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azsazz · 5 months

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Midnight Muse (Part 6)

Azriel x Reader [Art School AU]

Summary: You and your best friend Feyre have just moved into a new apartment for your sophomore year of college at art school. What you didn't know when you signed the lease is that you'd be living next to three rowdy boys.

Warnings: Not edited lol

Word Count: 2,891

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Masterlist]

Notes: Of course the first fic post of 2024 has to be MM 💙

_________________________________________

“So, you just think you’re free to do so as you please, where you please?” Your grating voice startles Azriel from the work he’s doing. The oil drain plug slips from his fingers as he winces, falling into the pan below.

His bike had needed some servicing, nothing he wasn’t able to take care of himself, though Cassian was supposed to meet up with him after the only class he had today and he hasn’t shown yet. His roommate was pretty handy, had to be, with how old and how often his rustic Bronco is. He’d offered to help Az, or at least sit outside and pester him, whatever he was feeling.

Apparently, he wasn’t feeling much like showing up at all, which was fine because Azriel knew exactly what needed to be done and enjoyed listening to the sounds of the world while he worked; birds chirping as they chased each other from tree to tree, other students happily talking as they walk down the block, and the occasional car driving up the street. It’s easy to focus on something like this, and he’s feeling a lot looser than he has been as of late, though he doesn’t expect that to last very long.

He wishes Cassian were here to be a buffer right now.

What Azriel doesn’t understand is what you’re doing here. Obviously, he knows very well that you live here, but after the harsh few meetings the two of you have shared, he’s not entirely sure why you’re approaching him, of all people.

Grimacing, he slips his glove-covered hand into the dark oil pan, feeling through the thick, slick liquid for the plug. He needs it, and he hadn’t really wanted to get this dirty, but at least he has boxes and boxes of gloves to use at his disposal.

He eyes you, squinting from the sun haloing around your head. You look just as you had the day you moved in—a frown tugging the corners of your mouth down, pretty eyes glaring down instead of up at him through your lashes. Your arms are crossed over your chest too, and even though it’s been a few days since he’s last seen you, he isn’t surprised about the scowl you wear.

It hadn’t been enough to avoid you, it seemed. You were going to run into each other no matter what. But he’d avoided you this long, even kept his music down to a lower volume. Okay, so, one click lower hadn’t quite made you back off of him, still pounding on the walls late at night, but he’s been trying to be nicer about it, actually listening to those knocks, lowering his music or stuffing his earbuds into his ears.

Seems like it hasn’t made you any happier, his trying.

“Am I disturbing your afternoon, all the way out here, princess?” He asks, tacking on the little nickname he knows you hate because it will get under your smooth skin.

Your foot taps with your annoyance, rhythmically. It kind of sounds like the bass line to one of his favorite songs. He realizes now that you’re not wearing any shoes. His brows furrow and his eyes slide back to yours, watching your lips purse. He can’t hide the smirk spreading across his mouth so he turns his head back to his work, watching the oil filling the pan.

“I told you not to call me that,” you growl, and he glances up, enjoying the way your nose scrunches up. “I don’t think you’re supposed to be doing this in the middle of the parking lot.”

“That’s funny,” he snipes, because why won’t you just leave him alone? “I didn’t ask you.”

Your cheeks go red. Azriel brushes it off, grabbing a few paper towels from the roll he’s brought out and wiping the oil plug clean. He’s meticulous with it, making sure all of the threads are clean before he sets it aside to wipe his gloves off. He grabs the new filter and removes the packaging, awaiting your snarky response.

You sigh, sitting down on the curb. “Look, I locked myself out and my phone is inside. Can you maybe text Cassian and have him let Feyre know the situation? He has her number.”

He cuts you a glance before his hazel eyes flicker away. Since when did Cassian have either of your numbers? Since when did he talk to you?

“He should be here in a little while,” Azriel answers, removing the old filter. He tosses it in the pan with the used oil and wipes his gloves again, cleaning them before he reaches for the new filter to replace. It slides in easily, and he caps the drain. “You can ask him then.”

You huff like it’s the most inconvenient answer in the world, but he doesn’t want to get oil on his phone, and he doesn’t want to take his gloves off right now. Not ever, but certainly not in front of you of all people. “Please, can you not be a prick right now? I’d rather let her know as soon as possible so I don’t have to be around you.”

Not exactly the response he was thinking you’d give, but it sparks his irritation anyway.

“I’m not being a prick. I’m working on something and you’re interrupting me because you’ve made the mistake of locking yourself out. Maybe you should take your phone the next time you go to the office to complain.”

Your face flushes and your mouth drops open in a gape.

Yeah, he heard all about that.

Azriel glares, unscrewing the fresh bottle of oil with a little more force than is necessary. But he’s annoyed now and he just wants to finish this so he can go on a nice long drive, far away from you.

You swallow harshly. “You’re right, I’m so—”

“Now here’s a sight I never thought I’d see,” Cassian’s voice echoes around the parking lot, startling the both of you. Azriel wills the oil into the hole faster, because he can’t bear seeing Cassian being all buddy-buddy with you. “What are you doing out here with no shoes on?”

Azriel glances at you from the corner of his eye. Your gaze flickers away as soon as his eyes land on you, turning your attention to Cassian, but you look a little defeated, shoulders curled in on yourself as if trying to hide from him.

“I uh, got locked out of my apartment and my phone is inside. I was just asking Azriel if I could borrow his phone to text you, but here you are.”

Azriel notes the way that his name rolls off of your tongue.

“Here I am, saving damsels all day long,” Cassian jokes, and you laugh.

The bottle in his hand slips, oil dripping down the paint of his bike as Azriel quickly fixes the spout back into place.

Neither you nor Cassian seem to notice, thankfully.

“Still need help, Az?” His roommate asks, but Azriel shakes his head.

“All good, man.”

“Great. (Y/N), why don’t you come on inside and I’ll wait with you until Feyre gets home. Maybe we can pick up where we left off in class.” Cassian slings an arm over your shoulder and grunts dramatically at the shove you give him. Azriel doesn’t like how friendly you’re being with each other, fingers tightening around the nearly empty bottle of oil.

And you have a class with Cassian too? He doesn’t like that either.

Not. One. Bit.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

It’s not right.

Nothing is ever fucking right.

The tattoo gun in his hand shakes and the line squiggles, array, just like his thoughts.

It’s well into the night and yet he can’t find sleep again. Azriel had tried, he really, truly, had. He’d been tired, lied down and shoved his headphones into his ears, praying that the music would keep the thoughts at bay. Flashes of memories shattered the songs, menacing words slipping between lyrics, slicing into his brain like spears no matter how loud he turned the music.

He’d tossed, turned, done anything he could to fight away the nasty thoughts, but nothing had worked.

It had been another long day in an endless string of them. Working on both his portfolio and practicing on any willing participant he could find. Usually, his roommates. Cassian had begged him for the stupidest tattoo he’s ever been asked for—even worse than a tiny little pink unicorn tramp stamp. Even though Azriel had needed the practice badly, there was no way he’d tattoo the words ‘in case I forget later:thank you’ across Cassian’s hips.

He wouldn’t be a good friend for allowing Cass to get that, and it wouldn’t look good in his portfolio anyway.

After having a pizza dinner with his roommates, who were all too lazy to want to cook on the first night of classes, Azriel included, he’d gone straight to his room for his sketchpad, ignoring Rhysand calling after him, asking if he wanted to watch a movie with them. A part of Azriel did. He wants to be able to forget everything in his stupid brain and give his full attention to a movie, but tonight isn’t the night for that. Not with all of the dark ink splashing through his mind.

So, he’d stuffed his headphones in his ears so as not to disturb his roommate's movie night, and pulled down one of the many sketchbooks he has neatly stacked upon the shelf above his desk.

It’s black cover stared at him, the void of it much like the dark matter in his mind. The leather bound journal is thick, more so than any of his other sketchbooks, as if he can shove all of the bad thoughts into it and bind it shut so they can never escape.

It had been his therapist’s idea, the sketchbook. He’d always liked art and had drawn from a young age, but the thoughts in his brain didn’t always equate to something positive. He’d struggled with it alone for the longest time, but the incident with his step-brothers had forced him to seek therapy, encouraged by both of his roommates.

Azriel had found that therapy was not for him within the first twenty minutes of the session. He didn’t like the woman trying to pick his brain. He didn’t like her fake niceties and recounting the accident he’d been trying so hard to block from his memory. He didn’t like that his hands shook the entire time, no matter how hard he’d curled them into fists. They’d shook for the rest of the week, and it had made him angrier than ever, felt like retelling what had happened only made the memories so much clearer, giving them permission to stick to his brain.

He hated it.

But she had suggested journaling, or drawing in a sketchbook. So, despite not signing up for another session with her, he drove down to the local art supply, and bought the thickest, darkest sketchbook he could find. Azriel drove to his favorite spot in town, sat there for hours and hours, pouring every little emotion he could into the drawings until he could barely uncurl his fingers from his pencil.

He stared at the drawings and they stared right back, taunting him with their dark, shaky lines and sharp-fanged smiles. His chest constricted, breath caught thickly in his throat, and he’d slammed the sketchbook shut, binding it with the leather cord and knotting it so tightly he didn’t know if his fucked up fingers would be able to unwork it. But he’d trapped them inside of the book, and they hadn’t been able to get out. For a few days, anyway.

Azriel had considered throwing it off of a cliff. Had considered burning it, tossing it into the lake, digging a hole at the state lines and burying it. He hadn’t done any of those things, though. Once his breathing had calmed and his hands stopped shaking so badly he’d tucked it into his bag and shoved it up on the shelf with the rest of his sketch pads. No one would notice. Cassian and Rhysand didn’t enter his room if he wasn’t around, and no one else was allowed in there. Most of his other sketch books were black as well, so this one was hidden well in the midst of the others.

It brings him to now. He’d pulled the dusty sketchbook from his shelf, opening it with once again shaky hands. The thoughts had been harder to dispel lately, sleep more difficult to find. It had been easy to attempt drawing out the demons with the loudest music he could find, but even he could admit, that after letting those harrowing memories from their cage and onto the paper where he could shut the cover and trap them, he felt a little better.

Better enough to attempt to work on his tattooing skills.

But the gun in his hand still shakes.

“Fuck,” he curses, tossing the gun onto his desk. The clatter cuts through his earbuds and slides, skidding to a stop once it’s knocked into the cup of pencils and sticks of charcoal. A plume of black puffs from the chalk falling from the rim and Azriel glares. “Fuck this!”

He swipes at the jagged lines of the mountain he’d been inking above his kneecap with a paper towel, scowling at the bite of uncomfort that follows the motion. The jaggedness of his lines can be passed off as the snow lining the mountain, but he’s still pissed off. If he can’t straighten out his lines, there’s no hope for an apprenticeship at all. Of course, he can fall back on his charcoal drawings, but he’s never wanted anything more than this. He’s dreamed of becoming a tattoo artist, loves everything about it, and he doesn’t want to give everything he’s worked towards up.

Azriel slumps in his seat, ripping the black latex gloves suctioned to his hands off. Running his fingers through his hair he squeezes his eyes shut tight, swallows the lump in his throat, and breathes deeply. In. Out. In. Out again.

The music is no longer helping. He tears the buds from his ears, replacing them in their charging case with shaking hands. He grits his teeth as he stares down at the marred flesh, willing them to stop trembling.

They don’t.

Before he can do something he might regret—like smash all of his things to bits, a noise draws his attention.

It’s not coming from the living room where Rhysand and Cassian are watching some action movie. He can hear the sounds of reckless driving and explosions creeping from beneath his door. This sound, however, has something zipping up his spine, his ears perking as he listens for more.

There’s a low moan, muffled by the thin wall connecting your room from his. It sounds soft and sweet, has Azriel’s spine going tight as he sits straight in his chair, cheeks getting hotter when he realizes it’s you, and the moan is a sensual one.

You must not think he’s home because he’s not blasting music, or you don’t care if he is, or maybe this is your way of getting back at him for all of the times he’s been rude to you since you moved in.

A low curse emits from your mouth, and Azriel might think that you were in pain if he didn’t recognize the lust lining the noises you’re making, the way you seem to be begging for it, calling out to the God of Pleasure.

He can’t sit here, can’t listen to this. He can’t humanize you or listen to the sweet sounds you’re making through the wall. It’s too perverted. As much as it makes his cheeks heat it feels wrong to be listening to you pleasure yourself through his wall. His body is coiled tighter than it had been with his harrowed thoughts, and he doesn’t realize that his hands have finally stopped quivering.

Azriel springs from his chair, slipping out of his room like his ass is on fire, although there’s a warmth beneath his skin that isn’t one of hatred.

“Took you long enough,” Cassian complains when he plants himself on the couch beside him, tugging a pillow onto his lap. He needs something to hold onto, is all. His friend shoves a bowl of popcorn his way, and Azriel takes a handful, stuffing the buttery goodness into his suddenly dry mouth. “You’ve missed all the good parts, but we’re watching the second one next. Rhys will fill you in.”

“No, I won’t,” Rhys adds, completely engrossed in the car chase that’s happening. “He didn’t want to watch it when we asked, so it’s his loss.”

It’s fine, really, because the movie is the furthest thing from his mind.

Azriel can barely focus on what they’re saying, on the brightness of the movie that makes him squint, so different from that of the soft lighting in his room while he worked. He refuses to look at anything but the screen but his eyes are unfocused as his mind wanders, and then his eyes are following until he’s staring straight at the door to his room as if he can see past it and through the wall inside.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•

Midnight Muse Taglist: @going-through-shit @honeycriess @natashachelsea @thisisew @kennedy-brooke @cat-or-kitten @sourapplex @magical-mischief-makers @reiincarnatiion @ccucumbers @secret-ly-here @throneofsmut @cami26cami @torchbearerkyle @a-frog-with-a-laptop @sevikas-whore @endless-worldss @vellichor01 @bangtans-jagiya @kalulakunundrum @pinksmellslikelove @sakurafrost3-blog @imxnotxhere @bookishbroadwaybish @justdreamstars @i-am-infinite @whichwitchisthebitch @i-am-a-lost-girl16 @sia-r @acourtofbatboydreams @hannzoaks @judig92 @ilikefictionalmen @harrystylesfan2686 @dr4g0ngirl @vellichor01 @hirah-yummar @girl-who-writes-stuff @lees-chaotic-brain @konaanaria13 @emiler-love @yourdorkiness @azrielsstarlight @saltedcoffeescotch @badpvn @prongslena

#azriel #azriel x reader #acotar #azsazz #acomaf #acowar #azriel/reader #midnight muse #art school au #tattoo arstist!azriel

630 notes · View notes

astaroth1357 · 1 year

Note

That 'Realistic' Summoning act was done very amazingly, it all seems like summoning them is something you should do when you're smart and at the very end of your rope.

Is it alright if we ask how things differ if MC summons them?

Or if a Witch has MC with them for the summoning? (Either as a Friend Way or they Kidnapped them, whatever you feel like you would want to talk about :3

And if not that's fine too!

It's always a joy reading your stuff! )

Ooooh, I like the way you think! 😌

Why MC Can't Have Witch Friends

Building off of my Summoning Headcanons here.

Contents: MC has "Main Character Syndrome" and is always the exception to the rule... most of the time. Very LONG post (because I didn't want to post like three then deal with requests for all of the rest. My inbox still scares me lol)

Scenario: While training in more advanced magic with Solomon, MC made a normal witch friend as a study buddy/fellow intern! Comedy ensures.

~♡♡♡~

MC Summoning Lucifer

*it's 2am on a Wednesday but MC and their witch buddy are just now leaving their alchemy laboratory after cramming for another one of Solomon's tests. Much to their dismay, they see it's raining outside, with water just pelting the pavement outside the windows*

Witch: Seriously?? This wasn’t in the forecast this morning!

MC: *glares at the droplet-coated glass then glances down at the books in their hands* You gotta be kidding...! If I get these tomes wet, Solomon'll kill me...

Witch: That's true, but I mean it's not that bad. I think I know a spell or two that could... Wait, what are you doing...?

*the MC looks away from the phone they were furiously texting on as their friend was speaking*

MC: Hm? Oh! I'm just seeing if anyone can bring me an umbrella.

Witch: You would make someone drive all the way out here just for that...? 🤨

MC: *blinks* Huh? Drive? Oh no, that's not necessary- *their phone dings and they wave it triumphantly* Ah! There we go!

*the MC slides their phone into their pocket before pulling out a stick of chalk from their summoning supplies. Their friend watches with confusion as they begin to draw a circle on the ground, but it quickly escalates to full-blown panic the more that gets filled in*

Witch: Oh. My. Word. What do you think you're doing!?!

*MC looks up from their half completed Pride sigil just in time to see their friend diving for cover behind a stairwell*

MC: W-whoa, whoa, what's wrong???

Witch: *points at the sigil* If that's going to summon who I think it is, then what the HELL is wrong with you?? Are you trying to get us killed?! You don't even have an offering!!

*the MC looks utterly mystified as their buddy struggles to at least find their purifying salts*

MC: What? Killed?? Oh no, I know what I'm doing! I've done this hundreds of times, see just watch!

Witch: WHAT-

*the MC completes the sigil and it starts to glow bright blue against the tile floor. They get back to their feet as their friend screams in terror but rather than the rage-filled beast of Pride bursting forth from the ground, a frankly tired-looking man in barely-wrinkled silk pajamas pops into existence holding out a red umbrella...*

Lucifer: *grouchily narrows his baggy eyes at MC as they take the umbrella from his grasp* Should I even have to tell you to be more careful next time...?

MC: *frowns right back and brushes some lint off of his shoulder* I dunno, should I have to tell you to go to bed before midnight?

Lucifer: MC, don't start pushing me today...

*even though it should sound like a warning, Lucifer's voice seems more exhausted than anything, which softens the MC's expression considerably*

MC: Oh, Lu....

*they pull the haggered demon into their arms. running their fingers through his hair and earning a small grunt of satisfaction from him as he melts into their touch*

MC: Thank you for the umbrella, but you didn't have to bring it if you're this tired... Go get some rest, okay?

*Lucifer only grunts again before placing a sleepy kiss on the side of their head. He grumbles out something along the lines of, "Keep safe," before disappearing in a puff of white smoke and black feathers. While the MC inspects their newly acquired umbrella, they hear the sound of their friend scrambling out from behind the stairs, practically tripping over themselves trying to get back to their feet*

Witch: What thE ACTUAL FUCK WAS THAT!?!

MC Summoning Mammon

*MC and their witchy pal are in the kitchen of their shared apartment looking over some old notebooks that Solomon gave them, most of them holding transcribed stories or old conversations with the Demon Brothers. One story in particular has been especially... perplexing to them for about ten minutes now*

Witch: "-and then the secondborn trembled before the mighty thirdborn's trident as he brought it low upon his..." *glances at MC*

Witch: "his, uh..." MC?

MC: *sitting there, staring at the notepage with pursed lips*

Witch: MC, is something wrong?

MC: Wha- *they pull their eyes away from the neatly penned words then force a quick smile* Oh, no no. It's nothing. It just... this account feels a little off is all.

Witch: Really? Didn't Solomon say that he got it from one of the Demon Lords himself...?

MC: Yeah but... You know, I think we should get a second opinion on this. *they start looking for their summoning tools to find their chalk once again* I'm going to bring out Mammon.

