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#i dunno i feel like this song suits them super well!! and i really really like it
multishipperbish · 4 months
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I've grown a mouth so sharp and cruel It's all that I can give to you, my dear And when you come in quick to steal a kiss My teeth will only cut your lips, my dear
Tongues and Teeth - The Crane Wives (video under cut)
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avionvadion · 3 months
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Hi I just wanted to say that I read the second part of the Lucifer stuff (idk what to call it; a fic? one-shots? simply ideas? idk what to call it, so the general "stuff" it is lol) and I gotta say that this was my favorite part of the whole thing: "Lucifer just took in a deep breath, brought his hands up to squish his cheeks, and let out a screech before running circles around the room. Eleanora squawked, turning to watch the devil king lose his mind. “Why, why, why, whyyyyy!? Why did you tell her you had a surprise for her!?” 
“...So you couldn’t duck out?” 
He skidded to a halt, the floor squeaking against his heels, and he looked to see her grinning goofily at him, pointing at one of the many piles of rubber ducks that were in his room. “Uh-huh. I see what you did there. You think you’re hilarious, don’t’cha?” 
The pun, the mental photo of Lucifer screaming and running like around like a chicken with its head cut off, the callout for using a pun? Priceless. Love it all to death. I also had an idea for you, if you want it? I just had this thought of El, in a moment of both utter self-loathing and sheer bravery, decides to confess to Lucifer using a song. The one in particular I was thinking of? "Door" by I Don't Know How But They Found Me. Idk, I was listening to the song, and I felt it sort of fit them? Or the vibes, at least. Just the mental image of her looking at him and singing the line, "If you just tell me what you think about me, I can collect all my things from the floor" gives me goosebumps and also doe-eyes because I'm imagining Lucifer basically in shock the entire song (it's a relatively short song don't worry abt it) because he's also deep in self-loathing and doesn't understand what she sees in him because he doesn't really see it in himself. I dunno, do with the idea what you will *shrugs*
Either way, I absolutely loved this and can't wait for more, if you decide to write more for Lucifer! :3
“If I’m out of line, just show me the door; I promise you I won’t come here no more. If you just tell me what you think about me, I can collect all my things from the floor. Promise the next time you take my hand… is to show me the door.” I HAD TO LOOK THIS SONG UP AND NOW MY HEART IS IN PIECES. OOF.
IT SUITS THEM SO WELL???? El has already had a couple moments of, “Frick, was this out of line? Am I crossing the line by singing this song??? I’m just a human, he’s the devil, I probably shouldn’t be saying all this stuff but I wanna help him” which can be kinda seen in Luci’s pov whenever she hesitates before singing or resting a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.
And LUCIFER HAS MADE A SHOW OF TAKING HER HAND. Hell, EL has made a show of it.
I dunno why, but the hand holding is becoming a very prominent thing between them, haha. Like when he sings to her and brings her close to dance, or when she grabs his hand to stop him from anxiously nibbling his fingers to bits and when she was singing to him to calm him down. It’s just turning into a thing.
I feel like the song might actually happen after they’re “unofficially” together??? Because El doesn’t really know what he’s thinking or how he views her. Basically a, “What are we?” Kind of moment where it’s obvious to everyone except themselves that they’re dating/have feelings for each other.
Also!! I have posted the two chapters to Ao3 so it’s technically a fic now, lol.
I’m working on the next chapter right now. We be getting El’s pov now!!! (But it’s still in third person because it started with third person and I must commit to the bit, even though it feels super weird)
Oh gods. I have this image in my head of El, like, kissing the back of Lucifer’s hand (or even just his fingers in this super gentle and sweet way) before whispering the song and trying not to cry because WHAT IF REJECTION!???? And Lucifer is just stunned silent, and when he doesn’t react or say anything she goes to pull away but he snatches her hand back and starts his own song. Whatever that is.
I have a bit of an idea for it.
“I think I love you~? A feeling I thought I couldn’t have again, lost amongst the despair. I think I want you~ in ways I doubt that you know. You helped repair~ a bond that was once nearly broken, and… I don’t think I can let you go. But if this feeling is love, I… just don’t know.”
Buuut that��s all I got so far and it might just change.
Anyways. Yee. :3 El and Luci are chaotic beans.
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sonicattos · 1 year
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ah random blurble spouting random headcanons at a random person i follow at 3 in the morning time! -Everyone says Shadow is represented by heavy metal, a lotta people seem to think that the Super Sonic songs of Frontiers would be "better suited" for him, however a lot of the songs in his own GAME are NOT heavy metal, in fact, most of them are electronic rock or full-on electronic jungle, sometimes even trance type tracks. As such, I propose that the genres that would best represent him would be either atmospheric dnb that uses lots of samples, or experimental types of electronic rock. -Sonic would be the type to listen to breakcore (like actual breakcore) to help him focus and Tails would be the type to be like "S...Sonic h...how does this- yknow what, sure, if it helps it helps" -Shadow likes nature. We already know he probably has a soft spot for animals, he loves lavenders, and part of his whole thing is thinking of the world as beautiful in some ways, as Earth itself represents both his and Maria's own personal desires, dreams, and wishes. Despite the fact that he has that edgy emo boy demeanor going on with his looks and his small actions, his overall personality really doesnt actually reflect that much, apart from some of the ways he speaks. However, that can just be chalked up to him enjoying being a bit dramatic. Overall, he's a lot less.... aggressive, than people seem to make him out to be. -To add to the "dramatic" part, I think he genuinely enjoys BEING dramatic, but in the moment he doesn't really realize he is being dramatic. Like, i dunno if this is relatable, but the being "autism funny" thing i go through, where I intentionally do try to be comedic, yet somehow at the same time i dont actually realize i am. I'm stating things I truly think, however i do know that when I say it that way it makes people laugh with me, so I'm cool with it. This is part of why the Shadow in my Paradox AU got into theatrics as an adult, because he's really fucking good at being dramatic and people think he's just a really good actor, but no, he's thinking about actual shit that's happened and channeling his inner drama from that thing into himself saying the lines lol. -Tails often tells Sonic all about how he overworks himself and shit, but he himself does the exact same thing. Whether or not it's something he picked up from Sonic, or just something that happened to be part of him thats a similar trait, is unknown. However, it DOES lead to them both badgering one another over overworking themselves until they both do the "I'll only stop if YOU stop!" thing to eachother before passing out somewhere random. Amy often has to check in on them to bring them out to a couch or something like that lol. -Tails tried to make a robot doggy to act as a "friend" to Knuckles so he could have a buddy on Angel Island whenever he's there for extended periods of time, the robo dog ended up a lil... wonky, though. Think like... a very very weird chihuahua. That's what it acts like. But Tails can't bring himself to "shut it down" because he says it's TOO much like an actual dog and he feels bad for it. They have yet to show Knuckles, so this weird yapper robot that "sleeps" most the day and kinda weirdly wobbles around the rest of the time just kinda.... lives in Tails' workshop. And sometimes bumps into them while they're doing stuff. This dog is also the only thing Eggman outright refuses to destroy when it comes to Tails' creations, even sometimes going out of his way to make sure it DOESNT get caught in the robotic-battle crossfire while fighting the team. Eggman is.... oddly sympathetic toward robotic beings, as seen in a lot of continuities of him where he doesnt just, like.... scrap and replace his "less reliable" robots despite them being, well, less reliable. It's an oddly continuous trait of his and I think it would be funny if a silly weird robo dog were to be his goddamn weakness lmao.
-This is more of a future au, but Amy ends up growing up to be a very witchy type who's genuinely knowledgeable in those types of practices. She's already got those hippie vibes to her, even moreso than the rest of the group lol, so I think it'd check out pretty well! Knuckles would bring her an especially cool rock that looks like a squid and she'd be like "Knuckles those are amethyst crystal points where did you find this it's absolutely stunning??????" And he's like "oh there's a bunch of em none of them looked that cool though". And it turns out that he's been finding cool crystals everywhere, just none of them looked enough like animals to him so he didn't think they were that important lol. But now he brings her the "weird shiny ones" because he knows she likes em so why not? -Sonic and Shadow have a chili dog eating contest and Sonic learns the true extent to the whole "Shadow cant get sick" thing -Just... overall other bizarre shit they compete over. They'd absolutely make a competition out of anything, which they need to absolutely bring back in-canon. They wouldnt always be beating the shit outta one another, but they WOULD be having multi-mile races over the dumbest possible decisions, or having a contest over who can go the longest without pissing someone off on accident lmao.
(tried to give some love to characters besides Sonic, Shadow, and Tails lol. They're all good characters honestly, I love em. Also help me name the robot doggy because i may use that in a possible AU lol)
- i agree with the first one!!! although i feel like shadow appreciates almost all types of music! he hates being perceived so he doesn’t talk about the music that doesn’t “fit his vibe”
-i can see sonic either LOVING breakcore or despising it, no in between and i won’t elaborate
-shadow loving nature is one of my favorites. and there’s no way it isn’t true since it was his and maria’s dream to visit earth. they’ve had to have read books and stuff too! that’s why he’s standing by that tree in shadow 05, it’s “his tree”
-you’re so right about shadow being dramatic. in game canon, doesn’t matter in what game, he’s calm, but when he gets excited or any intense emotion, he starts yelling and says over the top one liners. a more recent example would be in team sonic racing and how he behaves in the game while just talking to someone vs how he acts while racing. he’s so monotone and calm but when he’s competing he’s practically screaming at everyone.
-i hc tails is an intense hypocrite because at least sonic takes time for naps. tails will not sleep for days and still yells at sonic for pulling one all nighter.
-i love the robot dog hc hdjfjd; eggman is a very interesting character because while he literally abuses animals he has sympathy for his robots. perhaps because he designs them with voices and personalities and such. you’d think he’d shut off orbot and cubot by now especially since they’re ruthless to him but no, he still keeps them around. don’t forget sage like jeez he literally just made a human girl and didn’t think he’d be attached?
-i see amy becoming more witchy too!! she already has her tarot cards and her “sonic sense” i’m pretty sure she’s said that she can sense chao as well? or just peoples auras in general? i have this stupid hc that she cursed herself by accident which is why she wears rings, and also why she can turn invisible in 06.
-shadow becomes sick for the first time not clickbait
-i love the competition for no/a stupid reason so much. they kinda haven’t stopped doing that, again, in team sonic racing sonic challenged shadow to a race because he wanted to help shadow on a mission i think.
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zadien · 2 years
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It’s zerith week! I live! Any zerith snippets you may have lying around? Or just zack 😂
This is very, very rough. So please excuse typos and weird wording.
Aerith paused, studying him as she swayed on her pink strappy heels, the back of the dress almost brushing the floor. He didn’t know much about dresses, didn’t know the name for how the dress tied behind her neck, leaving the slender slopes of her shoulders in vivid relief, the ribbons curling down the pale expanse of her back until the dress picked up and tapered into her waist, cinched in place by a slim brown belt. He definitely had no explanation for how it draped down her legs and lifted at the front to show off the slim shape of her knees and calves. All he knew was that this dress made Aerith heart-stoppingly gorgeous, more so than usual.
“Well? What do you think? I know it’s not super dolled up but… I dunno, I kind of prefer it this way.”
“Uh—“ He shook his head and took a step forward, hand tentatively lifting as if she’d disappear if he dared touch her. “You look beautiful. You always do,” he hastened to add because that was simply true, “but wow… you’re stunning.”
She brightened, biting her lip as she twisted to give him the profile view.
“Do you really think so?” she asked, clasping her hands together and skipping closer to him and bouncing in place. “The woman in the dress shop had this beautiful red dress, very fancy but… it just didn’t feel like me.” Her voice dropped and he leaned closer, noting she’d applied something to her lips that make them look soft and inviting. “Honestly, it was gaudy and impossible to move in. If I’m going to a ball, I want to be able to dance to every song, not just shimmy in place, you know?”
“Well, I have seen you dancing. Shimmying in place might be safer for everyone involved.”
Her green eyes narrowed before sparkling and her lips quivered as she tried to push them into a frown. She shoved at his arm and he laughed, falling back to lean against the wall and tugging her closer—so that they didn’t obstruct the exit—hands falling to the slight curve of her waist.
“Ha, ha. My dancing skills are perfectly adequate— yours aren’t much better, Mister.”
“Speaking of did you know—“
His news about Cloud died off as the door from the restaurant opened and a man walked out and Aerith stepped back from him, jade eyes frosting over. Zack frowned looking to the man in the elegant black suit and tie, long black hair sleekly tied back from his disturbingly pretty features. And those unnerving cat like eyes of his were trained on Aerith. Zack’s instincts screamed danger and he straightened, shifting subtly to stand beside Aerith just in case she needed him.
“Tseng.”
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megan-loves-surveys · 2 months
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#16.
What is your Starbucks order? or any coffee shop order? I change it up - mocha java chip frappe, caramel frappe, cookies & cream frappe etc. I also love trying the limited time drinks, I try every single one of them lol.
What is your dream vacation? OMG, so many options.
Would you ever go on a game show? Which one? I'd go on Mastermind and have a wrestling thing as my subject, maybe about The Shield xD
What TV show character do you relate to most? Dunno.
If you had to choose to be an animal, what would you be and why? Cat.
When was the last time you wore a dress/suit? The other day I wore a cute summer dress.
Have you ever been to Tennessee, USA? No.
Do you prefer more mellow music or loud? Both.
Do you get along well with your family? I don't see them much outside of my immediate family.
When was the last time you played in the snow, if ever? Never.
Are you clumsy? Not really.
Does anyone you know have a birthday coming up soon? Not super soon, but my boyfriend is next.
Do you ever go bowling? Not regularly, but on occasion.
Have you ever worn a wig? Probably.
Do you enjoy musicals? Depends.
What shoes did you wear today? None, I haven't gone out. I'll probably go for a walk later to my boyfriend's place (he lives down the street from me lol) and wear flip flops.
Do you enjoy 60’s music? Sure.
Do you know anyone who is a great drummer? No.
Would you rather watch or play sports? Neither unless it's wrestling lol.
Does your name have a meaning behind it? It's a variation of my Mum's name, but that's not why they picked it oddly. It also means pearl.
Do you have a certain brand you are very loyal to? Converse. I don't wear any other sneakers but them lol, my collection is growing <3
Are you too short for the sun visor in the car to work properly for you? Yes haha.
Do you have a favorite planet? Dunno xD
How often do you spend time on Bzoink? It shut down, but I was on there a lot.
What did you last have to drink? Water.
What type of movies are you most amused by? Comedy :P
What is your sense of humor like? Sarcastic, but also random shit makes me laugh too.
Are you materialistic? I can be.
Do you listen more with your heart, mind, or stomach? Haha mind.
What are some things that fascinate you? Scams, glitches in video games, geography, useless facts about my fandoms like wrestling and Pokémon etc.
Do you suffer from any diseases? No.
Have you ever broken a bed? No.
Have you ever worked in retail? No.
What’s the strangest food combination you’ve seen someone eat? Dunno.
Do you pick up on others feelings easily? Sure.
What is your current mood? Hungry.
Do you prefer shopping online or in store? Both - I love ordering stuff online that I can't get in NZ, but I also like going to the store and seeing it in person, plus no delivery fees lol.
What did you last remember dreaming about? Dunno.
What’s your favorite condiment? Ketchup/tomato sauce.
What is the last thing you borrowed? Hmm, not sure.
When was the last time you took a group picture? Does my pic with Five count? There's a group of us xD
Name the first person who pops in your head whose name starts with T. Dunno.
Is there a song or songs you can rap all the lyrics to? Yes.
Have you hugged anyone today? No.
What did you last watch on TV? Shortland St.
If your last words were the last message you received, what would they be? "Love you!" Aww, from my boyriend.
Are you good at keeping secrets? Sure.
What last disappointed you? Not sure.
If you could see a concert of any celebrity who has passed away.. who would you like to see? Girls Aloud with Sarah there, cos she passed from cancer :(
How many blankets do you own? A few.
What was your favorite food as a child? Mac & cheese, like it is now.
Do you like denim shorts? Yes, love them!
What was the last picture you looked at? A photo of Jon Moxley above my desk.
What’s the main thing you use the internet for? Loads of things.
How many questions do you prefer in a survey? Depends.
Have you ever made someone cry unintentionally? Probably.
Is it easy to offend you? Not really.
When did you last wear a hat? Hmm, a bit back at an outdoor event.
Do you work well under pressure? Depends.
What is something that is or was hard to let go of? Hmm.
What colors do you normally use to decorate with? Purple, green, black, white, grey etc.
Have you ever bruised one of your ribs? Yes.
Have you ever burned yourself on a candle? No.
What is one of your toxic traits? I procrastinate a lot.
Have you ever found a skeleton while outside? No.
What time is it currently? 12:28pm.
How many mirrors do you have in your bedroom? 1.
What is something you cannot get enough of? Chips.
When is your birthday? July 13.
What do you usually do to celebrate? Go to lunch with my Mum, do something with my BFF and with my boyfriend.
Do you enjoy surprises? Sure.
Have you ever had a surprise party? No.
What’s the best gift you’ve ever received? A kitten. And it wasn't even from my parents, it was from my aunt and uncle!
Do you ever get sad on your birthday? Not really, but I'm not a big fan of getting older.
Do you like ice cream cake? Yes.
How about sprinkles? Yes.
What cake is your favorite? Any!
Do you tend to go all out for others birthdays? Not all out, but I always do stuff.
Have you ever thrown your own party? Yes, all the time. If I didn't, I'd never have one xD
Do you just prefer a more low key celebration? Sure.
Have you ever forgotten your birthday or anyone else’s? Most likely.
Do you share a birthday with any celebrities? A Google search tells me Harrison Ford, Patrick Stewart and Ken Jeong just for three. Pretty cool.
What season does your birthday fall in? Are you happy with that? Winter, and no, I hate it lol.
Do you know anyone born on a holiday? Yes, one of my cousins is born on New Year's Day, and a friend of mine was born on Christmas Eve.
Can you say happy birthday in another language? No.
Isn’t being sang to so awkward? Yes haha.
Have you ever baked your own cake? No.
Baked anyone else a cake? No.
Do you dress up? Oh yeah.
Have you ever worn a tiara or sash saying it was your birthday? No.
What year has been your favorite? 2016 was great.
Are you happy with your life so far? Mostly.
What age were you when you stopped believing in Santa? I have no idea actually.
What was the last thing you had to drink? Water.
What was the last movie or video that made you cry? Oddly, it was part of a Simpsons episode lol.
Which would you sing at karaoke: “Don’t Stop Believin” or “I Will Always Love You?” Don't Stop Believin'.
Do you binge watch TV shows or watch one episode at a time? Depends on if the show is available all at once or not.
Which do you prefer: getting the perfect gift or giving the perfect gift? I love both!
Did you ever have a first impression of a coworker that was totally wrong? Yeah, one of my coworkers I thought looked like a bitch, but she's actually very kind.
Do you send memes to friends/family/coworkers? Sometimes, mostly to my boyfriend.
Do you prefer salty snacks or sweet snacks? Salty!!!
Have you ever gotten a really bad haircut? No.
Would you tell a friend if their outfit was hideous? If they asked me about it and told me to be honest.
Do you know where your car keys are right now? -
Have you ever met your doppelganger? No. The idea of that freaks me out lol.
Could you draw a horse? A super bad one, lol.
When was the last time you stayed up past 2AM? The other night, I got distracted watching a YouTube video and it was like 2:15am when I finally went to sleep lol.
Beer, wine, cocktails, or alcoholic beverages? Cocktails and the rest, cos beer is gross and I can't drink wine.
Have you ever ordered from the secret menu of a fast food restaurant? No idea.
Do you wear jewelry? Yes.
Do you wear makeup? No.
What is your favorite way to work out? Treadmill and cycle.
Do you send handwritten letters to anyone? No.
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storiesofsvu · 2 years
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12, 18, 24, 43, 50 for the fanfic asks :)
12. do you want to break your readers' heart or make them laugh?
AHAHAHAHAHA. omg. break their poor little hearts. but also i do like to make them laugh. and get them horny. like, all of the above. It really depends on the mood I'm in and what I'm feeling. I've been focusing so much more on series recently that it's been a whole combination. But one shots depends. if i've had a bad day, I like to write angst to get the feels out. Fun fact: one day my manager was pissing me off SUPER bad so i came home and wrote some angst where he was the perp who nearly killed rita. made me feel better LOL. anyway, long winded. I think if i had to choose between a fluff one shot and an angst i'd go fluff though.
18. what is your favourite writing prompt?
i dunno. lol. I like ideas that are more of an idea rather than just a dialogue prompt or song prompt. I LOVE it when people come to the inbox/dm's all "hey, so what about a story where something like this happens" cause then there's some back and fourth and spitballing and it can develop into a full series or a more detailed one shot. Like, I LOVE when I get a dialogue prompt along with a little background info all "stop teasing we're in public with Alex, maybe they're at a lawyer gala and alex is trying to focus on schmoozing/work people and yn's being a little brat" and then we go from there.
Sorry i dont know why these are all so long winded already LOL.
24. how many WIP's do you have?
Ones that I have content written for/have posted at least one chapter: 6 series, 3 one shots.
Ones that live in my head rent free/on the docket: too many too count.
43. guilty pleasure trope/scenarios?
the we just met one night stand and it turns out we're actually coworkers/i know your parent or relative or bff kinda situation.
50. Can we get a teaser for an upcoming chapter?
I shall give you TWO!
Redemption Earned:
“As late as I can.” You grinned, “listen. The weekends are for lazy cuddles, smooches and warm naps in bed. If you must insist on any being human before one in the afternoon it’s simply ordering in breakfast and eating it in bed, maybe some soft sex.”
“Okay…” Heather chuckled, “well that… I can probably get behind.”
“Even if I’m in charge?” You grinned and she huffed, tucking you into her shoulder, pressing a kiss to your head.
“I suppose I’ll have to, won’t I?”
Under Over:
“What’re we actually doing?” He asked quietly, leaning against the island and you upped the game, stepping closer to him, your arms looping behind his neck as you spoke softly, barely moving your lips from the grin on your cheeks.
“I need to find a murder weapon. So you’re going to grab a bottle of bourbon with two glasses and follow me upstairs.”
“Won’t he get suspicious about us going upstairs instead of to your room?”
“There’s a suite up there.” Your head tilted to the side, “full of all the fun toys.”
“You know, sometimes you’re a real tease.” He smirked and you held back an eye roll.
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witchybnha-noya · 3 years
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Party Animals
Here’s my first fic ever! It’s a Nishinoya x Fem!reader where they are at a Halloween party and after years of pining over each other they finally get together. I'm so sorry this was so late! It was due on like the 19th... but here it is!
Song inspiration is from White Tie Affair's 'Take it home'
This is for the wheel-of-misfortune Collab with @cyancherub! Please Minors do not interact!! +18 only! I will know and I will ban you! (maybe not but it sounds intimidating at least) 
3.6K
CW/TW: degradation, oral (M+F), breath play, face sitting (F receiving), 69ing, hair pulling, couple of nicknames because I can’t choose one, overstimulation (F receiving), slight accidental edging, unprotected sex (usually I'd try to be better about that but this all happened so fast. Always wrap it before you tap it!)
The ending is really messy honestly I'm putting a warning on it because this was my first official smut and I don't know how to write lol
Lemme know if I missed any, I want to make sure that I got everything in case it’s not your thing and you don’t like it 
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You’re staring at yourself in the mirror, you look fucking hot. You cannot wait to head out to your crazy best friend Tanaka’s Halloween party. Tonight, you’re going to show everyone just how sexy you can be. Last year you went as a really cute witch and the year before that you were a typical vampire. Nothing too risque because you were still trying to find yourself. Well this year you know who you are and you love the way you look in this adorable, skimpy, tight waisted kitty costume. Complete with an adorable bell around your neck and soft ears with a matching tail. You sit yourself in your vanity chair to touch up your makeup before you go, taking extra care with the small whiskers and nose you’ve drawn on your face. Your bright red lipstick contrasts with the black suit and white and black ears but you feel nothing less than like Catwoman herself ready to prowl the night. Your kitten-heeled boots clack against the linoleum floor as you make your way to the door and down to your friend’s car where Yachi and Kiyoko wait. You’re not sure why they insisted on driving when you could have easily just walked, but you were thankful for the ride.
“Holy shit Y/N, you look HOT!” Yachi yells from the front seat as she sees you come outside of your apartments. 
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Noya was doing his finishing touches of a nose and whiskers while Tanaka was running around in the background finishing setting up his house for the famed party of the year. 
“DUDE! Do you think that I should put the fake spiders on the webs or leave them across the table with the food?” Tanaka screamed at Noya. Noya turned around looking at the completely decorated filled rooms. It looked like Halloween threw up all over their shared house, it looked good nonetheless. If there was anything that Tanaka was really good at other than volleyball, it was decorating. Who knew?
“I dunno man, it all looks great so far! Probably split the difference and put a couple on the web and then leave the rest on the table.” Noya said, finished with the small amount of makeup and fixing his ears.
“OH! That’s a great idea! See this is why I keep you around!” Screaming again, Tanaka started moving some fake spiders around. “So, you excited for tonight? You gonna finally talk to her about it?”
“Psshh, you know she wouldn’t want me! There’s no way that I'm her type, so I'll just chill with Asahi since I assume you’ll be all over Kiyoko” Noya teased back, hoping the blush on his face wasn’t super noticeable.
“OH COME ON DUDE! You know that’s not true, I mean have you seen the way she looks at you?! Like just talk to her about it already! You may be surprised!” 
Noya definitely hoped so, but he didn’t want to risk the awesome friendship you had going, so the chances of anything happening were little, right?
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The party had started only a few minutes before you got there. Everyone was here though completely excited for this time of year and looking forward to seeing each other again. Not only was your team, where you went to school with Yachi supporting her and the team by going to each game. But Nekoma, Fukurodani, and even some of the players from Aoba Johsai, Shiratorizawa, Date Tech, Johzenji, and Inarizaki. Let's just say, the house was packed. Everyone in their respected costumes, some without any costumes at all and just here for the party. Just about everyone you saw was coupled up, and those that weren’t already couples you could see becoming one in the future. For example, Yachi and Terushima, they weren’t quite together but you knew exactly how Yachi felt about him after many nights of wine and gossip. It started making you feel rather lonely, you knew who you wanted to be with but you always kept skirting around the situation. 
You grabbed a drink in the kitchen from Kuroo thanking him, he winked at you and went back to making sure that he is the designated bartender. You made your way with your drink to the living room makeshift ‘dance floor’. There you see Kageyama and Hinata in their couple costumes of typical vampire and human tropes. They stopped being secretive about their relationship ages ago and were basically grinding on each other to the music. One might have thought that they were in their own little world just appreciating each other’s company. You envied them, that kind of relationship and fun that they seemed to be having.
