#before anyone says i should meet new people maybe. that's true probably | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

Visit Blog

Explore Tumblr blogs with no restrictions, modern design and the best experience.

Fun Fact

There are dozens of funny blogs to kill time on Tumblr.

#before anyone says i should meet new people maybe. that's true probably

luveline · 5 months

Note

lovely jade if you were ever in the mood to write something for remus/reader where maybe they’re out with their friends and reader can tell that remus’ pain is flaring up but he doesn’t want to draw attention to it so she nudges him to lean on her i would be forever indebted to you

Remus has a strange laugh. It doesn't quite match his voice, which is unusual too. Sometimes he chuckles but mostly he giggles, this stringing, sweet sound as he grasps your hand or your arm or your elbow. And you love hearing it, laughing yourself at Sirius’ dirty joke, but you almost wince at the amount of weight he leans into you. It's over as soon as it began, he's moving away, his smile fading with his laugh.

You shouldn't be standing up, but the pub hadn't had a table and no one wanted to go home yet. You're waiting for an opening, a pitcher of Blue Lagoon between you all and a couple of bags of pork scratchings to ignore. Remus isn't made to stand this long, but it's not like him to mention it.

His jeans are starched under your fingers as you put a hand on his hip. He raises his eyebrows at you, semi-suggestive.

“She asked me who I was,” Sirius says, to Lily's disgust, and James’ poorly hidden amusement, “and I didn't have the heart to tell her. Remus ended up telling her we'd met before at a party–”

“Is this true?” you ask, standing closer to him than you need to.

He stares at you for a little while. Not long enough to be awkward, but longer than most people would pause. “I did feel a bit sorry for her, but she was lucky, really. Who'd want to remember a night with Pads?”

“Don't say it like that! I didn't touch the poor girl beyond helping her put a new shirt on. Such an unfortunate tattoo, that… It'd look nice on you, though,” Sirius says, grinning at James encouragingly.

“Think so?” James asks.

Lily protests this idea very loudly. James would not suit that kind of tattoo, and Remus should probably put a stop to it; Sirius’ power of persuasion multiplied by the danger of friendship (i.e. egging each other on relentlessly) could genuinely result in James getting a tramp stamp of the Welsh dragon before the night ends.

He's distracted, is all. Shifting from foot to foot, pulling his arms behind his back to prompt a click he won't get. You nudge him gently, and when he meets your eyes, you lean toward him deliberately with your shoulder clear for the grabbing. At the same time, you press your arm behind his back.

Miraculously, he accepts the offer of support. Remus wraps an arm around your shoulder and lets the majority of his weight rest on your centre of gravity, exhaling through his nose.

“Am I too much?” he asks, turning his head from his friends, his breath warming the shell of your ear.

“No. Lean on me as much as you want to.” Want, you say, rather than need.

Remus will appreciate the difference. He sighs as the pain in his back starts to ease off. If anyone were to look at you both, they wouldn't see you supporting him, just a lovers hug. You kiss his cheek a couple of times all squished together —one kiss or multiple?— before you lean away to brush soft strands of his hair behind his ear. “You okay?” you ask.

“I'm okay,” he says with a nod, a real grin on his lips as he does as you'd done, kissing your cheek. “I'm too tired for this. Do you think James can afford laser tattoo removal?”

#remus lupin x reader #remus lupin x fem!reader #remus lupin fluff #remus lupin x you #remus lupin x y/n #marauders era #remus x reader #remus x you #marauders #remus lupin drabble #remus lupin blurb #marauders x reader #remus lupin imagine #remus lupin fanfic #remus lupin fanfiction #the marauders

1K notes · View notes

willixmsonswife · 10 months

Text

blind date/leah williamson

*leah williamson x fem!reader *what happens if you are on a blind date and stood up by the person you were supposed to meet but a beautiful blonde comes to you rescue? *fluff ig? *1.3k words (1.7k with the bonus) .................................

My first blind date. I don't think I've ever been this nervous. Why did Beth even set me up? I didn't need it. I mean, yeah, I'm not dating anyone at the moment and I'm not good at flirting but did she have to make it that obvious and set me up with someone? I never met that girl and Beth didn't even want to tell me her name. How was I supposed to know who she was?

I sighed before I turned around on my bed, almost falling out of it. My hand reached for my phone, which was laying on the nightstand. In my stress, I dialed the first number that came to my mind. "Hello?" I almost threw my phone across the room. That was not my best friend. "Hello? Is someone there?" I had to answer now, right? "Hi. Eh it's y/n. We met like 2 weeks ago, on that event. I was there with Beth and Viv." I mentally facepalmed myself for calling HER out of all people. The women I've had a crush on for a year now, captain of the Lionesses, Leah Williamson. "Oh yeah y/n, I remember. What's up?" Was that my mind making things up or did her tone change when I said my name? It was probably nothing. "Actually I wanted to Beth. I must've dialed the wrong number sorry for disturbing you." I was about to hang up when I heard her say something. "No no, don't worry you didn't disturb me at all. I was pretty bored actually."

"Oh, okay." My response was followed by an awkward silence. "So what are you up to this evening?" Should I tell her about the blind date? Would she even be bothered to know about it? "I'm actually going on a date."

"Oh you're dating someone? I didn't know that."

"Surprised? Don't you think that people ask me out?" I chuckled as Leah searched for a plausible answer.

"Eh- I- No, I do. It's just-"

"Don't worry, it's just a stupid blind date Beth set me up for. Apparently I'm not capable of finding the 'true love' myself." That made Leah laugh and I couldn't help but join in. Her laugh was really infectious, I had to admit that. "Where does your mysterious date take you, if I'm allowed to know?"

"We're going to the new restaurant in town."

"Oh the Italian one? I only heard good things about it but you'll have to tell me if they're true once you come back."

"I will do that. Alright, I'm gonna have to hang up now. I have to get ready if I wanna be there at 9."

"Well have fun then. It was nice talking to you, maybe we could meet up in the near future?"

"Yeah I would love that. I'll let you know when I'm free. Bye Leah."

"Bye y/n."

That definitely went better than expected but now I really had to get going. I stood up and walked over to my closet. I picked a nice navy blue dress that I hadn't worn in a while and matching high heels. my makeup was done 20 minutes later and my hair only took 15. With enough time to spare, I decided to drive to the restaurant and wait for her there.

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

"Hi, I have a reservation at 9 under the name y/l/n."

"Ah yes. Please follow me."

I followed the nice women to our table and sat down. "Would you like to order something to drink while you wait?"

"Yes, just a water please."

And with that she left. I looked around the restaurant and tried to calm my nerves by concentrating on the decoration, the color of the walls, literally anything. I fidgeted with the rings on my fingers while I watched the door carefully as if I could miss her walking in. The waitress came back with my water but I just took one sip before placing it in front of me. The minutes passing felt like hours and I got more and more nervous. Multiple people walked in but they all sat at different tables. Every time I heard the door open, I looked up and hoped that it would be her but it never was. After a while, I looked on my phone and saw that it was already 9:45 pm. She wasn't coming. I felt the entire hope just disappearing with that realization. I got ditched by a person I didn't even know. I did my hair and makeup for nothing. I was excited and stressed for absolutely no reason. Disappointed by how the evening turned out, I leaned down to pick up my purse. That was when I heard a voice. "Sorry that I'm so late. The traffic was awful." I looked up to see the bluest eyes I had ever seen. Wait, I knew those eyes. And that blonde hair. And that voice. "Leah? What the hell are you doing here?" For a second I completely forgot my crush on her and stared at her like she was some alien from outer space. "I'm here to save your night."

"Elaborate please." I leaned back in my chair while she sat down on the one in front of me. "Well your date didn't come, did she?" I shook my head and another wave of disappointment hit me. "Definitely her loss. But anyway, I'm here now. I can't just let you sit at this table, all alone, that would be mean."

"You know when you said 'near future', I thought you meant next week or something but not tonight." She chuckled and I couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, I wasn't planning this either trust me. But let's see where the night brings us, shall we?"

"Alright, fine with me."

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

The evening was simply amazing. Leah and I talked about everything and I felt like I was on cloud nine. The food was delicious and the three hours we spent together felt like 10 minutes. She offered to pay but I didn't accept. Instead I paid for both of our meals. As we made our way out of the restaurant, our hands brushed against each other and little fireworks erupted in my whole body. We walked side by side in a comfortable silence until we reached my car. "So this is it, right?" I turned around and looked straight in Leah's eyes. Big mistake. I could feel my cheeks turning crimson red and Leah trying to hide her cheeky smile was just a confirmation that I was blushing. "I guess so." She took a deep breath. "y/n, I really really liked talking to you and all of this felt so, so-" She searched for the perfect word but I already knew it. "Natural?"

"Exactly. That's why I would love to take you out sometime in the near future. And this time I mean next week and not tomorrow night." A big smile made its way onto my face. "I would love that."

"But how about I make it up to you."

"Make what up to me?"

"You paid, so obviously I'm going to give you something back."

"Leah I really don't want your money, I-"

"Oh don't worry, I wasn't talking about money."

Before I could say something, she leaned towards me and my brain just turned off. I felt her soft lips on mine and I instantly knew that it was going to be favorite feeling of all time. I kissed her back and arms made their way around her neck. We only parted when air became a problem but my arms stayed exactly where they were. As soon as we locked eyes and I couldn't help but notice the sparkle in hers. "That was way better than any amount of money."

"I hope so cause I was planning on doing it again." We both smiled at each other and I was sure that this evening couldn't have been any better.

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

Bonus:

"Leah are you sure that they're gonna like me?" I anxiously looked at her and she took my hands in hers. "Princess, they're going to like you just as much as I do. I have no idea how they couldn't." She squeezed my hands reassuringly and I felt a part of the nervousness leaving my body. "Alright if you say so. Then let's go." I put a smile on my face and followed Leah into the locker room. She knocked and several women answered. "Come in!" She turned to me one last time and I just nodded, not sure if I could form actual words right now. She opened the door and we stepped inside. "Hi girls, I already told you that I wanted you to meet someone very special to me. This is y/n. My girlfriend." As soon as those words left her mouth I could feel every pair of eyes on me. "Hi, it's so nice to finally meet you." Beth walked to me and engulfed me into a big hug. "Finally! I thought you'd never show yourself here, god." I laughed and hugged her back. After that, I answered a lot of questions from everyone in the room. I also got into a nice conversation with Jen and Katie. We even agreed to meet each other for lunch the next week. All of the stress that I felt before this meeting was totally unnecessary. Everyone was incredibly welcoming and they were all so nice to talk to!

After an hour or so, Leah and I left. We still had to drive home, make dinner and watch the movie she promised me earlier that day. I intertwined our fingers as we walked to the car and started talking about her teammates nonstop until we got to her car. "You were so right, I shouldn't have worried about this. Your teammates are way nicer than you're always saying."

"Oh just wait until you get to know them a bit better. You're gonna be pranked by Katie, Lia is going to spam you with messages and-"

"I absolutely don't care. I love them."

"Well I only hope that you don't love them more than me." She grinned and I couldn't help but tease her a little bit. "Ah I don't know about that. Let's see, shall we?" I got a playful slap on my shoulder in response. "I'm joking babe. I'll always love you more, more than anyone actually."

"I love you too darling."

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

this is my first fic on tumblr so I'd be happy about some opinions :) also, i'm taking requests if you have some

353 notes · View notes

wongyuuu · 6 months

Text

memories of us | lsm

pairing: seokmin x f!reader - soulmate!au summary: every night seokmin dreams of his past lifes, when he met and fell for his soulmate countless times. genre: fluff, angst word count: 11.9k warnings: reader has really low self esteem a/n: this is not, in any way, connected to elevator. both stories are centered around soulmates, however the rules are different. in elevator people carry marks that vanish from their bodies once they meet their soulmate, here is the bond is created by eye contact. i hope you enjoy it :)

Today, when I woke up, the first thing I thought about was you, but that’s not something new. You’re always the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last one before I go to sleep. My mind is consumed by thoughts of you the entire day. There’s not a single minute when you don’t make your presence noticed, even if you’re not really here by my side. The funny thing is that I haven’t met you yet and somehow you are the only one in my mind.

I started to dream of you when I was sixteen. At the time I had no idea of what was going on, I didn’t know what Memorous were, and I couldn’t even phantom why I was dreaming of an older version of myself. I was young and the naive teenager version of me thought that it was something everyone goes through. Ah, maybe these are memories from my past lives. I was right about that part, but I didn’t know the length of what was going on with me.

It was only a month later when I told anyone about it. Because those dreams were something no one ever mentioned around me before, so I was afraid to speak about them. What if, because of those dreams, people started to label me as a freak? I had already a very negative reputation, so to say, I didn’t want to make it worse. When I finally mustered the courage to talk to someone about it, I figured that I should tell my mom about it. She was a mother, my mom, and like all moms she would probably know what to do.

She didn’t.

For a while, she just sat there and stared at me, not like I was a freak but as if I had become a stranger. I was no longer Lee Seokmin, her eldest son who on most days seemed like the youngest. I saw her eyes change that day, from a mother who loved her son to a woman who didn’t know who the boy in front of her was.

It was also the first time that someone told me that I was cursed.

None of us could be sure whether I was cursed or not, but she said it with so much belief that I knew that it had to be true.

I don’t think I have ever felt so alone. Before my mother said those words to me, those words that would be forever stuck in my brain, you are cursed, Seokmin, and there’s nothing any of us can do to change that, I used to be normal - or as normal as a sixteen-year-old hyperactive boy could be. But the second those words were uttered, released into the world, something inside me changed.

I think that the best way to describe it would be a click, I felt a click inside my heart. There’s no other word I could use to describe it.

After everything that happened in the span of minutes, I changed. I started to be more restricted, no one else in the world knew about the dreams or about me being a Memorous. My circle of friends got smaller and smaller. What if, by accident, I told one of them something about the dreams, about you? That couldn’t happen.

In reality, I didn’t have many friends. You know, the kind you tell secrets to and are really close to. Those were the kinds of people that I wanted to avoid at all costs. I wasn’t a loner, though. I had people I could hang out with, people that I would go to a bar or a club with, but I liked to be alone.

It’s weird, isn’t it? I had friends but I wasn’t actually friends with any of them. I wasn’t a loner but the thing I enjoyed the most was being alone.

When I turned eighteen and high school was finally over, I moved away from home. For two years I saved every cent that I could, my main goal was to just leave. I studied my eyes off in school so I could get into a university that was as far away as possible from home. I needed to get a scholarship so I wouldn’t need to ask for help from my parents.

Doing those two things made me feel somewhat proud of myself. It was like I was telling them see just because you think I’m cursed doesn’t mean that I can’t do what I want.

Let me explain to you how the dreams work: every night I dream of you, no exception but every night is a different life.

This is how Memorous must live. I remember every single thing about our past lives, all the details that people usually forget about their lives. I remember them, more or less. I know what you were wearing on April 18th, 1811; I know what was the first word you said to me in Madrid, it was a curse by the way; the first time we bonded.

Sometimes it feels so real that I think if I look by my side, I’ll see you there. That couldn’t be true, I haven’t seen you in this lifetime - I would never be able to let you go if I had.

There’s a trick about being a Memorous though. Once I fall asleep and dream of a different life everything I dreamed the night before vanishes and I can’t remember anything. At first, I thought that it happened like that because sometimes we forget about the dreams we have. It was as if it simply vanished from my mind, and I could only remember it when I dreamt of the same life again. It’s like a selective memory kind of thing.

You know, the feeling of a dream being so real that you could either wake up in panic or just really happy and satisfied?

For me, every dream was like that. If I held your hand in my dream, when I woke up I would still get the feel of your skin against mine; if we fought for whatever reason I would still feel the sadness and the anger lingering in my body.

When I understood what was happening, I started to write down the dreams, every little detail that I could remember. Slowly I started to find a pattern in the dreams, slowly I learned to tell the lives apart and so I started notebooks. It’s a little weird, I know, but I had to keep track of our lives. Maybe, at some level, you might think that I’m crazy or that I’m a stalker. But could it be considered stalking when it’s my own life?

I can’t wait to meet you. Although I haven’t actually met you or even seen you this time around, I feel like I have known you all my life. Is this the feeling we’ll get when we finally meet, this feeling of fullness?

I wonder if you feel that too.

Out of all our lives together I have a favorite one. I mean, it is expected, isn’t it? After such a long time of living countless lives, every day being a different person - although I’m ultimately the same - we are bound to have a favorite one.

If I do say so myself that life is very much Shakespearean. Okay, so imagine this: two families who were very powerful but were opposites and hated each other with a burning passion. And there you have it. Sounds very much like Romeo and Juliet, doesn’t it? Maybe if it happened a couple hundred years earlier, in England, then maybe I could say that we actually inspired him, but we happened far too late.

You know, I still remember the first time I saw you that time around. I think that maybe that bond was the strongest one we’ve had, probably because we were supposed to hate each other. The idea of an unexpected bond between two opposite families is kind of thrilling, isn’t it?

