#but i’m also just so happy that i get to take her and give her that experience too

[jennifer-jeong]

Okay so first, I really love your LnD fics (patiently waiting for more of your amazing works) 🥹🫶 and hear me out...

Reader who is reincarnated as a Fae being and has been alive since. But the thing is, her wings had been clipped off (with the use of silver chains, meaning she's vulnerable against silver) for a century and is in Linkon city since she feels that part of her (her wings) are somewhere hidden in the city (Think of Maleficent live action ig where her wings were taken from her) and meets the guys and so on :)

HI ANON THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR ASK AND YOUR KIND WORDS FJDSKLAFJSDL;A I APPRECIATE IT SM!! TY FOR INTERACTING!! I’m so glad to hear you like my fics and I promise more are on the way hehehe please do request me again if you have more ideas!!

I hope I did your prompt justice! I definitely did think a lot about maleficent when writing this hehehehe

[Fluff + Angst] [Love and Deepspace Boys x Fae!Reader] Angel

CONTENT

Angst to fluff, gender neutral reader, mentions of violence, blood, trauma, torture, healing alongside them, mutual pining between you and the boys, happy and open ended endings! ALL CHARACTERS ARE 18+

Your wings were a pretty and pearly milky white. Your wings resembled those of high flying birds. They were thick enough to allow gliding and also strong enough to give you lots of control in the air. They were iridescent in the sun and carried you high in the bright sky. The air was thin but more refreshing up there. You played with clouds and soared through the endless blue. It was freedom. It made you feel alive, warm.

It was your gift, but unfortunately, it was on someone else’s wishlist.

You’d never been a spiteful being, nor had you ever hurt a fly. But when silver chains ripped your flesh and tore your muscle to take your wings, severing your very soul from your body. When they destroyed your forest, your home, your family, your heart. You swore to make them suffer.

You were powerful and hunting these fools down was nothing difficult for you. The problem was hunting without your wings, your best weapon.

The lack of mobility and being forced to fight on the ground made it so that you could maim the weak ones, but you could never reach the ones who profited off the suffering of you and your people.

Linkon city is where they were. You knew this. You could feel your wings there. You also knew that you’d need to hide, figure out who did what and how to get your damn wings back. It would take time, but time was all you had as a fae. You’d do whatever it took to make them pay.

It’d take years, but it was worth it.

2 years later and you’ve already made moves to apprehend (and torture) a few key figures, always leaving them in front of the police station when you were done. You still had so much good in you and it always prevented you from killing. But it made you seethe that they were filthy fucking rich from what they stole from your homeland. They sold your resources and displayed your bodies, your wings, like they were trophies. Life was still cold and depressing for you but you did manage to make some friends in Linkon. They’d even help you with your mission. You only trusted them with the information because they had similar goals.

XAVIER

Xavier was a local policeman you had met a few decades into your plot when you were hired to help with the case. He was coincidentally also investigating illegal hunters and black markets selling goods stolen from other civilizations such as yours. It was a big ring of crime and he was determined to end the atrocities that were being committed in it. Meeting you was just extra motivation on top of his already relentless drive for justice. You became investigative partners since you were both capable in combat and often investigated the same people anyways.

Xavier was kind, gentle, quiet, and stronger than he let on. He always worked without expectation of reward and you appreciated that. You just wanted justice and he wanted the same. It helped that he didn’t seek publicity because it would’ve made your life harder since you were probably wanted as a vigilante from before. Xavier taught you his philosophies and you realized you’d been consumed by your desire for revenge, unable to enjoy life outside of it. You admired him for his morals, so you learned from him, and it made you two grow closer. He was more than happy to help, it was so rewarding to see you slowly become your bubbly self that he guesses you lost a long time ago.

He had his suspicions that you might be fae. The man was smart but he played his cards carefully, he always held them close. He acted aloof with you and pretended to not constantly stare at the back of your shirt, trying to see if you had imprints of missing wings on your shoulder blades. He also figured that your motivation for wanting to crack these cases came from somewhere. If he also managed to figure out that you’d been behind some of the previous mysterious arrests, he’d turn a blind eye. He knew your actions weren’t crimes. He felt glad that you got them back for what they did to you and your people.

After a few years of planned raids and dozens of arrests, one of the recovered items from the warehouse was a beautiful pair of wings. Still buzzing with magic, craving to feel the wind again. You felt them when they were being transported to the police HQ. The surge of energy that continued to approach you made you hold your breath and bounce your leg out of pure anxiety. Xavier put a hand on your shoulder to try to calm you down. He’d already figured out what was going on just by looking at you. You didn’t need to say a word. It was something that slowly came naturally since you two spent so much time together. You smiled and he smiled warmly back. You were in the middle of panicking because Xavier was still touching you when you were presented with your missing soul, your wings. You requested to view the “evidence” privately with Xavier and wasted no time in feeling your delicate wings with your fingertips again.

Xavier stood behind you, his right hand found its way to your upper back. He finally traced the outlines of your cut wings. It made you gasp at first, but you trusted him. As he continued to feel them, you shivered. They were scars, they were more sensitive. He stepped to your side and you turned to partially face him, his hand sliding off of you. You looked into his eyes and your longstanding feelings for Xavier were making their presence known by heating up your face, flushing your cheeks. You swore you saw a slight tinge of red on the tips of his ears too. He spoke to you in his familiar voice that you loved so much. He decided to tease you slightly.

“I think I always knew that you’d have wings, you were too perfect to not be an angel.”

ZAYNE

Zayne was a surgeon you’d met one day when he treated your wounds since you collapsed outside the hospital. He discovered the scars where your wings used to sit on your back. You were high off the morphine when he checked your back for more injuries so you barely even realized.

He questioned you but not in the way you expected. You thought he wouldn’t know what they were or try to take advantage of you. But instead he asked what you knew about the hunters that took your wings. He already knew exactly what happened to you just by looking. He was involved in cracking down on research related to Fae and Lemurians since there were people trying to fuse their genetics with these races to gain their beneficial traits such as immortality.

He knew some things you didn’t know and vice versa. You both began working on this together, investigating research facilities, interrogating suspects, and fighting only when needed. You were unstoppable and the law didn’t plan to ask you to let up. You both hand delivered them collectors and shadowy figures that had hid from the police for so long. When you fought, Zayne could both heal and attack from afar while you rushed them head on. You were unafraid because you believed in your partner, your trust in Zayne only grew as the years went on.

Early on, Zayne encouraged you to let go of the spite, the revenge. You knew he was right when he said that they did not benefit you in this. He saw the rage in you and could see that it was hurting you, mentally and physically. You listened, you knew better. You stopped the relentless tortures and instead, let the collectors rot in jail, but not before you got in a few good punches. Zayne watched you slowly come out of your shell again, actually taking the time to enjoy the little things in life instead of being hyper focused on revenge. He’d be lying if he said you weren’t one of the most rewarding patients he’d ever had.

Working with your partner was definitely quite the rollercoaster. He was always so professional and mature but would also randomly tease you as if you were kids, albeit with a fully deadpan expression. Zayne was reserved and often came off as cold but he made you so warm. You knew he was an extremely compassionate and kind person under his exterior and you admired him for it. Zayne also adored you in the same way. You had gone through so much pain and suffering but you still smiled and shined like the sun.

Over time you adapted to live without your wings but after one specific raid on a collector’s mansion, you knew exactly what the collector’s prized possession was because it belonged to you. You could feel your wings. They still surged with energy and upon seeing them when you went to do follow up investigation, you immediately called to them. They flew towards you and you inspected them, almost not believing the scene in front of you. Zayne stayed close ready to support you, especially if you were to fuse with your wings again, he knew it’d be hard to keep them hidden and it’d just bring up so much previous trauma.

You turned to face him slowly, leaving your wings behind you. You hesitated. Not letting your wings fuse with you yet. Zayne looked into your eyes, trying to comfort you with his presence. After a few seconds, Zayne held out his hand, you took it. His skin was cold but somehow it made yours burn, the heat spreading through your body as your face warmed up. He spoke quietly to you, telling you to take your time. You closed your eyes and took deep breaths, your thumb slowly caressing the back of Zayne's hand as he did the same back.

Zayne had always been good at comforting you with his words, maybe it just came naturally since he was a doctor. Regardless, you knew it was exactly what you needed right now. You didn’t know what you’d do after you got your wings back. Would you go home? Would you continue this mission with Zayne? Would having your wings make it harder? Would it make it easier? You confided in Zayne as you spoke your thoughts out loud. Once you were done, you were overwhelmed and he could tell. He started his reply with a sentence that filled you with warmth, hope, and a little bit of giddiness. He speaks, teasing you a bit at the end, his face flushing.

“It doesn’t matter what you are or if you have the wings or not, you’re beautiful and you should follow your heart… especially if it’s here.”

RAFAYEL

Rafayel was a painter “looking for art or inspiration” that you met at an underground event where illegal goods were being sold, but you quickly figured out it was a front. Rafayel was a Lemurian, you sensed it immediately since you weren’t human. As a fae you had the ability to sense certain things, and so did Rafayel. Upon meeting each other at an art exhibition, you quickly exchanged information and agreed to meet up again the next day. You almost simultaneously revealed that you were both after the hunters that destroyed your homes when you finally got to chat alone.

The two of you start to frequent more underground events, both of you being well connected and hiding your true intentions very well. You use the events to gather information and then put your plans into action when your targets are alone. It worked amazingly well, you were both extremely skilled and efficient at what you did. It slowly chipped away at this network that shamelessly destroyed your beautiful homes.

Rafayel was a bit of a loose cannon. The man was so sweet and bashful one second and deadly serious the next. He was so gentle with you but didn’t hesitate when there was business that needed to be done. He could easily switch it on and off too. You were just glad you were on his side of this war.

Both you and Rafayel were out for revenge but something about your partnership changed you two. You both slowly helped each other heal, confiding your worries and traumas in each other. You were still both ruthless when it came to apprehending the people who did you wrong but the tortures stopped and the warmth returned outside of the violence. You two actually started to make good memories and live life instead of just trying to survive. You’d often watch the sunset over the ocean together, it was peaceful and you’d chat about anything and everything.

Eventually, after dozens of raids and missions, Rafayel finds weapons that used to belong to his family at the same time you find your wings again. You kept quiet until the mission was done, knowing you could feel your wings but not wanting to startle Rafayel. You looked at the weapons with him, you put your hand on his back to show your support for him. His eyes stayed glued on the knives and his face was a painful melancholic expression. You rubbed circles into his upper back with your thumb, hoping it could ease some of the pain caused by resurfacing memories.

After ensuring that the weapons would be sent to his personal studio, he continues to explore the mansion with you, following you while you find your wings. You communicated to him about your wings and he knew this would be tough for you too but you were both glad you had each other in this moment.

When you saw your wings in a display case at the end of one of the hallways, you bit back tears. It was a lot to take in. You passed millions of dollars worth of paintings to reach the most priceless thing in this whole building. Rafayel lags slightly behind you, wanting to give you a moment. You turn to face him, telling him that you don’t know if you want the wings back or not. Would they make you complete again? They can’t bring anyone back, can’t take away the pain. You couldn’t hide them like Rafayel could hide his true form, would it be a nuisance?

Rafayel makes his way towards you as you ramble, clearly distressed. He quickly envelopes you in a hug, letting you cry lightly into his chest, a painting of Lucifer on the wall next to you. You stay like that for a while. When he finally pulls back, he cups your face with his hands. You were his fallen angel, he wasn’t always great with his words but he truly spoke from the heart when comforting you like this.

“You never needed these wings to be complete, you’re ethereal with or without them. You’ll always be my angel, no matter what.”

Thank you for reading!

|| MASTERLIST<3 ||

#love and deepspace x reader #lads x reader #l&ds x reader #xavier x reader #xavier fluff #xavier angst #zayne x reader #zayne fluff #zayne angst #rafayel x reader #rafayel fluff #rafayel angst #love and deepspace fluff #love and deepspace angst #lads fluff #l&ds fluff #j's silly ramblings

[borathae]

↳ Index [Chapter 01 - Besuch]

• Besuch (German; noun: visit)

Focus on Pairing: Taehyung x f.Reader

Warnings: so many fluffy sweet moments, talks about polyamory & sexuality, Tae suffers from PTSD, but he gets so much comfort, Yoongi is a nervous cutie, Jungkook is so sweet <3

Wordcount: 14.5k

a/n: OMFG BESTIES WE'RE FINALLY BACK IN BUSINESS! I'M SO HAPPY TO BE BACK WITH A LIL STORY FOR YOU GAAAH 💙

“Okay. Are you ready?”

“I am.”

“Me too.”

“Where’s Yoongi?”

“He said that he’ll be here soon.”

“I could call him.”

The door opens.

“I’m sorry I’m late, I couldn’t get the button to close”, Yoongi says, running to get to you and the others. You are busy closing the safety circle while the others are waiting on your floor surrounded by your travel bags.

“Why are you dressed like this?” Taehyung asks, following Yoongi with his eyes.

Yoongi looks down at his own body. He is wearing a black suit with a small white boutonniere in his front pocket.

“What’s wrong with my outfit?” he asks with a pout, “you’re wearing a suit too.” 

Taehyung, dressed in an emerald green suit, shrugs his shoulders.

“It is just that these are my normal clothes, but you look as if you stumbled out of the wrong movie.”

“Why? What’s wrong with my clothes?” Yoongi whines, “I’m meeting her grandma. Can’t I dress up for that?”

You and the others laugh fondly. 

“Stop laughing, you brats”, he hisses, crossing his arms in front of his chest.  

“I’m just laughing because you’re so cute, my love”, you tell him, sitting down cross legged and patting the spot next to you, “sit down.”

Yoongi follows, tugging and pulling at his clothes insecurely. He can’t even look at your eyes because he feels so insecure in them all of a sudden. 

You lean in and give him a smooch on his cheek, “you look so handsome.” 

Yoongi blushes, “thanks”, he mumbles.

“I also think that you’re handsome, hyungie”, Jungkook says. He is dressed in a fancy shirt and slacks and has his hair in a neat half-updo.

“Thanks”, Yoongi says.

“I still think that you look peculiar”, Taehyung teases.

“Tae, stop that”, you say, hitting his leg gently.

“Fine. I won’t say anything again”, Taehyung gives up and snickers.

“You’re a brat”, Yoongi says.

“Can we start now?” you ask, looking between him and Taehyung fondly. 

“Yes, of course”, Taehyung says and takes your hand. Next he takes Jungkook’s hand, holding it tightly.

“I guess. It’s so mean, I dressed up for the occasion and I get made fun of”, Yoongi murmurs with a pout as he takes your and Jungkook’s hands.

“I wasn’t making fun-”

“Hush, you guys. Focus. I need to channel your powers and I can’t concentrate when you talk”, you stop them in a chuckle. 

The two bickering vampires stop, looking at you with the most innocent of eyes. 

“Now”, you begin, “close your eyes and relax. It’ll tingle a little.”

The next time you open your eyes again, the scent of pine and wild herbs tickles your noses.

The ground beneath your feet crunches like small, angular stones. You run your eyes over your surroundings. Your lovers are beside you, looking around with awe in their eyes.

A high, dense forest surrounds you. The call of a blackbird echoes high above your heads and the humming of thousands of insects hangs in the air.

“Remarkable”, Taehyung gets out under his breath.

“Yeah right”, Jungkook whispers.

You find yourselves on a narrow gravel road. The road is just wide enough for one car and on the parts where no tires run along, high grasses and forest flowers grow. They tickle your legs as you stand in them. It is a nice sensation.

You know this road. Behind your backs, it leads into denser forests and high mountain paths. In front of your eyes, it will bring you to your grandmother’s house. You took this path a hundred times when you were younger. You will always find your way on it.

“Are we right here? Where are we? It looked different the last time we were here”, Jungkook asks.

“Yes, we’re right. It’s just not the back entrance”, you assure him, “come, follow me. I know the way”, you say and shoulder your bag, taking confident steps into the correct direction.

The three vampires lift their own bags and follow you with their eyes sparkling in awe. At least those of Taehyung and Jungkook, Yoongi’s eyes are glued to the ground. 

“I can’t believe that you truly managed to get us here”, Taehyung says, following a squirrel with his eyes as it escapes through the trees, “a squirrel! Right above our heads!”

“Where?” Jungkook gasps.

“There. Right there”, Taehyung shows him and after some intense searching, Jungkook finally finds it.

“Wow a squirrel! So cute!” he exclaims in a terribly cute voice. He and Taehyung share giggles and hold hands, swinging them back and forth happily.

You hold hands with Yoongi, who has been worryingly quiet until now.

“My love?” you call his attention with a soft pull at his hand.

His head snaps to you, “mhm?” his eyes are widened.

“Are you okay? You’re really quiet.”

“I’m okay.”

“Are you sure?”

He nods his head, “nervous”, he confesses and looks away.

“You’re nervous?”

He nods his head, rubbing the side of his neck.

“I never really did the whole, uhm, meeting my partner’s family and stuff before. Uh, yeah, it’s new to me. Scary, uh, yeah.”

“Aww my love, don’t be nervous. My grandma will love you so much.”

“Yeah, uhm”, he lowers his head shyly.

“I’m serious, love. She told me that she saw glimpses of you in my memories and that she can see how well you treat me”, you assure him, hugging his arm, “don’t worry, she’ll look at you and see a kind, sweet and very loveable person. Yeah?”

He nods his head and glances at you. He squeezes your hand just once and leans in to kiss your cheek.

“Thank you”, he whispers.

“I’m only saying the truth”, you say and pull Jungkook and Taehyung closer by holding Taehyung’s hand, “as a matter of fact, she’ll love all of you. Oh, you guys”, you begin skipping in happiness, “I’m so, so happy to be back and to see my grandma again and to introduce her to you.”

“I’m really happy too. I can’t wait to see grandma again”, Jungkook says, watching you with sparkling eyes. You are so happy. He likes that you are.

“I am very excited as well, my darling. I cannot wait to try her raspberry pie.”

“Yes, god you really can’t”, you say and wiggle your shoulders, “it’s so, so yummy.”

Another squirrel scurries past you, crossing the narrow gravel road in small jumps. Jungkook giggles.

“It’s so cute.”

“It truly is”, Taehyung says, “however, I cannot find an explanation as to why there are animals and insects living here. Isn’t this a realm for the souls of deceased witches and warlocks? How come there is other form of life in this realm?”

You all look at Yoongi for an answer.

“What?”

“Why are there animals and insects here?”

“It’s just the way it is. I don’t know.”

“But didn’t Namjoon create this realm? Shouldn’t he have talked to you about his plans for it?”

“He did. I don’t know, it’s been too long. Maybe it’s because he loved plants and animals back then. I don’t know, sorry I’m nervous”, Yoongi says, ending his rant by exhaling loudly and blinking his eyes at you.

You give his hand an encouraging squeeze.

“It’s okay, love. Thank you for telling us.”

“Okay, okay I apologise for asking”, Taehyung says and reaches past you to caress Yoongi’s arm, “don’t be nervous, hyung. I am sure that you will be welcomed splendidly. If there is someone who should be nervous, it should be me.”

“Don’t say that, Tae. She’ll love you as well”, you insist.

“Yes, well”, Taehyung lets out a nervous chuckle, “she saw how wonderfully Yoongi treated you, so I am sure that she must have seen how awfully I acted.”

“Even if she did, that means she also saw how much you changed for the better. Don’t worry my darling, she will love you just as much as she’ll love Yoongi and Kookie.”

“Okay, okay”, Taehyung says and grins shyly, “thank you for saying this.”

You hug his arm against you and give it a little kiss.

“Of course, my sweetest”, you say and straighten up, “now let’s go. I can’t wait to see her again. Oh, I’m so happy. Do you guys think that she can feel that we are coming?”

“I am certain that she could sense it.”

“Yes, I get the feeling as well”, Jungkook assures you, while Yoongi is still lost in his nervous thoughts.

The walk to your grandmother’s cottage is a long one, but a terribly beautiful one. Being in nature is truly the best thing one can be. The long grasses and colourful flowers brush against your legs as you wander. The trees sway in the warm breeze and the sun shines through the canopy and makes light dance all around you.

“Did you know that there is a word in Japanese which describes the light shining through leaves?” Taehyung asks.

“No, I didn’t”, Jungkook says to which you agree with a shake of your head.

Yoongi seems to know already, because he doesn’t react. Or perhaps he is currently completely dissociated in nervousness. That would explain why he is staring into the distance with dazed eyes.

“Indeed there is”, Taehyung says, “komorebi. It is a beautiful word and I would say that it is rather fitting for such a beautiful view.”

“Yes”, you agree, letting your eyes follow the light. It is as if it was in a dance with the shadow, creating ever changing paintings, “yes I agree. Komorebi. I have to remember this word.”

“Thank you for telling us. I learned something new”, Jungkook says, painting great happiness onto Taehyung’s features.

The cottage is within reach. You can see the cozy house and the colourful, loved garden surrounding it. The rather unwelcome wooden stake fence doesn’t greet you this time around. A normal wooden fence stands in its stead. There are high wooden pillars on each side of the road and a wooden arch on which roses climb up and bloom. The gates are currently open, inviting you inside.

“It’s so peculiar not to see grandma’s staked fence”, you say.

“But it was there the last time we visited her, right?” Jungkook makes sure.

You nod your head, “it must be because we accidentally switched from my memories to this world. Remember? There were no stakes when we left the realm again, but because we were too preoccupied with our emotions, we didn’t really notice it.”

“Yes, right. Right, now that you mention it, I didn’t see any stakes when we left. So that means that we’re right, ___. You actually took us to the safe realm where no vampires are present.”

Jungkook breaks away from Taehyung and gets in front of you and the others. You all come to a stop. He steps closer and puts his hand on the chests of Taehyung and Yoongi. While Taehyung smiles at him, Yoongi seems to come back to reality with the touch. He blinks rapidly, gawking at Jungkook.

The latter smiles and bounces on the spot.

“You’re human”, he says, “you guys are human. We’re all human again”, he says and touches his own chest, “my pulse is back. Wow!”

Taehyung and Yoongi touch their chests and while Taehyung seems marvelled by it, Yoongi exhales shakily, blinking away the emotion in his eyes. He tightens his fingers around the fabric of his shirt, furrowing his brows.

“Oh how fascinating”, Taehyung gasps, looking at you, “darling, I can feel my heart beat.”

“I know”, you say, touching him gently, “I can feel it too, Tae.”

Taehyung smiles and places his hand over yours, pulling you closer this way, “sweetest”, he whispers and kisses you. It is a nice revelation that his first instinct upon being human again, is to kiss you. You kiss him back with a racing heart and in return, you can feel his heart race in his chest. Oh, how good it feels to kiss him.

By the time you pull back for air, you are just a little dizzy. He smiles at you, squeezing your hand gently. You retort his smile.

Jungkook’s giggles make both of you turn into his direction. He is giggling at Yoongi, while the latter is looking into Jungkook’s face. Their hands are on each other’s chests, feeling the other’s heartbeat.

“I can count the beats, hyungie”, Jungkook says, “your pulse is real.”

“Yeah, I know”, Yoongi answers him.

“It’s beating so fast.”

“Yeah, I know…”

You join their sides, caressing their arms.

Jungkook pulls you into a group hug instantly, smothering you between his body and Yoongi’s.

“Oh? Okay”, you accept your fate with giggles, which only grow when you can feel Taehyung join the group hug as well.

“We are human again”, Jungkook says and begins jumping in a circle. You join him soon even if Yoongi whines about it. It’s just way too exciting to be with each other.

“Honeybee!” someone calling your nickname breaks the group hug. The boys release you, watching with curious eyes as a couple seem to hurry to you. They are dressed in flowy summer clothes and seem to be in their forties. Jungkook is smiling, waving his hand.

“Grandma! Hello!” he calls out, but you can’t hear him anymore.

Your grandfather is next to your grandmother. Safe and sound. And alive. He is actually alive.

“Grandpa?!” you gasp, “you- oh”, you stop talking to instead run to them.

They welcome you with open arms, engulfing you in the kind of hug only loving grandparents can give. Despite promising yourself not to cry, you still do. You went so many years without them and to see both of them again, well and alive, overwhelms you in the best way possible.

“You’re alive! Grandpa, you’re alive!”

“Hello my little forest strider, how have you been?”

“Oh grandpa, I missed you so much”, you choke out and sob into his chest.

“Mhm, my girl”, he says and pulls you closer.

You break away after a few moments of emotional hugging, eyes switching between your grandparents’ faces.

“You guys are so young and, and you’re both here. I don’t understand. How can you be here?”

“This is a peaceful world. A good world. I am here because Agatha wanted me to be here.”

“And you are real? You are truly real?”

“I am”, your grandfather smiles and tugs your grandmother closer, “she just couldn’t say goodbye to me, could she?”

“How could I, Harald? I need to have someone I can annoy”, she jokes, which makes him laugh and kiss her cheek. She takes your hand afterwards, “there is a way to make sure that your loved ones will find peace in this world even if they aren’t born witches.”

“There is?”

“Yes, yes there is, but I will tell you later. My boys, welcome”, she says and turns to your three boys with open arms, “I’m Agatha, but you can call me grandma as well. Jungkook my dear, welcome back.”

“I’m so happy to be back, grandma”, he says, bowing his head.

She however tugs him into a hug, forcing a squeak out of him as he stumbles into her loving embrace. He is so much taller than her, lowering himself for her comfort.

“Welcome back, my boy. How have you been?”

“Good, really good. I missed you.”

They break the hug, but she keeps holding his hands.

“It’s so nice to have you back for a happy occasion”, she says to which he agrees with an enthusiastic nod.

Afterwards he turns to your grandfather, giving him a tight handshake.

“It is so nice to meet you. I’m Jungkook.”

“Agatha already told me a lot about you. It’s good to finally put a face to the stories”, he says and grabs his upper arm, “you’re a strong one. I can feel it. Are those tattoos?”

“Oh, uhm…” Jungkook blushes, “yes, I guess they are.”

“Aha, I see. How far up do they go?” he asks, trying to tug Jungkook’s shirt further up his arm.

Jungkook laughs nervously, glancing at you as a call for help. But before you can save him from your grandfather’s nosy, yet kindly meant, hands, your grandmother does.

“Harald, don’t be nosy. Dear god”, your grandmother swipes his hand away, turning her attention to Yoongi next.

“You must be Yoongi.”

“I am”, he croaks out, “sorry”, he says and bows deeply, clearing his throat as he does, “nice to meet you and thank you so much for housing us”, he says and bows at your grandfather as well.

