#psyche these fuckers show up again

[shower-phantom-ideas]

Bruh yall fam I love Danny Phantom crossovers

Like hes so easy to plop in other universes

The idea hes in Miraculous Ladybug and gets akumatized and just talks to hawkmoth. Dudes stuck with this 14-16year old kid cause the bug wont/can’t get out. Kid please im trying to work stfu. Ok yes yes my fault for trying to use you in my evil plot hut it’s 4 am and I have a big meeting in the morning. Kinda shit. That or Ladybug thinks hes an akuma when hes Phantom snd doesn’t trust shit he has to say.

Mcu? Hawkeye getting another kid. Ironman finding out parenting is easy wtf is wrong with people. Captain America finding out parenting is hard someone help him. Bucky just chillin. Thor throwin hands. Loki 🤝 Danny

Fnaf? Dudes a dope security guard and befriends all the animatronics. Or hes just a dead kid haunting the place who befriends the DCA. Who probably don’t like him at first cause hes a dirty rule breaker. But a kids a kid man.

Saiki K? Do yall think Danny could clock Saiki? 20$ says Danny head empty so Saiki thinks hes either like him or like Nenduo and avoids him either way.

RWBY? Ozpin son and defence squad. Too easy next.

Soul Eater? Hell yes fuck yes. Bruh don’t need no one and is topping the charts as worst student ever cause he aint collecting one soul. Helping those fuckers move on. Oh now hes expelled. Well you can’t expels him sir hes walking out. Next new villain cause hes saving those souls you sick fucks. Oh yea these are bad people? Well doesn’t mean they should be used to give you a fucking one up. His own soul has been used to power a country and that shit sucked. No one deserves to have their own being used like that. Wtf (souls arent the same here danny smh you are starving some poor kids probably idk I have t seen the show in ages)

Honestly idk how I would put him in SAO? He would just win?

Psych? Yea hes called in a tip and everyone is sus about him like with how they are about Shawn. So fuck it. Plays it up. Holy shit a ghost! Shawn is going thru it in here cause ghosts arent real right? Gus probably making Shawn take a break from cases cause hes clearly lacking sleep. Though didn’t Gus believe in ghosts??? Lassiter actually ends up liking the kid. Pranking Shawn is just a bonus. Karen knows.

Doctor who? Again too easy next.

DC? Adopt him adopt him adopt him adopt him. No matter which dc character is it they gonna adopt. Unless it’s Joker cause he dies on sight.

MHA? Bruh still getting adopted by someone.

Why is Danny so adoptable???

Put that fucker in warrior cats and bluestar is gonna come fukin running

[boizandgurlzinthehouse]

𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮?

summary: y/n didn't fell well in the last year... and she probably never will feel herself well again. word count: 2.832k trigger warning: SUICIDE, SELF-HARM (really, don't read it if it trigger you please please please), psych ward, signs of mental illnesses, heartbreak, hallucinating, screaming, farewell letter

count your fingers. breathe in, breathe out.

"are you doing this again?"

y/n sat on her bed, smoking a cigarette as she read the newest tabloids. others were watching tv in the lodge, but she preferred to out out some titles and interesting articles. the date stated 1995, may 3rd.

"you are no longer in the newspaper. they're dumb, never writing anything in these papers, fuckers."

scratching her neck, her nail broke at the end. it was weak ever since she got here, sleeping and eating was difficult also.

"but they were true about me."

she looked at him, pulling her knees to herself.

"fuck you, they weren't."

kurt sat at the leg of the bed, now the closest ever. he always stood at the door, sat by the window, or sat on the ground, facing her.

just keep counting. six, seven, eight...

"you look like you need a rest, love. dark circles doesn't fit you."

something constantly buzzed in her mind, like a radio band is always on, even if there's no music and no jokes. or the tv in the lodge at 2am, no shows were playing, she always talked with kurt at night, until the nurses didn't guide her back to her room. she was alone here, at peace, doing what she liked to do --writing her diary, reading books, painting her nails. he wanted to paint kurt's too, but he never came close to her, never let her touch him. he was distant, but in a comforting way.

"who do i need to look beauty for?" y/n asked, exhaling the smoke. kurt smiled, pointing at himself.

"for me."

"yeah, of course."

take your medicine. place a pill on your tongue, then swallow it down with a gulp of water.

the next dose of pills were laying on the plate, waiting for her to take them with a cup of water. they trusted her enough to take it alone, since she almost scratched her wrists from freaking out too many times. the clock on her nightstand ringed, it was time.

"you know i'll never disappear, even if you take those?" kurt laid back on her bed, reaching his hand to the ceiling.

brushing her hair, y/n turned away her head from him. she didn't want to hear this, and to turn to her sane sense.

"if you live only in my head, why can't i just make you go away?" she whispered, her eyes lingering on the lace of the curtain, forming an angel and a bunny.

"because you don't want to let me go."

looking at him again, the buzzing was so intense and it wasn't pleasuring. the voice wanted to tell her something, but it never could. it was a void. she was a void.

am i telling this to myself too? y/n felt tired, picking a pill, popping into her mouth. she ate more pills than actual meals, in the first two months, it was strange to even eat after only living on little pieces of medicine for so long. she looked at kurt, he was still here. ten more minutes and he'll be gone, but the pills only made her tired, they never sent him truly away. or, maybe it was easy to crawl into her mind. laying down, she used her boney arm as an extra pillow, dragging the comforter up on her body.

"when i wake up, piss off."

"can't promise, princess." kurt said, leaning on his elbow as he saw her closing her eyes.

days went like this --waking up before 10am, taking pills, skipping breakfast because the pills always caused her nausea, playing and talking with the others in the psych ward, talking with her own psychiatrist, eating lunch, taking pills, resting in the afternoon, reading the tabloids every wednesday, watching the telly or reading a book before dinner, and then, taking the day's last pills, and then sleeping all night, but she often woke up, sometimes two or three times even.

a knock woke her up from her deep slumber, making her shake. looking around, kurt was not around anymore --at least he kept his poor promise. a nurse, dorothy was standing in the door.

"good afternoon, y/n. you have a visitor."

it was strange. she broke her connections with most people, only dave and christ knew that y/n was still in here.

"who?" she asked, getting up to put on her shoes.

"his name is dave grohl. do you know him?" dorothy asked, making her nod. standing up, y/n went out on the door, seeing dave. walking up to him, dave smiled at her, but it was something uncertain in his eyes. y/n gave up for caring about other's feelings a couple months ago, since she couldn't even deal with hers.

"hello, angel! how are you?" he asked in the sound like you ask from a child, hugging her lightly.

"totally fine." really, she was in a psych ward almost a year from now on, what could she say?

"can we go for a walk? that girl... maybe dorothy? said that we can go for a little walk, i want to know what's going on with you."

stepping outside, y/n breathed fresh air only when she opened her window, and went for a short trip with the others once in three months. the air was calming, and the sun didn't shine too bright, flowers grow on the edge of the sidewalk. dave was so strange, like he also lived in her mind. but he doesn't have to know about that.

"so, what's up? hanging around, uhm..." he wanted to continue, but y/n looked at him.

"chill, dave. i know this place is a horror house. i'm pretty fine, dealing with my things and stuff... and you?"

"i'm fine also. me and jennifer talked about having kids, but i'm not feeling the time yet."

"i felt that." she and kurt had frances, y/n loved her as her own daughter, even if that crazy woman courtney fretted her for being in the baby's presence.

"i have some pictures about bean, do you wanna see them? courtney was against it, but... i thought you'd like."

"that's really nice from you, dave."

seeing the pictures, she felt like the whole universe laughed at her. the buzzing started again, she tried to smile. "how big she is!"

"yeah, well, she is just like her fath-"

dave suddenly silenced. because everybody knew. everybody knew that y/n got in here because kurt died, her mind couldn't comprehend the fact, and she began to see him. she began to hallucinate, and most of the time, she just laid on her bed and looked at the ceiling, not eating, not drinking. if she wasn't crying or screaming, she was sleeping or just being like a sack of potato. the most miserable sack of potato. almost a year, and she didn't even made the smallest progress. she clearly, medically went crazy because of her lover's death.

"look, y/n... me, jen, chris and his wife is going on a trip... you should come too. it's much warmer there in california, you could loose up a little bit, don't you?"

y/n scratched her arms, looking at the stop sign at the end of the road.

"it's a really nice idea, dave. thank you. it's just... what if kurt-"

"what? what about kurt?" dave asked, getting angry. "sorry, but what fucking about him?"

"nothing, just... nothing, really, i just don't want to go."

"because of him? y/n, i don't want to be mean, but did you look at yourself? his death caused all of us pain, but you literally got sick from it."

"what about me? what about me, what about me?" she yelled. "don't say that he's dead, because i fucking see him everyday, and i'm not gonna let it slip!"

"do you see him right now, huh? do you see him? because if yes, then you are just the same as those girls who get shocked to be normal just a little bit!"

"and what if i saw him? what if i saw him and he just could see that how big of a cock your are, fuck you, dave!"

he laughed like he doesn't believed what he just heard.

"here we fucking are again, y/n! because i'm a good friend of yours, i'm gonna tell you that nobody fucking sees him, nobody who's normal! i thought that it's just some aftermath of your depression, but..."

"but what? i am crazy? i am compulsive? i am fucking hopeless? because you know, every fucking day was a menace since things got fucked up!"

"no, you are fucking worse than you were when he died!" dave screamed, trying to reach for her arm to get her back to the psych ward, but y/n clawed at him like a cat, while from the tip of her throat, an enormous shriek came from her, and then y/n just snapped.

"HE MAY BE DEAD! AND EVEN IF HE IS, I WISH I COULD DIE EVERY DAY JUST TO FREE MYSELF FROM ALL OF THIS VOID!" her vocal cords almost teared up as she screamed, crouching on the ground, holding her head. this was the end, the waves crashed above her head, the endless sea of her depression caged her in.

like a switch finally turned down, y/n tried to collect her breath, but it didn't helped. she went too deep, and the last breath of hope was sucked out from her.

"are you okay? y/n, fuck, are you alright?" dave asked her. y/n stood up, brushing her hair from her face.

"yes, i think everything's okay." she felt her own voice static, but it didn't matter.

"okay, then... shall we go back? you must be tired."

"yeah. let's go back."

dave didn't even know that he saw her the last time alive.

"i hope you get a little rest. i think it wasn't a good idea to come, but... i care about you. we all do." he said inside, y/n pulled up the muscles of her lips.

"it's okay. it was good to see you, dave." giving him a hug, it lasted a little bit too long, but he wanted too, so it wasn't a problem. she just wanted to feel loved after so long.

"see you later, y/n."

"yeah, see you too, dave!" she waved to him from the window, dave got out his camera from his car.

"do this again! wave and say, 'hi everybody!'"

"hi, goodbye, good morning, good afternoon everybody!" she sang while faning with her hand, smiling. dave waved to her the last time, then he got in his car, riding away.

do kurt miss christ and dave just as she?

1am. 1995, may 4th.

not a soul walked on the hallways of the ward. it was peaceful, only the small droplets from the fountain harmed the silence. only one bathtub, filled with water, a hand hanging on the side of the white porcelain. little curls of steam floating in the air.

"are you sure about that?"

he was here again, with her. kurt leaned on the brim of the tub, looking at y/n as she collected the pills. she's gonna swallow all of it, with two gulps of water, and then... she didn't know what's going after this, but she couldn't handle it any longer. life was too heavy, she felt it on her shoulders, her spine, her head, it crawled it's weight into her guts from day to day, a new day, a new weight.

looking at him, she stopped in her movements.

"did it hurt?"

kurt only smiled at that, saccharine in his smile.

"did life hurt?"

"only when you weren't there." she replied, then, placing the first dose of pills into her hand. "i wrote a letter. i hope they find it. and i hope i'll find you."

because she hoped, really. she had hope, not for life, but for him. she felt dumb every time she saw lame romance movies about people can't live without each other, but it turned out that it was true. she literally died without him, and air got much more suffocating.

looking at the pills, she looked up to the cross on the wall in front of her. so this is the end.

"i'll look for you, kurt. i love you." she said, not even paying attention to the fact if he was there or not, even if he just lived in her head. downing the pills, chug, another doze of pills, chug. just a couple of minutes, and no days will be spent with agony and crying, screaming, watching shitty movies, trying to live.

somehow, it was comforting to her.

laying back in the warm water, she saw kurt coming closer to her. her vision began to get blurry, and she felt stomach churn, her heart and liver exploding, but it was only a little pain. her lover bend over her, and maybe he touched her, kissing her forehead, but she didn't felt it. there was no movie in front of her eyes, playing her whole life, there weren't any so special things from books the writers always talked about. it was just laying down and resting for awhile.

in her last moments, she felt nothing else but warmth.

dear everybody, or anybody who finds this,

i never wasted too much words about anything. maybe i should have done, but i'm not gonna change this, so please, don't judge me. it's rude to judge dead people anyway.

everyone who thinks that my actions is in connection with kurt, they're right. i don't want to brag about my mental state, let's just say, i didn't feel well in the last couple of months. people around you change you, taking you to a ride, and i guess that i wasn't ready for the end of the ride. in the end, i only want you to remember that how wonderful and gentle, unique and perfect creatures we are. i loved myself, always, i just didn't love the way i felt.

some words to the people, because i was too much of a scaredy-cat to talk with them in the last rounds: dave and chris. you two are truly wonderful, the best guys i could ever imagine. i'm sorry that you have to get to know about this in a letter, but please, never let kurt's memory die, and maybe, don't even let mine. i didn't do a lot of good things in my life, but i loved. i loved and cared, and maybe that can be valuable even for you. courtney, i know we've never been good friends, but maybe, we never could be. i just want to wish you strength and courage for the rest of your life, i've never invalidated your feelings. maybe i felt just like you, excluding the fact that i don't have a lovely supergirl. frances bean, you little star; you won't remember me, but i'll remember you. you are the most fantastic girl i've ever known, and you'll gonna rock the world, just like your father did.

i don't want you to be sad. i wasn't sad, just a little crazy. living our lives without our loved ones claims us to be strong and brave, but i'm not enough brave for it. you're gonna do it instead of me, and my gratitude will chase you forever.

never forget to love and care! i did the same.

y/n y/l/n

she opened her eyes, sun shining through her eyelids. where the hell she was? feeling something soft under her touch; she laid on sand. little rocks pressed into her palms as she sat up. she didn't know where she was, and she wasn't even certain if she did what she did. coming to her senses, the waves crashed in the ocean only a few foot apart from her. washing the shore, it almost get wet her too. it was peaceful and unusual.

but she was not the only one sitting on the beach.

a figure, 60 feet from her sat just like her in silence, looking at the ocean and the dawning sun. could it be...

standing up, she was unsure in her steps, but somehow, she managed to go closer. it was him. instead of screaming and jumping, she simply crouched beside kurt, looking at him, so she was sure that it's really him. the wind blew his hair, his lips surely were salty from the air. brushing through his hair at the back of his neck, the blonde curls felt like silk. he was an angel.

without saying a word, y/n leaned her head on his shoulder. she could touch him now, watching as the sun bleed through the sky. she felt something warm in her chest–

–sure it wasn't reality. but it didn't even needed to be.

a/n: this is my first oneshot in this genre, and to be honest... i don't want to write more. i just had a very depressed couple of weeks, and this just came into my mind. i won't write fics like this, it turned out that i like domestic comfort and fluff more. if you liked it, or want to request, write in the comments, dm me or write here

stay safe, love yourself girliez,

louisa

[samsspambox]

the nxx villain au you didn't need, but i'll give it to you anyway bc it won't leave me alone

now, stellis is a place with a shit load of crime and tbh, are you sure you wanna invest into the real estate market here? anyway, what if our gaggle of hot protagonists were actually villains? you know, more in theme with the city they live in? i will be offering up some different options for them to be different types of villains in part bc maybe you want them to be morally grey, but also bc i cant decide what villain they should be.

be warned: will be talking about stuff villains do (death, drugs..) so read with caution if you're uncomfortable with this stuff!

red flags aside: here we go!

