#shocked by the idea that others might not see her as a lost cause

[giffingthingsss]

[greatestexpectationss]

Cherry Lip Gloss- Luke Castellan

Luke Castellan x Fem!Aphrodite Reader

You don’t feel like a daughter of Aphrodite today. Your hair won’t cooperate with you, it feels like none of your clothes fit right, and you’d somehow lost your favorite cherry lip gloss and had to borrow your sisters which tasted distinctly nonfruity, some vanilla something that left way too much of a taste in your mouth.

You just don’t feel like you. There's some sort of despair deep in your bones, you ignore the cause of it and trudge through the day in a haze, by them time you make it to lunch all you want to do is go back to bed and pray to the gods tomorrow is better.

“Y/N, are you okay?” Silena, your sister, asks you from her seat at lunch beside you. The rest of your siblings, true children of Aphrodite, turn their eyes and ears to listen in. Across from you and Silena is Drew, whose perfectly plucked brows furrow, “You haven’t touched your cherries,”

“You love cherries,” Jake, your brother, chimes in.

“I’m fine,” you tell them, forcing a smile. You pop a cherry in your mouth, “See?”

“No you’re not, you’ve been off all day,” Drew retorts, arms crossing as she turns to look at you. “Is this about that fight you had with Luke?”

Under the table Silena kicks her, and above it Jake elbows her.

“Drew,” he hisses, gesturing toward the rest of your siblings who all promptly turn back to their meals. 

“Sorry, but are we not gonna talk about it, seriously?”

You, in fact, weren’t gonna talk about it. Luke had been your best friend for most of your time at Camp Half-Blood, you’d met him in the Hermes Cabin before your mother had claimed you. You’d only stayed there for 3 days, but by the time you were headed to Cabin 10 and away from him, Luke was already ready to help you carry your stuff and remind you if you needed anything he was still right next door. 

You hadn’t really needed anything,. It was no shock to anyone you were Aphrodite's daughter, with your pretty smile and long shiny (y/h/c) hair. You had always had this way about you, something that lay between perfection and humanity. Confidence radiated off of you in waves, and you always smelt of fruit and cherry lipgloss.

You were fine on your own, perfectly capable of making your own life and friends for yourself in camp.

But Luke was charming, and maybe a little persistent. When you struggled to find a weapon you could actually wield, he knew your siblings would be no help, he’d approached you with two daggers in hand and told you to follow him. You were good with daggers but with Luke’s help, you were a damn force to be reckoned with. From there your friendship had blossomed and as you’d both grown up something more bubbled beneath the surface. A sort of "Will they?Might they?"

You never did, but you desperately wanted to. 

At least you did, before your fight

A few days ago, Luke had been pretty worked up about Capture the Flag. Normally, you liked him like this, all argumentative and technical, jaw and fists clenched. Mainly because you're never on the receiving end and also because a small part of you prides yourself on the ability to calm him down afterward. He's always soft with you, but when he confides in you, truly, you think he’s the best person you’ve ever met.

But this time he’s just pissing you off.

Luke, Annabeth, and a few other children of Athena worked tirelessly on a strategy for your team to beat Ares. Ares was on a winning streak and it was putting damage in all of your egos. Annabeth’s idea to put you in front of the flag had bode well with the rest of the group, everyone always underestimates you as a daughter of Aphrodite. You'd told Luke how much this irks you, in quiet moments alone, there's this stereotype, a mold Aphrodite kids are "supposed" to fit into, and you don't fit it, you just wish other people would realize it too.

Maybe that's why when Luke didn’t like the idea, when he openly protested it, it stung so much. When he Annabeth that putting you, a child of Aphrodite (he didn’t say it in so many words but still) as the last line of defense for the flag was "fatal strategic error" you'd blinked at him. Luke had talked Annabeth out of it or at least talked her into him and Chris waiting behind the tree line out of site “just in case”. 

After the meeting when it was just you and Luke, you’d fought, or more so Luke had tried to explain while you yelled at him.

“C’mon Y/N, this isn’t personal,” he’d told you after you’d ignored him the 3 minutes it took to get back to your respective cabins, he halted you in front of the Aphrodite cabin, coming to stand in front of you and tucking a piece of hair behind your ear, “leaving you there by yourself wasn’t a good idea, what if you needed back up?”

You’d slapped his hand away from your face. 

“No but if Annabeth had wanted to leave you there, or herself there it wouldn’t have been a doubt in your mind you’d both be fine right?” He says nothing but you know what he’s thinking, and you scoff in disbelief. 

“Don’t be like that,” Luke begged, eyes sad and soft, you almost wanted to cave when he lowered his voice and stepped closer to you, “Will you just let me explain?”

You take a step back, “What? You wanna explain that because I’m in Aphrodite I’m somehow less than you and Annabeth? Like I can’t look like this,” you gesture to your black mini skirt, camp half-blood tee, altered to be shorter and tighter, and your dainty jewelry, “and kick your ass at the same time?”

“I’m not saying–”

“Just forget it, Luke,” you’d said bitterly, “you know for the record I’m used to everyone treating me like some dizzy Aphrodite kid without a clue, I just never thought you’d be the one doing it.”

And then in the greatest storm off in Camp Half-Blood history you’d bumped his shoulder, stomped up the steps of your cabin, and slammed the door right in his cute puppy dog face. 

“There’s nothing to talk about,” you told your siblings. Silena scoffs while Drew and Jake roll their eyes. “Y/N, you haven’t talked to him in almost a week.”

You pop another cherry in your mouth, “Look its fine, I’m fine, everything is fine, I’m just tired and this morning was rough”

They share an unconvinced look. “You know he keeps asking about you,” Jake tells you after a moment of silence, “I think he’s worried about losing you.”

“Can’t imagine why,” you say bitterly, you take your fork and stab it into your salad.

“Hmm, I don’t know because he’s totally in love with you??” Drew deadpans, she’s kicked and nudged again. She throws her hands up in the air and sighs loudly before she grabs her trey and stands up. “Look Y/N I love you, and if you want us to totally ignore your problems we will, again because we love you. But we just want you to be happy, and I think for the most part Castellan makes you happy.”

She smiles and then leaves. Jake stands too, “Plus he’s super hot, you are not gonna find better arm candy in this camp. Trust me I’ve looked.”

That draws a laugh out of you, “I’ll keep that in mind Jake, thanks.”

Silena goes to stand up too, “Are you gonna come to archery practice today? I heard Lee and the Apollo kids are gonna show off, might be kind of cool.”

“You go ahead I think maybe I just don’t feel well,” she looks unsure, and double-checks again. You just wave her off, tell her to have fun before retreating to your cabin.

You don’t feel well, you repeated, you must be coming down with a cold, your feeling of despair and lessthanness has nothing to do with Luke, with missing him, with wanting him.

You curl up in your empty cabin, in your bunk. Your siblings call it your nook, a bunk in the corner of the cabin, the top unclaimed, but the bottom bunk is yours. It's covered in pretty floral sheets, a fuzzy blanket, and a fluffy pillow. You had hung up (or had Luke hang them up for you) a long curtain rod across the bed frame with light pink curtains, the inside of your bunk lined with pretty fairy lights. Usually, your nook is comforting, today it just makes you miss your best friend. 

The door to the Aphrodite Cabin opens and closes, you close your eyes, hoping desperately to fall asleep, and that whichever sibling walked in doesn’t realize you’re hiding in here. 

A shadow appears outside your curtains, you internally groan and bury your face deeper in your pillow,

“Y/N?” the voice asks, you recognize it right away. You think you’d know him anywhere. It’s Luke, you let him peek into your curtain, and he gives you a small smile.

“Hey,” he says. His curly hair looks stupidly good, in a way that makes you wanna run your fingers through it. It's unfair really.

“Hi.”

“You okay?”

“M’fine,” you try to say voice muffle by the pillow, his smile grows. 

“Mind if I come in?” You hesitate, you’re still reeling from his rejection of the idea that you could be of value as the last line of defense for the flag like you're some damsel that needs him to rescue her. Your ego isn’t the only thing that's wounded though. Luke hurt your feelings, all this time you thought he was the only person who saw you, all of you, and loved you for it and despite it. Never in a million years would you have imagined that your one episode of self-loathing would be triggered by his words. But, still, you miss him, and you're sad, so against your better judgment, you mutter a quiet sure and scoot over. 

He crawls in with you and lays down on his back beside you, side by side the two of you stare up at your twinkle lights. 

“You’ve kind of got it made in here don’t you?” he asks in order to break the terribly awkward silence. You mumble a quite yeah, and then you’re both silent again. It’s incredibly painful. You turn your head to look at him, and find he’s already staring at you. 

“Hey,” you say.

“Hi,” he replies. He reaches up to tuck a piece of hair behind your ear, you savor the feeling of his touch, leaning into his hand. He smiles at you something sweet and sad all at once.

“I miss you,” Luke tells you, “and I’m sorry.”

“Luke–” he turns all the way to face you on his side, you follow suit even when he cuts you off.

“Just listen okay?” he pleads. 

You nod once. 

“I was worried about you,” he starts running a tired hand through his hair, your brows furrow in confusion, you open your mouth to protest, but he puts a finger to your lips, “You promised you’d listen remember?” 

You glare at him but relent as he pulls his finger away from your lips and down your arm. “Peter from Ares, all week had been talking about how he’s leading the charge for our flag, and how he couldn’t wait to get his hand on the pretty Aphrodite girl who always takes all the cherries,” it doesn’t take a genius to realize that Peter had been talking about you. He’d flirted up a wild storm with you a few weeks prior and you’d turned him down, Peter, a true Ares kid at heart, didn’t take it well. “I didn’t want you out there all alone if he came looking for you and actually found you.”

Luke’s always had a hero complex, the desire to prove himself worthy of being called a hero, no matter the cost, the pink scar on his face is a testament to that. It would be annoying if it wasn’t so fucking sweet. “I can take care of myself, Luke.”

“I know that,” he says earnestly, and you think he means it. Luke reaches for your hands and holds both of them close to his chest, he brings one to his lips and kisses your wrist. “The thing is you don’t have to. And I guess I just wanted to protect you and I went about it all wrong, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” you tell him and before you know it Luke is pulling you to his chest hugging you and kissing the top of your head. “I know you can take care of yourself, and I know you could kick anyones ass and look gorgeous doing it, you always do.” Another kiss to your head, before you’re looking up at him grinning. 

“You think I’m gorgeous?” you can’t help teasing him. Your self consciousness is melting away under his gaze, how can it not when he’s looking at you like you hung the damn moon?

This is that something else that bubbles under the surface of your friendship.

“Are you kidding?” he scoffs, moving his arm from your waist to place a hand on your cheek, stroking it with his thumb, “Look at you, of course I do.”

“Even when I’m mad at you?” You tilt your face upwards and closer to his

Luke grins, “I don’t know are you still mad at me?” You smile right back, bringing one of your hands between your faces, and pinch your index finger and thumb together only a tiny sliver of space between them. Luke knows you’re kidding by the glint in your eyes.

“Well then especially when you’re mad at me.”

You laugh and it does something funny to Luke’s chest. He looks at your lips, and the air changes. 

“Luke?”

“Yeah?” 

“Would you really have protected me if I needed it? From Paul?” you ask quietly, eyes darting to his lips drawn between his teeth. 

“From anything,” Luke swears, thumb still caressing your cheek, you want him closer, you need him closer. You could just reach up and kiss him but first you have to know, you have to make sure.

“Why?”

“You know why.”

And then he’s kissing you, like you’ve never been kissed before. You let out a squeak of surprise by the sudden pull at the back of your neck, toward him, then he’s shifting you on your back and hovering over you all the while never breaking your lips apart. 

You’re glad for that, when he slips his tongue in your mouth, you think you’d die if he stopped kissing you. You reach one perfectly manicured hand at the base of his neck and thread your fingers through the shorter strands, Luke lets out a little groan, and you grin into your kiss. Your grin is cut short by his hand on the skin of your waist where your shirt had ridden up, he caresses it there and you absolutely melt. 

This is it, you think, no one else will ever be able to kiss me again, you know you’re completely and totally screwed before you even pull away to catch your breath. 

“You taste like vanilla,” Luke says, grinning at you with the sheen of borrowed lip gloss on his lips, he brings his thumb up to wipe the reminisce of the lip gloss off of yours, “I thought you use cherry.”

“I do,” you pout, reaching up to wipe his lips the way he did yours, he kisses the inside of your lips, “I lost mine.”

Luke reaches into his shorts, and appears with not one but two new, not yet opened, cherry lipglosses, her grins as you sit up and greedily grab them from him, “I brought them as a peace offering, you know in case you didn’t want to make out.”

You laugh before pulling the little handheld mirror off the window ledge next to your bed, you apply it and already you feel more like yourself. 

You fling yourself back on top of Luke and cling to him like a Koala.

“Thank you,” you mumble into his chest. He laughs, and you can feel it in your cheek.

“Anytime sweetheart.”

You kiss him again, and this time when you pull away, it's your lips gloss that smeared on his mouth. You think you like him best like this, shiny swollen lips, tousled hair, and grinning.

[emchante]

broken confessions

part 2 | masterlist | requesting rules

summary: in the haze of a drunken night out, you finally confess your feelings to max. but instead of the joyful moment you imagined, you’re met with a harsh dose of reality as max struggles to accept your drunken confession.

WARNINGS: angst, use of alcohol, hurt no comfort

w.c: 1.7k

a/n: first piece of sole angst posted on here yayy. however this was written for @inevesgf and is still solely dedicated to her !! you guys get to see too though, i hope you all enjoy. let me know your thoughts on this via reblog, comments or asks!

the bass thrums through the floor, vibrating up through your heels, but it’s nothing compared to the pounding in your chest. it wasn’t just the alcohol causing it— no, it was the fact that max was only a few metres away from you, happily dancing away with people he had just met that night.

it wasn’t his attention on others people that made your heart race; it was how deeply in love with him you were, though he remained completely oblivious.

inviting you out for drinks might not have been the best idea, because one thing was certain when you were drunk: you got honest— a little too honest.

that’s what got you to where you were now. you weren’t sure exactly what possessed you to do it— maybe it was the alcohol taking effect, maybe it was the way max’s laughter made your chest tighten, or maybe you just couldn’t keep it together any longer.

before you know it, you’re standing infront of max himself, grabbing onto his arm to get his attention. he turns, a little shocked, but his expression quickly softens, a smile overtaking his face. he greets you, his other hand ruffling your hair as he lets out a chuckle; he’s tipsy himself.

he asks you what’s the matter, and if you needed him for anything particular. you shake your head though, squeezing his arm tighter before leaning on the tips of your toes to reach his ear. then, “maxie, i’m in love with youuuu,” drunkenly tumbles from your lips.

max freezes, his smile faltering as he stares at you, eyes wide. all he can manage to murmur is a quiet “what?” which was barely audible over the pounding music.

you misinterpret his reaction, thinking he didn’t hear you. determined, you straighten up and repeat yourself, almost shouting it this time. “max, i’m in love with you!”

max’s eyes impossibly widen, panic flashing across his face. without a second thought, he moves his hand over your mouth, muffling your words. “shhh, not so loud!” he whisper-yells, urgently looking around to see if anyone heard.

you blink up at him confused, your words lost behind his palm. the look on his face wasn’t what you expected— there’s no joy, no relief, just shock and something which you could only recognise as fear.

after max finishes his frantic glancing around, he pulls his hand from your mouth. before you can utter another word, his hand is gripping your wrist tightly as he tries to guide you out of the place. you can barely hear anything from the loud thumping of your heart and the booming music, but you catch bits of max politely trying to excuse you both as he leads you towards the exit.

as max pulls you through the crowd, your mind races to catch up with what just happened. the warmth of his hand on your wrist is a stark contrast to the cold dread you feel settling within you. he pushes the club door open, leading you into the chilly night air. the sudden quietness compared to the almost deafening sound inside the club makes everything feel too real, too raw.

he finally released his grip on your wrist, turning around to face you, his face mixed with confusion and frustration. “what were you thinking??” he asks, voice sharp but low, as if to keep himself in check.

your chest tightens, tears pricking at the corner of your eyes. your voice is small and trembling as you try to talk to him. “i couldn’t keep it in anymore—“

you weren’t able to finish though, as max is interrupting you again. at first it’s with a groan, as he lifts a hand to run through his hair and ruffle it, an anxious habit he developed long ago. “this isn’t something you say in the middle of a club, with hundreds of people around— and especially when you’re drunk!” he tells you, hands in the air as he tried to convey his frustrations.

the tears spill over, and you wipe at them angrily, embarrassed and hurt. “so when am i supposed to say it? you know i wouldn’t have the confidence when i’m sober.”

max’s eyes soften, but only momentarily before his expressions harden again. “i don’t know! but it was a mistake to do it now.” he harshly let out, taking you aback as your eyes widen.

“this was a mistake? i think loving you might’ve been a mistake too,” you tell him, tears overflowing now as your vision is too blurry to make out his expression. you rub harshly at your eyes, trying to stop the tears.

you can only hear max let out a frustrated sigh, as well as him fidgeting around. it’s silent for a moment, before you hear the ringing of a phone. you go to ask what he’s doing, but you aren’t able to as someone picks up on the other end too quickly.

turns out, max was calling you a cab home. the thought made you anxious, you didn’t want to go home with him, not when you were both like this. “i don’t want to go home with you, i’ll—“

“you’re not. i called a cab for you,” he interrupts again, shoving his phone back in his pocket. “you’re too drunk to be having this conversation. sober up, and we’ll talk,” he tells you, looking you right in the eyes.

it hurts him to see you so upset and broken about it all, but he can’t have this conversation with you when you’re intoxicated. he needs you to be sober, in the right mindset.

you want to protest, but at the same time you don’t. your mind is all over the place, some thoughts telling you to stay here and talk it out with him, while others tell you to just go home. you put your hands on your head, squeezing your eyes shut as you desperately try to gather your thoughts, but to no avail.

you feel yourself jump when a hand is placed on your shoulder, and you look up to see max looking at you, stoically. you flinch at the touch, not sure if it’s the cold, emotionless look in his eyes or if it’s the suddenness of the move. his hand lingers on your shoulder momentarily, and for a brief second, you think he’s going to talk to you, say something to make this situation better.

but he doesn’t.

instead, max’s grip tightens slightly before his hand slides off of your shoulder, and back to his side. “the cab will be here in a few minutes,” he tells you, voice devoid of the warmth it usually has, stepping back. there’s not much distance between you realistically, but to you— in your drunken state— it feels like there’s miles.

you stare at him, eyes desperately searching for any hint of emotion, any clue that might show he’s just as torn about this as you are. but his expression is unreadable, and it’s as if his emotions are locked away, behind the emotionless wall that was built as soon as you confessed your feelings.

