#trying to figure out what actually happened gives everyone a headache

[blimpintime]

a jar of wind

Wynnie Lara is a fairy that was saved from a jar from Amarantha's reign of terror, but is soon figuring out that her time of peace is coming to a end.

warnings: angst, azriel sucks :p and unedited

word count: 1.4k

eventual Eris x OC

“Rhys! You will never believe what I managed to do with my-” I bursted into the kitchen with a warm glow, my green dress flowing around me and headed towards where he was sitting with a cup of tea.

“Wynn, I have been up with Nyx for the past three nights and days with him teething. I would love some silence. Please.” He said with a low voice and eyes closed in annoyance. 

“Oh! Right, yes. Sorry.” I wince, I twirl my finger and use the wind to brush through the mellow sounding wind chimes I have placed around the River House. 

The tension seemed to leave his body, and I placed a sisterly kiss on the top of his head, my ginger bobbed hair layering over his black hair. In doing so I managed to remove the growing headache from him and take it on for myself.

“I didn’t ask you to do that, Wynn.” He said softly.

“I know, but that’s what family is for Rhys.” I respond with a light touch on his shoulder and whisper words of encouragement as I leave. 

As I walked out of the River House where the sun is setting, I ran into Azriel and Cassian. I smile and my subtle pink glow brightens.

“Hello you two!” I say with a wave and notice the grimm look on their body language and my face falls and my glow dims. “What happened, who's hurt?” 

Cassian winces and Azriel gives me a sharp look, “Stay out of it Wynn. You do enough damage as is.” 

I flinch back and the wind around me goes cold, “What is that supposed to mean?” 

He walks closer to me and leans over to get in my face, “It means that whatever magical experiment you tried this time back fired and hurt Elain.”

“What are you talking about?” I whisper back. My mind reels trying to remember if I left a magic trial unattended in the open, but I draw a blank. Unless… 

“She snuck into my cottage?” I question brows furrowing. There was only one trial I left at my house and that was my attempt of getting my wind to play instruments on its own, but wind is finicky and if interrupted incorrectly can cause a spiral of sharp and messy wind.

“Snuck? Wynn, you let everyone into your home all the time, there was no reason to lock your doors.” Cassian responded. I go hot with anger. 

“So just because I host all the time means my house is fair game? There are wards around it for a reason when I am not home. If that is your logic here then allow me to go into your guys home whenever I feel and do what I please.” I snap back.

“You’re being unreasonable Wynn.” Azriel says while rolling his eyes. “It was just Elain. She is harmless.” 

“I do not care who it was Azriel, it is my home. What did she need from me anyway? I just saw her this morning.” I ask him and he storms by me to go inside the house. Cassian and I follow him.

“Rhysand!” Azriel yells. Rhys walks out of the kitchen looking a little better than he did before. 

“Why are we yelling?” He asks.

“Wynn has caused more damage to this court.” Azriel says and I wince back. Rhys turns to look at me with an eyebrow raised. 

I raise my hands in defense.

“Wynn, was it another silly experiment?” Rhys asks. My heart tugs and I nod, and I feel as though I should defend myself. They’re not silly, they are fun.

“Did I do something to personally offend you Azriel?” I ask softly. 

“Yes! Since you’ve shown up to this court all you have done have been attached to the hip with Feyre, surprised she hasn’t told you that you are suffocating. You’re nothing more than an annoying weed.” He spat, “You buzz in and out loudly all the time, you cannot read a room to save your life, your experiments are juvenile and lack actual use, and whenever you shrink down to your pixie form is the only time you're tolerable because we can barely hear you.” He said like a weight has been lifted off his chest. 

I can only stare at him, shock and hurt cover my face. The glow of pink on my body fades down to a low humming blue, and suddenly I am back in that damn jar. 

The jar I am in is hot and stuffy. I do not remember how I got here but I do understand that this is cursed glass and I won’t be able to be let out unless the lid is opened by the one who placed the curse or is killed. 

The jar sits in the middle of a long dinner table as decor, with being alive I always have a glow to me. When I am neutral and healthy it's normally pinkish orange, right now it’s bluish purple relating to my mood and terror. It hasn’t changed in the past decade of being here.

Being small and trapped in a jar and treated as entertainment by those who are desperate to feel power again is something I would never wish upon anybody. They like to cover the oxygen holes on the top and force me to dance or create wind art. Which is borderline impossible with the lack of airflow in here anyway.

“Tell me pretty, what other colors can you turn?”

“Az-” Cassian whispered.

“Fuck you Azriel. You know why I don’t go into that size very often and you of all people should understand why.” I spit at him, and he for just a moment looks guilty. 

“What? You all say this behind her back anyway. Now that I tell her to her face it’s a problem?” He looks at his two brothers. And they both won’t look me in the eye.

“Is that true?” I choke out with silent tears running down my face. Rhys looks at me and takes a breath, “There could have been more tact to how we said this but to put it bluntly yes.”

My wispy iridescent wings pop out of my back. And I start walking backwards towards the door, “I will see myself out then.” 

“Wynn, wait please let's discuss this more maturely.” Rhys says. Azriel scoffs in the background. 

“If it wasn’t for her, Elain wouldn’t be hurt again.” I flinch again feeling sick to my stomach. 

“I am sorry.” I choke out. Cassian reaches for me and I step back curling into myself feeling betrayed by those I called family. 

“No, that was completely uncalled for.” A new voice responds. I turn around to say Nesta and Elain. I look over Elain and all I notice is a few wind burns on her arms. She gives me a soft smile and I look down with a frown.

“Azriel, what is the actual problem here? Because I am fine. I went into her cottage because I forgot my tea recipe book there and completely forgot she was running an experiment.” Elain comes up to me softly and puts her hand on my shoulder. I lean into her warmth. Nesta stares at him with a cold hard glare. 

“He’s jealous.” She observes. Azriel looks shocked for just a moment before he stalks closer into Nesta’s face. To which signals me and Elain to step back and Cassian to intervene. 

“Enough.” Rhys says rubbing his temples again. “Azriel you were out of line with the way you approached this situation and Wynn maybe just be a little less, you.” 

All three girls flinch with the wording. 

“Have you lost your fucking mind Rhysand?” Nesta barks. “Wait until I tell Feyre.” 

By the time the two of them are arguing I shrink down to my pixie size and fly home to my cottage. I arrive at the front stoop back to normal size, and burst into tears against my front door barely making it inside before I collapse into a pile on the floor. 

In a panic I start shoving some of my emergency belongings in a satchel; clothes, my hygiene products, and my magic trials notebook. 

Frantically rushing around my small cottage I see a teacup Elain painted for me, with little orange and pink flowers all over it. I wrap it in one of my shirts and stuff it into my satchel.

By now the sun has completely set, and I take off my porch, my holographic wings sparkling in the moonlight and head towards some place I know will bring me some comfort. 

The Autumn Court. 

a/n: please enjoy! I have been thinking about this idea for a while! Leave comments, like, and share. if you have any questions plz let me know!

I do not own any of the characters that Sarah J Mass has created. but I do own miss Wynnie Lara :p

[evilkitten3]

i just. had a very silly bnha au idea

[fairsweetlonging]

Okay but Mocking bird demon SY (has shapeshifting powers) pretending to be SQQ to help LBH. No system, SJ lives, just SY will not let his protagonist be miserable. He optionally also wife beams LQG who is extremely confused and horny as to why SQQ is playing hot and cold with him

i LOVE that idea oh my goodneeees!!! all the shen yuan bird aus are a GIFT that keeps on GIVING!!

as a bird he can easily live on mount cang qiong and get around unnoticed, because what peak lord or disciple is going to look twice at a small, grey silver bird? it allows him to stay close to luo binghe and help him in every way he can, from giving him food he carries in his little talons or beak, singing to him when he's down, keeping him company in the forest, to making silly mimic sounds to make him laugh.

i looked up a little about mockingbirds and apparently they're extremely territorial when raising hatchlings and their nest (attacking even cats, hawks and humans), which is perfect because luo binghe is (definitely!) a helpless hatchling in need of protecting, i mean, technically his wings haven't even properly grown in yet, he can't fly! so cue ming fang and other bullies getting relentlessly attacked when they try to come near binghe.

and then the shapeshifting: from what i've gathered, mockingbirds sing regularely at night, so i can imagine shen yuan waiting until nightfall and shen jiu goes to bed when he makes his move. he dons the master's form, goes to the woodshed, and takes binghe out to train in the forest with a real manual. of course, binghe is immediately enamoured with the man shen qingqiu becomes when night falls, maybe he even starts to think it's a "werewolf" thing where he changes when the moon comes up, because there isn't really any explanation to why the soft words, gentle touches and kind eyes turn into sneers, violence and glares as soon as the sun is up!

bc he does have the protagonist halo, and even in canon binghe knew something was up, i think he figures it out eventually when he starts alluding to certain events that never happened but that his "shizun" plays along with. also the bird has the exact same way of petting his head/ruffling his hair as his night-shizun does. one and one equals two, after all.

and liu qingge yeeeessss!! if in this au shen yuan saved him in the caves as well, he's probably getting such a headache from the complete 180s shen qingqiu keeps making!! one moment everything is great, shen qingqiu is tending to his wounds with such gentleness and a kind smile, and when liu qingge runs into him at night (when shen qingqiu always looks kind of... hurried, for some reason, almost a little nervous), they share a smile and a laugh and one time shen qingqiu even hugged him; but then when liu qingge tries to sit next to him at the meetings suddenly he's getting snarled at, called a dumb dirty beast and to sit elsewhere?? hello??? never mind getting invited into the bamboo house, or shen qingqiu accepting his (dead animal) gifts.

i also think it'd be so really funny if shen yuan ended up not caring about continuation errors or consistent character behavior, and just goes all out on the OCC by being kind to everyone in shen qingqiu's form; flirting with liu qingge, cuddling with yue qingyuan, spoiling luo binghe rotten, gifting mu qingfang all kinds of rare herbs that he can find easily in his demon bird form, and generally being a moon-saint that everyone comes to realize isn't actually shen qingqiu, but since he's doing good for the community and not harming anyone, they kind of just..... leave it. the peak lords have a meeting about it (sans shen jiu of course), and they decide the night-qingqiu can stay.

tho i do think yue qingyuan would ask shen yuan to don a different form.

also also, shen yuan getting up to all kinds of mischief by mimicking other peak lords' voices: calling to disciples with their shizun's voice, watching them get all confused because no one's there?? or making shang qinghua go around in circles because he keeps saying "this way, shang qinghua, hurry up!" in an angry liu qingge voice. and also making shen jiu open the door to no one when he mimics yue qingyuan's voice. there's a LOT he can do with it🤭

[ang3l-fac33]

WJEJJF I HAD THE CUTEST IDEA can you please write a oneshot for husk being a total father figure for some younger sinner at the hotel (I feel like he’d be a reluctant teen dad haha) thank you so much! Love your writing!

of course! thank you for the request! :D i’m not sure if you meant the reader to be a teen so i apologize if i got it wrong!

—

husk x teen! reader. (platonic)

genre: fluff

husk was standing behind the bar counter cleaning a glass, and not looking really thrilled to be there as usual. sitting on the other side of the bar table was angel dust, sipping away at some fruity pink alcoholic beverage that he made a few minutes prior.

there was a comfortable silence between the two, both of them not having much to say to each other, but husk prefered the silence, it helped with the headache he was currently nursing from having to deal with everyone’s bullshit in the hotel.

the only two people he was most comfortable with was angel and you. you were a rather young sinner, only fifteen. that didn’t really sit right with husk, you being so young in a place like this?

maybe that’s why he felt the need to look out for you, because you were so young. he didn’t want you to end up like him, washed up with a long history of bad choices. just because you were in hell doesn’t mean that you couldn’t do good things.

you were young and impressionable, another reason why he kept a close eye on you. more than half the people in the hotel were bad influences. he really wasn’t the best either but at least he was sensible.

angel would constantly talk about drugs and sex, alastor was just plain creepy, charlie, well, she was fine.. it’s just that you were known to be a bit.. what’s the word? mischievous. and charlie didn’t have the heart to tell you ‘no’ half the times. vaggie was fine as well, though a little more on the aggressive side. and, well, nifty was.. well, nifty.

he felt like he was the only one fit enough to actually help you. but it’s not like he would admit any of this out loud of course. you still were very very annoying to him, and angel gave him enough teasing for his fatherly behavior. he can’t believe he got sucked into all of this.

the silence was soon interrupted by the hotel’s doors slamming open. husk flinched and sighed, already knowing who it was. you grinned as you made your way over to the bar, hopping on one of the stools next to angel dust.

angel dust gave you a side glance and a small smirk. he had grown fond of you, and due to your young status he viewed you as a younger sibling. plus it was also fun to tease husk about his father like tendencies towards you. “hey squirt. how was your day huh?”

you smiled, kicking your feet back and forth excitedly. “it was awesome! i went out with cherri bomb and she taught me how to blow shit up!” you said it as if it were the coolest thing ever, but to husk it made his heart drop. bombs? are you serious?

husk wanted to say something but he held it back, not wanting to offend the demon spider with his opinions about cherri. she was the guy’s best friend after all. as angel dust continued to encourage this, husk sighed.

“can i get you something to drink kid?” husk asked, trying to avert the conversation to avoid a bigger headache. “i’ve got orange juice, apple juice—“

“give me what he’s having!” you demanded, pointing towards the pink alcoholic beverage in angel dust’s hand. husk wrinkled his nose before giving a scoff of amusement, putting away his glass. “not happening.”

you pouted childishly at the denial of your requested drink, and angel dust laughed. “c’mon, let the kid have a drink. it won’t hurt him.”

husk’s brows raised in disbelief. “they’re fifteen!” he exclaimed, his wings giving a tiny flutter of irritation. “just because this is hell doesn’t mean that they can do whatever they want!”

