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sumaneun-stars · 9 months

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'Hold Me'

(smut)

Pairing. Idol!Sunghoon x fem!idol!reader

Genre. Exes to lovers, smut

Warnings. Cursing, Unprotected sex, use of nicknames (good girl, doll etc.), dom!sunghoon, over-stimulation

Synopsis. It had been 5 months since your break-up, and you thought you might've moved on. Except- you discover that your undying feelings for your ex, Park Sunghoon, only grew stronger in that period of time. You fell for him harder once you looked into those hypnotizing eyes again.

A/n. First smut guys! Pretty lame but I hope you like it<3

[5 months ago]

"You're so ungrateful y/n- you know that? I'm busy and have a tight schedule but I still make time for you- it still isn't enough? Don't you have any sense of gratitude?" He exclaimed, his anger boiling and his eyes piercing into you. It was the first time Sunghoon raised his voice at you- and it was scary.

"Fine. Let's break up" you said, coldly.

He became silent, and his eyes asked 'why?'.

"I sound like a burden to you, and you clearly don't have time for me. This doesn't feel like love anymore- so let's end it here" you continued, tears now threatening to fall down your cheeks.

You took your bag which was lying on the couch, and left the apartment. He ran his fingers through his hair- anger, sadness and regret now stabbing him from all directions.

'What have I done?' He asked himself, looking down at the shattered glass on the floor.

[The present]

You tied your shoelaces and wore your jacket. You took your phone out, taking a selfie and posting it on Weverse- adding a caption to please your fans.

Y/nssky: 'Good morning! ☀️'

You put on your mask and stepped out of the apartment.

"Good morning," you said to your driver as you got into the vehicle, giving him a sleepy smile

"Good morning ma'am" he replied.

You put on your airpods, and played one of your calm playlists. You opened the window, leaning on its frame as the breeze hit your face. This was your favorite part of the day- also at night when you finally reunite with your true love: your bed.

You came back to reality once 'hold me' started playing. You skipped it without hesitation. It'd be a good song if it weren't you and your ex who sang it.

You sighed. Your love with Sunghoon was so beautiful- but apparently fate had different plans.

You reminisced about the dance practice you had with him. The way you would pretend to be awkward on camera but would shower him with kisses off camera, and the way the staff would cringe at the sight. It was plastered on your brain. You denied the fact that you missed him- well that was the only way to move on.

"Ma'am we're here. Ma'am?" Your driver shook your shoulders slightly.

"Huh?" You got out of your daze.

"We're here"

"Oh- right. Thank you!" You said as you got out of the car.

You made your way into the building, occasionally greeting idols that passed by.

You went to your office, placing your bag and jacket aside as you took your seat. It wasn't long before your manager, Ms. Kang, approached you with your daily cappuccino and a few documents.

"Thank you," you smiled at her. She would usually smile back and leave the room, except she continued to stand in front of you. She cleared her throat.

"Ms. Kang, is there a problem?" You asked her.

"Not for me, but for you- yes" she said nervously.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

She took the documents which were in your hands and flipped a few pages. She then turned it and handed it back to you.

"Charlotte Awards is being held tomorrow and you're requested to perform 'Hold Me' with Park Sunghoon of Enhypen" she said in one breath.

You went silent for a second.

"Fuck" you whispered. "You didn't hear that" you added, glaring at Ms. Kang.

"Sure did," she replied with a nod.

"So… that's that. Also you'll be having a practice session with him after lunch at 3pm" she said.

You groaned.

"Awh it's fine ma'am, I'm sure you can do it. Fighting!" She cheered you on, patting your shoulder.

You gave her a soft smile as she left your office.

'What am I gonna do?' You asked yourself, leaning your head back, as you faced the glass wall to look at the view of the city.

— — — — — — — — — — — — —

You took a deep breath as you entered the practice room, where Sunghoon was waiting for you.

There he was, the man who made you go through all stages of grief because of his absence. You were glad you wore a mask, because he did too.

You greeted the crew, which made Sunghoon turn to look at you.

He stood up and approached you.

"Hello," he said coldly.

You replied, drier than the Sahara Desert.

You were scared. You were scared to look into his eyes. You were scared that you'd fall for him, and get your heart broken again.

'Pull yourself together y/n, he's an ass' you thought to yourself.

"Let's start!" A staff member announced.

You both avoided eye contact, and never smiled. You were upset, but it was your fault anyways. You were the one who initialized the breakup. If you didn't, you'd still be in his hold, his love and his care.

You and Sunghoon practiced the dance 3-4 times before ending the session.

"Okay. Wrap it up" you heard from the corner of the room. You shook his cold hands and headed out of the building.

"Wow ma'am I've never seen you that cold to anyone before" Ms. Kang said.

"You've seen it yourself, so don't get into my bad side"

"Oh don't worry" she said with a smile.

You went to sleep that night in hopes that the next day wouldn't come, but sadly, it did.

You looked at yourself in the mirror, your hands trembling.

"Y/n, you're up. Sunghoon will enter from the other side of the stage. Start by holding hands, and don't forget to smile- and have eye contact here and there, especially in the end"

You took a deep breath as you walked to the middle of the stage. You watched him approach you. You remember why you fell for him because gosh was he dreamy.

Sunghoons pov:

She's beautiful. She wore a long pastel green dress, which made her look like those pretty fairies I've only seen in movies. And her eyes, they could make my jaw drop underground. As I reached the center of the stage, she took my trembling hand, with a smile that could light up the whole city.

'His smile' you thought.

'Her smile' he thought.

'Don't fall, it's all an act. He doesn't love me anymore' you reminded yourself.

'Don't fall, it's all an act. She doesn't love me anymore' he reminded himself.

The performance ended, and you could hear the crowd cheering as the curtains closed. It was dull behind the curtains- your hand was still in his. His eyes flickered from your eyes and lips, and so did yours. You both got out of your trance once the next performance was announced. He cleared his throat as he let go of your hand. He left the stage and you did too.

— — — — — — — — — — — — —

Sunghoon couldn't stop thinking about you on his way home.

He sighed as he entered his bedroom, he removed his jacket and laid himself on his stomach on his bed. His mind was only on you. He resisted the urge to move his hips at the thought of you.

"You know what, fuck this" he said as he clicked your private Instagram account.

You couldn't stop thinking about Sunghoon at all. You sat on the couch, watching the muted television. You got out of your daze once you heard a notification from your phone.

mytiramisu sent you a message: 'Come over. Be fast.'

You could've always rejected his request, but there you were in front of his apartment door, in hopes that it would lead you to something different. You rang the bell, your hands shaking.

He let you in, then closed the door, trapping you in as you leaned against the meeting of the door and the wall. He was wearing a faded t-shirt with a wide neck, which exposed his sharp collarbone, and sweatpants made out of thin fabric which made his hardened length visible.

He leaned closer as he brought your hands to feel his bulge.

"Fuck" he said under his breath. "Look what you've done to me"

"Take them off," you told him. He looked at you with lust in his eyes. "Go on"

He then started removing each layer of your clothes, leaving you only in your underwear. He sneaked his arms around your bare waist, carrying you to his bedroom. You started grinding your hips on his lower stomach impatiently.

"Be patient, baby," he said.

He laid you on his bed, towering over you. He then un-buckled your bra, cursing at the sight. Soon enough he tore off the wet piece of fabric which was keeping him away from his desire. You removed his t-shirt, exposing his abs. You almost drooled at the sight of his bare chest.

He took his two middle fingers and started rubbing your already wet clit. You let out a whine, which only made his fingers move faster.

"All this wetness for me, yeah?" He asked you with a devilish smirk.

You whined again, closing your legs out of instinct as he was going too fast.

"Use your words, princess"

"Y- yes hoon" you said.

"That's my girl" he said, putting those two fingers in his mouth as he untied his sweatpants with the other hand. He removed his pants along with his boxers, revealing his huge, throbbing, red cock which was dripping with precum.

"Missed this, didn't you?" He said as he put his tip inside of you. You let out a hysterical moan.

"Didn't you?" He asked firmly, now pushing his whole length inside. You moaned even louder, not being able to form words.

"Answer the question" he ordered as he raised your chin up with his right hand to face him.

"Yes- y- yes hoon I missed it-" you managed to let out.

"Good girl"

He started moving his hips back and forth without a warning. He thrusted into you in a fast pace, your moans now filling the room.

"F- faster" you said.

"Patience, doll" he replied, gripping onto your jaw.

He then connected his lips to yours, giving you a passionate kiss as he unexpectedly took his length out and threw it back in. He kept going faster, each thrust stronger than the previous one.

"Sunghoon- AH-" you screamed as he hit your g-spot.

Your moans only made him faster. He went even deeper, reaching your g-spot everytime as his balls slapped your skin.

You felt the familiar knot in your stomach, and you knew you couldn't hold it for long.

"Hoon- I'm gonna cum-" you said shakily.

He felt his orgasm reaching as well. His thrusts became sloppier as he held your hands.

He threw his lips on yours, sucking on your bottom lip as you reached your orgasm. You moaned hysterically into the kiss as you felt his hot juices on you.

He parted the kiss, leaning his forehead on yours as he looked into your eyes. You held his jaw with your right hand, giving him a soft smile.

"Y/n…" he said, breathily.

"Hmm?" You replied, playing with his hair.

"Please give me a second chance," he said, his eyes now sparkling.

"Hmm I should think about that…" you teased him.

"Y/n I'm sorry for my mistakes, I swear I'll love you better than before" he continued.

"Can I really trust you…" you continued to play with him.

He scoffed. "You're saying that you didn't miss these lips at least once?" he asked cockliy.

You giggled. "Of course I did, silly" you said, giving him a peck on the lips.

"So is that a yes?" He asked.

"Is it though…" you said.

"Oh come on y/n"

"Alright alright" you said as you pulled him down to lay beside you.

You buried your face in his chest as he held you in his arms.

"I love you" you said, your voice muffled.

"I love you too," he replied, smiling warmly.

End.

376 notes · View notes

atinyjules · 10 months

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please write a woonhak fic 😞 it would be so cute if it was like a first love/kiss thing

TEDDY BEAR FT. WOONHAK pt. 1

Oml suree! I have been waiting for ages for someone to request a Boynextdoor fic so I am so happy!

I'm kinda busy these days so I split the parts so this one is basically the confession part and I'll make the next part on the first date and first kiss🤧😭

🤧So without further a do! Here it is!🌠

"Because of you...I was able to come out of my shell and live life with no regrets."

Summary: Where Woonhak meets his first crush and best friend after 5 years of not seeing each other because of a teddy bear which played a key factor in creating the bond they have.

Genre: Childhood friends to lovers trope , romance, fluff, crack.

Pairings: Childhood friend!Woonhak x reader

Warnings: None

Woonhak had loved teddy bears for as long as he could remember. He got his first bear from his dad when he started kindergarten, he carried it everywhere he went and surprisingly still had it. Except, now it made it's home on top of Woonhak's shelf where it according to his mom watches over him now. Overtime it had become worn out but Woonhak still insisted to keep it not only cause it was his first bear but also because it was the reason he was able to meet you.

"Woonhak! I already told you five times this week to clean up your attic!" he groaned at the mention of the attic by his mom who then pulled his ear.

"Are you even listening?" she questioned making Woonhak wince in pain.

"Oww-ow-eomma it hurts!" he exclaimed as she let go.

"Clean your attic now or no lunch!" she exclaimed and left him as his stomach grumbled.

"I'll have to clean the attic now I guess." he mumbled and jumped up on his bed and clicked open the stairs to the attic and went in, immediately regretting doing a summersault and after climbing in which resulted in the dust flying everywhere.

He quickly opened the windpw and fanned himself as he let out a sigh of relief.

"That was close..." he said and coughed as he started cleaning the attic. Woonhak had been vacuuming the place when he caught sight of an all too familiar light blue coloured box, he smiled as he pulled the box out towards him.

"Woonhak's memory box." he read out the paper written and pasted on the box which 6 year old Woonhak had made. Opening the box he was taken by surprised at the contents of the box. Old toys, expired candies, drawings, photo albums, books, stickers, a hoodie and a teddy bear necklace.

Wait...a teddy bear necklace?!

"It was here all along?! I thought I lost it forever..." he trailed, voice going quiet at the end of the sentence as he put on the precious jewellery over his head.

Woonhak's

"God, I miss her..." I mumbled grazing my fingers over the bear.

I then picked up the photo album and smiled at the first picture of the album. It was me holding my beloved bear next to a pink adorned y/n who smiled at me. As I flipped the page a pink envelop fell from the book making me furrow my eyebrows as I picked it up.

"What's this...To my dearest Woonie...from your bestest friend y/n...what in the world-" I stopped mid sentence at the first line of the letter.

I know I've probably already moved by the time you read this letter.

I thought it'd be better to tell you since we might not meet again.

"You idiot...why am I like this?!" I exclaimed and slapped myself for not finding this letter sooner, I continued reading the letter.

Back in kindergarten I was really quiet and was often picked on by our classmates and one day you came and rescued me...I haven't forgotten it even though I insisted I did. It's a memory I'll never forget.

I'm sorry I kept that secret from you...I was scared you'd say no if I confessed my feelings so since I'm leaving I thought I'd tell you now...hehe.

If we meet in the future...I hope you can maybe accept my feeling even though I doubt you will.

"Woonhak...IDIOT!" I exclaimed as I fell to the ground and let out a frustrated sigh when I heard mom call for me downstairs. I made my way down quickly since mom sounded really hurried but froze mid-way down the stairs once I caught sight of said girl who was currently in my mind.

"Woonhak! Remember Y/n and Jaehyun?" mom said as she looked at me and smiled.

"Hi, Woonhak...long time no see!" she exclaimed as Jaehyun waved at me. Mom proceeded to drag my surprised figure down, right infront of her.

"You didn't forget her already did you?" mom asked as I shook my head.

"Y/n...h-how are you?!" I exclaimed as she chuckled.

"I'm great, you seem to be doing well!" she said as I felt a wave of emotions attack me making my eyes water as I hugged her tightly.

"I missed you..." I mumbled as she hugged me back.

"I missed you too.." she trailed as Jaehyun and mom looked at us fondly.

"Sooo, what have you been up to?" she asked as I awkwardly rubbed the back of my nape.

After having lunch the both of us retreated to my room to talk.

"Nothing much really." I said as she smiled.

"Oh...is that the bear from kindergarten?" She asked after catching sight of it.

"Oh yeah! Wanna see?" I asked and stood up to bring it down from the shelf and gave it to her.

"I'm sorry it's really worn out and dusty." I said as she shook her head.

