#you: “another? bro that last one was 2 years ago”

[alicenpai]

two lonely rabbits, two hearts beating as one 🐇🖤🤍 (animated gif) now on inprnt !

old sketch from march I decided to finish <3 usually when one of my sketches (intending to become a completed drawing) gets put on the backburner, it never surfaces. I usually have to prioritize other drawings and then months or years pass and once I have time, I lose interest and start other drawings in their place... but I'm glad I mustered up the energy to finish this one, ESPECIALLY since I strongly felt I needed more gothic pieces in my gallery hehe

the relationships between characters in this series are so interesting, because there are so many character parallels. I actually had to change the personality of white alice from the sketch to the final, since I .. think I misinterpreted her story! (so I think it turned out less gothic horror than desired but you know what I'll take this <3) I first read this story when I was 14 and I 1000% BET I'll still be finding nuances and new details in the writing years into the future...

I had a lot of fun with the animation albeit just being a blink animation 😩👍 but blinks can be animated in a variety of ways! in terms of my animation skills, I do consider myself on the weaker side. so if i can integrate more animation frames into my illustrations, it'll help me become more familiar and comfortable with the medium. I especially like the difference in how many frames it takes for dark Alice vs white Alice to blink. I think the blinks came out fluidly and I'm quite satisfied with how this drawing came out!

[puppyeared]

save me old flipnote studio MVs.......

[deus-ex-mona]

the stare of judgemental confusion is real—

[enkas-illusion]

(Not) Just Another Crush - Part 1/2

Fandom / Pairing: Attack On Titan / Eren x f!reader

Rating: NSFW/Explicit - MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

Content Warning: Fluff, fluff, A LOT of fluff, slow burn, kissing, language, slight make out, emotional edging of sorts (it will make sense)

Chapter Summary: Instead of pining over the mystery man at your gym from a distance, you decide to take matters into your own hands and talk to the guy. And you find out that Eren Jaeger, as it turns out, is akin to a man written by a woman.

Author's notes:  Hello, here’s a meet-cute type of thing for gym bro Eren cause ~I need a big boy, gimme a big boy, gimme a big big boy~; this is a 2-part story so the chapters are super lengthy. Hope you enjoy it – feel free to like, reblog or comment! Thank you for reading! 

-Eren’s Birdie

Song Dedication: Crush by Cigarettes After Sex

Part 1 | Part 2

To the unassuming eyes, it may look like just two people interacting – but to the ones who knew, you and the gym trainer, it was fate intervening to give you this opportunity!

“Bruh, if you don't go talk to him now…” you hear Porco, the trainer's voice as he nudges you in your crush's direction.

As you walk up to your crush you think about how stupid this idea seems. The plan was to ask him to alternate sets with you on seated rows since the gym was way too crowded. 

Honestly, the move was a bit too obvious in your opinion. But you'd set your mind to it – Today is the day you finally talk to your crush!

It had been quite some time since you'd been secretly simping over this guy so what's the harm? All the other equipment being occupied was the perfect excuse, if you had to look for one, to finally talk to him.

Since you’re usually reserved, you don’t talk to anyone at the gym. You've always been this way – doing your own thing while blasting music in your earphones and going home without ever lifting your head up.

But ever since you saw him about a month ago, your eyes had been wandering around to find him the minute you'd enter the gym, stealing glimpses whenever you could without being creepy about it. 

You decided it was just some stupid crush only because the man was ridiculously hot so it'll fade away eventually. But man, were you wrong.

When he didn't show up to the gym the whole week last week, you rushed to Porco, who's always hanging around to enquire – any semblance of subtlety thrown out the window. 

It wasn't like you were planning to make a move (god knows the only reason you didn't talk much at the gym was to avoid the occasional creeps that would try talking you up).... but the fact that it felt like a missed chance with the mystery guy left an itch and a curiosity to know more.

“...you know the one who's always wearing anime t-shirts? Long, black haired pretty dude?” You'd asked, hoping Porco would recognize your crush from your half-assed description.

When Porco was seemingly confused, you'd pestered further, “The one who always has his hair tied in a messy bun but still looks gorgeous? Nothing? Ummm- The emo dude with the perfect proportions!”

“OH! Are you talking about Eren? I can’t quite remember his last name but pretty sure you’re talking about Eren. Yeah… he's a regular– has been here for a year now.”

“How come I only saw him a month ago?”

“I think he recently switched timings to fit his work schedule or something. Maybe he shifted back to the mornings.”

Your heart sinks at the information… there goes your imaginary chance with Eren.

Eren.

You memorise his name anyway… hoping that maybe the gods would be generous enough to give you a chance to talk to him.

And they do. He shows up over the weekend and you secretly cheer that he's back during your schedule. However, another month passes by as you keep on trying to find the ‘perfect’ opportunity to talk to him. 

Which brings you to the present moment, as you walk towards him and wait at a distance while he finishes his reps. He slows down his movements nonetheless when your eyes meet, and before you can stop yourself, you wave at him before abruptly putting your hand down. 

Eren stops his movements and pulls his headphones back, his serious face breaking into a soft smile, “Hii…?”

“Hey, sorry to interrupt but would you mind alternating sets with me? I’ve been waiting for about 15 minutes…” you point at the other equipments flocked by people, “Totally cool if you can’t tho-”

“Okay,” he smiles as he does five more reps before getting up and wiping the sweat off the seat.

“Thank you,” you say as you go to adjust the weights. Your jaw almost drops when you see it's set to 80kgs. You almost want to laugh as you set it back to 15kgs.

‘Dude’s a beast, don’t compare! Upper body never was your best muscle group,’ you think to yourself. You resume your music quickly and begin your set. When you’re done, you get up to wipe the seat as well as the handlebars of the machine with your towel.

You hear a snort from behind and when you turn to look at Eren and see him give you a smile that has you weak in your knees.

“What?” you ask confused.

“Wiping the handles as well? Cute,” he answers. He can’t help but find this action considerate – Most people don’t even bother wiping the patch formed by their sweaty ass cheeks.

Even if his compliment makes you blush, you try hard to not let it show. You simply move away to signal him to the seat. He bends down to readjust the weights.

“No way you’re gonna go above 80!?” you gasp as you see him push it to 100kgs.

“The last one is always till failure,” he states matter-of-factly.

“Oh... that’s crazy, I could never. I’ve got noodle arms,” you joke.

“Didn’t you get your first full pull up a few days ago?” he asks. 

PAUSE. He’s noticed you before???

As if instantly reading your mind, he adds, “I saw you cheering and clapping your hands with Porco when you did it.”

“Oh that… sorry, I try not to bother anyone much usually,” you feel the heat rise to your cheeks out of embarrassment.

“I know, don’t be sorry, it’s a good thing to celebrate your PR… besides, Reiner has been teasing me about not making any progress lately so I need to step up my game for sure,” he laughs to himself as he gets into position.

“Reiner?” 

“That’s the huge blonde who I usually come with,” he explains. You simply nod and don’t speak further, letting him begin his set. He starts well but by the end you can tell that Eren is struggling a bit as soft cusses leave his lips, face scrunching and chest heaving as he steadies his breathing.

“Come on… 2 more.” you cheer, causing him to grunt as he finishes his set. Your eyebrows raise in surprise when you see him wipe the handles along with the seat, imitating your habit.

“Thank you.” you blush as you bend down to readjust the weights to 25kgs, “So, you’re done?”

“Yeah…” he speaks, taking small sips of water from his bottle, “I’ll see you around?” 

You nod and he smiles at you as he turns to leave, but quickly turns back again, “Shit! Sorry… What's your name?”

The blush grows even further at his question as you tell him your name and ask, “What about you?”

“I’m Eren… Eren Jaeger.”

Jaeger. Eren Jaeger.

You memorise his full name and you both say your goodbyes as you get back to your workout. Eren left way before you did, leaving no room for further conversations to occur. 

This interaction hadn’t gone unnoticed by Porco, who rushed to your side when you were stretching, “Soooo, am I your cupid yet?”

“Don’t get your hopes up… we’ll have small talks whenever we see each other at best. Nothing’s going to happen!” you lie with a straight face, but deep down you were dying to check him out on Instagram once you were in the comfort of your home.

Your crush was oh so kind to spare you the stalking when you see your phone light up with a notification later at night.

Eren_j started following you.

You almost jump up out of your bed but steady yourself to call your best friend, Annie, before you even get to checking his account.

“Guess who just followed me on ig?” you giggle when she picks up the call.

“Huh?”

“Guess. Who. Followed. Me!” you repeat.

“Darling… I need context,” she replies dryly.

“Eren… Eren followed me… the gym crush!” you squeal, killing the suspense since you knew it was too late at night for her to indulge in your guessing game.

“Waitttttt… the supposedly hot emo guy who wears anime t-shirts?” you can hear her surprising tone, “you go girl– thought you were too much of a puss-”

“Annie!” you cut her off, “What do I do? Should I text him first or just follow back?”

“NO! Always let the guy text first,” she proclaims.

“Ugh… but okay, I hear you… wouldn’t want to seem like a simp after keeping my cool for so long,” you answer back as you put her on speaker to follow him back. You see the Requested icon turn to Following within seconds.

“ANN! He accepted already,” you almost yell.

“Welp, that was fast,” she chuckles.

“Sooo,” you begin in a sweet sing-song voice, “I’m gonna go stalk his profil-”

“Yeah, alright… have a good night babe.” you hear a dramatic mwah from her. You chuckle as you bid her good night before hanging up.

As you skim through his profile, you can’t help but feel giddy at the fact that this guy actually seems to have a personality, unlike some gym bros who make ‘muscle’ their entire personality.

When you’re going through his story highlights, you see his username pop up at the top of your screen, making your heart race faster. He had replied to your story. You rush to check on your profile what you’d posted, feeling your brain malfunction as you fear it being something embarrassing and goofy.

Phew. It was just a post-workout selfie showing off your wet, sweaty t-shirt.

You open his text.

Eren_j:

Guess u got a good workout in after I left afterall.

Feeling a bit bold, you text back.

I did… would’ve been a lot more fun with you tho.

And you almost want to throw your phone away in anticipation as you see the typing icon.

Eren_j:

Be careful what you wish for. I’ve been told im a strict/difficult gym partner.

I like me a challenge :)

Eren_j:

Is that so? Guess i gotta make it particularly hard for u :)))

I’m a tough girl Eren… i think i can take it.

You swing your feet as you roll around on the bed. If you ever showed this to Annie, she’d probably call it ‘fucking cringe but cute nonetheless’. 

As the double entendre texts died down, seamless conversations kept you hooked. He was putting in equal amounts of effort to keep the conversation alive. You don’t exactly remember how you fell asleep but you remember talking to him for about two hours or so. 

And that’s how you became gym buddies. As another month had passed by, you got to know him as a friend. You want to cuss yourself since your crush has only increased tenfold ever since you’ve gotten to know him personally. 

You realise just how deceiving his looks are – on the outside, he’s this big, intimidating dude but on the inside he’s got the golden retriever energy. Eren is the perfect mix of what you’d call a serious yet laid back/chill guy.

He’s thoughtful, remembers tiny details about you, sends you songs whenever he finds one he thinks you’d like and memes that remind him of you and is a self proclaimed hopeless romantic. You could go on and on about Eren and it would still not be enough – needless to say, you were absolutely gone for him, the kind that they describe as being totally head-over-heels in movies.

And it doesn’t help that a few nights ago, when the gym was basically empty, you two almost kissed. Standing in the corridor, as you were saying your goodbyes, it felt as if he was about to lean in to kiss you before being interrupted by someone walking out the changing room, making you flee the scene, akin to a criminal being caught.

