#sry for the late response i needed some time to answer these are a lot of important questions HDJD

[gaykey]

Hello!!

i'm not wildly invested in this whole key situation(s) but i've just seen so many posts about it and i was curious about your response as you've been very vocal within this discussion haha (pls read this ask in a nice chatty tone, not an argumentative one!). and sorry for the massive text below, you don't have to answer this ask if you don't wanna <3

But, i feel like a lot of the things ppl have gotten angry at key for lately are to a degree unavoidable for him. Like the m*donalds thing: i thought he'd signed an exclusive contract with them way before people starting caring that the chain was in support of isrl. He can't exactly back out of it? i also heard the general opinions of ppl in korea are pretty apathetic towards the current conflict (tho that is it's own conversation) and are unlikely to consider how supporting a brand would impact the situation. it's a lot to expect the average person to display overt political reactions when the conversations they're hearing don't influence their respective communities. Take us, for ex: we wouldn't be as opinionated about this if the spaces we occupy online weren't as vocal as they are. i know the ppl i meet irl don't really talk about it much, who's to say the ppl he knows talk about it? Just a general observation, not an "excuse" for their apathy rly. I just don't see a possibility of him cancelling his contract with them, to sum things up.

As for the Hyuna thing: he's still a person and a celebrity. It's not really like he can just suddenly go public at exclaim to the world how little he wants to associate with her. A response from him would only make the matter worse really, no? He would offend a lot of personal and public people whom he needs to associate with regularly. It would impact his group (shine as a whole) and all the people he works with (like I live alone/amazing saturday casts/etc) and the multitude of brands he is the face of. It's a huge cost to take a stance on a conversation he didn't start (cause hyuna brought it up, not him right? -- sry i don't know much i could be wrong!!). i feel his silence on the matter makes more sense then acknowledging the issue - as sad as that is. and if they have been close firends for years, is it not alot to ask him to drop all contact forever? <perhaps a controversial question, but i would not so readily throw away my own friends. I would hope they come to their senses and/or i'd find a way to make them lol

as for the colorist comments... yeah, that's a long conversation. i'm glad he apologized and has decidedly not said anything like that since..? bare minimum, but don't have much to say on this aspect. he said something truly nasty, but acknowledged it and the harm it did at least.

Just in general, i feel a lot of what he's getting slack for are out of his control and not necessarily indicative of who he is as a person. There is so much ambiguity to how he must behave given his career, it feels like his lack of response(s) are fairly justifiable. Shinee has been trying so hard lately to become as relevant as possible so they can compete with newer generations of kpop. I don't see him realistically putting that at risk. But, perhaps i'm wrong! who knows!

i've thought long and hard about this ask, which is why i left it a little while, because tbh, i do think you have some points. i'll be so real with you though, i've had some wine tonight, so this might not be the best time to reply to this, buuut here i am

so.

kibum is the kind of person, though incredibly professional, has always spoken out when he thinks something is wrong, or if there has been injustice. he's not the type to hold his tongue. he, on many occasions, has spoken out against the company HE IS STILL CONTRACTED WITH.

i get not being able to brush off hyuna on national tv-

i get maaaaybe be tied to a contract you can't get out of (though it was established that he very much could have if he wanted to)-

i even forgave him for his ignorant & shitty colourist comments-

but what about his behavior since?

key, who is well-known for not giving a fuck about the 'idol image', who has spoken out against his company, the industry...has had nothing to say.

he could have NOT signed up for more contracts with shitty israel supporting companies, he could have given a statement in regards to hyuna, he could have been outspoken about donating to charities and fundraisers aiding palestinians, and the cause?

and yes, i know the other members have not either, as well as many other idols, but, i don't think it's crazy of me to think that DUE to the shit he's done over the last few months, he should be held MORE accountable in a way?

i don't think it's a wild concept to expect these people to have basic good morals?????

non eof this was out of his control. these idols are more than gold enough at controling their image when they want tl.

[hiraganasakura]

Mantle evac asker again: thanks for a well-crafted response and apologies if I put you on the spot. TBH I'm not even sure Ironwood *needed* that semblance explanation for his unraveling (or a semblance *period;* a fair number of capable RWBY characters don't have one) with his pre-existing authoritarian tendencies and post-Beacon PTSD in play. Feel free to expand on Robyn if the mood hits, 'cause ye gods could watchers be giving her & the H-Huntresses a fairer shake.

Hi anon! Sry for the late reply, I've been busy

Yeah, true, the Semblance thing works to reinforce what we already understand. Honestly the primary reasons I wish it was talked about in-show is bcus the only reason we even know what his Semblance is is bcus the writers talked about it at some panel, and it could contribute another layer to Ironwood's character

According to the RWBY wiki's article on Mettle (link), apparently they wanted to explicitly state it in V7/V8, and had it in mind while writing Ironwood, but couldn't find a way to work the reveal in without damaging the flow of the show. I learned that just now and found it interesting

I just think it's cool to see negative aspects of Semblances tbh. They're meant to be the manifestation of a person's very soul and while they're usually shown in a positive light seeing the bad side of it is an interesting perspective. Like we see Qrow struggling with self-loathing (and the closely connected depression and alcoholism) due to Misfortune, in After the Fall/Before the Dawn Yatsuhashi fears his own Memory Wiping Semblance, etc. Seeing Ironwood have similar struggles I think would humanize him a bit while still not excusing his actions. It'd make him even more interesting imo. Does that make sense?

But now to the main point, yay, I get to talk about this! I only just had this realization as I was answering your previous ask

Ok so. Some ppl [nobody here] claim that Blake and Yang trusting Robyn with the info on Amity was "dumb" of them bcus they didn't know for certain if she was trustworthy at that point in time. Which, I can get why ppl may think that, but I respectfully disagree. I don't think "dumb" is the right word at all; in fact, I think the fact that Blake and Yang were even willing to try this shows a lot of how their characters have grown

Think about it: these two have rly bad trust issues

I mean, Blake was abused by Adam and faced harsh discrimination as a Faunus. In the early volumes of RWBY, she struggled to even trust her team for a while, hiding her cat ears under her little black bow until the truth came out completely on accident. And when she was finally able to trust them, the Fall of Beacon happened, her trauma with Adam came rearing its ugly head, and, blaming herself for Yang losing her arm, Blake left for Menagerie. (You can see in little details how high alert she is thru a lot of V4 and maybe even V5; off the top of my head, in the first V4 episode we see with her, when the captain of the ship to Menagerie approaches Blake, her immediate instinct is to reach for her weapon.) She didn't even trust herself for a very long time, and due to the horrible stuff she's seen, also had a hard time trusting other ppl

Then there's Yang, and gosh, she's been thru sm too. After she lost not one but two moms, her trust issues seem to manifest more in a fear of abandonment. Near the start of the show she was largely motivated by her search for Raven, hoping to understand why she left—but when she meets Raven in V5, she almost instantly sees thru most of Raven's lies. When Blake left after the Fall of Beacon, Yang had a harder time than the rest with it (see: the whole "Why isn't she here for me?" conversation she had with Weiss in V5), and even had a harder time accepting her return (the awkward air between them for the majority of V6 was palpable)

When Blake and Yang killed Adam and defeated some of their inner demons in the process, not only did they feel able to fully start trusting one another again, but I think it may have helped them to start trusting others, as well

Iirc Blake and Yang were talking about Adam right before they spoke to Robyn about Amity. Now I'm wondering, was that just a coincidence? Or was it a suble acknowledgement of their character development together?

Of course they didn't know whether Robyn could be trusted with that info, but the fact that they were willing to give it a shot demonstrates a lot. And I don't think it's stupidity, or naiveté. I think it is an amazing point in the development of Blake and Yang, a mark of their willingness to trust in the world again

And in hindsight, we can say it was a generally good choice. It was a little rocky at first, with the damage it caused to Ironwood's trust in RWBY. But for a wonderful fleeting moment, it led to James Ironwood and Robyn Hill (of all the ppl who could work together!), once diametrically opposed, standing in unity to help the ppl of Atlas and Mantle...

Well... Until the Black Queen arrived. But we covered that already

Also I totally agree with you that certain corners of the FNDM do the Happy Huntresses dirty. I mean, disagreeing with their methods from a political standpoint is whatever, but like... don't mix them up with the bad guys. They're rly not. They looked at the blantant inequalities between Atlas and Mantle, said "We won't stand for this", and started working for change. I'm pretty sure it was even said that they were all graduates of Atlas Academy that theoretically could have joined the military and done well in it—but they chose not to. Bcus they felt protecting Mantle was more important than upholding the Atlesian status quo. Bcus they too were hurt by the toxic culture of Atlas and decided to make it so that the ppl of the future didn't have the same struggles. (And honestly I think they made the right choice. Look what obeying the status quo did to the Ace Ops. Half of them are dead and the other half are super traumatized now, if they weren't already.) Good for the Happy Huntresses

Also briefly circling back to the Semblance conversation! I love Robyn's Semblance from the whole "manifestation of the soul" outlook bcus I think it fits her as a person so well. I mean, Lie Detection? For someone who is so unbending in her pursuit of the truth? For someone who will always stand up for what she believes in no matter the scorn she may receive? YES, I love it! And it even checks the boxes of having an additional layer of a setback: When empathizing with Qrow in V8, Robyn explains that having a Semblance that could detect lies led to it becoming difficult to make connections in her childhood bcus ppl were scared she would sniff out their secrets. Lie Detection is probably one of my favorite Semblances, despite its simplicity, purely from a storytelling pov

[adellovesrowan]

RSA- I still have a few more weeks until finals (it’s at the end of May) so here’s a few extra details about Khanna Academy (btw did we ever settle on an official name): The dorm students have bunk beds, whoever shares a bunk with Mina better not have a fear of height bc she always takes the bottom bunk. She also decorated the ladder with vines. The school has a charm put on it to keep it from burning and a protective charm to keep any threats away from the school. Badeea teaches kids new spells

👇🏿👇🏿

OMG BUNK BEDS ARE SO CUTE dont worry if cherry became minas bunkmate she would LOVE to have the top bunk. shes energetic she would love having to climb up and down the stairs silly.

RSA- I think I’ve mentioned this before but Chiara as the school healer 🥺 Her being able to fulfill her dream of becoming a healer regardless of her lycanthropy. Her becoming more comfortable with who she is now that she’s surrounded by people who love her. I’ve mentioned a werewolf student before so I wonder how she and him would interact. Chiara’s very sweet so she’d probably be gentle with kids. Also Jae gets supplies for the school despite not working there. He opened up a restaurant.

thats what chiara deserves !!!! YES we love jae opening up his own restaurant its what he deserves !!! anon you got me thinking of future jae x chiara ( theyre my comfort straight ship dhksjs ) and im over here just AJFHHDKJD i love them

RSA- Does the school have field trips? If so, here’s a few possibilities: Badeea taking her kids to an art museum. Liz, JT, and Barnaby taking their classes to a magical creature reserve. Rowan and the tree farm!! Her telling the students about how wands are made before she starts talking about her family!! Mina would absolutely go on Rowan’s trip, she’d love seeing the different trees. And Cherry getting to see her grandparents!! What’s their relationship like?When did Rowan tell them about her

field trips are so great omg the possibilities🥺 id say the khannas absolutely ADORE cherry !!! i think they are that type of grandparents who smother you with kisses and spoil you with gifts everytime you come see them. rowan told them about cherry as soon as she was tested positive for pregnancy.

RSA- what classes does Cherry take? Which ones are her favorites? Addendum on the uniforms, there’s a skirt and pants option and students can switch between the two. Andre works in the fashion business and a lot of the students ( and teachers) love his designs. It’s what he deserves. Him and Badeea partnering up on an outfit that’s based on one of her class paintings. Badeea has all of her classes work on a painting together once a year. It’s shown at the end of the year.

i havent rly considered much abt her academics ajshkajsks. i ADORE the option to choose to wear a skirt or trousers. ur right it is what andre deserves !!! and ohhh thats so cute i imagine the students would always admire their collab pieces🥺 and omg i love the idea of some sort of art exhibition being held annually

[ameliora-j]

twin flame ii // gw x reader

words: 2k

warnings: angst. like a LOT. bestfriend breakup, mention of blood

a/n: this one is significantly shorter than the first,, sry besties :)

part one | part three | part four

your heart twisted itself in pained knots, increasing the pounding of your head tenfold. it had been this way for days now. christmas with the weasleys came and went and the tension between you and george was thick. you could barely even look at each other without passing hard glares. you had all planned to go to the field at the back of the burrow and play quidditch, and you were currently tasked with collecting george. you knocked gently on the twins’ door before opening it. “hi georgie,” you beamed.

“hello butterfly,” he spat the nickname bitterly and you were taken aback. you ignored the twinge of pain in your chest as you stepped further into the room.

“um… we’re all gonna go and play quidditch. if you wanna join,” you offered a smile. “i need my broom partner,” you had never learned how to fly a broom. you figured life should be lived on the ground, the way merlin intended it to be.

