count the steps in your head- 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 3. You weren’t quite ready for the next one however, despite Cedric saying, “And now we separate and I twirl you, are you ready?”

You nodded, faking confidence with a look on your face that said “yeah I’m ready!! I can do this!!” And as he guided you into a twirl, your arm raised over your head and you spun a few times- making your dress flare out beautifully as the ruffles swished and swirled underneath your over-skirt. Cedric internally swooned at how graceful you looked. He was quite impressed actually. You faced back to him and smiled- excitement bubbling inside you from landing the twirl perfectly. You were about to walk back to him with an elegant stride, but you felt your ankle block your other foot from progressing- causing you to gasp and stumble forward. In a panic, Cedric lunched forward to steady you using the little strength he had- but it was just enough for you. The music, though softly, continued to play.

“Are you alright?” He asked with genuine concern, which you weren’t really used to hearing from him out of the few weeks you’ve known the tower-dwelling wizard.

You looked up at him with breathy laughter escaping your lips. “Yeah.. um...” you stood up with his assistance and soothed out the crinkles in your bodice. “I guess my lesson’s over then?” You shrugged, recalling he said you got to have one and only one try.

Cedric hummed, he did say that you only get one try. Scratching the back of his neck and eyeing his main door- he started to feel a little bad. Offering his hand to you, he attempted to hide his smile. “Nonsense, my dear. You aren’t going to get good at this unless you practice! And as my father always said- slow and steady does the trick.”

You blushed, surprised by his sudden gumption. But of course you weren’t going to pass up his offer. Taking his hand you stepped in closer to him. “Thank you, Mr. Cedric.”

Cedric tried not to stare at you too much as you both danced around his workshop- but good heavens, you were gorgeous. Cedric couldn’t help it if his eyes lingered on your soft lips, or your sparkling eyes, or your h/c hair that was cascading down your shoulders for too long. Not that he had feelings for you. Of course not! He just... had eyes, and he wasn’t stupid- well- that may have been up for debate. But he couldn’t let himself get distracted from his main goal- your amulet, and then the Kingdom. Yes. Back on track, that was all that mattered. Not your radiant smile, or kind heart, or outgoing personality...

But here he was, going out of his way to teach you how to dance. He loathed giving into his kindly impulses, but not wanting to upset the person with the one thing that was the key to his success, he offered you kindly smiles every once in a while when you two made eye-contact.

You meanwhile, were looking nervously at your moving feet- making sure you were getting the steps right to not make a fool of yourself again. In all honesty a little nervous in making Cedric think you were some silly, clumsy, wide-eyed child. You weren’t a child, at least that’s what you wanted to prove to people- you were 25. A young, confident woman with the ability to break men’s hearts. Yes, that sounded more like it.

“I think I’m getting the hang of this...” you slowly trailed your eyes back up to him, a small smile gracing your lips.

Cedric returned your glance, too nervous to respond- but happy you were catching on so quickly. The song as he recalled was nearing an end, and he greatly contemplated if he’d be so bold as to dip you or not... loosing himself in his panicked thoughts, he felt your weight begin to shift in his arms.

Confused, he let out a small hum before noticing you were practically letting yourself fall, his eyes widened- and before he could react you stumbled to the ground- taking Cedric along with you- the both of you letting out two different kinds of screams.

A hard thud followed, along with a groan coming from him as he rubbed his head and flipped himself over on his back. Trying not to sound too annoyed, he grimaced. “What in Merlin’s name did you do that for?”

You sat up quickly, holding onto your arm, looking at him a bit flushed and embarrassed you reverted into your tensed up shoulders. “I-I thought.. you were supposed to dip me at the end! You know, like in the books?” You blushed, tucking some hair behind your ear.

Cedric blinked at you, but then scoffed and shook his head when he realized what you meant. “Those are romance books my dear- you can’t believe everything you read!”

You bit your lip, feeling bad for frustrating him. “Um.. sorry.” you looked down, your lashes covering your irises. Oh god, you didn’t think you’ve ever been so embarrassed in your whole life. “You must think I’m pretty silly, huh?” you laughed, trying to maybe, just a little, lighten the mood.

Cedric sighed, letting his hand fall to the floor. The last thing he wanted to do right now was upset you, seeing as you were already in pain enough. “No no no, it’s alright.” He waved his hand, dismissing the upset as you stood back up. After you dusted off your skirts you offered your hand to him, which he took- feeling a strange wave of feelings go through him as he did- you stood him back up. Sighing, he looked at you, thinking for a moment and pressing his lips together, dare he even ask? Well, you already tried to yourself, so he supposed why not. “Why don’t we take it from the top and try that again, hm?”

“Huh?” you looked at him with wide, glimmering eyes. You then looked down at his hand, which was out for you to place your hand in. You did so, smiling from relief as the enchanted music started up again.

Going through the motions again, his hand on your waist yours on his shoulder, a minute of twirls and box-steps later, you had one final round before the song came to an end. Carefully now, you slowly lowered yourself back- but not too much this time to avoid anything over the top. Cedric let you relax in his arm, trying to feign a little extra strength for you as he leaned over you slightly, the song coming to a stop.

Admittedly he was a tad entranced by you right now- the look you were giving him.. he wasn’t sure you were aware of it but if you were he seriously needed an explanation. Because no princess has ever given him so much as a second glance let along the gaze you were currently bestowing upon him. He suddenly felt weak in his knees, not from the action of holding you like this but the feeling of it, Cedric felt his mind wander to the possibility of him holding you like this again in the future.. perhaps- if it was even possible- where you two were together...

“Mr. Cedric, are you okay?”

Your voice snapped him out of his thoughts- just then did he notice his whole face was as hot as a stove. He blinked a couple of times, his mouth dropped open as he tried to speak but the only sounds emitting were “um”s and “uh”s.

You giggled, you had to admit that Cedric was quite adorable when he was flustered. You hated to be like this, but you wondered if there was anything else you could do to get a rise out of him without being too forward... you tried to see by slowly running your fingers up his shoulder and into the hair scruff of his neck.

Cedric felt his whole body tense up once you did this- what were you trying to do? Kill him?! You were doing exactly that by the looks of it as you leaned up closer to him, saying in a hushed voice- “Thanks for the dance lesson~” you patted his cheek the hand that was previously buried in his hair and you stood back up.

“Uh.. I..” he felt the cheek you touched, rubbing his thumb along his jaw.

You were nearly out the door before he knew it, waving and giving him a goodbye wink you said, “See you at the ball tonight, Mr. Cedric!” With that, the door shut, leaving the poor sorcerer in his workshop utterly baffled and weak.

“Y-you’re w-welcome.” he said to the empty space before him. Regaining his senses he groaned- frustratingly tugging on his bangs in his clenched up fists and then throwing his hands his sides. It was then Wormwood had flown off his perch and onto Cedric’s shoulder to comfort him. He looked at his bird with a tiredness in his eyes. “If I don’t get her amulet soon, I’m going to loose it.” The sooner he stole your amulet and took over the Kingdom, the sooner he could avoid any potentially growing... ugh, feelings, for you.

[baphomet-media]

The Real Mountain Was the Friends We Made Along the Way - A Celeste Review

Genre: Adventure

Subgenre: 2D Platformer

Developer: Matt Makes Games

Publisher: Matt Makes Games

Platform(s): PC, Switch, PS4 (Reviewed on Switch)

Release Date: January 25th, 2018

Celeste is a game that completely took me by surprise. I first saw it while idly browsing through the Switch eShop back in 2018, and after checking out the trailer and seeing a bit of mention of it online, decided to give it a try. I was distinctly impressed by its tight controls, touching story, and wealth of challenging-but-fair gameplay. Now, a little over two years later, I decided to revisit the game and see if it still holds up.

Story

Celeste focuses on the story of Madeline, a young woman who decides to climb Celeste Mountain in an act of defiant self-exploration. Along the way, she’ll have to face her insecurities and anxiety head-on in the form of a ghostly doppelganger created from her negative emotions that seems to haunt her at every turn. Despite this, she is rarely alone, as she has the company of fellow climber Theo, a selfie-loving hipster; a kooky old woman who lives on the mountain; and more. Each character has their own troubles and reasons for being on the mountain, though Theo is vastly more fleshed-out than the other side characters.

While the story is never tear-jerking at any point, it definitely hits home with a young adult such as myself who is also dealing with similar insecurities as Madeline, and has a good message about learning to rely on those around you, and to accept yourself for good and bad. I really enjoyed that the game is not afraid to touch on very real aspects of mental illness in a way that neither glorifies nor diminishes it, and treats Madeline as a real person who is just doing her best to work though her issues, making both progress and mistakes along the way.

Gameplay

At its core, Celeste is a 2D platformer that focuses on challenging-but-fair levels. Each chapter of the game is its own level, broken down into rooms that you progress through in a roughly linear format (with minor sidetracking for collectables), ultimately trying to reach the end. Madeline has a number of standard platforming moves, including jumps and wall jumping, but with expanded mechanics such as the ability to climb walls and dash in midair. While these mechanics are very powerful in theory, they’re well limited. Madeline only has so much stamina for climbing, and when it runs out, she begins to slide down the wall. The dash mechanic is also limited to one use, which is recharged upon landing, hitting a spring or other object, or touching a crystal pickup. I really liked how well-balanced these mechanics felt, as even if you’re out of stamina, you can still wall jump to attempt to save yourself, and there are plenty of ways to replenish both stamina and dashes.

Each chapter of the game also introduces its own mechanical gimmicks that interact with Madeline’s core mechanics in some way. Most of these end up being variations of moving platforms, but there’s enough variety to keep things fresh. The game is also very good at teaching you not only how these gimmicks work, but how you’re expected to synergize them with your core movement.

The game even has advanced techniques for speedrunners and other expert players, such as what I refer to as the wavedash, where you dash diagonally down into the ground and jump a split second later to preserve the forward momentum of the dash, while keeping your dash charge from being on the ground. Advanced players will find all sorts of advanced tech and applications for them that will allow them to finesse their way through the game’s levels and find hidden skips.

The game also has a few optional collectibles. First are the strawberries, which are the main collectibles. There are around 20 strawberries per chapter, and most are either located in out-of-the-way challenge rooms, tricky locations on the main path, or hidden in secret holes in the map. One thing I liked about the strawberries is that it usually isn’t enough to just get to the strawberry, you also have to make your way back to solid ground afterward. You also aren’t pressured to collect them if you don’t want to, and the game even says on a loading screen that they’re purely optional and to only go for them if you want to. I found most strawberries to be fair enough to collect, though there were the odd one or two that were frustrating to find, as they required the player to spot tiny irregularities in the level design to investigate.

