#the game is tripping over itself to let you choose a new class for her!!!

[littledashdraws]

custom classes for flora! sorcerer, dark knight, troubadour

[ddosie]

# 2 and soobin for the prompt please!

you wouldn't say you were the sentimental type.

things came and went. kids grew into adults. that was just how life was. people grew apart, sometimes closer, and it was all expected.

you just never thought you would have to face it yourself.

it was a problem that you had only read about in story books. the handmaiden watches the price she fell in love with get married. she moves on. the king lets go of the memories of his favorite knight. he moves on. the queen loses her son, her only son. she moved on.

they all moved on. so why couldn't you?

"class! class! let's start this school year by introducing ourselves! i'll go first. my name is ms. hilton, and i'm your english teacher for this year! i've worked at this school for a long time now, and i can't wait to teach all of you kids!

okay, now that i've done my introduction, shall we go along the classroom and introduce ourselves? starting from you sir, yes you with the white and black sneakers. please start by telling us your name and a fun fact about yourself."

you watched as the said boy stood up, pushing his hair back with his hand.

"uh... hi everyone, i'm soobin, and one fun fact about me is i went to Europe this year."

as the next person got up to introduce themselves, you found yourself staring at him.

jeez, he was tall for a middle schooler.

the sun is filtering through the blinds in your room, and rays of light are being painted across the walls. everything is a golden color, from the desk to the bedside.

"so... what topic are we choosing for this project?" you watched through the lens of your glasses as soobin furrowed his brow.

"do you think, maybe aristotle?" you nodded your head eagerly, so soobin stood up and walked over to the teachers desk. a second later he sent you a thumbs up.

"aristotle it is."

you twirled your pen in your fingers as soobin took a seat. "hey do you want to work on the project with me over the weekend? i know a really good café...?"

there was a small smile on your face, and you nodded.

"yeah sure, what time?"

you got up from your chair, grabbing a camera. in this lighting, the room was just too pretty to not take a picture of.

"y/n, for someone of that height, there is no reason you should be walking that fast."

you sent a small smile to the long-legged boy trying to catch up with you in the hallway.

"if you don't want to be late to class bin, you're going to have to put those legs to work."

you let soobin catch up with you, and you slowed down your pace from thereon so the two of you could walk side by side. soobin pointed at the trophy shelf.

"do you think we'll win this year too? i hope we do, yeonjun promised a party at his house if we get placed first."

you gave soobin a reassuring pat on his arm.

"you'll be finneee... if you win, i'll take you out to icecream after."

the boy turned to look at you, a smile creeping into his eyes.

"really?"

"really."

fiddling around with the camera, you brushed the light dust that had collected on the top off. you watched as the particles were swept away, dancing in the dying sunlight.

"we should do this every year."

you turned to look at soobin lying next to you, ice-cream sandwhich in one hand, while the other was tucked behind him, supporting his head. he was looking above, admiring the night sky.

"you mean climb some random apartment stairs to get to rooftops? and risk our lives every season game to see a different view of the city at night?"

soobin let out a small laugh. "yeah, well when you put it that way, it does sound bad." you smiled, lying down with your own ice-cream sandwich, propping an arm under your head.

"...i meant the icecream tradition. you'll be there for my next season game, right?"

now it was your turn to admire the night sky.

"of course. i wouldn't miss it for the world"

grabbing a tissue, you went to work at the camera, cleaning dust from all crevices and corners of the lenses. you were surprised. when was the last time you had even taken a photo on this thing?

"hey bin, what's up?"

grabbing your phone and placing it on your desk, you made yourself comfortable, ready for any facetime tea he would spill.

"ah, y/n..." you watched as he ran a hand through his hair from the other side of the screen. "i don't think... i don't think i'll be able to make it to your birthday this year."

there was a quiet silence. you felt like you'd been punched in the gut.

"if i can ask, um, why?" you fiddled with the hem of your hoodie, waiting for an answer.

"the schedules for the basketball game lineups just came out, and the final season game is happening on your birthday. i just wanted to tell you in case we do win that far and i won't be able to come."

you decided to smile at the way soobin had said just in case they win. the two of you were in your sophomore year, and he hadn't lost a game since middle school.

"yeah, don't worry about it soob. we can still get icecream after."

you felt a turn in your stomach when the boy gave you a relived smile, running a hand through his hair again.

"that's all i wanted to say, i've got to go now"

"hm? why?"

"chem tutoring. these freshman are horrible at science."

adjusting the camera, you zoomed in on random objects in your room. the bookshelf. your water bottle. the lamp. click. click. click.

“did you hear? that senior yeonjun will be throwing a bigger party than last year! are you going y/n?”

you shrugged. “when is it?”

“I think it‘ll be this saturday.”

"can’t. I’ll be out of town”

"for what?

“college. I sent an early application, and one of them reached out and wants me to tour the campus. if i go, I’ll have a guaranteed spot next year, and I probably won’t have to apply to any others.”

your friend let out a low whistle and patted your head.

"well when you put it like that, I guess you really can’t go… but maybe we could get something after the game? i heard the ice cream place was still open”

just like that, a mere sentence felt like a silent punch to the gut.

you looked away from your friends face, scanning the cafeteria unknowingly. you were met with the view of a senior tussling soobin's hair, an arm slung across his neck. you could hear their loud conversation even from where you were sitting.

"you coming to my house after the game? me and the guys we're planning to get some icecream and stay over at my house for the night."

you thought you saw something flash in soobins eye's before he smiled, nodding in agreement.

abruptly standing up, you tossed an apology to your friend about how you wouldn't be able to make it and you had just remembered you had some important emails to send. you didn't want to be around when the words of confirmation came out of his mouth itself.

so much for a flash. the last time you had icecream with him was two years ago.

adjusting the lens once more, you caught your eye on a ticket stuck between two books on your desk. you slowly pulled it out. it was blue and grey, your school colors. there was a hole punched on the bottom, indicating it was used.

"and it's the last two minutes of the game, and hybe high is in the lead! if they can make this basket, it will guarantee a regional win for the school. oh! there goes hyunjin... passing to donghyuck who... also just passed to eric who, jeez, passed to soobin...! look at that! look at that!! we are in the last minute everyone, and if captain of hybe high makes this basket, like i said they will be the regional winners!!"

you let the sound of the announcer wash over you, leaning forward in your seat to watch the game.

for some reason you kept coming back. to this gym. to the basketball games.

to soobin.

it had been over a year since the two of you had really talked, the last icecream run being well over three years ago (a promise to go before your birthday was conveniently broken), and the last facetime was to ask for calculus answers.

you knew that you had faded out of the life of the star basketball player.

you just couldn't accept it.

"and soobin gets closer to the rim... oh! it looks like taehyun from bighit acadmy is a pretty good blocker... anyways look at him go! we have twenty second left, and even if he doesn't score hybe is still in for a win... okay, okAY?? WAIT WHAT!! WHAT!!"

there's a loud screech of the intercom that mixes with the cheers of the crowd. you found yourself on your feet, fists pumping in the air in celebration alongside the students in the bleachers despite yourself.

"AND CHOI SOOBIN SECURES THE PLACE OF HYBE HIGH IN DISTRICT REGIONALS!! ONCE AGAIN THE ACE HAS TOPPED EVERYONE AND BRANG HIS TEAM TO VICTORY!!"

you held the ticket tenderly. on the backside was stamped senior, a marker that counted as a discount for the upperclassmen that wanted to watch the game. flipping it over again, you felt a wave of something hit your stomach as you took in the grey and blue.

"hey y/n, wait up!"

you whipped around at the sound of an all too familiar voice.

there, stood soobin, in all his six foot and one inch glory.

"you.." he panted, hands on his knees as if he had run a million miles. "you walk too fast. what's the rush? you were cheering for me so loudly."

there was that feeling again. of being punched in the gut. by that invisible hand that seemed to favor your stomach whenever soobin was around.

"ah, you know... just getting home."

you tried not to stare too long. soobin had grown, matured. the baby face he donned as a middle schooler was gone, only his dimples a reminder of the childhood smiles you shared together.

"you're not... going anywhere? going straight home?"

you gave him a small smile. "...yeah. i'm going soon, so i really need to pack. good game though! you really did good this time around."

"going soon... to where y/n? are you taking a road trip without me?" you sensed a wary tone under his teasing words. three years apart, and this was the news you would have to tell him. curse the fates.

"yup! im, ah... moving cross country. i got accepted a while back."

you could already see the question in his eyes. how far? which major? on campus or near?

why didn't you tell me?

there was a moment of silence while you rocked back and forth on your heels. soobin pushed his hair back, looking into your eyes.

the heaviness of a thousand unanswered questions weighed in the air.

"so... want to catch up over icecream?"

as you held the basketball ticket from senior year, you realized three things.

one: you were the sentimental type. you clung onto old memories and good times like they were life jackets, keeping you afloat in the mundanity of your new life.

two: you didn't really like the idea of always moving on. it seemed so easy in the story books, that after a couple years the queen goes back to her ordinary life, the king appoints a new knight, and the princess finds someone she truly loved. but was there a time where you would just stop caring? was there a day you would wake up and didn’t think about what could have happened, the if only’s and what if’s?

three: you couldn't move on. you prided yourself on being able to move faster, walking a pace before everyone else. life was a journey, and you were going places. quite literally. you were floating when everyone was sinking.

but you were only floating because you had your life jacket.

...

things came and went. kids grew into adults. that was just how life was. people grew apart, sometimes closer, and it was all expected.

you clutched the ticket in your hand, the end slightly wrinkled by your fingers.

you just never thought you would have to face it yourself.

[smallblip]

Okay, but (sorry for my english) I just really love modern hc where they perform as the band No Name during their school festival (their identities are already known and that people know they belong to one of the most famous group in the school /with nanaba and erwin/).

Levi’s the face of the group and almost half of the fans have him as their bias but they really thinks he’s asexual or bi or even gay since they never knew anyone who had been his girlfriend and he doesn’t seem to be that person to be involved in any romance.

But then he surprises everyone when during their performance, he just grabs hange’s ponytail and kissed her deeply.

And people were just like—oh, shit, wait, what.... levi just—kissed his friend....his....friend.....Hange....the Hange

Then the crowd went wilder and even Levi’s fans just gasped with excitement because—damn that’s hot!

Even Hange herself were surprised but she couldn’t do anything since levi’s grip was too strong, lost in his own world as he ravishes her with kisses as if he doesn’t give a shit about everyone watching them

she doesn’t even know how long it lasted.

Then there’s Erwin in the crowd, capturing every moment with a camera because he’s the only one who wasn’t surprised about this

Stop the presses!

“Breaking news! Levi Ackerman frontman of No Name is having an illicit love affair!”

“It’s not breaking news if everyone already knows...” Porco rolls his eyes. Connie groans. Great. Now Porco is in his shot. The school’s journalism club is essentially him and Sasha with her phone’s camera. They do not have the skill nor the budget to edit him out.

“Who’s he dating then?” Sasha shoots back.

“Heard it’s a girl from another school.” Porco shrugs.

“Heard he’s gay...” Reiner offers.

“You just want him to be gay...” There’s sniggering and Reiner wants to punch Porco, but he’s a man of discipline, so no violence before breakfast.

“It’s just a rumour! He isn’t dating anyone! Levi’s too cool to date.” Eren says, gagging at the mention of the word. A literal child.

“Who would wanna date him?” Mikasa scoffs.

“Everyone in the school apart from you, Mikasa...” Petra says, “he’s dreamy...”

Connie urges the discussion on, Sasha capturing all of this. This is the best content they’ve gotten all week. “Come on! There are no bad answers!”

“Maybe he’s dating a fan?” Bertholdt says.

“Maybe he’s dating Hanji... They do seem rather close?” Pieck says, and the silence and scowls are intended to shame her. Connie looks at the aluminium foil on Pieck’s head. Right. The Signs movie screening organised by the conspiracy society is today.

“No bad answers except that one...” Connie says.

—

“You’re the talk of the town again...” Mike says, “they were discussing you on the school’s YouTube channel.”

Levi tsks. He doesn’t know why Mike bothers with that crap. It’s a pretty high quality production... he had justified, but there’s nothing high quality about Sasha’s shaky hands and Connie’s head covering half the frame. Everyone knows Mike enjoys the gossip, and there’s no one that enjoys it more. Except maybe Erwin.

“Do tell! Who is the enigmatic Levi Ackerman dating?” Erwin teases. He knows he’s not getting anything out of tight-lipped Levi. But it’s still worth a shot. Also worth seeing how annoyed he can get. Plus it’s not like they don’t already know.

If the canteen hadn’t been so goddamn full, Levi would’ve relocated long ago. Then again, his lunch groups hasn’t changed since his first day at school. The routine works.

“I’m sure you boys would be the first to know...” Nanaba chuckles. She had been the first to know and frankly. Levi’s inability to confess has been getting stifling. The only thing that really breaks the conversation though? Hanji tripping and landing face first on the table, lucky for her Levi moves her tray out of the way, saving her lunch, “watch it four eyes!”

“What did I miss?” Hanji asks, eyes already gleaming at the possibility of new knowledge.

“We were just talking about Levi’s illicit love affair.” Mike says. This is getting interesting.

“Awww Levi! You didn’t tell your ol’ pal Hanji that you were seeing someone?”

The rest of them exchange looks. God she’s so goddamn oblivious.

“Eat. We’ve got band practice before class.” Levi says, fingers already working to peel Hanji’s orange for her.

Nanaba winces. So goddamn oblivious.

—

“So we enter school today and Sasha what do we see?”

“Merch!” Sasha pops in front of the screen and does jazz hands with Connie.

“In the lead up to the big No Name concert, everyone’s donning their best No Name merch! First, let’s speak to the best in the game, Armin Arlert.”

Armin fidgets awkwardly, “ahaha I’m just a fan who just happens to make high quality merch.” Modest for someone earning big bucks from his enterprise.

“Ah... And you have competition this year!” Connie says into the microphone, which is really just rolled up newspaper.

“Well... The quality of my work speaks for itself...” Armin smiles sheepishly at the camera, but there’s something insidious in his eyes. Armin has to admit having sole monopoly over No Name merchandising in school has gone a little stale. Surely a little competition will spice things up.

“So Zeke, care to tell us more about your entry into the merchandise game?” Connie asks the bearded boy. Who has a full grown beard at their age? Connie makes a mental note to insert “sells bootleg merch” in the little panel that runs below Zeke’s interview. The whole school is also pretty sure Zeke had been behind the whole oregano debacle last year- someone had been passing oregano off as weed and selling it to the younglings.

“What’s there to say? Mine’s cheaper.” Zeke winks.

“So, satisfied customer. Why did you choose to buy Armin’s merch over Zeke’s?” Connie asks.

Pieck glances down at her Hanji shirt, “Armin got Hanji’s nose right.” She smiles.

In the background Armin and Eren are yelling at one another.

“How could you Eren! I thought we were best friends!” Armin says. Maybe the competition spiced things up a little too much.

“It was cheaper Armin! So much cheaper!”

Eren is wearing the ugliest shirt in school so, is it really worth it though?

—

“We are absolutely not blowing our budget on a confetti canon!”

“But Levi!” Hanji whines, “you already rejected so many of my ideas...”

“May I remind you that your previous ideas include a guillotine on stage, you repelling from the ceiling-“

“A tiger...” Mike adds and Hanji shoots him a look, traitor...

“It was two tigers...” she mutters under her breath. “Aww Levi you never let me do anything fun!” She pouts and Mike watches as Levi’s resolve slips an inch. There’s nothing more disgusting than the weakness of a man in love. Mike rolls his eyes. He had told Erwin if he wanted in on the action, he should join their band. There’s just so much to see that Mike has honestly had his fill. Or maybe he’s just saying it. Damn Nanaba was right, he enjoys this more than he’d care to admit.

“If you shut up through the next five songs, I’ll buy you dinner.”

“What about me?” Mike huffs.

“Deal!” Hanji shouts triumphantly, “and if you let me sing the chorus with you on this next song at the concert I’ll buy you dessert!”

“Almost as if I’m invisible...” Mike mutters.

“Fine... Deal... If you can hit the notes that is...”

“Ohhhh snap!” Mike says, and Levi turns to him for a high five. Mike smashes a beat on his drums. Hanji deadpans.

Ba dum fuckin tiss indeed.

—

“So it’s two days before the festival and the big No Name concert. Today, we’ve got a special treat for you. Roving reporter Jean Kirschtein will find out more about Levi’s love affair, straight from the horse’s mouth!”

Jean shoots Connie a dirty look. But the pun had not been intended. Connie mouths a quick apology before continuing, “but first, a word with the people closest to him-“ Connie nudges Jean towards the general direction of Erwin, Nanaba and Mike. Remember you owe me Jean! Connie whispers harshly when he senses his friend’s hesitation, now go!

Jean groans once more. God his reputation was going to take a hit. He’s vice captain of the soccer team for God’s sake. He doesn’t need this.

“Erwin Smith! A word? Uh... Thoughts on the rumours surrounding Levi Ackerman’s love life?” Jean asks. “Erwin Smith, football captain, history club president, student council treasurer, overall overachiever, and Levi Ackerman’s friend” appears on the screen. They all know if anyone’s likely to spill, it’s going to be Erwin.

Erwin’s eyes light up, he’s finally going on the channel he watches religiously with Mike. There’s so much he can contribute, so much gossip to share, so much insight. Maybe they would even invite him as a panelist on their show. The sheer power! He looks at Nanaba and she frowns at him and shakes her head. Ah damn it! He knows she’ll tear into him if he divulges too much.

“That’s strictly on a need to know basis.” Erwin grins.

“Well... Can you give us anything at all?” Jean asks. Please for the love of god he needs to pay Connie back somehow for setting him up on that date with Mikasa. God is generous but he can easily take it all away.

“We have good, solid guesses, but other than that... No... We can’t confirm anything...” Erwin answers, but not before glancing at Nanaba. She’s nodding. Good, that’s a good answer. Ambiguous enough to keep people wanting. Erwin is relieved. Jean isn’t however, he’s now certain that his debt is going to be rolled along a tab he will soon never be able to pay.

“Oh and the history society’s having quiz night next week, be there or be square!” Erwin plugs.

“Nerd!” Nile yells from across the hallway and Mike chortles.

It doesn’t take Jean long to find Hanji, after all she’s president of the biology club, so why wouldn’t she be in a lab elbow deep in a vat of something Jean doesn’t want to know the name of. It’s her kingdom with a whopping total of four subjects.

“Hanji Zoë, I’m here to ask for the latest on Levi Ackerman’s love life-“

Hanji Zoë- the school’s resident oddball, the genius herself, in the flesh, eating a checkerboard cookie. She looks up at him and there are crumbs on her face.

“Oh! Hi Jean!” Hanji looks up momentarily, “that’s easy, Levi’s in love with me.” She winks at Jean and chuckles. Jean’s jaw drops, surely she’s kidding. Hanji’s known for that after all- her quick wit and dismal personal hygiene. He chuckles awkwardly. “Yeah... Okay...”

“See you at the concert?” She beams at him and he replies enthusiastically. Is she kidding? Everyone’s gonna be there. But Jean remains strategic, he leaves right before she gets the chance to talk his ear off about joining her club again. “Shoot... There goes another one...” she says under her breath as he exits the lab.

Jean bumps into Levi when he’s leaving the lab, odd, what’s Levi doing here, no matter, Jean has a job to do.

“Levi Ackerman! Care to comment on the recent rumours surrounding your-“

“No.” Levi interjects and heads off.

Jean flips the camera so he’s in it, “well, that’s the scoop. Back to you Connie and Sasha.”

—

“It’s the day of the festival! But really the whole school is buzzing with anticipation for the No Name concert!” Connie announces into his makeshift mic.

“Will there be another accident on-stage this time? Will Levi Ackerman reveal more on his secret romance? Is there even a secret romance to begin with? More importantly, will Porco Galliard finally pay for his own food at the festival?”

“Hey!” Porco whips his head around to glare at Connie, “did Reiner get you to say that?”

Connie shrugs, “we’ll find out after these messages...”

The concert is a blast, from a spectacular entrance (choreographed, no doubt, by one Hanji Zoë), to Mike’s drum solo, to Levi’s vocal riffs. But there’s an anticipation of another sort- will Levi Ackerman finally address the rumours of his love affair?

“My Levi-Hanji senses are tingling Nanaba...” Erwin says mid-concert. As the self-proclaimed expert on school gossip, there’s no gossip sweeter than that which surrounds his two best friends. Nanaba thinks it’s an overstatement of his abilities.

But Nanaba feels it too- the electricity in the air, “i think it’s finally happening!” She says, nothing short of a vision.

Levi announces the last song for the night, and he makes his way over to Hanji during the last chorus.

HUH?

Sasha’s cameras are rolling. She holds her breath, for what she doesn’t know, but she feels it coming, call it director’s intuition if you will.

Hanji looks at Levi and beams past the bandages over their eyes, now upgraded to a material they can actually see through, ever since that one accident with Hanji trying to execute a stage dive completely blind. It’s not fun explaining to the ER nurse how you managed to fracture your arm in so many locations.

Hanji’s expression changes to one of confusion when Levi closes the distance between them. This isn’t part of any plan. Her lips part in a gasp. The crowd falls silence, breath collectively held in anticipation. It’s happening. The most significant and exciting moment of their young lives.

What in the name of Maria, Rose, and Sheena!

Levi grabs Hanji by her ponytail and crashes his lips into hers. She forgets how to function, her guitar now hanging limp and forgotten. But her arms find their way around Levi’s neck. It’s just Mike on the drums now, roaring with laughter.

“Hell yes!” Mike exclaims and it’s captured by one of the mics, joined by Nanaba and Erwin at exactly the same time. There’s a flash from Erwin’s phone, there, immortalised in a photo forever. He knows it’ll come in handy one day. For blackmail or for a future wedding montage. Either is fine.

What just happened?

Connie’s jaw is hanging.

“Levi Ackerman and... and... Hanji Zoë?” Connie says, more for his own benefit than for his audience. Because this is Hanji they’re talking about? The Hanji Zoë? Resident evil genius, overall weirdo, oddly magnetic and popular amongst both the boys and the girls, Levi’s childhood friend Hanji Zoë? The answer had been staring them right in the face! Levi at the biology labs, Levi glowering at her, the bickering, the chemistry on and off stage.

Connie whips his head over to Pieck, and she winks at him, told you so!

“I don’t believe it! Stop the presses! Levi Ackerman, frontman of No Name, in love with the brilliant, the magnetic, the one and only... Hanji Zoë!”

Hanji is kissing Levi back with fervour, until they’re both blushing and giddy, the music long forgotten, and when everyone is done gawking, the crowd erupts in violent cheering. Who would’ve thought emotionally constipated Levi, Levi whose private life has been kept a secret for so long, safe from the prying hands of the school press and his loyal fans, would choose to make an announcement like this. What a night! What a spectacle!

“I guess that’s all for tonight folks, and what a fantastic and surprising evening it has been!” Connie laughs, “I’m Connie Springer, and you heard it here first!”

The confetti canon goes off. And Hanji watches with uninhibited joy as confetti rains down on the stage.

“So... Tigers next time?” Hanji says, unwrapping the bandages from her face, her eyes glazed over and more beautiful than anything Levi has ever seen. He scoffs, pressing another kiss to her lips for posterity.

“Don’t push it...”