Witch: What?? You want to call upon Mammon right now?! *their hand instinctively goes down to guard their wallet* But we could barely afford takeout last night!! 😫

MC: *frowns at them in confusion yet again* Uh... I know that? Mammon will eat leftovers as long as we heat it up right.

Witch: *jaw drops with a pop* Th-at... That wasn't what I meant...! I mean, how the heck are you going to pay his "entrance fee" with just 20 bucks to our name??

MC: *eyes widen sharply* Oh. My. God. You're absolutely right...

Witch: Thank you! Now if you just put the bag down-

MC: I totally forgot about Mammon's gift!!

Witch: His... his what?

MC: His gift!

*MC opens their backpack digs in past the zipper. After a few seconds, they pull up a small, cutesy keychain made with black beads and a crow-shaped pendant*

MC: I found this little thing while we were thrift shopping downtown. Isn't it just the cutest??

Witch: *stares at the dinky little trinket in their hand with growing concern* 😟 U-uh... It's uhm... Uh-

MC: Look, I know what you're thinking-

Witch: -Do you really??-

MC: -but don't worry! *they lift up their phone to show a similarly styled chain hanging from the case, but white instead of black*

MC: They had a matching pair! I know he's going to love it. I'll get him out here in just a second.

*the MC gets up with their chalk while their witch friend watches them go, muttering dejectedly*

Witch: Please don't tell me that actually works for you... How in the world does that actually work for you?? 😰

MC Summoning Levi

Witch: DAMMIT!!

*the shout of their witchy pal reverberates off the drabe apartment walls, sending MC out of their bedroom to investigate shortly after*

MC: What? What's wrong??

*they come over just in time to see their friend toss a ruined cloak onto the couch. The poor garment looks like it's been torn to pieces by a pack of animals, though their friend appears miraculously unscathed*

Witch: I ran into some of Solomon's missing hellhounds on the way home and had to use my cloak as a diversion. Just look what those little hellions did to it!!

*as their pal begins to mourn their favorite accessory, MC takes a couple long looks at it before waving their hand dismissively*

MC: Hey, don't worry about it. I've got a guy just for this!

Witch: A "guy"...? You know a tailor?

MC: Er... Well not exactly. Whenever I need something sewn up, I just call Leviathan.

Witch: ......

Witch: The...

Witch: The Grand Admiral of Hell's Royal Navy...

Witch: ... sews your clothes...?

MC: *blinks then flushes a bit* W-well not all of my clothes... But, you know, if I need something mended he usually lends a hand...

Witch: I didn't even know he could sew...

MC: Well, Levi's actually very talented in a lot of things! I'll even show you, just, uh...

Witch: Just... what? 🤨

MC: Well he's is pretty shy, so let me do most of the talking... And try not to look at him for too long, but also don't actively avoid looking at him either. And I know it's going to be hard, but try to keep up if he gets on one of his tangents because it really means a lot to him when people listen... Oh, and-!

Witch: What are you, his therapist??

MC: *shrugs* Kinda. I'll go get the chalk.

MC Summoning Satan

*MC and their witchy pal are in an out of the way bookstore specifically for esoteric relics and forbidden magical collections. It's an amazing little place, but it's chock full of shelves upon shelves of impossible to decipher titles and mindbending illustrations that have left the two feeling hopelessly lost...*

Witch: This is taking forever... How the hell does Solomon expect us to find anything in here??

*they look down at the small list of books their less-than-prescient mentor asked for, most of which with titles like "Cgfthgnm'o'th" or "Ghatanothoa"*

Witch: I mean, is this an errand or a C-tier fetch quest...??

MC: Ugh!... I swear Solomon knows that I'm no good in these places... Let's see.

*MC sets their summoning supplies down on a nearby table to look for their chalk and, for once, their friend actually seems kind of relieved to have the short-cut...*

Witch: Are you calling for Lucifer again...?

MC: Hm? Oh no, I think I've heard Satan talk about this place before, so maybe-

Witch: 😳 Hold on. Do... you mean that Satan?? THE Satan???

MC: *blinks* Uh... Yeah? Is there another one or...?

Witch: "Is there another one?" Are you for real?? How do I look? Is this presentable?? Shit, is it true that he hates the color red?!

MC: Where did you...? I mean, he likes green, I guess but I don't see-

Witch: WAIT, don't bring him out yet, we need a cat!! I think the café down the street attracts a few strays. I'll go grab one and come right back!!

MC: *holds up their hands to try and keep their friend from running past them* Hold on, we don't need any of that! What has gotten-??

*the MC yelps as the witch grabs them by the front of their shirt and grips the fabric tight, a burning look of determination setting their eyes ablaze*

Witch: MC, DO NOT ruin this for me!! Do you have any idea how well-connected that guy is? How many covens would kill just have someone around who's on his good side?? If this is the first impression I'm going to make, it's going to be a damn good one!

*they let the MC go only to snatch their summoning bag from the table beside them and stuff it under their arm*

Witch: I'll be taking this and you stay right here! I'll bring everything back after I go change into something green and find a spare cat!!

*as they watch their pal sprint out the door with what was effectively their only means of physical communication with the boys, the MC takes a seat at a dusty table and rests their elbows on the surface*

MC: I guess Solomon is getting those books a little late now... 😕

MC Summoning Asmo

MC: Ow!!

*the MC and their witch friend have JUST finished washing up Solomon's experiment beakers and half-eaten plates from his lab, the latter of which look so disgusting you could mistake them for old petri dishes. As the MC dries off the last glass and goes to slide it in place, they miscalculate their finger position and jam their nail right into a stack of ceramic plates*

*they pull their hand back out and they're previously trimmed nail is now broken into a sharp, jagged mess...*

MC: Oh dammit...! I just broke a nail...

*while they inspect the damage, their buddy slides next to them to look at it over their shoulder*

Witch: Huh...

Witch: Let me guess, you're going to call on ASMODEUS HIMSELF to fix it, aren't you? 🙄

MC: What?? No, of course not! I have my own kit for this, thank you very much. 😠

*their friend's eyebrows raise, almost like their impressed that MC is showing at least a modicum of self-restraint*

Witch: Well, well. I didn't think you woul-

MC: Though it IS almost time for him to give me my bi-monthly skin detox treatment so... 🤔

Witch: Are you kidding me??? 🤬

MC Summoning Beel

*the MC and their witching buddy FINALLY have a day off from Solomon's constant pestering lessons. While they discuss their upcoming plans, the news of a big human world fair in the area comes up. Though their friend seems less than impressed, MC immediately latches onto the idea for uh... reasons.*

MC: Okay, okay, I know this how this is gonna sound, buuuut we should invite Beelzebub to go to the fair with us!! 😁

Witch: ....

MC: 😀 .... So, yeah? Is that a yes?

Witch: .... MC. I swear, even you have to know why that's a bad idea... No mortal event is ever going be stocked enough to keep him from eating us-

MC: *GASP* WHAT??

MC: Beel? Eat US?? In a place with that many vendors, that'll be so unlikely. I'm sure we'll be safe!

Witch: Annnnd I just noticed that you left out the part where you're supposed to say, "Oh, he would never do that" to reassure me....

MC: Oh come on, I'm positive that he wouldn’t want to eat us, at least. He's a big softy and he really tries to keep himself in check...

Witch: I fail to see how that makes things any better...

MC: It will. Trust me. Look, Lucifer can send me enough pocket money to keep Beel fed while we're there. Pleeease, just give it a try...!

MC: I've been telling him about cotton candy and funnel cakes for years! He'll be so excited to come with so pleeeaaaase? 🥺

Witch: I think I'm starting to see why they keep caving in to you so quickly.... 😑

MC Summoning Belphie

*it's been several long nights in the shared apartment as MC and their witchy pal have been cramming for another one of Solomon's infamous tests... Despite having the test in the morning, both have long let time get away from them and neither were particularly well-rested to start with...*

MC: Shit, it's almost 2 again...

Witch: Seriously...? *checks the closest clock then snaps their book shut* Great... I think know a restorative spell or two, but there's not a lot of time to... *they stop as they see a sleepy MC reaching for their goddamn chalk again*

Witch: ... Uh, MC?

MC: Mmm...? *they blink their drooping eyes and yawn* O-oh, sorry... uh. Don’t worry about me... I got a guy for this too...

Witch: *frowns* You've got a...?

Witch: 😳 ... No... No, you can't be serious... You are NOT thinking of who I'm thinking of right now, right? Right??

MC: *rubs their eyes* Eh? Um... no? Maybe?

Witch: Do NOT summon Belphegor! No one ever summons Belphegor!! Especially to go to sleep at night!!

MC: Huh...? 😕 Why not? Isn't sleep what he's good at...?

Witch: Yeah sure, if you're looking to never wake up again! Drink some sleepy time tea or something, but keep Belphegor out if it! You're going to get yourself killed!!

MC: What do you...? *they blink then, suddenly, it actually seems to piece together for them for once* Oh. Oh! You must mean that Belphegor...

MC: Don't worry, he promised to never kill me again, so I'm safe.

Witch: That's not the-wait did you just say "again?"

MC: I'm going to bed now. Goodnight...

*the MC gets up and starts back towards their room without answering the question and their roommate calls after them*

Witch: Don't bring him or I'm taking selfies at your funeral, you hear??

~The Next Morning~

*their witch friend steps out into the kitchen, completely drained after having some AWFUL dreams the night before, just to see a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed MC in the middle of making breakfast. Their newly refreshed look is so radiant that they're practically glowing with health*

MC: Good morning~!! Would you like some pancakes? 😊

Witch: ..... I'm trying so hard not to hate you right now.....

MC: H-huh? Why?? 😨

MC Summoning Diavolo??

Witch: So... Could you do it?

*MC and their witch buddy are sitting on the floor of their living room with MC's summoning equipment in front of them. Both of them have their arms crossed as they run through their hypothetical*

MC: I mean, maybe I could... But I dunno. I not even sure where to start...

Witch: MC. You are probably the most successful summoner I've ever seen. I say just go with your gut.

MC: Oh? My gut, huh...? 🤔

*after some quiet reflection, MC grabs their chalk and begins to sketch out a new circle, making it a much larger one than all the rest*

MC: Let's see... we'd need a sigil so.

*they swipe in three long slash marks, then fill them out until look like taloned legs, humming as they go*

Witch: *frowns* Uh... MC? Isn't that just the corporate logo for the Three-Legged Crow?

MC: Yep! I figured since Dia owns the place, it should probably work. 😁

Witch: *blinks furiously* Wait, he owns what-

MC: Forget I said that. Anyway. Now we need the offering! Uhhhmm... *they tap their chin before breaking into an excited grin*

MC: I'll go get some McDonald's!

Witch: What???

MC: Dia loves human world fast food when he can have it, so that ought to work! *they start to gather their things to go out, but stop just before the door*

MC: Oh! While I'm gone, look around my room for my copy of Dark Persona 4! Levi says he's been getting into that series a lot.

Witch: He plays video games too???

MC: Only when he can! Just trust me, I'll be right back! 😁

~Twenty minutes and three orders of cheeseburgers later~

MC: Okay! Almost ready!

*they take a proud step back from their work of ritualistically arranging cheeseburgers, french fries, and ketchup packets on the makeshift summoning circle and... it sure is something. Just as their witch friend is starting to lose all hope that this idea could ever hold water, the MC goes on to add the final touch by plopping the Devil Station game right in the middle of it all. They take one BIG step back and....*

*...nothing happens*

Witch: .... Huh. Well. I guess there's stuff even you can't do-

*the markings on the ground suddenly radiate a light brighter than the sun that gets snuffed out by the growing shadows in the room. It's as if every ounce of darkness surrounding them is attempting to funnel its way towards circle's center, swirling in place like an inky black portal to the hellish depths below. Just as the MC and their friend dive behind their couch for protection, the darkness suddenly dissipates and everything, surprisingly, returns to normal*

Witch: *shakily looks at the wrecked room from behind the couch cushions, pale as could be* ... Wh-wha... what... the fuuu...

*MC's phone starts going off, startling them both, but they pick it up anyway*

MC: H-ello...? O-oh Dia!!

MC: No, no I'm fine there isn't any emergency!...

MC: No, please stay put!! I was just messing around with a friend, but I'll be way more careful going forward!

MC: .... And what would Barbs say?

MC: .... Yeah, I didn't think so, but I'll come back to see you soon, okay?

Witch: *springs to their feet reaching PEAK frustration with it all*

Witch: SERIOUSLY, WHAT EVEN ARE YOU?!?

MC Summoning... Barbatos...?

Witch: MC. This is an emergency.

MC: Yeah but-

Witch: He'll be here any minute. We're screwed!!

MC: Maybe it won't be so bad-!

Witch: I saw him buying JELLYFISH yesterday, MC! JELLYFISH!!!

MC: ..... 😨 What if we disconnect the stove???

Witch: MC!!!

*their friend pulls out their own summoning chalk and shoves it into MC's hands, clasping them closed in a desperate plea for help*

Witch: We have to some kind of meal plan in place or Solomon is going to make us dinner tonight. You know and I know that there's only ONE person who can keep him out of the kitchen at this point. MC, you have to summon Barbatos!!

MC: B-but...! But-!!

*their friend doesn't wait for them to finish before pulling them down onto the ground and making enough room for them to start drawing*

Witch: THERE'S NO TIME!! Do it, MC!! Do it!!

*they lean back to watch as the MC rests th summoning chalk on the ground, but rather than drawing their hand remains perfectly still...*

Witch: MC? What are you waiting for??

*their friend leans over to get a good look at their face, and they see that the MC's forehead is already glistening with beads of sweat... Their hand goes from still, to trembling slightly when they attempt to make their first stroke... only for their grip to snap the chalk in half completely. The MC stares quietly at their hand for a few moments, before setting everything down and pulling out their cellphone instead*

MC: Y-you know, I think I'm just going to call him.... 😥

*as their witch friend watches the being who hugged Lucifer, tamed Belphegor, and (unofficially) summoned the Demon Prince himself, chicken out of summoning this one last demon they know, a single question burns deep down in the pit of their stomach*

"Just how scary is that butler...???" 😰

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soursvgar · 1 year

Note

Happy new years eve! Could you perhaps write something small about celebrating new years w the bros for the first time? What would they like to do on occasion? Eat fondue? Try making resolutions? Stay up to watch the first sunrise?

Maybe they don't even celebrate it because its kinda meaningless when your lifespan is so long lol

New Year's Eve with the brothers ♡

A/N: Hi anon, thank you for this prompt! This is really tiny, but i wanted to post it today to make it relevant so i hope you still like it!! ;v; ( i also just realized you said new year but i made it more new year's eve themed so i hope that's okay >< ) happy new year everyone!

Demon brothers x gender neutral mc

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

ෆ Lucifer will get drunk and make a heartfelt confession.

"Maybe you should hold back on the demonus a bit-" You try to release the bottle from Lucifer's grip, but the latter was squeezing it a bit too tight for you to peel it off his fingers. You knew he was stressed, but didn't realize he was that stressed to finish an entire bottle of the intoxicating drink. Diavolo decided to throw a new year's eve party for you, and you recently found out he had put Lucifer in charge of organizing it. With his plate already full, you couldn't help feeling apologetic, despite you not being directly involved.

"Lucifer, I'm really sorry. If I knew of the party beforehand, I would've helped you with it." You decide to sit by him, hoping the light stroking of his arm will help convey your feelings. However, Lucifer only grins as he gazes at you, eyes shining with adoration. "Nonsense, you have nothing to be sorry for. I would do that all over again, for you." He puts down the bottle, now taking your hands in his. "You're the best thing that happened to me, to us. You've made this year worth more than all of my years in this realm combined, and I hope you'll stay by my side to make my next year just as happy."

ෆ Mammon will kiss you at the countdown.

"Ten, nine, ei-" Your counting is paused by a pair of lips pressing against yours, and doesn't resume for what seems to be longer than ten seconds. "Happy new year." Mammon smiles as he pulls away from you. "You know you're supposed to kiss me after the countdown, right?" You snicker, though, you have no complaints regarding his actions.

"I know, but I heard humans believe that if ya kiss your loved one at midnight, you'll be together for the rest of the year, so I was thinking- if I kiss ya before, during, and after, you would love me forever! Pretty smart, ain't it?"

ෆ Leviathan will create a vision board with you.

You had been intending to assemble a vision board for the new year for a while, but it slipped your mind with your busy schedule, only to return on the last day of the year. You came to Levi for help, partly because you knew you wouldn't be able to finish it in time alone, but mostly because you wanted to spend the night with him doing something fun together, and wasn't sure how to bring it up. The two of you were almost done carefully placing the pieces on the board when Levi lets out a sudden gasp.

"Wait, we forgot the most important part of the vision board!" Levi rummages through the scattered papers, pulling a picture of the two of you from the pile of photographs on the floor before he glues it right in the middle. "You have to have this on as well, so we can experience all those great moments next year together."

ෆ Satan will learn about different traditions for you.

"What color is the underwear you are wearing?" Satan asks, completely unaware of how his question comes off, at least until he catches a glimpse of your reddened cheeks. "O-Oh, I mean, I just read that some cultures in the human world believe that wearing different colors of underwear on new year's eve will bless you with luck in different aspects of life." He pauses to make sure you follow. "And... well, I wanted to see if you're wearing red- wait, I didn't mean see-" You chuckle as he clears his throat, his face is now the one turning pink. "Anyway, not like you need any more luck in that department when you have me."

ෆ Asmodeus will take you out to see fireworks.

"Where are we going? I told you I'm not joining one of your parties." You had already changed to a comfortable attire, planning to spend the last day of the year relaxing at home, but Asmo has other plans, insisting for you to come outside with him. "Pretty please? With a cherry on top? I promise you won't regret it!" He whines, grabbing the sleeve of your sweatshirt and pretending to be pulling you off the bed.

At last, you surrender, following Asmo to an open meadow with a remarkable view of the city. "Happy new year!" He beams when the clock strikes twelve; colorful lights illuminate the night skies as the sounds of explosions echo through them. "There are fireworks in the devildom?" You query. Captivated by the enthralling sight, you barely detect Asmo's arm wrapping around your shoulder to bring you closer. "There are now, for you, love."

ෆ Beelzebub will have a feast with all kinds of traditional food.

"Here, here! Try this!" Beel chimes, happily holding the chopsticks to your mouth. "Beel, I really can't eat anymore- I think you'll have to finish the rest on your own." You sigh. Truth is, you've been full after the seventh dish he had you sampling, but his enthusiasm was just too adorable to not cooperate with. "But these soba noodles are amazing, and you haven't even tried the lentils- it would bring you good fortune! Although, maybe you should hide that from Mammon." Beel shrugs as he continues stuffing his face.

"You know you could've just asked what food I eat during this time in the human world, right? You didn't have to cater food from every single country on earth." You laugh, finally stepping down from the tasting fest as you officially call quits.

"Hm? But where's the fun in that?"

ෆ Belphegor will fall asleep before the clock strikes twelve.

Belphegor really did try his best to fight the fatigue for a couple long hours while the two of you celebrated, but at the end, he succumbs to fatigue as his head falls perfectly on your shoulder- right before it hits midnight.

"Happy new y- oh, why are you looking at me like that?" Puzzled, Belphegor yawns, eyes glancing over to the clock after confronting your glare. "I missed it huh... I'm really sorry." He grins sheepishly, leaning in to place a peck to your pouting lips. "Well, are you still mad or can I get my new year's kiss now?"