“i don’t— i don’t want to leave things like this, max,” you hiccup, voice still trembling like earlier. “can we please just talk? i’m sorry, i was—“

“we’re not talking,” he states, shaking his head. a weary sigh escapes his lips, before clarifying, “not tonight anyways, not like this,” and he waves his finger between you both.

you’re not sure when max got so.. serious, when he was drunk. granted, he wasn’t as drunk as you were, only a little tipsy; but it still scared you. the reality was starting to set in, and you felt yourself go still.

you thought tonight would have gone better, you thought max would be happy to hear you loved him. you even thought he’d reciprocate the feelings. but now, all you could think about was how cold he was being, and how it felt too much like rejection to think otherwise.

you watch as his mouth opens, and your heart starts to beat faster as you anxiously wait for what he’s about to say. but, the words die on his tongue as the headlights of the cab shine through the darkness, breaking you both out of your own world.

at the side of your eye, you see max take another step back as the cab pulls up infront of you. you want to turn to him, ask him what he was going to say. but your mind betrays your wants, and you feel yourself walking towards the cab, hand resting on the door handle.

you’re frozen, as if you’re fighting your mind to let you stay and talk to max, begging it to allow you to fix the mess it created tonight. but alas, you end up simply opening the car door and sliding into the back seat, before slamming the car door shut.

you glance out the window, praying max will pull a move that would resemble something of a romance film. stopping you from going in the cab, regretting his decisions and pulling you back to him, allowing a quick and easy resolve—

but it never happened.

max just stood there, hands shoved in his pocket as his eyes drifted from yours to the drivers, giving him a nod to signal he was fine to leave.

the cab starts to pull away, and you can’t bring yourself to keep looking at max. the engine roars, and you look down at your trembling hands, a shaky sigh escaping your lips before you felt the tears from your eyes drop onto your soft skin. squeezing your eyes shut, you allow yourself to cry it out on the way home.

there’s no chat from the driver, no asking if you’re okay, but also no asking you to keep it down. it’s silent, and all that can be heard is the faint sound of the crackly radio, and your own sniffling.

for the first time since max had been brought into your life, you felt completely and utterly alone.

[bingiessm]

WARNING, LONG POST

Hello, welcome to the Bridgerton Season 3 trailer over-analysis corner. I am bingiessm--a film student that needs an outlet right now and wants to practice some film analysis--and am here to bring forth the FIRE/FLAME/CANDLE motif that was all over this trailer and I feel will be a HUGE motif throughout this season for Penelope and Colin (Polin).

So within the Polin context, let's look at each shot where a flame of a candle or lack thereof could represent their romantic interest in one another--and in particular the understanding/recognition of it.

This show is going all out putting candles EVERYWHERE--yes it was actual lighting in regency era, but you don't have to have it in the shot. That is a CHOICE. Also a choice to have it lit or not.

Also, "I burn for you" anyone?

FIRST SHOT: somewhat obvious but considering the context of both the mirror as well as other future shots within this trailer, this flame represents the feelings Penelope has for Colin, that she is well aware of and has held for a long while.

I also just have an inkling that she is seeing herself differently in this moment (feeling something for the first time possibly)--the way Nicola looks feels shocked/contemplative, but not scared as if it might be Whistledown-related.

SECOND SHOT: they are outside, talking about Penelope being a "lost cause." WHY IS THERE AN UNLIT CANDLE IN A MARKET STALL, if not to represent some unrealized feelings on Colin's part? It is also on his side of the frame. This is similar to this next one, both of which I believe are earlier in the season, as this is the start of him "helping" her.

THIRD SHOT: Once again, right there on Colin's side of the frame, YOU DID NOT NEED THIS IN THE FOREGROUND. It was a CHOICE to put a candle there again. They could have not had it, yes the shot would have had less depth and this does give a better sense of the space, placing them in a corner of the room instead of in an open space--but they didn't need to make it another CANDLE.

Colin has not fully recognized his feelings for Penelope yet, though they have always been there, and these two shots demonstrate that lack of understanding/feeling, but one that is soon to come with an unlit candle.

FOURTH SHOT: this, in the timing of the trailer, does come before the third, but RIGHT THERE IS A MIRROR AND CANDLES. It is on Penelope's side of the frame, but Colin, the mirror, and candles are what is in focus. She might be center frame, but we are drawn to the light as well as the contrast in Colin's outfit. This could arguably be Penelope's perspective, her burning feelings as he compliments her--also her future (we all want that mirror scene).

FIFTH SHOT: a HUGE TURNING POINT--a small flame, barely noticeable suddenly burning brighter as we focus on Colin in the background. This is so clearly him realizing his feelings for Penelope. It is also at the midpoint/turning point of the trailer when there is a big tonal shift. There is no more talk of Colin helping Penelope, but a larger focus on his perspective of her (all the gazing), the idea of romance, as well as mention of Debling--his rival. It will be a turning point for Colin when Debling--an actual suitor vying for Penelope's hand--comes into the picture. EDIT: Also going to add in, the candle is in a lantern--though that might have been easier to manage filming-wise--which could also represent him still holding back, especially with Debling in the picture.

SIXTH SHOT: This comes right after we hear Debling say "You look especially beautiful tonight, Miss Featherington." One of the many examples of Colin staring at the two of them, being jealous/worried. But right behind him? Oh, more candles. That they totally didn't need to have in the frame. Also, it doesn't look so much like a candle, but they are placed so close to one another that it looks like more of a flame. The lack of focus adds to this.

THEN WE GET TO THIS FINAL SEQUENCE--which imo is a FANTASY SEQUENCE

SEVENTH SHOT: Colin is coming from the darkness, with an unseen flame flickering directly behind him (small ember that he can't see).

EIGHTH SHOT: Penelope, also coming out of the dark, but with another flame on (what in this sequence is) her side of the frame. Though it is somewhat hidden behind these bars--some rough patches/guarded emotions? (probably depends on what point this is in the series).

NINTH SHOT: Penelope, already in the light of these fires, Colin entering with the large burning flame in the background covered by some growth.

TENTH SHOT: Penelope, lit by these fires, breathing heavily. A very clear close-up with so much blur to focus just on her face.

ELEVENTH SHOT: Colin, with a flickering/burning flame literally right behind him, lit by these other fires, staring right at Penelope.

So this whole sequence, in my opinion, is a dream sequence. But, in terms of this flame representation, this is Colin realizing he has feelings for Penelope. We see the flickering from the unseen light behind him in the seventh shot build and become the flame right behind him in the eleventh. It feels so obviously representative of the season. (The fog also seems to lift for him in this sequence, he comes out of the fog to Penelope--I could say more about this sequence and why I do think it is Colin's dream, mostly due to costuming and lighting and the fog as well) ______________________

And thus comes to a close my analysis/evidence of the FLAME/FIRE motif between Polin. I am cutting myself off here because this is a lot and I have an actual film shoot to plan. Thank you if you actually read all this. I love film analysis and Bridgerton is so fun and a stress reliever for me, so this was fun for me to write out.

Anyway, if any more of this fire/flame stuff comes up I might add on later.

TLDR: they are using fire and candles to represent the burning love between these two.

[justinalovee]

𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈

Pairing: Rhaenyra Targaryen x Targaryen reader x multiple characters

Word Count: 2468

Warnings: Incest, oral, threesome, P in V, masturbating, fingering, lactation kink, spit kink, possessiveness

Summary: Rhaenyra and her lover have different sexual encounters with characters in the HOTD universe

A/N: All characters are 18+! minors DNI. Alicent isn’t married to the king. Although there is incest, Nyra doesn’t have sex with her siblings

Aegon

Rhaenyra beckons her brother, who is sitting on a chair at the foot of the bed, with the index finger of her free hand, “Aegon, come closer.”

Aegon downs the rest of his cup, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Nervously, he kneels between your legs, leaning down to get a closer look at your glistening cunt.

“Do you see?” Rhaenyra asks, opening your folds with two fingers. “This is how wet she needs to be each time you lay together.”

Aegon looked lost in a haze. He had staggered into his bedchambers, hoping to sleep off his drunken state, but instead found you waiting on his bed with Rhaenyra by your side. Rhaenyra wasn’t happy when she heard of your betrothal to a green, but you assured her that Aegon had been led astray by his mother and grandsire.

You wanted him to fall in love with you.

It was the king's idea to have you marry his eldest son, despite his daughter and Queen Alicent’s protest. The king hoped that marriage and children might bring his son some happiness. In truth, you wanted that for Aegon as well. If he was happy with you, then he’d follow you to Dragonstone. Not only would it mean you would have another dragon and its rider on your side, but he might have a chance of a better life away from the poisonous vipers he currently lives with. You believed that you could live in harmony by each other's sides in Dragonstone once you reached his heart.

But the way to a man like Aegon Targaryen's heart was through his cock.

Having been your lover for some time, Rhaenyra offered to help you gain his interest the night before your wedding. A tiny part of her was jealous as well that she was no longer going to be the only one who touched you, but she could make peace with sharing you.

Aegon nodded. His shyness confused you, as he was known to have slept with many women before. Maybe the shock of seeing Rhaenyra show him how you like to be eaten out had him temporarily frozen.

Rhaenyra smirks. “She truly is divine. Do you want to taste her?”

The mere thought of Aegon and Rhaenyra taking turns licking and sucking at your most sensitive area sent a shiver down your spine.

Rhaenyra shuffles back in the bed until her knees are behind your head. She watches with wide eyes as Aegon grips your thighs with his hands, pushing your legs open further to accommodate him. Gently, he licks through your folds, causing you to let out a soft moan.

You glanced up at Rhaenyra and pouted; you wanted to repay the earlier favour of her giving you pleasure. While she’s distracted, your hands snake up to the front of her dress. You pinch her nipples through the material, pulling her down close enough so you can touch her with your mouth. Rhaenyra pecks at your lips and says, “Tell me, sweet girl, how does it feel?”

"So good; Aegon knows what he’s doing."

You tug at Aegon’s silver locks, holding him in place, when he rubs at your clit with his thumb. You gasp, looking down at the sight of him between your legs. "Gods, I’m so close... I’m going to cum in your mouth."

Aegon smirks before quickening his movements. You pull the grey fabric of Rhaenyra’s dress down at one side so her breasts are exposed. You latch your lips around her nipple, licking and sucking on her skin.

Feeling your inner walls start to flutter around your betrotheds tongue you pull his hair tighter, “fuck! I think we are going to be very happy together.”

Aegon gives you a devilish smile before pushing his tongue further inside you.

Aemond

Aemond drives his cock into you faster and harder. He was determined to make you cum multiple times after reading that a woman having an orgasm helps her become pregnant. He licks two of your fingers then rubs them against your clit, saying, “You're going to look like a goddess when you are swollen with my child.”

“Our gorgeous princess,” Rhaenyra adds.

A chesty growl erupts from Aemond, who continues to slam into you, his hands roughly pinning you down by your hips. His hatred for Rhaenyra seems to spur him on.

Usually you hate being caught in the middle of your husband and his elder sister's spats, but right now you are enjoying this.

Aemond had returned from dragon riding earlier than intended to find Rhaenyra between your legs in your shared bedchamber. He knew of your relationship with the heir to the throne but hardly mentioned it. He excused himself and was about to leave until Rhaenyra made a snide comment about being able to fuck you better. Minutes later, he had pulled you away from his sister and shoved his cock deep inside you.

You couldn’t see your husband, but you were sure he was glaring at Rhaenyra. She pinches your nipples and moans as you tease her slit with your finger. Watching you get fucked turned her on more than she thought possible. “Good girl,” she praises. “You're doing such a good job pleasing me while getting stuffed full.”

You nip at the side of her thigh before smacking a hand on her clothed cheek. Rhaenyra had wanted you to make her feel good but wouldn’t go bare in front of her brother, so to compromise, she removed her small cloth and held the bottom of her dress up high enough so she could place her thighs on either side of your head.

You found it erotic that your husband couldn’t see what you were doing to the other women, and likewise that you couldn’t see what he was doing to you.

“Qogralbar! harder, kostilus!” Fuck! Harder, please!

“Such a needy girl,” Rhaenyra remarks.

You flick your tongue over her clit while bringing both hands underneath her dress to feel her skin. You link your arms around her thighs to bring her down until she’s sitting on your face. You spread her cheeks, gathering wetness from her core. You use it to lubricate your finger, then slide it along her slit until you reach the hole. Slowly, you insert a finger into her ass while devouring her cunt with your mouth.

“You have a very dirty wife, brother; you must be very happy.”

“Very,” he snaps. “Just remember, she is mine! Mine to play with, mine to lay with every night, mine to fuck heirs into.”

Not taking the bait Rhaenyra just hums in agreement. “Her breasts will be so full and swollen when she’s pregnant.”

Aemond sends you over the edge when he flicks at your clit, causing you to moan loudly into Rhaenyra’s pussy. As she starts to rock her hips, she’s fucking herself against your finger and mouth. Feeling you squeeze around his cock, Aemond twitches inside you and then groans as he spills his seed.

You try to wrap your legs around his waist to keep him closer to you, but he leans back, collecting the cum that’s spilled out onto his fingers, then pushes it back inside you. “We are going to be here all night, wife,” he says in a matter-of-fact tone. “It appears you’ve forgotten who you belong to. So I need to remind you that you will not be leaving this bed until I’m sure you’re with a child.”

Ser Criston

After relentless teasing from you, Ser Criston finally snapped and let you push by him, making your way into your cousin's bedchamber, knowing you spent most nights in the princess room. Of course he followed you inside the room to scold you for acting like such a brat, but what he didn’t know was that Rhaenyra was already waiting for you both.

Now the knight stood palming his crotch, watching as two of your fingers disappeared inside of Rhaenyra. Her back was pressed against your chest, with her legs wide open, facing Criston, giving him a full view of all her glory.

You had never felt Rhaenyra so wet before; her slick left a wet patch below. You had made her cum twice already, once with your mouth and again with a cock made out of siltstone. She was quickly on her way to a third orgasm, but you didn’t want it happening around your fingers. You wanted to see her cum around the knight's dick.

Rhaenyra leans her head back against your chest and moans, “Care to join us, Ser Criston?”

The knight doesn’t reply with words but swiftly lowers his trousers enough to pull his hard cock out. You remove your fingers from Rhaenyra’s pussy and bring them to her lips for her to lick clean. You remove your fingers from her mouth with a pop, then move to the side so Rhaenyra can lay on her back. You gently take Criston’s cock in your mouth and bob back and forth, taking in as much of him as you can. You smirk as he grips your hair, holding it out of your face as he starts to thrust it into your mouth.

Rhaenyra whines as she grows impatient.

You remove your lips from Criston’s cock. You begin to massage his balls with your hand and turn your head to the princess, watching as she squeezes her own breast.

“I’m so dry,” she pouts.

Smirking, you open your mouth and let saliva fall onto her breasts. You stay like that for a few moments before turning your attention to her glimmering pussy and spitting on it, causing the knight to let out a grunt. You lick the tip of his penis, then spit on it, before guiding his cock into Rhaenyra. You feel slick running down your thighs, watching as he disappears inside her, both of them groaning loudly as he does.

Criston grips you by the jaw and pulls you in for a rough kiss. When your lips part, he pushes you back so you're lying beside Rhaenyra and thrusts his fingers into you. Your lips clash with Rhaenyra’s own, as she cups your face gently.

The room is filled with the sounds of skin slapping together and moans. Rhaenyra comes first, and Ser Criston follows shortly after. He pulls out of her quickly, spilling his seed onto her stomach.

“Hey!” You protest when he suddenly withdraws his fingers from you, “I haven’t cum.”

He leans down and kisses your cheek. “I know, princess, it’s not nice to be teased, is it?”

Ser Harwin

You moaned pitifully, “Gods, that feels good.”

“You feel so tight, my love,” Rhaenyra says, smiling at you before taking your husband's cock back into her mouth while her fingers that are coated in your slick slide in and out of your pussy easily.

Harwin chuckles into your breast before continuing to suck on it. He loved nothing more than sucking, biting, and squeezing your breasts since the day you were married, but his infatuation grew when you became pregnant for the first time. He quickly discovered that fucking heirs into you and fucking you while swelling with his seed was the prettiest sight he'd ever seen.

Sensing he was getting close, Harwin withdraws his cock from Rhaenyra’s mouth and looks up at you, traces of milk still on his lips. “You taste amazing as always, my dear wife.”

Rhaenyra gets off the bed, goes to the other side of you, and crouches down, taking your other breast into her mouth. Having children herself, the princess knew the relief that came from breastfeeding, although she found it pleasing whenever she saw Harwin suckling from you.

After licking your breast for a moment, Rhaenyra places herself in a different position again, this time in front of you, and begins to worship your cunt with her mouth, careful not to hit her head against your large bump. You tilt your head to the side to get a better view of her bare body, watching as her own hand disappears between her legs.

You grip Harwin’s cock in your hand and begin to stroke him, enjoying the way he twitches in your hand.

Harwin pants, “Soon as I spill my seed, I’m going to spend the rest of the evening making you cum.” He kisses up your neck to the side of your face, “and watching you make Nyra come apart with your beautiful mouth while I fuck you full of my seed again, and again.”

He returns his attention back to your leaking breasts, and your body squirms in delight at the promise of what’s to come.

Alicent

“She’s so pretty, isn’t she?” Rhaenyra coos in your ear before kissing the back of your neck.

You look down at Lady Alicent, who is beneath you. You brush her thick brown hair out of her face, admiring how shiny it is as she sucks on your clit.

The first time Alicent caught you and Rhaenyra in a compromising position together, she was horrified; her cheeks blushed red as her eyes came together in fury. She insisted the Targaryens had queer customs before storming off. A few days passed before you approached her in the gardens and explained. Ever the lady, she agreed not to speak of it again; however, curiosity got the better of her. The same evening she visited Rhaenyra’s chamber, and now Lady Alicent would become jealous if you and Rhaenyra explored each other's bodies without her present.