“I’m happy to have you, my dear”, she says and gives his arm a soft caress.

“Agatha told me that you enjoy woodworking. I was a carpenter in my time”, your grandfather says and takes both his hands to inspect them, “mhm good worker hands. They don’t fit your face.”

“Uh? Thank you, yeah, uhm.”

Your grandmother rolls her eyes at him because he is being nosy again.

“___ told me that you were a carpenter. Yeah, uhm”, Yoongi pulls his hands out of your grandfather’s hold and scratches his own ear shyly, “I think woodworking is good. Yeah”, he mumbles and clears his throat again.

Your grandfather smiles. Yoongi is shy. Just as Agatha had told him.

Taehyung bows at both of your grandparents as well, “I am Taehyung. It is truly wonderful to finally meet the people who are so utterly important to ___.”

“We could say the same about you”, she says and studies him from head to toe. There is just the slightest, smallest, faintest mistrust in them. 

“I, uhm”, Taehyung begins fumbling in his bag, “I have something for you”, he says and pulls out a box.

Your grandmother accepts it, opening it. 

“Oh? Seeds?”

“Yes, indeed. They are seeds from our garden. ___ told me that she inherited her enjoyment for gardening from you and I thought that growing seeds from our garden in your own could be a special way to connect our families.”

Your grandmother exchanges a look with your grandfather. They smile, reaching out for a warm caress to Taehyung’s arms.

“Thank you, boy. We will cherish them.”

“This is such a wonderful gift, thank you my dear”, your grandmother says and points at the house, “come, I bet you must be really exhausted from the journey.”

“Not really. ___ did a really good job at sending us here”, Jungkook says and looks around, “it looks a lot nicer here than last time.”

“That’s because you entered this realm willingly and not accidentally. That is also why your heartbeats feel so real and why you can take bags with you. Because your bodies are actually here.”

“Woah, that’s wild to me. Did you know that, hyung?”

Yoongi shakes his head, “no, I’m sorry. I don’t know a lot about this world”, he murmurs shyly.

“I see. That’s okay, but you seem to know a lot, grandma.”

“Oh? Oh no”, she laughs, “I know enough to know that this world is safe, but that it will also be punishing to people who aren’t dead yet.”

“What do you mean? Are we in danger?”

“Only if you die in here. You will be lost forever, which is not a nice fate to have.”

“Oh god. You guys gotta be extra careful from now on. Okay?” you tell your three boys.

“We will, don’t worry”, Jungkook assures you to which the others agree.

“I’m sure nothing will happen”, your grandfather says and places his arm over your grandmother’s shoulder, “are you hungry? We were just about to start dinner when Agatha felt you enter this realm.”

“Dinner sounds lovely, Harald?” Taehyung says, “please forgive me if I got your name wrong.”

“You got it right. Name’s Harald, but you can call me grandpa if you want to.”

“It is lovely to meet you, Harald. ___ told me a great deal about you. You mean a lot to her.”

“Oh, she means more to me. My little girl, she’s my treasure.”

Taehyung feels warm in his chest. He loves to know that you have family who truly and honestly love you.

“We made raspberry pie as well”, your grandmother says.

“Yes, pie! I’m so ready to eat at least three slices!” you exclaim happily and take her hand, “grandma, can I have the recipe? I forgot to ask you last time, but I would really love to make it at home.”

“Of course, my honeybee. Do you have raspberry bushes at your home as well?”

“I do. Yoongi wants to teach me one day how I can make them grow like you make yours grow, but for now I have to learn better control.”

“Control is really important. I’m impressed that you managed to get all of you here unharmed.”

“I know. Oh god, grandma I was so nervous you have no idea.”

You take off your shoes by the front door. Your grandmother scurries off to prepare lemonade, while your grandfather leads you upstairs. He is carrying your bag because he insisted that it is a grandfather’s job to carry his grandchild’s bags. 

“It’s so cozy here”, Jungkook says.

“Aye, cozy it is”, your grandfather says, leading you to your bedroom, “I built all of it myself. Not in this world, but the real one. The house was already there when I came here. Don’t ask me how it works, Agatha’s the one with magic, I’m just here to be her support.”

He makes you laugh with it. He smiles fondly, putting your bag on your bed.

“Two of you can sleep here. The rest can sleep in the guestroom. Ignore the mess on the desk. I use it as my hobby room when it’s just the two of us.”

“What do you enjoy as a hobby?” Taehyung asks, walking next to him. They are the same height, carrying themselves with good posture.

“I’m a collector of old weapons. Without the ammunition of course. I spend a lot of time cleaning and restoring old weapons.”

“Oh, that sounds wonderful. I have quite a few rare pieces in my own collection. I shall bring some of them with me next time we visit.”

“So you’re a collector too?”

“I am sure not as passionate as you, but my age automatically comes with many trinkets and pieces, which I find myself collecting.” 

“I see, well anyways, that’s the guest room. Make yourselves comfortable”, he says and studies you, “however that will work. Do you pull cards to decide?”

“We prefer to decide spontaneously.”

“I see, well anyways, rest for a bit, get comfortable. I’m downstairs for now”, he says and turns to leave. He gives you a hug before he does, patting your head, “my girl.”

Once it is just the four of you, Taehyung speaks.

“I got the feeling that he wanted to ask more about our situation, but he didn’t know how.”

“Knowing my grandpa, he really did. Especially because I came back dating three men, who also date each other.”

“Mostly. Some are only acquaintances”, Yoongi corrects you, making Taehyung gasp dramatically.

“Acquaintances? Excuse me? Have we not spent enough centuries together to at least be friends?” 

“I don’t know. You made fun of my outfit.”

“Oh, hyung you”, he nudges his arm, “you know that I was only jesting. You look very handsome.”

“Whatever”, Yoongi says and looks around the room awkwardly.

“Do you guys like it here?” you ask them.

“It’s so cozy. I like it a lot.”

“It also smells very good.”

“It does, gosh. And look, you can see the forest from here”, you say, hurrying to the small window. 

Your three boys gather behind you, trying to get a glimpse.

“I spent a lot of time in this forest. I can’t believe that I get to walk in it again. We are gonna take walks in it, aren’t we?” 

“Of course. I even packed my walking shoes for this occasion.”

“I’m so happy, you guys”, you say, following your grandmother with your eyes as she is hurrying through the garden to pick some mint, “I wanna go downstairs and help them.”

“We’ll come with you.” 

You spent the rest of the day together, talking and laughing. You tell your grandparents everything which happened in the years they weren’t with you anymore and it felt so good to do because this time around, you know that you had no rush in speaking. Yoongi was with you again. Taehyung and Jungkook as well. Everything was well and you are allowed to waste time telling silly stories of your life. Your grandparents are so very happy to listen to every single one of them. And so you spent the day talking until the moon replaced the sun in the sky and the crickets sang their nightly songs.

Yoongi helped your grandmother with dinner. You could listen to them bond over food. They even exchanged recipes and chatted about bread making. It made you feel really good inside to hear how Yoongi talks to your grandmother. Respectful and in a soft spoken voice. He is such a gentle person.

You and your other two boys wanted to help as well, but then your grandfather dragged you into a game of cards. He was sure that he could win, because he always won when you were still a child, but soon had to realise that his little girl was all grown up now. It made him a little sad and so you let him win the next round, which made him tease you in the adoring way he always teased you when he won. It made you really happy. You missed the game of cards with your grandfather.

Dinner has been served by now. You sit around the table, sharing the food your grandmother and Yoongi prepared with utmost love. It tastes so good that everyone goes for a second serving. You even go for a third because the combination of Yoongi’s cooking and your grandmother’s cooking is quite frankly, the most delicious combination to ever exist. Two cuisines which taste like home mixed into one. Truly, food couldn’t get any better than this.

You talk about food for most of it. Soon your grandfather leads the conversation to a different topic however. It was during dessert when tea was shared with your grandmother’s raspberry pie. You feed a spoonful to Taehyung and then to Jungkook, doing so with giggles on your lips.

“Is it yummy?” you ask them.

“Really, I missed your pie so much”, Jungkook murmurs.

“It is so sweet and rich in flavours. I truly enjoy it”, Taehyung gushes.

“Well, thank you my dear”, your grandmother says with fondness in her eyes. She likes to know when people enjoy her food. Especially her pies. She is very proud of her pies. All the recipes are her creations and she takes great pride in them. She wipes down the counters with a happy smile on her lips, listening to the conversation.

You break off another piece of the pie and turn to Yoongi.

“Now you, my love”, you tell him.

Yoongi meets you in the middle with an open mouth. He takes the pie off your fork gently, meeting your eyes shyly.

“And?”

He chews and swallows, nodding his head.

“Mhm”, he lets out, “really good. How are you getting the raspberry flavors to stay so intense, Agatha?”

“I couldn’t tell you. I think my raspberries really like me. It’s how they taste naturally.”

“Mhm, I could have figured. As a nature witch, you have a talent for gardens.”

Your grandmother chuckles mischievously and that is the moment when your grandfather stirs the conversation into a different direction.

“___ my girl, now I must ask something.”

“Yes, grandpa?” 

“Why are you all dating?” 

“Harald, you can’t ask that out of nowhere”, your grandmother gasps, dropping the wipe on the counter to run to him and nudge his arm.

“It’s not out of nowhere. I really thought about it before I asked”, your grandfather defends himself.

“It doesn’t make it okay”, she throws back, but you assure her that it was alright to ask.

“I understand that it’s not really common to see, questions are allowed. Right, guys? Is it okay for you as well?” 

“Of course. We are very open to answer your questions”, Taehyung says.

“I don’t have a lot of experience with polyamory, but I’m okay as well”, Jungkook says.

“Me too. I’ll try my best to answer”, Yoongi says, “I was honestly just waiting for you guys to ask us. I know it must be weird to see your granddaughter return with three men by her side.”

“Not weird just…uncommon.”

“Gosh Harald, stop being so negative.”

“What? I’m just saying. It must be uncommon for you too. I’m sure they know that it’s not something you see every day.”

“Harald!”

“It’s really okay, grandma. We know it’s not seen a lot. It would be weird if you weren’t confused.”

Agatha gives up with a sigh and sits down by her chair.

“Fine, okay. I admit that I’m a little curious as well.”

“What do you want to know? I don’t want you guys to have a bad idea of polyamory so I’m really open to all questions”, you say.

“What does it mean to be poly? Is that what you call the dating you are doing?”

“Yes, that’s the official name for it.” 

“It sounds really stressful to me”, your grandfather says.

“It can be stressful if you don’t communicate and understand each other. If you talk and respect each other, it’s not stressful at all.”

“But how can you spend enough time with every person?” 

“It’s easy for us because we live in the same estate, so sometimes we spend time by being in the same room.”

“I would also say that it really helps to make a schedule”, Taehyung says.

“A schedule?” 

“Indeed. We sit down and make a plan of when someone wants to spend time with another. We plan dates, schedule holidays and decide on who wants to spend time with whom.”

“So you decide on special date days just for this one pairing? Are you even couples? How does it work?”

“Yes, we plan special couple days so nobody feels left out. Not all of us are dating however.”

“How can I understand that?” 

“I’m dating Yoongi, Tae and Kook”, you say, “while Yoongi is only dating Kook and me.”

“I am dating ___, Yoongi and Tae”, Jungkook says, “but Tae only dates ___ and me.”

“So you and you”, your grandpa points at Yoongi and Taehyung respectively, “are just friends?” 

“Indeed we are.”

“I guess.” 

“But how does that work?”

“We aren’t interested in each other”, Yoongi says, “but we respect each other enough not to want to break up the polycule.” 

“Indeed. We spend friendship time with each other, isn’t that so?”

“I guess”, Yoongi murmurs, avoiding Taehyung’s eye contact shyly.

“This is really mindboggling to me. All of it”, your grandfather says and looks at your grandma, “do you understand it, Agatha?”

“Oh Harald, why must you be so negative? If it makes our___  happy, then I understand everything I need to understand.” 

“I wasn’t judging. I am just really confused. Don’t you get jealous or insecure?”

“Sometimes”, Taehyung says, “I think that jealousy can’t even be prevented in monogamous relationships and there are definitely more opportunities to get jealous in a polycule. Sometimes a person wants attention from someone, but the person they want affection from is busy with someone else. Jealousy or insecurities are unavoidable.”

“Exactly, sometimes you also feel as if your time spent with them is shorter than that of the others and you get jealous of that”, Jungkook agrees.

“Or as if you received less love than others, which can make you feel insecure”, Yoongi says.

“But the most important thing to remember is that jealousy is human and that it is important to talk about it. When one of us gets jealous or insecure, we sit down to talk and fix the issue together”, you say.

“It really helps because almost all of the time, the insecurities are gone after the conversation”, Taehyung says.

“And we realise that the jealousy was useless”, Jungkook says.

“I see. I might start to understand a thing or two. I thought that you never get jealous and found it unbelievable. It’s good to hear that jealousy happens, but that you talk about it”, your grandpa says and reaches out to caress your hand, “my girl, you have this from your grandmother. She always wants to talk about everything.” 

“Talking about the issue is important. Otherwise it will linger and become an unwanted curse on your heart.” 

“That is true, my darling witch”, your grandfather says and kisses her cheek.

She leans in with a mischievous giggle.

“Now one last question. You know me, I’m too nosy.”

“Yes?”

“Does it mean that intimacy is always together?”

“Harald, you are inappropriate”, Agatha says with a slap to his arm.

“I’m just saying. You know, the seventies were a wild time. Your grandmother and I have some experiences with org-”

“Harald!”

Your grandfather lifts his hands in defeat. 

Your grandmother clicks her tongue, “crazy. Please don’t listen to him, he is being childish.”

Taehyung and Jungkook chuckle knowingly and exchange a boyish look with your grandfather.

“Do not worry. I find it very important to make sexuality a normal topic and to remove the negative stigma around it. Without sex, none of us would be here right now and intimacy can be a very important part to show affection to the people you love. So I believe that it is important to see sex as something positive and normal, instead of demonising it. Of course it is very important to keep such conversations age appropriate, but I see no evil in talking about it between adults”, Taehyung says.

“I agree, yes”, your grandfather says, “I don’t even want details, just a yes or no.”

“May I answer it?” Taehyung asks to which all of you consent to with a nod. So he looks at your grandfather and talks, “sometimes we share intimacy between more than two people, but most of the time, intimacy is shared between two people.”

“What about you and Yoongi?”

“We do not sleep with each other.”

“I see. Forgive me for asking.” 

“Worry not. I hope that I could answer your questions.”

“You could”, your grandfather says and looks to the side. He seems just a little embarrassed to have asked such a question.

“Now I have a question as well”, your grandma says.

“Yes?”

“Does polyamory mean that you like men and women?”

“It can, but not always. There are also strictly same sex polycules or non binary polycules.”

“What does non binary mean?” 

“Well, to put it very short. It means when you don’t identify as female or male. In a sense the person can identify as both or neither. This is the very short answer.” 

“I see. And in your case it means that you are all attracted to men and women?”

“Yes, in my case it does. However I identify as queer. Gender isn’t important for my attraction to form, as I am drawn to the person and not their gender identity and I feel most comfortable in identifying as queer.”

“Gender doesn’t matter to me either, so I resonate most with being bisexual”, Jungkook says.

“I don’t do labels. I like who I like”, Yoongi says.

“I don’t know what I am. Sometimes I think about kissing a girl”, you confess, “I never told this before. Please don’t tell mom and dad, they don’t know.”

“How should we tell them?” your grandmother says with a fond laugh on her lips.

“Ah yeah, I totally forgot that this isn’t the real world. Damn, it’s insane to think that we’re in a magical afterlife right now. It feels so real.”

“In an unexplainable, but wonderful way this is real.”

You smile at the thought, reaching out to hold your grandparent’s hands.

“I’m so happy that it is. I really missed you so much.”

“We missed you too, my honeybee.”

“My girl, hm, my girl.”

“How is it possible for grandpa to be here? You said that you would tell me later.”

“Ah yes, I did”, she says, shifting into a more comfortable position, “there is a ritual you can do to mark the soul of a person so it is worthy to live in this realm after death.”

“There is?”

“Yes, yes there is. Harald, get me the book”, she says and gestures to the bookcase in the living room.

Your grandfather stands up, “the purple one?”

“No, the black one with the moon on the front.”

“Okay.”

He looks for it for a moment, returning with it once he found it. He places it on the table and sits down. Your grandmother opens it in the middle. Drawings of spell materials are on the right page while the left describes the ritual in detail.

“It is a very difficult ritual and dangerous too.”

“Yeah it really is”, Yoongi agrees, “if you get the mixture wrong, the soul ends up cursed.”

“So you know the spell?”

“No, I haven’t heard of it before, but I know what citrine powder mixed with too much beryl dust does. Especially when you use it in this kind of way and with these enchantments. It can curse the soul so that after death, it dissolves into nothing.”

“You know a lot about magic, don’t you?”

“Yoongi was a student of Nilrem.”

Your grandmother widens her eyes in surprise.

“Nilrem? The creator of magic?”

“The bringer of magic, yes. He always said that he came from another universe, but he was honestly crazy so I don’t know if he just made stuff up.”

“This is actually very shocking to me. ___ told me that you had knowledge in magic, but I never connected the dots that it is because you were one of Nilrem’s students.”

“Yeah no, I was”, he says shyly, scratching the side of his neck.

“Fascinating”, she says and giggles shyly, “please forgive me, but this feels as if I am meeting a celebrity.”

Yoongi blushes and looks to the side. You give his cheek a little kiss.

“He’s so cool, isn’t he?”

“Don’t say that”, he whispers, nudging you under the table.

“Mhm, he is the coolest”, you say and smooch him a second time despite his protesting nudge.

Your grandmother watches it fondly before looking back into the book.

“I bet you already know what you have to do for the spell to work, don’t you?”

“No please, don’t feel inferior in my presence. I seriously don’t know a lot about magic”, he assures her. He is being humble for her sake. It is obvious to all of you that he is.

“Did you enchant grandpa with this spell?”

“Yes I did. I measured the ingredients multiple times and practiced the spell many times.”

“So you can practice spells?”

Your grandmother looks at Yoongi.

“Please go ahead, Agatha”, he tells her, giving her enough confidence to continue.

“Yes you can. There is a method where you can enchant a hay puppet with it and then throw it into flames. When the smoke turns black, the spell would fail but if it turns white, the spell is correct.”

“I see. This is actually so helpful. When Yoongi was in a magical coma, I got help from Meredith and her coven.”

“I know Meredith.”

“Yes, we got help from them and they tested spells by drawing blood from Jungkook and inflicting the portions with the curse. It was really fascinating and I never thought that it was possible.”

“Oh you know so much already, my honeybee”, she says with great melancholy in her eyes, “it’s correct that you can find an antidote against blood curses by testing it on small amounts of the right blood”, she says and looks at Jungkook, “that would mean that you are from Yoongi’s bloodline.”

“I am. Wow, how did you know?” Jungkook gasps.

“The vampire curse is just a little different in each Creator’s blood, which means their creations are each just a little different because the change is based on the Creator’s blood. Which means that Meredith could only successfully test out the different antidotes on your blood because you shared Yoongi’s specific curse properties. It wouldn’t have worked otherwise.”

“Wow, I didn’t know that”, Jungkook confesses, “did you?”

Yoongi shakes his head, “not so detailed. I knew that my sire line shares the same curse as me, but I didn’t know that my curse also changed their blood to be the same as mine.”

“Does that mean that they’re the same in here as well?” you ask.

“No”, she shakes her head, “in here no curses can reach. You are all how you were when you were still human”, she glances at Yoongi, “or witches.”

Yoongi looks at his hands with widened eyes, as if he just realised what it meant to be free of his curse.

“Oh.”

“Wow, this is so cool”, you are too occupied with being excited to notice, “you know so much, grandma. This world is so cool and this spell is even cooler. Does this mean that I could make sure that they find peace in this world if they ever die?”

“You could, but you have to be careful”, she furrows his brows in seriousness, “this curse isn’t to take lightly. I only started practicing it once I knew I had complete control over my powers and I only put it on your grandfather after practicing it for months.”

“I understand. I won’t do it without practice, I promise.”

“That’s what I want to hear, my honeybee”, she says and caresses your cheek, “I’m so proud of you.”

You lean into her touch, feeling so very warm in your chest.

“Thanks, grandma.”

Taehyung helps with washing the dishes after dinner, while Jungkook and Yoongi help your grandfather outside with the animals. You stay with your grandmother and Taehyung, telling her more about how you think that your boys are the coolest people ever. She listens to you happily. After cleaning up, you play cards until your grandparents get too tired and excuse themselves for the night.

Your grandparents are the first to wash up, while Jungkook and Taehyung say that they will unpack their bags a little. You are the next to wash up, now currently leaving the bathroom in your coziest pyjamas.

“Careful.”

“Oh? Oops”, you stop in your tracks after almost crashing into Yoongi.

He lowers his hand, having wanted to knock.

“Did you want to knock?”

He nods his head.

“I didn’t hear anything, so I didn’t know if it was empty already. Human hearing and shit, it’s useless”, he says, making you chuckle.

“It’s empty now”, you tell him and step out of the doorframe, “if you’re quick, you even get the warmth.”

“Yeah, thanks uhm”, he says and disappears inside.

You study the closed door for a moment, having to smile. He’s especially cute tonight. Really awkward. You love when he’s awkward, because he gets so adorable when he is.

Jungkook is in your bedroom, turning to you when you enter. He looked at your desk before that. His eyes begin sparkling, his lips curl into a smile.

“Hey there”, he says.

“Hey there”, you say.

“Wow, I love the pyjamas. Purple. The colour fits you so well.”

“Thanks, heh”, you say, posing for him in a cute way.

He appreciates it with sparkling eyes and the brightest smile ever. 

“And they’re really soft.”

“I can tell”, he says and continues with a shy gleam in his eyes, “I didn’t wanna be all alone downstairs, so I waited for you. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. Did you find something you like?”

“I looked at the drawings on your desk. Are they yours?”

“Yup, my childhood drawings.”

“Wow, you had talent.”

You close the distance between you and him, travelling your eyes over the drawings.

“I did, didn’t I? I mostly painted the cottage, my grandparents and the animals. This is Moo and this is supposed to be Jumper”, you say, pointing at the childish drawing of a cow and a brown rabbit.

“I can totally see the resemblance. You really nailed Jumper’s long ears.”

“I did, yeah”, you say, having to snicker.

Jungkook snickers as well, rubbing his hand up and down your back in an innocent show of affection. He ends the adoration with a little massage of your neck and a soft brush down your hair. You really love receiving it, feeling safe in his presence.

“The fabric’s really soft. You’re right”, he says, caressing your back again.

“I know, it’s so comfy.”

He leans in and sniffs you by your shoulder.

“Hm, smells good too.” 

“It’s the detergent we always use.”

“It’s nice.”

He kisses your shoulder in an innocent show of affection, then straightens up to look at the drawings on the wall. More drawings of the cottage and its animals, a few drawings of flowers and other plants and some are family portraits of you and your grandparents. 

“It’s kinda cute that they kept all of this even in the afterlife”, he says.

“I know, it’s so cute. Do you think that it looks different here than it did last time?”

“Yeah, totally. More alive I would say and a lot more lived in.”

“Yeah, I think so too. Did you test out the bed yet?”

He shakes his head, “I didn’t know if I could. I’m still in my clothes and all.”

“No, you totally could have”, you assure him and walk to your bed. You throw yourself onto it, bouncing on it with a big grin on your lips.

Jungkook laughs in fondness.

“Come here, the bounce is great.”

Jungkook closes the distance and sits down next to you, laughing loudly when you bounce next to him, making him shake around this way.

“Do it too.”

Jungkook does as he is told, bouncing on the mattress with silly laughter on his lips. You have to laugh as well, wiggling your toes because it’s so fun to be silly with him.

“Ah, I love it here”, you say, dropping into the sheets with your arms stretched far from you.

Jungkook rests his weight on his hand, having his torso turned to you.

“It’s really nice here, yeah”, he agrees.

“It also smells so nice”, you say, sniffling vividly.

Jungkook breathes in deeply, “yeah right. Like fresh laundry and hay.”

“Yeah, so nice.”

“My nose is so weak though. It’s a little weird not to smell a million scents all the time.”

“Gosh, this must feel like a holiday.”

“It does. I can only smell the laundry, the hay and your soap. At home I would smell your emotions and your blood and the animals outside and, and, and”, he huffs out air, “damn, I really smell a lot don’t I?” 

“You really do.”

“Ah, it’s nice to take a break from it.”

Silence overcomes you where Jungkook gazes at you and you gaze at him. You end up having to smile at him. He retorts it and shifts his eyes to your stomach.

“You’ve got a little skin showing”, he says, reaching to fix the slipped up shirt.

“I know, the movement made my shirt slip up.”

“Mhm”, he hums and does the unthinkable thing of pulling the shirt further up your tummy so he could lean down and blow raspberries on it.

“No please!” you squeak, lifting your legs and grabbing his head because it tickles so much.

Jungkook does it again, forcing the loudest cackle to escape you.

“Koo stop”, you complain, trying to push his head away.

“Sorry”, he laughs and pulls the shirt down. He lies down next to you and attacks your neck next.

“This isn’t better, Kook stop it”, you complain in cackles and little squirms.

Jungkook smiles against your skin. His heart is racing like crazy in his chest.

“You’re so fucking cute”, he whispers and goes to attack you again.

“Please”, you squeal, having to laugh honestly and loudly. He is tickling you, but it doesn’t feel awful. It feels good. Safe. Tingly. You can’t stop laughing, trying to fight him off with soft tugs at his strong arm.

But Jungkook is stronger than you, pinning you down even more by lying some of his weight on your chest and attacking the other side of your neck.

He probably would have teased you to the point of tears of laughter if someone hadn’t knocked on your door. He stops instantly, lifting his head. Did you wake your grandparents?

Knock. Knock.

“Yeah?” you call out.

“It’s me”, Yoongi says. 

“Come in.”

The door opens and in steps Yoongi. He is in his black pyjamas with his hair unstyled and his cheeks looking especially dewy. He closes the door, waddling to your bed. Then he stands. Stands and stares and rubs his own tummy. 

“Do you need something, my love?” you ask him, sitting up in bed. 

Jungkook sits up as well, looking at Yoongi with curious eyes. 