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me scenarios #obey me headcanons #obey me imagines #obey me mc

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chouxsardine · 5 months

Text

The Lucky Ones -- Danny Wagner x reader

Summary: Does superstition still work its magic when it comes to love? --a spontaneous new year tradition leads to confessions between you and Danny

Pairing: Daniel Wagner x reader

Word Count: 3229

Warnings: mention of alcohol, cussing, superstitions, slight allusion to previous abusive relationship, insecurity

Genre: fluff, COTTON-CANDY-GRAPE LEVEL OF SWEETNESS, friends to lovers

Author's note: Here is a VERY LATE Danny's Birthday/New year fic and also my first time writing Danny! Inspired by the viral tiktok trend about amusing new year traditions. I find them very interesting. I wish everyone a belated happy new year and all the best wishes. Please enjoy :))

🎧: The Lucky Ones by Lana Del Rey (by now titles from song is canon lol I'm so sorry)

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

You have always been a superstitious person, not religious, not believing in magic or the supernatural, just superstitious. Yes, you do believe ghosts exists, and you try to cover your eyes and ears when watching horror films. You hold awe and veneration for some “higher power” like your primitive ancestors. Since childhood, you have always been meticulous about the details, from the direction in which your slippers are pointing at when you take them off before bed to what to eat for breakfast the day of your school theatre showcase. Growing up, many people misunderstood your behavior as symptoms of OCD, but only you know that it is merely the result of your obsession with coincidences and the compulsion to recreate the happiness they have brought to your life; far from being diagnosed as an disorder.

You are going to spent the New Year’s Eve with Danny. You have known each other since you were little kids and have been best friends for over two decades. Friends and families have been teasing you two about being together, and almost everyone thought at least one of you was going to make a move during Christmas. But, alas, nothing happened as the days passed, and here you are, about to draw an end to another year of your friendship. Your feelings for Danny have certainly have developed beyond just platonic level, but you also didn’t want to ruin the precious friendship you have built throughout the years. Plus, you have to admit that you are waiting for a sign. Ah, yes, it is your superstition at work—you believe that there will be an omen indicating the time is ripe to confess your true feelings for Danny. It is not very often that he gets a break from touring and returns home. For now, you just want to be close to him, spend quality time together, and create more memories.

It is safe to say that you nearly jumped off the couch when you saw the trend about “eating twelve grapes under the table at midnight of New Year’s Day for good luck.” How are you only seeing this the afternoon of December 31st? You are already at Danny’s, and the only food you brought over is your renowned passion fruit cheesecake.

“Danny? Do you have any grapes left?”

“What?” Danny yells back from downstairs.

“Do we have any grapes?” You look around the room. The fruit bowl on the counter is filled with limes, which are for making margaritas later. Oh, you should have known better.

“I don’t think so. Do frosted grapes count?” Danny enters the living room and opens the fridge door.

You watch expectantly as Danny opens the freezer section. To your disappointment, there are only five freezer-burned round objects that could hardly be identified as grapes huddled together in a ziplock bag.

“What’s wrong, y/n? Suddenly craving some grapes?” Danny asks amusingly.

“No…well, yes,” You defeatedly close the fridge door and show Danny the post you just read. “It says you’re supposed to eat grapes for good luck.”

“Hum…”Danny’s eyebrows knit in concentration as he skims the article. “I think grocery stores are still open today.”

That’s the thing about Danny. Although you try to hide your superstitious behavior from others, you are never afraid to be yourself in front of him. Instead of thinking you are weird or childish, Danny finds your “little rituals” cute and endearing. He never presses on with questions, which only makes you more willing to explain them to him. And Danny is one hell of a listener.

Nothing compares to the last grocery run of the year. Maybe last-minute Christmas shopping comes in a close second. You are prepared for sensory overload when you see the preoccupied parking lot.

“Looks like everyone forgot something for their dinner,” Danny pulls open the passenger’s side door. Panic suddenly struck you.

“What if everyone has read about it and grapes were sold out?”

“I guess we will find out in a minute.”

Your worries almost became reality. There were only a few bags left on the fruit shelf, and they were obviously being picked over—from the plastic packaging, you saw a few were squished and watery, the ones near the bottom looked withered and brown. But you were positive that you could knock together twenty-four grapes from them.

“I swear you’re my lucky star, Danny. I bet there would be none left if you didn’t come with me.” You sigh in relief as you put all the remaining three bags into the cart.

“That’s a lovely to hear, y/n. Anything else we need for auspiciousness?” Danny asks half-jokingly.

“Actually, we do!” You remember the title of the little pop-up link as you scrolled to the end of the article and saw it mentioned collard greens and black-eyed peas.

Collard greens were easy to find; the panic threatened to twist your stomach again when you didn’t see any canned black-eyed beans.

“Kidney beans…chickpeas…romano…lentils….” Your eyes move fast down each row. “They only have bags of dry beans and we don’t have time to soak and boil them!”

Danny is scanning the label with you until he reaches to the top shelf and grabs a can of mixed beans.

“Look, there’s black-eyed peas in mixed beans. We can just pick them out,” Danny suggests.

“Oh my god, that’s genius!” You perk up immediately.

“Just making good use of my height advantage, I guess,” Danny beams.

On the way home, you are humming along to Queens playing in the radio and clutching the grocery bag containing a bundle of collard greens, a can of mixed beans, and three bags of grapes in your arms, as if you are taking home a puppy from the shelter. Danny couldn’t help but smile at your little expressions of contentment; he loves how you are always able to preserve the childlike innocence to appreciate all the tiny beautiful things.

As soon as you get back home, you dive into further research. By dinner, you had watched a dozen of different videos and five more articles about how exactly one should eat the grapes, answering your question of which colour grapes should you eat (both are fine, and you made sure to buy both red and green ones), whether you should eat them at the countdown to the new year or the first minute of the new year (the latter) , and whether you should sit under a table while eating it (answers vary on this one, but you decided to do it under the table anyways).

Danny is washing the grapes at the kitchen sink.

“Y/n, do you want to pick out the twelve you’re gonna eat?” He asks as he drains them in the strainer basket.

“Oh yes! Thanks for washing them, Dan,” You scamper over. Danny looks so cozy and relaxed in his sweater. His curls tied back into a small pony tail, a few stubborn strands framing his face. The hot, attractive drummer on stage that has the fans screaming and swooning is so different from the huggable human-sized teddy bear that you get to see a lot more often, but it still has the little girl inside you all rosy-cheeked and fluttered nonetheless. For a moment, you are lost appreciating his profile, his lips slightly pursed, long eyelashes casting shadows as he looks down in concentration. The grapes look delicate in between his strong and lean fingers.

“Y/n?”

You are pulled back from your thoughts and bump right into Danny’s mossy brown eyes staring at you. You feel your cheeks getting hotter. Is it still normal to feel the butterflies even after you’ve been friends for so long?

“You are doing this together with me, are you?” You ask as you hold up two grapes to the light, turning and inspecting them as a gemologist. You never wanted to push your own habits and rituals onto others. You have learned from that mistake in past relationships and have since been careful about not coming across as the superstitious version of the lunatic “horse girl”. Although Danny has been considerably supportive about this—buying the grapes with you, coming up the clever solution with the beans, and now this grown ass man is leaning over the kitchen counter and being the judge of a “grape beauty pageant” —the insecurity deep down still peeks around the corner.

“Of course, my dear. I wouldn’t say no to some good luck for the new year.” You can tell Danny’s smile is genuine. Upon seeing the curve of his lips, you could heard the bubbles of second thoughts in your mind popping.

“Look, we even got the cotton candy kind of grapes, those are your favourite.” Danny holds up a bunch of particularly green and shiny grapes.

You almost let out a chirp at the sight of it. You must’ve ignored the label as you hurriedly picked them up at the store. As the name suggested, they do taste like cotton candy. When your teeth break open the skin, the juices are like pure honey pouring down your throat. “And they make the best frosted grapes too!”

“You’re right. We can make another batch with the left overs to ‘replenish our frosted grapes arsenal’.”

You feel a warm, tingling sensation on your palms. Itchy palms are a good sign, right?

Half an hour to the new year, you have already situated yourself under the bar table in the kitchen, the only table in the entire house that is high and spacious enough for two grown adults to crouch under.

“Mind your head!” You extend your hand to pad the underside of the table as Danny gets down on his knees and scoots next to you, almost bumping his head.

“Ooops, close call,” Danny sat down cross-legged. “You know what, I just realized my house probably wasn’t the safest if there was an earthquake or something.”

“Shhh….Danny!” Out of your superstitious habit, you immediately put your fingers on his lips to shush him without much thinking. “Knock on wood!”

Danny pliantly knocks three times on the table above his head, laughgin at your seriousness.

You withdraw your hand, the softness of his lips lingering on your finger tips. “I don’t think this little table is going to do much anyway if it really comes to that,” you said.

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”

The phrase came out his mouth so naturally, without a single second of hesitation. It transported back you into the time in kindergarten when you were pushed aside while waiting for you turn to play on the slide, you looked up through tear-blurred vision; the time when you were on a camping trip and you were nervous about stepping off from the canoe onto the river bank; the time in the scary escape room where your palms were all sweaty and your teeth were biting your bottom lip so hard that it almost drew blood…all these times, there were always a pair of steady hands beside you and a calming voice saying, “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”

You quickly blink a few times, getting back to reality and focusing on the two plates in front of you. It must looked like the weirdest “Girl Dinner”—a forkful of boiled collard greens, one tablespoon of black-eyed peas rinsed and drained straight out of the can, and twelve grapes (six green and six red).

“Okay, enlighten me on how to do this,” Daniel asks.

“So I looked into it a bit more. We are supposed to eat each grape along with each chime of the clock once it strikes twelve, but realistically I don’t think anyone can do that without choking, so we just have to make sure we finish all of them by 12:01. Then we eat the veggies and the beans.”

“Uh-huh, weird combinations,” Daniel muses.

“I know. That’s why I got us champagne afterwards to wash it all down.” You point to the two glasses not very far from you.

“Damn. All teed up.”

“Oh I almost forgot! One more very important thing: you are supposed to think about the wishes for the new year as you eat the grapes, one for each month!”

Your palms grew slimy again as your eyes glued to the counting down on the phone screen.

“Oh my gosh, Danny we are doing this…six, five, four, three, two, one!”

You close your eyes and start popping grapes into your mouth one by one. The excitement and adrenaline crush down the twelve preformed coherent wishes in your mind into word soup. Apart from the recurring ones like “health,” “safety,” and “happiness,” the letters spelled “Danny” again and again. Wishing Danny to stay happy and healthy, luck and success for the band and touring, hoping you get to see Danny more, spend more time with Danny, be with Danny….

You swallow down the last bite of your grapes as you open your eyes. You see Danny looking at you, smiling, his cheeks still puffed like a hamster from chewing. There is something magical about seeing the person you wished for right there the moment you open your eyes. It is like seeing the fairy godmother popping up on your birthday cake after blowing out the candles. You giggle as you both devour the greens and the beans, and your glasses clink together as you gulp down the champagne, releasing the satisfied “ahhh” exhale afterward.

“Oh wow.” You hold up the phone. The both of you watch as the seconds tick to 00 and the minutes change from 0 to 1.

“Happy New Year, Y/n.”

“Happy New Year, Danny.”

You two still sit in the not-so-comfortable position under the table, listening to the echoes of the chimes and the sound of fireworks in the distance, savouring the imaginary freshness of the new year, taking it all in like sniffling the smell of ink on the crispy pages of brand new books. Suddenly, you feel the warm feeling slipping away from you, as if visualizing a red line dropping on a thermometer. You don’t know if it’s the sight of the empty dishes and glasses or the adrenaline ebbing away, you aren’t prepared for the previously tamed insecurity to suddenly resurface. The aftertaste of the grapes turned sour in your mouth and made your skin crawl.

“What’s wrong, y/n?” Sensing the change in your mood, Danny turns to you, immediately finding your hands and soothingly brushing circles on your palm with his thumb.

“Danny, are all these…am I…too much?” Your voice are incredibly quiet, fearing it will break. Before Danny can answer, you continue, “do you think this is too….childish and crazy?”

“Okay, y/n, take a deep breath,” you felt the warmness of Danny’s hands steady on either side of your cheek, grounding you in his loving gaze and gentle touch, “you’re not going to cry on New Year’s Day, that’s not good.”

You take in a shaky breathe, trying your best to ease the stinging feeling in your eyes as the tears threatened to spill.

“Good girl. Now, talk to me. What happened? Why are you sad all of a sudden?”

“Danny, I just felt like…” you are plagued by the flashback of the hurtful words of your ex, it still stings as you recite them, “I need to grow up and quit these stupid superstitious nonsense, quit fooling around like a five-year-old…and, and treating everyone around me like one!” You inhale deeply again to regulate your breathing.

“No, y/n. Look at me, and listen.”

“You don’t make eye contact with the microwave timer when it’s has 13 seconds remaining. You always try your best not to step on cracks on the pavement, which makes you sometimes do those goofy strides. You always visit every wishing well in the cities we travel to.”

Your eyes widens as Danny recounts each of your weird little habits chapter and verse. Wait, he remembered all of them?

“I don’t give a fuck what other people have said about them, and I wish you don’t either.” Danny always tries not to swear in front of you, so you know he really means it when he pulls out those words.

“They are what makes you…you. They are an essential part of being y/n, and that’s important. You should never second-guess or change yourself just because some asshole yaps about it. Remember that one time you told me you always cling on superstitions because you feel like good things don’t often happen to you in life, so when they do, you want to remember the way they come and try to make sure they visit the next time?”

You nod, your heart melting.

“Hearing that breaks my heart, y/n, because I think you deserve all the good things in life. It’s my wish that in the new year, this beautiful, kind, and wonderful girl in front of me will stay away from toxic people, keep the people that love and cherish her close, and always prioritize her own well-being.”

“My wish and my luck is seeing you be happy, you know that? I’m the luckiest man in the world when my girl is the happiest.”

“Danny…” You lean into his touch, closing your eyes for a few seconds to savour the moment. You feel like an air ballon fueled by the love in your heart, free and fearless.

“I really like you, y/n,” he said, “as a friend and more than a friend.”

“I like you too, Danny. My feelings are mutual.” The words automatically fall out your lips, as if they have been prepared for this moment for years.

“Yeah? You know what my other wishes are? I hope y/n can be my girlfriend. I want to prove to her how lucky and deserving she is of all the good things.” He is looking at you as if you are the most precious being in the whole world, and in this moment, you truly are.

“I think…I can make that wish come true.” You say timidly, your hands also cupping his jaw. You can feel the pulse on his neck, eager and quick.

“You know it’s also good luck to kiss loved ones on new year’s day, right?” He whispers as he draws your chin to pull you close. Without any hesitation, you attach your lips to his. The kiss is soft and loving, with the residual sweetness of cotton candy grapes.

Because you were closing your eyes and making your wish, little did you know, Danny was watching you every time he popped a grape into his mouth. Every wish he whispered silently in his heart is related to you. He hoped that you’d be by his side for all the twelve upcoming months. He would be the happiest man in the world if even one of your wishes included him.

It turned out that good things don’t always need a sign to happen. True love is always on the hunt; it may creep up on you or catch you by surprise, but either way, it will always find you in the end.

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Yeah! you made it! Thank you SO MUCH for reading :))

any comments and feedbacks are greatly welcomed and deeply appreciated

Do let me know if we want a tag list :D

Some more of my works: Mariner's Complex || Permission to Fall

Ticked (all my boxes) || Love is a four-legged word

#danny wagner x reader #danny wagner fluff #greta van fleet fanfiction #gvf fanfiction #danny wagner

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tojiswhore-aventurinesslut · 4 months

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A Midnight of Emotions

pairing: Nanami x Haibara, Satoru x Suguru, Nanami x Gojo (at least the beginnings of it)

warnings: ANGST I'm sorry

synopsis: Gojo comes back from a mission and runs into Nanami. It's Haibara's birthday and the 2 of them get drunk on the roof of the school in his memory and end up falling asleep together in Nanami's bed. They find a kinship in each other for both having lost their best friend (gay).

word count: 2.4k

a/n: My most beloved mutual @pinkished gave me the inspo for this as she has with so many other fics I've written (and may one day post). Also this is sort of canon compliant but not with ages or dates because I was too lazy to look them up lol.

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Gojo came back to campus late one night, having just finished a mission. It had been a few months since Geto defected, but the pain in his heart was still palpable. Every day he thought about his best friend, his one and only. How things could have turned out differently if he had just paid attention. If he had just been there.

With his eyes cast down he nearly ran straight into Nanami, who had his back to him as he quietly closed the door to the dorm building.

“Nanami? What are you doing?” Gojo asked.

Nanami jumped and whipped around, hiding his hands behind his back. “Oh, Gojo, um, nothing I’m just... going for a walk.”

Gojo had never seen Nanami flustered before, making him momentarily forget his sadness as his curiosity piqued.

“Oh? Well why do you look so nervous then? What do you have behind your back?” Gojo asked, with a teasing smile, trying to peer around Nanami's back.

Nanami shifted to conceal what was behind him, a vein pulsating in his head as he grew irritated, “Nothing. Don’t you have something better to do? Some curses to exorcize that only ‘the strongest’ can handle?”

At that, Gojo’s smile fell. ‘The strongest’ used to mean him and Suguru. Now it was just him. Alone.

Nanami immediately regretted snapping. Even though it had been a year since Yu died, he still thought of his best friend every day. In fact, today would have been Yu’s 18th birthday. One of their favorite things to do was sneak sake out of Yaga’s personal stash and get tipsy on the roof of the school and just talk the night away. In honor of that, Nanami had secured some sake and was on his way to the roof when he ran into Gojo.

“Listen, Gojo I’m s--” Nanami started.

“No. Sorry I pried. I’ll leave you be.” Gojo began to turn away when Nanami spoke up again.

“It’s Yu’s birthday today.”

At that, Gojo turned around. What day was it? Oh, he realized, it was his birthday. Haibara should have been turning 18 this year.

Nanami continued, bringing his hands to his front as he did, “Me and Yu used to celebrate a mission gone well or a special occasion by stealing some sake from Yaga and drinking on the roof. Since it’s his birthday, I was going to continue that tradition...” Nanami held the bottle of sake in front of him.

Gojo looked at the bottle and then at Nanami. He could hear the sadness in Nanami’s voice. When Suguru left that day, it felt like he lost a part of himself too. But at least Suguru was alive. He couldn’t imagine how Nanami felt, having to watch his best friend die and being powerless to help him. Much like he was powerless to help Suguru.

“Oh..” was all Gojo mustered to say.

Nanami continued, “If you’d like, you can join me tonight. Haibara always looked up to you...” Nanami trailed off again.

Gojo thought for a second. He wasn’t a fan of alcohol. But with how depressed he felt about Suguru leaving, and given that it was Haibara’s birthday, he figured he could endure it for one night.

“All right. Lead the way.”

Nanami led Gojo through the way he and Haibara used to get on the roof. Once on top, Gojo looked around. The moon was full, illuminating everything, leaving the secrets of the night with no place to hide. It was all bared for the stars to see.

“This is nice. I can’t believe I’ve never been up here before.” Gojo said.

“Yeah. It's peaceful up here.”

The two of them sat in silence for some time. Each thinking about the partner they loved and ultimately lost.

“Well. Happy 18th Birthday Yu. This is for you.” And Nanami tipped the sake bottle back to his lips and took a long drink, and then passed it to Gojo.

Gojo took the bottle carefully, “Happy Birthday Haibara.” And he took a sip, forcing the liquid down his throat as it burned.