Luke

okay so going from least morally grey, i think this mf could be a vigilante

hear me out, he already has this innate sense of justice if he joined the nsb (well,, he was recruited when he was 16/17 so did he really join by his own volition?)

anyway

vigilante pearce but he doesn't hold back the punches bc sometimes, stopping someone means getting blood on your hands

it also fits well with his lone wolf tendencies we see in chapter one where he literally shuts off the fucking coms while investigating something

sub point: assassin for hire luke pearce

no moral compass, just having a target and ending the target (:

i also think he could a lab rat/field agent combo for a counter intelligence agency that the nsb doesn't fuck with

or alternatively: what if the nsb didn't find luke but herrison did?

he could be one of the fuckers working on the nxx drug but also? what if he went out and tested it unsuspecting people?? a whole ass menace to society

this one is kinda tangential but: underground mass drugs/arms distribution luke pearce

mob king luke pearce? mob king luke pearce.

i mean hes already in this space in game where he doesn't want mc to see him as raven bc that's the 'worst version of him' so what if, fuck it, he embraces that?

with his bio-engineering knowledge he could be the one making the drugs and save on the labor lmaooo

Vyn

fake psychic

LMAOO HEAR ME OUT HEAR ME OUT

he can easily read people and based on that he can tell them what they want to hear (no, this isn't me plugging the mentalist as a show you should watch, stfu)

anyway he has a flair for the dramatics and can perform magic tricks too, you could put him in a daytime television show and he could make millions

similarly about reading people i could see him being an interrogator but like,, the shady type

they type that if you're held hostage would rip you to shreds and he wouldn't even have to touch you

he can also serve as a type of lie detector??? again, vyn would be pretty good at reading people

here's a big one: traitor to svart

he already hates the place and he's basically given a position of power if he stays

he wouldn't be good at reading people in this one bc he didn't go to school for psych, he focused more on how to run a country

but i feel like vyn just has this really good talent for reading people regardless of training

anyway he kinda just,,, let's people fuck over svart and everyone is none the wiser

Marius

he could be an art thief tbh

i'm not talking about copying paintings— well he could do that as a side hustle but no— i mean like actually going in and stealing paintings

he could resell them under the guise of 'i found this stolen artwork and i just had to save it, you know? now give me money'

he wouldn't even be held as a villain he'd be a fucking hero

next one: he's the son of a person with a conglomerate empire do i really need to say more /j

no but fr him as a villain could just be him not caring for what's happening in the compay

who's to say he wasn't the one to send giann off bc he wanted the company? (yes i am implying that marius had giann killed, this is a villain au)

another one who could be a good candidate for a mob boss but here's the catch: this fucker would also be involved in politics

after all, no one can come after you if you make laws that prevent people from coming after you!

tax fraud, disappearing people, parties, admission fraud, you name it. he's probably done it. no one can catch him tho (:

Artem

listen i mean this from the bottom of my heart and as an artem stan: he's boring.

there's no feasible way for him to become a villain without outside incentives. he's literally one of the least corruptible people in the game, how do we get him to be a villain?

well, we blackmail him. we force him to be a villain.

see, arty will defend his clients to the bitter end. what if he pulls a baldr and that also means 'by any means necessary'? just one time wouldn't hurt, right?

wrong. now ingrid roseworth has some pretty incriminating stuff on artem, but if he signed on with baldr she wouldn't release that stuff

oh he wants to take them to court? pity, then the whole world will know what he did without them even lifting a finger.

so he goes to baldr. it just snowballs from there until he's bribing his own father. there's no rest for the wicked, after all

this is literally the only way i can see artem go villain. he's too straight-laced to actually become a villain and he believes too much in justice

well, he can also go vigilante but again, his moral code wouldn't allow him to do it.

would they be in a group? i don't think so?? i'm like 90% sure that all of them being villains would mean they would clash heads often enough, so no. if i were to put them in a group tho?

id go with assassin luke, traitor vyn, bad ceo von hagen, and then blackmailed artem. they're all plotting the fall of svart so that marius could buy his own country. vyn doesn't care what happens to the place, it isn't home to him. marius just wants a country. luke is there bc he's getting paid and so is artem, though he'd use the fall of svart as blackmail to ceo von hagen, since it was planned from the beginning.

and yeah. those are my thoughts for a villain au involving the nxx! have fun <3

[mayalaen]

i’m sorry for pushing you guys away

My family has had A LOT of counseling over the years, but I’ve had very little because counselors don’t seem to know what to do with schizophrenics and they end up doing weird shit to me.

Recently my brain has decided that the childhood experiences I thought weren’t a big deal were actually pretty traumatic, and my brain wouldn’t let me stuff it down anymore. Damn, but I was so good at stuffing that I didn’t even realize I had anger issues!

Apparently I have A SHIT-TON of anger issues 😲

However, in the process of going through counseling, my mom and I finally have a second label for the 4 bipolar people in my family who have caused me the most trauma.

They’re not JUST bipolar. They’re also Malignant Narcissists. Surprise! (Generations of abuse+substance use+mental issues breeds these fuckers if you didn’t know)

It’s kinda nice to have a label for them because now we can learn how better to deal with them, and the tips we’ve learned so far have worked GREAT!!

The BAD NEWS is that they’ve all carried a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder for years, so I assumed all the toxic manipulative shit was due to being bipolar. Because that’s what I was told! (I did think it was odd that most of their behavior wasn’t included on the symptoms of bipolar disorder lists on websites and in psych books)

Because of that, I’ve put distance between myself and bipolar people I start to become friends with as soon as I realize they’re bipolar or have mood issues.

The reason I’m posting about this here is because I’ve been pushing away some really great people who are simply bipolar, thinking they were just being nice to me until we got close and then they’d unleash the manipulative toxicity on me.

I can’t tell you how hurt and angry this it makes me that my family’s behavior fucked up my friendships, but I’m also thankful for the thick skin they’ve given me.

There’s a few people I could name, but I don’t want to out them if they haven’t told anyone else they’re bipolar, but if you see this and you’ve tried to be friends with me and you’re bipolar or even have the barest hints of mood swings, this is for you.

I AM SO SORRY 😭

I really liked being with you. You’re fun and easy to talk to. You’ve never actually hurt me, but I was protecting myself.

As you can imagine, this has been super upsetting, and it’s part of the reason I haven’t been around much.

I went through a grieving period for all the people I could’ve been friends with over the years and quite a number of fuckbuddies and even a couple relationships that could’ve been long-term.

It’s not completely my family’s fault -- counselors told us what they were and missed the malignant narcissism diagnosis -- but I’m in the anger stage of this whole process, and I’m really fucking mad and resentful. I haven’t even been able to look my father in the eye for months now.

Good thing he’s so narcissistic that he hasn’t noticed or cared otherwise I would’ve had to talk to him about it 🤣

One of the things I really enjoyed was watching movies online with friends, and something I’m really excited about is that I’ve created a Plex server with just over 2000 movies and almost 300 TV shows on it, closed captioning as well.

At my insistence, as a family we finally cut ties with cable TV and big ISP a few months ago, so we’re not spending ridiculous amounts of money with Cox. I put two months’ worth of Cox bills to good use with this server, and we’re all enjoying that and a few paid streaming apps.

Which means that I can easily set up and host movie nights for friends and share my libraries with friends 🥳

Of course with me being in the middle of selling the shop, I have no time to do this, but I have hope that I’ll be able to do this soon and play games again and try to rekindle friendships that I hopefully haven’t fucked up beyond repair.

If you’ve made it this far reading through all my rambling, thank you 💜

[trashbag-baby666]

Bighorn Mountain Side-Luztoye.

Chapter Twelve.

Chapter Summary: George and Joe find themselves at the county fair, discussing whether Babe is a top or bottom with Bill.

WC: 2,600.

C/W: Mentions of Babe being a bottom and PTSD.

Series Masterlist!

George found himself in another whole new environment, again. This time around it was the County Fair.

But turns out it's a pretty big deal around here.

“So this is another idea of fun for you guys?” George looked at Joe as they walked up and down the barns of farm animals people were showing. There were cash prizes for the animals and stuff.

“Well we gotta go see Bill's cows and Babe and Genes ducks.” Joe explained to him as they walked in the cow barn. George laughed, shaking his head, sure this would be interesting.

“Look what the cat dragged in,” Bill laughed as he came around a cow and walked over to them, “We're gonna turn this poor fella into a hick if ya keep bringing him to our shit kicker traditions.” Bill smacked George's shoulder.

Truly, George would do anything that made Joe happy. He cared so deeply for him, George would follow him to the end of the world blindly if that's what Joe wanted.

“I’m starting to feel like one, ya scallywag.” George said as he did a spot on impression of Bill, “Now where are the cows?”

“Oh fuck you too George Speirs,” Bill shook his head, “Now you got yourself a funny guy here Joe, he would’ve loved that goin.”

Joe cut him off, “The going away party for Babes virginity.” Joe laughed nervously, eyeing Bill like he was trying to make him explode with his brain.

“You guys had a party for when Babe lost his virginity?” George laughed, grabbing Joe's shoulder as he bent over, “Who was it?”

“Gene,” Joe looked at him as George straightened up, lifting an eyebrow.

“You’re telling me Babe didn’t get laid till like May? Of this year?” George snickered thinking about how the first time he had sex he was 14.

“Yep,” Bill smirked, “Do you think Gene is the one who usually, you know, like?” Bill thrusted his hips forward slightly.

This caused a fit of laughter between the other two boys. Joe and George grabbed at each other as they laughed, George falling into Joe slightly.

“What's so funny?” Bill furrowed his eyebrows, a look of confusion on his face.

“Babe is the biggest bottom any of us have ever met.” Joe exclaimed.

“Literally and figuratively,” George smiled. Babe would never hear the end from it about the fact he was like six foot, five inches.

“He’s on the basketball team,” Joe looked at George as he slipped an arm around George's waist.

“But he sucks at all things sports? Except for hockey.” George had seen the hockey trophies in Babes room. Plus Babe would often have a puck and a hockey stick out. Running around his driveway and George would watch him.

“He’s just there to psych out the other team because he's so tall but he's really good at blocking.” Joe explained to George, his mouth falling into an O shape.

“Now do ya fucker’s wanna come see my cows or are we gonna keep yabbin’ about, Heffron?” Bill asked.

“Let's go see Bill's dairy farm,” George patted Joe's back as they walked down the barn to where Bill had three of his cows. The ones that produce the most milk, was what Bill had told them last week.

“Now this is Bertha,” Bill patted the neck of a cow as she stood in a stall. Bertha had a pink ribbed tied around her neck.

“She's a distinguished lady,” George smiled.

“My sisters tie them on the cows for fair season, see look at Ms. Daisy.” Bill walked down another one and gave the other cow some pats.

“That color looks so good on you,” George said observing the blue jean colored ribbon tied on her.

“I never get used to ya guys yappin’ at your animals.” Bill shook his head. He saw the way Joe talked to his horses or Babes ducks or the other farm dogs at Genes grandmas. Or the way George would talk to Petunia and talk for her too, George was insistent Petunia talked like a southern bell.

“You don’t talk to yours, Bill?” George said almost like he was offended.

“Well like a normal person would? I don’t give them voices.” Bill pointed at the two of them.

“Okay, we should mooove on,” George chuckled at his own joke.

“Yeah we should go see Babes ducks, he said he edited photos of them as their designated Hunger Games character. I’m dying to see Peeta the duck as Peeta.” Joe took George's hand, giving it a squeeze.

“Yeah I gotta go talk to the judges and show them my girls.” Bill nodded seeing them off.

They walked into the small animal barn, “Hey guys!” Babe turned holding a duck with a blonde colored yarn wig on.

“That must be The one! And only! Peeta Quacklark,” George came over to him.

“I was just about to put him back in his cage,” Babe said, letting George pet his duck, then Gene came around them holding a duck with a long braided poorly made yarn wig.

“Quackniss Everdeen?!” George clasped his hands together, “Oh my gosh I’m such a huge fan! Joe take my photo with them!” Joe fished his phone from his pocket and pulled up the camera.

Gene and Babe held the ducks next to George as he took a photo op with them.

“Is Duckale Hawthorne here?” George smirked.

“No he had to stay back, he’s bad with other ducks.” Gene explained.

“Let's just say there's a reason his name is Duckale.” Babe nodded with a wink talking about the unlikable character that was Gale Hawthore.

“What’re you guys doing here?” Babe asked, putting the two ducks back in their cages.

“I’m here to show him what a good ol’ county fair was about. We just saw Bill and his cows.” Joe nodded.

“Oh you’ve never been to a fair?” Babe asked confusedly, tilting his head slightly.

“Well yeah I’ve been to a fair, just usually not ones with animals and belt buckles.” George snickered; he had noticed how everyone dressed like a shit kicker or people overly dressed up rhinestone button ups, cowboy hats, cowboy boots, giant bedazzled belt buckles.

Even Bill had on a big belt buckle with a cow on it.

Gene smirked a bit, “You shoulda saw how I felt when I moved here from France.” A more potenter accent poking out.

“You’re from France?” George asked point at the dark haired boy he didn’t know very well after all, “You don’t sound french? You sound like those guys in that one episode of Scooby Doo where they’re in New Orleans.”

“Well I’m actually from the bayou in Louisiana but I moved to France with my grandma when I was 12. I have dual citizenship, then we moved here last year.” Gene explained.

“That's really cool,” George nodded.

Gene checked his watch, “I gotta eat something.”

“Or else your diabetes will act up?” Babe asked more poking fun, most of the friend group made fun of Gene for being diabetic. It was all in good fun of course Gene made fun of it too.

“Yes Babe, or else my diabetes will act up.” Gene said with a tone of sarcasm.

“Do you guys wanna grab a bite to eat?” Babe asked.

“No, we ate before we came actually. We were going to go see my sisters and their horses. They have their little drill team performance going on soon.” Joe explained.

“Okay well are you guys going to the rodeo tonight?” Babe rocked back and forth on his feet.

“Yeah, we will!” George responded and looked at Joe, “Joe you stinker! You didn’t tell me they were doing a rodeo tonight.

Joe didn’t tell George because in four days it would be the anniversary of the bull crushing his leg at the rodeo last year. He still couldn’t really handle being at the rodeos without feeling nauseated and increasingly depressed.

“Oh I didn’t? I thought I told you last week,” Joe smiled nervously hoping they would buy it.

George shrugged, “Maybe you know how bad my memory is.”

“Well, we're gonna go eat and we will see you tonight.” Babe waved to them as he took Gene's hand and Babe literally skipped out.

George and Joe swung their hands as they walked over to the small arena where they showed their animals. A girl came around the corner with caramel brown hair and soft blue eyes. She sported bootcut jeans and some cowboy boots they could hear from a mile away. She also sported a large belt buckle and a baseball tee style shirt with the local 4H logo stamped on it.

“Oh hey Joe!” Frannie smiled walking over to the two of them.

“Hey Frannie, this is my boyfriend George, George this is Frannie Bill's girlfriend.” Joe introduced them.

“Well howdy there city boy, Bill told me lots about you.” Frannie shook his hand.

“Well hopefully good things,” George smiled, “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“All good things, but if Bill gives you any trouble just ignore him. Love him but he's a dumb ass.” Frannie snickered.

“So are you guys gonna come see me ride tonight?” Frannie asked.

“At the rodeo? Yeah!” George looked between the two of them.

“Yeah! I barrel race.” Frannie nodded.

“That’s really cool, I’ve seen videos of it on tik tok.” George's friends seemed to have a really good taste in partners and people. George hasn't met a single person he didn’t like. Well except for this kid Herbert Sobel who worked at Home Depot and always had an attitude with him. The guys just said to not listen to him and that he was an asshole.

“Yeah, I’ll see you guys there.” Frannie waved to them and walked into the horse barn.

“She seems nice,” George nodded.

“She's the sweetest, she's exactly what Bill needs, a rational person.” Joe explained, “Plus Bill is super in love with her too.”

They sat on the bleachers as the kids waited in line to show their horses.

“Welcome out tonight Cody, Wyoming. You’ve found yourself at our local rodeo.” The announcer came over the loudspeakers as they sat in the bleachers at the rodeo. George was so excited for tonight and Joe thought it was beyond funny. He even talked him into wearing his belt buckle from his bull riding days.

“I’m so excited!” George snickered sitting down in between Joe and Babe.

“This is so funny,” Babe giggled, taking a handful of popcorn from George's bag, “Right Joe?”

Joe stared at the dirt all over, suddenly Joe could feel the wind get knocked out of him as he smacked against the ground the dirt flying all over.

Suddenly Joe felt the searing pain in his knee. Not even his knee, the phantom pains suddenly shooting up and down his leg.

Joe stood up, “ I’m gonna go to the bathroom.” Joe stumbled over himself as he ran to the bathroom and yanked his jeans down, sitting down and pulling his leg off and then his liner. He breathed heavily as he closed his eyes and began stroking a single finger down his stump slowly. He tried to remind himself to take deep breaths as he felt himself slipping in and out of a PTSD induced panic. He squeezed his eyes shut as he added a second finger to gently massage himself till the phantom pains went away.

“Fuck,” Joe murmured to himself as he felt tears begin to prick his eyes from the pain.

He continued to rub the pads of his finger up and down till it became just a small tingling before he put his leg back on .

Joe walked out of the bathroom and continued trying to take even breathes. He walked down to their spot and saw Lieb and Web had joined them.

“Hey Joe,” Web waved as Joe came back over.

“Hey,” Joe smiled as he filed in and sat next to George.

“Are you okay darling?” George asked quietly as Joe sat back down.

“Yeah, just the fair food was making me feel all pukey.” Joe frowned, “I think I’ll be fine, can I have a drink of your water?”

“Yeah,” George bent down a bit and grabbed the metal water bottle off the ground.

“Thanks,” Joe took a few drinks and handed it back to George.

Bill came over to join them right before barrel racing started. Bill would help out with the animals. He always wanted to ride bulls but his mom wouldn’t let him.

“Hey guys,” Bill sat by them, “How's your night?”

“Fine,” Joe shrugged. Bill could tell something was up by Joe's body language and how he sounded.

Bill kept giving Joe side glances as the rodeo went on. Joe was stiff and he kept adjusting his position.

“Next up we have Cody’s under 18 barrel racing champion! Frannie Purnell and her horse Bonney!” The announcer called.

“Yeah Frannie!” Babe yelled.

“Frannie!” Bill cheered.

George watched in utter shock as Frannie raced the track. “Folks, we have our fastest time of the night so far! Frannie must be ready to defend her title with a time of 14.45 seconds!” The announcer called.

The guys all jumped up, “Way to go Frannie!” Babe and Gene yelled as they all cheered and clapped.

Joe sat back down and kept his eyes focused on pretty much anything except for the dirt arena by the bull shoots.

When the bull riding under 18 competition was announced Joe swallowed hard, “I’m excited to see what my hunk is so good at.” George giggled and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“George,” Joe said a bit with an edge to his tone and kind of shoved him off a bit.

“Sorry,” George frowned and moved away from him just slightly.

Joe could feel the pain start to come back as it began watching boys his age do what he should be doing.

George looked over at Joe, “Is something wrong?” George frowned as he sat the painful stare on Joe's face.

“Yes, I'm fine George.” Joe said with a little bit of an edge. George looked over at Bill, both of them sharing a look that spoke the words of something that was up with Joe.