“pfft— okay *dad*”

that makes husk freeze, and for a moment he panics. he knew you were just being sarcastic but something about it just.. whatever.

the smug and amused look angel dust was giving him made him instantly snap out of it with another scoff. “whatever kid. do you want a non alcoholic beverage or not?” he growled, grabbing a clean glass.

you rolled your eyes and sighed. “fine.. give me an orange juice.”

husk made quick work of pouring you an orange juice, making sure it was nice and cold before sliding it over to you, then grabbed a whole bottle of alcohol for himself.

as the minutes passed husk found himself quietly drinking as he watched you and angel dust chatter on about random things, a small smile tugging at his lips. he felt relaxed again, his headache being a little less bad now.

you may be annoying at times but you really were a good kid.

[estrellami-1]

If I Should Stay

Part 1 | . . . | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16

Steve gets home and enters into chaos.

The older teens are nowhere to be found—Steve hopes they’re still in the shed—but the boys are arguing, pointing first at sheets on the table, then each other.

“No, you dumbass-”

“Oh, I’m the dumbass? I’m the one who forgot oxygen?”

Steve sighs. “Always the damn babysitter,” he mumbles to himself, fighting a smile. “Alright, cut it out!” He says, loud enough to be heard over the arguing. Immediately, everyone turns to him. He crosses his arms and nods at them. “What’s going on?”

Immediately they’re all talking over each other, doing their best to give Steve a headache. He sighs and raises a hand, and slowly they all peter off. “One at a time. Lucas?”

Lucas sighs. “We’re still trying to figure out the best way to weaponize fire down there.”

“And you’re disagreeing on something?”

“Yeah, we all think it would be best to do it different ways.”

Steve nods. “Write down a list of all the pros and cons you can think of. Pass the lists around in case you’ve forgotten something. When they’ve all been passed around, compare them together. But please, if it’s at all possible for you, do it quietly. If for no other reason than El’s still resting.”

“Oh,” Mike says quietly, and they all get to work, scribbling out their lists.

Steve sighs and scans the rest of the room, smiling when he sees Eddie leaning on the doorway. “Hey. Wanna help me bring stuff in?”

“Sure,” Eddie shrugs, and follows him out. It’s silent for a few moments before he speaks. “Y’know, a part of me was hesitant to believe everything until just about three minutes ago.”

Steve chuckles. “It does sound crazy,” he agrees. “What changed your mind?”

“You,” Eddie says simply, like it doesn’t send Steve’s heart jackrabbiting in his chest. “The way you are with the kids.”

Steve chuckles. “Y’know that’s the very reason we started to get along, before?” He glances at Eddie as he shuts the trunk. “We saw how we were with them. We were both a little jealous of each other, mainly cause of Dustin. I swear, he was always going on about Eddie this, Eddie that, greatest Dungeon Master ever but don’t tell Will, and… I started to feel like I was being replaced.” He smirks. “Course, then you told me how he practically worshiped me, and I realized Dustin’s just being a shithead.”

Eddie snorts. “From what I’ve seen of them, that does seem pretty accurate.”

“I know this probably doesn’t mean much to you, but I’m glad you’re here.” He smiles at Eddie and walks inside, giving Eddie a second alone outside.

He almost runs into Robin as he turns the corner, steadying himself, the bag, and her. She looks up at his face, wide-eyed, then slowly morphs the look into a judgy one.

“What?”

“Quit breaking his brain, Dingus, let him actually like you as a person first.”

“How the hell could you tell that from my face?”

She gives him another supremely judgy look. “Have you forgotten I’ve known you for years? Steve,” she sighs, taking the bag from him. He lets her. “Don’t forget this is four years ago for them. At this point, does he even know who Chrissy is?”

“Okay,” Steve admits, “you may have a point. But we had a breakthrough just now! We were talking and he said he believes me because of how I am with the boys!”

Robin sighs again. “And did you respond with something that happens in the future?”

Steve splutters. “How do you do that?”

“I’ve known you for years, Stevie-boy, don’t forget.” She ruffles his hair as she passes. “Leave the future out of it,” she advises. “Live in the now.”

“Kinda hard to do, considering we’re here to change the future,” he says, just to be contrary. She gives him a look like she knows what he’s doing.

“Talk to him like you’re getting to know him for the first time, Steve. Because that’s where he is. Everything about the Upside Down, and even the kids… that’s all secondary. You got along because your personalities match. Give them a chance to.” She smirks at him. “And maybe show off a little bit of that Harrington charm I know is in there somewhere.”

He shakes his head, grinning. “You’ll see one day, Robs, I’ve got game.”

She grins, ruffling his hair one last time before dancing out of reach as he squawks at her. “I’ll believe it when I see it, Dingus.” She leaves, bringing the bag into the other room, and he sighs and follows her, wondering—not for the first time—how he ended up with her as a best friend.

Permanent Taglist: @justforthedead89 @ilovecupcakesandtea @madigoround @bookbinderbitch @suddenlyinlove @nburkhardt @artiststarme @paintsplatteredandimperfect @i-less-than-three-you @alyelf @quarble @messrs-weasley @littlewildflowerkitten @vankaar @starman-jpg @bornonthesavage @steddie-there @goodolefashionedloverboi @andienotannie @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @platinum-sunset @just-ladyme @steddiestains @swimmingbirdrunningrock @imhereforthelolzdontyellatme @martinskis-lydias @notaqueenakhaleesi @sleepyboosstuff @bestwifehaver @m-owo-n @thatonebadideapanda @finalmoondragon @velocitytimes2 @callmeanythjing @ajeff855 @ilikeititspretty @knitsforthetrail @sillysparrow @that-one-corvid @ace-is-bored @local-writers-corner @harpymoth @weirdandabsurd42

Fic Taglist: @blondlanfear @do-you-want-something-more @str4wb3rry-guy @paperbackribs @ninjapirateunicorns @bisexualdisastersworld @hiscrimsonangel @lolawonsstuff @xo-r4e @thedragonsaunt @l0st-strawberry

[skullcfusher]

When u tlked about the toby n kate HCs u gave us Kate angst HCs do u have any toby angst HCS I'm obsessed w sibling relationship kate toby its the best 100 percent

Ok I tried typing out a huge thing but it's not letting me post that SOOO you're getting the short version, if anyone is interested in a long version dm me or smth idk BUT here they are

Toby struggles like crazy with masculinity, vulnerability and authority figures, between his father smacking him around and verbally abusing him, the bullies not only at school when he was there but actually trailing to his neighborhood and any time they could find him and all of the neighbors and older folk who saw what was happening but stayed silent, he felt crazy weak, especially when most of the things Frank said to him were always related to him not being man enough in some way, and it didn't help that Toby was a scrawny boy because food was hard to come by, it's not like he was starving by any means but they were kinda just getting by. This follows into his proxy life, always having to be stronger than everyone else in the room, killing people in horrific ways to show his strength and pushing himself to an extent to show that no one should fuck with him. Toby was born into a dog eat dog world but now the point he's at, all of the other dogs aren't hungry but he's still eating even if he's full. No one is trying to hurt him, don't get me wrong not a whole lot of creeps like him all that much but no one is looking to hurt him, but he can't fathom that. He has to fight, no matter how tired he is of fighting, he just doesn't recognize a world outside of that and it scares him. The only being he can't fight is slender, he's horrified of slender because slender has the capability to make that boy feel pain, not in the sense he can just flip the switch and he feels everything now but he can give Toby the most earth shattering, mouth frothing, skin peeling headaches. It's not just some small shit, Toby's feeling throat curdling pain for the first time, if feels like he's burying his own axe into his head. Punishment is bad for all proxies, but this shit is really new to Toby, Tim and Brian usually have to leave when Toby goes under cause they can't stand to hear him when he screams and thrashes he doesn't just fall to the ground and scream either he bites and rips his skin off and throws shit and gets fuckin crazy, Kate tries to stay and comfort but Toby pushes her away, he can't let her take care of him like that he's supposed to be able to handle it how can he not be able to handle something the rest can

Ok that's all for now I think, just cause I'm trying to make it short but if u want more or have any questions or even requests for other creeps I'm SOOOO OPEN I love answering shit

[extralively]

hi i'm extra and I just made this tumblr ¯\_(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)_/¯

I write fics in my free time! .......well ok, I've been writing this one monstrosity of a fic/series and that's about it. The first part is complete, though, and there are a bunch of fun (͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) onsehots you can read as standalone:

Series: Under the Cover of Shadows

Gojo Satoru/Original Female Characters General tags: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, (but mostly) Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn (the slowest), Co-parenting the Fushiguros, Found Family, Sexual Tension, Pining (lots of it), Idiots in Love, Eventual Smut, Some Plot, Angst, Fluff

Out of the Shadows (Main story) (Complete) No one had expected Gojo Satoru to form a friendship with the unknown girl that joined school in the same year he did. Not even Gojo Satoru, or Yura herself, especially considering he’d been an asshole to her the first time they met. A complicated friendship was born, one that would last years to come no matter how many headaches the white haired menace would give her – he was like gum in your hair, she mused, too much work to cut it out so why even bother trying?

Morning Surprise (Oneshot) (NSFW) Satoru was happily surprised when he came back to his apartment and found that Yura was still there. ...And that she was wearing his shirt for the first time.

One Less Barrier (Oneshot) (NSFW) A little accident happens, and it leads Yura to seek out a new way of preventing them from accidentally producing any heirs...

A Private Onsen (Oneshot) (NSFW) Satoru and Yura finally get to enjoy their hotel room's private onsen bath together.

Drunk (Oneshot) At two different points in time, Satoru had to be the responsible one for a change and take a drunk Yura home. But a drunk Yura acted a little differently than normal, sober Yura...

Deeper in the Dark (Main story) (In progress) Sequel to Out of the Shadows. Life had fallen into an easy rhythm for Satoru and Yura as they got comfortable in their kinda-sorta relationship, teaching at Jujutsu Tech and caring for the Fushiguros together. But peace only lasts for so long in the jujutsu world, and when the safety of Yura’s little family is suddenly put in jeopardy, she has to fight to make sure everyone gets out alive—while still trying to figure out the truth of the thing inside of her.

Movie Night (Oneshot) (NSFW) Satoru has Yura over for a little movie night, but what he has in mind is something completely different. So Yura decides to teach him to have a little patience as she... 'enjoys the movie'.

Bringing You Home (Oneshot) (NSFW) After leaving a boring clan event, Satoru brings Yura with him to his private quarters on the Gojo Estate. Yura gets to snoop a bit in what is essentially Satoru's childhood bedroom, before the two of them actually get started with the, ahem, after-party...

School Stories (Collection of oneshots) A series of snapshots of Yura and Satoru's lives during high school, as their relationship evolves from constant bickering into a semi-functional friendship and all the hijinks in-between.

Catoru (Oneshot) (Absolutely unserious) Satoru gets turned into a cat, and Yura suddenly has to catsit the white furry menace until he turns back.

More will be added later, and new chapters are posted every week for the main fic!

[callmissrogers]

That's My Girl | Part 1

Summary: A mission goes horribly horribly wrong, and Y/n knows it's her fault. Captain Rogers wants to be there for her, but she won't allow him to. But the team believes that there's more to this than simple hostage casualties. What is Hydra hiding?

Warnings: Angst, death, grief, and a wee bit of fluff stuck in there somewhere.

Word count: 3,527

(Only proofread once, so apologies for any mistakes)

Part 2

Y/n sat, face in her hands, leaning against her door.

It was all her fault.

They died because of her.

She had blood on her hands.

Try as she might to send her thoughts elsewhere, they still roamed back to what had happened the night before.

The street lights went out in an electrical burst, one by one.

Y/n looked around anxiously. The house had gone dark too. "we didn't have Intel on charge weapons." She barked over the comms. "Dang Hydra cockroaches!" Tony yelled. "They're trying to block our locators. I have a feeling that these are part of what the Shield x Hydra agents stole from headquarters." He finished. They could feel him pacing and moving his arms about wildly, as he always did.

"Well, let's recalculate. Charges or no, the doctor and his family still need our help." Natasha interjected.

They had come here after getting Intel on the kidnapping of a Doctor Cedric Bon. He had been a leader in black market plastic surgeries. Only his work had little to do with face lifts and tummy tucks, and so much more to do with attempts to actually turn the clock back on a person's age. Before, he had only managed to turn out some really messed up and damaged people, who could never undo what had been done to them. But a lot of chatter recently indicated that he had finally managed something akin to Steve's serum. But for youth instead of strength. 

Right after that, he and his wife vanished. One of Natasha's sources told them that Hydra had gotten them. They could only imagine what they wanted them for.

"OK. So, not being able to tell where everyone is presents a problem." Sam said worriedly. Now they'd be going in blind. They were going to relay on some of Stark's technology to help them locate where they were being held and go from there.

"It's a problem, but we'll find a solution. Sam you keep cover from the skies. Tony, you're in charge of entry points and keeping anyone else from coming in.  Buck, Nat, and I will handle whoever is waiting for us on the inside. Y/n, you gotta get'em out of there, ok?" Steve said, taking on the tone of voice he always had when he was in what they called Cap mood.

Y/n knew why he had asked her to handle that aspect. Her ability was mental and emotional manipulation. She could make someone believe a lie, calm down, get angry, or think whatever she wanted them to think. Not huge things, but simple things like "I should trust her" or "I should give her this key card." These thoughts and feelings never lasted and were always followed by a headache that resembled a hangover.

Even tho she could fight, frightfully skilled in martial arts, Steve must have figured her skill would be useful in helping the hostages relax as she moved them out of there. How wrong he was. . .

But martial arts also came in handy if one wanted to move about unseen, which y/n did.

