#we’re so similar but at the same time it’s giving the picture of the black house and the pink house LMAO

[finelinevogue]

a montage of love

summary - a fan has put together a small video of some of your best moments together

word count - ~1.5k

pairing - boyfriend!harry x youtuber!reader

The video screen filled with pictures of you and Harry along with the title ‘A quiet love like Harry and Y/Ns’.

The ten minute video was a fan-made compilation of moments between you and Harry that were quiet love moments. Moments where you didn’t say the words ‘I love you’ out loud, but the actions were louder than words anyways.

The fan put a disclaimer on the screen and claimed that they didn’t own any of the content.

You was a YouTuber so a lot of the content came from her channel, since Harry was always so proud and happy to be on your channel.

The video then started.

>>>>Clip 1:

The background was noise, since you were in a restaurant.

You and Harry were sat on the same side of the green velvet booth, shoulder to shoulder as if it were a pain to be sat apart.

The camera was placed on the table in front of you. You didn’t want to film the whole evening, since it was along time you and Harry couldn’t afford to waste, but you wanted to record a little just for memories.

Harry’s hand comes into view to hold yours that’s resting on the table. When you accept his hand, he brings them both up to his lips to give your skin a soft kiss.

“I love you.” He said quietly, but the camera picks it up.

“I love you too.” You blushed and rested your head against his shoulder affectionately.

“You want the last bite of my chocolate cake?” He asked you.

You nodded against his shoulder and he brought his other hand, fork loaded with a chocolate bite delight up to your mouth for you.

You ate it swiftly, not allowing any crumbs.

That bite was Harry’s way of saying I love you, again, but just in a different way.

>>>>Clip 2:

Standing in front of the floor length mirror in your house, you filmed for a winters walk vlog.

Lulu, your dog, padded around by your feet, awaiting her walk.

You were showing your outfit.

“My leggings are from H&M; cheap and cheerful my lovelies! The hoodie is from Harry’s wardrobe, but I believe it’s not cheap and cheerful. Don’t ask me why it isn’t, when it’s literally just a blue hoodie…”

You often joked about Harry’s incessant need to buy expensive clothes when he could be better spending it elsewhere… like on you!

“The coat is from Zara, I think, but I bought it from Vinted. Grabbed a great price for it and we’re preventing fast fashion in this household. And finally my ugly walking boots are from Go Outdoors. Sexy, I know!” You joked.

Harry walked in behind you then, dressed in a similar attire only with black running shorts over his leggings.

“Ready?” You asked him.

“Not until you bloody zip your coat up.” Harry huffed, picking up the keys from the key bowl by the front door.

“I don’t need to.”

“Yeah, nice try you.” He laughed and then his was before you, taking matters into his own hands and zipping up your coat for you.

Technically one of your hands was filming and the other was controlling Lulu, so there wasn’t much you could do anyways.

“So annoying.”

“Huff and pout all you like, but I’m saving you from a life of misery and cold.” He looked proud of himself after he zipped you up.

“Happy now?” You sarcastically asked.

“Not without a kiss I’m not.”

You pretended like that was a chore, but really you were excited to give him a kiss. The video stopped then, because you weren’t one to expose your PDA to the public.

>>>>Clip 3:

In the same video, you filmed your walk with Harry and Lulu.

You went on a walk alongside a canal, stopping off around at a little book swap along the way. Harry picked up a book and so did you, Harry offering to carry them both as you were walking Lulu.

You were walking canal side when Harry tugged on your hand and pulled you across him.

“What are you doing?” You laughed, Lulu happily walking ahead of you both.

“Making sure you’re less likely to fall in the canal, especially if Lulu tugs you.”

Harry was now walking canal side, holding your hand with his.

You made sure the camera caught the moment where you kissed his cheek in silent thanks, forever indebted to his gentlemanly capabilities.

>>>>Clip 4:

The room is bright as the sunset burns through the room.

You are sat on the floor, in front of the sofa in the living room, filming a segment of a video where you answer fan questions.

“What did Harry get you for Christmas?” You read out the question that you were asked via Instagram.

“He decided to get me a weighted blanket, because every time he goes away I find it quite difficult to fall asleep. The idea of the weighted blanket is to mimic him lying across me, which makes me feel more safe and calms me into sleeping better.”

You blushed as you answered, picking up your cup of tea to take a sip of it to hide your embarrassment.

You paused to think about you opening that gift and how happy you had been in that moment. Harry knew not to buy you anything that was expensive or materialistic. He bought you something practical and perfect, plus the he bought it in your favourite colour; yellow.

It was such a thoughtful gift and even more thoughtful coming from a man who could’ve easily bought you a meaningless yacht if he wanted.

The front door then unlocked and you turned to see who it was.

“Hey, m’love.” Harry said as he walked through, Pleasing tote bag on his shoulder and wrapped for winter.

“Hello, you. How was your day?” You asked him, watching him take off his coat and shoes.

“Busy, but good. Yeah, we wrote an entire verse which I’m proper happy with.”

“I’m just filming a bit for my next vlog, but I’ll make is dinner in a bit.” You promised, knowing he would be hungry after a full day in the studio.

Harry walked over to you, with a bunch of colourful tulips in his hand. He crouched down beside you, waving into the recording camera before handing over the flowers to you.

“For me?” You pouted at how sweet the gesture was, “Why?”

“Does there have to be a reason?”

“Harry…” You whined, feeling like you could cry. “Thank you.”

“It’s okay. You’re worth more than that, which is why takeaway is on me tonight.” He kissed your forehead - aware that the camera was still rolling.

“It’s always on you, honey.” You joked.

“That’s right. Treat you so well, don’t I?”

You couldn’t argue with him there.

“Did you eat today?” You asked him, concerned for his wellbeing as much as he is for yours.

“I did. Mitch brought us a couple boxes of sushi.”

“As long as you’ve had something, that’s all I care about.”

“Oh what would I do without you, my love?” Harry asked you, kissing your cheek.

“Perish.”

“That’s one word for it.”

[obbystars]

what I think the brothers would get if they went to a Dunkin Donuts (from a person who works at a Dunkin) + some other shenanigans if you worked there

Lucifer just gets a singular black coffee. Sometimes with an espresso shot if he really needs it.

Mammon strikes me as the type to get something fancy, like one of the signature lattes. Maybe a macchiato or a cappuccino.

Leviathan just gets one of the sodas we have available like pepsi, coke, or sprite.

Satan feels like he’d get a coffee with a side of milk (for the cats). The coffee is usually either black or with a splash of milk.

Asmodeus gets a Dunkin refresher and a donut with sprinkles. Majority of the time, it’s strawberry. If he’s not feeling the refresher, then hibiscus tea.

Beelzebub buys the entire menu (if he could). He’d definitely buy a few (all) of the sandwiches.

Belphegor usually goes with Beelzebub and just heads to the nearest open table to nap on. He almost never really orders as he just has whatever Beel gets him, but when he does, it’s a hot chocolate, apple juice, or orange juice.

and now for the shenanigans

Asmo comes by to visit the most. He gives a hello kiss and a goodbye kiss every time, and he will not leave until he gives a goodbye kiss.

“Sir, we’re closing in a few minutes, we need you to leave.”

“I want my goodbye kiss from them first >:(”

Asmo also sometimes tries to invite the others. Usually this is the only time where Lucifer will actually come by to order something.

Even if Lucifer did come by without Asmo’s invitation, it’s usually to just check on you, buy his coffee, and go back to work. my lucifer simp side of me says he gives you a quick kiss on the cheek before he leaves, but that’s just me craving for the man

Mammon purposely takes long on ordering because he enjoys the fact your attention is on him. Of course, this causes the other customers in line to get annoyed. He’ll only cave when you tell him that he needs to order so you can get the other orders in.

“Can you believe them? They need to learn how to be patient.”

“To be fair, we’ve been here for a good few minutes… And I do kinda need you to order.”

“Alright, fine.”

Levi and Satan usually swing by when you’re just about to go on break. It’s like they know. Satan brings a spare book for you to read while Levi seems to have gotten a cafe simulator game and he wants to know if what happens in the game is similar to what you do.

Belphie definitely got a few complaints from other customers about the fact he just went to a table and napped. Beel would eventually have to defend him and say he’s with him. Sometimes the two end up staying until closing time. One of your coworkers likely asked Beel if Belphie was okay as he was probably asleep the entire time.

On the rare occasion that all of them do stop by because they all agreed they should, Lucifer would have to handle the big order and pay for it.

He’d eventually tell the others to go find a table for them to sit at if they all start talking over each other as they give you their order.

Before Mammon goes, he would ask if you’ll be on break soon so that you may sit with them. (then get ushered away by Lucifer)

The moment goes on Asmo’s Devilgram. He’s likely take a whole bunch of pictures, like his order, the receipt, the table with everyone’s orders, and a selfie. A bunch of selfies.

One of your coworkers most definitely asked if one of the brothers was your boyfriend. Your answer is up to you :3c

BONUS!

Diavolo found out about the brothers going to visit you at your job and gets curious, so one day, you see Diavolo, Barbatos, and Lucifer (Dia begged for him to show him) walk through the door. He’s so excited and curious that he has no idea what he wants to get, but eventually settles with a muffin and the new Turtle signature latte specifically because of the fact it’s called “Turtle.”

Diavolo also makes Lucifer buy more than just his black coffee. By more, he just makes him buy the same muffin he got.

“That’s all you’re getting?!”

“This is what I always get when I come here.”

“Nonono, MC, get him the same muffin I’m getting.”

Barbatos is also getting a muffin.

Diavolo also pays.

[acaciusbride]

I’m not a religious person, at all. While I think religious beliefs are beautiful, they’re not for me, not really. But I AM superstitious.

I lost my beautiful kitty, Charlie, seven weeks ago today. The day after he passed, my husband called me and said he would be late home from work because he’d caught an injured stray dumpster diving out the back & was going to drop him to a vet clinic.

No chip, no tattoos, no sign of being owned at all. The clinic staff basically told my husband in no uncertain terms to get lost and take the stray with him.

Apologising profusely to me, he didn’t know what to do. He knew I wasn’t in any state to have a new cat in the house. But here’s the thing. I’ve worked in cat rescue for almost six years; helping an animal in need is second nature to me, even over riding grief.

“Bring him here.” I said. “I’ll call the rescue boss and we’ll see what we can do.”

The rescue we work with is small. Like, there are less than one hundred of us spread across the state, including admin and transport who don’t foster. We don’t have a physical shelter.

And we’re at capacity, but what can we do? He’s injured, and we aren’t the sort of people to put an injured yet friendly stray back where we found him, especially when the locals say he was being used as dog bait.

My husband brings a crate into our spare room.

“I don’t want it.” I say, then feel like a jerk, but it’s been thirty hours since Charlie and I don’t want another cat in my house. But this guy needs me, so I dial the rescue boss.

“There’s a cat in my house.”

“Uh…” we both know she’s trying not to state the miserable obvious.

“The cat I was messaging you about that my husband found. The vet told him to get lost so now there’s a cat in my house.”

“Okay. Is he feral?”

I unzip the crate and the scrawniest, grumpiest looking black cat stares back at me, blinking huge green eyes. His back leg is dragging. Stupidly, I offer a hand. He sniffs. Not feral.

“Not feral.”

The unnamed cat slinks under my dresser and sprawls out while I set up a cage for him.

“Cool. He’s your problem now.”

“My problem?”

“Yep. I’ll book him a vet trip in the morning. I know you don’t want him, but we don’t have anyone else who can take him. You need a win right now. Hopefully he’s a quick in and out, yeah?”

“Okay.”

“Don’t get attached.”

“Yeah, fat chance. I never want another cat.”

And I didn’t. The idea of going to the shelter and picking out a new cat repulses me. We went to just look a couple of weeks ago and it felt wrong. I realised that no matter how much time passes - a month, a year, ten years, I’m never going to be able to pick out another cat, I’m never going to be able to choose a cat. It feels too much like replacing.

I originally named the stray Tairn, because I’d been reading Fourth Wing and liked the name - black dragon, black cat - it works.

I took him for his original scans at the vet and they said it was an old injury. To give him time. Okay, can do. As I drove him there he escaped his cage and lounged on the back seat of my car. Jerk.

That night I put him in his cage and he fell asleep in a startlingly familiar way; the same way Charlie used to sleep when I first rescued him. Both boys had injuries to their rear right legs.

Both boys slept cradling their injured legs. I snapped a picture and put them side by side.

A week later we got Charlie’s ashes back, and when I put his urn on the shelf I’d set up for it, Tairn hopped up beside him and curled up around his urn.

I shooed him away and told him I didn’t want him, but the coincidences and similarities were starting to spook me a bit.

For weeks and weeks and weeks I told myself I didn’t want him. Right up until we went to the specialist vet for a second opinion on his leg. Right up until they told me they needed to amputate. Right up until I drove to pick him up on December 30th.

I was absolutely adamant I did not want this injured, cheeky cat who had never known love before. That I would rehome him because he wasn’t mine.

I made the mistake of renaming him, giving him the name I would give him if he was my cat - Ezra, after my favourite Pedro character, because he’s also missing a limb. But still I was adamant I didn’t want him.

Right up until that night, when we came home from dinner and he was sitting in the window, waiting for us, seemingly unbothered about missing a leg, just waiting for us instead. Like he belonged there. And I felt this?? Rush of relief. Like that’s exactly where he’s supposed to be.

He started coughing from his surgery and I panicked, and that’s when I knew I was screwed.

I have Charlie’s paw print tattooed on my hand. Ezra sometimes puts his paw over it, holding onto my hand so he can lick.

He’s started purring, and sleeping on my bed. And I… have decided to let myself love him. Because I think, given all the signs, that’s what Charlie would want.

Because I’ve been so adamant about NOT wanting him, about NOT choosing him, but he’s stubborn and he’s chosen me anyway. and maybe, just maybe, this is how I can heal. With a cat I Didn’t Want, but love unconditionally regardless.

[dark-elf-writes]

I submitted something similar to Ray for the team uzumaki au but now I’m hopping it was eaten by tumblr just so there isn’t a weird cross post double thing. BUT we’re talking foxy naruto so-

According to some people’s stories, foxes have been known to leave gifts for people much like crows (the sources are first hand accounts so idk if this is true or an accurate reflection of fox mannerisms). So I’m just picturing Naruto leaving pretty rocks, animal bones, buttons, weapons, etc for his team. But since it’s Naruto of course it’s not normal versions of those things. So the “shiny rocks” are probably literal crystals and diamonds that he somehow just finds (and normal ones too cuz that’s adorable ), the “animal bones” could include giant ass teeth that are big enough to be made into daggers/swords, the buttons could be like golden cuff links he nicked from on a mission, and the weapons could be anything from old ninja wire he found in a bush to like a legendary blade he found washed up on the shore (Uzushiogakure vibes who?).

As another foxy Naruto thing, I firmly believe he would have an inexplicable urge to feed his team all the time, but not just ramen or their personal favorite foods. He wants to give them food that’s part of a foxes diet. One day he just finds himself foraging for berries and hunting for fresh meat. But since he’s a whole lot bigger and more capable than a regular fox at hunting, his prey is a bit…larger than you’d expect. Later that day, he straight up drops a field dressed bear or something at team 7’s feet look Proud (tm) cuz oh yeah he is so good at keeping his teammates feed and kakashi (who I always head cannon as being both wolfy and entirely incapable of being truly surprised) is like thanks brat you mind if my ninken have some?

Tumblr do be eating things. But they would still be different enough even if Tumblr didn’t eat it.

Akkskshsb at first none of them (well two do them really) have no idea where all the little gifts are coming from. Sakura finds flowers and crystals and kunai lined up on her window sill every morning like clockwork. She pretends to be annoyed by it but she has the first flower, the first gift, pressed and preserved. Sasuke gets more weapons than anything else, but occasionally he’ll get a cool rock. His favorite that he will never admit is a red stone with black marks. It sits by his bed and makes him feel a little less alone.

Kakashi knows. Naruto isn’t the first Uzumaki he’s known. Not the first fox hissed in human skin. Kushina was the same way. The first gift, fresh meat on his counter, one large piece and several smaller ones cut for the ninken, isn’t so much of a surprise as it is a gut punch. A memory. It takes some getting used to, seeing them again. Being claimed. He’s not a kit anymore. Not Kushina’s grumpy little wolf cub, but her son has claimed him all the same.

(The meat tastes like guilt and, perhaps cruelly, hope)

I can see the providing thing being really prevalent when they’re out of the village on missions. Like the first night on their trip to wave Naruto just plonks down a fresh kill with a sharp smile and eyes glinting in the low light and Kakashi has to step in before one of the others could say something to discourage this. They always eat well when they’re out as a team.

(Naruto remembers what it’s like to be hungry. He’ll make sure his people don’t have to feel the same.)

[livsworld-ndstyle]

so im genuinely at a block so I'm gonna post my old neurodivergent thoughts onto one post.

DISCLAIMER: all the names presented in this are real.

… accidentally having an over-obsession with a special interest. okay… i sometimes consider mrs. tavernise a special interest :D because she understands me, i can confide in her, etc. i also have taken a decent number of her FGF recommendations and one of them being ruta sepetys i must betray you. in the middle of class, she was handing out these packets we’re making for mockingbird and she whispered to me, “when you leave class, look at the one-school one-book poster on my door.” and i understood the assignment. i looked, and because i was next to clover, i said, “omg!! no way. i can’t believe it!” i was ecstatic with joy. … finding a special interest is more fun than what’s actually happening around me. i was so bored in english that i started drawing some nice little sketches on my to kill a mockingbird worksheet. and it was fun. i wasn’t looking up to take any notes from her papers, i wasn’t myself. and i guess she realized that really quick, because i normally ALWAYS pay attention to her but i was feeling lazy and became clover. clover normally draws AND pays attention AND takes notes. i felt stupid. anyways she came up to me because it was evident that something happened. i was disappointed in my essay grade so it’s implied. anyway, she said, “make sure you get the notes from someone, okay?” like NO now that you told me I will NOT get the notes (in protest!!).

…forgetting not everyone is passionate about your special interest. i was drawing on my to kill a mockingbird essay packet and i drew a picture of mrs. tavernise in her black dress for like thirty minutes. at the end of the period i took a picture of it and showed it to her, expecting her to like it. she told me i had to start paying more attention, and i later asked her how to pay attention, and she said, stop drawing. don’t worry, I later resolved this conflict. i got an 88 on the essay! i’m so awesome :) 

… doing something that is not stated in the directions & redirection

i haven’t had to be redirected to drawing during class in a good couple of days or weeks. i love drawing, it’s a passion i semi-enjoy, and we were analyzing quotes in groups. so of course i assume i’m working with clover because so far preferred groups seem to be working. i hear clover’s name and get excited to listen for mine, but for some reason, she paired clover up with their respective partners in the same seating vicinity. i didn’t really care, so for our first part: quiet analysis, i start just casually drawing a speech bubble around the quote but rudely interrupted by mrs. tavernise’s pointer finger pointing to the quote. normally if i just draw i can get away with it, and i thought today was going to be one of those days. however, because mrs. tavernise is making us do a follow-up project; similar to the kill a mockingbird essay, she’s trying to make sure everyone’s on track. even the most neurodiverse of us.

luckily, liyana khan is my fav. she had two extra donuts and came outside my english class to give me half a donut.

she did have to talk to my english teacher -- kinda weird -- because i’d completely forgotten liyana’d promised me a half and mrs. tavernise gave no context whatsoever, except that whoever was outside needed me for 2 minutes. i had my donut and bumped into ms. moss. PERFECT TIMING, much? i told mrs. moss to come into my english class and help me with this because i couldn’t understand the quote, part of the reason i was drawing. she helped 10x a lot, and obviously mrs. tavernise seemed to be death-glancing me weirdly. i tried my hardest after that to avoid all eye contact with her. 

tysm for brightening my day liyana & mrs. moss!! :D

..and mrs. tavernise… don’t ever put me with boys EVER AGAIN. 

