#still no face but I'm getting more identifiable by the moment ;p

[anarcho-masochist]

There should be an aesthetic around medical needle tracks and bruising from getting blood drawn, honestly. I've gotten my blood taken so many times during this hospital stay (which is a good thing—they're actually doing tests). Also, I'm finally free of my IV!

[pinkcarnatixns]

ellie williams | the first time, the second time (p.2)

synopsis you return the favor, taking care of ellie after she gets injured [2.1K] contents rockstar!ellie, tour manager!reader, mentions of blood & injury, hurt/comfort?, reader is angry part one

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ part two ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

You felt more emotional than ever, watching her from the sidelines as usual.

She was singing one of your favorites, off one of her earlier albums. You remember helping her brainstorm years ago, when you were closer and things were less... complicated.

The memory paired with the longing lyrics made tears blur your vision. Staring at her back, you felt farther from her than ever- unease and frustration building into an angry feeling in your stomach.

You held your breath as her head turned towards you for a moment, nearly tripping over her own lyrics. Her face was flushed from the exertion and excitement of being on stage, sweat sticking some of her hair to her forehead. You were reminded of how, through every disagreement over tour direction, you could never hope to stay angry when she looked upon you with such fondness.

Snapping out of your reverie at her confused expression, you felt a hand tap you on the shoulder- startling you out of your skin. Holding your chest with a sour expression on your face, you turned to the moment-ruiner (as you had already decided to deem him).

You were first met with the man's broad chest at your eye level, recognizing the logo of the venue's security staff sewed onto his left breast pocket. You were unhappy at the fact that you had to rake your eyes upwards to meet his gaze- mirroring your expression of discontent.

"Do you need my help with something?" You stated unkindly.

With your job, you had gotten very used to not being respected by men who can't handle taking orders from a woman. The man standing before you was clearly one of these cases, as you'd gotten pretty adept at identifying them throughout the course of your career. You guessed that your tone of voice hadn't made him any happier, his discontent turning to anger.

"Listen honey, I'm just looking for my station. Do you know where that might be princess?" He stated sarcastically, treating you like a dumb child.

You scowled, prepared to completely discard any professionalism in order to take this man down a peg. Raising your hand to point at him accusingly, someone else from security came running up to you, completely frenzied.

"I'm so, so, sorry someone must have directed him to the wrong person!" The young woman hurriedly said, her face scrunching up- bracing for the impact of your anger.

You looked between the two of them, letting out a sigh of frustration and dropping your hand. Not wanting to direct your frustration to the girl, you simply stated that 'mistakes happen' and waved them off, your ears still simmering from leftover anger.

As she hurriedly ushered him away from him, you heard a faraway, "well someone's got a stick up her ass." You tried to brush it off as you turned back to the stage, but couldn't help the tension in your jaw and balling of your fists.

You slowly forgot about the incident as you fell back into the habit of monitoring the rest of the show, making sure to stay alert for any technical issues. You duly noted the man as he made his way in front of the stage facing the barricade, trying to keep a scowl off your face.

Instead, your heart warmed at the crowd. They were especially great at this stop- singing and dancing their hearts out. Apparently, Ellie was thinking the exact same thing, choosing to descend the stairs to the barricade for the final song- nearly skipping in her excitement.

Your heart warmed impossibly more at the sight of her signing albums and taking pictures with all the crying fans at barricade. As the band started the outro of the song, she motioned the security guard from earlier over. You smirked as she practically used him as a jungle gym when he proved useless to boost her up into the crowd.

You were infinitely pleased at how gentle the crowd treated her as she surfed her way back to the front- only now armed with a couple lesbian flags and bouquets. She had made her way back to where she started, forcing the same man to help her back over.

You smiled, moveing from your spot and starting towards removing her mic stand on stage when you stopped in your tracks. He fucking dropped her.

Blood rushed through your ears as you spotted red in the chaos. Everything else fell into the background as your adrenaline pushed you to sprint towards the end of the stage- completely disregarding the stairs as you jumped to the floor. You barely registered the sting in your ankles as you pushed all other staff to the side with a strength you didn't know you possessed.

Your eyes were now stinging too as you took in the sight of her sprawled on the floor. One side of her long shorts was bunched up around the wound, giving you a clear view of the blood surging out of her thigh. She looked as if the pain didn't even faze her, instead glaring daggers at the perpetrator.

Not even registering your own voice, you barked at everyone to back off- a volume you didn't know yourself capable of. You dropped to your knees in the dirt beside her, her angry gaze turning embarrassed when laid on you. You heard her mumble something to you, but it fell on deaf ears as you openly stared at the wound... it looked deep to your untrained eye.

Panicking at the amount of blood covering her thigh, hands, and the ground under it, you didn't even think about your next actions and ripped your shirt off.

The cold night breeze ghosted your heated skin as you wrapped the plain black fabric around the wound, accidentally pulling the sleeves into too tight of a knot in your fervor. You cringed and turned to look at her face for any pain, apology on the tip of your tongue.

When you expected to meet her gaze, you instead found her even more wide-eyed than she had been when the barricade quite literally sliced her skin- and staring right at your chest. You almost laughed at the circumstance, the excitement turning it into a wet sob when it left your mouth. You silently thanked whatever god was out there for your choice of a plain black bra earlier that day.

Moving to her side and sliding an arm under hers, you helped bring her to feet- careful not to jostle her hurt leg. You sighed in relief as the crowd parted and revealed a paramedics who took her from your side and more successfully hauled her off to backstage.

You followed behind them like a lost puppy, resisting the urge to ask them to be gentle with her. They sat her down in a white plastic chair and crouched over the wound, Ellie grunting at the effort. Staring at the scene from a couple feet away, you rushed to Ellie's side at her first moan of pain.

She grabbed your hand and held it bruisingly, you not even feeling it compared to the hurt in your heart at her pain. She peered up at you, her forehead even sweatier than earlier, attempting a chuckle at the sight of fat tears rolling down your face. Even now, she was trying to cheer you up as she was bleeding out- it made even more hot tears cascade down your cheeks.

You nearly blocked out the whole process of the paramedics cleaning and dressing the wound, the sounds that Ellie was trying to subdue nearly making you cry again. With her leg wrapped in fresh gauze, you couldn't bring yourself to let go of your hand as the medics took their kit and left the room.

She once again looked up at you, eyes softening at your far-away expression.

"Hey...honey?" She stated softly, like she would startle you. At your lack of response, she reached over to your other hand and gently pulled you to be stood right in front of her. You kept your gaze locked on the stark white of the gauze against her skin- not being able to get the image of her wound out of your head.

She starts again, "...did'ya hear them? Said it looked a lot worse than it was. I'm pretty tough yanno."

Slowly, your hands calmed their trembling in the warmth of her grasp and you shuddered out a breath, raking your eyes up her form back to her face. Her expression turned your insides back into jelly, and you became too aware of your state of undress- having to focus on something other than the adoration in her eyes.

You blushed and looked to the side, only to catch a glimpse of something that had you gripping her hands- only in anger. That smug fuck was standing in the doorway of the room they had brought Ellie to.

You saw red as you ripped your hands from Ellie's, adrenaline taking you far enough to grab his collar and slam him against the wall adjacent to the door. Despite your difference in height, the man looked almost scared as you spewed every insult you could think of his way.

You failed to notice the crowd around him, likely the ones who brought him there to apologize, who were now attempting to separate him from your rage. He was lucky for the arms from behind you as a punch narrowly escaped his face- you fighting against the grip holding you back. He was rushed away as you made another attempt to surge towards him, now with two people holding you back.

As he got farther from your sight, your insults and rage only increased in volume as you stopped fighting against the arms holding you. You breathed through the rest of your rage, chest puffing up and down slowly at the remnants of anger.

A gentle hand rested on your shoulder, and you turned around slowly to face Ellie's worried eyes. She was wobbling slightly, favoring her one leg over the other. You panicked at the sight of her exertion, and inserted yourself as a makeshift crutch for her, leading her back to her chair. She closed the door, blocking out the crowd your outburst had formed and you helped her down like she was made of glass.

You avoided her stare for the millionth time, moving down to your knees to assess the bandage on her leg. Your hand smoothed over the scratchy surface, then stilled.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side," she chuckled.

You felt mortified, hiding your face in your hands and mumbling out a "sorry."

There was a moment of silence before you heard chuckling from her. Shocked, you shot your head back up.

She looked like she was trying really hard not to completely laugh in your face, her shoulders shaking from the weight of her amusement. You couldn't help but let out a pfft and devolved into giggles yourself, the absurdity of the situation catching up to you.

You ended up locked in each other's gazes as your giggles died down, smiling softly at one another.

"Y'know, it was kinda hot. You going all alpha for little 'ol me," she jested.

"Shut up!" You guffawed, and pinched her leg as retaliation.

"I'm serious!" A million-watt smirk replacing her soft smile, "I thought you were gonna rip him apart!"

You turned contemplative for a moment before hardening your expression, "I should've!"

She pulled your arms up, making your hands bracket her thighs on the chair. Your knees hurt at the position, but you couldn't find it in yourself to care once you felt the warmth of her breath on your face.

Her voice turned into a whisper, "You must like me a whole bunch to do something like that, huh?"

You couldn't find it in yourself to be bashful at the accusation, not with how elated she looked- like it was a secret between you two.

"I really must be, to defend you after you mortally wounded me earlier, hm?" You whispered back, your lips turning up in a smirk mirroring hers.

Her gaze drifted back up to your forehead, one of her hands ghosting over it before landing at the side of your face. Her other hand joined it, thumbs softly stroking your cheeks as she fully cradled your head.

"My hero," she breathed, before leaning down and capturing your lips in a searing kiss.

You leaned up, squeezing the side of her leg a bit. She gasped at the slight pain, and you separated- both your chests heaving. At your similar state of breathlessness, you both fell victim to another set of giggles before diving back in.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

thanks for reading as always!! i hope you enjoyed the second part and i really appreciate all the love on the first ♡

requests are open x

[ebonyslasher]

Spicy Alphabet: Ulquiorra Cifer

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Doesn’t exist. Ulquiorra takes care of himself. He will disappear., forcing you to care for yourself. He doesn’t say anything either. Rude as always.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Ulquiqui: His facial expression. He keeps it wonderfully bland. It looks prettier that way. He doesn't have to subject his features to emotional trauma.

You: Your face, for some odd reason, is still appealing with all the expressions you make. He believes emotions are disgusting, as well as its expressions. But on you, it doesn't seem so bad. The beauty you hold transcends their disgust.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

They've never had sex and he views masturbation as a nasty habit. So, when they allow themself to climax, it's going to be hentai-level shots going off.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Ulquiqui has a second set of genitalia that's pretty unexplainable. He has no idea what to do with it. If he allows you to get closer to him, maybe you can figure it out.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

This man..this being? However Ulquiqui identifies (leans towards he/they), it'll be a hell fuck no on the experience.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

This

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Serious. What the hell is funny.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Groomed. Ulquiorra would never allow themselves to be so unkempt. Hn.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

No. And don’t take the way his eyes look in the moment seriously. and delete the compliments he's let slip through from your memory.  

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

Such an activity is a waste of time. and a waste of seed he could spread on you

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Abrasion play, corruption, spanking, degradation (giving), edging, fear play, tease and denial, Hair pulling etc

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Anywhere in Hueco Mundo

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Being coy but in a sly and clever way. Submission and acting helpless. Complimenting him and his skills, but not overwhelmingly so. Turning dark and emotionless over time. But then, still showing emotions they feel is taboo.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Humiliation (receiving), domination, vulgar language

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Gives. Not keen on receiving. But, he likes the taste and complexity of your genitals. Plus, your moans turn them on

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Slow and rough

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Yes, usually for it. He doesn’t want it to be drawn out. Unless he’s in the mood to do a BDSM scene

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

Yeah, he doesn’t care about anyone. So they'll do risky stuff, even if it hurts. He’ll heal. You’ll figure it out (he’ll heal you anyway)

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

High stamina but he’s got other things to do. So, the cut-off is two rounds. He allows it to last around 20 minutes.

If it's a scene, then they can go for 2 hours.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

Ulquiqui has props, not toys. He does not play. He will use his props on you. A few things you can use on him. Anal hooks, collars, leashes, flesh hooks, and so much more.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Very. When they feel like it, Ulquiorra will sexually torture you and make you cry in pain/pleasure.

"No, not there! I'm not ready!"

"You are and will forever be when dealing with me. Silly human. The pain will show your full beauty in bloom."

You don’t know if you’ll even finish or not.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Silent. Only thing you'll hear is their commands

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

Oddly, Ulquiqui will get aroused when you change your look. Especially those that accentuate your Afro-centric features.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

5.7

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Almost non-existent. He won’t admit that he does it for you only

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

There is no time for sleep. There are duties that need to be fulfilled.

[sneezingpotatoes]

Hey there! Here's this little thing that turned into a big thing because I really want to post some writing but I always get hit with a roadblock whenever I try to work on one of my WIPs 🤣 So why not create something new!... for like the 15th time (literally) 👀🤣 LOL If you're seeing this then that means we dodged the WIP graveyard collection this time! 🤣 Anywayssss enjoy lol XD

"Wow, Ren! This prototype looks so amazing! Is this what you've been spending all your time on?"

"Yup. Just oneeee moreeee screw annnnd--" As he tightened the last screw, the robot made a few beeping sounds and immediately lit up with life. They both cheered with excitement as the robot immediately began to clumsily move around the room, curiosity at its peak as it began scanning whatever objects it could get it's hands on.

"I can't believe it! You've actually done it Ren!" His best friend Koji erupted, unable to contain himself as he lifted one of the robots arms and examined its face. "... It's almost freaky how life-like this thing is."

"We both did it, Koji. You helped a lot too." The roboticist exhaustedly muttered, nearly throwing himself into his chair and watching the robot curiously scan all of Koji's features.

"Well you've gotta name this thing! It's too cool to just be called prototype!"

"Hmm... PTBot A!" Ren called, having the robot make a beeping sound and quickly rush over to him. "Register new name... Ava. Ava, the Advanced Versatile Assistant."

The robot froze for a moment, processing the request before saying. "Hello. I am Ava, the Advanced Versatile Assistant, but you may call me Ava."

"Oooh, I like it! Sounds... Cute and techy... I guess? What can she do?"

"Well as of right now, learn. Her processor is still trying to finish downloading all of her basic functions and knowledge, but once that finishes, I'll start importing her advanced coding and she should be able to do just about everything we can and more. Fingers crossed."

His best friend leaned against the wall in awe, still surprised at the artificial robot roaming around the room. Although her movements were slightly choppy and robotic, she seemed to be functioning on her own accord, grabbing a variety of objects and curiously moving them around and identifying them.

"I can only imagine how she'll look like once the downloads are finished." Koji muttered.

"If all goes well, her movements should smoothen out and her biocomponents would be in more of a working order. Faster processing and all that." Ren rubbed his eyes and yawned, looking at his watch to check the time.

"Stop saying 'if', bro. You know it's gonna work! I mean just look at how great she is already!"

"... We'll see. But thanks, Koji." He mumbled through another exhausted yawn, "It's like 6 in the morning dude, I need to sleep. I know you've had some good rest but I can't be your only source of entertainment all day."

"Oh, ha-ha, very funny. You think that just because you made a bomb ass robot you're hot shit now? I knew you in middle school, you know. Don't forget that." Koji teased.

"... Ava, escort the crews dead weight out of my lab and to his office, please."

"Understood." Ava blandly responded, approaching Koji and gesturing towards the door. "Dead weight, if you could please exit the quarters, your services are no longer needed."

"Stop it, dude! She's going to remember that and actually think that's true about me!"

"That's the point." Ren said through a soft chuckle as he watched Ava guide him out of the room.

"Don't listen to him, Ava! He's lying! I'm technically your co-creator! He's the dead weight, not me!"

"I'm sorry that you feel that way, dead weight. According to my records, your office is down this hall. Allow me to escort you."

"Urrgh, finneeee."

Ren released another soft chuckle as he closed the lab door, hearing their voices disappear down the hallway.

He was so glad that Koji had so much confidence in his work, but he couldn't say the same about himself. He just hoped that he built Ava properly and that everything would all work out just as he planned for it to. Only time would tell. Ren sighed, removing his lab coat and pressed the blue button on his wall, revealing a hidden temporary bedroom. Boy was he tired; 8 months of nonstop working on Ava took a lot out of him, but it was well worth it. He'd do it all over again if he needed to.

The man hung his lab coat on the railing above his bed and immediately plopped onto the firm mattress, grunting with a little discomfort. He couldn't complain though; He was super tired and just grateful he even had somewhere to lay at the moment. Before he could attempt to close his eyes, two soft knocks against his lab door are heard, followed by Ava's voice.

"May I come in?"

"Enter, Ava."

The robot obliged, entering the room and immediately scanning her creator laying on the mattress. She looked around his temporary bedroom for a moment before speaking.

"The dead weight has been escorted into his office."

"Thanks Ava... You don't have to call him that anymore. His name is Koji." Ren lightheartedly chuckled again.

"... Okay Ren, current data has been corrected to Koji... If you don't mind, might I ask what is so humorous?" Ava innocently asked, eyes locked onto Ren as his chuckles abruptly stopped once she asked the question.

"... I'll explain it to you another time." He exhaustedly muttered, already feeling his brain fog up from just thinking about explaining it to her. After an intense moment, Ava dejectedly nodded in understanding and began looking at all the pictures he had on his shelves in order to get some more information about her creator. "... Ava, I'm very tired and need to sleep. Turn off the lights, please."

"Of course, Ren. I'll do that for you right away." She gave her automated response, and quickly turned off all the lights in his lab, watching as he flipped sides and pulled his blanket over his head. "... What would you like me to do in the meantime, Ren?" She blandly asked, staring at the lump underneath the blanket.

"I don't know- keep scanning stuff in the lab or something." He softly mumbled, voice barely audible through both the blanket and his exhaustion.

"I've already scanned and identified all 374 objects in your lab, Ren. What else would you like for me to do?"

"... Just... do whatever, I don't care. Let me sleep." He sighed, irritably shifting underneath the blankets. "If anyone tries to come in, tell them to come back next week."

"Understood Ren." She affirmed, turning to leave the bedroom. Before she completely walked away, she froze and turned back to her creator. "Ren...?"

"... What is it now, Ava?"

"... Is it true that you hated artificial intelligence and robotics in middle school?" She inquired, hearing Ren sigh from the mattress.

"... Ava, register Koji's name to Dead Weight again, please." She froze for a moment before confirming the successful change. "And to answer your question... Yes, it's true, but that was over 15 years ago. I was a stupid kid."

"... Okay. Goodnight, Ren."

"Goodnight, Ava."

The sunlight peering in from underneath the closed blinds rudely awakens the once sleeping robotics engineer. He flops the blanket all the way to the other side of his bed and gives a big yawn to shake off all the sleep, almost sounding like a lions roar. A cough escapes him as his throat is dry and a little itchy from all the sleep.

"Good afternoon, Ren. I hope you slept well." Ava approaches his bedside with a smile and a glass of water, which surprises the roboticist. He almost forgot about Ava and her completion; It wasn't a dream, and her downloads must've progressed, seeing how she was able to smile now and read his discomfort by grabbing him some water.

"Thank you." He muttered dryly, immediately drinking the water down. "Ava, what is today's date please?"

"Today is Friday, September 8th. Current time is 4:27pm." She recited, grabbing the empty glass and placing it in the sink. It's already Friday? But it was just Wednesday! "You were sleeping for quite a while, so I took it upon myself to tidy up your lab. I hope you don't mind, given your last command was to 'do whatever, I don't care.'"

"... That was very thoughtful of you, Ava. Thanks." Ren applauded her through a few dry coughs, still finding it difficult to speak for long without the itchiness returning at the back of his throat.

"Would you like another glass of water?" Ava offered, noting his continued discomfort.

"No, thank you." The roboticist grabbed his lab coat from above his bed and pressed the button, hiding his bedroom once again and headed into his restroom to freshen himself up.

"I would like to inform you that 30 associates stopped by your lab while you were sleeping, including dead weight." Ava announced from the outside of the door, over the sound of splashing water. "A lot of them wanted to congratulate you for completing me." She said a little louder this time, smiling when Ren opened the restroom door and halted in shock from seeing her standing so close to the door. "I told them to come back next week, just like you asked."

"Thank you, Ava. Hey... are you able to cook by chance? I'm not sure how far along the first stage of downloads are..." Ava's face lit up at the asking of that question.

"Certainly, Ren! The download of Phase 1 is currently at 67%. Please let me know what you would like to eat and I would be happy to make it for you." Ren stood in thought for a moment, feeling uneasy with how fast the download speed was going. I mean it was a lot of data to download, but at the same time... This is only Phase 1... If it's taking this long, then Phase 2 might-- "Please do not trouble yourself, I am confident that I can prepare any dish that you would like. My memory bank holds over 30,000 recipes from around the world. So please..." She stated, attempting to reassure Ren and pull him out of his own thoughts.

"Well alright then, Ava. You've won me over. I'm a simple man so I just want an omelet over sweet rice. I should already have those ingredients in my cabinets." He mused, finding it interesting how much Ava was trying to read him.