We met at a party. Because our families couldn’t even stand to be in the same space together, mostly our dads - why is it always the dads though? -, they send you and me to represent the families. As you can probably imagine, we had no idea of what the other person looked like.

So, there I was walking inside this immense ballroom, and you were the first person I saw. Looking at you I just knew that you were out of place, that kind of environment wasn’t one you felt comfortable in. At that point, you weren’t looking at me but when you finally did, it was like the entire world stopped. I felt my heart thump inside my chest, but I could feel you too. I saw as you went wide-eyed. You took a step closer to me but then, realizing what you did, you took a couple of steps back. For the entire night, we didn’t approach each other but my eyes never left yours, as yours never left mine.

We followed each other through the night. I got angry, really angry, when someone wanted to talk to me because all I wanted to do was look at you. Whenever my feelings changed, I would feel yours changing too. You felt mostly curiosity. How could this man, someone you had never seen before, catch your attention in such a way that you couldn’t look at anything or anyone else?

Back then it wasn’t like today, you know. The bond happened more quietly, or maybe we only thought it did. Though the bond is something that has been around since the beginning of time, we only found out about it much later in life. I suppose that back then we still didn’t know much about it. Maybe the change everyone felt around a couple that was bonding was there but because we didn’t know what it was supposed to be we just overlooked it.

Back to the story.

You were the first one to make a move to leave but I couldn’t let you go, no way. I followed you out and much to my own surprise you were waiting for me, because somehow you knew that I had to go after you. We didn’t say much, just promised to meet each other a couple of days later.

From that moment on, things took off, or as much as you could possibly expect from a couple in the early nineteen century. We would always meet each other. Everything was exciting because no one could know about what we were doing. Besides the whole ‘my family hates yours’ problem that we had, there was also the problem that both of us were promised to other people. You were supposed to marry a young Duque and I had to marry the daughter of a rich family. If we were against it before, imagine what it was like after we found out about how we felt for each other.

Our happiness didn’t last very long. We were careless and, although we were trying to hide it, we weren’t as stealthy about it as we liked to imagine.

It’s needless to say that when our families found out they were far from happy. They didn’t try to kill us or anything that dramatic, but they started to rush things. Your marriage that was supposed to happen only a year later was set to two weeks later; mine was happening in a few days. Of course, neither of us accepted that.

On the night before my wedding, I felt something trying to pull me. It was like my legs were moving on their own and I saw myself walking out of the house and into the city. I found you there, all alone in the middle of the street, staring at the church I was supposed to get married in. I realized then that the sadness I felt was only partially mine, a lot of it was coming from you. I didn’t really understand how it was possible for me to feel everything that you were feeling but I knew that there wasn’t another explanation for it.

You couldn’t control your emotions and tears were running down your cheeks, you tried hard to push them aside, but it was of no use. The more you tried to make the tears stop the more they fell. I couldn’t control myself by then. You were afraid when my arm went around you but once you knew that it was me you turned in my arms. The tears that ran down your face were no longer out of pain and hurt, they were because we were finally reunited.

We ran away. We didn’t take anything with us. There was no time to go home and get clothes, or say goodbye. We were sure that if we were together then everything would be alright. Because we had each other nothing in the world nothing could hurt us.

That's… that’s as far as the dreams go. I’d like to think that we had a happy ending.

Two years into college I finally understood what my mom meant when she said that I am cursed.

You see, the dreams I have at night are just fragments, tiny little pieces of an entire puzzle. I could only see a day or a week, at most. But the thing is that I only saw us young, meeting, starting the bond, falling in love. Not once did my dreams show us a little older, getting married, having kids, or even if things didn’t work between us. I never dreamed of those things.

At first, my guess was that the dreams were trying to show me a way to get to you, find you in a world that’s filled with billions of people. That wasn’t the case.

One night I dreamed of you dying. I woke up in despair. Instead of the sweet dreams, filled with warm touches and whispered words, I faced images of you surrounded by blood, a lifeless body in my arms.

For a while I wanted to make myself believe that it was just a nightmare, that it would eventually go away but I knew it wasn’t that simple, nothing ever is.

I kept seeing the same thing for days and every day it got worse and worse. It got to the point where I stopped sleeping at all. Every time I closed my eyes I could see your body on the ground, eyes wide open. I knew that it wasn’t true, but I felt like you were looking at me, like you blamed me for your death.

I searched it up. If the same thing happened to other Memorous I wanted to know how to make it stop, if I could even do something like that. From task number one I had problems.

For one, Memorous doesn’t like to be clear about it, we are heavily judged by it because no one understands what it is like to be one. Most people just think that we are making a fuss over nothing, that knowing what your soulmate looks like, what that person likes and dislikes makes it much easier to find the person you are supposed to bond with. What they don’t know is that, like everyone else in the world, people’s taste, personalities and all else changes. In one of your lives, you were a dancer, the stage was your home, and being watched by people was something you thrived off of but in the next one you were a shy girl who couldn’t bear the thought of people looking at her (this actually happened, just so you know).

Second, there aren’t many Memorous in the world. We are considered an anomaly, there are very few of us. I believe that we will only be able to understand why we are born this way when a scientist is born as a Memorous.

But not everything is a lost hope! God bless the people who aren’t scared to share their stories because they want to help other people. I found this post, on a very weird and hard to find website, saying that there is a way to break this ‘curse’. That’s the good news. The bad news is that it’s not up to us to end the cycle. Well, technically it is but it’s not a choice that we can make. It’s confusing, I know.

Apparently, the only way for us to stay together for a long time is if both of us are born Memorous, meaning that you and I must know our past lives. The one who wrote the post was a young boy, claiming that it was his grandparents’ story and that both of them were still alive and fine.

It’s not much but at least it’s something. I can’t help but wonder if this time around you already know who I am.

I saw you today, or at the very least I thought that I did. I looked at my right and you were right there! Your eyes went anywhere but me, it was like you were purposely trying to avoid me. I went after you, called after you (even though I don’t know what you’re called in this life). It seemed that you were running away from me, though I’m sure that wasn’t the case. How could you run from someone you don’t know?

On days like this, I think I’m starting to lose my mind. The dreams are starting to feel more real than ever, and I don’t know what to do. Is it because we are getting closer to each other? Maybe we are in the same city? I hope so.

I’ve hoping for something, just a tiny signal, for the longest time. Was today it? I think about seeing you, how the dreams are now just a repeat of all the first meetings before, how every day when I wake up I have a feeling inside my heart telling me that we are getting closer to each other.

Are we? Does this mean that we are getting closer?

Maybe this is the universe’s way of letting us know. Because our lives, all of them, have been so messed up that this is fate’s way of apologizing for all the crap that it put us through.

I’m going to find you soon. Hopefully, wherever you are you’re also looking for me and that will probably make our lives that much easier.

You closed the journal and put it aside. You managed to hold yourself back while reading, you didn’t want the tears in the back of your eyes to fall on the pages, the precious pages that told your story through Seokmin’s eyes.

It had been hard to come to terms with the idea, the fact, that he was your soulmate but over the years you became more and more used to it. Your lives were too different, your backgrounds complete opposites, and yet - somehow - you were it for each other.

The first time you saw him on TV, you clearly remembered how you felt. It was as if someone had just punched you in the chest. On the other side of the tiny screen was the boy - now the man - you had been dreaming about for years of your life. You never thought that you would find him, especially so soon but then again if you thought about all your dreams, both of you seemed young - maybe even younger than your 25 years.

You stayed away from the TV for about a month after that, but you knew that it wouldn’t last much longer than that. The entire time Seokmin was in the back of your mind, always making sure that you wouldn’t forget him. That was simply something that would never happen, you forgetting about him - even if that was one of the many things that you wanted to do. Eventually, you found yourself turning the TV on again, watching every single program, every video, and buying any magazine that featured him.

Thinking back at it, you felt sort of stupid for doing those things and not just trying to look for him. You were right, your soulmate was Seokmin but your own insecurities were holding you back. Out of everything you had, there was one problem you considered to be major: you had nothing to offer him.

You were the kid no one wanted, the kid that had been tossed into an orphanage at the age of eight, and no one had gone back to take claim. Like a monkey on a tree, you moved from house to house without a chance of staying, even the prospect of making friends didn’t exist.

Growing up you always dreamed of meeting your soulmate, imagined the way you would finally meet the other person. In your mind you were always the hotshot, someone who could make anything happen with a simple word. As you got older you wanted to just live a decent life but all you had was a shitty rented apartment in a sketchy area of the city, a shower that didn’t run with hot water, and were living paycheck by paycheck.

That wasn’t the life you wanted, it was a life that you were almost embarrassed over. How could you ever share a life with someone when you could hardly sustain yourself? That wasn’t possible.

But then it happened. You got dragged by your friend to go to the TV station and watched as Seokmin recorded a program. Jun said that he wouldn’t notice you, that you would sit far in the back, and you could put your bangs down and cover your eyes so there wouldn’t be a single chance of the bond happening.

It was a lie, you knew that. Jun lied straight to your face, and you let yourself fall for it. You couldn’t say no to him, much less to his kids. Hana was so excited about it. Watching Seokmin on TV was her favorite thing in the world, more than dancing or watching cartoons. He’s pretty and funny, my soulmate has to be just like him, she said. It was funny and endearing to watch. Sometimes you just wanted to meet Seokmin because of her, because she was so in love with him. The day you decided to take a step forward was also the day you took eleven steps back.

“Are excited?” Jun bumped his shoulder into yours and smiled.

He could be the kind of person your silly heart would fall for if there weren’t any soulmates. Jun was essentially a good person, with a heart made of gold and filled with so much love that his kids would never go a day in life thinking that he didn’t love them.

“No" yet another lie.

You were excited, a little too excited. Or maybe your excitement was actually just fear. Fear that the bond might happen, fear that Seokmin would be disappointed in who you were, fear that maybe your dreams would come true.

“You said that Seokmin is pretty” Hana called out.

A moment of weakness that you regretted.

“Handsome, honey. Boys are handsome”

She repeated the word a few times as if trying to memorize but everyone knew that she would just keep calling boys pretty.

“Why are you carrying her around like she’s three?”

Hana sighed and hugged Jun’s neck, her head on his shoulder.

“I’m daddy’s little girl”

Jun looked like he was about to cry and Hanbin just groaned, his sister’s act wasn’t something that he was too fond of. You could only smile at them. They were almost too cute for you to handle.

You were one of the first people to get in so there were still a lot of empty spots to choose from. The second you and Jun started to move towards the back Hanbin and Hana protested. Of course, they didn’t want to sit in the back. Besides being kids, and too short to be able to see anything, both liked Seokmin so being too far away was not something that they wanted. In the end, you caved. You couldn’t say no to two kids who were doing the puppy eyes at the same time.

As minutes went by and the studio got filled with people you started to get nervous. You ran your sweaty hands on your jeans trying to get them dry, but it was useless. Every person who walked inside made your heart skip a beat because you thought that it could be him. It never was. The scared part of your brain told you that it was a good thing, that maybe he wouldn’t show up at all, but the other part, the one that wanted to see him in person just once, told you to just wait a little longer because he was going to show.

You waited, for over an hour and there was no sign of him. You knew that in this kind of event it could take them a while to get everything sorted but you were told that it shouldn’t take long once you all went inside.

“Stop,” Jun said, his hand on your arm “Don’t overthink it"

He was smiling at you kindly. It was the kind of smile that was supposed to calm you down and reassure you and yet all it did was make you even more nervous.

“What if we bond?”

“Then you’ll deal with it later”

What if I don’t know how to deal with it?

When people started to scream you looked up and saw the host walking in. He talked for a couple of minutes, made a few jokes trying to be funny and then he introduced Lee Seokmin, a TV personality. The crowd went crazy, there was a girl behind you screaming so loud that you thought you’d go deft.

Seokmin walked in, his characteristic smile in place, as he waved at the audience.

Seeing him in person made the world slow down, even your own heart. Instead of going crazy, your heart nearly stopped, as the sight of Seokmin put you at ease. Your hands were no longer shaking, you didn’t feel like trying to hide yourself anymore. In fact, seeing him made your soul scream at you it’s him, what are you waiting for? Your soul was begging you to go to him. After all, it knew him, because despite being apart for years it recognized him immediately.

And then Seokmin looked at you.

His eyes were on yours as he stood frozen there. You could feel him everywhere. He was shocked, surprised, caught off guard, hopeful, and just so happy. His happiness was contagious because inside you felt happy too. You wanted to stand up and hug him, stay as close as possible to him. The fear you felt for years was momentarily forgotten in the back of your mind.

Your legs moved before you could even realize what you were doing. You stood up and walked to him, stopping only a couple of steps away from him. You felt his heartbeat like it was just under your skin. Being so close to him made your body tingle in the best way possible. Your entire being was begging you to just take another step, just one closer to him, just so you could touch him and feel him all around you.

When Seokmin moved forward, his hand raised ready to touch you - just like you wanted to do - you took a step back. Suddenly the realization of what could happen came crashing down around you. Your dreams, and images of Seokmin lying lifeless on the floor that had been engraved in your mind were unexpectedly in your eyes. You could see it coming, your downfall, and the things you dreaded the most, happening.

“I…”

Seokmin wanted to say something, anything, but he didn’t know what he was supposed to. What words could he possibly profess that would make the fear running through your body go away?

“I’m sorry, I can’t do this"

Turning around and walking away from him might have been the hardest thing you ever did.

You tried your best to keep living normally but it was close to impossible. Every second that went by you were reminded of Seokmin, of the broken look on his face when you walked away, of the way he felt like he had somehow done something wrong. And he felt unloved when it was supposed to be just the other way around. Even before the bond, before you had the chance to look at him in the eyes, you already had feelings for him. Perhaps it was because you knew that you were supposed to love him, you knew that once you met him your feelings would be unstoppable, or it was just because he was charming.

And just how charming he was.

You didn’t know one single person who disliked him, someone who would flat-out say that there was nothing good to like about him. Everyone loved Seokmin, his easy smile and friendly eyes pulled everyone in.

“Until when are you going to keep avoiding him?”

Jun had become the personification of what was happening inside of you. You wanted to meet Seokmin, desperately. You wanted to find out where he was and just go to him, introduce yourself, and just talk to him. Everything seemed so simple inside your mind, and in Jun’s as well, but it was so far from it.

“You’re just avoiding it, you know that”

“So, what if I am? I’m sorry if I don’t want to see my soulmate die!”

You weren’t angry at your friend or even Seokmin, as he would feel sometimes. You were just angry at everyone else, at the world, at destiny, at anyone in the world who decided that it was a good idea to make you see your soulmate die every night.

“I know that, but wouldn’t it be better if you could spend some time with him? Let’s say that you’ll have six months together, that’s it. No more and no less. Don’t you want to be with him for as long as you possibly can instead of keep hiding in here?” Jun moved his hand showing the lounge of his dance school “Think of all your past lives, about how happy you were because you were with Seokmin. In this life too, shouldn’t you be able to feel that kind of happiness?”

Jun was the only person who knew that you were Memorous and he was also the only person who would say that there was nothing wrong with it. You aren’t cursed. If you ask me, you are one of the lucky ones. I would anything to have more memories with Seol. He was also the kind of friend who wasn’t scared to say that you were messing up your own life, that you were doing something wrong. Most days he would act like the dad you never had. You were grateful for him, for having someone so eager to make sure that you were happy.

“Here’s a wild scenario” Jun smiled at Hana, who was running to him, as he stood up “Seokmin doesn’t die"

His words left you speechless as you watched him move away from you.

When you got home that day Seokmin’s journals were waiting at your doorstep.

Reading Seokmin’s words was much like reading your own. Since you started to have dreams, you thought that you were the only one who felt like that, like the only one who didn’t have anyone else to run to. Yes, both of your lives were very different, the place both of you came from was also different. But looking at it or wasn’t all that different.

His words and the way he described his feelings for you were the things that made you take a deep breath and go meet him.

I know that you are scared, I can feel it but please reconsider it. I’ve been waiting for a moment like this for a very long time and I would like to believe that you have too. I’ll be in the city for a few more days so let’s meet. If you don’t come to me, I will go to you. We can’t run away from this.

Seokmin.

Somehow you found yourself getting out of your tiny apartment and going towards Seokmin. You knew just how much he could feel your nervousness and yet he tried to stay calm so you could feel at ease too. The entire time, since you left the TV station, you could feel him in your mind and it was like he was talking to you, trying to convince you to meet or just to be comfortable with the idea of him.

At times you could swear that he was talking to you, his voice clear in your mind. It’s okay, you don’t have to worry. It was like Seokmin himself could read your thoughts. Of course, there were moments when he would feel that spark of fear, and anxiety but most of the time he was in complete control of his emotions. He was doing that for you, there was no mistake, so you felt childish for being all over the place and guilty for bombarding him with emotions that you couldn’t fully grasp.

