#wow you guys ate up that last post I’m glad you all liked it!

[dailyjevil]

Day 55 of posting Jevil every day

[moldisgoodforyou]

you didn’t kiss her back

wordcount: 2.5k

warnings: mentions of nsfw content, brooklyn :/

_____

In hindsight, he should have known. 

He should have known when Brooklyn texted him the group invite for dinner in a separate text thread, not the intern groupchat, but he was too busy with work that day to even question it. Just liked the message as his usual form of RSVP. 

He should have known when Brooklyn was ultra-polite to him at work that day, not adding any of her usual flirty comments or going out of her way to stroll by his desk. Instead, he was too caught up in work assignments and trying to figure out how late he could FaceTime Sophie that night without waking her up.

After the workday, Rafe was walking out to his car when Brooklyn jogged after him to catch up. “Hey, Rafe, wait up!” 

He grimaced but turned around - he’d learnt to just deal with her presence over time. “What?”

“Um, my car’s almost out of gas and I don’t think I’ll make it to the restaurant and be able to make it home. Would you be able to give me a ride?” She asked, almost shyly. 

Rafe calculated the drive time in his head. Eight minutes. “Uh...yeah. That’s fine.” He nodded shortly, then nodded his head in the direction of his car. 

Brooklyn gave him a grateful smile, matching his quick pace to the car. “How was work for you today?” 

“Fine.” Once he got in the car he dropped the act, just turning up the radio so they didn’t have to make more small talk. Just being near her made him feel on edge - the same way he often felt around his father. She reached out to touch his arm and he flinched away, making her giggle. “Someone’s tense.” 

“Can you not?” 

She rolled her eyes. “Touchy.” 

“I’m trying to be civil here.” He remarked. 

“Hm.” She let him sit in silence for a solid half minute, then spoke up again. “I saw Sophia posted some picture of her wearing a Cartier ring on her Instagram. Did you pay for that?” Brooklyn pushed, sounding almost nervous. 

Rafe shrugged. “So what if I did?” 

“You never bought me designer.” She glanced at her nails, trying to appear nonchalant. 

He snorted. “You can buy yourself designer things just fine. We both know that.” 

“Not the same.” She mumbled, then opened her mouth only to let out a sigh. “It’s just - never mind.”

He looked over with an annoyed glance, tapping his fingers on the wheel. “What.” 

“Surely your dad doesn’t approve?” 

Rafe tensed and she resisted a smile, knowing she had struck a nerve. Exactly what she wanted. “Since when have I cared about my dad’s approval?” 

He might have gotten away with that with someone else, but Brooklyn could read him well. Too well. She’d seen him deal with his dad’s disappointment only a few times, - Ward was always on his best behavior whenever she was around, the model of a perfect parent. 

Brooklyn laughed at that, shaking her head. “You’ve always cared about his approval, I find it hard to believe that’s changed in just a few months with some girl.” 

“Eight months.” He corrected, his jaw clenched tight. “And you know her name. Don’t be rude.” 

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever, Sophia or something. I just don’t get it.” 

“It’s Sophie. Still. And good thing there’s nothing you need to get about my relationship.” His knuckles were nearly white around the steering wheel as he pulled into the small parking lot, then glanced around with a frown. “Where’s the other interns? Shouldn’t they be here by now?” 

“Oh.” She raised her eyebrows, surprised. “I just sent the invite to you. You didn’t notice?” 

He hadn’t, of course, but he wasn’t about to let her know that. He parked the car and turned it off, looking over at her with a confused expression. “What?” 

“I didn’t send it in the group message, Rafe, I thought we could go out, um, with just us.” She gave him a small, earnest smile. “Like old times.” 

He grimaced, closing his eyes for a second and taking a breath. “Are you forgetting that you broke up with me?” 

“I mean - Rafe, come on. We worked well together. We could at least be friends.” Her tone took on a pleading edge and she leaned in a little closer, her arm nearly touching his on the center console. 

“You made me feel like shit, Brooklyn.” He told her flatly, frowning. The last thing he wanted to do that day was rehash a conversation with his ex that they’d already had at least three times since breaking up. (The first was more akin to a drunken screaming match that ended in tears for both of them, the second was just bitter insults hurled back and forth, and the third was as short as possible, on the campus quad in between classes.) 

“I just wanted to help you.” She murmured, then suddenly leaned over and kissed him quickly. He was so taken aback that it took him a second to spring back, eyes wide. “Brooklyn! What the hell!” 

She blushed, embarrassed as she started stammering. “I didn’t mean - I wasn’t thinking -” 

“Fuck.” He wiped his lips with the back of his hand and shuddered, looking disgusted. “Get out.” 

She sat there for a moment longer, not looking at him. Her voice grew impossibly small and she picked at her cuticles, radiating anxious energy. “I didn’t drive.” 

“I don’t care. Get an Uber or something, get the fuck out.” Rafe was practically fuming as he glared out his window, not wanting to acknowledge her. 

“I - Rafe, I want -”

“Out.” He insisted. 

She nodded quickly and scrambled out of the car, casting a wayward glance back after walking away. Once he was sure she was around the corner, Rafe slammed his fist on the steering wheel. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do more - throw up or go scrub his body clean of any trace of her. Brooklyn’s floral perfume lingered in the car and he felt nauseous, unable to think of anything but Sophie and how she’d react once she found out. 

After he took a few moments to center himself, absolutely livid, he punched the ignition and peeled out of the parking lot, repeatedly swiping his hand over his lips in an attempt to get Brooklyn’s signature cake batter-flavored lip gloss off. (The summer after the breakup, Wheezie had started wearing a vanilla sugar perfume that smelled all too similar - Rafe had a headache for weeks.) He drove to a nearby park and sat out by the water to get away from the overwhelming perfume scent in his car, and his hand was nearly shaking as he hit the app to FaceTime Sophie, nervous as hell. 

She picked up right away, grinning once his face filled her screen. “Hi! It’s good to see you. I can’t talk long, I’m getting ready to go out, but what’s up?” 

“Um...” Rafe briefly debated bringing it up, anxiously pulling at a loose thread on his shorts. “Just checking in. How’s your day been?”

“Oh my god, so...” She launched into a ramble about a cool new project she was working on, and how she got to be with some of her new friends, and how she aced her Spanish test. He listened, a little impatient, as guilt ate at him.

“Soph -” He tried interrupting, knowing if he put it off any longer he’d make himself sick. 

She didn’t notice. “And it’s kind of tricky -”

“Baby, listen.” 

“- But it’ll be really rewarding -”

“Brooklyn kissed me.” He blurted out quickly.

She froze immediately, eyes wide with her lipstick raised halfway to her mouth. “She did what?” 

He bit his cheek hard before replying, his heart pounding. “I’m so sorry, Sophie, I didn’t - I should have known, her stupid dinner invite -” 

“Rafe, shut the fuck up, why are you apologizing? You didn’t kiss her back.” It wasn’t a question, just a statement of trust, but he almost flinched from the hard edge to her voice.

He shook his head frantically. “No! No, of course I didn’t. Fuck. She barely even touched my lips before I pulled away.” 

“Fucking hell.” She had to set her phone down as she was practically shaking with anger. “I knew it.” 

“Knew what?” 

“I knew she was going to pull something, that - that -” She seethed, unable to get all her words out. 

“That…?” He tried supplying. 

“That bitch! Oh my god, what the hell? If I were there, I swear I’d - holy fuck. I’ve never wanted to punch someone until now.” She started pacing the room, flexing her fingers into fists. 

Rafe couldn’t hide his tiny smile, raising his eyebrows. “You’re kind of hot when you’re mad.” 

“Focus, Cameron.” She snapped. “Oh my god, she’s so fucking petty. First the Instagram messages, then this -”

“Wait, wait, hold on, what Instagram messages?” He interrupted, frowning. “What are you talking about?” 

“Oh.” She scowled, crossing her arms. “She followed me a couple weeks ago and went through and liked the posts that you’re in, and keeps responding to my stories. Like that group photo I posted the other day at the bar, some of the guys were in it? She literally responded with ‘wow, glad you’re getting some in Spain.’ What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” 

“Sophie, you should have told me.” He rubbed his temples, upset but completely unsurprised - Brooklyn had done that same to a friend he had taken to a date party once when they were in one of their many short breakups. “I’ll talk to her, tell her to knock it off -”

“And have her try and kiss you again? No, I don’t think you need to give her any reason to be one on one with you.” She huffed, indignant. “How many days again?” 

He paused to think. “Thirty? Twenty-nine?” 

“Jesus Christ.” She sighed, running her hand over her face. “Any chance you want to come early?” 

He looked apologetic, shaking his head. “Can’t, baby, I’m committed to this internship right up until I see you.” 

“Damnit.” She flopped back onto her bed and rolled over onto her stomach to face the camera again. “Next time you’re at dinner, let me know and I’ll text you a picture of my tits or something.” 

Rafe snorted. “I don’t know if that’s the best approach, but I wouldn’t be opposed to getting more nudes from you.” 

“No, you’re right, she’d probably just tell you I’m slutty or something.” She rolled her eyes, only for him to frown. “You’re not slutty, baby -” 

“I know, I know, whatever. What happened, seriously? Why’s she so hung up on you? I mean, I know why, look at you -” she gestured at the phone, making him laugh, “- but for real. Will you tell me?” 

He nodded, taking a moment before he spoke. “She, um, cheated on me, but I didn’t find out ‘til after she broke it off. Not until the charity gala, actually. She’d say things like, ‘you’re so needy,’ then would get mad at me if I went to hang out with the boys.” Rafe paused, thinking. “She invited herself to the Bahamas, both times. My dad loved her, that should have told me enough.” 

“Oh.” She murmured, frowning. “That’s fucked, Rafe, I’m sorry.” 

“Yeah, took me a while to snap out of it.” He half-joked, then his tone turned more sincere. “You should know, I was going to take you to the Bahamas house this spring, actually. But I didn’t want you to think I was showing off or something.” 

“Rafe Cameron, showing off?” She teased, lifting her hand with the Cartier ring and raising her eyebrows. “Never.” 

He immediately blushed, protesting. “That’s different!” 

She grinned. “Is it?” 

“It is. Totally different. I almost bought you the one with diamonds, that’d be showing off.” 

She narrowed her eyes. “You didn’t.” 

“Yes, I almost did.” He grinned, noticing that she wore the ring on her ring finger instead of her middle finger like he’d originally put it on her. “Sarah talked me out of it, so go complain to her if you wanted that one. She said you’d probably have my head.” 

“Smart girl.” Sophie laughed. 

“Do you always wear it on that finger?” He asked with raised eyebrows. 

Her cheeks tinged pink and she shrugged, trying to be nonchalant but her tone took a defensive edge. “Maybe. It doesn’t matter. It’s just a finger. Why? Does it make you feel weird?” 

“No. Does it make you feel weird?” 

“No.” 

“Good.” 

“Good.” She shot back, pressing her hands to her hot cheeks for a moment. “I have to go, I’m late for meeting my friends now.” 

“Wait, Soph.” He smirked and she narrowed her eyes again, wary of what he was about to say. “What.” 

“Love you.” 

“That’s it?” 

He laughed, grinning. “I’m still not opposed to you sending me pictures of your tits when I’m at dinner.” 

She rolled her eyes. “Do you know how difficult it is to take a good nude? I have to be alone, I have to contort myself in a weird position or use the self timer, then I have to edit the lighting because I have to take them at night -” 

“Alright, alright, I get it. I’m just kidding.” 

“You absolutely were not. I love you. Go appreciate the pictures I’ve already given you.” 

“You gave me three for the entire summer.” He complained, and she rolled her eyes. “That’s a lie, I left you with three and I’ve sent you a couple since then. Goodbye, Cameron, love you, you ungrateful son of a bitch.” 

He grinned. “Wait, Sophie, wait.” 

“Yeah?” 

“You’re not mad? At me?” 

Sophie paused, furrowing her brow. “Do I have a reason to be mad at you? You’re already forgiven for not telling me, is there something else?” 

“No, no.” He shook his head quickly, voice going quiet. “I just, um. She would have had my head for what happened. I know you’re not her, but I’m just used to that, I guess.” 

She softened, wishing she could hold him. “I trust you, Rafe. I mean it. I’m not mad at you. I’m pissed off at her, but you didn’t do anything.” 

“And you’d tell me if you were?” He rubbed the back of his neck, a little anxious. 

Sophie laughed softly, nodding. “You’d know if I was mad at you, baby, it’s hard to hide.” 

“Right. Okay.” He didn’t seem fully convinced, but nodded anyways. “I’ll let you go, then.” 

“Not mad at you. Good night, my favorite boy.” 

He gave her a small, shy smile. “You promise?” 

“I promise. You’re always my favorite.” She returned a bigger smile. “I’ll text you when I’m home if you need to talk more.” 

“No, no, I’ll be fine.” He waved her off, not wanting to seem too dependent. 

She nodded, blowing him a kiss with a grin. “Night, baby. Sweet dreams.” 

taglist: @whoeveniskendall @kkmaybank @karsinner @outerbanksbro @outerbankspreferences @randomficsandshit @sunshineitsfine44 @jailcalledlife @tovvaa @moniamaybank @illbesafeforyou @dontjinx-it @freddymaybank @jjmaybankzz @g4bster @oopsiedoopsie23 @babygal-babygal @thecuthoney

[pinkhairedlily]

Every Glance A Step Closer

Prompt: Glances | AO3 link here. Connect with me on Twitter. Happy SS Month everyone! 🌸🍅🥗 @ssskmonth

“This one barely goes out of her laboratory. I swear to god she smells like formaline.”

“He smells like the dust and cobwebs in the library. I cannot even pronounce what he’s doing – archi…something. I just know he handles lots of old papers and books. B-o-r-i-n-g.”

“So anyway, Haruno Sakura meet Uchiha Sasuke.”

This was her one free day in her experiment period week, but she needed to steam off for a night and so she allowed her friend to tug her along for a chill night drink. What Sakura didn’t expect was to socialize with a small group of people in their year and to suffer the cold indifference of the guy in front of her.

To her another surprise, he held out a hand to her. “Hello there.” She took it, slightly conscious whether she used her formaline-cancelling hand lotion. A brief and firm shake and he quicky turned away.

“Sasuke finally speaks.”

“That hello sounded a little spicier.”

“Oh my, that hand holding definitely had some electricity.”

The cajoling and teasing finally stopped when the first round of beers came in. Local university gossip was the go-to conversation opener, from the open secret student-teacher relationships to recent couple break-ups. It eventually led to Sasuke and his list of confessions.

“I heard you turned down Mio from fashion design department.”

“No way. I heard she was approached by Celine for a gig.”

“Really Sasuke? That makes her the fifth girl you dumped for this week alone.”

“You never actually had a girlfriend, did you?”

Sakura stared at him doe-eyed, genuinely curious of his answer. He returned her gaze and raised one brow. “I have high standards.”

Oh wow, what a douche, Sakura thought. Hoots erupted in their table but only for a few seconds. While the drinking and the exchanges went on, Sakura found herself wanting to go home early. She was bored and her neck was tired from not looking at him. Under the guise of stretching her already strained neck, she stole a glance, hoping to have a brief moment to take in all of his features and remember his face.

But he was already looking at her. His eyes went to the door of the restaurant then back to her. Bored? He mouthed.

Sakura looked at the door, knowing perfectly what he meant. She chugged her supposedly last bottle of beer and made a small gap with her thumb and index finger. He caught her signal and started to stand up. Their group was tipsy enough not to notice their sudden movements as they shuffled out of the door.

She halted after a few steps, Sasuke’s figure already paces in front of her, wondering whether she should say goodbye or just walk towards the opposite direction back to her apartment. She didn’t think too much of it and quickly chose the latter.

She had to get ice cream first though, a sugar rush to help jolt her senses awake. She was choosing between chocolate and strawberry when a large figure stood beside her.

“A vanilla one, please,” Sasuke said, looking smug with his hands both in his pockets. “Your treat.”

Sakura felt weirded out by the fact that he actively kept on engaging her. His reputation preceded him, but she decided to humor him for tonight. “So library science and you’re an archivist.”

“Intern archivist actually. So you actually know me.” There was arrogance in his voice that made Sakura almost choke on her ice cream.

“Process of elimination. There is no male major in our year in the History department.” She glanced at him and saw that smug look slowly transition into a slight flush of embarrassment. Cute.

“And what if it was a hobby?” Sasuke fiddled with his still unopened vanilla ice cream.

“There was a job posting in the bulletin specifically calling for Library Science students.” Their feet led them to the park still bustling with university night life and settled on a bench under the canopy of a fully bloomed dogwood tree. “See, I’m not your admirer.”

“Well, that’s a downer,” he smirked.

They talked like that for a while, fleetingly exploring related topics to their degree programs, the usual prominent teachers, the busy schedules, until Sakura finished her chocolate and strawberry popsicles. It was on her way home, finally this time, that she realized he never ate his ice cream.

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

She next saw him on their building’s rooftop with a group of friends, a piece of unsmoked cigarette in between his fingers. He quickly met her eyes, did a brief nod, and looked away. She inadvertently expected more than that but she wasn’t here for a smoke break, and it wasn’t her intention to take it further. She was here for a quick getaway from her microscope and to appreciate the city view dotted with the flowers of spring.