You weren’t the only one who noticed them, however, especially because you felt his presence near you. He just gave off one of those vibes that you couldn’t help but smile to yourself knowing exactly who it was by your side. 
“Fancy seeing you here.” Noya said, smirking looking blatantly at your costume with a look in his eyes you can’t seem to pinpoint. It made you giggle despite yourself and blush while you shuffle your feet feeling weighed down by his stare. “Damn Y/N you look really good, I hope that doesn’t come across bad or anything… I just really am having a hard time taking my eyes off you.”
“Thanks Noya, yeah I thought I’d try something new this year.” you chuckle.
“Yeah, I like it.” He says mostly under his breath, but you’re close enough that you can hear him. A smile is stuck to your face as you start to stand a little straighter reaching up to his full height. He’s smaller than normal but you’re about the same height so it doesn’t bother you very much. In fact it was one of the main things you really liked about him and you liked him a lot. It’s been years that you’ve been harvesting this crush for him, but he always seemed to be hanging out with Asahi or going after Kiyoko. You never felt that you had much of a chance, but by the way he’s looking at you makes you think otherwise. Just maybe…
“Hey Noya, would you like to dance? I mean you are dressed as a cute puppy, it seems only fitting right?” The small bit of alcohol you had encouraged you to be a little more flirtatious than usual as you tease him about his costume. 
“Excuse you, it's a werewolf costume not a puppy! Sly little minx.” He said as his eyes lit up, meeting yours, as he grabbed your drink from you, placing it down next to his on the food table. Completely forgetting about them when he took your hand in his and led you away from your standing position, barely letting his eyes leave yours. You laugh as you follow him, excited and letting the slight bit of alcohol make you brave.
“Well I still think it’s cute.” You wink at him, you’re pretty sure you saw a blush spread across his cheeks but the lighting in the dance floor was just a little too dark. You both start to dance individually just moving your bodies to the music. There’s no particular order or sexyness to what you’re doing, just letting the music take you. 
You can feel his eyes on you, so you know that everything you’re doing is right so far. You decide that maybe tonight is the night to tell him. You build up your courage and wiggle your finger in a come hither motion to him. As he moves closer to you, you can see the smile adorned on his face so bright and welcoming, but tonight there’s a small glint of devilishness in his eyes. Makes you wonder if your theory is correct. 
As the next song comes on, you don’t know if you recognize it but it’s got a great beat and your hips are already moving to the rhythm. As you feel that Noya is close enough you turn around and start to drop your hips to the beat against him. He reels back for a second taken off guard but quickly recovers and holds onto your hips moving you the way he would like. Clearly Noya is still a little nervous so you help him out by reaching your hand back to his neck and arching your back into him. 
“It’s okay Noya, I like you and I want this to happen. Is that okay?” You ask brazenly, unsure of where your courage seeped out of you, hoping that it was the right thing. You felt the breath that Noya was holding against your neck.
“Oh Y/N, It’s more than okay, I like you too, you have no idea…” He trails off letting his hands squeeze your hips a little as reassurance. Clearly Noya knows the song because as the chorus starts he whispers it in your ear as you both start to grind to the music, desperate for each other’s warmth.
“Ice ice melt your hot, baby girl let down your guard, rush rush on that touch, just one taste can’t get enough” The lyrics to the song encourage you to move a little faster and harder to the beat so that he knows you’re enjoying it. That same lyric plays again and again making your repetitive movements even more smooth and fun for you. You start to feel a heat at your backside and subconsciously seek it. You hear a slight gasp and then a growl come from the man behind you as he pulls you even closer against him. Feeling the heat from your face at the actions move down between your legs you decide to turn around in his arms so you can face him. This allows you to look at his distraught and heated face of his own, making you more courageous as you move against him again. You push your chest into his and start to roll your body to the song, letting it take over your movements again. 
Noya’s hands find purchase on your waist this time bringing you closer, if even possible, and pulls his knee up just slightly between your thighs. This way you’re now able to grind on his thigh and he can feel just barely how wet you are through your costume. This makes him groan and lean into your neck as he turns his head towards your ear.
“Y/N, if you keep that up sweetness I won’t be able to last very long.” He whispers in your ear, pulling you back and forth by the waist to let you feel the friction between your thighs. 
“Then maybe we should take this somewhere else?” you whimper, looking in his eyes for any type of discomfort, only to find that his eyes are mostly black and filled with lust.
“I would like nothing more.” He says with a smirk and grabs your hand, leading you from the dance floor and to his room upstairs. You giggle at his haste and follow behind very closely.
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You and Noya get to his room and the second that the door closes you’re on each other again, kissing so heavily you can’t really breathe. It makes your pussy clench around nothing and you can feel how wet you are on your thighs. Noya breaks the kiss for the need of air and just starts smiling, looking you up and down hungrily. He pulls you to the bed and sits you on his lap just over the edge so you can start grinding on him again.
Noya was just staring at you, he couldn’t believe this was actually happening. He’s wanted this for years; wanted you for years. On his lap, you start moving your hips on top of his, feeling his hardened length underneath you. Your grinding is stopped by Noya’s hands as he pulls down the zipper to your costume, your kitten-healed boots next to fully declothe you. Once the one piece is off what’s left is your stockings and your matching lace panties.
“Oh my god, Y/N you’re so fucking beautiful.” He moans as he grabs at your waist, pulling you impossibly closer. The friction against your meeting hips is driving you crazy as you’re basically humping each other. “My sluttly little kitty cat, all hot and bothered for me aren’t cha?” he chuckles as you nod your head desperately, wiggling in his hold to get his hands anywhere other than your waist. He finally gets the idea and moves to your hips, holding them there once again making you sit still.
Noya moves with you when he pushes you onto the bed hovering over you with the most wicked grin. “You like when I call you nasty names? You naughty girl, so desperate for this cock, guess I’ll have to fuck the slut out of you huh?” His lips move to your most sensitive spots like magnets, connecting on impact and he leaves dark bruises underneath to make sure you know just who you belong to. He starts on your neck moving lower until he reaches your chest taking one of your peaked nipples into his mouth. He groans around it, suckling and nibbling a little harder in his excitement. 
“You gonna be my perfect little cockslut? Dancing all dirty up against me, you naughty girl. I’m gonna wreck that pretty little cunt of yours.” Every word Noya said went straight to your pussy, making you so wet and excited. You can’t help but just moan and nod at his words and he chuckles at your obedience. He flips your positions so that you’re on top of him, pussy lips just inches from his face.
Noya starts viciously is eating your pussy, taking his time on your clit and making you feel so good. He takes his time pushing his tongue in and out of you. Enough so that you forget your on his face and you start grinding your hips lower and harder against his face. Noya groans as his air supply gets cut off by your hips, making him harder in the process as well. He flips you around so that his tongue can reach deeper with a groan. This allowed you to fall forward to where his erection was and move Noya's pants down to his hips. Noya was caught by surprise by your actions but welcomed them nonetheless, unknowingly lifting his hips into your wet heated mouth.
Noya's girthy cock is flushed pink at the top while you can see the single vein on the underside. This makes him super sensitive to your licking up and down his length. He shudders and moans into your cunt making you moan right against him. You start to kiss his head as the pre leaks out and you can taste the sweet saltiness of his flavor. It drives you wild as you start to grind backwards against him once again. Noya sticks his tongue further into your hole and moans as he let's you ride his face. His hips move on their own shoving his cock down your throat all the same. Making you choke and groan around him as you enjoy every second of his cock down your throat.
You both sat there sucking, licking, and eating each other until you started to feel a coil in your stomach start to unfurl. Noya could feel your walls tightening on his tongue and stopped moving his hips when he heard you moan his name loudly. He starts plunging two whole fingers in and out of your hole as he swipes his tongue against your clit back and forth. The combined movement making the coil snap as you start to gush over his face.
"That's it baby," Noya groans between swiping his tongue, muffled by your cunt, "keep comin undone for me, cum on this tongue, naughty girl." You scream as you can't help yourself keep quiet as Noya let's you ride out your orgasm. "God you taste so good kitten." He moans as he pulls your hips closer over his face. Your a moaning mess jumbling up Noyas name with the sounds your making as he doesn't let up.
"Yuu, oh god, oh fuck, fuck, fuck!" you chant as you felt yourself start to get overstimulated. The coil started to turn over again so quickly letting you fall over panting onto his abdomen. Just before it can break Noya let's up and lifts your legs off the sides of his face with surprising strength.
"'M sorry baby, I didn't mean to edge and overstimulate you. You just tasted so good I couldn't help it." Noya proves his point by licking the remaining juices off his lips and smirking down at you. "But I guess you being the little slut that you are, you probably enjoyed it didn't you?" He chuckles the lust in his eyes twinkling with something much more sinister behind them. "Yeah, gotta treat naughty girls the way they want to be treated huh? Right little cockslut?" Noya took a grip to your hair and pulled you up so your back was against his front. "Probably all nice and ready for this cock aren't ya baby?" He breathed in your ear, more to himself than to you, "yeah gonna fill you up so good. You're gonna love this cock, my little slut."
You groan at his words trying your best to nod your head with the grip Noya had on your hair. The movement only making more wetness pool between your legs.
"Hahaha, don't worry naughty girl, you'll get your fill. Right. Fucking. Now." Growling the last few words against your ear, Noya thrusted his hips through your thighs giving himself some much needed relief. You whimper as he starts moving his cock between your folds. Feeling just how much bigger he is than his fingers. But you know you're ready for him with coming once already, so wet and inviting. Your hole twitching to be filled by his throbbing cock. As he slides himself in you both groan at the feeling, finally getting what you both need the most.
"Shit baby, your squeezing me so tight hah," Noya says through gritted teeth, "and to think you've cum already. You must really need this cock, huh baby? Well don't worry, I'll make sure to fill. You. Up. Right!" Thrusting the rest of the way up with those last words Noya groans sitting and letting you get adjusted to the rest of his size. At this angle he's reaching deep with your back against his chest. You're both heaving messes just waiting for the other to move.
"Yuu, please, I need you" you whine, not really sure what you're asking for since he's already inside you. Luckily Noya seems to know as he nods against your shoulder.
"I got you baby, gonna take good care of you, don't worry." He starts kissing and suckling your neck leaving small hickeys, making sure you never forget this moment. Never forget who your with now. That after all these years of pining you both need each other just as badly. Noya starts moving his hips slowly in and out of you. Once he gets a good rhythm, listening to your moans to figure out where feels best, he pulls all the way out and thrusts hard back in.
"'M sorry again kitten, but I can't take my time with you this time cause you got me so worked up before. Just gonna make you cum one more time for me ok? You can do it baby, I now you have it in you." He whispers in your ear, nibbling at the bottom of it. You nod your head and whimper feeling yourself completely at his mercy.
The feeling of his cock pushing in and out of you as he glides deliciously along your walls making you mewl. Noya sped up feeling so good deep within your walls, squeezing him so tight. He moans into your ear as you move your arms behind you holding his head to your neck. While his hands becime much more preoccupied moving up and down your body, feeling everything crevice of you. His left hand reaches your breast squeezing slightly rough as he's starting to feel his climax rushing up on him. His right hand finds your clit and starts rubbing furiously to get you closer over the edge.
"C'mon baby, I know you can do it. Cum with me kitten." Noya's panting in your ear "baby can I cum inside? Wanna claim you as mine, baby, oh please let me."
"I want it, I'm on the pill! Cum in me Yuu, please please please! Oh Fuck I'm cumming!"
You reach your climax and squeezing walls pushes Noya over the edge. He stills inside of you and you feel thick ropes of cum painting your insides. Noya continues to rub your clit letting you ride out your full orgasm, finally feeling the relief from earlier.
As you start to come down Noya stops rubbing you and sits inside you just holding you from behind, head tucked into your neck, panting.
"Y/n, can I tell you something?"
You giggle as you play with his hair, "Anything, Yuu"
Noya sighs, contented, "I really love you, I think I have for a long time and I would love it if you became my girlfriend?" You giggle again feeling butterflies in your stomach start to build full to the brim with happiness along with other things.
"I love you too, Yuu, I would love to be your girlfriend!" You both start giggling to each other softly, until Noya starts to pull out pulling a slight mewl from you. He gets out behind you to his bathroom to bring you a damp towel to clean your leaking pussy up. He does so with such a look of admiration that makes you slightly blush and pull your knees together when he's done.
Noya looks up at you questioningly until he sees your blush and just smirks at it. Chuckling as he pull on new boxers and gives you one of his t-shirts to lay with him in.
"So, would you like to go back to the party or do you want to stay here?" He says as he pulls you into his chest from behind tucking his head into your neck once again. He breathes you in and kisses you until you start squirming from the slight tickle.
"Hmmm, wanna stay like this." You giggle. You feel Noyas smile reach across his lips as he kisses your temple and snuggles even closer.
"Good answer, my sweet little kitten."
57 notes · View notes
taelme · 4 years
Text
Enemies-to-lovers!(demigod)Hyunjin
request: Hey :) I just really want to read something about Hyunjin if that's fine with you. I'm kind of a sucker for this whole enemies to lovers thing too lol but it would also be super cool if it could be something with fantasy. I don't really know 😅 I think if you're going to write it it would be good anyway. genre: enemies-to-lovers!au (kind of, i feel like it wasnt that extreme but more of a dislike-to-lovers lol), demigod!au (fluff, slight angst? its rly not much, a lot of confusion on reader’s part) pairing/s: Hyunjin / Reader (fem) (ft some skz, nct and got7 members!) word count: 18k+ tw: mentions of blood and (sword)fighting a/n: thank you to anon for being so patient again...its really taken me really long to think of something for this haha i kind of wanted to tap on Hyunjin’s like personality a little more for this like the side of him that’s very like in tune with his emotions or whatnot but idk if i emphasised that a lot but thats just a fun fact lol anyway there was a whole lot of thought exposition in this but this was very much a mix of information based off my existing knowledge of greek gods and the percy jackson series but i hope i explained it clearly enough so even if you’re not familiar with it you won’t be too confused while reading! 
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You wondered if you should’ve been scared when you’d awoken to the sound of your friend Jeongin waltzing into your cabin, the echo of ‘​love is a many splendored thing​’ coming from his lips as he meandered his way around the much more intimidating daughters of ​Ares​ in your room.
“Didn’t know they still allowed you in here,” you huffed, rolling your eyes but not without the small smile playing at your lips as you rolled over, sighing into your pillow and making space for Jeongin to flop belly-down onto your bed.
Ignoring your comment (not without sticking his tongue out at you for good measure), Jeongin’s smile had only grown as he supported his head with his hands.
You huffed, bringing a hand up to rub at your eyes, not being able to find it in you to be annoyed that he’d interrupted your sleep, “are you just gonna smile at me or are you gonna ​actually​ tell me what happened?”
Jeongin wrinkled his nose slightly, “guess,” he whispered.
“You...” you frowned, rolling over onto your back, hugging your pillow closer to your head, your eyebrows knitting into a thoughtful frown, “finished your painting?”
Shaking his head, Jeongin hummed, “​better​.”
“Better?” you echoed, “did you get elected for something... or something?” you yawned, trying your luck at this point, having close to no idea what he was so smiley about.
Jeongin rolled his eyes, though his grin remained, a small giggle leaving him, “give up?”
You nodded, “yeah, give up.”
“​Someone​’​s​ back in the ​Poseidon​ cabin for the summer.”
You figured you might as well milk it while you could, pretending to not know who Jeongin was referring to as you pouted, “Who? Chan?”
Jeongin rolled his eyes, ​again​, “don’t play dumb, you know who i’m talking about.”
You sighed, stretching your arms out above your head, dumping your act of ignorance (acting was never your strong suit anyway), “and what do you expect me to do about that?”
“​You​ don’t have to do anything, technically,” Jeongin shrugged, “he’ll probably approach you first.”
You made a face, not liking Jeongin’s implication at all.
Jaehyun​ was just a friend you’d made from a few years before. Sure, he was friendly, and Jeongin did always point out the fact that he’d always somehow end up in the same area as the both of you, but you never read into it, having never felt anything romantic towards him at all in your time knowing him. After all, even if you wanted to, the last you heard (if the Aphrodite sisters were to be trusted for gossip) was that he had a girlfriend back home.
“Not funny, Jeongin.”
Jeongin scoffed, “who said I was trying to be funny?” he tried, failing to hold his expression of feigned offence as a bout of giggles escaped him, “okay, fine, maybe I was, but still, you have to admit that you know it’s gonna happen at one point.”
“What’s gonna happen?” you said with a scoff, sitting up in your bed as you let out another yawn.
Jeongin narrowed his eyes at you, “you know what i’m talking about,” he shrugged, making you groan. Trust him to be ​specific.​
Getting out of bed, you brought a hand up to rub your shoulder, rolling your shoulders back with a wince, “I didn’t think he was gonna come back, honestly.”
Jeongin shook his head insistently, “think about it, if he already graduated... he’s probably only back because...” Jeongin gestured towards you, his eyes wide and full of implication.
“Shut up, Jeongin,” you couldn’t help the laugh that escaped you in spite of the part of you that was very much averse to his implication.
“Anyway, what are your plans later?” you asked him, eager to divert his attention elsewhere, earning a long hum from him.
You turned to see him fiddling with the corner of your bed sheet, frowning at the faint sound of rock music he could hear coming from the other rooms.
“Haven’t decided,” he sighed deeply, “might go back and finish up my painting... you?” You’d walked around your bed, “probably go and train or something,” you shrugged.
Jeongin made it a point to yawn loudly, “shouldn’t have expected anything else. Why don’t you join me one of these days after the game’s over?”
“Yeah, of course I will, I just wanna get... used to it before the game. It’s been ​ages​ since I touched my sword,” you made to pick up your things to freshen up, Jeongin deciding that would be his cue to leave, bidding you goodbye (but not without a smothering hug).
Don’t get you wrong, you were ​thankful​ for Jeongin. A son of Hebe, he’d been at the camp longer than you had, and he’d taken the liberty of befriending you after a particularly amusing run-in during a game the previous summer where you’d accidentally torn a hole in his pants with your sword at a pretty unfavourable area.
Not to mention how the boy was one of the few that dared to tread within ​Ares​ grounds. Being the son of the goddess of​ youth,​ you should’ve figured it was natural for him to be so personable to others (not to mention the fascinating way he looked so ​youthful​), but you were thankful for it nonetheless. Not many people considered it a ​want​ to look past the barbed wire and screaming red motifs that seemed to surround the children of the god of ​war.​
Though a part of you wished you could’ve joined Jeongin for a peaceful morning doing art while overlooking the lake, you were a little glad you didn’t, because as you sparred, you remembered just what felt so freeing about being in the field, a sense of anticipation building within you as you thought about the first capture-the-flag game of the summer coming up in a few days.
“Did you hear?” Yuta, another son of Ares, had asked you while the both of you practiced your archery.
You sighed, rolling your neck back before narrowing your eyes at the target again, “hear what?”
“Wait, look, look there, the new ​Aphrodite​ kid. Heard he was claimed a few days ago,” Yuta nodding his head towards the direction of the mess hall, and you spotted a small group of boys and girls making their way towards the mess hall.
It wasn’t hard to tell they were Aphrodite’s children, from the way they dressed so elegantly, to the way they carried themselves, as if nothing in the world could shake them or put a single hair out of place.
Something about the effortless nature of it all seemed so ​unreal​ to you, especially since you were stood there with your flyaway hair sticking out no matter how much you tried to keep it in place.
“Can’t say I didn’t see it coming, something about him was always more... ​mesmerising​,” Yuta continued, with yourself busy observing the group of them.
“That one? Wasn’t he already here for a while already?” you gestured to one of them who was walking in the middle, rolling the sleeves of their shirt to their elbows with a sheer grace you couldn’t understand, his hair slightly longer than you’d remembered seeing it the previous summer.
Hyunjin was his name, if you remembered what Jeongin said correctly. Who were you kidding, ​of course you remembered​.
The daughters of Ares in your bunk talked about him all the time, even if they didn’t show it. Almost every day you’d hear new things about him, as if it was your daily dose of the ​news​. Something about him being a dancer, or something about a song he was listening to, even what movie he watched recently, none of which you bothered to actually commit to memory like they did.
Widely admired,​ was the term to describe it. You guessed you could understand why, his looks were pleasing to the eye, but there wasn’t much else you could draw from his personality, so you figured that was it for you. After seeing his sisters, and how... ​lovely​ they could be at times, you didn’t think there was much else to figure out.
“No, ​idiot,​ the other one walking at the front, he’s basically ​glowing​,” Yuta clicked his tongue in annoyance, and your eyes had landed on the boy, shorter and definitely younger than Hyunjin, but no less beautiful. Looking even closer, you realised he ​was​ glowing, unmistakably a very Aphrodite​ way of claiming him as her son.
You frowned, turning back to Yuta, “that’s a lot prettier than how Ares claimed us, isn’t it?” you laughed, “why are you so interested anyway? It’s not the first time you’re seeing someone get claimed,” you dismissed him, drawing another arrow and firing it at the target, a small smile of satisfaction on your face when it hit the center.
Yuta shrugged, his hand coming up to flick his hair away from his eyes, “dunno, just thought it was cool. Since that means he’ll be on our side for the games too,” he explained, clearly having abandoned his archery practice with the way he’d let his bow hang loose next to his side, swinging it as he stood next to you with a hand on his hip.
“I don’t have very high hopes for that,” you murmured, shooting another arrow at the target, Yuta letting out an impressed low whistle at the thud, “they don’t strike me as the... fighting type.”
Yuta rolled his eyes, “are you done soon? I’m hungry,” he frowned, “and by the way, I'd be careful what I say about Aphrodite’s kids.”
You flashed him a tight-lipped smile, sceptical about his insistence, “what are they gonna do, smolder​ me to death?”
Yuta rolled his eyes, a scoff leaving him, “well they probably ​could.​ Look, if anything, I'm more afraid of their powers than ​Poseidon’s​ kids.”
You couldn’t help yourself from the face you made at the mention of the water-wielding demigods, earning a small grunt of amusement from Yuta, only then realising what he could’ve gotten from your expression.
About to interject, Yuta had continued, “I’m guessing you heard Jaehyun’s back?”
You sighed deeply, recalling your conversation with Jeongin that morning, nodding as you made your way back to the Ares cabins with Yuta strolling calmly next to you. Keeping your footsteps brisk, you dumped your armour onto the floor next to your bunk while Yuta did so with his as well, meeting him back at the door and leaving the cabin just as quickly as you came, still having not found an answer to Yuta’s question.
Though as you were busy forming a response to him, you felt yourself getting annoyed, or heavily​ annoyed for that matter, turning to Yuta with a scowl.
“Stop doing that,” you scolded him, making him raise his hands in a shrug, feigning nonchalance.
“What? You didn’t answer my question,” he defended, making you narrow your eyes at him, relieved when the feelings of anger and annoyance had diffused out of you within a matter of seconds.
“Thank you,” you sighed.
If you had to choose, that was one of your least favourite amongst Ares’ ​gifts.​ Sure, being skilled at fighting and the strength you had was a pro, of course. But being able to manipulate someone’s feelings of rage and fear was ​not​ something you found very necessary.
Unless you were Yuta, of course, and used it for the sake of getting someone’s attention.
“Why does everyone keep telling me about Jaehyun?” you blurted eventually, making Yuta shoot you a pointed look.
“He’s a ​legend,​ it’s basically our ​duty​ to talk about him,” Yuta snickered, grabbing your hand to pull you towards the mess hall as if deciding that your speed wasn’t fast enough for him.
“What’s so exciting about him?” you scoffed, letting Yuta lead you to a table where you saw your friends already seated, not missing the way Yuta had shoved you aside with his hip in his attempt to be seated closer to Ten, one of the sons of Aphrodite.
Seeming to have forgotten about Jaehyun, Yuta had focused on his conversation with Ten, leaving you to eat in peace.
“Hey, just came from practice?” you heard Seungmin ask you, taking a seat facing you while you tried to ignore the way Hyunjin had taken a seat next to Ten at the same time, his proximity making it harder for you ​not​ to look at him.
Turning to the said son of Athena, you nodded (albeit distractedly), earning a soft smile from him, “same here. Are you excited?”
Assuming he was referring to the games, you offered him a small shrug, “I guess, kind of curious to see how the new Ares kids handle it,” you tried your best to remain nonchalant even though you could hear Yuta asking the newer Aphrodite kid what he liked about being one of Aphrodite’s sons.
Seungmin nodded thoughtfully, “yeah, I saw some of them just now at the arena, but I doubt you’d have to worry, you could take half the Hermes kids on your own,” Seungmin laughed, making you wave him off.
Seungmin had seemed to find Ten and Yuta’s discussion interesting as well, turning his head to listen in as you brought your cup to your lips, frowning as you tried to pick up on what they were talking about.
You couldn’t help yourself from letting your gaze flicker between Ten and Hyunjin, hearing Ten cut in and explain something about acting cute and effortlessly getting people to do what you want them to do, all while you saw Hyunjin turning to ask one of Apollo’s daughters next to him if she had a tissue, the girl seeming almost ​compelled​ as she stood up and made her way to the far end of the table to grab a small packet of tissues for Hyunjin.
You had to refrain from scoffing, turning back to Ten with a sweet smile, your tone as lighthearted as it could be, “guess people just do things for you if you’re ​pretty,​ right?”
Ten seemed to have no qualms in agreeing with you, nodding at you with a smirk, “exactly.”
Hyunjin heard you of course, not knowing if that was a hint of spitefulness he detected in your tone, and you didn’t miss the way he’d looked up to meet your eyes, something about his gaze almost making it hard for you to look away, but you did. Scanning your attire, Hyunjin couldn’t help the small huff that left his lips.
Daughter of Ares​, he should’ve figured ​abrasive​ words would’ve come with the package.
Deciding to dismiss it, Hyunjin turned back to Chan who was seated in front of him, rejoining whatever conversation they were having about swimming in the lake with ease. He would just forget about it, it wasn’t like picking a fight with the ​war​ god’s child was part of his agenda for the day.
Well, of course, that was until the time came to play capture-the-flag and Hyunjin found himself so ​unfortunately​ partnered with you to guard the flag. ​He should’ve just stayed with his sisters to cheer on the players.
You didn’t try to hide the fact that you were displeased, shooting a wide-eyed look at your Head Counselor Jaebum, who had simply dismissed you with a wave when you’d pulled him aside with a very annoyed glare on your face.
“Why can’t I guard with Yuta? I thought Aphrodite wasn’t playing,” you murmured harshly, fixing your armour roughly as you gripped the handle of your sword tightly, your heart sinking when you saw the way Jaebum had simply smiled, reaching his hand out to shove your helmet onto your head, flicking the red hairs that stuck out from the top with a laugh.