Joe could feel his heart beat in his ears as rider after rider went. The phantom pains and tingling getting worse by the minute. He could begin to feel an uncomfortable pressure in his chest, his vision going blurry and he gripped his thighs to try and ground him.

“Joe, are you sure everything is okay?” George rested his hand on top of Joes.

“Yes George I’m fine. Now stop asking.” Joe snapped feeling himself come back down to reality. George jumped back slightly as Joe unexpectedly yelled at him. George felt tears begin to prick against his eyes and he tried to swallow the lump growing in his throat.

“Come on,” Bill stood up and grabbed Joe's arm, basically pulling the other boy out.

“Are you okay?” Babe asked, looking at his friend.

“Yeah,” George whispered as he tried to contain the tears beginning to fall down his cheeks. George didn’t understand why Joe had yelled at him, did he do something wrong? Maybe he shouldn’t have made Joe come tonight?

[madchild-dennis]

Now that we know he's going to DIE (by God or by me) Let's talk about it.

Let's be CLEAR, I do NOT need to explain myself. BUT I think it's necessary to share as I KNOW God will deal with it and I'll get a REPLACEMENT.

There's ALWAYS a method to my madness. So let's discuss it all and then LET IT GO.

SO let's begin with declaring ASSERTIVELY that, If God, G-O-D forces me to be with him, I WILL KILL HIM. Violently and unapologetically.

WHY?

Because I made clear what NOT to do with the consequence of death if he fucks up or disobey these boundaries.

WHY DEATH? WHY SO HARSH?

Because GOD, G-O-D guaranteed him to be "THE PERFECT" guy. As in EVERYTHING I would want and does NOT have what I don't want (I will make a post on that as promised soon). So because God guaranteed a MAN who has FREE WILL, will be the BEST husband. A HUMAN who has FREE WILL. A MAN who can freely disobey GOD. A human who can FREELY do as he wants whenever. If God going to have me set SO MANY BOUNDARIES and walk me into SO MUCH SACRI-FUCKING-FICE and problems for that fucker. God must know something I DON'T.

Because I had to SACRIFICE and more for this so called supposed person who is supposed to be everything I ever dreamed. HOWEVER, ALL HE HAS DONE towards me is be a FUCKING ASSHOLE.

So it's either something wrong in translation, or he chose to take a different path than God's. I am NOT taking SHIT I did NOT want and could see from the FUCKING START to suffer. God did NOT show me a troubled marriage. He did NOT show me an asshole. In fact, the way God painted him, did not show all this fuckery. So, it must be the guy's fault and choice to be a fucking ASSHOLE. If God is guaranteeing him, it must be at the risk of death.

PLUS God keeps insisting it's the guy and his mother who truly want it all. As in those shits want the marriage/relationship. Something I have been letting go and walked away from 2019.

Let's be CLEAR: If I have to kill him because God force me to be with him. I will do so publicly. I will make it known publicly. As I said, right after doing so, I will call his mother to come pick him/his body up. Accepting whatever she wants to do about it. If police comes, I will admit to them in DETAILS what I did. Which is most likely cut his dick off and watch him bleed then stab him up. Then whatever happens I accept it. However, please MARK THESE WORDS, I will NOT go to prison for it. Why? God. God has revealed that the worst I'll experience is ALREADY DONE (locked up in a psych ward, hospital & a nursing home). So NO PRISON if I kill that bitch.

Anyway the story.

OK let's go into depth about it

So I met him in 2019. As shared here:

The truth is I didn't know and I didn't realize I was falling until it was too late. As I wrote in poetry here:

(These are just a FEW, trust me I have FAR too many more; UNFORTUNATELY. I write when emotionally overwhelmed.)

In 2019, he did a lot of physical things that played with my emotions and I wrote about it:

In fact, I knew he was a bad decision in the first place:

Then I gave him 10 questions to try and make sure I made a sound and good decision to date him. So that to not make this decision centered around just feelings. It had to make sense, well to me. As I shared in this:

I don't date based on feelings only, because feelings won't matter or won't fix things when you are in the hard times of marriage. Plus I date for the goal of marriage. So, if I can't see that goal, I walk away. Hence the necessity of the 10 questions or the fact that the union would make sense. I wanted it to make sense first.

As you know he failed at even doing just that BASIC THING.

So I was going to move on. BUT MY feelings. In fact I tried to give him a chance again in December of that year:

BUT NO:

[analiavs]

In Which Harper Loses His License pt2

Briar x Stripper, Leighton gets cucked?

Warnings, tags: Source material warnings apply, dub con, transformation, felching, daddy kink, etc

Briar plans to deal with Harper, Harper gets the jump on him.

Maybe a trip to the underground would remind him of his place. Though he never worked directly with the doctor, maybe he’d meet with him under the guise of talking about the next drug shipment. The guy gave him the ick, but the faster he got this over with the better. He got one of his men to set-up a meeting. Then, mulled over how to approach this.

He finished his glass and decided a quick nap wouldn’t hurt. As powerful as he was, his operation didn’t need constant supervision. Unlike Remy’s…

He jolted awake when he felt a hand on his throat. When he tried to fight back the hand tightened. He glared up at… Harper!? This was preposterous.

“Shush… I’m just giving you what you want.” He cooed. A dangerous looking needle in his other hand.

“Hehe, by now everyone is receiving their gifts. But I wanted to give you yours personally.” Harper stopped his monologue to pet him. The needle in his hand came dangerously close to grazing his face.

“You’re already quite beautiful but there’s always room for improvement. You see, I see the world as it should be. -” From there the lunatic started raving about perfection and molding the town as he saw fit. He ignored him, focusing instead on getting loose.

He hit Harper with both arms at once trying to use the element of surprise but the doctor didn’t even flinch. Merely tightening the grip around his neck. He started fighting it as his lungs started to burn.

“See my drug warps to give the psyche what it desires. Remy could have become a prized stud, but instead he’s just a cute little cow.” He loosened his grip letting him gasp for air before tightening again.

“I want to see where your consciousness lies. Incubus or succubus. Give me a good show.” He hissed into his ear, licking up a tear before jamming the needle into his neck.

The mystery liquid was pushed into him. It burned and he tried to cry out. He felt Harper let go, but he couldn’t do anything but writhe in pain.

There was no way for him to regain his composure. Fuck Remy had been right about the slimy bastard. But he couldn’t have expected this. His skull and tailbone hurt. And he felt a strange hunger. Ugh. He watched Harper walk out.

“He’s all yours.” He said to someone outside his door. He didn’t have to wait long before Leighton strutted in. He had a bestial aura now, despite looking as lame as always save for the mutt ears on his head.

“You’re working with the fucker? I expected better from you. But I mean you always were a stupid dog.” He spat, venom lacing his words. But instead of cowing like usual Leighton stood even taller.

“You can talk big if you want. I’m in charge now.” He sucked his teeth. Even in pain he wasn’t going to let Leighton’s lame bluster trick him.

“You’re so pathetic. You can only get some by paying or blackmail and you really thought ears and a tail would change that.” His words cut and he could see Leighton’s bravado deflating. Good. That strange hunger was only growing and he wasn’t going to risk having Leighton of all people satiate him.

“You thought you could come in here and fuck me? Don’t make me laugh. In fact, come sit on the floor. Dogs shouldn’t get on furniture. But I’ll let you see what you’ll never have.” Leighton obeyed him. Perfect. He managed to keep his disgusted facade up while he walked as normally as he could and called for Astral Dream, his best male stripper.

And, he thought sadistically the opposite of Leighton’s every insecurity. Tall, broad, muscular, and well-endowed. He wasn’t ashamed to have taken him for a couple rides. Dominance wasn’t in the position after all.

Fresh off the stage, Astral came up to him, glistening with sweat and naked save for a blue thong hanging precariously off his hips.

“Yes daddy?” He couldn’t help the smile as he grabbed his hand and brought him into the room. Perfectly obedient.

“You’re so good for me, I want to reward you. I’ll let you feed my ass as much cum as you want.” The second half he definitely had not intended to say. Though it was close enough to the truth.

“Thank you daddy. I’ll do my best to satisfy you…” He trailed off upon seeing Leighton kneeling by the couch.

“Don’t worry, I would never share you with that loser.” He said loud enough for him to hear.

“Now undress me.” He enjoyed the feeling of Astral’s hands on him. It was almost routine at this point, but he knew better than to do anything without being instructed to first.

Once he was naked, he lounged on the couch. Ignoring the slobber dripping down Leighton’s face he ordered Astral around.

“Be a dear and get the lube will you.” He almost wished he had a glass of wine. He turned onto his stomach.

“Yes daddy.” He went and grabbed it. When Astral walked over he heard the lid pop.

“Get me ready baby. Then you can feed me.” There it was again. Where was that coming from? He didn’t have long to worry about it because Astral’s fingers were finally pressing in.

The shame about being a hedonist was that everything lost its charm eventually, but today he felt overly sensitive. It must be from the shit Harper gave him. He’d intended to ham it up to really make Leighton sweat, but the sounds he was making were genuine.

He sounded like a new whore. And upon noticing the effect he was having, he could hear Astral breathing heavily. By three fingers he was thrusting back against him. Legs trembling he shakily ordered Astral to fuck him.

“Ok, you can put it in me now. Feed me.” Usually he had a little more finesse to his words, but he felt too desperate to waste time.

“Yes daddy.” He had enough self control not to whine at the fingers being taken out. But he wasn’t left wanting for long either.

He took the dick with practiced ease and started thrusting his hips back against Astral. His knees couldn’t take cowgirl anymore, but this was a close enough substitute. He spent a few minutes thoroughly enjoying the enhanced sensation before he remembered this was supposed to be a punishment. He made eye contact with Leighton.

“This could never be you. I only take the best. And you’re just a filthy dog.” He watched Leighton’s Adam's apple bob. He'd always been a wimp, but he hadn’t expected to bitch him so easily. He couldn’t help the devious smile on his face as he handed him a throw pillow.

“Here I’ll give you something to hump. Go to town, dog.” He couldn’t hold in his laughter when Leighton actually started humping the pillow.

That was just too pathetic. It had the added benefit of making his pleasure spike, he rocked back faster. He almost wished that he could let Astral do all the work. But he couldn’t risk it being interpreted as submission. Not when he was dominating Leighton so completely. He thrust back chasing his own pleasure. But Astral’s grunts behind him let him know he was being effective.

“May I cum sir?”Astral finally asked.

“Yes, make sure it all goes inside. Don’t waste a single drop.” He usually made Astral come into his own hand and eat it. But he felt like he was starving. Instantly he felt relieved when he felt Astral twitching inside him. Whatever Harper had injected him with was having weird effects.

“Good job Astral. You’re dismissed.”

“Thank you daddy.” He pulled out carefully. Then got dressed and exited. He felt livelier than ever after that. But he didn’t exactly want cum in his ass. He saw Leighton was still hard at work humping his pillow and got an idea.

“I’ll be nice and let you have a taste.” He turned, letting Leighton get a good look. In an instant he was tackled onto the couch and he felt Leighton eagerly licking out Astral’s spend. He tried not to vocally respond to the stimulation even if his toes were curling.

Not long after he’d started, Leighton jolted and he turned to see him cumming all over his throw pillow. At that he threw back his head and laughed. Before he could make Leighton lick it up, he felt a sharp pain on the top of his head and passed out.

[sirislayer]

"I have a plan for some pretty naughty stuff coming up!... ..."

I hc that Toliver actually doesn't emote or gesture a lot. But then in his conversation with Devo he has those little outbursts of emotions and raw expression and we see him absolutely unhinged

[fairyaali]

felix and luka ( separately ) with a fem! s/o who has that pastely soft aesthetic and has the matching personality to go with it ! ( naive , kind , caring etc etc ) but can get very very bitchy when angry!

 HELLO! I’m super sorry about the wait but here it is hehe <3 i tried to make it as accurate as possible so i hope you like it ! 

Pairings: Luka Couffaine X Reader , Felix Graham De Vanily X Reader.

Warnings: swearing! 

Felix

 Felix Graham de Vanily has never imagined the day when he would be actually in love - but it actually happened and he wasn’t even prepared for it.

Needless to say, it hit him like a truck and sent him to heaven.

This was his heaven, being on a big bed with you and playing with your hair while you watched your favourite show on Netflix.

“I told you he was going to be the bad guy! I knew it all along!” You exclaimed and jumped up, startling him but ultimately, making him smile.

“It was quite obvious my love.” He chuckles and you pout, crossing your arms while you plop back down next to him.

“But he was my favourite character Felix! And he’s probably going to die now too.” You look up at him and he can’t help but smile at your adorable, pouting face.

He cups your face in his hands and you instantly smile when you see his smile. It was contagious. He rarely smiled so you just feel so much joy bubbling inside of you when the blond smiled at you and you couldn’t help it.

He quickly kisses the tip of your nose and you giggle before crawling on his lap, peppering his face with kisses and completely ignoring the show you were watching.

The room was filled with little kissing noises and giggles coming from both of you.

His hand moves from your waist to your thighs, caressing the fabric of the white thigh high socks you were wearing beneath your pink tennis skirt.

His touch comforted you and you close your eyes, resting your forehead on his and humming gently.

“You’re so beautiful.” He whispers out of the blue and you gently open your eyes, staring right into his.

A blush creeps on your cheeks and you part your lips, inching closer to his face to kiss him.

A thought bursts through your head move your lips could touch and you smile brightly.

“Can we go feed the ducks again?” You ask him, your eyes bright and excited at the memory of the last time you went with him.

He took you to the park last time and you fed the ducks together because it was something he enjoyed doing as a child with his nanny. You didn’t know that such a simple activity could bring him so much joy and you were looking forward to the next time you two did it.

His face lights up and he nods, “Of course darling.” He replies and you excitedly hop off of his lap. “Wait you meant right now?” He asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

You were already lacing up your boots so you look at him over your shoulder and pout. “Yes?” You question.

“I thought we were going to..you know..” He looks away sheepishly.

You smirk at him. “Don’t worry Felix, you can have me all to yourself later, I promise.” You say and finish with a wink.

He nods and blushes, letting out a small chuckle.

You finish up putting on your boots and wait for him to get ready before the two of you head out of his house hand in hand.

You two walk through the park, his hand in one of your hands and in the other hand you held a small paper bag full of bread for the ducks.

Children were playing all over the park and people were chatting around you. It was nice to get out of the house with him sometimes, even if he does prefer staying at home.

“Oh look it’s Felix.” A male voice said which was followed by laughter.

You feel Felix tense up and he freezes.

You were quite confused as to what was happening so you decide to turn around and see two guys around the same age as Felix and you.

“Please ignore them my love, let’s go.” He whispers to you and you furrow your eyebrows at them before nodding to Felix.

“I see you got yourself a little girlfriend.” They speak again and you can hear their footsteps behind you. “You’re making a big mistake dating that little pansy babe, come with us and we’ll show you what a real man is like.”

You were livid.

You couldn’t control yourself so you turn around, letting go of your boyfriend’s hand.

“A real man huh?” You say and cross your arms over your chest, walking up to them. “I’d rather die than date one of you hideous mother fuckers.”

They were taken aback, wide eyed, probably not expecting you to talk back.

“Felix is more of a man than you ever will be.” You stare right into the bully’s eyes. “When was the last time you ever got some huh?” your lips curl into a smirk.

“I-i…uhm, well..” he stutters and the other nudges him, mouthing something.

“That’s what I thought.” You say and turn around. “Don’t ever come for my boyfriend again.” You state and grab felix’s hand, looking up at him.

His face was beet red, his eyes were wide and you couldn’t help but grab the back of his head and kiss him right then and there.

He smiles against your lips and you pull away before the two of you walk away from them.

“That was..” He clears his throat. “hot.” He blurts out.

You cover your mouth with your hand and giggle.

The two of you continue your day near the lake, laughing and throwing bread for the ducks to eat.

He made you feel safe and now you were at peace knowing you did the same to him too.

 Luka

 You’ve been waiting for this night for a long time.

Your boyfriend’s first opening gig with his band.

It wasn’t something grand and big – I mean, it was just a small pub downtown but you knew this was a big night for him and so it turned out to be a big night for you too.

You were ready to show him all your support and love, wearing your favourite flowy dress and his lucky guitar pick hanging on a silver chain around your neck.

Your friend Marinette was by your side, she even designed the costumes for everyone so both of you were super psyched for what was happening.

You made your way to the back stage and saw your boyfriend, Luka, sitting down on a chair and tuning his guitar, nodding his head to the beat.

“Luka..” You whisper and tap his shoulder.

He opens his eyes and looks at you, a smile instantly making it’s way on his face.

“There’s my favourite girl.” He says and gets up, hugging you tightly while you giggle. “I’m so glad you could make it.” He says quietly.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” You say and kiss him on the cheek.

He kisses you on the forehead and pulls away from the hug, wrapping an arm around your neck.

“Hey Marinette.” He says and smiles at her.

The bluenette grins at the two of you. “Are you excited?” She asks.

“More like nervous.” Luka replies and let’s out a heavy breath. “I’m not usually this nervous but damn, I can’t believe we finally got a gig.”

You look up at your boyfriend with adoring eyes. “Don’t be nervous Luka, I know it’s going to go great.” You reassure him and he smiles down at you, nodding.

Luka is a really calm person so seeing him nervous means that this really means a lot to him. He has been practicing for weeks and you couldn’t be more proud of how far he’s come.

You gasp at the sudden realisation of something and move away from his grasp, rummaging through your little back pack.

“A-ha!” You say and pull out a blue bracelet that you made yourself.

You look up at Luka and smile before handing it to him.

“I made this for you and I want you to wear it tonight for goodluck.” You say, your cheeks heating up when you look at him as he stares at the bracelet you made. “Since you gave me your lucky guitar pick for me to wear, I thought I should give you some luck of my own.” You look down at your shoes sheepishly.