“Ack I don’t get how people drink this stuff.” Gojo groaned, handing the bottle back to Nanami, who was already sporting a rosy tint to his cheeks, visible by the light of the moon.

“Haha Yu used to say the same thing. But he said he wasn’t gonna let me drink alone and have all the fun. Then it just became a tradition to do after a successful mission.” Nanami wore a small smile on his face, recalling all the good times they had together, and then he took another long swig.

“You also just get used to it over time. Here.” He said, passing it back to Gojo.

Gojo looked at the bottle with a grimace but took a larger sip this time, thoughts about how Suguru would have enjoyed it up here plagued his mind and helped the clear liquid slide down his throat.

They sat in silence again. Both boys growing redder as the sake bottle emptied.

It was Nanami who eventually broke the silence, voice trembling and slurred, “I miss him so much.”

Gojo was shocked at the other boy’s sudden vulnerability. Nanami was usually so stoic and quiet. Yet here he was, eyes glistening in the moonlight as he looked out at the world beyond.

Gojo looked down, “I miss him too.” He responded quietly. He hadn’t drank as much as Nanami but he could still feel his body tingling, could feel the emotions he was trying to suppress bubbling to the surface, threatening to spill over like the tears in Nanami’s eyes.

“We weren’t strong enough to save either of them.” Nanami sniffled, mouth quivering, still looking out at the lights of the non-sorcerer world.

At that, the tightness in Gojo’s chest finally bursted open. The pain and loss and helplessness he felt was finally coming to the surface. He couldn’t ignore it any longer as tears ran down his cheeks and he gritted his teeth. No matter what he did, they wouldn’t stop.

The only other one with the title of ‘the strongest’, his best friend, his one and only, Suguru...had gone down a path he could not follow and he was powerless to stop him. For all his strength he couldn’t even keep Suguru by his side. Suguru Suguru Suguru. A name that once filled him with such joy and love and pride, now only left him in despair. What good was any of this if he couldn’t share it with the one he cared for the most? Who could he save if he couldn’t even save the person closest to him? What use was he to the world?

He looked up at the stars, tears running down his cheeks, why why why why. Why was fate so cruel? Why did Suguru leave? Why wasn’t he enough for him to be happy in this world?

What broke Gojo out of his spiral was the soft snoring coming from Nanami, wet streaks painting his cheeks. It looked like whatever tightness Nanami was holding in his chest finally broke too.

Gojo felt a little bit guilty. Nanami drank most of the sake because Gojo only took small sips after the second one. When he was up here with Haibara it was probably more of a 50/50 split.

He looked out at the city beyond, wondering where Suguru was right now, what he was doing.

Gojo sighed and dried his face, it was no use wondering. He could only save those who were prepared to be saved. And right now, Nanami looked like he was about to roll right off the roof.

Despite not having drunk that much, Gojo was still a lightweight and could feel the effects of the alcohol. Because of it, he didn’t really trust that he could use his technique right now, so he picked Nanami up the old fashioned way and carried his passed out junior back to his dorm. It was a significant struggle getting off the roof with the deadweight of an 18 year old boy on your shoulders, especially when you’ve been drinking. But Gojo managed to do it while only knocking Nanami’s head into something once.

When they were back in Nanami’s dorm, Gojo took off his shoes and put him to bed, laying him on his side just in case. He stood there for a bit, wondering if it would really be okay to leave Nanami alone. He was a little concerned about how much the boy drank, and to be honest, he wasn’t too keen on being alone right now. The alcohol exacerbated his pent up emotions and led his thoughts down dark paths.

Gojo was pondering his options when Nanami spoke in his sleep, “Yu? Where’d you go? Come back.” As Nanami spoke he reached over to the empty side of his bed, eyebrows furrowing when he was met with nothing, “Come back, Yu. Please”

Through the light of the moon pouring in through the windows, Gojo could see tears forming in the corners of Nanami’s eyes again, the streaks down his cheeks only barely dried.

Gojo sighed for the second time that night. He knew how that felt. Him and Suguru had shared a bed many, many times before. They always shared one on missions, and occasionally snuck into each other’s dorm for sleepovers at school. Honestly, he missed the feeling of having someone by his side. When he started going on missions alone, he found it hard to sleep, but eventually got used to it. Now though, after Suguru’s defection, he found himself lying awake most of the night. Feeling so small in his own bed.

“Please” Nanami’s lips quivered. Gojo sighed for a third time and crawled into bed next to Nanami, “You’re fine Nanami. Go to bed. I’m here.”

At that Nanami’s face softened and he laid his hand on Gojo’s shoulder. His light snores filled the room once more.

Despite himself, Gojo’s eyes began to feel heavy. The bed was comfortable, and it was comforting having another body next to him, even if it wasn’t Suguru. Soon enough, both boys had drifted off, the moon shining a light across their chests, rising and falling in sync.

Gojo was the first to wake the next morning, a sun beam right in his eyes. He looked over and Nanami was still asleep, rolled over with his back to him now. Well, the guy made it through the night without throwing up and he was still breathing. Gojo considered that a win.

Carefully and as quietly as possible, he got up from the bed and made his way to the kitchen. His head was lightly pounding, likely from the alcohol and the tears he shed last night. Tears he had been holding in for months. He got himself a glass of water and then started making breakfast for himself. By the time he sat down to eat, Nanami came dragging his feet into the kitchen, eyes squished in pain and a hand on his head.

“Good morning”, Gojo chimed. He was unsure what the other boy remembered of last night.

Nanami looked at him through pained eyes, “Good morning.” And then went to get himself a glass of water. After downing it he seemed to feel a little bit better.

“Hey, about last night...I don’t remember too much of it but I hope I didn’t cause you too much trouble...” Nanami looked away. He had only ever really gotten tipsy with Haibara, but he guessed he drank more than he was used to. At least, that’s what his spotty memory and pounding head were telling him.

“Don’t worry about it. It wasn’t trouble but you definitely owe me for having to carry you passed out back to your dorm.” Gojo smirked.

Nanami’s eyes widened as a blush overtook his face, “You had to carry me back!?” He asked, embarrassed.

“Yep and I had to take your shoes off and get up close and personal with your stinky feet.” Gojo teased.

At that, the vein in Nanami’s head pulsed but he bit his tongue, “Well,” he began in a tight voice, “Thank you for carrying me back. I’ll be sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“Mhmm I’ll always be here to save you Nanaminnnnn” Gojo grinned as Nanami’s grip on his glass tightened and the vein pulsed faster.

Nanami didn’t even bother to reply, still partially ashamed that he made Gojo deal with him while he was drunk. He’d let his teasing go. This time.

As Gojo watched Nanami leave, he thought about everything that happened last night.

Nanami apparently didn’t remember anything, or he was just lying. Either way, Gojo wasn’t going to bring it up. It was a vulnerable night for both of them. And to be frank, Gojo was not one to be vulnerable around others. Suguru was the only one who ever got to see that side of him. At that thought, Gojo tensed, expecting to feel the same suffocating tightness in his chest that always accompanied thoughts of Suguru. But he didn’t. Yes, the tightness in his chest was still there, but it wasn’t as suffocating. It didn’t feel like somebody ripped a hole into his heart. He could breathe. And he did. A full breath of air, letting the thought of Suguru come and go. Maybe being vulnerable and trusting others wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

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Nanami left the kitchen and walked towards the bathrooms to take a shower. He had lied. He was drunk last night, yeah, but he remembers crying. He remembers hearing Gojo crying, asking the stars “why?” over and over again. He had even woken up in the middle of the night to find Gojo sleeping next to him, just like Yu used to, with Nanami’s hand on his shoulder. He’s surprised the boy didn’t tease him about it, as irritating him seems to be one of Gojo’s other innate techniques. But, he supposed even Gojo has limits. After all, they both lost their partners, their best friend, the person closest to them. Both because they were too weak, just in different ways. As Nanami climbed into the shower, he began to feel a sense of kinship with Gojo. And, was that even a spark of respect?

“Oh Nanamiiiiiinnnnnnnnn I thought of the first way you could repay me for my heroic selflessness and for having to smell your stinky feeeetttttt” Gojo sang from the hallway.

Nanami’s head began to pound harder. Nope. He definitely did not respect Gojo Satoru.

#my writing #posts #nanago #satosugu #nanami x haibara #nanami x gojo #gojo x geto #nanami #gojo #haibara #geto #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #hainana #satosugu fics

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wildlife4life · 10 months

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Fuck-it Friday

It is just past midnight where I reside, so that means its officially Friday. Normally I don't post till the sun is shining, but I am traveling today and visiting with family, so I won't have access to computer time till much much later.

Tagged by the always lovely @panbuckley, who posted a very steamy snippet. So I am going to continue this trend myself, or try to at least. Here is some very vague smut from NFL Buck.

Eddie is on the precipice of tipping over into orgasmic bliss, but a tight grip at the base of his cock, snaps him back. He cries out, "Buck please." Behind him with his own cock deep in Eddie's ass and lounging back on the dark blue sofa, Buck chuckles. Eddie feels the vibration of his delight more than he can hear it. "You didn't answer me." The younger man states. The hand not withholding Eddie's pleasure, hits the rewind button on a small black remote. The projected film in front of them reverses, pulling the figures of the players of the Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings back to their pre-snap formations. "Two high safeties, 5 man rush, what should I call?" Buck repeats his earlier question with a swivel of his hips, grinding up against's Eddie's prostate. A whimper is pulled from him and Eddie squeezes his eyes shut, relishing the stimulating euphoria mixed with the pain of being held at the edge. The warm plastic of the remote is dropped on his thigh and Eddie can't hold down a moan of appreciation as Buck grips his hair, yanking his head back. "I told you to keep your eyes open. Don't want to miss anything, now do we?" He growls in his ear, nipping at the cartilage. Fuck. Having his eyes on the footage of the Chicago Bears was the whole reason Eddie joined Buck in the first place. He liked to help his boyfriend with his studies, give advice, and his own opinion on what the defense is doing and how Evan should respond. The reward for doing so, usually came after pages of a notebook had been filled and several hours of film had been watched. But the first game of the Ram's season with their new shiny quarterback was just days away and Buck was a ball of nervous energy. Working out did little to take the edge off. Video games with Christopher (and losing horribly) just added to the problem. Not even a pep talk from his personal trainer Owen Strand could help. So Buck turned to film hoping that being over prepared would ease his mind just a little. Eddie ventured into the screening room wanting to give him some relief and Evan immediately showed him how he could. A sloppy blowjob lead to Eddie's first orgasm. A seat in Buck's lap, his chest pressed tight against Eddie's back, and stretched tight around Buck's cock, has Eddie on the edge of another. He just needed to focus. Give Buck a play to beat the scheme. He needed to open his eyes and see past his pleasure. Just for a moment and then Eddie can finally fall into the inferno, with Buck just behind him. The sharp trill of Eddie's phone breaks his focus and has his eyes opening for all the wrong reasons.

Never really written man on man smut before, so I hope I'm doing something sort of right? Idk. I just wanted to put the fuck in fuck-it friday lol. But this is a scene I've had in my notes for awhile for this fic. Hope you all enjoyed!

If you want to see more NFL Buck just search under the tag nfl on my page.

Tagging (no pressure): @prince-buck-diaz @thekristen999 @thewolvesof1998 @hippolotamus @monsterrae1 @bekkachaos @911onabc @911-on-abc @alyxmastershipper @brokenribsdiaz @cowboydiazes @cowboy-buddie @lizzybizzyzzz @glorious-spoon @oliverstaark @cowboy-buck @starlingbite @housewifebuck @devirnis @spotsandsocks @jesuisici33 @forthewolves @transbuck @wikiangela @rogerzsteven @bigfootsmom @try-set-me-on-fire @homerforsure @sibylsleaves @shortsighted-owl @spaceprincessem @heartbeatdiaz @barbiediaz @princessfbi

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sparklepocalypse · 5 months

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Fic Writer Interview

@energievie tagged me in this, and it looks like a fun way to pass the time... so while I'm waiting for it to be midnight so I can post my New Year's exchange fic -- here we gooo!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 98 (as of January 1st, 2024. I'm counting tomorrow's fic today because by the time most people on my dash see it, it'll be next year. 😂)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 396,868 words (as of midnight; 386,482 prior to midnight tonight).

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? They're all RWRB, sooooo:

What's Symbiotic Will Always Be [E, 2.6k words; 1.2k kudos]

Take it Down Low / Make Me Get High [E, 2.1k words; 1k kudos]

In the Low Lamp Light, I Was Free [E, 3.1k words; 798 kudos]

I'd Wanna Be Felled By You, Held By You [E, 2.3k words; 766 kudos]

On My Mind (Let's Go) [E, 10.7k words; 704 kudos]

More questions (there are 20 total!) and a blank version of them below the jump!

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I try to at least reply with an emoji if I can! But generally, I try to match the energy of the commenter. I really enjoy hearing from people about my work and want to make sure they know I appreciate them for taking the time to leave their feedback.

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? Oh jeeze, we'll have to harken back to pre-therapy Mags, well before 2023, for this question. (Current Mags has had a ton of therapy.) Probably I Stole Away and Cried [Supernatural RPF, M, 5.7k words]?

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending? I am a lady who loves a happy ending. I'm going to nominate So I Will Weather the Storm [Red, White & Royal Blue, E, 9.8k words] for Happiest Ending in a Mags Fic.

7. Do you write crossovers? I used to write fics with elements of both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel the Series, but I feel like that... doesn't really count. I also cross canons in the Red, White & Royal Blue fandom... but again it feels like it doesn't count.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic? Absolutely. The early 2000s were a volatile time on the internets, as we fandom olds say.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? AHAHAHAHA wait, you're serious. Um... M/M, with a pocketful of kinks thrown in for flavor? My Kinktober 2023 [Red, White & Royal Blue, E, 92k words] series is a good place to get an idea of what sort of smut I write.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not to my knowledge, but I haven't been on Fanfiction.Net in approximately 15 years, and don't have a Wattpad account, so... who knows!

11. Have you ever had a fic translated? I don't believe so? But that might be fun.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Many moons ago, I used to co-write fic in the Glee fandom. I was one of the authors of the Kurtofsky IMs, for those of you who are in the know.

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship? Don't do this to me, fic writer interview! Umm... probably either Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes or Jim Kirk/Spock. And no, I've never written anything for either of them. But I've read both voraciously.

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? No comment. Because I don't wanna jinx it. Seriously. I haven't even started posting it because I don't want to jinx it.

15. What are your writing strengths? Smut, lol. Quirky, bantery dialogue. Making @hgejfmw-hgejhsf cry (complimentary, I think??).

16. What are your writing weaknesses? Finishing multichapter WIPs. 😐 Outlining -- I'm very much a "do what the characters want to do" sort of writer.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? I'm generally down if I have a reputable source for any translation! I speak English and German fluently, but when it comes to Alex's Spanish in my RWRB fic, for example, I rely heavily on online lexicons and people who actually speak the language natively.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for? Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to? Nope, not even thinking about other fandoms because I go where the dopamine goes, and I don't want to redirect the dopamine before I finish the fics on my Big Giant List.

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written? Written and published? Be Worthy Love, and Love Will Come [Red, White & Royal Blue, rated E, 30.8k words]. Written and not published? The Big Giant AU [Red, White & Royal Blue, rated E, wordcount still growing].

Want to play along? Blank version below!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

7. Do you write crossovers?

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

15. What are your writing strengths?

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

#fic writer interview #my fic

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leatherbelt1295 · 1 year

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Your Daily Smile #2617

@ehan281

This should have been posted yesterday, but I didn't really get a chance to. I spent the previous 2.5 days with EHAN irl, and man they were just so wonderful... I'm so grateful we got to hang out again and do more than we did last time. Went during this time for a multitude of reasons since things lined up perfectly, but most importantly it was like a birthday present to him (5/29) and myself (6/3). We haven't seen each other since October 2017, so naturally I really missed him so much. ;w; That's way too long!!

We got to eat yummy food each day, got to meet his adorable doggy Sparky, met his folks, go through a mirror maze, played a laser busting game?, watch him do little runs of SpongeBob Battle for Bikini Bottom, watch the new Spidey on opening night with his brother, and went to a convention together and even cosplayed which was super fun! I went as Peppino Spaghetti from Pizza Tower (so if by chance you were there on Friday and saw Peppino, it might've been me!) and he was an excellent Cameron from Ferris Bueller Day Off. It was cool how often we were recognized, heheh. Really nice to see people's faces light up like that. Of course, we saw a lot of great cosplays too! Here's a few I saw myself that I got pics of, really nice stuff!

We got to play my favorite beat-em-up The Simpsons by Konami, and I'm glad EHAN and his brother really enjoyed it too! Really cool stuff all around, found plenty of gifts for my folks at home but also a couple things for me. Oh and Petra stuff and even comm'd a Petra for EHAN. :]

I haven't been to a con in 7 years, so being back at such a fun one was something I absolutely needed and appreciate immensely. Good times all around! I'm happy he and his brother enjoyed themselves too.

Here's my loot, though only the Jolteon and black shirt are for me.

We headed to Red Robin later on, and that was nice too! At least for me and his brother. :)

I went with the intention of recreating a certain Bocchi the Rock comic to EHAN. :))

And it worked. :)))

And the waitress didn't believe him when he said it was my birthday too. :))))

Ended the night with some 3 player Mario Party 2 on Pirate Land. We lost to the CPU DK because of usually MP shenanigans lol. Still fun!

And followed that up with me and EHAN rewatching Space Patrol Luluco as we do every June 5th, but a little early this time so it could be irl. A wonderful time as it is every year, but made more special being together and having fun irl! I'll be taking about that more on tomorrow's YDS though. :)

Wrapped up the visit with another good breakfast and visiting a lovely park, I really enjoyed that too.

Again, overall, I totally needed this trip and I'm eternally grateful for being able to do so. I really miss him though. ;w;

And I suppose I should mention a bit how my birthday was yesterday aside about half the day being with EHAN. I received gift art from friends through the day, including right at midnight and even today... Y'all really didn't have to... ;; But thank you so much... And to those who I know may read this and wanted to draw me something or whatever the case may be, but couldn't for any reason, just know it's more than okay and the fact that you even thought of me in the first place means a lot to me already. Wishing me hbd means a lot too... 🥺 So thank you guys too!

Even had a big surprise on the flight back home before departure. Someone close to me with connections actually informed the crew on board that it was my birthday, and if they could deliver a message to me for them, which they absolutely did... Even gave me free snacks and water, and invited me to sit in the pilot's seat which was !!!!!?? It was so cool what the heck... I'm grateful for that... 😭

Nice time spent at home with family, always nice to see them. It ain't a birthday without being with em, I'd say. Nice lil gifts too, they shouldn't have... ;; I do wanna show this Hank Hill in particular, gave me a good laugh and I love it, heheh. The Bocchi doodle too!

But yeah, I just wanted to dedicate this YDS to thanking @ehan281 and his brother for a wonderful time and express my gratitude of a happy birthday too. Hoping the next time we meet won't be so long! ^^

#EHAN #toskihero #your daily smile

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after-nine-at-the-oasis · 10 months

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Hey guys! Time for HSMTMTS Appreciation Week Day Three: Favorite Quote/Scene/Original Song/Performance! I honestly don't think I would be able to pick for both of those, but I'll at least talk about one of my favorite quotes (if I try to talk about anything else this will most definitely be late, because it's midnight in 8 minutes, so we'll see - or maybe I'll make another post sometime lol. Coming back here with an edit from later in the post: yeah it's past midnight lol. Ignore that - I'm sure for other people it won't be xD).