(A/N: prompt so good I had to write a mini fic! Thank you anon💖💖💖)

[izloveshorses]

bro are we about to kiss rn?

college au, 1.6k. maybe this will grow into a full fic? remains to be seen what my silly little brain will come up with next lol

“Do you want me to grab you a drink?” Dmitry asked over the roar of the speakers.

“If you let me follow you,” Anya answered. No way was she going to be left standing alone in the middle of a crowded frat house without a defense against a bunch of drunk football players. 

He laughed and tugged her wrist behind him. She swallowed, unable to focus on anything but the warmth spreading from the contact all the way to her heart. 

This party was a bad idea, she decided. Marfa was friends with a few of the guys in this fraternity, but even though Anya did enjoy the occasional tailgate or basketball game or even her sister’s sorority event, frat house parties were a little too much. Dmitry hated them, too, so neither of them ever accepted Marfa’s invitation until now. He suggested it as a joke, and Anya didn’t see any harm in at least checking it out. But only minutes after arriving, she was already overwhelmed by the smell of alcohol and the crowd of unfamiliar bodies, already wanting to escape. Wanting it to just be her and Dmitry. 

And maybe she was a little bit in love with him, but that was irrelevant. 

Ugh. they should’ve snuck into the greenhouse on the top floor of the biology building again. The hum of the fans and generators were better sounds than whatever music was playing now.

She’d known him since Freshman year, when he sat behind her in an econ lecture everyone was forced to take, and she’d hated him immediately. To her dismay she found out he was friends with Maria and even her new friend, Marfa, and later discovered he was a barista at the cafe she did her homework. They even lived in the same dorm— there was no escaping his self-absorbed smile and apathetic demeanor. 

But the next year, when she got a job at the library and had to work the closing shifts, he’d unintentionally offered to walk her back home, and something shifted. It was small at first. He was always skateboarding back from the computer lab at that hour after working late on one of his projects and would just so happen to pass the library at the exact time she’d need to cross campus. And then she needed her laptop fixed at one point, and of course he was working in the tech support department, and he made a joke about someone finally asking for something other than connecting their Macbook to the wifi, and… well. She realized underneath all that cockiness and brooding angst, they weren’t so different, even if they did come from completely different backgrounds. She stopped insulting him when they were hanging out with Marfa and he stopped teasing her about being too studious for something not worth her time. She learned why he was so bitter and admired how hard he worked to keep his scholarships and earn money to pay for his tuition, and he made her laugh. Through him she saw a side of the world she’d been ignorant of before, and through her he saw a light he’d been blind to. Slowly, with each shared laugh, each hour spent studying together, each midnight drive to Taco Bell, he sort of grew into her best friend. 

And then, for some reason, this year it changed again. Butterflies would stumble into flight in her stomach when she’d make him laugh or he’d casually snag her hand, and there was that one time he tried to teach her how to skateboard and his hands were on her waist to keep her steady and— well. You get the idea. She pieced the clues together and she wasn’t stupid enough to not know what they meant. 

Somehow this boy who acted like he hated the world but would share random facts about the constellations in wonder, who said formal education was a waste of time but aced every project, who pretended like he was invisible in class but secretly knew every answer the professors threw at him, who could drive her insane but knew how to read her mind, had slowly crept into her heart, like he’d always belonged there. She’d realized that now. What she didn’t know, however, was what to do about them. So she did nothing. Because she didn’t know what she would do if she lost him. 

And here she was, standing against the wall at the edge of a party, unable to hide from the truth she was denying, to avoid the way her heart skipped a beat in her chest every time he even stood next to her. 

“So, what now?” Dmitry asked, snapping her out of her thoughts. 

She feigned a smile. “I don’t know the protocol here.” 

“Well, we already said hello to Marfa, the person who invited us.”

“Check.”

“We have our drinks,” he waved his solo cup as punctuation.

“Yes.”

“You’re sporting a crew neck with the school logo, making you fit right into the preppy cliche.”

“It’s comfortable and it’s festive!” 

He rolled his eyes but smiled behind his cup. Of course he’d teased her about that. Tonight he was wearing a flannel over a white t-shirt, the spitting image of the I’m-rebellious-but-I’m-still-vain-enough-to-care-about-my-appearance look. “But what’s next?”

She frowned. “Now, this is the part where we go dance, but the music is… bad.” 

“That’s fair.”

“Or, alternatively, I think this could be the part where we mingle, but I don’t know anyone here.”

“That hasn’t stopped you before.”

She looked up at him then. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve seen you at football games and stuff, you’re good at making friends.” He shrugged. “Or just… finding something to talk about and including everyone. I used to envy you for that, you know.”

She snorted. “You’re good at talking to people too.”

“Yeah, but not like… you know. I’m good at being charming, but you genuinely like people.” She didn’t know how to respond so she didn’t, making him shake his head. “Just accept the compliment already, Romanov.”

She grinned. “I guess I can’t think of a reason anyone else here is worth my time.”

He tilted his cup back. After a quiet moment passed he spoke again. “Can I ask you something?” She glanced up, waiting for whatever question he had for her. “Why waste your time with me, then?”

Her brow furrowed. “I don’t think you’re a waste of time.”

“Yeah, but you could get along with literally anyone else here, and you choose to stand against this wall with me to complain instead.”

Her throat tightened. Couldn’t he see it? Wasn’t it written all over her face? She’d sit in a walmart parking lot with him if he asked. The words that would ruin their friendship bubbled up and she was the world’s worst liar and there was no hiding from those dark eyes of his and the silence was growing and— 

“This is the part where I get some air,” she stuttered, stumbling outside before he could respond or see what she was thinking.

She found a quiet spot on the wooden deck in the backyard, the breeze sending a chill down her back. She set her drink down and fiddled with the cuffs of her sleeves that stretched long past her fingertips. This party was definitely a terrible idea— now her head was cloudy and she almost slipped up her words and there were too many people around. Maybe sneaking into the greenhouse again would’ve also been a terrible idea, because who knew what she would’ve done if she’d been alone with him, but at least no one would be watching her fall apart like she was now. 

“Anya, are you okay?”

Oh no.

Dmitry’s footsteps fell behind her and she couldn’t bear to turn around yet. “I’m sorry if I said something to upset you.”

“No, you didn’t!” she turned then, hoping her resolve wouldn’t crumble and that he would let her be. “I’m fine.”

He saw right through her. Taking her hand, he said, “We can go, if you want.”

“No, I’m fine.”

He nodded, and her eyes fell to the hand enveloping hers, keeping her warm. “I’ll leave you alone, then. If you’re okay.”

But the thought of his hand pulling away made her panic. “Don’t go.”

She didn’t have to look up to know he was confused. But he stepped closer again, back to his original spot, and then another step. And another. His other hand found her freezing one and her shoulders relaxed.

Still staring at his hands, she mumbled, “You’re never a waste of time. Not to me.”

When she risked a glance up at him the column of his throat bobbed. His eyes searched hers and she was too tired to look away and hide, and when he found whatever it was he was looking for he smiled, a quiet one that only creased his dimples a little bit. And then to her shock he asked, “Is this the part where we kiss?”

Her heart tripped over itself like it was falling down the stairs. She blinked rapidly, her brain not prepared for this tonight. “You tell me.”

His grin spread, and she almost laughed at herself for thinking she once hated it. But then he leaned in and all thoughts that had nothing to do with the way his lips tasted or the way his hand felt under her sweatshirt on her back or how soft his hair was between her fingers or how sturdy his chest was under her palm were no longer important. No, nothing mattered now in this moment, except the inexplicable happiness spreading from her chest down to every tip of her limbs, so much that she couldn’t help the little laugh that escaped her lips into his smiling mouth, because she was kissing Dmitry and she was a little bit in love with him and he was kissing her back. 

She made a mental note to thank Marfa later for the invitation to the party. 

[rainofaugustsith]

SWTOR and Companion Death

So. Some thoughts about companion deaths in SWTOR in general.

I'm not a fan.

SPOILERS FOR KOTFE ONWARD.

I do know the name of the franchise is Star WARS, and people die in wars. It would probably be extremely unrealistic if we had a scenario where our characters spent literally 17 years of their lives (and counting...well, 12 if we don't count carbonite) fighting and nobody around them died.

However, in SWTOR I think that most of the deaths could been avoided. I don't think they benefit the story. I think that all they really do, in the end, is deprive the audience of a lot of interesting characters. 

I do think there are occasions when a player's character may wish to reject or kill a companion, but I also feel that there are ways to write so that it is an exception, and not commonplace.

And we have not even gotten to the NPC deaths. It has been a bloodbath for years with SWTOR and the writers show no signs of stopping it. Nathema - the body count from Nathema has taken almost twenty NPCs out of the main story. Onslaught? Yeah. Many more. It's become more unusual for an NPC to actually survive for the duration than to have a kill option.

I feel there are better ways to write than to take a Game of Thrones approach and kill everyone. When you eliminate everyone's beloved characters, and you leave the player with nothing more than a rotating cast of strangers, it's quite difficult to get into the story after a while.

Going through the companion deaths from KOTFE to Iokath:

Tanno Vik: The voiceover artist who played Tanno Vik died several years ago, and apparently the devs decided not to make the character recruitable in KOTFE because of that. I can understand this one. It seems that Tanno may die regardless of your choices, too. If you spare him during your meeting, he may not have survived the attack on Asylum, especially if the PC chose to use Valkorion's power.

HK-55: Yes, we get it, you wanted to show everyone that Arcann is a big old monster. The "thrown into carbonite," "slaughtering the Scions" “subjugating both the Republic and Empire” and "ruling as a harsh dictator" plot points didn't get it across quite enough. Dramatic. Yes. And they do bring HK-55 back

My objection to this death is not that they did it - because it actually does fit, even if it's a little extreme - is that they didn't make HK-55's return available to all in the actual main story of the game. I can understand making Shroud of Memory a bonus, because it's cute and funny but doesn't tie super directly into the main plot. But Arma Rasa? I think that should have been for everyone. Yes, I know you can buy it now - and I did - but I still think it should have been main story. If it were, we could have enjoyed HK-55's commentary in the rest of KOTFE and KOTET.

Kaliyo Djannis, Aric Jorgan: Fan service. But it makes no fucking sense. What exactly are you killing them for? They didn't listen, after they tried to compensate and salvage a mission that had gone south? They were left in the lurch because your PC was mission critical and went on a hallucinogenic hiking trip and didn't show up? There's literally nothing you can do to make the mission go right. It always fails, no matter who is in charge or what you tell them to do.

In Kaliyo's case, I really question why the devs thought that she, of all people, would be the character that most players would just love to spend an entire chapter with in one-on-one quality time in KOTFE. I think her kill option was a response to that - "yes, we forced you to play a chapter with this character but look, you can let her go now." Or perhaps it was a response to the frustration some players had with not being able to kill or reject her in the class story.

I think the class story could have sustained a branch where Kaliyo was asked to leave after the Wheezer incident. I think it's reasonable that a player's Agent may not have wanted to continue associating with her at that point. There were four other characters who could have taken her dialogue in the class story missions. But to do it years later? Eh.

In Aric's case, I have no idea what they were thinking. I've never had the feeling he's a character that is widely disliked. They needed to give an option to kill someone along with Kaliyo. I don't know. But it's weird and doesn't make sense IMHO.

Senya: So she's saved her boy. We get it. But considering that Senya also spent several chapters insisting that her children needed to be brought to justice, and was fully willing to engage Vaylin in combat if not kill her - the change of heart was confusing. I think Senya's fate was attached to Arcann's simply to give Arcann greater odds of survival. It seems that people like Senya even if they don't like Arcann. If the two had been separated, I really think less people would have saved Arcann.

Koth: Fan service. Nothing but fucking fan service. I'm sure it had nothing to do with Koth being a LGBTQ+ Black man who actually protested the player's actions and didn't let them off the hook. No, nothing to worry about here with that. That;s sarcasm in case I need to clarify. If things get to the point where Koth has left, your character literally works with him to save the ship and then can kill him while Lana stands there and watches and not a single person protests. After Koth has hijacked the ship and planted a bomb on it. The ship he adores. I can’t even. They could have done so much with this character and they just...did this instead. And then chose to completely ignore him even if he remained in the player's story. I still am salty, years later, that he didn't even get a cameo in the Nathema story. It's not as though the Gravestone's fate would have bothered him at all, amirite?

SCORPIO: One of the few kill options that actually might be justifiable, but the larger question is why she was trusted so much to begin with. And why the game feels it's light side to let her merge with a planet that keeps a necropolis of billions of organics it has slaughtered as research subjects.

Arcann: I feel Arcann should be handled and considered separately because he was not established first as a companion. He was framed and written as an adversary for all of KOTFE. But here we are forced to choose between "let Arcann live and become your new BFF who takes over Lana and Theron's place of trust with no punishment for his crimes" or "kill him on live television! I'm sure I'll be an Instagram Influencer now! Follow me at AllianceCommanderOdesssen uwu!"

Vette; Torian: Completely unnecessary. You have an Alliance that is so large that fighters are literally on the cliffs and in the trees helping you as you progress through the chapter. The Gravestone's taken to the skies. And yet nobody is available to swing by Torian or Vette's position to help them. You and Lana/Theron or Senya/Arcann are literally THE ONLY PEOPLE EVER who can do that. Oh, and the super-smart Hutt scientist in charge of your Research and Development team has given Vette an assault cannon for this huge battle against strong, skilled forces, despite the fact she's only operated an assault cannon...once? For a few minutes? *thumbs up, Oggurobb!*

I feel this was simply done to try to evoke emotion and to erase any sympathy the player may have had for Vaylin, since it immediately follows the Nathema sanitarium visit.

If they really felt the need to go with this, I feel they could have tied it to player actions earlier in the game. Did you do a lot of Alliance Alerts? Did you raise the Specialists' influence above 10? Did you do some of those veteran Star Fortresses and pick up a few extra companions? Then maybe you have enough extra personnel to save both. Quinn: More fan service, served up for those who would have liked to kill or reject Quinn all those years ago in the class story.

Just like Kaliyo - and Skadge, and Tanno Vik - I think the class story could have gone on without him if the Sith Warrior had been allowed to reject him after the Quinncident. I would have rejected him at that point. The writing in the class story could have sustained it. They could have given the healer role to one of the others. And then you'd get a branch where if Quinn was present, he'd show up on Iokath. If not, it would be someone else from the Sith class story, like one of the many Moffs the Warrior meets. Maybe the dude from Ilum, since he doesn't die. Or Hesker.

Theron: Now, here's the issue. The story sets up a scenario where asking Theron to leave because you no longer trust him is understandable. But I plead the case that it never should have gotten to that point. The entire betrayal story was completely unnecessary. Theron NEEDED to go undercover like that? He had a secret language he and Lana developed and just never used it to tip everyone off? He thought frying the Commander on Iokath or throwing her out the train window would be fun? After working so hard for peace, he literally sparked the next galactic war by tipping off everyone about Iokath and manipulating them all into going there so they could learn lots of fun new ways to kill each other?

Come. On. It doesn't make sense. Even in a spy game, I don't think Theron would have really thought that prodding the Empire and Republic to war with each other and the Alliance would have been worth it.

I feel like they could have done so many other things with the Order of Zildrog, and even had the same flashpoints, without making Theron appear to betray the Alliance. 

DS Jaesa: *sigh* So she saw the Commander on the Holonet, never thought of coming to Odessen and instead went to Iokath to slaughter Alliance troops. Oh, and threaten to kill Lana, who may be the player’s partner. Again, it sets up a scenario where it makes sense that a player might kill her, but why was that even necessary? The scenario itself doesn't make sense. If you have Master Ranos, she says that Jaesa was spotted hunting for artifacts, I think? Maybe just maybe they could have worked with that?

Xalek: You're killing Xalek for...um...terrorizing miners...and...yeah. Okay. Dude was in the class story for about five minutes so I don't think anyone knows what is going on here.

Broonmark: Yes, he's basically a cold-blooded killer. But he's going after this Wookiee senator because he's allying with the Republic? Or getting some Talz to be allies? The Talz already seem to be aligned Republic. He's a bit late to that party. Why is it that I don't think Broonmark would be into politics or watching the news and would not care about this?

Rusk: Um, yeah, Bey'wan, about that guy you wanted me to recruit, he's, um, dead. Because I decided to sell him out to a Black Sun gang leader. Don't be mad?

Skadge: One of the few kill options I think most could agree is...not that bad. Your mission with Rusk is to kill him. He was an adversary in the game. My headcanon for my bounty hunters is that he never gets on the ship after Belsavis. There’s no way they would have ever brought him along. Another case of correcting something from the class story?

[sliceofsky]

introducing : cary o’hare

〔 scott foley, 49, cis male, he/him ) cary o'hare was seen listening to “ just haven’t met you yet ” by michael buble. cary is the town’s weatherman and known to be bubbly & insecure

𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚌𝚜

full name ~ cary michael o’hare birthday ~ OCTOBER / 15TH / 1971 job status ~ employed as a weatherman at the local news station relationship status ~ (currently) single orientation ~ gay (closeted)

𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚒𝚘

tws for : strained family relationships , homophobia , discussion of sex

cary o’hare was the first born child of the upper-middle class o’hare family, named after his mother’s favorite movie star. it was one of the rare concessions at the o’hare patriarch gave to his mother, and he’d never let her forget about it.

from a young age, cary was the picture of raw charisma. grocery store trips took forever, with his mother being halted at every aisle by enchanted older women who wanted to catch a glimpse of the adorable baby cary. his cuteness almost made up for how busy his mom was at all hours of the day, especially when his younger sister became cary’s irish twin, born a little over 9 months after cary was.

his younger sister becomes the bane of his existence as soon as they’re both conscious enough to get on each other’s nerves. they’re close enough in age that the competition is always there, fueled by the teachers, friends, and extracurriculars that they share. they found their niches soon enough: cary was good at sports, while his sister was good at dancing (which elementary-age cary would vehemently insist was the exact OPPOSITE of a sport). their father would go to cary’s games, but not his sister’s recitals, a fact that he accepted without much thought. 

cary’s world, until middle school, was very small. the only people on his mind were him, his family, and his ever-shifting cast of close friends. there wasn’t much room in that world for insecurity or introspection, not when his biggest issue was the occasional fight he and his sister would get into over who’s turn it was on the remote. this all changed when cary was introduced to a fact about himself that made the world so much scarier: people were talking shit about him behind his back. it was the little things, of course- a comment about how stacy from english told someone who told someone who told someone that she thought he was short, or hearing a rumor about himself filter through the grapevine. it was startling, and cary reacted in kind, putting much more thought into his everything. he began to think about the way he dressed, and the way he smiled, and the way that when he answered questions in class, people would remember whether he got them wrong or right. 

suddenly, nothing was more important than his image. he wanted to smell nice, but not too nice, or else his dad would make some mean spirited quip about his son being fruity. he also needed to date girls, but not too many girls, or else they’d think he was a jerk. it was a careful, obsessive balance that he kept, one that dictated everything about the way he acted. 

against all odds, his mission was successful. he was generally well-liked. he had middling grades, and he wasn’t especially happy, but things were working. even the fact that his parents still picked his closest friends based on whether or not mr. o’hare liked their parents couldn’t break his stride. only one thing could truly break his stride, and that was the events of sleepaway camp, the summer before his sophomore year of high school.

sleepaway camp was fun. too fun. he was fast friends with jonah, who lived in a town four hours away from cary’s. over their three week stay at camp timber lake, cary and jonah ended up doing everything together. they shared secrets, snuck out of the cabin late at night to explore the woods, and on one memorable instance, went skinny dipping in the lake. near the end of their time at camp, things changed, suddenly and without warning- cary would blame the full moon. if you interrogated him, he’d insist that the only reason he kissed jonah was because the moon was full, it was the last night of camp, and they were alone in the woods in the dead of the night. he’d also insist that he didn’t mean anything by it, and that it didn’t mean he was gay. the truth, however? temporary insanity didn’t push cary to kiss jonah, and it wasn’t the reason that jonah pushed cary away with a horrified look on his face. much to cary’s relief, neither of them ever spoke about it. it became a secret just as soon as it became a memory, one that cary would agonize over for years after the fact.

cary walked into his sophomore year of high school with this secret heavy on his chest, paired with a desperate need to distract himself from it. he loaded his plate with all kinds of new activities, but the first one (aside from his regular slate of sports) to catch his fascination was learning to drive. he liked driving. he liked being the friend who knew how to do it, and he liked having jovial conversations with his dad about different types of vintage cars. he was the first of his friends to learn how to drive, and he used it to his social advantage. 

3 girlfriends, 2 state championships, and 1 prom king crown later, cary was a senior in high school, choosing between two football scholarships while desperately trying not to think about the gay thing. he would ask his parents for advice, if not for the fact that his dad would kick him out for even considering “the homosexual lifestyle” while his mom would tell him to “not think about it and move on”. he picks his college based on a coin flip, and keeps his mouth shut.

college is a new beast for cary, who’s suddenly thrust into a whole new world. the only time he’d lived somewhere other than the o’hare house (lovingly referred to as the o’house) was at sleepaway camp, but uni? that was a sleepaway camp where there were no rules. his major was undecided, and his time was mostly spent juggling gen eds, the football team, and the rowdy parties that he was invited to. 

the thing that made him decide his major, funnily enough, was a pregnancy scare. he’d hooked up with a cheerleader, more because she was a cheerleader while he was a football player than for any other reason, and three weeks later, she called him in tears, talking about a late period. on the drive to the doctor’s office to check, they got to talking about how they landed in this position. she admitted that she slept with him because he “reminded her of a weatherman”, and his career path was set. once his former hookup was given the clean bill of “not pregnant”, cary felt free to go along his way, rocking every public speaking class and doing pretty-okay on his meteorology courses, his road in life officially planned.

cary didn’t realize that he was capital g Gay until he actually had sex with a man. the process itself was undignified, beginning with eye contact across a dance floor and ending in a stranger’s bed. he was in a strange city, telling all of his friends that he was sick in the hotel while they were out at a bachelor party. he was paranoid at the gay bar, until he let himself get swept up in the music, and consequently, the spirit of lighthearted experimentation. even if when it happened, he’d already graduated from college, it still counted, right? either way, the end product was the same: him, in a stranger’s bed, trying to catch his breath. the guy’s name was paul, and the sex was unlike anything he’d ever felt before. it was electricity, and nerves, and magnetism, and cary was left without a doubt over the fact that he was exactly what he feared.

the years after that encounter moved in a predictable pattern, a cycle that he couldn’t break. first, he’d find some success in his career. then, he’d find a nice girl and try to make it work. then, the relationship would crash and burn. finally, he’d break again, and allow himself a weekend of gay debauchery. sometimes the cycle would take a few weeks to complete, and other times it would take a few years. this cycle filled up years, and then it filled up two decades, until he was 42 years old and truly exhausted. 

his parents wanted him to get married. more than anything, they wanted him to get married. it was one of the few things his mom and his dad agreed on, and in a way, they bonded over it. the whispers about why the local weatherman was a perennial bachelor certainly didn’t help his nerves, neither did the scores of posts from his high school and college friends announcing marriages and pregnancies. 

the big break from his cycle came in the form of hazel robson, a fellow member of a book club that he joined (he wasn’t super into reading, but the flow of a book club was deeply calming to him). their relationship blossomed over the book club pick of “love in the time of cholera”, following an especially insightful note from hazel. he asked her out to coffee, wanting to learn more about her opinion. their initial coffee date was legendary, their conversation lasting through two cups of coffee and an extended walk in the park. cary loved seeing the world through hazel’s eyes- she talked about literature with such a vivid intelligence that it was practically contagious. cary left that first date invigorated, like he was scores more intelligent just from having been in her vicinity. 

cary couldn’t put into words exactly why it worked so well with hazel, even though he didn’t like her that way. he knew, logically, that he was gay, and that he’d never wake up and love hazel the way she deserved to be loved. emotionally, however? he still kind of hoped that that day would come. their relationship continued to progress, without the dramatic endings that he’d gotten used to. what they had wasn’t going down in flames like his attempts at romance before- it was working. when he proposed, it was at the coffee shop where they had their first date, and he refused to let his guilt show on his face. 

things were exactly how his parents wanted it: he was married to a lovely woman, his career was booming, and the for-fun football team that he was a part of kept him in shape. it should’ve been perfect, but cary couldn’t help but feel restless. incomplete. not even his pre-game catchphrase (”my name is cary o’hare, and we are gonna win this thing fair and square!”) could keep that itch of the unfulfilled at bay. it only got worse when he met the living embodiment of everything he couldn’t have: liam lexington.

his father joked that a wandering eye was a normal part of being a married man, but cary suspected that his dad didn’t mean it like this. liam was bold, attractive, and shameless- cary couldn’t quite tell if he wanted to be him or be with him. he decided on the former, after some meaningful eye contact/hand on knee action at an applebee’s post-game celebration. it escalated into a torrid affair, one that he pointedly refused to talk about with liam or anyone else. 

it all fell apart on his 46th birthday. hazel walked into their house, ready to deliver his birthday surprise, only to walk in on liam delivering his birthday surprise. first there was the yelling, then there was the crying, until finally there were divorce papers. right after they both signed, there was a long stretch of silence, standing across from each other. then, cary broke the silence. “you know, hazel, i know it doesn’t feel like it right now, but i think one day, you and i are going to laugh about this. i know it’ll be far off in the future, and you hate me right now, but… one day, maybe when we’re old, we’ll be sitting on a porch, and we’ll be laughing about what happened.”

the official party line for the cause of the divorce was the question of kids, leaving cary right back at the start. he was a childless divorcee, and no longer his dad’s favorite. he’s gotten back into the routine of being single and publicly straight, something helped by his now-ex wife moving away. now that she’s back in town, and cary is finding less and less reasons to stay in the closet? it’s about to be a wild year for cary o’hare. 

