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soberrsoon · 4 months

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hey girl!!! i acc j stalked ur whole page i love ur writing sm 😋😋

anyways i was wondering if u could write smth with tom where him and the reader aren’t in a relationship yet but they like eachother, and then somehow they end up having to share a bed (like maybe reader is in the band and the hotel room they were staying in only had one bed girl idk) and then the reader has a nightmare and tom like comforts her and cuddles her and stuff like j fluff and it ends w tom confessing feelings to the reader??

SORRY IF THATS RLY LONG AND SPECIFIC BUT IT WOULD BE SO CUTE 💗💗💗 TY POOKIE 🤭

T. KAULITZ x READER

★ 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: being the only girl in a band was tough, so of course having to deal with your feelings towards the guitarist after a nightmare incident wasn’t your intention.

★ 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: cursing 👼

★ 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: i’m backkkkkk 😉 probably gonna disappear after this but wanted to give you guys a little something 😜 as always, thanks for the request

you were tough, independent, and didn’t care what anyone had to say about you. that mindset helped you a lot, especially since you were in an awkward situation being the only girl in a hot “all-boy” band. honestly though, you could pretend the mean comments didn’t hurt or that the snarky remarks didn’t even phase you, but truthfully they did. you tried masking it as best as you could but when you were all alone, it hit like a train wreck. considering you were especially close with the hottest member, tom, the guitarist didn’t help either. you’ve know him and his twin since high school, when they first met and recruited you.

they found you performing at a recital your vocal coach was holding and in their words “fell in love with you immediately.” bill was the real star the, the main singer. you would get major solos here and there but bill took the stage most of the time leaving you as a filler member. everyone had their own role, just for them except you who had to share one of you could even call it that considering bill did most the work. this was your biggest insecurity as a member and the “fans” knew that so they dig into you like crazy, but sometimes people had good things to say which was what kept you going.

you spent most of your free time privately scrolling endlessly on sites reading and reading about what others said about you until you couldn’t take it anymore or one of the members snapped you out of it, usually it was tom. tom was like the light in all the darkness, he really saved you during bad days and could read you like an open book. he always knew what to say and when to say them and never made you feel bad. you knew he was meant for being a total flirt but in private he’s genuinely a really sweet person. speaking of tom, you remember you had to meet the band for a rehearsal before a huge gig tomorrow. it slipped your mind so you quickly put your shoes on and left the house.

at the studio, tom, bill, and gustav were already there leaving georg to be the last one to arrive which left some relief knowing you weren’t the only one late. you greeted tom first as you walked over to give bill a hug, he’s been the nicest to you since you guys first met and without him, you wouldn’t have even been in the band. you reached for a water bottle and left to go to a warmup room. it seemed like bill had already warmed up without you so you tried to make it fast so rehearsal could start.

you walked out the room after you finished and greeted georg who had just arrived. you reached for the mic that bill was handing you and got to your designated spot next to tom where you always stood during rehearsal or shows. if it wasn’t obvious by now, you had a massive crush on tom but couldn’t show it obviously die to the fans already speculating something between you two in addiction to the hate you would get, plus you knew tom would never date you since he always had a girl in hand.

“late as usual,” he said. “yea, did you miss me?” you asked. “you know i always do”, he said charismatically which made you fold instantly. you guys got started though and things got serious, bill was very strict with rehearsals, especially today since there was a show tomorrow. “alright let’s get started then,” bill said with a stern face which everyone knew as his “stop messing around and get to work” face. due to the show being tomorrow you and bill didn’t really use your voices as much as you usually did any other rehearsal but just listened to the others who had instruments.

tom always drove you home after rehearsal but today it was different. you noticed a fancy sports car pull up by the studio and tom hopped in. there was a pretty lady driving the car and you already knew why, tom was probably going to a party which would end up in him being blacked out drunk and hungover which wasn’t ideal considering what tomorrow was. you ignored it though and called a taxi, annoyed that he couldn’t even give you heads up. you unlocked your door and headed struggling for your room, falling onto the bed when you got there.

it was quiet and the room was still. you looked up at the ceiling and closed your eyes, thinking about whatever slipped into your head which was obviously tom. he always did this but this time it hurt, like a lot more than it usually did. you let out a long sigh and got ready for bed since tomorrow was a big day and you had to be up early. you went to bed and woke up the next just as tired as the day before but still you got ready. you brushed your teeth, trying to shake off the grogginess of the morning as well before checking your phone to find a text from bill in the group chat.

it read that him and tom would be running late since tom was hungover. that was classic tom so basically everyone ignored it… everyone except you. the memories from last night flooded back and your remembered how tom basically left you for another girl, literally. you were now more annoyed than sad at tom and put your phone down. it was six a.m and the bus was set to leave at seven a.m but you knew the boys would take an hour just to show up so you hurried. you got there at 6:35 and were the first to arrive after gustav, then georg, and then tom and bill.

“took you guys long enough,” georg said as tom and bill stepped out their cab. “yeah sorry about that, tom wouldn’t cooperate,” he said. you rolled your eyes and glared at tom. you walked over to the bus and made sure al the luggage was already boarded and after confirming with your manager you got on. you took a seat, put your earbuds in and closed your eyes. you fell asleep for the first half of the ride, then woke up to use the bathroom. once you got back, you noticed tom was asleep. he looked so… peaceful? you creepily stared at him until you heard his phone buzz, a notification. it was from a girl, you already knew. your suspicions were confirmed after you sneakily picked up us cell to check. “can’t wait to see you on tour ;)” read the message. you scoffed and put the phone down, this time going to your cubicle bed instead of your usual seat. you laid there listening to music for the continuation of the ride.

bill was the one to wake you up once you arrived. “______, we’re hereeeee~.” he said. you groaned and rubbed your eyes as you yawned. “we have to stop at a hotel though since there’s troubles with the bus, we can’t stay here.” he explained. “did you guys already book a room?” you asked, sitting up now. “uh yeah, about that.” he looked around anxiously scratching the back of his head. you raised an eyebrow, “there were only 3 rooms available, and we kinda figured you and tom would want to share…” he said. fuck. just what you needed after seeing him with another girl. being too tired to fight and just wanting to sleep you nodded your head and followed the others out.

you finally get situated in your shared room with tom and the atmosphere is awkward, very awkward. “do you want to shower first?” he asked. “i don’t care.” you said bluntly, not looking at him. he said nothing else but just sighed and grabbed a towel, he didn’t want to argue with you. After he finished his shower you took yours. You did your nightly routine and jumped in the shared bed. It was completely silent, neither the both of you wanted to say anything. Tom’s back was turned to you which bothered you a lot because why was he mad? He had no right. You rolled your eyes and turned your lamp off, then dozed off.

You loudly awoken after a horrible dream you had involving a car accident with the your bus. You sat up, sweaty from the panic. You were breathing heavy and felt to alone until a warm touch was placed onto your back. “______ are you alright?!?” tom asked panicked. you let out a breath, and without a thought reached for him, completely forgetting that had happened. “tom is was so scary,” you managed to sob out. “it was horrible, the car just- it’s swerved- and then-,” you rambled with a loss of words. “hey, hey, hey ______, it’s okay. you don’t have to explain anything you don’t want to,” he said ketch a confronting tone. you hugged him tighter. “thanks tom,” you let out. he stayed silent but the two of you stayed in that position for what you assumed the rest of the night since when you woke up, you were still in his arms. butterflies filled your stomach until last nights occurrence flooded back into your memory. you sighed, hating that you don’t want to leave. you wanted to stay in this position forever until you heard tom mutter something.

“sleep well princess?” he asked. you lost all those happy feelings and sat up. “how about we forget this?” you asked. fuck! why was that the first thing you thought to say. deep down you didn’t want to ever lose this feeling of him but no doing so would’ve made things 100% more awkward. “______. i’m tired of playing these games with you. why are you acting so weird?” he asked. you hated confrontation so yo stood there for a while, until finally decided t to be honest. “because tom…” you paused. “you act like you like me and then you don’t? but then you’ll flirt with me and i feel good until i see you with another girl and it’s just so- it hurts me, and you don’t seem to care, like at all.” you rambled out. he as silent. “oh ______… i had no idea you felt that way,” he said looking down. “here, come sit,” he said. you hesitated for a second but did as he said. “truth is, i don’t mean to hurt. actually, i really like you and i know it’s a dick move but i flirt with other girls to make you jealous,” he admitted. you were taken aback.

“why?” you asked. “i don’t know, i guess it’s the only way i figured you would care. i mean you’re so busy all the time with your own stuff,” he said. “that doesn’t mean you can just play with my feelings like that though,” you said. “i know, i know. i admit that mistake. i just really want you to be mine and only mine.” he confessed. you thought about it for a second. “you can make it happen,” you said with a smirk. he didn’t say anything but just had a puzzled look on his face. “how?” he asked. “well first of all promise me you won’t talk to other girls, and second of all, kiss me.” you said with a big smile. “done.” he said as he picked you up which caught you by surprise, and gave you the best kiss of your life.

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truedairship · 18 days

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Tell me more about your horse, please?

Ooohh boy never ask someone about their horse or they won’t shut up. Okay. I have no idea how much you know about horses, so I’ll try to keep the horse terms to a minimum.

Getting her is a bit of a funny story really. And kind of relevant. But background info: Us mere mortals can’t afford horses competing at the higher levels. Your only chance is basically to buy a promising youngster, train them yourself and hope that the stars align and that in a few years you can compete at the level you wanted. But most of those horses are quite expensive as well. Everybody wants those with good blood for a reason (blood = lineage, breed, how reactive yada yada).

I wasn’t even gonna buy a horse back then because I knew I would be moving abroad a year later, and I already had my pony. (Whom I had considered selling to afford a horse but whatever). Anyways, I helped my trainer break in her youngsters, they got an extended summer break after, and come winter she called me and asked if I wanted C. Because they didn’t get along. She had been a… special cookie… to break in, but an incredibly fun one. So yeah. I got a good horse real cheap because she’s crazy.

She’s… well, she’s a brat. A stubborn, explosive bitch that’s too damn smart for her own good and the biggest goddamn drama queen the world has ever seen. She’s also one of the most hardworking, powerful and talented horses I’ve ever ridden. Her teenage years were eventful to say the least, and it has been a lot of work to teach her some proper manners. I could probably fill a book with all the stupid stunts she’s pulled over the years. But at the same time, that’s kind of the charm. You never have a boring day with her.

Despite her attitude and the drama, she’s genuinely very kind. She just doesn’t show it if she doesn’t have to😅 But she never wants to drop her rider, I’ve only fallen off because we stumbled over an xc-jump and she almost did a somersault. And while she usually is too impatient to stand still, whenever there’s small kids around she won’t move a leg, but you can see her literally twitching because that is tiny human. Must not move. Tiny human fragile, stepping on will injure. She was also the one who accompanied youngsters on their first forest hacks at my old job, because, while hacking out usually is a rollercoaster ride of jumping away from invisible monsters hiding behind stones (thoroughbreds in my heart<3), when the kiddos came with, she was super cool and they could even run into her and she didn’t even bat an eye. Because they are her adopted siblings now and Ohana means family.

So yeah. She has quite the personality but this is already getting long. And when it comes to riding, well, attempting to avoid using technical terms, you can teach just about any horse to move fancy, but riding a horse that does it naturally is just something else. She does everything with such ease and such power. And she loves to learn new stuff, which to me is the most important part. I’d rather ride an eager horse with zero talent than an unmotivated one. Because having to force them to work… nope.

Generally with horses, if you have a bad day, it’s 50/50 whether you’ll have one of the nicest rides of your life because the horse notices that you’re not at your best, or you’ll have what feels like the worst one ever because nothing works and the horse decides that if you’re not gonna try your best, they won’t either. 9/10 times, she’s the first type (and considering that we sometimes can spend the entire warmup discussing whether the chair in the corner will eat us or not, that’s saying something)

That’s also kind of why I’m selling her. I don’t have the time to ride her everyday. So when I do, she’s super duper happy and energetic and it makes me feel all guilty that I can’t ride her more. And it breaks my heart every time she comes running towards me in the field all eager, only for me to give her a pat and a carrot then leave (makes me feel like a parent that doesn’t have time for their kid so they spoil them with toys instead😅). I usually give her a kiss on the nose as a goodbye, but lately she refuses to let me do it unless I have ridden her first. And no, that’s not an exaggeration.

Tl;dr: She’s a bitch, she’s amazing, she drives me crazy and she’s my best friend. Being allowed to ride her is an honour. (and unfortunately she’s aware of that😆)

#sorry this got really long #though you did ask so I’m not fully to blame #asks #thank you for the ask!

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banannabethchase · 8 months

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Work at a Smile, Go for a Ride - also on AO3

Matt, about to lose his composure, has to take a walk in the middle of the coffin match during All In. And he runs into one Jon Moxley.

Bingo square hurt/comfort, you are vanquished! Title from Bad Day by Daniel Powter, because I'm old.

Matt can’t even keep his focus during the rest of All In. This is his baby, his life’s work. And he lost. They all lost.

When the screen in front of him blurs to the point where he can’t tell who’s who in the coffin match, he knows he has to call it.

“I need to talk a walk,” he says, and it’s too loud, it’s too abrupt, they’re gonna know.

Nick looks over at him. Then Adam, then Kenny. Even Kota’s eyes harbor pity, something Matt’s never wanted to earn from him. Adam smiles, too gently. “Want me to come with?”

“No,” Matt says, too quickly.

Nick stares at him, studies him unblinkingly. “Are you okay?”

“I’m – fine,” Matt lies. “I just need some alone time, okay?” He risks a look at Nick, whose blue eyes are giant and sad. He resists the urge to laugh; sometimes they do look like twins.

“I’m sorry, Matt,” Nick whispers. He reaches out and rests his hand on Matt’s arm. The repaired bicep. “I’m so sorry.”

Matt lies with a smile and sighs. “It’s not you. Sometimes it just doesn’t go our way, okay?” He leans in and pulls Nick in for the most reassuring hug he can muster, then steps away. “I’ll, um. I’ll be back.” He steps backward and waves at everyone at the production station and turns before the first tear builds.

This is stupid. It doesn’t matter if they won or lost. Nick even said that.

He was a half second too late to break up the pin, though. That does matter.

He swipes at his eyes, refusing to let tears fall if he cant stop them from gathering, and runs headlong into someone.

“Watch it!”

Matt looks up, startled. “I – sorry, Mox.” He steps aside. “I – yeah.”

“Whoa,” Mox says. Matt turns around. “No ‘eff you’? No ‘how’d it feel to lose’? What’s with the lack of attitude?”

Matt shrugs. “Not feeling it today.”

Mox stares at him so hard Matt blinks first, and a single tear he’s been battling runs down his face. He reaches up to swipe it away, but Mox catches it first with a rough thumb against his cheek. “Why aren’t you with your friends?”

“I really don’t want to do this right now.”

Mox sighs. “Okay. Fine.” He grabs Matt’s arm, gently at least, and steers him into the now empty warmup room. Matt’s immediately hit with the wall of excitement that now stings, the anticipation of being in this room earlier now soured with disappointment. “We don’t have to do it now. Whenever you’re ready.”

Matt sits on the bench, head dropping between his shoulders. “We don’t – you don’t need to talk to me. I’m fine.”

“How many times do you think you have to say that before it magically comes true?” The weight shifts on the bench and Mox’s thigh bumps against Matt’s. “Talk to me.”

“Why?” Matt asks, turning to Mox. “No offense or anything, but you hate me. Is this to get intel or something?”

Mox blinks at him. “You think I hate you?”

“I mean…” Matt pauses, unsure of where to go next. “Don’t you?”

Mox gets a hint of a smile in his eyes. “Do you hate me?”

Matt shrugs. “I don’t think so. Probably not.”

“Well, then, I probably don’t hate you, too,” Mox says. He bumps Matt’s arm. “Talk to me.”

“This is weird.”

“I’m weird,” Mox says. He points to his forehead, bandaged in a way that’s almost cartoonish. “I got skewers in my forehead.”

“You did,” Matt says, and he surprises himself with a tiny chuckle. “What’s with you and bleeding that much?”

“Feels good,” Mox says, stretching his arms up. “You know? Like I’m really working for it.”

“Oh, like it’s not real if you don’t bleed?” Matt scoffs. “My leg is killing me right now and all I’ll have to show is a bruise.” He rolls his eyes.

“What, you want me to kiss it better, you big baby?” Mox asks.

Laughing, Matt speaks before he thinks. “If that’s what I wanted, I’d tell you my dick hurt.” Matt freezes. “Uh.”

“No, no, continue,” Mox says. “I would love to hear what your next idea was.”

“I – shut up.” Matt feels himself blush red.

“No, keep talking,” Mox goads. “Is that how you and the Elite celebrate when you win?” Mox leans in, and Matt can sense Mox’s lips by his ear. “You upset because you ain’t getting any?”

Matt turns to find Mox far closer than he though. “Did you bring me in here to, like, seduce me while I’m miserable?”

“Wasn’t my first plan, but now that we’re here.” He doesn’t move, though. His eyes keep flickering to Matt’s mouth.

Matt sighs. “Ugh. At least I’ll have something good to look back on from tonight.” He leans in and kisses Mox, who grabs at his hips. Matt shifts, letting Mox guide him so he’s straddled his lap. The angle is delicious, and Mox slides his hands into Matt’s still shower damp hair to anchor Matt where he wants him. Matt whimpers. He can’t stop his hands from going to Mox’s face until he bumps the bandage.

“Sorry,” he gasps, pulling away.

“Nah, fuck it up all you like.” Mox winks. “You gotta know by now I like a little pain.”

“You’re the worst,” Matt grumbles, but he leans in and kisses Mox again, digging his nails a little into Mox’s biceps. Mox moans into his mouth, his hands sliding up the back of Matt’s shirt and pulling away just enough to take it off.

“Lay down,” Mox says. “Gonna kiss that dick all better.”

Matt laughs again, and it feels weird to be giddy after such a miserable loss, but he lets Mox maneuver him to the bench. “This is stupid.”

“Yes,” Mox says, and Matt sits up to see Mox’s face framed by his own thighs. “Is that a problem?”

Matt shuffles his gym shorts and boxers down his hips, and Mox tosses them to the side. “No.”

“Cool.”

Like his wrestling, Mox doesn’t appear to have much warmup with blowjobs. Matt’s entire dick is in his mouth before Matt can blink. “Holy – oh my god.”

Mox gives a thumbs up and eyes him with a mouthful of cock.

“I – of course it’s good, why are you asking?”

Mox bobs down and pulls off, adding his hand to stroke Matt. “I wanted to confirm. I want to make it better, not worse.”

“Do you always offer blowjobs to people who lose matches?” Matt asks, words high and unsteady as Mox licks at the head of his cock.

“Only when they’re pretty and nice to me.” Mox winks and sinks his mouth back around Matt.

“Pretty,” Matt gasps, forcing his hips to stay still. “You think so?”

Mox pulls back, tongues at Matt’s slit and strokes again. “Very pretty,” Mox says. “Probably prettier if you can stop asking me questions so I can suck you off properly.”

Matt laughs and drops his head back, lightheaded. “Yeah. Yeah, I get that. Okay. No more questions.”

“That doesn’t mean be quiet,” Mox says, and it feels almost like an admonishment. “We got nobody in here, baby, and nobody due for a while. I wanna hear you.”

Matt giggles, high pitched and stupid. “Yeah, okay.”

He talks. He doesn’t remember anything he says – just talks, asks for more, directs Mox on what he likes, and praises what works. Mox slides his hands under Matt’s ass and lifts him high.

“Can – can I?” Matt doesn’t have the brainpower to ask right, so he tilts his hips a little, hoping it gets across what he wants.

Mox pulls away, a string of saliva going from the tip of Matt’s cock to his lip, and Matt almost comes right then. “You asking if you can fuck my mouth?”

Matt whines as he nods.

“Then go ahead.”

Matt should be embarrassed by how fast everything barrels toward him. Usually he has a bit of a warning, a tingle in his spine, but he barely has the chance to say, “I –”

Mox sucks hard, and Matt thinks his soul shoots out his dick as he comes down Mox’s throat. “Oh, my god.”

Mox laughs as he pulls off, using the sleeve of his BCC hoodie to wipe his mouth. “Yeah? I’ll take it as a positive review.”

“Get – over here,” Matt demands. Mox lifts himself up on his knees and Matt falls forward to kiss him. The taste of himself in Mox’s mouth sends his head spinning so he pushes further forward and the two of them crash backward onto the mats.

“Oops,” Matt says, not sorry at all.

Mox grins and pulls him down for another kiss. It strikes Matt that this is possibly the stupidest thing he could be doing right now. There’s already been another backstage problem tonight, and getting walked in on mid-sex with Jon goddamned Moxley can’t end well.

But he was sad and now he’s not, and he had failed before and he sure won’t in a blow job, so maybe this bad decision is worth it.

He slides down Mox’s body and gets his fingers hooked in the waistband of Mox’s sweatpants. “Yes?”

“Fuck yes,” Mox confirms.

“Also, for the record,” Matt says, licking his lips as Mox’s cock pops into view. “You can fuck my mouth.”

Mox laughs is almost more of a gasp as Matt sinks down on his cock. “Noted. Jesus fuck.”

Matt knows he’s good at this blowjob thing. Wouldn’t have had nearly as much fun in Ring of Honor if he wasn’t, he considers. Mox’s hips lift almost weakly as he pushes into Matt’s mouth, so Matt grabs the back of his thighs to help with the motion.

“Knew those biceps and that mouth would be good for something,” Mox laughs.

Matt moves a finger to flip Mox off while he cups Mox’s balls with the other, and Mox devolves into mindless babbles and swears.

He takes the moment like a meditation. They lost tonight. He and all of the Elite lost. But it’s not the end. Losing in Wembley, knowing that All Out and Wrestle Dream and Full Gear at the Forum are coming up, isn’t the end of it all.

As Mox warns, “Jesus, Matt, I’m about to – fuck,” Matt thinks he’s less of a failure than he worried.

Mox comes down his throat like a confirmation, and Matt grins around it as he swallows down. Today he had a bad match. It happens.

