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livsoulsecrets · 3 months

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Fire/Dynamite Fic - You saw me start to believe for the first time

Summary:

An alternative take at Fire and Dynamite’s relationship after the end of episode 7: Fire goes after Dy sooner.

“When he woke up half naked only to find out he had made a complete fool out of himself – in Dy’s own words, he lashed out. He lied and denied everything because that was all he ever learned to do with his own feelings.

And the worst of it was that Dynamite listened.”

Read on AO3.

Fire was used to being told what to do.

The first clear memory he had of his childhood was of his fifth birthday.

His mother had picked the cake flavor, the decorations, and the balloons. He had asked for a Spider-Man figurine as a gift, but she had waved it off as silly. Fire had begged her time after time to invite over his friends from school, but only family members were in attendance.

Kids make too much of a mess, she told him in a condescending tone. All he had heard was that he was too much of a mess for his opinion to mean anything at all.

His whole life felt like a replay of that faithful birthday party.

His mom chose which sports he’d play in high school and who he was allowed to be friends with. She decided he’d go to med school and that he needed to live at home for the first few years.

His mother had already settled his future many years ago, even before he was born. He’d grow up to be a respectable doctor, marry a respectable woman, and have some respectable kids that would visit their grandmother every Sunday.

Half the time, he could convince himself it was for the better, that this made-up version of him was worth much more than whatever lay beneath it all.

The other half, he didn’t even know if there was a difference between the two.

The one thing Fire felt he was actually good at was lying.

He had perfected it like an art over the years. At thirteen, he had plotted a fake study meeting at his best friend’s house so he could attend his birthday party without his mom obsessing over every detail. At sixteen, he knew how to tell when his mother was in deep sleep, so he could sneak out to see his friends. At eighteen, he had learned to climb through his bedroom window in order not to get caught.

All that effort just to steal away moments of freedom was draining, but Fire could handle it most of the time. He had even grown comfortable in it, protected underneath all the walls he built.

It had been better when he got into college, put some distance between him and his mother’s control, and met Metha and Ten. He thought it would only get easier. There would always be the shadow of his family’s expectations hanging over his life, but he’d have some room to breathe. He’d graduate, have his own money, get married, build a family, maybe even have kids that weren’t terrified of him.

Fire held on to that plan with all he had, and it seemed perfect on paper. Med school was on that plan, girls like Jane and friends like Ten and Metha were as well.

Dynamite wasn’t.

For he was neither a girl nor respectable.

Dynamite was impulsive and inappropriate, genuine and hilarious. He drove Fire mad with his flirting and innuendos and his refusal to be anything other than himself.

It was no surprise he couldn’t stand him at first. Dynamite was free in all the ways Fire could only ever dream of being. He lived on his own, he laughed as loud as he pleased and befriended whoever he wanted to. He was smart underneath his nonchalant demeanor, but he was also intelligent in the traditional way – he wouldn’t have skipped a year in school otherwise.

For the love of him, Fire couldn’t tell when annoyance had shifted into curiosity and interest, and then, so God help him, fondness.

Metha saw it, and so did Jane. Dynamite himself seemed to know, but Fire was a creature of habit.

When he woke up half naked only to find out he had made a complete fool out of himself – in Dy’s own words, he lashed out. He lied and denied everything because that was all he ever learned to do with his own feelings.

And the worst of it was that Dynamite listened.

He disappeared completely from Fire’s life. He couldn’t even steal glances at him anymore. It was like Dy had never existed at all, like they had never met, and their lives had never intertwined.

Fire was always good at lying, yes, but he had never come so close to something true, only to give it up. It proved more painful this time, more than any other.

He had tried to put it into words when Mehta cornered him to ask why he was so miserable, but nothing Fire said made sense.

There was only one way to put an end to his misery. He needed to see Dy again. He needed to-

Tell him the truth? Which version of it? Did Fire himself even know what that was?

The questions remained unanswered for the days it took Fire to track Dynamite down on their campus.

Fire learned his schedule after enlisting Metha’s help in following Dy around. He was not proud of himself for the breach of privacy, but he figured Dy of all people would understand his desperation.

That was how he found himself lurking behind a potted fern as Dy said goodbye to his classmates in front of the culinary’s faculty.

The irony was not lost on him: after the lengths he went to in order to get rid of Dy’s lurking, there he was, relented to the same position, desperate to catch Dy’s eye.

There was no time to hesitate, though. When Dy walked away from his friends to enter the building, Fire forced himself to leave his hiding spot to follow him.

Dy navigated through the halls with ease, his fingers tapping against his leg and his face relaxed. When he turned right and entered a desert hallway, Fire seized his chance.

He exhaled deeply and rushed closer to him.

“Dynamite,” he called out.

The boy turned around, his face paling considerably when his eyes landed on Fire.

“Can we talk, please?”

Dynamite remained still for long seconds – that Fire could have sworn stretched into hours.

Then he had the audacity to laugh. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Fire flinched. “Please, I just need to-”

“Oh, you need something? So, I just drop everything and rush to help?” Dy echoed, his tone vicious. “You know what, Fire? I’m done here.”

Dynamite turned on his heels and began to walk away.

Overcome by some instinct he couldn’t possibly name, Fire rushed forward and blocked his way.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he spat out before the courage slipped away from him. “I know you didn’t lie that day. I said and did all those things. I called you there. I asked you to stay.”

Dy’s face was bright red when he replied, “I know that, dumbass. I was there. You were the one in denial. Is that all? Can you let me go now?”

Fire shook his head immediately. “No. It’s not just that.”

Dy rolled his eyes, none of his usual nonchalance present now. “I’m sure you have better things to do than talking to me. Why don’t you go back to Jane and leave me alone?”

“What does Jane have to do with this?” Fire nearly screamed. He was too frustrated now to be reasonable.

“She’s your girlfriend, for fuck’s sake!” Dy jabbed at his chest in fury, and his other hand tightened around his backpack’s strap.

“She’s not!” Fire denied, grabbing his hand, “We’re not back together.”

That gave Dynamite pause. “What? I saw you in the market and…”

“We’re just friends,” Fire interrupted, “not even that anymore, I think. Her girlfriend doesn’t like it.”

Dy’s eyebrows shot up so high it would have been comical in any other situation. “Jane has a girlfriend?”

“That’s not important right now,” Fire exasperated.

“It sounds pretty important to me,” Dynamite fired back.

“I’m not here to talk about Jane,” he laced his fingers around Dy’s wrist, praying to whatever God was listening that he didn’t ruin everything again.

“What are you here to talk about, then?” The annoyance hadn’t left his tone yet, but Fire had to trample down the treacherous hope blooming inside his chest at the fondness he heard mixed with it.

“I’m here to tell you that…” he started, suddenly distracted by the softness of Dy’s skin under his fingers and the shape of his mouth as it moved around his words. He swallowed dryly. “I meant what I said that night. I didn’t want you to look away from me in the market. I didn’t want you to ignore me, even when I asked you to leave me alone.”

Dy’s jaw clenched. “Is this some ego boost to you? Jane dumped you, so now you want me to keep chasing you so you can feel better?”

He retreated his wrist with a hard pull, but Fire didn’t let him go far.

“That’s not it!”

“Then, what the hell is it?” Dy shouted back, and Fire saw tears welling up in his eyes.

It all came to him rather quickly after that.

He realized that hurting Dy felt a hundred times worse than disappointing his mother or abandoning her plans for him.

Being a good son would mean turning his back on Dynamite and the fire he ignited within him.

He had been good for so long. Right now, he just wanted to be honest.

Resolve settled deep in his heart. He’d tell Dy all he had kept secured before. He’d bare his soul for him and allow Dynamite to judge whether it was worth his time or not.

There was no one telling him what to do now. It was terrifying, but Fire pushed through the paralyzing fear to try and fix what he had broken.

“I want you to care. I want you to care about what I’m doing and who I’m doing it with. I want you to drive me crazy with your questions and your rambling.”

He gulped some air, stilling himself for how irreversible that moment would be.

“I want you, Dy,” he murmured. “I just want you.”

He grabbed Dynamite’s face with both hands and kissed him.

It was nothing like those passion-filled kisses he saw in movies. He was pretty sure he had knocked his nose too hard against Dy’s. There were not butterflies in his stomach, just a sureness spreading through his body that Fire had never felt before.

He had barely processed that knowledge when the magnitude of that situation dawned on him. Fire pulled away just as quickly as he had pulled Dy into him.

“Sorry! I shouldn’t have just kissed you like that. I didn’t even ask you. I spent so many days thinking of what I was going to say, and I fucked everything up,” he rambled, desperate. He backed himself into the opposite wall from where Dy stood.

Dy hadn’t moved yet, and he was eerily quiet – both features that didn’t fit him at all. He brought two fingers to touch his lips and stared at Fire in disbelief.

“Did you mean it?”

Dy’s voice was small and contained, with just a hint of hope that fired up his insides.

“All of it,” Fire confirmed, biting into his lip to stop himself from moving towards Dy again.

It had to come from him this time.

He had to make the call. Fire needed to know if Dy was willing to put up with his messes. He wouldn’t force it upon him, not again.

Dynamite dropped his backpack to the floor and rushed forward. Fire felt his feet moving of their own accord and they met somewhere in the middle.

Dynamite threw his arms around Fire’s neck and kissed him properly. He had to lace an arm around Dy’s waist so his knees didn’t give in. He was lucky there was a wall under his back, or Fire was sure he’d have made an even bigger fool out of himself.

He ran his other hand through Dynamite’s hair, mesmerized by the softness of the strands. Late at night, when he was already in bed, he had allowed himself to wonder what this would feel like.

His imagination had nothing on the real thing, though. When Fire scrapped his nails against Dy’s scalp, the other boy whimpered against his mouth.

“You’re so beautiful,” the words spilled out, unrelenting in their honesty after so many months of denial.

Dy’s ears burned red, and he hid his face in Fire’s neck. “Shut up.”

“You really are. You sound so-”

Dynamite pressed a kiss on his neck, and his mind forgot any words he had been about to say. He had to place all his focus on getting his mouth to work again.

“I need you to know,” he tried again, determined to ensure Dy believed him completely.

This time, the menace bit into his collarbone. “Dynamite,” he mumbled, trying to reprimand him, but his voice sounded pleading, and his back arched involuntarily.

Dy lifted his face from his hideout, smiling the troublemaker grin that had haunted Fire’s mind for days after his failed date with Jane.

“I believe you, moron.”

“You do?” Fire exhaled in relief, resting his forehead against Dy’s.

He kissed Fire in lieu of an answer – a quick brush of their lips against each other – but it was enough to allow all the tension of the last few days to leave Fire’s body.

“I’m really sorry,” he said again.

“I know,” Dy answered, still smiling broadly, “but I forgive you. Better late than never, huh?”

He chuckled, and Fire watched in awe. “I thought I was too late.”

“You were just in time, Firefy,” Dy laughed, caressing his cheek with his knuckles.

Fire brought Dy’s hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to it.

Dy tilted his head and frowned. “Actually, how did you know where to find me?”

Fire released his hand very slowly and tried to search his brain for a reasonable answer. “I was just walking by,” he said, but the sentence sounded too much like a question, even to his own ears.

Dy lifted an eyebrow and said, “Really? So far away from the Med school building? Exactly when I had just finished a lecture?”

“Yes?” He tried again.

“Fire,” Dy bent forward, which only made Fire more nervous. “Did you follow me?”

“No!” He denied away too quickly, and Dynamite let out a victorious screech.

“You totally did!”

His shoulders slumped down in defeat. “Maybe a little?”

“I can’t believe it!” Dy exclaimed, far too entertained by his despair. “All that talk about privacy and boundaries, only for you to do the same.”

“I was desperate, okay? I couldn’t find you anywhere.”

“I know the feeling.” Dy wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Fire groaned and shoved Dy playfully on the shoulder. It only made him laugh harder.

“You’re so annoying!”

“Yes,” Dy agreed, “and you like it.”

All the fight flew from his body. He traced the curve of Dynamite’s chin with the tips of his fingers and said, “I like you.”

Dy pressed a kiss to the back of his hand. “I like you too.”

“I’m sorry it took me so long to admit it. I was so scared,” said Fire.

He feared he’d find more hurt in Dy’s gaze when he said those words, but there was just openness and understanding mirrored in his eyes.

“It’s hard to explain, but I’m not used to feeling so much. I can handle lying to my mom when I sneak out for a party or a date. I’m good at finding time for my friends and to play tennis.”

For the first time since he laid eyes on Dy this morning, Fire felt like he actually knew what he was doing. The words kept pouring out of his mouth, but now he knew they were truthful. There was no risk of saying the wrong thing because this was for Dynamite’s ears only.

He had said and done much worse, and yet he was only ever met with Dynamite’s honesty and kindness in return.

“I’m not good at wanting things too badly. Or fighting for them. It was so easy before,” he confessed, and the sight of Dy was a canvas of possibilities he had never dared to paint before.

“It was so easy before I met you. I didn’t know what to do with what you made me feel, so I pushed it away.”

Dy’s hand found its way to his neck, landing there as a comforting weight.

“And why did you change your mind?”

“You know why.”

“I want to hear it,” Dy insisted, titling his chin up.

Fire relented, “I missed you too much.”

Dy smiled, satisfied. “It’s okay. We’ll talk more later, but we’re fine. Just hold me, will you?”

He was nodding before Dy finished talking. He pulled him against his chest and kissed the top of his head.

“You can want things for yourself, Firefy. You deserve it,” Dy told him.

And Fire finally believed in it.

#firedynamite #cooking crush #cooking crush the series #fire x dynamite #my fics #Thai bl #Thai bl series #Thai bl fic #firedynamite fic

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gamerswift13 · 10 months

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Mrs Maisel Musings!

Kia ora, friends!

Alright, here it is folks, the moment maybe some, maybe none of you have been waiting for: my thoughts on the The Marvellous Mrs Maisel final season. I did it, I finally got it done. I think the reason it took me so long, aside from previously mentioned mental health issues, is that writing stuff like this for five hundred and sixteen minutes of television is hard! It’s really hard. I would love to hear what you all think of this, and if you want to discuss what I’ve written here, or even just about the show or season in general, please hit me up! I would love to talk about it with you.

Now enough with the delays and the stalling - please enjoy my review (??) of The Marvellous Mrs Maisel season 5, the final season.

So, I really liked the first few seasons of The Marvellous Mrs Maisel. Even though it’s a bit cheesy and dopey at times. Rachel Brosnahan is a joy to watch on-screen, and a lot of the other actors here do a really great job with the script they were given... such as it is. On a recent rewatch, though, I started to see the strings a little bit - things that I liked the first time around just didn��t quite hit the same. I got through most of it, all the important parts, and then I started the new season. It’s been a couple weeks or so since I finished it, and I’m not as down on it now as I was when I started, but y’all, I am about to have some opinions.

This the final Mrs Maisel season really feels like creator Amy Sherman-Palladino probably wanted to do at least one more season after this, but someone at Jeff’s Website Studios said no, so she simply decided to burn the show to the ground.

Now as I wrote in the subtitle, I am about to spoil things here, so this is your final warning: if you don’t want to be spoiled for season five of The Marvellous Mrs Maisel, get out now.

Also: foul language ahead! 🤬

The entire point of this season seems to be leaning into how much of a piece of shit Miriam Weissman is. We get glimpses of her in “current day” 1962 juxtaposed with scenes set in 1972 and 1982, and a couple of other random years, where we skip around and see all sorts of wild stuff - Midge is rich and famous, her kids Ethan and Esther are all grown up, Joel is in prison, and there are some bonkers and hilariously bad facial prosthetics.

Now, aside from the hilariously stupid idea that Midge as a stand-up comic somehow got insanely rich, there are some cool ideas here. The first episode opens with Esther in a psychiatrists office in 1981, searching through a backpack for something and seeming very annoyed. On first watch, I didn’t like that this is something that’s shown at all, but the more I thought about it the more I warmed to the idea. In previous seasons, The Marvellous Mrs Maisel has at times made a point of showing Midge being a terrible and/or absent mother, usually for comedic effect, but I think it’s interesting that they took this idea and bore it out, to show that mid-20’s Midge’s actions had consequences. In a later episode we also see Ethan as an adult, with Midge annoyingly landing in a helicopter nearby and upsetting everyone - this wasn’t as interesting to me, but it was still a good glimpse into how little regard Midge appears to have for anyone but herself, Joel, Susie, or Lenny Bruce.

Speaking of Lenny Bruce, I want to talk about his appearances in the final season. If you know anything about him from real life, you might know how his life ended, and where. The very first episode of season five has Midge bumping into him randomly at the airport when he is about to board a plane to Los Angeles. This made me so. Fucking. Mad. IRL Lenny Bruce was found dead in his home in Hollywood Hills in 1966, which lead me to believe that the very last time Midge will ever see him was this scene at the airport. Midge walks away from the interaction with Lenny with a strange look on her face, as if she somehow knows that this will be the last time she ever sees him alive, and it is my humble opinion that that fucking sucks. Lenny Bruce is one of the best characters on this show, with a ton of great appearances and lines and jokes, and Luke Kirby does a phenomenal job of capturing the real Lenny’s energy - it’s not 1:1, but it’s a great depiction, and I simply cannot believe Amy S-P would do my boy like this. The only other time we see Lenny in this season is years later, performing in front of a fairly disinterested crowd as he mumbles and rambles about this thing and that, and it’s so fucking depressing. This season, the show never outright mentions his drug use, but it’s heavily implied, and there’s a moment in a back room where he is talking to Susie and appears to be unable to stand up. On the one hand, I’m kind of pleased that they didn’t depict his death at all, but it really bothered me that these two scenes were all we got of him before the show stops referencing him at all.

The part of this season that really shines the most to me is a scene from episode eight, with Abe in a dimly-lit restaurant with Gabe, his boss, and a couple of colleagues. The scene begins with Abe checking his coat and coming over to sit where Gabe etcetera are already seated around a table and chatting. They order some wine. There’s a cut here to a few minutes later where the wine has arrived and been poured, and Abe sits silently, swirling his drink and clearly deep in thought while the others talk amongst themselves. Eventually, Gabe interrupts Abe’s thoughts, telling him that he had been raving to the others about his conversational skills. Abe apologises. “It’s just… the whole goddamn world, you know,” he says, clearly depressed about something. “Only that?” chimes in one of the other men at the table. Then ensues a conversation about the state of the world, about progress, about gender inequality and mental health, even, which was surprising to me. This scene is heartbreaking, and might be some of the best writing in the entire series. I cried watching this scene the first time around, and again just now rewatching it. It’s really sad that Abe never got the kind of character development shown here earlier, I would have liked to see that.

Episode six is an interesting sort of experiment; beginning with Midge on stage, in 1985, talking about her relationship with Susie, it then transitions into a roast for an indifferent and grumpy Susie in 1990, which is basically a device for a bunch of famous people you’ve seen in other things to come together as characters never seen before or again and tell stories about Susie’s rise to fame as one of the biggest talent managers in the United States. Here we get an explanation for why Joel is in prison, and a bunch of seemingly randomly selected stories about what Susie has been up to since 1962. As with the portrayal of Esther in episode one, this was another thing about this season that really bothered me at first, because it felt like it lacks focus, but as I thought about it more, it started to grow on me. This collection of tales about Susie’s exploits make sense for her character, and help to define who she is.

Overall, this season really fell down for me when I realised that a lot of really interesting moments never truly pay off. We jump around a lot between different years and perspectives, and we see a lot of things that could have been great story arcs, but they simply end and are never mentioned again. I really do feel like this season was supposed to be two or more, and Jeff’s Studio said no, so Amy Sherman-Palladino lit it all on fire. I think that if hyou like this show, it might still be worth it to catch the final season, but personally I feel like it should never have been made - at least not in this form. I would much rather have seen this stretched out more, over at least one more season. It tries to give the viewer some closure in the very last scene of the very last episode, but for me it falls flat. I don’t think I’ll ever watch this again.

Thanks so much for reading! What did you think? Once again, please feel free to hit me up in the comments, on the socials, or send me an email. And as always, if you want to read more stuff by me, you can check out my Letterboxd reviews - I recently reviewed The Craft (1996), Eradication (2022), and The Sand (2015)!

I hope y’all are staying safe out there! Have a great week and I’ll talk to you again soon. Ka kite anō au i a koe. 💚

Rebecca

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neonacity · 2 years

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ARCANE : INIZIO | CH.4 | NCT DREAM X READER

Summary: When human deviants granted with the abilities of the legendary Arcana cards find themselves racing against devious forces, they are left to make a choice that might change the fate of the world itself: be the victims of the game, or become the masters of it themselves.

But will this war end with a crowned hero?

Or will it just create another mad villain?

*****

Note: This is the second book of Arcane. The happenings in this story is a prequel to the first installment which you can check in my Masterlist. Since the lore is highly dependent on the first book, I highly suggest you check it out first—otherwise, new readers might have a hard time understanding what is happening here. Expect lots of time jumps and flashbacks throughout the chapters.