That was one of the many reasons why you decided to go to him. His words had been the main reason, but you also wanted to put your heart in peace. From the second you walked away from him your heart had been heavy. It was the kind of emotion that was impossible to verbalize, the only word that could possibly come to mind was lost. Your heart was lost. You walked around feeling like there was a huge part of you missing, your eyes looked for something, someone, that was never there.

It was like that until you got his journals. Although you didn’t feel whole you could feel that a little piece of you was back. Perhaps it truly wasn’t a part of you, instead what could be the missing was a piece of you never found before.

The missing piece had always been Seokmin.

You stopped in front of his door, your hand closed into a fist just an inch away.

The truth was that everything you felt, every tiny thing, could be summed into just one word: fear. You were scared.

For years you saw Seokmin die in your dreams, he died in a new way every night. You saw, more times than you could count, the life left his eyes as he took his last breath. Sometimes you would just hear about it from someone, just words thrown into a conversation – words that always managed to break your heart. It never mattered how you found out, it always happened suddenly and unexpectedly.

Whenever you and he were settling into a life together, when you allowed yourself to love each other freely, it happened. You always thought that your love for him, as his for you, worked like a time bomb. And the moment the bond was made was when your time started to run out.

The only thing you thought about was how if you never made the bond then Seokmin would be able to live a long and happy life. It was okay if once, just once, you didn’t find your soulmate. As long as Seokmin got to live, you were fine with whatever life threw at you. Many people went through life without ever finding their soulmates but that didn’t mean that they weren’t happy. It just meant that they had to find other ways to be happy.

“Just, please, knock on the door”

You turned around, startled by the sudden presence behind you, a voice that you had memorized a long time before meeting the person to whom it belonged. Seokmin was there, looking at you like he had just walked out of some kind of sappy movie with his hair a mess and a hoodie that was at least three sizes bigger than him.

“How long have you been there?”

He smiled at you then making you feel like your insides were melting. Seeing him was like making the bond all over again. Your hands were sweating, your heartbeat out of control, slow, fast, and slow. The air around you was heavy and the tension between the two of you was almost palpable, like a thin sheet separating you and him.

“Long enough to know that you’ve been hesitating, for at least, five minutes”

How was it possible for him to be so calm when you felt like your heart was about to combust? Having him so close to you made your entire body shake. You almost wanted to take a step back before you fell to your knees. It was like your legs were barely there to support you.

“I want to say so many things but I’m afraid that if I do, you’ll run away again”

You shook your head at him. This time around you weren’t leaving or running. You had made it this far, there was no way you were backing down. Somehow, seeing Seokmin in front of you made you feel stronger like you could fight the entire universe just because he was right there by your side. He wasn’t doing anything, but he looked at you like you were everything that he had been waiting for and then some more.

“I came so that we could talk” you tried to smile in reassurance, for him or yourself you weren’t sure “Do you want to do this here or somewhere else…?”

“I think that it would be best if we had some privacy”

You took a step aside to let Seokmin open the door to his hotel room.

You had always been scared of people, not of what they could do to you in the spot but of what they could cause in the long run. From a young age, you learned that you were alone and that the people around you never really wanted you there. For the foster homes you went through most of your life, you were just a way to get easy money; for your first boyfriend you were just a pity bet; for your high school friends you were just the girl they let hang out with them in exchange for assignments; for your parents, you were just someone, something, that they could easily toss aside when they finally got bored.

All of those things left deep scars on you. Though you did your best to cover them, they were always there right under the surface. You always smiled at people and made sure to tell them that you were perfectly fine even though you weren’t, even though all you wanted was to curl into yourself and let yourself feel all that pain.

Jun had been the first person to get through to you, the only one who had stayed long enough for you to think that maybe he was around you because he actually liked you and not because he wanted something from you in return.

It was true that Seokmin was your soulmate, that once the bond is made someone can never really walk away from it. You knew all of those things, like a book that you were constantly reading. Knowing something is completely different than doing it. The insecurities, always in the back of your mind, screamed at you louder than any belief or hope. Your brain always told you that someone like Seokmin, someone who had everything – and anyone – he could possibly want, would never stay for someone like you, bond or no bond.

“Do you want something to drink? I can get you anything you want”

Seokmin opened the door for you and pointed at the couch in front of it. As you had expected his room wasn’t just room, it was like a goddamn apartment – hell it was bigger than half of the houses you went through as a teenager.

“I… it’s fine. I’m fine”

Seokmin knew that you weren’t fine but chose to stay quiet about it, he knew that it wasn’t a good idea to tell you just how much of you he could understand. It wasn’t only because he could feel every tiny thing coming from you but also because you were like an open book, filled with words begging to be read.

“I got your journals,” you said “I also read them”

Your words made Seokmin sigh in relief. He thought that if you saw his journals, and read his feelings, you would be able to understand how desperate he felt, how much his feelings had been all over the place – despite him trying to remain calm. His feelings mirrored yours very much, almost in every way.

“Because you shared yours with me, I think it’s only fair if I do the same with you”

He looked up at you, surprise all over his face as you handed him the small box you had been carrying.

“I’ve dreamed about you, for the past ten years, too. Every night I saw you and fell for you, every version of you”

The surprise Seokmin felt, the happiness, and the relief that ran through his body the moment he saw you at his door was almost completely gone when he heard what you were saying. He wanted to think that maybe he heard it wrong but the look in your eyes assured him that he hadn’t heard it wrong. Your words had been loud and clear, ricocheting inside his brain.

“For how long you have known about me?”

Your heart was breaking, shattering into tiny pieces when you saw and felt the change in Seokmin. He held the box with your journals like it weighed a thousand pounds, his face was contorted with something that you couldn’t decipher but his feelings were clear, like the sky on a starry night. Seokmin felt betrayed, hurt, and unwanted, all things that weren’t true.

“Since you started, around the same time, since I was sixteen as well” you whispered.

Seokmin felt his heart drop all the way down to his toes feeling sick to his stomach. He had always wanted to find you, from the day he understood what his dreams meant he looked for you – everywhere and anywhere in the world. You were the reason why he even started to work in TV, he thought that if he got a job that required him to talk to a lot of people then it would be easier to find you. But the idea, now the fact, that you had always known about him but even then, decided not to look for him, not to take a step away from him, was like a slap to his face.

“Do you know that I tried to look for you everywhere? I nearly went crazy. Every day since my dreams, the memories of us, started I searched for you. While you…” he scoffed like the world had played yet another sick joke on him “You knew who I was but you never…”

He couldn’t bring himself to say it; thinking about it – feeling it – was already bad enough. Seokmin didn’t want to voice it, if he did then everything would become that much more real, too real, more heartbreaking than anything else in his life up until that moment.

The dreams crushed his heart every morning when he woke up. Seokmin felt his heart die a little inside his chest for the life he never got to live with you, for the words he never got to hear from you, for seeing the bright light leave your eyes time and time again. But ultimately those dreams were just that: dreams, memories of a different period in time, of a different life that although felt real, it no longer was.

“I was afraid, Seokmin…”

“I know that you were! I felt it, with fiber in my body, I knew that you were scared, terrified that for some reason I wouldn’t love you. I knew all of that like it was my own fear”

The despair he had in his voice was felt in your body, every tiny cell. You hated that he was feeling like that, that your first ever encounter with him – a proper one – was only worth a fight. That was not how you wanted things to go. You thought that if you ever met him things would run smoothly but the reality of it was far from your expectations.

“Like you, I am a Memorous” you had to say it, you needed Seokmin to hear your words just once “The first time I saw you, like you are right now, was on TV but it was so fast that I couldn’t be sure. I was on the bus, passing by a TV store. The next day I stayed in front of the same store the entire day, waiting for that brief second of your face for hours. When I finally saw you I cried, right there in the middle of the sidewalk because I just felt so happy to see you, to finally find the boy that I had seen so many times before, the boy I loved so blindly, even though I have never met before.

“But the dreams… they are alive inside my mind. I don’t forget them like you do. My brain stores them like they are memories of this life, all those feelings were as real as if I lived them this time around. I thought about all the times I saw you die, and I couldn’t live through that again. I couldn’t let that happen to you, not after I saw you. I only knew you from the screen of my tv but my feelings were already so strong. I wanted the bond to happen, you can’t doubt that for a second, but I was scared. I would very much rather live knowing that you were somewhere out there, living a happy and long life than having you live a short one with me”

Your words were more than enough to make Seokmin stop. Until that moment, his mind was flying all over the place but the second you opened your mouth he couldn’t bring himself to be angry anymore. Those feelings, the fear of seeing your other half – the one you were supposed to be with – die, was one he knew very well. He often wondered what would happen when he finally met you.

The first time he saw you, he had been over the moon, he felt you and everything else. He felt the pull and your desire to get closer to him. To say that Seokmin was surprised when you ran away was an understatement. He didn’t truly understand everything that was happening inside of him, the unthinkable mix of you and him made him feel dizzy because he couldn’t set you apart.

He could finally understand the things you did but it didn’t mean that he liked them.

“I think it’s going to be a very long night”

Seokmin read your journals in front of you, and it didn’t feel embarrassing. Those journals, your words, had been written for him and for him only. While you wrote down your dreams you thought of him, of how he would read them one day and how much you wanted him to.

You spent the entire night in his hotel room. You talked for hours and hours and suddenly the subject wasn’t as heavy anymore, both of your fears momentarily forgotten, and you were simply enjoying each other’s company.

Seokmin was everything that he seemed to be, but he was also that much different. His bubbly personality was still there, fully out in the open for everyone to see, but there was also a shy side to him - one that not many people knew about but it was cute to watch. More often than he would like to admit, Seokmin would trip over his words, insecure about what he could and couldn’t say to you. The ice is still very thin, it’s making me nervous he said at some point in the night.

You had scooted closer to him or maybe he got closer to you, how it happened didn’t really matter. You found yourself sitting on the couch with your knees pulled to your chest as Seokmin quietly played with your fingers.

Just having him around you felt like a dream but the moment his skin touched yours? It was like fireworks exploded under your skin, like every single nerve in your body was suddenly awake. You could feel him everywhere, like he was not just the man in front of you, but he was also part of the air, like he could be all around you whilst staying in the exact same spot. He gave you calmness, a sense of peace and security. Things that up until that moment no one had been able to give you, not even yourself.

“I really want to kiss you” you whispered. Seokmin’s fingers stilled in yours and something sparkled in his eyes as he looked at you. The moment was suspended in the air as if it wasn’t neither here or there, as if time itself had stopped and all the attention was now on the two of you and the way you were feeling in that very second.

You couldn’t bring yourself to look away from him, you didn’t want to. It was the first time, in your entire life, that you craved someone’s touch and presence. With Seokmin you wanted that and so much more, everything that he had to give, you wanted.

Feeling like that for someone after only knowing them for a couple of hours was impossible, the kind of thing that you would never expect to happen, the kind of thing that you would laugh at because something like that couldn’t exist. But with you and Seokmin, nothing was as it seemed.

It was true that you had only known him for a little while but just in this life. When you looked at him you saw traces of the many different people that he had been in the past and because of that, it was like you fully knew him. That wasn’t the case, and you knew that, but even so, the feeling of reconnection still existed.

Seokmin inched forward, his eyes focused on your lips, as he interlocked your fingers and pulled you towards him. There was one second of hesitation, one tiny second that felt like an eternity before his lips finally pressed on yours and then it was pure magic.

Seokmin had to leave a few days later and you hated the idea of having to see him walk away. It wasn’t final, you knew that, but it hurt all the same. He had stayed in the city for you far longer than he was supposed to, his phone always blowing up with text messages from people concerned about his whereabouts when in reality he had been locked up with you inside your apartment.

On the contrary to what you previously thought, Seokmin didn’t care about your tiny apartment, about the fact that you had been to more foster homes than what you were willing to admit, or about the fact that you didn’t have a degree. I like you for you, not for the baggage that comes with you.

You sat at the airport for hours after his flight departed, the emptiness growing inside of you as the seconds ticked away.

Seokmin felt the same way. He wanted to stay or for you to just go with him, but he didn’t dare to ask. He knew that even though you didn’t think much of your life, you liked it. You loved to be a receptionist at Jun’s school, loved being surrounded by the kids, loved the city you lived in, and you were a little proud of yourself for being your own person and living your own life - even though you would never admit it. He got into the plane with a heavy heart, but he had to figure things out. He had to find a way for the two of you to be together. It was uncertain of what the future held for you. You could be together for just a year before one of you died or your entire life was still ahead of you. The not knowing drove him crazy.

Three weeks apart was all he could take before he found himself boarding a plane to the other side of the country and breaking a few contracts while he did so. You called every day, facetimed whenever there was a chance and texts were always a constant but just that wasn’t enough.

Due to the distance, the constant pull to you only grew stronger and the grasp he had of your feelings, how Seokmin could tell exactly what was going on with you, was slowly disappearing. It wasn’t that you were learning to control what he could and couldn’t see. Once the bond is made the newfound soulmates need to stay close to each other, it’s physically and mentally tiring to be away. He noticed that you sounded more exhausted on the phone, as your eyes nearly closed when you talked on Facetime.

All those things pulled him to you, yes, but Seokmin also wanted to see you desperately.

He didn’t tell you that he was coming to see you, he wanted to make it a surprise. The entire flight he felt just how happy you were, probably because you were at the dance school with the kids, but he also noticed your worry, because he hadn’t answered his phone in a few hours, as you tried to push it as far back in your mind as possible.

The long see-through glass walls of the school allowed Seokmin to see you inside. He heard your laugh before he saw you, the sound had been imprinted in his mind like the type of song that just gets stuck. And then he saw your profile looking at the little boy in front of you lovingly. When you smiled, he thought that his heart would explode inside his chest.

Seeing you, even from far away, was like going home after a long time. The feeling of calmness, the feeling of finally being able to breathe properly. Just looking at you made him lighter in a way that he couldn’t exactly put into words.

The kids were the first ones to see Seokmin. The little boy you talked to gasped, and his eyes went wide. All the other kids had the same reaction, some of them pointed at him while others just went back to what they were doing before.

You stood frozen in place and watched Seokmin walk from where he was to the door. You had to make sure that he was really there, that it wasn’t something that you were imagining. If it wasn’t for the cute selfies he sent you stored in your phone, you would be sure that meeting Seokmin and everything else that happened after had been nothing but a dream. It wouldn’t be the first time you wished for a life that could never have.

You got up and took a step away from the kids before walking as fast as you could - nearly running - towards him. He met you halfway, his arms reached for you before you collapsed into him.

You sighed in contentment and relief when you felt his skin against yours, when his warmth enveloped you. Everything else was forgotten and it no longer mattered.

“You’re really here,” you said against his neck.

His chuckle ran through your entire body and he tightened his arms around you, pulling you as close as possible to him.

“Half a country away is too much" he murmured.

You stayed in place for minutes, long enough for one of the kids to get bored and call out your name a couple of times. One of them ran inside and got Jun, because the little boy thought that Seokmin might be holding you for too long.

“This reunion is great and all but it’s weird for the kids”

At the sound of your friend’s voice, you let go of Seokmin but you didn’t go too far. Three weeks had been long enough, you would take whatever few moments with him that you could get before he had to leave again. So you stayed by Seokmin’s side, your fingers interlocked with his.

“Seokmin, this is Jun”

“I was the one who gave him your address, how else do you think he would send you his journals?”

Seokmin looked at you, with surprise in his face. He hadn’t expected you to tell someone about it, about his journals, or about anything at all. From the moment he saw you, and even from the journals you wrote, he knew that you were the kind of person who didn’t tell those around her much about her life so it was a surprise that you had talked about it with someone.

“It’s good to see that things worked out for you,” Jun said, he looked at the watch on his wrist before looking back at you again “Go on, take the rest of the day off”

You shook at head, pointing at the kids behind him - who were already making a fuss all over the place.

“I still have a few more hours to go and you need help with the kids”

Jun just rolled his eyes when he took a few steps closer to you and Seokmin, pretty much pushing out of the door.

“I’ll let you know that there was a time when I managed this place just fine without you”

For the rest of the day, you walked around town with Seokmin. He held your hand the entire time, letting it go just to put his arm around your shoulder, either way, he always had his hands on you. You didn’t mind it, in fact, you liked it a lot. The idea of always being close to him made your heart flutter in impossible ways, made you imagine what life would be like when you finally got to be with him for more than a few hours at a time, it made you wish for a future when you would be able to see him every day and talk to him and just be around him.

“I’ve been thinking,” Seokmin said when you reached your neighborhood.

“That could be dangerous”

During the time you and Seokmin talked on the phone, he told a lot about his childhood and there was one thing that was clear to you: he was an unpredictable kid. His ideas were always crazy and so unnatural for a child. When you were in foster care you thought that the other kids were crazy, but they were just reckless, Seokmin was wild.

“I should have never told you those stories,” he said with a sigh, a tiny smile on his face “I’ve got this job offer, here in the city. It’s not like what I do now but I think that it could be fun and I’ll try to make it work as much as possible. If I do take it, we’ll be closer to each other”

You were shaking your head before he was done speaking. Seokmin changing jobs, and doing something else that was not what he wanted initially was a huge no.