“I was maybe thinking that, I don’t know, maybe uhm maybe, uhm”, he stutters, blushing shyly, “nevermind, it’s stupid”, he says and tries to flee.

You however stop him with a gentle touch to his inner wrist.

“You can talk to us”, you assure him, giving him a sweet smile, “what’s the matter, love?”

“Uhm”, Yoongi begins, “uhm, uh. Do you wanna, uhm, share a bed tonight?” he finally gets out, looking at Jungkook.

“Me?” Jungkook makes sure.

Yoongi nods his head, touching his own ear to soothe himself. 

“I was thinking maybe it could be nice. I don’t know, it’s stupid. Sorry, it’s stupid.” 

“No, it’s not. I love this idea”, Jungkook says and reaches out to touch Yoongi’s waist, “I would love to share a bed with you, my hyungie.” 

“Okay. That’s cool”, Yoongi says dryly but with flushed cheeks. 

“Is that okay with you, ___?”  Jungkook makes sure. 

You look between them. Jungkook is excited, while Yoongi is nervous.

“Of course that’s okay with me. You two deserve all the bed snuggles in the world”, you say and grin, “I also get to snuggle Tae, so that’s a win for me.”

Jungkook chuckles fondly while Yoongi relaxes in relief.

“That’s true, Tae snuggles are very nice”, Jungkook says and pecks your cheek, “is the bathroom empty?”

“Yeah”, Yoongi confirms.

“Coolio, I’ll wash up and I’m expecting you in the guest bed once I’m done”, he says and snickers, rolling out of bed to leave the room.

He closes the door. 

Yoongi sits down on bed instantly, taking your hands. He squeezes them so tightly, one might wonder if he wanted to crumble them.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?” 

“I don’t wanna make you feel as if you’re not important to me. I, I love sleeping next to you, but I, I wanna spend time with Jungkook too. Sometimes. I’m sorry, Please don’t be too mad at me.” 

“Gosh Yoongi, you’re worrying for nothing”, you say in a fond chuckle and kiss his cheek. You keep close afterwards, running your fingers through his hair, “I’m not mad at you. This is part of what being poly is. Sometimes you just wanna spend time with a certain person, but that doesn’t mean the other automatically loses value. I don’t feel mad that you crave Kookie time tonight.”

Yoongi relaxes his shoulders, gazing at you.

“Thank you for understanding, you’re so…” he sighs and speaks in a softer voice, “I’m a mess and you’re calm. This is all new to me. I haven’t done poly before. I’m a mess. I practiced outside ‘cause I was scared of your reaction. You’re so calm. I feel peaceful.” 

“Gosh Boongie, you cutie. I’m glad that I make you feel at peace”, you say and kiss his cheek a second time. 

He leans into the affection, closing his eyes halfway.

“I also understand your feelings about doing poly for the first time. It’s my first time as well and I’m really scared to mess up, but I think that our little family can make it work.” 

“Yeah me too”, he agrees, nodding his head.

“We’re doing really well, I think.”

He nods his head, shifting his eyes to your intertwined hands. He traces your knuckles with his thumbs, following the movement with sparkling eyes.

“How are you liking the stay here?” you ask him because you crave just a little more of his voice.

“Good. I think it’s good”, he says, nodding his head.

“Yeah? Me too. I really love it here. Gosh Yoongi, it was my dream to show this place to you. It makes me so happy that you can finally see it.”

“I like it, yeah”, he meets your eyes, “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“I didn’t talk a lot.”

“At dinner?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s okay, my love. You were perfect. I can assure you that my grandparents love you.”

“I hope. I’m really nervous.”

“I can tell, but don’t be. You’re doing really well”, you assure him, combing your fingers through his soft hair.

“Thank you”, he whispers.

You kiss his cheek, rubbing his back afterwards.

“I spent so much of my early childhood in this room. I have really dear memories of it.”

“It’s a good room.”

“Yeah it is”, you agree and stand up to get the drawings from the table. You sit down next to him and show them to him, “I painted a lot in my free time. Mostly the cottage, the animals and my grandparents. Do you recognise the cow?”

“Is it the one outside?”

“Correct. Her name’s Moo. I named all of the animals here, which is why the names are very unoriginal.”

Yoongi smiles softly and takes the drawing with careful fingers.

“Moo is a good name for a cow.”

“I guess so, yeah”, you snicker, “the bunnies are called Jumper, Flopsi and Daisy.”

“Cute.”

“Yeah, they’re so cute. The second cow is called Milky.”

He laughs.

“Don’t laugh, I told you the names are very unoriginal.”

“It’s cute, I’m laughing ‘cause it’s cute”, he says, meeting your eyes shyly. You give him a grin, kissing his lips afterwards.

“You’re cute.”

He looks away, blushing instantly.

“You’ve been freaking cute the entire day. Do you know that, my love?”

He shakes his head, touching the side of his neck.

“Now you know.”

“Okay”, he mumbles and tries to change the topic by flipping the drawings, “do the chickens have names too?”

“Of course they do. I was obsessed with Greek mythology back then, so I named all the chickens after Greek goddesses, except for Jolene who I named after the song because my grandparents always played it and I was obsessed with it.”

Yoongi smiles. He thinks that you were very adorable as a child. 

“The second brown chicken is Helen, the white ones are Aphrodite and Hera. The two black ones are Persephone and Hades.”

“Hades?”

“I was obsessed with him. I genuinely thought that he was so cool.”

“You think the weirdest dudes are cool.”

“I think you’re cool.”

“Exactly.”

“Yoongi, come on”, you nudge his arm, “you’re not weird. In some strange way you remind me of him.”

“I do? Why?”

“He really loved Persephone and dedicated a lot to her. He’s this scary dude to so many people, but secretly he is just a big softie for his wife.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s true. I’m soft for you”, he says, leaning in to kiss your cheek.

You accept his affection with closed eyes.

“Didn’t he also kidnap her and force her to marry him and live with him? I don’t think that’s what a softie would do. He forced her and that’s definitely not me.”

You laugh, “no, that’s definitely the part we’ll ignore. You’re not like that at all.”

“Yeah, he’s a fucking asshole”, he agrees.

“God, you and your harsh tongue.”

“I mean it. He’s an asshole. I don’t think I’m like him at all. I would never force you to do anything.”

“Okay fine, I admit it. You’re not like him at all, sorry. You’re a cutie patootie”, you say and kiss his cheek.

He smiles, leaning in with a fluttering heart.

“But you are a softie. Don’t fight me on that.”

He laughs, “I can live with that.”

You snicker.

“Hyung?”

You and Yoongi look at the door where Jungkook is standing in a light blue pyjama set.

“Are you coming?” he asks Yoongi.

“Huh?”

Jungkook steps into the room, grinning cutely. He struts to the bed and takes Yoongi’s hands. It results in Yoongi gawking at him with big eyes and parted lips.

“I told you to wait for me in bed, but you’re still here. Get your butt over here”, he says, tracing his knuckles gently.

“Sorry, I’m already coming”, Yoongi murmurs and looks at you, “sleep tight, my princess.”

“Sleep tight as well, my prince. And you too my honey, sleep tight.” 

“You too, my honey”, Jungkook says, stealing a loving kiss.

You smile, smiling brighter when Yoongi steals a kiss as well before he finally stands up. The two men turn to each other and soon after, leave the room.

“What are you thinking, hyungie? Do you wanna make music together?” 

“Only if you want to. I don’t know, maybe, yeah. Or no. If you want to.”

“Why are you so nervous? It’s just me”, Jungkook is teasing.

“Shut up, you brat I…”

Their conversation drowns out as they close the door behind them, but seconds later, Jungkook’s bright laughter can be heard. 

You sigh in fondness, grinning to yourself. You are so happy that they have each other. To think that they will spend a lovely evening with each other, doing stuff they enjoy doing together, just makes you so incredibly happy. You really hope that their night is wonderful and filled with safe intimacy. 

You roll out of bed and leave your room in search of Taehyung. You can’t wait to spend time with him. 

The cottage is empty. How weird. Where could he be? You look around for a bit, noticing that your grandpa left the lights on outside. You open the front door, which is surprisingly unlocked. How weird indeed. Your grandpa is normally very particular with locking the doors at night. 

“Huh?”

You turn off the lights to see better. There are candles burning where the small table is. Someone is sitting by it. You squint your eyes. Taehyung. Taehyung is sitting by the table. Your heart flutters. There he is, you finally found him. Oh, you can’t wait to get to him.

You wrap a blanket around yourself and grab one for Taehyung, leaving the house afterwards in your slippers. The good thing about this magical realm is that it never gets dark enough that you feel blind. You can still walk comfortably even now that it is night. And yet somehow when you are lying in bed, trying to sleep, the night feels like the darkest night you have ever experienced. Perhaps it is the magic infused in this air, which makes the night as bright or as dark as one needs it to be.

Taehyung doesn’t hear you. In the real world, he would have lifted his head the moment you stepped out the door, but not here. He is still oblivious to you. Only when you tap his shoulder, does he finally react.

“Oh heavens”, he gasps, flinching vividly.

“Sorry, oh dear”, you get out, placing your hand on his shoulder, “it’s just me, don’t be scared.”

“Darling”, he whines, looking up at you with big eyes, “you frightened me. Do not sneak up on me like this.”

“I’m sorry”, you say and snicker, “gosh, this was hilarious. You should have seen your face.”

“Yes, yes make fun of me all you want, but the truth is that I almost died right now”, he says and touches his own chest, “my heart is racing. Feel it.”

You reach down and place your hand on his chest. He wasn’t lying. His heart is hammering against his ribcage.

“That’s true. Your pulse’s going crazy”, you say and giggle.

“Yes, because you frightened me”, he says, giving your hand a gentle squeeze.

“I’m sorry, really”, you chuckle, “but I have to make use of you guys’ weak senses. You guys keep startling me in the real world, so this is all just part of my revenge plan.”

He laughs.

“Oh how terribly mean of you. I will pay you back.”

“Will you now?”

“Yes.  Yes, I will”, he says and hugs your waist, squishing his cheek against your stomach this way. He giggles, scrunching his nose.

He is such a cutie. You feel so incredibly soft for him. You ruffle his hair, making him look up at you this way. The candle light shows his sparkling puppy eyes. His features look so timelessly beautiful. You trace them gently, which makes him open and close his eyes at you slowly. 

“Okay, okay. If you really have to”, you say with a fond smile on your lips, brushing your fingertips down the slope of his nose. 

Taehyung giggles and nuzzles his nose into your stomach. A kiss comes next. He turns back to the table afterwards. 

You follow his line of sight. He is drawing. Using what formidable light the candles emit to sketch your bedroom. He uses a photograph as reference, drawing it with impressive accuracy.

“Are you drawing my bedroom?” you ask him, running your hand up and down his back mindlessly. He is already a little cool to the touch.

“Indeed I am”, he says, “I want to sketch it so I can finally start on designing the murals.”

“Really? Wow Tae, I’m so excited.”

“Yes, me too. I haven’t worked on murals in years, although I truly enjoy the process of them. Working on your wing will be a lot of fun.”

“I can imagine”, you say and rub his back more vigorously, “gosh darling, aren’t you cold? You feel so cold to the touch. Here, let me.”

You place a blanket over his shoulders, smoothing it down carefully. Taehyung looks up at you with big puppy eyes, holding his breath. You end your affection with a soft brush of your fingers against the underside of his chin. He tilts his head as he chases the touch.

“Why?” he asks in a whisper.

“What do you mean?” 

“Why did you put a blanket over me?” 

“Because I know how chilly it can get and you don’t have superpowers keeping you warm right now.” 

“I see. That is correct”, he says, lowering his eyes shyly. His pulse is racing. It flusters him terribly whenever you take care of him. 

“Can I stay with you a little while?” 

“Yes, of course. Of course, you can”, he says, scooting to the side to make space.

You take it instantly, looking into the notebook. Your left hand is resting on his thigh.

“Are these sketches for the flower murals?” you ask him, pointing at the opposite page.

“Indeed, they are. What do you think of them?” 

“They look lovely.”

“Do you like them?”

“I really do. I’m already excited to have them on my walls. I love them.”

Taehyung giggles and rests his cheek on your shoulder, grinning brightly.

“Thank you so much. It makes me so happy to hear this”, he says and nuzzles. 

You turn your head, placing a kiss on the tip of his nose. Taehyung sighs and chases your kiss. 

You and he share a sweet moment. He tastes like smiles and chocolate. It is a lovely combination. You break the kiss with a stub of your nose, caressing his skin with it afterwards.

“You taste like chocolate.”

“I am eating chocolate”, Taehyung says and sits up, “do you want some?” he offers.

“Thank you”, you say, breaking off a row. You bite off a good piece and let it melt on your tongue, the other piece you feed to Taehyung. He allows you with a fluctuating pulse. Truly, you make him feel so giddy. 

“What do you think of it?” he asks you in a soft voice.

“It’s slightly bitter but with a sweet aftertaste. I really like it.”

“I like it as well”, he says and lowers his eyes, letting out a shy giggle. He turns his head away, “oh heavens.”

“What’s the matter?”

“When I look at you, my heart races. The feeling is so unfamiliar.”

“Can I feel it?”

Taehyung nods his head, holding his breath when you place your hand on his chest. 

Badums. Badums. Badums. 

His pulse is rhythmical and steady, keeping him alive here in this magical realm where no curse can reach and the world is alright. You circle your thumb in a gentle caress, lifting your eyes and meeting his shy gaze.

You smile. Taehyung retorts it. 

“It’s racing.”

“It is.”

You kiss his cheek, speeding up his pulse for the duration of it. You pull back. Taehyung touches the spot you kissed, gazing at you with parted lips 

“It fluttered when I did that”, you whisper. 

“I know”, he breathes.

“It feels so strange, but in a good way.”

“I cannot get used to it.”

“You can’t?” 

He shakes his head, “my heart stood still for centuries, but all of a sudden it beats again. I keep having to take deep breaths because I am so aware of it.” 

“I can imagine. It must feel crazy to be alive again after all these years.”

“Crazy. I guess one can say it like this”, he whispers and turns away so he can draw again. Except that he doesn’t draw, twirling the pen in his fingers as his eyes race over the sketches. 

You slide your hand to his side, hugging him and resting your cheek against his shoulder.

“Do you remember our first time?” you ask him.

“Our first time?” 

You nod your head, “when we snuck away from acting class and hurried to my apartment. You were so touchy and I felt so giddy because you hadn’t been like this until then.”

Taehyung smiles softly, listening to you reminisce with a fluttering heart.

“I could barely unlock the door, but got nervous once inside. Do you remember?” 

“I do.” 

“Do you remember how we talked and shared some tea?” 

“Of course I do. You told me that you didn’t have a lot of experience.”

“And you were so sweet about it”, you squeeze him gently, “do you remember the dreams we talked about?” 

“You said that you wanted to make people happy.”

“And you told me that you wanted to be alive. That you wanted to be happy again.”

Taehyung lowers his eyes, tightening his jaw. 

“Remember?” 

“I do”, he whispers.

“Well, now you finally know how it feels to be alive”, you say and lift your head to gaze at him.

You furrow your brows.

“What’s the matter?” 

“Nothing.”

“Tae, what’s the matter?” 

“I don’t know”, he says and turns his head away when you try to cup his cheek.

You try again, doing it with both hands. You succeed, meeting his eyes. 

“What’s the matter, darling?” 

“I don’t know if I’m happy”, he whispers, forcing your brows to furrow. He attempts to look away, to hide because the worry in your eyes embarrasses him.

“Taehyung my darling oh god, this is so awful. Is there a reason why you feel this way?” 

“I’m sorry, I just…I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, please don’t be embarrassed. Talk to me, my darling.”

He meets your eyes again. Worry and love meet him there. Honest, deep love. The kind of love that wants to welcome and heal, to hold and cradle, to stay and grow. He remembers the last part of his wish then. That he wanted to be loved for who he truly is. He remembers it and realises that he can find this kind of love in your eyes. And as he realises it, his heart races unbearably, reminding him that he is experiencing the first part of his wish as well. He is alive and he is loved unconditionally.

Only the second part is hard to do. It wasn’t always difficult, or perhaps it was and he pretended that it wasn’t, and lately he is very aware of it, finding it hard to accept. 

“Talk to me, my sweetest”, you whisper.

“It”, he begins and looks away because it is too embarrassing otherwise. 

You allow him, holding his hand instead and listening to him with all your attention.

“It is difficult to be happy. I do not know what to do with myself now that I am…” he falters.

“It’s okay, take your time.”

“Namjoon is captured. He won’t ever hurt me and Jimin again. I should be happy, but I am not. I feel so lost.”

“Because we don’t have to hunt anything anymore?” 

“No.”

“What then? If you want to tell me.”

“I want to tell you, but it is difficult to speak.”

“Do you want to write it down instead?” 

He looks at his book. His pen. He picks it up and opens an empty page, writing down what he can’t speak. You allow him the time he needs, scratching his scalp all throughout. 

Taehyung doesn’t take long. The unspeakable words aren’t much, but you know that sometimes the hardest words to speak are the shortest. I love you. I’m sorry. I need help. The words aren’t long and yet they are some of the hardest to speak for so many people. The way to the heart is short with them, which perhaps makes them so difficult to speak. Taehyung slides the book to you. You pick it up and read it.

“I feel lost and shaken, as if I am still drowning even now that I am on safe land. A scrambled mind and tortured body were my reality for decades and now I am to believe that I am free? How do I be free?”

You lift your eyes. He can barely keep up contact, but does it because he craves it.

“Oh Tae. My beloved, gentle Tae”, you get out and cradle his cheeks.

He leans into your safe touch, closing his eyes.

“I understand that the words are difficult to speak. This is a lot to feel all alone. How long have you been feeling this way?” 

“Too long.”

“Gosh, come here”, you say, pulling him into a hug. You sway him gently, playing with his hair because you know that this soothes him.

Taehyung lets it happen with closed eyes and his arms tight around you. His nose is buried in the crook of your neck, his skin shares warmth with yours. The once scary words feel manageable in your arms.

“I’m so sorry that you feel this way, my darling. It must be so unfamiliar to be free after so many decades. I don’t know if you want advice from me and I honestly don’t know if I can even give you some, but I want to be there for you. That much is sure, you’re not going to figure it out alone because I’ll help you with it.”

Taehyung smiles and it is honest. He nods his head in understanding.

“Yeah, exactly. I’ll be with you. We’ll do it together. Everyone always says that healing is easy, but it’s not. Healing can be ugly and hard and scary. But we’ll do it together, okay?”

“Yes, okay”, he whispers, having to lift his head to make sure that you were truly real. 

You cup his cheeks, caressing his skin. He smiles and so you smile as well.

“I’m happy right now”, he confesses in a quiet voice.

“You are?” 

He nods his head.  

“I doubt a lot in my life. I think the love I receive is an act of pity.”

“No-”

“Except yours. I don’t doubt your love for me. I gaze at it in wonder and awe because I find it unbelievable that you still love me after all I did, but I never doubt it.” 

Your heart flutters.

“Thank you so much. You told me that your wish was to make people happy. Well, you are making me happy”, he smiles shyly, “at least happier for now.”

You laugh softly. He does too.

“You’ll be happy again, I promise”, you say and tug a strand of his dark hair behind his ear, “also thank you for saying this. I love you so, so much and it makes me happy to know that I don’t make you doubt it.” 

“I love you too. I have done so ever since we snuck away from acting class and will always do so.”

“Oh my darling Taehyung”, you whisper, leaning in until you can rub your nose against his’ slowly.

“Yes, this will never change”, he whispers, matching your rhythm with his eyes closed. 

“Oh my sweet, gentle Tae”, you breathe, kissing him softly afterwards. 

He kisses you back, holding you in his hands as if you were the greatest treasure. And in some way you were. He feels lost and vast of happiness most of the time, but not right now. You gave him support again, an anchor to hold onto and hope to cling to. Maybe the feelings won’t last forever, but at least for a little while, Taehyung feels safe again. And that is perfectly alright for him, because sometimes just a little while is already enough to keep the soul going. 

Taehyung breaks the kiss so he could hug you against his chest and feel your heartbeat this way. He cannot hear it, but that is okay for him because he can feel it match with his’ tonight. He is alive with you. He is alive and safe and loved. Taehyung presses you closer, inhaling the scent of you to make all of this realer.

“Our hearts are beating the same”, he whispers.

“I can feel it too”, you whisper.

“Wow, I really love you so much.”

You smile, “I love you too.”

“Holy fuck, I really love you.”

You laugh, “I fucking love you too, Tae.”

He laughs, “you have me cursing. That’s what you are doing to me.”

You snicker, “it’s cute.” 

Wind rushes in the trees and reminds you of your own vulnerability. You and Taehyung tug the blankets tighter around your bodies, but the cold remains.

“I am very cold.”

“Yeah, me too. Maybe we should continue the cuddles inside”, you suggest, “after a warm shower and under the sheets.”

“This sounds very cozy.”

“It is cozy. Come on, we’ll get warm inside.”

“Yes, okay okay”, he says, standing up and packing his stuff so you could get inside.

Taehyung allows you to brush your teeth first because he still has to wash up for the night and will therefore take longer. So after brushing your teeth, you go to your room alone. The slit under the door of Yoongi’s and Jungkook’s room shows no light anymore. They must be asleep already. You wish then a silent good night behind the closed door and slip inside your room. 

Taehyung comes inside not long after, still wrapped in a towel and nothing else.

“My bag is in the guest bedroom”, he says with a pout, “I forgot to take out my sleeping clothes.”

“Oh dear. Do you want to borrow some of my clothes?” 

“Your clothes?” 

“Yes, wait”, you roll out of bed to get to your bag, “luckily for you, I have another sleeping gown with me. You’ll look really fancy in it. I could also offer you some of my panties.”

He laughs, “I have to decline. My good parts are not going to stay in such little fabric.”

You snicker, “I bet it would look pretty, though. Here, I can offer you this”, you say, unravelling a long night gown, “tada.”

It is made out of lilac cotton fabric and has a rather straight cut to it. It isn't at all the prettiest nor the fanciest dress, but it is comfortable and that is all which matters.

“Oh pretty. It will do”, he says and exchanges the towel for the dress. He twists and turns in it, fixing the creases in the front, “how do I look?”

“It actually fits you perfectly, wow, you are so handsome in it. You also kind of remind me of Ebenezer Scrooge.”

“Hey”, he gasps, having to laugh, “if you were attempting to compliment me, it did not work.”

You laugh, “no, it’s cute. It fits you really well.”

“It is so comfortable. No wonder you took it with you”, he says and wiggles his hips, “oh? I feel so very free between my legs this way”, he jokes, gyrating his hips in a funny way and making you laugh with it.

“You look so handsome. Gosh, Tae you cutie you, com’ere”, you hug him, using the momentum to pull him into bed.   

He falls onto you with a squeaked laugh, burying you under his weight, which makes you laugh and hug him even closer.

“Careful, ah, darling you are going to expose my bottom this way”, he giggles, trying to fight you gently.

“Com’ere you cutie, god you cutie”, you care rather little about his complaints, rolling around the sheets with his body in a tight lock.

After some rolling around and soft wrestling, you have him on his back with his face under your lips as you attack it with kisses. Taehyung lets it happen with giggles and squirms, feeling so goddamn giddy that his heart might burst in his chest. 

“Mwuah”, you end your love attack with a loud sound, lifting your head so you can grin down at him. You slide your hand down his torso so you could fix the messy dress, caressing his waist afterwards.

“What?” he whispers.

“I just love looking at you.”

“Oh”, Taehyung blushes and scrunches his nose shyly, “I love looking at you too.”

“Hehe”, you let out and give him a kiss, lying down next to him afterwards.

Taehyung sits up, tugging you in under the blanket. You let it happen with a fluttering heart. 

“Thankies”, you say.

“My darling should stay warm”, he says and rubs his hand up and down your covered arm, “are you warm this way?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“Wonderful.”

He leans down to litter your cheek and temple with kisses. He even kisses your ear and leaves a few tender love nibbles on your neck. 

“My sweetest.”

He snuggles into the pillow, holding your hand. He gives you a cute grin.

“You are right, this is very cozy.”

“Right? It’s this place. Something about this room makes everything ten times cozier.”

“I truly believe that it is because everything is placed perfectly so the energies can flow.”

“Yeah, this could actually be it. It always felt healing to be here.”

“I can imagine. I find great healing here as well and it hasn’t even been a day.”

You smile, “I’m glad that you are healing. You deserve it.”

Taehyung kisses your knuckles in gratefulness.

“Thank you”, he breathes.

“I mean it. You and Jimin, you both deserve it.” 

“Thank you.”

“Mhm, I mean it”, you say and kiss his lips.

You and he stay closer afterwards, still holding hands. You gaze at each other, feeling so connected that nothing could separate your souls. 

You do not know how much time passes like this, but it must have been enough to allow sleepiness to settle in your fibers.

You yawn, setting off Taehyung as well.

“Oh dear, this sleepiness came out of nowhere, wow”, you say. 

“Indeed”, he agrees mid-yawn.

“Do you want to turn off the lights?”

“Yes, we could do that.”

“You have to do it, you’re closer.”

“Okay, okay”, Taehyung says and reaches for the lamp, “I started saying okay, okay because of you”, he says, switching off the light, “it is addictive, I can’t seem to want to stop.”

“It’s cute, don’t stop”, you say, “it means that we’re spending so much time together that we started picking up habits from each other. I catch myself adding rather in front of words because of you.”

“I noticed”, Taehyung says and intertwines his hand with yours, “it is like we became versions of each other.”

“Yes, definitely”, you say and close the distance between you and him to rest your forehead against his’. You kiss his nose, nuzzling your own nose against it afterwards, “I love you, Tae.”

“I love you too, my sweetest”, he says, closing his eyes.

“I hope you’ll have a good sleep tonight.”

“I will. I am with you. I will.”

You smile, burying your hand in his hair to play with it until sleep drags you down. You are with him and he is with you. Sleep is going to be good. It truly will be.

“___?”

“Yes, Tae?” 

“I just…I don’t know why I called your name, I guess that I wanted to talk some more.”

You chuckle.

“What do you want to talk about?”

“Whatever. I really enjoy the sound of your voice.”

“Gosh Tae, you’re so sweet. I love your voice as well.”

He relaxes in a small wiggle, running his fingers over your scalp as best as your hair texture allows him to.

“What is your favourite colour?”

“My favourite colour?”

“Yes. Do not ask why this is my first question, I didn’t know what to ask.”