"No, no! It's completely fine." She said and proceeded to pat the dust away from the bear's head.

Y/n's

I felt nostalgic as I held the now worn out teddy bear in my hands, thoughts going back to kindergarten.

"Leave me alone..." I cried as the bullies laughed and pushed me to the ground.

"Why? Is y/n gonna cry?" one of them spoke up and pulled my hair making me break into a sob when a voice caught their attention.

"Yah!" I looked up to see Woonhak approaching us with shakey legs, holding his bear."What do you want you wimp?" the bully asked as he puffed up his chest and stood infront of him.

"Leave her alone!" he said making them laugh as he huffed.

"What can someone as tiny as you do?"

"You-Yahhh!!" Woonhak exclaimed and started hitting him with the teddy bear making the bully wince.

"Yah! Stop it!" he exclaimed as Woonhak continued attacking the bullies with his bear, chasing them away.

"That's what you get for making Y/n cry!!" he exclaimed and raised his teddy bear in victory.

"Y/n you okay?" he asked as I smiled and wiped my tears, nodding.

"I am now...thanks for saving me Woonie." I said and hugged him causing a bright red tint to graze his features as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"No problem!"

"Woonhak...thanks for saving me back then..." I trailed as he widened his eyes and shook his head.

"Don't thank me! I did what I had to do...to protect you..." he said making me chuckle as I hugged the bear and looked at him with a smile.

"Because of you...I was able to come out of my shell and live life with no regrets." I said and blused as Woonhak chuckled awkwardly and looked down trying to avoid me from seeing him burn up.

"I-I...uh...I'm happy that I could help you live life cheerfully...cause...you were the reason that made school...amazing..." He trailed making me look at him with wide eyes as he finally gained enough confidence to look at me.

"I...uh...I like you a lot." he said making me turn red as he cleared his throat and gulped.

"Woonhak...I...I like you a lot too...even more I guess!" I exclaimed andlooked away as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Uh then...would you...I mean...we should...I mean...uh...we should go out for lunch and stuff sometimes..." he mumbled when Jaehyun poked his head inside the room.

"Y/n...time to go." he said as I stood up and gave him the bear.

"2pm at Saturday?" she said making me look up at her with wide eyes.

"S-Sure! I mean-YOU BET!" he exclaimed making me chuckle as I smiled at him and retreated to my hotel.

_______________________

I am so sorry it's so short! I'll try to post part two as quickly as possible! But I hope you guys enjoyed this enough to wait for part 2? ♥

Well thanks for reading! ☁🌠

Likes and Reblogs would be appreciated🌠

#boynextdoor masterlist #boynextdoor imagines #woonhak #leehan #sungho #jaehyun #taesan #riwoo #boynextdoor x reader #boynextdoor ff #boynextdoor fic

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apomaro-mellow · 11 months

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The Bright Side S01E02: Play by the Rules

S01E01

Cold Open

The family of three was having lunch in the kitchen when El piped up for a question.

"Steve, how does a girl get a guy to notice her?"

Jim scoffed. "You're askin' Mr. Hairspray over there for boy advice?"

"This coming from the guy who hasn't had a date since the 70's", Steve said.

Jim huffed and straightened the pages of his paper. "El, your brother is mighty fine at dating girls. Not so great at keeping them. I don't know if that says anything about the girls or Steve though."

"I could keep them just fine if I wanted to. I just haven't found The One yet."

"But you'd know if you saw her?", El cut in, getting them back to topic. "The One?"

"I think I would. Why you got a boy you like?", Steve smirked, ready to tease.

El just blushed, not ready to reveal who it was yet but Jim was already prepared to shut it down. He'd been ready for a while now.

"You know my rules. No boys in the house."

Steve raised a brow and looked to Lucas and Dustin sitting with them at the table. "You let these dorks over all the time."

Jim looked to them as he picked up his beer. "They don't count."

End Cold Open

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

At school, between classes, Max boarded up to El's locker. "We still on for tonight?"

"Of course. I wouldn't miss it", El beamed.

"Good, because this is long overdue. Just you and me. No boys. Music, magazines, and movies."

Meanwhile, just down the street, Mike was looking on with a disapproving expression.

"This can only end in tragedy."

"Dude", Lucas closed his locker. "It's a sleepover. They're probably just gonna paint each other's nails and kiss whatever guy is in a magazine. You know? Dumb girl stuff?"

"Girls don't just do stuff. They talk. That's the danger", Mike said.

"And what's the danger in El and Max talking?", Will asked. "They do it all the time."

"Yeah but not alone. Not without us. So who do you think they're gonna talk about?"

"I really don't think Max is gonna talk about us when we're not there", Dustin said.

"She will if it's to talk shit", Lucas sighed.

Mike looked vindicated. "Exactly! Max is gonna talk shit about us to El."

"Why do you care so much?", Will asked.

Mike took too long to answer and Lucas zeroed in on why. "Mike's got a cru-ush~", he sang, prompting Mike to punch him in the arm.

"Shut up! No I don't! El is still new. She doesn't know we're the losers yet."

"She literally stopped you from getting a swirly on her first day", Dustin said. "I think that ship has safely sailed."

"This is all stupid anyway. We've got out own plans to iron out", Will said as the bell rang.

"Girls man. They drive a man wild", Lucas said sagely.

"It's times like these I'm glad my girlfriend is back in Utah", Dustin said on their way back to class.

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

Max and El sat on the bed as Jim inspected the room for boys. Even going as far as checking under the bed and poking the stuffed animals in her closet with a broom.

"Is this really necessary?", Max asked. "The only boys she knows is those nerdlingers."

"Alright. I'm gonna lay down the rules and don't give me any sass", Jim said, arms crossed with the broom. "No loud music. No boys. No prank calls. No boys. In bed by nine. No boys. No sneaking out. And did I mention no boys?"

"I'm not feeling a lot of trust right now", Max said.

"I'm not raising a grandkid before I turn fifty", Jim said. "Oh, one last thing." He took out a small box and laid some tacks sharp side up on El's window sill.

Jim left El's room and went downstairs to sit on the couch and settle in for some Friday night primetime. He had a good view of the front door and a window that should reveal anyone sneaking in or out of El's room.

Steve came down, mumbling and grumbling to himself as he took his keys out of his pocket.

"And where are you off to? Hot date?"

"Hardly. I lost a bet to Jonathan of all people. So I gotta take the kids to the arcade. What are the chances they get bored and ready to go home after 10 minutes?"

Jim chuckled. "I won't be waiting up."

Thankfully, Dustin, Lucas, Mike, and Will were just next door and ready to go already when Steve knocked on the door of the Byer's home.

"Good luck", Jonathan grinned.

"Last time I challenge you to beer pong. How'd you get so good anyway?", Steve asked.

"Having a terrible dad has its perks. He taught me when I turned 14."

"Hey, my dad taught me too."

Jonathan made a face at the thought of Hopper teaching Steve beer pong as the boys bum rushed out of the house and towards the door.

"Come on! We're burnin' moonlight!", Dustin commanded as he made a claim for the front passenger seat.

With a sigh, Steve went towards his own vehicle and started towards the arcade. Meanwhile, the girls night was already in full swing.

"Blonds or brunets?", Max asked while tossing some popcorn into her mouth.

"Brunets", El answered.

"Same. So does that mean anyone in town's caught your eye yet?"

El blushed and curled in a little on herself, trying to hide behind the open pages of a magazine. But the sound of disbelief Max made proved it was all in vain.

"Who? And please tell me it's not Jack Maine."

"Jack? The captain of the baseball team?"

"All the girls fawn over him, it's honestly disgusting." Max popped another corn in her mouth. "So who is it? Anyone I know?"

"He's-no one." El got up and began pacing. "You don't know him. He's from out of town. Actually, a whole other country. Actually, he doesn't exist."

"No no no, Dustin's computer girlfriend from Utah doesn't exist. But this mystery guy...", Max grinned.

El was frozen on the spot but that didn't stop Max from standing up from the bed.

"What if you don't tell me, I just guess?"

"Guess?", El asked but Max took it as permission to get started.

"You're obviously embarrassed by it, so it's gotta be someone I know." Max began to circle around her. "Is it...Carter Baxton?"

"No", El shook her head.

"Hmm, Ricky Odell?"

"The guy who tried to stick Mike's head in a toilet?", El gave a look of disgust.

Max paused in front of her and looked into her eyes, then pointed a finger at her. "If you have a crush on Lucas..."

"It's Mike!", El blurted out, then immediately covered her mouth.

Max's eyes were wide. "Oh my god."

Jim nearly broke the door down, broom in hand. "Where is he?! Where's Mike?!"

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

The arcade was busy that Friday night. Steve had basically resigned himself to getting some nachos and a soda, then plopping down while the boys gamed themselves silly. He knew there'd be a moment when one of them came up and asked for quarters, but he was keeping a tight hold on his wallet. He was a driver only.

And sure enough, about half an hour in, Dustin came up, eyes already prepared for begging. "Steve-"

"Nope. I'm not giving you money."

"But I'm sooooo close! Not just to a high score but to a personal best! Are you gonna stand in the way of a boy and his dreams?"

"It wasn't on my schedule for the evening, but I think I can squeeze it in."

"I don't know why I asked. You wouldn't understand. I guess that hand eye coordination is only good for ball in hoop games?"

Steve raised a brow. "You think I can't play an arcade game?"

"Play? Sure. But win one? Get a high score?" Dustin crossed his arms. "Doubtful."

"I'll have you know I'm a champion Pac-Man player."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

That was how Steve ended up in front of the Pac-Man console, all the boys around him. He started a game and they weren't expecting much. Pac-Man was fairly simple. Eat the dots. Avoid the ghosts. But it was mesmerizing when someone was able to keep that going for long enough. Long enough for Dustin and Lucas to start cheering him on. Then long enough for the more quiet Will to start cheering. Then long enough for Mike to start backseat gaming and cheering too.

When Steve cleared the game and his score came up, his posture relaxed but he still didn't seem satisfied with how he did. It was great, but it didn't break the high score.

"Who's Munster?"

"Oh that's gotta be Eddie!", Mike said in awe.

Steve's brow raised in recognition. "Eddie 'the Freak' Munson? How do you know him?"

"Ran into him a few times at the library", Will said. "He said as soon as we get to high school we can join his club."

"Yeah and he'll still probably be there too", Steve scoffed. He cracked his knuckles. "He's about to be a two-fold loser 'cause I'm comin' for his score." He took a five dollar bill out of his pocket without even looking. "Here. Get me a soda."

Dustin smirked. "Will do!"

He grabbed the money, fully intending to get Steve the smallest soda available and pocket the rest for his own gaming. Steve was already back in the zone as he made a new game and attempted to break Eddie's record.

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

Max led the charge down the stairs and into the kitchen to grab more snacks, looking like a girl on a mission and not just in searched of cookies.

"Um, hello?", Jim looked up from the glass of water he was drinking, wrapped up in a bathrobe. "I thought I said in bed by 9 it's-" he checked his watch-"9:15."

"This is serious business", Max said while opening a fridge.

"Serious", El echoed.

"I thought I laid down the rules very clearly."

"Mr. Hopper do YOU want a smarmy son-in-law? Because that's what's at stake here", Max asked while nearly slamming a pickle jar onto the counter.

Jim looked between the girls. "This is boy stuff?"

They nodded.

Jim looked to Max specifically. "And you...are anti-smarm?"

"When it comes to boys, yes."

"Proceed." He took a sip of his water. "Get her a guy who likes fishing on the weekends too."

Max bit into the pickle while grabbing a soda. El got a bag of chips and a juice for herself before they headed back upstairs. Once the door was closed, Max started counting things off.

"Mike is controlling, and obsessed with image, which is hilarious considering he's on the bottom of the social food chain."

"Mike has never tried to control me. And isn't everyone worried about how they look?"

"It's just always a bad idea to date in a friend group. Messes with the whole dynamic."

El opened the chip bag. "Is that why you haven't asked Lucas out yet?"

Max froze mid-bite. When she chomped down, she pointed a finger at her. "Are you some kind of mind reader? I didn't tell anyone that."

"I figured when you were about to ask if I was crushing on him. You looked ready to deck me if I said yes."

"I wouldn't've punched you over a boy", Max denied. "Maybe a bit of cold shoulder though. Don't you dare tell a soul, I swear if you do-"

"Girls have a code, remember? I won't talk about how you feel about Lucas, if you never tell about Mike."

"I still can't believe you like him. Out of all of them."

"Mike's not so bad. What makes Lucas better anyway?"

Max suddenly got a dreamy smile on her face. "Well he's more mature for one."

"Lucas!?"

"Yeah!"

Jim came through again, with the broom. Again. "Where?!"

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

Steve's hands were braced against the sides of the console as he finished another game. He was so close to Eddie's score. Just a few points away. It was such a small gap he could taste it. He rubbed his face and then pulled his wallet out of his pocket again.

"You makin' your own cup factory?", a voice came up from behind.

Steve turned, first looking at the six empty drinks by his feet and then at the loud slurping noise coming from Eddie Munson. Steve frowned.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Munson?"

"I like coming in at last call to see who's gotten close to my record", he smirked, swirling the ice around in his drink.

"Whatever", Steve stuck his hands in his pockets like he didn't care. "Wait, last call? What time is it?!" He checked his watch and saw that it was nearly 11.

"Just about time for the night to really come alive", Eddie said. "And shouldn't you be getting them home?", he tilted his head and saw the four of them at the air hockey tables. They were pretty much the only ones left in the arcade.

"Their moms are going to kill me. Hey you wieners it's time to go home", Steve called out.

He was met with protests but they were all weak and punctuated by tired yawns. They'd probably all conk out as soon as they sat in his car. He heard Eddie whistle from the Pac-Man game.

"Just four points away Harrington. That's almost as close as the game last week. That's gotta burn, huh?"

"Didn't know you went to the games, Munson."

"I don't", Eddie said smoothly. "I just read the papers. Keep your enemies close and all that."

"Yeah, right." Steve gathered the kids and brought them outside into the cool, fresh air and Steve realized how tired his eyes were after staring at that screen for hours. Eddie followed them out and a very annoyed employee finally locked the door behind them.

Steve got inside and this time Will was in the front. Eddie squeezed his top half through the door and switched the dials on Steve's radio then turned up the volume, making a loud guitar and drums ring out.

"Dude! What the hell!?", Steve shouted, covering one ear while turning it down.

"To keep you awake for the journey home. Be sure that these little ones are returned safely", Eddie said, putting on a strangely theatrical voice. He closed the door and patted the hood, telling Steve he was good to go.