Aside from strawberries, each chapter also has a hidden Cassette Tape that unlocks a more difficult B-Side chapter that remixes the themes and gimmicks into a much harder version. The B-Sides were definitely more stressful at times, but felt really good to get through. If I were to do another playthrough, I’d probably want to revisit the B-Sides after doing all the main chapters, as the alternating spikes in difficulty made the difficulty curve more on the stressful side.

Lastly, each chapter has a Crystal Heart collectible that is usually extremely hidden, but allows unlocking end-game content. Like some of the strawberries, a few of the Crystal Hearts can be frustrating to find, and a few are further hidden behind puzzles that the player has to solve based on very limited information. I enjoy puzzles like this in games, though later on in the game they can start to border on obtuse.

Celeste also comes with an extremely well-developed Assist Mode that lets the player fully customize how the game runs, including slowing down the game, allowing infinite stamina or dashes, etc. Though I never used it, it’s not only a great tool for less experienced players to get through a challenging game, but it’s also useful for those who want to fully explore everything the game has to offer and test the limits of the engine. Unlike other games that rub their assist modes in the player’s face, Celeste never nags you about it, but always has the option ready in the pause menu should you need it. This allows the player to switch in and out of the mode at will without feeling like the game is forcing them to. Nintendo could really learn a lesson from Celeste.

There’s also a plethora of end-game content that I won’t go into here, but suffice to say that there is plenty to do in the game after the credits roll, including a free update to the game that added an additional postgame chapter.

My only real criticism of the game is that levels have an obnoxious tendency to block access to previous rooms without warning. This is particularly frustrating when you notice an alternate path or potential secret just as you go through a room transition and there’s no way back into the previous room. Though to be fair, once you’ve completed a chapter, you can start from any of the chapter’s main sections. Plus, the game tells you which collectibles you’re missing in each area, and once you’ve obtained a collectible, it’s immediately saved, so if you’re only missing a few strawberries, you can easily jump into the section where you’re missing them, grab them quickly, and then exit the level. Still, I think it would be worthwhile if the game had some way of letting players know that certain doors will lock behind them, or otherwise indicate that certain paths are one-way only.

Presentation

Celeste’s visuals use a pixel art aesthetic with tons of detail, making each room of each chapter a delight to the eyes. Each chapter is also visually distinct enough that you always feel like you’re seeing something new. One interesting point is that the game seems to be using a feature that can dynamically stretch and squish sprites without requiring the developers to draw individual frames for these transformations. This is a pretty ingenious idea, though I felt at times it was a bit too obvious, as some of the results could be a bit jagged or exaggerated. Still, it’s probably not something that the average player would notice or care about.

The game’s soundtrack tends to focus on relaxing background pieces that set the mood with lots of emotional piano parts, but also knows how to build up energy during high-tension sections or make the player feel triumphant. Additionally, each B-Side chapter has a remix of the chapter’s theme, which adds additional pizzaz to the soundtrack.

Conclusion

Celeste is an amazing game that bleeds charm and love from the developers, and will leave you feeling accomplished and hopeful. It has enough challenge for platforming veterans without being unfair or inaccessible to less experienced players. There’s something to love here for everyone, and I urge everyone who is even slightly interested in the game to give it a shot.

Score: 9 / 10

[breanime]

Lessons (Part Two)

Requested by @its-my-little-dumpster-fire:  If you’re still feeling blocked and needing inspiration......... I promise to scream wildly over anything Sam Adams does. Ya know. Is he learning any new lessons lately? 🤤

Aw yeah, he is. This is my 2nd time writing Sam, and I’m a tad bit tipsy, so sorry if this is a bit of a mess... Thank you for reading, though!

WARNING: steamy!!! Read with caution!

*gif not mine*

Sam couldn’t keep his leg from bouncing. He sat besides Dr. Warren and across from Hancock in the carriage, hands on his knees and leg bouncing up and down. He was impatient, he was eager.

He was insatiable.

Sam looked out of the window, noting the progress they’d made since the journey started, yet still finding himself unsatisfied. They were still miles from town, from you.

“Can’t this thing go any faster?” He asked for the 6th time, straining to sit up to get a better look at the horses.

“We’re making good time, Sam,” Warren said easily, not looking up from his book, “We’ll be in town within the hour.”

Sam groaned, leaning his head back. That wasn’t good enough. It was already late; you were probably asleep already. “We’ve been riding for days,” he said, his voice just a pitch above a whine.

“Well yes, we have,” Hancock agreed chipperly, “We’ve made quite some progress too,” he went on, “You, Sam, were particularly well-received in New Hampshire.”

Sam rolled his eyes. They’d just finished up a tour of some sort, going out and giving speeches, keeping the new United States motivated and equipped to fight the Red Coats. Now that they had declared independence, they had to fight to keep it. Sam was, of course, ready and willing to do so, except… He missed his wife. Terribly. He’d been gone for far too long; had too many nights pass without you in his arms, too many mornings greet him without the assistance of your pretty smile. The first few days had been bad, but it wasn’t until week four without you that Sam started to despair. He loved his work, he did, but he loved you more, and he couldn’t wait to get back to you.

“You know,” Warren said, still not looking up from his book, “I bet you could get to town much faster if you just took one of the horses,” he looked up at Sam, a small smile on his face, “You could be on your porch in the next half hour if you go now.”

Sam grinned.

You turned in bed, hugging Sam’s pillow to your chest. You didn’t sleep well without Sam, and you tossed and turned in a half-sleep, thinking of your husband’s warm eyes and dazzling smile. His work was important—groundbreaking, even—and you were so, so proud of him, but you’d be lying if you said you didn’t miss him terribly when he was away. You sighed and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of Sam like you did most nights.

“You’re incredible,” Sam whispered, his mouth nearly on your ear, “You’re perfect,” he kissed the side of your face, hands trailing down your body, “You’re an angel.”

You closed your eyes, sighing contently as your husband caressed you. This was another one of his ‘lessons’; he’d learned how much you liked his sweet talk while you were courting and took it upon himself to see how excited he could get you with it.

“Do you even know how gorgeous you are?” He asked, hand pulling up the gown on your thigh, letting the silk run through his long fingers. “How did I ever get so lucky?”

“Sam,” you said, leaning your head back to give him access to your neck, “my love…”

He kissed your neck eagerly, sucking the skin softly as he spoke. “Tell me you love me, sweetheart,” he demanded sweetly, “Tell me I make you happy.”

You opened your eyes to look at him. Sam was a confident, sure man in almost every aspect of his life, but he still needed reassurance, and you were more than happy to give it to him. You looked into his dark eyes, sparkling in the candlelight, and smiled up at him. No other woman had a husband as beautiful, as wonderful, as loving, as yours. “I love you, Sam Adams,” you said, meaning every word, “Everyday you make me the happiest woman in the world. You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me, my love.”

Sam leaned down and kissed you, pressing himself closer to you. You groaned into his mouth, rotating your hips so you could feel his hardness against you. Finally, he pulled back, allowing you both a moment to catch your breath. “I love you,” his eyes shone with emotion, and he gave you that dazzling smile, “I love you so much.”

You put your hand under his shirt, feeling the tight muscles, and let it trail downwards. Never in a million years would you have fancied yourself so forward, but Sam just brought it out in you. And he was your husband—so why shouldn’t you enjoy every part, every curve, every sweet, sweet inch of him?

He moaned, leaning his head down and kissing your neck, when your hand wrapped around him. He loved this, and you did too. “Oh baby,” he sighed, “Oh darling…”

You turned your head and captured his lips in a kiss. You loved nights like these; soft and slow and gentle, taking your time to explore each other’s bodies and please each other, leaving no desire unfulfilled. It was a miracle either of you ever left your bed.

“I love you,” he said as he kissed your neck, “I adore you,” he bent down further and started kissing your collarbone, making you giggle, “I need you,” his mouth, warm and wet, descended on your nipple, closing onto it over the material of your sleeping gown, “I crave you,” he kissed your exposed stomach, pushing your gown further up your body to expose your legs to the cool night air, “Darling, I’m desperate for you.” His mouth was right above your underwear, and you shivered at his proximity.

“Sam,” you moaned his name as his fingers, long and lithe, took hold of your panties and started to pull them down, “oh, Sam,” you said again, feeling his smile against your now bare skin. “Sam….”

You woke up with a start. There was someone in the house. You reached beside the bed for the gun Sam kept there for the sake of your safety. Your father had taught you how to shot a gun, but Sam had taught you how to shot it lethally. Carefully, disheveled and breathing heavily from the dream/memory, you got out of bed and went to the window, peering out. There was a horse tied up in the yard, and you could tell by its gait that it wasn’t one of yours. You turned, quickly, when you heard a thump outside of your room. Someone was coming up the stairs.  You crouched down by the bed, pistol aimed at the door, and waited.

“Sweetheart, I’m home—shit!” Sam stopped in his tracks when he saw you.

Your mouth dropped open. “Sam?” You asked, propping the gun on the wall and standing up. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I thought I was being romantic and surprising my wife,” he answered, grinning, “but I may have taught you too well…”

“What are you doing home?!” You cried, happiness bordering on hysterical. “You weren’t due back for a week!”

“Oh” his smile dropped, but you could see the twinkle of mischief in his eyes, “Am I early? My apologies, darling, I’ll just go and—”

“Samuel Adams,” you growled, smile growing even as you glared at him, “if you don’t come over here and hold me right this second, I swear I—”

Sam grinned, hopping over to you and crushing you to his chest before you could even finish your sentence. He closed his eyes as he embraced you; no matter how many times he held you, he would always love the feeling of you in his arms…always love you. “I missed you,” he whispered into your hair, “so, so much.”

“I missed you, too,” you said back, rubbing his back, “even though you scared me half to death.”

He pulled back, his grin shining brighter than the moon outside, “I’m sorry,” he said, not looking or sounding sorry at all, “I was trying to surprise you.” He leaned down and kissed you, tongue slipping into your mouth easily. “Did it work?”

“In a way…yes,” you smiled back.

One of Sam’s hands was on your back, the other on your neck, tilting your head up so he could kiss you as he spoke. “My baby,” he said, mouth on yours, “my sweet darling, my perfect angel…” He kissed you, and it was only his hand on your waist that kept you from swooning and falling to your feet. “…I fear I will rip this gown if you don’t take it off,” he moved so that he was speaking directly into your ear now, “….Right. Now.”

You wasted no time in obliging him, though a part of you was more than okay with having your husband rip your clothes off. It wouldn’t be the first time, nor the last. Sam helped you, tossing your gown on the floor and picking you up in his arms, carrying you to the bed as if you weighed nothing.

“I missed you terribly,” he confessed, staring down at you from the end of the bed, unbuttoning his shirt, “I dreamt of you every night, felt you against me as I woke up in the morning…”

“Alone? You questioned him, knowing what the answer would be.