You laugh softly, “it’s a good question. Mhm, I guess my favourite colour is the colour of your blush after I called you mine.”

“___”, he gasps, “why would you say such a thing? Oh, heavens.”

He makes you laugh. He is so adorable when he flusters.

“I’m serious. It’s a very pretty colour.”

“You”, he wraps his limbs around you, shaking you around gently, “I will cuddle you to silence. Stop it.” 

You giggle into his chest. Taehyung lets you go after a few moments, heart racing very noticeable.

“Do you have more questions, you cutie?”

“I do not know. I am afraid that you will use them to fluster me again.”

You laugh, “I would never do such a thing.”

“Yes, you would. You became such a flirt. I remember how shy you were in the beginning, how I always managed to fluster you and now look at what you have become.”

“Hey, do not complain about the monster you created. If you hadn’t been such a smooth talker with me all the time, I never would have learned all this stuff.”

He laughs, “I cannot even argue you on this one. You have shown me the truth.”

“See? I’ve simply learned from the best.”

Taehyung hums and tries to kiss your lips but because of the blinding darkness, he ends up snogging your nose. 

“Ew Tae, that was so wet”, you whine, wiping your nose on his shirt.

“Forgive me, I aimed for your lips but I…ew? Excuse me, did you just call my kiss ew?” 

“I did. Loud and proud. You completely snogged my nose.”

Taehyung closes his lips around your nose again and drags his tongue over it as sloppily as possible.

“Tae”, you squeak, fleeing him, “why did you do that?”

“This is for calling my kiss ew. Now I gave you something truly ew.”

“You’re so gross, dear god”, he makes you laugh. Wiping your nose on his shirt again, you snicker and chuckle. He does the same. 

You tilt your head, touching his chin to feel for his lips. Once you found them, you make your move, claiming them in a kiss. He kisses you back eagerly, ending it with a soft bite to your lower lip. You stay close, smiling goofily.

“This was wonderful.”

“It really was. Gosh Tae, I love kissing you. It’s been so long since we shared a night of kisses.”

“Indeed, far too long. Either danger kept us apart or we fought or were forced to be separated. These past few years haven’t been very kind to our bond.”

“Yeah, they really haven’t.” 

Taehyung feels for your lips and kisses you. He tastes minty, his lips are soft and so nicely moisturised. His big hand cradles your face, soaking you skin in his warmth. You touch his chest because his racing pulse feels amazing to you.

The kiss breaks because Taehyung is so human here and humans need air way sooner than vampires.

“Oh heavens”, he gasps for air, “I genuinely became out of breath.”

“Now you finally know why I have to keep breaking the kiss in real life.”

“Now I truly know. Is this also how you see when we kiss in darkness?”

“Yes, it’s exactly like that.”

“Well, this is just heartbreaking. All this time, I believed that you were seeing me at least a little bit, but there is nothing. How are you even able to figure out where to kiss?”

“Practice. I’ve only known nights to be dark, so I learned how to navigate it.”

“I see. This is still very sad, you cannot even see me.”

“I know, it’s sad. But it’s also exciting because it feels like sensory deprivation without the blindfold.”

“Oh? Oh, yes it does. Oh how exciting, if I wasn’t so utterly exhausted I would have asked you to play.”

“It’s okay. I’m really exhausted too. Bringing you all here was really tiring.”

“I can imagine”, he rubs your back, “you are truly remarkable. I do not know if I told you already, but I am very proud of you.”

“Thank you, wow”, you whisper, feeling like floating. Being praised by him will never lose its spark. 

“My darling witch”, he says with a kiss to your lips. One he only breaks when air is sparse and you are both just a little droopy from it.

You touch each other innocently, both having your eyes closed without managing to open them again. Sleep is so very close. The safe intimacy and love you exchanged only strengthened the tiredness. 

“What do you imagine our days to look like from now on?” he asks in a sleepy whisper.

“Peaceful. Probably exhausting for me because I need to learn control, but once I did and we managed to get rid of Superior, I think our days will be peaceful.”

“I truly hope that they will be. I wished for peace for too long.” 

“I promise you that they will.”

Taehyung sighs, hugging you against his chest. 

“My sweetest ___”, he whispers, “I am so entirely grateful that I never lost you. There were so many chances where you could have been taken from me, so I am entirely grateful that you never were.” 

“Me too, Tae. You’re very important to me.”

He sighs again, tangling his legs with yours. He yawns into your hair and smacks his lips.

“Sleepy”, he whispers, making you snicker.

“Me too.”

“Sleep tight, my darling. This time for real.”

“Sleep tight, you cutie.”  Yes, sleep will be peaceful. It really will be.

#bts fluff #bts romance #bts fanfic #bts x reader #bts x you #bts fanfiction #yoongi fluff #jungkook fluff #taehyung fluff #yoongi romance #jungkook romance #taehyung romance #yoongi fanfic #jungkook fanfic #taehyung fanfic #yoongi x reader #yoongi x you #jungkook x reader #jungkook x you #taehyung x reader #taehyung x you #yoongi fanfiction #jungkook fanfiction #taehyung fanfiction #fanfic: caerula luna

[0what-a-guy0]

Are you Sure?- Harvey x Reader (tried to keep it gender neutral) (also on AO3)

You couldn’t help but to think yourself lucky. You watched through the window of the mayor's truck as trees whizzed past. 

“I am so happy you asked me to help you out hun.” Marnie chirped from behind the wheel. Her hair was braided, rather roughly as Jas had only recently started learning how to make the intricate twists. 

You sat, butterflies in your stomach as she drove you both into town. “I really appreciate you taking me..” You chuckled, placing one hand to your face. The older woman leaned over and patted one hand to your knee. “I’m just so thrilled you’re going to ask him!” Your stomach flipped as she spoke. All sorts of uncertainties going through your mind as she spoke. 

“I just know the good doctor will be so tickled.” She giggled giving your knee a squeeze. The pendant sat at home in a chest, you had been so confident when you bought it but as time went on you were beginning to lose your nerve. You heard Marnie laugh, “Don’t worry dearie, he’ll say yes.” She takes your hand in hers, giving it a squeeze, 

The shops in pelican town have enough for day to day needs, and you loved Emily, but for tonight you had wanted something that made you look like the partner of a well respected doctor. 

You wanted something refined, dignified, while modest. You tug at your overalls, feeling as nerves settle in. The shop was nice. Nice dark wood floors, tall windows, stocked with clothes that could make anyone look like a Harvard graduate. 

“Hello, can I help you?” A woman approached, hands clasped behind her back, Marnie beamed at her, stepping between you both, a bounce in her step, “This one is popping the question!” She squealed. Your face flushed as the woman looked between you both. Her eyes went wide and mouth was shaped like an ‘o’. “Do you need an outfit then?” You nod your head fiddling with your hands. “Then come this way.”

You must have tried on outfits for hours in the one store alone. After what felt like outfit one-thousand, Marnie had decided to try another store. Then another. Then another. 

It wasn’t until the final store you had found something you felt worked. Marnie clapped her hands when you stepped out of the dressing room. She squealed in delight as you spun around in the look. “Oh dear he’ll be just smitten!” She said pushing  you back into the stall. “Now get out of it so we can pay for it!”  

On your way back into town the sun had already set. Stars peered down at you both as Marnie pulled into the farm. “Now remember to be careful washing the top darling!” She called as you climbed out of the passenger seat. You waved as she drove back. 

Once inside the house you placed the bag on your kitchen table laying out each piece of the outfit. You looked it over once more satisfied with each detail. You began to walk away. You peered over your shoulder again. Slowly making your way back to the set. You looked it over once more. Then again. 

What were you thinking? This outfit, as nice as it was, was nothing like you. It very much suited Harvey’s aesthetic, but- 

No. You had already bought the outfit. You had already made the plans. Everything had lined up too perfectly. 

Both you and Harvey were incredibly busy people, as the town’s only doctor, there was always someone in need of his attention. Yours was always divided between crops, animals, and other adventures. Since starting a relationship you hadn’t gone into the mines nearly as often as you once had. You still made the occasional venture there when a request was made by Clint or Marlon, but for the most part you had been fairly good about keeping out of trouble. 

That wasn’t to say that you weren’t still incredibly busy. The farm, the town and the mayor made sure of that (less so now that the community center had been completed). Still you and Harvey had agreed quality time with one another was incredibly important. So every Friday night every two weeks you’d have a date night. You’d been good about holding yourselves to that for the better part of two years. It wasn’t perfect. Sometimes you couldn’t make it, sometimes he couldn’t make it. Oftentimes your dates were interrupted by something or someone. 

There were nights however, when you were left alone with each other. 

Nights when you sat across the table from the doctor. Conversation a murmur in the quiet of night. Candles lighting his features. A meal you had cooked him steaming on the table. His skin flushed and curly hair a mess. Those nights when, unintentionally, you moved your chairs from across the table to next to one another when you would lean against him and his arm would wrap around you. His hand resting at your hip fingers splayed gently over your hip holding you to him like if he didn’t you would leave. 

You didn’t know just how right you were in that assessment. 

That his firm hold was grounding for you both. That when you were so close, he felt like he could finally rest. Those loud busy days that left him spinning became quiet, became slow, when he was with you. The smell of your shampoo when he laid his head over yours, the way you fit so perfectly into the crook of his neck, the way your sighs filled the room brought him a sense of peace that he craved like a man starved. He held you not just to be in your company, but to soak himself in it, afraid to let you go and return to a life without you. 

For now you would pace your kitchen in anguish the Thursday night before, going in circles. You moved over to the small chest on your counter. Opening the capsule, fingers brushing over the shell as you took a deep breath. This was getting you nowhere. The only thing that would bring you any peace was asking him. 

“How was your trip into town?”. 

You peaked into the laundry room, the pieces of your outfit spinning in the washing machine. “It went well!” You responded proud of the way you were able to keep your nerves from showing in your voice. The silence was long, it wasn’t often that silence with Harvey was uncomfortable, right now however, it stretched out, it smothered you. “Did you get anything?” He asked after a moment, there were rustling sounds as his voice came closer. 

‘It’s a surprise?” You said sitting on your bed leaning back. His chuckle resonated through your entire body. Low, warm, comforting. “A good one right?” 

“I’d hope so.”

The next morning you sprung right up at…

FIVE AM?? 

You groaned pulling the covers over yourself trying in vain to squeeze that last hour of sleep in. You rolled back over at five thirty deciding to just get an early start. 

Chores which normally took hours only took a single hour this morning. You stared at the field in disbelief. There was no way you had moved through it all that quickly…

You went back through, double checking everything as you did. You flopped back into a chair at your kitchen table somewhat dumbfounded. Rolling your shoulders you decide to cook breakfast, which you often skipped in favor of work. 

You were mid bite of an egg when your phone rang. 

“Morning Ma-”

“Tell ‘em we are gonna be there at 1 to help them get ready!” You heard Haley’s voice ring out on the other end. You quirked a brow. Maru sighed, “we will-”

“I heard her.” You chuckle glancing at the clock on your wall. It was only nine. “Maru..” You sigh through the phone. Her affirmative hum from the other side pushes you to keep going, “Can you be here a little earlier?” Your voice sounds more broken than you intended for it too. There was a pause over the phone. 

“What time?”

You gathered flowers from your fields waiting for the two girls to arrive. A basket of dandelions and daffodils in your hand. It was almost overflowing with all the things you foraged. 

You could hear them before you saw them, “I’m just saying!” Haley laughed, hands raised defensively as they made their way onto the property.  They looked over to you, Maru smiled one hand raised in greeting while Haley’s arm raised in the air waving back and forth. 

When you first came to town the two seemed an unlikely pair, you figured opposites attract. They had done a world of good for one another. It was fun to see the way they worked. Haley would watch Maru work, asking questions left and right as the tech genius tinkered with her machines, happy to answer any questions thrown her way. 

“Ok so..” The blonde said, stretching her arms across your table. You turned towards her humming as you poured yourself a cup of tea. “Can we see it?” She asked, grin splitting her cheeks. 

Your heart stuttered for a minute. You clasp the box gently showing the two women the pendant. Haley’s eyes grew wide as she looked at it. Maru nodded approvingly. “He’ll say yes.” The scientist said. You groaned, “Everyone is saying that but how do you know that..” Maru laughed two hands settling on each of your shoulders. 

“Trust me.”

You stared at your reflection. You had to admit the both of them had done good work. You came back into your room, Maru held up your outfit, head tilted. “This looks like..” she trailed. 

“Like Harvey.” Haley said, mirroring Maru. You felt your stomach flip once again. That had been the goal. Right?

You thought it over staring at the clinic door, pendant (and a few other gifts) tucked into your bag. Harvey never made you wait long. You checked your phone’s clock, 5:59. You were here a minute early. That was ok. That was normal. Considerate, even. 

You might throw up. 

The clinic’s door swung open. You craned your neck to see him. His curly hair was tamed only minutely by a little gel. His regular suit was replaced with a forest green jacket over a black turtleneck. He paired it with dark gray slacks and a black leather belt. His regular frames still sat on his nose. You felt a blush rise up your neck to your cheeks. He looked at you surprised.

“Is that new?” He asked, gesturing to your outfit. You nod, turning from side to side. “Yeah! Uh, surprise?” You chuckle nervously. He cups the back of your head pulling you to him as he places a soft kiss to the crown of your head. “You look nice.” 

The saloon is almost empty when you take your seat. There was a booth in the corner that had been dubbed ‘your booth’ by other members of the town. Gus had even left a candle for you both. When Harvey returned from the jukebox Gus brought over your meals, extra carefully he sat down your bowl of parsnip soup and Harvey’s plate of vegetables. 

“Harvey dear.” He looked up from his meal to look at you, “I’m afraid there are rumors circulating.” he tilted his head, mouth full of food, “everyone is starting to think I’m dating a rabbit.” He rolled his eyes, swallowing the food. “Har.. har..” 

“Maybe..” You sipped on the soup as he responded, “maybe I just want to live a little longer.. Have more time with you.” You splutter just a little in surprise. Soup dribbling down your chin. You grab at a napkin swiping at your face. 

“Was it that bad?” He asks, laughing slightly. “No No!” You exclaim choking on the soup, “it was sweet, very sweet!” You glance down, your shirt was covered in little chunks of vegetables. You groan dejected as Harvey laughs. 

He links his arm with yours as you leave the saloon, guiding you back to his apartment. The space is cozy and warm, filled with his personality, “Did you have any new models?” You ask settling your bag onto the table closest to the door. 

“Not recently. I’ve been saving money..” he responds. He blushes ever so slightly coughing into his fist when you both make eye contact. “Is everything ok at the clinic?” You ask and he nods slowly. “Yes, of course, you just never can be too careful.” His back was turned to you, something in his hands.

Harvey always acted a little strange but now? It made your stomach twist. “Alright…”

You looked over to your bag, hopping just a little on your way to it, “I brought you a gift.” 

He turns back to you sliding his hands into his pockets. You pull the bottle of wine from your bag, followed by the bag of leeks and spring onions. He took both chuckling, when he realized what was in the bag, “I thought you didn’t like that I was eating so many vegetables.” You shrug, “I guess it does keep me in business.” 

He places the bag and wine on the table behind you, leaning down, pressing a kiss to your lips. You smile, hands cupping his cheek. His hands rest at your waist. Innocent pecks sweet presses, harder and harder to maintain as you both smile. Your hands tangle into his curls twining in them as the rumble in his chest reverberates through you. He leans further and you place a hand to the table trying to steady yourself. 

Your palm brushes against your bag which slides to the floor. 

You freeze when you hear an audible crunch. He pulls back from you, “What was that?”

You can already feel the sting in your eyes, you move to the bag digging through the contents hoping against all hope…

There in the bottom were the shattered remains of the shell. You don’t even realize that tears are rolling down your face as you gather the pieces in your hands. Harvey rushes to your side on his knees before you can register that he was there. 

You turn to face him, lip wobbling, “I’m sorry..” You squeak, extending the shards to him. He looks at your palm lips parted before his eyes search yours.

You crumble then into him. He grabs you wrapping his arms around you, “I wanted to surprise you tonight but, then I spilled food all over the outfit I’d bought just for this...then broke the pendant-” He shushes you pulling back to look you in your eyes, “The clothes don’t matter to me. I would have said yes if you came in your overalls.” You wipe your eyes furiously, “Now there is nothing to say yes too!” You cry squeezing your eyes together.

“I wouldn’t say that..” He mutters. 

“But Harvey it’s bro-” Your voice dies out as he fishes through his pocket. A blue pendant and chain dangling from his hand. 

“I guess we had similar plans..” He chuckles bashfully. 

Looking back on it you consider killing Maru for not telling you why everyone in town would be so certain Harvey would say yes.

But when you think about the way he held you whispering, “Will you marry me?” As he wiped tears from your cheeks, you realize that maybe it had been perfect in a way that no perfect plan could compete with.

#stardew harvey #sdv harvey #sdv harvey x reader #stardew valley harvey #harvey sdv #harvey stardew #sdv harvey x farmer #harvey x farmer

[y0urm4m]

My kind of man.

(Based of this song but instead of a Matt Pov it’s a reader pov but when writing I almost immediately thought of this song)

Warnings/description: mentions of sexual interactions, Angst to fluff 🤷‍♀️. (Sorry for the no smut this time 😪)

Writing comp: @bratzforchris @nicksbestie

Word count: 2,010

Story elements tried to use/used: angst,fluff, Friends with benefits,home.

╒═══════✰°

I sighed staring down at my phone, 3 notifications from Matt.

We had always been friends and nothing more but recently things had taken a turn. We had decided to be friends with benefits, ‘no strings attached’ were his exact words.

The first few months were fine, we’d meet up, either go out or stay at home and at the end of the day we’d find ourselves out of breath, tangled in one another’s bedsheets. I couldn’t help but admit I always had a thing for Matt, I just could never find the confidence to tell him. It was sad to admit but I was scared of how he’d react.

I decided to talk to Kiara for advice, she had been my friend since before I could walk, I just hoped she was able to help. Unfortunately, she sighed pulling me in for a hug. “I’m only trying to help but from what you’re saying, it seems to me that it’s not just ‘no strings attached’. I can tell by the way your face lights up at Matt’s messages or when he knocks to pick you up, that must mean you feel like there’s a genuine connection.” As the words left her mouth, a few tears fell. “I hate how emotions always get the better of me.” I sobbed into her shoulder. “I know you do, I hate seeing you upset. I just want to help.” Kiara sighed softly, hugging me tighter. The rest of the day I couldn’t even bear answering his messages without bawling my eyes out.

That was the day i stopped doubting my feelings for Matt but I couldn’t relate when thinking about how he felt.

My attention was brought back to my phone buzzing, of course it was Matt. I answered the phone. “Good morning Mathew.” I huffed. “Morning, what you doing today?” He asked. “Literally nothing, why?” I replied, looking at my self in my bathroom mirror. “You want me to come pick you up?” He said. “Sure, give me at least ten minutes to get dressed.” I sighed, brushing my hand through my hair. I looked like death. “Y’know you don’t have to worry about clothes with me, they’ll just end up creased on the floor.” He joked. “I’ll see you in 10 Matt.” I replied ending the phone, taking a deep breath.

— I finished brushing my hair when I heard my door open. “Hey do y- you’re going to Matt’s again?” She muttered, closing my door behind her. I nodded. “I’m sorry ki.” I said, turning to look at her. “No need to apologise but you really need to talk to him about how you’re feeling. You tell me your happy but I know you’re not.” She added, rubbing my shoulder. My face dropping at her words. She was right, she was always right. My bottled up thoughts and feelings were making me miserable and driving me crazy.

Just as if Matt had known we were talking about him, my phone started ringing. “Right I need to go, I promise I’ll text you when I’m there.” I said, hugging her before beginning to walk downstairs. “Hey y/n, please talk to him.” She whisper-spoke, giving me a small reassuring smile. I nodded, rushing out the door so I wasn’t leaving him waiting.

— The car ride was silent apart from a little small talk here and there and the dreaded feeling that was in my stomach. I felt Matt’s hand move from the gear stick, toward my upper thigh. “You okay?” He asked, looking at me slightly before looking back towards the road. I gulped, trying to stop the feeling of the lump forming in my throat and nodded looking down at my finger nails that I had bitten the night prior.

After what had felt like an eternity, we had made it to Matt’s. I slipped out of the car door, walking straight through the front door as Matt also entered the house. I felt his arms slither around my waist as he placed his head in the crook of my neck leaving small kisses on my neck. He mumbled something incoherent. “What did you say?” I asked, pulling away to slightly glancing at him. “Don’t worry about it.” He smiled pulling my face towards his, our lips inches away from each other. I could feel his hot breath on my upper lip as the gap between us closed. At first it was just a soft peck but eventually it became a rough and passionate kiss, one of his hands made there way back towards my waist the other finding comfort in resting on the top of my bum. He pulled away places soft kisses down my face and up my neck as he whispered. “Should we take this upstairs.” Before returning his lips to mine.

Kiara’s words from earlier began playing on replay in my head. ‘You really need to talk to him about how you’re feeling.’ I immediately pulled away, Matt’s face shone with concern. “Are you sure you are okay?” He asked, looking down at me. “Uh- yeah I think I just need some more sleep or something.” I replied, rubbing my hand over my face, trying to play of the fact I could’ve bursted into tears if he asked if I was okay one more time. “Oh do you want to take a nap?” He said, running his hand through the back of my hair. “No it’s fine, I’m just going to use the bathroom quickly.” I said, ushering myself over towards the bathroom.

I couldn’t even tell him I’ve been having a bad day let alone a bad month, all because I just can’t seem to talk to him as I never planned on ‘catching feelings’. I pulled out my phone, messaging Kiara. She told me to stop doubting myself and just tell him. I looked in the mirror, recollecting my thoughts before walking back out the bathroom to be greeted by a confused Matt.

“Matt can we have a sit down and talk, like a proper conversation?” I asked, sitting down at his kitchen counter. “What about?” He asked, following me to the kitchen like a lost sheep. “Just sit.” I sighed, rubbing my hand on my thighs to calm my nerves. Once he had finally sat down I began speaking, the only other thing that could be heard was the sound of the rain hitting the ground outside. “I know this is all of a sudden and I’m sorry but I just can’t live with the pressure of not saying anything and I know we said no strings attached but this past month has been killing me and I just really needed to speak to you.” I ranted on, watching his smile drop. “I- uh- I don’t get your point. I’m sorry” He sighed, brushing his hand through his own hair. “You don’t need to understand Matt but I need to get this off my chest.” I said, taking a deep breath to try and stop myself from crying. I looked up at Matt, his face stayed straight with no emotion which made me bite my lip doubtfully.

Maybe this was a bad idea, I should have just stayed home.

I stood up from my seat. “Y’know don’t worry about it Matt I’m just going to leave and I’ll make my own way home so don’t worry.” I sniffled, trying to fight back the tears forming in my water line. “Wait why are you going.” He shouted following me. “Doesn’t matter. Please just leave me alone.” I said softly and with that I walked straight out the door.

The current rain immediately got me soaked and cold. I’m so embarrassed, I wish my feelings just wouldn’t get the better of me. The tears I had tried so hard to keep in eventually fell as I sobbed, walking a few meters down the street before looking down at my phone.

My teeth chattered as I unlocked my phone calling Kiara. “Kiara.” I said, looking at my phone screen. “Y/n are you outside in the rain, what happened?” She asked, clearly confused and concerned. “I tried to talk to him but I couldn’t bear hearing his reply so I walked out.” I replied, as my breathing became shaky and the tears fell once again. “Y/n I’m coming to pick you up, I’ll stay on the phone but try to stay out the rain so you don’t get a cold.” She said, as the sound of her rushing around filled my ears. “Okay.” I said, sniffling. “Right I’m going to leave now, do you want me to stay on the phone?” She asked, as I heard the door slam behind her. “If you wa-.” I began speaking but someone shouting my name caught my attention.

“Wait up!” Matt shouted, running towards me himself also getting drenched. My body trembling even more from the feeling of my cold, wet t-shirt and my damp hair sticking to my skin. “What do you want Matt?” I choked out, ending the phone and telling kiara I’d talk to her later. He looked down at me, pulling off his jumper passing it to me. “I don’t want your jumper, you’ve made it pretty clear of your intentions so leave me alone.” I spat, shoving the jumper into his arms. “C’mon y/n don’t be like that.” Matt spoke softly. “Matt i really don’t want to talk right now, I’ve already said too much.” I sighed, closing my eyes for a second. “Please just put on the jumper and let me speak.” He pleaded, passing the jumper back to me. “I’ll take the jumper then but I’m not interested in what you have to say.” I huffed, pulling his jumper over my head and on.

“Y/n just listen, I never wanted it to be this way if you had told me how you felt months ago I would have asked you properly.” He sighed. “Get to the point Matt.” I rolled my eyes, shoving my phone in my pocket and crossing my arms. “Y/n I wished you’d realise how much you mean to me, I love you.” He said, as I took a sharp inhale as the last words left his mouth. “Wh-what.” I said, finally looking up at him for the first time since he’d ran after me. The whole world stopping as I took time to reassess the what he had just said.

“I- I love you.” He sighed, running his hand through my hair. “I uh-.” I began speaking but before I could finished my sentence, I felt his lips smash into mine. “I really do love you.” He whispered into the kiss. I immediately wrapped my arms around his neck, his finding their way around my waist. The smell of a mixture of his cologne and the rain filled my nose as my heart skipped a beat, we had kissed many times before but this time it felt different. It felt genuine. It was as if the world around us had disintegrated, leaving just me and Matt.

I pushed my hand through his now wet hair as he pulled back, the feeling of his lips on mine disappearing. “I want to start over, not just a silly situantionship. I want an actual relationship with you, we can learn from each other and our past mistakes but only if you’d like to.” He said, putting his hands in mine. “I’d love to.” I smiled, nodding my head. The dull, dreaded feeling I had felt the past month had washed away as the rain poured. “Let’s go inside, can’t have you getting a cold.” He said, giving my head a quick, light and cold kiss as we walked back towards his house hand in hand. “I love you Matt.” I said looking to the side, up at him. “I know you do.” He chuckled, looking down at me.

I had Matt and he had me. He was all I could have asked for. It was a genuine connection. It really was love.

