totk doesn't "break the established timeline" btw. it is well established in zelda that the spirits of past incarnations can persist and return ex. the hero's shade (who btw even shares a passing resemblance to mummydorf)

ganondorf was sealed under hyrule castle, effectively dead, his soul reincarnated while his old body festered into calamity ganon, then his soul returned to that old body when the seal broke. not that hard to imagine.

IT'S ALSO been stated on the timeline since the beginning that the kingdom of hyrule was established a bit after skyward sword. so rauru and sonia being the first king and queen doesn't contradict anything.

nothing fits together perfectly of course but that's how it's ALWAYS been. welcome to the legend of zelda babey

hi domini! im a big fan of your writing and have read every one of your redacted fics, you are incredibly talented and with each fic you upload you never fail to amaze me and lead me into a deeper obsession with your work

this is just a fic request! no pressure to write this any time soon, or at all, especially with your new job and moving day soon! my request is:

david/darlin neighbour au? like david always giving darlin leftovers because he "cooked too much food" for the 50th night in a row

again, you don't have to write this, especially with how i didn't give you much to work with lol. i just thought of it and would love to see you write it! good luck with your moving day soon, im so excited to see the pictures and so happy for you! have a great week and sorry for the long message <3

Anon, thank you so much for this!

I know it's been so long since you sent me these incredibly kind words and this ask and I haven't written any fics in that time. This was such a great way to get back into the characters and the fun of working on fics. I hope you enjoy this starter and know that your words really meant a lot. Thank you!

Neighbor AU.

Darlin/David

I will absolutely be posting this on ao3 soon and hopefully adding more to it. <3 <3

It started in the laundry room.

They’d been living in the same building, on the same floor, in the same corridor for the last year but never spoken—not until that evening in the laundry room.

David was putting a load in when the other tenant came downstairs, no basket in hand, just an armful of t-shirts, underwear, and towels. He tried not to watch but it was impossible. He’d caught plenty of glimpses of them over the months, in the hall and on the elevator. They were a storm wearing skin and a leather jacket.

With a huff, they crammed the ball of fabric into a machine and then peeled their shirt off and kicked off their boots, huffing annoyance as they unbuttoned and squirmed out of their jeans.

There was no way they thought they were alone in the room. David was not the sort of man that went unnoticed. He slammed the lid on his machine just in case.

The other tenant pulled their phone from the pocket of their jeans along with a wad of cash, and put it down to the side before closing the machine.

David raised an eyebrow and looked at them, really looked at them, wearing nothing but underwear and stepping back into their boots. They were lanky, all muscle and bruises. One hand rubbed the back of their head, ruffling their hair while jabbing the buttons to start the machine. “What?” they snapped, not even looking at him.

Their knuckles were raw and bloody and their side looked splotchy, like those ribs would be bruised tomorrow.

“Bad day?” David asked the scrapper.

They huffed again, this time grinning and turning enough to look at him. They had blood on their teeth and in their hair. “Nope.” They picked up their phone and the crumpled bills, both of them walking out of the laundry room and down the long hall to the elevator.

David followed them into the lift and waited. They jabbed the button for their floor.

They both walked down the hall, almost together.

The scrapper peeled off first at their door, only a handful of steps before David’s. They shared a wall. He only realized they weren’t carrying keys when they opened their apartment door. They hadn’t even locked it.

What a mess, he thought with a smile.

He saw them again when he was on his way to the basement to move his laundry to the dryer. They had showered and were wearing a pair of sweatpants.

They leaned against the dryer after starting it and watched him, not unlike how he’d watched them when they were stripping down an hour ago.

David let them. He’d called most people out on eyeing him in his life but this seemed like fair turn around. They started their machines and took the hall together again. This time, in the elevator, their stomach growled.

The scrapper rolled their eyes like it was a familiar nag and not a biological function reminding them of hunger.

He wasn’t sure what made him do it. He wasn’t exactly known for making the first move in making friends. “Do you like enchiladas?!

The door plinged when it opened and their neighbor looked over their shoulder at him, one eyebrow raised. The brow was split by an old scar. “What?”

“I made enchiladas yesterday. It’s too much. Do you want some?”

They were walking again, both of them moving a little slower than usual down the hall toward their doors. “Is that your way of inviting me in?”

He snorted. “I’m not inviting you in. You’ll get blood on my rug. I’m asking if you want some of the leftovers.”

Their smirk sharpened. “Do you think I don’t have food?”

He bit back a laugh, suddenly willing to bet their fridge was empty. “Forget I asked.”

They were at their door but paused.

He felt their gaze on him, considering him. He unlocked his apartment and was one step in when they suddenly said, “Okay.”

He looked back at them, standing in the hallway outside their door. They looked unsure and suddenly younger, softer. He could see the echo of what he imagined they’d been like as a kid, before they got tough. He nodded. “I’ll grab you a plate.” He held out his hand. “My name’s David.”

Their gaze flicked to his hand like trust didn’t come naturally, but they closed the distance and took it. “Darlin.”

He smiled before he could catch himself.

Luckily, they smiled back. “I know. Either my parents had a really different idea for who I’d be or they were assholes.”

David shrugged, dropping their hand after maybe a second too long of holding it to duck inside and make his way for the kitchen. “Maybe it suits you,” he said.

Darlin laughed, leaning against his open doorway. He didn’t mind if they came inside but he wasn’t sure they were willing to. Interesting. They’d leave their door unlocked but they weren’t quite ready to walk into a stranger’s apartment. “Yeah. Like calling someone tall Shorty.”

He laughed and pulled the dish out of the fridge. He cut a few enchiladas free and scooped them onto a plate. He would have wrapped it if he wasn’t sure they were going to eat it right away. He paused with it in hand and look at them. “Do you need to borrow a fork?”

Darlin’s expression bloomed in a huge grin. “Fuck you,” they laughed, holding out a hand for the food.

He crossed his apartment to put it in their hand. “See you around, Darlin,” he said.

They nodded, still smiling when they walked back to their place and inside.

David thought about that smile and that laugh all day afterward and the next time he saw them in the hall they talked more and Darlin had him wait in the hall to bring him the plate. They’d even washed it and promised they’d used soap and not just licked it clean. He tried to ignore the jolt that mental imagine sent through his whole body, but something about the way they bit their smile suggested they’d seen it too.

Bloom | 01

Genre: Hybrid!Namkook. fluorescence by @jincherie​ AU 

Pairing: foxhybrid!Namjoon x Reader x bunnyhybrid!Jungkook ;(

Warnings: language. mention of hybrid trafficing/being sold into sex trafficing, fluff holy shit, angst, Smut (future), very cuddly and shy jungkook, stuttery shy BOYS. I really just wrote this for me.

Words: 5k+

Summary: In a world where humanity is increasingly motivated by how much cash can be made off of... well anything, you’re a human and hybrid rights lawyer. You will do anything to save the ones that never had a choice  right from the date of their conception. Even if that means, adopting two hybrids that you absolutely did not mean to. 

a/n: hello hello im back from the dead iuhbIUHBUYBGUY okay so, yes this isnt baby baby but i am a bit behind on that so i really hope posting this instead can satiate my sluts for a few more days until i have that done. I have a lot of this written so I will post this on a semi-regular schedule. rest of the schedule i posted will stay the same. it’s just baby baby that’s kicking my BUTT!!!! Lastly, I started writing this before Goo Hara passed away. Opening this document made me a little sad and also happy when i remember Hara and her love for eco-friendly fashion. I guess, this is kind of a tribute to her? anyhow, I hope you guys like it. please please please, validate me. :>)

"Y/n they're going to be sold to this man who works for a black market. What do I do? Oh god. I-I didn't know our company was into that business."

Your best friend is nearing the point of tears and you can understand her frustration. "Listen, Hara, take a deep breath and tell me when exactly this is happening."

A deep breath is taken as you'd suggested, before you hear Hara's voice again through the phone. "Okay... Okay. I was just told by Minseok that there is an auction for the remaining two from the past failed batches. Apparently two others have been adopted and the rest have been pawned off somewhere. I'm not sure. From our division of the company, these two are the ones that have not gone for further testing to be open to the regular public. A-And so now there is a super secret auction happening tonight. It's not open to the regular public as you already know but staff members are able to attend. What do I do y/n? I can't afford them. I have my own to deal with. These poor boys will go to some horrible owner who will use them f-for god knows what."

Now Hara was crying. Openly and brokenly for the possible fate of these 'failed' hybrids that her company had produced. This was a sticky situation and even you, a Human and hybrid rights lawyer, had limited ideas as to what could be done on such a short notice. But you were not about to give up.

"Hara, don't. They will not be bought by some hybrid trafficker okay? I won't let it happen. I will... I will at least try. It's my job, remember?"

Your optimism is convincing enough. And you wholeheartedly believed that something would give. These big corporations had their toes in everywhere and you didn’t yet know if they had already had a designated buyer on the black market they pawned their hybrids off to. Where there was money to be made - no company had morals rigid enough to stop themselves from the temptation. You already lived in an age where human trafficking was no longer a cause for activism or big debates. Not when more species - man made or not - had been created to take advantage of.

“Okay yeah. You’re a badass lawyer, you must have something up your sleeve right?” Her voice is shaky but you confirm with an enthusiastic nod she can’t see.

“Of course! I’ll kick their asses. Surely this can’t be legal? No blackmarket is. Let me have a look at what can be done. I’m assuming you can bring a plus one tonight?”

“Yeah I-I was given a ticket. You’ll be coming with me right?”

“That’s why I asked, silly.” Her relieved chuckle brings a smile to your own lips.

“I’ll see you there. Don’t give up hope until I do, alright?”

“Okay... You’re right.”

_____________________________________________________________________________

“Fuck this. Fuck my life.” The curses escaped your mouth left and right as you looked over the dozens and dozens of papers splayed out on your oak desk.

Even your comfortable office chair couldn’t stop the knot building up between your shoulder blades. This was bad. Really bad. Corporate law allowed unfit materials to be sold to third parties. What these third parties did with those materials - the company of origin was no longer liable for. In short: These hybrids were going to be bought by someone sketchy with a crystal clear profile and no paper trail unless someone bid higher and bought them.

None of these bastards were rookies. They had solid paperwork where necessary and it would be near impossible to prove their illegal activities when all of them took place on the dark web. A place that opened up more threats and risks than solutions. No legislation covered hybrid rights that weren’t even registered yet. Whoever bought them would have to register them and then the hybrids would be able to receive the minimum protection they had a right to.But you can bet your father’s company that whoever bought them will never register them. Essentially these hybrids will be wiped out from the system.

Fingertips tapping against the wood, each passing minute was precious time lost. it was already 5pm. You had to leave for the dreaded auction in less than an hour and hour and yet here you sat in your chair. Hands itching to do something other than pick up the phone and tell Hara that you were at a loss. What could you do? Who would take them? You didn’t know anyone that was ready to add not one but two hybrids to their household. And ones that were not fully approved to be released. You couldn’t just lie and pawn them off to just anyone. Then you would not be any better than the company trying to get rid of them.

Sighing, you pack up the papers and documents you had initially thought would help. They were of no use anymore. All you could do was go and offer support to Hara. Or Maybe you were going because you still had hope that there would be someone who would save those hybrids. Hope was a dangerous thing for a woman like you but you had it. This was no time to wallow. So you smooth your skirt, touch up your makeup and put on your heels that had men double take.

Maybe you could scare and/or seduce these people in changing their mind?

You laugh at your absurdity, glancing in the mirror one last time before you leave with stacks of files in your hands. You could at least stall them.

_____________________________________________________________________________

“Y/n! Thank god you’re here.” I’m not so sure about that. Though you opt for a gentle smile and meet her embrace enthusiastically.

You can hear the sniffles coming from Hara who has her head buried in your shoulder. “Hey, no crying okay? No matter what happens.” The comment has her pulling back just as quickly.

“What do you mean? You have a plan for tonight r-right? Y/n..”

How could you do this? Lie to her? This was not fair on her. On anyone really. It wasn’t your fault and neither hers for whatever would happen tonight. She needed to know what to expect. As much as your heart clenched and ached to say the words you were about to; it was important to mentally prepare for the worst.

“Hara... I couldn’t find anything.” Your frown is apologetic. Trying to convey how really truly sorry you were but it doesn’t stop the tears from brewing up in her eyes.

“Oh.. I thought- thought they had a chance y/n.” You reach out for her hand, wanting to alleviate her hurt as soon as possible.

“I will at least try to see who will buy them okay? Don’t worry. We can keep an eye out on who gets them. They will be alive at least, right?” Your attempt at finding a silver lining doesn’t make her look any more reassured than you felt.

Glancing at your watch, you motion towards the building. “Come on. Let’s go before they try and kick us out.”

Hara nods, numbly leading the way towards an auditorium where several people had already taken their seats. You’re not sure how many people you were expecting, but it definitely wasn’t... this. There were at best 10 people here. All ten seemingly looked like they knew each other. This could only mean one thing. That this sale was to some degree, arranged. As in, multiple buyers were from the same company posing as separate customers to maximise their chances of acquiring the hybrids.

“Hara, have you seen any of these people before?” Your whisper has her craning her neck to have a good look at all of the men sitting in the front few rows.

“No, I don’t think so.” Her furrowed brows turn to you instead, “Do you recognise any of them?”

Shaking your head, you follow her down the stairs to sit in the row behind the last pair of buyers who were sitting.

“Whoever they are... they don’t look like they are all strangers.” Hara is gripping on to your arm when she hears you, visibly nervous once again. “I’m just speculating, okay?”

Your attempt to ease her, once again, is not enough. But you don’t try again since you don’t even believe your own words. The auctioneer however, stops you from thinking further about the impending events of the night. The man stands in a lab coat, glancing at his watch before he brings his mouth closer to the mic on the dice.

“Let’s begin gentleman... and ladies.” He seems to be surprised to see you and Hara sitting at the back. And before he begins further, he motions someone. Another man approaches the auctioneer and listens carefully as the other whispers. A few seconds later, his eyes fall back to where you sat with your best friend.

Hara’s grasp on your arm tightens once again when the man heads to your general direction. On instinct, your back straightens, posture more solid than before so as to not give anyone the wrong impression that they can mess with you unwarrantedly.

“Excuse me Miss.?”

“Yes?” Your curt reply surprises him but he recovers fast, glancing towards Hara before talking to you again.

“Are you a guest of Ms. Hara?”

“Obviously.” Your unwavering gaze visibly unnerves him. It was obvious to anyone there but you had an idea this was some sort of test.

“May I see your ticket please?” His bogus smile annoys you more than it should. Nonetheless, Hara is fishing out the ticket from her purse and showing the man. He inspects it longer than he should and finally walks back to the auctioneer to let him know you had the right to be here.

“Who would do that if they weren’t running a hoax?” You ask Hara before you can stop yourself.

“Alright. Apologies for the delay. We will now begin. As you are all aware, we are auctioning two of our very elite hybrids from a rare batch. They have not progressed to the next stage of screenings and tests due to some technical difficulties. Thus, we are here to give them a chance at a new home rather than a painful end.” He looks in the audience for effect. Euthanasia is what he meant.

“These hybrids are fully functional however lack a few abilities they were initially designed for. Due to these technical issues deeming them failed to proceed, they are available for purchase at a much lower cost than what they are sold for on the market.” The auctioneer looks so smug the urge to smack his across the face is almost irresistible.

“Right, bring them out Wonho.” Everyone is watching carefully, waiting for the ‘failed’ hybrids and you don’t know what you were expecting.

Not what you see though. Definitely not. Because the two - tall - hybrids entering the stage are not what you expect. Peach and silver tones greet your eyes as well as incredibly sculpted faces.  The peach haired hybrid seems to cling to the silver haired one. The man leading the two hybrids seems to be frustrated with their slow pace, giving the peach haired hybrid a little shove and there is only so much you can do to not yell at the top of your lungs for him to get his hands off of them.

The man sighs, letting the two hybrids to just stand in the middle when the peach haired one does not stand apart from the other hybrid. While the shorter of the two hybrids - and much, much shyer - looks around anxiously at the people in the auditorium, the silver haired one has his features set in stone. His eyes don’t look alarmed, they don’t seem scared. He just looks numb. He stares ahead at the people sitting in front of him while the peach haired boy visibly shakes, breathing fast and eyes flitting across every surface. He takes a step back, hiding part of his body behind his silver haired companion for comfort.

“There you have them. The peach haired specimen is a Oryctolagus cuniculus or - a bunny in more simplistic terms. The silver haired specimen is an arctic fox, Vulpes lagopus. Both hybrids are off a rare species and very sought after on the market. Due to technical issues, once again, unfortunately, we are only able to sell them in a pair. They are useless on their own.”

The candid way the auctioneer speaks of them has your blood boiling. But what gets you more is the laughter that sounds in the auditorium. Did these assholes think they were funny? The hybrids - entirely human or not - were present in the room with them. Did they not have any ounce of respect for them? Hara was not faring any better. Watching with a frown as chatter continued among the buyers. The bunny looked even more disturbed, looking around at every man in the front few rows - before his eyes landed on you.

The gasp that leaves you is abrupt. His pained expression holds your gaze, eyes wide and chest heaving. The bunny jumps when the auctioneer speaks again.

“We will now start the bid at $1000. $1200 anyone?” Several hands go up before the auctioneer raises the price to $1400.

Bald, greasy men exchanging glances and crude remarks as they talk amongst themselves. Your heart is thumping, your blood thinning. With each passing second, your throat seems to be closing up. There was nothing you could do to save them, was there? The further the price went up, the more panicked and distraught the bunny looked, gripping his fox companion harder, hiding behind him even more. The silver haired fox looked much like what you had stopped Hara from looking only this morning. Hopeless. His mouth was set in a thin line - just taking in the scenario in front of him. It was obvious he saw his fate before his very eyes and instead of futilely hoping that someone would save them - he stares his aggressors in the eyes.

“Brilliant! We’re at $3000 for the gentleman in the first row. Anyone for $3500?” The said man looked positively smug, sitting with his legs spread lewdly. Most likely sure that no one would contest that price.

Definitely not you.

“$4000.” Your voice yelling above everyone else is even foreign to your own ears. An outer body experience as you watch yourself look the auctioneer straight in his eyes, daring anyone in the room to go higher up on the price. But most of all, you watch the silver haired hybrid’s gaze waver for the first time - looking at you in such surprise like it was the first time he was noticing you.

“Ah... Anyone for $4500?” Only one other hand goes up. The man that had been the prospective buyer before. His face is ballooning with the amount of blood that’s rushing to it.

“Y/n? What are you doin?!” Hara’s frantic whispering flies over your head as you call out once more.

“$6000. Final offer.” You look at the other men in the seats beneath you, challenging them to dispute your offer.

The atmosphere is tense, thick with the tension brewing inside the auditorium and yet you don’t shy away from the angry glares being shot your way. A minute passes. No more offers.

“Sold to Miss?”

“Y/n.”

“-Miss Y/n. Thank you all for participating.” The loud chatter is instantaneous as the auctioneer motions the other lab rat to, assumably, gather the hybrids and their things.

“Y/N! Oh my god.” Hara has all but engulfed you in a tight hug once more. Shaking you slightly out of your own shock. This was not what you had planned but it was done.