And that quote is: "And now we're all here, maybe for the last time together. For some of us this has become. . ." "Family."

LISTEN OKAY!!!

XD Yeah, maybe a stereotypical quote, but it's always the first one I think of when I think of HSMTMTS quotes. It's just so relatable to almost any theatre kid, and I totally feel it. Especially given that this is in 1x06. At the end of the year before last, my amazing theatre teacher left. And last year, our musical was cancelled, shortly before we lost one of our members. I know that fear. During my rewatch, it hit me how much I did, when EJ said "I'm sorry no one will get to see you play Gabriella" (something like that). And that specifically relates to ANOTHER experience lol. My first real musical was High School Musical. I was cast as Sharpay, and I was so excited. COVID killed it, and after months of waiting and trying, we performed it on Zoom.

So I just feel this scene so much. They all have no clue what's going to happen, they're angry, they're upset, they don't want to lose this. And they're just barely starting to come together as a cast. But they know. They know that they're family. And it's right after this quote that they decide to do something about it.

And it brings me back to how much I love the Wildcats (guess I'm going to talk about that every post this week lol). They truly are a family, and seeing it from in Season 1 is just so special. And even though they keep going from here, and keep growing, this quote is the moment we know. The moment THEY know. That they're a family, and they're not going to give up on each other. Despite how different they all are, and despite their different opinions and emotions in that moment or all the time, they're not going to leave or give up. And I just love that, so, so much :').

I don't know if I managed to find all the words I wanted to there, but yeah lol :'). Now, since it's past midnight anyway, I will actually talk about the other options for today a bit lol.

Again, I could never truly pick a favorite of any of these lol, these are just examples of some of my favorites.

Favorite Performance: Stick to the Status Quo. Is this because of Seb? Maybe, who knows. But seriously xD, it's so good. The dancing, to AAHHH GINA'S BACK!!! AND SHE'S AMAZING!! To SEB MATTHEW-SMITH SLAYING THE HOUSE DOWN!!! It's just so good xD. And it's at the point during the show where they're all still having a good time, not switching roles and losing their minds yet lol. The amount of times me and my sister would be watching YouTube and see if in the search history and just. Look at each other. And immediately watch it again xD. It's just so epic.

And, this could be a point for or against it, it does make me feel some feelings (besides love for my babeys). Related to previously discussed crazy theatre happenings lol. It's kind of a bittersweet thing for me, just feeling a tiny bit off "I never got that". But it's worth it lol.

Favorite Scene: Honestly I genuinely don't know what to put for this lol. I want to put SOMETHING specific, even though this is probably harder to pick anything close to a favorite than any other category, but still lol. Okay, I thought of one lol. Yes, it includes a seblos moment, but shush, I can do what I want lol. Anyway! Carlos welcoming Ashlyn to the queer community :'). That entire scene lol, with EJ coming up after that and supporting Carlos, and then SEB!!! MY SEBLOS REUNION!! AND A KISS!!!! It's just such a good scene, I love it so much :'D. Like, seeing Carlos welcome Ashlyn and give her the pin :') - especially considering it like 100% definitely for sure confirmed it <33. And then seeing a bit of Carlos's insecurities, but EJ reminds us of that Wildcat love in saying that he doesn't have to do anything he doesn't want to do :'). And then Seb, showing up and being the cutest ever, and Ashlyn looking so happy that he's there, and Carlos seeing him, and just aAH!! I love them all so much <33 😭❤️❤️❤️🥰. I love all of those mini-scenes in one scene so much :') :'DD.

Favorite Original Song: Oh my gosh, I love them all xd. Okay, here are a few of my favorites (but it's a lot of them lol): In a Heartbeat, Born to Be Brave, Second Chance, and You Ain't Seen Nothin'. But honestly those are just some of the ones that get stuck in my head a lot or I listen to a lot lol.

In a Heartbeat: the perfect Seblos song. Also Ricky just. Being there. Always makes me die xDD. But seriously, it's SO CUTE, and it's a BOP (and Frankie's voice is amazing)! But seriously it's perfect for Seblos, like I said, and it's just so sweet :'). I have literal records (like in documents where I talk about it lol) of me freaking out over In a Heartbeat lol. It's perfect <33. Also, don't even talk to me about the homecoming suits sequence ❤️❤️.

Born to Be Brave: The icon of the series. I mean, clearly, since (SPOILERS) the last episode is named after it. Honestly if there's not a reprise of it I may riot /hj. But seriously, it's such a cute and empowering moment between Nini and Kourt, and of COURSE it's also empowering on Carlos's side :'D. And as someone who loves just dancing crazy however I want with my friends at dances? Yeah :'). Love <33. Anyway, it represents such big moments in multiple character arcs, and I just love it so much :')). Plus, again, it's a BOP!! And the ACOUSTIC VERSION!!! Don't even get the started on that :D.

Second Chance: THIS SONGGG!!! It makes me feel so many feelings 😭😭❤️. It's such a great summary of all four of their character arcs, and the VISUALS!!! They just kill me so much. Everyone back in their episode one outfits 😭😭💔❤️. And it back to the core four, especially knowing Nini's pretty much done :'(( ❤️. Honestly, I really want a song similar to Second Chance for everyone at the end of Season 4. I know we probably won't get it, but just- flashbacks to everyone's first outfits (honestly I'd take/love flashbacks in general 👀 but the point here is like Second Chance lol), everyone getting a part. And oh my gosh, if they all had individual lines? Like the little phrases the core four have in Second Chance? I don't know how that would even work (four overlapping in Second Chance works but everyone would be a LOT lol o.o xd), but it would be so cool. Anyway, Second Chance makes me so sad and nostalgic but it is SO GOOD!! It hurts but it hits xD. I just love it so much <33.

You Ain't Seen Nothin': This one, like I just said, just hits xDD. It's a BOP!!! And the video call format of it is really cool :D. But honestly, everyone gets their own part (as I saw pointed out in the comment section of it once lol, it fits everyone's voices, like Belle), and it's so upbeat and GOOD and just AGH!! I love it so much. It also accidentally makes me feel a bit of Feels™ (we're not worrying about that phrasing right now), because happy/"yeah let's make them most of this"/"we do amazing things and we will do amazing things" songs do that to me sometimes lol, but still. It gets stuck in my head SO MUCH!! Like the other songs I feel like are more appreciated/iconic than this one, but it just STUCK to me. I don't know why, but I don't care xDD. I love it <33. Also, it brings together everyone from the episode really well, just like the calls did throughout, but with music :D. And again, it's just so uplifting :). And also again, I love it <3 ❤️🥰🥰.

Also, special shout-out to the beginning of Here I Come for getting STUCK in my brain!! It's just. OUAGH!! Not that I don't love the entire song, but there's something about that beginning 👀. And also, again, the Wildcats loving each other gives me feelings xdd <33.

Anyway!! So those are some of my favorites of all those lol. This got pretty long, but I should expect that by now lol. I do hope y'all enjoyed seeing me freak out over a bunch of HSMTMTS scenes (and such) for 10 paragraphs though lol :). It's pretty much how I roll xD.

But yeah! I am so excited for Season 4 :DD. Just two days, people!!!

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threephantomrey · 4 months

Text

February 5th 2024.

here we are. it’s officially been 5 years since the release of my comfort movie, my 2nd favorite Scooby movie, and my 2nd favorite movie of all time. Scooby Doo and the Curse of the 13th Ghost.

if you follow me or at least see me online on a regular basis, you probably know that i LOVE this movie. i always loved it more than most people. (i would also call myself a curse of the 13th ghost stan. and i think i’m the only 13 Ghosts stan that loves it lol) i remember watching it at midnight when it came out because i was so excited and couldn’t stop thinking about it i literally couldn’t sleep that night until after i watched it. (that’s why this post is going up at midnight tonight) and well, this movie had a big impact on me for the past 5 years. seriously, it means a lot to me on a sentimental level, and i’m going to get into that with this post, and also me thinking about this movie all the time and my opinions on it. today is probably going to be an emotional day for me, filled with many different feelings and a lot of love.

anyways this is going to be talking about the topic of mental health so just be warned if that’s a sensitive topic for you (cause i know it is for people and i get that)

sentimental stuff & me thinking about this movie all the time:

so let me paint a picture for you of my life around the time that this was announced and coming out. i was having the WORST mental health of my life. WHEN I TELL YOU IT WAS SO BAD OH MY GOD!!! i hated myself SOOOO MUCH. and was REALLY anxious a lot. i was dealing with a teacher that negatively impacted my mental health (she commented on my body sometimes, which made me feel even worse than i already did about my body back then, and did some other stuff that really pissed me off but we won’t dive into that right now) i was also living in deep regret of bad things i did online in 2018 and it was eating me up inside. i dreaded everyday. i had some pretty dark thoughts and couldn’t really see myself having a future. this movie was really the only thing that i looked forward to at all. (sounds dark but it’s true) because of my never ending hyperfixation over it and over the 13 Ghosts series, (which was caused by the release of the movie’s trailer, congratulations to my autism for that!!🥳😁) (though i was a 13 Ghosts fan before that, i actually started being a fan sometime in early 2018. i thought it was November 2018 up until a few months ago idk i was just misremembering) it was a distraction from my terrible mental health. it was an escape from the life i was living. this movie made me feel better. it’s not the ONLY thing that got me through that rough time in my life, there was music too. and one of my childhood friends that i still talk to on the regular is a person that got me through that rough time. she’s always there for me and i’ll forever be grateful for her, i love her so much❤️ but to say that it didn’t help me at all would be a lie. i didn’t realize that this movie got me through that rough time until last year, but im glad i realized it and i’ll always be grateful that it did. i’ll always be thankful that it provided comfort for me in a time where i really needed it. it gave me hope when i didn’t have much. and since i’ve lost friends and things that were important to me in recent years, i have related to how upset Vincent felt when he thought he lost Mortifer forever. plus, this movie gave me my Vincent and Asamad hyperfixations, and those two are big comfort characters of mine💙❤️ im not kidding when i say this movie changed my life.

i think about this movie 24/7. and it’s because of how much i love the artstyle, Vincent Van Ghoul and his outfits, Daphne and her outfit, Asamad Van Ghoul + him being the 13th ghost and Vincent’s ancestor. (top 3 Scooby reveals ever if you ask me) Velma telling Vincent that Asamad wanted redemption and was watching over and protecting Vincent and now that he’s safe, he can rest. (thanks Velma and Vincent! it’s your fault that i never stop thinking about Asamad!) Vincent’s plane, Vincent and Mortifer flashbacks. Mortifer impersonating the 13th ghost and betraying Vincent. (which i think there should be more jokes about in the fandom cause it’s funny to me) Mortifer’s car getting destroyed and it being implied to be Asamad who destroyed it in an avalanche when he appears to Vincent in a cloud of smoke and snow, (LMAO) turning back into his human form, proving that the supernatural IS real. and Vincent feeling at peace with Asamad after🥺 (THE scene that changed my brain forever. i honestly think it’s cinematic, along with the scene where it zooms into Asamad’s portrait and then zooms in on Vincent’s face and he looks down in shame. two of my favorite scenes in this whole movie and in the franchise in general) Mortifer causing avalanches with his car and just being a terrible driver in general. Castle Van Ghoul. the banger that is the song “Scoobystition.” Velma almost opening the chest at the end but chooses not to after everyone tells her no, making her question her doubt. teen Flim Flam. the chest of demons merch that Flim Flam sells. Vincent reuniting with his kids. Flim Flam reuniting with his old friends. you get the idea.

i’ve had criticisms about this movie before that a lot of the fandom has. hell, i made a video with some of them in 2021. and i will admit i remember ranting to an online friend back in 2019 that the Velma explanation thing felt like a big FU to 13 Ghosts fans. and i remember being disappointed with the ending after i watched it for the first time but i don’t believe that anymore and am not disappointed anymore. and i said i had sort of a love/hate relationship with this movie around the time i first watched it. but i don’t have those criticisms anymore and i just have a love relationship with this movie now. but no matter what, i could never bring myself to full on hate this movie. my love for this movie is too strong. stronger than any mass hallucination from high altitude oxygen deprivation in the Himalayas or any swamp gas😭

and it’s not that i don’t understand why people don’t like this movie/hate it/have those criticisms, because i do. also i get why people don’t like/hate return to zombie island. but i also like that movie and i don’t think it’s insulting or that the flashbacks shown there are lifeless or bad. and i think it doesn’t retcon everything about the original or too much. and i think it’s a good movie and i don’t think it’s a bad sequel and i also consider it canon. (plus the gang run monsters over with the Mystery Machine which is awesome and makes the movie automatically better. we should talk about it more because it’s hilarious!) even though i agree that the flashback scenes look better with the artstyle of the original ZI movie and that RTZI is not AS good as the original. i think no matter what would’ve been done, people in the fandom would’ve still been disappointed with any ZI sequel because they still would’ve said nothing could live up to that movie. even though i don’t think a ZI sequel is destined to be disappointing, im just saying other people still would’ve been disappointed with any ZI sequel. shocking, i know right? and i recently realized i only said i hated RTZI before because of how most of the fandom hates it even more than they hate 13th Ghost after i rewatched it. but i love the original Zombie Island movie too and always have) but starting sometime in 2022, i’ve started to see some things differently. (a good amount of my opinions change quite often)

————————————

now i’m going to talk about my opinions since a lot of them i’ve been DYING to say for the past year. (yes that’s a Vincent pun) before i begin, if anyone is like “you have a very poor understanding of 13 Ghosts you’re a fake fan😡” or makes jokes such as “do you work at WB?” or “ok Jim Krieg lol” or anything like that in the comments, reblogs, or my ask box, you’re getting BLOCKED. i am NOT in the mood today. or any day really, but ESPECIALLY today. and no, i am not joking. i am 10000000% serious about everything i have said in this post so far and am about to say. and as much as i disagree with a lot of people’s opinions on this movie + RTZI, im obviously not going to defend WB or any of their executives. i fucking HATE WB for a number of reasons and i could not give LESS of a shit about Jim Krieg. (the guy who demanded no magic or real monsters in this + RTZI, and i heard that he had more creative control over RTZI. i don’t think he was involved in Happy Halloween though i’m going to assume he was not) i actually hate him because he was one of the writers for Scoobynatural in which Dean Winchester, a grown man, tries to get with Daphne, a 16 year old, throughout almost the whole thing and Sam Winchester, also a grown man, kisses Velma, a 15 year old, than for his insistence to keep the supernatural out of this movie. (not that i think him trying to remove any supernatural elements was good or that any of the studio meddling behind the scenes was good cause i definitely don’t, i’m just saying i hate him way more for contributing to what happened in Scoobynatural and i feel like he should get more hate for that. that’s a bigger problem) and i also hate him because he was the writer for Scooby Doo Frankencreepy, which has a gross amount of fatphobia. he is responsible for that and we should recognize that’s also a much bigger problem than his mandates on 13th Ghost and RTZI. we should hate on him more for the fatphobia in Frankencreepy too.

i know some people are like “oh if he doesn’t like supernatural stuff in Scooby, then why did he work on two sequels to versions with supernatural elements?” which i get and i don’t disagree with! (though i do disagree with the way people go about it. and what i mean by that is them being like “that’s why they shouldn’t have been made”/that’s why these movies are bad. or say that the mandate ruins the movies or when people say that’s why we shouldn’t be doing sequels) i don’t know if he specifically made any other mandates for 13th Ghost or RTZI that wasn’t the no supernatural stuff one, and there were other decisions made by WB that most of the fandom were upset about. but regardless though, i’m still suspicious about him being a writer for Scoobynatural. and sure, the Scoobynatural episode is only canon to Supernatural + being one of the writers is different than being a co-producer + that episode was not for kids (the guy says he doesn’t like supernatural stuff in Scooby cause he thinks it’s too scary for kids) + they probably had to put supernatural elements because the show is called Supernatural obviously. and yeah sure, it’s not a sequel to a Scooby series or movie with supernatural elements, but it’s literally a crossover between Supernatural and Scooby Doo Where Are You. (the guys get sucked into an episode of Where Are You by a magic tv) and yes, you could also argue that Scoobynatural was about real ghosts not belonging in Scooby Doo, but there WAS a real ghost there that the gang saw!!! even though at the end of the episode, the gang went back to not believing, everyone else + the viewers know it was real. it is 10000% confirmed in the episode. (also Castiel, a literal angel in the Supernatural show, was there too) and that episode came out only a year before 13th Ghost and Return To Zombie Island. (and after doing a little research, and by research i mean looking on Scoobypedia, i found out that he was one of the writers for the series Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated, a Scooby show from a decade ago that ALSO has real monsters. he was one of the writers for two episodes, both in season 2, so i’m also suspicious about that) basically what i’m trying to say is that i think something’s not adding up here/there’s something we’re not being told. and i read somewhere on the ScoobySnax blog that in an interview, he said he believes the message of Scooby Doo is that monsters being people in masks symbolize things not being as scary as they seem, and that there’s really nothing to be afraid of. i will admit, i don’t think that belief is bad at all nor do i care about him not liking supernatural stuff in Scooby either, but that’s not what the entire franchise is about. like we can still have fun with non-supernatural stuff in the franchise and then also have some fun with supernatural stuff in the franchise and some fun with ambiguity too! (i think he has this belief partially cause he probably grew up with only SD stuff that doesn’t have magic or real monsters) the way he goes about his belief? incorrect. the belief just on its own? neither correct or incorrect.

while i don’t think he should’ve worked on these films, i think if he really had to, he should’ve just not put those mandates on them and should’ve just pushed his belief to the side. sometimes, if someone’s working on something, there are some opinions that shouldn’t get involved in it. and this was one of those times. but yeah the other things he did that i mentioned earlier are definitely worse

AND ONE LAST THING!! this post was originally written in late November 2023 and has been edited many times since because i knew i wasn’t going to write this whole thing on the day of the anniversary + i kept thinking of things to say over time. just thought i’d let you all know❤️

okay here’s the opinions:

• i think curse of the 13th ghost is an amazing movie and was fun. i love the movie just as much as i love the series! i could never choose between them the same way i could never choose between Vincent and Asamad

• about its reputation specifically: this movie + rtzi gets too much hate from the fandom. now don’t get me wrong here, i’m not saying these movies don’t have flaws or that they are perfect because i don’t believe that. (i don’t think any Scooby movie is perfect or above any kind of criticism, not even Zombie Island) and listen, there are some problems i have with both and i won’t deny that. but i’ve been bothered this past year at points by the hate because of how much of it is there. not ALL of it but definitely a lot of it in the fandom. (i was bothered by only the hate for 13th ghost originally and then towards the end i started getting bothered by the hate for RTZI too) i just feel like it’s overwhelming, ya know? and im not saying people CAN’T hate them or not like them!! i’m not mad that people on the internet don’t like this movie!! (to be honest, i also feel like i have been too harsh on these movies at some points, especially RTZI) it’s just that almost everytime this + rtzi are brought up, there’s people who will jump at ANY chance to hate on them and sometimes it just feels like negativity for the sake of being negative and it bothers me. hell, sometimes they aren’t even mentioned at all in conversation like people will be talking about something else that’s Scooby related and then someone will bring them up randomly JUST to hate on them. like bro we GET it, you don’t like these movies. and i’m not saying that everyone does that cause obviously it’s not everyone, (and i am not bothered by anything my mutuals or people that i follow or people in the same discord servers as me have said at all i am not talking about them <3 im talking about some people in the fandom in general) but it REALLY pisses me off. like you don’t understand how much this shit gets me heated. i’ve been feeling this way for the past year and UGHHH it sucks because i don’t WANT to. but i do. anyways i think this movie deserves more credit for the good things it does. (same opinion applies to the other one, and i feel like these are underrated and misunderstood. not in a “you just hate fun and don’t get the complexity of this cinematic masterpiece” way, but in a “it’s not invalidating the originals or trying to invalidate the originals and the magic isn’t completely removed from them” way) and i know people are going to want to say “well, these movies were shitting on things that we loved so they deserve it!” but i disagree in every way possible 10000%. and regardless, it still hurts me to see a lot of people shitting on something that i love, especially since 13th Ghost means a lot to me on a sentimental level. not implying that it’s a personal attack on me cause obviously i know it’s not. don’t get me wrong, movies shitting on something you love is obviously terrible and does hurt. im just saying seeing a lot of people in the fandom shitting on something i love hurts and is terrible. the hate for 13th Ghost hurts me on a more personal level since that movie means so much to me on a sentimental level, but the hate for RTZI is more annoying to me since it gets more hate.