He kept glancing her way, however. He would be in the middle of a conversation and his eyes would stray to her, and she would catch it in her periphery, trying not to notice it. She got tired after a few repetitions of this, and the next time he glanced, she caught his gaze.

Stop it, she mouthed.

I’m bored, he mouthed back. Walk with me. His fingers mimicked the gesture, his fingers walking in the air.

She put her hands together and slightly bowed in apology. Next time, she winked at him before running back to her laboratory, a small smile painted on her lips.

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

It became like this for the next few weeks; they conversed through glances and awkward gestures whenever they were in public with their friends. When it was time to come home, they would walk in separate ways and meet again in the park under the same dogwood tree and they would converse for hours. It was mostly Sakura word-vomiting about her experiments while Sasuke would look at her with abandoned fascination.

“Stop doing that,” Sakura called him out one time.

“Stop doing what?” Sasuke asked, his ember eyes never leaving her face.

“You stare too much I feel like I’m melting.”

Sasuke made a small grunt and wore his hoodie over his head to mess with her more. He waved his hands on both sides of his face, and she immediately understood the reference of a horse having its blinders on. “Good because usually I’m the one being stared at.”

Sakura reached out to his hoodie and tightened the strings around his neck. “You’re hopeless.”

He leaned forward, almost touching her lips, his face still between her palms. “Hmm, maybe I am.”

Sakura moved away just as quickly as he moved into her personal space, a hot flush creeping to her cheeks. She hated this particular situation since blushing always made her look like a cherry tomato.

“Cute.” Sasuke apparently said his thoughts aloud because he was taken aback the moment she glanced back at him. “Cool, I said cool.”

She laughed this off just as he completely covered his face inside his hoodie.

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

She visited the basement section of the library for reference materials. Her writeup was due tomorrow and she was missing a section on historical evolution of vaccines and dosages for the viral DNA she uncovered. The small library slip in her hand, she made her way to the dimly lit rows on Biology. The shelves were twice taller than her, but there were spaces in between stacked books.

Would make it very easy to spot a ghost, Sakura chided to herself. A shadow moved along the row adjacent to the Biology section, but she dismissed this as the library staff. Her fingers traced the spines of ragged books and examined the list of recommended titles in her hand. When she raised her head, ember eyes stared back at her between the spaces of the opposite row.

Hi, Sasuke mouthed. He glanced around and seeing no one, he whispered, “Can I come over to your side?”

She found it hard to stop her grin from rising. “More eyes, the better.”

It took only a few minutes for Sasuke to find all the titles in her list, but they littered around, walking in between shelves, taking one random book and flipping its pages, stopping when they find something interesting. When heavy footfalls were heard on the stairs, Sakura inclined her head, gesturing she needed to go.

Sasuke seemed to misunderstand as he pulled her through the sleeve of her cardigan to the area further behind the room, and as the shadows grew darker, and the noise became more muted, she heard the racing beat of her heart.

Finally reaching the wall, Sasuke slumped to the floor and patted the space beside him. Sakura followed suit, consciously leaving a space between them as she was slowly becoming hyper-aware of their proximity.

“How are you faring so far? Done with the requirements?” Sasuke asked, his voice low but audible enough for her.

Sakura nodded, and after beat, rolled her eyes at him. “Shouldn’t you be out there assisting others?”

“I believe you need more immediate help.” Sasuke pulled his knees in to rest his chin on and trained his eyes on her. “Sakura.”

“Sasuke.”

The longest minute of silence hung between them, tension strung by the stare, until Sakura broke it off with her eyes shifting to the floor. “What are you doing?”

“Flirting,” he said like it’s a matter-of-fact. “This is what they usually do to me.”

“And what should I do?” She let the words roll out of her mouth, unsure why she asked, uncertain also of what he felt. She met his gaze again.

And in that moment, he just sincerely looked at her. “Flirt back.”

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

Sakura was done for the school year. She will be officially graduating in a month, and to celebrate, she went out with their group for a sem-ender discotheque clubbing. She was gonna shoot her shot for a one-night stand with literally anyone who had chemistry with her – haha she was just kidding. As this seemed to be the final cap-off to her university life, she went all out with her clothes Sakura-style – basically a boxy cropped tea, high waisted jeans, and old heels her best friend gave to her in pity.

This was actually her first club experience, but she was glad to be with veteran friends. The first few minutes inside a closed space with bass boosted, unfamiliar crowds, and lots of skinship made her very uncomfortable. Her only reprieve was the free-flowing drinks – ironically she can handle alcohol well. The disco lights would have made it difficult to spot faces, but she found him in the dark, on the corner directly across her group, his eyes already glued on her.

She wondered if he ever forgave her for scrambling out of his presence in the reference section last time, explicitly avoiding his request to flirt back. It seemed like she worried for nothing since Sasuke raised his glass to her and mouthed congratulations. She raised her glass back, resolving to mind her own business tonight. But he kept looking, a smirk etched on his beautiful face, urging her to meet him halfway.

She didn’t need to look for an excuse as her friends suddenly pulled her into the harmless mosh pit of friendly grinding. Sakura allowed herself to move to the beat, enjoying the bubble offered by the club to lose herself for a few seconds. But she kept glancing towards his direction, his eyes looking for her in the mass of bodies. At first, the glances were mischievous, like playing hide-and-seek, then they held gravity, heavy lidded and palpable.

Sasuke was impatient, and soon enough, at her next spin on her heels, he was right behind her, his hands hovering over her arms, seeking consent to touch. Sakura turned to face him, one part shy, other parts unnerved, and she slowly encircled her arms around his neck, her eyes a definite yes. His hands went to her waist, and he brought her closer to his embrace.

“You don’t have your hoodie though,” Sakura said, a little louder over the crooning of Carly Rae Jepsen to Gimmie Love. “Someone will definitely see you.��

Sasuke closed whatever distance was between them and brought his lips to her ears. “That’s a relief then. I want to be seen with you.”

“Simp,” Sakura teased. “You’re probably expecting a confession out of me, aren’t you?” This was a long time coming and she wanted to get it over with tonight especially when she had alcohol buzzing on her side.

“I am actually,” Sasuke said. “I was hoping to beat you to it in the library last time, but you ran away. Coward.”

“What?”

“What? Didn’t you hear me?”

“You like me.” Sakura said in realization. She edged her face away from his hold to take a good look at his embarrassed face. “Oh, you really do.”

“You could be dense sometimes, Sakura.” Sasuke poked her forehead playfully, and he was rewarded with a bubbly laughter from her.

Their friends finally noticed them and the intense skinship happening. The yells and woots started to drown out the speakers.

“That took you two long enough, huh?”

“They really waited for the end of the school year to do their big reveal.”

“As if the whole school doesn’t know already.”

“What?” Sasuke and Sakura asked in unison.

“It was the constant eyesmex.”

“Really, they do it every time with no shame. It gives me secondhand embarrassment.”

“Right? Sometimes I think I need to yell get a room.”

“Maybe they’ll get a room tonight.”

“Oh my god, shut up."

🌸 It's my first time participating actively for SS Month so please go easy on me haha. Work is loosely inspired by Nevertheless webtoon (which now has a Netflix adaptation). Hope you enjoyed reading!

[leossmoonn]

chemistry part four

part three | part five | masterlist

zuko x fem!reader

avatar: the last airbender

includes - you, zuko, suki, katara, toph, sokka, and aang

special appearances by - iroh and azula

warnings - language

note - this is a long one sorry not sorry lol

your apartment door opened, revealing all your friends with food and masks on.

“hey!” katara smiled at you from under mask.

you shifted under the millions of blankets you had on you. “hi, guys.” your voice was sore and horase, you swallowed hard after you talked.

“oh, poor baby y/n,” suki cooed. she came over to you with a big bowl of soup.

“hey, y/n! how’re you feeling?” sokka asked, walking in with suki.

“how do you think?” you frowned at him.

“ah, right. well, we are here to make you feel better!”

you smiled softly, “thanks.”

you looked over everyone and saw zuko, who was hiding behind everyone. you couldn’t help the big smile that was forming on your face.

“hi, y/n. sorry that your sick,” zuko said.

“it’s alright,” you shrugged.

“my uncle made you some free jasmine tea,” he said, moving close to you.

“thank you, that’s so nice of him,” you smiled.

“yeah,” zuko smiled at you from under his mask. he was thankful he had to wear a mask, otherwise you would’ve seen how beet red his face was.

“you can set it over here,” you pointed to the coffee table that was in front of your couch.

“so, do you want to watch any movies? or sleep?” suki asked.

“um, we can watch a movie. It is december, so we can watch some christmas stuff,” you sniffed. you grabbed a napkin and sneezed in it, coughing a little

“wow, are you, like, dying?” toph asked.

“i hope not,” you chuckled. you slumped into the couch, curling up in the blankets.

you realized that your pile of blankets were all messed up and half on the floor. you grumbled and sat up, trying to lay them all back on you.

“here, let me help,” zuko said.

you stopped and looked up at him, watching him layer the blankets on you. his ember eyes never left yours.

you snuggled back into the couch when he was done, laying your head against the pillow.

“thanks,” you gave him a smile.

“you’re welcome,” he said.

you two were so focused on each other, you didn’t notice sokka staring at you two with wide eyes, jumping around and pointing at you two in excitment. katara and suki stopped him, sitting him down on the loveseat.

zuko coughed awkwardly, averting his eyes when he realized he had been staring at you for too long. you tore your eyes off him, too, looking at your other friends.

“wanna watch frozen?” you asked.

“frozen isn’t a christmas movie,” aang said.

you rolled your eyes. “it has snow in it. close enough.”

zuko chuckled at your response, which made you smile a little.

“hey, sokka, since you’re always mean to me, can you feed me soup?” you joked.

sokka glared at you, “you’re funny.”

“i know. can someone hand me the soup though, and turn on the tv? make yourself comfortable, guys,” you said to zuko and aang.

aang and katara sat on the chair by the couch, katara sitting on top of aang’s lap. suki sat next to sokka on the little loveseat you had. toph sat on a beanbag you guys had bought when the girls and you moved here. zuko looked around, not finding anywhere to sit.

you sat up, moving your legs so zuko had room.

“here you go,” you smiled up at him.

zuko looked at the empty spot, feeling bad you had to move. he sat down, though, leaning back on the comfy pillows.

“okay, ready?” suki asked.

you all nodded and she started the movie. you ate the soup that aang had handed you and drank the tea that was right next to you. you all watched the movie comfortably.

throughout the movie, you had finished your food, settling back into your seat crease. you never realized it, because you forgot zuko was there, but you had put a little less than half of your body on zuko’s lap.

zuko tensed under you, feeling your thighs on his. he relaxed once he shifted a little and set one of his hands on your knee, which you didn’t seem to notice.

you did notice, though. even through the blankets. you didn’t do anything about it, though. you liked the feeling. it felt good, right. also extremely comfortable. you just pulled the blankets up to your face to hide the blush that kept getting worse and worse.

at the end of the movie, you, sokka, katara, and zuko had fallen asleep. sokka fell asleep on suki’s lap, enjoying the feeling of suki running her fingers throigh his hair. katara fell asleep on aang, her masked-face buried into his neck. zuko had fallen asleep with his head back on the couch ledge, his hand still on your knee. and you had fallen asleep tired and comforted by zuko’s hand on your knee.

“big babies,” toph snickered, hearing sokka and katara snore.

“yeah, they’re our’s though,” aang smirked, running his hand through katara’s hair.

“toph, can they sleep here tonight?” suki whispered.

toph shrugged, “sure. if i hear anything through the night, though, i will murder each and every one of you. you all know i can do it, too.”

suki chuckled, “alright. thanks.”

“mhm. i’m going to bed. nice movie night, guys. see you in the morning. goodnight,” toph said, yawning, walking across the hall to her room.

“what are we gonna do about y/n and zuko?” aang asked suki.

suki pursed her lips. “i mean, they look comfortable. why wake them?”

“yeah, true. would they be mad if we left them here?” aang asked.

“no,” suki shook her head.

“alright. well, katara’s bedroom is on the right, right?” aang asked, scooping his girlfriend up on his arms.

“yep. goodnight, aang,” suki smiled.

“goodnight, suki. thanks for letting us stay over,” aang.

“no problem,” suki said.

aang carried katara down the hall, shutting the door behind him.

suki looked at her sleeping boyfriend. “okay, c’mon big baby,” she said. sokka stirred in his sleep as she lifted them both up.

“wha?” sokka asked. “we’re going to bed, babe,” suki said.

sokka noddd, opening his eyes. he looked around and saw you and zuko. he immediately became awake, pulling away from suki’s grasp.

“OMG, OMG!” sokka whisper-shouted.

suki rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help but smile at the two of you.

“c’mon, sokka, they’re sleeping.”

“can i take a picture of them, please? i can use this as blackmail, or give it to them whenever they date!”

suki sighed, “sure. make it quick. i’m tired.”

sokka nodded and snapped a quick picture of you two with his phone. he giggled, turning to suki.

“this is awesome!”

suki smiled and held sokka’s hand, looking back at you.

“yeah, it is.”

————

you woke up to birds chirping and sunlight coming down right on your face. you sat up, groaning at how you had a crook in your neck from sleeping on the couch.

wait. i’m on the couch?

wait.

is zuko-?

you looked next to you, gasping loudly. unfortunately, your gasp woke zuko up.

zuko groaned. he opened his eyes, stretching and looking around. his eyes found yours. his eyes widened and he scrambled to get up.

your legs slipped off of his, having all the blankets that were on you fall. zuko hurried to get his shoes and coat on.

“um, hey,” you said awkwardly.

zuko stopped his action and looked at you. “uh, hi.”

“sorry i like, slept on you,” you laughed awkwardly, getting up and stretching.

zuko looked at you as you stretched, your sweater coming up a little to show your skin. zuko’s cheeks reddened and he coughed awkwardly.

“it’s alright. i was comfortable.”

you relaxed your shoulders, walking up to him.

“i hope you had fun last night,” you said.

zuko took off his mask so you could see his smile.

“yeah, i did.”

you smiled back. “do you want breakfast? i’m feeling a lot better, thanks to your uncle’s tea.”

“oh, i’m glad. and um, no i’m good. my uncle is probably wondering where i am. i’ll see you next week for tutoring?” zuko asked.

“yeah,” you smiled softly.

zuko couldn’t help but stare at you. you were so beautiful.

“bye,” he smiled and waved.

“bye,” you waved back.

zuko exited your apartment, leaving you blushing.

————

note - hope you guys read and enjoy this as new parts are added! this used to be called ‘slow burn’ but i changed the title soo dw its still the same story and whatnot :) if you wanna be on the taglist, message me and/or reply to this post :))

taglist - @sorrythatspussynal @theblueslytherin

[alice-angel12x]

Vil x Reader x Neige pt.2

The VDC festival is coming soon and Vil was hard at work to perfect his perfect team. As Y/n sat in the judge's seat and drew in their sketchbook, Ace commented on how Y/n wasn't even paying attention.

"Ace, your form was horrible, and you were a few seconds behind everyone else," Y/n said as they looked up from their book.

"Y/n is right rooky #1," Vil said as he tried to fix Ace's stance," Y/n could you be a dear and get us some water?"

"Alright," Y/n smiled as they got up from their seat and left the ballroom.

"Guys check this out, that bird brain is a really good artist," Grimm said as he flipped through Y/n's book.

"H-hey Grimm doesn't do that," Yuu panicked as he pulled the book away.

"Wow, Grimm was right. That birdbrain really is an artist," Ace said as he grabbed the book.

"Wow, they really have an eye for detail," Kalim awed.

"Yes, our monsieur le Roi du Ciel is extremely talented. They are well on their way to being a master artist. Such a rare beauty," Rook smiled.

"This book is almost filled with drawings of Vil," Deuce commented.

"That's because Monsieur le Roi du Ciel's muse is the beautiful Vil himself. And I believe Vil enjoys that," Rook whispered to the group.

"Rook, Stop spilling such rubbish," Vil sighed as continued to admire Y/n's work.

As the group flipped through the pages filled with drawings of Vil, they soon came to an almost finished drawing of Y/n and Neige. A photo reference was clipped at the corner. Vil gasped silently as his body tensed in jealousy, he glared at the filtered photo of his Y/n being all close and friendly with his rival.

'Neige, why must you always be the one to take everything from me?!' Vil growled to himself. _________

As Y/n grabbed a bottled water from the vending machine, they felt their Phone vibrate in their pocket. Pulled out their phone, they quickly recognized that it was Neige.

"Hello Neige," Y/n smiled as they held the phone between their ear and shoulder.

"Hi, Y/n. Sorry if I'm calling at the worst time, but I just really wanted to talk to you again," Neige said from the other side.

"Neige, we hung out a week ago, and VDC is coming soon, And your Career keeps you busy," Y/n smiled.

"I just really miss You. Do you think it's possible to hang out again?" Neige asked.

"I don't know. Hey, why don't we hang out at VDC, and check out the stalls before the performances start?" Y/n asked.

"Yeah I would like that, but there is a practice I have to attend to first. Meet there at the Purple stage?" Neige asked.

"Yeah, I'll see you then," Y/n smiled as they hung up.

___________

Neige sighed as he laid on his bed after the call, he could feel his heart flutter at the sound Of Y/n's voice so close to his ear. Neige smiled as he looked through Y/n's magical account to see if they posted any new works and videos. As he looked through at all of Y/n's beautiful work, something caught his attention. It was a photo that was posted a couple of days ago. In it was Y/n, sitting on a chair, holding a finished portrait painting of Vil. Behind Y/n was Vil himself, as he was resting his forearms on Y/n's shoulders.