When Alicent moans, sending vibrations onto your cunt, you look over your shoulder to see Rhaenyra has pushed two fingers inside her. Your eyes briefly flash to the bedroom door, and you wonder if your cousin's sworn protector is oblivious to the noises he hears.

Alicent continues to flick her tongue over your clit, saying, “I’m close.”

Rhaenyra slows the pace of her fingers so Alicent can focus on you, making you cum first. You gripped the sheets beneath you, clenching them as your orgasm approached. Your hips sway slightly as you start to bounce against Alicent’s fingers when she slips them into you.

“Do you want me to cum in your mouth, Lady Alicent?” You ask.

She nods.

Your legs begin to tremble as the coil tightening in your lower stomach snaps, and you cum hard. Your slick is soaking Alicent’s fingers and face.

“Fuck,” you pant, moving off her to lay down beside her. You pepper kisses on Alicent's face, saying, “My pretty girl, you did such a good job. That was truly remarkable.” You look over at Rhaenyra, who is grinning at you. “I think our Lady should be shown the same treatment, don’t you?”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

I'm thinking of turning a couple of these into miniseries, but I'm not sure which ones😂

[roodles03]

The First Kiss

Things have been rough for them for pretty much their whole lives, but especially recently.

For Willow, being trapped in the human realm separated from her fathers, not knowing if they're okay, having little to no hope of ever returning home, and knowing the Boiling Isles might be in ruin due to the Collector was a lot to deal with. Flapjack's death, Belos still being alive along with seeing the Isles in a apocalyptic state confirmed so many of her fears.

Boscha was the icing on the cake, sending her into a boderline panic attack/mental breakdown that nearly ended with her suffocating not only herself, but also her best friends.

Meanwhile, Hunter has lost his beloved palismen, Flapjack, after having his body controlled and getting possessed by his abuser, who he thought he was finally safe from. He had died after sacrificing himself to save his friends, and Flapjack is the only reason he's still alive to tell his story, but in order for Flapjack to save him, he had to give up his life essence to revive Hunter. Hunter now has to continue living on without Flapjack. He misses him every single day. He thinks about him all the time. He wishes he was still here every waking moment. But Flapjack is never coming back, and that is almost impossible to handle at times.

But what Willow and Hunter do have is each other. They love each other and want to get through things together. They can help each other heal and give each other comfort through their pain. And Willow wants to assure Hunter that no matter what, she'll be there.

Hunter feels the same way, and he assures he'll be there for her too. Half-a-witches like them always stick together.

The half-a-witch statement is what Willow needed to hear her whole life.

In that moment of love, without thinking, Willow cups Hunter's cheeks and pulls him in.

Hunter, meanwhile, has no idea what's about to happen until their lips meet. He's shocked at first before quickly embracing the kiss. His emotions overrun him almost instantly.

When Willow separates, she immediately realizes what she just did, and she freezes. Hunter feels like he has to say something, but his overwhelming emotions make that incredibly hard. He has no idea what to say. He's too shocked for anything comprehensable to leave his mouth, and even if he could formulate a sentence, just one word would make him burst into tears.

Willow can hardly scoundure up an sentence herself, but just saying one word causes Hunter to be overwhelmed with joy. He's never felt so loved before. It feels amazing. He starts happily sobbing as the two pull in for a hug.

(Wow, my inner fic writer came out, didn't it-)

Pretty much everything went right for this comic and I'm really happy with how it came out. It definitely took a very long time for me to finish this due to uni, but it was worth the time and effort.

[french-unknown]

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒: luffy, zoro, nami, usopp, sanji, robin 𝐂/𝐖: fluff 𝐖/𝐂: 1.6k +

| m a s t e r l i s t | - | p t . 2 | - | p t . 3 |

Luffy lay down with you as you gazed at the stars from the Thousand Sunny. You weren't on call tonight but the frustration you felt prevented you from falling asleep so, annoyed, you had to give up the idea. The problem was that Sanji had made cannelés for everyone the day before and, not being hungry, you had hidden your in order to eat it later. Unfortunately, when you went back earlier, your dessert had disappeared and you didn't want to disturb Sanji who had already finished cleaning the dishes for the day.

You sighed as Luffy talked next to you, creating wacky stories about the clouds passing in the night sky above you. Needing solitude, you got up to leave, not without taking advantage of his inattention to search his pockets as discreetly as possible. If there was anyone on this ship who might have food on them, it was him. But the boy had nothing but crumbs so you left wishing him good night.

Arriving further, however, you saw that some crumbs had remained stuck under your fingers then, when you tried to remove them, you noticed that they had remained because of their sticky layer. Intrigued, you realized that, in addition to the food residues being sticky, they were still fresh since they were still soft and they smelled slightly of rum and vanilla. You hesitated a little in disgust but ended up placing one of the crumbs on your tongue. It was a cannelés leftovers. In Luffy's pocket.

"You ate my dessert, jerk!"

Since this morning, Zoro has been blackmailing you into washing the dishes instead of him. You weren't very happy to see a photo of you, drunk with a tomato-red face, dancing furiously with movements so random that they looked like you were defending yourself against an attack of invisible seagulls. Having lost track of that evidence after he put it in his pocket, you were determined to get it back.

When you separated in town, you decided to leave with Zoro. Saying he was wary at first would be an understatement, but he eventually relaxed even though he kept a safe distance between you two. You had tried everything to get closer: to accelerate towards him, to pass in crowds, to try to jostle him "accidentally" or to attempt a fall towards him. However, nothing helped, he always remained a few steps away from you. Growing more and more frustrated with your failure, you let yourself be left behind without a struggle as you thought of other ways to bring it within reach.

Luckily for you, you saw him stop as you passed a sword shop. Totally hypnotized by one of the exposed blades, you seized your chance and thrust your hand into its pockets in search of the coveted object. Luck may not have been so on your side, though, because you found absolutely nothing. You had to remove your hands so he wouldn't notice the intrusion, still totally shocked to find nothing.

"You expect it to be easy?" you heard him ask sardonically as he continued on his way.

As you were about to go to the bar with some of the Straw Hat Pirates, you were brutally arrested when Nami refused to give you your share of the pocket money. In front of your incredulous face, she invoked the money she had to spend to repair the material damage you had caused during a fight on the previous island. Unless you pay her the interest on a so-called "at-risk" loan amounting to 300% of course.

Shocked at having been scammed, you jumped out of the ship anyway to join the others on the road. Just because you couldn't afford a drink yourself doesn't mean you weren't going to drink! However, on the way, you saw a berry note protruding from the back pocket of Nami who was walking in front of you while talking with Usopp. So you approached the duo innocently then, when you were close enough, you reached for the note. Sadly, your hand came into contact with something firm, warm and tight that stopped your hand before it could reach the paper of the ticket. You looked down, curious, and felt a bead of sweat slide down your spine as you realized that the firm, warm thing in question was actually Nami's hand holding you in a death grip. You had just enough time to raise your eyes to see her murderous smile pointed directly at you.

"Did you really think you were going to get me?" She asked too sweetly, unsheathing her Clima-Tact. "I think you need to be reframed."

It was no secret on the boat that, before joining the crew, you made money by scamming and robbing people who came to Rain Dinners, Crocodile's casino in Alabasta. Your pickpocketing tendencies were therefore well known to the crew.

However, while you were chased by Luffy on the boat because you were holding a piece of meat, you tripped over Usopp at the bend of a hallway. Neither of you saw the other coming so he remained frozen while you found yourself on all fours on top of him. For your part, old habits die hard and, with a gesture more instinctive than conscious, you slipped your hand into his pocket to remove trifles that you had recovered. It was Luffy's cry coming closer that pulled you out of your torpor and pushed you to get up and run with your loot. But a few meters away, you felt that your thieving hand began to heat up and sting without really worrying you at the time. It wasn't until you got to the other end of the ship and your hand began to seriously burn you that you wondered what was going on when, at the same time, the captain snatched the meat from your hands before running away happily to eat his treasure safely.

For your part, you collapsed on your knees, your aching hand folded against your chest as you winced in pain. In your fall, you saw what you had stolen from Usopp fall from your pocket to land in front of your eyes. There were two small balls of an alarming red accompanied by a small note written by the hand of the sniper: "For the thieves who cannot keep their hands to themselves".

He was hesitating between two kinds of melons at the market so, with a different fruit in each hand and totally lost in thought, he continued to weigh them before making a choice. Suddenly, he jumped when he heard your laughter behind him.

"Not that I'm complaining about the pleasure of your company but how long have you been around?" he asked, surprised. "A little moment." You answered.

Having finished shopping, you returned to the boat where Sanji immediately began to store the groceries. As he listened to you talk, he felt the urge to smoke. He jammed one of his cigarettes between his lips as he retrieved his lighter from his pocket. He was then surprised when he did not find it. Without cutting you into your story, he began to look in all the pockets of his suit: those at the front and back of his pants, those of his jacket and even inside it but there was nothing there. He was however convinced to have it on him before going to the market.

All of a sudden, you offered your help. Though surprised at the offer, he was still relieved as he followed your directions and leaned towards you with his cigarette still between his lips. Your face, now less than centimeters from his, seemed almost irresistible to him as his eyes lowered inexorably to your mouth. Warmth crept close to his face and, as he inhaled, he felt the smoke rush into his lungs. Silently, he looked down further and saw your hand below his face holding a lit lighter. A lighter so familiar that it took him two seconds to recognize it; it was his.

The meal with the Straw Hat Pirates was always something. It was noisy, messy and sometimes stressful but it was still a moment of happiness and sharing among your crewmates. Despite that, your only concern at the moment was how you were going to manage to steal Robin.

You had never picked the pockets of the archaeologist so, out of pure competition, you had it in your head to steal her at least once and, unfortunately for you, her only pocket was on her chest. Impossible to steal her like that. Yet, no matter how hard you tried to find solutions on how to position yourself, how to divert her attention and put her in confidence or even what opening to use, you couldn't. The target was much too close to eye level and the fabric too close to the body for her not to notice.

A sudden and unusual silence pulled you out of your thoughts. You then realized that everyone around the table had shut up and looked at you without saying a word. Robin on her side, sitting right in front of you, had partly covered her neckline with one of her hands, embarrassed.

"If you keep staring like that, you'll soon have to paid." Nami spoke from across the table.

Instantly, a blush bloomed on your cheeks as you tried to defend yourself by stammering pitifully. Whatever you say about the rest of the meal, everyone looks at you suspiciously and you end up keeping your head stubbornly turned towards your plate.

𝐉𝐎𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐘 𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @iheartamora @bontensh0e @opchara @idsmash717

[starhvney]

𝐒𝐔𝐁𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝟑 | 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟕: 𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐏 𝐃𝐀𝐘

𝐂𝐖: more blackmailing lol, minor mentions of anxiety from both aphmau and reader, reader’s dad suggests self defense with a pocket knife but he’s not serious, possible bad translation of spanish pls if anyone is fluent let me know if it's wrong lmao i only know beginner level

𝐀/𝐍: next chapter is finally out guys!! i hope the obnoxiously long word count makes up for how long it took to come out lol

𝐖𝐂: 7,300 +

𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 ☆ 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓 | 𝐀𝐎𝟑 | 𝐅𝐈𝐂 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 | 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐒

despite your better judgment, you didn't mention a thing to your mom about gene when you got home yesterday. what were you supposed to tell her?

"oh, hey! sorry i'm late today, i went to buy cigarettes with a delinquent from school who holds the outcome of the rest of my high school career on his phone! no biggie, mom!"

yeah, that would go insanely well.

you did text aphmau about it, and she reacted exactly how you expected—reaffirming exactly why you weren't going to say anything.

aphmau: we have to tell our moms!! that's awful!!

you: no!!

you: i already know it was bad, i don't need the biggest lecture of my life and possibly being grounded on top of already knowing it was a bad idea.

you: i usually tell my mom about these things but not this time

aphmau: :(

aphmau: well we can't just let him get away with it?? what if they get us in more trouble

aphmau: that would be just as bad if the pictures got out

you: i know i know

you: i don't have a plan yet but we'll work it out.

you: sorry that's not super reassuring but

aphmau: no it's okay

aphmau: i don't want to tell my mom either

aphmau: knowing her she might pull me out to be homeschooled again

you: the good thing is we at least are with each other on this

aphmau: yeah, that's true :')

aphmau: okay, i'm going to try to forget about it and get some sleep

aphmau: good night!

you: good night aph

laurance also texted you later that night—of course—with how observant he is and how loyal he's made himself out to be you'd be shocked if he didn't ask you more about it.

laurance: hey :) how are you?

you: hii! i'm good :) 

you: how are you? did you win against o'khasis? 

you: sorry i didn't come back to see the game after school 

laurance: not gonna lie i was a little sad you weren't there :,) but it's okay

laurance: T-T and no

laurance: but i already knew we wouldn't

you: that's why you lost!! 

you: you should've believed you'd win!!! 

laurance: hey!! tell that to my teammates lol i know i'm the best

you: wow cocky much

laurance: nuh uh it's not being cocky if it's true :P

laurance: hey

laurance: can i ask a question?

you: what's up??

laurance: i just was thinking about the whole thing that happened at lunch

laurance: i know i can't tell you who to hang out with, but i genuinely really don't think you should hang out near them at all

laurance: they can be very

laurance: influencing

laurance: i know cause when i hung out with them i ended up getting into some bad stuff

you: bad stuff? 

laurance: just stuff i'm not proud of

laurance: like pressuring me into vandalizing and smoking and drinking

laurance: i thought they were cool so i didn't say no when i should've

you: i know you said you had a history with them but i had no idea 

you: they made you do that? 

laurance: technically i had a choice??

laurance: i just made the bad ones

laurance: i really regret not saying no to them sometimes

you: well i can tell you're nothing like that now laurance 

you: it was a year ago but you were also a freshman 

you: i think it's really respectable that even after that you choose to be a really good person now who makes the right decisions 

laurance: that means a lot actually, thank you.

laurance: but that's why i wanted to ask you about it

laurance: cause i know you're also nothing like them so

laurance: i just wanted to make sure they weren't like, pressuring you or trying to threaten you to do something?

...shit. you can't go around or avoid the question now. should you really lie to him about this?

you: yeah i get why you're worried now 

you: i promise i haven't been pressured into anything and if they try i'll completely drop them 

laurance: hey if something bad happened and they're making you hang out with them

laurance: everyone knows by now that you're a good friend and a good student

laurance: so don't be scared to say something

the thought is comforting, but he doesn't know that it involves one of the most influential girls in the school.

you: it's just, complicated

you: i don't want to get into it right now but i just think i can handle the issue on my own

you: for now 

laurance: i really don't like this

laurance: but if you think you're fine then i won't stop you obviously

laurance: just know that i'll trust you over anything they try to hold over your head, okay? you can always come talk to me

you can feel your heart painfully twist in your chest.

you: thank you. you're an amazing friend laurance 

you: if i need help i promise i'll let you know 

laurance: okay, if you say so

laurance: and i know i'm pretty cool B)

you: the coolest B) 

you: good night laurance! see you tomorrow 

laurance: good night :)

while laurance was pretty popular, how much clean up work on rumors could he do compared to ivy and gene's influence? not everyone would believe him, and who's to say he wouldn't be affected by the rumors for sticking up for you?

you've already been friends for a few months now, but you don't want him to suffer because of you. and who's to say he won't get tired and drop you because of it? he seems like a super loyal friend, but would he die on a hill for a girl he just met this school year?

the walk to school with aphmau was quiet. you could practically feel the anxiety looming in the air around the both of you, zapping any urge to start a conversation. you hadn't felt like this since the first day of school here, your fingertips and cheeks feeling like pins and needles while your chest felt heavy with a sense of dread.

maybe a part of you was hoping that if you simply acted like it didn't happen, everything would blow over and be dropped. after all, messing with you couldn't be that fun, right? right??

wrong.

"leave us alone." aphmau says, her voice surprisingly quite firm as she glares up at the three delinquents, who had blocked the two of you off in the empty hallway.

how did you always manage to end up alone in the hallways?

"nuh uh." zenix quips back, laughing with a teasing smile at your friend.

"aw, c'mon. after our bonding walk you're already mad at me again?" he directs his question at you, mocking fake sadness. "tell the smaller kitty that we're friends now, kitty."

"don't call either of us that!" she protests, her grip she had on your hand tightening. a quiet comfort to you, but probably mostly her.

"why not? kitty's a cute nickname. when people give you a nickname it means they have a special affection for you."

"oh, so you like us?" she sarcastically raises a thin eyebrow, lips forming in a frustrated line.

"hm," gene hums, seeming to seriously consider her question, dark eyes darting between the two of you. "you? not really. i kinda like her, though."

aphmau huffs. "then why did you go out of your way to bother us?"

"i just like messing with people. thought that was pretty obvious, no?" he scoffs. "and you two, especially you little missy, make yourselves the perfect targets."

you suppress a tense sigh.

"which is exactly why you two are skipping with us today," gene says simply with a shrug, face smug as he leans on the wall, hands shoved in his pockets.

"excuse me?" you ask incredulously.

"you heard me. let's go." he lifts himself from the wall, not opening the conversation up for any more questioning as he leisurely walks away from the classrooms.

aphmau sends you a panicked glance, amber eyes round. the trio walks ahead of you once they see you both uneasily following along, beginning to whisper among themselves when a looming tall boy nearly runs into the two of you from around the corner.

you recognize him as that aaron guy, who outside of aphmau's stories had gained an even larger reputation of getting into fights and winning. he gives you a once over, making you tap your thigh nervously before you watch his nearly black eyes dart down to aphmau.

the short girl gives a very direct "hmph!" before turning away from him, grabbing your arm, and dragging you closer to the group. her distaste for him seemingly was much larger than what she held for the shadow knights.

you glance back to see aaron watching you two walk away from him, his eyebrows furrowed and mouth slightly agape in shock. truthfully, it was an amusing sight, and you have to stop yourself from laughing at his expression when his eyes dart back to yours.

his mouth snaps shut and he rolls his eyes, quickly turning away and stalking off down the hall without a single word being muttered.

gene huffs out an amused laugh. "see? that's so funny. no one but you of all people is able to look that guy in the eye. now c'mon."

you and aphmau stare at him, faces unamused.