but ALSO i wish people would criticize 2 parts in RTZI more: in one of the flashbacks where they lightened Chris’s skin color (that was a mixture of a saturation issue and them actually lightening her skin color) and that part where a grown man tries to be romantic with Daphne, a teenager, and no one says anything about it. but this isn’t the first time a grown man was involved with Daphne or someone’s skin color was lightened in SD, so every time that does happen, that should ALSO be more criticized, not just in RTZI. we should bring more attention to that every time it happens, especially since we don’t do that enough. it’s wayyyyyy more of a problem than the things most people will hate on that movie for/criticize. we gotta focus on that more in the future. i also wish people would criticize the whole “confederate zombies being said to be the good guys” thing in Zombie Island more, but that is another conversation for another day. and i also am really annoyed when some people telling others not to watch these movies because they themselves don’t like it and think it’s bad or insulting or whatever reason they’ll say. and it’s mainly because i think people should be able to watch whatever they want and have their own opinions on it.

but yeah i definitely think these movies are hated on too much especially for the same reasons and i just wish they had better reputations i think they don’t deserve the hate they get. they don’t deserve the reputations they have. (i feel bad for these movies because of how much hate they get. i think it’s sad) the conversation around them is reductive. the conversation around these movies most of the time is “oh they say the originals didn’t happen,” “they retcon things from the originals,” “13th Ghost didn’t conclude the 13 Ghosts series/the gang didn’t capture the real 13th Ghost,” skeptic Velma, etc. it’s wayyyyy too much of that and not enough discussion about all the good things these movies do. they don’t get enough credit as much as they should. and there’s a lot to say about these movies. they’re definitely not movies that most people watch and then have nothing to say about them and they’re not forgettable. my feelings are complex okay guys😭

• Vincent’s plane is BEAUTIFUL when am i going to get to be on that plane????? this whole movie was GORGEOUS visually like they really made the backgrounds and literally everything look so beautiful. they did not have to go that hard but they really did. and everyone had GREAT winter outfits but tbh the gang always has great winter outfits so i can’t be too surprised. but yeah the winter outfits were amazing here, literally some of their best. and the Rubber Ducky being referenced was iconic

• i consider this movie to be canon and a good 13 ghosts sequel and finale, but just in the way most people didn’t expect it to be. i really love the Asamad redemption thing and i think it’s lovely that it brings peace to Vincent and now he’s at peace with his ancestor. and i know what you’re thinking: “Velma said she lied about it” and like yeah, she did say that. but because we saw Asamad appear to Vincent + because of her not opening the chest at the end because of everyone insisting for her not to, i believe that was her doubting herself and that Asamad really did get redeemed. she was like “ok i won’t open it because these ghosts might be real and i don’t want to risk that.” so i think it’s either she THINKS what she said about Asamad is a lie, but actually it IS the truth. or that, again, it is the truth and deep down, she actually does believe it but she’s just not admitting it because of her insistence throughout most of the movie to not believe in the supernatural. so i think the Asamad redemption thing is canon. and listen, i get that people wanted to see the gang capture the real 13th ghost in the chest. (it’s what i wanted too when the movie first came out) i get why people aren’t crazy about the Asamad redemption thing, that’s fine. and hey we ever get another sequel where Asamad is actually still evil and he does get captured, i would also love to see it. i still love the idea of him still being evil. (in general, i think there’s always more to add to the 13 Ghosts universe, so if they also expand on more 13 Ghosts stuff in general in a future piece of media, i would also be down to see it 10000%) though, ever since September 2019, i’ve been loving the idea of Asamad seeking redemption more than him still being evil. so i actually love this ending. (and especially if they ever expand on him and Vincent and the redemption thing in a future piece of media, i would be 10000% down to see it) (he’s the ONLY ghost from the chest im good with being redeemed, everyone else has to remain evil imo) and i think it’s a good ending for Vincent especially, now he doesn’t have to worry about his ancestor anymore and gets to have peace and move on, and the others don’t have to worry about finding him and capturing him. to me, it’s symbolic of letting go of the past/what haunts you and finding some sort of peace and moving on, now knowing that everything is going to be okay. and you’re starting to heal. and it’s very comforting, especially since i’ve been feeling that many times in 2023. so i’m content if this is the last time they bring 13 Ghosts back. i think it ended beautifully. it’s sweet and beautiful. (i can write fanfics as a way of expanding upon it, so i win either way lmao) i also get why people have a problem with Velma in this movie + RTZI. (im sorry i keep bringing up RTZI but i kinda have to since these are in the same trilogy and because of my feelings) but i personally don’t anymore? i used to, i even called this version of her insufferable a few times iirc, but after watching this movie like 483947384783378 times, i feel nothing towards her attitude at all now, and she’s not that annoying. even though i still agree that this is not an ideal version of Velma, it’s not an irredeemable or insufferable version of her either. and her character wasn’t ruined in my eyes at all. and she doesn’t ruin anything. but her explanations will always be fun to joke about! and i feel like people have been hating her more since these movies came out, which i think is really sad because Velma is an amazing character in general and has SOOO many lovable qualities.

also i cannot be a 2019 Velma hater because she gave me the Asamad redemption explanation. like she cooked with that and i am eating it up!! and i think the whole Vincent and Asamad thing fits 13 Ghosts so well because to me, 13 Ghosts as a show and the universe it takes place in is about family, whether blood related or not, and they are family since they’re blood related. and the gang is a family (found family, not blood related) and would do anything to protect each other and Asamad was protecting Vincent. so i think it’s actually a great ending to both the movie and the show. the story is wrapped up. but we can always go back to it and add more if we want. and i think that’s an ending that wraps up the plot of 13 Ghosts well. like i said, there’s always more to add to 13 Ghosts.

• ok for this next part im about to be so “well actually☝🏻🤓” with. Velma’s explanations are not her or the movie erasing the series and we weren’t supposed to take her explanations seriously. (sounds hypocritical of me to say i know cause i just said i believe in her AVG explanation but im just talking about the explanations that she used to try to disprove the supernatural now okay lol) she’s TRYING to “prove” it wasn’t real, but literally nobody else is agreeing with her and of course they know she’s wrong just like we know she’s wrong. the movie is saying she’s wrong. i feel like the whole sequel trilogy (that’s my new name for it) is saying her behavior is wrong. and there WAS a point in 13th Ghost where Velma believed in ghosts too before going back to not believing at the end. also in Happy Halloween, she kinda thinks about how’s she been acting and is like “ok maybe i should stop” and also says she trusts her friends more than science which is very cute. everyone else knows she’s wrong and she starts to realize it in Happy Halloween. and again, she refuses to open the chest at the end after everyone tells her not to. she CAN’T erase the events of the series or the events of Zombie Island, she doesn’t have the ability to do that, no matter how many times she screams “mass hallucinations from high altitude oxygen deprivation!” or “swamp gas!” so i think because of this + Asamad appearing to Vincent + Vincent making the cuffs that Mortifer put on him disintegrate + Mortifer’s illusions not really being explained + Vincent’s crystal ball teleporting the others outside also not being explained + the flashbacks, it’s proof that the series did happen and that magic and ghosts ARE in this movie. are there as much magic and ghosts as there are in the series? no, obviously not, but they’re still here. i think it’s the writers finding a way to work around the mandates and being like “we were told not to include magic, but this is literally magic right here.” (also i am of the opinion that real monsters in Scooby should be special and happen sometimes but not all the time, but that is somewhat different than what we’re talking about here. still always going to love real monsters in SD though!) (there was also a real cat person at the end of RTZI. again, still not as much real monsters as the original, but it’s still there) so Krieg TRIED to get rid of all the supernatural elements, but he didn’t actually succeed at it. this movie is not avoiding being supernatural, it’s just that there’s not as much magic here as there was in the original. i think this movie was done well even though yeah studio meddling is bad and i will always want things to be fair in the studio! (and it’s not the first time there’s been studio meddling behind the scenes of Scooby movies. even the ZI era had some) i really don’t think that this movie ruins the original, and the studio meddling did not ruin this or the entire trilogy it’s a part of. the original still exists people can still watch it whenever they want, it’s not gone. even if i did think the movie was bad like most people do, i still wouldn’t believe that it has the power to take away from the original or to ruin it. and it does not ruin people’s childhoods/poisons their childhood memories. this is also how i feel about any sequel or reboot ever made tbh. anyways im done talking about Jim Krieg i will not be talking about him anymore. so basically no, these movies never said or implied or tried to say or imply that the originals didn’t happen, they are not invalidating the originals at all. and they DO have some supernatural stuff in them, just not as much as the originals did.

• i love cheerleader Fred :)

• i like Mortifer being the villain because it creates some good angst between him and Vincent. and like i said, it’s funny to me

• the scene where Vincent tosses the chest aside tackles Asmodeus when he tries to attack Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby is one of the best scenes in the entire movie like omg he really loves them🥹❤️

• Shaggy and Scooby were good at flying the plane idk maybe we should let them fly more planes in future SD stuff

• i think this movie is an important part of the franchise. and i think “Scoobystition” is an underrated Scooby song that should get more love.

• no this movie is not a nostalgic nightmare/nightmare in general or an insult/mockery to the franchise, the original, or the fans and i do not think that it shouldn’t have been made. it’s not pointless or a joke or disservice or disrespectful or cringe or disappointing/a letdown or that it’s a mess/doesn’t make sense or boring/mediocre. and the ending is not a slap in the face to the fans or bad or insulting or disappointing/a letdown or spitting in the face of the OG. and i don’t think that that the other 2 movies in the trilogy are all those things either or also shouldn’t have been made. the 3rd act of this movie is not bad/ruining it and is not the weakest part, (3rd act is actually one of my favorite parts) and these movies do not treat the audience like fucking idiots, etc. and i really also do not think that this is the worst Scooby trilogy or that 13th Ghost and RTZI are the worst Scooby movies. and i do not think this trilogy overall is not good/is bad and i do not think it’s a failure or a mess/doesn’t make any sense or that these movies are incompetent or unwatchable or irredeemable or frustrating/infuriating. and it doesn’t hurt for me to remember any of them, especially not this movie. im actually really glad this was made and like i said, it changed my life with the impact it had on me and how it got me through a rough time. like now i talk about Asamad and Vincent a lot. i ship Vincent and Mortifer. and the debut of Asamad led me to create an OC of mine who is his wife and i get to make fics about Asamad and his redemption thing. so i just CAN’T agree with people who say those things for those reasons alone. it’s crazy to think how i would be without it. i would still be hyperfixating over Shaphne, which isn’t a bad thing at all btw. im just saying, i wouldn’t be who i am right now if this movie hadn’t been made. and im glad the other two in the trilogy were made too. and i don’t feel insulted whenever i watch this movie or those. (i liked the sheriff being the villain in HHSD, i think it’s a good reveal and i think HHSD is a great movie too) tbh i also think 13th Ghost is the best out of the trilogy with Happy Halloween as a close second though i do think HHSD is the one with the best opening, and i definitely prefer this trilogy over the 80’s one and always will. i think it’s better. i like Ghoul School though it’s a cute movie <3 (i like Ghoul School better than RTZI and do think it’s better than that movie but i like this trilogy as a whole better than the 80’s trilogy and think it’s better) i also can’t look at this movie as a standalone film like my brain just associates it with 13 Ghosts automatically (same applies to the other one but with ZI of course) and i don’t think this movie would work better if it was standalone. (same with RTZI) i wish this trilogy got more love🥺 and i don’t understand how some people consider the first two some of the worst Scooby movies ever. also i don’t understand how some people think 13th Ghost is “just as insulting/bad” or worse than RTZI. and it also bothers me when some people will joke that they don’t exist. and no, the 13th ghost (Asamad) is not nothing or disappointing compared to the other 12.

• i don’t think the avalanche scene was too long or that there was too much of it. it didn’t bother me at all.

• i think Vincent couldn’t do magic for the most of the movie because he has trauma caused by his ancestor so whenever he sees him or someone that he believes to be him, he becomes powerless because his ancestor made him feel so powerless, like he couldn’t do anything. so it’s his body responding to whatever he was put through. this is based off him saying “ever since Asmodeus showed up, i haven’t been able to cast a single successful spell” (in-universe explanation)

• Flim Flam’s shop is one of the coolest things i’ve ever seen. also teen Flim Flam is awesome and so is his design! he still feels like the same guy but just older. and im happy that he’s doing well.

• i love Vincent’s puns they are funny and adorable. and also when he calls Flim Flam “his boy” OHHH MYYY GODDDDD THAT IS SO CUTEEE🥺🥺🥺🥺 im gonna need another sequel where he calls Daphne “his girl” NOW. and i hope he does see Flim Flam in town when he attends his coven’s next meeting.

and yeah, i know Daphne and Vincent aren’t exactly the way they were in the OG. like there’s been a few changes made. but i love the changes and they’re both amazing characters and well written and i love them so much in both the series and the movie! and i don’t think the movie was saying/acting like that’s exactly how they were in the OG, just that it’s how they are in this movie. and it’s not ruining Vincent or saying/acting like Daphne was or is exactly like Fred and could do everything. and im not at the point where im like “WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE???” like that one Spongebob meme. they both don’t feel too different to me like i don’t think there’s been too many changes made. and im just going to headcanon that Vincent got more comfortable around the gang which is why he’s more zany and lets them call him Vincent and that Daphne changed a little because of her fighting the demons. i still get enough 13 Ghosts vibes from her hair and outfit and this movie in general so it works well. there’s just a little new vibe added. it fits 13 Ghosts well. (i think there was always going to be a new vibe added/some changes made and part of why is because this was made at a different time than the series + this is a DTV movie + made by different people than the series was) but yeah i think the changes were good and i don’t have any problems or criticisms with them, i don’t think they were bad at all. and im going to headcanon Daphne wore that outfit and had that hair offscreen back in the days of the OG. (and yes i know one of the writers said that they were aware Daphne wasn’t exactly like that in the OG, but that’s how they saw her while watching it. im just saying i don’t think the movie was saying she was exactly like that in the OG)

• speaking of Daphne and Vincent, the scene where Asmodeus attacks them and she protects him? SUPERB. also her doing a spooky pun for him and he gets so happy about it is so🥺🥺🥺

• the 14th ghost joke is fun i love it

• i’m fine with Bogel & Weerd and Scrappy not being in the movie because there were some episodes of the series that Bogel and Weerd weren’t in. (obviously Scrappy was in every episode) yeah, it would’ve been interesting to see them brought back and im not saying they weren’t important characters in the show, im not against the idea of bringing them back and i don’t hate them at all. and im not saying the mandate to keep him out was good cause i don’t think that. i get why some people wanted them to come back, they are valid!! i remember wanting Scrappy to come back very much too around the time the movie was coming out. but im okay with them not being here. also Bogel and Weerd probably knew about Asamad’s redemption thing, so they were like “well, we’re not working for him now.” (in-universe explanation for why they aren’t in this movie) where was Scrappy during the events of the movie? Bogel and Weerd captured him and he went missing, but the others don’t know that and just think he’s still with his mom. why is he not included in the opening credits? Bogel and Weerd casted a spell so he wouldn’t be, they’re trying to erase any trace of Scrappy’s existence. (another in-universe explanation) (yes i know that the real world explanation is that WB mandated for him to not appear, and originally Flim Flam wasn’t allowed to be included either but they included him after a writer found a way to make him work in the story, but i just made my own explanation in-universe) and im not bothered by the “What’s A Scrappy?” joke it’s just whatever to me. like obviously i don’t love it but i’m not going in a seething rage over it. (i think i used to be bothered by it a few years ago, but im not bothered by it anymore and haven’t been for a while)

• about continuity: gonna have to talk about this for a bit. i don’t think there’s too much of what people will call “retcons” or “continuity errors.” i don’t think that the movie retcons everything from the original. and i think there’s enough references from the series to make the movie fit in the same timeline as it. and that’s all i have to say about that. (i do have this theory that Time Slime controlling time is why Flim Flam aged but the gang are teenagers though if anyone wants to read it)

————————————

you might be wondering who this movie and the entire trilogy it is from is for. the answer is me. i am the target audience. seriously, even if it is bad and im wrong about everything i just said, i still had fun with it! and i think that’s one of the most important things to me: to have fun with a movie. so if it’s trash, it’s MY trash and IM LOVING IIIIITTTT!!!!🥳🥳🥳 like that meme of a woman saying “what? i love garbage.” (also im the type of person that when i like a movie, 95% of the time i will genuinely think it’s good. and i will like something more after i rewatch or re listen to it lol) and i’ll take a bad movie ANY day over no movie at all. i definitely think there’s things in 13th Ghost that you might not notice on the first watch but notice during rewatches. and you know what? i really do love the mass hallucinations from high altitude oxygen deprivation in the Himalayas and swamp gas. sometimes they are just what i need.🤷🏻‍♂️

fun fact: i learned the term “criminal negligence” from this movie.

in conclusion:

here’s to Vincent Van Ghoul, Asamad Van Ghoul, Mortifer Quinch, teen Flim Flam, the avalanches, Mortifer’s car, and the jokes and memories and posts that were made along the way by me and my friends. to the never ending theories. to all the daydreams i’ve had influenced by this movie, to the growth i experienced these past 5 years. to all the demons i conquered and am still conquering today. to all the other Scooby fans out there who like/love this movie. to that 3 month period where i and so many other people were excited for this movie. (even though i would never want to go back to that time period, it was fun getting excited and coming up with theories and seeing the clips drop, and i look back fondly on those memories) sometimes i’m still surprised by remembering that this movie is real and was made, like i almost can’t believe this is an actual Scooby movie.

as Vincent was healed by Asamad’s redemption moment, i was healed by this movie in some ways. there’s no other movie i would choose to lose my sanity over in a fun and cool way! happy 5th birthday my beloved <3 thank you for everything. im glad you won that “best nostalgia era movie” poll last year on tumblr. i’m always going to love you and i think you will be remembered regardless of whether the general fandom opinion of you changes or not. i’ll never let go of or get tired of you. i think it’s beautiful how a piece of Scooby media in general can have impact on a person❤️

#scooby doo #curse of the 13th ghost #this post is very long oh my #ooh boy i think this is the most i’ve said about this movie in my entire life #glad to have made this though #anyways if you read all of this thank you SO much i really appreciate it #remember when i made that post saying that there’s a certain scooby movie that i have opinions on that i can’t say #well this was it #and im saying it now since it’s the anniversary + i feel confident enough to say them now #pumping up the queue now #mental health

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2dkapsddr · 4 months

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February 11th, 2024 - Arcaea, TAKUMI

(Previously on: Kappa's Score Emporium!)