Pairings: Dream 00’ Line + Mark x Reader

Trigger Warnings/Themes: romance, violence, torture, trauma, poly dynamics, suggestive themes, language, psychological, mystery, sci-fi. The concept of the tarot or Arcana cards will be loosely used throughout the series. Note that I am not a trained doctor so there may be some slips here and there about medical things. Again, this is a work of fiction and I am not implying any likeness between the characterization here of the boys to their real life counterparts. I also reserve the rights to all my work—I do not post anywhere else other than tumblr. Minors DNI. Please do not repost. I only publish my works in Tumblr.

Previously > CH. 1 | CH.2 | CH.3

[6 years ago, Rosewood Academy]

"Do you want to know what I'm thinking right now?"

The snapping sounds of thin branches breaking under heavy leather boots mixed with the buzzing hums of the forest insects. A light-haired boy of about sixteen grinned to himself as he hacked an offending stem hanging low on his face with a thicker branch he had picked up earlier. He didn't need to look around to know that the girl trudging behind him is frowning at the path they are trying to traverse, wearing that signature frown that always makes him want to tease her more. When she cursed under her breath, he tried his hardest to keep his shoulders from betraying the laugh he had been trying to hold back.

"What?" He asked casually, voice steady as if he wasn't grinning from amusement. He deftly ducked under a flowering branch of a tree before proceeding to go down the small dirt path they have been following for about half an hour now.

"Make a guess."

"Hm... That you hate how there are spiderwebs on your hair?" He proposed lightly. A slight scoff behind him answered his question.

"Spiders are not a part of my ick."

"How about inhaling three dozen insects so far?"

A pause.

"Okay, that is gross. But no. It's much worse than that."

Jaemin stopped and finally turned to face the girl behind him, his grin now in full display. She paused just in time before she crashed against him but he still easily caught her by the arm to steady her balance. His smile widened as she tried to find her footing on the rocky path, her face ducked away from him. At this distance, he could fully see how he had grown just a bit taller than her since the last time she visited the Academy.

"What's on your mind then?" He asked again as he continued to observe her with his hooded gaze. When her eyes finally found his face once more, his fingers squeezed just a little bit tighter around her elbow before he finally let her go.

"I think you're bluffing. There is no overlooking oak tree in the middle of the forest. There is no view and you’re just leading me nowhere."

His brows slightly raised in interest. "Oh? Why do you think I brought you here then, noona?"

"I don't know. Two possibilities. One, you're planning to finally murder me and bury me under the dead branches."

"Mm. And the second possibility?"

"You're trying to flirt with me."

He paused, letting her words hang in the air for a moment.

"What do you think is the answer then?"

The slight change in his tone made her stop and finally think over what she just said. From the looks of it, she just came out with her guesses out of nowhere and didn't even consider them seriously. The look of dawning realization in her eyes made Jaemin's grin slowly melt into a much more gentle smile. He watched as her lips slightly parted, already knowing the next words that would come out of them.

"Jaemin, we've already talked about this before..."

His expression didn't falter. "We did. You told me to wait. And I did."

"I didn't tell you to—look, it's just a crush. All boys your age have it."

"You're talking to me as if I'm a kid. You're only two years older than me," he said steadily, voice as calm as ever. He closely watched her now, trying to break down every emotion that quickly flitted over her features. He knew she was trying her best to hold back, but she couldn't hide anything from him, even if she tries. She can act all she wants, but he knows she also feels the same for him, even for just a little bit.

He sighed and glanced away momentarily as he thought of another approach.

"Jaemin…"

"Is it because of Mark? Do you like him?"

She frowned at his question.

"What? He's my best friend."

It wasn't a direct answer, so he pushed on. "Is there anyone you like then?"

"I am not planning to date anyone right now so stop—"

"Then one last question. Do you not like me? Is that it?"

The way she froze made it seem like he asked her such a shocking thing. To be fair to her, he couldn't really blame her reaction, especially with how forward he is being now. Though he may not have grown up with her just like Mark did, they've also known each other since they were kids. She had always been aware about his childhood admiration for her growing up, but it is only now that he had decided to stop beating around the bush and put it out there once and for all.

"Just tell me if you like me or not, noona. If you say now that you don't feel the same, then I promise, I will leave you alone."

The look on her face almost made Jaemin want to punch himself. She looked so torn that it took every fiber of his being to not reach out to her and apologize. He may be determined, but he also didn't want to be an asshole. Still, he tried his best not to to be swayed by guilt for the sake of getting an answer.

"I... li—"

The loud crash of something heavy falling to the forest floor made the two of them flinch and quickly turn towards the direction of the sound. The noise seems to have come a few meters from their current spot, but they couldn't see anything beyond a few feet thanks to the thickness of the shrubbery framing the rest of the path beyond. Jaemin immediately reached out for her hand and drew her closer to him as they tried to listen for more additional noises from the distance.

"What's beyond there?"

"A clearing. And an ancient oak tree," he answered warily. "I think we should go. It could be a wild animal."

He was about to steer her back to the way they came from when another noise split the air. This time, it sounded like a low growl that quickly intensified into a shriek. Beyond them, a flock of birds took off from the trees, disturbed by the haunting noise.

"Jaemin, that's not an animal."

"Yeah. It could be much worse. Let's go, we need to go back to Rosewood as soon as possible," he said, his jaw tight as he tried to steer her urgently with a hand in the middle of her back. She barely budged, however, her head still turned towards the distance beyond.

"No, I think we should check what it is."

His eyes widened at her words. "What? You heard it. That is no animal or human. I'm not walking there to get the both of us killed!"

"Exactly. Whatever that is, it's something different. The grounds are shrouded by a protection shield, right? No regular human or supernatural can breach this area unless—"

Jaemin stopped dead in his tracks as he realized what she was trying to say. He turned to look at her and she slightly raised her brows at him in return.

"...They are related to the Arcana," she finished. It took him a while to finally react to that, unsure of what to feel about about the situation. Finally, he sighed in resignation.

"One look. If we see something weird there, I am whisking the two of us away from here, okay?"

The thankful smile she gave him only took a slight edge of the nervousness spreading in his chest. Swallowing, he stepped forward again to tread back towards the source of the sound, his fingers wrapping around the stick he had been using to clear their way earlier. He is convinced that flimsy excuse of a 'weapon' will do nothing against whatever beast they were about to face, but there is also no way he would go down without a fight today.

Fortunately and unfortunately, the walk back felt shorter and they soon enough reached the edge of the forest trail. He slightly turned towards her now and pressed a finger to his lips before nudging his head towards the view beyond. If they're going to be walking straight into danger, they should at least see from the distance what they will be up against.

It was the middle of the afternoon and the sun was just in the right place in the sky to bathe the view that stretched beyond them. Unlike the thick shrubberies they walked through, the clearing beyond was vast, dropping off into a slope where the rest of the thicker part of the forest stretched. It looked like an oasis in a sea of green, mostly bare with trees except for the lone oak tree that stood on its pinnacle. It was majestic and regal with its old age, with branches that spread wide and hung low to ground. Jaemin peered between the leaves of the bushes that covered them now, searching for anything out of place.

The next seconds that passed were choking. Everything was so quiet that it almost made him think that they simply imagined what they heard earlier. He was on the verge of speaking again when another round of ripping screams tore the silence of the surroundings, followed by a sight that made him flinch back in shock. A burst of black void burst straight out of nowhere in front of the oak tree, like a rip from an entirely different dimension. Coming out from the depth of its void are what looked like half a dozen of black, clawed limbs grasping and reaching out as if they were trying to escape. Screeches filled the air again so loudly that they clapped their hands over their ears to block off the hellish sound.

As soon as it stopped, Jaemin snapped and grabbed the girl beside him by the arm again. Without looking back, he hauled her off from her crouch and started dragging her back to the pathway.

"We need to run! Let's go!"

"Jaemin, wait—"

"Noona, this is not a joke—!"

"There's a boy! There's a boy there, we need to help him!"

Everything that happened next came too fast for him. He only stopped for a few seconds in confusion to what she just said, but it was enough for her to struggle out of his grasp and run straight to the clearing. The next moments were a blur of sounds and colors. He realized too late that he was also running, breaking through the edge of the forest as he tried to catch up. The screaming of the monsters grew louder as he ran straight to the middle of chaos, but he temporarily forgot them when he found her again, now kneeling next to a black haired boy propped up against the bark of the oak tree. She looked like she was trying to speak to him, but he seemed unresponsive, despite his eyes staring wide open in fear at the gaping hole and the monstrous limbs trying to reach out to him. It took him a chilling moment to realize what made the other's face look strange. When it did, it was like time snapped back to him again and he could hear the howls of the beasts once more.

The boy's eyes, similar to the dark hole and the creatures inside, were pure black.

"Jaemin! He needs our help!"

Her voice was the one that finally dragged him out of his frozen state. Blinking, he ran towards the two and immediately kneeled on the other side of the stranger.

"His abilities are out of his control! He's the one summoning those monsters!"

"What?! But what should we—"

"You need to calm him down! He needs to let me in so I can do something!"

The look of fear and doubt that registered on his face as soon she said that must have been so obvious because she quickly reached out to him and gave his hand a comforting but urgent squeeze. The truth is that Jaemin has never truly used his abilities on anyone yet, more so for this kind of situation. The prospect of it scared him, probably even more so than those hellish creatures.

"Hey. Jaemin. You can do it. I know you can. Just try."

He gave her one last look before he tried to rein himself in. He was terrified, but it wasn't like he has any other given the urgency of the situation. Gritting his teeth, he turned to the boy now and clutched his shoulder tightly to try and get his attention. From his peripheral vision, he saw her grab the stranger's hand as well, her fingers growing white from the intensity of her hold. Not even a few seconds passed when a faint white light started to glow around their linked palms. Jaemin felt goosebumps rise to his arms as he felt a current run down from the boy right straight at him.

"He's trying to resist. He needs to calm down more," she said, her tone sounding thin and stressed. The strain in her voice made him dig his nails harder against the stranger’s shoulder. It worked slightly as the other boy turned his head to look at him.

"Listen. You need to stop. Do it slowly. Your heartbeat's slowing down at this moment. You can do it," he said, his voice low and clear despite the hellish sounds of the shadow beasts filling the air. It was slight, but the boy in question slightly tilted his head in response, his black irises staring into his own.

"You can do it. Your pulse is getting better, see?"

Just as he said it, he subtly pressed his thumb against the other's neck to feel his pulse. It fluttered against his hold like the wings of a terrified bird, but it also started to slow down a little as soon as the words left him. Quickly, his eyes shot to the girl's hands still clutching the other. The light there has grown a little brighter... Stronger.

"Just a little bit more…" she whispered from the other side. Jaemin looked at her briefly, noting how pale she had become. Beyond them, the hole started becoming smaller, as if it was a cut that was slowly being sewn shut by the seams.

"Let her take over," he said, causing the stranger to blink his eyes at him. A headache was already starting to build at the back of his head, but he still pushed on.

"Do it. Now."

As soon as his last word left his lips, the boy's pulse stuttered, stopped, and started again all in a second. The same moment it happened, the light from the girl's hand grew until it snapped into nothingness again. Jaemin felt the shift in the energy that flowed from her to him. The buzzing feeling sank in his skin too, the force of it making him so dizzy that he had to let go of the stranger to catch his balance. It was uncomfortable—not painful—but numbing to the point that he felt like a part of him had temporarily shut off. The next time he caught his bearings again, the surroundings were back to normal. There were no monstrous cries, not even a trace of the rip in dimension just a few seconds ago.

Two warm hands cupped his face with panic and gave him a slight shake. He didn't even realize that he had his eyes closed until he found himself blinking to make his vision focus. It snapped on her after a bit, and that's when he realized that she was ducked over him, her face pale from worry. He must have collapsed after what happened.

"Jaemin! Jaemin, are you okay? I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to—are you hurt?"

It took him a good few seconds before things finally clicked in his head. Whatever it is that she has done to the other boy has somehow affected him too, probably because of the proximity of their Arcanas working together. Slowly, he gave her a nod as he propped himself up into a sitting position.

"I'm fine. Just a little dizzy… don't worry."

"Your Arcana. Is it—"

"It's back. I can feel it again…" he reassured her gently. Her fingers curled around him more, as if she was afraid of letting him go.

"How did you do that?"

The sound of a new voice made the two of them turn their heads at the same time. Their eyes landed on the boy by the oak tree, his gaze now clear and back to normal. He stared at them with an incomprehensible look on his face but didn't make any outward moves—his non-verbal way of saying that he doesn't mean any harm. Jaemin didn't buy it though, a cold look settling on him as he stood and pushed the girl behind him for cover. The stranger noticed the move, but didn't say anything.

"How did you get here? Who are you?"

The latter didn't answer. He simply stared at him before his eyes slipped towards the girl half-covered by him. Jaemin tightened his jaw and reached out for her hand which she silently took.

"You stopped me," the stranger said, his eyes still set on her. Slowly, he pinned his stare back to him again. "And you helped. You're IL Diavolo, aren't you?"

He didn't answer. Something about the unwelcome stranger told him that he is not an enemy, but that still doesn't undo the fact that he almost released a whole fleet of monsters from who knows where right into this realm. The girl's voice behind him confirmed what he had already been thinking.

"He's one of us…" she said softly as she carefully stepped beside him. The boy followed her movements closely, as if it was his first time seeing someone like her.

"You're hurt… do you need help?"

He didn't react.

"Did someone send you here?"

More silence.

Jaemin watched the one-way exchange silently despite his instincts being on edge. Far away, several warning shots fired from the direction of the Academy, an indication that a party is currently on its way to where they are. With the amount of Arcanas that were released in that tense exchange earlier, the Headmaster has probably picked up the burst of energy even from far away. The girl also noticed, and she threw a quick glance towards the direction of the school before turning once more to the stranger. Not once has the latter looked away from her.

"People are coming… If you want to leave, now's the best time to do it. They might hold you up and ask you some questions if you stay."

Jaemin looked at her, surprised. "Noona, are you letting him walk away? Your father—"

"He's not an enemy. I can feel it," she gently but firmly cut him off. "I'm right… aren't I? You didn't mean to do that earlier. That's why you should leave… If you don't want to stay here."

For a moment, the boy seemed to actually consider her words. A look of wariness briefly passed his face, but it only took another second before his features settled into an expression of finality. Both her and Jaemin noticed the silent decision and exchanged a quick look between each other. Finally, she turned back to the other boy and took a small step closer to where he was still seated. Jaemin let go of her hand, but kept himself ready to jump in if he needed to.

"What's your name?" She asked slowly. Almost a full minute passed without the boy saying or doing anything, except look at her. It was only when the sound of rushing steps had started sounding closer to where they were that he finally decided to break his silence.

"Jeno Lee."

*******

[5 years later, Rosewood Academy Dungeons, one year before the Cypher project]

"Jeno."

Jaemin called out lowly to the boy standing a little ways in front of him as he finished tying the lace around his forearm. Beyond them, just standing outside of their hearing range, was her and Jisung, locked in some quick pep talk with each other. Jeno slightly turned his head towards him at the sound of his name. From the look on his face, he already knows what he was about to say.

"You got it?"

The dark haired boy merely gave him a slight dip of his head in answer. He did, however, throw a quick but pointed look towards their two other teammates for the tourney.

"Back her up if she needs it?"

"Oh, you're going to be the offense now?" Jaemin asked with a teasing lilt in his voice. His best friend gave him a slight smirk that rivaled his.

"Me? You know damn well I'm not the ace here."

"You're right. Let's finish this quickly."

From above, Mijeong watched the scene with equal parts nervousness and excitement. While she is no longer a stranger to tense situations, this is the first time she will witness something on this scale—eight of the most powerful Masters of this generation about to square off against each other. The air in the room itself was different, crackling with energy as the seconds ticked away like a timebomb nearing its end. Beside her, Ten and Kun have gone as silent as ghosts, their eyes also set on the growing tension in the field below.

Five seconds passed. Ten. Twelve. Twenty–and then,

CRACK!

Everything in the room—from the arena below up to the pillars of the underground dungeon—shook as a loud, crackling sound split the previous silence. Mijeong flinched in surprise, her eyes swiveling automatically to the screens in front of her to see what was happening. Her panicked gaze was met by the feedback of the grounds below covered by settling dust. A huge black line now ran in the middle of the field with sizzles of electric blue running down its length. Mijeong's jaw dropped as she realized what caused it.

"Is that—"

"Lightning. It's Mark," Kun said beside her. He turned to Ten now who was back to typing something on his keyboard.

"Did he ever show this before?"

The bespectacled boy gave a quick shake of his head.

"No. But he showed signs of affecting the weather before. I guess he can influence their elements now, too."

Elements…. Matter. The Emperor. Mijeong squinted at the people below again, her eyes raking over their mostly unbothered form. Nobody looked distraught or panicked. If anything, the energy has shifted into an entirely different intensity now that the first blow has been made. It was on edge… On the verge of snapping.

"Dang, someone's pissed off today. And here I thought I was the only one jealous because of the teams, Marky~"

Mark ignored Haechan's teasing and instead nodded towards Chenle who was grinning from ear to ear now. The boy stepped forward, already knowing what the other was going to say.

"Chenle, we'll be the offense. Haechan, shield Renjun."

"Got that," the youngest replied in a sing-song voice as he slipped his hand in his pocket and pulled something there. It was a pen, and he twirled it between his fingers before the small object lengthened and shifted in his touch. Soon enough, he was holding what looks like a spear as tall as him with two blunted sides. Mijeong frowned at the sight from the control room.

Transformative Magic.

La Luna.

"What is he doing summoning a spear for? We have to get the queen's ribbon, not whack each other," Jisung grumbled from the other side of the arena, his frown settled on the other. The girl beside him laughed, amused by his reaction.

"Do you think you can match him with your solar orbs, Sungie?" She asked. The boy looked a little hesitant at first before giving a small nod.

"I can. I'll try."

"I know you can do it. Without hurting anyone too.”

She gave him a reassuring smile that Jisung returned with his own, albeit a little nervous. Slowly, crackles of energy glowed around his open palm, forming small balls of light. It floated around him like living marbles made of the sun's rays. At that moment Jeno also stepped closer to them his eyes set on the opposing team.

"I'll take care of Mark. Jisung, you handle Chenle."

"Okay, hyung."

"Be careful. They have Renjun, I'm sure he's already trying to read off our next actions," Jaemin said as a reminder from the back of their pack.

"Try not to think of your next moves too much, that'll throw him off a little," Jeno suggested as he rolled up his sleeves.

"It’s fine. Leave Renjun to me."

Jeno, Jaemin, and Jisung all looked at the girl standing between them at the same time. Her eyes were now also set on the other side of the arena, right at the boy stationed at the very back of the other team. She smiled, a gesture that was well caught by her own teammates. Jeno raised his brows slightly while Jaemin smiled silently from his spot. He crossed his arms over his chest before giving a slight nod.

"Go ahead then. I'll just be here… Acting all queenly and stuff."

From the other side, Renjun frowned slightly to himself as he caught the way the girl looked at him. It completely went unnoticed by Haechan who looked downright bored as he yawned beside him.

"Well? Can you pick up their plan? Noona's there. Pretty sure she's strategized about five different attacks already."

Renjun drew a deep breath before finally flicking his eyes towards Mark and Chenle at the front of their party.

"No. I can't get inside their heads. My powers are not working on them."

Haechan stopped in the middle of another yawn, blinked, before finally looking at him with pure confusion in his face.

"What? They haven't even attacked yet."

The other gave him a deadpan look that caused him to part his lips in sudden realization.

"They've already started. I think you shouldn't relax."

"Oh… shit."

Not a second after those words left his lips, an explosion of sounds swallowed the whole arena again. With no prior warning, the offensive pairs from each team launched their attacks at the same time. Chenle's laugh wove through the noise as he ducked and swung at the solar orbs Jisung sent his way with his spear, the burnt ends of the metal growing back to its shape every time the balls of energy would burn them off. On his other side, Mark and Jeno were engaged in close combat, their movements almost too fast for the naked eye to follow. Instead of simply throwing fists and kicks at each other though, sparks of light exploded from every time they would hit contact with each other. A dull red glow emanated from Mark, while pitch black wisps came from Jeno.

Mijeong watched, equal parts impressed and confused at what was happening. She pointed towards the pair at Ten's screen the same moment the two were pushed back by the sheer force of the impact caused by their collision.

"How are those two doing that?"

Ten answered her question easily, a sign that this wasn't the first time he'd witnessed this show.

"Mark controls matter as The Emperor, the basic building blocks of all elements. Jeno is the master of The Death, which means..."

"He controls everything related to the nether dimension, and all things that are opposite of anything living. Like anti-matter," Kun finished as he straightened up from his leaned position on the table.

"Those two are like opposite charges… Opposing ends of the magnet that repel each other."