Neige's eyes soon landed on the description.

I was lucky enough that the beautiful Vil Schoenheit was willing to lend me some of his time to make this lovely painting of him. I'm glad I was able to work with the fairest.

Something about that made Neige's heart sink a little as he reread the words over. He held the photo of him and Y/n close to his chest as he felt his heartache.

"I'm sure they're my prince charming," he mumbled to himself.

___________

"Vil and Neige had been acting strange, well maybe a bit off as of late. Vil for one has been a bit cold to me as of late. He didn't even want me drawing. He didn't even really want to look at me, while Neige has ghosted me completely. And I don't even know why," Y/n sighed as they ate their salad," And after the final practice, Neige didn't even want to hang out as we planned.

"Maybe, cause the VDC stress is getting to them. So they are mostly focusing on their performances," Yuu suggested.

"That may be the case," Y/n sighed.

Y/n was ordered to create the VDC trophy for the event, they would even be the ones to hand the winners the trophy as well. The two quickly ran to the purple stage for the last practice before the real deal, Team vil became a well-oiled machine and their song was amazing.

"You all Did amazing you guys," Y/n smiled as they handed them a bottle of Epel's apple juice.

They all happily thanked them, while Vil Merely passed Y/n, and ignoring them. Y/n sighed sadly as he made room for Neige and his friends to pass, Y/n smiled as Neige smiled back, but quickly turned to leave unusually quickly.

"Are you alright Y/n?" Yuu asked.

"I-I think I'm gonna go and add final touches to the trophy I made for the VDC," Y/n said sadly," I know when I'm not wanted."

__________

As Y/n made final touches to the VDC trophy, they suddenly heard a shatter outside their waiting room.  Y/n opened the door only for a dark green and purple mist to seep into the room. The moment they breathed in the mist, his lungs burned with every breath as they coughed violently. They held their breath and ran through the mist to see Yuu, Grimm, Kalim, and Rook caught in the same poisonous mist.

"You guy's what Happened?!" Y/n called out through his sleeves.

"Roi du Ciel! Don't come this way!" Rook warned.

Y/n froze in place in place as he took in Rook's warning. Yet as they stood there in the mist, they get a chilling presence staring down at them. They slowly turned to see an overblot Vil Schoenheit floating above him. Chill's ran down his spine as his instincts kicked in, as he jumped away, but vil quickly grabbed their wing and slammed them to the wall.

Y/n groaned in pain from the attack on his body and lunges as the Overblot creature lifted Y/n by their collar.

"V-Vil?! W-what happened to you," Y/n coughed.

"Why would you betray me like that, my artist," Vil growled.

"Wha-What are you talking about?" Y/n chocked.

"Was I not enough!? So much so that your eyes wandered to my enemy, Neige," Vil seethed with anger.

"What does he have to do with-"

"You were mine first! What does he have that I don't, why must he take everything from me!" Vil interrupted as he growled at the frightened siren.

Black spots start to consume their vision, as they grew weak and dangled from Vil's grip. Y/n's breathing started to become more and more shallow as he stared up at the still beautiful vil, as they weakly lifted their hand and softly caressed Vil's cheek.

"So...Beautiful," Y/n chocked out before passing out.

"Don't YOU DARE DECEIVE ME!" Vil shouted, as his hand trembled.

Vil trembled as all sorts of emotions flowed through him. Anger, jealousy, sorrow, and joy flowed through his veins as the poison mist grew more and more toxic, from all his intense conflicting emotions. So much so that the very mist ate away at Y/n's beautiful feathers, leaving all but the alula and marginal covert feathers.

______________

Neige had a massive headache when he came to, one moment he was chatting with Vil, and the next thing he knew he was standing in front of a crowd of his fans. So with much assistance, he was eventually escorted back to the purple stage, only to see a horrible sight in front of him. Paramedics and nurses were rushing about a patient who was being lifted onto a gurney. Neige's heart dropped as he recognized the victim, Y/n.

"Y/N!!" Neige called out as he ran to their side.

He gasped in horror at the sight of them; they were so pale and their wings were burned away. Tears welled up in his eyes as he was them lay unconscious in the gurney with a ventilator mask over his mouth.

"Excuse me sir, but we need to get this student to a hospital right away," Said a nurse as they filled Y/n into the ambulance.

---------

Part 1 here

Alternate endings

Neige ending

or

Vil ending.

[bluesky-thewebcomic]

Final thoughts from Elvenwhovian

So here we are at the end. The last panel. There were a lot of times that I thought I wouldn’t make it to this point. It’s been an incredible and long journey, and finishing a project like this is satisfying beyond words. I know that many of you were not here from the start, so I just wanted to share the story of how this 930 panel monster of a project came to be and thank a few people who helped along the way.

Really it all started in March of 2014. My roommate had taken a trip to New Zealand to visit family and I was having a pity party at home alone (It’s always been a dream of mine to go to New Zealand). I was window shopping online on Thinkgeek (RIP Thinkgeek) and I was seeing all this merch for a game called Portal. This led me to Steam, which led to finishing the first Portal in about a day, then Portal2 in about 2 weeks. 

Of course this led me to begin looking up fan art which led me to discover the fanfiction “Blue Sky”. I read the whole thing in about 4 days. I was so engrossed in the story, I ate, slept, went to work, and read Blue Sky and nothing else. I vividly remember sitting at my kitchen table, ipad in hand, as I read the last lines of the story. I sat back, let out a long breath and said, “Wow. That was one of the best stories I’ve ever read.” 

The fan art came next. Being relatively new to tumblr, I was used to getting 3-6 notes on a post. Suddenly, people were coming out of the woodwork liking and reblogging. My mind was blown and it made me want to make more fan art. Then I met @starry-nightengale who became one of my best friends on this site. We fangirled over “Blue Sky” and Portal over the next year which led to us co-writing “The Trial of the Bow” trilogy, a medieval/fairytale retelling of Portal, Portal 2, Blue Sky, and Portal Stories: Mel. 

It was on Labor day weekend of 2015 when my internet went down inexplicably. My roommate who had the internet in her name was out of town yet again and I conceded that I would have to wait until she got back to get the issue resolved. The Trial of the Bow Trilogy was finished and I had just co-written with @the-royal-sketchbook a Half-life Medival/fairytale fanfic “The Legend of the Freeman.” However, my passion for Half-life was not as strong as it was for Blue Sky and I longed to do something else involving Wheatley, Chell, and the citizens of Eaden. 

Most of the people that I encouraged to read Blue Sky did not have the time to invest into a novel length book. I longed to create something more accessible. A comic book/graphic novel of the story had been in the back of my mind for a long time, but when the desire rose up in me, the thought of “but you would have to do backgrounds and you suck at backgrounds” reared its ugly head. 

But on that Labor day weekend, a thought occurred to me. “What if I did it as a comic? Very loose and simple. Something that I could do for fun without any heavy commitment.” So that weekend, I did a quick pencil drawing of the scene when Wheatley and Chell argue from Chapter 5. I threw some color on it and put it on tumblr and it got a great response. Then I did the scene when Chell transfers Wheatley into the hardlight avatar from Chapter 3. Another great response. It was simple and loose but people seemed to like it. I asked Starry what she thought about doing the whole story in such a way. If memory serves, she was for it but warned me not to get too far ahead of myself. If I did this, it would be a huge project and would take a lot of planning and forethought. BTW, good advice Starry ;)

After completing all of Chapter 1, I made the announcement, created the page, and the Blue Sky Web comic was born.

One of the things that helps me to recharge each week is drawing/working on art on Sunday afternoons. In the past, I had struggled to find things to work on, but no more. Sunday was now Blue Sky Comic day. I would post 2 panels and create 4 more. If I had extra time on holidays or days off I would get extra done. This system allowed me to consistently add to the project without feeling rushed or overwhelmed. I was able to get ahead so that I could take breaks for holidays, trips, computer problems, and eventually planning my wedding and getting married. The Blue Sky Web Comic became a constant in my life. Whenever I needed to decompress and just draw or color in panels, it was there. 

In late summer of 2019, my Father was diagnosed with cancer. If any of you have walked through cancer with someone, you know how difficult and painful it can be. My husband and I took a trip to see my parents about once a month for the next 8 months. The drive was fairly long and was the perfect opportunity to work on what I called “pencil work” for the comic (sketching out the layout of each panel, a process that took the most concentration and time). Working on the comic helped to keep my mind off of things. Each time we visited my Dad his condition declined and being able to focus on something like the “pencil work” helped to make the trips better.

In spring of 2020, right before the COVID-19 lockdown, my Father passed away. It was right before that final trip that I finished the “Pencil work”. By then I had also made a lot of headway on the comic itself, with only a few chapters left to ink and color. I remember reading stories and blogs about how people made it through difficult times by focusing on a hobby, tv show, book, or music; not living in denial of the bad things, but just having something to help them take a break from it all. That was what the Blue Sky Comic was for me in those final days and I will always cherish how it was one of the things that helped me to make it through that difficult period in my life.

With the COVID-19 lockdown, I had some extra time to work on the comic and by late spring of 2020, I finished the last panel. It still kind of blows my mind. From 2015 to 2020 was how long it took to complete.

____________

To the 2000+ followers and those who replied, liked, reblogged, and sent messages, your words helped me to keep going when I wondered if it was worth it. Your kind thoughts helped me to know that this story is still enjoyed by people and Portal fans alike.

To @starry-nightengale, thank you for your advice at the beginning and your support and friendship along the way. Here’s to many more ^w^

And to @wafflebloggies, thank you for writing Blue Sky. It may seem overdramatic, but when I found this fic back in 2014, I was in a dark place and your story helped me hold onto the light. Even years later when faced with new trials, it helped me to focus on what was ahead. I truly believe that this story resonates with so many people because it taps into the most simple and profound truth: the most powerful love is selfless. And selfless love can conquer any difficulty. Also your support of the comic over the years made me smile with delight. I’m so glad you liked it :)

So that’s the story. I plan to do more audiobooks of the rest of the Trial of the Bow trilogy, but after that I’m going to be taking a nice long break from Blue Sky and Portal.  I have a personal passion project that I am in the initial stages on. It's another web comic that I actually couldn’t have even considered doing if not for the experience I gained over the past 5 years. I’ll have updates on my personal tumblr for that project and the audiobooks, but for this page, The Blue Sky Web comic, this will be one of my final posts (aside from responding to any messages from you guys). Thank you all again for following. What an incredible journey this has been! This fandom is so amazing and I love you all. Take care and God bless. - Elvy

[thetomorrowshow]

unless you take your army back ch. 5

First  -  Previous  -  Next  -  Read on AO3!

yo once again giving you guys a chapter how’s everyone doing? My posting dates will never again be on tuesday lol expect wednesdays or fridays when possible <3

anyways other business if you see an A/N in here somewhere (it’ll be between brackets) lmk and I’ll edit it out

Enjoy :)

cw: food, eating disorders, discussion of injuries

~

Jack didn’t leave to sell papes the next morning, instead bringing a cup of coffee and some porridge to Crutchie, then settling in beside him with a real fancy sketchbook and a charcoal pencil.

The coffee wasn’t that great, but Crutchie drank it all, hoping the energy would distract him from the uncomfortable tightness of his fresh bandages. Only one of the cuts that had split open was one that had needed stitches (Katherine had snipped the thread and pulled it out three days ago), but they would all probably scar. At least he already liked to wear long shirts and pants.

The porridge was fine, but rich. After about four bites, Crutchie rested the bowl on the windowsill. Just weeks ago, he would’ve been able to scarf down twice that amount in a matter of minutes, but now he could barely handle eating enough to feed a baby. He was sure he’d get better faster if he’d just eat more, but he just--couldn’t.

This wasn’t even the first time Crutchie had seen kids have trouble eating. At least half the newsies who did a stint in the Refuge came back uneasy around food, too accustomed to there being too little to go around. A lot of food was a trick, just the right amount was too much to stomach, and the little bit that they felt they needed wasn’t enough to keep them going.

So Crutchie knew that what he was going through with his food aversion was normal--expected, even. The frustrating problem was that Crutchie knew how to fix it. He had seen the others go through this, had watched Jack and Race and Specs help others, had even guided Tommy Boy through recovery himself just a few months ago. He knew the signs, he knew how to work through it, and yet he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t snap himself out of it.

Just the thought of food made him queasy, scared, uncertain of what was to come. When the guards brought food, it meant the respite was over. It meant scraps shoved down his throat as quickly as possible, followed by a day of grueling, pointless work with no breaks. He didn’t have the time to finish this bowl of porridge. More than a few bites and he was going to be tardy, the guards were going to beat him and he would fall and he wouldn't be able to get back up, not again not again not again--

“Crutchie, you gonna finish that?”

Crutchie looked up from his lap to see Jack, concern creasing his brow. He shrugged, not sure if he could even pretend to smile. “I didn’t see you eat, wanted to save some for you.” He didn’t need anyone’s help. He knew how to handle this.

Jack frowned. “Nah, I ate on the way up, nicked a bun. Is there some . . . other . . . reason?”

Stupid Jack Kelly and his ‘subtle’ prodding. Crutchie stretched his arms out a bit, affecting a casual look. A bandage rubbed against a raw patch of his chest, but instead of burning, it . . . itched.

That meant he was starting to get better, right? Or was it infected or something? Whatever it meant, it was a good excuse.

“Not really, just been itchin’ all mornin’, so I ain't all that hungry,” he explained, scratching his stomach for emphasis. “Bit bothering, y’know?”

He was sure he didn’t quite have Jack convinced, but it was enough for him to drop the matter. After all, Jack was under the impression that Crutchie had eaten a whole apple the morning before, and he’d been fairly good at emptying bowls of soup all week (not necessarily into his mouth, but Jack didn’t need to know that).

After a moment’s hesitation, Jack smiled. “Hey, itchy, huh?” He lightly punched Crutchie’s knee, which also didn’t hurt like he expected. “That’s good, means stuff is startin’ ta close up and heal.”

Crutchie nodded, feeling something in his chest try to jump excitedly. Even after falling so badly last night, he was getting better. That meant that maybe soon, he could be right back out there, hawking headlines and getting enough pity from his regulars and strangers to make twice the amount he usually did.

Thinking of it-- “Jack, why ain’t you out sellin’?”

Jack looked away--ashamed? Guilty? What? Had he gotten in trouble with the bulls again already? Jack muttered something, then buried his face in his new sketchbook, the tips of his ears burning red.

“That ain’t gonna cut it,” Crutchie said incredulously. “Who d’ya think I am, Race? I ain’t distracted that easy.”

Jack huffed, but didn’t drop his sketchbook. In a barely audible voice, he said very quickly “I soaked the Delanceys yesterday and the fellas think I oughtta stay away from ‘em and maybe take a day off ta give ‘em time ta forget about it.”

Okay, but attacking the Delanceys was something Jack did on a weekly basis. The Delanceys weren’t bright enough to carry a grudge overnight, and they were in a constant state of goading Jack, so what was different about this time?

Then Crutchie remembered their argument last night, what Jack and Davey had told him about how Oscar and Morris had been talking.

“Have they, uh,” Crutchie started, quiet, “been talking about . . . uh, ‘bout me . . . all week?”

Jack stiffened from behind his sketchbook, but nodded jerkily. “Tha’s what Specs said, anyhow.”

“Right.” Crutchie swallowed, looking away out the window. Buttons was out there, looped around a fire escape, calling something through cupped hands. The Delanceys were somewhere out there too, and could be talking about him that very moment, maybe even making plans to come after him. There was no way he could stop them, no way anyone could stop them. After all, Jack couldn’t be here all the time, and Kloppman was old, wiry but feeble compared to Oscar and Morris. They could take the man down in no time, then be up here and Crutchie would have nowhere to go and no way to escape.

Crutchie was suddenly very glad that Jack was here.

There were a few moments of silence, during which Crutchie continued to watch Buttons. His grin was visible even from this distance, growing wider any time he managed to sell a paper or two. Buttons had been having trouble selling lately--he was a little timid, too shy when it counts--so it was nice to see him having some success.

The lady talking to him now seemed nice, by the way Buttons was nodding and had fully disentangled himself from the fire escape to converse with her. The lady turned slightly, her face visible under her sun hat, and--hey! That was one of Crutchie’s regulars! She bought a paper on her way to visit her mother-in-law every other day, and always passed Crutchie’s selling spot on purpose. It was nice to see her again, almost . . . sentimental. Crutchie never thought he would feel almost misty-eyed over some lady whom he briefly interacted with a handful of times a week, but here he was. More than miss her, he missed being out there, he supposed.

“Hey, Crutch?”

Crutchie startled out of his thoughts. The woman was no longer there, Buttons once again attaching himself to the fire escape. Jack was watching him, a carefully disguised look of something on his face. Crutchie raised his eyebrows.

“Uh, so, I missed a union thing, what with last night,” Jack said. “So I’m gonna hafta do it today sometime. That cool with you?”

“What sorta thing?” Crutchie asked suspiciously. If it involved reporters and pictures and all that, Crutchie was not going to allow it to happen in here.

Not that you could stop it, a nasty voice in the back of his mind whispered, causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand up. Jack could do anything to you right now. He was pretty angry last night, after all. You know what anger leads to.