After a mental debate between whether to push these scores into the date they were achieved on (today at midnight), or the same date where the session started (saturday at like 11 pm LOL), I came to the very necessary idea thaaat... I should just include them in both posts!! So whether you've seen yesterday's post or not, here's those scores I achieved at Barely MidnightTM!!

now, for the scores that REALLY happened today! i was mostly too busy catching up on my journal at home, but i snuck in a bit of arcaea before my shift today (unfortunately yes, i did have closing shift during and for the entirety of the super bowl) and got THIS SCORE as compensation. hoooly shit i'm going ham on the 10s methinks.

and yet again because of the super bowl, i had so little time to play takumi during break (though i did sneak in a fail on the Pandora Box Insanity Gauge Lv5 medley) and even less time after my shift. but once i got to my sister's house to catch up with family after the super bowl game, i opened up the Better game (takumi again) and finally secured the clear by using only two fingers for that one part of ZEUS 666!!! (originally used 6 fingers which i couldn't really cram on a phone) also, an overambitious attempt at kami dan 1 (at least i almost cleared squall chart lab???)

#2dkaps 2024 #2dkaps arcaea #2dkaps takumi

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eurimoon · 2 years

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Giving Up Your Ghost (Suresh x MC)

I’m disappointed (to say the least) with LITG 5 so I did my first ever fic to help me cope lol. English is not my first language, so bear with me. This is a Suresh x MC fic I based off of NIKI's song, Oceans and Engines. A headcanon of what really happened before and after Suresh shattered his 5 year relationship with Euna (MC) before the villa.

The details are not all based on the events revealed during LITG 5. And I recommend listening to the song while you're reading if you're comfortable with it.

This is also posted on wattpad if you’d like to read it with the part titles here!

Giving Up Your Ghost (8k+ words)

The sun is shining bright and I feel restless. I'm a few hours away from my trip to Essex.

I'm finally going to see you again Suresh..

Seeing him only behind a screen for 6 months has been the hardest. I've been drowning myself with singing gigs and keeping myself busy from all the time he's away to distract myself. I have to admit that this tested our relationship. Suresh is never chill and would always find a way for adventure, while I'm always on my comfort zone, never leaving Edinburgh. He never forced me to get out of it, but sometimes I just wish he did. Now that this is the longest time we've been apart, it would have been easier if I tried to show him a different side of me.

We were always opposites, but that's when I know that we click together. While I wasn't always his first, he was my first in everything. And I really hope he's my last.

I really hope he's happy to see me tomorrow..

Who am I kidding? Of course he's going to be happy! We've been away from each other for so long, I know he misses me. And this is the perfect surprise for our anniversary.

I fixed my faded pink dyed hair into a half bun. I can see the overgrown roots peeking on my head. I haven't bleached and recolored my hair for so long ever since he left. I can see small bags under my eyes, and I obviously look a little messed up. I haven't really slept well for the last few days before this trip. My head has been full of questions if I should do it.

I looked at the little red velvety box beside my purse. My heart thumped hard and I'm actually really nervous.

Am I really gonna propose?

I flicked my forehead to wake me up from my senses. Why am I even doubting this? I'm definitely sure. I love Suresh, and I know he loves me. We've been together for 5 years, but we don't need to get married right away. I just want to let him know that I'm willing to do this. No big gestures. I will do it once we're alone, so he won't feel pressured to answer. I know it's not the most conventional, but I couldn't care less.

I breathed deeply and hid the box inside my purse. My bag is now packed and I'm ready to go. I called a cab and rushed to the train station. It's going to be at least a 5 hour ride, and I will arrive before midnight. And since it's a Saturday night, Suresh will be home expecting me to call him at the exact hour I'll knock on his door. It's the perfect surprise.

Me, I'm the surprise.

I don't know why my hands are shaking and my heart is beating so fast once I got inside the train. I'm fucking nervous. Why am I so nervous? Is this because I haven't seen him for so long, and it wouldn't be the same when we see each other again? I really hope this is just agitation and I'm just excited to see him.

I sat on the most secluded area and nearest to the window. It's a cold November night, but I'm too distracted with my thoughts to even notice it. I brought a book and read for a few minutes, but I eventually closed it.

All I can think about is Suresh.

He hasn't contacted me since last night. I know he's out with his co-workers and I don't usually bother him too much when he does. I didn't even bother messaging him today since well.. I'm surprising him in a few hours. We shared each other's location every time he went away since he also insisted and wanted to know if I'm safe and he'll get notified if I'm in trouble. We were comfortable in that set up because I know he's looking out for me, and he wanted to let me know that I can trust him. I rarely check his location, but since he didn't contact me last night, I checked it and he went to a pub for a while then arrived home at around 2AM.

I left him a message this morning asking how he is, but hasn't replied yet. I turned my GPS off before I left my flat. I didn't want him knowing I was coming for the surprise. But him not messaging me yet since this morning honestly got me a bit anxious. He'd usually let me know once he got up, but I figured he had a hangover and was still asleep.

I trust him, it was his day off after all. He's been like that every friday nights. Then he'll for sure stay for the rest of the weekend at home and spend time talking to me. There were times when he called me while he was drinking with his friends, and he always sounded really happy.

I just hope he's not too happy without me.

No. Here I go again. I'm not gonna doubt Suresh. I trust him.

My head's all over the place, I'm really nervous. I didn't realize how exhausted I was. I closed my eyes and fell asleep right away.

----

"Do you really have to go? Please just stay." I pleaded and held Suresh's hand tighter from our cuddle, raising my head from his chest to look at him. My doe eyes not leaving his beautiful face.

I let go of his hand and traced delicate lines along his thick brows then brushed his hair backwards. I wanted to convince him to stay.

"You know I can't do that, Euna." he left a small peck on my nose, "I have important matters to fix with a big case. I already asked you if you wanted to come. You told me you didn't want to leave Edinburgh. Are you changing your mind now?"

He chuckled and looked at me affectionately, holding my cheeks then brushing his fingers down to my chin to fix my head. We've lived together for 2 years, but the difficult part was his constant travels. It never lasted for months. He'd always come back after a few days, but not this time. This will be the longest time we'll be away from each other.

He kissed my forehead this time and I felt that area burn. I'm blushing really hard. He knows how I absolutely love it when he does that.

I pouted, almost teary eyed. I hugged him tight and buried my face on the side of his neck.

"I'm gonna miss you." I whispered, feeling my hot breath and the vibration from my voice on his skin. He hugged me tighter, holding my waist and I can hear him chuckle again.

"Me too, princess. Me too." he reached for my temple and gave it a soft kiss. There he goes again, calling me princess. I never understood why, but it's growing in on me. He's the only person allowed to call me that.

I'll always be his princess.

"Promise me you won't forget me?" I asked.

"Why would that even cross my mind?" he sounded as if it was the most disgusting thing he has ever heard.

"So you promise?" I asked again.

Good god I sound like a child. But I'm not ashamed, this is how comfortable I am with him. I never feel ashamed acting all so silly around him.

He rolled his eyes playfully and grinned.

"Yes princess, I promise."

I don't know what came to me. I moved away from burying my face on his neck and back to looking at him.

"I love you so much, Suresh."

He smiled softly, grabbing my chin and pulling it towards his lips. He kissed me passionately like it was our last, taking in a few sharp breaths while his lips moved slowly, savoring every bit of my being.

His other hand travelled down my waist, and I can literally feel my heart jump. I put my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to kiss him harder and I heard him moan. His stubble slightly scratching the sides of my mouth.

God, I love him so much. I never want to let him go.

When we pulled back, we were both breathless. I didn't want it to end just yet.

"I love you too, my Euna." he rested his forehead on mine, the tips of our nose brushing each other. We stayed like that for a while, never wanting to let go of the moment.

"As much as I really want to stay, I need to pack my bags." he mumbled. He can sense my disappointment, but I eventually let him go. He kissed my forehead one last time before getting up.

---

When I woke up, I was two stops away to Essex. I was that tired. My head hurts from the way I slept, and I was leaning on the window and I can feel how much colder it would get once I get out. I wore my trench coat and waited.

I don't know why, but I suddenly took the engagement ring from my purse. I opened the box and looked at the ring. The silver metal shines brightly from its reflection against the lights.

I'm actually doing this. I really am.

I closed the box and tucked it inside my coat pocket. There's no turning back now.

When I arrived, I took a cab and went straight to his flat. It was an extremely cold night, and I can literally see my breath in white smoke.

I don't know if it's because of my cold hands, but I'm starting to shake again. I rubbed my palms against each other to warm myself up, hoping that it will ease the tension building up inside me.

Why am I so nervous? It's just Suresh! I'm sure he'll be happy to see me.

I paid for the ride and took my bag. This is it. I'm finally seeing him. I instinctively put my hands inside my coat pocket not realizing I was rubbing my fingers against the velvet box. I'm fucking nervous but ecstatic. I knew I was also excited to see him.

I took the elevator and searched for his flat. I was slightly afraid that I might knock on the wrong door, but once I found it, I stopped. This is what Suresh sent me just in case anything happens. Surely this is the right place?

I breathed deeply, and pushed myself to knock on the door.

No answer.

I knocked once more.

No answer.

He's home right? I know he is.

I was about to knock again when someone opened the door. The tension building up inside me suddenly flared up.

It was not Suresh.

"Yes?"

A girl opened the door. She had long ginger hair, it looked a bit messy and she sounded quite irritated. Like I disturbed her from doing something. She was also heavily tattooed on her left arm.

I knocked on the wrong door?

"Sorry. I think I mistook this for a different.. flat."

I was about to leave until I saw it. She was wearing Suresh's shirt.

My heart sank. My hands are shaking again and I can feel my heart thumping louder. This must just be a different shirt? It's not really a special shirt and anyone could own one. I just knocked on the wrong place.

This must be a mistake.. right?

I heard someone come up behind her. The footsteps getting louder and louder. My heart sank and I feel the need to throw up.

"I told you I'll get it!" he stopped and stared at me. I can see the blood draining from his face. He looked like he was rushing to catch up but the girl got to the door before him.

I was not expecting that reaction.

At the back of my mind, I wanted to believe that this is just his cousin that I never met and he's letting her stay for the night.

"Euna.."

I instinctively bit my lower lip. It was him. My Suresh. He was half naked and wearing a pair of boxers. There was a lump on my throat and I didn't have the guts to talk. I was just staring at him, then at the girl. Like me, she was looking at the both of us back and forth and was completely clueless. My hands were numb and I didn't even realize that my bag fell on the floor. I bit my lower lip harder to stop myself from trembling and breaking down.

"You know her?" the girl asked, her brows furrowed. Suresh's focus was all on me now. He looked scared, even guilty. That's not the look I wanted him to show me.

"Euna.. I can explain."

That was my cue. I know that phrase. I don't like confrontations, I'm almost always the first person to leave and keep quiet. I'm not listening to any explanation. With the way he reacted and from what I saw, I think it's completely clear to me what happened.

I rushed and grabbed my bag on the floor and sprinted. Tears were welling up in my eye and my vision was blurry. Is this even real? Maybe I'm still asleep on the train and this is all just a nightmare? I was so excited to see him. I wasn't expecting for this to happen tonight. I don't even know where I'm gonna stay. I did not book a hotel since I know for sure that I was staying with him while I'm here. Somehow, I was grateful that I didn't let him know I was coming.

What the fuck just happened?

I pressed the elevator button, but I felt him grab the arm where I was holding my bag.

"Euna, wait!"

SLAP!

My free hand met his cheek in one swift motion. I can hear the echo of the sound through the halls. It was hard, and my palm hurt from doing it. Tears were already flowing on my cheek and I looked at him. He was in complete shock of what I did to say the least, holding the cheek I just slapped. I am not even the type of person who'd do it, but at the moment, I knew it was the right thing to do.

"I'm not listening to any of your bullshit." I mumbled. My shock slowly turned into anger. I feel numb all over. A small part of me still wanted to hear an explanation from him despite what I said. I want him to feel regret, to feel guilty for what he did. I want him to beg and ask me to take him back. But you know what I got?

"It all happened so fast.. This was just a one time thing."

"Oh, just a one time thing?" I sarcastically laughed, "Are you fucking kidding me?!" I screamed. My voice broke in between and I know every single room heard it through the halls, but I was too angry to even care.

"Please just let me explain." he pleaded. I pulled my arm from his grip and shook my head. I was crying so hard and my chest was heavy. It hurts so much seeing him and hearing those words from him. He admitted it and he didn't even apologize.

"Forget it, Suresh." I wiped the tears away from my cheek. When I lowered my hand, I felt the engagement ring box under my coat. Now my heart just shattered even more.

"See, this is your problem!" he screamed. I was taken aback with what he said.

"My problem? My problem? Are you fucking kidding me?" He sighed, and he clearly regretted what he said.

"I'm sorry, but I just hate that you always run away, Euna. Every time we argue, you always leave and you never try and fix it together with me."

"So you try and ruin it more by cheating on me??" I scoffed. "And now you're spinning it around and blaming it everything on me. Great. How would you suggest fixing this then?"

"I was just.. That's not what I--"

"It was rhetorical Suresh, just shut up. What you did was clear as day. I'm not dumb."

I can't help the convulsive gasps I was letting out. I was sobbing really hard, and my vision was blurring out again. I tried to wipe the tears welling up in my eye. Suresh can't even look at me anymore.

I heard the elevator door open.

"Oh and by the way," I added. I looked into his guilty eyes I almost thought he'd avoid it. But he waited for what I was about to say.

"Happy anniversary," I choked. It hurts so much to say it. "Don't worry, this is our last."

I rushed outside and got a cab before Suresh even had a chance to catch up. I'm still sobbing from what happened and I can see the driver glancing at me every now and then. He looked genuinely worried.

"Can you bring me to the farthest pub please?" my voice broke once again asking him. He just nodded and started to drive away.

5 years. 5 years down the fucking drain. I can't think straight, I'm not even sure where I'm going. I feel so vulnerable now, but I'm going to trust wherever he's taking me. I don't think this pain would ever subside tonight. I don't know what to do. Going to a pub and drinking this out was the most logical thing I thought I'd do.

I checked the earliest train trips available tomorrow and it won't be until 6am. I might have to wait for a few hours or go to the train station as early as I can so that I can leave this shithole as soon as possible.

"Do you need some tissue love?" he asked me with a thick Scottish accent and looked through the rearview mirror. He looked very old, but still strong enough to drive around. I can see my dear sweet grandpa in him especially with the accent. He didn't wait for my answer and just gave me the few tissues he got from the box beside his seat.

"Thank you.." I whispered and took it, then went back to looking outside the window. My mind was blank and I'm still processing everything. My head hurts so much from crying.

I felt my phone vibrate from my pocket. I checked it.

It's Suresh.

The pain I felt earlier flared up again. It hurts to see his name on my screen when I used to be excited from it. The picture he had on my contacts was the both of us. Him holding the phone while I hugged him from the side and kissed him on his cheek. We looked so happy together.. we were happy together. How did this even happen? Was I not enough? Should I have just risked everything for him and went with him here when he asked me? Did he even remember our anniversary?

When I left those words before I got inside the elevator, he was dumbfounded. I know he wasn't expecting for me to break up with him then and there. He wanted to reach me, but he also knew I wouldn't let him. When I felt the box in my pocket, I really wanted to throw it in front of him, show him what he missed. But I didn't want to give him that satisfaction. Knowing him, it would've been easier for him to ask forgiveness and tell me that "he would've said yes if I just asked" and everything's just suddenly okay. No, I'm smarter than that. I don't want to make him feel guilty because I was planning to risk everything and marry him, I wanted him to genuinely feel guilty for what he did.

I've seen how cheating can ruin a relationship, I've seen it first hand with my mum and dad. Hell, he knew. He was there for me when my parents were going through their divorce. He stayed with me in my lowest. He was there for me when I was struggling with my music career, and he was also there when I finally got my momentum. We shared so much and it hurts that he just took everything away with "just a one time thing".

I don't even know what I'll do once I go back. We lived together. But the lease was on my name since it was originally my place. We practically lived like we were married and I sensed that he was ready to do it. But my senses were completely wrong tonight.

I know tonight is not the last time Suresh and I will see each other. Half of the things in our flat was his. How in the fuck will I get it out? Should I just throw his clothes outside like what happens in those telenovelas I watched when I was twelve when the husband cheats on his wife? Oh that would be therapeutic.

"We're here, dear." I looked up when the cab driver spoke. He was still looking at me through the rearview mirror and smiled at me sympathetically. I didn't even realize I was just staring at the 3 missed calls Suresh left me during the drive. I can't believe it's almost midnight.

"This is not the farthest, but it's enough to keep you safe." the cab driver added. "You're alone, so please take care of yourself love. I hope everything will be okay soon."

I trembled right away. I finally let go of the tears I was holding. He really resembled my grandpa so much. I feel so lucky I was in safe hands.

"Thank you. Please stay safe too." I almost whispered. I took my bag, gave him a huge tip and left.

I felt my phone vibrate again when I went inside the pub. It was still Suresh. I can feel my heart drop every time I see it. I breathed deeply and turned it off hoping it will block all the thoughts that's pushing me to cry again.

The pub was not that busy. There were only a few people sitting near the tables and groups hanging out. I can hear faint laughter on the other side of the pub. I sat on the stool near the bar and the bartender with thick brown curls smiled at me immediately. Her visible freckles seem to glisten when she faced me. She noticed my puffy eyes and her expression started to look worried.

I can sense a faint savory smell of spices. That's when I realized I haven't eaten anything ever since leaving Edinburgh. I was too busy getting anxious, and this is were it got me. I wasn't hungry, but I didn't want to drink with an empty stomach and go back home drunk. I'm not even sure why I went here, I just assumed this would be the perfect place to gather my thoughts.

"Can I just have a bottle of ginger beer please?" I asked the bartender.

"Sure thing love." she smiled, opened a bottle and gave it to me. She left me alone and went inside the kitchen.

After a few minutes, she got back with a fresh plate of chips and gave it to me. I looked at her confused.

"But I didn't order anything?"

"On the house, love. You look exhausted." she looked genuinely worried and patted my arm.

"That's an understatement." I chuckled.

"I don't mean to pry but.." she sighed. "if you need to talk to someone, your bartender is the right choice."

First, the cab driver, now my bartender? Is this the universe's way of making it up to me? I must look really awful.

"My name's Ramona by the way, at your service!" she cheerfully held her hand and I shook it.

"Euna. Nice to meet you."

She winked but didn't push me further and continued working, wiping the table with a white cloth when the person three seats next to me left. I played with the droplets of water dripping on the sides of my drink.

She's a complete stranger, and I'm not planning on coming back here anyways. I sighed one more time.

"My long term boyfriend cheated on me just an hour ago..."I blurted it out without thinking, it almost felt natural. She suddenly looked up and her mouth dropped.

"Oh dear, how long?"

I told her a few bits and pieces, from my trip until the part where I caught him. It really helped that I had someone to talk to, otherwise I would've just bawled my eyes out crying in some corner in this pub. It was too therapeutic to the point that I didn't hesitate and grabbed the engagement ring from my pocket.

"And you know what's worse?" I scoffed and put the box on the counter. Her eyes widened and she backed away, clearly not believing what she's seeing. She let out a loud and exaggerated "NO" but I nodded. The other customers gave us a side eye.