[rosemaidenvixen]

A Secret’s Worth

Chapter 9: Darci

Ao3

Darci shifted the bag onto her hip, leaving her hand free to knock on the door.

“It’s open,” Claire’s voice called from inside.

She quickly opened the door so she could better grip the bag, and headed into the house. Everyone else was already there, Jim and Mary were messing around in the kitchen while Toby fiddled with a pile of cards. Claire waved her over from her seat on the couch.

“I brought the guac, you have the chips?”

Darci held up the tote bag “Right here,”

Claire patted the spot next to her “We’re almost ready, Toby just needs to finish shuffling,”

Toby flashed them a thumbs up without taking his eyes away from the cards flying through his fingers.

“So as soon as our chefs finish we’ll be ready to start,” she gestured towards the kitchen.

“It would go a lot faster if someone ,” Jim’s voice wafted out of the kitchen “Would hurry up with the fancy apple juice,”

“Hey, I don’t tell you how to make those little meat pies, you don’t tell me how to do my mocktails,”

“They’re called pasties and more effort goes into them than you’ll ever know,”

“I’m sorry, do you want to play our new years cards against humanity tournament without mocktails? Because if you keep it up that’s what’s going to happen,”

Claire made a face and Darci had to stifle a giggle. She didn’t quite succeed and it came out as a snort.

Fortunately the bickering didn’t last and soon Jim and Mary came into the living room with their respective refreshments.

“We’re good to camp out here all day,” Jim said while carefully setting down his tray “But remember to try and be quiet, Mom just got off a graveyard shift and she’s trying to sleep,”

Darci nodded at this, normally they prefered to hang out at Claire’s house where they had a lot more space and didn’t have to worry about disturbing anyone, but since her parents were having a bunch of people over to work on the new nursery they’d been forced to come up with alternate plans.

Toby grabbed the plastic bucket and plunked it down on top of the coffee table “Like we agreed guys, everyone ante up,”

Darci reached into her bag and pulled out the package of sparklers, briefly rereading the label before setting them in the bucket. Around her everyone else produced some kind of firework and put it in the offered bin.

Those were the terms they’d agreed on, everyone chipped in some of their leftover fireworks from last night, and the winner got the pot.

Now that the stakes were set, Toby started dealing out to each of them from the pile of white cards “Just to make sure everyone remembers, no throwing in the towel, we go until we drop. The winner’s the last one standing or the one with the most black cards by five o'clock, whichever comes first,” he flashed them a feral grin “Let the games begin,”

Claire returned his predatory look “You’d better bring your A-game TP, because I’m going home with those bottle rockets,”

The two of them stared each other down, Darci glanced over to Jim and Mary. The three of them rolled their eyes simultaneously.

It wasn’t like it really mattered who won, whoever it was would just end up shooting them all off at the end of the year bonfire with everyone else.

Jim apparently decided he’d had enough of Toby and Claire’s standoff and gently nudged his friend in the shoulder to grab his attention “Ok you dealt so I’ll draw the first black one,”

All eyes were on him as he picked up a black card from the top of the deck, flipped it over, and started reading it out loud “Arby’s, we have….”

The sound of shuffling filled the room as they all started rifling through their cards. Darci scanned through her hand before one in particular grabbed her attention. This one, this one was perfect. She couldn’t control the grin that spread across her face as she set her white card down with the others.

Her card did in fact win the Darci first round, and she won many rounds after that. Though not all of them. Steadily growing piles of black cards grew besides each of them; a visual reminder of each victory. Some rounds were over quickly with a winner being declared in seconds, others took a while, the judge having to choose between multiple very good choices or all bad choices. Some rounds were extended simply because they were all laughing too hard to function.

Their game passed in a blur of giggles, laughs, tears, and groans. So by the time Darci got around to checking her phone, she saw that it was already almost 2pm.

Toby lifted a card from the top of the black deck “Ok, the class field trip was completely ruined by... uh Darci, why are you raising your hand?”

“Hey, uh, not that I’m not having a blast,” she slowly lowered her hand “But all those mocktails are catching up to me,”

His eyes widened by just a fraction “Ah,”

They all looked around at the empty glasses and plates surrounding them. Jim was the first to set his cards facedown on the floor “How about we take a quick five minute break?”

“Ok,”

“Sounds good,”

“Fine by me,”

They all set down their cards and started getting to their feet

Darci glanced down the hall “Hey Jim, where’s the bathroom?”

“Down the hall past the kitchen, first door on the right, the other door’s just the basement,”

“Thanks,”

Mary started gathering empty glasses “I’ll go ahead and make more mocktails,”

Claire raised her arms above her head and stretched, no doubt working out the kinks in her back from staying seated so long “I think I’ll use the facilities too,”

“Make that three,” Jim added.

Uh oh, sounded like a line was forming.

Wasting no more time, Darci scurried off to the bathroom as discreetly as she could. She had to go bad and did not want to get stuck behind Claire and Jim. A few minutes later she walked out feeling very relieved, but was surprised to see no one waiting by the door.

Where were Jim and Claire? They’d said they had to go to, so why weren’t-- ah, the upstairs bathroom. That must be it.

Looking over to her right revealed that Toby, busy stacking haphazard piles of cards, was the only one in the living room. Sounds of pouring liquids and clinking glasses came from the kitchen, which meant Mary was still in there making drinks. It looked like Toby had the cards under control, so Darci opted to go into the kitchen to see if Mary needed help.

She poked her head through the entryway “You want an assist with those mocktails?”

Mary glanced over to her while still pouring two cans into the large pitcher “I’m just about done, but if you could put the empties in recycle that would be great,”

“Will do,”

Dacri started collecting empty cans and bottles from off the counters. But it was only when her arms were full that she realized she couldn’t see a recycling bin anywhere.

“You know where the bin is?”

“Just put them in the paper bag hanging off the back door,” Mary replied without looking up from stirring the pitcher “They have some other kind of plan,”

Walking over to the back door, Darci found the bag Mary was talking about with no issue, except for one slight problem. She stared at the narrow opening of the paper bag and then back down at the brimming pile of cans in her arms.

This was going to be a challenge.

Unwilling to admit defeat by setting the cans down on the counter and putting them in one at a time, Darci leaned over and held the pile of cans over the bag. Slowly, she loosened her arms and adjusted her grip so that only a few cans fell into the bag at a time.

She was down to five cans and already congratulating herself for pulling this off when the cans shifted unexpectedly, causing four to fall in the bag while one slipped free and started rolling away. Swearing under her breath, Darci chased after the runaway. The can had a headstart on her and rolled straight towards the cracked basement door.

Don’t go through the door, don’t go through the door, don’t go through the door.

The can slipped perfectly through the crack and she could hear it start bouncing down the steps.

Well darn.

Darci hesitated at the basement door for a second. Jim hadn’t specifically said that the basement was off limits, but it always felt weird going into new spaces at other people’s houses, especially without explicit permission. It always felt like she was sneaking around.

Berating herself, Daric opened the door and headed down the creaky wooden steps towards where the can had landed at the bottom. Why was she making such a big deal about this, it wasn’t like she was looking at anything private, it was just the basement, not someone’s bedroom or home office. Besides, leaving garbage just laying around someone else’s house was a lot worse than accidentally snooping.

Having reached the bottom of the steps, Darci bent over and wrapped her fingers around the wayward can; but before she could even stand back up, the already dim basement suddenly became much darker.

She let out a squeak and whirled her head in the direction of the door above her. It was shut, but only partially, the narrow line of light was proof of that. Probably just swung shut by itself because of the way the house settled. Darci let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. What was with her today? She really needed to quit being so jumpy.

Adrenaline fading, Darci turned and walked back up the steps towards the door. But three steps from the top she paused, squinting to try and peer through the gloom.

It looked like there was some kind of weird...pattern on the door. Or was there? It was mostly clustered in one area and didn’t look like any kind of decorative pattern she’d seen before. From this distance in the dark she couldn’t really tell.

But there was something on the door, that much she was sure of.

Curious now, Darci came to the topmost step and leaned in close, cracking the door wider to let in more light.

What she’d first thought was an engraved pattern on the door was actually scratches. Dozens upon dozens of overlaying scratches clustered just below the middle of the door. Darci’s eyes flitted across the numerous grooves. These marks didn’t look like a one off thing either. They were so deeply layered on top of each other, something must have scratched this door over and over again for a long time. In fact they looked almost like--

Her heart stopped.

Darci raised a hand up, desperately hoping to be proven wrong as she lined her fingers up with a group of the scratches. To her horror they aligned perfectly.

She realized her fingers were trembling.

“Mary!” she hissed, not wanting to shout but needing someone else to see this “Mary come check this out!”

“What is it?”

“Just get over here!”

Mary’s footsteps came towards the basement as Darci pushed the door open and stepped out into the hall, putting the scratches on full display.

Mary came around the corner, frowning, no doubt unhappy about being called over so hastily. Not even bothering to try and pacify her, Darci worlessly pointed towards the scratches. It took Mary a few seconds to notice what Darci was pointing at, but the instant she did her jaw dropped and her eyes got huge “What the hell is all that?”

Darci lined up her fingers to the scratches to demonstrate “I think these are claw marks,” she whispered “Someone was locked in the basement,”

“Holy shit….” Mary said with hushed incredulity, pulling out her phone and snapping a few pics of the scored wood.

Darci moved from examining the door itself to the knob. She was stunned to see it didn’t have a lock in it, meaning that it should have been impossible for anyone to be locked down there. And the knob matched all the others in the house so it wasn’t likely that a lockable knob had been replaced with a lockless knob.

So why had someone been clawing at a door that shouldn’t have been stopping them in the first place?

Her brain chased itself in circles, trying to come up with a solution to the paradox in front of her. Winding Darci into a tighter and tighter spring of anxiety and confusion, and ultimately getting nowhere.

Maybe a different perspective was what she needed to solve this puzzle.

Stepping fully back up into the hall, Darci shut the door all the way. Glancing at the walls surrounding the door for anything odd. It took her a little while but eventually she noticed something.

Something that would have otherwise appeared more or less normal, if not for what was on the basement door.

An exercise band was hanging on a hook attached to the wall just over a foot away from the door, the hook was exactly level with the doorknob.

Not even realizing what she was doing, Darci lifted the free end of the band, reached over, and looped it over the knob. It fit, but just barely, tension in the band keeping the door firmly shut. Lock or no lock that would keep someone in the basement.

Mary was almost manically snapping more pictures now, shaking hands barely able to hold her phone up “Holy shit holy shit holy shit!” she hissed.

Darci forced herself to reach out and slip the band off the door, needing to see the scratches again, even though their image was already burned into her retinas. To force her brain to accept the fact that what Darci was looking at was real.

Looking at the layers of claw marks again something else clicked.

Something that made Darci start to feel physically ill.

How low they were on the door. How tightly clustered the marks were.

Whoever had been locked in the basement had been tiny .

“Oh my god,” Mary whispered “It was Jim...”

It took Darci a few seconds to actually process what Mary had said “What are you talking about?”

“The weird curfew, the way he freaked out when he was late, what do you think!”

Darci immediately wanted to say something denying that, but all she could do was stand there with her jaw hanging open.

This house looked fairly new, twenty, thirty years old tops. And Jim said he’d lived here since he was born, that still left a ten year gap when someone else lived here and could have left the marks….

No. The marks didn’t look brand new, but they didn’t look thirty years old either. If she had to guess Darci would say they were made about ten years ago. Right about the time Jim would have been in elementary school.

And the hook with the band, those were definitely a recent thing.

A wave of cold dizziness washed over her. Her head was light and her knees went weak. Darci still couldn’t believe this was real, she didn’t want to believe this was real. She was barely aware of Mary looking frantically back and forth between her phone and the door. These things were only supposed to happen to far off strangers on the news and in magazines. Not here right in front of her face, not to someone she went to school with every day.

How had they not noticed-- how had she not noticed? All the weird rules, the crazy hours, why had it taken this long to put it together? And according to Toby this had been going for years, years for crying out loud! How could Jim have lived through years of...this...

Darci was so out of it she barely noticed the sound of footsteps from behind the bathroom door.

Heavy adult footsteps.

Adrenaline surged, snapping Darci out of her state of shock. Lightning fast, she shoved the basement door shut with her left hand and grabbed Mary’s arm with the right. Ignoring her friend’s squawk of protest and yanking her away from the basement. Just before the bathroom door swung open and out came--

“Hi girls, you having fun with your card game?”

“Oh yeah for sure,” Mary said chipperly.

Darci was beyond grateful that Mary could still act casual after what they’d seen. It was all she could do to force a smile on her face and nod, desperately hoping she didn’t look as nervous as she felt.

“Well don’t mind me, I just came down here because there was a line upstairs,” Dr. Lake flashed them a smile before turning and heading towards the staircase “Now it’s back to bed for me,”

Without warning Mary shoved two mocktail glasses into Darci’s hands, picking up the other three herself “We’ll just grab our drinks and get back to our game,”

Dr. Lake spared them a quick nod as she went up the stairs “Sounds good, and help yourselves to anything you need,”

“Will do,” Mary replied, herding Darci towards the living room.

It was all she could do to put one foot in front of the other.

Standing in front of them in pajamas and slippers, Jim’s mom seemed so nice, so normal , how could she be the type of person who would…

Darci took one final glance at the door as they walked by, catching a brief glimpse of the scratches, confirming that she hadn’t just hallucinated it.

“Don’t worry, I still have the pictures,” Mary whispered, barely audible, into her ear.

Oh. That’s right. Darci was so busy being shell shocked she’d forgotten all about that.

Stepping back into the living room she saw that everyone else was already there and waiting.

“Hey guys,” Toby piped up “You ready to get started”

“Totally,” Mary said while passing out mocktails, if Darci didn’t know better she would have believed the enthusiasm in Mary’s voice was genuine.

“Darci?”

All eyes were on her, expectantly waiting for a reply.

“Yeah...you’d better believe it...”

The rest of the afternoon passed in a haze. Mindlessly putting down cards when she was called to, not even bothering to read what was on them.

Mainly she was focused on trying not to stare at Jim. To turn to him and ask why. Why hadn’t Jim said anything, why hadn’t he asked any of them for help? They’d sat next to each other every day at lunch for six months and he’d never let on that any of this was happening. Did he think no one would believe him, or was he scared of what his mom would do if he told? She would have thought that they trusted each other enough by now, so why...

The coppery tang of blood filled her mouth as her teeth cut into her tongue with the force Darci was biting it. If she started now there would be no stopping the flood. Right now Darci just had to get through this afternoon and talk about what she’d seen with Mary later. That meant she needed to stay calm, keep her head on. Not giving in to the urge to scream ‘What the hell?!’ at Jim every time she saw him out of the corner of her eye. And it didn’t help that she had to fight the urge to jump every time she heard Dr. Lake moving upstairs. Not. At. All.

Their game seemed to drag on so long that Darci thought it would never end, but eventually it did, not soon enough and far too early at the same time. She joined the other’s in cleaning up, moving like she was in a fog. Robotically picking up stray cards and putting away dirty dishes. And soon, far too soon, Jim was shutting the door behind them.

What would happen to him now that the door was shut and they were gone?

Toby jogged over to his own house, gazing forlornly at the plastic pail in Claire’s arms as he waved goodbye. Dacri jerkily raised her hand and moved it from side to side in an effort to mirror the gesture. Something that Mary pulled off much better and Claire didn’t even have to fake.

Lucky her.

Claire was the last one to turn away, still beaming and waving at Toby even as they rounded the turn and he vanished from sight..

“I don’t know about you guys, but we need to do that again, before next year,” she paused, no doubt waiting for them to chime in in agreement, but Darci couldn’t speak past the massive knot in her throat. And Mary looked grim and gaunt, no longer maintaining the mask she’d had for the last few hours.

When her friends didn’t reply Claire turned and faced them “Is everything ok? You’ve been pretty quiet all afternoon Darc,”

Mary stopped in her tracks, laying a hand on Claire’s shoulder to halt her as well. Darci stopped right along with them. She glanced towards Darci, the two of them sharing a knowing look.

Claire’s gaze flickered back and forth between them. Mouth crumpling into a frown when she recognized that they were in on a secret she didn’t share “Guys, what’s going on?”

“Claire…” Mary spoke up softly, she looked over at Darci for approval. Darci nodded back at her. Claire deserved to know the truth, but if Darci tried to explain she would just end up crying.

Looking grim, Mary pulled her phone out “Claire, you need to see this…”

[fairytellerxo]

Wild 1

AN: So, @letsrunawaytotomorrow said EZ. So, here’s the first writing I did for the idea I shared here. It’s raw and unedited. It took me 45 mins from start to finish. It’s a base for the actual story I’m writing out. Let me know your thoughts and opinions. It’s a start but it’s not perfect.

“It’s that thing— she does this thing and it irritates my soul to the core,” Ezekiel Reyes groaned as he tried his hardest to relax his jaw. “She feigns the purest of innocence when she’s really fucking conniving when she chooses to be so.” He looked at the brunette as she hung off of the bed upside down, her nose in a book and he prayed that she was actually listening to him instead of just hearing him. 

She closed the book and glanced at him before shrugging her shoulders lazily. “That sounds like a you problem and you need to either leave Emily or deal with the bad that comes with the good.” She readjusted herself and laid on the bed. “I think that you need to take a trip.” She tossed her hair over her shoulders before she grabbed his hands. “Loosen up, be a normal nineteen year old guy who tries shit at college and graduates and leaves this shit behind.” 

He shook his head slowly, he had known her since he stepped foot onto the campus for the first time. She came out of nowhere, bumping into him and spilling the box of books she was carrying. Books. Books he had read, loved and memorized all of the parts he thought were worthy enough to store away in his vault. She had been the one to introduce herself first as he clumsily shoved the books back into the box. Lorena. “I don’t know.”

Lorena grinned at him, her dimples on full display as she reached under her pillows and pulled out a tiny silver mirrored box. “Come on Z! You only live once. Life is way too short for you to be such a goody two shoes.” She kissed his cheek before resting her cheek against his. “You already have a foot in the darkness, just join me already. Please?”

He sighed as he felt her body heat against him before he instinctively gave her hip a soft squeeze. Again, she had a point. He was almost enveloped in her, in the darkness as she called it. It wasn’t a darkness, it was just partying and drugs, two things he usually stayed far away from. “If I do this, will you leave me alone?”

“I won’t leave you alone on your first trip but I will stop asking you if you want to experiment and have fun. Come on, we’re making memories together Z! Ones we can share with our future spouses and ones we have to take to our graves.” She giggled softly as she held up a tiny vial. “One drop and we will go on a trip together. It’ll be fun!”

Ezekiel nodded as he let her place a drop under his tongue before he stared at her. “So, when does this trip start?”

The brunette placed a drop under her tongue and smiled. “It will hit soon and don’t worry, I’ll be right here with you my dear.” She laid her head on his lap and looked up at him. “You need this trip, it will open up your mind.”

.

.

Distorted. Everything Ezekiel looked at seemed to be just a caricature of itself. From his bed to the brunette that was now half naked and splayed out in the middle of the floor. Nothing looked right and he couldn’t help but laugh at the entire situation. If Emily or his brother saw and heard him right now, they’d surely have him committed but instead he was with Lorena who had hugged him through the initial shock and wiped away his tears when he started to cry out of the blue. 

Now it was all just fun and out of whack. He liked the feeling of being out of his body. It was as if he was playing a video game with a character who looked like him but didn’t act like him. “It’s weird.”

Lorena looked up at him and smiled lazily at him. “It is always weird the first time. The second time is more amazing and your mind is more open.” She stood up and pulled him to her before she rubbed his face slowly. “Ezekiel, we’re best fucking friends, we’re making crazy memories and don’t you ever forget it, alright?”

He tilted his head forward, resting his forehead against hers as he studied her carefully. The features of her face still fuzzy but beautiful. She was the entire opposite of Emily. She was intelligent but didn’t care that people judged her more from her looks than anything else. While Emily made it known that she was equal parts beauty and brains. He loved her though, no matter how irritating she was at times. He also saw the love and beauty in Lorena. Which had him confused. “You’re so warm.”

She nodded slowly as she laced their fingers together and slowly lowered them to the floor. Her eyes half shut as she turned her lips up in a smirk. “I want to order pizza,” she reached forward and touched her finger to his lips. “Man, Z! This is our life, I hope you keep these memories with you forever. Even after your end up marrying Emily.” She laughed, biting back her annoyance. “I will probably end up teaching here, that would be cool.”

He rubbed tiny circles over her forearms as he gave a single nod. He felt himself smiling but he also saw the disappointment in her eyes. The friendship was closer than he ever imagined it would be. Almost to the point where it felt wrong to share intimate details with others about it. What he did with Lorena, stayed between the two of them. Every conversation, study session and especially every single time the brunette curled up to him during movies. It was their life together that made everything a little iffy. “I love you, you know?”