But then again, you weren’t really sure if it was just your delusion overriding the tiny bit of logic left in your romance-ridden brain.

~~~

“Eren… I can’t– fuck,” you groan as your hands shake.

“You got it, come on. You’re doing so good. One more then we’re done. Promise,” you hear his voice as his grip on your waist tightens. 

Eren supports your bodyweight as he pushes you up so that your chin is touching the pull up bar. The first few were bearable but by your 7th pull up, it’s more like he’s working his biceps rather than you working your back.

With shaky hands, you try to control your movement as you come down but your arms almost give in, causing you to slightly stumble as you drop to your feet with a light thud. His grip on your waist tightens to steady you before letting go gently.

Ever since the almost kiss, you’d been extra aware of his touches. So even his guiding touches, without any ulterior motives, have been making you feel some type of way.

You slouch slightly as you sit against a wall in the corner, sipping your water. You close your eyes to calm your breathing as you feel your arms burn. You groan as you realise you’re going to be super sore tomorrow morning.

“Good job bub,” he snickers. You open your eyes to see him bend down in front of you to pat your head lightly.

“I give up… you win, you are a ruthless gym partner.”

“Aww… I'm flattered,” he jokes further.

You roll your eyes as you swat his hand away from your head.

“Let me make it up to you, I’ll give you a massage. How about that?” he adds jokingly, though you know he wouldn’t mind actually giving you one if you ask him nicely.

“You better! I’m not going to be able to make dinner tonight!” you reply as you hold your arms out limply in front of him.

“Then don’t. Let me make you dinner,” he says, taking the opportunity.

“For real?” you ask, taken by surprise by his sudden yet tempting offer.

“Yeah? Got any plans for tonight?”

“No… let’s do it. I'm in,” you agree before demanding, “but, I want that massage as well.”

“Done… my massages can put those Thai spas to shame,” he boasts.

“Are you overselling yourself Jaeger?” you tease him, “it’s often disappointing when reality doesn’t match the hype.”

“You’re gonna eat your words later… I’ve been told I’ve got magic fingers.” he retorts, his cocky smirk wider than ever. You roll your eyes as you grab your things before getting up. 

“That’s for me to decide,” you poke him further, “... the food better be worth the 7 pull ups.”

Surprisingly he doesn’t have a witty comeback in his arsenal this time. You simply hear a low chuckle escape his lips and it’s somehow more mischievous than whatever clever words he would’ve spoken otherwise.

You’d never been to his place before, meaning it took a few minutes for your brain to register that you were going to Eren fucking Jaeger’s place! In the changing room, you freshen up as much as you can to try to not look like a sweaty mess. You change into a pair of jeans and a jumper, slinging the gym bag over your shoulder before giving yourself one last look in the mirror and walking out to meet him near the entrance of the gym.

As you walk out, you see him waiting for you on his bike, securing the helmet on his head. He’s changed into a pair of loose jeans and a denim jacket over his t-shirt. Even when you’d seen his ride for the first time, Eren being a biker never surprised you since it felt very on-brand for him. 

Imagine him picking you up for a date, waiting on his bike with a bouquet of tulips in hand. Ehe. 

You snap out of your daydream when he holds out the other helmet in front of you. You lean your head down when he motions you to do so and he puts the helmet on you.

“Where did the second one come from?” you wonder out loud.

“I had planned to take you home tonight from the start,” he winks.

You snort as you slide the visor of his helmet down his face. You hear his laugh as he adds, “Porco let me borrow his, apparently he keeps an extra one in the cabin for god-knows-what.”

“I guess I really might need to call Porco a cupi–” you freeze midway.

“Hmm?” 

“A good trainer.” you correct yourself, and you’re pretty sure it was far from convincing but Eren decides not to tease you about it. You’re 99.99% certain he heard it – maybe he just wants to save you the embarrassment, you think to yourself.

You hop onto his bike and hesitantly rest your hands on his sides not wanting to seem awkward by straight up hugging him from behind. However, he straightens his back as he grabs the top of your hands, pulling them to the front to wrap them around his waist. You smile to yourself as you rest your cheek on his back and hug your arms around him steadily.

The ride back to his place is barely 10 minutes long. You miss being so close to him as soon as you get off the bike in the parking lot. He parks and guides you to his apartment holding your wrist gently. It’s not a complete holding-hands-fingers-intertwined but that has never stopped you from overanalyzing things, has it?

You take in your surroundings when you enter the apartment and it doesn’t stand out much. It looks like any normal dude’s apartment, except it’s cleaner – probably more than your own.

“Wow, your apartment is clean,” you comment.

“You’re hurting me babe. Did you expect me to live like a savage just cause I’m a guy.”

“No, no… I’m sorry it came out wrong–” you try to clarify but he interrupts.

“Kidding! I know it’s cleaner than usual. I live with Reiner and Levi… while Reiner and I aren’t really shabby, Levi really can’t tolerate a dirty house,” Eren explains.

“Oh, that must be exhausting, no?”

“Not really. That was Levi’s one condition when Reiner and I went to him in search of a third flatmate so we agreed.”

“Ah, makes sense. Are they here?” you ask, curiously as you hang your bag near the coat rack and take off your shoes. Eren returns to your side, having locked the door and keeping all his things in their designated places. 

“Nah. Reiner’s out of town on a work trip for like two weeks and Levi’s gone home for a few days as well,” he answers as he shrugs off his jacket, folding it before placing it on the side table.

You can’t help but find it cute that he keeps the place neat so diligently, being considerate of others… but then again, you’ve been finding all of Eren’s actions cute lately.

“... so it’s just us here tonight.” he says flirtatiously.

“Good thing, I’d hate to share food now… I’m hungry,” you say, dodging it. Usually, you’d flirt back but the two of you being alone at his place suddenly feels so real – anything could happen. You chicken out – there may be a possibility that he likes you back but there could ALSO be a possibility of him only liking you as a friend.

“‘Ight, what would you like to have?” he asks as you follow him to the kitchen. 

“Surprise me… nothing too fancy though.” 

“Phew… I was actually hoping for that answer since I’d prepared the dough for burger patties,” he admits sheepishly as he washes his hand and puts on the apron. You lean against the opposite counter to let him cook in peace without any hindrance. 

“Do you want my hel-”

“OH– just a min,” he interrupts you as he hurries out of the kitchen. You blink in confusion as you follow him out to check on the guy and find him connecting his phone to the speaker.

A soft song plays through the speaker loudly and he walks towards you as if just now he’s truly ready to take on kitchen duties. 

“It’s my cooking playlist,” he smiles.

He’s so fucking cute. For fucks sake!

When you ask him again if he wants your help, he declines saying ‘the only thing you need to do tonight is compliment my amazing skills.’

So you watch him work while chatting away about random things. It doesn’t take long for him to prepare the patties and heat the buns, adding copious amounts of veggies with melting cheese on top of it. He presents it with a ‘Tada!’ and you clap at his presentation with a dramatic ‘Bravo!’

When you taste the first bite, you almost moan at how delicious it is. The burger is huge, juicy and has the right balance of crispy and soft with spicy, sweet and sour. You close your eyes, delving into the heavenly taste.

You open your eyes to see Eren devouring his own burger, unfazed by the masterpiece that he’d created as if it were something ordinary to him.

“Eren!” you squeal, “if this is what I get to eat after, I might just do a hundred pull-ups from tomorrow.”

Eren chuckles at this, licking the cheesy sauce that had trickled down his fingers, “Told ya I only brag when I know I’m good.”

“I’m serious! This is too good,” you add, taking another bite. 

“I know… thank you,” Eren smiles, clearly amused at the way you’re enjoying his burger. And in that moment, a thought crosses his mind – he’d make you dinner every night if it meant that he got to be the reason for you to feel such bliss.

Neither of you talk much till you finish eating. Your reason being wanting to relish in the taste with full concentration and Eren’s reason being not wanting to disturb your peace.

When you’re done, you clear out the plates and Eren cleans the table. As you’re walking out of the kitchen, you hear a familiar tune playing when he resumes the songs on his playlist.

You recognize it – Dope Lovers by DPR IAN.

“I love this song!” you exclaim as you walk towards him. The tension you’d felt at the beginner has almost dissipated and feeling a little courageous, you extend an arm out to him to dance.

He tosses his phone on the sofa before taking your hand to pull you closer to him. You sway your body to the rhythm as you mumble some of the lyrics.

“Is it the art or the artist that you like?” he teases.

“Well, you can’t deny that he isn’t hot… There’s something about DPR Ian, he’s soooo–” you pause to think about the right word to use before concluding, “– babygurl.”

“Babygurl?” Eren laughs as he rests his arms at your hips, “What does that even mean?”

“It’s like daddy –  it’s a state of mind,” you joke but then you purse your lips as you really think about how to explain this endearing slang to Eren, “Babygurl is when a man is so comfortable in his masculinity that he isn't scared of embracing his soft side and being gentle. A man who knows that kindness is strength. Someone who looks so tough but is far from toxic. A man who’s a gentleman in the true sense of the word… does that make sense?”

“Hmm, I think so…” he nods, “Who else is babygurl?”

“You are, Eren,” you smile and lift your hands up to move to his neck but stop when you feel a weird stiffness in your shoulders, “ow, it’s sore already.”

“Okay, let’s give you that massage!” he declares with a booming laugh, taking your hands in his and guiding you to the sofa. He sits you down with your back facing him and gently taps near your lower back to signal you to sit up straight.

“Relax your shoulders,” you hear him speak softly as his hands move up to your shoulders but he pauses his movement. He lifts his hands to comb his fingers through your locks and you jerk slightly when his fingers touch your neck in the process.

“Eren, what are you doin-” you giggle as you turn your head to look at him. 

“Shh, stay still,” he murmurs, knitting his eyebrows in concentration. His hair falls down, framing his face as he takes out his hair tie. You turn to look to the front as he runs his fingers to gather all your loose strands together once again. You feel him gently pull at your hair as he secures it with his hair tie.

“You know, you could’ve just asked for mine. It’s in my bag,” you chuckle.

“Too lazy,” he replies as his hands begin to massage your back gently. He alternates between pressing his thumbs down the length of your spine and pressing his palms flat to cover the entire area, sliding his hands down in slow pressured movements. You slouch in his touch and his hands move up to your shoulder blades to massage the area in circular motion.

“Mmm, Eren– that feels so good,” you breathe out, skin feeling like wax that could melt into his hands at any moment. You’re certain you’d fall asleep in a few minutes if he continued doing this any longer.

Eren changes his movement to bring up his fingertips to your nape, dragging them gently over the expanse of your neck, his fingers dancing over your skin as he dips them under the collar to trace your skin. This causes you to let out an involuntary whimper and your cheeks heat up in embarrassment when his touch comes to a halt.

You’re pretty sure he can see the goosebumps pricking on the surface of your skin and you mumble a soft ‘sorry’ as you create some space between to turn around to face him completely. Your eyes meet and you’re smiling at him awkwardly but he has a poker face. 

He gets up abruptly, breaking eye contact as he hurries towards the kitchen. You look at him, confused and are about to ask him why he was acting that way but he speaks up before you do.

“Want anything to drink? Something sweet for dessert?”

“Umm… okay,” you mutter, still confused.

“Anything specific?” he enquires.

“I wouldn’t mind a cup of hot coffee,” you request, smiling as you abandon your previous thought.

“Coffee? At night?” he counters, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, that’s my talent. I can sleep like a baby no matter how strong the coffee is.”

“Hmmm… Would you like to try the Eren Jaeger Special where I mix loads of chocolate with coffee and cream?”

“So, basically a mocha?” you press your lips together to keep yourself from laughing.

“Yes or no?” he says with narrowed eyes.

“Yes,” you laugh and he rolls his eyes as he turns around, disappearing into the kitchen.

You’re scrolling through your phone when you hear his approaching footsteps after a few minutes. You close your phone as you turn your head to look up at him as he walks towards you with two steaming mugs in hand.

As soon as he places one of the mugs on the table, you pick it up instantly. He sits down in front of you to clink your mugs together with a ‘cheers’. You both take tiny sips together and your eyes widen at the frothy sweet and bitter taste. 

“If you get me addicted, you’ll have to be the one to meet the demands too, just sayinggg…'' you blow over the surface and take another sip.

“Yes ma’am, I’d gladly oblige to all of your demands,” he winks before taking another sip from his mug. You try to hide your growing smile with your mug. For the rest of the conversation you try to change the subject from the two of you to literally anything else you can find – and Eren being the great conversationalist that he is, is talking about each topic just as enthusiastically.

“Aww man, the last of the coffee’s gone cold.” you swirl the liquid in the mug.

“Chug! Chug! Chug!” Eren fake yells, already having finished his. You raise one fist up as you gulp the last of your coffee down in one go and slam the mug down on the cushion. Feeling the frothy stache over your upper lip, you lick it off, laughing along with him.

“There’s still some left…” Eren mumbles, pointing at his own mouth to show the spot. Before you have a chance to wipe it, he swipes his thumb over the corner of your lips before bringing it to his lips to lick it off. It’s such a simple act yet it has the butterflies in your stomach going rampant.

“Hey, that was mine,” you try to feign offence but it comes out more desperate than you’d intended as you stare at his lips a little too longer than friends are supposed to. 

He cups your face with both his hands as his gaze deepens before his eyes move down to your lips. Your breath hitches as you see him instinctively wet his lips. He leans in to move closer till your faces are just inches away.

“Then take it back agai–” he’s rudely interrupted by the sound of the front door opening with a loud thud. You pull back abruptly to create some space between the two of you. You see Eren’s jaw clench as he closes his eyes briefly in an attempt to keep his cool.

“REINER MY BROTHER– oh,” you see a man enter the living room with a large backpack.

“Jean.” Eren says, giving him a tight lipped smile.

“Eren. Where’s Reiner?” Jean asks as he looks at the two of you.

“Did he not tell you that he wasn’t gonna be at home for a while?” Eren answers, and you’re almost surprised at how cold his tone is.

“Yes? But I figured he'd leave after seeing me?” Jean retorts.

“And why would he do that?” Eren asks just as coldly.

“Since he said I was welcome to stay in his room while I was in town? Even told me to use the key y'all keep in the space behind the nameplate,” the man explains.

“Great! It's amazing how my roommate fails to tell me about shit like this.” Eren mutters but smiles at the guy nonetheless, “His room is unlocked… feel free to make yourself at home I guess.”

“Thanks. Have fun, I guess,” Jean half salutes Eren, giving you both a smug smile, feeling the satisfaction of having cockblocked his friendly foe. He leaves you two alone, making his way to Reiner’s room. Once you watch him disappear, you turn to check your phone for the time.

This time it was real! You’re not delusional, he really was about to kiss you!

You silence the voice in your head. You don’t know how to feel about the fact that Eren seemingly likes you but he can’t seem to make a move or at least declare his feelings with certainty. And there’s no way in hell you’d confess first since it’s pretty evident you like him, you’ve dropped enough hints over a month’s time – you want him to be the one to do it first.

“It’s late, I better get going,” you make an excuse as you stand up, gathering your things as you prepare to leave. Your cheeks feel hot and you give him a small smile, feeling a bit too flustered to carry on a conversation at this point.

“Let me drop you home,” he offers quickly as he stands up with you.

“My apartment isn’t far from here.”

“It's late,” he adds. You consider it and nod your head. He smiles as he grabs his keys along with his own two helmets this time.

The ride home is quick so neither of you bother with small talk. Once he parks in the parking lot of your apartment building, he tilts his bike to make it easier for you to get off. He gets off the bike, gently taking your helmet off and placing it on the bike. As you fix your hair, he takes his helmet off as well, placing it next to yours.

You slightly shuffle on your feet as you prepare to say your goodbyes. When he turns back to look at you, you smile earnestly. 

“I had a fun time tonight… despite you being a meanie at the gym.” you try to lighten up the tension.

“Only for you bub,” he jokes back, making finger-hearts at you.

“Good night, Eren.” you laugh as you wave at him and turn to walk away. You barely take a step when you hear him say your name.

“Hmm?” you turn around to look at him again. He doesn’t speak but takes one long stride to close the distance between you, wrapping his hands around your waist. As if on instinct, you drop your bag to the ground and place your hands on his shoulders, looking up at him as your breath hitches in your throat again.