It didn't take her as long as she thought it would to find them. They didn't have them in a cell, basement, or anything like that. They were locked in a bedroom on the second floor. It had two twin beds and a bathroom. For a hostage situation, this was pretty comfortable. Y/n put this off to the fact that Hydra thought they lulled them into a false sense of security so the doctor would do what they wanted.

That was her first mistake.

"I found them," She tried to say over the comms, but all she got was static. Only then did it occur to that she hadn't heard anyone say anything since they entered the house. They were probably jamming the comms.

She felt for her backup earpiece for such situations. It wasn't there. Why wasn't it there? *because you forgot to replace it after you last used it. the one time you hadn't used your checklist as you suited up. Steve would surely give you an earful. This was why that man loved checklists.*

She decides to press on anyway

Second mistake.

"Who are you?" The Doctor asked, his accent thick. "Just think of me as your rescue, Doctor Bon, Mrs Bon. I'm y/n, I'm a member of the Avengers and I need you to come with me. Now."

"Those men told us that they were part of shield reborn." Mrs Bon said doubtfully. "Shield reborn? There's no such thing."Well, then if you say we can't trust them, how do we know we can trust you?" Mrs Bon asked doubtfully.

Y/n turned and looked at her, her eyes changing from her usual green to a bright violet and then back again. Mrs Bon blinked a few times and then said, "we should trust her." "What did you do?" Doctor demanded. "Later, Doctor. She'll be fine, tho. You'll all be fine if you follow me." She said firmly.

She had stupidly been confident that she could do it all without any backup or any knowledge of what was happening down below.

"Do you know of a back way out?" She asked. "Um. Yes. They took me on a tour just today." The Doctor said nervously. "Why? Actually, no time. Just tell me where to go, but I lead." She said, exiting the room.

The Doctor told her how to find the servants' stairs, which were hidden behind a rather large painting.

She tried her comms again but nothing.

The stairs seemed to curve on forever until they opened up to a large kitchen. It was empty aside from men laying about with knives sticking out of their chests. 

Upon a quick scan of the room, y/n was sure it was safe for them to go.

After a quick dash to the backdoor, she pulled it open, stepping out into the night with them following close behind her. The yard was empty, dark, and soundless. It was now or never.

"Time to go!" She ordered, yanking them along with her as best she could. They would make it. They could duck into the woods. The others would clean up and find them later.

Mission accomplished.

Third and final mistake.

They were nearly there, just about to cross from the manicured lawn into the unkempt woods. But the moment the Bons attempted to cross, they jolted uncontrollably, and then they fell down, dead. . .

Y/n's eyes widened, dropping down, she frantically tried to give them cpr. First one and then the other. Tears stinging her eyes. "Come on!" She screamed. Hands trembling, she felt their necks. They were gone.

Hydra had implanted them so that if they tried to escape, they'd die. But why?

She just besides them until the others found them.

Nobody said anything on the ride home.

5 am.

The moment the jet landed, y/n jumped up, running out before anyone could stop her.

She went to her room slamming and locking the door behind her. Sliding down against it, she gave into the sobs.

Present moment.

Y/n had been sitting in the place since the night before. She didn't care that her legs had long since fallen asleep, that her back ached, her head pounded from crying. A heavy and sour feeling had settled in the pit of her stomach.

"Miss y/n," FRIDAY said, "Go away."Mr Stark says that there is to be a team meeting in five minutes."

She would be sick.

She knew she had no choice but to go to the meeting. It was mandatory for the official mission file before they filled out their own paperwork. It was a manner of protection for themselves as well as a record.

But that also meant that she'd have to go out there and explain to everyone just how she had failed, how she got them killed.

It was all her fault. All her bloody stupid fault.

"Miss y/n," FRIDAY said as a means to hurry her along.

"Fine." Y/n spat, pushing herself off the floor.

Get it over with.

The walk to the meeting room never felt so long as it had just now. Seeing everyone there, waiting for her to join them, made her blood run cold.

But, she was a part of this team. She had to be held accountable just like they did.

Steve was standing at the head of the table. Scrolling through a tablet that was projected onto the larger screen behind him. He glanced at her when she sat down, a mix of emotion on his face.

"OK. Well, you all know the drill by now. We need everyone's account of what happened last night." He said, sounding almost regretful that he had to ask.

One by one, they went around the table, each describing their movement in the mission. "I stayed on guard duty. No one came in or went out until y/n came out with the hostages. Then I flew to help, when I heard screaming and found that they were, in fact, deceased -" Tony said in a monotone voice. "I stayed on yours and Becky's six. We took out about 80-90 guards and agents before we made it outside and found out what had happened to the Bons." Nat said, choosing not to use the word decased, dead, or anything else remotely related to it. She was friends with y/n she knew how something like this would be to eat you alive from the inside out.

Then, the room grew quiet. Y/n knew it was her turn. They were nice enough not to all stare at her expectantly, but she still felt them pressuring her to tell them what went wrong, what she had done wrong.

She'd probably be put on leave for her stupid recklessness.

Her mouth was dry, heart pounding, and she finally looked up. Eyes meeting Steve's. He, unlike the rest, had been staring. His brows now knit together like they always were when he was thinking. She braced her hands on the table and slowly pulled herself up.

"Last night I was reckless. I forgot my other comm, so when they jammed, I couldn't get in contact with anyone. I didn't pay attention to any of the signs that told me it was too easy. I led them outside, and then they died right in front of me because I didn't even think to check for a chip!" She said, her voice increasing as she went along. "It was all my bloody fault. You can put that in the report, and I'll fill out my paperwork later." She spat and then stormed out of the room.

"Oh, she's not in a good place." Sam commented, sounding concerned. "She can't blame herself for the psychopathic nature of monsters," Bucky said, sighing. "There's no way she would have known about those chips. None of us would." He continued.

"What I want to know is why they were willing to kill them. Those chips have a kill switch. Somebody pressed a button to do it. Why didn't they want them alive?" Stark questioned. "There's something that's more important to keep hidden than having them alive." Steve commented almost absently, his thoughts distracted by something or someone rather. "They took them for a purpose, so they must already have all the schematics on the serum he created." Natasha added.

"He was a fast talker to give them everything in 24 hours. This isn't something you find in a textbook, " Bruce said.

"I want more information on where they were holding them and the agents we found there. Nat, can you head that up?" Steve asked before excusing himself without waiting for her reply.

"FRIDAY, Y/n's whereabouts?" He said once he got in the elevator. "In the kitchen, sir."

Y/n was pouring herself into a cup of coffee. She didn't drink alcohol because well she couldn't. Something about alcohol potentially making your heart stop makes one think twice about it.  So she would overload herself with caffeine instead.

She had just picked it up, allowing the mug to warm her hands. Suddenly getting the feeling that she wasn't alone in the room.  The last thing she needed was a speech about how it wasn't her fault and that the team was behind her all the way. Because she knew at least the first part of that was a big fat lie.

Finally, the person standing behind her cleared their throat. Steve. Of course. It had to be him.

Slowly, she made herself turn around, but she wouldn't look at him.

"What do you want?" She asked, forcing her voice into a monotone, hoping that he would get the hint and leave her be.

She knew what he wanted. He wanted to comfort her. He wanted to reassure her that this didn't change anything.

He stared at her a moment before answering, "y/n, would you look at me, please?" He asked, his voice gentil, nothing at all like his Captain America voice.

She just shook her head, eyes locked on her coffee.

He took a few steps towards her.

"Y/n . . . I know you think that -" "That what? That this all my fault? Check. That you're all disappointed in me? Check. That I'm the reason that the mission failed and two people are died? Check and check. We've established how I feel now." She snapped angrily.

Steve's expression shifted from one of pure concern to slight hurt. Not that she could see that, still refusing to meet his gaze. But he wouldn't allow himself to get offended. He did know how this felt and knew that she didn't mean it.

Carefully, he took a few steps forward and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Feeling her instantly tense up. "You can yell, cry, get angry. . . Just don't go inward on me." She said nothing, biting her lower lip, looking away, determined to push away what he was offering now. He sighed, not out of frustration with her but worry, "Shortcake, please say something." Shortcake, the nickname he had given her after they first met at that WW2 convention.

"Steve. Just stop being a hero for one second and leave me alone!" She yelled, slamming her coffee down on the counter, making it spill, and storming from the room. "Y/n!" He called.. He wanted to go after her but he respected her wishes and left her alone.

Once she had made it back to the safety of her own room, y/n collapsed on her bed, allowing herself to break down again.

Why had she done that? She knew that he genuinely just wanted to comfort her. But what did she do? Screamed in his face. Right.

She didn't move a muscle and eventually slipped off to sleep. A sleep that made her relieve the day the man she had just yelled at became a part of her life.

It was a cool day in May, y/n was walking around the WW2 convention. Her grandfather, grandmother, great uncles, and great aunts had all served. She grew up on the old stories, the old records, the old newspaper clippings, and books. Her parents had brought her to this convention every year since she could walk, and now that they were gone, she came alone. This time period was a part of who she was. So dressed in period appropriate dress reminiscent of Andrew Sisters' famous uniform, she took in all the sights.

Finally, stopping by a tent set up to be an old fashioned drugstore, complete with ice cream, sodas, lemonade, and sandwiches.

"I'll take a lemonade," She said with a smile. Noticing the man leaning against the other end of the counter.  She knew who he was, of course she did, just as she was very aware of who he worked for. Technically she was a colleague of sorts.

He quickly noticed her staring. But instead of looking bothered, he smiled. Slowly, he inched his way closer until he was standing next to her. "Which Andrew sister, are you?" He asked with a grin, making y/n blush. "Well. . Not technically supposed to be any of them. I just like the style. It has a bit more class than modern-day dress blues." "You served?" "Airforce. That is until..."Shield picked you up?" "How did you know?" "I might or might not have seen your file." "Sneaky." "I like to think I'm observant." y/n couldn't help but smile. They weren't lying when they said Steve Roger's was quite the charmer. Finishing off her lemonade, y/n turned to pay for it only for Steve to hold out a five dollar bill to the shop owner. "I - why did you do that?" She asked, baffled. "Because I'm a boy from Brooklyn in the 40s, and we don't let ladies pay for themselves." "Oh. I see." Steve couldn't help it. He was very intrigued and spoke before he could talk himself out of it. "Are you going to the show later?" He asked, referring to the bands and performers who would be performing 40s music that evening.

"I was planning on it." "Uh," He cleared his throat. "Would you like to watch it together." "Mr Roger's are you trying to ask me out?" He nodded, "Yes. Yes, I am." his cheeks tinged with pink. "Well, in that case, yes." He looked at his watch, "We still have about an hour before it starts..." "That we do. . ." She said, almost having pity on the poor man. Here he was, Captain America, and he was actually nervous. "Would you like to walk around with me?" She asked, deciding to make things easier for him. "Sure." He said, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. They walked around the field, sharing stories and just getting to know each other. The more they talked, the more Roger's lossened up. The hour flew by before they knew it, so they made their way over to the field. Most of the chairs were already taken by the early birds, so they stood further back. Y/n being only 5 feet tall, struggled to see over the crowd that had also found their way back there. Steve tapped her on the shoulder, "May I?" He asked, gesturing to a stand behind them. She nodded, and he gently picked her up and placed up on it, pulling himself up next to her. They could easily view the show from here. "Thank you for that," she said with a smile. "No problem. You can't help being a shortcake." He grinned. And the nickname just stuck from that point on.

Just a mere three weeks after that, y/n was asked to join the Avengers.

Y/n shot up in bed, room dark, glancing at the clock beside her bed. 3 am. Her heart was pounding, eyes puffy from crying. Her room felt suffocating and oppressive now. "I can't be here." She whispered aloud to herself.  Quickly changing her clothes, she made a beeline for the gym, determined to clear her head.

Steve, whose room was on the same floor, heard a door opening and shutting and then the ding of the elevator.

Sitting up, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He had a feeling as to who might be up and about at this late hour. There were only four of them on this floor and none of them were nightowls. So he knew exactly who it was.

Down in the gym, y/n was in the midst of the wing chun arena. Dodging, then getting in a few hits before leaping to avoid being struck in the legs. Steve walked in and just stood there for a moment, watching her. She was ripping them apart. Tho Steve was sure Stark wouldn't hold it against her.

With a scream, she kicked another apart and kept going. Steve was beginning to worry she'd soon take herself apart too. So, with another sign, he walked towards the arena. Leaping over the wall, making his way around the carnage toward the center where she was, just three more dummies to go.

Stopping just behind her, he said

"Y/n... that's enough. " She ignored him and kicked the top off of the dummies. "Y/n." He said a tad firmer, only to be ignored again.

He cared about her too much to allow her to completely self-destruct in front of him. So he grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to turn around. Hands still on her shoulders, he looked down at her, hoping that she could see just how worried he was about her. How much he cared for her.

"That's enough." He tucked hair behind her ear.

"Do you hear me? None of this was your fault. I promise you that we will figure out who did this. We'll find out why. But Shortcake, it's not on you." He said hurriedly, his voice cracking as he pulled her into a crushing hug.

Part 2

[cameronspecial]

Thorn In My Side, Rose In My Hand (Part 7)

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x Reader

Warnings:  Swearing

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 4.6K

Summary: After a frustrating argument with his dad, Rafe goes to seek comfort in Y/N’s arms. This leads to him finally asking for the moment he has been waiting for. 

Masterlist

Y/N wakes up the next morning in the Camerons’ guest bedroom. She has a slight headache from the alcohol she drank the night before. She thinks about what almost happened with Rafe and is glad he pulled away. Now, being sober, she remembers what she saw at Midsummer and finds herself upset again. They never had a chance to talk about it. Her thoughts are interrupted by the sound of the bedroom door being opened. Sarah comes in with a glass of water and Tylenol. Sarah being 14 meant that Rafe forces her to stay at a friend’s house whenever he throws a party. “Rafe told me to bring this up to you,” Sarah tells her as she hands over the things. Y/N takes the medicine, “Thanks.” “No problem. The boys are making breakfast downstairs,” Sarah informs as she walks towards the door. “And Y/N, I’m sorry about Wilson.” 