[the-fiction-witch]

Meeting P2

Media Irl

Character Thomas Brodie Sangster

Couple Thomas X Reader

Rating Cute af

Concept Ultrasound 

So we got up and I carried her bag for her as we went through the various corridors and doors. Luckily we were somewhat familiar given she is heavily pregnant. We've been around here before, plus this is our doctors and we do end up here a lot. 

After a while we found the little room and her doctor she went over a few things how the diet was going of she's been having pains all the usual bits and bobs 

"Excellent, right you ready for your ultrasound?"

"Yes!" 

"And you want me to show you this time?"

"Yes please, we wanted to keep it all a secret till now" I smiled holding y/n's hand 

"Wonderful let's get too it then" she smiled leading us across the hall to the ultrasound room the doctor sat on a little hospital stool beside the computer and y/n got set up to sort of half lay and half sit up on his bed chair sort of similar to the dentist and I got myself a little stool on wheels too so I could sit beside her leant on her bed and hold her hand "oh, do excuse me out of gel" she says heading out the room a moment

"You okay?' I asked 

"Fine. Just nervous"

"It's going to be fine" I told her giving her hand a kiss soon enough the doctor returned with a new bottle of the blue gel they pulled down her leggings and pulled up her dress to expose her belly covering it with the gel and setting the little reader on I admit I got a little nervous too as we waited watching her watch the screen 

"Do we want to know the sex or no?"

"Yes please" y/n smiled 

"Any ideas on any names yet?" She asks clearly doing a lot of pictures and things in the computer all the actual medical stuff 

"You said you liked Luke for a boy, because your a nerd" 

"I am a nerd that's true. But I like Luke it's a nice name"

"Umm and we like melody for a girl, or Alice"

"Lovely, well then here is little melody" she smiled turning the screen around and that was it, there she was, the black screen with the half circle line and inside the scan there she was this little baby laid so comfortably with her feet tucked up close to her chest 

"Awwww she has such little hands" y/n cooed squeezing my hand hard but I squeezed back hard too getting all teary eyed 

"She is absolutely perfect. Exactly as she should be" 

"She's so perfect" I smiled

"Are you crying?" Y/n giggled

"I'm not made of stone, leave me alone" 

"That's her, that's really her"

"It is, our little girl."

"She is laying quiet low but that's understandable"

"Where abouts is she laying?" Y/n asks 

"Head, feet and arms" she explained showing with the tool whereabouts she was laying and she actually was on the complete other side then we thought 

"Hu. So what's that bump then?" I asked curiously

"Well that is Alice" she says moving the tool to the other side showing another little baby the same size nuzzled into the corner the head right where the bump was "she's just fine too,"

“There both so beautiful” Y/n smiled tearing up now too 

“They are both such beautiful little girls” I smiled trying to hold back tears “we’re going to have to reorganize the nursery plan”

“Yeah I think so too” she giggled 

“Would you like a print out of them both?”

“Yes! Absolutely as many as you can give us” I told the doctor

“I can do you a physical print out today and I’ll also drop over all of them digitally so you can get things made up and all that” she explained heading off to get it printed for us 

“That's really our girls,”

“That's them, Hi girls? You all cosy in mummies belly? Hu?”

“Very cosy,” she smiled “Look is like she’s waving,”

“Kinda yeah”

“Little lady saying hello,”

“Clearly she was very excited to meet us too” I smiled giving her head a kiss 

“Got to rethink names though,”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t suit them”

“If you say so, pet.” I smiled giving her belly some kisses making sure I got one on each girl “So? Shopping after this?”

“Yes, Ikea?”

“Ikea’s good with me. We can see layouts and such”

“That was my plan, and ice cream”

“And ice cream. Alright but just five more minuets”

“Yeah five more minuets” 

[brownieracha]

The college experience

Pairing: OC x Lee Know

Genre: college au, angst

wc: 9.5 K

A/N: This is my fic for the clownracha fic exchange (so excited!!) and I got @simpracha as the person I had to write for!!! So the main character is kinda based on Doe uwu (look I tried). My first idea was something completly different, too complicated for me since is the longest fic i've ever wrote, so I hope you like what I ended up writting hehe. I wrote it with all my love <3 I really hope you like it ♥

Sumary: This is your typical enemies to lovers (or at least I've tried lol), where Jess wanted to have her typical college experience, but it got ruined by Lee Know. (i'm sorry i'm bad with summaries)

Tags: @simpracha @wooyussy @georgenootfound

“But I want you to go too” Chaeryeong looks at me with puppy eyes. “It’s not going to be as fun if you don’t come.” I simply sip on my coffee without giving her an answer.

“Come on Jess!” Yeji insists. “We’re going as a group, if you don’t go, we’re not going.”

For the last (seemingly never ending) 10 minutes, they’ve been trying to convince me to go to this random party they heard of on campus. I really, really don’t feel like going. I tell them so.

Also I have way too many unfinished assignments.

“What do you mean if she doesn’t go, we’re not going?” Lia blurts “This is my opportunity to talk to him!” She turns to look at me “Jess please.” I sigh.

I’m seriously about to get dragged to a party just so Lia can flirt with whoever her new crush is this week. I just wanted to have a nice coffee before class and now I’m finding myself trapped in this conversation. Perfect timing for someone to take me out, I think. Violently, preferably.

I really don’t want to go to this frat party. Where’s a bus driver charging at full speed when you need it?

Yeji looks at me with puppy eyes, and I wince. I’m far too easy for them. Their puppy eyes fill with excitement, and they know they’ve almost got me to go.

“I have to think about it” I settle with.

“Oh my god, guess who’s also coming to the party” We look at Ryunjin, who is showing us a random group chat. All we can see is a ofc I’m going! from a random number.

“Girl, I don’t know people by their phone number? Who’s that?” I squint. trying to get a good look at the profile picture.

“Someone you might be interested in.” She wiggles her eyebrows.

If my face could, it would turn into one big exclamation mark with two big fat red circles for cheeks. The girls start giggling when they notice.

“So now you have to come to the party.” Yuna says. “It’s your opportunity to flirt with Hoongjoong” I turn redder, if that was possible.

“Can you keep your voice down? I don’t need the whole building to know I have a crush on him, jeez.” I get up and grab my things. “I’m going to the library now to finish some homework, because I guess we’re going to that party.” I finish putting my things away and I put my jacket on. “But as soon as I feel uncomfortable, we’re leaving.” They all nod.

***

Later that day we all met at Chae, Lia and Yuna’s apartment to get ready all together. We all bring our backpacks with different outfits and makeup because we love getting ready together and sharing clothes. We start drinking and blasting our favorite songs while we look through outfit options. After a couple of hours of laughing and trying on clothes, we end up a little tipsy, but we do end up being ready enough to leave the flat.

Ryunjin is wearing a pair of black cargo pants, paired with a dark blue butterfly top and white platform sneakers. Lia and I are both wearing dresses (mine is red and hers is black), and we’re both wearing the same black converse model. Chae is wearing a beautiful pink skirt with a white crop top and golden heels. Yeji and Yuna end up wearing a very similar outfit, all black, edgy vibes, paired with a leather jacket each.

At last, we arrive at the house where the party is taking place. As soon as we go inside the - host? designated rando? - offers us some drinks.

“What’s in here?” I ask, smelling the cup. The smell of alcohol hits my nose in return, strong enough to make it twitch.

The boy who just gave us the cups shrugs his shoulders and goes back into the kitchen. Oh, okay then.

“If I were you, I would rather drink out of the bathroom sink.” We hear a manly voice next to us.

“Stinks from here, girls. ” I look to my left and see three men standing next to us.

“Woo!” Ryunjin goes to hug the red haired one. “What the hell? I haven’t seen you in a minute! I missed you!” They hug.

The red-haired man is well known by us, he’s been friends with Ryunjin since she started college. They’re both majoring in dance, but Wooyoung is two years older than her, so they don’t go to classes together. 

“You know, I’ve been here and there, doing lots of stuff.” He shrugs with a smile, looking between us and his friends. “Let me introduce you to my friends, but I think you already know them.” He smiles. “He’s my best friend San.” Ryunjin laughs and San winks at her. “And this is Hoongjoong.”

As soon as he introduces the last boy, I feel an elbow poking my side, and I give Yeji a warning look. Zero subtlety, this girl has. Can’t fathom the idea that not everyone wants to be put on blast in front of their crush and an entire frat.

I’ve had a crush on Hoongjoong since I first started college - he was three courses ahead of me and he was one of the students that came into our class the first day to tell us about the course. He even offered his help with anything we could’ve needed. Ever since then -  since hearing how passionate he was about producing and writing music, I’ve felt naturally drawn to him.

The conversation runs smoothly from there. After introducing ourselves, we converge in a relaxed half-circle by the left far corner of the room. It’s fun, and I laugh at the retelling of my friends’ adventures in college and the venture of adult life.

A good thirty minutes must’ve gone by, when Lia and Yuna excuse themselves.

“We’re going to try and find Jeongin.” Yuna informs. “Let’s hope today’s Lia’s lucky day.” She winks, making everyone laugh. And with that they go into the living room.

The group falls into a short-lived silence, not uncomfortable. I take one look at the inside of my cup - I still haven’t thrown it away, I don’t know why. To my right, I faintly register Woo and Ryunjin catching up.

“Jess, right?” Hoongjoong says next to me. “I remember you from your first day. You were asking a lot of questions. You were so eager to start doing things” he smiles at me. My knees nearly buckle when he does.

“Yeah, I’ve always loved music. Ever since I was very little. I started playing the piano when I was a child. My parents say I always had some kind of music on.” I smile. “And if I wasn’t, I’d just make the music myself. I still do that - it’s like my brain is a living jukebox.”

I get a little shy - I usually do, when I’m talking about myself. I instinctively look down. “I ended up settling for a music major, it made sense for me. I have a hard time expressing myself sometimes, but - not with my music.” I look back at him. His eyes look soft around the edges, and I grin back at him. “Plus, it would be cool to make music that means something to someone. Music makes me happy - I want to give that happy back.”

“It’s kind of the same for me” he replies, and he’s still smiling as he does. I repress the urge to sigh lovingly - that would be embarrassing. “Ever since I started writing music, I’ve been able to express my feelings better, and-”

“And he can spend days in the studio working on a song. He’s a bit obsessive about it” a tall man appears behind him and hugs him by the waist. “I have to drag him out of the studio more often than I should.” He laughs. Hoongjoong looks down, biting his lip to repress a smile.

He’s so fucking cute.

“That’s not true.” Hoongjoong whines.

Suddenly, the other man grabs him by the chin, turning his face. Oh.

They look at each other for a couple of seconds. They’re not even doing anything, but I get the insane urge to turn around and avert my gaze. Oh wait.

The feeling flares as the taller man closes the space between them and kisses Hoongjoong.

Well. Fuck.

“Seonghwa! You made it!” Wooyoung greets the tall man. When they hear him, they separate from each other. They greet each other and Wooyoung introduces us to Seonghwa, who apparently is Hoongjoong’s boyfriend.

And apparently, they’ve been together for 2 years now. How could I not know this?

I can feel Yeji, Ryunjin and Chae staring at me from the corner of my eye. Fuck, I’m feeling properly embarrased right now. If I don’t leave right now I’m going to throw up all over Chae’s fancy shoes.

I say goodbye to everyone quickly and go try to find Lia and Yuna. I hope Lia has had more luck than me tonight.

I go into the living room trying to find my friends, but when I turn the corner, I run into a slightly taller man. I immediately stop before I crash into him. I look up to see who he was and apologize for not looking where I was going. To my surprise I find someone I wish I wouldn’t never have met.

“Oh hey, sorry, I didn’t see you there.” I say, and I try to get away.

“Hey! Jess! Wait!” I hear him calling me while I was leaving. “Wait! Can we talk?” I hear him coming behind me.

“I don’t have anything to talk with you” I turn around to face him. “You already said enough  a while ago, Minho.” And with that I turn back around and go away as fast as I can. I really don’t want to talk to him or even be in his presence.

Instead of looking for my friends I decide that it is a good time to go home. Alone. I don’t want to be here anymore. Seeing him reminded me of why I don’t like going to parties. I walk out of the house, and I see my friends as I’m leaving, but they don’t see me, so I decide to leave without bothering them.

Once I get home, I look in the mirror and I see that my makeup has smudged, I didn’t notice I was crying on the way here. I take of the rest of the makeup, put my pajamas, and get into bed, ignoring the calls and messages from my friends. Tomorrow would be a better day. I’m hoping.

The next morning the sun wakes me up, I check my phone to look at the hour and I see the messages from the group chat and calls from the girls.

I call them in order to tell what happened at the party. I press the videocall button and wait, not for too long because they immediately pick up the phone. Since Ryunjin and Yeji share a bedroom at the dorm, they appear on the same screen. They both look okay, they are the responsible ones, I’m guessing they didn’t drink much yesterday. On another screen I see Chae and Yuna, they look a bit hungover. I see myself on the screen and I wasn’t expecting to look this bad. Apparently, I didn’t take off my makeup very well yesterday.

“Woah Jess, are you okay?” Chae asks, “You look like you didn’t sleep well.” I see her worried face.

She’s not wrong though. I couldn’t sleep last night as I wanted to, all because I kept remembering all that happened last year. I was convinced I was over everything, but apparently, I’m not.

“Where’s Lia?” She’s not answering the video call and I don’t see her on Chae and Yuna’s screen. Then I remembered she was the one that wanted to go to the party to flirt with Jeongin, so I’m guessing she was lucky last night.

“Well, she hasn’t come home yet.” Yuna says, waving her eyebrows. So, I was right, she was luckier than me last night. I feel so happy for her, she’s had a crush on Jeongin since we first started college.

“Hey girls” Lia appears on the screen.

“Omg speaking of the devil. Where are you?” Yeji asks. She opens her eyes wide when she realizes.

“Do I have to say it, or do you already know what happened?” Lia whispers. We all laugh. “Let me go to the bathroom so I can talk.”

Once we’re all more calm with Lia’s news, I start telling them what happened. Since Yuna and Lia weren’t there when we met Seonghwa, I told the whole story.

“… so, when they kissed, I went to look for Yuna. And when I was going into the living room, I almost crashed into…” I stop.

“No dramatic pauses, Jess!” Chae exclaims.

“…Minho” They all become silent for a minute. They all know how much he hurt me.

It all happened when I first started college, I was so excited to meet new people, and to party. The whole college experience.

That’s when I met the girls, in my first year. I met Yeji, Lia and Yuna in class, we were paired together for a group project, and we instantly became friends. With that we started to go to parties, and we met Chae and Ryunjin. Yeji and Ryunjin were friends before that because they were sharing a room at the dorm, and Chaeryeong and Ryunjin had met each other in class. They were both doing a dance major. And with that we started going to a lot of parties together and meeting new people at every party we went to. That’s how we met Minho.

One party we went to was at this big house in which eight people lived. We were invited to it because three of our classmates lived there, Han, Changbin and Bangchan. They were known as 3Racha, and they were kind of famous in college for their music. They knew each other before going to school and they were already producing some music. So naturally I talked to them early on when I started the music major. Han and I instantly became friends, and that’s how we got invited to that party where I met the rest of that friend group. They were all very nice, Felix and Hyunjin shared classes with Ryunjin and Chaeryeong so they already knew each other. Minho was also a dance major, but he was older than them. In that party is where Lia met Jeongin and she’s had a crush on him since then.

When I first met Minho, he was nice, and since he was older than us, he showed us around. He made sure we were always safe, and he was almost like our protector. Or that’s what I believed. I started to spend more time with him and his friends, and with all that the eight of them and the six of us became close friends.

One day after a party I started to realize that I was falling for him. I told the girls how I felt about him, and they all encouraged me to go and tell him about my feelings. I wasn’t confident about it until one night.

I decided to talk with him about my feelings and maybe ask him out. I was convinced and maybe a little tipsy. So, I went over where he was, and asked him if I could talk to him in private, since he was with two friends, Han, and another boy that I didn’t know. To my surprise his response was a laugh. I was very confused, because we have talked in private before and I didn't really understand what was going on. I took a deep breath and tried again to make him come with me to talk privately. He didn’t even look at me and started laughing, again, with this other boy and all I heard was “I told you man”. I looked at Han, not knowing what was going on, trying to look for an explanation. I was starting to be mad at him, I wasn’t understanding his behavior. Han looked at me with compassion in his eyes.

“Look, I know you’re obsessed with me or whatever” What! I couldn’t believe what Minho was saying. I’d never seen him behave like that before, he was always nice with all of us, even with me when we were alone. I wasn’t falling for him for nothing. “Do you really think I was interested in you? God, you’re so naïve. Not everyone being nice to you means that they want you.”

I start feeling like i’ve never felt before, my heart was broken and I was humiliated. I paralyzed, not knowing what to do, not even realizing that tears had started forming in my eyes

The other boy and Minho started laughing and Han got up to hug me.

“Man, you’ve fucked up this time, I don’t even recognize you.” Han took me with my friends and told them what had happened, as I wasn’t able to speak. I wasn’t, my brain was still not processing what had just happened. I was really shocked. I wasn’t expecting a love confession from him, I only wanted to talk to him in private. And if he really wasn’t interested, I thought he would have told me in a kinder way. I was sad and mad at him. With that I decided that I didn’t want to go to another party if he was there. I didn’t want to see him anymore. My feelings were hurt. The next day he tried to come and talk to me, but Yeji and Ryunjin didn’t allow that to happen.

I lost contact with some of the boys, since I didn’t attend any of their parties that year. I only talked to 3Racha when we were in class, and I never came across Minho again. Not until last night.

“And when I saw him all the feelings came back, I thought I had forgotten what he had done.” I feel the tears starting to fall from my eyes. “But I guess I can’t forgive him for what he did.” I start crying. 

“Well, fuck him.” Lia said, after they all stayed silent for a minute. “Let’s go grab breakfast all together and I’m sure you’ll feel better.” I smile at her words.

I get up from my bed to get ready for breakfast with them. Being with them always cheered me up when I’m feeling down. So that’s exactly what I needed right now.

Half an hour later we all meet at our regular café place, I’m the last one to arrive there. When I get to the table where they all were I get hugged by all of them at the same time. My tears threaten to start coming again.

“If you need to cry, do it Jess. You’ll feel better after it.” Yeji says after looking at my face.

I laugh while a single tear drops down my cheek.

“I don’t want to waste another tear on that jerk, he doesn’t deserve it.” They laugh. I feel safe with them.

“Of course, girl, he doesn’t deserve anything from you.” Ryunjin holds me by my shoulder as we sit side by side.

“Let’s change the topic, shall we?” Chae claps her hands together. “Ryu, how was last night?” She waves her eyebrows.

“Ryu?!” I turn to my side to look at her. Ryunjin turns red. Another one that was lucky last night. I can’t help but feel a bit hurt, but happy for them. I wish things were easier for me, but since that night I hadn’t had luck with love.

“Well…” Ryunjin starts speaking, turning redder every second, “I met someone…and” she giggles.

“Can you go straight to the point already, please?”

“Chaeryeong, don’t be impatient.” Yeji laughs. “But, who, who did you meet?”

“I met a girl, a really cute girl and we talked for a while” she stops, her face is the reddest I’ve ever seen her. She’s always confident when it comes to flirting and talking about it. “And she kissed me” Ryunjin covers her face with both hands.

“Wow, you must really like her! I’ve never seen you like this.” Yuna chuckles. “Who is this mysterious girl? Do you have pictures?”

Ryunjin shows us her Instagram.

We stay together until lunch time, talking about different things and laughing a lot. At this point I’ve forgotten about Minho and everything that happened last night. I go home to eat something feeling so much better.

Minho POV

I hadn’t seen Jess since last year, so running into her at the party was weird for me. After being so close last year, until I fucked up. I feel so sorry for what I did to her, all I want to do is apologize. So, when I saw her at the party, that was my plan. I overheard the boys saying that she and the girls would be at the party, so I thought that was the perfect opportunity to talk to Jess. But when she ran away from me, I knew this wasn’t going to be easy. I feel so bad for the words I said to her, I really wasn’t thinking and maybe a little drunk. Which doesn’t justify what I did. I wasn’t expecting her to forgive me, but she deserved an apology from me, at least that. I also needed to do it, I needed to heal from my past, and she was the last person I had to apologize to.