He definitely didn’t have a bad evening, though.

“Good?” he asks, leaning down to wipe his mouth on Mox’s black sweatpants. A streak of spit and come is left behind, and Matt grins at it.

“Good – are you kidding me?” Mox sits up, looking befuddled. “How the fuck – why are you so good at that?”

“Practice,” Matt says. He grabs his shorts and boxers from where Mox had thrown them and shuffles them on, making it just the tiniest performance as he shakes his ass in front of Mox.

“With who?”

Matt throws a grin over his shoulder. “We do this again, maybe I’ll tell you.”

Mox groans, dropping back to the bench. “Goddamn it. Now I have to fuck you again.”

“Oh no,” Matt deadpans, adjusting his hair in the mirror. “I might get your dick in my ass. What a terrible fate.”

Mox grins at him in the mirror. “Next time I should fuck you with mirrors. I bet you like that, huh?”

“Have every time I’ve fucked in a gym,” Matt replies.

“What?! I thought you were a good Christian boy or whatever.”

Matt leans down and kisses Mox on the lips, because why not, and half skips toward the door. “Good Christians make the world a kinder place. I find blow jobs and sex work well for that.”

Mox blinks at him. “I may become obsessed with you.”

Matt sighs, hand on the door knob. “A lot of people do. Text me when you get to your hotel.”

“Um. Yeah. Yeah, okay.”

Matt’s able to keep himself from literally skipping back to the production area, but he can’t wipe off the smile.

“You look chipper,” Adam says, a coffee in his hands. He gives it to Matt. “Here. I got you something that might make you feel better, but you look like you’re good now.”

Matt takes a sip. Perfect. “I feel better, yeah.”

Nick whips around and gets a look at Matt, scrutinizing. Matt tries not to betray his past half hour. “Oh, god,” Nick says, with the most dramatic eye roll since the 90s, “who did you sleep with?”

“I – what?!” Matt tries to argue, deny it, something, but all that comes out are squeaks.

Adam throws back his head, laughing. “Oh, Jesus. That’s what the smile is.”

“Just shut up and give me a headset,” Matt grumbles, but he’s still smiling as he settles behind a screen.

Mini Playlist:

Bad Day - Daniel Powter

Dirty Thoughts - Chloe Adams

Something In Your Mouth - Nickelback

Throat Goat - Kim Petras

#MoxMatt #ffw bingo #wtf I like wrestling now???#in which Sara writes #Matt Attrackson #madly in love with leather daddy jon moxley #enjoy the shenanigans

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waywardstraysau · 1 year

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The school’s gym was in fact a converted ballroom, which meant it was quite big. Not quite as big as the gymnasium back in Gravesfield mind you, the ceiling was lower and the walls were still covered in ornate wallpaper. In fact, if Luz had to guess, it was smaller by a good few yards. The chandeliers above gave the impression that the conversion wasn’t quite done either, a stray ball that went a little too high would easily hit them. If the translucent bits hanging from them were glass, anyone directly below would be in serious trouble. If they were real crystals however, they’d probably be better off, not great, they would still be heavy and sharp, but falling glass usually meant a trip to the emergency room.

The staff, thankfully, seemed to be aware of this risk, for while the students met in the gymnasium, the actual class was being held outside. Stan led them (calling him Grunkle was still weird), and had them meet in the forest near the front of the school. “Alright, you all-” he stopped when he noticed the newcomers, “Most of you know how this works. One lap around the property and no powers allowed until you reach the halfway point, ya got it?” “Yes Grunkle Stan,” the majority of the class said in unison.

“Alright! Now, you all go at the same time, try not to kill each other when you do! Start stretchin’, ya got five minutes!”

Luz held King closer to her chest as she looked around. This was a bit less formalized than what she had expected, the others seemed to be doing their own preferred warmups with no real cohesion between them. Hunter had already made it to twenty-something with his push-ups and showed no sign of slowing down. The odd part was that they were all expected to run at the same time, at every other school she had attended, they would have gone one at a time. Then again this course seemed a lot bigger than anything her old schools could have managed.

“Yo, squirt!”

“Eep!”

She squeaked and nearly jumped out of her shoes at the sudden gruff voice being directed at her! She turned away from her thoughts to see Stan standing in front of her.

“Yer the new kids right?”

“Uh, y-yes sir.”

“Alright, hate ta do this to ya kiddo, but her little furball’s gotta stay here,” he said as he pointed at King.

“Weh?! No! I’m not leaving Luz!” the little demon squealed. “Kid, this is an obstacle course, she’s not gonna be able to carry you and run it at the same time. Plus it’s a bit too big for someone yer size anyway.” “I’ll ride on her back! I’ll hide in her hoodie! I’ll-” “I got candy!” Like a magician, he pulled out two large handfuls of sweets from seemingly nowhere, and King’s eyes widened. “But… but… I can’t leave Luz… she’s-” “Hey, King, buddy, it’s okay,” the girl in question interrupted, her voice soothing, “It’s just going to be for a little while. Plus you’ll be spending the day with the other little kids soon, one class away from me’ll be good practice for that.” He let out a tiny whine and she kissed him on his skull. “Just for one class, and I’ll be back as soon as I can, I promise.” He hesitated, but then nodded with a small noise of affirmation and sat in the grass by Stan’s feet. The grown man then knelt down to hand him a piece of hard candy, that appeared from seemingly nowhere by sleight of hand. It reassured Luz enough to turn away and start her stretching. As she was finishing up her stretches, she was surprised to hear someone running towards her. She looked up and smiled as she recognized Tulip, who looked rather excited. “Hey, Luz!” “Hey, what’s up?” “You remember those friends I mentioned this morning? Well one of them wants to meet you.” “They… do?” “Yeah, I told them about you and they wanted to say hi before class started.” “Oh, uh, o-okay, sure! Where are they?” “I loom behind you!” Luz let out a small yell and jumped in surprise, turning around so fast she almost made herself dizzy. The first thing she registered was that the person had the same face as Tulip, to the point she thought they had to have been a twin the redhead had failed to mention. The second thing, though it probably should have been the first, is that they were made of metal. This new person had a cocky smirk as she soaked in the details of their appearance. While their face was the same, barring a single eyebrow slit, they also had a shaved head, with a few needle-like strands of hair, and holes in their earlobes. They wore a black t-shirt that had the sleeves ripped off, jeans, a little black bracelet and brown boots. “S’up? The name’s Lake,” they asked, with a metallic ring to their voice, like they were speaking into a soup can. “Whoa…! What… I… ahem, lo siento. Hi, I’m Luz.” “So you’re Tulip’s new roomie, huh? I thought you were supposed to have a living stuffed animal with ya or somethin’.” “Y-Yeah, well I mean, I am her roommate, along with King,” she pointed towards the little demon, Stan seemed to be showing him a magic trick, “He’s too little for the obstacle course so he’s staying here… also he’s a demon.” “Oh, huh, that’s cool.” “Yeah… um… can I go ahead and ask the obvious question here?” “Hehehehe, you wanna know why I’m made of metal right?” “...that was actually my second question. My first one was why the heck do you and Tulip look exactly alike?” “You wanna tell ‘er or should I?” Tulip interrupted, resting her arm on Lake’s shoulder. “Eh, I might as well,” they smirked before looking at Luz, “I used to be her reflection.” “Reflection? As in like…?” “Yup, I don’t have a reflection anymore,” Tulip grinned, pulling out a small pocket mirror and held it up, showing only Lake, “I’m like a vampire! Bleh! I’m gonna suck your blood!” “You can try, you’ll never be able to bite through my skin!” The two of them laughed, and Luz tried to restrain back her own giggles. “How did you two even meet?” “Remember the Train I told you about?” “Uh huh?” “One of the cars was the Mirror Car, and inside, you could switch places with your reflection, one thing led to another and I helped Lake escape the Mirror World.” “We went our separate ways after that and eventually I got off the train with the help of my friend, Jesse.” “Oh… uh, is she here or…?” “Well, first of all, Jesse’s a boy, and second no, not yet. His parents want him to finish out the semester at his current school before sending him here.” “What, why?” “I ‘unno, adults are weird.” Before anything more could be said, Stan called out, “Alright kids, get to the starting line!” The students scrambled to the starting line, it was drawn in the dirt with yellow chalk. A few of them crouched down, like the professional runners she sometimes saw on TV, while others were simply standing. She didn’t know which she should do and didn’t know who to ask. She also didn’t see Hunter anymore, there must have been too many people between them. “On your marks!” Stan loudly proclaimed, “Get set!” He pulled out a blow horn. “GO!” The horn rang loudly and spooked a flock of nearby birds. The gaggle of students began to run, Luz had no idea where anyone was, and decided following the group as best she could was the safest option. The first obstacle was very simple, a large downed tree that laid across the path, she could see the others vaulting over the trunk with ease. Some were getting a lot more air than the others, it was rather impressive to see! She managed the jump with a semi-awkward landing on the other side, and she could see the next obstacle. It was a steep wooden incline with a series of small ledges for footholds and three lengths of rope hanging from the top. At the base, there were three lines forming as the others got ready to climb. She looked up and could see Hunter disappear over the top, how the heck was he so fast?! It took no time at all for her to reach the front of one of the lines to begin her climb, and she was happy to find it wasn’t quite as hard as she had been expecting. She looked to her left and saw Tulip reaching the top, who looked back, noticed her and grinned, geturing for her to hurry up. When Luz joined her, she looked down the other side and saw that there was another incline on the other side, one that was made of colorful foam and wasn’t nearly as steep as the one they had just climbed. “I love this part,” the redhead smirked before sliding down with a loud, “Woohoo!” Down below, Lake was standing at the bottom, as if waiting. When their double reached the end of her slide, they helped her up, the two said something and then the bespectacled girl looked back up to the summit. She quickly waved for Luz to come down, followed by the former reflection doing the same. They were encouraging her to follow them. She smiled to herself a bit before sliding down. Her roommate was right, it was fun! Then the two helped her to her feet and they started running again. This whole thing was turning out to be fun already! Further ahead, Hunter was having different thoughts. He thought it was insultingly easy. Now, he knew not everyone was as athletic as him, he was the Golden Guard after all, excellence was expected of him in everything he did… but by the Titan this was child’s play! There was no challenge to it! Where were the traps? The spiked pits? The swinging axes? Sure this wasn’t the castle but they could have set up something! Were humans too fragile for that? He had left the human and her little rat in the dust at the very start, followed shortly by just about every other student he could actually name. He hadn’t seen that loud-mouth MK yet though, had he gotten ahead of the group or something? Were there others who had gotten ahead of him as well? Whatever, he’d overtake them all eventually, he couldn’t fail at this. He had to reach the end first. His suspicions were proven right when he reached a rope ladder that led to a series of large platforms built into the trees. When he reached the top, he could see someone up ahead. The witch frowned and ran faster. He caught up to the kid as he was crossing a suspended bridge that hung between two of the trees. The stranger was going a bit slower, clearly trying not to lose his footing as it swayed softly. Down below, Hunter could see a net, set up to catch anyone who might fall. His eye twitched. This was getting very insulting. He grunted and ran again, gaining ground on the boy on the bridge and pushed past him, feeling a tiny prick of pride at the success. He could hear the kid yell out in surprise when he did but he didn’t pay him a second thought. Once he reached the halfway point, he’d use Flapjack to catch up to whoever else might be left. Or at least, that was the plan. Instead, he found himself having to put actual effort to run faster, the boy from the bridge was also fast, and able to keep pace. There was still some distance between them, but Hunter had no doubt he’d make a move to close the gap soon. He cursed his luck before looking ahead to see there was one platform left. The way to reach it was by crossing a series of small, wooden platforms that were suspended by a pair of wires strung between the ones built into the trees. He would have to jump to reach them, if he was lucky he might be able to skip over some if he had enough momentum. He made it to the first few with ease, after only a few jumps, he realized he was losing speed. Taking a risk, he skipped over the next one entirely and went straight for the one after it. He made it, but he needed a second to regain his balance. Feeling emboldened, he jumped again, skipping another platform, but this time, he couldn’t regain his composure in time and fell to his knees. He panted as he looked down below, seeing the net again. “Hey, you okay?” the boy called. Hunter looked back and got his first good look at him. He was surprisingly mundane-looking, with neatly combed black hair that was parted on the side, big blue eyes and very willowy. He was dressed in a blue jacket with the sleeves rolled up, just below the elbows and zipped up halfway, showing a white shirt underneath. He also wore blue jeans and blue and white shoes, overall, he was perhaps the most boring-looking human he had seen yet! But there was also something weirdly familiar, he just couldn’t place it. He chose not to answer the question, instead jumping to his feet and decided not to repeat his prior stunt. Instead, he simply returned to taking them one-by-one, he had to keep his lead! The last of the large platforms ended with a tube slide, one that curved and left Hunter’s body so filled with static that it tickled his nose. He didn’t look back to see if the boy was still right behind him, he had to assume he was. Well he wouldn’t let him catch up! No, he had to prove he was the best, he had to focus on reaching the end. The second his boots hit the dirt, he took off running again. He considered dispelling his cloak to cut down on the drag but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He couldn’t explain why but he just couldn’t send it away, not yet. Up ahead, he spotted a large sign along the side of the path, and written in sloppy white paint were the words “Halfway point! Powers are allowed now!” This made Hunter smirk. Time to prove why he was the Golden Guard. “Flapjack!”

He drew his staff from his cloak and held onto it tightly. He waited until he was safely past the sign before igniting his teleportation spell, immediately jumping forward several dozen yards, leaving streaks of yellow magic behind him. He cast the spell again, and then a third time, putting a considerable distance between him and the human. He continued with this strategy, and wondered if he would be allowed to actually fly on his staff to the finish line. Would he get in trouble for not doing it right? Better not risk it, plus, this way he could prove himself further by sheer physical capability alone. Though he did spot a few rings suspended just below the canopy, so some students were clearly meant to fly through this part. Any further thoughts he might have had were interrupted by the sound of… something? It almost sounded like ringing metal, but there was something more to it, something he couldn’t identify. Hunter hadn’t had time to think on it further, nearly maniacal laughter followed the strange sound and it was approaching him from behind, fast! He looked over his shoulder, with only a split second between him recognizing MK and the young man’s look of excited enthusiasm turning to immediate regret. He then plowed into the young witch at a speed no magic staff could possibly match, sending them both tumbling across the forest floor. They only stopped when they crashed hard into the trunk of a tree, Hunter first and then MK landed on top of him. Hunter’s vision was dark for a second, possibly even two, before it slowly faded back, accompanied by a series of color-changing dots, fuzz in his brain and a ringing in his ears. He let out a groan as he began to make out voices, the face of the boring-looking human was leaning over him in concern, MK had somehow already bounced back and was looking at him in worry. The dazed boy tried to move only to let out a harsh grunt as a sharp shock of pain shot out from his left shoulder. He tried moving it again only to growl in his throat when he was greeted by a tingling that spread from the joint and up his neck, while his arm and hand were entirely numb. Yup, dislocated. It was far from the first time this had happened, he’d had countless injuries throughout his life. Be it from training, during his missions or from uncle Belos’s outbursts, pain was like an old friend to the young witch, an overly familiar one. His thoughts were disrupted when he recognized a small weight on his chest, and a small, high-pitched sound, the only one that was coming in clearly. “Flapjack…” The cardinal was sitting on his chest, a look of concern in his one big eye.

He placed his right hand over the little bird and rubbed his cheek with his thumb, assuring him he was fine. “I’m okay buddy.” He sat up slowly, his body was aching and sore all over, he was going to have some nasty bruises later but he was considerably lucky otherwise. A dislocated shoulder was easy enough to fix, after years of tending to his own injuries, he had it down to a science. Once he was upright enough, he used his right hand to lift his numb arm, he could vaguely hear the humans saying something to him. The one he didn’t know the name of had one of those scroll-things out, what was it called again, a phone? He brushed off the question, as well as concerned voices of the two humans before carefully guiding the bones back into the socket. A crackling sound that was similar to gravel filled the air, his own tightly restrained yowls of pain reverberated in his throat. After a moment, he lowered the arm, flexing his hand gently in a test. Pins and needles still covered him from the tips of his fingers up to his neck but he had done it. The fuzzy feeling in his brain was taking its time to dissipate, but that was fine, he just had to get back up and finish the obstacle course. He pushed off with his right hand, his feet stumbling under him before his balance returned. He took a few staggering steps, let his spinning head have a moment to slow down, and started running again. He could hear the two dark-haired boys calling after him, but he disregarded it. Just had to keep running… The rest of the course was a blur, he didn’t remember how he got through it all or how long it took, just that one minute he was running and the next he had passed the finish line. He was leaning against a tree, using his uninjured arm as support, with Flapjack chirping at him in worry. He took the moment of peace to let the disorientation untangle itself from his brain and felt his awareness shift back to normal. By the time MK and the boring-looking human had made it across the finish line, he was only mildly dizzy and smirking at them like he’d accomplished some great victory. In his mind, he had, he had finished the course first, he proved he was the best, proved he was worthy of being the Emperor’s right-hand man. Not that either of them knew that about him, but… it was important. He didn’t know why, it just was. He ignored their questions, asking if he was okay, that he had taken a hard hit but that was ridiculous. He suffered far worse back in the Emperor’s Coven, this was nothing. “Hunter?” He grunted. Of course. The human was here now too. He hadn’t seen her finish the course, but she was with two others with her and-okay that one had metal skin, he’d have to ask about that later-and she was looking at him in concern. “What happened to you? You look… rough.” “Tch, this is nothing,” he said, speaking up for the first time. Flapjack chirped sharply in something akin to a protest. “Dude, you dislocated your shoulder,” the unnamed boy said, it was the first time the young witch had bothered to really pay attention to his voice, “You are definitely not okay.” “He did what?!” the human exclaimed, her voice becoming high-pitched, “Shouldn’t we be getting Dr. Lake or-” “It’s fine,” the witch interrupted, “I already put it back in its socket. It’s fine.” “...you did what?! You know how to do that?!” she put her hands on her head in disbelief, like it was some impressive thing. “Of course I do, I wouldn’t be the Golden Guard if I couldn’t handle simple injuries like that on my own.” “Hunter, a dislocated shoulder is not simple! I just- that is so messed up!” “Maybe for you humans, but this is perfectly normal for-” “This isn’t even normal among other witches! None of my friends back on the Boiling Isles ever had to do that!” That statement caught him a bit off guard. Okay, maybe it wasn’t normal for civilians but still… “Oh yeah well… th-they’re not members of the Emperor’s Coven, now are they?” “Putting aside the shoulder thing, you still look like you got hit by a truck!” “I don’t even know what that is!” “It’s a type of car!” There was a pause, Hunter could feel his frustration growing, and he could see a strangely similar look on the human… but it wasn’t the same. He didn’t know what it was. He didn’t like it. “Uh, actually,” MK piped up awkwardly, “He was hit by me because I made a dumb mistake with my powers… and we crashed into a tree. Ehehe… seriously dude, you’re a mess, you need to see the doc.” “I don’t need to see anyone, I’m fi-” “YOU CRASHED INTO A TREE?!” “Why are you yelling, human!?” “You have at least five scrapes that I can see, you probably have internal bruising and who knows what else?!” she exclaimed, “You need to-” “WOULD ALL OF YOU CALM DOWN?!” The voice made all of them stop. They all turned to see Steven running towards them, looking both frustrated and worried. He took a few deep breaths, like he needed to calm himself. “Steven! Buddy! Just the man we need!” MK exclaimed in delight, “Hunter here got a bit uh, banged up. Think you could give us a hand here?” He looked Hunter up and down and now he had a concerned look as well. “...I’d say banged up is putting it lightly. What happened exactly?” “Too long to explain, just do your thing please!” He gave MK a sideways look before stepping closer. “Hunter, are you okay?” “I’m fine.” “...no offense but you look like you got trampled by an angry mob.” “Shouldn’t you be worrying over MK? He went through the same thing I did.” “MK is… uniquely hardy. I’m not worried about him right now.”

The witch paused, glanced at the grass below and quietly muttered out what happened, even crashing into the tree. The older boy listened, sighed and nodded. “I see… okay, hold still, I’ll patch you up.” “You don’t have t-” He never got to finish his sentence, as Steven took his hand suddenly, raised it up and gently kissed him on the knuckle. Hunter felt like his face caught fire. He could hear the human making a strange squealing noise. His brain took far too long to catch up with his body and he immediately pushed the other boy away, making a sound that wasn’t a scream but not coherent enough to be words. It still managed to convey the only question on his mind. “What are you doing!?” Steven, who had fallen back on the ground and was now sitting on the ground, looked up at him in surprise… and then looked horrified. “O-Oh! Oh my gosh! I am so so sorry! I-I wasn’t thinking-” “Clearly! What kind of-of… I-I don’ t know what to call you but what made you think that was okay!?” “Just check your wounds!” “My wo-what are you-” He looked down at himself and his eyes widened.

Every small scrape, cut and bruise he had gained from the crash now had white sparkles dancing over them, and all of them were now slowly closing or fading away. “W… What the…” “I uh… that’s… another power I should have told you about sooner,” Steven said awkwardly, “I… kinda have healing powers. Well… healing spit.” He stuck out his tongue and pointed at it. “But people here get a bit grossed out if I just lick my hand and slap it against their open wounds.” Everyone’s skin began to crawl at the thought. “So I started do the kiss thing instead… look, Hunter I’m sorry, I-I should have-” “No! No-no… it… it’s okay… you just… caught me off guard… really off guard.” “...do you feel okay now?” He did. A lot better actually. He wasn’t even sore or achey. He nodded but refused to make eye contact. His ears were still burning. “Well, if he’s okay, we should probably head back inside,” MK piped up, pointing his thumb over his shoulder and towards the school, “We finished pretty early, heck, Stan ain’t even here yet. I wanna get in some extra time for Art class.” “...did you just say art?!” The human turned fast, faster than he thought she was capable of! She certainly hadn’t moved that fast when he threatened her back home! “Oh yeah, that’s next on the schedule,” the young man piped up, “We either have that or Music every other week.” Steven made a strange sound, like he was trying to clear his throat but at the same time trying not to say anything. “Why every other week?” “I ‘unno, all I know is it gives us more time to work on our assignments. Either way, you guys comin’?” “I can’t, Stan’s watching King and I have to go get him.” “Oh, don’t worry! They’re probably on their way over already, Stan drives this… uh… darn it what’s the English term for it again? Gāo'ěrfū chē… Gāo'ěrfū chē… Gāo'ěrfū chē in English…” MK seemed to be rolling something over his tongue, trying to remember. “...you mean the golf cart?” Steven piped up and the older brunette snapped his fingers. “Yes! Xièxiè nǐ! I-I mean thank you! Any Stan drives one of those to get to the end of the course faster, they’ll be here before you know it!”