After a few minutes of lying in bed, Y/N finally makes her way downstairs and greets everyone at breakfast. Everyone eats with pleasant conversation. Sarah needed to get to the Trembley’s house to babysit the kids, so Mason offered to drive her, which left Y/N and Rafe alone to do the dishes. “So what does last night mean for us?” Rafe asks, handing over a wet plate for her to dry. Y/N takes the plate and starts to dry it, “Rafe, I appreciate you waiting to kiss me, but I saw you with Elizabeth at Midsummer and I know you know how I feel about her. I know that the unconscious part of you chose her because it would hurt me. So I can’t be with you right now. I need some time.” “Okay, I get that. I’m sorry that it hurt you, I wasn’t trying to. I want to be honest and tell you we did end up kissing last night too. But we only ever made out, it never went further than that,” Rafe confesses. This eases Y/N’s mind a little, but she still needs time to figure things out, “I understand, thanks for telling me. Since we are done, I think I’m just gonna go to the beach for a bit.” She places the dish towel back onto the oven railing and heads to the guest bedroom to get her stuff. 

She gets her stuff, heading back downstairs to say bye. “Can I borrow Sarah’s bike to go home? If she needs it any time soon, she can just text me and I’ll bring it over to her,” Y/N asks. Rafe looks over his shoulder at her from the sink, “Actually, hers is being tuned up at the store, so you can borrow mine. I’ll pick it up next time I come over. It should be around back near the pool.” Y/N nods her head. “Cool, thanks. See you later.”

———

Y/N got home safely and is now relaxing on the beach. She always tries to spend as much time here as she can during the summer because she feels at peace surrounded by water. She is relaxing on a water inflatable when Lacet finally makes her way to Y/N. “Look who is finally awake. It’s like three in the afternoon,” Y/N teases, shielding her eyes from the sun. Lacey groans, taking a sip from her coffee, “Shh, I still have a headache from last night. I never want to drink again.” 

Y/N laughs at her friend’s misery, “I’ve heard that before. At least it sounded like you had fun last night.” 

“You and I both know I like to pretend. This is totally tmi, but important to the story. I was on the toilet this morning because we both know that being hungover gives me the shits. But like I was looking at these recipes for different ways to make wellingtons and it got me thinking that we should have another girls’ dinner. Maybe tonight?” 

“Oooh, I love that idea. I could go over some of my writing with you. I was able to write another chapter.”

“I cannot wait. I can make some mocktails for us. Because mama cannot do another hangover tonight. I’m gonna make a beef Wellington and a mushroom one.” 

“Lol, I like the sound of that.” 

“So, now that we have that out of the way. How are you feeling about Wilson?” 

“I��m feeling better since last night. I mean I’m more hung up on the fact that he used me. Looking back on our relationship. I wasn’t really into him that much anyways. I think in a way, I was using him too.”

“Really? How so?”

“At first, I definitely do think that I liked him. But as I started to get to know him, I realized we weren’t good for each other and I should’ve ended it then. And yet, when I started to realize that maybe I didn’t hate Rafe, I pushed myself to be with Wilson because I didn’t want to admit it. We dated for a month, even though I knew it wouldn’t go anywhere. I definitely don’t think that what I did was as bad as what he did because I did genuinely want to explore what we could be, but I wasn’t exactly perfect in the relationship either.”

“You are right. Using Wilson to ignore your feelings about Rafe wasn’t great. But at least, you recognize that. I bet you Wilson doesn’t even think he did anything wrong.” 

“True. I just want to get past the whole thing though. And before you try to shift the conversation to Rafe. I’m really not ready to talk about where we are out right now. Maybe tonight after I’ve eaten some delicious wellingtons and mocktails.”

Lacey nods, knowing her friend just needs some time to process what she is feeling. The two girls spend most of their time in the water for the rest of the day. Only making their way to Lacey’s house when the sun started setting.

——— 

The next day, Y/N is picking up some groceries for her mom. She rounds the corner of the aisle and accidentally hits someone else’s cart. “I’m so sorry,” she begins until she sees who she hit. “Oh, Elizabeth. How are you?” Y/N tries to be polite with the other girl. They may be rivals, but they are mostly civil with each other. “I’m pretty good. I’m sorry to hear about the break up though. What Wilson did was totally a jackass move,” Elizabeth replies sincerely. “Thanks. How are things going with you and Rafe? I saw you guys at Midsummer and he told me about you guys during the party,” she says, hoping to see if Rafe and Elizabeth’s stories match up. Elizabeth’s face turns into a slight frown, “Nothing really happened. We just made out both times. Honestly, I’m pretty sure he was just using me to distract himself from you.”

This causes surprise to cross over Y/N’s face. “Why do you think that?” she inquires with her head slightly tilted to the side. “Well, at Midsummer, I stopped making out with him because he groaned your name when I played with his hair. Then at his party, we were making out, when all of a sudden his phone started ringing. With the way he shut down the party after the call and from the rumours I heard, I’m pretty sure he dropped everything to go pick you up. Anyways I gotta go. Bye.” Y/N calls out a goodbye as Elizabeth walks away. 

Rafe told her the truth after all. What is more interesting to the girl is that Rafe seems to have done the same thing she has done. She finishes up her shopping and heads back home. 

———

A week has passed since Y/N’s break up, which means that school is also bound to start up again in about two weeks. Rafe is sitting in the living room, watching some random show he isn’t really paying attention to. His focus is diverted to his dad as Ward walks into the room with a huff. “Tell me why I just got a call from Mr. Porter saying that if you don’t give his son a public apologize, then he will have no choice but to file a lawsuit against you for assault,” Ward gripes to his son. Rafe honestly thought nothing more would come from the punch because it had been a week since it happened. “He was an ass to Y/N. I had to make sure he knew what happens when he messes with her.” Ward runs his hand down his face, “God, I knew that girl would get you in trouble. I want you to give that public apology tomorrow morning. You are going to do exactly what Mr. Porter says because if you don’t, then I’m not gonna clean up your mess this time. Is this understood?” Rafe agrees with the statement. He knows Y/N would prefer he takes the peaceful way out of this situation. 

He thinks the conversation is over, but his dad doesn’t get up from his seat on the couch. “I also want to know why I was sent a parent approval form from Marvin to sign, so you could start an internship with him,” Ward interrogates, his voice beginning to rise. Right, Rafe had forgotten to talk to his father about this before the paperwork was sent. “Well, Marvin and I were talking a few weeks ago about his law firm. He said he needed some extra help with some organizational stuff, so I offered to help,” Rafe begins to explain. “You wanted me to figure out how to do swim team, university work and an internship at Cameron’s Development, so I thought this would be a good trial run for university and Marvin thought the same. He said if I have any trouble with handling the internship and everything else, then it would be fine if I quit. Pre-law students are always looking to intern with him.” 

Ward shakes his head in disapproval, “If you wanted to intern somewhere, you should’ve just come with me. I don’t understand why you would work at a law firm. It has nothing to do with development.” “I know you have this life plan for me, but I wanted to do something for myself once. I may have been given help from Marvin to get the job. But it’s something new though and I asked for myself. I want to be able to experience other things in life other than just the development company,” Rafe clarifies to his dad. “Whatever, I’ll sign the stupid paper, but I don’t understand why the fuck you would make that choice. Why can’t you just do as you are told?” Ward complains to his son, storming off toward his office. Rafe expected a screaming match to happen between the two of them, but this felt worse somehow. 

Rafe keeps trying to do what his dad wants, but even when he thinks he has it figured out, he still disappoints his dad. Instead of feeling the normal anger that would normally radiate off of him after an argument with his dad, he feels this sadness that washes over him. His mom would always push him outside of his comfort zone and it was part of the reason why he offered to help Marvin. He thought his dad would understand that and be proud of him. But like always, Ward just wants to be able to control every aspect of Rafe’s life. Ward has this life plan for Rafe that he isn’t allowed to deviate from. Rafe knows Sarah doesn’t have to listen to what her dad plans for her life. He doesn’t understand why his dad puts all this pressure on him. Rafe feels like utter crap after that conversation and there is only one person, who he knows can make him feel better. She can be found in the Y/L/N residence. 

———

Y/N sits outside in the gazebo, reading her book in the hanging basket. She lifts her eyes from the page when she hears a knock from the screened door. “Hey, Y/L/N. Care for some company?” Rafe interrupts as he slowly opens the door. She could see his  watery eyes, looking like he is going to burst at any second, “Of course, what’s wrong?” She immediately wraps her arms around the boy and buries his head into her neck whilst leading him to sit on the loveseat. “Why does my dad insist on controlling my life? Why can’t I just do things for myself without him questioning everything?” Rafe cries, feeling safe to now let himself be vulnerable with the girl. 

Y/N knows this is always a source of upset for him. Rafe’s relationship with Ward will never be anything like Mason and Marvin’s. “I don’t know why your dad is the way that he is. But I do know that you are not at fault for how he treats you. He has issues that he doesn’t realize he needs to fix and that is not on you,” she tries to comfort. 

“I know. It’s just last time we were fighting about how I didn’t want to join the uni swim team because I wanted to focus on school and my internship. And he absolutely blew up about that. Now, I want to do a trial run to see if I can find a balance between school, work and swim team and my dad isn’t proud that I’m trying. It’s like one step forward and twenty back. I don’t know how much longer of this I can take.” 

It pains Y/N to hear how much pain is in Rafe’s voice as he explains it to her, “Why didn’t you tell me things were getting this bad?”

“Last time it got this bad, you were avoiding me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. But I’m here now.” 

“I know, thank you. You are the one person that could’ve made me feel better right now, honestly.” 

“I’m glad I can return the favour.”

Rafe smiles, knowing she is referring to how he took care of her after Wilson broke her heart, “Right, how are we feeling after that?” 

The look in Rafe’s eyes tells Y/N that he is really asking how she feels about him, “I’m actually feeling great considering we only broke up a week ago. I think my heart was always set on someone else.”

“Oh, yeah. Well, that someone is ready for more. If you are ready too, of course.”

“Really? Would he maybe want a kiss? I wouldn’t want to take advantage of his vulnerability,” she jokes as she strokes his hair.

“He absolutely wants a kiss.”

Rafe removes his head from where it is buried in her neck and pulls Y/N into a kiss. His lips passionately move against hers and after a few seconds, his tongue makes its way into her mouth. She feels butterflies in her stomach and she hears him groan as she gently tugs his hair. Rafe removes himself from her lips and starts attacking her neck with kisses. She lets out a soft moan when he reaches her soft spot just under her ear, which causes him to grin and start to suck on the spot. Eventually, the two pull away from each other because of Rafe. He places his forehead on hers and looks into her eyes. They both have a soft grin on their lips. “Would you want to go on a date with me the day after tomorrow?” he whispers to her. They may have just been kissing, but he still is fearful that she will say no. She gives Rafe a quick kiss before answering, “Of course. I would love to.” 

———

The next morning, Rafe gets up earlier than usual to make his public apology to Wilson. It wasn’t very public seeing as he was just instructed to go to Wilson’s and the only people there are Wilson, his parents and all of his dinner guests from that night. However, the Porters still had to make a ridiculously big deal about this and have Rafe make his apology on a makeshift stage and podium. “I am sorry for assaulting you, Wilson. I was wrong for doing so. You are an amazing person and the fact that my dirty and violent hands touched you never should have happened,” Rafe reads off of the cards that one of Porter’s employees is holding up for him. The group claps and Rafe zones out as everyone bustles about around him.

Once he is allowed to leave, Rafe makes a mad dash to The Wreck to meet with Lacey to ask her for help with his and Y/N’s date tomorrow. “I hope you know that you are paying for whatever I order. And I plan to order a lot,” Lacey notifies him, not even looking up from the menu as he sits across from her. Rafe laughs at her antics, “I don’t expect anything less. But I need your help with something for Y/N and mine’s date tomorrow, please.” “And what exactly does that help entail?” Lacey replies; this time actually diverting her attention to the boy. “I just need you to cook some things for me. I’ll make you a list of the foods and then you can give me the bill after you get the stuff you need,” he answers. “Okay, I can do that. Especially if it’s for Y/N. Now, let’s order and then we can talk about this more. Mama is hungry.” 

———

 Rafe picks Y/N up at ten in the morning. He told her he had a whole day planned out for them and he knew she is an early bird anyway. He is wearing gray flannel on top of a gray T-shirt with some jeans. When Y/N opens the door, Rafe just pauses and admires her beauty. Her purple sweetheart neck raglan sleeve sweater shows her collarbones, which have a golden heart-shaped necklace resting between them. Her black pleated skirt rest just above her knees and this causes his eyes to follow down her legs to her white embroidered high-top converse. He knows she embroidered the flowers onto them herself. Her fingers are littered with rings and her double ear piercing both have hoops in them. Her hair twisted back behind her head with a claw clip. Rafe notices she is wearing some light makeup; god, he wants to smudge that pinkish-red lipstick. 

Y/N smiles softly at him and gives a tiny wave, “Hey, are you okay?” Rafe snaps out of his trance. “Yeah, just soaking in how happy I am to finally be taking you out on a date. Are you ready to go?” he admits whilst holding his hand out to her. She nods her head and takes his hand as she places her brown purse across her body. They get into his car and he drives off to their first destination. 

———

The massive grin on Y/N’s face, when she sees the sign for Outer Banks’ biggest independent bookstore, tells Rafe that he is on the right track for their date and this causes his heart to swell with pride. He holds open the door and she practically runs into the shop. They randomly walk around for a little bit to start. The conversation only begins after Y/N sees the Percy Jackson books. “Rafe, these are my absolutely favourite books. I owe my love of reading to Rick Riordan,” Y/N gushes to him. Rafe loves how passionate she is about the books and how she is not afraid to show it, “Really? How so?” 