"if not, i'm sure your friends and the rest of the school would love to see my photography skills!" he grins, raising his eyebrows challengingly.

soon you find yourself following the group down the sidewalk, with aph clinging onto your arm. you could feel her hands tremble nervously against your blazer, and every once in a while her head would dart around with a guilty look in her eye.

"if you get us into any more trouble than just skipping—" she starts, only to swiftly be cut off by the leader ahead.

"relax. you're both just going to get to know us better. we're gonna hang out and then get some coffee later. no biggie."

"you drink coffee?" aphmau questions.

"yep. dark and bitter."

"calm down, edge lord. drinking black coffee doesn't make you any cooler." you grumble, earning a tiny chuckle from both aphmau and surprisingly zenix.

"after our last little walk together and you still don't like me?" gene sighs, shaking his head and clicking his tongue.

"i can't say buying cigarettes is a fun bonding experience for me, sorry to say." you quip back.

"...you know what, fair enough, kitty. i get both of your little goody-two-shoes attitudes—well i don't really get it, but—i'll strike you both a deal." gene turns to look at the two of you as you cross the street, walking towards an older park. "if you two still don't like us after skipping today, i will never ask you two to skip class again."

"you promise?" aphmau stutters, leaning forward with hopeful eyes.

"i promise!" he concurs. "i just want you to know us outside of the rumors you've heard."

you think you'd believe laurance's "rumors" over these three's catty smirks any day.

"we're not all that bad." gene shrugs, before turning to see sasha and zenix ahead going off the path into some shrubbery.

aphmau glances up at you, before looking back to gene with a resigned sigh. "ok, fine. deal."

"great!" he grins before waving a hand towards the shrubbery. "ladies first."

you stare at him as aphmau walks forward, raising an eyebrow. "and what if this is an elaborate plan to get us alone and murder us?"

"oh, kitty, if i wanted to do something to you i would've done it when you walked home with me." he scoffs, throwing an arm around your shoulder and guiding you with him after the rest of the group.

"uh-huh." you deadpan, earning a carefree chuckle from the boy.

when the shrubs part for a clearing, you look up to see an old brick bridge for a train track. it was likely abandoned a long time ago based on the trees and plants overgrown on the top and the layers of graffiti plastered on the sides. under the bridge ran part of the large river that goes through the whole city, though this part seems to be a thinner and slower-moving part of it.

gene releases you from his arm, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walks ahead a few steps.

truthfully, it was a really cool spot. you'd even hang out here alone to draw or read in your free time if you had come across it on your own. you doubt that's what the shadow knights did here, though.

suddenly, your phone buzzes, and you look down to check the notification.

kate: hey, you're not in homeroom today?

kate: you sick?

you curse under your breath, looking to aphmau who was distracted by something sasha was saying, before looking back down. your fingers hover over the keyboard as you contemplate what to say.

you: ugh yeah sorry i didn't tell you 

you: probably just ate something bad, i'll be better by tomorrow 

kate: ohh alright then

kate: i'll see you tomorrow then, hopefully?

kate: feel better! and rest up!

you: thanks kate! i will!

guilt eats at you from the inside of your chest, screaming at you how wrong you were, how you need to tell your friends the truth.

you slide your phone back in your pocket.

"alright, you two. make our new friends here feel welcomed. they'll be joining our group here pretty soon." gene muses, holding his hands out to prompt zenix and sasha to actually talk.

"join? they said yes?" sasha raises her eyebrows, eyes shifting to aphmau and you in mild surprise.

"not yet." gene shrugs. "i'm not gonna force a good thing. they'll join on their own, but they've got to get to know us, first."

"ah, i see." sasha's eyebrows relax to rest in their usual unimpressed position.

zenix scoffs. "neither of them are hardcore enough."

"shut up, zenix."

the boy comically huffs in response and crosses his arms, like an annoyed kid who just got told off. aphmau seems pretty uneasy by his aggressive demeanor, slowly shuffling to stand closer to you again.

"i swear zenix has the same temper as that zane kid. speaking of him, why don't we let him in the group?" sasha looks over at gene.

your eyebrows furrow at her words, the middle ro'meave brother popping into your mind. he was rude to you last time, for sure, but him? in this gang of kids? the thought of it makes you feel strangely... protective over your friend's bratty younger brother.

"zane is just a poser. plus, he's no fun to play with. he was so eager to join us it made him look pathetic." gene rolls his eyes, and you can't help crossing your arms. "i'll give him until next semester to see how he does on his own, then maybe i'll think of it."

you look at aphmau, who is also looking at you with an unappeased expression on her face.

"make him work for it, huh?" sasha muses.

"what's the point of us having an exclusive group if we just let any emo kid in?"

"we're not emo, though," sasha says, dark purple fingernails ironically raking through her chopped side swoop bangs.

"not us. zane."

"oh, whoops. my bad."

gene ruins his fingers through the mess of dark curls on his head as he starts walking back where we just came from. "anyways, i'm going to get the stuff. i forgot it. keep them entertained."

"kay. hurry up." sasha says, stretching her arms out before sitting down on a soft patch of grass by the river.

the stuff?

"stuff?" you repeat, lip curling up and eyes squinting in accusation.

gene snorts. "don't worry, kitty. it's not drugs if that's what you're thinking."

he walks off, not giving any further explanation before he's gone.

"it's stuff for our art. you'll see." sasha looks over to you and aphmau, waving you both over to sit next to her as zenix stalks off closer to the bridge.

"i don't think i like the sound of that." aphmau whispers before you both settle onto the grass.

sasha turns to look at you both, a small amount of interest shines in her deep purple eyes. you want to laugh at how cliche it sounds in your head, but they really looked like someone had carved out two amethysts and stuck them into her eyes. black eyeliner lined her eyes, one side a little smudged on the corner. she managed to pull it off, somehow still looking like a little doll with her smooth porcelain skin.

"so, what kind of grades do you two get?"

"huh?" aphmau blinks.

"are you a straight-a student? average? dumb?" sasha presses.

"oh, uh..." your friend stutters, picking at her fingernails. "so far i've gotten all a's and some b's. i'm not that great at math though."

sasha hums, her eyes lazily drifting over to you.

"...pretty much all a's." you say, curiously looking back at her. why did she want to know? was she gonna try to get you to do her homework?

"cool. good to know we're not letting in anyone with bad grades."

"you mean you guys don't?" aphmau unashamedly asks, her face baffled.

sasha doesn't seem offended by this, the corner of her lip lifting. "nah."

"but you guys skip almost every day? that doesn't make any sense, i don't get how that works." she insists.

"we're not dumb. we get bad grades because we miss class and tend not to listen to the teacher, so that obviously reflects on our records. it's an attempt for the "man" to control us with these letters that we find such validation in." sasha returns.

so they do make bad grades.

"huh...? that was really a mouthful."

oh, aphmau.

"just words, sweetheart." sasha returns with a tiny smirk. "honestly, gene, zenix and i are very smart when it comes to our studies. we're just bored because nothing challenges us in academics anymore. hence why we skip class. if i'm going to be bored, i don't want to be bored in that building we call school."

"oh, i see. well, that doesn't make any sense." aphmau says.

sasha hums with a raised eyebrow, prompting her to elaborate.

"it's just... if you're so smart that you don't feel challenged, why sacrifice your good grades to do nothing? why not go the extra mile and challenge yourself by making a presentation? or writing a report on how the teachers can help you more?"

sasha quietly stares at her, expression blank—though eyes seemingly deep in thought.

"the teachers don't know everything, they're trying to figure life out, too. so if you're super bored, why not teach them back?" you add, bringing up your knees for your chin to rest on. "not caring and being lazy every once in a while is fun, but i think everyone should have a goal. otherwise you'll find yourself stuck in the same place."

"hm. i can see why gene took an interest in the both of you." sasha looks out to the river as she says this, lips pursed.

suddenly she reaches out a hand, the dark metal rings and bracelets she wore clinking together. "give me your hands."

"what, why?" aphmau asks cautiously, watching as you place your hand on the older girl's one.

"i do palm readings as a hobby. just a little thing i like to do." she says, her thumb already tracing over the lines in your hand as she brings it closer to her face.

"you're not going to do something weird are you?" aph leans back.

"just give me your stupid hand." she flicks her free hand demandingly.

aphmau goes quiet, nervously giving up one of her hands to the girl. sasha brings both of your hands side by side, pursing her lips as she compares the two.

"interesting." she says, a few moments passing before she continues. "both of you have lots of creativity. i'm not shocked by the lack of openness for feelings and emotions on your hand—" she nudges up your palm. "—but apparently aphmau is more open. which isn't a lie if we were comparing you both together... but neither of you are open. otherwise you two wouldn't be here in the first place."

you and aphmau make the same little noise of surprise.

sasha's eyebrows furrow, as she stretches out both of your hands. she focuses on yours, humming in stumped confusion as she mutters to herself. "that's weird. i haven't seen a fate line like yours. it's all... broken up. what does that mean? interesting..."

"quit holding hands with them, sasha!" zenix suddenly shouts from where he had scaled up to the top of the bridge, looking down over all three of you.

"quit being emo, zenix!" she shouts back without a second of thinking, looking up at you with an eye roll. "so glad there's girls now. he's—"

"don't tell me how to live my life!"

sasha ignores his response, looking at aphmau's palm. "your life is pretty dull. according to your palm."

"uhh..." aphmau's shoulders slump.

"i don't need a fake palm reader who learned all her lessons from the internet to tell me how to live my life!" zenix continues.

"ignore him." sasha rolls her eyes again. "he's just yelling to yell."

"i like yelling!"

"i like when you shut up!"

"come make me!" he challenges, puffing out his chest.

"kitty." sasha coos at you, batting her eyelashes. "be a dear and go shut zenix up for me? i want to relax and take a nap before gene makes you do the hazing initiation thingy."

aphmau flinches. "hazing? initiation? what initiation?!"

sasha lays down, closing her eyes and ignoring both of your protests.

"what—are you serious?" aphmau huffs, as sasha continues to ignore her words. "great. we didn't even agree to join and they're talking about an initiation. what even is the initiation?"

aphmau looks up to zenix, before her round eyes slowly drift back to you. "...can you go ask him?" she whispers.

"huh? why can't you?" you cross your arms, hushing your voice back

"because he scares me! you go talk to him!" aphmau complains back.

"i'm not gonna talk to him. you do it."

"no, you!"

"you!"

"oh! suddenly i'm feeling really sleepy..." aphmau fake yawns, lying down in the grass like sasha and closing her eyes.

"oh my—whatever! he's not even scary, you baby!" you quietly shout, standing up with a huff and ignoring the quiet snickers from sasha.

you turn to march over to the bridge, looking up to the top where zenix was kicking stray rocks into the river. "um, zenix?"

"what do you want?" he looks down at you, eyes narrowing. "did sasha get you to do her dirty work for her already? of course you'd listen to her." he snorts.

"no. i was just wondering what this initiation thing was about?"

"i can't spoil the surprise." he grins, and you deadpan. "just know that if you do it, you'll be super hardcore in my book."

"right, because i'm so desperate for your approval." you raise your eyebrows, resting a hand on your hip. "what, skipping class isn't hardcore enough for you?"

zenix huffs, flustering rather immediately at your words as he turns to kick a rock rather harshly into the water. "skipping class isn't hard. it's whatever."

"why are you so huffy and angry?"

"why are you so calm and happy?"

you shrug. "cause it's better."

"says who?" he quips, tilting his head at you in a challenge.

"says me."

"well aren't you important." he sarcastically huffs.

"so are you."

he looks down at you with a strange look.

"yeah? says who?"

"says me."

the shrubbery rustles and leaves crunch, signaling gene was back from wherever he had gone off to.

"looks like you all are getting along well." he says.

"she's weird," zenix says, still looking at you with a confused expression.

"well we like weirdos, don't we?" gene raises an eyebrow with an amused chuckle.

"...i guess," zenix says, walking along the bridge to find a way down.

"you two, come here," gene says, the bag in his hand rustling as he waves you and aphmau over.

"so," he starts when you're both standing in front of him. "how do you like our group so far?"

you glance at aphmau, before speaking up first. "you guys are fine, but we aren't into the whole skipping school and breaking the rules thing."

gene raises an eyebrow, looking over to aphmau when she pipes up.

"yeah, we're not interested in joining. i just want to finish this day of skipping and leave."

he hums quietly, looking off in thought. "...alright. i'll let you two go."

"really?" aphmau eagerly says, eyes wide and hopeful. "and you'll delete the pictures?"

"who said anything about deleting the pictures?" gene shoots down the second request in a heartbeat, snorting in amusement. "i'm keeping them, i just won't make you two skip school again, is all."

aphmau scoffs in displeasure.

"now now, no need to get too worked up." gene tsks, waving the bag in front of you two. "there's still something else i need you both to do for me before i let you go."

"what is it?" aphmau huffs, crossing her arms.

"you're going to tag a wall with the shadow knights logo."

"what?!" she squeaks, jaw dropping in horror, and you feel your face drop.

"you heard me." gene snickers watching your eyes drift to the hidden bridge that had a ton of graffiti on it already.

"no no. not there." gene smirks, nodding his head for you two to follow him.

your group walks back to the more polished part of the path, where gene points to a clean concrete wall that would most definitely be seen by people going by on their walks.

"here." he grins, gesturing to the wall.

"no way!" aphmau stutters, stepping closer to you with that same horrified look on her face.

"we're not criminals. that's illegal." you say, glaring up at gene who merely widens his smile, leaning down by his torso and tilting his head at you.

"you're a criminal as long as you're mine."

you wrinkle your nose. "you don't own me or aph just cause you have those pictures."

"oh? then i'm sure garroth and the rest of your friends would love to see said pictures of the school's precious sweet ivy getting the shit beat out of her by two rando new girls." he shrugs, straightening his back and dangling the bag in front of him. "it's up to you..."

you snap your mouth shut, before yanking the bag from his hands. "just shut up."

gene ooh's in amusement, stepping aside with a smirk as he watches you march to the wall, crouching near the bag as you drop it and pulling out the spray paints from inside.

"...if i do this, does it mean i'm part of your group?" aphmau nervously asks from behind you.

"nope, it just means that you're doing the work of tagging this place for me. plus, if you do this one time, i'll never ask you to tag this place for me again."

"tag any place." you interject, looking back to send a harsh glare at him.

gene looks you up and down, before quietly chuckling and raising his arms. "any place." he concedes.

"okay, fine." aphmau shakily agrees, coming up beside you to help.

you've never spray painted before, and neither had aphmau, but surprisingly the logo ended up looking pretty good. if it was done in a place you were allowed to tag and not vandalizing, you'd probably be proud of it.

but you were vandalizing, and you felt the opposite of pride as you and aphmau backed up from the wall, smelling like spray paint as some of it dripped from your fingers.

"not bad." gene grins, hands on his hips as he observes your handiwork.

"looks pretty great." sasha's voice pipes up, she and zenix appearing behind you two.

zenix crosses his arms as he analyzes the logo. "...maybe you two are hardcore enough." he admits.

"you're both free to go home now. we're gonna go to the coffee shop down the road if you two want to join us." gene says, snagging up the bag and cans to likely use later.

you and aphmau shake your head no at the same time.

"no thanks..." she stutters quietly.

gene shrugs, leading his two accomplices along the sidewalk. "suit yourselves. let's go."

you and aphmau silently watch as the group leaves, glancing back at the graffiti you both did with dejected looks on your faces. aphmau suddenly snatches up your hand, quickly walking away.

"i don't wanna be caught next to that." she mutters and you agree, keeping in pace with her if not speeding up.

you both walk in silence for a bit longer before you feel aphmau's hand tighten on yours and hear a quiet sniff. glancing over in surprise you see her round eyes filled with tears, her nose red as she looks away from you.

"i'm sorry i'm crying, i just feel so awful that we did that and so mad too..." she stops talking when her voice shakes a bit, burying her face in her hand with another sniffle.

"me too..."

your nose tingles as you rapidly blink to make your own urge to cry go away, breathing in a frustrated sigh. suddenly your feet stop on the sidewalk and you're tugging onto aphmau's hand, bringing her in for a hug.

"it's gonna be okay." you reassure when she hugs you back. "i'm sorry i let it get this far—"

"it's my fault, too." she interrupts.

"—we can go back and clean off the paint tonight. then we'll tell gene we're done with him and deal with the consequences." you finish, patting her back and pulling away from the hug. "we shouldn't let people like him make us cry, right?"

she looks up at you, blinking away the mistiness in her eyes and gulping down her urge to cry as she nods. "yeah! we can go clean it! that's a good idea. then no more shadow knights and... we can deal with the rest later."

you smile at the optimistic look in her eyes, patting her shoulders as you both continue to walk home.

☆

cleaning concrete without a pressure washer or at the very least a strong hose is extremely hard. you honestly wouldn't force a prisoner to do this as work.

you and aphmau had been at it for ten minutes already, and you'd barely even scrubbed off a layer of the graffiti.

"dang it. i should've brought paint thinner." you groan when your hand slips and you scrape your finger against the rough surface. "this sucks."

"we're gonna be here all night," aphmau whines, focusing in on one spot and groaning when there's no difference under the sponge. "but we have to get it off. this is horrible."

you hear quiet footsteps nearby, and before you can react to it a bright light shines over the two of you, blinding the two of you.

"hey!" a man's voice calls out, the tone so stern and aggressive that you knock over the soapy water bucket and drop your sponge with a gasp.

"uh!" aphmau startles, before she realizes who it is, her words tumbling out of her mouth. "oh, officer! we—"

"we've been looking for the kids who've been tagging this place with that logo." he cuts her off, tone completely accusatory.

to be fair, you both decided on wearing black hoodies and sweatpants, making you look much more suspicious than you already did. but didn't he see the sponges and literal soap bucket next to your feet?