“You’re an absolute angel, have I ever told you that?” He says and grabs your hand, making you look up at him.

You glance down at his wrist and see that he already put on the bracelet.

You get on your tip toes and give him a small kiss on the lips.

“Thank you.” He whispers and tucks a strand of your hair behind your ear.

“Guys get ready in 5” Someone says from the curtains and Luka instantly stiffens up.

You give him one last kiss on the cheek before walking next to Marinette.

“Goodluck.” You say and give him a reassuring smile as you wave at him.

He nods at you and runs a hand through is hair before grabbing his guitar.

You and Marinette leave back stage and make your way to your seats.

The pub was small so it easily got crowded with people.

You sigh and play with your hair. “I’m so nervous for Luka, Mari.” You tell Marinette.

She rubs your shoulder to calm you down and shakes her head.

“He’s going to do just fine girl, you’ll see.” She says and gives you a bright smile which comforted you.

The background music playing in the pub fades away and the lights start to dim.

“La bulle proudly presents, Kitty Section!” A voice says over the speakers and whistles and claps fill the room.

The curtains open and it reveals the band in their designated places.

You glance at Luka and smile at him before the music starts.

Rose was in front, singing her heart out to their original song and Luka was behind her, nodding his head as he played the guitar with passion.

You admired him and his talents, he used to write and sing so many songs for you, little did you know that one day he would actually be performing in front of a real audience.

Luka was vocalising to the chorus with rose and his eyes suddenly find yours.

He looked amazing.

The clothes that Marinette styled them with, his skin glistening under the lights and a few strands of hair stuck to his forehead because of the sweat.

You bit your lip as you kept looking at him. He was so into the song, so immersed in everything and it was so fucking hot to you.

He noticed this and his lips curled into a small smirk.

“Wow.” You breathed out quietly.

Marinette was beaming at the band and clapping. “I know right!” She laughs happily.

You grinned and sat up as they ended and clapped.

The whole pub was clapping for your boyfriends band and you were so happy for them.

Everyone was walking to talk to them of greet them and all you had on your mind was Luka, you just wanted to hug him and congratulate him and maybe even make out with him in the bathroom.

“Excuse me.” You mutter as you try to make way towards him.

Your eye catches a blonde girl in front of him, talking to him and laughing.

You freeze and something bubbles inside of you.

Jealousy?

You weren’t the type to be jealous but you couldn’t help the feeling.

You decided not to think much of it and gulped, continuing to make your way toward them.

“Can you like, sign my boobs?” You hear her say and giggle.

“Pardon?” Luka blurts out, looking at her with wide eyes.

Nope. That was it.

You quickly move between the last few people and walk up to them.

The girl started to unbutton her shirt and you furrowed your eyebrows.

Before anything else could happen you made your way to Luka and grabbed his shirt, kissing him.

The girl stopped her movements but held her hand on the buttons of her shirt.

You pull away from Luka and watch him as he blinks a few times, dazed as to what just happened.

“go show your boobs to someone else you skank.” You spit out, narrowing your eyes at her.

She scoffs at you and flips her hair before walking away from you guys.

You clench your jaw and Luka grabs your hand.

“Hey, are you okay?” Luka says and you huff.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” You look away from him and frown.

“You know, I wasn’t going to sign her boobs.” He says and shrugs.

You look at him and roll your eyes. “Yeah.” You murmur.

“Didn’t know you could be so jealous.” He says in a teasing voice.

It was your turn to scoff and you look at him. “I wasn’t jealous.”

“Uh-huh.” He says and you stare into his eyes for a moment.

He was smirking at you, so calm, while you were red and angry inside at the thought of some bitch showing her boobs to your boyfriend.

Next thing you knew though, you were sitting on the sink of the pubs bathroom, making out with your boyfriend.

[zintranslations]

Kaleidoscope of Death, Ch. 120

Kaleidoscope of Death by Xi Zixu Link to Chinese / Novel Updates

Chapter 120: The Thirteenth Door

Right after the new year, it came about time for Gu Longming to enter his door.

Ruan Nanzhu selected a sixth door hint slip, and on it was a name familiar to all—Minotaur. A monster from ancient Greek mythology with a bull's head and a human's body that guarded a maze.

In the myth, it was a creature of an extremely violent temperament born of a human and a white bull. Shut away in the Labyrinth on the island of Crete, it ate seven pairs of boys and girls each year. Then it was killed by a bastard son of Athens, Theseus. Point was, there wasn't much intel to gain about the door from a hint like this. Only once they went in and encountered the actual situation could they connect it to the hint on the paper slip.

Lin Qiushi also showed this hint to Gu Longming ahead of time. After Gu Longming received it, he expressed his thorough gratitude for Lin Qiushi, and Lin Qiushi too was forthright with a vaccination—he said that in this door, he could not be responsible for Gu Longming's life, and Gu Longming ought to prepare himself accordingly.

Gu Longming agreed to every stipulation, and said he had already prepared himself for never coming out.

Their time of entry was roughly the tenth of the lunar new year, when celebrations were trailing off, leisurely vacations were coming to an end, and everybody grew busy again.

Lin Qiushi readied everything and began to wait for the door.

The tenth quickly came. It was a bright, sunny afternoon, and few people were in the mansion. There was only Lin Qiushi sitting in the living room eating Lu Yanxue's freshly cooked pumpkin seeds. Lu Yanxue's culinary skills were, as usual, the best; the pumpkin seeds she fried up were flavored with the five spices and fragrant as all hell. Lin Qiushi could pass an entire afternoon with just a handful of the stuff.

Ruan Nanzhu had already gotten changed and was waiting upstairs. Lin Qiushi saw that it was about time, and so hoisted his hefty backpack and headed upstairs to go look for him.

Due to their last door, Lin Qiushi intentionally stuffed his bag with a great number of food items. Daily necessities from outside could be brought inside, but weapons that were more against the spirit of the doors were not. Guns and other firearms, for example, could not be brought inside.

Once you'd entered the doors, of course, there might exist some special limitations, like in the sanitarium door when the NPC told them the rule where they could not eat food brought in from the outside. The reality was that these kinds of limitations were rare, but all Lin Qiushi wanted to achieve was the principle of Better Safe Than Sorry. At any rate, the condition from the tenth door where they had to open a chest if they wanted to eat had left quite the shadow on his psyche.

Lin Qiushi entered Ruan Nanzhu's bedroom and sat with him on the bed for a while. Then he felt the atmosphere around him change. It took only the time of a blink for Ruan Nanzhu, who had been sitting right beside him, to disappear without a trace. Lin Qiushi pushed open the bedroom door in front of him and saw that what had originally been the hallway was now a series of twelve black metal doors. What a familiar sight.

He walked to the sixth door and gave it a tug. The next moment, Lin Qiushi was sucked in by an immense force. The scenery around him was also altering dramatically, and by the time he opened his eyes again, he could feel a faint rocking beneath his feet.

Lin Qiushi took a closer look, and discovered that he'd appeared on a large old ship. It was just about sunset, and there were black clouds frighteningly low in the sky, as if they were going to smother the horizon at any moment. Inky seawater tossed before him, blown into violent waves by the winds.

Lin Qiushi smelled the gamy salt of the ocean, and because of the excessive waves, the ancient deck beneath his feet was ceaseless in its swaying. He saw that on the floorboards, there were seaweed-clung creatures clutching at the wood, making for an immensely uncomfortable sight.

Lin Qiushi took a few steps forward and saw in the ship cabin a dim-glowing light. He followed the corridor to the interior, and heard miserable wailing coming from inside.

"Uwaaaa, why am I here? What the hell did you all do to me?!" It had been a while since he last heard these cries of a newbie—Lin Qiushi was actually a bit surprised. He spotted the crying person immediately. It was a young woman, wiping at her tears with her hands. "You goddamn perverts, you guys must have kidnapped me. I'm going to call the cops and have you all arrested!!"

Most people were listening to her sob in silence. Newbies, after all, only ever reacted in so many ways: most cried; some tried to run; and some, of the truly psychologically frail sort, came in and pretty much had an immediate meltdown.

Lin Qiushi stood where he was. He noticed that around this girl were a few people who didn't look so good, who also seemed in various degrees of panic. They clearly weren't prepared to enter a door, and were likely newbies like the girl. But at least they weren't wailing endlessly like the young woman, and were still calm in comparison.

Lin Qiushi's gaze searched through the crowd and very quickly found its target—a woman seated in a corner and smiling at him.

The woman wore a long dress—the same outfit Ruan Nanzhu wore before they came in.

Lin Qiushi had the script in his head, and he took his time approaching the woman and holding out his hand: "Yu Linlin."

"Zhu Meng." The woman took his hand and smiled. "The red thread of destiny found us inside this door, let's cherish this meeting."

Lin Qiushi couldn't help but laugh.

"Indeed. Let's cherish this meeting."

Really, this little drama queen of his—putting on a show even when there was no stage to be had.

Just as the two were talking, a young man came tumbling in through the door. Though his face was unfamiliar, his clothes told Lin Qiushi his identity—it was Gu Longming, who'd agreed to meet with Lin Qiushi over the internet.

Gu Longming was entirely soaked. Once he came in he began to curse under his breath: "fuckers, throwing me on a lifeboat—why don't you just throw me into the ocean huh? Goddamn jealous of my beauty or what—"

Though he kept his voice down, Lin Qiushi's hearing was superb, and so could easily hear all the crap he was spewing. For a moment, Lin Qiushi himself didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Of course, he didn't laugh. He only cleared his throat once and covered his mouth with his hand, swallowing down the urge to smile. Gu Longming's eyes lapped the gathered people and very quickly fell upon Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu. He came over with a bright grin, greeting the two as if they'd just met completely by coincidence.

As a matter of act, this little trick where they faked a chance encounter was only useful for the earlier doors. Once in the later doors, that old fox-spirit manifested in everyone, and not having a partner actually made you the odd one out.

As for whether or not somebody would identify them as part of the same crew, Lin Qiushi used to worry about that. Now though, not so much.

The cabin of the old ship wasn't big, nor was it bright. The only lighting equipment was a handful of tiny kerosene lamps overhead, flickering periodically with the sway of the ship.

The sky grew darker outside, and the number of people kept increasing. Finally, it stopped at the count of fourteen.

Everybody assessed their surroundings as they met up with their own teammates. The crowd seemed to be very quickly divided up into teams, with the handful of newbies left out. Without much choice, they had to make up their own team.

Just as the crowd grew noisy with discussion, a middle-aged man came in from the outside. His get-up looked a bit like a medieval pirate, and he carried a swaying kerosene lamp in his hand.

"Welcome to the Black Skerry," the man spoke. His voice sounded quite raspy, like the effects of long-term drinking or smoking had brought about irreversible damage to his throat. "I hope you all have a good time here."

After he finished saying this, he laughed like a maniac, and his high-pitched laughter, like fingernails scoring a chalkboard, sent goosebumps rising along the skin.

"In ten days, the Black Skerry will reach harbor," the man said. "Our voyage will end then, so please enjoy our wonderful time together."

Just as he finished speaking, somebody rushed out of the cabin. Lin Qiushi first thought that this person had gotten scared, but not long after, there came from outside the sound of violent vomiting—it seemed that some unlucky bastard was seasick.

"Where in the world are we?" The sobbing young girl had also been scared by the man before her, and she spoke: "are we filming a show? I'm really, really scared, can I please quit? I don't want to play anymore, I'm begging you…"

The man completely ignored her. He merely went on watching the crowd with a cool gaze.

The girl seemed to want to go up and take hold of him, but when she got to his side she suddenly stopped, face draining of all color. She then backed up a few steps, as if she'd seen something truly terrifying.

Lin Qiushi's eyesight wasn't as good as Ruan Nanzhu's, and due to the dim lights he didn't see a thing. It was Ruan Nanzhu who quietly explained the situation to him:

"That person's covered in some sort of black insect."

Gu Longming shivered.

"Is he dead or alive then?"

"I don't know," Ruan Nanzhu said. "Doesn't look too good either way."

Under typical circumstances, only the NPC who provided them with the key information was somewhat normal. If even that NPC wasn't normal, then there really weren't any normal people to speak of.

Lin Qiushi hadn't imagined that their door this time would be an ancient ship. And by the looks of things, the time limit was ten days.

"Come along, I'll take to to where you'll sleep," the man said. "It'll be dark soon…and it'll rain."

After this, he began that manic laugh again, and the group was even more disturbed.

The man brought them to the guest cabins and began divvying up the rooms.

Most of the rooms here were doubles, with a rare triple here and there. At first, Lin Qiushi was assigned a double, but Gu Longming brazenly went and found a man to switch room numbers with, strong-arming them into a triple.

"You'll bargain for even this sort of thing?" Lin Qiushi shot Gu Longming a look of admiration.

"Well I'm scared of dying, aren't I…" Gu Longming said. He didn't want to sleep alone, and though it wasn't quite right to be a third wheel, being a third wheel was much better than being dead.

Ruan Nanzhu’s smile was inscrutable.

"That's fair."

They'd planned to inspect the entire ship, but because the night was already so dark, moving about outside would be too dangerous. They would rest first, and wait until tomorrow to make plans.

And so the three got their key and went to their room, getting into bed after quickly washing up.

When Ruan Nanzhu went to change, Gu Longming took the opportunity to poke at Lin Qiushi, whispering, "yo, not cool man, how come you didn't tell me you had such a pretty girlfriend?"

Lin Qiushi answered a vague: "…mh."

"Oh she's stunning," Gu Longming said with a sigh. "If I had a girlfriend like that I'd want to stick around her every day too."

As he spoke, he looked to Lin Qiushi with an expression that was both envy and admiration.

Lin Qiushi watched him back and wondered how he would react if he knew Ruan Nanzhu was drag queen. Of course, it wasn't something he could tell Gu Longming now. Gu Longming was not yet part of Obsidian, and the fact that Ruan Nanzhu wore drag was Obsidian's biggest most vital secret…

After Ruan Nanzhu got changed, he came back inside.

"What are you two talking about?"

"Nothing," Lin Qiushi answered in brief. "He said you were pretty."

Ruan Nanzhu replied with a meaningful oh.

Gu Longming: "…" Why did a chill suddenly go down his back?

The beds on the ship all emanated a damp smell—very uncomfortable for the people lying on top. At this point, the waves and wind were getting bigger, and even the sleeping quarters were beginning to rock. Lin Qiushi remembered that ridiculously seasick, endlessly vomiting pal of theirs from earlier and thought that that guy was pretty much done for.

The sky outside gradually darkened in entirety, leaving only the bellowing winds and the sound of waves beating against each other. With his eyes shut, Lin Qiushi grew drowsy—but before he could fall asleep, he was woken by a sudden crack of thunder. It was like lightning had struck right above their heads. With the loud boom, all three of them awoke in an instant.

After that, it was the pattering pour of rain. The rushing rain and the howling wind—they seemed on the verge of destroying everything.

Their quarters rocked even harder. Lin Qiushi sat up in his bed.

Through the window, he looked to the black evening outside. He saw, however, two illuminated lights. It seemed like the only light sources on deck were kerosene lamps, but how did these lamps stay so bright in the middle of a thunderstorm…? Just as Lin Qiushi wondered this, he suddenly felt that there was something off about those two lights, and Ruan Nanzhu, sitting behind him, spoke up quietly:

"Don't look anymore."

Lin Qiushi, "hm?"

"Those aren't lights," Ruan Nanzhu said. "Those are eyes."

A pair of yellow, inhuman eyes. The owner of the eyes spied through the darkness with malicious intent, as if a beast looking for its prey.

Lin Qiushi instantly looked away, and asked, "what is that thing?"

"I don't know, I can't tell," Ruan Nanzhu said. "The shape is humanoid, but it doesn't seem to be human."

Lin Qiushi's brows lightly furrowed, but by the time he looked out the window once more, the eyes were gone.

Thunder rumbled on and on, and that stench of ocean salt grew thicker and more cloying.

Ruan Nanzhu climbed into Lin Qiushi's bed, and holding each other, the two very quickly returned to sleep. However, the only bachelor present Gu Longming didn't have such luck. Lying beside Lin Qiushi, he stared with plaintive eyes, thinking that in the following days, he'd be fed enough dog food to bloat.

The rainstorm lasted until dawn, and though the rain let up, the weather did not turn any sunnier. Black storm clouds still hovered over the ship, and when the alarm rang, Lin Qiushi actually thought it was not yet morning. He checked the time, however, and saw that it was 8AM. It was just still dark outside.

"Good morning," Ruan Nanzhu greeted Lin Qiushi.

"Good morning. It's so dark outside today."

"It's probably going to keep raining," Ruan Nanzhu said. He walked out onto deck with Lin Qiushi and watched the black waters roil underneath the ship.

Looking up, they couldn't see any land, only the endless swath of sea. Only the old ship beneath their feet felt like any sort of reality.

This sort of isolating environment was easily taxing on the psyche. Even for Lin Qiushi, the scene before them was discomforting.

"Come on, let's go get breakfast," Gu Longming called to the two.

"He's pretty thick-skinned," Ruan Nanzhu commented after hearing Gu Longming's call.

"Yeah," Lin Qiushi said. "His nerves are petty good."

Inside the doors, you didn't have to be too smart, but you definitely had to be brave enough. Before terrifying situations, fright could make a person abandon a large part of their cognitive abilities. The smartest person could lack a strong heart and still do worse inside the door than the obtuse, oblivious Cheng Qianli.

The three went to the dining area and found there an atmosphere that could very well be called lifeless.

Lin Qiushi didn't know why at first. After he saw the menu, however, he couldn't help but also feel a touch of depression.