Mijeong slowly processed that information. "If that’s the case... then that means they are almost equal in power…" she whispered silently to herself as she turned her gaze back to the monitor. From the screen, she saw Mark blast a shot of flames towards the other with just a flick of his hand. Jeno counter-attacked it with what looked like a smoke of shadows that mixed with the flames before dissolving it into fumes.

Finally, she was starting to see what Ten was talking about earlier about both teams having almost equal offensive ability.

Almost, being the operational word, with Jisung's orbs slowly being overwhelmed by Chenle's trained defense, at the very least. The older of the two boys have already moved past the border that Mark had blasted earlier with his lightning, which now, Mijeong realized was a marker created to make it easier for their team to gauge their advance towards the side of their opponent. Jisung didn't miss it and gritted his teeth before sending a more massive round of orbs to the other.

Chenle was too late to catch on to the new deluge of attack, but a burst of black hole ripped open on the space in front of him before the first of the orbs could even hit him. The void looked like a massive pair of jaws that instantly swallowed the rain of fire from Jisung, before it fizzled into nothing as soon as it appeared. Chenle quickly turned to Haechan and gave the other a blinding grin.

"Thanks for the save, hyung!"

The latter winked, looking pleased at himself.

"I got you."

The other team was so caught up in the quick heat of their last minute save that nobody noticed Jaemin when he took a slight step forward as if to closely observe what happened. Casually, he draped his arm over the girl's shoulder, the tips of his fingers lightly grazing her forearm.

"Impressive. I think Team Black is getting so tired with all this jumping around though. Perhaps a quick break would do you good, Chenle? Maybe Mark-hyung, too? The corners of his lips tipped upwards as the words rolled smoothly from his lips. Pointedly, he ducked a little closer to the ear of the girl beside her, his eyes dancing..

"What do you think of the idea, noona?"

It took a while for her to react and consider his words. Finally, she blinked and gave a slight sigh. Mijeong watched as she lifted her hand, her fingers lightly grazing over the boy's hand still resting on her forearm.

"Yes. Maybe just a little while."

Jaemin's smile curved into a full grown smirk. The moment she said it, both Chenle and Mark froze on their spots. It was a strange sight to see, with their faces going from confused, to blank, until they finally relaxed. The shift was so subtle and mundane, but it seemed extremely out of place in the setting that was highly-charged with energies from both sides just moments ago.

Mijeong watched everything unfold with stunned silence. What she just witnessed was the last thing she could have ever expected, and she slowly straightened herself up as she realized what it is exactly that happened. This might be the first time that she is seeing actual Masters in action, but she knows enough about the history of the Arcana to understand its intricacies as well as its limitations. IL Diavolo’s ability is considered one of the most diabolical in the ranks because it compulses and controls others, but its influence weakens when it comes to influencing fellow Masters. It’s almost impossible even... Especially for a younger wielder like Jaemin whose abilities are presumably still maturing.

"…He wasn’t supposed to be able to do that," she said slowly, her eyes moving over to Kun. The way her voice came off sounded like she was convincing herself more than anyone else. The look the man gave her made goosebumps rise on her skin before he even spoke.

"He didn’t. IL Matto did."

*******

"Papa?"

"Yes, darling?"

"Do you think I'm useless?"

The Headmaster looked up from the pile of papers he was reading to peer at his daughter. She was currently sitting on one of the loveseats in his office, her small hands flipping over the pages of the book that she had on her lap. The child had been so silent in the past hour that her question, specifically the nature of it, entirely took him by surprise. Slowly, he put down the documents he had been reading to give her his full attention.

"May I know where that came from, honey?"

The way her eyes flickered guiltily towards him before slipping back towards the page she is obviously not reading told him that she had been simmering on the thought for quite some time now. When it looked like she didn't have any plans of answering, he picked himself up from his table and went over to her side. He nudged her playfully to urge her to make room for him on the seat, a gesture she responded to by pouting slightly before letting him squeeze in. He draped his arm around her small form after and gave her shoulder a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

"Come on, talk to Papa. Did something happen?"

The child chewed on her lower lip for a moment before finally giving in. Without looking at him, she carefully closed the book on her lap and started unconsciously picking on the edge of its leather cover, a tick she does whenever she is unsure of something.

"Mark and I… We were playing yesterday. He showed me that he can make fire with his hands. It was small, but he made it from nothing…"

He listened silently despite already knowing where the conversation was going. His daughter continued, her eyes still downcast on her lap.

"Why… Can't I do something like that?"

The way her voice softened at the end of her question made his chest slightly constrict. He watched as she shifted her face away from his, her eyes landing on the small flickering candle in the middle of the coffee table in front of them. He let her sit for a bit on her thoughts while he also tried to think of the best approach to talk about this.

"Do you remember one of the chapters in The Snow Queen story that you love so much, Princess?"

The girl a confused look at his sudden question. He, on the other hand, merely gave her a smile before continuing.

"There's this part of that story that I really love. It's when Gerda met the Lapland woman who was supposed to give her something to help her defeat the Snow Queen. Do you remember what that something is?"

She only thought of it briefly, having almost memorized every word from the fairytale by now.

"The power of ten men… She wanted to be strong to defeat the Snow Queen."

"Mm… and do you remember what the woman said after she asked for it?"

"She didn't give it to her. She said…"

"The power of ten men would be of very little use. There is nothing anyone can do for this girl that she cannot do for herself," he gently cut her off by dictating the exact words from the story she—and her mother—loves so much. He watched as her small face morphed from confusion, into a look of slow realization. Still smiling, he tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear before he continued.

"The Lapland woman didn't grant Gerda any special powers, because they weren't something she needed for her mission to save her friend. What she already has is so much more powerful, because she was able to go that far with what she has, despite being human. Gerda saved Kai even if she was just herself."

The look on his daughter’s face told him that she already got the gist of what he was trying to say. Still, he wasn’t surprised at all when she decided to push on.

"But I am not just a human. You told me yourself," she reasoned, and for the first time he saw the traces of doubt that she often works so hard to hide from him. "You always tell me that I should be careful. People treat me like they hate me or they're scared of me but I—" she stopped, her eyes looking brighter in the flicker of the candlelight. "I don't see why. I can't make fires. I can't move objects with my mind. I'm useless on my own."

A flicker of guilt teased the edges of his own features as he listened to her words. In the few years that she had manifested her ability, he had never heard her talk like this, and it's only now that he realized she never did because he never gave her a chance to. The moment he knew that the powers he hated so much—the very same who took his wife—chose his daughter to claim next, he set on doing anything and everything to hide her away. What he didn't realize, however, was how much his actions alienated the very same person he was trying to protect.

"How big was the fire that Mark made?" He asked again now, his face set. He turned to the direction of the coffee table and gestured at the flame there. "Was it like this candle here?"

Her daughter frowned before giving a slight nod.

At the confirmation, he leaned forward in his seat and reached out for a scrap of paper lying next to his bundle of notes. Without saying anything, he held it up to the fire and let the small flame lick it until they grew bigger and brighter.

"What happens when you create a bigger fire, Darling?" He asked quietly, his eyes set on the burning paper. He kept on holding it, unperturbed by the fact that the page was slowly being turned to ashes.

"It… becomes scarier," she answered, still looking doubtful about what he was trying to do. When he didn't react, she glanced at him, worry and panic obvious on her face.

"Papa. Let it go. You'll burn your hand."

That was enough for him to drop the paper to the same bronze plate where the candle's wax melted and curdled. The two of them watched as the remainder of the page got consumed by the flames before growing even more bigger as it started eating into the wax droppings on the plate.

"That's how it is with you, Princess. The small flame is Mark, but you can turn him into a big fire that can eat up and burn everything in its path. Arcana holders like us have our limits but you… what you do is beyond the usual boundaries that no generation of Masters have ever seen. You can turn a flame into an explosion, or make it destroy itself as if it never existed at all. You will meet many other flames in your life, some of which will want to have and use you, or destroy you."

The look on her face almost broke his heart. He pushed on though, knowing full well that there is a possibility that he might not have the courage to talk to her about this again. This is a necessary evil—something she must open her eyes early on so she could also protect herself.

"Why would they hurt me?"

"Because everyone wants more. More power, more influence, more fire. It's human nature, something even you and I have deep down in our instinct. But people are also terrified of what they can't understand and control. And darling… you will be exactly like that when you grow older."

He reached out for her small, cold hand now and engulfed it with his own.

"You and I are the only members of the immediate circle who can outwardly affect and influence other masters. Without them, we are useless—just people who can easily blend in with regular humans if we want to because we have no physical manifestations of what we can do on our own. With us though—with you most specially—they can be so much stronger." His hold on her hand tightened as he felt the slight tremor that ran through her.

"You can make Arcana powers more powerful if you will them to. You are an asset, but also a threat. This is why you should never fully trust anyone, and why you should always be one step ahead of everyone. No one can use or betray you then."

She kept quiet, taking in every word he said. He is sure she had this train of thought before being the smart and observant girl that she is, but right now, he gave her the hard, uncoated truths she needed to hear. He hates doing this, but if it means he can save her from facing the same fate as her mother, then he is willing to sacrifice even some parts of her own happiness just to keep her safe.

"Do you understand it now, honey? Why I'm working so hard to protect you from everything? Can you promise me you'll try your hardest to keep yourself safe?"

Something flickered in her eyes that made a hollow spot in his chest tighten. It brought back flashes of memory of another girl who, at one point, also found herself lost because of a power she never even wanted in the first place. His daughter's voice finally saved him from the memory before it consumed him again.

"Yes, Papa… I promise."

*******

"Ability Amplification. That's the power of IL Matto," Kun said calmly, his eyes set on the figure of the girl on the screen. Mijeong looked at him as if he was saying the impossible. He’s no longer surprised by the reaction, knowing how ridiculous and far-reaching it might sound, even for members of the Family who are acquainted with the Arcanas. In the long history of recorded manifestations of IL Matto, this is the first time a master who can affect the strength of other abilities has been born.

"And they know?" Mijeong asked, her own voice still unstable. Before she even got her answer, she moved to step away from her hovering position over Ten’s shoulder and stalked to the open balcony overlooking the field. Her eyes zoned in on the same girl she had been trying to protect in secret before studying the other boys in the field. Kun and Ten exchanged glances before the former followed her there.

"The Headmaster has only let a certain number of families know about her. But yes, the boys know."

"Is that safe?"

Kun paused. His eyes strayed towards the open field, briefly studying each face there.

"It probably isn't," he finally said, deciding to be honest about it.

"But it's strategic."

*****

"What the fuck, Jaemin? That's such a dirty move," Haechan scowled from the other side of the field to the amusement of the silver-haired boy on the other team. The latter openly smirked at him, pleased at his reaction.

"Hey. Only rules of the game is that a Queen cannot attack another Queen. The rest of the knights are fair play."

"You know damn well your Arcana's black listed for things like this," Haechan shot back, his jaw tight. Jaemin merely shrugged and pulled you closer to him, a blatant move that only made the other boy fume more.

"Oh? So you're admitting I'm stronger then?"

You sighed and shot him a quick look. He easily caught it, his eyes sparkling in amusement.

"Stop it already. You've done what you needed."

The boy gave a slight shrug but didn't say anything else to deny what you were implicating. He did finally let you go though, wearing a pleased look that he didn’t even try to hide. Jaemin is the type of person who mostly doesn't care about things like this, but when he starts to get serious, he is also not afraid to play a little dirty. After all, it's in his nature to know how to get under anyone's skin using their emotions.

"Sorry, love. I had to. Somebody has to piss someone off or else we'll be in this field for hours. I think it's kinda working."

"Kinda is a very humble way of putting it," Renjun finally spoke from the other side. His voice was steady, but anyone who knows him enough could see that he was also not amused by what his friend just pulled. He raised his hand now and snapped his fingers twice. As soon as he did, both Mark and Chenle flinched, as if somebody woke them up from their stupor. Unlike Jaemin's Arcana that controls, his protects, shielding all of his teammates from other mental attacks. The two boys who were just released from the devil's spell both looked around, gathering their bearings.

"What the hell…" Chenle frowned and pressed a hand at the back of his head. Mark seemed to have caught on faster about what happened as his eyes moved from Haechan, to you, and finally to Jaemin's Cheshire grin.

"Did you just…"

Renjun sighed and rolled his eyes slightly.

"Yes. He did. Before you get pissed, hyung, please know that this guy here is already doing a pretty bad job in controlling his temper," he said as he jabbed his thumb towards the boy on his side. "Yah, Haechan. Calm down. Irritating you is exactly what Jaemin wants."

"And that’s exactly what he is getting," the other answered without even batting an eye. "He's right. Let's quit playing."

"Time to get to business."

At his words, two black holes resembling jaws of void opened up on the still air beside him. They snapped and howled like two wormholes ready to swallow anything their way.

From the other side of the arena, Jaemin watched with a pleased look as the opposing team started to lose their cool. Jeno moved back closer to where you all are huddled, his eyes silently reading the energy of the other boys. He slightly pressed a hand on your lower back to catch your attention.

"Now?" He asked in a voice only you could hear. You gave him the slightest nod ever as your eyes shifted to Jaemin. The latter is already looking, and he leaned his head a little to the side in confirmation to your silent message.

"I got you both," he said. "Go off."

At his assurance, you moved to reach out to Jisung next. The boy looked down on you, a questioning look on his face.

"Jisung, can you shield us?"

He frowned, clearly confused by the request.

"What?"

"Shields. Can you do projected energy fields?"

His confused look slowly morphed into that of panic.

"I—I haven't tried. I don't think I can do it yet."

"Well, you have to. You have ten seconds to do it before Haechan tries to swallow all of us with his void monsters."

The boy’s face paled at your words. "No, you don't understand, noona. I literally don't know how to do it—"

"Seven, six, five…" you said in reply, softly counting under your breath. Jisung whipped around, looking absolutely terrified. From the other side of the arena, Haechan's black holes reared back their heads like cobras preparing to attack.

"Oh my god."

"Come on, Jisung. You can do it. Just think of summoning it."

"I c-can't—"

You squeezed his hand in yours and gave him a smile.

"Go ahead. I'll help."

He barely had any time to process what you just said when Haechan's shadow tunnels finally snapped and hurtled straight towards where you are. Jisung threw out his arm in instinct before impact and sure enough a bright burst of light flashed in the arena, temporarily blinding everyone. When the air cleared out again, a bright golden dome stood high above your heads, covering the good half of your end of the field. Grasping and snapping its jaws outside of it, trying to break through, were Haechan's voids.

Jisung's jaw dropped as he stared, dumbstruck at what he just conjured. Outside, Chenle straightened up as well, his eyes round with surprise.

"Holy shit dude… You just unlocked a new game skill."

Your smile widened as you patted the boy in the back. "Good job. Now try to hold that a bit more." Turning around, you looked at Jeno who was still calmly observing everything from his position. You watched as the ground beneath him seemed to ripple and shake before long shadowy figures started to rise from it. They moved like smoke, bearing the resemblance of slender women about 6 feet in height each. None of them have any solid features nor a body, but their eyes glowed bright like beams of light. You smiled. The figures sauntered forward, their bodies dispersing slightly as they passed beyond Jisung's shield. They snapped back to their form again as soon as they did and started slowly advancing towards the other team.

Mark and Chenle, who still brought the front, exchanged tense looks. Behind them, Renjun watched the shadow maidens fan in formation like predators eyeing their prey. They moved languidly but tensely, like strings about to snap anytime.

"Haechan…" he murmured under his breath. The boy beside him didn't need to look at him to understand what he was trying to say. Nobody moved, waiting for the tension to finally break. When the pin finally dropped after the suffocating silence, it drowned the field with deafening sounds that exploded at the same time.

Mark lifted chunks of earth from the ground, hurtling some straight at the shadow monsters that had sprung into action to attack. Assisting him was Chenle who turned some of the rubble into orbs of steel, some of which went straight into Jisung's shield. The dome grumbled under the force, making the boy grit his teeth from the attack. Lifting his free hand, Jisung pushed back against it, a move that caused spears of light to shoot out of his barrier. Haechan moved back his own monsters, the two voids merging together to form one big black hole that swallowed the younger boy’s attack. He flicked his wrist afterwards, causing the beast to swoop down and grab two of Jeno's shadow maidens closing in on Mark.

Mijeong watched, petrified, at everything that unfolded in a matter of seconds. What she had witnessed earlier was nothing compared to the scale that she is seeing now, the whole arena being torn apart from the ground up. Explosions were erupting everywhere and it was getting harder and harder for her to follow everything that was happening. When the field finally cleared again after a particularly strong blast, her gaze made a beeline towards the sole girl in the arena to make sure that she is still unharmed. She froze. There was something about her face that seemed out of place at first, and it took her a moment to realize that her eyes had turned lighter—the color of amber—as she watched everything that was happening.

"Is she alright? Ten?" Kun spoke before she could ask her question. The other boy took a while to answer, his lips pursed.

"Her heartbeat is rising, but everything else is okay."

"How about Jeno?"

"His control is more stable than his last record. He's good."

"What is going on? Are they in danger?" She finally spoke up, her voice barely masking her panic now. Kun, however, simply turned back at the carnage below.

"No. Everything's fine."

"Fine? Your kids are killing each other!"

The man smiled, an expression that seemed entirely out of place in the situation. "They're being a little more energetic right now, but everything's still under control."

Mijeong wasn't convinced but she pursed her lips anyway.

"I'm more worried about her. She's influencing that boy's powers, right? The one who created the shield?"

"Mm. That and the two others with her. Why do you think she asked Jisung to create that wall? I can assume it's her way of containing the reach of her ability to her teammates to tip the scales to their favor. Otherwise, Haechan and the others would be affected too."

His answer did nothing to assure her. "Isn't she pushing herself too much this way though? What if she—"

"Goes overboard? I doubt she will ever let that happen. Besides, Jaemin and Jeno are both there," Kun explained, nodding towards the two boys. At the look of confusion in Mijeong's face, he continued.

"Masters can lose control over their abilities when they falter in their focus and let the Arcana take over them. Jaemin will step in for her—and for anyone else in this arena—the moment he senses that. As long as they let him, he can bring them back to focus. Jeno, La Morte's abilities, come from the Nether. The rest of Arcana's originate from the Aether. If he wants to, he can also cancel or stabilize other powers since his source is the direct opposite of the others. She'll never go mad, as long as he's with her."

"And Jeno will never lose control, as long as Jaemin and her are there,” Ten added, his eyes twinkling as he looked at her. “Why do you think we put them in one group? Those three…"

"They're a package deal."

Mijeong processed all of that slowly. She turned back to watch the battle as she put together the pieces in her head. So this tourney is not only done to check each of the Master's abilities. They also do it to see how abilities mesh well with each other. It’s a training and a study in one.

A blast of force shook the field once again making her and Kun slightly duck for cover. Unlike the damage caused by flying rocks and exploding metals though, this one is silent and invisible, like a wave of wind running through the bare arena. Rocks split and shattered as it swept through, including the shadow figures who were now just a few meters from breaching Mark and the others' side of the arena. When it hit Jisung’s force field, the surface shook under its force.

You looked up, surprised and confused by the attack. You know Mark, Chenle, and Haechan were too focused on defending their spot, which only means…

"Renjun," Jeno said from beside you as more of his shadow maidens rose from the ground to replace the ones the force obliterated. Your eyes rounded in response.

"Psychokinesis… Since when did he learn to use it?"

Jaemin was the one who answered. "Nobody knows. He barely shows it, but when he does, it means…"

"You're very pissed," Haechan smirked and stated the obvious as he closely watched the boy beside him. Renjun had pretty much remained calm and quiet in the middle of all the chaos, but the set of his lips easily gave him away, now that Haechan gave him a real good look. The boy in question scoffed in reply to his teasing.

"I'm not. I want this over.”

"Sure, dude. At least you seem like you impressed her,” he snickered, amused by the denial of the other. “Look, how about we all give it one last shot so we can finally get this done?”

For once, the pair agreed on something.

"Sounds like a good idea."

"I think we should end this," Jeno said as he noticed the shift in energy from the other team. You caught it too, and you gave him a slight nod in answer. Walking over to Jisung, you whispered to him in a voice you made sure only he could hear.

"Jisung, I need you to release your shield at my signal."

The boy gave you a look as if you've finally gone mad.

"What? But they're attacking us, noona."

"Just do it quickly then bring it back up again. I just need to do something."

He still looked unconvinced but both Jeno and Jaemin gave him a look that finally made him give way. In front of you, the shadow figures moved to guard the front of your team, just beyond Jisung's border. You watched with bated breath as the opposing group quickly responded to the move, every boy's attention set on getting the last line of your defense. When Haechan's void reared back again to do its final attack, you started counting the seconds in your head.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

“Jisung, now!”