"Yes, you have enough ingredients in your possession to make 132 of the 30,000 recipes stored in my memory bank. You should look into getting more groceries, Ren."

"I don't live here so it's fine." He chuckled, grabbing a seat at his office desk and watching Ava begin to prep his meal. She was moving more like a human now; she even hummed softly as she cooked, which made him feel a little warm on the inside, oddly enough. "Ava, why are you humming?" Ren questioned, curiously. If that was the one thing they had in common, they were both curious creatures. She paused for a moment for what Ren thought was to process the question and shortly resumed her cooking.

"According to my records, humming reduces stress. Does it bother you Ren? I will stop."

"No-no, it doesn't. I was just wondering. Please, continue..." He muttered, intrigued. "Sarabande and Polka... Great choice."

"Yes, I read that it's your favorite." She cheerfully chimed, plating the side of sweet rice. "I hummed it to you while you were sleeping. You kept tossing and turning so I thought it would help."

"How thoughtful of you, Ava." Ren acknowledged, unsure of how to feel with that information. "... Maybe that's the reason why I slept for so long."

Surprisingly, Ava gives a chuckle to the latter statement as she plated the omelet on top of the sweet rice and handed him the plate. Ren looks up at her, shocked by her giggle only to find her smiling and glaring down at him, gesturing towards the plate. "Please enjoy, Ren. I will go and clean up."

The roboticist nodded and thanked her as he looked at the beautiful golden omelet resting on top of the fluffy bed of rice. He had to admit... it did look really good. Probably better than anything he ever made. But then again, he wasn't a chef but even so, this was still remarkable for a robot that was only a day old. Ren immediately took a bite out of the omelet and smiled, both surprised and grateful at how good the food was.

"This is amazing, Ava. I couldn't be happier." He openly admitted, earning a huge smile from his robot.

"I am pleased to have served you!" She announced with a bow, face glowing with honor.

The food was hitting the spot; after sleeping for a day and a half, his body was nearly eating itself. Another hour of that and he probably would've been a pile of bones. Had Ava not been there, he probably wouldn't have had the energy to even make this meal. After a few minutes of scarfing down the plate of food, he felt a little bit recovered and energized. He handed Ava the empty dish, which she gratefully accepted and began to wash.

"What's on the agenda today, Ren?" She asked, still washing out the dishes.

"I'm not sure..." He absently replied, deep in thought. "I'll probably chat with a few people and head home. Afterall, you are my biggest achievement at the moment. I'll probably look after you and make sure all of your systems are functioning properly. Probably monitor all the downloads and keep a close eye on how you're operating for--" He paused for a moment, taken aback by the prickling sensation he feels quickly forming in the depths of his nostrils. It only takes one dry sniff to ignite the prickling into a full fledged wild fire as it forces his shoulders to rise upward from the abrupt inhale and jerk forwards with a harsh sneeze.

"Hih... H'ESSCH!" It was a snappy and a little wet sneeze, seeing how it felt like his nostrils were drooling over the burning sensation pulsing deep in his nostrils. His robot companion immediately swiveled a 180 towards the location of the sound, interest piqued and attention grabbed. She curiously watched as he rubbed at his nose and quickly searched around for something but appeared to have no luck. "A-Ava..." He desperately stuttered out, eyes closing once again from the distracting tickle. She approached him with haste, audio censors listening for his voice command. "I n-need ahh... a-HIH'EGSHHhn...!! A dissue, blease." She was frozen for a second, trying to process and compute the last command given by her creator.

"I do not understand. What is... 'a dissue'?" Ava innocently asked, attempting to repeat his audibly congested plea for a tissue in her query and trying to understand.

"A tdissue!" Ren tried to repeat through his cupped hand, a little louder this time, hoping to sound a little clearer, but he's sure he failed as he could still see the confusion on her face.

"I'm sorry, Ren. I still do not understand your request, but I see that you are cupping your nose. Perhaps you need a tissue?" He gratefully nodded his head, watching her go into the restroom and grab the tissue box. Once she returned, he eagerly blew his nose, releasing a few small gurgling nose blows into the tissues. "I apologize for the miscommunication. I should've known that's what you were asking for sooner."

"That's okay." He breathily mumbled, still massaging his nose with the tissues. "I just didn't know you moved the tissues either, but it's fine."

"Hm." She folded her arms and tapped her cheek in thought for a moment. "Were those sneezes, Ren?"

"... Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Bless you, Ren. I will be prepared next time. Thank you." She muttered, grabbing a handful of tissues and shoving them into her front pocket.

"N-no that's not necessary! You don't have to do that." He sheepishly replied, but Ava had already returned back to cleaning the dishes and was already humming again. "... Once you're finished cleaning those dishes, we can head out. How does that sound?"

"That sounds great, Ren." Ava cheered as she placed the last dish onto the countertop.

--

"Ava, lock the door please." Ren muttered, still trying to fit all of his modems and drives into his bag.

"Of course." She affirmed, grinning as she locked the door and returned to her creator. "Would you like for me to carry your bag for you, Ren?"

"Sure, thank you." The roboticist agreed, zipping up one last zipper to his bag before seeing the shoes of Koji appear directly in front of him.

"There he is!" Koji announced, looking his best friend up and down. "I would've thought you died had I not known who you are." He chuckled.

"Shut up, I was tired okay? Like, really tired." Ren muttered with a chuckle, placing his bag onto Ava.

"Guess that explains why you're making a girl carry your bag for you? Not a good look man."

"Hey, she offered!" Ren erupted defensively, coughing afterwards from the sudden change in volume of his voice.

"Everything is fine, dead weight. Please do not concern yourself with our affairs." She stated blandly, looking to Ren shortly after to make sure he was okay.

"Hey, I told you I'm not dead weight around here! Why won't you listen to me!" He sounded more like he was whining and begging Ava at this point but she wasn't budging.

"Hey, if you stumble across any crew members, tell them we said thanks for all of the congratulations. It means a lot."

"For sure, dude. Don't worry. How's Ava's progress coming along? It looks like she's matured a lot since Wednesday."

"Everything's going well so far. My only concern is that thehh-hih..." Ava glares at her creator and notices his flaring nostrils and immediately begins to dig into her pocket for the tissues that she grabbed earlier. Another faint hitch escapes him but before he can double over with the sneeze, Ava shoves a handful of tissues into his hands. "Heh--EDSSCHh!!" He blinks a few times, surprised by the whole ordeal, but before he can even say anything--"Heh'ESCHHiih!!"-- The next sneeze tears right out of him and is buried into the handful of tissues.

"Woah, bless you dude! That whole thing was so smooth. It almost looked like this has happened before."

"T-thagks... She saihh... S-she-hihh'EGDTSHH!!!" He can't even speak his sentence as the third sneeze cuts him off and he's sent back into the handful of tissues.

"Bless you, Ren. I told you that I would be prepared for next time."

"Yes, that." He exhaustedly agreed, gurgling into the handful of tissues a few times.

"Holy shit! I guess Ava really is Ava-ing!" Koji humored, watching Ava take his soiled tissues and throw them into the trashcan.

"I just hope the download finishes soon. She's still only on Phase 1."

"Hey, what'd I tell you about stressin' so much? Ava, you better keep my man in line!" Ava only gave him in a confused look in return. "I'm sure it'll all work out. Just believe, man!"

"... You're right. I'll see you around. Gonna go home and take my mind off things for now, I guess." He muttered, scratching his head and starting for the door.

"Woah, hey! We need to celebrate your big achievement!" Koji exclaimed, darting in front of him to stop him. "You can't go home yet! Let's go to the bar or get something to eat!"

"Nah, no thanks. I just ate and I'm honestly just not feelin' it today, sorry."

"Alright, don't worry about it. Text me later bro! And congrats again!"

After that, Koji left them to return to his office and the two began to silently walk outside towards his car. Ava seemed enlightened at the view of nature in front of the lab. It was refreshing for Ren to see her face light up at the smallest things he and everyone probably took for granted.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The roboticist muttered as he placed his bag into the vehicle.

"Very. It's one thing to see it as an imprinted image, but another to see it up close in realtime." She said as she touched the dirt and began analyzing it. "If only you could see all of the tiny organisms living inside just this one clump of dirt!" She grabbed a fist full of dirt and began squishing it in the palm of her hand, looking so fascinated and entertained. She would've been completely intranced had Ren not coughed into the crook of his elbow. "Oh! I'm sorry, did I keep you waiting?" She exclaimed after noticing Ren standing by the open car door watching her.

"No-no, not at all." He barely managed to say through a few more chesty coughs, which earned a mildly concerned look from Ava. "I don't mind waiting. This is your first moment outside, so don't let me ruin it." He humored.

"Thank you, Ren. We can go now. I know your body must be worn." She couldn't help but smile at what she perceived as selflessness from her creator as she was helped into the vehicle. "... Ren?"

"Yes, Ava?"

"... I'm glad you turned down dead weight's offer." She muttered softly into the window, almost soft enough to not be heard, which earned a curious look from Ren.

"Why is that?" He lightly coughed to himself after cranking the car on and exiting the parking lot.

"I don't like dead weight." The way she said that line made Ren do a double take to look at her and make sure she was still a robot girl. It sounded a bit too human-like. "But also because we will have more time to spend together. More time for me to learn from you."

"... Well, Ava, I don't want you to think that I'm the only person you can learn from. There's so much for you to learn outside of just me. I built you to be versatile. Eventually, you'll be surrounded by all sorts of amazing people that you'll learn a lot from. Including dead weight Koji." She doesn't respond, keeping her expression blank and unreadable. "... But please, don't dismiss Koji yet. He's actually a great guy once you get to know him a little better." He mutters to break the silence. "Infact, he was the one that got me back into robotics those years ago. Without him, we wouldn't even be here right now."

"... Okay. You're the best teacher, Ren."

--

"What a lovely house, Ren!" She exclaimed, scanning the entire room around her.

"I know, it's almost like I programmed you to say that." He humored to himself as he locked the door and kicked his shoes off. "I haven't been here in about a month so please excuse the mess." He stopped to wonder for a moment, finding it interesting that he was actually starting to talk to Ava as if she were a real human being. Why would a robot care about a mess or anything like that? He sighed and grabbed his head with slight confusion on what to even think anymore. "Anyway, just go ahead and make yourself at home or whatever. I'm going to take a quick shower."

"Okay, Ren!" She exclaimed, still scanning all of his belongings like a child opening presents on Christmas morning.

She felt like she hit a gold mine with all of his belongings scattered about the home. Everywhere she looked, there were new traces of his life and character; his lab was just a sneak peak of the person that was Ren Tokayama. He had many diplomas, awards and ribbons hanging on all of his living room walls. Plenty of framed group photos of him and what appeared to be his crewmates winning awards for previous machines and gadgets they built. It really was like she had a VIP pass to the Ren museum. She decides to utilize this time to tidy up his house, or atleast get started, while he's in the shower, scanning every item she touched while she cleaned.

A few moments later, she hears the bedroom door open and sees Ren enter the room with a fluffy robe on, still drying his hair with a towel and yawning briefly. His yawn is cut short as he jumps in surprise at the sight of Ava, almost forgetting that she was inside of his house.

"Oh, you startled me, Ava." Ren says, hand over his heart in shock.

"Welcome back, Ren. I didn't mean to startle you. hope that you are feeling refreshed." Ava happily chimed, placing a book and fresh hot tea onto the table for her creator. "I've prepared your favorite book and some green tea to help you relax and sooth your irritated throat."

"I appreciate it, Ava. How did you come to the conclusion that this was my favorite book?"

"I looked through all of your bookcases while you were in the shower, and this book had the most of your fingerprints on it and seemed to have the most usage... Was I incorrect?"

"No, you were correct, but... You could've just asked me what my favorite book was. I didn't want you to go through all the trouble."

"It's no trouble." She chimed, "I enjoyed it. I felt like... I was going on an adventure." Ren furrowed a confused brow, but decides not to say anything and takes a sip of the tea after putting on his reading glasses. It did feel nice against his itchy throat though, that was for sure. He couldn't help but go back for a second sip.

"How are you functioning, Ava? Status check." The roboticist questioned as he flipped open his book.

"All systems are online and functioning, Ren. Battery percentage is at 72%, with 3.25 days of runtime remaining. Filters are moderately clear. Internal temperatures are neutral." She recited, almost in a dismissive tone.

"Good, thank you. Be sure to let me know if anything happens with any of your systems." He commanded, almost like a protective father.

"Of course, Ren."

Every now and then, Ren peered up from his book only to catch Ava staring at him from across the table, fingers overlapping each other as if she were patiently waiting for something. He tried to ignore her, but it was becoming increasingly difficult as her cold, unmoving stare was beginning to burn a hole into the middle of his forehead. The roboticist snuffled thickly, wiping the underside of his nose and instantly furrowed a confused brow once Ava's eyes went blank like they usually did when she was processing information.

"Umm, Ava?"

"Yes, Ren?" She replied shortly after, pink eyes staring directly into his soft brown orbs, unblinking.

"Why are you staring at me?" The roboticist asked, feeling a bit uneasy with the unbroken staring she had been doing for the past 20 minutes.

"According to my records, you will be sneezing soon, and whenever that happens, I will be ready to assist you."

"That's nonsense, Ava." Ren said through a soft chuckle, with a bit of surprise in his voice from the reasoning. "And just where did you gather that data from, missy?" He humored.

"Research." She replied, simply, borderline pouting, "And studying you, Ren."

"Fascinating." He muttered to himself in thought, "Well tell me, Ava, what data have you gathered about me that will tell you when I'm going to sneeze, hm? Humor me." Ava seemed to light up at the curiosity of her creator and smiled when he casually removed his reading glasses and sat his book down onto the table. "You have my attention."

"I'm glad you asked, Ren. Based off of my observations, firstly, your nose begins to vaguely twitch ever so slightly, indicating a soft irritation. It's very subtle and slight to the human eye, but my visual processors allow me to detect this microscopic movement. To you, I believe it would only feel like a mild discomfort, or perhaps a very faint tingling?" She was speaking almost as if she were unveiling a master plan or exposing an enemy mastermind of some sort; Ren almost bats an eye at how passionate she was about the subject. It seemed like she had something to prove. "After a while, depending on the dust levels in the area, the irritation begins to grow over time into the tickling or burning sensation that you start to tangibly feel, which might make you start to rub at your nose or sniff a little bit."

"Hmm, okay, fairly normal assessments for the most part. Go on." The roboticist muttered in a manner that indicated he was listening through a brief cough into a closed fist.

"At this point, I'm aware that you have about a 92% chance of sneezing due to your underlying illness."

"Underlying illness??? Wait, what?"

"Yes," she stated matter-of-factly with a hint of surprise as if she were shocked that he didn't know, "I did a data analysis scan on the used tissues in your lab from earlier today, which tested positive for Influenza A. Furthermore, I've noted that your body involuntarily pauses when you are on the brink of a sneeze, followed by your broken breaths, the initial inhale, and, of course, the exhale of the sneeze. The confirming giveaway that you are officially going to sneeze is the sharp tremble your nose does before your nostrils flare up." She paused for a moment in thought, staring blankly for a moment before approaching his side and handing him a light stack of tissues, "In this instance, though, I gather that you will sneeze approximately 3 times within the next... minute or so." Ren was silent for a couple of seconds, unable to configure a response to her analysis. He didn't expect her to read a whole detailed essay just about his sneezing habits.

"Simply astonishing." He finally blurted out, fairly impressed with her deep analysis and already beginning to feel his sinuses start to tingle a bit harsher than before, just as Ava had predicted. "So this is what you were working on when you were staring at me got do long?" He breathily asked, finding it increasingly difficult to keep his eyes open. "I will admit... My n-nose is startinghh t-togehhIH--" He froze for a moment, eyes finally shutting before he immediately jerked to the side with a spine chilling sneeze directed into the tissues. "--HEH'EGDJISH'iu!!!" The sneeze nearly rips out of him, almost catching him off guard with the quickness of it as he was still thinking about everything Ava had said, wondering if it all actually applied. He laughed internally at himself a little as he felt his nostrils tremble and flare up just as Ava had said before, immediately bending over with another-- "H'EKSSCH...!! Wow." The roboticist exhaustedly blew his nose, briefly with his eyes still closed and his breaths scattered. "I h-had ndo idea thht... y-youhh-hIH--"

"--Are so observant?--" She quickly reached for a few more tissues, noting his twitching nostrils and subtle grimace, immediately handing them to him once his chest bounced again.

"--AH'KSSHHN!! Hihh... Y-yes." He mumbled, massaging his nose through the handful of tissues.

"Bless you, Ren." She smiled, taking joy in the surprise on Ren's face. "You created me to be."

TBC...

How knows, if I'm feeling kinda sussybaka I might make a part 2 lol

[themochiverse]

Wanna Play? | 01

Banner credits go to the amazing ➳ @introgfx (tysm!)

➤ BTS: Series

⪧ Wanna Play? ✎✘🗡 (BTS!au, yandere!au, best friends to enemies!au, game!au?) Taehyung x fem!Reader (feat. BTS)

➳Word Count: 3.6k+

➳Chapter Summary: You've been best friends with Taehyung for a long time. Your relationship is pretty good with him, but your delusional brain seems to cause big problems ahead of you.

➳Implied Warnings: Swearing, slight manipulation, mentions of stalker-ish behaviour and consensual-kissing? Angsty Tae! OC is naive :p

A/N: Hey! I'm so sorry this took forever, I was a little busy, a lot of changes happened in this chapter and I wasn't sure if it was good enough or not. I tested positive for covid unfortunately :( so writing is the only thing that's mostly keeping me occupied. I would love feedback and comments, I hope you enjoy~

Chapters | Prologue | 01 | 02

Taglist: @minshookie29 @6tslovr @proflyndo @pinkcherrybombs @xanslii @papijiminfeed @justanotherstarlightmonger @kittykatfey @princess-sunshyn @jinniesjoon94 @trashlord-007

"Boom! And that's how you win the Ultra Zombie Shoot Out!" You yell, as you finally shoot the last horrendous looking zombie, the fake blood splattering. You clap your hands in delight. Tickets were whirling out of the machine as you got the high score in the game. You were currently in an arcade with your best friend, Taehyung. Whom you glance at, was on his phone, the screen lighting up his facial features.

You roll your eyes, as you start poking his shoulder.

"Taehyung."

"Taehyung."

"Yeah?" He replies.

"What are you doing?" You ask.

"Tsk, what does it look like I'm doing Y/N?" You can hear a hint of annoyance coming from him. Clearly, you were pissed at his attitude, and you weren't going to let him get away with it like he always does. So you put your hands on your hips, before talking to him.

"Tae, you know I only invited you to come to the arcade with me, so we can hang out." You tell him.

Taehyung examines you, identifying your mood, the change of behaviour, your body expression, and how you looked extremely beautiful with oversized clothes. He was staring at you for a while until you interrupted him by clearing your throat.

"So, can we play one more game? Please, Tae? I promise I'll make it up to you." To make him agree with you, you pout, enlarging your eyes, your hands on your face.

How could he say 'no' to that face? Finally, he turns his phone off and gives his boxy smile.

"Sure, we'll play just one game, and after that, you're buying me some Whiskey."

"Deal!" You accept the offer. You walk past him, trying to pick out a game before you feel a hand grab you. You look back and see Taehyung gazing at your lips before looking back at you.

"Oh." You mumble as you give a quick peck on his soft lips. Taehyung gives a soft smile as you both walk off to play another game.

"That was not fair!" You currently were strolling down the streets, mad at the fact that you lost the last game at the arcade.

"It was fair, you weren't just good enough Y/n," Taehyung explains to you. You gasp, he just insulted you for not playing well.

"Excuse me, I did do well, you on the other hand kept asking me which buttons to press for throwing a fucking bomb."

"Still, I did better." He shrugs.

"Well, it wasn't my fault for getting distracted by you." You indicate the word 'you' on Taehyung a little harshly.

"Me? What did I do to distract you?" Curiosity hit Taehyung the very moment you mentioned that sentence.

Quiet for a moment, you rewind back to the time in the arcade. Taehyung’s dark brown hair, curled so adorably, the light cream hoodie he wore with baggy pants just really suited him. His facial features were looking sharp and beautiful. The straight nose, his bright smooth skin and his small parted lips really made you wonder of how such beauty existed.

You took a moment to reply with something.

"I don't know! You just look awfully great today. I mean you looked so cute playing the game, I just lost focus..." You mutter the last sentence quietly but Taehyung sure heard it.

You feel Taehyung wrap his arms around you, pressing a tender kiss on your forehead.

"I'm joking, you know? You're probably one of the best competitive players in this world, Y/n. And you know that too." Your cheeks blush a little from the comment.

"Now, let's go get some Whiskey, and remember you're paying!" Taehyung playfully yells as he starts running to the nearest club in front of you guys.

"Hey! Wait up, I gotta know if the Whiskey is expensive or not." You run after him, giggling that you had found such a perfect best friend.

"That is your fifth glass Y/n," Taehyung sighs. For the past thirty minutes, you told yourself that you wouldn't drink, not until Taehyung teased you about it.