All the ship offered was fish. And it wasn't even fresh fish—Gu Longming poked at a dead-eyed staring head with his chopsticks and said, "is this thing even edible?"

It was disgusting just to look at.

"It looks gross," Lin Qiushi said. "Try a bit?"

Gu Longming took a bit of meat from the gills and gave it a taste. His expression twisted.

"Fuck, did they deduct the food budget for this door or what? It's disgusting. It's like they’ve had it outside for three days. You try it?"

Lin Qiushi, "oh no, no thank you."

Gu Longming: "…"

The breakfast served in the dining room was, for the most part, stale fish. Aside from that there was only flavorless noddles and peas. The environment had already been vicious enough, but the food in front of them now was salt on top of the wound.

But Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu didn't care at all. After seeing the inedible breakfast they snuck back to their room and fetched from their bags the food they'd prepared.

Gu Longming watched as they pulled out a bottle of chili sauce, eyes bulging out.

"You guys even brought Lao Gan Ma? Did you come here to picnic?"

"Want some?" Lin Qiushi drizzled the Lao Gan Ma over some noodles they'd brought out of the dining hall.

"Yeah yeah yeah. More please." Gu Longming's expression was shameless.

With breakfast finally done, they got ready to search the ship.

There were a total of three decks in the ship, constructed a bit like the sailing vessels of the great nautical era of the Middle Ages. It was extremely old, was all, covered in the marks and traces of times past.

Beside that NPC, they didn't see any other crew members on deck; there was likely only the one NPC on the entire ship. Wait for the ship's return was the mission the NPC left for them this time, but Lin Qiushi had thorough reason to believe that if they couldn't find the door in ten day's time, this voyage of theirs would cycle back and repeat—and they'd experience the ten days all over again.

When Lin Qiushi climbed onto the second deck, he heard a sort of thumping sound, and was uncertain if Ruan Nanzhu and Gu Longming had heard it as well. So he asked, "did you guys hear that?"

"What?" Gu Longming didn't seem to have heard.

Ruan Nanzhu said, "I think I did, but not very clearly."

"I think it came from the corner…" Lin Qiushi followed the sound forward. "Let's go see."

But before they could get close, Lin Qiushi was hit with a thick, fishy stench. It was disgusting and nauseating to smell; fortunately Cheng Yixie wasn't here, or he might have passed out immediately upon smelling it.

The source of the sound and smell was the same room, and they were close enough now that both Gu Longming and Ruan Nanzhu could hear the thumping noise as well.

The three of them slowed their steps, and through the window, looked into the room.

It was a kitchen with knives and other tools hanging inside. The most eye-catching thing, however, was the dense masses of dead fish hung up on hooks all over the sides.

A person in an apron stood in the center of the room with their back towards them and head down. They were chopping something. After some observation, Gu Longming almost gagged, and said, "don't tell me he's making our breakfast—"

Ruan Nanzhu was very calm.

"It's possible."

Gu Longming did gag. He'd even had a bite of that fish that morning.

Lin Qiushi gave Gu Longming a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

This person in the kitchen, however, was the second living NPC they'd found on the ship.

The three of them stood watching in the kitchen doorway for a while, and saw that besides chopping fish, this person didn't do much of anything else. And so they decided to go see elsewhere first.

Very soon, they discovered a more peculiar room. This room was locked, and curtains were drawn over the window. It was quiet inside, but they could still smell that thick waft of stale fish. Lin Qiushi initially thought the smell had clung to them from the kitchen, but after a careful sniff, found that it was coming from inside the room.

"Do we go in?" Gu Longming was pressed against the window trying to look in, but he could see nothing.

Ruan Nanzhu gave this some thought, before saying, "let's try," and getting out a hairpin to pick the lock.

Watching his adept motions, Gu Longming's eyes widened. Then Gu Longming glanced at Lin Qiushi.

"Is this…is this a basic skillset that y'all come with?"

Lin Qiushi grinned as he joked, "yeah. You have to learn to pick locks if you want to join us."

As he said this, there was a click. Ruan Nanzhu really got the lock open. But oddly enough, after he unlocked the door and gave it a push, he found that though the door lock was undone, there was another lock hanging on the inside. The chain on that lock held the door closed, and they could at most manage a crack—it couldn't be opened at all.

"Wait," Lin Qiushi suddenly said, stopping Ruan Nanzhu from going up and pushing the door. "Stop for a second. There's movement inside."

Ruan Nanzhu halted, and just as he stopped mid-step, a hand, sharp-nailed and covered in scales, reached out of the door. And through that crack in the door, a pair of yellow eyes looked out, peering at the world outside with malicious intent.

Translator’s Note:

The name of the ship could more simply be translated as “Black Reef,” but “Black Skerry” sounds more like a ship name? Let me know if you think otherwise (or know if it’s a specific reference to something).

Lao Gan Ma is a brand of **hot sauce (edited: 7/26), as you can probably tell from context. The original next never uses “hot sauce” though, and just call it Lao Gan Ma in both the prose and the dialogue.

[Ch. 119] | [Ch. 121]

[kaylaxwrites]

Bar Fight

Pairing: Frank Castle x Reader Words: 2.1k Request: “Idk if you are up for it but if you are, a request: Frank Castle x reader where he has to stitch her up after she gets into a fight with a guy at the bar who was hitting on her and touched her inappropriately, Frank being both mad at her for putting herself in danger and fighting a bigger guy and also being impressed at how baddass she is because he didnt expect her to get into a fight” (anon) A/N: god I wish I could write smut bc this got real close folks. and this accidentally skipped the two requests above this, but I’m finishing up Punisher season 2, so I have a little bit more inspo for Frank

Warnings: reader gets groped nonconsensually by a stranger, reader gets called a bitch (but I don’t think I used anything worse), lots of cursing, but I mean, it’s a punisher fic

You sipped at your drink as you sat at the bar, fiddling idly with the straw your drink was served with, waiting for Frank to show up. It was your weekly date—between your job and Frank’s…whatever he did, it was hard to find the time to spend with one another. But Frank was running late. And you were getting annoyed.

As you debated sending Frank a text, a man slid against the bar next to you, despite the numerous empty seats on either side of you. You rolled your eyes. You didn’t feel like dealing with whatever bullshit this was about to bring. You tried your best to ignore him, but looks like he was going to make that impossible.

“Hey there,” he said, ducking his head down to try and get in your line of sight.

“Hi,” you deadpanned. You glanced around the room, hoping Frank had arrived without you noticing.

“What’s your name, gorgeous? I’m Aaron.”

You finished the last of your drink in one quick gulp. “Does it matter?”

“Just making conversation, baby, what’s the big deal?”

You swiveled in your chair to face him. “The deal is I’m clearly not interested. Now fuck off and go bother someone else.”

“Don’t be like that, baby,” he said as he slid his hand down your back to grope at your ass and hip. You ducked your head down and grimaced. Looks like it was gonna take more than a verbal no to get rid of this guy. Fuck. You rolled your head back up to look at the man, a fake smile plastered on your face. From his answering smirk, he fell for it.

You slid down from your seat and swung your jacket over your shoulders, tossing a handful of dollar bills on the counter to cover your tab. “Let’s take this outside, handsome,” you said, brushing past him and heading for the door. The instant your face was out of his sight, your smiled dropped and you rolled your eyes as he trailed after you. You could practically feel his gaze on the swing of your hips as you walked.

Pushing the door open, you breathed in the crisp fall air as you stepped outside, thankful for the easy breeze that cooled your skin and settled your mind. You were already wound up from the workday you just had and this definitely wasn’t how you wanted to finish out your evening. You just wanted to be with Frank and not have to worry about anything other than you and him.

As you walked around the corner of the building to the alleyway, you briefly went over the self-defense moves Frank had taught you in the past year or so you’d known him. With the practice from all the drills he made you run, you were confident you could take this guy—at least enough to shake some decency into his head and to send him running with his tail tucked between his legs.

You allowed the man to cage you in against the wall, a hand on either side of your head. You fought down your gag reflex as his smoke-coated breath fanned over your face. “You gave in pretty quick,” he said. “The chase is half the fun.” He leaned in closer to you, widening his stance. You grinned to yourself at the opportunity the movement presented.

“Harass all your girls like that?” you asked. A confused raise of an eyebrow was all he had time for before you were moving.

In one quick exhale, you brought your knee up into the man’s groin. As he doubled over, you slammed your elbow into the side of his head. You took a few steps away to give yourself distance and prepare for you next move, but he recovered faster than you thought he would. Within a few seconds, he was on you, wrapping you in a bear hug from behind. This was the most recent move you learned from Frank, but you had no time to hesitate. You dropped your center of gravity and rolled forward, flipping the taller man over your shoulder. You scrambled to your feet, but a sharp pain at your calf nearly brought you to your knees. You glanced down and the deep red on your pant leg nearly made you nauseous.

The fucker had a knife and he sliced your leg open. And these were your favorite pair of pants!

Before you could let your anger and adrenaline consume you and make you attempt to beat the man within an inch of his life (keyword: attempt), he let out a squeal. You glanced over. A boot was pressed none-too-gently into his wrist—you could almost hear the bone snap. You followed the leg up until you met Frank’s eyes.

You breathed a sigh of relief.

Frank slid his attention back to the man at his feet. Aaron was frantically trying to pry Frank’s boot off of his arm, but Frank was immovable. “The hell is going on here?” he asked, looking to you for answers.

Before you could answer, Aaron started stammering out an answer. “She—she started it, man! I was just—I was just defending myself!”

“That right?” Frank’s eyes turned to yours once more.

“More or less,” you shrugged, more focused on the gash on your leg. Maybe you had started the altercation, but… “Asshole groped me at the bar. Thought I knew enough to teach him some manners.”

“Yeah? We’ll talk about that later,” he said, pointing to you before returning his attention to the man at his feet. “You out here assaulting women?”

“It’s not like that, man! C’mon, get off me!” Aaron cried, struggling to pull his arm free.

Frank knelt to get closer to the man’s face, never easing the pressure on his wrist. “Calling my girl a liar, then?”

“Goddamn bitch led me on!” Aaron shouted.

“I was minding my own goddamn business!” you shouted back, plopping yourself onto the ground and pressing your hand against your still-bleeding wound.

“See?” Frank said, leaning even closer to the man pinned on the ground. “I think I believe her over you.” He pressed harder into the man’s arm, pressing until you could hear it snap from several feet away. You almost winced in sympathy.

“I didn’t know she was yours!” Aaron screamed as his forearm snapped clean in two.

“Doesn’t fucking matter.”

The next few moments were a blur. You kept your eyes on your leg, trying to ignore the constant sound of Frank’s fist pounding into flesh. Sure, maybe you started the fight, but you hated watching Frank finish them. After several minutes, you called out his name.

“Frank,” you said, softly at first. Then louder. “Frank. Frank!” On the third call of his name, he paused. He didn’t look at you, but you knew he was listening. “Piece of shit’s not worth it.” He moved to swing another punch, but you called out again, “He’s not worth it. Frank, please. I just want to go home.”

With a huff, Frank rose from his knees. He gave one last kick to Aaron’s ribs before turning to you. You took his outstretched hands and he pulled you to your feet. You wobbled for a moment, but Frank was there to steady you. He pulled your arm over his shoulder and grabbed you around the waist. Half carrying you, he helped you limp home.

The stairs to your apartment turned out to be one hurdle you couldn’t clear. After gasping and whimpering your way up a handful of stairs, Frank had had enough and pulled you into his arms, carrying you up the remaining flights.

Once in your apartment, Frank sat you gently on the bathroom counter before ducking down to grab the first aid kit from the cabinet underneath you. He sat on the closed toilet seat and pulled your injured leg across his lap. You winced as he pulled your pant leg up and over your wound. He poured medical-grade alcohol onto a gauze pad and began cleaning the skin around the gash. “What, no scotch to pour over my open wound dramatically?” you tried to joke. You’d seen Frank stitch himself up dozens of times now and not once did he ever use the actual alcohol meant for cleaning wounds.

Frank just glanced up at you before returning to the task at hand. “It’s gonna need stitches,” he said.

“Shit, really?” You leaned down to take a closer look. Surely it couldn’t be that bad, right? But the sight nearly turned your stomach and you leaned back, closing your eyes. “Yeah, okay.” You tried to psych yourself up. It couldn’t be that bad, right? Frank did it all the time without flinching, you could handle it, right?

Frank gave no warning before sliding the needle through your skin. “Fucking shit,” you cried out, clutching the edge of the sink so hard you thought it might break. The other seven stitches were a similar stream of curses. At one point, Frank had to hook his elbow around your ankle to keep you from kicking out. He scolded you for squirming, but you didn’t really register the words.

You breathed heavily when it was over, panting against the wall. Frank carefully wrapped gauze around your calf and tapped your knee when he was finished. He slid you to the edge of the counter to make enough room for him to wash his hands in the sink. “How…do you do that?” you asked him.

“Years of practice,” he deadpanned.

He packed up the first aid kit wordlessly, not once looking at you. When he was finished, he just stared blankly into the sink, thoughts churning in his head. His anger radiated off him in waves. You were the first to break under the oppressive silence. “Frank?” you asked hesitantly.

“What the hell were you thinking?” he exploded after a heavy inhale. “Huh, Y/N? What made you think you could go up against a man twice your size?”

“I was thinking I had a great teacher—”

“For self-defense! Not to go after the first guy you see!”

“He fucking groped me, Frank! What, I’m supposed to let that slide by? Ignore him until he finds some other girl to harass, to assault?”

“That’s not what I’m saying—”

You let out a dry laugh. “Then what are you saying, huh?”

“You call me. You call me and I handle it.”

“I don’t need some knight in shining armor to come and rescue me!” you shouted, leaning into his personal space.

Just as quick, he was right back in your face, pushing himself between your thighs to be that much closer. “And I don’t need you throwing yourself into harm’s way!”

You stared into each other’s eyes, chests heaving. Like a coil snapping back into place, his lips were on yours. Your head ricocheted off the mirror behind you, but you barely felt it. Your arms were looping around his neck, ankles hooking over his hips, pulling him closer, closer. But it wasn’t close enough.

His hands roamed over every inch of skin he could touch. Starting by rubbing his thumbs softly over your cheekbones, sliding down your neck, palms brushing over your collarbones. Easing over your shoulders and down your arms next, gripping protectively at your waist, massaging at your hips. Grazing over your thighs, down your calf—one misplaced press against your newly stitched wound had you gasping and pulling away.

Frank instinctually moved to step away from you, but you grasped at the collar of his shirt to keep him in place. You leaned your forehead against his, using the time to catch your breath. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—” Frank started quietly.

“I’m fine,” you whispered in response. “Just caught me off guard, that’s all.”

Frank settled back between your thighs, leaning his weight against the bathroom counter you were still sat upon. He took a minute to let his eyes roam over your face before you spoke. “You’re pretty great, you know that?”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Watching you toss that man over your shoulder like he was nothin’… Sexiest goddamn thing I’ve seen.”

You laughed, throwing your head back. “Well, I did learn from the sexiest man alive. Think if I petitioned to get you on the cover of People’s Magazine it would blow your cover?” He laughed, shaking his head. “Just a bit?”

“Let’s get you to bed,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“So you can ravage me, Mr. Castle?”

Frank pulled you to the edge of the bathroom counter and wrapped an arm under your thighs, lifting you and carrying you to your bedroom. “We’ll see about that.”

[skloomdumpster]

Since it's Bloom's birthday today.. how would she celebrate it, if Alfea was a normal school?

Answering late because I was saving it for Meta Monday, sorry! I love this question so much!! <33

You said “normal school”, so I’m guessing we’re in a normal AU where no powers exist. If that so, then Bloom never hurt her mom and set fire to the house, but the growing conflict between them is still present. More so now, if anything, because in the show the guilt made Bloom more lenient to her mom’s strong personality, which caused them to “bond” a little after the trauma. Silver linings in horrible situations. 

So Bloom would still be clashing horribly with her mom. Vanessa would beg her to go out, party, be normal. Bloom’s plans would include staying at the garage helping Mike fix a birdhouse, going over the 100 songs of her Spotify wrapped and maybe watching her favorite Harry Potters while stuffing her face with cherry ice cream. She thinks that sounds like a solid plan, her mom disagrees, Vanessa pesters and pesters and then it escalates to “you’ll go out or I’ll just stop paying the house wifi” and FINE, Bloom will go out. 

She figures she can go to the last-standing-DVD store in Gardenia, a relic really, but Bloom also happens to be one of the last people who has a DVD AND a VHS player. She’s trifty like that :)) 

“Have fun with your friends. It can’t be that hard, just a couple hours, GOD” Vanessa exclaims when Bloom accidentally outs the fact her plans are still as introverted as possible. 

She calls Aisha then, because Aisha is one of the very few people she doesn’t hate from her school. Aisha sounds hesitant, “I kinda... I already had plans with Ter and Musa... You can come, though, it’ll be fun! Please, B?” 

Fine. 

“Plans” turn out to be bowling. Aisha is competitive, there’s no surprise, but so is Terra and that is a surprise. Musa is more as moral support, she sucks at bowling, and because the place they go to has a mean cheeseburger. She shares a conspiratory smile with Bloom over the food, “I give it an hour before Terra causes us to be kicked out, again.” 

Bloom snorts, then promptly chokes on her milkshake as her eyes drift past Musa’s head. At the entrance of the bowling place there are the popular pricks from school. Stella, head cheerleader, Riven vice-captain of the fencing team, Sky, the actual captain, and Sky’s sister, head of the debates club, Beatrix. 

“Oh, nevermind, I give it fifteen minutes” Musa scoffs, following Bloom’s gaze, pausing on each of their faces, “what are they doing here?” 