“You’re not moving here”

He sighed again and took your hand in his.

“I know you’re worried about my job, but I only started to do it because I thought that it was the easiest way to find you. I can do something else, anything else, if it means that I can have you”

You turned to look at him, your hand squeezing his. His words assured you, more than anything in the world. Hearing those words was the only thing you needed.

“Remember how I told you that Jun’s soulmate mom is a social worker? She told me that there is this University, not the most prestigious one but a university nonetheless, that is more likely to give out scholarships. A couple of months ago I took the test to get in and I got the results a week ago”

Seokmin nodded at you, not really understanding what you meant. Truth be told, he was a little hurt. The second he mentioned it you were already denying it, like the mere idea of having him close to was repulsive. He knew that couldn’t be the case, knew that those things never reached your heart but even so, the feeling of getting rejected was there.

“I got in. I have to move there in the next few weeks or so, to settle in and find my way around town”

“Where… where is that?”

You laughed and kissed him quickly. He looked way too cute with the confused look on his face.

“I didn’t ask for your address just to have it, Seokmin. I want to be close to you so I was looking for a place near yours but also close enough to the university”

Before you even done speaking Seokmin already had his arms around while he placed quick kisses all over your face, making you laugh.

Moving away was harder than expected. There weren’t many things that tied you to that place, but the few things that did make it heartbreaking.

Just as you predicted, telling Jun was easy. Your friend, like always, had been supportive saying that he had your back in all the choices you’ve made and the choices that you would come to make.

His kids were a completely different story. When you told Hana about it, she started to cry, tears running down her little face and sobs escaping her lips. You knew that it was going to be hard to talk to her, but you didn’t think that it was going to be like that. Hanbin was easier but you knew that he was also feeling it.

“Will you call us every day?”

“I’ll call you every Sunday morning,” you said pinching her cheeks “We all know how much your dad loves Sunday mornings”

Jun groaned but he still had a smile on his face.

“Why do you hate me?”

It broke your heart to leave all three of them, but it was something that you had to do, not only because you wanted to be close to Seokmin but because of yourself. The change was something that you needed to do in order to move your life forward.

Moving day wasn’t as terrible as you expected. Seokmin had helped you move all your stuff, boxing everything to perfection. You didn’t have much you wanted to take with you but even so, everything you owned had been labeled and wrapped.

Somehow Seokmin had managed to convince you to just move in with him. You tried to deny him at first. It didn’t make any sense; you had just started something with him and suddenly you were putting your toothbrushes together. That was way too fast. “We don’t know how much time we have together so why waste it by being apart?” You tried reasoning with him “What if I can’t stand your habits and you hate mine?” To what he just said, “I’ll love all of your nasty habits and I’ll be the perfect prince, so you’ll have nothing to complain about”.

It all ended with a heated make-out session on your couch.

Seokmin was feeling edgy. He was supposed to be home hours ago, he knew that you were worried but restraining yourself from calling him. He loved his job, he really did, and it was amazing that he got to keep it and be with you at the same time, but he hated days like those. He hated the late-night shootings when he had to be away - especially when he could feel how worried you were - and he didn’t even like to think about when he had to do something out of town.

The drive back home felt endless. He broke God knows how many speed limits, and crossed a few red lights. He didn’t know why he was feeling like that, he knew that there wasn’t anything wrong going on at home. You would have called him in case something happened, he would have felt something change.

But at times he couldn’t help but feel anxious.

It had been four years. Four years since you found each other, since you started your life together, probably the four happiest years of his. But whenever he wasn’t expecting it, whenever Seokmin started to feel comfortable again with his life and you around him, his dreams would come back to haunt him. Instead of seeing you, in the past, he saw you as you were in this life. He saw the woman he loved, more than any of his dreams could have let him know, die in front of him, in his arms. It was always like that, you had a smile on your face, a tear ran down your cheek and you said that loved him.

On nights like that, he would search for you. His arms moved directly to you and pulled you to him as quiet sobs escaped his lips. You always cried with him on nights like that. You didn’t have those sorts of dreams, but his despair and fear ran through your body as if they were your own.

That night was just like that. The whole day he had a sickening feeling in his stomach. Like the world was telling him that something was bound to happen. The one thing that had somehow calmed him was how at ease you were during most of the way.

Seokmin walked inside a house in darkness, the light in the hallway the only thing that could possibly tell him that there was someone home. You always did that for him when he had one of his late nights.

You were sleeping in the bedroom, so Seokmin tried his best not to make a sound. But he knew that all his efforts were useless when he walked out of the bathroom to find the bedside lamp on and you looking at him.

“I didn’t mean to wake you”

You sat up and smiled at him, shaking your head. It was a good thing that he had woken you up. Your sleep wasn’t peaceful, no nightmares or dreams but although you were asleep you still had that weird feeling of being awake while sleeping.

“It’s fine, I actually have to talk to you about something”

Seokmin wouldn’t like what you had to say to him, in fact, you were pretty sure that he would probably hate it.

“I talked to your sister today” the words left your lips in a quiet whisper.

Seokmin stood still, his eyes focused on you, but his mind was somewhere entirely. He finally understood why you had felt so anxious and nervous during lunchtime and why he was feeling on edge the entire day.

“We’re not doing this” he shook his head.

“Seokmin it’s been 12 years, you’re going to have to talk to them at some point”

You reached for his hand at the same that Seokmin scoffed at you.

“You haven’t talked to your parents in 22 years and I don’t push toward them”

Seokmin regretted his words the second he said them. He watched as you tried your best to control your emotions and not let him feel just how hurt you truly felt about his words. You pulled back the hand you reached to Seokmin and tucked it under the blankets.

“I did try to look for them, Seokmin. I found them. It went the same way as it did when I was eight years old. They didn’t want me”

You never told anyone about that, it wasn’t the kind of thing that you liked to talk about. To be honest you didn’t even like to think about it.

A week before you moved in with Seokmin you searched for your parents. With Jun’s help, you managed to find them, quite easily. They still lived in the city, in the same house you lived in for the first eight years of your life. All it really took to get a hold of them was to find the documents they filled when they left you in the foster house. Your meeting with them didn’t last long, less than five minutes and they didn’t even invite you in. All the conversation was done at their doorstep. “We can’t do anything for you, we’re not parent material,” they said to which you answered, “I’m no longer a kid who needs care and protection”.

For them to suddenly find their inner parent wasn’t something that you wanted or expected but you thought that they could, at least, be part of your life but even that they refused. They only showed some kind of interest when you mentioned Seokmin and just by looking at them, you could tell that their interest was more on what Seokmin brought with him than for you.

After that you never mentioned them again, never allowed Jun to talk about it again, not even thinking about them was allowed.

“Just because people bond doesn’t mean they become good people, Seokmin. It just means that there’s someone out there who won’t judge your choices”

“Babe…”

Seokmin crawled on the bed towards you, his arms going around you and tangled his legs with yours.

You stayed quiet for a while, unmoving. That was your favorite place in the world, his arms. Even if you had just some kind of argument with him, even if you were hurt by what the other person said, you never turned your back on each other.

“I’m afraid if I let them in again the same thing will happen. I can’t go through that again”

You turned in his arms, facing him.

“They were probably just afraid Seokmin, the things people say about Memorous aren’t nice. Maybe they were just afraid to lose their son. Your sister did sound really sorry on the phone” you ran your hand on his cheek “You’re thirty years old, the feelings you had at eighteen are not the same and you certainly are not the same person. Maybe we could try talking to them, and if it doesn't work, it doesn’t”

“Thank you for reminding me that I’m old”

You giggled against his chest, which made Seokmin kiss the top of your head.

“You’ll only be old when our kids kids go to college”

Something in Seokmin’s eyes changed, all the anger and laughter from just a second before suddenly disappeared. He rolled on the bed, so he was on top of you.

“Are we talking babies now?”

You wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed your way up from his collarbone to his lips.

“You’ve been lacking in that department lately, husband”

He pulled your hands away from his neck and presses it against the mattress.

“I’ll be sure to make it up to you, wife”

taglist: @wonwooz1, @ryuwonieebae, @sobun1est, @mirtaspace, @feat-sun, @wonvsmile, @belladaises, @mhlsymlysn, @immabecreepin, @uniq-tastic, @miriamxsworld, @aaniag, @k-drama-adict, @maiamorrrrrrrrrrrr, @roguesthetic, @sofix-hc7, @@scarlet789, @moonlightgrleric, @r6njunlv, @mixling-blog, @cinnamongirl127, @haowonbins, @valgracia, @shuabby, @slut4donghyuck, @manutuankim

if you were tagged, please consider reblogging. likes and comments are also always welcomed

if you want to be tagged in my next fics, please fill out this form

thank you for reading

298 notes · View notes

mcflymemes · 9 months

Text

PROMPTS FROM RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE * assorted (and slightly adapted to suit this meme format) dialogue from the book by casey mcquiston, adjust as necessary

on purpose. i love him on purpose.

i've always thought of myself as a problem that deserved to stay hidden.

i'm going to have you offed. you'll never see it coming.

take anything you want and know you deserve to have it.

get in there.

you're literally putting your dick in the leader of a foreign state.

before you, i was all right letting everything happen to me.

i can't believe even mortal peril will not prevent you from being the way you are.

sorry, are we not? did i skip ahead again?

you've been warned.

he died as he lived: avoiding plans and sucking cock.

my life is a cosmic joke and you're not a real person.

hey, have i told you lately that you're brave?

i honestly have never thought i deserved to choose.

we're gonna make it work. you and me and history, remember?

if you finish that sentence, i'm gonna spend tonight in jail.

but the truth is, also, simply this: love is indomitable.

i actively wish for the sweet release of death.

yes, good, carry on.

i won't hear a word against it.

we're gonna do it together.

i said you look great, baby!

i meet you in every dream, and when i wake i cannot close my eyes again for ruminating on your sweetness.

i'm so in love i could die.

you can take your legacy and your decorum and you can shove it up your fucking arse.

i wonder if it's too late to swan dive off the roof.

i'm learning all your hidden depths today, sweetheart.

you must invent an entirely new system.

a curious thing about grief is the way it takes your entire life, all those foundational years that made you who you are, and makes them so painful to look back on.

he's proof that it doesn't matter where you come from or who your family is.

i've bloody well had it!

we can unpack the ironic symbolism later.

that's beyond our sense of decorum!

i'm not afraid of anything i feel. i'm afraid of saying it. i'm only afraid of what happens when i do.

aw, you do care.

if there's any legacy for me on this earth, i want it to be true.

straight people probably don't spend this much time convincing themselves that they're straight.

the moment you first called me a prick, my fate was sealed.

you are the absolute worst idea i've ever had.

should i tell you that when we're apart, your body comes back to me in dreams?

can you perhaps stop putting your sodding life in danger now?

what are we even defending here?

history will remember us.

when i sleep, i see you.

i hate this so much.

every person who bears a legacy makes the choice of a partner with whom they will share it with.

we're just gonna fucking fight.

he is my choice.

i can appreciate that maybe this isn't your fault.

i've been gay as a maypole since the day i came out of mom.

when i wake up in the morning, it feels like i've just been with you.

i can feel your skin against mine, and it makes every bone in my body ache.

your spine's a ridge i'd die climbing.

for a few moments, i can hold my breath and be back there with you, in a dream, in a thousand rooms, nowhere at all.

the phrase 'see attached bibliography' is the single sexiest thing you have ever written me.

i promise you, one day we'll be able to just be, and fuck everyone else.

give yourself away sometimes, sweetheart. there's so much of you.

i want to set myself on fire, but i can't afford for anyone to see me burn.

you see, for me, memories are difficult.

never tell me the odds.

i wish there weren't a wall.

jesus christ, it's like they can see into your soul.

you're it, okay? i'm never gonna love anybody in the world like i love you.

i'm finished. i don't care.

god, i want to fight everyone who's ever hurt you.

the whole world watched, and history remembered.

are you quite finished?

just so we're clear. i'm about to have sex with you in this storage closet to spite your family.

you insane, hopeless romantic little shit.

269 notes · View notes

msfeaths · 9 months

Text

TUTOR

warnings : none

pairing : peter parker (mcu) x reader

summary : when peter parker simply fell in love with you...

a/n : make any requests you want ! i'll be glad to do them if i can :)

The first time Peter Parker ever saw you, it was mid-february, when you juste came in and sat in the same classroom as he was. Professor Harrington introduced you as a new student, giving his speech saying people had to be nice.

Oh Peter wanted to be nice with you. But he immediately thought he would never had a chance. Of course, your hair looked so smooth, you seemed brilliant, and after a while he noticed the way this cute dimple would show up any time you smiled.. You were so pretty to his eyes, even too good to be true.

But you sat next to this other guy. Obviously you just sat at the first seat you saw, not knowing anybody. But he started talking. He was much more a talkative person as Peter ever would be, much more popular but also much more an asshole. And you noticed that quickly. Peter knew you did, because he kept observing you any time he had the chance, and he saw the way you'd back up a little when this other guy would talk to your face. The way you avoided catching his sight. You did stay in his friends group though, and that's what Peter didn't understand.

He was just thinking about it, at lunch, while Ned was telling him about this new game he cracked yesterday. "Hey, are you even listening to me right now ?" he asked, turning his head in the same direction Peter had. "Ah, I see" , Ned kept going.

Peter would sometimes - pretty often - daydream about how would it be to date you. Would you agree to spend lunch time with him and Ned ? Go to his place ? To hold his hand in public ? Or even kiss him ?

"Why don't you go and talk to her ?" asked a girl who was sitting at the same table. MJ constantly watched as Peter was almost drooling on himself just by seeing you.

"W-What ? Why would I go-" he started before getting cut off. "Come on, not to me" she answered. "You've been addicted to {Y/N} since day one". Peter frowned, denying, but he knew this could never change her mind. "MJ's got a point, dude. And maybe you have a chance with {Y/N}, who knows !?" Ned said and his friend immediately looked around to see if anyone might have heard. "Shh Ned are you crazy ?? And don't say stupid things like that.. Both of you". "Whatever", MJ replied, "But it seems like she wouldn't say no if you asked her to try a new friends group. Her's pretty lame".

Peter slowly raised an eyebrow and looked back at you, to see you walking in his direction. He was wondering, what was happening ? Were you actually going towards him ? You met his eyes and gently smiled, not really knowing how to act with him.

"Hi" you started when you reached his table. Peter looked at Ned who was way more excited to see you talking to him. He elbowed him so he could answer you. "Hum, h-hi ?" "Can we do anything for you ? Can Peter do anything for you ?" Ned immediately asked to help his friend. MJ rolled her eyes just by hearing the conversation.

"Yeah, actually" you smiled. "Mr Harrington told me to talk to you... It seems like you've been chosen to be my tutor. Im Y/N, by the way". You didn't really like asking for this - even though you did not really choose it - but Peter immediately nodded, shyly but still. "Yeah -yes of course no problem !" he replied. "Great ! Thank you. We can meet later at the library ?" you proposed. "The library is closed this week, what a shame !! Though, you should go to Peter's. The.. Temperature is great there. You know, to work..." Ned tried to keep going, making you smirk a little bit. You noticed how Peter's eyes suddenly became wide and the red colouring his cheeks. "Oh, well if you don't mind... You know what ? Just text me later today" you gave him your number under his flabbergasted eyes. He nodded and you went to class after smiling at him one last time. It is probably that exact smile that made him realise how screwed he was.

Peter did text you later that day, sending you his address and how to get there from school. You suggested to join him there at 6:00pm to what he agreed.

You arrived in front if his flat in Queens and called him so he could open, and there you were, on his dining room table, tons of books spread out next to you both. He spent a whole hour explaining all the little details that were important in every chapter that you've missed. Good for him, you were a fast learner, something that made him like you even more. He would ask you some questions to check if you were following, and you always were. That kept going until his aunt came back home. "Hey Pete, I've been trying to reach you out for an hour now and you- oh", she smiled widely, "Hello. Excuse me I didn't know you had company", she said, looking at both of you in turn. "May this is Y/N", he said, hoping she wouldn't say anything embarrassing. "Hi, I'm sorry I hope I'm not bothering. Peter is helping me with all the things I've missed at school. I'm a new student".

"No of course it's no problem ! I am always glad to meet Pete's friends. You can even stay for dinner ! Just make sure to tell your parents" she added and didn't wait for your answer before going to another room.

"You don't have to" Peter said, "Stay for dinner, I mean. N-not that I don't want you to stay, I mean you- I don't mind if you stay. At all ! It's just- ugh - if you have anything else to do, don't feel forced to stay here". You smiled at him as an answer before adding "I'd be glad to stay, I don't have any important plans".

So there you were, sitting at the small kitchen table with Peter and his aunt who had just ordered food, since the dish she started had burnt. It was simply pizzas from this place you didn't know, but Peter assured you they were the best.