“no thanks,” he grumbled.

“c’mon georgie, we’re the dream team!” you persisted.

“why don’t you ask charlie to be apart of your dream team. seems he’s already replaced me with everything else in your life,” the last part was muffled, not intended for your ears, but you still heard it. you furrowed your brows slightly before answering.

“don’t be silly georgie, i can’t play quidditch without my partner. you can’t break up the dream team,” you pushed, ignoring your confusion.

“yn, i’d really rather not watch you eye-fuck my brother. go ask him to be on your team. or better yet, learn to fly a broom. it’s truly not that hard of a task, even a simpleton such as yourself should be able to catch on quickly,” he seethed.

your heart skipped a beat as it sunk to your stomach and tears pooled at your bottom lash line. you nodded once and pivoted on your heel to leave the room. you sniffled quietly as you closed the door to his room and went downstairs. “george?” fred asked as you came into view.

“he doesn’t wanna play,” you murmured half heartedly as you pushed passed the group of people to go outside. you released a sigh as you plunked yourself down onto the grass, lying back and throwing your arms over your eyes as you forced yourself to keep your tears at bay.

“hey, ynn, c’mon you can fly with me,” charlie offered with a smile as he held a strong arm out to you.

“nah, ‘s okay charlie. i’ll watch with fleur and hermione,” you murmured softly.

charlie’s brows furrowed slightly. you had never called him ‘charlie.’ it was always ‘char char.’ “you okay?” he asked and you simply nodded in response. he released a sigh as he jogged to the center of the field where his other siblings, and harry, were at.

“what happened mon amour?” fleur asked you softly.

“he called me stupid,” you sniffled. “said i replaced him with charlie but i didn’t,” you whimpered softly as you confided in the two girls sat on your sides. “he hates me. this was a stupid plan. ‘m just gonna go home,” you sobbed softly, causing fleur to pull your head to her lap as she trekked her fingers through your hair.

“i’m sorry, yn. i didn’t know he would react like this,” hermione spoke softly.

“not your fault, mione,” you murmured half heartedly as you stood and wiped your eyes. “‘m gonna go home,” you released a shaky breath as you pushed yourself to stand.

you dusted your bottom off as you walked back into the burrow. you waved your wand, packing your stuff neatly in your bag before you wrote a note, thanking molly and arthur and left it on the counter. you grabbed your bag and headed to the fireplace, throwing the floo powder and taking yourself to your childhood home.

“hey yn!” your older brother greeted. “thought you were spending break with the weasleys?” he asked, confused.

“yeah,” you murmured despondently as you walked up to your room.

“okay?” his brows furrowed slightly. when you got to your room, you took out a pair of sweatpants and a gryffindor sweatshirt that you stole from george’s wardrobe and forced yourself to shower.

the water was hot. boiling even. you should have flinched at the heat. screamed. cried. something. but you didn’t. you couldn’t. you were uncomfortably numb. so you just stood there, unmoving, staring at the shower wall as the scorching hot water fell over your body. your breaths came out irregularly as you stood there. your body was screaming for you to get out. to turn down the heat of the water. to do something to stop the pain of the burns. but your mind told you that you deserved this. you needed to feel something other than the pain twisting around in your chest.

by the time you stepped out, your skin was tinted with a slight pinkish color. you took a ragged breath in as you dried yourself off and pulled on the sweatpants and sweatshirt. you didn’t even bother brushing through your hair as you pulled up the hoodie and tied the strings tightly. you whimpered soft as your tears made a trail on the floor on your trek back to your room. you crawled out of your window and climbed up to the roof. you ended up falling asleep on your roof, exhausted from the weight of your tears.

~~

you spent the rest of your christmas break—and longer—at your own home. you didn’t return untill fred had owled you telling you had three more days of paid vacation for the year. you flooed to your shared apartment with the twins and changed into your uniform, brushing through the knots in your hair that had accumulated over the days you laid in bed, sulking. you walked down the stairs into the shop as you pulled your hair into a ponytail and took your post at the till. “sorry ‘m late,” you murmured to fred, who appeared to be filling in for you at the present moment.

“you okay, bunny?” fred asked as he slid over so you could take over. you could only manage a despondent hum as you began working.

“thank you for shopping with weasley’s wizard wheezes, were you able to find everything okay today?” you asked the young wizard at the counter with a smile that didn’t reach your eyes.

that’s basically how the rest of your day went. forcing your tears back everytime george had to speak to you and being only half present with the customers instead of your usual lively self. when the day had ended and george locked the doors, you walked into the twins’ office and handed fred an envelope. “what’s this, bunny?” he asked you.

“my two weeks,” you murmured softly.

“you’re quitting?” he asked with raised brows.

“yeah,” you murmured. “found a job uh… closer to home. my brothers will be by to collect my stuff tomorrow,” you told him. “‘m gonna go pack,” you didn’t let fred say more as you quickly turned on your heel and walked back up to the apartment. “sorry,” you murmured as you bumped into george on your way up. he only gave you a distracted grunt in response.

as you walked up the stairs, you heard the argument brew between fred and george on your behalf. “fix her!” fred demanded.

“i didn’t do anything!” george defended.

“you broke her,” fred pushed back.

“she’s fine,” you could practically hear george roll his eyes.

“she’s quitting.” fred deadpanned.

“what?” george asked, shock lacing his tone.

“and she’s moving back with her brothers. so go and fix her. make this right,” you decided to end your eavesdropping here and rushed upstairs and into george’s room, where all your things were kept. you knelt on the floor as you took out your suitcases. you were halfway done when you heard the door creak open.

“butterfly?” your heart twisted and tears stung the backs of your eyes at the nickname you hadn’t heard in over a week. “whatcha up to?” he asked.

“packing,” you murmured softly, but he heard. and boy did he miss your voice like hell.

“for what?” he asked curiously as he sat on his bed.

“‘m moving back home. got a new job,” never once did you look up from your task, for you knew if you did, you would break.

“where at, butterfly?” he knelt on the floor in front of you as he began to help you fold your clothes.

“some muggle bookstore. ‘s close to the house,” your murmurs could barely be heard over the loud thumping of both of your hearts. however, george picked up on every word. he grasped your hands in his, effectively stopping your progress. “george please,” you whispered.

“look at me, butterfly,” he demanded softly.

“george,” you repeated a little bit louder.

“look at me. and tell me this will make you happy. and i will let you walk out that door.” you didn’t. you couldn’t. you knew that this isn’t what you wanted as well as he did. “you can’t, right? because it won’t,” he pointed out.

“i can’t be here, george. i don’t want to be,” you told him, still refusing to meet his gaze.

“why? because of me? because i will leave. yn, if that’s what it takes to make you happy, then i will walk out of that door and go back to live with mum. you only ever have to see me in a professional setting. and i’ll communicate with you through fred at work,” he spoke seriously.

“i don’t want that, george. and neither do you,” you told him.

“i don’t, but if it makes you happy then that’s what you’ll get,” he told you.

“no george!” you shouted.

“then what do you want?!” he shouted back.

“you george!” you yelled, finally meeting his gaze. “i want you! i’ve only ever wanted you but you’re too fucking stupid to see what’s right in front of you! i mean merlin’s beard george i’ve been in bloody love with you since fifth fucking year but you’re never seen it!” you finally released all the emotions you’ve been holding in for years. “i just wanted you,” you whispered softly, your voice cracking as tears fell.

you pushed yourself to stand from the floor and waved your wand, packing the rest of your stuff as you grabbed your suitcase. “butterfly, i-“ you quickly cut him off.

“don’t, george.” there was acrimony written all over your tone. “i don’t want your pity.” you sniffled and hastily wiped your eyes. you passed fred on your way out.

“yn?” he asked softly.

“bye fred,” you murmured softly. “i changed my mind. my resignation is effective immediately. i won’t be in tomorrow.”

“yn wait,” fred called.

“please don’t,” you shook your head. “d-don’t try and get me to stay. please just… just leave me alone,” you sniffled.

“i’m sorry…” he spoke softly. you just shook your head and wiped your tears away as you flicked your wand to apparate back home. when you landed on the road a few miles away from your house, you let out a wail of agony. your arm had splinched during the apparition process. you took a deep breath and pushed yourself through it. you knew this was a bad idea. every wizarding book in history advised against it. even a muggle would know not to. but you pushed past the thoughts to apparate into your living room.

“yn!” your older brother shouted as he saw you, blood pouring from your splinched right arm. you were only able to take two steps before you fell to the floor of your living room. you let out a soft groan and a whine of agony before closing your eyes, letting the feelings consume you. the pain in your arm cancelled out the pain in your chest as you let darkness overcome you, falling into the void, listening to the frantic screaming voices of your siblings.

stupid feelings. stupid boys. stupid george weasley. stupid twin flame.

twin flame. it’s almost laughable now. what a lie.

tags: @i-love-scott-mccall @ellerosie2332 @rmvb24 @astralpcrker @daisybloommm @maybeisthemoon @moonliightbabes @stormi-ames @jochim322 @coninl @melonoptimist @lunajoyce3 @clairdemoony @mangoberry99 @imclueless @enya-2004 @prongsyy @lol-whoandwhat-is-dis @burnfleur @anything444ourmoony @horrorxweasley @alicecullens-gf @theincredibledeadlyviper @georgeweasleyshoe3697 @narwhalebaby

* crossed out means i couldn’t tag you

add yourself to my taglist

or the series taglist

[ellstersmash]

Three: Fifteen

Fandom: Dragon Age

Pairing: Solas x f!Lavellan (Modern!AU)

Rating: overall E for Explicit | this chapter T for Teen

|Previous Chapter| |Next Chapter| |Read on AO3|

--

    [  Results were inconclusive. Again. Any last-minute suggestions?  ]

Athi reads the message from Solas, then reads it again. Is ready to send back [???] but her phone buzzes again before she has the chance.

    [  Apologies. That was not intended for you.   ]

She smirks—

no shit

—deletes her question, taps out a response.

    [  :* i miss u too   ]

    [  oop sry. wrong #   ]

    [  Ha Ha.   ]

    [  sry bout ur results :(   ]

    [  Thank you. What are you doing today?  ]

“That Solas?” Sera says, not bothering to look up from her unbroken line of yellow glitter glue. “Tell him to suck it.”

    [  arts n crafts   ]

Athi snaps a quick picture of the mess they’ve made in their living room and sends it to him.

    [  sera says suck it   ]

    [  Of course she does.  ]

“He says hi.”

Sera gags dramatically. “Thought you wanted to help with all this, not flirt with your boyfriend.”

A snotty retort itches behind Athi’s teeth but she stifles it. Rolls her eyes instead and tosses her phone aside, the device bouncing once to rest face-down on the sofa cushion. She picks up a thick black marker with pungent permanent ink, and gets back to work filling in the block letters Sera lined earlier.

Her boyfriend. Gods, but that sounds strange. Childish. Like they go on dates behind the primary school, or pretend not to be having sex in the room down the hall from someone's parents’. And yet she finds herself giddy at the thought. To be fair, it’s all she has for the moment. The thought. He's off on some adventure, and she's stuck here. Again. They'd only had that one perfect day, breakfast and window shopping and holding hands like real life lovers under trees full of dry rainbow leaves fluttering their applause. And then he took a phone call and went home to pack and left first thing in the morning.

She wonders just how often this happens.

How important could it be? Not like a bunch of ancient artifacts are going to up and wander off if he can’t go poke at them right away. A mental note to ask him later, and she moves this poster to the pile of finished ones and exchanges it for another that says “YOUR VILLAGE —> OUR CITY.” Cute, though maybe a smidge too reliant on humans knowing their history.

“Sure you don’t want to come?” Sera asks.

“That’s not—” Athi sighs. “I told you, I have work.”

“Yeah, but isn’t this more important?”

“I don’t know. Do you want rent paid?”

Sera quiets, kicking her legs back and forth as she works. Her glue bottle sputters, spits shimmer all over. A frustrated grunt and she tosses it aside, rolls onto her back.

“I’m just saying you should care is all. ‘S not going to get any better if nobody makes noise, and nobody’s making it for us.”

“Us?" Athi scoffs. "When we met, you said—and I quote—‘So glad you’re not one of those elfy elves.’”

“Yeah, well, therapy’s all right. Besides, it’s not for elves, or not just. It’s for whoever gets stepped on. That means us.”

“I didn’t know you were in therapy.” 

“Maybe I don’t tell you everything," Sera mutters. “Thought of that?”

Athi caps her marker and lays it down. It’s just a feeling, but it's nagging. Persistent. Like and yet unlike the one she still gets when her papae calls her by her full name. Isalathena Sulahnera Lavellan, come here this instant, and it’s heavy on her chest, sitting right on top of her breastbone. Guilty, but she's not.

“What’s wrong?” she asks. Throws it out there before the feeling gets stale and she decides it's something she can live with.

“Nothing.”

“Right, ok, except for it’s not, so come on. Let's get it out and over with.”