You gave the signal the exact same moment that the black hole burst straight towards all of you. Its jaws split wide, it hurtled forcefully in the air with the full intent of swallowing the shadow army acting as your last line of offense. Jisung almost missed your signal in panic, but he thankfully managed to dissolve his force field at the last moment, enough for you to slip in the same periphery where Haechan’s targets are. You fell in the right spot just in time for the void to swallow you whole before everything disappeared, leaving nothing in its wake.

*******

"Haechan!" Mark turned and shouted in panic as he saw everything unfold in front of him. He wasn't the only one who shared the reaction though, with both Chenle and Jisung giving gasps of horror while Renjun froze in shock. Haechan paled as he realized what just happened, his eyes wide.

"Shit. Shit, shit!"

Above, Mijeong gave a wordless scream as she watched the full extent of the scene from above. Before she even realized what she was doing, she turned, ready to storm the field. She had barely made two steps when she felt Kun grab her wrists and pull her back.

"No. Don't go there."

"What the hell?! Let me go! Can’t you see—!"

"Stop. Just watch."

*****

You tumbled and stumbled inside the void, hands trying to find purchase on something, anything so you could slow down your spiral. Everywhere was dark, but you could hear sounds merging over each other as if you were speeding through different worlds and realities. You couldn’t figure out which direction you are going, or whether you are floating or falling. There was no sense of time or velocity where you were but you could also feel Haechan all around you—his fear, his shock, and his panic.

You didn't know how long you got suspended there, but when you heard Mark scream out your name from what sounded like a distance, you closed your eyes briefly and grasped at the weightless void surrounding you. The noises around you intensified, but you focused everything that you have in a single command. Whether you said it out loud or screamed it in your head, you weren't sure, but you poured every bit of your concentration on the thought, even as you struggled in the chasm surrounding you.

Dissolve.

Now.

As soon as you expressed your intent, the churning darkness around you froze into a standstill. When you finally opened your eyes again, rips of light started puncturing the void, widening and pulling until…

You stumbled back to the field, the maw of Haechan's black hole releasing you back to the right dimension. Instead of finding yourself in the right side of the arena where the rest of your team are, however, you are now standing directly in front of Haechan who was currently looking at you, frozen in shock.

You smiled. Without saying anything, you flicked your wrist slightly, the move making his still gaping void to splinter into glass like pieces behind you. His expression changed into that of understanding as he watched it dissolve right in front of his eyes.

"You boys were so focused on attacking so you got distracted. Number one rule in the game, never forget your goal. In this case…" your gaze moved towards Renjun who was still standing beside the other boy. He looked at you, still surprised and confused, as you reached out towards him. It was too late for him to stop you from gently pulling at the ribbon on his arm.

"Your Queen's lace."

The bell sounded off again, this time, announcing that a team had won. Your smile widened.

"Checkmate."

*******

"What…"

Mijeong stared, thunderstruck, at the scene below her. Everything moved so fast, but she doubts her eyes were tricking her about what she saw. Kun quietly voiced out the thoughts that were already crowding her head.

"Ability Nullification. She dissolved Haechan's powers. Made his Arcana completely null," the man said, his eyes calmly set on the girl below. "The Fool always has two sides, a strength and a weakness. The true force of IL Matto's Arcana does not lie on how it can amplify powers…"

"But how it can void them."

The silence in the balcony was matched by that in the field. The only sound that disturbed the room where Mijeong, Kun, and Ten were on was the slight ding of a message that popped out on the edge of the latter’s screen. Ten quickly clicked on it and promptly read the short message there. His gaze shot to Kun then before he leaned over to the mic, his face set.

"Tourney's over. Winner of this round is the White Team. Please go back to your dorms and rest. Everyone here needs to report to the head office this afternoon..."

"The Headmaster is back."

CHAPTER 5

*******

Note: I had to redo my taglist because of Tumblr problems. The new list below are those who requested to be re-added or recently requested to be part of the new list.

NEW Taglist: @effulgentfireflies, @kasperneo, @lostlovesoul11, @byunniebaekhyunnie, @smolpeyy, , @dearj43, @bettyschwallocksyee, @babyksworld

Untaggable for some reason: @yongboksfreckles, @user103843

#mark x reader #renjun x reader #haechan x reader #jaemin x reader #jeno x reader #nct dream x reader #nct dream 00 line x reader #nct dream fic #nct dream imagines #nct dream scenarios #nct dream supernatural au #jisung fic #chenle fic #ten nct fic #kun fic #nct dream fantasy au

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leggerefiore · 2 years

Note

Emmet reaction to one of her twin daughters getting mad at him to the point of yelling "I hate you daddy!!"

two small pieces in which emmet struggles a bit as a father.

Emmet knew she was frustrated with him, but she must understand that he only had her best interest in mind. His younger daughter was always a bit like, he would admit. Inka was active and playful when she was younger and adored the attention he so readily provided to both her and her twin. Now, however, as she stood across from him with her arms crossed and frown heavy on her lips, he knew she was upset. Emmet was fine with a lot of things, of course. He understood the urge to do things seen as a bit weird when he was younger or tease people a little, but Inka was skipping class to hang out with some supposed boyfriend.

"I am verrrry unhappy with you," he stands stiffly, blocking the exit of the apartment, "Skipping class is bad! Hanging out with some boy is also bad! You aren't doing safety checks!" His choice of words had her groan and grit her teeth. Harsh eyes stared at him as she stomped her foot.

"Like you'd get anything! I love him!" Inka hissed out at him, "He actually sees me like a person and doesn't act like I'm some helpless child!" Emmet managed to bite his tongue and hold back to comment that she was only sixteen. Yes, she was going to be an adult soon, and he would admit he had his struggles with accepting that she was already so grown, but she was still a child in many ways. It disgusted him how often he heard people around the station ask him if she was fourteen or fifteen and then try to flirt with her. Ingo had scolded him for hitting commuters, but Emmet would not allow anyone to disrespect his children in any way.

"Darling, I understand that you feel that way, but I don't think it's good for you to -" Emmet's words were cut off by his daughter getting in his face. He knew very well that she was not going to actually do anything, but he faltered at the sudden movement and expression.

"I hate you, dad," she snapped. Emmet froze. Tears burned his eyes like they always did when it came to his children. She… hated him? The daughter that he had loved since she was a wriggling little baby in his arms hated him? Inka could not! Emmet's heart could not handle her hating him. What if she ran away and got hurt? Or some guy tried to take advantage of her? Terrifying thoughts plagued his head as he wrapped his arms around his struggling daughter. She came to a stop after hearing Emmet sniffle and sob a few times, seeing her dad desperately hold on to her.