"wait! that's not how this happened! we didn't—"

"save it! the criminals always return to the scene of the crime. come on, you're both coming with me." he says, pacing over to you both and snatching you both by the arms, likely thinking you'd both run away.

you find yourself at a loss for words, mouth gaping and eyes filling with tears as you're dragged along with the cop. you couldn't even defend yourself, completely in shock that you were getting in trouble in the first place.

being in the back of a cop car on a tuesday night was never a possibility in your mind. yet here you are, at the ripe age of sixteen, being escorted to your parents on a school night.

aphmau hasn't stopped sniffling, the only thing keeping her from bawling her eyes out was likely the fact that you were in this with her.

to aphmau's relief and to your chagrin, the cop stops at your house first, marching you right up the sidewalk to your door and knocking, looking down at you like you had kicked a puppy and laughed. you knew nothing would change this guy's mind, so you merely watch your front door and hope it was your mom who opened it.

it wasn't, and dread fills every fiber of your being when your dad's figure stands in the open doorway. he looks at the officer in confusion, then down to you, his eyes blown wide open. his jaw clenches as he whips his head to the staircase where you were supposed to have retired for the night, before looking back at you with an immense amount of disappointment.

you shrink in on yourself when he doesn't say a word to you, turning to look at the officer who greets him. eyes drift and zone out on the floor as the officer explains why he's here, only to be startled by dad's deep voice.

"do you have any proof?" he asks, stopping the officer in his tracks.

"i... sorry?"

"do. you. have. any. proof? or do you like throwing around little girls into your car for a little power trip instead of catching actual criminals?" your dad grits, making you lean back against the doorway.

"that is not—sir, i—" the officer stutters, taken aback by the sudden accusation.

"let's talk." your dad yanks you inside as he steps outside next to the officer and shuts the door.

oh shit.

you hear a call of your name and turn to see your mom staring at you in confusion, her arms crossed over her robe.

"um..." you start, looking to the ground in shame.

"was that an officer?" she asks, eyes wide as she shuffles over to you.

immediately you burst out crying, leaning in to hug her while every emotion you had kept in about the situation tumbled out in fat tears that dripped down your face.

"i'm sorry! i didn't mean to do anything wrong!" you hiccup as mom shushes you, wrapping her arms around you and rubbing your back.

"just take a deep breath and tell me what happened."

and you do. from what you told her about ivy to the things she didn't know about gene, from the pictures to the gas station and the vandalism. the disappointed look on her face stings as you talk, but at least she was listening. with how distressed you were behaving and the fact you had never done anything like this before, mom clearly was open to hearing your side of the story on this.

as you finish your spill and calm down from your hysterics, the front door opens. aphmau comes in first looking uneasy, with your dad following behind.

"call sylvanna to come over here." he says, huffing and giving you a stern look as aphmau sits next to you on the couch.

"...what did you tell the cop?" you ask, eyebrows pinched together as you glance at the window to see the cop car not even parked in your driveway anymore.

he huffs. "don't worry about it."

...that's incredibly unsettling.

mom makes the call as you two wait in tense silence on the couch, and it's probably only a minute later tops that all hell breaks loose.

"¡aphmau!" sylvanna bursts through the door, hair a mess and pajamas crooked as she hops on one foot, sliding her flip flop off of her foot. "¡te juro que si estuvieras besando a un chico te golpearía con mi chancla tan fuerte que volarías hasta el año que viene!"

aphmau squeaks, shrinking into you like she was planning on using you as a shield.

"sylvanna, calm down. while what they did was disappointing, they weren't rebelling against us or being deceitful." mom says, interrupting sylvanna's heated rant and placing a hand on her shoulder. "actually, let me explain it to you in the kitchen."

aphmau sighs in relief as both of the moms and your dad go into the kitchen, voices quiet and hushed.

"she is so terrifying." she whispers to you, staring at the coffee table and tapping on her leg. "this day has been the worst."

"yeah..." you sigh, wringing your hands together. "i wonder how much trouble we'll be in when they're done talking about it."

"i don't want to be grounded." aphmau groans.

"me neither."

more tense silence passes, hushed voices barely heard from the kitchen before they all return to the living room.

sylvanna steps forward, arms crossed. "mija."

aphmau tenses. "yes ma'am?"

"i am," she inhales. "very disappointed that you didn't tell me about this when it was happening—"

the girl's head drops.

"—but. you did try to fix your mistake. and for that... i'm proud. pero si esto vuelve a ocurrir te juro que estarás castigado hasta el día de tu muerte. there will be no next time!"

aphmau cringes, before nodding. "yes ma'am..."

the two soon are out the door and on their walk home, seeming as it had already transitioned from late tuesday hours to the early hours of wednesday.

after a good talking to from both of your parents and truthfully some more crying on your end, you found yourself lying on your bedroom carpet, arms spread out as you tapped your feet on the ground.

it was just difficult to sleep now, your mind racing with what to do when gene will inevitably confront you again. your phone buzzes.

aph: are you still up ;-;

you: yeah, can't sleep 

aph: me neither...

aph: i'm so glad my mom didn't overreact

aph: i was sure i was a goner

you: yeahhh 

you: good thing my mom talked her down 

aph: yeah she's a life saver

aph: speaking of which i think both of them are talking to zianna on the phone right now about everything

you: what!! 

you: oh no i really hope garroth doesn't overhear the details or anything if they're talking loud 

you get halfway up from your floor, crawling over to your door and pressing your ear against it, straining to listen while glancing down at your phone again.

aph: oh crap i didn't think about that!

aph: hopefully not

aph: if he hears it from his mom i think he'd take it well, but that's still kinda awkward

you: yeah no kidding

you: then he'd probably tell the rest of our friends too

you: which wouldn't be the worst if they believed us

aph: yeah

aph: surely they would

aph: right???

you: i think they would 

you: the thought of drama with ivy veleno being public knowledge in the school makes my stomach hurt though 

aph: ugh i know me too

aph: i guess our faces look extra victimy to the bad kids

aph: because why are all of them out for us

aph: literally what did we do T-T

you: that's what i'm saying!! like since day one 

the conversation outside of the door is too muffled, so you slowly crack open your door and crawl towards the staircase to get a better listen.

"i swear if any boy puts a hand on either of my girls i'll go up to that school myself so help me!" you hear zianna shout over the phone.

"he didn't put his hands on either of them or trust me my husband would be in jail right now for murdering that little boy." mom says.

"i would be too!" sylvanna shouts, sounding the most heated of the three.

you: omg did you hear that??

aph: yeah

aph: we're zianna's girls ;p

you: and your mom is completely down with murder it seems

aph: i feel like we knew that already though

"oh, that just makes me so mad! they're so sweet and innocent, they shouldn't be having to deal with that punk ass kid! i swear i'll murder him too!" zianna huffs.

you: zianna cusses?? hahaha

aph: out of our three moms she seems the least likely lol

"well all i know is that if i find out either of them, especially my mija was covering up the fact that she was smooching with some boy i swear!!!" sylvanna gripes.

"i know when my daughter is lying and she would've told me if something like that happened. and i know you know aphmau was telling us the truth, too." mom sighs.

sylvanna sighs loudly. "yeah, you're right. i just worry about her!"

you: your mom is still stuck on the boy thing?

aph: yeah :/ she's kinda crazy about that stuff

you: my mom is protective over that kinda stuff too

you: but geez

aph: i know right?

you flinch as the door across from you opens, revealing your dad from behind it. he stops when he sees you hunched by the stairs, raising his eyebrows at your behavior.

"what're you doin', kiddo?" he asks, taking a step forward and sighing when he faintly hears your mom on speakerphone.

"...i couldn't sleep." you whisper back, clutching your phone to your chest.

he sighs again, pointing to your bedroom door. "well, sitting at the top of the stairs on your phone won't help. go to sleep."

"...okay..." you mutter, getting up and staring at the floor as you scurry back to your room.

a gruff call of your name stops you, and you turn back to see dad's contemplative face.

"and put away that phone."

"yes sir..."

"and..."

you stare at him, rocking on your feet. "...yeah?"

"...i put a pocket knife in your backpack."

"wha—" you guffaw. "dad, i can't bring a knife to school?!"

"says who?"

"oh my—says me! dad, that's illegal!"

he huffs. "not if no one knows."

"i just got in trouble for illegal stuff now you're encouraging me to stab people?"

"just one, possibly."

"dad, i am not taking a knife or weapon of any kind to my tenth-grade english class that is insane."

"i did it when i was picked on."

"you stabbed someone?" you ask in horror.

"no... but the threat worked well enough."

"okay well, i am a lot more likely to go to jail for that now than when you were a kid."

he sighs. "alright. but i won't be mad if i get a call from the school saying you kicked that boy in his balls."

"okay, dad! i'm going to sleep now." you back up, eyebrows raised.

dad's hardened eyes soften to amusement as he chuckles. "goodnight, baby girl. i love you."

"love you too, dad."

you shut the door behind you with a sigh.

you: got caught eavesdropping

you: gonna go to sleep before i get in more trouble

you: and before my dad suggests another torture method or weapon to use on gene

aph: your dad is so scary

aph: that seems like something he'd suggest

aph: and good night!

you: haha well he was just kidding

you: i think

©starhvney, 2024. please do not steal or repost my works as your own.

[elysiumarchieve]

OKAY BUT SAVING SCARAMOUCHE AFTER THE BATTLE WITH NAHIDA & THE TRAVELLER???

combining these three because this just gave me a lot of ideas, hope you don't mind!

saving scaramouche after the battle

warning: 3.2 archon quest spoiler, is this considered canon divergence??, angst, he got his vision here but this is definitely not how he got it in canon, he's crying a lot, mentions of murder?? (he wants to kill the traveler), usage of his real name multiple times, mentions of his past, no proofread

✧ actually, you didn't know whether or not you should've been surprised that he lost or not

✧ scaramouche was never known for being 'humble' in any way, so after boasting about his newfound powers combined with the doctor's work? yeah, you were kind of sure something was going to happen to him sooner or later (however warning him would've only resulted in him getting angry at you for doubting him, so therefore you decided not to do so)

✧ you had been there, watching from the sidelines and never interfering with any of them. if you would've stepped down there, you probably would've been crushed by accident with his giant mecha, but you were sure that the small dendro archon had noticed you from the beginning (besides, you surely wouldn't be jumping down there)

✧ and in the end, he lost, and you didn't feel surprised at all

✧ it was only when the dendro archon began to take the gnosis from him that you became alert, seeing how desperate scaramouche became to keep it - screaming, shouting, even threatening her to stop

✧ it genuinely,, hurt watching him despair like this, considering you knew what your lover had been through to get the gnosis, but you knew that it was futile. your intervention could've never changed anything and in the end, things would turn out just like this again

✧ only when she had clasped the electro gnosis in her hand and he finally fell forward, your body moved on its own and caught him just before his fall

✧ while the traveler including the dendro archon had immediately become defensive, you didn't even bother looking at them and left this place with whatever strength you could muster while carrying him (but it was also nahida who decided to let you go - she couldn't even sense any hostility from you)

✧ while it took scaramouche some time to wake up, you were there and held his hand, silently begging the archons above that he wouldn't be too upset over losing his 'heart' again. he looked a little roughed up and you managed to get the weird tubes that had been attached to his back out of there and tried fixing him up to the best of your abilities, but you knew that he ache in his heart couldn't be helped as simple as that

✧ it was far more shocking however how he just up into the sky, not even looking at you. not a single snarky remark, not a single annoyed huff, not even his fist clenched at the thought of his loss

✧ he looked,, desolated. deep in thought with his eyes devoid of any signs of life. it really looked like he had internally given up on anything

✧ he didn't even bother to react when you said his name, his real name, and clasped his hands, expressing how thankful you were for him to have waken up. kunikuzushi only turned his head to you before looking away once more and it tore your heart out at how empty he looked

✧ any attempt to speak to him was useless - neither did he respond once to any of your questions nor did he react to anything you said. you wondered if taking the gnosis caused even more damage than you first wanted to believe

✧ you didn't fall asleep that night. you were scared something might happen to him or worse, he might leave and do something really bad - worst case scenario being that he might go back to sumeru city and try to get his revenge through other ways

✧ at some time, scaramouche would just sit up in the middle of the night, but again staring off into nothing with a faraway look in his eyes. it almost scared you how calm he was in face of what happened, but you knew that tthere was something stirring up inside of him that he didn't dare to get out for as long as you were there

✧ when you eventually fell asleep due to your own fatigue catching up with you, kunikuzushi just stared at his hands

✧ he was pathetic. he was beaten by a god who had been abandoned years ago and that traveler (and his damn dull blade) and even got the gnosis taken away from him, again

✧ was that why his mother cast him aside? was he still to weak to do anything to prove his worth to anyone?

✧ after doing everything to become worthy of that chess piece he still managed to lose everything, regardless of what he did. maybe, he thought, he was chosen to burn inside. he was a divine creation and the gods decided to use him as their laughing stock, and their cruel divine prank started from the moment he had waken up inside shakkei pavilion and began wandering the world

✧ his nails were digging into his palm enough to draw blood, but it didn't matter. that pain was not comparable to the empty void in his chest, the pulsating ache that he had felt for more than centuries and was only stilled once he clutched the gnosis in his hands after all these years

✧ he'd kill them, he swore to himself. he'd go back and take back what's his and make these arrogant people suffer the way he has for years. then he'd continue with each and every person who would dare to stand against him once more

✧ it doesn't take long and kunikuzushi starts crying, though he doesn't even notice himself. his tears are silent and his body trembles with sheer anger

✧ that is until he suddenly feels like your hands on his face, gently cupping it and wiping a few tears away with your thumb. your gaze at him just screams how much you pity him but in that moment, it was too much - the last time someone pitied him for crying, he was put to sleep in shakkei pavilion and abandoned

✧ his first instinct is to violently flinch away from your touch. he doesn't need pity, he doesn't need anything, why was he even crying?

✧ this was exactly why she has abandoned him he thought. that's why you would abandon him soon, too. that's why everyone abandoned him or betrayed him in the end, just because they could

✧ when you try to touch his shoulders, he'd probably yell at you to get lost and you aren't sure whether or not he actually means it. guessing from his tone, he did want you gone, far away from him so you won't withness the balladeer crying and being unable to stop

✧ the only reason why he's trying so horribly to push you away in that moment is not the fact that you can see him crying (although that's also a reason), but rather the fact that he believes that the moment you comfort him, that you might leave him soon after and he'll never feel your comforting touch nor your loving words ever again

✧ it hurts to just sit next to him while he sobs and constantly tells you to get lost - but you remain resilient because you know that it would only bring about more harm if you actually left him behind like this. the fact that he can't even stop his tears from falling while trying so desperately to wipe them away and cover his face almost made you cry as well

✧ it takes patience to finally reach out for him, pulling him into your arms. it's hard keeping him close because he'd be trashing around, hitting your shoulders and threatening you to let go off him with the sharpest of words, but you'd refuse any of it, trying your best to whisper reassuring words to him

✧ before long, he'll clutch onto your shoulders and hides his face into the nape of your neck, sobbing into your shoulder and begging you not to leave him behind - that was the first and final time you had ever seen him, kunikuzushi, cry

✧ perhaps when his sobs died down little by little, you might notice that he's actually asleep in your arms but still holding onto you for dear life

✧ it's only when the first sunrays fall onto him in the morning and he rises from his sleep, he finds you right next to him, holding onto his hand in your sleep - but that wasn't the most shocking thing to him that caused him to visibly still his movements at once he glanced down at the unknown weight in his hand

✧ it happened to be that small glowing gemstone right in his hand that had been holding yours in his sleep, a vision that had appeared right after losing everything that he believed

✧ his journey had not ended the day he lost the gnosis a second time, as a new path opened up before his very eyes when he woke you with a slight (unwanted) tremor in his voice, holding the vision in his hand with a look you couldn't quite put down as tired as you were (was he happy? surprised? you had genuinely no idea)

✧ he refuses to show it, but he's proud, holding it in both of his hands and almost gawking at it the longer he looke down on it - he was still upset about the gnosis, sure, but you could see something else behind his eyes too

✧ you hadn't left him behind and the gods had not abandoned him; your existence and the vision in his hand were proof enough that he was still worthy of something

✧ he's happy. genuinely happy (and so are you when you see his bashful expression when you mention that he's been staring at it for almost an hour now)

tags: @simp4mahbabyxiao

[kooksbunnnn]

Lost cause? 2: she knows me?

Previous chapter

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook× Female!Reader

Genre: Established relationship/ marriage, angst, heartbreak, INFIDELITY. Panic attacks(TRIGGER WARNING). Pregnancy (do not read if this content triggers you) also, 18+,

Summary: You always wondered, how would your life turn out to be if you and Jungkook had a baby? So, when you finally conceive and decide to tell your husband, that you are pregnant, you didn't expect him to drop this bomb on you. You never would've thought that the surprise you planned would end up in agonized tears because of the shock your husband brings you. 

Words: 3.9k

Please read the authors note at the end of the chapter. hehe~

••••••

It was all very awkward and heart-breaking, the explanations to both your parents, seeing your parents cry in front of you, seeing his dad bow his head out of shame, his mom hugging your sobbing body with tears in her eyes, no one could change anything so nobody tried to change the decision you both took. 

No divorce. That is what you both decided on the balcony that morning, but it's easier said than done. A series of drunken calls by him, panic calls by you, and crying sessions that included you both tiredly sleeping. Not forgetting the almost deadly morning sickness and cramps. 

The love and need you felt for Jungkook was not going anywhere, no matter how hard you tried, becoming so frustrating that you started thinking of divorce. But the idea was immediately turned down by your therapist considering the pregnancy. 

Yes, therapist. Never did you think you would visit one of these anytime soon. You lived separately, away from his physical self, but every little detail of the baby's growth was a part of his daily routine. You texted him about what the doctor told you in your appointments, and he told you to take care, and you always hung up asking him to do the same. 

It was his baby, too, so you thought he should know every detail about the growth of his blood, too, not realizing how you just needed some way to check on him. You didn't want to but you couldn't help it.

It was like a routine for every 2 weeks, a call every 14 days, and a text from him 5 to 6 times in the 24 hours to check up on your health. When he received the first ultrasound, he spent the whole evening making a bunch of hard and soft copies of the picture of his baby. So small, like a bean, making his heart ache with love. 

He wanted to be there. See it himself. Feel your belly. Kiss it. But he couldn't. 

The agony of not seeing each other continued for three and a half months when suddenly you felt a pain in your lower abdomen, making you panic. 