He brings his left hand up to your cheek, dipping his head down to kiss your lips without any further delay. His wider frame envelopes yours as the hand on your cheek snakes back to hold your head in place as he deepens the kiss. You wrap both your hands around his neck, standing on your tippy toes for better access while his lower hand wraps around your waist even tighter.

When your lips finally part to catch your breaths, he looks you in the eye, smiling contently. Your legs feel giddy from the high you’re experiencing and you’re glad he’s still holding you flush against his body.

“I’d been dying to do that ever since I laid my eyes on you… figured it’d be pretty stupid of me to let the opportunity go twice in a row,” he confesses, dipping his head down again to kiss you once again.

You’re surprised, your brain reeling at the information but you close your eyes nonetheless, getting lost in the feeling of his lips moving against yours.

“Yeah, it would’ve been pretty stupid,” you smile when he pulls back. You pull him down by the collar to give him a kiss on his cheek, “Thank you for not wasting any more chances.”

You run your hands through his loose strands and he hums as he closes his eyes. You pull him down for another deep kiss. His tongue invades your mouth and he squeezes your ass as he pulls your body further closer to his. When you feel his boner from under his clothing, it causes you to moan into the kiss.

Your hands move down his sides, lowering further but he stops your movement with his own hands holding your wrists firmly. He pulls away from the kiss, eyes still closed as he rests his forehead against yours. His hot breath fans your face as he speaks, “It’s taking everything in me to not come up to your place to fuck you right now.”

“Then do it,” you mewl desperately as you kiss him again. He smiles into the kiss but breaks it once again to speak, “No, I wanna do this right. Let me take you out on a real date first… tomorrow evening?”

You feel your cheeks burn up as you bite your bottom lip to contain the grin threatening to give away your excitement as you nod. You stand on your toes once again to give him a quick peck. He nuzzles his head into the crook of your neck, enveloping you into a comforting hug.

“Take this with you,” he mumbles as he goes to grab a helmet. He leans down to grab your bag from the floor, handing both the items to you.

“Good night Eren,” you smile. He cups your face with both his hands and leans down to kiss you again – it’s brief but passionate.

“Good night baby,” he smiles as he lightly smacks your ass, earning a yelp from you. Before you can scold him, he gives you a hasty kiss before making his way to his bike. You walk to the elevator and press the button, turning to look back at him as he secures his helmet.

He starts the bike but waits till he sees you enter the elevator. Just as the door closes, you catch a glimpse of him leaving. You lean back against the railing, covering your face with your hands, not really believing what had just occurred. 

The man you’d been pining over for months had been crushing over you all along too. 

Eren Jaeger never was just another unrequited crush – and come tomorrow, he’s going to mean a lot more than just a friend.

[shijiujun]

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH 莲花楼 MYSTERIOUS LOTUS CASEBOOK

Guess I’m back for another rec, you know I’m there when I get minimum two bromance dudes and historical and OOMPH if you liked The Blood of Youth this might be up your lane!! Slightly similar main character premise but super good, the trope never gets old!!

TL;DR

- Stupid disciple + his (unknowing) shifu - Enemy bros “where is my shixiong’s remains?!” + “defeat me and find out” vibes who have to work together and form their deep friendship and get past misunderstanding and mystery blah blah love it - All-powerful legendary swordsman losing all his powers and becoming a legendary physician - Everything is about dead shixiong we don’t even know how the man looks like - Investigations and jianghu shenanigans, cases!!!  - Uwu puppy dog and good in martial arts disciple and his sickly, ex-legendary and still cool shifu who doesn’t know he’s a shifu LMAO - Yes uwu bromance, especially cuz shifu is DYING and he is WEAK and he gonna spit out blood and faint everywhere as they find cure for him 

-----------

AIRING DEETS

Total episodes: 40

Premiered on: July 23

VIP ends: August 18

Can be watched from iQiyi

Airing schedule: 6 episodes on the first day, 2 episodes everyday after for 6 days, then 8 episodes a week except for the last week, that has 6 episodes with finale

SUMMARY

Ten years ago, Li Xiangyi who was master of Sigu Sect, challenged Di Feisheng, master of the Jinyuan Alliance, to a fight on the seas, where they both end up critically hurt as Li Xiangyi tries to find out where his shixiong’s (Shan Gu Dao) corpse and bones went - his sect was attacked on the same day, and when he returns to the sect, critically injured, he sees some of his deputies blaming him for the attack, and instead of going in, he disappears after that.

Ten years later, Li Xiangyi is now Li Lianhua (Lotus Li LMAO) and he’s an eccentric but skilled doctor who has his eyes on earning money. By chance, he meets Fang Duobing (Fang Many Illness LMAO), a young, aspiring detective who’s super skilled in martial arts, but he’s been unable to enrol in Bai Chuan Yuan (the past Sigu Sect), a sort-of sect that plays an enforcer role in the pugilistic world and helps to solve cases, arrest wrongdoers, and the like. Fang Duobing’s dream is to get in, but as he’s the only son of two powerful people who’ve been refusing to let him be part of Bai Chuan Yuan, he’s failed the test 3 times despite being the most-skilled one there. On his third try, however, he tells the four masters of Bai Chuan Yuan that his shifu is Li Xiangyi, a Li Xiangyi who used to be a part of Bai Chuan Yuan and is still greatly missed by the four masters. They agree to it, but only if FDB solve three cases with arrests.

His first case leads him to meet LXY who’s now known as Li Lianhua, and their meeting doesn’t go off to a great start; FDB is idealistic and a rich, wealthy young master at heart who’s never suffered much hardship, and LLH drugs him after and scolds him for being too trusting of people and being too obvious, going around with two servants. LLH leaves him with parting words, only to meet him again later at the scene of the crime.

They solve cases together from there; LLH is still looking for his shixiong’s body ten years later, and decides to solve cases with FDB as a guise to get closer to the truth, making use of FDB slightly. Later, Di Feisheng recognises him, and the three of them are forced to become allies/friends to uncover a greater conspiracy. The clock is ticking for them as well, as Li Xiangyi was poisoned and injured ten years ago, and was given only ten more years to live. The story begins in the year that he’s meant to die.

*Fang Duobing met Li Xiangyi when he was young and still sickly, and Li Xiangyi encouraged him, and Fang Duobing held onto his every word and suffered a lot to become healthy again and as skilled as he is today, all because Li Xiangyi said those words to him that year ;-;

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH

(1) Fight scenes are GREAT 

- Water water water

- All female sect?!

(2) Bromance, subtle for now, but greater later I assume - ZENG SHUNXI’S FACE HE SO PUPPY BLURBLUR AND SMILING?! AND CHENG YI SMIRKING?! Like Fang Duobing is just wagging his tail and running after a person he doesn’t know is truly his shifu as he claims LOL

(3) Shifu Li Xiangyi not knowing he was shifu to Fang Duobing

(4) Li Xiangyi being the reason for Fang Duobing to EXIST but Li Xiangyi ain’t around anymore (not) and he sad and Li Xiangyi can’t tell him who he is UWUUUU

(5) Familiar faces hehe if you are a SNGX/The Blood of Youth and SHL fan 

(6) CASES ARE INTERESTING!!!

[moriwood]

One More Shot — l.hs

lee heeseung x male reader angst (heavy?) 1k words

Your best friend Heeseung bursts into your apartment with soju after breaking up with his nth girlfriend of the year. A few bottles later and the true meaning of your relationship with him is put into question.

includes: drinking and crying, bros being homos(?), cringy dramatic lines warning: toxic relationships, blood and violence? (very very minor, like 2 sentences max)

“Get in,” you sigh, beckoning your best friend Heeseung into your apartment. In his hands were heavy plastic bags, one full of liquor and the other snacks. He trudges past you, dropping himself and his items on your couch before staring at you wistfully.

“She broke up with me,” he hesitates, “said I had someone else in my mind or something, whatever excuse that was.”

You lean against the doorframe. “Well, do you?”

Heeseung scrunches his face in disgust. “No, dude. I suck at relationships but I don’t cheat.”

You take the bags from him and set the bottles of Yakult and soju on your coffee table. “The Yakult’s for you, wimp,” Heeseung weakly smiles.

“What’s up then?” you mumble, opening two bottles of soju. Heeseung immediately grabs a bottle and chugs it down.

“That bad?” you ask. “Three weeks of that girl got you that bad?”

Heeseung laughs.

“Exactly, dude! Three weeks, fucking three weeks. I can’t make these relationships last.”

You wish you knew. Heeseung has practically thrown himself to any woman who showed him interest for the past year, and a delusional version of you would love to link this phenomenon to something that you said a year ago.

It’s not like Heeseung is a bad guy, he really isn’t. He’s a romanticist, he likes bouquets of flowers, the arm around the shoulder, the subtle kisses to the nape… A part of you wishes you could’ve been one of the dozen women instead, but you knew where your place was.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Heeseung,” you chuckle, “it’s not like I’ve dated anyone yet.”

You grab yourself a bottle of soju, taking a glance at the pack of Yakult to the side. Maybe not tonight. You could drink soju by itself anyway, you think.

“No Yakult? ‘Lil bro trying to man up?”

You shrug. Heeseung stares at you oddly before grabbing another bottle to drink. The two of you sit in silence, trading snacks in between sips of soju. You’ve always been satisfied with this ritual of yours with him, just the warmth between the two of you equating to a hundred unspoken sentences. Yet, this one feels different. The television’s off, no video games are being played, and there is an invisible wall dividing you from leaning on him. Heeseung is on edge, distant, as if holding back. 

As you both drink the silence away, you slowly slip into a different space of inebriation.

“Sometimes, I wonder,” Heeseung seems to think over the next words in his mind, “why you’re still friends with me.”

So that’s what he really wanted to talk about.

“I don’t know,” you answered truthfully. You really don’t know.

“All these women come and go but you’re still here.”

“They were girlfriends. I’m your best friend,” you reason, hoping that it’s enough to cut the conversation off without delving into something else.

“But you liked me, didn’t you?”

Maybe Heeseung is actually not that good of a person. Perhaps, you’ve just gotten used to him, standing right there beside him, a fallback for when things go awry. A convenience store receipt crumples beneath your feet, reminding you that you sent him money for your drinks and snacks tonight.

“We don’t have to talk about that anymore, Heeseung,” you warn him, “it was a year ago.”

“It still hasn’t changed though, right?”

You open another bottle of soju for yourself but Heeseung only snatches it away. He chugs it all down again, before standing and clasping his clammy hands on your shoulders. He was pinning you down to your couch.

“Answer me.”

You close your eyes and breathe deeply. “What do you want me to say, Heeseung?”

“You know, she always felt off whenever you were with me. You hovered around us, clinging onto me like some fucking lost kid. God, I swear you’ve made this year so miserable for me.”

You’re trembling. Your room starts to stink of liquor as Heeseung continues to breathe down on you.

“Are you trying to blame me for you being a shitty boyfriend?” you whisper as you stare directly into his rage-filled eyes. Then you shove his hands away, standing up to meet his height.

“You shouldn't have said anything. You should’ve just kept it all to yourself. Now, my mind's all messed up. I don't know how to approach you, I don't know how to approach all of this bullshit!”

“I told you I'd understand if you wanted to end the friendship, Heeseung! I’m not the one who crawled back here weeks later pretending nothing happened,” you exasperate, accidentally knocking a bottle off the floor with your foot, causing it to shatter and spill over your wooden floor.

Heeseung attempts to pull you away from the shards but you push his hand away. He insists, shoving you to a dry side of your couch. He pins you again but now he rests his head on your shoulder.

“Fuck, it’s all coming out wrong,” Heeseung says under his breath, speech slightly slurred with drunkenness. The sleeve of your shirt gets wet as Heeseung begins to sob.

“I should’ve given you the chance,” he finally says. “I shouldn’t have rejected you back then.”

Your hands find their way to Heeseung’s back, attempting to soothe him as he slowly embraces you tightly.

“I’m so sorry,” he repeats between hiccups. “It was so hard for me to admit it but I think I like you too.”

The thought has been prodding at the back of your head since that moment from a year ago, that there must be a reason why Heeseung chose to remain friends with you despite your confession. There must be a reason why there became a palpable tension between the two of you each time you met since then. You’re giddy with the feeling of your repressed feelings finally being reciprocated, and the liquor in your system only rouses you further.

“I’m not too late, am I?”

You feel pain spike up your leg, noticing a slit on your foot bleeding, mixing with the spilled soju. Let the brain run later as the heart decides to beat what it wants. 

“No, you’re not, Heeseung, you’re not. You’re right on time.”  

author's note: this is my first fic! very new to this platform (in terms of posting) so please be gentle if it sucks jk. feels like i could flesh this out more ngl aioksaozkasd i decided to start posting cuz of my friend hehet~ now somebody please tell me what to do next 💀 (sorry for rambling)

— moriwood.

[theghoulboysblog]

My Top Ten Favorite Moments from Ghost Files in Dallas Texas starting at the funniest:

1. Shane and Ryan getting into a brief argument over the Sally House flashlights and Ryan saying, “We are NOT going to rehash a six year fight!” and then making a comment along the lines of, “We’re like a married couple!”

2. After someone clarified that Shane stole Goatman’s Bridge first, Ryan agreed and said that it indeed was *technically* Shane’s bridge and that Shane deserves all of the credit. In response to that, Shane said that after he claimed the bridge from Goatman, he added Ryan’s name to the deed, so therefore IT IS IN FACT Shane and Ryan’s Bridge that they have joint possession of :) And Shane wasn’t being teasing about it AT ALL. He wasn’t saying, “Ha, Goatman’s gonna get BOTH OF US NOW.” He was being painfully genuine in a “i want this to be a thing you and me share” kinda way. 😭

3. Shane saying that he will more than likely finish the Hotdoga someday and that he has the ending roughly planned out in his mind! :D He also explained that he stopped due to the work load, leading Ryan to say, “He made the Hotdoga to annoy me, but then he was like ‘Damn, this is a lot of work!’” 😭 (Also someone made a comment on the dead look in Ryan’s eyes at the mention of the Hotdoga and said, “It took me back!” and Ryan sadly responded, “Me too.” Haha!)

4. The Shaniacs teasing Ryan about the evidence he caught / the evidence that he found compelling enough to include in the live show. Some person yelled nonchalantly, “FAKE!” and Ryan teased them multiple times through the show. Another person put air quotes around the word “evidence” while talking to Ryan and Shane took his hat off for a second in respect, and another person brought a laser pointer to help Ryan point out the evidence cause it was so hard to see and Ryan was so flabbergasted 😭 BRO WAS GOING THROUGH IT!!! (It was all lighthearted respectful teasing and Ryan was a good sport about it all!)

5. A person, dressed HEAD TO TOE as the professor, politely tossed some jelly beans at Shane, Meredith, and Ryan. Shane then dropped some of said jelly beans and proceeded to eat them off the ground, claiming that since they landed on the white carpet under their feet and not the stage that they were fine. Ryan and Meredith were NOT pleased in the slightest. Ryan did however take a clean green jelly bean out of Shane’s palm and Shane let him happily and then politely offered one to Meredith (she said no haha.)

6. SHANE ALMOST FALLING WHEN HE GOT UP TO DO THE ESTES METHOD LMAOOO!

7. Shane and Ryan talking about the episode they discussed the possibility that the man who died playing piano pooped himself and then revealing that they had to cut for like five minutes because they cried laughing so long. Shane, while reminiscing about this moment, said, “Very sad but GOD DAMN was it funny!” 😭 He also revealed that there have been MANY times him and Ryan have laughed themselves to tears together and I thought that was kinda sweet.

8. Meredith and Ryan thought there was a ghost backstage, and then Shane and Ryan lied to Meredith and said the ghost started acting up again when she left, resulting in Meredith believing that the ghost was just racist.

9. A fan asking Shane a question about a certain clip and saying, “When that ghost called you daddy-” and Shane, COMPLETELY misunderstanding what they said, yelling confusedly, “WHEN THAT GHOST FUCKING DIED?!?!?!? 🤨🤨🤨”

10. And lastly, Ryan calling Steven their “Delicate Steven Lim” and teasing him for the last few minutes of the show haha 💛 The best part of it was when Ryan was talking about him and Shane taking Steven ghost hunting years ago and stating that Steven had said he found his calm. Ryan, remembering this moment, said, “He didn’t find calm, he TALKED TO GOD!!! FOR FIVE MINUTES!!!!!” 😭 and the exasperation in his tone was so damn funny.

Bonus. This person came up to ask a question holding an empty nacho box and Ryan was weirdly extremely fixated on it 😭 He was pretty much like, “Did that hold nachos??? Cool. It looked like a nachos kind of box. Cool, cool. You looked like you enjoyed them? The nachos?” I literally have NO CLUE what that was about but I think he might have been hungry for some nachos idk?!?! 😭😭😭