She was still annoyed, but…

For now, she would stop talking and let him get his emotions out.

~~~~

Emmet sighed as he took the cupcake from his daughter. She had already had too many sweets today for a five year old. Emma gasped in offence from his actions and bounced up to try and take the dessert back from her father. Jumping, even, when he stood up tall. Her next action was to plead with him, giving him big, begging eyes with a quivering lip. "Papa… please!" she cried out, making a grabby-hand towards the confectionery. Emmet shook his head.

"I cannot! You need to go to bed soon," he cooed, "You already ate too much sugar today." Emma suddenly pulled away and started sobbing loudly, hands rubbing at her eyes in a dramatic flair. The younger twin watched as she sniffled and cried for the cupcake. When Emmet stood firm in his decision, Emma felt angry all of the sudden. Glaring up at her father she snapped, "I hate you, papa!!!" and ran away from him. She slammed her shared bedroom door behind her.

Emmet sighed. Her words stung a bit, but… He stared at the cute dessert that his partner had made for their girls. She could have it tomorrow. The smile on Emmet's face fell. Being a father was difficult, he had come to realise. Raising two small children at the same time was no easy task. He took careful strides to the door and listened in. Emma's sniffles were heard inside while Inka tried to comfort her.

Strangely, the made him feel at ease. He used to comfort Ingo the same way when he got upset at this age. Emmet felt glad his children shared that same bond.

#emmet.ima

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calypso-finale · 8 months

Text

Hundred Sixteen. Part 7

I woke up tired, like I need sleep now “my god” my hand on my back as I made my way into the kitchen “morning sister” Ti is awake “oh you awake, how come? Make me something too, just some eggs or whatever” I am hungry as shit really “yes well I am meeting Damson family today and I can’t sleep, but I wanted to ask now you’re here” sitting on the bar stool “go ahead, did you see Aziel go? I didn’t” it’s about ten now so he should be in school “I heard him wanting to wake you, he said to Grace that is my mommy I can, and Grace had to talk him out of not waking you or going into the room” I grinned “sounds like Aziel but go on, what is it?” Ti turned to me “can I bring Damson over?” raising an eyebrow “for sexy time?” she sniggered “not that, but you never know but it’s your home and I want to ask permission, I want to like do something if not I can book an Air BnB or something?” I chuckled “It’s fine but you need to tell me when because I don’t want to be here and I want to give you that space, I can take Aziel France or something, or do something give you space for that. So let me know, you need too” she clapped her hands “thank you so much Rylee, means a lot” she is appreciative “you let me know too, can’t be mad with that but I rather not be here, Aziel will end up ruining it too, go for it. Have fun, make it cute” I clicked my fingers “oh god, I am so nervous seeing his family, what if they don’t like me!?” she spat “oh they will, I mean from what I heard they are a good family, they are just like Damson, and Damson is funny. So you will be ok, be you. I know they will love you, you’re beautiful, you’re rich, you have brains and funny. I mean that was just recent because before you ain’t have no brains” I said “bitch shut up!” she spat “but yeah don’t worry about it, be you. And I mean it, we better do that double date, I think it will be cute. Also I get to know Damson more, Oakley likes him so it’s nice, we can have games night because I know Damson likes games too and also Oakley too, but I was thinking we can like go to an arcade first, go to a bar, then get some food, come to the house. What you think?” she nodded her head “perfect, the boys will love that, you know they are big kids” I am excited for it “you know I realised mom and dad don’t know how to tell Imani off, like they are just scared to say anything to her in case she has a mental breakdown” I pulled a face “fuck her, I hate her. I don’t want to know” after all that, I am done.

Ti makes some good eggs “you got bags under your eyes, what happened? You both got a little freaky” I pulled a face “he is knocked out asleep, I suffered” I spat “how?” I sighed out “he fucking scared me, so like it kept me awake after that. So we went to the room, and he took his clothes off and whatever, and I laughed at his little booty, but he was all happy. Even though he didn’t want too, he was so excited to be little spoon, but me, I wanted to be little fucking spoon but forget it. So that’s it, he slept as soon as. And his damn hair, I need to braid it, so annoying. His damn hair has grown out again, but anyways everything was ok, I was falling asleep eventually then he started talking like grumbling, he said no and nudged me away, I said what? All confused, and his face is all scrunched up but he is asleep, then it hit me that he may be have a bad dream or whatever so left it but this guy just started moving so much like I had to move back, he was everywhere, it scared me he was shouting and then he jumped out of bed just scared, like he was scared and he was staring at me and I am scared thinking what the fuck, and he just started walking backwards and breathing heavy so I just jumped off the bed towards him, I have to coax him back to me, he is just in this state, so I said Oakley it’s me, you’re ok. He is out of breath, like he just was running. I kept saying it’s me, it’s ok and I held his arm and just pulled him into me, and I felt him calm down, but he was sweating bad, scared me, my god” Ti stared me all wide eyed “holy shit, did he catch a ghost or something, I mean he is doing weed you know and like maybe he is having night terrors, that’s what it is. He looks like he lacks sleep, shit Rylee” I shrugged “well he didn’t speak a word, went to the bathroom, I am scared and thinking what, and he came back he said I am going, I said no. Refused him, I said no come to bed, sleep it’s fine. So he fell asleep again but this time he slept like atop of me, like between my legs, I did get a little sleep, but I was not on it, I didn’t like it” shaking my head.

Ti poked her bottom lip out “you know what, it sounds like he is having night terrors, bad dreams and he doesn’t sleep because of that, I don’t know. He has a lot on so like mom said, be there for him. Take that burden for him too, I think he is hurt by dad too isn’t he so yeah, just hold on. Was he ok after that?” nodding my head “after scaring me, if I didn’t move I think he would have kicked me because he was everywhere, like that wasn’t it. But he is sleeping, he is there sleeping like he has never slept before, but I just feel sad and I think being apart I can’t watch him, I can’t see what he does but I know he is taking a lot on so his mother, I am trying to do it through her, being there for her. I have to go fucking Ireland now but if I can do that then it will make him happy, I don’t know” I sighed out “but I am happy we made up” I grinned “I am too, because I am like how the hell we going to double date, Damson would think what the fuck” I chuckled “also I am going to be coming off anything in regards to contraception. I am putting my big girl pants on and I want to do it, I want a family, I want to give him that too so yeah. If it happens then it does, I don’t want to be pregnant getting married though” I laughed, Ti eyeballed me “you don’t” Oakley said, looking behind “oh god” I said, “I was talking about Ti” I lied “alright, already?” is he that dumb “don’t even listen to a dumb bitch” Ti said, Oakley looks relaxed “you want some food” I asked him “erm, I have to go. Juke erm, he should have come out of operation now, need to see him” letting out an oh “but let me feed you before you go, I can come with you” he shook his head “nah, it’s fine. Honestly, you and Ti are gossiping so have fun” he leaned down and kissed my forehead “ok but I need to speak to you” this boy is running, Ti shrugged as I pulled a face at her, let me get him.

Grabbing his hand “mhmmm” he turned to me “why are you rushing to leave” I asked him, he smiled “I am not” he just said, “but you are, you slept well?” he nodded his head “thank you, but just hard. I apologise about you know, what happened” shaking my head “no, don’t apologise silly. No, I want you to come and sleep here, and I want you to talk to me more Oakley you need to talk about it” he shook his head “I am not ready yet” he admitted “I know, when seeing a therapist and he said if I want it to work with you that I need to talk to you but I am being open and honest that I am not ready right now” nodding my head “I am here for you ok, please come to me” he looks more stressed now that I asked “also I want to braid your hair or shave it” he laughed “thought you would never ask, but I got you. I love you yeah, I am sorry about last night. This is just a regular thing, but I usually be alone with it, thank you for hugging me” wrapping my arm around his neck “stop saying thank you, stop!” I spat “when you are ready then you know where I am but see Aziel too, he last saw you mad” he nodded his head and took in a deep breath “I want my end goal to happen so bad” he wrapped his arms around me and lifted me up off the ground, he really loves me “and it will” I said, I just need him to talk to me.

I frowned at Rachel texting me “oh Damson asked if you want to come for a quick drink at the Bar, I don’t know he invited you” that is different “really? Aren’t you meeting his family today” Ti shrugged “I need to see Rachel though, she text me said can I come now if I can, when does he want us to meet?” That is random for her “in an hour and a half maybe, you could see her still” she got a point I can’t “I’ll come for a drink, I will just get changed. You don’t mind in coming right? Oh you want to borrow a dress too, come. Let’s go upstairs, I want to leave before Aziel comes home, how come he wants me there? Did you question it” walking up the steps “I did, he said morale support, he’s random like Oakley” rolling my eyes “they are friends for a reason” that is true “so are you wanting sexy or potential marriage? Leg showing, or what” looking behind me “I need it to be potential, like I need his mother to love me, his family is Nigerian so yeah, I need them to like me but he said your family is loud so is his so I think I will be ok with subtle sexy” I chuckled “I have a dress where I haven’t even worn but I cleaned my closet and get rid of it but I have others, you want me to do your make up too?” Walking into my room “aww really? Thank you, please. I am so nervous that I feel any look won’t be good” I don’t mind doing her makeup “well check out things too but let me know what you like or don’t, I have plenty of things, I think you should do hair in a bun, gives a little dominance too, a little va va voom” I can tell she is nervous, I see it on her face “but you get away with it, because your face is softer than mine, so yeah, I think that is best” I will dress her like she is my child “what if I went for a bodycon” I shrugged “if you feel comfortable then go for it” she needs to be comfortable in it.

Ti is laughing because she is dressed up, beautiful of course but we made a quick stop at Rachel home, Tion is with us “ladies, ok for me to wait there” he said “oh yeah, we will be out. Hey” Rachel has opened the door “hello, I’m glad you came. Oh are you going out?” She asked, “not really, my sister is but like I’m just going for a drink or two, but I kind of don’t drink anymore because of everything so it will be me sipping a mocktail, you don’t mind my sister?” I asked “oh it’s ok, you’re ok. Please come into the living room, I know you girls now” making my way over to the living room, this home is just not the same now. Feels a little soulless, which is sad. It’s a nice home he got her too “sit here” I said to Ti “you want tea or coffee?” She asked “oh this is about to be one of those” I laughed “you know dear, but do you? Any drink” we both shook our heads “I will just get mine, be back” Ti looked at me “what do you mean one of those? Is it a sign” I grinned “when the British bring out the tea and coffee it’s about to be deep, it makes me laugh every place I go too I see my sons things” Ti pointed “aww the picture of him, he looked two there. Oakley the Chinese” looking at the picture above the fire place “this is why he doesn’t like smiling, his goes Chinese, is it one or two sugars today Rachel?” She laughed “two, it’s needed. Juke is home; but he can’t move, he is back with mom now, he’s asleep. I just had Oakley come too but he was wanting to run and didn’t want to stay. I found some cute little apartments in Dublin, I am not having a big home no more, just two bedrooms and be with my family and that’s it. I will show you, but I called you over really, is that I want to take Juke with me but he won’t come at all and I fear he will roll into bad things. Now Oakley he has cut him off with money, but he sees him, as he cares and this home will be on sale soon. I know you wanted him to get him an apartment but if you can talk him into getting him just that, I can’t leave Juke like this” does Rachel think I have that power “I can try of course but he is very mad with Juke, he cares but he is mad with him as he doesn’t listen. I can try” did she really make me come here for this.

“I also have something to say, me and Neil never got married, we never really could. He’s dead now and honestly, he’s selfish. And” she paused “he was a burden, as much as I was the bitch like people think. I worked hard, I did love Neil I fell for him, I did. But he was the one a born liar when he got married outside of me once I had Oakley” my face dropped “Neil I feel he got turned off by me when I got pregnant, then to find out he got married behind my back, he had two lives. And he admitted it to me and then I wanted to kick him out, and he went missing for a few then he came back and said I left her, and we divorced, so he was married for a year, a lie. Just recently, I think when Neil was going through his depression he admitted to me that he would never marry me because he was still married to this woman, that is apparently living in Spain and she ran off from him, I am not shocked because Neil is like Juke, he will lay his hat where he can be fed and so on, the nerve of him to kill himself for feeling that way, he admitted that to me and it hurt. Like thanks, but yeah. It put me down a lot, but he admitted that before he killed himself. Unsure if he has kids but like a letter came, and it’s from the lady herself, stating she knows who Central Cee is and that she wants half of what Neil left for her daughter, he’s left nothing but shit. I am just in a shit situation right now and I needed someone, he was always selfish. You see Juke and that’s him, I can’t believe I even had Juke to be honest” she laughed, I am shocked “Rachel!” I spat “my god, so you telling me. Let me break it down, once you got pregnant with Oakley he was going missing and things, and you felt he didn’t want you and during that time married this woman, I think he knew this woman beforehand, oh my god and now she thinks she can come take anything? Nah, I will break her neck. Ignore her, you’re leaving anyways so she can write all she wants, Neil is done, you go back to Ireland, and you live the life you missed” Rachel smiled “I just needed someone to speak too, to vent too. I don’t want to say it to Oakley because I look at him and he just looks fed up, and I don’t like he is just everywhere, I need you to stop him living alone, he has night terrors. Wadz told me and then I asked, and he told me to shut the fuck up, and then he apologised. Wadz says he just stays awake constantly, having energy drinks, weed I mean Oakley does clean living, always. But he will pull off he is ok, he’s not” I sighed out “I want to get out of his hair, so I am not his issue. And I dislike Neil put Oakley in this” Neil is a low-key jerk, I always thought he was ok and quiet, he is a lie.

I have a headache and I want to go home but Damson asked, I can’t just say no but all this is so much, what the fuck. Oakley will be devastated, forget his dad being a bum he is also a cheater and a liar “are you ok?” my sister asked “stressed, I am not happy to know this but least we know where Juke gets his laziness from” rolling my eyes “but I am here for Damson and this is fancy, Mayfair bar too” Ti grinned “thank you for coming, I don’t know why he wanted you to come but he knows how nervous I am, I am more nervous then I was with Taylan, maybe because I do like Damson” I cooed out “I can see it sister” Tion opened the car door for us “come on, get up” I pointed, she shuffled out as I climbed out of the car “get to see your man, he is about to devour you after this girl” Tianna and I cackled, I am here for her. Walking into the bar with Ti, I can see Damson from here, he just waved us over “ok from here?” Tion said, I nodded my head as we walked over “wow, wow, wow. Amazing” he said seeing Ti “I have a surprise for you too” he pointed at me and then moved to the side “Oakley?” I said confused “Lee” he is also confused “I came here thinking I wouldn’t see this guy, but here he is” Oakley stood up “he invited me” Damson frowned looking at him and Oakley looked at him “yeah, I did my bad. I just you know, I thought the gang could you know just have a few drinks on me” he smiled, I am so confused, was he supposed to be here.

Oakley got up to go to the bathroom as the drinks came, I have been dying to smell his coke he says is just a coke, grabbing the drink to smell it “no way, I knew it. Damson did you know he was here” I said placing it down “that is for her” Damson pointed, the lady got my Mocktail “honest truth please” I said to him “look I just got out of the cab, he was walking here too. So I didn’t know, but he was coming here, I just failed to say I invited you here because I just invited you because I know Tianna is nervous and I thought some sisterly company would do, I don’t know. I agreed with my friend because he is my friend, that is all” he put his hands up “has he been drinking a lot or?” I dragged that “he has been taking a while to drink that, let’s just say. My friend don’t drink” he laughed “ok” I just said “but anyways, back to you both. Tianna, you are going to do amazing sweetie. You really are, like come on. Who doesn’t want a bad bitch like you in their family” Damson laughed “a bad bitch, you’re ok” Oakley came back and sat back down next to me “I need to go, I have something on right now” looking to where he is looking, his friend is here “so you tell me why you was in a bar” I questioned “to get a drink” I frowned “not to meet anyone right? Oakley I swear to god” he shook his head “I just wanted some peace, like why am I going to cheat for? I got you, don’t be stupid. I have to go though, thank you for the drink” he dapped Damson “Ti, good luck for tonight” I am mad with him, I don’t know, I just know he is off “Lee?” I turned my head “bro, come on man” his friend said to him “alright” watching him walk off “you think he is cheating? I know he isn’t, he is just in that zone of his” Damson said, Oakley did look back at me and it made me so sad, like what is happening with him “his dad wasn’t a big part of his life but he was his dad, he just needs time” I shrugged, I am sad.

#Chrianna #Chrianna FF #Fanfic #Fanfiction #Chrianna Fanfic #Chrianna Fanfiction

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thetimelordbatgirl · 2 years

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Hmmm while I do admit that the show didn't really handle Varian or Cassandra very well I'd honestly say they did a lot better with Varian than Cassandra, actually having him face consequences and earn a redemption while Cass just put all of Corona in danger by her own actions then threw a pity party for herself and somehow that makes her redeemable. But anyway, I totally do see plenty of issues with Varian's arc too cause its not perfect (just better than Cass's IMO). But the thing is, Lily seemed to basically have the same attitude with Varian as she did Hunter "fuck white boys for being sad". And like say what you want about Varian but Lily was literally begging for a 14 year old to rot in prison for the rest of his life and Varian should lose his dad forever cause he deserves to suffer. Like geez its fine if you don't like Varian or his arc but literally begging for a 14 year old to suffer for the rest of his life and his only family should stay dead forever cause he deserves to suffer. What the hell?

Honestly, I think my problems with how they did Varian VS how they did Cassandra lays in while Varian has consequences at the very least, its just how they handled him going evil briefly that was the problem....Cassandra's has the problem of blaming Rapunzel for Mother Gothel kidnapping her. Like uh, Cassandra DOES know Gothel was a abusive bitch to Rapunzel, right? And that baby Rapunzel was literally asleep before Gothel kidnapped her, right? Like, it just reeks off iffy writing. And they just kinda rush her redemption as a result after flip-flopping constantly with her and by the end, they kind of just send her travelling to explain her absence from the wedding. And this is kind of ignoring me groaning at them for going with the obvious Gothel child theory. Like, I love fan theories a-lot, but Gothel one was just meh and then them confirming it just kind of led to again, the obvious problem with Cassandra getting mad at Rapunzel about something Gothel chose to do just cause she was that obsessed with the flower.

But yeah, I do see what you mean with Lily. Lily honestly never has a good criticism beyond....I don't know, he's a edgy white boy? Like, I recall actually watching her reaction to the episode and its just....the only 'joke' she had was....how edgy the show will get. Like....this again, falls into Lily being allergic to anything with lore/plot. You take any step into dark stuff??? Edgy now. Didn't know plot/lore counted as edgy, but oh well. But when it came to Varian, its so weird cause like, just a reaction or so prior....she actually questioned if Rapunzel had checked in on Varian, aka a concern I saw at the time from others. But then you kind of cut to her just....now flat out hating Varian and dubbing him a edgy white boy.

But like, Lily wishing that on a fourteen year old isn't a surprise. Remember, Hunter is sixteen and is a child that up until the end of Hollow Mind, was stuck in an abusive situation and has now obviously fled it. But Lily actively not only wanted him to die CONSTANTLY when watching Any Sport In A Storm, she also actively cheered when Hunter's abuser, Belos, 'killed' him in Hollow Mind and then actually got upset when he was revealed to be alive and despite Hunter fleeing in a panic attack....she actually said good and told Hunter to stay out of the story. Like...she wouldn't be saying ANY of this if Hunter and Varian were either girls or weren't white, but because they are white and male, she actively does this shit and then considers anything she says as actual criticisms. Like okay, Lily, have fun acting like you can call out Hunter when your grown ass star wars oc is killing people cause violence fetish and is throwing temper tantrums whenever someone insults her slave trader mom.

#lily orchard #i tried to make the tangled stuff small since this is about lily #but yeah both arcs could have used improvements in areas #but its not a surprise lily didnt like varian

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deliciouspirateangel · 1 year

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Finished season 5 of PLL so I have to ramble

it felt like it took us about ten years to get thru this season. some of those eps were dragging and i think i zoned out more during this season than any other

i knew mona was still alive so that twist didn’t get me but it was still a lot of fun to see it play out

SPEAKING of mona. how on god’s green earth can you be on trial for murder when they NEVER FOUND A BODY??? also how are they going to arrest the other girls as accomplices when they weren’t even the ones on trial??? like as soon as they decide ali is a killer they have grounds to immediately send the other girls to prison??? ok

but the absolute stupidest moment this season. was all four girls signing up for a blood drive. to willingly have blood taken out of their bodies and put in lil vials where anyone could snatch it up and use it to fake dna evidence. and you’ll never guess what happened??? like yeah sometimes they make dumb decisions and you’re like “well it wasn’t the best choice but they dont have all the information” or “well they’re like 16 sometimes you do dumb things” but MY GOD this was the idiot moment to trump all idiot moments. this was just downright stewpid. it was five seconds into the episode and we had to pause so i could rant about how idiotic it was aksljfsldfs. especially bc hanna and caleb KNEW there were ziploc bags full of bloody clothes that were evidence for mona’s “murder” and ???? she still gave blood???? maybe she deserved to get arrested alksfjdklsfjdlsfjsdk

but anyway speaking of hanna and caleb they really are like That Ship like they were so fucking ride or die for each other turned up to 11 this season. caleb was like “if you get arrested then im getting arrested too idgaf” and in the dollhouse hanna tells A “if i see caleb in here i will Kill You” like holy shit i love the devotion, i love them so so much

toby was... a cop. he started out with good intentions and the whole “this town is full of crooked cops so you could at least have a crooked cop thats on your side” was sooo true bestie but he kind of got lost in the sauce after that oops. he started to come around and wise up so hopefully he gets better

the relationships this season had me tearing my hair out. paige gets put on a bus which, yay, get out of here. and then two seconds later a grown woman is trying to get with emily. and the second spoby is on the rocks there’s some weirdo living in spencer’s barn that’s trying to get with her. and im still not sure what his age is but that receding hairline they tried to disguise with his stringy bangs tells me he’s too old for her. oh and adam from glee i almost forgot him. and aria doesnt have any time away from ezra before she’s hitting up her tutor. at least he’s her age. but goddamn these girls cannot take a single breath without being involved in ten different kinds of relationship drama at the same time. its exhausting. it would not kill them to be single for one damn episode

speaking of disgusting age gap relationships. we had to pause the show again just so i could scream about ezria for about the 9184930th time. bc. ezra is mad at caleb over mike, talking about how mike’s just a kid and if he makes the wrong decision then it could fuck up the rest of his life and he’s way too young to do that. mike is sixteen. so ezra views a sixteen year old boy as a kid but a sixteen year old girl is a viable romantic option? ok... ezra deserved to have his dick chopped off, his skin flayed, and be thrown in a vat of acid. minimum. it’s the least he deserves aklsjfskldf

anyway big picture i liked a lot of aspects of the mystery unfolding?? but as a whole this season felt sooo draggy like hurry it up already. the finale was fun and im actually looking forward to starting the next season. two left, we’re sooo close to the end!!!

spencer, caleb, and hanna are still my faves, in that order. toby fell off a little but i still like him. emily is okay it’s just her relationships that are rotted. and aria’s relationships are rotted but i also just dont like her as a person. i dont trust ali and quite frankly i dont believe a damn thing she says ever. mona is a queen and im so glad she’s back. literally everyone over the age of 20 on this show can fuck off and die bc they’re all nasty lmao. thats my thoughts on all the characters <3

#pretty little liars #pll #my thoughts #angel watches stuff #angel watches pretty little liars

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piggyjeans · 2 years

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My kid. (Request)

Jesse pinkman x teen!reader, Jesse pinkman x platonic!reader, Jesse pinkman x sister!reader.

Request description: Can i get a Jesse pinkman x platonic teen reader where the reader is like a little sister to him and something bad/dangerous is going down so he has to bring her with him to make sure shes safe and she meets Walt. I just think it would be hilarous to see Walt just like 😐??? "Who tf is this"

Requested by: anonymous

Warnings: mention of parent neglect/abuse but nothing vulgar!!! I think that’s all lmk if I’m incorrect