“There’s no time for you to complain, trust me, Hyunjin’s good,” he dismissed your hesitance, waving you off as he began to head elsewhere with the rest, “you’d better guard it properly,” he warned before leaving with the rest, the clinking of their shields against their armour growing softer the further they went.
Grabbing the flag from the floor with a huff, you’d started heading towards the lake, shoving the flag harshly through the pebbles to secure it in the ground, a small huff of annoyance leaving you as you squinted up at the sky, the summer heat annoying you even more.
Not being able to find it in you to relax, especially with the knowledge that Hyunjin was here, you paced around the flag, your hand placed protectively above your scabbard, the other hand on your hip as you eyed your surroundings.
Hyunjin on the other hand, seemed unaffected, and you heard the rustling of the pebbles as he sat down, his sword next to him and his hands behind him supporting his weight. To anyone else, he would’ve looked completely at ease, his head lifted to face the sky, his eyes closed as he enjoyed the warmth. 
Though his ease didn’t last for long, the constant crunching of the pebbles and the annoyed scoffs that left your lips every now and then drawing his attention back to you.
Hyunjin never really liked ​Ares​, he momentarily wondered if you were similar in the aspects he disliked as well, since the behaviour you were displaying right now was very...​not​ typical of an Ares.
“Are all Ares demigods as high-strung as you?” Hyunjin furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance, “your pacing’s gonna give us away.”
Your head whipped around quickly, scoffing at him, “yeah, well, excuse me for feeling responsible for the flag,” you huffed.
Hyunjin didn’t understand why you took the games so seriously, (frankly you didn’t either), but you both figured it was the streak of Ares in you that made you feel competitive, but nonetheless, Hyunjin wasn’t amused.
“It’s not just ​your responsibility, you know. Jaebum literally asked me to guard it with you.”
You let out a half-hearted laugh, your words coming out in choppy bursts as if there were a million other things in your head that were fighting to be said, “yeah, well, I guess you could say that’s why i’m even more on edge.”
Hyunjin narrowed his eyes at you, wanting you to look in his direction but you didn’t seem to be giving him the time of day, your eyes still searching the woods in front of you for any sign of someone else.
“Look,” Hyunjin felt himself growing annoyed, “I don’t know what you have against me but now’s not exactly the time to be angry at ​me​.”
You hadn’t realised, but your agitated state had been unconsciously manipulating Hyunjin’s feelings, making him more annoyed the more he saw you pace.
“Jaebum’s being stupid. He shouldn’t have put you here with me,” you sighed, more to yourself than to Hyunjin.
“You don’t trust me,” Hyunjin murmured, his tone giving away his surprise (or lack thereof), already moving to stand up, dusting the dirt off of his pants as he kept his gaze fixed on you.
You turned to face him, unaffected by his presence unlike the other day, now, Hyunjin noticed your gaze was much firmer.
“Yes, I don’t,” you told him, “forgive me for saying this but, you and your siblings don't necessarily have a very good track record when it comes to combat.”
Hyunjin rolled his eyes, folding his arms over his chest, “​yeah, well,​ ” he mimicked your tone from before, “​brute force​ isn’t the only way you can win, you know.”
You narrowed your eyes at him, wondering for a moment what exactly were the gifts that aphrodite had bestowed on her children to warrant such confidence from Hyunjin. You figured he was just trying to divert your attention from the fact that they really weren’t one to fight.
“So, i’m right? You don’t fight?”
You wouldn’t usually have been so... ​annoying,​ maybe it was your annoyance at Jaebum making itself known to Hyunjin, and in turn making Hyunjin annoyed at you as well.
Hyunjin took a small step closer to you, holding himself at arms length as he got a good look at your eyes.
Pretty, you thought, but probably not what you should’ve been focusing on at the moment.
And you really shouldn’t have, because you surely hadn’t expected Hyunjin to pull his sword from where it was on the ground abruptly, pointing it right at your throat, the slightest of smiles on his face, almost as if he was curious to see if you’d really lived up to what people said about you.
“I don’t know who you heard that from,” Hyunjin had an amused smirk on his face, something about him wanting to prove himself to you for some reason. The idea of protecting the flag already pushed to the ​far back​ of his mind.
You glanced down at the blade before you, pulling it ever so slowly out from its scabbard as you met his gaze again, something about it hardening when you could practically feel him challenging you.
There wasn’t a single sound between the both of you other than the sound of the wind blowing the trees and the lake flowing beside you. Clenching your jaw, you’d brought your sword up to push him out of the way with a grunt, seeing him dodge deftly when you swung it at his arm.
As if you weren’t already angered enough, you were shocked at how well he had been going against you, not paying much attention to what you were doing at this point, casting mindless swings and driving your elbow down on his shoulder, a small grunt leaving Hyunjin.
Swinging his sword at your back, you’d caught it with your sword, pushing back against him with as much force as you could muster, your swords coming in between the both of you, stuck there with the sheer force you were both applying.
Hyunjin had to admit that you were definitely stronger than him, almost giving up but too stubborn to do so, his other hand coming up to grab at your forearm, pushing your sword out of the way before his hand with his sword came up towards you.
Grabbing his hand quick enough, you’d shoved him away from you, bending to avoid another swing before turning, roughly bringing your sword to swing at him, hitting his chest and causing him to stumble back slightly, though what surprised you was how determined he was.
Regaining his stance quickly, as you dropped your shield angrily, he’d swung his sword just as you did, your swords colliding loudly as he brought his other hand to your hand, ripping your sword from your hand quicker than you could process and tossing it aside, his own sword coming to your throat once again, his other grand gripping onto your free hand firmly.
With how focused you were on fighting each other, the both of you hadn’t even realised Jaebum’s presence there, the said head counselor quietly observing you as Hyunjin tried to use his ​charmspeak​ on you. Being one of the (very few) children of Aphrodite that had this ability, Jaebum couldn’t help but be curious as to how this would play out.
You contemplated trying to summon your sword back, but as you were about to, he’d spoken up, distracting you.
“Pick up the flag,” he told you, in what you assumed was the most ​enchanting​ tone you’d heard from him, moreso with the way he was looking at you.
Hyunjin’s face was mere inches away from you, gripping your wrist even despite the gash you’d made on his palm, too absorbed in his motive to pay any attention to the pain. Something about his gaze had unsettled you, the pleasant smell of his perfume almost seeming out of place with the strong demeanour he was showing you now, making you curious as to what else there was about him that you were getting wrong in your head.
And he waited, he waited for your eyes to glaze over and for you to obediently walk over to the flag and pick it up without a single bit of defiance like how everyone else did. ​Except you didn’t.
His request had caught you off guard, making you furrow your eyebrows as your lips parted in confusion, “why the hell would I do that?”
Shoving his hand holding his sword away from you, you huffed, turning to see Jaebum and a few of the newer Ares and Athena kids standing there in shock. Well, at least ​most​ of them were in shock, Jaebum’s expression was all-too-amused.
Hyunjin stood, dumbfounded at the fact that his power hadn’t worked on you, turning to face Jaebum with his lips in a pout as Jaebum cleared his throat.
Ignoring the annoyed furrow to your brow, Jaebum brought a hand up to rub his exposed arm over his tattoo, “we... won...” he stopped to let a small laugh escape him, “you guys can bring the flag back.”
You huffed, moving to pick up your sword, shoving it into your scabbard, still confused at the fact that Hyunjin had just asked you to pick up the flag for no reason after what he did.
Turning back to Hyunjin, you saw him about to open his mouth, wanting to ask if you were going to take the flag with how he gestured to it.
Shaking your head as you were already making your way back, you said, “take the stupid flag, I don’t want it.”
It was only when you were with the rest in the amphitheatre did you realise Hyunjin had made an impression on you in more ways than just through surprising you.
You were making your way through the crowd to find Jeongin when you’d spotted Jaehyun, his hair messy and slightly damp with perspiration, giving you a friendly smile as he lifted his glass to you.
You saw him making his way over to you, his armour long discarded as he stood in his long sleeved t-shirt and cargo pants, pushing his hair back only to make it even messier.
“Hey, it was a good game just now, where were you?” he asked. 
“Oh, I was just guarding the flag.”
Jaehyun nodded, a hum of understanding leaving him. Bringing his cup up to his lips, his gaze darted to your arm, his eyes widening as a sharp hiss left him, “hey, that’s a pretty bad cut, how’d you get that?”
You frowned, your eyebrows raising, a hum of confusion leaving you. Only realising when Jaehyun had reached a hand out to grasp your elbow gently, lifting your arm gently to draw your attention to the gash on your arm, the blood having gotten onto your shirt without you realising.
“Oh,” you hummed, shaking your head in dismissal at Jaehyun, “no it’s fine, it doesn’t hurt. I’ll just get Jeongin to help me patch it up later.”
Jaehyun’s forehead creased slightly as his eyebrows lifted, “really? I can help you with it now, if you want,” he offered, a soft smile on his face.
Turning to look over at where Jeongin and Yuta were seated at one of the steps of the ampitheatre, you tried not to let their knowing smiles fluster you, turning back to Jaehyun with a shake of the head.
“It’s fine, don’t wanna trouble you, but thanks for offering,” you assured him.
“What brings you back?” you asked, your curiosity getting the better of you, seeing his smile widen, giving you a shrug.
“For fun, honestly. I’m on break at university anyway, so I figured I might as well.”
Your lips parted in realisation, nodding slowly, “your girlfriend didn’t mind you leaving?”
He shook his head, “yeah, she was going back home to visit her family anyway,” you nodded, sighing in relief with the knowledge that he still had a girlfriend so whatever Jeongin said was baseless.
Jaehyun glanced behind you, spotting Yuta and Jeongin sitting at the steps, pressing his lips together so his dimples showed, “shouldn’t keep you any longer, your friends are waiting. See you later,” he had a hand gently on your shoulder, pulling it back to give you a small wave before you’d left to join Yuta and Jeongin at the steps.
“​Ouch,” Yuta hissed, eyeing your arm, “who did that?” he nodded his head towards your arm, drawing Jeongin’s attention to the wound.
You huffed, gesturing towards the group of Aphrodite’s children gathered closer to the fire, “Hyunjin,” you offered half-heartedly.
Jeongin’s eyes widened, “Hyunjin? But why? Wasn’t he on your side?”
Yuta’s attention was still searching the group of them, observing the way Hyunjin had a little bit of bandage peeking out from the arm of his sleeveless shirt, a small scratch on his cheek and his palm wrapped with a bandage as well.
“Are you sure it wasn’t someone trying to get the flag?” Jeongin prompted, as if trying to wrack his brain to recall anybody from his side to making it that far over to your side.
“No,” you shook your head, leaning back in your seat with a sigh as you brought your cup to your lips, “just him.”
“What? Why would he do that, though?” Jeongin hummed. You knew he was friends with Hyunjin, so his confusion was catching you even more off guard.
You shook your head, “I’d rather... not talk about it right now,” you sighed, “can you help me with this?” you turned to Jeongin, gesturing to your arm.
You missed the look Jeongin cast Hyunjin’s way, nodding at you as he stood up, probably going to get the first-aid box he kept in his cabin. Yuta cast a brief glance in your direction before letting out a snort.
“I can ​feel​ how annoyed you are,” Yuta drawled, jokingly, of course.
You drew your gaze away from Hyunjin, turning to look at Yuta, “I’m not ​annoyed,​ ” you murmured, “just... surprised.”
Yuta quirked an eyebrow at you, “pleasantly surprised?” You waved him off, “don’t get too carried away.”
Daring yourself to look back at Hyunjin, you’d surprised yourself when you noticed he was looking in your direction as well, drawing his gaze away with a certain calmness to his gesture that made you almost unable to look away. Something about it still felt so... ​unsettling​ to you.
From what you knew, Aphrodite was the goddess of love, of beauty, but what you saw from Hyunjin was a whole other side of that, beauty ​with​ a certain kind of strength you weren’t used to witnessing. An almost unassuming kind of strength, something about it only making you more curious about him. 
But after your interaction with him today, you weren’t so sure that you wanted to cause more problems for yourself. You figured if you just stayed out of his way, you would probably still be able to ensure yourself a peaceful summer. That was the ​plan​, at least.
===
What you didn’t realise was that camp half-blood was a ​lot​ smaller than you thought it was, especially with how often you were running into Hyunjin after that day.
You were on your way to The Forge, since you’d come up with a plan to forge a sword this week, feeling in need of something that suited your own tastes more. In other words, ​you were bored out of your mind.
However, on your way to the place, you’d bumped into Hyunjin as you were making your way past the mess hall, unconsciously frowning at the sight of him, making him scoff, walking beside you with that same air of elegance he always carried himself with (a contrary to you who was trying to walk faster than him in your own unspoken ​petty​ competition).
Hyunjin wasn’t sure why he was entertaining your competition, also trying to walk quicker than you, his hair bouncing lightly atop his head as he walked briskly, making you realise halfway how stupid the both of you probably looked, halting your footsteps halfway to turn to him with narrowed eyes.
“Stop,” you told him firmly, making his eyes widen, his hand raising to point a finger at himself. 
“​Me​?” Hyunjin scoffed, “you started it first.”
You opened your mouth to speak, closing it quickly, curious to why he was heading in the same direction as you, “stop following me.”
Though your question came out in a rather roundabout way, you figured that was the extent your pride allowed you to go to for now.
Hyunjin folded his arms, unsure why you were so proficient at bringing out the petty side of him, “​you​ stop following ​me,​ ” he shot back, his height making him look more intimidating despite his expression showing nothing but child-like stubbornness (similarly to yours).
“I’m not, I’m going to The Forge!”
“I’m going to the Stables!” He shot back at the same time as you, as if it were even a competition to answer first.
Hyunjin hummed,​ so you were going to The Forge.​ 
The information made Hyunjin curious as to what you were planning on making or fixing there, though he didn’t want to pursue it, still upset that the wound you inflicted on his hand made it hard for him to ride the pegasi.
Whereas you had to stop yourself from thinking about what an ​elegant​ thing riding ​pegasi​ would be, especially if it was Hyunjin doing it. 
Pushing the thought to the back of your head, you huffed, leaving him to continue on your way to the Forge, his footsteps behind you barely audible until you’d both parted ways.
And so it continued. You would alternate between joining Jeongin to do some painting or sculpting and working on your sword, yet somehow you would always manage to run into Hyunjin one way or another.
For a moment, you thought this was some sort of punishment from your father for calling him a whiny bitch​, warranting Hyunjin’s presence wherever you went.
It was either on your way to the Forge, or even when you would turn while painting to stare at the lake only to spot Hyunjin sitting at the corner of the area sculpting something with clay, it seemed as though wherever you went, misfortune in the form of a certain Aphrodite-born boy would follow.
What irked you the most wasn’t the way he would make even ​spilling paint ​look graceful, or the way his contagious laugh would echo loudly around the area, or how his silver ring would clink against the glass water jar distractingly to the beat of whatever song he was listening to as he worked. Instead, it was his ​response​ (or lack thereof) whenever you would meet eyes, how he didn’t have the same reaction everyone else did. How instead of looking away he would keep his gaze firm, yet ​gentle.​ How he didn’t seem... ​scared.​
Hyunjin knew this too, how everyone tended to stay away from Ares demigods in general due to their tendency to make people feel angry or upset and result in fights between campers, but Hyunjin was curious. ​He couldn’t help himself.​ He’d tried his powers on other Ares children before and they worked, so why were ​you​ the exception?
He was down at the Lake, his usual spot he would go to whenever he wanted to relax or clear his mind, since no one else really came here in the night, trying to clear his mind of thoughts of you, having been ​tormented ​by them for the whole day as he tried his ​charmspeak​ on different people just to make sure he wasn’t ​broken​ or anything.
Though it seemed even the lake was no exception to you, something in him feeling as though he wasn’t the only one there, and being proven right when he’d lifted his head from looking at his journal, turning to see you sitting not too far from where he was. Except this time you looked a little... ​different​.
Hyunjin wasn’t sure if it was the softness of the moonlight, but something about the way you looked now with your hands supporting your weight behind you as you looked at the water sloshing around in the lake, moving your foot right and left lazily with your hair flowing freely with the wind and a serene expression on your face. Something about it was very different from the picture of a daughter of Ares that he’d painted in his head. If he didn’t know who you were, he would never have guessed your father was the angry, aggressive, battle-driven god among the olympians, finding something about it awfully refreshing.
Hyunjin had averted his gaze quickly, his hand coming up to grasp at his neck, wincing at the pain from turning his head too quickly.
Drumming his fingers on his journal lightly, Hyunjin slid it into the pocket of his jacket, not knowing you’d already seen him when you came here. He’d contemplated on starting a conversation with you, wondering if it was worth the energy since it’d probably just end up in another petty fight between the both of you.
Deciding against it in the end, Hyunjin stood up with a small sigh, his hand coming up to run his fingers through his hair as he trudged through the sandy ground before he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket, walking past you when you’d spoken up.
“Didn’t they tell you?” you murmured, a slight teasing lilt to your tone, though it was sleepier than Hyunjin was used to hearing it.
Hyunjin turned his head to face you, his eyebrows raised in question, and a part of you just sighed at how unlucky you were that you had run into Hyunjin here too of all places.
“Tell me what?” he asked.
Hyunjin had a feeling you were about to crack a joke, with the way you tried (and failed) to contain your smile as you turned to look at him, a certain softness to your smile that came with sheer relaxation.
“You can see your reflection in the lake better in the daytime,” you grinned, making Hyunjin scoff, though he couldn’t help his amusement.
He shook his head at you, a forced laugh leaving him, “very funny, but i’m not ​Narcissus.​”
There was a small pause that fell between the both of you, your arms coming up over your head in a stretch, a small yawn leaving you. Hyunjin hadn’t left yet, making you wonder if it was because he was surprised to see you here.
“I didn’t follow you here,” you added, “if that’s what you’re wondering.” You know, ​just for good measure.
Trust you to be straightforward,​ he thought.
Hyunjin figured he’d might as well take the opportunity to tease you as well, hoping it would help him regain whatever upper hand he thought he had in the exchange.
“Yeah, ​sure,​” he drawled, turning and walking away before you could see his satisfied smile at your yelp of protest.
===
You were a little more excited than usual today, it’d been two weeks since you’d started forging your sword and today would be when you would be able to take it back and use it, the summer sun having started to set by the time you were done.
You were proud of it, frankly. It may have looked like any other sword, but the way it felt was different, it was less prone to wear during rough use as compared to your previous sword, the blade made to be sharper and sturdier. Not to mention how the handle was a perfect fit for your hand. Though you wished you’d had the power of conjuring up a weapon like some of the other children of Ares did, your powers were rather limited to just summoning your weapons and manipulating their material.
It was as if Ares knew you weren’t the ​most c​areful with your things.
You’d spotted one of the sons of Hermes, Minho, making their way into the armory as you were leaving, not bothering to greet him as you crossed paths. You knew who he was very well, and what a reputation he had for pranks in the camp, though you’d fortunately never been at the brunt of any.
But that didn’t change the fact that you were feeling just the slightest bit hesitant, at first, something almost prompting you to bring it back to the Cabin first before you went for dinner but eventually you figured it was fine. It was only for a short period of time anyway. You doubted people would want to steal swords in a place like ​this​.
Meeting your friends at the mess hall for dinner, Jeongin eyed you suspiciously when he’d caught you smiling at your soup for the fifth time that meal.
“Something good happen?” he asked, making you nod eagerly.
“Guess,” you told him, seeing his lower lip jut out in a thoughtful pout, his hand coming up to touch his chin before his eyes had widened, his smile growing.
“Jaehyun—”
“No,” you narrowed your eyes at him in warning, making him burst into giggles, his hand raising in surrender.
“Okay, fine, fine...” he hummed, “oh! You finished your sword?” he asked, earning a nod from you.
“Just finished it this afternoon, it’s in the workshop now but i’m gonna go get it later,” you told him, biting into your food with a satisfied sigh.
Jeongin made a sound of awe, his excitement written all over his features, “can I go with you? I wanna see it.”
You nodded, “yeah sure.”
“Is Yuta coming too?” he asked, earning a shake of the head from you.
“Nope,” you told him, “he’s going over to the Aphrodite cabin for some party,” a small giggle leaving you as you recalled how excited Yuta was to hang out with Ten.
“Aphrodite cabin, huh,” Jeongin snickered, making you nod knowingly.
“I know,” you sighed, bringing your cup to your lips to finish the rest of your drink.
Jeongin tossed his used tissue onto his now-empty tray, “well I’m ready to go, you?” he asked, glancing at you for confirmation.
Giving him a nod, you’d both cleared your trays and made your way out of the mess hall, though as you were on your way out, you couldn’t help but notice the stares you were getting from the other campers as you made your way past the cabins. You’d dismissed their stares quickly, thinking nothing of it until Jeongin had let out a small hum of discomfort.
“Is it just me, or...” he grimaced, clearing his throat, “are they staring?” he asked you, twisting his ring around his index finger.
You nodded, giving him a small shrug as you brushed your flyaway hairs away from your face, the wind blowing it haphazardly around.
“Thought so, but it’s alright, I mean. As far as I know we’re fine ‘cause ​Jaebum​ hasn’t summoned us anywhere yet,” you huffed, already nearing the workshop when you’d seen a small group of people gathered there, one being Minho, who was currently crouched over something you couldn’t quite see.
“What’s that?” Jeongin murmured, more to himself than anything.
You watched as Minho had slowly emerged from his crouching position, looking at you with pleading eyes and his hands waving in front of him almost as if in reassurance, a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach.
“Y/N, I can explain, I’m really sorry I don’t know what happened I was just doing my own thing and I didn’t know that I was actually—”
“What happened?” you cut him off, his rambling only making your anxiousness grow. Looking at him with confusion written all over your features, you hoped dearly that your suspicions would be proved wrong.
Jeongin watched with horror in his wide eyes as Minho had pulled out what looked like your (now cut up) sword.
Furrowing your eyebrows, you looked back at Minho You were sure your sword wasn’t as hard or brittle enough to have broken like this, you would’ve known, you’d consulted the many sons and daughters of ​Hephaestus​ that had come and gone from The Forge while you worked and researched on what would be best for your sword. You were sure ​they, t​he sons of a blacksmith of all people, extremely skilled at crafting, wouldn’t have allowed you to make a sword that could get damaged so easily.
“How... did this happen?” you asked him, oblivious to the way the people there were looking on curiously, eager to see if you would live up to the typical Ares tendencies and go into a fit of blind rage.
“I thought this was my sword and I was gonna melt it down to cut it but then I realised too late that it wasn’t mine,” he admitted, his tone sounding too remorseful for you to be more angry at him.
Now ​that,​ you could believe.
You looked back at the sword and back at him, not wanting to look at your sword any longer as you inhaled deeply, hearing someone murmur that you looked as though you could ​kill​ Minho.
Jeongin heard it too, ​felt i​t even, the sheer anticipation from the crowd that you would prove them right that the ​apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.​ They didn’t believe you were capable of controlling your temper, not when all your other siblings couldn’t. And you were glad you realised it, that if you acted on your anger right now, you wouldn’t be doing anything other than perpetuating their image of you as someone that so predictably ​craved war.​
A silence fell between you and Minho, aside from the hushed whispers and murmuring that could be heard from the other campers around you, feeling Jeongin’s hand touch your shoulder gently.
You shook your head, hoping you came across as more reassuring than wanting to kill Minho, a small murmur of an ‘okay’ leaving you before you’d turned away from him, leaving with Jeongin without another word.
Of course, your reaction came to the other campers as a shock, none of them having seen you display such an eerie calmness before. They were sure if the same thing had been done to Yuta, he wouldn’t have held back on showing just how upset he was, but you’d reacted in the least typically Ares way imaginable.
And Hyunjin thought so too.
He had been bored out of his mind waiting for the sons of ​Dionysus​ to show up with the drinks, sitting leisurely on the plush sofa in the big living room as he fiddled with his hair, glancing at the door every now and then as he pretended to be interested in whatever gossip his sisters were divulging amongst themselves.
“Did you hear?” one of them tapped on Hyunjin’s arm incessantly, making him turn to them with a bored expression, his fingers touching his ear absently as he prompted them to continue.
“Minho just had a run-in with Y/N,” she told him, her eyes beaming with excitement as though the information she shared was life-or-death, in a very ​entertainment channel​ kind of way.
Hyunjin frowned at the mention of your name, already trying to picture how that would’ve gone down, wondering if you’d pummeled Minho and had been the reason behind his absence at the party.
Well, that was until Minho had walked into the Aphrodite cabin looking absolutely unscathed, and Hyunjin decided that maybe he ​did​ want to know what happened.
“What happened?” he shifted in his seat, trying to appear nonchalant with his hand supporting the side of his head even despite his bubbling curiosity.
His sister had wasted no time in telling the story, “Minho broke Y/N’s sword because he thought it was his sword, and then when she was going to go get it he told her about it and she looked really angry​,” she told him, nodding gravely.
“You were there?” Hyunjin asked, his frown deepening, wondering for a moment what he was doing during that time.​ Probably lazing on his bed,​ he figured.
His sister’s mouth had shut quickly, her gaze darting to the ceiling, “well... no, I wasn’t, but that’s what I heard from Ten, who heard it from- okay, nevermind, the important part was that she looked angry, okay?”
Hyunjin knew about Minho’s... ​penchant​ for pranks, usually not bothering about them since they were pretty minor. But even ​he​ thought this went a little too far. ​You’d been working on that sword for what... a little more than two weeks?​ If Hyunjin were in your position, he was sure he would’ve been upset too.
“So... did she like... fight him or something?” he asked his sister, earning a shake of the head from her, which had only surprised him even more.
Hyunjin’s eyebrows raised, “really,” he mustered distractedly, glancing over at Minho who had looked absolutely unaffected, laughing at something Ten had just said.
“She just... left?” Hyunjin asked for confirmation again, not being able to wrap his head around the unpredictability of your reaction. ​Nothing about you seemed predictable to him, so far.
Maybe your offhand comments, or your skill with weaponry, ​sure,​ that was predictable, but even from that day playing capture-the-flag, Hyunjin knew there was something in you that was very much ​Ares​, and very much ​not.​
He wouldn’t have expected such a reaction from someone as strong-willed as you, but then again, as he thought more about it on his way to where Minho was, he thought that maybe he should have expected it. There was something akin to a quiet strength about your reaction, to him.
“Oh, hey,” Minho greeted Hyunjin with a nod in the kitchen as he poured himself another drink, Hyunjin letting out a deep breath he hadn’t even known he was holding.
“Why’d you do that to Y/N’s sword?” he’d asked abruptly, shocking himself with the imperative nature of his tone, and Minho didn’t mask his shock either, the boy looking at Hyunjin as if he’d grown another head.
“Look, I don’t usually give a shit about your pranks but... don’t you have to admit that was a little too much?” his tone had calmed down considerably, maintaining his calm exterior as he gave Minho a small shrug.