"I told you", Steve said as Eddie waved them off. "Freak."

"He's the coolest", Dustin yawned.

Episode 3

#apo writes #stranger things #fanfiction #el hopper #max mayfield #jim hopper #steve harrington

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owlyflufff · 1 year

Text

For once in his life, Bokuto Koutarou had been absent from practice.

It’s odd too, for Akaashi’s phone had not pinged even once. Having Bokuto Koutarou for a partner always resulted in a flare up of notifications, a constant spam to Akaashi should something happen to him.

This doesn’t equate to major accidents by the way, oh no, even the smallest inconveniences, the one item that stopped Bokuto from getting a perfect score on his test, the cat that would pass him by, all of this he relays to Akaashi in a flurry of messages and long threads.

However, this case is different–and different often means something is amiss.

In the very least, Akaashi is left to conclude it has been the workings of a fever, it doesn’t stop him from attempting to check on Bokuto though.

Being on the receiving end of missed calls and unresponded texts, Akaashi takes it that Bokuto is off catching as much rest as possible. Those intial concerns are set aside, making room for the extensive amount of training for today.

“That’s odd,” Akaashi has been in the midst of plopping volleyball after volleyball into a cart when he hears Konoha approaching from the distance. “Akaashi, was Bokuto not with you when you entered the gym?”

Akaashi’s features shift, his face locked in curiosity. “No, I came here on my own. I assumed Bokuto-san was sick.”

“Huh? Sick? But he was present during class.” Konoha says and it leaves Akaashi is a momentary standstill.

If he thinks about it, if Bokuto was present then where had he been off to during class hours, why couldnt Akaashi find him running along the hallways?

Why was he missing when Akaashi went over to get him for lunch?

If Bokuto really was present, then where is he now?

“Did he not tell you where he went?” Akaashi tries, all else fails as Konoha shakes his head.

“Not in the slightest.”

There’s a silence, a beat, then an acknowledgement far from satisfaction.

“I see,” is all Akaashi has to offer. It earns him a raised brow from Konoha.

“Aren’t you worried about him?” Konoha asks and Akaashi along with the volleyball cart screech to a halt. “I mean, he’s your boyfriend and all, you’re usually the first to get worked up when something happens to him.”

Being months into a relationship is still fresh to Akaashi, a new page that has been beautifully and haphazardly plunged into his narrative, so to be reminded that Bokuto is his actual partner now has always caught him offguard.

Though, Akaashi can never rip this page. He can never rewrite this part of the narrative that has scribbled itself in Akaashi’s book–all loud and cheerful but filled with promise. That page, that person, it stays there permanently, sealed within the tight covers of Akaashi’s heart.

“Of course I’m worried.” Akaashi says with a sense of finality, certainty. “But considering how Bokuto-san hasn’t been answering my calls or seen my texts, it’s likely a personal matter. It could be urgent and I...”

There’s a lingering doubt, a festering concern at his own words that Akaashi wishes to gnaw back. To love means to forget rationality sometimes, and Akaashi tries to keep himself at bay.

“I can’t possibly intervene with that.” Akaashi tells.

The thud of a volleyball from afar has never sounded louder.

“Well,” Konoha says as he pats Akaashi’s shoulder. “Whatever you say vice-captain.” He offers a salute to Akaashi before turning to the court.

“Although knowing him,” Konoha says once more, Akaashi can just barely catch the smirk on his lips before Konoha’s off to practice. “It’s probably something ridiculous.”

It had been, in fact, something ridiculous.

Volleyball practice passes swiftly, and awfully early even. As his teammates say their farewells and go on their own ways, Akaashi finds himself in the solist of an empty volleyball gym.

The sun has yet to fully dip into the sky, the night has yet to overshadow the afternoon and Akaashi has yet to reach Bokuto Koutarou.

So, in the absence of a one man ruckus, “HEY HEY HEY”s and “AGHASHEE”s, he resorts to the one thing that keeps him connected to all those things, to Bokuto--volleyball.

It’s a little silly, tossing without a spiker, but it’s enough to stall him. To keep him distracted, to stop him from picking up the phone, dialing the number and checking up on-

“AGHASSHEEE!”

The thud of the volleyball as it clashes against the wall one more time has never sounded louder, and Bokuto Koutarou has never been closer.

For there Bokuto stands.

At the entrance of the gym, Bokuto is practically collapsed and looks as if he had ran more than a marathon (because knowing him he is, and would, be capable of winning one if Akaashi will be honest).

Akaashi does not hesitate to approach Bokuto by the entrance, bending down as to level with him a little better.

“Bokuto-san...” At the sound of his name, Bokuto immediately shudders a little when he feels something cold pressed to the side of his cheek. He looks up to see a water bottle to his side and Akaashi looking up back at him.

It’s familiar, the thin line on Akaashi’s lips, the look in his eyes and expression that he gives Bokuto. Though it’s also different--and different often means something is amiss after all.

For Akaashi has been worried, bothered at most by Bokuto’s absence from practice. His lips part to say something to follow up after calling his name.

Are you alright?

Is something wrong?

Where have you been?

“You’re late.”

His words sting, to anyone if they weren’t Bokuto. This is but the normality of their conversations and Bokuto responds as his usual self as much.

“I know, I’m sorry! I can explain myself I swear hold on,” Akaashi tilts his head to the side to see Bokuto plunging his hand into a plastic bag he brought along with him.

“Akaashi, do you know what date it is today?” Bokuto says as he immediately hides whatever item he was able to fish out from the plastic.

Akaashi raises his eyebrow, curious if it was another one of Bokuto’s trick questions. “It’s November 11 is it not?”

“Exactly! And you know what that means?”

Akaashi rests a hand on his chin, drowning in thought and amounting to nothing. “I don’t quite know what it means Bokuto-san.”

“It’s Pocky Day!” Bokuto exclaims, a pout forming on his lips just as quickly. “And that’s the thing Akaashi, it’s Pocky Day so I wanted to buy a box for us to celebrate but then when I went to the supermarket and the convenience store, it was all sold out!”

Bokuto has always had a flair for the dramatic so it comes as no surprise to see him succumb to the floor at the announcement.

Akaashi only nods along, kneeling down to rub a hand on Bokuto’s back in support. “What happened then Bokuto-san?”

“I couldn’t just let the day end ‘Kaashi! It would be sad if we were the only couple who weren’t able to celebrate Pocky Day, so I did this instead.”

At that, Bokuto takes a hold of whatever he had been hiding from behind to reveal a small plastic bag filled with chocolates.

“Are these,” Akaashi leans in the take a closer look. “Homemade chocolates?”

“I tried, I really did.” Bokuto says, his voice a little somber, “I still wanted today to be special, so after class, I went back to my house and asked my sisters to help me make them.”

Akaashi feels a little tap tap in his heart, and he allows it to rest there for as long as it needs.

“You did all this,” Bokuto looks up to see Akaashi looking at him, gaze unwavering and a fierceness to it that’s all awfully Akaashi. “For chocolate?”

“Not just chocolate!” Bokuto interjects. “I did it for you, or well, for us I mean!

There’s a silence in the passing, then there’s warmth. It’s incredibly warm and it takes a millisecond for Bokuto to realize that he collapsed on the ground again, the plastic of chocolates a little distance away from him and there are arms wrapped around his neck.

Akaashi pulls Bokuto close, buries his face in his neck and he’s all so incredibly warm.

Bokuto holds unto him, embraces him with just as much.

“Bokuto-san.” The latter stiffens at the tone, it’s true that Bokuto is used to Akaashi’s lack of enthusiasm in his voice, but this is different.

And different definitely means something is amiss.

“Yeah Akaashi...?”

He feels himself being pulled back before facing Akaashi, the smallest smile on his partner’s lips.

“Please respond to my messages and calls next time,” Akaashi says, the smile still lingering. “I was afraid you were abducted by aliens.”

“Huh? But why would I be abducted by alie-whoah!”

If Akaashi laughs softly as he brings Bokuto back up to his feet, if he picks up the plastic filled with chocolates and looks at it with a sense of fondness,

and if the two of them spend the rest of the afternoon till night, eating chocolates, attempting to steal some from the other and attempting to play the Pocky Game with it, then no one needs to truly know.

It’s just another moment between them, nothing more, and nothing less.

#very very late Pocky day fic for Bokuaka TvT #it's 22 here so in some way if November is 11 then today is 2 and 2 together then it still counts somehow!#just a silly littol idea I had about Bokuaka <33 #Eli's wholesome writing #bokuaka #bokuaka fluff #bokuto #bokuto koutarou #akaashi #akaashi keiji #haikyu #haikyuu #haikyu!!#haikyuu!!#hq

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stylinskies · 9 days

Text

Wind’s in the east, mist comin’ in….

This wasn’t going to take him down. Stiles stared at the piece of paper on his desk until his vision went blurry. He knew the answer, but it was just brushing against the fingertips of his sleep deprived memory. What gets wetter as it dries. “A towel!” He yelled in triumph, the few members of his department still there turning to glance at him as Frank rolled his eyes at his partner.

“No way man, a towel?” He scoffed, grabbing the paper from Stiles and the page a day calendar that it came from to check the answer. It was a Secret Santa gift from the head of Finance to Frank, who forgot to fill out the form so he got what was left at the gifts under $10 table at Barnes and Noble the day before the gift exchange. Frank had decided to make it a daily challenge for himself to solve the riddle before lunch. But for some reason, this one in particular was stumping him for the past three days. Instead of asking for help, he refused to change the day on the calendar until he solved it on his own.

That is, until Stiles finally snapped. He was already getting his ass kicked by this serial killer case, no way he was going to let a fucking calendar for children taunt him too. Which is why another triumphant laugh burst from him as Frank stared at the solution to the riddle. “Dude, seriously when are you going to stop questioning me?” The eyeroll he got from his partner only made him laugh harder.

“Whatever dude. I’m going to get more coffee,” Frank said, crumpling the offensive riddle and dumping it into the trash can as he grabbed his wallet. “And I’m getting you decaf.” Stiles let Frank walk out with that Trump card played, and once his friend turned the corner, Stiles pulled a can of Redbull out of his bag and cracked it open. With his distraction out of the way, there was nothing else to do but turn his chair back to his evidence board.

Red lines criss crossed over maps of his hometown and pictures of crime scenes. Three deaths, seemingly random. But there had to be something connecting them all. There was the religion angle…one of the identified bodies had been a steady member of a church. But the only other identified victim hadn’t from what detectives could find. Finding a connection would be easier if the third body — another woman, the second one found — had been identified. But she seemed to have put up a fight. There was some facial reconstruction that had to be done before they could connect her to the missing person’s database. There had to be something.

He was only pulled out of the rip current of his own thoughts by a voice behind him. “...on the phone.” Stiles had tuned out the first half of the sentence as he turned.

“What Brad?” Stiles asked the agent who typically worked the front desk. Maybe he sounded a little too irritated by the interruption, because Brad shot back with an irritated hand wave to Stiles’ clue board.

“The case? Local PD is on the phone. Wants to talk to you.” Looking back at the board, Stiles narrowed his eyes, and then turned back to the other agent.

“For fucks sake dude just say my dad is on the line.” Rolling his eyes, Stiles grabbed his desk phone and dismissed Brad with a single finger hand gesture. “Hey dad. You don’t usually call this number…” He said, sitting up. In reality, his dad never called his office line unless there was a break in the case.

“It’s all business kid,” Noah said, voice crackling through the receiver, but Stiles can’t still hear the exhaustion in his words. “Need you down here. We identified the third body….” Brown eyes went straight for the board, staring at the image marked Jane Doe. There had been something about the blonde hair caught in the tree branches that seemed familiar.

And then his father said the name. “Heather. Her mom said she hasn’t heard from her since she went back to school. Didn’t think anything of it until her brothers birthday passed and she didn’t come home…We didn’t think about her because she wasn’t on the missing persons…Stiles are you listening?”

He was. But he also wasn’t. Stiles’ ears were filled with the static of memories of growing up with Heather. Losing touch and reconnecting over the summer. It was only a few days, and things were awkward when Stiles turned a specific advance down, but it was like their childhood friendship just hit a growth spurt with them. “Yeah I’m here,” He said, swallowing around the memory of their last words. If you change your mind, you’ll know where to find me. She had winked at him and he had just snorted. He wasn’t interested in finding her for that.

But Stiles didn’t want to find her like this either.

“Figured it would be better if you and I told her mother. Instead of a random suit. Can you get here by the morning?” He checked the corner of his computer screen, already reaching for the open can of RedBull.

“Yeah, dad. I’m on my way.” He said, hanging up after a quick goodbye and chugging the last of the energy drink as Frank walked back in. “Get in the car,” Stiles said to his partner, barely shutting his backpack in his haste to get out the door. “We’re going to Beacon Hills.”

Like something is brewing, about to begin.

The blonde one fought back. Which was less of a hindrance to the plan, and more of an irritation. They were on a time crunch, what didn’t these people understand? Their sacrifice was for the greater good — well a specific greater good — and pleading for their lives wasn’t going to change anything. They’ve learned to tune out the crying. The praying. The bartering. White noise as they prepared the ritual, whispering to the being that gave them life again before, begging to be given another chance to take on those that hunted them.

But the blonde — they knew her name, but giving them names made it more complicated — had apparently practiced escaping from bonds. Because their back was turned for just a second and she was running through the forest. Screaming for help. Oh this would not do. They didn’t have time to play around. It didn’t take long to catch up — the uneven forest floor knocked the blonde one flat on her face as she tried to climb out of danger. Long nails dug into the ankle as they dragged her back. The screaming became less of fear and more of pain, as the debris beneath her tore at her skin, peeling back skin and leaving a path of blood in her wake.

The screaming didn’t stop until the garotte was pulled tight against her neck. And it wasn’t until that silence came that they could breathe again. One step closer. “If you can hear me….” They whispered. “I await the power you can provide.”

The wind only whistled in response.

Can’t put my finger, on what lies in store…

Beneath their feet, the blood dripped off rocks, melted into soil, and settled into the roots of a tree long forgotten. Satiating a thirst that hadn’t been dealt with for years, something stirred in the darkness. A disquieting silence interrupted only by the rustling of leaves above. The sacrifices were made to get power, and power it would bring. As above, so below, the philosopher’s said. And as they were above, preparing sacrifices to awaken the power that was once so great, so below, someone was waking up after decades of sleep.

What can rein without a crown?

A spirit, brought into this world, only to be taken out. To be forced into the shadows, festering in its anger for decades. Gaining strength with each body sacrificed in the name of the Nemeton. They wouldn’t be bested again.