"So? I'm just really, really thirsty tonight." You slur, your head on the bar counter.

"Oh my god, don't tell me I need to carry you home tonight." Taehyung groans in annoyance.

"I did a lot today, Tae." You sip the remaining Whiskey left in your glass.

"Another one please." You tell the bartender.

"Y/n, I'm pretty sure that's enough, you were drunk from your third glass."

"Did I tell you, that you look extremely handsome today?" You point your finger towards Taehyung's chest. Taehyung sort of widens his eyes.

"Why did your hair have to be curly Taehyung? Why are you so good-looking?" You declare in a state of drunkenness.

"Alright, we're going now," Taehyung states, grasping your arm and pulling you out of your seat.

"But, Tae." You whine.

"Taehyung?" A different voice is heard this time. Taehyung releases you when his eyes are on someone else.

"Jungkook?" Taehyung replies. Your eyes trail to where Taehyung is looking at. In front of you, both was another man, slightly taller than Taehyung, though he didn't have curly hair as he did. Instead, this man had a nice cut to his, his arm was covered in ravishing tattoos, silver loops on both of his ears and a lip piercing perfectly chipped to the corner of his small lips.

"I never knew you had a girlfriend," Jungkook announces.

Girlfriend? Oh, this guy took the wrong impression.

"We're not together."

"We're together."

You and Taehyung both gape at each other in shock. Jungkook follows your movement and smirks.

"Friends, I guess?" He rhetorically asks.

"Best friends," you reassure him.

"Good, I thought it was the 'Friends with Benefits' thing." He quotes. You widen your eyes, quickly replying.

"I doubt so that will ever happen, I mean we're best friends, we just cuddle and kiss, there's nothing bad in that." You let that out in a rush, realising after three seconds of what you had said.

You cover your mouth with your hand and mumble.

"Shit, I wasn't supposed to say all of that was I?"

Jungkook just stares at you in amusement, before he glances back at your best friend.

“She’s pretty, will you-“ He gets cut off by Taehyung harshly.

“No.”

“Why? You’ve certainly got luck in your side.” Jungkook continues.

“I said no,” Taehyung replied sternly.

“The hyungs won’t be happy to hear about this…” Jungkook says in a quiet voice.

“Get your own.” Taehyung grits his teeth.

“She’s mine.” He adds.

You were literally confused about what they were talking about. You just only remember being at the arcade and magically ending up here, stuck between two men arguing whatever bullshit they were saying.

“Fine, but, everyone has got their eyes set on the prize.” Jungkook ends, you watch him disappear within the crowd.

You rest your head on a very pissed Taehyung, slurring out more sentences that would probably embarrass you in the future.

“Why do you guys speak in riddles?”

The atmosphere in the car was not very welcoming at all. It was freezing and you had no idea why Taehyung didn’t turn on the heater during the trip home. You could tell Taehyung wasn’t in the mood at all, his knuckles were white the whole time when he was driving, his steering wheel would probably need a new change.

The car abruptly stopped, making your body jerk out of your seat for a little. The silence was definitely heard in the air when you got out of the car.

You look at Taehyung who wasn’t paying attention to you at all.

“Drive safely.” You tell him.

“Be safe and call me if you need anything.” He replies before whirring off into the night.

Weird, why does he always sound like an overprotective boyfriend?

You shrug off the thought as you enter your house. That was until more questions stirred in your head.

When Jungkook mentioned the word ‘girlfriend’ it reminded you of the number of times when you thought kissing your best friend was wrong. You met Taehyung a couple of months ago, it started with bumping to each other in a café, spilling your coffee all over him.

After a hundred times of saying sorry, he instead bought you a coffee, arguing about how he should have watched where he was going. Then things started to progress slowly. You guys coincidentally kept bumping into each other at different places, just casually talking to not make the conversation awkward.

Taehyung made the first move, asking for your phone number. It really seemed like those cliché ‘love at first sight’ types but it wasn’t.

He wanted to become best friends.

You guys were so sweet and caring for each other, that you didn’t realise the day Taehyung told you to kiss him.

He convinced you it was normal for best friends to do that, it showed love and affection, like as if it was holding a rope, where neither of you can tug it, so at the end it will never snap.

Unless… one of you pull it, so the rope is loose to whoever’s freedom.

Was light pecks or kisses alright?

Is that why Jungkook asked if you were Taehyung’s girlfriend? You didn’t kiss in front of him, maybe you two just looked really great together.

It felt wrong to do so, but it made you feel special and loved. And you wanted that so badly. It was a craving desire, you and Taehyung were so close, you both had so many things in common and so far there weren’t any huge arguments that would disrupt the relationship.

You had a real friend. A friend that you would probably cherish for the rest of your life. But, was kissing a friend alright?

You could always trust Taehyung, right?

You ignore the thought and go to your room, instantly lying on the fluffy bed. You fiddle with your fingers for a while, the silence killing you slowly. You could hear crickets chirping and just the rough wind, swishing away so hard you could hear the branches of trees hitting against each other.

Your bedroom window was slightly ajar, the moonlight glowing your face up.

Wait, why was the window open? You remember it was closed with the curtains covering it-

You immediately sat up, flicking the lights on, only to be greeted by a guest who made you jump.

"What the fuck?"

"Hello, Y/n." Under the nose of you was Jungkook. You surprisingly remember him. How the hell did he get in your room?

"What are you doing here?" You question out of fright and curiosity.

"Mm," he simply says, sitting on one of your armchairs, legs sprawled apart.

You barely know this guy and a disturbing feeling knotted inside your stomach.

"Listen-"

"Do you want to play a game, Y/n?" He queries.

"If it's with you, then... no." You respond arms crossed over your chest. Right now, you really hoped this deranged fucker would go away. How does he have the audacity to sneak into your house and ask you to play a game?

"Are you sure? It's a really fun game." He stretches, those doe eyes piercing through your soul.

"Like I said, no." You scoff, getting annoyed. Jungkook, on the other hand, scanned your features- if you played this game, you had no idea how happy Jungkook would be.

"Everybody likes games, and I know you do too... but, have you ever played a game that earns you money?"

"Money or not, I'm not interested." You say the word slow and hard for Jungkook to hear.

"You're going to regret it, Taehyung's in it." Your head quirks up to the mention of Taehyung's name. Taehyung? Playing a game? And he didn't tell you?

Jungkook watches you, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Money or not," he mocks the first couple of words you say "though, wouldn't it be much more fun if you were playing with your so-called, 'best friend'?"

"The price of friendship is dealt more than the price of $35 million." He continues. Thirty-five million? What insane game was this?

"W-what game is it?" You catechize.

"Oh baby, it's not just one game, it's multiple. That's how the money adds up." He clicks his tongue, smirking. The name he just used made you cringe, what gave him the right to say that?.

Realising your quiet response, Jungkook scrutinises you. He noticed how close you and Taehyung were. It infuriated him that his own Hyung didn't tell him about you. You were gorgeous, an angel sent from heaven, someone to keep forever. Jungkook and his other Hyung's would share all the time, and to his surprise, Taehyung didn't mention anything. He never mentioned you.

Well now, he was going to make things a whole lot better.

Jungkook lets out a light chuckle, "But, don't you want to know what this is?" Between his two fingers was a small type of card. Golden, in fact, your eyes examining and reading the small, capitalised letters printed on it.

"Wanna Play?" You breathe out, "Is that the name of the game?"

"Yeah, it is." Jungkook retorts, playing with the card, you watch him flip it over and over again.

"All the details come from the card." He tells you, tapping the card twice with one of his fingers.

"You choose, whether you want to play or not." He says casually, placing the card on your bedside table while standing up. He reaches to your window, slightly leaning against the wall as he views your movement.

He eyes you holding the card, you contemplating it. Jungkook was ready to leave until something popped up in his mind.

"Oh, and Y/n..." He catches your attention as you glance at him "don't tell Taehyung, or there will be consequences." He didn't hesitate to tell you this, after all, it was simply just Taehyung's fault. You somehow managed to realise how many octaves his voice dropped down. It almost sounded like a warning and that made you tense. You drop the card on your bed, a strange question occurring to your mind.

"Wait, Jungkook... how do you know my name?" But as you look up ahead, he was no longer there, only the curtains swaying and a creaking window.

The next day, you were walking back and forth, wondering about the current situation you were in. Jungkook's warning got you alarmed- telling Taehyung will result in consequences. That's what he said, yet, you always tell Taehyung everything. Or mostly anything. How could you not tell him about this?

You wrote down the number on a notepad just in case.

Taehyung is playing this game, so shouldn't I be allowed to as well? You question yourself multiple times.

Why didn't he tell me?

How does Jungkook even know my name? Did he get it from Taehyung? They looked pretty close at the bar-

Your thoughts were interrupted by a ring, coming from your phone. You checked who it was and it was no other than your best friend.

"Hello?"

"Y/n, I've been knocking on your door for like a whole complete minute now, where are you?" Taehyung was knocking on your door, and you didn't hear him at all. Gosh, you were so in trance with your thoughts.

"I'm sorry, I'm coming right now." You hang up, running to open the door, greeted by a smiling Taehyung. You eye him up and down for a quick second. He wore a black leather jacket, with dark blue jeans. His hair looked extra spectacular today, and his lips were shining. Something about him right now, just made him look sexy. He licks his lips, gazing at you.

"Well? Aren't you ready for the day?" He asks.

"Huh, what day?" You were still occupied in your own thoughts.

"Friday? The day where we do whatever shit we want? Eating at your favourite café?" He rhetorically asks, expecting you to answer.

You peek behind him, glancing at the sky. It was dark and grey, gloomy and unsettling. It gave you an eerie vibe, and it was much different today. You didn't want to go, you just knew today wasn't the right day, and at this very moment, you didn't want to see Taehyung.

"U-uhm, is it fine if we.. you know don't go? I just don't feel well, so like-"

"That's fine, we can just hang out here." Taehyung cuts you off, ready to go further in your house.

Your hands land on Taehyung's shoulder, slightly pushing him back.

"No, it's alright, you should go, I don't want you to be sick because of me." You tell him, hoping it would convince him.

But of course, it didn't.

Taehyung snorts, removing your hand from his shoulder.

"Y/n, since when have I never taken care of you?" You froze, the card, now curled up in your fist was gripped even tighter. What Taehyung said, somehow made you feel nervous.

It was true though, Taehyung was always there for you. He was everywhere. You're at a mall and he would be there too or you're at a park and you would see him on a park bench, far from you. The point was, he always takes care of you, like as if he was a doctor and you were his close patient. Just always treating you, especially silently afar.

It sometimes made you wonder that Taehyung wasn’t just ordinary, he was just different. He was just as smart as you were, and you could tell that from the start. Though, you were much more naïve and so easy to grasp, especially to Taehyung.

The day he met you, he knew that this was a destined relationship. He had to make sure you were his, nobody else's. He wanted you only for himself, he didn't want to share like his Hyungs did.

Taehyung watched as your body tensed, muscles frozen and your eyes lost. He might have hit a nerve. Proceeding to calm you down, Taehyung puts his hand on your shoulder, your eyes finally making contact with his.

“Oh, uh, sorry.” You mutter, tucking a strand of hair. However, Taehyung notices your clenched fist, hands grabbing yours to see what you were gripping so hard.

He pulled out the card easily, your sweaty hands giving in and not helping at all. You gaze at him as he widens his eyes.

“Where did you get this?” He asks a little too loudly. When you don’t answer him, his hands grip onto your shoulders, tight. “Y/N, I said, where did you get this?” He repeats, anger glimmering in his eyes. You have never seen him this mad before, and it frightened you. The way those eyes narrowed and how it glinted with dark flames concerned you, especially because of the tightening grip he had on you.

“Y/N!” He says harshly, shaking you slightly. Terrified of his current behaviour you take a different turn this time.

“I got this today morning.” Lie

“From where?”

“I found it near the trash cans.” Lie

“Did you get it from anyone? Or found anyone who put it there?”

“No.” Lie

Taehyung searched your eyes but you made sure your tone was confident enough. He brings his face close to yours, just inches apart.

“You aren’t lying to me, are you?” He whispers very lowly, his hot breath fanning your face, making you shiver.

“I’m not.” You say again confidently. Taehyung was still in the same position for a couple of seconds before pulling away.

“You won’t be needing this,” he crumples the card in his large hands, ripping it seconds afterwards. You watch the tiny pieces floating in mid-air, slowly descending to the floor, just like how you would see visible snowflakes falling during your childhood.

“You should have never have gotten it in the first place!” Taehyung exclaims, kicking the wall so hard that it made you wince.

"What's so bad about it?" You barely let out a whisper. Taehyung heard, he turned around, querying you more. "You didn't call them, right?"

As if your body had let you down, you shook and broke yourself down. Crystal clear drops of tears were sliding down your cheek from the corner of your eyes.

"No! No, I didn't Taehyung, I didn't call them." Taehyung's demeanour changed within a second. He cupped your cheeks, wiping the tears away. Hugging you in a sense of comfort.

"Shh, look I'm sorry, please don't cry, I didn't mean it that way, I didn't mean for this to happen." He tells you, slowly pulling away.

"I wanted you to be safe." He mutters, lowering down to your level “I hope you get that.” He concludes. You nod your head, a small smile appearing on your face.

Ding

Ding

Ding

You could hear the text notifications coming from Taehyung’s phone. He takes it out and glances at the screen giving you a quick look as well.

“Sorry, I have to take this,” he strolls outside. You stand and wait patiently, rocking from side to side. It was a habit of yours, especially when you were curious.

You suddenly hear Taehyung swear, his hand gripping onto his hair. He comes back in quickly telling you he has to go.

As he leaves, you watch him, making sure he fully left. Once you’ve checked, you rush back to your room, finding the notepad.

If Taehyung was going to be mad at you for getting a mysterious card, nearly scaring the hell out of you and left so quickly, then lord sure does know that he’s hiding something. And you were going to find out about it.

You grab your phone from your bed, the notepad on your lap, the number visible in black ink. Whatever safety shit he was talking about he should have told you what it was, what made him so frantic that he jumped at you, questioning you as if you were a suspect of murder.

What was so bad about the card? It was a game, you were told it’s a game. And if Taehyung’s in it, he shouldn’t be lying to you at all. If he was in the game and he didn’t tell you… well that’s a little ruthless, isn’t it? Especially as his best friend.

Dialling the numbers, you bring your phone to your ear, the ringing continuing for three seconds before it got answered. You gulped, hoping the tantrum that Taehyung did was something meaningful.

“Hello?”

[serenity-songbird]

I noticed that there is not a lot of South Park soulmate AUs. I love the idea of soulmates so I decided to write some different AUs for the main 4. Enjoy.~

-At first, Stan didn't really care about soulmates since he was so obsessed with Wendy.

-It wasn't until he'd gotten tired of the consistent breakups and the fighting that he began to care. He was frustrated of always having to change himself for her. Maybe his soulmate would love him as is.

-He started to pay more attention to his timer. 00 years 03 days 04 hours 56 minutes 28 secounds and counting.

-Maybe fate knew when he would be ready and when exactly he would have enough.

-He thought about you a lot in those next 3 days. Were you pretty? Handsome? What were your interests? Were you like Wendy? He hoped not.

-Kyle had to calm him down and pull his friend together.

-The day he was destined to meet you, he woke up early and dressed up really nice and styled his hair. Cartman definitely made fun of him for it and made kissy faces to which Stan replied, "Kiss my ass Cartman."

-He would keep checking his timer throughout the day.

-In the last few minutes, chaos erupted. Two students decided to fight in the hallway causing a crowd.

-Through the ruckus, Stan heard a feminine voice squeak out. "E-excuse me! I-I need to-Ouch! P-Please let me through! AH!!!" The voice shouted as she was pushed into Stan's chest and they fell over.

-The moment he looked into her (E/C) eyes their timers went off. For a moment, nothing else mattered. They stared at each other in Serenity and bliss.

-He examined the shy African American female. She was definitely a book worm with all the books that had scattered around them. Her (E/C) orbs shined behind her hipster glasses. She was beautiful.

-Stan had to swallow the bile Rising in his throat.

-Suddenly the female scrambled to her feet after realizing the position they were in.

-"I-I-I I'm s-so sorry!!! Someone p-pushed me! Here! Let me help you up!" Stan took her hand and stood on his feet. The first thing he noticed was how she was a few inches taller than him. He helped her pick up her belongings.

-"Hey. It's a bit crowed over here. Why don't we go somewhere more quiet?" He had to raise his voice over all the commotion. She nodded and he lead her to an empty classroom.

-She was quiet at first, but eventually he got her to open up. They both talked about each other and with every new thing they learned, the teenagers fell even harder.

-Stan's heart beat wildly in his chest, but he was able not to throw up on her! Woo!!!

-It wasn't until she sighed that he got worried.

-"Look. There is something that you need to know before either of us get too attached. I'm already really starting to like you and I don't want to be hurt when you decide to leave." He started to panic.

-"W-what do you mean?"

-"I-I-m transgender. When I was born the doctors identified me as a boy, but as I grew older I realized that I was born the wrong gender. And yes, I do still technically have "man parts" but that's because I'm still too young to do the surgery. But I'm taking hormones and I will eventually get that surgery. If you're disgusted with me then you might as well leave because this is who I am! S-so you s-should just go and please dont bully me!!!" Your eyes welled up with tears and you began to shake and shut your eyes.

-Stan blinked. He was a bit shocked. You're a boy? Well no, you just said you identified as a girl. Immediately, he realized something. He wasn't an idiot. He knew how cruel the world could be and it was clear you were bullied after coming out.

-Who cares if you're transgender? You're his soulmate and that means you two were made for each other. So he gently put his hand on yours. "I'm not going anywhere and if anyone bullies you I will personally kick their asses."

-You looked at him in shock. "Y-You don't hate me?" (Bless your little heart).

-"Why would I hate you for being who you are? Coming out like you did is really brave and I admire you for it. It doesn't matter if you identify as a boy, girl, or whatever. I'm not going to ruin a chance with you just because you figured out who you are. I think you're beautiful and perfect just the way you are. So screw those assholes who say otherwise. You're my soulmate and I support you 100%."

-Your lip quivered as tears rolled down your cheeks. Stan smiled at you. You jumped up and glomped him into a hug. "Thank you." You whispered happily.

-Stan grew to love you and was always there for you. He comforted you before your surgery once you were old enough and stayed with you until you were discharged.

-Fate was right when it decided you two as soulmates. Because Stan was right. You are perfect just the way you are.

-From the moment Kyle knew what soulmates were, he was so excited to meet you.

-He would often trace your name on his wrist. There was never a day where you wouldn't cross his mind.

-He would imagine what you were like and replied scenarios on how he would meet you.

-One day when he woke up before school, something felt different. Then he realized, he might meet you today! That would explain why he woke up with butterflies.

-So he dressed up nice and styled his hair. He even put on cologne. He wanted today to be perfect, because his heart was telling him that today would be the day you'd finally meet.

-And, of course, the day was immediately ruined because nothing ever goes perfect for Kyle. Also, South Park is South Park sooo...

-Mr. Garrison decided to be a dick and insult the enitre Latino/ Hispanic community. So here they were in the Gymnasium sitting through another one of PC Principle's lectures.

-"I am deeply angered and disgusted by how you all speak of the Hispanic/Latino community. So here to enlighten you racists is a newer student who will teach you more about their culture. Will you kindly welcome (Y/F/N)?"

-Immediatly, Kyle perked up. "(Y/N)? Dude isn't that-" "My soulmate." Kyle inturrupted Stan.

-So here comes this short, beautiful Hispanic Girl walking up to the podium with a purpose. "Hello everyone, I would like to say that I am personally disturbed on what I've been hearing about my community. So I'm here to stand up for my fellow Latinos and Hispanics. Represent!" She pumped up her fist and other Hispanics and Latinos eagerly replied with a, "REPRESENT!!!"

-She immediately began to criticize all racial slurs being said and followed up with facts about the culture and literature. From the moment you started speaking, Kyle was hooked on every word. He fell in love with your accent and how confident you were.

-"Oooh great. Of course Kyle's soulmate loves to give speeches. Now we have to listen to this bitchy immigrant talk about topics we don't even care about. Ugh, get a fucking life." Cartman sneered.

-"Shut your fucking mouth fatass! You don't know what you're talking about!"

-"Kyle Broflovski! Eric Cartman! Shut your fucking mouths! How dare you have a conversation while one of your fellow students is talking about some important issues. One more word out of you and it's two weeks detention!"

-The moment his name was mentioned, your head snapped up. The two of you locked eyes and both your faces turned red. To play it off Kyle gently smiled at you which you returned with a crooked smile of your own.

-"(Y/N)? You may continue." PC Principle urged. "O-Oh! Right. As I was saying..."

-When the assembly was over Kyle rushed to get to you. However, there were two many kids and he lost you in the crowd.

-Just when he thought he wouldn't find you, a voice whispered close to his ear. "I found you." He screeched and jumped back 3 feet. You giggled and his heart fluttered. You bravely pulled him into a hug. "I'm so happy to meet you Kyle Broflovski!"

