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kingreywrites · 3 years

Text

The Smolder Tragedy

Fandom: Tangled

Word Count: 3314

Summary: A very concussed and very out of it Eugene Fitzherbert comes to a devastating conclusion about his smolder. His kidnappers are not all that sympathetic about it.

Note: that title is so corny god asgfdgh anyway, this is a self-indulgent hurt/comfort fic, but there’s quite a bit of hurt!! So be warned that there is talk of a concussion, some violence (because he’s kidnapped), and also a mention of spiked water (he’s mostly fine though but I’d rather be safe)

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Now that he was thinking about it, Eugene realised that the smolder never... truly worked on anyone. Well, when he was younger, adults tended to go easier on him if he made a somewhat cute face at them, and in the following years, doing it never hurt his chances with the people who were already attracted to him. But neither of these facts actually attested of the efficiency of the smolder in itself, and if Rapunzel was left particularly unimpressed, Eugene wasn't sure anyone had ever really swooned because of it.

Oh, the demon Rapunzel from the weird mirror dimension did swoon that one time. Was that a good sign, or a bad one?

"The hell are you talking about?" someone growled, entering the room loudly and making Eugene's headache worse, if that was even possible.

That guy was one of the reasons Eugene was thinking about his smolder's actual abilities - or lack thereof. Because see, if the smolder worked, which he was now doubting, he could simply use it on this guy, and that would make him swoon, and Eugene would use the distraction to get free from the chair he was tied on, and get out of here quickly. But Eugene didn't think the smolder would work. Not because Mr Beetle here (lovingly named after the bug which landed on his head during Eugene's kidnapping - he'll get to that part later) was immune to his charms, but because maybe... perhaps... the smolder had never been effective?

This was devastating news. Truth really was the heaviest burden a man could bear.

Beetle grabbed his hair and pulled his head back roughly, making Eugene see stars and forget, for a moment, the whole smolder dilemma. But then he was being yelled at things he could barely understand between the buzzing in his ears and the concussion he got earlier - without forgetting the stuff they made him drink that made his head all fuzzy and his thoughts completely muddled - and he couldn't help but wonder if he could smolder his way out of here. That'd be nice. It had been what, four days since they got their hands on him? Five? Eugene was bored now.

"If-," he coughed, feeling like the hoarse voice he could hear wasn't his own, "if I tried to seduce you, would you break my nose?"

Going by the way his head was slammed back again, Eugene took it as a yes. That was a shame, truly. He knew that his life was different today, that he had changed for the better and was now the Captain of Corona's Guard, so really, he didn't need the smolder - but he loved that silly little trick. It felt like discovering that Santa wasn't real all over again. Not that he ever believed in Santa, since the matrons didn't see fit to talk about that particular tradition when everyone knew that orphans wouldn't get Christmas gifts, but that's what Eugene thought it must feel like.

His head hurt a lot.

A big hand tipped his chin up, since he had been looking at his pants and the stains on them (would he be able to get the blood out?), and he realised that Beetle was trying to make him drink that weird stuff again. The one that made his head feel like it was floating above his shoulders, and made him feel warm in the most disgustingly sweaty way. Eugene hated it. So he kept his lips as tightly closed as he could, and trashed in the chair to make it more difficult on that goon.

This was becoming ridiculous. The fact that he even got kidnapped already hurt enough as it was - they got the best of him after a very exhausting day, and pointed a crossbow at his heart before hitting him so hard over the head he was pretty sure he stayed unconscious for a few hours straight... which Rapunzel would probably think was pretty concerning. For his part, he was more annoyed about the constant headache than anything. Mostly, he couldn't believe he got kidnapped.

He didn't even remember if anyone had seen him, and hoped no one had gotten hurt during the whole ordeal. In any case, he was pretty embarrassed and, to add insult to injury, they didn't even care about him. He was Captain of the Guard for god's sake, you'd think that would make him interesting enough, but no, they only wanted him to pressure the royal family.

Being used as leverage sucked. Thinking that they might hurt the people he loved by using him made him feel sick, even more than their weird drugged water did.

"If you keep being difficult you're gonna regret it," Beetle threatened, and Eugene would have told him that he was the one who would regret stuff soon, if he hadn't been also preoccupied with keeping his mouth shut. Which, ironically, was something people had asked of him a lot in his life, and that he had always refused to do - until someone tried to force him to keep it open. He never did like authority, after all. The matrons would always tell him that he was a troublemaker of the worst kind, and that someday, life would get back at him for the chaos he created. They were yet to be proved right about that one but-

Beetle punched him in the gut, making Eugene gasp and cough in pain, before his nose was pinched and he was forced to swallow the water, nearly choking on it.

"Rude," he noted weakly when it was over, his throat on fire as he heaved. Already, he could feel the fuzziness coming back with a vengeance, his vision blurring at the edges because of whatever mysterious compound they forced him to drink. He'd have to ask Varian about it. The kid would know, certainly, or would at least be excited to research it, and it was fun when Varian was excited. He still had that weird maniacal villain vibe mixed with his genuine and adorable love for sciency things, and that was an interesting combination to see in action.

The door to Eugene's cell was slammed shut and, in the dim light, he understood that he was alone once again. Beetle didn't even say goodbye. It was okay, though, because Eugene didn't think he could have answered without puking - the entire world was swimming in front of his eyes. Closing them only made everything even more unsteady, and now Eugene wondered if he could even try to do a good smolder in that state. He couldn’t feel his face.

His eyes were heavy, and it didn't take long before he passed out again.

------

Next time Eugene woke up, it was to the sound of yelling outside the door of his cell, loud and definitely not the kind of voices he wanted to hear. Maybe it was stupid, but each time he opened his eyes, he hoped to find Rapunzel here, ready to rescue him, but it hadn't happened… yet.

Trying to raise his head only awakened the ache in his neck and back from the terrible position he was in - he hated sleeping on chairs. Being homeless for a good part of his life had taught him that the bare ground was always preferable, but he didn't think he could argue about his sleeping conditions with his kidnappers. He pulled on the rope that was keeping his hands tied behind his back, and noticed that it was giving a little. If he could just-

"Your plan better work!" someone yelled, startling him - but it was still coming from behind the door. "You don't realise what we're risking with this!"

"Of course it'll work! Do you really think that the son-in-law of the King and the husband of the Princess is worthless? They're gonna listen to us because they'll want him back."

That was… touching, in a strange way. Not that Eugene enjoyed being taken for ransom, or whatever it was they wanted to do, but it did remind him that he had a family, and that they would fight to get him back. Rapunzel was probably worried out of her mind, right now, and this was enough to spur him into action again, because he didn't want to simply wait here for rescue like an idiot.

"What if they attack us?" the scared guy yelled again, as Eugene pulled on his bounds again, ignoring the sharp sting of the rope cutting into his skin, and his ever-present nausea. "What if- what if instead of paying, the guards find us and destroy our base?"

In Eugene's opinion, the guards weren't really the threat here - this guy didn't want to know what Rapunzel would do to him if she found them. The thought was enough to make him chuckle, which in turn made him realise that the weird water might still be having an effect on him, because he hadn't managed to keep himself quiet. Not great.

His fingers fumbled with the knot he could feel, trying to get it to loosen even more. Unfortunately, the door of his cell -more like a closet than a cell to be honest- was thrown open, and he had to act as innocent as possible.

Going by the glare he received, he was doing a poor job of it.

The new guy (he'd call him Martin, because he had a Martin face) seemed to enjoy kicking him around a bit more. The only silver lining was that he seemed intent on kicking his ribs, and consequently left his poor head alone. Still not the best, but Eugene would take it. He didn't have much choice anyway, since Martin decided to greet him with his fists today.

"Feeling better yet?" Eugene breathed when he thought it was over. He earned another kick for the trouble.

"You better hope they pay what we ask of them," Martin snarled, way too close for Eugene's comfort. "Because I can't say that I won't enjoy killing you if it comes to that."

"Aww, I'm touched, truly," was all Eugene could say, before a hand ended up around his throat, and he couldn't talk anymore. He vaguely heard Martin threatening him again, but honestly, the guy should realise that it was difficult to be afraid of him when Eugene was barely conscious enough to understand him.

It went down the same way as it always did, these days. Eugene was forced to drink that damned drugged water -it was getting more disgusting each time-, and he couldn't breathe, and the Martin guy said something about hurting Rapunzel, and if you think you're gonna be able to touch her you've got another thing coming you assho-

And Eugene lost consciousness. Again.

------

When he woke up again, Eugene couldn’t breathe. The world was loud, too loud, his vision was swimming and the room spinning under him, and he couldn't- it was as if his breaths were getting stuck in his ribcage, and was he still being choked, what-

"Hey, Eugene, it's okay, look at me-"

Dragging in air painfully, he opened his eyes to a slit, meeting the frantic and oh so green ones of- Rapunzel?

"Come on, it's okay, breathe with me," she said, voice low, and he listened to her - how could he not? For a moment, when it felt like he was still dangerously tethering on the edge of choking, he wondered if she was even real, or if it was all a dream conjured by the lack of oxygen. Then, she brushed his hair back, her palm warm and tangible on his cheek, and it felt real enough that he melted into it.

"That's it," she encouraged him gently, one hand resting lightly on his heaving chest. "That's it, breathe. I won't let them hurt you anymore."

He couldn't hold back a nervous chuckle at that, but going by the pinch of her eyebrows, that wasn't the right reaction. After a few seconds, when he finally felt like his lungs weren't about to explode, he tried to smile at her. It only seemed to worry her more.

Her fingers trailed along his jaw, tracing what he knew were dark bruises on his skin. She went higher, to his hair, and touched something that immediately made him flinch.

"Sorry, sorry, I-" she exclaimed quickly, pushing his hair away again. "I'm gonna get you out of here."

His perceptions were still blurred, as if he was underwater, but he could hear now the sounds of fighting and chaos coming from behind the door. Rescue. He was being rescued - Rapunzel was rescuing him. He knew she would do it.

"Well, I wish I had been a little quicker," Rapunzel said, her voice wobbly.

"You're just in time Sunshine," he whispered, his throat raw.

"Am I?"

He didn't like the self-deprecation in her tone, nor the worry that didn't seem able to leave her features, and he felt guilty for being the cause of it. If he hadn't been kidnapped-

"Eugene? Eugene, stay with me," Rapunzel asked, with an urgency that made him realise he had closed his eyes. Huh. He was dizzy. "I know, I'm sorry, just- I'm gonna free you, okay?"

He blinked, trying to look at her so she would stop sounding so… scared. She was fumbling with the ropes holding his left hand in place. There was the sound of an explosion outside, right as she got rid of the first one, and she threw an indecipherable look at the door.

He wanted… He wanted her to stop looking so sad. He didn't like it when she was sad. Could he do something about it? Well-

"The smolder doesn't work," he mumbled dejectedly. Rapunzel was taking care of his bound legs now, though he didn't remember her freeing his right hand. He moved it slowly, feeling as if the limb wasn't his own, and wondered how much the weird water was still affecting him.

"Weird water?" Rapunzel repeated. He wasn't sure how to not voice all his thoughts aloud, apparently, which he's sure his dad would find amusing.

Since Rapunzel was still looking at him, Eugene took a few seconds to remember her question and simply hummed, head swimming. That seemed to make her even more unhappy, and he could get disliking the water, but he didn't like when Rapunzel was unhappy. "Do you... think the smolder ever, uh... worked?" he asked, trying to distract her.

"I'm sure it did," she answered, in the same gentle tone she used on people she disagreed with.

"It- it never worked on you, though. And it wouldn't have worked on Beetle, or- or- Martin," he pressed. His tongue was heavy in his mouth, and now his feet were free but he really didn't have the energy to try and get up. He didn't want to puke on Rapunzel, too.

She didn't reply. Instead, she looped one of his arms around her neck, and braced her hand against his ribs. He winced, and she apologised quietly, but before he could try to argue that he didn't think he could do it, she made him stand up swiftly, grip tightening around him when his knees inevitably buckled. He closed his eyes tightly, ears ringing painfully and stomach churning, and he was grateful that he could count on Rapunzel to not let him fall on his face.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she kept repeating, adjusting his weight to stop him from sliding down further. "I know it's hard, but I'll get you to safety, I promise, just hang on-"

Eugene could guess that he really didn't look great if she was that desperate to comfort him. To be fair, he didn't feel great either. He could barely follow her words, couldn't stand up on his own, and had to focus all his energy into not being sick as Rapunzel helped him walk. It clearly wasn't his best day.

He tried to regain his footing, so she didn't have to drag him with her, but his legs were shaky and he nearly fell again. He thought Rapunzel was going to toss him over her shoulder and run, which he knew she could do, and he also knew his body wouldn't appreciate as much as usual given his current dizziness, but that was exactly the moment Maximus arrived to the rescue. Or maybe they arrived to Maximus? There were more people around them, more noises and voices too, and Eugene couldn’t follow anything of what was happening. He thought he heard Lance, and felt another hand holding him up, but all he could focus on was Rapunzel being here, and Rapunzel talking to him, and calling his name, his one beacon of light when the pain in his head grew to be too much to bear.

He felt her hand in his, and realised that he had been laid down somewhere. He wanted to reassure her, but couldn’t do much more but feebly squeeze her fingers, hoping she would understand. And then, because he was tired and in pain, and because he knew that, now that she was here, he was going to be okay, Eugene passed out.

------

“You are evil,” Eugene moaned, hiding his face under his pillow while Rapunzel laughed innocently.

"What, I'm trying to help!" she smiled, coming to sit next to him on the bed. He felt the mattress dip under her weight, and took a peek at her, groaning again when he saw how smug she seemed. "I even made flyers and everything!"

She didn't seem to care about the annoyed look he threw her way, instead putting a bunch of papers in his hands. On it, his face, lips pursued and eyebrows raised, with the text asking the people of Corona to come test his “infamous smolder” by themselves. At this moment, Eugene would have preferred to have his old wanted posters thrown in his face - it would be way less embarrassing than… this.

“Come on Eugene, what better way to know for certain than to experiment? You seemed really bummed out about your smolder!”

“I wasn’t in my right mind,” he grumbled. “You can’t hold me accountable for my concussed ramblings!”

Her expression softened at that, and her hand came to caress his cheek, gently trailing up to the bandages still around his wound. Her touch was soft enough to not sting, and he couldn’t keep up his facade of annoyance when it was so obvious she simply wanted to make him laugh.

“I love you, you know?” he breathed, and she had a second to look pleasantly surprised before she leant down and kissed him.

“I love you too, Eugene,” she smiled fondly.

“You’re the only person I care to seduce anyway,” he laughed. “I guess I’ll have to live with the smolder being ineffective.”

“If that helps,” she murmured, climbing fully on the bed to lie down next to him, “I feel pretty seduced by you already.”

“Ah yeah?” he grinned. “Well, I’m pretty seduced by you too, Sunshine. You’re my hero after all,” he said, and though he had intended it as a joke, his tone was too earnest to be mistaken as anything but the truth. He could still see glimpses of guilt in Rapunzel’s expression, when he knew she had done everything in her power to find him as quickly as she could - he’d repeat it as much as she needed to finally see it too.

Rapunzel watched him, before cupping his cheek and bringing their lips together once again. He knew he would need to rest again soon, and that his constant headache would probably spike if he didn’t, but for now, he kissed her back, and it felt like everything was alright again. Because it was, in all the ways that mattered.

She saved him, and they were together - he wouldn’t ask for anything more.

#tangled #tangled the series #Eugene Fitzherbert #Rapunzel

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sanders-sides-fic · 3 years

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We all pretend (to be the heroes on the good side)

So… This got real angsty real quick. I didn't intend for it to be that bad. But it went there… So… Yeah.

This is the prompt I was using

Trigger warnings: vaguely implied coma, vaguely implied character death, implied fall, abandonment, ability to move inanimate objects like they're alive

Virgil Sanders.

Most people didn't know that name. Some did, but not nearly as many as knew him. Weird, wasn't it? To be known, without your name being uttered. Maybe that was still part of his history.

He hadn't started out on this side of the fight. A few years ago he'd been feared beyond compare. "Nightmare", that's what they used to call him. Back when he'd been pushed into that role without a visible way out. He didn't have a choice back then, or, at least that's what he used to think.

Then, one night shit got down. He destroyed every connection he'd had, severed every bridge, left everything behind. "Nightmare" became "Anxiety" at that time. A villain-turned-vigilante, who didn't use his powers to terrorise his opponent's minds until they were unable to fight, but answered to the terror people around him felt instead.

Back then he'd started to work with some of his former enemies. They took him in well, everything considered. And he couldn't deny that they helped him a lot. He would sometimes join hands with "the brain", and occasionally even with his reluctant friend and Virgil's former nemesis "the prince".

There were a lot heroes with a "the" in their names, surprisingly.

Now, he couldn't tell anymore when it had happened. But at some time he found himself influenced by their heroic antics, and he took on the name of "storm cloud". His hero name. He teamed up with the brain in his mandatory probation, the so-called introduction phase before his official debut with title of hero. Sadly the name a common friend had offered for their team had been rejected by the hero in question. "Mind storm" would have been awesome, though, right?

And then things started to become brighter in his little world. Hell, his entire career was nothing more than a redemption arch.

That's why he was often times called "the light of hope" by the people. Light of hope, my ass! They were just relieved to see not every villain was beyond help. That was the only reason they liked him, if you'd asked him. Publicity.

That was what he kept thinking about in that moment, when he found himself facing off with his current nemesis. The golden snake was… an old acquaintance. A villain that'd only become a villain because of him. Or, because he wasn't a villain anymore. A villain that Virgil secretly couldn't bring himself to hate because of that, even after everything that had transpired between the two of them.

What even was this, really? A fight between a hero and a villain? If so, who was who? Virgil couldn't tell anymore. He didn't know who he was anymore. It was so… What was the word?

Ack! No time to think of it. He jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the snake's poisonous fang. Ja- the villain had become quite good at this by now. Virgil was really driven to the edge of the building. Luckily there were no more civilians around, but he could still see reporters, some persistent fans, and police officers taking away the snake's underlings out of the corner of his eyes.

The wind blew strong this night.

A bolt of purple lightning shot towards Jan- the villain. It was stoped by the snake of pure gold he controlled so delicately without ever reaching him. Of course. What had Virgil expected? This villain was outstanding. Like he'd always had been.

Virgil tried again, the lightning coming from his finger tips getting harder to control by the second. Too many people, too much fear in the air, too little time to concentrate. And the villain knew this. Virgil could see his smirk underneath the shadow of his hat.

"Just give up, dark and stormy night! You can't hang on for much longer."

Virgil gritted his teeth and fired another bold of lightning. "And let you escape when we got this far? Big chance." Though he did want to do that, if he was being honest.

A laugh so hauntingly familiar and yet a far cry from what he used to know resounded through the tense air. "Suit yourself, then!" Another snake, another step back, pushing the golden puppet away from him with his lightning, parry, attack, cutting off the escape route, damn it all and…

And there was no more building under his feet. His hand somehow managed to grip the edge of the building, fortunately. He would decidedly not look down. And if the people around him would kindly stop sending their fear about him falling towards him, that'd be great, thanks!

He could see the golden snake stepping forward leisurely. "Told you so, dearest." With a smirk the snake retreated.

Well, from the sounds of it, Ro would arrive any moment now. He could hear him in the distance. So he only needed to hand on. Just a bit more. Even though his breath was heavy, and his muscles ached, and there was so much fear it felt like his powers were going to explode, and he was tired, and…

At that moment Virgil realised for the first time how tired he actually was. And he started to wonder what would happen if he would let go of the edge. Five fingers desperately hanging on. Now four. For how much longer? How long until Ro arrived? How much longer did he have to hang on?