Lorena smiled as she stilled his hands. “Yeah, like in a platonic friendship type of way.” She squeezed his hands and opened her eyes as best as she could. “This is the come down, you’ll feel tired but it only last a few minutes. It wasn’t a long or strong trip.” She fell back onto the carpet and covered her bare chest. “Can you pass me that shirt?”

EZ nodded as he passed her the shirt and watched her slip into it. He smiled lazily at her as she finally sat back up. He was tired but he wasn’t sure that his trip was entirely over. The scenery was still fuzzy and the brunette seemed almost alien like with exaggerated features. “I don’t think I’m done.”

She laughed before climbing onto the bed and slipping under the blanket. “Lay with me, I’ll take care of you until you’re good.” She watched him stand before he stripped down to his boxers and laid beside her. She curled up to him, pressing her cheek against his bare back. “I’ll always have you EZ, don’t ever forget it either.” She pressed a soft kiss to his shoulder. “Love you too, completely platonically.”

…

EZ slowly woke, rubbing his eyes. The feeling was amazing but what felt better than that was the warmth of Lorena who was still sleeping. He glanced at the clock, eight. It was morning, the sun was shining and he couldn’t find anything bad about his morning. Usually he was stressing and rushing to class but it was Sunday and he wanted to enjoy every minute of the day. “Rena.”

“Hush,” Lorena peeks at him through one eye. “I was falling back to sleep. You should too.”

“I wanna do something,” he squeezed her arm. “I want to go out and do something. I don’t want to sit in this room and read or prep for upcoming class work. I want to take you on a trip.”

“Oh,” she yawned and sat up slowly. “You’re taking me on an adventure? You really must’ve had a good trip last night.” She chuckled as she bounced out of the bed. “I’ll meet you by the truck then. I have to shower and get ready. Casual?”

He laughed and nodded. “Yeah, casual and comfortable.” He stood up and stretched his arms above his head. “I will meet you at the truck. Bring your camera along, you’ll want to document this trip.”

.

.

Click. Lorena grinned as she looked at her camera. “Perfect candid.” She approached EZ and showed him the display. “So, where are we going?”

“Home,” EZ opened the door for her and watched her settle into the seat before he closed the door. Rounding the truck he climbed in and glanced over at her. “Santo Padre, my home.” 

She shook her head slowly and frowned. “Isn’t that a bad idea?” She chewed briefly on her bottom lip. “Your girlfriend lives there.”

“We’re going to see my Pops, Mom and brother, we won’t run into her and even if we do. You and I are just friends,” He smiled. “It’s not against the law to bring a friend home for a visit.”

Lorena settled back and pulled her legs up, resting her chin on her knees as she looked over at him. “Look at you, using law school shit already.” She laughed softly before focusing her eyes on the road. “Can’t wait to meet La Familia Reyes.”

“Angel will like you, you’re crazy like him,” EZ grinned. “My parents pretty much like anyone but no mentioning the whole trip we took.”

“Oh, I know how to be around parents.” She nodded slowly. “This is exciting.”

.

.

“So, you bring home a whole new girlfriend?” Angel looked at his younger brother. “A hot one at that.”

“Lorena isn’t my girlfriend, she’s my friend,” EZ laughed as he watched Lorena and his mom laugh and talk. “Plus, she’s too wild for my blood, I figured you’d hit it off with her.”

He scoffed. “You’re playing matchmaker?” He shook his head. “She’s gorgeous, don’t get me wrong but I’m not about to get in the middle of you and your friend. Don’t want to cause any type of shit.”

“You won’t!” The younger brother chuckled as he looked over to his brother. “I need you to befriend her, you need a friend. She’s sweet and she’s smart. Almost as smart as me.” 

 Angel nodded slowly as he looked at Lorena who was now dancing with his mom. He smiled before looking at EZ. “Not a chance. She’s going to get both of us in trouble. She looks like walking trouble.”

EZ shrugged. “She’s not trouble, she’s just a little wild.” He smiled. “We all need a little wildness in our life.”

[siren-theories]

Repeating the past - Ben and Ryn as modern parallels to Charles Pownall and his mermaid?

When I wrote my previous post about the Pownall Massacre I noticed just how many parallels between the massacre and our trio exist, especially for the characters of Ben and Ryn. In fact, I saw so many parallels that I started writing the following as the last part of my analysis. But I soon realized that this was too large and merited an article of its own. 

If you are unfamiliar with the story of the Pownall Massacre feel free to read my previous article on it (or alternatively you can just accept my conclusions at face value).

Gifs in this post are either taken from the official freeform site, Crayonboxhearts, koortega or sirensource. 

Due to the characters involved in the Charles Pownall story this analysis has to mainly focus on Ben and Ryn. I apologize beforehand if it seems as if I am ignoring Maddie. You will understand why once you get to the last part of this article. 

Hypothesis: The story of Charles H. Pownall and his mermaid might be repeating itself in the form of Ben and Ryn (and to a certain extent Maddie).

(Polymarine fans upon reading the previous sentence)

The looming threat of Ben turning into his ancestor and Ryn into the original mermaid is always present in the show and adds drama and spice to their relationship. A huge part of what makes their relationship worth watching is experiencing how they overcome the past - or not - and how they make different choices than their respective families / societies. This piece will examine how the show creates parallels and in which way they differ from the original characters. 

Part I: The Parallels

There are multiple obvious parallels between the story of Charles and his mermaid and our trio, so many in fact that this is very unlikely to be coincidental. 

1. Charles Pownall was the first of the Bristol Cove community to meet a mermaid and became entranced with her and her song

(ELAINE: “I*m curious, how did you and Ben become friends? RYN: Ben almost hit me with car.”) 

Likewise, Ben is the first person in close to 150 years to meet a mermaid and he too becomes entranced with her song in Episode 101: “The Mermaid Discovery”.

2. Both Charles and Ben were already in a committed relationship when they met the mermaid. 

Charles was married to an unnamed woman (presumably Bens great-great-great-grandmother),  Ben was dating Maddie for several months until Ryn arrived on the scene. 

(Player 3 has entered the game) 

As with Charles, the new presence complicates the existing relationship, to the point that Ben and Maddie break up for a short while in Episode 110 when he (under the influence of the song) consistently put his need to protect Ryn over communicating with Maddie. 

3. Charles and the mermaid lived together on land. 

(”Ryn choose[...] I stay on land with Ben and Maddie”) 

Ryn too lives with Ben and Maddie on land, As of 209, she wants to stay on land permanently even though it might put her in danger. 

4. Charles Pownall suffered from alleged mental illness due to the song.

Likewise, Ben and Maddie experience visions and exhibit poor impulse control after being exposed to it. This ranges from visions of Ryn being in danger to a unique way of telling your prospective inlaws about the nature of your relationship with their son and the “friend from Finland”. 

5. Charles tried alcohol to cope with the effects of the song. 

(Episode 209 “No North Star” and Episode 211 “Mixed Signals”)

Maddie and Ben start drinking alcohol whenever missing Ryn or daydrinking when under the effect of the song.

6. Charles started to act abnormally when his mermaid was gone.

Ben and Maddie also act abnormally whenever Ryn might have left them for good. Ben takes risky trips to sea at night in Episode 105 "Curse of the Starving Class" , both Maddie and Ben self-medicate with the song in Episode 209 "No North Star".

7. As with Charles the song causes brain damage in Ben and Maddie.  

(“My song do this? Make Heads go dark?” - from Episode 211: “Mixed Signals” )

8. It is likely that Charles’ mermaid was the one initiating the sexual part of the relationship. 

"I have a dream. About Ben.[...]Maddie says it is because I want you."

While Ben and Ryn discussed having feelings for each other before, it is Ryn who pursues him in 204 “Oil and Water”. 

Ryn is the first to kiss both Maddie and Ben (mimicking human behaviour in episodes 105 and 106 with first true kisses happening in episode 204). It is Ryn who first states the wish to have sexual relations with the other two.

All subsequent sexual encounters we see depicted on the show happen with Ryn being the one initiating them. 

(Episode 208) 

(Episode 209) 

(Episode 210)

(Episode 213)

9. According to other humans the mermaid was a woman of ill repute, even slandered as a tavern prostitute after her disappearance.

Likewise, Ryn is seen as a drug addict, murder suspect and person-who-holds-wild-orgies-at-the-cabin-with-Ben by elements of the police force. The look on Deputy Marissa Staub's face when Ryn appears besides Ben at the Cabin in Episode 203 “Natural Order” speaks volumes.

(Tfw you discover the local prince is way too intimate with the local druggie, offending conservative sensibilities everywhere.  Oh the humanity.)

Marissa also likely views Ryn as a home-wrecker (considering she knows Maddie is dating Ben and is close to Dale), much the same way other humans would have viewed Charles mermaid.

10. Charles and the Mermaid had a baby

One thing missing at this point in the show is the presence of a hybrid baby but that might (and I think eventually will) change in the following seasons. There were multiple scenes in Episode 213 where both Ben and Ryn clearly exhibited signs of wanting to have children with each other and one scene in particular where they both had to force themselves not to do so within that episode.

[Sidenote: The acting in Episodes 213-216 was on point.] 

Wwhether there will be a baby in the relationship due to Ryn getting her full-blood baby back (although I think it more likely that one - if it survives - will end up with the other sirens in the sea) or a hypothetical future hybrid baby she might have with Ben (something I personally thnk will be the direction the show will eventually take in the penultimate, maybe ultimate season) the massive anvil sized hints the writers dropped in 213 are too huge to ignore.

[Sidenote: Would Ben and Ryn need IVF to conceive? Probably not. As the tests showed in Episode 213 "The Outpost" there was nothing wrong with Ryn. I believe the problem with getting pregnant was firmly on the male side as infertility in apex predators (and humans) is most often a male problem and the procedure they used is typically used to fix low sperm count in male humans. More on that maybe in a later article.]

11. There is persistent symbolism associated with Charles Pownall, Ben and Ryn in Season 1

In Episode 109 “Street Fight” the most tragic event of Season 1 (Donna getting fatally wounded) happens right near the statue of Ben's Ancestor, with the camera panning over to the statue multiple times to make sure the audience gets the hint. 

It also featured a storyline of Ben acting increasingly irrationally (albeit in a very mild manner compared to Charles) while trying to protect Ryn from Katrina. 

 Conclusion: 

So there you have it. The Siren trio is just a retelling of the Charles Pownall story adapted for modern times, destined for the same tragic ending. After all, the parallels are there. Charles = Ben, his mermaid = Ryn. 

(Polymarine representatives gather near the author’s house to register their difference of opinion, 2019, decolorized) 

Maybe not.

Or rather, this is not the same story and the show tells us that they are not reliving the past.

B) Differences

Whereas the story of Charles Pownall was that of a tragedy and eventual separation, the story of our trio is not. In fact, what the writers are going for seems to be the kind of story that shows that people in similar situations might act in a different manner than their ancestors and thus that similar situations might have different, better outcomes.

Let us take a look at the ways the show differentiates the trio from the Pownall story and also the ways the show outright tells us that this is not the same story.

1. Ryn and Ben’s motivations are different than those of their ancestors

Unlike the mermaid which helped Charles find material wealth, Ryn's initial motive is to find her sister, then stop the overfishing, then safeguard her pack, then save her species from extinction. This of course is accompanied by the motive of Ryn to stay with Ben and Maddie, a motive which might even have taken priority if Ryn leaving her pack to stay on land permanently in Episode 209 is any indication. 

The initial motive on the actions of Charles were profit (and maybe fame), which is definitely not the case with Ben who seems to not care much about material wealth as evidenced by Episode 108 where he declines a new car.

ELAINE: "Your car is disgusting." BEN: "I like my car" ELAINE: "We could buy you a new one, you know. One of those electrics....good for the environment."

Ben could easily become famous and have a huge career boost by "discovering" Ryn and publishing his findings but he does not. Instead his main motive seems to protect both humans and Sirens from harming each other - something that Ryn comes to eventually share as well.  

2. The characters act as a bridge between the cultures, not as dividers

The show sometimes attaches imaginery to fit that purpose, as in Episode 203 “Oil and Water”.

(Let's just look each other in the eyes for 30 seconds while the merpack safely sleeps between us and hope that the viewers are not too distracted by the sexual tension to not notice the symbolism) 

The writers further bring up the idea of characters (specifically Ryn) acting as a bridge between the cultures in Epsiode 206.

RYN: “Shapeshifter like me” DALE: Yes. And in those stories, the ones like you often represent the idea of two worlds coming together. [...] But maybe that is your calling, to lead my kind and your kind to a peaceful existence in this new world.” 

In 208 Ben reveals his hope that eventually the two species can live together (again) in harmony (something that Ryn, Maddie and Ben already practice on a smaller scale).

3. When facing a choice between their respective societies/families and their relationship the trio consistently chooses the relationship

After becoming Alpha in Episode 109 "Street fight" Ryn still choses to leave her pack behind to stay on land.

In 207 Ryn decides to volunteer as a military test subject in order to get Ben out of jail. 

This was a very risky choice - she had no reason to trust the military, no reason to believe they would ever let her go and she also risked her entire pack's welfare by placing herself in the hands of the military. Yet she still did it for Ben. 

In episode 208 Ryn leaves her pack to spend the night with Ben and Maddie and in episode 209 she reveals she permanently wants to stay with them no matter the costs or risks attached, even though it might expose her to capture by the military and thus risk her colony. The vehemence with which she defends her choice is telling. 

RYN:"Ryn hurt inside. Need Ben and Maddie" BEN: "We need you too. There is a woman looking for you". MADDIE: "She's with the military. RYN: "Yes. I help her." BEN: "Why?" RYN: "She get Ben out of cage." MADDIE: "You agreed to work with her to get Ben out of jail?" RYN: "Yes." BEN: You shouldn't have done that" RYN: "Ben is love" BEN: "Look you shouldn't have put yourself in danger for me." MADDIE: "We think it's better for you to go back to the water. Just for a while." 

At this suggestion, Ryn gets visibly angry.

RYN: "Ryn choose...Military was bad to sister, but good to Ryn."   MADDIE: "For now. But we don't know what they want to do to you." RYN: "I stay with Ben and Maddie."

Ben likewise rejects his family business and refuses to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors. When presented with a "dark" vision of himself in Episode 214 he rejects it with horror. He consistently lies to his family to keep Ryn safe  and to help her. Most importantly at the end of Episode 215 “Sacrifice” he puts Ryn’s safety above the health of his own mother, who might very well die because of this choice.

Kyle, slimeball extraordinaire and commander of the military facility had previously told Ben that his mother would need another injection of Ryn's stem cells soon in order to continue healing, leading to the following conversation:  

MADDIE: “As soon as he finds out what we did, that'll be the end of our relationship with him.” BEN: “Yeah. This is what matters right now. For Ryn and her species. All the rest we'll just have to figure out.”

Maddie likewise choses to protect Ryn and breaks a solemn vow to her father to do so in Episode 107 “Dead in the water” . While maybe not on the same level of the above-mentioned sacrifices made by Ryn and Ben there is not a single reason to doubt that she too would choose her two mates over anybody else.

4. The human families of the trio are not openly hostile to them being together with Ryn 

Charles Pownall's family was hostile to the mermaid with the Hawkins being permanently ostracized by the Pownells.

The human families reaction to the relationship between Ben, Ryn and Maddie are different from that. Maddie's mother, Susan, is concerned - but not about the nature of the relationship, instead she is concerned about Maddie getting hurt. We do not know what Dale thinks about the relationship or if he even knows about it though I find it hard to believe Maddie would keep it from him. Thus I would argue he at least tolerates it). 

Ben's father seems completely unfazed by his son being in a polyamorous relationship. If anything he seems more amused by the display Maddie made when she announced that she, Ryn and Ben were in such a relationship instead of the fact itself.

HELEN: "That was quite the show" TED *laughs* : "That's one way to put it. I just hope those three figure it out, whatever it is." 

Elaine was shocked but that might have been more due to the nature of the announcement - she certainly did not have any problems with Ryn kissing Ben in Episode 209 despite knowing that Ben was with Maddie. 

There are a few caveats to the above. Nobody except Dale knows Ryn’s true nature. Ted's reaction might very well be different and even hostile in the future considering he is on the verge of finding out about Ryn. Of course the Sirens having something to do with the boat accident that crippled Elaine or that Elaine might suffer more in the future due to Ryn having to withhold stem cells from her might also cause Ted and Elaine to react negatively in the future.  

5.  (Human) society has evolved a bit since the 19th century

Humans in the 19th century would not have reacted kindly to an unmarried woman (the siren) spending time with a married man (Charles) , even if they did not know her true origin,

[Sidenote: If you want to have a “fun” time read up what people did in the 19th and early 20th centuries to sabotage relationships that were considered abnormal. In the infamous example of Virginia Woolf this even involved a plane chase across two countries.] 

When the trio's human friend Xander learns about the relationship, his reaction is one of surprise and shock. (You can watch the scene here). However a discussion between him and Maddie in Episode 212 confirms that this is not due to a rejection of the nature of the relationship but more about Xander's worry that the Siren song is controlling Maddie. After being told this is not the case, he drops that objection and while he certainly does not like the relationship he is not taking active steps to sabotage it unlike 19th century people might have 

In fact it seems as if nobody in Bristol Cove much cares about the relationship the three have. There must by now be a considerable amount of people seeing the trio interact in public like this: 

(Yes officer, this scene right here)

And multiple people in the anchor saw Ryn and Ben dancing together in 204 in a manner that was way too intimate to just be friends.

(Taking bets on the number of gaskets Deputy Marissa will blow when she hears about this happening.) 

Especially in a small town like Bristol Cove where everybody knows each other the gossip mill must already run wild about the trio. However nobody seems to mind. 

This of course is a major difference of today's society to the 19th century society of Charles and his mermaid. Today's society cares much less about things like adhering to strict heterosexual norms and two-person relationships. Unlike in the 19th century where even marrying below your station would be considered a betrayal and seriously threaten your standing in society,  the acceptance of sexuality and relationships as fluid concepts is at an all-time high.

There is only one person who openly is hostile against Ryn spending time with Ben and Maddie in the show and that is Deputy Marissa. However Marissa also believes that Ryn is a drug addict, possible dealer, possible murder suspect and person-who-holds-wild-drug-orgies-at-the-cabin-with-Ben. No wonder she is hostile to Ryn given that it is her duty to protect Bristol Cove from bad influences - which her inaccurate version of Ryn definitely is. 

If anything it seems that the Siren society is less accepting of the relationship than humans are (at least Cami and Katrina are appalled by it). But as long as Ryn is Alpha then what are they going to do about it without risking an immediate beatdown by an enraged Ryn? 

[Sidenote: At this time I feel it is my solemn duty to link you this great video of humans reacting to the trio, edited by Koortega.]

6. The reactions to the Siren Song might be different from those of Charles

This is more speculative than the other parts of this post because we do not know the specific reactions of Charles Pownall to the song. Yet so far - and speaking strictly about the effect of the song on the relationship - whenever the song is used it does not have negative effects with regards to threatening the relationship. 

Ben's visions are not about domineering or being possessive about Ryn, but ultimately about protecting her (Episode 110 “Aftermath” and to a lesser extent Episode 203 “Natural Selection”), realizing he might hurt her through his behaviour and reaffirming how much he loves her (Episode 214 “The last mermaid”).  

Likewise Maddie, despite being exposed to the more harmful defensive variant of the song only wants to tell the world about how much she loves Ryn and Ben. 

[Sidenote: There is also the unlikely possibility that the relationship between Charles and his mermaid was solely based on the song, which in any case is not true for our trio.]

A cure for the brain damage due to the song also exists and the experience of obtaining that cure together brings the throuple closer together. 

(From Episode 212: “Serenity”)  

So there you have it. There are enough differences between the trio and Charles Pownall and his mermaid to not have them go down the same dark path. But in this case the show goes even further. 

C) The events of the last episodes of Season 2

The writers themselves tell us in no uncertain terms in the last four episodes of Season 2 that this is not the same story because Ben and Ryn are not their respective ancestors. 

In Episode 213 and 214 as the Pownall massacre as well as Ryn’s mating drive and her unilateral actions based on that drive put the relationship to its hardest test. 

It is important to note that the writers used multiple contrivances to arrive at this point. For the biggest example, Ryn seems to have suddenly developed complete memory loss with regards to her knowledge about Ben being a Pownall. Which is more than a bit contrived considering Ben and Maddie discuss his father owning Pownall’s two meters away from her while she is clearly listening in Episode 106 “Showdown”. 

This was not something Ryn overheard considering later in the same episode: 

DONNA: I see his face. In that place take our food. RYN: That was not him. That was his father. Writers of Episode 213: FAKE NEWS.

Oh and if there was any doubt left there is also that time Bens father was called Mr. Pownall in front of Ryn in Episode 108. 

(WRITERS: “You saw nothing.”)

In Episode 110 Helen explicitly names the father of the hybrid baby as “Charles Pownall” and also confirms that Ben and her are related through Charles. This is done while Ryn is listening and participating in that conversation (I have transcribed the whole conversation in my previous post about the massacre)

Ryn also seems to have paid no attention at all to her surroundings while living with Ben and Maddie for months (c’mon, does that sound anything like the hyperobservant, inquisitive and highly intelligent mermaid we know?). Anybody who walks around a modern human name would shortly know the name of the homeowner. Given all these factors, her not knowing before Episode 213 makes no sense at all. 

So why the contrivance? 

Of course one possibility is that the writers were too incompetent to remember what they wrote a year ago. But I do not believe this to be the case, especially with how few contradictions there are in the show otherwise and the great attention to detail the writers usually have. Maybe they  wanted to score cheap drama? But there already was enough drama with Ryn trying to save her species from extinction (plus the effect this had on Ben and Maddie) and it seems odd to go to such great lengths just for that. Therefore I would argue that the Pownell revelation was (at least partly) included here to make a specific point.

What point would that be? Let us recap what happens in those episodes, especially 214. 

After “suddenly discovering” (excuse me while I go grind my teeth in the corner) in Episode 213 that Ben’s last name is Pownell Ryn gets very upset and concerned, culminating in the following exchange in Episode 214: 

BEN: "Charles." RYN: "He loved one like me and his love turned bad. It makes him angry. He killed my people. And it starts with love. Like *crying* Like Ben love Ryn."

Ryn is clearly concerned about a repeat of the original Pownall story. And in this episode Ryn (and the audience) is explicitly told by Maddie that Ben is not his ancestor - just as Ryn is not hers either. 

MADDIE: "You know my mother, Susan?" RYN: "Yes" MADDIE: "Remember I told you how she was? The pain she caused me?" RYN: "Yes. She was weak and sad." Maddie: "Am I like her?" RYN: "No. You are strong." MADDIE: "Just because your family thinks or acts a certain way doesn't mean you have to repeat that. Ben's ashamed of what his family did. And many in your colony don't trust humans. They want to fight them. But you came on land, you trusted us, fell in love with us." RYN: "Love can be good or bad." MADDIE: "Yeah. But I trust Ben. I trust you. I trust that our love is good."

(Take ALL the Applause Maddie, you earned it.)