The day after I told Jess the horrible things I did, the boys sat me down because they were done with my behavior. I was mad at them because it was none of their business how I behaved.

“I’m old enough for you to tell me how to behave.”  I left the conversation. they were no one to lecture me. But then the next day Han came into my room, and we had a long conversation. I said horrible things to him, and he did to me. We both ended up crying, and when I saw my best friend crying for the stupid things that were leaving my mouth is when I realized that I needed to do something. I apologized to all the boys for what I said the day before, and they helped me find a therapist. Because that’s what I needed.

One year after I changed. And I realized how much I hurt one of the few people that cared about me. That’s why knowing she was going to be at the party was the perfect opportunity for me.

“So, were you able to talk to her?” Han approached me minutes after she ran away from me.

“I didn’t” I look at the floor. “I fucked up so bad, I wasn’t expecting her to forgive me. But what I wasn’t expecting was her running away. I feel worse than before, she deserves an apology.”

“Take it easy and expect her to run away from you.” Han puts his hand on my shoulder “You really hurt her feelings. You can’t picture how miserable she was after what you told her.” Han was still close to her since they shared classes.

“I know! I just want to tell her how sorry I am.” I look down. “I’m going home.”

On my way home I kept thinking about Jess' reaction, and it was clearer that she deserved the apology as soon as possible. The best option to get to talk to her was trying to see her at college. And that was my plan.

A couple of days have gone by since the party and I’ve already forgotten about it. Life went back to normal, going to class and spending time with the girls.

I was going to meet them at the cafeteria after finishing my classes for the day. So after putting all my stuff in my bag and saying goodbye to my classmates, I went there. None of them were there when I arrived so I went to a table and sat there, waiting for them. Suddenly I heard someone pulling the chair next to me, so I look up from my phone, thinking that it was one of the girls. To my surprise I see Minho sitting next to me.

“What are you doing here?” I ask in a serious voice.

“Listen, I want-”

“I don’t care, because I don’t want to listen.” And with that I get up from my chair in order to leave. I don’t need to listen to anything he has to say. He will hurt my feelings once again.

“But, Jess, please-” He looks up, and for a moment I feel sorry for him. But I have to be strong, I’m not willing to go through the same thing I went through last year.

“I’m sorry but I don’t have anything to talk to you about, so please leave me alone.” I go, without looking back at him.

As soon as I’m out of the cafeteria I look for a bench and I sit down. I unlock my phone and look for the group chat to ask the girls if we could meet somewhere else.

I don’t want him near me for now. Seeing him is opening old wounds I thought were closed.

For a moment I felt like he had changed, that he wanted to go back to where we were before. But then I remembered the pain I felt when he said those mean words to me. I will never forget, as much as I want to. I start to remember the good times that we had together as friends, and I start to feel furious. A single tear drops down my cheek.

A few moments later they all arrive at the coffee shop we talked about. When we all have our coffee, I decide to explain what happened, since none of them wanted to ask me why the sudden change.

“So,” I start, finding it hard to explain. Lia, who’s sitting next to me grabs my arm trying to calm me down. “I- He-.” I clear my throat before continuing. “He came up to me, to talk with me.” I finally say.

“Who? Minho?” Ryunjin exclaims. “What did he want?”

“I don’t know” I shake my head. “I didn’t want to talk to him” I look down. “When I saw him there, I thought that he had changed for a moment. Then every bad memory came to mind, so I ran out. I don’t know what he wanted.” I look up again just to see Yeji’s worried face,

“Are you okay?” She asks.

I don’t know what to answer, I’m not really sure. I’m feeling so many things that I’m not sure.

“I truly don’t know” I hold back the tears that are trying to escape my eyes. “I thought I was, until he tried to talk to me.”

“Maybe he wanted to apologize.” I look at Chaeryeong as she said the craziest thing I’ve heard in a while. “I’m just saying! Don’t look at me like that. I know how much he hurt you, but maybe he’s changed.”

“I don’t want to keep talking about him, let’s do something else, please.” I say.

We end up chatting about more fun things. Since Yuna’s birthday was coming soon, we were planning a party.

“We don’t have to throw a big party if you don’t want Jess. I wouldn’t want you to feel uncomfortable.” She looks at me and grabs my hand. “I want all of us to have fun.” She squeezes my hand.

“I’ll be okay, really!” I know Yuna loves going to big parties and what better way to celebrate her birthday other than throwing a big party for her. “I think it will be fun actually.”

And I do think that I would have so much fun at that party. I’ll be with my friends, having a nice time without worrying about anything else. I just hope this party goes better than the last one. At least for me.

“Okay class, we’re going to do a project about music through history. This time I’ll make the pairs so there’s no problems this time.” The teacher looks over his glasses. He looks back at the paper he’s holding between his hands. “I’ll pin this paper on the board so you can take a look at the pairings for this project.” He does that and as soon as he gets away from the board, we all go to check it out.

“Jess!” I hear a voice behind me as I’m checking the paper. “We’re together!” I turn around just to see Han’s smiley face.

We get away from the people that are still checking the paper and we sit together.

“We’re going to do the best project.” Han claps excited. “I’m so happy that I get to do a project with you.” He hugs me from the side.

“Yes!” His excitement is contagious. I’m happy that he’s my partner for this project and not someone I don’t know that well. “We should meet up and decide on how we’re doing this.”

Suddenly his phone starts ringing. “I’m sorry I have to pick it up.” He gets up. “I’ll text you later.” He says as he goes out of the class.

I get up and go back to where I was sitting before, next to Yeji, Lia and Ryunjin. I find Lia and Yeji there.

“Who did you get for the project?” I ask them.

“We’re together for this project!” Lia exclaims. “We were so lucky. What about you? Who did you get?”

“Han! I’m happy to do a project with him to be honest.” I smile, remembering how excited he was to be paired with me. He was one of my best friends but after the Minho incident we hadn’t talked much, but I knew he was always there for me if I needed it.

We go where Ryunjin was talking to a boy from class I don’t recognize, it must be who she has to do this project with.

“We’re going to the cafeteria, are you joining us?” I ask her, hugging her from the side.

“I’ll go in a second, grab me a coffee please.” She hugs me back, and then turns back to keep talking to her project partner.

As soon as we get into the cafeteria, we see Chae and Yuna at a table, so we join them. We all order our coffees and Ryunjin’s. The latest join us five minutes later.

“What were you talking about?” She asks as soon as she sits down and leaves her things on the floor next to her.

“Yuna’s party.” Lia replies. “We have almost every detail planned.” We all nod.

“I have to say that I’m very excited to do this.” Yuna giggles. “It’s going to be epic.” We laugh. She always gets excited to go partying. A few minutes later I hear my phone and I check it, just to see that Han has messaged me about meeting up for the project. I unlock my phone to reply while they keep talking about the party.

I lock my phone and go back to the conversation with the girls about Yuna’s party. We have to plan this well.

“We can go tomorrow to pick up decorations.” Chae suggests.

“I can’t, I’m going to Han’s to do this project about music through history that we have to do together.” I reply. “Can you go without me? I could pick up the cake the day of the party.”

They all agree on that. The party will take place in two weeks at Yuna’s so we still have time to put everything together without forgetting about classes and homework.

Minho POV

I go inside the restaurant where Han and I decided to meet for dinner. After a day full of things, mostly classes and homework, what I need the most is to talk to my best friend. I’m still thinking about the interaction I had with Jess the other day.

When I saw her sitting alone at the university cafeteria, I thought it would be the perfect time to talk with her. And for a second I thought she had somehow forgiven me, for a moment she seemed like she wanted to listen to me. Just for a second. Then she ran away from me once again. I felt a pain in my chest when she did, when she went away without giving me a chance to apologize. When I felt that I realized that she must have felt like that when I rudely rejected her.

“Hey!” Han waves me from the booth he’s sitting at. I wave back and I go there to sit in front of him. “Are you okay?” He asks me as soon as he looks at me.

“Tired day, just that.” I sigh. “I had two different dance classes and that’s exhausting. And after that I had to study and work on a project. I have no energy left to be honest.” I rub my face with both hands.

“Are you sure that’s it? Minho, I know you and I know something is bothering you.” He does know me well. Damn. “It’s this about Jess, isn’t it?” Han is the only one who know how sorry I am for how I behaved last year. He knows what I felt for Jess, and how I fucked up because I didn’t know how to manage my feelings.

“It is about her.” I look down. “I feel awful for what I did.” I look back.

“Did something new happen?” I still haven’t told him about the other day at the cafeteria.

I nod, and I tell him about it. I also tell him how I’m feeling. As I’m telling him that I realize how easy it would have been knowing how to communicate my feelings. If only I knew how to a year ago, good thing the boys made me search for a therapist. I wish I perceived that I had a problem and I had to go earlier in life.

“You have to give her time. She was devastated when you did that. You’ll have to wait until she wants to hear you.” He was there for her, since they were good friends. “For now, keep trying, but don’t push it if she doesn’t want to talk to you. You don’t want her to hate you even more.” He laughs nervously. I know he feels awkward talking about this, and I would feel too.

I stay silent for a few minutes, thinking about everything. About how to approach her in a way she’ll feel comfortable if she can ever feel that way with me again.

“I guess I’m feeling guilty because she didn’t deserve to get her college experience fucked up by me and my stupid decisions.”

“We’ve already discussed this, don’t do that. Self-pity is not going to fix the past, you have to work on the future.”

Next day arrives and I wake up earlier than usual. I have to clean my apartment before going to Han’s house. I hate every second of it, waking up early has never been my thing. I always stay up late finishing stuff that needs to get done.

An hour goes by, and my apartment is somewhat clean, at least clean enough to me. I pack my things and go out to catch the bus to meet Han. Before going into the house, I buy two coffees since I know Han is not a morning person either and his energy is going to be low.

Just a moment before ringing the bell I realize that, if I’m going to be here, Minho is probably going to be around. I take a deep breath putting myself together, he cannot dictate where I can feel or not feel comfortable. I decided at that very moment that he doesn’t matter anymore, that he can’t hurt my feelings again. He doesn’t matter. Did it take me going back to his house to realize that? Probably, and I should have come to the conclusion earlier. But that doesn’t matter anymore.

I ring the bell and I hear voices inside. I can recognize Changbin’s loud voice, so I’m guessing he’s going to open the door. Seconds later I’m greeted by him, opening the door as I predicted.

“Hey Jess!” I hug him, and he hugs me tightly. “Come inside, Han is upstairs.” When I enter their house, I see Bangchan sitting on the sofa, so I go towards there to greet him.

“Jess! How have you been?” He gets up to hug me. I’ve missed this so much. I shouldn’t have distanced myself from them.

“I’ve been good.” I smile. Is this lying? I don’t think it is, technically I’ve been good. And bad. “I should probably go upstairs, I bet Han is waiting for me.”

“Or maybe he’s asleep again.” I hear Changbin shouting as I’m going up the stairs. I laugh.

I knock on Han’s door and enter his room, still laughing.

“What’s so funny?” He asks, turning his head to look at me. He was sitting on the floor, with his back resting on the back of the bed. I go sit next to him, giving him a coffee. “Thanks.” He smiles. He looks tired, he had probably pulled an all-nighter.

“Nothing, just Binnie.” I say between laughs. I put my backpack on the floor in front of me and I take out my laptop and a notebook. “Yesterday I was looking at the notes the professor gave us, and I figured out how we can distribute the work so it’s easier.” I hand him the notebook where I drew a diagram on which part of the project we have to do.

We get into it pretty quickly, just talking when we have any doubts about the information we’re finding. An hour and a half later we have pretty much all the information we need. We just have to put it together and make it look presentable.

“Come in!” Han says after hearing a knock on the door. Right after that Felix’s head pops through the door.

“Hi. I baked some brownies. Do you want to try them?” He offers a plate full of them to us. He’s so nice. I haven’t tried any of his brownies yet, but if they are as good as his cookies, I bet they’re going to taste amazing. “So, how’s your project going?” He sits on the floor in front of us while we eat his brownies.

“I think it’s going smoothly.” Han replies with his mouth full. “It shouldn’t take us long to finish it.” He looks at me and I nod, the project is easier than we both expected so it should be done fast.

“I will leave you then so you can concentrate.” Felix gets up and leaves the room, leaving the brownies for us.

After another hour we decide to stop. The project is almost finished, and we need to take a break.

“Oh, Jess.” I look up from my laptop to look at Han. “Do you want to listen to the last song we were working on?” I nod and he hands me an earphone.

I’ve always enjoyed 3racha’s music, and the whole process they go through to make new songs. I find it very interesting how the three of them manage to synchronize and make such good music. Since I’ve always worked on songs by myself, I find it hard to work with other people.

“It’s really good!” I exclaim after hearing what they’ve got so far. “Now I need to listen to the whole thing.” I look at Han and he laughs.

“I will show you as soon as we finish it. I’m glad you liked it.” He hugs me. I’m so happy that I got paired with him to do this project. This has made me realize how well we work together, and how much I like spending time with him. Fuck Minho for hurting me and making me distance myself from this wonderful people.

“I should get going.” I separate myself from the hug and start putting my stuff back in my bag. He gets up and goes downstairs with me.

When we get to the living room, I see an orange ball of fur looking at us, sitting on the edge of the sofa. I immediately go over there to try and pet the little cat, and he lets me do that.

“Hello, tiny!” I say as I’m rubbing his fluffy head.

“That’s Soonie, it’s Minho’s cat.” I slowly turn around to face Han, my face holds so many emotions and I can see he’s feeling those emotions.

“Don’t look at me like that Jess. I know how you’re feeling but maybe you should let him talk to you.” Rage. Rage is all I can feel right now. Soonie jumps from the sofa he was sitting on to go somewhere else.

“I don’t want to hear anything he has to say, he already said enough a year ago. Don’t you remember?” I spit out my words. I can’t believe he’s saying this to me, he saw how bad Minho made me feel, he was there. I thought he was on my side.

“He’s changed, he’s trying to be a better person.” I roll my eyes at his words “I do remember, but he’s also my friend. He was not in the best place and that doesn’t justify what he did, but at least let him explain.” He shrugs his shoulders. “It’s not my place to talk about this, this is between you and him. I don’t want to ruin our friendship, Jess.” He comes closer and hugs me.

Tears start forming in my eyes and I start crying, I have too many feelings right now to know how to manage them. I just want to go home, get in my bed and curl into a ball.

“Thank you.” I sob.

He separates from me without breaking the hug. “For what?”

“I don’t know, for being here.” I keep silently crying. “This has been too much for me, I don’t want to feel like this anymore.”

The day of Yuna’s party arrives and we’re all very excited. I’ve been feeling so much better after going to Han’s. We ended up talking about a lot of stuff and spending the rest of the day together, and I felt so much better after getting everything out of my chest. Since then, we have been keeping up with each other more, I’ve been to his house more often and I’ve hung out with the boys. All of them except Minho. The third time I went to their house I started to wonder where he was, because it was weird how every time I was there he mysteriously was missing, I mean, is still his house and I thought I would come across him there.

Since that day I’ve been thinking about what Han told me about Minho, not believing him that much. Not wanting to. But the thought that he might actually have changed never left my mind. What if Han was right? What if the boy I felt for was really there? I think subconsciously I didn’t want my feelings hurt again and that’s the reason why I didn’t want to believe Han. But deep deep inside I wanted to.

The party was going to take place at Yuna’s place, so we get there two hours before to get everything ready. Lia and I start placing all the decorations while Yeji and Ryunjin take care of the food and drinks. Chae makes sure to take Yuna out of the house to buy a nice birthday dress and get her hair done. Yuna wants to be the prettiest girl at the party, she wants to impress Jeongin even more. Since the last party they’ve been hanging out together more than usual, and we tease Yuna so much about it. Just like the boys tease Jeongin.

After the place is all decorated and everything is ready for the party to start, Chae and Yuna arrive there. We then start getting ready just like we used to do when going to parties, blasting our favorite songs, and having a fun time together. At nine o’clock people start arriving to the party, Jeongin, Seungmin and Felix being the first ones to arrive. As time goes by more and more people start coming and we start drinking.

“Hey!” I turn around just to see Han and Changbin coming to the kitchen, where I was alone, refilling my cup. “Jess!” Changbin hugs me. He smells like alcohol and cologne. Han goes straight where the drinks are and starts refilling his drink and Changbin’s.

“Don’t you think he’s had enough?” I ask Han, pointing my head to Changbin. Han shrugs his shoulders.

“Are you okay?” He gives me a side hug after Changbin releases me.

I nod while sipping my drink. “I’m doing amazing. I’m having fun with my friends.” I sip my drink again. Well, maybe I’m also a bit tipsy.

Changbin goes back to the living room, Han and I stay in the kitchen for a bit longer, talking and laughing. I don’t really know what joke that I’m laughing about, or if I even understood it. But I’m having so much fun with him.

“I should probably go back with my friends.” I say between laughs. He simply nods and we both go back to the living room.

For the next hour I dance with my friends to every song playing, we take pictures, laugh and in that moment, I feel like I went back to last year when I became friends with them, and we will all go to all the parties that we got invited to. I’ve missed this feeling.

“I’m going to the balcony; I need some air.” I shout to Yeji, and she gives me a thumbs up as a response.

I try to get through the people to get to the balcony and once I get there, I see someone is sitting in one of the chairs there. I don’t pay much attention to who is it and I sit at the other end of the balcony. After a few minutes sitting there, relaxing, I feel the boy that was sitting there come closer to me.

“Hey.” He says in a soft voice, and I immediately recognize him. I slowly turn my head up to look at him just to confirm my thoughts.

“Minho…” I keep looking at him.

“Please before running away, I want to talk to you. You don’t have to answer, you don’t even have to listen. I just need to get it out of my chest.” He looks devastated, and I don’t know if it’s because of what Han told me or if it’s because I’ve been drinking all night and I’m letting my guards down. But I decided to give him an opportunity to talk. He sits next to me.

“Go ahead.” I turn my head back front and keep looking at the view. I don’t want to look him in the eyes while he talks.

“Uh… I… I just want to start saying I’m sorry.” He stops for a few seconds; I look at him for a brief moment and he’s also looking forward. “I’m sorry for what I said that night, I shouldn’t have told you that, it was so mean and I’m really sorry.” I hear him taking a deep breath. “I didn’t even mean those words I said, I wasn’t thinking. And I don’t want to justify myself for what I did, I just think you deserve an explanation.” I turn to look at him, my heart wanting to give him an opportunity, wanting to believe he had actually changed. But my mind is still resistant to believe it. “I wasn’t in the right place mentally and the alcohol didn’t help. I was being mean to everyone, and I wasn’t realizing it. Not until it was too late, and I hurt you.” I see a tear going down his cheek, my first instinct is to hug him, but I retract myself and I don’t do it. “All the boys talked with me that night and at first, I didn’t want to believe that something was wrong with me and that I was hurting people who loved me. After arguing with everyone, Han was the only one that kept trying to make me come to senses. And after a few weeks I reached out for help and started seeing a therapist. I’m still trying to be better, and that’s why I needed to apologize.”

We stay silent for a few minutes, not knowing what to say or do. He then looks at me and my heart hurts, I’ve never seen him like that. His eyes are red and swollen and tears are coming down nonstop. I feel bad for him, I don’t know what he has gone through or what got him into the place he was last year, but now I know it must have been hard for him.

“You don’t have to forgive me but thank you for listening to me.” Minho gets up from the chair and starts walking to the door.

 “Wait!” I get up from the chair and try to stop him from going back to the party. “Thank you.” We keep looking into each other's eyes for a few seconds, just before I break eye contact and get into the party again.

I don’t know how to feel, I don’t feel rage anymore, I even feel sorry for him. I’m starting to understand why he acted how he did, that doesn’t mean I forgave him, but at least I feel better after he apologized.