(A/n): omg is this the first thing I’ve written that isn’t marvel related :0 well when I was littler, like thirteen or something I wrote the walking dead stuff LOL but we do not talk about that. Anyways sorry This is so short! I literally started writing it immediately after I read the request in my ask box so it’s only been like an hour in the working but it got me writing so wtv… anon I hope it lives up to ur expectations thank U SO MYCH FOR THIS AND PLEASE SEND ME MORE. NO KIDDING SEND ME LIEK FIFTEEN AT A TIME. ACTUALLY PLZ YOURE DOING ME A FAVOR LMFAOOO also if ur in my usual Taglist read the afternotes I put after the fic <3

You and Jesse had met five years ago when you were eleven. When you were trying to steal food for yourself, Jesse caught you before anyone else did. He just bought it for you and took you outside to talk to you while you ate the legal food. Now, you’re sixteen and in the past few years, you and Jesse have only grown closer. He immediately showed you what a comforting place he could be and immediately told you how you could always fall back on him if you needed to. And you being a kid, in dire need of attention, believed him.

You’re an only child, so you never had anyone there to really take care of you. Especially since you’d made it clear to Jesse the first night you met, the real reason you needed to steal that food. The neglect and abuse from your parents that only became more prominent as the years went on. And Jesse felt like he could be the one to take care of you, as best he could at least. Especially since 1. He loves children, and 2. He always wished he’d had someone like that growing up. It’s not easy to grow up feeling unheard and unloved.

You often go over to his house after school. Either he picks you up, or some days you ride the bus home and usually choose to walk to Jesse’s and show up unexpectedly. But he always makes you feel at home either way. His house is your second home, that’s what your parents and Jesse referred to it as. Well, that was before you started crying in front of him and told him about how much you wished it was your first home. How much you wish you didn’t have to deal with the shit at home anymore, and Jesse wishes he didn’t understand.

Today was one of the days when you’d called Jesse earlier in the day and asked him if you’d be able to come over. He agreed immediately and offered to pick you up like he usually does. Everything seemed normal until it was twenty past 2:00 and Jesse was nowhere to be seen.

Sometimes he could be late, sometimes he was waiting outside for you when you’d walked out of school. But he’d never been this late. Your first instinct was to be worried instead of mad. You pulled your phone out of your pocket at 2:35, when you were one of the last kids in the parking lot, aside from most of the kids waiting for their practice to start or something. And the couple of loiterers.

He picked up after two rings, “hey y/n I’m on my way. Stuck in traffic. Sorry.” He said, but he sounded seriously out of breath. “Did you just get back from a run?” You asked, knowing he doesn’t run. Just poking fun.

Jesse laughed a little on the other line and just said he would be there soon. Low and behold, he speedily arrived five minutes later. He pulled into the parking space right in front of where you were standing.

“Bye Flynn,” You smile next to you to the boy who was waiting with you. A boy you’ve become quite fond of, but you’d never admit it to anyone.

You open the passenger door and sling your backpack in, under your feet. “Who’s that?” Jesse asks, pointing to the boy slowly making his way back to his car.

“Oh, that?” You ask, probably a little too oblivious for Jesse’s liking, since he’s pretty much an overgrown teenager and knows all the tactics there are. “Yeah, that.” He asks, nodding his head aggressively, leaning over to get a better look at the boy.

“That’s my friend Flynn.” You say while buckling your seatbelt and looking down at your lap. “Huh. Flynn’s got a sweet ride.” Jesse says, watching as Flynn gets into his car. You nod, looking over at him.

“You like h-“ Jesse starts, but you’re not in the mood to lie or have a conversation about Flynn. There’s bigger fish to fry. “Jesse, Where were you? Why were you late, are you okay?” You ask, finally making eye contact.

Jesse nods, “yeah. Yeah, yeah. I’m okay. But uh, I think I need to stop by my work. I left something. And then we could go grab dinner, then I’ll bring you home.” Jesse says, smiling a phony smile. You narrow your eyes.

“We’re not going back to your house?” You ask, trying to read his eyes. He shakes his head, “well, I just thought you’d like to do something different this time. I know I’d like to switch it up.” He said, taking the car out of park to pull out.

“Uh, yeah. Sure.” You say quietly, looking out the window. A minute or two later he turns up the CD player when one of his favorite TwaüghtHammër songs starts playing. He sings along, Fallacies, Fallacies, Fallacies, Fallacies.

Once he pulls up to the laundromat you see a bald-headed man standing next to his parked car. He seems like he’d only arrived a few moments prior. But it still seems like an odd situation.

You glance over at Jesse and he glances at you and smiles softly. He pulls into a parking spot a few feet away from the man and shuts the car off. The bald man is out your window, and you eye each other for a moment. Immediately feeling something off about him.

“Stay here,” Jesse glances at you quickly before quickly hopping out of his car and walking to the passenger side near where the man is standing.

“Hey,” Jesse starts as he walks up to Walt, attempting to block you from his vision, a failed attempt. “Who’s that?” Walter asks immediately, pointing right at you.

Jesse scratches his neck and turns around, catching your eye as if attempting to look oblivious. “Oh, that? She’s- that’s just-“ he starts, but Walt’s hateful tone cuts him off, “you brought a prostitute to work?! What are you-“ Walt starts spitting, but Jesse narrows his eyes and waves his hands in front of Walt’s face, immediately blabbering and stuttering in shock.

“No! No, she’s not a prostitute, man! She’s fifteen.” He shivers, his disgusted face turns around and meets yours of confusion. And your innocent frame, your beat-up high school sweatshirt, and hair pulled back messily. And the healing bruise on your face, the indication that you HAD been beat up, by either school bullies you’d mentioned to Jesse in passing or by your parents. But you’d refused to tell him which. At least it was mostly healed by now. He doesn’t know how Walt thinks you resemble anything of a sex symbol, because you’re just a kid to him.

More like his kid.

“That’s… that’s my… my…” Jesse looks for the words but doesn’t really know what to call you. You’re not his sister, technically. You’re not his friend, you’re more than a friend. You’re like family to him, but he didn’t want to say that and make it come off weird to Walt.

That’s when you decide to make the first move. You unbuckle your seatbelt and step over your backpack while opening the passenger door.

“I’m y/n.” You say, holding your hand out for Walt to shake it. He just looks down out it, then back up at you, raising an eyebrow, then turning to Jesse.

“My kid,” Jesse says, leaning into you slightly and smiling. He’s referred to you like that in front of people before, and it worked for both of you. Like when he’d referred to you as his kid at a school play you were in and Jesse showed up at, and you’d called him your ‘grown-up’. Now it’s just your thing.

“What? So it’s bring your child to work day? Well, you should’ve let me know. I’m sure my newborn daughter would’ve loved to see what we do here.” Walt says, rolling his eyes and walking into the laundromat.

Jesse slowly looks back at you before gesturing for you to follow him. “She’s- she’s not gonna tell anyone, or jeopardize our business or anything. She’s trustworthy.” He defends your honor.

“Has she ever been exposed to something this big before? How do you know she won’t go tell anyone?” Walt says as he enters the elevator behind some big washing machine. You and Jesse follow him.

“Hey man-“ Jesse starts in a voice that anyone who knows him could recognize as an argumentative tone coming on.

“I don’t have anyone to tell.” You say, quietly but matter-of-factly as the elevator doors close. You don’t break eye contact with Walt, staring up at him blankly and he looks down at you mirroring the same expression. All the while Jesse looks at you worryingly.

Walt turns away. “This isn’t a therapy session.” He says quietly. You fight the urge to smile because it was a kinda funny roast. So you avoid eye contact with Jesse because you don’t know how he’s feeling about this entire situation.

When the elevator doors open, and after a long hallway and a big metal door, you see Jesses workplace. Walking over this small platform above everything where you have a clear view of everything, and down a spiral staircase where you’re in it.

As your eyes scan everything, you hear Walt and Jesse quietly whispering behind you. But you can make out some things.

Jesse whispers, “I think they bugged my house,” to Walt.

You narrow your eyes, everything hitting you. Jesses weird behavior and all his money and fear and sudden anxiety and outbursts. Amongst other things

“Jesse…” you start, looking around the lab, your back to him.

“So, yeah. We- um. We work down here and make new laundry detergent and stuff for the people upstairs. But it can be very toxic so…” Jesse says. You turn around and meet his eyes as he rubs the back of his neck.

“You… cook meth?” Your brows furrowed. You can’t understand why he would want to do this. But, you guess it explains all the money.

Jesse immediately and loudly stammers. But Walt just nods his head, pressing his lips together. “Smart kid you’ve got on your hands. Would hate to have something happen to her.” He says, you immediately sport a baffled look, but you figure he’s bluffing.

“Hey, asshole. That’s my kid. You don’t-“ Jesse starts, once again loudly. But Walt cuts him off, “and I won’t have to, not unless she shared any aspects of our work here.” He says.

“I don’t have anyone to tell, man. I just told you that five minutes ago. Jesse, your partner got short-term memory loss or something,” you look back and forth from Jesse to Walter.

Walt nods slowly. He mutters something quickly sounding like, “maybe we could legally bound her to silence or something, maybe Saul will know.” He starts to walk away as he pulls out his phone, but you interrupt his typing.

You point to Walt’s phone and narrow your eyes, “That’s my uncle,” you say unbelievably. Jesse and Walt freeze in their tracks, glancing up at you. “What?” Jesse asks, looking down at Walt’s phone, and then back to you.

“‘Saul Goodman’? Yeah, my uncle. Well, not by blood, but he worked with my dad or something. And his names actually Jim or James or something. I called him uncle jimmy when I was little.” You say, looking between the two of them. Jesse makes a face that says he’s about to go on a confused rant, but Walt cuts it off before it starts, “huh. You learn something new every day.” Then he pressed the call button on his phone and stares at you while it rings.

“Saul? We’ve got a situation. But we’ve also got your niece here so let’s keep that in mind.” Walt says, smiling shortly at you, and putting his phone on speaker.

“Niece? What, my niece? I don’t have a-“ Jimmy says. You forgot how his voice sounded.

“Hi, uncle jimmy. It’s y/n.” You say softly, staring at Walt’s phone.

“Y/n l/n!? No kidding! How are you, kid!?” He starts, But Walt cuts him off, taking his phone off of speaker and turning to walk up the red wire spiral staircase and walking out of the lab to continue his conversation with Saul on the phone.

Jesse shakes his head, before walking the few short steps beside where you're leaning on one of the counters, “so, what’d you think of him?” Jesse said, looking down at you.

You take a deep breath, “I think your partners an asshole,” you say jokingly, glancing up at him.

“Hey! Language.” He laughs, pushing you slightly. Knowing how much force to use before he could actually hurt you. You both laugh,

“Yeah, okay. King of ‘bitch!’” You say playfully.

“‘King of bitch’? What is that supposed to mean?”

“What, you didn’t think I heard your voicemail every time you missed my calls? When I was like, what, twelve? “Yo yo yo, 148-3 to the 3 to the 6 to the 9, representing the ABQ, what up, biatch?!” It still plays in my head when I can't fall asleep!” Jesse would reprimand you for cursing a second time but he’s too busy laughing.

“God, please don’t be like me when you’re older, kid.” He laughs.

Hiii so if ur in my usual Taglist u would go here but I didn’t know if it was right to tag my usual Taglist in this bc it’s not marvel so!!!!!! If you guys still see this lmk if u only wanna be tagged in the marvel fanfic & if u wanna join my Taglist for breaking bad or marvel or both just lmk! <3333 love u guys

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cinnamon-roll-seth · 3 years

Text

Meant To Be (Part Two) || Nick Goode

- Part One

Request- Can you write an imagine of Nick Goode from 1978 where y/n is a redhead and is the sister of Ziggy and Cindy. Her and Nick were dating before y/n left camp and Nick dumped her. After a year she comes back with her sisters and they meet again and y/n tries to talk to him but he doesn't want to. And there is a fight like Deena and Sam at the beginning of the movie because Nick was also mad at her because she was kissing a boy and he squeezed her ass and he knows she didn't feel comfortable with it just like Sam and Deena’s fight. And after the fight he ignores her, still loving her, and always thinking about her after years. And then after years they reconcile and stay together for years, until death do them part. (there is no curse in the imagine)

“No, no, no.” You groaned, looking in your rearview mirror as a pair of red and blue lights flashed behind you.

You pulled over and sighed, running a hand through your hair while mumbling out a few curses. Cindy was going to kill you.

You reluctantly rolled your window down as the officer approached your car and bent down, “Ma’am did you know- Y/N?”

Of course it would be Nick Goode, of all people, to have pulled you over.

It had been 7 years since that night at camp where the two of you had fought. After that you avoided him at all cost and only spoke to him when necessary.

As the years went by and you’d grown and matured your negative feelings toward Nick had disappeared. You no longer held any hatred for the man. He was simply an old fling to you now, a silly teenage relationship that didn’t work out.

That still didn’t make him pulling you over any less embarrassing.

“Um, hey Nick. Look I’m sorry if I was speeding, I didn’t even realize. I’m late for my nephews birthday party and if I’m any later my sister is going to literally kill me.” You ramble, reaching into your wallet for your license to give to him.

“You weren’t speeding Y/N. I pulled you over to ask if you knew you had a taillight out.” He reassures you awkwardly.

“Really? The left one? Damn I just replaced that one a few weeks ago.” You mutter, “I guess you have to give me a ticket now, huh? Alright, get it over with.”

“Well technically I don’t have to give you a ticket. I’ll settle for your number instead?” He answers smoothly causing your cheeks to heat up.

“Oh..uh-“

Nick cuts off your stuttering, “Look Y/N. I’m going to go out on a limb here and tell you the truth. These past few years I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. About what it would be like if we’d stayed together. You were one of the best things that has ever happened to me and I was a dumbass and went and fucked it up and I’ve never been able to forgive myself for hurting you. Even if you don’t feel the same way please just give me the chance to properly apologize. The way we left things just doesn’t sit right with me.”

You weren’t sure what to say. You’d be lying if you hadn’t also caught yourself often thinking about what would’ve happened if you and Nick were together still. Would you be married and have kids of your own? Would you have that dog the two of you always talked about?

Yes the two of you had left off on bad terms but that was years ago. You were both older now, more mature. Maybe if you gave Nick another chance things would go different this time. Or maybe you’d get the chance to put the past behind you and be at least friends.

Finally you reached over into the passenger seat into your purse for the pen and notepad you kept inside.

You scribbled your phone number down and ripped the piece of paper off before handing it to Nick, “Call me tonight and we can talk.”

He nodded and smiled before thanking you and sending you on your way. You hoped you wouldn’t regret this.

And you didn’t.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Your family and friends cheered and clapped their hands as Nick gently placed his hands on either side of your face and brought you in for a kiss.

“Ladies and gentlemen I introduce to you: Mr. and Mrs. Goode!”

You’d dreamed about this day that summer at camp when the two of you were together. After your breakup you’d thought bitterly about how this day would never happen. And now the day had arrived after all and it was even more perfect then your sixteen-year-old self could’ve ever imagined.

You were finally married to the love of your life. You were Nick Goode’s wife. All because of an out taillight two years ago.

5 Years Later

“Lunch is done!” You called out to your husband and children from the your back porch.

“Mommy come see our leaf pile!” Your daughter yells excitedly. You make your way down the steps and across the yard to where your husband, daughter, and twin sons are standing around a large pile of leaves.

“Wow that is a big leaf pile,” You tell her enthusiastically.

“Daddy was throwing us in it,” She beams happily.

“Guys I think Mommy wants to play in our leaf pile too, what do you think?” Nick asks mischievously.

“Yeah!” All three of your children reply excitedly.

“Let’s all tackle Mommy on the count of three,” Your husband tells them.

“You better not,” You fake warn them.

“1…2….3! Get her!” The four of them come running at you and tackle you down into the pile of leaves.

The five of you all fall into the leaf pile giggling and laughing.

“You little devils! I’ll get you for this!” You yell playfully, grabbing one of your sons and tickling him while he shrieks and tries to wiggle away.

Finally the little one escapes and the three kids jump up and run into the house to escape your playful vengeance.

You turn to your husband and grin, putting a hand on his chest, “We’d better go before those little monsters destroy the kitchen.”

You go to get up but Nick pulls you back down and you let out a surprised gasp as you fall back into his chest.

“Let’s just stay here for a minute,” He mumbles, before pulling your lips into his.

You gladly kiss him back, putting your hand on his chest as he has his on your face.

“EWW!” You hear a chorus of little voices, breaking your kiss as you turn and see all three of your kids on the porch staring at the two of you.

“Alright now you’re gonna get it,” Your husband jumps up and runs after the kids, who run into the house yelling and giggling as their father chases them.

You laugh to yourself and stand up, walking towards the house while yelling out, “Let’s go Maisie!”

The german shepherd stops sniffing the bush she was inspecting and chases after you into the house.

You’d finally gotten your happy ever after with Nick and you couldn’t be happier. The two of you truly were meant to be.

#multifandom #multifandom imagines #fear street #fear street imagine #fear street x reader #nick goode imagine #nick goode x reader #nick goode #requests are closed

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authornina · 3 years

Text

Dalonte “DALY” Dennis: (TEK)

***THIS HAS NOT BEEN THROUGH A TYPICAL EDITING PROCESS; ALL SHORTS ARE ROUGH DRAFTS***

Daly shook his head listening to his sisters go back and forth about dumb shit. It seemed like they always waited until he came around to bring up niggas. He never intruded on their personal lives because he’d instilled enough in them to know what to do and what not to do. He had been on his own with them since he could remember. Daly was only ten years old roaming the streets looking for food to feed them. Life didn’t give him much of a choice to live another way. His mother left everything up to him, so he had to do anything to survive. At first it was just he and TJ, then two more girls came, and his mother literally dropped them off home to him. Daly cared for infants alone being just a baby himself.

They were on their way to the airport to pick up the baby of the three, Erie. She went away to college four years ago and this would be her first time back in Philly since graduating. They visited her a lot, but they were all happy to have her in the same state as them again. He was so proud of Erie for sticking it out and finishing college. At first, she would beg to come home. She even threatened to drop out several times. Daly spoiled Erie the most so during each one of her breakdowns he flew to Atlanta where she attended Spelman to talk her down.

All three of his sisters even being raised by him like straight niggas turned out to be great women despite their foul ass mouths and no-nonsense ass attitudes. People always said how pretty they were until witnessing one of them in action. Daly was a cool brother to have but he sometimes was too hard on himself thinking he could’ve done better with them and their emotions. He didn’t know how to raise children let alone girls but over the years he learned so much about women, more than he actually wanted to know.

TJ was the oldest and she owned a popular hair salon. She was the wildest and most outspoken. Daly had to bail her out of jail several times, primarily for domestic disputes with her lovers. She was openly bisexual and came out to him when she was sixteen, saying if Daly didn’t accept her for who she was, he could kiss her ass. Of course, no matter what he loved his sister. TJ was five-eight, with tan skin covered by tattoos. She had them everywhere. None of them knew their fathers and Daly assumed she was biracial off her features and TJ didn’t like that. So, the long curly black hair she once had as a girl which made her ambiguity more apparent was shaved off and she chose to wear all types of colorful wigs. She was beautiful either way with her natural hunter green eyes and freckled rosy cheeks. Despite her lifestyle and appearance, TJ went to church a lot. She’d been that way since she was just a child. Always telling Daly she had them all covered on the prayer tip, so they were good. She believed the Lord protected her big brother the many nights he had to go out and do what needed to be done for them. TJ had a huge and loving heart she just didn’t have the patience for bullshit.

Ta’Kia, whom everyone simply called Kia was the calmest when considering the three of them. She didn’t bother anyone unless they bothered her. It was a different story if she knew you though, you wouldn’t be able to shut her ass up. She went to college in state at West Chester where she met her white boyfriend that she stressed out regularly. Kia was also fair skin and four-eleven of feistiness. Daly knew whoever her father was had to be black. She had 4C hair and to him that meant straight nigga. He learned all about the different types of hair black women had over the years. He didn’t assume they couldn’t have loose coils in general, but his sister came from nigga nuts with the shit that sat on top of her head. Kia kept it in all types of natural styles. She was the earthy vegan type. No man-made chemicals could touch her person and she only ate what she grew. She wore very little clothing often, even when it was cold with beads around her waist, lots of rings on her fingers and she had two nose rings and a septum. Daly didn’t know where the hell that aesthetic came from but again, he supported his sisters through whatever.

Then there was Erieon, Erie for short, Daly’s baby. TJ and Kia didn’t give into her spoiled ass the way he did. If you asked them, their little sister was selfish, stubborn and plain old evil. Erie had a bad attitude, worse than all of three put together and never liked to admit when she was wrong. The only person she didn’t get out the way with was Daly. Erie was the surprise baby and the most beautiful little dark doll he’d ever seen when his mother first dropped her off. He fell in love with her the moment he had to take her on. By then he’d become an expert at caring for infants. Erie stood out because amongst her sisters she shined like chocolate satin. While her sisters rocked baldies and bushes, Erie loved box braids, and any other type of style that hung pass her butt in individuals. Everything about her was gorgeous. She was the most regular physically but personality wise, Daly had a time with that one. Sometimes he thought she had some mental health issues but seeing Lake go through so much and learning what he could, he swore his sister wasn’t that damaged. Couldn’t be. He simply gave her whatever she wanted and hoped it never went further than having temper tantrums.

When Daly was just a child, if it weren’t for Hassan, he and his sisters would be separated and spread out through the system. It was one of the reasons Daly was so loyal to Lake. Hassan made sure they never had to worry about being taken from one another. The house they lived in, he bought it and fixed it up. They had food and clean clothes every day. When his mother would try to come and interrupt the peace they finally had, Hassan made sure she didn’t any longer. Whatever bad shit people had to say about the late Hassan Porter, he and his sisters were blinded by the fact that he was the only adult to give a fuck about them. Even his mother’s sister didn’t offer a helping hand when she knew how they were living. Hassan didn’t ask any questions or want any answers. He saw a problem and fixed it. Never made Daly feel ashamed or embarrassed either.

Once at the busy airport, they didn’t even have to park to meet Erie inside. She was sitting outside on her luggage with an obvious attitude.

“Here her ass go with the bullshit,” Kia said getting out the car. She hugged her resistant baby sister while Daly kissed her cheek before getting her stuff. TJ didn’t even get out the car because she was the least interested in what had her mean ass mad already.

“What’s wrong, Erieon?” Daly asked once they were all back in the car.

“Nothing.”

“Erie! Stop bein’ a fuckin’ brat!” TJ turned around to her sister who was in the back seat now with her arms crossed and face balled up. “You always do that like somebody supposed to know what you thinkin’.”

“Leave me alone.”

“Erie, what’s wrong?” Daly asked her in a gentle tone making TJ and Kia roll their eyes.

“The flight was just annoying. I don’t like being around people.”

“I’m sure people don’t like being around your evil ass either,” TJ said. “I’ma pray for you on Sunday demon.” She held the cross around her neck then pulled out a little bottle and splashed Erie.

“Don’t put that saltwater on me!”

“You need Jesus!”

“TJ, stop,” Kia laughed. “Stay sprinkling people with your lil holy water.”

“She think cause she got baptized that she still not going to hell,” Erie said, wiping her face. “Newsflash, you eat pussy, that’s a sin!”

“Yo!” Daly yelled. “I don’t wanna hear that shit. All y’all shut the fuck up!”

Why did he say that? All hell broke loose. They started shouting obscenities his way and he blew his breath wishing he went alone to begin with. Daly loved his sisters to absolute death, but they were a damn handful. How anybody dated one was beyond him. Man or woman.

“Wit your big head ass!” TJ mushed him. “Don’t be talkin’ to us like that!”

“I’m stayin’ with you TJ,” Erie said. They were the two who got along the least, but her sister was the most freeing to be around and let her do anything. Even though she was going on twenty-three, Kia and Daly treated her like a baby.

“Then you better act like you know, I ain’t for the walkin’ around my shit with no attitude! And I don’t clean up after grown muhfuckas.”

“Why you don’t want your own shit?” Daly asked.

“Because I don’t wanna be alone,” Erie said low. “TJ lays with me when I need her.”

“I can lay with you,” Daly said.

“You never be home.”