Sera sits up, blonde hair sticking out in a couple new directions. “What’s your problem?”

“You! You’ve been acting weird all week, Ser. Haven’t come in for lunch or been home at night, responded to texts—”

“If you think I want to be in the next room while you and—”

“Oh, so you have a problem with Solas? That was one—”

“No!” Sera groans in frustration. “I mean, yeah, he is kind of old, and talks about old stuff a lot, and he’s all”—she straightens her spine into an uncomfortable posture, then slouches again—“but I like him well enough.”

"Then what?"

Sera stares at her hands for a while. Then out the window. Then at the wall. Then back at her hands. Athi’s patience is thin on a good day, and it takes a lot of willpower to keep quiet as Sera opens her mouth and closes it again, false start after false start.

Finally, Sera blurts out: “I want to ask Dagna to move in.”

Athi has no idea what she was expecting, but not that. Searching for some way to relate it to her own behavior, to justify her feeling or shove it aside, she takes so long to form a response that Sera begins to fidget.

“You what?” she asks at last, thoroughly stumped.

“I want to ask Dagna—”

“Yeah, I…” Athi tries to catch up, shuffles through the past month as best as she can in the pause between. “Here?”

Sera squints at her like she's stupid, but that's fair. It was a stupid thing to say. 

“No, my mother's. Yes here!” 

“I’m sorry, I didn't realize you two were dating again. What’s it been, a year since you broke up?” 

“Yeah. You were out at your friend’s place. Better you missed the makeup sex, though, yeah? More room for fun.” 

At first Sera’s cheeky grin has Athi smiling too. It’s a relief to talk about someone else’s shit instead of her own, but then Sera glances toward the couch and—

Oh.

Oh gods, she wouldn’t have . . . would she?

Athi gets up for a glass of water, makes it two at Sera’s request. Sits cross-legged on the coffee table when she comes back. Just to be safe.

“Isn’t it a bit fast?” she asks.

“Maybe. Doesn’t feel fast, though. If you add 'em all up it's been like, a few years or something, so it sort of works out to normal. If you think about it.”

“I guess.”

Sera empties her glass in one go. “Her lease is up next month,” she says.

Athi nods. “Right. So soon, then. Um… and if it doesn’t work out?” She leaves out the again, but it’s implied.

“But that’s why I should do it! See, I keep losing her because I’m not in. She was serious about us, but I kept messing around. Don’t even know why, really.” She looks on the edge of losing her momentum, halfway to introspection, then snaps back into the room. “But therapy! So this time, like Wicked Grace, right? I’m all in and she’ll see I mean it. And then it’ll work out.”

Her logic isn’t quite flawed but it’s far from perfect. Still, friends don't tell friends to be afraid. Especially when those friends have clearly put a lot of thought into their dynamic-altering life-changing decisions. So Athi drops the questions.

“Wow,” she says instead. “I didn’t know you felt that way about her.”

Sera shifts into soft focus and smiles, a faraway look in her eyes. “Me either.”

She seems so certain. Satisfied, and happy. Really, truly happy. And it’s kind of fucking beautiful.

Feeling overcome for no good reason, Athi goes back to her task. Long thick careful black lines, then short ones. She marks a pattern with them to make it less work and more play. Not that anyone will see unless they’re trying. And as she makes the spaces solid, a thought occurs to her.

“So,” she says, bright. Like it’s no big deal. “Do you want me to move out?”

“What? No! Course not. Why would you say that?”

There’s no time to answer. After so much silence, Sera bubbles over with unused conversation. 

“I mean, do you want to move out? You’re not moving in with Solas are you? Gross. Definitely too fast for that one. Bet he wants to get married first, in a chantry and everything. Is he Andrastian, do you know? Where is he, anyway? He travels a lot for work, right? Must be nice. Wonder if his job pays for it. Is he gone now?”

Too many questions, so Athi answers the last one.

“Yeah. Flies in late tonight. He’s picking me up after work.”

Sera snorts. “What, picking you up? So you wouldn’t get up to take him in, huh? Good girl. Stay strong. Trust me, you drive him once and you're in for forever.”

“No, he didn’t even ask. Figured he’d take a cab or something, but I guess he drove himself.”

“And paid for parking? What’s he, loaded?”

Athi grins and crosses her fingers.

“Real nice. I’m serious, Ath, that’s some weird psychopath shit. Nobody drives their own self to the airport. No one who has friends, anyway.”

"I think he's just used to being alone.”

“Way to make it sad.”

"Alone doesn't mean sad."

"It kind of is though. But then, he’s got people, right? Like Varric, and, well... I don’t know. People.”

Athi shrugs. “Habits can be hard to break, especially when you’re not trying.”

“Ooh. Very wise today."

"Shut up."

"I mean it!"

She doesn’t tell Sera about the other things. The books covering all his furniture. The busted bathroom door that he removed rather than replaced. The singular coaster on his side table. The way he forgets to be hospitable, then overcorrects, asks her if she needs anything three times in a row. His house, his life, is not prepared for the presence of others. Not meant to host company or take in strays or accommodate a lover, meant for him and his needs and his convenience and no more.

And she’s honestly not sure if that makes her an exception or an intruder.

--

“Woah.”

The door slams shut behind her. Very nearly catches her in the ass but she happened to freeze just beyond its reach.

The place is gutted. Or maybe it's not? Ceiling and walls are fine and nothing she can place is missing, tables and chairs and bottles of booze all present and accounted for, but it looks fucking empty. And clean, though she can’t tell if that’s real or just the lack of tasteless decor.

“I know, right?” Tali dumps a bucket of ice in the bin with the rest. “It was like this when I showed up today.”

Athi drifts in slow, perturbed by the smell of cleaning solution and the lack of clutter. Hangs her purse on the coat rack just inside the office, her jacket on top of that. Pulls her hair back, ties her apron, washes her hands.

“Were we robbed?” she asks, only half joking.

“Technically, that would be a burglary.”

“Were we burglarized?”

“You know,” Tali says, “If someone broke in just to take those awful knick-knacks and creepy pictures Seggrit had up, I say more power to ‘em. Enjoy your ghosts, thief!"

Athi giggles. “Worst was the cabin.”

“Are you kidding? I couldn’t even look at that family one. The kid’s vacant stare, blessed Andraste, I wanted to flip it around every time I walked in that door. And you know that cat had seen things. I mean, did Seggrit know them? Why were they on our wall?”

"Somebody had to keep an eye on us."

"And make sure we weren't flirting with tall handsome customers in the back alley?" Tali grins, tongue stuck out between her teeth.

"Why? You make that a habit too?"

Tali wrings out and refolds her bar towel. “Ok, sweetie. Keep your secrets. I'll get my details one day."

"Anyway." Athi gestures at the naked walls. "Change!"

"Right. It was Seggie for sure. He was here when I came in. Must have dealt with all that crap this morning, though I couldn't say what he did with all of it. Or why. Oh! And he left that.”

Tali reaches back and raps a knuckle on the fridge where a sheet of paper hangs. Athi slides it out from under the magnet. Scans its contents. Flips it writing-side-out toward Tali.

“The fuck is this?”

“A cleaning list.”

“I can see that. Seggrit made it?”

“Either that or your writer pal is moving in for real.”

“And that’s not strange to you? That he cares?”

Tali shrugs one shoulder. “Maybe he’s decided to rejuvenate this place. You know? Spruce it up, invest a little time, maybe hire some better bartenders.”

“Hey, don't sell yourself short."

"Bold of you to assume I meant myself."

“This is weird, though. Right?" She reads off the paper. "Sweep out back? Deep-clean the office? Dust the brick wall? Tali, most of these have nothing to do with anything. Where are the temp checks? Or the fucking tap lines? Or, you know, any of the shit we should actually be doing?"

“Beats me, babe. I'm just glad he's getting involved. You should’ve seen him whirling around here earlier. Something seems to have lit a fire under his rear-end.”

Another feeling, but she can't place this one. It all fits together somehow, or should. The list and the bare walls and the lack of fire hazards. Chewing on the puzzle, Athi picks a task at random, takes a spray bottle and a coffee filter to the windows. Even free of five years’ grime and in full sun, they don’t illuminate much. But that’s all right. The list says clean, and they are definitely that.

[city-of-angel]

Dear Self,

H+1 [sry for being late]

Yeah! Hmm, where do I start? Let’s talk about you!

Congratulations on your reborn! There are 3 important sections that we probably should talk about last year. 

Section 1:

GRACE

Yes, we talked about grace, you mentioned it in the last year’s ‘letter to myself’ that you want to find your grace. You want to be remembered as you, the real you, not the girl who’s been lost. Oh my god, that sounds desperate. Yeah, you sound like a desperate person last year, which is true. Just because you lost your purpose and benchmark of what ideal life is. But month by month, nature spoke to you back. And that feels damn good, when you let go of the negative thought! And yeah, you did go to a therapist once, because you can’t hold the pressure. You loved your job so much, your friends too much, you want to continue to run but you don’t have any energy left. Kinda feel like that! And THANK YOU mostly for my Crewmate for trusting me! HOWEVER, 2020 shocked me more than once. God tested you to give a reaction to an uncomfortable situation. And it kinda personal so you would not share it in detail. But..mmm, in short, you have all the choice and opportunity to drag someone to hell but you prefer not. Because., you already have your grace. Even, you help them up, build their mental health back, cheer them up, listen to them, and give a very honest + positive suggestion and motivation. And you do that for yourself, not for anyone. Because you are you, the real you. Which is good. I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!! REALLY!

Post Credits:

You have found yourself wiser than ever. You are a happy person and you have found your peace without dropping your crown. You are always the Queen, the Princess, and the Silly Girl. 

Reminder:

Always be brave to speak up about your opinion. To share your POV. To be kind without judgment. To be free from world misery by sharing your wisdom and kind words and action. You are not what people did you. You are you. 

Section 2:

VISION

This is gold. Dream. Idea. Destination.Vision. You of all the people in the world who has sooooo many beautiful dreams. There are so many that you want to do. You can feel it like ‘This is your time’. Someone told you that you refer to ‘Death’ Card of Tarot Major Arcana. Why death, you said? ISN’T THAT BAD! To create or manifest something new and pure, you have to die first. Then you reborn as a new person -pure, with a new lifestyle and healthier thought, and a clear head. You feel like it might be the year when your head is so clear like really crystal clear. I mean it was not about improvement. But it was a new thing. You do a lot of yoga last year which makes you improve your inner balance. On your daily exercise, you keep focusing on your destination and you start making day by day plan to reach that destination. To make that vision become the real purpose, not only imaginary. They said if you want to have something. Make it specific, think about it, feel it, plan about it, do progress about it. And every single time you thinking deeply about it, your subconscious will be trying to find the way for you. It will find the answer you are looking for. Do you remember that night? When you were crying because you were so tired of working? But you know you enjoyed and it was kinda slight burnout thing that night but you told yourself that: IN THE END, you will smile and laugh about it. This is only a night. Keep going on. And yeah it was a magical moment when something on your head become something that everyone can see and appreciate, it was from every drop of sweat and sugary drink that keep you up for thinking. I think what the wise man said was true: Opportunity is not luck. Luck is not an opportunity. Luck is when opportunity meets your readiness. So don’t wait for that opportunity to get yourself ready. Be ready first and it will come to you. Manifesting. 

Post Credits:

You made people invest in your thought, which is so illuminated on some point. Thank you sugary drink! You invest your calories to our benefit! Ha!

Reminder:

Don’t get too oversoaked about it. This is a new beginning. You will be tired, out of an idea, and out of place. Take a nap, a day rest, watch something, talk to someone. REST. This is a new path for you that might be a way to open a greater path, so don’t act off guard! 

Section 3:

TRUTH

You always want to feel something. You always want to feel. You always try to find a way to feel something. A good ending. A smooth process. A fairy tale. A good one. But in the truth, there’s always an obstacle. There’s always something’s wrong. You asked yourself “ What did I do? Why I deserved this”, The answer is not about what you did, but how?. The happy ending is intriguing stupid BUT what on criteria you will claim something like a happy ending?. You need to always set your optimism high, you need to dream high because it will triggers your move. When you want to go to the moon, you will build a rocket. When you want to go to the next city, you will build a car. That’s pretty simple. Your action is based on how much you invest and commit to your destination. BUT why the happy ending is stupid? BECAUSE sometimes we never admit or we NEVER REALLY CALCULATE that the worst obstacle will be there, the storm will be there, the burglar will be there. And the most important thing is ABOUT HOW YOU’RE GONNA DO ABOUT IT! Yes, ofc you have to be realistic and accept that probably shit will happen, there’s always a probability. Sometimes, you lower your standard just because you are too insecure and you are just afraid, you have no plan! You think like “Ahh whatever just see what happens later” NO! This year you realize that is a pretty wrong way. Lemme tell you something! THE TRUTH is that a happy ending is not a  destination. The happy ending is enjoying the process, hustling your best, preparing for the worst, and be responsible for your choice. That is a happy ending, dear. Life without regret until the very end. 