The therapist warned you of the consequences of the stress and the tears on the baby, the doctor did said that too but you couldn't physically control yourself from crying or giving in to the need to hear his voice whenever you cried, thinking not doing so might turn your health worse hence doing the same to the baby. 

Your mom stirred in her sleep at your yelp, alarming her, immediately getting up she took a look at you, seeing the tears in your eyes she ran up to your father and told him to take you to the hospital. Your father rushed from the guestroom he had been sleeping in since your mom insisted you sleep with her.

Rushing to the hospital, your pain didn't grow but didn't stop either. When the doctor started to diagnose the reason for the pain, you only prayed that the baby was fine. Tears in your eyes, you wished the circumstances were different, with your husband holding your hand while the doctor diagnosed you. 

But you were alone even with your mother standing beside you with concerned eyes. 

Soon, you got to know that it was because of the sleeping posture and the ligament pain, which was basically your body making space for the baby. With the advice of sleeping in a better posture with a pillow to tuck under your leg and some prescriptions, you open the door to exit the room. 

Thats when you see him. 

After three and a half months which felt like years, you lost your composure, especially when he came your way sprinting with long legs, fuzzy hair, bags under his eyes, mismatched clothing, you guess he was in a rush so he must have picked a random shirt over the joggers considering he sleeps shirtless. 

Also, were those different slippers? 

You saw how his eyes take you in and gloss up, making your vision blurry with tears, too. The hurt and anger of him cheating was still there, but the hormones of the pregnancy were messing with your mind, and you wanted to kick yourself for being happy at seeing him. 

"You okay? What did the doctor say? Is everything okay? Is she okay?" 

He always wanted a girl. The she in his sentence makes your heart squeeze, and you look at your mother with a clenched jaw.

Did she call him and tell him? Or was it your dad?

Sighing guiltily and avoiding your questing glare, she replies the questions that Jungkook asked, him still looking at you with concern while your mom explained everything. 

"Y/N I-" 

"Please go, Jungkook. Thank you so much for coming here, but I need you to go." You say sniffing, looking away from the concerned man in front of you.

The silence between you, Jungkook, and your parents was defeaning, broken by you moving past him, wiping the tears that flowed automatically on seeing him after so long.

Happy or sad, you have no idea. Relieved to be around him? For a second, maybe. You got mad at your parents and then later found out that your father had told Jungkook about your abdominal pain, but then he said he just couldn't see you in so much agony, and he just called him without anither thought.

You never wanted to see your father cry, but he did, and you felt helpless. You made your parents helpless.

How did it all become so painful?

The next two months went terribly since you stopped contacting him, stopped replying to his texts, occasionally texting him not more than three words. The fact that you got some kind of assurity through the texts was somewhere in the back of your head, but you didn't want to admit. No matter what. You can't. Thus, your anxiety is rising. 

When he reread the text, you last sent him four days ago. 'The baby is okay.' he felt his heart squeeze up, the thought of you assuming him texting for only the baby hurt him. He wanted to know about you too. He felt disgusted by the fact that he did this to you, the love of his life.

The last time you saw him made you realize that seeing him in person would not change the fact that he cheated on you, broke your heart even though you loved him, and you still love him. Fuck why do you still love him. Your heart and mind aches from all the heart break and your back aches feom lying down so much and the hormones making you mad makes you wanna punch Jungkook and then hug him, feel his warmth all around you. 

The sudden urge to take a walk in the garden downstairs to clear your head washes over you. Even though the doctor told you that you're not supposed to move much. You still try to get up when- 

"Ow! Fuck, fine I won't! I am much more  responsible than you, little one." 

You tell your baby as you feel the cramp in your back that makes your head fall back in frustration. The pain and the mood swings make you make an impulsive decision that involves you, your anger, and your phone. 

Finding the name in your contacts you click on it and hear the ringer do its job but at the second ring you realize what a big fucking mistake this might turn out to be, so you immediately turn the screen on to hang up but drop the phone on the mattress in the middle of the rushed action. 

"Hello?" A deep voice resounds on the mattress, making you freeze. Shit. 

You get up slightly to pick up your phone while he tries to get a reply from your side. The contact image smiling at you mocks your irritated face. Making you much more infuriated. 

"Y/N?" a whisper. 

"Yes, it's me, Jungkook!" You speak up a bit rudely, answering his question, the other side falling silent with a hint of traffic in the background. He must be getting back from work. 

"Are you oka-" 

"Why? Why did you do this? I loved you. I never did anything bad, so why do I have so many heartbreaks. It hurts! My heart and my head hurt!" 

Silence. 

"Answer me! You have no clue how much I wanna hate you, Jungkook. You dont know how is it to have all these fucking mood swings killing me, I dont have you. I cant expect these hormones to calm themselves on their own cause you're not around me?!" 

By the end of the rant, you start sobbing, your body shaking with the number of hiccups you're having. Jungkook always helped you with your moody episodes and cramps during your periods. He was always there. 

You just hope you dont wake up your sleeping dad, who took his blood pressure pills. You told him to sleep, but now you dont know if he could, considering your wails. Your mom out for maternity clothes shopping since moving and working in these normal ones was a pain in the ass. 

"I could be there, I wanna be there. I want you to know how much I regret my mistake just please...baby, let me in. Please." He whispers in the phone, clearly on the verge of crying. 

You sniff on your side, eyes shut tightly, giving him the cue to go on. 

"I would never, ever force you to t-take me back or f-feel something for me. Just let me be there when you need me. I won't talk or anything just please.." 

Taking the device off speaker you furiously bring the phone to your ears. "You really think its easy, huh? Well I dont think it would be if- ah!" 

You suddenly feel a tiny pulse like sensation on your tummy, and you freeze, dropping your phone. You think it's one of the pains you felt earlier, but this doesn't hurt. it's like a flutter. You gasp again as you feel it again, eyes widening with joy as you absentmindedly pick your phone up to tell your husband that your baby just kicked! 

The feeling of the baby moving inside you made your heart swell double in size, and you call out his name in the device, but your smile falls, seeing that he hung up. 

He must've reached home. 

Home. The visual of the shared apartment makes you sigh, reality hitting hard. Oh, how you wish you could be in your house, with him, without the suffocating memories of you crying in the kitchen. 

Your dad rushes in the bedroom, making you flinch as he slams the door open. 

"Y/N! Are you okay? Why are you crying? Did something happen? Did Jungkook say something? Did you call? Why are you-" 

"The baby kicked dad-" 

You gasp as it kicked once again, and your father laughs with surprised-teary eyes along with you.

"Oh my god, I don't know what it is that makes the little one kick, but I am gonna try finding it out. Help me figure it out, dad!" You say giggling as your eyes widen with happiness as the baby kicks again, but then you realize that the kick it gives you again is at the term dad. Fuck. 

Okay, the kid is genuinely testing your patience and emotional waters. 

"It's dad." You hear a whisper, and your heart stops beating for a second. When you turn your head towards the door when you see Jungkook and your mom. 

"It's me. She knows me. She knows who I am." He keeps whispering talking about the baby as he enters the room and slowly crouches down at the edge of your bed, staring at you, baby bump with tears in his eyes,

Hearing you sniff he looks up and sees his wife, the mother of his child, the love of his life, not even facing towards him during this moment and Jungkook couldnt help but grab the white duvet covering you, his hands itching to wipe your tears. 

Y/N. Look at me, please." 

You clench your jaw, tears slipping out of your eyes. When he whispers your name again, you shut your eyes frustrated. This is what you both wanted, right? This is what you've been trying for 1 year, right? Then why does it have to be so painful when you finally get it? 

"Y/N?" 

You snap your head, looking at him. Eyes glossy, face red and dark circles, a description suitable for the both of you. His face softens at your questioning stare, and he whsipers a barely audible answer, 

"You didn't answer when I called your name numerous times, so I thought you were in pain. I was near Taehyung's apartment when you stopped responding, so I came here straightaway.." 

"Taehyung's?" You ask. 

At your question, he wipes the sweat over his upper lip, diverting his gaze towards his lap. "Yea, he found out about- what I-I did, when I went to his place, all the hyungs know." He sniffs. Maybe that's the reason why Namjoon Jin and Yoongi tried calling you at least 6 times the week after you found out. Maybe that was the reason hobi visited your workplace, thinking you would be there. Maybe that's why the soulmates sent flowers to your workplace.

You thought they just knew about your pregnancy, hence the flowers, calls, and visits.

"I've been crashing there, in his guest bedroom. I just dont want to go to our place. it's not a home without you." He whispers. 

You look at him in silence, how he doesnt make eye contact, staring at his lap, as he fiddles with his fingers, you look up at your parents who have been there listening to the full interaction with worry in their eyes.

They were mad at Jungkook at first but knowing you needed him during this time the most, they couldnt tell you to seperate or move on and since he wronged you they couldn't call him over to comfort you. It was very painful and confusing for both families. 

Looking at your parents, you motion with your eyes to give you a moment of privacy.

You give them a small sad smile before they turn to leave the room.

"Jungkook?" 

He looks up, responding to your voice with a sniff. His nose was red, and his cheeks were all wet. 

"This is getting insufferable. To be honest, I wish all this never happened, but it did. You or me, we cant change that, but the fact that I cant leave you, cant get a divorce, cant control my emotions, cant eat the pancakes you made when I crave them at 4 in the morning so much!" Your voice starts quivering due to the tears and anger inside you. 

"It's killing me." You shake your head frustrated.

"Also, why can't I stop thinking about my therapist giving me hope about us? Why did it make me feel relief? Why do I want to give in?!" You look at him again, his eyes already on you. 

"Why did you have to ruin everything, Jungkook? This was our dream. Our dream! I want to forget you so bad, wanna forget how you broke my heart and oh! how I wanna change the things in which  they are, but I can't Jungkook! I can't! I'm stuck with you, your memories, your smell, the comfort you gave me, everything! Fuck I dont want to give in to the hope. I cant do that to myself!" 

You clutch your head, and he hesitantly gets up after a moment of heavy silence,  slowly sitting at the edge of the bed. You look up at him, still clutching your head with one hand while the other drops in your lap, brushing slightly against your baby bump. 

He takes his hand and places it on top of your resting one. He thought you would push him away, but you didn't. He looks up and removes your other hand from your head and puts it over the already interlocked hands in your lap. 

You feel weird thinking how you should pull your hand back, get away from him but at this moment nothing felt better, you needed him as your comfort and he understood that. 

He looks into your glassy eyes and sniffs, his nose scrunching. You now notice how chapped his lips are and how his eyes are red, a little bit of stubble on his face, piercings gone, and a dull skin tone. 

Your heart beats with anxiety, wanting to give in the hope but also wanting to create boundaries for yourself at the same time. Your heart was betraying you at the moment you wanted it to be strong.

You should be strong, you owed yourself that! But why does this comfort make you want to live in it, swim in it, so that it can wash away all your problems? 

"I-I will always be there, Y/N. Whatever you decide. I will leave immediately if you want a divorce, I swear I will never show you my face, ever again, if that makes you move on and forget me. But if you want, even for a second to try again? I will do anything to make things right. I won't come close. I won't touch you. I will stay somewhere else. You can be here with your mom and dad. Whatever you want, but if even for a moment, e-even as a forbidden thought, you think of trying? Please tell me?" He pleads, holding your hand, without moving his eyes from yours, as if afraid of losing the hope for the both of you. 

You inhale and exhale as an exercise your first therapist told you to do when anxious. His hands feel so warm you can't help but grab it, nails digging in his skin to make yourself make a decision. His face softens at your gesture. 

"Y/N I am very-" 

"Wait." 

You hold his hand and put it gently on your slightly 5 month swollen baby belly. He widens his eyes as after two seconds, you feel the baby kick again. This time without someone saying the word 'dad'. 

After five months, your baby felt the touch of the only person you could ever dream of having a family with. Jungkook, your husband, the love of your life. When you both stare at your belly, smiling, for a moment, you let go, you stop your compulsive mind to stop thinking of the consequences. You let yourself feel his hands. The warmth. The comfort, all seeping in. 

When you look up at him, you see that his eyes are wide, his chin quivering and his nose getting redder by the second, a sob leaving his mouth as you start crying too. The distance and the problems between you both getting overpowered by the feeling of fullness. The betrayal is not a part of your thoughts for the first time, only for a moment, but your mind felt happy.

The situation and the hand on your belly makes your mind feel a sad Déjà vu of the night he told you about what he did.

"She knows me. She knows her dad!" his voice gets you out of the memory you went in, and you see his face brightening up.

He sobs, and you feel your heart clench at this sight. Can things ever get better? Do you even see a future without tears along with Jungkook? Is your therapist right? Do you really think you could work this out? What if this is all due to hormones and you regret it later? But didn't the doctor and the therapist both say that you need the most loved person in your life to give you comfort and calm you down in anxious episodes? But what if he himself is the reason for the anxiety? 

These emotions are fucking with your head and you need to talk to the therapist yourself. Maybe with him this time. 

"Y/N?" 

He pats the back of your hand with his, hesitating for a second, afraid of your reaction to him holding your hand. Seeing that you didnt flinch, he continued, 

"You zoned out." 

You look at him blankly, his confused expressions mirroring your emotions. You feel your throat close up at the thought of saying you wanna try. Try again. You feel like you are betraying yourself. Letting your past depressed self down, but why dont you feel your heart clogging? Why are his red yet warm, familiar eyes so comforting? 

You certainly can not forget what he did. But would trying again be bad? Would it turn out to be disastrous? Do you really think that the cliché about couples therapy might be true? Can the issues between two people be solved by a stranger? Would you even be able to talk openly about your relationship? 

Looking at your dazed and blurry eyes, he takes one of his hands and pets your hair, slightly stroking it, understanding that you need him right now. He caresses your hair and untangles the knots you created while clutching your head. 

"I'm here. I'm always here with you. No matter what you choose, hm?" 

Your mind finally focuses on what you want, and you slightly sit up, tightening your hold on his hand. He knows it's now or never. You're gonna choose, and he is gonna have to make peace with whatever your choice is. If it means never showing you his face again, he will take it. But if you choose him? Choose to give him another chance? He will do whatever it takes to make things right.

You open your mouth to close it once again, his eyes wide with hope and concern when he sees you squeezing your eyes as if to rip the bandage off. 

"Should we give us another chance?" You whispered with a tight grip on his palm as if scared of letting yourself hear the words. Looking up, you ask him again, 

"Could we ever be us again?" You asked in a hushed whisper with a tear falling out of your eye. He felt his heart beat faster at you, giving him another chance. This time, he will make sure you dont regret this decision. He wanted to hug you so bad, wanted to kiss your tears away, and hold you while promising the second chance would be a decision he would make you happy that you did.

Instead, respecting your boundaries, he just squeezes your hand and says with a small-teary smile. 

"We would be better than before at this, Y/N. I promise."

••••••••••

Next chapter series masterlist main masterlist

Authors note: hie! I am back with another chapter, and I know it's been a long time since I updated, but I've been going through a lot of changes in my life right now and I really wanted to upload this last week, but I was busy with my internship interview preperation and assignments and exams.

Also, it's fiction, so let's just be calm because I love every BTS member, too, just like the readers of this series. Anyone who wishes to be a part of Lost Cause taglist, please message me or send me an ask! I love you all! Hehe~ plea

[heartshapedbubble]

Hi can I request Andrew, Luca, William, Wu Chang and Antonio reacting to having an s/o that can crush a watermelon between her thighs.

this req made me shit bricks when i first received it in august LMFAOOOO this was so fun to write anon thank you so much for this/gen

andrew, luca, william, wu chang and antonio reacting to their s/o crushing a watermelon between their thighs🕸⚡🏈☂️🎻

andrew kreiss🕸

he is... confused to say the least

when you first did it he jumped out of fear thinking you hurt yourself by doing so

this man would probably burst into flames after one pretzel stick he has NO idea how to react

....he'd be lying if he said it doesn't interest him though

like. he is INCREDIBLY lost and maybe even disturbed but like. do it again

"is this something they do to sinners in hell? can you use it as self defense? does it hurt your thighs?" a bit gulity of asking these questions ngl but he can't help it

might start avoiding you after that... simply out of fear that it was a bad omen and that you might try crushing his skull instead when he messes up in the games LMAO

william ellis🏈

not shocked at all

he didnt even fucking flinch when it burst he just stood there with his usual 😃 face

"hehe. nice. now watch me" (proceeds to crush a watermelon with his own thighs)

tbh william can be competitive as hell and he would somehow make a competition out of this too

after that whenever y'all ate watermelon in the manor he always shouted "DID YOU GUYS KNOW ___ CAN CRUSH WATERMELONS WITH THEIR THIGHS¿¿¿¿¿ GO ON ___ SHOW THEM!!!!"

might ask you details on how you train/build your thighs just in case...there's always room for self-improvement

next time he sees you he's going to whip out two watermelons and ask you if you can crush both at the same time (cheeky bastard)

luca balsa⚡

mans is just losing his shit at it

"how do you do it??????? how long did you have to build your legs for this??? at what angle does it crush the fastest/easiest???? what technique did you use???" like andrew but with zero self control or fear

so intrigued he'll whip out the nerd glasses and the notepad to study it. bring a few extra watermelons cause once he begins you'll realize it's gonna be a looooong day

i kinda think that he'd be more interested in the physics aspect of it than the crushing itself tbh

after enough research he would try to crush one with his own thighs

...which didn't really go well🥲he's got chopstick legs but we still love him

that absolutely did not discourage him though. he'll find a way to do it himself. somehow. one day.

wu chang☂️

their reactions are quite different

at first they just kinda... side eye each other. not condescendigly tho they just have to clarify they're both seeing the same thing since they didn't expect this when you told them you have a suprise for them

xie is like ☺ "thats... very cute honey!! i'm very proud of you!!!! you've been working very hard!!!!"

no idea how to properly react or process it really but since you seem really happy about it he simply has to share your enthusiasm okay!!! xie the world

fan just smirks. "now crush a pumpkin."

this motherfucker is going to tease you and give you more and more impossible physical challenges just to make you all red in your face and see you angrily give up just crush his head instead at this point

would rather drown himself in that goddamn river again than admit out loud that it's absolutely badass but it becomes obvious after some time. he's not an emotional mastermind after all

antonio paganini🎻

not overwhelmed by it either! hes just chill like dat

he finds it so funny actually - he's grown tired of all the elegant plays and balls that he experienced while playing for royalty so this little peculiar performance of yours put a wide smile on his face

it gave him a good laugh too, not in a mocking way it's just so bizarre and unexpected that he couldn't help but laugh

would joke about it like "i love a partner that can just beat the shit out of me" after seeing it lmao

"you can kill people with that, but personally i wouldn't have an issue with it if it was your thighs in question~" what a fucking flirt GET HIM OUT

if you'd challenge him to do the same he'd just give up after the first two tries... his legs aren't his best asset

he CAN crush a watermelon with his hair though. maybe you should be more careful the next time you try to wriggle out from its grip...