Erie saying that made Daly feel bad. If he wasn’t there often it’s because he couldn’t be and when he wasn’t, they had to take care of each other. They didn’t intentionally make him feel bad about it, they simply were dealt a shitty hand. No mother and their brother couldn’t be around due to the fact that he was the provider. It all affected each of them in different ways.

“I lay with you too.”

“Kia, your bed bout as big as this back seat. Then you like to sleep on the floor,” Erie said, and they all started laughing.

Daly gave his sisters the range to live much more extravagant, but Kia didn’t want to. She liked her open space loft, mattress on the floor, no curtains, plants from wall to windows, three pairs of shoes and garden full of natural foods. TJ wanted to work for her own money, so she started a business. Erie was the only one who happily ran through his pockets like no tomorrow. He was okay with him being their backup plan if they ever needed or wanted it.

“Says the homeless one,” Kia rolled her eyes.

“By choice,” Erie retorted.

After Daly took his sisters out then dropped them all off, he stopped at his old apartment. His phone was ringing off the hook and the only calls he returned were Lake, Wreck and Roddy. Mansion called him about fifty times. When those went unanswered, the texts started.

Mansion: I know you with another bitch, since you wanna ignore me for her. Stay there, and don’t call me ever again with your hoe ass!

Mansion: Bitch ass nigga! You really wanna cheat on me? And I bet she don’t look like shit!

Mansion: I was fuckin’ somebody else anyway!

Mansion: I’m gettin’ a abortion!

Daly ignored each one. Mansion would say anything to get him to argue with her. At first it was funny, but now, he was a little tired of the constant back and forth. It was childish but that’s what he got for messing with a twenty-one-year-old.

“What?” he asked, finally answering for her.

“Put your bitch on the phone.”

“I ain’t wit no bitch.”

“Right, you a hoe ass liar! Come get me right now.”

“Fuck no! Go tell the nigga you was fuckin’ to get your crazy ass.”

“I was just sayin’ that,” Mansion whined. “I love you.”

“Obviously,” Daly responded sarcastically and they both started laughing. “You gotta chill bro.”

“My anger just get the best of me, you know I would never step out on you.”

“I’m not comin’ tonight, I got shit to do.”

“Like what?”

“Shit.”

“You lyin’.”

“When the fuck do I ever have to lie? If I’ma be with another bitch, I would tell you.”

“See that’s what I’m talkin’ bout, the disrespect! I’m not about to let you play in my face with no ugly ass hoe!”

“Who ugly, Mansion?”

“SHADIA!” she screamed, and Daly hollered. His on again off again girlfriend for years grinded Mansion’s gears. “You need to tell that dog face bitch you love me and it’s over.”

“I told her that.”

“Then why she still feel comfortable to go around talkin’ about my nigga? Why THE FUCK is she postin’ you on her Instagram?”

“I don’t know.”

“You know because you keep givin’ that hoe hope!”

“Ion give nobody shit,” Daly looked at his phone beeping. “Hold on, I’ma call you right back.” He didn’t wait for a response to click over for his sister. “Yea TJ?”

“Come get Erie before I fuck her up!”

“What she do that damn fast?”

“I comes the fuck in my room and her ass changin’ shit around in MY HOUSE!”

“You got it ugly in here!” he heard Erie yell in the back. “Everything don’t gotta be green!”

“DALONTE!” TJ shouted. “Come get your sister! NOW! Jesus be a high ass fence for Erieon…” she started her prayer for forgiveness then Daly heard a bunch of ruckus. He hung up on everybody tired of dealing with women for one day. It wasn’t even five o’clock yet. He got all the bags out of his trunk and went inside the apartment building.

When he put his key in the door Tracy was standing right there with an attitude. Out of all the bitch fits, he was least interested in hers. He didn’t tell his sisters about their mother staying there and that’s why he moved because it would upset them. TJ mostly. She hated Tracy to no ending.

“The fuck you standing there for waitin’ like you caught me cheatin’ or something?”

“Because you leave me in this place, alone! I ain’t got no phone, no communication to the outside world—”

“Man, fuck outta here,” Daly said, closing the door. “You lucky you got this.”

“I want to see my children, Dalonte!”

“They don’t wanna see you.”

Daly’s mother was a rehabilitated crackhead and ex-prostitute. He wouldn’t have offered her a place to stay but she was currently pregnant and had the nerve to tell him she wanted to do right for her baby.

“Well it ain’t they choice, y’all is muthafuckin’ kids to me! I don’t care what we been through! I am your mother!”

“You ain’t shit, Tracy.” Daly took all the bags in the kitchen. “Here, all the shit you wanted. Fuckin’ prenatal vitamins,” he threw them at her. “I know your ass ain’t do none of this shit with us! You want my sisters to see this shit?” He started pouring all the stuff out. “You got it in you to finally care about one of your kids.”

“He is y’all little brother,” Tracy said, palming her stomach with tears in her eyes. Her oldest child hated her so she knew it couldn’t have been any better with the other three but not seeing them for so long hurt her heart. When she came to him, he didn’t even care at first. They owed her nothing and as a mother Tracy wished she could take every ounce of pain she caused them back.

“I almost said fuck him too,” Daly laughed, and Tracy smiled. Her son loved her; she knew this because he could be really cold when he wanted to be. There had been times she’d been on the other end of it.

“I’m sorry for putting all of this on you, if I had another option, I would’ve chosen it. I know it’s not easy seeing me like this,” Tracy expressed to her son sincerely.

“Whatever, I’m out, I gotta go break up a fight between your kids.”

“Can you at least tell them I miss them?”

“I’ll think about it.” Daly closed the door in her face. He stood with his back against the door feeling the way he did when he was younger. So many times, she would even watch him struggle with his sisters. Tracy would be home while he was trying to figure out a way to provide for them. Here she was pregnant again with another baby and needed her son all over again. Déjà vu.

#OnUs #authornina #Nina

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tpwkxxangel · 2 years

Text

Is this the real life? pt. 3

**not my photo**

[warnings: mentions passing out and loss of a parent, maybe a little concert depression?, language]

No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness. That's the excuse I'm using after getting back from the Harry show. Even if I told my mom that I went to the show and now Harry knows me by name, she would think I'm certifiably insane. I have been in love with this man since he was sixteen years old and suddenly, he knows me by name? This is totally not my life.

Last night was so insane that I don't think I've fully absorbed what happened. Yes, I'm physically fine, but emotionally? Definitely bruised. The girls explained exactly what happened after I passed out and it sounds like something straight out of a rom com.

Harry stopped in the middle of the song to make sure I got over the barricade safely. He sang the rest of the encore songs, but he did seem a little worried. My friends had all been told by the same security guard that lifted me over the barricade that they could follow him after the show. They followed him into the green room where they waited for me.

Jeff, Harry’s manager, came to reassure them that I was just getting checked out and would be escorted to the room once I was given the okay to leave the arena.

I just can't wrap my head around anything that happened this past weekend. It can't be real.

When I stepped on the plane this morning, I thought everything would be fine. With all the excitement the last 24 hours, I'm supposed to be happy, right? I'm lucky enough to see the little fruit man prance around on stage more than once this tour, and this past show was not my last one. So why do I feel so fucking empty?

I didn't want to go back to reality at all. I know I have to go back to work and face my big kid responsibilities, but I have no motivation whatsoever.

When my Uber drops me off at my house, I can't help but sigh. All I want to do is get into my bed and cry for a little bit. I specifically flew in at a time when I knew my mom would be at work.

The door makes a soft clicking sound locking and I place my duffle bag on the ground.

"Y/N? Is that you, honey?" my mother's voice sounds through the foyer. I nearly jump out of my skin from surprise.

"Ah!" I scream clutching my chest. "Mom? What are you doing here?"

She makes her way over to me holding a dish towel. "Who else would it be?" she playfully rolls her eyes before continuing, "I decided I'd work from home today. You were at Caroline's all weekend so I figured we could do a movie marathon when you got home today."

This wasn't unusual for us. At least once a month, when her workload was light, we would blow off all our responsibilities and just binge watch the Twilight series. It's just her and I, so we often do those types of things together. And honestly, it sounds better than crying myself into a nap.

"Um, yeah. That sounds fun. Let me shower really quickly," I gesture upstairs. She nods, and I quickly make my way up to my room.

I notice I still have my pit wristband! I quickly take it off and set it on my dresser. That was so close. It's not that she wouldn't be happy for me if I told her the truth, but like most mothers, she worries about everything. Did I almost die? Probably. Did I actually die? That's still up for debate.

She also doesn't understand Harry's part in my life. She thinks I'm too old to be a fangirl for a grown adult. Since I started my dream job of being a content editor, I should have moved out of obsessing over childish things according to her.

What does she honestly expect though? I mostly read and edit books for a living. My head will forever and always be in the clouds surrounded by love and heart wrenching storylines.

When Harry released his 'Love on Tour' show dates, I begged her to let me go, but she only responded with "It was different when you were a teenager. You are twenty-two years old now. Why are you so fascinated with a twenty-five-year-old?"

That was a little over two years ago, and my answer still hasn't changed.

He saved me when no one else could. That's why. It's not like I didn't have a support system when I was going through the worst stage in my life. I am thankful enough to have a lovely family and friends, but they could never understand what it was like to feel that low. Harry did. Through his music I was able to heal wounds that I didn't think could ever heal. She doesn't understand that though.

I love her to death, but we just don't see eye to eye sometimes.

I throw my travel duffle on my bed before walking to my closet to pick out a cozy outfit. I can't help but smiling at the knock off Rolling Stone's shirt that Harry used to wear so often. I'll definitely be comfortable in that. I grab a hold of that and some biker shorts and head into my bathroom.

Maybe I should just move out and then she might understand better? One of the main reasons I haven't is that my mother has no one else. She hasn't dated since dad passed a few years back, and she loves to work so she rarely has time to hang out with her friends. I'm all she has left and she hasn't hinted once about me getting my own place.

As much as she worries about me, I worry about her too.

After my shower I head downstairs where my mom is setting everything up. I smile and laugh at the hoard of blankets and pillows decorating the couch.

"If we're having a marathon, I figured we'd do it properly," she chuckles.

Yeah, I don't know that I could move out anytime soon.

The incessant buzzing of my phone woke me up the next morning. I blindly reach for the object on my nightstand. The screen causes me to squint but what I see has my heart sinking hard into my chest.

The 'OT5' group chat is blowing up with 115 messages. I quickly jump into action, sitting up and turning on my lamp. This could only mean one thing...

One of the boys did something!

If one of the boys did something I will literally never sleep again. I was asleep when they released Drag Me Down and I have never forgiven myself for putting sleep over them since.

Dove: Y/N!!! WAKE UP!!!

Rachel: OT5 EMERGENCY MEETING WAKE TF UP BITCH!

Sofie: What happened?

It looks like it didn't take her long to figure it out because she spammed the chat moments after sending that message.

Sofie: OMG Y/N YOU NEED TO WAKE UP NOW!!!!

Katie: i will literally never get over the fact that i didn't get to go to the show. i hate you all

Dove: 4 NIPS NO HIPS!!! EMERGENCY Y/N!!!

The procedure that we have all agreed upon years ago is that if it was too hard to articulate what was going on through text, we would use a designated code word for whichever boy to narrow down who did what. Obviously, this emergency is about Harold.

I hit the facetime button as soon as I read that message.

“Y/N have you checked Twitter????” Rachel calls out being the first one to pick up. The other three following shortly after.

“No! I just woke up! Someone tell me what’s happening!” I shout quickly feeling the impending stomach drop of Harry doing something while I was asleep.

They all start talking at once, so I interrupt them. “Katie, as the voice of reason, please explain before I hyperventilate.”

“The video of you passing out is circling around Twitter right now. It’s trending, Y/N. Luckily the video doesn’t have a clear view of you, so they don’t know who you are yet,” she responds quickly.

I freeze for a moment. How did I not consider this before? We are living in the 21st century so of course someone would have been videotaping what was going on. I quickly pull up Twitter to see an update account has posted a video of what happened. I read some of the comments under the post and they are all surprisingly kind. Most just want to check to make sure I'm okay.

“Alright. This isn’t bad. I don’t connect my personal social medias with my stan social medias,” I say trying to play off the minor panic attack I’m having over a video of me passing out going viral. What if my mom see it?

“It’s okay to be upset. You couldn’t help it. You literally just dropped,” Dove says.

“Yeah. They don’t know who you are. This video will be last week’s news once he plays his show tomorrow,” Sofie says gently.

It’s not that I’m upset per se. I’m more overwhelmed by people acknowledging my existence when I’m almost always overlooked.

“Sofie’s right. No one will know it’s you,” Katie comforts. She’s honestly the most levelheaded out of all of us. She had her sister’s wedding to go to this weekend so she couldn’t make it out to the show.

“Holy shit is that the time?” I jump out of bed quickly running to my closet. “I’m gonna be late for a meeting!”

“It’s okay! We’ll keep you updated,” Dove says before I say my goodbyes and get ready.

This meeting was a normal meeting with a corporation who wants me to ghost write their web page for them. I’ve done that a few times, so I made sure to draft up a few ideas to show them this past week. There’s a lot of things you can get done while waiting in line for nearly 14 hours to see the love of your life.

I’m very much a homebody, so this job is perfect for me. I hate idle chit chat in general, so my job allows me to work virtually anywhere. It’s incredible.

When I get to the building, I scan my badge to slide through straight to the elevators. I get to the meeting room just in time to start. I let out a sigh of release and relax into my chair while my boss makes introductions.

Despite the minor freak out this morning, I know today will be just as normal as my life was before the Harry concert. Back to reality.

By the end of the meeting, the company decided to go with one of my ideas which was nice. Since I already had some things written, all I have to do is revise the draft with their slogan and motto before sending it over to their IT person to place on the website.

I turn my phone back on, only to have it blow up similarly to this morning. The group chat is going off, and my twitter notifications are flooded too. I check the group chat to confirm what I already know.

Dove: They found your username.

Rachel: Those assholes from the line posted your @/

I don’t need to read the rest to know that that’s why my twitter is going off.

This was unfortunate but inevitable. They were bound to find me. I’m lucky to have never posted anything super descriptive of myself on this stan account, because yes, I have multiple. They will only know the first initial to my name because that’s what it is on there. This isn’t as bad as it sounds. I might as well check twitter just in case.

When I get back to my office, I pull up my twitter on my laptop. I see about 700 new people followed me.

I instantly freeze.

Not from the number of new followers, but from the DM that is sitting in my inbox taunting at me...

@/Harry_Styles: Hey Y/N! I was just wanting to check in and see how you were doing after the show last night? -H

tag list: @harry-is-my-sunflower @gucci-hazza @damnasstyles @msolbesg @hi-yekaterina @imaginesofdreams @multiplums @gxldenxash @infinitely-yellow @sunshinetemptress9

#harry styles fanfiction #harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry fanfic #harry styles one shot #harry edward styles #harry styles x reader #harrystyles oneshot #is this the real life hs

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fandom-puff · 3 years

Text

As Time Went On

Pairing: Tommy Shelby x reader

Requested by: anon ‘Could I request a Tommy Shelby x reader where it shows your relationship throughout your whole life so like from being friends at a really young age until married in adulthood’

Warnings: mentions of war/violence/sex but nothing in detail. Also, drinking and smoking

Gif creds to owner

“Oi! You’re not allowed here. Girls aren’t allowed,”

You rolled your eyes, concentrating on scribbling the names of the horses your father had told you onto a bit of paper with a blunt pencil.

“Shut it, Shelby. Your Aunt Polly is a girl and she’s always here. Anyway, Dad doesn’t finish in the factory until after closing time and Mum’s too busy taking care of my brother, so shut the fuck up and let me put my bloody bet on,”

Polly smirked into her cup as she walked over to you both, trying not to laugh at the argument between the two seven year olds (although Tommy would constantly remind everyone that he was actually seven and a half). “Alright, Thomas. Go and help your brother, you know he’s bad at sums. You written those horses down for me , love?” She asked, and you handed her the piece of paper. While she checked over your wonky writing, tommy glared at you, sticking his tongue out at you as he walked away.

***

“What if he kicks me? Or throws me off? Or bites me?”

Tommy laughed slightly. “He won’t. Shadow’s a good horse. Even our Ada rides him sometimes. C’mon, I’ll help you up,” Although a little apprehensive, you accepted Tommy’s leg up as you got onto the horse, eyes widening as he shifted. “It’s alright. He’s just getting used to you,”

“I thought girls were meant to ride with their legs on one side,” you said after a while as Tommy began leading the horse slowly around his paddock.

“Only rich, posh girls who don’t know anything about horses,” tommy said. “Us? We know horses. This is how we do it,”

You nodded, smiling slightly as you looked down at tommy. You were both fourteen now, him nearing fifteen, and he seemed to have grown overnight. When you were younger, you had been a few inches taller than him, which came at a real advantage when you played chase (or a fun game called Run As Fast As You Can So Polly Doesn’t Wack Us With Her Wooden Spoon) but now, even with you atop the horse, you could see how much taller he was.

A little while later, he helped you down off Shadow, and he gulped, feeling the softness of your waist beneath your dress. He cleared his throat and together you led the horse back to the stables, stealing glances at one another when the other wasn’t looking.

***

“My dad will fucking kill me,” you said in a hushed voice, barely suppressing your tipsy giggles as you and Tommy sat by the Cut, hiding in the shadows of Charlie’s yard.

“He’s more likely to kill me,” Tommy grinned, taking a swig from the bottle before passing it to you. “Sixteen years old and here you are, out past midnight, getting you shitfaced, smoking. I really have led you astray,”

You grinned, gulping from the bottle and sloshing it down your front. Tommy shook his head fondly. “You’re such a fuckin’ lightweight, YN,” he said, and you laughed loudly. “Shhh shut the fuck up,” tommy said, his own laugh betraying him as he pressed his hand ovef your mouth. You stared at eachother for a moment as he slowly moved his hand and you leaned in close, pressing your lips against his.

“Oi! Who’s there?”

“Shit, Charlie’s coming, c’mon! Grab the fuckin’ whiskey, YN, for Christ’s sake!”

Tommy grabbed your hand and pulled you up and you ran off, laughing into the night.

***

He was different when he came back from France. They all were.

Tommy wouldn’t let go of you when he stepped off the train, his tears soaking into the shoulder of your coat. It was only when you promised you’d stay with him at the little house in Watery Lane that he pulled away, and you walked arm in arm together.

He proposed that night, and it was the first time you and the Shelby’s (save for Finn, who didn’t quite understand why his brothers were so sad all of a sudden) properly smiled in years.

***

The arrival of Grace Burgess to Small Heath caused quite the stir, but you and Polly saw right through her. She expected her singing to entrap tommy into spilling the Peaky secrets, but when you cornered her before opening time, she soon backed off. Whether it was the butterfly knife you rammed into the bar, the ice cold look you fixed her with, or your silver tongue, she knew it was more than her life’s worth to cross Polly Gray and YN Shelby.

You and Polly made a point of ordering Scotch whiskey whenever Grace was around- much to the brother’s amusement.

***

You were furious with Tommy for facing off with Billy Kimber, and even more so when Sabini got involved.

That didn’t stop you doting on him, making sure his bullet wound from Kimber was cleaned daily.

And Tommy definitely milked it, even after it began to scar.

“Ay, where’s my kiss to make it better, Mrs Shelby?” He’d ask with a cheeky glint in his eye that was only ever seen by you.

“You’re pushing your fucking luck, you,” you’d say.

But of course, you’d press a gentle kiss over the bandage, and another to his lips.

***

When Polly grasped onto your breast after a family meeting, all hell broke loose. Ada, with little Karl on her lap gave you a knowing look, while Arthur and John cheered loudly (“about time, Tom!”). Finn was confused as to why you were recieving an impromptu breast exam at the table, and Tommy... just stared at you with wide eyes.

“Am I...?”

“Is she...?” You said at the same time and Polly just nodded, returning to her seat and giving you both a smile.

You and Tommy left early, with John and Arthur shouting after you both to be careful, ready to wet the baby’s head even though it was barely more than a tiny speck at that moment in time.

***

“Thomas Michael Shelby I am never sleeping with you again you utter bastard! Ah!”

Tommy paced in the landing, your pained screams driving him mad. He had tried sitting at the table and smoking with brothers as you laboured, but he couldn’t bare to be so far away from you. Polly, Esme and Ada were keeping him busy, sending him for more hot water every now and then.

When the piercing sound of a baby crying filled the house, he slumped against the wall with relief as everyone downstairs cheered.

Polly peaked her head around the door, smiling warmly. “In you come then. Come and meet your little boy,”

Tommy felt his eyes well up as he stepped over the threshold to the rest of his life, smiling down at you as you looked up, looking utterly worn out, but with a smile bright enough to power the whole country, a tiny bundle in your arms.

Tommy say carefully on the edge of the bed, leaning a little closer.

“Come here, you silly git,” you said gently, letting him shuffle closer. He peaked over the blanket and felt his heart melt as he stared at the tiny, sleeping baby with a shock of dark hair.

“Our little boy, Tom,” you said gently.

“Yeah,” he said, staring at you both in awe. “Our little boy. My little family,”

Tags: @liliputbahn @lilymurphy03 @imareallygrumpyme @acciosiriusblack

DM me to be on my tag list (with what fandoms you wanna be tagged in, as well as if you wanna be tagged in smut x)

#tommy shelby x y/n #tommy shelby fluff #tommy shelby x reader oneshot #tommy Shelby x reader #tommy shelby imagine #request #peaky blinders #requests #2021

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jungshookz · 3 years

Text

teeny tidbits: emma comes home past curfew & y/n's not happy about it

➺ genre; kindergartenteacher!taehyungiverse!! honk honk humour!! sixteen year old emma reminds y/n of herself and she doesn't know if that's a bad thing or a good thing

➺ wordcount; 1.5k

➺ p.s. this takes place far faR off into the future!! i just thought it'd be nice to see emma as a spunky teenager :'))

(unfortunately i wasn’t able to track down the original maker of this gif but this is where i sourced it from! all credits go to the original creator of course :-))

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

the sound of the front door rattling at four in the morning would usually be something that would terrify pretty much anybody, but for you-

"oh, come on!"

it's really just another day in the life.

"em's home," taehyung reaches over slowly to pat your stomach and wake you up (as if you haven't been up waiting for the past four hours), his voice laced with sleep as he rolls to the side, "i'll go open the-"

"nope." you reach over to turn the lamp on before flicking the covers off and stepping out of bed, adjusting the strap of your tank top before pointing a finger at taehyung, "you're not opening anything."

"okay, well-" taehyung pauses before propping himself up a little to frown at you, "wait, what?"

"you know, i cannot believe her-" you snap, pulling your hair up into a bun as you hurry over to the window, "it's like she likes to be grounded! i told her she could go out with her friends as long as she came back before curfew, but no-"

"well, it's not that late, is it?" taehyung tosses the pillow he's hugging to his chest aside before turning to look at the clock sitting on his bedside table, "it's only- oh. it's 4:18."

you unlock the latch on the window before digging your fingers underneath it and pulling it up with a snap, watching as emma rushes out from the front porch at the sudden noise

"why, good morning, miss kim!" you call out, leaning down against the edge of the open window with a bright smile, "now i can rest well knowing you weren't murdered tonight."

"the door's broken or something!" emma strategically ignores your snarky comment, placing a hand on her hip before sticking her hand up in the air to flash you her keys with a jingle, "my keys aren't working!"

"oh, your keys are fine, sweetheart." you let out a sigh before scrunching your nose, "i triple-locked the doors. better to be safe than to be sorry, right?"

"okay, well-" emma pauses, scratching the back of her neck before gesturing towards the door, "are you gonna open the door for me or what? i really have to pee-"

"you could always take a squat and pee in the bushes." you point out, emma's jaw dropping slightly before she lets out a scoff

"are you serious? i'm not taking a piss in the bushes-"

"well, i guess you should've thought of that before coming home four hours past curfew!" your tone changes as soon as you get to the point and even from here you're able to make out the slight twitch of panic that runs through emma's body

"don't be ridiculous, i'm not four hours past curfew-" emma grumbles, turning to pull her phone out of her purse and glancing at it before pausing for a second and then looking back up at you, "i'm... four hours and twenty minutes past curfew. so take that!"

"you know, i was just being nice and i rounded down, but if you wanna say you were four hours and twenty minutes late, we can definitely say you were four hours and twenty minutes late-"

"mom!" emma whines, stomping her foot down on the ground as she shoves her phone back into her (your!!) purse hastily, "you can't just- are you seriously not going to let me into the house?! you're gonna make me sleep out on the front porch?! i can't- what if the coyotes get me?! if the coyotes get me, you're gonna regret this decision so bad-"