-Before he could hug back, you pulled away. "You are Kyle Broflovski, right? Because this would be really embarrassing if you aren't." He laughed and pulled you in. "I'm so happy to meet you too, (Y/F/N).

-After school, you got to know each other better and he just fell so in love with you.

-Within the time you spent together, you become his Number 1 Supporter. He was so grateful to have you in his life. And for once someone defended him when people would talk shit.

-One time Cartman decided to spit racial slurs towards both of you and you beat the ever loving fuck out of him. Kyle literally had hearts in his eyes.

-You two were perfect for each other and were definitely South Parks power couple.

-Kenny could not wait to meet you. Both because he was already in love with you and he was sick and tired of being colorblind.

-Some of his friends had already found their soulmates and he was jealous. He wanted to see the world in color too.

-As a Pansexual, Kenny definitely did not care about your gender, race, or affliation. Because he would love you no matter what.

-Now Kenny might be a playboy and a flirt, but the moment he meets you, you'd better believe he is going to be loyal to you.

-Him and his friends were hanging out at the park one day playing basketball.

-Unfortunately, Kenny drew the short straw and ended up with Cartman and Butters on his team and were currently getting their asses kicked.

-Kyle was thoroughly enjoying showing off at how much better he was than Cartman. After all, basketball was his sport.

-Sure, Kenny had Clyde and Jimmy on his team and they were okay, but Kyle had all the sporty people like Stan, Token, and Craig. Yeah, Tweek was also on the team and would spaz out now and again, but even he was better than Cartman.

-To top it all off, Cartman tripped and started whining. "This game sucks you guys! I quit!" He then wobbled off to the bench and started snacking on some cheesy poofs.

-"Well I guess that's game." Stan whipped the sweat off his brow. "Oh come on! I wanted to keep playing!" Kenny muffled through his parka. "Dude you're down a player. We can't play if the teams aren't even." Kyle chimed in.

-"Perhaps, if you gentleman wouldn't mind, I could join you?" Everyone turned to the suave English voice and stared at the Englishman. And boy oh boy did Kenny start drooling. Two muscled arms were crossed against a sturdy chest. His grey tank top allowed a sight to behold.

-"Oh hello. Who are you? You new here?" Token was the first to speak. "The name's (Y/F/N) and yes I am new here." Everyone lined up to introduce themselves. When it was Kenny's turn, the world around him changed as their eyes met.

-Beautiful hues emerged from the greys and blacks. The first colors he noticed were the (E/C) sparkles in your eyes and the fact you were both wearing the same orange color.

-You stood there shocked before giving him a handsome smirk. "Well, let's see what you can do out there, Soulmate." Before he could reply, he was rudely interrupted by Cartman's laughter.

-"Hahahaha! Kenny's soulmate is a dude. What a fag!"

-"Shut up you fat fuck! Nobody here had a problem with it!" Kyle quickly ran to his friend's defense. "Yeah. Plus Tweek and Craig are soulmates, so why is this any different?" Clyde chipped in.

-"Because Craig and Tweek were always faggots so it was expected!" "Aye! Fuck you Cartman!" Craig flicked him off and took Tweek's hand. "ACK! Stop being such a dick Cartman!" Tweek staggered out.

-"Gentleman please. I wouldn't expect a person with such a low IQ to understand the complexities of this world. Let the fat wanker sit alone with his simple mind. It's not like anybody cares what he has to say."

-The guys laughed at that. "I l-l-like this guy a-already." "Your gonna fit in great, Buddy." Jimmy and Butters patted t you on your broad shoulders.

-Kenny liked you already.

-You fit in great with the group. The moment you joined the team, Kenny's team actually had a chance at winning. You were just as good at basketball as Kyle was if not better.

-When you scored the winning shot, Kenny couldn't help but pull you into a kiss. You not minding a bit, kissed him back and dipped him.

-"Well I should say this was a pleasant first meeting, ey kenny?"

-You two had the perfect dynamic. Both being playful and flirty. Kenny's flirts were a bit more dirty and sexual while yours were more polite and refined.

-Definetly South Park's favorite couple.

-The world wasn't just more colorful in the sense of sight, but more in the way you made each other feel.

- Ever since he could read, Cartman already despised you. The words on his wrist were all he needed to prove you were a bitch.

-'Hey! What the fuck? Watch where you're going asshole!'

-Nobody talks to Eric Cartman that way. Not even his own soulmate. So he could care less about you.

-The day he met you, was when him and his friend's were at the end of summer carnival. The last few days of freedom before he had to go back to jail, I mean, 'Skool.'

-Kyle and Cartman were having another argument. This time about what they wanted to do next.

-"Nyah! I say we go to the food court and each some fried chicken!" "We just ate an hour ago fatass! Everyone else wants to go on teacups!" "Food court!" "Teacups!" "FOOD! COURT!" "TEA! CUPS!"

-"This is exactly why you haven't met your soulmate! Everyone of us has already found our soulmates! I feel sorry for the poor bastard who gets you!"

-"Just because your immigrant girlfriend wants to go on the teacups doesn't mean anyone else wants too!" Stan's soulmate quietly let out a, "W-Well, um, actually I wanted to-" "Shut up Transy! Nobody cares!"

-"Hey! Don't talk to my girlfriend that way!" "CALLTE LA BOCA PUTA MADRE!!!" Stan and Kyle's soulmate yelled at the same time while Stan's soulmate hid behind Stan, whimpering.

-Let's just say, Kenny and his soulmate had to pull both Kyle and his soulmate back before they could beat the shit out of Cartman...again.

-After being ditched by the group, Cartman walked to the food court on his own. "Stupid Kyle. Who cares if I'm the only without a soulmate. Their probably a bitch anyway."

-He angrily stomped away and pushed past some dude waiting in line.

-"Hey! What the fuck? Watch where you're going asshole!" "Well then stay out of my way, Pussy!"

-A tingling sensation passed through the pair's chest before realization hit. You two stared at each other is disbelief.

-You entire outfit screamed skater boy. You were baggy boyish clothes with some band name on the t-shirt and a yellow beanie. You cradled your cool skateboard like it was your child. If it wasn't for your huge knockers and edgy make up, he would've thought you were a boy.

-"Ugh!!! Why do I get some crossdressing chick as my soulmate?! And don't call me an asshole!"

-Immediatly, your shocked face turn hostile as you shout back. "If you don't want to be called an asshole then don't shove people! Also, I'm non-binary you fucking dick. I go by the pronouns they/them! Don't just assume I have a gender!"

-"That's fucking stupid!" "You're fucking stupid!" Everyone around immediately got uncomfortable at your bickering. Your friend had to step in and pull you guys to an abandoned picnic table away from everyone else. Not that you noticed since you were too busy shouting insults to each other.

-"Enough! Now I know you guys already hate each other, but you two are soulmates. So for some reason the universe thinks you two are perfect for each other. So if you could get over your fears of actually opening up to someone, and please try to get to know each other?" Your friend, Danny scolded you.

-"HA! As if I'd ever fall in love with this bitch!" "Finally we agree on something!"

-Your friend Danny then looked both of you dead in the eye with his patronizing stare making you both sweat with nerves. "If you two don't try to get along within the next 10 minutes. I will personally go to security and tell them you are disturbing the peace and get you both kicked out and not be able to enter the festival for the rest of the day."

-"What? No Danny!!! I've been really looking foward to this, don't get us kicked out!" "The fuck? You ain't getting us kicked out!" You 3 had a stare down. "Watch me." He began to walk away but you pulled him back. "F-Fine!!! We'll talk!" "No we w-" You elbowed him, "His Dad is head of security. He can and will make sure we can't come back." "...Shit."

-The first 5 minutes, you both literally sat in silence. Neither wanting to break first. Eventually, you had to cave in because you know that Danny will do what he promised.

"Look I'm only doing this because I want to eat some of the famous funnel cake everyone has been talking about. So tell me about your self." At the mention on food Cartman perked up. "Dude you haven't tried the funnel cake? It's literally legendary." "Well, I did just move here so of course not." "...Want to go get some?"

-You both ended up getting different flavored funnel cakes so you could split half and half. Surprisingly, through food (and possibly soulmate magic) you two clicked. You ended up talking about yourselves and rode on some rides.

-You taught him some sick tricks on your skateboard and ended up really liking each other. Eventually, you both forgot about your anger towards each other and enjoyed the other's company.

-You thought he was hilarious and he found your personality interesting. You won him a dolphin plushie that he swears he will NOT have tea parties with it and you promised to never tell.

-To say the others were shocked when Cartman walked past them holding some strangers hand was an understatement.

-You never let him walk over you and somewhat managed to lessen Cartman's racist bigotry. (To which Kyle was extremely grateful). And he allowed you to be more open around others. And if anyone dared insult you for being Non-Binary, they will be punished severly.

-Overall, you may have not been the perfect couple and always got into fights, but your relationship also brought the good qualities you two had and made life more fulfilling.

[viking-raider]

Cover Me in Sunshine - One Shot

Summary: You meet Henry's little brother and his family, making a connection with someone unexpected.

Pairing: Henry Cavill/Reader

Word Count: 1,586

Rating: G - Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Cotton Candy Goodness, Song Fic

Inspiration: P!nk's song with her daughter Willow, Cover Me In Sunshine.

Author's Note: I heard this song last night and muse came up with this. Cred to @firefly-graphics for the divider!

“Charlie, Heather, this is my girlfriend.” Henry grinned as he introduced you to his little brother and his wife.

“It's a pleasure to meet you.” Charlie grinned, throwing out an arm and giving you a hug.

“Sames.” You smiled back and returned his hug. “Hey.” You nodded, as Charlie and Heather introduced you to their kids.

The kids nodded and mumbled their hellos to you, then vanished to various corners of the house, while you, Henry, Charlie and Heather went into the kitchen. Heather pulled out wine glasses and Charlie grabbed a bottle of chilled Stella Rosa wine from the fridge.

“Is mum and pops coming over?” Henry asked, standing at the island, sipping his glass and resting his hand on your lower back.

“Yeah, mum said they'd be here in twenty.” Charlie nodded, taking a deep gulp of his own glass.

“Cool.” Henry nodded back, turning his head, his nose brushing the hair above your ear.

The doorbell rang several minutes later and Henry's parents joined the party of adults. You excused yourself at some point to go to the bathroom and were coming back out, when the sound of a guitar caught your attention. Biting your lip, you looked back towards the laughter and voices of Henry and the others, but decided to follow the sound of the instrument instead, finding Charlie and Heather's oldest daughter, Maddie, in the den, sitting cross legged on the carpet, strumming a guitar.

“Wow, you're pretty good.” You commented, when she paused for a moment “Oh, sorry.” You chuckled, when you startled her. “Where'd you learn to play?” You asked, stepping further into the room and sitting down beside her.

“My dad taught me.” She replied, chewing on her lip as she regarded you shyly.

“My dad taught me how to play too.” You smiled at her, sweetly.

“You know how to play too?” She asked, surprised.

“I do.” You nodded.

Maddie put her guitar down and rushed out of the room, coming back a moment later with another guitar. “You want to play with me?” She asked, excitedly holding the guitar out to you.

You smiled a little bit wider at her. “Sure.” You nodded and took the instrument from her, situating it in your lap. “Do you have any songs you like?” You asked her.

“I do have a song that I wrote?” Maddie admitted, shyly brushing her hair behind her ear.

“Oh yeah?” You grinned, lifting a brow at her. “You want to teach it to me?” You asked, turning to face her.

“You actually want me to teach it to you?” Maddie asked, caught off guard by your request.

“A Hundred percent.” You nodded, positioning your fingers on the guitar strings and patiently waited for her to start giving you instructions.

Maddie's shock instantly melted away into a bright excitement and she started showing you what strings to pluck and play and in no time, the pair of you were playing the song together and falling more and more in sync the more you played it.

“Can I show you something?” Maddie asked after one last play through of the song.

“Of course.” You nodded at her, resting your arms on your guitar.

Maddie set her guitar down and raced out of the room at full speed, you could hear her feet pounding up the stairs to the second floor and Heather yell out from the kitchen for her to slow down, but she didn't, and she came thundering back into the room with you, plopping down on carpet beside you, spreading out a crumpled piece of paper with several lines written in blue ball-point pen, with the title 'Cover Me in Sunshine' scribbled at the top in black sharpie.

“You wrote a song.” You identified it instantly.

“Yeah.” She nodded, vigorously. “I've never shown it to anyone else before though.”

“Have you ever sang it before?” You asked, reading through the lyrics.

“No.” She replied, becoming shy again. “I-..” She bit her lip and sighed. “I don't think I can sing that well.”

“Hm.” You pressed your lips together. “What can I do to help?” You asked, tilting your head at her.

“I know you're a really good singer.” She said, making you blush.

Maddie wasn't wrong, you had made your living as a recording artist, a successful and famous one at that, so it didn't surprise you that Maddie knew that you could sing.

“Could you sing it?” She asked.

“How about this.” You said, licking your lips. “Do you have a pencil?” You asked her.

“Yeah.” She nodded, getting up and crossing the room to grab it and came back, handing it to you.

“I'll sing these parts.” You drew a bracket around a set of lyrics. “We'll duet these together.” You underlined the lyrics you and Maddie would sing together. “And you can sing this last part.” You circled the last set of lyrics for her to sing on her own.

“How's that sound?” You asked, giving her an encouraging look and smile.

“Okay.” Maddie nodded, still shy and apprehensive, but willing to try, since you were.

“Good.” You nodded and the two of you picked up your guitars and started working on it.

“Hey, where did y/n go?” Heather asked, just realizing you hadn't come back from the bathroom.

Everyone stopped, frowning at each other, just then realizing the same. It had almost been an hour since you had excused yourself to go to the bathroom. Henry set his glass down and stepped out of the kitchen and went out to the hallway bathroom, the others following behind him, to make sure you were all right, when they all heard the sound of guitar music and singing coming from the den. They all looked at each other, confused, and followed it, stopping in the doorway of the den, finding you and Maddie sitting on the floor together, grinning and giggling, just having a blast together as you jammed out and played the song together, over and over.

You: I've been dreaming, friendly faces I've got so much time to kill Just imagine people laughing I know some day we will And even if it's far away Get me through another day.

You and Maddie: Cover me in sunshine Shower me with good times Tell me that the world's been spinning since the beginning And everything'll be alright Cover me in sunshine!

Maddie: Cover me in sunshine Shower me with good times Tell me that the world's been spinning since the beginning And everything'll be alright Cover me in sunshine!

You and Maddie were startled after finishing the song by their sudden and involuntary clapping, they were just so caught up in the moment and how amazingly beautiful the song was and how well the two of you played together, they were clapping before they knew it. Both of you blushed and became shy as the group funneled into the room with the two of you.

“That was amazing!” Everyone of them said, crowding around.

“Have you been sitting in here with her the whole time, just playing guitar and singing?” Henry asked, squatting down beside you, while the others clamored over Maddie, a huge smile on his face as his eyes sparkled with love.

“Yeah.” You chuckled, smiling. “I was coming back from the bathroom to join you guys again, when I heard her playing and came to check it out. One thing led to another and she taught me a song she composed, then a song she wrote and, well, you heard that by-product.” You said, motioning between you and Maddie.

“You wrote all that, Maddie?” Charlie asked, surprised by his daughter.

“Yeah.” She nodded, rubbing her arm.

“That's amazing.”

“It is.” You nodded, smiling at her. “She's got a lot of talent.” You complimented her.

You were impressed by Maddie, she had a natural talent.

“You think so?” Maddie asked, coming to life again.

“Completely.” You assured her, honestly.

Henry couldn't keep his eyes off of you, even after you joined him on the couch in the living room with the other adults, grinning like the love crazed man he was. The pair of you had been dating for several months and this was the first actual meeting you had with his family, he was positive you would hit off with his brother, sister-in-law and parents, but the connection you made with his niece had come out of nowhere and he was pleasantly surprised by it. The sound of you playing and singing with Maddie kept replaying over and over in Henry's head and it only elated him more.

“Are you okay?” You asked as you got into the car with him.

“Yeah, I'm great. Why?”

“Because, I'm worried your face is going to get stuck like that.” You chuckled, grinning at him.

“It just might, and I'm all right with that.” Henry replied, resting back in the driver's seat. “I've never had a girlfriend make such a connection with my family before.” He confessed to you, reaching out to rest his hand on your knee, gently squeezing it.

“Guess, I covered you in sunshine then.”

“More than you know.” He smiled, leaning over to kiss you.

[harrypotterfuryroad]

hey there! it's me, the trans rights guy from uhhh

*frantically checks dates*

over a month ago! damn, it's been a while.

sorry for not responding in a timely manner. i ended up going on a month-long trip to turkey soon after you replied to my ask and for some reason tumblr was blocked. then i came back and completely forgot about it for like a week and a half, but now i am here. hi!

so, long story short, i didn't really change my mind on trans people, even after reading your post. i wanted to make some big response to it, but i don't feel like the most qualified person to talk about it since i'm cis and don't want to speak on the behalf of actual trans folk.

regardless, i wanted to give a short explanation as to why i still disagree with a lot of your points so i don't keep you in suspense >:P

so to begin with, the idea that there's "no such thing as a terf" is not really true. don't get me wrong, i understand what you're saying. in a lot of cases, it can be used as a sort of buzzword against someone you don't like. but this doesn't mean that the word is meaningless. a terf, by definition, a trans-exclusionary radical feminist. there are people that fit that definition, regardless of whether the term is thrown around when it shouldn't be. so again, i understand where you're coming from, and i'm sure that some of the people who are called terfs were called that wrongfully, but that doesn't mean that actual terfs don't exist. if actual terfs didn't exist, i don't think the term "terf" would have come into being in the first place.

second off, the idea of "what makes a woman a woman." i can't properly talk on this because, surprise surprise, i'm actually a dude! however, in my eyes, the issue is more social than biological. for example, if i'm walking down the street and i see a woman, my first thought isn't instantly "are they biologically female?" it's "oh, a woman." whether they're trans or not doesn't particularly matter to me. i think the biggest indicator that it's more a social thing than a biological one, though, is the fact that trans women can experience misogyny. misogyny is prejudice against women, so if a trans woman faces misogyny, doesn't that, by proxy, make them a woman?

my point with that isn't to be some sort of "ha! checkmate!" moment or anything, but just to show that there might be more to these definitions than just biology. to me, at least, if someone identifies as a woman or a man, i don't think there's any harm in treating them as such, using their preferred pronouns, et cetera. ultimately, if it makes them feel comfortable and it doesn't hurt anyone, why shouldn't i?

but that's my opinion, and again, i'm definitely not the most qualified to speak on this. to end this segment, though, i have a question for you: by refusing to call trans women women, who are you helping? and, conversely, who gets hurt when you call trans women women?

anyway, moving on, i think the female stuff is kinda funky but i don't really know anything about it so i can't really comment on it. one thing i do want to touch on, though, is the bit where you say that "calling women adult human female might hurt their feelings a little."

a couple of notes on that: i don't know too much about this so i may just be extrapolating, but i think that not accepting trans women as women can probably cause much more harm than simply hurting a few feelings. it can make it more difficult for trans people to get rights, limiting their access to healthcare and other needs. that just seems like the logical conclusion for me.

as for the part about terfs murdering trans people on the streets... what? maybe i'm not getting my information from the same sources as you, but i have never heard anything like that. the mere idea of that sounds absolutely ludicrous. but even still, that doesn't mean that terfs aren't hurting trans people. by spreading transphobic rhetoric, they are making it more difficult for trans people to get access to healthcare and makes it easier for lawmakers to restrict their rights. i think the logic is pretty clear there.

however, i do agree with what you say about dogpiling and screeching and harassing people. that stuff isn't helpful in the slightest, and it shouldn't occur.

also, yeah, i did come from the "not all men" post, though i think a lot of the transphobia accusations came from your harry potter pfp. j.k. rowling is a well-known transphobe, so i don't think it's completely insane for people to consider you to be one as well. i don't think it was a good thing that you were harassed for it, to be clear, i'm just trying to explain where it probably came from. i'm genuinely sorry about the harassment you received. nobody really deserves that.

sheesh that was long. sorry about that! hopefully it was an interesting read at least :P

there were a couple of videos that shaped a lot of my thoughts on this, which i'll post below: The Hidden Rules of Modern Society | Philosophy Tube - YouTube J.K. Rowling | ContraPoints - YouTube out of the two, i'd personally recommend watching philosophy tube's video. actually, i would personally recommend watching all of philosophy tube's videos, because they're all really interesting and make my brain hurt from thinking, so i have a feeling you'll like them.

anywho, that's about it. if you read through all that, thank you! if not, i don't particularly blame you. regardless, i wish you a snazzy rest of your day!