Y/N's heart leaps at the genuine interest that Rafe is showing, “When I was a kid, I had a hard time learning to read. So I hated doing it. My parents tried getting me to read so many different books. I never really felt seen with any of them. But with Percy, I felt a connection with his character because of his dyslexia. His sarcasm and jokes made him relatable to me and I fell in love with reading because of it.” 

“I never knew that you could connect to a character on that level. The last book I remember reading is the Harry Potter series and I don’t think I really felt that way about any of the characters.”

“Yeah, it feels kinda magical when you can. It really helps you immerse yourself in the story. I’m actually thinking about starting a YA book club. Maybe, you can join and you’ll find your connection.” 

“I would love to join. You really have interesting perspectives on books and I would love to learn more. Plus, I think it would be fun to have reading dates together.”

Y/N is surprised that Rafe actually likes her idea. The excitement she feels about being able to show him some of her favourite books grows. The rest of the time at the bookstore is spent with Rafe holding Y/N’s stack of books she wants to buy, listening to her point out the books she has read or wants to read. He finds it adorable and it reminds him of a little kid on a scavenger hunt. It takes a lot of convincing from Rafe to get Y/N to let him pay for all of her books. He asks her to take the books out to the car, saying he thinks he forgot something in the store. He quickly locates the Percy Jackson series and runs it up to the cash register to pay. Rafe knows he could probably borrow the books from Y/N, but he wants it to be a surprise that he is going to read them. 

———

The next destination for their date is Rafe’s kitchen, where Y/N finds all the ingredients she needs to make chocolate chip cookies on the island. “I thought we could make cookies for dessert for dinner,” Rafe announces to her. Y/N looks at him with delight, “Okay, but only if you let me take the lead.” “I will always let you take the lead,” Rafe confesses with adoration in his eyes. This causes Y/N’s cheeks to heat up. 

Y/N’s back is facing Rafe; she is concentrating on mixing the ingredients, so she doesn’t notice Rafe scooping some chocolate chips into his mouth from the bag. She turns around to ask him something when she sees his cheeks puffed like a chipmunk and giggles. “Are you eating some chocolate?” she laughs as he nods his head with a guilty look on his face. “You really are just like a child. Come here, please. I need you to help me place the balls on the pan. You roll the balls and I’ll place them.” Rafe listens to her order and scoops some of the dough into his hand and forms just about the smallest ball she has ever seen. This causes some more giggles to fall past her lips. “Those are too small and it looks more like a cube than a sphere. Here, let me help you,” she instructs, wrapping her arms around his to help guide him with making the next ball. She directs his hands to the ball and helps him take some cookie dough into his hands. She places her hands over his as she helps him make the motion to make the balls. 

Y/N is not going to lie; she gets a little distracted by Rafe, who smells like the salty sea air and a hint of chlorine. She pauses for a second and this causes Rafe to look down at her to see if she is okay. He smiles when he notices she is admiring his smell. She snaps out of the daydream and continues to help him form a golf ball-sized dough ball. Now, knowing how to make the balls, Rafe continues on his own. Y/N places the pan in the oven when all the balls are formed and they go to watch Clueless as the cookies bake. 

———

Dinner is served picnic style on the beach, watching the sunset. Battery-powered lanterns litter the sand around the picnic mat to create light. It illuminates the spread of sushi, pasta, cheeseburger sliders and mini tacos; all of Y/N’s favourite foods and all cooked by Lacey. The couple gorges themselves on the buffet before they cuddle together on the beach, sharing the cookies they made together. “When did you think you started to fall for me?” Y/N ponders, taking a bite from the cookie and then handing it over to Rafe. 

“You are going to call me a liar. But I think I’ve been slowly falling for you since we were five. I remember thinking: ‘She is totally wrong about who won the race, but I love how she isn’t afraid to fight back in her own way.’ Also, I found it funny how long you could hold a grudge. How about you?” 

“That is totally a lie and such a cliche. For me, it is probably when you took me to McDonald’s after my first date with Wilson. You knew what I needed and what I liked without me having to tell you. I really appreciated that. You also did a bunch of things that Wilson didn’t even do for me on our date and I kept thinking about that.” 

“No, it can’t have been then. It was so recent.”

“Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t. It’s when I knew for sure though that I had feelings for you. Maybe I started unconsciously falling for you way before then.” 

“Good. Because I want the book of you and me to be a really long one. So your chapters have to start before that.” 

“Okay, whatever you want.” 

“You’re cold. My swim team sweater is in the basket for you.” 

“How did you know I’m cold?”

“Caring for you is my sixth sense now.”

Y/N untangles herself from his arms and goes over to the basket to put on his hoodie. He loves to see her wearing his number and last name on his back. One day, it’s going to be hers too. She goes back into his arms to cuddle for a little bit. After a while, he notices she is growing tired and they pack up to go back to her house. 

———

Rafe is parked outside of her house, waiting for her to get out of the car. She doesn’t move, but instead turns towards him, “Can you sleep over? I don’t really want this date to end.” He tiredly smiles at her and turns the car off. They get into her room and go around getting ready for bed in sync. The scene felt perfectly domestic as they brushed their teeth together. He gets into the bed first and lets his arms wrap around her when she lies beside him. She rests her head on his chest and her eyes flutter closed, “Goodnight, Rafe.” “Goodnight, my rose,” he whispers, placing a kiss on her forehead before falling asleep. 

———

Marvin and Cassie Y/L/N find their daughter in bed the next morning in the arms of Rafe Cameron. They are not surprised by the sight and are glad the two have finally gotten together. “You owe me a book,” Cassie mumbles as she closes Y/N’s bedroom door and they walk downstairs. Marvin lightly grumbles, “They really couldn’t have waited a year. I thought they would finally realize it in university.”

“Not them. They were meant to be.” 

Taglist: @itsalexwin​ @sublimepenguinpeach-blog​   @gillybear17​   @terraeluce​  @f4ll-for-you​

[cyten0]

A Symphony In Crimson

Act 1: A Movement in Black

Chapter 9

The house has been much nicer this time around. It feels like everyone is working together a bit better, there’s a closer bond of trust. The others were quite surprised by Bonnie’s marksmanship! But all of them seem a little stronger. The first floor has been a breeze really. Which is good, since it means you haven’t had to take any hits really. Nothing to try and cover up. Plus, the party has taken less hits, which means less temptation. Stars your hungry.

Your sitting down for snacks when Odile does their coinflip thing with Isa. Looks like they lost this time.

▲ “What was that about, madam?”

◆ “Ah well. I asked the Favor tree to win my next coin flip.”

✿ “Huh?”

◉ “Such a silly favor.”

◆ “Purely for scientific reasons. I wanted to see if there was anything to this Favor tree business. As we can see, apparently not much.”

The others look a little disappointed by that, and your just a little hurt for some reason, as usual.

▲ “… Well you didn’t put any belief into it, so of course nothing didn’t happen. Sif actually told me a bit about that!”

Huh! Oh right! You did!

◆ “Really? Tell me more.”

Oh STARS yes, you get to talk more about this, it’s so cool! It still hurts your head to talk about, but it’s SO WORTH IT!!!!

✦ “Using favor trees, and the right steps, you can call spare energy from other worlds! The trees aren’t the only way, but its certainly one of them! But in order to do so, you have to care about what your wishing for, otherwise they won’t feel compelled to answer you. You can do all the steps perfectly right, and not get a thing! But if you care enough, you can get something even if you do nearly every step wrong.”

✿ “Woah! That’s so cool!”

◆ “I’ve never heard this before…... Oh, Is this a field of study from your homeland?”

Oh, they remembered! They must have spent some effort doing that. You nod.

◆ “Fascinating. How effective is this method?”

Heh, time to shock them all.

✦ “Well, it might not have been a favor tree, but. I bet the king used a similar method to get Timecraft!”

◉ “WHAT!!!”

▲ “Oh Crab!”

◆ “You’re Certain?”

✦ “That power comes from the stars. It’s no coincidence his armor is decorated with them.”

✿ “Oh yeah! The poster!”

◉ “Does that mean ANYONE could do that? And be just as dangerous?”

No it’s not that good but… Hm… It hurts your head but...

✦ “No. Getting that much power would not only require an insane commitment, but would require really lengthy, costly, and complicated rituals that would take months in order to draw from enough stars.”

◉ “Oh thank change.”

▲ “Makes you wonder about his motive though…”

Huh. Isa’s right, it does mean the king is awfully dedicated. Big wishes like that take effort… A wish like that is probably why your here, right? But you still need more information. This gives information as to what it is, but it doesn’t make sense why you’d be here. Your wish was way too small, can’t be that. If only you could read that book in the storage room, the picture on the cover makes you think it might be about wishcraft. But trying to remember a language from barricaded memories of memories is a few steps of separation too many. And your head still hurts a TON from yesterday.

Ah well. You’ll figure out, bit by bit. Your making progress! It’s only been… Hm. You haven't kept track how many times you’ve looped. Might want to ask loop about that. Anyways, it’s time for snacks, and your super hungry! You’ll try and cut down just a little bit, but that’s gonna be a tall order.

>>>

Your in the library. Your eyes got caught by the diary again, and Mirabelle is reading it out again. Then the others start talking about the country. It’s hard to listen to it again.

✿ “Still…. The name of that country…. What was it again?”

▲ “Oh, I think it was something like A-”

You all suddenly get a massive headache as Isa tries to say it! Your head feels like it’s going to split open it hurts so blinding much! It hurts so much you can only see red! You cover your eyes so they don’t notice. It hurts it hurts it hurts but…. Then… The pain…. Subsides…..

You look up. That. Didn’t happen last time. What… Odile. She stopped Mira from interrupting?

✿ “Ow. Crab, that hurt way more then I thought.”

◉ “Ow ow ow… Madam, why did you let that happen?”

◆ “Gems, that hurt…. Siffrin?”

She… She did that for you…? Just so you’d have a chance to? You really don’t deserve that. Others shouldn’t have to hurt for your needs. But….

✦ “….. Starts with an A. Heh. It’s something!”

The others give puzzled looks, as you slot the diary back into the bookshelf. That one. That helps a lot more then just Siffrin. That’s for all of them.

>>>

Your on the third floor, in the room with the person doing bodycraft again. Key is obtained, but your a little bored, so you decide to take a look at the closet.

▲ “Oh, look at this shirt! It’s the same material as your cloak, right Sif?”

◆ “It looks very warm. I’m surprised you managed to wear it all through summer.”

Right. This cloak was one of the first things you ever had. You never questioned it much.

✦ “It’s actually quite cool? Never get hot in it really.”

◉ “Really?”

▲ “...Sif, mind if I take a look real quick?”

Huh! You're a little nervous to have him so close, but… Okay. The only wounds you’ve taken are covered up well enough, so it… Should be fine, right?

You nod. Isabeau kneels and takes a hold of your cloak lifting it up and examining. it. You can feel his breath against your body, feel the warmth exude from him, hear his heartbeat so keenly, smell his body and it’s taste, feel the slight tugs and motions as he handles the fabric... It’s hard to focus.

▲ “… Holy Crab… This is some impressive work.”

✦ “Huh? What do you mean?”

▲ “Okay, starting on the simple side, It’s got a very interesting stitching style. Not very Vaugardian at all, and seems to focus on being highly durable. Like, borderline armor durable. It’s even fireproof. Difficult to pull off. Plus it’s been treated to be stainless as well.”

◉ “Huh! That’s some good traveling cloths.”

▲ “Oh that’s just the beginning. Someone decided to take this already impressive cloak, and literally stitch craft into the fabric. And not just a little, there’s a bunch! Self repair, temperature regulation, it even adjusts to your size! And to top it off, while you can’t tell normally, some of the fabric inside glows a little in dark places, showing some interesting patterns!... Hey, they even sewed a little butterfly emblem on the inseam!”

✿ “Woah! That sounds REALLY fancy!”

▲ “Honestly Sif, this cloak alone is practically worth an entire village?!? Where did you even get this?”

… You don’t speak. You remember Siffrin was important in his homeland. Guess you got an idea how important.

▲ “… Ah. Hey, it’s alright. I’m sure they’d be happy with how you’ve used it.”

✦ “… Yeah.”

The others are confused, but you move on. It’s fine.

>>>

Got the third floor handled, and got food at the bathrooms. Odile didn’t interupt this time, even though you ate a lot during the snack breaks, maybe because of the increased trust? And now you’ve obtained the Keyknife! And are back at the entrance…

Hm. You wonder. Your curious about that statue. You remember Mira mentioning that these statues are connections to the change god. Who’s is the one that blessed you?

✦ “Hey, Before we go ahead, I want to check something”

◉ “Huh? Okay, let’s go!”

>>>

Your back in the statue room. Your not expecting anything, but your curious about it. You take a closer look.

Hm. Not to judge but… Oh, Looks like the others are judging instead.

✿ “Can noses look like that?”

▲ “Wow, it’s left eye is somehow above the right brow.”

◆ “I can’t tell if it’s smiling or frowning.

You notice Mirabelle is oddly quiet. You had suspicions but...

✦ “...Mirabelle?”

◉ “I… I was trying to make it look nice and gentle…”

▲ “CRAB, MIRA WE’RE SO SORRY!!!!”

✿ “SORRY WE SAID YOUR STATUE SUCKED!!!!”

◉ “It’s alright…. I’ll get my revenge on you all someday.”

The others shudder, and you smile a bit.

Hm. So this is Mirabelle's statue, huh? A connection between her and the change god, the only one unharmed in the house, and the one that gives you this blessing each time...

✦ “Mira, can you put your hand on the statue?”

◉ “Um? Okay, sure?”