The last few weeks I’ve been meeting up with Minho and talking more with him. I’ve seen him more often at the house when we went there to hang out with the boys, and we’ve been talking about everything. It’s like we went back to the beginning of last year, but better.

Since Minho had started seeing a therapist, and he had progressed, it made things way easier. He would communicate his feelings and if he wasn’t having a good week, he would just say it.

And that led us to going out on a date. It all started because he invited me over to watch Felix, Hyunjin and him filming a dance they had to do for a class project.

“You’re staring.” I snap back and turn my head up to look at who was talking to me. Turns out it was Hyunjin that was taking a water break. “You can’t keep your eyes off him, right?”

I really couldn’t, he looked so good while dancing that I couldn’t stop staring. My brain was going numb watching him dance and I was having many thoughts I’ve never had about him before.

“You like what you see?” Minho smirks. I didn’t hear him coming where we were. He sits next to me and grabs his water bottle. I smack his arm in response.

I see Hyunjin leaving to join Felix at the other end of the room.

“We should go on a date.” What. I turn to look at Minho. I can’t believe he’s asking me on a date.

“Huh?” That’s all I can say.

He looks at me and smiles, “do you want to?”

Well of course I want to! But it caught me by surprise, and I don’t seem to find the words to express it.

“You can say no if you don’t want to.” He smiles. His stupid smile is making me not think straight.

“No! I mean yes! I do want to.” He laughs. “Don’t laugh!” I smack his arm once again.

I lock my phone and start getting ready for the date. I open my closet and stare at it for a good five minutes, not knowing what I should wear. We’re going to go to a restaurant for dinner, it’s not a bougie restaurant but I still want to wear something nice, but I don’t want to be overdressed. I end up choosing a cute but cozy outfit, I’m going to be wearing a nice black pleaded skirt with a white turtleneck. Since it is cold outside I’m wearing a pair of warm thighs and a pair of white leg warmers covering the black boots I decided on wearing.

I finish the final touches of my hair and makeup, grab my purse and go down the stairs of my building, since Minho has just texted me, he’s waiting for me outside.

As I’m going down the stairs, I start to feel nervous. It hasn’t hit me until now, seconds away from meeting him, that we’re actually going on a date. I check myself once more in the mirror that’s on the hall of the building, before going out.

What should I do? Do I hug him? God, I feel so nervous. “Hi!” He turns to look at me and immediately hugs me. He smells super nice.

“Hi. You look amazing Jess.” He separates himself from me. He looks so handsome. “Let’s go?” I can feel he’s also a little bit nervous and weirdly that calms me down a little.

The walk to the restaurant feels a bit awkward since none of us is saying anything. Once we arrive at the restaurant, we go to the table they’ve assigned. It’s a really nice restaurant, it looks fancy. We order our food and when the waitress leaves our table, make eye contact, without saying a word.

“Hey.” I chuckle. “Are you good? Is everything okay?” He nods.

“I feel like if I talk this moment will vanish.” He says softly and I blush at his words.

“I won’t go anyway.” I giggle and look down.

Why i’m i feeling so shy? I’ve gone on dates before and I liked other people but no one has made me feel like he’s making me feel right now, and he doesn’t even know it.

After that the date goes smoothly, jumping from topic to topic, laughing and enjoying our meal. As the time passed we started to feel more relaxed and more comfortable with each other.

I can’t keep my eyes off him, he looks so handsome, all I want to do is run my hands through his silky hair and hug him tightly. When he smiles he’s the cutest, he looks like a bunny and I can’t help but to smile back when I see him smiling.

We finish having dinner and after arguing on who’s going to pay he ends up winning. “I asked you on a date so it’s only fair that I pay.” He says while putting on his coat and I pout. We walk out of the restaurant.

“Can we go on a walk before going home? Please?” I ask, I don’t want this night to end, I want to be with him for a bit more. He agrees on that and we start to walk in no specific direction, wavering around the dimly lit streets, enjoying each other’s company without pronouncing a word.

His hand brushes against mine twice before I decide to take the lead and hold his hand. His thumb starts rubbing circles on the back of my hand. I start to feel my heart going faster at his actions. We keep walking for a bit, still in silence, until we both stop. At the same time. Like the universe deciding we need to take a step further. I look at him, having to look a bit up since he’s a little bit taller than me, and I find him already looking at me.

“Jess…” That’s all he says right before I stand on my tip toes and kiss him, just a little kiss on the lips. I couldn’t not do it, his look was saying many things.

Then he holds me by my waist and pulls me closer, my hands go to rest behind his neck, having to stand on my tip toes once again. I can only hear my heart aggressively pounding. I close my eyes as he makes me come closer to him, and our lips collide. I bury my hands on his soft hair. Finally. He licks my bottom lip, asking for permission to deepen the kiss. I pull his hair a little, earning a whimper. We separate after a while, when we feel like we need to breathe.

I look at him and I feel happy, like no one has ever made me feel before.

[tertiaryunit]

Damage Assessment

An “extra” chapter from my DX story, focused on Lawrence and his dad Sam Carter. This takes place a few hours after the beginning of the game, after JC captures Leo Gold.

/ ------- /

It had been a few hours since the all-clear had been given, and most of the troops had returned to patrol the perimeter of the island for possible survivors. The NSF attack had caught them off guard, and Sam knew it would mean many visits from high-ranking government officials dissatisfied with their boss, a man called Joseph Manderley. 

Sam, being a veteran, was used to such events; this was not the first time one of his superiors had been reprimanded, and it wouldn’t be the last, with all that it entailed. What really mattered to him was that his son was coming from Washington with his boss for the occasion - it had been years since he last saw him. 

The Veteran was sitting behind the desk in the Armory when his thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a figure elegantly dressed in a black suit. His footsteps were light, like someone who knew he should not be there, and therefore with an ill-concealed sense of guilt. 

“Hey kid” “Good evening, father”

Lawrence was only twenty-five years old but his skin had a grayish tone, so exhausted that he looked close to death. The Quartermaster was understandably concerned since the last memory he had of his son was the expression of pure happiness at being assigned as his idol's personal assistant seven years ago.

“What brings you here, son?” “We’re just checking how things are going. Sir Simons gave me a five minutes break, so... Here I am” 

Sam looked into Lawrence’s eyes: they were gaunt, cold like his superior’s and of the exact same shade of grey; his voice calm and measured so as not to show how he really felt. The awkward silence that fell after their initial words did nothing to dampen the tense atmosphere.

“So... I suppose you’re here to do some damage assessment?” “More or less. Gunther’s losing his touch, I know the NSF got him” “I heard our newest recruit freed him. He also successfully arrested Leo Gold, according to Jacobson. Quite promising, isn’t it?” “Ah, the younger Denton” 

Of course, Lawrence had already been updated on everything that happened that night, along with the files of every single UNATCO employee.

”I think it would be wise to keep an eye on him” ”Listen, kid...” - The Veteran cleared his throat - “Why don’t you take one week off and come visit your old man? Sounds like you could use a break” “I can’t. You know how much work my position demands”   

The younger man looked around and his eyes fixed for a moment on the framed photos on the armory desk: pictures of the siblings and mother he never knew as the NSF killed them many years ago - his father never hid to him how not too long after he adopted him, how happy he was to have a family again. Pictures of them together, before becoming a MJ12 Agent, back when his smiles were sincere...

“Aren’t you tired son? Not even a little bit? I know you don't like to hear criticism of your superior, but...” “Sir Simons is magnanimous enough with the workload he entrusts to me already. If anything, I’m not doing enough” “Not doing enough?! Son... You ARE aware of what I’ve heard, right?” “Naturally” - now Lawrence’s voice was so low and similar to the FEMA director's that, if someone overheard their conversation, they would think he was in the room with them - “Nothing but the inferences of people who would give their lives to be in my place”

Sam dropped that topic, knowing how sensitive Lawrence was whenever his direct superior was mentioned in any way. 

“I think you’d enjoy a little road trip, you know? Just like the good old times...” “The good old times are over and I wish you could understand that!”

He barely raised his voice, but the Veteran took a step back as if he were being yelled at. Lawrence turned his back to him and tried to hide the flush in his cheeks.

“Thinking about the past is useless. It only brings you more pain than what it’s worth” “Are you... Are you really Lawrence?”

The Agent stopped in his tracks for a moment, but he did not turn around to face his father. 

“You can stay in the past, if you want. But no one is there anymore”

He left just as JC Denton walked in.

NOTES.

Ok first of all: apologies for my grammar errors. :D Always had troubles with the verbs.

No, Sam doesn’t know what Walton did and is doing to Lawrence. He suspects it but doesn’t want to believe it.    Lawrence, on his part, can tell about his father’s suspicion especially since he obviously knows what is being said behind his back by the MiB and other troopers. 

Walton, on his part, has gaslit Lawrence enough to normalize the abuse and keep him dependent. He managed to isolate him from both his friendships (who do not know about his Psychic powers and would “treat him as a monster” because “the world is cruel” and how he’s “the only person that looks at him without fear”) AND his family (telling him how Sam would be “disgusted” by “what you did” implying the abuse happened because of Lawrence himself).

Lawrence feels ashamed and guilty and fears that if Sam knows, he will never want to see him again, or reject him as his son.

[eldritch-araneae]

Sparkpulse: Arrow of Time, Part 3.

<- Previous | First | Next ->

It’s been a while since Bumblebee attended fancy gathering events, where are many guests from different backgrounds. So when he heard the Solarian Gala will be held on Earth, he knew he couldn’t miss it. Even if it gonna be during his minor illness flare, thankfully it’s not as bad this time so a cane to keep his balance should suffice.

It’s not only an excellent way to maintain and form new connections but also show off his wardrobe. His long and flowy light blue iridescent dress, decorated with the finest moon-theme embroidery and jewelry, creating a beautiful contrast with his brown skin and black as night wavy hair. The matching cane and rounded glasses finish the look.

Usually, Sari or Windblade would come with him, but neither of them felt like going this time. Rubble, on the other hand, never been to a such big event and wanted to join. Bumblebee contacted a family business he shops from for generations to buy an attire for them. There was a slight delay, so Rubble will join a bit later, feeling excited to see his friend in the new look.

“There you are!” a familiar voice calls him from the side.

“Charlie! Glad to see you here!” He smiles, both happy to see his niece from the 17th generation of the ever-expanding Witwicky family tree and to admire her look. The celestial theme this year is absolutely mind-blowing, everyone is stunning! Charlie looks light in her cloud-like dress.

“I knew I would find my Great Uncle here!” She gives Bumblebee a careful hug to not throw his shaky balance off. “You won’t believe this, I got Memo to come this year!”

“And I see he’s fashionably late, as usual.” He laughs, knowing her bestie’s love for attention and perfection. He carefully let go of her. “My friend is also being late, so that makes us two.

“Yeah, sorry about that!” Rubble’s voice drew attention. Bumblebee turns around to see a person in the detailed suit with a flowing cape full of sparkling constellations behind them. Blue shoulder-length loose hair adds to the dark blue and purple attire. Their green eyes stand out brightly.

“Ah, here’s Rubble,” Bumblebee says before freezing in place when he looked at his friend more closely. At first, he thought he must be mistaken, but the longer he looks at Rubble, the resemblance becomes apparent. The hairstyle and color are different, so does the nose, and no facial hair. But eyes are the same.

“Woah! Rubble, you look almost like my ancestor!” Charlie exclaims in surprise, seeing the resemblance as well. She pulls out her phone and finds a picture of young Spike in family archives. She holds it up to Rubble’s face. “Yep! As if you’re my many-great-grandfather’s biological sibling or kid.”

“Oh! I didn't realize!” Rubble gasps, looking at the picture. “I swear I wasn’t trying to recreate him. I just made an appearance I liked. S-shall I change it?”

“Nah, if you wanted to look like this, who are we to tell you? Besides, I don’t think he would object.” Charlie smiles.

“True, you don’t have to worry about it.” Bumblebee nods in agreement, trying to contain his bubbling emotions inside.

“Oh! Here’s Memo! Hey, Memo, we’re here!” Charlie waves to get her friend’s attention.

They hung out together for the rest of the evening. But Rubble’s human appearance wouldn’t leave Bumblebee’s mind. At first, he thought it was because he told them about Spike and it made an impression on them. But deep down, he feels something is going on.

Rubble showed a lot of similarities with Spike. It’s so subtle, but it’s there. Sometimes they would know things he never told him. They have the same ESPER as Spike, to sense incoming danger. Or their first meeting. Over time, he and other Life Wardens noticed this more and more.

As Bumblebee was digesting the thought, he saw Rubble standing on the balcony, looking at the night ocean. The moon reflects on the surface, painting a beautiful view. It’s a suitable moment to ask them directly.

“Hey, I wanna ask you something personal,” Bumblebee says gently, making sure not to alarm them.

“Sure!” Rubble smiles and nods. This is a good sign.

“Remember our first meeting? In the Detroit Spaceport?”

“Of course! I was so happy I ran into you that day!”

“Is any particular reason? I sensed underlying affection coming from you?”

“You did? Though, of course, you would.” They chuckle awkwardly, forgetting that Bumblebee has an extra sense. “But you’re right, there was a reason. A bizarre one.”

“The entire universe is strange. There is no such thing as normal!” Bumblebee grins and both mechs are giggling.

“So it began not long after my forging. One day I woke up from a dream where I was standing on the board and paddling across a lake. Then I heard ‘BAM!’ and something big and fiery fell out of the sky! I screamed and fell into the water. The next moment I was drowning! It felt so real and horrifying, then I woke up.”

Bumblebee’s eyes widen. He knows exactly what Rubble is describing, and there is no way to know this… unless.

“After this, I had a feeling that I must find someone. I didn’t know who or where, but this feeling persisted for a long time. I looked in each corner of my street, peeking my head in places with many people to catch a glimpse of them. Until I saw you on a stream, I tuned in out of boredom.”

“Which stream?”

“The stream with ‘Microbots’! Arcee singing, and Jazz sitting on the fusion of keyboard and DJ stand. Windblade rocking with guitar and Slipstream playing violin, switching between bass versions back and forth!” Rubble’s voice raises with enthusiasm. “And there was you, sitting on the back, showing everyone your mad drumming skills that only you can perform because you have four arms. Suddenly, it clicked. It was you!”

Bumblebee could feel his spark pulsing hard in his real body. But he wanted more confirmation before he’ll draw the conclusion. ”Did you have any other dreams like the first one?”

“Yeah, with you in them. In some you looked different: smaller and the alt-mode was a tiny car. Like stargazing, looking into a telescope at a very specific star in the sky. Or crying into your chest from relief because you woke up a year after the accident that horribly injured you. Or sitting with you watching the sunset and telling you I’m satisfied with things as they were. Each dream made my urge to find you grow.”

As Bumblebee was listening, tears started rolling down his cheeks, dispersing into light particles. He didn’t want to interrupt Rubble, so he held back as much as he could.

Rubble grows concerned at first, but they quickly realize why. “Modeling my human avatar after him… it wasn’t a coincidence, was it?”

Bumblebee answered with a tight hug and more tears. He knew this was possible but always had a hard time accepting that people would go as far as seeking him out again after death. They were breaking the barriers of a lifetime and going against the Well itself so they could meet again.

Just for that. Just for him.

A living proof of Windblade’s words: he makes them happy.

------

Windblade wakes up after an evening nap. She stretches in dragon alt-mode, her colorful manta-like wings are spreading far. Rubble sitting under a tree in their garden making her smile. Their presence became a usual sight. After the Quake accident, Rubble never left their home. They grew into each other more until they officially became the fourth Life Warden. Just without powers, since they don’t feel confident to wield it yet.

Somehow, they felt familiar. She and Sari had an idea, but it wasn’t clear until Bumblebee told them that Rubble has Spike’s spark. It’s an incredibly rare phenomenon to happen. And it comes with some nice advantages, like retaining some knowledge, making it easier to get into a field of work again. Or if this spark had an ESPER - it will become stronger.

But how exactly does it work? No one knows. Not even Bumblebee, but he believes maybe it is a strong desire to find your loved ones in the next life before their memory gets erased.

Since Solarian Gala, Rubble was researching a lot about Spike: his life, his work, and his relationships. Curious, Windblade stands up and joins them under the tree.

“Reading about him?” Windblade asks.

“Yeah. I wanna know what kind of person I was before.” Rubble looks up to face her. They know she went through the same thing. “Did you do the same?”

“Yep. I was very curious.”

Rubble said nothing at first. Their face showed that so many things were on their mind right now. Windblade could see something was bothering them.

“Is something wrong? We can talk about it if you want.”

“I… I just don’t know.” They replied, unsure how to put their feeling into words. “I feel some kind of pressure about all this.”

“Pressure?”

“I feel like I must fill Spike’s shoes to make Bumblebee happy. But I don’t know if I can be him. Or who I am in this case. Did you feel the same?”

Windblade tilted her head to the side in confusion. “No. When I found out about my past incarnations, I never questioned my identity. There are many things make me… well, me.”

Windblade observes Rubble’s reaction. They’re listening intently, so she continues. ”While we had the same spark and same ESPER, we don’t share the same processor and experiences. Despite some similarities, our lives were different, which lead us to be different people.”

Rubble’s face lit up. Windblade smiles. “One thing I can tell you sure is that you don’t have to be Bumblebee’s deceased friend to make him happy, nor he expects it from me or you. He’s just happy to have you back. I hope you’ll solve your feelings.”

 “Thank you. I needed to hear this.” They smile back. Their optics drifted back to the datapad, and a text caught their attention. “What a strange coincidence, though.”

“Mh?”

“Spike found bizarre data when his team was researching exoplanets. Usually, it’s done by using the Transit Method, when a planet passes before a parental star and its luminosity slightly dims. We can use this information to determine the size of the planet, its orbit, and even atmospheric composition.” Rubble pauses, making sure Windblade is following. “But the strange thing, when other teams went to check the information and got fresh data, one or more planets disappeared!”

“Ah, I remember. He told us about it, but our science department couldn't draw any logical conclusion, so we just assumed a computer error.”

“Yes… but the thing is, it happened again! I was tasked a few days ago to check data, and I found that three planets went missing in the planetary system 500 light years from us.”

‘That’s odd… as far as I know, NASA has better tech right now than back then. If it’s an error again…”

“That’s not all. I noticed a strange detail that appears in each case - each system had a double planet. Some cases even showed that a double planet ‘moved’ from one orbit to another. Back then, it was also marked as a computer error. Yet we got this recently.”

“Two planets sharing the same center of mass and orbiting around each other. This is even weirder. Did you tell this to other scientists?”

“Yeah, but everyone at NASA is confused. I don’t know why, but I have a bad feeling about this.” Rubble sighs, looking back at the datapad with a somber look in its optics. “I hope it's nothing.”

“Me too.”

------

Life Wardens were suddenly summoned to the Solarian Council. Bumblebee was surprised to get an urgent call since Starscream handles everything on that side, but this case required their presence. Several unknown motherships were found in the Asteroid Belt. Each ship transmits a signal. While it’s not like anything solarians use, it sounded like a distress call.

This could be anything, but what if people need their help? Bumblebee quickly decided to investigate himself, taking other Life Wardens with him. When they arrived, they saw those ships were heavily damaged. Bumblebee senses a lot of terror, pain, despair, and tension radiating from sparks of people on board. The waves were so intense he almost passed out and needed several minutes to adjust.

Those people clearly need help, but communication is an issue. At first, they tried talking, but nobody could understand each other. The language barrier is excepted. They came from a completely different star system. Just like Cybertronians.

“Bumblebee, is anything you can do? It was you who established the contact with humans back then.” Windblade asks.

His antennae move back and forth. “I need to be close to get into their Collective Unconscious.”

They moved as close as they could, but Bumblebee still struggles. It’s difficult to establish the first contact with a different alien race. Back then, he was right next to Spike to be able to jump into it.

“Alright, I will float next to the cockpit and see if I can get in,” Bumblebee said as he heads to the airlock, coating himself in his energy protection.