What would happen?

Well, he would probably die. Splash, unsightly and painful. Sure. But, aside from that? Who would care? Who would actually care about it? Ro, who only accepted him after fighting so much to prove he was even a bit trustworthy? Lo, who had taken him in because he wanted to prove the point of villains deserving a second chance?

Would there be an official memorial? Like with other heroes? Or would there be merely a single line in the newspaper, like with the villains? Maybe there'd be a few lights on the edge of the street in his colour, like some did for vigilantes they especially adored.

But that would also be the end of so much bad stuff, right? No more pressure, no more screams in his head, no more false smiles, no more… No more tiredness accumulating in his bones.

Was that what would happen?

"No!"

The sudden desperate cry from the villain's mouth startled him out of his thoughts. And, oh… Oh, fuck. Oh, shit! Oh, in that moment of sudden stupidity he'd actually let go, without even fully noticing, hadn't he?

And again, the voice he'd always be able to recognise, no matter where he would hear it: "No! Don't you dare die! Not here, not like this, not now."

It was too late, though. And had Ro arrived yet? He could still see the shocked fans, the officers, the people up there. Frozen. They didn't move as he fell down to his inevitable death. But the villain? He did, he leapt towards the edge, as though he was still within reach.

And Virgil, no, Storm Cloud couldn't help but let out a startled laugh at the irony of it all. How ironic it was, he thought just before his vision went dark, that the only hand reaching out to him, the hero, the so called "light of hope"… the only hand reaching out to him now was that of his nemesis.

Maybe not hating the villain wasn't that stupid of a secret, after all.

❦

"Oh? So how do your powers work, then?" Janus looked up at him through his thick eyelashes, a content smirk on his face as Virgil played with his hair.

"I can hear their fears. They scream in my head, and I can feel their anxiety on my skin." Virgil thought about how to best describe it, fingers changing directions to trial the snake tattoo Janus had on his left cheekbone. "It's like static in the air. And I can either wait until it explodes, or I can let it free. That's what those lightnings are, just… The tension from the air gathered into sheer fear. If I condense it enough, it makes them pass out from fear."

Janus sighed, mismatched eyes closed. "Mine's so stupid in comparison. So I can control metal that looks like animals, wow. It's useless, really. Like, what am I? A fucking jewellery box? Stupid!"

Virgil couldn't help but laugh at that. "Yeah, yeah. But it's fine, isn't it? Since I was able to capture you that way. If you hadn't become my hostage, you wouldn't be with me right now."

"Like me!" The two of them startled, looking at the man hanging upside down from the ceiling. "Though I suppose I'm less hostage and more freeloader…"

"You both are technically freeloaders," Virgil corrected with a smirk "and I didn't kidnap you. You followed me and begged me to take you in because your brother's my enemy. What was it again that you said?"

"I'm leverage so you don't kill him! So I am a hostage. A willing one, though. And it's not bad, you don't torture me or anything. You're surprisingly gentle for a villain…"

"Yeah, well, I… It just happened. If I had had the choice, I…"

Janus sat up suddenly, a serious look on his dolled-up face. "But it did happen. And that's good, because there's no way either of us" he pointed between Remus and himself "will be on any other side anymore. It's too late for us, and we like it here. And you do too, right?"

Virgil looked at the eyes of the man he loved, the man who he pretended not to know had bought a diamond ring just a few days ago. And he couldn't answer. So he just sighed and kissed his forehead instead.

"If you ever change sides" Janus muttered as he snuggled back against Virgil "I'll come and terrorise the entire world to get you back. I'm no hero, but I'm on the right side." Virgil didn't see it, but he knew Janus' face got considerably darker during that last sentence. "So I'd sacrifice the world for you."

There was a beat of silence.

"I'll never forgive you if you leave."

And Virgil didn't plan on leaving. Really, he didn't. But the next night… It just happened. Like when he became a villain. A week later, when he finally managed to get back to their layer, everything was empty. But on top of the bar there was an empty bottle of wine and a black velvet box.

Virgil leaned back, sighing. He looked back up, tears in his eyes. He was too late, huh?

"I guess you saved me, Jan," he muttered to no one in particular "since this is a nightmare. Or maybe it's hell. Who knows." He chuckled, tears still streaming down his face. "I hope I wake up soon."

He sighed, sinking to the floor, trapped in the most painful memory he had. "But then again, maybe that's what I deserve for always letting go at the worst times…"

The scene started to replay again.

Taglist: @gattonero17 @alias290

#villain and hero au #sanders sides au #angsty fic #sanders sides #sanders sides fic #angst #anxceit

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razieltwelve · 3 years

Text

Pre-Combat Analysis (Final Rose)

Averia took another bite out of her hazelnut-spread sandwich. She blamed it entirely on Diana, but she had something of a sweet tooth. Of course, she wasn’t above using Saviour to prevent tooth decay, but if anyone asked, she would claim she was simply doing it as a way of practicing her control. Nearby, a hedgehog ambled through the pleasant gardens of academy. The critter trotted over, and she gave him a few slices of banana. She had no idea why there were hedgehogs on academy grounds, but she wasn’t going to complain. They were adorable.

Footsteps and fluctuating Aura drew her attention, and she turned her attention to Team RWBY who were marching toward her with a purpose. Or rather, Weiss was marching toward her with a purpose whilst the others followed behind like the good, loyal teammates they were. In truth, Averia had been expecting a visit from Weiss ever since she’d heard the announcement.

Rin Tohsaka had issued a formal challenge, and Weiss had accepted. The bout would be taking place in a week. Naturally, bets were already being taken as to the outcome, and Averia had reason to believe that the majority of the staff were in on it too.

“Averia,” Weiss said. “I need your help.”

Averia took one last bite out of her sandwich and offered the remaining slices of banana to the hedgehog. “Have a seat.”

X X X

Weiss was not given to false confidence, not anymore, not after a full semester at Beacon. She’d seen firsthand what some of the monsters of the academy could do. The last sparring session between Elsa and Pyrrha had resulted in a frozen wonderland littered with spikes of metal and other debris.

It would have been so easy to underestimate Rin. After all, she was coming from another academy, and she had access to far less resources than Weiss. But Rin wasn’t stupid. She wouldn’t have challenged if she didn’t think she could win, and Weiss wasn’t about to let arrogance get the better of her.

More to the point, she knew basically nothing about how Rin fought whereas Rin undoubtedly knew more about how she operated in battle. The best way to even that disparity was to consult someone who had fought Rin. The fact that the person in question was also one of the greatest combat minds in history was yet another reason to seek her out.

“What can you tell me about Rin?” Weiss asked, deciding not to beat around the bush.

Averia looked at her for a long moment, and Weiss shivered. There was something distinctly inhuman lurking behind her emerald gaze. It was Saviour, the legendary Semblance taking her measure in an instant before it faded.

“First and foremost,” Averia began. “Rin is a specialist in hand-to-hand combat. If she gets close enough to punch you, the fight is effectively over. You will lose.”

Weiss stared. “She’s that good?”

“In terms of pure skill, I would put her hand-to-hand combat skills at slightly under Yang’s. How long do you think you’d last against Yang without a weapon?”

Weiss paled. “Not very long.”

“Rin has a highly refined style that focuses primarily on striking. She can and will pick you apart over time, but she is more than willing to simply wade in and finish a fight if she thinks she can. Her greatest attributes at her speed and technique. She has exceptional speed, and her technique is extremely well-practiced and refined. I can’t say for certain where the style originated since it seems to be a highly idiosyncratic combination of techniques, but the style seems to be optimised for inflicting massive internal damage while showing as few tells as possible. It is a very direct style in terms of its movements and the path its strikes take.” Averia’s lips twitched. “It’s not quite Yang’s flavour of fighting, but I do think she’d be rather good at it.”

“So I need to avoid close combat.” Weiss swallowed thickly. She’d sparred Yang enough times to know how hard it could be to keep a determine melee specialist away without her team to back her up. It was a weakness she was working on, but there was still plenty of progress to be made. “What about her Aura usage?”

“She’s an average one,” Averia replied.

Weiss bit back a curse. An average one was a person whose proficiency in the four main aspects of Aura (control, capacity, output, and regeneration) were all approximately equal. Someone who was weak in one area could be attacked in that area. For instance, someone who had a relatively small Aura capacity could be outlasted by someone with more. “At what level?”

“Hmm...” Averia paused. “I would say that she is in the top 10% of our year in all four attributes.”

“...” Weiss was beginning to get a migraine. “Are you serious?”

“I am.” Averia nodded. “Saviour saw.”

“It did?”

“Saviour sees everything, and it’s trivially easy for me to run the analysis and observation parts of my Semblance during spars.” Averia shrugged. “She has the edge on you in Aura capacity and regeneration, but you do have the edge in Aura control and output. I will say that she uses her Aura extremely well to enhance her own physical performance.”

“That’s our team’s glass cannon for you.” Yang patted Weiss on the shoulder. “Just don’t ever get hit, and you’ll be bound to win.”

“That doesn’t help, you know.” Weiss sighed. “What about her Semblance?”

“Wait...” Yang frowned. “Has she even used her Semblance? I’ve seen her spar a couple of times. She uses Dust a lot, just like you, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen her use her Semblance.”

“You have,” Averia replied. “But you didn’t know it. Rin’s Semblance is a form of property imbuing. Essentially, she can imbue certain kinds of objects, mostly gems from my observation, with particular properties. These properties range from simple explosions to binding and trapping. The fact that she often uses Dust crystals and fragments for this makes it difficult for people to realise what she’s doing.”

“Wait...” Weiss shook her head. “Could she do something like throw fire Dust and imbue it with a trapping ability preventing you from dodging once it’s close enough?”

“Yes.” Averia nodded. “That is precisely the kind of thing she can do. She can also imbue, for example, a water attack onto lightning Dust to create an electrically charged cloud. Moreover, other crystals, such as quartz, ruby, and so on, also have particular properties that she can use of.”

“Wonderful.” Weiss sighed. “This is not going to be easy.”

“No, it’s not.”

X X X

Meanwhile...

“Rin,” Saber said. “You do realise that Weiss will likely seek out Averia Yun-Farron for aid.”

“I know that.” Rin scowled. “That girl will use every advantage she has, and Averia is a huge one. I’ve sparred her before, so we have to assume that Averia has already worked out my Semblance and fighting style. What we need is someone who can tell us about Weiss.” Rin’s lips curled. “And I know someone who might just be willing to help us, if only to make the betting more interesting.”

Rin knocked on the door in front of them.

Diana’s voice rang out. “Yeah?”

X X X

Author’s Notes

Averia has fought Rin once for a total of five minutes. That’s why she’s so scary. The rest she gleaned from watching Rin spar. She’s a killer robot for a reason. That said, this is not a good matchup for Weiss. Individually, Weiss is the worst 1 v 1 fighter on Team RWBY, and Rin is a fine single combatant. Rin’s biggest advantage is that she can attack at long range (not at Weiss’s level) but will absolutely dominate close-range combat. Weiss’s advantage is that after just a semester of training with her team, she already hits like a truck. She hasn’t become the Glyph cannon of ultimate doom she later becomes, but she already hits harder than Rin can. If she can tag Rin or keep her out and bombard her at range, she will win the fight.

That said, Averia is a master fight planner who can likely develop a way for Weiss to maintain distance. But there might not be anyone who understand how to get close and stay in there better amongst the students than Diana who understand precisely how to leverage durability and physical abilities to close in for melee combat.

Who will emerge victorious?

If you’re interested in my thoughts on writing and other topics, you can find those here.

I also write original fiction, which you can find on Amazon here or on Audible here.

#final rose #fanfiction #weiss schnee #yang xiao long #averia yun farron #rin tohsaka #saber #diana yun farron

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mrvdocks · 4 years

Text

Is This Love?

- It had to be that fateful day that you two stumbled into his spree. The day that would mentally fuck with you forever. - Spree AU

♫ - The thinking you’re the better man The danger I don't I understand

Word Count: 3K

Warnings: Blood, language, some attraction to a serial murderer, standard final girl

pic credit: @pinkresources

You don’t know where everything went wrong. Things just went downhill so fast that you barely had a chance to even blink.

Yet here you were, covered in who you thought was your best friend’s blood, a giddy Kurt, and a million people watching.

This couldn’t be the same sweet unassuming guy you’d met before, right?

Everything about him was off now. His tone, his style, his demeanor. Maybe you chose not to see the undertones of insanity to him. Because you were just as alone as he was in the end.

Looking back now, he was definitely stalking his prey. Whether that was you or her, whoever gave him the most leverage and made him a household name. A name to either be feared or admired.

It had to be that fateful day that you two stumbled into his spree. The day that would mentally fuck with you forever.

It was supposed to be a normal day, just get your friend, in and out of some of her busiest and various interviews. You were her assistant, even if she tried to coin it some other term or just called you her friend, plain and simple.

Your pairing made you feel somewhat self conscious. Here she was, pretty, leggy, adored by fans online, the facade she had constructed for herself when in reality she was just manipulative and vindictive. This definitely wasn’t the crowd you wanted to work with, alas here you were.

“Remind me what we’re doing.” She said, eyes still completely glued to the phone.

“Variety wanted that challenge video with you.”

“Perfect, now,’ she took her eyes off of the screen and paused her typing. “Where’s the car?”

“What car?”

She rolled her eyes, “Those shitheads didn’t get me a car? How do they expect us to get there, walking?”

Sometimes you wondered how she made it this far. Probably because everyone wanted to be used by her.

“Relax, I’ll just order a ride again.” You whipped out your phone, picking a red app out of the hundreds of others that caught your eye.

“Relax? Do you know how hard it is for me? I could be in the Maldives by now but no you told me to do this stupid interview because you’re poor.”

The insult didn’t exactly sting you as much as it would’ve a year ago. As a media graduate you thought you’d be working within the big leagues, not with a prissy and bitchy vlogger who wanted everything at the drop of a hat.

Plus this interview came with some big bucks and if you could manage to nail this without fail, you could quit the very next day.

“Sorry, look, it’s just today and then tomorrow you can go out and do whatever you want.”

She whines, eyes back onto her phone and tweeting about her hardships. While the princess waited you kept an eye on passing cars, anything that would match the one on your screen.

A car pulls up in front of you both, the windows of the passenger seat rolling down to greet you.

“Kurt, right?”

He nods with a smirk, definitely inviting you in but also reminding you of someone. You make your way to the backseat, but are pushed aside as your friend takes her place in the middle of the row. You laugh nervously, glancing at Kurt as you take the passenger seat.

“What’s with all these cameras? Are you like in a reality show?” Your friend blurts out, prompting Kurt to glance at her.

“It’s just for safety. Wait are you - oh my god you are!” Kurt gushes, making the connection of the celebrity in his backseat.

Your friend flashes her pearly whites at Kurt, loving to be the center of attention.

“No way. Bobby is not gonna believe this.” He beams.

You can feel it’s almost time to dissociate in order to get through this ride.

Kurt turns his phone over to the right, capturing your friend’s image a little better. The comments pop one after the other at rapid speed. You can’t read it but you can tell by Kurt’s face whoever is commenting is in disbelief.

“My friend Bobby is obsessed with you, he always says he would make a sex tape with you.”

You cringe at the thought and at the sudden robot voice erupting from Kurt’s phone exclaiming that Julia take her top off. It doesn’t seem to faze her though, she lives for it.

“Hey has anyone told you, you look exactly like that guy from Stranger Things?” Julia laughs, You’re unsure if it’s supposed to be a jab or an actual compliment for Kurt.

Kurt’s smile drops, it’s something he got a lot as a tease from Bobby. How he looked like him but didn’t quite have his suave and lovable demeanor. If anything he was the complete opposite, pathetic.

“A bit.” He waves the thought away, and as soon as your friend begins to take pictures of herself, he begins speaking rapidly.

“If you post anything, make sure to tag me I’m KurtsWorld 96. Follow for follow.” He beams, as if this is something he normally does.

Ohhhhhh boy. This is just a twitter bot in a boy’s body isn’t it.

Your friend just giggles to herself, completely ignoring his plea for fame.

“See, I would love to do that. But my friend has to do like some background check or whatever. No hard feelings though, ‘kay?” With that she’s back to her own bubble.

It’s you who’s on the spotlight now though and you mentally curse her out for it.

“Really?” Kurt glances at you and you can read him just like all the other fans. The hopefulness in his eyes.

“I mean if you need to check out my stuff I don’t mind at all. In fact, that’s why I have all these cameras set up.”

“I thought they were for protection.”

Kurt chuckles, “That too, but I mean when stuff like this happens you have to document it, right? Gotta let everyone know what you’re doing all the time.”

The extreme level of desperation from Kurt almost scares you. You’ve seen this before, you were this before. His problem is he doesn’t have a Julia.

You nod, smiling easily.

“After all, we’re only as good as our last performance.” Kurt says suddenly.

You do a double take.

There’s a familiarity to what he says. You’ve seen or heard it somewhere before. Something only known to you in private.

Your brows furrow as you both look at each other. There’s a certain tension between you now, you get goosebumps from the way he looks at you. The feeling in the pit of your stomach confuses you.

The times he glances at you in silence just to raise his brows or to do some facial quirk to make you laugh feel pleasant.

You watch him intently, the way his fingers grip the wheel, the way his hair could use just a touch of hydration, the way the corners of his lips lift into a smirk.

Julia doesn’t notice the eye fucking at all, not surprising.

The later half of the ride consisted mostly of just Kurt talking about something he was planning and that if you two were interested he would love to have both of you back.

Julia, though always eager to have a camera shoved in her face, surprisingly declines because Kurt just doesn’t seem like he’d suit her brand. You feel the embarrassment for him and want to get out of this situation as soon as possible.

Your prayers are answered and the minute you see Kurt brake, you rush out just as your friend holds up a finger for you to wait. Kurt offers her a water bottle which she takes happily because it’s “free”. You wait but he offers you none.

She takes small sips and then crams it into her bag.

Kurt simpers, but you don’t know what exactly is in the bottle, yet.

“Thanks, Kurt.” You can’t help but meet his gaze. It’s not desperate anymore, no. It’s almost.....darker.

“My pleasure.”

You both rush into the building, Julia forgetting about him already. But he sits in your mind the entire time.

Julia cries as she doubles over in pain, her hand basically gripping yours for dear life as she coughs up blood. She had left the interview early due to a stomach ache but you’d never seen anything so severe.

“Julia, okay listen to me, we have to get you to the hospital.”

She shakes her head, hurling crimson onto your shirt and hands.

“Julia! You need help, we need to go!” You yelled adamantly.

She wasn’t like this until the car ride with Kurt.

You sprang into action, going back to your phone and putting in Kurt’s info to find where he was. The only perk about being an assistant to an influencer, is people will come when you call. And Kurt was sure to come.

You order a ride, and cover up Julia’s face which already is starting to look like something out of a zombie movie. Her face is swelling up and her lips are bleeding.

You take her by the arm and lead her down to an awaiting Kurt, joining her in the backseat.

He looks different. More rugged and somewhat cleaner, he’s changed clothes since the few hours you saw him. Even the car is different, it wasn’t his Prius.

He’s not even fazed by her sudden reaction to the water and instead, the moment you close the door he drives off in the opposite direction.

“Kurt this isn’t the way to the hospital.”

“Oh I know, I’m taking you home.”

“I don’t live this way.” You were beginning to feel the panic rise in you.

He chuckles to himself as if he just made a killer joke. “No, no, my home.”

Your eyes widened. You scan the car filled with cameras. Certainly anyone watching would call the police. You can’t help but freeze, your shaky hands trying to grip Julia as she continues to hurl uncontrollably.

You pass streets you don’t recognize and making contact with drivers is out of the question while you’re paralyzed.