°✰═══════╛

A/n: honestly don’t know how to feel about this one as it was super short but I hope you all liked it and enjoyed reading — hugs and kisses Gracie 💋

Tag list: @junnniiieee07 @patscorner @mattyb4dominicans @watercolorskyy @brooklynn0103 @imwetforyourmom

#bratzfornick’s 141 writing challenge #matt sturniolo fanfic #mathew sturniolo #matt sturniolo x you #mattsturniolo #matt sturniolo fluff #matt sturniolo imagine #matt sturniolo x reader #matthew sturniolo #matt sturniolo smut #matt sturniolo #chris sturniolo fluff #chris sturniolo fanfic #christopher sturniolo x reader #chris sturniolo imagine #chris sturniolo x you #chris sturniolo x reader #chris sturniolo #chris sturniolo smut #Spotify

[ash5monster01]

Turnstiles

Chapter Four - I’ve Loved These Days 🎶

Pairing: Steve Harrington x FemReader

Warnings: fluff, language, mentions of childhood trauma, mentions of death, abandonment issues, slight sadness.

Summary: You and Steve get your first place together and even if it isn’t glamorous, it’s good enough for the both of you as you leave the old days behind.

word count: 2.6k

Three ←→ Five

Masterlist

Summer 1988

We hide our hearts from harder times

There were so many boxes. It seemed to be a never ending pile from the back of the moving truck, one neither of you could really afford but needed. Even with Dustin and Robin helping carry each new box in, it seemed every time you returned to the truck there was just as many if not more. You couldn’t help the soft sigh that escaped your lips as you looked at the very daunting pile that you knew would take you more than likely a month to finally put all in place.

“Don’t tell me we’re giving up already” that familiar sultry voice whispered in your ear, arms snaking around your waist from behind.

“Not giving up, just trying to gain the courage” you tell him, a small smirk tugging at the corners of your lips. You knew as much as Steve would try to help he would also play with everything he unpacked before actually putting it away, making the process much longer than it needed to be.

“It’s not that bad” Steve said with a soft shake of his head, small tufts of hair falling loose from the action.

“Yes it is, you packed every trophy you have ever earned in your entire life” you tell him, pointing to the large box labeled ‘Steve’s Achievements’.

“Hey I earned those, I can’t just throw them out” Steve pouts as you break out of his arms, doing your best attempt at climbing up into the truck to grab another box.

“I know handsome, I just have to tease” you say leaning down and he’s happy to bring his pouty lips to yours and leave a quick kiss. As much as you teased, you had felt bad. When Steve announced to his parents you were officially getting a place together they decided to put the house up for sale since they were never there anyways. As much as Steve didn’t have a great childhood it was still the only home he had ever known. You knew it took a toll on him and forced him to pack every single one of his belongings instead of the necessities.

“Hey dingus, why are we the only ones carrying shit?” Robin called out as she stepped out the doors of the small apartment, spotting you juggling a new box while Steve lingered at the back of the truck.

“I need my rest Robin, if Rosy’s shit wasn’t so heavy” he called back and you shot him a quick glare which made him laugh softly.

“You’re an idiot” Robin mumbled as you handed her the box in your arms and picked up a new one.

“What the hell Steve! Why are the girls the only one’s carrying your shit?” Dustin called out, exiting the home as well and you and Robin quickly erupt in giggles as Steve groans out.

“I don’t have a box in my arms for two seconds and I get harassed. What the hell is this?” Steve says mostly to himself, jumping up into the truck much easier than you did and you watch as he goes for one of the small boxes.

“Uh-uh mister. You’re bringing that one in” you say, nodding your head to the trophy box and Steve rolls his eyes before doing what he was told.

“God you’re so whipped” Robin snorts before starting back for the apartment ready to unload the boxes as fast as she can.

“I’m not whipped!” he called out quickly in defense but Dustin just laughed and grabbed a box for himself.

“It’s okay Stevie, you’re allowed to be whipped. I definitely am for you” you tell him sweetly and he grins, the oddly large trophy box now in his arms.

“I love you” he hums out, leaning and pressing a chaste kiss to your lips before hopping out of the truck. Your heart flutters due to the sentiment, never getting tired of the words he finally spoke a year and a half ago. Well actually wrote but ever since then he told you every chance he got and you loved it every time.

It had been over three years since you met Steve Harrington and you were pretty sure you’d never get tired of him. He came to you when you needed him most and you did the same for him. Since that day you hadn’t spent a day apart and making this decision, deciding to live together, after years of working and saving money, you had no regrets at all. This was it, he was your soulmate and this was only the beginning of a lifetime of years ahead. Small apartment or not, he was yours and that alone was a breath of relief.

“Need an invitation?” Robin called to you from the small house and you just chuckled before grabbing your things and making your way to the house. A house that would probably hold you and Steve for another few years, be your shelter from the storm, and despite its empty walls and bare floors, you couldn’t wait to make it a home.

It’s dusk by the time all the boxes are unloaded into your home and Robin and Dustin are long gone. Just looking at the mess you know you’re too tired to face it until tomorrow, so you make do with what you have. You make quick work of making a bed of the mattress on the floor, saving the frame building for tomorrow. When it looks decent enough to sleep on you make your way out of your room to find Steve. Much to your surprise he’s in the living room, boxes now cleared off the coffee table, and take out from the local diner on the table.

“I made dinner” he grins at you, sitting on the ground as he pours you a glass of wine in a mug. You giggle at the thought of it being the only thing he could find and join him on the floor.

“What’s this for?” you curiously ask, taking the mug from his hand and smiling at the food and candle he had set up.

“This is to taking our time. The last few years have felt like a race to the finish line and we finally made it” he says, recalling all the long hours and savings account expenses. Had it not been for the alternator going in Steve’s BMW you would’ve been here much sooner but at least you were here.

“Cheers to that” you say, clinking the mug against his own before taking a sip. Steve just smiles and looks to the simple plate of food. He loved that you both could live your lives so nonchalant, spend your nights living a luxurious lifestyle even if it’s just a small apartment.

“The money comes, the money goes, but we finally made it baby” he tells you and you quickly kiss him before grabbing the wrapped burger that your stomach grumbles for. Not realizing how hungry you were after a whole day of moving.

His words wash a sense of comfort over you. Knowing now you could spend your days a bit more relaxed, eat dinner in silk robes and light lamps for atmosphere. Even if the apartment was a passing phase in the start of the rest of your life you were both going long. Hanging hopes on chandeliers while gaining weight and sleeping in late. You had loved those days before living together but it was time to change your ways and love these new days. The days meant for just the two of you before something more comes along, something bigger.

“Did your parents say when they’re selling the house?” you ask around a bite of your burger, trying to get a better read on him and how he feels.

“By the end of the month, Dad says if I need anything to get it by then” he mutters, heart clenching over the fact. He hated that empty house, despised it, but these last few years it wasn’t really empty.

“I’m sorry honey” you tell him, wiping your face with a napkin and he shrugs.

“It’s okay, I was meant to move out sometime. Just wish it was still somewhat mine, you know? They were never there so much it sorta always felt like it did. Then when I started spending time with the kids and you there, I guess I just always imagined I’d stay there, raise my kids, teach em how to swim in the pool and how to ride their bike in the driveway. Make it more of a home then it ever was to me” Steve explains, eyes cast over the table and lost in a memory that hadn’t happened yet. Your heart instantly softens to the boy, hand reaching out to settle in his own just like you did when you first met.

“I’m sorry Stevie, but just think about how we can make those memories in our own home. A home we’ll grow old in and our kids can visit whenever and bring their kids with them” you tell him and Steve can’t help the small grin that cracks along his face at the sentiment.

“Is this you saying it’s you and I forever Rosy?” he inquires, devious eyes glimmering into your own and you laugh, cheeks flushing red.

“Well I’d say moving in together kinda deals the deal” you tell him and Steve grins before reaching over to grab your waist. Much to your surprise he lifts you effortlessly over and into his lap where his face nuzzles into your neck.

“Then it’s you and me forever, I promise” he tells you, warm breath tickling your skin. Now you both could indulge in things refined and hide your hearts from the harder times.

This marked the start of drowning your doubts in dry champagne and dreaming of your future. A future that if you dreamed hard enough could include real pearls, foreign cars, caviar and cabernet wine. Yet the real riches was a future with each other, a future that included kids and endless memories to be shared. You didn’t really care if you only ever lived in this apartment, the boy curled up next to you was the real dream.

“Another toast” you say, reaching for your mug and handing Steve his own. He follows right along, the bright red liquid sloshing up the side. This was something you wanted to say before the old versions of yourself end and the new ones begin.

“A toast to how it’s been and to all the new things we get to love. Including each other” you say and Steve happily clinks the mug against your own as you both tip back the sweet wine since Steve hated dry.

“I’ve loved these days and I’ll love the new ones too” Steve mutters into your neck and you smile and settle against him, finally relishing in the fact you were both sat in your shared living room. A space you and Steve could share while you got big wig jobs and engaged. A space designed for the both of you to grow as a couple who was meant to last forever.

“You think we’ll get tired of each other?” you voice your worries, knowing now that you shared such close quarters you were bound to find flaws within one another.

“Maybe but I’ll always love you more, and isn’t that how it’s supposed to work?” he asks, voice a soft hum into the late night of the barren home. You had a lot of work ahead of you but at this very moment you couldn’t bring yourself to care.

“I guess so” you smile, a softness twisting in your gut at how in love you are with this man beside you.

“Wait! I have an idea!” Steve suddenly says, sliding you delicately off his lap and to the ground. He’s up in a second, eyeing the labels of each of the boxes in search of something you’re not sure of. You watch with curiosity, waiting to see what the boy could possibly be up to now.

“Ah-ha!” he lets out once he finds what his looking for, large hands pulling back the folded cardboard pieces and digging inside. It’s when the familiar flash of silver is revealed you realize he’s in search of his boombox.

Finding the outlet Steve makes work of prepping the stereo for some mood music. It’s no surprise when the familiar flash of a Billy Joel album is pulled from the bottom of the box. He grumbled only slightly when he realized he needs to rewind the tape, smashing the button with an annoyed scowl. Yet when the tape finally spins back to the beginning, a grin covers his lips instead, as a familiar song starts to fill the room. Say Goodbye to Hollywood, the classic beginning of Billy’s 1976 album Turnstiles. A true testament to his talent, and one of Steve’s favorites.

“Dance with me?” he asks, hand held down to you on the ground and you don’t even hesitate to clasp your own with his, allowing him to lift you up and into his arms before spinning you around the room.

“Tell me something good?” you ask him, heart thumping softly against his own as you both sway around the living room, the barren walls soon to hold a lifetime of memories.

“The first time I heard this song I was spending the night at my Grandparents. I was nine and we were all in the kitchen making cookies. I remember my Grandma smelling like fresh flowers and the way my Grandpas laugh made you feel safe. Turnstiles had just come out, Billy’s latest album and Grandpa knew I hadn’t heard it yet. So he played the vinyl while I frosted cookies and this song began to play. Now every time I hear it I’m back in that kitchen just happy to have two people who really loved me” Steve says, a soft sadness cast over his eyes and you can’t stop yourself from pulling him close and leaving a soft kiss on his lips.

“I really would’ve liked to meet them” you whisper, hand curling at the back of his neck and fingers grazing the small tufts of hair there. He smiles and gives a soft squeeze to your waist, pulling you impossibly closer.

“They would’ve loved you. My Grandpa would point out how smart you are, tease me about it too. Ask how I got a girl like you to date a doofus like me. And my Grandma, she would bake you pies and insist on sewing all your clothes when they got old and worn. Talk about how much she wished she had a granddaughter” Steve says like he knows and it’s because he does. They were the two people in his life who always made him feel safe and he knew them better than anyone. It sucked they weren’t here but knowing how much they would’ve loved you is comfort enough.

“I see them in you. In the way you take care of the kids and in the way you love me” you say and the look he gives you is different than any look you have ever received. Your heart accelerates just at the sight and before you can even process it the boy is kissing you like his life depends on it.

“I’m going to love these days too” he suddenly says, pulling back from the kiss a little breathless. A small laugh escapes your lips as he hugs you close.

“Yeah, well I count on having many of them”

Taglist: @slvtforstve @keerygal @goosy-goose @livsters @blckburd @loveshotzz @ohwauwdoritos @superblysubpar @southereads @amataadriana @violet2022 @mxrcjqckspnchqsc @madaboutjoe @thunderstomp-and-tequila @justdamnpeachy @micheledawn1975 @fangfatale @kingstevesgf @notlilyyyy @eddiesguitarskills @palmtreesx3 @momospeaches47 @pbs-theundeadmaggot @xuimhao @lianna75 @lvjmel @sadbitchfangirl @halflifejess @starkleila @ellharrington @avobabe87

Comment if you want to be added to the taglist :))

#steve harrington series #steve harrington fic #steve harrington one shot #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington stranger things #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington imagines #steve harrington #steve harrington smut #steve harrington x femreader #steve harrington x fem!reader #steve harrington x fem #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x y/n fluff #steve harrington x y/n smut #billy joel #joe keery fanfiction #joe keery steve harrington #joe keery smut #joe keery fic #joe keery imagines #joe keery stranger things #joe keery x reader #joe keery imagine #joe keery #joe keery x femreader #joe keery x fem!reader #joe keery x y/n

[lovelytsunoda]

life in the fast lane // miles teller

summary: the life and times of trailblazing indycar driver y/n y/l/n, and her celebrity husband, miles teller. in the weeks leading up to the indy 500, the pair have a very special announcement that will alter lives forever.

pairing: miles teller x andretti driver! reader

author's note: its hard to write an smau about a man with no public instagram account lemme tell you that real quick-

y/ny/l/nteller just posted!

indianapolis, indiana.

liked by josefnewgarden, monicabarbaro, valkilmerofficial and 4,578 others

y/n/y/l/nteller indiana never felt like home to me until i had you on the open road.

indy tests start monday, and we are officially one month out from the five-hundred. let's do this, indiana!

see all comments

valkilmer you got this kiddo! we're all rooting for you!

-> ynylnteller 🥺🫶🏻 love ya Val!

kyle_kirkwood i have known your husband for four years now and he still looks awkward in every single photo that gets taken of him at the track. how does he do it?

user babe come home, the children miss you?

-> y/n/yl/nteller miles and i don't have any kids (yet)

ashleynewgarden shocked we got through that dinner without josef and miles singing beyoncé at the karaoke bar

-> josefnewgarden that happened ONCE. I wish miles had social media so he could help me defend these accusations

-> y/n/y/l/nteller take it up with the hubby, not me

user does she look like she’s out on a bit of weight?

-> user it’s probably muscle lmao she’s an athlete bud

patriciooward most photogenic couple in the paddock!

monicbarbaro booking my flights rn

-> ynylnteller girls weekend here we come!

y/ny/l/nteller just updated her story!

ynylnteller just posted!

liked by reesewitherspoon, coltonherta, glenpowell and 5,145 others

ynylnteller god I’m going to miss all of this

*this caption was deleted*

ynylnteller days like these 🫶🏻

see all comment

user did anyone see the original caption?!? where is my girl going!

stingrayrobb thanks for making my nieces day so special! she looks up to you so much and she spent all day talking about how awesome you were. thank you and god bless!

-> ynylnteller your niece was an angel, it was my pleasure!

coltonherta your straight line speed this morning was absolutely incredible. are we thinking an andretti 1-2 is in the cards this weekend?

-> ynylnteller absolutley! let’s get it!

glenpowell everyone is talking about straight line speed and I’m just amazed that you can balance on the tires like that-

-> ynylnteller it took five years of practice to be this good glenn

ynylnteller just posted!

liked by monicabarbaro, katherineracing, scottdixon and 4,653 others

ynylnteller as much as it pains me to say it, the todays Indy 500 will be the end of my 2024 season. while I’m upset that this season is coming to an end prematurely, I am also beyond excited. if the pictures above didn’t give it completely away (and my husband was able to keep his mouth shut all weekend), I am beyond overjoyed to announce that miles and I are having a baby! we tried to keep it under wraps for as long as we could, but as of the next race, baby teller would be too big for me to race without hurting them or myself,

while I won’t be on the track itself for the rest of the season, I couldn’t give this place up if I tried. Instead, my car will be driven by the amazing callum_ilott and I will be joining my bestie jameshinchcliffe in the commentary box.

when I was little, I only had one dream: to be a race car driver. but as I got older that dream began to change, and I realized all of that meant nothing if I didn’t have anybody to share it with. I wanted a family.

We are so excited for this new chapter in our lives.

Lots of love,

Miles and YN Teller xx

see all comments

scottdixon I’m so happy for you, darling! that baby is going to be so loved and so cherished. please pass my congratulations on to miles as well!

-> ynylnteller none of this would have been possible without you, so you’re the real hero here!

user mother is going to be a real mother now!

valkilmer congratulations yn! if you and miles ever need anything at all, you know where to find me (or mercedes and jack)

-> ynylnteller thank you val!! ❤️

glenpowell I am going to be the best godfather this kid has ever had

-> ynylnteller first of all who said you were the godfather?

-> coltonherta yeah it’s gonna be me actually

-> ynylnteller actually it’s going to be neither of you

-> coltonherta but why? I’m already a great uncle?

-> glenpowell yeah so am I!

-> ynylnteller everybody be quiet or we’re making Val the godfather -Miles

-> coltonherta you’d pick the old man over us?!?

-> ynylnteller he *is* less annoying

ashleynewgarden so pleased for you both! this will be your next great adventure! kota is looking forward to having another little buddy to hang out with 🫶🏻

callum_ilott I promise to take good care of the car! rest up and relax over the next nine months, god knows you might never sleep again

user miles is becoming a dilf!!! miles teller is becoming a dilf!!!

TAGS:

@magnummagnussen @libraryofloveletters @cartierre @lorarri @diorcharles @httpiastri @sidcrosbyspuck @thatsdemko @userlando

#miles teller x reader #top gun x reader #top gun maverick x reader #miles teller smau #indycar x reader #indycar rpf #indycar fanfic #top gun fanfic #miles teller fanfic #ig aus #Spotify

[thanksjro]

More Than Meets the Eye #50 — The Midlife Crisis Cruise Comes to an End

Our issue begins on Earth— not Swearth, but honest-to-god Earth— where Optimus Prime and Jetfire are watching a broadcast. It’s not syndicated television like I Love Lucy or The Transformers (1984), however. No, this broadcast is coming from some of our favorite Lost Lighters, detailing their last will and testament.

Nautica wants to be buried on her home planet, and doesn’t give a hot gay fuck what they engrave on her sparkcase. Also she’s missing a good chunk of her face, but don’t worry about that too much.

Chromedome’s just happy that he’s dying WITH his husband this go around. I’m sure Brainstorm’s also thrilled to not have the “please please please stop stabbing yourself in the brain to avoid the pain of being a widower Jesus Christ we can’t keep doing this”.

Rewind takes the opportunity to poke Chromedome in the inferiority complex one last time, making his message out to Dominus Ambus. Our resident lovebirds want to “enter the after spark simultaneously”, though that seems more like something to address with whoever’s killing them.

Over on Cybertron, in Metroplex’s titties, it would seem this broadcast is VERY wideband, as Starscream and Scoop (we’ll go over whatever the fuck’s going on there in another post) witness Nightbeat’s will and testament, though considering Nightbeat’s technically undead, I’m not sure how much legal weight it holds. Having done the whole “dying” thing before, I’m sure he’s spent many a long, sleepless night thinking about how it would happen next time. Ikea Johnson wants a “Neoprimalist” funeral, where they preserve only the head. Interesting that Nightbeat's religious sect is the same as Flywheels, the Scavenger who only existed to be a stand-in for the word "fuck".

Over on Luna 1, Red Alert is convinced that Megatron is using his gun mode to threaten Nightbeat. Fort Max isn’t so sure.

Minimus shows off the most recent trick he’s learned, saying the word “fun” with only stuttering twice. He wants to be buried on the moon, next to all of Rodimus’s failed pregnancies, and wearing the skin of a man who’s been dead for thousands of years.

Whirl doesn’t want a funeral, though you’d think he’d at least want his corpse thrown in the general direction of the Wreckers’ base, where every member gets a slot in the Zone of Remembrance as part of the onboarding. I know he got kicked out, but being shot out of a rail gun at Debris sounds roughly his speed.

Rung only requests that, should he die in his vape pen form, that he be dismantled. He’s so committed to preventing underage smoking, and for that I commend him.

Rung’s request greatly disturbs the Scavengers, who seem to have forgone fixing the Krok-shaped hole in the wall and buying a couch more than two of them can sit on at a time, in order to afford a replacement TV, after Krok fastball-specialed a golden disc through the last one.

On another part of Cybertron, Windblade and Wheeljack watch Velocity state that she doesn’t regret a single thing that’s happened while she’s been a part of the Lost Light. To recap, in the few months Velocity’s been aboard: Thunderclash almost died of being too perfect, Velocity’s first boss ran off to go bang a billionaire with a sword collection, Swerve almost died from too much television, her second boss ran off to get roped into the Polycule Wars, Tailgate exploded, Rung was revealed to be practicing without a license by way of a weird gibbon with a ball gag and his serial killer boyfriend, and she became the only practicing medical professional aboard a ship of over 200, after failing to pass her medical exams ten times. Oh, and she wants to be recycled.

Optimus wants to go save them, thinking that there’s still time. However, the Lost Light isn’t responding, and it doesn’t actually matter anyhow— these recording were sent out weeks ago.

Looks like that’s a series wrap on Nautica, Chromedome, Rewind, Nightbeat, Minimus, Whirl, Rung, and Velocity! Let’s give ‘em a hand, folks!

Three weeks prior, on the planet of Miliarium, action is happening:

Being on your headset in the middle of a battle seems rather rude, but I suppose sacrifices to politeness have to be made, when one of your co-captains is effectively forbidden from stepping foot on any planet that’s aware of Cybertron’s existence, given that he, y’know, is the face of a cause that slaughtered billions over the course of millions of years.

(No, don’t ask Optimus how relations with Earth are going.)

Megatron, continuing to command from orbit, tells Whirl to go help Cyclonus and Crossblades with the Rust Giants’ longship, asking for no casualties. Which is sort of like asking a horse on cocaine to not freak out and kick someone in the head, if that horse also had guns tied to 30% of its body.

Rodimus asks Megatron if he’s enjoying himself, playing a pacifist run of a wartime strategy game with their lives, and Megatron says that he’s “rumbled”; which I’m not sure if I’m search-engining wrong, but I don’t know that even the British are saying that to mean they’re right chuffed or tallywackered about a situation, or whatever. Rodimus is suddenly faced with a Rust Giant that he doesn’t even come up to the knee of, but luckily we have a new superhero to save the day, by way of incredible violence.

Looks like we’re still workshopping the battle-cries.

Tailgate punched this guy so hard it cause a jump-cut to the post-battle celebration, where Rodimus shows off his multi-typefacial abilities, Megatron perpetrates his bigotry towards organics, the Cybertronians make galactic news for a not-awful reason for once, and Swerve is also here! For some reason! It looks like it’s gonna be all peaches and cream from here on, so long as we ignore the first three pages of this issue!

Hey, Cyclonus, you have to wait for him to call you, you're not an Autobot. Just because the little white guy you're Sufjan Stevens-level attached to is going, doesn't mean— Cyclonus, hey. Hey, Cyclonus. Cyclonus. Cycl—

Later, back on the Lost Light, class is in session. We finally get a look at those course Megatron’s been teaching, only briefly mentioned by Riptide in issue #29. The current course track is on the Knights of Cybertron, Megatron having assigned those in attendance to write essays tackling “pre-Functionist folklore and contested heritage”.

Today’s class consists of:

Minimus (old as balls, former high society)

Skids (the best at everything)

Brainstorm (literal genius)

Perceptor (slightly-less-literal genius)

Nautica (jack-of-all-trades brainiac and bibliophile)

Crosscut (former senator, current playwright, therefore probably has at least some sort of degree)

Nightbeat (nosy as fuck, loves to figure shit out)

Hound (former Primal Vanguard)

Thunderclash (perfect student, researcher, friend, confidante, and maybe even lover)

Grapple (not much to say here, other than he’s fucking jacked in IDW)

Xaaron (chief legal advisor for the Autobots)

And Riptide (created during the war and therefore has the least connection to Cybertron's folklore, canonically not a good test-taker)

Poor Riptide's grades don’t stand a snowball's chance in hell against his peers', but good on him for sticking with the classes regardless.

This essay was assigned to help students establish context for the Knights within a world where they have not existed for millions of years, having disappeared since they embarked on their quest to Cyberutopia; a world where information creep, the slow degradation of memory as time passes, has made them into mythological figures. Megatron posits that the only thing we really know about the Knights is that they failed to do what they set out to do, as the universe is not a peaceful place, himself arguably being exhibit A of that failure. Still, he intends to use this course to help the Lost Light’s crew understand the Knights to the best of their current, modernity-biased ability, prior to potentially meeting them. Considering that the Knights will be deciding Megatron’s fate, perhaps this is also for him to grapple with understanding his own end.

Anyway, let’s look at a plot device.

The last time we saw this symbol was during issue #46, both drawn by Grimlock on his walls, paired with the words “prepare confront repel”, and then on some mysterious fellows who were working with Krok’s nasty little friend Demus and someone called "The Grand Architect". However, the first time we saw it was with Skids in #21, after he went through Tyrest’s space bridge and talked to a giant technicolor ball of light.

Seeing this image kickstarts Skids’s memory, enough so that he interrupts class over it. Nautica has also seen this symbol, at an exhibit on Troja Major (a planet that Roberts will use as a dumping ground for many plot points in the sequel series to MTMTE) where it was claimed to be some sort of coat of arms. Thunderclash also knows this symbol, having seen it with his beautiful mind and kind heart in his visions, the same visions that were leading him to the Knights and allowing him to create a map to Cyberutopia. Nautica asks Skids to write out the symbol that he “heard” phonetically into her space phone, in a move that will prove HIGHLY useful later on. Perceptor adds in his two cents, showing off that he’s wearing the “feminine” nose-type today, stating that he had talked to one of the Circle of Light members back in Season 1, who had theorized that the Knights of Cybertron was either originally made up of OR broke down into clans, and that the symbol/map Rodimus and Thunderclash were drawing is merely connected to part of the Knights, and that there could be others floating around.

Nightbeat thinks that all this brainstorming (which hasn’t involved Brainstorm, oddly enough) is super cool and great, showing off his anime thumb in approval. When Minimus tries to give Megatron props for bringing everyone together to figure this out, he finds that Megatron is having some troubles, hunched over his podium as far as his fucked up old man toy articulation will allow. When Minimus approaches to see what’s wrong, he gets punched clear across the room for his troubles. Then this happens:

Look, I don’t care if 99.9% of the Cybertronian population can reclaim, you shouldn’t just limp your wrist at your first officer in the middle of class.