She smiled in relief.

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sofarsofastmp3 · 5 months

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i experienced penguins hockey and all i got were some lousy blurry photos of geno’s warmups because i didn’t realize i had live photos turned off for half the game

okay i wasn’t going to like Write about this game because i don’t actually have a lot to say and i’m not so much a Poster but then i did like a paragraph of tags under these photos and decided an actual post would be nice for posterity.

as previously stated, the loss is on me! i genuinely can’t remember the last time i saw a pens win in person. i know the losing streak started in feb 2018, so it really is out of everyone’s hands at this point. even last year, my siblings and i made plans to go to both pens @ panthers games in december and march since we rarely get two games in one season. it didn’t work out and i ended up just going to the one in march. they won in december, and lost in march!

anyways! as the daughter of terminally late people, this was my first time going down for warmups ever and it was so fun i love to examine everybody’s rituals. and i love looking at people’s signs!!!! including a little kid who had one that said in big letters “my name is also ryan graves!” maybe he too will grow up to be a gigantic haunted doll.

i’ve never sat in the lower bowl in my life and it’s crazy down there. you can see EVERYTHING on approximately half the ice and NOTHING anywhere else. when smith scored, i thought it was doc because i have bad vision and the 9 looked like a 0. (our only goal being scored on the opposite end of me was very much on theme of me being bad luck but i got a great view of geno’s setup) if i ever did it again, it would probably only ever be like once a year to see My Guys Up Close.

the guy next to me was a panther fan who was with a pens fan and at least twice throughout the night he looked at his friend and said “bro malkins huge.” and he is!

i got to see so many cringefail powerplays! it’s so fun to watch something be bad on tv, read people talking about how bad it is, and then seeing it in person, only to realize it may actually be worse than you previously thought! i think this is good for us, though, and i agree with everyone saying we should shoot for the stars and become the worst powerplay in nhl history.

okay this bit is just for me. or just for me in a way that’s more indulgent than the way this entire blog is just for me. i don’t have a ton else to say except that for almost a full year i’ve been rekindling my relationship with hockey. and when i got back into it, i had a friend ask me if i was going to stick with the penguins as my number one even though they’re my dad’s team and my relationship with my dad has. changed. to say the least.

and at the time i kind of jokingly said “i’m just gonna steal them from him!” but i don’t even think i had to do that. it’s just simply not about him. he has nothing to do with it! i engage with this sport in a way so separate from how he would (the man used to call his team’s captain a crybaby!!! embarrassing!!! would NEVER be me!!!) i have built something that’s mine, and i love it in a way that is mine. and though i VASTLY prefer it when we win, i had so much fun last night- and have had so much fun for the last year- that i don’t particularly care about the outcome!!! at least until tuesday.

#hockeyblr if i’d known you existed before 2023 i’m not sure i ever would’ve had a hockey hiatus at all #okay over indulgent post over thanks for coming #h #p

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elvthali · 9 months

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uH yeah so here’s wild life update thing explanation whatever cause ye a h

As of the past several days I had no access to any of my stuff, especially my phone or computer, due to being strong armed into a hospital. I've been working rough dead-end retail and retail-adjacent jobs for the past several years alongside my freelance artwork with perpetual aspirations of one day applying myself to a more official long term job as a game artist. But with crippling anxiety, depression, and the constant lack of self confidence I've still not achieved that. And throw in working jobs that perpetually drain me of any energy, sufficient mental or emotional stability, and especially time- you get the idea it's been a nasty cycle I won't go into detail with.

In order to solve this situation, and get out of a toxic household, I’ll be moving to the city my best friend and her wife live in. Having direct access to friends and finally being separated from the emotionally distressing situation I’m in now is of top priority. And currently something I’m making a point of rapidly putting into motion.

Due to? Everything? I’ll also be tackling a few other things during all this. Firstly I will be starting to pull together work for a proper portfolio for job hunting. Then contacting a handful of very overdue commissions to inquire if they’d still like them done or would rather just have the incomplete versions free of charge. Next, responding to a variety of things, artfight related stuff, mentions, messages, etc. And lastly, launching a Patreon; something I’ve wanted to try for years but very much lacked the confidence but with encouragement from others and my situation I’m finally tackling. (actually was tackling all of this before this nonsense started but that sure got disrupted dsdsf)

. So any sort of overdue communications, responses, etc are coming I promise and things are probably gonna be a bit… wild for me over the upcoming months. orz

For now; here's my patreon ( patreon.com/ElvthaliArt ) and the things I am (at least hoping) to offer as of currently and maybe going forward! ;o;

So some of the usual stuff you'll likely be seeing there are:

Fantasy art/themes; I've a heavy bias towards fantasy genre stuff

Humans/Humanoids, Anthro/Furry, Feral/Animals, Monsters/Creatures in general, etc.

Fanart; primarily video games and especially for LoZ & Fire Emblem, but a variety of others mixed in as I have many games I adore;;

LGBT+ positivity; particularly a lot of gay men because? Well duh;;

A concerning amount of sketches/wip/notes; I'm perpetually jumping between ideas, sketches, projects, etc and not to be trusted with anything ever.

Me losing my mind learning/trying stuff; just a small price to pay on the road to infinite power--

And for patrons I'll be (hopefully) exclusively offering:

Sketches, concept art, & WIP peaks; many. many sketches.

Start-to-Finish Progressions; compilations of wip versions of completed pieces to see where it started.

Concepting/Creative Process/Artist commentary; some insight into the mess that is me creating things.

Small bases; simple psd bases for patrons to download and use.

Tutorial/how-do-you-draw-x videos; monthly polls in which I'll attempt to explain/show how I draw something (warning: I'm bad at explaining).

Tutorial/how-do-you-draw-x polls; in which you vote on/request subjects to see me hopefully explain in prior mentioned videos;;

NSFW Artwork; namely lots of queer stuff, particularly gay men, and a bit of teratophilia (monster-people essentially) art.

Monthly warmup commission rough sketches/doodles; request a piece of artwork each month I'll use for warmups/experimenting.

WIP Polls; vote on a selection of WIP pieces to determine which I should prioritize.

..And some general nonsense cause I draw stupid silly stuff for the hell of it sometimes.

And?? That's about it I think? I’m just gonna kick my ass into all this work now so here we go with all this chaos orz

#elv's chatter//#patreon #digital art #fanart #signal boost #update #lgbt+

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kuma829 · 2 years

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Wedding Speech＊Strumming Bride Light Translation Chapter Six

Cast: Adonis, Rei, Kaoru, Koga

Author(s): Yuumasu and Akira

Season: Summer

Proofread by: Gelyan

Did you seriously get your panties twisted over this type of shit? Say sorry to ME, asshole, I thought it’d be more serious than just that!

Chapter Six:

Adonis: …

Rei: …

Koga: …

Kaoru: (Aha, everyone’s gone dead silent. It seems like this really was an impossible favour to ask, huh?)

Sorry, just forget about what I said earlier. I’ll just do it by myself.

Koga: You fucking prick~

Did you seriously get your panties twisted over this type of shit? Say sorry to ME, asshole, I thought it’d be more serious than just that!

Kaoru: Hey, hey now. It’s not something so trivial, y’kno? It’s a lot to ask of someone a personal favour like this where you guys won’t make a single cent off of your hard work.

It’s like, using UNDEAD for my own personal gain, I don’t like the thought of that.

Adonis: There’s nothing selfish about “using” UNDEAD for your own benefit, UNDEAD is a shared unit between all of us, it belongs to Hakaze-senpai too.

Even if it doesn't, then it’s still a celebration of Hakaze-senpai’s sister who he holds dear to him, so I’m happy to lend my aid.

Sakuma-senpai, Oogami, I’m sure you guys share a similar sentiment, is that right?

Koga: Naturally’!

Rei: Kukuku, Actually, I knew all about it, right from the beginning… ♪

Koga: Dirty liar~ If you really knew, then why the hell did you bring a megaphone?

Hey~ Yer tearing up, playboy. I’d never say no to something like this, don’t get so self conscious about yourself-!

And hey? Didya really think of us as some snooty losers who would shut you down just like that? Heey?

Look here, dipshit~ I’m gonna make this family wedding party a damn success, ya hear!

Kaoru: Hey, c’mon now don’t get mad at me for letting my imagination wander… Ah, nah, it really is my fault for not talking to you guys sooner.

(... Mhm, that’s right. I don’t know if we had this when we first met, but now we definitely do have some sort of bond, eh?)

(If they were asking me something like this… I’m sure I would have helped them, just like how they’re helping me now)

(“It’s fine to just ask them,” Anzu-chan, you were right)

I’m sorry for being so withdrawn, again. Really, thank you guys for agreeing to do this…

Let’s give it our all for my sister’s wedding, alright!

Koga: Alright! It’s decided. Let’s go to the studio and start practising!

Kaoru: Eh? Right now?

Adonis: Good idea, Oogami. This meat’s given me a lot of strength, I feel like I could work all through the night.

Kaoru: You can’t do this all overnight, you’re a student.

Rei: I don’t mind. I sang a lot at karaoke, but I’m still in good spirits~

Koga: Ahaha, singin’ for fun and for practice is different ♪

Kaoru: ♪~♪~♪

Well, here's how it is.

We’ve sung all our songs as warmup, so let’s take a break.

C’mon everyone, break.

Adonis: I’m hungry.

Rei: After eating all that during the day, you’re still starving?

Adonis: The day is the day, and the night is the night. If I miss even one meal I get angry.

I’m going to the break room to go pick up some refreshments.

Rei: It’s not that easy to have a high metabolism.

Shall I go fetch a drink as well? How about you, Kaoru-kun?

Kaoru: Hmm… I’ve still got the one I brought from before practice, so I’m good. What about you, Koga-kun?

Koga: I’m stayin put. I have to tune the guitar since it’s soundin all out of tune.

Adonis, bring me a drink.

Adonis: Understood. I’ll be back.

Kaoru: Yeah, see you soon!

(... I’m so used to singing this song that I’ll have no problems performing it tomorrow…)

(But… this is no different than the usual UNDEAD performance…)

(I wish I could make something truly special, perfectly suited to the wedding ceremony)

…

(Hm?)

Koga: …♪

Kaoru: (I’ve never played an instrument in public before…)

(Why don’t I try giving the guitar a go…?)

Hey, you’ve been working hard. Mind if I sit next to you?

Koga: Oh, what is it?

Kaoru: Koga-kun, why do you like the guitar so much? I can guess that Rei-kun was probably the trigger, yeah~?

It’s not really needed to be an idol, no? So why do you play?

Koga: That’s cuz it helps convey yer feelings’

Kaoru: Feelings?

Koga: The guitar’s my soul. I put my entire heart into it, breakin the limit past what even my singin can do.

Even feelings that are too embarrassing to put into words can be conveyed with just a tone, yeah?

Whether those feelings are transmitted, they come in. But if you look at it like self-satisfaction, well that’s all there is to it.

It’s better to let it all out into flames then just keep it pent up inside, yeah?

Kaoru: (I could put my heart into it, huh?)

Hey Koga-kun, I’ve gotta request, is that alright?

Koga: What do ya want? I’ll say no if it’s a pain.

Kaoru: Ahaha, I’d probably get rejected then, huh? It may be a bit too much trouble, but let me give it a chance.

Koga-kun, could you teach me guitar?

Koga: Hah?

Kaoru: I know I’m being a bit self centred here, but I realised it when I was singing with everyone earlier.

It’s a surprise to hear all of UNDEAD sing as entertainment, but… It’s not really “me,” yeah?

Koga: Hakaze-senpai…

Kaoru: I guess you could say it’s supposed to be a special, once in a lifetime, feeling? I know we’ve been apart for a while, and sometimes I get conscious about it but…

I want to tell you how much I appreciate you, as your brother, you’re still an important part of my family.

And if the tone of the guitar carries those feelings—

I want to play these feelings out to my sister, so I want you to teach me the guitar.

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#Kaoru Hakaze #adonis otogari #rei sakuma #Koga Oogami #sustain memories #undead

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jeiceys-dead-poets-hcs · 1 year

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Dead Poets Dance Au

Pt. 1; Todd Anderson.

so here it starts! i’m gonna do the characters as different parts so hopefully not everybody has to wait for this big, extravagant thing.

i probably will do a bigger group dynamic one in the future!

please enjoy part one!

His strengths seem to be anything to do with strict musicality. He can add dynamics that not even his lead choreographer would come up with.

He also improvises when the music is left on, giving more ideas for choreography whenever the teacher is stuck on what to do.

This makes him both great in tap and contemporary.

Being one of the senior students, he helps out with choreography for solos, duets, or younger classes.

Oh boy does his choreography do great at competitions.

He gets at least one choreography award at every competition every year.

He likes doing dynamic choreography because of the expression it entails. He loves the freedom and inspiration of finding just the right song for his vision.

He also takes time to know whoever he’s choreographing for well, so he can even adapt moves to match personalities.

Mainly talks with noises instead of counts, it just makes more sense in his brain that way when he vocalizes rhythm and movements rather than boring counts.

Another thing I think he’d be good at is acro.

A quiet man with the flexibility of a rubber action figure? What better combination?

He’s probably the most common one to get a new trick first. Tumbling, limbering, it was just his thing since day one.

Definitely the partner who gets lifted in partner work.

Probably yells aggressive positivity at Neil when he is so close to getting a trick.

“WHY DID YOU PUT YOUR HANDS DOWN?”

“IT’S SCARY!”

“NEIL, YOUR HEAD WAS LIKE— TWO FEET OFF THE FLOOR. YOU’RE FINE. Now go do it again.”

“aaaaaAAAUGH. fINE.”

He 100% has an advanced warmup routine for competitions. Mainly because his friends told him to show off to intimidate others (which originally wasn’t his goal at all).

Always the best with handling nervous littles too scared to go onstage <3

Literally gets so happy when his friends win first place in solos, duets, trios, anything he’s not in with them, he will be so happy. Even if they were against him.

Knows the most, but makes the funniest mistakes sometimes.

Never vocalizes about his distaste for songs or costumes, but, his face can’t hide everything he was thinking.

“Todd’s face says no, so I guess it’s no-“

“Wait what?? It’s fine!”

Always found lying on the cold floor in the corner after a long day. Probably interrupted by Charlie stepping on the small of his back which causes a huge groan to erupt from Todd.

“You good there, Todd?”

“Yup- ooOOHKAY— too far, Charlie!”

Sweet, sentimental pep talks.

Genuinely so upset when it comes to his final, graduating year.

His voice breaks during his speech, and he wraps his choreographer in the biggest hug as soon as he finishes.

If anybody were to lean against a mirror and accidentally break it, it would be Todd.

Always ends up with the coolest solo pictures of the season? His friends don’t understand how.

Probably almost dies when the season comes back after the summer. It takes him some time to regain the stamina he lost after two months off.

Dance would be something so genuine and fun to Todd. He wouldn’t trade it for the world. His friends make it even better.

#dead poets society #neil perry #todd anderson #charlie dalton #dps hcs #dps headcanons #dead poets headcanons #dps fandom #dps incorrect quotes #gerard pitts #richard cameron #incorrect quotes #knox overstreet #steven meeks #dps dance au #dead poets society au #dps au

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hellsvestibule · 2 years

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A lot of artists will be like “excuse my shit doodles this took me 10 minutes” and it’s often something that would take me days or at least a shit ton of other less passable warmup doodles to draw which is annoying bc it often feels like they’re lying, and if not it’s often like, still being self depreciating about the amount of effort they put into the picture, or the amount of effort it took to gain the level of skill where decent sketches come that effortlessly to you, and you insult your art on the off chance someone is like wow! That’s shit to you?? You’re so talented! Meanwhile my doodles, while I admit they are expressive in an endearing way, are often honest to god shit, like, hands drawn backwards if at all, very wonky proportions, chicken scratch quality lines. And it still probably took me way longer to draw than it would take another artist of similar skill. But I can’t even bring myself to be like “sorry about my chicken shit sketches” bc like no! I will not apologize or be embarrassed that not all of my art is good, especially if it’s just for comedic purposes or the draft of something that will take literall weeks to finish. It doesn’t always have to be great, and I don’t have to apologize for putting ugly low effort things out into the world, You Will look at them and hopefully that will help you develop a further appreciation for how much effort it takes me to make things that don’t suck, cuz I’m not gonna pretend like good art comes effortlessly to me, all that does is discourage people who are trying really hard to achieve the quality they’re at and still don’t feel good enough. Don’t listen to artists like that for real. work at your own pace

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atlabeth · 3 years

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fever - sokka x reader

this has been sitting in my drafts half finished for 3 weeks so i thot it was prime time i actually finished it

this is kinda based off the song w dua lipa and angele so you can listen to that if you want

summary: sokka's convinced there's a mystery illness keeping you from focusing, but somehow he's completely oblivious that the only 'sick' you are is lovesick, and he's the reason you can't focus.

a/n: i have never written a sickfic. but this is like. a fake sick fic. its an idiots in love fic. i mean this is coming from mr "is he taller than me? is he better looking?" himself so. it makes sense. as usual, this is not proofread bc im a lazy mf

also im sorry for being vague with the calc but i was NOT about to do math during summer who do you think i am? ??

wc: 1.7k

warning(s): mentions of being sick and 🤢calculus 🤮 but otherwise tooth rotting fluff

How could the smartest man you knew be so, so incredibly stupid?

You thought that you were being obvious, so obviously that you were sure he knew. It was embarrassing how obvious you were.

You had met Sokka in your calculus class at the start of the new semester after you ended up sitting next to each other, and it wasn’t a stretch to say that you were immediately smitten. With eyes like the ocean and a face that had to have been crafted by the gods, you were almost too distracted to respond when he asked you for a pencil. But when he winked at you after giving his thanks, it only solidified what you had already suspected: you had known this man for all of five minutes, and you already had a crush on him.

Little did you know, it was going to turn into the most infuriating crush you had ever experienced.

You and Sokka became fast friends even though calculus was the only class you had together. Unfortunately, it was also something that you completely sucked at. Bad news, it was required for your major. Good news, Sokka was some sort of genius and offered to tutor you — Wednesdays in the library turned into a weekly occasion, and served as an opening for your calculus skills, your feelings for Sokka, and your exasperation to all grow stronger.

You normally weren’t someone to beat around the bush. If you started to like someone, you told them and dealt with whatever happened after, but something about Sokka just kept you from spilling your feelings outright. You knew that if he didn’t feel the same way, your relationship likely wouldn’t change, but there was still that tiny voice that said it’s better to stay like this in case things do go wrong — and this was the first time you listened to that voice. You simply valued your friendship too much.

But that didn’t mean you were going to be completely quiet about it — you hoped that if you did enough, he would be able to realize you liked him and do the whole process for you. A bit of a dim hope, but crushes make people do stupid things.

Things like bringing an extra coffee to every session, laughing at all his jokes (even the bad ones), sitting a little closer to him than usual, not dropping out of this wretched class so you could spend time together (it might’ve been required, but you still counted it). He didn’t make a point to object to anything, so you knew you weren’t making him uncomfortable — but you had concluded after nearly a whole semester of working and studying together that he was the most oblivious person in all of Ba Sing Se. He could teach you all kinds of formulas, but had no idea that you liked him. Grand.

Today was arguably the most important session out of any of them, seeing as your next class was the final, so it was only fitting that Sokka unknowingly made himself more interesting than any material you could’ve been working with. His arms were going to be the death of both you and your calc grade. You swore that the heat rushing to your cheeks was actually emanating off of you.

“Hey, Y/N!” Sokka grinned as he saw you and raised a hand in greeting, a sentiment you would’ve returned had it not been for the coffee cups in your hands. You settled for mirroring his grin and settled down in the seat across from him. You slid his coffee cup over, set your own down, then shrugged your bag off all before taking a seat.

“You ready to study ‘till your eyes bleed?” he asked, prompting a nervous laugh from you.

“You jest, but my eyes might actually start bleeding depending on how long we go,” you sighed. “There’s a reason I got an extra shot of espresso today.”

“Come on — by now you should know that you have nothing to worry about! I am the best teacher there is, and you got me all to yourself.”

Your eyes widened momentarily and you coughed, purposefully averting your gaze to give yourself some time to recover. Okay, he was going to make it really hard to focus today. “Let’s just get into it.”

He nodded and flipped open his notebook, beginning to talk as he rifled through his bag for a few extra things. “Okay, we’re just gonna start with going over the basics, then we’ll work our way up. There’s a couple practice problems on that page, so you can go ahead and answer those as a warmup.

You slid the notebook over in front of you and after approximately five seconds of looking at the first problem, found yourself studying Sokka rather than the material. Who could blame you? In the battle of cute tutor boy versus calculus, he was going to win every time.

He turned around and you immediately averted your eyes once again, trying to appear extremely involved, but you found that your mind was empty on anything to do with math. “Hey, uh— how do you do this first one? I’m totally blanking here.”

“We use limits in everything — this is actually something you’re really good at!” He studied you intensely and frowned. “Are you okay? Like, you’re not sick or anything, are you? You seem kinda out of it.”

You choked out a laugh and shook your head. “No, no — I’m fine. I guess I’m just a little tired.” As if to demonstrate your lie, you took a sip from your coffee and cringed internally. Love had turned you into an idiot.

He seemed to buy it as he nodded and picked up the pencil, scribbling a couple of notes as he explained the first problem to you. “Does that make sense?” You nodded and he handed the pencil back to you. “Okay — the other ones follow the same kind of process. It should be easy enough.”