Kurt pulls onto a rocky road, a house completely devoid of light staring back at you. You wish you could scream once he gets out of the car but when he opens the door to your side and helps you with Julia into the house, you’re on autopilot.

“Honestly I’m surprised she made it this long. Everyone else lasted only a few seconds.” He guffaws, completely in awe as if this was some kind of achievement.

You stare at him, in deep thought of who else he’d done this to.

“Why are you doing this? Why - why would you-” the sheer panic in your voice doesn’t seem to affect him.

He dumps Julia onto the couch mindlessly, as if he just came home from a long day of work.

“Because I love you. And I’d do anything for you. And.....I didn’t like the way she was talking to you.”

He faces you now, coming to hold your face in his hands. You don’t recoil yet but shiver at the way his oddly cold fingers feel against your warm flush face.

“How do you -”

“We’re only as good as our last performance.” He echoes from earlier.

It all clicks suddenly. The reason why he didn’t give you a bottle. The comments on her videos defending you. The anonymous messages between you two. It was him all along.

To say that the now dead body next to you while he professed his love to you was very unsettling would be an understatement. Much less it being broadcast to millions of people watching.

“If you loved me you wouldn’t be doing this,” You tried to reason, bringing his hands down to his side.

You liked Kurt. Even if you hadn’t known what his intentions were. But the messages made you feel like someone was on your side. Like he understood you. Now you weren’t sure if the past few weeks even meant anything to him or if he really was just using you to get to Julia.

“You let her walk all over you the same way I let Bobby. But not anymore! You and me, we can be bigger than they ever were.”

“Kurt you’re insane! We have to go now.”

You make a break for the front door, only to be pinned down by Kurt. You struggle but Kurt’s figure hovers over you. Your breath hitches at the sudden closeness of your faces and bodies.

“I’m sorry but I can’t let you do that.” He says grimly.

“Kurt please, I won’t tell anyone. I promise. Look we can - we can leave and go somewhere they won’t find you.”

He scoffs. “Live in anonymity? You know I can’t do that.”

You know you’ve lost the battle right then and there.

You have to appeal to his nature, his blood thirst. You’re quick on your feet because the stench of the blood on your hands is beginning to make your stomach churn.

You crane your head to the side and lean into him, pressing your lips together. He’s frozen for a second, taken aback by your sudden change of heart. He pulls back and stands, leaving you on the floor still.

He’s laughing now, almost manically.

“You love me! See? With everything you and I know, we could be a power couple!”

You stand, watching him as he celebrates prematurely.

The comments on the stream were going crazy. Most of them not believing that your friend or Bobby were dead now. A variety of sounds coming from the phone fill the room and muffle your quick breaths.

You take small strides to him slowly, keeping your eyes on the phone. “You’re right. No one can tell or make us do something we don’t want to anymore.”

He’s coming down from his high, raking his hands through his hair and muttering to himself.

“We have to clean house.” He says, rushing to Julia’s body, grabbing her feet and dragging her to the garage.

You take this moment when his back is to you to run to the door again, flipping the lock open and running as fast as you can out into the freezing air. The adrenaline fuels you. Kurt curses as he drops the body and runs after you.

He lurches forward when he’s close enough, dropping the both of you onto the rocky dirt. You scramble to get up but he takes hold of your head by your hair and brings your head down onto the ground roughly.

You’re disoriented for a moment, unable to see.

“You’re making things harder than they need to be.” He sighs, flipping you over on your back and taking you into his arms in a bridal carry back to the house.

“Please don’t kill me.” You manage out, feeling a stinging pain in your head.

He pouts. “I’m not gonna kill you. I need you.”

He sets you back down onto the pool table in the garage, going back to talk to the millions watching him and you now.

You don’t see what he types but from the looks of it he disagrees severely. “No I’m not going to kill her! She’s the Bonnie to my Clyde.”

If anything, this was going to be Romeo and Juliet. Only you weren’t dying for this.

You feel around for anything on the table with your limited view. A ball, a stick, anything. You grasp a hard triangular shape, gripping it with with the little strength and adrenaline you can muster.

He’s too distracted by what everyone’s saying to notice you behind him, rack high in the air. You yell as you bring the rack down to the nape of his neck, he goes down hard and fast but you’re quicker.

You pounce and straddle him, bringing the rack up again to gain more momentum and aim down at his face.

He’s cries out in pain, hands coming to shield his face. “What are you doing?! This isn’t how it’s supposed to be!”

“Sorry babe. Change of plans.” You grit through deep and fast breaths. You get a few more hits in before he seemingly goes limp.

Your chest heaves, trying to get back to normal as you wait with bated breath for any sign of movement from him. You make a move to climb off of him, seeing the phone thrown to the side, still documenting the entirety of what just happened.

You toss aside the rack, crawling to the phone as you read the comments. Things calling for Bobby to come out, some asking if Julia was okay, others insulting Kurt and you. One catches your attention.

Watch out!

You turn in the nick of time, avoiding Kurt’s swing of the rack. You try to crawl away but he grasps your ankle and drags you back. You manage to get a kick in with your other foot, earning you a second or two. Kurt bellows out in pain.

He persists, climbing on top of you to grab your throat firmly. The action and pressure of it is enough for you to abandon the phone and try to pry him off.

“We could’ve been great!” He yells, his bloody face painting yours. You cough roughly, trying to get some air back into your constricting lungs.

You can’t hold him off any longer, and if you don’t get any oxygen, he’ll win his twisted legacy.

Remembering the phone, you let go of his hands and feel around until you are able to grab it firmly and hit him in the eye with it. He falls back and screams in pain.

You’re on top again, taking hold of the collar of his shirt to hold him as you attack with abandon.

“We’re.” Hit.

“Only.” Kurt groans.

“As. Good.” Another dastardly good hit.

“As. Our. Last.” He sputters, choking.

“Performance.” You let a guttural yell rip from your chest as you deliver the final blow. This time he stays down.

The silence rings in your ear long enough to spur you out of the moment. You can hear sirens in the background, not long now. You glance back to your anonymous lover, your hand coming to lift the hair out of his bloody face.

Your fingers linger on his face for a second. You bring the phone to your face and laugh mirthlessly, “Fuck you all.”

You climb off of Kurt, heading to the welcoming breeze of the outside world.

You sit on the porch chair, covered head to toe in a mixture of blood, eyes fluttering shut as the sirens get louder with each second.

You smirk.

#kurt kunkle #kurt kunkle x reader #spree 2020 #spree #not smut but hey at least it's almost sort of realistic within the movie's standards #figured it was better to stick to the final girl aspect

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merinnan · 3 years

Text

Fic Tag Game

Grabbed from @hils79, because it looked like fun.

Name: Merinnan, which I’ve gone by for... fifteen years now, I think? Prior to that, I mostly used Calicia (and sometimes Zoi).

Fandoms: Like Hils, I’m only going to list the fandoms I’ve actually written fic for.

Star Trek: My very first fandom, and the one I’ve written the most fics for (so far - I suspect that DMBJ will overtake it. It certainly already has in terms of word count). I was (and am still) primarily a DS9 fan, and was a huge Kira/Dukat and Garak/Bashir shipper back in the day. Most of my Trekfics are DS9 fics, but I also dabbled a little bit in TOS and TNG, and had one or two crackfic crossovers that involved Voyager characters. Discovery has tempted me with a few fic ideas, but I haven’t written anything for it yet.

Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon: aka, the show that first had me seriously questioning my sexuality. Look, Haruka and Michiru are #goals, don’t judge me. This is also where my Zoi name came from, after the first season villain Zoisite, whom I cosplayed several times. Unsurprisingly, my main ships are HaruMichi and KunZoi. Despite this fact, neither of my published Sailormoon fics are HaruMichi.

Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040: A short-lived fandom, but one I still liked enough to write a fic for and get the OST CD.

World of Warcraft: I wouldn’t say I’m really part of the fandom, per se, but I’ve been playing since the dying days of Burning Crusade, am a huge lore nerd, and started writing a crossover fic that is currently on indefinite hiatus. I do plan to come back and finish it, but first RL got in the way, and now I have to try and remember where I’d actually been planning to go with it.

A Court of Thorns and Roses: That crossover fic I just mentioned? Yeah, this is what it’s a crossover with. ACoTaR fandom went sleepy for awhile, but it’s back up and kicking now that A Court of Silver Flames is out - if any of you are still following me, it’s great to see everyone active again! To the surprise of no-one who knows me, I’m a big Nessian shipper.

Mo Dao Zu Shi / Chen Qing Ling / The Untamed: I came to this fandom via ACoTaR, actually, after a certain person (hi, @rhysand-vs-fenrys!) wouldn’t stop gushing about it :-) This is the fandom that really and seriously got me back into regular fic writing again after 15-ish years. I’m a multishipper here, and have written / am writing WangXian, NieLan, XiCheng, XuanLi, and XiSang.

Guardian / Zhen Hun: MDZS fandom led me to Guardian, which, along with DMBJ, has devoured my life in a way that hasn’t happened since my Star Trek days, and I love it! WeiLan is my major ship, but I’m also quite fond of the DaMian life raft.

Zhu Yilong: Yes, I’m going to list a person as a fandom. Zhu Yilong is one of the stars of Guardian, and is both incredibly pretty and an incredibly talented actor. So much so that I have suffered through some truly terrible dramas just to watch him in them. I do not write Z1L-fic, since RPF of living people is a personal squick of mine, but I am working on a massive crossover fic of most of his characters.

Mo Du: Guardian led me along to more of Priest’s works, such as Mo Du, which is now officially my favourite book, and I adore the main WenZhou ship. The Mo Du fandom right now is pretty tiny, and I’m still working on my first fic for it, but I hope that it will grow with the donghua due out this year, and the drama having just started filming.

Daomu Biji / The Lost Tomb: I initially came into this fandom because of Zhu Yilong, who played Wu Xie in the Reboot / Reunion / Chongqi drama, and then I got sucked into the fandom pit of all of the books and dramas and spinoffs, and it’s wonderful and fantastic. I have written so much for it, and have so much more planned. PingXie and PingXieSang are my main ships here, but I’m also a HeiHua fan, and very much enjoying the RiSang pool noodle that @kholran created.

Tropes: Hurt/Comfort and crack are my major ones.

Fic I spent most time on: A toss-up between Endings and Beginnings and Reunion, both DS9 fics. Endings and Beginnings is an alternate ending to the show, while Reunion is a Gul Dukat-centric fic set around, oh, season 5ish? Both were written for and initially published in print fanzines, so in addition to time spent writing, there was a lot of back and forth for editing, etc.

Favourite fic(s) you’ve written: Look, I honestly couldn’t say. I like most of the fics I’ve written, and there are several that I’m really proud of and really like.

Fic I spent least time on: Silent Graves, a super angsty DMBJ/Lost Tomb Xiaoge fic. I think I wrote it in like 15 minutes.

Longest fic: Cat’s Paw, a DMBJ/Lost Tomb PingXieSang canon rewrite fic I co-wrote with @xantissa, at 247 826 words. For fics written by just me, not with a co-writer, then that would be Nevermore, my WIP MDZS/CQL XiCheng Pacific Rim AU, at 22 276 words and counting.

Shortest fic: Every entry in my DS9 Drabbles series, with each one at exactly 100 words. Although if you count them as a quintdrabble, then Indiscretion (a DS9 missing scene vignette about Gul Dukat, set during the episode of the same name) at 169 words.

Most hits/kudos/comments/bookmarks/subscriptions: The answer to all of these is either Cat’s Paw or Nevermore, so I’m going to give the next highest.

Hits: Those who fear darkness have never seen what light can do, a DMBJ/Lost Tomb PingXie supernatural AU fic co-written with xantissa.

Since this fic also takes the highest kudos, bookmarks, and subscriptions after Cat’s Paw/Nevermore, I’ll skip to the next fic along on each of those.

Kudos: Stars fall like diamonds, a DMBJ/Lost Tomb PingXie missing scene fic from Reboot/Reunion/Chongqi.

Bookmarks: A Knight in Bloody Armour, another DMBJ/Lost Tomb PingXieSang supernatural AU fic (but a different supernatural AU) co-written with xantissa.

Comments: Ears and Other Related Calamities, yet another DMBJ/Lost Tomb PingXieSang supernatural AU fic (of a different again supernatural AU) co-written with xantissa.

Subscriptions: The Rescue Job, a Guardian WeiLan Leverage AU, currently at one chapter complete and posted out of a planned five chapters.

Fic you want to rewrite/expand on: We have plans for a prequel and a sequel to A Knight in Bloody Armour, and a spinoff fic for The Zhang Identity (a DMBJ/Lost Tomb PingXie AU that is complete but not yet posted. It will be posted in April as part of the Small Fandoms Big Bang).

Share a bit of a WIP: This is from an as-yet-unnamed post-canon fix-it fic for the Guardian drama:

It was hurting again. Zhao Yunlan curled up into a tight ball under the hospital blankets, trying to ignore it enough to try to get back to sleep. He knew it wouldn't work, because he couldn't remember a time when it ever did, but it was always worth a shot, right? He squeezed his eyes shut and held himself tightly for a few...moments? Minutes?...before grabbing his stuffed cat and clutching it while he forced himself to breathe deep, slow breaths the way the doctors back in Spring City had taught him.

Eventually, the pain died back down to its usual dull ache, the one that was bearable and let him play, and watch TV, and do school lessons with his mother. One day, she said, they'd find a doctor who knew what was wrong, why he hurt all the time, and the doctor would give him medicine that would keep the worst pain away so that he could go to an actual school and meet more kids than the ones who lived in their apartment block or who frequented the same playground that he liked to go to.

Zhao Yunlan tried closing his eyes again, seeing if he could go back to sleep, but he was far too awake now. He sighed, sitting up in bed and looking around the room. Again. It was just like the hospital rooms in Spring City, and in Kiyota City. He figured that if the doctors here in Tomorrow Mountains couldn't help, his parents would take him to yet another city, and the hospital rooms there would probably look the same, too.

Then, over the faint beeping of hospital equipment, and the quiet murmurs further down the corridor of nurses at the nurse station or seeing to other patients, he heard a soft sniffling sound, like someone was trying not to cry too loudly. He picked up his stuffed cat and looked at it.

"What do you think, Dead Cat?" he asked it. "Should we go and find them?"

Dead Cat didn't answer, of course, but that didn't stop Zhao Yunlan from assuming that it agreed with him, and slipping out of bed. His feet touched the cold tile floor with barely a sound, and, still holding Dead Cat tightly, Zhao Yunlan padded over to the door. He looked up and down the corridor, then left his room to track down the sniffling noise.

He wasn't surprised that it came from the next room. He was surprised that it came from another kid, a boy who looked to be about his age, huddled in bed and wiping his eyes.

"Hi," Zhao Yunlan whispered. The other boy looked up in surprise, then stopped to clutch his chest as he began to cough. Once he'd finished coughing, Zhao Yunlan and Dead Cat were perched on the end of his bed.

"I'm Zhao Yunlan, and this is Dead Cat." He held up Dead Cat, moving one of the paws to wave hello. "What's your name?"

The boy wiped his eyes again. "Shen Ye."

I tag: ALL OF YOU! Are you a writer who hasn’t done this yet? Consider yourself tagged if you want to be.

#fanfic meme #dmbj #daomu biji #guardian #mo du #star trek #ds9 #bishoujo senshi sailor moon #sailor moon #mdzs #cql #acotar #bubblegum crisis #world of warcraft #zhu yilong

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onlyplatonicirl · 4 years

Text

Birfday Gorl UwU

@shandycandy278

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

“A little to the left.”

“Like this?”

“A bit more.”

“Uh… here?”

“Slime does that look even a little bit symmetrical to you?”

“You’re literally impossible right now,” said Slime, tacking the banner in place regardless of Lorel’s immediate shrieking complaint. “Since when have you become so nit-picky about decoration placement and stuff? Your room looks like an atomic bomb went off in it.”

“Well good thing it’s not my room!” Lorel replied, clapping her hands together in agitation. She rocked on her heals at a very brisk pace, her eyes darting around the room. “Listen, at least just TRY to set this up right?? Also maybe stand on a chair instead of Andrew’s shoulders because if you fall it will not only kill you but them too.”

Andrew blinked at Lorel like she was stupid, their hands on Slime’s legs as the redhead wobbled to tack everything to the wooden banister, tongue sticking out in concentration. Slime exclaimed triumphantly once they successfully had it in place, throwing their hands back in glee. Unfortunately, that also offset their center of gravity.

Lorel turned her back as both of them shrieked and collapsed to the floor, already tuning out their incessant squabbling. The decorations were all set, for the most part. Light blue balloons were floating around the room, with the tablecloth, streamers, banners and confetti to match. The confetti was assumed to be blue, but they didn’t know for sure because it was compressed into cardboard cones, and planned to pop out when the guest of honor arrived. Various other creators scurried to and fro, adding to the ever-growing gift pile, setting up the potluck and adding a multitude of dishes, as well as making small talk amongst themselves before the event started. Lorel recognized the majority of them, and waved to a few of them as she made her way into the main kitchen, ducking under a tray carried by Nobody, with tons of little confectionaries.

But before she could get there, she ran into-

“Chai! How’s everything going?”

Chai laughed in return, giving Lorel a hug. “It’s going great. I’m so excited.”

“SAME,” Lorel said, accompanied with a slouch. “I’ve ben planning this for so long, especially these things.”

She stuck a thumb behind her, motioning to the massive yellow feathered wings that started at her shoulder blades and draped all the way to the floor, the gradient becoming lighter towards the end feathers. Chai raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I was going to comment on that,” she began. “Those don’t look like your usual, uh… pointy wings.”

“That’s because they aren’t,” Lorel said, running a hand through her hair to clear her eyes. “It took me two full months of studying anatomy and transmogrification with every book on the subject in the entirety of the Council’s Library to get these to form. The number of times I attempted to summon these properly only to result in an explosion of feathers is unreal. Synthia and the others got really tired coming back to find our quarters covered in yellow fluff.”

“Well I like them, they’re soft. But, why exactly???”

Lorel smiled softly. “I don’t know, I just thought it would be kind of sweet because… She always gives the fluffiest and softest hugs. I thought it would be nice if I was able to return the favor for once, to show her how great her trademarked “Floofy Hugs” are. Give her a taste of her own wonderful medicine, haha!”

Chai laughed. “Well, I’D like a floofy hug from you.”

“Once I even figure out how to get these things to fold and move properly? Sure. You can get floofy hugs too,” Lorel replied, smiling. “But we all know that I’m not as good at it.”

“HEY WHY ARE THOSE WINGS SO DISPROPORTIONATELY LARGE?” Someone across the room screamed. Without missing a beat, Lorel whipped around, almost smacking Chai in the face with the limbs she did not quite have the hang of yet.

“I DON’T KNOW, WHY IS YOUR BRAIN SO DISPROPORTIONATELY SMALL, LO??”

“HOW BAD CAN IT BE, LOREL?”

“IT’LL GET PRETTY BAD PRETTY QUICK IF YOU DON’T SHUT YOUR PIEHOLE.”

Chai was busy trying not to laugh herself into combustion, a hand over her mouth. Lorel looked at her, exasperated. “Excuse me for one moment. I need to go check up on the cake. If I stand still for long enough Lo starts trying to play paper-wad basketball with my halos.”

She and Chai gave each other a quick hug, before parting ways with “I love you!!!”’s on both sides.