Crutchie swallowed drily. He didn’t need to think about that.

“Oh, just a guy I gotta meet with,” Jack said, far too casually. He made a show of scratching his head. “He might bring another couple o’ fellas with him, so I’s just . . . lettin’ you know.”

Okay, so this wasn’t something he could stop. Great. That calmed him down so much. Crutchie gripped the blanket over him tightly, trying to not show that his hands had begun to tremble. He was fine, he didn’t need Jack getting all worried over nothing. It was just some . . . unknown guy. With bodyguards. Coming into the room to have a discussion with Jack.

“Hey. Hey.”

Crutchie pulled himself from his spiral to see Jack laying his hands over his. “It’s okay,” Jack said seriously. “I can chat with ‘em in another room, or outside. You don’t oughtta have guys in here that you ain’t know.”

Crutchie released his grip, more to assuage Jack than his nerves. He nodded, not sure what he was even expected to say. What if a fight broke out? And Jack was all alone, against three or four guys? He couldn’t let Jack be alone.

“Nah, it’s fine,” Crutchie said hoarsely. Wow, he needed something to drink. He hadn’t noticed his throat drying up. “I uh, I can be your second?”

The words were barely out of his mouth before he regretted them. Of course Jack didn’t want him as his second! He was just some stupid, useless, injured cripple, and Jackhad to still be mad at him for last night. He’d want Davey there, probably--Davey was one of the union heads too, right? And Davey was so good at talking things through and being all smart. All Crutchie could do was make people laugh or feel bad for him--great for selling papes and living on the street, terrible for union business.

“Would ya?” Jack asked. He almost looked a little bit relieved, which took Crutchie aback. “You know how I can get. It’s--it’s nice, havin’ somebody backin’ me up. ‘Specially you, Crutch, you’s real good at talkin’ to folks.”

The air left Crutchie’s lungs. Was he? He was pretty good at selling to just about anyone. Jack used to joke that he would be able to sell a pape to Pulitzer himself for a dollar, without the man even realizing it was his own paper or too high a price. Jack would say that to just about anyone who would listen, actually.

How had Crutchie forgotten that?

“Who’s these folks, then?” Crutchie asked, shifting a bit so that his head was almost level with Jack’s. He liked to think that he was pretty accustomed to the broken ribs at this point--they hurt, but he could now sit up without even breathing heavy. After the week he’d had, Crutchie counted that as a win.

Jack’s carefully casual air was back, clear in the stiff lines of his body and the forced half-grin on his lips. “Just some guys who got a say in newsie union stuff, y’know? From one o’ the other turfs.”

That made sense, actually. The Manhattan newsies weren’t the only ones in the union, after all. In fact, if what Elmer had excitedly told him was true, Davey had shook hands with Spot Conlon and led him straight to Pulitzer’s office, after Conlon had spoken at Davey’s rally--

Oh.

Oh no.

“You’s bringin’ Spot Conlon to the place we sleep?!”

“It was--”

“No no no, lemme get this straight,” Crutchie said, incredulous. “Spot Conlon, leader of the Brooklyn borough, is comin’ here. To Manhattan’s lodging house. Now I know that Brooklyn joined the strike, but there is no way we’s become friends with Brooklyn in the two weeks I ain’t been around, and ya don’t show allies where ya sleep.”

“They already knows where we sleep, there’s a huge sign on the buildin’!” Jack shot back. He dropped his work and gestured widely. “Manhattan newsboys lodgin’ house, in big ol’ letters, smack on the front! Was it s’posed ta be a secret? Or do ya think they just can’t read?”

“It’s the principle of the matter,” Crutchie replied stubbornly. “Ya don’t invite them into your home, you hold ‘em at arm’s length for when they in’vitably scab!”

“Well, that ain’t no way ta treat your allies,” a voice said from the doorway.

Crutchie and Jack both looked up to see the man himself, an unimpressed Spot Conlon, with two lackeys--and also Racetrack. Race waved casually.

“Hey Jack, hey Crutch!” Race said. “Spot’s here ta meet with ya.”

Jack strode across the room, spat and shook with Spot, anxiously adjusting his hat with his other hand. “Nice ta see ya, Conlon,” he said, the geniality in his voice a stark contrast from his heated arguing moments before. Crutchie snorted. Jack shot him a glare.

“So, what’s sayin’ we get straight ta business, Kelly?” Spot suggested, walking further into the room without invitation. Race tipped his hat at them all, then stuck his cigar in his mouth and took off. “This here’s Hotshot, and the other’s Sharpshooter,” Spot threw out, gesturing at the two guys with him. They each nodded in turn.

“Right,” Jack said, “This is Crutchie, he’s my second.”

Spot turned a piercing gaze on Crutchie. Crutchie felt his face heat up as Spot’s sharp eyes took in the patchwork of yellow-brown bruises on his face and throat, the scabbed-over gash on his temple, the splint wrapping his left arm. Finally, he turned away to face Jack.

“You met with Joe of late?” Spot asked. Jack nodded.

“Saw ‘im yesterday. No complaints from his side--he’s sayin’ they’s already noticed circulation goin’ up. You’s been meetin’ with the Journal and the Sun, yeah?”

Spot gave an affirmative nod. “We got ‘em where we want ‘em,” he said with a chuckle. Crutchie waited for him to elaborate. He did not.

Jack seemed sort of disconcerted--Crutchie wondered if Spot could tell. This was all happening so suddenly. Moments ago, Crutchie hadn’t even known anyone was coming. Now there were three Brooklyn newsies standing over his bed, and he couldn’t do anything to defend himself or make them leave. Brooklyn was always angry, always jeering, doing nothing to strengthen the tentative peace they had come to a few months ago.  Really, Crutchie had good reason to be wary. Brooklyn newsies had more than once kicked his crutch out from under him.

Spot and Jack were talking about something, but Crutchie couldn’t really pay attention to them. The one called Sharpshooter was staring him down, in a way that said both I’m-trying-to-intimidate-you and I-don’t-need-to-intimidate-you-weakling. Hotshot was doing the exact same thing to Jack, but Jack seemed unbothered. Crutchie was pretty sure he wasn’t pulling that off near as well. He hadn’t been stared at like that--like he was a piece of dirt that stubbornly remained as you scrubbed at a window--since he’d been . . . there. The Refuge.

Crutchie turned his gaze to the window. Buttons was out of sight, the fire escape likely blazing hot in the sun. There weren’t very many people visible whatsoever--it was stifling out, which was probably why Brooklyn was already here. Selling would have to be done in a very particular fashion today--morning, at the coolest, when everyone was headed for work, then around the lunch hours, then the last few in the evening. Crutchie felt bad for the likely sunburned newsies, frantically trying to sell all their papes in those short windows of time, clothes sticking to them with sweat and the hot air weighing them down.

“Hey, Crutch?”

Crutchie looked back to the conversation. Jack was watching him expectantly, as was Spot. Crutchie tried to not look clueless--he had really been zoning out, hadn’t he? How much time had passed? Why was everyone looking at him?

“D’you mind answerin’ any questions Spot has? I’m gettin’ us all some water.”

Crutchie nodded. It couldn’t be that hard, right? He had totally lost track of the conversation, but he knew a fair bit about what had happened and what was going to happen with the union, mostly from Jack rambling in the afternoons when the silence became too much for one of them.

“So,” Spot said brusquely as soon as the door closed behind Jack. “All that from the strike?”

Crutchie blinked. All what? He needed a bit more context. He should’ve been listening. He opened his mouth to ask, then saw Spot vaguely waving at his body. Oh.

“Nah,” Crutchie mumbled, uncomfortable under the scrutiny. “Some of it, yeah. Mostly the Refuge, though.”

Spot sucked a breath in through his teeth, and Hotshot turned away. “Looks like you was lucky to make it out alive.”

“Oh, yeah,” Crutchie said bitterly. He almost laughed. “By the end there I was ’lucinatin’ so bad I thought I’d been buried already. Probably I was hours from bein’ gone forever.”

Silence. He’d made it awkward, hadn’t he? Crutchie tried to come up with some useful purpose for Spot Conlon to know this, like maybe he’d get pity or sympathy or something and the Brooklyn newsies would leave him alone, but it honestly sounded worse than Conlon straight up hating him. Crutchie was tired of being pitied. He was tired of being a charity case.

“How long?” That was Sharpshooter, his voice pitched a lot higher than Crutchie expected. It didn’t quite match his height and dark eyes.“Was you there, I means.”

“A week, I think. It’s sorta blurry.”

Spot whistled. “Snyder musta had it out for ya. All that in just a week? I’s had boys in there for months come out lookin’ better.”

Again, Crutchie almost laughed. “Everybody has it out for the crip,” he said bluntly, his eyes on his hands as he twisted the blanket between his fingers. “Throw in my personal connection ta Jack Kelly union leader, and a week is a long time ta be lastin’.”

Crutchie looked up. Spot was giving him a strange look--it wasn't pity, like Crutchie expected. It wasn’t disgust. It wasn’t even shock that he was still alive. It was--he didn’t know. And then it was gone.

“Crutchie, right?” Spot asked, glancing out a window aloofly. Crutchie nodded. “You’s a good kid. If you ever finds you in some sorta trouble . . . you’s welcome in Brooklyn.”

What?

He understood that they were allies, but allies did not mean that anyone from either turf was allowed to just go wandering over. The only person who had ever been allowed to was Race, who sold in Brooklyn--why, Crutchie didn’t know. Crutchie didn’t think anyone knew. There were plenty of good spots in Manhattan--why did Race trek all the way to a hostile turf just to sell papes? The point was, this wasn’t something that just happened. Ever. Brooklyn and Manhattan had been on bad terms for as long as Crutchie had been a newsie, and before that as far as anyone could remember.

Crutchie didn’t have much more time to think about it, though, as Jack reentered the room, balancing three glasses of water carelessly enough that it made Crutchie tense up, as if ready to catch one when it dropped. One he handed to Spot, one to Crutchie, and the last to Hotshot. Sharpshooter rolled his eyes and swiped it, half-draining the glass before handing it back.

“Crutchie clear anything up?” Jack asked. Spot continued to stare at Crutchie, a slight crease between his brows.

“Yeah, a few things,” Spot answered absently. “A few.”

The discussions continued for another ten minutes or so, Jack eventually convincing Spot that they were not currently trying to lower the price even further (“I’ve already got Bill down ta fifty-two per hundred, why should I stop?”), and got him to agree to work closely with Davey when Jack wasn’t available. That seemed to be all they could resolve for the time being without attacking each other, which was probably the most that had ever been done by a Manhattan newsie and a Brooklyn newsie working together. When Spot went to leave, though, he turned to Crutchie.

“Ol’ Jack ever oversteps, ya know where ta find us,” he said with a firm nod. “Any guy from Brooklyn will bring ya to me, jus’ say the word.” With that, he was gone, Sharpshooter and Hotshot marching after him.

Jack froze, halfway to gathering the two glasses from where they’d been set on the floor, his mouth agape. “Wh--” he tried. Crutchie could have laughed. He didn’t. But he could’ve. “Did Spot Conlon jus’--” he whipped around to stare at Crutchie. “What’d you talk about?” he demanded. “How’d ya get Spot Conlon ta make you an honorary Brooklyn boy?”

Crutchie shrugged. He wasn’t quite sure what had passed between them himself, and he also wasn’t sure that he wanted to know. It wasn’t like he’d done anything. Spot barely knew who he was. The first time they met had been today.

“W-well, if you isn’t gonna eat that, hand it to me.”

The change in subject took Crutchie by surprise, but he passed the partly-eaten bowl of porridge to Jack, who gave him one last suspicious glance before leaving the room.

Crutchie hated being alone these days--the only things worth doing were sleeping and practicing walking. The second one was off the table after yesterday, and he was sick of sleeping, but when there was nobody around there was nothing to do but think. Nothing to do but fall deeper and deeper into a dark chasm that yawned open in his mind. Nothing to do but slowly become more and more paranoid. . . .

He wished he had asked Jack for some more water before he left. Not that Jack wasn’t coming back or anything, it just would’ve been nice to not force him to make another trip.

When Jack returned some ten minutes later, though, he was not alone. Holding his hand was Katherine, laughing at something Jack had said before they entered the room. Crutchie shrunk away. He didn’t want to see Katherine--she would try to pay for a doctor to come see him or insist on checking each of his wounds or something equally mortifying.

“Look who turned up!” Jack said brightly, and Crutchie tried not to frown too obviously.

“Hi, Katherine,” he said politely. “How’re you?”

“Oh, Crutchie, you look so much better!” Katherine exclaimed. Crutchie examined her face carefully. Mostly the truth, but something in her eyes told him that she was still worried about him. “Look at you, sitting up and everything!” a pause. “Have you, um, been eating well?”

There it was. Crutchie hadn’t seen himself in the mirror in a while--every time someone carried him to the washroom, he’d resolutely avoided it. He knew that his face was still multicolored from the various stages of healing his bruises were in, but he hadn’t even thought that he might look malnourished. Elmer’s bracelet was pretty loose on his wrist, now that he was thinking about it. His unwrapped elbow practically jutted out of his skin.

Great. He’d spent a week in the Refuge and had come out looking like the most pitiful creature ever. He was so weak--it had been such a short amount of time! And now he’d been in bed for just as long, when he should’ve been recovered by now!

“Been workin’ on it,” Crutchie managed, trying not to let his thoughts show too obviously. “Hard ta get back up ta where it’s s’posed ta be, y’know?”

“Yeah, he’s been eating less,” Jack added. “It happens, but he’s been tryin’ ta eat most everything I bring him.”

Crutchie resolutely did not blush or look away. There was no reason for Katherine to believe anything to the contrary. Still, she and Jack watched him carefully for a few moments, then exchanged a look. Was he supposed to say something?

“Jack said there was quite the scare last night,” continued Katherine. “Are you feeling okay after your fall?”

Crutchie nodded. He wasn’t lying, actually. He did feel better than he had all week, even if all of his injuries felt raw from falling. Nothing was hazy anymore, nor particularly sharp. It felt almost normal, if the pain could be ignored. He was getting better.

“Why’re you here, Kath?”

Katherine’s smile strained. “Can’t a girl check up on her best friend?”

Crutchie leveled a stare of his own at her. This was the first he’d heard of being best friends. She had to have some sort of ulterior motive--a doctor or a medicine or something stupid like that. He hated to think it, but couldn’t she just leave him alone?

“Okay, I came--of my own volition, by the way--to ask you if you’d be willing to be seen by my family doctor--”

“Nope, thanks,” Crutchie said loudly, glaring hard enough to bore a hole in Katherine’s head. “As you can see, I’s healin’ up just fine.”

“It wouldn’t cost anything, my father--”

“I won’t be botherin’ your father, if it’s all the same ta you,” Crutchie retorted. “Nor no one. I’m gonna be out there sellin’ again soon, an’ if I decides I need a doctor, I’ll save up the cost myself and see ‘im when I feel like it.”

Katherine and Jack exchanged another look, one that told Crutchie they thought he was being stubborn. And so what if he was? Stubbornness had kept him alive countless times. His particular brand of stubborn had been considered both adorable and inspiring in the past. Maybe he was being annoying, but so what? Was it why they wouldn’t listen to him? Did acting annoying really mean he was stripped of his worth to them, his autonomy?

After a long staring contest with Jack, Katherine huffed and rolled her eyes. “Boys,” she muttered, turning away from both of them. Jack sighed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. The lines of Katherine’s shoulders were sharp and tight, radiating tension that was echoed in Jack’s nervous stance.

Crutchie picked at the blanket. Why did every conversation seem to turn into a fight lately? He just wanted people to respect his choices. Heck, maybe he would take Spot up on that offer. It sounded nice to be around people who had no history with him, a fresh slate, a new standard to set. He would get to prove he was strong to them, instead of being cooped up because they were too afraid of how broken he was.

“Well,” Katherine said, straightening her shoulders and facing them again, “take off your shirt, then.”

Crutchie choked. So did Jack. “Uh, what?” Jack sputtered.

“Buy me dinner first,” Crutchie managed.

Katherine rolled her eyes. “You want to be back out there, don’t you?” she asked Crutchie. He nodded, a little scared of where this was going. “I need to make sure you’re healing well enough, if you won’t see a doctor. Then I’ll tell you when you can continue to sell newspapers. And Jack? Get us something to drink.”

[shinjaeha]

itsay ep 3 (thoughts + spoilers)

itsay ep 3 fucking obliterated me so here i am with some more thoughts on this episode (drama) in general. this is just me being an incoherent mess bc my mind is basically just one long !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! after having watched this (once raw and again subbed). this isn’t an analysis, it’s literally me just gushing over the ep as i watch it bc boy oh BOY.

WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT EVERYTHING HITTING DIFFERENT AFTER THE BOAT SCENE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if i thought the tension in the boat knocked the breath out of me, this whole ep was that x10000.

they really started us off with a bang having continued straight off from last ep with teh smelling oh-aew’s hair, huh?? teh rubbing his face with the coconut paralleled with oh-aew smelling his coconut scented shampoo?? excuse me as i cry into my hands.

teh wasn’t willing to wake up early for tarn when she wanted to draw early in the morning, but when he sees that oh-aew wants to wake up early to study, HE’S the one that makes sure that oh-aew wakes up (and he stays up to keep oh-aew company, even if it’s just over the phone). then again when they’re at the resort...love that tarn realises that too. boy ain’t subtle. also, how is it even possible that they can have that much tension just speaking over the phone?? they’re not even in the same room and the tension between the two of them is so thick i can barely breathe.

the “let me know when you’re home”!!!!!!!!!!!!! BOYFRIEND BEHAVIOUR. as soon as oh-aew asked teh why he always asked tarn that, i KNEW they were gonna put that in there for him and oh-aew and i’m glad i wasn’t disappointed :))) the look on oh-aew’s face when he saw the text!!!!!!!!!!! the way he stopped in his tracks!!!!!!!!!

i already had a feeling that oh-aew was going to be the first one to properly realise and accept his feelings for teh based on the teasers (makes sense since he already knows he likes boys...he’s more sure of his sexuality, which would of course make it easier for him to accept based on that). seeing the way he used the ‘if you get close to him and he doesn’t move away it means he likes you’ theory that teh initially told him to try on bas with teh too was really cute. and the jealousy over tarn. i LOVED that we got to see a more petty side to him when he announced he was going to room with bas partly bc of how lowkey jealous/mad he was about teh and tarn talking over the phone. it left teh so unsettled and confused (the piano music was PERFECT in that scene), and is 510% something teh would have done too (based on the previous two eps). they really are a perfect match huh. but poor bas being caught in the middle of the two of them ;;;

i liked that a lot of this ep was from oh-aew’s perspective. i feel like we got mostly teh’s pov in the first two eps, so it was really nice to see things from oh-aew’s pov too. gave us all more insight into his personality and he’s honestly SO MUCH more flirty than i thought he was going to be omg. the potato chip scene where he just crawled over to teh and ate that potato chip all the while staring straight at teh, then lying on his lap?????????? teh was (understandably) flustered after that AND SO WAS I. i was not expecting that whatsoever. i was also really impressed with how honest oh-aew was about his feelings. i love that he’s stayed true to their previous heart to heart in the boat scene last ep where he basically told teh that he wanted transparency between the two of them. he’s sticking to that, and i admire him so much for being able to be that vulnerable and true to himself. i thought there might have been more confusion with bas, but it looks like as soon as he realised his feelings might have faded/that he was feeling things for teh now, he just went with it. i know in my last text post i said that oh-aew is usually the more cautious/pragmatic of the two, but i feel like when it comes to his feelings, he seems to be really in tune with who and what he wants (more so than teh). this of course makes sense bc he’s likely had more time to come to terms with his sexuality...which is what teh’s figuring out for himself now. on top of that, oh-aew’s feelings for teh are a lot stronger than the ones he has for bas. and since he’s also more certain that teh likes him back, he’s so much bolder in how he approaches teh. and teh, to his credit, returns that honesty too when oh-aew basically pushes him into acknowledging that there’s ~something between them (hammock scene). i was kind of expecting him to push away from that/deny it, but he didn’t. he’s obviously just a lot more confused with his feelings and still needs some time to understand them and process them fully. on a related note, hammock scene was so loaded and SO well acted by the both of them. the fact that they can move from playful in one scene too achingly intense in another always throws me for a loop.

another thing i really love about the two of them is how they push one another to be better. it’s that rivalry that makes their bond even stronger, but it’s also something that worries me for future eps ngl...

but i honestly feel SO BAD for bas...clearly, he likes oh-aew, and although oh-aew was initially confused with the two of them, he’s definitely more convinced when it comes to his feelings for teh. but when bas essentially asked oh-aew out, and oh-aew said let’s invite the rest of they guys?? he looked so sad and my heart kind of broke a little. it’s like watching the poor second lead in a kdrama. and tarn too :( i really hope that when teh accepts his feelings for oh-aew, he doesn’t keep her hanging on the way that most BLs tend to do. she deserves so much better than that. my heart really hurts for the both of them, but at the same time teh and oh-aew are just magnets being pulled together at this point. they can’t stay away from each other.

the scene where teh rubs the smell of oh-aew’s coconut scented pen (from what he’s written) all over his face bc he’s at his limit and can’t stand all those pent up feelings anymore, only to race out to their special meeting place on the beach????? the moment he sees that oh-aew’s there too and he chases after him entranced (and the smile on oh-aew’s face)????? the way the instrumental ost just swells the moment they see each other????? the way they tease and dance around another yet again?????  PURE ART. A CINEMATIC MASTERPIECE. THIS IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL DRAMA I HAVE EVER SEEN. this whole sequence has to be my fave scene in this ep. god, that part where the camera closes in on them and they’re face to face before oh-aew steps away again had my heart trying to flutter its way out of my CHEST. THEY HAVEN’T EVEN KISSED IN THE SERIES YET AND THEY CAN REDUCE ME TO THIS. honestly, their power is something else. the fact that they can stir so many emotions in all of us just by the way they glance at one another, by the way they dart around one another barely touching...there are dramas/movies with multiple kiss/love scenes that can’t even create that tension and longing. it’s the kind of chemistry that burns you inside out. it’s so palpable.

the thigh massage scene had me CAPTIVATED (like all their scenes tbh) and then teh’s mum came to wake me (and the both of them) up haha. but for real, there’s just something so tentative about what’s happening. these feelings are new to them, and they’re easing their way into it. always toeing the line, but not overstepping it yet. it’s primal. they keep letting those feelings build up more and more and more. and you can always feel the way it’s leading to something else. and of course it leads into the next scene where teh’s tutoring oh-aew again but the atmosphere is so incredibly heavy, so tight, that they can’t contain it anymore (i mean, the fact that they contained it for so long when they’re teenage boys with feelings for one another is already astounding enough to me). teh tries so hard, but then the back scratch happens and...THIS ICONIC SCENE...i thought they were going to kiss then (before oh-aew turned around), but then we got something else entirely and the intimacy of it all. just wow. literally not a single kiss and it was one of the most sensual scenes i have ever seen in a BL. it’s just the way they get so caught up in one another. THE YEARNING OF IT ALL. this whole ep was just pure anticipation, and i have never ever wanted two characters to kiss more than i do these two. it’s the build up that gets me (idk if this can be considered slow build since there’s only been like three eps but it sure as hell feels like it!!!!!!!!!). then teh pulls away and it’s like a smack in the gut...but at the same time, i get it. he’s not ready yet. there’s so much for him to take in and he’s not there yet (not the way oh-aew is), and just like oh-aew, it keeps us all hanging on, so close but not quite there yet.

so much of this felt like this cat and mouse game between the both of them where one of them would advance, then retract...it makes the tension between the two of them even MORE overwhelming bc you keep anticipating something, and you get fleeting moments of it, but then it’s over by the time you blink. they keep toying with one another, but not crossing the line YET bc they know that that’ll change everything the moment they do. it’s such a testament to the writing AND the acting bc it’s the chemistry that bkpp have with one another that creates all of that push and pull dynamic, that yearning and desire. having to wait a whole week again is just devastating...i think next ep seems like it might be the climax?? i’m pretty sure it’ll be the ep where teh accepts his feelings (or at least won’t be able to hold himself back physically anymore), where all the build up finally properly erupts, but at the same time, i just know that the angst is going to start piling up and idk how to feel other than terrified bc i’m way too invested now tbh.

anyway, this drama is absolutely magnificent, and all i want to do is rave about how damn good it is. so high quality. it feels so fresh, like they’re reinvented the tried and true coming of age tale in a way, and we’re all just along for the ride. it transcends the typical thai BL story (and i now understand why they were hesitant to label this as BL when it really feels like it encompasses so much more than the usual BL tropes and story). one of my fave dramas of the year by far (BL or otherwise). it’s just a class apart from any drama i’ve watched before and ticks every single box for me. stunning in every way. down to every detail and every feeling and emotion. it’s so raw and real and i can’t praise what nadao and the team have done with this enough (and we still have 2 more eps to go!!). there’s just so much meaning in every little thing, and in all those little things you can see the time and care it’s taken them to make this.

[thefloatingstone]

I had never even heard of Daivon IV until your last post about it and I was interested enough to go and check it out. I wasn't sure what to expect, but wow, it's fantastic. I think I replayed it five or six times just to take it all in. And I agree that the faces of the bunny girl just add to the experience.

Ah yay! I'm so glad you were interested enough to look it up! (I tried uploading it to tumblr but tumblr ate it. I think maybe it was too long.)

I was so obsessed with it yesterday I think I watched it like 50 times on loop 😂

In all seriousness though, it truly is an extremely important part of anime history in a way I think we don't even realise looking back on it now since it created so many things which we now just associate with anime as a whole which simply weren't present before that short.

But even ignoring all of that, it makes me very emotional to watch because it was truly nothing more than the purest form of passion project, where you can just tell HOW MUCH the kids making it loved both the subject matter as well as what they were doing. Even if it was hell to complete (and they literally finished it THE MORNING of the convention) you can feel the love in it.

It's something that both inspires me and makes me want to create things while also making me feel bad for not creating things the same way these guys did 8'D

[oh-boy-me]

Obey Me! Devilgram Posts and Comments: 2020 Birthday Cards

I suddenly remembered that there were enough bday cards out to do this lolol

From next year on, I think it’ll be reasonable to do a “first half” (Beel, Belphie, Levi, and Asmo) post in May, and then a “second half” (Lucifer, Mammon, and Satan) in October.  That way you don’t have to wait a year and I can make 2 posts with 6-8 entries each instead of 6 or 7 posts with only 2.  Wow, scheduling!

The birthday cards aren’t very complicated, so the comments ended up uncomplicated too for the most part.  So I guess I’m still holding out for the events I’m behind on to be more fun :’)

The full Japanese transcript is where it usually is.

日本語は私の第三言語ので、時々間違えます。日本語話者、間違いを見たら教えてください。 (Japanese is my third language, so I make mistakes sometimes.  Japanese speakers, if you see a mistake, please tell me!)

Birthday Presents From Everyone

Solomon: It’s nice that it’s lively

Asmo: Since it’s my turn next, right?

Diavolo: I’m also curious(1)

Barbatos: Your personalities show in your gifts as well

#Birthday #Presents

Happy Birthday Time for Just the Two of Us

Belphie: Feels like the main event will be after this

Simeon: I’m glad it was a success

Mammon: “Matching”!?

Luke: Those guys never learn their lesson

#Birthday #Necklace

Let’s Birthday Party!

Beel: Levi, you’re soaked

Lucifer: Be more appreciative

Simeon: Heartfelt letters are nice!

Luke: Beelzebub just about ate it all

#Birthday #Party

Special Day(2)

Asmo: A shopping spree sounds fun!

Solomon: I’m glad you’re happy

Levi: Even though it’s his birthday he’s got like last place lol

Belphie: When did you write all those?

#Birthday #Letters

A Birthday Party Full of Cats

Lucifer: Were you planning on hiding them??

Belphie: You’re loved by a crazy number of cats

Asmo: Satan’s real popular!(3)

Diavolo: I’m happy you’re happy

#Birthday #Cats

Satan and the Mysterious Box

Luke: What a suspicious box

Simeon: It’ll happen if you focus!

Solomon: You’re loved, Satan

Mammon: So that box is MINE!

#Birthday #MagicBox

1. 興味がある can mean both curious and interested, since they mean essentially the same thing, but I do these translations without looking at the official version so that’s the reason it’s different here. 2. There’s no real way to translate it in a way that doesn’t sound bulky, but I believe in this instance 「１日」 implies that it’s an all day thing. 3. Asmo uses ってば, which implies that he and Satan are close!

Masterpost

みんなからの誕生日プレゼント

ソロモン：賑やかでいいね アスモ：次はぼくの番だからね？ ディアボロ：私も興味がある バルバトス：贈りものにも個性が出ますね ＃誕生日　＃プレゼント

二人きりのハッピーバースデータイム

ベルフェ：本番はこれからって感じだね シメオン：成功してよかったね マモン：お揃いだとぉ！？ ルーク：懲りないやつらだな ＃誕生日　＃ネックレス

レッツバースデーパーティー！

ベール：レヴィ、びしょ濡れだな ルシファー：もっと感謝しろ シメオン：心のこもった手紙っていいよね ルーク：ほとんどベルゼブブが食べてたな ＃誕生日　＃パーティー

特別な１日

アスモ：爆買い楽しそー！ ソロモン：喜んでもらえてよかったよ レヴィ：誕生日なのに最下位とかw ベルフェ：いつの間にいっぱい書いてたの？ ＃誕生日　＃手紙

猫だらけの誕生会

ルシファー：隠してるつもりなのか？ ベルフェ：すごい数の猫に慕われてるね アスモ：サタンってばモテモテだね！ ディアボロ：喜んでもらえて嬉しいよ ＃誕生日　＃猫

サタンと不思議な箱

ルーク：怪しい箱だな シメオン：集中したらそうなるよね ソロモン：愛されてるね、サタン マモン：じゃあその箱は俺のってことで！ ＃誕生日　＃魔法の箱

誕生日イベントが楽しいけどコメントがつまらないwww

[heyheshi]

Roommates...?

1.7k words

written and uploaded: July 30, 2020

🦋 - fluff

Please like and reblog! Also please don't post my writings anywhere!

Here's your request! Hope you like it!

Masterlist

Part 1

Part 3

_________

It has been almost a week since the last time you've seen Harry and you have to admit - he wasn't bad at all. You expected him to be like the other famous people who think that the world revolves around them but well he is the exact opposite.

He's so down to earth and open-minded about everything, you almost forgot that he's a celebrity during your meal! He was so eager to listen and learn about the town he's going to be staying in.

He's also a proper gentleman. It's common to have your door open up for you if you're on the passenger's seat but what surprises you was that after you parked the car outside of the resto, he went around the car to open up your door - the driver's door!

It didn't stop that, he opened the door of the resto for you and let you in first. Even pulled back your chair for you! The boyfriends of your other friends would be ashamed if they saw him.

Also, he made sure that you won't pay a cent and told you that you can only give the tip - which by the way was also generously given by him already.

You probably looked like a couple that day and you can't deny the fact that you found him interesting... and cute... and really handsome even though he didn't say much about himself and neither do you - just the basics. No one can know that you're infatuated by him, especially your cousin - who for sure is gonna rub the car's magic on you, plus you dropped him off his hotel after you ate.

But it didn't stop you from typing his name on your search engine and looking at his pictures. What can you say, he's an eye candy and you probably won't see him again since you live in the small village of your town and he would probably leave after a few days after all.

But how wrong could you be? Very, super, extremely, tremendously and all the adverb you can think of that have the same meaning as 'so so so wrong'.

You were carrying a tray of your best selling bagels when you saw a familiar head ordering on the counter from the glass on the door of the kitchen.

It's not like you didn't like seeing him - it's just that you're sure that you're going to be all blushy and shy in front of him after developing a crush on the guy.

"2 bagels and a classic tea!", the voice from intercom can be heard through the kitchen and that's when you know that you have to face heaven - oh you mean Harry, soon.

You made a beeline to the pastry display counter with your head hanging low hoping that he wouldn't see you but too late for that.

"Y/N! I didn't know you work here!", well there goes the prince charming, smiling brightly at you while you have to basically snap yourself out of your thoughts.

"Oh, she owns this bakery along with a few other branches.", one of your employees, Kayla, replied to him seeing as you won't be talking anytime soon, then she winked at you.

"Really?!", Harry walked in front of the display counter to talk to you as you finished displaying all the bagels out.

"Yeah, um well you know I own a bakery and this is my first shop, my main outlet.", you smiled a little trying so hard not to blurt anything embarrassing in front of him.

"You look nice.", Harry said but quickly corrected himself trying to play it cool, "what I meant was it was nice seeing you and this place looks cozily chic."

"Thank you. I try, really.", your brain is screaming to not overthink what he said but your cheeks and ear betrayed you, "why don't you take a seat, there's a cute table near the corner if you want some privacy."

"Will you join me? I mean you're the owner and well you're my only friend here in this town so far.", friend - oh well at least you two are friends... right? You really need to shut up now. This isn't how you were acting when you first met him!

"Of course! I'm done working anyway."

"Great! I'll be right there!", with that, he nods his head and strutted to the table on the far end of your shop.

You quickly removed your apron and insisted on bringing his order to him, not before stealing a muffin and a cookie from the kitchen, and getting your water bottle from your bag.

"So how are you liking it here?", you asked Harry while slowly placing his meal on the table for him.

"It's great! I quite like it here actually, my hotel was in the busier part of the town but I don't mind that much. I'm glad I discovered this little village to escape.", Harry explained, taking a bite on the bagel you just made, "mhmm, now I know why this is your best selling pastry."

You laughed at him while shrugging, "thank you, it was a family recipe and I don't let anyone make that bagel, they can make the other pastries but not that one - too sacred."

"I know exactly what you're talking about, it's like writing a song but not letting anyone hear it because it was your baby," H laughed at his own words, "oh, this tea reminds me of how my mum makes my tea, now I miss her.", his face now sporting an overly exaggerated pout after taking a sip of his tea and both of your laughs can be heard from a few tables down.

"Are you planning on going home?", you didn't mean to intrude, you're just curious.

"Oh, so you want me out now? Should've killed you that day!", he joked. If it was another guy, you would've left your seat and never look back but this was Harry we're talking about - and this is not a date.

"Wh- no! I was just asking! Plus we love having you here! You're welcome in our town!", if your mouth hasn't said anything then you wouldn't be blushing and Harry wouldn't be holding his stomach from laughing so hard.