“Selene, Wait! You can’t just exit into an open space, you are not in a tram! The regulations!” One of the human crew calls out in concern.

Bumblebee just closes the door behind him and activates the airlock. In a minute, the external door opened, and he was visible in the window, casually floating towards the unknown mothership. The crew member was standing with mouth open for a second before Sari’s laughs broke them out of their stupor.

It didn’t take long for Bumblebee to reach the nearby mothership. He floats to the cockpit and sees orca-like people inside, staring back at him in surprise. He presses himself against the glass to see them better.

These people look slightly bigger and a lot rounder than humans. They have long whale tails, while legs look a lot shorter in proportions. These people are built for an aquatic lifestyle, only occasionally walking on land.

The dragon focuses again, and this time their Collective Unconscious is within his reach. His antennae shine brightly as he dives into it.

Bumblebee is surrounded by unfamiliar sparks, their chatter fills the space. His look has changed as grew bigger and monstrous. His horns are branching out far from his three heads, and his insect wings grow through his long serpentine body. Just like how Windblade perceives him in his mindscape and dreams.

He adjusts himself for a minute before he begins. He’s looking for any language they know. So many sparks produce sounds he never heard cybertronians or humans make, and even distinct from each other, showing they have several languages.

Just like he did with humans, he trims the range. He needs a language that people in the cockpit speak. The chatter gets quieter and more focused. He sees a silhouette of them, and his mind rings the first word: Tlalakan, their species' name. From this point, he rapidly learns more and more words.

As Bumblebee goes on, he learned they are from the star system located 500 light years away from them. Their homeworld, Tlalak, is a big aquatic planet with vast oceans and lush tropical lands. They seem to have similar technological advances as solarians.

“What happened?” he asks into Collective Unconscious.

Screams and cries of terror surround him, showing the collective trauma that each surviving tlalakan went through. An image form. Everyone is running towards the ships as the structures above are breaking and flying up. Something is absorbing the city.

A black hole? No, that’s unlikely. Everyone would notice it fast since it would start messing up with the orbits of the planetary system.

No one expected this, and they had to evacuate in a hurry.

“What did this?” he asks again.

This time something colossal forms above him. Something huge, a planet-size! A planet absorbing another planet? No, the planet is alive! Bumblebee easily recognizes a Planet Titan.

Sparks changing their name: Unicron.

The revelation shook him to the core. Why would a Planet Titan do this?! Why so much death and destruction?! This is so wrong and goes against their nature!

Bumblebee gets overwhelmed with his own feelings and he loses concentration. The next second he woke up in terror, still floating near the mothership’s cockpit. He stares at them in shock, while they stare back with confusion and concern. He gathers himself as much as he can and opens communication.

“Hello? Can you understand me?” he says as clearly as he can manage. Their language poses a lot of phonetic challenges. Some sounds he can’t produce, and now he understands how humans must have felt when they were learning cybertronian language. Though humans also proved it’s possible to get around phonetic barriers, creating their own dialects.

“Yes!” a tlalakan with a swirly golden headdress answered. “Wait how, did you just learn one of our languages?! Your accent is cute.”

He smiles. “Yes, I did. Your Collective Unconscious has a lot of information. I saw what happened…” he trails off saddened, still in disbelief that a Planet Titan did something horrific like this. Yes, Primus was neglectful and irresponsible, but this is a whole new level! “We heard your distress signal and came to help!”

“Thank stars! We thought so as you look very friend-shaped, but it’s good to have a confirmation from you. Many of us are injured, and we won’t last long with the resources we have. This giant bastard attacked without warning and we didn't have time to prepare!” she explains.

“I see,” Bumblebee says as he estimates how many people are on those ships. Several million, many calculations and plans are required. But it’s doable, especially since solarians are expanding towards Jupiter and Saturn. Frozen moons have a warm ocean beneath with a lot of life and tlalakans have a high chance to adapt there as well. They can use this to their advantage.

“Sorry, we barged into your system. We were running blindly without a plan, just to get away from this monster as fast as possible. I promise we won’t drag you down.”

“I understand. I know what it’s like. We’ll figure this out, I’m sure of it!” Bumblebee smiles reassuringly. “We’re stronger together than apart.”

“Thank you so much! We won’t forget your kindness,” she says with tears in her eyes.

“I’m Selene, the Senior Life Warden.” Bumblebee introduced himself, using his official name. “Nice to meet you.”

“My name is Alana, the captain of this mothership and a member of the Tlalak High Council. Nice to meet you too. How about you’ll go inside?”

“Yeah, that would be great!” Bumblebee smiles.

------

Thanks to amazing planning and resource management, solarians pulled tlalakans out humanitarian of crisis in a short time frame. While they were slowly recovering and becoming part of the Solarian Community, there are other matters to focus on. Bumblebee wants to know more about Unicron.

He gathers as much information as he could from witnesses and astronomical observations. Unicron is a Planet Titan, who for an unknown reason, didn’t settle by a star to start life, but instead wander around the galaxy devouring planets.

The worst part is, according to observations, he’s heading in their direction. It’s a matter of time until this monster will come here and destroy everything he holds dear. This makes him feel sick, furious, and terrified. He cannot lose another home, he can’t go through this again.

The Eldritch Dragon is ready to fight, but it will be foolish to challenge Unicron without preparing himself. He must find more information. He must figure out how to destroy him. He absolutely must –

“Bee?” Windblade pulls Bumblebee out of a negative spiral. “How are you?”

“Disheartened and terrified.” Bumblebee sighs as he lays down on the bed, shedding silent tears. “I don’t want to lose everything.”

Windblade walks over and sits by his side, gently caressing his forehead. “It won’t happen. You aren’t alone. Right now plans are developing to make an escape possible in case of defeat. But we won’t give up without a fight.”

Bumblebee looks at her. “How I am supposed to beat something as big as Unicron?! Even with my powers, my body puts a huge limitation, and even if we three combine the output, it won’t be enough! What if you die from overcharge? What if my body fails at the important moment again??”

Windblade picks him up and holds him tight, though she doesn’t know what to say to make him feel better. His concerns are genuine.

It’s not even about the power itself, but the strain a mortal body can take before it breaks. Bumblebee’s chronic illness is a direct effect of it. His chest hurts often, especially during flares, and he loses consciousness a lot. And sometimes he can’t walk without the cane. 

While symbiotic plant helps to mitigate some symptoms, he doesn't know what will happen if he’ll go maximum power. All those things affect the outcome of the battle, and he can’t predict it.

“We’re still gonna be with you to back you up, no matter what happens,” Windblade says in a soft, reassuring tone. She’s scared too, but she has faith in him and everyone else.

“I… yeah, you’ll have my back.” He sighs with relief from realization. His minds slow down. This time will be different. “Still, not sure how to tackle this.”

“Unicron is a Planet Titan, right? Maybe you could ask our Titans about it?” Windblade suggests.

“Mars and Venus are very young. But Terra, she might know something!”

Windblade smiles widely, seeing as she brought his spirit up.

------

“It’s been a while, little one.“ Terra's soft voice echoes through the Collective Unconscious. “There is trouble on the horizon, isn’t it? I can feel everyone’s anxiety on the surface.”

“A Planet Titan is coming here that devoured who-knows-how-many planets on his way,” Bumblebee says sorrowfully, still reeling from this.

“What a horrible thing! That’s not what we are supposed to do!” Terra shares the same feeling.

“Do you know anything about it? Maybe you've seen or heard something? I desperately need information!” he pleas, sounding more desperate with each sentence.

“I remember long ago, when I was only traveling from my nebula cloud with original Mars and Venus, there was a ruckus in the Cosmic Collective.”

“Cosmic Collective?”

“Yes, a Collective Unconscious connecting every Eldritch Being in the Universe, big and small. You would be part of it too, but something separated you from us. It’s very lonely out there, though you, unlike us, are living a completely different life that we can’t imagine.”

“Ah… I see.” That’s an unexpected and interesting thought to digest, but this has to wait. ”So, what the ruckus was about?”

“There was an angry Titan who was afraid to die. He believed he shouldn’t potentially throw his life away for the sake of lesser beings. It was a massive verbal fight, but Titan wasn’t swayed. Eventually, he said he will show the Universe the truth of life and cut himself from the Collective.”

“This is messed up! He could just refuse to become a planet and do something else. Why destroy entire planets?!” Bumblebee yells, his spark burning with insane anger. “That has to be him. If he appears at my doorstep, I will tear him to pieces!”

“Your anger is strong, just like his. Yet you channel it for creation and protection instead of destruction. If anyone can beat him, it would be you.”

“Unicron is a lot bigger than me, so direct assault is not an option.”

“You’re scared, but you need to take a step back and look around. Everything in the Universe operated by the same laws that were created during Big Bang. Nature already holds an answer.”

Bumblebee exhales and collects himself. Terra is right, it’s not the first time he found a solution by just observing his surroundings.

He nods. “Thank you for the reminder. I won’t let anyone down.”

“I know. Just remember, you’re not alone. Let everyone help you.”

------

Bumblebee is snuggling into the cuddle pile in the pillow mound. Windblade and Sari are asleep, hugging him from behind. While Rubble is playing with the energy, he’s shared with them.

When Life Waders were discussing their plans and Rubble expressed their desire to help. Bumblebee was reluctant. This mission is incredibly dangerous, but they were dead serious. To make sure Rubble’s safety, Bumblebee shared his power with them, as he shares with Sari and Windblade.

Rubble is grasping basics fast and already can create a shield to protect themself, which put his spark at ease.

“Bee?” Rubble calls for him. “I have a strange question.”

“Sure.” He nods.

“Do you want me to be more like Spike? I figured I should like to ask you this directly.”

“What?” This question caught Bumblebee off guard. His mind was so occupied with the Unicron threat that he forgot that Rubble carries Spike’s spark. “That’s a good question, if I’m being honest. I don’t know.”

They stay in silence for a bit until Bumblebee continued. “His death devastated me, but I accepted he’s gone. Now, I’m okay with it, even if sometimes I get moments when I really miss him and burst into tears. But I also knew he might come back. He promised to find me.”

Bumblebee looks into Rubble’s green and blue optics. ”And he did. You’re here! But this is your life now. As much as I would like Spike back, you are your own person. You have a lot of similarities with Spike because of memories, but you are also very different. I don’t want to force you to get rid of your own identity for my happiness.”

“Bumblebee…” Rubble didn’t know what to say, touched by his words deeply. They extinguished the ball of light in their hands and snuggle closer to the dragon’s chest. “I see. Okay, then I’ll figure this out after all this is over. You should rest too.”

“Alright.” He chuckles softly, allowing himself to sink into the warmth of his family.

------

Once Unicron’s presence was detected in the Kuiper Belt, the plan to stop him was set in motion. Countless battleships warped into location, keeping a good distance away from the planet eater.

Life Wardens are piloting a small ship, flying closer to the monster. If what Terra said was right, Unicron will more than happy to fight them before moving into Solar System.

“So there he is,” Sari says, observing an orange-colored creature in the distance. “Is he trying to pretend to be a planet? Sure, he curled into a ball, but not spherical enough.”

“I’m afraid this is part of his scheme.” Rubble says. “Because planets are so small and dull compared to stars, it would require a telescope with an astronomically large mirror to get a full resolution picture. That’s why we use indirect tools like transit methods, spectroscopy, and math to study them. “

“Unicron disguises himself, knowing most civilization won’t be able to actually see him until it’s too late,” Windblade adds, understanding where Rubble is going with it. “He’s making sure people won’t have time to escape.”

This makes Bumblebee’s spark boil. He thought he has seen all kinds of evil in life, but this variation takes the cake. He feels a hand on his shoulder and looks to the right to see Windblade with a concerned expression.

“Hold on just a little longer.” She says calmly while caressing his shoulder.

Bumblebee was about to ask what’s she was talking about before he noticed his body was trembling and his hands gripping on controls so hard it was crackling. He feels two more hands on the other side. He takes a deep breath to cool himself and focuses on the mission.

“You’re right.” He nods. Better hold on to this anger, so he can unleash it on Unicron in full force. “I can’t stop thinking about how lucky we got. If any of the circumstances were slightly different…”

Suddenly, a motion was detected coming from the planet eater. He slowly uncurls, revealing his serpentine body with countless limbs. His head has a set of long horns. His multiple green eyes stared right at the small ship approaching him.

“This is new.” His booming voice comes through all radio channels and commlinks. “I suppose those little fishes ruined my little surprise. What a shame. But on the bright side, a little variety before dinner would be great.”

“That was bound to happen, eventually.” Bumblebee's voice sounds low and terrifying. There is no compassion or mercy in it, only execution.” I’ll make you regret everything.”

“Bold words for a tiny creature,” Unicron smirks. “It’s very brave to stand up against me, but I devoured countless civilizations! There is absolutely nothing you can do! Just give up right, and maybe I’ll let some of you live.”

Bumblebee laughs maniacally, sounding even more terrifying. The display was enough to put many people on edge, including the monster himself. A reminder that the Eldritch Dragon not only brings life but also death. “You made a huge mistake coming here.”

“Time beat this shrimp!” Sari exclaims as Bumblebee began accelerating, directing the ship right at Unicron.

“Is the black box transmitting?” Windblade asks as she does last preparations.

“Yes, all battleships are getting data right now.” Rubble confirms. “I hope this will be enough to keep them safely out of Unicron's gravity grip and not be eaten.”

The planet eater opened his maw, pulling the ship inside.

“Okay, everyone get up. We’re going in!” Bumblebee stands up, followed by Windblade, Rubble with Sari on their shoulder. They gathered in the middle of the ship and embraced each other tightly. The Eldritch Dragon uses his vines to keep the group secure, then all four activated the shield, creating a bubble with four layers of protection.

When the ship got sucked inside, the gravitational forces shook it and pull it apart. Bumblebee tightens his grip, making sure everyone is close to him. The nose, wings, and tail were torn away, but after several minutes, the shaking stopped.

“Huh, that it?” Sari looks around unimpressed, as they keep going deeper into the tunnel. “We still have a big chunk of the ship intact. And this tunnel is full of holes. Isn’t this supposed to be a digestive system?”

“Planet Titans don’t have one. They aren’t built to consume food, because solar energy combined with enormous spark energy is enough to sustain them.” Bumblebee says.

“So he had to create it from scratch. I say he did a crappy job.” Sari grins, never missing a chance to roast her enemies, earning a laugh from everyone.

“I’m not surprised, he heavily relies on tidal forced to grind anything for him. Still, he has to have a stomach full of acid. I think we should use those holes to escape.” Bumblebee says and retracts some vines that were holding them to the ship’s floor and the group jumps through the ship’s torn rear. Two dragons transformed in midair, Windblade carrying Rubble, and Bumblebee carrying Sari. They fly through the holes into the main body and land in the open area.

“Alright, we’re safe for now,” Bumblebee says. It’s eerily quiet inside Unicron, safe for occasional metal sounds in the distance. “Are you ready for the next stage?”

“Yes, we got you covered,” Windblade says. Sari and Rubble nod.

Bumblebee moves in front of them and stands still. He focuses deeply on his spark and taking control of the symbiotic plant. His body is full of limits, making it impossible to create the maximum energy output. But he figured out how to get around this.

The chest opens, and claw-shaped vines sprout out of it, holding his spark in its clawed hand. His body goes limp, but still alive, as his spark is still attached to him. Now the spark is outside, and it’s not limited anymore.

Bumblebee’s spark shines brightly like never before. In the next second, more vines sprouted out of “claw”, growing fast and strong until they cover him entirely like a protective shell.

“Brace yourselves. Unicron might send forces to stop me.” Bumblebee’s voice echoes. Windblade pulls her sword out of subspace and charges it up. Rubble transforms into jerboroo, and lets Sari climb onto their shoulder with technobow ready.

Next second countless vines sprout from the shell, going in all directions. As they further, they grow in size and sprout even more vines. The wave is going slowly at first, but as it grows, it drastically speeds up. More and more plants pop out, taking over everything in sight. Bumblebee digs deeper into the monster, consuming him and using this material to grow more jungle, and makes his way into the spark chamber.

Unicron roars from horrible pains as the merciless Bumblebee rips through his body. His systems send drones to eliminate the thread, only to be consumed as well. The hunter becomes the prey. Bumblebee is eating Unicron from the inside.

The monster will not give up, sending even more drones, throwing all his resources to stop this. Some drones got through, but this is where Bumblebee’s family takes the stand. Windblade cuts precisely with her sword, occasionally transforming into a dragon and throwing her enemies around like nothing. Sari and Rubble work together, the jerboroo using their agility, providing the perfect angle for Sari to oneshot their enemies. At the same time, battleships circle Unicron, taunting and dividing his attention.

Bumblebee goes deeper and encounters what he never expected to find - survivors!

There are several groups of tlalakans with other alien races fighting together against drones assaulting them. At first, they were terrified of seeing an all-consuming jungle appearing out of nowhere. After Bumblebee got rid of the drones, he bites through the last layer of protection and gets inside Unicron’s spark chamber.

Bumblebee’s jungle circles around the titanic spark like a hungry predator. For the first time, the Unicron feels fear for his life.

“Wait, listen, you’re just like me! We can rule the universe together!” Unicron tries to save his pathetic life. “Admit it, you take pleasure in fighting!”

“Oh yes, I absolutely do.” Bumblebee purrs with satisfaction, feeling thrilled. “But life is more than just a constant battle. You sealed your fate the very moment you destroyed your first planet.”

“And why is that?! I’m a powerful titan, no one could stop me!”

“As a Planet Titan, you of all people should know. No matter how big and powerful you are, there is always will be someone more cunning and stronger to hunt you down.” With those words, Bumblebee’s vines dig into the spark chamber and start pulling it into pieces.

Unicron screams in pain, curling and clawing at his chest. His last moment was filled with absolute hell as Bumblebee ripped his spark chamber apart. The titanic spark loses its grip and in the next second, it departed into the Well.

Everything went silent.

------

Bumblebee wakes up in a hospital room from a long dreamless sleep. He sees trees outside of the window as rays of the setting sun are piercing through blowing leaves. All this is still here. His home is safe, his people are alive and well. They won. His head is fuzzy, but slowly he remembers what happened after he destroyed Unicron’s spark chamber.

The first thing he did was to find more survivors. The vines scouted everything inside the dead titan, finding even more people of several races near their escape pods. Together, Life Wardens channeled his energy to open portals and help survivors to evacuate.

Despite how much he tried to prevent damage to his own body, the energy still overwhelmed his systems, though not as bad as it would be if his spark was inside. Windblade and Rubble carefully untangled him from the cocoon of vines as Sari was inspecting his injuries. Several energon lines busted, and some internal components were damaged, but nothing too bad to destroy this body.

This is why he’s in the hospital. While his energy and nanites can repair him, proper medical care speeds up the recovery. So he spends most of the time sleeping.

Bumblebee looks around. The room is filled with flowers, and plushes, and wishes to get better soon from people, making him feel warm inside.

The door opens and Rubble comes in with snacks.

“Hey, you awake!” they smile widely, sitting by his bed. ”How are feeling?”

“Like my head is stuffed with foam.” Bumblebee chuckles. “Slowly coming to my senses. How is everything going after we dealt with Unicron?”

“It’s been a week and everyone is still celebrating! There were a lot of debates about what to do with the body of the monster. We figured you might want the material it stores, so we asked to leave it as it is. Good thing we stopped him at Kuiper Belt, so we don’t have to move him.”

“Hmm, yeah, I’ll put his corpse to a good use.” He shakes his head with a soft chuckle. “Such irony, wanting to kill everyone in this galaxy, only to be killed and used as material for a new life.”

“But first you gonna rest a lot!” Rubble making this clear they won’t let him overwork himself.

“Fair.”

“By the way, I was thinking about it a lot after everything was over. I figured Spike is part of me, but I’m not part of him. So I’ll keep on being Rubble from now on.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Bumblebee smiles and opens his arms. Rubble leans over to give him a gentle hug.

The door opens again, and Windblade and Sari come in with more snacks.