She finally pulls back, checking you over like you were ill. “A-Are you sure about this? Oh god, okay we need to head up to the podium.”

Just like she doesn’t wait for your answer, you had not waited for your own either. You hadn’t even asked yourself the question before you had so blindly bid on the two hybrids. You’d been waiting for someone to save them. Someone to come barging in and take them away from these cruel people. Never in a millenia had you thought that someone might be you.

“Here you are Miss. You can deposit a check right now or eftpos the payment. Up to you.”

Benumbed, you take out your phone to open the phone banking application. When you’ve made sure there are sufficient funds transferred from your savings account, you wave your card in front of the auctioneer wordlessly. From the corner of your eyes, you can feel the two hybrids watching you. You wished they had at least let them wait in some sort of waiting room and not witness the jarring experience of several people bidding over them.

“Excellent! The transaction has been approved and a receipt will be emailed to you if you can fill out this form here.” Glancing at the hybrids standing a few feet away from you, clutching a duffle bag each, you try and put down your details as fast as you can.

They had already looked like they wanted to be as farther away from this place as possible and the feeling was mutual. Hara was beside you the whole time, waiting for any cue from you to provide some sort of support or whatever you needed her to do. And if your tongue worked - you would thank her as you filled out the space on the form asking you of your email address. It was sickening how easy it was for you to just... buy them! Would they not do a security or police check on you? Make sure that these hybrids are going to at least a safe home?

You were aware of the long process of hybrids that were ordered from the company. The company had a thorough process of making sure their clients were reputable and trust-worthy. That they wouldn’t do bodily harm to the hybrids but that was a facade so these companies wouldn’t have to spend money in compensation if a client had abused their hybrid in any way and had not been satisfied with what they had ordered. It was a guise. These people didn’t give two shits if the hybrids were not of expectation and couldn’t make them money.

“Am I done here?” Your tone was curt and the auctioneer could sense it.

The fact that you’d fished out more than enough cash for some ‘failed’ hybrids - he was interested in you as a potential future client. You were aware that hybrids of their breed went for $5000 - maximum. The previous greasy bald man had been close to closing a deal for $3000 until you had butted in. So obviously, they were going to kiss your ass.

“Yes Ma’am. That’s all we needed. The hybrids are good to go. Their bags have their guidebooks with them. Thank you for shopping with us.” his bright smile makes you want to hit him with your designer bag.

But even this leather was too good to be wasted on these assholes. “Y/N? Please look a little more friendly. You’ll scare the bunny away.” Hara is speed walking besides you, trying to convince you to soften your stance when you stop right before the bench they had been sitting on.

“Follow me, boys.” You’re not rude. You don’t sound mean either. But you don’t particularly sound like you wanted them. And as much as that was the truth to some degree, you didn’t not want them.

The silver haired hybrid hesitates - watching you with wide, curious eyes. Not the harsh way his eyes had scanned the room before but not exactly friendly and enthusiastic like the bunny. The bunny that was currently tugging on the silver fox’s sleeve wordlessly. His doe eyes silently ask his friend to follow you. But when his feet stay rooted to the same spot, you can’t help but sigh.

“Is there a problem?” A moment’s silence. Then finally the silver haired boy shakes his head, grasping the bunny’s hand and follows you out of the building.

Hara is gripping your hand, relieved tears in her eyes and you can’t keep looking. Because you couldn’t promise her that you would take good care of them. “Thank you Y/n. You didn’t have to do that but... but you did. You’re a good person and these boys are lucky to have you.”

Her eyes are earnest. You know she means every word and she can sense your inner turmoil at your own ability to take care of them. The boys can’t hear you both talking since they are standing near your car, obediently waiting for you. Taking a look at them huddled in the back seat, you turn back to Hara.

“Thanks Har. I will try my best. They deserve a shot at a normal and secure life. I won’t let you down.”

“And you,” she cups your face, making you look back at her. “You deserve love too. I have seen the bunny hybrid in the lab. He will heal all your wounds too. Please be happy and patient with them, okay?”

You nod, a smile that doesn’t quite reach your eyes but genuine nonetheless. “I’ll see you later. Love you.”

You just wave her goodbye, standing until her car pulls away. Looking back at the two boys waiting patiently in the car - you take a moment to gather yourself.

“Fuck... fuck. Fuck!” You don’t scream out loud. not really. But anyone walking by would be able to see you were stalling something. That something is going to your car and then going home.

Taking a deep breath, you decide to bite the bullet and face the reality. Getting in the driver’s seat, you look back at the two hybrids watching you from your rearview mirror. Giving them a small smile, you notice the bunny hybrid’s shoulders relax a little.

“Let’s go home.” Your voice is light and airy. Hoping to put them at ease. They were yours now.

You were their saviour.

_____________________________________________________________________________

“Home sweet home.” Letting them pass you, entering the condo, you let them take in their surroundings.

The bunny is still latched on to the taller hybrid’s flannel, hiding behind him when the fox hybrid comes to stand beside a couch. Both of them look at you - as if waiting for you to allow them to sit. The silver haired fox is holding on to the bunny’s hand, watching you with a dour look.

“Go on.” You head motions towards the comfortable three seater couch. “Have a seat. No need to be shy.”

Of course, you want to palm yourself after your remark. Of course they were shy. Well, the bunny mostly. The fox looked to be very suspicious and not exactly friendly. Though you could understand his apprehension. He was about to be sold to some very nefarious people. He seemed to be a bit older than the bunny and had a look of ambiance that only came with experiencing harsh times. Your heart felt for him.

The bunny doesn’t wait too long, sitting on the couch - well plopping is more like it - whereas the fox takes his time, battling with himself if he should or not. When you keep watching him, waiting for him to sit, he thankfully gives in and sits besides his friend.

Once you can tell that they are comfortable - as comfortable as they can be, you ask your first question. “So, what are your names?”

You smile at them gently, letting them know you are their friend. At least hoping that they can conclude that from the fact that you told them about their new home on the car ride over.

The bunny’s eyes are wide, face heating up as if you asked him a rather scandalous question and not just his name. Your heart skips a beat when the lovely blush blossoms across his face that’s hiding in the fox’s shoulder.

“Well? Can you tell me, bun? What’s your name?” Your question being directed to the bunny only makes the blush more visible. You could see his face reddening further in embarrassment and the colour being rather more visible on his neck too.

The smile doesn’t diminish from your face. Not even after seeing the way the fox is almost glaring at you but you were positive that the bunny wasn’t hiding because he was afraid of you.

“J-Jungkook. ‘m J-Jungk-kook” The answer proves to be too much for him to mumble, lips catching his plumper bottom lip as he peeks at you through one eye that isn’t hidden in the fox’s shoulder.

“Jungkook. That’s a lovely name, bun.” Your smile widens when you see the corners of his mouth stirring up a little at your compliment.

Your heart was so full. Never did you think you would feel these dizzying emotions at a pretty boy merely muttering his name. His name. If this was your reaction at finding out one of their names, you were not going to survive getting to know them before you went full mother-hen mode on anyone that tried to harm them.

“What about you, hm?” Your smile is a lingering effect of just looking at Jungkook’s adorable blushing face and you don’t let it falter even if the fox hybrid is visibly more aloof.

‘Be patient with them y/n.’ You remind yourself of Hara’s words over and over.

“Namjoon.” The smile halts briefly at the deep timbre of his tone. You had not been expecting him to sound like molten chocolate and sweeter than honey. You realise you wanted to hear him more. Hear him speak about mundane topics over and over because that’s how good he sounded to you.

“Namjoon.” the name rolls off your tongue smoothly, just like his voice. You’re still watching his face, waiting for any sort of reaction even if it’s not as endearing as Jungkook’s. Just something. But his face remains passive. A slight twitch of his lips but that’s it. The pessimistic part of your brain convinces you that it could have been a frown and not a smile that he’s fought away.

But you needed to remain positive.

“T-That’s… a very nice name too.” He doesn’t look convinced at your reply though. Namjoon continues to watch you and now you’re the one blushing from the heat of his stare.

Jungkook is watching Namjoon just as cautiously as you. Like he expected him to be like that. Austere and unwilling to be forthcoming with information about himself. Telling yourself that he’ll adjust with time, you opt for a smile that’s sent Jungkook’s way - making the bunny hide behind Namjoon again. Almost like when a child is cautious and shys away from a stranger they meet. That’s what it was.  A childlike innocence to Jungkook which awoke every instinct in you to protect him. Maybe that’s why his eyes had convinced you that you needed to take them home with you.

“Okay boys. I’ll show you to your rooms.” Furrowing your brows at the way Jungkook clutches Namjoon harder with panicked eyes, you turn around to look at them again.

“You don’t need to stay in separate rooms if you don’t want to, okay?” Namjoon regards you with a look before nodding - eyes cast down once again.

“Good. You both are very quiet but that’s okay - I can talk enough for the three of us.” The wink that you send Jungkook’s way only has him sputtering with embarrassment as the lovely rose tints his full round cheeks.

“But you do have to tell me when you are not okay with something, alright? I can’t read your pretty little heads.” As you say the last few words, your hand reaches out to shuffle the bunny’s peach hair.

What you don’t expect, is him flinching away so violently that even you are startled, taking a step back. Jungkook is hiding behind Namjoon completely now, shaking and you want to reach out. Say sorry and take it all back.

“I’m… I’m so sorry. I didn’t-”

“Hey, kook, it’s alright. It’s okay.” Namjoon’s voice reverberates through the quiet hallway, soothing the bunny’s shaking frame, whispering gentle assurances and you’re about to choke up.

What happened to him? Who did this to him. For him to be this scared. Watching Namjoon hug the shaking bunny tightly, sniffling away in his chest, only makes you feel more guilty at your brash treatment. Were you coming on too strong? God you were so out of your depth.

“I didn’t mean to scare you Jungkook. Honey..” You’re trying your best to reach out to him but the way Namjoon stands between you and him like a wall - it’s obvious he was waiting for something like this to happen. He was cautious of you and now his beliefs have been reinforced to not trust you or whatever nonsense he’s thinking.

You couldn’t blame him though. You really couldn’t.

“Please be careful, miss. He’s not a toy.” Namjoon’s voice trembles. Just the way - you now notice - his bottom lip does. He’s holding back tears and you really don’t know what to do. Except try your best to take their pain away.

“I’m.. I’m really sorry Namjoon. I didn’t mean to upset him.” You open the door to the room quickly, making sure there are blankets and pillows on the bed before coming out to tell them.

“Take him inside Namjoon. I’ll… I’ll leave you two alone, for now. Let me know if you need anything?” Namjoon merely nods, not being able to look you in the eyes but the bite of his lip tells you he’s trying to hold it together.

Jungkook’s hiccups catch your attention and you pull yourself out of your self-pity session. Only wanting to make sure that both of the hybrids are comfortable and just not feeling the way they are right now. Gesturing your head forward again, you nod at Namjoon when he looks at you one last time before heading into the room. The bunny holds onto Namjoon tightly, letting him walk into the room and when they are fully in - you close the door behind them. Giving them their privacy and also because you had a feeling they needed to be by themselves to really understand their current situation. That you were their new owner and this was their home.

A permanent home.

OKAY OKAY

HSMTNTS S2EP6 REACTION/OPINION( SPOILERS)

Kourtney being like :I'd know if someone had a crush on me.... Right? Was a MOOD, like, same sis.

I hate North High, like, of course she is Belle. But their Lumiere is so cute🥺

I love E. J

✨Friendship? ✨ Seb is sooo precious

OKAY NINI AS THE ROSE CONFIRMED GOOD. I didn't want her to take over another girls role to be honest.

Kourtney and Howie banter is so so cute😍

Seb with the hoola hop is ME HAHAHA

May I have this exercise? He's so extra qjdnnadndn I love him.

Ow🕯I can't qjbenajs

THE BALL HITTING MISS JEN IM--

Ten texts in a row??? My boy Ricky needs to chill.

The louvre, I just love E.J so much😭

Nooo Ashlyn, I feel so sorry she has this pressure on her, but I hope they don't drop this arc and develop this feelings a bit more.

I mean I guess Miss.Jenn and Ricky's Dad are kinda cute but I'm leaning more to Miss.Jenn and Mr.Mazzara if I'm being honest.

The amount of E.J we're getting this episode is what we deserve!! He did so good on that exercise ✨

Okay Ricky needs to chill, I mean it, that was completely unnecessary.

Oh, oop.Gina just told Ashlyn she's leaving 😮

Flashback??? Oh shit....wait does that mean they had like, a thing? I'm kinda confused, because if they had a thing while he was trying to get back with Nini....

So Ricky thinking everyone around him just has it easier and Nini can make songs in five minutes and Gina gets everything right at the first try is making me very annoyed with him.

NO DON'T KICK ANTOINE

✨That is convenient ✨I ALREADY LOVE HIM

Did she just steal pepper form the pizza place?? Whfnsndnd

Okay but let poor Antoine finish the salad

Kourtney and Howie🥺💙

ASHLYN IS SINGING HOME, I REPEAT SHE IS SINGING HOME

The look of pride E.J has everytime he sees his cousin performs, im--

Ashlyn and Gina 🥺 like their friendship is so cute I just can't, i can't.

Ngl the "Kourtney" In the middle of the sentence kinda made me think he was gonna reject her. But they're so cute, and Kourtney is a queen, and the Harry Potter references are adorable.

Nini watching is me jadjnd

I'm glad Ricky apologized and I know he is going through a lot, but I just see everyone around Ricky making sacrifices for him and I truly think that Ricky should make some sacrifices too for his Dad to be happy. Yes his parents divorced but the divorce is not only being hard for him. (I'm a kid of divorced parents too and I know experiences are different for everyone but his dad has addmited that it felt like the end of the world and idk... I feel sorry for him, even if I'm more leaning to Miss.Jenn and Mr.Mazzara)

The song is absolutely beautiful, but same as Wondering it doesn't really fit into the show? Like, if I heard that I wouldn't think it was from Beauty and The Beast? I still like it a lot tho.

CARLOS NO, DON'T POST THAT AJDNSBFNSBQBD

Well, I really liked the episode to be honest, I don't think it's my favorite from the season but it was good, it have some characters development and screen time they needed and they showed the new character! And I hope we see more of him because he seems actually very nice.

UNTIL NEXT WEEK🥰

Hi!! From that quote prompts list, a few that stood out for me were “it’s a brutal world” and “what are you humming?” for Rex? Im imaging either a mechanic/civilian reader or a shiny new clone trooper is accompanying the 501st on an off-world mission and they are sitting by the campfire late at night, a little shaken by the battle earlier in the day. Rex notices and goes to comfort them, and perhaps there is a singing motif??

Also! I loved Sabacc Face and im making my way though your other works this weekend 💕

Thank you so much @maulpunk for the prompts 😘

I'm sorry it took me so long to write, work has done a number on me this last week or so. Grrr. But I was happy to get back to writing this, although I must apologise for straying a little from the parameters of the request (it turned out to be a little too angsty for a singing motif, oops). I hope you like it all the same!

(P.S. Thank you so so much, I'm thrilled you liked Sabacc Face. It was a lot of fun to write, I hope it was just as fun to read!)

posted on AO3 | the prompt list | my writing

Words: 1.5k | Warnings: Post-Umbara Arc, Grief/Mourning, Angst (and lots of it, sorry-not-sorry), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, a certain Besalisk's name is briefly mentioned (okay, I am sorry for this one)

GHOSTS IN THE UMBRA

20BBY

☾

CT-0292 couldn't sleep. When he closed his eyes, rounds of blue plasma bolts flashed through the darkness behind his lids. Hands, his own hands, held a DC-15 carbine aloft, and one single finger under his control pressed on the trigger, mowing down the Umbarans in their disguises.

But they hadn't been Umbarans. They'd been his brothers.

A strangled sound escaped him, somewhere between a gasp and a sob that he caught in his throat. His chest ached with the effort to hold it, the urge to release it. And it ached as if his brothers had occupied a place there, the loss of them leaving the muscles of his heart to constrict around empty space.

He blinked away sharp tears, then pushed off the weighted blanket – its presence more suffocating than soothing – and climbed out of his rack. He gathered up the armour stacked in a neat pile from the foot of the bunk's frame and applied it, piece by piece, from foot to neck.

If he couldn't sleep, he might as well be useful. He'd never been very good at keeping still.

Around him, his brothers lay in their cots; some slept, restless, while others remained painfully conscious. From his own squad, only himself, Wil (Private), and Ridge (Private) remained. The others, along with their sergeant, had fallen to General Krell's lightsaber.

All was quiet. And Ridge was nowhere to be seen.

0292 shook his head, lightheaded, the back of his neck prickling. After checking his blaster was fastened to his belt, he tucked his helmet under one arm and crept through the rows of bunks like a ghost, leaving the sterile barracks behind.

For a moment, he stopped outside the blast doors as they sshhed to a close behind him, and took a deep breath. Had he caught the scent of rain and salt water in the air, it might have grounded him; but this planet was as unfamiliar to his nose as it was to his eyes and ears. With the tang of metal in his nostrils and on the tip of his tongue, he set off across the floodlit compound.

Beyond the sensor wall, he spotted the warm glow of a natural fire flickering in the perpetual dusk, its light peeking through the mist and the dense formation of local flora. He frowned. Patrol taking a break, perhaps?

CT-0292 made his way to the airbase's entrance. As he approached the gate, he passed skeletons of Umbaran machinery looming out of the fog, and squads of troopers pacing as silent as wraiths.

The planet was reclaimed, but no one had come out of the campaign unscathed.

At the gate, two troopers bearing the colours of the 212th stood guard, blasters held across their bodies, and faced the darkness beyond. With the sight of their armour came a fresh wave of guilt, at once hot and cold, that settled in the pit of his stomach. He cleared his throat upon approach; one started as if he'd been shot, and the other patted him on the shoulder.

"Easy, trooper," said 0292, holding out a placating hand. "Just passing through, lending a hand to patrol. That them over there?"

They followed the direction of his pointer finger, to the small fire burning gold in the gloom. The one coiled as tightly as he himself nodded, and turned back to him. "They're taking it in turns to sweep the perimeter."

"Thanks." He inclined his head, and stepped over the threshold of the airbase.

As his footsteps tapped a muffled rhythm into the damp earth, the chill air cooled the sheen of sweat on his forehead, and pressed cold fingers to the nape of his neck. With a shiver, he donned his helmet and activated its spot-lamp, before succumbing to Umbara's gloaming.

*

CT-0292 walked through the forest of Zabrak Spines, their bioluminescent ridges reaching towards the sky and cutting through the umbra like angry wounds. The glow of giant red thorns shrouded the woodland in an unsettling pallor.

Every small noise was amplified in the stillness around him: the snapping of twigs beneath the feet of tiny creatures, the whooshing of spectral wings overhead, and what seemed like footsteps somewhere behind him, approaching – but when he looked over his shoulder, there was nothing there. Each sound sent a spike of cortisol through his body, and he tried not to hyperventilate to the beat of his pulse.

The immediate threat from the Umbarans had been neutralised. But he and his brothers had found out the hard way that this shadowy world kept its secrets close.

You're out of the woods when you're out of the woods, his instructor back on Kamino used to say. It had seemed redundant to him then.

"What's that you're humming, trooper?"