Peeping her head in through the kitchen doorway, Lorel narrowly avoided a massive jawbreaker being flung across the room. Ly had been in charge of the cake, and it seemed to be going well. The ponkey girl was having a blast, a tube of icing in each hand, and letting out her more wild artistic side. Her tail curled happily in the air as she drew gravity defying shapes around the cake out of vanilla frosting. Lorel smiled and left. At least that was taken care of. But there was still a lot of other things to do. There were two many bodies in too small of a room. It was chaos, and she had signed up to oversee it all.

Lorel sighed. Why did she ever agree to running anything? The only mature thing about her was her physical age. Time to be the adult, I guess.

Climbing up a few steps to gain a slight leverage and trying not to trip over her new way-too-large wings, she clapped her hands to quell the silence. She soon had the attention of the room.

“OKAY,” she began. “HERE’S HOW THIS IS GONNA GO BEFORE MY WIFE ARRIVES—”

A single, large breath in.

“Lyn and Lynn, take watch outside for her. Blossom, make sure everyone’s got a party hat, and help Shadow and Template with the paintings if they need any. Lucky and Achro keep the streets secure, we don’t want any blockheads ruining our big day. Dey, Launch, Template, Poggers, Lily, both Alexes, Rawlyx and Zen are on exterior decoration duty. I want every corner of the roof tied with decorations. Ly’s finishing the cake, and she’ll need a handful of people to aid her in setting everything up. Smartie can attend to that, as well as Diamond. Slime and Andrew, I know I’m asking the impossible, but your job is to not be stupid for like - at least 2 minutes. AT LEAST. Everyone else find a good hiding spot and no shoving or pushing or summoning ancient celestial daggers or transforming into a five headed demons. Or you’re getting kicked out of the party. Scrub, be my monitor, would you? And Otter’s job is to keep being absolutely adorable and precious. Are we all clear?”

The whole building cheered, and Lorel finally sighed. Right next to her was Otter, who she promptly scooped up in her arms and kissed on the forehead with a very loud “mwah” to follow. Otter happily closed their eyes – a pseudo-smile.

“OKAY THEN. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL STILL STANDING AROUND FOR??? LET’S MOVE IT, LOSERS! GO GO GO GO GO!”

Everyone quickly bustled about, and Lorel set Otter back on the floor once again. Creators of every shape and size scrambled about, trying to find places to hide, and all the lights were shut off when the two Lyn(n)s gave the cue

“She’s coming she’s coming!”

The house went completely silent, save for the sound of footsteps approaching the door.

The handle turned-

And all the light’s clicked on. Everyone jumped up from behind the couch, and light blue confetti flew everywhere as everyone screamed in unison.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHANDY!!!!!!!!!”

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

HAPPY BIRTH SHANDYYYYYYYY ILSYM SORRY I DIDNT FINISH THIS YESTERDAY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

IM GONNA TAG THE MAIN PPL IN THIS FIC BC IM A LITTLE BIT PRESSED FOR TIME RN AND I DONT HAVE TIME TO TAG EVERYONE BUT ILL LINK IT SO AAAAAAA

Mainly Featuring:

@andrewture @156lemongummies @greetings-and-yeetings @chais-chaos-corner @puuuddiing @lookyeekiti

AS WELL AS THE AMAZING @shandycandy278 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

ILYSMMM

This fic takes place in @creatorverse

#creatorverse #creatorverse fanfiction #AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA #IDK WHAT ELSE TO TAG #HAPPY BIRTH #OKAY I GOTTA GO IM SUPER PRESSED FOR TIME FJDSAKFJDKLAF #FLOOFY HUGS YOU BACK

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patrickswayzeme · 3 years

Text

Happy Holidays everybody! Sorry this is a bit late! This is my Secret Santa gift as part of @secret-santa-klaus

My gift is for @skull-w-cigarette , I hope you like it!

Note: this takes places in some kind of alternate timeline where the Hargreeves meet up on a less of an urgent timeline in the 60s. Around the same time but maybe a few weeks later, closer to Christmas. I apologize for the plot not being better thought out, I just thought of the idea and ran with it. Hope you like it! (I also apologize for the lack of a cut, I’m on mobile, I will fix it as soon as I get to a computer)

Allison had almost forgotten her alibi. She grimaced as she looked down at the shopping bags on her arm, filled with hurriedly bought presents. Whatever size shoe that was, she did not think it was actually her husbands. She hadn’t actually went out to go shopping on a Saturday afternoon. She had been having lunch with her sister, which she knew she didn’t have to hide from her husband, but the truth was she wasn’t ready to explain it all. Yes, she had one sister but no her sister didn’t remember who she was and yes they were all adopted. Once she got to that point, she would have to explain who had adopted them, and it was going to keep getting more and more complicated after that. He had already been spooked by two of her brothers and she was going to get to explaining everything, she promised herself, but she just needed a little more time. She let out a deep breath before opening her front door. She smiled as soon as she did and noticed that Ray had decorated while she was gone. The Christmas tree was up and covered with tinsel and there were already presents wrapped under the tree. “Awww” she couldn’t help murmur audibly. He was so sweet. She felt a pang of guilt in her stomach when she thought of the poorly chosen shoes and the half-baked lie he would never suspect.

“Ray?” She called, the smile could be heard in her voice “don’t worry about hanging the mistletoe. You don’t need the help.” She joked in a sing song voice, peaking around corners in search of her husband.“Honey!” Rays’ familiar voice exclaimed, coming out of the kitchen, his arms wide open ready for a hug which Allison immediately excepted. Hey!” She playfully smacked his hand when he tried to look in the bag. “No peaking!” She scolded. Ray chucked and backed away “sorry sweetheart, I just can’t help it!”Allison quickly stuffed the bags in the coat closet, promising herself she would buy better gifts later. Ray excitedly grabbed her hands and started gently pulling her to the kitchen. “Now follow me, I got something to show you!” “Did you decorate the kitchen too?” Allison asked excitedly.“Not quite” Ray winked as he slipped behind her and covered her eyes. “No peaking” he repeated, laughing. Allison smiles impatiently. She heard some kind of scraping sound? No, it was more like a slobbering and a scraping sound and then heavy breathing. “What on earth do you have in here, Ray?” She asked, still amused but growing skeptical. “Surprise!” Ray exclaimed when lifted his hands over her eyes to reveal a small golden colored dog happily eating from a brand-new doggy dish in the kitchen floor. “A dog, Ray? It’s a bit early for Christmas...l” she began slowly, not wanting to hurt his feelings but I little surprised he had never asked her about pets before making this decision. She rationalized that perhaps pet buying wasn’t considered as series of a decision as it was in the future and resisted the urge to get upset. Ray put a calming hand on her shoulder, noticing the worry creases on his wife’s forehead. “Now don’t worry!” He calmed “He’s not for us, he’s for your brother!”

Allison’s eyes went wide. “My brother?! Ray, which brother of mine do you think would be capable of this kind of responsibility…Klaus can barely take care of himself, and I think Luther would like a dog, and could probably take care of one, but I don’t really know where he’s living right now, and his current job is kind of unpredictable…and a pet could be used as leverage…” Ray took Allison’s hands in his own and gently pulled her closer to him. “Baby, slow down. He’s for your little brother! How old is he 11? 13? Where have you been hiding him?” Allison took a deep breath as she realized which brother he must have met. “Five?” She asked. “Pardon?” Ray asked, obviously confused. “He’s…five…years…old?” He asked, slowly. “I mean I know he’s young, but he definitely seemed older than ten….is he a leap year baby or something?” Allison waved her hands in a criss-cross motion. Even though she had regained her voice, she still used motioned with her hands more than she used to. “No, sorry…that’s his…nick-name. Five…” She backed up to lean against the counter. “I’m sorry, when did you meet me ‘little’ brother?” “This morning actually. It was a little scary at first. I came down a little late for breakfast and he a was just sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee. It was kind of cute though, after you know, the fear of an intruder wore off.”

Allison nodded. “Okay...what did she say?” “He just asked where you were and I said you were out but he could stay or I could drive him home but he said it was fine and he would stop by later, downed the coffee in the cup and left. I don’t think I’ve ever met a kid that...sophisticated before if that’s even the right word.” Allison laughed “theres a lot of word you could use to describe my brother.”

Alison felt hot breath on her ankles and looked down to see the puppy jumping on her legs, desperately trying to jump up closer to her face. She had almost forgotten about him. He had finished devouring his food and now wanted attention. She scooped him up in her arms and scratched his head.

“Aw, Ray you really shouldn’t have, but he is adorable...” she nuzzled the puppy’s head with her chin and pouted. “can we keep him?”Ray laughed “if your brother doesn’t want him then, sure.” He said warmly. “I guess we should ask his..your...parents?” He said slowly and unsure, hoping Allison would jump in with some more enlightening information. She didn’t. She took a few moments before putting down the wriggly puppy in her arms back on the floor. “Let’s go sit down and talk.”

Ray’s biggest take away from Allison’s limited explanation of her siblings seemed to be that Five was living somewhere alone. Or at least somewhere unknown. She had tried to explain that wasn’t really as alarming as it seemed, he could take care of himself. “He spent years alone” she explained. That only made Ray more concerned. “He’s staying with us.” He kept saying definitively. “At least for a little while.” Allison tried to explain that it was probably impossible to convince him of this and that he might be staying with her brother, but he was insistent. “Won’t people ask questions if we..?” “Have a little white boy living with us?” Ray finished “yes they will. But we’re going to figure it out. He is your brother and even the simplest of minds are going to have to accept that.”

When Five came back the next day, Ray found him in the kitchen again, sipping coffee out of the same mug. “Is she here?” He asked politely but matter of fact, looking up from his coffee to briefly flash a polite smile before looking a way again. There was something so unusual yet familiar about his demeanor that Ray found a bit unnerving but also kind of amusing.

“She is...but before she comes down, there’s something I want to show you.”

Five cocked an eyebrow. “Okay...” he looked at Ray for a a minute, sighed then got up.

“Wait one second!” Ray said excitedly, holding up a finger before dashing into the other rooms

Five sighed again and sat back down to finish his coffee. He thought he might just sneak upstairs to talk to his sister or better yet, leave through the kitchen window. He decided against it if not just for curiosity’s sake. Although he didn’t think that Allison would be able to stay with her husband since they had to go back home and fix the timeline, he did want to at least make sure he was as nice and as well meaning as he seemed.

“Okay you can come into the living room now!” Ray called. He was sitting on the floor, under the Christmas tree holding a box, that seemed be struggling out of his grasp. He had been gently holding down the lose fitting lid and let go as soon as he saw his brother-in-law. Out a sprang a little golden brown puppy right towards Five. Five took a step back and cocked his head at Ray in confusion. “A..dog?”

“Uhh yeah...he’s for you..” Ray was suddenly a bit flustered. This wasn’t the reaction he expected. Did he just buy this boy a dog because he had never got one as a boy, he briefly wondered. “Allison and I..well we were hoping..”. “We wanted to let you know you could stay here.” Allison’s voice cut in. Ray turned to see his wife smiling in the doorway.

“The lady of the house has spoken!” Ray said as he walked over the to her and kissed her forehead. “Good morning, dear.” He murmured.

Five looked at the couple incredulously.

“I won’t be doing that. I’m staying with our brothers and another guy. It’s all good.”

Ray started protesting, Allison just looked at her brother with a thin lipped smile, totally unsurprised. She touched Rays shoulder, to let him know it was okay.

Five got up and dusted himself off “Allison, let’s catch up some other time. This address.” He handed her a card with small neat handwriting. “I will be taking Mr. Pennycrumb though.” He said matter of factly, reaching to shake Ray’s hand. “Thank you, Raymond.” He said before scooping up the puppy and going out the front door.

Raymond looked dumbfounded at his wife who just shrugged. Ray laughed, leading Allison to laugh. “Let’s go get some breakfast, sweetie.”

He said taking her hand.

“This morning actually. It was a little scary at first. I came down a little late for breakfast and he a was just sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee. It was kind of cute though, after you know, the fear of an intruder wore off.”

Allison nodded. “Okay...what did he say?” “He just asked where you were and I said you were out but he could stay or I could drive him home but he just said it was fine and he would stop by later, downed the coffee in the cup and left. I don’t think I’ve ever met a kid that...sophisticated before if that’s even the right word.” Allison laughed “theres a lot of word you could use to describe my brother.”

“Aw, Ray you really shouldn’t have, but he is adorable...” she nuzzled the puppy’s head with her chin and pouted. “can we keep him?”

Ray laughed “if your brother doesn’t want him then, sure.” He said warmly. “I guess we should ask his..your...parents?” He said slowly and unsure, hoping Allison would jump in with some more enlightening information. She didn’t. She took a few moments before putting down the wriggly puppy in her arms back on the floor. “Let’s go sit down and talk.”

There was something so unusual yet familiar about his demeanor that Ray found a bit unnerving but also kind of amusing.

“She is...but before she comes down, there’s something I want to show you.”

Five cocked an eyebrow. “Okay...” he looked at Ray for a a minute, sighed then got up.

“Wait one second!” Ray said excitedly, holding up a finger before dashing into the other rooms

“Okay you can come into the living room now!” Ray called.

He was sitting on the floor, under the Christmas tree holding a box, that seemed be struggling out of his grasp. He had been gently holding down the lose fitting lid and let go as soon as he saw his brother-in-law. Out a sprang a little golden brown puppy right towards Five. Five took a step back and cocked his head at Ray in confusion. “A..dog?”

“We wanted to let you know you could stay here.” Allison’s voice cut in. Ray turned to see his wife smiling in the doorway.

“The lady of the house has spoken!” Ray said as he walked over the to her and kissed her forehead. “Good morning, dear.” He murmured.

Five looked at the couple incredulously, absent minded petting the puppy that was climbing all over me.

“I won’t be doing that. I’m staying with our brothers and another guy. It’s all good.”

Ray started protesting, Allison just looked at her brother with a thin lipped smile, totally unsurprised. She touched Rays shoulder, to let him know it was okay.

Raymond looked dumbfounded at his wife who just shrugged. Ray laughed, leading Allison to laugh. “Let’s go get some breakfast, sweetie.”

He said taking her hand.

#tua secret santa #tua secret Santa 2020 #tua fanfic #Allison Hargreeves #five hargreeves #raymond chestnut #allison chestnut #almond tua #long post #allison x ray #almond #mr. pennycrumb #tua #the umbrella academy s2 #the umbrella academy

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jaeffrey77 · 4 years

Text

Sunflower Vol. 6

Sorry for taking so long! I love the song so I had a lot of fun writing this one. I hope you like it as well!