[mmms-phe-sideblog]

The Partners: A Long Post

like. really long

brace yerself

Mmmmm guess whoooo obsessed over Phe’s partnerssss :,D

me. it’s me. hELP /silly

so.

I’m gon just. throw all the info at y’all and hope something makes sense hdjdhfh

here’s the info-duction (info introduction)

Onyx was the first partner i designed for Phe, I mentioned kem in my original info post. i think it was in the “oOo she’s a lesbiab but, but oOooO transmasc partner wEEE”

i have the most info about it because obviously. First Partner I Designed yada yada. Key are an intersex, kinda trans masc leaning maybe gendervoid/agender fella, i think i mentioned keir pronouns?

(key/it/he)

onyx is also the first partner i did a canon design forrrrr :D

also it’s a dom leaning switch. y’all definitely needed to hear that 👍

Aight next

Jenna!! Jennnaaaaaa my beloveddddd <33

she is the one and only cis person in the qpr, but they all love her just the same

you don’t need to be trans to be in this poly relationship >:3

behold her beauty!! beHOld!!!!!

i love her hair and i’m definitely not projecting my visions for my own hair onto her,,,, nooooo (hopefully getting a haircut and dying my hair blue this summer so!)

jenna is omni which is. Ideal. since there’s not another single cis person in this qpr lmfao

i wanna draw her more because oGh fluff

Chrissy/Rayne time babyyyy

so this one is an interesting one bcs. i can’t remember if i said phe has 5 or 6 partners in my og post?? i always knew that i was gonna give one of their partners DID (that sounds really mean but. mMm it was always gon be a thing)

so there’s Chrissy who is the “host” or “fronter”. She uses she/her and uhm. Yeah i haven’t really done that much character development on her yet since wEee rabbit holing-ish on DID

(btw if there is anyone who knows more about DID or has personal experience with it, please tell me if i say something wrong or get any facts messed up)

aaand then there’s rayne. christ do i love rayne (this sounds like favouritism towards them but it’s just because i’ve done so much more character development for them (mostly today so it’s fresh fjjdhfjdjd))

They use they/he pronouns and are a raging sub. again, this is very necessary information 😊

i’ve done quite a few drawings of them so. here have!

we’re ignoring the blacked out bits in the last photo. i was being silly and wrote some. Horny Shit. in my defence phe is very much not ace :P

to quickly explain the top surgery on a character that is mostly fem presenting- when rayne was fronting some time a couple years ago, they had a fun little breakdown and ended up going to a gender specialist to get a recommendation for top surgery. Completely just. On a whim. turns out having two identities that have completely opposite gender issues can be kinda problematic sometimes

anyway yeah i love them 💖💖

jasminnnn

yeah i know jasmin’s hair colour has changed dramatically between the two pictures of her ive done sssshush (i cant find a ginger pen 😔😔)

jasmin uses she/xey pronouns and yes. this is the influence of phe partially hdhdhd. its similar to my situation with neim where their pronouns helped me realise shit about my own gender

basically when jas and phe met, jas was already questioning her gender but didn’t know how to progress. all she knew was that she was uncomfortable with they/them pronouns. n then phe introduced her to the concept of neopronouns and thus the she/xey was born!

alright last one i swear

yep this is the one and only drawing ive done of phe’s last partner, xander. They’re a fem enby and use they/it. i need to do more drawings of them because ogh that typical lesbian haircut 😚👌

also i just found another drawing i did of jas at like. 2 in the morning. yeah not putting that here because 1) it’s shite (i did it with highlighters) and 2) yyyyeah fuck the iphone 10 pictures limit

speaking of pictures. last thing im putting here is the drawing of the height difference between them all:

[eris-anansi]

Dreamwood 1999,

Episode 3: Seeing Double

Parker and Thomas become convinced that the Zodiac Killer has resurfaced in Dreamwood. Meanwhile, Detectives Randall Skinner and Keith Costello investigate a murder with similar characteristics to the recent attack that shook Dreamwood two weeks ago.

CW: Implied murder, graphic depictions of murder, depictions of violence, character death

Associated Song: The Neighborhood - Afraid

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

Thursday, September 9th, 1999.

It was a cold September night in Dreamwood when Death reared its ugly head once again. This time, it struck the rural area on the southwest end of town. A lone farmer was found in his one-floor house, lying in a bed drenched with his own blood. His house largely remained untouched and there seemed to be no sign of forced entry. 

Detective Randall Skinner surveyed the gruesome scene laid out before him. Gears turned in his head. This was the second murder committed this month following Jackson. Surely there had to be some connection. Such occurrences were uncommon in such a small city. Petty theft was the most common plague in Dreamwood, he thought.

Randall overheard the forensic investigator on the scene mutter to himself, “Just as I thought...” This piqued his attention. He asked, “What do you mean, Woods?” He practically barked.

The forensic examiner, who had also been present for the car crash caused by the Rake, turned to Detective Skinner with wide and observant eyes. His flinch at the sudden and loud quality of Skinner’s voice was just barely noticeable. He had long and wild black hair, skin pale like snow, and wore a typical navy blue forensic uniform. “I’m pretty sure we’re dealing with the same thing we saw at the hospital,” he answered. “We have a serial killer on our hands…” The way he said those words sounded almost ecstatic, almost thrilled. That was what Randall couldn’t stand about Woods, his perceived affinity for the macabre. Frankly it freaked him out, and the longer he worked with him it soon became grating– like a nagging wife. The same reason Randall wished he never met Jeffrey Woods was the same reason he had decided he would never marry. 

Randall tried to mask his disgust at Woods’ attitude towards the whole situation as he asked, “And how do you know that?”

Woods’ answer was simple.

“Thirteen stab wounds.”

The realization hit Randall so fast, that he barely registered the next words out of Jeffrey’s mouth.

“Just like Jackson Caldwell.”

Caldwell. There was another thing that nagged at him. No word in the English dictionary properly described the visceral emotion he felt whenever he heard that name. Hatred was too soft, loathing wasn’t quite sharp enough, vitriol was pretty close but still did not quite summarize the full range of his feelings toward the Caldwell family. When he heard Parker Caldwell had left Dreamwood all those years ago he jumped for joy. To him, it was the nail in the coffin of the Caldwell family; Jackson had just retired a year prior. He never took Nathan Caldwell seriously, the whole town knew he wasn’t like his father or his father’s father. He thought the reign of the Caldwells over Dreamwood had finally come to an end. It was what his family had dreamed of for decades; it seemed as though since the founding of Dreamwood in colonial Massachusetts, the Caldwells and the Skinners had been adversaries. Two powerful, influential families known for their pack mentality and tendency towards picking up firearms. Randall thought, with Jackson and Parker Caldwell out of the picture, he could bring glory to the Skinner family name by moving up the ranks of the police force and giving Dreamwood its first Captain with the last name ‘Skinner’; but when Parker returned to Dreamwood and joined the force, a factor he hadn’t calculated for was introduced. For the first time, his plan seemed to be under threat. He’s been noticeably tense ever since. 

“Thirteen? Are you sure? Count again, won’t you Jeff?” Randall insisted.

He shook his head. “I already counted three times. I’m sure it’s thirteen and the victim died in his sleep. It’s almost identical to Jackson only in a different setting. Isn’t this exciting?? Dreamwood’s first serial killer!”

Randall didn’t seem to think so. Not in the slightest. Nothing related to the Caldwell family meant any good for him or his kin. This could only serve to harm his own ambitions. “Sometimes I wonder if you ever quit talking,” he spat. 

Jeffrey visibly shrunk at his words. “Well, in any case, this means we should start asking around if anyone’s seen anything or anyone that didn’t belong. Like maybe someone from the hospital. The expressionless woman from two days ago?”

Randall dismissed Jeffrey’s suggestion, turning on his heels to leave the room. He took one look at a crooked painting that hung above the fireplace in the rustic living room, before he made his way outside.

The sky above was grey with clouds. The wind was noticeable but not heavy, blowing through the nearby cornfield. Crows circled over the farmhouse, he could hear their caws. Outside the farmhouse, another detective waited for him– a tall man with neatly cut and curly black hair, fair skin, and smokey blue eyes. He always had a carefree look about him, in contrast to Randall who always seemed on edge. “Whaddya think, Randy?” The detective asked him. Randall’s eyes scanned the surrounding area and he said, “We should ask around. See if anyone’s seen anything out of the ordinary. This murder is linked with Jackson, so we oughta be lookin’ for someone who had access to Dreamwood State Hospital. Staff maybe. Or a former patient, like that freaky mannequin lady who made Officer Smith disappear,” Randall concluded, paraphrasing Jeffrey’s idea as if it were his own.  

“No one’s seen the mannequin since the interrogation room. Last ones to see ‘er were Thomas and Parker.”

“I know, Keith,” Randall spoke through gritted teeth. “I know. And I thought I told you not to say that name in my presence.”

“What name? Par-”

Once he saw the pitch black stare Randall pointed in his direction, Keith knew when he had pushed his limit. His smug attitude faded and he gave a quiet nod.

“...Right. Sorry.”

“Get in the car.”

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

Friday, September 10th, 1999.

12 PM.

The cliff overlooking Dreamwood Forest had been dubbed a lovers’ lane several odd years ago. As such, it was often the site where couples parked their cars for the most extraordinary view in town. The cliff provided a view of the forest that spanned from Devil’s Lake to the mountains on the opposite end of the forest. It was a portrait of untouched nature. It was often a tranquil location, a sight of beauty.

However, what was to be found on this particular day was anything but that. A parked car at the edge of the cliff, which was found to be empty. The front window on the right had been broken. Twenty feet away from the car, a barbaric array; countless severed arms, legs, and chunks of flesh arranged in a bizarre pattern in the grass. In the center, the heads of the two victims were propped up. The area was filled with the stench of death, and flies buzzed all around. They had been here for awhile it seemed, presumably since last night.

Parker Caldwell and Thomas Wheeler stood a good distance away, taking in the scene while forensics went about their usual ritual of setting up tape, collecting evidence, and taking photographs. Jeffrey Woods approached the two men holding a folded piece of paper.

“Who’s the unlucky couple?” Parker asked.

“Darryl Stevens and Lisa Grant. Both are students at Dreamwood State University- or… were. It seems as though they were both forcefully dragged out of the car and… well… one can only imagine what they endured shortly after. It’s like something out of a horror movie.”

Thomas shuddered. “It has ‘satantic ritual’ written all over it. Gives me the jitters.”

“I was getting to that,” Jeffrey nodded. He unfolded the paper, showing the two detectives an obscure symbol that he had drawn. It was a circle with a cross inside, with both the vertical and horizontal lines breaching the circle’s borders. It resembled crosshairs. 

Parker slowly raised an eyebrow. Thomas mumbled something under his breath. “That’s… I’ve seen that before, haven’t I?” He glanced at Parker for confirmation. Parker nodded. 

They both watched as a small grin formed on Jeff’s face. “A little more than thirty years ago this symbol had our country in a chokehold,” he said. “Does ‘the Zodiac Killer’ ring a bell?” 

That was when Parker realized, and Thomas started to run his hands through his hair. 

“Oh, God help us…”

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

1:05 PM.

Randall Skinner and Keith Costello’s trail led them to the home of a doctor from Dreamwood State Hospital, a cozy house in one of Dreamwood’s more affluent suburban neighborhoods. The two sat in a living room across from the doctor, an older man with grey hair and a stern look. He wore a suit and tie.

“It’s an awful shame what happened to Jackson. Words can’t express the service that man did to our city, to our country. The Caldwells are truly a pillar and ol’ Jack was no exception.”

“Yes, yes,” Randall nodded along, fighting to keep his resentment at bay. “The man was a hero. That’s actually why we’re here.”

“Oh?” The doctor raised an eyebrow.

“Yes. Dr. Watson, you were reported to be one of the staff on the scene at the time of the tragedy,” Randy explained. 

“Yes sir, I was the one who charged the nurses with keeping an eye on him.” Dr. Watson confirmed.

“Then you might be able to tell us what happened then? Perhaps what went wrong?” Randy pried. 

“It all happened so fast, and I still find myself replaying the moments in my head even now. We never saw anyone out of the ordinary, nobody who looked like they didn’t belong. There weren’t even any reports of suspicious individuals leaving the building after the fact. It just… doesn’t add up. Makes me think one of our own was the one who did it, but there aren’t any grounds to press charges.”

Randy and Keith knew that better than anyone. They knew forensics couldn’t find any fingerprints, much less a murder weapon. It was like Jackson’s killer vanished into thin air. It was that thought which led to Randy's following question.

“What about the week after? The other incident at the hospital?”

“You talkin’ about the lady who killed– no, nearly ate two of my co-workers?”

“Yes. I mean exactly that. Do you think she might’ve had anything to do with Jackson’s murder? Do you know where she even came from?”

Dr. Watson took a drag from a pipe. “Listen, officer, there are a lot of recent events that I can’t explain. A lot of ‘em I haven’t even fully processed yet. I think you and I are in a similar boat here. Given that she appeared out of thin air, I think it is very safe to say that she could have had something to do with Jackson. It’d take something like that to pull it off.”

Keith made a mental note of the doctor’s words. For Randy they slowly sunk in. He realized that Watson was just as confused, if not moreso, than the police department. This case proved more frustrating each passing day. He wanted nothing more than to be the one to catch Jackson’s killer, he knew that would be a hefty score for the Skinner family name– and yet things seemed to be complicated by the factor of the unexplained. His goal was so close, yet so far; and it was all due to pesky details that made no logical sense. To say it made him angry would be an understatement. 

A distant thud broke Keith’s train of thought, and his head turned in the direction of the sound. Randall’s eyes followed. The source of the noise seemed to lie behind the door to Dr. Watson’s basement. Dr. Watson noticed the two men’s attention had been diverted and asked, “Somethin’ catch your ear, gentlemen?”

Randall nodded toward the door. “What’s in there?”

“The basement.”

“Do you mind if we take a look inside?”

“You can’t search my home without a warrant, officer.”

“Is there any reason I should want to?” Randall’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. 

Dr. Watson smiled in return. “I shouldn’t think so. We’re on the same side, sir. We both want justice for the Caldwells.”

Randy almost scoffed. Almost. He contained it. 

“...Which is why I don’t mind at all,” Watson finished. 

As if on cue, Randy and Keith rose from their seats and made their way to the basement door. Dr. Watson’s eyes followed them. Randy grabbed the doorknob and turned it, the door opened with a creak. The two detectives were met with a long and narrow staircase, and their eyes trailed down until they spotted movement at the base of the staircase. A silhouette writhed in the dim light. 

“What the fu…”

Randy couldn’t finish this sentence. Before he could, Keith suddenly pulled him out of the way of the door. The next thing he saw was Dr. Watson running at him with a sledgehammer in hand. Keith acted quick, throwing a right hook across Watson’s jaw. The force of the punch sent the doctor staggering towards the edge of the staircase, where he proceeded to tumble down into the basement.

Randy blinked several times, processing what just happened. “You saved my life, Keith,” he said in disbelief.

“Randy– look.” Keith pointed to the base of the staircase. “Look at that.”

Randy glanced down. “What is it–” He paused for a moment. “...Oh. Oh shit.”

“You see it too?”

“Yeah… yeah… I don’t know what I’m seein’, but I see it.”

“Randy. It’s moving.”

Keith quickly reached for his pistol. 

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

2:30 PM.

If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. Beginning with the Woodland Beast, then Jackson’s murder, then the woman with metal teeth, it seemed as though this would be the most eventful fall season Dreamwood’s seen in a long time. Now it was revealed that the Zodiac Killer himself may be active in Dreamwood. Chief Bowers wondered if he would ever know peace again as Parker and Thomas delivered the news. 

Just the day before he had heard from Randy and Keith that they had caught a lead on the Jackson case. It was common knowledge at the police department that Detective Skinner and Detective Costello were following a case with striking similarities to Jackson’s. Between the two cases, Bowers felt like he had found himself smack in the middle of a significant run of awful luck. 

“The Zodiac Killer?” He repeated, tiredly, letting Thomas’ words sink in. “Are you sure Tommy?”

“This is either that or a very elaborate prank, and I don’t know anyone dedicated enough for the latter,” Parker supported Thomas’ statement. 

Bowers thought aloud. “How old must he even be after all these years?”

“Not too old to work just like the good old days,” Thomas asserted. “I always thought he’d turn up again, I just never thought it’d be so close to home.”

There was a knock at the door and an officer was let in. He informed Chief Bowers that they had received a call. 

“Chief– the Zodiac’s been sighted.”

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

Some minutes earlier…

The sound of tires skidding across pavement startled the nearby wildlife as a police vehicle pulled up on the scene. Randall Skinner and Keith Costello pulled up in front of an abandoned warehouse located in the far north of Dreamwood, close to the old Anderson Facility which was often compared to Area 51 in the sense that nobody quite knew or understood its purpose, other than the fact that the government had something to do with it. The warehouse though was a place that hadn’t seen any excitement since the colonial era, in that regard it was something of a local relic of the past. What was once a large factory– and part of a coal mine– had been reduced to a rotting cadaver of a building, its metal frame colored with rust and mold. 

“A face only a mother could love,” Keith mumbled, sarcasm dripping from his voice. He glanced at his partner for confirmation. “You saw it run in here, right?”

“I know what I saw,” Randall gave a nod. “Whatever killed Jackson, it’s in that building. And I’m gonna be the one to catch it before that Caldwell runt.” Without another word, he marched in the direction of the warehouse. Keith heard the click of his partner’s gun. He felt as though they were in over their heads, but he didn’t dare suggest that. He followed Randy into the warehouse. 

The warehouse seemed to ache and groan with every step they took in the cold and dank facility. Randy didn’t care, though, and was only concentrated on following the trail of the thing they chased there. Keith soon lost him as he took a sharp turn down a corridor.

“Randy!” Keith shouted after him to no avail. “God damnit, Randy-” He ran after him. He hated how reckless his partner could be at times. Randy’s path led Keith down a long metal hallway that creaked and wailed with every quick step that he took, at times he thought the floor would give out underneath him. At the far end of the hall, two shadows danced across the wall seemingly locked in hand-to-hand combat. Keith distinctly recognized one of them as Randy, but the other was foreign to him. It did not look like Dr. Watson– or the thing posing as Watson that they chased here– but rather something else entirely. He ran down the corridor, hoping to assist Randy and bring a quick end to the fight, but it ended before he got there. 

Keith ducked as he saw Randy’s body soar through the air over his head. He heard a crash as Randy hit the wall and slid onto the floor.  “Holy shit–” Keith rushed to check on him. The first thing he did was check Randy’s pulse- he was still breathing. His living status was confirmed by a grumble of, “Get the hell off me,” as he pulled himself to his feet. His eyes searched for Dr. Watson, who he did not find. Instead, he found a tall bulky figure shrouded in an all black clad in metal armor with a square-shaped helmet over his head. He wore a matching black cloak marked with a white crosshairs symbol- identical to the pattern Parker and Thomas found in the woods. The figure was making a quick getaway. Keith noticed right away. Randy, though he struggled to find his balance, was reaching for his gun. 

“The bastard’s getting away!” 

“Let him! We need backup!” Keith insisted. 

“We’re at the edge of nowhere, you know how long it’ll take them to get here?? I can finish this right now!”

“Randy, that man– no, that thing– sent you flying like you were a stuffed animal. Do you honestly think we can take it down by–”

“I haven’t tried shooting it yet.

“Don’t you recognize that getup? That’s the goddamn Zodiac Killer!”

Randy grumbled something incomprehensible. 

“I don’t care what you say, I’m calling Bowers.”

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

Not long after Keith’s call, several police vehicles had pulled up to the warehouse. More were still on the way. Detectives were supposed to be arriving as well, but they hadn’t arrived yet. Randall and Keith were currently giving one of the officers a rundown of what happened. 

Officer Henry Darcy, one of the newer officers, was having a hard time following the ramblings of a very disgruntled Randy. “So… so let me get this straight– you fought the Zodiac Killer and he threw you?”

“Over twenty feet!” Randy confirmed. 