(the original ask)

i get why you disagree with me when i say there's no such thing as a terf, but you do seem to basically understand the point i'm trying to make. when you say though that there is such a thing as a radical feminist that's trans exclusionary, you're kinda showing that you're not 100% there - judging branches of feminism based on their opinions of trans people only serves to reorient feminism around trans people instead of women. the field of trigonometry isn't circle-exclusionary, it's just not primarily concerned with them

if actual terfs didn't exist, i don't think the term "terf" would have come into being in the first place.

witches don't exist either but we have a word for them and that didn't stop the idea of them from being used to terrorize and persecute women for centuries - this is what i meant by the term ascribing rather than describing

second off, the idea of "what makes a woman a woman." i can't properly talk on this because, surprise surprise, i'm actually a dude!

men are allowed to recognize and understand what a woman is

however, in my eyes, the issue is more social than biological.

tell that to any woman in your vicinity and brace yourself for the biggest eye roll you've ever seen

for example, if i'm walking down the street and i see a woman, my first thought isn't instantly "are they biologically female?" it's "oh, a woman."

but what's that conclusion based on? not clothes - you'd certainly recognize someone's sex regardless of what they're wearing (otherwise you're saying that for example a dress is inherently female). you might have associations based on specific types of clothes but you'd still be able to tell. hair, makeup, etc are out for the same reasons. so yes, you are going off of biological factors whether you're cognizant of it or not. you are able to differentiate between a man and woman even if we keep height/weight/whatever constant almost instantaneously. but that's not even what's important here - you've trained yourself to associate basic pattern recognition with guilt

misogyny is prejudice against women, so if a trans woman faces misogyny, doesn't that, by proxy, make them a woman?

if i throw racial slurs at a white person it doesn't make them not white, how is this any different

also i covered in the first post why "someone who faces misogyny" is a bad definition of woman (which is the definition you're asserting by saying this)

i think that not accepting trans women as women can probably cause much more harm than simply hurting a few feelings. it can make it more difficult for trans people to get rights, limiting their access to healthcare and other needs.

i'm not accepting them as women, but that doesn't mean i'm not accepting them as human. any groups attempting to limit their human rights are fundamentally at odds with anything i believe

and elective cosmetic surgeries aren't healthcare or needs

as for the part about terfs murdering trans people on the streets... what? maybe i'm not getting my information from the same sources as you, but i have never heard anything like that.

you certainly have heard this. even if not word-for-word (which i admit i punched up a little for effect) you've heard of the super high death rate in the trans community (which isn't backed up by any data) and you've seen this in juxtaposition with criticism of feminists - usually people who had nothing at all to do with the problem being discussed. so this association is really easy to see if you're looking at the bigger picture

but even still, that doesn't mean that terfs aren't hurting trans people. by spreading transphobic rhetoric, they are making it more difficult for trans people to get access to healthcare and makes it easier for lawmakers to restrict their rights.

remember a second ago when i said that people were juxtaposing ominous threats to trans people with criticism of feminists who were absolutely not involved to create a narrative that feminists are to blame for anything that happens to trans people

j.k. rowling is a well-known transphobe

prove it

i started this by saying that "terf" is meaningless but "transphobe" is getting there too. disagreement is not bigotry, and you won't be able to point to anything jk rowling has said or done that amounts to more than disagreement. by diluting the category of transphobe so thoroughly, you're really only serving to overshadow actual bigotry and violence faced by trans people. the only people i've seen who were interested in actually piecing together and preventing the patterns of violence targeting trans people were called terfs for doing so, because it's immediately apparent that the culprits are men and a nontrivial portion of them are sex buyers. when a john gets arrested with a copy of the scum manifesto in his pocket then we can talk, but somehow i doubt that'll happen any time soon. i know there was that one republican congressman who used a quote from jk rowling in some speech pushing for anti trans legislation, but it was so thoroughly stripped from the original context that he could've been quoting anybody for the same effect. everyone recognizes that republicans contort bible quotes to serve their ends, but suddenly it's inconceivable that they'd warp quotes from anywhere else

i don't think it's completely insane for people to consider you to be one as well. i don't think it was a good thing that you were harassed for it, to be clear, i'm just trying to explain where it probably came from. i'm genuinely sorry about the harassment you received. nobody really deserves that.

i mean i'm doing just fine. i've gotten more support from that post than harassment and i would do it again in an instant. "you didn't deserve it but i see where they were coming from" isn't as comforting as you probably thought it was tho, especially since the most common version of the anons i got was "you have the words harry and potter in your url so i'm gonna tell you to kill yourself." like please tell me which part of that you think is well-intentioned or reasonable or not completely insane

anyway if it's all the same to you i'll pass on the philosophy tube and contrapoints videos, i've watched enough of them over the years to know they're usually 50-minute bloviating odysseys that never really get to a point, especially since philosophy tube started singlewhitefemale-ing contrapoints

[mka1098]

I’m Gay Panicking But It’s Fine - A Solangelo One-Shot Fanfiction

Thank you to @windbyfire for letting me use your fanart !

Might be a bit of OOC it's my first Solangelo piece; they are just too cute for me not to try and write them. Also, I'm straight (feel free to make fun of me like my friends, I take all the hits) so my attempt at gay panic is just not great. I just tried to think of my friend when they gay panic. Haha, hope you guys like this piece, and here's the link to the podfic/audio version

Audio listen along: https://youtu.be/xRLTIr6ZqwE

I'm Gay Panicking But It's Fine by Mka1098

Nico is a generally petulant, cold-faced, and stoic person. He smiles only during the darkest and latest of nights and barely grunts a word at people. His expressions are perceived as less than friendly and perhaps the only people who weren’t afraid of him and his ghost powers could be counted on one hand. (Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Hazel, and Renya). So it was a total shock to him when the golden-haired Will Solace bounced next to him right as he was leaving his cabin at 2 PM in the afternoon.

“Uh… hi?” He says in the quietest voice. Will smiles brightly at him.

“Hi, Nico.” The blonde says. Nico frowns. He feels as if he’s being smirked at. And oh, it is not a welcomed feeling, not for him. Enough people believe they can mess with him and those said people were sent right to Will’s own wing.

“What do you want?” He asks with a bit of bite in his tone. Will shrugs.

“Just wanted to say hi.” He says evenly. Nico scowls at him.

“That’s it?” His tone is harsh. “You just wanna pop over here and say hi? For no reason?” Nico says snarkily. Surprisingly, Will doesn’t run and scream in terror; he doesn’t start to shake either. Instead, his smile seems to grow infinitesimally bigger and he shoves his hands into his pockets.

“Yep.” He pops the P of the word before turning sharply left and away from Nico. The blonde doesn’t even look back at the confounded boy he had left standing. Instead, he smiles at some of the other campers and heads into cabin 6.

Nico stares back at him dumbly, even as he disappears into the cabin. “What the Hades?” He mutters quizzingly to himself. Nico crosses his arms tightly on his chest. There are some other campers, gossips for sure, who are staring at him. They are murmuring hush whispers while clearly pointing at him. He sends them a murderous glare; the point gets across and they scramble away quickly. Nico sighs. Sure being dark and broody is helpful when one wants to be alone but there are times when he doesn’t want to be alone. Alas, how on this earth is one supposed to make friends when they have the appearance of a walking skeleton. Nico keeps walking towards the mess hall. He needs food; he needs it now. His stomach shouts at him to hurry up. Hm, if only Jason was here then maybe he’d believe him that yes, the Nico Di Angelo does still run on sustenance-- well, something other than happy meals.

Few campers are still in the mess hall when he arrives. They stick to their own tables, their only sibling. Nico has no sibling, not any that are here at least. Sitting down, he summons plain salted noodles, slightly butter and light garlic; diet coke rather than water. He sighs as he smashes a forkful into his mouth. Pasta’s great and all but he eats it because they are simple carbs. Plain pasta isn’t overpowering, it isn’t too earthy or meaty or lettuce. It’s just enough to keep him upright. Nico sighs again as he finishes half the bowl, quickly getting sick of the dish. As he scrapes the rest of the pasta into the fire, he wishes he had a friend next to him.

-

“Welcome back.” Nico groans as the harsh light attacks his eyes. He attempts to get up but is shoved, gently at least, back down. “You just woke up; it’d be awful if you fainted again.” The voice chuckled. Nico’s eyes register just enough to see curly blonde hair next to him. The figure is wearing a white coat and holding a clipboard; it’s Will.

“What happened?” Nico says in a slight snarl.

“Shadow travel,” Will responds dryly. “Did you know you have a limit on distance and time?” He asks with an innocent voice but his eyes are letting on more than he’s saying. “It seems to me that your body uses a lot of energy to travel around that way and it lowers our blood sugar significantly.”

Nico scowls at him and blinks at the feeling of a hollow ache within him. “Yes, I did know that.” He says. Will makes a half-smile, half-smirk.

“Great, then I’m going to need you to manage your shadow traveling a bit better,” Will says. “I will come up with exact rules soon but know it’s going to be more limited now.”

Nico feels fury well up inside of him. “Not over my dead body.” He growls. Wills chuckles at his threat, annoying Nico even more.

“One-” Will puts a finger up. “-if you were a dead body then I did my job wrong. Two, as if you’d go so quickly. And three, doctor’s orders.” He says firmly, leaning in. Nico crosses his arms indignantly.

“And what if I don’t listen?” He snaps.

“You will.” Will sounds so sure of himself. Nico’s eyes darken.

“And how do you know that?”

Will leans in; he leans in very much. Nico gulps subconsciously and for a moment is shell-shocked by the smug look on Will’s face. His eyes are full of bright lights and mirth. His mouth is pink and completely sure. Nico never really talked to Will before… well yesterday when he had randomly said hi when Nico woke up. He had always known the blonde, how could one not and vise versa. He knew Will was smart and capable and a wicked good doctor; Nico just didn’t know how commanding and snarky he was either.

“Oh, I have a feeling.” With that, Will leans back and rips off a piece of paper, and hands it to Nico. The boy stares at it; it has times and measurements. “Your rules,” Will says easily. “Doctor’s orders.” He leaves with a flourish of his coat and Nico is left still on the bed with shouted orders to rest.

Nico is surprised-- pleasantly surprised. Everyone at camp is afraid of him and his ‘scary’ powers. But Will is not. It’s a nice change. A hint of a smile appears on Nico’s face. He actually listens for once (because he is not Percy Jackson)

-

“What is that?” Nico stares at the cards in Will’s hands. He shrugs. Nico scowls at him deeper. “What is that?” He repeats.

“Mythomagic cards.” Will smiles brightly; Nico wants to put on sunglasses. “I was playing with a couple of my patients when I remembered that you used to be a huge fan of the game. That was how you identified Dionysus right?” Will teases. Nico feels his face warm up, something that never happened before. Indignantly, he turns away with a huff. “Huh? Don’t like it? Mm… could’ve sworn you still liked the game; oh well, see you later then.”

Will only takes about 3 steps before Nico caves. “Wait,” Nico calls out quiet but Will hears and spins around as if he had shouted at the top of his lungs. “I- I still like the game, okay?” Nico says, trying to act hardened but it wasn’t working as well as he was hoping it would.

“Perfect!” Will says with a grin on his face. “Come join me.” He puts a hand out between them. Nico stares at it. What? Noticing that Nico didn’t move a muscle, Will quirks an eyebrow up. “Huh? Too much for you to handle?” He teases. “Sorry, just say it.” He brings his hands back to the pocket of his sweatshirt but smiles welcomingly for Nico to follow him. Nico frowns before giving in and following the blonde. He still catches the smirk residing on Will’s face.

“You don’t need to look so smug; I still like the game,” Nico growls. Will tilts his head to the side.

“I hoped so.”

They enter the hospital healing wing and there is a group of kids in clean white robes that seem to light up when their eyes catch on Will. They are young-- ages 9...10...11...12 perhaps. “Dr.Solace!” They chorus before even noticing that Nico stands next to him. Will smiles brightly; he looks almost like an angel of medicine with the sun shining through the window. “You’re back!” The kids continue. Will laughs and leaps onto one of the empty gurneys. Nico walks and stands awkwardly next to it. The kids don’t spare him much of a glance-- he wants to melt into the shadows to escape but finds that the wing is so lit up with light the nearest shadow could barely cover his entire hand.

“I am!” Will says, eyes Twinkling. “And… I brought a friend.” He presents his arms out like a magician showing his newest trick. The kids stare at Nico. Nico stares back awkwardly. Uh… what is he supposed to do now? He waves; a tight forced smile is on his face. The kids look at him intently and then back at Will. They smile, a move Nico did not expect, and nearly giggle out. What on… what? “Guys…” Will says with a head shake. Nico looks at him with a head shake. Is there a blush on his face or has Nico forgotten breakfast again? “-don’t laugh. This is Nico.”

A kid falls over, chortling. “Oh… we know.” He says mischievously. Will sends him a hard look. The kid turns back to Nico and thrusts a stack of cards in his hands. “You’ve ever played?” Nico looks at the cards… amateur set.

“Yeah.” Nico grunts. The kids here are all too young to know his past-- they don’t know what these cards mean to him. “Course I do… I’ve got seven of these.” He continues. The kid’s eyes widen like saucers; the other kids gasp dramatically.

“No way!” The kid lights up like a firework. “That’s so many! I only have that one of everything. But I do have two Apollos!” The kid explains.

“No, you don’t! You don’t have Athena.”

“It didn’t come with!”

“That’s no excuse.”

Nico is confused and stares at the bickering kids, unsure of what to do next. WIll seems to have noticed his discomfort because he leans over slightly. “Tanner, he’s one of Ares’s kids. Lara’s mom is Athena. They like to fight a lot but they’re friends.” He explains. Nico quietly nods, observing as Lara and Tanner begin to shove each other's shoulders. Will allows them to fight for a minute longer before cleaning his throat and stenly glaring at them. Lara sheepishly takes her hands off of Tanner’s shoulders. “That’s enough; do you want to start the game now or what?” Will smiles, holding his cards up. Nico copies the motions, inspecting each player carefully.

“I’m ready to win.” Lara brags. Without meaning to, a rare smirk raises to Nico’s face; it feels equally foreign and nice.

“That’s funny because I’m sure I’m going to win,” Tanner shouts at her. Lara stickers her tongue out at her.

Nico lowly huckles, hiding it behind his stack of cards. Will seems to be the only one who notices it. The blonde looks at him with a smile and eyebrow quirk. Nico scowls. “What?” He snaps.

Will shakes his head. “Nothing. Just nice to see that look on your face.”

Nico stares at him, unsure of what he means. So instead of worrying about it, he resorts to slamming these kids at Mythomagic. No one knows it better than he does.

“Woah! How’d you do that?” Lara shouts at him when Nico unsurprisingly wins. He shrugs.

“Easy move.” He says lazily. Lara glares at him but it’s nothing like her older sister’s stare so he’s not fazed at all. “You’ll learn it in time.” He all but teases. She snarls at him; he slightly grins back.

Will laughs and forces Lara to put her cards back in the pile. “He’s a big fan of the game, don’t take it personally.” He tells her. Tanner looks back at Nico with wide and impressed eyes.

“Really?”

Nico feels awkward-- never once has anyone looked at him in awe. Why was this kid doing these? What did he want from him? “Uh- yeah. I have most of the extra packs. You know, it’s fun.” HE babbles out, wanting to melt into the ground. Tanner leaps up onto his gurney.

“That’s awesome!” He cries. “Can you play with us more?” He asks. His eyes go big and wide and Nico finds it in himself to not shut him down with a harsh no. tanner looks excited, Lara looks interested and Will looks smug. Nico snarls at him.

“What’s got you all happy and sunshiny?” He asks. Will just keeps smiling, still looking like a medicine angel or whatever.

“It’s nice seeing you have fun. I’m so used to you groaning in pain on one of these.” He motions to the gurneys. “You should play with us more. Lots of the kids love the game.” Will asks. His smile seems welcoming. Nico is still unsure if he should or shouldn��t agree. “Besides… how else will those extra card packs come into use?” Will teases.

Nico decides that he’ll agree to play with him more often. “Touche.” He mumbles and Will knows he’s won. The kids are a bit loud for his taste but the game is fun. It’s nice playing with people who love Mythomagic almost as much as he does. And Will… he’s nice… a little too nice but not awful. He’s a nice friend. Maybe…

When Nico leaves the hospital wing to retreat into his own cabin to nap the day away, he leaves with a new ten-year-old fan, a planned gaming session next Tuesday, and Will’s touch lingering on his shoulder. He buries himself in his four blankets and knocks out for twenty hours.

-

He admits… it’s weird having a friend-- at the same time, it’s so nice. Will is friendly and bright; slightly annoying but sometimes it makes him smile in a way that makes him also want to bury himself into the ground. How could a person look so sweet yet not disgusting? It didn’t make sense! The last time a person had smiled like an angel and been cute without being awful was Percy and Nico didn’t need another round of that.

“Hey… Will, can you- do you think you can help me with something?” Nico says, very nervously. The feeling’s very odd for him; he’s more brooding than awkward on a day-to-day basis. The young patients behind Will seem to giggle slightly. The blonde smiles back at him, looking as golden as his father in a tiny way.

“Yeah… with what?” He asks, leaning forward on the gurney.

Nico opens his mouth to respond but is distracted for a second. Who on Gaea’s earth gave Will arms like that? They’re strong, that’s clear but not overly muscled and big. Lean but firm and oh dear Zeus, why can’t Nico stop gaping at them. Why are they so gorgeous? Why are they so distracting? Oh gods. Nico swallows and forces his eyes away from the view. If Will had noticed him staring, he certainly doesn’t show it. His smile is as serene and pleasant as ever. Nico swears his face isn’t bright red but it may be.

“Um- Per- my dad wants me over for dinner and… I don’t know, I wanna make a good impression on my step-mom; she’s not trying to smite me so I think it’d be nice.” Nico admits, fighting the urge to shadow travel away. God, he’s so awkward. Nico blames Will’s newfound arms for the feeling-- technically though, Nico had been awkward since he called out Will’s name while walking slowly into the room.

“Yeah, of course!” Will smiles brightly.

“Really?”

“Definitely. My shift’s wrapping up anyway so I have the time.”

“Oh.” A smile sneaks its way up on Nico’s face. He hates it. “Thanks.” He says meekly. Will shrugs, calling that it’s no problem and that he’ll meet him at his cabin in about ten minutes.

When Nico closes his cabin door, he questions his own sanity.

He further questions it as Will explains which fork is which and which spoon goes where. Oh if he thought his arms were a distraction before then it was the entire center star of a solar system now. With his doctor coat, most of Will’s arm had been covered and only the forearm showed and a sliver of upper arms-- now his entire arm is on display and Nico’s mouth is basically probably drooling. It’s all lean muscle and beautifully tanned skin.

“Nico? Hello~?” Will waves his hand in front of his face and Nico jumps about a foot in the air. Will snickers; Nico does not.

“I hear ya, salad, soup, all that,” Nico growls in an attempt to hide his gaping. Will chuckles and folds his arms over his chest. Huh, wow… biceps-- very nice. Nico feels dizzy.

“Great, then I will be on my way then,” Will says easily, walking towards the door.

Everything in Nico’s mind and body screams at him to not let the boy leave. He steps up and puts a hand on Will’s shoulder and wow, it’s an equally terrible and glorious idea. He jerks back like he’s been burned; Will takes notice and looks at him like he’s gone insane. He probably is a third way there.

“I- I need help picking something nice to wear.” Nico blabbers out, a very unlikely thing for him to do. “Pure emo black probably isn't the best impression.” He continues like an idiot. He secretly asks for the earth to open up and swallow him whole. Then again, he could probably have that arranged if he really wanted it to happen. “I don’t know what to do, you know…?” Cue awkward grin. Cue facepalm. Cue Will’s weirdly cute head tilt.

“Well your father is Hades so I don’t think she’d really mind this-” Will looks him up and down; Nico’s face becomes red. “-ensemble. But I do get where you’re coming from. I’m thinking… nice but still My Chemical Romance?” Will teases him. Nico scowls at him. “I kid-- actually no I don’t.” Will makes a quick turn and thrust open Nico’s closet. It’s a total mess and explosion of black clothing. He’s unsure if he should be embarrassed or not. Either way, he is. “This… not bad...this one is actually better-- okay, I got one.” Will throws his newfound sartorial choice. Nico catches it in his hands and looks quizzingly at them. “Nice non-ripped jeans, striped black and white button-up… just wear black sneakers and comb your hair out of your face a bit,” Will instructs him.

Nico nods. “Not a bad choice.” He laments. WIlls rolls his eyes and scoffs.

“I’m gay-- course I have some style. What’s your excuse?” He says snarkily.

Nico can only blink back at him. Gay, gay, he’s gay. Oh of course he’s gay! His inner monologue is stupid. I’m gay, he’s gay. Oh my gods, we’re both gay. I could date him! I wanna date him? Do I? No! I don’t! Maybe? Yes? No? He has great arms… it wouldn’t be bad. And a pretty cute smile-- plus he’s gay. Wait… why is he staring at me with that look? Nico opens his mouth but no words come out. Wills starts to full-on laugh. He’s laughing, oh my gods, I’m dead. It’s cute… AH, I’M EVEN MORE SCREWED! Wow, his arms… I should watch him do his blood tests one day. Nope...that’s weird. But would it be hot? Probably…AUGH!

“Are you okay?” Will gasps in between his chuckles. Whatever is happening in Nico’s mind is the mental equivalent to a keyboard smash.

“Yep,” Nico says, preparing to shadow travel. He steps backwards into the shadow and begins to melt away.