Post Credits:

It was amazing seeing you grew. You are the bravest person, the greatest person. One day you will see these words back. Maybe one year later or more if you’re not forgetiing this.  And you will smile because you know you are your own choice. 

Reminder:

You have all the choice in the world. No one gonna picks it for you. You have all the right, all the time in this world to live the life you choose. Remember that. 

BONUS SECTION:

GRATITUDE

Thank God, for letting me live in your cosmos.

Thanks for my family, to be there for me, even sometimes I’m easily stressing out at home and being sassy to you all. I am so sorry and grateful at the same time.

Thanks to Crewmate, amazing team, amazing experience. Thanks for letting me grow with you.

Thanks to My Friends across the world, thanks for sharing your time and let me see your glow and your flaw. Thanks for being my reflection

Thanks to Project Team, trusting me is a gamble right? But here we go, this is our new beginning

last but very not least,

Thanks to my muse, for making me realize that I always can be happy, sad, laugh, cry, drag down, reborn, glowing, loving, loved, resent, broken...almost. Everything. I can go thru it without you. But why am I always searching for something? In my room, in a public place, at 3 AM, every buffer and in missing beat on the song. Why am I always searching for something? Because hope is evil and sweet. Maybe we are poetry to each other in our encounter. And the purpose of your existence is still a mystery to me. Thank you. You are the music to my ear, always be a closure to my poem.

TO ANOTHER GREAT YEAR AHEAD.

THANK YOU, SELF.

[pooklet]

unaesthetic asks (anon edition)

i usually use a psd for asks to make them look nice and transparent and number them but tbh it’s just keeping me from answering asks quickly, having to shift layers around and stuff. so this is me literally cutting and pasting the text of some asks into a text post instead, sry.

if i did not answer yr thing here i lost/never got the ask, need a separate post to answer it (community lot anon), or worked myself into an anxious lather when i did not have an immediate response at the ready and fled into the woods to hide inside an old damp log and mutate slowly into a creature composed entirely of moss.

1) hey friend i think i can actually help with this one! slig did my poor lover for momma lisa, and has a few of my other skins linked to different body meshes in this tag here. @asimplevampire​ also did rehash for androgyny. those are the two i know off the top of my head but if anyone else knows any others pls reply to this post!

i don’t personally make showerproof skintones for body meshes because i a) am lazy and b) don’t usually take pics of my sims in the shower or naked in general so the occasional floating head just gives me a lil chortle when it does happen.

2) yis, it is the second to last one in this post by @magpieplayssims​ with a bunch of face masks piled on.

3) i use a personal edit of gunmod’s 3.1 A camera which alters the, like, central pivot axis so i can swing the camera underground into any basements i might be using. as a result, whenever i load the lot, it starts me off zoomed inside the floor, you just gotta zoom out with the scroll wheel to get above ground and it works normally from there. i haven’t figured out how to mitigate this while still being able to access underground rooms. which is why my edit never got its own post, but i did share it here.

4) nah, not really. i mean i have an outdated one at the back of my catalogue but my face is boring to me cuz i see it every day n stuff & i’m less and less interested in making human features now that custom sliders have let me go absolutely mad with power.

5) ye sorry i put that on my to-do list and promptly forgot about it cuz my brain seems to think that putting something on a list means it’s done forever now!!!! but now it’s actually done and i’m fixing the other links too.

6) yr phone is a craven liar and i will not stand for this libel. earlier today i was genuinely bewildered by a discussion about channing tatum cuz i thought his name was tatum channing. i sat there for minutes, convinced that there were two guys in hollywood one named channing tatum and the other named tatum channing and wondering if that ever got confusing for them.

7) u would be surprised, friend! my memory is a lawless wasteland but i do not end up chatting back and forth w/ many ppl b/c i am a seething pit of social anxiety. if we talked, like, more than twice, i probs remember u!

8) omg i was about to be like “nah i never made nosemasks for those” but that is a fucking lie of the highest caliber, i totally did make one (1) set and then forgot entirely about it. i will post them with the next batch of bodyshop content which should be Shortly (and if i don’t just yell @ me and i’ll just lazily put them on sfs and link them in a reply).

also thank u anon i am glad u like my content! :D

9) omg thank u so much anon that is so sweet of u to say!! truly i don’t feel like i have accomplished a whole lot beyond managing to snag @resurrection-failed​ but that is definitely the Best thing i could accomplish so i am 100% fine w/ that

10) oh ts4. i want to play it real bad but i have discovered that playing games that are still being updated and could break at any moment due to a new patch or ep gives me hives. esp when it’s sims games b/c those are held together exclusively w/ wishes and prayers as it is. they’re like the bottom panel of an expanding brain meme on spaghetti coding. at least when the game is Done there nothing else for EA to break (... right?). plus i only have base+pets and no money to throw at the other expansions so i could maybe download 1/10th of the cc available out there ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

but i am excited to be late af to the party. lemme tell u. thank u for saying such nice things, anon!! i hope u have a good day also. like, lots of ‘em.

11) hey anon! it’s built into tumblr’s text editor. u type the text first, highlight it, and click on the fourth button that looks like a slouchy figure 8 to insert yr link. i’m not sure if it’s the same on mobile, tho, cuz the tumblr mobile app is self-elected torture.

12) i do not right now but i can make one. idk if it would interest you but i am also doing a big ol’ blend of the hq eyes and wifezaya’s favorite ephemera mist eyes and will make a default version of those too when they are done.

13) nah i am still using my v3 texture for straight hairs and for waves or natural hair i just use nouk’s originals. i’m old-fashioned and boring. if u need help w/ making yr own, tho, i would suggest checking out @furbyq​’s tutorial here!

14) hey friend! i did have plans to do that, in that vague way where i have plans to do many things but most of the time end up taking a five-hour nap under a cat instead or watchin game grumps. luckily, @digitalangels​ is a doll and did it for me so consider this my official endorsement. i am pooklet and i approve this action.

15) hey anon. when did i call it that?? i think usually i just call it marriage or equal marriage if i need to specify (or gay marriage if i’m feelin Spicy cuz nonbinary-for-nonbinary is pretty gay). if i did say same-sex it was probs w/ implied air-quotes since that was the term du jour when we got married, which was 3+ years before the supreme court mandate, when it was only legal in some places and everyone was still ‘‘‘‘debating’’’’ the ‘‘‘‘issue’’’’ of queers gettin all married.

16) i been gatherin’ links for u anon but lemme look around a lil more. i will either give this its own post or add it as its own section in the resource post that is like .... five years overdue. meanwhile if anyone reading this has anything they either know is made for dark skin or works well universally or knows of a list like this that already exists, i would appreciate links!

17) I KNOW THAT’S YOU, AZAYA

[splattershotsundae]

Ink is Thicker Than Water --- Chapter 5: I give it a 10

Toda spent most of his afternoon wishing he felt well enough to pace. Finding out that Orvokki was still alive was no small news. She was a cruel woman, and visions of what she was like, and what she thought like still stuck with him and plagued his sleep. Another thing to worry about was Simon… They’d logged off in a huff, and he was genuinely worried, both about how they were and about… how they really thought about him.

A motion from his skope caught his attention and he took a sharp breath. Simon was back online.

T: hey

S: Hey.

T: I'm sorry about earlier. i was freaking out bout Orvokki, and I forgot and gt a little carried away. T: we decided we still arent going to do anyhting right now.

S: ... Ok.

T: ... u doing ok...?

Toda sighed a little after he sent it. He should just ask them... He was probably freaking out over nothing. Simon had told Jill that she was strong, in and out of battle, hadn't they? And hadn't they told him that they thought Rank was just a letter and a number, before they played Rainmaker? ... But when they lost at Blackbelly, they took that pretty hard... He'd thought it had something to do with what Yuri had said to them, especially with the conversation the two of them had had afterwards... but was that the case?

S:... Not really. S: But there's not much we can do.

T: Yeah...

T: can i ask u something?

S: Yeah, sure.

T: when did u know that u liked me? How long had we knon each ohter? T: Im not trying 2 b gushy, just curious.

S:... S: Call me shallow, but I'm pretty sure I was going to yell at you for bumping into me until I saw your face. S: when I said I'd always found you cute... I... Wasn't kidding. S: I kind of thought it would just be a fling...but here we are.

His breath caught in his throat, and it felt like his stomach had dropped a few inches. Oh no. Any other time he would've been a little flattered, but... no no no...

S: what really got me was... Getting to know you though... You've been a good influence on me. S: I wouldn't trade meeting you, or how I feel, for anything in the entire world.

T: Ive been a good influence on u?

S: Yeah.

He paused, looking at the message. What had he done that they'd think was a good influence? He typed a response, trying to make it sound lighthearted.

T: how so? hvae I... inspired u to make more puns or smoething? :P

S: Ha, maybe that in addition. S: ... I was starting to forget what trust felt like. S: well, except with Jill. But the point is, I needed some mutual trust... You and Bato sort of reminded me. You guys got me to open up. S: I'm sure there are other things here and there but... That's what comes to mind first.

T: ah...

S: Are you ok?

T: yea mi fnie

Toda winced; he'd sent that way too quickly... Quit stalling and just ask already, for crying out loud.

S: .... Toda...

He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, his face flushing, then took a deep breath. Here goes nothing…

T: We told Jill about the conversation we had the other day; we were trying to explain why w weren't going to tlak to 3, and we sort of back ourselves nto a corner. T: wen we told her you had sort of said not to mention it to hr, she said it was because u thoght she was weak T: Because she lkies to batle for fun, and u battle to win T: she thinks taht u think that makes hr weak

S: ... She... Still thinks that?

T: Thats what she said... T: ... So ou don't think that?

S: Did you think I do?

T: I didn't at first, cause I told u right when we met that B nd I play for fun T: btu seh said if u hd liked m from the start tehn u would have askd us anyway T: I still didn't wnat 2 tihnk that u thought liek taht T: btu i wsa...

S: i domt anytmore Damn it.

[SloshMasterV3 is offline]

T: wiat no! His fingers trembled. He didn’t mean to make them upset again, he just… He took another deep breath and wiped his eyes. At least he had an answer… Sort of...

He read their last message again; they didn't anymore... So had they used to?

A chime pulled him from his thoughts.

[4PawzAndMeow is online.]

J: re u the reason theres a new barrge of sobs comin form S's room?

Toda's heart sank. Oh no…

T: ... Probbly...

J: O J: I... wasn't bein serioos.

T: u soundd pretty serious

J: i ment th@ i didnt think u were Y... sry

T: oh

J:... U dint brak up wih thm did U?

T: no no T: no I didn't

J: @ lest theres th@

T: yah...

He glanced at Simon's tab. He needed to apologize again... But… it could be hours before they came back online…

T: hy Jill T: can I cme ovr? T: I want to say sory to thm. T: or hve a chance to

J: say sorry 4 wh@?

T: how abot if thy dn’t wnat to hear it I go to yuor room an we cn talk

There was a long pause.

J: yeah K. J: th@ works.

T: k T: be theer soon

J: k

He took a deep breath, then got his shoes on, slipped on his Splattershot Jr’s holster, and went on his way, taking his time so he didn’t wear himself out. He thought all the way over, running through his head his apology over and over again. How much should he say? Probably everything. As he drew near to the Grace house, he took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Madeline opened the door, blinking in surprise. "Toda?" She asked. "Simon and Jill didn't say you were coming over."

"Afternoon, Mrs. Grace." Toda said, probably more formally than he needed to. "Jill invited me over about an hour ago?”

She paused, glancing over her shoulder for a second, then stepped aside to let him in. “Alright, just don’t bug Simon right now, they’re… not feeling so good today.”

He felt a twinge of guilt; That was the exact reason why he was here. "Thank you.” He said, peering around as he entered.

It was still quite a mess, the floor was scuffed and stained in a multitude of places, the stairs had no railing, bullet holes in the walls, the drywall on the ceiling was cracked, and Madeline’s prized roller was resting beside the stairs instead of hanging on the wall, at least for the moment. It looked like a warzone, and to be fair it sort of was. He gave a nod toward Madeline, then carefully made his way upstairs, managing to avoid grabbing for the railing that was no longer there.

He carefully stepped up to Simon’s door, a lump in his throat. He could hear faint sobbing on the other side, and he briefly considered skipping and just talking to Jill… when he saw her staring at him from down the hall. Her gaze flitted from him to the door and back again expectantly.

He took what felt like the millionth deep breath that day and knocked softly on the door.

“Go AWAY!” They shouted immediately.

He flinched, glancing for the stairs and praying Madeline hadn’t heard that. "Simon?" When there was no reply he steeled himself and continued. "Simon, I.. I wanted to apologize for earlier. I would have sent a message on Skope, but you were offline and… " He looked down at the floor. “The question was personal, it… I hope it didn’t feel like… an attack. When Jill.. When she told me about your past, it... Kind of struck a nerve with me. There was this kid I was sort of friends with for a while, named Benny; I think I referred to him once as a 'Luna-wielding ass'... It's a long story, but I should have known better than to think that you would think like that. I know you're not like that, I know that isn't you. I'm really sorry."