You managed to get a little further in the second problem, but your lovestruck mind would not stop focusing back on Sokka every time you tried to do, well, anything. Curse him and his perfect arms, and eyes, and hairstyle, and everything.

You shook your head and set the pencil down once more, letting loose a frustrated sigh. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me.” Yes, you did. “I just can’t focus at all.” Because of you. You picked up your cup once more and took a sip, hoping it would do something to get you back into the math state of mind.

Sokka frowned once more as he put the back of his hand against your forehead. “God, you’re hot.” You nearly choked on your coffee as your eyes practically bulged out of their sockets — he had to know what he was doing by now — how could he not? “Like, you’re completely burning up. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine, I swear— I just…” you set your cup down on the table and heaved a sigh that was a touch more exasperated than necessary. “Are you telling me you seriously haven’t noticed? Like, not a single thing this whole year?”

“I’ve noticed a lot of things this year,” he chuckled. “It’s kind of our whole job, so you’re gonna have to be a lot more specific.”

You finally couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Sokka, I’m not— I’m not sick! Haven’t you noticed that I’m only ever flustered, or running into things, or forgetting info, or— or just a complete idiot when I’m around you? I like you, like, a lot, and I have for an embarrassingly long time! The reason I can’t focus is because I am hopelessly attracted to you in every single way.”

His brows creased for a moment and you clamped your mouth shut, worried that you had just ruined everything. It was only after a pause that felt like a century that he finally responded, the hint of a smirk on his lips.

“Well, why didn’t you just say something?”

You stared at him, eyes wide and lips slightly parted in pure surprise before the annoyance set in. You set your jaw as your brows furrowed and you hit him lightly on the side of his arm with the back of your palm. “You can’t be serious! You— you’ve gotta be messing with me by now. I really can’t believe that you can be that smart but this oblivious!”

He finally let the grin play across his lips in full force and he shrugged nonchalantly. “I mean, I don’t know how you don’t expect me to mess with you when you scrunch up your face all cute like that every time you get mad. Besides, I started liking you after that fifth class; I offered to help you out so I could spend more time with you! I didn’t realize you felt the same way. I kinda just enjoyed the free coffee and getting to look at you all the time.”

“I can’t believe you!” you cried as you hit his other arm. “You’re telling me that I had to deal with this- this mental turmoil about whether you liked me back, while you were just enjoying the free eye candy and coffee the whole time?”

“You have nothing to worry about! I enjoyed the company far more than the coffee,” he joked, a certain twinkle in his eye. “But, you are probably out a couple twenties after all of that. So, what do you say about this Saturday, the cafe by the shoe store? My treat.”

“Damn right it’s your treat,” you shot back, though you couldn’t stop the smile forming on your face. “You owe me a lot — you have to make up for those coffees and all the emotional distress you caused.”

“Oh, I think I’ll have plenty of time to make up for lost time. After all, we do have a lot of coffee dates to get through.” And when he winked at you just like that first day, you remembered just how impossible it was to be angry at Sokka. “But first, we kinda have to get through this study date. The final’s still happening tomorrow.”

You responded with a raised brow. “This is a study date?”

Sokka shrugged and grinned. “They’ve all been study dates. You just didn’t know it.”

idiots in love idiots in love idiots In LOVe

perm tag list: @dv0412 @siriuslyslyslytherin @maruchan77

atla: @marianne1806

#sokka x reader #sokka x you #sokka x y/n #sokka fic #atla #avatar #avatar the last airbender #avatar the last airbender fic #avatar x reader #reader insert #sadie writes

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ak8shi · 4 years

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FWB HQ Boys: In which you beat the player at his own game!

warnings: Time skip spoilers, mentions of sex(all characters are 18+), alcohol, stupid people in love

a/n: ahh I’m sorry I’ve been a little MIA!!! But I’m back with this pls enjoy ! I think the fandom really make germaphobia his only personality trait sometimes which makes me sad because I think he’s actually a quirky/classy dude and very functional in social situations,, I hate to say it but ya��ll would get played by him… sorry.

━Sakusa Kiyoomi

Some of you may be like ???? Omi fucks around ?? how ?? BUT he definitely does in his own way

He probably doesn’t do much in high school to be honest, he’s mostly focused on improving as a volleyball player and achieving his goals

Once he reaches pro level though,,, it’s a different story lmfao

I can see him being picky as hell about his hookups, but just because he’s a bit of a germaphobe doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel attraction or doesn’t have needs…

….He’s so hot too… girl

His hook-ups are always taken seriously though… like he’s the type that feels like he has a professional image to upkeep, so he always arranges things beforehand; he’s definitely not messy about it and sets clear boundaries

I think what makes him kind of a player is how standoffish he can be…and he doesn’t really give anyone a chance because he doesn’t think they what it takes to deal with his lifestyle lmao

He’s just like, its easier to call the uber right after, get into the shower, and wait until he can hear the front door of his apartment shut I’m screamingg

Sakusa also isn’t one to kiss and tell, even with the boys… he doesn’t think its tasteful and would rather not have Atsumu up his ass about his flings

ANYWAYS,, let’s get into this, so you know Atsumu through mutual friends and met during college, and the two of you just instantly clicked since you also were a part of the same sports medicine program as him

Atsumu signed with MSBY and you were so happy for him, but you were bummed because you were busy with PT graduate school and couldn’t really attend any of his games

A year passed and you found yourself texting Tsumu to see if he could meet up and grab coffee since you were on winter break!!

You: hey I’m back in town wanna grab coffee sometime?

Him: who is this

You: I see you haven’t changed ❤️

LMFAO, so you catch up with Atsumu and he talks about his new career and his teammates, he seems so happy :(( we love to see that!!

He invites you to MSBY’s game the following weekend, and you’re pumped to go!! Tsumu got you great seats, and he meets you before warmups to make sure you’re okay finding your way around

Atsumu: don’t take yer eyes off me <3

You:

He’s so…

You’re enjoying the match and you even go to grab Onigiri from Osamu’s stand, but you can’t seem to look away from number 15 on Atsumu’s team

He’s .., scrumptious to say the least 🥴

Like he’s so composed and calculated on the court, and you find it so funny how he rolls his eyes whenever Tsumu says something to him and how Tsumu gets so heated about it 💀

The match ends and you go down to meet Atsumu near the lockers, showing the security your family/friend pass 😌

You walk through the halls trying to locate the setter, but you can’t seem to figure out where he is

The only person in the hall is the tall, dark haired man that caught your eye earlier; he is already walking towards the exit with a mask covering his face, his duffel bag slung over his shoulder, sweats embroidered with “Sakusa” adorning his body we’re all looking..... respectfully

He’s truly so intimidating but you’re like….highkey lost… so you don’t really have another option

You catch up with him, poking his shoulder gently; he turns around and his attention on you is almost STARTLING.. like his eyes are SO dark

Him: can I help you

You: sir… if you don’t rail me, I’m gonna have to intervene‼️😈😹

After getting over your initial shock, you hear multiple footsteps rumbling down the hallway towards the both of you

Sakusa lets out an annoyed sigh, muttering about how he has to go, but before he can escape you hear Atsumu’s loud voice LMFAO

“OMIIII, where are you goin’? Its team karaoke night remember?”

Tsumu sees you and slings an arm around your shoulders, “Oh-? So I see you’ve met our outside hitter Omi?”

You glance over at Sakusa, his expressionless eyes glued to your face, then slowly trailing down to analyze the way Atsumu casually has you tucked under his arm

Atsumu nudges him, and he grumbles that he’ll meet them after changing at home before walking off in the direction of the private parking garage

You meet the rest of the MSBY boys in the uber, and find them super friendly and welcoming; Bokuto and Hinata buy the first round of drinks at the karaoke bar, but you only have one because you have work to finish the next day WE STAN

Atsumu already has a pink glow setting into his cheeks when you see the boys turn their attention to Sakusa walking through the front door, looking as handsome as ever in his dress pants and fitted white t shirt

They all shout out incoherent hello’s, and he takes the only open seat next to you with a glass of gin and tonic in his hand he smells so good god

You’re unsure what comes over you, but you find yourself turning towards him, and you just start asking him about himself and his career, and surprisingly he’s very polite and much more animated than you previously thought

His voice is like…so alluring and he never looks away from you when you talk, its like he’s absorbing every word

Meanwhile, Atsumu is stumbling over the stage with Bokuto belting Love by Keisha Cole LMFAOO😭

Tsumu kind of ‘warned’ you in the car ride over that Sakusa was a germaphobe, but you know that Atsumu tends to invade people’s personal space sometimes and it probably wasn’t as dramatic as he made it out to be

However, you weren’t expecting the outside hitter to lean over from his seat after checking the time on his phone, whispering in your ear, asking you if you wanted to meet him at his place later than night WHEW

Girl I would be sweating… and you say yes ofc because who’s going to pass up this type of opportunity-

He gives you a charming smile and is like,, okay cool, I’ll see you later then 😊 I’m dead

Ya’ll exchange phone numbers and he’s like if you need any help with my idiot teammates let me know before he takes off

You don’t tell Tsumu about your little… entanglement plans dsnjaknda but honestly he wouldn’t even remember based on the way he’s slumped against you in the uber he owes you big time

You get home after dropping off Tsumu at Osamu’s, and operation dick appointment with the professional volleyball player is put into action 😈

He sends an uber over to get you ladies do not settle for less please, and you’re BIG nervous but in a good way as in you know this dick is about to be bomb af

SO you’re standing in front of his apartment door, and when he opens it, he’s still in the clothes he wore to the bar and its like 1 am he’s so powerful

Um I feel like he would get straight to it honestly, probably starts with a little convo on the couch and then…

YOU WEREN’T AWARE HE WAS SO DIRTY,,, it was SO good too like after getting home that night you’re going through a crisis… like you had so much chemistry together for having just met, and you wonder if he feels the same way🥺

You caught yourself in sleepless states some nights, kept awake by the thoughts of the way his hands felt against your skin, the way his five o’clock shadow gently rubbed against your face when you kissed, and how he would hold you(only after a thorough shower together of course)

As it happens more and more, he lets you into his life little by little, and you notice and remember small facts about him and he often remembers a lot of the things you tell him about you, its really enjoyable for both of you

Its weirdly domestic to a point but that’s why its so good for both of you???it adds a bit of spice ??

Sakusa: can you come over tonight

You: sorry the retainer is in already <3 no dick sucking for me tonight <3

Him: I bought pastries from that cafe you like

You: say less✈️ I’m coming💃

AND he HAS jokes okay, like he’s funny as hell and very witty when his true self comes out; but he’s also a HUGE tease and he’ll say something completely straight-faced that someone else might take offense to like “you look ugly,” but you just know he’s kidding from being around him long enough and from seeing the little glint in his dark eyes

It becomes a routine thing while you’re home honestly, and you try your best to hide it from Atsumu because you just KNOW you would never hear the end of it; for all he knows, you met him that one time at the bar and that was that

Everything is going smoothly until you slip up at one of their games

You were sitting in the waiting area with the team (mostly talking to Atsumu), when he just says something that makes your short circuit

Atsumu: what kind of animal do ya think omi would be? An octopus maybe?

You: yeah I mean with those flexible wrists it makes sense

Atsumu: what the fawk🤠

He’s like… how do you even know about his flexible wrists IT TOOK ME 6 MONTHS TO GET TO THAT STAGE WITH HIM-

Oops, lmfao so you kind of tell him about everything and he’s literally shocked for you, mostly because he doesn’t want you to get hurt :(

Atsumu: So I see he’s just sleeping with ANYONE anyone

LMAO noo he definitely thinks you’re too good for him and he kind of lectures you, telling you that he had a hunch that he messes around with girls like that, but also you’re an adult and you can take care of yourself, and it isn’t like it’s a serious thing!!

Meanwhile, Omi is like going through a bit of a crisis all alone because everything around him reminds him of you or something you said when you were together

He got with people who were compatible sexually often, but he never had the urge to have them stay over after the deed; he usually immediately called them an uber and wouldn’t speak to them again

He found himself thinking about seeing you in the stands at his games, wishing you were there to cheer for him only, and he adored the way you respected his boundaries unlike many of his hookups

Atsumu probably notices something is off with him at practice

Atsumu: hey…if ya ever want to talk about somethin’-

Sakusa: no

Girl… he doesn’t disclose any of this to anyone

Its nearing the end of your break, and you head over to sakusa’s for probably the last time before you go back to school

You’re kind of at the point where you don’t think anything will happen and you know you shouldn’t get your hopes up, and it goes how it usually goes? Except he kind of hugs you goodbye and your heart goes: 🦋🦋🦋

You go back to school, occasionally texting Tsumu about your graduate program, and before you know it, like 5 months pass by and you’re back for summer!

Tsumu texts you and is like… sorry but I’m forcing you to be my plus-one tonight for this dinner thing I have to go to

So you dress up and he comes to pick you up, and you’re really not sure why you were surprised to see Kiyoomi sitting at the table when you arrive you give Atsumu a nice smack on the back of the head for not warning you

You sit down at the table after greeting everyone, trying your best to not act awkward when you shoot sakusa a small smile that he returns politely (but you don’t see it because of his mask)

Atsumu sits weirdly close to you the entire dinner with his arm around the back of your chair, and he’s just acting strange in general??? Like he’s bragging about your degree program and about your accomplishments, you just know he’s trying something funny; but you don’t really say anything because you don’t want to disrespect him in front of the team’s staff as a guest

You almost choke on your wine and you catch on when Bokuto starts making comments after Atsumu says something,

Atsumu: …so yeah, pretty much she should be our next president in my humble opinion

Bokuto: 🙈WOAH. WHAT?😍 HOW COULD SHE GET ANY BETTER⁉️🙄 OR HOTTER⁉️💪🏼💋

You, sitting there: 🧍‍♀️

He’s so bad at acting I’m crying..,, it becomes so obvious that they’re trying to make Kiyoomi jealous

(the boys plotted beforehand, trying to get Omi to ask you out officially; after you left, he literally would never shut up about you whenever Atsumu mentioned you, and it was just obvious he was in his feels when it came to you)

Atsumu: she’s studying at a café tonight for finals

Sakusa: Yeah so I’m glad you brought it up, because I’ve been thinking about it for days. Fine I guess I’ll say it. Her favorite coffee blend is French roast and she only likes a dash of sugar with a lot of cream, but it has to be hazelnut creamer or else she doesn’t like any-

Everyone in the gym: 🗿

LMAO ANYWAYS ITS LOWKEY WORKING you look over at him and his face is like stone.. girl..

The dinner is almost over and Atsumu gets up to go to the restroom with a wink I hate him, and you get up to catch a breath of fresh air outside

You sit on a bench for a minute, calming yourself down after the eventful dinner, but then you see the door to the restaurant swing open, Sakusa looking around the corner before spotting you

Your heart pounds in your chest as he walks over and asks if he can join you, inspecting the bench before sitting down, pulling his mask down as well

He eases into a conversation by just asking you how you’re doing, basic stuff, but then in the middle of you going off on a tangent about your stupid professor, he stops you

“I missed you.”

He crosses his legs, not looking at you as he takes your hand, intertwines it with his, and places it in his lap

You gaze at him, taken back at his confession, noticing the slight pinkness tinging his pale cheeks

You say you missed him too, and then he’s asking you if you would like to go on an actual date with him

You: wait are you asking me out officially?

Him: Yes. No I’m not. Yes I am❤️

SKSLD Please he’s awkward help him a little, you agree and then you hear a tap on the window behind you, you turn around to see Tsumu, Bokuto and Adriah behind you with big grins on their faces LMFAO 🤡

Kiyoomi rolls his eyes, but you don’t miss the small upturn of the corners of his lips as he hears Bokuto happily scream through the glass

#dont even get me started w this i dont want to look at it anymore ❤️#JUST TAKE IT LMFAOOOO #sakusa #sakusa kiyoomi #sakusa x reader #haikyuu!!#haikyu headcanons #hq #sakusa kiyoomi x you #haikyuu x reader

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binunus · 3 years

Text

injury | cha eunwoo

a/n ~im a simp for eunwoo, you’re a simp for eunwoo, let’s be simps for eunwoo~

LMFAO anyway this is the first week w/o true beauty and yes as much as suho’s character was a bit toxic, he was end game and that’s it !! also eunwoo bb worked so hard :’) no one can deny eunwoo’s superb acting skills alright !! and if they do they boutta catch these hands. so here’s a cute little something of basketball player!eunwoo bc im in love with him

pls watch handsome tigers or this tik tok if you wanna indulge in basketball player!eunwoo bc everyone should at least once in their life

→ pairing: basketball player!eunwoo x athletic trainer!reader

→ genre: fluff, lil angst

→ word count: 5.1k ________________________________________________

Your POV

One thing you didn’t expect when you applied to be a student athletic trainer for the university basketball team was to end up dating one of their star players, but here you were: holding hands with Cha Eunwoo–the starting shooting guard–as you two walked into the basketball court.

He gave you a smile and a kiss to the cheek before going off to join his teammates in stretching. You let out a content sigh, watching as he happily greeted the other basketball players, and then went over to the other student trainers.

Usually, you wouldn’t have much to do since the boys were just practicing, but there was someone new joining today, so you and the other trainers had to give her a little rundown on what she signed up for.

“-mostly we just tape up and ice the guys if they have an injury or a muscle strain, but yeah that should be about it. Simple, right?”

The new girl nodded, eyes trained on the court as the team just started their warmups. “Who’s that? Number 97 is hot–”

“And dating y/n.” One of the male trainers, and yours and Eunwoo’s close friend, Rocky said, narrowing his eyes at the new girl as he rested his elbow on your shoulder. “So don’t even think of any ideas to–”

“Rocky,” You scolded hitting his stomach, “Don’t be rude.”

The girl gave you a once over, an uncomfortable smile on your face, as her eyes met yours. “Ah...well, you must have an amazing personality, y/n!”

You were taken aback, did she just call you ugly? You forced a laugh, trying your best not to quip back at her. Rocky, though, had no restraints, “Clearly a better one than yours.”

Before the new girl could respond, the head trainer called her over, a huge sigh of relief coming from you. Rocky clicked his tongue as he stared at her back, “She’s not going to last long with us. I don’t get why you’re so timid when others are clearly insulting you, y/n.”

You rolled your eyes at him. When it came to your friends, it was definitely Rocky and Myungjun who were not afraid to be bold about what they were thinking. “Eunwoo and I have been dating for more than a year now, you don’t think I’m used to people always saying that my boyfriend is out of my league? I just try to ignore it now Rocky c’mon, I know how Eunwoo feels about me and that’s enough.”

“Damn hyung’s handsome face.” The younger male shook his head. You chuckled, the two of you taking a seat on the bench and conversing as the basketball practice went on. During water breaks, Eunwoo would come over to where you and Rocky were sitting, chatting it up with you two in brief increments before resuming practice. He would always pucker his lips up for a peck before leaving, which you would definitely grant and Rocky would pretend to be disgusted.

By the end of their practice, you managed to successfully avoid the new girl, waiting outside the locker room like you always do after bidding Rocky goodbye. Eunwoo smiled once he saw you, immediately draping his arm around your shoulders as he kissed your temple in greeting. “Baby, I’m hungry.”

“Mmm, you want to eat out or order in?” You asked looking up at him.

“Order in, I’m tired.” He said, the two of you already making your way to his car.

As soon as you two arrived back at Eunwoo’s apartment, he immediately plopped down on the couch. You chuckled, lightly smacking his butt, “Baby, go take a shower first, you’re sweaty.”

“Wanna take one with me?” He asked blinking his big beautiful eyes at you. You grinned, the offer was tempting, but you already took a shower earlier today and you wanted to order this food as soon as possible. Eunwoo pouted as you shook your head in rejection, getting up to go the bathroom looking like a kicked puppy.

You turned on the television to whatever variety show was on at the moment, barely paying attention as you were looking through the food delivery app on your phone. You turned your head as Bin walked out of his bedroom, no doubt having just woken up from a nap.

“Oh? You guys are back.” He said sleepily, waving to you.

“Binnie, we’re ordering for dinner, do you want something?” You asked offering him your phone, a laugh leaving you at the boost of energy he received from the word ‘dinner’

“You know a way to man’s heart, y/n.” Bin said jokingly as he started looking through the menu. “By the way, Rocky texted me about that new trainer–rude ass bitch.”

“God you guys spread gossip faster than girls.” You said amused, “I told him earlier, I’m used to people saying stuff like that. It’s whatever.”

“I guess, but you know how sad Eunwoo will be if he finds out this is still going on?” Bin said handing you your phone back. “We’ve been telling you this since the beginning, don’t let other people’s opinions get to you. You’re attractive, y/n! And to Eunwoo, you’re the most beautiful person in the world.”

You smiled, touched by his words of comfort, “Thanks Binnie, ah where would me and Eunwoo be without all of your guys’ support?”

“Nowhere because he wouldn’t have had the balls to confess to you if it wasn’t for us.” He scoffed heading to the bathroom.

“Change your mind, baby?”

“You better stay in the shower! I don’t wanna see your dick while I’m peeing.”

You laughed at their interaction, your attention shifting to the television as you patiently waited for your food and company. Within 30 minutes, the three of you were happily stuffing yourselves full with the takeout, talking up a storm while watching tv. You leaned back against the couch when you felt your stomach capacity maxed out, hands perched on your belly as you groaned, “I can’t eat anymore.”

They looked at you in amusement, Bin laughing while Eunwoo rested his hand on your knee, a fond smile on his face as he told you he’ll finish up your leftovers. The two boys then got engrossed in their own conversation of sorts, you listening quietly to the side as the food coma started to kick in. Somewhere in the midst of their conversation, you settled behind Eunwoo, legs draped next to his body as you snaked your arms around his waist, resting your head on his back. He hummed, still chewing on his food as he took one of your hands and squeezed it.

You started to zone out, their dialogue beginning to sound like a bunch of nonsensical noise. Bin looked over to where you were laying, “I think y/n’s about to knock out.”

Your boyfriend turned his body to get a glimpse of you, grinning as you whined from the shift in movement. He changed your positions so that you were leaning next to his side, his arm around your waist as you rested your head on his shoulder. “Food coma?”