“Always.” His shirt was off now, and he was working on his pants. “You know you’re the only woman for me.” He slid his trousers down, and grinned at the hungry look on your face. “Though I did take some time to.. explore myself while I was away, pretend it was you.” He climbed onto the bed and crawled over you, his body warm and inviting.

“And how was it?” You asked curiously, kissing your husband’s naked shoulder. “Satisfying?”

“Absolutely not,” he answered, kissing you once more, “I learned something while I was away…”

You giggled, kissing his neck and running your fingers through his thick brown hair. You loved Sam’s lessons. “What did you learn, darling?”

“I learned,” his hand slid between your naked bodies, rubbing your sex and making you squirm, “that there is nothing better than you, my love.” His finger, slender and perfectly calloused, slid into you, making you gasp with glee. “I learned that my body craves you with a ferocity almost as intense as my heart… Almost.” His finger moved inside you, hitting you in all the right places. “I learned,” he was speaking into your neck now, “that I can’t be away from you for this long again,” he sighed when you put your hand in his hair, pulling at the strands as another finger entered your wetness, “You have to come with me next time, darling, I won’t survive it if you don’t.”

“I’ll come with you,” you promised, moving your hips as his fingers caressed your most delicate parts, “I’ll do anything for you, my love. Anything.”

“Anything?” He asked, pulling back so he could look down at you, smiling. “No matter what I ask?”

His fingers curled inside of you, and you would have slapped the king to keep them there. “Anything,” you breathed out, pressing your breasts against his hard chest, “Anything. Just name it.”

Sam pulled his fingers back, chuckling lowly at the protesting whine you let out. He stared at you, dark eyes dancing as he looked at you like the most precious jewel in the world. “Anything?” He asked again.

You nodded, near tears with how badly you needed him. “Anything,” you repeated, “Darling, please…”

“Bare my children,” he said, eyes unblinking as he stared down at you.

You smiled, letting the tears gather freely now. “Yes,” you said, heart so full it could burst, “yes.”

And so that night, you kept your hands on Sam as he rocked against you, inside of you, and you both cried when he released inside of you, leaving a piece of himself within you.

Later, after trading soft kisses and softer whispers, you laid in bed with Sam’s arms around you, eyes heavy and body full. His lips were in your hair, kissing you as you drifted off to sleep. “Love?” He asked, voice low in the dark.

“Mm?”

“Did you mean it…when you said you would come with me?” He took a breath. “That you would have my child?”

You opened your eyes, looking up at your husband, the love of your life, your soulmate. “I meant it,” you said simply. You smiled. “We both have lessons to learn, don’t we?”

Sam smiled back, and you felt yourself grow warm at the sight. “We do,” he said, leaning over and kissing you, “and I can’t wait to learn them…” His smile melded into yours, two becoming one. “…with you.”

“I love you,” you said, cuddling closer to him, “and I’ll be with you always, my darling. Just the two of us.” You took his hand in yours and moved it ton your stomach, smiling up at him. “Well… maybe three…”

Sam laughed, grabbing you and pulling you on top of him, peppering you with kisses and sweet whispers as his hands explored your body, always finding new ways to make you shiver.

Lord, you loved these lessons.

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

;)

Taglist: @lexxierave @loveintheroyalfamily @suchatinyinfinity@fanfictionrecommendations-com  @maxslime-blog @elanor-of-imladris@songforhema @lucielandss @fandomlifeandeverythingelse @themadhatter92@realduckvader @the-blind-assassin-12 @christinawxxx @anabella-baby @blackcoffeeandgreenteaforme @luminex3 @littlemermaidprobz @ashkuuuu@luckysstrikes @carlaangel86 @floralpeaceofmind @dylanobrusso@teacuplotus @iaintnofurry @thesumofmychoices @ymariejp @its-my-little-dumpster-fire @mrsjaxtellerfan @whovianayesha @holamor @drinix @rhabakoli @stories-you-wont-hear @king4thesirens @starkrobb @marauderskeeper @charlylama @thesandbeneathmytoes @something-tofightfor @banditthewriter  @binbons-is-theloml

[onestowatch]

Blu DeTiger Is Bridging Indie Pop and the NYC Underground Club Scene [Q&A]

New artist Blu DeTiger is not so new after all. The NYC-native has been a bassist since age seven and was named “the coolest DJ around” by Vogue Magazine in 2017. The young talent, known for her combination of disco-funk DJ sets and live bass playing, has more recently become a touring bassist for acts like Caroline Polachek, The Knocks, Kitten, and FLETCHER.

Now it is Blu DeTiger’s moment. While she has been writing and producing music for most of her life, her first single “In My Head” was released in 2019. With a four-on-the-floor beat and nonchalant vocals, “In My Head” carries with it the hypnotism of the dance music she plays during her DJ sets. 

Most recently, Blu DeTiger released “Figure It Out,” a bass-heavy funk pop track with an irresistible groove. Its laidback lyrics and catchy chorus make it the perfect song to start the summer and shows Blu DeTiger hitting her stride as an artist.

We spoke with Blu about postponing tour plans, proving herself in male-dominated spaces, and writing “Figure It Out” with her brother, Rex.  

Ones To Watch: After spending years as a DJ and touring musician, how have those experiences helped you navigate being a solo artist? What were some of the most important lessons learned?

Blu DeTiger: Touring experience was extremely beneficial to me. Loading in, setting up gear, monitor mixes, in-ears, staying healthy, green room etiquette, sleeping on a tour bus, being in a van, stopping at gas stations, setting up merch, payouts, staying SANE — you really have to learn this stuff yourself. Playing a lot has built up my confidence and overall comfort level onstage. I absolutely love to perform.

And DJing made me develop a better knowledge of music. I know the hits throughout the decades, what makes people move, what slows them down, what’s popping on the charts, how to read a room, what song is best for that moment.

You once noted that although you've always been a musician, you felt you've really had to prove yourself as a woman in male-dominated spaces. Do you still feel that others underestimate you as a musician?

I always feel I need to prove myself. It’s part of my personality and I don’t think it’ll ever change. It’s really more of a shock factor thing that people have when seeing me play. People are so surprised when they realize I can actually play bass or DJ properly. It’s partly flattering that they’re complimenting me — but why did they assume otherwise? Would the assumption be the same for a guy? I want to change that perception.

I don’t think people give enough attention to women in the producer role especially. I think there needs to more opportunities and more recognition of women in all aspects of music (mixers, engineers, A&R, for example) — not just as writers and singers.

I’m really hoping to inspire and empower girls to express themselves and be whatever they want to be.

You've been playing bass since age seven and DJing since age 17. Did songwriting come later for you or have you always been creating your own music?

Yes, I’ve always been creating my own music. I’ve always been in bands and writing / doing creative work. I did some music for commercials, made DJ mixes, produced remixes, played on records, etc. It wasn’t until I met B-Roc from The Knocks that my own creative project under the name “Blu DeTiger” really started to take shape. I’ve always had a desire to do my own music, and I just kept moving forward with that intention. It felt like a natural progression. 

What has been your greatest career highlight so far as a musician?

It’s difficult to answer because I think I’m in the midst of it now and there are a lot of exciting things in the works!

Are you still going to NYU? If so, how are you able to balance touring, music making and school?

I’ve been on a leave-of-absence from NYU since January 2019. Balancing everything got pretty challenging. My last semester in school got crazy—I was flying out every Thursday morning to tour on the weekends, then taking a red eye flight back every Sunday night to make it in time for my class on Monday morning. Meanwhile, I was in the studio during weekday nights finishing my original songs, and also DJing until 4am some nights… I wasn’t sleeping much, and it became really difficult for me to continue to put my 100% into the schoolwork — I still got all A’s though! Ultimately, I decided to take time off because I got offered a great touring opportunity that I just couldn’t pass up. I’m grateful for the time I spent in school, but it was definitely the right decision for me.

How has the coronavirus pandemic affected your plans for 2020?

All my touring has been postponed/rescheduled… I was about to go on a 4-week European run, opening for FLETCHER, as well as playing bass in her band. Following that, we were meant to go on an Arena run in the US (which would’ve started a few days ago). I was also scheduled to join Caroline Polachek as her sole bandmate on multiple festivals this summer. It’s a huge bummer, and I was really looking forward to all these shows. If there’s a bright side, it’s given me the time to write and produce more music. And engage with my fans!

Your latest single "Figure It Out" was written alongside a few other musicians, one of which is your brother, Rex. How did this track come together, and how often do you write with your brother?

Basically, I got this beat from a producer named Novodor, and I immediately connected with it. I was in a session and the first verse and chorus just exploded out. I put the song aside for a while, but always really loved it. Months later, I came back to it and finished it up with this producer named Jeremiah Raisen, and my brother, Rex, while we were working in New York. I’m writing more and more with my brother, especially since we’re quarantined together. It’s been amazing, he’s so talented, and it feels like we have a really good flow right now.

Who are your Ones to Watch?

Channel Tres, girl in red, Melanie Faye, Claud, Spencer., Remi Wolf — to name a few!

Listen to “Figure It Out” below:

[keeroo92]

Crimson Tide Ch1 (V x Reader)

This is the sequel to Savior, Bloodstain, Hellfire, Shadow. It might not make sense unless you’ve reath that one first.

September 12th, 4:38 am

V

V stood utterly still as he watched your blade descend into Urizen’s chest, piercing the massive orange eye that hid the demon’s heart beneath it. He felt your cold blade slice through his own flesh as he crumpled to the ground, his body sharing every sensation that his other half was experiencing. Enormous granules of his body flitted away as he fell; his arms and legs were almost completely gone by the time he struck the ground.

His chest heaved as his panicked final breaths came and went, fearful sweat broke out on his forehead as his dilated eyes darted across the scene. His final sight was of you, illuminated in blue light as a pillar of glowing power burst forth from Urizen into the sky. You screamed in agony as the light rose, but everything faded to black before he had a chance to even call your name.

____________________________________

V bolted upright with a gasp, his heart pounding as he caught his breath. He glanced beside himself in bed to check on you, his emerald eyes finding you yawning as your bleary eyes blinked open from his cries.

“V? Was it the same nightmare again?” you asked him tiredly. He nodded, sighing as you wrapped your arms around him comfortingly the same way you did every time he woke you that way. Waking next to you always helped him calm down again, your presence able to soothe the last echoes of his tormented dreams away.

“It’s alright, love. You made it, the Qlipoth is gone,” you murmured kindly. You held him close until the sun finally broke the horizon, its radiant glow illuminating the bedroom you shared in golden light. The unpainted drywall reflected the rays brightly onto the mattress the two of you lied upon on the wooden floor. Finding a bedframe hadn’t been a focus for either of you, at least not yet. A small dresser was the only other furniture in the room, only the necessities until the rescue mission was completed.