He nearly jumped out of his skin. He looked back and came face-to-face – or helmet-to-helmet – with Captain Rex materialising out of the fog, easy to identify by the jaig eyes and the modified armour.

The captain removed his bucket, brow furrowed in concern, and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Relax. I didn't mean to startle you," he said with a smile that did not reach his eyes. "It sounded familiar, the song you were humming."

"I didn't realise I was humming it aloud," the trooper admitted, face heating as Captain Rex fell into step beside him. "I was thinking of my instructor, back at the facility: she smuggled her own radio into Tipoca, and she'd play it for us during downtime. That one was her favourite, I think. I don't know the words, though. Just the tune."

"Ah."

They walked for a way in companionable silence, each lost to their own thoughts. Confronted once more with the familiar face of his brothers, CT-0292 replayed the moment of terrible realisation, and the skirmish with Krell. The Jedi – if one could even call him that – might have been dealt with on a permanent basis, but his reach would extend far beyond his death.

"Couldn't sleep, either?" asked the captain, dragging him out of his own memories.

He shook his head.

Rex sighed. "It's a brutal world out there."

CT-0292 couldn't be sure if he was referring to Umbara, or the entire galaxy. 

"I admit," he began, "I wasn't expecting to kill other people. I've been training to take down and disable battle droids for nearly ten years, and I thought I was ready, but this …"

It didn't even begin to cover the atrocity of slaughtering his own, knowingly or not.

They heard the voices of their brothers before they saw them, hushed and sombre. Upon stepping out of the forest, they found themselves in a small clearing, lit from above by towering plants, incandescent with pink and purple and blue light, and lit from within by a humble campfire. At least ten troopers were gathered around it, talking in lowered voices amongst themselves.

Rex came to a halt on the edge of the clearing, and stopped 0292 with a hand on his arm.

"If it's of any comfort," he said, "every one of us here is feeling the same right now. No campaign is easy, no life lost is worth less. But this mission has taken its toll more than any other. You say you're not ready, but I recognise the blue bird painted on your bucket. I saw you take charge of your squad when Sergeant Jax was killed, and you kept the rest of them alive. There might well be a promotion coming your way."

A promotion. He'd always harboured the hope of making his way up the ranks, proving his worth and ability along the way. Seeing the captain in action, the way he was respected and admired, had only solidified that desire. But he hadn't entered the GAR as a sergeant, or a captain. It had never really occurred to him before now that someone would have to die for him to take their place.

But he nodded, and said, "Thank you, Captain."

"What's your name, trooper?"

"CT-zero-two-ni—"

"Your name, trooper," Rex clarified. The smile on his lips belied the sadness in his eyes.

CT-0292 removed his helmet. "It's Vaughn, sir. My batchmates called me Vaughn."

"Then welcome to the five-oh-first, Private Vaughn. Over there are your brothers. It won't always be easy, but whatever happens, we look out for each other. And I know you barely got to see General Skywalker in action, but I can promise you that he – and Commander Tano – are nothing like Krell. You'll see."

"Thank you, sir."

Captain Rex clapped him on the arm, then strode off across the clearing, towards the campfire. Vaughn followed, kicking up the smell of damp earth and decaying foliage, sickly sweet in his nostrils. He was pleased to see his squadmate, Ridge, among the ranks of troopers around the flames, and another who'd introduced himself as Sterling just one rotation prior.

"Room for two more, boys?"

☽

Thank you so much for staying to the end! Even though I enjoy reading some good ol' angst, it's definitely tricky to write, so it was nice to stretch those muscles for this prompt. Hope you liked it 💜

You & Me : chapter 44

A Niall Horan fanfiction ; rated MA

Sequel to AM CONVERSATIONS

CHAPTER 1 || CHAPTER 2 || CHAPTER 3 || CHAPTER 4 || CHAPTER 5 || CHAPTER 6 || CHAPTER 7 || CHAPTER 8 || CHAPTER 9 || CHAPTER 10 || CHAPTER 11 || CHAPTER 12 || CHAPTER 13 || CHAPTER 14 || CHAPTER 15 || CHAPTER 16 || CHAPTER 17 || CHAPTER 18 || CHAPTER 19 || CHAPTER 20 || CHAPTER 21 || CHAPTER 22 || CHAPTER 23 || CHAPTER 24 || CHAPTER 25 || CHAPTER 26 || CHAPTER 27 || CHAPTER 28 || CHAPTER 29 || CHAPTER 30 || CHAPTER 31 || CHAPTER 32 || CHAPTER 33 || CHAPTER 34 || CHAPTER 35 || CHAPTER 36 || CHAPTER 37 || CHAPTER 38 || CHAPTER 39 || CHAPTER 40 || CHAPTER 41 || CHAPTER 42 || CHAPTER 43

NOTES:

-one chapter is her pov, the next is his -4.5k -im sorry, i never proofread, i hate it. -there WILL be smut. but not only smut. -this is a romance, comedy, smut story. -for the summary, check my MASTERLIST.

READ AM CONVERSATIONS AGAIN ON WATTPAD HERE

- notes: okayyy so here it is. time passes quicker, and youll see itll be like that in the last few chapters too. i hope you like this one, i hope youll like the last few chapters. im a bit nervous so i hope it’s not too bad! oh yea and i used a manip someone made on instagram, just thought it was cool haha!

if you want to be on the list of blogs i notify when this is updated, just message me :)

requests! : some requests i used here but ill only post them in the next chapter because i don’t want to spoil anything!

TAKE A LOOK AT THE CHARACTERS HERE

Chapter 44 : Her chapter

OLIVIA

August 9th, 2018

That was it. We were done with an other season and I couldn't believe what we accomplished. What I accomplished. We had filmed the last scene two days ago, right on time for me to go see Niall perform in LA two nights in a row and the party organised to celebrate the end of this season was scheduled on the first night of his week off.  Everything seemed to fit perfectly together and I was happy. I was genuinely and truly happy.

"Did I tell you how much I missed you?" I heard my boyfriend whisper near my ear as he wrapped his arms around me from behind, making a shiver cross my whole body.

"Mm yes, about a million times in the past 3 days." I replied with a chuckle, tilting my head as he pressed his lips gently on my neck.

I had missed him so much too. We had spent over a month apart and just like I expected, we were even stronger than we were before and that said a lot. We had talked every single day on facetime but it was never the same than to be able to smell him, feel him, taste him... just seeing him face to face was different than on a screen and I had no idea how i'd be able to spend an other 5 weeks separated from him.

"Okay then, did I tell you how good you look tonight?"

I laughed again and turned around in his arms, tilting my chin up to look in his eyes. We were a bit farther from the others, slightly hiding by a part of the wall, and i licked my lips, hoping no one was paying attention to us.

"I'm literally wearing an old pair of jeans that shows how big my ass is and a plain t-shirt." I pointed out. "But thank you."

As if it was a suitable answer, his hands slid from my back to my butt and he squeezed it, making me laugh again.

"I love your ass."

"And in public too?" I asked with an amused smile, my eyebrows raised. "Are you drunk?"

He chuckled and bent down to kiss my lips and i let him, feeling his warm mouth move gently and slowly against mine. No matter how many times we kissed, it always felt amazing, and no one else tasted that good.

"We should go back to the others." I pointed out in a low voice. "They're gonna start wondering where we are."

"Mm, I don't care." he whispered against my lips, making me chuckle low.

"Come on." I just replied, finally taking a step back and tilting my head on the side. "We can cuddle tonight."

We walked back in the room hand in hand and I noticed Dylan looking at us. He sent me a small smile that I answered as I tried to ignore Heidi, sitting next to him. They had been dating for longer than I thought they would and I was wondering if he still thought everything he had told me about her the last time we discussed it. I really thought it was a good thing for him to be with someone else, I just thought it sucked that she was the one he had picked. Still, it was none of my business and I couldn't stop him from inviting her to this party. After all, it was his tv show too, and I owed him a lot. I was well aware that it was more popular because he was the male lead and I knew how lucky I was to act with him.

As soon as we sat down, Heidi and Dylan got up but she left to the other side of the room and he walked to us, sitting in front of my boyfriend. I didn't know if this was about to be awkward but before we could say anything, I heard my phone and frowned. I grabbed it quickly and excused myself, knowing it was even more awkward that I left my boyfriend and my ex boyfriend together.

"Hey Louis, you're calling at a very weird moment." I just said with a smile.

"That's me specialty, love." he let out as a joke, making me chuckle. "You mom tried to call you apparently, but she couldn't reach you so she called my phone. Sweet sweet lady with an incredibly strong accent. It always surprises me."

I rolled my eyes but a smile still drew itself on my lips. "What did she want?"

"She said it was not urgent but she wanted to talk to you, make sure you're not dead or something."

I raised my nose up. "Don't joke with that."

"Sorry love, I didn't mean to bring back... that memory." he apologized after a few seconds of silence. "She doesn't know though, does she?"

"No, only you, me, Niall, and I'm guessing El?"

"Olivia, I didn't tell that to anyone, not even El." Louis admitted, making me smile fondly. "This is no one's business but yours. I promise to keep that secret forever."

"Thank you, Lou." I whispered before swallowing.

I hated to remember that moment of weakness I had, even if I knew it was part of why I was who and where I was today. I really had to hit rock bottom to kick myself up and finally breathe again. If my relationship with Niall was so strong now, it was partly because I had worked on myself and although I knew I still had work to do, I was stronger than I used to be when I first dated Niall. Of course, swallowing all the pills I could find was not my smartest or strongest moment but I was trying to forgive myself.

"Oh you want to hug me right now don't you?" Louis joked, making me laugh through my tears. "I know you!"

I laughed and wipe my eyes quickly before licking my lips. "Yea, I drank a bit too so it doesn't help. I'll text you soon, Lou."

"You better. Love you, queen."

I smiled fondly at the nickname and closed my eyes. "Love you too."

I hung up and texted my mom quickly before going back to the table. Dylan was now sitting next to Niall and it made me frown. I knew they were both a bit tipsy and I didn't want anything bad to happen between them. Gladly, I knew Niall was not into confrontation and Dylan was quite laid-back too. Plus, he was probably over me by then and if they could just accept each other's company, it would be enough for me. I didn't expect them to become close friends, of course, but It would be nice if it wasn't awkward between them anymore.

"Oh and that small.. whimper or whisper she makes when you slip your hand in her panties." I heard Niall comment before Dylan chuckled.

"Right." he agreed, shaking his head gently. "And she's always so ready too."

A tiny part of me wanted to stay and listen to what they were going to say but the part of me that was angry was definitely bigger. I took a step closer but held my breath when Dylan started talking again.

"Let's say it's different than Heidi."

"No man, I ain't going there." Niall laughed while shaking his head before taking a sip of his beer.

"No, I mean, Heidi is very sexy but it's that... that connection, you know?" I frowned and my lips parted when Niall laughed again.

"I don't want to hear about the 'connection' you had with my girlfriend, O'Brien." he pointed out, turning his almost empty beer with his fingers.

"No yea, I know. I just mean that... it's different when you love someone."

"Are you two really comparing how Heidi and I are in bed?"

Both of them jumped so high I thought they were about to fall off their chairs. I wanted to look at their reaction but I decided to focus on my boyfriend and when he turned around, his face changed and I could read fear in his eyes. I crossed my arms on my chest and shook my head, licking my lips.

"That's fucking disgusting. I don't deserve that, and Heidi doesn't either."

This time, I read surprise in Niall's eyes and glanced at Dylan who seemed as shocked as my boyfriend. Oh I still didn't like Heidi, but that didn't mean it was okay for them to discuss about how she was in bed.

"Just because both of you had the chance to fuck us both doesn't give you the right to share gossips about us." I pressed my lips together, trying to keep my anger inside and breathed in deeply. "That's fucking wrong."

I turned on my heels and left before I stopped and turned around again to look at them. "I'm mad at you both, by the way, if that wasn't clear enough."

I walked quickly to my dressing room and closed the door before holding myself against the counter, closing my eyes. I was torn between being mad that they could easily talk about me like that and being relieved that they could actually talk to each other without it being awkward. After a few minutes, I heard a knock at the door and thinking it was probably one of them, I swung the door open but my face changed when I noticed my assistant. My lips curled and I raised my eyebrows a bit surprised.

"You left quickly, are you okay?" she asked, concern written all over her face.

I made a quick head movement to incite her to walk in and closed the door behind her before we both sat down, her on the couch and me on a chair. Tinka was fairly new since my old assistant had to leave due to a pregnancy and we immediately bounded. She was gorgeous and I had to admit I was a bit jealous of her, not only for her looks but also for the way she attracted people easily and all that charisma she had probably inherited at birth, but at the same time, I felt connected to her too and I could never hate her.

"Okay so, I wanted to show you something. I mean at first I was not sure if I should, because I shouldn't have filmed it in first place, but..." she blabbed nervously before shaking her head. "I'll just show you."

She took her phone and clicked on a few things before handing it to me. I frowned, taking it cautiously before noticing she was showing me a video. I clicked on play and my eyes got bigger when I noticed Niall, sitting at the cafeteria as Heidi sat down in front of him. The first part of the conversation was hard to hear but Niall seemed confused and when she handed him a sheet of paper, I frowned again. He stared at what was written on it and finally, she put her hand on top of his and I felt my heart jump high in my throat. The second part of the conversation though, I heard it very clearly.

“You’re right. We should get back together, Niall.” Heidi said with a soft voice. “I mean, I know you’re trying to make me jealous with her but let’s be real. Who could really be jealous of her?"

This time, my heart sank in my chest and I swallowed hard. I was worth more than Heidi gave me credits for, I knew it now, but I also knew she would never see it. Perhaps, she was too busy trying to win Niall back.

“Do you even listen to yourself? You know damn well I’m with Liv and.. aren’t you with Dylan? I love her, okay! I’m not trying to make anyone jealous, I’m just trying to love her the way she deserves to be loved… the way I failed to love her the first time. And you have nothing to do with any of this. What even makes you think I want to be with you?"

I bit my bottom lip, breathing in deeply again and trying to suppress a small smile of relief when I heard my boyfriend's words. The fact that he admitted that he failed to love me right the first time made something stir in my stomach. I knew that failed relationship was not just on him, but it was nice to hear him admit that, especially to someone else.

“Because of that song! You wrote it for me and put it in one of my boxes for me to find!” she argued with him.

I saw Niall roll his eyes and his next words were as harsh as the tone he had used.

“I wrote this about Olivia! I wrote that in the first week I saw her again at the bakery after not seeing her for over a year. It isn’t about you, Heidi. It got in one of your boxes by mistake!” he let out rudely. “I love Olivia, not you. You need to let it go, okay? And those instagram posts you make.. For fuck’s sake, Heidi! What’s the point? Make me feel bad? Alright, I’m sorry I cheated on you, I should have broken up with you before and that was a mistake, okay? Now please, leave me the fuck alone.”

The video stopped but I still stared at the screen, lost in my thoughts, until Tinka talked again.

"I don't know why i recorded this, and I know I shouldn't have, I'm sorry." she apologized again. "But it was recorded anyway so I mean, why not show it to you?"

I just stared at the thumbnail of the video again before clicking on the 'delete' button and when it asked me if I was sure, I clicked on 'yes' without hesitation.

"Thanks, Tinka. I deleted it." I finally said, looking up at her before she nodded. "But thank you for showing me. Just... don't do that again, please. Niall and I we're both very... private."

I handed her her phone back just as an other knock was heard at the door. We both got up and I opened the door as she walked past Niall. He nodded at her and finally turned back to me, his hands in his pockets. I couldn't help but tilt my head, glancing down at him, telling myself once again how good he looked. I also couldn't stop thinking about the way he had told Heidi he loved me and it made me want to hug him.

"Olivia, I'm.. so sorry."

I crossed my arms over my chest and raised my eyebrows, expecting more than just a simple apology.

"You're right. It was so wrong, and we shouldn't have." he added, making me lick my lips. "We were literally trying to find something to talk about, and it was so awkward... the only thing we really have in common is you. But we shouldn't have."

I let my shoulders fall and sighed, raising my nose up in a grimace. "So I really make some sort of whimper when you slip your hand in my panties?"

He chuckled and took one of his hands out of his pocket to pass it in his hair. "Yea, you do. But I'm slightly jealous knowing you also whimper like that when he did it. I thought I was special."

"Oh, poor little boy thought he was special." I joked, making him grimace too. "Come here."

I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him inside before closing the door behind him. He was close to me, so close I could feel the warmth of his body close to mine, and when my ass met the counter, I smiled more. He chuckled as he stared down in my eyes and shook his head slightly.

"Do you forgive me?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Mm, maybe."

I felt his hand slip in my jeans and panties and my eyes fluttered slightly as my lips parted as I let lout a whimper despite myself.

"And now?" he asked, clearly amused by the effect he had on me.

"I'll tell you in a few minutes." I whispered, tilting my chin up to look at him better.

I felt two of his fingers brush gently on my clit before he slipped them inside me. I moved one of my legs up on the counter and he moved closer to me, bending down slightly until his lips were only a few inches away from mine.

"You're all mine, yea?" he whispered, making me bite my bottom lip. "Say it."

"Mm, I'm all yours Niall." I breathed out, blinking a few times. "I belong to you."

"Fuck yes you do."

He started fingering me quickly, making sure his palm was rubbing against my clit and when I felt an orgasm spread all over my body, I let my head fall back and shook slightly as he pressed his mouth against mine. I could feel his lips curl as I came and I finally got down from my high, whimpering low and wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Okay, I forgive you." I whispered, kissing him deeply for a few seconds before moving my head slightly back. "Do you think that's how Dylan will want to be forgiven too?"

I laughed lightly at the face he made and I heard him groan low. "I'll kill him."

I shook my head a bit and my amused smile turned into a fond one. "You know, I never ever moaned his name." I admitted, licking my lips. "I only do that with you."

He looked happy with my confession but he still raised his eyebrows. "Why?"

"Because... I was always scared I'd moan your name instead."

His face changed and somehow, I could read love in his eyes and it made me swallow hard. He remained silent and my lips parted again.

"I've never stopped loving you, Niall." I murmured. "I told you."

"Guess what, Olivia?" he let out in a soft tone, his eyes roaming quickly on my face. "I never stopped loving you either."

                                                      ----

August 15th, 2018

Dylan had stopped me before I left and had apologized to me profusely. He even texted me the next day to apologize again and I forgave him immediately. Maybe it was because I felt a bit guilty for not telling him about the video Tinka had showed me where his girlfriend was blatantly trying to get back with my boyfriend, but It was easy to forgive him and I knew he felt horrible about it. I was still unsure if I should tell him and at the same time, I didn't want to be the reason of their break-up, or even of a fight so I deciced to ignore it for now but that didn't stop me from feeling bad.

It was almost time for Niall to go back on tour and I felt extremely nervous about it. It had taken me about a week to decide on what I would do. I wanted to go with him but at the same time, I didn't want to be the clingy girlfriend who followed him everywhere. With time, I realized that I could follow him without going back to my old habits but I still had no idea how to tell him. He hadn't mentioned it again, probably because he didn't want to sound pushy or make me feel like I had to follow him, but my insecurity sometimes tried to make me believe it was because he didn't really want to spend so long with me.

"Why did you want me to come with you, Louis?" I asked, raising my eyebrows and turning to him as he was parking. "You know it's one of my last few days with Niall."