No, what Megatron is actually doing is pointing the fusion cannon he doesn’t have anymore, but had attached to his arm for roughly 4 million years, directly at Minimus’s tiny little skull. Quickly coming back to himself, Megatron is both horrified and mortified by what he’s done, offering nothing more but a quick apology before he dismisses the class and bolts, not even helping Minimus off of the floor.

The following day, Velocity’s paying a visit to Megatron’s room, which is STILL as barren as the most dire of single male living spaces. Velocity’s here because Megatron missed his appointment yesterday, after whatever happened in the classroom. Megatron reminds her that the weekly appointment is for him receiving his ration of “fool’s energon” which is meant to keep him in a weakened state, which arguably shouldn’t make it medicine in the traditional sense. Velocity reminds him that he nearly knocked Minimus Ambus’s (yeah, she uses his full name, guess she’s not been around long enough to get “just Minimus” privileges) block off, and that if Megatron had been at full strength, we might be dealing with a murder situation instead.

Though Minimus IS a load bearer, who regularly slings around a body three times his size, on top of weapons, so maybe not. Also, there’s an even smaller guy inside the first mustached guy, so honestly it’d probably be fine.

Does Velocity even know about the irreducible Minimus? Is that in his medical history? Does she even know that Ultra Magnus and Minimus Ambus are the same person? Because Megatron didn’t even know until they found that corpse on the quantum duplicate Lost Light, and Magnus was his lawyer for the trial as well as being his SIC. Really, what are the legal ramifications of Minimus having assumed the identity of a dead man, now that Tyrest isn’t there to keep up the charade and the secret is a bit more open? Does Minimus have legal claim to Magnus’s identity, or at least ownership of the armor? Can Minimus lay claim to any property he purchased as Magnus, or that the previous Magnuses had purchased prior to their deaths? Was Minimus legally declared dead prior to undertaking the role of Enforcer of the Tyrest Accord, if only to make things easier in terms of paperwork? Can Minimus sign off on things, and if so, does he use his own signature, or Magnus’s? If he signed something as Magnus, would any contract bearing it be rendered temporarily void whenever he’s not wearing his work pants? How much of Minimus’s existence makes him cry late into the night with how legally dubious it is? Does Delta Magnus know about Ultra Magnus being a skin suit? I feel like we don’t focus on how fucked up this whole situation is nearly enough.

Anyway, Velocity asks after Megatron’s medicine, probably because First Aid’s medical note-taking skills often get usurped by his need to write SpringerxReader fanfiction. She mentions that what they’ve been feeding Megatron over the last year have some side effects, which Megatron seems surprised by. Considering he’s felt sickly and crampy this whole time, the side effects are likely meant to be the intent of the medication.

Velocity then takes a gander at the dents Megatron put into his head when he had his little freakout, stating that “chemo-sedatives” can change one’s whole personality in extreme cases, as well as increased stress levels, as Megatron admits that the reason he crushed his head with his hands is that he heard voices screaming. However, Megatron doesn’t think stress caused such a thing.

To recap how the last year has gone for Megatron: he was forced to renounce the cause he had led for the last 4 million years, became co-captain of a fucking Carnival cruise ship, had 95% of his crew disappear from reality, found a bunch of corpses, got slapped in the face by Soundwave’s dad, had to lie to Rewind’s face to make him okay with killing himself so that everyone else might live, got shot as an infant, gaining anywhere from three-to-five fathers as a result, visited the most passive-aggressive garden in the galaxy, got stabbed in the chest and brained with a flat-screen television and then had to apologize for it, and was non-consensually hugged by a swarm of flesh-eating insects parading around in his SIC’s skin suit.

Velocity gets a call on her smart watch, Swerve on the other end demanding her presence at the medibay, seeing as she’s the only doctor on the ship now, and there are multiple people having a crisis.

Smash cut to Swerve, Cyclonus, Tailgate, Chromedome, Rewind, Rung, and Megatron standing on the bridge, their colors looking super fucked up and light bloomed out, because this is a 40-page issue with a shit-ton of detail and characters, so we’ve got three colorists, two artists, and an extra inker on for this one. They’re meeting with Rodimus, whose fingers have shrunk down to the size of shoestring potato fries, because Swerve, Tailgate, Rewind, Rung, and Megatron heard some sort of awful noise in their brains at the exact same time. Chromedome is here to support his husband, because he loves him so, so much, kissy-noise kissy-noise. Cyclonus is here mainly to clarify that he’s a badass who no one has ever heard cry, because emotional vulnerability and expressing pain are for pussies, unless you’re doing it by way of self-harming directly onto your face meat.

Only Tailgate and Rewind actually admit to what they heard, Tailgate hearing Cyclonus berate him for falling for Getaway’s tricks and Rewind hearing Dominus berate him for not doing enough to find him. I’d imagine both Rung and Swerve were hearing things relating to their professionalism, given that Rung fucking sucks at his job, and Swerve’s gonna fry the moment Ten gets a union sorted out. Megatron, is well, Megatron, so there’s a litany of awful things that he could have heard.

Rodimus has Blaster reveal that the ship received a signal at the exact same time that these people had their little brain event. Brainstorm hypothesizes that what happened was some sort of psychological assault, perhaps of Galactic Council origin, as a means of testing a new brain weapon. Magnus, who has been up on an upper level with a clipboard up to this point, notes that they could trace the signal. Mainframe informs him that they have, but the origin doesn’t seem to correspond to any known location in the navigation, and they’d have to physically go there to see what’s up. Which isn’t sketchy in the slightest.

Rodimus wants to load up on his big, beautiful Rodpod with everyone, so they can find who did this and make them stop. When Magnus questions if this is a wise course of action, Rodimus uses American grammar to trip up Magnus’s British-based spellcheck, so he gets to do whatever he wants. This is a trick he’s picked up since Drift left, as the old game of “pitting my people-pleaser hippy dippy boytoy and my no-nonsense stick-up-the-ass sentient rulebook against one another, so whatever I wanted to do from the start can seem like a pleasantly centralized option” doesn’t work very well when you replace the boytoy with a grumpy old man who tried to murder everything with a heartbeat.

Velocity wants to join the trip alongside Team Rodimus, but Mainframe has his reservations. I don’t blame him, considering she is, again, the only medical doctor currently on board this ship. He suggests she take along some personal protection, just in case.

…I mean, he’ll definitely make sure any bad guys who come her way will die horribly, if nothing else. Also, apparently the Rodpod's artificial gravity goes all the way around.

Nautica’s spent the last few weeks tricking out the Rodpod with a fancy schmancy new teleport drive, because Rodimus was annoying her to the point where if she didn’t give him what he was moaning about she might have had to kill him. Megatron is hesitant to use the drive, but after being informed that there are safety perimeters in place that’ll keep the ol’ Rodimus Podimus from teleporting inside a asteroid or whatever, he pulls the level and they end up in the dark.

No, not space dark, don’t be funny. That’s my job, and they don’t pay me for it, which should tell you how dire the situation is. This is a special sort of dark. The sort of dark that leads to panic and lethal levels of quipping. Rodimus cuts the lights on, but it does very little to offset the absolutely suffocating darkness outside. Rewind notes that there aren’t any stars, and Tailgate admits that he doesn’t know how space works. That’s alright Tailgate, neither do any of the people who draw or color this comic. You’re amongst (created by?) friends here.

The scanners reveal that there’s something 3000 miles in front of them. And behind them. And to the left, to the right, 12 o'clock, three o'clock, six o'clock, nine o'clock, rock around the clock tonight— that is to say, they’re surrounded by something the size of a planet. After disabling the safety protocols on the Rodimus Podimus, the gang find themselves on the surface of Necroworld, where the Necrobot Censere lives and operates his many plinths to the living and dead. Megatron isn’t exactly thrilled to be back here. Nightbeat on the other hand, is overdose on mystery, and he couldn’t be happier. Nobody’s sure what the fuck is going on. There’s no time to theorize, however, as half the gang just got blown sky high.

Everyone books it back to the Rodpod to escape the dozen attack craft coming after them, but there’s more trouble here— the teleport drive is dead. Which is weird, because they should have had enough juice to get to and from their little trip. When Rodimus tries to contact the Lost Light, there’s no response. They’re not responding. Megatron tells him that those are two different things, mirroring the same thing Optimus said about trying to contact the Lost Light after he and Jetfire viewed the will tapes. Everyone else is busy trying to figure out who the hell could be firing on them, all of them roughly coming to the same conclusion that Cybertronians as a whole aren’t terribly well liked, and the Lost Lighters have made a bit of a name (derogatory) for themselves, since they insulted the Galactic Council, caused the end of the 16-million year Stentarian war, and have ruined at least one bar with physical violence over home movies.

Rodimus tells Megatron to park the Rodpod at the Necrobot’s citadel, just in time for a missile to hit the ass-end of the shuttle, blowing off Magnus’s arm, shredding off roughly half of Nautica’s face, and giving Cyclonus an excuse to hold Tailgate in his arms. Everyone bolts to get inside, Nautica being carried by Skids so we can further solidify the straightest pairing in the series. Once they’re all inside, their attackers retreat, and we see where Censere’s gotten to in all this.

Let’s give him a hand, folks!

While Velocity looks over the body, Nightbeat deals with his personal Santa Claus being dead by way of trying to figure out what happened. Megatron, meanwhile, noticed that the craft that attacked them were of Decepticon design, and he tells Ravage to go check it out. Honestly, I doubt he was the only one to notice, given that all but three of the people on this trip were dealing with the Decepticons in some form or fashion all throughout the war, and could therefore identify the make of the crafts, if not the model, so I’m not sure what the deal is with this secrecy.

Brainstorm is brought over to Nightbeat to help solve this mystery, and he promptly identifies that some of Censere’s equipment is very similar to the stuff Tyrest used for the Aequitas trials, likely used to figure out what sparkflowers to plant where. Rewind, having popped on his sparkliest nipple pasties on, because he hates Censere and wants to get glitter all over his house, asks the boys to scootch on over so he can try to call the Lost Light. Nightbeat thinks that Censere tried to sabotage a signal someone else had sent in an attempt to lure Team Rodimus (and friends) to the planet, and that resulted in the brain attack that had happened earlier in the day. Unfortunately, Censere didn’t spend any time with Rodimus the last time the Lost Light visited, so he didn’t get a taste of the ridiculous way Rodimus likes to live his life, and why the psychic attack wouldn’t work.

Rewind gets the phone working, calling Rodimus over to get on the horn. Magnus stands in the background, showing off his grievous amputation. After a bit of fiddling with the settings on their end, the Lost Light makes official contact with Team Rodimus.

Getaway, last we saw him, was very much in prison, but Rodimus isn’t going to focus on that niggling little detail right now, as he asks for the Lost Light to swing by to pick up the team so they don’t all die. Getaway sort of DOES want to focus on that detail, however, as he very much didn’t appreciate being fetish fuel throughout the holiday season, and, despite his name, didn’t actually escape that setup. No, Getaway had help.

Man, guess Megatron should’ve reconsidered failing Riptide on his essay.

Speaking of Megatron, he walks up about now to see what all the hubbub’s about. Rodimus, looking like he’s about to cry, realizes that Mainframe lied to them about not being able to track the signal. Getaway gives him points for getting that right, but really, he wants to drive home the point that the entirety of the crew wanted Megatron’s little pals off the ship. And that’s what it’s really about, at the end of the day. Getaway hates that high command gave Megatron a party cruise to live out his last days on, last days that might not even happen, with the track record of this goddamned quest. He’s sick of Rodimus and pals acting like this whole arrangement isn’t an affront to every single life that’s been snuffed out because of Megatron’s actions.

Everyone other than Whirl seems pretty bummed out by these accusations. Swerve pipes up, enraged that he’s been doomed to die alongside everyone else— he doesn’t even LIKE Megatron. Getaway reveals that at some point or another, he and Atomizer (the interior designer turned bowman, you’ll recall) approached every single crew member and asked if they thought Megatron deserved to have a second chance and also, completely unrelated, but what would you do in the event of a coup? Anyone who didn’t provide a desirable answer got visited by the nudge gun fairy— that gun that can fire thought into your brain, or just erase memories if fired dry. The collection of headaches main cast have been experiencing over the last several issues? The side effect of being shot. Skids especially does not like this reveal.

Of course, Getaway isn’t just upset with Megatron’s leadership— he’s also mad as hell what’s supposed to be a trip to find their ancestors, who will guide them back onto the straight and narrow, has, in actuality, been Rodimus’s midlife crisis road trip. Getaway wasn’t even here for Rodimus and Drift’s ass-slapping contests and insulting galactic officials who want the Cybertronians dead, but he didn’t need to be. He took one look at the Rodpod and decided he needed to kill Rodimus right then and there.

Rodimus, at this point, remembers the list Atomizer had offered him back during the trial. Magnus, biting his lip at the idea of a list existing, asks what that’s all about, and Rodimus explains. Getaway really was hoping that Rodimus would take the bait, so he could’ve blackmailed Rodimus into stepping down and letting literally anyone else take over. Probably Magnus, at that point in the timeline, given that he hadn’t gotten buddy-buddy with Megatron yet at that point. Unless Getaway considers acting as someone’s lawyer under order of the space pope as being too close to an individual.

Getaway decides that this conversation has reached its natural conclusion, as he’s got questing to get done, and it should be moving at a pretty even clip now, since he’s excised all the distractions. Rodimus swears to come after him, but Getaway doubts it’ll happen, given what’s happening next.

While this debacle has been happening, Ravage has been busy searching a crash site, trying to uncover the identity of who the hell’s decided to attack them. Tarn commits a microagression at him, before firing his twin fusion cannons.

The call ends, Getaway cutting off the comm to all contact.

Ravage shows back up at this point, to give everyone the bad news.

Nightbeat, honey, the tragedy is in the opposite direction.

Now, that’s technically the finale of the main story, but there’s a little bonus comic attached to the end, acting as a sort of sideways epilogue to hint at what Getaway and his merry band of mutineers will be getting up to, since we aren’t seeing them again for a bit.

Our little backup strip begins right before the original launch of the Lost Light, where we see some guys we haven’t seen the 2012 Annual issue. Shock and Ore wander around what will one day become Swerve’s, Shock convinced that this ship is actually the ship they lost 5 million years prior, the Unitrex-1. Ore isn’t so sure, but as the readers, we saw the exact moment that Unitrex-1 disappeared in issue #38, after Rodimus forgot to wash his hands while putting the quantum engine together. Shock, wanting to prove that he’s right, fumbles around in the dark, looking for the graffiti he carved into the underside of a table. Ore gets a call on his space Blackberry while he’s doing this, and we finally get the other half of that call Prowl made in issue #1, after he failed to get Chromedome to stay on Cybertron. The Duobots have 20 minutes to get Overlord’s massive, lippy ass on the ship. Knowing that that isn’t a ton of time, the two quickly book it out of the bar, leaving the spectral form of Skids to look really bummed out.

Later, at Swerve’s grand (secret) opening, we see some more old faces.

Whoa now, Drift, you’re not supposed to be back until next issue!

Pipes thinks he’s been cursed to not have friends, since Hubcap is still at his dead-end job with the Wreckers, and Riptide was too busy being in a coma to come say goodbye. How rude!

Drift doesn’t seem to particularly want Pipes around more than necessary, pushing him to be friends with Rewind, who he describes as having kind eyes. Whether Drift is doing this to keep Pipes safe from overhearing any Overlord-related secrets, keeping his ass-slapping and sexually-tense sword training time with Rodimus safe, or just because he finds Pipes to be mildly annoying isn’t clear. Pipes, however, is looking for more than friendship— he’s looking to bone down.

Pipes’s ideal partner is wide as they are tall, with tits to match and at least one alt-mode that he can use as a yacht. Drift tells him he can introduce him to Tailgate, though something tells me Pipes isn’t really Tailgate’s type, given that he can actually say what he means and doesn’t have some fucked-up facial situation.

It’s really too bad that Pipes died, because I bet he would have loved Nautica, and he would have REALLY loved Nickel.

Later still, we see all of our doctors together— even Ambulon is there! In one piece, even! Ambulon wants to tell First Aid something, and First Aid automatically tries to make it a cosmetic thing, because of COURSE Ambulon would be insecure about his bad skin, and what he really needs is a better cleanser. What Ambulon actually wants to talk about, though, is his alt mode, and the fact that the puns involved with being part of a Combiner make him want to die. First Aid understands, but Swerve, known menace to society, might not be so compassionate, as he throws a grenade into the back of Ambulon’s head, triggering his transformation. Ambulon is mortified, and Swerve does the thing that Ambulon literally just said he hates. First Aid continues to rip flakes of paint off of Ambulon, as the specter of Velocity watches, looking pretty bummed about the fact that she never got to be part of banter like this.

Later on than that, Rewind and a wheelchair-bound Rung are in the currently-empty Swerve’s, as Rewind calls Chromedome to gather up one of the groups for those storytelling circles Rewind organized to try to fix Rung’s brain. He hangs up, then tells Rung that once his brain works again, they’re going to have a goddamned chat about Dominus Ambus, which is only mildly hampered in its threat by the fact that Rewind standing is barely the same height as Rung sitting down.

Rewind then gets to work writing out the story map for when the “Shadowplay” group gets there, as the specter of Chromedome reaches out longingly for the dead version of his husband. He laments that this Rewind died without closure, but the ghostly specter of Rung reminds him that there are rules to this, and they have to leave now. Not sure why Rung’s here to watch himself be threatened by Pipsqueak McGee. Is he actually doing his job for once, helping guide someone through their grief? I doubt it, since Chromedome isn’t a hottie bo-body like Skids, and his problems haven’t (directly, at least) caused the sort of trouble that make entire star systems hate you like Megatron.

Later, during the Overlord disaster, Perceptor sprints into Swerve’s, shouting for a medic, as the rest of the battered and beaten watch. Hoist, himself hooked up to the wall by some sort of cable, while wearing his extra-special Rodimus Star, offers to help, though he’s technically an engineer, and whatever he’s gonna do probably won’t have any consideration for the soul or ability to feel pain. Perceptor was using Tripodeca— sweet, beloved, friend to all, who was the star of the post-Overlord mass funeral Tripodeca— as a, uh, tripod for his rifle, when Overlord probably noticed that the ol’ science sniper looked sort of familiar and did a lil’ grabbing with his big nasty hands. Hoist asks if Perceptor is going to stop Overlord, and considering how things went the last time Overlord was the star of the show, I doubt Perceptor thought he was gonna get lucky twice in terms of survival, especially when Overlord is riGHT BEHIND HIM OH GOD LORDY JESUS MARY AND JOSEPH

How Perceptor survived this isn't clear, but we know he did, as he continued to show up in the story past issue #15 in a decidedly alive, non-paste form. His specter watches this scene unfold, expression unreadable.

Post-Luna 1, Swerve stands in his ruined bar dejectedly, when he realizes that quite a few people have shown up to help him clean up the mess, as long as he promises to reward their hard work with reopening once it’s done. As everyone works to get things back in order, Swerve tells them to keep an eye out for a non-trashed Legislator that he could use as a bouncer, once he fucks around with its head enough to make it do what he wants. Ten’s specter watches as his shitty boss and arguable father is gifted the body that would become him, making a note to get his union going with a bit more urgency.

Later, on the day of the “Fuck Off Megatron 2-for-1 Drink Deal”, Crosscut lead Riptide, Mirage, and Nautica on a tour of the ship. Mirage notes that Swerve’s is a bit of a dive, not suited to his refined tastes in the slightest. In a booth, Getaway and Atomizer have boxed Mainframe in on either side to have a little chat. Swerve and Bluestreak talk television, Bluestreak making a little jab at MTMTE’s second season not being quite as well-received by fans as the first. Over at the bar, Highbrow and Perceptor talk about Quark, while Brainstorm watches while having his briefcase, which he is NOT supposed to have in here.

Crosscut goes on about this bar being where all things happen and where bittersweet is the most often-felt emotion, then calls Trailcutter/blazer an alcoholic as he dances on the ceiling. The specters of just about everyone on the ship watch their fallen friend, enjoying the moment and missing him terribly, as Perceptor brings them back to the here and now of the story, which turns out to be just after the holiday special, judging by the Christmas lights.

Minimus asks if this is safe, and Perceptor says that it is, as nobody can actually interact with the past, because Brainstorm is the only one who’s ever actually perfected that tech, not that this isn’t his fault either. It turns out that when you try to fly against the stream of time as it naturally occurs, you tear a few thousand itty bitty holes on the way to perfecting the process. Perceptor’s found a way to let others view the past, at least for a little while. Minimus is fine with it, as long as everyone continues to behave, and it seems like they are, as everyone mingles in Swerve’s.

The two of them sit down, Megatron handing Minimus what I’m sure is a mocktail, and Perceptor explains that while the window into the past is closing for now, it may open back up in the future. When Rodimus asks when that might be, he then immediately decides that he doesn’t want to know, instead wanting to have a fun little surprise for later. They don’t get very many of those, fun surprises.

As everyone toasts to the dead and to future adventures, the specter of Getaway watches on, smug as hell.

That’s the end of “No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases” but that is STILL not the end of the issue! It never ends, this thing! Because the number 50 is very big and impressive, obviously this is a double-sized spectacular, and has to cap off with a note from the man himself— James Roberts.

And then after that we get a new notes from fans, but this is already obscenely long and I think I can show you the crux of what they’re all saying right here: MTMTE (2012) is fucking good. It’s a good series. Make your goddamn family, friends, coworkers, librarians, and goldfish read it. Share it with people you’ve never met. Get a long-term personal project out of it. Get long-term friends out of it. Get a long-term romantic partner out of it. If I can do it, so can you!

#transformers #MTMTE #issue 50 #maccadam #hannzreads #text post #long post #comic script writing #overthinking about robots #incoming analysis

[vodika-vibes]

The War Chest

A Magic and Knights AU

Summary: It’s been fifty years since the war between Mandalore and Serrano ended. A war that ended with an uneasy peace between the two nations…an uneasy peace that has since grown into something stronger. You are a daughter of one of the Noble Houses of Serrano, though only through marriage. You stand to inherit nothing from your step-family, unlike your mother. So, in an attempt to get your feet under you, you turn to treasure hunting.

Pairing: Pre Kix x F!Reader

Word Count: 5400

Warnings: None

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni @imabeautifulbutterfly @the-bad-batch-baroness

A/N: So, I know Kix already has a story in this AU, but I'm giving him another one that is unconnected from the last one. This one, I think, fits a little better with the rest of the stories. Also, there's a fun little twist at the end that I'm not sure about, honestly. Anyway, I started writing this at 8 am and it's now 2 pm, and I managed to write it without any breaks. Go me~

“Rumor has it,” You arch a single brow as the man you’re talking to, a pirate who you’ve had more than one run in with, “That Count Dooku’s War Chest has been discovered.”

You wave your hand as if brushing the rumor aside, “Everyone knows that Dooku’s War Chest was propaganda from Mandalore.” You counter with a roll of your eyes.

“That was the accepted fact. 50 years ago.” He leans into your space and you lean back to try and keep him from breathing in your face, “Come on, girlie. You’re not even remotely curious.”

“I’m far more interested in facts, Shen. Not fairy tales.”

“Bah! You’re no fun.”

“If you want someone willing to chase fairy tales, you should be talking to Lyna, not me.” You eye your drink, and then push it to the side.

“Lyna is an archeologist,” Shen counters bitterly, “She’s all, ‘this belongs in a museum’ and ‘we should return this to its rightful owner’. She’s even less fun than you!”

“Come on, you tell her about Dooku’s war chest, and she’ll be all over it,” You say as you lean back in your chair, “Can you give me anything more than fairy tales?”

“No.” He folds his arms, “You were more fun when you were running with the crew.”

“Yeah, yeah. So you’ve mentioned. If you’re not going to try and help, you can take off. Find some other patsy to do the research for you.”

Shen scowls at you, and then pushes to his feet and storms away. He hasn’t changed since you were kids, tragic but understandable. 

In any event, you’re not going to get any intel on your next score here. So you suppose that the archives is your next destination. Which is a shame, the archivists are always so annoying when you decide to visit. 

They’re all, “Oh, Lady Nalcin has come for a visit!” Which is annoying since, A, you’re not Lady Nalcin, that position belongs to your mother. And B, you don’t even carry that Nalcin last name, seeing as your father is still alive.

Mother just had to marry Serrano nobility, didn’t she.

You push away from the table and shove your hands into your pockets as you meander through the bar. You step through the open door, into the cool air of the autumn evening and you inhale deeply.

You love this time of year. Not too hot, not too cold, and none of the plants you’re allergic to are spewing pollen. If you could live someplace where it’s autumn year round, you’d be a happy woman.

Tragically, such places don’t exist.

You turn to the left, starting towards the inn you’re staying at for the time being, when you hear heavy footsteps behind you. You tense and half turn, your baton falling into your hand from where it’s stored in your sleeve. 

And then you turn properly.

The person running up to you looks like a college students, slightly younger than you, with wide eyes hidden behind thick glasses. She’s gasping for breath, and is barely able to say your name

But, garbled as it is, she does say your name. 

You slide your baton back up your sleeve, and take a good look at her. She’s well dressed, and she’s wearing a brooch that marks her as a daughter of one of the High Houses. She’s also nearly bent in two trying to catch her breath.

“...are you okay?” You ask, after watching her gasp for air for a moment.

“I-” She gasps out, “Not fit-” 

“...I can tell.”

The younger woman takes a deep breath and then straightens, “My name is Evie Wilsi, I’m the oldest daughter of House Wilsi. You are the daughter of Lord Nalcin, right?”

“Step-daughter.” You correct flatly.

“Yes. That.” She takes a step towards you, “You’re…something of an archeologist, right?”

“In a manner of speaking, sure.”

“I want to hire you!”

“...what?”

The girl flushes, “I…um…sorry. I would like to hire you, please.”

You stare at her and arch a single brow, waiting for her to continue.

“I want to hire you to find Dooku’s war-” You roll your eyes and turn your back on her to walk away, “W-wait!” She grabs your wrist and then scrambles so she’s standing in front of you, “I know that this sounds…insane-”

“Dooku’s War Chest doesn’t exist.” You say flatly, “It was a rumor. No more.”

“I have reason to believe that it does exist.”

You sigh and shake your head, “Look, Miss Wilsi, I don’t chase fairy tales. Period.” You tug your hand out of her loose grip and step around her to continue to the inn.