Rebuilding Sparda manor was turning out to be a slow process, but one he enjoyed. It was rewarding to be able to sleep in a room he had constructed himself, to cook in the kitchen he had so carefully rebuilt. There was still a lot of work to be done, and though you helped when you could, you were more focused on training for the journey to rescue Dante and Nero than on construction.

“We should get up soon, little fox,” he commented softly. You hummed in agreement but didn’t move, not quite ready to release the poet. Though he didn’t say it loud, he was loathe to break the embrace too.

 So warm… there’s nowhere I’d rather be than beside her.

A knock on the door broke his thoughts as Nero announced breakfast was ready. V planted a soft kiss on your forehead as he pulled away with a smile, and you tousled his hair playfully as he stretched. Even after months of recovery, he was still caught off guard by the strength of his body. He remained lean and lanky, but his ribs could no longer be seen with the naked eye. He felt powerful, like his old self as he stood tall.

Your exaggerated wolf whistle made him smirk as he walked to the dresser. He could feel your eyes watching his newly filled out form move as he selected clothing for the day, a set of dark pinstripe pants and a black button up shirt. You had taken great pleasure in dragging him shopping a few weeks ago, spending what he deemed to be far too much money on acquiring him a new wardrobe.

He had enjoyed the experience immensely, especially the way your eyes would light up when he showed you something he particularly liked. At first, you had tried to get him to try brighter colors and more understated styles, but none of it had felt right to him. Eventually, you had surrendered to his preference for darker, more intricate pieces. You had called his style a cross of gothic and punk rock and after you showed him some examples, he’d had to agree.

You came up to join him, wrapping an arm around his waist as you leaned on his shoulder. A pair of tight jeans and a pretty blouse soon graced your skin. V loved watching you dress. There was something so delightfully intimate about the slow concealment of flesh, though he had to admit that watching you put on stockings was a different sort of enjoyable.

“What will you be working on today, V?” you asked suddenly as you held out the hairbrush. He strode over and took it from your hands, lazily stroking your hair as he replied.

“I thought another bedroom would be helpful, somewhere for Trish and Lady to stay,” he replied quietly. He handed the brush back to you and sat back down on the bed so you could reach his obsidian locks. It had become a morning routine to brush one another’s hair, another small enjoyment he never took for granted.

“Good thinking. Maybe after lunch we could go for a walk together, just the two of us?” you replied questioningly. He hummed in agreement, always happy to accompany you. You smiled in return, giving him a soft peck before opening the door and heading downstairs to the kitchen.

____________________________________

September 12th, 11:52 am

“Ha!” you cried as you spun into a low thrust targeting Trish’s unprotected belly. The blonde twirled away gracefully at the last second, dodging your skilled blow. She smirked as she beckoned you closer, attempting to goad you into another attack but you’d been training with her long enough to know better.

“Not a chance,” you informed her with a matching smirk, and she chuckled.

“Good, you’re learning,” she replied. Even with the compliment, she darted forward and tried to slash at your calves, but you blocked her blades with your own easily. Your skills had come a long way since the Qlipoth, mostly due to your constant training and practice. You were determined to be able to fight just as well as Nero when you entered the underworld to rescue your friends.

“Nice one, Y/N! Let’s take a breather,” Trish commented, already reaching for her water bottle. You sat down on the side of the practice room, taking a deep draft from your own bottle as she joined you.

“Right, what can we eat in the underworld?” she quizzed you. A long moment passes in silence as you reviewed all she’d told you about the hellish place you were heading for.

“Demon grass and bloodflower?” you answered hesitantly. Trish grinned and nodded, clearly pleased at your retention.

“We might also be able to find some less disgusting demons, they’re technically edible but do not taste good,” she reminds you with a grimace. You cringed at the thought but nodded; you’d need to know every possible food source.

“And how about water?” she inquired.

“We’ll have to bring plenty of iodine, should be able to refill from the boiling lakes periodically,” you answered easily. Trish nodded; her lessons had been effective and you were incredibly grateful to have such a reliable source of knowledge on the team.

“Good. And how are we going to find Dante and Nero?”

You sighed, still unsure how that portion of the plan was supposed to work. You knew the theory, but it still didn’t make much sense to you.

“V should be able to sense the sword of Sparda and guide us. If not that, then we’ll need to contact a spirit and ask for help,” you answered. Trish smiled approvingly at you, her confidence in you making you warm inside. In the last few months your respect for the woman had grown immeasurably, her cold demeaner hiding a sharp mind and even sharper instincts. Her teachings had helped you become much more capable both in battle and outside.

Lady had trained you a bit as well, though her style was much harder to pick up. Not to mention the fact that the poor woman was almost constantly depressed from the loss of Dante, and she didn’t often have the energy to teach… You suspected the brunette even had a little crush on the legendary devil hunter but couldn’t be sure without seeing how she acted around him.

Regardless, you felt ready. All that remained was to find a damn open portal.

That was turning out to be the hardest part of the rescue plan. The few open portals the group had found had been tiny, nowhere near large enough to fit a human through. There had been one that looked acceptable, but it had closed even as you were all racing toward it. Everyone was running out of patience; the longer it took to reach the Underworld, the less likely you were to find your friends still alive.

For all you knew, they were already dead.

 Don’t think like that, they have to be alive!

You shook the thought away and took another long gulp of water as Trish stood to put away her practice weapons. You stowed your own and joined her on the way to the kitchen for lunch, hopeful that Kyrie had made chili or her famous grilled cheese. It was nice to have another person around who could cook; you and Kyrie would generally split the task between you, none of the others even remotely capable of boiling water.

You remembered with a low chuckle the time V tried to make breakfast for everyone. He had set off the fire alarm by making toast, ruining a pan with his attempt at scrambled eggs. His sheepish smile as you had raced down to check for a fire had been adorable, but he hadn’t been allowed to cook since. You hoped that once everything was calmer you could take the time to teach him, the image of making a meal together one you desperately wanted to make into reality.

In the kitchen, you find Kyrie stirring a large pot as Lady sets the table. One look at the brunette’s face tells you everything you need to know about her mood today – she wore a glazed expression, her mouth twisted into a frown as she laid out the silverware. Kyrie didn’t look much happier, the barest glimmer of hope still visible in her eyes.

You knew that Nero’s beloved was barely holding on to hope, her bright spirit slowly dimming as time passed with no progress. She was an incredibly kind woman, her heart finding room to care about you and V with ease. The very first time you had met her, while delivering the news of Nero’s sacrifice, Kyrie had opened her arms and hugged you.

“Need any help, Kyrie?” you asked her gently. She shook her head as she served lunch, a meaty stew full of root vegetables that smelled like home. As she finished dishing out the meal, V came inside from where he’d been working on the next section of the house, his sleeves rolled up and putting his lightened tattoos on display to your eager eyes.

Griffon followed right behind him, Shadow padding behind. V leaned over to press a gentle kiss on the crown of your head before seating himself at the table beside you. Griffon landed on his customary perch over the hearth, Shadow coming to rest under the table amongst the feet of everyone waiting at the table. The two of them didn’t need to eat, but occasionally they enjoyed a morsel from your plate and had taken to hanging around during mealtimes to see if you had any leftovers.

 Not this time, guys. Kyrie’s stew is too good!

“Still nothing?” Kyrie prodded the group at large, asking the same question she did at every meal. You shook your head solemnly, eyes expressing your silent remorse that you still had no portals to try. She sighed sadly and fiddled with her spoon, taking sparing bites as if only going through the motions. It broke your heart to see her this way, knowing from what Nero had told you that she’s usually full of smiles and joy.

 We’ll bring him back to you. I promise.

The rest of the meal passed in silence, each member of the group lost in their own thoughts. You snuck a small chunk of bread to Shadow and Griffon and they happily accepted their snacks as V helped clear the table.

“We’re going into town, do you need anything?” he asked Kyrie. She caught you feeding his summoned friends with a small smile and replied.

“Bread, it seems. And some milk, please.”

The poet hums in acknowledgement and returns to your side, taking your hand and pulling Griffon and Shadow back within him as the pair of you left Sparda manor behind. Looking at the home from the outside, it looks almost completely rebuilt. The stonework has been assembled well, the roof repainted in a bright red hue. Even the tree in the front had been replanted, a swing hanging from its lower branches. The landscaping still needs some work, the grass mostly brown and dead and shrubs strewn about haphazardly. There would be no restoring the bay – the Qlipoth had skewed the elevation so that the water refused to fill the previously submerged area.

Still, the home looked better every day, thank to V’s hard work. You laced your fingers through his and smiled as you commented on his progress.

“It looks amazing, V. You’re making real progress,” you told him happily.

He squeezed your fingers tenderly, smirking at you in return. Walking into town didn’t take long, a mere ten minutes until you reached the section of the city that was your target. There are scant few people milling about, mainly clustered around neighborhood boards with all kinds of notices pinned up. Most of them were of family members who had been lost during the catastrophe, either with photos or phone numbers listed for those who were searching for their family even after all this time.

Local newspapers had an entire page dedicated to listing the names and phone numbers of the few who had escaped, while radio stations generally had a weekly call in show where people could call in and be broadcasted asking for any information about their lost loved ones. It was all too rare that someone was reunited with the person they were seeking; most of the lost had undoubtedly been transformed into the terrible husks. You had yet to find any of your old coworkers or acquaintances, though you also hadn’t tried very hard.

Regardless, life in the city was slowly returning to normal. The numerous missing persons had resulted in absurdly low rates for renting apartments, the abundance of vacancies quickly being taken advantage of. Almost every business in the city was also hiring, far too many employees gone and never to be heard from again. New residents were flocking to the city in droves, especially the fools who didn’t believe the wild stories being told about what had transpired.

The city itself has been slow to recover, massive hunks of rubble still decorating some areas. The smaller pieces had been removed quickly enough, a single pair of hands enough to clear most of the debris. Yet for anything larger, the citizens had to file a request with the city or tow it themselves to a designated rubble recycling point. It was a slow process, but certain neighborhoods looked almost back to normal already.

 Humanity is really something. Even though this city was the site of such a horrible event, people came back and are rebuilding. Amazing.

“For he saw that life lived upon death,” V intoned; apparently his thoughts mirrored your own.

“It makes me wonder if anyone has moved into my old place yet,” you commented with a sly smirk. He barked out a laugh, smiling at you as the pair of you reached the department store.

Inside, the displays were only partially full, the NOW HIRING sign in the window evidence that the store was still understaffed. You grabbed a shopping basket and followed V to the section with hardware and tools. He led you quickly to the aisle with screws and various construction implements, taking the basket from you as he deposited a fair number of items within it. You recognized a few things, but others left you mystified.