Louis laughed and shook his head, turning to me to look in my eyes.

"We both know you're gonna follow him on tour, Liv. Who are you trying to fool?" he said, his accent thick. "You can spend a few hours with your best friend, can't ya?"

I felt my heart skip a beat at how well Louis knew me, sometimes even better than I knew myself, and I realized that I had opened up to him like I had never opened up with anyone else besides Niall. And I didn't regret it at all.

"Yes. You're right."

"Look," he started again, turning on his seat to look at me. "I have something for you."

He searched through his pockets and handed me a well-folded piece of paper, which was surprising. Normally, anything that ended up in Louis' pocket was crumpled or crushed. I frowned a bit and took it before unfolding it gently and carefully.

"I drew it meself. Took me hours."

My lips parted as I looked at the drawing of a crown. It was pretty and he clearly had put a lot of effort into it. It was not perfect, but I thought that's what made it look even more special.

"Wow, Louis... this is..."

"I made it for you." he cut me gently. "If you wanted to get a tattoo, that is. It represents you well, don't ya think?"

I looked up in his eyes and weirdly, I could read stress, like he was not sure how i'd react. The fact that Louis always called me his queen, and that he had even written a song about me with that word made this drawing even more important for me and as soon as his eyes met mine, I knew it would be impossible for me not to get this tattoo.

"I think it represents you, actually." I explained, tilting my head and looking at him. "This tattoo will always remind me of you, and I want you to know that you're important to me, Louis. I would be dead without you. Literally."

His lips curled slightly on the right and stress disappeared from his traits.

"Now you need to draw something for me to get, too." he pointed out.

"Wait, so we're here to get you a tattoo that I would draw?" I asked as  his smile turned into a smirk.

"Exactly."

"Can it be simple? I can't draw for shit." I admitted with a grimace.

"Just draw it, give it to the artist, and I'll look at it when it's done."

I stared at him for a few seconds, feeling my heartbeats accelerate and after a while, I breathed in and out. After all, if he didn't like it, he could always get something over it, right?

It took half an hour to get the crown tattooed on my ankle but only about 10 minutes to get the smiley I had drawn for Louis. It was pretty simple with x's instead of eyes and since it was on his wrist, he kept his eyes closed the whole time to make sure it wouldn't ruin the surprise. We walked back to his car in silence about an hour later and sat down, both of us leaning against our seats.

"Is it too simple?" I asked before he turning his head my way with a smile.

"No, it's perfect."

I smiled back at him and held my hand up between us. It took him a few seconds but he finally grabbed it, intertwining his fingers with mine and squeezing my hand.

"Thank you for saving my life." I let out in a soft voice. "Literally, but also metaphorically."

"You saved mine, too."

                                                       ---

When I walked back in Niall's house... I mean, in our house... I heard him talk and frowned, trying to be quiet in case he was on the phone. I saw him in front of his laptop, just talking to the screen and it took me a few minutes to realize he was probably on a live chat on instagram. I made sure to remain silent and walked to the kitchen to gt myself a glass of wine and leaned against the counter. I listened to what he was saying from the living room, smiling and chuckling from time to time until I heard him say his goodbyes. I wanted an other minute or two, knowing Niall was the kind of person who said bye by stayed an other half an hour with his hand on the doorknob before actually leaving and when I joined him in the living room, he was getting up.

"Are you done?"

"Yes, sorry, I thought it would take you longer." he apologized, making me smile.

"No, it's all good, it's cool that you do lives for your fans." I just shrugged, joining him near the couch. "Your such a good person."

He smiled more and took the glass from my hands before placing it on the coffee table. I chuckled and he wrapped his arms around my waist, raising his eyebrows.

"And does that turn you on?"

I laughed some more. "Maybe."

He didn't answer anything. Instead, he pressed his lips against mine as his arms pulled me even closer. My eyes fluttered close as he deepened the kiss and I sighed low, feeling my body relax in his arms.

"I'm gonna miss you so much." he whispered before kissing me some more,

"I'll miss you more."

He stepped forward, forcing me to take a step back, and guided us around the couch and until the hall. I ended up hitting my back on the wall and I laughed against his lips.

"Clumsy ass." he said in the same amused tone he always said it. "I love you."

We finally ended up in our room and he closed the door with one of his feet, bringing me to the bed and quickly putting himself on top of me. I loved the feeling of his body over mine, warming me, and it always surprised me that every time, it would make a shiver cross my back. I shivered in his arms and he pulled away slightly to look in my eyes.

"How about we stay locked here until I have to take that fucking stupid plane?"

I raised my eyebrows and my lips parted before I tilted my chin up. "Don't you have somewhere to be tomorrow?"

"I canceled." he admitted, his eyes dropping to my lips before he ground his hips against mine, probably without thinking.

"For me?" I asked with a small smile.

"For us."

I brought my hands to his cheeks and let one of my thumbs brush on his bottom lip. "How many times are you gonna make love to me until you leave?"

His lips curled again and he chuckled low. "As many times as I can."

Welcome to the Neighborhood pt. 2

Note: ok so I know that not all of the boys, meaning both twins, live with the others. And I know my update schedule sucks but I go in a block and funk. Sorry guys. I just want you to read something I would read and truly enjoy. Also, I think I may make this a Haz fic bc ones about hin deserves more love and notes.

No one really reads these but I also think I'll write this for Harrison bc when Tom posted the pic of Nadia, it shattered the illusion in my head lol and it feels weird to a certain extent to write when he is most likely dating her. Don't get me wrong, I'm so happy for him and he doesn't know I exist, but it feels odd idk. So im pausing on Tom stuff atm lol. Harrison is single as far as publicly that ik so thats that 😅

Pairing: Harrison x Reader (most likely)

Warnings: mentions of weed, alcohol, and swearing. I enjoy all these things responsibly and ik im not the only one. As always stop reading if you dont like something.

Part 1 here initial teaser here (got around 100 notes soo 😎 check that out)

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“Alrighty boys. That’s enough about me, tell me about yourselves. I only know this one from the big screen and that 2 of you are brothers.” You gestured to Tom as you spoke about him. “And from basic eavesdropping I gather you are all very close.” 

Tom smiled, “Actually I’m a brother to the twins, older obviously.” It was fun having a celeb lounging in your hot tub, drinking a beer with you. “But yeah I am an actor, Spider-Man as you probably know. Harrison’s an actor too!”

“Oh my god you are! I watched Catch-22 on Hulu! Comedy my ass..! I balled my eyes out several times.” He had the nerve to laugh in response. “Don’t laugh! That shit got intense quick. Then the shot where you all are swimming? Killed me. I don't know how I didn't notice you. Sorry!”

“Did you at least like it?” He smiled and asked hopefully. When you nodded yes he beamed! “Well then that’s all that matters. I will say an American accent is hard.”

You brought your beer up to your lips. “Yeah because your guys’ accent is so easy. You make fun of how different areas in America have different accents but it’s the same here!” They nodded in agreement at your words. You leaned your head back a tad and enjoyed the warm water. “Southern accents have different twangs bepending on the area, I have family that lives closer to New England, that's something all in its own. Just like here. You got London, Wales, some place called Essex and other places more north of here. It's not just the US." You reached over for your joint to finish it amongst the bubbles. "Now for real. Tell me about yourselves. Harrison you start I guess."

"Why me?"

"Shorter wikipedia page." You smirk as you re-lit your herb. The guys laughed and made 'ooh' noises to tease. "I'm kidding! Relax a touch. I just picked your name because you are right in front of me."

"Well I've known this lot since we were all kids. Tom and I went to school together and we have been stuck with each other since. I was his personal assistant for a while too." You listened as he spoke. Sweat was building up on his face from the hot tub. It added a nice shine to his, and everyone's faces. In order to avoid makeup running everywhere you sat up as you listened to him. You watched his eyes watch your movements as you took a hit and slowly exhaled. Almost like he was relaxing from watching someone relax from getting high without actually doing so. He kept going and you realized you zoned out a tad. "And then I wanted to do more than just model so I did more auditions and Catch-22 became my biggest so far."

You nodded, noting you heard and were listening. "That's cool and all but tell me like favorite song, movie, animal! Hahaha it isn't everyday famous people are in my hot tub. I'm going to savor this first encounter!" He smiled and answered your sort of questions. You offered the joint around before it finished. Tom passed, Tuwaine and Harrison took quick hits though. "But yeah that is me. Now someone else go so I don't have the spot light on me anymore." He looked at you as he said that and handed you the last bit. You winked in thanks, and to flirt lightly. (Shoot your shot right?) "Same questions to you love."

You responded your favorite song, movie, and color to him. "Yeah I like a bit of everything. But funny movies are my favorite. Obviously I like Marvel too Tom don't worry. Same goes for music but my preference ranges from new pop to older rock. I grew up on 80s alternative pop stuff." You smiled at him and he beamed in pride at the brand he represented. "Ok Sam you now."

Sam starts talking about his life and Harrison goes to grab more drinks. At this point the sun as almost finished setting and you tell the blonde how to turn the deck lights on. Soon the rows of edison bulbs flick on and a lovely mood is set. The glow isn't too bright and adds a nice light to your summer tanned skin. What you don't know is that the gentlemen appreciated the glow as well. However, they are too polite to say anything too bold after just meeting you.

If you could read minds or be sober enough to detect a certain lack of subtlety you would pick up on how the single men checked you out as you got out of the tub to get rid of the roach. Polite of course, 20 something men are going to appreciate a beautiful American girl right in front of them.

And if they could read your mind they would hear how you were taking in Tom and Harrison's jaw lines and toned muscles. How you appreciated Tuwaine's smile and height. Then add the twin's curls and freckles to the list and they'd think you were picking them like boys from a catalogue. Despite the slight oggling on your part, your eyes always wandered back to the blonde hair blue eyed boy the most. He seemed a little more laid back then Tom. Probably just because one was working more than the other, but that was just initial vibes you got. Regardless of vain appearance choices and vibe preference, all these boys were wonderful and you were just lucky enough your uncle's hot tub fit them all nicely.

Tuwaine smiled cheekily and spoke up. "Alright, we all have fresh drinks and proper buzzes. Let's make it fun and play a game. So Y/N, you went to college in the states, give us a classic drinking game and show us what you got."

"Ha! I don't know what you're looking for but I assume never have I ever is universal? You can't play kings or flip cup in a hit tub. Hold up 5 fingers, put them down if you've done said thing, drink as well."

"No fingers, just play till we are right pissed." Harry grinned and everyone else went along with it. "I will start. Never have I ever- wait this a normal game or sexy version?"

You said you didn't care and Tom said what the hell, so he continued. "Never have I ever gotten walked in on during a scandelous activity." Tom and Harrison both drank and groaned saying they have both walked in on each other at some point in life. Tuwaine continued.

"Never have I ever fooled around while someone else is in the room." There was a pause and no one drank. But then you rose your beer to your lips and they all looked at you in a manner of surprise and demand for explination.

Shrugging you said, "Old drunken hookup in school. We didn't know his roommate was in his top bunk asleep until it was too late. The mistake we made was keeping on going when we thought we heard him, because we did..."

"Wow Y/N. Learning a lot about the neighbor girl right away!"

"Shut up this game was your idea!" You laughed as you spoke in response to his teasing. "But whatever it's my turn now anyway. Never have I ever sent a dirty text to the wrong person." That got all but Harrison and you felt proud for getting them. "Alright so you are either morons or were in a rush to send that sext."

Tom defended himself saying her name was Sam and it was instant regret the second he realized.

Sam glared at him and said, "Yeah no one enjoyed that bro. I'm still shaken up about it."

"Get over yourself it was like 5 years ago! And you accidentally sent your friend Jake one, so pot, kettle, hi both black."

"It was detailed!"

You just sat there amused taking this all in. "I am so glad this happened tonight." You said more to yourself than them.

"Darling if this ends up in the tabloids we will never speak again." They were teasing with the threat. "But come on this is good let's keep going. Never have I ever done it in a car." You, Sam, and Tuwaine all drank and giggled.

The game continued on and another round of drinks were had. You learned Tuwaine had said the wrong name in bed. Also, that both Harry and Harrison have fooled around during family functions. In return they learned that you've hooked up in a college classroom and in a restaurant bathroom. That ended up getting you and your former boyfriend kicked out of the establishment. Towards the final round all were getting sleepier but still in a good mood.

"Never have I ever had sex high." Harrison challenged the group. No one drank. "Wait really? Thought I'd get you with that. Finish your beer and all." He looked at you as he spoke.

"Nope. Just never happened now that I've thought about it. Huh. You'd think right? But nope. Not that I'm opposed." You ended your statement by glancing his way while finishing your beer anyway. Harrison just watched the way your neck moved as you tilted your head back. "Ok boys this was fun but I am gettin tired."

Tom nodded. "Same here. Thank you for having us darling, it was fun!" The others spoke in agreement and you smiled at them saying they were welcomed back anytime. They offered to help clean but you grabbed the remaining bottles and told them you were good. After final goodbyes, you told them to not he strangers, you were all in your respective homes.

You went to bed pretty quick. Next door, at their place Tom, Harrison, and Sam lingered to get some water before bed. "She was really cool." Sam said while sipping water.

Harrison hummed in agreement. "Yeah I think so too. Very chill and all that."

Sam smirked and playfully said, "You just think she's fit mate." There was a pause.

"Well she is." It was Tom who said that and the others looked at him in playful shock. "What I'm not blind! She is! She's isn't some shy girl freaking out over us. She's cheeky and just seems normal about us living next to her. More Harrison's type though I'd say."

Sam laughed. "Yeah he always liked the classic American 'girl next door' type. Just a bonus she is actually American this time." They paused for Harrison to negate their statements but he just sipped his water and looked at them with a glint in his eyes. "Told you." Sam said as he took a sip. "She is better than half the models either of you bring back. Nuerons fire and she can keep a conversation. Not that all models are like that! But come on you went out with some stereotypes." Neither could disagree. Sometimes you just want to have a date with the beautiful face. Long term needs substance though, and both Tom and Harrison thought you had it all.

"We need to invite her over tomorrow, and any time she's free." Groundwork was to be established and Harrison was determined to get to know you more.

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As always, like and reblog! I hope you like it! Also if i forget to tag someone lmk, same if you wanna be tagged or not tagged. Feedback and notes are appreciated but be nice haha I edit as best I can. Thanks for reading and enjoying.

Tags: @jillanaholland @averyfosterthoughts @sarah-m-limelight-2007 @astridcommings

sorry in advance for how long this post is but i am going to talk about animal crossing villagers for an hour because i am bored

fuchsia was one of my bffs in acnl and i still love her. i do not like hair on furries usually but fuchsia is GAY and has GARISHLY BRIGHT COLORS so i am in love with her. she has... blue tummy also which is extremely cute. she was one of my first 2 villagers on my island and she is Still There

i REALLY like this personality type but im not a fan of most of the designs that come with it... cherry, agnes, and reneigh are the exceptions IMO. katt i like less because i think she’s cute and more because of the gay vibes. 

i dont like.. most of the smug villagers, or really the dialogue options that come with them in this game. marshall lives in my acnl town (this is a pattern that will pop up with my preferences across this whole list lmfao) and i think he’s cute. i was caught off guard by how popular a villager he is though lmfao

raymond is cute and i like “office worker cat” because it is silly

everyone else is mediocre IMO

hrhrhghhgh i LOVE the lazy villagers. mostly, honestly, because of how they acted in acnl. stitches and pudge both live in my acnl town and they are EXTREMELY cute and talk about food and napping all the time and are Very friendly. i could give or take all the talk about bugs in the new one, BUT i think their dialogue options generally give off the vibe of “silly little animal that is being translated into humanspeak” and i really like that

i love the absurd memes that Bob is in and i want him on my island. i currently have stitches (acnl nostalgia and cute design, bones (looks good in every outfit and is Just Baby), papi (same as bones), hornsby (one of my early villagers that i will probs Eventually get rid of but im attached to him so maybe not, he’s also Baby), and Moe (originally had him in the F tier but then he showed up at my campsite and now i love him and his little buck teeth). i used to have zucker but he made me hungry every time i interacted with him so i booted him.

yes half of my villagers are lazy. yes i love living like this. i am constantly bombarded by dumb little animals who want to tell me their houses are full of bugs and then sprint off in a different direction to smell a flower

i do not like the jocks, which perhaps makes sense considering how much i stan the lazies. kid cat is cute and i have his amibo card by chance, so i am not prioritizing finding these guys. i think antonio is also cute and has good colors and patterns, but is kind of boring looking. everyone else i could NOT care less about. i got the emoji sheep in my campsite once and didnt even bother talking to him.

flora is my BEST friend in acnl and YES im saying that without a shred of irony. her house is right next to mine and she constantly jokes about moving in with me. one of my rooms is decorated for her. she’s! my! friend!!!!!!!!! she’s nice to me and i love her. 

i have not yet gotten my grubby little paws on her in this game but i will not rest until she is on my island. i love her little house interior that is modeled after wild flamingos vs the pink explosion that was her house in acnh. I Want Her. Give Her To Me.

ruby and rosie are also good but they are leagues below flora. ruby i like because of that one edgy comic that starred her back in the day (u know, the one with like, Experiments Gone Wrong that was all animal crossing characters). rosie i like cuz she was my favorite in my gamecube world.

i just kicked out twiggy, whom i will MISS because she made an adorable stupid face with her beak when she was crafting. she was really cute but i wanted to get stitches. sorry twiggy u were nice to me u_u

i currently have ketchup who is also cute but i would boot her in an instant for basically anyone else on her row and above. i just saw piper on an island when i was finding stitches and she was really cute so she got bumped up from the meh tier even though i passed her up. everyone else is fine

normal personality is Also rife with good designs.... i want kitties on my island. 

i have gladys and coco right now, both of whom arrived pretty early on. unfortunately the dialogue for normals in this game is so unbelievably bland that i do not feel any sort of connection with either of them, despite liking their designs a lot. gladys is in my acnl town and shares the “top fav” spot with flora in that game, but here she is Just Boring. so i would probably let her leave if i could find.. a kitty cat. and then coco i just like cuz i want to be edgy. look at her spooky little O_O face next to all the cutesy villagers lmfao. she’s good

snooty personality is not one of my faves, but the designs here ARE pretty good. i like pink wolf. i currently have 0 of these guys on my island just by happenstance. had portia at one point but i dont think she’s that great so she left. 

mathilda DID show up in my campsite recently, but i decided against including her bcuz my memories of how she acted in the gamecube version were SO disjointed with her current personality. she was so mean in gamecube and i wanted even a shadow of that -- but instead she was..... polite. it was weird. maybe if she shows up again i’d change my mind, but the character design not matching up with the personality bothers me enough that i probs wouldnt

i like the cranky dialogue in this game. i had lobo on the gamecube and i was obsessed with him because i was a wolf girl at that age, so i would be delighted to slap him onto my island, BUT.. i have fang currently and he’s a good boy. very distinguished, has a lovely classy house, and i like his design. butch is also cute. 

now here is this monstrosity. the past games are just gamecube and new leaf. each row (aside from the last 2) are arranged in most to least liked also. the “passed up on” and “let move out” lists are incomplete cuz i forget things immediately in this game

and now. to summarize:

thanks for coming with me on this journey

Chit Chat 111620   11-16-20

Chitchat 111620 with Jack Michael Jeremys Chair and the disembodied voice of alfredo (no he left after set up immediately , never heard him) id put “keep reading” if i knew how for this sorry