“2 million.”

You stop mid-step, and turn your head to stare at her, “I beg your pardon.”

Her hands are clenched into fists near her chin, “Two million credits. You’ll get two million credits just for taking the contract, and another two million when you find the war chest.”

You turn to face her fully, “And if the war chest doesn’t exist?”

“Then…then you’ll still get the second half of your payment. But only after you exhaust all avenues.”

“And you can afford this?” 

“Yes.”

Your eyes narrow at her, “Prove it.”

She nods and pulls out her comm, pulling up her banking information, before she turns the device towards you. You glance at the number on the screen and your brows raise, “Four million credits is almost your entire bank account, is this worth that much to you?”

“Yes.” She stows her comm again, “It’s…everything to me.”

You fold your arms, and shift your weight slightly as you examine her. Over the years, you’ve become very good at reading people. Part of it is your natural magic, an innate ability to read intentions off of people, most of it, however, is just experience. 

She’s being honest.

Not only does she believe that the War Chest is real, it really does mean everything to her.

You drop your arms, “Fine. But I want to be paid immediately.”

“Deal! Is there someplace we can…talk?”

You turn your back on her, and start walking away, and then you pause and glance over your shoulder, “Follow.” You don’t want to see if she’s following your instructions, you just start walking, your feet leading you to your favorite food cart.

“A…food cart?”

“Don’t knock it til you try it,” You reply as you order a caf and move to the side to wait until it’s done. Your maybe employer’s nose is scrunched up in distaste.

“Is this where you want to talk?”

“Surrounded by people? No.” You accept the cup of caf, and motion for her to keep following you. You lead her down several winding roads, and then make a sharp left into the biggest cemetery in the area.

You notice her hesitate at the gate, but you don’t slow down. If this means as much to her as she implies, as much as your magic is telling you it means to her, she’ll follow you anyway.

And you’re right.

Though she dithers at the gate for half a minute, eventually she hurries to catch up with you as you head into the older parts of the cemetery. As soon as you’re sure that there isn’t anyone around you can listen in on your conversation, no one alive at least, you perch yourself on the worn down stone wall and stare at the other woman.

“Alright. I’m all ears.”

“Here?” She asks, her voice hushed, “Isn’t it…disrespectful?”

You just tilt your head, “People don’t come to this part of the cemetery, which means no one can eavesdrop.”

“Right. Right.” Evie paces in front of you for a moment, and then she stops, “How much do you know of the Six Great Houses?”

“Assume I know nothing.”

“Right. Right! Okay. I can work with that.” Her hands curl into fists again, “There is a hierarchy to the six families, with House Dooku at the top of the pyramid, and House Wilsi at the bottom. House Nalcin is nearer to the top than the bottom.”

You lean back on the wall and take a sip of your caf, waiting for her to continue.

“This is why, 50 years ago, it was so easy for House Dooku to incite a war with Mandalore.” Evie continues.

“As I understand it,” You interrupt, “House Dooku was manipulated into it by what’s his face from Naboo.”

Evie looks genuinely pained, “You mean Court Wizard Palpatine?”

“That’s the bitch.”

She takes a deep breath, “You’re right. He was, and it was only after Count Dooku was killed that we were able to sue for peace-”

You sigh heavily, “Evie, what does this have to do with the price of chicken in Corellia?”

“...what?”

“Why does this matter?”

“Oh. Well, my family lost a lot of clout during the war…we sided with House Dooku. It seemed like a politically sound choice…so when the peace treaty was signed…we lost almost all of our status. We almost lost our noble name.”

“And?”

“And, finding Dooku’s war chest will do so much in helping us recover from this.”

“If it exists.”

“It does! It does. I’ve been researching this for years, my whole family has, and we have a solid lead.” Evie says as she steps closer to you, “It’s…here.” She digs into her purse and shoves a thin notebook at you, “All of the evidence is there, if you know where to look-”

You set your cup to the side and flip the notebook open, every page is filled with different handwriting. The notebook has clearly been in the works for years.

“Count Dooku had a safe house. He had many safe houses, in many different countries. But in the middle of the war, he vanished for three months. My family thinks he went to Hoth.”

You arch a brow, “Well, if that’s where he decided to hide his war chest, it explains why no one has found it.” 

“Yes! Exactly. According to records, Count Dooku’s safe house was up in the mountains of Hoth, which would be nearly impossible for anyone to traverse at the time-”

“It’s still impossible to traverse.” You point out, “The storms of Hoth never stop, and you need special gear and equipment to survive even the lower parts-”

“Yes, but you’ve done the impossible before.” Evie says, “I mean, you’re the one who found Palpatine’s palace in Mustafar-”

“You’re not wrong, I just hate that you mentioned it.” You mutter.

“Can you help?”

You stare at her, silently, for a moment, and then you sigh and nod. “Yeah, alright.”

“Really! Oh, this is-”

You hold up a finger, silencing her, “Several conditions. 1, I hold on to this for as long as it takes for me to read it cover to cover.”

“Deal!”

“2, you are coming with me. It’s the only way for your family to get all of the credit.”

“Of course. I’ll even pay for everything we need to survive-”

“3,” You interrupt again, “We can’t leave for 6 months.”

“...what! Why?”

“I’m not fool enough to try and climb a mountain in Hoth in the dead of winter. And good luck trying to find anyone who will.” You say flatly.

“...you raise a fair point. So we’ll head out in the spring.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Evie claps her hands together in excitement, “Oh! You won’t regret this! I promise.”

Your gaze drifts off of her, lingering on a dark thread connecting Evie with something else, a thread that only you can see with your magic, “Well,” You murmur, “That remains to be seen, doesn’t it.”

“Hm?” Evie tilts her head, “Oh! Right, payment.” She pulls her comm out and hurriedly, very hurriedly, sends you the two million credits that you’re owed for taking her contract.

You watch your bank account shoot up, and then promptly move the money from that account into your personal account, “I need your comm code,” You say once that’s done, “I’ll call you when we’re ready to leave.”

“I can’t wait!”

And then Evie is gone, hurrying out of the cemetery with none of the grace that you’d expect to see from a lady of her standing. 

You watch her leave, and then pick up your cup of caf and take a sip, while eyeing the notebook thoughtfully, “Well, it won’t be boring at least.”

7 Months Later

Hoth is a miserable place.

Frigid even in the dead of summer, with very few animals that won’t kill you as soon as they see you. 

True to her word, Evie did prepare everything that you might need for an expedition, and then some. You have a base camp, vehicles that are suited for the freezing weather, and cold weather gear that is light enough to move in, yet heavy enough to protect you from the biting wind.

There are also people. So many people. Aides and attendants, and bodyguards. Not to mention maids and chefs and butlers. You’re not impressed, at all.

“So, I was thinking we’d go up the mountain in the morning?” Evie says, her eyes alight with some emotion that you don’t want to think too hard about.

“Mm, bad idea.” You reply, as you eye a group of men that you know come from a Merc Group, “There’s a bad storm rolling in, we go out in it, we don’t come back.”

“Oh, really?” She glances at the monitor and makes a face at the massive storm rushing in, “I should tell the others to prepare for the storm.” Evie mumbles, before she gets to her feet and hurries out of the room.

You’re alone for a moment, before one of the mercs brushes past you. “You should know,” He murmurs, his voice low, “The moment you find this treasure, we have orders to remove you from the equation.”

“Hmm.”

“You saved my life that day on Taris, this is me returning the favor.”

“Noted.” He glances at you, and then continues walking. The exchange took less than 5 seconds. 

Luckily, you prepared for this exact scenario. 

It’s not like this is the first time a client has betrayed you, after all.

You remain in the monitoring room for a bit longer, watching the storm build and grow in strength, and then, when you’re sure it’s late enough, you meander to your “room”. 

You waste some time in your room, packing what few items you need to be able to survive in the storm, and then you cut out the lights, and you wait. 

One hour passes. And then two. 

And finally the lights dim in the hallway, and you know it’s time to go. 

You don the severe weather gear that you bought yourself, grab your bag, the notebook, and you slip out the window.

As you figure, you have about five hours before anyone notices that you’re missing, and by the time they notice you’re gone, the storm will have erased any and all evidence of where you might have gone. 

You walk quickly through the snow, wanting to get as far as you can before the storm hits. Though, you do take the time to veer towards a ravine just long enough to toss the notebook as well as a decoy pack down the ravine. With luck, anyone chasing you will think that you succumbed to the storm and nature.

The trick won’t work for long, but it will buy you a couple of hours, at the minimum. 

That done, and with a storm moving in, you veer towards the mountain range. According to some of the notes you decoded, Count Dooku had pathways dug through all of the mountain ranges. You just need to find an entrance.

Luckily for you, Dooku wasn’t half as clever as he thought he was, and you were able to find an entrance in less than two hours. Unluckily, the passageways aren’t heated or lit.

You dig around in your pocket for your lamp sphere and light it with a touch of magic, ordering it to circle your head as you walk through the empty tunnels. 

“Let’s see,” You say, aloud, to yourself, “If I was Dooku and needed to hide a war chest, where would I hide it?” You look around, peering down identical dark passages, and you sigh.

If you have to search every passage, you’ll be here for ages. There has to be an easier way.

You close your eyes for a moment, and focus your magic on your eyes, and then open them again.

Your natural magic isn’t the most useful for your chosen career path. You can see intentions, which is useful in foreign countries when it comes to bartering and when dealing with clients. 

It is an innate magic, you don’t have to focus on it at all.

However, if you focus your magic on your eyes, and if you’re lucky, sometimes you can see traces of people’s intentions. Memories, written on the world around them.

It’s a desperate act. Dooku has been dead for almost fifty years. The odds of any of his intentions having been strong enough to leave an echo so far into the future is…unlikely, but you have to try.

As you fear, there’s no hint of intention in any of the passages.

You’re about to power down your magic, when you catch a glimpse of something higher than where you are. You focus your gaze on the dim glow and you frown.

The intention is…strong, but faint at the same time.

You puzzle through what you’re seeing. Strong implies that someone is actively in the passages with you. But the faintness implies…slumber, perhaps. Maybe someone lives in these passages.

Well, it’s better than continuing blind.

So you mentally mark the location in your head, and you start heading that way.

It takes time, though, to find the right path that will take you to the right level. The passageways were designed as a labyrinth, and you wonder if the passages aren’t complete, or if Dooku was just that paranoid near the end of his life.

You’ve never heard one way or the other. 

But finally, after many dead ends, several looping paths, and one time when you thought you were going up but were actually going down, you reach a door.

You send a silent prayer to the patron god or treasure hunters, and then push the door open. 

It creaks loudly, and another hard push causes it to fall inwards. “Whoops.” You whisper as dirt and dust swells around you. You wave the dust away from your face, and then step into the room properly.

It’s…empty.

Well, okay. Not really empty.

There, sitting in the middle of the room, is a massive crystal formation.

It looks man-made, to your eyes. Crystals don’t generally grow in such a deliberate way, at least not in your experience.

You move closer to the crystal and circle it, your eyes narrowing thoughtfully. 

Now that you’re closer, it looks like there’s something inside it. You press your hand against the stone and try to peer through the cloudy material, but you might as well be trying to look through a solid wall. 

You rip your gloves off, and press your bare hands against the planes of the crystal. Slowly you feel around the edges of each plane you can reach. And then…there, near the bottom, on the opposite side of where you started, you find a single sigil carved into the crystal.

Now, sigils and runes are basic magic.

It is, quite literally, magic 101.

But you’ve never been interested in modern runes or sigils, preferring to focus more on the more ancient versions that you normally encounter while on your treasure hunts. 

That said, runes are runes, right?

They all get activated in the same way.

So you pull your hand back and summon a small amount of magic to your fingertips, and press your fingers against the sigil. “Please don’t be a bomb.”

For a moment, nothing happens, and then there’s a loud crack. And then another one. And a third. 

And you’re forced to dive out of the way as the crystal shatters, sending large shards crumbling to the ground.

Then you see what was in the middle of the crystal, and your heart sinks.

It’s a man. Maybe about the same age as you, or a bit older, with a strict military cut and a five o’clock shadow. He’s wearing mandalorian armor, with the symbol of the medical corps on his shoulders.

You hurry over to him and kneel next to his head as he releases a low groan. You push your hood off your head, and tug your scarf down and goggles up as his eyes flutter open.

He looks like-

Your lips turn down in thought. 

“Hey, can you hear me?” You ask, shoving your concerns to the side.

“Y-yes,” His voice is raspy and he blinks a couple of times, as if trying to clear his vision.

“What’s your name, soldier?” You ask, as you help him sit up.

“Kix…M’name is Kix.” He groans as you sit him up and he looks around the room, and then at you, “Your accent…you’re not Mandalorian.”

It’s not a question.

“Good ear,” You pull your bag off your back and dig through it, please let you have enough cold weather gear for him. “I’m Corellian, born and raised.” Kriff, you don’t. 

Kix looks around, sharpness sliding through his gaze as he shakes off the sleep, “This isn’t Corellia.”

“That is correct.” You reply, before cursing, “How good is that at keeping you warm?” You ask with a nod towards his armor, and the helmet laying half forgotten in the shards of crystal.

“Good enough.” He lets out a pained groan as he gets to his feet, “Why?”

“Well, because it’s a wee bit chilly outside, on account of us being in Hoth.” You reply dryly and you stand and grab his helmet. You make sure that there aren’t any crystals inside the helmet and you offer it to him.

“...Hoth?”

“The one and the same.”

“What is a Corellian doing here?” Kix asks suspiciously.

“Well, I was hired to find Dooku’s war chest.” You glance at the crystal shards, and then at Kix, “And I found it, apparently. I’m not generally in the business of saving people, but I suppose I’ll make an exception.”

“...what?”

You glance to the side when you hear, what sounds like, magic explosions, “Times up, I’m afraid.” You look around, and then find another door, “This way, hopefully this door stood the test of time better than that one.” You pull your scarf and hood back on, “Put your helmet on, it’s freezing.”

Kix pulls his helmet on, but he doesn’t take his eyes off of you, “What’s going on? What’s with the explosions?”

You glance at him, before you focus on the door, “Oh. My former employers. The Wilsi family from Serrano. I was informed that they were going to kill me once I found the War Chest, so I decided to cancel the contract.”

“You keep mentioning this war chest, what is it?” Kix asks as he walks over to you and helps you open the door wide enough that the pair of you are able to leave the room. 

“Well, unless we find a vault full of riches, I think it’s you.”

Kix pauses, “What?”

You glance at him, “There’s no easy way to say this, but it’s been 50 years since the war between Serrano and Mandalore ended.” He freezes, and you quickly tug him out of the room and shut the door, “Listen to me, Kix, I know that this is a shock to you. I know that. But if we don’t start moving, we die here. Can you contain your totally understandable freak out until we’re somewhere safe?”

It’s kind of eerie, having that blank helmet staring at you, but slowly Kix nods, and you release a sigh of relief.

“Come on, this place is like a maze. Maybe we can use that to our advantage.” You turn to the left, and Kix falls into step behind you. 

All you have to do is find a way out, and make sure that neither you, nor Kix, die. And then, somehow, get him back to Mandalore.

No pressure.

“Can we take a break, please?” Kix asks as he helps her close another door, leaving the pair of them in a slightly warmer room, “I can’t hear the explosions anymore.”

She frowns, though it’s only noticeable because she pulled her scarf down a little bit ago. “Are you okay?”

“I’ve apparently been in stasis for fifty years-” And isn’t that a kicker, how is he supposed to deal with that? How can he deal with that? His brothers are all going to be in their 70s- “I just need a break, that’s all.”

She nods, and tugs her hood down, before she sits on a rock, stretching her legs out in front of her. Kix watches her for a moment, before he sits on another rock, “So…who are you, anyway?”

She blinks, and then laughs, “Sorry, I never actually introduced myself, did I?” She introduces herself with a slightly crooked smile, “My mother would have my head for such rudeness.”

“And what is it that you do?”

“I’m an archeologist. Technically. That’s what my degree says at least.” Her name, something long and complicated, does not suit her at all. So Kix makes a mental note to just call her runi, and then moves along.

“That sounds like you don’t actually do archeology, runi.”

“Eh, I go to old places and look for old things to sell to people who would rather stay safe than do things.” She waves her hand.

“Ah.”

“What?”

“You’re a tomb robber.”

“I am not!”

“Oh, so you have permission to take these items then.” Kix asks.

“I…well..not exactly. But I haven’t exactly been denied permission either-”

Kix smirks, “Tomb robber.”

“Yeah…well..what do you do?”

“I’m a medic. A perfectly respectable career that isn’t illegal.” Kix replies.

She huffs, but doesn’t respond, so Kix takes it as a win. 

“So, I assume you have a plan?” He asks, “To get us out of this mess.”

“I have a broad idea of what needs to happen, but as for the details…not so much.”

“...what?”

“Why plan? I mean, they never work out like they’re supposed to.” She shrugs, “But in the end, I do intend to get you back to Mandalore.

“And you’re going to do this without a plan?” Kix asks.

“Yeah. Pretty much.”

He heaves out a sigh and then stands and pulls his helmet back on, “Maybe I should stick around with you. Stars know how you haven’t been killed yet.”

“Rude,” She scowls at him, but scrambles to her feet and pulls her cold weather gear on as well, “I-” She pauses and her head snaps to the side, “Motherkarking-...they’re planning on blowing up some of the tunnels. We need to go up and…over, I think.”

“Then let’s go. I’ll follow you.”

Kix watches as she leads him through the winding halls, pausing every now and then as though she’s following a path that only she can see. Having some kind of magic would make her survival a lot more understandable, all things considered.

He very nearly stumbles as a massive explosion makes the whole mountain shake, and Kix has to tackle runi through a door to keep them both from being crushed. 

Turns out to have been a good thing, as the room they ended up in had a single set of stairs that lead somewhere else. It’s good enough for Kix, as he hoists runi to her feet and ushers her to the stairs and up.

And up.

And up.

Finally she throws open a door at the top of the stairs and they find themselves in a workshop of some kind.

“This must be where Dooku did his magical studies,” She notes as she peers at some of the books lining the walls. 

“Wouldn’t there be a teleportation circle in here somewhere?” Kix asks, thinking back to the wizards tower back in Mandalore.

“Well, yeah. Probably. But I’m not wizard, I might be able to make it trigger it’s last destination, but-”

“This mountain is coming down, like it or not. Anywhere is better than here.”

“Ugh…fine! Help me find it.”

The pair search frantically around the room, before Kix lets out a shout of triumph. “Found it!” Runi hurries over to him and, with Kix’s help, clears the teleportation circle. 

“Um…let’s see, it looks like it’s set to teleport somewhere…west?” She says as she scans the runes.

“West is good enough.” Kix shoves her into the circle as the building trembles, “Can you activate it?”

“Can I activate it.” She scoffs, “Of course I can activate it, but I have no control over where we land.”

“Better there than here,” Kix points out logically, and she makes a face, but clearly doesn’t disagree.

The runes start to glow, faintly at first, and then brighter. 

Runi pulls her hands away from the seals, her eyes widening in panic, “Oh…oh bad…”

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Um…” She turns panicked eyes on him, “The runes and sigils are reacting to the magic of the explosions…they…this is bad.”

“What’s the worst that can happen?” Kix asks, and runi opens her mouth to reply, but before she can say anything the teleportation circle activates.

It’s the most painful thing that Kix has ever felt in his life, and he’s almost grateful when he blacks out.

His last coherent thought is that he hopes runi is okay.

Kix wakes with a groan, this is beginning to become a habit for him. His everything is throbbing in pain, and it’s funny but his first thought was to question where his armor went.

“Easy there, vod. You’re okay.”

Kix squints at the man, one of his brothers, “-where?”

“You’re on the Resolute. We found you and the civvie passed out near a bombed out building. Seems like you threw yourself over her to save her.” Kix blinks a couple more times and finally he recognizes Vacc, one of the men he trained.

“...civvie?”

Vacc helps Kix sit up, and there’s a slightly jarring sensation when he realizes that he doesn’t recognize the medical bay. It’s…whiter and starker and has a lot less magical healing equipment than he’s used to. “Over there.” He motions to runi clad in some kind of medical attire, “She hasn’t said a word since she woke up.”

She’s curled up on the bed, her knees pulled up to her chin and her hands tangled in her hair. She lifts her gaze to meet his, and as soon as their gaze meets, her gaze darts to the portside window.

Kix follows her gaze, and his breath catches in his throat.

The Resolute was a sea-faring vessel. 

But, for whatever reason, the Resolute seems to be in space. 

No wonder she’s so freaked out. “Where…” Kix pauses to clear his throat, “Where are we going?”

“Coruscant.” Vacc claps his shoulder, “Get some rest, vod. We’ll be back at the barracks before we know it.”

And then his brother is gone, and Kix pins runi with a stare, “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” She sounds miserable, “The explosion must have mixed with the magic of the teleportation…I don’t know, Kix.” She winces and clamps her hands over her ears.

“Okay, okay. Runi, sweetheart, what’s wrong? Are you in pain?”

“How can you stand it?”

“Stand what?”

“The screaming.”

“What screaming, there’s no screaming-” She wraps her hands around his wrists as soon as he’s close enough, and then he hears it, high pitched and constant, as though someone, somewhere, is screaming in unending pain.

When she releases him the screaming stops, but she just tightens her hands over her ears.

“It…it’s going to be okay, runi. We’ll figure it out. I promise.”

Kix casts his gaze back to the window, just as a slightly mechanical voice echoes through the ship, “Preparing to jump into hyperspace in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…”And the galaxy outside the window fades into streaks of white and blue as Kix folds his hands around runi’s hands, trying to help her block out the screaming.

#star wars #tcw #star wars au #magic and knights au #clone medic kix x reader #kix x reader #star wars fanfiction #x reader fanfiction #f!reader fic

[bosinclairsgff]

Lady Slashers Meeting their girlfriend

Includes: Baby Firefly, Amanda Young, Amber Freeman

Warnings: saw trap, hinting at kidnap

A/n I have the biggest crush on Baby

- You met Baby when you were hitchhiking through Texas. You had been trying to make your way home to whatever state you live in and somehow found yourself standing next to Baby. “Hey there! Where ya heading?” She giggles. “Just trying to make it home to (your state).” You respond. After you guys make conversation, she realizes she’s taken a liking to you. She invites you over for the night. You accept and when a car pulls up to give you a ride you both get in together.

- When you make it to her house she offers you a cup of hot chocolate, which you accept happily. Baby sits next to you on the couch in the living room and turns on the TV. You aren’t really paying attention to the movie playing. Your more interested in how cool her house is. It’s like a museum of oddities and curiosity! “I love your house Baby, it’s truly amazing.” You say looking at her. Her eyes light up! “Thank you sugar, that’s so sweet.” She smiles.

- After an hour or so you guys decide to head to bed. Baby insists you sleep in her room with her. Which you absolutely don’t mind. Her room is just as eccentric as the rest of the house. You can tell she really loves baby dolls. “Ready for bed sugar? I got extra blankets just in case ya got cold.” Baby says. You nod and thank her. “Which side of the bed do you want?” You ask. She laughs at this question. “I don’t care honey. I’ll sleep anywhere as long as I’m sleeping with you.” She smirks playfully. You can feel your face heating up. Baby slips under the covers on the left side of the bed as you take the right. You both stay silent for a few minutes but baby takes the roll in ruining said silence. “Ya know…we could cuddle if ya like to.” She turns to face you. You guys are inches away from each other, you can feel her breath on your face. She smells like liquor and hot chocolate. A mixture you normally wouldn’t like, but coming from her you don’t mind. “Okay..I wouldn’t mind that.” You can feel yourself turning a bright red. She slips her hand over your waist and pulls you towards her. Baby let’s out a soft sigh as she closes her eyes to fall asleep. As she falls asleep first you follow shortly after.

- The next day you guys get to know each other better. Learning all her likes a dislikes, meeting her brothers and her mama. You and mama get along very well. You stay with the family for a few days really feeling at home and at peace with Baby. However, all good things must come to an end. “I really should get back home Baby.” You say softly one day as you girls are laying in bed. She sits up immediately. “What! Why? I thought ya liked it here sweetheart.” She pouts. “I want to stay but what about my life and my responsibilities?” You tell her as you rub small circles on her hand. Baby thinks for a moment about what to say. “You can make a life here. I’m not letting you leave me. I want to be with you and I know you want to be with me.” She says in almost a dark tone. You had to be honest with yourself, it scared you seeing her like this but also made you feel safe knowing how much she cherishes you. “Well I suppose if you won’t let me leave I’m stuck here, with you…which isn’t so bad I guess.” You smile. Baby’s whole demeanor changes, she’s full of happiness and love again. Without much warning she leans in and kisses your lips. You of course accept the kiss graciously, kissing her back.

- After a month of living with the family you and Baby officially started dating. By this time you had found out their dirty little secrets. You couldn’t do much about it, yes you loved Baby but she did tell you that you couldn’t leave her.

- You had seen on the news about how there was a serial killer on the loose called Jigsaw. You were never to worried you’d run into him, I mean you were a nobody really. All you did was go to work and come home, on the rare occasion you’d go out with a few girlfriends but never often. That’s actually how all this started, you had just started walking home from the bar when someone in a pig mask came out of nowhere, stabbing you in the neck with something. After that assault you quickly started to get drowsy, within seconds you were fast asleep. When you awoke you found yourself bond to a chair, as your hands had been duct taped to the arms. On your head was a metal contraption. When you started to panic a TV in the corner turned on only to show a puppet. This puppet explained that he simply wanted to “play” a game. You have 60 seconds to free yourself from the reverse bear trap, as he called it, or it would permanently open your jaw. As in your head would be torn apart. To escape this trap you had to remove the key to the lock keeping it on you from a man’s stomach. Before you could truly take all of this in the TV cut off leaving you to start your game. As soon as you escaped the chair a timer started. You frantically tried the get the bear trap off without a key, it wouldn’t budge. You knew what you had to do. When you had finished getting the key and getting the trap off just in time, you passed out. Awaking to the fluorescent lights of a hospital room.

- Yes, you had survived the trap but you had been absolutely terrified of everything since that day. You were more great full for life, sure, you still always looked behind your shoulder and locked every door you entered. After a month or so you slowly started getting back into the groove of things. Which must be some cruel joke the universe was playing on you because as soon as things started to seem okay, you meet John. Who, as you came to know was behind the traps and murders. Though, he claims he never murdered anyone. John wanted you to help him with his work, make the traps, kidnap the people. You of course wanted absolutely nothing to do with that. You weren’t a psychopath who enjoyed hurting people. You loved people. However you didn’t have much of a choice.