(Other honorable mentions are Ryan being upset the ghost called Shane daddy and not him, Shane yelling that he’s “GOT PUPPETS TO MAKE!”, Ryan getting a little anxious when people weren’t cheering for his evidence and being like, “NEVERMIND I DON’T THINK IT’S COMPELLING ANYMORE I SWEAR-“, Shane blasting “Mamma Mia” before the show, and Shane taking amazing care of a doll someone gifted him and putting it between him and Ryan!!!)

The show was AMAZING, the episode was SO great, (NO SPOILERS BUT YOU GUYS ARE IN FOR A TREAT!!!), the people there were so accepting, and the Ghoul Boys were so UNBELIEVABLY NICE TO EVERYONE. If you have the money and time for it, I honestly recommend buying a ticket to one of the shows because I had SUCH A GOOD TIME. (Also, LITERALLY DON’T BE SCARED TO ASK THEM A QUESTION OR GIVE THEM A GIFT CAUSE THEY WERE SO GRATEFUL, PATIENT, AND KIND, ESPECIALLY TO PEOPLE WHO WERE OBVIOUSLY ANXIOUS TO TALK TO THEM.) I honestly have NOTHING bad to say about my experience. It was a dandy time and I plan to go to another show in the future if they ever tour again.

[zoandreez]

hiding in plain sight . (prologue)

pairing: ao'nung x omaticayan!reader

summary: your mother worked alongside miles quartitch in the sky people battle. as a dreamwalker, similar to grace, she got pregnant (occurrence unknown.) after miles' death, the sky people retreated. you grew up alone on pandora, afraid of what was outside of your make-shift sanctuary, until one day you go hunting and bump into some of the sullys.

word count: 1.3k

warnings: like 2 seconds of angst

as you frantically scrambled around your hut of trees and leaves, a ripped (and mostly fluff-less) pillow, and organization of old blankets you found from the abandoned pods, the day you had been dreading for a few weeks had finally came.

you were out of food.

of course, for any na'vi this is no big deal, all they have to do is go hunting. however, in your case it isn't exactly that easy. the other omaticayan do not know you exist. your mother, jasmine brooks, worked for miles quartitch, who (you quickly learned) wasn't the best person to know on pandora. during the sky people war, your mother as a dream walker was concieved. although the answers to how are still unknown, you were born with five fingers, five toes, and eyebrows, resembling human features more than na'vi. the sky people had no time to react, and with no clue how to deal with you, abandoned you.

luckily, you were just about 3 years old when they abandoned you and understood the basics of life-- walking, peeling fruits and such. you had to train yourself to hunt, to make your own loincloths, and other necessities. you never went hunting much, in fear you would be discovered. so, once every three months, you would wait until night to hunt until the sun rose, to have enough food for the next few months.

the last cycle was five months ago, thank eywa for that. however, you knew you were too lucky, as your next hunting spree would need to begin today. in the morning. you had no food for the rest of the day, and you didn't want to hold out, you were skinny and rationed enough. you grabbed your bow and your arrows and carefully snuck out of your hut, beginning your day-long hunt.

about an hour has passed, and it seemed to be going great so far. you had quite a bit of spartan and yovo fruits to get you through for a week, and you decided you'd get your months worth stash next week. on your way back, you had begun to dig into a yovo fruit, one of the smaller ones, when suddenly you heard murmurs.

"tuk, keep up!" you heard a boy shout.

your ears tilted up as you turned your head in the direction of the noise. you said nothing as you backed away, afraid running would bring too much attention your way.

"bro, why'd you bring her anyway?" you heard another boy say, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

something about the scene, instead of scaring you, enticed you. you inched closer to the voices, finally stopping behind a tree. you peeked between two branches like a window as you stared at the 4. it was a na'vi boy, braids pulled back into a ponytail, leading the group. quickly following behind was a na'vi girl, younger than the rest, swaying her tail as she leapt across the log following him. a taller girl, strolled behind casually, as the human boy caught your attention, with a breathing mask on.

"she's such a crybaby." the na'vi boy huffed, and the steps on the grass you once heard stopped. "she's all, 'i'm telling! you're not supposed to go to the battlefield. i'll tell mom if you don't let me come.'"

the youngest one, most likely who tuk is, stuck her tongue out at the na'vi boy. you smiled at her remark. the older girl blurted out a quick "don't pick at her," looking at him with disapproval.

they continued on their path, and you quickly ran to drop your fruit off and follow them. it looked like they were heading to the pods, and miles' old suit. you passed by thousands of times, breathing in your mothers old mask or sitting in her pod (unfortunately someone seven, eight feet tall cant lay in a five foot pod.) you followed the familiar path as the four began to speak again.

"come on," na'vi boy spoke again. as he climbed up to the crashed ships, the three of the other companions followed.

"oh, sick." the human boy called. you began to walk further out, uninterested in the chance of "any dead bodies up there," that tuk claims to want to see. you followed the older na'vi girl, as she walked further into the nature. she brushed her fingertips against the branches and lifted her arms to twirl with the leaves, before eventually laying down in the grass. you stepped closer to her, before freezing. you saw the many atokirina that flew ahead of you, and calmly circled themselves onto the girl.

you stared in awe as she lay asleep, the spirit seeds of eywa sitting on her, before they buzzed away. it was like she just got blessed? you had no clue what happened, and reached out to one of the atokirina to graze it-

"hey!" your head whipped up to the human boy. you quickly took off, brushing past him. "what were you doing? get back here!" he shouted, dashing after you before he shouted.

"lo'ak! tackle that girl, i think she hurt kiri!" you looked around, for any signs of lo'ak, the now name-assigned na'vi boy. after not seeing him, you took off for safety before you were pinned down by lo'ak.

"who are you?" he blurted out.

"get off me!" you protested, twisting and turning as you reached for your knife.

he quickly stopped you, but froze when he grabbed your hand. slowly, he put his hand up to yours. it took you a minute to realize what he was doing, until you looked. your hands matched up perfectly, but that isn't supposed to happen unless..

"are you a dreamwalker?" you both asked, and looked at each other in shock. "what do you mean are you a dreamwalker? stop copying me. why are you saying everything i say? stop it!"

the human boy interjected. "wait, what are you guys talking about, 'dreamwalker?'"

"she has five fingers."

the boy turned to look at you, before walking up and looking at her hands. "so, what- do we take her to dad?" "no way, he'll kill us if he knew we came this far."

"he'll kill us if we don't tell him the sky people are back."

you watched the two argue for a moment, before lo'ak finally sighed and gave in. he looked back at you. "sorry dreamwalker, gotta turn you in to big boss." he said before tapping his neck, as you caught sight of the little mic he had.

"but i'm not a dreamwalker."

the boys both froze and looked at you. "so, what are you?" the human boy said.

"well, my mother was. i'm just.. a freak." you said, wiggling your pinky.

lo'ak hesitated for a bit, looking at you. he had no clue whether to believe you or not. he grew up thinking he was a freak for his fifth finger, his eyebrows, his demon blood. now, this girl that laid before him could be like him. or, she could be what he's sworn to not. a sky person. a demon. he pressed his mic.

"devil dog, devil dog this is eagle eye, over." he spoke.

after a moment, they heard static and then a male voice spoke. "eagle eye, send your traffic." the male said. you stared off into the distance.

"we found this girl, she looks like an avatar, but she says shes not a dreamwalker. she has five fingers though, and we've never seen her before." you had begun to wriggle under his grasp, not wanting to be caught. "let me go!" you protested.

"where are you?" the male on the other line said. lo'ak looked at the now returned human boy, with kiri, and hesitated before answering. kiri mouthed a snarky remark to lo'ak that you couldn't hear, but it made lo'ak wince.

"oh. we're.. we're um.. attheoldshack." he said quickly.

"who's we? who's with you?"

"me, kiri, spider... tuk."

you heard a faint gasp in the speaker on his neck, and looked over at tuk as she said to kiri, "is dad coming for us?"

"dad's coming for lo'ak's ass, definitely." lo'ak hit kiri on the shoulder, as he continued to lean on you with his knee on your back, one hand pinning your wrists together.

this just acts as a prologue for a series i have coming, i figured i should get practice writing in!

[songfell-ut]

Songfell anniversary post, pt 3

Last installment of pics I grabbed from posts off this Tumblr since I started it four years ago. I have been unbelievably spoiled by every single one of you, and if I didn't put something here, it was out of my negligence, not any fault of yours.

Please note that @venelona has done multiple amazing schmoopy poses of these two, and I will be putting them in loose chronological order with the rest. Wheee

(Part 1, Part 2)

...Okay, it turns out most of these are not specific. Here are the more chronologically oriented arts, starting with:

This is pretty iconic, by @nascent-chaos. Have you ever heard the expression "You've caught a wolf by the ears" or "a bear by the tail"? It means the second you get out of a stalemate, you're gonna get eaten. Not applicable here, nope nope

Her very first clear memory from the box ;_; by @cuddlyquiche.

A couple of very early bits from Vene. I think that one is probably the most accurate depiction of their size difference, which I've had multiple artists kinda fudge for the sake of getting them in the same frame. Also he's so pleased they match, gigantic dorkburger

Possibly my favorite from Vene ^_^

Skipping way on ahead to the bubble fight by @sharkowskii. I just. Ahhh my kokoro

Speaking of which DDDDDDDD: why is Vene so good at expressions

Case in point: "U mad, bro?" but no, Undyne and Papyrus are the greatest bros

And again x4. We understand the value of a tiny waifu around here, don't we, Sans?

Damn straight

Variation on a theme, by Sharky (the theme is "socks")

Now we've got the dresses she wore for her last couple days in the Underground. There's this totally-not-bridal-ha-ha-silly-man by Catler1, grabbed off Discord because I wanted the complete set.

Still wildly infatuated with this one by @melikitinas ~

Shoes not made for dancing, by @feelisia

And a dress made for because I wanted a pretty golden gown (thank u Vene)

Now we have the more miscellaneous pieces, though the second of these by @matchamanx is prooobably from a bit later in the story :D

(I watched Star Versus the Forces of Evil recently, and yes, Frisk would absolutely pull the same shit as Eclipsa. Git 'im gurl)

A formal portrait with a dress I keep forgetting to steal from @stacyyyep

This is so soft ahjdhjf @marihem

The pfp for my sorely neglected Patreon Discord server eh heh heh yeah another by @xxkoichiixx

And last of the collection is a fantastic piece by @lostmypotatoes herself, with an expression that could not more clearly say "Why, this old thing? I only wear it when I'm being an absolute goddamn queen treated exactly as I deserve" 😙

Cheers, everybody. I'll have written things to post as soon as I finished writing them. Mwah mwah kisses etc.

[seenoversundown]

Sparrow Of the Dawn : Chapter 1

Sam x Willa (Fem OC) Warnings: Alcohol / Mentions of drinking, brotherly banter, dark humor/mentions of death (if you squint), otherwise silly boys being boys.

Word Count: 3.9K

Summary : Sam unfortunately finds himself in not so meet cute with Willa. Hopeful that he doesn't cross her path again; the world works in mysterious ways and not always in your favor.

Authors Note: AHHHHH I can’t wait for everybody to read and I hope you all love it as much as I do!! I’m so excited and nervous, feels like I’m waiting for the midnight premiere of Deathly Hallows (part 2) all over again 🥹😭💜

Flower Power - Greta Van Fleet “She’s a sparrow of the dawn, our love is born”

“Oh, HEY,” Jake says sarcastically the second he opens the front door, “Nice of you to show up, Jackass,” huffing out a laugh as he shuts the door behind me. The scuffed-up cherry wood floor creaks under the weight of our feet as I follow him over to where he had been organizing new stock behind the bar. 

“Right.. aaand where’s my paycheck again?” I retort, sliding onto my regular spot and dropping my camera bag next to me. The spot in the dead center of the bar has been claimed as mine since before Jake even opened, the stool now complete with my etched initials SFK under the cushion. 

“Time is money, brother, and I lend you mine for free, so you get me when I’m free. Which apparently to you means 9 a.m.?” I say, clasping my hands on the bartop, “So please, tell me what is so important that I needed to be here so early.” He sourly smirks back at me.

“Yeah, yeah. I have a few new ones in for you to shoot, and I’d like to get it done before we get busy today.” He picks up his clipboard, eyeing his stock list.

 “We finally got the pomegranate Downeast released last month that was on backorder, as well as the pear and the guava passion fruit. Then we have ‘Reciprocal’ from Bissell Bros here in Portland, and ‘Interchangeable #7’ from Blaze Brewing in Biddo. I’d really like to get the blaze shot for our ads because it has the most interesting can art. But, ya know, I trust you.” He reads off.

A year ago, Jake, my older brother, bought this bar located right here in the heart of the Old Port. Back in his senior year of high school he got really into “Black Sails”, this pirate TV show; he practically made it his personality. Naturally, he decided he wanted to run a bar for the rest of his life, so when old man Chuck decided to retire, Jake jumped at the opportunity to purchase it. “Caravel Tavern” has only been open for 6 months and It's been his baby ever since. 

“Wow, Jake Kiszka putting trust in ME? Are you feeling okay?” I feign shock grabbing at my heart.

“Just get it done, you idiot,” he says with a roll of his eyes.

“Alright, alright,” I say, glancing over the options. “Give me like an hour. I have an idea that might work. I need to head to the farmer’s market in town, but I can have the best shots edited and emailed to you tomorrow, and then we can pick the best ones for print.” I grab my bag, digging around for my car keys. “Hey, when is Josh in today? I’d like to get some shots of you guys pouring drinks for the website and Instagram for Josh’s intro post.”

“He should be here by the time you’re done with everything. That is if he’s on time. But let's be realistic, when is a Kiszka ever on time?” He replies as he breaks down boxes with a box cutter. 

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I take a right onto the gravel that’s set behind the farmers market, my rusty 92’ Ford F-150 rattling as I park. I hope to god it’s just a heat shield making that noise. I cannot afford another repair on Edith. She may be an old crotchety bitch, but she has my whole heart. Well, right behind Penelope, my Bernese mountain dog, Penny girl will always be my number one.

Ding 

I put her in park and shove my hand into my backpack blindly searching for the source of the text tone. Finally finding my phone Tweedle Dum🦞 appears on the screen.. I let out a giggle. 

We’re running a special on whiskey sours tonight pick up some eggs, princess.

I switch Jake and Josh’s contact name back and forth between tweedle dee and tweedle dum mainly to keep them on their toes, but I’d be lying if I said tweedle dum isn’t just whoever has pissed me off or been dubbed the biggest dumbass that week. The emojis always stay the same so I can keep them actually straight though. 

You got it, boss, I send back to Jake, winning the title this week for making me wake up at the ass crack of 9am. Which absolutely is early for me. 

Gathering my things, I step out of my truck, immediately being hit with a cold gust of wind, the air causing my eyes to water slightly. I brush away a tear forming in my eye before it threatens to fall down my cheek. For it being the end of March the air is crispier than normal. I pause a moment too long, and a shiver runs through my body. I zip my jacket up a little higher, trying to preserve my body heat. Making sure I have my mesh bag with me, I shut my door and head over to the booths. 

I make a beeline for Linda, a sweet older woman who is here every week selling chicken eggs, various fruits from her garden, and some knick-knack crafts she makes. I have about seven bowl koozies, though I’m not sure I even own as many bowls considering it’s just me, but they are really good for ramen and ice cream. Which I do not eat together. Jake and Josh live in the apartment above the bar, so when I moved back after college, I got an apartment a couple roads away to stay close. 

Our parents moved out of our small hometown, which sits just on the other side of Portland. Padded off to Apple Valley, Georgia trying to settle into a warmer climate or something. They bought a house big enough for just the two of them and a guest room on an acre of land, “just in case any of you boys come to visit” Mom said. In all honesty, Apple Valley is just the same town, different state. They always said they didn’t like the city because it was too big, which is funny to me after spending the last four years in Boston. Everything here seems much smaller now.

“Morning Linda!” I smile and wave at her.

“Oh, Samuel. You’re up early this week. How are you doing, Sweetheart? How’s my Daniel?” She flashes me a warm smile. She’s also Daniel’s biggest fan. Pretty sure she only comes into the bar to see him, even though I met her first. But what can I say? I’m apparently an excellent matchmaker; we just won't mention the fact that she's 72.

I chuckle, “I’m just out running some errands for Jake. I’m on call today, apparently. Daniel’s good though! He misses you, ya know.” I finish flashing her a wink.

She lets out a high-pitched laugh, “I’ll be down to visit with Miss Eleanor. You tell him not to worry.” She raises an eyebrow and smirks at me, “Anyway, what can I get ya my dear?”