Jack: hi im jack with my friends michael and Spearow the dragon (jeremys not here , theres a spyro … pillow i think on his chair).. So we made the mistake of doing 2 minecrafts backtoback  and it ended like 20 minutes ago then like “oh yeah we have other stuff we need to set up before”… Michael:  yeah this isnt so much a chitchat it is just a chit not really time for a chat. Jack: how about we chit about recapping extralife?  It went really well thank you everyone who watched and contributed, trying to get chat up right now…. Cuz we got Chit trying to get the Chat as well… this is the 4th year in a row we raised over 1 million$ , and were having some auctions for charity. Up for auction: 3D printed gen lock heads , pictures of the Spooky Hour (Gen Notes i thought they were done with that?) , the jon risinger bob ross segment painting , some f*face hats , some wood and glass sculptures (jeremy comes back during around this) … and gratz to jeremy for urinating and coming back *on time*  Jeremy: hey my bathroom is a few steps from here… that whole time was spent peeing Oooohhhh better. Jack: michael , jeremy got anything to say about whats happened recently. Michael: no uh…. Just recovering… Jeremy: oh that was hard to watch michael. Jack: oh i have this picture i posted on twitter of fiona milking gavin…. Spraying milk into his eyes , sounds weird when i phrase it like that see if i can post it. Fiona somehow got both eyes in one shot , none in the mouth (the goal) just eyes. If you don't know the context it looks like hes spraying milk from his head like some kind of anime demon… then the paintballs happened…. Usually with paintballs theyve been going a while and theyve calmed down , that time it was new compressors and we JUST started using them for michael and gavin (Michael: “they” as in the paintballs themselves , theyve calmed down) yeah so that time they still had a lot of OOMPF and it was like getting kicked in the head over and over. Michael: no that's good , kick me in the head all you want. I went second just so i could tell how bad it hurt , so i knew where to hit gavin to make it hurt the most… immediately flipped on it like “he doesnt deserve this” and shot the face (which hurt the least) as much to spare him… i did do a few tummy shots but still. Jack: the crotch was also a good spot cuz of the cockblocker… problem is if you missed they go left or right into your thigh Michael: the thigh and stomach hurt the most … our thighs are black Jeremy: were also doing the vinyl  Jack: oh yeah we reached our goal and putting AH the musical on a vinyl , plus a new song with Fiona ive been working with her trying to get the tone and everything (Gen notes im gonna guess its there so Still in the Air isnt…) … Jeremy wanna say what you offered up? Jeremy: yeah were doing the AH rap version 2 (Gen notes either A. a version with the rest of  “The B Team” to have verses , or B. redoing it without HIM) , been working on a beat for it … ive written one verse mine so far (Gen notes , think its option B then) but i feel like its a little TOO mean so i may dial it back down a bit … the plan is shorter verses but more people , so hopefully Myself , michael gavin , Jack , Fiona , the twins , Matt , Lindsay and MAYBE a verse where the  support room jump in one bar at a time , still in the works. Jack: yeah you guys DEMOLISHED goals, chads daughter she is so sweet… she saved up chore money and wanted to donate it all of her own , she wasn't convinced to she just wanted to donate 20$ which just broke everyone - well chad and i , caiti held it together, so we asked the audience to match her 20$...  over the course of 10 minutes that 20$ became 65000$... we broke extralife we legit broke their intake of donations. We also had 2 people there who if we needed to hand something to someone wed give it to them , theyd “baptize” it as covid precaution then give it to whoever. Michael: except cloth they were like “you touch cloth you own it” … was like i could walk away with a lot of things right here , this towel? This towels done (Jack: you just going around grabbing curtains) … (start paraphrasing)  we always want extralife to be like the best show ever cuz its for a good cause , but then this year we were like “how would we even pull it off”... i don't think 2020 extralife couldve gone better given everything (end paraphrasing) “fave extralife 2020 moment” Jack: my thing… Chad James is a freaking beast and towards the end the last segment we did was called the sweet and sour hour where caiti would do something nice and chad would get punished … it ended up getting stacked so we started doing some at once. At one point Chad is on the pummelhorse which is an elastic band that hits you in the undercarriage , chelsea was there with a leg wax remover , then we had cody from code 4 which is our compliance officer with hand sanitizer. So Blaine pummelhorses chad , chelsea leg waxes him and then cody sprays him with the antiseptic (michael: in his eyes… Gen Notes i mean hes probably kidding but idk it seems possible) … chads on the pummelhorse weeping and Blaines ALREADY spinning the wheel. Michael: its funny , theres so much stuff that happened and not just the segments i was there for , but a simple delight getting chad to eat that whole pickle … he was just saying “i cant do it ill throw up” and i just kept repeating “youu can dooooo iit...”... gave me some enjoyment since i was there basically to get slapped around , but in between i made chad eat a pickle Jack: so jeremy you have a fave moment? I know you were there for the solo stream section - oh i forgot about DJ JAAWNK how could i that was a blast Jeremy: yeah i was listening to most of the solo streamer section , i know Kdin had a thing where she gathered a bunch of people to do among us and it was fun…. For a certain donation amount they would just launch john mace into space , theyd just call a meeting and get him… Matt joined me playing spyro and i had the Gold Chonky spyro mods on , and if people donated enough wed spin a wheel that me or him would have to do.. We had to spin it like 15 times , and alot of them were “have to hold the controller upsidedown” which is a monstrosity… and twice it was me put a blindfold on and matt would have to direct me through the level. I panicked A LOT cuz you could HEAR the enemies shooting at and coming at you   but i didn't know where … it was like a live Matt and Jeremy do something - your welcome sarah! (Michael: you did do something… Spearow… Spearowmint gum)  so first were doing SPiderman Miles Morales PS4 edition cuz i don't have a PS5! Everyones talking about how they're sold out so the most ive done was when i was shopping for ovens i was like “lemme peruse the playstation aisle” didn't see one and went guess im not getting one… Jack: are they even selling them in person or is it just online… Michael: i know game stop is selling them , they're sold out but i know they were selling them.... Think most stores waiting for black friday to get them in store… i want one but im not going to a store on black friday , ill play fall guys if i want to get trampled Jack: oh yeah someone mentioned the ChungeScwa heist is coming we reached that goal Michael: fiona said i could be there, i asked can i help and she said something like “plz help , cuz otherwise it wont happen.” ive also offered doing a 50 turn mario party even though it wasn't a goal cuz we didn't even do last years so now wed owe 2 for 2021 assuming we can make that happen. Jack: cant you do a 100 turn mario party is that a thing? Michael: no 50 is the most , ive contemplated maybe we combine them into one game and scores carry over but it might be upsetting if im ahead by 9 stars after 50 turns and then it just becomes a 4 hour victory lap so its probably better to do 2 of them… we were about to do one in april we were planning on shooting it in april but then SOMETHING came up idk what it was … it just kept coming up for 7 months… Jeremy: and they don't stop coming and they don't stop coming… oh if were going to show my PS4 screen lemme show how much a  loser i am…. Jack: you got a platinum in bug snax?!?!? Jeremy: yuuuppppp!!!

I'm fukin weak and im also yeah so 10 and 24

ten: “airport/travel au” twenty-four: “soulmate au”

They were listening to the same song again.

It came in snippets, a few phrases softly floating through her head, sometimes getting confused with her own thoughts, but when she concentrated, it was easy to tell that it wasn’t coming from her.

After all, Marinette wasn’t the obsessive type. She didn’t listen to the same song on repeat for however long, not even putting other songs between it.

She shifted in her seat, bringing her legs up and curling them, trying to get more comfortable. There was a few hours left of the flight, and she’d given up on being presentable after the first two.

Especially since the two passengers to her right had been hunched together, talking to each other the whole time.

Marinette turned up the volume of her own music.

At first, she’d been overjoyed the first time she’d heard her soulmate; well, not them, but specifically what they were listening to at the time. It was a weird system, something that assured her that she had someone out there that would understand her fully—whether their relationship was platonic or not—but it would be a lie if she said it wasn’t annoying.

Like when she was trying to concentrate on her exam, and all she could focus on was the annoying chorus that was running around in her head.

They didn’t have any way to communicate.

There had been stories of soulmates trying to talk through choosing specific songs, but the small sections that filtered through to the other weren’t able to be chosen. It was dumb luck which went through.

And so, most didn’t meet.

It was a bit hard writing a forum post, searching for one specific song that had come on the radio, when thousands of people had been listening to the same one at the exact time.

No one could really know for sure, not unless they had lots of coincidences that added up in the end.

Marinette wasn’t holding out for the hope that she’d meet them.

With her headphones on, Marinette had been occupying herself by playing a video game, but she’d already completed it before. She lasted about half an hour before tucking the device back into her bag, tapping her fingers against her thigh instead.

They were still listening to the same song.

Marinette had had her playlist on shuffle for the whole time.

She got it, really; sometimes she got fixated on certain television shows, binged them all the way through, but that never inconvenienced them because of her interest.

It made her wonder whether they thought about her at all.

Then again, if they did, it was only a few sentences that floated through, wasn’t it? It was hardly an unending loop that continued to sound in her head, driving her mad; rather, it was the fact that she knew that it was the same song due to always hearing it play at work.

She really hoped they got through it soon.

When her head started to hurt a bit, she slipped her headphones off, resting them around her neck as she leaned back, staring up at the storage above her.

The two beside her were still talking, laughing quietly together.

The friend she was travelling with was nowhere near her, sadly.

Marinette closed her eyes for a bit, curling into herself on the seat. Most of the passengers were quiet, not talking loudly, and the children were asleep so they weren’t screeching or wailing.

However, the noise that she managed to notice out of all the others was music.

Of course.

She opened her bleary eyes, not quite believing her luck.

Someone in the row in front of her was listening to the very song that her soulmate had been jamming to for so long. And to make matters worse, their headphones were loud enough that she could clearly hear the beat, but was only able to make out a few words.

She didn’t have to try hard to remember all of the words to the song.

She kind of hated that.

Then, to make matters worse, the song continued. It couldn’t have possibly been that long—not even when she was sat there, listening to it second-hand and wishing for it to be done—so that meant that they, too, had it on repeat.

She almost laughed.

Marinette put her headphones back on, but she didn’t play any music.

It couldn’t drown out all the noises, but it did a little bit.

It was good enough.

She shuffled in her seat, resting her head against the wall, still making sure she wasn’t going over her small section and inconveniencing her seat-mate. Marinette closed her eyes, trying to even her breathing as she focused on her thoughts instead of that specific song—

The start of a verse flickered through her head.

She hated that she knew that it was in time with the one she was trying to drown out.

It wasn’t her place to say something to them. She didn’t have the power to ask someone not to listen to their music in peace, but once ten minutes had definitely passed—confirmed by her phone—she felt restless.

One of the passengers in the row in front of her had to stand up and go to the toilet, confirming that it wasn’t them, the one in the middle.

That meant it was only the person by the window, then.

She could’ve waited until they went to the toilet themselves, but that—that would’ve been a bit weird, wouldn’t it? If that had happened to her, she would’ve been mortified.

Marinette gathered up the courage to lean forward towards the crack in the chairs, calling out, “Excuse me?”

There was no answer because of the music.

She could’ve been annoying and kicked their seat instead, but that was just plain rude.

Pushing her luck, she reached out and tapped their shoulder.

The face that turned towards her was utterly bewildered. For a moment, he just stared at her before he reached up and removed his headphones, letting them fall down to his shoulders to match her. “I—what?”

“Hi,” Marinette said, feeling absolutely ridiculous.

He leaned to see her more clearly through the gap. “Can I help you?”

Her voice was a little bit higher than normal. “This—this is a pretty weird request, but could you—I don’t know, maybe, turn your music down?”

Rather than the rude response that she’d expected, he frowned, picking up his phone and staring at the screen. “Oh, I didn’t realise it was that loud.”

Surprised, all she could say was, “A bit.”

“Sorry,” he apologised, not seeming to be annoyed by the interaction at all as he turned the music off. “That was—that had to be annoying, right? I had no idea.”

Marinette tucked some stray hairs behind her ear. “It’s okay, really.”

“If it was, you wouldn’t have spoken to me at all,” he pointed out. “If I do it again, you’re—you’re welcome to kick my seat, yeah?”

She shook her head. “No, I’m not going to do that.”

“I mean, I did just give you permission,” he replied, grinning. “When else is that opportunity going to pop up?”

With her own shy smile, she answered back, “Never, I hope.”

“Too nice for kicking, but not tapping someone’s shoulder?” he asked. “What if I’d screamed? It was quite scary.”

“Scary?”

His smile showed his white teeth. “Well, yeah. Wouldn’t you freak out if someone suddenly touched you? That’s in my top ten fears, for sure.”

Marinette swallowed. “I wasn’t trying—”

“It was a joke,” he interjected, reaching up and running a hand through his hair. “A bad one, I admit. I was just trying to lighten the mood.”

“I didn’t realise the mood was bad,” she lamely replied.

He laughed. “Not on my end, but you do look like you’re close to crying.”

“That’s my normal look,” Marinette said. “It’s like resting bitch-face, but worse.”

He nodded his head, seeming to agree. “That sounds like quite the dilemma.”

The passenger that had left for the toilet came back, meaning that the guy waved at her before turning around in his seat, putting his headphones back on. The tell-tale noise of music came a few seconds later, but it was barely audible, not at all like before.

Marinette settled down again.

For a while, she managed to fall asleep. But she was never good at sleeping in public places, startling herself awake and sighing when she realised that not much time had passed.

There was still an hour left for the flight.

At one point, she stretched her legs out, hearing her knees click, and as she raised her arms above her head, closing her eyes as she did so, she accidentally kicked the chair in front of her.

She felt a flush of embarrassment immediately as she saw that he’d started to lean to the side, peeking through the chairs at her.

“Too loud?” he questioned.

Marinette smoothed out her hair. “I was just—I was stretching. I didn’t mean to do that, I swear.”

He hummed. “You sure?”

“Absolutely,” she insisted. “Your music’s not bothering me.”

“That’s good,” he said, smiling. “Because it’s kind of turned off right now.”

Her face felt hot. “Sorry.”

And to her horror, the person next to him offered to swap seats if they wanted to continue talking.

“I—no, no,” Marinette denied, hastily shaking her head, moving her hands along with her words. “We’ll stop, I’m sorry.”

Their tone wasn’t rude, they weren’t saying it to get them to be quiet; rather, it was a kind-hearted gesture, and it was made even worse when they offered again, going as far as to stand up.

Marinette felt too awkward to say no.

And so, she got her bag off of the floor, her headphones still around her neck, and she slipped past the talking couple to her side—one of which flashed her a polite smile on her way past—waiting in the aisle for the other to take her place.

She just wanted it to be over by the time she sat down.

The guy flashed her a sympathetic smile. “You still kind of look like you’re going to cry.”

Marinette’s didn’t reach her eyes. “That sounds about right.”

“Sorry for getting you into this.”

“It’s not your fault,” she whispered back.

He pointed to his headphones. “I had my music too loud.”

“Yeah, but that’s not really a good reason,” she muttered, leaning back in her chair, trying to be less stiff. “It was just—I did it for a dumb reason.”

“Try me,” he coaxed.

Marinette couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t even know your name.”

“Oh, that’s true,” he mused. Then, he held a hand out to her. “I’m Adrien.”

She shook it. “Marinette.”

“Marinette,” he repeated, nodding. “Now, any chance you’re going to tell me what annoyed you so much, you had to scare me so?”

She exclaimed, “I didn’t scare you!”

“I was terrified,” Adrien announced, dramatically putting the back of his hand on his forehead. “My heart just about leapt out of my chest.”

“You sound like a heroine from a shitty romance novel,” she retorted, crossing her arms. “I don’t believe you.”

When he laughed, the corners of his eyes crinkled. “My romance would be wonderful, don’t be mean.”

“It would be the equivalent of playing the same song on repeat.”

The best way to describe his smile was sheepish. “Oh, you could tell?”

“Yes, I could,” she confirmed. “Normally, it wouldn’t have bothered me—I mean, it’s your music, but my soulmate is doing the exact same thing, and it’s honestly driving me mad.”

He sucked in a breath. “That sucks.”

“Tell me about it,” she muttered. “Sorry for taking it out on you.”

Adrien just shook his head. “No, don’t be. I get it. I’d do that, too, if I couldn’t escape from it.”

“I take it yours isn’t that bad?” Marinette enquired.

It wasn’t that it was considered rude to ask—just that if the topic came up out of nowhere, people tended to get uncomfortable. But Marinette assumed from him continuing the conversation, he was okay with it.

“They listen to a lot of different things,” Adrien revealed. “Sometimes, I’m not sure whether it’s actually their choice, or what’s just playing on the radio.”

“Are they that drastically different?” she asked.

“Not really,” he answered. “Just the timing of them? Like, during the day, I’ll hear popular songs, but only a few in the evening. I have to try and look them up sometimes, but it’s hard when you only have a random quote to go by.”

With a grin, she remarked, “Smart.”

“I try.” His dimples showed as he smiled. “So, how long have you had to put up with listening to that one song?”

“Over an hour today,” Marinette said, sagging back against her seat. “I don’t know how any of you do it. I can barely listen to the same more than twice before I get bored.”

He laughed. “It’s just how I am, I guess.”

“Well, you suck.” Then, when she realised what she’d said, she smiled sheepishly. “I mean, your personality—wait, no. I’m really not trying to insult you here, honest.”

It just made him laugh more, shoulders shaking, but barely any noise escaping him. “I’m sure.”

She pushed her hair away from her face. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Adrien replied. “This is way more fun than just listening to the same song. Maybe you’re right, I do need to spice my life up more.”

“I literally never said that,” Marinette denied.

He waved a hand dismissively. “I read between the lines.”

“You must not be very good at reading, then,” she mused.

His expression of shock was exaggerated. “I feel like you’re here just to insult me!”

“No, no,” Marinette assured him, trying to contain her laughter. “I’m just—I don’t know, bored? I didn’t really think this flight through.”

“You going on holiday?” he asked, his body language showing that he was actually interested in the answer.

She shook her head. “Going back home.”

“Oh, opposite for me,” Adrien replied. “Well, kind of? I’m visiting my parents, so it’s up to you how that’s interpreted.”

“I don’t think we have enough time to discuss parental issues, so let’s say holiday,” she joked. “Where abouts are you going?”

Then, to her surprise, he said the same place as her.

“I live there!” Marinette exclaimed, sitting up a bit straighter, body angled towards him. “That’s—that’s a bit of a coincidence, isn’t it?”

Adrien beamed. “I guess.”

“Did you used to live there, with them?” she asked.

“No, they moved there last year,” he explained. “It’s my first time visiting, actually. It took ages for me to get time off from work.”

Marinette nodded her head, understanding. “If you haven’t looked anything up already, I’d be happy to give you some recommendations.”

And so, she did. Adrien was more than intrigued, asking her all sorts of questions, and she was happy to comply. It turned out that his parents had moved a few minutes from where she’d grown up, so it wasn’t likely that the area had changed that much in a few years that she’d been away.

His enthusiasm was a good way to pass the time.