Ryn accepts Maddie's argument. The speed at which she does so as well as her obvious concern for Ben when he disappears during the episode seems to indicate that she was more conflicted about her own feelings than anything else - like Ben himself in that episode one might say. When Ben finally reappears, Ryn is visibly relieved at the sight of him and the following exchange happens: 

RYN: "You are okay?" BEN: "No. Not okay." RYN: "Angry with me?" BEN: "Confused. About myself." RYN: "Ben. I know you would not hurt me. I know you are different from your family. Those who kill. BEN: "I want to believe that." RYN: "I believe. Our love is good." BEN: "You trust me?" RYN: "I don't want you to feel any more pain."

The relationship between her and Ben survives the stress test and trust seems to be fully restored through Ben’s following actions in Episode 215 (some of which have already been mentioned before). 

The relationship seems to have been fully repaired by the end of 215 but if there was any lingering distrust I think Episode 216 would have dispelled that as Ryn is clearly willing to move forward with the relationsip at the end of Episode 216. Letting Ian drown might have been taken by Ryn as a display of trust, especially as she knows that it took a toll on Ben.

This of course is a parallel to another Season 1 episode. In Episode 106 “Showdown” Ben steps in to prevent Ryn from killing another antagonist that was a threat to her (Aldon Decker). Her reaction to Ben refusing to let a human die to keep her safe is one of anger and feeling betrayed.

RYN: "Why you help the bad man?” [Ben refuses to let Ryn kill Decker by placing himself between them] RYN: You choose him. You should choose me."

In Episode 216, Ben does so. He clearly chooses Ryn and her safety over the life of a fellow human.

Even without that choice it was in my opinion already clear from the looks they share at the end of Episode 215 that they will move forward with each other. 

(Protip to a happy life: find yourself a relationship where the persons involved in said relationship can still look at each other like that even after they just finished putting each other through hell for several days). 

Due to all the factors involved in Episodes 213-216 (Ryn unilaterally deciding for much of the storyline and expecting the others to go along without giving them a say, the whole fertility crisis amongst the Sirens and of course the Pownall “revelation”) this probably was the worst stress the relationship could ever be under at that point. 

I therefore posit that if the relationship between Ben and Ryn would be “Charles Pownell 2.0″, this would have been a fracture point instead of a successful stress test.

And the relationship between Ben and Ryn surviving is of course in no small part due to the largest stabilizing element in the relationship, the one element that was missing from the story of Charles and his Siren.

D) The third element

Imagine how different the story of Charles and his mermaid might have happened had they lived with the Haida - people who knew how to deal with human-siren relationships, how to help hybrids and who were most likely used to that kind of relationship happening. 

The present-day relationship the show is depicting has such a large stabilizing element to it. I am talking of course about the one person I have so far criminally neglected in favour of focusing on Ben and Ryn (because they are the parallels to charles and their mermaid and also because this allowed me to give this post a better structure).

Maddie might not be Haida biologically, but she is a Haida in the cultural sense of the word. She was raised by a Haida man and one of the first stories she tells Ryn to calm her down in Episode 102 “The Lure” is a Haida story. Now of course Maddie is not the solution to all the problems the trio faces. She does not have any Haida knowledge on how to deal with hybrids or Sirens.

However, she is by far the largest stabilizing element in the relationship as evidenced by episode 214 and the episodes before. Whenever Ryn and Ben are acting out of character or have communication issues (either between them, others or with Maddie), Maddie appears as the mediator that manages to get through to the other two and makes them see reason. Even when she initially fails (as with Ben in 110 and with her first discussion with Ryn in 214) she still manages to have enough of an impact on them to get them to reconsider their actions, change their behaviour and attempt to fix the situation. 

Her second long dialogue between her and Ryn Episode 214 (which is quoted in the segment C of this post) is the best example of Maddie’s exceptional communication skills. It probably is one of my top 5 Maddie scenes of the show and highlights just how integral Maddie is for the story of the trio. The way Maddie (without recriminations) manages to make Ryn understand that she got the wrong impression of Ben, the way she focuses the communication on the love that is the basis of the trio relationship is unbelievably on point.

Or to put it more bluntly: The story of Siren is not the story of Ben and Ryn alone. It is the story of Ben, Ryn and Maddie. It is a story about the unique love and trust that develops between the three. 

And this is why I firmly believe that we are not seeing a repeat o the CharlesPownell story here. Instead, what we are seeing is how the more enlghtened and more evolved characters of Ryn and Ben and Maddie make different choices than their ancestors. In short, just because History might look similar, it does not - and will not - repeat itself in this case.

Does that mean there will be no challenges to the relationship in the future? Of course not for otherwise there would be a lot less in the show. We already see the groundwork for multiple future stress tests of the relationship being laid  (Ted having footage of Ryn underwater, the Sirens attacking Ted in the water when Elaine had the boating accident, the reaction by some sirens like Cami to the relationship, Ben letting Ian drown, him and Ryn keeping this from Maddie etc.) 

But there is one certainty the show tells us over and over again, even chosing it as the end screen for season 2.

They are love. 

And on that note, we shall end the analysis of the parallels between our throuple and the Pownall Massacre. Thank you for reading and for sticking with this rather long post until the end. I shall endeavour to make the next post a little shorter, I promise. Alternative interpretations, additional info or critique are always welcome.  

[Final sidenote: Anybody wishing for the trio to become a duo (whether it be Ben/Ryn, Maddie/Ryn or Ben/Maddie) is asking for the show to be a lot poorer in terms of character interaction, to be less inclusive and to have fewer opportunities for future storylines.

Could the story work with just Ryn and Maddie or just Ryn and Ben? Yes, the love between each of them might be strong enough to survive without the third.  But such a story would not be Siren, it would be another star-crossed-lovers story that has been done countless times before. 

And this is why it was immediately clear that Episode 216 was a giant fake-out as soon as Maddie was fatally wounded in it.]

[pemini]

Masked | Mark Lee

「 every ‘what if’ and ‘I wish’ amounted to him 」

⇢ Word count: 3,103

⇢ Genre: fluff, comedy, some angst

⇢ Warnings: swearing, fire

⇢ Pairing: Spiderman!Mark x reader

You have always been a terrible cook. Your mother's failed attempts to teach you how to cook rice back when you were thirteen brought that to light. The first time, the rice burnt to literal ashes, and the next, it was barely edible. At sixteen, you tried baking a cake for your best friend Donghyuck’s birthday, only to end up being seconds away from burning your house down. It was no surprise to anyone, but yourself, when one of your culinary endeavors really did result in flames. It was in your and Donghyuck’s shared apartment, at the age of nineteen.

You and Donghyuck had known each other since you were born. The two of you proudly boasted that fact with the framed pictures of both of you in diapers, bathing in the same tub, celebrating your birthdays together and graduating highschool in the same class all placed around your apartment and hung up on your walls. In first grade, Donghyuck became friends with Mark, resulting in great jealousy on your part, because Mark was “stealing” your best friend. That problem solved itself, and the three of you became inseparable. Mark made frequent appearances in the pictures around the house, as well as your apartment itself, since he spent more time in it than in his own. Despite your apartment being his second home, he refused to live with you and Donghyuck, partly because you were both extremely messy and loud, but also because he knew he would “get sick of you” if he saw you that frequently. At least, that’s what his excuse was.

Mark was an extremely busy nineteen year old. In fact, you would argue that he’s too busy for a nineteen year old. With him being a biochemistry major, it was no surprise. His apartment was littered with notes and diagrams and he rarely left his home without at least one of his textbooks, in case he had some time to do some extra revision. On top of all the studying, he always seemed to be at the gym. It was almost as if his own home was a pit stop between school, the gym and you and Donghyuck’s apartment. It was never a surprise when he cancelled on study sessions and arcade hangouts last minute, at some point you stopped asking why and simply blamed it on his busy schedule.

It was just past sunset when you decided to bake cupcakes, for no particular reason but sheer boredom. Donghyuck was holed up in his bedroom playing video games and Mark was too busy to come over, leaving you to entertain yourself. You looked up a recipe online, making sure to add “for beginners” at the end of the search. After all, you weren’t completely unaware of your talent for messing up your cooking- but, you were optimistic. Hence, you choosing to bake for fun in the first place. Two hours of “perfecting” the (awfully clumpy) batter later, the tray went into the oven. You patted yourself on the back for your efforts, and smiled at the thought of the perfect cupcakes that you would rub in Mark and Donghyuck’s faces in half an hour. Five minutes later, you were sprawled out on the couch, fast asleep. Not long after, your slumber was interrupted by Donghyuck’s frantic screams and the deafening sound of the fire alarm. The kitchen was in flames. Donghyuck was emptying water bottles on the growing fire while shouting at someone on the phone. He was a great multitasker.

“That dumbass tried baking and fell asleep, who the fuck does that? She hasn’t even woken up.” You bolted up from the comfort of the couch, now in complete panic, and began running around the two bedroom apartment in search for a fire extinguisher. You could hear Donghyuck’s obnoxious voice over the blaring fire alarm and the sound of the approaching firetrucks, which did not help your case.

“I am literally going to burn to death because I’m roommates with a crackhead who can’t cook, I’m going to die, Mark, this is how I die-“ In the midst of his rant and water bottle emptying, his sleeve caught on fire. His voice had already risen up three octaves and his water bottle supply was proving useless, and now the poor boy was on fire. “Y/n- Oh my God, where the fuck are you?”

“I found the fire extinguisher, I’m coming- fuck, wait-“ You screamed back, scrambling into the kitchen and tripping over your own feet. You looked up to see Donghyuck flailing around wildly, which would’ve made for great entertainment if you weren’t trapped in an oven.

“Hurry up I’m on fire I’m burning I’m going to die- Mark! He hung up, I’m going to die alone-“ Just as you began extinguish him, you heard the sound of shattering glass, followed by the sound of the door being busted open as firefighters stomped into your apartment.

You froze in place, the orders barked by the firefighters barely processed in your mind, the smoke settling into your lungs and your watering eyes proved to be too much of a distraction. Your breathing had long sped up, shortened and frantic, you could barely see your own hands amidst the smoke. Just as you were about to break into full panic, you felt a pair of steady arms wrap around your waist. Mere seconds later, you were lifted off of the ground in someone’s arms, with your cheek flush against their chest. You were faced with New York City’s landscape, the buildings that towered over you were now at face level. The night was no darker than usual; not quite moonlit, yet not as artificial as it seemed to be. For a second you could see the silhouettes of strangers inside the buildings surrounding you, the potential wonder of “can they see me to?” Had no time to be fulfilled, as you closed your eyes and screamed as if it would change the fact that you were already midair. You were dangling between buildings in the strangers arms, not flying, just dangling. You held your savior closer, mumbling prayers for safety.

“You okay?” The male chuckled. His laugh reverberated through his chest, eliciting chills in your entire body. The familiarity of his voice silenced you. It was warm; soothing, almost making you forget about your situation. You finally took a moment to breathe before opening her eyes, only to be greeted by a vibrant mask.

“What the fuck,” You exhaled, studying the mask’s large white eyes and its web detailing. “you’re Spiderman?”

“Yes, I’m Spiderman.” He giggled. “And you are?”

“I am a big fan.” You let out a clumsy combination of a sigh and a giggle, “and you’re Spiderman.”

“Yes, I think we’ve already gone through that.” Just as those words left his lips, the wind stopped blowing through your hair and the comforting pressure of his arms around your waist ceases. He gently placed you back on the ground, and although you failed to notice the close proximity, you were mere centimeters apart and his hand lay resting on your waist. You forgot your arms still laying on his shoulders with your fingers tangled behind his neck, too distracted by the warmth of his body and the faint outline of the eyes behind the mask. As well as the shock of being meters above the ground and caught in a fire minutes earlier.

“What the fuck?” Donghyuck’s voice snapped you out of your daze. The hand on your hip suddenly felt heavy, as well as your newfound awareness of your arms around the superhero’s neck. Both of you hastily pulled your hands away from each other, placing them awkwardly at your sides as you turned to Donghyuck. “So, you’re telling me that the Spiderman had the time to save you out of a burning building, but I was left to burn to death?” He pointed his finger accusingly, first at you, then Spiderman, and then placed it solemnly on his chest. You reminded yourself not to roll your eyes- just to save yourself from another influx of drama.

“I have two hands, and I doubt you would’ve enjoyed hanging onto my leg.” He laughed, stretching his arms as he spoke. “Besides, you look fine!” The way his shoulders shook when he laughed could’ve given you deja vu. His movements, his scent and the wight of his arms that were once around you formed into an unknown syllable at the tip of your tongue. It was as if you’ve collected every puzzle piece, yet couldn’t fit any of the pieces together.

“Sure, whatever. I’m gonna go call Mark so he can pick us up. We’re staying over at his place tonight.” Donghyuck said. He looked you up and down, smirking to himself. “Too bad you can’t get changed.” Your eyes widened the second you looked down at what you were wearing. Your oversized 2011 Justin Bieber t-shirt with matching purple pajama bottoms and crocs were your go to stay in outfit. In your defense, you could have never predicted that your kitchen would light on fire and that Spiderman would break in and save you. Yet in that moment, you still deeply regretted buying those pajamas back in 2011.

Much to your discontent, Spiderman directed his attention to your clothing as well, laughing. “I know I just saved you out of a burning building and all, but are you really wearing crocs?”

You scoffed, lightly pushing his chest. “They’re comfortable! You’re wearing spandex.”

Just as he was about to reply, the song Love Yourself by Justin Bieber started playing. Right from his spandex pocket. Spiderman glanced at you briefly before he took the phone out of his pocket, reluctantly answering the phone call. The syllable caught in your tongue turned to a word, the puzzle pieces slowly clicking together. You could hear Donghyuck’s voice on the other end, talking about staying over for the night.

“Mark?” He turned to you at the mention of the name, telling Donghyuck he would be on his way and ending the call. His head was hung low as he took a few steps closer to you.

“That’s me.” His replied. The confidence that radiated off of him ceased, instead replaced by tense shoulders and fidgeting fingers. “Can we talk somewhere else?”

The walk to wherever Mark was taking you was silent, an unusual contrast to almost every moment you spent together. Mark was in a constant fit of giggles over something you said or did, and vice versa. Every conversation you had led to another, and you were both convinced the you would never run out of things to talk about. Every word between you was already said, except for three words you kept dear to yourself. Mark meant a lot to you, more than you would like to admit. At some point, you considered it almost embarrassing how big of a role he played in your life. The situation in which you met was nearly as awkward as this one- the cliche ‘guy spills coffee on a girl in a café, promises to make it up to her, they end up as lovers’ trope- except, you were not lovers. Although, the line between best friends and lovers was terribly blurred in everyone else’s eyes, (especially Donghyuck’s, who never misses the little smile dancing on your lips when Mark says something stupid, or the way Mark’s eyes shine when you trips over your words.) neither of you noticed that there should have been something more in your story. The coffee spill should’ve lead to a date, which should’ve lead to a kiss, which should’ve lead to more. Alas, your story was never meant to be generic, and at the point you were at, there was no changing it.

Mark lead you into a secluded alleyway, pressing his back against the wall with a sigh. You stood in front of him, the past events replaying in your mind all to form a singular question. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wanted to- I swear to God- there were so many times when I was alone with you and I just wanted to tell you but I- I couldn’t do it.” At that moment, everything about him screamed uncertainty. From the tapping of his foot and his fidgeting fingers, to his shaky voice. You’ve known Mark longer than you’ve really known yourself, yet you’ve never seen him like this- so insecure, so.. apprehensive. You could tell he had stressed about this exact moment millions of times before, that the outcome could break him. “I don’t want you to see me differently.”

“Mark, this doesn’t change how I see you- ” You paused, taking a moment to collect your thoughts. The same way this exact moment clouded his mind daily, it made home in your mind as well. Thoughts about the day you tell Mark how you feel were constant. They took place in a considerable amount of your daydreams, they intruded your less stressful thoughts while you conversed with Mark, and they occasionally popped up when you should have been focusing in class, only making it harder for you to pretend that you were fine with being “just friends”. In fact, the thought of you and Mark being nothing but friends, the thought of watching him fall in love with someone else, that thought clung onto your lungs like an iron fist and you were just about to run out of oxygen. “You’re my best friend. I don’t care if you’re half spider, or whatever. I just want to be there for you, can’t you see that? I do everything I can just to show you how much I care about you- how much I fucking love you- and it just feels like a waste, because you weren’t even honest with me. You hid half of your life from me, Mark, and it hurts.”

“You love me?” He barely whispered, his body went still, looking at you through his mask expectantly. The fist around your lungs tightened and you could feel your heart drop right beneath your feet. The silence that followed his question felt like an eternity, you could hear every flicker of the street lamps and every laugh from every stranger passing by the alleyway, yet it felt like it was just the two of you. To you, the world had stopped entirely and it lay in his hand. After he decided the silence dragged on long enough, he pushed himself off the wall and took a few gradual steps towards you. “Do you want to take it off?”

“What?” His question was, needless to say, unexpected and confusing, though somewhat unsurprising; Mark had a tendency of switching between one thing to another at pace that’s hard for the average person to keep up with. You repeated the question in your mind and your mouth went dry as you stared at the outline of his eyes, hands shaking. Mark reached out and put your hand in his, lifting it up to his cheek.

“Take the mask off, I mean.” He chuckled, yet you could practically sense his nerves from miles away, betraying his confident demeanor. With his assistance, you traced your fingertips down to the edge of his mask, right at his jaw, and carefully tugged it off of his head. That night, was when you saw him for the first time, really saw him for all that he is. And at that moment, he was doing anything at all, but you could’ve sworn that his eyes held all the stars you’ve ever seen. His disheveled hair, up in angles that would’ve made you laugh if it weren’t for the current situation framed his face perfectly, and it was like your hand had a mind of its own when you reached out to run your hand through it. The light sheen of sweat covering his face only made him look so much more angelic under the moonlight. And his lips, curled up into the little smile you’ve grown to love so much. You barely noticed his face inching closer to your own, too caught up in his eyes, his lips, him. Before you could remind yourself to breathe, after noticing your breath had been caught in your throat for the past minute, his eyes were closed and his lips were on yours and you knew you would never again worry about what should have been. Every ‘what if’ and ‘I wish’ amounted to him with his arm around your waist and his hand placed your cheek, and you knew you have found your forever in the taste of his lips. He pulled away too soon.

“I love you too, y/n. I love you so, so much and I’m so sorry. I know I should face told you, I just- the thought of losing you was eating at me and I was so insecure and afraid and I am so sorry, please don’t be mad at me, I-” You cut his rambling off with a kiss, his wide eyes and furrows brows melting your heart, you could feel him smile into the kiss. You both broke into a fit of laughter mid way, starry eyes on each other with puffy lips, and he couldn’t help but cup your cheeks and smother you with kisses till you could barely breathe. You found heaven.

The too familiar tune of Love Yourself by Justin Bieber blared from his pocket once again. Your laughter died down, “Let’s go get Hyuck before he beats us up.” He said, taking hold of your hand and starting to lead you out of the alleyway.

“Mark, your mask.” You reminded him, only to earn a shrug and a “fuck it” in return.

“It’s okay, I’m going to tell Hyuck about it, too.”

“No, I mean there’s news reporters outside our apartment building, you really don’t want them to know you’re Spiderman.” You flicked his forehead lightly and handed him the mask. And with that, he quickly placed it back onto his head, and walked with you, hand in hand, into the city, and into your long awaited- not so generic- love story.

“As if I didn’t already know, it was obvious as fuck. I thought y/n would catch on sooner.”

“Come on, Hyuck, you had no clue, don’t lie!”

“Dude, I got you Spiderman socks on your birthday on purpose, I am Lee Donghyuck, I know everything.”

“Sure you do, what else do you know?”

“That the two of you are dating and haven’t told me yet.”

“What the fuck.”

[blankdblank]

Anaticula Pt 10

Pt 1 - Pt 2 - Pt 3 - Pt 4 - Pt 5 - Pt 6 - Pt 7 - Pt 8 - Pt 9 -

I’ll skip the tags. Unless you want onto this series’ list.

The end of the Flora & Fauna Competition, the second semester, a relationship and onto the summertime adventures. Some hints at what’s coming up and OC is sent off with Hagrid to fetch Harry. :D

 …

“So no name yet for Cubbie?”

You shook your head glancing at the now three foot tall cub chasing a snowman you had enchanted for him to do so while you huddled in an open breezeway to complete the final touches on your note sheet allowed for the first of your semester exams. Beside you Charlie sat brushing his Demiguise’s fur back before adding his hat to match his sweater. “Nope, he doesn’t answer to anything I’ve tried. Above that I guess he does tend to turn his head and run to me when I huff though.”

Charlie chuckled, “Maybe that’s part of the lingo, he thinks that’s his name.” you rolled your eyes and finished your sheet, putting that away you pulled out his quiz cards making him groan earning a glance from your cub that went back to playing.

“You wanted my help studying.”

He closed his jacket around his Diricawl with boots and a woven poncho and put his notebooks away in his bag listening to your first testing question.

A final day of studying after the final game of the Puffs vs Ravens bled into the lull of days until you were off to separate homes for Christmas this year. Weasley home was now headquarters for their full brood as the Malfoys, Tonks’ and Longbottoms were all at your family home. Another year’s worth of updates and a few more pictures were sent off to the Dursleys without a hope from you to hear anything in return, simply taking enjoyment that the option for a response was possible one day.

.

New Years bled into returning back to school again with more tales to share with Tulip from you and Opal. The final week brought on Ravenclaw vs Slytherin, continuing their usual pattern of a stunning back and forth ending with a close call differing the score by the snitch points.

February followed as always with the coveted battle of the Weasley clan with your now five foot tall cub bouncing eagerly in the snow filled sand pit at the base of your team’s hoops granting him ample space to bound around until the seemingly endless battle carried on. Though at the end of the month a final inspection of your creatures and plants, Newt had come out and brought his suitcase with him remaining calm you watched your cub trot eagerly beside his mother, who had come to claim her son to guide him through his first big hunt in the wild Newt would take them back to their home in the wild to do so. Charlie about was in tears handing over the stubborn bird he had spent months chasing after and the easy departure his Demiguise had him having to leave the room to keep from causing a scene.

Still you held your place with a puzzled expression as Miranda claimed your bright green plant and final copy of your journals while Newt shifted closer to you pleased to see Opal under your hair in the room and started to ask you about your latest tests on Phoenix potions. Usual tears seemed painful, and were well known to be so while also the strongest possible thing able to repair the damage done. In a dig into his own pocket he passed you a few options you might be able to try from his own studies since hearing of her injuries. When the last of the judges had gone your eyes dropped to Idris in your arms, now the size of a watermelon with a two foot long white to blue gold tipped tail with a matching flopped over plum of feathers on top of his head.

“Um, I thought you had to take all our choices.”

Newt eyed Idris then let out a weak chuckle, “We could try, we have before, but they always return, same as Phoenix and Thunderbirds.” His gave you another grin saying, “I will keep you posted on your cub. They do enjoy their time in the wild, and even though he seems aloof now he will want to see you again. I’ll be sure to help you set up dates for him to come and visit you. Of course might be a bit, the males tend to need a break with their keepers while they choose mates for their own cubs.”

You giggled saying, “Of course.” His eyes dropped to Opal again as you said your goodbyes and you turned to head back to your dorm while Idris accepted your lift up to ease his take off for a daily flight with Fawkes.

Under your hair Opal asked softly, “Is he coming back?”

Softly you replied, “Not to stay. He’s fully grown, off to find a mate of his own soon.”

“Could I use his swing then?”

Softly you giggled to yourself, “Of course.” Stirring a grin onto her face.