You nodded, snuggling into his side to get comfortable. Bin watched the two of you with a smile, scooping up the last of his food before clapping his hands, “Well! you guys being all cuddly is making me miss my bub...so see you lovebirds tomorrow!”

You snort, eyes still closed as you respond to him, “Aren’t they hanging out with Eunbi right now? I saw it earlier on their Instagram story.”

He shrugs, gathering up the trash, “I’m going to crash their hangout because I want to cuddle too. Have fun you two, good night sweet dreams, use protection...or not, be a little spicy!”

Eunwoo rolls his eyes as he picks up a throw pillow and chucks it at his roommate, “Alright bye Binnie.”

It takes all but five minutes before Bin leaves the apartment. The moment you two were alone, Eunwoo immediately tightened his hold, practically pulling you onto his lap as he laid you both down on the couch, spooning you from behind. You let out a smile, hands on top of his as he kissed your shoulder, “You ran a lot today baby, are your legs okay?”

He cutely nods his head, his chin lightly digging into your skin, “My calves are a bit tight, but I’ll probably just roll them out at the gym tomorrow.”

You hummed, rubbing his arm, “Do you want me to massage your legs?”

“It’s okay baby, we’re both tired. I’ll just do it tomorrow.” He said, not wanting to move from the couch any time soon. You chuckled, turning around so that you faced him, your eyes finally blinking open, “If you wait until tomorrow, your calves are gonna be stiff and sore, you might get a muscle cramp. C’mon baby.”

He kissed your nose in response, “You were literally about to knock out from a food coma five minutes ago.”

“The feeling comes and goes,” You grinned, moving to stand up from the couch. Eunwoo pouted at your absence, but followed your movement anyway, taking your hand as you led him to his bedroom. He obediently laid face down on his bed, waiting as you searched his room for the roller stick. “Can we cuddle after?”

“Yes,” You laughed, giving him a kiss before you sat down next to his legs. “Baby, this is your perk for dating an athletic trainer. I need to make sure you’re in tip top shape.”

“But rolling calves always hurt.” Eunwoo whined, already wincing as you started to apply pressure under the back of his knee. You tried to be gentle at first before really going in with stretching his calf muscles, “that’s because your calves are the tensest muscles in the body, they’re put under a lot of strain and pressure from walking and running so it hurts when you try to relax them.”

“I love when you talk medical to me,” He sighs dreamily. You roll your eyes, pressing down hard on the meat of his calves. You felt bad when Eunwoo started letting out complaints of pain, trying to talk him through it and distract him from the pressure on his legs. “Ow ow baby! It hurts!”

“I know I know, almost done baby, I promise.” You said gently, rolling the stick thoroughly over both calves a couple more times, trying to get rid of all the deep knots that accumulated in his muscles. After deciding that he’s suffered through enough with the stick, you put it to the side and began kneading the heels of your palms through his skin, stimulating his muscles gently after the harsh rolling session. Your hands slowly moved north until they landed on his shoulders, briefly massaging the knots out in his neck as well. You ended up laying next to him, cooing cutely as you pressed a kiss to his cheek, “all done.”

Your boyfriend smiled, pulling you into his chest as he kissed your forehead, “thank you baby.”

“You better not ask any of the other trainers to do this for you,” You pouted, a little bubble of jealousy coming up from the earlier situation at the gym. “Except Rocky, maybe.”

Eunwoo scoffed, running his hands through your hair as he met your eyes, “I would much rather have you give me a massage than Rocky. And hey, you better not offer this treatment to the other guys too or I’ll get jealous. You’re my trainer.”

“Deal.” You grinned hugging him tightly, all feelings of jealousy quenched.

Game days always had a specific schedule to be followed. In the morning, you two were free to do whatever you pleased, but it always ended up with the two of you procrastinating in bed until 11 am. Eunwoo always ate a high-protein high-calorie meal whenever he had games and today’s lunch was no different. After eating, the two of you began to get ready, which included showering and getting dressed.

Today you wore a simple set of jeans a black crop top, finishing your look with the university sports quarter zip, which you were required to wear for every game. After tying your hair up, you turned to your boyfriend who was just starting to dress himself. You took a seat on his bed, marveling at how attractive he looked as he slipped on his jersey and shorts. “I’ll never get over seeing you in your uniform, baby.”

He grinned, placing his arms on either side of your body as he hovered over you, leaning down for a kiss. You expected it to be short and sweet, but Eunwoo had different ideas, lips still working against yours as your back gave in, laying down on the bed. You whined as one of his hands took place on your waist, rubbing at the exposed skin, “Mm, baby, we have to leave soon.”

“I know,” he said moving his lips down your jaw, “I just wanted to kiss you.”

“You can kiss me all you want after your game.” You lightly chuckled, wrapping your arms around his torso in a hug. He nodded, face buried in your neck as he dug his hands under your body, hugging you tightly. You hummed, caressing his hair soothingly, “Are you nervous?”

“A little, I’m always nervous before a game, baby.” Eunwoo said pressing a kiss to your collarbone, “You’ll cheer me on, right?”

“Always,” You said patting his back, “C’mon, we should start heading out soon.”

He nodded, reluctantly getting off of you and pulling your body up with him. You offered your boyfriend a cheerful smile, reaching up to fix the bangs out of his eyes before cupping his cheeks, shaking his face in between your hands, “You’re going to do amazing today baby, as always.”

Eunwoo smiled at your action, pecking your lips again before the two of you did a last-minute search around his room for your belongings. After getting all that you needed, the two of you bid Bin goodbye, telling the swimmer that you’ll see him at the court later. You took your place in the driver’s seat, wanting Eunwoo to just relax for the short drive to the gymnasium. You dropped him off at the entrance first before going to find parking, having Eunwoo arrive early was more important than your arrival anyway.

As soon as you walked into the court, the players were already doing their stretches, your boyfriend in the midst of them all. You glanced at him briefly before greeting the other trainers, the group of you having a quick pre-game discussion of roles before being dismissed to do your own things.

You actively try to avoid the new girl as the time draws closer to the start of the game, not wanting your energy to get dampered. By now, the other team has already arrived and the stands were slowly starting to fill up. You were seated calmly behind the bench, trying to pass the time on your phone, before your boyfriend took the space next to you, hand automatically going on top of your knee. “You ready?”

“As much as I can be,” He grinned rubbing your kneecap, “Wanna come with me to fill up my water bottle?”

You nod, you weren’t doing anything anyway. The male immediately drapes his arm over your shoulders as the two of you walk to the water station, the two of you already getting excited about your dinner plans after the game. The rest of your friends would be joining you, no doubt, as you already spotted them near the front of the student seating.

You were in such a good mood, anticipating the start of what was going to be a good game. Your university was going against their rivals, so expectations for both teams were high. You and Eunwoo were leisurely walking back to the court, he still had a couple more minutes before he needed to join his team.

“Hey, you’re Eunwoo, right? I don’t think we’ve met before. I’m Hana, the new student trainer. You’re really good at playing!” The girl said walking up to the two of you. You immediately felt your body stiffen at her appearance, trying not to let it show to your boyfriend. He gives the new girl a polite smile, “Ah thank you.”

“If you need anything, I’ll be more than happy to help you.” She said batting her eyelashes sweetly at him. You pursed your lips tightly, jealousy easily building up inside of you. Eunwoo only laughed awkwardly, “I appreciate it, but y/n’s got everything handled when it comes to me, right baby?”

You nod, trying your hardest not to punch Hana in the face at her blatant attempt to flirt with your boyfriend right in front of you. Eunwoo noticed your discomfort immediately, removing his hand from where it was interlocked with yours before slipping it around your waist, squeezing the skin gently. “Well, it was nice meeting you Hana, but I should go back to the team...I’ll look at you when I need good luck, baby, hm?”

You manage to crack a smile, a little laugh leaving you when he puckered his lips out for a kiss. You step on your tiptoes, granting his wish quickly, before pushing him out towards the court. You turn towards Hana and give her a forced smile before searching for Rocky.

You weren’t surprised to find him in the bleachers, sitting and chatting amongst your group of friends. You go and join them with a light feeling in your chest, greeting the other four of them with hugs.

“How are you doing y/n? You excited?” Jinjin asked as you take a seat next to him.

“Yeah! I mean the guys have a really good chance of winning this one, it’s gonna be a good game.” You smiled clasping your hands together. Rocky only scoffed as he pointed at you, “Bitch, I saw Hana approaching you and Eunwoo hyung, spill.”

You throw the younger male a joking glare, “Nothing gets past you, huh?”

Bin immediately cringed at her name, hand palming his forehead, “Oh God, what did she do?”

You shrugged passively, “She just introduced herself to him and said that if he needed anything, she’ll gladly help him or whatever.”

The boys groaned in response, Sanha reaching over Jinjin to tap your leg, “And? What did hyung say?”

“He let her down gently and said that he goes to me if he needs anything–”

“As he should!” Myungjun said indignantly, crossing his arms in annoyance. Jinjin only nodded, “Good boy.”

“If she even tries to homewreck y/n, just say the word and I’ll scream at her!” Myungjun said in all seriousness. You laugh at his claim, “thanks guys, but I think Eunwoo made it pretty obvious to her so it’s fine.”

The youngest sighed giving you a pout, “You’re too nice, y/n.”

“That’s what I’m saying,” Rocky said agreeing with Sanha, “If I was you and someone was flirting with my partner, I’d clock them right in the face.”

“Hey, I wanted to–”

“You should have,” Bin sighed, “What a shame, maybe next time.”

“I usually don’t advocate for violence, but I’d turn a blind eye for this, y/n.” Jinjin agreed. You rolled your eyes at them, “You know, as much as I love to sit here and get lectured, Rocky and I have to go down to the trainer section.”

“We’ll see you guys later!” Rocky said as the two of you stand to go to the bench, taking your seats with the other trainers–and as far away from Hana as you could.

The game was already intense from the tip-off, both sides in a tight match to get a starting lead. The cheers from the stands were just as heightened, giving energy to both sides during baskets or free throws. Their plays started to get rougher from the beginning of the second half, more and more fouls getting called on both teams.

You and the trainers were busy as well, assessing each player during substitutions and icing whenever they came back to the bench. By the third quarter, your team established a good six-point lead, the energy of your section high from Eunwoo’s back-to-back 3 pointers.

You could distinctly hear Myungjun’s scream as he shouted Eunwoo’s name, a laugh coming from the bench at his volume. You hid your face in Rocky’s back, second hand embarrassment coming from the two of you at your friends’ loud cheering tactics.

You even spotted Eunwoo letting out a smile as both sides prepared for a free throw, your boyfriend giving a thumbs up to the guys in acknowledgement. His gaze then shifted onto you, your cheeks flushing as he shot you a heart-fluttering wink, a smile gluing itself onto your face.

You watched with pride as his concentration zeroed back in on the game, his team playing impeccable defense as they raced to your side of the court. After a couple back and forth relays, your team was on offense, trying to calm down the tensions as they strategized their next play.

It all happened so fast. The opponents stole the ball from your point guard, commencing a fast break. Eunwoo sped across court, the defense of your team depending on him and another player.

“Eunwoo–screen!”

He followed the instructions of his teammate well, placing his body in front of the opponent as he tried to defend your team’s basket. Unfortunately, the momentum of the other player was too much, both players roughly colliding and falling on the court.

You gasped in horror, immediately standing up from your seat as the referee blew the whistle to stop the play. Your teeth dug into your lower lip in worry as Eunwoo remained on the floor, clutching his waist in pain as some players and the referees surrounded him. The head trainer jogged onto the court, kneeling in front of Eunwoo to ask if he was okay.

The gymnasium was quiet, looking on to the scene that was unfolding in the center of the floor. Slowly, the trainer helped Eunwoo stand up, your boyfriend leaning his weight on the male as he limped off to the side, the coach substituting in the other shooting guard in place of Eunwoo. Both sides started clapping in respect, as they always do when someone gets injured during a play.

The head trainer looked to the group of you, “someone help me with Eunwoo.”

Before you could even respond, Hana beat you to the chase raising her hand, “I can help.”

“y/n,” Eunwoo said, eyes only on you. The head trainer looks between you and Hana, sighing, “Decide amongst yourselves, and fast.”

“It’ll give me more experience-”

“No, I want y/n.” Eunwoo said seriously, not even giving her a chance. The head trainer ushers you over, your feet finally taking a step with the help of Rocky pushing you forward. You accidentally shove Hana out of your way as you approach Eunwoo and the trainer, taking some of your boyfriend’s weight as the three of you walk to the locker room.

Once in the locker room, the head trainer immediately started assessing Eunwoo’s waist, trying to determine whether he needed to be sent to the hospital for a scan. Quickly and quietly, you follow the trainer’s lead, offering your assistance when he needed it. All the while, you hold Eunwoo’s hand as your boyfriend was trying not to think of the pain in his lower back.

“Do you think you can walk, Eunwoo?”

“I don’t know, there’s a sharp pain in my waist if I try to turn my body.” Eunwoo said attempting to rotate his upper half.

“No no no, don’t move. Let’s get you to the hospital to make sure there isn’t anything broken.” He sighed taking out his phone to call the medical team, “y/n, I’m sure you’ll be accompanying your boyfriend. Text me Eunwoo’s updates, okay?”

You nodded, briefly leaving Eunwoo’s side to gather both his and your things. Within the next five minutes, a group of EMTs entered the locker room, lifting Eunwoo onto a stretcher and rolling him to an ambulance, you following closely behind.

You didn’t say much on the way too the hospital, your mind too preoccupied with worry and thinking about the worst-possible scenario for your boyfriend. Even when you arrived at the hospital, Eunwoo was immediately whisked away to get some scans and X-rays done, you being escorted to the waiting room in the meantime. It seemed like forever until a nurse approached you, leading you to the room where Eunwoo was being held.

You let out a sigh upon seeing him, almost being moved to tears as he offered you a smile, “You’re smiling? Cha Eunwoo, I oughta–”

“Baby, I’m okay.” He chuckled lightly, hand outstretched to meet yours. You frowned, putting both of your bags down to the side as you took a seat by his bedside, “Are you okay? What did the doctor say? I need to update the trainer and your coach too.”

“Nothing’s broken,” He said first, attempting to ease some of your anxiety. “The doctor said I had a nasty fall that bruised my coccyx so there’s a lot of inflammation to the area. They gave me some pain medication so I don’t really feel anything right now, but I should be discharged tomorrow. And then he gave me a referral to a chiropractor who I’ll see in about two days. But baby, I’m okay, promise.”

“You can’t play though,” You said softly, hands fiddling with his fingers, “I feel like I’m more upset than you.”

“I played hard today so I don’t regret anything.” He said simply, “it sucks that I couldn’t finish the game, but injuries are a part of being an athlete, you know that baby. Besides, from what the doctor said, I shouldn’t be out for too long, maybe just a game or two. I told him I’m in especially good hands because you’re gonna take care of me.”

You said nothing, still not fully believing that he’s taking this situation so well. “Baby...give me a smile, hm? I’ll feel much better if I see you smiling.”

Mustering up the brightest smile that you could, you finally looked up at his face. His features only softened, knowing that you were trying your best to stay strong for him, “Are you still worried?”

“Baby, you’re in the hospital.” You said as if stating the obvious, “How could I not be worried?”

“You’re so cute being all worried about me,” He teased squeezing your hand. You scoffed, finally easing up a little at his flirting. “You laughed! I heard you laugh just now!”

“You’re annoying,” You said as you took out your phone to give the head trainer updates on Eunwoo’s condition. After you pressed send, you immediately received a call from Sanha, “Hello?”

“Is Eunwoo hyung okay?!” “Is he dying?!” “Eunwoo no he’s too young to die!”

You flinched at their loud volume, turning your phone on speaker so that you and Eunwoo could both respond to their chatter. “Guys, he’s not dying.”

“I’m okay,” He laughed taking your phone. “Hold on, did we win?”

“Are you fucking serious? That’s what you wanna know?!” Myungjun scolded into the phone. You chuckled, the guys talking over each other again as they announced they were on the way to the hospital. “They never said if we won or not.”

“I guess you’ll find out when they arrive.” You said, patting his cheek as you stood, removing your sweater. “Do you want some water, baby? I could go get some.”

He shook his head, puckering up his lips for something else. “Please? I’m injured.”

“You’re going to use this to your advantage, aren’t you?” You asked leaning down to grant him a quick kiss. “Maybe.”

After handing Eunwoo his phone, you went to the bathroom for a little bit before coming back and taking a seat on the hospital bed that he so highly encouraged. “If we get scolded by the nurse, I’m blaming it on you.”

“It’s not like you’re laying in bed with me, baby. We’ll be fine.” He said putting his hand on your thigh. He rubbed your cloth of your jeans gently, thinking to himself as you responded to messages on your phone. “Baby, you know I love you, right?”

You made a sound of confusion, looking up from your phone and meeting his eyes, “Hm? Of course I do. I love you too. Why, all of a sudden?”

“Just, when Hana was talking to us earlier and when she volunteered to try and help, I could see that you were uncomfortable.” Eunwoo said gently, “It annoyed me too, to be honest. Like what else did I need to do to show that I’m dating you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” You said stroking his hair, “I’m used to people thinking that they can steal you away just because they’re prettier than me or more handsome than me or whatever. It doesn’t bother me that much anymore, baby––and it shouldn’t bother you too.”

“That’s so fucked up, y/n, how can that not bother me?” He frowned. “You are the most attractive person in my eyes, baby. If anyone pulls this shit again, I swear I won’t let it slide.”

“I know,” You said quietly, kissing his cheek. “I love you.”

“And I love you,” Eunwoo said, “I don’t want you to ever forget that y/n, you’re mine and no one can do anything to change that.”

“Mmm, I’m lucky that you and the guys always defend me, aren’t I?” You lightly smiled, “God, you have no idea how many times Rocky cursed Hana out in the past week.”

“As he should,” Eunwoo nodded kissing the back of your hand, “see, this is why they’re my friends.”

“Speaking of our friends.” You said looking at the door, “I can hear them coming.”

Your boyfriend chuckled, both of your attentions at the door, which shortly was opened by five boisterous guys. The sound in the hospital room suddenly increasing tenfold at their appearance, all five of them crowding and fussing around the bed. You giggled, sharing a look with Eunwoo as the guys started talking all at once. He grinned, listening until the end of their rambles. Although he was injured, Eunwoo noticed that he couldn’t be feeling any happier. He had no doubt that he would have a speedy recovery, especially if you and his best friends were right by his side. _______________________________________

2-12-21

321 notes · View notes

nat-20s · 3 years

Text

what’s poppin everyone please have this fun lil writing warmup/short story inspired by me thinking “Dancing in the Moonlight” was definitely 100% about werewolves

~*~

“So, this your first transformation?”

The counselor? Leader? Tour guide? Asked this with a perfectly jovial tone, as if the typical social mores surrounding, ugh, lycanthropy, didn’t apply to her. They didn’t know what exact title to call her, and her name tag just said “Luna”, which, reflecting on it, either was a joke on her part or a reflection of her parents’ sense of humor.

Picking at the scabs from last month, they cringed and replied, “No. Uh. Second.”

Luna lets out a low whistle. “Oof. That sucks. Guessing you got bitten rather than inherited the ol’ wolfman gene?”

“That’s...kind of personal?”

Unlocking the front door of the log cabin that served as King Harvest’s Headquarters, Luna shrugs and says, “Shit, sorry. Forgot the whole weird stigma around your source of the once monthly nightmare, as if it fuckin matters. Also, I know, I know, ass out of you and me. Hey, you got any dietary restrictions? Gluten, peanut allergies, the like?”

Voice flat, they tell her, “I’m vegetarian,” and waits for the obvious response.

As they wander through the cabin towards the kitchen, Luna flipping on the light switches, generic club music starts to filter in. Instead of the obvious response, Luna asks, “You like veggie burgers? Or maybe pasta? I’d offer salad, but that’s really not gonna cut it for tonight.”

“I ate before I came.”

With a snort, she tells them, “Oh yeah? Did you have about 4000 calories?”

“No? Why would I have?”

Sweeping out her arm, she gestures at the food laying out on the counter and tells them, “Then eat up! 4000 is really a minimum for the night if you don’t want to feel like someone physically beat out all of your energy in the morning. 6000 is more the target area, but we got, hmm, about 15 minutes before things get uncomfortable, and half an hour max before things get dire.”

They glance down to the food, and, admittedly, the broccoli alfredo does look pretty appealing. Still, they have to ask, “Is this a cult?”

Luna lets out a bark of a laugh that has nothing to do with her (maybe) being a werewolf. “Okay, first of all, what kind of cult is like ‘fuck yeah, we’re a cult’? Secondly, despite the first thing, I can say that we’re not a cult. I know how “King Harvest: Center for Movement Therapy” sounds, both clinical and vague enough to be suspicious as hell, but I didn’t come up with the title, blame my long deceased dad for that one. Plus, ‘King Harvest: Bitchin’ Wolf Dance House’ probably wouldn’t look good on the grant applications.”

“Grants?”

“Oh yeah. This bad boy’s been publicly funded since its opening in 1972. Hence no membership fees.”

“Is that why animal control is giving out your business card? Are they one of your sponsors?”

“Nah, that’s just Jack. Me ‘n’ him go way back, hell, to his park ranger days. I mean, yeah, I think he’ll campaign for us, but mostly I think he just hates capturing a wolf in the night only to have a naked, trembling human in the morning, and he knows that our program significantly reduces the odds of that happening, at least in this neck of the woods.”

They let out a hum, then glance back down to the food. As appealing as it down look, they’re still about..30% convinced this is an elaborate organ harvesting operation. Or sketchy sex thing.

Apparently sensing their hesitation, Luna says, “You got a favorite chip?”

“Salt and vinegar.”

Grabbing a sealed family sized bag from the overhead cabinets, Luna tosses it to them. “If you come back next full moon, either eat enough in advance or have a real meal here. That being said, excuse the turn of phrase, you should wolf that down. It’s sure as hell better than nothing.”