Genre: angst, some fluffiness

Words: 11,8K how in the hell did i get it this long i have no idea

Warning: some sexually suggestive scenes, no smut.

~~~

Sunflower Sunflower My eyes Want you more than a melody Let me inside Wish I could get to know you

You hadn't been too fond of the idea of going to a club that night and certainly did not expect to meet anyone to take home with you, but that all changed when among all those sweaty people on the dance floor, a familiar face walked up to you.

Your breath hitched in your throat as your tipsy brain registered that the owner of the face with beautiful dark eyes, surprisingly smooth light skin and pink gorgeous lips, was standing right there in front of you, eyes locked on yours.

He was quiet, not saying anything for a second or two, just observing you, maybe even waiting for you to make the first move.

Flustered but knowing you would regret it if you didn't take the chance, you decided to speak up.

"Hi," you said simply, feeling your heartbeat picking up its pace. You had to pinch yourself on your wrist to make sure it wasn't a dream you were currently in. The pain that came afterward made you even more ecstatic. You most definitely weren't sleeping.

"Hey," the man replied, giving you the slightest smile that made one of his dimples make an appearance. Seeing them so close instead of through a screen or farther away on the stage while being in the audience yourself made your heart nearly skip a beat. He was even more breathtaking up close, and that wasn't just the small amount of alcohol in your system talking.

He leaned a bit closer, making your whole body tense up slightly. As he leaned towards your ear, you picked up on the faint scent of his cologne, closing your eyes in delight. On top of everything you adored about this man, he even smelled good.

"What's your name?" He asked, placing a hand on your arm for not-so-needed leverage before pulling away and looking you in the eye again. His gaze was intense but non-threatening. It was effective, though. Gave you butterflies without much of an effort.

You replied with your name, having to repeat it a couple of times due to the loud music but once he finally got it, he flashed you one of his charming smiles again.

"Great name."

You couldn't fight off the grin forming on your face as you heard his compliment. Out of politeness, you asked for his name too, although you already knew the name he went by.

It seemed like he hesitated for a second, thinking of what to say. It didn't take long for him to give you an answer, but it was different from what you expected.

"Yuno."

Hearing the fairly familiar name, though you heard the other more often, you gave him a polite smile. "Nice to meet you, Yuno."

He chuckled at such formality, amused by how amid the drunken sweaty people who seemed to have left their manners outside of the club, you still made sure to be so polite.

"Nice to meet you too," he replied before letting his head begin to bop to the beat of the music.

Until now you hadn't realized you had stopped dancing, standing fully still in the middle of the dance floor. You began getting back into the rhythm, though your heart bumping against your chest made it hard to focus on the beat of the music.

"You looked like you needed a little saving."

You raised a brow at his comment, needing a bit more of an explanation as to why he thought so. "What do you mean?"

"It seemed like you were looking for a way out of here," he explained, gesturing to the people now practically rubbing their sweaty backs on both of you due to how full the dance floor was.

To be fair, just before your eyes had met his, you had been thinking of leaving. Your friends had left you, both of who you had come to the club with finding someone else to steal their attention for the night. You hadn't come for the same reason as them it seemed, so having been left alone you began thinking maybe leaving would have been better. If the man in front of you had taken a couple of seconds longer, you may have escaped before he got to you.

Smiling at the thought how big of a difference a few seconds could make and how suddenly the universe seemed to be on your side, making up for the worse-than-average day you had been having, you gained a little bit more confidence.

"Well, my knight in shining armor, what might be your great plan to save me?" You asked, looking up at him curiously and with excitement, as he bit his bottom lip almost seductively, clearly enjoying your exchange.

"You wanna get out of here?"

The question, so straightforward and sudden, left you speechless with your eyes widening.

Never would you have thought to hear such a question leave his mouth while directed at you. Your mind began whirring, creating scenarios of what sort of things could happen outside of the club if you agreed to his proposition.

You began smiling slightly as you thought of all the questions you could finally get the answers to. Nothing too revealing in your mind, just little harmless questions here and there to figure him out a little bit. He had always been a bit of a mystery to you, not one to open up to the public often. You wanted to find out some of his favorite things. Maybe favorite color, favorite season, maybe whether he was one to pour cereal in before milk or the other way around...

With all these thoughts entering your head, your excitement grew. You had never been so excited to get to know someone. But it was him. Of course he was always an exception.

You wanted to get him out of the bar to have some privacy, to properly talk and figure him out a bit. You started loathing the music playing in the club, the same overplayed songs blasting from the stereos were overpowering his sweet-sounding voice. You wanted to hear it loud and clear with no interruptions.

All you did was nod as an answer to his question before he took a hold of your wrist and began guiding you away from the dance floor and towards the exit.

Sunflowers Sometimes Keep it sweet in your memory I was just tongue-tied

As you walked out of the club, slinging your jacket over your now shivering shoulders you glanced over at Yuno who was putting on a mask along with a cap to cover his face as much as possible.

Realizing the situation, how he probably had to hide from the people who could recognize him, you wondered whether or not what you were about to do was a good idea after all.

Although you were beginning to have slight doubts about the whole situation, you knew if you let the opportunity pass, you'd regret it for the rest of your life. And with all that in mind, you decided to just suck it up and stay silent, following after him.

You only now realized as you let your gaze glance over his whole form, that he had dressed very casually. Just by looking at his outfit, it didn't seem that attention-grabbing. All he was wearing was black. Black everything. Black jeans, black graphic tee with a mask and cap to match. It was almost like he was trying to go incognito.

Though with a face like his with no covers, him standing out would have been an understatement.

Suddenly feeling sympathy towards him for having to even worry about such things, you fought the urge to bring it up. Instead of speaking up about it you just picked up your pace to come walking right next to him.

"So, where's my knight taking me?" You asked, hearing him chuckle at your choice of words. Though it was quite cheesy, you loved the fact that he found it rather amusing. You would never admit it, but you secretly very much enjoyed calling him that as well.

"Didn't think that far through," he admitted with a shrug as you both entered a park. He glanced around only to see a basketball left behind. He jogged up to it, grabbing the ball in his hands and giving it a few twirls. "Up for a quick game?"

"I'm not going to be much of a match for you," you couldn't help but laugh, catching the ball from him as he passed it to you with a bounce. You glanced at the outfit you were wearing, it wasn't very exercise-friendly. But then again neither were his.

"How do you know if I'm any good or not?" He asked, walking up to you and reaching for the ball again.

"Oh, uhh..." You stammered. Anyone who would have met him for the first time with no previous knowledge of him couldn't have commented on his skills with such confidence. Maybe with a bit of hesitance, yes, thanks to his fit form. But just in case, you figured you shouldn't be making such comments at all. "Just figured you might be better."

Only after thinking of a quick excuse, you realized he had snatched the ball from your hands already. You could see him raising a brow at your flustered state before turning to the hoop and throwing the ball through it effortlessly. The distance was quite big as well.

"See?" You nearly exclaimed, gesturing towards the ball that was now rolling away. "Was my assumption so far off after all?"

He only chuckled, pulling his mask down to rest on his chin as he jogged up to the ball, tossing it to you.

"Show me what you've got, then we can talk about your assumption."

You grabbed the ball, nearly missing it at first. You sent him an apprehensive look but he only encouraged you to give it a go. You did, only to completely miss the hoop. You looked away in embarrassment. "I told you!"

You got no response, instead, he went after the ball again. He jogged up to you in no time and handed you the ball, instructing you on how to hold and throw it. He even came behind you, hands on your sides which made you suck in a breath. It made you correct your posture a bit, take a more proper stance. Though it may have benefited you in succeeding to shoot with better accuracy, having his hands on you was quite distracting.

It was all hitting you again. You couldn't quite believe it was all actually happening. It all still felt like a strange dream where everything was moving too fast. You two hadn't even had a proper conversation yet. All you had talked about was your names, made some jokes about him being your knight, and saying a few things about your basketball skills and lack-thereof.

With minimal interactions, there you were with him behind you, his front against your back, hands caressing your sides before moving to your arms to help you with your form. He was wrapped around you even more now.

You couldn't help it, you turned your head enough to be met face to face with him. He glanced at you, eyes curiously running over your features. "What?" He asked gently, wanting to know what was running through your head for you to look as distraught as you did.

There was also a part of you that was afraid of speaking up just because it could ruin the moment. With his face so close to yours, eyes grazing over every inch of your face, you wouldn't have minded staring at his forever. If only you could have stayed standing so close to him for the rest of your days and gaze at his gorgeous features, you would have been perfectly fine with it being the only thing you'd see from now on.

Knowing the moment had to end sooner or later, you wished to keep this moment in your memories forever. But the night wasn't over yet. There were still other memories to be made if he was on board. But you were uncertain.

Inside your head, you were debating whether or not to say what was on your mind. One part of you was begging for a yes, the other warning you with a no.

"Jaehyun..." You whispered, hearing warning signals going off loudly in your mind, yet you kept ignoring them. You looked into his eyes, seeing his curious gaze remaining. "Do you want to go over to my place?"

You weren't sure if he understood what you were implying, but you figured it wouldn't be too hard to pick up on. After all, it was what one would expect from picking up someone at a club.

Waiting for his answer anxiously, feeling like—but being unable to—you should have said something else, not jump right into it but you couldn't find any words to make it any better. All you could do was stand there silent while waiting for his answer.

You felt his hands slowly dropping down your arms and you began to fear maybe you had just ruined everything, ruined your one and only chance. And just as you were beginning to give up entirely, he spoke up.

"Sure. Sounds good."

And I don't wanna make you feel bad But I've been trying hard not to talk to you My sunflower

Getting out of the taxi outside of your apartment building, your heart began thumping in your chest harder. The nerves were picking up. You were only a few flights of stairs and a couple of doors away from having Jaehyun in your apartment. He was practically a stranger, though you knew more about him than you had let on.

Internalizing this as well, you began feeling a bit guilty. You had been pretending not to know much about him, you had been asking some questions here and there during the taxi ride, getting vague answers in response. You tried to ask about things you normally would not know about someone you had just met.

You had been pretending the whole time, lying even. Though it was never a direct lie, more like hiding the truth.

The closer you got to your apartment, the more guilt began eating you alive. What would happen if he found out you knew? What if he saw those albums on your shelves, that one poster that had fallen behind a dresser that you just never put back up? It was likely that he'd find out.

The only way to guarantee he would never find out was to send him back home, to backtrack. And you wondered if you would be okay with giving up just like that.

On second thought, you knew you weren't going to be okay with that. But time was running out. You had to think of something.

As you were walking up the stairs in your apartment building, you became more and more nervous with each step, trying to think of something to maybe even distract him from the fact that you had merchandise of him in your home. But knowing how wrong it would be to lie to him about such a thing, to lead him on, you began second-guessing your plans.

Just as you unlocked the door and opened it slightly, you stopped. Before opening the door any further, you took a deep breath and turned towards him, unable to keep it in any longer. You had to do it, you had to be honest to even have the slightest chance with him.

"Before anything happens... I have to tell you something."

Jaehyun leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest while waiting for you to speak up. "Go ahead."

"I know you. I'm actually a big fan of yours. And I'm sorry for trying to keep that as a secret I just... I was afraid that maybe that would change things but you deserve to know. And if that's a dealbreaker for you, you can leave if it makes you more comfortable but I do want to let you know, that even though I've known you as Jaehyun for longer, I've loved getting to know a bit about Yuno. And I'd like to get to know you more if you only let me."

Jaehyun only smiled. The reaction was very different from what you had thought it might be. He was surprisingly calm, taking it all very well.

"I kind of figured," he admitted, surprising you. "You called me Jaehyun earlier. It's all good. No worries."

You were dumbstruck by how carefree he was acting. You always saw him as someone easygoing but the more you found out about him, the more curious you got. You wondered how else he could surprise you...

"So, you still want to come in, or?" You asked, still surprised.

"Does it look like I'm leaving?" He asked, voice gentle as he leaned over to place his hand on the door and pushing it wide open before stepping inside.

I couldn't want you any more Kiss in the kitchen like it's a dance floor I couldn't want you any more tonight

Still stunned by how composed he was about the whole thing, about you trying to make it seem like you hardly knew him, you still found it in you to shake it off and follow after him into your tiny apartment. He took off his cap and mask, taking a look around, a few items catching his attention.

"You like sunflowers?" He asked, grabbing one of the decorative pillows from the couch that was shaped like a sunflower. He squeezed it, running his palm over the center, feeling the soft material.

You hummed in agreement, gesturing to the planters near the window where you had planted a few yourself. "It's my favorite flower."

Jaehyun went over to the flowers, inspecting them, letting his fingers gently graze the petals. He also seemed a bit surprised by the height up close. They were quite close to his height.

"Why?" He inquired, looking to the shelf where you had a picture of you and your friend from a sunflower festival, posing in front of a field of sunflowers. He smiled at the picture but turned to you with a raised brow, still curious about your answer.

You shrugged, not quite knowing what to say. "They're pretty?" You replied with a small laugh. "They smell nice, they're vibrant, they're... It's a happy flower. Have you ever seen a person look at a sunflower and not smile?" You asked, bringing your finger up to the side of your head and tapping your temple. "Something to think about."

Jaehyun couldn't help but chuckle. The laugh ended quickly and a questioning look came across his face. It took him a few seconds to brush it off, tilting his head and agreeing. "I guess you're right."

His gaze wandered back to the picture framed on the shelf. He walked closer, taking it in his hand and glancing over the picture. He smiled some more as he saw the joyful grins on you and your friends' faces. "Where was this?" He asked, gesturing to the picture.

You walked up to him and looked down at the picture as well. "Taebaek. We went there last year. It was awesome... Have you ever been?"

Jaehyun shook his head, eyes still glued to the picture.

"You should go some time. It's definitely worth it."

His signature dimples showed up again, catching your attention. "Cute." He turned to look at you, the dimple on his right cheek deepening as he smirked.

Suddenly feeling a bit flustered by his gaze and took a step back. "Uhm... Can I get you anything? A drink? Is water okay?" You asked as you walked up to the kitchen that wasn't more than a few steps away due to the small space. You didn't really get to do anything other than grabbing a glass from the cabinet before Jaehyun came to your side again. You glanced at him to see him looking you down with amused glint in his eyes.

"Getting cold feet?"

You looked away, setting the glass down on the counter before leaning your hands on the cold surface. You didn't want to admit it but you were nervous. Still unable to fully comprehend how this was all really happening. You still didn't quite believe he was there in your kitchen standing so close to you, his breath fanning the side of your face. Somehow you were still expecting yourself to wake up and realize it was all a dream.

But as he leaned closer, his lips now grazing your neck, you shuddered. Barely even touching you, he already caused such reactions.

He began placing kisses on your neck, moving up slowly until his lips were right against your ear. "Well?" He asked, moving right behind you and placing his hands on the counter on either side, making you lean forward even more. "Are you?" He asked again, making sure you were still on board.

Instead of answering him instantly, you turned around, leaning back against the counter and looking up at him to see his dark and intense eyes on you, waiting for your response. You gazed into his eyes for a bit before your eyes landed on his beautiful pink lips. Whether he did it intentionally or not, he licked his lips, biting gently on the bottom one, still waiting.

Those beautiful lips... They were right there in front of you for you to reach out just a little bit to kiss. It all felt too good to be true. You and him, in your kitchen, in such close proximity... It felt so unreal.

Even if it ended up being a dream, in the end, you still wanted to make the most of it. You wanted to finally do what you had been thinking about ever since you saw him at the club. The second you laid your eyes on him and those wonderful lips of his, you could not stop wanting to kiss him.

So you slowly raised your hand behind his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. He stepped even closer in response, closing the remaining distance between your bodies and placing his hands on your hips, running up and down your sides as your arms wrapped around his neck, lips molding together in a way that made you want to continue kissing him until yours fell off and you no longer could.

He took a step back after a while, pulling you with him as if taking the lead on the dancefloor. But instead of dancing with your bodies, it was your lips doing the dance instead, and they were in perfect sync.

It didn't take long until you were being guided away, fingers wrapping around items of clothing and tugging as if asking for permission to remove them. You only stopped kissing for the time that it took to remove an item of clothing before picking up where you left off and repeating it all over again as another clothing item was removed.

And so the dance moved from the dancefloor—better known as your kitchen—to the bed.

Wondering headsake Tired eyes are the death of me Mouth full of toothpaste Before I got to know you

Waking up, you opened your eyes only to close them back when the bright light blinded your vision. You grumbled quietly and turned to your side, back facing the window where the light was coming from. Still feeling tired, you wished to just fall back asleep, let your body go back to resting.

Before you could, though, you felt the covers being pulled away from you, completely.

Startled at first, your eyes shot wide open but as your eyes fell on the sleeping man in front of you, the panic you initially felt began subsiding.

You watched as Jaehyun hogged the covers to himself, his eyes closed and lips slightly puckered as he slept. Completely unaware of the world around him in his peaceful form, you found yourself smiling down at the sight of him.

You noticed his hair falling over his eyes and instinctively reached out to brush them away. You pushed them back, feeling the soft strands falling through the gaps between your fingers with ease. It reminded you of the night before, though your hold on his hair then may have been a tad harsher.

You pulled your hand away before the back of your knuckles could caress his soft cheeks. You were still sleepy but the happenings of last night were all starting to come back to you again.

You sighed before getting up from the bed, heading over to the bathroom. You went along with your routine as you normally did, getting to brush your teeth. You stood there in front of the mirror and finally took a good look at your tired eyes. You huffed, wondering what time it was. You hadn't checked yet. Just as you were exiting the bathroom to go and check the time, you halted in your tracks. Your attention was caught by Jaehyun who was still lying in your bed.

You found yourself suppressing a giggle at how tightly he was hugging onto the covers, finding the sleeping habit adorable beyond words. And once again—not surprising you at this point—your gaze got stuck on him, swallowed up by him even while sleeping.

You noticed him stirring so you quickly got back into the bathroom, hearing the shuffling of the sheets and creaking of the mattress as he presumably stretched.

You took a peek, checking to see if he had woken up. He had. He was sitting at the edge of the bed, rubbing his eyes before looking up and showing you his equally tired eyes as yours were. On him, the look was much cuter, though. Somehow even with tired eyes, he managed to look good, make you want to engulf him in your arms, and kiss him all over.

"Ah... You'll be the death of me," you whispered to yourself.

"What?" Jaehyun asked as he yawned.

"Good morning," you said louder, covering your mouth as you remembered it was full of toothpaste. You quickly spit out the excess and got back to the doorway, seeing him looking for his clothes from the war. "Did you sleep well?" You asked, letting your eyes run over his lean yet muscular body. Although you had seen a lot last night, it still seemed like it was not enough.

"Yeah," he replied, seeming to struggle to put on his jeans, stumbling slightly as he still tried to get himself to wake up properly. "Your bed is really comfortable."

It almost seemed like he was in a rush, the way he was putting on his clothes instantly after getting up, checking his phone and putting it in his pocket immediately.

"There's a spare toothbrush if you wanna use it," you told him in an attempt to keep him a bit longer, to make a little more conversation with him.

He turned to look at you, nodding and pushing his hair away from his face. He strolled over to you, stepping past you and looking for the unopened toothbrush. You looked at him, wondering if leaving his shirt off was necessary when it was in his hands only a few seconds ago. Not that you minded, the sight was quite pleasing to look at.

Keeping your eyes on his back and the muscles that contracted with each move, you asked a question, though the answer was quite obvious. "You in a rush?"

He nodded. "Kinda," he answered almost embarrassed, beginning to brush his teeth with quite a lot of force. You almost grimaced, feeling bad for his poor teeth.

"I feel bad for sending you off with an empty stomach, do you want any—"

"No, thanks. I can grab something on the way or eat something quick at the dorms."

Feeling disappointed by how little conversation he was willing to make made you fight back the pout threatening to appear on your lips. You just got back to brushing your teeth and minding your own business, thinking back on how much time you had spent with him and how little you actually had found out about him, yet there you two were, brushing your teeth together. It was so domestic, and oddly it felt very comfortable, though you didn't know each other that well.

As if noticing your disappointment, Jaehyun spoke up. He leaned his head back a bit, to prevent spitting out any toothpaste. "Any plans for today?"

Figuring he was asking just to be polite, you shrugged as an answer. You finished brushing your teeth and set everything to the side before continuing your answer. "Probably just hanging around. I'm free today, so..."

Jaehyun followed suit, spitting out the toothpaste then rinsing his mouth. "Sounds nice," he sighed, almost sounding envious.