.

Without further distraction you were able to focus on your studies and side potions with the twins. Your first success was taking an often used trick by Remus for when you had to take potions tasting miserable. Chocolate. It was an easy idea, nice and simple that stirred an avalanche of products to tests. Sending out simple requests after quidditch practices, and especially your match against Slytherin in April there were ample chances to try each. 

Simple scrapes, aches and bruises eased with a cherry flavored energy burst, the one working the best towards healing was the dark chocolate with cherry energy burst successful in healing most minor injuries you went to marking a note for stocking up on the foil wrappers you had already designed for them over the previous months. 30 in each batch had you off to a decent start and soon enough with your family and the students you were onto your fourth batch before long while working on a few variations for without the energy burst to try and have more effect from the Phoenix tears.

.

May was half over and Charlie’s worrying had reached its crescendo, NEWTS had begun in the final two weeks and his six chosen courses to test for stunned most of the sixth years coming up on their own exams the next year. But finally it was over and all he had to do was wait for the results with the final game of Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw to end the year off right. The final month more and more you seemed to be avoided by him and at the train ride home you understood why.

After packing he came to find you sitting up after another bad dream down in your Chamber hoping not to wake the guys. A folded letter was passed over and wetting his lips Charlie stated, “They accepted me in the Dragon Breeding grounds in Romania, want me there right away.” More and more he seemed to just spew all he could in hopes of easing this change. As best you heard there was a wish for your happiness, being able to be with someone your own age and not have to wait on him to possibly return when all he’d ever wanted was to spend his life with dragons. Wordlessly he left the room without any idea on what else to say, content that you hadn’t cried or objected to his reasoning.

You understood, you did, probably more than he ever considered. In his absence you moved away from your desk to sit in one of the armchairs, legs easing up in front of you drawing your forehead against your knees with hair rippling to a deep black. At once a sharp gasp filled your lungs for the round of sobs that followed in your pained weeping for the lost hope of your chance for a normal relationship.

You were the formerly dead girl, Slytherin’s Heir, keeper of deadly animals and daughter to a Wizard supposedly still in hiding from the Ministry itself behind a now well known rule against your dating. All that on top of your secret trips for snake venom in the summers and self appointed tasks of Horcrux hunting while befriending Death Eaters no less. Who in their right mind would want to date you in all this? Muggles had crazy cat ladies, you guessed you would be the crazy Dragon lady. But in all that mental drama you flooded upon yourself you still hoped that one day if you did turn to that, that maybe just maybe, Charlie might want you then.

Around you arms circled you with the twins folding awkwardly into the chair intertwining their legs around you. “He might have taken six NEWTS but Charlie’s hit a branch too many falling out of the dunce tree.”

George, “If it helps your owl just popped up. Something bout a trumpeting viper out in Peru, Regulus wanted to know if we would mind him grabbing us at the station.”

Fred, “Course Malfoy’s dropping off Draco again right after, so it’s straight out from the station and back again.”

George, “Nice clean break.”

You nodded and sniffled again, “Ya. I just think, it was all a bit much. Unofficial and, then the studying and extra creature tests. He can go play with his Dragons and I can refocus on our shop and taking down Voldy and the final horcrux.”

The pair of them kissed your forehead saying, “Let’s go up and write back, head out straight from the station. Cedric is up, rounding up some snacks, got a letter from his dad about the change in his plans too, looks like our last win earned him a new broom.”

Making you giggle. “Let’s go celebrate our adventurous summers.”

That last night as your hair shifted slowly from black to deep forest green you snacked and chatted with the trio only to shift into a giant pile on Cedric’s bed for a short nap until sunrise. Staying in your dorm you waited for the others to head down and chose to take a stop into the kitchens for a simple breakfast and then gather your things to be early to the train. 

A flash of silver hair was all Charlie could spot between his younger brothers in the distance by Cedric in your loading your things into the train and climbing on before he could say anything to you about why you weren’t at breakfast. The station wasn’t any different, just when he thought he had a chance to talk to you your trunks were added to an enchanted pouch and Regulus zapped your owls home and guided you through the crowds to another platform off in the distance once you had each tightly hugged Cedric goodbye.

…

Plots and thievery seemed to be a new occurrence in Azkaban Prison. For the first time an Auror had come to the infamous jail to break someone out of it. In the flurry of hexes and curses another plot was held. For nearly a decade another innocent has faced those battles cells managed by the blind creatures guarding the prisoners. Framed for an attack then used as an example one Barty Crouch Jr had held his cell, the one conveniently across from yours. Between flurried hexes and cursed with shouting prisoners all about another Barty slipped through, behind him Mrs Crouch under an invisibility cloak with Polyjuice potion ready. Another visit was paid weeks prior and samples were taken. In her dying days from withering due to the framing and imprisonment of their son by her own husband Mrs Crouch withered and made one simple request, that in her dying days she take the place of their son to be buried in the jail so he might go free and begin anew.

The scrawny young lad now worn and weak from his time in the dark dank of his cell, lost to his own thoughts until you had arrived. Under the same cloak once the transfer was made another curse was given and after pretending to confirm the security of his own son in the attacks by those who volunteered to claim you the boy followed the order his father gave. Silent and obedient under the Imperius Curse he made his way home beside their house elf Winky, tasked to always ensure his safety and secrecy. But as always not every curse is lasting and when a chance at freedom hit young Barty he fled the house he was raised in, his supposed haven, off in search of a way to aid his new master, the survivor of the Dementor’s Kiss.

.

“Another Crouch dead!” Your eyes scanned over the headline on the Daily Prophet in your hands you unfolded as you propped your feet up on Regulus’ legs across from you in the train car after your latest trip to secure venom samples and read, “Mrs Crouch, wife of Bartemius Crouch Sr has been reported to have passed away. This on the heels of the passing of his Son Bartemius Crouch Jr in Azkaban Prison. Formerly charged with the torture of two Aurors even with the suspicion of his innocence and sentenced to life in prison by his own father.” The article wasn’t very long but it started to delve into the flurry of other witches and Wizards Sr had put away through his career and finished with a statement on his dedication to the Ministry and how it would continue to be so.

With your brow raised you eyed the picture of Jr and then tilted it to Fred, “This is him?”

He nodded and George replied, “Ya, dad said he’d just graduated practically when he was locked up.”

Eyeing the picture again you caught a familiar flick of his tongue and you said, “I know him.”

Fred, “You saw him, in there?”

You nodded, “Though he looks different. Or, well, looked.”

George, “No doubt they should have to keep up on pictures through the year for what it does to you.”

Fred, “Not that it affected you.”

You shook your head, “No, he was there for nearly a decade.”

A warning bell sounded alerting you to your near arrival to the station causing Regulus to stir finally and grumble at the cramp from his back he stretched out while you lowered your legs from his knees. Brushing his hair back from his face he gave you a sleepy grin eyeing the paper in your hands, “Ah, see you’ve seen the news. Real pity bout Jr, wasn’t half bad, we shared a dorm in school, me him and Snape, with this guy that kept mumbling about something called nargles. Always gave a new name when someone asked what his was, bit odd for a Slytherin.” He shook his head then furrowed his brows at the window seeing the storm looming outside.

Outside the train you shouldered your satchels and strolled out, making your way off to the doorway leading to Diagon Alley. Off through the crowds you found your way to Olivander’s through the doorway you found Narcissa and Draco standing with matching grins while he cradled his new wand in his palms then peered up at you showing off his new wand, “Got my wand. Hawthorne and Unicorn hair!”

You giggled, “Very impressive.”

Your eyes turned to Narcissa, who passed you the books and supplies they had purchased for his first year at Hogwarts in and enchanted carpet bag, “Thank you for watching him. We should be back a week before the big send off.” She smiled at Draco, “At least we managed to convince Lucius Draco was better off in Hogwarts over Durmstrang.”

Regulus chuckled, “I am certain Lucius’ll learn just how much better off he’ll be closer to home.” Inching out her smile, “Enjoy your trip.” She nodded and turned to leave after kissing his cheek.

With a grin your hand smoothed over his shoulders saying, “Come on, let’s go see if we can find out what’s going on with Harry.”

Peering up at you Draco asked, “What’s going on with Harry?” his eyes scanning over your hair shimmering in its subtle white shade you used to travel through the muggle stations and towns spreading his smile.

Fred, “Minerva sent word the Dursleys took off with Harry trying to hide from his acceptance letter.”

George, “Dumbledore is tracking them down.”

Out through the city you found your way into the Leaky Cauldron to use its muggle doorway to head back through the muggle city to get back to the Grimmauld Place entrance to your home.

.

Releasing the bag it floated up to Draco’s room while you made your way into the sitting room finding Minerva chatting with Snape over tea alongside Hagrid and Albus. Wetting your lips while Regulus sent your bags and trunks up to your rooms, he the twins and Draco joined you on the armchairs across from the couch the teachers were filing beside Hagrid’s enlarged armchair to fit him comfortably.

Albus began the talk stating, “Miss Black, we managed to track down Harry. He’s out in a shack by the sea. Hagrid has agreed to head out to fetch him and return him here to Regulus’ care.”

In his pause Snape stated, “Perhaps it is best you go as well.”

Minerva nodded, “Yes, give her a chance to explain why she has been refusing to answer your letters.”

“Harry says she cries when she reads them. It is possible that would only worsen things, seeing me.”

Snape’s head tilted, “It would be far better than if I were to go as per Albus’ original plan. Petunia hated me then, I cannot imagine things getting better this time around.”

Nodding you glanced at Hagrid asking him, “When are we going?”

Hagrid stood setting his cup down, “Best be heading off, storm looks mighty testy.”

Finishing your tea you patted Draco’s shoulder, “I’ll be back soon, hopefully no worse for wear.”

He grinned at you, “I’ll be here. Might help Neville with that new planter he’s been building.”

Fred and George stated, “We’ll hold down the fort and wait for the Grangers to drop Hermi by.”

On his feet Regulus gave you a calming hug and peck on the forehead, “Even if she’s cruel now, there’s time to change her mind.” Firing a wink at you in your turn to join Hagrid out to the front door.

.

At the base of the stairs you joined him onto your father’s motorbike, a grin spreading onto your face as you climbed into the side car asking, “Dad knows you have this?”

He nodded, “Of course. Fired off a message to him earlier bout the trip, said I could borrow it again.” He grinned at you settling onto it, fixing his coat around him, “After he went off to find Pettigrew he leant it to me to transfer Harry to the Dursleys the first time.”

A soft giggle left you fixing your flannel over your shoulders covering your spaghetti straps on your Darth Vader tank top that pooled in your lap over your overly pocketed black jeans tucked into your boots. “I remember him driving us around in this when I couldn’t sleep. Mum used to love it.”

He chuckled kick starting it before starting the drive down the street towards an abandoned block where he took off hitting the shielding knob as he did cloaking the underside of the bike in what appeared to be a small storm cloud following the breeze. Glancing over at you he asked, “You didn’t happen to read the papers?”

Peering over at him inside your protected bubble around the bike you asked, “About Mrs Crouch?”

He nodded, “I only ask, you didn’t happen to spot Barty Jr-?”

You nodded, “In Azkaban, ya. His cell was across from mine.”

“Bad shake that one got. Not even a trial, but, then again that’s how the ministry was, still is if you ask me, answers first, turn up a fist at those showing the proof.”

You nodded and then asked, “Any clue on who the new Defense Professor will be?”

“Oh, Quirrell is taking a whack at it.”

You nodded, “Who’s taking up Muggle Studies then?”

“New lad, some bloke named Tennant, uh, David, I believe.” After a pause he added, “Bout Snape’s age I reckon.”

“Hmm.”

“You signed up for it?”

You nodded, “Yes. Arithmacy, Runes, Divinations and Muggle Studies.”

“Ooh, full lot. Jewels would have been proud on that.” Making your smile inch out again as you smoothed your hair into a long messy braid to keep it from whipping around with your bangs you brushed back behind your ear. His free hand shifted to pat on your propped up knee, “An incredible marvel you are. Doesn’t take a seer to know you’re meant for great things.”

.

Peering ahead you watched the flowing storm you were following and passing through in your protected bubble. In the grey darkness night soon fell around you before you spotted an old ramshackle shed of a hideaway on a stone island on the edge of the sea. Waters crashed and swirled harshly around with sheets of rain pounding on the tilted and badly worn roof and walls of the two story structure. Landing on the seaside for lack of room on the island Hagrid led you to the water’s edge where he drew out a jar with a pair of Hippocampus inside. Opening it he eased them out into the choppy waters and guided you over to them and helped you onto one of their backs. Weakly you smiled at it and stroked the back of its neck in its glance at you happily while Hagrid eased onto his and led the way off to the island.

Around you the waters splashed over you both heavily while you clung to their necks drawing in a deep breath between massive waves they ducked under to spare you from its attack. At the shore they both waited for you watching as you dismounted and walked across the slick rocky path with your hand fixed on Hagrid’s offered arm to keep you steady in the blustering wind whipping your braid over your shoulder and your bangs into your face.

Knocking brought on no answer over the loud storm and with the door locked with seal melted into the handle against spells to unlock it Hagrid gave it one swift kick sending it down onto the dusty ground loudly. Behind him you walked through the doorway and stepped aside for Hagrid to ease the door up again, “Sorry bout that.” Waving a finger to mend the hinges into place again.

From the stairs you watched Vernon and Petunia climb down slowly with a shotgun aimed at Hagrid while Petunia’s eyes locked on you as you searched around the room for Harry. Vernon drew your eye saying in a far from terrifying tone, “Now, I’ll give you fair warning, you, you lot get out!”

With furrowed brows Hagrid walked over folding his hand around the barrel of the shotgun he folded upwards, “Dry up Dursley, you great prune.” With a blast of the shotgun that went through the roof your eyes locked on Petunia’s, “Now, we’ve come for the boy. He’s some shopping to do.”

Vernon, “You can’t take him. We swore when we took him in to put a stop to that foolishness.”

Stepping carefully around the fireplace you grinned spotting Harry, who raced over to you folding around your middle, “Jaqi!”

Giggling softly you asked, “You didn’t think we’d leave you out here, did you?”

Petunia, “He is not going!”

Looking up at her you stated, “You don’t have the right to refuse him an education.”

Petunia, “I will not have him turning out to be-,”

Tilting your chin you asked, “Be what? A freak?” She swallowed dryly pursing her lips, “That’s what I hear you called Mum and aunt Lily.”

Narrowing her eyes she asked in a mocking tone, “Isn’t this wonderful, we’ve a pair, witch, in the family.” Her head tilted slightly, “I saw them for what they were, them and that black haired boy, always running about muttering about that school. Look at what that got them! Blown up!”

Scoffing at her Harry stated, “You told me my parents died in a car crash!”

Hagrid huffed in disbelief, “A car crash?! A car crash killed Lily and James Potter?!”

Vernon, “We had to say something.”

Hagrid, “That’s madness!”

While Harry stepped behind you in your move closer to your aunt you locked your eyes with her, “Blown up?” her eyes watched the tear rolling down your scarred cheek exposed as you brushed your bangs back behind your ear, “You don’t know the half of it. You got to read it in a letter. Never had to see it yourself.” A tear streamed down her cheek seeing the pain in your eyes, “Harry is going to school.”

Vernon, “He will not!”

Your eyes locked on his shouting back, “What would you have us do? Hmm? Hide him away while the man responsible for tearing our worlds apart rises to power again searching for him?! Guess where he’ll come looking first!” Tilting your head to the side you asked, “How long do you think you’ll last? Till you get, blown up, too, hmm? You may not like me, you may never like me, but freak or no freak, you’re family, and I have so few relatives left I won’t let you get yourselves killed too in your own damn stubborn pride.”

Your eyes narrowed and before they could answer Hagrid said, “Come on lad. Best be off to beat the shops closing.” Harry nodded folding his hand around yours in your glance to Dudley, who watched your hair ripple from white to silvery blue again on your path to the door. Out into the rain again you led Harry to the waiting steeds you eased Harry on before you as Hagrid helped you on then mounted his own beside you. With the door sealed Hagrid grinned at you both, “Oh, by the way, Happy Birthday Harry.”

A grin spread onto his face as you whispered, “Deep breath.” Watching the next wave come rising up on your side, following the reminder he did folding around the creature while you folded around him in its duck under the water. Over to the shore you rode then dismounted for Hagrid to hide the pair away back into their jar to be taken back to Hogwarts again. 

Holding Harry’s hand you led him back to the waiting motorbike for the blustery ride back to the muggle streets outside the Leaky Cauldron where the bike was shrunken and passed to you, under your arm Harry walked with you inside the run down looking building. On his way through to the fireplace to head back to Hogwarts you waved at Professor Quirrell at the bar, who raised his glass to you with a grin in return in your path to Diagon Alley.

From your pocket you passed him his letter saying, “The Grangers are meeting us in Olivander’s and Regulus will have Neville with them. Molly asked us to pull together a set of supplies for the rest of the group she’s sending with Ron.”

His grin spread and he asked, “It’s not that hard, is it, studying in Hogwarts?”

“Only if you don’t try.” His eyes rose to the brick wall ahead of you curiously watching as you drew out your wand to tap it against a set pattern of bricks leaving the whispering crowd of Wizards in the dining hall behind you to enter the bustling city.

“What house do you reckon I’ll get?”

You shrugged, “Hard to say, Lily and James were in Gryffindor with Dad and Remus, though my mum was in Ravenclaw, Regulus got Slytherin, so it’s really a toss up. Either way, family is family, it’ll be hard to be rid of us with a sorting.”

Winding through the bustling crowds all turning with lips parted at the pair of you together, a few pictures were stolen for the Daily Prophet and along the way you were joined by Neville, who claimed your other side right away with Draco right beside him. Straight away Ron rushed to Harry’s with Hermione grinning happily in her bouncing stop between her parents by Regulus’ side while the twins moved behind you to rest their chins on your shoulders. While the Grangers eyed the bustling streets to Olivander’s, where each of the kids took their turns being guided to a wand of their own as Draco stole the chance to claim your side.

All together you watched as the total was counted up leaving the Grangers nipping at their lips realizing they had no currency for this world. A subtle tap at Hermione’s side turned her head to you seeing the coral coin pouch you offered her stirring a curious grin onto her face inspecting it, your soft, “Happy Early Birthday” spread her lips as she peeked inside spotting the hefty amount of coins in each of the separated sections stirring her to rush over to give you a tight hug.

Softly she stated, “Thank you. I won’t let you down.” You giggled to yourself in her trot to the counter where she counted out the right amount of coins while Regulus set the coins for the rest of the children around you.

Whispering to yourself, “I know.”

Fully paid you followed the full shopping list until it was all gathered up, an eager Witch however stepped out of the owl shop along the way stirring up your grin as she held out a snowy owl saying, “Hagrid asked me to deliver her myself to you.”

Gently Harry accepted her and she darted back inside granting you the path again to continue on again to finish your list until you were free to return home again. Inside you watched Harry and Ron dart off again as the twins carried off the requested supplies off to the burrow, mainly Percy’s, who had raced through your kitchen that morning stealing a victory hug from you as he screeched out happily that he was chosen as prefect and finally got to sit for his OWLS this year.

Off to their rooms Neville and Draco’s supplies floated as Hermione eyed her stack of textbooks happily, soon to be added to the few you had leant her years prior, behind her parents off home again with a glance at the time. At Draco and Neville’s sides you joined the twins in going to inspect their planter they had fixed up for a few difficult plants and one of your rare snake breeds that both feeds and helps trim them for protection.

.

In the muddle of days between your final trip through the Amazon your mind raced back to what Petunia had said, again and again you reminded yourself what Regulus and your father had assured you would happen, they would come around, it was all just pain. They needed someone to blame, someone to hate until they got to the other side of it, they would come around.

Each night however you would jolt up out of sleep panting at the odd dream of you speaking with Quirrell alone in his new classroom as he removed his turban. Steadily you would settle again after hearing your mother’s screams searing through your dream with a whisper of “Shh, Stay Hidden,” her last words to you. Exhaling slowly your hands rose to rub your face as your silver eyes shut, in your hunched pose you sat until you felt your heart steady again and you opened your eyes now in their usual shifting between green and purple. A turn of your head brought the sunrise to your attention making you roll your head and climb to your feet from your cot in the tent you were camped in with pitch black curls pooling down over your back. Readying before the others you started breakfast and sent them grins on their way to get changed.

Settling at your side Regulus settled his hand on your back asking, “Another bad dream?”

After a nod you said, “Yup.”

“Quirrell again?”

“I don’t get it. Just talking with him, and out of nowhere, just screams.”

Regulus nodded leaning in to kiss your forehead, “I’ll write to Snape, ask him to keep an eye on Quirrell.”

“Thank you.”

“Any other feelings, smells, hints at all?”

Wetting your lips you replied, “There was a raspy breathing, something about his viper in the cage along the wall. The snake seemed agitated at him, avoiding looking at me,”

Regulus nodded, “Like it knew he wanted to hurt you?” You nodded, “Ok, maybe he will be cursed, or hexed, possessed. I doubt Quirrell would harm you on his own.”

“I know, he didn’t seem himself.” Turning your eyes to the Twins you grinned at them and asked, “Scrambled eggs and toast?” They nodded and moved in to bring out the plates for you all passing the snake you had caught the day before that was willing to return with you avoiding having to re-home after its portion of the Amazon was being torn down.

Pt 11

[teddystrap]

[神なる君と] Spirit duo - Rei

なんかちょっとラストスパートな感じですけど…

Rei is the friendly spirit that Sakuya and co. met when they were investigating rumours about hauntings in the old school building. He’s arguably the most ‘mysterious’ character, since nothing is known about his former life, and I was super curious what his deal is. Not to mention he’s the final obstacle standing between me and Mikoto!! Ψ(￣∀￣)Ψケケケ

Truth be told he’s not really my type, though - since I’m not 15 anymore. I mean he’s a ghost but looks more like a forest elf / Mori Boy circa. 2001, and his voice sounds like it’s breaking. Compared to the other characters also he has a personality (or lack thereof) that is blander than konnyaku. In fact I found myself opening all the Yuzuru options in his common route first before going back and redoing them for Rei, because senpai saranghae I only wanna be wit u <3... 

Aaanyway.

-Mizuniwa Rei-

Rei-kun’s common route was actually quite revealing and interesting - in two of his ema, Mikoto actually asked to tag along, so it seemed like there might be some important information there idk. 

In his second ema, Mikoto tells Sakuya that she has the power to push people who are on the brink between Life and Death into one world or another, depending on what kind of guidance she gives.

Which in retrospect seemed like heavy foreshadowing for what’s about to come.

Fuu-san’s backstory was also revealed here:

Around 10 years ago, Fuu-san and his bff, a boy named Kawashina Yuuya, were students at Mikagurayama High School. One day they found a hidden basement storage room in the old school building, and turned it into their hang-out spot.

The basement used to be a bomb shelter, and had some books left over on occult spells and curses, that were used during the war to protect the townspeople. Fuu-san found a book with a spell to summon the powers of the Great Demon, and wanted to try it out of fun/boredom, but Yuuya was against it.

So Fuu-san did it by himself anyway. He got the sealed cursed box from the magical cave and took it back to the basement to perform the spell. Halfway through he passed out... and when he came to, he realised that Yuuya saved him by transferring the spell onto himself. 