“Think two dozen will do it for today.” I hand her a crumpled ten-dollar bill in exchange, “Keep the change, Lin. I’ll see you at the bar or next Saturday, whichever comes first.” I set the eggs carefully in my tote and head toward my next stop, the flower truck.

The beer I’m photographing for the bar has a brightly colored logo in a style reminiscent of comic book art. A bold red can with yellow, blue, and purple adorning the signature name. My idea is to use a bouquet of different flowers to accent the colors and make the can pop. 

I scan through the metal buckets, trying to mentally piece together an arrangement without disturbing the flowers too much. They are far too delicate to be pulling and yanking on them just to try them out for size. Some of the people here, like Linda, make their living posting up every Saturday. 

I reach for a bundle of forget-me-nots, settling on those along with the last of the remaining Irises, a few red Dahlias, Daffodils, and Butterfly Milkweed. Taking a step back slightly away from the displays, I start to rearrange the bouquet to my liking. Extending my arms out in front of me, and changing my angle to make sure I like how the flowers look together. Just as I decide that, yes, these will do for what their intended purpose is, I feel someone aggressively poking my bicep. 

I turn toward the person attached to the finger. Not going to lie; I’m a bit impressed by the force of it, considering I’m wearing a sweater under my quilted jacket, and the woman who’s doing the poking is standing at about 5 foot nothing and looks like a swift breeze might carry her away. I blink slowly at her a few times and raise my eyebrows waiting expectedly.

“Did someone die, or did you just fuck up like, wicked bad?” the snark heavily laden on her tone. 

I close my eyes and let out a long breath, “Uhm, it’s uhh –” I stutter a bit, really trying to play it up, “My grandma died last week, actually. Did you know her? Her name was Althea.” I gaze down at my shoes and drop my head a bit, taking a moment before I attempt to look for her reaction through my eyelashes. If I held my breath long enough, I might just be able to work up a tear. Would that be too dramatic? .. maybe.

“Oh.. uh. No, I didn’t. I’m sor–” Regret immediately paints her face.

“I’m fucking with you.” I let out a small laugh

“What?” her eyes narrow at me, trying to figure out if I’m lying or telling the truth.

“I’m joking, my grandma is fine. Are you okay? Or is it a normal occurrence for you to ask a complete stranger if they’re mourning a dead relative?" Amusement settles on my face.

She lets out an audible groan. Why is she so angry? She tugs down at the sides of her short floral dress and waves a hand out toward my arrangement. 

“Why on earth do you need every single purple flower!?” She exclaims, “And who jokes about their grandma dying?” stamping her beaten-up Doc Marten into the patchy grass. She actually stomped her foot at me. What are we twelve?

I roll my eyes and attempt to alleviate the situation, “Bachelor Buttons.” 

I have work to do and absolutely do not need an attitude from a complete stranger, even if she is cute. I have brothers for that purpose, and they do their jobs well enough.

 “They’re mostly purple but with a bit of blue. They symbolize love if you’re trying to give them to someone important.” I scratch the back of my head and briefly hope she says she’s not. I immediately throw the thought away with a shake of my head. Nope, not opening that door.

“I don’t need Bachelor Buttons.” 

“.. ookaay. You could always d –” 

“I need Irises.” She says, cutting me off, “Specifically. Okay? And I’m fine, but if I can't find irises today because of you count *poke* your *poke* days!” she ends her sentiment with a final sharp poke to my chest and storms away. God damn, her finger is like a tiny dagger.

Listen, growing up without any sisters means I don’t know much about women, but what I do know .. is definitely never believe one when they say they’re fine. 

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As I walk through the door of Caravel Tavern for the second time today, I call out, “Okay, Jake, I’m back with your eggs, Asshole. Where are you?”

I set my camera bag and the eggs down and lean over the counter, checking to see if he’s kneeling behind the bar top.

 “.. Jake?” I look side to side. Where the hell is he? It’s the middle of the day, not nearly early enough for lunch.. Not like the guy takes a break anyway. 

“JAKE WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!” I yell through my cupped hands. The sound echoes through the empty space.

He comes running from the back room, a panic written on his face. “Jesus Christ, Sam, what?”

“Got your eggs.” grinning wildly at him. I swear I'm actually his favorite brother. 

“Well, thanks, Samuel, for being useful for one thing today.” He says, before changing his tone, “You okay? You look a bit tense?”

“Yeah,” absentmindedly, my hand drifts to my shoulder, rubbing at the area where angry-flower-girl poked me earlier. “Actually, you’ll never believe what happened to me at the farmers market.”

He’s not looking at me when he hums his response, just putting the eggs in the mini fridge next to the ice well. I slide the second carton over to him.

“I ran into this girl, actually, she ran into me rather. I was picking out the bouquet arrangement for the photos I want to take and she sorta.. Came at me poking?”

He slowly stands and looks at me, his brow furrowed a bit. “She.. came at you?” He pauses. “Poking?”

“Poking,” I point to my shoulder in disbelief.

“Okay, and what did this poking girl want?”

“To yell at me for taking all the irises. I tried to do the gentlemanly thing and suggest an alternative, but she poked me some more and stomped off. She was hot as hell even if she was a bit psychotic.” 

“Well, why did you take all the irises? You also could have taken the other- wait, “ Jake pauses, turning to face me head-on. He sets the empty carton on the counter, “No, whatever you’re thinking about, cut it out,” He points at me, “Did you forget about the last ‘cute but insane’ girl?” 

“Hey, she wasn’t that bad! AND she was really hot?!” both hands raised.

“Sam, she cracked your windshield” he pinches the bridge of his nose.

Just as I’m about to further protest, “Cracked windshield? We’re not talking about ‘the Bride of Chucky’ are we?” Josh says

“Oh, come on guys, you can say her name. And again.. She wasn't that bad.”

“No, every time you say her name she comes back like Voldemort, and none of us need that shit.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. Get your ass clocked in so I get your headshots done, and you can get to work lest Jake have a stroke.” I lean toward Josh and whisper, “You’re already late.”

“When isn’t he late?” Jake sighs and rolls his eyes.

“Well,” Josh claps his hands together, “it is clearly time for my close-up. Sammy, let’s get this shit fest over with.”  

Oh, Josh, ever the dramatic brother.

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I don’t spend a ton of time taking Josh’s photos, grateful that he isn’t afraid of the camera. I barely have to direct him, which makes my life that much easier. If he could work on just not being a pain in the ass the rest of the time, that’d be great. 

A few goodbyes later, and I’m finally off to edit. Putting all my things into the passenger seat and giving my truck some words of encouragement, the engine turns over. Thank fucking god. I live fairly close to the bar, so I decide to not bother with the radio and just listen to whatever comes my way. 

Still thinking about the poking girl, mostly because my chest was sore. I didn’t expect to be stabbed today. I do hope she found her Irises…  

‘Now I don’t hardly know her, but I think I could love her,’

I turn the volume up on the radio, hoping it’ll help me focus on driving and not thinking about her.  

I make it back home, throwing the truck in park and hustling up to my apartment. I’m quickly greeted by my bundle of joy. I set all my things out to edit on the counter and take care of Miss P before I start working.

Taking a walk is probably what I needed to do anyway. 

I got Penelope right after I graduated and moved back up here. Being used to a house full of people to just living alone was.. well, lonely. I think I lasted only a few months living alone before I gave in and went to find a pet. The twins suggested a cat because they’re fairly low maintenance, and their plan was to get a couple cats once their lives settled a bit. Settled ended up being right around when Jake bought the bar, I would hardly call that settled, but it worked out for them. Me on the other hand, I’m more of a dog person. As soon as I saw Penny, I knew she’d be my adventure buddy, coming with me on my walks and hikes and photography trips. It’s definitely easier with a dog, despite what Josh says about how easy it is to train a cat with a harness to adventure with you.

Once she is settled in after our walk, I sit down to edit for a while. Pulling up the photos of Josh, something seems off. Why are half of these out of focus? I think to myself, scrolling through the options. If he could have just stopped talking for two seconds, this one would have looked good.  The longer I scroll through the options, the more annoyed I get. Why did she poke me so fucking hard? Finding myself rubbing the spot on my chest, I force myself to get up for a minute. Maybe I just need to walk around. Wandering into my bathroom, I pull the collar of my shirt down to see the spot, if it doesn’t actually bruise, I’ll be SHOCKED.  

Sitting back down, I take one look at the photo I've been trying to salvage, letting out a sigh. This is awful. 

Me: hey I’m not super happy with how Josh’s pics came out.. Do you care if I just borrow him in the morning to get some new ones? 

Me: Not at 6am tho-  it’ll be Sunday, The Lord’s day, and he would want me to get my beauty rest. 

Tweedle Dum🦞: lol that’s fine bud 

Me: I may come back for a drink tho. Shit has me STRESSED.

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“God, Sam, don’t you ever leave?” Josh calls from behind the bar. 

“You’d think I was tired of looking at your ugly mug all day, but guess not.” My lips wind into a tight smile. “Can I actually get a drink? I’m annoyed as fuck that I hate all the pictures I took today, and a drink sounds like the perfect remedy.” 

“Turning to alcohol to solve your problems, hmm?”

“Shhhhh,” I wave my hands in front of me. “Can I get a Clover Club, maybe? In a whiskey glass.. No garnish. I don’t wanna look like a little bitch.” I groan 

“Let your freak flag fly, brother,” spinning away to go make my drink and tend to the other patrons seated down the bar top. 

This drink really better do the trick so I can relax for five minutes. Honestly, the pressure I put on myself to make sure I do well for Jake’s pride and joy, along with trying to find my own way with a full-time job is a little exhausting. It’s hard knowing that Caravel is his baby; he really doesn’t have much else going on. I swear if he got laid, he’d be a hell of a lot less uptight about it, but I digress. I don’t totally feel like I’m the most reliable person, but I try to make sure he can count on me and I don’t contribute to his stress. Ya know, he’s my brother, and I want him to be as proud of me as I am of him for doing what he loves so much. I don’t think I tell him enough how proud I really am of him. He’s someone I look to for inspiration for trying to pave my own way. I’d never tell him that though, because he’d probably think I was yanking his chain or something. I have a job trial-type thing down in Boston later this week, and I’m really hoping it turns out to be something good. I could use something good right now.

Josh interrupts my thoughts, setting my drink down, “Just how you asked for it in a cocktail glass with extra garnish.”

I sigh audibly, “Ya know, I don’t even care. Gimme it.” I gulp it down in nearly one go. Josh looks surprised at me. Whether it’s because of my eagerness or because he knows I’m terrible at holding my alcohol, I’m not sure. I don’t care. 

“One more.” I close my eyes, waiting for the gin to work its magic on me. Feeling my muscles relax bit by bit, my brow finally straightens out, and I sink down against the wall closest to my seat. I sigh audibly again, though this time it’s one of relief.

The longer I sit here, the more people are trickling in. Sipping on my drink this time, I notice people in all sorts of outfits looking vaguely like anime characters. Gathering in little cliques of friend groups, a few interesting folk bouncing from table to table. I can't tell if time is moving incredibly fast or if the alcohol has made me move slower, but suddenly, I have the realization that it’s packed in here. Since opening, they’ve been able to handle everything behind the bar, just the two of them, with Daniel manning the door, but I don’t think they’re equipped to handle whatever event these people are overflowing from. 

I swig back the last sip of my drink, grab my glass, and make my way to the back room. I toss the raspberry garnish before setting the glass in the sink to be washed. Grabbing the ice bucket, I start to fill it to make sure the front is stocked for them; ice is usually always the first thing to go. I lug the full bucket back behind the bar, and refill the ice well. 

“Thanks, Sammy. Hey,  would you mind bussing some of the tables and asking the people with tabs if they need any refills, please? I’ll make sure I put you on the payroll for the night,” Jake asks, eyes pleading and desperate for help. And really, who am I to say no to him?

“Of course I can. I’ve got nothing else better to do anyway.” I start to reach for a tray. 

“Thanks. I mean it.” he says, squeezing my shoulder, “I forgot PortCon was happening, and we’re close to one of the hotels.” He explains before returning to the drink he's making. 

That explains the costumes. I do my rounds checking to make sure everyone seated in the booths are okay, grabbing the empty drinks out of their way, making light conversation when I can. I bring a tray of glasses, napkins, and various random trash items back behind the bar and set them in the bin next to Jake. Just as I go to take another trip, my eyes catch the door. Of course. Of course, this would happen to me. I can’t have a single day go smoothly if my life depended on it. Good God, someone is out to get me, I swear. 

“Fuck me,” I say out loud. 

“Who is that?” Jake says to me as he’s working on his current drink order. 

“The angry-flower-girl with the dagger fingers,” I pause, looking at the dude standing next to her, “annnd her date.”

“Oh shit.”

Crimson and Clover - Tommy James and the Shondells

“Now I don't hardly know her But I think I could love her Crimson and clover”

&lt;- Prologue Chapter Two ->

Masterpost | Taglist | Jukebox Playlist

Taglist:

@gvfsstardust, @myleftsock, @mindastreamofcolours, @dont-go-home-without-me, @literal-dead-leaf, @lizzys-sunflower, @threadofstars, @mackalah, @klarxtr, @edgingthedarkness, @writingcold, @i-love-gvf, @takenbythemadness, @ladywhimsymoon, @earthgrlsreasy, @ourlovesdesire, @peaceloveunitygvf, @anythingforjtk

[sanzu-sanzu-sanzu]

Hungry Hearts 2

Itoshi Sae X F!Reader

You are Itoshi Sae’s Manager. Fielder of dumb reporter questions and keeper of his schedule. Among many others.

Timeskip. Sae is 24 and is officially a representative of Japan.

slowburn + idiots in love + romance + friendship/gen

MASTERLIST

<< prev

Chapter 2: But it’s a Valentine event 

If Sae’s morning had been a little more eventful than he would’ve liked, it wasn’t because of a back-to-back training/errands schedule he’d booked himself into, nor was it the very brief mishap he’d had so early in the morning involving a pair of cufflinks—no, he’d woken up at 5AM to his phone blaring from over hundreds and then thousands of mentions and tags on social media. It took him more than a couple of posts, however, from random users and then a headline from one of those verified celebrity news accounts for him to finally understand what had happened, and once he did, Sae had tossed his phone far across his bed and went back to getting some more much-needed shut-eye. What little of it he could still salvage from the morning.

It turned out that a popular idol, 22, got asked who her celebrity crush was in this American show and said his name. His precious sleep was interrupted by some lame-ass paparazzi fodder the world would likely move on from in the next hour. How irritating.

Or maybe he’d thought too soon. Because awaiting his car at the entrance to the Tokyo Sports and Arts gala this evening is a significant crowd of reporters ready to steal an answer or two from him regarding the online buzz. It could be said that Itoshi Sae has yet to understand more of the world, then, perhaps. His years’ worth of cross-continental football triumphs and tribulations, notwithstanding.

He braces himself before stepping out of the car. One, two—no, these aren’t defenders he would’ve had far better chances of getting past through. He doesn’t dally much because efficiency always comes easy for him, and as he exits through the other door, he tries—really tries—to make a power-walk for it. But, what the hell.

A lot of these clout-chasers could really give some forwards a run for their money.

“Sae! Itoshi Sae! What did you think of—“

“Have you heard of what — had said in the—?”

“I’m sure the world would also love to know—who is your celebrity crush, Itoshi-kun?”

There’s a little convention that journalists, talk show hosts, sport announcers and the like have somehow collectively agreed upon over the years, in that everyone would just simply refer to them as Sae and Rin to easily refer to one or the other. That one, stray question actually makes him look up for a quick second, if only because it’s so unlike the usual. Rin isn’t attending tonight’s gala, after all, so there isn’t going to be any other Itoshi around, is the first thought that his mind compartmentalizes in an effort to get to the fastest, most benign solution to the dilemma at hand: how does he escape this throng of reporters and safely make it inside the building?

His answer comes in the form of Oliver Aiku, standing by the entrance, himself engaged in a friendly banter with a female reporter, only to perk up at seeing Sae and then politely disengaging—before smoothly tagging alongside him, this 6’2” form of a man, effectively (albeit, not so deliberately) blocking whoever tries to stick to Sae like a gnat.

Always the reliable defender, this guy, although Sae is never one to dish out compliments for whatever’s the bare minimum.

“Boy genius. What’s up with you trending on social media earlier today?” Sae has to inwardly sigh.