"There. Start with this one, Joe's an expert at it". And indeed, you were surprised by the amazing taste of this basic pizza. Dinner kept going, and May wanted to know more about you, much to Peter's despair, even though he was interested by anything you were saying.

"From what Peter told me, you quickly made a name for yourself at school. Do you move a lot ?" she asked. "Yeah, actually. I've moved like, 12 times because of my father's job. I repeated a grade because of it" you answered with a sad smile. "Wait you're a year older ?" Peter suddenly said. "Oh no, I skipped a grade in primary school, so it's like it never changed". Peter nodded "Must be hard, I mean, moving all the time".

You looked at him quite surprised. People usually thought you were lucky because you were able to travel and meet a lot of people. Thing is, when you move that much, you don't really have time to get used to the place and make real friends. And it seemed like Peter guessed that. You liked the fact that he wasn't superficial, like a lot of people. So you smiled slightly, letting the cute dimple that he liked make its appearance "Kind of. But it feels like im gonna stick around for a while, this time". And you might didn't know, but at this exact moment, Peter never had been more thrilled.

#peter parker x reader #peter parker #marvel #tom holland #tom peter parker #spiderman #love #falling in love #high school peter #peter x reader #peter parker x y/n #peter parker x you

187 notes · View notes

catoslvt · 9 months

Text

Gally (tmr) x Reader

You were the first person to come up. It starts with a girl and ends with a girl.

Not together.

I stand with furrowed eyebrows as I watch gally stand and laugh with everyone.

Out of an entire maze with forty-four gladers, it's safe to say I only hate one.

Gally.

But I don't actually hate him, I actually really love him, but for some unknown reason, we act as if we're sworn enemies, but we both know that's not true.

But today, our forty fourth glader came up, so I suppose I should act happy with everyone.

As I slowly approach the group, I watch as Gally quickly realises I'm approaching and straightens his posture and crosses his arms, he always does this and I'm not sure why, I normally just put it down to me being the leader here.

"Hey guys, has anyone seen the new greenie?" I quiz and everyone shakes their head.

"Shouldn't you be keeping an eye on him?" Gally asks as he raises an eyebrow at me.

"I thought Alby was, but he's clearly here." I say as I motion to Alby, who's stood with Clint and Jeff as they both advise him to stop drinking, usually at the bonfire for the new greenie, alby doesn't drink, but when we hit the forty mark he stopped caring, realising that we're probably not getting out of here any time soon.

Suddenly, my attention is snapped to screaming coming from the deadheads, and I take off in a sprint towards the screaming as it actually sounds terrifying, but I let out a groan of annoyance when I realise its just Minho and Ben pranking the greenie, who stands doubled over with a heart over his chest.

"We're having a meeting first thing tomorrow." I tell them all as I point at them before I walk back to the party and Newt and I shush everyone.

"So guys, after something that just happened there, I've decided that we'll be having a meeting tomorrow morning first thing after breakfast, which is perfect because us runners have the day off tomorrow." I announce, and everyone groans and sighs, but Gally just sort of stares at me with a proud smile. Normally, I'd beg Alby to do the meeting announcements, but then I thought why should I?

I was the first person here, so people should respect me.

As I stand in front of everyone, I clear my throat.

"So, I'd like to clarify that there will be no scaring of the Greenies until they're used to the glade and have remembered their names." I say to everyone, and the new greenie nods. He hasn't remembered his name yet, but I'm assuming he'll figure it out by the end of today.

"But how? That isn't fair." Frankie complains and I motion around the room which is full of people.

"You have tons of other people to scare, but scaring the newcomers isn't fair. Don't want them dying of a heart attack before they've even remembered their names, right?" I ask, which earns a wave of laughter from more than half of the room, but the other guys just groan, the sexist guys.

"Why should I be taking orders from a girl?" One spits, I'm not looking at their faces so I don't know who.

"Because im the first in command?" I say confused.

"And what did Alby have to say about this?" Freddie, frankies possible twin brother by how alike they look ask and I turn to them and just shrug.

"I don't give two shucks about what alby thought, I'm the leader here. I don't need to run past my rules to anyone apart from myself." I state, and they both just scoff.

"Yeah, they put a girl in charge and were still stuck in the maze. Maybe they should put Alby in charge. We'd get out of here much faster." Frankie growls, and everyone turns to him almost in shock.

"Okay, frankie, how would you feel if you were the leader here? You had all these responsibilities thrown on you, half of the things you don't even understand? How would you feel if you had to juggle being a runner and being in command? You couldn't handle one day in my shoes, so just slim it." I warn and they both laugh.

"Go ahead, put me in charge. We don't need some useless girl like you in charge. Makes sense on why there's forty-three of us and only one of you." He then adds and that's when I lose it.

"I said slim it, one more word out of either of you, and it'll be three days in the slammer with no food." I threaten, pointing a finger stern at them.

"She's losing the soon she's threatening us how scary." Freddie cries and I throw my hands up in anger.

"You know what? If you think it's so easy being first in command, then you can take my job. I don't shucking want it." I spit before I push through the group of boys and leave the meeting hut, walking towards the deadheads.

Once I found my usual spot where I sit to clear my mind, I hear footsteps approaching, and I expect to year either frankie or Freddie continuing the argument, but instead I hear newt let out a little laugh.

"You will not believe what gally done back there." He ushers as he sits next to me, and I look at him and raise my eyebrows.

"Hm? What did he do?" I ask and he laughs again.

"He punched both of them, but you weren't there to punish him, and Alby and I pretended we didn't see it, so he can't get punished." Newt says, and I let out a laugh.

"Did he say anything before he hit them?" I gasp, my stomach filling with butterflies at the thought of gally someone for me.

"He said,'Will you two just shuck off and leave her alone? She doesn't deserve any of your cruel comments she does everything for everyone, and you two do nothing. One day, when we get out of here, you'll realise how much we need y/n.' And then he just punched both of them and stormed out." Newt explains and my eyes widen.

"I should thank him. Where did he go?" I exclaim and Newt thinks for a second.

"Towards the builders area." Newt answers.

"Great! Thanks, newt." I happily gasp before I jump up and begin running towards where the builders work, quickly slowing my running speed to a normal walking pace when I see gally throwing bricks at the ground.

"Gally." I say as I slowly approach him, and he drops the bricks and stares at me.

"How long do I have in the slammer?" He grumbles, and I shake my head.

"You're not going in the slammer gally, I didn't see it, and Alby and Newt both turned a blind eye to it, so technically, it didn't happen." I say and he just nods.

"So gally, why did you do it? I mean, I thought you'd be on their side with how much you hate me." I then ask and he just stares at me.

"You know I don't hate you, and they had no right to say those things, I mean, we've survived this long because of you, we'd be nothing without you, and I could see that you were getting really annoyed. You shouldn't let those shanks get to you. They're just annoyed that you're the leader, and they're not." Gally says as he tries his best to give me a comforting smile.

"But what if I don't want to be in command anymore? I just want to be me." I say with a small frown.

"Then who would be in charge y/n? You're the best leader we could've asked for." Gally pushes and I shake my head.

"You're only saying that because I'm here in front of you, all the other times I was near you, you acted as if you didn't want me there gally, you're only saying all of this to get out of being put in the slammer." I tell him as I shake my head and he furrows his eyebrows as he steps closer to me.

"Y/n, I don't hate you." He tells me, and I just scoff.

"So what's with all of the glares? All of the mean comments?" I quiz, and he grabs my face and looks deep into my eyes, his stare sensing shivers down my spine.

"We both know the answer to that." He states and I shake my head.

"No, gally, I don't. I've never understood why you hate me, I've asked newt, but he doesn't know either, so why me? Why do you hate me." I exclaim, extremely frustrated and gally doesn't say anything, and instead, he leans in and kisses me, taking me by surprise, but I kiss back anyway my hands making their way around his neck as I pull him closer than ever, as close as we've ever been.

"That's why I acted as if I hated you y/n, because deep down I loved you, but I didn't want any of the other boys to know incase they got you before I did." Gally complains, and I stare at him, extremely confused. Before it hits me, gally would've been jealous.

"You should've just told me gally!" I exclaim as I then hit one of his shoulders out of pure outrage that he never told me.

"I didn't know you felt the same way. You returned the hatred feeling." Gally complains, and I let out a quiet chuckle.

"I was trying to make the feeling mutual." I argue, and he smiles.

"God, you're such a shank." He tells me before he kisses me again, my smile widening against his lips.

#fanfic #fiction #romance #writing #wattpad #gally tmr x reader #gally tmr #gally maze runner #tmr gally #gally x reader #gally x y/n #gally #the maze runner #maze runner #will poulter #will poulter x reader

239 notes · View notes

nburkhardt · 11 months

Text

Somebody Loves You, You Got a Friend (part 5)

Other parts: one, two, three, four.

I know I said in the last part we’re meeting the CC boys, but I forgot about this. So we get a bit of what’s happening outside of Steddie’s bubble! (We’re fast forwarding a bit, Steve’s like five-six months along. Also if anything doesn’t seem accurate to real life, pls ignore that oh and the show timeline…don’t look too closely pls 🫡)

Being in a small town is still sometimes stupid, Steve will always say this. Because of how fucking true it is.

It wasn’t too long ago when all the town could talk about was “poor Joyce Byers, her youngest is dead” and then found alive it switched immediately to “poor Barbra Holland, just so young” and now? Now it’s his family.

Thankfully the rumors and gossip is about his father leaving suddenly and not about him being pregnant at sixteen.

Currently he’s hiding his tiny baby bump, because according to the doctors, he’s thirteen weeks along and the other day he noticed his stomach rounding out. So, he’s taken up to wearing a bit bigger shirts and sweaters. Since the doctors and his mom told him scent blockers can be harmful, he’s had to stop taking them.

Instead, he helps mask his scent with Eddie’s scent.

“How you feeling today?” Eddie whispers to him, as he subtly scents him.

He shrugs and notices Nancy and Jonathan staring at him, turning away, “the nausea is better today, I think. Right now I’m really wanting a cheese pizza oh, and a chocolate brownie”

Eddie laughs and pushes him just enough to start walking, “good thing it’s lunch, then?”

They make their way out of the school, Steve hearing multiple people whispering about them but ignoring it. It’s not new that he’s friends with Eddie, plus he isn’t really ‘King Steve’ anymore either. If anything, being popular was a huge disappointment.

As they reach his car, they hear someone shouting Steve’s name. Confused, and not finding anyone immediately, Steve’s a little surprised to see that Nancy and Jonathan followed them.

“Um, what’s up?”

Nancy looks between him and Eddie then narrows her eyes, like she’s trying to figure something out. “We wanted to talk to you about something”

Confused even more, he looks between the other couple before glancing at Eddie, who’s just as confused. “Ok? Can’t you say it in front of Eddie?”

Jonathan shook his head, “uh, we can’t- probably shouldn’t. It’s- it’s about my brother”

That’s when it clicks, it’s about the stupid Upside Down.

Again.

Shaking his head, he hopes they can’t tell his scent is spiking with anxiety. Eddie immediately picks up on it though, “Stevie, we should leave before our lunch break is over, yeah?”

Thank god for Eddie.

“He’s right and I really want some pizza, maybe another time?” He’s lying, there’s not going to be a next time for as long as he can ignore them. He can’t be involved with them anymore, especially with the tiny life growing inside of him. “Come on, Eds”

Eddie gives the other two a blinding manic smile before climbing inside the car and Steve just smiles and then they’re gone.

They drive to the closest diner that serves pizza and brownies.

They’re in the furthest corner of the whole place and hidden behind a wall, giving them the privacy they’ve been wanting. Steve’s not at all hiding the fact that he’s scenting Eddie and Eddie has a hand on his stomach underneath the sweatshirt.

“You know, I was told you can’t feel anything yet. There’s like a few more weeks, then apparently you’ll be able to feel them moving and kicking” he whispers against Eddie’s neck, “have I told you I love your scent?”

The alpha chuckled, “yeah? Your scent is better, it’s even sweeter now”

Shaking his head, he sits up and looks at Eddie, “it changed?”

Before Eddie can answer, the pizza is there. Along with two brownies, which Steve immediately grabs a slice. “Uh yep, I never realized how good this was” he nearly moans at the pizza, then he eyes the brownie and grabs a piece.

“You aren’t-“

Nodding, he puts part of the brownie on top of his pizza and takes a bite. An overly satisfied smile on his face, causing Eddie to laugh and shake his head. They eat mostly in silence, especially since the omega is happily eating the pizza with the brownie on top.

It’s only once they’re back in Steve’s car heading back, when he remembers. “Hey, you said my scent changed. What does it smell like now?”

Eddie lets out a hum, leaning over and taking in his scent before answering, “there’s a hint of I think cinnamon? It’s really faint, I only notice it when we’re scenting each other”

“I’ll ask my mom about it, this is still all outta my knowledge. I knew some of it but there’s things I didn’t know. Like, your scent is overly calming to me? It’s weird, I mean, before even back when you shoved me in my car at that party, I really liked it but it didn’t calm me down.” He explained as he parked but didn’t move to get out, instead turned to face Eddie, “I already knew the basics for pregnancy and all that. But apparently the baby will be able to hear both of us? It’s so weird. This is weird”

Eddie laughed, reaching over to grab his hand, “it’s metal as fuck, pretty boy. You’re growing a human, like right now. I know it’s not what we wanted but, I’ll be honest, I’m so damn lucky it’s you.”

Almost immediately, his eyes start to sting as tears well up, rubbing at his eyes, he laughs before shaking his head. “Please don’t make me cry, you sappy alpha.”

Eddie grins, “Your sappy alpha, princess.”

A Week Later

The Harrington house is quiet and all three people are currently asleep. It’s only eight in the morning on a Sunday anyway.

Steve has his face shoved by Eddie’s neck, arms wrapped around the alpha and their legs tangled together, peacefully sleeping. Eddie’s just as peaceful, with one arm holding Steve close and the other is thrown over his eyes.

Steve’s mom, Janet, is waking up only because of their annoying doorbell going off. She huffs, pulling on a robe and stopping by Steve’s room to see the boys still asleep.

The bell rings again and she sighs, pulling their door shut before making her way to the front door to be met with Nancy Wheeler.

“Hello, can I help you?” She never formally met Steve’s ex-girlfriend. She was too busy helping her ex-husband.

The teen is shocked to see her, clearly and she doesn’t know how to school her emotions yet, because the girl looks disappointed that she answered the door, “uh- yes, i’m here to talk to Steve?”

Frowning, “I’m sorry but Steve is asleep right now, is this important?”

She can tell Nancy’s an alpha that hasn’t figured out a way to control her emotions, because the girl is still disappointed and it seems frustrated, “I just need to talk to Steve, you’re his mom, right?”

“I am, and I won’t be waking him up just for a chat. You can come back later or wait until school tomorrow” she’s just as frustrated, if not more. This is the girl that called her son ‘bullshit’ and she doesn’t ever want to see that sadness and that self-doubt in Steve again.

She watches as Nancy clench’s her jaw before trying and failing to school her face and straighten up, “I’m sorry ma’am, but this is important enough to wake him up. It- it’s about Will Byers and-“

Janet shakes her head and gives a sharp smile, “My son isn’t the police or involved with what happened to Will Byers and I won’t be waking him up just to see his ex-girlfriend.” And promptly shuts the door before Nancy can say anything else.

If she listens closely, she can hear Nancy let out a frustrated huff and walking away.

Shaking her head she doesn’t bother going back to sleep, goes into the kitchen to start on breakfast since the night before Steve mentioned craving pancakes.

The smell of bacon and pancakes is what helps wake Steve up, the other thing is the light kiss on his forehead.

Blinking away the sleep from his eyes, his lips curl into a smile at Eddie, the alpha is smiling at him and he can suddenly feel a hand rubbing at his waist and stomach, “good morning, Stevie”

“Morning Eds” he sighs and leans into him for a few seconds and then he’s bolting out of the bed and into the bathroom, throwing up last night’s dinner. Groaning he feels a hand start to rub up and down his back, “Eddie, I swear I’m never going through this again”

The alpha laughs then helps him up. After brushing teeth and putting on decent clothes, they find his mom humming softly to the radio and busy flipping pancakes. Despite the fact that he was just nauseous and didn’t want food, he wants nothing more than the food his mom is making.

“Oh! Good morning boys” she smiles and turns the burner off before pulling him into a hug with a kiss to his forehead, “how are you feeling, sweetie?”

Shrugging, “just weird, I guess?”

“Yeah, that won’t be changing much” she smiles, “come on, I have enough pancakes and bacon. Would either of you like eggs?”

As they’re eating and having small talk, it isn’t until Steve’s finished his food that his mom looks at him with a pinched look, “mom?”

She sighs and looks at him, “Sweetie, before you woke up someone came over looking for you. She was pretty determined to talk, but I told her no. I just wanted to let you know incase she shows up again”

Confused, he sees Eddie equally confused and before he can open his mouth to ask who, his mom says it, “it was your ex, Nancy, I don’t know what was so important. She said it was about Joyce’s son, but you aren’t involved with them.”