Yuuya never woke up again, despite a lot of medical attention and whatnot. After half a year, Fuu-san decided to quit school and skip town to learn exorcism so that he can save his friend. But when he finally returned a few years later, Yuuya had already died...

Fuu-san lived with guilt all these years and thought that Yuuya died hating him. But when he went down to the basement with Sakuya to liberate his spirit, Yuuya’s spirit communicated through Sakuya that he doesn’t ever regret saving Fuu-san, and he hopes Fuu-san can stop blaming himself and go forward in life, smiling... By this point I was pretty much crying like a baby... ｡･ﾟ･(ﾉД｀)･ﾟ･｡

Oh how I wish there was a Su-sa-no-o in my neighbourhood, with a sexy store-owner like Fuu-san... 

But we’re not here to court Fuu-san (I wish we could, mang. I wish we could), so let’s get back to Rei. In his route Sakuya tries to help him to find out about his family and his past. She asks Aki for help ofc, and Aki reports back that she couldn’t find anyone matching Rei’s description in the database of deaths, nor the missing persons list...

And the mystery deepens dun-dun-DUN. This would’ve made for an interesting story development,... except the writers totally abandon it and instead opt for Rei and Sakuya frolicking around in the forest, true to his Mori Boy style (wholesomely tho, since they are both underage XD). Then Rei realises that he’s not long for this world, and he tries to put some distance between them - but Sakuya eventually convinces him that they should spend his last remaining time on earth together and make lots of beautiful (wholesome) memories.

There were a lot of group events in his route, which was nice since I got to see Yuzuru-senpai mucho. (Although he’s not an option here obvsly T_T)

You know I will happily choke on a fish bone for you, senpai <3.

So hoshimatsuri night, Rei undergoes the ceremony to pass into the other world. Sakuya stays home, because she’s not strong enough to go and say goodbye to him. Is this like deja vu from the Yorihito/Nisei story arc or what?? ...After that, Sakuya goes to the old school building one day after school, and finds a note from Rei. SURPRISE - he’s still here.

...

It turns out that Sakuya’s, uhh, clinginess is keeping him from successfully departing. At this rate he’s going to grow weaker and weaker and become trapped in the interstitial space between two worlds - forever. They keep communicating through notes, and through voice chatting over radio, while Sakuya grows enough balls to finally let him go.

Eventually she does. Because let’s face it - Otomate can’t afford to pay their seiyuu to carry on a story for like two gajillion chapters.

In his final moment of departure, he appears to Sakuya in a dream, but they can’t hear each other’s voice. Just as Sakuya is freaking out, he pulls her in and kisses her, then disappears into the ether. (*ฅ́˘ฅ̀*)♡

...I guess Yuzuru and Rei’s routes don’t work the same way as Narumi and Yakumo’s, bc you don’t get the alternative ending by choosing the ‘wrong’ option for the last couple of choices. I wasn’t strong enough for senpai’s bad end, but I was actually pretty curious about Rei’s, although all the same I wasn’t able to unlock it. Either way I hope he didn’t get stuck in between worlds forever, poor kid has been through enough.

1. Good end: Fast forward 10 years, Sakuya becomes a teacher at Mikagurayama High School, just as Rei had hoped. She still goes to the garden every day to take care of Rei’s flowers. The old school building is about to be torn down because it’s too old and might be a safety hazard. She’s on her way there one last time... when she gets a call from Aki, who finally found out what happened with Rei’s past-life investigation 10 years ago. Unfortunately Aki trips on something and the line cuts off before we get to hear it. _(:3」∠)_

So Sakuya is there happily watering her flowers, when guess who appears - ahem *Rei*, now all grown up. He tells her that this time he’s not a spirit anymore... and the scene just ends there. I’ve seen a lot of abrupt endings but this has gotta take the cake. Although I’ll admit adult Rei is kinda sorta smoking hot, so less talk more making out!

[Thoughts] What can I say? This route really didn’t explain as much as I thought it would, although there were some good bits. For one, the Fuu-san backstory really got to me. Fuu-san was always the side character that I was most curious about, since he seems kind of... shady, and like he might’ve had a colourful past. His arc really delivered, and it’s my favourite out of all the four side stories, although I loved them all in their own way.

I was expecting to find out about Rei’s past here, but I guess the writers are saving it for Mikoto’s route / wrap-up, which almost certainly means there’s going to be a surprise revelation. So I am looking forward to that and I hope they don’t fuck it up.

The route itself actually felt like it was mostly stuff that belongs in a fandisk, rather than an individual character route. All the group hangouts, and scenarios that reveal idiosyncrasies about the other characters (e.g. everyone’s drawings in the Fuu-san arc. I finally got to see Yuzuru-senpai’s kawaii creations! :3).

Senpai’s art totally unleashes his inner otome...

As expected, Rei failed to give me any doki-doki feels... except at the end, where we saw grown-up Rei and got to hear Iguchi Yuuichi’s normal voice for like 2 seconds. (I wish this game had a fandisk bc I *definitely* need more of that!!) From the other character routes I got the sense that he’s an iyashi-kei type of guy, and he’s probably the most consistent out of all of them, because he continues being selfless and caring about Sakuya before himself throughout - e.g. helping her to find her future path despite not having one himself. 

Still I gotta admit, when he confessed that he liked Sakuya, I did a silent fist-pump in the air, because FINALLY here’s a guy who said it first. I’m so tired of always having to make the first move >;(

Also the thing that Narumi said really touched me here: that Rei would rather choose a lonely existence as a spirit trapped between two worlds for the rest of eternity, than force Sakuya to let him go. Even when he was weakening, he never said anything to Sakuya. In a way he was perhaps the most adult-like one out of all of them. Admittedly I didn’t like Sakuya very much in this route. She seemed very self-absorbed and immature, refusing to face the truth. But eventually Narumi kind of slapped some sense into her (figuratively ofc, I mean Narumi would never actually slap her XD) and she did choose to do the right thing.

...I guess Narumi is determined to be the guy that has a crush on her and ‘saves her’ one way or another in every route. Kudos to him but he’s still only, like, my third or fourth favourite lols.

Lastly, I felt that this route was actually the most poetic + metaphorical one so far. (Maybe the other ones were, too, and I just wasn’t paying attention?) ...The metaphor of flowers bearing seeds that blossom into new flowers, bearing witness to their relationship and carrying on their legacy. When they first met the flowers were newly planted, and when they said goodbye they were just about to wither. 

Also Sakuya and Rei always met after class at sunset, the time between day and night - like the space between Life and Death. Idk mang but that’s, like, really beautiful or sumshit.

But this is the most poetic thing of them all~!

[karinrumi]

Gambler of Feelings - Chapter 17

Title: Gambler of Feelings.

Status: Ongoing

Rating: T

Wordcount: 2, 855.

Konoha High, One Year ago:

This is the story about the four people that made a mistake. First was too much naive in seeking a place to belong to, the second couldn't pick between love or friendship, the third blinded by their pride and the fourth that was the cause of it all.

Now when they think about it, it was just a mere coincidence that all three of them ended up in the same classroom. Whether it could be a fortunate one, or not is up to debate.

Boruto's assigned class was the class "C". He could feel the sense of dread about his upcoming high school life. As the principal son, he for sure will face prejudice or people approaching him with nasty intentions.

Walking towards the classroom assigned for the class "C", a faint scent of vanilla made the trip through bland hallway much more bearable. Decorations along the way were tasteless just like his dad.

Surprisingly the classroom he entered looked approximately normal. Empty desks, blackboard stained with charcoal and pleasant view through the seats next to windows. What brought his attention were two familiar figures writing something on the blackboard.

"Sumire and Shikadai…" he whispered in his state of shock. Boruto had a conviction they chose a different school, so why they were here? Deep in his thoughts about their reasons, he stopped paying attention to his surroundings.

"B-Boruto? I didn't know you were in the same class!" Class rep sudden shout startled him. He missed the moment when both she and Shikadai recognised his presence.

"Shouldn't I be more surprised you're both here, ya know?" he asked. Boruto's suspicions about them being here had a valid reason. Both Sumire and Shikadai supposedly planned to go to 'Suna High.'

"What a drag… Sumire should give you an explanation, not me." Shikadai couldn't stop his yawn. Yup, his childhood friend was talkative like no one ever was.

"Konoha High was our second pick on the list, can't you remember?" The sigh class rep let out started to hurt his personal pride.

"Now that you mention it I remember something like that, ya know! So Sumire do you plan to be a class rep in high school too?" What with that unimpressed gaze from Shikadai?! 'Class Rep' nickname was in danger if Sumire won't want to be one! It would be convenient if she is because she's used in dealing with his mischief.

"I don't know if I will. Maybe?" Sumire tilted her head in an overly-cute way. Damn, she saw through him like he was some sort of open book. 'Class Rep' could be really scary sometimes.

"Please, be class rep this year too! Without you being class rep when you're here everything can feel off, ya know?" How awkward of him to spell this out loud. It's too much big of favour since the 'class rep' didn't have any obligation to listen to his plea.

"My close friend from Suna was nervous about transferring to the city, so I ended up here. Though, it's troublesome," mumbled Shikadai. That was the nice life-saver! As excepted from his childhood bro that could tell how ridiculous his conversation with 'class rep' was.

"Oh, really? Introduce me to your friend someday, ya know!" Pretending to be excited, Boruto jumped as high he could. Crashing onto the floor wasn't the best first impression he did on the rest of slowly coming into the classroom his future classmates. But the thought that two of his friends being here was reassuring.

At that time feigning ignorance to his naivety and still seeking out for a place that he belongs to. He hurt just his own feelings in the end.

____________________

Sumire considered Shikadai just as a mere acquaintance. Of course, she was astonished when she met him in near the school building. After all, didn't he plan to enter Suna High just like her?

Setting aside the small chat that she had with her old friends and hiding her 'real' reason to be a student here, she spaced out during class rep election. Boruto's begging from before apparently had an effect of the promotional school election campaign. She won the votes from her classmates without doing anything. That irritated her to no end.

It's true that she always was 'class rep.' However, being one this year sounded boring. Even a small change in her position would be nice. At this point, she's stuck to the stigma of a 'class rep' forever.'

Echo of the school bell annoyed her more. But it was a sign that the time to meet Shikadai's friend is coming soon. During their talk, the guy asked her to accompany him because 'Asami' didn't have a lot of female friends. Sumire agreed for the old times' sake.

Walking into cafeteria filled with the smell of freshly baked bread, Sumire somehow noticed Shikadai waving towards her to join the table. Next to him was sitting slender looking girl that had green eyes and the long wavy platinum-blonde hair. Was it Asami? She looked similar to a doll with a bubbly personality than the real human. Maybe she shouldn't judge her based on the first impression?

"Hi, Shikadai! I g-guess that's the friend you talked about, right?" Sure, she stammered a little bit because she's nervous around meeting new people. But gathering the courage to join the table where both Shikadai and the doll-like person were sitting wasn't easy for Sumire Kakei. At least not now.

"Oh, it's a person I talked about to you, Asami. That's Sumire Kakei, Sumire the person sitting next to me is Asami Kinoshita." Shikadai eyes seemed to sparkle when introducing his 'friend' from Suna. Friend, right? For Sumire, it looked more like a one-sided crush. Nara wagging his puppy tail for that girl wasn't something she excepted.

"Nice to meet you, Lisa! Do you have speech problems?" Asami spoke up. The whole doll-like image Sumire had of her suddenly shattered to pieces.

"I'm Sumire, not Lisa. And my speech shouldn't concern you," she responded. All her willpower went into stopping herself in saying something ruder.

Sumire disliked Asami thinking of her as the person that had the sweet, innocent facade that went completely unnoticed by no one in school. Oh, stupid comments about her upbringing coming from Asami's mouth played a large part in it too.

Due to her too much prideful personality and an open-dislike for the girl, Sumire's warnings were not considered. If something else happened that day…

Maybe the warning she gave would have more meaning. And everything could change. But Sumire's personal pride got in the way.

The only thing Sumire Kakei wanted to know till this day is the entire truth. The truth about the girl that hurt her close friend.

__________________

Boruto ran away from his fangirls. Those girls were crazy and dedicated to tail him that far.

"They're just after me cause of my parents, aren't they? Being in the centre of attention sucks," he whispered. He was sure nobody will hear him here. After all, that's his favourite hiding place.

"Oh, you're the guy… Boruto Uzumaki!" Boruto recognised the owner of this voice. Was he so out of it he didn't notice the girl sitting in front of him?!

"Asami, what are you doing here?" he inquired. Maybe it was the stupid thing to do, but at this moment he didn't care about it.

"Sitting as you can see! Is there something wrong? You look really like a beaten puppy right now." Asami shook her head in worry. How pathetic. Being an optimist was his speciality, not this girl.

"I just feel overwhelmed by the other people putting high expectations around me, ya know? It doesn't help I don't know what to do either," his small confession and feelings he hid until now came out.

"Oh, I mean every person feels down sometimes. You're just a human like me! Aren't you good at gaming?" Asami started to spin as if some idea popped into her head. What is she? A ballerina? And when she got into a position to be his personal counsellor?!

"I like to play in games, but I wouldn't call myself a professional gamer." For a moment he forgot how bad he's feeling.

"Why do you not to try to take part in the upcoming gaming tournament? I feel you have a knack for it!" she clenched her hands into fists. Did he really give an image of a professional gamer? The idea itself wasn't that bad.

"If you think I have a knack for it, why not? I can even be the president of the club for people that enjoy playing in games, ya know!" Maybe he acted too hasty, but for some reason need to impress this girl won over his any remaining doubts.

"See? You still have reason to live for the future." Asami made a peace sign. He really appreciated the gesture she did to try to improve his bad mood. It was the first time when he let someone see him in this state.

After their first real conversation, they started meeting up in Boruto's hiding spot. Talking about various things and the future plans involved gaming was in his daily routine now. It's no wonder he fell in love. He even successfully could be called Asami's boyfriend.

That's how they all met her. And that's how Boruto love for her was the cause of everything that happened.

____________________

"Did you hear, Shikadai? Boruto started to date Asami!" Sumire felt an obligation to inform him about this shocking news.

Shikadai shrugged. "It's a drag… I'm happy for them, really."

That was obviously his lie, but Sumire didn't plan to give up. Something was wrong with that 'Asami' girl.

"I'm telling you something is wrong with your so-called friend! Can you at least listen to my warnings?" It's the only hope she had for Shikadai to take action and warn Boruto too. But her words weren't enough.

Because Shikadai couldn't pick either love or friendship. Both were a precious gem for him. His inability in choosing sides hurt every party.

"Can you stop, Sumire? I know you dislike Asami, but it's not really your business. Stick your nose into something else, okay?" Due to mixed up emotions welling up inside of him, Shikadai got unreasonably mad.

That day friendship that could form between them came to a halt. Sumire stopped her usual mornings' greetings directed at Shikadai, and he started to ignore her as well.

All three of them were just fools back then. 

__________________

Boruto was really nervous that day. He somehow managed to convince both Sumire and Shikadai to join his club and the gaming tournament.

All those cameras around made him extremely nervous. There was a lot of the clubs competing and gathering at different gaming tables, or sometimes even fancy platforms. A place where the audience could watch his matches from a safe distance, for sure didn't make him feel calm

Maybe that's why he bumped into a girl with short jet-black hair and red glasses. He shouted out his apology, but it seems she completely ignored him.

The feeling of anxiety passed when Boruto started to play with his competition. His club destroyed all the others on various games. It was so humiliating for those losers that a break was announced due to some complication about some 'cheater'. Well, that so-called cheater wasn't a person he took an interest in.

Walking towards the backstage when the short break started, suddenly he froze. He couldn't believe what was transpiring in front of him.

Asami kissed flustered Shikadai that pushed her away. They were screaming. At some point, she cried. Boruto stopped to care, his mind went blank. All the things he believed in his best friend, girlfriend and future shattered. And the sudden realisation struck. Asami was using him, she wanted to get closer to Shikadai, not him.

His personal feelings, the fear of being used were now true. And that hurt like someone cut his heart in half. That pain was so real he'll never forget it.

"A-Asami, S-Shikadai…" Boruto cried out to them. His friend and girlfriend expression were terrified. Like he's some kind of monster. Why? Was he really that selfish? Naive? So incompetent in love that his friend and person he loved betrayed his trust?

Asami knew about his fear of being used. And she took advantage of that knowledge. He couldn't forgive her, even if he could try. Never. In the end, he broke up with her for Shikadai's sake too. Because it doesn't matter if Shikadai betrays his trust, he was still his childhood friend.

Running away from them and giving up in the tournament was the main action he took afterwards. Even if losing meant he'll never announce to everyone Asami is his girlfriend, or give her a surprise he planned. Everything he did had no meaning. Eh? Are those tears that are falling on his cheeks?

Feelings can be indeed cruel sometimes. That's the conclusion Boruto Uzumaki arrived at after some time passed and he received a letter from Asami.

Dear Boruto and Dai!

I owe an honest apology to you both. I didn't want to hurt anyone, but I guess it couldn't be helped in the end.

The president of Boruto's Fanclub learned about me having a crush on Shikadai and the secret talks I had with Boruto. At first, it was nothing major, but later I got dangerous threats telling me what to do.

I was so scared that I did everything I was instructed to do. Terrible things. Like accusing that one poor girl as a cheater and leading you all on.

I'm really sorry! Please forgive me… I won't show up in your lives anymore too, so let's all move on.

PS - Don't show this letter to Sumire. She already disliked me, so what's the point?

                                                                     From wishing you good luck, Asami.

The content of the letter helped him and Shikadai to move on. They didn't tell Sumire about what happened between them. Later on, their old friend Chō-Chō and a completely new member joined the club. But the pain and the past grudges remained till this day.

___________________

Back to the Present Day:

"That's the whole story." Boruto summed everything up being grateful Sarada, Mitsuki and Sumire are patient listeners.

"Uwawa! You should tell me about the letter, even if you knew about my dislike towards the girl." Sumire couldn't help but comment bitterly. Instead of being secretive, everything would get resolved if they talked to her from the start.

"You're quite scary when you mad. It's a drag," Shikadai put his input about events that happened in the past. But he sensed Boruto wanted to ask Sarada something important right now.

"Hey, Sarada… You said you know Asami. How exactly you're connected to her?" Boruto tried to calm down. Telling a story about his emotional scars wasn't easy for him.

"I'm the accused cheater. Asami approached me under the guise of friendship and framed for cheating during the tournament. We were… close friends." That's all Sarada had to say about the girl. She forgave Asami Kinoshita long ago. Holding a grudge now was pointless. But the feeling of betrayal will always linger.

"I see… I'm sorry," said Boruto with a warm smile. He even walked up to her and stroked her hair to show he's really sorry. It made Sarada incredibly embarrassed. At this point she suspected patting her was the new hobby that he desperately looked for in the past.

"I-It's not your fault." This situation was bad for her heart. Every time Asami name was mentioned, Boruto smiled.

Sarada hated it. She wanted to be the person that makes him smile in that way. Not some another girl! At the same time, she hated herself for being jealous too. God, she needs help. Boruto is just too kind and handsome.

"Thank you." Boruto response pulled at her heartstrings more. She needed to change the subject. Think Sarada, think! Before your cheeks will turn as red like tomatoes.

"So what about the game tournament this year? Do you want to participate?" Sumire question was a life-saver. She needs to say 'thank you' to her later.

"I have nothing against it, but my mom will." It was the truth.

"That's okay. This day is exhausting. Let's meet up tomorrow. You can flirt with Boruto later," she winked in her direction. Wha-What? Wasn't Sumire on her side?! Not being able to look any club member in the eye Sarada exited the clubroom.

And that's when she remembered about the bet. The bet that didn't have any progress. Eh, she promised to buy a new phone together with Boruto tomorrow before she got engaged in a story he was telling!

Is it a date?

That type of delusions flew into her thoughts. It's official if it continues she'll turn into Chō-Chō. But if that's possible… She wanted to help Boruto to heal from his pain.

_____________________

AN: I hate that tumblr rid of horizontal lines for me. It’s disappointing. Some exposure and explanations why Boruto and Shikadai were hurt by Asami!

Your clumsy author - Karinrumi :)

[pasteltofus]

Going to America Camp

Around 40-ish of the first-year students go to America each year during their summer vacation, and I was asked to teach 90-minute classes twice a week at night to help the students prepare. So for the past four weeks, my nights have been pretty hectic. I had the America Camp Mondays and Wednesdays, and dance class Tuesdays and Thursdays. (I also started private Korean tutoring on Wednesdays and I had 15 minutes to get from CWHS to the cafe we meet at.) It was my first time teaching in a co-ed classroom. After the first class where the boys and girls completely ignored each other, I decided to change things up a bit. For the first hour of class, I let the students sit wherever they want, and during the second half, I assigned mixed gender teams at each table. By the third class, the boys and girls were working well together. Yay!

For the class itself, I went over basic U.S. History, culture, manners, things to do and don’t do, and reviewed their itinerary together. Here are some of the activities that we did.

Instagram 

After I went over the itinerary, I had students draw themselves at one of the places they were going to visit. I told them that they could take the same photo once they actually get to America and send it to me. Most of the students drew themselves at Niagra Falls, where they’ll actually be on the Canadian side, though. 

Human Maze

I was inspired by fellow ETAs Curtis and Manisha and wanted to have the students play the game where they tell directions to one blindfolded person and guide them through a maze of other students. What I didn’t account for was the mixed genders…so in the mostly boys class, the girls just shied away and it was basically just the boys trolling each other, with the blindfolded guy constantly being scared of accidentally touching a girl. Regardless, it was pretty funny and everyone had a good time. My stomach hurt from laughing. The boys were really surprised that the eye mask blocked out everything.

Brochures

I briefly went through the locations that they’d be going to (New York, Boston, Washington, D.C.) gave them all handouts with a little info blurb on each attraction. Then I told the students to choose a city and make a brochure for it. One of my kids went on my computer, pulled up the Wikipedia page on Boston, and read and summarized the information into a little history paragraph on his brochure. I was so impressed.

In one class a small fight between a Boston Celtics fan and a Boston Red Sox fan happened. (they’re not even the same sport omg) I came over to one table to see two brochures covered with angry green and red scribbles. Celtics fan:  TEACHER! LOOK AT WHAT HE DID. Me: What happened here? Red Sox fan: He said he would make my brochure pretty. THEN HE DRAW GREEN ALL OVER. Celtics fan: Nooooo, Teacher. Noooo. He ruin my brochure. ㅠㅠ Me: Are you guys elementary school students? Both, accusatory fingers out: HE!!!

Pronunciation Drills

I went over some common pronunciation mistakes. I said a word out loud and had them circle the correct one. (SIT vs SEAT, VERY vs. BERRY, WORD vs. WORLD) For example, everyone always pronounces sit as seat. (“Please seat down!”)  It was funny because at first everyone rolled their eyes like “Please Teacher we’re in an advanced high school” and then as soon as I said “SEAT,” a confused silence spread throughout the classroom, followed by nervous laughter. Then it was chaos. “TEACHER SAY ONE MORE TIME PLEASE.” “TEACHER, SAY SLOWLY. SLOOOOOW!!” Me: “SEEEEEEEAT” The same thing happened with “ship” and “sheep.” (“SHEEEEEEP”) I think this was one of my favorite parts of the camp since I actually felt like I was helping the students. Shout out to Lauren for coming up with this lesson.