“None of my business.”

The Center-back laughs, eternally unperturbed by the midfielder’s blunt detachment.

“If you say so. Guess I’ll just have to get the scoop from one of those guys over there, then.”

“You could. I’m sure they have all my answers already.”

Aiku, turns out, has a little too much to say about the ladies in the guest list (and ladies, in general) and Sae deliberately tunes him out. Inside, at the receiving hall, there’s already a growing line for the welcome drinks and cocktails and his focus is momentarily caught by the handful of familiar faces he spots. Just not the one familiar face he’s looking for. The defender, however, steals his attention back upon the mention of your name.

“So, as you may or may not have known, I kinda asked your girl to be my date for tonight.” Somewhere on his right and not too far from them, Sae catches the very moment Meguru Bachira slaps the living shit out of Barou Shoei’s shoulder as a form of friendly greeting, earning him the immediate response of an explosive succession of death threats that manages to get a couple of security nearby on instant alert. Chigiri Hyoma and a few other witnesses to the event seem to take it as very normal behavior, though, a brief commotion they all take in stride, if Bachira’s delighted laughter isn’t already indication enough.

This is what Sae gets for paying attention. He knows you’re here somewhere because you always arrive at the venue earlier than him when not together. Always.

He can feel Aiku’s eyes on the side of his face, like he’s trying to gauge his response. “I did think of informing you first, mind you,” he continues. “Felt like I just had to. But, well…I mean I already have her number and just asking directly was easy enough.” His expression turns sheepish; embarrassed, almost. “I might’ve forgotten to state my name in my text, though. Should’ve called.”

“She’s not my girl.”

There’s a minuscule smirk on Aiku’s face, and as he opens his mouth to respond, a woman slides up beside him. In the quick second she’s come into view, she’s coiled an arm around Aiku’s arm, flashing him a rich smile. “Shall we? Oh. Oh.” She easily realizes it’s Itoshi Sae right in front of her and her eyes slightly widen. “Hi.”

“My lovely, where were you?” Aiku’s automatic question comes a little too automatic, his expression just a little too sweet, as the woman’s gaze now flickers between the two men, as if anticipating to be introduced.

“Well, so yeah,” Aiku exhales in conclusion. “Obviously, negative. Or rather, null.” He grins rather affectionately at the woman around his arm, who is now eyeing him with an agreeable expression plastered on her face like she understands what is being discussed. There seems to be no plans of her and Sae being introduced. “Catch ya later, then, Sae.”

Women clearly are the bane of Oliver Aiku’s existence, but fuck it if the man likes having a terrible time, right? Well, not that Sae’s about to lose sleep over it.

You’ve told him once that, in theory, he should be able to very easily navigate through crowds on his own because the Do-not-interact aura he exudes should be enough. He responded by saying that that’s surely not something you say to your boss, and that if this were your roundabout way of suggesting he better smile more, then nice try. He forgets what you’d said after this; all he remembers is that you were laughing as you said it.

It’s in the adjacent hall with the similar entrance doors where you must’ve thought he’d be entering that he finds you. You’re standing by the wall farthest from him, away from the larger crowd but easy for anyone to spot, holding what looks to be a compact mirror to your chest, like you just came from the bathroom and this is a state of afterthought, but then Sae also knows better. It’s like having a tray of paperclips on the boardroom meeting table, or tapping one’s fingers rhythmically on any hard surface, or having another hand to hold on to and squeeze in intervals—you always try to find something to do or hold with your hands, after all, when in a state of quiet apprehension.

And you do look a little lost, but at the same time attentive, your eyes taking stock of every person that comes into view, in search of a face.

He is closer now, close enough to call out your name and ease the quiet worrying. Close enough to confirm your solid touch, what with your skin looking translucent in this light. Despite the cascade of your hair being solid against your shoulders. He has not seen you in person in over a month, and as he places one foot after the other, one word plays like a melodic motif at the back his head—

“BREATHTAKING.”

Sae’s hand shoots out halfway to grab (or block) the source of the voice right by his head, a reflex of a body fine-tuned to crushing the possibility of someone in such close proximity stealing the ball from him. He stares at the back of Shidou Ryusei’s head as said Demon emerges from his side, turning to see the brief surprise and confusion on your face at the outburst.

“Lovely. You look very lovely.”

One thing about Shidou is that there’s not a single insincere bone in his body, that even though Sae himself is admittedly tired of the guy’s frequent, sudden bursts of love for every single thing he finds beauty in, he gets a pass for the authenticity and zero bad faith. No matter how brash he expresses himself. 

You are prompt and subtle, of course, at schooling your expression to a state of calm that nobody would think otherwise, and you give him a polite smile. “Thank you, Shidou-kun. I hope you caught Orihime-san on your way down? She’s been looking for you.”

The wild striker’s date seems to have stopped being his date after a few good glasses. As of now, it could be anyone. “Ah, fortunately no. I do wish you’d said yes to me, though. You would not have lost me.” You tilt your head a little in confusion.

“I don’t think you asked.”

“That’s ‘cause I don’t have your number.” And there he goes. Shidou turns his head slowly to smile sweetly at Sae—now standing directly behind him—a very proud look on his face as if he’d just said something very clever and convincing. The midfielder is already rolling his eyes, deciding to give the antennae’d freak just half a minute more, see if he’s learned to improve past the punchline.

You have a very kind laugh. “That’s a good point.”

Shidou’s eyes are expectant. “I know, right?” He brings both hands up like he’s about ready to forgive you of any misgiving. “Think we can maybe do something about that? Talk about it over dinner, or whatever?”

You squint your eyes in thought. “Maybe if you score five goals in your next game.”

Okay, that’s too kind.

“Hah! You’re on, babe—“

He gets a whack on the head before he even finishes. “That’s enough, demon.” In an instant, Shidou’s face is erased from your view, Sae roughly tugging him to the side via his collar. “Now move along.”

“Sae-niichan! Did you witness that—?”

“Unfortunately. It was hard to miss.”

“She’s finally agreed to go on a date with me.”

“That’s not—“

“Come drop by training whenever,” Shidou purrs, turning back to you. “I’ll show you your hat-trick,” accompanied by a very suggestive wink, before finally turning on his heel to walk back the way he’d slithered in.

There’s a moment of lag in your brain before you catch the distinct whiff of Sae’s perfume as he approaches.

“You know five goals is nothing to him, right?” you hear him say—his first words to you in person in over a month. In spite of the initial haze, his voice, now no longer filtered through phone static, is enough to clear your head. When you look up, he’s momentarily distracted by the person walking by and you catch the light tensing of his jaw. You smile when you finally catch his eye.

“Any chance you get to be on the opposing team?”

Sae has sidled up to the wall to avoid the sudden stream of people passing through, so now he’s right beside you. Close enough you can feel the fabric of his sleeve brushing against your arm. He gives your question a moment of thought.

“Not likely.” The corner of his mouth curls ever so slightly as he crosses his arms. “And what makes you think I’d keep him from scoring that date?”

His amusement at whatever expression you’re making at the prospect of his disloyalty is betrayed by the soft chuckle that he doesn’t mean to let slip.

“Goodwill?” you ask in a small voice. “You could cut 50% off my pay for a month.”

He shakes his head, turning his face away so you only catch a glimpse of what might be humor in his eyes. However humor exists in Itoshi Sae.

Out of your peripheral view, you see a gala committee member entering the hall and then stopping at the top of the stairs, seemingly relegating last-minute instructions to security. The PA system does a quick fine-tuning, before a female voice starts to speak over the classical music. Thirty minutes.

There always seems to be something unsaid—and necessary—hanging in the air. You always grab the first and most important.

“Did you get Rin’s gift?”

It takes a second before he realizes what you mean, and as he raises an arm to show you the emerald cufflinks holding his shirt cuffs closed, he catches your eye. There’s a bit of a joke in there between the two of you and you smile.

This particular Christmas gift had gotten lost in the international shipping waters for over a month, likely had gotten its supposedly straightforward France > Spain route convoluted amidst the post-holiday confusion, who knows. Upon receipt, you realized they were these exact same emerald-cut diamond cufflinks that Sae had also gotten for himself in Paris a year ago. ‘Picked these for Shitty-bro. Hope you manage to get him off your hair. Happy holidays.’ went the younger Itoshi’s handwritten card, and you thought it was the sweetest, most selfless, most thoughtful gift anyone could’ve given. ‘Thoughtless,’ Sae had corrected you, his voice lacking its typical bristle. You consider it very telling, though, the way he’d very carefully placed the precious items back into their foam box, and on his bedside table, too, (not in the closet) where he could easily see them everyday, and not to be mixed with his exact original green ones which had, by then, practically lost their former value—nothing in comparison to a gift from someone he holds dear.

The way he’d called you up way too early this morning to confirm that Rin’s cufflinks weren’t sent back to Madrid by accident, were they?

(You’ve told him no twice before 7AM.)

“Too bad Rin couldn’t make it to the gala,” you muse, “he would’ve been glad to see you wearing them,” amidst Sae’s silent protest of disagreement via frowning. Itoshi Sae and Itoshi Rin might not have had shared tables tonight, but, regardless, you know the brothers would’ve been pleased seeing the other in such a long time. Sae, for one, is always in a less melancholy mood when he and Rin share the same time zone, though he’d sooner fling himself into the ocean than admit anything close, you know.

Doesn’t matter; you could keep a secret safe.

“Well, he’ll need the extra training for scoring only 3 goals against Barcha last month.” You shake your head at his constant, stubborn resolve to epitomize Scrooge, at his stubborn refusal to even acknowledge that he had pumped his fist with each of his brother’s headline-worthy goals at the PxG and FC Barcha match last month, in the privacy of his living room—if you were the sole witness, indeed, who’s to say he even did such a thing?—but you also understand why he’s not so easily fazed.

Rin, after all, will be coming home in a week to join the national team, as well. Another win for Japan.

“Oh, you missed this one, let me—” Your hand automatically reaches out to fix something in his hair, and there’s a very brief moment wherein half his view is blocked by your forearm and all he can perceive is the light scent of perfume on your wrist. The subtle shimmer on your cheeks. But then you’re also quick to realize your sudden impulse, quick to recover your reflex, and Sae finds himself glued to how you recoil just as instantly, your fingers curling close, your lips pursed tight in quiet apology at the breach of personal space. You blink twice as if to clear the air. “You, uhm, missed a little there,” you say with a small smile, gesturing vaguely with your hand.

There’s a moment where Sae is looking into your eyes and you’re not sure what he sees, nor what he’s trying to say, but you don’t get the chance to figure it out. He reaches for the compact mirror clasped in your hand, looks into it to see what you mean and smooths the anomaly out himself. When he looks into your eyes again, an eyebrow is raised in question.

“Better?”

You have not heard his voice this close in so long and you try to remember if it’s always been just as quiet, just as personal. But you don’t give yourself time to think. Not about how his voice is sounding like, and not about how it’s warmed your cheeks and the tips of your ears that when you say your next word, you consider yourself lucky you do not fumble.

“Handsome,” you say with a genuine smile.

The PA system has now started calling again for everyone’s attention. In the interim, there’s a very quick discussion about work and his earlier schedule, as well as your reminders for him about tonight’s program. At one point, on your way up the stairs, he inches you closer by your elbow to avoid the crowd and you let him. There’s a promise to link up at the post-program socials because god knows at that late hour he might end up saying something vile and possibly become the media’s Villain of the week. Or Favorite of the week, whichever way you look at it. You tell him, though, that the media loves him; remind him, too, that all you ever really do is give him a look of either disappointment or of pride from a safe distance. He does all the answering. He does not tell you, though, that it still makes all the difference.

.

.

.

.

.

.

“So, how was the welcome crowd? Did you get them to leave you alone?” 

Ah. He remembers it now, what you’d said while you were laughing. It wasn’t nearly as funny, he realizes, to warrant laughter. But, then again, you were always laughing anyway. Something about this inevitably makes him smile.

“Not quite. I met up with Aiku and he didn’t seem like he cared. In fact, he talked and talked you’d think you were there with us.”

You chuckle quietly. There’s a joke in there too that only you two know. “Oh, that’s too bad.”

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next >>

MASTERLIST

ao3

taglist: @kunikame​ @ac-koryu-13 @dioscuridios @kiyohdasimp @ririgards @saeitoshithoughts 

[luvtonique]

Last night, a fuckin miracle happened

Tonight, at midnight, a payment is going into my credit debt that will completely eliminate it, and last night, $2000 was sent from my account to my friend Nemo to finalize paying him back for his loan that got me out of debt 4 years ago.

Tonight, at midnight, I will be debt free.

This is thanks to two donors, who donated a total of $8000 within 14 minutes of one another, wishing me a debt-free escape from California.

I have been attempting to contact them. I got in contact with one of the two, who donated $1000, and he's a complete bro and I fucking love the guy, gonna make him some pixel art as a thank you.

The other, she seems to have no means of being contacted that she left with the payment, and I can only hope she sees this.

I want to let her know how life-changing her $7000 donation is, and reward her as well with a pixel art piece.

I will also be asking both of these donors, assuming I can get in contact with the second one there, if they'd like to design characters for Melodi to be permanently immortalized in the game, even if just to give me names to give characters I design myself.

AND THERE'S A SECOND BIT OF NEWS.

Not only am I debt free, but I now have enough surplus of cash to print and ship Full Service Playing Cards Series 4.

It's been 2 years, and the guest artists have changed slightly due to some falling-outs I've had and opinions of me having changed. I also already raffled off the refunded guest-character slot from someone who didn't want to be in the deck anymore and wanted a refund.

I am redoing 100% of my art for the deck, and will be ordering the decks and personally mailing them out to the list of crowdfunders that I've been holding onto for the past 2 years.

I will be, before shipping, e-mailing every single backer of the original crowdfund and asking them if their shipping addresses have changed.

That's all!

Thank you so much, you two, this is literally life changing.

It's time to make good on this and never let this shit happen again.

[popculturebuffet]

So Let's Talk About Warner Bros Discovery Burning Down HBO Max for the Insurance Money

Okay real quick for those of you who don't know who I am: I"m Jake, I review animation on this fair blog sometimes on comission (which is open by the way) , and mostly just because I want to. I love all kinds of stuff from comics, to comic strips, to movies, and review all kinds in turns. I"m telling you this so you have full and proper context as to why Warner Bros Discovery's latests actions have been HELL on my anxiety. While this week has been a hard one for reasons that aren't your buisness, Warner just made it so much worse so rather than do three reviews this week, i'm doing two and this piece, outlying why I"m so nettled, why I no longer feel any security for anything warner has going , in production or otherwise, and why WBD sucks dirty ass in thunderstorms.

Let's begin with what's going on for those in the back who haven't heard: Last week Warner Bros Discovery made the earthshatteringly dumb decision to cancel their 40 million dollar Batgirl film, and not release it in any way shape or form as a tax write off as well as announcing they were canceling several other dc projects with the Arrowverse finally being taken out back and shot with the Flash getting canceled and given a smal lseason to wrap up (and Superman and Lois likewise detatching from said universe for it's own saftey), and just about every DC Project now in fear of being cut, paticuarlly the tv shows. The Flash MOVIE is weirdly exempt from this despite starring known human dumpster fire whose progressively spiraling Erza Miller. Granted they ARE getting help, so it might help, but it still feels odd to not drop THAT movie but drop one by people who have done absoltuely nothing wrong and is almost finished. And by odd I mean...

So yeah a 40 billion dollar diverse, great looking film is in limbo, any dc film that hasn't started shooting is in the firing range. While I do feel the DCEU badly needed an actual structure instead of just doing whatever movie without any real plan. But