For a quick moment he panics at the thought of Nancy pulling him back in, but he’s been better at standing up for himself other than just relying on others.

He doesn’t bother waiting, he’s determined to stay out of their mess. He has more important things in life.

Eddie’s waiting in the car while he’s standing on the Wheeler’s porch. He takes a quick moment to control his breathing and then knocks on the door.

It’s thrown open by Mike, who immediately glared at him, “what are you doing here?”

Rolling his eyes, “your sister wanted to talk to me and so I’m here”

Mike rolls his own eyes before turning and yelling for Nancy, then he just stands there waiting and honestly just glares at him. It doesn’t bother him, it makes sense. Then before he knows it, Mike’s being pulled away and there’s Nancy.

“You can’t keep avoiding this, Steve. You’re in this now” is the first thing out of her mouth, “are you going to help? The kids almost got hurt without any help and I thought-“

“I went over to that house just to apologize to Jonathan, Nancy. Not to throw my life away fighting monsters, did you forget we’re also kids? I’m sixteen. You’re sixteen!” He’s never been ashamed to fight dirty, “I thought that the supergirl closed that stupid gate, anyway?”

He watches as Nancy’s frustration grows, and he suddenly realizes how much they wouldn’t work at all. Ever.

“It doesn’t matter! We need help and you’re in!”

Shaking his head, he decides it’s not worth fighting and just says, “it does matter and I’m out. I’m not your boyfriend, I’m not even your friend. Leave me alone and I’ll stay out of your way”

And he simply walks away.

—

That’s it for now! I’m sorry for making Nancy into this pushy person but I mean…she kinda is that way in canon? She’s an older sister with younger siblings so of course she doesn’t see that she’s still only a kid too. She’s pretty much like this throughout the whole fic btw 🫣

NEXT TIME for sure the CC boys make an appearance 😌 (just a heads up, the unnamed member is named Grant in this)

Taglist: @spectrum-spectre @itsfreakingbats @mysticcrownshipper @artiststarme @thereindeerlady @justforthedead89 @ronniescontinuum @freyaforestafay @littlewildflowerkitten @zerokrox-blog @callme-keys @maya-custodios-dionach @rajumat @yellowdevilkitten @munsonfamilyband @steddierthings @tartarusfairy @mx-jinxous @zombiethingy @lunaticmarunatic @izzy2210 @carlyv @thelittleclare @estrellami-1 @sierra-violet @grtwdsmwhr @epiclazershark @bookworm0690 @forest-fogg (if you would like to be added to this or the permanent tag list, let me know!!)

#steddie #steddie fic #omegaverse #steddie a/b/o #steve x eddie #a/b/o fic #omega steve harrington #alpha eddie munson #nburkhardt writes #stranger things fic #steve harrington x eddie munson #I should probably start tagging this mpreg lol #mpreg

288 notes · View notes

happilyhertale · 1 year

Text

Finding the courage – Tom Bennett x female!reader, Part 2

Summary: You spent a sheltered childhood in Brighton. Until the time when your father died. Your mother is overwhelmed with the role of caring mother, which eventually leads you to leave home and seek happiness elsewhere. But you have not in the least anticipated what or who awaits you in your new adopted home.

Pairing: Tom Bennett x fem!reader

Warnings: In some parts Smut as well as Violence. There will be an extra warning for the respective parts.

Author’s note: Hey you (:

This short Tom Bennett story is based on the request that was sent to me.

The story takes place before the first season of World on fire. I hope you will enjoy the story! English is my second language, please forgive me if I made any mistakes (:

Word count: 2.2k

Part 1, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8

Other stories of mine

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

You have slept amazingly well. When you open your eyes, the sun is shining through the window. The torn curtain only slightly blocks the sun's rays. You slowly sit up on the sofa. You don't want to waste too much time and go to your backpack. You gather your toothbrush and toothpaste and head for the stream. You don't want to know how clean the water really is near a factory.

After you have freshened up a bit, you go back to the cottage and pack up your things. With your backpack on your back and a roll in your hand, you set off for the city centre. After all, you want to find a job today. You pass the factory again, but this time there are no flyers being handed out. As you continue walking, you pass a market place. You dream a little and look at the small shops. Just as you spot the sign "Help wanted" in the window of a small clothing shop, you are jolted out of your thoughts. As you were about to enter the shop, you are handed a leaflet.

You look up a little startled and see the older man from yesterday.

He smiles warmly at you, but still he looks a little uncertain. The smile does not reach his eyes and his deep wrinkles reveal that he must have already experienced a lot of suffering.

"Here, young lady... An alternative to war"

"Oh?" escapes you as you take the flyer.

"Is there a war coming?"

The man is not used to anyone even accepting his leaflet, let alone starting a conversation. It seems as if he has to think about his next words.

"Well... it seems so. Germany keeps arming and as soon as Germany decides to arm... Well, nothing good has ever come out of it. The last time they rearmed, it plunged the whole of Europe into a terrible war..."

You nod in agreement, "So you're a pacifist?"

"Yea... There are plenty of other ways than fighting wars! No innocent people have to die... No country must let its people die in and through war... No mothers would have to say goodbye to their sons forever... I witnessed the last great war, it's not worth it," he almost whispers the last part of the sentence.

You smile at him, "That's probably true... but I have the feeling that when it comes to negotiations, be it about whether or why wars should be waged, it is predominantly men who are involved in these talks. It seems there is no other way than to indulge in pure testosterone intoxication and let it degenerate into pure violence."

His eyes almost sparkle at your statement, "So you think there might be less conflict if women were involved in such negotiations?"

You shrug your shoulders slightly, "Well, it's at least a possibility. Women are not out to prove their strength through murder and manslaughter. We like to use words. Because sometimes it shows a lot more strength to talk, maybe admit mistakes and maybe even take a step back."

He nods at you animatedly, "Those are really interesting lines of thought ,...?"

You smile, "Y/n Parrington."

He smiles too, "I am very pleased to meet you, Miss Parrington. My name is Douglas Bennett." He holds out his large hand to you and you shake it. His hand is quite rough, unlike your soft hands.

Your conversation is getting out of hand. Mr Bennett has stopped handing out his leaflets and you are now sitting on a bench talking animatedly. He is pleasant to talk to, even if he sometimes contradicts you. But he never loses his politeness and tries to develop your thoughts.

When suddenly you notice that the sun is setting.

"Oh shit!" you say and Mr. Bennett looks at you a little startled.

"I completely forgot about the time! I was going to look for a job today. Well, that's not going to happen today."

You stand up and turn to Mr. Bennett, "It's been a pleasure Mr Bennett," but as you hold out your hand to him he makes no move to accept this farewell. He only now notices that you have a fully packed backpack with you.

"Don't you have a job here?"

You shake your head slightly.

"Do you have anywhere to eat?"

"Well... I would buy a little something to eat..."

He shakes his head, "No way! Come to my house. There you can eat something"

Now you look at him a little startled. Suddenly you remember how he left with the young lady yesterday. Is he now trying the same trick on you?

He laughs as he notices your worried look, "Sorry! Don't worry, my daughter and son will be there too. But I would be happy if you would eat with us today."

You are reassured that it is probably not a trick on his part, but you still hesitate. On the other hand, it would be a warm house and a warm meal, so you agree.

You continue your conversation on the way. When you enter the house, you are alone.

Mr. Bennett leads you through the small hallway into the kitchen. You wonder a little whether it was right to go with him as the front door opens, "Hey Dad! It's me! Sorry I'm late!"

The pretty lady from yesterday enters the hallway and comes into the kitchen.

"Oh hello?", now she stands in front of you smiling.

"Hey, I'm y/n Parrington," you extend your hand to her.

"Hey, I'm Lois Bennett," and she gently shakes your hand.

Mr. Bennett sits down at the kitchen table and starts reading a newspaper

"And Tom brought you...?", she looks around briefly, as if looking for someone.

You look at her in irritation.

"No. Don't be silly. We chatted a bit in the marketplace today and lost track of time. And then I offered her to have dinner with us", you hear Mr. Bennett suddenly say.

Lois nods, "So you're a pacifist and not another conquest of my brother," she winks at you.

You blush slightly, "Yeah something like that I am."

As Mr. Bennett interjects, "Lois, please behave… Do you actually know where Tom is?"

She shrugs, "Well, he'll probably be at his favourite pub."

Douglas looks back down at his newspaper and shakes his head slightly.

"Will you help me cook?" Lois asks you with a smile.

You nod happily at her, "I'd love to"

When you start peeling the potatoes, you get curious, "So Tom is your brother?"

She smiles, " Yea... He can be a bit... Difficult? But he is actually a kind-hearted person."

You smile at her.

You talk animatedly while you prepare the food, and that is something you have rarely experienced before. You meet two people in one day who are so nice and helpful and with whom you have a lot of animated conversation. You eat together and the conversations and laughter never let up. You simply feel good. For the first time in a long time, you just feel good.

After dinner, Mr. Bennett wants to show Lois something on the first floor.

Meanwhile, you make yourself useful and start doing the dishes. When the two come back downstairs, Lois sees that most of the washing up has already been done.

"Oooh y/n! You're a darling! You didn't have to do that!"

But you nod, "Yes I do! You're so nice to me and invited me to dinner... the least I can do is wash up."

Lois smiles at you, "Actually, that's not a bad idea..."

You look at her questioningly.

"Dad told me that you're going to get a job today... maybe you could help me around the house instead?"

Mr. Bennett nods slightly, "Actually, it's not such a bad idea. Then you would have less stress with the household."

You look at them both, "I don't even know what to say to that..."

"How about a yes?", Lois smiles at you.

As Mr. Bennett speaks up again, "But I won't be able to pay you much... But you can always eat with us!"

"No way! You don't have to pay me anything! That I can be here and eat with you, that's quite enough," you almost laugh with joy.

In the evening you are on your way back to the industrial area when you pass a pub.

Loud music and laughter permeate the street and you immediately feel reminded of your old job. You smile slightly and suddenly feel like having a beer.

You slowly enter the pub. You make your way through the dancing people and are walking towards the bar when you spot it. You order a beer, sit down on a bar stool and watch the hustle and bustle of the pub. There is good music playing and the more beer you drink, the more your leg bobs to the rhythm of the music.

Some people dance to the music, and that just fits in with the exuberant mood in the pub. Suddenly you notice a man next to you staring at you. He has medium-length brown hair that could do with a wash. He is not bad looking, but something about him gives you an uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach.

"Hey, pretty mouse! How about... you and me? Do you want to dance?" he almost shouts to drown out the music.

"Mmhm, no… but thanks for the tempting offer anyway"

He smiles at you, "Oh come on... There's no harm in rubbing our hips together a bit."

"I think I'll pass."

"Then not," he grunts and continues walking.

You look after him and shake your head.

As you finish your beer, you want to go to the toilet before you leave.

After you have been to the toilet, you look in the mirror again and smile. Today was simply a beautiful day. You run your fingers through your hair again and leave the toilet.

But when you come out, the man is suddenly standing in front of you.

"Hey, beautiful... Is it a coincidence that we meet again?", a cloud of beer is breathed towards you.

"Well, if you were just going to the toilet, I don't think so. Excuse me please"

You want to push past him, but he leans his arm against the wall and blocks your way.

"Oh, sweetheart... Why are you like this? We could have some fun..."

"I don't want to have fun with you. "

He tries to brush the strand of hair from your face, but you turn your head away.

"Hey! Peter! I don't think the girl wants to feel your little worm today!"

Your gaze falls on the man who is suddenly standing behind the disgusting guy. Steel-blue eyes stare back at you and his blond hair looks seductively soft. Almost relaxed, he takes a drag from his cigarette.

"Yo Bennett... what do you want?", the guy doesn't even turn his head towards your saviour.

"That you leave the girl alone", provocatively, he blows his cigarette smoke at Peter as he turns his head in his direction.

You don't catch much of the conversation as you have to concentrate hard on breathing normally. The blue eyes have somehow captivated you.

Peter sighs, "Well, nothing seems to be going on with her anyway. You can try your luck."

You look after him, startled, as he finally walks away.

The two guys look into each other's eyes for a moment, but the unpleasant guy just keeps walking.

And then the blue eyes fall on you again. You were not aware that you were holding your breath, so you exhale deeply. You clear your throat and you adjust your dress and walk towards your saviour, "Mhmm, I guess I should thank you."

He smiles at you and you feel yourself suddenly getting warm. The warmth spreads pleasantly through your body and reaches its peak on your cheeks. It's either you or the beer you drank that he has such an effect on you.

"No problem, love," he replies, still smiling.

You can't help but return the smile. You nod at him and want to walk past him.

"Ey... Do you want me to take you home?"

But you shake your head, "No, that's alright, I don't live far from here".

You smile at him again and he just nods. He looks after you as you leave the pub.

Tom stands there for a while. He doesn't know what the feeling is inside him, but when you entered the pub, all he saw was you. Everything else was no longer visible to him. The way you cautiously entered the pub, looking around almost shyly, taking it all in with your big eyes. Your long hair braided into a pigtail that fell over your shoulders and your light dress that clung perfectly to your body. He could not take his eyes off you. But at the same time, he didn't dare talk to you. Usually he is never shy when it comes to talk to a woman, but somehow he was afraid that he might embarrass himself. For whatever reason...

Even though he has not yet exchanged a real sentence with you and does not know your name, he knows that he has to see you again.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Tag list

@aemonds-wifey @chainsawsangel @hoshi-miharu-blog @khaothick @yentroucnagol @daydreamy-me @depressedperson88 @iwontshutuptilltheyaddgeckoemoji

#tom bennett #tom bennett x you #tom bennett x y/n #tom bennett imagine #tom bennett fanfiction #tom bennett fanfic #tom bennett smut #tom bennett fluff #world on fire #lois bennett #ewan mitchell #aemond #aemond targaryen #prince aemond targaryen #hotd #osferth #tom bennett x reader #baby monk

312 notes · View notes

duhragonball · 19 days

Text

Neon Genesis Evangelion 24

All right, this is it, the 17th Angel. Let's see what gonzo powers this one has...

Not quite what I was expecting, but I am impressed.

Uh... So Asuka's completely incapable of piloting her Eva, so I guess she ran away for like a week and she's been living in the bathtub of a wrecked house. The episode opens with a vision of Li'l Asuka running home to tell her mother about how she got accepted into the Eva program or something, and then she finds her mother hanging from a noose. Her dad had died sometime prior to this, I guess.

Later, we see her lying catatonic in a hospital bed, and that's baiscally it for Asuka this episode. Her arc was getting bleak but this is just awful. Let's move on.

Meanwhile, Gendo Ikari questions Ritsuko and asks why she destroyed the Dummy Plug system last time. Ritsuko talks about how her cat recently died, and she hadn't seen it in years, because of her work at NERV. Then she says she's not happy anymore, even when Gendo makes love to her. Oh wow. Well that settles that, then.

Do you think Gendo holds his hands over his mouth while he's doing the deed? Just props his elbows on the head of the bed and stares into the wall pensively while he thrusts his hips? Maybe I should find something else to talk about. Sorry.

Gendo says she's disappointed him, and she says he can't be disappointed, because he never had any expectations of her at all. She's nothing to him and she always was. This does put into perspective all the times Gendo has expressed disappointment in Shinji. Like, it's just a thing he says. Ultimately, it's meaningless.

What about Shinji? Well, he could really use someone to talk to after the startling revelation about Rei. The trouble is that there isn't anyone left. Asuka's... yeah. Misato's off doing her own thing. Suzuhara and Big Rigg Mahoney left town. I didn't realize it at the time, but Tokyo-3 got wrecked in the recent Angel battles. Probably the 13th Angel, mainly.

There is Rei, but Shinji has no idea how to even act around Rei. I mean, it was never easy interacting with Rei, but now it's not even the same Rei? Or something? He can't talk to her is the point.

Then he meets this kid singing to himself amongst the wreckage. He introduces himself as Kaworu Nagisa, the Fifth Child and newest Eva Pilot. He's been recruited to replace Asuka, although it isn't clear if she's been kicked off the team just yet.

Everyone's kind of suspicious of the new kid, probably because he's so damn chipper and he isn't dealing with the trauma of dead parents or whatever. Also they have him do sync tests and his scores are excellent even before they reconfigured Unit 02 for him. He's a little too good to be true, and everyone in NERV seems to know it.

After the tests, the boys take a shower together, and when Shinji says he prefers to stay at the base late because he doesn't like spending time at home anymore, Kaworu invites him to sleep over at his place.

He also flirts a little with Shinji, and Shinji blushes. Today I was looking up what people were so angry about when Neon Genesis Evangelion was added to Netflix, and one of the gripes was that they edited out a scene featuring "a key piece of gay subtext". I wondered what that was, and yeah. I may not be the sharpest knife in the crayon box, but this looks pretty gay to me.