They catch it, and the bag opens with a puff of air that speaks to a reassuring lack of tampering. As they toss a chip into their mouth, Luna grabs a water bottle from the fridge and places it down next to them. “So? Any questions for me? We’ve still got about ten minutes before we have to go out there.”

Rolling their eyes, they tell her, “No. None at all.”

“Great! Soon as you’re done eating we’ll get you started.”

“I was being sarcastic.”

“Yeah, no shit, smart-ass. Seriously, what are your, we haven’t got much time.”

“I don’t know? The whole..thing? I mean, how is it supposed to..work? Like? At all?”

“You ever see Amok Time?”

“Is that relevant?”

“It’s a yes or no question babe.”

“And if I say no?”

“Then the explanation is going to be a lot more technical and take a lot longer, ultimately to likely make less sense.”

“...I’ve seen it.”

“Great! So, Pon Farr is basically this chemical blood imbalance that results in fuck or die disorder, yeah? But then Spock neither fucks nor dies, and eventually the vulcans get their shit together and find out that an intense fight can serve the same function, and the blood fever chills out. Lycanthropy operates on a similar enough basis for comparison. You’re compelled to act out on energetically heavy base instincts, returning to the ways of the wolf or whatever. Traditionally, that’s done through running and hunting, which has, historically, been a crapshoot at best. Theoretically, sex can also get the job done, but I’m sure you can imagine how that gets extremely dicey extremely quickly. Either restraints or isolation has been implemented for a while, but, c’mon, they’re bandaid solutions, and they’re far from foolproof. Luckily for us all, my grandmother decided to connect back with her ancestors, and there was a handful of stories having huge festivals to deal with ‘moon violence’. She tried it out, and, yeah, dancing works.”

“That sounds…”

They don’t know how that sounds. Made up, mostly.

“Like a bunch of hippie bullshit? Yeah, it kind of is, Grandma Josephine was a huge hippie, but it’s hippie bullshit that works. In fact, let’s go see the others, it almost always makes things clearer.”

Figuring that whatever they’re about to see can’t be worse than their transformation last month. They head through the sliding glass door out the back, the thump of the music suddenly loud enough to be felt in their chest. The sight that awaits them makes them drop their chips and let out a gasp. Barely able to speak, they exhale out, “None of them...they’re not wolves. How..how??”

Indeed, the roughly forty people jumping to the pulse of whatever they’re listening to (some to the in house DJ, some, apparently, to what’s playing over the large headphones they have adorned), resemble the image of a wolfman much more accurately. They bare claws, fangs, elongated snouts, upright ears, and serious amounts of hair, but they’re on two legs, and moving like humans. Some of them are even singing along to the lyrics, which really shouldn’t be possible.

Luna grins, making it obvious that she’s used to this level of shell shocks. “Ultimately, you do have to give into some damn rigorous instincts. But dancing is a human instinct, not a canine one, so you end up, well, humanoid. Pretty nifty, huh?”

“And they all..they all keep their minds? I didn’t...they don’t blackout?”

“Not since we banned alcohol in the 90s! Here, watch this.”

Luna nods her head at the DJ, and the DJ, obligingly, turns down the music for a moment. The members of the crowd not listening to their own music pause, then look towards the door. She cries out, “Hey gang! HOW WE ALL DOIN’ TONIGHT?”, and gets a mix between a howl and “WOO!” cried back. The DJ then turns the music back up, and the general movement of the crowd resumes.

They should be more skeptical. They want to be more skeptical, they were just minutes before, but it’s hard to disagree with something right in front of you. “This will work for me? I just..have to dance?”

“Well, it’s not guaranteed. Few things are. But we have yet to have someone turn violent on us. If you start to fell yourself slipping from consciousness, though, I do ask that you start heading further into the woods, as to not hurt other guest. If you find yourself just getting tired, there’s beds inside, and a fair amount of pillows around the edge of the quote unquote dance floor, if you end up in more of a nesting mood. Also, I recommend taking off your shoes before you start.”

“What? Why?”

Luna gives a pointed glance at the dancers’ feet, which, ah. They’re about twice as large as normal and at least twice as sharp. The converse on their feet would be no match. “Ah.”

“Ready?”

They shove off their shoes and place the remainder of their chips aside. “As I’ll ever be.”

Good thing, too, as they’re starting to feel an uncomfortable pressure in their chest that was the prelude to disaster last month.

Luna strides to the center of the dance floor, which is really a plush lawn surrounded by forest. The crowd naturally moves around her, and she yells out, “Aiyana! Play my song!”

Aiyana gives a nod, and the opening notes of “Dancing in the Moonlight” start to sound out. “Seriously?”

Luna shrugs, grinning like a fool, and says, “It’s a classic!”

“It’s cliché at best.”

Luna shrugs, and then begins dancing. She’s hardly elegant, but she is dazzlingly joyful in her uncoordinated movements. As the song reaches the first chorus, she gives a twirl, and in the split second it takes, she’s transformed. They blink in shock, not knowing you could transform that seamlessly, that quickly, that painlessly. Luna in half wolf form is just as expressive as the human Luna, and she gives a nod over her shoulder as if to say Come on.

Feeling somewhat foolish, they start to bop their head to the tune. Luna lets out a huff and grabs their hands, spinning them around and forcing them to get moving. At first, it’s them indulging Luna, but as they let themselves get lost in rhythm, they feel a stretching sensation in their face and limbs. It’s not unpleasant, more like when you wake up and work out the tension in your spine. They open their eyes and look down at their hands, now covered in fur in and made for slashing. It didn’t hurt. It didn’t hurt, and they’re still themselves, and they had no idea that full moons could be like this, maybe for the rest of their lives.

They turn their head to the night sky, and their body can’t help but continue to dance. Despite all their fear, all their dread, “movement therapy” worked, and they can admit, at least to themselves, that they feel warm and bright.

#my writing #nats journey into writing short stories based on 70s songs continues lmao

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averykedavra · 3 years

Text

Ever Slightly Out of Reach

So it’s been a hot second since I wrote anything, thanks to finals, and I wanted a quick warmup to get myself back in the groove. And that quick warmup may have turned out not-so-quick. That’s partly thanks to the great base prompt by @fanartfunart, which I fell in love with. I hope I stayed true to the spirit of the AU, and I hope you all enjoy this rambling plotless ghost fluff.

(Title from Still Here by Digital Daggers. This fic is on Ao3 here!)

Pairings: platonic Creativitwins

Words: 8068

Warnings: death mentions, injury mentions, possession (but a very consensual and low-key kind), arguing, some gross-out humor, and thunderstorms

It was a dark and stormy afternoon, and Remus was preparing to be possessed.

“I still think this is a bad idea,” Roman said, floating in his favorite position above the foot of Remus’ bed. One of his legs dangled towards the floor. The other was nowhere to be found. “We should really do something else.”

“Don’t be a quitter,” Remus said. He combed his hair with his fingers. “It’s fun!”

“It’s not.”

“You like it,” Remus complained. “Last time, you squealed about getting to eat an apple.”

“Yeah, but--” Roman winced. “You feel all greasy. It’s like I’m stuck in a--really dirty oven mitt.”

“Hey!”

“You probably haven’t showered for days.” Roman flopped upside down and his mist tinted red. “Did you even wash your hands after lunch?”

Remus looked down at his hands. His nails still had dirt stuck under them in little crescent moons. Yesterday, he’d dug up weeds from the garden and brought them to show Roman. The mess was always part of the fun.

“I didn’t wash my hands,” Remus admitted, “but it’s no biggie--”

“Ew!” Roman interrupted, folding his arms until they blended together. “And I knew it! You never wash your hands! You don’t even do it after you pick your nose!”

Remus grinned and shoved his finger into his nose, just for fun.

“Ew!” Roman yelled louder. “Grow up!”

“I’m already nine,” Remus said triumphantly, poking the finger a bit further to see if he could feel his brains. “Nine and one whole quarter.”

Roman rolled his eyes. “I’m way older than you. Shut it, doodoo head.”

“You shut it!” Remus yanked his finger out of his nose and wiped it on his sash. Roman cringed. “You’re gonna go inside this doodoo head and you’re gonna like it.”

Roman huffed. But Remus knew he wasn’t really mad, ‘cause when Roman got real mad, the furniture wasn’t on the ground anymore.

“Come on,” Remus pleaded, flopping onto the carpet. He gave Roman his best give-me-candy-I’m-a-good-boy look. “You know you wanna. We’ll only do it for like six seconds and it’ll be hilarious.”

“It’s not funny,” Roman said.

“Prove it.” Remus popped back upright and kicked his bare feet in the air. “Possess me.”

“No.”

“Come on! You’re worse than Mom!” Remus rolled his eyes until the whites showed. “I’m gonna go back to school tomorrow and I wanna do this now! Before I’ve got homework and stuff. And if you practice, you’ll get really good, and we could go all sorts of places together!”

Roman shivered. “I don’t want to go anywhere in your gross head.”

“I’m awesome for possessing,” Remus said. He tried to imitate the commercials on TV and in-between videos about car explosions. “I’m cool, I’m smart, I have cool hair, I’ve had a whole entire boyfriend--”

“That was in kindergarten,” Roman said. “It doesn’t count.”

“It does too!”

“Does not!”

“And I’m awesome,” Remus said, forcing himself away from an argument. “And I have ten whole fingers and ten whole toes. You have, like, five. Tops.”

Roman counted his currently-visible fingers. “Seven.”

“See?” Remus pointed at him. “And--and! And I have a cool outfit. So I’m the best for possessing.”

Roman gave Remus a look. An I-don’t-want-to-be-mean look. Remus knew that look from teachers who didn’t like his drawings. And classmates who thought he was freaky. And his parents when they tried to tell him again that Roman wasn’t real, Remus was just making up an imaginary friend, and shouldn’t he try to go play with some kids his own age?

Remus knew, though. He knew he wasn’t making Roman up. Two years of being besties wasn’t made-up, and just because nobody else could see Roman didn’t mean Roman wasn’t there. Sometimes things stayed in houses without people noticing. Like stains. Or the slug Remus kept in a shoebox. If his parents didn’t know about the slug, it made sense that they might not know about Roman, either.

Typical grownups. Thought they knew everything.

Roman was nice, because he actually did know stuff. Not stuff like how TVs worked--Remus had tried to explain it, Roman just didn’t get it--but other stuff. Stuff he wouldn’t tell Remus sometimes.

“How’d you die?” Remus asked, instead of trying to remember what he’d just been talking about. He hadn’t asked yet today. Maybe this time it’d work.

“Quicksand,” Roman said.

Could be true. “How?”

“I fell into it.” Roman was definitely telling a story now. He got all dramatic whenever he made something up. “It was a sad, sad day.”

“Why’d you fall into quicksand?” Remus asked, sitting on the carpet and pulling at the threads. “Seems kinda stupid if you ask me.”

“Hey!” Roman said. “I didn’t fall, I was pushed.”

“You said you fell!”

“I said wrong!” Roman huffed, and red flickered around his eyes. “I got pushed because my uncle wanted the kingdom for himself. Quicksand is really cold, actually. All my bones got filled with sand one by one, and it tasted super gross.”

“Did your eye sockets get filled up too?” Remus asked.

Roman nodded. “And my ear sockets. And then I died.”

Remus decided that was a good enough story, and accepted it at face value. “That does sound real gross.”

“It was.” Roman snickered. “Almost as gross as being in your head.”

“Hey!” Remus jumped up. “Look, if you don’t like my head, you can go sit in the living room and talk to all the grownups. But we’ve done this before! You possessed me on accident--”

“I said I was sorry,” Roman mumbled.

“--and then you did it on purpose a couple times, and it was really cool, it was like--” Remus waved his hands and smashed them together. “Bam! You and me all in one brain! And I wanna do it again, so we can figure out how it works, and we can do it for longer!”

Roman raised an eyebrow until it disappeared. “Why?”

“So you can--” Remus gestured at him. “We could do stuff together!”

“We already do stuff together.”

“No, like--” Remus glanced out the window. He could just see the road in the distance. The bus stop was right across the street. He’d have to stand there tomorrow, even if it was still raining. “I know you never leave the house, but if you were me, we could--”

Roman’s eyes hardened. “No.”

Remus faltered. “I just thought--”

Roman immediately looked guilty. He shifted back and forth in midair, and for a few seconds, he almost disappeared altogether. Then he stabilized. Bright white, small, and still just Remus’ height--Roman never explained why they’d been growing together, and maybe he didn’t know. Or maybe it was just another thing Roman wouldn’t tell him.

For a best friend, Roman kept a lot of secrets.

But still. Maybe that was just how friends were. Remus didn’t really have a lot of experience.

“It’s okay,” Roman said to where his feet would probably be. “I just--fine. I’ll possess you, alright? If you really wanna. I’ll wear your weird outfit and everything. But you owe me a favor.”

Remus squealed and twirled around. He didn’t even care that Roman insulted his outfit. He didn’t care about the favor, either--Remus owed Roman like twenty favors by now, it was fine. Remus had time to pay him back later. Roman wasn’t exactly going anywhere.

“This is gonna be great!” Remus blurted out, gesturing for Roman to join him on the carpet. “Okay, you can do it whenever, and you can pop out whenever! But go ahead and try to do stuff while you’re me! So we can see how it works.”

Roman nodded a bit, floating just above the carpet. “So...now?”

“Now,” Remus said. “Unless you’re too chicken--I’m not a chicken!”

Roman’s voice, Remus’ mouth. Roman was gone from the carpet. Remus stood alone in his room.

Remus grinned. “Awesome.”

His grin twisted into an annoyed smirk, followed by an “If you say so.”

It really was awesome. Being possessed was like when you sat in one place for too long and your legs fell asleep. It tingled all over his skin. It made him kinda slow to move and slow to think, and it felt a bit like he was floating, just like Roman could. His head was dizzy and the room was deeper than it used to be, like Remus could see it from every angle, and the rain drummed louder and louder.

“This is so cool,” Remus whispered. It took a second for the words to work, even though Roman quickly let him talk. “You wanna try and move?”

“You can move,” Roman said back, seeming to retreat from Remus’ legs. Remus kicked his foot at the carpet. “I’m not good at walking anymore.”

“Practice makes perfect!” Remus concentrated and tried to shove Roman into the legs again. Go in there, go in there, come on--

“Don’t think so loud.” Roman huffed and rolled Remus’ eyes. “Fine. I’ll try to walk. Don’t grab control until I’m done, though, ‘cause you’ll make us both fall over.”

Remus mimed zipping his lips. The next second, he was pulled closer into himself and away from his skin. He felt his legs move. Roman walked with an awkward wobble--probably because he didn’t have legs most of the time--and a kind of glide. Remus tried very hard not to interrupt Roman. He sucked in his breath and watched patiently.

Roman had managed to walk them halfway across the room. He was picking up speed now, seeming to remember how it worked when gravity existed, and Remus felt his mouth twist in a smile. They walked past the window, Roman skimming fingers across the pane and leaving water on Remus’ hands. Around and around. Roman knew this place, Remus started to feel--he knew where the door was and how many steps it took to get there. He knew how to dash around corners, he knew where to kick the doors, he knew the creakiest floorboards. He’d just forgotten.

“You wanna go downstairs?” Remus asked, trying his hardest to keep his control from spreading to his legs. “We could get a snack.”

“Good idea!” Roman sounded excited. He always sounded excited. Why did he complain about possession stuff anyway? He clearly liked to be in Remus’ head, and he liked to be able to walk around, and he was good at it. Remus didn’t even have to worry, ‘cause Roman knew where to go--

And they both crashed into the wall.

Remus fell onto the floor. His knee banged something on the way down, and it started to hurt, especially when he grabbed it to see what was wrong.

“Ow!” Remus complained. The words hit no barrier. “Ow, fudge-popsicle-muffin-nugget, what the frick?”

“Sorry!” Roman was crumpled next to him, adjusting his sash. The stupid muffin probably left as soon as things started to hurt. “I didn’t mean to!”

“Why’d you lead us into the wall?” Remus inspected his knee. It wasn’t quite scream-for-Mom worthy--no blood--but maybe he’d put a bandaid on it, just in case. “That hurt, stupid.”

“There wasn’t a wall there!” Roman complained.

Remus pointed at the very obvious wall.

“I mean there didn’t use to be one.” Roman drifted upright. He did look sorry about it, which made Remus less annoyed. “That’s where the door used to be. I got mixed up.”

“It’s been at least two years.” Remus pulled himself to his feet. His knee still stung, but not that bad. “Get used to the new door, weirdo.”

“I never have to use it!” Roman floated halfway through the wall as an example. The wallpaper curled slightly, like he’d lit a fire next to it. “Not my fault that you guys put all the things in different places. I never know how to get anywhere anymore!”

Remus blew a raspberry at him. “Maybe look around you, weener. It’s your house, you gotta know it.”

Roman glared at the wall. “Doesn’t feel like my house.”

After a second, Remus clapped his hands. “Can’t have you walk around in my body if you’re gonna ride it off a cliff, so--guess we’re done?”

“We’re done,” Roman said, looking relieved. “I’m spared your terrible fashion sense.”

“Hey!” Remus grabbed his sash protectively. “I made this outfit myself and I love it and you can shut your hole.”

“Okay, okay.” Roman drifted over to the bed and stretched his arms. “What do we do now?”

Remus hummed, looking between Roman and the door. It was still raining. It was the last day of summer vacation--not the last last day, but tomorrow Remus was gonna get a new backpack, and that was fun but it didn’t have Roman. Roman never came shopping with him. So Remus got one day before Roman would be stuck in the house all alone.

He could try to get Roman to come along, but he didn’t wanna waste the afternoon.

Remus looked back at the door. Had it really been in a different place? Remus knew that all the furniture was different now, especially in the living room, but he didn’t know about the doors. He didn’t know much about the house at all. It was too big--good for hide and seek, bad for understanding. Sometimes Remus wished he had a house GPS.

Actually--

“I’ve got an idea,” Remus said. “Do you wanna make a map?”

“A map?” Roman asked. He already looked interested. “Like a treasure map?”

“No, a map of the house! From bottom to top!”

Roman tilted his head. “Why?”

“So we don’t get lost!” Remus hopped in place. “You can know the way around, and so can I! It’ll be fun, come on, come on come on come on--”

“That does sound like an adventure,” Roman said slowly.

“Yeah!” Remus nodded his head as fast as he could. “We can make a whole big map and we can both draw on it! It can be like a treasure map, except it’s just the whole house all the way through!”

Roman smiled. “We’ll need a lot of paper, right?”

“Woo!” Remus cheered. He always felt great when Roman liked his ideas. “Let’s go-go-go!”

“Paper,” Roman said as Remus threw open the door. “And pencils.”

“I bet Mom has some!” Remus waved his hands. “Come on, Ro, don’t waste time!”

“I’ve got all the time,” Roman teased, but he followed Remus into the hallway.

Remus was really good at getting places fast. Why wait and walk somewhere, if you could get to the cool place in half the time? He kicked off the edge of the carpet, slid and sped down the hallway, jumped past the other bedrooms, and barely paused at the staircase. Up onto the banister, a little push, and then down!

The rooms spun past him in a spiral, his feet flying, and he giggled wildly as he slipped towards the first floor. Whenever he tilted too hard in one direction, the wind pushed him back into place. Remus could go as fast as he liked, because Roman was there to keep him on course. He could never fall without Roman catching him.

When the banister tapered off in a swirl, Remus catapulted himself off the edge, rolling onto the carpet and springing back up. Roman grinned at him when he solidified enough to have a mouth. Remus didn’t wait for the rest of his face. He barreled across the tiles, skidded around the corner, and burst into the kitchen.

“Mom! Mom-Mom-Mom!” Remus darted over and tugged at her arm. “Mom!”

“What is it?” she asked. She’d been leaning on the counter, checking her phone. “What do you need, Remus?”

“Do you have paper?” Remus spread his hands wide. “Like, super big paper?”

“There should be some in the attic.” She frowned. “What are you up to?”

“Nothin’.” Remus glanced over to Roman, who was curiously poking at the window boxes. “We’re just gonna draw something, is all.”

“We--” Her mouth worked for a few seconds, like she had a lollipop stuck to her tongue. “Oh. Are you sure you don’t want to do something else for your last day of vacation? Go for a walk? It can’t be good for that brain of yours to be cooped up inside.”

Remus knocked on his skull. “It seems fine to me. And it’s raining out!”

“I think it’ll stop for a bit later,” Mom said unconvincingly. “I--I’m just not sure if you want to run around in the house all day. You spend too much time inside it already.”

“I do not.” Remus pouted. “I like it here!”

“I’m glad you do.” She drummed her fingers on the counter before sighing. “Maybe you’ll make some friends at school.”

“Don’t need any friends,” Remus said. “I’ve got a friend.”

“Right. Right.” Mom rubbed her eyes. “Like I said, the paper is in the attic. You might want to ask your father for help with it. And don’t get into any trouble, okay?”

“I won’t!”

“I know how much that’s worth.” She slipped her phone into her pocket and grabbed a spatula. “Holler if you need me.”

“I will!” Remus gestured to Roman, who reluctantly floated away from the window. “Come on, Ro, we haven’t got all day!”

Accompanied by a long sigh that melted into the wind, Remus and Roman left the kitchen.

“You’ll have to go back in, if you want to make a map,” Roman pointed out.

“I know what the kitchen looks like.” Remus scoffed. “Stove, oven, fridge, things I’m not allowed to touch. Easy-peasy.”

He hopped up the stairs two at a time. Roman drifted along the banister and peeked at the rooms below. Whenever he flipped upside down, his hair pooled around his face like a cloud of smoke. Remus idly batted at him. Roman felt like nothing. Nothing and warm.

“She said the stuff’s in the attic,” Remus said, hopping off the stairs and barreling down the hallway to the other stairs. “And that’s got the fun trapdoor, right?”

“We broke the trapdoor,” Roman said. “It’s just a hole now.”

“Not my fault it can’t handle paintballs.” Remus scrambled up the other stairs. “But Mom said that’s got the paper, so you and I can go get it.”

“She also said you have to ask your dad.”

“She’s stupid.”