"the only thing that's going to attack you in this neighbourhood are the little girl scouts who won't leave you alone until you buy, like, ten boxes of cookies from them-"

"i'm sixteen, mother!" emma cuts you off with another whine and you can't help but roll your eyes at the sight of your daughter throwing a tantrum on the front lawn, "i'm grown! i should be allowed to go out with my friends and come home whenever i want!"

you thought you were 'grown' at sixteen too

(spoiler alert: that was not the case at all.)

obviously you love your daughter more than anything in the world but you hate that she inherited one of the traits that you're not fond too of: your stubbornness

and look, of course you know that she's getting older and that she should be allowed to go and have (safe) fun with her friends but this isn't the first time she's broken the rules and knowing her, it certainly won't be the last time

and it doesn't help that taehyung always gets to play good cop and you have to be the bad one!!!

like last time when the two of you caught emma climbing into the house through one of the windows and she ended up getting stuck - instead of reprimanding her for coming home late again, taehyung just laughed and immediately went over to help her out

sure, the sight of your daughter flailing around trapped in a small window was hilarious, but someone had to be the serious one in the situation (1) she lied to you about just having a chill night with her friends because you're pretty sure a chill night doesn't involve body glitter and the faint smell of vodka on her breath! 2) she climbed up the side of the house like a maniac and could've gotten seriously injured????) and of course the responsibility to do that fell onto your lap

taehyung's also just not very good at disciplining which is why you usually gently push him aside and take the lead and it looks like it's time for you to turn on your i'm not mad, i'm just very disappointed in you act once again

"you're going to wake your brother up if you keep screaming like that, and you know how fussy he gets when he doesn't get a good night's sleep-"

"he's the world's sleepiest baby, i could blow up fireworks in his room and he'd be fine- dad!" emma's eyes immediately light up when a sleepy taehyung suddenly pops up next to you and you raise a brow when he nudges you aside gently, "oh my god, thank god- mom's literally being insane right now, you have to let me in-"

"what time did you say you'd be home?" taehyung interrupts, "because i think we agreed on midnight when i dropped you off at hope's apartment..."

"i-" emma presses her lips together before letting out a little scoff and rolling her eyes, "okay, yes, we- i said i would be home by midnight, yes." she sighs before suddenly perking up again, "it's not my fault, though! no one goes home before midnight, it's so lame- hope's dad lets her stay out as long as she texts-"

"ah, texts! let's talk about that! didn't you say you'd text us to let us know where you were if you weren't home by midnight?" taehyung points out, crossing his arms over his chest before reaching up to stroke at his chin to feign deep thought, "because my phone hasn't gone off all night... has yours, darling?" he hums, turning to glance at you

"nope!" you chime in with a helpless little shrug and you nearly crack a smile when you see emma reach up to pinch the bridge of her nose in frustration, "my phone has been dead silent. no texts. not even an emoji!"

"you hear that, emma? not even an emoji." taehyung tsks, shaking his head in disappointment, "you know what this means, don't you?"

"i'm grounded for two weeks, i know-"

"two weeks?? oh, you're grounded for a month." taehyung pauses for a second before looking down at her again, "and! and you have to change all of your brother's diapers the whole time you're grounded. also, i just want to let you know that he had sweet potatoes for dinner and you know how gassy he gets after a helping of sweet potatoes-"

"a month?!" emma roars and your eye twitches at how high her voice goes, "you can't ground me for a month, lucas is throwing this huge party next weekend and i have to be there! are you kidding m-"

taehyung slides the window back down before emma gets to say anything else and he turns to face you with a grin before opening his arms slightly, "well?? what did you think??"

"i think... that was probably one of the sexiest things you've ever done for me." you laugh lightly, happily giving him a quick kiss when he leans in for one

"duly noted." taehyung beams before letting out a quick sigh and then turning on his heels to head to the door, "okay, i'm going to go let our daughter into the house now because i don't think my hydrangeas are going to survive being peed on-"

🎙️give emma some diaper changing tips (talk to my characters/send in a message!)

✨why don’t you explore the rest of the library while you’re here? (full fics!)

💫or perhaps you want something shorter to read? (drabbles! mini series!)

🌟or something even shorter? (teeny tidbits like this one!)

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chironshorseass · 3 years

Note

hello yes i’m OBSESSED with your writing so if you’re still taking prompts maybe “please look at me” bc i also have an unhealthy relationship with pre-tlo percabeth angst and live for pining percy

SYD U GAVE ME THIS AND I JUST HAD TO PUT ALL MY PROMPTS ASIDE!!! because how could i not!!!

for what i wrote, i kind of mention this clarisse one-shot.

anyway enjoy <3, since I sort of went crazy with percy being powerful :) like i always do :) and of course, pre-tlo percabeth :)

read on ao3

The waves had grown restless these past few days. Violent, brutal. The night was quiet, the moon hidden beneath darkened clouds, drenching the camp in heavy ink. Percy knew many demigods proclaimed it as the quiet before the storm. They couldn’t have been more wrong.

All he heard was noise.

He’d been like this—unsteady, overwhelmed—for some time, now. Everywhere he went, he felt like a ship sailing into giant waves, water crashing against his deck, threatening to bring him under.

Grover would’ve understood, maybe. But Grover, like the moon, had vanished. That only left a few of his other friends—and of course—Annabeth.

Percy couldn’t avoid her gaze, no matter how much he wanted to. She was always there, watching. Maybe she awaited the day when he’d sink to the power of those waves that plagued the beach, that plagued him. Maybe she anticipated with bated breath on the day when he’d turn sixteen and he’d have to make one decision that would change everything.

Nevertheless, she’d drift away from him. Then come back, again and again.

It drove him crazy, how much their relationship had changed with the times and circumstances. Only now, Annabeth wasn’t what bothered him.

His gut was.

It tightened and loosened, the same way the currents flowed to the rhythm of his rushing blood. He could hear that now, too.

His blood. The sea. The clashes against rock.

Everything was beating to a powerful symphony of drums.

But worst of all was his gut.

Something had gone terribly wrong.

Percy knew there was a war. He had nightmares about it, in fact. Nightmares leading to frantic waking-ups from the feeling of lava burning into his skin. But he hadn’t sensed the war’s presence so strongly in all his three years of attending camp as he did now—and he felt it, because the source of conflict had to do with the sea.

The shadows of cabin three clung to his skin in a comfortable blanket, but he couldn’t ignore this dread. It had trickled patiently into his system for a week now, culminating to this exact moment. He couldn’t sit still. He had to leave. Now.

Not long after stumbling outside while shoving his armor on did he hear the conch horn ringing as a warning. The lookouts had seen something. His legs moved faster.

Doors of other cabins began to smash open, and with it came the spilling of panicked campers. He was already way ahead of them, though.

“To the beach!” someone cried.

Percy arrived just in time to see Chiron assemble with Michael Yew and Austin Lake. The sons of Apollo. They’d apparently been the ones on night duty. The centaur saw Percy before the others made out his heavy footfalls.

“Percy,” Chiron said. “Thank the gods you’re here.”

“There’s something,” he gasped, doubling over once he’d reached them. “There’s something out there,” he finally managed to say, gulping mouthfuls of air. “The sea.”

They already knew, however. The conchorns were signal enough. But what was more obvious was the glimpse of the giant tail, jutting out of the water like a spear cutting through flesh.

The breath he’d managed to find from his mad dash was stolen away at the sight of the monster.

“Yeah,” Austin said, swallowing. “There’s something out there, alright.”

Chiron eyed Percy warily. “My boy. We are dealing here with something I fear that you are only capable of stopping.”

“Yeah, well...it looks like a pretty big fish. I—”

A howl punctured the atmosphere—probably the same sea monster he’d seen earlier. Percy gasped, feeling a stabbing jolt in his stomach. He didn’t know why this sudden change of the sea was affecting him so, but he had to stay strong. So he stood up straight and concentrated on his breathing.

“Are you alright?” Austin asked, studying him.

Percy looked at Chiron, who met his eyes as well. You have to be, his teacher seemed to say.

“I...I think so.”

Michael chose the moment to turn his back on the sea, blowing the conchorn once more. He shouted at the incoming campers, “Greek fire! We need Greek fire!”

The rest of the multitude showed up right away, Hephaestus kids priming canons while others exchanged weaponry. Through all of it, Percy’s gut became a pressure cooker, a fist closing around glass, about to break. He cried out in agony just as a tidal wave shook the world. Falling to his knees, his arms encircled his middle, muffling that pain. He wanted nothing but to make it stop.

He vaguely heard a sound of surprise, coming from someone nearby, then the rush of hands holding onto his shoulders. They helped somewhat, a comfort to the madness.

The hands were warm and soothing. The voice of the person became clearer. He knew that voice. He knew those hands.

Annabeth appeared in his vision, all worry lines and pinched eyebrows. She said something to him again, but the words might’ve been ghosts; the stampeding blood behind his ears was too thunderous to make out anything else.

He closed his eyes and concentrated like he had earlier.

Sharp as a blade, his senses switched to the outside world.

“Are—are you okay?” Annabeth was saying. “You doubled over, and I…”

“No.” He opened his eyes to meet hers. They matched the storm that raged across the sea. “I—I’m not okay. I need to stop this, I need—”

“We were just discussing strategy,” she said. He was glad for the distraction she’d offered. “The Scolopendra isn’t just any ordinary sea monster.”

“The Scolo what?”

She helped him stand up, steadying him with her arms.

“The Scolopendra,” she repeated. “A child of Keto. It’s one of the biggest sea monsters in existence, and it won’t leave the camp border.”

“No shit.”

Annabeth ignored him, glancing backwards at where the monster had last been seen. “There’s no telling what it can do. There’s barely any recordings of it.” She swiveled back to him. “Chiron says that it can control the tide. It might be capable of drowning the camp if we don’t kill it.”

“I won’t let that happen.”

“I told Chiron that we needed to try my strategy first. As in, bombing it with Greek fire before we go with the last approach.”

“And what would that last approach be?”

He had some idea, but before Annabeth could speak, the creature shot out of the water, faster than lightning. He only caught a glimpse of the crayfish-like tail and rows of webbed feet before it disappeared again.

“That looks like a giant shrimp,” he declared.

A giant shrimp that was probably capable of crushing a decently-sized trireme. Shrimpzilla, he was about to call it, as a way to lighten the mood. But he thought better of it, once he saw the hard line of Annabeth’s lips as she watched the campers rev up the Greek fire.

The Scolopendra dared to peek out of the waves for the third time, giving the chance for Beckendorf to yell out an order. Instantly, canyons discharged the green substance directly towards the monster.

It roared defiantly, maybe in pain, maybe in anger. No one was sure, because as soon as the night sky lit up with green flames, the Scolopendra crashed against the water like a wrecking ball. For a moment, all was silent.

No one dared breathe.

Annabeth squeezed Percy’s shoulder. She looked hopeful, as if relieved that she didn’t have to go with the second plan.

Chiron’s tail twitched. Beckendorf held out a hand, urging the campers to wait. Some stood anticipatedly, swords ready. He saw Clarisse in the front line, her electric spear aimed at the sea and crackling with energy.

Percy sensed what was about to happen next before he heard it.

“Annabeth,” he said frantically. “Annabeth, we have to go. Now.”

“What? But—”

“NOW!”

He’d already separated himself from her, yelling at the rest of the campers to leave. They didn’t have the chance; milliseconds later, the Scolopendra appeared. It bellowed with the power of a thousand hurricanes. Many campers covered their ears.

To everyone’s horror, it had closed in on the shore, its back legs likely reaching the sand floor as it rose to its full, terrifying height. Lightning crackled, and with it, came another roar.

“No,” he muttered. “No, everyone get out!”

Too late. The monster had already spit out a million gallons’ worth of salt water.

Instinctively, Percy let out a yell and threw his hands out.

The water halted in midair, rippling like a broken mirror. It was as if time had slowed down, as if Kronos himself had been the one to interfere. But Kronos wasn’t interfering. It was all Percy—with nothing but his willpower. A bead of sweat rolled down from his temple.

Annabeth reached him just as he cried out and threw the water back to the sea with everything he had, forcing the giant shrimp to hide as well.

He caught his breath while Annabeth looked back and forth. From him to the sea, from the sea to him.

She shook her head at no one in particular. “The plan didn’t work.”

“No shit.”

Then she gazed at him again. “Thank you for doing that, Perce.”

“Yeah,” he breathed. “No problem.”

“About the second plan...”

“I have to kill it, don’t I?”

“I...maybe. But we can help—”

“It isn’t a maybe. It is a certainty,” a voice said, strong and firm.

They both turned around.

“Chiron,” Annabeth said. “How can he possibly—”

“He’s the only one capable,” the horseman said. “You know that better than most.”

Her eyes flicked to Percy. Memories flashed through his mind. A quick, burning kiss. A promise. Then, the way fire engulfed him. The call of the sea. An explosion, strong enough to wake one of the most dangerous monsters of all.

When the bombard was over, he understood. He had to face this monster alone, like he had with the telkhines.

“Okay,” he finally said.

“Okay, what?”

Chiron nodded at him, ignoring Annabeth’s question. Without glancing back, he retreated to where the rest of the demigods were watching by the sand dunes as a precaution.

“I need to face him alone,” Percy told her, once Chiron was gone.

“No! Percy, that thing is bigger than—”

“I’m the only one that can’t drown, Annabeth!” He grasped her shoulders so that she was looking directly at him. “If anyone can do it, it’s me.”

“Don’t think I can’t see what’s going on with you,” she said, voice bitter and rough. “You’re distant, like, like the ocean is—”

“We’re both growing distant, ‘Beth. That’s not the problem right now.”

She pushed his hands away. “And that’s not what I’m talking about, and you fucking know that!”

Before he could reply, the monster's call came again. A reminder that this night wasn’t over.

“Please. Just trust me on this, Annabeth. I have to try. It’s our last option. You said so yourself: it may be capable of drowning the entire camp.”

She said nothing, not even sparing him a glance.

“And—and I don’t know why I’m like this! Maybe it’s because I can feel the ocean getting agitated, or because the war is getting worse, or—”

He realized it, then. Annabeth's tears. They were silent rivers, flowing gently down her cheeks and into her mouth. Flowing down to where everything ended up, to the sea.

“Hey,” he said, approaching her slowly. He took both of her hands in his, but she repelled away from his touch. “Please, ‘Beth.”

This time, he cupped her damp cheek, moving it in his direction. “Please look at me.”

And when she finally obliged, her gaze was fractured with glistening tears, like diamonds.

“I can’t lose you again,” she whispered.

Percy had yearned for too long; he let go of that rope tugging him in the opposite direction and instead let Annabeth in. They melted into each other, both shamelessly giving away the little warmth they preserved. It was the kind of hug that felt like a lifeline, the kind that made them both sway like the tide.

“I missed you,” he mumbled into her curls.

She held him tighter. “I missed you, too.”

“But I have to fight this one myself.”

Annabeth pulled away slightly—and when he saw the look on her face—he knew that she knew.

“HEY, SHRIMPZILLA!”

The Scolopendra reared its head, even uglier up close. Its nostrils flared with hairs, beady eyes staring down at him. When he charged, the monster bellowed and threw itself in the water, sending sprays taller than a house.

But none of it touched Percy.

He didn’t stop running, a plan in mind. Meanwhile, the sea churned around him in one giant mass of power, but it parted with each step he took, forming a trail of now exposed ocean floor. Water collided with the sky, flying with the salt in the air.

Hello, friend, it seemed to say. Or rather, hum. The sea was a song, and he was just there to dance to its melody.

The Scolopendra had disappeared again.

He didn’t look back, though he knew the entire camp was there, watching—maybe in awe, but he didn’t care enough to find out. He kept walking, alone, surrounded by a pool of green and blue. Was this how Moses felt, In those stories he’d heard? Bricks of ocean water, flinging up into the sky, just so that Percy could pass. The feeling distracted him from the objective.

That’s what he’d argue later, because Percy can’t explain how the monster managed to sneak up to him that easily.

The pool of green seemed endless. There was a moment where nothing moved, not even the water. But then something did tug him violently, up, up into the sky.

For a second, he couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t scream out, the breath stolen from his lungs and the icy rush of air when flung into the sky nauseating. The only feeling he knew was of the Scolopendra and its death grip on his entire body.

With each second, the roiling waters grew farther and farther away. The Scolopendra’s growl, however, couldn’t have sounded closer. Sharp claws sank into his chest and arms. If he didn’t react now, he’d be eaten before the next flash of lightning struck the sea.

Somehow, he managed to uncap Riptide.

And with a scream, he stabbed, as hard as he could.

“Hey. Want company?” A soft voice said.

He craned his neck around.

Annabeth subconsciously made the world easier to look at. Especially now, as she stood behind him in the pier with the last vestiges of harsh sun striking her back. Her stance was stiff, hesitant. He understood why.

So instead his eyes bored into his lap. He shrugged.

That was a sign enough for her. She crouched next to him, pulling her legs under herself and then flinging them out to where the wooden planks ended and the open air began, toes nearly kissing the placid lake.

She sat next to him, quiet as the wind. It took a few seconds or minutes or hours before she decided to speak.

“I’m sorry.”

From his peripheral vision, he could tell that she’d been studying him instead of watching the reflection of herons flying above the water. Something he’d thought she’d been doing. Apparently not.

It also took him seconds or minutes or hours before he could respond.

“What for?”

She exhaled, “Letting you go alone. Being a part of the campers who…”

She didn’t finish that sentence. He knew why.

Being a part of the campers who abandoned you alone after what you did.

“S’okay. I get it.”

A lie. He didn’t get it.

“Doesn’t make it right.”

He stared at his hands. “Guess not.”

The details of the fight were yet to go away. The memories were still fresh—like his mother’s batch of cookies whenever he came home from camp. Teeth were ever-present in his mind. And those webbed hands. Those twisted sounds as a monster choked on its own blood.

Afterward, everyone had taken a step back. Even Annabeth and Chiron seemed to contemplate him as though he were doomed. Maybe he was.

“I wish Grover were here.”

“Yeah,” Annabeth sighed. She kicked her leg up, swatting at some mosquitos. “Me too.”

“He’d pull our shit together, fix everything.” He found himself sounding wistful, longing for a missing piece of himself all of a sudden.

She didn’t reply to that. They both missed their best friend. Now, more than ever. Percy tried to not dwell too much on the fact that Grover hadn’t responded to his Iris Messages or to his calls from their shared empathy link.

“I’m sorry.”

“You already said that.”

“No, Percy. I’m serious.”

“I know.”

“Just look at me.”

He did the opposite, gazing at the trees to his left. They were a deep, mystical green. The colors looked like the ocean, where he’d displayed his powers for everyone to see. Worst mistake of his life. He realized that tears had begun to form in his eyes; he quickly blinked them away.

“Percy,” Annabeth insisted.

Her tone wasn’t hash or demanding—but rather, a light pink sky. A hand brushing his, sweet and tender. He noticed that it wasn’t just his imagination; glancing down, he found her fingers ghosting against his knuckles.

“Please look at me.”

This was eerily familiar. It hit him, then, that he’d said those exact words when she’d panicked about him going alone to fight the Scolopendra.

Hesitantly, his eyes focused on her face. Her freckles were there, golden like the rest of her. Only now, her eyes were rimmed with tears.

Something changed inside them both. She stared at him, he stared at her. Her face contorted, and the both broke down, crumbling like ruins with the slightest gust.

“I’m so sorry,” she sobbed, clinging to his shirt.

“Me too,” he murmured back.

He held unto her as if she were a life force, breathing in her lemony scent. Tears were exchanged, mingling in the other’s hair. They held each other, an embrace that didn’t deserve to end. It only made him cry harder, while Annabeth held him closer.

“Why are you sorry?”

He couldn’t say it out loud.

I’m sorry for why we’re like this. I’m sorry for scaring you. I’m sorry for leaving.

Instead, he pulled away. He studied her, every single feature, from those grey eyes and that upturned nose to those curls that no longer appeared to look like a princess.’ They were just Annabeth’s.

“I scared you,” he said.

His arms loosened around her, just now realizing how long they’d hugged, but their hands stayed interlocked—like some sort of middle ground.

She regarded him, eyebrows furrowed. “I can’t ever be scared of you,” she said matter-of-factly. “You’re my best friend, Perce.”

He looked away. “Everyone else was.”

“I should have gone to you after—I just...I thought you were angry at me.”

Their hands separated. “Why would I be angry at you?”

“Because I let you handle all of it alone. The monster, the campers—”

“‘Beth.” He took her hands again, cupping them with his. “I couldn’t ever be angry at you.”

“That’s not true,” she said wryly.

An observation, not an accusation. Still, that didn’t make it hurt any less. He recalled the shouting, the fights. The only thing they looked for in those moments was to hurt the other, twist and pull at any chink in the armor they could find.

She winced, remembering that, too. “Sorry.”

His mouth twitched. “You’ve said ‘sorry’ too many times. It’s getting repetitive.”

She hit his shoulder playfully. “Well, I mean it.”

He didn’t retort anything back. They found peace in this lake, once again gazing at the horizon.

“It’s not true what you said, either,” he said, his mind lingering on what she’d told him earlier. “You’re scared, as well.”

The sound of the incoming crickets carried on in Annabeth’s hesitation.

That is, until she said, “I am. Scared. I’m scared.” He glanced over. She was staring in his direction, but she wouldn’t meet his eyes. She cleared her throat. “I didn’t know you could do that.”

“Neither did I.”

She laughed, breathless. “See that’s what scares me. What else can you do? Honestly?”

He shrugged, turning away from her.

“How’d you do that, anyway?”

“I defeated it, didn’t I?” It was better to deflect than to answer her question.

Defeating the monster should’ve been what mattered, anyway.

“Percy.”

“Annabeth,” he said, in the same condescending tone.

“All I’m saying is that you could hurt yourself. You don’t know what you’re capable of. And then when your birthday happens—”

“You think I’m going to destroy Olympus or something?” He shook his head. “I should’ve known that you’d side with the gods on that, too. You think that they should kill me?”

“What? Percy, I’d never—”

He whirled, facing her, and finally let go of all those pent-up thoughts that just like the sea, wouldn’t leave him alone.

“Just admit it, Annabeth! Admit that it freaked you out that I blood bended or whatever the fuck Chiron called it! Admit, that it freaked you out how I killed that monster! That I’m fucking cursed!”

“Percy Jackson, you are not—”

“Yes, I am. Why would my dad give me powers like that? Huh? Just say it with me: you’re scared—of me.”

Her eyes were red, face hard as stone. Just like her voice when she said, “Look. I just wanted to help. But if you want to sit in your self pity, then go for it! You clearly don’t need me.”

She made no move to leave, however.

Their eyes held, until the anger from both of them melted. He huffed out a breath, shoulders hunching. “We can’t ever stop fighting, can we?”

She sighed.

“Guess not.”

“I won’t do that again.”

She lifted her chin. “Why?”

“Like you said. Scared you.”

That made her purse her lips.

“You’re not cursed, Percy. You know that, right?”

She reached for his hand. It was becoming a strange routine. Finding comfort in hand holding and then dismantling it as if it never happened.

“You’re mostly right all the time, so.” He squeezed her hand. “I s’pose I’m not cursed, then.”

“I’m right most of the time?” she said, eyes twinkling.

“Okay, fine,” he conceded. “You’re right only sometimes.”

She opened her mouth in mock-offense. “Percy Jackson—”

He cut her off with his laugh, a laugh that fit with the music of the crickets. She rolled her eyes, something that he’d missed achingly, now that he saw her do it for the first time in what seemed like forever.

Scooting closer, she nudged him. “I could help you. Alongside Clarisse.”

His eyes widened. “You knew about that?”

“She’s my friend, too.”

“Of course she is,” he muttered.

Him and Clarisse...they might’ve had a rocky relationship when he’d first arrived at camp, but now, he didn’t know what he’d do without her help—without her friendship. They both understood the other in a bizzare, not very common way. She’d helped him hone in his powers, but it had yet to be something he’d wanted to admit to Annabeth. To everyone else, for that matter.

“I get why you didn’t want to tell me,” she said. “But...I do want to help. You’re my best friend, and, and I also want to spend time with you. If...that’s alright.”

“It’s alright by me.”

Annabeth gave him a look.

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” He tried for a smile. “I guess you could come along, then.”

His grin was shared with her, though her eyes were serious. “You’ll see. We’ll figure out your powers. What you can do, why you can do it, why the sea is affecting you…”

“All of it?”

She nodded. “All of it.”

They left it at that, though what they didn’t leave was the canoe pier. Not until the sun hid under the trees, spilling its ink of reds and oranges across the horizon.

The golden of the sun was replaced by the silver of the moon for the night, then it rose again for the day.

And in between, the waves lapped against the shore, constant and content. The ocean had calmed. For now.

#percy jackson #pjo fic #percabeth #percabeth fic #powerful percy jackson #look mom i can write #pre tlo #percy jackon and the olympians #chb #also don't judge i just finished this #i pormised syd i'd post it today and i did!!#pogo🤸‍♀️

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