With a small smirk he added a few lengths of rope and you couldn’t help but blush at his playful expression. He was still exploring his sexual tastes, his curious nature giving him a new wild idea on a regular basis. Not that you minded; he always made sure you enjoyed his experiments and took excellent care of you if he wore you out too much with his… attention. There had only been one particularly awful moment so far when he’d instinctively tried choking you, bringing back the painful memory of Lara despite how much you wanted to enjoy it.

He’d felt terrible, of course. Apologized profusely as the fear faded away from your eyes after you’d gasped out your safe word. He had held you gently, carefully keeping his hands far from your neck as you calmed your racing heart. Oddly enough, you found no anger at his forgetfulness, no resentment that for a split second he’d forgotten about your traumatic past. Only gratitude that he’d so instantly reacted and known why you had to stop without you having to explain.

Not once had he slipped up since then, his insistence on asking permission sometimes so over the top that it broke the mood slightly. Even so, you loved his explorations. You shuddered slightly as you remembered some of your favorite moments so far. As it turned out, V was a bit voyeuristic and loved watching you dress, so only last week you’d put on a little show for the poet, much to his delight. Another of his new discoveries involved silk and wax, and you felt yourself clench at the thought.

 Oh boy, gotta think about something else before I lose it.

You looked at V again to find him smirking in amusement as his eyes dilated, small glints sparkling in his wide pupils in a signature of his lust.

 Shit.

 Too late…

“There’s something I’d like to try, if you’re willing,” he began in a low purr. The tone you couldn’t resist, the vibration oh so lovely on your eardrums. You were putty in his hands.

“Hmm? What is it?” you replied coyly. He grinned at the obvious arousal in your voice and you batted your eyelashes at him playfully. He carefully placed the shopping basket on the floor and took your wrist, pulling you along with him as he led you to the bathroom. He headed toward the men’s room until you forcefully planted your feet.

“V! The ladies’ room will be cleaner,” you whispered under your breath. He spun around and waved you forward to check for other occupants. You let out a sigh of relief as you opened every stall with no trouble, quickly beckoning V inside with an excited smile. You moved to lock the door once he entered, but he stopped you with a mischievous grin.

“Ah, but it’ll be so much more interesting this way…” he murmured, already leaning closer to plant his lips on yours with a low growl. You loved it when he got like this, when he took control. He reveled in his newfound strength and you couldn’t get enough of his dominant side. You moaned into his mouth as he pushed you against the wall, his long fingers wrapping around your waist and tugging at your jeans hungrily. You chuckled as he moved his mouth to your collarbone, sucking harshly at your flesh and marking you as his just below the hem of your shirt.

You tangled your hands in his obsidian hair with a sigh as he pushed you to the largest stall, the one meant for disabled patrons. His hands gripped your hips tightly as he spun you around, tugging your tight jeans down to your knees and forcing you to bend over, your hands at rest on the metal bar meant to help people lower themselves onto the toilet. He tugged his own pants down, his cock springing free. He stepped forward to rub his head against your wet folds, eliciting a low moan from your swollen lips as he explored your wetness.

 Yessssss….

You shifted your hips in a futile attempt to get him inside you, desperate for the delicious feeling of fullness only he could give you. His dark chortle as he stepped back again was such sweet torture, his control so aggravating even as it thrilled you.

“Now, now, little fox. You know how this works, you have to use your words,” he purred, the sound of his voice alone making you tremble. You bit your lip but knew better than to protest.

“Please, V… please take me,” you sighed breathily.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it? Here’s the hard part,” he grunted out, throwing his hips forward to slide home in a single deep thrust. The sudden intrusion made you gasp, but the second he started to move it became a long moan.

Then you heard the door open as another person entered the bathroom. You glanced at V over your shoulder, watching in dawning horror as he grinned darkly. He leaned over to whisper in your ear.

“Ah, an audience. What perfect timing. I’ll leave it up to you if they hear us, yes?”

 Oh, no…

He planted one hand on the wall, the other circling around your body to probe at your aching bundle of nerves. You had to bite your lip to keep yourself silent, his stimulation almost overpowering in its excellence. His skilled fingers circled your clit teasingly, pressing against it at the exact point he knew you loved as the bystander entered another stall with a cough.

 Don’t make a sound!

He rubbed harder, faster. You tasted blood as you bit your lip even harder, yet you refused to admit defeat by saying your safe word. And it felt so damn good…

 Ah, don’t stop!

You heard the other person start peeing as he slowly drew his hips back, inching his way forward again as they gathered toilet paper. He flexed his groin at the perfect spot, his fingers still applying the perfect amount of friction to your body as he sent you over the edge to a shattering climax as the toilet flushed. The sound barely covered your long moan of pleasure as your muscles clenched your release, your arms shaking as they held you up on the silver bar.

The other stall opened, footsteps retreating to the sinks as V began thrusting with more intensity, his cock twitching as he approached his own release. It felt so amazing you no longer cared about getting caught as you angled your hips to meet his, standing on your tiptoes to achieve the perfect slant. His panting breath got louder as the water turned on, his hand moving from your clit to push your lower back and move you the exact way he needed.

You felt his nails on your skin as he groaned deeply, a hearty surge within you signaling his pleasure as he emptied himself inside you. You clenched your inner muscles around him, milking him as he pumped through his orgasm with a heavy sigh. You could picture the look on his face with perfect clarity; his eyebrows drawn together, eyes closed and mouth open as his cheeks flushed.

 He always looks so good when he comes.

The water shut off; footsteps retreated back through the door as the pair of you settled. You couldn’t help but laugh as the high or release mixed with the high of not getting caught in your mind, and V joined in shortly, his rumbling enjoyment echoing in the warm air surrounding you as he pulled away with a soft plop.

You cleaned yourself up easily, the location of your fun turning out to be oddly fortuitous. You gave V another deep kiss before peeking out the door to make sure the coast was clear. With not a soul in sight, you and V exit the bathroom easily and go back to your shopping.

____________________________________

Just as the two of you lined up to check out, V felt his cell buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out curiously – he hadn’t given his number to anyone outside the group, and none of them had ever contacted him before now. The screen showed a new message from Lady, and with a quick scan of his fingerprint, he checked what she had said.

 Fnd portal. Get back rn.

 What…?

He held the phone out to you, unsure what the letters meant. You smiled excitedly at him, almost hopping as you restrained a shout of joy.

“They found a portal V! We gotta go!” you cried happily just as the cashier announced the total. Seeing that everything was already bagged, V quickly pulled out the card you had gotten for him and paid, seizing the bags before the cashier even stuffed the receipt inside. The two of you dashed home at full speed and V once again mentally enjoyed his newfound endurance and strength.

 A portal! Let’s hope this one’s big enough!

 Indeed! This may be the chance we’ve been waiting for.

 I hope so, tired of waiting around!

V sent back an internal chuckle as he ran, easily keeping pace with you as you reached the front door to your home. The instant the door opened, he heard Nico’s voice from within.

“What the hell took ya so long!? We gotta go, NOW!” the southern mechanic cried. V brought the shopping bags to the kitchen, depositing them on the dark marble counter and racing over to where the group stood around a huge table in the dining room. Lady sat nearby on a laptop, her techno-literacy hard at work as she typed so fast her fingers were a blur. She had taken up the role of searching the web daily for leads, checking various forums and blogs for hints of an open portal.

“It’s only an hour away!” she called out, smiling for the first time in months. Kyrie squealed from her position nearby, her small feet pounding the floor as she rushed to the kitchen to pack every possible snack she could find. You sprinted to the closet to get your already packed backpack, full of medical supplies and iodine tablets.

Trish went straight to the training room to gather everyone’s weapons while V raided the linen closet for blankets and pillows, hastily stuffing them in sleeping bags. Nico’s van already had all the spare clothing and ropes, even a few pieces of climbing gear in case your group had to ascend. Lady grabbed a spool of wire and her trapping supplies, her weapon already in hand as the printer spat out the directions.

The group assembled almost simultaneously at Nico’s van outside, all of you clambering on without a second thought as Nico took the driver’s seat. V sat next to you on the couch, holding your hand in his as the mechanic turned the key and the van reversed out of the dirt driveway onto the main road, Nico urging every last scrap of speed the old vehicle could manage as it screamed toward the portal.

[buckyhoneyno]

A Dumbasses Guide To Saving The World (Chapter 7)

Just two girls with stupid dumb luck

Read along as two girls are thrown into the supernatural world when they are mistaken for hunters and decided that they fake it till they make it.

Updating every Saturday because Saturdays are for the boys

Sam x reader

Dean x reader

masterlist

Chapter 7 Action Movies Had It Wrong

The next months were a whirlwind of hunting. The girls found that the surrounding areas had host of different supernatural creatures that they never even knew existed. After learning all the hunter’s journals and practically memorizing them cover to cover they felt confident in their knowledge on how to take out some monsters.

Though taking them out was the actual concern. With next to no training, hunting would be an uphill battle. And with neither of the girls having a death wish they decided that some practice was the best course of action.

Their first day at the shooting range proved just how little Charlotte knew about guns. It took almost two hours for her to even hit the edge of a target. Though they had found out that the range also had an axe throwing wall, with a little convincing the owner let Charlotte take a turn with her knives.

Her accuracy with the sharp tool was deadly and brought her confidence back up a bit.

Maddie on the other hand seemed to be a natural when the fire arm was in her hand. The distance of the target didn’t seem to matter and she was able to hit it every time. Maybe not a perfect shot every time but it would do the job any day. 

Boxing lessons seemed to challenge the red head though. She instantly disliked it due to the fact that her first ten minutes there she got punched in the face. Granted Charlotte had taken precaution and gotten her a face mask as well as other pads, she still was not happy. After two hours in the gym she was sore and ready to go home and soak in a hot bath. Not willing to admit just yet that she was happy she now knew how to better defend herself if she was unarmed.

Watching Charlotte fight had been an interesting experience for her though. She had seen her throw people out of the bar before but this was something completely different. She almost turned into a different person as she sent her hands flying quickly as her opponent. She fought like she was always at some disadvantage whether it be height or weight, which when it came to hunting it would usually be one or the other. Maddie happily chose to not pair up with the blond when the trainer asked if she was ready to spar.

As the weeks progressed each girl could see the change, each improving at an astonishing rate. The time came sooner than expected for them to put their new skills to the test.

A newspaper slapped down in front of Charlotte as she sat eating a bowl of cereal. Half the paper nearly landed in her bowl making her shoot a glare at her roommate.

“rude,” She muttered around her spoon as she pushed the paper away, not giving it much attention.

“Read it,” Maddie whined while pointing at one of the articles. “I think it might be something other than an animal attack,” 

Charlotte rolled her eyes at the other girl’s impatience before picking up the paper. 