“I can just get the paper.” Roman flickered and appeared farther up the stairs. “I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t--” Remus didn’t even manage to finish the sentence before Roman was gone. A bit of mist curled from the landing. It drifted to the window, slipped through the glass, and disappeared into the rain. So Roman’s mist could go outside, but Roman couldn’t? What kind of rules were there? Why did Roman never get to go where Remus could?

Remus shivered. It got cold easily in the house. Something about drafts. He felt very small on the staircase, alone, scuffing the red carpet with his toes.

Roman would be back soon. He always got back soon. Roman used to go all sorts of places without Remus, until Remus got tired of trying to find him every time he woke up. Ghosts were better than people, but ghosts were harder to find when they got lost. Remus used to worry that Roman would get really lost. So lost that Remus wouldn’t be able to see him anymore, and he’d forget that Roman was real. And he wouldn’t have any friends, and he’d just be alone in the cold stupid house.

Remus didn’t worry that anymore. At least, he thought he didn’t. Now, with the gray light shining through the windows, he felt ants in his intestines.

“Wait up!” Remus called, and ran after Roman.

He caught up right beneath the attic. Roman was right--it was still a hole. A square hole above the bookcase, with foldable stairs squeezed next to the books.

“Ro!” Remus yelled.

A thump or two, and a misty face reappeared. In the dark, Roman glowed, like glow-in-the-dark shoes. “What?”

“Can I come up?” Remus asked.

“I’m almost done!” Roman disappeared. Another few thumps shook the ceiling. “Catch!”

A pad of paper fell through the hole. Remus tried to catch it, failed, and grabbed it before Roman could notice.

“That’s all I could find.” Pencils and pens rained from the hole, followed by a smaller notebook. “Does it work?”

Remus frowned at the paper. It was small, only about the size of a poster. “Can we fit the whole house on here?”

“We could go room by room.” Roman drifted down to Remus, aimed wrong, and stuck his arm through Remus’ shoulder. Remus laughed and swatted the air. Roman adjusted himself. “Make one map for each room.”

“I guess.” That wouldn’t help with finding rooms, but this was about Roman knowing where the doors were. Remus didn’t want Roman to get lost while Remus was gone. “That works.”

“Fantastic!” Roman looked around. “Which room first?”

“Top to bottom?” Remus pointed at the ceiling. “Let’s start with the attic.”

It took several tries for Roman to lift Remus through the hole. Remus almost hit his head on the side, making Roman drop him out of panic, making Remus almost hit his head on the floor. Roman caught him, of course, but it took another minute for Remus to get Roman to try again. Finally, Remus squeezed through the hole. Floating felt like going up an elevator. If the elevator was wobbly, invisible, and complained a lot.

The attic was a nest of boxes. Every piece of cardboard was labeled, some in writing that Remus didn’t recognize. Old photos. Old jewelry. Old spiderwebs. The stuff in front, Remus knew. Holiday stuff, and extra silverware, and Mom’s favorite Passover sweater. Beyond that, though, was a sea of boxes that hadn’t been touched in years. Remus had explored a few of them, and he’d seen all kinds of old stuff, the kind that was probably worth a lot online. Maybe Mom and Dad should sell it. Roman might get upset, though--Roman didn’t like it when stuff got lost.

Remus cleared a space in the center of the attic and unfolded a piece of paper. He handed Roman a pencil. Roman dropped it by accident. Remus gave Roman another pencil.

“Okay, so we’re gonna draw a square like this.” Remus drew a square as neatly as he could. “And then we add the windows and the doors, and then all the stuff inside the room, and we can label it so we know what’s what!”

Roman nodded. “Can I add sparkles?”

“There aren’t any sparkles in the room.”

“There should be.”

“Add sparkles or whatever.” Remus grinned. “I’m gonna add poop. And lots of spooky ghosts with big pointy teeth.”

“Except I’m saving you from them,” Roman corrected, “since I’m the knight! They’re no match for me.”

“No, they’re my friends too!” Remus waved his hands. “They’re my army! I’ve got a ghost army and they give me cookies and think I’m cool.”

Roman pouted. “I already do that!”

“You’re a dork.”

“Am not!”

Remus snickered and started drawing some of the boxes. Roman doodled around the edges, crossed out some of Remus’ lines, and wrote labels in shaky handwriting. Remus made the room too small on the page, so there was lots of room for extra drawings around the edges. Remus drew three frogs, five rats, and seven ghosts with pointy teeth and blood in their eyeballs. And an octopus, but it didn’t look right.

When they’d managed to fill the whole paper, Remus checked the map against the room. All the boxes were there, plus the one small window at the other end, between slopes of wood. It was still raining. Remus couldn’t move without the floor creaking, and he could barely stand up all the way.

“Where next?” Remus asked, rolling up the map.

“Downstairs,” Roman said, “one room at a time.”

The first bedroom. Most of the bedrooms on the top floors were empty, and the dust made Roman look smudged. This bedroom had a small raggedy doll in one corner and a faded pink bed. When Remus kicked the carpet, it came apart at the edge. The windows overlooked the backyard, which sloped past the gardens and shed before hitting the woods with a crunch. They labeled the map ‘Bedroom’ and Roman drew flowers in the margins. One of the pencils rolled under the pink bed and Remus almost bumped his head trying to get it back.

The first bathroom. It didn’t have a sink anymore, and the toilet was still clogged from the time Remus tried to flush lasagna down it. The whole place smelled like lasagna. Maybe Remus should tell Dad about it, but that’d mean getting in trouble, so he plugged his nose and drew a map. Since there wasn’t much floor, and the tiles looked like barf, Remus put the map against the mirror. The mirror had a long crack in it that made his lines go skewed. He labeled it ‘Lasagna Bathroom.’ Roman drew stink waves coming from the toilet.

Another bedroom. The bed used to have a canopy, but the fabric was gone, leaving a little roof of wood. Remus tried to climb it. He almost got to the top until Roman yanked him back down. Party pooper. Old coats were in the closets, and the drawers were lined with lace. When Remus tried to open the window, the rust yelled. Remus labeled it ‘Canopy Bedroom’ and Roman told him that he spelled canopy wrong. Remus chucked a pen through Roman’s forehead.

Office. Probably where someone did their homework. Remus sat in the chair and kicked at the legs, and Roman ruffled the papers until they flew all over the desk. There wasn’t any ink, or any quill pens, which would have been cool. Remus liked this room because of the clock in the corner. It was broken. Roman said the hands showed the time as two-thirty. Remus wondered what happened at two-thirty. The desk made the map easy to draw on. ‘Clock Room.’ Doodles of dragons in the margins, because Roman got distracted.

They skidded down the stairs and hopped into Remus’ own bedroom. Remus had fought tooth and nail for a bedroom on the third floor, ‘cause he didn’t want Mom and Dad hearing when he brought cool stuff into the room. That map was easy to make. Then was the nursery next door, where babies were probably made, and then the other bathroom. This one didn’t smell like lasagna, which made it better, but the bathtub was yellow, which made it worse. The final room was stripped of furniture. It made for a quick map.

The maps were piling up now. Remus kept them in one tube of paper under his arm. Roman had managed to lose half their pencils. When they scrambled into Mom and Dad’s room, Remus began to poke at the closet before realizing Dad was already there. He dragged Roman back out and proceeded to make up the rest of the map. Roman said it would ruin the accuracy. Remus said that they didn’t need to go in that room anyway, and that if they wanted to finish the maps before dinner, they’d have to hurry.

“How much different is it?” Remus asked in the second bedroom, trying on an old bathrobe. It made him feel like a duke. Maybe he would cut it up and put it in his outfit later. “What’s new about the house?”

“The furniture you brought,” Roman said, drifting above the wardrobe with a pencil in hand. “And bits of the third floor have been changed, because of water damage, I think? They added electricity, and all the bathrooms used to be closets.”

“What? Really?” Remus didn’t know that. “Where were the bathrooms, then?”

“Outside!” Roman laughed at Remus’ face. “In the outhouses, obviously.”

“You pooped in the forest?”

“Not on the forest floor.”

“You pooped in forest toilets?”

“No!” Roman laughed harder. “We didn’t have toilets! We’d poop in a hole!”

“Ew!” Remus said gleefully. “Ugh, I wish I was alive back then, I wanna poop in a hole.”

“You really don’t,” Roman said.

Remus still drew poop-holes on the edge of the map. Roman stuck out his tongue and called him “Revolting.”

“Is it weird?” Remus asked as they mapped out the living room. Big green couch, several lamps, Dad’s recliner, pile of junk on the table. “To have no poop-holes? Or no doors?”

“I don’t always notice,” Roman said. “I can just walk through walls where the doors used to be, and I don’t need to poop. But--yeah, it’s strange.” He tugged at the hem of his shirt. Clouds came away in his fingers. “I suppose everything’s changed a lot since I--got eaten by an alligator.”

“Alligator?” Remus asked.

“It’s a painful tale.” Roman dramatically screwed up his face. “I can hardly bear to recall.”

“Oki-dokey artichoke-y,” Remus said. “And yeah, things have probably changed all over the place. I’m gonna go to fourth grade, but it’ll be nothing like your fourth grade. We’ll learn different things.”

“I suppose so.” Roman doodled small circles in the margins of the map, circles and circles, like a million tornadoes stuck together. “You’ll have to tell me what it’s like.”

“Or you could come and see?”

The circles grew closer together. Tornadoes circling the map. Remus wondered what a tornado would feel like. Didn’t they just pick stuff up and drop it again? Would it be like getting picked up by Roman--tingling and stomach-dropping, everything in limbo?

“It’s really not so bad,” Remus said, falling into his old job of convincing Roman to do stuff. Usually, it was easy. Roman liked having things to do, even illegal ones. “Sometimes the teachers give us candy for the right answer. If you poke an eraser with a pencil, it gets little gray holes.”

Roman looked about to make little gray holes in the paper. Remus tugged the map away from him before he could ruin it.

“I’m just saying,” Remus said. “You could possess me or whatever, or you could just float around and hang out. It’d be fun!”

“I can’t leave the house,” Roman said firmly.

“Who says you can’t?”

“Me.”

“Then say you can!”

“I’m not going to.” Roman tossed the pencil at the map. “You should erase the couch. It’s on the wrong side.”

Remus scribbled out the couch and put it in the right place, but now all the other bits of furniture were wrong. “Friends go to school with each other.”

“Human friends do.” Roman was flashing red all over now, and Remus didn’t know whether he was upset or angry or just in the mood for red. “Thought you liked ghost ones better.”

Remus was pretty sure that meant ‘I thought you liked me better.’

And he did. He liked Roman way better. But--there were perks about human friends. Parents didn’t make fun of them behind their backs. They were easier to shove when they were being jerks. And they didn’t go missing so easily. It was harder to lose a person, because they were all flesh and blood and heartbeat. Ghosts were easier to lose. They were just sky with eyes and a nose. Just air.

Playing hide-and-seek was fun, but only when it was a game they agreed on. Only when everyone knew the rules. Only when Remus could give up and Roman would float out of a closet with a pie-eating grin. Hide-and-seek wasn’t fun if someone just kept hiding. It wasn’t fun if someone had to get left behind.

Ghosts were better than people. So far, ghosts had been nicer, and cooler, and better at drawing. So far, ghosts had stuck around.

But ghosts couldn’t go to school. Ghosts couldn’t go shopping. Ghosts couldn’t eat potato chips or a latke or a really good cookie. Ghosts disappeared and Remus had to go find them. Ghosts needed maps or they’d get lost in their own house.

Remus liked Roman. That made things hard sometimes.

Circles and circles, a tornado all around the living room. They were almost done with the maps, unless they wanted to map out the yard as well, and it was raining too hard for that. Plus, Roman never left the house.

Remus stared at the maps. Maybe Roman was worried he’d get lost.

Maybe a map would help with that.

“We’ve just got a few rooms left,” Remus said. “And then we’ve got the shed, and then we’re done!”

“Great!” Roman looked happy at the change of topic. “Do we really need the shed, though? It’s not inside the house.”

“It’s still a building.” Remus gathered up the map and led the way to the dining room. “We can go outside and sketch the shed, just to get all the maps we need.”

Roman looked outside. “The weather’s bad. You’ll need your rain boots.”

“What’s the fun if you can’t splash in the puddles?” Remus set a new page of the map on the dining room table. Roman began to draw food around the edges. “And once we’ve gone to the shed and back, we could make this into a huge book, if we wanted. Color the pages and everything.”

Roman hummed, occupied with shading the edge of a blueberry. Remus checked the window. The rain actually seemed to be stopping. Definitely a good sign!

The dining room drawing was quick. After the entrance hall, the closet, the back room, and the kitchen--which they drew from memory, to avoid Mom--the maps were almost complete. A dozen pages of color and line, a true masterpiece, with several bad words written very small under the doodles. Remus tried to high-five Roman. For obvious reasons, the high-five did not work.

“Just the shed now!” Remus tucked the roll of maps under his arm and bounced to the back door. “Okay--raincoat, boots, umbrella? No room--”

“It isn’t raining so much,” Roman said. “Still, be careful, there could be lightning.”

“Nah, we’ll be okay, just in and out!” Remus tugged on his rain boots. They had little ducks on them. “And ghosts can’t get hit by lightning anyway.”

“You can.”

“I’m not a coward.” Remus pulled his raincoat over his shoulders. It felt like wax. When the back door opened, rain dripped from the doorway and dampened the mat. “Oh, those are some wicked puddles! Maybe I can go puddle-stomping later.”

“Don’t get the maps wet.” Roman motioned to the doorway. “Go ahead.”

Remus stepped through the doorway. A small path led past the boring plant garden, through the less-boring flower garden, and down the slopes of grass. The shed was nestled by the edge of the woods. It had a tin roof, and Remus could already hear the ping-ping of raindrops on it.

“Come on,” Remus said, wiping droplets from his hair. The rain was manageable enough. The grass squelched under his boots. “Ro?”

Roman looked confused. “I’m not coming.”

“You’re not?” Remus’ face fell. “Why not?”

“It’s outside of the house?” Roman sounded like he didn’t get it. “I don’t go outside the house.”

“It’s barely outside,” Remus said. “It’s, like, still in the yard.”

Roman moved away from the door.

“Come on.” Remus didn’t want to beg like a baby, but Roman needed to get out here, he needed to go outside. “I can’t do the map without you. You need to draw on it!”

“I can doodle when you get back!”

“No!” Remus yelled. “No, that’s not the right order!”

“Well, I’m not going!” Roman yelled back at him. “Leave me alone, Remus!”

Remus screwed up his face. “You’re being stupid! It’s just a stupid yard. I’ll be with you the whole fricking time. What’s the big deal?”

“I don’t leave the house!”

“Why can’t you?” Remus almost screamed. “If you want me to get it, actually tell me what you know! Stop being so vague and tell me stuff!”

Roman looked about to cry. Could ghosts cry? Did Remus want to find out? “I said, leave me alone!”

“Fine!” Remus turned on his heel. “Fine, I’ll do the rest of the stupid map on my own. I’ll go to school on my own and leave you here to sulk, just like you want. Have fun. See if I care.”

Roman might have said something. Remus decided not to hear it.

The yard was muddy. In a better mood, Remus would have smeared some mud over his face. Instead he just kicked at it. Kick, kick, kick, all the way past the stupid plants and the still-stupid flowers. All the way down the stupid grass to the stupid shed. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

It was cold outside. Remus felt cold in his rain coat, and wet, even though his skin was dry. The maps crinkled under his arm. The sky boiled with dark clouds. When he glanced back, Roman was still standing in the door, a flash of white and red against the coats and the darkness. Remus stuck his tongue out. Stupid ghost. He wished he couldn’t see Roman, like everyone else.

Remus didn’t waste time making the shed map look nice. No point, if Roman was never gonna use it. ‘Shed.’ No doodles. A wonky square with some sticks for the garden tools and some circles for the sacks of hay. It all looked stupid. It wasn’t a good map. Didn’t matter, though, ‘cause Roman never went anywhere.

The shed was cold and empty. It was dark, too, lit only by a lightbulb. The rain ping-ping-pinged at the roof. The wood shivered. Remus’ face felt very red and very hot. Count to ten, Mom always said when he got mad. One. Two. Three. Four. And he knew the rest.

Maybe he’d learn more numbers in fourth grade. Third grade had been up to a hundred or two hundred. Maybe they’d make it even further. There were infinite numbers, right? They’d never run out of numbers. They’d just run out of time.

Fourth grade was gonna be no fun if Roman wasn’t there.

Remus rolled up the map and stuck it under his arm. When he opened the shed door, the wind rustled the edges of the papers. His fingers felt cold and wet, like bits of popsicle. The house teetered on the hill. He could see all the windows, all the rooms they’d went to--the bedrooms, the bathroom with lasagna in the toilet, the stairs, the living room. Remus’ own bedroom. It all kind of made sense when he looked at it from the outside. It was like a tier cake. Room on top of room.

It looked like a haunted house, with the trees around it black and shadowy, waving in the wind. With birds flying across the wild grey sky. It was a haunted house. Roman was still there, a smudge of white, and Remus wondered why he got to see him. Why they stayed the same height and looked the same age. Why Roman had gotten stuck here in the first place, with no one to keep him company.

If Remus died, he’d want to see the world. He would never want to stay just where he’d started. What was the point of being a ghost if you didn’t do anything new?

Maybe he should ask Roman that. Maybe this time it’d work.

Remus climbed up the hill towards the house.

The wind picked up, blowing at his back. He adjusted the map and kept moving. It took all his strength to keep his boots from sticking in the mud, and all his self-control not to face-plant into the mud. The trees blew behind him, and when he looked back, he saw he’d left the shed light on. It glowed yellow next to the woods. It made him feel even colder.

Rain was starting to fall again. It was going to storm again. Of course it was. Remus was going to have a rainy, wet, no-good last day of summer. Stuck inside the house. It couldn’t be good for him.

It couldn’t be good for either of them.

But here they were.

“Hi,” was all that Roman said when Remus reached the doorway.

“Got the map.” Remus’ nose was starting to run. “It’s cold out there.”

“Close the door.” Roman poked curiously at the papers, avoiding Remus’ eyes. “Can I see it?”

Remus handed Roman the stack of maps. Roman leafed through them, pausing at the shed one, then skimmed the rest. The rain began to pick up outside. Water dripped from Remus’ boots onto the floor.

“Where’s the bedroom?” Roman asked.

“What?”

“I can’t find the map of our bedroom.” Roman looked confused. “Did you leave it in the house somewhere?”

Remus felt cold again. “I--I don’t think so.”

Roman looked past him. Remus turned around to see rain beginning to fall on the grass, and a long trampled walk back to the shed.

“I dropped it,” Remus realized. “Oh no, I dropped it--it’s gonna get all wet!”

“It’s okay,” Roman said, sounding like he didn’t know whether it actually was. “You know the way around your bedroom.”

“You bumped into the wall,” Remus said. He scanned the grass for any sign of the map. Nothing was there. It could have fallen into mud, or gotten crumpled, or blown away in the wind. “We need that! And I just lost it! I gotta get it back, Ro--”

“We’ll make another one.” Roman looked sympathetic. “It’s okay--”

“We don’t have time to make another one!” Humiliatingly, Remus felt his eyes burn. “‘Cause we’re eating dinner soon, and then I gotta go tomorrow for shopping, and then I’ve got school! And you gotta have the map by then, so you don’t get lost when I’m gone!”

Roman flickered red. “What?”

“I gotta get it.” Remus shoved the rest of the maps towards Roman. They fell through him and hit the floor. “If you’d been there, I wouldn’t have dropped them.”

Roman looked hurt. “You might have anyway.”

“Yeah, I might have anyway, shut your hole. No one cares.” Remus made a frustrated noise. “Fine, it’s all my fault and I got the map ruined. Shut up. I gotta go get it.”

Before Roman could argue, Remus stepped into the rain. It was coming down faster now. The map would probably be halfway ruined already. If he could find it, though, he’d be able to dry it. And Roman would know where the door was.

But he’d lost the map. It was lost somewhere in the backyard, stuck somewhere between grey skies and grey grass and grey rain. Remus couldn’t see it. He squinted and he cupped his eyes and he blinked the water from his eyelashes, but he couldn’t see it. There wasn’t a single flash of white.

A rumble of thunder in the distance.

“Get back inside,” Roman called. “This is dangerous.”

“I can’t find it!” Remus yelled back. He sounded panicked. Was he panicking? “I can’t find it, Ro, I need to find it--I don’t wanna leave it here--”

Another rumble of thunder. Remus was cold. He didn’t even want to walk deeper into the yard. The woods were dark and the shed was flickering and he felt frozen in his boots. His skin tingled. His breath froze.

And then the world deepened.

Two sides to everything. Like he’d grown extra eyes. It always felt like this--like a video with more pixels, or cooler colors, or binoculars attached. He could never pinpoint what he could see. He just knew it was--more than usual.

The world was a riot of color and darkness, swirling like a tornado, and Remus laughed.

“Thanks,” he said as he took a step forward.

Or tried to. “Don’t,” he hissed back at himself in Roman’s voice. “I am not going to try walking again. We’re just looking right now. Look around.”

Remus looked.

Hide-and-seek. If he was a map, where would he hide?

Color. Darkness and scribbles and circles going around, but that was all in the margins, that didn’t matter. Thunder rumbled. He didn’t jump. The rain seemed to go right through him.

White.

A piece of white, like a flag, stuck in the boring plant garden.

Remus whooped. Or maybe it was Roman who did. Who knew?

“Can I walk now?” he asked, and Roman groaned in response. Remus’ boots loosened. He ran through the rain and grabbed the map with one hand, swiping at it with a wet hand, until he realized that did no good. The colors were running. He tucked it into his raincoat, and the raincoat smeared across his hand as well, the paper leaking white and red.

Too much. Way too much. Maybe there’d been a reason that Roman didn’t want to do this. Everything was double, switching and colliding, holes opening and spinning dizzily in the air.

“It’s okay,” Roman said with Remus’ mouth. “Close your eyes, I’ll find our way back.”

Remus squeezed his eyes shut.

And Roman guided them back to the door.