But much to his shock, Will’s eyes widen and his hands shoots out, grabbing Nico by his hoodie sleeve. Will drags him back into the light and aggressively points a finger in his face. His expression is a mix between worry and lots of anger. He’s never been like this before. Nico is shocked and weirdly intrigued.

“You’re not getting away with that-- not from me at least.” Will scolds him. Nico stares at him blankly. He’s mad… it’s lowkey hot. Uh- should I be breathing right now because I don’t think I am. I mean, he’s a doctor he could fix me. NO! BAD IDEA! I’ve never seen him so mad. Or mad at all. Huh. Huh... I don’t think my brain is functioning. “-as your doctor… it is an order.” Will finish but Nico caught only 10% of what he said. Nico gulps, not out of fear but out of… well he doesn't even know.

“Noted,” Nico says dryly. Will huffs and nods, looking at him with a fierce glare. It’s now he understands why Percy gets that stupid dazed look on his face when Annabeth is yelling at him. He’s really hot right now and I don’t think that's okay. Nico wants to shadow travel again but it would probably be risky. Not that he doesn't want to see angry Will again, it’s more so… he’s already pushed it.

“Good,” Will says haughtily before leaving the cabin.

Nico stares out his window till Will’s curly blonde hair is no longer visible. He then falls into his bed, face-first into a pillow. He blinks into the pillow-- and does so for a very long time. His brain is fried and it is because of Will.

I’m panicking

-

“I need your help.”

“Really?”

“Yes! Please help me now!”

“Okay, okay, what for?”

Nico looks around him and then back at the IM. “I think I’m panicking.” She raises a brow at him and drily says, no duh. He glares at her; Renya isn’t phased in the slightest. “But really-- I feel like my heart is about to explode.”

“Is your heartbeat really going that fast?” Renya questions. Nico throws his arms up in the air.

“Maybe? Probably not?” Nico sighs and drags a hand down his face. “...I saw Will.” He admits.

Renya’s face turns into an interested smile. “Go on.”She says. Nico feels his face heating up and the following urge to jump into an ice bath. Gods, he hated blushing like a ten-year-old girl.

“Everyone was going swimming…” He continues. The smirk on Renya’s face grows. “-and I decided that maybe I should go too, you know, for fun.” He mumbles.

“Nice to hear you’re not hermit-shelling yourself.” Renya teases. Nico glares at her. SHe only shrugs.

“But-” Nico points up a finger. “Will and his sibling decided to go swimming in the lake too. Which I guess makes sense or whatever, everyone in camp is burning up today but I still wasn’t expecting it.”Nico ignores Renya’s snickers.

“You didn’t realize that he: as a part of the camp, was going swimming in the lake?”

“Shut up!”

“You literally called me to freak out over this.”

Nico just nearly swipes at the message. “I discovered his arms a couple weeks ago and I couldn’t look at him the same; now I’ve seen him without a shirt and I can’t look at him, full stop. He’s hot-- like really hot. Literally looks like his dad; what do I do?” Nico walks around in a circle in his cabin, tugging at his hair in a frenzy. “I stared at him for a complete minute. I don’t think I breathed or blinked or moved at all. Just- I stood there.” He continues.

“Nico,” Renya says seriously. “You’re panicking.” She deadpans. He turns to scowl at her. She raises a brow in defiance.

“I know that!” He cries out. His eyes catch to the uncovered window where there is a perfect view of bare-torso Will ran by. He is silently laughing, hair flying back and eyes nearly closed. Nico gulps and his brain pauses for a minute or two. How are the campers around him even functioning!? It’s like watching a piece of art but not in an objectifying way. “I’m gay panicking but it’s fine.” Nico sputters out. The words are a total mess that falls in front of him. Renya cackles like a witch.

“Will walked by?”

“Yes!”

Nico grabs a blanket from his bed and huddles it around his body. He groans loudly and falls to the ground. Renya’s eyes trail down with him, quietly witnessing his breakdown. She doesn’t even make a sound as he mutters deliriously about how Will is affecting him and that his brain is now melted.

“You know, it may just help to tell him you like him. Might stop the panicking.” Renya offers. Nico glares at her from the ground and forces an arm out to wave around madly.

“What part of-” His arms are now a helicopter rotor. “-this makes you think I could confess.”

Renya rolls her eyes. “You’re an emo-depressed boy, not an emo anxious boy.” She says drily.

“I could be both!”

“But you’re not.” Reyna chuckles. “It’s fine to tell him you like him. He’s not as blind as Percy; he’s as gay as you are so that means he knows what he’s doing. You’ve said it before, he’s very clearly smirked while you blushed. Why not tell him? Will’s not the type to lead a person on. He probably is just waiting his time and having fun with it. It’s more torturous for you than him.” Nico makes a sound of pure gay panic for an impressibly long time. Renya allows him to do so. “I gotta go soon.” She looks off the IM for a second and nods. “However, you still need to at least consider it.” She points at him threateningly.

Nico nods meekly from the floor and watches wordlessly as the IM disappears.

If anyone is able to die from gay panicking, Nico’s unwilling trying to accomplish it.

-

Nico wants to die but he can’t seem to turn off his mouth. The words he was spilling weren’t the ones he had practiced with Renya but Will is smiling at them nonetheless. He’s sure the red on his face has taken over and he’s become a tomato head. Nico feels miserable and thanks all deities for making sure no one else is walking onto the scene.

“-so yeah that's kinda what I wanted to say...yeah.” Nico prays for his father’s realm.

Will lets out a laugh and if it wasn’t so horribly sweet and cute, Nico would have shadow traveled away. “That’s very nice and brave of you to say,” Will says. He leans out and presses a kiss to Nico’s cheek. Nico nearly falls over. “And I like you too. But I’ve been waiting for you to make a move since you started staring at my arms like a lifeline.” Nico gasps and points at Will accusingly.

“You noticed?”

“How could I not.”

Nico glares at him harshly. “I don’t like you no more.” He mutters. Wills sighs but with a smile on his face. He opens his arms and closes them around Nico’s form. Nico is shocked by the fact that he is still standing. His inner mind is frozen still. “Oh.” He says dumbly.

Will chuckles, the sound resonates lowly and vibrates from his chest to Nico. “Does this make up for it?”

Nico scowls but doesn’t deny anything. His heart is beating much faster than it should but it’s kinda okay with him. He decides that, yes the hug makes up for the torture Will put him through: freaking arm tease. It’s warm and comforting and he really likes how Will smells.

“Yeah. It does.”

Awe... aren't they just so cute? I wrote this pretty late at night so my own speech patterns ended up slipping in. By the way, the emo-depressed/anxious boy thing is literally a thing I put in from my own personal conversations. I have a very wonderful NB emo anxious depressed boi in my life. I hoped you guys liked this story and found it either funny, cute, or slightly relatable...maybe. - Mka1098

[inkwardspots]

♥️♥️ Hello! B, C, F, J, I, P, T 🔥 only if you want to!

Hello dear!! How are you today?? Sorry it took me a while but let's not delay the answers any longer!!

B: Any of your stories inspired by personal experience?

Not really, they're more like random, cutesy ideas that I'm able to wrangle up into a cohesive story.

C: What character do you identify with most?

A mix between Rose and Hermione Granger, seeing as I am very compassionate (or, at least I'd like to think so!) and as I am quite like Hermione in several ways (one glaring exception being that I did not get my Hogwarts letter when I was 11).

F: Share a snippet from one of your favourite dialogue scenes you've written and explain why you're proud of it.

She looks in his eyes, smiles a secret smile, recounts a moment that could be only a few hours ago, or perhaps a thousand for him and yet she remembers it as clear as yesterday, remembers her wonder, her awe, her adrenaline --

She looks into his eyes, hair flying in the wind -- just like that moment an eon, a yesterday, ago.

“Doctor, when you realise you’ve grown up -- you realise that you’re not the same person you were as a kid. You realise that small kid you were, the one who felt insecure and felt that she would be trapped on her planet, in her estate and her life and her job -- you realise that she’s gone - and, you don’t know whether you love her, hate her, miss her -- you don’t know any of these things.”

(she knows no certainty towards the notion -- she knows that felt trapped, knows that she felt obligated to live that life -- but living, missing, hating -- she feels a mixture, an amalgamation of these things, when she thinks of her previous existence.)

“But Doctor,”

She takes his hand, entwines their fingers and their hearts and their lives and timelines, a lifetime before she could conceive it, a lifetime after and a lifetime even now, in some distant flux in time.

“There’s a moment when you wish you could relive the catalyst that caused you to change; a moment where you wish that you knew that you had great things, great dreams and adventures and possibilities waiting for you. And you almost wish that you could go back in time, tell your past self that there is a world beyond what she can conceive, tell them that there is someone who will ignite them.”

(that there is someone that will burn for you.)

She squeezes their hands tighter, holding onto him for dear life -- and he may as well be doing the same thing, the way that his hearts are beating, the way that he is clenching her hand, as of she is his tether, his pull --

“But you know, that if you do that -- you will never realise the present you live, the glorious, fantastic future that awaits, Doctor. You know that you will never know adventures like you have until now, you know that you will never know the friends that await, you know you will never know the feelings that will grip you. You will never know the moment, that one special moment, that changed everything.”

The Doctor stares, wide-eyed in the face of her brilliance, her warmth and her wisdom and her starlight -- in the face of her.

“And what was the moment that changed everything, Rose?”

She steps closer, smiling that tongue-touched grin -- she steps, just in front of him, where he can feel her breath laying gently upon his lips, where he can stroke her wrist, where he can lift a hand to her cheek as she places the hand that is not clenched in his upon one of his erratically beating  hearts.

“The moment? There were so many...one in a crowded street, another in a dungeon, another a bunker and one more on a frozen planet -- so many on the TARDIS, but the one I think of -- when you took a different face, when we stood on the planet that cemented our fates, our feelings, our future --”

She glances up, a selfless love, a all-encompassing love that he is beginning to nurture, beginning to already return, after so little time --

“The moment -- it’s when I took your hand in mine, different, true, but still yours, still the one I will always adore, and I promised you ‘Forever’.”

They squeeze each other so tightly they may burst, kiss so ardently they may combust, but neither cares -- neither wants to stop, neither could stop this moment written across time and space and fates even if they wanted.

So this... is definitely not a snippet. I've never realised how many sentences I put between dialogue. But, this is from my birthday fic to Sasha, moments in time; I would say the reason I'm proud of this little scene, is because despite the gaps of time between meeting each other, with Nine just being rejected by Rose and Dimensions-Hopping Rose just finding Nine, she is still able to give him the reassurance he really needs, because despite the distant of time, despite even a whole Universe, there is no one she knows as well as her Doctor.

J: Write or describe an alternative ending [to aftermath].

I mean, there is one other alternate ending, but that's the cannon ending, that's obviously not happening. SO, lets go down a different (much more pleasurable) route!!

The TARDIS...was her home?

And despite the notion that yes, right now, with no one else left on Earth for her, the TARDIS was her only home, her only comfort -- The Doctor can't help but feel that it'll never last. That one day she'll grow tired of the planet-hopping, the time-travelling and the alien rebellions and the never-ending running.

And Rose...brilliant, beautiful, brimming-with-adventure Rose -- she seems to know all this. She looks at him, with his sad, sad eyes even after all this time, she looks at him with his tousled hair and their family lost -- she looks at him and sees what he doesn't want her too: his fear of losing her.

And -- she almost lost him. Almost lost him and the TARDIS and their forever. She pulls his face forward, bumping their foreheads together softly and looks him straight in the eyes, brown to brown, friend to friend (lover to lover).

"I..." she starts, heart and hands and breath clenching, "am never leaving you." Her eyes (his eyes) are brimming with love and loss of their family and forlorn sadness; he can't help it. With Rose Tyler by his side, right here, when there could've been another, much worse, more hearts-breaking outcome - he wants -- he wants to let go.

He wants to indulge in his weakness for one moment, but he won't.

(he wants to indulge in his strength for one moment, but he can't .)

And instead of wondering what ifs, she indulges for them --

She kisses him.

(And it is everything; soft and insistent, all her and all him -- there is no one else in that moment of joy and grief -- of love and loss.)

And The Doctor finally realises that their love (this kiss) could never be weakness -- perhaps it could finally be a strength.

I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)?

Gosh!! Okay, so definitely regency au's but also soulmate au's. Those two will be the death of me.

P: Are you what George R.R. Martin would call an "architect" or a "gardener"? (How much do you plan in advance, versus letting the story unfold as you go?)

Definitely a gardener!! I'll plan to a certain extent, but it's mostly go with the flow.

T: Any fandom tropes you can't stand?

Possessive jealously tropes where the situation is just toxic. I can't stand those, but I'm sure that's a big no-no for a lot of people.

ask game

[dojae-huh]

Why do I feel like I invaded their privacy (dojae I mean) when I read your blog,your blog is really detailed and sometimes I confused how can you paid so much attention to them,I feel like I see something that I don't need to see but I also really curious about it,but I feel this is really wrong and yet I still continue stalking your blog,this blog make me feel morally conflicted,idk how to explain,do you ever feel this is wrong?,I mean opening a blog like this to analysing their every moves?

I'm previous anon who asking you about what you feel about opening account analysing dojae,I hope you're not getting offended about what I'm saying before?I'm only really curious about what you feel.. (I said something like this because your response is sometimes feels really degrading,so I just making sure you're not answering my ask in degrading way)

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

You can find NC18+ fanart and videos (Jaedo+cuts from p*rn). Fans discuss the size of members’ dicks with close-up pictures of pants, use idols for y/n imaginaries, write sns-fanfics using photographs and screenshots, interpreting them in a different from the reality way, make memes... 

How is observation of behaviour is crossing the line? It is as invasive as analysis of dancing skills and singing abilities. Sometimes with computer programmes. Johnny asked fans directly to not send him memes. He doesn’t like them. Noone likes to be the butt of a joke. Does anyone express concern?

Fans judge idols’ every move and dictate them how they should look and what to say (you are too fat, you should eat more, don’t be so sexy/loud, interact with fans more, don’t joke with your friend, etc). That’s wrong. 

Exessive attention on my side? I don’t know what songs Jaehyun recommends, I don’t do screenshots of every Doyoung’s like on IG, I don’t look for every jewellery and clothes model the two wear, I don’t care for their Bubbles and don’t screenshot and enlarge Doyoung’s freckles, feet in white socks, his Adam’s apple, Jaehyun’s facial fuzz, chest hair, the mole on his neck. I also don’t notice when he changes his earrings. All of these actions are examples of extreme attention from fans and are considered to be absolutely normal.

What I do is basically anthropology.

(data collection method) Participant Observation. Participant observation is the quintessential fieldwork method in anthropology. Anthropologists use various degrees of participant observation, from full participation in ongoing activities to passive observation within the locations of interest. <...> Participant observation allows the researcher to assess actual behavior in real time; information gathered in this way can strengthen interpretation of information collected through interviews. <...> It is important to ensure that observations of any location take place at different times of the day and week to identify patterns and differences.  

Normally scientists go sit in a bar, listen to what people say/do and write their notes (without people knowing). Well, I analyse video and text material. Consent? Idols give it the moment they appear before a camera or agree for their interview to be published. They sell their image. They sell themselves. The faces of staff members and pedestrians are blurred, because they didn’t give their permission and didn’t agree to give up their privacy.

Jaehyun in Doyoung’s bed? Mark posted it. His responsibility. Doyoung giving Jaehyun an ear massage on a Japanese programme? His measured risk. Jaehyun talking about Doyoung’s v-neck and shoulders? Noone pulled his tongue. His idea.   

People gossip. Friends, collegues, relatives - everyone is discussed and judged. It’s in human nature. And I’m a simple ape. 

[rogue-barnes-16]

MIDNIGHT SHADOW (part I/?)

Summary: After finding a peculiar girl, Tony took her under his wing and talked Steve into recruiting her as an Avenger. Unexpectedly, the one she clicks with instantly is The Winter Soldier. Would it have something to do with her past?

Request: Hey [...] Can I make a request for a story where the reader is a newly recruited Avenger and Tony's favorite girl to pamper. Tony is super protective of her too. He's almost a father figure to her. Eventually the reader and Bucky fall in love with buckets of fluff and fantastic sexual tension. They're in the forever kind of love. You'd really be making my day! Thank you so much!!! Hoping I get to read a few many chapters on this

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Genre: angsty fluff

Tags:

Requested by: @littlestarkgone

Bucky Barnes: @marshyrebelcloud

Permanent taglist: @notexactlythatgirl @thisismysecrethappyplace @sofreakinmanyfandoms @pizzarollpatrol @bubblycypress87 @1a-girl-has-no-name1 @loislp @lovenaturefirst @dyanna-corona @2ptonpt @goodnightmode @disneyprincessbuffyannesummers @mannls @cutie1365 @catch22inareddress @mybooradley @sebastianisasnack @butifulsoul125 @unlikelygalaxygiver @angelh1 @justmebeingtheweirdmeiam

Warnings: language (that's it? I think?)

A/N: this took ages for me to finish it (I couldn't find a start, I kept writing parts that fitted the plot, not the start). A lot of shit came together; college, family reunions, Christmas, etc. But it's finally here yay! It's going to be more lighthearted than the rest of my series I hope, enjoy <3.

Rogue-barnes-16 masterlist

BUCKY'S P. O. V.

I had just left the gym, to which I had assisted early in the morning, and, just like every other day, the first thing I did was to make my way to the kitchen.

As usual, Steve was there already, having breakfast along with Sam and Natasha.

However, there was a putoff that morning in particular, an anomaly in their routine patern; they were quiet.

"Good mornin'." I greeted the three of them, making my way to the side of the kitchen counter that was opposite to theirs, but instead of receiving Sam's teasing about my choice of sweatpants, or Steve's smile, or Natasha's 'good morning to you', I didn't obtain response. "what's gotten into y'all? You're creeping me out already and it's only seven in the f—"

"Shhh!" Natasha glared at me. "She's sleeping."

"she?"

"Y/n Y/l/n." Sam whispered, motioning me to take a peek at the largest couch in the living room, situated in front of the open concept kitchen. "The new girl."

"Wait what?" I lifted my chin to spare a glance in the direction Sam wanted me to look, only to see the outline of what just now that they had told me, seemed like a person under a way too large blanket. "Thought she was coming in a month or so?"

"Tony brought her here late at night." Natasha informed me, glancing over her shoulder to check on the girl.

"how late?"

"Four-ish in the morning." Natasha added. "I was awake when Tony came in with her covered in blood."

"You kiddin' me." I stared at the shape of the girl, who had shifted slightly, in utter confusion.

"I heard that she can blow up things with her eyes." Sam blurted out.

"wasn't she an agent?" Steve questioned, frowning his eyes.

"Dunno man, that's what I heard in the news."

"Don't believe everything you hear, Wilson." Natasha replied, almost as if she was a mother scolding her kid. "everyone is going crazy 'cause there's gonna be a new Avenger, so people are making up bullshit to make it even more thrilling." the redhead, who had now all of our attention, lazily denied.

Sam abruptly shifted his posture, sitting upright, and we all gave him a weird look, to which he muttered in response "new girl's awake."

We redirected all our attention to Y/n, who was now sat on the couch, slowly getting up.

Natasha was the first one to speak. "hey! Good morning." she greeted her, a half smile and accompanying a tone in her voice that made it seem welcoming, yet professional. "wanna join us? We're having breakfast."

"Uhm... Sure." The redhead assassin motioned Y/n to approach us, which she complied with. "I'm... I'm Y/n. " she mumbled, not having shaken the sleep off her just yet.

"Good to meet you Y/n." Steve spoke with a warm smile. "I'm Steve, that's Natasha, but I guess you already met her, didn't ya?" the y/h/c girl nodded. " so this is Sam, and that's Bucky." I waved my hand at her with my lips pursed in what attempted to be an smile. "You probably knew us already, but it's always nice to make a proper presentation."

"Yeah I guess." she replied, shrugging. "Do you know where's Tony?" I shook my head no and looked around me to see if someone knew.

"I... Guess he's in the lab?" Steve asked, with a shrug. "I can go and check."

"I'll go see if he's in his office." Natasha announced, getting up from her stool and motioning Y/n to take the seat. "see you later, Barnes."

"Sure thing, Romanoff." I replied with a nod accompanying my words.

Sam, Y/n and I were left alone in the kitchen and everything fell silent and slightly uncomfortable.

"So" Sam began a sentence, his eyes fixed in Y/n and mines in him. "can you blow up things with your eyes or it's fake?"

Y/n's head slowly spun around to stare at Sam with a frown in her face that showed a high level of confusion.

"He's a dumbfuck."

"fuck you, Barnes."

"Don't mind him." I continued absently, turning around in order to prepare her something for breakfast. "you like toasts?"

"Uh... Yeah. Are you gonna- oh okay" I looked over my shoulder just to see her propped over the counter with the help of her forearms, probably to check what I was doing. "Thanks." a smile showed up in her face, triggering mine.

"Okay darling I'm here." Tony's voice echoed in the whole stance while he made his way to the girl. "What do you need?"

"Uh I don't know where's my room or anything and-"

"Shit." Tony muttered as if he had forgotten about it. "Okay, come with me."