“local couple attacked by animal in town cemetery….” Charlotte read out loud but slowly let her voice fade as she began to read quicker, before looking back at Maddie. “Why do you think this isn’t an animal attack,”

“I’ve been keeping track of attacks and such in the area and the same description fits an attack from a couple weeks ago.” Charlotte went to reply but was interrupted. “And at the same cemetery there have been graves being dug up, the cemetery staff said that pieces of the deceased were missing,”

“hmm,” the noise was her only reply as Charlotte re-read the paper, getting out of her chair she went and picked up one of the journals that she had in mind. She had an idea of what the monster was if Maddie’s hunch was right. Flipping through the pages she landed on the one she was thinking of.

“If your correct, and I’m saying if,” she repeated not wanting to get the girls hopes up. Secretly though she kind of hoped it was something they could hunt. “I think it would be a Ghoul,”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Maddie said excitedly. “I mean it fits the description to a T,” 

“How do you feel about takin a walk through a grave yard tonight?” Charlotte asked with a raised brow and received a smile in reply.

They found themselves walking around said cemetery that night. Flash lights in hand, machetes dangling from their belt, and guns tucked away on their person. Walking through they noticed yellow tape wrapping around a few graves. The dirt seemed to be messily thrown from a few while others looked to be freshly covered.

“Cemetery’s give me the creeps,” Charlotte mumbled as she pointed her flashlight to a bush where a squirrel was running by. Maddie gave a nod in agreement not overly fond of them either.

“Let’s just gank this thing and go,” Maddie stated but got a laugh from Charlotte.

“Gank? Really since when are we saying that?”

“What I read it in the journals…I thought it sounded cool,” she mumbled the last part embarrassed. The taller girl rolled her eyes with a little smile before walking on. 

They wandered for another hour but came up with nothing. The last thing to check out was the back end of the cemetery that was closest to the woods. If the girls were being honest they were trying to avoid that area due to how creepy it looked.

As they got closer they could hear the sounds of bones crunching and loud growls. It seemed that Maddie’s hunch had been right as they peered around a large tree that hid them from sight. Hunched over a body was a man and a woman. Their hands seemed to rip the corpse apart with ease. Their blood lust sending them in a frenzy as they bit chunks off of whatever piece they grabbed. 

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Charlotte mumbled as she unsheathed her machete. Maddie took hers out along with her gun. “Let’s go gank em,” 

“Don’t use it if you’re going to make fun of me,” Maddie whispered back with a glare. 

“Couldn’t resist,”

“Shut up,” Charlotte finally chose to be quiet as they looked back around the tree. The two ghouls continued their feast as the girls crept closer. Maddie snuck up to the closest one and pulled back before swinging her arms forward to decapitate the ghoul. The machete sliced through the male like butter but sadly alerted the female of their attack. The head rolled between them as a silent pause went over all three of them.

“You’re dead,” The woman growled out angrily as she lunged for Maddie. Charlotte intercepted her, taking a swing at the woman, though her attempt was ruined when the ghoul had her arm in her grasp. “Nice try,” she said before throwing the blonde into the open grave that the ghouls had been digging in moments before. 

Momentarily stunned the blonde held her head as she tried to stand, her hands were slippery as she looked down noticing the blood that covered her. Half of the corpse stared up at her with glassy eyes.

Maddie chose then to pull her gun; the girl was quick to empty a full round into the ghoul. This seemed to only slightly slow it as it let out a wicked laugh.

“I’m going to rip your pretty little face off and eat it,” She cackled as she advanced on the red head. Maddie took a swing with the machete only to have it slapped out of her hand. With a swift fist the ghoul punched her to the ground with a smile. 

“I’m going to enjoy this,” the words left her bloody mouth and were followed by a resounding whack as a shovel was smashed against her skull. Charlie had found it next to the grave as she crawled out and was using it to the best of her abilities as she began to wail on the ghoul. She only stopped when the head was as flat as a pancake and even then, she gave it a couple more good slaps to be positive.  

“You good?” Maddie asked once she was off the ground.

“Yeah, you?” 

“surprisingly yes, I thought getting punched in the face would hurt more,” Charlotte made an impressed noise while nodding at her. Picking up their machetes and placing them in their belts the two went about dragging the bodies into the premade grave. Once it was covered they began the trek back to the car. 

Opening the trunk, Maddie lifted the fake bottom to revel all their supplies. One of the journals talked about how hunters stayed under the raider of the police which both the girls read with extra attention, not wanting to end up in jail. At the moment, they lacked very many weapons but they were sure to accumulate more as time went on.

Oh, and how the time went.

The next case they got came from an alert Maddie had set up on her phone. She was alerted any time a death happened in their area. Most of the alerts were about someone in the hospital or an elderly person but occasionally something odd crossed her radar. This one was about a group of teens who went missing after exploring some supposed haunted house.

After a few hours of research on the previous owners they found out that the couple that had lived there before the house was foreclosed had died in the basement due to a fire. The police and fire fighters had tried to get the couple out but sadly were to late, the fire was stopped before it could spread through the rest of the house though. Their deaths were labeled accidents and the case was filled away quickly, though the reason for the fire itself was never explained in the news reports.

“I’m confused, if the fire killed them then we don’t have any bodies to salt and burn, right?” Charlotte asked Maddie as they got ready to leave.

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean that the spirit isn’t still there, they can hang onto objects that hold significance to them.” Maddie replied with a shrug. “And even if there’s not a spirit there we can at least say we tried,”

The girls found themselves walking through the house with iron crow bars and salt in the backpacks they carried. Woman’s clothing sadly lacked the amount of pockets one might need for hunting, so they were forced to bring packs on most of their hunts. They had wandered through the house for only 20 minutes till they found a room filled with picture frames that looked to be shattered. An old couch was flipped in the corner while a broken coffee table looked to be scattered around the room.

Maddie picked up a frame that held a picture of a man and woman, it looked to be a wedding photo from the beautiful white dress that clung to the woman.

“Want to check upstairs?” Charlotte asked once they had finished searching the first floor. They were now standing at the bottom of the stairs, Maddie put her foot on the first step and leaned her weight on it to see if they would hold them. They looked dilapidated and ready to snap at any time.

“Not really no,” She replied but sighed. “But we have to,”

Walking up the stairs slowly they noticed two doors, one at the end of a short hall and the other directly to their left. 

“Split up and search for clues?” Maddie joked but earned a glare from the taller girl.

“I’m not going anywhere alone in this place,” She whispered clutching her crow bar closer. 

“I forgot how much ghost freaked you out,” the red head laughed to herself as she remembered how Charlotte always thought their apartment was haunted if she was left alone by herself there. 

“I’m sorry but the thought of some invisible being watching me gives me the creeps.” The girls walked through the first room that looked to be a study. It didn’t look to be touched as papers were still scattered around the room. On the desk was a half-ripped picture of a woman that was not the same lady in the wedding pictures.

“Kinda looks like you Char,” Maddie joked as she glanced at the picture. The girl had blonde hair and blue eyes like her but thats were the resembles stopped.

There bickering continued till a chill took over when they stepped into the second room. Looking at each other they noticed that they could suddenly see their breath in the room.

This was obviously the master bedroom given the size alone. The large four post bed sat in the middle of the room and to the left was a large closet with its doors wide open.

Stepping farther in they walked around the room silently. The closer to the closet they got the colder it was.

“Char?” Maddie said softly as she looked inside.

“yeah?”

“I think I found something,” The blond joined her at the opening of the closet. Some clothes still hung from the bar but they were all torn and covered in dust, except for one item. “This dress should be ruined but it’s still in perfect condition. Like the elements completely ignored it.”

“That’s concerning,” Charlotte stepped forward to reach for the dress only for the closet door to slam shut almost hitting her hand. A yelp left her mouth as she jumped back in fear.

“I don’t think it wants us near that dress,”

“No shit,” Maddie replied breathlessly before turning away from the closet door to look around the rest of the room. A gasp left her making Charlotte spin around. Floating in front of them was a woman from the wedding pictures they had just been looking at. The difference though was that the spirit looked to be burned beyond recognition.

“Why are you in my house?” Her voice was airy as she spoke to Maddie. Her eyes turned to look at Charlotte who was moving from behind Maddie.

“No reason, we were just leaving actually,” Charlotte said quickly as she stepped towards the door to leave. The door slammed in her face as she went to leave making her step back. The spirit looked at her like she had known her before

“You were my husband’s mistress! Whore!” The ghost screeched as she advanced on the blonde.

“Whoa whoa whoa,” Charlotte said backing up quickly. “No, a mistress I swear!” 

“Liar!” The spirit screamed with her whole focus being on the blond. “I caught him with you before! That’s why I killed him and now its finally your turn!”

“You killed your husband?” Charlotte asked trying to stall as she watched Maddie walk closer to the closet, getting ready to burn the dress. The blond took her chance and swung at the ghost with the crow bar slicing through her and sending her away for the moment.

“She’s pissed,” Maddie said as she ran into the closet and grabbed the dress. Dropping down on the ground she opened her pack and grabbed the lighter she kept in it.  A deafening screech had them both holding their heads in pain. The spirit reappeared in front of them. Her gaze still dead set on Charlotte.

“He said he would leave me for you! I loved him and you took him from me!” the spirit raised her arm and suddenly Charlotte was half way up the wall. Her hands flew to her throat as she started to chock.

“P-Please,” Charlotte chocked out as the ghost cackled loudly. 

“Hey!” Maddie yelled catching their attention. She clicked open the lighter with a smile. “Burn in hell, you crazy bitch,” the red head said as she lit the dress on fire. Charlotte slipped down the wall onto her knees with a gasp. Throwing it on the floor the girls watched as the spirit suddenly go up in flames.

“Fuckin bitch,” Charlotte mumbled as she rubbed her throat. Taking Maddie’s out stretched had she stood up. “I hate ghosts,”

The following weeks seemed to keep the same tempo as the girls came across more and more supernatural cases. Their run in with another wendigo had them investing in miniaturized flame throwers that they found on amazon. Maddie walked away from that hunt with a sprained ankle seeing as she played bait this round, getting thrown into a wall. After that the girls found themselves facing off against another poltergeist that was terrorizing a family in a nearby town. Charlotte managed to burn the bones while Maddie stayed back to make sure the family stayed safe. It was one of their safer hunts due to the fact that Maddie had the family and herself stand in a salt circle while the poltergeist ran into the circle angrily. It was more boring than anything else.

The next thing to add to their arsenal was a few hundred rounds of pure silver bullets and a military grade snipper rifle. After hearing about a rouge pack of skin walkers from Bobby who called when he found out it was close to their area, the girls decided that they would rather be over prepared then dead. The drive there took about three hours while the hunt itself took about five due to the fact that the girls kept having to chase after stragglers that got away. Maddie found herself on top of a hill that was overlooking the house where the pack was congregating with her new rifle that she had happily named (). Charlotte was closer by ready to take down the runners with a gun and some knives. After going to the range a few more times she became a half decent shot, though still nowhere near as good as her red headed friend though.