Chaos.

But I fear what’s to happen, all happened before.

#— character development.#who's afraid of little old me: 001.#this is bad #but its done

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plentyoffandoms · 1 year

Note

lee moriarty x female reader? the reader is a newish wrestler at aew and lee is crushing HARDDDD on her and he tries to do something for her bday but it doesn’t go over well and makes her cry and then the next day he just ends up telling her about his feelings for her and they get together

I Messed Up

Lee Moriarty x f/Reader

Main Masterlist ♡ Miscellaneous Wrestlers Masterlist

Warnings: Some swearing.

Just like all my other stories, this has not been proofread, but please enjoy

Gifs & photos do not belong to me. 1st gif @nickgirl-archive

I hope you like it

WC 954

Summary: it is f/Readers birthday & Lee Moriarty has planned a special day for her, as he has a massive crush on her, but nothing has gone to plan.

Julian - Ethan Page ☆ Tyler - Hook

Lee Moriarty's POV:

Oh, I fucked up.

I fucked up bad.

I tried to make this day as perfect as I could for YN since it was her birthday and all, but all I could see was the woman who I have liked since the moment she walked through the doors at work for the very first time, and she was crying and it was all my fault.

"YN, I, I," I tried to apologise but I just kept stuttering and since I had nothing coherent to say, I watched as the woman, who I was going to ask out tonight, turn and walk away from me.

I felt a hand clasp my shoulder and I knew it was Julian just by his sigh. "Well, this didn't turn out as you hoped."

"No shit Julian," I shrugged his hand off of me. "Are you gonna go after her?"

"What is the point? You saw the way how she looked at me," I felt defeated.

"Can you think back on what happened? Where did it all go wrong?" I started to tell Julian how this morning started.

First I surprised YN with some flowers. I had flowers delivered to her hotel room and it was a massive bouquet of Daisies that had Baby's breath mixed in with it.

I wanted to send Roses, but that was for when I wanted to ask her out on a proper date. I didn't realise that YN had allergies and when I saw her this morning, her eyes were red and watery, and her nose was running due to the sneezing because of all that, she had that nasal drip and she kept clearing her throat.

That wasn't so bad as she took some medication and after a bit, everything started to clear up, just in time for lunch, except her nose was still clogged up.

I took her to an all-you-can-eat seafood place but it was a surprise. I had placed a blindfold over her eyes and she kept giggling and asking where I was taking her. "It is a surprise YN."

When we finally got there, we were ushered in and in the backroom for some privacy as I didn't want anyone to bother us and our friends that I invited.

I took the blindfold off, and I watched the emotions spread over her face. First surprise, then shock at our friends sitting at the massive table and then she looked around and noticed where we were.

"Lee, I hate to do this, but I have to go."

"Why, what is wrong?" I was confused and concerned.

"I am allergic to shellfish."

My eyes got wide when I looked around at the restaurant that I picked out. "Oh fuck, okay, yeah let us go and grab something else."

I quickly explained to everyone what I was just told and they understood. I paid the bill for drinks and extra cause they reserved the room for us and they would be missing out on money.

Our small group went to the Rainforest Cafè as many reviews were saying it was safe to eat there with a shellfish allergy.

Everything was back on track and YN was laughing and having a good time, we even went to a club after we had dinner at the hotel and changed.

I was just about to order YN a drink when a woman came up to me and started to flirt with me. I politely declined her offer of a dance and a drink, but she didn't get the hint.

I walked back to YN and spent the night with her, but then I was left alone as YN and Skye went off to dance together.

The woman found me as I was talking with Tyler. I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I thought it was YN. I turned around and before I could even take in it wasn't YN, the woman kissed me. I was too stunned to move and that is when I saw YN and the tears started to fall.

"And that is what happened."

Tag List: if you would like to be added, please let me know. @lghockey @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch @crowleysqueenofhell @thenerdybaker523 @nicoleveno14 @1rsolideranna @legit9thlunaticwarrior @blaquekittycat @wwenhlimagines @melissahausen @tahiri-veyla

"Well you gotta fix this or you will never have a chance with her."

◆

The next morning, I found myself knocking on her hotel door. "One second," I heard and I smiled at the sound of her voice.

"Oh, Lee, good morning," YN said once she saw that it was me at the door.

"Can we talk?"

"I thought you be too busy with whats-her-name," YN said but she stepped aside, allowing me to come in.

"Let me explain what happened."

"You have 1 minute Moriarty," I didn't waste a single second as I quickly explained what happened. The more detail I gave of what happened, the closer I got to her until she was in my arms.

"YN, I didn't even catch her name and I don't care to know her name. I wanted to dance with you and only you."

"Cause it was my birthday?"

"Yes, but I also, fuck, I like you...a lot."

"Like a friend?"

I felt my heart sinking into my stomach at that question, but I shook my head no.

"No, I have been wanting to ask you our since I first met you."

Silence.

I felt like melting into the floor the longer it took for her to say something, but then she gripped my chin in her hands and brought her lips to mine and kissed me.

I wrapped my arms around her waist as she deepened the kiss. We only broke apart because we needed air.

"Best birthday present to me Lee."

"Happy birthday Gorgeous. Let's go out and give you a proper celebration."

"Just you and I this time?"

"Of course darling."

#aew #all elite wrestling #Lee Moriarty #Lee Moriarty fic #lee moriarty x female reader #reader imagine #female reader #reader insert #lee Moriarty imagine #lee Moriarty fanfic #lee Moriarty fic #lee Moriarty x f/Reader #lee Moriarty x reader #wrestler imagine #wrestler x female reader #wrestler x reader

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mercurygray · 1 year

Note

from the holiday prompt list: midnight and molly (and a side of tab perhaps?) it seems only right i put in my first request since declaring my new fav (sorry, eileen, i still love you) ❤️

Issie, thank you so much for this prompt, as it gave me an excuse to do something I've been meaning to do for a little bit here - a new AU! The War Ended And We Went Home To Other People. (Sadly, however, Floyd does not feature. I think you'll like the new guy, though.)

He would be glad to see the end of 1945.

Andy Haldane had been just this side of alive on New Year's Eve of 1944, doped up on more morphine than a human ought to admit to, but he was alive, if only just. He'd spent most of this year slowly climbing back out of the well of the war, out of this hospital and that rehabilitation ward, slowly moving eastward until his mother and father could come and visit on Sundays, take a walk with him around the garden.

He was ashamed of those Sundays. There wasn't a whole lot left of the son they'd sent to war now - the darling of the gridiron and the college dorm was happy enough to be shuffling along on crutches most days, and counted it a good day if he didn't have to take a nap after lunch. How he'd worked, before the war! His parents had saved so hard to get him to Bowdoin - first in his family to take a degree, to have their picture in the paper. A man who was going to go places, that's what he was - until that sniper made his position on the ridge.

He could remember where he was when they said the war was over - VE day and VJ both. Different hospitals, on different coasts. He couldn't get out of bed on VE day - some of the others jumped out of beds and ran down halls, throwing things out of windows and banging thier bedpans, just to make a racket. VJ day he'd been here, in Boston, with a lot of army types who'd been flown in from Europe to convalesce. It wasn't their war, and somehow that meant it mattered just a little less.

Some of those men were gone now, replaced with different faces and different voices. Different nurses, now, too, different volunteers on the wards. The young USO wives were mostly gone, to houses in the suburbs and returning husbands, probably, and in their place were mothers whose sons had not come home, trying to atone by mothering boys whose own mothers were too busy to come.

Which made her stand out in more ways that one. Young, for starters, but without that innocence that the young wives had all shared, the perfect nylons and dainty handbags and ladies home journal magazine cookies. She came in slacks, some days, with a bookbag that always seemed to be full of journals and notes, but useful things, too - the racing papers and the sports pages and comic books. Jokes, too, in the free and easy way of a girl who has had brothers. "Hey, Mahoney," someone or other would call, and she'd catch for the ball or lob the greeting back, delivering letters and newspapers and news of the world. She was a student, over at the college - a doctoral thesis on something historical. She didn't talk about it much with them - but never looked down on the guys who'd barely finished eighth grade and stumbled through reading the funny pages, either.

Andy wondered, a lot, about why she volunteered - but one day, when the weather had turned colder he watched her pull a fatigue jacket out of her bag and realized she was missing the war because she'd been in it herself.

"You're a woman of a lot of surprises, Miss Mahoney," he said, nodding to the jacket and the faded stripes on her sleeve. "Or was it Sergeant?"

"You sure it isn't my boyfriend's?" She asked, a slight edge to her voice, the syllables wrapped cautiously around the handle of a knife like she might have to slash out with it. How many people had made that accusation before?

"It fits you like you broke it in," he said, and meant it. He'd never had clothes that fit better than the dungarees he'd worn on the canal, sleeping day in and day out in them until the elbows and knees were just so. That was her jacket, lived and suffered in, and anyone who'd worn OD would know it to see it.

She nodded, smiling, and he looked closer, at the patches on the shoulder, the darns and repairs on the collar. "You were a paratrooper." That experimental outfit everyone talked about - with that famous woman. Jean? Jane? He couldn't remember the name.

She nodded. "506th Regiment - Company E. Two combat jumps, one purple heart, three campaign ribbons, combat infantry badge, expert marksman."

As decorations went it was quite a list. "Why did you never say? None of those guys in there know."

She scoffed. "We had a joke, in my unit. How will they know which company we are? Because the girls are Easy." She looked down at her hands, swallowed nervously. "It hit different when you were in a room full of people who knew you. Here, back home, I'm just…someone who didn't know her place - borrowed some other guy's chance at glory." She tried to smile. "Still miss it, though. That's why I come. Here I'm…the kid sister, or the girl down the street. No one questions how I know what I know, and I can…give back, a little. For the guys who didn't make it home."

"I'd like to hear about it, sometime. If you feel like talking."

She nodded, in the way that said she'd think about it, and he let he matter rest. The next week she brought bear claws from a bakery down the street, big and sweet and messy, and they sat in the courtyard eating them and getting thier fingers stuck to flimsy paper napkins. She told him about her brother, a navy man who'd died at Pearl Harbor, and leaving college so she could join the WAC. He talked about Bowdoin, and Parris Island. She talked about the guy she'd had some hopes with, and the news that he'd married a woman in England, that they were having a baby, and he found himself itching to fight. They both talked about food, about boats and being sick as dogs, about being cold and wet and scared. Andy found himself naming names he hadn't said aloud in a long time, stories that were still somehow funny even if they were also sad.

He asked his mother to bring stationary, on her next Sunday visit, to write to Ed's family, and find out what happened to Burgin and Sledge. "Who are you writing to?" she asked, looking hopeful. "A girl?" When he said no, her face fell a little. "You had a look in your eye, is all. Hadn't seen that there for a while."

Well, I'm not writing to her, he wanted to say. But there is a girl. A woman? A someone. Wishful thinking, though. She could do better than a broken down old Marine.

But new years were for new beginnings, weren't they? And he needed all the help he could get. So, here he was, a few minutes to midnight and ready to bid farewell to 1945. The crutches were mostly gone, now, and he did pretty well with his cane. He'd actually taken the time to get dressed for this one - no pajamas and robe for him, no sir. He found her in the dayroom over by the record player, keeping an eye on things while the candy stripers danced patiently with men who were still learning the use of their prosthesis, or braces, or what have you. And she didn't shoo him away, either - glad for the company, or the excuse to keep turning down dances she didn't want to do.

When the clock struck midnight he turned to look - she looked ashamed, almost, like she didn't want to expect anything, awkward in a room full of kissing couples and falling confetti and stray balloons and Guy Lombardo on the radio. "Molly," he said, and when she turned to look at him he kissed her, his nose bumping her own. She'd taken some pains with her hair and it hung in soft honey ringlets around her face, her skin soft with some scent he couldn't name.

For a moment neither of them spoke. "Sorry," he offered, practically shouting to be heard above the noisemakers. "It's been a while since I kissed a pretty girl, I'm a little out of practice."

She was blushing a little, but she didn't look angry, either. That was something, wasn't it? "No apology needed, Captain."

"Molly, it's Andy." You know it's Andy. It's been Andy for weeks now.

She smiled. "Andy. Happy New Year."

He decided to go further. "Maybe another for good luck?"

She rolled her eyes and smiled wider, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Oh, go on then."

He decided 1946 could stay, if it liked.

#i have written a thing #the war ended and we went home with other people #all the alternate universes #molly mahoney #mercurygraypresents

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lovelyfanatical · 8 months

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I Get a Sugar Rush Whenever I'm With You - Chapter 9.3

Good evening fellow Drukkari stans, or whatever time it is for you! I'm back with the next installment! If you need to catch up, you can find all previous installments on my Table of Contents here. Last time, Druig and Phastos had a heart-to-heart, but will Druig actually take his advice? Find out now, on the next mini-chapter of Drukkari in the Great British Bake Off!

Even with just four of them left, filming days were still quite long. That meant Druig didn't have time to talk to Makkari before dinner. Nevertheless, he was determined to keep things light with the group. Luckily, they were all on the same page after lunch.

Kingo joined them once again, saying they clearly needed him to spice up their conversation. Druig made him schedule an alarm for when to leave this time so Makkari wouldn't have to give up her room again. Despite this, he was glad Kingo was there. Their group had dwindled so much, and, to his surprise, Druig missed the larger gatherings they'd been having. With Kingo there, the room felt just a bit cozier.

Gil had graciously volunteered to host this week. He also made sure to steer the conversation away from the competition as much as possible, for which Druig was endlessly thankful. Unfortunately, their love lives were still very much on the table.

"You already know all about me and Thena. I've got nothing else to add," Gil explained when Kingo tried to pry.

"You've already dismissed me and my husband, so I've got nothing, too," Phastos added.

"Yes, and again, I meant no offense," Kingo replied.

"Offense still taken."

"So that just leaves…" Kingo trailed off as his gaze fell on Druig and Makkari. Gil looked at them expectantly, too, while Phastos seemed like he was holding in a deep breath as his eyes went to Druig.

"Don't look at me," Druig deadpanned to all of them.

You already know I have nothing new to report, Makkari retorted. What about you, Kingo?

Kingo clutched his imaginary pearls as he replied, "Makkari! You really think I'd hold out on you after nine weeks? And actually, I was wondering if you've heard from Sersi lately."

I told you everything I know about Sersi and Dane.

"Yeah, but next week, Ikaris will be back, too. Has she said anything about seeing him again?"

At this, Phastos' ears perked up. Druig saw the tension drain from Phastos' body as the conversation steered away from Druig and Makkari. Thankfully, Makkari didn't seem to notice.