You looked at his face through the mirror, seeing the slight frown on his face, making him look even more tired. You started to feel a bit bad for him, wishing there could have been something you could do to help him out.

"Well, I've gotta get going," he said, brushing past you and going over to the bed to grab his shirt before pulling it over his head. He glanced over at a mirror, tidying up his hair a bit before putting on the cap and taking the mask in hand from yesterday.

You crossed your arms, walking over to the door to your apartment to see him off. You waited patiently as he came to stand beside you.

"I had fun," he said, looking at you with a slight smile while putting on the mask.

You agreed, smiling also. "Me too."

He opened the door but before he stepped out, he took out his phone. "Before I go, what's your number?"

The smile on your face widened at his question. You told him your number, watching closely as he typed it down and added it to his contacts. As he finished, he put his phone in his pocket and took a look at you. His eyes lingering as a grin appeared on his face. Though you couldn't see his lips, his eyes gave it away. He pulled the mask down before gently taking your face in his hands and leaning for a soft kiss.

You found yourself leaning into him, wanting the moment to last forever. Something about his lips was just so captivating and you swore you could kiss them for eternity if only he let you.

He pulled away after a while, running his thumb over your bottom lip as your eyes gazed up at him still.

"I'll text you," he said before finally leaving your apartment. The door closed in front of you and you were left standing there with your fingers going up to the lips he had just kissed. You smiled, doing a little victory dance just from the pure excitement you felt. You still had the chance to get to know him more.

I've got your face Hung up high in the gallery Out of this shade

After deciding to sleep just a bit more, take a little nap, you finally got out of bed and ready to spend the whole day just chilling, listening to music, maybe watching whatever you were in the mood for.

Now that you were alone in your apartment everything started to feel even more like a dream. A very vivid, realistic dream. Not realistic in the way that everything that happened seemed realistic, you still couldn't quite comprehend how you even got into such a situation, no. Realistic in the way that you could still feel the touches and kisses, his skin beneath your palms, his hair entangled with your fingers... It was all still very distinctly in your mind.

You glanced at your phone every once in a while, hoping a notification would appear from Jaehyun himself. You were slightly regretting not asking for his number in return but at the same time thought it was good that you didn't think to do so. You were afraid of getting too clingy, too attached too soon.

It wasn't that much of a surprise, given that you had been a fan of him before, and still were. It was almost expected that you'd be so invested in him with little to no proper conversing. The fact that he still didn't know much about you, you being not much more than a stranger to him made you wonder about his intentions.

You had made it clear that you'd be willing to see him again, to get to know him more and him asking for your number had initially given you the same idea. But after some time you began wondering what was it that made him interested. You hadn't given him many reasons for him to keep you around, at least you thought. You two hadn't talked much, so the only thing that you thought could have made him stay interested was...

Your eyes landed on your bed that pretty much was what you thought might have been the reason. A part of you was disappointed that it may have been the main reason and not your personality but another part of you also received a big ego boost from the thought.

But whatever it may have been to keep his interest, you were happy that it did.

Wanting to stop thinking about such things for a while, you decided to go and prepare something to eat. As you moved over to the kitchen, something peeking from beneath your shelf caught your attention. It was one of the posters you had recently taken off the wall. Not remembering putting it on that side of the shelf, you went over and pulled it out. It was a picture of Jaehyun, though something about it had changed.

Not the picture itself, but the poster in general. There seemed to have been something written in the corner. It was his signature, plain and simple, but beside it, there was also a little drawing of a sunflower.

You couldn't help the smile forming on your face. You had no idea when he had the time to do it, most likely after you fell asleep. Just the fact that he had even thought of doing such a little thing and to surprise you with it warmed your heart.

Suddenly the poster became much more important.

Biting your lip deep in thought, you started looking around to see if you could find a nice place to hang the poster on. You moved some things around to find a nice place and once you did, you made sure to hang it as straight as possible.

You took a step back, smiling. You moved over to the window to adjust the blinds so the light wouldn't reflect too harshly from the poster. You wanted to see it clearly with no light obscuring the view.

You sat down on your bed, hands behind you for support as you gazed up at the poster. Though the picture itself was beautiful, you found yourself gazing at the simple autograph and cute sunflower doodle in the corner.

You found yourself wondering if you should buy a fitting frame for it.

Your flowers just died Plant new seeds in the melody Let me inside, I wanna get to know you I don't wanna make you feel bad But I've been trying hard not to act a fool My sunflower

You two started keeping in touch, it didn't take more than a couple of days for him to reach out for the first time. It was mostly some casual conversation. It was only through texts you got something out of him. If you saw each other, it was often at your place and you didn't have much time for talking when other things kept you occupied.

You still tried to get him to talk. Asking him questions but also backing away when you sensed he was getting a bit uncomfortable with all the quizzing. He was hard to crack, and though it proved to be frustrating at times, it never even crossed your mind to give up.

He never really allowed you to get to know him fully. The only thing you could figure out about him was what songs he liked to listen to, he would often give you suggestions when asked, and even a few for movies here and there.

From what you saw, it seemed like a lot was going on inside his mind. He had many thoughts, his brain always whirring yet he chose not to share much. He was a very private person and you understood that and wanted to respect his decision, but you couldn't help but be curious.

One day when you got a text from him very suddenly if he could come over, you thought maybe now was the time when he was ready to talk about everything. You always told him you'd lend him a listening ear, even a shoulder to cry on if he ever needed one. Sensing from the text that something was up, you agreed with no hesitation, waiting for him to come over.

He did, and he greeted you with a kiss. It caught off your own greeting but you gave into him. He started already guiding you back further into the apartment. You were slightly taken aback by his actions and though you wanted to continue, you had to make sure what was going on.

He got you up to the bed, gently pushing you down and climbing on top of you. He kissed your shoulders and neck but before he got to your lips, you placed your hands on his shoulders and pushed him back a bit to look him in the eye. "What's going on, Jae?"

He sighed, frowning as he rolled off of you, sitting down. You joined him, sitting up and moved right next to him, getting more worried by the second as he stayed silent.

You placed your hand on his knee, running it up and down on his thigh as a comforting gesture. You waited patiently for him to talk. It already looked like he was about to, so you didn't want to rush him.

He glanced down at your hand that was on his thigh and although for a second it seemed like he might reach out and take it in his, he didn't. Instead, his hands moved behind him, his body leaning backward.

"We're going on tour," he said. "World tour."

You slowly pulled your hand away from him, realizing what he was getting at.

"I'll be gone for months," he added, though that was a given.

"So... What? Is this it?"

Jaehyun turned to you with furrowed brows, confused. "What do you mean?"

"This is it. Us? Done?"

The tone of your voice sounded harsh and you knew that but you couldn't control it at the moment. You had thought you two had been making some progress, thought that he was finally getting to the point of sharing some things with you but instead he came to tell you he was going away, almost like slipping away from your fingers when you almost got a firm grip on him.

"Is that what you want?" Jaehyun asked, surprised.

No, you thought to yourself, though didn't dare to say out loud. That is not what I want. But I'm tired of waiting for something that might never happen. Maybe this is the right time to let go.

You shrugged. "What else is there to do?"

For the first time while getting to know him, he seemed to be at a loss for words. He rarely talked much but it was never because he didn't have anything to say, he just didn't want to share much. This time around though, he did not know what to say.

"Where is all this coming from?"

You shrugged, looking down at your lap to avoid his gaze.

"Talk to me."

"What do you know about talking?" You snapped, turning to him with a firm gaze.

He let out yet another sigh. "Fine, I get it. I don't talk. I—"

"No, it's okay. You don't have to explain yourself I get it. I'm sorry," you stopped him before he could continue. "It's just... I'm afraid I'm looking for more than you are. And I'm tired of waiting for nothing. I'm tired of waiting like a fool."

"You're not a fool," he said gently, voice quiet and soft.

You shook your head. "Well, I feel like one."

"I'm... I just..." He began, clearly not sure how to go about. "I don't think I can... give you what you're looking for," he finished, voice still gentle and careful.

You nodded, smiling sadly. "I know..."

An uncomfortable silence settled. Both of you were just sitting on the bed, avoiding each other's gazes. Neither of you knew what to say. Or maybe both of you did, but neither wanted to say it.

Even though he wasn't one to talk a lot, Jaehyun was the one to speak up finally.

"So... Ending this is the best option here?" He asked, clearly avoiding ending things for as long as possible.

You let yourself fall back down on the bed, feeling defeated. It was all coming to an end. The daydream you had been living was turning into a more of a nightmare. But you planned to wake up before that happened.

"I guess so... You'll go focus on the tour and I'll... try to cope," you chuckled, though it sounded more sorrowful than joyful.

Jaehyun lied down on the bed next to you, propped up on his arm as he looked down at you. He rested the side of his head on his closed fist and expected your eyes to meet his.

"Look at me," he said. You kept your head turned away from him. "Hey," he repeated, fingers now coming in contact with your jaw and turning you towards him. You gave in, eyes finally meeting his. He smiled, letting you see those dimples that you adored. "I had fun. A lot of fun."

His hand settled on your cheek, caressing and you instinctively leaned into the touch. You even placed a small kiss on his palm, smiling sadly once more. "Me too."

"How do you feel about going for one last round?" He asked, in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Before goodbyes."

You couldn't help but let out a small laugh. He was kind of proving that what you had assumed was correct. It often did feel like he was in it only for the physical aspects. But knowing you would miss him in every way possible, you agreed with a mere nod.

Jaehyun leaned down to kiss you, slowly moving his body on top of yours. You melted in his arms, wondering if letting this happen one more time was a bad idea. But the daydream had yet to turn into a nightmare, and you were okay with risking it having enough time to turn into one. Just for one more night together.

The morning after you woke up and he was nowhere to be seen. It was like he was never there. The only evidence of anything ever happening was on the poster that you had once again pulled down from the wall and placed behind the shelf. There it was behind the piece of furniture collecting dust, accompanied by an autograph and a sunflower.

I couldn't want you any more Kiss in the kitchen like it's a dance floor I couldn't want you any more tonight

A couple of months went by and you found yourself finally recovering from everything. You had gotten so incredibly attached to a man you barely knew, though since you had been a fan of his for a long time, it didn't feel like that was the case. Still, you knew his idol self was different from his real self. That's not to say he was faking it, but there were things you witnessed when being with him that you would have never seen if you only remained as a fan, watching him through a screen.

You still missed him. You missed having him around. You missed his texts, his voice, his presence, his touch. You missed everything. But it had become easier to cope with it. You no longer spent nights crying over it, wishing he would come back to you and everything would be okay again.

But were things okay before?

There was always something missing with him. You were aware of the fact, yet missing him had made you forget about all the negative aspects of being with him. All you remembered were the positives. And it made you miss him, want him back even more.

Just as you had begun to think you were finally starting to get over him, just as you were finding comfort in the beautiful fields full of the gorgeous yellow sunflowers going on for miles in front of you, you got a text that seemed to flip your world upside down once again.

You held your breath, fingers fiddling with the hem of your shirt as the other hand was holding the mobile device in hand. On the screen, there was only a picture. And in the picture, there was a wall covered in sunflowers and a shadow of a familiar person.

Your eyes moved over to the sender, seeing the name Jae. You blinked a couple of times, even rubbed your eyes a bit to see clearly, for the sender to change. Yet all those efforts changed nothing. It was still him who sent it. And only just now. It wasn't an old message, it was brand new.

Suddenly, three dots appeared at the bottom of the screen. He was writing something.

You waited anxiously, biting your nails with your eyes glued to the screen. It didn't take long until a message appeared.

Jae Reminded me of you

Your heart skipped a beat, hand coming up to rest over your chest where you could feel your heartbeat getting louder. Tears pricked your eyes, he ended up messaging you anyway after all these months.

Jae Found it while walking around. Thought you might like it.

While you were pondering over what to answer, yet another message was sent.

Jae I miss you

Those three simple words made you want to drop to your knees right then and there and cry your eyes out. You fought against the urge, wanting to stay as composed as possible as to not draw too much attention to yourself.

Never in a million years would you have thought he would be the one to message you after so long. And with a clear message, "I miss you."

It was so unlike him to be so upfront and honest about how he was feeling that you couldn't help but wonder if something had happened. Or was it the same for him as it was for you, and you just missed each other.

Finding the timing quite shocking, how he sent you pictures of sunflowers he had come across for you to see while you were standing in front of a field of those same flowers, you couldn't help but laugh. You snapped a picture of the view and send it back to him, following up with a text complementing his timing.

He sent a couple of laughing emojis in your way, clearly a bit taken aback as well.

Jae Taebaek?

You Yup. Decided to come anyway.

You were reminded of a time when you had asked him to come with you to the festival. He at first seemed a bit apprehensive but agreed. That plan fell through quite fast, though. He was currently out of the country and would be even after the festival ended.

Jae Who did you go with?

You Alone.

Three dots appeared, then went away, coming back and disappearing once more. It seemed like he was thinking about what to say. When he finally sent a message, you frowned.

Jae I'm sorry.

You It wasn't your fault. The tour came out of nowhere.

Jae That's not what I'm sorry for.

You began walking along the path that would lead you away from the fields as you stared down at the screen, waiting for the three dots to disappear and a message to reveal itself. He was taking quite a long time and as every second passed you grew more and more anxious.

Jae I'm sorry for how things turned out. I'm sorry for keeping to myself so much, I'm sorry for being distant... I was trying to distance myself from you, knowing this might not work out for the better so I didn't even want to try. I'm sorry for acting cold. And I'm sorry for acting indifferent when I knew you were hurting. If it makes you feel any better, I've been hurting too.

You You have?

You sent a text back, surprised that he would. You had seen videos of him on tour, even in interviews. Nothing had seemed off about him. He'd been his normal self which is why this information was especially surprising. But he was a professional, able to leave his worries off stage.

Jae Yes. I know, unbelievable, right? The ice king himself has emotions too.

You Stop that. You're not that cold.

Jae Well, I guess so. I'm still a bit hurt. I keep thinking about something.

You What is that?

Jae Do you miss me too?

You smiled, realizing you never actually said it back. That was yet another surprise.

You I miss you too

Jae Well, you won't have to keep missing me for long. I'll be back soon.

I couldn't want you any more Kids in the kitchen listen to dance hall I couldn't want you any more tonight

You were once again back to living your little daydream. You two kept texting back and forth, talking about your days and planning things to do when he traveled back to Korea.

The waiting was proving to be quite difficult. You just could not wait to have him in your arms again. You wanted to jump on him the second he'd walk through your front door and kiss him, tell him how much you missed having him around, making up for all those moments when you wanted to be together but couldn't due to you being in different countries.

At times you would stop what you were doing and just think. How in the hell did you even end up in this situation?

Never did you think you'd get so lucky to ever even meet your idol but to actually build a relationship with him, and a romantic at that, you still couldn't believe it. It had been something you could only dream of for years, though you always figured it would never happen. You always kept telling yourself it was just a fantasy, something you needed a reality check from so you never thought to even try and pursue it in any way. Yet there you were, sitting on your bed with your phone in hand, sending messages to each other, and not ones you paid a monthly fee for. They were free and he was voluntarily messaging you, talking to you.

It's like all your fantasies, every single one of them, was being brought to life with him. Many of the scenarios you'd thought about with him back when you were only a fan were becoming a reality, one by one. You thought it was safe to say you weren't just a fan anymore.

It was so unbelievable, even after all these months you still had trouble comprehending it.

You kept wondering what other little fantasies could come through.

Just as such thoughts came into mind, you read the text Jaehyun had sent not more than a few seconds ago. He was telling you about the cute kids he met while shooting something outside, how he and a few other members played with the children for a while, completely forgetting about filming for some time. He told you how tiring it had been but said he didn't regret it for even a second. He loved kids.

You couldn't help but smile at the thought, the image that was created in your head. You hoped to see some clips of it when whatever they were filming was posted. But knowing that it happened, even if you never got to see it with your own eyes, was enough to fuel your fantasies even more.

You'd never dare to say it out loud especially to him, knowing how distant he already was, but your mind did drift to one scenario that made your heart flutter.

You could easily picture being there sitting around, just as you were now, but with Jaehyun in the kitchen with a little kid in his arms, maybe another one standing beside him and excited to help with the cooking. Or maybe more excited to eat the food being cooked.

You could picture him finishing up with the food for the kids and come back over to you, tired eyes closing as he'd fall on the couch with you. He'd complain about how tired he was, how the kids had woken him up so early, and just let you wrap your arms around him and hold him close.

You both would look at your kids eating at the table while singing along to the radio that was quietly playing some music from the kitchen, happiness building up within both of you.

Those thoughts only fueled your want for him. Although you may have not been in the right place in life to grow a family, and he for sure was not, you couldn't help but wonder if that was a possibility in the future.

Realizing you were dreaming about such things with a man you hadn't even established a committed relationship with, you quickly shook your head and tried your best to get rid of such thoughts. You turned back to your phone, sending him a text back. You were getting way ahead of yourself with your little imaginary scenarios.

That still didn't stop you from drifting back to them every once in a while.

Sunflower My eyes Want you more than a melody Let me inside Wish I could get to know you

The second you saw a taxi pull up in front of your apartment building you bolted out of the door, running down the stairs and meeting with Jaehyun at the entrance. He smiled widely as he saw you but his smile turned into a look of surprise when you ran up to him and threw your body on his. He caught you but stumbled in slightly, laughing at how excited you were to see him.

"I missed you," you muffled out due to your face being buried in his neck.

He chuckled, embracing you tightly. "I missed you too."

Though reading those words from him through text had made your heart flutter, hearing them come from his mouth made your heart explode. You squeezed him even harder before pulling away and grabbing his hand in yours. "Come on, let's go inside," you said and began pulling him towards your apartment.

The closer you got, the more of a bounce your step gained. You two hadn't seen each other for months, which meant you were lacking in some physical needs quite a bit. You were excited to get that out of the way, thinking Jaehyun had similar thoughts based on your history with him.

What you found surprising when you finally got to your apartment was that he was leisurely walking further in and plopping down on the bed. He bent his arm beneath his head and eyes closed before peeking one eye open with a lazy smile as he looked to you.

You raised a brow but stayed silent. You walked over, hopping on the bed, and straddled his waist. You ran your hands up his front, starting from his stomach and moving to his shoulders before leaning in for a kiss. He kissed back, softly, much softer than what you were used to from him but the gentleness made butterflies erupt in your stomach more than any passionate, needy one ever could.

You began kissing down his neck, hands moving down his body once more. He hummed, you could feel the vibrations against your lips as they grazed over his throat. A smile formed on your face, satisfied with his reaction. But once your hands reached the buckle of his belt, he grasped your wrist in his hand and pulled it away. Before you could question his actions or worry about doing something, he spoke up.

"Can we just... lie here for a while? Just talk?"

Surprised by his proposition to talk, you sat up and raised a brow at him. "Are you serious?"

He only nodded, hands coming to place down on your thighs that were on either side of him, running his palms up and down soothingly, no hidden intentions behind the sweet, innocent gesture.

"Come on, stop lying," you laughed, leaning down with both hands on either side of his head. You leaned in further and pecked his lips before catching his bottom lip between your teeth. He groaned, hands coming to rest on your hips.

"I'm not lying, baby."

Your actions came to a halt at the pet name that just came out of his mouth in a whisper. You quickly turned to look away from him as you felt your face heat up, a grin forming on your face. He had never said that to you before. Not once.

He ran his hands up your sides and gently placed his palms on your cheeks, turning you to look at him again. He smiled. If he noticed the effect he had on you, he hid it.

"As much as I'd love to do that, I'm just too exhausted," He whispered, kissing your forehead to reassure you he wasn't refusing your offer for any other reason. "I just wanna chill here and talk. Are you okay with that? I want to know how you're doing."

You smiled softly, nodding as you lied down next to him. You scooted closer, half of your body thrown over his as you gazed up into his tired yet happy eyes.

"Yes, I'm ok with that... But what's with the sudden need to talk? All we've been doing for the past few weeks is talk through texts." You wondered out loud, reaching out to play with his soft hair.

"Sure, we've talked a lot. But I want to know more about you."