Minho let out a snort, nodding slowly, “dude... you know I didn’t ​actually​ destroy it, right?”
Hyunjin’s lips parted in surprise, his tongue peeking out to wet his lips as he ran his fingers through his hair again, the whole situation proving to be ​very​ unnecessary to him. It seemed, whenever it came to you Hyunjin always found himself feeling emotions he wasn’t used to feeling, things like defensiveness, annoyance, though nothing about it was unwelcome to him, strangely. That part, he had yet to figure out fully.
“Then why’d you do it?” Hyunjin wondered out loud.
Minho shrugged, “wanted to see if she was as temperamental as the rest of them. Think about it, she’s never really...​lost​ her temper like the rest of them.”
“Why do you care anyway?” Minho continued, “I didn’t recall anything about you two being friends,” Hyunjin was caught off guard by the implication.
Looking elsewhere, Hyunjin let out a small scoff, “I ​don’t,​ okay? I just... felt bad for her,” he tried to reason, “she worked hard on that sword.”
Shrugging, Hyunjin let out another huff of disbelief, removing his jacket with how stuffy it started to feel in the house.
“Whatever, why am I even explaining this to you,” he muttered, “where’d you put the actual sword?”
Minho eyed Hyunjin curiously, shaking his head with a small smile on his face as he gestured outside the house, “it’s still in the workshop.”
Sighing deeply, Hyunjin rolled his eyes at his own expense, giving Minho a firm pat on the shoulder before he left, his mind a swarm of reasons why he ​shouldn’t​ have been doing this, even stopping himself in front of The Forge to just be ​absolutely​ sure he was going to go out of his way to deliver a sword to someone he wasn’t on the best terms with.
But he did anyway, and that was what ended Hyunjin up holding your sword in its sheath and grimacing non-stop along with his annoyed mumbles on his very hesitant path towards the lake where he figured you would be.
Sure enough, Hyunjin had sighed in relief when he’d spotted you sitting at your usual spot, your knees propped up closer to your chest and your arms folded and resting upon them, your back facing him.
Shaking whatever hesitance there was left in him, Hyunjin cleared his throat, sighing when you hadn’t turned around.
You weren’t in the mood to have another bickering session with Hyunjin, as a matter of fact, already upset enough at the fact that you not only had to make another sword for yourself, but that the other campers probably just viewed you as some sort of ticking time bomb that they couldn’t wait to set off.
About to take another step towards you, you’d sighed, one of your hands going to pick at the hem of your pants, “shouldn’t you be busy shooting ​love arrows​ or something?” you huffed.
Hyunjin’s eyes widened, freezing in place behind you, “how’d you know it was me?”
You shrugged, not wanting to admit that it was the same pleasant floral scent that brought back your memory of that day playing capture-the-flag that had let you know it was him, the scent being somehow unmistakably ​Hyunjin​ that your mind seemed to have automatically associated the two together.
“And again,” he huffed, “just because Aphrodite’s my mom doesn’t mean i’m ​cupid.​” 
You hummed patronisingly, “what do you want?”
Hyunjin sighed, making his way in front of you, holding your sword out in front of you, your eyes narrowing at him as you took the sword from him slowly.
“It’s yours,” he murmured, “it wasn’t actually destroyed.”
If Hyunjin had expected to receive an appreciative expression of thanks, maybe he should’ve gone to someone else. 
You stood up abruptly, a small gasp leaving you.
“Were ​you​ the one behind all of this?” your brows furrowed in annoyance, pointing your sword at him with its sheath still on, making Hyunjin step back slightly.
Hyunjin’s eyes widened in shock, a scoff leaving him despite his hands finding their way beside his head in a gesture of surrender, “why are you getting mad at me? I didn’t do anything, I was just returning this to you,” he defended himself.
Maybe Hyunjin was just unlucky,​ he thought, if only you would have reacted this way to Minho instead of him.
“How do I know you weren’t the one that planned all of this?” you’d almost moved to jab your sword towards him, Hyunjin having anticipated your move and grabbed your sword by it’s sheath, his other hand coming to your wrist and pushing it away from him, ripping the sword from your grip and holding it over his head.
“Excuse you, I left a party just to go and get this hunk of metal and return it to you,” he narrowed his eyes at you, “and ​this​ is how you thank me?”
You frowned, confusion prominent in your features as you dropped your hands to your sides limply, “why would ​you​ do that?”
Frankly not knowing the reason either, Hyunjin opened and closed his mouth as he fumbled for an answer, tilting his chin up in defiance when he scoffed eventually.
“Fine, if you don’t want this I can just go throw it in the lake or something—”
You stopped him quickly, a yelp of protest leaving you as your hand found its way around his wrist.
Hyunjin hadn’t missed the pleading look in your eyes that flashed for just a second, his grip around your sword loosening as he let you take it back, slightly amused at the way you’d let out an annoyed huff, holding your sword protectively next to you.
“You’re so annoying,” you mumbled grumpily, “didn’t know someone that came from the goddess of love could be such a ​pain in the ass.​ ”
Hyunjin raised an eyebrow at you, something about him finding your expression akin to that of a child as you sulked, not being able to help himself from prodding you further in retaliation. 
Taking a step closer to you, Hyunjin licked his lips as he tried to think of a response, taking his lower lip between his teeth and letting it go with a slowness that had only served to heighten the tension of the silence.
“What about you, then? I’m ​sure y​ou live up to what they say about Ares children ​craving​ fights and anger, right?” You couldn’t help but feel as though he were challenging you, as if he wanted you to prove him wrong, a feeling in his gut telling him that you would. He was confident in that, (also because he kind of hoped you would).
You’d met Hyunjin’s gaze, his words seeming to have struck a chord with you, a small pause ensuing before you’d shook your head slowly, averting your gaze from him, your gaze unconsciously flickering to the sky as a brief thought had crossed your mind on whether Ares would be angry at you for saying what you were about to say.
But you didn’t think you really cared.
“I don’t... fight without reason, okay?” you cursed yourself mentally for the way your words came out as a mumble, missing the small hint of a smile playing at Hyunjin’s lips, something making you want to look up at him.
Hyunjin nodded at you, liking the answer you gave him for the first time, “good. Me too.”
You’d met his gaze, finally, the sloshing of the lake behind you and the coolness of the summer night almost drowning out your next words.
“Good,” you murmured, “let’s... not give each other a reason, then.”
Shocking you with his reaction, Hyunjin had nodded, turning away as he tried to stifle his smile, his hand coming up to run his fingers through his hair again, only to have it fall softly back against his head.
“Go,” you murmured, not being able to tolerate the tension any longer, “join back your party.”
Hyunjin quirked an eyebrow at you, though he nodded nonetheless, a strange feeling within him after the interaction you’d just shared.
Leaving without another word, you turned your sword around in your hands, thankful to Hyunjin for doing something like that for you even though you’d been nothing but unfriendly to him recently, figuring that this could have been a ​peace offering​ of some sort.
And just for a moment, you thought, maybe he wasn’t as bad as you thought he was.
===
And maybe you were right about the whole ​peace offering t​hing, since after that day, it was safe to say that Hyunjin and you hadn’t bickered like you did before, tolerating each other’s presence whenever you would both be at the lake at the same time in the night, greeting each other with curt nods when you would walk past each other.
You were having dinner at the mess hall before another game of capture-the-flag that would start at 6 o’clock. Jaehyun had found his way to your table and seated himself next to you, so you were seated in between him and Jeongin, with Chan, Yuta and another son of Ares sitting in front of you.
Hyunjin was seated next to the newer Ares kid, minding his own business as he ate his food, his sisters on his other side talking about the pegasi riding lessons as Hyunjin tried his best to pay attention to the conversation you were having.
You’d been talking about some sort of event the camp was holding in the amphitheatre soon, something like a movie night. In other words, simply an excuse for the older kids to ask for dates to watch a movie with them.
“Are you gonna ask anyone?” Chan had asked Jaehyun, making Jeongin give you a look that was a little too obvious for your liking. 
You weren’t able to see Jaehyun’s reaction, since you were seated next to him, not that you cared much about it anyway since you knew it wouldn’t have meant anything.
Choosing to keep your gaze fixed on your food, you prodded at it with your fork as you waited for Jaehyun’s response, almost sighing when he’d cleared his throat, shrugging, “dunno, I guess.”
You missed the way Hyunjin’s gaze wandered from Jaehyun to Jeongin, to you, his mind running wild with possible reasons why Jeongin looked like Jaehyun had just told a joke instead of the response he just gave.
He recalled hearing from his sister the other day that Jaehyun had broken up with his girlfriend from back home, something stirring in him when he’d considered the thought that maybe Jaehyun had his eyes set on you. Not that Hyunjin was in any position to have a problem about it, of course, Jaehyun was free to like whoever he wanted, but something in Hyunjin almost wished for a moment that the feeling in his gut would be wrong for once.
Dismissing the thought quickly, he’d averted his gaze from Jaehyun, focusing on finishing his drink instead.
You looked up briefly to cast a glare at Jeongin, thankful to Yuta who had spoken up, uninterested in the topic of who Jaehyun’s choice of date was.
“Who says we have to bring dates? Why don’t we just go as a group of friends?” Yuta shrugged, Chan letting out a small giggle in response.
“That would be cute, I don’t mind that,” he agreed, Hyunjin nodding in agreement.
“Can I join? I’d rather not let my sisters try to matchmake me again this time,” Hyunjin grimaced, making you unintentionally perk up at the mention of matchmaking, wondering who they had in mind that would be a good fit for him, running through your mental list as you continued to prod at your food.
“Oh yeah, cause you guys are like children of ​cupid​ or something, right?” the boy snickered, something about his tone striking a nerve with you.
Did he really think a god as ​unpredictable​ and destructive as ​Ares​ was any better?
You had to refrain from rolling your eyes, “​Aphrodite,” you quipped sternly, “it’s not that hard to remember.”
Jeongin had to stifle his laughter, and you continued to prod at your food, missing the small smile on Hyunjin’s face when you went back to eating as if you didn’t just say what you said.
The boy had immediately quietened down, afraid that he would warrant another chiding from you if he made another mistake, Jaehyun nudging you with an amused smile on his face.
“Go easy on the kid, he’s not familiar with how it works here yet.”
You huffed, unsure why you had felt so defensive over it as well. It wasn’t as if you hadn’t teased Hyunjin about it before. But maybe that was what irked you about the boy’s statement, how his tone sounded ​mocking​ almost, as if it wasn’t something to be proud of to be born from Aphrodite.
Sighing, you’d stood up, ready to get ready for the capture-the-flag game, turning to Jaehyun and scrunching your nose in distaste, “he’s gotta learn at some point.”
The sun was already beginning to set when you’d started the game, the sky growing darker the more the both of you made your way through the forest, keeping your footsteps as quiet as you could as Hyunjin walked with you.
Hyunjin and yourself had been on a separate path to find the other team’s flag, the both of you having been split up from the rest after being bombarded with a group of Hermes’ children.
“Should we go that way?” Hyunjin asked, pointing in the direction of the lake, making you shake your head.
“No, they probably have a bunch of Poseidon’s kids standing by there, and I don’t know about you, but I really ​don’t​ wanna end up fighting Chan.”
Hyunjin let out a small huff, halfway to a giggle, a small pause ensuing as you stepped over a branch, turning to gesture to the branch as a warning to Hyunjin, hearing him murmur a small thanks to you. Something between the both of you felt more comfortable now, less hostile definitely, but something about it still felt tense, you just couldn’t exactly place the cause of the tension.
“Can I ask you a question?” Hyunjin asked, pulling you from your thoughts, his voice soft but loud enough for you to hear.
You nodded, “what?” you prompted, turning when you’d felt a movement, relaxing when you realised it was just a dove.
“You’re not very fond of your dad, are you?” he asked, making you inhale deeply, huffing through your nose.
You turned to him with a sceptical look on your face, “are ​you?​ ” you scoffed.
“So, i’ll take that as a no?”
You paused, giving him a small nod.
Hyunjin hummed softly, reaching a hand up to push the overhanging leaf out of the way before it could hit your head without you realising.
“Can I ask why?” he hummed, his footsteps delicately treading on the ground softly in contrast with you who were simply walking normally.
You shrugged, “guess it never really felt like I ​fit​ into the ideals he wants in his children? You know? Like all that... ​destruction​ and ​aggression​ without reason, it just didn’t feel right to me,” you shrugged.
Hyunjin hummed, as if prompting you to continue, slightly distracted when he contemplated if he should offer his helmet to you since you didn’t have one.
“It felt kind of weird, to be honest, when he claimed me,” you shared, thankful that Hyunjin made you feel as though you could share these things with him without being attacked for not respecting your father. “It kind of felt like it was wrong.”
Hyunjin let out a small giggle at that, a small sound of disagreement leaving him, “I wouldn’t say totally​ wrong,” he offered, making your eyebrows raise in question, curious to hear what he had to say.
“You know, you’re strong-willed, passionate about what you want, good at combat,” he told you, making you huff in your attempt to suppress the strange feeling within you at Hyunjin’s words. Hyunjin himself felt as though such words were foreign to him, or maybe it was the intention behind the words. He wasn’t sure.
“Thanks,” you murmured softly, the way your voice had come out as a mere squeak making you scrunch your nose up in distaste.
“What about you?” you asked, hearing a confused hum leave him.
“Am I fond of my mom?”
You turned to nod at him, seeing him shrug, “yeah, I guess. I guess the only downside I can think of is how we’re not the most... ​skilled​ at combat.”
You didn’t see it, but Hyunjin had to stop himself from letting his smile grow too big, especially because he knew his words had struck a chord with you.
Your breath hitched, feeling almost guilty hearing his words, not being able to help yourself from turning to him, stopping in your tracks in the middle of the path you were on.
“Sorry,” you told him, seeing him tilt his head at you, an expectant smirk on his face. 
“For what?”
You shrugged, averting your gaze as you knocked your shield against his gently, embarrassment taking over you at the awkward gesture, “you know, for... underestimating you.”
Daring yourself to meet his gaze, you were surprised to say the least, when he’d simply smiled at you, his tongue moving to graze over his canine, “apology accepted.”
About to move forward, Hyunjin had stopped you abruptly, his hand on your wrist with urgency in the gesture, his voice dropping to a whisper, “Jaehyun.”
You wrinkled your nose in dismay, shaking your head, “probably means we’re near.”
You heard footsteps growing louder, not having expected Jaehyun to be alone, but you should’ve known he wasn’t, especially when you’d heard footsteps behind you, spotting Chan with Jaehyun, and the flag not far behind them.
“I’ll take Chan,” Hyunjin told you quicker than you could react, already wielding his sword as he proceeded to duel with Chan, while Jaehyun made his way slowly over to you, gripping his trident (a gift from Poseidon himself, he was very proud to inform whoever ) and using it to smack against the ground with small thuds as he grew closer.
“Fancy meeting you here,” he gave you a grin, his dimples showing cutely.
You rolled your eyes, not being able to stop yourself from smiling.
“Yeah, Jaebum didn’t put me on flag duty today, but I see you didn’t get so lucky?” you murmured, already pulling your sword out, the sound of Hyunjin and Chan fighting behind you making you wonder just where everyone else was, having expected them to reach the flag before you and Hyunjin could.
Jaehyun scoffed, “hey, I ​love​ flag duty.”
Already going into your ready stance, you wanted to laugh when Jaehyun had done so as well, not being able to take him very seriously from knowing him for so long.
And so you swung your sword, managing to nick him on the arm before your sword collided with his trident, though you tried to ignore the intimidating sharpness of its prongs as you continued to try your best, to dodge his swings and use your difference in size to your advantage. It was a blur to you, the whole process, like it usually was.
You figured it was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing, where you would get lost in the fighting that you wouldn’t even have time to think before you acted, your body seeming to move naturally with its one goal of getting your opponent out of the way.
Maybe you’d thank Ares for ​that​ detail.
After you realised Hyunjin had stopped fighting Chan, you’d let yourself get distracted by wondering how he’d managed to get Chan to give up so easily, giving Jaehyun the opportunity to deliver a particularly strong blow to your shoulder.
Stumbling back, your back hitting the tree behind you as Jaehyun brought his trident up, your hand grasping the spear tightly as you tried to pull it away from your neck, though Jaehyun had an advantage with his stance, holding it against your neck and caging you in place, the tip of one of the pointed ends nicking you just below your jaw when you’d moved particularly abruptly.
Hyunjin had noticed of course, but after he’d managed to get Chan to leave with his Charmspeak​, you realised he was free to go get the flag.
So when you saw him coming behind Jaehyun, you used your hand to gesture to the flag, Hyunjin thankfully having gotten the hint and making a break towards the flag, more people having gathered as Jaehyun had let go of you finally, watching with a smile as Hyunjin had claimed the flag, looking at you with a dazed smile on his face.
Jaehyun helped you up from where you leaned against the tree, “he’s pretty good, isn’t he?” you heard him say.
“Who?” you frowned.
Jaehyun nodded his head towards Hyunjin, who was gracefully accepting the praise from the other campers as he made his way towards where you were.
You huffed, nodding, “yeah,” you murmured, “sure is.”
You were too tired to join for the celebration after the game, finding your way back to the Lake. (With how much you went there, people would have thought you were a daughter of Poseidon if not for the red motifs on your attire).
Having asked Jeongin if you could meet him later on after you showered for him to help you clean up your cuts like you would both usually do, you heard soft footsteps behind you, sighing in relief that Jeongin was finally here.
Only when the smell of that distinct flowery scent had grown stronger did you realise that was definitely not Jeongin, your suspicions proven when you saw Hyunjin seat himself down next to you, his hair wet and in a new change of clothes, having freshened up as well, glancing down to see a first-aid box in his hands.
But not any first-aid box, you realised, when you spotted the little stickers on the side of the opening, ​Jeongin’s​ first-aid box.
“Hope you don’t mind, Jeongin said he had to get something done,” Hyunjin’s hands came up to pull the neck of his white shirt higher, his bracelet sliding down on his arm, “may I?” he asked, your mouth still sealed shut in your uncertainty on how to respond.
You nodded belatedly, seeing him already taking out some antiseptic cream from the box with a small cotton bud, “oh, uh, no yeah, that’s fine.”
You took the liberty of taking an ice pack from Jeongin’s box, pressing it against the area where your neck met your shoulder, sighing softly, and maybe even cursing Jaehyun in your head for practically ramming your back into that tree just now.
“I didn’t know you were still injured,” Hyunjin murmured, looking at your neck and then back down at his hands, “thought you would’ve just asked Jaehyun to heal you or something.” His voice came out in mumbles as he concentrated on getting the tube open.
Hyunjin figured with how comfortable you looked around Jaehyun that you wouldn’t have hesitated to accept his help, especially since no one liked to live with their injuries if they could help it, but Hyunjin had to dismiss the thought quickly when he started to think about how closeby the Lake was to the Poseidon cabin, wondering if that was the reason behind your constant presence here.
Pursing your lips, you shook your head, a small laugh escaping you, “I don’t really wanna do that unless it’s super serious,” you began.
Hyunjin hummed, “sorry can you like, look there a little?” he gestured to your right, making you turn to your right, side-eyeing Hyunjin at the little giggle that left him.
“No, like,” you’d tensed up when you felt his hand reach forward to tilt your chin up gently, exposing your cut better to him, wincing slightly when the cotton bud had touched your cut.
“You were saying?” Hyunjin prompted you, making you hum in confusion before realising he was referring to the whole healing thing.
You shrugged, “I don’t know, I guess when you’re a demigod and even things like healing can be done just like that, everything can become really... ​instantaneous​,” you explained, “guess it’s nice to have slow moments like these that kind of feel more like, normal and stuff,” your laughter came out in a small burst, feeling strangely embarrassed to be telling Hyunjin something that felt so stupid when it came out of your mouth.
“Scarring?” Hyunjin laughed, making you shoot him a pointed look, “I'm kidding. I get it.” he smiled, not knowing what came over him to decide to continue, “besides, if Jaehyun healed you, I wouldn’t get to be here right now,” he huffed.
You turned to him, trying to decipher what he meant by that yet at the same time feeling as if you knew, Hyunjin’s gaze fixed on your neck as he placed a small bandage over your cut there, his fingers grazing over the skin there in a way that made you freeze in place, something about his movements and gestures feeling as though they were balancing on the line between intentional and unintentional.
Hyunjin’s gaze shifted to your eyes, offering you a small (and slightly belated smile) before his gaze fell to your forearm, sucking in a sharp breath when he saw the wound, grimacing.
“I’m starting to think I should’ve let you fight Chan instead of Jaehyun,” he laughed, beginning to apply the cream with gentle touches to your arm, his neck craned over your arm, his hair falling over his eyes in a way that made you want to reach your hand out and run your hands through it to push it back, shocking yourself at your thought.
“It’s fine, it doesn’t hurt,” you assured him, making him shake his head.
“Kind of think it would’ve been more for myself than for you,” he huffed, once again confusing you with the implication behind his words.
Pulling out a medium-sized dressing for your wound, he’d pressed it against your wound, securing it before his hands returned to his lap, Hyunjin almost forgetting himself for a moment with the tension he was feeling.
“All done,” he gave you a small smile, his shoulders relaxing as a barely-audible sigh left his lips, about to put the supplies back into the first-aid box when you’d stopped him, not knowing why your body seemed to be moving against your rational thought.
Your other hand came up to take the box from his hands slowly, shaking your head at him, “you’re injured too,” you pointed out, seeing his eyes widen and his lips part, a small scoff leaving him.
“It’s nothing,” he assured you, though his tone didn’t sound very convincing, a part of him simply refusing for the sake of refusing, “you don’t have to,” he tried again, knowing once again that his charmspeak didn’t work when you’d shook your head insistently.
“It’s ​something,​” you dismissed him, though a small smile found its way onto your face as Hyunjin had wordlessly tugged the sleeve of his shirt up to expose the cut on his arm to you.
Hyunjin had to admit being in such close proximity to you was definitely making him more tense than he was used to being, especially more so now that he knew he couldn’t depend on his abilities​ to make himself seem more likeable to you. Though Hyunjin would argue that it was refreshing, since sometimes he found that he would say things offhandedly and end up using his abilities on accident, but he couldn’t lie that it made him very, ​very​ nervous.
“You came out pretty unharmed,” you murmured with an impressed hint to your tone, “considering you went against Chan.”
Hyunjin shrugged, flushing slightly, masking his shyness with an exaggerated yelp when you’d touched the cotton bud to his wound, flinching back and making you laugh.
“Don’t be dramatic, you were fine when I did it the first time,” you scoffed, seeing him calm down from his act but the smile had lingered on his face nonetheless.
“Yeah, well... I was just lucky he didn’t have a trident too.”
Hyunjin pressed his lips together in a firm line, not having noticed whatever you were doing to his arm because he was too busy looking at your face.
You couldn’t pay too much attention to it, continuing to ramble to take your mind off of how much Hyunjin’s presence made you nervous, especially with the way you could feel him looking at you.
“How did you do that, by the way?” you asked, remembering how you’d seen Chan walk away from Hyunjin halfway when they were fighting, something about the image having popped into your head when you were treating his cut.
Hyunjin raised an eyebrow, “do what?”
You touched the skin above his cut on accident, seeing him flinch back slightly, “sorry,” you gave him a sheepish smile, “I mean, you know, he just suddenly... ​left​ halfway, like he just stopped fighting you.”
Hyunjin’s lips parted in realisation, a hum of understanding leaving him, “it was uh... my charmspeak.”
The frown on your face must’ve adequately expressed your confusion, since Hyunjin continued.
“I guess you could say it’s one of the gifts from Aphrodite? That I can sort of like... hypnotize someone into doing what I want them to do.”
Your eyes widened, not having realised Hyunjin was capable of such a thing, starting to understand why Yuta had mentioned fearing their powers more than those of Poseidon’s children.
“That’s... cool,” you hummed, “I was surprised you even used it, you know, considering you were already taking him on pretty well even without the uh... hypno powers,” you waved your hands in front of your eyes for emphasis, making him wrinkle his nose, not seeming to be very convinced.
You scoffed at how modest he was being, shaking your head, “no, seriously. Jaehyun said so too,” you told him, “you’re a good fighter.”
Hyunjin pursed his lips, hoping the moonlight wouldn’t give away the heat creeping up on his cheeks, unsure why he was so flattered by your comment, especially since it wasn’t the first time he was hearing it. Maybe since it was his first time hearing ​you,​ of all people, saying it.
“Thanks,” he murmured, a small smile playing at his lips.
“You know, since Aphrodite doesn’t usually play in the war games,” you continued, “I have to admit it was kind of... nice,” you glanced at him briefly for a reaction, the slight quirk in his eyebrow making you rush to continue, “you know, not saying it was nice to fight you but like....nice to fight ​with​ you.”
“Thanks,” he murmured finally, making your shoulders relax unconsciously in your relief, “I uh, thought it was nice too.”
You pressed your lips into a firm line, taking a bandage from the first aid box and scooting closer to Hyunjin just slightly, wrapping the bandage around his arm carefully, Hyunjin’s other hand on his lap as he observed your movements carefully.
You thought about how you would’ve never expected yourself to be so comfortable with Hyunjin, figuring one thing that helped you get to this point was since you’d been spending majority of the summer around each other, thinking back to how you felt like your dislike towards him had started to dissipate after that day he’d returned you his sword. A part of you did still feel bad for not thanking him properly for that.
“Thanks, by the way,” you mumbled, “for that day, when you helped me get back my sword.”
You weren’t sure why you were feeling so drawn to him. You were supposed to be ​strong​ for crying out loud. Everything about your interactions with him had just felt so ​new t​ o you, and they did to him too (though he was better at hiding it than you were). You couldn’t understand why all Hyunjin had to do was just sit there and that was all it took to make you anxious and too nervous to look him in the eyes.
But finally, you’d mustered whatever courage you had within you to do just that, after you were done wrapping his wound up, watching silently as he brought his sleeve back down, refraining from reaching over to grasp your hand before you could withdraw it. Though once you’d met his gaze, you’d felt trapped, almost, something in you not being able to look away.
“You’re welcome,” he told you, his tone gentle and melodic, something so ​him​ that you couldn’t find a better response but to nod.
You saw his gaze flicker to your lips just briefly before looking back at your eyes, making you unknowingly do so as well, the silence between the both of you feeling almost suffocating and making you tap-out first.
Turning away quickly, you’d picked the first-aid box off of the floor, pretending to be interested in closing it as Hyunjin regained his composure, standing up and dusting off the dirt on his pants.
Hyunjin debated on helping you up, wondering if you would accept his hand if he were to offer it, his mental back-and-forth making him lose the opportunity quickly when you’d simply stood up on your own, dusting the dirt from your pants. Hyunjin pressing his lips together in a firm line to hide his disappointment at himself.