She puts her hand on the statue, and suddenly, the room shifts!

Your both pulled into that strange realm again! But. Your still here? You havn’t been teleported, you’ve been brought…. Elsewhere.

You look around. It’s nothing but pure white as far as you can see. There’s a faint humming, in that sound only you can hear.

There’s a figure approaching. You don’t know what to do! Wait is that?

◉ “Euphrasie?”

Is that the name of the Head Housemaiden? They seem a little surprised, but then…

❍✿ Incorrect buzzer

❍✿ “mirabelle!!! i can't believe u can't recognize me ಠ_ಠ"

Their wearing bonnies face now?

◉ “Wait you changed shapes?!? Are…”

❍◉ “yay!!! o(≧▽≦)o got it so fast! it’s me! The Change God ＠＾▽＾＠”

Your stunned. You can’t move. Wait, Mirabelle’s crying!

❍◎ “oh no don’t cry! i didn’t want to make you cry (╥﹏╥)”

◉ “I’m so sorry!!!! For not changing enough, for being useless, for lying and making everyone think you blessed me, for-”

❍▲ “nonono your all good! ( : ౦ ‸ ౦ : ) i’m not worried about any of that. you’re all good!(≧◡≦) “

◉ “Huh?

❍✿ “if I was upset, i wouldn’t have helped you all earlier! (⁀ᗢ⁀) but I did because I’m rooting for you. both of you!”

H-huh! They… they are?… Mirabelle dries her tears, and seems happier.

❍◆ “i’m about to tell you something, that you won’t remember for a lot of reasons. well, your brain won’t, but your heart will!!!”

❍▲ “it’s true that, as the Change God, i can’t do much to help you all. but i feel okay with that, because you all have the real power! you’re really strong mirabelle! ლ(ಠ益ಠ)ლ”

❍◎ “just the will to change things is enough to do anything! and look how far you’ve gotten without my help!o(>ω<)o but if that’s not enough…”

The figure’s form dissipates, revealing a single, small, cloaked figure, with the face of the statue from earlier.

❍ “You are loved, mirabelle. i see you changing, even if you do not. you are always changing, evolving, growing. and even if you’re not, that’s ok. Because life might be about changes, but sometimes it’s about staying right where you are, sometimes. i’m proud of you, and i love you!”

She looks at them not sure what to say. Your just happy to see her happy at this point.

❍ “and i love this stupid face you made me and i’m never letting anyone destroy it!!! got it?”

Mirabelle gives them a hug. The figure seems surprised! But allows it.

◉ “….Thank you. You’re not what I was expecting, but I’d expect nothing less. Thank you so much…”

❍◎ “hehehe…. euphie is right, your super stinking cute!”

Mirabelle lets go, and wipes away her tears.

❍✿ “okay! that’s your special god call! i’ll send you back now, but i’ma chat with your friend here a little more!”

◉ “Huh? WAH-”

In a blink, Mirabelle is gone. It’s just you and the change god now… Their disguise melts. Their form shifts. Their cloak billows out and grows to tower over you. Their face pure shadow. As they speak, their demeanor shifts, ever so slightly. Their voice echoes in the unheard sound only you hear. The space fills with twirling shapes.

❍ “Sorry to keep you waiting. But I wanted to talk to her first. She needs those words desperately, and has been waiting for them from me for a while now!”

✦ “I-I um!”

❍ “It’s alright!!! I know. I know. About the island, about the timeloops, about who you are and... It’s okay…. I-I’m sorry I can’t help you much! It made me very happy to see my little gift helped make you happy!!! Y-You’ve been through a lot.”

You… They care. They care? And they did know? They know and… and you’re crying. You’ve stopped holding your eyes in shape, your horn is out, your heart glows, you just collapse. And you’re crying.

❍ “I um!! okay, maybe you just need a second to let it out a bit. I’m not very good at this….”

They give you a hug. You can barely breathe through the tears. They know what you did, this being that cares so much for life, and yet… Hearing them say it, hearing them tell you they care even despite everything...

❍ “...You know, for a lot of people, I’d be kinda upset at the whole ‘locking a major place of change in time’ thing, but I know your trying, and you don’t want to do that. Just like you didn’t want to hurt those on the island… I’m sure you’ll find a way to fix it, and you’ll make good use of the time. I’m rooting for you.”

✦ “I-I!!… thank you…I don’t know if I deserve it though….”

❍ “…. I have a message from my partner. A patron of your home.”

Huh?!!!

They pull back a bit, still holding you, looking you head on with their void of a face. And sing, in the voice of the stars:

Oh dear and precious fallen star

We’ve seen you travel, long and far.

Through trials filled with pain and fear

We know you’ll hold to all that’s dear

So sing your song, o mournful Dove

But know that you have always been Loved.

You… You feel hands. Hugging you. Not the change gods, but ones that feel… familiar… Feel kind. Feel like…

You see tears drip down from the Change Gods hood. Their crying? Why are they crying for you? You killed so many… you don’t deserve it...

❍ “you have always been loved. not as Siffrin, but as you….”

They pull you close again. You can hear them crying now. Your tears mix with theirs as they pool into the space below you.

❍ “Y-Your cloak was made so you could wander the streets... Your tinkers tools so you could make things yourself…. That device in your pocket to show you the world when it wasn’t safe for you to be out... That gun so you could defend yourself even when you didn’t trust yourself up close... Your skill with music was taught because it helped you talk and they wanted to hear your voice… and…. And….”

You can’t… You can’t stop crying…. They… were for you? All along? But…. But…

❍ “And I wish I could have done something!!! You shouldn’t have had to deal with any of this!!! So please, please!!! Don’t forget that!!! Don’t forget that people have loved you always, no matter what!!! …your so young. So young for what you are. You shouldn’t have to suffer like this.”

You… you hug them back. Stars, you need to hug them. You need to hold them close. You wish you could hug these figures you barely remember, tell them your sorry, wish you could remember who they were. Wish you could remember why they cared for you. And… at the very least, you’ll hold close someone. You need to hug SOMEONE. The Change God hugs you tighter.

❍ “...I… Can’t keep you here for much longer. So. Don’t worry, I’ll give you the keyknife as many times as you need it, I’ll wait for you to get out of this, and… I’ll be rooting for you. Okay? Just promise me, you’ll remember what I said?”

You struggle to speak through your tears. You… really were loved…

✦ “…Yeah. I will. T-Thank you…”

You feel them fade away, as the room starts to form.

You put yourself back together as it does. But the tears aren’t stopping. You turn towards Mira. She’s crying a little too.

✿ “HEY!!!!”

▲ “Mira, Sif! Are you both alright?!”

◉ “What… just happened? I can’t… Siffrin?”

You can’t speak. You can’t stop crying.

▲ “SIF?!? Are you okay? Say something!!”

✦ “S̴̯̕orry! I just… I…”

You can’t help but laugh. You… You feel a bittersweet mixture of joy and sorrow. You don’t know how to process it at all.

◉ “I think we experienced something… Incredible? But I can’t remember it anymore.”

You do. You’ll never forget. You take a deep breath, and dry your tears.

◆ “Are you alright now Siffrin?”

✦ “I… Yeah. Come on. We have a king to beat.”

You smile. It’s bittersweet… You want to remember them. So badly now. They loved you, they cared for you. And you can’t even remember a thing about them…

No. One more memory surfaces. They said… they said…

It takes strength to see what you want from the world. Don’t give up on it ever.

You HAVE to find a way to remember them. You can’t let them be forgotten, not a second longer, not when you’ve gotten so close… But… You’ll need help… and there’s only one person who’d try.

It’s time to meet the king.

✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸

...There’s a look in stardust's eye. This loop was doing so good. Their all happy. They deserve that. They’ve been at this for a while, even if they aren’t aware of it. And the change god was very kind to say that. But… Stardust isn’t thinking clearly. They haven't been for a while. The last two they remembered clearer because you fed them proper food, but it’s not easy to get that. And you have this sinking feeling things are going to take a turn for the worse. Very fast.

[annisshifting]

Shifting Advice that no one asked for.

I don't know why I'm writing this. No one asked, but I'm doing it anyway because why not? Maybe someone might actually find this helpful. So I'm shooting my shot into this void.

Q: Best shifting method?

A: We all know there isn't one "best" method, because the "best" is subjective yada yada. What your probably trying to ask is "I don't feel like this method is working how do I fix it?" Which here is a way to "fix" you can do to a method you like.

First, find the parts you don't like or get frustrated with. Take a moment when you're not solely focused on shifting and go through the method. Find the parts that make your brain go "yeah, no."

Next, decide what is you don't like about it. Don't wanna count? Wanna visualize something different? Takes too long? Figure out what it is about the method that bothers you.

Change it, look into other methods and add and take away until you have a method that is basically second nature to you.

I personally, listen to rain sounds, and invision that I'm half asleep listening to people in my DR talking. It's just what I was left with after working with the Alice in Wonderland method for so long. It feels completely natural to me and it feels like how my method should be.

Q: What happens when someone tries to wake you in your CR?

A: Now, this question is a little more complicated, but that's mainly because of what your personal beliefs are.

You see, this life we live is crazy weird. I'm not gonna lie it is, so don't stress out this decision, because it's completely possible that both these things are true at the same time.

In the Multiverse theory, you will wake up and respond as normal, because time is already a loose thing when it comes to shifting. So when someone comes to get you, you will already be back. It's a bit headache inducing if you think too long on it.

In the consciousness theory though, is where this gets a little weirder, but in the simplest way I can think of explaining this is, nothing happens in your CR when your not here because you're not here to witness it. It would be like someone hitting pause on a movie. Nothing happens well the movie is paused.

Deciding which theory you like more could help you with shifting.

Q: I haven't shifted yet and I don't know what to do :(

A: I'm not gonna give you that "shifting is so easy" and the "everyone can do it just believe" speech that has been given thousands of times. That's not what you're looking for.

I understand your pain, I do. As someone who has been attempting to shift for four years, I have been beaten black and blue over my time and it sometimes feels like it won't get easier.

But I hold out hope that it will.

All I can really suggest is when it feels like nothing is working. My suggestion is to look at the parts that frustrate you, they make you upset for a reason. Reverse engineer until you find the source of the problem, even if the answer is something that you don't like. I promise that facing that problem head on will make journey go so much faster then mine.

How much faster?

Well you might avoid writing shifting advice at three am to hide from the fact you feel lonely.

[lulu24784]

washing machine heart | part 8

"I know who you pretend I am."

[AO3 Link] previous chapter | next chapter

synopsis: | You're absolutely infatuated with Stan Marsh and have even started dating him! It should be a dream come true, but the truth is, he's only with you to make Wendy Testaburger jealous. To help you work through your emotions, you turn to Kenny McCormick, your best friend.

pairings: | kenny mccormick x fem! reader ; stan marsh x fem! reader ; wendy testaburger x stan marsh

cws: | angst, drug use/drug mentions, explicit language, sexual content, unrequited love, mental health themes / sh

everyone is aged up to be 18+

Stan knew he had fucked up. Trying to deny it was a waste of time. He had lied right to your face. He wasn’t even drinking with his friends. He had been drinking alone in his room and lamenting every single mistake he had made in life. The next thing he knew, he was drunk and on his way to Wendy’s home.

It was bad. He knew that. He begged her to give him another chance, despite the fact that he was already dating you. When Wendy threw him out, he went to your place. Some type of date was planned for the two of you. He didn’t even care. It didn’t matter to him. Sure, you were cute… But you weren’t her. That’s probably why he left you with no remorse. You were blessed, in all honesty. He was a jackass, and you should have been able to do much better than him. That much was clear to him. He didn’t want to hurt you.

There was no use in trying to salvage your relationship now, so he decided to cut his losses. It was short anyway.. You’d get over it pretty quickly; he figured. It was a mistake to invite you into his fucked-up existence. He was going to hurt you in the same way that he hurt Wendy, and he didn’t want to subject you to that. At least, that’s what he told himself.

Really and sincerely… He felt like he didn’t deserve to be happy anyway.

After Wendy left him, he started dating you out of selfishness. He was such a prick. He even knew of Kenny’s crush on you and he fucking did it anyway… Just to feel better about himself. He even became envious, believing Kenny would whisk you away, despite the fact that he had no right to be so possessive of you. Looking at how attached you are to each other… His chest ached from it.

It’s not like he actually really liked you like that…

Right?

The thought made him feel nauseous.

You were kind and thoughtful. You tolerated his whining and bitching as well as the godawful ‘dates’ he brought you on that were really just his pitiful efforts to get into your pants… Which he couldn’t even do without chickening out. Truthfully, he was glad you two stopped the last time. If anything had really happened, this would be so much messier.

God, he felt like such a mess.

Surely he’d regret all of this in the morning.

Kyle was sitting at his computer busily working on his schoolwork while Stan lay, sprawled out on the floor of his bedroom, watching the spinning ceiling above him.

“I told you, dude. You just need to focus on yourself for a bit and stop drinking so much.”

“Fuck you, dude. You don’t get it. My life is just… It’s shit. I’m shit. Wendy fuckin’ hates me and now so does [Name].”

While Stan rambled on drunkenly, Kyle rolled his eyes and went back to his homework.

“She was sweet, too. I’m such a fuck-up.”

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

The rest of the night was a blur.

You don’t remember how you got to bed, and you certainly don’t remember the moment when your weeping finally wore you out enough to need to go to sleep.

After a long night of crying, you woke up with swollen eyes and a splitting headache. The mattress underneath you seemed as if it would swallow you whole if you moved, and the blankets that wrapped you were so comfortable and soft that you didn’t want to move in the first place. Unfortunately, it was a Monday morning, and you had to get ready for class.