Is somehow worse than no strategy. But there does seem to be SOME method to the madness here.. unfortunatley said method, as most perfectly put by my surrogate tv dad John Oliver "It seems like your trying to burn down my platform for the insurance money"

That does seem to be WBD's plan: Liquidate as much as possible, put as much of it as a tax writeoff as you can, and to hell with what comes next. There's no building going on here, just madly selling anything they can to make money. Which admitely I have done, I once had to sell off my entire 3ds collectoin to get buy, but i'm a 30 year old man with the body of an orangutan, not a BILLION dollar company that should know better. Even if Discovery is new at running this type of company, they seem more concerned with making as much money as possible and don't care if they actually surivive as a platform, if works of art surivive, or for anything other than getting a huge kickback.

And that brings me to today, the worst news in recent animation history. And keep in mind that history includes: 1. Disney cancelling the critically aclaimed and briliant owl house because it was too gay and trying to pretend that's not why they did it 2. Netflix's Childrens Content slowly collapsing into the sea with one or two exceptions. 3. Sex Monster John Lassiter somehow getting another job and a new movie AppleTV+ feels comfortable promoting. 4. The passing of Betty White, Ed Asner and Gilbert Gottfried

But yes HBO Max decided to delist a TON of his content. While ti hasn't happened yet and the backlash, and a recent blow to their stock due to this bullshit as a rare instance of corprate greed biting them, MIGHT stop it, it might be too late. The shows being chopped include Close Enough, a show they had just canceled a week ago and now decided no one can enjoy and that was not only one fo the platforms lead shows, but it's only adult animated comedy that didn't make people throw things at it on sight, Infinity Train, a show people were already mad was screwed out of more than four seasons, Ok KO Let's Be HEroes, one of the best cartoons of the 2010s, Mao Mao Heroes of Pure Heart which was stuck in cancelation limbo, and victor and Valentino, which I have not watched but is JUST going through season 3 as we speak. None of it makes sense, none of it is right and all of it is clearly a ploy to mak ea tax writeoff. And while previous managment had done this, there was a simliar incident iwth greats such as megas xlr and sym boinoic titan, never before has a company made material not only unavablaibe but so nakedly tried to claim something as a loss. I'm HOPING this bs dosen't fly in court, as none of these shows really are the net loss they thinkt hey are, paticuarlly close enough and infinity train, so none of this should add up, but i'm not holding my breath.

I'm also not holding my rage. I belivie in works being avaliable to people. Good or bad, as long as their not harmful , they should be out there and avaliable. Things should be preserved. And making it so several shows are just outright unwatchable, JUST so you can make money is one of the most greedy, discpiable, hateful and agonizing acts i've seen in some time. OK KO thankfully escapes thanks to being on hulu, but that may not be forever and they may try this shit with other platforms. For once most of these shows being on netflix in other countries is a lifesaver. And yes you can still find the stuff that's being taken on the internet, piracy can be bad but it can also be a way to preserve stuff, but I should be able to have a legal and fine means of watching Close Enough. I shoudln't hav eto scour for a show just because you want money. I'm still subscribed to hbo max as it's not me who does and it still has enough content.. but if they keep doing this scorched earth nonsense, it's going to leave them with nothing to sell and nothing to buy and no one to buy into thei rshit. and i'm hoping they learn their lesson and ease back before it's too late and one of the best platforms in the streaming wars is gone.

For now though all I can do is wait and hope like hell more things I care about don't die a cruel greedy death.

[dreamsholdpowers]

The Aftermath

(I don't own the image) ~Akaashi x Fem! Reader. Warnings: Angst, my writing (that's a warning in itself), Hurt no comfort Word count: 734 This is like a second part to "Maybe meant to meet but not to be" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You couldn't believe it, any of it. None of it seemed real to you. -Here you were a few hours ago, planning a picnic date for your 2 year anniversary and now you're left cradling your heart, or what's left of it. -The man you imagined your future with, suddenly left like the last 1.7 years didn't matter to him at all. -And here you are, sitting in the middle of the living room, trying to figure out what to do cause it just doesn't make sense? -How? Just How could he leave after spending 1.7 years beside you. After all the promises to spend the whole life together? -You pick up your phone lying a bit far from you to call him and ask if all this was a cruel joke. "Pick up, Pick up please Keiji" You pleaded, gripping your phone and felt to yell as all calls go to voicemail. there's just one text that he wrote: Pretty boy <3 : "Please don't contact, I'll get my things next week from your apartment. It's better for the both of us". - You didn't know of the hours that passed as you sat there on the cold floor crying, not that you cared either way. Everything hurt and you didn't know what to do with all this pain. - Your story started during the first year of Fukurodani Academy where you and him shared some classes and got paired up for a group project and that blossomed into a beautiful friendship. It was 9 months into the friendship when you started noticing how him doing small stuff for you would make you happy. - How seeing him would make your heart skip a beat. It was during the second year when you gathered enough courage to confess to him. After a volleyball practice when he walked you home from school: Another tradition you made as friends. You just blurted "Ireallylikeyou" to which you earned his rare smile. "I like you too" You could declare that as the happiest day of your life. -This is why you can't grasp where did it go wrong? - You could just pick up your phone to call your closest childhood friend who was a mutual to Keiji as well: "K-Kuroo he broke up with me" "No way- That bastard. I'll be over in 10 chocolate or vanilla?"

"Chocolate w-would be nice" "You got it ma'am" -Within ten minutes you heard shuffling at the door. "I'm here bro, what the fuck happened and why? Give me one good reason to not drag him here" Kuroo looked slightly out of breath and was holding a tub of chocolate ice cream. -His eyes softened as they landed on you and came over kneeled beside you, pulled you into a hug and let you cry as you re counted everything that went down. - Kuroo stayed a few days, to make sure that you were taking proper care of yourself. ______________________________________________________________[Time skip A week] -Days have been tough to say the least, everything around you reminds you of him. The locket he gave you on your birthday, The plushies he won at a fair, His hoodie that you neatly packed and kept for him to come and collect, his side of the bed. His fav books. - You cried, and no one blames you, no one saw this coming. But they were reluctant to pick sides. -Akaashi in the meanwhile, pretended that you did not exist, ignoring your existence and the only acknowledgement that you'd get is a curt nod. -It pained you, hell devastated you seeing him so nonchalant. - You wondered how could he be so calm? Does it not pain him like it pains you? Does agony not wrap her ugly claws around his heart? Does grief not poison him from the inside? Do your shared memories not pain him? Does he not look at the rain and remember you? Does the promise ring on this finger haunt him as much as it does to you? -Despite all of that, you still believe that it's better to have loved than not loved at all. -He comes to pick up his stuff that's neatly packed in boxes and brings your stuff that you know would bring you nothing but pain. -You slowly try to get back at life, get into clubs, anything that could distract you from what you felt. And that's where you met him: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Idk what this is. More like a filler. Thank you everyone that took time to read it. Hope life is kinder to you. <3333

[cloveroctobers]

OCTOBER PROMPTS 🎃 — 2. Willie Jack

A/N: okay y’all lured me in to write anotha one about our girl! Can’t believe the show is over, idk why I expected at least 4-6 seasons smh. Show will be missed and I’m open to seeing where the cast further take their careers fr. I’m not speaking on that supposed relationship between two certain characters because it wasn’t really executed to me while watching? We all know if there was going to be a relationship between the teens who it really should have focused on. So whatever they hinted at this time doesn’t actually exist and it’s not canon to me! Anyways, would definitely recommend a rewatch for myself lol.

WARNINGS: language + awkwardness when it comes to crushes?

PROMPTS are from here + I’m using: blackberry picking, “do you want some hot chocolate?” and “I don’t like scary movies.” “I’ll keep you safe.”

🕸️𖤐༘⋆/ᐠ - ˕ -マ༘⋆𖤐🕸️ 🕸️𖤐༘⋆/ᐠ - ˕ -マ༘⋆𖤐🕸️ 🕸️𖤐༘⋆/

Willie Jack is still in disbelief that she’s back.

Well…not really back she thought. Mika was simply visiting temporarily from Nebraska—of all fucken places!!! which she moved to with her house full of family a few years back. She didn’t get the chance to visit much (at least Elora did being a whole college student and shit) but it seemed like she kept up with mostly everybody else, except for Willie Jack who was still being closed off with Mika’s departure.

“What’s up with you? Why aren’t you over there chopping it up with Mika? You know she’s outta here on Sunday right?” Bear says from beside Willie Jack, who quickly turns her attention back to her friend on the field.

Willie Jack shrugs, “don’t be in my business bro.”

“Yeah Cheese is right, you’re vibe is giving preternaturalness.”

Immediately Willie Jack jerks her head back with a frown, “fuck did you just call me?”

“I don’t know but i know it fits.” Bear grins at Willie Jack, slapping his hands down on her shoulders before leaving her at the plants to join the rest.

Yes it was unusual for Willie Jack to ever distance herself from her friends. She was a social butterfly amongst her friends majority of the time but having Mika back after all this time made her feel off and that’s something she hardly allows herself to feel.

“Sup,” another familiar voice catches Willie Jack off guard from behind the shrubs, her fists going up ready to defend herself but she realizes it’s just Elora staring at her strangely.

Elora lifts her chin, “what’s up with you?”

“I really wish everyone would stop saying that shit to me. I’m cool, having a grand time with my buddy, bart the blackberry tree.” Willie Jack is waving her hands at the dark fruit.

Elora stares hard at her friend before flicking her eyes off to the group where Mika has her head thrown back in laughter at something Jackie says.

Which also doesn’t sit right with Willie Jack.

“Jackie ain’t funny, so fuck is she laughing at?” Willie Jack mutters making Elora slowly nod her head and cross her arms as she gets closer to the girl.

Elora states, “Mika’s still that giggly person we’ve always known and love. That hasn’t changed.”

“Yo, You’re supposed to be on my side here.”

“Why does there need to be sides when it comes to Mika, she’s our homie no?”

Willie Jack rolls her eyes and says nothing more at that. She did consider Mika a friend once upon a time and it’s not like she didn’t consider her as such but things did change the night that she left. And Willie Jack never told anyone about it and still wasn’t sure how she felt.

“I guess but like…it’s different now.”

“But why?” Elora pressed, “to me it seems like you’re the one making it an issue when it didn’t seem like she had a problem since she hugged you when we met up earlier.”

Willie Jack messes with her beaded earrings now, briefly thinking about that encounter hours ago. Mika was all deep dimple smiles and although Willie Jack was the last person she hugged, Mika still acknowledged her like they haven’t stopped talking.

“If I tell you, you got to promise me you won’t make it a big deal.”

Elora nods, “okay…go on.”

Willie jack looks around to make sure everyone is still out of ear shot, she scratches at the back of her neck in nervousness. She’s been holding onto this for so long now and she knows there’ll be some relief telling somebody about what went down.

“Alright so I’m just gonna come right out with it,” Willie Jack exhales, “the night Mika left to shitty Nebraska…she came over to the crib and we were out in my backyard having a bit of a heart to heart you know? And she kissed me, bro.”

“What?!” Elora yells gaining the attention of everyone and Willie Jack goes to slam her hands on top of her cap covered hair in embarrassment.

Willie Jack glares at Elora who covers her mouth trying to hide her laughs, leaving Willie Jack to turn to Jackie, Bear, cheese, and of course Mika. She gives them a commercialized thumbs up before turning back to Elora, yanking on her shoulders to shove her further away between the shrubs.

“Fuck did I just say,” Willie Jack hisses at Elora who’s grinning at the younger girl now after stumbling a bit, “you’re the one making it worse now.”

Elora rolls her eyes, “please, they have no clue what we’re even talking about.”

“Maybe not or maybe! with you sounding like a fucken surround sound.”

Elora chuckles, “my bad, bro. But this explains so much!”

“Does it?”

“Yeah! she’s been asking me about you whenever we catch up with me at school and her all the way in Nebraska.” Elora informs Willie Jack who lifts her brows at bit at the news until Elora then sighs, “I was the only one that figured out that something went on without her really saying anything about it.”

“Wait…Mika’s asked about me?” Willie Jack is rocking on her toes now and Elora sends her a knowing smile.

“Uh yeah bro, it’s not like she ever forgot about you. You’re the one who stopped sending letters and picking up the phone.”

Willie Jack lifts her chin inquiring, “How you know that?”

“Mika told me, shit ass!” Elora lightly shoves Willie Jack’s shoulders.

“So…I’ve been a shit ass all this time when Mika’s been worried about me?”

Willie Jack’s never been the type of friend to just leave you hanging. If there was a issue, she would be quick to tell you to, “not be like that!” Wanting to figure it out, even if it was only keeping each other company until you were ready to speak on it. However with Mika, things change and she wasn’t sure if it was for the better.

“Well…I wouldn’t say worried but she cares and I don’t think she ever stopped being your friend, you’re the one who stopped.”

“I didn’t mean to.” Willie Jack feels the weight of that statement and she didn’t enjoy the sinking feeling in her tummy right now.

“Then fix it.” Elora orders, “Stop hovering in the corner by yourself like a fucken weirdo and just talk to her! So maybe you guys can be something if that’s what y’all want.”

Willie Jack scowls, “who said all that? I still don’t even know how I feel about it all. It happened forever ago anyways. Maybe she forgot? Plus she could be seeing somebody and we live hours away now so I doubt that will ever work.”

“Stop doubting yourself and you won’t know unless you try.”

Plus they could always look at Elora as a prime example. Although she wasn’t that far away from Okern, Elora still put in the effort to still be around now that their lives were slowly but surely changing.

“…Mvto, Elora.”

“Don’t mention it,” Elora pushes Willie Jack’s shoulder, “can’t believe you’re growing up on me, making out and shit.”

“Ah, yeah, shut up.”

“Let’s go!”

“Alright man, don’t rush me! Let me get my thoughts together first.”

“If you think too much, you’re gonna fuck it up…more than you already have.”

“Wow, it’s like that?

“Yeah, kinda.” Elora snickers.

Elora ends up leaving Willie Jack for a few moments to gather herself, gradually directing the rest away from Mika as she sees Willie Jack making her way over.

She’s swinging her hands behind her back awkwardly as the crisp air blows. Mika’s dressed in a jet black off the shoulder baggy sweater paired with a patterned pleated skirt, ripped up stockings, and gummy bear earrings.

She’s gorgeous and it’s not fair.

“How much blackberries you think you got?” Willie Jack starts from behind Mika, who’s on her tippy toes.

She sets back down, tossing some into a picnic basket she brought along, which Bear and Jackie teased her about but she shrugged it off with a smile and middle finger.

“You know…I was trash at probability in school right?” Mika’s sunset eyes glance at Willie Jack over her shoulder, “I never guessed right or got the prizes and it definitely pissed me off to no end.”

Willie Jack leans forward, peeking at her basket but Mika playfully steps in front of it, “I’m not sharing.”

“What?” Willie Jack blows a raspberry, “I’m sure I got more than you back in my own stash. These hands are the quickest ones here.”

Mika stares off at the spot Willie Jack was once at and dips her head, almost pointing, “are you faster than a Prairie dog?”

Willie Jack whips around, locating the chunky animal running off with her sack of blackberries. “Hey you oversized chicken nugget, that shit ain’t yours!”

The animal stops in the middle on its run, dropping the bag to bare its teeth at Willie Jack who jumps back with her hands raised in the air, leaving the dog to pick the sack up with its teeth and carry on its way.

“Even the fucken animals tryin’ to tear a hard working woman down, that ain’t right! Imma tell the ancestors about your bullshit too!” Willie Jack yells as the prairie dog continues fleeing.

Mika’s laughing before softly placing her hands on Willie Jack’s shoulders, “I think that was his way of telling me to share, although you’re the one who ghosted me.”

“Don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.” Willie Jack is poking her lips out.

Mika gives the long haired girl a look before turning to put her basket on her wrist, leading the way through the rows of blackberry shrubs.

Letting out a long sigh Mika replies, “the dogs never told me you ended up with amnesia.”

“I don’t think I have that,” Willie Jack said walking beside her, “…I just don’t want to make it awkward for you.”

Mika glances at the braided girl, “For me or for you? I don’t have any regrets if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“…are we talking about the same thing? The thing that happened a couple years ago in my backyard?”

“Oh you mean: me kissing you and you kissing me back?”