“I’ll uh... walk you back to your cabin?” he asked, earning a small nod from you.
You could still hear people nearby in the amphitheatre celebrating, thankful that they were either too drunk or too caught up in their conversations to notice you and Hyunjin walking towards the Ares cabins.
Once you’d reached, you turned to Hyunjin, giving him a small smile, and he wondered how you could look so out of place standing in front of the deep red cabin in front of him with its barbed wire perimeter and the intimidating Ares brothers that were eyeing Hyunjin suspiciously from the window, yet somehow managing to look right at home. And he was growing to like that.
“What?” you asked, a slight furrow in your brow when Hyunjin had let his gaze linger a little too long without saying anything.
Hyunjin gave you a soft smile, shaking his head as he tucked his hands into his pockets, “nothing. Bye.”
You narrowed your eyes at him, though you couldn’t help the smile from your face as well, nodding slowly, “bye.”
===
Things between you and Hyunjin after that day were... ​different​ to say the least. It’d almost been an unspoken thing for the both of you to meet at the Lake in the evening and talk about whatever it was that was in your minds before he would walk you back to the cabin.
Jaebum ​loved​ to situate himself at the front porch to ‘read’ whenever it would be time for you to come back, his knowing smile always serving to unnerve you.
Hyunjin was a good friend, you came to realise. Talking to him was different, different from talking to your Ares brothers who were so insistent on putting up a tough front all the time, (aside from those days Yuta would show up in your room wanting to watch a sad movie), or talking to Jeongin because your conversations would usually revolve around mindless things or become all too philosophical to be discussed while sober.
But Hyunjin, talking to him felt ​balanced,​ in a sense. Something about how his personality brought out a side of you that you never really paid much attention to, the part that freely loved things and appreciated the ​nowness​ of things without always anticipating what was about to happen next or what you had to prepare for. How just being at the lake with him had made your nights feel longer and allowed you to relish in it, not having to be caught up with the activities of the day when you were there with him.
You figured another reason could be because talking with him didn’t feel like he was just waiting for his turn to speak or give his opinion, it was very clear to you whenever he had those days where he’d simply wanted to listen to what was weighing on your mind and help you through that, without you having to ask him first.
And maybe it was that which warmed your heart, because as the days passed, you felt yourself starting to see Hyunjin differently. How you would find yourself looking out for him without even realising, getting the feeling of wanting to make him happy, or observing little details about him that you wouldn’t have bothered to notice about Yuta or Jeongin.
It was one particular day at the mess hall that made you realise just how in trouble you were.
You were all back on that dreaded conversation topic of the movie night, hearing that someone had tried asking Jaehyun to go with them but getting turned down instead, the information seeming to stir childish scandal amongst your friends as they all tried to tease information out of Jaehyun as to why this was so.
“C’mon, why’d you say no? It’s not as if you were gonna ask someone else, right?” Chan laughed, Hyunjin perking up when Jaehyun had laughed, rolling his eyes.
“Yeah? Says who? What if I wanted to ask Y/N?” Jaehyun gestured to you, bringing his drink to his lips nonchalantly.
You knew he was just using you as an example, but Hyunjin didn’t.
Looking at you with his eyes wide in surprise, his gaze flickered between you and Jaehyun as he tried to make sense of what was happening, something in him almost deflating at the thought that Jaehyun could have been interested in you.
You couldn’t help but glance at Hyunjin in a small panic, hoping he wouldn’t misread what Jaehyun said​. Why were you even worried about what he would think?
As calmly as you could, you let out a small scoff, “forget it, I wouldn’t go with you even if you asked,” you stuck your tongue out at Jaehyun, Hyunjin not knowing whether to take it as a joke or not, but he didn’t have much time to think about it before Chan had turned to him.
“Didn’t someone ask you too?” Chan asked, having recalled seeing one of the daughters of Poseidon approaching Hyunjin the day before when he was conducting a pegasi riding lesson at the stables.
You looked at Hyunjin with evident surprise in your features, since he’d definitely excluded that little detail when he told you about his day the previous evening, surprising yourself even further when you’d pictured the scene in your head, wondering how he would’ve reacted.
Hyunjin cast you a brief glance, meeting your eyes and averting his gaze just as quickly to fixate it on Chan, nodding with as casual a shrug as he could muster, “yeah,” he answered simply.
You couldn’t help yourself, “and?” you blurted before you could stop yourself, catching Hyunjin off guard with the expectancy of your tone.
Jeongin eyed you suspiciously, though it went ignored by you as you focused on waiting for Hyunjin’s answer, watching as he let go of the tissue he was holding in his hands, bringing his drink up to his lips, almost raising his hands in surrender (but thankfully not doing so).
“Said no,” he shrugged, taking a long sip of his drink, eyeing you for a reaction over the rim of his cup.
You nodded slowly, a short hum of understanding leaving you as you turned back to Jeongin, making eye contact with the boy who was looking at you with a look that said he definitely was going to ask you about this later.
And he did, soon enough.
Lying on your bed on his back, Jeongin was busy pulling his knee to his chest in his attempt to do some ‘​yoga in bed​’ that he’d come across online. 
“What’s up with you and Hyunjin?”
“What do you mean, ‘whats up with me and Hyunjin’?” you huffed, hoping he wouldn’t read into your flustered expression as you turned away from him, concentrating on folding your freshly done laundry.
Jeongin rolled his eyes, letting go of his leg before pulling the other one towards his chest with a small grunt, “I ​mean​, what’s going on with you and Hyunjin?” he said again, making sure to enunciate his words pointedly.
You shrugged, “nothing, we’re friends,” you told him plainly (though not plain enough to please Jeongin), “that’s what’s going on.”
Straightening his leg, Jeongin lowered it down, stretching his hands over his head with a yawn, “then what was with your face when Chan said someone asked him out?”
You let out a high-pitched hum, making a wrong fold on your shirt, “well aren’t you an observant little thing,” you cooed, re-doing the fold.
“Don’t avoid the question,” Jeongin laughed, straightening up in his seat and looking at you with wide eyes, “why are you being so weird about it?”
You sighed, bunching up your shirt in your hands as you looked at him, “I don’t know what it is, okay? It’s just that... these days whenever i’m with him I keep thinking about how nice he looks or how good his stupid flower perfume smells or how he just, I don’t know, chooses his words so well,” you frowned.
“It’s weird, like, even ​I​ think it’s weird, because I don’t usually pay attention to things like that, but suddenly when it comes to him—” you inhaled deeply, stopping yourself short as you looked at Jeongin in desperation. “If it’s not some kind of magic, I don’t know what to make of it.”
Jeongin snorted, giving you a shrug.
“I’d ​love​ to just say you’re losing it, but I heard Aphrodite kids have a reputation for that, you know?”
You frowned, standing up to make your way towards where he was, “for what?” You slumped down on your bed next to him with your arms stretched out above you, rolling over until your shoulder was against his hip, a tired sigh leaving you.
“You know, the whole like... ​love voodoo​ shit,” Jeongin prompted, your confused expression making him groan, “it’s like what you guys can do with anger and fear but they do it with pleasant​ feelings instead.”
Your frown deepened, not having realised Hyunjin was capable of doing something like that.
“I thought it was only the charmspeak?” you frowned, seeing Jeongin roll his eyes.
“You say it as if Ares only gave you guys one ability.”
You snorted, “wouldn’t have put it past him,” you shifted your body to support your head with your hand, “has it happened before?”
Jeongin hummed, nodding matter-of-factly, “yeah, ​duh.​ ”
“Then, do you think that’s what’s happening to me?” you wondered out loud, bringing your legs up to hug your knees to your chest with a sigh, trying to wrack your brain for reasons why Hyunjin would manipulate your feelings like that. ​Did he not trust you?
Giving you a shrug, Jeongin laid back on his back, “dunno, maybe you can test it out or something. See if what you’re feeling is heightened when you’re talking to him, you know?”
You hummed, nodding slowly. You still didn’t know what would compel Hyunjin to do something like that, wondering if you weren’t on as good terms as you thought you were, deciding that for now, observing him was your best bet to figuring out just exactly what he wanted from you.
Hyunjin was stressing himself out too, but not quite over the same reasons that you were.
While you were trying to come to terms with the fact that you were finding him a little ​too pleasant to be normal, Hyunjin had been trying to come to terms with the fact that Jaehyun probably found you as pleasant as he did (or something along those lines).
He’d already passed the point of figuring out whether or not he liked you.​ He knew that for sure.
Whether it was because he was more in tune with his feelings of love or just him tending to trust his feelings more, he didn’t really pinpoint a specific cause. All he knew was that he had found himself completely enamoured with you, drawn to you in ways that made him question if ​his mother​ had a hand in this.
What he was more concerned with now, was coming to terms with the fact that you may not have felt the same way.
It was in the small things, like how he would let himself read into the looks or the inside jokes that Jaehyun shared, or how he couldn’t help but feel as though you would feel more comfortable with Jaehyun judging from your conversations and how naturally they flowed. Not that his conversations with you didn’t feel natural as well, Hyunjin just couldn’t help but ​worry​.
And this was new to him, these feelings of heightened worry or anxiousness that somehow you managed to bring out in him, though Hyunjin had to say that it wasn’t that bad, because with the anxiousness, he realised just how much he liked you. But nonetheless, as previously said, he really couldn’t help but worry.
Even now (or ​especially​ now), as Hyunjin was seated behind you in the amphitheater during the movie night, watching some sort of pirated romantic movie that, if anything, only made him more anxious about you, he couldn’t help the glances he would steal at Jaehyun every now and then. As if by some unlucky stroke of fate, he would always seem to turn to look at you at a part where Jaehyun would be whispering something that would elicit a laugh from you, something about the feeling of helplessness mixed with just a ​tinge​ of jealousy making Hyunjin’s stomach churn.
But what Hyunjin didn’t know was that you weren’t actually as amused as he thought you were.
What he didn’t see, past the giggling and inside jokes, was that your leg was bouncing incessantly in your seat, how your eyes were dead fixed on the movie playing but not being able to focus on anything other than the fact that even the way the male lead dressed had reminded you of Hyunjin.
You were trying your ​best,​ to ignore the sounds of agreement or giggles that would leave Hyunjin whenever Yuta would hum about the beauty of the leads, or the way Hyunjin would lean forward every so often to ask for another handful of popcorn. And he wouldn’t just ask, he would make sure his lips were barely centimeters away from your ear and that his voice was as enchanting as it was in the forest during your first encounter with him.
And then the scent of his perfume would flood your senses and your mind would be practically yelling at you that all you had to do was just turn ​ever so slightly​ and your face would be right in front of his.
But the keyword was ​trying​.
You ​couldn’t​ ignore it, with every instance, you were growing increasingly convinced that this was just Hyunjin’s way of messing with you and manipulating your feelings for reasons unbeknownst to you.
And as time passed, you were getting ​tired​ of feeling so strongly towards him when you frankly couldn’t do anything about it (it wasn’t as if you could just turn around and kiss him ​now,​ that would be too much implication and too little reasonable explanation on your part).
But your tipping point was a particularly tense scene in the movie when the lead couple had shared a moment, looking into each other's eyes and the male lead saying something stupid that you couldn’t bring yourself to remember, before sharing a deep kiss.
And of all moments, Hyunjin had chosen ​that​ moment to lean forward for what you felt was the thousandth time, “Y/N,” he whispered, “can I have the—”
You shoved the popcorn box behind you into his hands, a deep sigh leaving you, “here. Take it.”
Jeongin shared a look with Hyunjin, the younger boy’s hand coming up to stifle his smile when you stood up abruptly, deciding that what would do you good right now is some fresh air, or just... air where you could focus on anything ​other​ than Hyunjin.
Your sudden decision had caught Hyunjin off guard, frowning at you in confusion when you declared that you ‘needed some air’, stalking off in what Hyunjin assumed was the direction of the lake.
Turning to Jeongin, Hyunjin was about to speak when Jeongin had beat him to it, a definitive ‘yes’ leaving him.
Yuta let out a chuckle when Hyunjin had only looked more confused. 
“‘Yes’ what?”
Jaehyun turned to cast a knowing smile towards Hyunjin, making him even more confused to begin to process it.
“I’m guessing you wanted to ask where Y/N was going, but then I think you already know the answer to that,” Yuta pressed his lips together in a poor attempt to contain his smile.
“So, the next question would be whether to go after her, and my answer is yes,” Jeongin finished simply, Hyunjin’s lips parting and closing.
Scoffing, Hyunjin shook his head, “who said I was gonna ask about her?” he folded his arms, even though he had already begun to stand up, making Jeongin giggle.
Jeongin brought his hand up to shove Hyunjin out of the way, “dude, just go. You’re gonna make me miss the rest of this movie.”
===
You were sitting down closer to the water, thankful for the sound of the rushing water that managed to soothe you, running your fingers through your hair in a half-hearted attempt to tame it from being blown about by the breeze, giving up at one point and simply huffing, staring at the rocks as though it would give you an answer to why you were so riled up.
But what irked you even more was that even here, you seemed to be so wrapped up in your thoughts of Hyunjin that you swore you could smell that same flowery scent even here. Cursing him mentally that whatever love voodoo he was doing was strong enough to make you think of him even when you were trying everything in your power ​not to.
Well, that was until you heard someone clear their throat gently behind you, a soft, “hey,” leaving them.
So the flowery scent was real.
You huffed in annoyance, “whatever you’re doing, you have to stop it now.”
Hyunjin frowned, making his way closer to you, “I’m not ​doing​ anything,” he told you, standing in front of you now, crouching into a squat so he could be at eye-level with you.
“Don’t play dumb, just ​undo​ it,” you tried again, not understanding how even when you wanted to be annoyed at him now, you couldn’t help but find the confusion on his face more than just a little endearing, your gaze softening for just a brief moment when you caught a good look at his face.
Hyunjin shook his head, his hands coming up beside his head in surrender, “I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” he insisted, making you groan.
“Jeongin told me, okay? That you and the other Aphrodite children can manipulate feelings of love, I need you to stop making me feel like this,” you told him plainly, your eyes searching his face in desperation hoping that he would at least take pity on you and stop playing dumb.
Hyunjin’s eyes widened, his forehead creasing slightly when he frowned, “that’s... not possible.” 
You scoffed, seeing him rest one of his knees on the ground to balance himself, “what do you mean it’s ‘​not possible​’? Of course it’s possible, if you can do it, you can undo it, right?”
Hyunjin wanted to laugh, a small exasperated scoff leaving him, unsure what to make of this entire situation, “​I mean,” ​he struggled to contain his amusement, having passed the point of exasperation, “it’s not possible because it ​doesn’t work​ on you.”
Your frown had deepened, your lower lip unknowingly forming a pout as your eyes searched his expression for any sign that he may have been joking.
“Doesn’t work?” you panicked, unsure what to make of his words, “That doesn’t make sense, what do you mean it ​doesn’t work​? How can it n​ot w​ork?” your lips parted in confusion, Hyunjin getting tired of squatting and sitting before you instead.
Hyunjin couldn’t help but smile, shaking his head, “I’m just as confused as you, okay? I really don’t know, maybe Ares gave you a thick skull too,” he raised his hands in defence, a small bout of laughter leaving him, seemingly satisfied with his own joke.
Scoffing, you folded your arms, a small silence ensuing, somehow not being able to wrap your head around your newfound information, “explain.”
Hyunjin tilted his head at you, his elbow on his knee to support his head as he looked at you with an expression you couldn’t place, “do you remember? That first day we played capture-the-flag and I told you to pick up the flag?”
You nodded, remembering that moment very well, how firm his gaze was, how sweet his tone sounded, how his proximity made you feel as though you couldn’t move, “I remember.”
“That was me trying to use my ​charmspeak​ on you, and ​failing​.”
You remembered the confusion you felt when he’d asked you to pick up the flag, your annoyance overpowering you and possibly being the reason why his abilities hadn’t worked.
“Ever since then, I realised it was ​never​ going to work on you,” he murmured, “and believe me, I would’ve known if it did. Which is why i’m telling you now,” he told you, his pace slowing down as his gaze stayed intent, enunciating his words clearly for you to hear.
Hyunjin leaned closer to you, taking his lower lip between his teeth with a small pause before letting it go, his lips curving into a small smile, “that whatever you want me to undo, I ​can’t​ undo it.”
Only then did you realise the gravity of the situation, that whatever you were feeling towards Hyunjin was all coming from you, and that as much as you should’ve known, you still couldn’t help the wave of relief that washed over you at the knowledge that it was ​real.
Hyunjin had taken in a deep breath before you, patiently giving you the time you needed to process whatever he’d told you, amused at the fact that you looked as though you wanted to hide.
“I don’t really... know how to explain this to you,” you admitted, seeing Hyunjin bring his hand up to cover his mouth, stifling his smile while trying to maintain a serious expression.
Hyunjin shook his head, “you can explain it however you want, you can ​not​ explain it too, if you want.”
You frowned, figuring he’d probably felt embarrassed for you, standing up and pressing your lips tightly into a firm line, a silent way of telling him that you’d wanted to leave, Hyunjin giving you an understanding nod.
Deciding that you just needed to regain your composure, you nodded, giving him an apologetic smile before you left.
===
You’d obviously consulted Jeongin in the time between that and your next meeting, the said boy claiming that he would never have seen it coming if you’d asked him a month before. Though he was no less supportive, the other daughters of Ares seemed to agree with him as well, all of them singing praises to you about Hyunjin and why you shouldn’t ‘miss this opportunity’.
Which was what ended you up at the Lake again that night, hugging your jacket closer to yourself to protect yourself against the cold breeze.
Staring at Hyunjin’s back, you took a deep breath as you made your way towards where he was seated at your usual spot, dressed in a simple shirt and sweatpants, not looking bothered at all by the cold.
“Hey,” he murmured, hearing the soft crunching of the pebbles under your shoes growing louder, a small smile on his face as you took a seat next to him, something about him not feeling as nervous as he’d expected himself to be.
Mustering a small hum in reply, you gulped, taking in a deep breath as you thought of where to start.
“Had a good day today?” you started, missing the way Hyunjin had quirked an eyebrow at you in his amusement.
He nodded, “average. Didn’t see you at dinner,” he mentioned, turning his head to look at you, silently questioning your sudden politeness.
“Yeah... wasn’t hungry. Was with Jaehyun and Jeongin at the arena.”
At the mention of Jaehyun, Hyunjin pursed his lips, his smile slowly disappearing as he nodded slowly in understanding.
“Does he like you?” he blurted abruptly, his words making your eyes widen. Once again, Hyunjin found himself ​wishing​ that Aphrodite would give him more confidence for once, especially in a time like this.
You shook your head, his words having shocked you into laughter, “oh, no, he doesn’t. He’s dating someone back home.”
“Really? But I heard from one of my sisters that—” 
You couldn’t help the laugh that escaped you, “your sisters? I heard it from Jaehyun himself. Trust me. He’s not interested.” 
Hyunjin had visibly relaxed, “oh...” his tongue peeked out to wet his lips, “good.” 
Turning to him, you’d raised an eyebrow at him, “good?”
He nodded, a small huff of laughter escaping him, “yeah, good. Honestly, I don’t think I'd stand a chance if he was involved.”
“What makes you say that?” you couldn’t help but laugh, in disbelief that he sounded almost threatened​ by Jaehyun.
Shrugging, Hyunjin shifted in his seat, bringing his hands behind him to support his weight, “you know, ​everybody​ loves him.”
You had to refrain from scoffing, “I think everyone loves ​you ​too.”
Hyunjin didn’t bother stopping himself, saying the first thing that had come to mind. 
“Including you?” ​Maybe Aphrodite heard him.
Your head whipped around to look at him, lips parting in shock as you met his gaze again, something about it exuding a kind of certainty that you weren’t used to being on the receiving end of, something about the fact that it was coming from Hyunjin making a warmth spread through your chest, once again reminding you that as delicate as the thought of Aphrodite was, Hyunjin never failed to show you that where there was beauty, there also came a lot of ​strength​.
You gave him a firm nod.
“Including me.”
A smile played at Hyunjin’s lips, “I’m glad you decided to meet me here.”
You huffed, “I had to,” you told him, “I had so many things I wanted to say to you, but now that i’m here it’s like... nothings coming to my head.”
Hyunjin’s smile grew, and it was such a ​Hyunjin​ thing to see. How he didn’t bother to contain his happiness, especially now, “what about you say the first thing that comes to your mind right now?”
You didn’t hesitate.
“I would say I’m thankful that whatever i’m feeling isn’t just because of magic,” you averted your gaze briefly, daring yourself to hold his gaze no matter how foreign your words felt as they left your lips, “because it’s the first time it’s ever felt so... you know, ​real.​ ”
Hyunjin nodded, “I know i’m supposed to be like... ​familiar​ with love and everything but,” Hyunjin paused, finding his gaze lingering on your lips a little too long.
“Me too,” he finished.
You knew you weren’t hallucinating when you’d seen Hyunjin leaning closer to you, his hand behind him supporting his weight as he drew closer to you, your eyes slowly closing as Hyunjin’s lips were barely next to yours, being able to feel his breath just ghosting over your lips, something about it almost sending shivers down your spine.
Your heart wasn’t beating fast, your chest didn’t feel tight, this wasn’t like anything you were used to reading about it novels or witnessing in movies, or even hearing from your friends, no. Something about this moment had felt so ​comforting​, that with each second it had only managed to draw you in even more.
“May I?” his voice came out as barely above a whisper, your breath hitching at the way you’d felt as though you were hanging from a string, the anxiety from not having done this before but the urge to just go ahead with it because it had felt so ​natural​.
And soon enough, you’d felt his lips press gently against yours, sighing a breath you hadn’t realised you were holding as you let yourself follow his lead, feeling his hand move to touch the side of your head gently, the warmth from his hand flooding into your cheeks as you felt his hair brushing against your forehead with a featherlike pressure. It was as if every tiny detail was making itself known to you with the sole purpose of making you feel as if you were in some sort of perfect situation.
Almost deepening the kiss, Hyunjin stopped himself, pulling away almost reluctantly as his thumb grazed over your lower lip gently, his eyes looking dazed and unlike anything you’d seen before.
Feeling breathless and hazy, Hyunjin had let out a small huff, a smile making itself known on his face as he caressed your cheek softly, pressing another soft kiss to your lips, standing up as if nothing had happened, though you didn’t miss the way how this time he’d held a hand out for you to take.
Accepting his hand, he helped you up, but he hadn’t let go. Instead, he’d stepped just slightly closer to you, interlocking his fingers with yours as he turned to give you a smile, his eyes forming cute crescents and exuding pure relaxed happiness, something you were glad to have grown so accustomed to seeing ​and​ experiencing with him.
“What?” you asked, not being able to help yourself from feeling shy under his gaze. 
“Walk you back to your cabin?”
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sanchoyo · 3 years
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danny phantom season 2, eps 1-5 thoughts! opening the new season with episodes like these kinda blew me away. we had multiple serious episodes INCLUDING a two parter!! also, valerie :)
see prev episode thoughts in this tag <3
-I don't know what I expected s2 to open with. but danny portal incident in more detail was not it. (also, I hate to break it to you, sam, but danny's parent's bigass ghost hunting rv def chugs more gas than those vehicles, lmao. unless it runs on ectoplasm or something...)
-WHY WAS DESIREE IN THE SEWER? HAVING TEA WITH IT DOWN THERE?? Her making the giant cow come alive is a boss move, we've almost had all of my fav animals as ghosts now <3 I also don't like how sam was expecting danny to just, haunt the place so the cars wouldn't get sold? I KNOWWW I know she's 14 (and I had a very annoying phase like this, I think I mentioned in a previous post, I GET IT) but they're HIS powers, and messing with (1) dealership will not really put a dent in sales overall because they can just move the cars to another sales lot, and it certainly wont change the industry anyway, it's more of a minor annoyance for (1) location. Also, usually people who work at car sales places work on commission, so if they dont make a sale, they don't have money to pay bills, or eat. sam baby if u wanna be an activist you need to like, actually look into these things. with as much money as her parents have, she could be doing a lot..more useful things for causes she cares about? it's frustrating to see someone with resources who doesn't know how to use them. but shes 14 so again. cannot be really upset :/
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-IS THIS A PREDATOR VS TERMINATOR VS FREDDY KRUEGER MOVIE BUT THEYRE ALL WOMEN?? you know, sam is so right to be excited about this. /I/ want to see this movie. that rules
-paulina inviting danny and friends to her quinceañera, aw! even if it is just to get phantom to show up :') and there'll be a meteor shower, and we KNOW danny wants to be an astronaut!! there's not a meteor shower every night!! the tickets are non-refundable, but..she's rich? like. gotta agree with danny, they never get invited!! I KNOW it's the principle of keeping promises, but if she was that upset, she should've said something. directly. I hated how she was like, passive aggressive about it through the episode, like you SAID IT WAS FINE, THAT YOU'D GO TO THE PARTY TOO. MOVIES SHOW FOR A FEW WEEKS IN THEATERS. IF YOU HAD A REAL PROBLEM YOU NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT. WE'VE HAD THIS PROBLEM BEFORE, SAM. YOUR FRIENDS. ARE NOT. MIND READERS.
-MR. LANCER GOING AFTER THE GHOST WITH THE FIRE EXTINGISHER LMAO
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-this outfit is everything . anytime the show does an over the top cutesty pink outfit i WANT IT. it looks like shit I wear JKASDHF I HAVE a bow like that and a pink sweater. I need leg warmers </3
-SAMS GOTTA RE-HALF-KILL HIM??? thats fucked up. but also, he finally got his logo!! it took until s2!!! this episode was lowkey very fucked and I felt like it glossed over a lot. does sam have guilt about like. kinda KILLING HIM?? I know, he also agreed and walked into the portal. but. she made the choice to redo it SO quickly (even if it was because someone had to beat desiree) and danny, during their fight, brought up a lot of stuff sam's done in the past, meaning he was holding onto those memories and resentment was building. (I KEEP SAYING HE LOWKEY NEEDS THERAPY, BUT I THINK MOST EVERYONE IN THIS SHOW KINDA DOES) which...is a red flag? and then they didnt even GO to the party URGH I know she tried to make up for it, but it really felt like Sam fucked up and barely faced any consequences and got everything she wanted in the end. I KNOW it's a kids show obv they aren't going to go too in depth, and she undid the damage, kinda, but...I DUNNO how to articulate it but it rubbed me the wrong way.
-but on a note about desiree, her powers of wishes were STRONG ENOUGH TO ERASE NOT JUST THEIR MEMORIES, BUT DANNY'S POWERS?! fuck, if I was danny I'd be like, trying to make friends with her. I know they always have horrible side effects as most genie-granted wishes do, but...c'mon, I'd at least TRY to be like 'I wish no ghosts would hurt anyone in my town' or 'I wish vlad would lose his ghost powers forever no matter What and also forget about my mom' LIKE. SHIT DESIREE IS SO POWERFUL. rewriting reality powerful, basically!! appreciate her. respect her.