The girls were able to find the freshly turned walkers that were being held in the basement and talked to them about how they could stay safe. After holding a bonfire to burn all the bodies the girls said goodbye to their new-found friends.

Charlotte finally got a chance to put her silver throwing knives to the test when they hunted a wraith about an hour out of town. It was one of their easier hunts due to the fact that Maddie came up with the idea to find them by looking through makeup mirrors every time someone walked by them. The wraith was spotted in about 15 minutes of them being in the hospital that they were hunting at. They followed the woman disguised as a nurse into the morgue. The wraith seemed to think the girls would try to fight her with hand on hand but Charlotte quickly threw a knife at her, piercing her through the heart.

Two more months of hunting past making the girls feels more educated on how to hunt. The hunting journals were practically burned into their brains after re reading them so many times. Bobby started calling them more regularly for hunts that where in a couple hundred miles of the town they lived in. The old man couldn’t help becoming more fond of the two girls, their personalities reminding him of the boys when they were younger and less burdened.

A calm few weeks had the girl’s suspicions rising. After four months of nonstop hunting the sudden quiet had them worrying that this was a calm before the storm while serving a few of the towns cops Charlotte overheard them talking about bodies pilling up across the county with their hearts ripped out. All the victims were found somewhere in the forest, almost always ripped apart. 

They had planned to start their hunt that night but were stopped by a phone call from Bobby.

“Girls I got a case for you, right on your door step actually,”

“Let me guess werewolf?” Maddie asked

“try werewolves’ plural,”

“We’re listening,” Charlotte hummed waiting to hear more.

“From what my sources say it’s a pack of pure bloods, family of about eight that live a couple towns over from you,”

“Eight?” Maddie questioned slowly. “Bobby, we do a lot but eight?”

“That’s was the second thing I was going to tell you about, I got a couple of guys a state over that are going to come and help you two out,” Bobby made his voice sound even but he couldn’t help but be slightly excited by the two sets of hunters that were going to be teaming up.

“You know we’ve only ever hunted with each other right?” Maddie asked making sure he knew what he was asking of them. “If they make fun of us or are mean I will actually leave,” she stated. 

“Yeah what if we don’t get along…or what if they suck?” Charlotte added with a bit more sass.

“I’m not askin you two to be besties, I just need you all to not die,” Bobby snapped making the girls roll their eyes at his gruff behavior.

“Fine you grumpy old man,” Charlotte said making Maddie snicker. “So, what are their names?”

“Winchester, Sam and Dean Winchester,”

 -------

oooh winchesters coming in the next chapter y'all I'm so excited to really get this bitch going.

taglist

@deanismygodwiththatwhistle @real-demon-huntress @beckywiththatgooddean @periodottea91 @this-glitter-pussay @takenbymyfandoms @oneshoeshort @supernatural-teamfreewillpage @getnaildbyme @fourtyninekirbygamzeegirl @musiclovinchic93 @lolabean1998 @kramabitchy @myinconnelly1 @bunnybaby121115 @of-sebstan-and-chrisevans @dammitsammy @wingedcatninja @darkswanordie @ellen-reincarnated1967 @salt-n-burn-em-all @supernxturxl @drkeyed-dreamer @were-not-the-losechesters @ashrey95 @alwaysthefangirl @arbitranox @shotgunshutstheircakehole1967 @fellowmaya @jmb959 @capsiclesbeard @hoesforshows  @healojane @lolimeverywherebitch @cross-roads-blues@yllwtaxi @happy-sunny-flowers @gabriels-trix @hennessy0274-blog@supernotmyproblem

[gimmesumsuga]

Sweeter than Sweet (23)

Pairings: Jimin x reader, Yoongi x reader, Namjoon x reader + others as the story progresses

Warnings: None to note

Word count: 3.7K

Previous / Next

Though it’s been almost five full days since Jimin made promises about sharing you with Yoongi, nothing yet seems to have come of it - frustratingly enough.  It’s made you a little jumpy; unsure what to expect, too nervous to bring it up in case Jimin’s not quite ready yet, too worried in case he’s completely changed his mind.  You wouldn’t want him to think you’re being pushy or impatient but you really wish you had some kind of idea how he imagines this will work between the three of you.

Yoongi seems none the wiser either, so you presume Jimin must not have even mentioned it to him.  The sexual tension between the two of you is the same as it’s always been, and if he’d have known about Jimin’s concessions you’re fairly certain he would have acted on them by now. Sure, he’s a little more tactile when you go for your piano lessons at the start of every evening, but there’s nothing outrageously inappropriate about his behaviour.  His fingers will brush against yours as they move along the piano keys, his thigh will press against yours hidden from view, he’ll stare into your eyes for just a little bit too long as the two of you talk.  Honestly, it’s killing you.  Knowing what Jimin said - knowing that you can but not knowing quite how - it’s driving you mad.

You come to the conclusion that you’re just going to have to follow Jimin’s lead and try not to burst into a ball of sexually frustrated flames in the meantime, which is easier said than done when both of them look so good all the damn time.  It’s getting so bad that the thoughts of having both of their hands on you at once that plague you during the day are starting to intrude into your dreams too, leaving you hot and sticky by the time you wake in more ways than one.

Mercifully, the rest of the boys seem to be behaving themselves just lately.  You’ve managed to avoid Namjoon completely since the last encounter you had and Tae has kept his hands – if not his eyes – to himself.  Jungkook’s little peepshow doesn’t seem to have come of anything either; though you haven’t quite found the right moment to leave his bandana anywhere for him to find.  You’re not sure you would’ve survived these last few days at all if they’d been lusting after you too.

“Jimin,” you whisper softly, running your finger down the bridge of his delicate nose, trying to wake him as peacefully as possible, “Daddy, wake up.”  Tonight’s the night of his birthday surprise and you need him to be up and dressed a little bit earlier than usual in order to make sure you’re there in time, so even though he’s reluctant to wake you have to keep trying.  You continue stroking his nose, shuffling up the bed till you can reach his cheeks with your lips to shower him with kisses until his eyes finally start to flutter open.

“Hmm?” he groans, eyebrows knotting together in a frown as he blinks hard, “What time is it?”

“Five,” you tell him, unable to keep the excited smile from your face.  You’ve been looking forward to this from the moment you’d booked the tickets, so eager to know if he’ll like his surprise that you’ve been wishing the days away.

“Five?” he repeats, suddenly far more awake than he was a few seconds ago – though not through his own choice.  “Kitten, you know I was out all night, why’re you waking daddy up so early?”  Despite his complaining Jimin still runs his hand through your hair, a smile appearing on his face when you pout up at him, chin resting on the heels of your hands.

“We're going out,” you smile, pleased by the way his eyebrows rise in genuine surprise.

“We are?” You nod, sitting yourself up in bed and Jimin pushes himself up on his elbows too, his bed hair sticking up at the back.  “Where?”  

“You'll find out,” you reply in a sing-song voice, revelling at being the one in the know for once.  You hop out of bed, full of energy, and then take hold of the corner of the covers and whip them back.  Jimin's unconcerned - he’s always cold anyway – but he is amused by the way you’re behaving, your mischievous smile making him smile back just as hard.  “C'mon, we have to be there before seven.”

“Is there a dress-code wherever ‘there’ is?” he asks, swinging his legs out of bed and then standing with a stretch.  The movement of his lithe body momentarily distracts you, memories of the way he felt between your legs last night flooding back to you, a slight blush filling your cheeks before you scold yourself for being so easily waylaid.  

“Just something nice.”  Then again, all his clothes look nice on him.  “Something smart, like a suit.”  You turn, bending down at your drawers before adding, “And wear a tie.”  Jimin’s leaning over to stroke Nova who's saying good morning by fussing around his ankles, but at your instruction he looks up, an eyebrow cocked.

“So bossy tonight kitten.”  You straighten up, towel in hand, just in time for Jimin to walk over and stand behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist and planting slow, teasing kisses along your shoulder.  “Do I need to remind you who’s in charge here?”  

“Jimin,” you squirm, giggling as his fangs brush against your throat, “We haven’t got time!”  

“I can be fast,” he murmurs, and you can feel his smile against your skin as he pushes himself against your behind.  You indulge him for a moment, circling your hips and biting your bottom lip, but then you wriggle out of his grasp before he can get too good of a hold on your, walking backward towards the bathroom with a smile. “Such a tease,” he growls, eyes narrowed but smiling, “You’ll pay for that later.”

“I hope so,” you smirk just before you shut the bathroom right in his face.  

As soon as Jimin’s out of sight it’s much easier to focus, nervous excitement bubbling away in your stomach as you throw yourself in the shower and wash briskly.  You’re out of there in record time, tucking the towel around yourself and wiping the steam off the mirror to dry and style your hair.  Once that’s done you go into the cupboard under the sink to retrieve the little package of makeup you’d ordered and hidden away ready to be used tonight, applying a light coverage of foundation and powder.  Perfecting a smoky-eye takes you longer than both the shower and doing your hair combined, but it’s totally worth it for how you look by the end.  You’re not someone who ever particularly admires their own appearance, but even you can admit that you look pretty good.

You exit the bathroom with the towel still around you, noting that Jimin’s fed Nova while you’ve been gone.  He’s sat on the end of his bed now, doing something on his phone.  

“Shower’s free,” you announce, cocking your head in its direction.  Jimin looks up, his eyes immediately widening when he sees all the makeup covering yours.  

“You’re wearing makeup?” he asks, standing and coming closer to get a better look.  “Where’d you get all that?”  You tap your nose secretively, smiling up at him.  Jimin smiles and shakes his head too, his eyes bowed into crescent moons. “So many secrets tonight...”

“Go! Be quick,” you encourage, shooing him away.  You need him to leave so you can start to get dressed; you want your outfit to be a surprise too.  Jimin collects whatever he’s going to be wearing from his closet and then leaves you in peace to get ready, the sound of the shower running starting only moments after he shut the door.  

You'd already laid out your outfit, underwear included, in the bottom drawer days ago, hiding it under t-shirts and towels.  You’ve chosen a pretty longline bra and french knicker set to wear under the dress you ordered, and the material feels so soft against your skin as you slip them on.  The dress fits like a glove, too; a relief since this is the first time you’ve been able to try it on.  The only thing left is the new collar you bought.  You open up the box it came in and stand in the mirror to put it on, pleased to see that it looks as pretty in person as it did online.  Delicate chains of silver hang from its thick black band, tiny teardrop shapes stones of onyx dangling from each one.  It really finishes off the outfit, and just in time for Jimin to walk back in, too.  