"Oh for fuck's sake man! What an arse!" she threw the white cloth she was holding on the counter. She looked really angry, but went closer to me and asked if she can open the box. When I nodded, she opened it and her eyes widened even more like it wasn't wide already from all the things I've told her.

"You better have the receipt for this love, or I'll push this down his throat and let him swallow it myself."

I laughed at her words, but I took the box back and hid it again in my pocket. Sure, I had the guts to actually plan this, but I was still ashamed of what happened. I look so pathetic. I don't even know why I feel that way, when it should be the other way around.

Ramona noticed my reaction and I heard her sigh.

"Screw him love. Once you go back home, throw his things away and burn it. That's the least of the things he deserves. Cheaters are the worse, and you better not forgive him and take him back. You deserve better."

Her words were like ice cold water dumped on my head. I might be angry right now, but I'm not really sure how I'd feel once I see him again. Suresh was caring, and for the past 5 years, he really proved to me that I was his princess. Never once did he treat me differently when we had fights and was the first person to always apologize even when I was at fault. Now he tried to spin the situation around and blame his cheating on me for always avoiding fights. Was I really at fault? Did I push him to cheat? Was I really not working harder than him, so now he tried to fill that void with someone else?

He took care of me at my lowest, and celebrated with me at my highest. Was it all just a lie? Were my intuitions true and was I right to feel nervous before I got here? Was I wrong for trusting him? Is this all really my fault?

I had so many questions, but I didn't want any answers. I wasn't ready to hear any of it.

Ramona and I talked for hours. We'd talk about Suresh from time to time but also talked about random things while she worked. She was very sweet and was genuinely interested in everything. I had so much fun talking to her that I didn't realize it was already 4:30 and I needed to go to the train station. My head hurts, and once I got inside the cab Ramona got for me, all the thoughts I tried suppressing came back.

I'm crying again.

I was squeezing the engagement box. I wanted to throw it, I'm so fucking stupid. Why did I even plan this?

For the next few hours on the train, I tried my best to rest my eyes. My body was aching and I just want to go home. I don't know what will happen for the next few days, but all I know is that it's not going to be easy.

I tried turning my phone on once I got out of the train and it vibrated continuously with all the messages from Suresh.

-Euna please pick up. I'm sorry.

-Where are you? I'm worried. Please call me back.

-Princess? Please, I need to talk to you.

Princess. My heart ached. All the butterflies I used to have when he called me that turned into painful jabs on my chest. My heart dropped when I read his next message.

-I'm driving back to Edinburgh now. I'll meet you back home. I love you.

He's here?? I checked the time he sent the message. 12AM. He started driving when I was still at the pub. That would have been a long drive.

"I love you.." I whispered and read his last words. Somehow I doubted it, because if he really did, he wouldn't have cheated on me in the first place.

The idea that Suresh arrived just a few hours ago made me nervous. Is he waiting for me at our flat right now? What the fuck should I do? He clearly knew what to do. This is the only way he could force me to talk to him.

I was dreading it, my flight response slowed me down and I didn't want to go home. I know he's waiting there. But I know I had no choice and I have to face him. My hands were trembling and my legs were shaking.

Then I saw him. He was waiting for me outside the door, squeezing himself between the wall and his legs. He didn't bring his spare key?

He's hiding his face on his lap and was resting his head. When he heard my footsteps, his head immediately jerked up and stood up.

"Princess, you're home. I'm glad you're safe." he smiled affectionately, but his face fell with the next words I blurted out.

"Don't call me princess."

I opened the door with my keys and I went in first. He followed and closed the door. I put my bag down near the closet, but he gently grabbed my wrist and turned me so I'm facing him.

He was crying.

My heart ached seeing him like that. Despite the things that happened last night, I still love him. I know I do. This is what I feared once I needed to face him again, that I might forgive him and just forget everything because I loved him too much and I can't afford to lose him.

"Princess, please. I'm sorry.." his tears gave up and went down his cheeks. I can't look at him like this. I badly wanted to wipe those tears and just kiss it away. I avoided his eyes and tried my hardest to stop myself from crying, but all it did was to force my lip to tremble.

He took both of my hands and kissed the back of my palm. He closed his eyes and it left my hand wet with his tears. I took my hands back and avoided his gaze.

"You need to fix your things now and leave. I'm giving you two days to move out." I told him coldly. It was getting harder and harder to resist him. I needed him to leave before I take everything back.

To my surprise, he knelt in front of me and took my hands again. He looked up at me pleading.

"Euna, please don't do this. I don't want to lose you. Let's fix this." he grabbed my waist and hugged me. His head was now leaning against my stomach. It was really an odd feeling, since he was really tall and he's usually the one looking down on me. I can feel his hug getting tighter and tighter as if he didn't want to let me go. I wanted to hug him back, but I forced myself to remove his strong arms to let me go.

He got up, but he grabbed both of the sides of my jaw and forced me to look at him. His eyes were red, and he clearly didn't sleep from driving. At that point, I really felt bad for him. He didn't drive all the way from Essex just to end up getting kicked out.

"Look at me and tell me you don't love me anymore."

I do, I still love him. His deep green eyes stared right back at me and I can't help it. I wanted to tell him I still love him and I'm taking him back, but I fought the urge to even think about it. His hands were warm against my jaw and we were so close. At first, he waited for me to answer, but he eventually rested his forehead on mine.

"I love you, princess. I can't lose you like this."

He opened his eyes and he immediately looked at my lips. I knew what was about to happen.

He kissed me, slow and gentle. I badly wanted it to stop. I should feel the butterflies in my stomach now, but my heart hurts so much that I can't help but cry. His lips moved and he kissed me passionately, but the saltiness from my tears went through between our kiss and it woke me up from my senses. I pushed him away.

"No.. this is not right." I whispered. He was shocked, and I heard him sigh. "You need to leave."

"Are you really just going to throw away all we've been through with this one mistake?" he said, trembling.

I was shocked with his question. It shouldn't even be a question at this point.

"I didn't throw this away, Suresh." I paused. "..you did."

He avoided my eyes once I said it. He knew what I meant.

There was no turning back and my decision was final. He knew there was no point in convincing me.

2 years later..

"That was a great set, Euna!" my manager gave a high five once I left the stage. He was mumbling a lot of other things about my next gig and a possible big project from a recording company but I wasn't really paying attention.

"Sorry Harry, can we talk about this tomorrow? I'm really tired." I said.

He was slightly disappointed, but he understood. Besides, I needed to meet a friend at a pub tonight. It's been a long time since I spent the night chilling without me being the person on the stage, singing. Tonight, I wanted to relax.

I'm not sure why I felt down and slightly irritated, maybe I'm just really tired, or because I'm in Essex right now and it reminded me of that night 2 years ago. I can't believe it's been that long. I've spent the past 2 years focusing on my career and really didn't find the time to see other people. I wanted to focus on myself and help myself heal.

I haven't heard from Suresh since the day he moved his last stuff from our flat. We ended everything and it was quite messy. I didn't really have the full closure I wanted from him and I can't deny that it broke me for half a year. I've always wondered about the story behind the girl he was with that night. I didn't want to know, because it's pointless. Mistakes were made, and it won't change a thing. I blocked him from everything, I even apologized to his family for cutting my connections with them after our break up. I grew fondly of them, but I know it was for the best.

The friend I was supposed to meet tonight was no other than Ramona. It's been a long time since I returned, but we kept in touch. She really helped me a lot and became my go to person every time I had the urge to unblock Suresh and take him back. She was my reality check, and she constantly reminded me that it was never my fault that I got cheated on and made me realize my self-worth. I really owe her a lot.

"Euna!!" she screamed and went outside the bar counter to hug me. She wiggled me a few times and hugged me tighter, making me laugh.

"I missed you too, Ramy." I told her smiling.

"Come sit come sit! Drinks are on me." I sat down on the stool near the bar. It reminded me of the first time I was here and I suddenly felt nostalgic.

We talked and caught up with everything. We didn't have that much to talk to, since we talked a lot on the phone. But Ramona had this boundless energy and we we're laughing non-stop while she rants about her clients.

"Oh! I remembered something." her eyes widened, like she suddenly had a Eureka moment and she can't wait to tell me.

"I know you're single.. and it's been two years since-"

"Ramona!" I lightly slapped her on her arm. I know that look and I don't like it. She's bound to set me up again with one of her friends.

"No! I promise it's different this time. I have no single friends left since you clearly rejected all of them." She rolled her eyes and giggled. I saw her tapping furiously on her phone and squinted her eyes.

"Aha! Here it is." she showed me her phone and I was met with a bright white screen.

LOVE ISLAND CONTESTANT APPLICATION FORM

We are looking for vibrant singles from across the UK who want to head to the sun, in search of love. The chosen cast will spend time in a luxury villa, getting to know one another, but to remain in paradise they must win the hearts of the public and their fellow Islanders who ultimately decide their fate on Love Island.

"Uhh.."

That's the only sound I can muster with what I read. Love Island? Really?

"You should try it babe!" she bounced up and down and was clapping like crazy.

"Ramy this is ridiculous. Really? A reality show?" I gave her back the phone but she pushed it again toward me.

"Just check it out! It might be fun. Free vacation, plus a villa full of hotties! It's time to put yourself out there babe. Forget about that cheating scumbag. There's no harm in trying."

I'm not gonna lie, it made me curious. I stared at the screen for a while and checked the application form.

"I'm gonna send you a link to the form, and promise me you'll think about it once you go home. Please?" Ramona pleaded.

I stared at her sighing

"Do I really have to?"

"Just think about it! C'mon Euna pleeeease?" she prolonged the "e" and shook my arm.

"Fine." I rolled my eyes affectionately and she smiled. The idea really sounded ridiculous. Me? Joining a reality TV show? I've only watched it a few times in the past when I was bored and I needed a distraction, but I never really watched it religiously. All I know is that it's full of drama and snogging.

When I went back to my hotel, I checked the link Ramona sent me. I studied everything and read the conditions. There's no harm in trying, right? I've been single for a long time, and I don't think there's any pressure in actually meeting the person you'd want to spend the rest of your life with inside the villa. It will just be a vacation with strangers, and I'll just go with the flow.

And besides, it's just the initial application. I'm not even sure if I'll pass the next screenings.. right?

Little did I know, after a few months of endless screenings, interviews and tests, I actually did. Funny, since I never imagined myself actually going through the process and managed to not back out in the middle of it. It still felt too ridiculous.

But here I am now, waiting for my turn to go inside the villa.

This is it. I'm actually here.

It felt so surreal, and the place was grand. I'm the 3rd girl to enter and I was welcomed by another girl with blonde curls and blue eyes.

"Heya! I'm Dana. You look so gorgeous!" she hugged me and I smelled a faint scent of cocoa butter. "I love your pink hair!"

Dana was really bubbly and full of energy. We entered the villa and went straight to the bedroom. Dana introduced me to another girl with dark hair and a cute half bun. Her name is Kat. She looked really intimidating and was quite intense, but she was gorgeous too. I can't deny that a lot of the boys would be all around her, but it didn't really bother me. After all, my original goal was just to have fun, finding the "love of my life" was just a bonus.

I was first called to go outside and choose a guy I wanted to couple up with.

Okay, no pressure.

Initially, I was welcomed by two guys. The first one was Alfie. He was quite funny and full of banter, but he wasn't really my type on paper. The second one was Eddie, but I wasn't really a fan of the boy next door vibe he was giving.

"Just the two of you?" I asked while pointing at the both of them.

"No, here comes the third one." Alfie chuckled.

He pointed at the door, and I saw a very familiar face I didn't expect. He gave me a devilish smile, and my heart just dropped to the floor.

Are you fucking kidding me??

"Hey there, princess." Suresh smiled. "Long time no see."

#suresh x mc #litg suresh #litg5 #litg 5 #love island the game 2 #litg fanfic #litg fic

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perfectpaperbluebirds · 2 years

Text

Warm Pajamas

@sicktember 2022 Prompt Alt. #1

Fandom/OCs: Plague Doctor OCs

Title: The Clock Is Wide Awake

Words: 1573

Inspiration: Read my first plague doctor fic here

Author’s comments: The original plague doctor fic is still one of my favorite things I’ve ever written, and while I don’t feel this does the first justice (as is the case with most sequels,) it was still fun to revisit this AU. When editing this, I realized how scarily similar this is to the cowboy fic in parts lol. I actually had some parts EXACTLY the same, so I had to go back and fix that, but I promise the endings are different! I wrote the two several months apart and apparently forgot what I had written. Still, Alastair and Eliza were a treat to write again, though I missed Hamish. A sickly plague doctor will never get old!

Alastair was late, so Eliza was pacing.

Of course pacing served no purpose, but she couldn't make herself be still anymore than she could keep from worrying about all the ill that could have befallen him. He had been away several months again, still treating the plague, and she missed him with all her being. It had been over a month since her last letter from him had arrived, but in it he told her he would be returning before the winter solstice, which was today. Of course, this day had arrived with drenching rain which had not ceased for a minute, and only served to heighten her worry for him. Now it was quickly approaching midnight, still the rain continued, and there was no sign of him. So, she continued to pace. Back and forth between the kitchen and the door she went, unwilling to go up to her chamber and miss the chance of seeing him walk through the door– at least until the clock struck twelve.

She had all but given up hope as she wandered around the silent inn. It seemed the whole world was asleep aside from her, and she questioned her sanity for not joining them. Yet the clock was still awake, so she could be, too. Something in her told her not to abandon her post, so she persisted, and minutes before midnight she was rewarded. A rap sounded on the sturdy oak front door, and Eliza's heart soared as she recognized the cadence. Running over, she unbolted it and threw it open.

Though she had not been in the room the first time he had stumbled into their inn, she had heard the tale plenty of times from her father and could picture the scene perfectly. Tonight it seemed they had gone back in time to that fateful day, for standing in the night-darkened doorway, drenched in rain, was the silhouette of a plague doctor. It truly was a fearsome sight that made one go weak at the knees, and Eliza was no exception. Most people would have instinctively backed away, but Eliza did quite the opposite: she ran at him and threw herself into his arms, for the weakness in her knees was not from fear, but desire. Alastair was her beloved, and he was a plague doctor, and he had come home at last.

He caught her easily and pressed her to himself in a hug, carrying them both over the threshold. He dripped all over the floor, and her dress was soaked with rain in minutes, but she cared not. She never wanted to leave his arms.

Still, she knew he had to be exhausted, so at last she freed him. He dropped his sack and cane, then unfastened the fierce, beaked mask, and she could finally see his beautiful features. He looked haggard and careworn as always, but was smiling from ear to ear as he examined her in turn. He ran a gentle hand along her jawline, as if to ensure she was real.

"Hello, Eliza," he rasped, his voice rough and heavy with fatigue. "My, darling, my treasure.”

"Dearest Alastair! I feel I can breathe again at last now that I’ve seen you whole and well," she whispered. She jumped into his arms again, overwhelmed with joy, and pressed her lips to his. They kissed long and hard as the clock struck midnight, the chimes ringing melodiously through the silent inn.

When they broke apart again, she kept a hand on his cheek. His skin was icy against hers, and she could feel him shivering even as they continued to smile at each other. He took a breath, and she thought he was going to speak. Instead he pulled his cloak over his nose to sneeze several times in quick succession, further explaining his husky voice. The sound brought Eliza back down to earth. After all, Alastair was first and foremost a guest of the inn that needed serving.

"Bless you! It seems you've caught a chill from the rain. Come, your room is all prepared. Let's get you warmed up." She picked up his baggage, then tugged at his arm, pulling him toward the stairs. He took his things back from her, never wanting anyone to expend extra effort on his behalf, then followed willingly, linking his fingers through hers. She led him to the Chimney Room, the smallest but warmest room in the inn, for he would stay in no other, though she offered him better rooms each time he visited. Tonight though, she hoped the added heat would do him some good. As soon as they entered the room, he dropped the bags and then sneezed again into his hands, sharp and wet. He finished by scrubbed at his nose with a nearly inaudible sigh.

"Bless again. Poor dear. I can see now that your nose and eyes are all red. How long have you been sneezing?"

"A day or so," he mumbled. "I've been traveling in the rain for three days. As you said, it seems I’ve caught a chill from it."

As he spoke, he removed boots and laid them by the brick chimney to dry, then unfastened his cloak, but hesitated to remove it completely. Even under the cloak he was soaked though, evidence of the days of driving gales of rain and poor shelter.

"Let's get you into something dry." She opened his bag where he'd dropped it on the ground and began to rummage through it, but he carried no extra clothes. She turned to him with a questioning look.

"I don't bring extra clothes when doctoring. They only take up space that could be used for food and medicines," he said quietly. "If I have need of new clothes, I find what I need along the way."

He visibly shivered as he spoke, his teeth chattering and his lips blue with cold.

Eliza nodded. "And you shall find it here as well. Wait here."

He nodded, sliding to the floor with his back against the chimney, wrapping his wet cloak around himself once more.

Downstairs again, Eliza rummaged through the inn's linens to find what she was looking for: a soft, warm men's nightshirt. It had been tossed in with the rest months ago, and it was exactly what Alastair needed tonight. So what if old man Jeffers had died in it. It had been washed and mended and was certainly better than a soaking wet tunic and breeches.

Alastair was just as she'd left him, and had apparently dozed off in the warmth, judging by how he jumped when she reentered. He sniffled several times as he stood to meet her, his eyes hazy and red. She pushed the nightshirt into his arms with gentle instructions to change and get into bed. She stepped out again to give him privacy while she fetched him tea. As she closed the door to his room, she heard him start into another sneezing fit. She resolved to find him some dry handkerchiefs as well, and quickened her steps so she could return to him all the sooner.

He had followed her instructions, and she found him lying obediently in bed when she returned, warm and dry in the nightshirt and bundled under two blankets. His nose was redder than ever though, and he couldn’t seem to keep his hand away from it, itching and rubbing. She gently pressed a handkerchief into his palm, and he took it with a grateful smile, still sniffling persistently. She sat beside him as he drank his tea, running her fingers through his hair and quietly enjoying his presence. Even moreso, she enjoyed having the ability to look over and see his face whenever she liked, and to see his answering smile. Still, he was sick and exhausted, and she knew she would soon have to let him sleep. There was always tomorrow.

Perhaps sensing that she was about to leave for the night, Alastair took her hands in his suddenly, an intense, glorious look on his face as he met her eyes.

“I have the most wonderful news, Eliza dear, and I must tell you before anyone else. I am nearly done with my time as a plague doctor! My superiors have ruled that I have served my term sufficiently, and after one more rotation in the cities, I will be free to settle somewhere and build a practice! Come this spring, after the rains, we can be wed at last!”

Eliza at first could not speak for the shock. “You’re sure your illness hasn’t made you delirious with fever and speaking nonsense? This is really true?”

“As true as scripture,” he breathed, squeezing her hands. “I will soon be yours in body as well as soul.”

She squealed in delight, throwing her arms around him in a hug. Before she pulled away, she felt the need to press her lips to his forehead just to be sure, and found him cool and without fever just as he said. He was as sober as a preacher, and yet speaking the news she’d been waiting years now to hear. It seemed too good to be true.

Tomorrow they would celebrate properly: they would tell her father, they would make plans, they would do so many other things. Tonight, they simply held each other and smiled, while in the distance the clock chimed the passage of another hour.

#sicktember 2022 #alt prompt 1 #plague doctor ocs #sickfic

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