Keith nodded. “I was there. We ordered backup because of that.”

The young officer simply blinked. “You realize how absolutely bonkers that sounds, don’t y–”

“You think I don’t know that?!” Randy snapped. “I swear this town’s going to hell, I know what I saw! Keith can back me up! I need a small squad of men to track down and capture him. Throw in a tank while you’re at it.”

Darcy stumbled over his words. “You’re talking way too fast, sir. Please slow down– and I don’t think we need a tank.”

“One of America’s most wanted serial killers is loose in Dreamwood. I don’t think tanks are too drastic.”

“Are we even sure we’re dealing with the Zodiac? I mean- you know what we saw at Dr. Watson’s house,” Keith cautioned. “Darcy is right, we need to slow down and think about this.”

While the three men talked, another police vehicle was parking in front of the warehouse. Darcy glanced over at the car just in time to see Parker Caldwell and Thomas Wheeler climb out of the car.

“The only thing I needa think about is which one of my shelves I’m gonna mount the Zodiac Killer’s hea- . . .” Randy trailed off as his gaze fell on Parker. Keith could almost see Randy’s eyes turning red. 

Parker simply greeted the two detectives and Officer Darcy with an easy smile and a nod. “Good afternoon, you must be Detective Skinner. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Randy’s rage dissipated almost too quickly as he gave the Caldwell a cordial smile. “Parker Caldwell, I’ve heard a lot about you. Mainly about your little escapade in the forest, and then the living mannequin from the hospital!” Randy chuckled. “You’ve been making quite a lot of noise since you returned from New York. You’re the talk of the whole police station.”

Parker blinked. “Am I? I hadn’t noticed.” Randy would proceed to quietly seethe.

“Oh, thank God! Detective Caldwell! Maybe you can talk some sense into these two,” Officer Darcy gestured to Randy and Keith.

“Hey, don’t lump me in with him,” Keith raised his hands in defense. “I do not support the tank idea in the slightest.”

“Gentlemen,” Thomas began with his usual southern drawl, “How about we rewind a bit? Explain to us just what in God’s name happened here first of all.”

Keith began to explain everything that transpired up until this point; from the farmhouse to Dr. Watson’s suburban home and what they saw in his basement. They revealed that what they discovered in Watson’s basement was, in fact, another Dr. Watson– tied up with his mouth taped shut. He recounted the story of how he and Randy chased the second Dr. Watson, the one they had questioned in the living room, all the way to the warehouse. 

Officer Darcy blinked slowly, like a confused cat. “That… does not explain where the Zodiac Killer came from.”

“What if we’re not dealing with the Zodiac Killer at all?” Parker suggested.

All eyes were on him now. 

“This is going to sound crazy, but–”

“Just spit it out,” Randy insisted, growing anxious. 

“-What if the same thing that was impersonating Dr. Watson has been impersonating the Zodiac Killer all along? What if it was also behind the murder at the farmhouse? We could be dealing with some kind of shapeshifter,” Parker said. “A shapeshifter that’s reenacting different crimes.”

There was a long pause before Thomas replied, “That does sound crazy. Crazy seems to be the word of the month, though.”

“So we’re quite literally dealing with a copycat?” Keith scoffed. He lowered his head and mumbled, “I need to move to Boston.”

Parker nodded. “Skinner’s right about one thing- we do need a search team to find this thing. If I’m right, it can disguise itself as anyone– even one of us. We’ll have to be vigilant. We can try setting a trap for it- maybe back at lover’s lane…” He trailed off as he devised a plan.

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

4:30 PM.

Two hours later, and the sun was setting. What remained of its warm embrace cast a dim orange light upon the trees of Dreamwood Forest, and provided a gorgeous spectacle for the couple- a brunette man and a blonde woman- who sat in a parked car at the edge of lover’s lane. They remained blissfully unaware of the fact that they were being watched as they stared off into the sunset.

Concealed in the leaves, the armor clad figure observed the car. It seemed to be determining the best time to strike. It had done this many times before, and the motions were all too familiar. Sunlight slipped further and further from reach, and the Zodiac– or whatever was under that mask– decided that now was the best time to take action. It slowly approached the car, the voices of the couple growing closer, building anticipation. The only color it saw was red. Soon the Not-Zodiac found itself standing in front of the driver’s window, gazing in at the man who sat at the driver’s seat. The window rolled down slowly as the man turned his attention to their new company. 

Staring face to face with the Not-Zodiac was none other than Officer Darcy, who offered it a friendly smile and a, “Great evening for a walk, isn’t it?” The next thing the Not-Zodiac knew, it was staring down the barrel of a gun. The woman who sat in the car lifted her head, revealing Thomas Wheeler in a wig and a sundress. He aimed a shotgun directly at the Zodiac Killer. 

“Surprise, fuckface.” 

He turned his aim away from its head, aiming further down, and fired. The sound that followed was that of a gunshot, and the Not-Zodiac stumbled backward taking a shot to the leg. The car started up and pulled out of its parking spot, changing course and gearing up to run the Zodiac over. Despite this development, the creature remained perfectly still and allowed the car to knock it off balance. The car pushed on, crushing the shapeshifter underneath its wheels. Officer Darcy heard the crunching of bones, his foot on the gas, and he couldn’t help but grimace. Thomas cackled a deranged laugh before exclaiming, “Yeehaw!” He raised his rifle hand to the sky through the open car window and let his fake blonde hair fly freely in the wind. 

“This isn’t fun, Thomas… I heard it crunch…” Officer Darcy informed Wheeler.

To which Thomas playfully replied, “Don’t be a pussy, Darcy,” with a wild grin still plastered onto his face.

Darcy brought the car to an abrupt stop when he believed they had rendered the Not-Zodiac immobile. 

“Whew! That was easy!” Thomas sighed, the remnants of his grin still present. “And to think this was the son of a gun that gave Randy and Keith so much grief. Ain’t too tough up against a 1970 Volvo now are ya?” He chuckled, slapping the side of the vehicle.  Darcy chuckled along, albeit more nervously. He quietly wondered if he could get out of the car now. 

However, when the car started to rise into the air, Darcy felt an even stronger desire to get out of the vehicle. Thomas sucked his teeth and looked around, “Now this is just ridiculous.” 

Underneath the car, the Not-Zodiac had pulled itself to its feet and was holding the car above its weight as if it weighed no less than a fairly large boulder. Darcy started to panic, begging to be let out of the car. Thomas was trying his best to calm the rookie down while thinking of a means of escape. 

That was when Parker, Randy, and Keith came out of hiding finally. Randy did not hesitate to fire his taser gun at the Not-Zodiac. This caused the creature to drop the car, being crushed under its weight once again. 

“Careful, Randy,” Parker warned him. “I told you, we’re not going to kill it yet. We just need to make sure it can’t fight.” Parker already made it clear that he believed the shapeshifter might have answers for them. More specifically, he believed that if the shapeshifter had impersonated his father’s killer at one point, then it may know the true identity of the killer. He was hellbent on testing that theory more than anything.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Randy simply brushed him off.

The car door flung open and Officer Darcy quickly climbed out, followed by Thomas, and the two ran for the three men. 

“Get out of there!” Parker told them. He saw the car being lifted above the Not-Zodiac once again as the seemingly indestructible creature pulled itself to its feet. 

“I’m getting! I’m getting!” Darcy ran faster, glancing back at the car just in time to see it tip over. He frantically reached for the gun on his holster. 

The Not-Zodiac, now a contorted form wearing dented armor and a half-cracked helmet, launched itself in Officer Darcy’s direction. Darcy screamed, aimed his gun, and held his fire when he saw Thomas tackle the creature to the ground. 

“Thomas!” Parker shouted, running over to help his friend. Randy and Keith followed.

Thomas wrestled with the Not-Zodiac for several seconds before he began senselessly beating its face in with the butt of his rifle, repeatedly telling it to ‘eat shit’. His taunts were cut short when the creature grabbed his rifle and bent it to an angle with minimal effort. Thomas’ eyes widened, conveying an expression that could only be read as a silent prayer to God. The Not-Zodiac lunged at Thomas and the wrestling match resumed. 

When Parker, Randy, and Keith finally reached Thomas and the Not-Zodiac, they made a very disturbing discovery. The wrestling match slowly came to an end, and Thomas stood to his feet- only something was very wrong. Standing next to Thomas Wheeler was another Thomas, an exact spitting image of him. They wore the same clothes and shared the same disgruntled expression. 

Darcy glanced between the two, and he was starting to get dizzy. “Y’all… this ain’t right… this ain’t right at all… I’m seein’ double...” 

Parker paused. He felt a knot of dread growing in the pit of his stomach. “...Thomas?”

“Yes, that’s me! I’m Thomas!” The two identical men responded in a near perfect unison. “No, I’m Thomas! You shut your mouth! I’ll shoot you where you stand! I’m not playin’ wit you!” 

Randy glanced between the two, gun in hand, unsure of where to shoot. “Oh, hell.” 

“Alright,” Keith squinted, “Which one is the shapeshifter?”

The two Thomas’ pointed to one another. “He’s the shapeshifter! Shoot him!” They shot each other pointed glares. 

“I’ve just about had it with you,” sneered Thomas #1. 

“Who are you kidding? Everybody knows I’m the real Thomas! You couldn’t rock that wig to save your life,” Thomas #2 fired back with a smirk. 

“Can you both just be quiet?! I’m tryna think!” Officer Darcy was already close to cracking under the pressure of it all. 

Parker spoke up. “Thomas, look at me.”

Both Thomas’ met Parker’s gaze.

“Thomas, you’re my best friend. You know me better than anyone. Tell me something only I would know.”

Thomas #2 nodded slowly, and started. “I still remember the day you ran from home after that fight with your dad. You had already skipped town and before the old man did anything else, he came to me. He figured I would know where you went,” Thomas #2 gave a wistful chuckle recounting the memory. “And you’re damn sure I did. But you- you were a clever bastard even at seventeen. You were one step ahead of your old man. You already gave me an entire script that sent him on a wild goose chase that ended in Vermont.”

Randy blinked in disbelief, glancing at Parker. “Is that true?” 

“Yes, it is.”

“Well… there’s our answer.” Randy aimed his gun in the direction of Thomas #1, and promptly fired. 

“Damnit, Randy!” 

The first Thomas fell backward, and morphed back into the Zodiac Killer before their very eyes. Thomas- the real Thomas- let out a sigh of relief. He saw his life flash before his eyes a second prior. 

Parker, on the other hand, ran over to the fallen shapeshifter. He knelt over the Zodiac’s body. It was still alive, but it was losing a lot of blood- a lot of thick, tar-black blood. Parker had never seen anything like it but at the current moment he didn’t care. He only had one question on his mind. “Quick, tell me,” his voice took on an air of desperation. “Who killed my father?” The Zodiac could do nothing but gurgle as it choked on its own blood. “Answer me, damnit!”

Parker grabbed the Zodiac’s helmet and yanked it off, throwing it to the ground. The face that was revealed was pale as snow, and bore no distinctive features other than a mouth that lacked lips and was full of razor sharp teeth. Parker held the face of the writhing abomination, forcing it to look at him. “Show me the face of the man who killed my father!” It did not answer him. Soon the creature ceased movement completely. Parker screamed at the now dead shapeshifter. It was Thomas who gently pulled him away. 

All things considered, Randall Skinner felt pretty accomplished. He knew that he would be the hero of this story– the one who slayed the monster. It was a story he planned to take with him a long way. At last, he could shine a more positive light on the Skinner family name. The Skinners were more than thugs- they could be heroes, too. Their days of being lowly biker gangsters and struggling politicians were soon to be over. This was the first sign. 

Parker’s sights soon turned on Randy. “Randy you son of a–” He lunged for Randy, but Thomas held him back.

“Parker- Parks, get a hold of yourself.”

“He killed my only lead!”

“I don’t even think that thing could speak a lick of English! Either way, we’ll find out who killed the old man! I promise!”

“God damnit!!”

Randy took one last look at Parker before nodding to Keith. 

“Let’s go.” 

He turned and walked for his car, which was hidden not too far away in the woods. Keith cast an apologetic look upon Parker and Thomas before following his partner, leaving Officer Darcy alone with Thomas and a very disgruntled Parker Caldwell. 

“That… that bastard…”

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

Author’s Note 

Randall Skinner and Keith Costello are alternate versions of Randy Warren and Keith Davis, characters belonging to the Jeff the Killer mythos.

[whiterosewitch]

"Is that her?" "Yeah..."

I look at him while he looks at his phone screen. The way his eyes look at her picture, whispering how deep his love for her is. He's missing her that much.

"She's cute." He nods, and his little smile sparks.

The girl he loves in the picture is wearing a long, black skirt with a tiny white flower pattern; an oversized black sweater with a cute white lace accent on the collar; a black newsboy hat; white socks, and black loafers.

I remember that I also have a skirt with a similar pattern, but it's a midi slit skirt, which looks the best when I pair it with nine-centimeter-high heeled black ankle boots. A body-fit top suits it better—like what I always wear.

She is sitting in a lush green meadow. Her hand is holding yellow flowers. A perfect, aesthetic summer vibe picture.

He continues his story about her. I know his mind is far away—imagining her—but we're lying under the same blanket.

My head is still lying on his shoulder, but I know exactly where I should stand.

His right hand is touching my arm, but I know he wishes his fingers touched her instead.

I understand why he and I separated by 1,000 kilometers away. I know it well, and I think this is the best way to make him and I keep in touch.

He may want to touch her, but I'm sure he loves the way I touch him. There's no need for words to prove it; his body speaks for itself, and I can see it.

But, can I still adore him in silence? I won't fall in love since I can't take the pain if I fall for him. I also won't seek any attention from him since I won't be annoying. I never want to lose him at any cost.

He is the right person at the right time when I need someone to give me a lot of dopamine supply. He is my early, unexpected birthday gift that no one knew about before.

I won't tell anyone who exactly he is, because he's my little precious secret. I want things between him and me to stay like this. So, he can keep coming back, looking for me whether it's 6 in the morning or 11 pm before he sleeps—the only way he can imagine all of me, I guess?

black skirt with a tiny white flower pattern // x, xxvi-xxvii

[courtneyhume]

Tangled Up in Blue: A College Romance - Chapter 3

Go here to read this story from the beginning...

Blue

Keegan almost drops her dentures—as my mother would say—when she sees Hunter and whoever the seriously bleached blonde is sprawled bare-ass on the bed.

At least Keegan is getting the full picture on Hunter up front. Quite literally, as the asshat is lying on his back on the bare mattress, with nothing left to the imagination.

The blonde is curled up next to him, snoring softly, her mouth open and a line of drool on her chin. I have no idea who she is. I can't remember seeing her before, but that's no surprise. We get new people every weekend.

And she certainly looks like Hunter's type: hot and "breezy"—his slang for an easy broad. Why he steered her into Keegan's room instead of his own last night, I have no clue. Maybe he already had a girl, or two, passed out in his room downstairs.

I wouldn't put it past him.

Our new roomie is just standing there, gawking at them. She gives me this wide-eyed look like she doesn't know what to do next.

There's something quirky and coltish about this girl that I like. She's got legs that go on for days, just the right amount on top to fill out the little black tank she's wearing, and long, glossy brown hair that I immediately want to bury my face in.

Physically, she's definitely my type.

And, assuming my man radar is in good working order, the attraction between us is mutual. Keegan wants me; I can feel it.

You'd think I would've learned my lesson about hooking up with housemates, after the whole Kendra drama. But what the hell. We're all adults. And I really would like to get to know her better.

Thing is, though, when she took off her sunglasses in the living room and I saw her eyes, I almost choked because I instantly thought of another girl on the other side of the world with very similar eyes: Same color, same shape, same old-soul expression.

It freaked me out. Spotting the drumstick on the floor gave me a reason to bend over for a moment so I could hide my face and get my shit together. It's not the first time since I became a civilian I've suddenly been on the verge of tears.

Maybe I'm looking to see that other girl in other people. Maybe I can't let go of her memory. Or of the memory of those lost because of her. Because of me, actually.

I walk to the bed and twist Hunter's big toe hard to wake him up. At the same moment, Max runs into the room, his nails clicking on the wood floor. He goes straight to the bed and sticks his cold nose into the blonde's nicely toned ass.

Yowling, Hunter and the blonde try to sit up at the same time, and the blonde rolls off the bed and hits the floor, which gets Max barking, thinking she wants to play.

"Get that fucking dog away from me!" she screams, jumping to her feet while trying—pointlessly—to cover her privates with her hands.

Max keeps barking and rushes toward her, rearing up playfully. And she kicks him, sending him scrambling behind me like a coward. For a German Shepherd, the dog's no canine cop.

"Hey!" I yell at her. "Don't kick the dog. He's just trying to play."

She grabs her clothes off the floor and runs into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Hunter is cradling his head in his hands. "Seriously, dude?" I snark at him. "Your girl just fucking kicked my dog!"

"Jesus, Blue," Hunter moans, "what do you think you're doing?"

"What am I doing?" I snarl, picking up his boxers and throwing them at him. "What am I doing? I could say the same thing to you, asshole. "

Hunter clutches his underwear in one hand and squints painfully at the sun pouring through the window as I go on.

"Our new roomie here," I go on, gesturing toward Keegan, "just had to walk into her room and see your nasty bare asses all over her bed. What the hell are you doing in here, anyway?"

Hunter slowly turns to give Keegan a cocky smirk and a sloppy salute.

"Hi sweetheart," he says, running his eyes all over her. "I gotta say, you are definitely an improvement over the last girl who was in this room. Welcome."

"Get the fuck out so she can move in!" I yell, cursing under my breath as I move toward the bed, ready to grab the jackass by the hair and yank him off.

I don't outweigh him by much, but I'll bet I've got better fighting skills than he does.  

Hunter evades my grasp, rolling off the bed. Then, still naked, he throws a flirtatious grin at Keegan as he strolls past her and out the door.

[plaguedocboi]

More scary waters, by popular demand!

Since my last post ranking bodies of water really, really blew up, I decided to make a second. Some of these were suggested by people (in which case I’ll credit them), and some were just ones that didn’t quite make the cut for the first list.

I’ll also be doing a third list ranking the most toxic bodies of water in the world, so stay tuned for that.

Also, keep in mind that these aren’t ranked by how dangerous they are. They’re ranked by how scary I, personally, find them. So if the rating seems off, it’s due to which ones inspire a visceral reaction in me and which ones don’t.

Silfra Rift, Iceland

This one is something that I actually find very beautiful rather than scary, but it still seems like something that others might be freaked out by. The Silfra Rift is the point where the Eurasian and North American continental plates are pulling apart, creating a crack in the earth that filled with water. The water here is incredibly clear, and you can see all the way down to the bottom even in the deepest spots (which are almost 200 feet down, by the way). It’s the only place in the world where you can put your hands on two different continents at the same time! I’ve had the privilege of snorkeling here, and although it’s definitely deep, I wasn’t terribly scared due to the fact that the rift is just so beautiful. The only danger to swimmers is the temperature; it stays between 35-39 F year-round, meaning anyone getting into the water needs a full drysuit to avoid getting hypothermia or worse. I give the Silfra Rift a 1/10 fear rating because I thought I would be much more freaked out by it than I was.

Dragon Hole, China

While not as visually striking as the Great Blue Hole in Belize, this sinkhole in China is the deepest “blue hole” in the world. This pit descends 987 feet down. This earns a 2/10 purely because this is just a goddamn hole in the ocean that’s almost 1,000 ft deep and I don’t care for that.

Lake Tanganyika, multiple countries (suggested by @iguessiamhere)

This lake didn’t quite make the cut for the first list because it comes in second to Lake Baikal. It’s the second-oldest, second-deepest, and second-largest (by volume) lake in the world. But someday, Lake Tanganyika may be number 1, because just like Baikal, it’s a Rift Valley. It’s getting bigger every day, and in a few million years when Baikal is an ocean, Tanganyika might be the largest lake by default. Its 4,820 ft depth earns it a 3/10.