Speed Quizzes

Nothing gets my students more pumped up than a chance to show off their short-term memorization skills. I did a short speed quiz after my brief U.S. History 101 and also for Konglish. I’m always amazed at my student’s supernatural ability to remember numbers. Every team remembered Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492. For Konglish, I gave them a sheet of about 50 words and told them they had 5 minutes to memorize the English meaning of the Konglish word. They got REALLY into it. Some teams strategically divided up the words to memorize and then got really excited when they saw their word on the projector. (“OH! MY WORD MY WORD. I KNOW”) I hope everyone will remember “Where is the outlet” instead of “Where is the consent” when they go to America.

Scattegories

Scattegories is a game where you have to list words that belong to each category (ex. Breakfast foods, animals) that all start with a given letter of the alphabet. If two teams have the same word for the same category, that word doesn’t count. (ex. Letter is “C” and both teams put down cereal for breakfast foods) I meant to have this as a warm-up game, but it took half an hour. When I gave candy to the team that won the first round, there was a HUGE outburst since nobody knew that there were STAKES involved. When we moved into the second round, people took things seriously. Some teams had multiple answers prepared and were trying to switch them out last minute and other teams were physically blocking others from looking at their list as another member wrote on the whiteboard. I heard one group fiercely discussing whether or not I would accept “Turtle” for “Things found in a park.” “There are so many at the 호수고원! (Lake Park)”

The students were very creative. I gave the letter “T,” and I got answers like Trump’s House (vacation places), Tony Stark (things that can fly), Tonight (things that are dark), and T-underwear (clothes). A major disaster was narrowly avoided when I didn’t know what T-underwear was so I told the student I would Google it to verify. Immediately all 25 students shouted “NOOO TEACHER NO GOOGLE!!” (It’s basically a thong lmao I should have known.)

Cards Against Humanity - CWHS Vers.

While I was cleaning out my desk at the end of last semester, I dug up an old relic: Haley’s homemade CWHS Cards Against Humanity. I took out some of her inside jokes with her students (I was going to add mine but ran out of time) and it was a hit. On the very first example, I was going through with one group, the card was “I think that _____ is sexy” and the student who was the Card Czar laughed and showed me his cards which included “Your mom.”

Since I’m not going with the students on the trip, I took a photo with them and photoshopped various touristy places into the background. For the last class, I passed out photos to each class. Student: Are these photos from last year? Me: No, this is us! You don’t remember? This is when we went to the Empire State Building. Look, that’s you. Student: …Ah.

Although these past four weeks were so hectic, I would do it all over again. My students are so worth it.

[queeniewritesce]

Shall We Dance 3/?

“You okay over there?” Chris asks her during halftime, the Patriots opening a three-drive advantage over the Tennessee Titans and making Chris feel good about the game. Lucy was seated by the wall and Chris had to cross over five chairs to get to her, moving to sit by her side. Most of his friends left for the bathroom or the bar, leaving him and Lucy when neither of them didn’t move after the whistle. “You’re being oddly quiet and Penny’s worried.”

He watched Lucy worry her bottom lip, her teeth moving back and forth over the plump lower lip. He was sure she was debating over giving him a feeble excuse or talking freely with him. He wished for the latter, Chris was tired of girls using headaches or that time of the month to justify their moods.

“I have a…” well, here comes the excuse then he gazed at her disappointed while she made to look at the field to avoid him. The next second he could feel something inside her snapping back in place, her eyes meeting his. “You know what, no, I do not have a headache. I feel perfectly fine health-wise, but I do have a lot on my head. I don’t appreciate being treated like a piece of meat, a fat piece of meat at that, and some of your friends are pig heads.”

Chris stared at her, somewhat pleased she was forthcoming with him and at the same time getting mad someone he considered a friend mistreating another.

“What Samuel said to you?” his stare was hard when he got up, never breaking eye contact. “He can be an ass sometimes, I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize for something you didn’t do Chris,” Lucy offered him a smile, stilling his walk when she grabbed his hand. “As I said, I do have a lot on my mind and sometimes I let a bad memory filter through the forefront and that freezes me for a moment. Most of the time though I’m a tough cookie, I can dish back whatever I receive.”

She gave him her meanest face, dissolving into laughter right after.

“Oh right, that was terrifying, I’m shaking in my Nikes.” He sat next to her, his half-full cup of beer in his hand. He brought the cup to his lips, finishing it all at once. “Seriously though, I’ll talk to him, he knows I hate when he pulls that shit. If there is one thing I don’t tolerate is disrespecting women.”

“He called me a stripper!” she giggled and downed whatever little wine was left inside her own plastic cup and grabbed his, getting up and throwing both on the can next to the wall before resting her bum on the rail in front of him.

“He what?” Chris was on his feet so fast he swayed a little. “I’m kicking him out right now.”

“Calm down Chris, seat your ass back down and relax,” she pushed him back gently and he was dumbfounded, a confused expression on his face his free hand raised in a ‘what’ question at her. “He’s not the first and certainly won’t be the last to call me that or even worst. Guys don’t usually understand that you can pole without taking off your clothes, as stripping is ordinarily their introduction to the craft.” She got comfortable, leaning a little lower on the rail, her legs stretched in front of her between both of his. She had on brown boots that reached almost to her knees but no heels, she was dressed for comfort he noted, but even she wasn’t trying to impress him, she already had. He closed his legs trapping her and oh why he loved that laugh so much?  “Not that there’s anything wrong with stripping, it’s hot as hell when you know what you’re doing.”

The temperature around them was board line freezing, but Chris felt warm at her words. He had been to his fair share of strip clubs, some raucous trips to Vegas coming back to him.

“Have your ever? I mean, did you ever… God, don’t answer that, I sound just like a pervert, I have no right to ask you that.” He ran a hand through his hair and face, exhaling to right his mind. Calm down man, what are you, nineteen?

“I don’t mind answering to be honest, we’re just talking.” Her right foot moved back and forth with the music filtering down from the speakers. Lucy gathered her hair to her left side and brought it forward to rest over her ample chest and Chris was undecided if he wanted to gently run his hand through the tresses before resting it on her breast or grab it to pull her towards him and run his nose between the valley of her bosom. In the end, he chose neither, his hand flexing and opening again to try and release of the tension his body was feeling. She grinned; “Ask whatever Chris.”

“Who usually chooses the pole dance classes?” he tried a safe question first even though he knew exactly what he wanted to ask.

“You’d be surprised!” she sounded like she had a secret and he made a mental note to ask why later. “We have housewives who want to plus their sexual lives, executives who want to let go of their everyday lives for a couple of hours, surgical doctors who want the limberness and the dexterity pole dance offers. And of course, we have the girls working the poles for money, either pros who need to learn something new or a beginner who can barely bend and reach her toes. And the best thing is that anyone can do it you know, they can be as small as Kate Moss thin or as big as Tess Holiday, it doesn’t matter, as long as you have core strength you can do a routine.”

Her passion shinned while she spoke and Chris couldn’t help but smile with her.

“And do you do personalized routines for the working girls?”

“Sometimes we come up with stuff together, sometimes they just want help with an angle or how to go from one move to the next seamless and as graceful as possible. And when I say graceful, I mean sexy.” Lucy explained. “Sometimes I go to their club so I can see the space they have to work with it. Some routines use chairs or the floor and not only the pole itself.”

An image of her on the floor, legs encased in black stockings and heels flashed in his mind and a small moan crossed his lips. He scooted over the chair, and his crotch made contacts with her calf when he hugged her legs with his own, hands on her knees.

“For some reason, I can’t see you performing in a club…” he playful tapped the side of his face. “I mean, not that you wouldn’t be amazing, but… No, you’d want a captive audience for that.” He tilted his head and looked at her a little sideways, an eyebrow raising and giving her a heat look when a beautiful blush tinted her cheeks, his cock twitching at the thought of her braless in front of him, her ass rotating with the rhythm while she grounded herself on him. His hands went grazed over the backside of her knees, going up till they rested near her buttocks to hold her in place, fingers sprawled on the backside of her thighs, squeezed lightly when he looked up at her. “I bet you have a routine for each of your favorite songs, don’t you? Outfits picked and everything.”

She licked her lips and nodded, unable to form words at his forwardness. The hand that previously combed through her own hair trailing down her body, giving her own breast a squeeze before coming to a rest on his biceps. The green of her eyes was brighter, her pupils dilated.

“I don’t see a question in there Chris.” Her voice was low and raspy, and it did things to his cock.

“You’re a flirty little thing, aren’t ‘ya?” he chuckled and sighed right after when her other hand took hold of his chin, caressing lazily through his beard. Chris looked her straight into the eyes before posing his question, “Are you gonna dance for me, sweetheart?”

Chris turned his head slightly and captured her thumb with his lips, sucking lightly before nipping at the pad of her finger, still holding her gaze and winking before sucking more of her thumb into his mouth. She shivered and moaned softly, and he was glad there were quite a few seats empty, guaranteeing their privacy. He didn’t want anyone hearing her moans but himself.

Lucy righted herself and her blush intensified when her movements put her mound right near his face but he was holding her gaze waiting for an answer. The hand that holds his arm moved and she cupped his chin with both hands.

“Yes, I will."

--..--..--..--..--

This had been the longest second-half of any Patriots games in recorded history. It was like Tom Brady knew that he wanted to leave as soon as possible so he could fuck the soft, beautiful girl seated next to him and decided that all snaps would end up with the ball out of bounds. He was favoring short passes over big plays and advancing yard by yard. Brady was a cockblocker, Chris was sure of that.

After their exchange during half-time, Chris moved places, seating himself next to the fiberglass wall that separated all suites and pulling Lucy on the seat next to him. He took a hold of her hand and didn’t let go even when Guillermo handed him three cups of beer stating he wasn’t going back to the bar. He also brought Lucy two plastic cups of wine and she drank half the contents of one almost immediately, saying her mouth felt dry.

Chris had Garret kindly ask Samuel to seat as far from them as possible going as far as to say that he was welcomed to stay if he kept his mouth shut. The blonde man skulked but went on to chat with a brunette that was friends with Dix’s brother. Looking around he realized he knew no more than ten people milling about and he made a mental note to reevaluate who should be invited next game.

The third quart was over and he looked at his watch, three thirty p.m. With some luck his team would get it together and don’t let the Titans score again and for fuck’s sake, stopping punting on every drive.

He threw his hands up and cheered when Malcolm Butler intercepted the ball, high-fiving his friends, but the Patriots had to punt after a penalty stalled them near the forty-yard line. He groaned and picked on the skin of his pinky finger, almost ripping his nail off when the Titans scored a touchdown in a drive that lasts less than 15 seconds.

“FUCK THIS.” Chris chugged the rest of his second beer, cursing loudly. He sat with a huff, grabbing her hand again. “Not a word from you woman,” a stern look on his face. “This is what happens you bring a Giants fan to the temple. And don’t you roll your eyes at me.”

She did just that while taking a sip of her wine. Penny and her big mouth had disclosed Lucy was a diehard Giants fans, with season tickets to prove it, while they went to get drinks and Garret almost gloated when he informed Chris he was consorting with the enemy.

“You Bostonians are way into this team. It’s like a religion… better yet, a cult!” her empty cup was back on the ground, a smirk on her lips. “At least I admit when my team does something wrong you know. You people worship Brady like he was a goddamn gold idol, even after deflate-gate.”

“Don’t you go spouting heresies inside the temple! Are you insane?” Chris gave her an exasperated look before softening his features; he was feeling the tiniest bit drunk after so many beers, enjoying this time with his friends and the girl by his side. But now she’s talking crazy!

Lucy threw her head back and laughed out loud, mirth dancing in her eyes.

“You guys are so easy to rile up,” turning her body to him, she placed a hand on the inside of his thighs, rubbing small circles there. “I’m sorry I offended Boston’s number one boyfriend, is there any way I can make it up to you?”

Chris should’ve been offended by her dissident comment about Brady, but her apt fingers reached the inseam of his jeans, pausing there for a moment before making they way back to his thighs and all thoughts quickly left him.

He dropped his gaze to her curved mouth, getting as close as possible without touching her. He wanted to kiss her badly, run his lips down her jaw and pull at her lips with his owns lips, but he refused to have their first kiss where thousands of cell phones would surely capture that intimate moment. They both wetted their lips at the same time and the gesture drove Chris nuts. Fuck the cameras, I need to taste her.

Just then the Patriots scored a field goal and people all around them went nuts. Getting out of their seats and jumping, flags clasped in their hands.

Chris seized the moment and captured her lips in a kiss, moving slowly, first her heart-shaped upper lip and then her full bottom lip, his teeth pulling and drawing a moan from her. His tongue followed where he teeth pulled, soothing the bite. Lucy opened her mouth a little, welcoming the exploration of his tongue. She tasted like an opulent wine, and it warmed him in the freezing weather.

Their mouths moved together till air become imperative. Opening his eyes Chris was met with the most beautiful sight of her face almost flush with his, her cold red nose touching his cheek, red lips turned into a blissful smile. And when her eyes opened, he felt something running all the way from his head down his back and up to his chest, settling content near his heart. They took a few seconds looking into each other’s eyes before he brought his hands to her neck and the side of her head, pulling her into him again for one more taste.

He'd do anything to get back home as soon as possible, game be damned.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Wan High Weeping (Part 51)

She couldn’t believe that she was missing her first day of senior year. Katara was going to kill her for sure, if the stress didn’t get there first. She squeezed her mother’s hand, happy to have it there. For as much as the woman vowed to not get involved with the raising of her baby, the woman was doing a bad job of sticking to her word.

Not that Suki had an protests there.

Breathing and body temperature problems were an on and off again problem since Jing-Zao’s birth. The baby hadn’t enough body fat to protect her from hypothermia. And her lungs had formed as immaturely as she.

‘How is Jing-Zao?’ Katara texted the question.

‘I’ll let you know when I figure it out.’

Suki had been allowed to take her baby home a month after having her but she was right back in the ER almost immediately with some sort of flu. And then a case of whooping cough. They had told her after the third trip that this was the result of a poor immune system.

She would be surprised to find that Jing-Zao’s immune system had failed again.

They had already been at the hospital for over an hour. She hated having to call Sokka again. He was probably already in the middle of a morning class.

But their baby was having breathing troubles again.

Over and over again, in her head, she wondered what she could have done to have prevented the preterm birth. But when it came down to it, the only thing she could have done was not have a baby at all. She squeezed her mother’s hand.

Even going back to Wan High was a better option than this.

.oOo.

Toph frowned to herself, according to Katara, Suki would be missing the first day again. She was glad she didn’t have babies to deal with, it seemed like such a handful. The only baby she’d have to worry about was Appa.

“Don’t let him bite anyone.” Poppy cautioned. “We can’t afford another lawsuit.”

“I know, mom.” Toph grumbled. “Appa’s a good dog, he won’t bite anyone.”

Poppy pulled her into a crushing hug. “Don’t push yourself too hard today. If you have any trouble, if they aren’t accommodating…”

“I don’t need accommodation.” The less they accommodated, the better. The less changes that were made, the better. “And, don’t worry, I can walk myself to the bus.” Before Poppy could protest, Toph took off. She sprinted down the sidewalk, eyes locked on Aang.

“Hey Twinkle Toes!” She greeted.

He jumped.

“Any higher and I’d think you were practicing hurdles for the track team.”

“Soccer is good enough for me.” Aang replied.

One of these days she was going to have to find a way back onto the team. “Guess what?”

“What.”

Toph whipped out a brand new backpack. “Now that Mai’s family dropped the lawsuit, things are getting back on track. I can go to better eye doctors now. The kind that don’t try to mess the whole thing up.” She reached down to hand Appa a treat. “So, Twinkle Toes, what kind of drama do you think Wan High has in store for us this year?”

“Hopefully none.” Aang rolled his eyes. “We got more than enough of it last year. I was hoping to have a quiet year with Haru.”

“A quiet year? With me?  I don’t think so, Twinkle Toes!” She rolled her eyes. “Yeesh, all of that drama, and I missed it.” She had gotten the tail end of it, but it seemed like all of the action seemed to happen when she was gone. Frankly she would have loved to have been around to witness exactly what had led Azula to come to Katara’s party so many months ago. But then again, she couldn’t have promised that she wouldn’t have made an ill-placed comment or two.

“Trust me it’s not the kind of drama you would have wanted to be around.”

“Eh...I suppose that I got enough of my own last year anyways.” Toph shrugged. She was just glad to be returning to school at all, especially after so many threats from her mother about being transferred to a specialized school.

The bus pulled into the stop. “Ladies first.” Toph motioned Aang ahead.

Aang stepped onto the bus. “I missed your jokes.”

“You missed my jokes?” Toph replied. “I missed making them!” She missed almost a whole year’s worth of witty jokes and opportunities to be sarcastic. “Don’t worry, I’ve saved up a whole year’s worth of ‘em. Gotta make up for all of the jokes I missed. I’ve even come up with some new nicknames for everyone.” Of course they didn’t know it yet, but they would as soon as an opportunity presented itself.  “Spike better like hers.”

Frankly she was looking forward to getting to know her better, the amount of Usha jokes they could make together...she saw so much potential. Alright, so it was more like, she sensed so much potential.

She hoped that there was as much potential in the partnership her father was considering with Teo’s father. “So, Haru is friends with Teo, right?”

“Yeah.” Aang replied. “Why.”

“I hope he has a sense of humor because, we’re about to get to know each other pretty well.”

“Teo can take a joke.” Aang replied.

“Perfect.” Toph grinned. “If I don’t run into him today,” which with Appa as her eyes was a real possibility.  “Can you ask Haru to mention my name?”

“Sure thing, Toph.”

“Knew I could count on you, Twinkle Toes.”

.oOo.

Sokka stepped into the hospital. The commute had taken much longer than he had anticipated. “Hey, Suki.”

Suki pulled him into a hug. “I’m just so tired of the hospital.”

She looked exhausted. Not that he didn’t share her sentiments. But he was only missing move in day. This hospital visit was costing her the first day of school. “Are you sure you don’t want to go to class, I think I can take over this one.”

“It’s just icebreaker and syllabus day. They’re the same every year.” She declined. “I wouldn’t be able to focus anyways, Sokka.”

“She’s gonna be fine.” Sokka assured. “If she’s anything like you then she’s not going to give up that easily.”

Suki sighed. “You’re right…”

So far Jing has pulled through everything else. He didn’t see why this case would be any different. He motioned for Suki to sit in his lap and squeezed his hand. “Hey, my days of cleaning up highway and trash and garbage under bridges are almost over. By the time she’s able to get on her feet and walk, I’ll be around to help her do it.”

“Well I hope so.” Suki muttered.

The look on her face still said he was in deep waters for making her endure most of the crying over the summer. And her mother still had to warm up to him. “Hey, I promise. I let Katara down, I’m not gonna let you and Jing down too.”

.oOo.

Aang held his head as high as he could as he walked passed Hide.

“How’s my favorite priss? Did you boyfriend treat you like a princess over the summer?”

“You bet he did.” Haru took Aang’s hand. “With a mustache this majestic who wouldn’t feel like royalty after a kiss.” With his free hand he locked a finger gun on Hide.

“That’s disgusting.” Hide scrunched his nose.

“Someone isn’t handling the single life very well.” Chan put in.

“Since when did you play for the geeks?” Hide scowled.

“Since my ex decided to go and be one of them, I guess.” He shrugged.

“Whatever.” Hide muttered. “If you want to let the faeries feel you up, that’s your deal.”

“Boy, underclassmen are wild these days.” Chan noted.

“Says house party guy.” Aang interjected.

Haru burst out laughing. “I love you Aang, but I think Toph has a thing or two to teach you about insults.”

“Your mustache is an insult to your face.”

“Better.” Haru replied.

“I don’t know, I thought that one was pretty clever.” Chan replied propping himself up against a locker.

“What brings you to this part of the hallway?” Haru asked.

He held up the sheet of paper showing his locker number.

“Looks like we’re going to see each other a lot.” Aang noted, motioning to the locker two away from his. It would seem like luck was on his side this year. Chan was still gorgeous, but this time without the disastrous personality. If he got really lucky, the ex-jock might even act as a line of defense against Hide.

Heaven knew he was going to need that now that he was in a more open relationship.

But he had promised Haru that he wasn’t going to let anything scare him away from sneaking kisses in the hallway or on the bleachers during games--that is, if Haru could ever convince him to get near a football match.

“Hey, thanks for sticking up for me.”

“No problem. I’ve decided to put my assholery to good use.” Chan shrugged.

“You going to be hosting more parties?” Haru asked.

“Yeah, still hosting the homecoming and Halloween ones.” Chan replied. “Guest list is gonna be more exclusive though. If you and your guy haven’t been traumatized, you can come again.” He paused. “One rule though.”

“Yeah?” Aang asked.

“No sheet ghosts allowed.” Chan said. “Gotta be more original than that since we’re going to have less costumes to choose from. Don’t worry, you’ve got a whole month and thirty-one days to think about it.”

“Thirty days.” Haru corrected.

“Whatever, dork.”

“Alright, no sheet ghosts.” Aang replied. He’d have to settle for curtains.

“I gotta get going.” Aang replied. “I heard Zhao is awful.”

Chan visibly cringed. “Good luck little loser. You’re gonna need it.”

But Aang didn’t think so, so far everything was going well. If anyone could suck up to Zhao and get a good grade, it was him. He didn’t think he had much to worry about, he had a good feeling about this year.

.oOo.

Jing-Zao squirmed around in her arms. It wasn’t good news, but she supposed it was much better than she had fretted. After hours of monitoring, the doctors had declared that the girl had a case of asthma. Another good hour or so was dedicated to learning all about how to care for the condition.

“I’m going to drive with Sokka, mom. If you want you can take my car.” She leaned in and let the woman hug her. “Thanks for coming today. It means a lot to Sokka and I. Right?”

“Absolutely.” Sokka agreed. “Jing would like to have time with two gran-grans.”

Suki rolled her eyes. She had to get him to stop calling them ‘grans’. Granted it was much better than his first idea, ‘the gran squad’. “And two grandfathers.”

Her mother sighed. “He’ll come around Suki. Just keep rocking the baby in front of him and he’ll come around.”

Suki didn’t doubt that. He had the same reaction when she’d brought a stray cat home as a child.

Back in the comfort of her home, she tickled Jing’s tummy, relieved and elated to hear the baby’s coo. She was mostly healthy and she was happy. And that had to count for something. Even if she and Sokka had a long way to go.

A really long way.

She sent Katara a text. ‘Everything is okay with Jing. I’ll be in school tomorrow, mom said she’d babysit.’ She hit send and added. ‘I’m still on for tonight.’

Granted Katara’s idea of ‘on for tonight’ was a night at home watching dumb chick flicks and laughing at the drama from the safety of their couch. But that was fine by her, it was a baby-safe night out.

“You going to come with us Sokka?”

“I would, but I’ve got some trash to pick up. I’m trying to get that out of the way.”

“That’s fine, it was a girl’s night anyways and we have Jing to fill in for you.”

“I’ll be sure to crash girl’s night next time.” Sokka vowed.

“What if we’re inviting guys next time?”

“See now you’re making things difficult.” Sokka replied, holding out his arms.

She passed Jing-Zao over. She supposed that he could have the honor of rocking her to sleep this time. He beamed down at the baby, booping her on the nose. Suki smiled. They certainly didn’t have it completely together. But she had a good feeling that they’d be able to work it out.