"Oh, so now you love me, huh? That's not what you were saying before!", he was like a switch, before he was laughing so hard bit now his face is stoic without any trace of anything.

"No, what I me-"

"Just kidding! Should've seen your face, love!", now he's back on cackling and he looks adorable and cuddly - shut up Y/N!

"That's not funny...", you guilt-tripped him with your distressed and agitated face.

"I'm sorry!", H was still laughing while putting his hands in the air while you only crossed your arms in your chest.

You two made small talk while scarfing down your foods and asked him the question you didn't know if it should make you ecstatic or nervous about what's to come.

"Why did you said our village is your escape? I thought you already did that when you decided to stay here in our town?", you finished your cookie and drank your water.

"Dunno, this place is peaceful. The main town is great but a lot of fans have been waiting outside of the hotel and I feel like I'm not having the privacy I was looking for the first place, you know?"

"I'm sorry about that. I know this is not an excuse but no celebrity has ever stayed this long in our town that's why they're probably like that...", you looked at him with sympathy in your eyes.

"It's all good. I talked to my friend Jeff about it and he told me that if I'm planning on staying here longer then I should find a place - like a room or an apartment to stay and that's how I found this shop. I was strolling, I don't trust the internet ads, I'd like to look for one myself and that brought me to your neighborhood.", Harry explained and the only words that registered on your mind were "staying here longer".

"That's probably the best idea, not staying long in a hotel - I mean. How long do you think you're staying? Have you found a place?"

"For a few months most definitely. There are barely paps in here and I'm also planning on writing a few of my songs here... and sadly I haven't. Most apartments are on the commercial part of the town and I'm finding somewhere quiet. This kind of neighborhood perhaps.", he explained to you and you cannot stop your mouth from blurting out the next few words.

"I just bought a house a few blocks in this village and well I have an extra room...", well that was fast, your mind screams at you while you shut your eyes tightly.

"Are you offering me to be your roommate or housemate? I don't wanna seem desperate but you're pretty much the only person I know in here and I like this village so I'm not turning your offer down.", Harry eagerly replied to you but still keeping his cool intact.

"I think I am..."

"Really? Wow, thank you! Don't worry, I'm a good roommate - if the offer is still valid!", you and Harry both chuckled at that while standing in your seats.

"Well then, why don't I take you on a tour and show you the house? The village is full of families it's really peaceful here. And I'm not always home so you won't be bothered by me!", you joked at him as you went back to the shop's kitchen to get your things and say goodbye to your employees.

"Oh I know I'm the one who'll be bothering you a lot!", Harry opened the door for you as he joked.

"We'll see!", you just winked at him and walked in front of him while he jogged to catch up to you.

You introduced Harry to the village and showed him around your house. Hopefully, he'd like your home enough to be roommates with you.

_____

[violetbaggins]

The Journey of a Lifetime .:Intro:.

~ Bilbo Baggins x OC ~

Since Violet was seven years old, she has lived in Rivendell amongst the elves, and she never imagined herself ever leaving. Never. Rivendell was a paradise. There was always plenty of food, and it was always so clean and fresh, the springs were perfect for taking relaxing baths in after a long day, and for a little hobbit, she still got to sleep in a bed made for a full sized elf in silken robes, tailored exactly to fit her size. On top of all that, Violet had a wonderful mentor, Gandalf, and while he was away, which he normally was, Elrond, and if he was gone as well...then Lady Galadriel might teach her a fun spell or two. It truly was an honor to learn the power of healing from such incredible people, and she has grown quite attached to them, and to everyone she has spent the last twenty-five years with. 

This is why it was so hard for the young hobbit to pack her bags right now. Tears welled up in her eyes as she grabbed a couple of extra tunics and leggings, folding them neatly and placing them in her bag before grabbing her brush, bandages, her book of herbs, and some rations she had made herself along with an extra loaf of bread that Lindir had made for her after Elrond told him that she would be leaving for the Shire to help Gandalf with an adventure of some sort. All Lindir knew is that it was something about a mountain, and that’s about all Violet knew as well. Gandalf wouldn’t go into much detail, but he told her where she needed to meet him at and when. 

Violet paused in the middle of packing and she sighed. She had to go to the Shire, of all places. She gulped nervously and placed a bottle full of dried chamomile in her bag and thought back to when she used to live with her adopted family back in Bree. For the first seven years of her life, Violet has lived so close to the Shire and not once has she ever been. From what she was told, she was born in the Shire, but she obviously has no memory of it since her birth mother had given her up at only a few days old. From what Gandalf has told her, the Shire is a beautiful, peaceful place with rolling green hills, crystal clear water, and it was full of happy hobbits. Violet dreaded meeting this hobbit of Bag End though, but only because she’s been so far removed from Hobbit culture that she knew for sure that she would make a huge fool out of herself. This Baggins guy seemed like he was very uptight, and she doubted he would be very fun to bring on a long journey. 

With a sigh, Violet finished packing her bag, trying to keep her load as light as possible so she wouldn't struggle later on. Elrond was already waiting by the entrance to Rivendell with her pony all saddled up and ready to go. Violet’s heart sank a little at seeing the horse ready to go and Elrond glanced down at her with a gentle smile. He knew that she didn’t want to leave, but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for her, and if Gandalf said that it would be good for her, then it was something that the dark haired hobbit had to do. Gandalf had already made the decision for Violet that she would be going. So that was that.

“Try not to be so down, Ms. Violet. This will be-” Elrond started but was cut off by Violet as she climbed on top of her brown and white spotted pony. 

“A learning experience, I know.” Violet huffed and Elrond rolled his eyes. 

“You will also be visiting the very place you were born. Aren’t you excited?” the elf asked and Violet just bit her lip nervously. Her expression said it all to Elrond and he sighed softly. Violet never really got exposed to hobbit culture, and while hobbits were quite nice, they tended to stay away from individuals they didn’t know too well, or ones that seemed ‘strange’. She was sure that the hobbits of the Shire would find her very strange indeed, with her elven clothes and carrying products they have probably never seen nor heard of before. 

Violet hesitated before answering Elrond, turning her pony in the direction of the path in front of her, one that would lead her to The Shire. “I...suppose,” she said softly then turned back to Elrond and told him goodbye. Elrond waved her a farewell as she rode off. It was a three-week ride, and Violet has never travelled on her own before, so she was nervous. Elrond felt a bit nervous about it as well, but if Gandalf and Galadriel insisted that she would be okay and that she was ready, then he would try to push his worries to the side.

So, for about three weeks, Violet rode by herself from Rivendell all the way to the rolling, green hills of the Shire. It was just after sunset when she arrived, and she could tell her pony was begging for a rest and a snack, and so was she. Violet got off of her pony, who she had named Lily, and tugged her along by the reigns towards Hobbiton. 

As she walked down the dirt road, the occasional hobbit or two that would pass her would give her a strange look, knowing for a fact that they have never seen her in their village before. Violet did her best to ignore the passerby hobbits and looked for Bag End. “Gandalf said that Bag End is...at the top of the hill..with a large tree on top?” Violet mumbled to herself, looking up and instantly finding a lit up burrow with a large tree at the very top. There was also the glowing blue symbol Gandalf had scratched onto the green door with his staff just earlier that day. She made her way up the hill and tied her pony to the wooden post of the hobbit gentleman’s fencing and fed Lily a red apple before opening the gate and walking up the stone steps and to the large, circular, green door. 

Violet gulped, a good bit of anxiety taking over as she raised her fist to knock on the door three times. She heard voices inside and figured some of the company had already arrived before her. Then, she heard another voice. It sounded flustered and irritated and it was followed by the heavy sound of footsteps getting closer and closer to the door until it finally opened, revealing the master of Bag End himself, Bilbo Baggins. 

“If I see one more dwarf I’m-!!” Bilbo’s voice was rather loud and angry now as he swung the door open and Violet flinched and blinked a couple of times, her eyes wide as they were locked on Bilbo’s. He instantly froze. “Oh! I, uhm,” he stuttered and ran a hand through his messy, light red curls and glanced back at the ruckus going on in his pantry before turning back to the dark haired, female hobbit...dressed in elven clothing? “I-I apologize, are you-are you lost, madam?” Bilbo stuttered slightly, the tips of his ears turning red from embarrassment, making sure to address her more formally since he started off their meeting with his frustrated tone. 

“O-oh! Um, no, I’m actually not lost. Um-” Violet gulped and she remembered what Elrond had taught her the day before she left Rivendell. “Violet Newbury,” she began and bowed slightly before Bilbo and his eyes widened. This is exactly what the dwarves did. “At you service!” she proclaimed with a bit more confidence. “I am a healer, trained by Elrond, Lord of Rivendell.” she  explained. This certainly peaked Bilbo’s interest. A hobbit from Rivendell? The bachelor hobbit couldn’t believe his pointed ears and he remained silent for only a moment before coming back to his senses and stepping aside. 

“Well, come in then, Violet.” Bilbo said, motioning for her to come in. She glanced at Bilbo for a moment before taking a couple of steps inside and he closed the door behind her with a soft sigh. Violet looked around the hobbit hole and took it all in, only ever hearing of these from Gandalf when she would ask about the place she was born. It was just as warm and cozy as he said they were. She could hear the booming, joyous voices of all of the dwarves and she saw them bustling back and forth from Bilbo’s pantry to the dining room to set up dinner 

“Where is Gandalf?” she asked rather quickly, turning to Bilbo. This caught him off guard a bit and he pointed towards the dining room where the wizard was counting all of the dwarves, making sure everyone was here. From the face he made, it looked like there was still one dwarf still missing. “Gandalf!” Violet called out, a smile growing on her face for the first time in weeks. The tall wizard turned and instantly smiled as he saw the dark haired hobbit walk up to him, clearly very happy to see a familiar face. 

“Ah, Ms. Violet! I am very glad to see that you have made it safe. Grab a plate and eat something. You look famished.” Gandalf said, noticing that she was a bit thinner than the last time saw her. She must not have eaten very much during her journey here and that made Gandalf sigh. If she was going to be joining the company on the trip to Erebor, she needed to make sure to eat and keep her energy up. She was a very important asset to the company, after all. Having a reliable healer come along seemed to put the dwarves at ease, although they didn’t seem to like the fact of who she learned her skills from. 

The company wasn't exactly sure what to make of Violet yet, but they still welcomed her into their group with open arms. Fili, Kili, and Bofur decided to immediately become her best friends and had her sit with them at the table. ‘Maybe these dwarves weren’t so bad after all?’ Violet thought as she bit down on a chicken leg. She glanced towards Bilbo as he turned towards his pantry and froze, now finding it completely emptied out. She swallowed her bite of chicken and felt a bit bad for him, but...wow was this food good! Violet rarely ate meat in Rivendell, so this was quite a treat for her. Master Baggins was quite the cook! She would definitely have to compliment him on his skills later. 

Well, that is if he decided to come with them. 

~o0o~

Introduction - you are here

Chapter 1

[officialscaramouche]

Companions

pairing: Chongyun x Xingqiu

summary: No library in sight, the pair decide to bite the bullet and go directly to the source.

warnings: none

word count: 3,141

also posted on ao3!

Ch. 3 of 5 < prev | next >

Xingqiu tapped his foot impatiently, looking up at the area before looking back down at the paper in his hands. Chongyun stood behind him, licking his fingers clean of the berries he ate. “Are you sure you aren’t lying to me?” Xingqiu hisses, looking back at his surroundings again.

“Mhm,” Chongyun hums, wiping his mouth with his thumb. “Maybe you don’t know how to read a map.”

Xingqiu slams the map down and points at the exorcist. “Maybe you should just tell me where it is!”

Chongyun sighs, picks up the map and eyes it closely before looking at the area around him. He looks up, then back down. Flipping the map over and upright again. “Hm...uh, okay.” Chongyun points a finger a bit to his right, then looking up again and turning his finger to point a little further to the right. “Yeah, here,” he leans in and points to the map, showing Xingqiu. “We left Liyue Harbor back there, remember? If we went around this rock formation here, we’d hit the Qingxu Pool. Keep going, the house is along the bank.”

Xingqiu rubs his chin, quirking an eyebrow. “Why’d I move all the way out here? There’s nothing out here.”

Chongyun rolled up the map and stored it away. “That’s exactly why he moved here. Xingqiu likes his solitude nowadays.”

Xingqiu followed as Chongyun began ahead. “Do you think I can meet me?”

“No,” Chongyun bites. “It’s bad enough you’re already speaking with me, I don’t want to mess with the future any more than we already have.”

“It couldn’t be that bad! You and I are still friends!”

Chongyun swings an arm around Xingqiu’s neck and pulls him into his side. “No matter how much you beg, I’m making you wait outside.”

“And what’s gonna stop me from going inside?”

Xingqiu took a sip of his tea, wafting the scented steam before indulging in the flavorful liquid. “Mmm,” he hums, placing the cup gently onto the table. He pulled out a chair and rolled back a sleeve, picking up the brush with his hand and lightly dipping the bristles into the ink slab. He makes quick work with the brush strokes, each one swift and delicate. The birds nearby chirp sweetly to each other, and the wind rustled the grass peacefully as he continued on with his work.

Suddenly, as if hit with deja vu, Xingqiu perks up and quirks a brow, looking outside the window to his right. “Huh…” he breathes, placing the brush back atop the resting plate. He dusts his hands off of the dried ink from earlier and places either hand into the opposite sleeve of his robe, walking with his arms folded neatly in front of him. He slides to the side of the window and peers out, squinting his eyes only to find nothing more than the rustling grass. The wood of his small shed groaned quietly, adding to the quietness of his solitude. “I must be losing my mind. Maybe it’s time I headed to the city…”

Just then, Xingqiu was pulled out of his head as three firm knocks echoed off his front door. Nobody knew where Xingqiu lived. Not his father nor his acquaintances, and nobody ever knocked on his door. People didn’t travel this far into the middle of nowhere, not even the local monsters. There was absolutely nothing here of significance. Nobody knew where he lived. Except for Chongyun.

Xingqiu couldn’t hide the smile that spread across his face when he opened the door to none other than Chongyun. “You’re here!” Xingqiu opened his arms wide to welcome Chongyun into a warm embrace. “How was your trip to Sumeru?” Xingqiu ushered the exorcist into his home with a hand on his back, pushing the man inside.

“It was good,” Chongyun replies with a smile. “The sun hat you made for me worked great.” Xingqiu pulled out a chair for the exorcist to sit in before turning to the sink for another cup.

“I’m glad to hear that,” he sang, pushing the cup gently across the table. “I was terribly worried that you’d overheat in the middle of the desert and I’d never see you again.”

“I met Cyno by chance and he helped me navigate the dunes.”

Xingqiu peered at Chongyun over the rim of his cup as he took a sip. “Mmm, he’s a good friend to have in Sumeru.”

Chongyun pulled the parchment on the table towards him. “And you? How’s your series coming along?”

Xingqiu tucked his hair behind his ear delicately and rested his chin in that hand. “I’m suffering through writer’s block right now,” he whines, eyeing the paper that Chongyun was reading. His eyes trailed up the hand that held the paper, up Chongyun’s arm and watched longingly as he read his draft. “But seeing you has kind of given me inspiration.”

Xingqiu places a hand atop Chongyun’s and meets his gaze when the exorcist looks up. They observe each other for a bit, Xingqiu’s eyes sparkling with excitement and a mischievous smile plastered on his face. Chongyun feels his fingertips burn a bit, his neck warming suddenly. He pulls his hand back and rubs the back of his neck, smiling nervously. “It sounds great so far,” he sputters. “You’re just too critical of yourself.”

Xingqiu chuckles into a fist, eyes fluttering closed. “That’s rich coming from you.”

After a moment of comfortable silence, Chongyun throws a leg over the other, leaning back into his chair with his arms crossed. “How’s your dad?”

Xingqiu smiles. “He’s good. Him and my brother settled down in Qingce, finally.”

Chongyun looks away, towards the window. Xingqiu does too. “Good for them. You should go visit their new home.”

Xingqiu stands, tucking his hands into his sleeves again, walking towards the window and peering outside once more. Chongyun gets up anxiously, following the writer and encouraging him to rejoin him at the table. “We can go together,” Chongyun grins, tenderly grabbing hold of the writer’s wrist and placing a hand on the small of his back. Chongyun can’t help but think that Xingqiu should probably eat a little more if his waist was as small as it felt.

Xingqiu turns and cups Chongyun’s hand between his hands. “Yes! Let’s go together!”

Chongyun blushes, smiling nervously. “I can’t right now, though…”

“Oh? What’s wrong?”

Chongyun’s eyes darken. “Did...you get my letter?”

Xingqiu drops his smile and looks back at Chongyun seriously. “No...I haven’t been in the city since I last wrote you.”

Chongyun chews his lip, fidgeting with his fingers. “I…”

Xingqiu grabs hold of Chongyun’s hand and gently pulls him to his bed that sat in the corner of his barely-livable shed. “Come,” he whispered, patting the edge of the bed when they reached it. Xingqiu crawled onto the bed, leaning back against the wood and stretched out his legs before him. Chongyun followed behind, adhering to Xingqiu’s subtle demands and laid his head in Xingqiu’s lap. Xingqiu toyed with Chongyun’s hair, twirling the locks around his fingers and brushing the messy, unbrushed bangs out from his face. “I can tell this is serious,” he says with a loving smile. “Take all the time you need.” Xingqiu glances back at the window and smirks, looking back down at Chongyun.