-aww, sam helping tucker pass the nurse's office so he wouldn't see because he's afraid of medical stuff? very sweet. I also don't like medical stuff, I've gotten a lot better at handling it tho. but seeing blood and needles still makes me feel lightheaded x_x
-FOLEY, BY TUCKER FOLEY. I want to make my own perfume, that's so cool. even if his first attempt isn't good, he's pretty consistently shown to have an inventor/entrepreneur streak in the show, so like. I can see him inventing or making something (or several somethings) that make him $$$ when he grows up :) proud of my creative son
-I know the 'creepy abandoned hospital on the edge of town' is a joke and the creepy hospital trope is so Worn Out, but in my town we actually DO have a hospital like that! my dad was born in it, but its not in use and hasn't been for, like, 20 years! it needs to be torn down but I think the city doesn't wanna pay the money. the inside is horrible, spray painted and broken glass and shit everywhere. but there's still like, rusty equipment and fucking DOLLS all over the place. the cops drive by it pretty frequently to make sure no one is like, breaking in. (because of water damage, some of the areas really aren't safe. also, asbestos, but people still go in anyway) but also, some of my town was used in a filming for a stephen king show. So it's lowkey spooky all over. just a fun personal tidbit :) to lead into saying, any hospital abandoned for any period of time is NOT safe to quarantine these kids in JKSAHDKF like I KNOW it's a ghost trying to do this, but NONE of these parents are even like, 'well, why dont we keep them in the regular, working hospital'....YIKES. this hospital looks pretty accurate to the one in town. grungy and spooky.
-fentons are tax evaders confirmed by jack's fear of being audited, lol no one is surprised
-ghost sickness via ghost bugs. horrifying concept. I actually expected it to be a new villain, not dr. spectra again! this is a very elaborate scheme. her new form rules, love the new costume. the way none of the bg kids seem to recognize her as their old school councilor. did we just forget about that completely?
-dash watching romance movies in the fucked up ghost hospital. same.
-'oh please, you're ghosts, do you have any idea what YOU smell like?' no, tucker, what DO ghosts smell like? I genuinely didn't know they would even have a smell, I actually want to know now.
-it feels like a while since we've seen jazz!! i was happy to see her again, even if she was a head in a jar for most the episode. I want another jazz-focused ep!!
-we finally see danny doing space-related stuff!! him and his friends stargazing to open ep 3 of s2. cute :) until, GHOST PIRATES!!!!! ...ghost pirate captain is a small child?? VOICED BY TAYLOR LAUTNER???
-oh, the easy listening is ember's song instrumental slowed. 'vapor drone' THEY VAPORWAVED HER!!! ember in a pirate outfit tho >>>>. and the cruise being called m.bersback JKASDHJK. ember adopting a little pirate brother is also pretty cute. concerning this teen and little kid have such bad opinions of adults, like, who hurt you?? (how did you DIE ALSO?? im always lowkey curious about that. we know desiree died at an old age, but her ghost form is young, probably mid-20s, so I wonder how that sort of thing works...its a more mental thing, isn't it?) but ghost team-ups are always cool to see, even if ember bailed after danny took her guitar. I guess she probably thinks youngblood can handle it (which, he's been owning danny this far in the ep, so...fair)
-tucker got that sponsorship from nasty burger for their radio!!! again, opportunistic money maker king, love to see it!!!
-danny taking control of the kids SO FAST. he makes a pretty great leader. no one is surprised, im pretty sure I said I think he's the most mature of the trio, once again, correct, because he's taken on so much responsibility already. all the teens suiting up in the jumpsuits to go save the adults and taking the ship over with a BLIMP. OKAY LETS GO. this feels like it should be a mid finale or straight up finale.
-...speaking of finales. why is ep 4-5 of s2 combined into a 50 minute episode? I havent even clicked play and im concerned. weird placement, like, this season JUST started and we're getting a two parter? okay...why are the episodes placed like this? why not put this at episode 10 or something, for a mid-season thing?
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-this is also a cute dress. possibly my fav dress so far. can her parents give ME cute dresses, I'LL wear them.
-it turns out the castle fright knight was in is called pariah's keep and there's something worse than fright knight in there! lovely! fuck off vlad wtf are you doing <3 your hubris <3 is going to literally get you killed <3 'ring of rage' and 'crown of fire' are great names tho. ...vlad turning into a super polite guy when he was scared of mr. pariah was hilarious. and fright knight doing the same...I mean, it makes sense, he's a knight, he serves a king? happy to see fright knight again either way :) vlad telling him to call him tho, lmfao. you WISH HE WOULD. (I wish hed call me, too. 😔)
-so...jack being genuinely concerned about vlad...maddie really didn't tell him what happened at the cabin, did she. damn. if I was her id immediately come home and be like 'YOU WONT BELIEVE THIS SHITTTT THIS CREEPY GUY--' like, I feel like that stuff you need to tell your partner!!! I know she didnt want Jack to think she was an irresponsible parent putting danny in danger at that time, but STILLLL. maddie spilling boiling tea on him. get his ass. how is jack this oblivious to his wife's discomfort with vlad!! ughhh
-fenton wipe (tm). trademarked toilet paper.
-DANNY AND VALERIE BEING FRIENDS??? :D that was a cute moment. 'hey val <3' and 'if you like him like him, make a move, or someone else will ;)' at sam...damn!! I love her. valerie go for it girl!!! I hate how sam and tucker treat val also, like I GET IT YOURE PROTECTIVE AND DONT TRUST but if anything him befriending valerie will help when she finds out or he tells her like I feel like she'll be more understanding that they think! ALSO I feel like her reason for not liking ghosts is valid, like you haven't really explained the full story to her anyway! she doesn't seem to have any other friends after being booted from the a-listers so im like :( but seeing them kick butt together again was nice <3
-the ghosts all RUNNING FROM PARIAH DARK IS NOT GOOD, I thought he sent them to attack or something, but no. why doesn't someone just tell desiree 'hey i wish pariah dark would die' lol. once again I think she can solve every problem <3 but seeing all the enemies in one place, being civil and hiding together? love it.
-you just know danny's gonna have to clean up vlad's stupid mess. also, jack being willing to put on the ectoskeleton pants to help maddie, as soon as vlad heard it could kill him, he suggested jack do it instead of helping maddie himself? this is why jack got the girl, my man.
-ghost skeletons. how do you end up as a skeleton ghost in your afterlife instead of a humanoid like most the ones we've seen? lmao
-the ghosts just making new homes in various stores. I'd totally be setting up in an expensive clothing store if I was a ghost.
-valerie's dad is possibly the most useful adult so far, with that ghost shield expansion!!! and valerie saving vlad and danny, even tho shes been thru it already, shes still so good!!! this family rules.
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-danny: *gently caresses valerie* :)
-*then he immediately TELLS HER DAD ON HER. and his first response is 'are you okay?' :'( such a good dad...
-*me every time fright knight breathes* youre doing SO great sweetie :)
-the fenton suit thing is so silly looking. does anyone take this thing seriously
-ALL THE GHOSTS FIGHTING WITH DANNY <3 AAAAA. and the fact that pariah isn't perma-defeated, but just locked away again. yikes. he'll probably get out again, won't he? it wasn't too clear, but if vlad DID make a pact with fright knight, I am rabid. I will beat vlad to death with the fenton bat (tm). YOU DONT DESERVE A COOL KNIGHT.
-valerie being direct with sam and challenging her? kinda love that, even tho I normally don't like 'catfight' type situations. because sam has been very passive aggressive about it which is annoying. valerie knows wtf she wants and wasn't even embarrassed to tell sam, but she did tell her, giving sam time to make her own move! and sam denied it and got embarrassed/mad! and sam did have a chance when danny was about to go off and fight, and she hesitated and didn't tell him. I feel like she's hesitating because they're friends and it might make it weird between the trio (poor tucker would be third-wheeling) but if u snooze u lose, u gotta GO after what u WANT girl. smh this is a No Tsundere Zone. 😤
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ddullahan · 4 years
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Here's a prompt I've been thinking about writing but never will Ruby finds that whenever she checks out a book from the library its been checked out before by a W.Schnee as well. Like every book she chooses. So she's suuuper curious as to what type of person she is. She thinks theyre really similar because they have the same tastes in books.And they meet and she finds out that Weiss is nothing like her at all.And cute shit happens? Idk I didn't think this through 😂
BRUH WHAT THIS IS SO FUCKING CUTE I went ham on this lmao thank you so much for the prompt idea!! I picture Ruby and Weiss in their twenties in this as a PSA lol ---------- The library was solemn that afternoon. Ruby wandered the stacks, breathing in the paper and leather from the shelves around her. The tips of her fingers skimmed the spines, silver eyes drifting over with no real clarity behind them. She pulled a book free from the shelf with the title The Beast of Vale, automatically flipping it open and skimming the inside cover. Someone sneezed with the force of a gunshot in the distance and Ruby nearly dropped the book, a flustered apology whispered out of sight. She recovered with a soft giggle, tucking it under her arm. Arching up onto her toes to glance at the other covers, there was a second sneeze and another hasty apology. Ruby bit her lip to stifle another laugh, pulling a second book free, Dust Below Dawn, and set to reading the inside cover. She pinched that to her side too, reaching for a third book - and a third sneeze rocketed through the quiet library. She heard a soft swear nearby and shuffled her books into her hands, curiosity pricking at her skin. She slunk to the end of the aisle, poking her head around the corner. “Bless y-” She choked off mid-sentence, her eyes widening. The woman seated amongst the thick red leather couches was far too pretty to be real. Stark white hair draped over her shoulders in silk waves, braided at the temples and leaving the rest to fall loose. White bangs framed her brow, partially covering a thick pale scar over her left eye. Most of her face was covered by a pale blue handkerchief furiously rubbing at her nose, but Ruby could still catch the gem blue eyes squinted against the pressure. They matched the dark and light blues of her three piece suit and matching heels. She had a sleek looking laptop on the coffee table in front of her, a lipstick stained coffee cup set beside it. Accompanying the laptop were several blue-bound books stacked as far away from her as possible, without the threat of them falling off the small table. The woman sniffed daintily, catching Ruby’s movement and hastily folding her handkerchief back into her inside pocket. “Oh -” “Oh um -” Ruby stammered at the same time, nearly jumping out of her skin as those blue eyes focused completely on her. “Did I -” “Bless you!” Ruby blurted out in a panic. The woman paused, blinking at her. “...Thank you..?” “You’re pretty - Welcome!” Ruby squeaked, her heart pounding so hard she was sure she could feel it through the books clutched to her chest. “You’re pretty welcome. Yep.”    An almost invisible smile pitched the corners of the woman’s eyes, amusement coloring her tone. “Pretty welcome. That’s a new one.” Ruby flushed red to the tips of her ears, a clumsy little laugh bursting from her, unchecked. “Well I’m uh, a new one. New-new person, I mean. We’ve never met before. So I’m new. To you.” The working percentage of her brain immediately wished to crawl into a hole and never come out again. Thankfully, her flustering seemed to amuse the woman further, prompting a light, stuttering laugh from her red lips. Ruby was surprised with herself, amazed she was still standing beyond the force of that smile. “You are.” The woman said evenly. Ruby immediately wished she’d worn something nicer to the library, as the weight of those blue eyes skimmed over her attire. Big black boots and black rose stockings lead up to a simple short black dress cinched at the waist and deep red cardigan thrown haphazardly over her shoulders, the tattered ends reaching down to her ankles. The soft red sleeves were pushed up her forearms, black bracelets around her wrists and a simple black choker wrapped around her throat. She didn’t bother with make-up that day, and she bemoaned it silently. “S-so um.” She shifted awkwardly, the woman’s eyes snapped up to hers immediately, the words sticking in her throat. She swallowed and tried again, clutching her books tighter for sanity. “A-are you um. Okay? Those were some pretty powerful sneezes.” The woman’s spine stiffened a little, crossing her legs at the knee. Her hands folded over on her lap. One of her heels drifted a little loose, cruxed at the ball of her foot. She had the presence of someone three times her actual size and Ruby could only watch the transformation in awe. “I’m fine, thank you for your concern. It seems I’m mildly allergic to the dust in these books. And not the useful kind.” Her lips pursed in the semblance of a frown. “Oh, that’s tragic.” Ruby flushed back up her eyes. “I-I mean, not tragic tragic. Just, um. It sucks you can’t smell the paper without sneezing.” “Yes I...thought the same.” She tilted her head, a few strands of her hair curling over the sharp line of her shoulder. Ruby wondered absently if meeting someone gorgeous was supposed to feel like dying. “Have you read those books before?” “These?” Ruby looked down at the books in her hands like she’d forgotten they were there. Honestly it was hard to remember anything now that she could breathe. “Uh no, not yet. I was planning to check them out though.” “Dust Below Dawn is enjoyable, as long as you don’t mind egregious prose and flowery alliterations.” The woman hummed, her spine relaxing as she reached for her coffee cup. Ruby tried not to stare too hard as her pale throat bobbed with a sip. “Wow, words.” Ruby murmured under her breath, shell-shocked that she’d missed her entire sentence. “Alternatively,” The woman continued, either ignoring or missing Ruby’s lack of attention, “The Beast of Vale is a masterwork. The author spent a dangerous amount of months near Mount Glenn just researching the properties of the city and grimm surrounding.” Ruby snapped out of her daze, glancing down at her copy of The Beast of Vale in wonder. Her feet were moving before she even realised it, cardigan sweeping out in a flutter behind her as she dropped into the opposing red couch. She leaned over the books now relocated to her lap, leaning forward eagerly. “Wow so you’ve read both of these before?” It was only after a beat of silence that Ruby realised how pink the other woman’s cheeks were, how wide her eyes had grown. “I- well yes. I wouldn’t know anything about them if I had no interest.” “Do you research the authors of all the books you read?” Ruby asked curiously. “Only the ones I care deeply for. I like knowing the process involved.” “That’s super neat!” The woman blinked like she’d just been blindsided. “Thank you?” “On a scale of one through ten, what would you rate Dust Below Dawn?” Ruby bulldozed on through the conversation, gaining confidence now. “Six.” The woman replied, almost startled by her own quick response. “The Beast of Vale?” “Nine.” “Okay okay, how about - are these books yours too?” Ruby prodded the small stack closest to her, careful not to jostle the stained coffee cup. “They are.” “Have you read them already?” “...Yes.” The woman’s flush crawled higher on her cheeks, her sharp scar imperious amongst the pink. “Okay,” Ruby flipped the top book over, skimming the title. “What would you rate - oh hey, I’ve read this one! What would you rate Atlas Knights?” “Ugh, two.” The woman wrinkled her nose. “I read it faster because I wanted it over with. The main character was unbelievably whiny.” “I dunno, I was under the impression she had a hard time expressing herself.” Ruby hummed, flipping the cover over to the library checkout slip.  She found her name, R. Rose, and another below hers, W. Schnee. A bit of recognition itched at the back of her mind. The woman scoffed. “Well what rating would you give it?” Ruby’s attention switched on a dime. “Mm… probably a five.” Ruby frowned. “The world was cool. But if the main character had a hard time expressing herself, the author also didn’t give her a chance to be better. It’s like, she’s saved by her knight, but still a brat. The other characters all know she’s a brat, but none of them talk to her about it. She isn’t given a chance to be a person, she’s just given a flaw and stuck with it for the entire story.” The woman hummed in reticent agreement, reaching for her coffee again. Ruby pointedly didn’t watch this time, sliding the book aside to look at the one underneath. She made a little curious hum under her breath. “I’ve read this one too. What did you think about Song of Ice and Rust?” “Probably rated a seven or eight. I enjoyed the twist immensely.” Ruby looked up at her with a bright grin, heart thundering uncomfortably in her throat. “It was so good, wasn’t it!?” She received a small but genuine smile for her enthusiasm. It made her feel like she could fly to the rafters. “The dragon really sold it for me, I wasn’t expecting it to be the ancient king.” “Gods I read that and almost screamed - it was like three in the morning though so I had to contain myself.” “That must have been hard for you.” The woman said with false sympathy, though her smile remained curled. “Hey! I’ll have you know Miss -” Ruby glanced on the inside of the cover, finding again her name and the same W. Schnee underneath. “Schnee, I’m perfectly capable of containing myself.” “This conversation has proved otherwise.” She replied smoothly, though a bit of stiffness had returned to her spine. Her gaze seemed to be searching for something, but Ruby wasn’t really sure what it was she wanted. Shrugging it off, she moved on to the last book on the table, a small frown gracing her face. “Man this is so weird, I’ve literally read all of these.” Ruby said, tilting her head curiously. “We must have similar tastes in literature.” “We must…” Ruby squinted at the inside of the cover, spotting the same W. Schnee below her name. Something itched at the back of her mind again. She dropped the cover closed, swinging open Dust Till Dawn’s cover. There was the same simple cursive of W. Schnee. “Have you read The Nevermore’s Quarry?” Ruby asked, suddenly, looking up at her. She knew full well that book wasn’t anywhere near their little table. The woman blinked, leaning forward curiously. “Yes, I have. How did you-?” “The Harbinger Sons?��� Ruby asked, silver eyes widening. “...Yes?” The woman looked equally as mystified. Her eyes drifted above Ruby’s head in thought. “Have you read Of Bones and Evil?” “Yes,” Ruby breathed, her grin growing wider by the second. “Fortune’s Fallacy?” Ruby just nodded, her entire body lighting up with a different kind of energy. “What in the world…” The woman murmured. “I think you might be my library soulmate.” Ruby said. She had no idea someone could turn so red in such a short time, admiring the flush under the woman’s scar. Ruby was almost entertained, watching as she sputtered in the cutest kind of fluster. “Y-you can’t just say that to someone!” She stammered. Ruby’s confidence came roaring to life. She pouted. “So that means I can’t ask you out either?” “I- what.” Blue eyes blinked rapidly, the very picture of an error message written in human form. “I thought your name looked familiar. I’ve been reading the same books as you for almost a year straight.” Ruby tried not to show how much her palms were sweating, nerves shuffling in cold versus the warm wake of her momentary confidence. Predictably, her mouth started running without her permission.“I think we have a lot in common and I’d like to get to know you and maybe possibly talk more about books when I don’t look like a scrub. You’re like, other-worldly gorgeous and you’re so far out of my league but my sister says I can’t write anything off without trying it first and I figured I’d try it out y’know, benefit of the doubt and holy moly I’ve been talking for way too long-” “You only know my name from the books we’ve read?” The woman spoke it more like a statement, almost like she couldn’t believe what she was saying. “Um. I mean I’d like to know your first name. But, yeah.” Ruby gave in and brushed her palms down the front of her skirt, fingers starting to shake with adrenaline. “Weiss.” She replied absently. “Weiss Schnee.” Ruby’s lips twitched into a nervous smile. “Ruby Rose.” Weiss gave her a once over, the astonishment fading into something entirely different. Her gaze carried a weight to it that had Ruby’s palms sweating double time, her twitchy fingers immediately fiddling with her red cardigan. “...Alright.” Weiss gave a slow, smooth smile. Ruby almost passed out. “Wh- really?” “Do you have a pen on you?” “I- yes!” Ruby all but evacuated the library ten minutes later, a number written on the back of her hand next to a clear, red lipstick stain. She nearly ran into a pole, but she knew it’d be ten thousand percent worth it. She couldn’t wait to see the look on Yang’s face.
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madlilsongbird · 3 years
Text
Watching The Amazing Spidernan movies so that I’m all caught up before No Way Home. Will add my thoughts as I have them. Note I am not some big Spider-Man fan nor have I read the comics so if my thoughts sound kinda stupid they probably are.
First movie:
That’s a good trick with the broom. Making a mental note as we speak.
Actually seeing Peter say goodbye to his parents is horrible and I would like to never experience it again
SALLY FIELD IS AUNT MAY?! Why does this one have the good cast? (not good as in better but good as in more well known)
The sexual tension in “good morning flash…good morning Peter” (this is a joke I’m not shipping him with his bully)
Jesus roid rage much?
Shut your blinds! I don’t know who would be looking in your window at this exact moment but close them anyway!
First careful, you never know who is watching what you search (when did I become this person)
Second…curt connors is ableist.
Poor Rodrigo Guevara
Oh internalised ableism. And that is the only comment I will make going forward because my disabilities do not include limb difference and I dont want to overstep.
Stop following the man, you are not subtle…wait wtf how’d he do that?!
This is where he gets his powers right?
Okay but when would 5 men make that much of a fuss over a woman that only 1 of them seems to know?
Same. (This is in reference to smashing the alarm clock)
Oh my god is it really necessary to show all the different kinds of spider bites.
Actually just going back to the internalised ableism thing…he is allowed to feel whatever type of way about his own disability that is his right. But insinuating that all disabled people are weak and wanting to breed out the weakness is eugenics and just kinda gross. THIS is the final comment I will make on the matter.
No but seriously he is way more aggressive than regular teen boy aggressive so either he’s on something or he’s overcompensating for something
The way he looks at him doe (again all jokes am not shipping flash and Peter)
Why is this so awkward? And not like teens navigating a crush awkward just genuinely awkward. I feel no chemistry between them.
I like the song, it’s an interesting choice for this scene but I like it.
Stop does uncle Ben die now? Like I know uncle Ben dies at some point but I was really kinda hoping he just wouldn’t in this iteration. I was going for a ninth doctor moment “just this once everybody lives”
MOTHERFUCKER
God Sally is incredible
Don’t show me moments of Flash being human I might accidentally start shipping them for real and that simply can’t happen.
Oooh he’s a fashion designer
I just really enjoy how he takes the piss out of his victims? Arrests?
Is Gwen aware that the school nurse can’t cure everything? Both legally and just like generally doesn’t have the knowledge to cure everything. She suggests going to the nurse a lot.
This family gives me bad vibes
This is a long movie…it’s not even half way through
Well that’s one way to tell her
NOT GEORGE FOYET!
I think with what I remember of SpiderTobey and what I know of SpiderTom, Andrews Spider-Man is definitely better with the people he’s rescuing. Smoother, good bedside manner.
His sons name is Jack. Why does that make me angry?
So he’s just not gonna rescue the other people hanging off the bridge?
It’s almost poetic that the son of the man tried to stop him the first time will be the one to stop him now
Now how is he getting enough power in the sewer
No means no Peter
Does she die in this one or the next one? I don’t imagine her dying will help captain stacey see him as a good guy
Stan 🥺
This movie is exhausting and I don’t know if I mean that in a good way or a bad way.
MoThEr HuBbArD aRe YoU sErIoUs
He managed to get three whole words out and you didn’t think to ease up on the trigger a little to hear what those words might be?
She’s very clever and I will be sad to see her go
That wasn’t her scream. Or it was but from a different take.
Foyet about to be coming in clutch
I’m going to cry.
He’s so ugly. Some lizards are really cute but lizard + human, kinda gross looking.
Well shit. I didn’t know that happened. I guess what I said about him being upset with Peter about Gwen is irrelevant. Unless it isn’t, like if you believe in the afterlife, imagine how pissed he’s gonna be when Gwen arrives.
He finally got the eggs 🥺
As someone who’s boyfriend at the time didn’t go to her fathers funeral I feel ya Gwen. I mean I don’t care now but at the time it sucked.
Dr Connors was just in a silly goofy mood. He seems to show genuine care for the boy (this is mostly sarcasm).
Second movie
Oh we’re going back to peters dad.
How do they have access to a private jet?
Miss Honey is badass
Ngl I’m actually quite relieved they both died before the plane crashed. Stil devastating though.
Okay so this is first up on the list of potential mystery villains in No Way Home…he looks like a tool.
HeLLo PeDeStRiAnS
He really just let Spider-Man put his hand on his tongue. Sir do you know where his hand has been? Not to mention just in general the feeling of spandex on your tongue. I feel ill.
No respect for the proper care of plutonium.
Please don’t ever say “come to daddy” again 😂
I’m kinda sad Jamie Fox becomes a villain, his character seems kinda sweet so far from the 2 seconds I’ve seen of him
You mean to tell me he missed his girlfriend’s fathers funeral AND her valedictorian speech?!
Stan x2 🥺
Because you can’t lose me you’re going to lose me? 😂
I love her jacket
Why are they still pretending like she doesn’t know?
I may have spoken to soon about Max
See I would be speeding up daddy’s death if he told me he’d passed down a genetic disease and just decided not to tell me.
Friendship.
Okay max is still a little bit nutty but you gotta feel bad for the guy. He must’ve been so scared.
Don’t smile that’s not cute, if he was a regular boy you’d file a restraining order.
Oh I see Spider-Man is gonna fight him which will make him turn and become the “bad guy” whether he will actually be a bad guy is still unknown.
This scene is actually kinda just making me angry (the time square scene)
Cops suck man. Peter was talking him down just fine.
Did nobody teach these people not to touch metal when there’s electricity about.
Interesting that I didn’t pick up any chemistry from them in the first movie weren’t they an actual couple for a while?
Another good song with an interesting placement
I’m sorry did the caller ID not say Mary Parker? How was it Harry on the phone?
Run Gwen!
This version of Harry is kinda creepy I’m sure the actor is swell but the character is terrifying. Original version Harry was swell whereas the actor is…
“Maybe everyone has a part of themselves they hide” gives him the eye
This movies shorter or at least it feels shorter
An excellent show of what happens when you tell a rich daddy’s boy no for the first time.
This makes me very sad. She’s so excited for the possibility of Oxford.
As much as Harry disturbs me, I want him to burn his entire team.
His daddy really did love him!
I think it’s mostly his eyes, his behaviour can be explained by trauma (why I find Harry creepy)
Okay most of his behaviour. The taking joy in killing people that’s just him being nutty and not a trauma response.
This is fucked up. And where is Peter? he is off chasing a girl who has broken up with him twice now.
PLANES NEED THE POWER!
I really like SpiderAndrew, the movies are fine but as a character I thoroughly enjoy him
Sorcerers apprentice who?
Captain Stacy can’t blame him! She’s clearly stubborn as hell and her own free woman
I quite literally stopped breathing (in reference to the almost plane crash)
Is this why they made it Gwen and not MJ so that he could kill her and be an actual bad guy? From my little knowledge of the comics and what I’ve seen from the movies Harry would never hurt MJ so it had to be someone else important to Peter but not super important to him for him to a real bad guy
I like that Harry actually looks like a goblin.
What was the disease he’s supposed to have?
This poor family. I know I said they gave me bad vibes in the first movie but nobody deserves this.
He looks less like a tool with his suit on…but only slightly less
Baby you better get back behind that baracade!