"What's this about Ikaris and Sersi?" he asked.

Kingo beamed as he answered, "I'm so glad you asked."

He quickly recapped the Sersi situation for Phastos, with Makkari chiming in often to correct Kingo, particularly when it came to who found out what.

"Wow, Ben's gonna want to hear all of this," Phastos said once they'd finished.

"Anyway, back to my question! Makkari, has Sersi mentioned anything about seeing Ikaris again?" Kingo asked.

She hasn't, but I can't imagine it hasn't crossed her mind, she replied. You think I should ask?

"Oof, if she's not bringing it up, then that might make her more nervous."

"At least she doesn't have to worry about baking," Druig added. "Although, sometimes worrying about something first makes the real thing better by comparison."

Druig has a point. Maybe she'll be better off if she gets the nerves out first, Makkari suggested.

"Or you could psych her out. If Sersi doesn't bring it up first, I would leave it alone," Kingo asserted.

"Did I hear that right? It sounded like Kingo was opting not to interfere in someone else's love life," Druig teased.

"Hey, I can have restraint when I need to!" Kingo said defensively.

"We should've started hanging out with you guys sooner. This is like The Bachelorette in real life," Gil interjected, eliciting smiles and laughter from the rest of the table.

As they left Gil's room, Kingo hurried off back to his hotel, bidding them all a quick goodnight. Phastos said goodnight and looked pointedly at Druig. Druig gave him a quick nod, and the other man grinned subtly as he hurried off to his own room. Druig and Makkari were left standing in the hallway alone.

Walk me back to my room? she asked him.

Of course, he answered.

They walked in silence for about twenty feet before Makkari turned to him to say, Are we okay?

Druig's feet stopped so short, he nearly fell over.

Yeah, we're okay. Why do you ask?

Because you were a mess today and you haven't looked me in the eye since this morning. She took a step closer to him before she continued, Is this still about last week?

Makkari was standing quite close to him now, making it impossible for Druig to look anywhere but her face. Her eyebrows were drawn together in concern, and he could practically feel the hurt in her eyes. The thought that he was the one to cause it was almost too much to bear. Phastos' plea from earlier echoed in his mind. Druig took a deep breath before he answered.

It is, but it's not anything you did. I promise, he said. Her eyes softened a bit, so he continued. You said we should forget about it, and you're right. It's just taking me a bit longer than expected. I've been so stuck in my own head. This whole week, I thought I screwed things up between us and that you'd be furious with me. And I felt awful because even if we haven't known each other that long, you're the best friend I've made in a long time. I didn't want to lose you. And even when we cleared things up, I just couldn't stop thinking about… all of that.

Once he stopped talking, Makkari quickly pulled him into a hug. After a moment, he hugged her back, burying his face in the crook of her neck. She then pulled away to say, Of course you're not losing me. You're the best friend I've made in a while, too. I really don't know how I would've made it this far without you.

You would've made it to the final on your own. You're too good not to, Druig insisted. I'm the one who wouldn't have gotten this far without you.

Watch it. You're insulting my best friend, Makkari responded, her eyes narrowing slightly. Druig couldn't help but grin at her.

Hey, whatever happens tomorrow, I'm just happy that I got to meet you, he said.

Me too.

Druig initiated the hug this time, which Makkari eagerly reciprocated.

So Druig does follow Phastos's advice... sort of. Anyway, hope you enjoyed that mini-installment! As usual, since the next one is the end of the chapter, it'll drop on AO3 before I post it here!

Part 33

#lovelyfanatical shares #drukkari gbbo au #drukkari #druig x makkari #eternals #eternals fanfiction #return of the fluff #kingo is here for the DRAMA #phastos is decidely not #at least not if makes things awkward for him

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pknn18 · 1 year

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That Man

(Posting one of my writings here for like the first time lmfao)

Every week this man comes into the store to buy the same three things: A4 Paper, Ink spools, and the latest edition of The Daily Beagle. Never for anything else. He always wore some type of flannel or vest Or both. Either way he paired them with blue jeans and loafers. He wasn't really that tall, but not that short either. And he always had on blue-rimmed eye-glasses. This man's name is Bernard Bunny and he has perplexed me for three damn months.

The first time I saw him he immediately caught my attention. Even before he walked up to me he stood out from everyone else. He had such a tacky fashion sense it'd be impossible not to. But it wasn't just that, something about him just seemed disconnected from everyone else, myself included. I couldn't pinpoint it at the time. It was borderline mystical. Then some jerk clapped their hands in front of my face and I had to go back to doing my job. So I slaved away at checking out the lines of people looking to buy mediocre food. But then… There he was. He was the last in line and he carried with him: A4 Paper, Ink spools, and the latest edition of The Daily Beagle. He walked up to me with a smile on his face and said: "Howdy!". Confused and kind of startled, I just said "Hey". He gave me the exact amount of money needed to buy that stuff, even factoring in the tax. He said goodbye and went on his way. I still thought about him for the rest of my shift but he left my mind by the time I got home.

Next week I'm at work and…He's there again. Nothing wrong with that considering a lot of people might go to the store multiple times a month but he was distracting. He grabbed the same three things too. A4 paper, Ink spools, and the latest edition of The Daily Beagle. He said "Howdy" in the same tone of voice, paid in exact cash, and left. I was completely baffled. It was the exact. same. interaction. The only difference was that he wore a gaudy vest instead of a gaudy flannel.

And he came back the next week. And the next week. And the next week. I thought I was going crazy, that I was suddenly repeating one specific day. But that wasn't the case.I don't know what it was about this man but his mere presence drove me nuts. And then he just kept on visiting. Didn't miss a beat in THREE MONTHS. And he always had that same expression, that same damn smile. I was convinced that nothing phased him when one day he walked in absolutely covered in rain and slipped the moment he entered the store. He got up and he was still chipper, and that was the last goddamn straw.

One day while I was on my lunch break I decided to look at that Daily Beagle paper he always gets. I never read a Newspaper before but that's how much this man was screwing with my head. Then, I stumbled upon a page that struck me with its contents.

"Daily Beagle reporter Bernard Bunny given a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest Typewriter user!"

And that's when it hit me: This. Was just some GUY. I got worked up over some dork from a paper. I just sat there for the rest of my break in both confusion and annoyance? What was so special about him?? It's something I'm still thinking about even as of this writing. Funny thing about that day is that he didn't actually come in on that day. Or any of the other days of that week. It felt strange, empty even. I can't believe I'm hoping to see some random stranger I barely know again. Assuming I ever will.

#writing #story

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kuzann · 2 years

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I might make WIP progress posts just a general thing I do from now on? Either way, I wanted to share Caitlin and Shauntal being cute so I might as well just drop what I have of the chapter so far.

Obviously this isn’t final, stuff is going to get changed between this WIP and the finished chapter. I want to add in more Pokemon interactions for the restaurant bit, but right now I’m just trying to get the bones down for the chapter and will add more later. Feedback appreciated.

Current WIP word count: 4.4k

The Beyonders, Chapter 4 WIP: Write That Down

Elesa led the way out of the hospital and down a few blocks to a quaint little shopping district. “Should we grab some lunch? I could really go for a burger right now,” she said as the first shops came into view.

Ingo was struck with a sudden craving upon hearing that; he hadn’t realized how much he’d missed Unovan food until now. “That sounds really good.” His stress had receded just enough that eating looked like less of a chore now. That single egg for breakfast was feeling a tad inadequate at this point.

“Oh wait, wait!” Elesa said, grabbing Ingo’s arm. “Let’s go in here real quick!” She pointed to the storefront they’d just passed, a tidy little stationery shop with vibrant paper flowers decorating its windows.

“But why?” Ingo asked as he let Elesa drag him through the door.

“Journals, of course!” Elesa replied. “It helps to have a nice place to write stuff down when you have too much to think about, and it helps you remember the important things.”

“Oh, bravo! That’s a great idea, Elesa!”

“Welcome! Let us know if you need anything!” the cashier called from behind the counter. She gave them a nervous smile and a wave of welcome when they looked at her.

“Thanks, will do!” Elesa called back, giving the cashier a brilliant smile and a wave in return. “Maybe they have train-themed journals,” she said to Ingo as she released him. “And don’t forget to pick a pen to go with it.”

They split up, each starting with a different display. Elesa looked at the shelves near the front window while Ingo moved farther into the store.

Ingo found the display with local landmark-themed journals quickly enough, with several of them sporting pictures of the Battle Subway or Gear Station. He opened a few, checking the line width—he preferred thinner lines so he could fit more thoughts per page—and finally settled on a magnet-clasp journal with a watercolor painting of Gear Station on its cover.

Next, the pen. Ingo selected a heavier one in steel gray and several black ink refills to go with it.

Elesa found him before he had a chance to look for her. “Find anything good?” she asked, holding up an art deco-themed journal and matching pen for Ingo to see.

“Yep,” Ingo replied as he showed her his own journal and pen. “Ready to go.”

“Perfect! I’ll just take those—” Elesa swiped them from Ingo before he had a chance to stop her and swept over to the register “—and we’ll be on our way.”

“You don’t have to pay for me, Elesa,” Ingo said as he followed her to the register.

“I know. But I want to cause it was my idea.” Elesa passed the journals and pens to the cashier. She then tucked their items away in an inner coat pocket once everything was taken care of and led the way back out of the stationary shop. “I went to a good burger place around here somewhere, I think they had an emboar chef working there...?” She took out her phone to search for the restaurant.

Ingo left her to it and closed his eyes, focusing on the warmth of the sun on his back and shoulders.

“Found it!” Elesa declared. She paused, then put a hand on his shoulder. “You okay?”

“Just a little tired,” Ingo replied as he opened his eyes again.

“Maybe you’ll perk up after some food.” Elesa looped an arm through Ingo’s and they started off again. “Let’s go!”

They found the restaurant farther into the shopping center, a retro diner called Bo’s Burgers and Barbeque that opened onto a courtyard rimmed with verdant planters. A poster boasting of Bo the emboar chef adorned the window next to the door.

Elesa took care of talking to the host. Ingo was happy to leave her to it, he didn’t feel much like talking to people other than her at the moment. They were seated and had their drinks ordered soon enough, having been lucky enough to hit a lull in the lunch rush. It was a two-person table in a far but well-lit corner of the restaurant, with only two other tables nearby. The buzz of conversation filled the air, endless but low enough to avoid being overwhelming. They even had a view of the kitchen where Bo and his assistants cooked for their patrons.

“Alright.” Ingo took Emmet’s team from his breast pocket and laid their PokeBalls on the table before him. “This place only allows one Pokemon per trainer, so everyone who sits out gets to pick a treat on the way home.”

The PokeBalls jostled together for a few moments as the Pokemon conferred with one another, then one of them rolled forward.

Ingo picked it up and released Socks, then tucked the rest of Emmet’s team into his breast pocket again. “Ready for a snack, Socks?”

Socks trilled in reply and stretched his wings, then settled himself at the end of the table.

Meanwhile Pip perched on Elesa’s shoulder, using her vantage point to look out over the restaurant with a smile on her face.

Elesa reached up and gave Pip a scratch behind one ear, then picked up the menu and opened it. “See anything good?” Elesa asked, her face hidden by the menu. “Ooo, I’m eying that bacon burger...”

The menu was focused enough, specializing in mostly burgers and barbeque, but the number of options was still giving Ingo trouble. Right now the thought of choosing the best one felt exhausting. “I’ll have what you’re having, and then a cliffclimber meal for Socks,” Ingo said finally, setting the menu aside.

“Alright then, two bacon burgers, a cliffclimber, and an arboreal.” Elesa set her menu aside as well and took their journals and pens from an inner pocket of her coat. “Let’s get to it.”

Ingo took his pen out of its packaging and opened his journal. He froze, pentip hovering over the blank page. He didn’t know where to start. There was just so much...

He swung the pen to and fro between his thumb and index finger—he’d picked it partly for the weight, it felt good to swing around since it was on the heavier side—as he tried to figure out where to begin. The information on Emmet’s condition was most important right now... Ingo corrected his grip on the pen and wrote down everything he knew about that, including the presence of the protoforms.

Something struck him as he got to the most recent information Dr. Irdin had given to him earlier that day.

“Dr. Irdin said it was the same energy signature as before, but it’s intensified now...” Ingo said slowly as he paused his writing. “And the watch showed us those things today...” He started swinging his pen again as he mulled it over.

Elesa watched him closely, her own pen still poised over her journal.

“Does that mean those things have been there this whole time? Those protoforms?” Ingo continued. “Are they the reason Emmet wasn’t able to wake up before?”

“Could be... And she said that it got worse on the day you disappeared, didn’t she?” Elesa replied. “Make sure you write that down,” she added, pointing at Ingo’s journal.

They both fell silent again as they returned to their writing. Ingo stopped again once he’d written down the possibility, silently reeling from the revelation that the creatures, those ‘protoforms’, might have been there before he even left. That they’d been there all along, invisible and unnoticed until now... Would Emmet finally be able to wake up if he found some way to get rid of them?

The pen had been working its way out of his grip with every swing. The next flicked it out of his hand and up into the air, startling him and Elesa. Ingo grabbed at it, missed, and flinched when it bounced off his head. It fell to the floor and skittered out of his reach.

“Whoops! Runaway pen!” The woman sitting just behind him leaned over in her chair and scooped the pen up. “Here you go,” Shauntal said as she turned and offered it back to him. She was dressed more casually today in black jeans and a purple denim jacket, but there was no mistaking the glasses and the hair.

“Oh, thank you.” Ingo accepted the pen, but he no longer held Shauntal’s attention.

“Are you writing a novel?” Shauntal asked with a delighted smile as she stared at Ingo’s open journal.

“Um—” Ingo instinctively slammed his free hand down on the journal before Shauntal could read any of it.

“Aw don’t be embarrassed!” Shauntal said, completely unfazed by Ingo’s flustered response. “Novel writing is an old and noble profession, there’s nothing to be ashamed of!” She leaned in, positively radiating enthusiasm for the craft. “If you ever have any questions you just let me know. I’m always happy to give advice to budding writers!”

Shauntal’s chandelure joined in with an encouraging chime from her spot near the ceiling.

“Try giving him some space, Shauntal.” Though Caitlin spoke in an aloof monotone with a distant smile to match, there was a light blush on her cheeks as she watched them. Amused or excited, possibly both. “He can’t get a word in right now.”

The reuniclus at Caitlin’s elbow gave a burbling chuckle as she watched.

“Oh! Sorry.” Shauntal leaned back, taking herself out of Ingo’s personal space. “I was just so excited, I got carried away.”