You pulled yourself out of bed and stomped slowly into the bathroom, where you washed the sleep from your face. When you checked your reflection, you looked quite haggard. There was no amount of makeup that could hide the fact that you had spent the whole night bawling. Sighing, you got ready nevertheless, using concealer to try to hide it as best you could.

“For fuck’s sake…” Mumbling, brushing the knots out of your hair.

Today was a sweatpants and hoodie type of day. You weren’t in the mood to make any effort with your look today. What was the point? There was no longer anybody you needed to impress.

Today also felt like a “Skip breakfast” kind of day. You were certain that if you ate anything, it would come back up immediately, so you didn’t want to take a chance.

The morning stroll to school began as you gathered your books and bag and stepped outside. The chilly air felt refreshing on your cheeks, and you could see little puffs of air form on your exhale. Although the frigid Colorado winter was generally unpleasant, today it was welcomed. It was fantastic to be able to tune out your negative thoughts and instead concentrate only on the chill in the air. You’d be happy if you could just sit outdoors and let freezing air bite your skin forever.

It wasn’t until long that you made it to school. Taking a few steps closer to the entrance, you could make out the four usual boys, causing a commotion.

Eric calling Kyle a Jew.

Kyle calling Eric a fatass.

Stan grumbling about how stupid they were.

Stan…

You paused in your forward motion and looked around the group, your gaze inevitably landing on Stan. He seemed worn out and dishevelled, most likely hungover. When he saw you were staring, you swiftly turned away and entered the building. He called out to you, but you ignored him and kept on. You also heard a muffled call from your closest friend, Kenny.

Ah, fuck.

You totally forgot to check your phone to see whether he had ever responded. Of course, it no longer mattered. Although you knew he meant well, a little part of you was nonetheless disappointed that he hadn’t been there when you needed him. Boys really were the worst.

You walked up to your locker, dumped your things inside, and got out your textbook for the next period. A female standing next to you startled you as you were about to shut the locker door.

A purple beret on jet-black hair.

Wendy Testaburger.

“Jesus Christ, you scared me.” You clutched your chest as you wheezed.

Giggling a little, she smiled at you. “Sorry, [Name.]” She looked away for a second, then stepped closer to you, meeting your eyes with a worried expression. “Can we talk for a minute? It’s really important.”

“Uh… Yeah, sure. Um, what’s up?”

Chewing on the inside of your cheek, you shifted awkwardly. What could Wendy possibly want to talk with you about? Did she already know Stan dumped you? Was she here to tell you they got back together and then laugh in your face?

You gave Wendy your undivided attention as you looked into her eyes.

She exhaled. It was clear that something was bothering her a lot…

“[Name]… Um… Stan. He… He showed up at my place yesterday.”

You felt the static in your ears pick up again, and a rush of nervous energy ran through your body. As you listened to her, you felt a tingling sensation spreading across every part of you.

“He… He was begging me to get back with him.”

The pit of your stomach started to churn, and you could feel your heart pounding against the inside of your chest. Your grip on the textbooks you were holding started to get shaky. Wendy seemed to have noticed, and she put her hand on your arm, presumably in an effort to help settle you down a little. You let her.

“I know you two are together, so I kicked him out. I wanted to text you but.. I don’t have your phone number and all of your socials are private, so I don’t think you got any of the messages I sent.”

“Y-You’re kidding…”

Almost immediately, your hand went to your pocket, and you pulled your phone out of it. You glanced at the roughly thirty missed messages from Kenny, but you quickly dismissed them and opened up Coonstagram instead, going straight to your message requests. Sure enough, there they were.

“I wanted you to know from me first, before word gets out, y’know? Rumors always spread pretty fast here..” Wendy murmured, staring at you as you perused the text messages she had sent.

A little part of you hoped she was exaggerating, attempting to fuck with you… However, you made the decision to go with your gut this time and take her word for it. You noted the time that the messages were sent after giving them a closer look and analyzing them more closely.

4pm.

Stan came over around 5pm.

The wheels in your head turned. He visited Wendy before coming to your house…

Was he going to cheat on you before your date? Did he just feel so guilty about it he dumped you?

He was drunk though… So his mind was probably all messed up…

But he still did it.

Your breathing became harder, and you felt like you were about to cry again. You felt tingles all over, and your stomach wrenched. In retrospect, skipping breakfast was the right call.

That was the last thing going through your mind as you sprinted by Wendy and emptied the contents of your stomach into a trash can not far away, dropping your textbook in the process. Other students gasped and bolted, exclaiming, “Ew!” while you sobbed and vomited.

As you continued to vomit, a kind hand stroked circles on your back and another pulled your hair back. Upon looking up, you saw Wendy. She smiled sadly as you retched again and continued to attempt to calm you down with her touch.

“Oh hamburgers! Is your little buddy going to be okay, Wendy?”

“I think so. Thanks for the concern, Butters.”

While you buried your head in the garbage, you overheard Wendy talking to some of the other students. You forgot how popular she was. To everyone else, her soothing you in this way must appear extremely out of the ordinary.

“Hey Wendy! Oh, ew! Gross! Oh my god! Did you tell her?!”

That sounded like Wendy’s friend, Bebe. Although you had never spoken with her before, you could immediately identify her voice. As you spat out the nauseating vomit taste from your lips, you heard someone else approach.

“Damn, poor girl. You told her, hey?”

Heidi Turner.

You groaned and sat back as you completed the process of purging your stomach. A napkin immediately hit your lips as Wendy knelt down and wiped your face for you.

“Are you alright?”

“Y-Yeah… I think so.” You gave Wendy a hesitant nod, still unsure as to why she was being so compassionate towards you. She lifted you up with a kind hand and dusted the dirt from your clothing.

“Good. I’m really sorry, [Name].”

“I mean, it’s not your fault…” you mumbled as you embraced yourself. You cast an eye across at the other two females who had shifted to stand by Wendy. You could feel everyone’s attention on you, which caused you to feel uneasy for a moment.

“Um… Why… Why are you being so nice to me?” You looked down at the ground. “Shouldn’t you hate me or something? For dating Stan?”

Wendy, Bebe, and Heidi all shared a laugh. In that instant, you felt tiny.

“I don’t hate you! If anything, I felt bad for you. I know how Stan is.. I’ve been through it too.” She smiled. “Honestly, I thought you hated me. Stan talked a lot of shit when we broke up.”

“Haha, right?!” Bebe chimed in.

“I wanted to reach out but just kind of figured it wasn’t my place.”

You gazed at Wendy, astounded at how thoughtful she was. You were ecstatic that she was nothing like you had anticipated. Being able to sense genuine concern was wonderful.

“Well, thank you.” Your voice was gentle. “For uh, telling me. Oh, and for holding my hair back.” You and the three girls all laughed. You forced a hesitant “Um” out before grinning dejectedly. “Stan dumped me last night anway, so…”

“Ugh, fucking prick.” Heidi scowled, her arms crossed.

“Girl, you deserve way better anyway.” Bebe moved so her arm was over your shoulder. You felt your cheeks heat up from the closeness; you only ever got this type of attention from Kenny. “We should find you a new man! Or… Woman?” She winked at you, arching an eyebrow in a way that made you flush even more. You stuttered, unable to say anything coherent. Just like your best friend, she was a total flirt.

“Hey, hey…” Wendy interjected, taking your hand in hers and giving you the most adorable smile you’ve ever seen. “Give her some time, you vixen.” She laughed. “Let her get over Stan first. I know it can be a little difficult.” She winked at you with understanding as she pulled you away from Bebe. “How about you sit with us at lunch? We can talk more about it after class.”

“Yeah, Heidi and Wendy can tell you ALL about how to deal with breakups.” Bebe snickered, while the other two gave her dirty looks.

“Sure…” Your voice squeaked as you attempted to smile for the group.

“Perfect! We’ll see you then!” Wendy smiled, squeezed your hand briefly, and then released it. As the three of them walked together to class, they waved goodbye.

You waved back and picked up your book from the floor, where you’d apparently dropped it. You were ready to settle down and go to class when you saw the familiar group of boys making their way into the school.

Eric didn’t direct his attention to you, thank god.

Kyle met your eyes and smiled sadly at you. He was aware of the situation without a doubt.

Stan never looked up from the floor. Your chest felt tight.

Kenny hurried over to you as soon as he could, an expression of worry visible in his eyes.

As he drew nearer, he took off his hood, showing his face and making his anxiety VERY evident. You smiled nervously and waved at him, and he instantly embraced you tightly, forcing your face against his chest. He looked down at you as he drew away while placing his hands on your shoulders.

“You never responded back! Are you okay?!” His voice was frantic.

You couldn’t help but scowl slightly and turn your gaze elsewhere. “I never responded? What about you? You ignored me all night.” You hissed. “You said you’d be there for me. Where were you?”

He froze, his face scrunched up in sadness.

“[Name], Princess, I’m really REALLY sorry. I just got caught up in… some stuff. I didn’t mean’ta ignore you!” Kenny whined and drew you back into his arms, this time encircling your head. He swayed wildly from side to side. “Please don’t hate meee!!”

It was impossible not to giggle at his antics. “Jesus, Kenny. It’s fine. Just… keep your word next time!”

“Oh, of course! I swear! It won’t happen again.” He flashed you a goofy grin before letting go of you and snatching the textbook from your hands. He usually walked you to class, so you figured today wouldn’t be any different. He cleared his throat and looked down at you as the two of you started to walk.

“You never answered me, y’know? Are you doing okay?” He spoke gently and put his hand on the small of your back as you walked together.

“I’m… As okay as I can be.” You spoke, picking your words with care. “Wendy talked with me and I barfed, and now I’m a bit better.”

Kenny paused briefly, bewildered.

“What? Wendy talked with you?”

“Yeah, and then her, Bebe, and Heidi invited me to sit with them at lunch.”

“What? What the fuck? What did she talk to you about?”

You turned your head away from Kenny while chewing your lower lip.

“She told me Stan went to her house… Um… Before he showed up at mine.” You murmured, genuinely wishing that you could simply put this entire incident out of your mind and go on. After a moment, you realised Kenny had come to a full stop. You turned around to face him and… woah. You’d never seen him with that kind of expression on his face. He looked pissed.

“She said she kicked him out… And then he came over and dumped me. S-So…” You trailed off.

Kenny frowned and clenched his fists for a moment before he exhaled deeply, let out a sigh, and walked back beside you.

“I’ll talk to him.”

“Ken, no. It’s fine. Okay? Just… Leave it alone.”

Stepping up to your classroom, you took your books from Kenny. “I appreciate the offer, Ken. I really do. But, it’s done now. I’ll get over it… Probably… It’s not a big deal.”

As his hand came down on your head and he began to ruffle your hair, you saw the bitter expression that was on his face.

“Alright… I’ll see you after school, then? I want to hang out.”

“Sure.” You gave him a kind grin, and he gave you one back before leaving for his own class.

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

Holy shit. Kenny felt something beyond infuriated; he couldn’t put it into words. The fact that Stan arrived drunk at your house and dumped you like it was nothing was miserable enough, but the fact that he went to Wendy’s just before he did it was simply cruel. The blond frowned while he pulled his hood back up over his face so that no one could see what expression he was making.

In the classroom, he remained mute as he observed Kyle’s unsuccessful attempts to engage in conversation with Stan. Kenny glared daggers into the back of the raven-haired boy’s head. He would be dead right now if he had lazer vision.

Speaking about death… A pang of guilt welled up within Kenny at the notion. Last night, when he should have been at your side, he was powerless to be there. Instead, however, he had chosen to assume the role of a superhero, and it was during his attempt to foil a theft that he met an untimely end.

That’s right, Kenny McCormick was officially declared deceased late yesterday. However, just like every other time he has died, he was alive and well the following day. This time was no different. As usual, nobody was able to remember the incident. It was a tough existence at times…

He knew he couldn’t explain what happened, so he prepared a lame answer in case you pressed him further. Like, maybe he was with a girl and lost track of time?

Ah, maybe not.

Kenny was aware of how vulnerable you were and didn’t want to hurt you by making some other person appear to be more significant than you: his best friend. It was pretty silly, and maybe a little unhealthy… But he loved that aspect of you.

No matter how flawed you were, he still loved you nonetheless. He wished you could see yourself as he saw you. Perhaps you’d have a new perspective on yourself. Who knows? Maybe you wouldn’t fall hopelessly in love with the very first person who paid you any kind of attention who wasn’t your best friend? Or maybe you wouldn’t settle with alcoholics who only used you to boost their own self-esteem?

Kenny sighed and laid his head on his desk, disinterested in the lecture his instructor was delivering. He couldn’t wait until lunchtime so that he could confront Stan about what happened. Sure, you told him not to… But he was going to, anyway.

Stan was his friend and sometimes friends needed their teeth knocked out.

Notes:

Hopefully you like the small glimpse into Stan's mind!

Both Reader and Stan are incredibly insecure with themselves and I wanted to really show that. Stan is much more likely to actively sabotage the good in his life whereas Reader focuses everything inward.

Let me know what you think! This is definitely the longest chapter I've written.

[dark-elf-writes]

(raises hand in confusion not 100% understanding how the mechanism works) What The Heckaroonie would Eagle Eye Vision paint the BNHA side of the cross in?

Like I figure that All Might due to AFO's involvement might be Gold (or it's actually Eagle Eye somehow seeing his golden OFA aura, or he sees the OFA colors which is Confusing, or it can't process all the souls/imprints at once so it settles on something headache-inducing).

Aizawa might scan as Blue but with flickers of Red when he's mad. Nezu is Nezu so I think it'd be funny if he skitters the whole dang spectrum depending on how strong his maniacal tendencies are at that moment (but generally leaning Blue).

But like... say Kamui or Endeavor cross Desmond's path. Red because very strong Opinions about "villainous acts" and bullheaded belief that the reports of him being a terrorist are still valid?