Nobody talk to me I’m very emotional. This child looks very much like a magical mix of all 3 of my brothers put together and seeing him stand there so brave but so scared is doing something to me.
Final thoughts:
So I think SpiderAndrew might be a close second favourite for me. I like the relationships of the original the most, the comedy of the mcu version the most but this one was like a nice in between. Im a little disappointed there won’t be a third not cos I think I would have enjoyed it just cos the original had 3 movies, the mcu version will have at least 3 movies and this one is left out with 2. Don’t think I would have loved Shailene Woodley as MJ though so I dunno. I think the only thing I would have wanted from a third movie is to know who fedora guy is…and for Peter and May to acknowledge that they both know that he is Spider-Man. Apart from that it was fine and I now feel fully prepared for No Way Home.
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heartofether · 3 years
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Episode 15 - Elderberries TRANSCRIPT
[You can listen to the show wherever you get your podcasts, or go to our “Listen” page if you’re on desktop.]
AUTOMATED VOICE
[LOWER-PITCHED AND SLOWER THAN NORMAL] Please state your message.
[THEME SONG PLAYS.]
VAL
Three-eyed Frog Presents: The Heart of Ether.
[THEME SONG FADES TO A STOP.]
[PHONE BEEP.]
[INT. THE POPPY GARDEN MOTEL, AGENT MAY AND JUNES’ ROOM, EARLY MORNING.]
AGENT JUNE
Oh, is it on? I dunno how this recording device works. Would have been, like, ten times easier to just record on our phones, but, eh.
Anyways, it’s just me right now, which means I get to do all the talking. Guess I should, I dunno, talk about the mission? Daughtler?
Oh! I know. There’s this candy store downtown that displays massive gummy bears in the window, only it’s so hot outside that the bears have started melting. It’s some mix of disturbing, but also hilarious? Seriously, those bears look so sad, I can’t help but laugh.
Let’s see. Say, what’s that stupid thing he always says? [DRAMATICALLY MOCKING AGENT MAY] This is Operation Saturn, phase 1.2. Conducted by Agents May and June. All recordings are property of the—
[AS AGENT JUNE TALKS, THE DOOR IS HEARD OPENING AND CLOSING. THERE ARE FOOTSTEPS AS AGENT MAY WALKS IN.]
AGENT MAY
Here’s your coffee.
AGENT JUNE
Much obliged! Oh, you got it with oat milk, right?
AGENT MAY
[SLIGHTLY BITTER] It cost extra, but yes.
AGENT JUNE
Aw, hell yeah.
[AGENT JUNE TAKES HIS DRINK.]
AGENT MAY
I’ve never understood the excitement behind alternative milks.
AGENT JUNE
Hey, I’m lactose intolerant. Not that that would stop me from consuming dairy in most scenarios, but oat milk hits, alright? You should give it a shot.
AGENT MAY
I don’t put milk in my coffee, just sugar.
AGENT JUNE
Mm. Gross.
AGENT MAY
[HE HUFFS A SIGH.] Well, I’ll stop judging your coffee order if you stop judging mine.
AGENT JUNE
I’ll agree to that, sure.
[HE TAKES A SIP, THEN] See anything of note in the coffeeshop?
AGENT MAY
[UNCOMFORTABLY] Maybe. There was this girl sitting at a table. She was wearing all-black, which is strange considering the weather.
AGENT JUNE
Uh, ever heard of fashion? Dude, you literally wear a suit every day! No wonder you overheat. I mean, why do you think I skip the blazer?
AGENT MAY
[IRRITATED] At least I wear my tie correctly.
AGENT JUNE
I leave it undone on purpose, alright? It’s a statement.
AGENT MAY
Do you know how to tie a tie?
AGENT JUNE
[DEFENSIVE] Yes!
[AN UNCOMFORTABLY LONG PAUSE.]
AGENT JUNE
So, there was this girl in the coffeeshop.
AGENT MAY
She seemed fairly young. Must have been in either high school or college. She was staring at me over her laptop the whole time. Like she was, I don’t know, stalking prey. It was like her eyes were knives, and she was trying to carve my flesh off.
AGENT JUNE
So, she defo wasn’t just idly looking or whatever. Like, you’re pretty sure she was thinking about killing you?
AGENT MAY
Well, there’s no way I can know for certain, now, is there?
[A BEAT.] She was wearing a black fabric surgical mask, though.
[A TENSE PAUSE.]
AGENT JUNE
Do you think she was—?
AGENT MAY
I can’t say for sure.
AGENT JUNE
I mean, it might have been an accessory, but we’re in Daughtler, Washington—
AGENT MAY
I’m not going back there to check. Okay? If we see her again, maybe we can consider interviewing her, but I don’t feel comfortable going back to see her.
AGENT JUNE
[UNDERSTANDING] Alright.
[AGENT MAY SIGHS.]
AGENT JUNE
[CONT.] Alright. I won’t force you.
AGENT MAY
I—I appreciate that.
[THERE'S A PAUSE.]
AGENT JUNE
Uh, how’d you sleep?
AGENT MAY
About as well as I could in a car seat.
AGENT JUNE
Okay, I can’t just keep letting you sleep in the car. It was kind of funny at first, but now I just— [HIS SENTENCE TRAILS OFF IN VAGUE STUTTERS.]
AGENT MAY
[BEAT.] Well?
AGENT JUNE
I feel bad! Alright? I mean, look at me, I have this whole room to myself, and meanwhile, my partner is sleeping in a company vehicle that may or may not have bloodstains in the backseat.
[BEAT, THEN] Actually, I’d love to talk about those weird dark stains later, because uh, what, but I’ll let it slide for now. It’s still gotta be super uncomfortable, though.
AGENT MAY
We could always take turns.
AGENT JUNE
No, what I’m saying is I don’t think either of us have to sleep in the car! There has got to be a better solution.
AGENT MAY
The Foundation already declined giving us a second room, or trying to transfer us to a larger one. Trust me, I tried.
AGENT JUNE
Dammit.
[A LONG PAUSE.]
AGENT JUNE
It's king-sized, you know.
[ANOTHER LONG PAUSE.]
AGENT MAY
Do you think the motel has spare blankets? I think I could try sleeping on the floor.
[THOUGH UNSEEN, AGENT JUNE LOOKS INTO THE CAMERA LIKE HE’S IN THE OFFICE.]
AGENT MAY
…I’ll go down and ask later.
AGENT JUNE
Good idea.
[A BEAT. THERE'S SUIT RUSTLING AS AGENT MAY CHECKS HIS WATCH.]
AGENT MAY
We should head out soon.
AGENT JUNE
You’re really glued to that watch of yours, huh?
AGENT MAY
Excuse me?
AGENT JUNE
Not that it’s bad, you just check it a lot. I don’t really know what watch etiquette is, but I think you look at it more than most people do. I’ve also noticed you tend to look at it more around specific times? Is there a reason, or—?
AGENT MAY
[MORE SERIOUS THAN THE CONVERSATION WARRANTS] It’s none of your business. Perhaps I simply prefer to keep on schedule. Let’s go.
AGENT JUNE
[SLIGHTLY CONFUSED] Oh, um, okay. Sorry. [UNDER HIS BREATH] Jeez. Let me just—
[PHONE BEEP.]
[RECORDING ENDS.]
[ANOTHER BEEP.]
[INT. THE OPEN EYES BOOKSTORE BACKROOM, EARLY, EARLY MORNING.]
HOLLY
Are you recording?
PHOEBE
Yes, yes, I am.
HOLLY
Kind of weird to be doing this so early in the morning.
PHOEBE
I’m sorry, I know it’s super early. Night just felt…well, it felt more dangerous, I guess? Even Grandma Doe recommended not doing it too late. I wanted to get it done before the shop opened, though.
HOLLY
Oh no, I don’t mind. I guess people usually just consider night to be “the witching hour.”
PHOEBE
This isn’t really witchcraft, though, is it?
HOLLY
Guess not. Most modern witchcraft is a lot more…chill, I guess?
PHOEBE
Right. [A BEAT.] Do you think it’s really a good idea to be doing this in the back room?
HOLLY
Well, it’s not like we have anywhere else. It’d be super shady if we did it right outside, and your forestry friend would be pissed if we went out into the woods to do it.
PHOEBE
[NERVOUS] There’s so much paper, though. I mean, we could easily set the whole thing alight. My apartment’s really small, I know, but maybe we could—?
HOLLY
Don’t worry about it. We did a pretty good job clearing stuff out to make space, I think. It should be fine, I mean, a lot of the most flammable stuff either got moved out or shoved against the wall.
Besides, didn’t she say that it might be good to do it here for like, symbolic purposes?
PHOEBE
Yeah. Yeah, I guess you’re right. [SHE CHUCKLES.] Maybe this will finally give me incentive to organize everything.
HOLLY
[SHE LAUGHS, SOMEWHAT NERVOUSLY.] If this works, then hopefully you’ll be able to do that anyways.
PHOEBE
That’s true, yes. I, um, guess we should get started. Can you read the directions?
HOLLY
Of course.
[HOLLY IS HEARD UNFOLDING A PIECE OF PAPER.]
HOLLY
[READING] The purpose of all of this is energy. You are lighting fire to produce energy. You are grinding berries and eating them to produce it as well. Ether functions under this key desire for vitality. If you can understand this simple principle, this keen need it has, it will treat you much more kindly.
By designing this ritual for you, my hope is that it will spell out as clear as day to Ether what you are trying to achieve. It rarely gives people what they want, rather it gives what it sees fit for them. You must steer it in the correct direction, or else it will choose a different fate for you.
These instructions are similar to what Valencia and I did, as well as symbolic for what you hope to achieve. However, nobody has ever developed an exact science for how these rituals function. We may only rely on guesswork and hope. While I would like to develop more specific procedures and instructions, I do not know if I ever will. Perhaps that could be your task.
[BREAKING READING] Could I skip her whole monologue? We already read it, and I don’t think it’s important in-the-moment.
PHOEBE
Sure.
HOLLY
Cool.
[SHE FLIPS THE PAPER.]
HOLLY
Materials needed: Yarn or string to create a casting circle. Some people use salt, but it produces an awful mess. Several circles of yarn around you and your workspace will work just fine.
PHOEBE
We did that already.
HOLLY
Yup. [READING AGAIN] Three white candles with words carved into them. It does not matter what the words are, they simply have to be legible and completely cover the candle. No numbers. I just wrote out song lyrics on that one.
PHOEBE
Oh, that’s neat! I, um, did poems I like.
HOLLY
Cute. [A BEAT.] A lighter or match of some kind. Someplace to safely burn paper—we got a metal bin, so we’re good. Did you turn off the smoke alarm?
PHOEBE
I did, yeah.
HOLLY
Let’s hope the place doesn’t burn down, then. [CHUCKLE, THEN] I’m joking, I promise. It should be fine. [SHE CLEARS HER THROAT.]
A book—you will be tearing out each individual page, so to save time, I suggest a children’s book. A bowl or container of some kind. Elderberries, I recommend you cook them beforehand, but make sure none of them are pre-mashed. Something to mash the elderberries with. Finally, a few drops of your blood, or something to draw blood with. That’s what the sewing needle is for, right? You sure you don’t want a blade? I have a pocket knife.
PHOEBE
[UNCOMFORTABLE] I get nervous around knives, but thank you for the offer.
Oh—actually, I wanted to ask, um, where did you find elderberries? I couldn’t find them anywhere.
HOLLY
I asked the bartender down the street.
PHOEBE
Huh.
HOLLY
Yeah, they make all sorts of weird cocktails. Are you ready? Once we start, we can’t stop until it’s complete.
PHOEBE
[WITH WEIGHT, NERVOUS, BUT DETERMINED] I’m ready.
HOLLY
Okay.
[HOLLY FLIPS THE PAPER AGAIN. THERE’S A PAUSE.]
HOLLY
Phoebe?
PHOEBE
Yeah?
HOLLY
Whatever happens, I—we’ll be okay, alright? No matter what. I’ll make sure of it, I swear.
PHOEBE
[TENDERLY] Thank you.
[THERE’S A PAUSE AS THEY ARE HEARD KISSING. HOLLY TAKES A DEEP BREATH.]
HOLLY
Create a circle around— Okay, we already did that. Um, Start by lighting the candles.
[PHOEBE IS HEARD LIGHTING A MATCH AND LIGHTING ALL THREE CANDLES.]
HOLLY
Tear each individual piece of paper out of the book. One by one, burn each piece of paper using fire from the candles. Once you have burned each page, burn the cover. Do not attempt to put any of the fires out. This tedious process shows care and dedication. The blood in later steps is there for a similar purpose.
[PHOEBE IS HEARD TEARING PAGES OUT OF A CHILDREN’S BOOK AND LIGHTING THEM ON FIRE. THERE’S A LONG PAUSE AS SHE DOES SO.]
PHOEBE
Good thing this book only has twenty pages. [A BEAT.] What’s next?
[PHOEBE IS STILL TEARING PAPER IN THE BACKGROUND, AND THE BURNING SFX GOES ON FOR SOME TIME.]
HOLLY
Uh—place your elderberries in the bowl and begin mashing them in a clockwise motion. As you do this, speak out loud and ask Ether to grant you knowledge and the ability to see what others do not. There should be no misunderstanding in what you are trying to achieve, and if you have garnered Ether’s attention, it should have already decided what it shall do with you. [MUTTERS] Fuckin’ weird.
[PHOEBE CEASES HER PAGE-TEARING.]
PHOEBE
The book is done. Pass me the spice grinder with the berries?
[HOLLY PASSES PHOEBE THE SPICE GRINDER.]
PHOEBE
Thank you.
[PHOEBE IS HEARD GRINDING THE ELDERBERRIES.]
PHOEBE
[WHISPERING TO HERSELF] Ether, um, whoever or whatever you are, if you are listening to me, please grant me knowledge. Grant me the power to see what others do not. Let me see and know everything.
[THERE IS A RINGING HEARD IN THE BACKGROUND AS HOLLY SPEAKS.]
HOLLY
If this works, the words on the candle should begin to—holy—God!
[HOLLY STUMBLES BACK.]
PHOEBE
Glow?
HOLLY
[FREAKING OUT] Yup? Uh—they’re actually glowing, what the—
PHOEBE
[OVERLAPPING] What’s next?
HOLLY
Sorry, sorry. [SHE RUFFLES THE PAPER IN HER HAND.] Mix a few drops of your blood into the elderberries.
PHOEBE
Pass me the sewing needle.
[HOLLY PASSES PHOEBE THE NEEDLE. SHE PRICKS HER FINGER.]
PHOEBE
[UNDER HER BREATH] Ow.
[SHE LETS A FEW DROPS COME OUT, SUCKS ON HER FINGER BRIEFLY, THEN MIXES HER BLOOD IN.]
HOLLY
Drink the elderberry mash. You must consume every bit of it, or at least as much as you can.
PHOEBE
[GROWING IN A MIX OF PANIC AND EXCITEMENT] This is it—I mean—wait, I’m about to consume my blood, that’s weird, but—this is really it.
HOLLY
[ENCOURAGING] You can do it.
[PHOEBE IS HEARD DRINKING THE ELDERBERRY MASH. THERE IS A PAUSE.]
HOLLY
If successful, the candles will—
[THE CANDLES ARE HEARD EXTINGUISHING.]
HOLLY
…blow out.
PHOEBE
[SLIGHTLY SICK] I think I got it all.
HOLLY
How do you feel? Is—has anything changed?
PHOEBE
I feel…I feel like there’s a part of me that was never there before. Like, my internal self expands farther out than my physical self, like I’m floating, it’s—I need to go lie down.
HOLLY
I’ll take you upstairs. It worked, though?
PHOEBE
I think it did. I mean, Grandma Doe said I would feel some sort of immediate change, but the rest of it would trickle in slowly. I feel different, though.
HOLLY
[SLOWLY, CAUTIOUS] Does this mean you’re not human anymore?
PHOEBE
[A BEAT.] I haven’t thought about that. I mean, I think I might just kind of be human plus? I’m not sure. Grandma Doe was still mortal, after all—she felt pain, she got ill—her mind was just super advanced. Does that make me inhuman?
HOLLY
I…I don’t think so. I think you just have mind powers or whatever.
PHOEBE
I’ll think about it later. I’m just going to try to get some sleep before the shop opens.
HOLLY
You don’t even have to open today, you know. People will understand if you just say you’re ill. Or I could run it for today, since there’s usually less traction on weekdays.
PHOEBE
[SINCERE] Thank you.
HOLLY
Of course.
PHOEBE
[SHE SIGHS.] Okay, time to—
[PHONE BEEP.]
[RECORDING ENDS.]
[ANOTHER PHONE BEEP.]
[INT. IRENE’S HOUSE, MIDDAY.]
IRENE
I just got home from work. Apparently, Phoebe did that ritual early this morning. It went well, from what Holly told me, though Phoebe’s been taking the day off to rest.
Oh, and they also posted that advert on the bulletin board yesterday. You know, for someone to develop Valencia’s film.
That’s not important right now. You know what is important?
This morning, at work, I opened up a folder on my computer and guess what was in it? A new audio recording where there shouldn’t be one. Guess the technological gods have decided to be generous today.
I decided to wait until I got off to listen to it. It’s dated shortly after the incident, so I think it might be important.
Besides, work has been…well, different, since the Spread. I haven’t told Carol or Aden that’s what it’s called, though. The whole incident brought us closer together, but I think that’s a double-edged sword. They know me well enough, now, I think they can tell I’m hiding something. Aden definitely knows I am—I mean, what I told him was pretty cryptic, but Carol I think just…knows. She’s just like that. [SCOFF] Maybe that’s part of her motherly instincts.
Right, that’s beside the point. Back to the recording.
Here goes nothing.
[IRENE CLICKS ON THE FILE.]
[PHONE BEEP.]
[INT. DRIVING, LATE AT NIGHT.]
[THERE IS THE AMBIANCE OF DRIVING DOWN A DESOLATE FOREST ROAD AS THEY TALK.]
UNKNOWN GIRL
Does it work?
ROSE
I believe so.
UNKNOWN GIRL
[SHE SNORTS.] About as well as a cheap cell phone from Walmart could, I imagine?
ROSE
It just has to be able to record and make emergency calls. I’m not too worried about it. Thank you, again. Really, I owe you.
UNKNOWN GIRL
Hey, I didn’t buy it. I just walked into the store and handed your money to the guy behind the counter. It’s not a big deal.
[DULLY SKEPTICAL] You’re trying pretty hard to cover up your tracks, you know. Destroying your phone, not wanting to be seen in public to go get a new one, only paying in cash. Almost makes it sound like you’re a criminal or something.
ROSE
[FRANTIC] I’m not! I swear, I’m not.
UNKNOWN GIRL
No need to get defensive. Look, I get it. We all have reasons to want to disappear. I’m surely in no position to judge.
You know, I know we haven’t known each other for long, but I feel like we might actually have a lot in common.
ROSE
Why is that?
UNKNOWN GIRL
We both don’t know where we’re going, or why.
ROSE
[UNDER HER BREATH] Oh, I know why.
UNKNOWN GIRL
So you do have a reason?
ROSE
It’s not a big deal.
UNKNOWN GIRL
Your secret’s safe with me, you know.
ROSE
It’s nothing. Really. Just…do you have to know or—?
UNKNOWN GIRL
Well, do I have any reason to?
ROSE
No, but do you even have a reason to be helping me?
UNKNOWN GIRL
[DEADPAN] What can I say? I’m a generous soul.
[A BEAT.] Say, why did you want something to record with, anyways?
ROSE
I, um—it’s stupid.
UNKNOWN GIRL
Try me.
ROSE
It’s—well. I guess I don’t want to be forgotten? I want some way for people to find out what happened to me when…if…you know. There’s…if something does happen to me, there’s at least one person who deserves to know.
UNKNOWN GIRL
You think you’re going to get yourself killed?
ROSE
I don’t know. I suppose it’s better to be safe than sorry?
UNKNOWN GIRL
But you have someone you know will want to listen. [CONNECTING THE DOTS] You weren’t a loner before you left, were you? You left someone important behind, and now you feel bad. You owe them an explanation.
ROSE
[UNCOMFORTABLY] Yes. Right. I guess.
[A BEAT.] I don’t want to talk about this anymore.
UNKNOWN GIRL
Who did you abandon?
ROSE
[RAISING HER VOICE SLIGHTLY] I said I’m done.
UNKNOWN GIRL
Alright, alright.
[A BEAT.] If it makes you feel better, I’ll let you prod at me a bit.
ROSE
[HESITANT] Where did you get your name? Wednesday is such a unique name, I don’t think I’ve ever heard it outside of stories.
WEDNESDAY [UNKNOWN GIRL]
It’s certainly no ‘Mary,’ is it?
ROSE
I mean, obviously. My name’s pretty basic.
WEDNESDAY
I actually chose it after I left home. Not like that, just never liked the name my parents gave me. Kept the last name ‘White,’ though. It has a ring to it.
ROSE
Was there a reason for it, or did it just sound nice?
WEDNESDAY
When people meet someone with a weird name, that tends to be the thing that most grabs their attention. “I met a girl named after a day of the week today, isn’t that bizarre?” I didn’t want to be remembered for anything I didn’t want people to see. If one thing was going to stick with them, it would be my name, but not quite the face that goes with it. Just the girl with an odd name.
ROSE
So you want to be forgotten?
WEDNESDAY
Not forgotten, but I want control over the memory of me. I want to fade away into obscurity, but not obscure enough that it’s suspicious.
ROSE
[KIND OF UNCOMFORTABLE] You’ve thought about this a lot.
WEDNESDAY
When you’re like me, you have to.
ROSE
Wh—what does that—
WEDNESDAY
[OVERLAPPING] Do you need me to stop at the gas station up ahead?
[THERE’S A SLIGHTLY TOO LONG PAUSE.]
ROSE
Um, yeah, I have to—
[PHONE BEEP.]
[RECORDING ENDS.]
[INT. IRENE’S HOUSE, EARLY EVENING, THE SAME DAY.]
[THERE’S A LONG PAUSE.]
IRENE
[STILL PROCESSING IT AS SHE SPEAKS.] Okay. Okay! This is definitely a start. A great start, actually!
Okay, let’s see, uh—after you ran away, you destroyed your phone—no wonder the police couldn’t track it—and then you went with some person named Wednesday.
That’s definitely a start. If I can figure out where Wednesday—White, was it?—yeah, Wednesday White. I know Wednesday probably isn’t her legal name, but I might still be able to find her somewhere. If I can find Wednesday White, I might have a good shot at finding you. That’s great news!
[A SLIGHTLY TOO LONG PAUSE.]
IRENE
[HER ENTHUSIASM DYING] I don’t trust Wednesday, though.
[A BEAT.] Okay, maybe I shouldn’t be so skeptical. I mean, you’re not an idiot, Rose. You wouldn’t hitch hike with just any random stranger. Would you? Doesn’t even seem like you gave her your real name, she called you ‘Mary.’
[SHE HUFFS A SIGH.] Maybe I’m just being defensive. Still, she seemed off, didn’t she? That whole thing she said about her name just kind of rubbed me the wrong way. She prodded a lot, too. Almost as if she wanted to make you uncomfortable.
I could be reading into it too much. I guess I won’t know until I find her. Hopefully, she didn’t fade into obscurity too much. There’s gotta be some record of her existence online. If I’m lucky, she might be on social media or something. Who knows? Lots of time has passed.
[A PAUSE, THEN, SOFTLY] That person, you—were you recording for me? You wanted me to know you hadn’t abandoned me on purpose. [HURT] And here I was, thinking you would just leave without reason. That you had betrayed me in some way. I’m—Rose, I’m so sorry—
[JUST AS SHE SAYS “SORRY,” HER PHONE BEGINS VIBRATING. SHE PICKS IT UP.]
IRENE
[SKEPTICAL] There’s an unknown number calling me.
[SHE ANSWERS.]
IRENE
Hello?
CALLER
Hello? Is this the person who posted an ad outside of Open Eyes Bookstore?
IRENE
Oh! Um, yeah, that’s me. Wow, I didn’t expect to hear from someone so fast.
CALLER
I’m an observant person. I like to make my rounds throughout the town. You’ll never know what you’ll find, after all. Or who.
Anyways, you have some film that needs to be developed, right? Well, it just so happens to be your lucky day, because I have a dark room.
IRENE
That’s fantastic. I can pay you however much you want, just—
CALLER
[OVERLAPPING] Oh, that won’t be necessary. I’m studying photography, so the experience is payment enough. No worries!
IRENE
That’s very kind of you, thank you.
CALLER
Of course!
Oh, where are my manners? My name is Sadie. Sadie Creed. And you are…?
IRENE
Irene.
SADIE
Irene! How cute. Where do you want me to pick up your film?
IRENE
Um, I’m sorry if this sounds rude, but I would prefer to meet out in the open? Is that a problem?
SADIE
Not at all. How about Lemongrass Park?
IRENE
That’s actually perfect, yeah.
SADIE
Great! I’m happy to meet you tomorrow night at 8:00, if that time works for you? I know that’s a bit late, but I work at the candy shop until then.
IRENE
That should be fine, yeah.
SADIE
Looking forward to it! Pleasure doing business with you, Irene. Bye-bye!
[SADIE HANGS UP.]
IRENE
Huh. Well, I guess that solves that.
Time to go find Wednesday White.
[PHONE BEEP.]
[RECORDING ENDS.]
AUTOMATED VOICE
Today's quote is: A wave of grass engraves upon the stone: ‘There is more than one good way to drown.’
Sylvia Plath in "Epitaph in Three Parts," 1955.
[OUTRO MUSIC AND CREDITS PLAY.]
MICRO-COSMOS PROMOTIONAL AD [written by Jesse Smith]
[THERE ARE STATIC NOISES.]
ATHENA
This is Communications Athena Romero of OEC #0137-F recording from a… still, unknown location on the infant planet Ophiuchus-22. Though I have my… well, rational, doubts, something in me feels as though this transmission might actually be reaching someone. Might just be desperation, though. Most likely just desperation. Regardless. We would appreciate any and all OC representatives or employees, or individuals otherwise receiving this transmission, to please send a response. We have been recording mandatory and otherwise necessary emergency chronicling logs for days now. Please.
[WE HEAR MILES'S FOOTSTEPS APPROACH.]
MILES
(distant) Athena, are you sending out another transmission? They’re not going to-
[C41 APPEARS WITH THEIR USUAL PING.]
C41
Shhh, let her do her thing, Miles. She needs to set her character up correctly for the new listeners that are hearing this promotional advertisement.
MILES
The new— what?
C41
What?
MILES
What are you talking about?
FELIX
I believe what Cal is doing is called “breaking the fourth wall,” my friend.
MILES
Breaking the what now?
C41
Oh, just forget about it.
[MILES GROANS; WE HEAR ALEX APPROACH.]