Chongyun can’t seem to meet his friend’s gaze as he stared back at his rough hands. “I...got back maybe a week ago? Maybe almost two.” Xingqiu hummed in response, nodding his head and scratching at Chongyun’s scalp. “...mom promised she’d make me naengmyeon when I got home. Using imported Inazuman ingredients.”

Xingqiu gazed longingly at Chongyun’s face. “Wow, that sounds lovely.”

Chongyun smiled sadly. “Yeah…” Chongyun paused for a moment. Xingqiu watched the window from the corner of his eye. He knew he wasn’t imagining things. “...well...while I was gone, the demon that we’ve been trying so hard to compel…” Xingqiu sucked in a breath and stilled his hands. He feared he knew exactly what Chongyun was going to say. “When I got home...all of their bodies--”

“Okay, enough.” Xingqiu placed a finger to Chongyun’s lips. “I understand. If you need love, you’ve come to the right place. If you need help, you’ve come to the right place.”

Chongyun looked up to Xingqiu with glassy eyes. Xingqiu’s long, straight ponytail tickled Chongyun’s neck and he reached up to run his hand through it. Xingqiu leaned into the touch, closing his eyes once more. “I’ve missed you,” Chongyun says finally. “I’m glad you’re doing well.”

Xingqiu cups Chongyun’s cheek. “I’m glad you were in Sumeru...even if you spent all that time with someone else.”

Chongyun snickered and looked back towards the window. “You know you’re special to me.”

Xingqiu leans down, tucking hair behind Chongyun’s ear. He sighs into his ear and smiles against the skin. “As are you.”

Chongyun shivers and rolls off Xingqiu’s lap, straightening his robe and sliding off the bed. “I-I came here...hoping you had information on the you hun ye gui.”

Xingqiu furrows his brows dramatically and tilts his head in thought. “Hmm…, no, nothing as unique as yours.” He looked at Chongyun knowingly and smirked. “Do you?”

Chongyun scratches his head and looks away. “I...think?” He said with a lilt, trying to pretend that he doesn’t know about the book. “I...got this book from a medium who encountered, um...the you hun ye gui.”

“Oh?” Xingqiu chuckles, sliding off the bed and returning to Chongyun’s side. “Let me see it.”

Chongyun hesitantly pulls out the foreign tome and Xingqiu rips it from his shaking hands. “Ohh…” he cooes at it. “What beautiful leather...and design!” Chongyun looks at the other confused. “This, um, medium you said? This medium has taken such good care of it!” Xingqiu flips the cover open and runs a palm down the cover page. “And this texture…” Xingqiu eyes Chongyun from the corner of his eye and smiles at his friend’s confusion. “Okay, let’s check this baby out.”

Xingqiu flattens the book on the table and turns the first page. “Ah...this inscription.” Chongyun slides up to the writer’s side. “It’s enochian.”

“Yes,” Xingqiu acknowledges. “You’ve shown me before.”

“I did? When?”

Xingqiu turns and saunters over to his modest bookshelf, running a finger along each spine until he finds the text he was looking for. “An enochian translator, if you will.” He says, holding the book up and comparing it to the foreign text.

He examines both books for a moment, eyes darting from one page to the other, flipping through the pages of the enochian decoder and scribbling down his translations on the draft he wrote earlier. “Where did you find this medium with such an incredible book?”

Chongyun pulls a cookie from Xingqiu’s pantry, biting into the treat. “It was a commission,” he started. “You told me about that library somewhere in the Guili Plains and we-- or... I was looking for it hoping to find something about this demon.”

Xingqiu hummed almost sarcastically. “Ah, pure coincidence, hm?”

“Yes.”

“And you weren’t travelling with anyone?” Xingqiu looks up to meet Chongyun’s gaze, his face flushed with anxiety.

“N-No...I’m travelling by myself…”

“Strange, I could’ve sworn I saw someone running around my house earlier.” Chongyun freezes and eyes the window. “...Maybe I just need to go in the city, right? I’m going crazy all alone out here by myself.”

Chongyun laughs nervously as he stared out the window. “Y-Yeah...haha…”

“Anyway,” Xingqiu picks up his paper and gestures for Chongyun to come to the table with a wave of his hand. “What little I’ve gathered says that, like all you hun ye gui’s, this particular demon is lost and scared. But this demon doesn’t belong in this world.” Xingqiu took a pause. “The you hun ye gui has spent years looking for guidance but nobody has tried to guide him home. And the longer he stays here, the more destruction it will cause.”

Chongyun slams the pantry door shut. “That’s stupid.”

Xingqiu raises his brows at the sudden burst of anger. “How so?”

“Nobody has tried sending it home? Bullshit. My entire family--”

“Tried killing it. How can a soul return home if it is exorcised?”

Chongyun stomped over to Xingqiu and ripped the paper from his grip. “Screw this, and fuck that book. I’m going to kill it.”

Xingqiu quickly stood to his feet and hurried to stop Chongyun from walking out the door. “No, Chongyun. Listen to me--”

“My family is dead trying to save the harbor! And you’re trying to tell me that they were wrong? Fuck you!” Xingqiu frowns and reaches to tuck Chongyun’s hair behind his ear again. Chongyun swats his hand away and scowls. “Don’t touch me.”

“Chongyun, I’m not saying this to be hurtful--”

“But you are! You’re shaming my family for defending the city they loved!” “I’m not! Please listen to me. Please, sit down, let me get you some cold water.”

Chongyun kicks the chair over and grabs Xingqiu’s arm forcefully. “Why, so I can ‘cool off’?!”

“Yes.” Xingqiu bites, pulling his arm out of Chongyun’s grip. He fills the cup there with water and drops ice cubes into it. He stirs the drink before handing it to Chongyun. “Please. At least listen to the rest of what I transcribed.”

“I’ll listen. But I can’t promise I’ll agree.”

“That’s fine.” Chongyun takes a sip from the cup and stares back out the window to watch the river slap at the banks.

Xingqiu extends his hand to ask for the paper back from Chongyun and he complies reluctantly. “Okay,” Xingqiu takes a deep breath and smiles gently. “Our demon is reluctant to trust anyone for help anymore. Too many people have tried to hurt him. But there’s a way for you to gain his trust.” Chongyun stares on, not meeting Xingqiu’s gaze. Xingqiu sighs once more and continues. “Any demon can sense your yang energy. I’m sure it’s already run from you before. You need to put it to sleep before you can get anywhere near it.” He pauses, waiting for any kind of response from Chongyun. The exorcist chews his lip in thought. “The book describes a recipe for fish skewers to lure it over. Cook it by seasoning with some soporific herbs to put him to sleep.”

Chongyun takes another sip from his cup. “...What if the skewers alone aren’t enough to lure the demon?”

Xingqiu grins happily. “Incense should work just fine! But the important thing is to put it to sleep. Then you can put one of your fancy guidance talismans on it.”

Chongyun hesitantly looks at Xingqiu. “How did you…”

Xingqiu quickly rises and slaps the paper into Chongyun’s hand. “Here, in case you forget.” Xingqiu placed both hands on either of Chongyun’s shoulders and gently turned Chongyun around. Chongyun looked to the floor in shame, not meeting Xingqiu’s gaze. Xingqiu smiled tenderly, love filled in his eyes. “Chonggie,” he begins. “You have grown so much since we were kids. Spending time with you was the only thing I ever looked forward to. Nothing about that has changed.” Xingqiu pinched Chongyun’s chin and turned him to look at him. Xingqiu saw the deep loneliness in the darks of his eyes. He knows he hadn’t been around much, but he had been waiting. Waiting for Chongyun to understand a little more about himself, his power, and his feelings. “I still long to see you everyday. Seeing you today has filled me with much joy. Please come back when you’ve finished your journey, okay? I have something I want to tell you.”

Chongyun’s eyes glassed over as tears welled in the inner corners. He leaned in for a hug, to which Xingqiu willingly complied, and took in the flowery aroma that Xingqiu gave off. “I will. Please wait for me.”

Xingqiu patted his friend’s head. “I will always wait for you.” Xingqiu pulled back from the hug and walked him over to the door. “Now go. The sooner you leave, the sooner you’ll be back.” Chongyun stepped out, looking back at his best friend waving him bye. He watched with sorrow as the door closed slowly and finally continued on when it snapped closed. He slapped his cheeks with both hands and set on.

“Fanboy?” Chongyun creeped quietly around Xingqiu’s shack, peering around the corners for his younger friend. “Fanboy?” Chongyun swiftly ducked under the windows to avoid being caught, listening as Xingqiu washed the dishes left in the sink. Yet the younger boy was nowhere to be found.

Archons, what if he got lost? Or killed by monsters! Chongyun chewed on his nails as nerves took over him. He climbed the nearby hill to get a better look at the area. He shielded the sun from his eyes with his hand and scanned the horizon. Nothing over by the east, nothing north, until finally, a small boy in a dark blue custom-tailored outfit was hunched over looking at something on the ground. Chongyun hopped down the hill and scurried over to the boy.

“There you are! Don’t run off like that, I was afraid that--”

“Why do I live alone?” Xingqiu poked at the ants by his feet.

Chongyun scratched his head. “Uh--”

“Other than me liking to be alone now.”

“Well...to be honest, he’s hiding from his family.” Xingqiu stood, finally, and turned to face Chongyun. “He, uh...he had other plans for Feiyun Commerce. And his family didn’t agree with him. I thought his ideas were great, but...he left the company and his brother took over. The company went under soon after.” Xingqiu looked to the ground, back at the ants. “After his family went bankrupt, they nagged him for money every week. He got tired of it and moved out of the city.”

“Am I happy?”

“I’ve never seen Xingqiu this content with his life.”

Xingqiu nodded, his expression a little solemn. “As long as I’m happy, I guess…” Xingqiu looked on as Chongyun gathered his hair into a fist behind his head, neatly and gently pulling to tie it back with a tie. “Hey,” he says suddenly. “You look good with your hair up.”

Chongyun ruffled the fringe that slid out from the tie. “Yeah, he told me that when we were little. So I started tying it.”

“Oh?” Xingqiu smirked and framed his chin between his thumb and forefinger. “What does that mean?”

“Huh? It means nothing.”

Xingqiu twirled his hair with his finger. “I think it means you have a cru--”

“So at the end of the series, Mir and--”

“OKAY, SHUT UP!! I’LL STOP!” Chongyun shoved the scholar ahead. “It’s not fair that you hold that against me! You got your way once, but don’t use it anymore!”

“--and then Weiyang--”

“ALRIGHT!! Sheesh!”

[princess-butters]

Just a celebrity [knj X reader]

A/n: Hi, I know it’s been a while since my last post, I legit have no excuse except that it’s procrastination and that I had no ideas to go by, I still don’t, but I’m trying my best to write as much as I can now. I have a fanfic in the works that I have coming up and it’s hard to write each chapter without it being mostly filler and actually relevant to the story, you know? It’s actually something that’s been in the works for almost 4. Fucking. Years. and I’m just now writing most of the chapters I have planned. It’s somewhat of a short story too which I’m glad because I was really worried it would be too long and dragged out with said filler but what I do have is a character introduction to the characters. It’s not all of them but it’s at least something to begin the story so once it’s done, I can post it and show you guys what I’m working on. But anyways I’m getting sidetracked. This was originally supposed to be for an imagine but it became too long and I decided it should be its own story so enjoy.

Warnings: [TW // Mentions of forced strict diet, and starvation, Namjoon really wants to eat but can’t because of his company, description of being underweight. Fluff with bits of angst. Y/n is a cynical bitch to Namjoon in the beginning but warms up to him at the end of their first encounter. It’s a fluffy relationship at the end. If I’m missing any TW, please let me know.]

Word count: 1.8k

Your first interaction with Namjoon was during his concerts in Korea since you were studying abroad and your friend, whom you’ve met online and was the sole reason why you wanted to move here, told you about a K-pop group that had debuted a while ago and it’s safe to say that you...didn’t care too much for their music and you only went to their concert to support your friend who was quickly becoming a big fan of them. It’s a unique story, really, it’s not your simple story of a fangirl who goes to some concert and one of the members sees them in the audience and brings them backstage. No, this was completely different. You never had the desire about fantasizing idols when you were younger, now that’s not to say that you didn’t enjoy music because you did, hell, you even own band merch that you still proudly wear but you never found them to be attractive like most fans would and always saw them just as artists.

While Namjoon did spot you and your friend in the crowd, he didn’t tell some security guard so you could exchange phone numbers – it was by complete accident and fate one day when you were walking home from the grocery store to pick up some food for you and your friend until you heard someone bolting towards you, running away from something that seemed serious. Annoyed and a bit taken back by his actions at first, you glance behind you not expecting much but what you didn’t expect was the amount of crazed fangirls heading your way. Gasping as you saw the hurdle of fans, your feet were stuck planted on the ground, standing there frozen with fear as the young, violent fans inched closer and closer, pushing each other around like a bunch of wild animals, until you felt the warmth of someone’s hand, presumably the same guy from earlier.

“Come on, don’t just stand there like a crazy person! I know a place where we can get rid of them!” He sounded young, about your age, the young musician took your hand in his and dragged you with him.

And that’s how you became stuck with each other behind some gritty, old building, trash bins and garbage all over the bleak scenery, you and the young musician huddled up together in-between two dumpsters as the loud and obnoxious cheers of fans faded out into the air. Both sighing with relief, you look up at him unimpressed.

“I guess this is your everyday lifestyle?” You question the young star and he lets out a heavy sigh, still trying to catch his breath from running so fast. It probably didn’t help matters that he was also dragging you along with him.

“You haven’t seen the worst of it. I usually find these girls in my room.” He tells you nonchalantly, like he’s used to it at this point.

“Shouldn’t that be considered trespassing?”

“Yeah but there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m a big star around here and what these girls want, they’ll sure as hell get it.”

“Wow. And here I thought you were just another puppet for the music industry.” You reply back with a snarky undertone, lifting yourself up from the ground and wiping any muck and dirt left on your clothes. The young musician didn’t take your words kindly and narrowed his eyebrows together.

“Hey listen, it’s not as easy as you may think. Just be thankful you’re still alive because if they had caught you, you would’ve been roadkill by now.” He commented as if it was a statement of fact.

“I barely know you!” You argued, lifting your arms up to emphasize your point.

“Doesn’t matter to them. They see some girl out with a popular celebrity, they become lions and you’re their prey.”

You roll at his comment, thinking he’s just over-exaggerating. “Well thank you for the joyride, but I really should get back to my apartment.”

“What did you get?” He asks curiously as he stares at your bag full of food, he sounded like a kid who saw a bag full of candy on Halloween.

“Black bean noodles with rice on the side.” You explain to him simply, going over to make sure you got exactly what you needed and it didn’t fall out while you were running.

The man rests his hand against his stomach, it begins rumbling with hunger as he heard those three words. He hasn’t eaten since yesterday because of the intense and strict schedule his company has forced him to go through and he would be lying right now if he said he wasn’t hungry. “Black bean noodles? That sounds really good! That’s one of my favorite dishes, I haven’t had something like that in a while.”

You cross your arms, thinking it was his way of attempting to relate to you on some level. “Oh please, you’re a star! I bet you eat everything that’s handed to you.” You didn’t mean for it to come out so cold and bitter but you couldn’t help yourself, this was some celebrity and you’ve had a dislike for them because a lot of them are just stuck-up snobs who bully everyone lower class than them. The man gives you a look that even you couldn’t figure out, almost like he was envisioning the different foods he wished he could eat but couldn’t.

“I wish it were that simple. My company would kill me if they saw me eating anything like that, I’m forced to be on a strict diet and I’m barely allowed to eat a granola bar let alone noodles.”

Shocked by his explanation, you lower down your arms and began feeling bad for making such assumptions. You alternate looking between him and the food, clearly the thought of him starving had profusely disturbed you and you couldn’t help but send an expression of empathy and sadness to the lone musician. When you decided to speak up once more, your voice went up an octave, softly responding back in a more friendly manner, it was your discreet way of apologizing to the poor guy for being so harsh. “Really? I’ve never got it before. My friend likes them and practically begged me to get it for her.”

“Your friend has good taste. I guess I better get going, the fans have died down and it’s probably safe for me to leave. It was nice meeting you.”

“Yeah.” You mindlessly say as you watch him turn around before you could say anything else but when he rounds the corner, you quickly find your voice once again and call out to him, hoping he hasn’t left just yet. “Hey! If you want to, why don’t you come over and have dinner?”

He emerges from the side and leans against the bricks walls, hands in his pockets like he’s trying to protect himself from the freezing cold. “I can’t. Mostly because we don’t know each other and my company would kill me if I ate something that wasn’t on their list which is not many, to be honest.”

You slowly walk up towards him and look at him directly, taking a minute to look at his features. Poor thing looked like he was starving himself, even though you’ve never liked idols and found them all to be the same mindless puppets, it can’t be said for this guy. His cheek bones were hollowed, he’s skinny but to an unhealthy standard, and his eyes were baggy and darkened around the sockets, almost sunken in. You couldn’t tell if it was from a lack of sleep, starvation, or both. You hesitate for a moment before placing your mitten hand on top of his exposed hand. “But you’re starving. I can’t let you walk away and not have something.”

“I really can’t.”