Beatrix catches her looking, opens a sardonic smile, whispers something to Stella and they both chuckle. Those typical, movie-esque mean girl smiles that don’t reach their eyes. 

Bloom sighs, “let’s just wrap it all up and go back home.” 

“No way, we have to play and we have to win,” now Musa is the one who’s up in arms. She ushers Bloom up, practically drags her to the alley, standing right next to the one the rich pricks picked. 

Aisha has caught sight of Stella and she’s frowning, face a clear tell of everything Bloom’s feeling. 

“What?” Beatrix snaps, upon catching them observing. She’s picking her favorite ball, already wearing the shoes, “do you need something?” 

“Just happy to have you back, last we heard they locked you up in a psych ward in Sweden?” Terra answers just as quickly and Beatrix’ smile drops, she squints at them.

“I’m happy the rumors about me kept your ordinary miserable little lives entert-”

“Beatrix, enough,” Sky cuts her off, glaring at the girl and passing a black, large bowling ball to Riven, “leave them alone. Let’s play?” 

Somehow his cold detachment, polite niceness is even worse than Beatrix’s open hostility. Beatrix at least sounds like a high school bully, Sky sounds like he doesn’t belong with them, or wants anything to do with them.

Bloom stares at him, feels her blood boil and decides to hate him on principle. Condescending little fucker. 

She catches Riven’s gaze, the amused glint in his eyes and he leans in, whispers something to Stella and the blonde girl too stares Bloom up and down, like she’s some kind of insect stuck the sole of her shoe. 

“Pass me the ball,” Bloom scoffs, then doesn’t wait for an answer and takes it from Aisha’s fingers. 

She’s here to win. 

[hacash]

ted lasso 2x09 thoughts

ARGH

those are it. those are my thoughts.

Ok, slightly more coherently…

Sam’s getting recognition! Sam has his own chant! I love that for him. Love it all. It’s obviously so good that Sam is becoming an in-universe hero when we’ve loved him from his first scene - however, that also comes with the caveat of not wanting him to move anywhere from Nelson Road. I’m curious to see where they take it though, because I obviously can’t see Toheeb Jimoh leaving the cast before the show finishes, but at the same time this offer is so good for him?? I don’t know I don’t know I don’t know.

(If, on the other hand, Toheeb is being written out because he’s going on to star as a lead in another show where we could see more of his beautiful face and stellar acting every week? I would find that acceptable.)

Screeners’ reactions for this episode had me thinking something cataclysmic and dreadful was going to happen between Sam and Rebecca with them reuniting and it hitting the papers - and it ended up being fine?? Of course she’s torn about him leaving. Even if they end up never being together again Sam clearly represents something wonderful to Rebecca - possibility and the sense of being treated right - and those feelings don’t just go away.

I expected a bit more reaction from Ted about the whole Sambecca thing, but that little look in his eyes after their conversation did have me curious - does he disapprove more than he lets on? is he secretly pining for Rebecca already? only time will tell. also I did notice Ted was once again basically saying whatever Rebecca wanted to hear and agreeing at every single line - he might be going to therapy but he’s not out of the people-pleaser woods yet.

Another bombshell next year? OH COME ON. If that’s not a prediction of some sort of confession of love I will go out and buy a hat just to eat it.

SHARON. How I am going to miss thee. But it was a lovely and understated farewell to a character that I’ve really come to love - Sexy Mother Fucker; he stole my move, yaas - showing how much she and Ted have helped each other grow and I just *tear*. Also I’m a Tedbecca shipper through and through, but Jason and Sarah do have such lovely chemistry together.

Also the pub regulars basically pleading for free therapy? Aww.

Higgins luring Ted back to read Sharon’s note with a well-chosen letter based pun? I love this man to the ends of the earth.

I FUCKING KNEW THAT HIGGINS KNEW EVERYONE’S BIRTHDAY. I PREDICTED THAT SHIT.

Roy and Keeley…I’m sorry, I’m emotional and anxious and hopeful and I do not think they’re going to break up. Relationships go through messy spots and people struggle, and the mark of a good, communicative, grown-up relationship is that you take time and discuss your issues and move past them. Keeley and Roy’s relationship has always been characterised by that maturity, and I just don’t see a couple of ill-timed romance confessions breaking that down.

(If anything, we might get a discussion from Roy about Keeley trusting him - I’m guessing there’s a fair bit of time lapsed between Jamie’s confession and her telling all to Roy, and I can see that being the sticking point that upsets Roy, that she hid this from him for some time. He clearly didn’t feel at all upset by what happened with Nate; it’s the - arguably fair - point that Keeley didn’t let him know that her ex confessed love for her that I think is going to be the issue.)

Also, the ‘are you married’ question - coupled with the fact that we keep seeing Roy on his knees in front of Keeley - makes me think we’re going to get a proposal next episode.

Also I love that we’re seeing more of Keeley’s psyche beyond the ‘cute and supports everyone’ façade - her mother’s experience with ambition and not being able to achieve it is a really interesting little snippet, not to mention the reason she bonds so much with Nate and is able to see how someone seemingly ‘undeserving’ should be able to realise their dreams.

also her and Rebecca’s ‘bleargggggh!’ competition! and Ted thinking he was going to be on the cover of Vanity Fair! return of Biscuits with the Boss!

ok, deep breaths now

NAAAAAATE

WHAT ARE YOU DOOIIIIIIING

Is it bad that I sort of liked the whole thing with Keeley? Not in a ‘yes I want this to happen’ sort of way, but because it makes so much sense that Nate (particularly Nate in his current state) might mistake that level of bonding and emotional support as something romantic. We know Nate is insecure and hasn’t had much of a social life in the past, and that he idealises Keeley for her basic kindness and decency: much like Jamie in 2x10, he’s mistaking Keeley’s kindness as something more…it’s absolutely gutting to watch, and also so human and real that I can’t help but take my hat off to the writers for it.

(Honestly, there’s been so many posts on tumblr about how toxic masculinity fucks men over to such an extent that when they receive kindness and friendship for a woman they immediately think romance - but yeah. this show does tick all the boxes.)

I did see the kiss moment coming a mile away and was really worried that Nate was going to be…uh, very entitled about it, given his current state, but the fact that he wasn’t - that he was immediately horrified and realised he’d fucked up and stumbles away muttering about how he ‘is worried about it’ and ends the scene spitting at himself in the mirror again and looking absolutely disgusted with himself - well, in a way that just hurt more. (I mean, I’m relieved Nate wasn’t all bolshy with it because his reaction does show there is still some of the old Nate still there…but still, owch.)

And then that text from Trent…

Next episode is going to hurt like hell, isn’t it? I absolutely cannot wait for the showdown between Nate and Ted, it’s been a long time coming…like I’ve said, while I think ultimately Nate is going to have a redemption arc, because thematically it makes sense and would send some pretty iffy messages if he doesn’t, I don’t think it’ll come until season three. Right now I just want to see Ted get angry after several seasons of suppressing his anger, I want a full-blown emotional hash-out between them both - basically I want Jason and Nick to have me sobbing before 9AM.

My one question is: are we going to see Nate realising what he’s done, or not? Was this a pragmatic, doing-this-for-the-sake-of-the-club betrayal or a blind, lashing-out-in-frustration betrayal? In short: is Nate Lando or Anakin in this scenario?

I’m very curious as to what show people who say this ‘came out of nowhere’ have been watching. Nate’s been heading for some sort of implosion since mid-season, and we all knew it was going to hurt some innocent bystanders.

I’m saving something light and cheery after all the angst, so let me just say: cinema has never surpassed, and will never surpass, the scene of the Richmond boys dancing along to Bye Bye Bye. Almost made up for the fact that they were criminally underused in the rest of the episode, and quite frankly this had better be redressed in the season finale.

and WE FINALLY SAW COLIN DRIVING THE LAMBO. I don’t know what I find funnier: the fact that it’s some neon lime green monstrosity that every fourteen-year old boy would have dreamt of owning growing up (should my new Colin tag be Colin ‘I Need To Rethink My Relationship With My Car’ Hughes, or Colin ‘More Money Than Sense’ Hughes? enquiring minds want to know…) or as was pointed out to me by @kamillahn, the look of absolute terror on Colin’s face as he begins to drive. Colin, hun, please just buy yourself a Fiat. It’s not worth it anymore.

[momowho34]

So that story about Dionysus being the son of Persephone is awful and gross for like 10 different reasons but can we stop and just appreciate how amazingly they would get along? Like dionysus has mysterious chthonic connections on his own and both of them show evidence of being preceded by really old and dangerous figures and they both have rebirth themes and agricultural themes and I just keep imagining

(This isn’t for a fandom it’s just straight up Greek mythology btw)

———————————————————————

Styx: Yeah idk, I just... found him here?

Dionysus, after wandering into the underworld and passing out next to the river Styx, wearing dramatic grape vines, drunk as fuck, tired, entirely oblivious to anything ever, should be totally harmless but still has the faintest aura of the maddened screams of the dying and the roar of lions drifting around him: hnngh???

Persephone, tearing up: *gasps* new bestie!!!!

Styx: ??????

———————————————————————

Persephone, during their weekly visits, painting his nails: *sighs* it’s just.... so exhausting to be raised from the dead every year, y’know? Really fucks with my beauty routine. I love seeing my mom but being brought back to life is just a little tedious. Dying is like so much easier.

Dionysus, feeding Cerberus ghost pork chops under the table with his other hand: oh sweetheart I know. I’ve died and been reborn three times, did you know that? Exhausting. Every. Single. Time.

Persephone: omg dish!!!!

———————————————————————

Persephone, on the way to the fields of Elysian with Dionysus: I just don’t understand why you had to kill him! He was so close to reuniting with his wife... er- whatever her name was, but they were really cute and you know how I am about love stories I just... I’m so upset!!!

Dionysus, carrying Orpheus’s soul over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes: look, he was ruining my vibe, okay? I really value my vibe! That’s just how it is. Besides, he lost his chance to find her in the living world when he turned around and saw her. Now he gets to reunite with his lover.... dicey-universe or whatever her name was.

Orpheus, weakly: Eurydice, my beloved that I lost, oh how her beauty was- ack!

Dionysus, frowning, wacking Orpheus over his shoulder: hush, you. We’re almost there. If you start waxing poetic or singing about tragic love again I will throw you into Asphodel so fast-

Persephone: oh don’t pretend that you didn’t come down here to save your wife a long time ago.

Dionysus, scoffing: okay, but that’s different! I am allowed to be here. Ariadne just came down for a little visit, she wasn’t planning to stay dead!

Persephone: .....I’m not entirely sure you understand how death works, dionysus.

———————————————————————

Hades, sighing: honey I don’t want to limit your friend circle, it’s just that it’s dangerous for someone to traverse between realms like this!

Persephone: I’m telling you though, he is a death god!

Hades: darling I’m finding it hard to believe that the god of wine and partying is-

Dionysus, turning the corner, with his horns and thrysus and slit pupil eyes and leopard skin and somehow giving off ancient old god eldritch abomination energy despite wearing sunglasses and drinking a smoothie: ‘Sup fuckers.

Hades, backing away: dear fucking Kronos yeah that’s a death god, that’s a really old death, that’s an old as Tarterus death god, holy fucking shit okay have fun sweetie he’s free to hang out down here whenever he wants I’m going to go throw up have fun you two bye no way I’m fucking with this shit not today-

———————————————————————

(tw: people talking about sex)

Persephone: okay but you can’t have had sex with that many nymphs! I know those girls! Boroe, Khonoris, Nikaia, Methe, Pallene-

Dionysus, sighing: Okay, okay, it wasn’t that many nymphs and humans! Just... look, let’s stop talking about my love life and talk about yours, hmm? Like did you have any other romantic escapades other then Mr. Scary Pants here?

Persephone: hmmm.... well there was this one really cute guy that I hung out with for a while, Adonis. He was pretty great, honestly.

Dionysus: ooh, Adonis... I remember him, he was really cute- shit, sorry, I had a fling with him too but this isn’t about me, go on.

Persephone, rolling her eyes: ugh, of course you did. Anyway, he’s no use to me dead, and he got killed by Ares.

Dionysus: oof, Ares. Fate worse then death. Why was he killed by Ares?

Persephone: because he slept with Aphrodite, Ares really hates it when people sleep with his girlfriend.

Dionysus, reminiscing: oooohhh, Aphrodite. Now she was definitely something, I remember this one time we- why are you looking at me like that?

Persephone:

Persephone: you.

Persephone: you never told me you slept with aPHRODITE- *assorted sounds of screaming and crashing*

———————————————————————

Demeter, exasperated, during the summer months: oh by the Titans, you can’t seriously be telling me that you’re friends with Bacchus of all people.

Persephone: but why! He’s an agriculture god, you two should get along! Plus he’s not dangerous- ok, he’s a little dangerous, but like, not to me!

Demeter, sighing: sweetheart I assure you, it’s not about if he’s dangerous-

Dionysus, popping through a window, looking at Demeter: heeeyyyyy! yo, it’s Bread Basket, my favorite bestie!!! I’m doing real good at this domesticated planting thing, I’m a born natural at it hahaha!!! I just wanted to let you know that I’ve been taking really good care of the vineyards you helped me plant, absolutely no fires or villager beheadings so far! I promise no more screw ups- *glances behind him* oh my gods you stupid fucking satyr’s, that is the ONE plot of land that you’re not supposed to- Sorry Demi, gotta go good luck with the.... whatever it is you do, bye!!!

Persephone, staring in awe as Dionysus runs back to the fields and desperately tries to corrall the satyr’s in his cult that are munching on grape vines as the maenads cheer and throw sticks in the background: wow. I’ve never... ive never seen this side of him before.

Demeter, putting her head in her hands: yet another reason why I wish I had your luck, Kore.

———————————————————————

Dionysus, standing next to persephone, watching Psyche skip away with a box of beauty cream tucked under her arm: ....You know she’s gonna open that box.

Persephone: yep.

Dionysus: and that it’s going to kill her?

Persephone: yep.

Dionysus: and that doesn’t bother you?

Persephone, sighing: look, have a little faith in Eros. He’s a resourceful little shit, he’ll figure something out, and watching Aphrodite realize she’s been bested by her own son will taste like poetry. I can’t wait to see it.

Dionysus, whistling: damn gurl you hold a grudge.

Persephone, narrowing her eyes: only against Aphrodite. Only against Aphrodite.

———————————————————————

Dionysus: anyway I was *Baby Melinoe grabs his arm and he freezes* oh my god what is that

Persephone, laughing: that’s just my daughter, Dionysus. I think she likes you.

Dionysus: fuck. Oh gods. um- uhhhhh- what I do with it, I don’t know- I don’t know what to do with it-

Melinoe: *laughs*

Dionysus, sweating: oh no. Why did it make that sound? Did I break it? Is it- is it broken??? What am I supposed to do with this??? Is it okay????

Persephone: gods this is so going in the fucking scrapbook.

Melinoe: *latches onto Dionysus’s arm as he continues to panic*

Dionysus: persephone is it okay? Is it broken? Persephone I’m not kidding your husband honestly freaks me the fuck out I don’t wanna break your kid oh my gods

Persephone: she usually doesn’t like people she doesn’t know-

Melinoe: *starts to climb on him*

Dionysus: oh fuck, no no no what is it doing, Persephone I’m not kidding what is it doing, what is it doing Persephone get it off me oh my gods I’m not joking perSEPHONE-

[kissinginkitchens]

You Bring Me Home—Chapter Four: You Can Hear it in the Silence

a/n: hello again!! So glad to have you back :) I hope you're all enjoying the story so far. It's been wonderful to read some of your comments and thoughts! I do have to give a special shoutout to @harrysblackcoat and @determined-overthinker for their continued support and feedback, it really means the world to me, so a huge thank you to you both!! I am tremendously grateful for all of you lovely readers and I hope you will enjoy chapter four as much as I enjoyed writing it! As always, my inbox is open, so feel free to drop by and chat with me after reading! Much love, Mel <3

Pairing: Hawai'i!Harry x Original Character

Warnings: swearing, allusions to sexual content

Word Count: 6.7k

read parts one, two, and three 

“You kissed him?” Maleah gasps over FaceTime, her mouth so wide, Alani fears her jaw will detach from its socket. 

She had finally decided to tell her best friend everything, excluding the Rolling Stone details, nearly two days after the last time she had seen Harry. The entire next day had been spent replaying every moment and listening to the recorded interview on her voice notes until the phone battery was completely drained. Alani’s stomach fluttered at the sound of Harry’s voice and it only made her miss him more. The part that she desperately needed her friend’s input on was what had happened immediately before she left. 

“No,” Alani clarifies, quickly. “Well, almost. Maybe—I think,”

“I’ve only been gone a couple of weeks,” Maleah starts, brows furrowed as if her brain is malfunctioning. “And you’re already swooping in on my man?”

Alani feels her cheeks warm but she pushes past it and rolls her eyes. “There is no swooping going on,”

“I don’t know. You two were caught in the rain together, sounds like swooping to me,”

“But that’s the thing,” Alani huffs. “I don’t know what it is. And I don’t know if I’m just making a big deal out of nothing,”

Maleah nods understandingly and pushes any jealousy out of her mind, the love for her best friend winning out. 

“Well, tell me exactly what happened before the kiss,”

“There was no kiss,” Alani emphasizes, thinking back to the last few minutes spent in Harry’s car. 

The sun had already set when the two of them arrived at her house, leaving little light in the already darkly tinted Range Rover. But even in the darkness, Alani could see the intensity in Harry’s eyes. Their bodies had been close enough in the confined space that she could feel the warmth radiating from him, and his vanilla scent enveloped her in an intoxicating haze. For a moment, her eyes had darted to his plush lips and she imagined what it would feel like to close the space between them. She could have sworn that he had done the same, finding his eyes wandering just below the tip of her nose when she looked up. Before anything could happen, however, she found herself reaching for the door handle and stepping into the crisp night sky. 