There was a long pause before the door opened a crack, and Simon stuck out their hand. Gingerly he took it, grip loose, just in case they wanted to pull away. However, their grip tightened, and they flung open the door, pulling him into an embrace.

He squeaked and stumbled as he almost lost his balance, but then squeezed them tight, resting his chin on their shoulder. "I-I'm really sorry." He repeated.

"... Nothing’s getting easier..." Simon whispered.

"No, it it isn’t..." He agreed. "... You'd think we would've earned a break at this point, huh?"

"You would think..." They agreed with a sigh. "... Well, while things are this difficult, if this 'Benny' shows his face you let me know so I can punch it."

He smiled just a little bit. "I will... Thanks."

"No problem... You don't even have to tell me why." They said quietly.

He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "... Is there someone I should keep my eyes out for?" He asked. "So I can return the favor?"

Their grip tightened around him. "Roderick. You see that bastard you can punch him as hard as you like."

"Gladly." He muttered with a small nod.

"It's a deal then." They said.

"A deal.” He agreed. “… Can we sit down? I had to do a lot of walking and I’m kind of worn out...”

“I’m not surprised, it’s awfully late.” They said, edging over to sit on the foot of their bed.

“… Wait, it is?” He asked, pulling away.

“… Yeah, Toda, it’s like, 10. Dude, it’s dark out and it’s summer, what time did you think it was?”

“I dunno, 6? 6:30?” He said, feeling his cheeks flush.

Simon slowly put one palm on their face. “Did you even set up a ride home? The trains are going to close soon.”

“… I forgot to tell my mom I was leaving.” He admitted.

Their other hand joined the first. "… Okay, I can ask my Mom if she'll drive you home-" They broke off for a long moment. "... You're probably not going to be comfortable with that."

"... Not really." He said, breaking off eye contact, sure his ears were flushed by now.

“How about I ask mom and dad if you can sleep over, and then we play some video games downstairs?

He smiled at that, nodding “Yeah… I need to call my parents too.”

They smiled. “Okay, meet me downstairs soon.” They said,

He nodded, absently adjusting his cap as he watched them go… They were still so cute…

After a moment he pulled his phone out of his pocket. “… Hey dad, it’s Toda. Can I stay the night at Simon’s house?”

THUD

Toda sat up with a snort, rubbing one of his eyes as he tried to figure out what was going on.

"Of course it's still a problem!" Jill was shouting.

"Shhh! Keep it down! He's still sleeping!" Simon replied.

"And already it's all about him!" She snapped.

Oh no. He remembered now. He’d spent the night at Simon’s house, after coming over to apologize… apparently there was still friction between the twins however… He grabbed his squidvader cap and started to put it on.

"It's not all about him! What's this 'it' you keep talking about anyway!?" Simon snapped, he could hear them pacing outside.

"I... I don't know, but.. This isn't working!" Jill replied.

"No SHIT. But I'm not just going to sit here while you yell at me for every mistake I've ever made." They said angrily.

"Maybe you should apologize for once!" She huffed.

His hearts sank a little. “Oh no...” He abandoned tucking all his tentacles into his hat and stood, quickly making his way to the door.

"I thought this might be the one time you'd be ok with it!" They exclaimed.

"You broke your promise!" She said.

"Ok, First off, We shouldn't be having this argument right now, and second of all, I thought you /liked/ Toda!"

"I do!! I do! He's the nicest kid you've ever dated. But I'm tired of you being so selfish and hypocritical!"

"Hypocritical? How am I-"

"You talk about how you want to be just like mom, just as good as mom. But when it comes down to it, you /have/ to have me with you, and you only use our squad as a dating device!" Jill shouted. “None of us deserve that!”

Toda flung open the door and peeked out, having to use one hand to hold his hat on. Both Jill and Simon turned to look at him, looking rather embarrassed.

“… Hey Toda~” Jill said, tone cheerful, but posture anything but.

“… Sorry.” Simon said, looking away.

"... It's okay." He mumbled, still a little bit groggy. He looked between the two of them… they were both obviously upset… He was never good at helping during something like this, that was what Bato was good at… Right, be like Bato. He squared his shoulders, then stepped up and put a hand on Jill’s shoulder. “It’s… okay to be upset.”

“Upset? I’m more than upset!” She said, pulling away from him. “I’m furious!”

“Tell me something I don’t know.” Simon huffed. “We should just leave it.”

“Leave what, the squad!?” She snapped. "You'd probably LIKE that! You can just as easily find a cute and/or muscular and dumb boy to replace me by tomorrow!"

"Jill!"

Toda flinched a little bit at her tone, pressing himself up against the wall. "Jill… Can you maybe take a deep--”

"ADMIT IT! YOU DON'T WANT ME!!!" She interrupted.

"YES! I! DO!!!" Simon snapped back.

"BULLSHIT!!!" She screamed. YOU LIED ABOUT DATING TODA, YOU PROMISED YOU WOULDN’T USE OUR SQUAD FOR DATING AGAIN, ALL YOU DO IS LIE LIE LIE!"

“Jill I--” Toda tried to cut in.

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!!!" They screamed back.

“Simon---” He tried again.

"YOU ALSO LIED ABOUT THE AGENT THING!!” Jill screeched.

"I-I DIDN'T LIE, I JUST DIDN'T TELL YOU!!!" Simon hollered, slightly wavering.

“ENOUGH!” Toda snapped, flushing with embarrassment. “… Sorry, I… You’re not going to get anywhere if you keep screaming at each other! Jill, what’s really wrong?”

Jill was silent a long moment. “… I… I’m lonely, and I’m worried I’m going to lose Simon to you…”

Toda’s ears drooped. “I’m not trying to take them away… I’m sorry you felt that way...” He slowly looked at Simon. “… Simon, what about you? What’s wrong?”

They looked at him a long moment, then sighed. “… I… I’m scared I’m going to lose you too Jill, but… I’m scared that if we get involved, we’ll.. die. It’s dangerous out there, and I don’t want you to be left without me, or to be without you, or both of us to be gone, and our parents are left in a ruined house all by themselves...”

Jill was quiet for a long moment. “… So you aren’t… just scared of me being hurt?”

They shook their head. “No, of course not. I’ve been hurt out there just as easily…” They sighed. “I’m sorry, for… saying that you were weak once… I didn’t know it had stuck with you and I didn’t know just how much I’d hurt you. You’re not weak, and trust me, I’ll never say you are again. You’re stronger than me in a lot of ways.”

She paused, then huffed. “No I’m not...”

“Yes you are.” Simon pressed. “You’re stronger in will and in joy, and… maybe physically, I’m not sure.”

She started laughing, then wiped at her eye before holding out her hand, palm down. “To Splattershot Sundae.”

They smirked, and put their hand on top of hers. “To Splattershot Sundae.”

“To Splattershot Sundae.” Toda agreed, putting his hand on top of theirs.

There was a long pause, then Jill put her other hand on top and spoke in a deep voice. “I’m Bato and I’m totally here.”

Toda laughed. “Dear Judd, that’s spot on.”

"... We good Jill?" Simon asked.

"We're much better. I'll... Try to talk with you if something comes up, rather than just blow up." She said awkwardly.

“I would appreciate that.” They huffed. “… Hey, where’s mom and dad, they hate it when we fight.”

Jill got a gleam in her eye. “Mom got… /the call/”

Simon’s eyes went wide. “Really?”

"... The call?" Toda asked, glancing between the two of them with a confused look.

"The call's just what we call it when Mom suddenly gets dragged in to more work, but she can't legally tell us what it is." Simon explained. "But in this case that's good news… perhaps a battle’s around the corner."

He smiled. “Oooo, that is good news!”

"And then Dad's off to regular work." Jill asked.

"Seems we've got the house entirely to ourselves." Simon shrugged. "As well as the burden to make breakfast, I think."

Toda's stomach growled a little bit at the mention of breakfast and he blushed, rubbing the back of his neck.

Jill giggled. "It seems like a cereal morning to me!” She said, then sprinted down the hall. “Better come after me quick or I’ll put ice cream on it!”

“Jill, no!” Simon yelped, running after her.

Toda laughed and ran after them, letting himself smile.

Toda is Knitter’s character.

Simon and Jill are Shuckle’s characters.

Splatoon belongs to Nintendo.

Please consider liking or reblogging if you enjoyed, it’s nice to know we’re doing things right.

Shuckle has a patreon if you would like to provide additional support!

[<PREV] [INDEX] [NEXT>]

[spacechip707]

Can you please do #60 for Seven/MC with a lot of fluff? c: (I like embarrassed Seven so if you don't mind can you do that?) I love your writing! It gives me so much happiness and makes me smile whenever there's a new chapter. Thank you so much for that!

I hope this is enough fluff for your sweet tooth! :) and Thank you, anon! It makes me happy that my writing brightens your day:) 

Prompt #60: You are my sunshine

 One would think that it would be the power outage that sent the RFA into absolute chaos inside Jumin’s penthouse. But no…it was three little words.

“Wait…where’s Seven?”

Yoosung noticed his disappearance first, but Jumin reacted before the question even left the blond’s mouth. With a sigh, you watched the scene erupt into something worthy of the best sitcom. You lifted your phone and started recording from your place on the kitchen island. Jaehee was trying to calm Jumin, who was frantically looking for his beloved cat. Meanwhile, Zen was howling with complaints about said cat. And lastly, Yoosung sat in the middle of the floor, head held in his hands, and regret exuding from his very body.

After half a minute, you saved the video and sent it to the culprit.

MC: Look what you’ve done.

You didn’t have to wait long for a response. You opened it, expecting a string of emojis…perhaps a detailed plan…an invitation to join him. Your fingers trembled at the prospect of all the fun you would have with your partner in crime.

707: Haha…Sry

You deflated. His response was so…lifeless.You hovered your thumbs over the keyboard, preparing some sort of reply. But worry squelched any of your enthusiastic answers.

MC: Where are you?

You waited a few minutes, the sinking feeling in your chest growing worse with every second. He couldn’t have gone far. You chewed on your bottom lip as you once again turned to the disorder unfolding in front of you. No one there would be of any help.

You hummed quietly at the phone, sending the same text in case it didn’t go through. A faint ding echoed in the distance. An idea sprung in your mind. Seven would probably make you pay for the flood of notifications, but…when had his threats stopped you before?

You sent one text…then another…and another…all the while, straining your ear over the clamor to listen for the source. It took you awhile to find him. Not only was Jumin’s house large, but some of the hallways weren’t as lit in the outage, and you got lost one or two times. But finally, your long string of texts and your phone’s flashlight led you to a spare coat closet in the middle of the main hallway. Your knuckles had barely hit the wood when you heard Seven’s exasperated cry.

“Elly! Move away from my–ouch!”

You cringed at Elizabeth’s hiss. “Er–Seven? You okay?”

He squeaked and suddenly went silent. Your lips twitched downwards. Was he avoiding you? In a bout of spite, you called his phone. You crossed your arms as the nyan cat theme song drifted from the closet.

The door  opened slowly. You flinched when what you assumed to be Elizabeth tickled your leg as she darted to freedom. In the dim light, you could see Seven giving you a sheepish grin. He was about to step out of the closet, but for some reason, you thought it would be a good idea to push him back in and join him, closing the door behind you.

“Oh, MC, such a bold move,” he sung. “I didn’t know you felt so strongly about me.”

Your face burned at his coy remark, but you suppressed your embarrassment. You shined your phone light onto him, making him squint. “What the heck are you doing in here?”

“Well, I was trying to fix the outage,” he said, gesturing to the open panel at the back of the closet. “But then, one thing led to another, and Elly got in and sat on my phone, and then she scratched me–”

He pulled up his sleeve, revealing the thin lines of blood streaking his arm. You winced, but you were pretty sure he deserved it. After all, the door was closed after Elizabeth seemed to have gotten in.

Seven sweeped his own phone off the ground and flopped back onto the floor in front of the panel. “But as you can see, I’m fine. You should go back to the others. Send me more videos.”

You were unfazed by the fake, exuberant responses. Even in the poor, combined light of both of your phones, you could see his brows twitching as he pretended to concentrate on the panel.

You sat down and stared straight at him. At first, there was no reaction. He continued to maneuver his fingers across various wires, pulling some here and there. But then, his actions grew more restless. Glancing at you from the side of his eyes…ruffling his hair in frustration…and finally twisting his entire body to face you.

He calmly crossed his legs and folded his hands in his lap. “Okay, spill it. What’s wrong?”

“I’m here to ask you that,” you returned.

He raked a hand through his curls. “I already told you–”

His last words were interrupted when you pinched his cheeks harshly. He whined as you tugged his face back and forth. “Don’t lie to me, Seven. I know you too well,” you said, keeping your tone slightly playful knowing he might just avoid talking about whatever was bothering him.

He grabbed your hands and pried them off of his face. He pinned them together before you continued your torture. “Nothing. It has nothing to do with the RFA or you.”