“Please? I really don’t want to leave you in this state and the food I have isn’t that bad for you.”

After realizing that you’re not gonna give up on this and that you really were serious, he took a second to think it over. The thought really was enticing and he would be lying to himself once more if he said he wasn’t interested and desperate to eat anything, even if it came from a complete stranger, and he knew the food was legit because well, he can see it very clearly. “Well...alright.”

Once you heard his confirmation, you show a small smile and nodded with him. “Then it’s settled! Off to my house we go!” You latch onto his arm and begin walking home with him when another thought came to mind and halted in your steps. “Oh yeah, you’d better wear your disguise or we’re gonna be running from your psycho fans. I didn’t even catch your name.”

A chuckle came out of him as he placed his cap snug on his head and his mask covering half of his face, the only thing visible were his eyes, everything else made him seem like he was invincible to the public eye. “My name’s Namjoon.”

“So you’re that Namjoon guy my friend always talks about! Oh boy, this is gonna be fun.” You smirk to yourself as you two resume walking, the thought of your friend acting like a complete psycho in front of her bias entertained you.

Once you and Namjoon arrived at your place, your first instinct when you walked through the front door was give an explanation to your friend about why you were late and how worried she was. When you told her what had happened and showed her evidence to prove your case, her reaction was a lot more different than how she usually is. Throughout the evening, you and Namjoon got along fairly well—with the exception of your friend asking him benign questions about his career as an idol and if the other members are exactly the same in real life—you would frequently apologize for her erratic behavior as it worried you it would make the idol uncomfortable but he says it’s nothing compared to what he always hears from fangirls.

You and Namjoon surprisingly hit it off at the end of the night and you exchanged phone numbers when he was about to leave and promised each other you would meet again soon, this time without your friend in the picture. After he left, thoughts began to provoke and you wondered to yourself that maybe, just maybe, you were wrong about idols for once.

And now let’s look at today’s events, where are you and Namjoon right now in your relationship? Well one thing’s for certain is that you two are officially dating and have been since 2017, two years after your initial meeting. When you two became more comfortable with each other, he had invited you over to the dorms and introduced you to his members, to which they immediately welcomed you into their group with open arms, you’ve actually become best friends with some of them. It’s been a fun and crazy ride, exploring different countries and cultures had never crossed your mind before but now you can safely say that it’s been one of the best things to have ever happened in your life. You were fortunate to have somebody like him and him you because along the way, you have made each other better, Namjoon had taught you that being guarded and stubborn shouldn’t lock you out of the world and it’s okay to let your guard down sometimes, and you taught him that just because he was an idol doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be any boundaries and that he was a human being first.

Whenever the media caught wind of your relationship, they always thought it was just a fling and that the two of you would break up like everybody else in the industry but so far, you have proved each and every one of them wrong and now both you and Joon don’t give two shits about what everybody says.

[cutiepisenpai]

Gifted Part 3

Spencer Reid x F!Reader

Warnings: Fluff, minor porn reference, mentions of unsubs crimes nothing graphic, and one supernatural reference

The next Monday at work it was as if nothing had happened at least for Y/N. When she walked in at the same time as always, a chipper smile telling everyone good morning. She runs into Spencer in the kitchenette as he is making his morning coffee with too much sugar. “You know the consumption of excess sugar doesn’t actually provide you with more energy; it's a common misconception. If you ate more actual solid foods you would have energy. Eating an apple and a handful of almonds would garner better results.” Y/N says to Spencer referring to the ungodly amount of sugar he is pouring into his coffee. Spencer as most of his coworkers have come to know is not much of a morning person and rarely coherent without coffee in his system. “Is that why you’re so chipper in the morning. Because you eat real food?” He says groggily as he continues to pour sugar into his coffee. “No, I actually alternate between boxing and yoga to start my morning. And if you don't stop pouring sugar that will be molasses before you know it.” Spencer stops and looks down at how much sugar he had actually poured into his mug. It was too much but what the hell he would drink it anyway. “So, how was the rest of your weekend?” He asks. “It was boring, you know grocery shopping, picking up dry cleaning, repacking my go bag, that kind of stuff. What about you?” What he didn’t want to tell her is that he spent the entire next day trying to figure out why she reacted the way she did, so he lied. “Oh just reading a new book.” “Oh really, what book?” She asked. He did not think that through and he hadn’t read anything new so he lied again. He thought of a book he heard JJ and Prentiss talking about, “Twilight, have you heard of it?” “You, read twilight?” She asks, with a knowing smirk on her face. “Yes, what I can’t read something that isn’t science or classic literature?” He asks defensively. “Oh I know I just didn’t take you for the tragic vampire romance kind of reader but to each their own. Sooo, what did you think about it?” Thankfully at that moment Hotch came to get them, they had a new case. 

Their new case is taking them to Shreveport, Louisiana where a body had been found floating in a lake and  upon further inspection after dragging the lake they found a dozen more bodies. When they land Hotch sends Morgan, Prentiss and Rossi to the lake, Y/N and Spencer to the M.E. and He and JJ go to meet the local police. Unfortunately for Spencer being stuck in the SUV with Y/N while driving to the M.E. 's office gave her time to interrogate him on his Twilight knowledge. “So what did you think of the book? Are you going to read the others?” Others?? Spencer thinks to himself how many of these are there. “It was good but I don’t think I will read the others.” He says hoping his mediocre response will suffice. It does not. “Care to elaborate? I have seen you dissect a blog post more in depth than that.” “No I wouldn't, we should be focusing on the case, not some book.”He says in a huff. “Wow okay no need to get defensive what insights do you have on the case?” She is met with silence, he didn’t have anything to say about the case; he just wanted to stop talking about the book he didn’t read. But she didn’t push him any further okay with keeping quiet for the rest of the ride. The M.E. informs that because of the deterioration of the bodies in the water the cause of death at this time is undetermined. “Is there anything you can tell us about the remains?” Spencer asks. “All of the victims are men and it appears they were all in their mid 30’s at the time of death and the earliest body shows to be about fifteen years old.” The M.E. says. “Well at least we know the unsub’s victimology. Is there any chance we will be getting any of these men I.D.’d soon?” Y/N says. “We’re working on dental records but that’s all we have to go off of.” With this information Spencer and Y/N head to the police station to meet up with the team. Getting out of the SUV when they arrive at the station, “Ugh I detest coming to the south, it’s so gross and muggy and humid my clothes are sticking to my skin. Why does 100% humidity even exist? It should just be called wet without rainfall.” Y/N says, pulling off her blazer and pulling her damp hair into a bun on her head.  “100% humidity occurs when the dew point temperature is equal to the temperature outside.” Spencer says with a smug smile. He is met with a glare, “I understand the science behind it but that does not make it better. And how are you wearing like what four layers of clothing and have no problem with it?” She rants. “This is only three layers.” “You have on a sweater vest and a cardigan seriously how are you not dying?” He just shrugs.

Two days later and the team was having trouble with the case the ac in the precinct they were in wasn’t working and the increasing heat was making everyone agitated. Spencer was currently on a call with the M.E. regarding the official cause of death while everyone else sat around the table complaining about the heat. “So the M.E. says that the official cause of death is belladonna.” Spencer informs the team. “The porn star?” Y/N and Prentiss ask in unison. Spencer gives them a questioning look, “the poison.” “Oh” they say in unison again. “Belladonna is native to Europe, Northern Africa and Western Asia and it's not something you can bring through customs so how did they get it?” Y/N asks “They could have bought it on some kind of black market and then planted it here there is a lot of land and most people probably wouldn’t question it.” JJ adds in. This was the only lead they had so far so they had Garcia looking into it. With no other leads and nothing else to do for the time being Hotch sent everyone to their hotel rooms to rest for the night so they could start back fresh in the morning. 

The team ends up not solving the case, the unsub was laying low after their disposal site was revealed. “Man this sucks.” Morgan grunts out. The team is on the jet heading back to Quantico all feeling a bit defeated by this case. “I know but if this guy ever resurfaces  we’ll be back and we’ll get him then.” Rossi says. With that everyone relaxes for the most part knowing that every case won’t go their way. Y/N and Spencer are sitting side by side reading as everyone else has fallen asleep. “So, is that book better or worse than Twilight?” He really thought she had let it go seeing as though she hadn’t brought it up in the last couple of days. “It’s better more of my style.” “It doesn’t hurt to try something new. So what was your favorite part?” She really wasn’t letting this go, he wonders if she knows he is lying. She hasn’t been a profiler for too long; she might just be that curious. “How did you know I was lying?” He finally decides to just tell the truth. “From the moment you said Twilight. If you didn’t want to tell me about your weekend that’s okay I just didn’t understand why you felt the need to lie.” Y/N says turning back to her book. The rest of the flight is quiet, both of them joining the rest of the team and falling asleep. When the team arrives they don’t have any paperwork so they can just head home. “Did you drive today?” Y/N asks Spencer knowing he took the train sometimes. “No but don’t worry I can get home.” “I can give you a ride, I’m heading in that direction.” He considered declining but he didn’t want to go through the trouble of calling a cab so he accepts. The car ride was filled with unbearable silence. “I didn’t want you to know I was bothered by how you reacted when I hugged you.” Spencer says breaking the silence. “What?” “When I walked you home from the museum I hugged you and you tensed. Did that bother you?” Spencer says, his voice getting lower with each word. “Oh that wasn’t a you thing, I don’t usually hug people well except Garcia and that is not by choice every time she hugs me she tells me to relax and that I will get used to it.” Y/N says with a laugh. “Sorry if I upset you.” “Why don’t you hug people?” “I don’t have a real reason, it just feels weird and rather unnecessary.” “Well I’m glad you weren’t bothered by me hugging you.” Tension is gone now they have gotten into an intense conversation about facts on hugging. Pulling up to Spencer’s apartment they are ready to say their goodbye but they stay in the car talking, “So do you have plans for your days off?” Spencer asks. “Nothing.” “Would you like to go out somewhere together?” “Like a date?” Spencer has wanted that since they met on the elevator. “Yes as a date?” “Okay call me to let me know the details.” Y/N says with a smile before Spencer exits the car filled with joy. 

[faes-land]

I Think There’s Something You Should Know-Shinwon

So this year my best friend got me into Pentagon and WOW AM I SO GLAD I LISTENED TO HER. My bias is Yuto, but ever since I found out that Shinwon also likes The 1975 I started to become mildly obsessed with him....>.> Anyway here’s a little fluff I wrote for him while listening to The 1975 on shuffle mode. ALSO POSTING THIS TO CELEBRATE THEIR FIRST WIN!!!!!

Pairings: Shinwon X Female Reader

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 1,554

Warnings: None, just really cute. Some hinted smut I guess?

~~~~~~

If someone said to you a few months ago that you’d be laying naked next to Shinwon you’d laugh in their face. He was your friend, you never thought of him as anything more. Yet here you were, and you couldn’t be happier. 

You used to have a crush on your good friend, but you quickly got over it because when you met him, he had a girlfriend. You kept your feelings to yourself and they slowly disappeared as time went on. But now you had him and you wondered what you did in a past life to get so lucky. 

He looked so cute while he slept; his features were soft and you just wanted to kiss him. You didn’t want to disturb him so you let him sleep. You’ll get plenty of kisses once he wakes up since he loved to kiss you. As he showed you many times last night. 

~~~

“Hey, Y/N, do you want to hang out later?” Your friend Shinwon had asked you over the phone. You hadn’t seen him in a few weeks because you were so busy with work. You hated not having a social life, but you were very fortunate to have the job that you had. Even if it kept you from all your friends. 

“Yes! I would love that, Shinwon. I miss you.” It was true, you did miss him. He was always so fun to be around (even if he did get on your nerves sometimes), and he knew just how to cheer you up when you were sad. 

“Okay! I can come over and bring movies and food. I know you’re probably exhausted from work.” He knew you so well. 

“That sounds great, Shinwon. Is 7 okay? I have some stuff to finish up at the office and I won’t be home until about 6.” 

“Of course. See you then, Y/N.” Then you both hung up and went about your days. You couldn’t wait to see Shinwon; his sweet smile, shaggy brown hair and tall frame. To say you were attracted to him was an understatement. Of course, when you first met him you just thought he was cute. Once you got to know him, he soon became the most handsome man you’d ever seen. 

You could only imagine what it would be like to kiss his pillowy lips, feel his broad shoulders, and cuddle up into him. He seemed like the perfect cuddle buddy. There were times where you fell asleep on him, but it was never on purpose. You could be watching a movie or a t.v. show and you’d doze off next to him or on his chest thinking he was a pillow. You never knew this, but Shinwon absolutely loved whenever you fell asleep on him. 

You sighed to yourself at your desk, not realizing you were daydreaming about your friend again. You had to stop, you had work to do. You’ll see Shinwon later and maybe, just maybe, you’ll tell him how you feel. 

After work, you quickly rushed home since you weren’t able to leave your office until 6:45. Right when you were prepared to leave, your boss had one last project for you to do. Of course, the day you had plans, this happened. On your way back, you hit every red light on your route. Was someone playing a joke on you? Why was this happening? 

When you finally made it home, the little clock on your car read 7:05. Shit. You pulled your phone out of your purse to see a text message from Shinwon. “I’m here.” Normally you wouldn’t care if you were a little late, but tonight felt different for some reason. 

Once you reached your door, you saw Shinwon standing in front of it, checking his phone; he picked up your favorite chicken spot for you guys to eat. You practically gasped seeing him. He just looked like himself, but you loved it. He was wearing a black and white bomber jacket, a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and black converse.

“Hey, Shinwon. I’m so sorry I’m late!” You said, taking him away from his phone. 

He smiled at you and moved towards you to give you a hug. “It’s okay. Did something happen at work?” 

You held him close and sighed. “Yeah, I’ll explain everything later. Let’s go inside.” You pulled away from him to grab your keys from your purse and open your door. Once you two were inside, you took off your shoes and set your stuff down. He put the food on your little dining table and sat down. You joined him to eat. He ordered your favorite; he knew you needed it. 

As you two ate, you told him about your day, how your boss sucks and how you wished you had more free time. You were so happy it was Friday so that you could do nothing for the next two days. And hopefully, spend these two days with Shinwon. 

When you finished eating and talking, he cleaned up for you two and then he said, “So I didn’t bring any movies because I found a horror movie on Netflix earlier and then a comedy if it’s too scary.” 

You giggled. “Too scary for you you mean. I can handle it.” 

He pretended to be hurt and he pouted at you. “Just because I screamed that one time doesn’t mean I’m scared of every horror movie, Y/N.”

You giggled remembering the time you watched a slasher flick that was stupid, but the one jumpscare at the end was what Shinwon screamed at. “I know, but it was funny.” You stuck your tongue out at your friend as you headed towards your bedroom. “I’m gonna get changed; I need to get out of my work clothes.” 

He nodded and smiled at you. “Okay, I’ll get the movie started.” His smile was sweet and you felt your heart flutter. What was he so damn cute for? You sighed in content as you went into your closet and found your favorite 1975 T-shirt and a pair of shorts. You’d known Shinwon for so long that you could be comfortable around him. And your work clothes were not something you wanted to wear at home. 

When you walked back out to your living room, you found Shinwon on your couch with random candy and chips on the coffee table. You chuckled to yourself knowing that he went through your cabinets and grabbed every snack he could find. 

Shinwon was so cute sitting on your couch with your PlayStation controller in his hand and looking for whatever movie he found on Netflix. How did you get so lucky to have a friend like him? You’d be even luckier if he were your boyfriend. 

You quickly joined him on the couch and reached for your favorite chips: salt and vinegar. 

“How can you eat those?” Shinwon asked you. “They’re too sour.” He scrunched his face and you laughed at him. 

“They’re delicious. Your taste buds just suck.” 

He rolled his eyes at you. “Whatever, let’s watch this movie.” 

Two movies and many snacks later, you and Shinwon were awfully close on the couch. Of course, this was normal between you two, but usually, you or he was asleep. This was the first time you were actually nervous to be this close to him. He didn’t seem too phased by your closeness though, it looked like he was enjoying it?

You looked up at him and you felt your stomach fill up with butterflies. Shinwon had always been this handsome, you just told yourself that he wasn’t so you wouldn’t fall for him. But here you are, longingly looking at your best friend as he checked his phone. 

“Can I help you, Y/N?” Shinwon asked when he noticed you were staring at him. 

You couldn’t say anything to him in fear that you’d say something stupid. What you did next was also stupid, but it was something you’d been waiting to do for a long time. You looked at Shinwon before leaning over and placing your lips on his. His lips were so soft and sweet, you wished you’d done this sooner. 

Your boldness surprised Shinwon, but he soon placed his hand on your hip to pull you closer to him. The way this kiss felt, it made you wonder why you waited so long to do this. 

You reluctantly pulled away from Shinwon’s soft lips and you looked into his sweet eyes. “I love you,” you blurted out. “And I have for a long time.” 

Your confession didn’t phase Shinwon; instead, it made him very happy. “I love you too, I just never had the courage to say anything. I feel stupid now.” He chuckled. 

You giggled at his words and pulled him in for another kiss, which soon turned into something more heated. Before you knew it, Shinwon was taking you into your bedroom where finally he made you his.

~~~

You still couldn’t believe that you had him next to you in your bed; it only took three years. Shinwon had his arms around you and your face was nuzzled into his chest. You looked up at his features and gave him a soft kiss on his nose before going back to sleep.