“But did you want him to kiss you?” Maleah questions. 

Alani waits a beat, but she doesn’t have to think about the answer. “Yes,”

“Well there you go!” her friend responds enthusiastically. “Problem solved,”

“Problem not solved,” Alani corrects. “What about the fact that he’s, like, famous? I mean what happens when he has to go back to L.A. or London or whatever?”

“Woah, woah, woah, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,”

Alani anxiously nibbles on the skin of her lower lip, not stopping even when she tastes blood. “But it’s true—” 

“Yeah, well, you don’t have to think about it right now,” Maleah assures her. “What if you just let things happen and… enjoy it for what it is?”

Alani doesn’t miss the double meaning in the last part. “Mi, you and I both know that I’ve never been one to just enjoy it for what it is,”

“I know this, and I love you,” Maleah starts slowly. “But as your best friend—and I say this with nothing but love—you need to get laid, for real,”

Alani groans, slumping further into her mattress. “But what if that’s all he wants? I just don’t think I’m ready for that,”

“And that’s perfectly fine,” her friend coos. “But from what you’ve told me so far, it doesn’t sound like that’s all he’s after,”

Alani considers this for a moment before Maleah continues. 

“Look, let’s start with something simple: do you like him? I mean, do you like spending time with him and just generally being around him?”

“Yes,”

“Then start there,” Maleah suggests. “You can enjoy someone’s company without making it romantic, it’s just friendship. Don’t put pressure on something that you’re not ready for, or something that might not even be there,”

Alani feels a small weight lifted off her shoulders and nods. “Yeah. Yeah, no you’re right I shouldn’t psych myself out over something that didn’t even happen. I mean, for all I know he has a girlfriend,”

She waits a beat before a new concern enters her mind. “Wait, does he have a girlfriend?”

“I don’t know,” 

“Well even if he does, it doesn’t matter,” Alani reaffirms. “Because we’re just friends,”

“When are you gonna see him again?” her friend asks. 

Alani stomach drops. In all her concentration of the past, she hadn’t even considered what will happen when she has to face him again. “I don’t know,”

“Who initiated the last hang out?”

“He did,” Alani admits, thinking back to the hours he had spent reading in the café until her shift was over. 

Maleah hums. “Well then it looks like the ball’s in your court,”

Alani is quiet for a moment, which her friend takes as her cue to offer some more reassurance. 

“I’m sorry I don’t have more answers for you, Nani, but it’s gonna be okay. Promise, ” 

Alani sighs, kneeling to look out the window next to her bed. 

“No, Mi, it’s okay. I really appreciate you just being there, it means a lot,”

“Of course, babes. Keep me updated.”

“Will do.”

The call ends and Alani continues watching the palm trees sway in the wind. Will do—the very same last words that she had spoken to Harry that night. Her mind wanders back to the moment right before she had opened the door to escape and plays out an alternative scenario. What would have happened if she had leaned just an inch closer? 

********

Harry pinches his lower lip between his index finger and thumb. Will do, he repeats in his mind— two words that he never knew could carry so much weight. 

“I said ‘I think Manchester United is shit,’” Nick Grimshaw says loudly, shrugging at Mitch and Jeff Bhasker when his plan doesn’t work. “I dunno, that should’ve gotten him,”

“Oh hey, Alani,” Mitch speaks into his phone loud enough for Harry to hear. This piques the singer’s attention immediately, his heart racing. “Yeah he’s right here,” 

“What the fuck?” Harry questions, zeroing in on Mitch. 

“Who’s Alani?” Nick teases with eyebrows raised into his hairline. 

Harry springs from his seat and corners Mitch, who holds his phone above his head. “Gimme the phone!”

“Hello,” Nick interrupts, watching the struggle continue. “Feeling neglected here, who’s Alani?”

The guitarist ducks and sprints to the opposite wall, Harry chasing close behind. They hop from couch to couch and swerve around fragile equipment while Mitch snickers and guards his phone close. Harry had no idea why Alani was calling and why she hadn’t reached out to him directly, but he’s dying to hear her voice again and is growing increasingly frustrated with his friend’s antics. 

“Mitchell, stop fuckin’ around!”

“I’m sorry,” he relents, holding out the phone with an amused laugh. “It wasn’t her, wrong number,”

Harry huffs and returns to his seat disappointedly, a guitar resting in his lap. Nick, who had only been able to drop in for the weekend due to his busy schedule at the BBC, narrows his eyes at both boys before speaking up again. 

“Once again, no one has answered my question.”

“She’s just a girl he’s been hanging out with,” Jeff explains nonchalantly. “He wants to have her babies.”

“Don’t,” Harry warns. 

Despite already having his fun, Mitch can’t resist adding on. “It’s none of our business… but I’ve heard a summer wedding is in the works.”

“I’m gonna go drink now,” Harry announces, standing. “And none of you fuckers are invited.”

He wanders down the hallway and into the kitchen, immediately reaching for the tequila. Is it too early for margaritas? he wonders before deciding that he wants a second opinion.  No new texts are displayed on his phone screen, much to his disappointment, but he decides to open the messages app anyway. He carefully types in Alani’s name and writes, then re-writes, the text several times before pressing send. As soon as the tag reads “delivered”, his body is filled with apprehension, but there’s no turning back. 

Harry: Is 10 a.m. too early for margaritas?

There’s a minute of silence, then two, and Harry turns his phone face down onto the counter to reach for the ingredients. It dings just as he opens the bottle of tequila and he immediately lunges for it. 

Alani: Never. Morning margs were invented for a reason. 

Relief. He quickly types out a risky response. 

Harry: Any chance I can convince you to join me?

He stares at the screen, willing the “delivered” to turn into a “read,” but it doesn’t budge. His lips ghost over the rim of the tequila bottle before he bites the bullet and takes a sip. 

Alani: Working :( sorry. Another time maybe. 

Defeat. He knows that “another time maybe” is a polite “never.” Another swig of tequila down the hatch. 

Harry: Yeah, no worries. 

Alani sets her phone down on her nightstand and brings the duvet up to her chin. She hopes with every muscle in her body that Harry doesn’t show up to the restaurant, though if he’s planning on drinking, perhaps she’s safe. Maybe I should do the same. She wonders, thinking about the rosé her mom keeps in the cupboard for special occasions. Surely heartache must be a good enough reason to crack it open. Regardless, Alani doesn’t think she has the stomach to keep it down at the present. 

********

Harry pushes the remaining peas around on his plate with the prongs of his fork. His chin rests in the heel of his hand. 

“And then I said ‘what’s the difference?’” his manager remarks, sending the rest of the group into a fit of wild laughter. 

“You’re so fucking stupid.” Mitch comments through a chuckle. 

The laughter slowly dies down and their eyes all wander to Harry who hasn’t budged for the past twenty-five minutes. They exchange worried glances, and Jeff begins to wonder if  his initial advice for Harry to go out with Alani was a mistake. 

“Hey, H,” he begins gently. “You feelin’ alright?”

Harry looks up from his plate and musters his best fake smile. “Yeah, jus’ tired,”

It was partially true; the crew had spent their entire afternoon at Honoli’i Beach practicing their surfing, though it was mostly unsuccessful for Harry—his life seemed to be a series of wipe-outs these days. 

“I’m gonna go watch a Rom-Com in my room,” he announces, standing with his plate. “Probably doze off.”

The group exchanges “good nights” before Harry saunters down the hall to his room. Settling into the bed, he flicks through the movie selection and clicks on one that he knows by heart. He contemplates texting Alani again, scrolling through their brief conversation from three days ago. Against his better judgment, he types out another message and presses send. 

Harry: Opinion on The Notebook?

He waits, attention briefly occupied by Rachel McAdams until the phone dings. 

Alani: A classic, though not as good as Dirty Dancing if I’m being honest. 

The corners of his mouth curl and he immediately types out another response. 

Harry: You have a problem with The Goss?

Alani snorts, planting her spoon into the pint of strawberry ice cream to reply. 

Alani: First, I have many gripes about you referring to Ryan Gosling as “The Goss”. Second, I was actually rooting for Lon Hammond, but maybe that’s just because I’m partial to James Marsden. And third, the scene where Baby and Johnny are dancing alone in his room. That’s all I have to say. 

Harry hums, hanging on every word. 

Harry: Confession: I’ve never actually seen Dirty Dancing…

Alani: We need to change that immediately. 

His heart pounds. So she didn’t plan on ghosting him forever. 

Harry: So Lon Hammond, that’s your type? 

Alani doesn’t know why she finds it unsettling that Harry steers the conversation away from any possible talk of them hanging out again. She reminds herself that she had been the one to decline his invitation for margaritas and shovels another scoop of ice cream into her mouth. 

Alani: Kind, supportive, successful, handsome? Yeah, I’d say so. Not to mention he forgave Allie for cheating. 

Harry: But Noah built her a house. Her dream house, I might add. 

Alani: I’m not discrediting Noah, I love a grand romantic gesture as much as the next person. Just think Lon deserved better. 

Harry grins, entirely ignoring the movie at this point. Grand romantic gestures, he notes, good to know. 

Harry: And what about the fact that Noah wrote it all down and reads their literal love story to her every time she forgets?

Alani: Maybe he deserves some rights for that. 

Alani taps the spoon against her lower lip and thinks about Cecily’s words. Just let things happen. She desperately wants to, but she doesn’t know how. The thought of getting too close only to let it all slip through her fingers is too overwhelming, so she starts with something simple: do you like spending time with him? Alani doesn’t think she could enjoy anything more. Her mind wanders back to the passenger seat of Harry’s car and the image of his wrist draped over the steering wheel, lower lip captured between his fingers. She had noted this tick early on and found it endlessly endearing. Save for the awkward fifteen minutes of their very first interview, their conversations all seemed to come so easily. Alani enjoys his quick wit and the way he speaks slowly, as if carefully weighing each word. She likes that even though the entire reason for their relationship is for her to learn all that she possibly can about him, he makes an equal effort to get to know her. Alani compares Harry’s sincere reaction to hearing that she was a journalist to David’s snarky remark. Harry had believed in her from the get-go—he had trusted her. He makes her feel seen and known. Isn’t that what it means to be loved? To be known? His words echo in her mind. 

Harry: How’s the article going?

Alani’s stomach drops. Fuck. In all her contemplation over the almost kiss, she had forgotten the truth behind her motives. She had lied. Harry had trusted her, and she had lied. Not yet, she thinks, I haven’t lied yet. It would only be a lie if she submits the article to Rolling Stone. Her throat tightens. But I’m so close. She thinks about telling him, but quickly shuts the thought down when she considers that she still doesn’t have enough material and can’t afford to risk it now. This is her chance, there’s no doubt about it. Why else would the universe have planted a world famous rockstar right at her feet just when she had decided to give up for good? Alani had to at least try, she owed it to herself, and she reasons that if Harry really cares about her, he will understand. He would have to. 

Alani: It’s going. 

Harry: Can I get a sneak peek anytime soon?

Alani: Soon. Good night, Harry. 

She sends the last text and sets her phone face down next to her. If she was going to do this, she had to do it right—even if it meant putting some space between the two of them. She owed that much to Harry. 

He sinks further into the mattress, not understanding what he had said or done wrong, but he grants Alani her space, anyway.  

Harry: Good night Alani. 

********

“You’re listening to KWPX The Wave and that was the latest single from Ariana Grande,”

Alani stops fiddling with the radio and sits back with a defeated huff. She had been in a rut with her own music lately and after spending nearly fifteen minutes in her driveway shuffling through songs, she decided to turn on the radio and leave it up to fate.

“Next up is a song from everyone’s favorite ex-boyband: One Direction,”

Goddamnit, Alani groans. She had forgotten what a bitch fate could be. 

“Now, I have to say, DeeDee,” the radio DJ starts. “I was personally heartbroken to hear the news, and I know my daughters were too,”

“Oh definitely,” DeeDee replies. “And I can’t help but wonder what this means for all of them. I mean, what do you think they’re up to these days?”

The first DJ gives a snide chuckle before he continues. “Probably doing what every twenty-something year old millionaire does: booze, cruise, and schmooze—the pretty girls, especially,”

Alani scoffs, rolling her eyes at his insinuation. She had begun to resent all of the gossip and speculation surrounding Harry’s whereabouts, especially after learning how much privacy meant to him. Moreover, she hated the twinge of jealousy that coursed through her veins at the thought of him with another girl. Alani supposes that it wasn’t entirely out of the question since they were far from romantically involved. While he had occupied her mind over the past few weeks, she knew that it was highly unlikely that he paid her the same attention. The thought still brings bile to her mouth. 

“Well whatever they’re up to, one thing seems to be pretty clear,” DeeDee speaks up again. “All eyes will be on Harry Styles. I mean, he’s really the one to watch in all of this, isn’t he?”

“I think you’re right. I’m curious to see what he’s got in store. Maybe he’ll join Justin Timberlake and Nick Jonas with the ex-boyband buzz cut. But without further ado, here’s Drag Me Down.”

Alani knows that she’ll have to talk to Harry eventually; over the past week and a half, she had dodged every invitation to hang out, left cut and dry responses to all of his texts, and even ducked into the restaurant’s walk-in fridge when he unexpectedly showed up one afternoon. While the temptation to indulge his friendly advances was high, professional boundaries needed to be established. She had already begun working on the article with material from the two previous interviews—and it wasn’t half bad—but there was still so much of the story to fill in. If Alani was going to make it all worthwhile, she had to keep digging and do it fast; she couldn’t afford to let her personal feelings get in the way.  

Her car sputters slightly as she heads south on Mamalahoa Highway and the radio fades in and out. Alani checks all of her gauges—she had made sure that the gas tank was full before leaving—and doesn’t see anything unusual. A few miles later, it jerks again before coming to a complete stop. 

“Fuck,” she cries, pounding her palms against the steering wheel. “No, no, no, no, no!”

Alani waits a moment before turning the key again, but the engine refuses to start. She whips her phone out of the cupholder and scrolls through her contact list. 

Pua—no license.

Maleah—out of town. 

Dad—also out of town, catering a wedding in Oahu. 

Mom—probably scrubbed in on a major, life-saving surgery. 

She continues scrolling until her finger lands on a name that makes her heart race and sink at the same time. 

Harry Styles—no. 

There’s no way she can justify calling him, not after giving him the cold shoulder all week. If texting back and forth was unprofessional, then asking to be rescued off the side of the road surely crossed several boundaries. Alani scans her surroundings, shielding her eyes from the blinding afternoon sun. There isn’t a car or person in sight for miles—what other choice does she have? With shaking fingers, she dials the number and presses the phone to her ear. Harry answers after the third ring. 

“Hello?” he responds loudly over the sound of cymbals crashing and laughter in the background. 

“Hi,” Alani greets, raising her voice to be heard. “It’s Alani,”

She hears shuffling on the other end and then Harry’s voice, softer this time. 

“Oh hey. How are you?”

“Good, how are you?”

Harry senses that something is off, but he’s glad to hear from Alani, nevertheless. His friends continue their antics in the studio, despite his silent gestures to knock it off, so he heads outside. 

“Uh, yeah I’m fine. S’good to hear from you,” he offers shyly. 

Alani’s chest tightens. 

“Ditto,” she replies. “Hey listen, um, I’m kind of in a bit of trouble I—” 

She hesitates. What the hell am I doing? 

“I need your help,”

Harry’s heart sinks, immediately filled with worry. 

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she reassures him. “It’s my car,”

“Where are you?”

“The highway, southbound. Just past exit 243, I think,”

“I’m on my way,”

“Thank you,” Alani offers gently. “Really, thank you.”

A soft smile spreads across Harry’s lips. “Anytime.”

He arrives in a pink Cadillac fifteen minutes later, pulling over behind Alani. She doesn’t recognize the car and  her confusion only deepens when a man with short-cropped hair emerges. As he approaches, a wave of recognition and relief washes over her. 

“Harry?”

“Hey,” he greets, walking up to the driver’s side. “Need a lift?”

Alani’s mouth hangs open ever so slightly, scanning his new appearance. He looks like a completely different person than the one she remembers, and he has the faintest trace of stubble above his lip and jaw. 

“You cut your hair,”

“I did,” he confirms. 

“It’s so short,”

“Do you like it?”

“Of course I do,” Alani offers with a light laugh, feeling flustered under his gaze. “I mean it looks great, really suits you. Not that it matters what I think, it’s your hair,”

But it did matter. Everything she did, or didn’t do, said, and didn’t say— it all mattered to him for reasons he couldn’t quite explain. And it mattered more than she would ever know. 

“So Stevie quit on you?”

Alani sighs. “I don’t know what’s wrong, honestly. All of the gauges look fine and I filled the tank this morning,”

Harry asks her to pop the hood and makes his way to the front of the Bronco. He looks around, not seeing any smoke or trace of other issues, though his knowledge of cars isn’t as comprehensive as he’d like in this situation. 

Alani joins him, doing her own scan over the inside of the hood despite the fact that she has no idea what to look for. Her eyes wander to Harry’s strong hands as they prod the various bells and whistles, and she notices the way his tanned skin glistens under the sun. The cross pendant nestled behind his white t-shirt escapes when he leans over, swinging like a mesmerizing pendulum. 

“I called a tow truck,” he says standing with his hands on his hips. “Should be here soon,”

“I’ll pay you back,” Alani offers quickly, her throat dry. 

Harry waves her concern away with a hand and places the hood back. “Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you’re okay,”

“I really owe you one,” she says appreciatively. 

He leans against the car with his arms crossed, a mischievous glint in his eye. “Have lunch with me and we’ll call it even.”

“Deal.”