You swore that you would suffer a heart attack soon if he didn't stop with his sweet words and soft smiles that were accompanied by his deep dimples. Even such a sentence caused your heart to skip a beat. Knowing he genuinely wanted to learn more about you warmed your heart. Maybe this time things could work for the better and you'd properly get to know him.

The daydream was back and going strong.

Sunflowers just died Keep it sweet in your memory I'm still tongue-tied Sunflower, sunflower

But even the sweetest of dreams have to come to an end at some point.

It didn't take long until you got a call from him out of the blue while you were hanging out with friends. You wondered what it might be about since he knew you were busy.

You picked up the phone, seeing your friends turn to you, curious to know what was going on.

"Hello?" You answered carefully.

"Hey... baby," he said the pet name with hesitance. "I need to talk to you. Can I come over?"

"I'm with some friends, can't you come by later?"

You saw your friends sharing a look before teasing smiles were shown your way. It looked like they had caught on to you.

"I-I'm sorry but this is urgent."

"What's wrong?" You asked, face filling up with worry.

This caused your friends to lose their smiles. They noticed something was wrong.

"I-I..." A deep sigh was heard from the phone. "I need to talk to you. Face to face. Please."

Hearing the urgency in his voice, you gave in. Something was off. And you had a bad feeling of what it may be.

"Sure. I'll see you soon."

"Thank you," he let out a breath of relief, yet he still sounded worried. "See you in a few."

You put your phone away the second the call ended and apologized to your friends that you had to leave so early. They said their byes and wished for everything to be alright. As you left, you could still hear them chatting to each other. You heard them whispering about whether anyone knew what was going on or if you were dating someone.

"After that call? A breakup might await," you heard one of your friends say and you felt a painful pang in your chest. That's exactly what you were afraid of.

You weren't too far from your apartment. It took about ten minutes to get there on foot. Often a little more than that, but you were in a rush.

You decided to wait outside for Jaehyun to come. You stood there with your foot tapping on the ground nervously while crossing your arms and thinking through all the possible reasons why he'd ask to meet you so suddenly.

After a couple of more minutes went by, you saw a car pull up in front of the building. You glanced away from it, looking for a taxi instead. But you were surprised to see Jaehyun getting out of the car, looking at you with a worried look.

You looked at the car again, making sure it wasn't a taxi. It wasn't. You looked inside to see the driver peering at you with curiosity. The moment your eyes met his, he looked away.

You looked to Jaehyun, confused. Before you got to ask what was going on, he spoke up.

"That's my manager."

Your eyes widened as you realized this could only mean one thing. The company had found out about you two.

You didn't know how to react, so instead, you kept your eyes on Jaehyun as he came over to you and gently turned to you towards the front doors. He began guiding you inside, letting you unlock the doors.

You got into your apartment a little too quickly for your liking. You wished time would have just stopped for a few minutes when you were in the stairwell. You wanted everything to just freeze so you could have time to comprehend what was happening or was about to happen.

You had talked about it a couple of times how the company should never find out about you two but you rarely ever went out of your apartment anyway so you both never stressed about it too much. Somehow, you two had been found, though. Now you had to face the consequences. And you feared it would hurt you more than just a simple punishment. But you were also scared of what Jaehyun might have to face. He was signed in the company after all.

You closed the door quietly and moved over to the couch where Jaehyun was already sitting on, head in his hands in distress.

You sat down, placing a hand on Jaehyun's thigh and he pulled his hands away from his face. He turned to look at you with sad eyes.

Tears began forming in your eyes already even before either of you said a word. You already knew what was coming. And it hurt.

Jaehyun bit back his own tears as he pulled you in for a hug.

As you cried while clinging to him for dear life, you couldn't help but think how unfair it all felt. He hadn't come back that long ago and here he was being taken away from you again. This time around, you had thought maybe you could make some progress in your relationship. And you had. You were closer than ever, he had opened up about a lot of things in his life, just like you had about yours. This all made you fall for him even harder. And you swore you could feel the same from him as well.

But all that progress turned out to be for nothing as now you were forced to call it quits.

Not much was talked about the possible reasons why you were caught. Jaehyun trusted the fact that you hadn't uttered a word to anyone, and you hadn't. Your friends had no idea you were involved with anyone before earlier that day, and now you didn't have to lie to them since it was coming to an end.

Jaehyun had been careful but living in the dorms with many other people it was hard to sneak out without anyone noticing. He trusted his members to not rat him out but there were also managers, some a little more lenient than others, and some more prone to eavesdropping. And there were also sasaengs waiting for them outside. They could have followed behind without him realizing although he always tried to be careful.

Neither of you wanted to dwell on the reasons because they didn't matter. No matter what the reason was, you had to stop seeing each other.

There was no need for apologies because neither of you was in the wrong. It just sucked that having been found out meant it had to stop completely.

"I tried to talk to them, you know?" Jaehyun spoke up after a while. "I tried to negotiate my way out of it but they didn't accept it."

You almost wanted to cry more after hearing that. You hadn't talked about your relationship that much, you had never talked whether you were committed or not, whether it was official but hearing that he tried his best to keep you around let you know he was serious about you.

"And I... I can't risk losing my career. I just can't," he said almost remorsefully.

"And you shouldn't," you spoke up, wiping away your tears and looking him in the eye. "You should never risk your career for me."

Although a part of you felt hurt that he wouldn't even consider it, you didn't hold it against him. You knew he was passionate about his work. He loved it, even if it brought problems along the way. This is what he was meant to do and he shone so brightly when he got to showcase his talent. He was such a talented person, it would have been a shame if he stopped doing what he loved just for you.

"And don't you dare say sorry," you added just as he was about to open his mouth.

He chuckled sadly, shaking his head. You could see right through him now.

He felt disappointed. You were one of the few people who seemed to truly understand him. He wasn't one to show his emotions easily, he rarely liked to talk about his personal issues. But with you, he had gotten so comfortable. With you, he felt like he could be as open as possibly could.

He hated the fact that it had to end like this. He didn't want it to, and he knew you didn't want it to either.

You stared at him as he sat there deep in thought. It physically hurt, felt like someone was tearing your heart out now that he was pulled away from you. The fairytale you were living in was shattering, reality peeking through the cracks, ready to bust it down.

What made it worse was that at this moment you realized you loved him. Sure you may have said you loved him even before you got to know him since you had been a fan but to you the Jaehyun you saw through a screen was different from the one you were sitting next to. The love you had for the two was different. And the love you felt at the current moment for the sad-looking man next to you was strong and deep.

Yet you could not say it out loud.

You could not bring yourself to say it, to confess your love for him right as he was about to leave you. Especially when he was made to do it against his own will. He was clearly troubled by the situation. You were afraid you'd make it even worse for him.

You reached out to brush some hair away from his face, already missing the feeling of caressing the soft strands, knowing this was your last chance to do so. He looked at you, the slightest hint of tears hidden in his eyes. You leaned in, kissing his forehead to comfort him.

"Goodby—"

You were cut off quickly by him pulling you towards him again, crashing his lips on yours with pure need and desperation.

You kissed him back, unable to push him away even if you wanted to. Tears ran down your cheeks as you cherished the feeling of his lips on yours once last time.

You pulled away after both of your lips felt sore and swollen. It ached to be apart but you knew you'd have to stop sooner or later. You could not keep going. You had to let each other go.

You reached out to place your hand on his cheek, catching a tear that fell with your thumb. He leaned against your touch, his hand resting on top of yours.

"Goodbye, Yuno," you said softly.

"Goodbye, Y/N," he said with his voice cracking slightly. "It was fun while it lasted."

"It really was," you agreed, nodding.

He sent you one last smile before he stood up and walked out of the door.

As the door closed, you broke down into sobs. If only you hadn't been so loud, you would have heard Jaehyun crying from the other side of the door as well.

You cried for days. It's like you were brought back in time a few months before you ended things because of the tour but this time around the pain was triple the amount. Just as you realized how strong your feelings for him were, he was gone.

You were still looking through the cameral roll on your phone, seeing some of the pictures you had taken of him. One of your favorites was one where he was standing next to the sunflowers in your apartment, hiding his face behind the petals. You lowered your phone to look at the exact flowers that had begun to wither, dropping their petals due to what seemed like his absence. It was as if towards the end his presence and energy were what kept the flowers in your apartment alive. You had continued to take care of them as well as you possibly could, nursing your favorite flower bringing you comfort to some extent.

After everything went down, your love for sunflowers began to die down. The flower was quite closely linked to the man who had caught your heart and taken it with him when he left. It was a shame, you still cherished the flowers but the memories attached to them now hit you differently.

Yet somehow you found the strength in you to start taking better care of them as if when caring for the plans, you were also caring for someone else even though they were gone.

Sunflower, sunflower

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sandalaris · 4 years

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2, 16, and 26 please! 💖

2: Top 3 villains/antagonists: This was harder to answer than I thought it would be, mainly because I feel like my answers would be pretty fluid depending on when I would answer.

1. The Darkling from the Grishaverse books by Leigh Bardugo. This might be cheating a bit because Netflix is turning the series into a show and so the characters have been on my mind quite a bit, and not sure he would be a first choice otherwise. He sort of the perfect example of "this is what I want more than just about anything but I am unwilling to give up my evil masterplan to get it" type character.

2. Killgrave from Jessica Jones. I can't say why he comes to mind when I think Top Villains, but he does. He fascinated me from the very beginning and I loved every second of his storyline. In part I think because he's written in such a way that while he's very much a True Villain, they also managed to keep him very very human. So perhaps he's not so much a Top Villain but rather a favorite villain of mine.

3. Dubenich from Leverage. The show is full of good villains, but he's the one to kick start the whole thing and he does so by so effortlessly playing the victim. He tries to take a shortcut and then lies and (attempts to) kill a group of hardened badass criminals when he could have just hired them straight out to steal for him what he wanted. And then he gets mad when they don't lay down and die like good little minions and instead fight back. The villains on the show are often greedy and awful, but there's something wonderfully satisfying about watch someone who tried to take the shortcut within the shortcut get what's coming to him

16: Top 3 characters who die

1. Glenn Rhee from The Walking Dead. I love Glenn, he became my favorite since his first appearance and remains my favorite character on the TWD to this day. He was an amazing strategist and a wonderful dose of humor. There's just so much to love about Glenn, and I will forever be bitter that they killed him off.

2. Does Kate Fuller from From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series count? She died, technically, she just didn't stay dead. I have a lot of love for Kate and I kind of adore that she was so angry when she died. Not something you see a whole lot of with characters like her. He death was more than just for some Man Pain too, although it was used for that as well, but it's a legit plot point as well. Season three would have gone very differently if Kate hadn't died at the blood well.

3. Another character who came back from the dead is Peter Hale from Teen Wolf. Whom I love and adore, but I'm going to try and pick a character who actually stayed dead. And speaking of Not Nice characters who are technically the Good Guys, let's go with the good ol' fashioned HP series and Severus Snape. I cried like a baby when he died, even though I knew there was no way he'd survive the series. He remains one of my top favorite characters in the series and I couldn't have asked for a better death scene for him.

26: Top 3 obscure series/movies/books I recommend (I cheated slightly and recommended more than three)

1. Dark Matter. I'm not sure how obscure I'd consider it, but it was a show that was cancelled too soon and that I had never heard of before a random person said I should check it out. It takes the amnesia trope and turns it on its head. The entire main cast wakes up without a clue about who they are from the very beginning and then decides to give up their pasts and focus on who they want to be with a clean slate. So many shows give a character amnesia and then has a story around this sort of new person with a familiar face before things go back to the status quo. This show does the exact opposite. The amnesiac version is the character the audience know and love and we root for them to embrace the people they want to become over the people they were before. For a more obscure show, The Almighty Johnsons is a good show. I don't recommend it quite as hard as Dark Matter, I just don't think it would appeal to as broad an audience, but it's still really good show about a family who are the Norse gods reborn in human form and the trials they face.

2. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. Such a good book series, that keeps teasing me with hints of a possible future movie. The four books are retellings of classic fairytales set in futuristic world, with Cinderella being a cyborg and the Big Bad Wolf is a genetically enhanced super soldier. Oh, and Rapunzel is a genius hacker living in a satellite. I love these books and can't recommend them enough.

3. Boondock Saints. It's a pretty good movie about two brothers who go on a killing spree against a criminal syndicate that's infiltrated the area they live in. It's got a decent size cult following, but the average person hasn't heard of it so I'm going to count it as an obscure film. For a more obscure film, Repo! The Genetic Opera is a good movie set in a futuristic world where organs can be repossessed for failure of payment and no one is really a good person

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coffeeandcalligraphy · 4 years

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Hi! I love your youtube channel & I think you're super cool! I'm a newer follower and was wondering if you could give a summary of the concept of Fostered---it sounds like a really interesting series!

Aww thank you!

Yes I can!! Fostered is too thicc for me to give extensive summaries (unless y’all want this) and there is very little you need to know from the earlier books to understand the current ones! That’s because as myself and the series have aged, its genre, age category, and plot points have changed!

Here’s a small outline of the main characters:

Reeve

Protagonist + narrator for all “main” Fostered books

Sister of Lonan

Will write salty breakup songs about people she was never in a relationship with

Bi as fuck!

Foster

Was once Reeve’s boyfriend?? no??

Best friend of Harrison

Will write love songs about tofu

Ace as fuck!!!

Harrison

Best friend of Foster

Also Reeve’s best friend!

Sort of love-interest of Lonan (we’re getting there lol)

Will write love songs about waffles

Gay! as! fuck!

Protagonist of Moth Work

Lonan

Reeve’s brother!

An antagonist for a good chunk of this series

Will not write love songs he has no heart (he does I am just mean)

Also bi as fuck!! Everyone is bi in that family lol we love it

Here’s a breakdown (CW: there’s a lot of violence/convo about mental illness/potentially triggering content in these summaries, so tread with caution):

Fostered (book 1) to Resisted (book 3):

These books (Fostered, Hunted, Resisted) are probably the most harmonious out of the 6 (7 including Moth Work) so far! That’s because for a long time, I believed Fostered would end at three books (initially a standalone, then duology). They’re all closely linked through the “foster homes” plot (hence the name of the series) and are obviously the most dystopian of the books (all three are also YA). You can feel the 2014 dystopian vibes in this book lol. I wrote this summary 5 years ago for my first ask ever and it sums up that idea:

The book takes place in the not-too-distant future where children who’ve committed crimes, are neglected, or have chosen to, are sent to behavioural detention centres – what everyone else that’s not the government like to call ‘foster homes’. The story revolves around a fifteen-year-old girl named Reeve who’s lived two years in a ‘foster home’ after being accused of her sister’s murder. Following an accident that she caused which subsequently led to her escape of her foster home, she stumbles across a group of kids, who like her, have gone through the lifestyle and also have escaped. She makes an alliance with them and everything seems in its place until she finds out that a team of hunters are searching for her because of the same accident. Unable to remember anything that happened from the event, she then learns that maybe all things don’t point to her – what really happened on the day she escaped?

(props to 14-year-old me for writing this)

I wrote these three books so quickly (though at the time, as a thirteen-year-old, it felt like drafting took forever). I started Fostered in October of 2014, and by May of 2015, I was halfway through Resisted :))))). How?? These books are all above 85k??? I could never!!!

FOSTERED (book 1 - YA dystopian):

Follows the above plot. What isn’t mentioned above is how this book starts. We start with Reeve (15 at the time–a baby!!!) chillin in an abandoned storage unit she was hoping to use as shelter. HOWEVER, plot twist of the season–there are already people there!

She’s semi-ambushed by these people who she later learns are our good ol’ pals Foster and Harrison. The boys are also taking care of a 6-year-old girl named Essie who they love fiercely!! They’re sketched out by Reeve, which we later find out is because–they! know! her!

Foster, Harrison, and Reeve were actually all the closest pals in a ‘foster home’ they called WAFFLE. Reeve forgets that during the disastrous accident she causes that separates them (she blows up the foster home lmaooo) but lookie here–the squad is reunited! Eventually everyone comes to love each other (though it ain’t like that in the beginning) + Foster and Reeve have a romance which I find so bizarre now?? They would never.

The squad is being “hunted” by a group of “chasers” (I LOVE dystopian lool) headed by a woman named Red who is actually?? a badass? She tries to kill them a bunch of times, Reeve kills Lonan’s sister by using her as a human shield, Essie dies, I’m awful!

HUNTED (book 2 - YA dystopian):

After Essie’s death, the group is shook! Harrison especially as he is *soft* and the “leader” of the group. To protect his other ducklings who are now the most sought after people in America lmao (Foster and Reeve), he does something SCANDALOUS and joins the *government* AKA all the evil people putting innocent children in these awful detention centres. What a 180! Essentially, he does this to purposefully manipulate investigations into Foster and Reeve away from them, but Reeve doesn’t know this so she’s cheesed when she finds out (she feels #betrayed)!

Harrison’s departure of the group triggers the group’s breakup. Harrison joins an *elite* section of the government that *I believe* tries to wrangle runaway foster kids?? This group is lead by our other good pal Lonan and this is the first book he appears in! He takes Red’s place as antagonist in this book.

The group also includes Holly, a badass who is also Foster’s older sister (and also Lonan’s first serious girlfriend)! She’s scary! She also dies by hanging in a blood-drinking cult mid-way through this book! don’t! ask! Margo is this group’s tech analyst, and she’s a mentally distant hippie (and Harrison’s first and last serious girlfriend which obvi didn’t work out lol he’s gay!) Idk what Harrison’s job was here, but he learns techy stuff from Margo!

This book is important because it establishes Lonan, who continues to be a pivotal character as the series progresses. It also establishes Lonan and Harrison’s relationship. Obvi Lonan is the antagonist in this book and won’t make his redemption arc for another 1book lol, but him and Harrison have a bit of a bizarre relationship. Though they’re almost rivals, they almost adore being each other’s rivals (but don’t tell them that)? After Harrison leaves Lonan’s team, the squad essentially is *hunted* by them, hence the book title lol.

By the end of this book, a few important things happen! Lonan kills Margo (remember, Harrison’s first and last girlfriend lol, we could say Lonan was killing his competition lol is that too much), this obviously reinforces his role as bad guy! After the book’s events, Lonan eventually overtakes the group and they’re all imprisoned! Love it!

RESISTED (book 3 - YA dystopian):

This is my favourite Fostered book because there’s just so much tea! We start in “headquarters” AKA Lonan’s pride and joy! After he kills off his old boss so he can be Ultimate Antagonist (actually because she essentially killed his girlfriend ahaha), he’s the Man in Charge and power trippin like crazy.

Reeve is separated from Foster and Harrison who are also in HQ because she’s mentally unwell. Lonan has given her the job of executing people (because he is evil) which she ain’t diggin! so Lonan takes it upon himself to address her mental health concerns (which obviously isn’t helping because they mutually hate each other).

Eventually, Reeve barters with Lonan for what she wants by using Holly’s death (which only she and Foster witnessed) as leverage. As I mentioned above, Lonan essentially kills/drives away his entire *elite government squad* which means! He needs another one! Reeve uses this as an opportunity and says WELL you COULD hire Foster and Harrison. Lonan does and VOILA we suddenly have a new squad!

This is really where we build a relationship between Lonan and Reeve who have previously done nothing but try to kill each other! They actually bond in this bizarre kind of way. While they still don’t like each other, they mutually understand each other more than Foster and Harrison do as in many ways, Lonan and Reeve have both done the same awful things (lots of killing people :))).

This all builds up to the epic reveal that they are actually half siblings (they share a mother) and oh DOES THE TEA START BOILING. This news causes major tension in the OG squad (Reeve, Foster, Harrison) as Foster and Harrison think Lonan has done too many irredeemable things to be forgiven, despite the fact that he and Reeve are related. They are right! However, Reeve isn’t so quick to decide.

She and Lonan go through a lot together (including kidnapping! attempted murder! An explosion! Reeve pretending to be a corpse!) which are still some of my favourite things to re-read and the reason I love this book the most out of all the books I’ve written. This is where #redemption arc occurs!

This book is too long for me to cover everything, but essentially their relationship is the most important! The book ends when the squad (now joined by Lonan) is forced out of hiding because Reeve is injured and actually needs real medical attention! This leads to ANOTHER separation, with Reeve heading back to a foster home for the first time in a few years!

Hollowed (book 4) to Rewired (book 6)

HOLLOWED (book 4 - YA (?) dystopian (?))

Book four is my least favourite book of the 6 and that’s because it’s melodramatic and I was finding my writing style! It’s not quite appropriate for YA because of its violent subject matter, but wouldn’t appeal to adults, so it’s a bit category-less. Dystopian elements still exist, but are less relevant, so it’s also a bit muddled in term of genre.