“It’s just some life journaling, Shauntal,” Elesa said, her chin resting on the back of one hand and a small smile on her face. “But if we decide to write any books you’ll be the first to know,” she added with a wink.

Shauntal giggled and gave them both a radiant smile. “Well if you ever do, I’m looking forward to it.”

“I’m glad to see that you’re alright,” Caitlin said, leaning to her right so she could speak to Ingo around Shauntal. “Are you well? You disappeared so suddenly a month ago…”

“Well it’s good to be home, and I’ve been feeling a little more hopeful lately so that’s good,” Ingo replied.

Caitlin paused to take a deep breath, as if bracing herself. “If you ever need any help, just let me know. I should’ve offered right after the derailment, but it just didn’t seem like the right time… Such an awful accident…”

“You’re very kind,” Ingo said, giving her a polite nod. “Thank you for the offer, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“How’s your brother doing? Has he gotten better at all?” Shauntal added.

“No, he’s about the same,” Ingo replied with a sad shake of his head. “But he’s stable, at least.”

The mood at the two tables dropped noticeably.

“Everything about that accident was so suspicious, I hope you find who’s responsible,” Shauntal said with an angry frown. “No one deserves to get hurt like that.”

That got Ingo’s attention. “What do you mean by suspicious?” He already knew the track had been sabotaged of course, but he needed more to go on than just ‘Arceus told me so’ if he had any hope of finding the culprit.

“Oh, I mean it’s probably stuff you know about already,” Shauntal said, a tad embarrassed. “It’s just what I’ve been able to find during my own research.”

“I hadn’t ever really addressed it,” Ingo admitted, his eyes on the floor between them. “I was so beside myself that I couldn’t muster the strength to read very far into the initial reports.”

“Oooh,” Shauntal said with a grimace. “They’ve already published the final report.”

“Already?” Ingo stared at her in shock; any final report should’ve been months away. “But the investigation should still be ongoing.”

“Right? That’s exactly what I said,” Shauntal said. “And on top of that, they’re missing a lot of eyewitness testimony and statements from the staff, and the track and train conditions just don’t add up. I swear something weird’s going on with the investigation team.”

An unpleasant chill settled on Ingo’s back as he listened. All this had been going on right under his nose, and just what was the investigation team trying to accomplish by messing with the report? “Could you send me what you’ve found? I’d like to have a look at it as well.”

“Of course, I’d be happy to share,” Shauntal replied with a smile.

“Shauntal is quite the researcher, she shared her findings with me already,” Caitlin added with a hint of admiration in her voice. “She’s very thorough.”

“It’s all part of the job,” Shauntal said with genuine modesty. “Everything’s grist for the mill when you’re a writer, after all.”

The waiter returned to their table as the group finished exchanging contacts. “Would you like to join your tables?” he asked.

“That’s a great idea,” Shauntal replied.

“I’ll leave it up to Ingo,” Elesa added.

“I don’t mind. We can talk more easily that way,” Ingo said.

“Allow me.” Caitlyn stood and lifted the table with one hand, as if it were light as air. She moved it to the end of Ingo and Elesa’s table and set it down again, giving Elesa and Ingo’s shocked expressions a small smile.

“Bravo!” Ingo said, giving her a small round of applause.

The reuniclus joined in as well, giggling and applauding Caitlin’s strength.

“Have you decided on what you’d like to order?” the waiter asked as Caitlin and Shauntal seated themselves at the newly enlarged table—Caitlin and her reuniclus next to Ingo, and Shauntal and her chandelure next to Elesa.

“We’re ready,” Elesa replied.

“We are too,” Shauntal added.

They ordered their food, Elesa taking care of both hers and Ingo’s orders while Caitlin and Shauntal ordered for themselves and their Pokemon.

“How did you get so strong?” Ingo asked once the waiter had left. Caitlin didn’t look like any kind of bodybuilder, but it wouldn’t be the weirdest thing he’d come across lately.

“It’s not actually muscle,” Caitlin replied. She positioned her hair so that it didn’t encroach on Ingo’s space as she spoke, a courtesy that he appreciated. “I possess psychic powers and I can use telekinesis. Bubbles likes to move the furniture in my room as a joke about once a week, so I learned how to put things back where they belong myself.”

“Bubbles?” Ingo asked. “Is that her?” he guessed, pointing at the reuniclus.

The reuniclus gave him a grin and a bwip in reply.

“Yes, that’s her,” Caitlin replied. “She’s a bit of a mischief maker, but I love her all the same. Darach stops me every time I try to fix what she’s done, I think she sees it as some kind of game.”

“Maybe she wants you to learn how to do things yourself?” Ingo suggested.

Caitlin considered the notion, and her distant smile widened a little. “You know, maybe she does. That would be just like her.” She turned to Bubbles. “Is that what you’ve been up to this whole time, Bubbles?”

Bubbles gave another burbling chuckle and bobbed her whole body in a nod.

“You’re so sweet, Bubbles,” Caitlin said with a fond chuckle.

“Speaking of Darach...” Shauntal said as she paused in her own writing. “Why did you tell him to take a lunch break, Caitlin? Were you worried he’d try to stop you from talking to Ingo or something?”

“No?” Caitlin said quickly, her cheeks coloring slightly with embarrassment. “Well, maybe a little...” she admitted, giving Ingo a shy glance as she did. “But I also want him to take more time off. Sometimes I worry that he’s overworking himself in order to keep up with me.”

“So you took care of both by telling him to take a break,” Elesa said with a knowing smile. “But why wouldn’t he want you to talk to Ingo? That’s what I don’t get.”

“Darach heard about Ingo coming back this morning, and I heard about it from him. He mentioned that you’d probably have a lot on your plate, with so much to take care of after being away so long. I think he would’ve advised against us coming into the restaurant to avoid bothering you.”

“That’s very thoughtful of him, but I’m glad he wasn’t able to stop you,” Ingo said kindly. “It’s been nice talking to you both.”

Caitlin smiled at the reassurance, then regarded him a little more closely, one hand drifting to her chin as she did so. “By the way... Do you possess psychic abilities as well? There’s something about you that feels familiar…”

“Not that I know of,” Ingo replied slowly. “Emmet and I were tested when we were kids, but we didn’t show any psychic abilities back then.” He stopped, recalling the odd dreams and how he’d heard Emmet calling to him during his time in Hisui. “Do dreams have anything to do with that?”

“What sort of dreams?” Caitlin asked, watching him closely.

“Like…” Ingo was suddenly aware that he had the rapt attention of everyone at the table. He pressed on, staring at the journal before him as he tried to sort out thoughts that were starting to flow far too fast. “All the time I was gone I heard Emmet calling to me in my dreams, trying to get me to come home. And then this morning I had this dream where I met him and it felt real somehow, like we were actually talking to each other.” The protoforms had been there. The nightmare had revealed the true nature of Emmet’s condition before the watch ever got the chance. That had to mean something. “Could that be some kind of power?” he asked, looking at Caitlin again.

“Absolutely,” Caitlin said. “Special dreams are a power type that any psychic could have. It sounds like you might be connected to your brother through them.”

“But why now when we never had any power before?” Ingo asked, resting his chin in his hand as he glared down at his open journal. “What happened to cause that?”

“Some people are born with psychic abilities, but most have some latent potential for it sleeping within them,” Caitlin offered. “And that potential can be awakened by any number of events, like exposure to a large flow of power, or even intense stress.”

The rift! The thought jumped to the front of Ingo’s mind before he had long to ponder on Caitlin’s words. He must’ve been exposed to both high stress and immense power due to traveling through the rifts, had that been enough to…?

Ingo made a few notes, relieved that Caitlin and Shauntal were polite enough to not try to read what he was writing. “I might have been exposed to both of those, on the day I disappeared,” he said once he was done. “I just can’t remember anything about what happened, so I can’t say for sure.”

“It could be that your latent psychic power was awakened during that event,” Caitlin said with a sage nod. Bubbles gave a bwip of agreement. “And perhaps dreams are the only way Emmet can reach out to others right now, so he’s also been strengthening that power with how much he’s been using it.”

Ingo made a few more notes. A dream connection… It wasn’t the strangest thing he’d run into lately, he had to admit. And potentially useful, maybe even a way to help Emmet. If he could just figure out how.

If only he hadn’t isolated himself due to guilt after the accident, perhaps he could’ve come up with solutions sooner. He could’ve been more open, and Caitlin might’ve approached him with Shauntal in tow back then—

“Are you alright?” Caitlin asked. “You seem upset.”

“Just thinking,” Ingo replied with a long sigh. “Probably dwelling on the past too much.”

“You should write it down so you can get it out of your head,” Shauntal said. “That way you can look at it from a different angle and you’ll have more room for thinking about the present afterward.”

“Elesa said something like that earlier,” Ingo said with a small chuckle. “The journals were her idea.”

“I’m the brains of the operation,” Elesa said with a false smirk, making a show of checking her nails as she did so. “Those two would be lost without me.”

That got a genuine laugh out of Ingo. “It’s true, she helps keep us on-track.” When he and Emmet were getting too lost in their work, Elesa was always there to get them to slow down and take a break. She’d saved them from burnout more times than he could count. “We can always rely on her when we’re in trouble.”

“Like an older sister?” Caitlin asked.

“Yes, exactly,” Ingo replied. “She’s pretty much part of the family.”

“Ingo’s technically the middle child, but Emmet’s the one who acts like it.” Elesa’s smile was one of mirthful recollection, as she was no doubt thinking of one of the countless times Emmet had gotten up to some manner of mischief; Emmet’s brand of chaos kept life interesting. “I miss him,” she added, her smile taking on a sad tilt.

“Me too,” Ingo added, his mood darkening again.

“I’m eager to meet him once he’s awake,” Caitlin said, giving them a small but reassuring smile. “He sounds very fun.”

“Same here,” Shauntal added. Even now she had her own journal open and was jotting down notes with a bulky fountain pen. “He sounds like the life of the party.”

“I’d say we share that status,” Elesa said. “But he does always know how to make things fun. We should throw a party for him when he comes home.”

“I think he’d like that,” Ingo said, the corners of his mouth lifting a little. “Would you guys like to come?” he asked, addressing Caitlin and Shauntal. “I’m sure he’d love to meet you.”

“Of course, we’d be delighted,” Caitlin said, her smile strengthening once more. “I could even bring the desserts.”

“That sounds so exciting. Positively inspirational,” Shauntal added. “Humor can be so hard to write, it’ll be great to meet a pro like your brother.”

“I don’t know if I’d call him a pro,” Ingo admitted with a chuckle. “But he is a natural.”

“So what’ve you two been up to lately?” Elesa asked. “Any interesting challengers show up?”

“Oh yes!” Shauntal replied. “A charming pair of trainers showed up one after the other just last week. I think they were together, actually. They gave us a great battle, didn’t they, Shelley?” Shauntal looked up at her chandelure, who gave her a happy chime in reply.

“They put in a good effort, but they didn’t make it to the champion in the end,” Caitlin added. “I do hope they try again, though. The battles were quite invigorating.”

“And they were both training to be archaeologists!” Shauntal added. “I wish I’d been able to talk to them a bit more before they left, maybe ask them about the profession. So exciting!”

“I wonder if they’ll show up at Gear Station eventually,” Ingo said. “I hope we can get it back up and running in time.”

“Isn’t your ace Pokemon a chandelure too, Ingo?” Shauntal asked. “I was kind of hoping to meet them today. It’s a little rare to find someone else who appreciates chandelures, most people tend to be too scared.”

“Emmet’s Pokemon wanted to visit him today, so I left my team at home,” Ingo replied. “I’m sure Willow would’ve liked to meet you and Shelley, though. You’ll be able to meet him if you come over and visit sometime.”

“We’d love to visit,” Shauntal said, giving him a bright smile. “Maybe I could even help you do research if we do.”

“You don’t mind?”

Shauntal shook her head. “Not at all, in fact I find it really fun. An afternoon of research is time well-spent in my book.”

“Well, we should set something up. I’ll have to get the house taken care of first, though.”

“Oh, would it be okay if Caitlin comes too?” Shauntal asked. “She’s kind of a fan of you guys,” she added in a conspiratorial whisper.

Caitlin gasped, her face going red. “Shauntal! Don’t tell him that!”

Shauntal gave her a look of plain confusion. “But why not? It’s true.”

“How could you expose me like this?” Caitlin covered her face with her hands and looked away from the table. “It’s so embarrassing!”

Bubbles burbled reassuringly and gave Caitlin a pat on the back.

“Caitlin, you do realize you guys are kind of on-par when it comes to celebrity status, right?” Elesa said. “We’re not gonna look at you like you’re some weirdo fan.”

“I’m not a celebrity,” Ingo protested.

“Ingo, you and Emmet are among the most powerful trainers in Unova. That makes you a type of celebrity,” Elesa said flatly.

Ingo groaned. “I don’t care about being famous. All I ever wanted was to work with trains and have fun battles.” He turned to Caitlin. “I don’t really know about the fan stuff, but could we just be friends instead?”

Caitlin lowered her hands and gave him a cautious look. “Really?”

“Of course. You’re a nice person and you’re fun to talk to. So why not?”

Caitlin’s face lit up with the biggest smile they’d seen that day. “I’d love to be friends. That would be wonderful!”

Their food arrived, and conversation remained on a lighter track. Elesa had chosen their burgers well, Ingo couldn’t remember the last time he’d enjoyed a meal so much. Lunch was full of good food and good conversation.

Ingo let out a long, contented sigh as they stepped out of the restaurant. “I think I really needed that,” he said as he looked over at Elesa.

“Me too,” Elesa said, smiling. “You didn’t meet any of the Elite Four before this?”

“Only as acquaintances. I wouldn’t say I knew them very well before,” Ingo admitted. “It was nice getting to know Caitlin and Shauntal better. They’re really nice.”

They continued out of the courtyard and onto the main sidewalk, bound for the hospital. All the while, Ingo’s mind buzzed with the new information he’d picked up. The dream connection and the possibilities it could offer, the sabotage and the suspicious behavior of the investigation team… Hopefully he would be able to get through the reports without breaking down this time.

Either way, he felt… Better, now. More hopeful. Caitlin and Shauntal were powerful trainers of course, but their less-violent means of assistance would be a far greater help than that. It lifted some of the weight from his shoulders whenever he thought of the monumental pile of tasks he had to accomplish.

#Pokemon #Submas #Gym Leader Elesa #Subway Boss Ingo #Subway Masters #Elite Four Shauntal #Elite Four Caitlin #Ingo #They're so cute I'm definitely way more attached to them now that I've written for them #Kuzannfic #Submas Beyonders AU

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dooingood · 2 years

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- the charm we deserve -

I am curious: do you people realise that our lives has gone too much into the comfort that it just takes away all the charm of the daily lives?