The tow truck arrives ten minutes later and the driver gathers all of Alani’s information, letting her know which mechanic the car will be taken to and when she can pick it up. She sighs watching Stevie pull away down the road and imagines the dent it’ll make in her savings. Harry nudges her gently, motioning for her to get in his car. 

“New ride?” she questions, running her fingers over the cotton candy paint. 

“It belongs to the owner of the studio,” he explains. “All of the cars do except the Rover, she’s a rental. But Jeff took her out to get us lunch,”

“I’m so sorry for interrupting your plans,” Alani apologizes. And for kind of ghosting you, she thinks. 

Harry shakes his head, shifting the gear between them. “Nah, you didn’t interrupt, we were just messing around. But I am curious to know what brought you all the way out here on a Tuesday afternoon. Skipping town?”

Alani giggles at the way he says “Tuesday,” but responds despite the curious look he flashes her. “Day off. I was gonna go to the beach,”

“Bummer,” Harry offers, thanking every deity that he can name. “We could still go,”

“Your friends won’t be mad?”

“They’ll be fine,”

Alani nods, her eyes studying the orange checkers on her trousers.

“What’re you hungry for?” Harry speaks up. 

She thinks for a moment and is reminded of her original plans. “I could go for some sushi,”

“Know any good places?”

“Yeah, I’ll show you,” Alani’s curious gaze falls to the glove box before her, immediately wondering what’s inside. “Do you think the owner will be mad if I open this?”

Harry glances down at what she’s pointing to and shakes his head. “Knock yourself out,”

Alani pulls down the hatch and reaches inside; her fingers make contact with what feels like a pair of glasses. When her hand re-emerges with a pair that are pink and heart-shaped, she smiles. 

“They have good taste,” she comments, putting them on. 

Harry looks over and flashes a wide grin, the dimple that Alani has become so fond of emerging. 

“Look good on you,”

“Try them on,” Alani suggests, handing them over. 

He obliges and pushes his own pair up to make room for the other lenses. 

“What d’you think?”

“I think you should keep them,” she says. “They suit you.”

And they really do; they compliment his face well and hint to the fun, easygoing parts of his personality that Alani has recently discovered. 

She directs him to her favorite sushi spot near Bayfront Park, which is buzzing per usual. After they’ve been seated on the patio outside, Harry tucks the heart-shaped sunglasses into his t-shirt and contemplates addressing the elephant in the room: the ghosting. He doesn’t want to spook her, though,  so he decides to pose the question lightly, but Alani speaks before he has the chance. 

“So what’s with the haircut?”

Harry blinks, clearing his throat before he responds. “You hate it,”

“No!” She defends. “I like it, really, it looks great,”

“You wouldn’t bring it up if you didn’t absolutely hate it,” he teases in mock offense. 

Alani rolls her eyes, a playful smile spreading across her face. “It just seems like a huge step and I’m curious, that’s all,”

He considers this, deciding to stop giving her a hard time, and responds. “Well if you must know, it’s for an audition,”

“For?”

“A movie,”

“A movie?” Alani’s eyes grow wide. “You’re gonna be in a movie?”

“Maybe,” he clarifies. “Dunno yet,”

“Wow,”

Harry leans forward, his elbows resting on the table. “What have you been up to? Any life changing decisions?”

Alani shrugs. “Same old. Work, my summer class,”

“And how’s your family?” he asks, which catches her off guard. 

“Good. My sister’s… a moody teenager. My dad is catering a big wedding in Oahu right now. Mom’s saving lives like the badass woman she is,”

Harry laughs lightly at her comment and Alani tries to store the soundbite in the back of her mind for safe keeping.

“What about yours?” she questions. 

“Fine, yeah. Mum’s good, so’s Gemma. Talk to them at least once a week just to check in,”

He pauses to take a sip of his water before continuing. “Ever since I was about...ten, maybe, ‘ve had this feeling like—protect mum at all costs. But she’s strong, has the greatest heart,”

Alani finds it sweet that Harry speaks so highly of Anne. Her own mom had always told her that a lot can be said about the character of a man by the way he treats his mother. 

“I’m sure she misses having you around,” Alani comments, thinking of her own close relationship with her mom. “I don’t know if I could let my child leave home as early as you did,”

Harry brushes the tip of his nose with a knuckle and nods. “Was kinda hard at first, but she’s always been really supportive.”

“I bet she’s really proud.”

He offers a shy smile in response, scanning the scenery around them. 

“I’m sure your family’s proud of you too.”

Alani and Harry continue their light conversation through the entire meal, sharing stories about their families and childhood. She finds herself wishing that  she could have met a teenaged Harry, pre-fame and general world domination. He enjoys her anecdotes, soaking up every detail that he possibly can as if his life depends on it. The two of them go back and forth well after the meal is finished, only pausing when the waitress stops to check on them. 

“Maybe we should go,” Alani suggests, checking her phone for the time. “I always hate when customers stay for hours,”

“Just like I did the first time at the café?” he asks, putting his signature on the bill. 

Alani feels her cheeks warm and she quickly back pedals. “No! I mean—well, yeah, kinda—”

“And the truth comes out!”

“I was just annoyed because my sister kept bugging me to fill up your water. She was afraid you were gonna, like, get dehydrated and die or something.”

“Tell her I appreciate the concern.”

Alani laughs lightly, feeling a bit of relief when the breeze soothes her burning cheeks. The two of them make their way back into the restaurant and out the main entrance, padding down the boardwalk side by side. Harry never knows what to do with his hands, usually opting to stuff them into his pockets as he hurries down a busy street,  but he desperately wishes to occupy them a different way. His pinky involuntarily brushes the back of Alani’s hand, but he pulls away quickly to avoid freaking her out. She wishes he hadn’t. 

“What were you gonna do at the beach?” he asks to break the ice. 

She thinks for a moment, watching the different couples huddled together on the beach. “Relax, get some air. Do a little reading,”

“What’re you reading?”

“Currently this book about Laurel Canyon in California and some of the musicians who lived there during the 60s. You might like it,”

Harry’s brow raises. “Think so?”

“Yeah, it’s got Joni, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Mamas and the Papas, all those guys. They talk about their experiences of coming to terms with rapidly growing fame, the reality of the peace and love movement, the collaborative process. Seems like something you might find interesting—relatable, even,”

"I’ll check it out,” Harry promises with a nod. 

Alani smiles gently and refocuses her attention on the horizon. “So what were you gonna do today?”

“Not much,” Think about you. “But speaking of books and stuff, I‘ve been meaning to ask. When you become, you know, the next Pulitzer Prize winner, do I get to be your plus one?”

She scoffs, squinting under the bright sun to look up at him. “I don’t know, I have to make it first,”

“And what does ‘making it’ mean to you?” Harry had been trying to re-define success, himself, and was curious to hear Alani’s thoughts on the subject.

She ponders the question for a minute, adjusting the straps of her orange tank-top to occupy her anxious fingers. “Move to New York, work for some big publication, something like that,”

“New York?” he asks, slightly taken aback. “And leave all this behind?”

“I think I’d like the change,” Alani reasons. “I love it here more than anything, but I think I’ve gotta make my own way, my own decisions. My grandma used to say that you ‘gotta swim before you drown because the ocean’s too vast and too interesting to get stuck treading water in the same place,’”

Harry nods, understandingly. “Wise woman,”

“Carolina,” Alani says, using the Spanish pronunciation that sounds like music to Harry’s ears. “That was her name, I was named after her,”

“Middle name?”

“Yeah,” she clarifies. “I’m half Mexican on my mom’s side,”

He hums. “Ever been?”

“To Mexico?” Alani asks, proceeding when he nods. “Yeah. Once when I was like, five, we went to Xcaret for my aunt’s wedding,”

“It’s beautiful there,” Harry notes. 

“What’s your favorite place that you’ve been to?” Alani questions, imagining all the stamps that must be in Harry’s passport. 

He thinks for a moment, a hum buzzing low in his throat as he sifts through his memory. “Probably Italy,”

“Lucky,” Alani muses, picturing the Gothic cathedrals that she longs to visit. 

“You’d like it there.” Harry says, truly believing it. A part of him felt that she belonged in every beautiful place he could think of. 

The two of them walk in silence for a few moments, each taking time to scope out the view around them. Alani sees a couple leaned against a staircase railing, looking deep in conversation, though probably not a pleasant one. 

“You think they’re breaking up?” Alani asks gently, nodding her head in their direction. “Or just having the talk?”

Harry scans the scenery before his eyes land on the pair that she's referring to. “Ah yes, the talk. Ye olde chat,”

“What do you think you’d be if you weren’t a musician?” She poses suddenly. He laughs to himself at the way Alani jumps from topic to topic and reasons that her mind must always be going a mile a minute. 

“A virgin,” Harry jokes, hoping that it’ll land. When she lets out a sudden, bright laugh, he looks over in relief. 

“God, you are so…” Alani trails off, shaking her head.

 He waits to see if she’ll finish the statement, but he doesn’t think she will. Truthfully, she doesn’t know what to say. The more Alani learns about Harry, the more he seems to surprise her. One minute he can be serious and thoughtful. The next, a ray of sunshine—aloof and carefree. She finds herself anticipating his every move, every word, and loving each minute that he allows her to. It makes her head spin at times, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. 

They journey down to the shore and discard their shoes in favor of feeling the cool sand beneath their toes. Alani tells Harry about the sea glass collection she had as a child, and he makes a mental note to scan the ground for any pieces she might like. She asks him if the beaches are nice in England, to which he responds a hard “no” compared to the ones in Hawaii or California. A couple of children splash in the shallow water nearby, and Alani doesn’t miss the fond look in Harry’s eye as he watches. Eventually, they wander back up to the main boardwalk when they spot a group of people  happily sipping milkshakes. Harry noticed her eyes following them, practically drooling, so he suggested it before she had to. 

“Want some?” Alani asks, her mouth full of strawberry. 

Harry gladly accepts, taking a sip from the straw that she holds out to him. He hums, letting the taste sit on his tongue before he offers  his own cup full of vanilla. She tucks a lock of hair behind her ear before leaning over for a taste. The flavor is sweet and comforting to her, despite popular opinion that it’s boring. Alani swipes her tongue across her lower lip and thinks for a moment that this is what his mouth must taste like. She wishes she could verify this thought. 

“I’m really glad you got the strawberry,” he notes, stirring his drink with the straw. “I was having a serious crisis over what to get,”

“When in doubt, always go with the pink one,” Alani says, tapping her temple, and suddenly Harry remembers that the contents of her bag were all various shades of bubble gum and dusty rose. 

“It’s the only true rock ‘n roll color,” he offers, taking another sip of his milkshake. 

“Paul Simonon?” she questions with narrowed eyes, instantly recognizing his reference to a quote from The Clash’s bassist.  

“Nothing gets past you.”

********

The clouds above start to resemble puffs of cotton candy, signaling that the day will soon draw to a close much to both Harry and Alani’s dismay. They lounge in the pink Cadillac, which is parked in an area that overlooks the entire beach, and take turns picking out the one lie amongst two truths about one another; it was a game that Harry had proposed. 

“Is it,” Alani starts, her lower lip caught between her teeth. “The four nipples?”

Harry makes a buzzer sound effect through his own laughter, temple resting against his fist as his arm drapes over the seat. 

“Wrong-o, sorry,”

“What?!” she exclaims, eyes wide. “You’re messing with me,”

“Am not,” he defends proudly. 

Alani lets out a surprised chuckle, fighting the urge to let her eyes wander below his neck. “I don’t believe you,”

“I’d prove it,” he shrugs. “But then I’d have to flash you,”

“Guess we’ll never know, then,” 

Their laughter settles down and the only sound between them is the crashing of waves in the distance. Harry lets his eyes trail down the slope of Alani’s nose to her cupid’s bow—dangerous territory. Little does he know, Alani does the same, noting the fact that his lips are heart-shaped and the perfect shade of strawberry. How sickeningly charming, she thinks. Her eyes lift back to Harry’s and there’s something hidden behind the sea-glass that she can’t quite read. The air becomes charged and the two of them are like magnets, drawn inexplicably towards one another. Alani inches closer, her heart pounding so violently in her chest, she’s afraid that he can hear it. The sound of his own blood rushing in his ears prevents this, however, as he leans in too. The space between them gets smaller, eyes fluttering shut in anticipation, when the high pitched ringing of Alani’s phone sends her jolting backward. Harry curses every deity that he can name. 

“Hello?” she responds, turning her back to him. She listens for a minute, a soft “mhmm” escaping every few seconds. “Okay, yes, I’ll be there. Thank you,” 

Alani dreads having to turn back to Harry and face the consequences of whatever lines were almost crossed. She chooses to simply ignore it all together, as if no time had passed between his shocking personal revelation and the ringing of her phone. 

“Stevie’s ready.” she says weakly. 

Harry swallows down his frustration and offers a polite smile. “Let’s go get her.”

The mechanic shop is twenty minutes from the beach; Harry and Alani spend the entire ride in silence. Neither of them address the almost kiss despite the fact that it hangs over their heads like a raincloud of uncertain emotion. She occupies her gaze with the scenery whizzing past while he tightens his grip on the steering wheel. Alani mourns the fact that their little bubble had been popped so soon, but she figures that it’s for the best. Don’t get attached, she reminds herself. Easier said than done. Harry also wallows in the aftermath of the interruption, wishing he had acted sooner. When they finally arrive at the shop, the mechanic reveals that the cause of her car troubles was a simple dead battery. Harry offers to foot the bill, but Alani refuses, deciding that she shouldn’t accept any more favors from him in order to restore the boundary. 

“So I guess this is where we part ways,” Alani says gently, toying with her keys. 

Harry scans his brain for something—anything—a single excuse to see her again, and soon. He doesn’t think he can take another week and a half of icy silence and he has a suspicion that she can’t either. After all, she had leaned in, too—hadn’t she?

“There’s this thing,” he blurts out. “A sort of jam sesh at the studio tomorrow night. There’s gonna be booze, otherwise I’d tell you to bring your sister. But I’d love for you to come, and I think it might be good for—the article, or something,”

Alani weighs the pros and cons in her mind, one of which he had already mentioned: a chance to listen to what he’s working on. It seemed professional and innocent enough, not to mention the fact that there’d be other people around to keep them in check. Once she decides it’s safe, she nods. 

“Okay, sure,”

“I can pick you up,” Harry offers. 

Alani shakes her head gently and offers a shy smile. “No, that's okay. Tomorrow night?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll be there.”

They exchange good-byes and Alani thanks him for coming to her rescue, to which he offers a modest shrug. Harry speeds down the highway and back to the house, but three words linger in the silence. 

I’ll be there.

[adorable-deku]

For the song ask game = 'Hand Me My Shovel, I'm Going In!' by Will Wood? I would link it but Tumblr doesn't like me for some reason

i really enjoyed this song. idk if youve also listened to these but if u love this song i recommend brutus by the buttress and viva discordia by the handsome devil

anyway, the au: izuku doesnt have a quirk (as usual). all might tells him that becoming a hero would be suicidal

izuku's like 'yeah? ill fuckin show u suicidal'

joins an underground fighting ring to prove that he isnt weak and useless

he loses at first. he loses a lot. inko got pretty negligent after her husband left bc of izukus quirklessness, so thats one more thing fuelling izukus spite. anyway, she doesnt notice that he comes home injured all the time, and doesnt pick up the phone from the school telling her he isnt coming in.

eventually izuku starts using his smarts to strategize against his opponents, how to use their quirks against them, how to make their bodies betray themselves

he learns how to read their psyche, how to find and dig at psychological wounds like a bloodhound

understandably, he makes enemies

he feels bad, at first. he has nothing against these people, but a fight is a fight and izuku has something to prove

hes nice and apologetic to ppl he pissed off in the ring, much less nice to ppl who attack him unprovoked

ppl realize something is wrong when one day bakugou catches izuku by the shoulder and izuku nearly strangled him against the wall and snarls 'try it again ill kill u' and it feels real

bakugou was less scared of the slime villain than he is of izuku in that moment

izuku sees it. he stumbles back and runs away bc bakugou was right. he couldnt be a hero. he didnt think he was a villain, but...

his info gets spread around: the quirkless champion of the kawara underground ring

he draws peoples interest. some negative, some positive, some neutral

he starts getting attacked oretty frequently by assholes like the dregs of the MLA, ppls he previously fought and screwed over, and sometimes their family members with a grudge

oftentimes izuku gets hurt, even so he doesnt kill the people that come after him

one fucker holds a kid histage to get izuku in his hands (overhaul) and izuku fucking loses it

obviously leaving these fucks alive is dangerous to both izuku and everyone else

overhaul is the first to go. he gains the bastards trust, lures him into a sense of security, then hits him w one of the quirk suppressant bullets, then stabs him to finish the job

the facility is a mess, and izuku takes jo prisoners bc everyone here is scum (except eri, who he very quietly drops off at yuuei bc if any ppl could handle eris quirk itd be nedzu and eraserhead)

izuku continues to gain power to keep himself safe, whether he really wants it or not

he creates a truce w shigaraki that essentially boils down to : i wont step on ur toes if u dont step on mine.

someone kills inko one day. izuku grieves as much as he can, organizes her funeral, then fucking vanishes

dedicates his life to growing stronger and staying alive, having completely forgotten that his original goal was to probe that he was strong enough to be a hero

it all comes to a head when izuku is doing some training in the basement of his organization (criminal, information-gathering, becoming a huge threat bc they sell info to villains and heroes hve no clue how theyre getting the info) and all might fucking busts in

and then hes lost for a solid minute bc isnt that the kid who asked him if he could be a hero

izuku grins and asks 'so? would you say im suicidal?'

essentially, this au is summed up by izuku hitting rock bottom and pulling out a pickax