Their headphones were still around their shoulders, but they were too busy talking in hushed tones, trying not to disturb the other passengers. At times, she had to cover her mouth when she laughed.

Her cheeks started to hurt from smiling after a while.

Adrien was in much the same position, and his laughter came out as wheezes at one point, which only made her own laughter worse.

It wasn’t boring at all.

Marinette almost forgot that her friend was across the plane at one point, up until Adrien asked why she was flying alone.

Then, to her surprise when they were close to landing—which she hadn’t expected at all, time having passed quickly—Adrien asked her, “Can I get your number?”

She blinked. “Really?”

“You’ll be in the area, right?” He grinned. “If you want to meet up, that is.”

It wasn’t a lie as she replied, “I’d love to.”

His number was added to her contact list, along with a poor quality picture of him. Marinette laughed as he did the same for her, along with an emoji next to her name.

“I guess this is it,” Marinette mused when they’d landed, the two of them standing up to collect their things. “For now.”

With a smiled, he repeated, “For now.”

Adrien waved at her as they parted ways.

After, when she was collecting her luggage with her friend at her side, she saw Adrien again, standing to the side with his headphones on. Then, when he looked up and saw her, he happily waved at her again.

She laughed and waved right back.

And as her friend questioned who he was, a familiar line of a song from her soulmate ran through her head.

She wondered whether Adrien was still listening to the same song.

pick two prompts from here and i’ll write a small(?) adrien/mari drabble for it      

[ Fic ] - Jumpin’ Jack Flash: Chapter 1

SO IM FINALLY POSTING THIS AFTER DANCING AROUND IT FOR AGES ///

me and my jobro @justjuliainc have been developing this AU fic together. it is a slow burn bruabba where Abbacchio remains a cop, his partner lives, and Bruno is a fisherman along with various other character swaps. and well, without saying much more, I hope you all enjoy the start of this bizarre adventure ;))

A blaring police car spun around a corner then ground to a halt at its final destination. The rain made it hard to make anything out.

“I’m searching the north wing, you do south!,” an officer yelled over the sound of crashing thunder and lightning. Two sets of shoes splashed through the mud the police car was now in. “Got it!,” the other replied back, turning on a flashlight. “You think they’re armed?”

The first officer was already pulling the gun from his belt, answering his question.

Then came the screams. Muffled like someone had covered their mouth, but still clear as ever. They echoed throughout the entire building and out into that terrible rain.

A shudder ran down both their spines. Children’s screams. This shabby abandoned looking cement building on the outskirts of town happened to be an orphanage.

They frantically ran towards the double doors.

“No one, over my dead body is getting away with this shit. Not tonight. Not ever.”

The officer that spoke had a fierce glint of gold in his eyes, illuminated by his partner’s flashlight. He wore a shade of lipstick that nearly matched the stormy night sky.

“Abbacchio.” The man turned to the sound of his name. “I second that, with all my heart.” He kicked the door in with a determined grin, his hat tipping slightly to reveal short brown hair. “Let’s put an end to this!”

Abbacchio nodded, barely having the time to reply, “I’m counting on you too, Michele!” before blindly racing up the stairs.

The sound of screaming got louder the closer he got to the top. His heart raced. The police had been investigating a strange series of kidnappings for weeks now, with no trace of the culprit. A 911 call was made from the orphanage just a half hour before now. Yet no other information was disclosed, both Abbacchio and his partner knew deep down inside exactly who it was. The same one responsible for all the recent crimes. And this time, said suspect had gone too far.

The hall seemed to never end. Abbacchio never questioned why the door he needed to burst in as soon as possible was getting further rather than closer away. Maybe it was just his eyes playing tricks on him. He never questioned why the floor beneath his feet seemed to warp into otherworldly shapes when weight was applied. He didn’t look down.

It seemed like forever when he finally made it. Panting, he tried the door and it was unlocked. The crying ceased the instant he opened it. He had a sudden sinking feeling. “Where are they?” The sinking feeling got worse. “Where the hell are they?!” He pointed gun over flashlight across the small room and found nothing but empty beds.

Impossibile...

Not even a window was open. Just what was going on?

While searching under beds, Michele ran through the door. “I-I didn’t find a thing. I searched every room on the way here too,” he said wearily. “There’s not a single person in here.”

Abbacchio pulled himself out from the bed he was under. “I don’t understand,” he began, shaking slightly.

“Something bizarre is going on. This is the room most of the screaming came from. They were in here”

We’re too late.

His partner turned his head at another sound. It caused them both to shudder. More desperate screaming filled the dark halls of the orphanage.

They both shared a knowing glance and cautiously started for the source of the noise, covering each other’s backs. It was only two doors down. Once again, it seemed to be getting further. It took a few minutes to reach it. “What’s going on? Is this some kind of madhouse?,” Michele hissed, terrified and confused. He looked down at the floor and gasped.

“No clue, but I’m going in!,” Abbacchio replied as he charged through the door.

“Wait, Abbacchio!”

All he saw was a flash of light before the wind was knocked out of him and he fell to the hard wood floor. He lie there for a few seconds trying desperately to catch his breath, vision blurring. Two bodies tumbled over each other, in the corner of the room, one spitting out rows of curses.

“I’ll fucking kill you! Right here! Agk- I’ll...“

Abbacchio didn’t recognize that voice. Not good! He began to force himself to stand up. A gun went off.

Abbacchio’s heart skipped all it’s beats.

A gun went off and something clanked to the floor.

Abbacchio’s feet moved before his body.

“Michele! Michele!!!”

His partner was hunched over another man, unmoving. A pistol had been slid across the floor. There were bullet holes in the bookshelf in the other corner. Wait.. didn’t that mean..

Michele was only still because he was straining to hold the man’s writs down.

He missed!

“Abbacchio, I’m— sorry I had to push you out of the way so hard. I realized we were being stalked when there was a third shadow on the ground. Somehow, this bastard was behind us and was about to attack you.”

Abbacchio had no words. He panted speechless before them.

“Agh!,” his partner suddenly exclaimed.

“You thought you could catch me that easily?,” the pinned man seethed. He had taken the opportunity to spit in Michele’s eyes. “How do ya like that, eh?” He chuckled maniacally. He nearly got his hands free, when in one swift movement, Abbacchio took over, keeping him held down.

“Cazzo. Don’t dare underestimate us.”

Michele hummed in dissatisfaction once he wiped his eyes, brushing off his jacket. Abbacchio took a moment to look around the room with narrowed eyes.

The thug beneath him was scrawny, yet surprisingly strong, his blonde shoulder length hair tangled into disgusting mats. He looked to be about 30, but was probably a lot younger. He sounded hoarse when he spoke. He managed to kick Abbacchio’s leg hard, trying every mean possible to distract them and escape.

The silver haired cop had enough and roughly put both wrists into handcuffs.

“...Where are they?,” Michele wondered out loud, still looking around.

“Ow! Take it easy on me would ya?! And what the hell do you wanna know?”

Leone gritted his teeth, a growl rising in his throat.

“You know damn well! What happened to whoever was in this room? There.. there was screaming,” he said the last part half to himself.

The man remained silent, glaring between both of them for a second before bursting out laughing.

“You really are stupid, aren’t you! You think I’m the answer? You think you little heroes are doing society a favor by coming here?,” he shook his head, still chuckling while both officers looked on distraught.

“Well, you have no idea what you get yourself into,” he continued voice turning deep and gravely again, “When you stick your nose into places it

doesn’t belong.”

Something about the man’s words gave them both an uneasy feeling about the future. Yet, they couldn’t afford to let it bother them now. The man was eventually taken outside and shoved in the back of the police car. His gun was seized along with him and they would use that too in their upcoming investigation. They were going to get answers.

Neither Michele or Abbacchio really knew what happened that night or even how to explain it.

But a few things were hauntingly certain:

Hundreds of orphaned children had somehow vanished right under their noses.

There were no signs of the caretakers and whoever made the phone call either.

The man they captured wasn’t the ringleader in all of this. If he was, there would’ve been a much bigger show.

Abbacchio’s hands gripped the steering wheel tighter.

And he believed that there were strange forces about.

....

“Idioti!”

Both officers jumped slightly when the hand of their chief slammed down on his office desk.

“Pardon?,” Michele asked, taken aback. Abbacchio looked just as confused.

They had been called into Signor Polpo’s office early in the morning to “discuss last night’s endeavor.”

Polpo was a sight to behold. Morbidly obese, he had to have a special chair made just for him to sit in. He towered over practically everyone at nearly 7 feet tall. No one had ever seen him without a hat, even when on a break from duty. His eyes people say, became so void of a soul that the sclera began to turn completely black. No matter what the reason was behind it, this was somehow true. Bright green irises were surrounded by a beady black that made anyone who met his gaze shiver.

Signor Polpo was the kind of man that made Leone’s blood boil.

“Did you not understand what we reported to you?,” Abbacchio asked slowly, tone dark.

The obscenity hummed briefly, looking between the two like they were mere ants beneath him before replying.

“You both became some of the force’s brightest pupils in a very short amount of time. You flew through training as if it were nothing, and I knew right away I could depend on you to... protect the streets of Napoli.”

The chief’s voice boomed throughout the tiny room and he ended that last sentence with a chuckle.

Abbacchio and Michele didn’t like this one bit. What the hell was he getting at?

“Yet...”

Polpo’s brows were furrowed.

“You had to go on and pull a stunt like this?!”

Abbacchio’s quick temper was about to show. “Wh-“

“No backup. No means of communication. Going to a useless abandoned orphanage by yourselves only to catch a petty street thug. I simply thought I knew you better.”

What?

Michele got a terrible feeling. Abbacchio saw red.

“Abandoned?..”

Polpo didn’t skip a beat. “I think you two are forgetting who decides what you get to look into and when,” he continued pointing a finger right at Leone.

Abbacchio didn’t look up. His fist was clenched at the side of his chair and his jaw was tight.

His partner looked speechless for a few seconds before trying to ask again.

“Abandoned? It.. it was an obvious kidnapping!”

That among various other things.

Abbacchio knew it was no use to bombard the chief with questions when it was already apparent what was going on.

Polpo remained poker-faced.

“I didn’t order you to go there, did I?”

“No, Capo,” replied Michele, looking away.

Abbacchio remained silent, biting his lip to keep from exploding. “They paid him off. He accepted it. They paid him off. The fat fuck is actually in on this,” was all that raced through his head.

“Did. I?,” pressured Polpo, his chair creaking as he leaned closer to Abbacchio’s face. And now he couldn’t even argue.

The officer with short grey hair looked up, his eyes furious but tone neutral when he finally answered.

“...No, Capo.”

Polpo stared at him for a few additional seconds before adding, “Good. I’m glad we can all come to that understanding.”

Abbacchio’s brows twitched. He and Michele had risked their lives continuously for the people. Last night, one or both of them could have died. Came very close, in fact. All the victims of a crime that had yet to be investigated were probably never going to be seen again and any evidence of something gone wrong would be erased. Yet, the whole time, his own chief was in on it? He knew Polpo took bribes and negotiated with criminals. He hated him for that. But this? This was way too far.

The room was dangerously silent.

Polpo narrowed his eyes. “You must understand the certain contradictions that come with this job. It’s how this world works. I expect you to await my command before even putting on your uniforms in the future.” He leaned back in his chair, upturning his long nose. “I’m only looking out for your safety.”

Michele glanced over at Leone. Uh oh.

He knew that look. Wide, twitching eyes. Biting his lip and shaking. If they didn’t get out of Polpo’s office soon, something was going to happen that would end with him beating the shit out of someone. Michele had much to discuss with his partner that wouldn’t dare be brought up in this room.

“Oh and one more thing,” Polpo started with an eerie smile. “You’ll leave this little meeting with your mouths zipped shut. What we just discussed is a secret between you and me. I can trust you... right boys?”

Silent nods.

“Excellent. You’re dismissed.”

Michele bowed customarily. Abbacchio just glared at him, such passion in his ombré eyes that Polpo read it as a warning.

Once the door was shut and their footsteps got further away, Signor Polpo picked up the phone on his desk and dialed a number.

“Send me backup. They’re getting too smart for their own good.”

.............

“FUCK!,” Abbacchio yelled throwing his hat off once he and his partner got onto the street and turned the corner into an alley. “FUCK. FUCK..” He kicked it in frustration, in complete rage by now.

“I’M TIRED OF THIS,” he kicked again, “STUPID... SHIT FOR BRAINS,” more kicks, “FUCKING POOR EXCUSE OF THE POLIZIA.”

Michele stood there with a hand on his shoulder, not quite sure how he should try to begin to calm him.

“I’M TIRED OF IT. I’M,” his movements slowed and he threw himself against a wall, defeated. “..tired of it.”

He slid down against it, pulling his knees to his chest. Lost and vulnerable.

“Leone..”

His partner sighed and bent over to pick up the hat and brush it off before joining Abbacchio against the wall.

“Leo.. it’ll be okay..”

Abbacchio’s gaze remained downwards, staring blankly at the ground between his legs. He hadn’t even registered there was a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“You know what? You know what this feels like, Michele?”

The other officer remained silent for a moment before asking, “What?”

“It feels like we’re in the goddamn mafia.”

Abbacchio looked up.

“I didn’t want to say it. I wanted to push it to the back of my mind. But I can’t... because it’s true.”

Michele took his hat off.

“The way things are going, I have to agree with you... but..”

Abbacchio looked at him hopelessly.

“That doesn’t mean we can’t do something about it, right?”

“I don’t.. know what to do. No one is going to believe us over that pig Polpo. But I can’t let the victims die. I can’t... let these crimes continue to happen while the rest of the force sleeps on it.”

Michele nodded.

“It will be stopped. Don’t ask how, but I know.”

No words were spoken for at least a few minutes.

“Coffee?”

“Fuck, do I ever need coffee.”

“I doubt anyone will care if we stop at Libeccio before we get grounded.”

Michele smiled, helping his partner up. Abbacchio’s expression lit up. It was the name of his favorite little restaurant and it had been ages since he even stepped foot in it. He brushed himself off and put his hat back on.

“Let’s go.”

Michele did the same.

“That’s the spirit.”

....

Some questions are difficult to answer

Sorry Iv been a little m.i.a bit I got a little something for y’all.

a/n : for some unknown reason this piece does not look right on tumblr mobile so I apologize in advance if its difficult to read, I also uploaded it to my wattpad if you want to read it there instead. @obsessionunhealthy 

Summary : Its your first Supernatural convention of the year in Nashville because Seattle got Con-blocked. You’re joining your husband Jensen and your costar Jared for your first panel together when a fan asks a question that brings back some memories. 

Warnings : Talks of attempted suicide.

Word Count : 1806

More chapters will be posted as soon as I get time :) xx

"Ladies and gentlemen please welcome to the stage the Winchesters, Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles and his wife the wonderful Mrs Y/N Ackles"

Richards voice rang loudly through the speakers as you made your way up the stairs and through the curtain to the stage, you were greeted by loud cheering and whooping from the audience, Richard and Rob welcomed you all with warm hugs and wished you good luck, you waited until Louden Swain had finished playing Carry on my wayward son before you raised your mic to speak.

" What's up Nashville " you all shouted into the mics at the same time making the crown cheer even louder than before.

" Wow y'all are loud " you said with a massive smile on your face, you turned to Jensen.

" Howdy y'all, it's good to be back, I do love me some Nashville "

Jared then raised his mic " How you guys doing today? Any first timers? " a lot of people in the audience cheered loudly making all three of you look at each other surprised.

" Really y'all have never been to a supernatural convention, this is your first one ? " you asked making them cheer again.

" How long have we been doing this ?" Jensen asked still in shock

" 14 years " Jared answered quietly " 14 years " Jensen got up from his seat a little and shouted into his mic " 14 YEARS "

" Some of you guys were only 2 when the show started so that's understandable " you said as you looked out across the audience before someone shouted from the back " I was only born " you jumped from your seat in shock and walked to the edge of the stage

" You were what, how old are you ? "

" I'm 14 "

" Your 14 oh my gosh WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS YOUR WHOLE LIFE" Jensen exclaimed.

“ When were you born ? “ you asked

" I was born in January " she answered

" January what ? " Jared asked

" January 25th "

" Two thousand and ? " Jensen trailed off trying to work it out

" Five " she answered back

All three of your dropped your mics in shock, Jared and Jensen slumped into their chairs whilst you just dropped to the ground at the front of the stage and lay there, the audience erupted into laughter and cheers.

" We’re so old " you said into your mic dramatically without moving making the audience laugh even harder.

" So you're what a freshman in high school ? "

" Yeah that's right "

" Oh my god freshman in high school, that's mind boggling " you sighed from the ground

“ I can drive too “ she shouted

" You can already drive ? " Jensen asked before turning to Jared and shouted " IT DRIVES "

" Alright alright calm down " Jared chuckled placing a hand on Jensen's shoulder

" Fun fact he still can't drive " Jensen stated matter of factly whilst looking out at the girl and pointed at Jared

" And I still got 22 years on ya " Jared said mockingly but then began to fake cry as Jensen pulled him into a side hug, the audience was laughing loudly at your guys reaction at this.

" Oh my god we gotta change the subject im not liking this " you said as you got back up from the floor and walked back to your seat. Jared turned his seat to face the right side of the stage " Yeah lets get some questions going, hey there " he said to the young girl at the left of the stage waiting with a mic " Hello everyone I just wanted to ask if there has there been anything embarrassing or funny happen on set recently ? " you let out a small chuckle and spoke first " Well I kicked Jared's ass last week whilst playing with Tom and Shep last week, all i'll say is that I a woman and 2 kids managed to pin him down whilst Odette attempted to give him a wedgie, Gen videoed thing I’ll get her to post it for you guys, that must have been a pretty big kick to the ego " the audience laughed as you blew a kiss in Jared's direction.

The rest of the panel went on like this, you guys making fun of each other, telling stories, making jokes and having tremendous fun with the audience, it wasn't long before it was time for the last question, you finally stopped laughing after Jared finished his story about the train in Europe and turned to face the girl standing to the left of the stage.

Now you were in front of her you could see her face was soaked with tears and she was shaking like a leaf, you pulled her into a tight hug and whispered in her ear " Its okay honey, what's the matter? "

" I uh um I just got a little overwhelmed sorry I wasn’t expecting to be chosen for a question, I just wanted to thank you guys for everything you've done for me this past year " you pulled away slightly but still held her arms, " What's your name ? "

" Its Gabriela but everyone calls me Gabby "

" Well Gabby i'm very pleased you’re here with us and that this massive family has helped you through a tough time and as Jared would say Always Keep Fighting because it will all be some sort of okay someday "

" Thank you so much, may I ask you how it is that you keep a positive mindset even when going through tough times ? "

You pulled her in for another tight hug before heading back up onto the stage, Jared handed you your mic as you sat back down between the boys again.

" Alright sorry about that guys, the wonderful Gabby has asked how it is that I keep a positive mindset even when things are tough and if i'm being honest it's pretty damn hard to stay positive sometimes, just like everyone else I do have days where I just don't feel happy, I’m run down or i'm feeling super unmotivated but I get through those days with the help of my friends and family, both on set and here with you guys " the crowd cheered loudly as you turned to Jensen and Jared who were both smiling at you gently.