Lake Superior, US/Canada (suggested by multiple people)

This is the largest of the Great Lakes, and the third-largest lake in the world. It reaches depths of over 1,000 feet and has a surface area of over 31,700 square miles. Lake Superior is the site of over 350 shipwrecks and contains roughly 10,000 dead bodies. The reason these bodies are never recovered is because the lake is very cold, and very deep. The lake bottom is essentially a sterile environment, where bodies are preserved for eternity instead of floating up as a normal body would. This lake holds onto her dead. 4/10 for sheer danger and alarming amount of dead bodies.

Cenote Angelita, Mexico ( @olive-k wanted a cenote, and this list has two!)

This is a cenote with an underwater river running through it. No, I’m not kidding. Underwater rivers are actually quite common, but they rarely exist in places that humans can see them. Usually they’re caused by a current moving in a different direction than the majority of the water, or a boundary between water with different density (as is the case here). The “river” appearance in Angelita is enhanced by dead trees, giving the appearance of a bank. For the first 100 feet, this cave has regular freshwater. But a little deeper lies a layer of hazy hydrogen sulfate, and beneath that is 100 feet of salt water. This ranks 5/10 because can you imagine descending towards a hazy patch of water and branches that you assume is the bottom, only to pass right through it and see a gaping black expanse beneath? No thanks.

Devil’s Hole, Nevada

As a biologist, this is somewhere that I actually want to visit. This tiny waterhole in the desert is the only place that the endangered Devil’s Hole Pupfish lives. But we’re not here to learn about cute fish, we’re here to read about unsettling waterways. And hooo boy, this one is pretty weird. Because despite its appearance, this isn’t a little rainwater pool. It’s the opening to a huge cave system, which reaches depths of at least 500 feet. We’re not totally sure, though, because the bottom has never been mapped, and several people have died trying to attempt it. 6/10, since it’s very deep, hasn’t been fully mapped, and is apparently haunted.

Eagle’s Nest Sinkhole, Florida

There is literally a sign in front of this sinkhole that reads “STOP. Prevent your death. There is nothing in this cave worth dying for” accompanied by a picture of the Grim Reaper. Need I say more? Probably not, but I will anyway. This sinkhole is the only surface opening to a cave system that stretches several miles and plunges to over 300 feet deep. Miles of twisting, confusing, narrow passages with only one exit make for an extremely dangerous cave system. For some fucking reason, it’s a very popular dive site. At least 11 people have died here since the 80’s, and is referred to as the “Underwater Mt Everest” because of how dangerous it is. 7/10.

Zacatón, Mexico

This cenote was literally considered “bottomless” for a long time, because no one could find the bottom. Multiple expeditions were attempted, including one where a man died after reaching 925 feet without finding the end. It took a multi-million dollar operation funded by NASA to find the bottom of this hole. I’m not kidding. Turns out, it’s 1,099 feet deep, making it the deepest cenote in the world. It disturbs me that it took NASA and a robot designed to map alien moons to locate where this hole ended, so it earns an 8/10.

Saltstraunen, Norway (suggested by anon)

This narrow strait is home to the strongest tidal currents on the planet. Roughly 110 billion gallons of seawater move in and out of this corridor every six hours, creating violent currents. These tidal movements are so strong they create a phenomenon very similar to the whirlpool in Scotland—the Saltstaunen Maelstrom. This vortex is 33 feet across and forms four times a day as the tides go in and out. Although this whirlpool is only 16 feet deep (very shallow compared to Scotland’s) the currents alone would probably destroy you if you ever fell into this strait. 9/10 because damn.

Blue Lake, Russia

Despite having the least creative name of all time, the Blue Lake is anything but boring. Like the Zacatón, this lake had a reputation for being bottomless for a long time. A diver died after descending to 394 feet, and another barely survived after going down to 685 feet. Neither found the bottom. Eventually, the bottom was discovered and it came as a surprise. The lake itself is only 770 ft by 426 ft, but it is 846 ft deep. This lake is deeper than it is long. It is also a constant 48 degrees F, making hypothermia a risk for any swimmers. If that’s not bad enough, it’s also full of hydrogen sulfide, which makes the air around the lake potentially dangerous. However, people do still dive here on occasion (mostly for research purposes) and the lake is surprisingly beautiful beneath the surface. Still, that doesn’t make it any less deep, cold, and poisonous, so this is a 10/10 for me.

Honorable mention: The Mariana’s Trench, because although it’s not really a specific body of water it’s the deepest point in the ocean, at 7 miles below the surface!

[dilf-whore]

revelations

pairing: tasm!peter x scarlet witch!f!reader

genre: established relationship, angst, fluff, somehow same storyline as the last episode of wandavision, mostly focuses on the reader and her development/story

summary: you used your powers to help peter fight his enemies from afar, but this time you have to fight yours.

warnings: some violence, injuries

A/N: i made a minor change with the reader’s outfit, just a tad difference to wanda’s, up to you guys to imagine how it would look like. and this is fucking long. but anyways, i’ve been thinking about this for a while now, and i finally have an idea for the plot, i hope you guys like it. if you guys want anything for tasm!peter x scarlet witch!f!reader pairing or other stuff you may send me a request!

requested: no

requests are OPEN

☾

“see, you forgot to convert it. that’s why your percentage is wrong” peter explained, pointing at the teacher’s solution at the blackboard.

you look at him, eyebrows knitted together fuck chemistry you thought.

“if i wasn’t such a good person, i would cast a spell on the teacher and make me pass the subject” you joked.

peter let out a small giggle slapping your shoulder slightly. “don’t worry, i’ll teach you later at the library”.

“thank god i have a smart, hot, strong, superhero boyfriend!” you smiled kissing his cheek.

you bring back your attention to the teacher, frowning to the new problem you have to solve.

☾

you cover your face in frustration, not wanting to see your chemistry book any longer.

“y/n, let’s take a break. we can continue this again later” peter says, setting away your books and notes.

he pulls out his laptop and opened a file, it was filled with pictures of spiderman. he was retouching the photos he took.

“you should find a new publisher, they’re not paying you well peter. jameson is even making spiderman look bad” you tell him.

“eh well, it was the first opportunity i saw so i took it” he says looking at his laptop.

joining peter with his superhero stuff always crossed your mind, but you were afraid of what people will think of you. your powers were different, many people would be afraid, seeing someone, a woman with glowing energy coming out of your hands and eyes that light up.

but you did help him, from afar. casting spells here and there, telekinesis, and most importantly: healing his injuries.

your thoughts were interrupted when a sudden explosion happened and screams of students and teachers can be heard from outside.

you and peter stood up and look at each other. you raise your hand, and just like that, peter is now wearing his suit.

he was about to approach the commotion when you spot the one who’s causing this mess. it’s a woman, with similar powers as you. her fingertips were black, purple energy coming out of her hands, teleportation, all of it, but more powerful than you.

it’s too dangerous for peter you thought.

you hold peter’s shoulder, “no don’t do it, she’s a witch, i could tell. she’s really powerful”.

“but i have to y/n” peter looks at you.

“i-i’ll handle it, go make sure everyone is out of the building” you cup his cheeks.

“are you sure?” peter asks, worried.

“yes i am, make sure everyone’s safe. especially you, peter”

you gave him a quick peck on his masked lips and separated ways.

☾

you run towards the woman, shaking a little, you were nervous.

“hey grandma! couldn’t find your way back home?”

“ah y/n! pleasure to finally meet you” she smiles maliciously

“how the- who the fuck are you?” you ask

“the name’s agatha, agatha harkness. i knew it was you! i could feel your power from here” she laughs manically.

without any hesitation, you blasted energy beams at her.

agatha blocked them with ease. you looked at her with fear and anxiousness.

before you could do anything, you were pushed against the wall by her.

“we don’t have to fight sweetie, just give me what i want and we’re done” she smirks.

your ears were ringing, you vision was blurry, it made you dizzy. you got up and heard a loud thwip!

you look up and see peter approaching agatha.

“peter no!”

☾

peter was swinging towards her, but before he could even reach her, a purple ring was already around his neck, choking him.

“and who’s this? your little boyfriend?” agatha tilts her head.

“let him down! don’t include him into this, please i beg you!” you scream.

“alrightyyy” dropping peter, you catch him with your powers, settling him down slowly.

you teleport to him, he got weak from the strangling.

“oh god, are you okay? what did i just tell you pete!” you frantically say.

“i’ll come back, please stay here and don’t move a muscle” you instruct him. casting a protective spell, an energy field appeared around him.

“you want it? you can fucking have it!” you shout.

☾

“look babe, it says something about a scarlet witch and how they can alter reality. didn’t you do something like this when you were like 7?” peter asks, pointing at the computer in front of him

“well i wouldn’t say it was altering reality, i got upset over my grandfather’s death and i just made this thing where i could see him again. i don’t know if that’s altering reality” you shrugged.

“oh wait, it also says here something about runes. it’s like a spell where only the witch who casted it can use their magic. that’s so cool! you should try that y/n” he exclaims.

“i’ll try some time” you reply.

☾

“the thing is y/n, you’re a myth. you’re not using your full potential, you lack knowledge and confidence. you’re the scarlet witch” she says approaching you.

“i’ve been watching you, you can manipulate chaos magic. that thing with your grandfather? i saw it, that’s chaos magic darling” she fiddles her fingers at you.

“you, y/n, have no idea what you could do. let me help you before you cause any destruction. give me your powers” she adds.

“fine, take it” you exclaim.

you reach out your hands, and a cascade of red energy bursts from you.

you felt like you were draining, you look at your skin, it looked like you were decaying.

“i want it all!” agatha laughs in victory.

finally, all of the energy has left your body. you felt weak, you felt like you were dying.

“well now that’s over” agatha opens her palm, and suddenly an old book appeared.

“this, y/n, is called the darkhold also know as the book of sins, book of spells, or book of the damned. this is what will tell you, well now me about the scarlet witch” she emphasizes.

“but don’t worry, your powers won’t go to waste. i’ll make sure to use it really really well” she adds.

“so long darling, it was nice meeting you” she sarcastically waves you goodbye.

she took in a deep breath, and pushes her hands but nothing came out.

“what?” she tries again, and again.

“you forgot something, grandma” you point at the symbols surrounding you both.

agatha looks around, and saw runes around them. “runes, you know how to cast them” she comments warily.

“in a given space, only the witch who cast them can use their magic” you look at her.

“it’s called research sweetie, and now i think you have what’s mine”

“no, no, no, you d-don’t k-know what you’re doing!” agatha exclaims.

☾

agatha falls down, weak and defeated.

you rush to peter, going inside the protective circle you casted. “peter! are you okay? here let me fix that” you put you hand over his gashed side, healing him.

“what’s with the new look? you look really hot” he smiles.

“what new look?” you scan yourself and see that your outfit did change. it was all red now, with black accents and a headpiece.

“let me change that” you point at your outfit and added blue accents instead of the black to match his.

you laugh tiredly, helping him up.

you both approach agatha, “you’ll need me” she says.

“maybe i will, so i’ll give you a role here in school. a counselor! someone who most students don’t like to talk to. oh! and i’m gonna take that” you smirk, grabbing the darkhold.

you touch her temple, and she turns into a regular guidance counselor wearing a pencil skirt and a purple blouse.

☾

you and peter went back to your apartment. settling down, peter lets out a small giggle.

“so my girlfriend is not just hot, but is also the scarlet witch? god damn, you’re amazing” he wraps his hand around your waist.

“hmm, i guess so” you blush.

he rests his forehead on top of yours, taking the comfort silence in.

“so i guess it’ll be spiderman and scarlet witch now huh” he adds.

“well i think it’ll be spider menace and scarlet menace” you laugh, remembering daily bugle’s nickname for spiderman.

“thank you” you stare at him.

“for what?” he asks.

“for everything, for being there for me, for those research you do, for helping me all the time. you mean the world to me peter, i want to be with you. you don’t have to carry the whole city on your shoulders, i’ll be by your side. i’m not afraid anymore, especially when i have someone amazing as you” you smile lovingly.

“i love you y/n” he gives a quick kiss to your lips.

“i love you too”

☾

[phoenixyfriend]

Time Travel ft. Leia and Vader

(Helped by @atagotiak)

I was reading a bunch of different time travel fics, and my brain slotted in that one "Vader hands over the Empire to Leia and is now her most devoted sycophant" dynamic and mixed it with the "Luke and Vader time-travel and Vader does the right thing but only because it would make Luke sad if he didn't."

I landed on "Leia time travels to prequels era, but her least favorite family member has also traveled with her, though it takes him a few months to find her because he has less resources without the entire Imperial Navy, but he's still a scary Sith in all black with a breathing mask and intimidating cape."

"Tiny angry lady who wants to force democracy and her giant Sith father whom she hates but has resigned herself to pointing at threats like a tank who inexplicably loves her" is a delightful dynamic.

The first few months included a lot of concern about "why do you know so much about Sith if you're not trained or looking to be one" and then Vader shows up and calls her 'daughter' and she insults him and it's like "Oh. That explains it."

Council Member: We have a Sith in the Temple. Vader: Former Sith. Leia: Listen. He is your best chance against Sidious. Also, do you want Dooku dead? Vader can make him dead. Council Member: Your father i-- Leia, scrunching up her face: Don't call him that.

Like Leia is deep in conversation when the Temple starts panicking because Vader just. Showed up? He snuck in, somehow? So Palpatine wouldn't catch him on video entering through the front door? And people try to keep her away from the trouble, because there's an entire array of Jedi Masters to deal with this Surprise Sith, except she can sense exactly which Sith it is and once she shouts "oh you have got to be kidding me!" she just starts running and, well, it's Leia. Nobody can stop her.

(Leia does have less combat training, at least less force-assisted combat training, than the Jedi. But then the Jedi don’t want to hurt here here. She's not fighting her way down, either, she's just running really fast and all the best fighters already left. They had a head start. So Leia's mostly running past random padawans and the like.)

She shoves her way to the front of the group of Masters who. Well, they're certainly ready to attack. But Vader is just standing there. Doing nothing. Still intimidating as fuck but he's not doing anything.

And then Leia bursts onto the scene like "You motherfucker."

She hits her head on a clipboard and whines because UGH he's a walking WMD and they could REALLY use him against Palpatine but also. She hates him so much.

She tries to hand him off to the Jedi council but he insists that he will only take orders from Leia herself.

Jedi: Wait, what. Leia, completely ignoring them: Did you follow me here? Vader, through the mechanical wheezing: I have no loyalty to my master and no empire to serve. You are all that I have left. Leia: Me? Me? I'm all that you have left? You committed a genocide that killed all the family I had except for the twin brother you later mutilated! Jedi: Wait what Vader, going to one knee: I pledge my loyalty and blade to you and only you, daughter. Leia, ready to explode: I. I just. Jedi, some of whom really want to say things but are slowly realizing that they just accidentally acquired a Sith Lord by proxy: What. Leia: I hate you so much but I can't even get rid of you, you're too useful. Vader: I live to serve. Leia: Yeah. Got that. Fuck. Someone get him a full medical rundown, I don't know the last time that mess of a life support system was updated. Jedi, agitated again: WHAT Leia: Listen, I don't like him, but I'm not stupid enough to throw away the second most dangerous person in the universe when I can point him at the most dangerous person in the universe. Especially not if he's going to listen to me. Jedi: But... he's a Sith. Leia: Please trust me when I say this: you might be able to take him down eventually, but he will take dozens of you down with him, and right now he's... honestly, I'm pretty sure he's more depressed than malicious. Jedi: You hate him. I can feel it. Leia: Yes, but I can be professional about it. Vader: They have not yet d-- Leia: Nope! No talking! Not until I've had a chance to process this mess!

There is a whole lot of Leia snapping at Vader to stop it whenever he starts giving off vibes like he wants to take the most violent shortcut possible.

She is not the gentle hand that Luke would be.

Leia isn't a Jedi or working for them but she's wormed her way into being an ally. They don't 100% trust her, especially not with Vader just showing up and declaring her family but like

How do you say no to a WMD walking into your house and saying "I will fight the monster you cower from at night."

There's a lot of Leia snapping off an admonishment that sounds just a little too odd and then when questioned she just says "He knows what he did."

tbh I'm not sure how long it takes for them to tell anyone that Anakin is Vader. They might hold it off in hopes that Anakin can just retire to be Mr. Amidala after the war is over.

Well, Leia hopes. Vader just lets Leia make that call and then glowers at his younger self every time they're in the same room.

I do feel like Leia tells Obi-Wan the truth first

Imagine. Imagine a Vader who’s past still isn’t known. But has gotten somewhat comfortable around the Jedi (not really but the bar for what counts and comfortable for him is low). And Obi-Wan habitually banters with darksiders, right? If Vader’s guard is down for a moment and he, without thinking, references an inside joke...

Might be the most fun in terms of ways to tell Obi-Wan "We're time travelers and Vader is what happens if you let Palpatine drive Anakin off the edge"

If Vader has decided to pledge himself to her orders after destroying her planet, then fine. She can work with that. She's not going to be happy about it, but she can make it work.

The Jedi Temple hates having Vader anywhere nearby but he is actually very good at hiding himself from people, including Palpatine And for all that Leia seems perpetually irritated with her apparent bodyguard, he does seem to listen to her.

Jedi council: We still haven't figured out how to handle Dooku Leia: Do you know his location? Jedi council: Yes. Leia: [sigh] Leia: Vader, deal with it. Alive if possible.

(Leia does need to clarify an acceptable level of violence against the people protecting Dooku.) (She needs to clarify... many things.)

Leia always says "Vader" and one time a poor fool just asks why she doesn't call him dad and she snarls out "He is not the man that raised me, and I am glad for it."

Someone less foolish later prods more compassionately and she lets them know she was adopted and didn't properly meet Vader except in passing until she was nineteen.

"And then he tortured you." "And then he tortured me, yes." "Damn." "Didn't even find out we were related until a few years later when he chopped my brother's arm off." "You... wow." "I know."

At least one exchange that is L: You mean when you tortured me? A: He did what. V: I was not aware of our relation at that time. L: Not the point! I am fully aware of your interrogation methods and I refuse to let you be the one to acquire the evidence for-- A: Wait no go back he tortured you? L: Move on, please, we already have. A: That means I'm... oh Force, I'm going to torture my own daughter what in the actual fu-- L: We're moving on.

(“I end up torturing my own daughter” If Leia’s feeling especially spiteful I can see her saying “you mutilate your own son too”)

Concept: Leia is very free with traumatizing details of her past re:Vader and Anakin thinks that it sucks but doesn’t think much of it bc Sith. And then some time later he finds out...

(I love characters who use the traumatizing details of their past to shut down conversations.)

It's such a wonderfully horrifying concept for him to try to awkwardly comfort this girl he kind of knows because having a Sith for a dad sounds like it would suck and Leia seems nice, even if she's kind of weird and uncomfortable around Anakin, but he saw her flinch around a few other tall people wearing black robes the way she stiffens around Vader so maybe it's just that!

It is not.

Vader does get a significant amount of medical treatment. Including a bunch of "holy shit, that's a lot of drugs" and similar. There is so much lightning damage.

hnnng I'm just really in love with the image of Tiny Tiny Leia sitting behind a desk for some fancy negotiation, the picture of professionalism, while Vader just stands behind her shoulder, looming, glaring expressionless death at whoever came to speak with his baby girl.

Not that he would call her that, because she'd just hate him more and he's really not sure how to fix that problem, other than doing whatever she asks with no complaints and hoping she appreciates it.

Vader: [looks at children wandering by, has complicated emotions] Leia, tired of his shit: What now? Vader: I killed them, once. Leia, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath: And you're not going to do that again. No killing children. Vader: I know that. Leia: Great. I am... regretting asking. I am so very much regretting asking.

I do really like the idea of someone asking Leia once if she wants Jedi training and she says, no, actually, she's fully aware of the fact that she's angry little ball of hate sometimes, especially towards her bio father, and she'd like to refrain from putting herself in a position where she knows enough about the Force to Fall. She wouldn't Fall. But it does make people shut up.