You pursed your lips, not satisfied with his answer. Still, you didn’t want to intrude past your limits. You were always careful with your distance… not because he was “Mr. Dangerous” as he insisted, but he seemed to open up to you a lot more lately. You were terrified that one day you’d push him too far, and he’d retreat further into himself. You weren’t sure you could handle that. As much as you were scared to admit it, the bright–albeit sometimes loud–hacker had weaseled his way into your heart.

“Rough day at work?” you ventured.

He gave an affirmative grunt, finding a sudden fascination with your fingers. Warmth spread through your cheeks as the pad of his thumb ran down your palm with surprising gentleness. “I just…needed a few moments to myself. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

You hummed in understanding. Although, your chest ached a little seeing his lips downturned in a distressed frown. You cleared your throat, snatching his attention. “Well, then, Defender of Justice, I offer my services to rid you of your sorrows for a small fee.”

“What’s that?” he responded. Even those two words were heavy-laden with an unknown affliction.

You extracted your hands from his before placing a finger on either side of his mouth. You pulled upwards. Laughter spilled from your lips as you observed his confused and ridiculous smile you had enforced. “You have to give me one of these! A genuine one.”

“Hey!” he said, though his muffled admonition only made you laugh more. Again he grasped your hands in his lap. He pressed his lips in a fine line. His eyes narrowed, and he leaned forward conspiratorially. “Anything?”

You nodded, knowing there was a chance you might regret leaving yourself to his command. 

He clicked his tongue and leaned back against the wall. “Okay, then…do an impersonation of Elly.”

You smirked before swiping your nails across his exposed arm. He yelped and jumped back. He shot you a disgruntled scowl before muttering, “Touché.”

He snatched your phone and his from the ground and turned off the flashlight. You two were now completely engulfed in darkness. “Uh…Seven?”

“Next thing,” he went on, his voice still in front of you. “I’m placing our phones in a corner. Find them.”

You hesitated at the request. It was far too easy. After all, the closet wasn’t that large to begin with. You reluctantly crawled on all fours patting around the corner to your left. Then suddenly, two arms wrapped around you from behind, pulling you back before you realized what was happening. “Got you!” he cheered.

Seven’s fingers danced up and down your sides, causing peals of laughter to erupt from your mouth against your will. He didn’t stop until you were out of breath and gasping for air. His own laughter joined yours, and you couldn’t help the grin that spread across your face.

“Payment received,” you said. “Hope you’re satisfied.”

His arms tightened around you, and the scruff of his hair tickled your neck as he squeezed you in his embrace. “You’re my sunshine. You know that?”

If anyone else had said it to you, you would’ve dismissed it as the cheesiest statement on the earth. But with Seven? You couldn’t stop your head from spinning.

Then, in the midst of the darkness, something soft feathered against your lips. If his words lit  a flame inside your chest, his kiss sent a wildfire scorching through your veins.

He pulled away abruptly, his arms loosening their grip around you. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” he blurted. “I-I meant to kiss your cheek, but I couldn’t see and–Gah! Why did I even do that? You probably hate me, right? Do you want to slap me? Would that make you feel better–”

You silenced him simply by reaching out your hand and placing your fingers where you thought his face was. You traced along his features until the tip of your thumb reached his lips. A gulp slid down his throat, and you felt the warmth of his breath as he parted his mouth.

“Seven…” you hesitated. Your hand drifted from his face, and your fingers curled against his chest. Your body seemed to be pulled by an invisible string, drawing closer and closer out of its own volition.

Once again, your lips met with all the hesitance from before. Then, a spark and all was aflame. You lost yourself in bliss, only aware of him.

How he pressed into the kiss…how his hands pulled you against him as he deepened it…how he cupped the back of your neck…the feeling of his racing heart under your fingers…the sweet taste on his mouth…the light flooding into the room…

No wait.

You jumped apart, and Seven unceremoniously shoved you off his lap. Fluorescent light shone from the doorway, casting a shadow into the previously completely dark closet. You turned to see a silhouette of a tall man in the doorway, his ponytail swinging behind him.

“G-guess the power came back on?” you said, a nervous chuckle escaping your throat.

Zen glared down at you two–well, mostly Seven. The latter clambered to his feet, and you followed suit.  “C-calm down, Zen,” Seven said with hands raised in surrender. “I can explain.”

The older man exhaled shakily, a strained smile plastered to his face. “MC…I think you should join the others and continue the meeting. Seven will be there soon.”

You turned to the red head who had turned several shades paler, despite the flush on his cheeks. You patted it gently. “I’m sure he’s just teasing,” you reassured.

He didn’t seem so hopeful. You exited the scene before you made things worse for him.You stopped in the empty kitchen and pressed a hand to your still thundering heart.

You weren’t sure what was going to happen next with Seven. Was it a mistake? Would he even accept you now? You didn’t know the answer to either. But, there was something hopeful blossoming inside of you. Perhaps the events of this evening would end in nothing. Or…perhaps it could end with…everything. Your chest was ready to burst at the prospect.

You glanced back in the direction of the small closet. But you supposed…Seven would have to make it past Zen alive first.

[luxthecrownguard]

Life: Trying to be Together

((This was inspired by a pic I reblogged recently on here of where Lux fell asleep on a couch and Ez’s jacket was placed over her I thought it was so adorable.  So, I collaborated on a drabble with @dysentery-ezreal who helped put in the Ezreal parts and I absolutely adored this. Enjoy this drabble and follow that fluff, that fluff is so sweet))

Thankfully the weather outside was fairly cooperative, the sun still beating its warm rays on the land beneath its reign and a gentle breeze sweeping wherever it's nimble fingers could inch their way into. 'One … two... one... two...' A huff left her lips as she counted in pairs the steps she took to his home, it was a trip she'd made a few times before but it didn't change how nervous it made her; Butterflies fluttered in her stomach, her cheeks flushed at just the thought and her heart felt like it was going to rip free from her chest with a leap of faith to the ground. Swallowing hard and tucking a stray strand of golden hair behind her ear, the streets of Piltover still as busy as the last time. Between them she was more likely out of the two to get lost, he insisted a few times that she carry his address with her but there was no need. Just once and she knew exactly where it was as if it was burned into her memory, and thankfully he lived on the bottom floor because stairs did not sound pleasing at this time. She'd spent the last week running around like an idiot, no time to breathe in-between and with some luck had somehow acquired the time off... take what you can get. Letting the bag gracefully drop to the ground, her knuckles rapping against the door to announce her arrival as she viewed the area around her. One minute. ‘ I bet he’s not even home….’ 

Ezreal wasn't known for being punctual or focused, it was a miracle his boss hadn't fired him. More often than not he was prone to being easily distracted by external things, and on occasion musings or flights of fancy would carry his attention elsewhere. Ezreal had discovered quite a few things in this way, and lead his team through previously unremarkable places. So, despite his meandering nature, his fellow scientists reaped the rewards of his bizarre findings and therefore secured his job. Provided he submitted his reports on time, which he did for the most part. The image of his boss' finger wagging threateningly in front of his face was soon transformed after a glimpse of the picture he had of Lux on his phone. He dug the phone out of his back pocket, her perpetually smiling face stared back at him, held in stasis for that one moment in their history together. He felt immeasurable happiness knowing she was a part of his life, a smile tugging at his lips. Then his phone rang, disturbing these thoughts and feelings as he spoke to his boss once more. Ezreal hung up, a pang of guilt twisting his gut knowing he would be late because of this last minute emergency, but there was no time to lose. Perhaps she would take some time to herself? She had not messaged him since yesterday, and he wasn't sure if she was busy with some last minute work today or not. His phone buzzed again, another message from his boss, and all thought and worry was temporarily gone, for now, focused on his task at hand. Two Minutes. Another series of knocks plagued his door, this time it had a more fervent approach and a rather impatient note tagging at the end. She didn't really think about what she was doing but nervous ticks began to take over; First, her hand glided over the skin of her rubbing up and down as she peered around, a feeling that she already knew he wasn't home but that hope he would just come prancing up still remained. She paced out a few steps glancing in the streets then back to the door where she crossed her arms tightly across her chest and began rocking her foot onto its side, snapping it back quickly in her building anxiety but yet, there was still no reply from his home. Chewing on her lip, it didn't take much to remove her phone from her pocket and typing furiously at the screen. Lux 6:48pm: Ez, I'm here..... I thought you said you were going to be home? :( Lux 6:49pm: I've knocked twice. U aren't sleeping r u? If u r I didn't mean to wake you..... Clicking the phone back into it's oblivion and tapping her thumb against the darkened screen, 'I could've just called....' Shaking her head turning down that idea because if she'd interrupted him in the middle of something, or if he'd gotten hurt trying to answer her call.... she nearly jumped out of her skin when it lit up from his reply: His leg bounced to some sort of rapid, internal rhythm while he listened to the technical aspect of what went wrong in the lab. Some sort of time bomb involving a pressure cooker, that was new. Ezreal wondered who could have thought leaving one of those alone was a good idea? Certainly not himself, he was only there because it was part of his wing. The steam had set off the fire alarms, and he could see out of the second story window as the firemen and scientists hashed it out in the parking lot. The police had arrived, too. 'Man, what a mess.' As he turned back to regard their boss who was now talking damage reports and possible budget cuts, Ezreal noticed his phone was blinking. As surreptitiously as he could, he drew his phone across the table and into his lap to check. His stomach lurched as he saw the messages from Lux. 'Oh, shit...' he tried a few times to type a message to her that didn't sound too rushed or too dismissive. He didn't want to worry her after all. Eventually, he settled on a good one. At least he thought it was succinct but welcoming enough. 

Ezreal<3  6:51pm: Sry, got stuck in meeting. Look 4 key in planter under right window. Back Soon <3 A sigh of relief left her lips, announcing that the panic had fled from her thin frame but it was certainly laced with another emotion... disappointment, not that she wasn't excited to be here they both just stayed so busy that whatever time they got together was rather precious. A weak smile forced itself onto her face as she slowly slid her finger across the screen to reply: 

 Lux 6:54pm: Thx. Can't wait 2 see u. :)) <3 Miss u. The blinking of his phone caught his attention once more a few minutes later. He was so relieved he had to repress an audible sigh as she was able to find the key and get herself in alright. He had been gnawing his cheek and tongue the past few minutes of the meeting and worriedly checking his phone. He felt he could finally breathe again, his leg even stopped its perpetual bouncing. Again, with great care not to be obnoxiously ignoring his boss, Ezreal typed her a quick little message in response and was focused for the rest of the meeting. Thankfully, it was all text and she couldn't give everything away like an open book, every look she gave a new sentence describing whatever she felt. Tucking the device securely back into her pocket she looked for the planter, picking it up and sliding the bronze key from its hiding spot. The carved metal slid securely into it's dictated position and clicked the door into the open position letting it swing open with the small push of her foot. Pulling the key from the door, slinging the bag back onto her shoulder after returning the item to it's hiding position she noted the bits of mud missed just at the door, showing it had welcomed him home several times. That forced grin quickly pushed into a true smile, even if it was small just the thought of the times he'd come back covered in mud … not always restricted to his boots brightened the mood. Closing the door behind her, sliding it back into the locked position and walking down to his room where she sat her bag in the chair. A huff left her lips,' What am I to do … when you're not here....' Blue orbs searching the area she dug into the traveling package she'd carried her things in and tugged some clothes, a few bath needs and decided to clean up.  Preferring a shower over the bath she let the warm water fall over her frame, the steam rising much quicker than most let... she liked it hot, and her muscles adored it. Her chest rose and fell heavily with each exhausted breath she let out, the aching of her feet becoming numb from the heat. She'd brush through the checklist in her mind, and would be out as soon as it was done using her bare hand to wipe the mirror clean, staring at the image briefly. The steam quickly overtook the spot she'd cleared for viewing, hiding her face once more as she dried her hair and replaced the towels neatly in their spots. Once she was dressed Lux trudged out in her socks across the floor, he was his own open book and it was clear where he spent his most time; The kitchens counters, stove were spotless and almost sparkled like her magic it was so clean but the moment she opened the fridge Lux couldn't help but laugh a little. Tugging old take out boxes she began to toss them in the trash along with a few other things and even took a moment to rearrange an item or two that he actually had in his fridge.  Though, it didn't catch her eye till last second that the light in the microwave was lit and the door just barely propped open, tucking her fingers in the handle and prying it open her eyes went wide, “ Oh Ez...” A shudder at the sight ran through her frame, “ how can you even....”  Ezreal's mind was far from home as he spoke to his colleagues, they were all worried but grateful in the end that their budget hadn't been cut. The culprit had been discovered and was being dealt with personally. 'Poor guy, just had his first kid, no wonder he was so distracted...' Ezreal shook his head as the man shuffled into the office, looking like he hadn't slept in days. He noticed how dark it had gotten out as the group left the building, now discussing happier things like their favorite sports teams, or what their families were up to. A few fellows even invited him to go to the bar down the street. Ezreal waved them off with a big grin, saying he had plans with his girlfriend and they all cooed or cat called him, leaving with laughter. Disaster avoided, everyone was in high spirits, and it showed. The car ride home was made even sweeter as he imagined Lux and that bright smile of hers being there to greet him. A sigh left her lips, a shake of her head at how cute it actually was that she could read such small things even without him there. First, she'd put on the coffee to brew and setting it to go off while she attended to other things. Grabbing the supplies he did have, the microwave got it's much-needed cleansing from the hellish attire it had taken onto its walls. Not too much time either, it was just enough that by the time she finished the coffee pot blared its siren telling her it's tasty treat was finished. Lux loaded her cup of coffee with sugar and walked it over to the table next to his couch before grabbing the reports she'd brought with her; A groan left her lips at the aching muscles as she pulled her phone out, sitting on the piece of furniture the little light in the corner blinked and on the front of her screen just beneath the clock ( 9:02pm ) : Ezreal<3 (6:57pm): Same, Love cakes :) A chuckle left her lips as she lounged back setting the device on the table and tugging her shorts littered with rainbows on them down a little so it remained comfortable. Laying like that for a little while it didn't take much for her to nod off, leaving the cup of caffeine barely touched, just a single lipstick mark on it's porcelain skin. A little too soon, for he was on his on his way home.  As he pulled up to his apartment, he frowned slightly and turned off the radio. Ezreal wasn't always the first to notice these things, but his mind was on Lux and she should be in his apartment. The lights were off, and he had to resist the urge to leap out of the car. Calm as he could manage he grabbed his briefcase, locked the car, walked up to the front door and tried the handle. The door slipped open and he was both relieved and curious, flipping on the kitchen light as he walked in and disposed of his mail that piled on the dining table.