"But" she glanced at me biting her lower lip, what I identified as a nervous habit. "Bucky’s making me breakfast."

The billionaire glanced at me hesitantly and then let his eyes go back to Y/n. "I'll come for you in like fifteen minutes, is that okay, chef?"

I nodded, not bothering to look at him.

"Oh and also," Y/n hummed, cueing him to continue his announcement. "tomorrow I want everyone in the gym at 6 am."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Alright guys, round up!" Tony yelled, clapping his hands for all of us to direct our attention to him, standing in the middle of the mat. "This is Y/n, she's the new girl." Y/n, who was standing right behind Tony, loosely waved his hand at us. "She needs a training pal, so we'll do quick rounds, just like we did with Wanda and Bucky."

"Whoever matches her fighting abilities the best," Steve continued, joining Tony where he was standing whilst bandaging his hands. "sticks with her, at least for now." Tony nodded and Steve motioned at Maximoff. "C'mon, Wanda."

"Hey" Tony turned around to face Y/n. "Remember we're trying to match you." she whispered a confused 'so?', to which Tony responded, "Don't go easy on anyone, alright kid?" Y/n nodded and, stepped up to meet Wanda.

Steve gave the signal.

Wanda lasted 5 seconds.

"Wilson?" Tony requested as Y/n helped Wanda get up. "Romanoff goes next, then me."

Sam got knocked out.

Natasha put up with her with a long while, long enough for Steve to stop them.

When Natasha left the mat, she had a frown on her face as if she had caught up on something we didn't.

Tony inevitably held back, so he didn't last long.

"I'm sorry" Y/n whispered, crouching to check on Tony. "You alright?"

"Perfectly fine, darling." he groaned. "Rogers?" Steve approached them quick, grabbing Tony's hand to get him up. "Your turn."

"Yeah, uh" the blond man, still with Tony's hand in his, peeked at Y/n. "no."

Tony let go of him. "what the fuck?"

"I can't take care of another trainee." Steve explained in a low voice. "I'm already taking care of Wanda."

They both took a look at the young witch, who only folded her arms over her chest.

"Okay." Tony agreed with a nod. "fair enough."

"It's okay if you can't take me Rogers." Y/n teased with the sweetest smile. "you don't have to make up excuses, just say you're scared."

"Damn girl!" Sam exclaimed, provoking Natasha to bump his shoulder. "Ouch."

"what did you just say?"

"You heard me."

There was a moment of silence before Steve tried to step up to meet Y/n. Luckily, Tony held him back just in time "Barnes!"

I walked towards the mat and turned my face at the rest. "who's winning?"

"Me." Natasha spoke, raising her hand. "As usual." her eyes flickered to Y/n and before I could turn around, the girl had me on the floor. "Seems to me I'm still winning."

"C'mon that's not fair." I got up with Y/n's help and tried to find support on somebody. "I wasn't even looking."

"That's your problem." she raised both her hands stepping back. "Not mine."

"Stevie?"

"He gets another try." my bestfriend replied with a stern look.

"C'mon Rogers, that is not fair." Natasha whined.

"Kid's right, Cap." Tony stated. "Manchurian Candidate here doesn't get another try." he motioned at Natasha and continued talking. "Miss Rushman," The former Russian assassin groaned at Tony's nickname. "the girl is yours, collect your child."

"Don't worry, soldier." Y/n bumped my arm playfully whilst passing me by. "I'll give you another chance next time."

"Looking forward to it." I half smiled, stepping out of the mat right after her.

[imaginexmeintheuniverse]

5 times you infuriated me and 1 time you made it okay

A/N: okay so the 5 times concept is something i enjoy writing very much, however i am aware that in this piece in particular, a lot of the ideas are underdeveloped and probably especially dont make sense with the ending when you look at the relationship, but please keep in mind that this ‘5 times’ theme i chose focuses on those kinds of incidents so there are a lot of other times in between (and i dont have the time or energy to turn this into a super long fic but perhaps one day.. ) so this is what happened!

Warnings: mentions of torture (like in the 7th when Bellatrix takes to Hermione)

Tags: @expellimarvelous and for some reason my hp taglist got lost so let me know if you’d like to be added!

↠↠↠↠↠↠

I. Bad Start to the Sixth Year

Your sixth year at Hogwarts seems to be off to a good start as you laugh and snack on sweets with two of your three your best friends on Hogwarts Express. Or at least it seemed like it was off to a good start until the train arrives at the station, and Harry is nowhere to be found.

Waving off Ron and Hermione with a promise to catch up, you insist on going to look for him by yourself. Your search leads you all the way to the other side of the strain where the blinds are conveniently drawn. You can hear a voice muffled through the closed door, and you become filled with dread when you identify who it belongs to.

Sliding the door open a crack, you see a familiar head of slicked-back platinum hair. You aren’t able to make out what he says, but you do see him bring down a foot to meet Harry’s nose.

“Malfoy, what the fuck?!” you burst out, causing the Slytherin boy to jump in surprise.

“Y-Y/N- I-I—”

“I don’t know what the bloody hell you think you’re getting away with, but you better get the fuck off this train before I curse you,” you snarl, shoving him aside to get to Harry. Seeing that he’s been petrified, you take your wand out of your jacket pocket and mutter, “finite,” to which your friend thankfully wakes up, blinking a few times. He doesn’t move much, as he tries to regain control of his muscles, and you insist he takes a moment to do so.

Throughout this, Draco has gone so quiet you think he might have actually left, but when you turn your head to meet his stormy eyes, you’re filled with rage, once again.

“What the fuck are you still doing here?! Get out!”

“But Y/N, I-I'm—”

“I don’t want to hear it,” you say in a lower tone as you tend to your friend, not even sparing him another glance.

Why is it that just when you think there might be a redeemable quality buried deep in Draco Malfoy, he always does something that proves otherwise?

II. Welcome to the Slugclub

“Okay, okay! I was gate-crashing! Happy?” He admits, trying to shake off Filch’s grasp on his jacket.

His eyes that used to be sharp and bright, have recently become sullen. They lock with yours for a solid moment before he’s ushered out by Snape.

Your eyes linger on his figure as he’s led away from the party— probably longer than they should have, but you can’t help noticing how thin he’s become. You’ve barely seen him all year, despite having a few classes together. He was never that hefty to begin with, but it looks like he hasn’t eaten or slept in ages. Other than his usual perfectly tailored wardrobe, he now wears dark circles under his eyes, and it’s impossible not to notice how the contours of his face have become that much sharper and his already pale skin has adopted a sickly pigmentation.

You and Harry follow the pair out, but for different reasons. You know that Harry wouldn’t be happy about yours because of his suspicions, but Draco looks like he’s crumbling under stress.

Eavesdropping only proves Harry’s doubts about Malfoy, and he then decides to rejoin the party as to not get caught by Snape, but you hang back, telling him you need to go to the loo.

You wait in the shadows until you hear Snape’s steps scurry away before approaching Malfoy who stays behind, sitting on a ledge. A half-smirk appears on his face upon noticing you like he’s been gathering an arsenal of insults to shoot at you, but really, under the snide mask, he marvels at how lovely you look tonight.

“Straying from your date with Potter?” he spits out Harry’s name like it’s revolting to have on his tongue. “Wouldn’t want anyone to think Potter’s lady is ditching him in favour of a more refined pureblood—”

“He’s one of my best friends!” You roll your eyes and flail your hands up in exasperation. “And how is the nature of our relationship any of your business?!”

He snorts, leaning his back on the walk behind him and crosses his arms over his chest nonchalantly.

“You know, I came out here to check and make sure you were okay!” You shout at him hands coming up to furiously push your hair back. “I can’t believe that for a second I thought that— no- but you—”

“You thought what?” His voice has become softer, hard exterior starting to peel away in your presence. He stands from his seat, mild concern washing over his features.

You shake your head, looking anywhere but at him. “N-Nothing—”

“Tell me,” his hands place themselves on your biceps, long fingers curling around your arms gently.

You fall victim to his intense gaze, getting lost in the grey seas of his irises. His features aren’t as hard as they usually are and the grasp he has on you is delicate; like he’s afraid to hurt you and you almost feel like you can let your guard down. Almost.

“Is it true?” you ask him, diverging from the subject and he raises an eyebrow in response. “Did you hex Katie Bell?”

He opens his mouth, and then closes it without a word when he realizes he has nothing to answer to that and you’re the only person he can’t lie to. That’s enough of a confirmation for you. You let out a breath of disbelief and he starts to panic, because contrary to the backwards dynamic the two of you share, part of him does care what you think. “Y/N- p-please listen—”

All emotion leaves your voice as you tell him, “Just leave me alone, Malfoy.”

You shrug him off, and spin on your heel, breaking the eye contact. Walking down the hall, you leave him there to bask in the silence and his dark thoughts.

III. Hair Like You

You’re already teeming with rage as you scour the castle for Ron, who slipped you one of Fred and George’s prank snacks that ended up changing your hair color. Running into Draco Malfoy, of all people, really puts the cherry on top of the shit sundae.

To make things worse, it looks as though he’s going out of his way to get to you when he spots you from across the courtyard. At first he squints, not fully sure if it’s you with the new physical change, and then tails you down two hallways, not giving a single damn how creepy he may look.

“What do you want, Malfoy—”

“It seems like you’re more obsessed with me than I had originally thought,” he snickers, catching up with your quickened pace.

That’s when it hits you, and you instantly halt, causing him to smack into your back. Spinning around to face him, your eyes widen in horror as you take in the familiar platinum blonde hair— the same shade you saw in the mirror earlier.

“That’s just great!” You throw your hands up dramatically. “Now I look like you!”

“Please, don’t flatter yourself—”

“Oh, sod off, Malfoy!”

“You know, it really doesn’t look that bad. Maybe you’re starting to have better taste.”

Despite knowing full well that that was Malfoy speak for a compliment, you’re in no mood for it. “Oh, well I’m so glad that the Slytherin prince thinks me, a lowly commoner, 'doesn’t look that bad’ just fu—”

“No! No! No! Y/N! I didn’t mean—”

“—ck off! Because on top of looking like the most insufferable git in the entire school what I really wanted was to receive a backhanded compliment—” And just then, you spot the familiar redhead with bad influences for older brothers from across the hall who you’re even more pissed off at than Malfoy.

“I don’t have time for this,” is all you say as you bolt down the hall towards Ron, screaming, “YOU’RE DEAD, WEASLEY!”

IV. Held Hostage

Hermione’s screams are enough to make you feel like you’re being gutted, and when Bellatrix takes her knife to your arm, you’re absolutely terrified. At least this means your best friend has a break from her torture. In the meantime, you nearly bite through your cheek to hold in your own screams whilst the saddistic woman spells out the hateful term that’s been thrown at you your whole life, carving it into your flesh.

After what feels like hours, the death eater sits back up, admiring the her work with a sickening grin on her face, and you want nothing more than to smack it off. Or at least you would if you didn’t feel like you’ve been drained. What you do feel is defiled; like your own skin is no longer yours, and the blood that runs through your veins doesn’t belong to you.

And Draco Malfoy has been standing on the other end of the room this whole time whilst his barbaric aunt tries to get information out of you.

The rest of what happens is experienced through the blur of hopeless tears your eyes are clouded with, until Harry picks you up off the floor after Bellatrix had pushed you and Hermione to save herself from the falling chandelier. A certain fire surges through you as you regain full consciousness.

You see Harry and Draco fight over his wand, and instinct kicks in as you lunge forward, efficiently tackling the latter to the ground. Snatching the wand out of his hand, you throw it to Harry. The blonde boy’s struggles are weak under your weight, almost half-assed as you feel the tension start to leave his muscles.

“Why?!” you shout in his face, grabbing him by the collar to keep him down. Tears well your eyes, but your gaze pierces through him nonetheless. The feelings of helplessness and emptiness are long gone as angry tracks burn down your cheeks. “Why—”

“Y/N!” Harry scoops you off him in one swift motion, pulling you to where your allies have regrouped. “This isn’t the time- w-we have to get out of here!”

You don’t say another word, and your infuriated eyes target the conflict and fear that resides in Draco’s. He’s left with the image of your anguish and fury engrained in his mind long after you disapparate.

V. Crossing Over

The Dark Lord himself beckoned him, and for a second you thought he might resist, but then his mother called him, extending her hand for him to come to her, and you saw him break.

“No!” You cry out as he starts to take hesitant steps towards the death eaters. “Draco, don’t do this!” His already shaky demeanor falters for a moment at the sound of his first name falling from your lips. “You have a choice.”

Steeling his nerves, he doesn’t allow himself to look back, because he would surely crumble under the weight of your gaze and the pain etched into your features. He continues forward, into the arms of a proud tyrant, and you swear your heart drops out of your chest.

Then, the whole scene with Neville’s heroic spirit ensues and you feel the fire within you flare up again when Harry tumbles out of Hagrid’s arms. Death Eaters that have been backing Voldemort start to disappear, leaving an unevenly distributed cloud of darkness.

Everyone else starts to retreat to the castle to regroup and fight as one, but you chase after the fleeing Malfoy family. It’s as though you have no control as your legs move under you on autopilot and as fast as they can go.

You’ve almost caught up to the trio on the bridge and can no longer help yourself.

“Coward!” You yell, trying your best not to let your voice crack, with no avail. It’s all you can do to keep the tears from spilling freely. Draco meets your eyes with his own that portray a boy who is terrified out of his mind, but you’re relentless. The truth isn’t always easy. “You’re a bloody coward, Malfoy!”

Avoiding your fiery gaze, he turns into his mother’s comfort. Not once do his eyes meet yours again before he disappears in a whisp of black smoke.

What you feel is rage, but with that rage comes with an added indescribable pain and disappointment.

+ Midsummer Night’s Dream

The next time you see the infamous Draco Malfoy is just over a year since he disapparated in a whisp of black smoke. Little do you know, immediately after apparating, the boy fell to his knees in the arms of his mother. He broke that day, and hasn’t been able to put himself back together since, contrary to the proud Malfoy mask he wears out in public. He hides behind crisp suits and perfectly-coiffed platinum locks. It’s enough to have anyone who reads the Daily Prophet fooled about how the heir carries onto a successful path despite everything that has happened.

But not you. He never could fool you of anything, really. So when you and your friends spot him taking a seat alone at the Three Broomsticks you know something’s up, because a refined Malfoy doesn’t just hang out amongst mere commoners like that.

“What is he doing here?” Ron spits out, red fury already starting at the tips of his ears and seething from his narrowed eyes.

As if on cue, Draco’s eyes lift from his glass to meet yours.

Hermione sends you a sympathetic smile before mumbling calming words to her boyfriend. The Malfoys and Weasleys always did get each other riled up.

Harry, who sits beside you, gives you a gentle nudge with his shoulder to get your attention and you can immediately read his expression. He can read yours just as easily and can see that you’re starting to get anxious. “Y/N…”

“Harry, it’s okay,” you simper, standing slowly from your seat. “I’ve got this.”

He casts a glance towards the blond across the room before his eyes come back meet yours, sending you a look as though to ask if you’re sure. You give him a nod and he sends you off with a comforting squeeze of your hand.

As you make your way to the table for one, you’re so focused on slowing your heart rate that you’ve arrived at your destination before you know it, seeing the shiny black dress shoes in contrast to the uneven wood panels of the pub’s floor. When you lift your gaze, it’s then that you realize he’s been staring at you the whole time.

“Malfoy.”

“Y/N.”

The sound of your first name rolling off his tongue lights something inside you— and it’s not pretty.

“What are you doing here?” You ask, your voice is steady, but with a strong undertone of something darker. Like the calm before a storm.

“Can’t a man enjoy a butterbeer on his own?” Despite him being absolutely terrified of you, he somehow manages to exude a certain lightness. You look at his untouched pint and raise an eyebrow and he knows you aren’t in the mood for small talk.

“Cut the shit, Malfoy.”

Recognizing the beginnings of anger in your tone, he stands as smoothly as he can manage and gestures towards the door. The last thing he wants is for you to snap because he knows very well what it’s like to be on the receiving end of your fury.

He follows closely behind as you lead him out into the dim lighting of Hogsmead. The summer air doesn’t feel as heavy as it has for the last week, and the sky proudly shows off the twinkling stars. It would be a perfect night if not for your circumstances.

You stop in your tracks and spin to face him so briskly, your forehead almost hits his chin. “You have one minute to talk before I hex you where you stand.”

“You always did excel in hexes and jinxes—”

“Fifty-five seconds, Malfoy.”

“Uh- erm- o-okay—”

You have about zero patience left. The anger thats been quietly bubbling for the last year has been on the brim of overflowing the second he walked in tonight, but so has all the pain and sadness you’ve kept locked up all this time. “You’re wasting my time.” You prepare to stalk off, but a firm hand pulls you back by your elbow, and for the the first time since the war, your face with Draco Malfoy. It’s the first time tonight that you can really see him. He looks worse than ever.

The silver pools that once resided in his irises look like shells of what they once were. And he sure felt that way, until he saw you. That’s when he realizes how empty he always is until he’s around you. My, how he took that for granted all these years.

Trying your very best, you fight against the urge to give into the part of you who still cares for him and wants to know the last time he had a good night’s sleep. You also try to fight against the water accumulation behind your eyelids, but it only makes it worse.

“What?! What do you want, Draco?!”

The use of his first name is the only sign he needs to be brave for once. Without further hesitation, he leans down to capture your lips in a kiss. Once over the initial shock, you give in for only a half second before you come to your senses and push him back, both hands planted firmly on his chest.

“What the bloody hell are you playing at?!”

“I-I- Y/N, I-I’m so—” Right then, is one of the few times you see what he’s really feeling on the inside be expressed on the outside. “I-I just-I thought—”

“You- you thought what?! We’d ride off into the sunset on the back of a unicorn and live happily ever after?!” You don’t care how frantic you look right now. You don’t care that the midsummer night wind is whipping your hair into complete and utter chaos. And you definitely don’t give a single fuck about how the drunk people stumbling by you giggle uncontrollably. You pause for a moment as you wait for them to be out of earshot, and once they are, you let out a frustrated breath and resume. “Did you honestly believe that you could kiss me, and then everything— all of the absolute shite of a mess would just go away?!”

His gaze drops to the ground that his shiny dress shoes stand on, with a few platinum strands that fall from their place. Those are the only visible signs of something amiss with the well-dressed man. But you see something else cloud his features: shame. The last time you saw that, which was also the last time you saw him, he left. He always left you while you were angry, enraged, and never stuck around to face the truth.

Draco Malfoy decides that this time is going to be different.

He has felt as empty as his eyes appeared for months, but when his gaze rolls back up to meet yours, you see the grey storms you saw when you first met him. Sure, they were masked by an outer shell that was brimming with entitlement, but they have now what they had then. Purpose.

“Y/N,” His hands twitch as he fights the urge to reach out for yours, deciding against it in favour of using two words you’ve been waiting to hear. “I’m sorry.” You soften, releasing the tension you didn’t realize you carried in your shoulders. The angry tears that stung the backs of your eyes melt to something peaceful as they escape their ducts. “I’m sorry for everything I put you through. I know I don’t deserve another chance, or any of the chances you’ve given me, but if you’ll give me one more I promise I’ll be better. Everything you’ve ever said about me is true; I am a coward, but I’m not leaving this time.”

“And what if I want you to leave?” You ask, testing the waters, more than anything else.

“If you tell me to leave— if that is what you truly want, then I will. Tell me to leave, and you’ll never have to see me again.”

“Okay, then leave.”

“Is that what you really want?”

“Y-Yes—” You stammer out a complete lie. Every cell on your body knows it’s a lie, and apparently so does he.

“I don’t believe you.”

More than anything, you want to fling yourself into his arms but you feel like your feet have been colashoo-ed to the ground. A corner of his mouth quirks up into a soft lopsided smile as his hands raise to thread fingers through the top of your hairline, smoothing wild strands away from your face. His touch is so careful and delicate than you could have ever imagined. He leans down slowly and stops just as his lips have brushed over yours, asking for permission, “I won’t if you don’t want me to.”

Syllables get caught in your throat, and channel themselves through you body as you move to slate your mouth over his. The sensation is so delicately mind-blowing, and it leaves you absolutely breathless when you pull away to lean your forehead against his.

All you can manage to breathe out is, “stay”.

The way your breath fans over his lips is intoxicating, and he’s certain he’s never seen anything more beautiful, no work of art finer, than the way you’re looking at him.

“I’m not leaving this time. Never again.”

His grasp tightens as he pulls you back to his lips and your fingers curl around the light fabric of his shirt. Every emotion and feeling accumulated over lost time is poured into this kiss.

This time, what you feel for him is something stronger and far different than anger.

[maryellencarter]

(I have cropped any personally identifying information out of the pictures for obvious reasons.)

So here's all the information I have at the moment on the Bonus Situation.

* To recap, the bonus projection software has been telling me for a couple weeks now that I would get a $96.06 bonus. Normally in the past this has occurred on the second paycheck of the month.

* Many of us have noticed the bonus projection software not updating properly since about October 4.

* I called IT the other day and filed a ticket about the frozen bonus projections, on advice from a friend on the support team.