God, he looks good in a suit.  His garnet-red jacket and black pants are finely tailored so they fit just right, emphasising his shoulders and trim waist, a slim black tie hanging from his neck, the knot loose enough that he can leave the top button of his white shirt undone.  One of his expensive-looking watches adorns his wrist, rings on his fingers, small hooped earrings hanging from each of his ears.  

You have to fight the urge to touch your chin to check if you’re drooling, but your expression must give away how in awe of him you are because a cocky little smile appears on his face as he walks towards you, his hands in his pockets.

“You scrub up well,” you admit – an understatement if ever there was one.  Jimin looks you up and down appraisingly, briefly biting his lip, his smile turning into a full-blown smirk that makes your heart thud when you see it.   

“So do you,” he replies.  He reaches out a hand to touch the collar around your neck, fingertips trailing down the strands of silver to make you shiver. “I like this, kitten, very much.”  

“You do?” Your breath hitches in your throat, voice embarrassingly husky on seeing the lust that’s darkening his eyes.  He curls one arm around your waist and uses it to sharply pull you close, gazing down into your eyes.

“Are you sure we have to go out?” he murmurs as he presses his forehead to yours, your lips almost touching but not quite, his breath teasing as it ghosts across them.  “I can think of lots of fun things we can do right here.”

“I’m not sure we’d ever leave this room if you had your way,” you smirk, tapping your finger on the point of his nose.  

“Don’t act like you’re not tempted,” he growls, eyes narrowing.  You give him a lingering kiss, one that his lips chase after as you pull away, only making you smile more.  It’s a refreshing change to feel like you’re the one in a position of power.

“C'mon, we're gonna be late.”  You place your hand over the one of his that’s holding your waist and link your fingers together to start pulling him from the room and Jimin soon falls into step with you, giving your hand a tight squeeze.  Every day he’s becoming increasingly affectionate with you, softer, more playful, and you love that he’s slowly opening himself up, allowing himself to be vulnerable even though he admitted himself that he’s scared.  It’s also becoming more and more difficult to resist telling him you love him when he’s acting so sweet all the time, and as he casts you an adoring look you feel your tummy swirl with happy butterflies.  

Your heels click against the wooden floor of the entrance hall when you get there.  You’re relieved to see a car waiting outside on the driveway for you; Jin had promised to drive you both there after you’d told him all about the surprise.  Jimin’s about to get the front door for you when suddenly you hear another one open from behind you, and when you turn to look you see Yoongi walking into the hall too, heading from his bedroom towards the living room.

He stops dead when he sees the both of you, looking from Jimin first then back to you, his eyes widening slightly as he looks you up and down.  

“Going somewhere nice?” he asks.  He’s the only one you hadn’t told about Jimin’s birthday surprise - you didn’t want to make him feel jealous or awkward - but now, seeing the look on his face, you regret not mentioning it earlier.  

“I have no idea,” Jimin replies good-naturedly, pausing with his hand on the doorknob and Yoongi nods, his face impassive.  

“Well... I hope you have a good time.”  You smile at him regardless of how insincere he looks, and you’re about to turn around when Jimin suddenly steps close and whispers in your ear.  

“Why don’t you give him a goodbye kiss?”  You pull back, your eyes widening as you try to figure out if he really said what you thought he did, stomach twisting with excitement at the mere suggestion.  The corner of Jimin’s mouth quirks up into a smile as he subtly inclines his head in Yoongi's direction. “Go ahead, kitten.”

Swallowing hard you turn on the spot, Yoongi’s back turned to you as he walks toward the living room.  Even though you’re nervous and you have no idea how to actually go about this you know that if you wait a few seconds more you’ll miss your chance entirely, and you really do want to kiss him.  It’s been too long.  

“Yoongi,” you call, and he stops and turns as you walk towards him, curiosity painted on his face, and when you come to stand in front of him you see his eyes flick in Jimin’s direction, nervously licking hip lips.  That bruise on his face is still lingering on his jaw, so you can’t say you blame him for being uncomfortable with you standing so close with Jimin stood only a few metres away.  

“You look incredible,” he tells you softly, pitching his voice low and quiet in the hopes the other doesn't hear, his hungry eyes drinking you in once again.

“Thank you,” you blush, thinking to yourself that he looks just as good without even trying, dressed today in a red plaid shirt and tight grey jeans.  You swallow hard and take a deep breath, bracing yourself to make a move before curling your fingers through a belt loop of his jeans, slowly pulling him toward you until his hips meet yours.  Yoongi watches every movement holding his breath, confusion in his eyes.

“Gongjunim?”  Flashing him a quick, reassuring smile, you tilt up onto your tip-toes to you can match his height, taking a glance at his thin, shapely lips before bravely covering them with your own.  

You feel his body tense in shock, and you could guess that his eyes are probably still wide open when your lips first meet, but it doesn’t take long for Yoongi’s body to melt against you despite his surprise, his mouth starting to move in time with yours.  Both of his hands come up to cup your cheeks but then slowly slide their way back into your hair as you kiss, the feeling of his fingernails against your scalp making you let out a muffled moan.  You’d forgotten what a good kisser he is; the way he pours every ounce of feeling into it, his tongue lovingly caressing the inside of your mouth.

You’re breathless when you come up for air, both of you staring at each other with wide, lust-blown eyes as Yoongi’s chest heaves with the heavy breaths he’s taking.  His hands are still in your hair, holding on like he daren’t let go.

“Wha-?”

“Maybe we can go out sometime, too,” you smile, relishing the mix of utter confusion and elation on Yoongi’s face.  His mouth founders for a moment, once again glancing back at Jimin.  

“... I’d like that,”  he eventually answers, corner of his mouth daring to form a smile.  

“Me too,” you whisper, reaching up to give him one last kiss before removing your hands from his belt and forcing yourself back to Jimin’s side.  You really will be late in a minute, especially if you carry on with Yoongi the way you’re longing too.  

“See you later, hyung,” Jimin cuts in, and when you look at his face he’s smiling hard.  He’s clearly finding Yoongi’s dumbfounded expression amusing, which is a much more favourable reaction than the jealous rage you’ve seen from him before.  

He pulls open the front door and as you step through it you send Yoongi a tiny wave goodbye, giggling at the stupefied one he returns.  You feel Jimin slot his hand into your lower back just before he presses his lips to your forehead, guiding you towards the car where you can see Jin waiting, engine on and windows down.  

“Where were you?” he calls to you as you approach, tapping the watch on his wrist, “My driving’s gonna have to be pretty questionable to get you there on time.”

“Sorry hyung, it was my fault,” Jimin apologises as he holds the car door open for you, “I’m a bad influence on her,” he adds with a salacious smile to you, winking.

“I don’t even want to know...” you hear Jin mutter from the front as your door closes and then Jimin's opens, climbing in beside you.  Before you can clip in your belt he curls his arm around your waist and pulls you across the seats so you’re flush next to him, forced to use the middle seatbelt whilst he neglects his entirely.  As soon as Jin hears the clip of the belt meeting the buckle he glances at you in the mirror and then sets off, accelerating at an alarming pace as soon as he hits the main road.  

You lean against Jimin's arm and look out of the window whilst Jin drives, enjoying the way he’s gently squeezing the flesh of your waist as your mind drifts back to the kiss you and Yoongi just shared.  It’d felt so nice, so right, but just like the last time it’s left you wanting more, the slight ache between your thighs evidence of that.  You don’t even realise you’re biting on your lip until Jimin pulls it from between your teeth with a knowing smile.  

“Did you enjoy that, kitten?” he asks quietly, obviously trying to make sure Jin doesn’t hear.  You nod, no longer afraid of sharing these desires with Jimin now that there’s this sense of openness between you two.  “I enjoyed it too.”  

“You did?” Your eyebrows rise in surprise; you’d thought that Jimin would be able to learn to tolerate sharing you, but actually enjoy it?  That’s more than you could have hoped for.  

“You tell me.”  He takes of your hand and presses it to the crotch of his pants with lust clouding his eyes, and sure enough you can feel the hard length of him swollen underneath the material.  “Watching you is almost as pleasurable as having you myself.”  Jimin presses his forehead down to yours, staring into your eyes with such intensity that you start to feel hot all over, your breath shuddering as you exhale.  You still have his length under your palm, and even though you’re very aware of Jin in the front, you can’t help but give him a firm squeeze through his pants, loving the way his eyes press closed and the hiss that passes his lips.  

“Careful, kitten,” Jimin warns, savagely digging his fingers into your side, “If you keep doing that daddy will have to have you right here in the back seat.”  You know it’s supposed to stop you, but if anything Jimin talking like that just spurs you on and you palm him again, harder this time, flashing him a bratty smile.   He moans low in the back of his throat, so quiet you barely hear it.

“Please don’t,” Jin’s voice pleads from the front – clearly he did hear – and when you look through the gap in the seats you can see how tightly he’s gripping the steering wheel, his jaw clenched tight.  You don’t mean to, but embarrassment makes you burst out laughing, removing your hand from Jimin’s lap and sitting up slightly as Jimin smirks at his elder in the mirror.  

“Sorry Jin,” you giggle, the blush that had been colouring your cheeks starting to fade.  

“Don’t let him corrupt you,” Jin warns, though the smile on his face lets you know he’s not being entirely serious.  You feel it’s a bit late for that, really, but nonetheless you nod dutifully, trying to hold back more laughter.  

“Please do,” Jimin purrs into your ear, nipping on the lobe gently and this time you do laugh, batting him away.

“Behave,” you scold, but Jimin makes no promises, simply pulling away with a cheeky smile and then looking out of the window, letting the rest of the journey pass in comfortable silence.  

Ten minutes later and you're in the city centre, fighting heavy traffic and stop signs to get to your destination, and you’re rather glad Jimin isn’t driving because he seems to suffer from a slight tendency towards road rage, muttering murderous curses under his breath whilst Jin remains perfectly calm in the front seat.  

“It’s just round the corner, get ready to jump out,” Jin warns and Jimin suddenly seems more alert, sitting up in his seat with excited eyes, eager to find out what surprise you have in store.  As soon as Jin pulls up to the curb both of you clamber out of the car into a crowd of pedestrians, Jin calling after you to have a good time as you close the car door.  

“Where are we going?” Jimin asks, slipping his hand into yours and letting himself be led by you, guiding him around the corner, smiling back at him and then finally coming to a stop in front of the glass-paned double doors of a theatre.  

“Here.”  Jimin’s eyes take in the entrance to theatre, travelling upward to the billboards above the doors that say ‘Romeo and Juliet’ in sweeping, fancy letters, images of graceful dancers in various lifts and turns around them.  You see the corner of his open mouth start to turn upward, a light starting to shine brightly behind his eyes, and when he looks back at you he seems utterly lost for words, positively beaming with joy.

“Happy Birthday Jimin.”