For example, what was the last time for you when you didn't download the book from the Internet but when you went specifically to the library, sit down there for couple of hours to read the book and spent not few minutes to find this specific book? Me? I don't remember such time in my life at all. Like, I would I do so - I have the Internet. And here is the problem! Not much charm left! Many stuff became too easy for us. Don't blame me please, I am the kid of the new century, the Internet flows in my blood, I wake and fell asleep with my phone, many gadgets and tech-items make my life easier, and there so many advantages of this. But I think I missing some charm.

Just imagine one of the Jessica's day from XIX century (it's all random, do not look for the coincidences). To read something, Jessica plans the visit to the library. First of all, she wakes up and smiles to the sun (and not checking her phone, like me :/), then her chambermaid gives her some breakfast. Later on, Jessica wears her green dress with the hat and goes to the city centre to visit the library. Once she is there, she becomes a book-hunter and starts looking for the needed paper "prey". And she breathes this specific book smell which is everywhere in the library. And the booking hall is dark, with many tables and lighters on it for so that visitors could comfortably seat and enjoy their preys. "Ohh here you are", - Jessica is so glad: finally she caught what she wanted. Then she stays for couple of hours at the library, and reads, reads, reads until her eyes can't recognize the letters anymore, and pages becomes like a music notebook with many many black stripes. Good job done, hunter! Next time she will come back here on Friday to be able to continue the book from the page 236, on which she stopped. Library becomes her second house so here is good to say that a person will never become a homeless, if she/he likes reading books. Lol. I wish it works - then the problem with homeless people could be solved "easily peasily lemon squeezily".

And now imagine one of my days when I want to read something. I go to the Internet ("go" - it is so loud word), a few clicks - I have my "prey" on the e-book now, I read a bit and I may read it later, or tomorrow, or at nigh: I do not care.

Sure, my day is better, if you are the long-story hater, since I dedicated just a few lines to describe it. But people from the past had so many adventures and charm in their daily lives, even in such thing as planning to read a book for what they needed to go to the library. Some of them even could miss the lunch and prefer the "paper" long food instead: "Today the patron gave him time off, explains Samouk, and he just came to the book collection from work. He will not go to dinner until they close", - Jean-Paul Sartre from "Nausea".

And what about me? I eat some vegan tuna sandwich, periodically replacing the food with some matcha tea, meanwhile reading Jean-Paul Sartre and wondering: damn, I could stay at home the whole day, and I am able to "visit library", "go to the cinema" on my laptop, "travel" by watching some bloggers (well, I know it is funny comparison but be so kind to let me have it), and I don't need to write the big letters on 4 pages to my loved ones -> I have many messengers installed on my phone, so it is super easy to contact my relatives. But. No charm.

I can already read your outrageous minds: "C'mon, girl, so go to the library and eat your "paper" long food or write a long letter on 4 pages to your loved ones, no one stops you, just have some charm in your daily life". Sure, I could do that. And I was for sure doing so in my previous life in XIX century (:D). Now, I am re-born in XXI century, and you know, I just have a nostalgy, I miss that charm, I miss the libraries and long letters, and the cinemas etc.

Lemme have the nostalgy. Maybe, this is the charm I and we all deserve in XXI century. This is the charm of our present time.

Okay, jokes aside. The only charm we deserve and can have is to enjoy our imagination and illusions, like I have in this topic.

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wanderingandfound · 19 days

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So, on my trip I did not eat and sleep enough. I didn't even take advantage of all the food and sleep I had available to me. I just assumed that this was like, excitement/stress and I would collapse soon afterwards.

I planned on sleeping on the bus/planes/airport back but I think I only fell asleep like, three times for half an hour each and instead read nearly three hundred pages, watched Dungeon Meshi, listened to Night Vale and Friends at the Table, and answered questions and made a poll on my blog and started seeding the new bracket.

So I then assumed I'd crash Tuesday, my first day back. But I woke up at 7:30 without an alarm, left the house to pick up a book, made a new grad school spreadsheet and started filling it out, read a bit, made two (brief) medical calls, and drove down to my grandma's no problem. I opened up the dating app again and sent off a few messages to the people I matched with.

So. I did what I knew I shouldn't do and went "what if this is just what life is like when I wake up early and spend some time outside?"

So yesterday I had my physical therapy appointment, got my blood drawn, came home and ate some lunch my mom had prepared while hanging outside with the dog, took a bath, and made a few polls for the second podcast poll blog, and left for work early.

And then. Ah. Finally. Driving to work I was like "oh yeah, here's the tiredness." At work I got progressively more and more tired and essentially crawled home. I meant to go to sleep immediately but my dad said supper would be done like an hour after I got home and I stayed up late to eat. It was only a five hour shift.

I woke up before my alarm went off today because my parents were texting a lot in the group chat and my phone isn't on silent because then I lose it and miss things. I have been awake for over four hours and have not yet bathed or done my physical therapy homework. I did eat some food and now feel sick (this happened nearly every time I ate on the trip too). I have watched the newest episode of Dungeon Meshi but my eyes are so heavy. I need to prep some food for work today. I am just so tired. I am ignoring the messages on the dating app because I have nothing to say.

As I already knew, I can stave off sleepy bitch disease with novelty. Unfortunately some things in life are not novel. If I want to meet my basic needs, or if I want to gain expertise in anything, that requires familiar tasks.

Bleh.

#Also I think this house contributes to my back problems.#personal #learning to function #I haven't set up my BiPAP since I got back because I left my room in more of a disaster than usual while packing and I'm barely getting #myself in bed each night.

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obscurewritings · 8 months

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#14

I actually had a good day today, which is surprising considering today is Monday. I actually felt good about today, but I still want a break from certain things.

I met my English teacher, she was pretty chill and nice. We had 15 minutes of reading today and I got to choose my first book of the year. I chose the book Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky. From what I've gathered, it's about this boy and his mom who escaped from his mom's abusive ex. I think the boy has Dyslexia because he mentions the words jumbling all over the place and then switching. He goes missing for 6 days and then is found by a girl who's trying to rush home. I love the writing style as a writer and the way the author captures this story. I'm already 70 pages in and I love this book, but there's a specific part that sticks out to me. It's on page 11. "That was it. He didn't know anything about his father other than he must have been a great man because that's what all fathers were. Great men."

-Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky

That specific quote has been in the back of my mind all day. It bothers me because not all fathers are actually great men. I would know, mine left and didn't give a shit about me. I have seen father figures leave countless times. No good father or man would leave the people they love. He didn't even have a reason to go.

In Chemistry, we did a lab and I enjoyed it. I sat with some pretty chill people and they all made jokes and laughed about it. We were doing chemical reactions and watching the changes. But my favorite class right now has to be Medical Terminology. I actually had a good time trying to find the different meanings of certain words and in general, just love health. If I didn't want to be an embalmer, I'd totally be a...I actually don't know, but it would probably be something in the medical field. Then came time for lunch, and one of the people who was with me in chemistry came up to me. "What's the book you're reading?" "Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky, who made Perks of Being a Wallflower."

"Do you have imaginary friends?" That question caught me off guard, I wasn't exactly sure why he asked me that. I don't have any imaginary friends, just a screaming mind I want to shut up every once in a while. He left and I went back to reading until my next class.

I have Sociology and honestly, I really love the topic. I find it really fun to learn about. In general, I like to learn about new things. I want to tell my friends, but I don't know how they'd take it. I love learning, I love school, but that makes me a nerd and I feel sort of...off about it. I'm already enough of a nerd, do I wanna make it worse for myself? I'm already crazy enough, I don't need to add to it. It feels like something I have to hide from the world, but I know no one sees this so I really don't mind at all.

I got rained on when I walked back to my apartment. I love the rain, it feels nice. I'm probably gonna read and write, maybe draw too. I'm lacking in my art right now so I don't have the courage to talk to my friends. It feels like the only thing that catches their interest besides my writing. I feel really insecure about my art right now but also don't have the courage to let them know. I feel pathetic about it. I'm not sure though.

-Dxll Face

#blog #writing #obscure writing

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prettierthanurbf · 3 years

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So What?

Y/n walked down the halls to find her best friend, getting the overwhelming feeling she’d be stuck walking into class alone, when she finally bumped into someone she knew. “Oh, great.” She mumbled irritably.

He turned around with a grin. “Well, hello, y/n.”

She rolled her eyes at his cocky grin. “Where’s your brother?”

The question just made his grin grow wider, making your patience even thinner. “Wouldn’t you like to know.” He teased.

She let her eyes wander around the halls to avoid eye contact when her eyes landed on him, sighing in relief, she pushed past his brother and hurried off to Tom. “Hey.” She said happily.

He looked up from his book. “Nice of you to wake up early for once.” He teased.

She laughed. “My parents are going to cut me off if I miss school to sleep in.” She explained.

He looked over her head, his eyes stopping on something that made his eyebrows furrow. “Mattheo’s staring at you again.” He whispered.

She quickly spun around to meet Mattheo’s eyes, turning back around so quick she almost fell over.

Tom helped her stand. “You alright?” He asked concerned.

She put a hand to her head. “I swear if he hexed me I’ll burn the little bastard.”

Tom chuckled. “Now I might just help you with that.”

Before y/n could say anything else, the teacher opened the doors for everyone in the class to walk in.

The whole class was a blur, mostly because y/n was asleep through half of it and hurrying to copy off of To ‘a notes during the other half, paying no attention to the teacher whatsoever.

Tom had to talk to one of his teachers before the next class started, which left y/n waiting outside on a bench alone with a book until class started.

Mattheo, who had grown bored of his friend group, walked off to bug y/n, sliding onto the bench and taking the spot a little too close to y/n.

She didn’t glance up from her book or move. “What?” She asked calmly.

He raised a brow. “No snarky comment? Hm.” He hummed. “Are you feeling alright?”

She rolled her eyes. “What do you want, Mattheo?”

“Ah, there’s the tone I was looking for.” He grinned. “What’re you reading?”

She clicked her tongue. “You could check the cover, you know.”

He shrugged. “It would sound so much better coming from your lips than mine.”

She shut her book, her finger holding the page she was on, snapping her head to look at him. “What do you want, Mattheo?” She repeated, this time a little less calm.

He smirked. “Maybe I want to help with your anger issues.”

“Maybe you should work on yours first.” She said back.

He laughed. “We could work on it together.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’d rather burn. Over and over. For eternity.”

He shrugged. “I could make it worth your while.”

She raised a brow. “What’s your angle, Riddle?”

He looked away with a small grin. “There’s no angle. I just think we could help each other out.”

“Have fun finding someone for that because I’m not your girl.” She slipped a small piece of paper into her book before getting up.

“But you could be.” Mattheo mumbled, but y/n had already walked off with all her things.

His shoulders slumped. “Great.”

Tom walked over to him laughing. “Did you seriously think whatever you were planning would work?”

Mattheo scowled at his brother. “It’s not like you’ve tried getting with her. Why is she so difficult.”

“She’s not into like that.” Tom said in a ‘duh’ tone.

Mattheo scoffed. “All the girls are into me like that.”

Tom shook his head and laughed a little more. “Not the one you like like that.”

He rolled his eyes. “I don’t like her like that, Tommy.”

“Then stop going after her, because I swear on my life and hers I will make yours a living hell if you break her heart or mess around with her for kicks. Got it?” Tom said sternly.

Mattheo put his hands up, a familiar teasing grin growing on his face. “It’s not that deep, brother.” And with that he walked off, another grinning glance at Tom before going straight ahead to see if he could find y/n.

He didn’t see her until school was over, when the clouds were making weird shapes up and the colors were changing from the sun going down, the black lake always looked prettiest at this time of day, which is why Mattheo chose to walk alongside it, also in hopes he’d find a weird creature in the water and draw it.

He came across y/n when he was walking back to the school, she was laying on her back, her head rested on her book bag, with a different book in her hands than she was reading hours prior. He walked over to her confidently.

“Hey, gorgeous.”

She sighed. “What?”

He sat down beside her. “So this is what you do after school?”

She rolled her eyes. “Quidditch practice was canceled today.”

He nodded. “Totally forgot you were on the team.”

She glanced at him. “Is there any reason you’re here or what?”

He shrugged. “Just wanted to know how you were doing.”

She pulled a piece of paper put of her robe, handing it to Mattheo without looking away from her book. “You read that and tell me how you think I’m feeling.”

His eyes scanned over the paper. “An animagus? Seriously?”

She shrugged. “Now I’ve got to wait for my uncle Newt to come down here and talk to me about everything.”

Mattheo handed the paper back. “So you can’t go home?”

She shook her head. “Apparently my brothers tore up the place pretty bad and they’re trying to get it under control.”

“So why don’t you just stay with me and Tom?”

She snorted. “Because it’s you and Tom. I swear both of you don’t know how to not argue, especially when you’re trying to do something ‘important’.”

Matthe scoffed. “We do not!”

She raised a brow. “So we’re just gonna play that game now?”

He shrugged. “I mean…”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re an idiot if you think you don’t argue with your brother a lot.”

“Just stay with us.” It came out more as a plead than a suggestion, which was not Mattheo’s intention at all.

Y/n laughed. “Beg me.” She joked.

He rolled his eyes. “Oh, ha ha, very funny.” He said sarcastically. “Just stay with us.”

She glanced at him from her book. “If I do will you go away?”

“Maybe.” He said.

She shrugged. “Fine. Just let your brother know so it’s not a surprise or anything.”

“Okay.” Mattheo got up. “Did you finish the other book?” He asked, stopping himself from running off to find his brother so he could talk to y/n some more.

She looked up at him. “Yes. I had most of my classes to read through it.”

“How long have you had this one?”

“Since lunch. Why?”

He grinned. “No reason, no reason.”

“Why?” She repeated, this time sternly.

Mattheo looked down at her. “You’ll find out.” He winked at her before running off to find Tom.

When Spring break rolled around, y/n, Tom, and Mattheo went to Tom and Mattheo’s mansion they inherited when their dad mysteriously passed away.

Y/n explored a little since it was a bit of an upgrade from where the Riddle brothers were staying when she last stayed with them.

She stepped into a dark ish bedroom with lots of books. She walked over to the blinds and pushed them open so she could get a better look in the room.

“I usually like the curtains closed.” Mattheo said, scaring the shit out of y/n.

She turned to him with a hand over her heart. “Warn a girl next time, Mattheo!”

He laughed. “Sorry, sorry.”