" Surround yourself with those you love and who make you happy, shutting yourself away and pushing those people away can be the worst thing you could ever do, I did that and it was quite possibly the worst decision of my life, that and the haircut I had during season 4 I mean what was I thinking " you joked making the audience chuckle a little before they quietened down again.

" About 7 years ago I went through a pretty tough time and instead of speaking up and accepting the help that was right there in front of me, I suffered in silence and that led to my mental state getting so out of control that one day when I got home I broke down completely as soon as my front door shut, it had been a good day on set, the scenes weren't too hard and everything went smoothly but inside my head I was fighting a losing battle, so I just I locked myself in my flat and turned my phone off, I shut out the outside world completely " the crowd was eerily silent as they listened to you speak, you could even see a few people in the front row with tears in their eyes, taking a deep breath to calm yourself you started back into your story.

" Uh no one but Jared, Jensen and Erik Kripke know what happened that night but that was the night I tried to take my own life " you let out a shaky breath when you heard a few people in the audience gasp, Jensen wrapped an arm around your shoulder and pulled you into his side as Jared grabbed your free hand and squeezed it then held it between his two large warm hands as you continued.

" I had forgotten that these two were coming over to run lines for the episode ' A little slice of Kevin ', I wasn’t answering the door or my phone so they decided to break down my front door Winchester style, I’m about to get a tiny bit graphic here but when they charged into my apartment they found me lying on my bathroom floor covered in and lying in a puddle of my own blood, they got me to the hospital in time for doctors to save my life, I will always thank Chuck for putting these two Idjits on this earth " a few of the audience members chuckled whilst others awed when you leaned up and kissed Jensen gently then reached over and pulled Jared into a tight hug.

" Okay so the lesson you should take from that is that you need to wake up positive, never go to sleep angry with anyone because you never know what could happen, try not to worry about what might go wrong in the day, focus on what will go right no matter how small it may be whether it be going out for lunch with a friend or grabbing a coffee with someone you haven't seen for awhile, remember you never fail at anything, you just gain experience and knowledge you can use to help in a future situation " you pulled yourself from the boys and got up and walked to the front of the stage.

" Y'all I want everyone here to know that there will always going to be someone out there who is going to listen to whatever it is you have to say and if right now you don't know who that person it then come to me, my email is on my Instagram and twitter, you guys can send me private messages, I even have a P.O box if you'd like to write me a letter, i'll always be here to support you guys no matter what and i'll always try my best to help you in anyway that I know how " the crowd cheered and clapped as you made your way off the stage back to Gabby.

" Thank you so much for coming and asking your question today, if you ever need someone to vent or talk to then drop me a message and i'll try help the best I can " you wrapped your arms around her in a tight hug before heading back on stage which was now occupied by Richard and Louden Swain.

Jensen met you at the end of the stage and extended his hand to you to guide you back up the stairs as Jared spoke to everyone, " Thank you so much everyone for coming out, sorry if we bored you too much with our stories, well see y'all later on " the audience cheered and clapped as you guys waved before exiting the stage whilst Louden Swain played Your Love by The Outfield.

So many signs I ignored and pretended not to see, if only I'd paid attention and been honest with myself i probably would've seen that you never actually loved me how I loved you. Maybe didn't love me at all, any of the times you said it.

I think, now, that you only really loved how fiercely I adored you, and I'd give you all the love, attention, and affection you often crave. You loved how much time I would always always make for you. How I'd put you first, and would always be on your side. How I'd boost your ego when you'd get down on yourself. You liked how I never got on your case about your drug problem like everyone else did, because I had my own addiction that was just as severe, so who am I to tell you to take care of yourself. You loved that I was someone who you could use drugs around, and even someone to use with.

You didn't really love me as a person. But you liked it how I'd do practically anything for you because I wanted to make you happy. And you loved that whenever I was with you, at least you didn't have to be alone.

So you kept me close.

Until things got sorta fucked & scary & too much trouble. That day I stayed at your house with you all day and that night when you offered me a line of some fentanyl, and like always I said yes to drugs and like always I trusted you to dose me. I told you I felt high and I felt warm, and you smiled and said "that's good dear". And then I fell out.

You told me you tried getting me to come to for 20 minutes and you smacked the shit out of me. Then you had to call someone. I was unconscious and taking 4 breaths a minute when EMTs arrived. They gave me 5 or 6 doses of narcan and then I came to. And they took me to the hospital. But I was worried about YOU

You wouldn't answer my calls, when I was scared and alone and shaken up and sad in that emergency room. You didn't come see me. The next time I saw you was the morning after they released me from the hospital. You dropped off my shoes, which were still in your room, gave me a hug and left. Said we couldn't really hang out or talk much because your dad said not to and you don't want to get kicked out. Your dad says im not allowed around anymore, because the story you told him and the police was that you're in recovery, you aren't using. You didn't know what I took, you didn't even know I was on anything until I passed out. So your dad thinks I just brought hard drugs into his home, around his good recovered son, and almost died in front of him.

So after I was banned, you didn't speak to me very much... That was like a Monday, or Tuesday maybe. On Friday, police came to my house and arrested me. They had a warrant, charging me with 2 felonies, because after I was taken to the hospital they searched your bedroom. I had meth in my purse, that ones my bad. And then somewhere in your room, they found 10 of your old needles. That's felony number 2, and I had nothing to do with it, but they decided they were mine because I was the one there that they know was using drugs, and they didn't want to get you in trouble because you made a life saving 911 call. From what I understand, after they tore your room apart looking for drugs, they just sorta left, no trouble for you at all. And I wasn't aware or there to defend myself because they rushed me to the emergency room.

I should've known it wasn't gonna be the end of that when they discharged me from the hospital. And on Friday afternoon I was arrested. Put in an isolated cell, on suicide watch. Which was the worst thing I ever experienced. But in the middle of all that I couldn't quit thinking about you and worrying about you and if you're alright and hoping you didn't get in trouble too. I spent so much time thinking about you and if you were okay. I called you and we talked for about 6 minutes before you said you had to get back to work. I told you I had a felony for stuff they found in your room, and you said "I'm really sorry". Quickly had to go, but I asked when I could call back. You told me in the morning. So I called for days. At allllll different times in the morning, very late after you'd be off work. I called various times on the days I knew you had off. And you dodged every single one of my calls.

When I got bailed out of jail, I tried so hard to talk to you. You told me that multiple people told you not to talk to me anymore, and that you love me, and it's not just me, you haven't been talking to anyone. I said I was sorry anyone tried to tell you needed to stay away from me, or that you're a bad influence on me or anything but that I still thought you gave enough of a shit about me that you'd at least TRY to see if I'm alright because this has been the darkest time in my life and I really need my fucking friends now.

You said "I just don't know what to do". And you quit responding. You haven't responded since. That's when I realized that, all the time I spent worried about him, surely he didn't spend thinking of me. I was so concerned if he was okay through everything, and for what really? When HE didn't overdose and nearly die, HE didn't sit crying alone in the hospital, HE didn't get taken from his home by police, HE didn't get locked in a box charged with 2 felonies (one he has nothing to do with).

HE didn't get abandoned by HIS best friend the second things got serious and hard.

That was all me. He won't speak to me at all now.

And it hurts. Totally faded out of my life when I became more trouble than I'm worth I guess.

Not even a text or even a Facebook post on my birthday, a week after I got bailed out of jail. On his birthday almost exactly 2 months before mine, I stayed the night with him 3 nights in a row, I took him out for birthday breakfast and I gave him sweet sentimental gifts and told him how much I love all the time we spend together. But it's like I'm dead to him now. And I spent my birthday alone and very sad.

I've been spending a lot of time that way since he dissapeared.

What did I do? Why is it that easy for you to drop me? Why do I still love you and still miss you and still worry about you every day, when you clearly don't care about me half as much? What happened to the love and the "best friend" friendship and all the time and everything we shared? What happened to me being your new partner in crime, like you used to call me? Suppose that only lasts until there are any repercussions for that crime.

I'm so sad that any of this happened. And I am so sad I was too much for you to want to stay. I miss you like crazy. Things have been very bad for awhile, but things are much much worse now. Maybe not for you. But for me. All the shit I've been going through because of all this, and on top of that my heart is so heavy from losing you...

I wish it didn't hurt so bad, and I wish I didn't care so much. You so clearly do not.

LIFE IS STRANGE 2 EPISODE 3

okay, so throughout the recent life is strange games i have made posts such as this one; I would make a bullet-point list of my ideas and thoughts of the game, certain little lines or details and shit. i did this for the farewell episode, i think before the storm (at least one of the episodes), and captain spirit. i tried to do this for life is strange 2, but Tumblr fucking killed itself when i tried, like i even restarted the fucking episode to redo it. so i don't think ive done these for life is strange 2, but honestly they're a lot of fun to rant out my opinions of the game and the little details and shit so, without further ado, here's this -spoiler full- little list.

also, little sidenote: i had no clue this was supposed to come out, i heard jack shit about it so like, the day after it was released i saw an article, googled it, and fucking died and felt so stupid. so anyways. let's begin.

*spoilers ahead, ill tag the post too but smh once got anon hate over this shit*

ok just to start this off, the little like "last time on life is strange" refresher is really nice and unique and i fucking love it still

the wolf drawings v cute

not game related but this fucking incense im burning is floating across the screen and it's so fucking ominous

ALSO NOT GAME RELATED BUT FUCKIN MY HEADPHONES GIVING OUT

why the fuck is Chris a racoon

okay now game points for the a c t u a l fucking game??

ok this fuckin music fuckin kicking

ok i like the choice to start this episode with like a flashback, i really like that choice (also three bullet points in a row i start with "ok" v original)

yo sean wanna give me that weed bag? could use some brother skksks

fuck Daniel his room nice af

honestly the instant thought when Daniel came into Sean's room was that he was stealing his weed? cause I could've sworn that's where it was in the first episode

i love his dad sksksk

i hate that fucking toy okay, it's awful

ok low-key, i hate kids and if i Sean I'd be so annoyed? because like he came into Sean's room when he's been told not to, and like snuck in there, and then lied about Sean hitting him (bc I didn't hit him) and then as soon as Sean goes to apologize he's like "get out" like u little hypocritical shit hhhh. love Daniel but it's fuckin annoying

"and don't touch my stuff" (comes into Sean's room and touches shit)

LITERALLY FUCKING TOOK HIS WATCH BUT "don't touch my stuff"

Sean is a dick to Daniel sometimes but like he still acted like a good brother in the end and i would've been pissed so like good on Sean lmao

JESUS FUCK HIS HAIR

*inhales* AAAAAAAA

love the drawing of the deer smoking

wonder why they got kicked off the ranch

bRO A WEED FARM FUCK HIT ME UP SEAN WHAT U DOIN

i want a fucking joint Jesus Christ Sean fucking share? rude ass

ok so ur shirtless

good doggie

accidentally trapped the dog whoopsies

american grafitti

"fuckin ranch of hell AVOID" what the fuck happened there?

i like penny, he seems cool af

Daniel's fucking hair yikes

also why the hell he being a dick to us for? why the fuck it so hostile?

I like Finn too

"it was my turn" you had been throwing them?? for the entire morning wHY IS HE FUCKIN MAD AT US??

YOU FUCKING USED YOUR POWERS SO I WOULD MISS WHAT THE FUCK

NO FUCK YOU, YOU LITTLE ASSHOLE YOU JUST FUCKING THREW ME

Daniel is pissing me off I s2g

why is asking about the watch a "big choice"

oh okay so finn replaced sean and now daniel is just a little fucking asshole about it

big Joe big angry

he just fuckin hit her head what the fuck hell yeah I'll intervene fuck you??

why does he want to talk to me what the fuck did i do

okay if Daniel loses us this job i will fight him

am i really trimming weed rn i dont think y'all understand how much my stoner ass is jealous

uh? random ass glitch of flying scissors

okay whatever sounds effects are in the background of talking with Finn sound like lis 1 music and im freaked

if we get caught while training I'm murdering someone

new emo daniel

that music is fucking intense

"im not a kid anymore" I'm gonna fucking hit this kid I s2g

pass me the BONG

"how come you can and i can't" YOURE NINE DANIEL GODDAMN WAIT A COUPLE YEARS

I GET TO HIT THE BONG

ok Sean, you had one like mediocre bong hit and like two hits from that joint like you should not be that high. high screen is cool tho

ALSO HE DIDNT CLEAR IT THERE WAS STILL SMOKE

someone pass me more weed

I have taken 3 drinks of this beer and Sean cannot see anyone but the guy he's focusing on

i wanna stay with these guys ffs I don't want to go to mexico

fuckin daniel, hhh i feel bad that I didn't go with him but i wanna have fun :(

edgy boi now

IM ABOUT TO GET IN SO MUCH SHIT FUCK

this song is a bop tf

i feel like they haven't had as much copyrighted music in this season

nice work montage

i wish there was an option to say I'd buy Daniel some food that he wants :/ I get we have to save but fuck :/ trying to win big brother points and game won't let me

thank u Merrill im glad ur not mad at me uwu

DANIEL I SWEAR TO GOD

ARE YOU KIDDING ME

DID HE JUST

don't punch out finn i love him

why is Daniel showing him his powers like i get he threw the thing at big Joe but why this necessary,,,

can we give Daniel a haircut now like im sorry but his fuckin hair

FINN YOU CANNOT USE DANIEL TO BREAK INTO SHIT

they like took 1 drink of that beer and it was done what

you cannot fucking use daniel if they make me i will feel like shit

gimmie tattoo

ok ik I should probably say "wolf" bc of the symbolism throughout the game but like fuckin surprise me Cassidy

what is with this episode and fuckin nudity

i can literally see her nipple under the water wtf u good

I didn't talk to anyone else, just Finn and then fucked Cassidy so ya know

fucking finn are you fucking serious

shut the fuck up stop trying to convince me shit

fuck you I didn't fucking do this

fuck you finn

and you got him fucking shot you fucking proud? hm? fucking dick.

ok so Cassidy is still here, and Finn, and Merrill, and I swear to God, if fucking Daniel left us I will fucking

THERE'S A FUCKING GLASS SHARD IN MY FUCKING EYE ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME

okay so uh this episode? not my favorite. at all. especially because the choices didn't fucking matter. the "big" choices are supposed to fucking matter but they didn't and that really kinda pisses me off. and idk. i didn't care for this episode but like :/ time to wait till august

could i request some extremely fluffy Elmer content please?

@suddenly-im-respecsable this is for you because i told you i’d post almer fluff tonight

also because Albert is a Tree Boy and i can relate

“El, you gotta take the bus home.”

Elmer looked up from his English notes. He wouldn’t say he’d put off studying for the test, except that’s exactly what he’d done and he was starting to regret watching Buzzfeed Unsolved all night instead of memorizing adjectives.

“Hm?” he said, swallowing a mouthful of cereal. “I thought you only work in the morning and evening on school days, though.”

Ed, one of his older brothers who also happened to be his usual ride home, rolled his eyes. “Big boss man’s giving me overtime. And everyone else’s got clubs, college visits, interviews, yadda, yadda. So you’re on your own. Sorry, kid.”

Elmer sighed, tapping his spoon on the table. “Gotcha.”

Some kid rammed into Elmer’s shoulder as he ran off at his stop, and as the bus jolted forward, Elmer’s face slammed into the seat in front of him.

“Take the bus home, he says, it’ll be fine, he says,” Elmer grumbled, rubbing his nose. He leaned his chin on his hand, staring out the window to watch for his neighborhood. He’d missed his stop four times in a row once when he was in seventh grade, and his sister had claimed he was being “dramatic” when he’d claimed he was traumatized, but better safe than sorry.

The bus rolled to a stop in front of a small pond a few neighborhoods away from Elmer’s. A few people got off, and as one shuffled past him to squeeze down the aisle, Elmer leaned closer to the window to make more room.

He turned his head out at the pond, focusing on a kid sitting in a tree down by the sidewalk. He was in a spot between thick branches, looking at the phone in his hand. When Elmer squinted, he could see red hair peeking out under a baseball cap.

Before he could get a better look, the bus started up again and turned around the corner.

Ed: take the bus again. covering for a girl at work

After checking the text for the seventh time, Elmer put his phone back in his pocket and dragged himself on the bus. Again. It wasn’t like he blamed Ed for working more or his other siblings for having lives more interesting than picking up their little brother from school, it was just that the bus smelled like sweat and high schoolers that didn’t know to use deodorant.

When the bus pulled up to the pond, Elmer found himself perking up a little. His eyes wandered out the window, and sure enough, the boy was sitting there again, in a higher branch in the same tree. His legs were dangling on either side of the branch, his hands tucked under his chin like a house cat.

He glanced up at the bus and Elmer’s eyes shot down, as if he could see Elmer looking at him from forty feet away. Eventually, the bus left again, but Elmer could still feel the heat in his cheeks even after the boy was nothing more than a blur.

Ed had work for the rest of the week. On Monday morning, he ruffled Elmer’s hair as he came into the kitchen and grabbed a mug from the cabinet.

“I can pick you up today, kid,” he said, putting the mug under the coffeemaker. “I think my boss is finally taking pity on me.”

Elmer shouted, “No!”, almost choking on his orange juice, surprising them both. Ed cocked an eyebrow as he filled his mug to the brim, and Elmer rubbed the back of his neck and said, “I mean, uh, no. It’s fine, I’ll take the bus again.”

Ed laughed, taking a sip of his coffee without bothering to add creamer. “Didn’t know I was that bad,” he said, “but alright. If you wanna be squeezed in with a bunch of juniors that don’t take showers, go for it. I’m not here to judge.”

Elmer reached over the table to swat at him, and Ed caught his hand, still grinning. “Okay, okay. Maybe I’m judging a little.”

The pond (and, okay, maybe Mysterious Tree Boy) was starting to become a familiar that Elmer hadn’t even thought twice about before. So when the bus stopped and people started filing off, he automatically craned his neck to see the boy crouched in the tree.

He wasn’t there.

No bright red hair tucked under a snapback, no feet kicked up against the trunk of the tree, no awkward arms sprawled out on the branches.

Elmer felt his heart leap, and he silently cursed the anxiety pooling in his stomach for a boy he’d never said a word to. But he’d been riding the bus for a week and a half now, and he hadn’t given up Ed’s ride home just not to think about a boy he’d convinced himself was living in that tree.

Sighing, he grabbed his things and squeezed into the aisle. He would have to forget his seventh-grade fears of getting off at the wrong stop for a while if he wanted to finally put a name to a face.

He hopped off the bus, thanking the driver that was looking at him suspiciously, and walked down the sidewalk to the pond. It was peaceful. The second his shoes sank into the grass, the fresh air swept the stress off his shoulders. He shrugged his backpack off, feeling the pollen tickle his nose. He couldn’t blame that boy for spending so much time here, even if he was M.I.A. that day.

“You don’t usually get off here.”

Suddenly, it didn’t seem so peaceful when an unfamiliar voice broke through his thoughts. He yelped, jumping back from the tree. No one was around. So it was a talking tree now. Cool.

“Hey,” someone snapped their fingers, “I’m up here.”

Elmer stepped up to the tree again, peering up at the branches. Hidden by a bigger clump of leaves at the top, the boy he’d been looking for was perched up there, snapback and all. He was wearing a dark red sweater that covered his hands, a notebook and a pencil sitting in his lap. Definitely not a talking tree.