I will admit, this isn't something I usually think about when I watch or read stories, but in Shinji's case it probably never would have occurred to me, because of all the emotional baggage we've seen in the first 23 episodes. But now that we're here, it kind of makes sense. This kid's got so much trouble expressing his emotions and figuring out what he wants that it might have taken him a million years to work out that he's into boys. I mean, he apologizes for things that aren't even remotely his fault, and is desperate for the approval of others. He's not going to come out of the closet if there's even the slightest chance that someone might disapprove.

They don't go any further than that, but they do have a sleepover, and Shinji tells him that he hates his dad, which he's expressed in the past, but never quite so directly and succinctly. Shinji wonders why he would tell Kaworu this, of all people. I think, Shinji's sexuality aside, Kaworu showed up in just the right place and time and made himself available in just the kind of way Shinji needed at that moment. He wanted someone to talk to, and suddenly Kaworu's there to grant his wish. Kaworu just makes Shinji feel at ease, maybe for the first time ever.

Meanwhile, SEELE has resolved to put a stop to Gendo Ikari and his usurpation of NERV. SEELE created NERV to further its own agenda, but they feel Gendo has warped NERV to service his agenda instead.

Meanwhile, Gendo Ikari talks to Eva Unit 01, and addresses it as Yui, his dead wife. According to him, the Lance of Longius was in their way, so he wanted it thrown into outer space, whether SEELE liked that or not. He believes the 17th Angel, the last one, will appear soon, and with its death, he and Yui shall have their wish granted at last. Huh.

Oh, also earlier on, Kaworu introduced himself to Rei and told her that they were alike. She stays up all night wondering why she's still alive, and what Kaworu meant. What is it they have in common?

Meanwhile, Misato does some digging on Kaworu and discovers that he has the ability to increase his synchronization with the Evas at will. Like, he can control it completely if he wants, or he can lower his sync score to make it seem like he's not as good at it. That's supposed to be impossible, so Misato goes to Ritsuko, who I guess is in a NERV detention facility. She asks Ritsuko what Kaworu is, and she speculates that he's the final Angel. I was about to ask why Ritsuko never mentioned this earlier, but I forgot, she's turning against NERV, so her answer would probably be "'Cause fuck'em."

But before Misato can act on this informaiton, Kaworu makes his move. He activates Unit 02 and takes it down to the room where Adam is. Everyone's shocked, mostly because Kaworu doesn't even have to be inside the Eva to control it. He just floats alongside the thing as they head downstairs.

But also, as Admiral Clownshoes points out, SEELE is behind this. They knew what this kid was and they sent him to NERV knowing he would launch an attack.

And just so there's no confusion on this point, we cut to SEELE who talk amongst themselves about how they planned for this to happen. They expect this to be Gendo's final stand, and that he'll use Eva Unit 01 to stop Kaworu. So do they plan on NERV winning this fight? I assumed this showdown with the 17th Angel would happen regardless, so maybe SEELE's play here is to force the confrontation on their terms, so that the outcome is more favorable to them than for Gendo.

Because, the worst case scenario here is that Kaworu wins and destroys the world. Right? I mean, that's what this has been about from the start. Why would SEELE take such a gamble? How did they even arrange this? Did they look up "17th Angel" in the Yellow Pages, call him up and go "Hey, we want to pull a prank on Gendo. You want in on this?"

Maybe they just discovered Kaworu's infiltration and chose to let it play out. This implies that they can detect Angels much more effectively than NERV, which seems kind of backwards. If they have superior intel on the Angels, then why is Gendo the one running NERV?

As SEELE anticipated, Gendo sends Shinji to intercept in Unit 01. At first, Shinji refuses to believe that Kaworu is an Angel, but then he gets furious at Kaworu for betraying him and using his emotions against him. Kaworu's as bad as his father, Shinji says, which is as good a motivation as any.

But Shinji can't attack Kaworu while he's got Unit 02 to back him up. Shinji asks how he can control Unit 02, and Kaworu explains that he and the Eva are both made from the same type of Angelic tissues, from Adam. So it's child's play for him to control the Eva. Shouldn't that mean the other Angels would have had the same ability? I guess it doesn't work when they have pilots inside. Whatever.

As the battle progresses, Misato orders her dude at the controls to initiate a self-destruct on the whole base if Shinji's signal is lost. She reasons that it would be better to destroy the whole facility and die than to allow Kaworu to reach Adam and trigger Third Impact. Wait, is that still the lore? I thought they debunked that a while back?

But as Kaworu draws closer, they detect another powerful AT field, and they think it's another Angel. Well, no, it's just Rei. Your guess is as good as mine.

As Kaworu draws closer to Adam, he waxes philosophic about this. From the way he speaks of it, it's like he's compelled to return to Adam, because he was born from Adam. So maybe this was why all of the Angels headed for Tokyo-3. It's an instinctive compulsion, like salmon swimming upstream. But Kaworu seems to find it tragic that his instinctive compulsion will lead to the destruction of humanity.

Then he gets closer and realizes this isn't Adam at all but... Lilith? Who the hell is Lilith? Apparently this wasn't what Kaworu had in mind. He refers to humans as "Lilim", implying that they're the descendants of Lilith, just as the Angels and Evas are born of Adam, but... I dunno.

And in this moment of confusion, Shinji manages to catch up to Kaworu and grab him. If I understand correctly, Rei's AT field is neutralizing his own? And Shinji managed to overpower Unit 02, so Kaworu is defenseless. He seems more relieved than worried.

Kaworu explains that one one life form can inherit the future, Angels or humans, and he seems to have developed an admiration for humanity, perhaps from the time he spent living among them. Now that he's reached this place, he's content to die here, for life and death are of no great consequence to him. But he warns Shinji that he must kill him, because if Shinji doesn't, humanity will surely be doomed.

It's weird how this is the only Angel who can talk and he's even more cryptic and weird than the rest. I wonder if they all felt this way about it. It was all just a weird routine for them, and they don't particularly care if they win or lose as long as it's over.

Shinji begs him to explain what the fuck he's talking about, but this is all the explanation he's going to get. Either kill Kaworu or the whole world dies. At this, everyone just sort of freezes in place for... maybe two minutes? And then finally Shinji crushes him and his head falls into the Tang pool beneath Adam. Or Lilith. Who cares?

Later, we see Gendo and Rei watching Unit 01 getting the blood washed off it.

Elsewhere, Shinji talks to Misato and mourns Kaworu's death. He told Shinji he loved him, and he had never heard such kind words before. Shinji thinks Kaworu should have survived, but Misato counters that Kwaoru had given up his will to survive, and thus forfeited his right to live. That's kind of harsh.

Here's my version: Whatever Kaworu was, he seemed to only value his life as far as the time he spent with Shinji. And so if he had won, and Shinji perished with humanity, what would Kaworu have left to live for? That's why he said life and death are equal to him. It didn't matter because in his view, both were the same fate, but at least Shinji and his kind could grow and evolve to find new purpose. So if only one or the other can have the future, then it's only fair that it go to the one that can actually do something with it.

Anyway, the bigger picture here is that we just saw the last Angel die, and yet there's still two more episodes to go. What, does everyone just have a pizza party now? Asuka was despondent about not being an Eva pilot, but what good is being an Eva pilot when there's no more Angels to fight?

There is, of course, the SEELE vs. Gendo conflict to sort out, but it's hard to get invested in that when both sides are assholes, and I have no idea what either of them wanted. For all I know, they both won today.

Also, Shinji won, but he's still not happy. Kid, there's other boys in the world, if that's what's bothering you.

#neon genesis evangelion #2024ngeliveblog #shinji ikari #rei ayanami #asuka langley soryu #misato katsuragi #ritsuko akagi #gendo ikari #kaworu nagisa #clownshoes

8 notes · View notes

raven-at-the-writing-desk · 1 year

Note

Hey its the Nigerian anon from earlier, and I haven't read events yet I'm going to wait for more reliable translators to bring it out. For now I've only seen twst Zazu, the other version of the outfits and 'catch the tail'?

Catch the tail sorta reminds me of the annual wrestling festival my community holds as well as the masquerades (these aren't as fun, much more traumatising than it sounds). So it's a good reminder at least

Twst Zazu who I've only seen the design of reminds me of Ambrose the third in a Appearance, I showed my fellow Nigerian parents his design but their first response was 'why was he white' ' and reminded them of the dancing guy in African attire.

The outfits I'm a bit more skeptical on, on one hand they seem to implement traditional fabrics, on the other it seems to be a more sexualised version of it. And frankly I'm not a fan of the fan service.

Thoughts?

[Referencing this post!]

Hello, and welcome back!! ^^ It’s good to know that you’re patiently waiting for quality translations for the ongoing event. Sometimes quick translations can result in misinformation spreading (which I’m sure you’re aware of!).

Only 2 parts of the story are out at the moment, but we’ve already seen some exciting things! A new character, a new environment, and lots of new lore…!! ✨

Wrestling isn’t too big of a thing in my part of the world, but it’s cool to see that it is in other places! These kinds of events bring people out and help a community feel more tightly knit~ I wonder if Catch the Tail took inspiration from similar kinds of wrestling festivals in real life?? Side note: hopefully those masquerades aren’t that bad 😅

I believe our twisted!Zazu is named Kifaji!! He seems to serve a similar role as Zazu did in The Lion King, giving morning reports and overseeing the royal household. He has a sort of angular disposition, I think much less “soft” than Ambrose. I’m glad that TWST isn’t afraid to introduce more elderly characters like Kifaji, Ambrose, and Marja (Epel’s granny); it really helps the world feel more “real” than if they just kept throwing young attractive men at us. Funnily enough, Leona actually has a line in the event where he’s all like, “yeah, as if you common tourists would be allowed to meet the king” (Farena/Falena). It feels like the devs are teasing us with that 😂 They knew how hyped we were for his design to be dropped bdkwbzjNvwjwvwjs

I understand why Kifaji’s skin color may be a little odd to your parents seeing as they don’t have the full context for TWST or the event 😅 The Sunset Savanna does seem to boast a light skinned portion of the population as well (Rook, Ruggie, Sebek’s grandfather before he moved to the Briar Valley)! I believe this is also true of Africa, no?

By the outfits, you mean the alternate versions of the Catch the Tail attire, correct? As I said in my original post, I’m not familiar with African fashion so I’m not really at liberty to speak at length about it. I don’t think my opinion should have a lot of weight on this matter, and I don’t want to step on the toes of anyone that does have something substantial to say about this, so I’ll only be giving very precursory thoughts.

I was giving the originals the benefit of the doubt since it would be virtually impossible to “accurately” represent all of Africa in a single outfit without taking some creative liberties and incorporating elements from various parts of the continent. I feel like the bold colors and patterns have a lot of rich history and culture behind them! However 💦 I’m a little less forgiving with the alts??

I’m fine with the arms being exposed because it serves a practical purpose (the goal of Catch the Tail is to grab the opponent’s mask thing off their head snd that’s probably easier to do without the fabric and jewelry in the way). I don’t know about the exposed midriff though? Maybe I’m just misinformed or misunderstanding something (again, I’m not that educated on African fashion), but it resembles a skintight crop top to me and kind of gives the vibes it was only presented this way to be “hot”. I sort of get it from a business perspective; it’s a gacha game and the companies behind TWST want to make money so some degree of fan service is to be expected. However, I can definitely see why this could read as perhaps insensitive fan service 😔

That being said, I’d like to take this opportunity to say 💦 while I’m flattered that some people want to know my opinions, I would prefer it if I wasn’t asked to give my thoughts on these kinds of very specific cultural things. I don’t feel right talking about it in detail since my own knowledge is limited, and again, I don’t want to misspeak or to talk over those who know better than I do.

#Kifaaji #Kifaji #Farena Kingscholar #Falena Kingscholar #Leona Kingscholar #notes from the writing raven #spoilers #Zazu #The Lion King #twisted!zazu #twst!zazu #Marja Felmier #Ambrose the 63rd #Rook Hunt #Ruggie Bucchi #Epel Felmier #Sebek Zigvolt #question

58 notes · View notes

aeoki · 5 months

Text

New Start GO! - Prologue

Location: Inside Train Characters: Hajime, Tomoya, Mitsuru & Nazuna Season: Winter Writer: Seitarou Kino & Akira

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ< The middle of February. On the commuter train. >

Nazuna: Urghhh…! I–I can’t move…!

Hajime: A–Are you okay, Nii-chan? Hold onto me if you feel like you’ll get separat–

Whaa!?

Nazuna: You say that but look at you, Hajime-chin – the crowd has dragged you all the way over there~!

Oh, now that I think about it, where have Mitsuru-chin and Tomo-chin gone? I don’t see them anywhere…

Mitsuru: I’m here, y’know~! I can’t move my body but I’ve been training every day so I’m fine!

Tomoya: I’m over here. I’m surrounded by people taller than me so you probably can’t see me, though.

How many people can fit in here anyway? I honestly underestimated the rush hour.

This isn’t something anyone should experience five days a week.

Nazuna: Yeah. But there are actually a lot of people who have to experience this during the weekdays~

Anyway, I’m glad you two are all right. Not that I could’ve imagined this is how horrifying commuter trains would be!

Office workers sure have it rough. I never would’ve thought there’d come a day where I’d be in their shoes.

Hajime: That’s precisely why it’ll be a good experience for us. I’m looking forward to seeing how our first day of work will be like.

Nazuna: Yeah. We’ve gotta make sure we meet their expectations since we were chosen for the project.

(In any case… There are five stations left until the company office – Let’s do our best!)

(...Ahaha. That sounds a bit weird.)

(I balance life as an idol and a university student, but to think I’d get to experience being an office worker too. It really is a strange opportunity ♪)

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ< A few days earlier. >

Nazuna: …”New Start Go!”?

Tomoya: Hmm. So it’s a special segment part of a variety TV show where they’ll watch us working in an office, right?

Hajime: We’ll be working at a company that sells menswear. We can promote their suits at the same time, so it’s like hitting two birds with one stone for the company…

I see, so that’s why we’ll be getting work experience there. I understand now, Anzu-san.

Tomoya: But work experience, huh. Are we up for this…?

Mitsuru: It just means we’ll be wearing suits and working, right? That sure sounds fun, y’know!

Tomoya: Well, the people watching us will definitely see it that way, but we’ll just be useless in the office. I have a feeling we’ll just get in their way.

I’m happy you offered this opportunity to us, Anzu-san, but I’m sorry. I don’t think we should make a decision right away.

So can you tell us a bit more about it?

Why did this sort of work offer come to us in the first place? What sort of work are they wanting from us…? I’d like to hear the specifics before accepting.

Hajime: Is it because we held out on our own against “Eden” during “Boogie Time”, so everyone suddenly has their attention on us…?

It’s true we’re used to variety shows, so maybe that’s why we were seen as equals with “Eden” there.

Nazuna: And a higher-up from a TV station noticed that we have potential and decided they wanted to see more, huh.

It’s great they acknowledged our variety skills, but this job will be pretty tough.

Mitsuru: I’m fine whenever and with whatever as long as it’s fun!

Tomoya: Don’t say yes so easily. I don’t think working in a company office is an easy thing to do, you know?

Mitsuru: Hmm~ But I’m not gonna be there to play~

Tomoya: Well, I guess you could say things like being an idol or acting also count as social experience… but working at an office will be a lot of work. My dad looks like he’s having a hard time every day.

It’s a different kind of difficulty from being idols – it’s a contest of who’s more talented there. They have a lot of rules you have to follow, so wouldn’t that be the worst kind of environment for you, Mitsuru?

Mitsuru: Hmm~ You think so? Sounds pretty strict!

So does that mean we should say no? Whaddya guys think?

Hajime: It’s a difficult choice… I think Tomoya-kun has a point, but I also think there will be things we can learn from the experience.

It would be nice to have some time to decide, but what do you say?

This work offer suddenly appeared out of the blue for us, so I think it would be best for the company if we have time to discuss before making a decision.

Tomoya: I agree. It’s not something we can easily say yes to and we’re happy they think highly of us “Ra*bits”.

Nazuna: Yeah. Sorry, Anzu, it seems our opinions are split, so can we have some time to think things over?

Right. Sorry we can’t give you an answer right away.

Tomoya: Anzu-san, would it be okay if we gave you our answer two or three days from now? We’ll do some research on the company until then.

Okay. We’ll also read through the proposal carefully if you have it. Sorry for all the trouble!

Nazuna: …You’ve got to get going, so you’ll send it by email? Sorry, you’re so busy, but you came all the way here to talk to us in person,.

Yeah. We’ll make a responsible decision. If we decide to accept, then we’ll be in your care, Anzu.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤNext Chapter →

#new start go #enstars translation

12 notes · View notes

bajibitch · 2 years

Text

What’s on their mind?