ALEX
What about a promotional advertisement?
ATHENA
Guys, could you… [SIGHS] I am trying to finish this log, so could you please give me a moment?
ALEX
Sorry, Starshine, I just got a little caught up in the whole “self-aware and breaking the fourth wall” thing.
ATHENA
It’s… fine.
C41
If I were you, Athena, I would close your log out by telling the listener to tune in to Micro-Cosmos: A Science Fiction Podcast, wherever you get your podcasts! The show is created by a crew of LGBTQ+ people, and features strange infant planets, brief romantic scenes before epic tragedy, cool sci-fi terminology, and adorably talented AI units, like myself!
ATHENA
Micro-?
C41
More information on the show can be found on its website: “microcospod.space”, OR its Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, or TikTok, which all have the handle “@microcospod.”
MILES
… uh huh.
[THE CREW SITS IN SILENCE FOR A SECOND.]
C41
That’s just what I would say, though.
MILES
… Cal, we really need to figure out what is going on with this new phase of yours.
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Text
The Scavenger Hunt Part 1
Steven was trying to enjoy his birthday. But a certain someone that he invited didn’t want to participate. It was very frustrating for him, especially with the rest of his family trying to get him to stop trying to help everyone else and just enjoy himself for a bit. But he couldn’t help it. Helping others was his whole life, if someone else wasn’t as happy as he was then he couldn’t be happy until they were happy.
Blue and Yellow Pearl invited him over so they could share something important with him. “I think it’s called a... scavenger hunt?” Yellow Pearl said in an uncertain manner.
“You follow the clues to find the surprises until the end where there’s some kind of big reveal,” added Blue Pearl.
“Look, guys,” said Steven. “Thanks for everything, and I really appreciate all the kind gestures, but I’ve already got a renovated house, that pocket telescope Connie gave me, and that party suit from you two, so I don’t really need any more gifts. I just want everyone to have a good time.”
“But you deserve some fun too, Steven,” said Amethyst, who was nearby. “Would it hurt to be spoiled a bit for just one day?”
“I mean, it might...” Steven uttered sheepishly. “Dad often talks about how-”
“Dude, forget it!”
“Besides, we’ve already set everything up,” Yellow Pearl stated. “Everything would go to waste if you said no.”
Steven sighed. “Alright, fine, I’ll humor you this once. But it’s just so we can have fun, got it?”
Blue Pearl nodded. “You may want to get into your adventure appearance modifiers for this one, Steven.”
Connie and decided to join the Pearls along with Amethyst and Steven for this hunt. However the others were rather partied out and opted instead to collapse on the sofas in the expanded house and just chat.
Steven looked at his first clue:
A carrier the shape of a sweet
Lies in the hands of some new old friends
Just down the street.
Steven was confused. “Which street? There are lots of them in Beach City.”
Yellow Pearl blushed. “Uh, we hadn’t really thought that out.”
“Alright, just follow us then,” said Blue Pearl.
“Not much of a hunt then now,” Amethyst grumbled.
“Come on guys,” said Connie. “They’re trying to do they’re best. We should have fun regardless.”
Steven frowned. “I just don’t get it. They’re up to something and I don’t understand why they would do all this for me.”
The three of them followed the Pearls all the way to the end of Beach City, right around where the water tower was. Steven was quite surprised to say the least, not by the gift itself, but by who was presenting it.
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“FAMETHYST!?!?” exclaimed Steven and Amethyst at the same time.
“So these are all the gems you met up in space when you were rescuing your dad?” asked Connie.
“Only a few of us,” said Amethyst 8XJ (the Amethyst with the curl) “The rest of the humans and quartzes are back at the zoo. J-10 and Y-6 just decided to tag along. We’ve even been able to unbubble the Rose Quartzes and cruise the galaxy as we please.”
“Woah!” exclaimed Amethyst. “How did you guys convince Holly Blue?”
“We didn’t,” stated Skinny Jasper.
“She got fired and reassigned somewhere else!” shouted Carnelian. “We’re rid of her for good!”
“Ste-van! We were told to give this to you,” said Y-6. He handed him a strange looking drawstring bag. “Happy fifteenth birthday!”
“It’s an ice cream cone drawstring bag from the Wacky Sacks Supply Company!” Steven looked puzzled. “But where did you get this? How did the Pearls get you guys in on this thing?”
8XJ shrugged. “We dunno. We were just doing our jobs and then Holly Blue Agate got a notice of termination. With her out of the way, we figured that we could finally do as we please, take joyrides, relax in the pools, explore other planets, and just hang out!”
“We kinda just bumped into the Pearls while exploring Earth a little bit, and then we had this brilliant idea to say hello to all of you!” said Carnelian.
The Amethysts including 8XM all went into for a group hug. “Whatever the case may be, it sure is nice to see you guys again,” she said. “Feel free to drop by the temple anytime! I could even show you my room and all the junk I’ve collected over thousands of years of living here!”
“Steven, I think it see a note attached to the bag,” said Connie. “It must be another clue!”
“Why don’t you do this one, Connie?” replied Steven.
“Well, okay. I do hope you get to do at least one though.”
The next clue you seek
Involves song, not speech
For under a stage on your way
Is a special recording
For a special day.
“This one is easy!” said Connie. “It’s gotta be the stage that they set up for special events like speeches, Beach-A-Palooza, and concerts!”
Steven was confused. “But they aren’t holding anything special in Beach City today. The stage would have to be folded up and put away somewhere.”
“Well, maybe we can just ask around,” Amethyst suggested. “Didn’t you want this to be a bit more of a challenge?”
However, it didn’t take that long. Since Sadie Killer and the Suspects often had to help set up, Sour Cream was able to point them in the direction of the abandoned warehouse where the stage parts were normally kept in storage. It only took about ten minutes of digging before they found a VHS tape with the words BIRTHDAY BALL BASH written on it.
When Steven found a TV to start the video however, the Pearls got quite flustered and fast forwarded the entire thing, obscuring the screen so that all Steven could hear was high pitched indiscernible lyrics.
“Hey! What gives?” Steven asked, frustrated.
“Eh heh heh...” muttered Yellow Pearl.
“This video was chock full of embarrassing and cringey moments,” Blue Pearl bluntly stated. “We’re doing you a favor by skipping the entire thing.”
“And here it is! The final clue!” interjected Yellow Pearl. “It’s at the end of all this awful footage!”
“Wait, seriously? It’s already the end!?!?” Amethyst blurted. “You guys are terrible at planning scavenger hunts!”
“Amethyst, don’t be rude!” snapped Steven. He turned to the Pearls. “I am really sorry about all of this, I know you’re trying your best.”
At the hill’s apex
Is where you’ll want to go next.
A spotlight will uncover
Your last gift concealed
And all shall be revealed.
“The lighthouse!” exclaimed Steven. “It is rather far from here on foot though.”
“That’s okay! We can just walk back leisurely,” said Connie. “Even if this whole thing was super easy, we can just take our time. It’s been a while since the two of us got a moment to just relax together anyway.”
“Well, I’m always up for long walks on the beach with my best friend,” Steven blushed contentedly. “I’m game!”
After spending about an hour trekking to the lighthouse, the two of them looked over the edge of the lighthouse by the telescope together. By that time, the sun was beginning to set.
““Wow...” Connie said. “I know that Beach City sunsets were beautiful, but I’ve never seen one from this view before...”
“Yeah...” Steven trailed off. The sunset’s glow lit up Connie’s face in sight a beautiful manner that he felt like he could just gaze into her eyes forever.
“Do you think we could stay up and watch the stars come out?” asked Connie. I don’t think I’ve ever been able to study them up close with this kind of telescope.”
Steven looked back and laughed. “I think if we did, the Pearls would get even more impatient. They’ve been trying to cheer me up, I think.” He slowly took Connie’s hand. “But if we may, I... I’d like to share this moment with you. We’ve been through so much together, and- and I don’t think we’ve had much time to make it official, but... will you be my girlfriend?”
“Oh! I didn’t think you’d ask-”
“You don’t wanna be my girlfriend?”
“No! I mean, yes! I mean, I didn’t think you would ask right here and right now, but yes. I would love to be your girlfriend.”
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However, their moment was interrupted by cheering and shouting below.
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“YEAH! WOO!”
“GO GET ‘ER!”
“I just can’t wait to help plan your wedding!” said Sapphire giddily.
“Wh-what!?” exclaimed Connie.
Both Steven and Sapphire looked very awkward. “Oh, sorry! I got so caught up in it that I must have been looking too far into the future...”
“WHAT!?”
“FORGET SHE SAID THAT!” shouted Ruby. “WE’RE JUST VERY HAPPY FOR YOU!”
“Hold up!” Steven called down to them. “First of all, I wasn’t proposing marriage, I just asked Connie to be my girlfriend! Second, what were you doing spying on us like that!? We were having a moment!”
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tthankstoyou · 3 years
Note
Sam and Kurt kept in touch a little after Kurt left for Dalton, but while they were friends before, they weren’t super close. But then during Silly Love Songs, after the Warblers’ set, Kurt sits with Sam for a while and they catch up, with soft smiles and “I missed this”.
They already have each other’s numbers, but Sam makes a show of asking if he can text Kurt later.
And so they’re still texting for a while afterwards, just casual banter and gossip. Kurt’s gotta get his ND gossip somewhere, and Sam’s a mostly reliable narrator unlike Mercedes or Rachel or Finn or, God forbid, Santana.
Then one day around the time of Original Song, Sam texts out of the blue and says something like “I’m passing through Westerville on the way to see family in Columbus, we should catch up.” And they set a time to meet up at a restaurant together.
Maybe Kurt can tell that something’s going on, but he doesn’t want to read into it, or put pressure on what this might mean.
Kurt’s dressed up, because it’s Kurt and he doesn’t REALLY do “dressing down”... But then Sam shows up in a suit and even Kurt feels under-dressed.
Kurt: “You know, you don’t have to wear a suit here. I mean, it’s higher-class than Breadstix, but it’s not some fancy restaurant.”
Sam: “Oh, erm”... *flushes*... “I’m passing through on the way to a family function, that’s why I’m wearing this.”
Kurt: “Well, I’m not complaining ;)”
For the first half of the meal, things are a little quiet. They still talk like usual, but Kurt knows that he’s leading the conversation and Sam is still present but maybe not giving it his all.
After they finish their starters and are waiting for their mains, Sam takes a deep breath, and grabs Kurt’s hand over the table.
Sam: “I... I, erm, wanted you to be the first person I say this to, because I admire you, and I really appreciate our friendship. I mean, I couldn’t tell Santana. Brittany would be fine, but that would basically mean telling Santana, too.”
Kurt: *softly* “Hey, you can talk to me. I owe you for all the complaining you’ve heard from me about Dalton.”
Sam: *small smile* “I like listening to you talk about Dalton.” *Deep breath* “Okay, here we go... Kurt, I’m pan.... I don’t know if you know what that—
Kurt nods encouragingly and cuts him off with “My friend Jeff is pan, I know what it means.”
Sam: *exhales* “You know, that’s the first time I’ve said that aloud. And listen, just because you’re gay and I’m... pan... It doesn’t mean we have to date, right? It doesn’t mean anything has to change between us.”
Kurt’s smile stiffens a little, and Sam notices it.
Kurt: “No, things don’t have to change. And I’m proud of you, Sammy.”
Sam: *sighs* “You were hoping for more, weren’t you? I’m not good at reading words, but I can read your face.”
Kurt: “It just hurts that I know like six guys who like guys, and none of them give me a second-glance.”
Kurt diverts his eyes, but Sam starts running his thumb over Kurt’s hand.
Sam: “Hey, look at me, Kurt. I like you. I do. I still regret not doing that duet with you. And I think part of me just went along with what Finn said because... He was right... I was scared what singing with you would signal. I’m not promising I’m going to be out and proud immediately, but I do want to come out...”
Kurt: “Hey, my closet was practically transparent, and I still had issues just saying the words, Sam. I know the feeling of not wanting to step there yet.”
Sam: “BUT, I want to be clear. I like you, Kurt. I like talking to you. I like hearing what you have to say. I think we might be a great couple... But I want to figure myself out first. I know I’m pan. I just told you I’m pan. But I don’t want to jump into something with you while I’m still getting my sea legs.”
Kurt: “I meant what I said, Sam. I’m proud of you, and I’m here for you.... And if you want to practice coming out, then I could always gather a group of Warbler friends for you to talk to. You know, someone who doesn’t know you, but who I know will accept you for who you are.”
Once they finish their meals, and they’re just sat there, Kurt’s like “Do you have to get going? When’s that family function?” and Sam blushes.
Sam: “There is no family function. I drove out here just to see you.”
Kurt: “I kinda figured, because you were so incredibly vague about what a “family function” is.”
Sam: “I just wanted to do this in person, at least for the first one, because I want to face this head-on.”
Kurt: “And the suit?”
Sam: *shrugs* “I dunno, I just felt like this is such a big event... and you wear suits to big events in your life.”
They walk out of the restaurant hand in hand, and Sam pulls Kurt in for a hug by his car.
Sam: “Thank you.”
And Kurt wants to ask “for what?” or just say “it’s nothing”... but he knows that feeling, and so instead he holds Sam’s hands, looks him in the face, and says “You’re welcome.”
Kurt, getting a little brave: “I know we’re not a couple. And I know you want to find yourself first... But do you want to kiss?”
Sam: “I’ve never kissed a guy before.”
Kurt: “Me neither. But I want to, and I trust you.”
Kurt picks up a hand, brushes it softly over Sam’s cheek, and Sam’s eyes flutter closed as Kurt leans in. It’s really just a light kiss, a brush of the lips, but Sam’s hold on Kurt’s other hand tightens before Kurt pulls away.
Kurt: “Goodnight, Mr Evans.”
Sam tips his head: “Goodnight, Mr Hummel.”
AHHHH IM SO SOFT AKSFHBLASKHF
sam is such a dork, I love how he dressed up to come out!! the ending has me sobbing, sam and kurt calling each other by there last names is my kryptonite
thank you sososo much for blessing my inbox with this <333
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shelli-gator · 3 years
Text
Ahdjdshs my peeps 🥺 can I interest you in a AHKJ mobster AU? These are the headcanons I can come up with at the moment, feel free to suggest other things or ask for more information in relation to these. :) also let me know if you wouldn't mind maybe a blog dedicated to this? I dunno I've never run an AU blog before.
But anyway! Let's go!
The lemurs, lead by Uncle Julien, are the source of the rainforest district's (or whatever the heck it's called) bootleg booze supply, working under the thumbs of the crocodiles and foosa to supply their respective clubs with alcohol as it lines Uncle Julien's pockets, with little regard for lemur safety.
But when Julien takes over by some lucky accident, he decides that his people aren't going to live in fear of the gangs anymore. He stops the supply of alcohol to the gangs, and instead uses it to start his own clubs. The lemurs throw outrageous parties, with the best booze and music, and the foosa and crocs are outraged to be outdone and snubbed by their former pipsqueak suppliers.
This inevitably becomes a dangerous game. Julien enlists the help of Clover, his uncle's former bodyguard. She in turn takes on Pancho, a booze thief that gets his slate wiped clean in exchange for working with them as one of their best mobsters and sources of intell. She also enlists the help of Ted, one of the best performers, to be their unassuming mobster, spy, and dazzling front of house. If anyone can deescalate a deal gone wrong, it's Ted with his charming demeanor. He's also an excellent tailor, and makes all their suits himself.
Horst is an excellent barman and mixer, and does some of his own alcohol brewing. He's also great at supplying music, and leads a band that plays some great swing music.
Karl is either a detective or private investigator on a mission to take down the lemurs booze empire, but Julien and his gang are far too crafty, and despite Karl being smarter than they are, they're really good at thwarting his efforts. Inadvertently, his attraction to the mob king gets in the way, and he often self sabotages his own plans without realizing it. His older brother Bruce is a police Captain who never listens to him, a trigger happy macho asshole who pretends to be super friendly. He doesn't take his brother or his investigations seriously, but that sometimes works in Karl's favor, as he is able to get classified police information without his brother noticing.
Willie is a dancer and singer/musician. The mobster life is definitely not for him. Unfortunately he needs the job, he's good at it, and he enjoys it, in spite of the peril. He's used to it at least, his family fights amongst themselves all the time, often violently. It's sad how he attempts to escape that by joining the mob life, but at least its on his own terms now.
Timo is their supplier of weapons, trackers and communicative devices, and is highly skilled at making his own weapons and ammunition. Besides guns, Pancho is an expert at making homemade explosives for the gang, like molotovs, though Timo calls those methods crude in comparison to his weapons.
Crimson is a Fem Fatale, one of Julien's former lovers hired by Uncle Julien to kill Julien and take back his place as mob boss. She works with Pam, a high flying gold digger and black widow.
Maurice is Julien's right hand man and best friend. He manages all trade negotiations and deals, and often oversees the supply of booze to the clubs alongside Hector, the resident grump with a keen eye for detail. No one fucks with Hector; he has a Remington and he is sure as shit not afraid to use it. He's seen more bar fights and turf wars than anyone combined, and while he's supposedly retired from that life, he's not so retired as to stop working with booze and mobsters.
Maurice is great at covering their tracks, making Karl's job all the harder.
Pancho is their getaway driver, since no one drives nearly as well, or recklessly. Besides the trucks ferrying booze to the clubs or driving their getaway vehicles, Pancho has his own car, one that frequently changes number plates and colour. He lifts Horst and Willie to places, and he often takes them on raucous joyrides with music and flowing booze. He sure as shit would never trust Horst to drive, but when he needs a driver he enlists Willie to do it. Willie is a nervous driver, but he's also not a big drinker, so Pancho would prefer he drives over functioning alcoholic Horst.
Julien is still called King Julien, as in the kingpin. They call him KJ, King Julien, King J, and Julio (Pancho). Maybe they still call him 'your majesty' but he's not actually royalty.
Mort I'm not so sure about. Maybe they use him for dirty work like burying people/evidence? I'm not sure, I'm open to suggestions.
Dorothy isn't involved in the mob life, and isn't really much for parties. Either she's with Ted and they're married as per usual, or she gets involved in the mob life through a different love interest. I think she'd be a librarian, or maybe a nurse? She also likes cooking and baking.
Have a song that I violently project on this au. I also love Parov Stelar, Caravan Palace, and Wolfgang.
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purplesurveys · 3 years
Text
1232
Did you make any money today?  Not today, because it’s a weekend.
What was the highest place you've ever jumped from?  I’m not too sure, actually. I tend to be cautious when it comes to jumping just because I always have this fear at the back of my head that I could possibly snap my legs in half upon landing lol.
Have you ever gone swimming in a river?  I don’t think I have.
Is there something you really want to buy at the moment?  I want a jumbo RJ doll but it’s quite expensive and not one of my priorities at the moment. 
Would you ever consider culinary school?  I want to learn how to cook but not passionate enough about it to enroll in culinary school altogether, so no.
What was the last souvenir someone got you?  It’s been a while since anyone went anywhere...
Do you have a favorite remix of a song?  I’ve never enjoyed remixes and just stick to original versions of songs. The one remix I’ll give a pass to is BTS’ Mic Drop with Steve Aoki just because that one includes a dance break that sounds really nice and gets me all hyped up.
Has the power gone out recently?  Yeah, like two weeks ago. I was working from home then so it had been a huge bother, but fortunately I had been charging my devices all day and also had enough data on my phone so I was able to continue.
Do you like driving at night?  It’s ok and actually pretty relaxing if it’s LATE late at night and there’s barely any cars. Driving in the evening during rush hour, on the other hand, is just fucking stressful.
What do you think is the most saddest sounding instrument?  Depending on how it’s played, probably the piano or violin.
Do you really pay attention to the ratings on movies?  Yes. It’s a pretty influential factor.
Have you ever snuck in to a theater/dance/bar etc?  No.
If given the chance, would you go to Ireland?  I mean, it’s not really on top of my bucket list but for the sake of travelling and experiencing a different place and culture I definitely would go to Ireland.
Are you afraid of standing on the edge of hills/skyscrapers/cliffs etc?  I am scared but whenever I’m given the chance to do this I kind of scrap that fear first and live in the moment.
Do you have a favorite species of wild cat (tiger/lion/cougar etc)?  No.
Do you have an absolute favorite name (boy or girl)? Alessandra, 120%. It is so beautiful-sounding, plus I love that you can use "Alessa" as a nickname. My Silent Hill obsession is quite thrilled by that, ha ha. < I love that name too, now that I think about it. For now, I think Olivia still tops my list.
Are you good at pronouncing foreign words?  My English is alright.
When listening to music, do you usually tap your foot etc to the beat?  I tap my fingers more than my foot.
Have you ever literally cried on a friend's shoulder?  Yeah but they were also my significant other then, so I dunno if that counts. I’m not super into physical touch so this isn’t something I’d do towards a friend, no matter how close we are.
Would you ever consider being a DJ at a party if you were paid?  Nah, I would suck.
Do strapless bras work for you?  No, my boobs are too small. 
Has anyone told you that they wanted to marry you/were planning on it/etc?  No.
Do you feel comfortable enough to wear short shorts?  Yeah, I just never really have the opportunity to wear them.
Have a favorite actor/actress from Old Hollywood? (Marilyn Munroe, etc) AUDREY HEPBURNNNNNNNNNN
What's your opinion on people who stretch their ears?  They can do whatever they want lol. I’m personally not a fan of the look but that’s my own problem to deal with.
Do you think tattoos are expressive art or unattractive?  Expressive.
What is your school mascot?  None of the schools I attended have one.
Have you ever seen a bear in the wild? I have never seen a bear.
What's the book you're currently reading?  Not reading anything at the moment.
Can you recall the most disturbing movie you've ever seen?  Eraserhead. Requiem For A Dream is also stressful to watch, even on your 2nd or 45th rewatch.
Has anyone you know gotten mono?  Possibly, but I can’t place names at the moment.
Have you ever picked an apple off the tree and eaten it?  No. Aside from the fact that I don’t eat fruits, apple trees aren’t native here so I’ve never actually seen one.
Can you say yes/no in different languages?  Oo/hindi, ne/ani.
Out of the traditional superheroes, which one is your favorite?  I don’t like superheroes.
Ever peed in your pants after the age of 10?  Not in my pants but my bed, but fortunately it just happened once.
Had any surgeries? What kind?  I have not.
Ever told your parents you hated them?  I had it written down on my journal when I was going through those rebellious puberty years, but it was only directed towards my mom because that had also been the peak of her emotionally/mentally abusive days. It’s funny because she snooped through my stuff then and saw the entry and ended up crying...and I didn’t even feel bad about it because 1) I meant what I wrote, and 2) she literally went through my shit. I still don’t feel bad about it.
Do you let your pets on your furniture?  Yes they can get on the couch and my bed.
How do you feel about kettle cooked chips?  I don’t really have an opinion lmao. If they are chips then they are going in my mouth.
How strong do you like your coffee?  I like milky/creamy coffee best tbh. When it comes to how strong they are I don’t have a preference.
Would you rather see someone of the opposite sex naked or nicely dressed?  Idk.
Would you ever consider visiting Texas?  I have relatives based in San Antonio and we’re pretty close to that side of the family, so yeah. 
If you could make a movie, what would it be about?  I’ve never been one for creative writing.
If you were kicked out of your current residence whom would you call?  My grandma or one of my aunts.
Do you want a boyfriend or girlfriend?  Not at this point in my life.
Do you prefer broccoli or asparagus?  Oooooohh I love both!
Was the last person you kissed attractive?  Objectively yes, but I no longer feel the attraction I once held for her.
Are you racist at all?  No.
Do you read creepypasta? If not, you should.  No thanks.
Have you ever vandalized?  Yeah some desks when I was in grade school.
Would you ever scuba dive in shark-infested waters if you had the chance? Most likely not. And by the way, they do not "infest" waters. That's their home. I hate that phrase so much. < This is a good point and I’d like to keep it here. Anywho, yeah I’m willing to do this but as far as I know they keep you in a cage when you go down in the water. I’d only do it if this was guaranteed lol.
Have you ever been drunk at work?  Hungover, yes. Drunk while at work, hell no.
Have you ever hit a parked car with your car?  No. My mom has done this with my parked car though -____- She had been backing up and I kept honking as she inched closer to my car, but she heeded me no mind until she finally hit me.
Have you ever slept on the floor with someone you like?  We probably had but I don’t remember the details anymore.
Which do you prefer: french toast, bagels, or cereal?  Bagels.
Do you prefer light or dark haired?  Dark.
Have you ever read any of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books?  Yes, I liked reading those in like grade school and high school.
Would you be prepared to do a job that you didn’t like, if it paid well?  I haven’t been placed in that situation yet, so I’m not actually sure how I would handle it. Depends on how much the money is, I guess.
Do you think age is needed for maturity?  No.
Do you believe the future is predetermined?  I don’t think so.
What words are most comforting to you?  Words of reassurance, like, “I’m just here,” “You don’t have to apologize.”
How important is money to you?  It is generally pretty important to me and I’m usually good at saving...I’ve just hit a road bump the last few months because getting into K-Pop means wanting to get something out of every new merch drop hahahaha. I went alarmingly crazy from April to June, but I made a vow to calm down starting this July; and so far, aside from pre-ordering the new Memories of 2020 DVD and buying some merch from the pop-up store, I haven’t bought anything else.
Is there anything you want to last forever?  Cold weather in the Philippines.
List three of your passions:  Writing, food, and museums.
How old do you want to live to? Just because I’m competitive even until age, I want to make it to 100 lmao.
What kind of love do you value the most?  Very comfortable platonic love. I highly value friendships where I can pretty much treat them like an SO hahaha.
If you could control one element, what would it be?  I don’t care.
Do you prefer foxes or wolves?  No preferences.
Could you ever deliver a baby?  OMG no I would be terrible and would for sure bring more harm than good to the mother.
Do you think suits are sexy?  Uh yeah.
Ever been called babe?  Yeah.
How old is your youngest sibling?  18.
Who in your phone has a heart after their name?  Angela.
Favorite boy’s name?  I guess I have several preferences, but I dunno if I have favorite boy’s names. I like the sounds of Lucas, Jacob, Liam, and Mason.
Are your parents together, separated, divorced, never married, what?  Married.
Do you go online every day?  For sure.
What is the best quality in the last guy you kissed?  I’ve never kissed a guy.
What do you usually do during a kiss? Depends on how passionate it is? < Yeah.
Do you have an older brother?  Technically no, but I have a cousin that I pretty much see as one.
You’re offered free tickets to a Justin Bieber concert. What do you do?  I love Biebs, but I would probably sell them. Some extra money is always good hahaha.
What’s the genre of the current song you’re listening to?  K-Pop, R&B.
Would you ever keep your favorite animal as a pet?  Yeah, I already have two of them.
Would you ever sell your soul?  Erm, I guess not.
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