[imakemywings]

So Maeglin apparently was handsome af, popular, charismatic, and a close confidant of Turgon during his time in Gondolin. In fact, he was a lord and was close to Turgon's ear so he was heard more than Idril. I just wanna know why the fandom loves to portray him as this kid who was hated by everyone (he was not), whom Turgon hated (didn't Turgon love that kid so much?), and whose love for Idril was seen in a good light (when in fact, he was willing to kill earendil just to get Idril). I was honestly shocked when it was such a popular narrative that he was being abused and hated pretty much by everyone in Gondolin and he didn't mean to cause the fall of Gondolin because he was a poor mew mew when the real poor mew mew was Turgon for listening to him in the first place. Lmao I was just genuinely shocked when it was the other way around. I like his character, he's interesting and complex but it kinda takes away the complexity of his character when he is being woobify but that's just me. What do you think?

Anon, idk if you looked at my blog and could tell I would be receptive to these takes, or if you just happen to keep landing on things I agree with XD

But yeah, I have thoughts on Maeglin's reception by the fandom and it's mostly in agreement with what you said.

With Maeglin, he is sympathetic in a lot of ways, which makes you want to root for him. He did have a difficult childhood--Eol was a shithead spouse so it's not hard to imagine he was not a great father either. Maeglin grew up almost totally isolated from anyone but his mom and dad, who did not have a good relationship, thanks to his dad's abuse. When he and Aredhel make a run for it, we want them to succeed! We want good things for them (we've been rooting for Aredhel since the beginning of the chapter)! When Maeglin witnesses his father kill his mother in an effort to kill him, we want him to find peace and security in Gondolin.

The thing is--Maeglin grows well past his difficult childhood. As you noted, Maeglin does very well for himself in Gondolin. At the end of the chapter Of Maeglin, it is described how he "grew great among the Gondolindrim" and there are various indications he was generally trusted and well-liked.

"Thus all seemed well with the fortunes of Maeglin, who had risen to be mighty among the princes of the Noldor..." ("Of Maeglin," The Silmarillion)

At this point, this is we want for him! We like the idea that he's shrugged off his past, that he's doing well, and that he's not like his creepy bride-abducting father.

We don't get much in Silm about what Maeglin's relationship with Turgon is like, but I talked here about why I can't buy that Turgon neglected or abused Maeglin.

"Then the King listened with wonder to all that Aredhel had to tell; and he looked with liking upon Maeglin his sister-son, seeing in him one worthy to be accounted among the princes of the Noldor. 'I rejoice indeed that Ar-Feiniel has returned to Gondolin,' he said, 'and now more fair again shall my city seem than in the days when I deemed her lost. And Maeglin shall have the highest honor in my realm.'" ("Of Maeglin," The Silmarillion)

The only fly in that pudding is that he and Idril get off to a bad start which never improves. He's into her, she's not into him, but he can't let it go. He lets it fester and generate anger, jealousy, and hatred, and in this way, he's like so many creepy guys who can't take rejection.

"But as the years passed, still Maeglin watched Idril, and waited, and his love turned to darkness in his heart. And he sought the more to have his will in other matters, shirking no toil or burden, if he might thereby have power." ("Of Maeglin," The Silmarillion)

But even so, Maeglin is trusted by Turgon! He's popular! He has his own craft and people who admire and follow his ideas! In almost every way, Maeglin should be happy. But he cannot stop obsessing over Idril, and he lets that spoil everything else that he's achieved, to the point where he's wiling to betray the entire city to possess her.

I think there's also a disconnect between those who've read The Fall of Gondolin and those who haven't, because TFOG expands on a lot of things only really hinted at in Silm proper. For instance, the attempted murder of Earendil (who, it should be noted, is seven years old during the sack of Gondolin). In Silm, we get this:

"Tuor sought to rescue Idril from the sack of the city, but Maeglin had laid hands on her, and on Earendil; and Tuor fought with Maeglin on the walls, and cast him far out..." ("Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin," The Silmarillion)

In The Fall of Gondolin, we get a much more detailed account:

"Messengers by great stealth he had dispatched to Melko[r] to set a guard about the outer issue of that Way when the assault was made; but he himself thought now to take Earendil and cast him into the fire beneath the walls, and seizing Idril he would constrain her to guide him to the secrets of the passage, that he might win out of this terror of fire and slaughter and drag her withal along with him to the lands of Melko[r]... Now then M[a]eglin had Idril by the hair and sought to drag her to the battlements out of cruelty of heart, that she might see the fall of Earendil to the flames...When M[a]eglin saw [Tuor] he would stab Earendil with a short knife he had...the mail of the small coat turned the blade aside; and thereupon Tuor was upon him and his wrath was terrible to see." ("The Original Tale," The Fall of Gondolin)

In TFOG, Maeglin's malice is even more apparent as we get a blow-by-blow account of his effort to force Idril to watch him kill her child and then drag her to Angband, but even looking exclusively at canon Silm, Maeglin clearly swings into the villain path. I don't like to criticize him too much for caving under Melkor's threats, because being threatened with torture by Melkor would be fucking terrifying and I don't think any of us can say for certain how we would respond in that kind of situation. Tolkien even tells us Maeglin wasn't a coward, but Melkor is Melkor. Not everyone can be Hurin "Noted Badass and Snarkmaster" Thalion. What I am happy to criticize him relentlessly on is that he allows Melkor's plan to move forward.

"But Morgoth sent him [Maeglin] back to Gondolin, lest any should suspect the betrayal, and so that Maeglin should aid the assault from within, when the hour came; and he abode in the halls of the King with smiling face and evil heart..." ("Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin," The Silmarillion)

He never warns the Gondolindrim of what's coming, and in fact he encourages Turgon to refuse Ulmo's advice and stay in the city (where Melkor expects them to be). In TFOG, when Melkor does invade, Maeglin and his house fight on Melkor's side.

Maeglin fucked up by selling the city out, no argument. But it's more than that--he could have tried to fix it. But he doesn't. Because? Because he doesn't want his treachery revealed, and because Melkor promised him possession of Idril if he helped.

"Great indeed was the joy of Morgoth, and to Maeglin he promised the lordship of Gondolin as his vassal, and the possession of Idril Celebrindal, when the city should be taken; and indeed desire for Idril and hatred for Tuor led Maeglin the easier to his treachery, most infamous in all the histories of the Elder Days." ( "Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin," The Silmarillion)

People resist the narrative of Maeglin the villain I think because they are still in phase 1 where we want good things for Maeglin and for him to overcome his past. And he does...but then he chooses his own shitty path and throws away all the things he gained because he can't be content without everything that he wants, which includes Idril. Making all Maeglin's bad choices someone else's fault--Idril's for rejecting his advances, Aredhel or Eol for parenting him wrong, Turgon for not understanding him, Tuor for who knows--means not having to acknowledge Maeglin chose to become the person who betrayed Gondolin and tried to murder his family.

"Then the heart of Idril was turned towards [Tuor], and his to hear; and Maeglin's secret hatred grew ever greater, for he desired above all things to possess her, the only heir to the King of Gondolin." ("Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin," The Silmarillion)

Maeglin's story is a tragedy of someone consumed with their own malcontent, someone who had so much opportunity to be happy but chose to perserverate on the things he couldn't have, who became so obsessed with his own desires that he was willing to hurt everyone around him to get what he wanted. Maeglin's story is of a man who could not handle rejection by a woman he wanted, so he decided to ruin her life and kill her family. Maeglin begins the story as someone we are meant to sympathize with--but he doesn't end it that way.

[artisiumstudios]

PART ONE ISH

OKAY SO , hi I’m not dead but that’s not important. AU IDEA FOR GRAVITY FALLS WHERE STAN FALLS INTO THE PORTAL INSTEAD OF FORD.

Okay so Stan pre portal is still hopeful about being able to reconnect with his family. The only people he really ever contacts after he is kicked out are his mom and Shermie (also for the sake of it I’m making shermie a bit older) but even that’s sparse. Like every couple of weeks to every couple of months.Right anyways once ford tells him to go to gravity fall he calls his mom to tell him he won’t be able to talk for a while, he doesn’t tell her she’s meeting ford because he doesn’t want to get her (and his) hopes up in case it goes wrong.

once he gets to ford and they start fighting and Stan gets burned and punches ford he grabs the journal (this also where it’s different from the original scene) he walks past ford to the portal and turns to ford and tells him “I always defend and stood up for you no matter what! Whether it was pa or those dumb bullies i stood up and fought for you but the one time i needed you you abandoned me! You’re the most selfish person i know!”

And ford gets pissed and says something alongs the lines of “you did this to yourself when you betrayed me and sabotaged MY future!” And pushes Stan which causes Stan to fall into the portal!

Now for the aftermath for Ford:

At first he’s numb and in disbelief, he’s practically in shock for a good few minutes and then once it settles in he start to hyperventilate and tries turning the portal back on except he doesn’t have any fuel. So for the next few days he’s focusing on staying awake, making changes to the portal so that when he does open it leads him to only Stanley and not bill, and to get more fuel. But by day three he falls asleep and he sees Bill and they have a “conversation”. And Ford tries not to think of Stanley because he doesn’t want to have that be used as leverage against him but Bill already knew so he makes a small comment that Stan managed to escape the nightmare realm to which ford is relieved about. Eventually he wakes up and while he is happy about Stan being alive he now has a dilemma.

Is bill telling the truth? And if so why? But what if he’s not?

He’s now spiraling. On one hand Stan could be alive and in a different universe! Meaning less of a chance of Bill being able to come through. But the cons to that is Ford would need to know where Stan is to be able to use the portal and not accidentally open it randomly to another dimension and Bill could be tracking him. But on the other hand Bill could just be lying period. Stan might be dead. Or worse, he has been captured by Bill in the Nightmare Realm and is being tortured and Bill is just waiting for the portal to open up again.

Ford eventually decides to slowly work on the portal while he tries to find a way to communicate with Stan or locate him at least. He goes back to the cave and tries to find more about other demons or gods or anything to find Stanley. Months go by and eventually he receives a call. His mom asking if he’s heard from Stanley. Finally it sets in. Stan has been gone for way too long. It’s been close to a year now with little to no progress in a different dimension. He might not be alive. He breaks down on his mom saying things like “it’s my fault” “I pushed him away” “I did this” his mom assumes the worst and think Stan committed.

After that call Ford gives up. He feels helpless. He lost his brother twice to his own ego but now it was forever. Permanently. Bill hasn’t shown up either, which makes him believe even more in the fact that Stan might be dead. If he were alive Bill will be using him as leverage as a way to get ford to open the portal. Ford starts to disassemble the portal. With how busy he was researching a way to bring Stan back he forgot about everything. His house is a mess crawling with bugs and rodents, his fridge is growing an ecosystem and worst of all, bills are starting to pile up and with no research or anything to show he won’t be able to continue using his grant, and worse of all. The stanmobile is sitting outside his house untouched for almost a year. He start cleaning his house trying to come up with a game plan. He eventually finishes his house and alone with his thoughts.

Finally he get the courage to clean the stanmobile. It was mostly filled with old food containers, bloody (Stanley what happened???) wrappings and shirts, lottery tickets and other trash. But then there it was. A notebook with a picture clipped on the front of him and Stan when they were little. Inside were notes and small drawings along with failed scams and other items Stan has tried to sell during the last ten years. On the last page there is was. On the top a drawing of a sign. “The murder hut” on the side and in smaller writing”mystery shack ?” The middles was a bunch of drawings of phoney “mystical” and “paranormal “ creatures and sticky note. “Could make into a museum, have tours and sell merchandise. Make it paranormal theme” crossed out was “ford would love it”

Okay well I have yet to brainstorm everything properly and I haven’t even gotten to Stan yet BUT I have a lot also I’m tired and sleepy so yeah okay anyways enjoy but good byeeee

Edit: btw I’m writing the fic now and I’m 4 chapters in lol…

Im still figuring out to use tumblr so i can link my other posts but when i figure it out I swear ill put on here uhhh you always look on my other posts for the link to ao3 but the fic is called:

You make hell tolerable.

Anyways goodnight lol

[michiiyann]

Joongdok Random AU Ideas

Joongdok shenanigans

Colorblind

Imagine both kdj and yjh are red-green color blind and one day hsy tries to put bright red lipstick on kdj and he’s like

“BUT I DONT WANT BROWN LIPS” and everyone is just like

“wut?” And he gets really confused.

Then Ysa is like

“Dokja-ssi, the lipstick is red…” and kdj is like

“no it’s not” and jhw is like

“wait, are you colorblind?” And kdj is like “No?”

And then yjh walks in and is like

“what’s wrong?” Cause everyone is just silently pondering kdj’s color blindness. Then kdj says

“Yoo Junghyuk-ah, Han Sooyeong’s lipstick is brown right?” And yjh is like

“yeah?” And all of Kimcom (the name for kdj’s group) is internally like “OMFG THEY’RE BOTH COLORBLINDDDD”

Read more ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Squid and Sunfish

Once upon a time, there was a little squid. The squid had no purpose in life, so it just drifted along with the current.

Until one day, it came across a sunfish. Strange, thought the squid. Usually sunfish don’t come down this deep.

He asked the sunfish what it was doing in the deep ocean. To which the sunfish replied

“I’m looking for a companion.”

The squid was confused. The only one this deep for miles was him.

He looked the sunfish up and down. Surely this guy wasn’t looking for him?

“Well there’s nobody else here but me,” said the squid.

“That’s fine,” said the sunfish.

The squid blinked. Did this stupid sunfish really not get it? He was a loser with no life! Why would this guys want /him/ as a companion.

The sunfish noticed the squid’s distress.

“If you don’t want a companion, there’s nothing I can do,” He said flatly.

As the sunfish swan away, the squid felt an aching in its heart. He realized, he didn’t want the sunfish to leave!

“Wait,” said the squid. The sunfish stopped.

“If you really aren’t bothered, I’ll be your companion.”

The squid couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. Him someone’s companion? Really? The sunfish turned around and smirked.

That annoying way sunfish do. “Knew it.” He said. And from then on. They lived as companions.

The end.

Department story YJH

What if Joongdok AU where Yoo Junghyuk works at A department store and Kim Dokja comes in as a single dad who has to fix his door handle. Except he has no clue how and has no mechanical knowledge.

When Yjh saw a man walk in with a little girl holding his hand he thought--nothing of it. People bring their kids places all the time. But when the man seemingly walked through every isle in a lost manner for what felt like hours, Yjh thought it might be time to step in.

Usually he’d let one of his coworkers handle helping costumers since he-- hated when people went to department stores not knowing what they needed.

Alas, it was a busy day and all of the other employees were helping equally lost customers.

Yjh approached the man when he heard the little girl say

“daddy, why don’t you just ask for help?”--To which the man replied,

“don’t worry sweetie daddy knows what he’s doing…” and went back to looking at shelves that clearly didn’t house what he needed.

“Can I help you with anything?” Said Yjh almost startling the man.

He noticed the small girl staring at her father clearly--waiting to see his response.

“Ah, yes… well… could you point me in the direction of the doorknobs?” Said the man.

Yjh had to hold in his sigh. Only because he had seen the man pass the doorknobs twice in his search.

“Right this way.” He said in the most polite voice he could--muster. He lead the man a couple of isles down.

“Thank you.” Said the man gratefully.

Yjh simply nodded and went back to walking around.

20 minutes later he happened to walk by the isle again, and to his complete and utter shock, the man was still standing there. Yjh walked up--to the man and asked him what the problem was.

“Oh haha, it’s just that… I don’t seem to know what doorknob I need….” The man let out an embarrassed chuckle.

Yjh had just about had it with him. Really, the amount of stress this man was causing him was unnatural.

Yjh tried asking him which model he currently had or if he needed a knew one. The man said he just needed to fix his old one but beyond that he just pretended to ponder. Yjh asked if he had a picture of his old one to which the man said

“ohhhh that’s what I forgot!” At that--Yjh snapped.

He quickly offered to buy one of each kind of doorknob for the man and personally come to his house and instal the one he needed. The man simply seemed taken aback by the offer and the forwardness.

Of course, who wouldn’t with an offer like that. They exchanged--numbers and the man introduced himself as Kim Dokja. Once he finally left, Yjh’s shift was over.

Yjh realized this man had been in the store for a total of 2 hours. As well as that, he had only been looking for a doorknob. A DOORKNOB FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! Yjh took an angry shower and went straight to bed.

The next morning he went into work and after his shift bought exactly what he said he would. When his coworker Hsy asked what he was doing he ranted about the situation to her.

“Wow, you’re down bad” she joked to which Yjh replied to by walking--to his car and driving away.

He texted Kdj and got his address. When he arrived he rang the doorbell. For a while nobody answered. He was getting annoyed because Kdj had told him he was home over text. Then he heard a door open from the back and the sound of rickety wood.

He-turned towards the sound to see Kdj with a tree beach in his hair.

“Hey, sorry about that. The front doorknob is the one that’s broken so we can’t get in and out of it,” he explained.

Yjh felt a pang of pity for this poor man. Kdj gave him permission to forcefully pull-the door open to fix the knob. He did so without much of a struggle. When he saw the state the doorknob was in he wondered how Kdj could’ve let it get this bad.

He wondered how many times he had jammed the door in and out before it got so bad he just couldn’t anymore.

He fixed the doorknob, and when he went to leave Kdj stopped him.

“You know, you could stay and have dinner. It’s the least we can do for all the help you’ve given us.” He paused. “Even if it was out of spite,” he added.

Yjh’s ears went red. Had his reaction really been so obviously out--of frustration?