Would the Nomu even have a color if they have no personal intent or will depending on how Brain Blasted the individuals are? Or are they solidly Red because they're brainwashed/programmed to have Omnidirectional Violence as default?

Most of the people Desmond would see would be gray or, if they have information he might find useful, white.

I think part of why he likes messing with Aizawa so much is no matter how irritated the man gets with him he never wavers from the bright blue shine in his eagle vision. Even before Desmond officially met him he could see a blue figure following him and was definitely curious/ half convinced his father had sent an assassin to tail him. Shouta however is blue because even when he was told about his new mission he doesn’t immediately jump to the conclusion that Desmond is a villain. The man has always had a soft spot for vigilantes for as much as they give him migraines.

I can definitely see All Might registering gold. But funnier would be the idea that the vestiges are just… hanging around him and he can’t see them but Desmond can at least with Eagle Vision active. Des is mostly irritated that he’s not even just hallucinating his own ghosts anymore he has moved on to others’. He also can’t look directly at All Might with it active because the combined glow of all eight of them is fucking blinding and he gave himself a headache the first time he tried. And the second. And then what sounded like Malik’s voice was calling him a “foolish novice” so he stopped trying.

I would like to think that Nezu if anyone other than Desmond was looking at him would fluctuate constantly between all the colors but for Desmond he’s pretty solidly blue and gold. Nezu has a soft spot for fellow test subjects and broken people trying their best to make the world better.

Most of the heroes are gray or perhaps a light blue. No one understands why Desmond distrusts Endeavor and a few other heroes on sight and he feels incredibly vindicated when certain things eventually come to light (*coughtouyacough*)

I also feel like Izuku is blindingly gold but for the life of him Desmond can’t figure out why. At least until they get thrown in the middle of the brewing war and Desmond realizes with a sickening lurch that they are just like him. And unlike everyone who watched him walk willingly to his death, Desmond isn’t about to let the same thing happen to a teenager who didn’t ask for any of this.

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Right, I'm back. I didn't post anything yesterday because I thought it's best not to rush. But it was indeed fascinating to see reactions in real time to the photo. Yes, I'm talking about the photo posted on IG of JM, JK and another person.

I think I must have read opinions that varied on a entire spectrum and expressed quite vehemently. It's safe to say everyone has really strong opinions and you either condemn it or you're totally fine with it, as long as you pick a side and don't question anything. In sitautions such as these, the tendency to add just a touch of conspiracy is right there. And it gets a pass when there's a lack of information, a language barrier, etc.

I too have my own questions and observations, to which I don't necesarily need an answer, but I'll just write them down.

1. I couldn't help but think of how deep the level of social media stalking is in this fandom. I looked up the account immediately as I saw a screenshot because initially there was confusion about the source. That guy made no previous photo uploads of either JM or JK. At a first glance, there is nothing to connect him to them. And still he had fan accounts following him, before it all blew up and he gained a lot more. My question is, how did that happen? Are there people who look up Jimin's followers list and they try to figure out if there's someone from an inner circle? In all those 50 million people? Do they check some select few accounts daily to see if there's a possibility of a post? The logistics of this are giving me a headache. Or maybe there's some obvious, easier answer and I don't know it.

2. Considering that the account is public, it's not like the photo is leaked. I don't know exactly the nature of the relationship that man has/had with JM & JK and I do not wish to make any speculation with regards to his intentions.

3. I think the outrage was mostly caused by jikookers bringing back to the surface that old photo under the heart arch. Which indeed paints a certain picture, but it's also not the most incriminatory thing out there. I don't think there's any real actual danger, considering that it was supposedly taken from Jungkook's dad Kakao talk. If that's true then it means the dad was ok with showing it.

3. What I personally believe should not have happened was to circulate that photo so easily on social media. People knew about it for a long time, even before someone posted it on I-Jikook twitter. But in cases like these, the photos will always be revealed. They will leave the group chats and out into the wild usually for a petty reason. Because at the end of the day, that's the issue. It has nothing to do with giving a shit about the people in the photo, it's about winning a shipping argument, about screaming "we won". Win what exactly???? It shows who is in it for the fantasy. No single argument could work for them. Replying on and on about deleting doesn't matter.

4. Maybe my last point, but this situation has revealed some things which were already known, but maybe not really articulated specifically all the time. As people not only part of the fandom, but also using social media 24/7, our ideas about privacy and what we should have access to when it comes to public figures has certainly been influenced by the current landscape. In the case of JM & JK particularly, they have been sharing pieces of themselves for more than a decade. It was the BH strategy, the BTS brand. It worked wonders because look at the huge fandom it gathered and the relationship that was built between idol and fan. Hell, Jungkook is doubling down heavy on it with his livestreams. How can anyone really expect a mass of people to really stop and think about privacy? We ourselves as regular people curate our social media image and we voice our opinions and share the places we go to, who are our friends, what parties we attended, when we get into a relationship. Every mundane or special occassion is posted for public consumption. I'm not saying this as some excuse that would justify sharing what looks like a private photo. What I'm saying is that it's to be expected in a way. As harsh as it is, but we live in this reality where the line between the public and private sphere is getting more invisible day by day.

What I think it's scary is that if there's a situation in which an actual compromising photo would somehow be leaked and which can be in the detriment of the people in it for various reasons, so called fans would still share it as proof. Because it doesn't matter for them. It's the high of finding it, of screaming about it on social media, without thinking for more than a second about possible implications. Everything needs to be done fast, regardless of consequences because people need to feed themselves with gossip and leaks.

I'm really just rambling here and not making too much sense. Anyway, I think we should always take a step back and really assess the situation and not scream about it, regardless of our position. Not everything is a threat, or privacy violation or putting people in danger, but it doesn't mean that it needs to be treated lightly as if it's no big deal (which usually comes from people who care more about their own safisfaction and feeling like a "winner").

[say-hi-intrepid-heroes]

my experience getting/having a septum piercing!

(detailed journal under the cut, overview at the top)

TLDR: my experience was good, but that's because i planned and dedicated time to it. if you're in a situation where you'd need to hide it, make sure you get the piercing at least a week before you would need to flip it under. anything less and it's going to hurt like hell (although it'll still hurt a lot after a week)

general tips: 1) clean it at least once a day for a while. stuff builds up, especially in winter. i'd honestly recommend not getting it right before winter like i did, cause cold metal is not great. 2) try not to mess with it during the day, but make sure to move it around when you clean it, otherwise the healing skin will stick to the jewelry. 3) get a color/style you can live with for a few months. 4) don't flip it back and forth too much. 5) don't blow your nose aggressively or you might pass out from the pain. 6) dont wear face makeup to get your piercing done. touching your nose is gonna hurt like hell afterwards, so removing makeup won't be fun. 7) don't get a septum piercing as your first piercing. i've had two piercings in each ear, so i've had experience with the pain. if you flinch on an ear piercing, it's not as big of a deal cause those are so fast, but this one is NOT. major flinching is really bad here.

i've put a detailed log with dates under the cut. tw for descriptions of blood (obviously) but nothing major.

also, if you have any specific follow up questions, feel free to message or send an ask! i can't necessarily give you a perfect answer, but i can tell you what worked for me :)

(disclaimer: i wrote these on the days they are marked. i have not deleted or added anything, these were my thoughts and experiences as they happened. this does not represent everyone's experience, just mine, and is meant to be used as a reference to anyone wanting more information about this experience)

day 0 (11/11)

- got it done at a tattoo shop, they used a new/sterile needle and disinfected the area or something with something that smelled like iodine. it wasn't as fast as an ear piercing but it was honestly less painful.

- lots of initial bleeding (normal for me and head wounds in general), they nicked the outside of one nostril but that's probably because of my nose shape, lots of eye watering (also normal for me)

- cleaning it sucked, used the stuff they gave me (neilmed piercing aftercare mist) and qtips. moving the piercing was the worst part (it was slightly off center so i had to move it a bit), hurt so bad. did not appear to bleed further, however.

- nose area around piercing (nostrils, tip of nose) is extremely tender. putting on moisturizer was painful. glad i was not wearing full face makeup that i would have had to take off

- still too scared to blow my nose. i have a congestion headache.

day 1 (11/12)

- itchy. so itchy.

- currently biggest challenge is cleaning it. the area is so fragile and hurts so bad if you mess up how cleaning is done.

- also, allergies suck. i can't blow my nose. why.

- no bleeding tho, and nothing concerning

day 2 (11/13)

- cleaning is better, but i did figure out i was doing it wrong so that might be why moving the actual jewelry hurt so much. (the piercing was a lot further forward than i thought it was, so i was kinda just cleaning the middle of my nose. i wasn't cleaning where the hole is, so the scab area was just dry when i tried to move it, which is so so bad)

- area around it is much much less tender. no sudden contact though still.

- moving the jewelry hurts like a bitch

day 7 (11/18)

- substantial improvement over the last few days. no longer hurts to move the jewelry or touch my nose. only hurts if excessive force (i.e. getting punched in the nose)

day 9 (11/20)

- flipped it under (to hide it) for the first time. had to look up youtube videos for people with my nose shape cause i was doing it wrong but other than that it was very smooth and painless.

- now i just feel like i need to sneeze, but no pain.

about three weeks post-piercing

- we've kinda leveled out. no more major pain, now i'm able to flip it under in an emergency (without a mirror, without prep, etc)

- i got super sick and had a runny nose and it did fine the whole time.

- highly recommend flipping it under if you're having to blow your nose a lot, otherwise it snags and snot gets caught in it and i don't like it

two months (mid january)

- it is extremely cold where i am (hanging at about 10-15 degrees Fahrenheit) and this is making my skin so so dry.

- basically the piercing wound has cracked open a bit. it hurts a lot. i'm now drinking lots of water and running a humidifier/diffuser, but there's only so much that can do.

three months (mid february)

- just took out the jewelry, cleaned, and replaced for the first time!! it went really smoothly, no pain, no blood, but i did go slowly.

- make sure not to do it over a sink or the pieces could get lost. also, for the horseshoe i have, the little ball is kinda tricky to get back in, but if you take your time it'll work.

- i'm at the point where i feel like it is substantially healed, barring a major snag or other injury. i'm probably going to change out the jewelry soon once i get a new piece, and im very excited for that!!

[end]

[indigos-stardust]

I'm super curious about the fruit bat vampire WIP.

Sorry I took like bajillion years- I was going chronological order, and then some stuff happened irl :') and I might've made an artworks for it

HOWEVER, you chose a very nice (and extremely self indulgent) WIP even though its.. underdeveloped to say the least

Basically there was a dangerous witch/poe causing shenanigans and the colors were sent out to deal with it. The Poe or whatever definitely was setting up curses, although they don't know what the curses were intended to be.

During their battle with him, he ended up shooting Vio, even though Vio swung it back with the four swords (I mean it is a light magic sword). After the battle though, Vio just... didn't seem cursed at all. He was fine, so they all assumed that the curse didn't hit Vio at all.

But then the side effects started. Around the same time there were investigations on what the poe had actually been up to. Which was starting to look like some sort of evil transformation ritual. (the poe was probably trying to convert life force to magic, but they don't know that.)

Meanwhile, Vios become "ill" and he's sent to the castle infirmary, unable to eat foods (not even bread??), constant headaches from sounds and smells, looking pale, has a horrendous sleeping schedule, and- tiny claws and teeth. Confusion and... loss of speech? They realize this isn't a normal illness. There's a tainted magic in his blood. Slowly, yet surely infecting and warping him.

He's starving.

They put some dots together and well- Yeah he's like just becoming a straight up vampire isn't he?

And then let's just say within the next 24 hours not only has vio hissed and scratched a guard in the face, but he's also escaped and become. :) let us just say it like it is, "freaky as hell"

Unfortunately I do not have a more detailed artworks of that, the best I have is this:

but I feel like it gives the vibes off appropriately.

hes just acting feral, hiding in the rafters n etc 💀 Yeah its kinda hard to hide the fact that your brother is cursed as hell and might want to eat people when he's just climbing the walls and acting feral.

its ok that he's a lil ugly, he's still cute, like bats are yk?

they tried to "reason" with him and get him to follow them so they could try to undo the magic but the conversation went something like:

"heyyyy viooooooooo"

"..."

"wooowwww you.. made a freaky nest up there! thats- thats cool- um, but I'm SURE YOUD LOVE SOME BLANKETS AND SMALL ANIMALS (and not people) TO EAT RIGHT??"

"..."

*waves blood packet of animal blood from the kitchen*

"psst psst psst"

vio: *screeching and scampering, tries to 'lunge' on them but then falls down a flight of stairs and disappears*

"well. that didn't go to plan . - . o- o y-y"

XD, anyways some knights up finding THE FERAL VAMPIRE??? and they're like we're gonna kill it!!! and then the colors have to explain that they cant because THATS VIO

and well, to say they get some... divided responses... he might jump red at one point but well...

the truth of everything is that the poe was cursing people into animals, as a way to feast off of their misery. He was trying to turn vio into a bat (the bat being a fruit bat btw) but it only really hit him half way. So now he's taken on physical and mental traits of a bat without a full transformation.

theres a point where he jumps red who, earlier in the day, had spilled juice on himself (lil guy COULD NOT reach the highest shelf and it spilled on his head lol, he was in the kitchen stress baking because they forced him to rest)

They do eventually manage to figure it out (or Zelda does, she realizes that his behaviours are just like Jeremy's... If your'e confused, everyone else was too, she had to explain that when she was trapped under Vaati and Ganon and just fighting for her sanity because of the dark magic n etc, she became friends with a bat that lived there... and named him Jeremy. She is so sane and not effected by her time there, she was totally not shown horribly images of her kingdom falling and being manipulated and etc....)

Anyways there's also a thin where he experienced torpor (mini hibernation) once things chill the hell down lol, but the colors think he dead 0-0, this has spent too long in my drafts so I'm just gonna post it sorry for being 7 decades late