Kokonoi, Souya, Mitsuya, Chifuyu, Manjiro, and Hakkai

Warnings: none but they're referring to you when they use the pronouns they/them/their

Kokonoi

I can't leave because things could go wrong at any moment, meanwhile, I have them traveling the world without me. At least one of us can have fun adventures, try new foods, and meet new people. I shouldn't send them out so often, but they shouldn't be stuck because of the life I chose. When they get back we can travel around Japan, there's still a lot we haven't seen here.

Souya

It’s not fair how they always overlook me. I'm always just going to be Nahoya’s twin, the sweet one. Is that the problem? Do I have to be more vulgar, and violent to get out of his shadow? If being sweet isn't enough for me to get them alone for a minute, I could be that dangerous person. I’m in a gang too and I have a lengthy record of hurting people. Then again, what if I like being sweet? Why can't they give me the same attention?

Mitsuya

I hope they don't want kids because I want to have a nice house near the ocean and a room that has a glass wall so that I could stare at the waves crashing while I cuddle up beside them in a soft bed, occasionally kissing their cheek. Being able to rest as long as I need without having to think about anyone else. I always wanted a pet so maybe I could listen to the sound of a little bird chirping while I sweep the floors and prepare a meal for them since they’re about to be done with work.

Chifuyu

What if Takemichi’s lying to me because he doesn't want me to give up on him, so he tells me what I want to hear? How do I know he won't tell me that the future doesn't go the way I wanted because something bad happened, but it was for the greater good so he can't fix it? Even if it's true that I was happy with them in an alternate timeline, how do I know he won't mess it up before I can get there?

Manjiro

We’ve been hanging out a lot lately. Maybe I should give them a uniform, but if they're with Toman they won't have time to do their usual stuff. I wonder if they’re up, I could just ask but if they say no, what would that mean? Things are good now, but somehow things are going to go bad again, so it's probably best to leave them out of Toman. I could leave them alone now so they aren't hurt. No, if we’re together then things will be fine. They’re going to look great in their uniform.

Hakkai

Has anyone told them about it yet? Things are good now, but what if they don't like me anymore? They’ve seen me fight before so I'm sure they know I can protect them from most people, just not everyone. Yuzuha said it was okay because I was the youngest and she was doing what big sisters do. I can stand up for myself now. I haven't needed her protecting me for a while now. Why does everyone think I'm a loser? I was just scared.

#tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers x reader #kokonoi x reader #kokonoi hajime #souya x reader #souya kawata #mitsuya x reader #mitsuya takashi #chifuyu x reader #chifuyu matsuno #manjiro x reader #manjiro sano #hakkai x reader #hakkai shiba

230 notes · View notes

bi4bihankking · 2 months

Note

💛Hank/Todd

Hank knew that going back to the JSA was a mistake, that it wasn’t safe for him, and that even if it was safe for him that he didn’t belong there anyway. Especially since Alan was there. Every time Hank had to be around him he was on edge, and knowing that if things went down everyone would take Alan’s side didn’t exactly help him with that.

Unfortunately for Hank, he was the most easily available telepath for the team (in more ways than one), which meant that if they needed one, he would obviously be the first person they called. Which meant that he had to see Alan a lot more often than he really wanted to (which was not at all). He’d said that he was used to the feeling of knowing what people thought of him every second, but that wasn’t exactly true; here was the only place where everything some people thought about him was bad.

He tugged awkwardly at his costume, no one was going to be comfortable with him still wearing this, it was the one that Mister Mind had worn, it was a villain’s costume, because his old one still hung off him, everything but skintight nowadays. It was just that going to the effort of making a new one that fit seemed like too much when they called him in so rarely.

Well, it was probably time to face the music. Taking a deep breath, Hank gripped the doorknob and pushed, stepping into the darkened building. Darkened and quiet. There didn’t seem to be anyone around, but Hank wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or a bad one.

He did have the distinct feeling that he was being watched, though... it was more than a little disconcerting and seemed to get worse the further into the building he went. Not that he could find any source for the feeling; the building was empty as far as he could tell; whichever direction he looked in, there was no one there. He couldn’t even pick up any brain patterns.

He hoped that this wasn’t how he found out that seeing ghosts was part of his psychic abilities.

Henry swallowed. Maybe he was overthinking things. Maybe everyone was just in the meeting room already. He should try to find them before panicking, he decided, heading in the direction of the stairs. The feeling of eyes on him followed him the entire time.

There wasn’t anyone in the meeting room when he poked his head in, though, and he couldn’t pick up any thoughts from anyone anywhere in the building. It was like it was empty. Actually, now that Hank thought about it, the message he’d gotten asking him to come out here had been automated, hadn’t it?

What if this was a tra-?

Suddenly, he found his body being whirled around, his back slammed against the door (the knob pressing painfully against his back), with a muscular forearm pressed right up against his throat.

“Todd?!” He managed to get out before the arm cut off his airway. Todd was leaning in close, shouting something that Hank couldn’t make out, his teeth flashing maliciously, and all the telepath could think was: ‘God, I want him to bite my lips.’

Perhaps his mental state hadn’t been entirely fixed by a worm eating his brain. Who could have guessed.

“Why are you avoiding me?” The other man growled, and Hank could finally understand him, but the problem was... seeing him shadowed up and angry like that was definitely bringing back the reasons that he would avoid him. But Hank definitely couldn’t say: ‘Because you tried to kill me.’

“I’m not av-” He started, but there were tendrils rising menacingly out of the shadows that surrounded Todd, so he thought better of it. “Why do you think I’m avoiding you?”

There was a scoff, and suddenly, the arm was gone, and a thumb was tracing Hank’s cheek. “I know you read my mind. You said you did. You can’t deny it anymore. You read my mind, and you think I’m disgusting now.”

Todd was such a weirdo. Hank didn’t know why he was supposed to remember something he did while completely out of his mind on drugs, with massive brain growth to boot, but whatever it was, Todd did not want him to know it. But Todd also definitely wouldn’t believe him if he said he had no idea what he was talking about.

Dealing with him was a nightmare.

“I don’t think you’re disgusting...” Hank tried.

“Then prove it.”

What the fuck did that mean?

Henry had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do, but he had a feeling that reassuring Todd that he was his buddy and he loved him was not what he was going for, especially since it was kind of a lie. Todd had tried to kill him, and Todd had decided that whatever Alan was doing to him was fine; Todd had said that he was fine with it if Hank spent the rest of his life wallowing in his own filth in an institution. Todd had definitely said that they weren’t friends and never had been first.

Maybe he should...

“Reading my mind is cheating, and I thought you said you wouldn’t read a friend’s mind any more than you’d read their mail. Unless that was something else you were lying about.”

Hank was mostly trying to shut him up when he kissed him. It was a stupid thing to do, and it was obviously not the right answer to whatever insane riddle he was being forced through. Teeth clashed against his own, and Todd froze. Hank winced, fully expecting to be torn apart by tendrils. He definitely wasn’t expecting Todd to kiss back. He didn’t know why Todd was kissing back.

To be honest, the fact that he was was terrifying Hank a little. Hank had spent years cultivating a level of distance from everyone he knew. He would be friendly, sure, but his past and his life and all of his feelings were all a very well-kept secret. How was he supposed to deal with someone suddenly coming in and wanting to break down all his walls.

Of course, he bolted, without even asking where all the old men had gone. He was admittedly more than a little selfish.

#henry king jr #brainwave jr #todd rice #obsidian #infinity inc #jsa #justice society of america #dc comics #ficlet #fanfiction

4 notes · View notes

nancypullen · 2 months

Text

Hello?

Anyone still here? I don't even remember the last time that I posted. The job is consuming me and I'm looking for reasons not to quit. There, I said it. It's too many hours and I have no life. I don't have time to do a single thing that I enjoy. It's definitely taking a physical toll on me - sciatica, ankle issues, etc. BUT (and isn't there always a but?) I'm stuffing money into my savings, I enjoy my lovely coworkers, and there is potential to do more things that I think I'd be good at...my displays are a hit, the children's librarian is making noise about having me do some storytime activities, and I'm getting better at the things that I found daunting when I started. The library is a comfortable place for me, I just wish they'd cut me back to true part-time, 20 hours a week or less. I wanted a small job where I could meet people and do some good. I didn't want to hand over all of my waking hours. Having said that, I should admit that I've had a lovely string of three days off. Mostly because I had the week from Hell with only Sunday off prior to that. I'm 60, I'm not built for long days and late nights anymore. Only a granny would consider working until 8 pm a "late night". In my youth anything before midnight was considered early. Every night when I get off work my watch congratulates me for being active 9 out of 9 hours.

I don't even want to do anything that feels good for nine hours, let alone stooping, lifting, walking, carrying, pushing carts, and maxing out my smile muscles. Something has to change but I can't bring myself to be a quitter. I hate to quit something that I'm good at, but I hate missing out on my life even more. Now that I've whined about that - what's new with you? Tried any new recipes? Gone somewhere fun? Getting excited about the feel of SPRING in the air? I'm itching to poke around in the gardens. My tulips are all up and look exceptionally healthy, so we should have a burst of color soon. Robins have been singing to us and there's a woodpecker making noise daily which is a sure sign of spring. When the males start drumming they're claiming territory and looking for a Mrs. The birds and squirrels seem generally happier, like they've been waiting for those first sweet daffodils to appear and wake up the earth (maybe that was just me). Any way you slice it, Old Man Winter is packing his bags. He can be slow and stubborn about leaving, sometimes giving us a last blast, but he's definitely departing. We'll set our clocks forward on the 10th and it's going to be so nice to leave work at 6:15 or so and enjoy a little daylight. I miss getting some sunshine during the day. During my lunch break I go down to the wharves by the Choptank River just so I can see some sky and soak up a little vitamin D. Turns out I am definitely solar powered. In other spring news, I ORDERED A ROSE BUSH. That's probably not big news to most folks, certainly not worthy of capital letters, but this one is special. I've wanted one for a while, couldn't find it (at least not at a price I was willing to pay) and if we leave this house I'm going to dig it up and take it with me. It's a Zephirine Drouhin rose. She's a deep pink climbing rose, very fragrant, very hearty, will even thrive in shade (I'm guessing it might not bloom as much) and, best of all, it's thornless!

She's going to be planted in a sunny corner where she can climb all over my little porch nook. I'm so excited! Of course the picture above is a long way off for me. When mine arrives it will look like this...

Never say I'm not a dreamer. I'm positive that this is in my future. Honestly, how could I resist this?

Description

Intoxicating Raspberry Fragrance

Introduced in 1868 and a favorite ever since, Zephirine Drouhin Climbing Rose is a romantic, fantastically fragrant, old-fashioned rose that is still one of the most popular climbers today. No modern rose has been able to exceed it for sheer performance, rich raspberry scent, and generous season-long bloom, and if you make Zephirine Drouhin Climbing Rose part of your landscape, you will treasure its beauty and generosity of bloom.

Peaking in spring and fall, the loose, double blossoms of vivid cerise-carmine provide outstanding mass effect. Each bloom is about 4 inches across, opening from a long, pointed bud and made up of 20 to 24 richly colored petals that are infused with a strong, evocative raspberry scent. Just one flower is a delight, so you can imagine what a vaseful looks and smells like.

This old French Bourbon rose grows vigorously to 15 to 20 feet high and 4 to 6 feet wide and, remarkable for any rose, performs well in part shade. Zephirine Drouhin Climbing Rose is an excellent choice for north-facing walls and areas with little sunlight. Zephirine Drouhin Climbing Rose will continue to bloom in summer, but its heaviest showing will usually be in the cooler temperatures of spring and fall.

The rich, medium-green foliage (coppery-purple when young) is very mildew resistant, and the canes are thornless, making Zephirine Drouhin Climbing Rose great for planting where traffic is heavy or children are nearby. This classic, time-tested climbing rose is the perfect choice to train over a trellis or porch, or trim into a formal hedge. Plant in moist, well-drained, loamy soil. I mean, what more could I ask for from a rose bush? Raise your hand if you think my optimism is setting me up for huge disappointment. I can't help myself. It's like my love affair with hydrangeas - they often break my heart but I can't give up on them. I'm sure that Zephirine and I will become besties. I have no other news to share because I can't really talk to you about funny library moments/patrons. This town is too small for me to try to change names to protect the innocent - people would know. I doubt anyone around here knows I have a blog but I'd rather not chance angry villagers in my yard with torches. I suppose I could talk about the rude elevator repair guy who has been in the building for at least two weeks with no end in sight. Our elevator was due for a complete overhaul so that's what's happening. The foreman on the job is a Trumpy, rude, misogynistic jerk. I said what I said. It's not just me, other employees who have dealt with him say the same. It's something every day. Last Wednesday I was setting up my displays for the month of March and he started making noise about the Women's History Month display. I gave him my steeliest gaze and told him that he is vastly outnumbered and to tread lightly. Then the jerk points at a book and said something along the lines of, "Why is that book there?" I saw what he was pointing at (Kamala Harris bio) but decided to make him say it. So I asked which book he meant, he muttered, "second shelf, far right". I responded, "OH. THE VICE-PRESIDENT? That's history." accompanied by a look that dared him to say more. He walked off and I admit that I was surprised that he wasn't dumb enough to be wearing $400 gold sneakers sold to him by a certain con man. My display was filled with books on amazing women - women in science, women in the arts, women in the military, women from all walks of life and political persuasions. The only thing that didn't belong was a narrow-minded doofus, so I got rid of him. I can't wait for the elevator work to be completed but I admit that I don't want to be the first one to use it. He really doesn't like us. It's probably not just us, I get the feeling that he goes through life like that. That went negative, didn't it? From gushing about roses to wanting to squash a bug of a man. Oops. Speaking of men, Mickey is waiting for lunch and then I think we're going to go poke around at the auction house. I'll make salads for dinner and then do a little meal prep for the week ahead. I'm back at work tomorrow after some lovely days off, so I need to get myself mentally prepared. The Edgewaters came over this weekend and the grandgirl was quite entertaining - lots of playing, fort building, reading, and fun. It was nice to have that family time. Alright, I'm outta' here. I hope that this blog post finds you smack dab in the middle of a good day. I hope that you're content, and that you're taking care of yourself. Feed your body good food, feed your mind good thoughts, and treat your heart with tenderness. Stay safe, stay well, spring forward! XOXO, Nancy

2 notes · View notes

priestessamy · 3 months

Note

genuine question, how do you have an official publisher, but not a single person took more than 5 minutes and 2$ worth of stock images to design the cover?

On the one hand, I appreciate you specifying this is a genuine question. On the other hand, that means you realize this was asked in kind of a shitty way, on anon. So you probably get that while we're not off on the wrong foot, we're not off on the right foot either. But I'm gonna take this in good faith regardless because I think it's worth being transparent.

Cool? Cool.

Bella Books doesn't have any artists on staff presently. That's the short answer.

The long answer is, predictably, longer. I had a whole concept for a cover that I wanted, with the two main characters standing back to back, hand in hand, each examining the instrument of destruction they can't seem to shake. It was poetic and cool. And Bella informed me it wasn't viable.

The best they can do on their mid-sized budget is manipulate stock photos.

[It should be noted at this point that I believe but have not confirmed that they will allow you to use art produced by an outsider artist. But! I didn't have anyone on speed dial nor any idea of who I could go with, I didn't have the money to commission, nor the confidence that after all our work would meet with approval.]

So I came up with a concept and cobbled together a selection of images that I felt would best convey the subject/tone of the book. You can still see that version in some places where the new cover hasn't been posted. Harper's knife, Esther's cross, some suggestive blood in the background. It was simple but good enough. I refused to use images of humans because no one really fit the bill and sometimes that can look even sloppier.

A few weeks before publication, the publisher came to me and said they had spoken with some store reps and gotten strong feedback that my original idea was a little too niche and wouldn't attract the broadest audience.

We were down to the wire and the new version they came up with was that dawn forest scene with the cross dangling off the title. I worries it looked a little too...A Walk to Remember-esque, and scoured the stock library for an appropriate wolf, one with black fur that looked relatively at ease, to give the reader the idea that "this werewolf isn't like other big scary werewolves".

So yes, they were rushed on their end, I was rushed on my end, and the cover ended up being uninspired. In a different universe, I would have just taken the hit and commissioned someone from the start.

But I'll say this much, and I know it's a massive cliche, but the old addage is true. Get past the cover, and I think the text speaks for itself. It's really really really good fucking text that I'm unbelievably proud of. I hope you read it. I hope you love it and tell other people to read it. Or maybe it won't be your thing. That's okay too.

Just, like... Be a little cooler about it next time? For me? Now that we're buddies and all?

#the realities of publishing #it cant always go perfectly #last minute changes are no fun for anyone #this maybe also comes across as a little aggro I admit #and defensive im sure #but i love this story #and i wish i could have gotten that dream cover #and having an anon come through like “cover sucks bro” isnt fun #i knew it would happen eventually

3 notes · View notes

Last Seen Blogs

midnighter-dc

I am The Midnighter

mxrxll

• meringue •

hands0mejack

🔪

trixter-noname

Palaces of Chaos

heavypleather

Shiny wide bottoms mostly