“You don’t have to though,” said Kdj when he saw Yjh’s hesitation. “No, I accept,” said Yjh curtly.

When he sat down and tried the food, safe to say, he was thoroughly disappointed. Along with knowing nothing of mechanics, he also could barely cook? Yjh’s pea-sized brain saw this as an obvious cry for help and he offered to cook for Kdj every weekend. Kdj at first said know but Yjh was very adamant about it.

Finally Kdj agreed out of the guise that he wanted his daughter Byoo to have better food. In reality he was touched that Yjh-would want to help so bad.

Fast forward a couple months and Yjh asks Kdj to go out.

Somehow, unknown to even Yjh himself, he had fallen for the man who he had met lost in a department store. Kdj agreed and they became boyfriends.

End

Shoe on the other foot

Joongdok Idea that Kdj has really Small feet and Yjh has normal/large feet and as a scenario penalty they have to swap shoes.

So while they’re fighting Kdj has to deal with big boots that keep slipping off and he keeps tripping and falling.

And on the other hand Yjh can’t feel his toes but at the same time is in constant pain.

Not to mention Kdj wears dress shoes so Yjh is having even more fun.

By the end of it Yjh just gets tired of Kdj faking so he just Carries him.

Pillows

What if Joongdok crack au where Kdj keeps buying decorative pillows and Yjh is losing his sitting spots

Yjh tries to sit on the couch but falls to the ground because there’s too many pillows on the couch.

Kdj: oh sorry let me move those^^

He throws them on an already humongous pile of other decorative pillows.

Yjh: why do you need so many??

Kdj: They make the house look nice

Yjh takes a look around the room and there’s piles and piles of pillows everywhere.

He gives Kdj a look of exasperation.

Kdj: well maybe we can put some in storage?

(I imagine this is on some kind of reality tv show and there’s a camera)

The camera cuts to Yjh gesturing violently to the tons of pillows in storage already.

Kdj: huh…

Then the scene switches to their bedroom and Yjh’s side of the bed is covered in pillows.

The camera cuts to one of those interview scenes

Yjh: I have 10% bed space left… I did the math

By the end of it they get Kdj help and he agrees to get rid of most of the pillows, begrudgingly. And Yjh can finally sit in his own house again.

The end scene is Yjh sitting in a couch and just smiling.

Pizza Hut vs Domnioes

Pizza Hut vs Domino’s but make it Joongdok

Also hsy is sys sister cause I need an adult

When lgy and sys decided to make the Domino’s and Pizza Hut in their local town call each other, they weren’t expecting it to blow up this much.

Or even in fact, kickstart a relationship It started as any other harmless little prank by kids would.

They grabbed two phones and had dialed the the two stores on them.

They snickered uncontrollably as the phones rang.

“Shhhhh- haha, shhhhhhhh” said lgy trying to contain his laughter.

“I know, I know,” sys was having an even harder time.

Brrrrr brrrrr brrrr.

“Hello? This is Pizza Hut what can I do for you?”

And

“Hello this is Dominos, what would you like”

Two men’s voices could be heard from the phones.

“What?” They both said in unison.

“This is dominos, you wanted to order a pizza?” Said the deeper gruffer voice.

“If I ordered something from you it definitely wouldn’t be pizza, heck, I’d be weary of a soda from you guys!” Said the other voice.

The other phone went silent. Then,

“Well that’s too bad cause that means you’re stuck with the stuff you people make… yeesh.”The other voice let out an obviously exaggerated gasp.

“How dare you? You know what, where’s your store??”

“123 west rd, and what’s /yours/“

Sys and lgy were dying laughing at this point, they had to go to the corner of the room.

“246 North st!” The other voice said harshly.

“You know what?” It continued, “meet me at 135 south blvd, I dare you!”

“We’ll get ready to be defeated!” Announced the other.

Then both calls hung up. Sys and lgy were silent for a momen before running into the other room.

“HSY!! CAN YOU DRIVE US TI 135 BLVD?? WE WANT TO SEE TWO GROWN MEN FIGHT!!” They said, in unison to the author who was trying to get her work done, now unsuccessfuly. Hsy looked at them seemingly to debate the pros and cons of granting their request.

However it wasn’t long before she gave in to her need to see grown men being idiots and she found herself driving. When they got there the pulled into a parking lot.

Nobody was there at first but then two men showed up.

One was a very plain looking man in a black button up and a Pizza Hut apron.

The other a very handsome man in a Dominos Apron.

“So you’re the apparently handsome man who thinks Domino’s sells pizza!” Shouted the plain looking one from about 20 ft away from the other.

“What do you mean, ‘sells pizza’ THATS WHAT WERE KNOWN FOR!” Bellowed the other from the same distance. “I wouldn’t call what you’re known for /pizza/!” The scrawny man taunted.

The handsomer man opened his mouth to reply but then paused.

“You- wait did you call me handsome earlier?” He asked befuddled.

The latter’s face went beet red. “W-well, yeah! Who wouldn’t,” he stuttered.”

The taller man seemed the think for a moment before stating,

“If you come to Domino’s we… /I/ could treat you a lot better than those guys at Pizza Hut.”

The other man seemed to short circuit for a moment. “B-but nobody out pizzas the Hut!” He said in a last ditch attempt to save his already fleeting dignity.

“Bet,” responded the other who then smirked devilishly.

Meanwhile lgy and sys were fighting over the left back window of the car for better view than the other. Hsy was simply enjoying the scene from the driver’s seat. They had their windows cracked slightly as to hear what was being said.

“10 bucks says they go out,” announced Hsy suddenly.

“I’ll take that bet! No way they’d go out!” Said Lgy. “Yeah! If you heard them on the phones you’d know!” Boasted Sys.

“We’ll just see,” mused Hsy.

Meanwhile in the parking lot, the men were at a standstill.

“What’s your name?” Said the skinnier man.

“Yjh, and yours?”

“Kdj”

“Well Kdj, you wanna come to the better pizza store and earn a date with me?” Said Yjh confidently.

Kdj let out a small “sure” and walked away.

Unfortunately he was so far away Yjh didn’t hear him.

“Well?!” He shouted

“I SAID SURE!” Kdj shouted back.

“GREAT! SEE YOU AT THE DOMINO’S BUILDING THIS SATURDAY”

“SEE YOU THEN!”

And just like that Lgy and Sys had orchestrated one of the best and most entertaining events of their little town.

[amesvertes]

90210. m. o'hara

synopsis ¬ in which the anomaly on earth - 90210 isn't what miguel thinks it is, but that might just be a good thing.

pairings ¬ miguel o'hara x fem! spider person

author's note ¬ yh, i was listening to 90210 while writing this, so what?

miguel watches from a nearby rooftop, waiting for any sign of disruption to appear, his cue to swoop in and catch the anomaly unguarded.

this isn't the first time there's been a complaint regarding this particular anomaly, hell, there's a box of them in his office. why? because everyone he's sent here has failed. but, it can't be that bad... can it?

that's when he sees it, a body running across the building next to his.

he takes off after the person, his loud footsteps making his presence known as the anomaly momentarily looks back.

but as they do his eyes widen, the threat is a spider?

he gets to lost in thought to see which way the spider turns as he chases after them, running through a dark alley.

miguel grunts in frustration as he enters a clearing, his target no where in sight. he turns off his mask pinches the bridge of his nose in between his fingers as he curses under his breath. the location he started at was the only trace of them he had, now he has no idea of where they might be.

so he calls it quits, sighing as he opens his mouth to summon his ai, her name on the tip of his tongue before a sound from his side catches his attention.

but before he can fully turn around a figure runs towards him and a hand wraps around his neck, the force of the tackle almost lifting him off his feet before he gets slammed onto the hard concrete ground.

he curses at the impact, face twisting in pain before it turns into a snarl, his fangs bared at the person above him.

so imagine his surprise when he sees the face of a woman, her face twisted into the same predatory snarl, nose scrunched up and everything, her own fangs glistening in the moonlight and her eyes glowing a slightly similar red to his. imagine his surprise when he sees you.

"i'm tired of you people coming after me." you hiss, your voice the only thing entering miguel's ears as he stares up at your face.

but he recovers quickly, his own hand wrapping around your neck and pushing you off of him. you lash out at each other, your sharp long nails and his talons swiping at each other's suits.

"stop - fuck- stop it!" he grabs your arms and presses them against your chest, hissing down at you.

you hiss back, chest rising and falling as you try to break free from the position you're in, but he only presses down on your arms harder.

"what do you want?" you snap, eyes glaring up at his.

"you are a threat to the multiverse, i need you to come wi-"

"no." you interrupt him, causing him to glare down at you. "don't interrupt me when i-"

"i don't care about you and your friend's bullshit about the fate of the multiverse. all of you can go screw yourse-"

your cut off by miguel quickly lifting you up by your arms and slamming you back onto the ground. you groan in pain, flinching as he gets closer to your face.

"i don't give a damn about whatever selfish reason you've pulled out of your ass for you not to care about the fate of the multiverse. i'm not asking you to come with me, i'm telling you."

he speaks with so much venom and authority a look of slight shock passes over your face before it returns to it's previous irritated one. "well, i'm telling you, i'm not going, and you can't make me."

a dry chuckle leaves his throat as he looks down at you, his expression even more darker than it was before. one of his talons moves to the neck of your suit, hooking itself onto the material before he drags it down with a swift motion, tearing the fabric open to expose your neck and shoulder.

"what the fuck?!" you glare up at him, starting to resist him once again as you thrash this way and that.

he bares his fangs at you once again, slowly lowering his head to the crook of your neck. his eyes belong to those of a hungry animal, staring at your exposed skin until his breath is flush against your skin.

"that's not your choice to make..."

you cry out as his fangs pierce your flesh, groaning as his venom makes it's way into your bloodstream and your limbs slowly turn into heavy bricks.

he slowly releases his bite, licking the blood off his teeth and lips as he stares down at you.

"what did you... do...?" your voice comes out as a lazy slur, your eyes drooping with every breath you take as you try to move, but to no avail.

"i made the choice for you."

miguel watches as your eyes close, a satisfied look crossing his eyes as he takes in your features.

he stands up shortly after, throwing you over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"lyla? take us back."

© amesvertes.

[randomfoggytiger]

If Mulder and Doggett Were Partnered in Season 8

@thursdayinspace, I got swept up in your alternate Season 8 idea. So, I sat down and wrote it up.

I'm operating under the assumption that Scully is pregnant; but if she weren't, Mulder and Doggett would still form a friendship along the same lines, albeit without a shared sense of loss between them. Deadalive would then focus on Scully's struggle to reintegrate after Kersh refuses to reassign her to the files, and Essence-Existence would follow other mytharc beats without a baby involved.

Lastly: Mulder would have to find out about her pregnancy in order for the level of emotional turmoil to remain equal.

THE PLAY-BY-PLAY PLOT

Scully is pregnant, and abducted.

Within. Doggett insinuates Mulder knows more about Scully's disappearance than he lets on. Skinner intercepts a punch from Mulder (having hovered nearby, knowing he'd act out in some way) and separates the two before Kersh becomes involved.

Doggett traces Scully's last movements to Mulder's apartment, where he clearly states his motives and intentions. Mulder notes but doesn't soften to Doggett's straight-forward sincerity, deciding to work around and largely ignore the other agent... until Doggett shocks Mulder with the results of Scully's blood work (a test she'd done before flying back to Oregon.) Shattered and desperate, he charges out to the UFO landing with Skinner after a call from TLG.

The flashes we get to Scully on the ship are in the same vein as Ascension, i.e. Mulder imagining worst-case scenarios.

The rest of Without unfolds; but it does open up a great opportunity for Mulder to lose it if he has to shoot Scully's clone (instead of Skinner's) to save Gibson. That, and the unprocessed grief from losing his pregnant partner-- again-- might cause him to collapse and (silently) weep. This humanizes him to Doggett (who lost a child, too); and the latter takes the x-files assignment with a little less resignation, seeing it as a way to redeem his own past mistakes.

Patience. Manbat. Doggett squares off with the sheriff at the house, cop style, rankling Mulder. Mulder later ditches Doggett for the cemetery and witnesses the sheriff's murder. The local police don't believe him, thinking his theories have wasted precious time; but Doggett ends up making a connection with past news reports (without believing fully them, of course.) The rest of the plot happens, yadda yadda.

Roadrunner. Events fall out the same, except Doggett has to walk Mulder out of town. Mulder won't apologize but does take what Doggett says on the chin, acknowledging his points silently.

Invocation. Not only does the boy's case tear at Doggett's wounds, but Mulder's as well: because of Scully and the baby, sure, but also because of Samantha and starlight. (That would have been a better episode overall, I think. Imagine if it were at the tail end of Season 8 after Mulder's return, squeezed between Alone and Essence. Alas.)

Redrum's the same.

Via Negativa is where it could get interesting. I have two theories: 1. Mulder ditches Doggett to chase a UFO sighting (and Skinner covers up for him); or 2. Mulder starts developing symptoms he's afraid might be linked to CSM's deterioration after the Amor Fati surgery, causing him to be down and out for the rest of the episode. The symptoms either stick long enough to be cured in The Gift or melt away, a nothing burger (like the canonical brain disease plotline.)

Surekill, Salvage, Badlaa, who cares.

The Gift. Again, two theories: 1. Doggett stumbles onto shady things Mulder did off-the-grid during the Via Negativa episode-- really, really questionable moral decisions-- to get answers. Skinner advises him to let it go, for everyone's sake. 2. Mulder disappears again and Doggett traces him to the magic man's house where he just misses Mulder being cured of brain disease (because Mulder took miracle man up on the offer, needing to be alive to find Scully.) He finds Mulder unconscious and the other man weakened by the procedure; and intercepts the local police's attempts to capture and rug sweep. He's killed, then healed. When both men recover, Mulder shares his own experience with near death (obliquely, as is Mulder's way.) The episode continues, the end.

Medusa is the first episode where they're both a team. Doggett stays up top while Mulder explores the tunnels.

Per Manum. Mulder becomes too emotionally involved, tying his IVF journey with Scully to the case. Skinner calls him out, saying he's "saving" the Haskell woman as a proxy because his own pregnant partner is missing. Mulder does not take the victim to a military base; but his truck is intercepted, he's knocked unconscious, and the woman is taken (by Doggett's pretend friend Rohrer), regardless. Doggett relays what everyone believes, but says he understands what Mulder's going through.

This Is Not Happening. The only changes would be that Monica Reyes starkly reminds Mulder of Melissa Scully, and that he yells for Jeremiah Smith to come out while cradling Scully's "dead" body.

Again, we hit a crossroads: does Jeremiah Smith heal Scully?

If he does, then Deadalive focuses on Scully's struggles working back from her abduction and "replacement" on the files (she'd likely flunk all the tests for field work because of her vivid memories and trauma, to begin with), not to mention her pregnancy.

If he doesn't, then This Is Not Happening-Deadalive Mulder will have to put on extended "medical" leave following Scully's burial. Kersh seeks dismissal but is held at bay by the optics of the situation. Skinner digs up Scully and bears the brunt of Mulder's anger when the latter isn't immediately told. Krycek doesn't make a deal with Skinner (both know there would be no gain unless Mulder's in that hospital bed) and yanks Scully off life support. One of two things happen: 1. the episode unfolds as usual or 2. Mulder chases him down and they have a conversation at gunpoint, with Krycek claiming his actions saved Scully's life, then threatening to exposure for Mulder's actions in Via Negativa if he's not let go. Somehow, Krycek gets away (likely because Mulder pauses long enough for Doggett to catch up and reason with him, revealing he'd learned the sordid details during The Gift.)

Three Words through Alone. Lots of trauma for Scully and Mulder, I'm sure.

THE FINALE

Essence and Existence.

The Supersoldiers can stay because they will give Mulder and Scully renewed purpose for Season 9. However, they are not indestructible, and are few in number (with only a few being able to turn because of Jeremiah Smith's healing efforts.) If they've infested government, then only a few key positions.

Option One

Essence: The plot unfolds like normal until Krycek drops in and saves Mulder and Scully from Billy Miles. He warns them about an alien elimination program to clean up loose ends (not because of some Messiah baby) and offers them a place to hide out. Mulder and Scully escape with Krycek's coordinates while Skinner and Doggett destroy Billy in the garbage truck.

Existence: After they leave, Knowle Rohrer contacts Doggett and warns him Krycek recently switched sides and is leading Mulder and Scully into a trap. (If Mulder has dipped into darkness during Via Negativa, all the more motive for his enemies to want him permanently out of the way.) Skinner and Doggett track and confront Krycek for information; and in the scuffle Skinner kills him to save Doggett's. They triangulate coordinates with TLG; and, realizing the location is in Mexico, call in Monica for help. Meanwhile, Mulder and Scully deduce they're being followed. Here's where the episode can get its Chris Carter drama: the two switch course without the viewers knowing, and Scully's labor and delivery happen (safely) concurrent to Skinner, Doggett, Reyes, and the Supersoldiers running into each other at the original location and fighting it out. The Supersoldier group isn't large enough to beat back the ambush, and retreat, setting up a problem Mulder, Scully, and the gang will have to deal with next season. Everyone gets home happily, the end.

Option Two

Essence is the same, but Existence takes a turn. Rohrer contacts Doggett to let him know the Supersoldiers aren't a danger to Scully or the baby. Their mission is to take back alien tech from the remaining Syndicate's grasp, which is against Krycek's group's interests. Krycek sent Mulder and Scully to a fringe Syndicate conclave, where Scully and the baby will be detained and tested in the hopes that their DNA will somehow unlock the elusive Colonization cure. (If Mulder did shenanigans during Via Negativa, all the more reason to eradicate him from the game.) Doggett and Skinner track Krycek, Skinner kills Krycek, they triangulate coordinates with TLG, call in Reyes, and head out.

Mulder and Scully either veer off-course last minute, wary, or follow-through on the plan and reach the compound.

If both agents reach the compound, they either 1. evade capture long enough for the Supersoldiers (who'd used them to find Krycek's group) to surprise everyone and burn the place down or 2. are captured but escape during the ensuing chaos. Mulder and Scully and the Supersoldiers go their separate ways, knowing their paths will cross again. William is likely born off-screen, the end.

CONCLUSION

And there we go!

Don't know what this accomplishes, but it was fun.