All you need to know in terms of events are that Reeve meets someone named Lincoln in the foster home she’s put in (see previous) who ends up being a horrifically abusive person. He sort of shifts into the role as antagonist, though from this book on, the lines between good guys and bad guys blur. Hollowed also introduces a new character–Glenne! Glenne is Lonan’s second serious girlfriend and remnants of this relationship still show up in current Fostered spinoffs (tho she will be irrelevant in Houses With Teeth most likely).

SPLINTERED (book 5 - YA?????)

The genre and category of this book are impossible to define. We continue almost where we left off in book four, and this book is pretty unremarkable in terms of events lol. The squad remains the same, except toward the end, we’re introduced to Darren, a dude from California who hears about Lonan’s *elite government squad* (before the government disowned him) and hopes they can help him locate his missing brother (tho he don’t reveal this until book six).

This book is mostly about Lonan’s declining mental health that still has not gotten better. Some hints of Lonan and Harrison’s relationship getting closer are also dropped in this book.

REWIRED (book 6 - Adult (???) literary fiction sometimes???)

The category of this book is bizarre. It begins as weirdly maybe almost YA, but dips into adult literary fiction at some points. This book is where I really grasped my style and so the genre and category reflect that transition.

What you need to know about Rewired is the progression of Darren and Reeve’s relationship as it goes from acquaintances to PALS to MORE THAN PALS to I don’t! want to be! your! pal! This book is so weird and disjointed because of this transition away from YA dystopian and into adult literary fiction. We also get even more Lonan and Harrison relationship development as Reeve meddles her way into business that is not hers!

MOTH WORK (spinoff - no categories anymore I have no idea)

The most recent Fostered book! We finally get to see Lonan and Harrison’s relationship on the page and oh boy! Is there tea! As Lonan struggles to grasp trauma from childhood, and Harrison struggles to help him, their relationship goes to places it ain’t never been before! This eventually leads to a much needed separation where Lonan explores a new relationship with Eliza (his father’s ex oooooof) and Harrison figures out what he needs in order to live a healthier, happier life. MW is a bridge between book six and seven.

HOUSES WITH TEETH (book 7 - adult literary fiction *I’m hoping*)

I have yet to write this book, but we’re back in Reeve’s head! Here’s a synopsis I’ve shared before:

After escaping a toxic relationship, twenty-year-old Reeve disappears for the second time in one year. She’s drawn to Wicker, a mealy town outside New York City, whose disappearances of affluent girls has caught her attention. The day she arrives, a sinkhole buries one of them in the front yard of her new home, a fixer-upper she shares with estranged friend, Foster. Quickly she falls prey to speculation by herself and others, who try to connect her to the tragedy. And even stranger, false recognitions as the girl in the ground, and the many other missing Wicker girls make her feel more and more like one of them–these alluring, unknown women.

This book is very much my vibe now as a writer, however, it’s been difficult to re-integrate back into Reeve’s head with all Fostered’s dystopian elements removed! I don’t have much else to share about this book since I know so little about it, but it is essentially my current project.

So I hope that was helpful! There’s a lot of unexplored territory that I worry might be impossible to get into because I legitimately do not remember a lot @sarahkelsiwrites calls me a fake fan lol (I genuinely am), but if y’all ever want to know more, I am 100% down to share whatever! This was also a lot of info so if y’all have questions, send ‘em in!

Enjoy this abridged version of Fostered!

–Rachel

#fostered #amwriting #writeblr #writerblr

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ayakashiramblings · 5 years

Text

Dawn and Twilight’s Social Media Accounts

Kuya

@NevermoreButSnore.

1230 followers.

Yes, I copied Edgar Allan Poe. Yes, I’m not sorry about the rhyme. Or calling him out.

Not that he really cares.

Insists that he is a headcanon creator on Twitter

Everyone who follows him knows that he is lying.

If we really had to classify him as a writer, it would one who posts those way-too-accurate posts about writers complaining about writing.

Like the notebook hoarding one. Not that anyone here in the fandom is guilty of that, haha... haha... ha.

Ironically is one of the more popular ones out of the whole group.

His flat responses and laziness are way too prominent to NOT be noticed.

If you actually tentatively sneak into his DMs though, for writing tips, he will patiently listen and... rather bluntly advise you.

It’s still advice though and is always the type to check out and reblog any short fanfics.

It just has to be weird, sporadic hours because he is the type to fall asleep with the phone on his face.

Koga Kitamikado

1230 followers.

@CapitalKayKay

Listen, there is a reason why a lot of successful businesses chose Instagram as their social media so Koga is no exception.

What makes his account stand out, as you can see from his rather cheeky username, is that he is willing to be an open book.

So he isn’t constantly shoving down any products he is sponsoring or whatever piece he is endorsing.

It’s more of genuinely wanting to hang out and explore what the world has to offer.

Whenever he posts a picture of the gang together, he’s the one tagging all of them, even the ones with hard usernames.

And there’s always a nice comment thanking whoever hosted the fun time or being appreciative of the area and the locals.

It helps that he has a sense of humour so the memes are always just the right amount of teasing but nothing too bad that will deter potential clients.

Because of his down-to-earth nature, he reels everyone in.

Uses the space to invite everyone following him on any celebration/casual outing.

The thing is... he has a lot of followers.

So... good luck.

Aoi

1150 followers.

@DeredArtTooTsun

Look, even he knows he is a Tsundere. It’s a small victory getting him to acknowledge that, let alone use it to brand himself here.

But god, he’s the man I’m most jealous of on Tumblr.

PERFECT BULLET JOURNALS AND SKETCHES.

Got the spreads that literally define ‘aesthetic’, a perfect lineup of art materials even with pencils that have their numbers faded, and somehow, the emotions can pass through the paper and screen.

Even does tutorials on perspectives, positions with cute annotations. Just don’t praise them for being adorable though and focus on improving your skills, dummy.

Ironically though, it’s his mindless vents that get the most number of notes.

It helps that the pics include him, a very cute... I mean... manly boy screaming at very, very hot men.

A bit baffled but whatever it takes to get commissions.

That’s right, he takes them. At least there is a back-up option should the restaurant ever go out of business.

Spoiler Alert: Still doesn’t get paid as much. People, have you seen the number of talented artists here? Aoi might be in the rankings but it’s still hard attracting business.

Support your fandom artists, everyone!

Ginnojo

1000 followers. Just nice.

Ginnojoz

Poor grandpa didn’t intend to put that extra ‘z’ letter, it was a typo because scales don’t get along with haptic touch.

And unfortunately, doesn’t understand how to change it.

Once, he was huge on Vine before it died. The end of an era that he has to witness again. RIP.

Gin-Gin, it is RIGHT. THERE.

Expect to find his super short self-defence videos and Book Club Readings on YouTube.

Girls actually appreciate his instructions and attempts to provide help even if they are alone.

He did try to respond to the nice ones and actually succeeds.

It’s always easier getting to know the language of women when you don’t really see/touch them.

A deep baritone is perfect for some sexy excerpt of a historical novel...

Until he corrects the setting.

In fact, he sometimes rage-quits and rewrites it.

Unlike Kuya, him doing those established ideas actually catches on.

Yura and Gaku

1500 followers.

MelodyandTheBeat.

... Tik-tokers. Tik-Tok people?

WTH do you call them?

As you can see, they are the most popular since it’s combined stardom.

Look, their covers and music mixes are beautiful.

They always have their own version that somehow combines traditional Japanese music... with k-pop.

And of course, food porn.

Just be grateful there isn’t that awful squelching sound you hear when you consume jelly or the breaking of chilli seeds.

Listen, I usually separate them because it’s never nice to be grouped as having the same activity as your twin.

But in this case, being both equally beautiful AND talented sells their uploads.

Even the cringy ones made because Yura is such a Luddite.

Like just turning his head and being amazed his hair can turn so many colours, being impressed with each tilt until he gets to a black shade.

Suddenly hurls the phone away. Gee, wonder why? Guess black isn’t the new... black for him?

Gaku sometimes even introduces new filters he created based on Yura’s random requests that strangely get circulated on the site.

Oji

550 followers all know Oji-Sanz

Unlike Ginnojo, he deliberately adds the ‘z’ letter to sound cool.

You wanna know what’s worse?

He actually uses Facebook.

Aoi decides to give up on him. Nobody blames the poor student.

It’s apparently some old form of social media? Never used it, no sirree.

Always changing his relationship status but at the end of the day, he’s single and ready...

To post about all the lovely ladies destined to enter his restaurant.

He thinks it’s great publicity.

It really isn’t but one good thing about Oji is he includes EVERYONE.

This man respects his customers and always helps advertise their wares, especially if their connections lead to more resources.

And less grocery shopping on his part.

Does post the recipes he and Aoi created but will never use because the Milk Hall had a certain style to follow.

Officially makes Aoi his son... on Facebook at least.

Aoi now tolerates the account.

Barely.

Toichiro Yuri

WhatheMeSay has 1231 followers!

In your face @CapitalKayKay and @NevermorebutSnore!!

You know, I’m so glad that there aren’t any users with those names because I’d be so scared of accidentally tagging them.

Also, geddit? Because... What the fox say?

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding... yeah, I’ll stop.

Pinterest Guy. And actually does spend on his ‘hobby’ to show off to everyone.

It does boost you and your father’s sales so there is nothing to complain about.

His boards are always alliterated just to sound super catchy and it works so long as he gets the right emoji.

Kabuki plays better be promoted or else.

Filled with candid pictures of his victims all taken at different angles you didn’t know were possible and in varying degrees of hilariously misunderstood positions.

He even supplies a donation link, heavily leveraged by his followers, since there are incentives tied to it like early access.

A bit suspicious the photos look like cropped out parts from Koga’s posts and some of the text resembles Kuya’s... er... wisdom?

He takes an unholy amount of selfies when he thinks no one is looking and so they are always surprised upon finding them on the Selfie Board.

There is a locked board that no one can access, even his followers who are his comrades in real life.

It’s actually just one picture in there.

It’s you smiling and giggling at a joke of his. Not even you know it’s been taken. Guess he is as soft as his fur, eh? He better come out soon or else.

Kuro

Kuroruohtumbling

Ginnojo is unfortunately just old enough to have grown up with Scooby-Doo to understand the reference.

Snapchat, like a snapping snake! Hiss!

Unironically loves the puppy face.

Ok, but the glimpses of his stunts help show snippets of the circus life.

He and his whole troupe family will even don costumes best suited for certain filters.

Sometimes ropes in Ginnojo... and by sometimes, I mean enough for everyone to start wondering if the stoic man is part of the act.

To be fair, he randomly hugs people and ranks them here.

You, of course, were number 1.

Now, if only he didn’t use the bloody song to announce it but you forgive him.

Maybe even risks revealing his ayakashi form before deleting the message to you.

Loves making international fans and learning various languages through each post, sort of like flashcards but animated and more fun!

And with 1200 followers, he might become a polyglot like Koga.

Shizuki

Everyone bans him from creating one.

Because they know the power of his roasts is too great.

Little do they know he goes undercover.

Underground.

And under their noses.

That’s right. His rant town on... MySpace.

Unapologetically uses a good chunk of his salary from serving the House of Yuri just to get nifty themes that help with the whole burning process.

Look, there’s a reason he and Oji are friends.

This is why.

Their taste in women seems fine but we really have got to do something about their affinity towards DEAD PLACES.

To be fair, he made the whole thing drunk but that doesn’t mean he should maintain it SOBER.

He just feels that it is a waste of space if he doesn’t utilize it.

And it also becomes kind of cathartic. From the intrusive hugs to his master and Sir Gaku irking each other to no end, he needs it.

Zero followers... but only because it’s super private.

It becomes 1 the moment you jokingly create an account.

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dust2dust34 · 5 years

Text

(i will be the fire) that keeps you warm (2/5, Olicity, AU)

Summary: With Artie’s help, Oliver and Felicity get a little closer.

A/N: The response to this story has been incredible! Thank you so much!

(read on AO3)

(read from beginning)

A blur of dog greeted Felicity when she opened the door to Queen Manor.

“Artie!”

She dropped her purse and jacket on the ground and stooped down, scratching the slobbering face of her pit bull. The growing puppy was all energy and grins, her tongue hanging out as Felicity smooshed her face all over with cooing noises that fill the anteroom of the house.

“Who’s my big girl?” Felicity scratched Artemis all over. A low growly hum emitted from the dog as Felicity got into her sides, rubbing all over her beautiful blue-grey fur. “Oh yeah, that’s the stuff right there. We need all the lovin’s, don’t we? Because we never get any, not ever. Nope, not even from that grumpy landlord of ours who insists he doesn’t care. But he does, doesn’t he? Oh yes he does because here you are, not in my room but greeting me at the front door as the best welcoming committee ever.”

Artie leaned her full body weight into Felicity’s legs, nearly knocking her down. Felicity laughed, kissing Artie all over her face before standing.

The most delicious smell hovered in the air and Felicity inhaled it greedily.

“Yes,” she said, grabbing her stuff off the floor and hurrying to the kitchen. “Are we finally going to see the magical human who leaves food for us? Well, not us so much as me, but you get to enjoy the smells and they’re almost as good.”

Felicity followed the clinks and clanks of pots and silverware, the smells somehow getting better. She wasn’t sure how, but proximity was definitely a thing.

She breezed through the swing door. “God, that smells amazing.”

Broad shoulders she instantly recognized had her jerking to a stop. Her astonishment doubled - nay, quadrupled - when Oliver Queen himself turned to glance back at her with a soft, “Thank you.”

“You cook?” Felicity demanded, dumping her stuff on the kitchen table and sidling up next to him. “This entire time, all the food that appears in here, that’s been you?”

Oliver shrugged, stirring some sort of heavenly-smelling sauce. “It gives me something to focus on.”

“I’m really glad to hear that,” Felicity told him as she snagged something roasted and vegetable-like from a pan nearby. He moved to smack her hand, but she got the pepper in her mouth before he could and gave him a huge smile. “For selfish reasons, of course,” she added. “I am glad you have something to focus on, but also, everything you cook is incredible and for someone who can only claim to be a culinary microwave expert, I appreciate it. A lot. I don’t think you realize the good deed you are doing. These are real nutrients instead of the chemically-induced messes of whatever pre-packaged thing I’d make. Thank you.”

Felicity grabbed his shoulder for leverage and pushed onto her toes to kiss his cheek.

It stunned her as much as him. She fell back to her feet, her lips tingling from his stubble. It was unbelievably soft.

He cleared his throat and turned back to the sauce with a low, “I’m glad.”

Felicity’s eyes danced over his profile, noting the deeper color in his cheeks. She knew it was the heat of the kitchen making him flush and not her. But oh to dream.

And dream she did.

Which was so not a thing she should be thinking about right now with the ghost of her lips on his cheek taunting her.

She absently licked them just as Oliver glanced over to catch her still staring at him.

His gaze nailed her in place, narrowing just enough to ignite a needy tug deep inside her. Her fingers dug into his shoulder on reflex as her heart slammed into the ground. Oh, this was…

This was her landlord.

“Was Artemis good while I was out?” Felicity asked loudly - too loudly - as she quickly turned away.

“She always is,” Oliver replied from behind her. His voice was loud enough she knew he had turned to face her. She also knew that the burn in the middle of her back was totally her imagination and not his eyes on her.

“I know she loves hanging out with you instead of being cooped up in my room,” Felicity told him, scrunching her nose up at the puppy in question. “Don’t you? Yes, you do, oh yes you do.”

She didn’t even think as she wiggled her entire body in a way that had Artie’s entire body excitedly wiggling in return. She laughed and looked back to see if Oliver had seen it. He wasn’t looking at Artie, though. His eyes were on her. Her chest rolled, the little tug in the pit of her stomach going further down. It was over as soon as it started, though, and Oliver spun back to the stove.

The air was somehow more charged now.

“I like the company,” he offered.

“Do you hear that?” Felicity asked the dog. If her voice was a little rougher, well, it was because she was thirsty. Not for water. Ignoring her brain, Felicity made her way to the french double doors that opened into the enormous backyard. “He likes your company. But who wouldn’t with that adorable face?” She opened one and Artemis took off in a blast, leaving some hair lingering in the air behind her. Felicity laughed, watching the dog tear across the large backyard. “Thank you,” she said over her shoulder to Oliver, even though her eyes never left Artemis. “It means a lot knowing someone is here who doesn’t just think she’s an annoyance.”

“She’s far too cute to be an annoyance.”

“So does that mean you like her now?” Felicity teased, glancing back at him.

She caught enough of his profile to see him rolling his lips together in an attempt to fight a smile.

He didn’t smile often, this man. He had more demons than anyone she had ever met, and oh she’d met a few. But none of them were quite like Oliver Queen. In the keep-my-personal-horrors-buried-as-deep-as-possible aspect, and in others. Many others. Like cooking, apparently, and keeping his door open for Artemis at night now instead of making her crawl through the mucky corridor connecting their rooms. And that every once in a great while, he gifted Felicity with a grin, even if made him grimace, like he’d forgotten what it was like. And she wasn’t above mentioning the absolutely killer muscles he sported. He didn’t look like he ate any of the food he made. If he did, he’d have a little belly like the one she was starting to get. But not him. She was willing to bet a million dollars that his abs were the kind of abs people wrote about in romance novels.

They were that good and she didn’t even have to see them.

“It should be ready in about twenty minutes,” Oliver offered, looking back at her.

He caught her staring and with a start, her eyes flew to his. Felicity opened her mouth to say something - anything, oh my god - to divert the attention away from her stupid wandering eyes. But then her gaze caught on his. It seared right through her. The once-flat blue that she was certain mirrored his dislike of her were now a deep molten cerulean.

Heat licked at her, tugged at her core, flooded her veins.

Neither of them moved.

His eyes dropped to her lips.

The air sucked out of the room, instantly replaced with a blazing awareness that made her mouth dry and her breasts grow hot and heavy under her t-shirt.

A yelp broke the moment.

Felicity’s head whipped to the backyard to find Artie limping towards her.

“Oh no,” she gasped and darted out to meet her. “Oh, what happened?” It took her a second to realize Oliver was right on her heels, catching up in the blink of an eye and reaching Artie at the same time she did. Whimpers escaped the pit bull as she fell over onto her side, her luminous silver eyes staring up at Felicity, pain creasing her little face. “What’d you do, what happened?” Felicity asked her again and the puppy answered by going for her back paw. Her very bloodied back paw. Felicity hissed. Bright red smeared her once-grey coat. A little pink tongue swipe it away, but more oozed to the surface. So much more. Her stomach turned. “Let me look,” Felicity urged, pushing Artie’s face away just enough to see where the blood was coming from. She gingerly picked the paw up and spread her little toes to see she’d cut through the webbing there. “Oh Artie.”

Blood flooded the cut, coating Felicity’s hand and Artie’s paw. With a whine and a desperate look in her eyes, Artemis arched back to get the paw back into her mouth, but Felicity stopped her. She didn’t like that one bit and tried harder with a pathetic sounding growl, her little puppy teeth nipping at Felicity’s hand.

“No, trust me, you don’t want to do that, baby girl,” Felicity told her, and it was only now that she heard the beginnings of a tremor in her voice. Her dog was hurt. Something had hurt her dog. “How did this happen? Is the grass made of razors, or did… did someone leave something out here? I’ll kill them. Right after I help you. I don’t know how to help you. What… We need to go to the vet. Do they take walk-ins? I don’t know, I don’t even know their number. How do I not know their number? We were just there, weren’t we? I need their number!”

“Easy.” The order came out in a soft, unassuming voice, but the authority in it was undeniable. Oliver’s large hand smoothed across Felicity’s back. It helped. It grounded her. He grounded her. She watched him tug his shirt off. “Here we go,” he crooned to the puppy. He took the paw from Felicity and gently wrapped it. “That’ll keep you away from it for a minute.”

“Thank you,” Felicity said. She blinked away a sudden burst of tears and let out an uneven bark of laughter. “Wow, this is more intense than I thought it would be. Artie getting hurt, I mean. I just… I didn’t think I’d be so… weepy.”

“Your little girl’s hurt,” Oliver replied, giving her a gentle smile. It somehow both calmed her down and made her heart flip-flop a couple dozen times. “It’s overwhelming. Come on, the cut looked pretty bad, you should take her in.”

“Yeah. Yes. I will. Right now.”

Oliver bundled Artie into his arms and stood up.

Felicity followed after a beat, stealing the moment to take a deep breath before standing on oddly shaky feet.

When she turned to follow, she couldn’t hide the horrified gasp that escaped her.

Oliver’s back was covered in scars. Some old, some still a little pink. There were ragged holes like he’d been shot, and there were long, willowy tendrils. From a whip, her mind supplied. Her eyes burned with another reason entirely at the sight. Smaller scars littered the rest of him, twisting and turning, some deep and ugly as if they had never healed right while others had to catch the sunlight to be seen. But the worst one was across his lower back, a burn scar that walked all the way across his skin, thick and mottled. When she managed to tear her eyes away from it, she noticed the faint outline of what looked like a dragon tattoo on his left shoulder blade.

He stiffened.

Tension turned his shoulders into the brick wall she knew so well, his muscles tightening up.

Her shock wore off barely a second later, but it was enough time to widen the emotional distance between them. In the blink of an eye, all that ground she’d fought tooth and nail for over the last two weeks morphed back into the barren landscape she encountered when she first applied to live in his house.

“Oliver…”

He turned to her, face blank, eyes flat, even under the blinding sun. Felicity’s eyes unwittingly dropped to his chest - more scars, more tattoos. God, what had happened to him? Her jaw dropped to ask that very question, but then he was coming back towards her. His face wasn’t blank any longer. No, it was taut with a fury she’d never seen before, all of it edged with shame and…

Sadness.

Without a word, Oliver handed Artie over to her and turned, getting away from her as fast as possible and she did nothing more than watch him until he was gone.

Felicity had no idea how long she stood there.

Too long, considering she had a bleeding dog in her arms. But her feet had melted into the grass, anchoring her in place, staring at where Oliver had just disappeared.

She thought she’d had an idea, about what he’d gone through, but she was wrong. So wrong.

And she’d made him feel bad about it.

Tears filled her eyes again only to vanish in a blink when Artemis wiggled in her arms.

It propelled Felicity forward, and with a nod, she shoved the moment down, focusing on her puppy.

“Yep, we’re going,” she told the dog, ignoring her still-shaking voice. “Right to the vet.”

Part 3 will be up tomorrow!

Thank you for reading!! Reviews literally feed the soul and muse.

(Ko-fi is awesome too!)

#olicity #olicity fic #olicity fanfiction #olicitysquee #olicity summer sizzle #oliver queen #felicity smoak #olicity au #arrow #fanfiction #my fics #my fics: au #dust2dust34 #fic: puppy au

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