 Looking around, he found traces of her, his fridge had been cleaned out according to all the take-out boxes in his trash can, along with the spartan clean microwave. Bless her, Ezreal smiled to himself, feeling a tad bit guilty. Moving to the bedroom he found most of her stuff that she'd brought to stay, and it smelled wonderfully of her. But still no sign of her actually being present worried him a little and he checked his phone again. No response, or update that she'd left. He checked the bathroom, noting the facilities had indeed been used, still wet from her notoriously steaming hot showers. 

"Hey, Lux? You in here or what?" He called from the bedroom, having checked everywhere but the living room. Hearing no answer he dropped his briefcase on the dinning table as he passed, seeing the door open to the living room. Hopeful blue eyes peered over the couch to find her there, sleeping like a log. Relief washed over him and he smiled, walking around the couch as quietly as he could. Her coffee was long cold, only sipped out of once by the looks of the single lipstick print on the mug. For a moment he was torn between watching her sleep or waking her. 

 Instead, he decided to let her sleep, brushing his hand gently over her head and leaving a soft kiss on her forehead. His stomach grumbled in protest and he realized he didn't have a lick of food in the house. Ezreal stood up carefully and thought of what to do when an idea struck him. He hopped out of the living room and looked for a piece of paper, eventually using a bit of torn mail and a pen that had been crushed in his pants pocket. He grabbed the key from the planter, note in one hand and shuffled back into the living room. Making a face he realized she didn't have a blanket and remembered all his spares were dirty. Another idea later and she had his warm jacket over her torso, note and key secure in the pocket.

 Ezreal left the house and locked it, knowing she was safe and made his way to the grocery store. He wasn't the best cook, but he did make a mean spaghetti and meat balls when he could manage the time. Knowing the stores would close soon, he hoped he would make it, just barely speeding. Hopeful that he would get home before she woke up, but at least she had the note and key in case he didn't.

 "Lux! Sorry I ended up staying so late, you won't believe it but part of the building almost blew up! Kidding, but someone did leave a pressure cooker on for some reason. Anyway, I'm glad you're safe and I was happy to see you when I got home. I'm going to get the ingredients for my famous, like gramma always used to make, Spaghetti and Meat Balls! Be back soon, love you- Ezreal 

P.S. Keep the key, and thanks for cleaning up a little, sorry for the mess XOXO"

[prettysei-remade]

He’s Taken

Written for @leojiweek 2017: Day 1 

Prompt: Others’ Interpretation of Leoji/Social Media 

read on ao3

Laura xoxo: ugh

Laura xoxo: dani im so sry but my sister saw that picture u put on insta of u and ur brother at the water park and now she's begging me 2 get his number from u

Laura xoxo: she went on his insta and found out he's a wrld famous figure sk8r and she wont shut up abt him

Laura xoxo: pls ill buy u ice cream 4 a week if u can make her stop gushing abt how hot he is

Daniela sighs.

This is not the first time this has happened.

So many people - her friends, her friends’ sisters, girls from drama club, even a couple guys at her school - have tried to get to Leo through her. They're incredibly persistent, and Dani supposes she can see why they would be, from an objective standpoint.

Even she can't bring herself to say that Leo is bad-looking. It's horrible when all her friends come over while Leo is around, because they get all stupid and tongue-tied. She loves them, but they become incredibly annoying in those moments.

She knows Leo has his reasons for choosing to stay at home after graduating high school, but honestly, him moving out would make her life so much easier.

Of course, it doesn't help that he's also a competitive figure skater on the international level, and that he's won a bunch of medals. He's pretty successful, and relatively famous, so naturally everyone wants to be with him.

It would be marginally less irritating if everyone would stop hounding her for information on him.

She sets her phone back down on the kitchen table, prepared to ignore the text until she's finished her geometry homework, when a loud laugh from outside nearly makes her drop her pencil. She rolls her eyes.

Leo's home, and he's probably talking to his skating friend from China.

It's not that she doesn't like Guang Hong. From what she's seen and heard of him, he seems to be very sweet, pretty quiet, and definitely…

Well. It's obvious that he has a crush on Leo.

Anyway, she's spoken to him a little before, during some of his and Leo's many (many) Skype calls, and she likes him. He's only two years older than her, and he's always nice to her.

She knows Leo has a crush on him, too. They're seriously so obvious. But neither one of them thinks they have a chance.

Dani would be amused if it weren't so pathetic. Boys are so stupid, especially when it comes to feelings.

She hears the door swing open, and Leo continues to laugh and talk to the person on the other end of the phone as he walks through the house.

“We'll see each other soon, you know,” he says, a smile in his voice. He mouths a quick “hola” to Dani as he passes the kitchen. “We were both assigned to Skate Canada this year.” A pause as Guang Hong replies. Then, “I know, I feel like I haven't seen you in…”

His voice trails off down the hall, and Dani rolls her eyes. She picks up her phone to tell Laura what she's told everybody else.

It's not quite true, but it might as well be.

You: he’s taken, sry

…

Dani storms up the stairs, shouting all the way up.

“Leo! Mamá already called you for dinner twice, she's gonna be...”

Stopping by his slightly opened bedroom door, she looks through the crack to see Guang Hong's face on Leo's computer screen.

She rolls her eyes and barges in.

“Hi, Guang Hong,” she sighs. “Sorry to steal your boyfriend, but it's time for dinner and Leo really has to come downstairs right now.” She directs those last words at Leo with a pointed glare.

He sputters in response.

“Guang Hong isn't - we're not dating! I'm not his boyfriend!”

Guang Hong just laughs a little on his side.

She has to give him kudos for his reaction, at least. It's still obvious he likes Leo, but he seems to be way more chill about it than Leo is.

She directs her next question at him.

“Hey, isn't it really late in China? Or, like,  early?”

He laughs again.

“I'm actually in France right now, for a competition,” he explains.

“A competition he's going to dominate,” Leo adds.

Guang Hong blushes.

Dani throws up in her mouth a little.

“Sure, whatever,” she says, turning to leave. “Mamá's getting really mad downstairs, so say goodbye to your boyfriend.”

“He's not my boyfriend!”

…

The cheers of the crowd nearly drown out what the TV announcer is saying when Leo is awarded his gold medal.

A few moments later, they roar up again when the silver medalist is presented, and then a final, third time when Guang Hong goes to get his bronze.

They look good, standing side-by-side on the podium.

Dani watches them hold up their medals for pictures with matching grins on their faces. Leo says something to Guang Hong, which makes him laugh, and then Guang Hong responds, which makes Leo blush.

To anyone else, this is nothing unusual.

Well, actually, it's nothing unusual to Dani, either. She has to live with half of this. But she's pretty sure she's the only one who's noticed the massive crushes they have on each other.

She's thought about schemes to get them together, before. Like, texting Guang Hong from Leo's phone, or something. It would probably be amusing, and they'd at least stop acting like idiots all the time.

But they should figure it out for themselves. It's bound to happen, sooner or later. Eventually, one of them is going to confess, or make a move. They're building up to something, all on their own, and she doesn't want to interfere unless she absolutely has to.

They're actually pretty cute already, she supposes. Leo is skating around the rink with Guang Hong, an arm draped over his shoulder, and they're both laughing and smiling. They keep saying things into each other's ear, and it's like everybody else - the photographers, the cheering crowd, even the other medalist - doesn't even exist.

She hopes they figure it out soon.

…

Unknown Number: Hi, this is Guang Hong! I hope you don't mind, but Leo gave me your number after we talked on Skype last night. Good luck for your play tonight!

Dani is surprised Guang Hong remembers what she had said about the play, and her drama club.

Sure, Guang Hong had invited her to join the conversation, and they'd actually all talked for a really long time, until Dani realized how late it was getting. She'd thought he would mostly just focus on Leo, though, and was only including her because he was nice to everyone like that.

Apparently not.

She quickly saves his number as a contact (“Leo’s Boyfriend,” because she’s hilarious) and tries to think of how to respond.

Despite her many interactions and connections at school, and a rather large amount of social experience, she isn't exactly sure on the protocol for when your brother's almost-boyfriend texts you, completely separate from said brother.

Whatever. Guang Hong's cool, he'll be nice no matter what she says. She does try to tidy up her grammar, though. At least a little bit.

You: it's cool, i like talking to you. and thanks

Leo's Boyfriend: You're welcome! :)

He still uses smiley faces. Unironically.

That's honestly adorable.

Dani has to hand it to Leo. He's found himself a keeper.

…

Leo's Boyfriend: one time, when we were in japan, phichit made us all try sushi

You: omg no

Leo's Boyfriend: lets just say im never again forcing him to eat anything he says he doesn't want 2 eat

You: omg

You: ok ok my turn

You: so one time we went on this road trip to minnesota

You: it was winter so we decided to go skating at an outdoor rink for fun

You: of course, hes famous and everything so this one lady recognized him and asked him for a picture

You: so they take the picture, everythings great

You: but then he goes to skate away

Leo's Boyfriend: oh no

You: he somehow slips

You: and falls flat on his back

Leo's Boyfriend: did he get hurt??

You: just his pride

You: he got so embarrassed. it was hilarious

Leo's Boyfriend: omg!! XD

You: u know, i think sharing our blackmail material is the best idea weve ever had

Leo's Boyfriend: agreed

…

You: omg i know

You: its always the worst when he tries 2 rap, though

Leo's Boyfriend: don't get me started

Leo's Boyfriend: one time he tried to rap along to ceiling can't hold us by macklemore?

Leo's Boyfriend: like it was cute, but also probably one of the most awful things ive ever heard

Leo's Boyfriend: !!! pls dont tell him i said that!!

You: the cute part or the awful part

Leo's Boyfriend: …

Leo's Boyfriend: both

You: u know he wldn’t care right

You: actually he'd probably spontaneously combust if he knew

Leo's Boyfriend: u want me to tell him i think he's awful at rapping??

You: no

You: nvm

You: has he told u abt his death metal phase yet?

Leo's Boyfriend: !!!

…

“Hey, Dani?”

She looks up from her phone, about to tell Leo off for interrupting her in the middle of an important conversation about whether or not Charlie actually likes Liza, but then she sees his face.

He looks nervous. And… maybe a little upset, though he's hiding it pretty well.

“What?” she asks, turning off the screen and dropping her phone on the armrest.

“Um… can I talk to you?”

“Of course.”

He sits down next to her on the couch and takes a moment to collect himself.

“It's…”

He pauses. Swallows.

“It's about Guang Hong.”

Dani’s ears perk up at that, but she decides not to say anything. She'd rather Leo tell her what's up on his own terms.

“I…” he takes a breath. “You guys are… pretty close, right?”

Dani raises an eyebrow.

“I mean… I guess,” she answers. “I guess we text a lot.”

“Yeah. Well, you - you like him, right?”

“... yeah?”

Leo exhales.

“Okay,” he says decidedly.

Dani is confused.

Did she miss something?

“Okay… what?” she asks.

“Just… okay. You have my blessing.”

What on earth is he talking about?

“I have your blessing? Your blessing for what?”

Leo holds up his hands.

“I know, I know, you don't care what I think,” he says quickly. “I know you don't need it. But… I just thought… I know you like each other, but he's my friend, too, so I thought I'd just… tell you, I approve. Okay?”