She continued to look around. “You know, your room is the darkest one in this whole house. And the most gloomy.” Her eyes landed on the bookshelves. “Except for the books. They’re gorgeous.”

He chuckled. “You can go ahead and take some if you want. I’ve read all of them so I don’t really care.”

She raised a brow before laughing. “You’ve read all these? Like actually, actually? You’re not screwing with me?”

He shook his head. “Is that a surprise?”

“Yes! In all the time I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you open a book.”

“You don’t spend any time in the library.” He stated. “That’s where I am during my free time.”

“When you’re not walking around the lake.” She said.

He laughed. “You stalking me?”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself, Mattheo. I’ve seen you walking around like a loner because I spend most of my time by the lake. It’s where some of the hot guys at our school swim so it’s a pretty good view.”

Mattheo clenched his jaw before letting out a forced laugh. “I forgot you like staring at strangers who are half naked.”

She shrugged. “If they’re hot, they’re hot. I gotta stare.”

“You’re not like… staring at them like that, are you?” He laughed. “Cause that would be weird.”

“Oh, like how you look at me?” She said, raising a brow as a grin pulled at her lips.

He chuckled. “Now, darling, I think you’re just seeing things.”

“Oh?” She asked, walking over to him. “So if I were to take my sweater off you’d keep looking at my eyes?”

He laughed awkwardly. “Well, I think a lot of people would look, honestly…”

She raised a brow. “If your brother was changing you’d look at his chest?”

He rolled his eyes. “No. Obviously not.”

She nodded. “But you’d have a problem looking in my eyes instead of at my chest?”

“Well you’re not my sister so I can look.”

“Well now you just sound like a creep.” Y/n teased.

Mattheo scowled. “Well now you’re not being fair.”

“Oh no?” She grinned, unzipping her hoodie and sliding it off her arms. “My eyes are up here, Mattheo.”

“Screw this.” Mattheo mumbled annoyed. He cupped y/n’s face gently before pulling her in and pressing his lips against hers.

She pulled away for air after what felt like a short time period. “You do that to all the girls who try to take their sweater off?” She asked dumbfounded.

He shook his head and laughed, his hands still cupping her face. “You’re so blind sometimes, y/n.”

She raised a brow. “And you’re not?”

His eyebrows furrowed. “No?”

“You sound unsure.” She teased. “But you are.”

He rolled his eyes, pulling his hands away. “You are more than I am.”

“I’ve been in love with you since I met you.” She said quietly. “And you never noticed.”

He grinned. “So the flirting was getting to you?” He teased.

“I’ll cut your throat.” She said quickly.

He chuckled. “I’ll take my chances.” He pulled her in for another kiss, pulling away when he heard footsteps getting closer to his room.

She quickly pulled back and stood by the bookshelf, getting a book off the shelf quickly. “What’s this one about?” She asked calmly.

Matthe cleared his throat. “Uh, uhm… werewolves.” He said after clearing his throat.

Tom knocked on the door frame. “Hey, there’s hot water on the stove right now. I’ve got to stop by the market to get some more stuff for dinner. I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

Mattheo grinned at y/n as Tom walked off to get his shoes on and leave for the market.

#mattheo riddle #mattheo riddle x reader #hogwarts #tom riddle #riddle #fanfic #mattheo x y/n #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter #slytherin #deatheater #hufflepuff #ravenclaw #gryffindor #xochmagoch #the power she holds #original series

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seawater-aurelia-writing · 3 years

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The Break

Pairing(s): Fem!MC/Yuu/Reader x TBD

Summary: MC finally shuts down from all of her acts of helping with overblots and the countless favors/demands that are asked of her. When the Prefect of Ramshackle is the one who needs help, who steps forward?

WARNINGS

I am not the best at labeling warnings or triggers but I can say that this story is laden with neglect, self-neglect, anxiety, possible depression and attempts to justify the above. There could be more labels that I can add but i’m unsure how to word them - so please exercise caution.

Quick Note: The reader in this story is largely based upon Cinderella, for multiple reasons (#1 being that I want to and #2 being that I absolutely love Cinderella and think she’s amazingヾ(•ω•`)o ) . If that type of character behavior annoys or offends you, I recommend skipping this!

She should have seen it coming; The break. Her break.

Her sight blurred with tears, which spilled over her eyes quickly as she laid upon the floor of the library – cold and alone. In front of her, just out of reach, laid her phone amidst the plentiful books which laid strewn chatoticly across the floor from her harsh tumble. Her phone vibrated constantly cause M/C o flinch as she imagined the messages that must be flying across her notifications; Her friends and upperclassmen asking for favors and why she hadn’t completed what they asked.

‘I need to… get up.’ She thought to herself, willing herself to move her arms but her body was more akin to cold, ancient steel, a machine that had been abandoned and forgotten throughout time; It felt nothing like how she was a month ago, a week ago, a few hours ago. ‘ I have.. so much left to do.’

As she tried to find the will to stand – M/C thought of how she ended up in this position; body battered and bruised after falling from the top of the ladder in the deserted corner of the library.

She could barely life her feet as she made her way down the path, back towards Ramshackle Dorm. In her arms, Grim lay curled into her chest as he slept peacefully in her arms.

‘We both had a long day.’ MC mused to herself, gently pressing his closer as the cold, wintry wind blew harder. She recounted their day slowly, going over each task they had accomplished.

Crowley wished for them to wake up earlier to remove unwanted, viney weeds from around the campus gates, Sam’s Store, and the fencing around the Flying Course field in exchange he’d give them some aid to finally repair their roof. Unable to refuse such an offer, M/C awoke at 3 am to be able to accomplish all of the weeding.

However, Grim had not woken to any of her calls or he just ignored her, leaving M/C to venture into the darkened morning on her own to do the weeding.

After 2 hours, when she was finally able to head back to Ramshackle to freshen up before breakfast, she was stopped by Vil. The Pomefiore Dorm Head all but demanded her attention for an hour in the afternoon, her lunch period specifically, to fetch him some arctic sea water from Azul.

Vil was supposedly unable to pick up the water himself as he had an impromptu photoshoot and Azul would only meet during lunchtime.

Despite the tone he used, M/C could sense that Vil was more antsy about missing his photoshoot -made more evident by the slight twitch at the mention of potentially missing the event. She agreed with a bright smile; choosing to ignore Vil’s comment about grass sticking to her and her ‘odor’ when she turned to leave.

Finally, she made it to Ramshackle and rid herself of the stray remnants of debris before she freshened up. Grim, who finally awoke, all but rushed her from the home before she could rest – determined to beat Ace and Deuce to breakfast.

But as luck would have it, M/C could not make it to the Dining Hall before she was stopped by a rather, frazzled Ruggie, who all but shoved a bag of food onto her. He left rushed orders to take it to Leona as he was asked to help restock the lounge before classes. He ran off before she could refuse.

Grim happily skipped to the dining room, telling her not to waste time since he wasn’t going to save her any of the food. However, before she could rush off – Grim yelled back at her to pick up some tuna for him at Sam’s since she was going out of the main building anyway.

She only nodded, ignoring the hollowed feeling in her stomach and the way it rumbled in protest.

M/C remembers being stopped before she could reach Leona, the botanical garden just in sight. That view had been blocked by the ever-looming, Leech Twins. Floyd grinned down at her and plucked the sandwich from her hands.

“Ah! Koechi-chan is so sweet!~ She brought food for us, Jade” Floyd cheered, ignoring her protests and pleas for him to give her the food back.

“Indeed she did, Floyd.” Jade chuckled, doing nothing to stop his twin, who began to eat the food in front of M/C. “And by the way, Prefect. Vil told us that you would be the one picking up his items later today.”

“Y-yes that’s right. At lunch time.” She clarified, her voice softer as she deflated. In retrospect, she still didn’t know what she could have said to Floyd to make him stop. So many girls on Magicam were adamant about how they maintain dominance over their own friends to avoid being stepped on but they always sounded cruel; Giving instructions to ‘clapback’, to insult them, to physically hurt them or poke at their insecurities to make them listen. She didn’t want to snap at the twins, not only would it not do her any good but angering them isn’t what she wanted.

“Azul needs to push that time to this evening, at dinner. Vil suddenly requested twice the amount and thus more payment is required.” M/C remembered the chill that ran down her spine as the Twins seemed to loom over her even more.

“P-Payment? But I don’t-“

“Rook is handling the payment but,in the even he doesn’t, please he prepared to pay any outstanding fees.”

The Twins ignored her pleas for clarification, with Floyd only turning around to demand that she be present for his basketball practice later today.

M/C recounted how, after that, her day became a blur with random intervals of clarity when another request or demand was made of her.

Ace and Deuce asking her to handle their chores in Heartslabyul of feeding the Hedgehogs and Flamingos while they went to mandatory study hall with Professor Trein.

Trey caught her and asked for her to pick up some cream from Sam’s shop for him. She also picked up the tuna that Grim had asked for and the only thing she could afford to eat to replace the breakfast that she missed – a discounted egg salad sandwich.

A sandwich she could only eat half of, as the other half was given to Silver, who had missed breakfast looking for Malleus. He had not asked anything of her, she remembered, but the way he looked at her was odd to say the least. He was adament on her sitting down and finishing her half of a sandwich before leaving but the appearance of Ortho, who asked for her to run an errand for Idia, pulled her away.

Her classes came and went, leaving her feeling isolated as usual. Professor Crewel, never one to shy away from a ‘training’ opportunity, chided her for using an incorrect about of Phoeniz wings in her potion. He only became agitated when she proceeded to answer his questions about the potion, a simple draught, completely wrong. Grim was of no help as even he didn’t know the answers, nor did Ace or Deuce by what they had said but Ace and Grim took great joy in laughing at her misery.

Normally, it wouldn’t have affect her but today, it hurt.

But she smiled anyway.

Lunch time came and, again, she was stopped before she entered the dining hall. Sebek demanded her help in finding Malleus, who was not present at lunch. Again, Grim deserted her as Sebek grabbed her and dragged her along beside him and Silver to find Malleus.

Again, Silver regarded her in an odd way but he said nothing out of the ordinary towards her.

They never did find Malleus and Sebek took too yelling at her for being unable to be of any use in finding him.

“..Sorry, Sebek. I’ll try harder next time.” Was all she could say, while Silver chided him on being too harsh.

As they made it back to the main building, it was time for classes; She had missed lunch as well.

‘Perhaps that’s why I was so dizzy.’ She thought to herself, managing to prop herself onto her elbows. The floor beneath her moved and rippled, similar to the waves in the great oceans back in her homeworld. ‘Correction, why I AM so dizzy…’

Her mind again wandered back to her day after lunch time; Where her day only worsened.

Without any proper food in her, there was no way that she could stay awake with Professor Trein’s class. Lucius quickly spotted her and alerted Trein, before Deuce could fully wake her up.

“Do you believe yourself too smart to pay attention within my class, Miss M/C.” He sneered, a glare firmly on his face as he gazed down at her.

“N-No, sir. I’m sorry, Professor! It wasn’t-“

“Silence.” His voice was firm as harsh, caushing her to flinch and shrink in her seat. “There will be no talking back to me of any kind. I had high expectations of you, Miss M/C and yet you have a complete lack of manners. As punishment, you will write me a paper explaining the important of Magical History, no less than 10 pages. If it is not on my desk first thing in the morning, then expect a harsher punishment. Do you understand?”

“Y-Yes, sir.” She mumbled, her head bowed in submission. M/C could remined the feeling of the heat behind her eyes; How hard it was to hold back tears in that moment.

She hadn’t expected kindness from Professor Trein but it seemed no one was recognizing that she was doing the absolute best that she could do with the circumstances that she was in.

She was blunt and sarcastic at times, yes, but she can’t think of anyone who can hold their tongue constantly. Yet when she seemed to speak, unless it was humorous in nature or her agreeing with those around her- she went unheard. But if she pressed and asked for help, who would drop their things to come to her aid?

Those thoughts plagued her for the rest of the day;

Even as Floyd threatened and scolded her for missing basketball practice, where she was supposed to stock the ice water and the cool towels for him, even though Epel asked her to pick up some old weights from Ruggie.

Even when Ruggie scolded her for not delivering Leona’s sandwich, calling her a thief for eating the sandwich when she reassured him that she didn’t and that Floyd had taken it.

Even when Ace and Deuce whined and complained about letting them down for not feeding the animals properly, when she couldn’t do it properly as they never explained all of the rules to her.

Even when Azul asked, demanded, that she find a specific book for him within the dark recesses of the library before closing as Vil’s additional fee– the thoughts never left her.

In truth, she was merely an anomaly in this world; An irregularity that didn’t belong, didn’t have a place within this magic, twisted world that she found herself in. She was without even the most basic magic to help her through her day to day life as the other had. M/C didn’t know even the most basic of terms within classes that would help her – shown by her struggling grades and performance.

She wouldn’t last outside of NRC, even Crowley had alluded to that. She had no birth certificate, no I.D. on her person, and no family of which to speak of.

Who would risk their own education and future to help someone who wouldn’t be able to do anything on their own anyway?

Even Grim, the other half to her ‘whole student’ was beginning to separate from her as his magic was matured and refined.

But that was why she smiled, was it? She smiled because she liked being needed, feeling as if she had a place in a world where she had none. Even if it ended with her being overworked, sleep-deprived and feeling so hollow – she was needed. A little suffering was nothing.

If her friends would excel in the world around her, wouldn’t that be worth it all? They shouldn’t have to suffer and fail in their classes just because a useless anomaly couldn’t handle the most basic of things.

‘It’s fine.’ She thought to herself, finally pushing herself to her knees. She winced, her movements letting her know just how bad her fall had truly been; Her chest hurt and ached with every beat of her heart, her right leg, the one which hit the ground first, was pulsing and red hot and all over – it felt as if fire ants were stinging her.

“It’s..fine.” She mumbled to herself, reaching with shaking hands to begin the task of stacking the books that she knocked over.

“No, it is not.” Came a hardened voice from behind her.

M/C tensed, her eyes widening as she registered the voice as Professor Trein. As she straightened her back quickly, aiming to turn to look at her professor, the room began to spin once more. Sound all around her became muffled as it felt as though her entire was was submerged underwater.

“ -s M/C. Are your manners that abhorrent that you cannot even turn to face when when I speak to y-.” Professor Trien fumed but his voice faded away despite how hard she attempted to focus on it.

“P-Professor…” She whimpered, curling into herself to try to stop the sensations around her; But they never ceased, even as she felt something wet run down her face - a pain beginning to bloom upon her head as she focused on the wet feeling.

And it all went dark.

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