* Today, or rather yesterday by the time I'm writing this, I got my electronic pay stub for the payday coming up this Friday, and discovered that it was unexpectedly short, specifically because the bonus listed on it was $12 instead of $96.06.

* I emailed my supervisor about the shorted bonus. She has forwarded the email up the chain of command but has no firm information yet. We will not both be at work again till Sunday, so I will hear no more from her on the issue till then.

* Later in the afternoon, I received the above email, from the admin in charge of the bonus projection software. Several things are hinky about this email. To wit:

* "The data for the M[onth] T[o] D[ate] numbers has been paused as of early this month because they are used for the calculating of the monthly bonuses, which is still being worked on." I am not here to criticize Mr Admin's grammar, but to point out that this is a blatantly flimsy excuse, for the extremely simple reason that there is a whole separate tab for last month's bonus data, and in fact that tab is still fully functional and showing my $96.06 bonus! It is this month's daily tracking of bonus data which has been frozen.

* Granted, if one were to admit the concept that the bonuses were still being calculated, it could be taken to explain why I'm only getting a $12 bonus on my paycheck. However, the bonuses were calculating themselves in realtime for the whole of September, and the last metrics finalized themselves on October 7. In the week since then, I could have calculated the bonuses for the entire bloody company using nothing more than my smartphone calculator and paper if I was given a paid 40-hour week to do it in, let alone having a software that was already displaying the answers!

* Also, you know, the software has never before needed to be frozen while last month's bonuses are "calculated", let alone a week after the metrics were finalized. And it has always previously told me accurately whether it was going to send me a $500 bonus or none, or something in between. This is, in short, fishy.

* Mr Bonus Admin goes on to state, "You should still be able to access the daily values" (I can't), "but the monthly ones will not update, and in fact should now not show up at all, until the work to change the scorecard and bonus structure is done. That activity should hopefully be done next week."

* The other picture besides the email is the completely blank screen where my outdated bonus projection resided until today. The one about the metrics I'm currently getting for October, not the one about the $96.06 bonus I was supposed to get for September, which may I remind you is still quite visible.

* "Your numbers are wrong? Boom, NO MORE NUMBERS! There, I fixed it." XD

* The referenced "work to change" the software has not been announced to workers at my level in any way, and no changes that could possibly involve shutting down the whole system have been made or announced. I am frankly Suspicious.

* Other agents have also said things about missing bonuses or confusing bonuses. One supervisor announced that the bonuses would not show up till our Halloween paycheck, which I could hypothetically swallow, if I didn't have a $12 bonus sitting there in black and white on this week's pay stub. Seems like there's a lot of misinformation floating around right now. (Also a certain amount of what smells very like disinformation.)

* So, lacking any information what is actually going on, and faced with an email that would have to put on black tights and a domino mask to look any more disingenuous, my brain is going for all the wildest explanations, like "The system has glitched out completely and is assigning random bonuses to everybody, and they're frantically trying to cover while they get it fixed", or even more dramatically, "Maybe the company can't afford to pay all our bonuses and is retroactively revamping the bonus system, and it was supposed to be done in time for payday but they're running late, and also maybe they really are only going to give me $12". That seems slightly less likely though because they did just give me, on the same paycheck, $28.08 in backdated raise.

* I'm also stressing the fuck out about bonuses in general because I had a really bad stats day today. A disgruntled gentleman (whose account was legitimately pretty thoroughly fucked by a previous incompetent agent) gave me a low survey, which busted me straight down from the $2/hour bonus tier to the 50¢/hour bonus tier. If my other numbers are really good for the whole rest of the month I can maaaaybe struggle my way back up to the $1.25/hour bonus tier. :P

* I also only took 9 calls today, averaging a half hour each (not counting outbound callbacks after various calls dropped), which fucked my call length for the month from the truly astonishing 795 seconds I'd been running, just under the wire for an additional 50% on top of my bonus, all the way up to 901 seconds, where I'm barely scraping by under the cutoff for having my bonus cut in half. I'd have to come in under 700 seconds every day for the rest of the month to recover from that, and I can't recover from the flunked survey at all.

* So, you know, I've gone from expecting a $96.06 bonus on Friday and hoping for a $474 bonus next month, to getting a measly $12 bonus, a runaround from tech, and maybe a $79 bonus next month if my numbers don't get any worse. It really feels like a kick in the gut.

* (If a fucking miracle happened and I wound up with upsells over $30 a call, non-repeating callers over 86.5%, and an average call length under 930 seconds, I could hypothetically get a $197.50 bonus. Or if I also managed to squeak my surveys back up above 82% good... okay, that's only one more good survey and no more bad ones, it could happen. More likely, my upsells wouldn't quite hit $30 and any further good surveys I get would go toward making up the difference. But if I had both my repeat callers and my upsells excellent, I'd only need one more good survey -- assuming no more bad ones, obviously -- to squeak back up to the $2/hour tier for a hypothetical bonus of $316.)

* The trouble with that being that I don't... I don't know if I have any faith anymore that I'll actually get my bonus as projected? Like I can't think of any way that mysterious and unspecified "work changing the bonus structure" mid-month combines with an inexplicable $12 bonus to work out in my favor. I feel like I'm bracing for a slap.

[midnight-lightning]

Pizza and Family

Twilight Imagine

Pack x TransGuy-Reader

Request: Could i request a twilight imagine where a friend of the wolf pack’s tells them all that he’s a trans guy, and their reactions to it?

A/N: This is the first time for me to write about a trans guy so if someone thinks I wrote something in the wrong way or kinda dumb or anything else please please please tell me.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

You were nervous, not to say nearly afraid. And a little part of you was ashamed because of these feelings, after all they were your friends. Your best friends which you knew since ... you were practically born.

You grew up together, laughed and fought together and you always had each other's back.

But this ... was something you couldn't just imagine how they would react to. And you were afraid that the pack would never look at you with the same eyes again.

You had known it for a long time now. There was just something about the fact that in games you'd always picked the role of a guy, you always felt more comfortable in a boy group than a group of girls and so much more.

You just didn't feel like a girl. It took you a little time before you knew the reasons behind it and could finally identify yourself as a trans guy.

And today was the day you finally wanted to tell your best friends, the Quileute Tribe, your other family.

Admittedly, the last few days had passed quiet between you and the pack as you needed your time to prepare for this.

Afterwards you couldn't quite understand why you'd been so anxious as you knew your friends and their possibly reactions.

But still... the nasty voices inside your head wouldn't keep their mouth shut.

You lifted your hand to knock on the wooden door but stopped suddenly just inches away.

'You can do that' you told your self.

Yes, you will be fine.

With a deep breath you knocked three times.

One moment passed by.

Another one.

And then finally the door flew open and Embry's grinning face appeared in front of you.

"Y/N, girl! Finally! We thought you vanished without saying goodbye."

"Yeah, or one of these bloodsuckers got you," shouted Paul suddenly appearing next to Embry.

"Are you frozen or why are you two idiots still standing outside? Or no-

wait you can stay here and I'll grab more of Emily's Pizza."

"Pizza?" You exclaimed, suddenly feeling way better with the thought of sitting around in the Cosy house, surrounded by your family and eating Pizza.

"You wish, Paul, not when I get it first!"

With these words you stormed inside the house leaving the boys right behind you who just shared a grin. Yes, they were happy to have you back.

As soon as you entered the kitchen of the house, in which the pack had assembled all the heads spinned around as soon as they noticed you and just immediately they all stood up from their places.

"Y/N, nice to see ya, girl!"

"I've told you not to vanish in your school work!"

"Have you cut your hair?"

"Told you she can't live without us for too long"

You stepped into the room, the hesitation in your actions was clearly visible.

Emily frowned with concern in her eyes.

"Y/N... Is something not right? Did something happened?"

The room immediately silenced. You bend your head down a little, trying to avoid their glances, but of course you couldn't hide anything from your friends. Not these ones.

Seems like pizza had to wait.

You felt Emily's hand stroking through your hair before she softly lifted your chin to have a closer look at you.

"You can tell us everything... but you already know that, don't you?" She said and gave you an encouraging smile.

You nodded, before you stepped back a little and took a deep breath.

"Guys... I have to- no I need and want to tell you something," you began slowly and made sure to look into ever single one's eyes.

Embry, Jared, Paul, Jacob, Sam, Seth, Leah and Emily.

They had to know how serious you are with what you're going to say.

And they somehow seemed to sense it as no one of them wore their usually Grin or made a sarcastic comment.

Here you go.

"What I'm about to tell you is something very important to me. I know you always had my back, we were friends since childhood and gosh we are family today.

So I think you should be the first ones to know this...

Since a few years this ...feelings keep getting stronger...actually it was more than just a feeling.

I... i think I've always known that I was not born in the right body. I've never felt like I belong in this body ...I've never even felt like a true girl, you know what I mean? So..." You coughed and noticed your glance all again on the floor.

"So...," you heard Embry's voice. "We have another Bro? Awesome!"

You snapped your head in his direction but your view got suddenly blocked by a huge chest and before you knew you felt Jacob's firm arms around you.

"Don't tell me that you idiot avoided us all this time because you were afraid of how we would react?"

After a moment your body relaxed and you let the breath out you didn't knew we're holding the last minute.

Jacob took your silence as a answer and tousled your hair. "You're a dork, Y/N."

Then Emily took your hands in hers. "You've said we're family and family always stick together. I know it is clear but nothing will ever change that."

"Yeah, you could even be a bloodsucker and we would still love you. Well, at least-" Paul's words were silenced by Liah who punched his arm. "Shut up, idiot. Y/N could even be a great bloodsucker."

Between your tears of relief that suddenly appeared in your eyes, an amused laugh escaped you. "Don't worry, Liah, I'd always be half of a wolf," you answered then you noticed something you had forgotten to mention. "Well and there's one more thing..."

"Don't tell me you really are a Vampire!"

"Bro, no. Do I look like I'm dead?" You laughed. "No, actually it's more... you know I like the name Y/P/N more than ...you know Y/N... if it's okay for you?"

"Y/P/N? Sounds... fresh!" Answered Seth

"Fresh?", exclaimed Jared . "What are you? Ten? Oh wait I forgot, you are!"

"Shut up, dumbass!"

"Who do you call a dumbass you greenie!"

The next thing you knew both of them were in a battle, playfully fighting each other. Well more or less "playfully" at least.

You saw Sam shaking his head in disaprovement next to you before he took his arm around Emily's waist. "Well, Y/P/N, seems like there is more pizza left for us. Join us?"

You showed him you biggest grin. Pizza and family and no worries.

"You bet I will!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

@eat-moar-veggis

[scifinal]

DW s12e10: It's Quite Unfortunate That This Child Keeps On Regenerating

It's only fitting that the first post on a blog called "SciFinal" should be about a season finale.

Not that fitting is the fact that in said post I'm going to begin where it all started for me.

Part One: How I Even Got into This Mess of a Show in the First Place

While I call myself a huge Doctor Who fan, even a – *gasp* – Whovian, I must admit I am not as familiar with the franchise as I would like to be; I've seen the new show, I've seen Torchwood (though, admittedly, I had to force myself to finish the fourth season – but that's a story for another day), I've listened to a handful of audio dramas (including Kaldor City, which I consider to be canon for both DW and Blake's 7) – mostly Torchwood audio dramas, but who cares, – I've read a couple of comics, I've got a novel or two somewhere on my bookshelf, I've seen the first couple of seasons of the classic show, but that's about it. I can't say I grew up with it – it wasn't on TV when I was a kid, there isn't an official Ukrainian dub, et cetera, et cetera. I first heard about it when I was about thirteen, when my classmate did a project about something they liked – and was pretty dismissive of my peers' hobbies at the time, believing myself to be somewhat above them, so I didn't pay much attention.

Then somebody finally pressured me into watching it (I believe I was fifteen or something back then) and I loved it. The first two episodes of the first season, I mean. I watched those, texted my friend something like "consider me a Whovian now!" and abandoned the show completely only to return to it maybe several years later.

I loved it. This time, for real.

Doctor Who has been with me ever since that time, it has a big soft spot reserved for each and every Doctor ever in my heart, and for each and every companion. I know full well it's cheesy, and it's stupid, and it's technobabble-y, and it's glorious in all of its cheesy technobabble-y stupidity.

And I hate this finale.

Part Two: Doctor, Why

I hate this finale – because I hate Chris Chibnall. Mind you, not the gentleman himself (I don't even know what he looks like, and I can't be bothered to Google), I hate what he did to Doctor Who.

Now, when it was revealed that the would replace Steven Moffat I felt... nothing. What did you expect? I had no idea who the man was. I know now he's made Broadchurch, and I know he wrote a bunch of stuff for Torchwood back in the day, including Cyberwoman. I had to drop Broadchurch because of how well-handled the depressing atmosphere was, and I love the flawed, dumb, sexy-cyber-bikinied, almost-fifteen-minutes-of-Ianto's-whining-including (I know because some time ago I literally cut almost every single moment of Gareth David-Lloyd whimpering, moaning, groaning, screaming, and mugging at the camera out of the episode and made those bits and pieces into a beautiful clip show called "I HATE THIS" to explain exactly why his face was and still is so punchable) mindless fun that is Cyberwoman (this is also one of the two episodes in which they actually do something fun with the pterodactyl living inside Torchwood's underground base). The latter also led to the creation of one amazing in how it develops Ianto's character audio drama entitled "Broken". I love Broken. I am now forcing you to look at its cover because of how much I love it.

Here we go. Now, back to the point of me rambling pointlessly

In his video "Sherlock Is Garbage, and Here's Why", a well-known YouTuber hbomberguy pointed out how Steven Moffat's problem is that he is more than capable of writing a good one-off episodes, but ultimately fails at managing multiple complex, overarching stories, as visible when you look at the difference between Moffat's individual episodes and his run on the show.

Now, I believe that Chris Chibnall suffers from the same affliction: he's a good screenwriter but a terrible, terrible showrunner. Sure, he's made Broadchurch, but Broadchurch, in its essence, was a complete singular story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. There were no bigger, incomplete arcs expanding at the expense of other episodes, and the show did exactly what it was originally designed to do: it told an uninterrupted story.

Here comes Chris Chibnall's run on Doctor Who.

Now, while Steven Moffat was ultimately not very good at managing overarching stories, he tried to do so nonetheless, and the fans seemed to like his attempts. And while I can't be sure as to whether it was Chris' original vision for the show or he and his co-writers were merely trying to emulate Moffat, he attempted the same. A friend of mine has even pointed out how, to her, it was painfully obvious how the writers of the finale were desperately trying to copy Moffat's style (to give you some context, she grasped it from a 30-second clip of the CyberMasters' reveal, and that clip basically consisted of me filming my laptop's screen and laughing at their design, making the video wobbly and the audio distorted). At the time of writing this post this friend hasn't seen a single episode of Chibnall's era and, as far as I know, has no wish to do so – mainly because of two reasons that both have something to do with the finale:

Somebody's already spoiled it for her, so who cares;

I ranted to her about how shit this finale is and now she hates everything about Chibnall era.

I am very sorry for the latter, since I genuinely believe there are some nice episodes in these seasons, and I especially like the "historical" ones, they really are quite a lot of fun, I like Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison fighting badly CG-ed alien scorpions, I love Lord Byron and Mary Shelley running around a haunted house trying to escape from a Cyberman (even though it's all too similar to the Agatha Christie episode from Russel T Davies' run), I adore that episode about Rosa P–– oh, wait, no, that one was crap and ripped off Blake's 7... Anyway, I love Jodie Whittaker's Doctor, I am a big fan of Graham, I like Ryan just fine, and I can put up with Yaz, even though it's been two seasons and I've still got no idea what's her personality supposed to be, and I absolutely love the new Master (he reminds me of a cute little pug with a big Tommy gun). There is plenty of good stuff in these two seasons, they are lots of fun to watch, but this finale... Oh god, this finale.

Part Three: We Had All of Time and Space at Our Fingertips and We Ended Up with This

We are getting to the point of this whole thing. I would love to begin with the obvious, the twist, but there's so much wrong with this who-cares-how-many-parter than this one big thing.

It is inept. It is impotent. It is incompetent. It is bad at almost everything except its okay camera work, somewhat good (for a British TV show, I mean) effects, and its really solid performances.

Its editing is tone-deaf to the extreme. There is a moment in the final episode where Ko Sharmas asks who will be the first to cross the Boundary and step into the unknown, and immediately it cuts to Yaz walking towards it, all fast and silent. I would love to show you a clip of it, but I don't have one and I can't force myself to download the episode and sit through this shitshow again just to present you with a ten-second clip. Nonetheless, that part is not edited like a dramatic moment. You edit comedies this way. Bad comedies. Bad editors edit bad comedies this way.

Its plot is incoherent. There are several plot threads in this finale, and they're managed in a way that doesn't make the viewer care about all of them at the same time, rather the viewer goes "oh, I've completely forgotten this was happening" and then, before they can even begin to care, the show cuts to something else. It's all over the place and oh so annoying.

The plot armour is painfully obvious despite every attempt to disguise it. There wasn't a single, solitary second when I believed the Doctor was really going to sacrifice herself and, lo and behold, here comes the old guy ex machina to do it for her. The only questions I was asking at that moment were "How are the writers going to prevent the Doctor's death now that they've seemingly created themselves a way to go on forever?" and "How can Whittaker care so much about her performance in this scene she's literally almost crying?". I wholeheartedly related to the Master asking "So why are we still here?" and shout–– hiss–– mumbl–– whatever-ing "Come on, come on, come on!" – at that point I've suffered through at least forty-five minutes of utter nonsense, people going preachy, religious Cybermen with Dalek motivations, that absolutely ludicrous scene in the previous episode when the show was trying its worst to make me perceive autonomous flying Cyber-heads with laser eyes as a serious threat, a shit twist and... Oh.

I've got to finally touch on the shit twist, haven't I?

It doesn't make sense. No, I mean it. I guess it makes sense from the show's writers' standpoint to retcon everything in a way that would allow them to go on forever without having to come up with a way to circumvent limited regenerations, yes. And I won't be touching upon all the lore people say this twist has ruined. No. It doesn't make sense as it is.

The twist is revealed to us by a madman that claims to have hacked into a database, claims to possess control over the Doctor's mind, and gives the Doctor and the audience no actual solid proof that the Timeless Child is, indeed, the Doctor. We have Ruth, sure, and she's nice enough (damn, I want that vest), and she's a Timelord that happens to own a TARDIS that looks like a blue police telephone box, and she calls herself the Doctor. Here's Ruth:

I really like Ruth. She also makes no sense from the show's timeline standpoint, since the Doctor's Type 40 TARDIS only got stuck looking like a police box in 1963, so there's no reason for the Doctor to not remember being her.

We also know that the Judoon have identified Ruth as "the Fugitive"... except in one of their previous appearances in the show they weren't able to identify their targets exactly and thus were seeking out non-humans. There is a possibility that they were only looking for a Time Lord on Earth.

You know what? It's possible that Ruth is actually the Master messing with the Doctor. I have just as much proof of this as I have of the fact that the Doctor is some kind of an endlessly regenerating superbeing.

But this is not the most maddening thing here. I loathe it, but I don't loathe the twist itself: I loathe its lifelessness, I loathe how empty, how unemotional, almost robotic it feels. When somebody'd spoiled the finale for me, I got angry, and I started asking questions, and when later I saw the actual thing...

This gif. I can't even explain how accurate it is. I stood there, in the middle of my kitchen, episode paused, holding a cup of cold tea and desperately looking around as if in my surroundings I could somehow find that emotional reaction that this show failed to evoke. I was ready to burst into tears of how empty it felt, and how empty I felt, and how the same show that has Christopher Eccleston go from literally foaming at the mouth with pure hatred to shocked silence in a matter of second because of one sentence that you, a viewer, can't help but be astonished by failed to make me feel the tiniest speck of literally any emotion. And slowly, I felt that vast void in my chest fill with sheer, pure, flaming hatred for the person who made me feel nothing, for the story that left me not bored – but empty.

And the next moment, in its own unique way of being absolutely tone-deaf, the show introduces the CyberMasters, looking ridiculous, being asinine in concept, making me burst into laughter with their dumb design. Wow.

So.

Chris Chibnall's Doctor Who is no longer a show. Chris Chibnall's Doctor Who isn't even, as somebody on Stardust said, a fan fiction. It's a rollercoaster. A lackluster rollercoaster that lifts you from the vast caverns of frozen hell, devoid of any life whatsoever, soulless and abandoned, to the heavenly torture of being so bad, so utterly awful and ridiculous, that you can't help but laugh as you watch something you used to love be distorted and deformed to the point where you can't recognise it anymore nor really care. This is what Chris Chibnall's Doctor Who has become. And I'm going to continue my ride on that grotesque rollercoaster. I'm going to pirate that ride and get on it again. Because I'm a masochist. Because I want to feel something, even if it's hatred towards those that make me feel nothing.

Because some time ago my fifteen-year-old self watched the first season and learned a lesson that I hold dear after all these years – that I can't abandon hope, and that someday, somehow, things are going to get better. That the future is being written right now. That the future can change.