“Is that how it went?” Willie Jack’s eyes were in slits now.

Mika laughs, “hell yeah, shit ass and I didn’t forget! I couldn’t, which is why I wrote to you.”

“But you never brought it up?”

“I couldn’t get the best read on you when it happened. I knew you were caught off guard but…did you like it?”

Willie Jack stares at the floor, twisting her lips around in thought. How it felt to have Mika’s always covered bracelet arms locked softly around her shoulders, and her natural scent of patchouli, apples, and brown sugar was already intoxicating before she even put her lips on Willie Jack’s. Of course she was caught off guard with Mika taking the lead, Mika’s focus only on Willie Jack’s lips as she stopped thinking about it and just did it. There was only one chance and she waited a long time to take it so why not go forth with the risk?

“I mean…I didn’t not like it.” Willie Jack peeks at Mika who nods with a small smile, “it’s just shitty that you pulled that that same night you were leaving though. Didn’t really have a chance to talk about it or process it really.”

Mika understands that, “sorry about that, the not talking about it but not the actual kissing part. guess I kinda had to process myself…since I been wanted to kiss you but I did panic when you didn’t say much after.”

“It was something…but a good something.” Willie jack bumps her shoulder with the girl who smirks at her.

Soon they’re walking in silence, fingertips brushing against each others as the make their way back to Elora’s car where everyone else is standing near it talking themselves.

“Hey guys!” Cheese waves, “we’re gonna have enough berries to last us to new years!”

Willie Jack announces, “I got the most though!”

“Where?” Jackie asks.

Willie Jack kisses her teeth, “fucken prairie—it doesn’t matter, I just do and you’ll have to take my word for it.”

“I’d rather not.”

Willie jack rolls her eyes.

Elora laughs as she gazes at Mika and Willie Jack, “you two ready to go? It’s getting dark and we got a hour drive back home.”

Her eyes meet Willie Jack’s silently hinting that she hoped they got somewhere with their talk but Wille Jack just shrugs her shoulders.

“I’ll help if you get tired, Elora.” Mika speaks up.

Willie Jack raises her brows, “you got a license?”

Mika was a year older than Willie Jack.

“Yup not long before my family and I traveled back here. Think that’s why my ma really wanted me to do it in the first place since they took my granny’s license away. She’s losing her sight and thinks my hair is on fire instead of pink.”

“Orange would look sick on you though,” Jackie comments, making Willie Jack flick her eyes over to the once bleached girl.

Willie jack adds, “you want Meeks to look like fucken child’s play? She’s wearing the pink well, better than I’ve ever seen. True queen shit, which you wouldn’t know a thing about.”

Jackie sends a look to Elora and Bear, unsure what was going on here.

Mika bumps her hip with Willie Jack’s, “we’re cool again, I think.”

“Must be with how hard Willie Jack just went for you,” Bear grins before glancing at the girl on his right, “got Jackie here speechless.”

“Fuck off,” Jackie shoves Bear while looking at the hat wearing girl, “…glad whatever you two went through is over but…do we got a problem Willie?”

Willie Jack is nonchalant, “we don’t got no beef…just chill out.”

Which definitely sounded like a warning in Jackie’s eyes.

“It was a compliment or suggestion. Don’t see Mika getting tight about it.”

“Okay! Let’s get going.” Elora steers the conversation away, “Jackie, ride up front with me.”

“Sure,” Jackie eyes Willie Jack who huffs at her, circling around to the passenger side.

Cheese gets in the middle of the backseat while Bear runs around to the other side of the car to sit behind Jackie. Willie jack is awkwardly looking at the space in the car.

“I’ll hold your basket for you, Mika.” Cheese offers, while she thanks the young boy.

Bear sees The dilemma and also offers, “You can squeeze in Mika or sit on my lap if you want?”

“Oh god,” Elora mutters, pressing her forehead against the steering wheel, making Jackie frown at her.

Willie jack shakes her head, quickly moving to sit right beside cheese, strapping herself into the car before holding out her hand, “C’mon on then, you heard Elora. We got a long way to go.”

“Ohhh are you—

Willie Jack dips her head silently making Mika smile to herself, while the rest await the scene that plays out in front of them. Mika doesn’t further question it, entering the car and sitting right on Willie Jack’s lap before closing the door behind her.

“Aw but Mika doesn’t have a seat belt.”

Willie jack carefully slips her hands around Mika’s waist, “I got her.”

“That works for now!” Cheese beams, not reading into it too much like the rest in the car are.

Bear is smirking now after it dawns on him what is happening as Mika leans back into Willie Jack’s embrace so Elora can better see out the back window but also because it was a nice place to be.

“Is this okay?” Willie Jack whispers to Mika who’s made herself comfortable, head resting back in the space between Willie Jack’s neck and shoulder.

Mika says, “yup! Long as you got me.”

“I do.” Willie Jack meets Mika’s eyes, squeezing her a bit tighter.

“Good, then we have nothing to worry about. Let’s enjoy the ride.”

“Word.” Willie jack concludes, almost snapping her eyes shut at how annoying she probably sounded but Mika just presses her forehead into the side of Willie Jack’s head.

Elora drops Willie Jack off first with Mika having to exit the car. She asks Mika if she’ll walk her to her door and she agrees with a yawn along with a stretch of her arms up into the autumn air.

“So…” Willie Jack is back to swinging her hands in front of her as she stands face to face with Mika on her stoop.

Mika laughs, “yes Mena?”

“Do you want some hot chocolate?”

“I’d love some!” She bounces on her toes, “I’ll just tell the guys that I’m staying here.”

“Yeah, okay. Nice!”

Willie Jack silently curses to herself again while she just knows her friends are in the car talking shit. She watches Mika lean against the door of the window, talking to their friends in the car, waving at them before she steps back. Skirt spinning with her as she walks back to Willie Jack and fuck she’s so pretty!

Which almost distracts her from Bear smashing his lips on the car window as Elora pulls off from the curb with a honk of her horn.

“After you my lady,” Willie Jack holds her hands out after pushing the front door open.

Mika curtesy’s before entering the home, peeking around as she steps into the first space, which happens to be the living room. “Everything still looks the same.”

“Yeah?”

“Uh huh.” Mika plops down on the couch while Willie Jack enters the kitchen, turning the stove on before opening the fridge to get the leftover homemade hot chocolate she made at midnight.

It’s quiet but it’s not awkward as Mika makes herself comfortable, folding her legs underneath her on the couch. It’s not long before Willie Jack enters the living room with steaming mugs.

“Thanks,” Mika takes the mug with a smile while Willie Jack places her’s on the coffee table.

She takes off her hat, tossing it on the arm of the couch before digging her fingers into her braid to let her hair run free. Mika watches Willie Jack as she sips on the just right hot beverage, admiring just how beautiful her “friend” is.

“Your hair’s gotten longer,” Mika observes, “it’s still stunning.”

Willie jack fans her hand about, “thanks girl, I grew it myself.”

“Hell yeah! Love it just the way it is.”

And the way Mika is looking at Willie Jack makes her heart thud in her chest. The damn girl’s only been here for a day and she’s already got her feeling a way.

“We should watch a scary movie!” Willie jack jumps to her feet, heading over to the collection of dvd’s.

Mika rests one hand in the crease of her other arm, “I don’t like scary movies.”

Willie jack looks back at Mika from her squatting position, picking up on her unease. She was aware that Willie Jack’s parents weren’t home as the house was too hushed and she didn’t see her dad’s truck in the driveway. Night time has definitely fallen and they were alone, dancing around what they could be and now this girl was trying to put on a horror movie?!

“Really?” Willie jack asks, “any particular reason or…?”

“I don’t think it’s never really been my thing,” Mika murmurs while she looks at the front door, “every time you or bear would suggest sneaking into the outdoor movie night by lake crow I wanted to stick my head in the dirt and never come out.”

“Shit…guess I gotta pay more attention.”

“Nah, who wants to be the odd one out when everyone else was down? I just dealt with it…plus you two were always so excited although I lost sleep for a few nights because of all those movies but…you get over it you know?”

“If we do this…you think you’re gonna have any nightmares?”

“Hard to say honestly.”

“Then…I’ll keep you safe.” Willie Jack strongly said, “but that’s only if you want to. I’ll even pick the least scary one out of the batch.”

Mika sips at the hot chocolate, thinking about it, “I’m gonna hold you to it.”

Willie Jack makes a offering motion with a imaginary hot chip before taking the time to go through the collection. She finds one that she thinks will be alright before shoving it into the dvd player. Once she’s seated back next to Mika, she tosses one arm along the top of the couch allowing Mika to fill in that space.

She does, shuffling closer as a long suspenseful intro starts after Willie jack fumbled with the remote. Willie jack tries her hardest to keep her eyes on the screen but it’s the heat radiating off from Mika that makes it hard.

“Hey…you’re not drinking your chocolate?” Mika points out, pulling her head back to look at Willie Jack who fails to hide her staring.

She scratches at her ear, “oh right, it’s still piping hot. Imma let it rest for a bit you know?”

“Don’t tell me you’re one of those iced hot chocolate people?”

Willie jack scrunches up her lips, “I’m not. Don’t even think I ever tried that before.”

“Hmm.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“I didn’t say anything!”

“Your face did though.”

“What’s wrong with my face?” Mika leans back to give Willie Jack the side eye.

Now they’re looking at each other and Willie Jack is silently counting the beauty marks that’s on Mika’s diamond shaped face while Mika’s peering at Willie’s side profile.

“Nothing,” Willie Jack fully turns now gripping Mika’s chin and she almost forgets to breathe correctly, “nothing at all,” before she leans forward to press her lips right against Mika’s.

Willie Jack hears her squeal a bit but Mika knows she has to hold on tighter to the mug now while Willie Jack holds her in place. Mika tastes just like chocolate and cherries while her lips feel like fresh petals. Look at that, Willie Jack could be poetic or corny when it comes to romance too! Mika’s unfortunately not Willie Jack’s first kiss but this kiss definitely makes her forget all about what’s their face. The only thing that’s on her mind is how her heart basically skips a beat with her lips right on Mika’s.

And a kiss like this has never made Mika’s toes curl before.

When she pulls back, Mika is curling Willie Jack’s hair back behind her ear. She bits down on her lips to hide her dimpled smile (which doesn’t work in her favor really, Willie Jack was so tempted to poke them) as Willie Jack slowly opens her eyes to meet Mika’s sunset.

Willie Jack remembers to breathe, “What?”

“You kissed me, you really like me.” Mika sings into Willie Jack’s face, while the girl claps her hands against her face hoping her skin isn’t warming up but knows it probably is.

Mika reaches for Willie Jack’s wrist while laying her head back on the couch, “don’t be shy now, that was glorious!”

“Glorious? Oh my god.”

“That a great thing! Marvelous! Splendid even!”

“You sound like one of those teachers who thinks the sun shines out of their ass, bro.”

Mika pauses,“I don’t think you can call me bro anymore.”

“Why not?”

“‘Cause we kissed, twice?” Mika holds up the deuces, laughing as Willie Jack shakes her head, trying to wrap her head around the fact that she initiated this kiss.

Willie Jack nods her head at her own thinking, “You’ll always be my bro…just a different type. More meaningful, a higher level.”

“Oooh so I get perks?”

“Yeah…as soon as we figure out what to do about us?”

Mika goes quiet then, knowing their time was limited. She was only here for a week, mainly to visit and go to the state fair but that thought made her depressed since she was also building a life after graduating high school…all the way in Nebraska…and that’s not something she wanted to dwell on right now.

She peers at Willie Jack from underneath her lengthy eyelashes, “We could always just make out some more until we do?”

Willie jack scoffs, “I see, you only want me for my lips.”

“And your heart,” Mika leans into Willie Jack who licks her lips, feeling those butterflies in her stomach.

Willie jack throws her head back, “the rizz is killing me!”

“You love it.”

“I think I do.” Willie Jack nods.

“Yeaaah! So kiss me.”

“I’ll do more of that after we finish the movie, I know you’ll need it.”

“So you’re the one plotting on me then.”

“Noooo.” Wille jack fails to hide her smile although this wasn’t originally her plan…it doesn’t sound half bad now.

Mika pokes the long haired girl, “Now I don’t believe you!”

“Well I hope you have it in your heart not to hold nothing else against me. I made you hot chocolate, I gave you my love—

Mika laughs a bit, “that you did, that you did.”

They briefly place their foreheads against each other until Mika moves to rest her head on Willie Jack’s shoulder. It’s not long that they turn their attention back to the screen, both confused on this grainy yet clearly dated horror film.

“I think we need edibles to enjoy this.”

That would make the most logical sense and why Willie Jack’s dad even owned this film: House (1977).

“Damn,” Willie Jack snaps her finger, “and it would be even better if we at least had the blackberries. All that work we put in, we should at least be able to enjoy them.”

Mika gasps, “I can’t believe I left them in elora’s car.”

“That blows…hopefully cheese holds them down for you or else we’ll have to kick somebody’s ass. And by somebody, I mean bear and probably Jackie’s Wednesday Addams lookin’ ass.”

Mika snorts, missing this friend dynamic, “Meeks and Mena, doing what we do best.”

“Fuck yeah, thriving and Survivin’.”

“Real shit,” Mika grins as Willie Jack slips her hand to intertwine with Mika’s.

And she enjoys how Mika’s hand fits just right in her own, although a little shaky, which reminded Wille Jack of Mika’s old fear of bodies of water when they were much younger, Willie Jack gives Mika’s a quick squeeze to ease any form of anxiety her body maybe experiencing.

Whether it be the wonders of the world or the wonders of their relationship.

They didn’t have to always search for the answers, at least not right away. So for the present they could settle into the excitement of what’s happening in the now…

To just live with the guidance of one another.

With Meeks and Mena holding on no longer tiptoeing…then perhaps that could be more than enough.

🕸️𖤐༘⋆/ᐠ - ˕ -マ༘⋆𖤐🕸️ 🕸️𖤐༘⋆/ᐠ - ˕ -マ༘⋆𖤐🕸️ 🕸️𖤐༘⋆/

Continue with my October anthology prompts here.

[dragonoffantasyandreality]

Of Fear and Statues

Based on some of my fears manifested by watching a certain analog horror series :')

(Enjoying a lot of fun for the upcoming Halloween season 😅)

Hey, at least Gordon will suffer with me XD

@teapotteringabout @skymaiden32 @knyee @janetm74 @the-original-sineater @amistrio @thundergeek59 @riallasheng @katblu42 @yarol2075 @mariashades @room-on-broom

-0-0-0-

Virgil had always wondered why Gordon - a once military man within WASP and a fearless rescuer of International Rescue - was too darn nervous when around statues. More specifically, ones from their mainland.

It was something that he noticed since the Little Squid was a teenager.

He remembered the first time that happened: when Alan wanted to look at the Statue of Liberty, the 16 year old Gordon turned pale as a ice.

"Don't go! T-There's a giant ass horned snake in there! He'll zap you out of dimensions!"

What the heck?! Was everyone's first thought.

What was that "snake" was he talking about?

And why freaking out over a monument that just stand there? And existed for a very long time and representing the liberty of their people... for a certain time.

Usually, strange rumors and scary stories that his school friends would tell him just give Gordon something to make the old age "Unsolved Mysteries" joke.

But, since then, he was terrified for even seeing a face of one of those legendary pieces of sculped art.

Thankfully, his fear had eased for the poor Little Squid. And it seemed - at least what Virgil thought - that his phobia was long forgotten...

Until recently.

Coincidentally, Virgil was sculping a beautiful gargoyle based on a Kirin, when he heard a scream booming through the Tracy Villa!

It was Gordon's...

With wet clay on his face, hands and art apron, the pilot of Thunderbird 2 rushed out of his art studio towards his wing-man's room.

When he eventually arrived, another scream nearly made the poor Virgil deaf for a moment.

Then there was a loud crash.

And then there was silence. The Fish and the Tank simply stared at each other.

Beside a trampled Gordon, lay a film box that used the house a file cylinder, a discarded bowl of caramel-flavored popcorn, and some spilled spinach juice on the floor.

On the screen of the television, was a rather terrifying looking menu screen. The visuals replicated that of analog film nearly half a century ago, the colors were black and white. A certain statue of a warrior lady with a sword in her hand, flickered in and out in the background of the static. Along with some other strange anomalies in the semi-dark sky and a muffled vintage music was playing.

The older brother reached for the remote, convientely thrown at the edge of the doorway and turned the TV off.

"Gee Wiz, Virgil!" the aquanaut broke the silence, finding his breath, "that face paint of yours made me think you were 'Freedom' coming to chop my head off, bro!"

After another moment of awkward silence, the artist slowly put his hands on his hips, with the most deadpanned expression that rivals that of Scott's.

"Gordon? What on Earth were you doing?" he stood before the curled up joker for a brother.

"Trying to face my fears... The last ep of season one still killed me!" Gordon smiled with embarrassment as he gave the Tracy Puppy Eyes.

Virgil took the box and glanced at the cover. And then suddenly, all of the puzzle pieces just clicked into place!

He had found culprit of Gordon's odd fear, written in two words:

Monument Mythos