- You had joined Johns team of apprentices, which is where you met her. Amanda Young. At first she really didn’t seem to like you all that much. She’d do anything in her power to absolutely avoid you. At first you took it personally but then you saw how she treated Mark. In that case you were thankful for how she treated you. Slowly you started to get her to open up. Saying hi to her when you would come in to work on traps or clean up the warehouse. Grabbing her a coffee when you got one for yourself. Eventually you two started to hangout even outside of working for John.

- After a while of constantly spending time with her you realized how much you liked her. You started to wonder if, maybe, she felt the same towards you. That’s when you decided to ask her one night. You guys normally hung out at your apartment, watching movies and eating unhealthy snacks. You let her choose the movie. As you guys were sitting on the couch, laying on opposite sides. You sat up, paused the movie and looked at her. “Mandy, I have something to tell you and ask you.” You state while looking down at your hands. What’s wrong? Did something happen!?” She questions with a worried expression. “What..no everything is fine don’t worry. I just. I wanted to tell you that, I have serious feelings for you and I was wondering if maybe you spelt the same.” You look up at her with a red face. For a moment she stays silent, which you internally start panic. “I-it’s okay! Let’s just forget I said anything.” You reach for the TV remote with was laying close to her. You lean over to get it and she grabs your face planting a kiss directly on your soft lips. Of course your taken completely off guard, not in a bad way though. After a second of pure bliss she ends the kiss. “I have feelings for you too y/n I was just scared I’d lose you if I said anything.” Amanda says shyly.

- You two officially started dating that night.

Amber Freeman

- You had just moved to Woodsboro, and were very nervous starting at a new high school. Yeah, you were a senior but it was still scary. The first day you started you bumped into a girl named Amber, at first you thought she may yell at you as she looked so intimidating. Yet all she did was smile and tell you it’s not a problem. In your last class of the day you saw a familiar face upon the unfamiliar setting. It was Amber sitting alone in the back of the class. You made your way to her and asked if you might sit next to her. She happily made space for you. Over the next month you two become good friends. Exchanging numbers as to keep contact even outside of the class. She texted you good morning and goodnight everyday. Amber made you feel wanted and safe, no one would fuck with her or you. Even her friend group liked you.

- You guys would usually hangout all together as a group but there were times when she just wanted to be alone with you. She’d treat you to a horror movie or sneak over late at night. Amber just loved alone time with you, where she knew you were completely hers. You started to notice little hints that she liked you. Such as when she’d hold your hand when you guys watch scary movies, or how she got very jealous whenever you talked to other girls. There are even times where she’d rest her hand on your leg while you guys ate lunch in the cafeteria.

- One night at a party you both had been glued to each other all night. You found yourself cuddling with her on the couch and watching whatever was on TV. She was sitting up, you were in her lap and she was playing with your hair. You can’t remember the last time you felt this happy. After a while of this she suddenly stopped and told you to look at her. Confused, you did as she said. Sitting up you looked at her with tired eyes. “Is everything okay?” You questioned. She’s nods in response. “There’s something I need to ask you y/n, I’ve been thinking about it for a few weeks.” Amber says looking into your eyes. “What is it? You can ask me anything.” You say. She stays silent for a moment, thinking. “I want you to be my girlfriend. I really, really like you and I want you to be mind.” She says while looking down. You can’t believe what you just heard. You almost don’t at first thinking maybe you did fall asleep and this is a dream. “Of course I’ll be your girlfriend!” You softly yell. Her whole face lights up and she smiles. Leaning in you kiss her on the lips softly while cupping her face with your hands.

#horror #horror fan #horror movie #horror movies #horror films #slasher x reader #slashers #saw franchise #amanda young fluff #amanda young x reader #house of 1000 corpses #baby firefly x reader #baby firefly #scream #amber freeman #scream franchise #ghost face #wlw post #wlw #wlw love #bosinclairsgff

[the-somwthing]

I gotta talk to people so bad so I’m just gonna spout something that’s been on my mind for a while

I see a lot of people always describing Joel and Scott’s rivalry as one sided. Like, Joel just hates Scott and Scott doesn’t care? And while I feel like that statement is technically true, it doesn’t really describe the situation very well.

It sort of implies that Scott’s never out to get Joel, and Joel is just coming after Scott for no reason. I won’t deny that Joel does like to come after Scott without provocation sometimes, but like… we are ignoring the fact that 3/5 Joel final deaths have been at Scott’s hand?

In two seasons, those kills were a result of a deliberate hunt to get rid of Joel specifically. In Last Life, I’ll give him a bit of a pass, since Joel did kind of start the fight with a big explosion and had been the “villain” for the entire season, it makes enough sense to try to end him like that.

But in LIMITED LIFE?? As a Joel viewer I am NEVER getting over the feeling of watching his final episode (not negative, just baffling in a way I find pretty fun lol). Scott randomly says “Joel needs to die” and everyone just agrees I guess? And then Joel is being witch hunted. “Oh but it’s because he was getting so many kills! Duh!” Grian had more. Grian LITERALLY got a quad kill (ON SCOTT FOR THAT MATTER) and Scott’s like “JOEL is the problem, the murderous evil of the server”. LIKE HELLO?? They’re literally allies, Scott could’ve said “we need to get rid of the bad boys” but he was COOL with Grian. He was letting Grian LIVE. Like HELLO??? WHAT DID JOEL DO FR 😭 Joel was literally just trying to survive btw, his fighting back was very defensive rather than offensive, and would back off when not being actively attacked. With the exception of trying to get kills cuz he was on less than ten minutes, of course. But Scott had been hunting him before then.

And then I guess I have to mention Secret Life’s Scott-Killing-Joel. I don’t think that final kill was especially targeted on either of their sides, the battle just turned out that way. I could rewatch to see if there’s more to it but for now this is how I see it.

Okay, I’m turning this into a full analysis of their rivalry, idc, I’m literally obsessed with their dynamic. I’m adding a cut here.

ALRIGHT WHERE WAS I. RIGHT. Finished explaining the final deaths, but there’s stuff before that! Let’s take a look at their rivalry 🥰

Let’s go in order, shall we? 3rd Life!! I am obsessed with them in this season ahahahhaga anyways. Joel comes after Scott unprovoked. Simple, this is how everyone sees their rivalry. HOWEVER. Joel is FULLY WILLING to work with him anyways. Maybe you could excuse the dark oak thing as it was early on and they were just trying to take down a monopoly. But in the finale they reconcile and spend much of the session together. They established early on that Joel had been trying to kill Scott, but they’re both perfectly happy to team up instead (which btw they did because they both happened to be allied with Scar).

Then Last Life. Joel does hate Scott in it, but I’m not sure I would say it’s without reason. Joel being boogey in ep2 was majorly important, and he killed Scott. But that wasn’t targeted. He had attempted multiple times to kill other people. Scott was one of the only (and closest) people who didn’t already know he was boogeyman. Then of course Scott tells Pearl they can fight back and has her kill Joel, sending him to red. Perfectly reasonable for all parties imo, and a good enough reason for Joel to target Scott seeing as being red early on had a huge impact on him.

Of course LL is also where Joel says Scott just looked at him funny one day and that’s why he hates him, which is a great line. I do believe he would bother Scott just for the rivalry, but unlike in 3rd Life, Scott had done things to make Joel never consider stopping.

Then Double Life. Erm. Literally nothing, except that I believe the only reason Scott and Pearl were the last pair is because Joel wasn’t there to kill them, since apparently he’s the only one who can make them lose lives. Wild. They were guaranteed to win ever since the lava portal trap. (obviously I’m joking but like how is he the only outside force to kill that pair). I will clarify for analysis sake that Joel’s first kill on them had nothing to do with Scott, and the second kill was to Scott but it was because of the life colors, not really anything about their rivalry. It was technically targeted at Scott specifically but not cuz he hated him, instead because Pearl had a weird “alliance” with the reds.

Then Limited Life!!! What the heeelll was happening lmao. I already talked about the final moment so before that. Erm. I’m blanking out I’m listening to bad romance it’s distracting me. You know what let’s move on I can’t remember what they did, the final death I explained previously is enough data for now.

Secret Life. Oh boy. I’ll say it again, I was secretly hoping for more Scott/Joel dynamic when it started but I doubted it would happen but we got FED!!! I was so excited when I saw the assassin task (as was Joel). Anyways. Throughout the season Joel was doing the whole hating Scott thing, Scott caught onto the bit and played into it somewhat by talking more about how Joel always hates him for no reason. We SHOULD be able to disregard Joel targeting Scott for the assassin task as it was a task, but to be fair after reading it Joel said “oh my gosh is this my dream?” He was super happy to be assigned to assassinate Scott LMAO. That has to count for something.

I feel like the rivalry was fairly obvious, so I need to point out the outlier moments in SL. While Joel goes on about how Scott should die, he happily trades with him and swapped gifted hearts with zero hesitation. In the final session, he and Scott ended up on the same side. I believe Joel may have been slightly annoyed at being on a team with him but accepts it nonetheless. The only reason Scott ends up killing Joel is because their team won, so they had to turn on each other. As previously stated it wasn’t especially targeted, it was a 2v2.

And then if you noticed from me saying 3/5 games, I’m not counting Real Life, but I’ll bring it up here. Scott literally says “since it’s real life we can be friends now since we’re friends in real life” (one of the many reasons I consider RL noncanon tbh, Scott literally mentions in-universe that this season is different so they can act differently, also what is the in-universe explanation for “friends in real life”). Aside from a reminder that Joel doesn’t actually hate Scott irl and this is just fun game rp stuff, this shows that Scott really did catch onto the rivalry bit, and really does just bring it up more. Joel had just arrived when Scott brought it up. Joel agrees to being friends in Real Life. This holds little relevance to my analysis since I don’t view RL as canon but you can keep it in mind.

Now that I’ve laid out their rivalry in a simplified summary, let me ACTUALLY analyze it! What did I mean all the way back at the start of the post when I said “Scott and Joel’s rivalry being one sided is somewhat accurate but I feel it misrepresents their relationship”?

Well, I believe it’s true that (at least up until Secret Life), Scott didn’t care about the rivalry while Joel did. But that doesn’t mean Scott never targeted Joel, as I said he’s witch-hunted him twice. It’s just it was never personal to Scott. I once saw a post(s) I really enjoyed, an analysis on Scott. Saying that he doesn’t actually value being loyal, he values being fair. Then there was the addition that it’s based on what he thinks is fair. I feel like this is 100% true for his thing with Joel. Scott views Joel as a force that has to be stopped, he’s gone too far, he needs to be stopped, it’s only fair for all the suffering he’s caused. He doesn’t stop to think about how killing is the whole point of this game, how other people are doing the same things, how many times he has killed Joel. Joel hasn’t killed Scott permanently before, he has killed him though, but not as much as Scott has killed Joel. To Scott, that doesn’t matter, Scott kills Joel for a reason, for justice, while Joel kills just for the sake of it. Whether or not that idea is true is up to you to interpret for yourself, but to Scott it’s true. Joel is more of a wildfire that needs to be put out than a rival.

Let’s look at Joel’s side of things. He does hate Scott and target him for no reason. The rivalry is one sided, where Joel sees a rival Scott sees some random danger that needs to be dealt with. I can’t tell you why Joel hates Scott. It’s not really the point of my analysis. I’ve seen ppl say it’s because of previous series they’ve had together (they’ve been rivals for ages!) but for my headcanons they don’t remember those, tho very few feelings from their past lives may linger, so perhaps that does explain it. For the sake of my analysis though we won’t be looking deep into why Joel likes to poke at Scott. It’s cuz he looked at him funny one day remember?

So we establish that Joel needlessly attacks Scott. But if you’ll notice from my summaries, he is fully willing to put aside that hatred. It’s conditional (yes it is the default, but still). If Scott treats Joel kindly, Joel will attempt to reciprocate it. Let’s look at this again:

3L: Joel targets Scott, Scott kind of just gives him a disapproving look every time and doesn’t fight back. Joel ends up feeling somewhat guilty, and in the end has no problems teaming up with Scott.

LL: Scott was the main cause of Joel turning red, Joel targets him constantly. Scott ends up permanently killing Joel to put an end to his madness.

DL: erm. Well it’s worth mentioning Joel never specifically targeted Scott for no reason. ALSO WORTH MENTIONING SCOTT BURNED THE RELATION??? This season was a bit of a switch-up. I need to rewatch to see if Scott had any good reason to do that lmao I don’t really remember, I hardly remembered he was responsible.

LimL: Scott deems Joel to be a server menace who needs to die, Joel (who doesn’t really understand why he needs to die) tries negotiating many times but Scott insists. He kills Joel.

SL: Joel gets task to target Scott, is thrilled. He fails miserably, losing people he cares about in the process. Vows to kill Scott, it’s like his main goal now. Still accepts every peace offering from Scott with little to no hesitation, to the point of eventually teaming with him until they’re forced to go against each other and Scott kills Joel again.

So basically you can see, every time Scott does something to wrong Joel, Joel goes hard on the rivalry, while if he doesn’t and offers peace, Joel will lay off. Secret Life was a weird middle ground, where Scott had done things to wrong Joel, however those things weren’t entirely his fault so when he offered peace to Joel, Joel would still accept. A confusing time for Joel I’m sure.

I will say a disclaimer here, I’m not saying Scott shouldn’t ever fight back against Joel. If he’s targeting you for no reason, it’s your decision if you’ll try to befriend him to make him stop or fight back. I support fighting back. I’m just saying that befriending him is a proven method to work, but I don’t think Scott has exactly noticed that and instead just assumes that Joel will stop at nothing to end him.

Another thing I wanted to talk about but forgot what the natural and intuitive transition into it was gonna be. Scott has permakilled Joel 3 times. Joel has permakilled Scott 0 times.

Joel had started the series off picking on Scott for no reason, and has never succeeded. Scott has won this battle three times. At this point, it’s honestly finally somewhat justified for Joel to come after Scott. That guy has specifically targeted and hunted him out of 2 seasons, and took him out of a 3rd as well. Joel has taken Scott out of 0. At this point, I feel like Joel needs that closure, to finally kill Scott, and who knows if he’ll ever get it. If you look at the fandom, even fans are hoping Joel will kill Scott because of this. So imagine how Joel feels! But obviously Scott wouldn’t just let him (okay. Well. Actually. It’s Scott. He kind of lets people do that all the time. But only allies…). Scott will be waiting for Joel to target him once more, and deal with it the way he always does. But who knows if it’ll turn out different?

Which reminds me that I pinpoint SL as the season Scott finally notices this “one sided rivalry”. We all know Scott loves drama, so when he finally noticed Joel had been hating him the whole time, he kept bringing it up. And it wasn’t just for SL only, he brought it up the moment he saw Joel in RL. I don’t count RL as canon but it does prove that Scott hasn’t let go of the rivalry now that he’s finally realized it. I don’t know if there will be a 6th season, but if so I wouldn’t be surprised if Scott brings up the rivalry. Idk if he would make it a big deal, but he would surely at least mention it.

Anyways, if you think I’m done with my little analysis, you’re wrong!!! I’m done with the things I see as pretty factual, but now we’re gonna get into more fanon headcanony type of territory!!!

…but, maybe I’ll make that its own post. Stay tuned and thanks for reading!

#trafficblr #life series #traffic analysis #< is that for this fandom or like. real life traffic. lmk #life series scott #life series joel #secret life spoilers #limited life spoilers #double life spoilers #last life spoilers #3rd life spoilers #ALSO WARNING THIS IS SOSO LONG IT TOOK OVER AN HOUR HELPPP

[whatsaudreythinkingabout]

spto coming out has been such a surreal experience bc before it came out i was like. the one roxie kinnie (at least as far as i was aware, i’m not doubting that there were more out there) & now she has like a million stans and half of me is like “FINALLY other people who understand her the way i do” and the other half is like “i liked her before it was cool. my blorbo. mine.”

#this isn’t meant to be taken that seriously ofc #i hope this doesn’t come off as like. pretentious or gatekeepy or anything #it’s just weird when you have a character you identify with so strongly that suddenly becomes popular after years of being underrated #and you’re torn between enjoying their newfound popularity w others & missing having them all to yourself #i’m so unbelievably happy that the show gave her the character development she deserved #and that she’s becoming more people’s favorite #and that we’re getting more fan content of her bc i was STARVED #and i’ll give my more detailed thoughts in a separate post #but also never forget I WAS THE FIRST #i am the self-appointed CEO for a reason #some details i actually predicted in my own HCs #(many of which i haven’t even posted here yet) #& i’m SHOCKED that so many of my own thoughts on her ended up coming true #scott pilgrim #scott pilgrim takes off #scott pilgrim vs the world #roxie richter #roxy richter #audrey thoughts

[hairenya]

One of my colleagues and I are fighting (because she’s a bitch) and she framed it as wanting to be concerned with my teaching abilities which is hilarious because the student body absolutely adores me and hates her. Like motherfucker I am the Princess Diana of this middle school I will end your entire existence do not fuck with me.

#jlktalks. #she just bought a house and I don’t have any bills so like #the consequences of her getting in trouble are much more severe than mine lmao #old ass bitch with her Kurt Geiger bag like I don’t own Versace purses #this is me calmed down a Xanax and several hours later btw #I was 100% going to fight and her and even asked the SRO if he wanted to come watch #he said yeah btw but her pussy ass never showed up to ‘have a discussion with me’ #she’s mad because she made the kids sing happy birthday to her and wrote up those that didn’t #and I told them she couldn’t actually do that #and then she said it wasn’t the first time she had heard about her name being mentioned negatively in my class #like bitch I wasn’t trashing you but I’m sure af gonna start now #she’s also mad I told them they had a constitutional right not to stand for the pledge of allegiance #shout-out to my mentor for talking me out of telling her I don’t like her #she said it looks like I was taking their side like yeah bitch cause I am?? #the current advice from my mentor is to avoid her (I’m great at that I once went a year without talking to a teacher as TA) #(​like in her class everyday) and to say ‘we’ll have to agree to disagree’ if she says something #also shoutout to my new mentor he’s so sweet and so kind and gives such good advice and it actually works because I listen to him #the only reason I listen to him is that I have a crush on his married ass and I am nothing if not a sub #but hey whatever works #rant #adventures in teaching #‘I’m old school’ nah bitch you just old #she was talking too about how she had been in good spirits prior to all this #like I hope I ruined her birthday and I’m lowkey thinking about putting a spider in her room if I can catch one without freaking out #but she’d probably kill it which isn’t fair to the spider #she just got actual braces at 40 like you can’t afford actual invisaligners and you’re gonna try and tell me what to do???

[minakoainosupremacy]

I’m sad, I’ve had a bunch of fun cool ideas sitting in the back of my head since like new years which I wanted to use for rare pair week, but like life has been kicking my ass so I didn’t have time to even start anything and now it’s over :( guess they will just keep living in my head until next year

#this is if I’m also not dying next year… which is unlikely #don’t do what I do. don’t work full time and do school full time. especially when you’re doing a dual graduate degree program. I’m in hell #brain screams #it especially makes me sad cause when I started writing fics in the summer it made me SO happy to be writing again!!! #especially about sailor moon!!! one of my special intrests and fav shows of all time!! it makes my brain SO HAPPY!!! #as I keep telling myself - just cause I don’t make these things now doesn’t mean I can do them in the future. my ideas will still be there #I can write the fics I want and finish the YouRube videos I’ve started. I can make silly little doodles and comics and short animations #I can take my Venus plus on hikes and exploring and to wonderful places!! we can go to museums and cafes and concerts!! #we can go to the ocean and climb mountains and get lost in the forest and get muddy and wet and cold and sit by campfires and climb on logs #I can take my not fully fleshed out idea of using her and my other plushes to make a sort of live action stop motion skit video!! #I want to be creative and free and have fun and live my life and pursue my passions!! #but rn… all i do is work. work and homework and class and homework. until I’m so fatigued I can’t walk and I can’t sleep and I can’t think #to be real watching the anime and having the codename: sailor v and stars arc of the manga is like one of the few things getting me through #when I’m so tired I can’t think I have those as comforts so I’m not sitting on the couch wanting to die #I find so much comfort in existing in the space of this fictional universe and I draw strength from the characters #like sailor moon helping me get through some of the hardest fucking shit I’ve ever done in my life. and helping me remember to love myself #also lowkey helping me fight off my depression and ed and substance abuse issues #I just both get so much joy and comfort from this space but also I feel I owe it so much gratitude for kinda helping me from crumbling #I want to also contribute to this space cause it gives me joy to do so and cause i want to give back and contribute to others joy as well #like it’s a combo of I love this and want to and also as a form of gratitude i want to and also to help others experience joy I want to #but… I don’t have the time or energy now. and if my life keeps going on like this. will I ever? I’ve never let myself slow down. #idk if I ever will :( oh well

[apathyfairy]

christmas is officially over which means i have 364 days to get a life and get too busy to go to family christmas or come up with a really good excuse to never see these people again

#gee how was everyones christmas #my uncle tried to convince everyone that that story r*publicans tell about the furry kid getting to use a litter box #at the school bathroom was true. bc he heard it on j*e r*gan. so of course it’s true #then an entire conversation about pronouns ensued. #they leave tomorrow i literally don’t know if i’ll make it. i’ve been hiding in my room all day bc i have a pounding headache #and also i have my period then i have to listen to that on top of it all. if 2023 isnt looking drastically different by february #i’m killing myself for real #on top of all that too there are 6 of us sharing 1 bathroom and one of my cousins doesn’t wash his hands or flush the toilet so everytime #someone goes in there /i/ have to go in after and sanitize everything like. i’ve never been so happy christmas is over. #also that same cousin is sick bc he’s been coughing for the last 2 days and also leaves his snot tissues uncovered in the trash can and yes #it’s green tmi i know but that means bacteria if i’m not mistaken and anyway i’m so tired of it i am so tired of them i’m just laying low #until they leave. i hate it. #oh! and then i had two computer monitors that my mom gave me bc her job let her keep them when they gave her new ones #and i was like sweet now when i move and finally have space i can have a setup with two monitors bc she. gave. them. to me. #anyway last night my cousin started using her monitor. without asking. and she was like oh ok. .. but u can use these and also u can #take one of them with you when you leave! like what the fuck fr when u gave them to me #and yeah that completely sounds like first world problems i know but it’s like. don’t give things to people…and then…give them….. #away…….. #anyway. going back ot my original life plan of marrying rich and dying young and never seeing these people again.

[animationismycomfort]

I hate them so much I swear to god

(waste of material honestly)

#ah yes let’s reward the idgash if it’s yours I’m taking it manipulative kidnapper by giving her exactly what she wanted #BETTER YET let’s give her a happy ending while we’re at it #the fact they reward her when she manipulates both woody and forky into giving her what she wants is disgusting #also gabby just gives off such creep vibes whe. it comes to her and forky and it makes me so uncomfortable #she just gives off creep vibes overall to both woody and forky and it’s so gross #and Bo #god bo #where to start……oh I know! #she just acts like she’s better then everyone because she’s “different“ and I hate it #I despise those types of female chracters so much #especially when they look down upon their love interest #or just other characters in general #ah yes let’s yell and look down upon our partners views and choices because to you it’s stupid #and yes let’s publicly talk sh-t about said person to everyone because that’s what you do to someone you lvoe definitely #ah yes let me get mad at you for believing in something that I don’t mhm cause that’s what you do to your partner #and let’s turn their back on them when they need us and get mad at them for making you help WHEN YOU VOLUNTEERED TO HELP #and you could’ve left at any moment but ok yea that’s his fault #picture perfect healthy relationship #love it #this is why I hate most couples in media #just all in all horrible honestly #if you don’t see it that way that’s fine but to me it’s just so gross with the way they hadnled these characters #plain disgusting #rant #loooong rant #I hate Toy Story 4 with a passion #I’m not sorry I’m done lying about being in the middle it sucks good day #idk if I’ll ever rewatch this movie but if I do and my opinions change ill let y’all know #for now take my Toy Story 4 sh-t on #my stuffy stuff

[munamania]

sorry bitterness consumes the soul etc etc <33 i will say though. depending on what is going through her head this could all be really fucking cruel lmfao

#like. alright. idk if she Knows i have feelings for her but given the whole blocked stories thing and whatever like. who knows #what bf said. and whether she is or was at any point genuinely confused or something because she does like him but we. hit it off. and it #was all just a Lot. like that doesn’t give the excuse for the times when it felt like she was sorta.. leading me on. yk. though maybe i was #truly delusional and stupid last semester i don’t know. maybe she just also enjoys talking to me on a friendly level and that’s fine and all #but it’d be really weird if she like. also refuses to acknowledge me outside of class? or anything like that.. #or like. basically was just using me to stroke her ego in that sense if she does Know. like that would be shitty #would i like to be friends sure do i think this would absolutely crush my soul probably. #and i’d like to say ohh i don’t think she’s doing xy or z but i truly don’t know her. you know. beyond the little bits #of time we’ve had to talk about our lives and whatever #and anyway. it is stupid that i’ve spent so long trying to guess at what’s on her mind cause i’ll never know unless you know. #we’re ever close enough that we can talk about it or. whatever. #so. i definitely think when i see her again i’m going to take any chance i can to say something about last semester. um yk. in a way that #makes sense i’m not just insane. though i do hope that i can subtly make boyfriend seem really paranoid and weird. sorry. lol. but he was! #honestly if i were hitting on her or trying to make a move i’d understand him being like that but i was polite and friendly #so he has no business getting involved in my personal feelings! yeah i #don’t like him yeah i have feelings for his gf but you get what i mean i’m not. Trying to be an asshole here. #do i wish they’d break up? if she’s not happy. but am i going to like literally be a homewrecker? obviously not again who knows #if i even have the sway to. SORRY i’m being soooo insane one thing about me i can talk about a topic #a million times. anyway. #i just hope it’s not insane emotional manipulation or anything on anyones part i don’t know. #we have a really easy banter so i think it’ll be easy enough to talk to her and then hopefully. have a little bit more clarity as to where #we stand. yk. #abby talks #might delete this later if i decide i’m being a little tooooo 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 #i guess what i’m trying to say is. because this isn’t all the clear and obviously it’d be fine if we’re just friends. but the way we #interact is a little. idk. like we tease each other a lot and it’s like girl idk u tho… i’m having fun but huh?