A cold, hard pit starts to form inside of Dani’s stomach as she begins to realize what's going on.

“Leo,” she says, carefully, “what… exactly are you giving your blessing for me to do?”

Leo frowns. He runs a hand through his hair.

“To… to date Guang Hong.”

Oh.

Oh my god.

Dani lets her eyes fall shut and her head drop back against the couch.

“Leo,” she groans.

“It's okay! It's fine, I don't mind, really!”

“Leo…”

“I know, this is awkward, but I'm your brother, so - ”

“Leo, you're so stupid.”

He stops at that.

“I…” he swallows. “What?”

“Leo,” Dani says patiently. “I don't like Guang Hong like that. Guang Hong doesn't like me like that. We're friends. Just like you.”

Leo sits back.

“Huh,” he says. “Well, nevermind, then.”

Dani looks at him, sitting there all confused, getting lost in his own thoughts.

He looks a little relieved, but he doesn't know what to think, now. Dani wonders how much he had psyched himself up, prepared himself for hearing that Dani wants to date the guy he's in love with.

Probably a lot.

He has no idea Guang Hong likes him back, and Dani is just now realizing how seriously it's affecting Leo.

They can't go on this way. Dani needs to do something, if only to keep her brother from hurting like this.

“Actually, we're not like you at all,” she says, sitting up straighter. “Guang Hong and I are friends. Guang Hong and you are… I don't even know what you are.”

“What do you mean? We're friends!”

“No, you're not, Leo,” Dani insists. “I mean, you are, but don't you see you're so much more than that? God, you guys are hopeless.”

“What do you mean, more?”

“I mean, you two are in love with each other and you don't even know it! It's driving all three of us insane, and I'm the only one who even notices! I mean you're hopeless, Leo!”

She pauses at the stunned look on Leo's face, panting slightly.

Leo stares at her.

Dani stares back.

Then Leo whispers, “You think he knows?”

Dani swallows.

“Not about you,” she whispers back.

“But he likes me back.”

“Yeah.”

Leo looks at the floor.

“Wow.”

Dani grins, in spite of it all.

“Yeah. Wow.”

He looks up at her, squinting.

“Do you think I should tell him?”

“If you don't, I'll tell him myself.”

He looks back at the floor.

“Wow,” he whispers.

He looks amazed, as if the idea of Guang Hong actually liking him back had never even entered his brain.

He smiles softly to himself.

Dani rolls her eyes.

…

Unknown Number: hey, this is tara from drama club last year! ashlyn gave me your number, hope that's ok lol! i was just wondering, that's your brother and his friend in that pic on instagram, right?

You: let me guess. u want my brothers number

Unknown Number: actually, i was wondering abt his friend? he's rlly cute lol

Dani is a little surprised Tara doesn't want Leo's number, but she knows the post she's talking about, and honestly, she kind of gets it.

Guang Hong has been coming over every few days to visit, since he’s training in California in the off-season. In this particular instance, he and Leo were sitting side-by-side on the couch, Leo's arm resting casually over the top of Guang Hong's shoulders, and the lighting coming in from the bay window was absolutely gorgeous. They made a perfect picture, and Dani couldn’t resist putting in on Instagram.  

Well.

She smirks as she types her response to Tara, entirely truthful this time.

You: he’s taken, sry

[generalhospitalopinions]

Growing Up Damaged: CH 1

Warning, this is going to be a long Authors Note:

So this is my baby, and it’s a little odd lol. 

It’s a future fic, about 10 years into the future. On the show Cameron is technically supposed to be older than Molly lol. But in my world I made them the same age.

It centers around Cameron, but it’s kind of told from Jason and Sam’s POV.  Without much explanation, you’re thrown a few facts about Jasam. If it’s confusing… I’m sorry. JaSam kind of play supporting characters in Cameron’s world. 

Also I was about half way through ch2 when I decided 2 major things that had happened, to shape the characters histories… and had to rework ch1 and the first part of ch2 to fit those in. so if it sounds off, sorry. 

This was inspired from the LnL2 family dinner scene, the “brownie wishes” scene to be exact. Cameron made a wish for Jake, Liz made a wish for Jake and Lucky made a wish for Jake and I felt bad for Cameron. So I had Cameron on the brain and ta da! This fic was born. 

Stay tuned and enjoy the ride!!!

PS. All mistakes are mine, I tried to catch all the typos but if I missed some, again… sry! 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

CHAPTER 1

A loud knock could be heard echoing through the house. Three knocks, then a pause. Three more knocks sounded again, but louder, and more persistent, followed by silence. The noise finally shook Sam from her sleep. Rolling over she looked up at Jason, still sleeping, soft snores coming from him. This time, five loud knocks sounded followed by a muffled voice “Please, open the door.” 

Sam didn’t recognize the voice, but sleep still clouded her mind. Slowly she got up, more annoyed now that Jason was such a sound sleeper. Pulling her robe on, covering her still growing belly she made her way through the hall, stopping only to check on Daniella and Nikolas to make sure the knocking hadn’t woken them as well. Sam stepped lightly down the stairs trying to get to the door to stop the persistent noise, but more loud knocks kept echoing. “I’m coming, I’m coming.” Sam called out in a loud whisper. Finally reaching the door, and flipping on a light, she opened it, and was surprised as to who was responsible for all the knocking.

“Cameron? What are you doing here? It’s like 3 o’clock in the morning.”

“I’m sorry, but I didn’t have any other place to go. Can I come in?” Sam noticed the worn look on the teenagers face. 

“Of course you can.” She opened the door wider to let him in. Closing and locking it as he made his way to the couch. 

The normally vibrant 18 year old seemed like there were heavy thoughts weighing on his mind. His brow furrowed and a frown on his face.

“What’s going on Cam?” Sam asked, sitting down next to him. 

“I got into a fight with mom.” He said quietly while Sam gave him a questioning look. 

Cameron sighed, “I sort of snuck out to see Molly again. I borrowed the car and mom blew a gasket; grounded me for life.” 

“Sounds fair, seeing as you got your license taken for four traffic violations.”

“Sure, that part was fine, I deserved it. But then I overheard her talking to dad on the phone. She was saying how Molly was fine, but that she didn’t like her family, didn’t like that I was spending so much time with you and Jason. She told dad she was going to make me stop seeing Molly because of it.” Cameron paused to look up at Sam, “I knew you guys aren’t like best friends or anything, but the things she was saying… she hates you.” Sam let out breath. She didn’t expect Cameron to say all that. He was right about them not being best friends, but she thought that they had put everything in past. Apparently she was wrong.

“Why does she hate you so much?” he asked. 

Sam let out a breath, trying to figure out a way to best explain the long history she had with Elizabeth. “A very long time ago, some stuff happened and your mom and I made some bad choices. We put that all behind us but it seems like your mom hasn’t ever truly forgiven me.”

“Are you talking about before Jake was born and then when he died?” 

“How much do you remember from back then?” she asked.

“I know mom wasn’t happy that you and dad were hanging out and didn’t want Jake to be with you.”

“That’s true.” She nodded. 

“Then she was okay with it, but then you stopped coming around because you and dad broke up, right?” 

“Yes.” She nodded again.

“I don’t get why she would be okay then but not now.”

Sam let out a sigh and slightly shook her head, “That I don’t know, Cam.” 

“I know Jason was Jake’s real father, like Zander is mine. Mom must still be mad that Jason picked you. I catch her sometimes looking at a picture of Jason holding Jake. She tries to hide the picture so that I don’t see it, but she has been looking at it a lot more lately.” Sam didn’t really know what to say, only nodded once again. It seemed like Cameron needed to get something off his chest, and Sam was happy to sit and listen.

“I remember spending a lot of time at the hospital daycare, at grams and with dad; with Jake and before Jake.” Cameron looked sad at the memory. “Mom was always running off to see Jason, wasn’t she?”

“I think so.” Sam didn’t realize how much the quiet boy noticed back then. Hearing and seeing everything they did. How much it affected him. 

“But Jason was in the mob with Molly’s uncle Sonny back then right?” Sam sighed trying to find the right words. “Jason used to work for Sonny, yes.”

“When mom thought I was asleep or playing, I used to hear her talking about the danger. She hated it, but Jason is out now right? He works with you and Spinelli as a private eye.” Sam stayed silent, once again only nodding her head in response.

“You still deal both deal with dangerous people sometimes.”

“Yes, some situations are tricky.” She was trying to keep her answers as short as possible. She didn’t want to scare him or have him tell Molly or anyone else that while they didn’t have shoot outs as often, they still had to fight their way out from time to time. A lot of their work dealt with information they could get off a computer. Of course, Sam worked from home now that she was pregnant. But soon, she would be back in the office doing the occasional field work.

“You carry guns and knives and stuff.” Sam looked surprised that Cameron would know that. Both she and Jason tried to hide that from their family, mostly their kids. Keeping all their weapons at their office.

“I was at the office once and saw Spinelli trying to hide them before we saw.” Cameron said, answering Sam’s unasked question.

“Yes we do, but we keep everything at the office in a safe, and only use them when necessary.” Sam assured him.

“So, mom hates that stuff, and I can kind of understand her point of view. But I love Molly, and I want to marry her after college.” Sam smiled a little. She knew her sister and Cameron were serious, have been for a year now, but she didn’t know they were that serious. Sam was happy that her sister found the love she almost gave up on when she was younger.

“Molly really isn’t a part of your world, but I can’t tell her to stop being your sister.” Cameron sighed, working through his thoughts. “I just wish that mom would understand that.”

“I’m glad that Molly has someone like you in her life, loving her.” Sam placed her hand on his knee in a soothing motion. “I can’t tell you what to do about your mom. She’s right about our lives. Sometimes it’s dangerous.”

“I won’t stop seeing Molly. That’s why after I heard mom saying all those things about you, I snuck out and went to see Molly. But then her mom almost found me and I didn’t want Molly getting in trouble so I left and came here.” 

“If Elizabeth finds out you came here, you will be in even more trouble.” Sam didn’t want Cameron to get into any more trouble than he was already in and if Elizabeth was already upset with him and apparently her, she didn’t want to add more fuel to the fire. 

“I’m 18. I’m legally an adult. She can’t make me do anything. I can live anywhere I want.” Cameron’s anger and stubbornness was starting to break through. Sam smiled to herself remembering when other sister used to say the exact same thing.

“Legally, you are right, but she’s still your mother and you live under her roof.”

Cameron let out an exasperated sigh. “I can leave! She doesn’t pay for anything of mine. I work at the Pizza Shack, I have scholarship’s to pay for PCU, and I would have a car if it weren’t for those traffic violations.” 

“Yes, but…” she tried to interrupt only got cut off by Cameron’s new found anger.

“No! I have my own money; I buy everything that I need, including food. I’m never home anyways, except to sleep. I’m always with Molly here, at her house or out someplace.”

“I understand Cam, I do.” Sam saw the expression in Cameron’s face change. He was all worked up, but now he seemed shy.

Cameron looked down, like he was trying to gather his thoughts, to find the right words. “So, can I move in with you and Jason?” 

“What!? Do you want your mother to really get mad?”

“I can’t live with her forever, and I’m hardly home anyways. Like i said, I spend more time here than anywhere else. Aiden is with dad and Siobhan, mom only gets visitation now since that whole court thing years ago. I still don’t get why mom doesn’t like Siobhan.” He looked off, seeming to get lost on his own train of thought.

“You really want to leave your mother alone?” Sam asked.

“It’s been only me for the last five years. You know how bad that’s been? Why do you think I started spending time with Molly in the first place? Why I’m here so much?”

“Why don’t you just go stay with your dad and his family?”

“It’s so crowded there, with him, Siobhan, Aiden and Gaila. While I love my new baby sister, she gets into everything, plus there’s no room there. I’d have to share with Aiden and I’m too used to my own space. I mean I could get a dorm room, but I didn’t plan on moving out of moms so I didn’t sign up for one. I can now, but I’d be on a wait list and who knows how long that could take.” Sam couldn’t fault his logic. She sighed knowing she couldn’t turn him away, at least not tonight.

“Fine, tonight, because it’s so late, you can sleep in the guest room, but I think you should at least call your mom and tell her where you are and that you’re okay.” A smile broke out across Cameron’s face, happy that Sam was going to let him stay the night but it faded a little when she mentioned calling his mom. He inwardly groaned at the thought. 

Sam sighed, slowly standing up. Who knew that only being five months pregnant would still make it difficult to get around. Cameron stood up next to her, took her hand and helped her to steady herself.

“At least call and tell her you are fine, if you don’t want to tell her where you are. You can talk to her tomorrow about everything.” Cameron nodded. “Okay, I’ll call her.” 

“Thank you. And I’m on your side Cam, so is Jason, but we don’t want to upset your mom any more than necessary.” They both headed back towards the stairs, Sam turned off the lights as Cam walked next to her up to the bedrooms.

“I know, and thanks Sam.” With that, Cam headed to the guest room, to call his mom, then sleep. Tomorrow he would deal with everything else.