“Oh,” Elmer said, breaking out in a smile. “Hi.”

The boy rolled his eyes. “Hey,” he said, tucking a strand of hair under his hat. “I said, you don’t usually get off at this stop.” Elmer stared blankly at him, words clogging his throat. “On the bus. Big yellow thing? Usually full of annoying kids?”

“Uh, yeah,” Elmer said, snapping out of it right when he realized he was acting more like an idiot than usual in front of a boy that was a lot cuter than he looked through a dirty bus window. “Um, my brother usually picks me up? I have eight older siblings and my parents are usually at work but he had overtime so I started riding the bus and - I don’t know why I’m telling you all this.”

The boy was looking at him with something Elmer couldn’t place in his eyes. He had that dumbfounded expression on his face now, and when he shook it off, he was blushing from the ears. “Nah, keep going,” he said. “You’re pretty cu- uh, company. You’re good company.”

“Not much more to tell,” Elmer said. “I was riding the bus today and I saw you weren’t here, so I got kinda -” He stopped. Huh. That was a little weird, now that he was saying it out loud.

“- worried?” the boy finished. He didn’t look creeped out. He was smirking. Grabbing the branch above him, he dropped his notebook to the ground and came down like he was swinging on a vine, landing on his feet. He was taller than he looked curled up in a tree. “Nice to know you care, uh…”

“Elmer,” Elmer said, pointing at himself. “Elmer Kasprzak.”

“Elmer,” the boy said, shaking it. “I’ll have to remember that.”

“Am I gonna get a name? Y’know, so I don’t have to keep calling you ‘guy that lives in a tree’?”

The boy smirked again. “Albert DaSilva. And nah, I don’t live here,” he said, looking up at the tree. “Close, though. My brother raises me, but he has to drive my other brother to this debate club thing every day. I walk home and hang out here until they come back with whatever takeout they order for dinner.”

“Why don’t you just take the bus?” Elmer said.

“A junior on the bus is killer weak.”

“That’s from Be More Chill, right? I like you already.”

“Sure hope you do,” Albert said. “You’ve been here for,” he checked his phone, “ten minutes. That’s a new record from the kids that think I’m weird for hanging out in a tree for hours.”

Elmer laughed. “I’ve seen worse.”

They fell into an awkward silence for a minute, and just when Albert looked like he was about to scramble back up in that tree like a monkey, Elmer blurted out, “Uh, why don’t you have dinner at my house sometime? I’m pretty sure at least half my siblings know how to cook. Be careful around me, though. My mashed potatoes come out looking like cottage cheese in disguise.”

Albert nodded, unlocking his phone and pushing it in his hands. “We have one more thing in common, then,” he said as Elmer typed in his number. “I almost burned the house down trying to make pasta. I dunno why my brother keeps me around.”

“You can tell me all about it when you come over,” Elmer said. “I’ve got four blocks to walk to get home before my brother comes back and thinks I got kidnapped, and I’m sure you wanna get back to your tree.”

“I will,” Albert said. He waved, wriggling his fingers, then dropped his hand and wiped it on his pants. “Uh, yeah. Bye. Elmer. Elmer, right.”

Elmer ended up sprinting to get home in time, but by the time he stopped in front of his house, panting, he was pretty sure his cheeks weren’t red just from the long run.

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Second Chances (Merle x OC) AU - Chapter Eleven

Synopsis: Finding herself pregnant and unwed, Nora Buckley thought she’d never return to the small town of Redwater, Georgia. Five years later, life has brought her back to the town she swore she’d never go back to. In a hurry to find a place to live and a job to provide for her daughter, Anna, Nora reluctantly takes a position at the old Dixon farm on the outskirts of town, where she meets fellow Redwater outcast, Merle Dixon. Takes place in early 1960s. 

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight | Chapter Nine | Chapter Ten

A/N: So I wanted to get this chapter out before I leave for the weekend. I’ve had this chapter planned for like months (maybe almost a year) and didn’t realize until yesterday how almost holiday appropriate it was? Although, I’m envisioning the timeline somewhere around the end of September, so not quite Halloween. 

Warnings: Some spoilers for the movie Psycho, so if you somehow haven’t seen, or don’t know the twist ending to an almost 60 year old movie, you’ve been warned. 

Chapter Eleven

The day Merle was given the all clear, he hurled himself back into the fields. His arm ached every now and then, but he refused to relax. Everyone was busy on their own schedule as summer finally seemed to be drawing to a close. Anna and Nora’s mornings became less frantic as they fell into a routine, with Anna still able to gather eggs from the coop before breakfast. They had everything down to a science and knew exactly what time the bus would be out front.

The sudden lack of spare time also allowed Merle to avoid the eventual conversation with Nora about what happened on the tractor. It was the only thing on his mind as he tended to the fields, how close he was. It was like an electric force pulling them together before Darylina ruined it. Dummy couldn’t ever take a hint. Merle wasn’t sure how to bring it back up, or if Nora even wanted him to since she never talked about it again either. In a way, he was almost content to never talk about it again. Merle never understood why he was this way when he knew that wasn’t what he wanted. He could feel Nora slipping from him as the days went by, and the thought of that made him angry. Merle threw a rotten tomato as hard as he could towards the woods, and sighed. Distracted in his thoughts, he didn’t hear the swooshing sound of the plant leaves getting closer.

“Hey,” Nora called.

“Shit!” Merle whispered and whirled his head around at her voice. His sudden turn causing Nora to take a step back.

“Sorry, did I scare you?”

Merle huffed a laughed. “What?” Aw, nah darlin. Ya didn’t scare me.” He cleared his throat and puffed out his chest, while his heart rate started to even out on the inside. Nora raised a brow at him.

“Uh, what did ya need?” he asked.

“I was just seeing how much longer you were gonna be out here,” she responded. “I was gonna get a roast started since Anna will be home soon.”

“Jesus,” Merle rubbed a hand over his sweat drenched face. “Is it that time already?”

“Mmhm.”

“Ya know, sometimes I don’t even know what day it is?” he joked.

Nora gave him a short smile while she folded her arms. “Well, you’ve been pretty busy,” she answered.

Merle could hear the forced kindness in her voice. It stung his heart. His eyes fell and he stared at his dirt covered boots while nodding his head. The awkward silence of their first encounters seemed to be breathing new life again.

“Well, I guess I better get back to the house,” Nora said softly and Merle watched as her shadow slowly moved away from him. Ya gonna lose her for good if ya don’t do something, Dixon, his mind yelled at him.

“Wait!” Merle called and jogged up the row of green vegetation. Nora stopped to let him catch up. All of their conversations since the tractor had been brief, nothing lasting longer than a few minutes. She wondered what was so important now.

“I, uh wanted to thank ya for everything you did while I was outta commission,” he smiled.

“Oh,” Nora said flatly. “You’re welcome.” She moved to head back towards the house when she felt Merle’s warm hand wrap around her upper arm, gently pulling her back.

“No, uh, what I meant was...um,” Merle’s hand moved from Nora to scratch the back of his head while he thought of the right words. “When was the last time ya seen a picture?”

Nora shrugged her shoulders.

“Um, I...I’d like ta take ya, if you’ll let me, this weekend. They finally showing that new Hitchcock one over in Greenwood.” Merle held his breath as he waited for her to respond.

Nora furrowed her brows as she thought Merle’s words over. He hadn’t so much as complimented her since the tractor incident. A part of her thought Merle might have changed his mind after that day, that their relationship had become too real so he backed off. She watched his mannerisms while thinking it over, noticing how he bit his lower lip and his eyes almost resembled that of a puppy dog with his brows lifting and creasing at an angle. She was still a little upset with him, but she couldn’t deny she wanted to go.

“What about Anna?” she asked.

“Daryl could watch her or something,” Merle immediately replied. “I take that as a yes?”  Nora smiled again, this time with a softness in her features and a hopefulness in her eyes, and nodded her head.

“It’s a date then,” Merle remarked and walked with her to the farmhouse. The fields had been tended to enough for the day.

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

Nora stood in front of the small sink in the shed, holding her compact mirror in one hand and adjusting the strands of her unruly hair with the other. The lamp near the kitchenette held the best light and she stuck the mirror further out to see as much of herself as she could. She had pinned her waves back on both sides and let the rest hang loose, hitting just past her shoulders. Nora moved her head back and forth and up and down, making sure the little makeup she did put on hadn’t smudged. She had coated her lashes in a deep black mascara and painted her lips with a soft red to contrast against the blush colored, tea length dress she decided to wear. Her eyes caught Anna, sitting on the bed with a smile on her face watching her. A knock at the door cut through the silence and Anna ran over to let Merle in.

“Merle!” she greeted him wrapping her arms around his waist.

“Hey Bug, you and ya Mama ready?” he asked.

“Yep,” Nora answered while turning around and closing her compact. She walked over to the small table and placed it in her coin purse then walked up towards the two. Merle’s smile grew as she neared, his eyes roamed from the top of her head down to her feet and he tucked his hands in his back pockets.

“Hi,” he grinned while his shoulders swayed back and forth and his blue eyes finally landed back on Nora’s.

“Hi,” she smiled softly. Her full cheeks turning a slight pink hue. For the briefest moment it was just them.

“Why can’t I go to the movie?” Anna whined, breaking the bubble Merle and Nora found themselves in once more.

“Because this is a grown up movie, baby,” Nora said. She walked back to the table and grabbed the white canvas bag she had packed Anna’s stuff in. “You remember me telling you that. Ya gonna go over to Doris and Marty’s house tonight and have dinner.” Anna sighed and pouted as she walked out of the shed door and towards the parked vehicles, kicking at whatever piece of nature fell in her path.

“We’ll go see a cartoon soon, Bug. Alright?” Merle tried to reason with the five year old. He didn’t even think Anna might be jealous about them going somewhere without her. He clearly still had a lot to learn about kids.

They loaded up in Merle’s truck and headed into town. When they got to Doris’ house, Anna seemed to perk up a bit. The warm, sweet scent of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies hit their noses as the front door opened and Doris ushered them in. Nora knew Anna would be spoiled rotten here, but she didn’t mind. In fact, Anna managed to talk Doris into eating a cookie before dinner just to make sure they tasted good.

“So what show are you going to?” Doris asked with enthusiasm while walking Nora and Merle to the door.

“Oh, that new Hitchcock one,” Nora replied.

“Oh my,” the older woman responded. “The magazines say it’s suppose to be terrifying.”

Merle waved a passing hand at her. “Ain’t nothing that can scare a Dixon,” he boasted. Nora smiled to herself at his words, thinking about the other day when Merle jumped when she called him.

“We should be back around nine thirty or so,” Nora replied as they walked out to the porch.

“Oh take your time dear, no rush,” Doris waved them goodbye.

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

The ride over to Greenwood was passed with anticipated talk about the movie. It had finally made its way down to the small towns of America and they both wondered how scary it would be. The drive-in was half full by the time Merle pulled into the large expanse. The gravel crunched underneath the tires as they slowed and turned into a spot near the back. As Merle turned the ignition off an advertisement with dancing bags of popcorn, hotdogs, and cups of soda appeared on the giant screen, illuminating the truck in red and blue hues.

“Ya want something ta eat? Im starvin,” Merle asked and Nora agreed. Before hopping out of the truck, he cranked the driver side window down and the brisk night air filled the cab. Merle reached for the round speaker attached to the post and hung it on the door as he got out. With Merle’s broad frame gone, the cool air sent a shiver down Nora’s spine. She folded her arms over each other as goosebumps started to appear, but they only became worse as the screen went black and suddenly sharp, franic, string notes began to play through the metal speaker. A few minutes later, Merle returned with a large bag of buttery popcorn and two cokes. He handed Nora the beverages through the open window before getting back in.

“Music’s kinda creepy ain't it?” he stated.  

“Uh hunh,” Nora responded while reaching for a handful of popcorn. They munched on the snack and slurped their drinks as the credits continued to roll. When the screen finally landed on a woman in her lingerie reclining in bed with a shirtless man standing next to her, Merle let out a low whistle.

“This is gonna be some movie,” he whispered. Merle continued to give his own commentary as the film went on to Nora’s enjoyment.

“Atta girl,” he hollered when Marion Crane packed her bags and the forty thousand dollars.

Nora asked for some more popcorn and Merle held the bag in the middle of them, waiting for Nora to reach her hand out. When she did, he pulled his away and chuckled.

“Merle!” Nora laughed at his antics. She tried again and Merle pulled away. Giving a huff, Nora tried for a third time and when Merle stuck his arm out, this time he let her grab a handful of the salty treat. After taking a sip of the sweet, syrupy soda a chill ran through her body and Nora folded her arms again, rubbing her hands up and down her expose skin.

“Ya cold?” Merle asked as he glanced over at her sitting in the passenger seat.

“Just a little.”

“Come here,” Merle set the bag of popcorn in his lap and raised his right arm, resting it along the top of the bench seat. Nora looked over at him and bite her lip. Slowly, she slid across the faded tan plastic. Moving to the middle seat, Nora smoothed out the skirt of her dress when Merle’s arm slid around her. The warmth from his calloused hand running up and down her arm soon had Nora relaxed and comfortable. While Merle absentmindedly stroked her arm, Nora took the bag of popcorn from his lap and started to munch on a few pieces. With his other hand, Merle reached over to try and grab some and when she saw him out of the corner of her eye, Nora moved the bag at the same time. A smile creeped on her face.

Merle bellowed a laugh. “Alright, I deserved that.”

Soon they became engrossed in the movie that had taken an eerie turn when the woman stopped at an almost abandoned motel. The popcorn was tossed to the side as the suspense kicked in. The lack of music playing on the screen made Nora uneasy and without thinking, she placed a nervous hand on Merle’s knee.

The silence in the air was deafening and Nora’s grip tightened as the blurred image of the bathroom door opened and a shadowy figure neared the shower. Nora felt Merle’s arm stiffen as the figure came closer and closer. When the curtained opened and the shrilling music started to play, Nora jumped and Merle’s hand clamped down on her side.

“Oh shit!” he yelled as the woman was stabbed to death in quick flashes. Screams erupted from the surrounding vehicles at the terror on the screen, and Nora closed her eyes until the music subsided. Her heart pounded against her chest and she could still feel Merle’s grip on her.

“What kinda movie did you take me to?” she turned to face him. Merle just stared at the screen, wide eyed with his mouth opening and closing trying to find words, but nothing came out. Nothing scares a Dixon, huh? Nora smirked to herself. They spent the rest of the movie in each other’s embrace with Nora eventually resting her head on Merle’s plaid covered shoulder. When Detective Arbogast met his doom, they jumped in unison again.

Neither spoke as the screen faded to black and they waited for the line of cars leaving to die down before Merle started the old truck. Both lost in their own thoughts about what they just watched.

“I liked it,” Nora finally said as they traveled down the dark stretch of road connecting Greenwood to Redwater.

“Ya did?” Merle asked. He glanced over to Nora’s shadowy frame and then back at the dimly lit road, amazed at her words.

“Mmhm, it was different,” she responded.

“Yep, it was,” he agreed.

So are you. The thought flitted through Merle’s head as they passed the worn down sign welcoming them back to Redwood.

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

They stopped at Doris and Marty’s to pick up a zonked out Anna. Dressed in her purple night shirt and pants, the little girl was curled up on the couch with her favorite stuffed puppy dog tucked underneath one arm. Nora scooped her up in her arms and she and Merle gave whispered ‘thank yous’ and ‘goodbyes’ to the older couple. Merle opened the passenger side door for Nora and helped her get in, waiting until both her and the kid were settled before shutting it.

The ride back to the farmhouse was quiet so as to not disrupt Anna’s sleep and when Merle parked in the grassy area, he hopped out and took her from Nora’s arms.

“Here,” he gestured. “I got her.” They carefully transferred the tired girl from Nora’s lap to Merle’s arms, trying their best not to wake her. Anna’s heavy eyes fluttered open a few times through the exchange, but she quickly nuzzled into the crook of Merle’s neck and fell back asleep.

Nora walked in front of him to open the door to the shed and Merle gently laid Anna on the rickety mattress and pulled the covers over her. They walked back outside, and Nora shut the door quietly. Out in the open air, she looked up at Merle while tucking her unruly strands of hair behind her ear. From the light of the full moon, she could see the prominent outline of his strong jaw, and his blue eyes had a hypnotizing glow to them.

“I had a nice time tonight,” she commented, as she pushed her hair away again while the breezy night continued to undo her efforts.

“Yeah, me too,” Merle agreed. “Should do it again sometime.”

Nora nodded her head and smiled.

“Uh, I was thinking,” he started again and paused.

“Yeah?” Nora urged him on, fixing another flyaway strand. Merle lifted his hand and tucked her hair behind her ear, his hand cupping her cheek. He forgot what he was going to ask as he got lost in Nora’s eyes. Suddenly, he felt like he was back on the tractor, she was so close to him again.  

“Daryl ain’t around is he?” he whispered as his thumb stroked the soft skin of her cheek. Nora shook her head as her heart began to pick up a fast rhythm. Her eyes glanced to Merle’s lips as he quickly licked them and his face inched closer to her own. A feeling of deja vu came over her for a split second, thinking something would interrupt them again, but the idea went away as quickly as it came when Merle’s lips connected with hers. Nora closed her eyes and sighed at the warmth that ran through her body. Merle’s slightly chapped lips glided over hers and Nora’s body awakened for the first time in years.  The electricity flowing between them couldn't be ignored and Merle let a groan of satisfaction slip from his mouth. Nora wrapped her arms around Merle’s neck, running her hands through the short curls at the base of his neck.

Remembering what he was going to ask, Merle reluctantly broke away from her lips to ask Nora what he had intended.

“Uh, listen,” he started, still in a haze. “I was thinking, the nights are gonna start getting pretty cold out here soon, and I don’t want the kid getting sick. I was thinking...” Merle paused again and cleared his throat. “I want ya both to come move into the house.”

Nora’s mouth fell open. “Really?” she asked.

Merle nodded his head.

Nora smiled and tugged him closer to continue where they left off moments ago. Merle’s hand snaked around Nora’s waist while his other dared to creep lower, resting on her bottom. A faint moan escaped Nora’s mouth. Both needing a breath, they broke apart again huffing in the night air. Merle could feel the blood beginning to flow below his waist, but knew nothing would happen tonight.

“Well, guess we better call it a night. Gotta a lot to do tomorrow,” he said before he could make a fool of himself.

“Ok,” Nora smiled and slowly dropped her arms from him. She turned to open the shed door and paused with her hand on the knob.

“Merle?” she called.

“Yeah?”

Nora walked towards him and lifting on her tiptoes placed a soft, quick kiss to his lips. “Goodnight,” she whispered.

“Night, sugar,” he grinned.

“Sugar? No more darlin?” Nora joked.

“Ya always be my darlin, but I don’t think I’m ever gonna get enough of ya sugar...sugar.”

Nora’s cheeks flushed with warmth and slight embarrassment from the new nickname. “Night,” she giggled and pushed Merle’s chest playfully.

She changed into her nightgown and joined Anna on the bed, but found herself unable to fall asleep. Her thoughts filled not with the terror of a mentally unstable killer, but of the rugged, grumpy farmer who gave her a chance when she needed it most, and somehow snuck his way into her heart.

Tags: @tyferbebe