When the rain stopped, so did the dizziness. Remus almost fell against the wall. Roman collapsed against the opposite one, running his hands through his hair and pulling at his sleeves. The door slammed shut. Maybe that was Roman, or maybe it was the wind that began to howl at the house. A bad storm. They’d been lucky to avoid it.

“Is the map okay?” Remus opened his eyes and peeled the paper away from his raincoat. “Oh frick, it’s all smeared.”

“It looks fine to me.” Roman drifted over and traced the edges. “All my doodles are dry, and I can see where everything is.”

Remus blinked the water out of his eyes. “Yeah. Yeah, so can I.”

“Good job,” Roman said, and Remus looked over at him. “It’s a nice part of a nice map.”

“Thanks,” Remus said awkwardly. People didn’t give him compliments very much. Maybe that was a ghost thing. “You did good with the art.”

Roman beamed at him. Red and white, a warm blanket around his shoulders.

“And--uh--” Remus motioned to the door. “You went--”

“I don’t like thunderstorms,” Roman said simply. “And I wanted to help you find it.”

Remus found himself smiling. “So you can go outside.”

“I can.”

“Why don’t you?”

Roman ruffled the edge of the map. It was already drying. “Because there aren’t good maps like this one, so I’m not sure if I could find my way back.”

“You made it back without a map today.” Remus kicked off his rain boots and shrugged off his coat. “Plus, if you went to school, I’d be there. I’d make sure you got back alright.”

Roman chewed his lip.

“It’d be okay,” Remus said. “You’d see me the whole time. And--you wouldn’t have to be alone in this house all year. You spend too much time in it already.”

Roman laughed a bit. “I don’t mind. You’re there.”

“I’m not gonna be.” Remus rubbed his arms, and the chill began to fade. “It’s the house or me, bro. And I’m pretty sure you like me better.”

Roman’s smile was smaller now, but still just as bright.

“I could make you a map,” Remus finally offered. “Of the way to school and back. Just in case?”

“I’d like that.” Roman paused. “I...it might be a while before I decide to go that far from the house. You might have to torment your teachers on your own.”

“Oh, I’m great at that.” Remus led Roman into the living room. He could already smell dinner. Mom waved, and he waved back, and Roman waved, too. Mom couldn’t see him, but Roman was polite like that. Maybe she’d even wave back at Roman one day, if they were lucky. “And--yeah, take your time. We’ve got a lot of it.”

“True.” Roman drifted along, a few feet above ground. He glowed like lightning, and red flickered in time with the thunder, impossible not to see. “I’ll find what works, okay?”

“Okay!” Remus spread the maps on the table. The lines glistened--a tornado of doodles and a house of scribbles. Maybe not much of a map. But it was fun to make, and helpful to find, and a good haunted map for a haunted house. “Are you gonna stick around to staple these together?”

“Of course,” Roman said, pencil already in hand. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good.” Remus smiled. “Neither am I.”

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#sanders sides #remus sanders #roman sanders #ghost au #creativitwins #sanders sides fic #averywrites #yeahh this got really long again and i don't know how #i swear it was just going to be today's warmup fic #anyway here kid!side content i have homework and i must go

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teacupfulofstarshine · 3 years

Text

fly high!!

summary: logan has carried the nickname of "ice king" with him since middle school. he has never successfully meshed with a team before. his opponents think him incapable of growth.

his opponents are wrong, and their mistakes carry a heavy price.

(OR: a haikyuu!! au; one game featuring logan the genius setter and his team)

a/n: rewatched haikyuu!! got inspired. here's 3.5k! HUGE huge thank you to josie ( @flamingfawkes ) for beta reading! title comes from haikyuu!! s2 opening 2

CW: trash-talking, insults, minor injury/blood mention, references to past mistakes, making assumptions based on past actions, swearing, nonspecific v-mit mention

wordcount: ~3.5k

read it on ao3!!!

“Hey, isn’t that the crazy setter from that middle school tournament last year?”

“Yeah, they called him the Ice King!”

“Whoa, what a cool nickname!”

“Not so cool if you’re on the court with him. I hear his teammates kicked him out of his last game because he’s incapable of being a team player.”

“No wonder he ended up at that garbage school - I bet none of the good schools would take him!”

“How stupid does that team have to -”

“Hey!” Remus barks loudly, jerking his chin up and leering at the suddenly-terrified players. “You got somethin’ to say about my teammate, you absolute rat bastard -”

“Remus!” Thomas grabs the libero by his collar and picks him up like a drowned cat. “I apologize for my teammate. He gets a bit . . . overzealous at times. Remus, apologize.”

“Go to hell!” Remus says cheerfully, twisting around to try and lick Thomas’s arm. Thomas drops him in disgust, but Remus lands like a cat and rolls to his feet, bouncing away with a cackle.

“What was that all about?” Roman asks. Remus takes his bag back and slings it over his shoulder, looking up at his twin. “I thought we talked about causing trouble at tournaments - they’re going to kick you out, and we don’t have a backup libero anymore.”

“People were being assholes about Logan. You think I can just let that slide?” Remus bares his teeth, and Roman levels a glare at the opposing players.

“Oh, well in that case,” he mutters, pushing up his sleeves. Before either of them can respond, Logan reaches out and grips their shoulders.

“Please do not get into fights on my account.”

“Well, it’s not like you’re not going to get in them on your own account, are you?” Remus says. “You can pretend you don’t have feelings all you want, Logan, I know the shit they say bothers you.” Logan flinches, just barely, and Remus reaches up to pat at his shoulder. “You’re not alone anymore, Logan. You don’t have to fight these battles on your own. We’re not going to let them shit-talk you and get away with it.”

“I might not be as willing to fistfight people for your honor as my deviant brother over here, but I know for a fact that the whole team shares his sentiments. You’re not the person you were in that middle school tournament.” Roman places his hand over Logan’s, and Logan offers him a small smile.

“Are we fighting people?” Janus asks. “Remus, darling, you know we’re not supposed to do that in uniform. What if you get blood on it? I know you didn’t pack a spare, and I won’t have time to launder it before our game. Besides, you know better than to make threats where there are witnesses with recording equipment present.”

Remus slips out of Logan’s grip and bounces off towards the court, chattering idly to Janus and waving his hands around. Thomas turns back to them, setting a hand on Logan’s shoulder.

“You okay?"

“I am adequate.”

“Not what he asked you,” Roman says, shoulder-checking Logan as they keep walking.

“I know what people say about me. I am aware of the toll my past behaviors took on my working relationships with my team. I am . . . working to be better than I was, but I am not sure I have made much progress.”

“You’re already loads better than you were,” Roman says. “You’ve got a great eye for tosses, and you’re learning to talk to the rest of us. We’re getting there. We are.”

Logan blinks, looking back and forth. “Where’s Virgil?”

“Probably in the bathroom, trying not to throw up.” Logan looks alarmed, which is to say that his eyes widen slightly. “Don’t worry, he usually doesn’t. He just has nerves that get the better of him, so he takes some alone time in the bathroom to calm himself down.”

Virgil rejoins them at the doors of the gymnasium, looking pale and faintly green. “You okay?” Thomas asks. Virgil nods, winding a stray lock of hair around his finger. “It’s gonna be alright. You’ve been working on that pinch serve for how long now?”

“Months, but it could still go wrong, it -”

“It won’t. You’re called a pinch server for a reason, Virgil. We bring you in when we’re in a pinch.”

“Which puts even more pressure on me to not mess up!”

“You will be fine,” Logan says. He turns around, peering at Virgil through his sports glasses. “I have faith in you. You are more than your serves - you are also an excellent blocker with swift reflexes. You are a multi-purpose tool, and I will utilize you to the best of my ability.”

Virgil stares at him, mouth slightly open, and Logan blinks, leaning back, eyebrows creasing. “Was - that an insensitive remark? I meant no disrespect.”

Virgil blinks at him, once, and then laughs, gently socking Logan in the arm. “Maybe other people would have found it insensitive, but I found it comforting. Thanks, Lo.” Logan crinkles his eyes and curves the corner of his mouth up, gently bonking his forehead against Virgil’s shoulder.

*~*~*~*~*

“I’m sorry!” Roman sprints across the court and pulls Janus to his feet. “I hit you in the face, are you alright?”

“I’ll never recover,” Janus says, rubbing his face. “Am I bleeding?”

“Not that I can see.”

“Still have all my teeth?”

“Yep.”

“Then I’ll be fine.”

“You really gotta get better at receives, Jan!” Remus laughs.

“And why would I do that when I have my darling libero looking out for me?” Remus grins, pleased, and Janus ruffles his hair fondly.

“Can you please not be gross with my brother right the fuck in front of me?”

Janus raises a single eyebrow at him before leaning down and very deliberately sliding his tongue into Remus’s mouth. “What the fuck, I officially retract my apology for hitting you in the face, I’m done, I’m leaving, goodbye -”

“That’s an . . . unusual warmup strategy,” the opposing captain tells Thomas.

“They’re unusual players,” Thomas says.

*~*~*~*~*

“Thomas, nice serve!”

Thomas spins the ball between his hands, takes a deep breath, tosses it in the air, slams it forward. “Damn it - straight to their libero!”

“It’s a quick from the left! Janus, that’s you -”

“On it!”

“Nice one-touch - pick it up!”

“Remus -”

“Got it!”

Logan turns, runs, leaps up into position, scans over the team. Where are the blockers - where are the spikers - what’s the position - who can he use - what can he do -

“Logan, to the ace!”

“Number two, number two!”

Roman jumps on the left, Janus on the right, and coming from the back row - the pipe, he can do it, where is Thomas, he’s running from the back, he’s in the air, twist lift and set -

Thomas slams it straight past the opposing blockers and hits cleanly. The referee blows her whistle, and the score changes. One point in their favor.

“Logan, I wanted a toss!” Roman complains. Logan squints at him - is he really upset? No, his eyes are crinkled like when he laughs at Remus’s stupid jokes, and he shows Logan a thumbs-up.

“You can have the next one,” Logan says.

“Telegraphing your next move so loudly? I guess the Ice King has lost his touch,” Number Eight calls. Remus begins snarling from the back row, but Logan turns a cool stare at his opponent.

“I have more than one weapon in my arsenal.”

Number Eight scoffs, but Logan just turns away. “Thomas,” he says. Thomas looks at him, and Logan lifts his hands, signing quickly. Setter-back-row. Aim-receive-9. Thomas nods, taking the volleyball again.

Remy touches Emile’s shoulder gently. When he turns to look, Remy nods at Logan and Thomas. “What is he saying?”

Emile turns more fully towards him. “Their setter is in the back row. He’s not allowed to move to the front row until after the serve, so there’s a moment of confusion where he has to run in front of someone. If you aim a serve correctly, there’s a delay, which can mess up even the strongest receiver.”

Sure enough, the setter darts in front of Number Nine, and the receive goes flying out of bounds.

“He really is something else, isn’t he?” Remy asks.

“Logan? Yeah, he’s got great analytical skills, and they’re fast to boot. His problem is communication, but this team . . . it’s not gonna let him get away with being silent for long.”

Thomas serves again, and they receive it more cleanly. The set goes up, the spike goes down, and Remus dives to catch it. “Nice receive!” Logan moves into position, his hands go up, Roman gets into position and jumps, the blockers move in front of him, and Logan shifts at the last second and dumps the ball right in front of the net.

Number Eight glares at him again. Logan stares back impassively. “Was that supposed to impress me, Ice King?"

“Was that supposed to intimidate me . . .” Is Logan supposed to insult him back? How would Remus insult him? He will never understand the art of trash talking someone. “For someone playing a team sport, you seem to be incredibly self-centered right now.”

Number Eight scoffs at him and turns away; Logan just blinks.

“Was he trying to insult me?” he asks Roman.

“Probably,” Roman says.

“Oh. Was I supposed to insult him back?”

Roman grins at him, sharp and bloodthirsty. “Let your tosses insult that pesky motherfucker. Don’t be afraid to rely on me to help you, hmm?”

Logan nods. “As you wish.”

Remus has to dive for the next receive, and it comes off-kilter. “Sorry!”

Nothing to apologize for, Logan thinks. You got the ball in the air. That’s all I need.

Roman slams the ball past two blockers without even trying.

*~*~*~*~*

They take the first set narrowly, 25-20. Their opponents attack with a vengeance in the second set, and it isn’t long before the player-swap whistle blows and Virgil steps up to serve.

Logan hands him the ball; their fingers overlap. Virgil looks at him, and Logan looks back, crinkling his eyes. “You can do this,” he says, voice low. “They underestimate you the way they underestimate me. I can see it in their eyes. Show them why that is a mistake.”

Virgil blinks at him, taking the ball. “You got it, Lo.”

“What’s he gonna do?” Number Eight laughs. Logan returns to his front line position next to Janus.

“You know, you really run your mouth quite a bit for someone who has yet to show me anything truly impressive,” Janus drawls. Number Eight looks like he wants to flip him off, but before he can, Virgil serves.

“It’s out!”

Number Eight smirks, chin up, but Logan doesn’t look at him. He keeps watching the ball as it travels, travels, wavers, wobbles, and drops to the court, just within the line.

The opposing team turns to stare in shock as the whistle blows.

“Nice serve!” Remus and Roman yell, sprinting over to slap their hands against Virgil’s in victory.

“I knew all that practice was gonna pay off!”

“You’re amazing!”

“Guys, it’s just one point,” Virgil says, rubbing the back of his neck. His face has a pleased flush.

“It’s one more point than we had!” Remus says. “One point is the beginning - it’s all we need! Now go out and get us one more!”

Virgil serves, again and again, and racks up three more points before the opposing team figures out what to do with his jump float serve.

*~*~*~*~*

Not all blocks are equal, Janus thinks. The goal is not always to shut the ball down. Sometimes, a wall is not possible.

Janus is not a tall middle blocker; he isn’t nearly as short as Remus is, but he’s only average height. He cannot shut down the opposing spikers the way that someone else might. He hears what people say when they see him take position.

How can he possibly be a middle blocker with that height?

Aim for the middle, he’s too short to make any difference!

Even if he jumps, he can’t stop you!

They are all fools.

Janus does not need to stop a ball to block effectively.

He jumps, and Number Six smirks at him, aiming right for him. Janus can see Remus moving behind him from the corner of his eye, and he smirks right back at Number Six.

I don’t have to stop your spike to shut you down.

He shifts his fingers, and the ball bounces off of them. “A soft block?!” Number Six shouts. Janus hears the ball make contact with Remus’s forearms, and he’s running when he lands. By the time Logan’s hands are in the air, Janus is all the way at the other side of the net, and he swings his hand as though he’s going to slam the ball down. Number Six jumps in front of him, snarling, and Janus shifts to the tips of his fingers again and feints.

The ball drops to the court just behind Number Six, the referee’s whistle blows, and Janus lands. “Was the toss alright?” Logan asks, jogging over. “Do you need me to make any adjustments for you?” Janus notices the way his eyes widen, as though he’s afraid he’ll get yelled at, and he smiles. It’s genuine; despite the popular misconception, he is capable of those.

“It was wonderful,” he says. “Nice toss, Logan.”

Logan smiles up at him. “Nice feint!”

“Damn it!” Number Six shouts. Janus turns to him and smiles with all his teeth, no mirth behind it.

You underestimate me at your own peril.

*~*~*~*~*

Their opponents call a time-out, and Logan grabs his water bottle. Remus slaps him on the back before he has a chance to take a sip. “Logan!”

Logan turns, startled, and Remus grins up at him. “You’re on the back row when we go in, right?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t run forward.”

“What?”

“Don’t move forward to set. Focus on getting the cleanest possible receive you can, okay? Just get it into the air.”

“If I receive, I cannot set,” Logan says. “I do not understand.”

Remus drops his grin, showing Logan his ‘I’m-being-serious’ hand sign. “I know you’re a genius setter, but trust me, Logan. My brother and I have a trick or two up our sleeves. It’ll be okay.”

Logan blinks at him. “I am unsure of this plan.” Remus just keeps watching him. “However . . . I trust you. I trust my team. If you say that you can handle it, then you can.” Remus grins at him, holding up his hands for a high ten. Logan tucks his bottle between his legs and high-tens him back.

Before they step back onto the court, Remus grabs Roman’s wrist. “Wh -”

“I told Logan to focus on receiving this next spike.” Roman turns to look at him.

“What the hell - why would you do that?”

“He’s all the way in the back row! And it must be tiring, setting all those balls one after another. Don’t you think it’s Wonder Twin time?” Roman’s expression changes from angry to joyous in an instant.

“You know what? You’re absolutely right.”

The serve comes in, and Logan shifts into a receiving stance. Remus and Roman make eye contact across the court, and Roman’s eyes flick to the left. Remus nods. Logan receives the ball cleanly. “Nice receive!”

“Their setter received it!” Number Two yells. “They’re limited!”

Not on my watch, motherfucker, Remus grins. He sprints forward, touches down right in front of the attack line, jumps, twists, and lifts his hands. Roman heads for the left, all three blockers surge up to meet him, and then he pivots and sprints to the center. Remus tosses, Roman jumps, and the ball slams down onto the opponent’s court.

Remus, who isn’t used to being in the air, lands on his ass, but he rolls to his feet quickly. “Take that, you son of a -”

“Remus!” Thomas snaps. Roman sprints back and gives him a high ten, grinning, and Logan looks at him.

“You can set?”

“I’m better at receiving, and I’m not really tall enough to play any position other than libero. But that doesn’t mean you’ve seen my whole bag of tricks! I can set in a pinch, as long as I jump from behind that attack line, but I really only practice setting for Roman, so I don’t do it for anyone else.”

Logan blinks, and then his face breaks out into a wide, unrestrained grin, one hand flapping rapidly at his side. “You’re so cool!” he bursts. “That’s amazing, that’s so so cool!”

Remus grins, flushing under the praise. “I know! I am amazing, aren’t I? Marvel at my power!”

“Don’t compliment him like you mean it, Logan, he’s gonna get a big head!” Roman scolds. Remus sticks his tongue out, and Logan laughs.

*~*~*~*~*

Logan lifts his hands to the back of his head, like he’s covering it against the serve. He shifts his fingers to signal: synchronized attack.

The serve goes up, clean receive, which means the most likely course is -

“Center attack!” Logan shouts. Number Three scoffs as his center straight comes down right against Remus’s waiting hands.

“It’s all yours, Logan!”

All four of them move in unison - Virgil, Janus, Roman, Thomas, all running forward in unison. Logan shifts, watches the confusion of the blockers, lifts his hands. The toss that will work the best, the toss that can score a point, the spiker who will carry the momentum of this match is -

“Watch out, it’s number 13!”

Virgil slams a cut shot across three blockers and scores without breaking a sweat. “Unlucky,” he smirks, fistbumping Janus.

*~*~*~*~*

The second set comes to a deuce, and they call a time out. “We need to gain a two-point lead to take this match, but don’t get so caught up in the idea of the next point that you miss the one in front of you. Keep your focus in the moment, not the future. Understand?”

“Yes!”

Logan tosses the ball into the air, jumps, and serves. As the other team receives, he grabs Roman’s shirt. “Roman, instead of a wall, try an umbrella!”

“What?”

Roman’s eyes widen in recognition as they jump to block the spike, deflecting it towards the back. “Remus!” Thomas shouts.

“I got it - it’s up!”

“Roman!” Logan shouts, turning to set.

“Thanks for the heads-up, Ice King!” Number Eight laughs. All three blockers converge on Roman, who jumps and bounces the ball off the block.

“What?!”

“A rebound?!”

“Remus, pick it up!” Roman shouts.

“I got it!”

“Come on, let’s go!”

Roman and Janus jump at the net, but Logan is already setting for the pipe. Thomas jumps from the back, slams the ball past the block, and scores.

“Nice kill!”

“You couldn’t use lingo that’s a little more clear next time?” Roman complains

“Why would I need to? You understood what I meant, didn’t you?”

Roman ruffles his hair, and Logan swats at his arm. “Hey, that hurts, don’t do that!” Roman just laughs and keeps going.

*~*~*~*~*

The rally has been going for almost two minutes now, the ball constantly in the air, and the exhaustion is setting in. They have the lead by one point, and they only need one more to take the match. “Come on, come on!”

“They’re gonna use the ace! Cover Number Three!”

Roman jumps, Logan’s hands go up, the blockers move to cover Roman, and Logan dumps the ball. Number Ten dives for it, but it drops to the ground right in front of him.

They take their second set, and the match, 26-24.

*~*~*~*~*

Patton tucks his manager notebook into his bag and starts handing out water bottles. “You were all amazing! Logan, I think that’s the most you’ve communicated in a match, and it really showed!”

Logan takes the water bottle, nodding. “It took me a while to learn how to communicate most effectively with my teammates. I was trying to carry the entire weight of the team on my shoulders as the setter. But I . . . am not the only one on my team thinking. I can give options, and trust that they will utilize those options effectively.”

“That’s right!” Remus crows, slapping his back. “We have brains too, Logan!”

“The rest of us, maybe. You? Debatable,” Virgil says. Remus immediately tackles him to the court.

“Are you trying to injure me?” Virgil shrieks. Roman rolls his eyes and sighs.

“I do not know how you put up with him on a regular basis, I truly do not,” Logan sighs.

“It’s a miracle I haven’t suffocated him in his sleep, it really is.”

*~*~*~*~*

The bus ride home is quiet. “I’m sorry,” Logan says.

Virgil passes him an earbud. “What do you mean?”

“I did not toss to you nearly as much as I have in previous and practice games when you were on the court.”

“No need to apologize for that, man. I wasn’t in as much as normal, and you utilized the rest of the team to the best of your ability. And we won, didn’t we? I’m not offended, I’m not gonna break up with you over it.”

Logan smiles, and Virgil tilts his head to press a gentle kiss to his cheek. “Take your post-tournament nap, Popsicle. We gotta build up our strength for tomorrow.”

Logan puts the earbud in, leans his head against Virgil’s shoulder; Virgil leans against him in turn, and they’re asleep before the bus crests the next hill.

#starshinewrites #sanders sides #logan sanders #virgil sanders #roman sanders #remus sanders #janus sanders #thomas sanders #platonic TDRLAP #platonic creativitwins #background analogical #background dukeceit

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